May 21 2018

Stuffed Animal Sweetness!!!

Posted on May 21, 2018 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Happy Monday!!! Today, I’m sharing this adorable card that is fulled with stuffed animal sweetness. Aren’t these little things just precious?!?!?

While this card did require some coloring, it was a fairly quick and simple card to make multiples of! Probably out of the 3 different baby Thank You notes, this one was the easiest. You can check out the others here and here!

I started with a Whisper White card base. Next, I layered on a piece of Powder Pink patterned paper from the Fresh Florals Designer Series Paper Stack (retiring) measuring 4″ x 5-1/4″. For the focal point, I stamped the stuffed animals from the Baby Moon Stamp Set (retiring) in Memento Black Ink. Using the Stampin’ Blends, I colored the little ones in. I didn’t really do any special blending, just colored and had fun. I did use both the light and dark marker on the bear for his face. Then I stamped the greeting below the animals from the One Big Meaning Stamp Set (retiring). Finally, I layered this piece onto a piece of Powder Pink and added it to the card front using Stampin’ Dimensionals. You know I need a little texture on my card and I just love Stampin’ Dimensionals. 🙂

Since I made a lot of these, I needed lots of the designer paper. The Fresh Florals pack is perfect because there are lots of sheets in each of the In Colors so I just picked out all of the Powder Pink sheets and used the different designs. Which one do you like best – more Powder Pink with the fan pattern or more Whisper White with the floral pattern? Let me know in the comments below!

Many of the items I used for this card are retiring at the end of the month. Don’t wait too long or they will be sold out. Some of the retiring items are even on sale up to 50% off! Woot Woot! Click here to check out all of the items and shop!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Product List

Moon Baby Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[143085]

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

[132708]

One Big Meaning Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[139420]

May 18 2018

So Many Cards for Ronald McDonald House!!!

Posted on May 18, 2018 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Happy Friday!!! Another week down and today is Ziggy’s OFFICIAL due date! Woot woot! This date seemed so far away and now it is here! It is crazy how time flies and stands still all at the same time. Hopefully she will be arriving soon! Until then, let’s chat and get through this Friday with some fun! Check out this – so many cards for Ronald McDonald House!!!

After last post about sending off tabs and cards to Ronald McDonald House, I got even more donations. Look at all of these amazing cards! I decided since it was a stuffed box full, I was going to go ahead and send them off rather than hold them till my little Tab House was full again. There are actually a few houses in the St. Louis area so I made sure to pick one of the others. Trying to spread the love and make sure they all have cards for their guests to use while visiting or living there! #sudifferencemaker We all know the power of a hand made card…..or any card for that matter. I love being able to spread the love and I really appreciate you all jumping in too! If you would like to donate cards or tabs, you certainly can send them to me or find your local Ronald McDonald House by clicking here!

I thought I would share this fun photo of class where we made the Welcome frames! It was so much fun that evening and as you can see everyone did their frame a bit different but they all look amazing! I love it! This month has been hard not having classes and seeing all of my stampers. I can’t wait to get back into classes after I get my new routine down with Ziggy’s arrival. Stay tuned for a Girls Night Out Event in June for the New Catalog and hopefully regular classes are back in July.

Only a few more weeks left to purchase items on the Retiring List. Some of them are discounted now too……up to 50% off! Woot Woot! Click here to check out all of those items!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I hope Ziggy arrives! Stay tuned! See you back here on Monday!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

May 17 2018

Avoid Duplicate Stampin’ Up Product With This Tip!!!

Posted on May 17, 2018 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Today, I’m sharing a tip to help you avoid duplicate Stampin’ Up product by keeping track of what you have in a quick and simple way. This will also help you when you go to a party or class and you are wondering what you have at home already! We have all been there where we really love something and accidentally buy it twice. I have been tracking my stuff this way for a few years now and it seems to work really well for me!

I simply mark the item in the catalog with a big X when I buy it! Now I understand this might not work for everyone or it might give you heart palpitations to mark up your catalog. You could always go smaller with a little X over the name or writing “have” next to it.

This works for me because:

~I always have my catalog with me so then I know what I have and don’t have.

~This gives a nice visual of the stamps, the name, and the ordering number all in one place.

~There is no need to type up the information on your computer and remember to print it off and stick it in your catalog. Then it falls out and you can’t find the list or you forgot to hit print or just typing out the name isn’t enough for you to know what the item is. When someone asks me about a random stamp set by name, I immediately go to my catalog to see what it looks like. This helps me so much more as I am a visual person!

