Sep 30 2013

Magnificent Maple!!

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Laura's Stamp Pad

This one little single stamp is so amazing – Magnificent Maple! Look how amazing this card is with the maple leaf randomly stamped on the background and then highlighted on the Soft Sky circle! I love how the blue plaid piece of Sweater Weather Designer Series Paper, Champagne Glimmer Paper, and Natural Trim Ribbon make this card pop and look so rustic. And I love the use of blue on this fall card rather than the usual browns, oranges, and yellows!!

Here is another similar card using the Champagne Glimmer Paper, Sweater Weather Designer Series Paper and Natural Trim. But this time I colored the Maple Leaf with my daubers. Check out the technique here! I hope you enjoyed these cards and it got you into the Fall mood! Post in the comments of any projects you are have created with this stamp set!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Sep 27 2013

Introducing My Digital Studio…on my blog!!!

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Laura's Stamp Pad

My Digital Studio is digital software for you to create fabulous projects using the same Stampin’ Up colors, stamps, and embellishments you already love. You can create cards, scrapbooks, calendars (perfect for Christmas gifts), and much more! Every Tuesday, Stampin’ Up comes out with new fresh downloads which can vary from a template for your Family Tree Photo Album to your next Birthday Party accessories (invites, banners, tags, cupcake flags, napkin rolls, and more.) You can also create your project by picking cardstock and placing a stamped image on there and hitting print! Here are a few of my latest projects:

This card was created using many products you are use to seeing but I was able to change the sizes and make them work for my card. For example, I used the Decorative Label Punch for my names and I increased the size of the black one so it would border the entire white label. Another great feature is the items never retire even when the real one does in the catalog. Baroque Motifs stamp set is (was) one of my favorite stamp sets but it has retired.

This project was created with one of the templates – For the Bride Ensemble. The sample template for this shows up in yellow and gray but I love PINK so I changed the color! You can create so many different projects it is so much fun! You can even use this for a Birthday Party or even just a regular card, just change the wording!

You can try out My Digital Studio (MDS) for 30 days for FREE by clicking here! You can purchase it after the trial or now by clicking here!

I will be posting more projects soon! Be on the lookout!

Happy Digital Stampin’

~Laura

Sep 26 2013

Spooky Halloween with Photopolymer Stamps!

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Ok I know I’m crazy but I admit I don’t like Halloween! It’s scary. You could say Boo to me in the daylight and I will probably scream. I am also not a fan of bats, spiders, or witches and vampires. Halloween has just never been a Holiday that I get excited about. I do love making treat bags for our (like 5) Trick or Treaters that we get though. And I do LOVE Pumpkin but I move that to the Thanksgiving Holiday which is one of my favorites! But even though I don’t like Halloween I know many many (many) people out there LOVE IT and Stampin’ Up! has just come out with an amazing stamp set!

Our Photopolymer Stamps are amazing too! Super sticky and completely clear for great placement on a project. Also, it is only $13.95 which is a steal! So while I am not a fan on spiders, I do think this web is super cool. Thinking about stamping it on black and heat embossing it so it has that raised shiny look! Oh yeah! Loving it! Get yours today so you can get started on your creepy crawly Halloween projects!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Sep 25 2013

Try a New Designer Series Paper?

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Stampin’ Up makes some AMAZING Designer Series Paper! Even the patterns that don’t catch my attention right away, it is caught after seeing a fabulous card or project using it.

This is one of my favorites – Natural Composition Specialty Designer Series Paper. It is only 1 sided (thank goodness, then I don’t have to worry about which side to use)! It is all clear embossed too!!! How fabulous is that? Embossing can really make a project pop but let’s be honest that thought goes away sometimes when I think about having to dig out the powder and the heat tool. There are 6 different designs – woodgrain, musical notes, all over flowers, flowers in the corner of note paper lines, damask, and another flor-de-lies type pattern. You can add some color to this paper with your sponge daubers and it will pick up the color in the non-embossed areas like this sample below!

Super fun to add color to each of the flowers too! You know how I love flowers! I hope you give this paper a shot! It is amazing the more you play with it! TIP: The paper comes in 12″ x 12″ sheets, use pieces on your card that are 3″ x 4″ or 2″ x 4″. When using increments like that you will get more out of your paper with fewer scraps left over!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Sep 24 2013

Technique Tuesday – Shaker Cards

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Laura's Stamp Pad

It is Tuesday and so I’m sharing a fabulous technique with you!!! This week it is Shaker Cards!!!!

