Gorgeous Sunflower Ensamble!

I dearly love this time of year, when you can get huge boquets of sunflowers!  They are such glorious, happy, striking flowers, and their colors always inspire me!  Last Sat, I was at the local farmers market and found a vendor selling sunflowers by the stem -- a variety of colors.  Oh My!!! A large boquet later, I was on my way! feeling oh so happy. :)
I've been working on some projects we will make at my next stamping class on Sept 10th at 10 am -- Stamping On Marble Tiles -- and this new Sunflower background stamp we have, is striking for this project!  Without further ado....

I love the wall decor tile featured in the last photo.  It has a warm, slightly vintage feel to it, and goes nicely with earthy tones.
To make these tiles, simply ink up your favorite stamp with Stayzon ink -- ink it really well! -- then stamp onto a tumbled marble tile (find them in the tiles section at Lowes).  You don't want a slick tile, as the ink won't stick to it well, so look for the tumbled marble tiles.  Before you stamp, use a dry cloth to dust off your tile.  After you've stamped your image, use Q-tips and dip them into Stampin' pastels to pick up the color of your choice -- then rub it onto your tile in the desired areas.  Keep adding color until you are happy with the result, then use a cotton ball and burnish your image all over to rub the color in, and remove excess dust.  When you're all finished, let your tile dry for several hours, then take it outside (to avoid toxic fumes) and spray your tile several times with Krylon clear Matte sealer.  Let tile dry a little between coats.  And, that's pretty much it!  If you spray your tile too soon after stamping, the ink can run a bit, so best to let it dry for a little while, and when you do spray it, kind of "mist" it a bit at first -- rather than drenching it.
Supplies:
Tumbled marble tiles
Black Stayzon ink
Krylon clear matte finish
Sunflower background stamp
Stampin' Pastels
Buttons to embellish with

Happy creating!

Sweet Floral in Emboss Resist

These cards were inspired by a card I saw on splitcoaststampers -- http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/2028019?cat=fav  I absolutely love the effect created here!  First, I stamped a Vanilla panel with the En Francais background stamp in Crumb Cake ink.  I swiped my embossing buddy all over the panel, then, stamped Sweet Floral in Versamark ink on top.  Embossed that with clear embossing powder, then sponged either Marina Mist or Cajun Craze ink and Early Esspresso ink all over the images using sponges and sponge daubers as well as direct-to-paper with my ink pads.  Finally, I used a tissue to rub over the embossed images to remove the excess ink.  The little butterflies are from the Beautiful Wings embosslit, and of course, I spritzed them with my home made Champagne shimmer mist to make them sparkly.  I plan to make a wall decor project using this idea and the Fancy Fan letterpress plate that I have recently purchased.
To make the copper colored pearls on the top right corner of the Cajun card, I used my trusty brown Sharpie to color my pearls.  Love how easy it is to change the look with just a pack of colored Sharpies!!!
Supplies:
Card stock: Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, Marina Mist, Early Espresso
Ink: Marina Mist, Early Epresso, Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Versamark
Stamps: Sweet Floral, En Francaise, Tiny Tags
Accessories: retired chocolate chip 5/8" grossgrain ribbon, Marina Mist Satin ribbon, Tiny Tag punch, Beautiful Wings embosslit, Basic Pearls, Early Espresso bakers twine, champagne shimmer mist
Enjoy! and tell me what you think! :)

In Love with "Sweet Floral"

Another new treasure -- the "Sweet Floral" background stamp -- pg 151 of the catalog.  This stamp was another must have for me, when I first saw the new catalog in July.  AND, it didn't disappoint! It is even prettier in real life than in the picture...  I created three different cards in the little space of "creating time" I had this week.  Here is the first one -- I used the water color crayons directly on the stamp to make this muted water colored look.  Simply spritz your stamp with water, color directly on the stamp with your crayons (here I used Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive crayons), then stamp onto water color paper for best results.  This technique takes some practice, as you need just the right amount of water -- too much and it is gloppy,  too little, and the image won't stamp.  However, it is worth the practice as the results are really great when you "get it".

Supplies:
Card Stock: Rich Razzleberry, Pear Pizzazz, water color paper, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, water color ctayons
Stamps: Sweet Floral, Cute and Curly
Accessories: Ribbon Lace punch, Modern Label punch, Houndstooth embossing folder, Basic Pearls, Rich Razzleberry marker and color spritzer tool

Stamping on Marble Tiles!

