Jul 22 2015

Loving the Sunset!!!

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Months ago I started working with an amazing couple who were planning their wedding! Their colors were those in a sunset – Real Red, Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango and Daffodil Delight. You know how much I love my bright colors!!! I really enjoyed creating the perfect wedding suite for this couple!!!

The invitation was a 5″ x 7″ Invite printed on Whisper White and then I used my Sponge Daubers to add all of those fun colors!!! My fingers did get rather inky but it was totally worth it!!!

I added some Silver Ribbon towards the bottom and stamped the scroll-y flower image from the Flowering Flourishes Stamp Set in Perfect Plum at the top!!! Then I layered it onto a piece of Melon Mambo!!! The Hotel Card and RSVP cards were printed on Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie respectively with the Perfect Plum stamped image on them as well!!!

How adorable are these? The Bride came up with this amazing saying that is a sweet as the cake pops they were attached to! The tags were printed on each of the colors – Perfect Plum, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Real Red, and Pumpkin Pie!!! I used the Label Collections (now retired) Framelits to cut them out and the little oval for the ribbon to slide through was created with the Chalk Talk Framelits!!! Love it!!!!

I really enjoy working with Brides and Grooms to create their perfect wedding! Each bride has such amazing ideas and I love it! You can check out some of the others I have created here! If you are getting married, planning a birthday party or anniversary party or any other type of celebration, let me know! I would love to help you create the perfect piece for your event – Invitations, Programs, Save The Dates, Place Cards, Favor Tags, and much more!!!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Jul 21 2015

Technique Tuesday – Masking!

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Happy Tuesday everyone!!! You know what that means…..I have a technique to share with you today! This one is fun….minus the fussy cutting……and super amazing!!! NOTE: Save the cut out flower in the stamp case for future use!!!!!

Isn’t this card stunning in it’s simplicity? You could use this technique for some many different styles of cards as well! Let’s get started on this masking fun!!!!

SUPPLIES NEEDED: Scrap Paper, Stamps, Ink

The supplies this week are super simple. All you have to do is stamp your image onto a piece of scrap paper. I used the flower from the You’ve Got This Stamp Set! You don’t need to cut it out perfectly or even exactly on the lines. You can do a general cutting around the edges cut. This is the hardest part……boo for fussy cutting! 🙂 Now this part you can do 2 different ways depending on your preference! I did the next step by placing the mask on my Whisper White cardstock and stamping the background image from the You’ve Got This Stamp Set over top. Your mask leaves an open spot for you to stamp the flower next without having the background image behind it! I had a stamper at class ask me how you would do it if you have the Wood Block You’ve Got This Stamp Set. For that, you would stamp your flower, lay the mask on top, and then stamp your background. This way you don’t have to worry about exact placement when stamping the flower. Now you are all set. Layer that onto a piece of Crumb Cake and then onto your Pool Party card base with Stampin’ Dimensionals! I thought the sides needed a little something so I finished the card off with a few pearls on each side!!! You could also rotate your flower the other way, adhere it higher on the card and stamp a greeting of your choice on the bottom!!! This card is perfect for lots of different occasions!!!

You could also do this technique and color in the flower or use a greeting in the middle rather than a flower. So many fun ways using the masking technique!!! If you would like to see this in action, check out my Video Tutorial below! Don’t forget to give it a thumbs up if you liked it!!!

Happy Maskin’

~Laura

Jul 20 2015

Hey Dude!!!

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Laura's Stamp Pad

I think I’m really starting to like Gray a little more lately! Do you ever have a color that you don’t use for awhile and then when you do, you find yourself reaching for it a lot??

