Stampifer's Blogspot

Mother's Day

2010-05-01T21:41:00.000-07:00

Wow. Blog's a little dusty... Anyway Mother's Day is near and my mom wanted to get together this weekend and make cards but she is getting over a cold :-(. So she's been making cards by herself at home and I've been *trying* to do the same. Here is a simple card using the Top Note die. I have been wanting to make a quilt card since I first saw it on splitcoast and here it is! This card is very easy to make. Just cut out patterned paper into 1 1/4" squares and adhere to a piece of cardstock slightly larger than the top note (I think mine was 4" X 5"). Then run your paper through the Big Shot (I prefer face down, so the 'stitches' on the Top Note stay pretty). Next ink the edges of your Top Note and adhere to card.

Voila!

I used SU's stitched felt pieces to embelish but you could use anything you have lying around. This is a great way to use up leftover patterned paper. For instance this is Bella Birds, you may notice the In Colors are from two years ago. Luckily, they're coming back! Yup, in case you haven't heard, Stampin' Up is revamping its color scheme, incorporating some new colors and getting rid of some old ones. I'm excited for the change, though I haven't looked through my stash and figured out what exactly is getting the boot just yet.

Well thats all for now, enjoy your spring and Happy Mother's Day!!!

Yes, he's here!!

2010-01-29T19:19:00.000-08:00

Born: January 21st, 2010 Height: 22 inches Weight: 8 lbs 6 oz

Nathan David Borchardt finally arrived last week on my birthday!! He was born January 21st at 12:58 pm via cesarian section. After being induced to make my contractions stonger and closer together little Nathan's head still refused to drop into my pelvic cavity, turns out there was no way he could! The opening of my pelvis is too small for a baby's head to fit through so the only way I will be able to have children is to have c-sections. I am dissapointed that that is the case, but I'm so thankful that Nathan came into this world perfectly healthy, and happy that the doctors knew what they were doing. I feel great, I'm healing up nicely and am loving our new addition!! I could stare into his face all day long, and for the most part that's exactly what I do!

I hope you all are doing great as well!! Please feel free to call or email me if you need anything. Don't forget, it is Sale-a-Bration (wow, I almost forgot myself!) so if you'd like to order anything and want to save on shipping let me know so I can roll it into my next order, or you can order 24/7 on my website and have your items shipped directly to you.

Have a great day!!

