PPA 8 -- KISS: Kat's Turn!

So my friend in Tasmania, Australia turned 21 recently... So I decided to make a card for him!
I didn't want to make it bulky or have anything that could really fall off because it had a long way to be mailed. So I decided to keep it pretty simple.

The edges of this panel were inked with black Staz-On for some contrast. Just take your card stock and rub the edge across your ink pad. Easy!


Roughen up the edges of your panel for some character.

To make room for your greeting and message, put a fun piece of cloud-shaped Whisper White card stock inside the card. There's an added white piece of paper here, covering the personal message. Mom forgot to take the picture before I wrote inside!


From,
Kat


Stampin' Essentials:

Stamps: Pun Fun (115054), Smarty Pants (115070)

Ink: Staz-On: Jet Black (101406), non-SU! markers: orange and red, non-SU! colored pencils

Paper: Whisper White cardstock (100730), To the Nines Specialty DSP (114038)

Tools: 1/16" Circle Punch (101227)

Other Fun Stuff: Sticky Strip (104294), Hodgpodge Hardware in Antique Copper (no longer available)

PPA 8 -- KISS

This week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge is KISS -- Keep It Simple, Sweetie. This card was definitely simple (and fun) to make! The base is Cameo Coral card stock, stamped all over with the long-stem flower from the Of the Earth Hostess Set in Versa Mark ink.

Then I took a piece of Bermuda Bay textured card stock and a piece of Whisper White card stock and ran each through my handy dandy Big Shot using the Top Note die. I stamped the long-stemmed flower three times onto the Whisper White layer, added the butterfly from the same set three times (NOT reinking between stamping), and a greeting from my Sincere Salutations set. All were stamped in Rich Razzleberry. A bit of sponging in Bermuda Bay created the sky.



The Whisper White layer then got a second run through the Big Shot with a background Texturz plate for some fun texture. Then the two layers were mounted (off-set) with Stampin' Dimensionals and I punched one corner with a corner rounder. Done!

Cheers,
Pia

Stampin' Essentials:

Stamps: Of the Earth Hostess Set (115336), Sincere Salutations (115068)

Ink: Bermuda Bay (115655), Rich Razzleberry (115658)

Paper: Whisper White cardstock (100730), In Color Textured cardstock -- package of assorted In Colors (115719), Cameo Coral cardstock (110475)

Tools: Big Shot Die Cutting Machine (113439), SU! Top Note Die (113463), SU! Backgrounds I - Texturz Plate (114512), 3/16" Corner Rounder Punch (109047)

Other Fun Stuff: Sticky Strip (104294), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), Sponge Daubers (102892)

Easy Access Sweet Treats

This is a little card -- 3"x3" -- that is just too much fun! And by that, I mean I've played with the little sliding door about a gazillion times over the past couple of days, ha ha!

I totally LOVE the new Sweet Treat Cups from Stampin' Up! (available for a limited time in the Holiday Mini)! In fact, I love them so much I keep looking for reasons to use them... they are just TOO cute! The challenge with these cups on my first card was getting to the treats without wrecking the project (all that hard work, I sure didn't want someone to have to break it apart!). So I looked at my stuff and remembered the slider cards that were really popular a few years ago. BINGO! Slider door for the treat cup!


The Bermuda Bay layer is popped up on dimensionals to make room for the penguin sliding door behind it. The key here is to stick the Sweet Treat cup to the back of the Bermuda Bay layer, NOT to the white card base. So you don't use the provided adhesive on the treat cups. Instead, put Sticky Strip on the other side of the cup and then stick it to the Bermuda Bay card stock. To be able to access the candy, punch a matching hole in the white card base exactly lined up with the hole in the Bermuda Bay layer. The sliding door will hold the candy securely in there until you pull on the tab to release the goodies!


For the tab, I stamped the sentiment in Rich Razzleberry onto Whisper White card stock and used the Round Tab punch to punch it out, and then cut the resulting tab in half. Then I glued it round-tab-up onto the Rich Razzleberry rectangle that was going to be the sliding door. Turning the slider over, I then used a 1-3/4" circle of Whisper White card stock stamped with the super cute penguin from my Cold & Cuddly set. The penguin is stamped in Jet Black Staz-On ink for a super sharp image, and then his belly is sponged with Crushed Curry. Sponging a light dash of Bermuda Bay around the edges of the circle completed it nicely. The cocoa cups (included in the Cold & Cuddly set) are stamped in Soft Suede on Whisper White card stock. The two cups on the Bermuda Bay layer are popped up on dimensionals. I added one more little cup of cocoa on the inside of the card.


I turned the slider back over and added another circle of Whisper White card stock. This time, I stamped For You from my Fundamental Phrases set and again sponged the edges. NOTE: place this circle UPSIDE-DOWN so the it will be read right-side up when you open the card. It's weird, I know, but it works.


I arranged my card so that the pull-tab is on the top, but you can place yours on the side if you like. Whatever works for your own design. Have fun with this!

Cheers,
Pia

Stampin' Essentials:

Stamps: Cold & Cuddly (116523), Fundamental Phrases (114968)

Ink: Bermuda Bay (115655), Rich Razzleberry (115658), Soft Suede (115657), Crushed Curry (115659), Staz-On: Jet Black (101406), Stampin' Write Marker - Basic Black (100082)

Paper: Whisper White cardstock (100730), In Color Textured cardstock -- package of assorted In Colors (115719)

Tools: 1-3/4" Circle Punch (112004), Round Tab Punch (108340)

Other Fun Stuff: Sticky Strip (104294), 2-Way Glue Pen (100425), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), Sponge Daubers (102892), Sweet Treat Cups (116802)

PPA 7 -- Sketch Challenge from Margaret Moody

Pals Paper Arts weekly challenge number 7 is a sketch challenge using a sketch designed by the way talented Margaret Moody! I decided that this sketch was the perfect chance to try out more of my fun new stamps from the Holiday Mini. Going with a Christmas theme, I pulled out my Cold & Cuddly set and got down to business!



I started with a Whisper White card base, onto which I mounted a piece of Basic Black card stock. The black layer is stamped all over with some snowflakes from the Sincere Snowflakes set (also in the new Holiday Mini!) in Whisper White craft ink. Craft ink is splendid for stamping onto dark cardstock! Just be sure to allow plenty of time for it to dry, or you can heat set it if you're in a hurry.



I took another piece of Whisper White card stock and punched out three circles, onto which the penguin and walruses got stamped in Real Red (I colored in the walruses' eyes with a Black Stampin' Write marker).



Then I ran a line of adhesive around each circle's edge using the 2-way glue pen and threw on some Dazzling Diamonds glitter to make the card more festive! The finished circles were mounted onto the black layer using Stampin' Dimensionals.



For the top banner, I took a long piece of Whisper White cardstock and ran it through my paper crimper for some texture. Then I attached a fun polka dot ribbon (this one's not from Stampin' Up!, but SU! does have a red polka dot ribbon that would be perfect -- I just didn't have any on hand) tied in a bow slightly off-center.



Inside, I stamped "Christmas Wishes" using two stamps from the Sincere Salutations set available in the main Idea Book & Catalog.



And on the back, of course, added my signature on top of a coordinating stamped image from the Cold & Cuddly set.

Visit the Pals Paper Arts blog (linked via the PPA badge at the right of this page) to see what other fun creations came out of this Sketch Challenge! We'd love it if you'd play along -- can't wait to see your creations!

Peace,
Pia

Stampin' Essentials:

Stamps: Cold & Cuddly (116523), Serene Snowflakes (115438), Fundamental Phrases (114968)

Ink: Real Red (103133), Whisper White Craft Ink (101731), Stampin' Write Marker - Basic Black (100082)

Paper: Whisper White cardstock (100730), Basic Black cardstock (102851)

Tools: 1-3/4" Circle Punch (112004), Crimper (101618)

Other Fun Stuff: Sticky Strip (104294), 2-Way Glue Pen (100425), Mini Glue Dots (103683), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), Dazzlin' Diamonds Stampin' Glitter (102023), non-SU! red polka dot ribbon

A Sweet Treat for My Second Mom

My aunt Marisa turns 70 today. She's the wife of my eldest uncle, the mother of my "Twin" cousin, and she was my mom for almost the first two years of my life. Needless to say, she is very special to me. :)

So what better way to celebrate this special lady than to make her the very first recipient of one of my Sweet Treat cards? Did you notice the cool difference in this card...? Yep, there's a candy stash in the center of it! Awesome!!

Here's a top view for you, so you can check out the candy cup:


Isn't that totally cool? To allow the recipient to access the candy without totally wrecking the card, you can simply cut a large "x" through the cardstock behind the candy cup. Voila! Easy access to the yummy candy, AND they get to keep the pretty card! I didn't do that on this one, by the way. I thought of it AFTER I mailed the card. Oops!

I really like side-opening cards, so that's what this one is. It's a fun alternative to the "norm", don't you think? Inside the card is a sentiment that reads, "You're never too old to do goofy stuff. -- Ward Cleaver."

So where can you get the supplies to make this card and other fun Sweet Treat creations? Go to our Stampin' Store to place your order online -- your goodies will come right to your door! The Sweet Centers stamp set and Sweet Treat cups are only available for a limited time in the Holiday Mini, so be sure to place your order right away! Order numbers and details are at the end of this post.

I hope my aunt likes her Sweet Treat card!

Peace,
Pia

Stampin' Essentials:

Stamps: Sweet Centers (116521), Smarty Pants (115070)

Ink: Bermuda Bay (115655), Rich Razzleberry (115658), Melon Mambo (115656), Stampin' Write Marker - Basic Black (100082)

Paper: Whisper White cardstock (100730), Razzleberry Lemonade DSP (115675), Summer Sun cardstock (100537)

Tools: Big Shot Die Cut Machine (113439), SU! Top Note die (113463), SU! Backgrounds I - Texturz plates (114512)

Other Fun Stuff: Sticky Strip (104294), 2-Way Glue Pen (100425), Sweet Treats Cups (116802), Sweet Treats Padded Envelopes (116911)

Sweet Rewards:

From September 1-November 30, 2009, host a $250 workshop and choose any item* from the Holiday Mini Catalog for just $10.

Choose from our award-winning stamps, beautiful new Simply Adorned^™ jewelry, exclusive Build-A-Bear Workshop^® products, or latest dies for the Sizzix^® Big Shot^™. With so much to choose from, you'll feel like a kid in a candy shop!

*Excludes hostess sets and My Digital Studio^™

Contact us to host your workshop and get your Sweet Reward!