Another tip I have is to mark all of the items that are retiring when the list comes out at the end of the catalog. Again, I’m a visual person and looking at that long list of items is just crazy to me. I sort the list my page number and go through and mark the items with a different color. My 2017-2018 Catalog is green and red and I wrote with that color in the front so I would know which is which. As you can see in the photo above, No Bones About It is in my collection and it is retiring this month! Both a red and green X makes me sad but I always remember more fabulous goodies are coming out soon so there will be new stuff to play with! 🙂

I hope you try this out and see if it works for you! Of course, everyone has their way of organizing and what works for one might not work for another. I wanted to share mine in hopes to help even just 1 of you out. This works for me and avoids frustration on ordering duplicates and helps me see what I have and still NEED (or want). hehe

If you would like to see all of this in action and my big 39 Week Ziggy Belly, check out the Video Tutorial below or click here! Be sure to give the video a thumbs up if you liked it and don’t forget to subscribe if you are new. If you would like a notification when I post a new video, be sure to click the bell right next to the subscribe!!!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

May 16 2018

Thank You Beary Much!!!

Posted on May 16, 2018 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Today, I wanted to share another card that I made for baby thank you notes. This Thank You Beary Much card is just so precious!!! Baby Bear looks so real and soft and cuddly! 🙂

Isn’t this teddy just adorable??? He is a 3 step stamped image but I used the Stamparatus and it was smooth sailing! I love that tool!

I started with a Crumb Cake card base. Next, I took a piece of the Springtime Foils Designer Series Paper from Sale-A-Bration (no longer available) and cut it into a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece. Then, I took a piece of Whisper White measuring 3-1/2″ x 3-1/2″ and stamped the teddy bear from the Baby Bear Stamp Set! I used the Stamparatus for perfect placement especially since I was making multiples. I started with image #3 in Early Espresso Ink. Next, I used Soft Suede for image #2 and then Crumb Cake for image #1 (more solid image).

I was able to do 2 images at the same time and then I ran through for the last stamped bear image. It went fairly fast actually since I didn’t have to focus and line up each bear myself. This way I could watch a movie while stamping or let me mind wander. 🙂 After all, stamping should be relaxing and fun and not stressful! Once the bear was stamped, I layered it onto a piece of Powder Pink cardstock and added it to the card front with Stampin’ Dimensionals for some texture!

For the greeting, I cut out some Powder Pink and stamped the greeting in Early Espresso Ink. Using the Triple Banner Punch, I punched both ends and added a little knot of ribbon. I love that Powder Pink Shimmer Ribbon for a little bit of bling and shine! The greeting was added with Stampin’ Dimensionals too!

Since I made so many of this style of thank you note, I used different sheets from the Springtime Foils Paper Pack. Which is your favorite – dots, stripes, or floral?? Mine is the dots! I just like that random dotted look and the rose gold color! Leave your favorite in the comments below!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Product List

Baby Bear Photopolymer Stamp Set

[141859]

Powder Pink 3/8″ Shimmer Ribbon

[144151]

Early Espresso Classic Stampin’ Pad

[126974]

Soft Suede Classic Stampin’ Pad

[126978]

Crumb Cake Classic Stampin’ Pad

[126975]

Stamparatus

[146276]

May 15 2018

Technique Tuesday – Layering Embossing Folders!!!

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Happy Tuesday, everyone!!! You all know that means I have a fabulous Technique to share with you! Today, I’m sharing the basics of embossing folders and the difference between regular and dynamic ones! It came be frustrating figuring out the layers for each so you don’t break your Big Shot or drive yourself crazy! Been there before which is why I thought I would do this post! 🙂

Both folders in the photo above look very similar and create a stunning embossed image. You might notice that when you order a folder, some are super thick and different from ones you have received in the past. These are the folders with a SUPER long name – Lovely Floral Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (right side)! The Garden Trellis Embossing Folder is on the left side! The regular folders are much skinnier whereas the dynamic folders are thick. This makes a big difference when running them through the Big Shot. It can be frustrating trying to figure out the perfect layering. Sometimes you run it through and it isn’t thick enough to emboss and then you try another layer and it’s so tight you just might pull a muscle or break your Big Shot. I’m here to solve that frustration!!!

Layering for the Regular Embossing Folders:

Multi-Purpose Platform – if it is the older style with the hinges, open up Tab #2. If it is the newer style, leave off the Adapter layer.

