Archive for April 2012

May 2012 Release Week Last Post

April 30, 2012 Cards, Sneak Peeks No comments

This is our final post for May’s new products! On Mayl 1, our new products go live including 2 stamp sets, 4 beautiful colors of cardstock, inks, and felt!

This month we are adding some fun, bright summery colors. Pink Lemonade, Lemon Drop, Tangy Orange, and Orange Fizz. With these 4 colors, we now carry all 24 colors of Poptone cardstock, their matching ink, and we have matched 100% wool felt to their cardstock as well!

For my last this release, I made a pretty simple card using our ink pads. You may have seen Tim Holtz demonstrate a technique called “Wrinkle Free Distress”. Well, today’s card uses that technique, only it’s using a piece of Watercolor paper and Stamp School’s dye ink.

I started with a piece of Watercolor Paper cut to 4 x 5 1/4. I took my Tangy Orange, Orange Fizz, and Lemon Drop ink pads and pressed the ink pads onto my Craft Sheet. I sprayed the puddle of ink with water, then I drug my watercolor paper through the inks. You can see where some inks stayed in place, and where others ran and mixed with the other colors. I ran my paper through the puddles about 3-4 times until I was happy with the results.

I let the paper dry and then used my Ink Blending Tool with Hot Fudge ink and went around the edges. I used Black Licorice ink for my sentiment, and 3 mini brads in Chestnut. I adhered my card front to my Orange Fizz card base.

 

Stamp School Cardstock – Orange Fizz
Stamp School Ink – Black Licorice, Orange Fizz, Tangy Orange, Lemon Drop
Stamp School Stamps – Men in My Life

May Release Week Second Post

April 29, 2012 Cards, Sneak Peeks No comments

Welcome to Release Week at Stamp School! The last 3 days of each month, you will be treated to some beautiful creations by our Faculty here at Stamp School! Each month, we release 2 stamps per month. The first part of 2012 we will be releasing 4 colors of Poptone cardstock and matching inks until we stock all of their 24 colors. We also will be releasing 100% wool felt along with the cardstock each month.

Our Faculty will post their projects on their personal blogs (which we will link you to at the end of each post) and then during the month, they will post tips, tutorials, inspiration, ideas here on the Stamp School blog. If you want to be kept up to date on what is going on here at Stamp School, you can keep track of us a number of ways:

1) Our website and blog. You can subscribe to our blog feed, simply by clicking over on the Subscribe button to the left. You will then get a daily email of what is posted here on the site.
2) Our Facebook Page. Like our Facebook Page for exclusive content, contests, and chatting about our favorite hobby!
3) Email Newsletter. You can sign up for our Newsletter by clicking on the Join our Newsletter button to the left.

OK, so now that you know how to keep up to date, let me show you what’s going on this month!

Today’s card uses one of my favorite sayings about Dads! Inside the card, I finished the sentiment…to be a Dad.

For today’s card, I started with a piece of Bella Blvd pattern paper. I stamped the chair onto the stripe and fussy cut it out. Then I used my Copic markers to add a little shadow to the cushions.

I stamped 3 other chairs on the card and used a grey colored pencil on the small pieces I envisioned to be wood. I added the sentiment in Black Licorice ink, and added the row of remotes using the Orange Fizz ink from this month.

Check out what the Design Team has done today!

Rochelle

Vicki

Amber

 

Stamp School Cardstock – Orange Fizz
Stamp school Inks – Orange Fizz, Black Licorice
Stamp School Stamps – Dad’s Tools, Men in My Life

May Release Week First Post

April 28, 2012 Cards, Sneak Peeks No comments

Welcome to Release Week at Stamp School! The last 3 days of each month, you will be treated to some beautiful creations by our Faculty here at Stamp School! Each month, we release 2 stamps per month. The first part of 2012 we will be releasing 4 colors of Poptone cardstock and matching inks until we stock all of their 24 colors. We also will be releasing 100% wool felt along with the cardstock each month.