I so wish that you all could shake this card while reading this post so you could really see how cool these cards are! But since you can’t, you are just going to have to take my word for it! The Champagne Glass Glitter that you see covering part of the leaf actually shakes around inside a little sealed area! Super cute and fun! And Stampin’ Up has these things called Shaker Frames so it’s super simple too!

You will need: Cardstock, a Punch to create your window, Window Sheets, Shaker Frames, and confetti of some sort (Glitter Glass, small punched out shapes, anything)

Basic Instructions: Stamp your image onto a piece of cardstock (this will be the image in the window). Place a Shaker Frame around the image (could be the entire image or just part of it). Pour in your confetti and place the Window Sheet on top to seal the confetti in. Take another piece of cardstock and punch an image out (this will be your window) and place on top of the window sheet to hide the window sheet edges and shaker frame.

You can use all kinds of punches and images and confetti! The possibilities are endless and they are super fun the shake around and admire! I hope you try out shaker frames and share your thoughts or questions in the comments below!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Sep 23 2013

My Family Reunion!

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Yesterday was my big family reunion and when I say big I mean BIG!

This is only a little bit over half of the family! I love having a big family and when we all get together it is a good time. There were about 97 people in total at this family reunion. Every year I take a group picture of each of the “families” (the photo above is all of my Grandpa’s “family” which is his kids and grandkids and great grandkids). Then I take pictures of my Grandpa’s brother’s families as well. I have created a scrapbook with these photos each year and listed the names. I’m not going to lie, some people aren’t labeled because I don’t even know who they are. That is on my to-do list though! 🙂 This year, I just asked the group after the photo was taken so I could complete the page! It’s so crazy to see how the families have grown and I’m so happy to be able to have these memories. Scrapbooks are such a treasure and a keepsake! I am also working on a “Family Tree” album which consists of family pictures and stories. It has been amazing to get the stories about my family – hearing where they came from and how they lived. It is so amazing and I can’t wait to pass it along to my children (future children….this is not my pregnancy announcement. 🙂 )

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend too!!! Happy Monday and Happy Scrapbookin’!

~Laura

Sep 20 2013

Flutter by Butterfly!

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Laura's Stamp Pad

I love butterflies so much! As a kid I remember watching them, running after them, trying to catch them, and caging caterpillars in hopes to watch it turn into a butterfly! And now as an adult, I still enjoy them! Butterflies are colorful and beautiful and I think they can brighten anyone’s day!

I made this fabulous Butterfly Frame with the Beautiful Wings Embosslits! I used lots of my paper scraps (who doesn’t have a million of those around) and used every Stampin’ Up! color! I love how it turned out and then I added a few pearls in there too! Gotta have some bling! This is hanging right inside the door to my stamp room! I love it!

This fabulous card is super quick and simply. Just take a few markers in any colors and start inking up your butterfly, stamp it down, layer it onto your card and Voila! You are all done and have just created a beautiful, bright and simple card! This card doesn’t even need a greeting so it could be used for any occasion! This card uses the Swallowtail Stamp!

This last card is actually a shaker card! The bling in that center butterfly moves around under a clear window sheet! Check out my Technique Tuesday next week to learn more about Shaker Cards! This card uses the Papillion Portpouri Stamp Set and Elegant Butterfly Punch!

There are lots of other butterfly items too – Beautiful Butterfly Bigz Die, Bitty Butterfly Punch and wheels and more!! And don’t forget about the Butterfly Bundle this month! You get 15% off when you purchase the bundle this month!!!

Hope you have a bright and cheerful day after seeing all these butterflies!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Sep 19 2013

Build a Banner Simply Created Kit & More!

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Laura's Stamp Pad

From the moment I first saw the Holiday Mini Catalog I knew the first thing on my wish list was the Build A Banner Simply Created Kit.

1. You got the entire alphabet templates for less than $20.00.

2. You got 3 patterned templates that are super cute (chevron is HOT HOT HOT, I love polka dots, and stripes are always a hit).