One Standard Cutting Pad (clear plate)

Embossing Folder with cardstock inside

One Standard Cutting Pad (clear plate)

In the video tutorial below, you will see that I also mention the Precision Base Plate. The majority of the time, I have the Precision Base Plate out for framelits and all so you can replace one of the standard cutting pads with the Precision Base Plate. This would mean Multi-Purpose Platform as described above, Precision Base Plate, Embossing Folder, and then Standard Cutting Pad. Again, I just do this when it’s already out and layered up rather than putting that aside and pulling out more items to layer. 🙂

Layering for the Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder:

Multi-Purpose Platform – if it is the older style with the hinges, open up Tab #2. If it is the newer style, leave off the Adapter layer.

Embossing Folder with cardstock inside

One Standard Cutting Pad (clear plate)

Due to the thickness of the folder, this layering only requires one Standard Cutting Pad. Another TIP for these folders is to spritz the paper ever so lightly with some water. This will moisten the fibers of the cardstock and allow for them to press into the folder without leaving creases in the cardstock. Many times I just grab my Stampin’ Mist because it’s right there and it works just as well! 🙂 You can always add some water to a Stampin’ Spritzer too!

In the photo at the top of the post, the images are Embossed and I lightly went over them with a Sponge Dauber to add color so you could see the image better. In this photo here, I flipped over the image to reveal the Debossed image and added some color. Both images are stunning so keep that mind when creating your next project. There are lots of ways to use embossing folders!

If you would like to see all of this in action, check out the Video Tutorial below or click here! I hope you found this super useful. Be sure to give the video a thumbs up if you liked it and don’t forget to subscribe if you are new. If you would like a notification when I post a new video, be sure to click the bell right next to the subscribe!!!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Product List

Big Shot

[143263]

Garden Trellis Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

[143741]

Lovely Floral Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

[148048]

May 14 2018

Butterflies & Rainbows!!!

Posted on May 14, 2018 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Happy Monday!!! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! You all know I love bright colors and this card just makes me so happy. You could always change up the greeting because the image is so versatile. This Butterflies & Rainbows card could be done with lots of colors or just a few. It’s a great way to use up scraps too!

Rainbows & Butterflies are a sign of Spring to me and I just love Spring so much! It’s my favorite season for sure! A sign of new life and bright beginnings! I am so excited for our little rainbow baby to arrive and start that new adventure this Spring! 🙂

I started this card with a Basic Black card base. Next, I cut 2 pieces of Whisper White cardstock measuring 4″ x 5-1/4″. One is for the front and the other is for the inside to write on since black is hard to see. Then I added strips of cardstock that measured 1/2″ x 3-3/4″. The colors from top to bottom are Cherry Cobbler, Real Red, Calypso Coral, Powder Pink, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Sky, Bermuda Bay, Pacific Point, Night of Navy, and Rich Razzleberry.

TIP: Add 3 lines of adhesive up and down to the white piece and then just place the strips on top. This makes it easier rather than adding adhesive to each little piece. The other tip is to roll with the punches for this card. Spacing and all might not come out perfect for each card because cutting 1/2″ to the inside of the line is smaller and to the outside is larger. With so many pieces and slightly different measurements, it could be off a little. Simple trim the white to not exist or be smaller or leave off a color if you need to! It’s all okay and still made with love! Also, it’s okay if you leave out a color. It happens! 🙂

After getting the background all created, I stamped the butterfly from the Beautiful Day Stamp Set in Basic Black. BIG TIP: I used the Stamparatus for stamping the butterfly in my class so we could stamp it a few times for a nice darker look. You will notice on my sample above, it is not a crisp solid black butterfly. This tends to happen when you have a rough surface or solid stamped image. With the Stamparatus, simple stamp it, ink it up again, and stamp again. It is always in the same spot so no worries about it not lining up. I love that tool!

For the greeting, I used the same stamp set and stamped on a Whisper White piece and then cut banner tips on the right side. I added the greeting to the lower portion of the card. To finish off the card, I tied some Whisper White Classic Weave Ribbon around the spine of the card. This is for a little texture and to cover up any problems with spacing on the strips. 🙂

Let me know in the comments what colors you would use for this card! Would you stick with shades of one color? Rainbow? 2-3 of your Favorite Colors? Whatever you have the most scraps of? I would love to hear your ideas!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Product List

Beautiful Day Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[145915]

Whisper White 3/8″ Classic Weave Ribbon

[144159]

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

[132708]

Stamparatus

[146276]

May 11 2018

Happy Mother’s Day & A Ziggy Update!!!

Posted on May 11, 2018 by Laura's Stamp Pad

I would like to wish a BIG Happy Mother’s Day to all of the women out there. I feel like this is a holiday that all women should celebrate because we are all mothers. Whether it is to a pet, a child we gave birth to, married into, adopted, took under our wing, long and hope for, we are all motherly. Therefore we should all celebrate and know that we make a difference.