Our Faculty will post their projects on their personal blogs (which we will link you to at the end of each post) and then during the month, they will post tips, tutorials, inspiration, ideas here on the Stamp School blog. If you want to be kept up to date on what is going on here at Stamp School, you can keep track of us a number of ways:

1) Our website and blog. You can subscribe to our blog feed, simply by clicking over on the Subscribe button to the left. You will then get a daily email of what is posted here on the site.
2) Our Facebook Page. Like our Facebook Page for exclusive content, contests, and chatting about our favorite hobby!
3) Email Newsletter. You can sign up for our Newsletter by clicking on the Join our Newsletter button to the left.

OK, so now that you know how to keep up to date, let me show you what’s going on this month!

Today’s card is another example of making my own background/pattern paper. Last month, I confessed that this is not one of my strong points, but I’m getting a little better at it.

This time I used 2 images and 2 ink colors. The hard hat is stamped in a new color, Tangy Orange. I stamped it in full strength, and then stamped it again without inking it up. Hopefully, that gives a little depth to the card. I inked the hammer in another new color, Orange Fizz.

Next, I diecut a label from Sweet Tooth. I then took my ink blending tool, and inked around the edges with Orange Fizz and drew that color all the way across the cardstock so it’s a lighter orange color. Around the outermost edges, I used a little bit of Tangy Orange on my ink blending tool.

The sentiment is from our new set called “Men in My Life”. It is a follow up to last month’s “Women In My Life” and has a few sentiments for the inside of your cards as well as all of the names for the men.

I layered my diecut label on two smaller labels that I cut from Hot Fudge felt. I used 4 CandiDots in Gold Texture to finish out my card by tucking them behind the corners of my diecut.

Check out what the Design Team has done today!

Rochelle created a fun Father’s Day card with another cool image from the Dad’s Tools set, a vintage briefcase.

Vicki is showing off the golf cart image from the Dad’s Tools set, and created a scene any golfer would love!

Amber made an awesome card with the golf cart too! I love the little extra she added to her card.

 

Stamp School Cardstock – Orange Fizz, Tangy Orange, Sweet Tooth
Stamp school Inks – Orange Fizz, Tangy Orange
Stamp School Stamps – Dad’s Tools, Men in My Life

May Sneak Peek #2

April 27, 2012 Sneak Peeks One comment

Welcome to our second sneak peek of May’s stamps! I love this one…my Dad holds a special place in my heart, and I am so very excited to be able to make him some cards for Father’s Day, or his birthday or any other occasion to tell him how much he means to me!

 

May’s Sneak Peek #1

April 26, 2012 Sneak Peeks No comments

It’s time for the start of our May countdown…This month, we are featuring Dad!!

For our May release, we are bringing you two stamp sets. The first set as shown here is a great image set for all the men you love. There is some sports, some leisure, and some work related images in this set.

Geometry Class 4-25-12

April 25, 2012 Cards, Geometry Class No comments

It’s my turn to host this week’s Geometry Class! I hope you will play along!

I wanted my card to have a little bit of a vintage feel, so I used three different patterned papers, lace, a paper doily, and a little ribbon tab. I stamped my flowers (Flowers for Mom) in Gumdrop Green and Cotton Candy ink on Whip Cream cardstock. I added Diamond Stickles to the flower.

We’re adding a submission form below this post. Make your card and post it on your blog (with a link to our blog of course). Submit your card by adding it below. Make sure to post it to the actual blog post and not just your general blog address. You have until 11:58 on the last day of the month to upload any challenge entries.

We will randomly choose a winner from each month’s submissions to win a prize package from Stamp School. Happy Stamping!

 

Other: lace, organdy ribbon, designer paper, doily, Diamond Stickles

 



Study Hall 04/24/12

April 24, 2012 Cards, Study Hall No comments

 

Hi all!  Amber here from The Country Scrapper to teach this week’s Study Hall.

I just love the banner trend that has swept crafting.  So I thought what better way to celebrate Mother’s Day than to make a flower banner on a card.  To begin with, I decided what shape of banner I wanted.

I then strung twine around my brads to create the banner line.

I stamped several matching flowers on white card stock, then cut them out.  I colored over my flowers using Copics to make sure no white was showing after I cut my flower out, making it solid shades of pink.