Stampin' Up! - 12 Days of Holiday Sales

2009-12-13T17:24:00.000-08:00

Dates: December 11-22, 2009

Item Page # Description Regular Price Discounted Price

114515 195 Flower Burst Embosslits die $11.95 $8.96

114516 195 Cherry Blossom Embosslits die $11.95 $8.96

115957 195 Thanks Embosslits die $11.95 $8.96

114513 195 Sweetest Stem Embosslits die $11.95 $8.96

115952 195 Hi Embosslits die $11.95 $8.96

115951 197 Timeless Type Junior
Alphabet Medium Sizzlits die $74.95 $59.96

113446 197 Build a Flower
#2 Set Sizzlits 4-Pack die $19.95 $16.96

114509 197 Big Bold Cupcakes
Sizzlits 4-Pack die $21.95 $18.66

113448 197 Hearts Set Sizzlits 4-Pack die $19.95 $16.96

113457 198 Tulipe Bigz die $21.95 $16.46

115954 198 Two Tags Bigz die $21.95 $18.66

114524 199 Fringed Flower Bigz die $19.95 $15.96

114523 199 Decorative Accents Bigz die $19.95 $15.96

114534 199 Flower Bigz Clear die $19.95 $15.96

113473 199 5-Point 3D Star Bigz die $19.95 $16.96

113472 199 Circle 3D Ornament Bigz die $19.95 $16.96

113470 199 Flower Layers w/Leaf Bigz die $19.95 $16.96

113465 199 Bird w/Leaves and Flower Bigz die $19.95 $16.96

115961 200 Perfect Setting Bigz XL die $42.95 $32.21

113483 200 Pennant Bigz XL die $39.95 $29.96

113484 200 Baskets & Blooms Bigz XL die $39.95 $31.96

116760 201 Pop-Up Three Tier Cake Bigz XL die $39.95 $29.96

116759 201 Pop-Up 3D Ball Bigz XL die $39.95 $29.96

114890 201 Matchbox Bigz XL die $42.95 $36.51

113458 202 Flower Layers Originals die $15.95 $13.56

114336 158 Kraft Décor Elements
sheets 12" x 24" (2) $12.95 $10.36

114334 158 Dark Gray Décor Elements
sheets 12" x 24" (2) $12.95 $10.36

114337 158 Chocolate Décor Elements
sheets 12" x 24" (2) $12.95 $10.36

114335 158 White Décor Elements
sheets 12" x 24" (2) $12.95 $10.36

118797 n/a So Saffron Décor Elements
sheets 15" x 24" (2) $12.95 $9.71

118798 n/a Rose Red Décor Elements
sheets 15" x 24" (2) $12.95 $9.71

118799 n/a Taken With Teal Décor Elements
sheets 15" x 24" (2) $12.95 $9.71

118800 n/a Pretty In Pink Décor Elements
sheets 15" x 24" (2) $12.95 $9.71

118801 n/a Bashful Blue Décor Elements
sheets 15" x 24" (2) $12.95 $9.71

118802 n/a Real Red Décor Elements
sheets 15" x 24" (2) $12.95 $9.71

118803 n/a Old Olive Décor Elements
sheets 15" x 24" (2) $12.95 $9.71

118804 n/a Black Décor Elements
sheets 15" x 24" (2) $12.95 $9.71

118805 n/a Night of Navy Décor Elements
sheets 15" x 24" (2) $12.95 $9.71

118806 n/a Certainly Celery Décor Elements
sheets 15" x 24" (2) $12.95 $9.71

118807 n/a Tempting Turquoise Décor Elements
Sheets 15" x 24" (2) $12.95 $9.71

118808 n/a Clear Décor Elements
sheets 15" x 24" (2) $12.95 $9.71

118809 n/a Pumpkin Pie Décor Elements
sheets 15" x 24" (2) $12.95 $9.71

118810 n/a Pixie Pink Décor Elements
sheets 15" x 24" (2) $12.95 $9.71

118812 n/a Sahara Sand Décor Elements
sheets 15" x 24" (2) $12.95 $9.71

118813 n/a Gable Green Décor Elements
sheets 15" x 24" (2) $12.95 $9.71

118814 n/a Basic Gray Décor Elements
sheets 15" x 24" (2) $12.95 $9.71

118815 n/a Chalkboard Décor Elements
sheets 15" x 24" (2) $14.95 $11.21

Advent Calendar Class

2009-12-08T15:40:00.001-08:00

The Winner!!

2009-12-03T23:58:00.000-08:00

Thanks everyone for voting and helping me decide which Thank You cards to make for our baby shower! The M&Ms won by a single vote! I used mini m&ms on my test card (on the far right), because they were the only candy I had in the house at the time, then switched to regular m&ms for the rest of the cards because those minis are expensive!!! I enjoyed eating the leftovers, and any of them that fell on the table while I was trying to fill the cups, but I had to get these babies sealed and mailed as soon as I made them because they were in danger of being eaten the longer they were here! They actually didn't cost that much to mail, I think it was in the $1.50 (each) range or so, and we are in the process of handing some of them out to the people we see often, to save on postage. They were fun to make, and while I figured sponging out all those cloudy blue skies would be the most difficult part, tying those tiny little red bows was the real challenge! The ribbon was actually one long piece, whereas if I was attaching it to a layer, I would have taped it to the back and used a glue dot to stick the little bow on. But I think they turned out fabulous and I have already gotten a few thank yous from people who have received their thank you cards, lol!

Which One??

2009-11-14T21:37:00.000-08:00

I want the people who are helping Chris and I prepare for baby Nathan to feel appreciated, so I wanted to make our Thank You cards EXTRA cute!! I just can't decide which card I like better! On one hand, I have been wanting to make a onesie card for a very looooong time, I think they are so cute! On the other hand, this adorable Sweet Centers stamp set has been totally neglected since I bought it -I've only used it once or twice- and I think it makes an amazing card. Let me know which one you prefer, you can vote on the left of the page. Thanks!!

By the way, if you want the instructions to make this adorable onesie card, go to Lauren Meader's blog: http://laurenm.blogs the post date is Feb 5, 2008.

Happy Fall

2009-11-01T19:44:00.000-08:00

I love fall!! It was definitely my second choice as the season to get married in (spring won). With this last wind storm a large branch came off our tree in the backyard and fell into two of our neighbors' yards. Chris went over to apologize and throw the branch(es) back over, we felt terrible! I feel pretty bad for our poor tree as well, we have one mature tree on the property and it seems to lose a large branch every year! So here is a card showing my love for beautiful trees in the fall:

I made a little card-holder-upper to match out of a large library clip, isn't it cute? The set is Season of Friendship, the sentiment is Teeny Tiny Wishes. I used the word window punch to cut a window out of the front of the card, then I punched the word window out of a peice of scrap dusty durango paper as well. I then used the modern label punch and also cut out of the dusty durango scrap, centering the word window inside. Then I just glued the little outline of the modern label over the hole I already punched in the card. I used my crafter's tool kit to cut a little slit in the fold of the card so the ribbon could go all the way around the front flap of the card. The designer series paper used here is Autumn Meadows from the holiday mini. Take the time to enjoy this beautiful season!!