It is crazy to think that last year I wrote this Mother’s Day post and revealed that I had just lost our sweet little angel and here I am a year later 39 week pregnant. I am very emotional this year…..probably more than last year because of it all. I will never forget our first little angel and I’m so excited to hold this one very soon……hopefully very very soon. This momma is super uncomfortable and ready to go……come on Ziggy! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and know that I wish you all the best in whatever situation you might be in. Stay strong through the tough times, cherish the sweet moments, make memories to last a lifetime, and know you are not alone in anything you do! Hugs to all of you!

Here is a little Ziggy update and photo!!! It is CRAZY how last week the trees were still sticks and this week its all green! I’m feeling absolutely giant. Going to bed at night is no longer the best thing ever because I just can’t seem to get comfortable. Everything else is going great though. I’m still working out and feeling good! Ziggy is growing strong and kicking harder than ever.

Have an amazing weekend! Happy Mother’s Day! I’ll see you back here on Monday!

~Laura

May 10 2018

New Catalog Pre-Order Haul!!!

Posted on May 10, 2018 by Laura's Stamp Pad

I am sooooo excited for the New Catalog to come out on June 1. As a demonstrator, we get to pre-order some supplies from the New Catalog! Today, I wanted to share a sneak peak of my New Catalog Pre-Order Haul!!! If you just can’t wait till June 1, you can always join Stampin’ Up and enjoy these early release perks too. Click here to join my team!

Oh look at all of the goodies. Can you guess my favorite item?? To be honest, I’m not even sure what my favorite is just yet but if I had to pick RIGHT NOW I would say that fabulous floral paper in the lower right corner – Garden Impressions Designer Series Paper. Of course, no surprise there because I just love everything floral and bright colors. That pack includes Calypso Coral, Mango Melody, Melon Mambo, Night of Navy, Pacific Point, Petal Pink, and more!

The one item was blown away by and can’t wait to use on a project is this New Delightfully Detailed Laser-Cut Specialty Paper. It is below the floral paper and ribbon but you can see it more in the video below! This stuff is stunning and so amazing looking. There are 4 sheets of 2 different designs that are super detailed and perfect for so many projects. The one design is a full floral look and the other is a bunch of pieces for card fronts or borders. It is vanilla on one side and white on the other which makes it more versatile. Also, coloring it will be super fun! Stay tuned as I will be showing this off more after I play with it!

I can’t wait to start playing with the stamps and coordinating framelits! There is also a stamp set with a coordinating trio punch. What’s better than 1 punch? A 3 in 1 punch! Woot Woot! New ribbons, new colors, and new embellishments are all so exciting! I’m ready to play a little before lil Baby Ziggy arrives! 🙂

If you would like to see all of these items as I unbox them, check out the Video Tutorial below or click here! Be sure to give the video a thumbs up if you liked it and don’t forget to subscribe if you are new. If you would like a notification when I post a new video, be sure to click the bell right next to the subscribe!!! Also, if you would like a copy of the NEW Catalog, click here to send me your address and I’ll get one sent out to you!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

May 9 2018

Lots of Happy Card Kit!!!

Posted on May 9, 2018 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Today, I’m finally sharing the Lots of Happy Card Kit. I got this kit months ago as you can see in the unboxing and reveal video here! I finally completed one each of the 5 designs. Yes, just 1…..there is a lot of coloring in this kit and I just don’t have the patience. LOL The cards are super stunning though!

I mean look at these beauties. They are amazing and the envelopes have a fun black and white strip to them. But again let me just say…..it was way more coloring than I thought or I’m just slow. The kit comes with Exclusive colors of Watercolor Pencils – Flirty Flamingo, Lemon Lime Twist, Old Olive, and Rich Razzleberry. Simply coloring with the pencils works or you can also use a Blender Pen to get some fun color variation. I did that with a few but it slowed me down even more! 🙂

After finishing this sheet of coloring, I realized this was only 1 each of the 5 designs and there are 3 more sheets to go. I do love flowers and pinks though!

I think this is my favorite card because of the fun shape and design. Another thing I will point out is that I feel like some of the colored flower weren’t necessary for each card and I would use on another project. For example, see those two little flowers on either side of the greeting? They are hard to notice and cover up the gold foil banner. I think for the rest of the cards, I will add one to the inside of the card or use on another project.