For this card, I used a Whisper White card base. I took a piece of Bermuda Bay and ran it through the Big Shot with the Polka Dot Embossing Folder. Then I took my Sponge Dauber and colored the raised dots a little for a darker look!!! I love sponge daubers! I added that to the card front. I used the Banner Triple Punch to create the banner tips in the gray striped paper from the Neutrals Designer Series Paper Stack!!! For the circles, I used the Circle Framelits which layer so perfectly together. I stamped the Dude greeting from the April Paper Pumpkin Kit in Bermuda Bay and then stamped it a second and third time without re-inking the stamp. I love the ombre look! After stamping the Dude, I added in the Hey! Of course the circles were added to the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals! I thought it needed a little something more so I added the little bow with some Basic Gray Baker’s Twine! Does this mean it isn’t manly anymore?? Let me know in the comments below!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Jul 17 2015

Fabulous Friday and Some Fun!!!

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Happy Friday!!!! The rain is temporarily gone and oh my goodness the summer heat has arrived!!! Here in Illinois it has been in the upper 90’s with heat index way over 100. The worst part is the humidity and threat for storms. The best part is I don’t feel bad for staying inside in my Stamp Room because it’s too hot outside!!!! I hope you had a wonderful week and here’s to an amazing weekend but first the Weekly Deals!!!!

You may have noticed that Stampin’ Up! has added more items to the Weekly Deals each week but they have also put a cap on the amount of items they will sell at that sale price so be sure to shop early to get these amazing deals!!!

I also thought I would share some fun that I had recently with a great group of girls!!!

This groups of ladies had some family in town that wanted to stamp so we had a private class with some of the cards she had picked out from my bog!!! Some of the cards used retired product so I re-created them with some current stuff! Love it!!! We had an amazing time with lots of laughter and stamping!!! The Butterfly card can be seen here! I love the purple version and so does Debbie since that’s her favorite color!!! The Flip Flad card using the new Bohemian Designer Series Paper can be seen here! That adorable box card can be seen here! I think I love it more with the Cherry On Top Paper Stack!!!

If you would like to have a private class with you and your friends, just let me know and we can pick and date and time that works best for you – your place or mine!!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Jul 16 2015

Watercolor Wishes Card Kit!!!

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Okay everyone, you know I like to be honest with you on Stampin’ Up’s kits…..some are hard but still rewarding and some are not my style and some are amazing!!! PS: I still have the flower bouquet in my kitchen and I love it but memories of putting it together still haunt me. Oh my that was a long process! With the new Stampin’ Up Catalog came LOTS of kits and I couldn’t wait to try them all out!!! You can check out the Tin of Cards here which was lots of fun and the tin is adorable! Then there is the Sweet Stack Kit which I have assembled and will be posting about that next week but until then you can check out this video! Then there is the Watercolor Wishes Project Kit…….I LOVE this one for a couple of reasons. 1. It includes everything you need in the kit – stamps, embellishments, and ink!!!! 2. The Stamp Set is amazing. You know I’m a sucker for a scroll-y font!!! Then I made all 20 of the cards in 65 minutes and really fell in love!!! Here they are for you to check out and fall in love! Watercolor Wishes Card Kit, www.LaurasStampPad.com

I used the provided instructions a little bit but then added my own flare on a few of them. For example, I didn’t embellish that Hello card in the middle at all. Also, I LOVE ombre so I had to do that a few times as well! I think I mixed up almost all of the die-cut stickers as well because I didn’t like one of the color combinations and so that threw them all off.

Okay so looking back at that center card, I’m even more in love. It is just STUNNING in it’s simplicity and with a little bling from the sequins! Another card that I changed up was the one on the far left. I left off the heart wooden accents because I thought it looked like a great Man Card.

Here is the final set of all 20 cards…..by the way did you notice that it is 20 different cards and not X number of X style. Yeah, twenty different styles. LOVE IT!!! I did time myself just to see how long it took to do this kit and at the hour mark I still had 2 more to go so it ended up taking 65 minutes. That isn’t bad at all. The other awesome thing is look at all of these leftovers!!!!

Stampin’ Up always provided so much product in each of the kits. I still have Stampin’ Dimensionals, flowers, stickers, tons of Washi Tape, wooden accents and sequins left. Also, don’t forget I still have a fabulous stamp set and 2 ink pads. LOVE IT! To see all of the goodies in this kit, you can check out my Unboxing and Reveal Video here!!!! (Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube Channel because I’m almost at 1,000 and I will be doing a fabulous give-away when that happens)

Have you tried any of the kits? Which one is your favorite and why??? Let me know in the comments below!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Jul 15 2015

Punch Art – Lego Land!!!