Baby Shaker

2009-10-03T20:48:00.000-07:00

That just sounds wrong doesn't it?? This is a shaker card for my friend who just had a baby. I used the Movers and Shapers die to create the heart window in the card. Might just use micro beads next time, the seed beads kinda get stuck.

October Club Projects

2009-10-02T22:18:00.000-07:00

This month is all about In Colors and the Movers and Shapers die. I LOVE this die because you can use it to make so many fun cards, such as a shaker card, or a suspension card (like the one in the pic with a star in the center), or half-cut cards (the one with the heart). The dies all coordinate with the punches, and the cutout for the die makes a great mat for the punch, since it is just a tiny bit larger. And of course I cannot take credit for the adorable mini tissue box pictured in the front, a fellow SU! demo came up with that one!

Sorry about the photo here, my desk is a little messy!

September Club Projects

2009-09-10T17:21:00.000-07:00

This month its all about the Sweet Centers! I wanted to show the versatility of this stamp set, I think it has a lot to offer. I hope you like the projects, and hope to see all you club members this Saturday!

Club Projects

2009-08-27T19:31:00.000-07:00

Here are this months club projects....
The one in front is a tea bag holder (tea not included). The one in the background uses the dry embossing technique. If you want to see the swaps I received at convention as well as the make and takes we made, I'll have them out for you to peruse before we start or after we are finished. See everyone this weekend!

Melissa's Shower Invites

2009-08-27T19:20:00.000-07:00

My friend Melissa is having a baby girl! She came over so we could design her shower invitations together. These were the two options we came up with, she ended up liking the one on the right more. I used my cricut to cut out the crown and star. We just attached the star to a thin strip of cardstock to make it look like a wand. The star and crown are both glittered and popped up with dimensionals. We used sticky strip over the vellum to attach it, then covered and burnished it with glitter. The bottom panel reads "We are tickled pink and pleased to say our new little princess is on her way!"

2009-08-12T22:22:00.001-07:00

Today we had our first ultrasound. It was amazing. Within seconds we got a glimpse of our SON's winky (anatomical term provided by ultrasound technician). Here are some of the pics of our little baby BOY!!!!

Back from Convention

2009-08-10T02:09:00.001-07:00

Whew!! Well Chris and I decided to start the drive home late Saturday after convention rather than leaving Sunday morning, so we got home a day earlier than expected. We (mainly he) drove most of the night, stopping for short naps and breaks. I am really glad to be home finally and am ready to start making some of the beautiful projects showcased at convention.

But before that, let me tell you a little about my first convention experience! Every morning began with a gathering of all attendees in one room as speakers came to share stories and fabulous project ideas. They also frequently gave away prizes to demonstrators with the winning color/pattern wristbands. I was not one of the many lucky winners :-( but just the prospect of winning was a lot of fun!

There is about an hour between the time seating begins and when the session starts, this is the time to socialize or swap. I stayed up late the night before FINISHING my swaps (yes, I waited until the last minute!) and had only finished about a third of them at that. It worked out, gave me a good number of cards to swap each day (about 25-30 per day). Here is a picture of my swap, I again used the baby wipe technique on the Good Friend bird, I just think this bird is so big he needs a little somethin' added to him, like multi-colors! I embossed the sentiment with versamark, basic black ink, and clear embossing powder. I got my replacement bermuda bay reinker and pad just in time to make these.

One of the first demonstrations was of My Digital Studio, Stampin' Up!'s new digital scrapbooking program (which some demos won for FREE!). I must admit, I was not even a little bit excited about this program before I saw it irl. I really didn't understand digital scrapbooking (do you print it? do you just view it on the computer?) but NOW I see why I NEED to have it! You DO print digital scrapbooks, and you can even design the covor to match, and you can print as many as you want. So if I designed a scrapbook of my family, for example, and my mom wanted the same scrapbook, I could either print it myself or have one exactly like it printed for her! Also the printer that SU! has decided to go through has calibrated their machines to match SU colors exactly, so if you wanted to add 3D embellishments after the printing process, you could! You can also change the size of the stamps and punches you use to fit your project. Can you tell I'm sold on this??? This program is not available for demo purchase yet but I am definitely excited for it to come out asap.

