Archive for May 2012

June 2012 Release Week – Day 3

May 31, 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. Now that we have released all 24 colors of Poptone cardstock, we will be introducing you to some other 100# cardstock we love! We will be carrying 100% Wool felt to match this cardstock, and will be helping you find inks that match.

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 new this month!

Today’s card shows you two of our cardstocks for this month. Jelly Bean is the rich purple I chose for a cardbase. Then I cut a card front from Gold Coins. I cut that to 4 x 5 1/4. With my card front, I centered the Martha Stewart Punch All over punch and made a little border. I left enough room on the bottom for my stamped sentiment.

Once that was punched, I decided I wanted to make the Gold Coins paper not so plain, so I used some Memento Cantaloupe ink and inked up some bells from the Down the Aisle stamp set.

After I adhered the Gold Coins front to my base, I added 3 Prima crystals to the middle of my flowers.

The 3 colors we are introducing are from Bazzill Basics’ Candy Shoppe cardstock line. It’s a new line of 8 1/2 x 11 100# papers. It’s smooth, which allows us to stamp clean and crisp images on it, and it is very sturdy to use as card bases. We will be carrying these in packs of 25 like the Poptone packs we already carry. We will be carrying matching 100% wool felt, and we will suggest some matching inks from inks we all already use. Bazzill has not introduced any inks for their papers, so we will give you our best matches.

The colors we are introducing this month are Jelly Bean (the purple I used today) and we have found the best ink match is Memento Grape Jelly. I also have used the Distress Concord too and that works pretty well for a match.

The next color is Gold Coins. I love this rich yellow gold color. I have found Memento’s Dandelion is a perfect match. As you saw in today’s card…I used Memento’s Cantaloupe and I like that too. The Cantaloupe color is a bit more orange but it works great for making your own backgrounds.

Our last color this month is Jawbreaker. This color doesn’t photograph as well as the others because it is dark, but it is a very pretty green. It has some blue but not much, so I can’t call it teal green. It has some evergreen hints to it as well. You’ll just have to pick up a pack of paper and see how beautiful this paper really is.

Check out what the Design Team has done today!

Rochelle

Vicki

Amber

Guest Designer Jocelyn Olson

 

Stamp School Inks – Black Licorice
Stamp School Stamps – Wedded Bliss, Down the Aisle

 

June 2012 Release Week – Day 2

May 30, 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. Now that we have released all 24 colors of Poptone cardstock, we will be introducing you to some other 100# cardstock we love! We will be carrying 100% Wool felt to match this cardstock, and will be helping you find inks that match.

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 new this month!

Today’s card is a little more technique based with just a simple sentiment.

I started with a Sweet Tooth card base and then cut a piece of Watercolor Paper to 4 x 5 1/4. I stamped a WPlus9 stamp Mehndi Medallion in Versamark Ink and then heat embossed with White embossing powder. Once that was cooled, I used some Stamp School inks on a Blending Tool, making the white embossed medallion pop! I used a watercolor brush between the colors to blend them a bit once I was done. The dye based inks from Poptone works great with this technique.

Next, I diecut the Memory Box Pastry Label die in Sweet Tooth and stamped the sentiment in Black Licorice. I outlined the label using the Worn Lipstick Distress Marker. I threaded a piece of We R Memory Keepers Aqua ribbon through the label. I also diecut a doily from Memory Box out of Limeade cardstock, and layered my pastry label and ribbon over my Limeade doily.

I wrapped the ribbon around my watercolor paper before I adhered it to my cardstock base. That way you don’t see the ribbon on the inside of the card.

Check out what the Design Team has done today!

Rochelle

Vicki 

Amber

Guest Designer Jocelyn Olson

 

Stamp School Cardstock – Sweet Tooth, Limeade
Stamp School Inks – Razzleberry, Grape Jelly, Blue Raspberry, Limeade, Black Licorice
Stamp School Stamps – Wedded Bliss

June Release Week – Day 1

May 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. Now that we have released all 24 colors of Poptone cardstock, we will be introducing you to some other 100# cardstock we love! We will be carrying 100% Wool felt to match this cardstock, and will be helping you find inks that match.

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 a very simple card that can be used for a wedding OR an anniversary card.

I started out with a card base from Sweet Tooth cardstock. I LOVE the Poptone Sweet Tooth cardstock as it is so heavy, it is perfect for a card base! I diecut a Lattice Frame from Cheery Lynn out of one of our new cardstock colors this month…Jawbreaker. Unfortunately, the photo shows it a little more blue than it really is. I’d say it is a beautiful emerald green color.

Next, I cut out some Jawbreaker felt using a My Favorite Things die. Whenever I’m cutting felt using a slim metal die, I ALWAYS use a Cuttlehug thin metal adapter. I get a perfect cut every time.