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Laura's Stamp Pad

I love Punch Art and the many things you can create like my little lion, Kirby, Cozy Coupe, and Princess Peach!!! Today it is Legos!!!! Believe it or not, I did not make this card specifically for my husband (like all of the video game ones above). He does love Legos and could play with them for hours so it might end up going to him!!!

I started with a Whisper White card base and then took a piece of Basic Black (4″ x 5-1/4″) and ran it through the Big Shot with the Decorative Dots Embossing Folder! This gave the background the look of the lego board with all of the dots in it! For all of the lego pieces I used the 1″ Square Punch and the smaller circle from the Owl Builder Punch! I added the squares to the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals to give it some more texture. For all of the little dots on top, I used Mini Glue Dots! You can place them on the card in any pattern you wish! The colors I used were Pacific Point, Real Red, Daffodil Delight, and Cucumber Crush! To finish off the little lego pieces, I took the White Chalk Marker and added a little swish to make it look like it had shine! It is as simple as that!!!

Who would you like to give a Lego Card to???

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Jul 14 2015

Technique Tuesday – Rock & Roll…or Ink & Pounce??

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Happy Tuesday, stampers!!! I hope your week is going well! Today is Tuesday so that means I have a fabulous technique to share with you. I’m loving this one because of the amazing colors!!! Of course you could pick any 2 colors to do this technique! I picked Melon Mambo and Rich Razzleberry!!!! Let’s Rock and Roll!!!!

So I have always known this technique as the Rock and Roll Technique where you in the stamp up in a lighter color and then rock and roll the stamp on a darker color in pad to get those edges inked up. Welcome to Laura’s Stamp Pad and the love of Sponge Daubers….this is now called Ink & Pounce! I can make up any name for it, right? Let’s get started!

SUPPLIES NEEDED: Background stamp or any large solid stamp, 2 ink pads, Sponge Daubers

I used the background image from the You’ve Got This Stamp Set and inked it up in Melon Mambo. Then I sat the stamp down and took my Sponge Dauber and Rich Razzleberry Ink and pounced all around the edges!!! I prefer this method because then any excess Melon Mambo ink is going into my sponge dauber and not my ink pad. Also since this image isn’t perfectly round or the exact shape, I don’t have to worry that a spot didn’t get any Rich Razzleberry. Once you have both colors on your stamp, flip it over and stamp it down onto some Whisper White cardstock! It’s that simple! You could always add in more colors, create an ombre look going light to dark, or camouflage with a few colors. You can have fun with it and create lots of different looks! I stamped the greeting from Lovely Amazing You in the center with Stazon Black Ink. For the ribbon, I used the New Melon Mambo Satin Stitched Ribbon and tied it around a piece of Rich Razzleberry cardstock (1″ x 4″). I added that to the white carsdtock and then placed it on the Melon Mambo card base! Simple and yet super fabulous! Who else is loving these colors???? What colors would you pick?? Leave me a comment down below!

To see this in action, check out my Video Tutorial below! Don’t forget to give it a thumbs up if you liked it!!!

Happy Pouncin’

~Laura

Jul 13 2015

Bridal Shower Beauty!!!

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Laura's Stamp Pad

I love weddings and being in love and gathering with friends and family. That is exactly why I had an amazing weekend celebrating the love of my two friends at their Bridal Shower!!!! I mentioned it on Friday and many of you requested photos so I will share (even though it was done with the retired Something Borrowed Designer Series Paper)! I loved the neutral color of the paper so I thought this was my opportunity to add in Pool Party for that look I’ve been dreaming to create!!!