This is my second favorite card! Again, there are 2 lavender pieces overlapped for a nice full arrangement but I really don’t think it is necessary. Most of my fabulous coloring is covered up. I could create another card with some Crumb Cake as a card base and the other extras from the kit!

I do love the little vellum leaves in the background. They are subtle but also add a fun pop to the card! Vellum is one of those things I always forget about….maybe because it’s almost clear. lol Adhering vellum can be a struggle but I just adhered it at the stem/base and let it peak out.

This little card is super cute and perfect for a gift topper or to attach to some homemade goodies to deliver! I was sad that the greeting covered up a lot of my coloring though. Can you tell I worked hard on that coloring and was sad to see it not showing. 🙂

Here is the final card! Did you notice that fun Lemon Lime Twist Ombre Ribbon? I love it!!! It’s so bright and cool looking! More little vellum leaves for this card too!

So that is the entire Lots of Happy Card Kit. This kit is an all inclusive kit which means it comes with the supplies, ink, clear block, and colored pencils. This makes the kit easy to gift or to grab and go. I really did love the kit but it was a lot of coloring which isn’t really my favorite! I do love flowers and pink though! 🙂 This kit also comes with the option to buy refills meaning you get all the consumables to make more cards. Click the photo below to get your kit today!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Product List

Lots Of Happy Card Kit

[146388]

Blender Pens

[102845]

May 8 2018

Technique Tuesday – Memorial Day & Summer!!!

Posted on May 8, 2018 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Happy Tuesday!!! You all know what that means….I have a fabulous technique to share. Awhile back I showed off my Welcome Frame (check that out here) and today I’m sharing some Memorial Day & Summer decor.

I love this flag decoration because it’s perfect for Memorial Day and 4th of July! Woot Woot! Let’s get started on how I created those amazing stars and stripes.

I started by die cutting Silver Foil with the Layering Circles Framelits. The bling and added texture of the scallop really made the flag pop, I thought! Next, I took the Swirly Scribbles Framelits and die cut out some Real Red for the stripes. I added this to a piece of scrap Whisper White that was big enough for the final circle to be die cut. The Fine Tip Glue Pen works wonders for small delicate images like this.

Then, for the stars, I tried two different ways. First, I stamped the stars from the Wood Words Stamp Sets in Night of Navy Ink all along the top of the white. Then I die cut out the circle. I thought it looked a little simple and wanted to step up my game with some silver bling! I took a piece of Night of Navy cardstock and stamped the stars in VersaMark Ink. Next, I heat embossed the stars in Silver Embossing Powder. Then to get that curve in the navy to match with my stripes, I used the outside edge of the Swirly Scribbles Framelit. Simply place it on the edge and run it through the Big Shot. It won’t come out perfectly the same but it gives a little swoop rather than being straight across. Check out the video below for more details on that as it’s a bit hard to explain! 🙂

Once I had the stars ready, I adhered them to the Whisper White and then die cut all of it with the Layering Circles Framelit. I did the circle at the end so that everything was cut out perfectly (the stars, stripes, and white base). Also, it was much easier than cutting the circle and trimming each piece that I layered on top!

I’m so excited that Summer is right around the corner. Eeeee I just love summer! This decor was super simple and just required lots of circles die cut to get each layer. First, I started with a Daffodil Delight circle die cut with the Laying Circles Framelits. Then I die cut out a Bermuda Bay one and snipped off the top to allow my sun to show through. I showed in the video how I used a scrap piece of Bermuda Bay which die cut out more like a strip with rounded edges. That works too as long as you have enough “ocean water” showing. Layering the ocean onto the sunset with the same curve of the circle.

Finally, for the sand, I spritzed some Crumb Cake cardstock with Chocolate Chip ink refill mixed with rubbing alcohol. This gives a nice speckled, textured look for my sand. Then I die cut out a circle and ripped it along the top to look like a rough edge of the beach. This gives some texture to the scene! Then I added the die cut Adirondack chair from the Seasonal Layers Framelits with the Fine Tip Glue Pen. I only added glue to the bottom rectangle and the arms of the chair. This allows the top (back) of the chair to not be glued down for a more 3D look. I love it!

Here are all of the amazing decor pieces I have created so far. Click here to see more details on the frame, Spring decor, and Birthday decor. Click here to check out the adorable box to store all the pieces in. Stay tuned for more decor pieces to come as we move throughout the seasons and holidays of the year!

If you would like to see all of this in action, check out the Video Tutorial below or click here! Be sure to give the video a thumbs up if you liked it and don’t forget to subscribe if you are new. If you would like a notification when I post a new video, be sure to click the bell right next to the subscribe!!!