My Submission for the Blogger's Swap!

Well here it is! My Blogger's Swap submission! I took the sweet little Pocket Notes from Stampin' Up! Winter Mini, and I made it into a little book! Don't miss the little pink *BLING* on the end of the Phrase; it's a Twinkle Sticker by A Muse!

Side Note: A Muse Owner Linda Carnell is the nicest person EVER; she sent us the COOLEST package of goodies for our Illinois SCS'er Gathering, (something for EVERYONE!!!) and she took the time to read a very fluffy, gooey, love-fest email I sent her at 2:00 AM, and she even wrote back! I think that is so classy! Moving on....


The Stamps I used in this project are all from Hampton Art Stamps. And because you might be thinking, "oh my gosh Sarah... those aren't Stampin' Up! stamps!?!" Let me just address the issue. I love stamps... gimme rubber baby! And if I see a stamp I love; well... I need it! I'm sure you understand. Now I am a Stampin' Up! snob when it comes to certain things... SU! Card Stock and Ink for example; there is no substitute. And I totally dig how it all matches; the card stock matches the ink which matches the designer paper which matches the ribbon and the buttons and the eyelets... and well you get the idea. But a cute stamp is a cute stamp! By the way; the Silver edged tag and the cord; Stampin' Up! Note how it matches the embossed phrase! The dry embossing and the die cut shapes and letters were done on my new Cuttlebug!



I don't really know what I am trying to say with the cat's pajama's thing... but I think it works even if it doesn't really make sense! It's all done on Shimmery White Stampin' Up! card stock by the way, and the cat is colored with SU! markers.

Did you wonder how I embossed just 1/2 the Pocket note? Here's how! Easy Peasy!

Now for Something Completely Different!

So here is something exciting... I have adjusted my stamping focus toward MORE STAMPING. I love Stampin' Up! and I am truly devoted to their products; but I am also an artist at heart, and since I became a demo, I sort of miss stamping just for me! My goal for 2007 is to get on some design teams, and get my some of work published. I will still be teaching classes and having workshops... I adore sharing my love of stamping with others.

Last week I decided to contact all my favorite stamping companies and offer up my services. And low and behold; I was contacted back immediately by Hampton Art and they sent me stamps two days later, and I was overnighting work for them 24 hours later! The turn-around time was actually less than one week from the point I inquired to the point I sent out my work! I was just amazed!

The images they sent were very different from my usual style. But I appreciated the challenge, it really was inspiring to have to think out of the box. I hope you like what I came up with. I would love your comments.

This first card was stamped with an image called "San Francisco Diva". Isn't she swanky? I chose these colors based on some 1940's advertising layouts I have; Regal Rose, Taken with Teal, Creamy Caramel and So Saffron. I used a woodgraining technique on the caramel background, and the image was stamped in Staz-on and watercolored with Watercolor Wonder Crayons. I sponged Creamy Caramel onto the finished focal image to add to the vintage look. The Teal Velvet "Flirty" Ribbon seamed the perfect match, and I love the tactile touch it adds.



The next image is called "New York Diva"...and she is such the sophisticate! I chose the color combination; Ballet Blue, More Mustard, Bravo Burgundy and Brushed Silver after doing some research on Art Deco. This was a color combo popular in Art Deco advertising; and I like how it has that 3 color block printing look popular in old ads. I embossed this image on Velum Card Stock using black craft and detail clear powder (no stray flecks, and the detail powder doesn't mud up the fine etched image). And then colored on the BACK of the velum with markers. I ran the velum through my Xyron machine so the adhesive is invisible. The silver photo corners were created using the 3/4" Square punch; cut on a diagonal and then snipped into the shape I needed. The Art Deco embellishment on the left was made with the 1/2" and 3/4" circle punches. I sponged all the Brushed Silver paper with Staz-on to create a pewter effect.