K is for Kits

September 15, 2016September 18, 2016 ~ Jeanie Stark ~ 3 Comments

Welcome to my ABC’s of Stampin’ series. Today I am going to share with you one of my favorite Kits…Watercolor Wishes. This kit is just gorgeous with pre-watercolored designs. You get an exclusive stamp set and materials to make 20 cards!

Check out this video showing the Watercolor Wishes Kit.

This kit has it all: 20 card bases and envelopes, die cut pieces and flowers, 2 different color inks, washi tape, sequins, wood cutouts, Stampin’ Dimensionals, detailed instructions, an exclusive stamp set and an acrylic block! I LOVE this exclusive stamp set! lt is so versatile with 1o different sentiments and some hearts. I have used it many times!!!

I am going to be totally honest and admit I bought the kit just because I had to have this exclusive stamp set. However, when I opened the kit and saw the beautiful watercolored designs I fell in love. (It was like a bonus!) You can easily make the cards just like the instructions (as seen in the video) or use the contents and do your own thing. I had so much fun making these alternative ideas.

I hope you enjoyed these ideas. Click HERE to see all the exclusive kits and shop my online store. Here’s my Back to School Special for today…With the purchase of the Watercolor Wishes Kit, I will send you my “accessory kit” (which includes ribbon, die cuts, jewels, and glue dots) to complete the alternative ideas shown or to use on other cards with this amazing stamp set. 🙂 Remember to use the Hostess Code 7CNZAUYM when you check out. (I’ve included a visual below to show you where to enter the hostess code.) Don’t forget to check out the updated Clearance Rack and Special Offers this week from Stampin’ Up!

Thanks so much to everyone who played along with my contest,” J is for…”. I had so much fun reading your responses! Congratulations to Kathi Royce! She was the first to respond and she guessed it right! The early bird gets the worm (well in this case the “jewels”). Kathi, email me (j.stark@myactv.net) your address and I will send you a package of Stampin’ Up Jewels. Check back tomorrow to see the fun fold pocket card I made to send Kathi her prize!

Have a wonderful day! Share some handmade kindness!

Just Stampin’

Jeanie

special-offers

J is for Jewels for the PALS Blog Hop

September 14, 2016September 14, 2016 ~ Jeanie Stark ~ 13 Comments

2016badge-cucumber

Welcome to the Pals Blog Hop for September 2016. We are thankful you stopped by to take a look at our new 2016 Blog Hop monthly themes. This month our projects represent our favorite year end Season. It may be Autumn, Winter, Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas (and maybe even a combination!) We hope to provide you with lots of ideas and that you enjoy our creations.

You may just be starting the Blog Hop or may have come from the previous link from the Line-up on the Pals Blog Hop listing shown below. The full lineup will help you move along from blog to blog so you may see all the projects.

I made this card using Hang Your Stocking stamp set and matching Christmas Stockings Thinlits Dies. You can purchase these as a bundle and save 10%! The stockings on the stairs and textured “wallpaper” remind me of my childhood.

Can you guess my favorite year end season? I have to say it was actually tough to choose. I grew up in New England and love the change of seasons. I am one of 6 kids and there was always something fun and exciting to look forward to. Once we started back to school it was football games, homemade costumes for trick-or-treat in the neighborhood, Thanksgiving day floats and parades, weekend ski trips, baking, decorating, getting ready for Christmas, and lots of fun family traditions. Our family home didn’t have a fireplace so our stockings were hung on the stairs. I remember making our “hooked” stockings. (I still have mine and one I made for my husband.) We would draw names to secretly fill each other’s stockings. We would make little gifts and shop sales all year long. We all tried to give the best stocking gifts. Here’s my homemade stockings and some cute little “stocking stuffers” I monogrammed with jewels.

If you are new to my blog, I have been sharing the ABC’s of Stampin’ and today we are on the letter J… J is for Jewels. I love the impact you get from these little gems! I’ve used them on all my projects today!

I shared the details for these mini composition books (and matching pens) during my Back to School series. You can click HERE to see. (Come back after you finish with the Hop!) These make great gifts to give to teachers, coworkers, friends, kids, even your favorite fast food employee who fixes your coffee on the way to work each day.

I love to give homemade gifts and often it’s all about the presentation. The other day I shared a video how to make these custom gift boxes. Here’s one I made that hopefully will fill someone with Joy.

