trends in papercrafting

Sometimes it's fun to be trendy... run with the IN crowd. Just be sure to put down your craft scissors before you run.   ;) 

This card is the "cat's meow," and has some of the latest craft trends all over it! I started with the idea of wanting to make a card using blues and purples. Then I thought giving it sort of an ombre look would be great. And you can't leave out chevrons or flags. Throw in some Baker's Twine and a good amount of white space, and you've got yourself one of the hippest cards in town! 

I used the Tasteful Trim Bigz XL die to cut scraps of (from top to bottom) Wisteria Wonder, Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum, Baja Breeze, Island Indigo, and Pool Party card stock. Wisteria Wonder Baker's Twine tied into a bow around the 1-1/4 x 2-1/2" Pool Party DSP looks pretty darn cute. 
What? What stamp? Oh! You want to know where I got that neat-o greeting that's stamped in Elegant Eggplant? Um, yeah. That's from an awesome (and very trendy!) Hostess stamp set in the upcoming catalog. That's right, Banner Greetings is a Hostess stamp set. Why? Because we know that you want to be like all the other super-cool people and host your own stampin' party so you can get cute, trendy, free stuff too! C'mon... you know you want too...   ;) 

the cards I don't like to make

I had an appointment with my eye doctor a few days ago. As I was paying my bill and chatting with the receptionist, I noticed a collection of obituary notices on her desk. One of her duties is to check the obituary section of the paper, and then to mail sympathy cards as needed to patient's families. That must be the most depressing part of her day! 
So to make her task a tiny bit easier, I thought I would stamp some pretty sympathy cards for her to use. 

Sympathy cards need a clean and simple design (Love & Sympathy stamp set), a subtle background (Netting Background stamp), and soft colors (Perfect Plum, River Rock, Elegant Eggplant). 

I skipped the fancy embellishments and kept my use of Dimensionals to a minimum so that extra postage won't be needed.  

Well, I have a super busy day ahead, including the Veteran's Day assembly at the school and helping a little at the church.  TGIF  :}

Halloween card and project kit

Yesterday was a busy day for me, ending with a fun night presenting at the team meeting held by my upline's upline. I enjoyed demonstrating some of the new features in MDS2. 

Did you know you can get 31% off 31 digital content options and most of our print products through September 14th? With digital goods on sale and the 30-day FREE trial of the software, now is the perfect time to enter the digital designing craze and see what it's all about. 

What's on sale?
*ALL cards, photobooks, individual pages, and tags. That's right: print any photobook, board book, swatchbook, individual pages, greeting card, postcard, trifold card, or tag - all for 31% off.

*Some of our best digital content. 30 downloads and 1 content disc. Yup, that equals 31. 

Want to try out the program with a little help? If you live in the Decatur IL area, I will be teaching a digital class on September 8th. Check out my calendar of events for all the details. 

At the end of last night's meeting, we got to stamp four cards! Here's the super cute Halloween card: 

stamp set: Bootiful Occasions

ink: Basic Black Craft ink

card stock: Basic Black, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White

DSP: Howlstooth & Scaringbone 

Embossing Folder: Spider Web 

Pumpkin Pie 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon; Black Stampin' Emboss Powder; Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter

Now that you are thinking about how fun Halloween projects are, don't forget that you can get this awesome Halloween project kit - which includes the Toxic Treats stamp set! - for FREE!! 

What a fabulous deal!! All you have to do is join my team of fun stampers! You get to choose up to $125 of product, and pay only $99 +tax... you don't even have to pay shipping! Stampin' Up! has extended the offer through September 16th, so you still have time to email me (jenn.inklings@gmail.com) with any questions. And if you are local, we should probably answer them over coffee ;}

more team-meeting projects

Hello stamping friends! I'm playing a little catch-up this week, but it feels good to be back into my stamping groove. I have two projects to share with you today, both from my August team meeting.

I really wanted to use the Flirtatious Designer Fabric to make a cute rosette, like the one I learned to make with my Convention Make-and-Take projects. (Yes, I have actually finished every single Convention project... first time ever!) I am really enjoying using the new Wisteria Wonder, so I turned to my Color Coach, which suggested I add Lucky Limeade and Elegant Eggplant. To make the fabric rosette, I used a 1" x 12" strip of fabric. First, tie a knot at one end, and adhere to the center of a square cut from a Sticky Sheet. Using every ounce of coordination you have, twist the fabric strip at the same time as you wrap it around the knot, pressing it into the Sticky Sheet. Trim excess Sticky Sheet, and adhere the rosette to your project. On this card, the rosette is adhered to Elegant Eggplant card stock punched using the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch.
I stamped the stem image from Raining Flowers in Lucky Limeade ink onto Lucky Limeade card stock, and slipped a piece of Flirtatious Specialty DSP (that matches the fabric -- LOVE that!) behind that layer before attaching to the Elegant Eggplant layer. The sentiment from Curly Cute is stamped in Elegant Eggplant ink.


This card is from my "Workshop in a Bag" treat I got at Convention. It uses the Note Cards, which are great to have around in your stamping stash for quick little projects. You get twenty 3-1/2"x5" pre-cut and pre-scored notecards, plus envelopes... awesome!

While the card looks very fancy, it's really quite simple. Just be sure to stamp your image with StazOn® ink if you are going to color it in. This pretty little cupcake is from Easy Events - a great "covers-everything" kind of set. I used a Blender Pen with Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Peach Parfait, and Wild Wasabi to color the cupcake; the cake stand is colored with Pool Party.
Here's a close-up of the "bling":

To get a little sparkle on your projects, tap your 2-Way Glue Pen onto the chosen area, and sprinkle on some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter. So pretty!!

Elegant Eggplant

Good morning! Today's card from the Color Coach is Elegant Eggplant. As noted in my last post, the Color Coach lists the "Dynamic Duo" as Elegant Eggplant and Perfect Plum. The "Creative Combination" colors are Elegant Eggplant, More Mustard, and Garden Green. The "Sweet Set" colors are Elegant Eggplant, Melon Mambo, and River Rock.