3. You also got canvas banner and a twine (pre-punched and riveted) AGAIN all of this for less than $20.00!

I was sold and purchased it immediately. It finally arrived and I ripped it open (if you know me, you know I rip into packages, mail, presents, etc like a lion eating dinner) and looked at all of it. I was impressed and couldn’t wait to start creating. I will say that the kit comes with 2 spritzer bottles and while I like using those to spritz a project, I didn’t find them to be the best use for these. When I did it, I made a huge mess and over spritzed and the lines didn’t come out crisp because I had over-saturated it. So I added the spritzers to my collection and pulled out my sponge daubers (oh how I love these)! I loved how the lines were crisp and I could dauber more and more for a darker look without over saturating and making a super huge mess.

And because these alphabet templates are so amazing, I used my daubers on cardstock and made this fabulous card! Love love love this kit and it is so worth the $20.00! Oh, one more thing, you can get the words SPOOKY, THANKFUL, and JOY out of the kit with still one banner left. That is decorations for THREE Holidays! I’m telling you, this kit is amazing!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Sep 18 2013

Trick or Treat?!?!?

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Laura's Stamp Pad

While I’m not a huge fan of Halloween, I do enjoy the candy!!! We don’t get a lot of trick-or-treaters out where we live but the ones we do get are spoiled! I love making adorable packaging for my candy!!! It is super fun and so cute! I, also, send yummies to all of my nieces and nephews because who doesn’t love getting mail AND candy?

This little bag is one of our new Muslin Bags from the Holiday Mini Catalog! They are just the right size for a small gift, candy, or homemade treat! I decorated this bag with the Simply Created Create-A-Banner Kit using the polka dot template and my sponge daubers! You could always add some ribbon and a tag too! Don’t forget these would be fabulous for a countdown to Christmas as well. Put the little treat in the bag for each day! And the best part is that the bag is big enough to hold just about any small gift (rather than those little bitty boxes usually used for the countdown)!

This little bag is actually a thick paper bag (Tag A Bag Gift Bags) perfect for a cookie or other handmade treat, gift card, or Stampin’ Up buttons, brads, etc. I used the Tag A Bag Accessories Kit which includes the fabulous printed tags and Baker’s Twine! It also comes with self-adhesive strips which are perfect for closing up the back of the bag. Simple and cute! Hope these ideas help you with your Holiday Treats!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Sep 17 2013

Technique Tuesday – Core’dinations Cardstock

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Laura's Stamp Pad

It is Tuesday and so I’m sharing a fabulous technique with you!!! This week it is Core’dinations Cardstock!!!!

So I don’t feel like the picture above showcases the Core’dinations Cardstock very well but I can tell you it’s super cool! This cardstock is different from the regular Stampin’ Up! cardstock. The Core’dinations cardstock is a little bit thicker and the center of the cardstock is a lighter shade of the cardstock. This way when you use the Sanding Blocks on the cardstock to rough it up, you will get a dual color look. You can also run it thought the Big Shot with an embossing folder and then rough up those embossed edges and really get a fabulous textured look! Check out this post with a great man card using the Woodgrain Folder!

This photo shows the Core’dinations cardstock much better! I did this Christmas Card twice but I “stepped up” the one card by using the Core’dinations Cardstock rather than regular cardstock. You can see that the card on the left has a lighter color around the mosaic image and it gives the card a little more texture and color. The card on the right was embossed with the same embossing folder and while it looks amazing too, it doesn’t have that antiqued look and texture.

So all you need for this technique is the Core’dinations cardstock!!!!! You can use it alone and tear the edges to show the lighter color underneath! You can also use it with your Sanding Block and Embossing folders! I hope you try it out soon!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Laura's Stamp Pad

Laura Borchert ¤ Independent Stampin' Up!® Demonstrator ¤ Laura@LaurasStampPad.com

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Magnificent Maple!!

Introducing My Digital Studio…on my blog!!!

Spooky Halloween with Photopolymer Stamps!

Try a New Designer Series Paper?

Technique Tuesday – Shaker Cards

My Family Reunion!

Flutter by Butterfly!

Build a Banner Simply Created Kit & More!

Trick or Treat?!?!?

Technique Tuesday – Core’dinations Cardstock