After the main stage event, the demostrators split up into their respective tracks to make the groups more manageable. We were told by Shelli (CEO) that there were so many make and takes, we might not have time to finish them all before we move on. So we were told to stamp all of our images for each project before we punched/cut them out, and then put them all together. I was positive she was just talking to the slow pokes, so I went ahead and did one project at a time, working as fast as I could. Well....... I didn't quite get ALL of them finished in time. In fact, I would say I got about half of them done. But it gave me something quick and easy to put together when I got home!!

I definitely can't remember all the fabulous points of convention right now, but those were the highlights! Rest assured I'll be talking about it for months to come. I really hope to make it again next year, of course it may be a little more complicated with a baby in the picture! For any of you who are curious, I am feeling great (especially now that I've caught up on my sleep) and my first ultrasound is coming up this Wednesday woohoo!

Game Cake

2009-07-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

Hi All! I can't believe that convention has snuck up on me so fast! I am leaving (by car) to Utah August 4th and will be driving back the 8th or 9th. I was originally planning on making the trip alone, but Chris has decided to come with (yay!!!) so the long hours on the road won't be so long. This is going to be my first time at convention since I signed up as a demo a little too late last year to get my ticket. I'm sure I'll come back loaded with fresh ideas!

Okay, on to this cake. I made this favor cake for Chris' grandma's birthday party/family reunion earlier this month. I have been waiting for an excuse to make it ever since I first saw it!

The party was a casino/game theme and I had no idea how to decorate it at first. It was actually Chris' idea to use hearts, clubs, spades and diamonds! I got to dust off my old cricut in order to make the matted hearts and diamonds on the lower tier. I didn't have a cartridge for spades and clubs, though, so I made those with my punches. I used the short fat heart from the Heart-to-Heart punch for the spade, with a leg of the star punch glued underneath. For the clubs, I used the 1/2" punch and another leg of the star punch. My fingers were all gluey at the end of this project! To make the clubs and spades look layered, like the lower tier, I traced around each one with my white signo gell pen once they were already attached to the pieces. I made the dice by cutting up little squares with my paper cutter and rounding the corners. I just hand-drew the dots on each on, then glued them to just one flap of each piece, so they would be reclosable once you took the candies out. This was meant to be a three tier cake, but two was enough for the amount of people we had over for the party. If you want the pattern for this cake, let me know and I'll email it to you.

Shaker Card

2009-07-13T19:38:00.001-07:00

I made this shaker card using my Movers and Shapers die, a good die for this technique. The cupcake stamp is from the Party Hearty set, the sentiment is from Wow Flowers. I used the new Razzleberry Lemonade dsp, Crystal Effects to attach some of the microbeads to the cupcake as sprinkles, Melon Mambo and Crushed Curry cardstock. If you want to know how to make a shaker card, go to splitcoaststampers.com, click on "resources", and scroll down until you find "shaker card". Have Fun!

3X3 Notecard Box

2009-06-18T18:50:00.000-07:00

I made this box for these little 3X3 notecards and envelopes. I like using these tiny cards when I give a gift and a full size card is not necessary. You can find the instructions for this box on Splitcoast of course, it is called a Mini Pizza Box, and it can house treats or small gifts as well as notecards. I used the new stamp set circle circus, available July 1st, as well as kraft, real red, and the new in-color as of July, bermuda bay, card stock.I also used the new modern label punch to punch out the sentiment from teeny tiny wishes, both available July 1st.
Remember, you can order any of the retiring stamp sets and available accessories until June 30th. If you like, you can go straight to my DBWS here: http://jen_borchardt.stampinup.net/ to order anytime, day or night.

June Club

2009-06-04T13:12:00.000-07:00

Here they are, the projects we'll be making at this month's club meeting. All of these sets are retiring, the one on the left is Blooming with Love, center is A Little Birdie Told Me, and the card on the right features Heartfelt Thanks.

The Last Chance List

2009-06-02T21:55:00.000-07:00

Well here is the last chance list from Stampin Up! Remember these items are available while supplies last until June 30th. You can find the list here:

http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/Retired_Lists_0609_US_num.pdf

And the list for Last Chance Accessories can be found here:

http://www.stampinup.com/us/enu/14892.asp

UPDATE FROM SU!
The following stamp sets have been removed from the Last Chance Stamp and Accessories Lists:
114494 Forever
114492 Beautiful Baby
114486 Birthday Wish
114490 Glad Friends
114498 Flowers in Silhouette
114496 Celebrations
114488 Fun Flowers
114032 Acurelas Maravillosas

Also, the following items were added to the Last Chance Accessories List and will be available while supplies last:
116209 Note of Thanks
116210 Birthdays Count

Club Projects

2009-05-02T21:56:00.000-07:00

This card is held together at the fold with the pink pirouette ribbon, then scored just beyond the ribbon so it can be opened. I used stamps from the set Garden Whimsy on pg 89. The paper is called confetti white, one of my favorite neutrals.

