Back to School

As I ran into traffic this morning from the local school I pass daily, driving to work today. I made myself a mental note to change my driving route starting tomorrow. The kids looked to happy to be back, all ready for a new school year. So sad to see summer end, yet a relief all the same.

Cindy Coutts, our Stampendous Blog Star, make this very cute End of Summer Card. A childless tree swing is a sure sign that school is in session again.

Here’s what she used:

Stamps: Stampendous Cling Tree Swing and Narcissus Perfectly Clear Set

Card Stock: Papertrey Ink (Stamper’s Select White), Stampin’ Up! (Pool Party)

Designer Paper: Cosmo Cricket (Nutmeg)

Ink Pads: Memento (Tuxedo Black)

Markers/Colored Pencils/Chalk: Stampin’ Up! ( Stampin’ Pastels)

Buttons: Papertrey Ink Vintage Button Collection (Ocean Tides)

Ribbon/Twine: Papertrey Ink (Rustic Jute)

Spellbinders Paper Arts Nestabilities: Assorted Leaves

Machine(s)/Tool(s): ProvoCraft Cuttlebug, Stampin’ Up! Blender Pen, We R Memory Keepers Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper (1/2”)

Technique: Coloring with chalk, die-cutting, dry embossing, punching

Size: 5-1/2 x 4-1/4

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.     Cut light blue card stock to A2 size so that the crease is at the left side and round the top two corners.

2.     Cut a piece of designer paper 1/8” less than A2 size and round the top two corners, then adherer to the base of the card.

3.     Cut a piece of light blue card stock to 4-3/8 x 3-3/8 and round the top two corners.

4.     Cut a piece of white card stock to 4-1/4 x 3-1/4, stamp image with black ink and round the top two corners

5.     Color in the image using various chalks with a blender pen then adhere to the light blue card stock.

6.     Place dimensional tape on the back of the image panel and adhere to the card at the far right.

7.     Die-cut and dry emboss a leaf shape onto designer paper. Stamp sentiment at the top of the leaf shape with black ink. Adhere to the top left of the sentiment panel with foam dots.

8.     Tie a bow through a light blue button with twine and adhere to the lower left portion of the leaf.

Summer Fun in the Sun

Summer is just around the corner. Our Blog Star Geny Cassady made the cutest scrapbook page with our Summer Tree Fun Stamp Set. Great job Geny!

Summer Fun in the Sun by Geny Cassady

SSC1089-R Summer Tree Fun Perfectly Clear Stamp Set
Ink – Celery (Fresh Ink), Dark Brown, Yellow Citrus (Clearsnap), Scattered Straw (Ranger)
Cardstock – Rustic White (Papertrey Ink)
A Walk in the Park Kit (Echo Park Papers)
Wood Buttons (Papertrey Ink)
Scalloped Punch (EK Success)
Circle & Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Stampendous Favorite Stampers: Summer, Pt. 2

There is no doubt about what season it is here in sunny Southern California! We are in the middle of a hot Summer!! And we find that the best way to cool off is in the pool, at the beach, or inside an air-conditioned building stamping with our favorite stamps! Check out this week’s hot picks of our favorite stampers’ cool cards:

Our first card is by Kim M. You can find the card at her blog http://stampingbetweenthedishesandthelaundry.blogspot.com/. Stampendous Stamps Used:

• SSC194 Sushi Bowl Party Perfectly Clear™ Stamp Set (to find this stamp set, ask your local retailer. Find your local retailer here).

Our second card is by Victoria. You can find the card on her blog at http://www.crafty-capers.blogspot.com/. Stampendous Stamps Used:

• SSC194 Sushi Bowl Party Perfectly Clear™ Stamp Set (to find this stamp set, ask your local retailer. Find your local retailer here).

Our third card is by Tammy A. You can find the card at her blog http://mycraftcentral.blogspot.com/. Stampendous Stamps Used:

• SSC194 Sushi Bowl Party Perfectly Clear™ Stamp Set (to find this stamp set, ask your local retailer. Find your local retailer here).
• E251 Bubble Over Woodmounted Rubber Stamp

Our next card is by Raquel B. You can find the card on her blog at http://raqode7.blogspot.com/. Stampendous Stamps Used:

• F190 Changito Pool Guy Woodmounted Rubber Stamp (to find this stamp, ask your local retailer. Find your local retailer here).

Our last cute card is by Judy K. You can find the card on her card gallery at http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/. Stampendous Stamps Used:

• V169 Changito SCUBA Woodmounted Rubber Stamp

Stampendous Favorite Stampers: Summer

Summer means beaches, BBQs, baseball, county fairs and fun under the sun! Share some sizzlin’ summer cheer with someone you love with a card to wish them a happy summer! We’ve included a handful of our favorite Stampendous stamper’s summer cards to inspire you!