At this point I decided how many flowers to use on my banner, then added flowers using pop up glue dots.

I love layering card stocks and patterned papers.  To me you can’t go wrong with layering.

To finish my card I added a sentiment and lace.

Here’s my completed project:

Thanks for stopping by!  If you have a trendy banner creation you’d like to share with Stamp School, leave  a direct link in comments below!

 

Art Room 04-23-12

April 23, 2012 Art Room, Cards 2 comments

 

 

Hi everyone!  Rochelle here.  Today, I’m sharing an Art Room color scheme with you.  When I came across this unconventional color story for a nursery, I knew I had to use it for my next Art Room challenge!  The colors wouldn’t normally be paired and that’s why I think it’s so interesting.  The colors are Grape Jelly, Banana Split and Wild Cherry.

Flowers for Mom and Women in my Life are perfect for these colors.  I popped some of the blossoms up with foam squares to add depth to my clean and simple design. I also randomly stamped the vines to make them seem like they were intertwined.  The finish product is one Springy creation!  I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

 

We’re adding a submission form below this post. Make your card and post it on your blog (with a link to our blog of course). Submit your card by adding it below. Make sure to post it to the actual blog post and not just your general blog address. You have until 11:58 on the last day of the month to upload any challenge entries.

We will randomly choose a winner from each month’s submissions to win a prize package from Stamp School.

 

 



Teacher Lounge 4-20-12

April 20, 2012 Cards, Teacher's Lounge, Techniques One comment

Today’s Teacher Lounge showcases a technique I call “Magical Masking.” I highlighted this technique on Splitcoaststampers and wanted to show it here as well. It uses these supplies:

1. Masking tape and Glossy Paper OR Painter’s tape and regular cardstock (I used masking tape and glossy paper, so the instructions will reflect that.)
2. Dye ink pads of your color choice (I used Grapesicle)

Instructions:
1. Take a piece of masking tape long enough to cover from edge to edge of the size paper you want to use.
2. Lay it across the pad, sticky side down, and press into the ink.


3. Now lay the tape across your glossy paper and press down.
4. Then we do the step that I call “Eyebrow Waxing.”
Hold the paper and quickly pull the masking tape off (like those gals that wax eyebrows do with the tape after pressing it on — OR like you may have pulled off a bandaid! OW!!). Be sure to hold the paper with one hand and the tape with the other.
5. Your ink will make a lovely textured design on the glossy paper.


6. Continue with different colors or the same color, using a different piece of tape for each color until you achieve the look you want. (I used a new piece for each application, even with the same color.)

I did mine in “rows”, but you could layer colors on top of each other, or do several colors — just depends on what you want it to look like.

I stamped my image from Flowers for Mom in Grape Jelly ink and then reinked it and stamped over the Grape Jelly with Palette Noir Black. I used the same ink for the sentiment (from Women in My Life).

It’s an easy technique that gives a lovely texture! Hope you will try it!

 

Other: ribbon, silver half pearls, masking tape, glossy paper, embossing folder

Study Hall 4-19-12

April 19, 2012 Cards, Study Hall No comments

Hi everyone – Vicki here again. Today’s card is a last minute graduation I needed. There isn’t anything to “teach”, just the card.

Thanks for stopping by~

Geometry Class – 4-18-12

April 18, 2012 Cards, Geometry Class, Sketches No comments



 

 

What I love about this card is that it’s monochromatic.  I’ve said it time and again…green and yellow are the welcome mats for Spring.  No where is that more applicable than on a Mother’s Day Card.  I can’t WAIT to see how you use this sketch.  Now remember, you can flip it, reverse it and turn it up side down.  It’s yours to play with!

We’re adding a submission form below this post. Make up your card and post it on your blog (with a link to our blog of course *wink*). Submit your card by adding it below. Make sure to post it to the actual blog post and not just your general blog address. You have until 11:58 on the last day of the month to upload any challenge entries.

 

We will randomly choose a winner from each month’s submissions to win a prize package from Stamp School.