Here are the invitations for the Bridal Shower! I printed the inside on a Whisper White card base. I layered a piece of the Something Borrowed Designer Series Paper (3-3/4″ x 5″) onto Pool Party cardstock (4″ x 5-1/4″). I added a 4-3/4″ piece of Whisper White Cotton Ribbon across the paper, adhering the ends to the back. Then I layered this onto the card base. I created the little bow with Pool Party Cotton Ribbon and the Fork Bow Technique! Click here to see the video tutorial! I added the bow to the card with a Mini Glue Dot! The greeting was punched out with the Large Oval Punch and layered onto a punched Scallop Oval Punch! I added that to the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals! I stamped a little flower from the Sprinkles of Life Stamp Set on the envelope to make it just as adorable!

Here is a close up of the invite!!! Now on to decorations!

To keep the theme going with the Something Borrowed Designer Series Paper (DSP) and Pool Party colors, I stamped some greetings from the Endless Birthday Wishes Stamp Set onto Pool Party cardstock. I punched these out and layered them onto a scallop circle of the DSP. I put two of them back to back with a toothpick between and some Stampin’ Dimensionals to place in the cupcakes! I also punched lots of different sizes of circle punches in Whisper White, Soft Sky and Pool Party cardstock to lay all over the dessert table! Also, I created little food tags with a piece of 4″ x 4″ Pool Party cardstock folded in half and a little 1/2″ x 2″ piece of the DSP on the left side! It was really cute!!! Of course I had to add in a photo of the beautiful Bride and I! 🙂

My gift was a Project Life 12″ x 12″ Album which had pictures from our dress shopping adventure. I will be creating pages for the Shower and all of the other events leading up to and including the wedding. I’m use the Love Story Card Collection which is perfect for her album because she is using Black, White and a pop of Red! This collection is black, white and gray so I only need to add in the red!!! I added in the Journal Pens and these coordinating Thank You Notes as well!

It was a wonderful afternoon!!! I can’t wait to celebrate even more in October!!!

In love,

~Laura

Jul 12 2015

Pastel Perfection!!!

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Laura's Stamp Pad

This is a new color combination I reached for and I am loving it!!! I know I’m usually a Brights Girl but every once in awhile I go light!! This card uses Mint Macaron and Blushing Bride! The soft colors make this card perfect for weddings, baby, sympathy, thinking of you, birthday, and everything in between! I love it!!!

I started with a Mint Macaron card base and just started adding layers. The Blushing Bride layer is 4″ x 5-1/4″ and the Whisper White layer is 3-3/4″ x 5″. I used the You’ve Got This Stamp Set for the images and Endless Birthday Wishes for the greeting! I adhered the white stamped piece to the Blushing Bride and then I wrapped the Mint Macaron Lace Trim around and tied a double knot. I am really loving this lace trim and I’m not really a lace person. This stuff is super easy to use, adorable and yet elegant, stretchy and thin so it lays flat. It is awesome!!! I layered the decorative piece on the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals!

What do you think of the color combination? What occasion would you use this card for? Let me know in the comments below!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Jul 10 2015

Fabulous Friday & Bridal Fun!!!

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Happy Friday everyone!!! This was a great week of getting things done! A little more sun and a lot less rain would have been nice but I guess you can’t have it all! 🙂 I’m super excited for the weekend because we will be celebrating the upcoming wedding of my best friend!!! Her Bridal Shower is this weekend and I can’t wait to see it all unfold. I did her Invitations, Decorations, and Thank You Notes with the, now retired, Something Borrowed Designer Series Paper from the Occasions Mini Catalog. Once I saw that paper, I knew it would be perfect. Do you want to see it all even though it is retired? Leave me a comment down below and maybe I’ll share!

But first, it isn’t a Friday without the Weekly Deals!!!

I love that Stampin’ Up has added so many goodies to the weekly sale list!!! There is something for everyone in there. My favorite this week has to be the Whisper White Stitched Satin Ribbon!!! This is just a gorgeous ribbon as it is but you can always your your spritzers to make it any color you wish!!! I love that!!! My second favorite is the Floral Framelits!!! You can see some samples using them here and here!

Also, do you love punches as much as me??? I did a Video Tutorial this week with some tips on how to use your Stampin’ Up Punches!!!! You can check that out here!!!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!!!! See you back here on Monday!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura