Here's Donna

Hey Y'all!!

Donna here from Geek Squad Crafting!   I'm so happy to introduce myself to you today as a Design Team Member of SSInkspiration.  Some of you may remember me from a little while ago...if you do...Good Eyes!!  :)

I was so thrilled to be back with SSInk this year to stretch my creative brain and flex my crafty muscles again!!   I LOVE my Stampin' Up! products and I love to share them with my customers and y'all!!

Just so you can get a little glimpse into my life....

I am an AVID reader....and am currently helping some dear sweet friends launch 4 new books!!
I have become quite the Book Launcher as of late.  They are mostly Christian Reading, Memoirs, and Devotionals.   I belong to a fantastic online tribe of women who love Jesus and each other and this is my #the4500 t-shirt that we had made.  Jen Hatmaker had no idea what she was getting herself into when she released For The Love a few years ago... ;)

This is my heart...my other half Dave...I am pretty sure neither of us is ever going to grow up.





These are my GOOFBALL kids!  Ryan, Natalie, and Derek.   They keep me ridiculously busy with all their sports and school activities.  I wouldn't trade the insanity for the world!!


My crafting style can be summed up in one word....... Ecclectic.
I love ALL THINGS old and vintage, but I never craft that way....kinda weird eh?   I love love love to color...like for real LOVE to color.  So most everything I make involves either coloring, or taking something plain and making it pretty.  I am a math/science nerd who LOVES all things orderly and strategic....unless its my crafting, then its wonky and fun!   :)   I am a hot mess and it's super awesome

Why yes.....We're moving so my "craft room" is literally anywhere I can set up right now.  Currently in my kids' playroom while they're in bed.  hee hee   all this will be gone in an hour!!

  I LOVE THIS CHICK!! :)  I kept this simple and used some Crumb Cake ink on my new hexagon embossing folder and then colored the chick with my blender pen and Emerald Envy, Pumpkin Pie, Hello Honey, Dapper Denim, and Watermelon Wonder ink pads.  (coloring and crooked....yes!!!)

I really loved this stamp set.  I usually feel like more is better when it comes to layers and such.  I am proud of myself for this single layer card!!  The new Cool Treats suite is so awesome.  AND I used up scraps...which is super important when the Designer Paper is so SWEET!!

Thank you so much for letting me entertain you today.  Be sure to come back tomorrow for some awesome Design Team offerings and play along with our challenge this week!

Introducing Jenny G

Hello, it's Jennifer Gregorsky here, or Jenny G.  Today I am taking over the SSI blog to tell our readers a little bit about myself.  My blog is full of all my creations as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, but there is more to learn about me.  I used to be a high school math teacher.  I met my husband at Penn State and we got married on July 4th, 2004.  I actually started scrapbooking after we got married.  I have an album for our wedding and honeymoon.  It is fun to look back at all these albums because I have truly come a long way:  

After having my daughter, Jessica in 2008, I definitely got even more into scrapbooking.  I quit my job teaching to stay home full time with her.  I have a lot of albums documenting the first few years of her life.  Here is one of my favorite layouts from her first birthday:  

As my daughter got older and busier I found less time to scrapbook.  It is this time I discovered stamping and card making and of course Stampin' Up!  After being a very good customer for a few years, I finally took the plunge in January of 2012 and signed up to be a demonstrator.  With my husband's busy job along with my daughter, I didn't have the time to make it a full fledged business, so I am mainly a hobby demonstrator.  I do love to share stamping with my friends and family so I will hold occasional open houses and classes when I can.

In July of 2013, we welcomed my son Tommy into our family.  He is absolutely adorable for good reason.  He can be so naughty sometimes.  Having two kids now, my time was even in shorter supply.  Fortunately for my Stampin' Up! joined with Project Life so I do have an album for my little guy first year:

Now my son is 3 and my daughter is 8 and I feel like I am always running around.  In addition to taking care of my family and home (sorta), I work at my son's preschool twice a week.  I love it there!  They are relocating to a brand new facility next year and I am so excited to be apart of it!   

Here is one of my favorite recent pictures of my family, taken selfie-style by my husband at the local fire company's carnival this past summer:

I would share a picture of my craft studio, but its a nightmare so I will just share a few recent projects.  Consider it a Thank You for reading all about me, using the Sale-A-Bration stamp set So Very Much.

The big Thank You stamp directly on the Serene Scenery DSP.

And for this one I heat embossed the big Thank You with white embossing powder and ran the sponge brayers over it with Rich Razzleberry and Sweet Sugarplum.  I added some Bitty Buterflies cut from the Sweet Sugarplum Glimmer Paper which is a new SAB ofereing starting February 21st! 

   

Thanks so much for stopping by to learn about me!  For more pictures and projects, head over to my page.  I can't wait to see what we have in store at SSI tomorrow, check back and don't forget about the awesome Card Sketch Challenge!

Celebrate Today Tip

It's Kim here today sharing a fun tip with you using Baker's Twine and the Celebrate Today stamp set!

Here is the card I created for my daughter's birthday.  Still can't believe she is 6!

I love this stamp set and I really love it when these balloons are tied with Baker's Twine!  Here's how I attach it!

Step 1: Adhere the balloons with dimensionals.

Step 2: Tie a small bow with baker's twine around the base of the balloon.

Step 3: Cut a piece of Baker's Twine.  Place a mini glue dot on one end.  Use the tip of your scissors to adhere to the under side of the balloon.

So simple and SO CUTE!!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Hope you enjoyed the tip!  We'll be back here on Monday to share a few masculine cards with you!  You won't want to miss them!

Shellie's Shimmer Ink Tutorial

Hello Everyone! It's Shellie from Craft Smashup. Today I have a short tutorial for you. 

Do you like the shimmer of the Gold and Silver Encore Inks but sometimes wish they had some added color?  While playing around with my inks sometime before Christmas, I discovered that you could get a wonderful mottled shimmery look and color all at once.

Here is my finished Card. At the end of the tutorial is a closeup of the sentiment and a color sample chart using 10 different colors, each with the Gold and Silver inks.

I love the color combination of Rich Razzleberry, Coastal Cabana & Hello Honey

Stamp Set ~ Birthday Surprise

Accessories: Washi Tape, Gold 1/8" ribbon, Gold Encore Ink

You'll need to gather the following items...

Re-inkers, Metallic ink pad, baby wipes, stamp set

A nice close up view of the shimmer.

Overhead shot of the color chart. You can see how the gold and silver appear change the color of the ink.

Tried a picture at an angle in an attempt to make it easier to see the shimmer better

Thanks so much for stopping by! The team would love to see the cards you make using this technique. You can share pictures of them on our FaceBook fan page

Stylin Stampin' Inkspiration on FB

Have a wonderful day :)

Shellie 

Time to Make Memories and be in them TOO!

Merry Christmas Eve!  It's Kim here!  Today I wanted to show you a layout that I recently created with pictures from Christmas 2 years ago!

We all know that it's pretty important to capture the memories from Christmas Day and other days throughout the year.  You may document them in a different way than I did here, a traditional scrapbook page.  Or you may not document them at all...just save the pictures on your computer.

Whether you create scrapbook pages with My Digital Studio or you use Project Life by Stampin' Up!, there is ONE important thing that I want you all to remember this holiday season...

Give the camera to someone else for a while and BE PRESENT in the memories that are being recorded!

Your kids will want to see these memories with you included in them as they grow up!

So embrace the messy hair, no make up and PJs!  Because you will never want to forget the Christmas when your daughter (age 4) gave you butterfly birthday plates!!  I promise!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Now go embrace the day and take pictures of yourself!

Under the Tree ~ Tag a Bag or a Box!

Hi Stampers! It's Heidi from Stuck on Stampin' and I am SUPER excited to share with you some fun tags I created using the Under the Tree Tag a Bag Accessory Kit from the 2014 Holiday Catalog. 

The pieces for this kit come in a package like this...

And here it is all out of the package and with the tags punched apart. 

The coordinating colors for this kit are Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Crumb Cake, Pistachio Pudding, and Early Espresso. It comes with 10 large base tags, 10 builder tags, 10 mini clothespins, 1 spool of baker's twine, Dimensionals, and 5 self-adhesive strips.

I wanted to share with you the many ways you can tag a bag or a box. Stampin Up! sells some really cute packaging products, so I have taken a few of those and added a tag to them. I have used the packaging you see below, but there are many more to choose from and you can find them all HERE (including prices and how many come in a package).

Here is the complete ensemble I created using the Under the Tree Accessory Kit, some of the above packaging, as well as various stamps and punches. 

 

I wanted to take a picture of each of these up close so you can get a better look. For each picture, I will let you know some of the products I used in addition to the Under the Tree Accessory Kit. You will see that most of the projects use the Baker's Twine that is included with the kit, as well as the self-adhesive strips and mini clothespins. I just added all the other stuff for fun flair!

Stamp Set: Cheerful Tags

Specialty Paper: Gold Glimmer 

Ribbon: 1/8" Gold

Punches: Bitty Star

Stamp Set: Cheerful Tags

Punches: Star Border Punch, Bitty Star Punch, Tree Punch

Framelits: Stars

Stamp Set: Cheerful Tags

Ribbon: retired (oops!), but there is 1" Cherry Cobbler Sheer Linen Ribbon in the Holiday Catalog that would look pretty with this!

Stamp Set: Cheerful Tags, Endless Wishes

Specialty Paper: Silver Glimmer, Trim the Tree Paper Pack

Punches: Bitty Star Punch, Tree Punch, 1" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Scallop Circle Punch

Framelits: Bitty Banners

These three tags below I made simple on purpose. I wanted to show you that you don't always have to use the builder tags on top of the base tags. This means your tags can stretch you further! Just tie some twine in the corner or put a Dimnensional on the back and stick it onto the top of a present. 

Stamp Set: Cheerful Tags

Punches: Banner Punch

And now the rest of the tags I had fun making a little more extravagant!

Stamp Set: Cheerful Tags, Project Life Holiday Cheer

Specialty Paper: Champagne Glimmer

Accessories: Frosted Sequins

Ribbon: 1/2" Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding

Punches: 1-3/8" Circle Punch

Framelits: Bitty Banners

Stamp Set: Cheerful Tags, Endless Wishes, Festival of Trees

Specialty Paper: Trim the Tree Paper Pack

Accessories: Frosted Sequins

Framelits: Bitty Banners

 These next two tags are just "add ons". I realized I had two mini clothespins left, so I decided to just create a couple of my own base tags using the Tag Topper Scalloped Punch. 

Stamp Set: Cheerful Tags, Endless Wishes, Festival of Trees

Specialty Paper: Trim the Tree Paper Pack, Gold Glimmer, Silver Glimmer
Punches: Tree Punch, Star Border Punch, Bitty Star Punch

Framelits: Bitty Banners

I hope you were inspired by this kit today!! You really can do so much and I had a TON of leftover twine for lots of other projects!! The cost of this kit is only $7.95! Add it to your next order and have fun creating and making cute tags for your Christmas packages. 

And while you're at it...add some of the fun packaging products, too!! 

 Let me know if you have any questions! Thanks for coming by today!

Paper Loop Wreath and Tutorial w/ Cynthia

Good morning, Cynthia here from Ink a Doodle Creations.  Today I am sharing a fun little Christmas wreath I made to hang on my craft room door.  I had plans to make a different styled wreath but after getting inkspired by Breelin's post the other week with her cute little trees, I just had to do a spin off and create a wreath.

With just a few supplies you will be well on your way to creating your own.

Pick your pack of DSP and cut strips 1" x 4".

I used my finger and gave each strip a run down to help curl the paper to a natural loop shape.  Then I used my hot glue gun and sealed each end together.  This is the most time consuming part of the whole project.

After you have glued a bunch you can start by hot gluing each loop about 1/2" in all away around the wreath.

First section complete, now to start the second section.

Once again I started about 1/2" down but making sure to stagger each one in between the outside section loops.  Go all the way around until this section is done.

Now I didn't want to inside or the outside of my wreath to show the icky green foam part.  I cut #3 1-1/4" x 12" strips and #2 other shorter strips to wrap in the inside of and outside of wreath.  My wreath is about a 9" wreath.  Depending on the side you use, your strips may need to be wider than mine.

Second section is complete and I'm ready to glue the strips to the inside of my wreath.  When gluing make sure the glue does not go quite all the way to the edge at the top.  You want a short gap.

Repeat with the gluing of the loops to form the last section.  This time when you start, tuck about 1/4" of the end under the flap of the inside wreath ring.  It will hide the edge yuckiness (is that even a word)?!  LOL!

Once you complete the last section, you can decorate and finish off the wreath as you wish.  I wanted just a simple wreath to really show off the DSP, so I wrapped and attached a bow to hang from the center. 

Right now its hanging from my antique Boone cabinet in my dining room.  Its really looks awesome against the oak wood, it may have to stay there for a while!!

Supplies Used

DSP ~ nordic noel

Ribbon ~ cherry cobbler 1" sheer linen ribbon

Misc. personal trimmer, hot glue gun

I hope you have enjoyed my wreath with tutorial and it will inkspire you to go create your own!