Our first card is by Charmaine. You can find the card at her blog http://oodabugalley.blogspot.com/. Stampendous Stamps Used:

• CRE182 Sunny Window Cling Rubber™ Stamp

Our second card is by DandI93. You can find the card at her image gallery on Splitcoast Stampers at http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/. Stampendous Stamps Used:

• F190 Changito Pool Guy Woodmounted Stamp (to find this stamp, ask your local retailer. Find your local retailer here).

Our third card is by Kirsten D. You can find the card at her blog http://kirstendubosque.blogspot.com/. Stampendous Stamps Used:

• H252 Changito Play Ball Woodmounted Stamp

Our next card is by Lesa S. You can find the card on her blog at http://ponsettcreekdesign.blogspot.com/. Stampendous Stamps Used:

• CRV154 Changito Chef Cling Rubber™ Stamp

Our last cute card is by Lisa R. You can find the card on her blog at http://tatteredtiara.blogspot.com/. Stampendous Stamps Used:

• F187 BBQ Bee Woodmounted Stamp (to find this stamp, ask your local retailer. Find your local retailer here).

Sneak Peak!

We’re so excited! Our beautiful new website will launch next Tuesday! You’re really going to love the new format. There are beautiful new projects, updated tips and techniques, and a wonderful catalog of select products that will leave you as excited as we are! You’ll find us at the same address you’re used to: www.stampendous.com but what a difference you’ll see. Join us in counting down the days… 6….. 5….. 4…..

Website project sneak peek…

Recipe for Just Because Mum Card (card designed by Debi Hammons):

Stamps:

• SSC1003 Mum Messages Perfectly Clear™ Stamps from Stampendous
• SSH34 Medium Acrylic Handle

Ink:

• SP080 Frost White ColorBox® Pigment Ink
• STF082 Onyx Black Versafine® ink
• STN442 Lime Versacolor® ink

Plus:

• EP100 White Embossing Powder by Stampendous
• GX220U Multi Ultra Fine Crystal Glitter by Stampendous
• Patterned Paper and Felt Ric Rac by American Crafts
• Bazzill Basics card stock in Kachina, Patina, Parakeet and Tink Pink
• 2 _” scalloped circle punch
• 1 5/8” circle punch
• 1” circle punch
• Glue pen
• Paper adhesive
• FZ10 Sticky Squares Dimensional Foam

Instructions:

1. Fold an 8 _” X 5 _” panel of Patina card stock in half to form card base.
2. Stamp various mums in white ink on Kachina, and Tink Pink scraps and sprinkle with white embossing powder. Remove excess powder and return to jar.
3. Heat set embossing powder with embossing heat tool.
4. Cut narrow strips of parakeet and patterned papers to form flower stems.
5. Arrange stems on 4” X 5 _” piece of white card stock and glue in place.
6. Stamp leaves on sides of stems in lime ink.
7. Use felt ric rac for one of the flower stems.
8. Attach flowers above stems with adhesive or Sticky Squares.
9. Stamp greeting in open spot on white card with black ink.
10. Apply glitter to flowers and leaves with glue pen, returning excess to jar.

See you in the movies!!

We hope you had a chance to watch Tuesday’s Shape Shifting Funny Bunny Videos. We’ve included three more videos featuring Funny Bunny here. In these videos he gets quite wild, donning a hula skirt, masquerading as a shark, he’s quite the versatile guy!

Did you notice that these videos have the You Tube logo in the corner? We’ve posted 19 videos on You Tube to acquaint you with various products and techniques that we just love. Be sure to visit www.YouTube.com and subscribe to our video series at http://www.youtube.com/user/Stampendous. That way, every time you visit You Tube they will let you know if we’ve posted anything new.

Why are we making these videos? While we know that many of you are expert stampers with lots of experience, we found out at a recent trade show that there are a lot of misconceptions out there! One stamper told us she thought that clear stamps were disposable! Several told us that they only used woodmounted rubber because clear stamps didn’t work as well. Well, we realized there was a lot of information that we could give folks that would really improve their stamping experiences! We started out to show you that, with the proper ink and techniques, our clear stamps can be just as much fun as their woodmounted cousins, if not more so.

When we started making videos, though, we discovered tons of good ideas that even we had missed. We found ourselves laughing out loud at the various antics of our darling robots, and the dancing Funny Bunny paper dolls will leave you weeping! We’re having way too much fun making videos to stop now, so be sure to check frequently on You Tube for our latest adventures and ideas for you. Some fabulous techniques and ideas for using colored pencils were posted just this week. See you in the movies!