This is a fathers day card using the occasions mini set And Many Mower on pg 20. You can view the occasions mini catalog online by clicking the book in the upper right corner there. The card is pacific point cs, the designer paper is maine blueberry, but it turns out that maine blueberry is retired (oops!) so we'll use its near identical twin from the urban garden paper pack to replace it. The inside reads "RELAX!" . Don't need a father's day card but have a man's birthday coming up soon? You can switch out the sentiment for Happy Birthday from the same set.

The flower petals are punched out using the full heart punch, then crumpled up and stuck together with a brad. I covered the brad with a 1/2" circle punch in a contrasting color. I can't take credit for this technique, I found it on scs! I put the flowers on the pull-out card with sticky strip so they won't fall off. I used the eyelet border punch for pot's rim.

If you're on scs you probably have seen this card before. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go check it out! http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ I love this site, it has great ideas for everything you can think of, and tons of templates so you can make them yourself!

Wedding Cake

2009-04-24T15:19:00.000-07:00

I made this card today for a wedding I'm going to tomorrow (talk about last minute!). The dimensions of the card base are 5 1/2 X 5 1/2. The birds are from the Love You Much stamp set, they are colored using blender pens. The dsp is from the Bella Birds set, and I used some taffeta ribbon over that. The hearts are cut out using the heart to heart punch, then embossed with my big shot and a texturz plate (small dots). I colored the grooms "suit" on with a black journaling pen, I also sorta outlined a "dress" on the bride using Crystal Effects mixed with glitter (I mixed the two ingredients in an empty reinker bottle). There is also a tiny bow in the bride's hair, I made that by cutting a sliver off a piece of scrap taffeta ribbon, tying it in a knot, and attaching it with Crystal Effects. I stamped the definition-together- in rose red, it is from the Define Your Life stamp set.

Seaside Scallop Note Card Holder

2009-04-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

I made this cute little scallop note card holder that I found on Mary Fish's Blog here: http://www.stampinpretty.com/

I used the stamp set Seaside on pg 97 of the catalog. I also used my new aqua painters and watercolor paper. I took a college watercolor class several years ago. Clearly I've forgotten everything I learned there. I used my versamark pen to outline parts of the shell on the front and then embossed with clear embossing powder.

CAS Birthday

2009-04-17T22:58:00.000-07:00

This 'Clean and Simple' card was made using one of the texturz plates in Backgrounds 1, as well as buttons #5 sizzlit. The stamp is from the mini note kit on pg 208 of the current catty. Right now, you can get the kit for free if you order $40 in merchandise from the occasions mini catalog!

Post It Note Holder

2009-04-17T22:48:00.001-07:00

This cute little post it note holder is so easy to make! You can find the tutorial here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/news/comments.php?id=881_0_1_0_C

Of course we'll also be making them tomorrow for our club class. The stamp set used here coordinates with the scallop oval punch on pg 8 of the new Occasions Mini catalog. If you spend $40 on merchandise this month from the Occasions Mini you can also get a free item from the "Under $10" section on page 208 of the current catalog. Hope you enjoy!

Groovy Birdie

2009-04-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

I'm so happy to finally be starting a hostess club! I can't wait to get started, and I hope all the club members are as excited as I am! This will be one of our first projects, hope you like it...

The bird is stamped using ink refills dropped on a folded baby wipe. The baby wipe is then used as a stamp pad. Versamark ink is used for the background. The inside of the card reads "Nobody is better qualified!"

Recipe: Good Friend stamp set, Smarty Pants stamp set, tangerine tango reinker and stamp pad, pacific point reinker and stamp pad, kiwi kiss reinker, baja breeze reinker, pacific point striped gg ribbon, tangerine tango cs, baja breeze cs, whisper white cs, kiwi kiss cs.

New Blog

2009-04-17T13:39:00.000-07:00

So I finally decided to start up a blog so I can share some projects with family and friends. I always enjoy browsing other people's blogs and seeing what they're making. If you see a project you like and would like more information on how to make it, let me know and I'll be glad to send you a link with instructions. Please enjoy and come back often!