 My next class is on the books!  Reserve your spot now to make these one-of-a kind projects! 
Saturday, September 10th at 10 am -- my house.  Here are all the details. 

Come to the "Stamping on Marble Tiles" class to learn all the ins and outs of creating stamped marble coasters, trivets, or wall decor decorative tiles.  You can choose to make either a set of 4 marble coasters, OR 2 trivets or wall decor tiles (as shown at left), plus a fancy wine or bottle tag.  These tags are the perfect accent to dress up any bottle -- bath salts, olive oils, vinegars, wine, etc. -- for a lovely gift presentation.  And, the stamped tiles are a truly unique, fairly cost effective gift idea as well. 
There will be a variety of stamps to choose from, so your tiles can be uniquely yours.  I have ordered the new Sunflower background stamp, which will work perfectly for this project.

Cost is $15.  ***Definitive RSVPs only, please, as I have to purchase all the tiles in advance.  NOTE: RSVP deadline closes 2 days before the class so I can purchase the necessary supplies.***  Space is limited to the first 10 to RSVP.  You can RSVP on my meetup site -- here's the link: http://www.meetup.com/Flathead-Valley-Stampers/events/29436051/

Hope to see you and your crafty friends soon!

Stampingly,

Beth Anderson
For those of you who haven't been to an event lately, my address has changed -- to get to my new house, go North on Stillwater Rd (at the round-about) off of Reserve Dr.  Stay on Stillwater and follow it around to the left around the Gravel Pit.

Turn Right on Jossie Lane (you'll see a line of pine trees) -- we are the first house on the left

"Field Flowers" Class Project

When I first opened the new SU catalog this year, the new set, "Field Flowers" was at the very top of my wish list.  It is a 2-step-stampin' set which means, you first stamp the more solid flower image in a light colored ink, then stamp the outline flower image in a darker ink directly on top -- giving such a great dimension to your flower.  Of course, with the new clear-mount stamps, it makes it SOO much easier to get them lined up just perfectly WITHOUT having to use a stamp-a-ma-jig.  Anyways, this is a card we did at my New Catalog Open House back in July.  Also featured here is the new Lace Ribbon punch.  This punch is very detailed, and takes a bit of Umph to push it down.  I find it works best if I set it on my desk top, and then stand up to punch it.  The results are so stunning, though, it is well worth the effort!

The colors used here, are Pool Party and Island Indigo -- two new In Colors released this year.  I love how well they go together.  The stems are stamped in Wild Wasabi.  Of course, for that extra special bling, I added some Basic Rhinestones to the lower right corner, and Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the flower centers (using the 2-way glue pen to adhere it). 
The background of the card is stamped with the French Filigree background stamp in Pool Party ink.  We also used the color spritzer tool and a Wild Wasabi marker to make the speckled background.  This tool takes a bit of practice to get the exact look you're going for -- try moving the marker slightly up or down to get a varied concentration of "speckles".
As always, Happy Stamping!

Tim Holtz look, using SU inks!

First of all, THANK YOU! for all the kind comments about my last posting!  I always love to read each and every one!...

I received another beautiful card from my friend, Audrie, in Seattle, and was inspired to create my own version of her card.  (I don't have a photo of her card to share, but all of the design credit definitely goes to Audrie Magno-Gordon -- look up her blog, it's GREAT!)  To create the "Tim Holtz" type of background, I used Lucky Limeade and Pool Party ink pads -- drug them across the white panel until the color was pretty solid.  I then let it dry a little, and stamped the flowers in Black Craft ink -- this gives the flowers a more opaque look.  They would look even MORE awesome if I had embossed them with clear embossing powder, but that wasn't in the cards for today. Ha ha! :)

It's hard to see in the photos, but I embossed a Pool Party panel to place over the Pool Party card base -- I used the new Houndstooth embossing folder on one of the cards.  Also featured here, is the NEW ruffled ribbon in the Pool Party color!  It adds such a classy touch!  Of course, once again, I reached for my Basic Pearls -- and also spritzed my card with my home-made shimmer mist! (rubbing alcohol and Champagne Shimmer paint in a misting bottle!)
Supplies List:
Card Stock: Pool Party, Basic Black, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White
Inks: Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Basic Black, Craft Black
Stamps: Just Believe, Tiny Tags
Lace Ribbon Punch, Pool Party ruffled ribbon, Basic Pearls, Ticket Corner punch, Houndstooth and Sqaure Lattice embossing folders

Happy Creating!!! :)