Other:

Paper leaves

Designer Paper

 

 



Study Hall – 4-17-12

April 17, 2012 Cards, Study Hall No comments

Hi Vicki here today. My card today was used in the SCS Color Challenge; white, gray and sand. These  flowers are all the rage right now, so here is a quick tutorial on making the distressed flower. (Due to the length, the rolled ribbon flowers can be found on You Tube) First, here is my finished card:

Now, for the close up of the distressed flower:

The bottom left flower:
Using Spellbinders Circles, run 5 circles (different sizes).


Using Tim Holtz distresser, I ran it along the outside edge of all the circles.


I stacked them together and punched a center hole for the brad.


And, here is the completed distressed flower

I hope you try making these fun flowers! Thanks for stopping by~

Art Room 04/16/12

April 16, 2012 Art Room, Cards No comments

Hi everyone!  Amber here from The Country Scrapper to teach this week’s Art Room.  I’ve picked a Springy picture and beautiful colors that I hope inspire you to craft away!  This week’s colors are Bubblegum, Razzleberry, and Gum Drop Green.

I’ve also created a card to go along with the challenge, take a look:

For my card, I decided to make a custom background using the Flowers For Mom Stamp Set from Stamp School.  I started by randomly stamping leaves then went back and added flowers in.  I embellished with a bow, doily with my sentiment and a stick pin.

We’re adding a submission form below this post. Make your card and post it on your blog (with a link to our blog of course). Submit your card by adding it below. Make sure to post it to the actual blog post and not just your general blog address. You have until 11:58 on the last day of the month to upload any challenge entries.

We will randomly choose a winner from each month’s submissions to win a prize package from Stamp School.

 



Teacher’s Lounge 04-13-12

April 13, 2012 Cards, Teacher's Lounge No comments

 

Hey y’all!  Rochelle here!  I’m here to teach you how to use the masking technique!  It’s a technique that’s simple and can be done in only a few steps.  Okay here we go!

The first thing you want to do is get a scrap piece of paper and stamp your image that you want to mask on to it.  One tip that works really well is to stamp it on to a sticky note so that you’ll have a secure image to stamp over.

Next, cut the image out.  Make sure you cut as close to the image as you can, not leaving any white space on the outter edge.

The next step is to place your cut out on to your project and stamp over it to create the stamped effect.

Repeat the steps over and over as needed to achieve the desired effect!  The fun part about this technique is that you can use it with flowers, people, critters…anything!

Please make sure to stop by and show us what great masking projects you create!

Other:

Teal Embroidery Floss

 

Study Hall 04/12/12

April 12, 2012 Cards, Study Hall No comments

Hi everyone!  Amber here from The Country Scrapper to share a fun technique to try with felt.  Here’s a little background information on Stamp School’s fabulous felt:

Soft to the touch yet sturdy, Stamp School felt is medium-weight 100% merino wool, imported from Holland. Be forewarned, once you craft with it you’ll have a hard time ever going back to a blend or acrylic. Approximately 14 oz. per linear yard (36×72 inches) and 1mm thick, almost 1/16 inch. Our felt is not flammable and safe for babies and children.

SS Felt is so easy to work with, doesn’t fray, and is provides a wonderful smooth surface.  It is very important to use quality felt for the following technique.  I intended to add my stamped felt to a card, but you could also add it to layouts and altered projects.  First cut the size of felt you want to use:

Next choose your stamps and ink.  I used Stamp School’s Flowers For Mom Stamp Set to decorate my felt.  SS’s Pop Tone Inks also do fabulous when stamping on this medium!

Love how the details of the stamps show on the felt.  Now simply stamp away:

I stamped different flowers plus a few leaves just to add a little green to my felt.  Next I adhered my felt to card stock and added a sentiment with another Stamp School release Women In My Life Sentiment Set.

All that’s left is trimming the felt and decorating your card:

Hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Study Hall.  If you try this technique, leave a comment with a link to your creation!  Enjoy!!!

 

Geometry Class 4-11-12

April 11, 2012 Cards, Geometry Class, Techniques, Videos 2 comments

Hello! Samantha here with a brand new sketch.  This is a great sketch for those who like clean and simple cards or those who like frill and lots of layers. Don’t be afraid to rotate it 90 degrees either!