I used 12 x 12 Cherry Cobbler cardstock and This Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper for the box. I wrapped it with the new Cherry Cobbler Silky Taffeta Ribbon (page 20 in the Holiday Catalog) and made the tag using the Pine Boughs Embossing Folder and Scalloped Tag Topper. I sponged the embossed pines to make them stand out. I cut out the Joy from the Wonderful Wreath Framelits.

Thanks for visiting. To continue with the hop, please refer to the Blog Hop Line-up below. We hope to see you on next month’s Pals Blog Hop!

Blog Hop Line-up:

I is for Ink (and an Incredible chance to win some blog candy!)

September 13, 2016September 18, 2016 ~ Jeanie Stark ~ 16 Comments

Welcome to my ABC’s of Stampin’ series. Today I am going to share some tips and tricks for using Stampin’ Up! Ink pads.

I love the nice clean image you get using Stampin’ Up!’s firm foam ink pads!

Watch this short video for some tips and tricks and how to reink and stamp using the firm foam stamp pads.

I use one of the extra labels from the bottom of the ink pad to put the color label on the inside of the ink pad (just like she showed in the video). This makes it easy to see what color I am stamping when the ink pad is open. It really helps when you are using several different colors for a project and they all look dark.

You could also use the extra labels for file folders to store your scraps or punch a circle with the 1/4″ hole punch to color code the ink refills. Simply punch and stick or you can punch cardstock and attach to the top of the ink refills with a glue dot. Either way works. It makes it so easy to quickly find the right color.

Did you know you can use your ink refills to refill your Stampin’ markers too? There’s a couple of ways you can do this. The first way is to simply open the cap and put a few drops of ink directly on the brush tip. How easy is that?! Or you can use a pair of tweezers and pull the brush tip from the marker, put it in a cup, and add a few drops of ink on top to get it good and juicy. Let it sit a few minutes then use your tweezers to gently put it back in the marker. Just be careful not to damage the tip of the marker. Grab it under the tip to remove and return to the marker. Don’t throw away your marker if it dries up! Just reink it!

I have had many people ask which black ink they need to use for their projects. Here’s what you need to know.

The Basic Black Archival Ink pad is not a firm foam pad, it is a fabric pad. It is a pigment ink which means it will not bleed and it will not fade over time. It is my go to black ink pad especially for stamping sentiments.

The Memento Tuxedo Black Ink is for your photopolymer stamps. It is a water based ink and does not harm the stamp! You would also use this if you are using alcohol-based markers to color.

The StazOn is a solvent based ink and is used if you are going to stamp on porus surfaces. It is a permanent ink. I use StazOn when I want to watercolor a stamped image because it is waterproof. You would also use this if you want to color with your Stampin’ markers as it will not bleed.

If you are going to color in an image it is important to use the right type of ink based on what you are going to use to color with. Think “Opposites Attract”.

Water-based coloring, use Alcohol-based ink (StazOn).

Alcohol-based coloring, use Water-based ink (Memento).

I love that Stampin’ Up! carries a variety of ink so we have just what we need for any project. What’s your favorite ink color? I love so many it is usually whatever color I’m using that day.

Stamp sets: Crazy About You, Tin of Cards Inks: Bermuda Bay, Basic Black Papers: Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Pop of Pink Specialty Designer Series Paper Tools & Accessories: Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Bermuda Bay Stitched Ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush

My Back to School Special for today is a FREE ink refill of your choice for every $30 you spend (before tax & shipping). Remember to use the Hostess Code7CNZAUYM when you check out. (I’ve included a visual below to show you where to enter the hostess code.) Click HERE to go to my online shop to see the all the ink colors, refills, and more. Be sure to check out the CLEARANCE RACK and SPECIAL OFFERS as new items have been added and updated today!

Tomorrow is the Pals Blog Hop! I hope you will stop by and check out all the amazing talent! I can not post any non Stampin’ Up! specials on the Blog Hop so there will not be a Back to School Special for tomorrow. So… Let’s have some fun today with a chance to win some free blog candy! Leave me a comment what you think “ J is for…” and the first person to guess correctly will receive a little gift from me. Comments must be received by midnight (EST) tonight to qualify. You can only enter one guess. I will announce the winner on Thursday but you can check tomorrow’s post to see if you guessed correctly. 🙂

I hope you have an Incredible Day! (Get Inky!)

Just Stampin’

Jeanie

special-offers