Here’s my card made from the sketch:

The bottom inked and stamped layer is stamped directly on the card base. To create this effect, I  created a mask from a nesting die. I have created a video of this technique, just scroll down to the end of this post to find it. I used Flowers For Mom to stamp the flowers. I trimmed the blue flowers out and added them to the leaves with foam dimensional adhesive to really make them a pretty focal piece on the card.

We’re adding a submission form below this post. Make up your card and post it on your blog (with a link to our blog of course *wink*). Submit your card by adding it below. Make sure to post it to the actual blog post and not just your general blog address. You have until 11:58 on the last day of the month to upload any challenge entries.

We will randomly choose a winner from each month’s submissions to win a prize package from Stamp School.

Happy stamping,

 



Study Hall 4-10-12

April 10, 2012 Cards, Study Hall No comments

I hope that each of you had a wonderful Easter weekend with family and friends! It was beautiful weather here. We spent a quiet Easter Day with my mom, my husband and I, so just the three of us made for an easy dinner, for sure! I stamped some with my mom yesterday, and then after I took her home, I made this card to say thank you for the yummy pie she brought.

I love the look of the VersaMark ink on Kraft cardstock. It is subtle, but there is enough contrast to show the beautiful floral design from Flowers for Mom, one of April’s stamp releases at Stamp School. I stamped the Sno Cone circles with Sno Cone ink for a little more depth of color, and then used the VersaMark pad again to stamp the floral image over “Mom” (from Women in My Life).

These two April sets are so versatile and can be used for so many different occasions! Thanks for stopping by today and have a great week!

Other: VersaMark ink pad, floral ribbon, pearls, 1 1/4″ circle punch

Art Room 4-9-12

April 9, 2012 Art Room, Cards One comment

Hi everyone Vicki here again this Monday. Today is Art Room and I chose the colors based off this inspiration:

The colors this week — white, any pinks, any greens

Here is my card

Cut out 2 circles – 1 large and 1 2x smaller – using the die in between these 2 sizes, cut out the center of the large circle to get the frame effect. Be sure to emboss also for more frame effect.

I used a die cut to cut out my felt flowers and rolled them. I used the “Sister” from Women in my Life. I also used a fence die.

This really is a very easy card to make. I have linked the supplies I used below.

Okay — this is a Color Challenge and there is a prize involved – you can use ANY supplies you want (not limited to SS products) as long as you have the colors.

I hope you take the time to play! This challenge is a challenge to get players!! :)

Thanks for stopping by~


Misc: My Favorite Things Wood grain Fence Die, Embossing Folder



Teacher’s Lounge 4-6-12

April 6, 2012 Altered Art, Teacher's Lounge No comments

Hi Vicki here today! Today, we are making a useful tool – a File Tab Book.

To make this, I started with the new papers that were released this month; Grapesicle, Banana Split, Spearmint, Bubblegum, and my “book” is Black Licorice.

Starting with a piece of Black Licorice card stock, cut to size (Mine is 6.2 by 7) – score at 3.25 and 3.5, and fold.

 

Using a McGill Tab Punch and punch out as many tabs as you want. [I cut mine in half]


Using Aleene’s Tack It over and over, glue the bottom of the tab and stack on top of each other on your Black Book. Your book is done.

I used a few of the tabs to make files for my Stamp School stamp sets. This is how I store all my stamps.

I hope you enjoyed this little tool to help you organize your stamps. Thanks for stopping by!

 

Other: Aleene’s Tack It Over and Over

March’s Challenge Winner

April 5, 2012 Winners No comments

Every month Stamp School host multiple Art Room (color) Challenges and Geometry Class (sketch) Challenges. At the end of the month we count up all the entries (1 entry for every card you submit) and randomly choose a winner. March’s challenge winner is:

Beverly who played along with March 19th’s Art Room Challenge.

You can click here to see Beverly’s fun card.

Beverly, please send an e-mail to Lisa@stampschool.com and let her know you’re the March Challenge Winner to claim your prize.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to create cards and share them with us. We love to ooh and ahh over your creativity. April first 2 challenges are already up and we hope you’ll play along with us.

Happy Stamping!

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