I stamped the frame from one of our new stamps this month…Down the Aisle in Hot Fudge ink. Then I added the sentiment using Distress Ink Pine Needles. The Pine Needles ink is a perfect match for the Jawbreaker color! I cut around the edges of my frame and pop-dotted the frame over the felt. Easy Peasy!

Check out what the Design Team has done today!

Rochelle created a beautiful card using another new color we’re adding this month…Jelly Bean! It’s a beautiful, rich, deep purple.

Vicki used the same frame I did, but instead of putting her sentiment inside..framed up some beautiful roses instead.

Amber shows how you can take our wedding themed stamps, and alter them for a new use.

We have a guest designer this month…Jocelyn Olson is joining us for the month of June! She has made a clean and simple card using the dress stamp from Down the Aisle.

 

Stamp School Cardstock – Sweet Tooth, Jawbreaker
Stamp School Inks – Hot Fudge
Stamp School Stamps – Wedded Bliss, Down the Aisle

Teacher’s Lounge 5-25-12

May 25, 2012 Cards, Teacher's Lounge, Techniques No comments

Hello! Samantha here to tell you about a fun way to create a background for your cards using ink and a dry embossing folder.  Here’s my card:

To create an inky embossed background, you’ll need an embossing folder (I used a cloud embossing folder, but any one will do), and at least 1 color of ink.  I chose to use 3 ink colors (Snow Cone, Blue Raspberry, and Berrylicious) for this card, but a single color is very pretty too.

Ink your embossing folder by pressing it directly onto your ink pad. Move the folder around on the ink pad to make sure all the negative space is inked.

Place the card stock you want embossed into the embossing folder, and run through your manual die machine.

When you’re finished, you should have a background to embellish that looks something like the one above.

To complete my card, I layerd my 4″ x 5 1/4″ ink embossed background on a a 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ Sweet Tooth card base. I stamped a sentiment from To the Future in embossing ink, and embossed it with brown embossing powder.

I’d love to see what you do with this technique! Please link up a copy of your card in the comments if you give it a try.

Study Hall – 5-24-12

May 24, 2012 Cards, Study Hall 4 comments

Hi everyone – Vicki here today. Still making Father’s Day cards? I have a really easy one for you! I loved the end result of this totally CAS card:

I used my Spellbinder’s Circles to round my edges

I had $1 punch from Michael’s and punched the star, and put a little self made washi tape on the backside.

 

I hope you enjoyed this CAS card. I just adore CAS! :)

Thanks for stopping by~

Geometry Class 5-23-12

May 23, 2012 Cards, Geometry Class, Techniques, Videos One comment

Hello! Samantha here today, and I have to tell you, I am so excited about today’s card. Recently I acquired a few of Faber Castell’s new Gelatos, and I got to use them multiple times on my card today.  If you’re not familiar with Gelatos, they’re a coloring medium that’s a bit like if you crossed a crayon with a tube of chap-stick. They’re kind of messy, which also makes them a lot of fun! Are you ready to see what I did with them? Okay, here’s the sketch I started my card with:

…and here’s my card:

What I especially like about Gelatos is that there are numerous ways to use them. They work on dark and light card stock, you can color directly on paper, color with a paint brush, use them dry or with water, and even do a type of emboss resist with them. For this card I used 2 different techniques. I used emboss resist to create the background. To color in my golf card from the Dad’s Tools stamp set, I used a direct to paper technique with the Gelatos where I colored directly onto the card stock and then used a wet paint brush to blend the color.  If you’d like to see this card being made start to finish so you can check out both ways I just described for using Gelatos you can see it all in the following video:

Don’t forget, today is also a sketch challenge day, so 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.

Thanks for stopping by today!



Study Hall 05/22/2012

May 22, 2012 Cards, Study Hall No comments

Hi all!  Amber here from The Country Scrapper to teach this week’s Study Hall.  Today I want to share how I create a card.  I love seeing how crafters design cards.  It’s so easy to pick up little tips here and there to help improve your process.

I start out with an idea:

1. I want to create a card for Father’s Day.

Decide what color scheme you want to use and what supplies.  I wanted a quote to be the focal point of my card.  Decide which card stock you want to use and where to place your stamp on the paper:

2.  I always start out with basic card stock because stamping on patterned paper can look “busy”.  But I love layering card stock onto patterned paper.

3.  Pick what base card stock you wish to use and what type of card fold.

4.  Embellish.  This is where I add the little things that make a card special.  I wanted to add a brief case to the bottom of my card.  I stamped the brief case onto white card stock, colored it, and cut it out.  I then adhered it to my card with pop up dots.

5.  Grand finale.  Here’s my finished creation:

This is the process I use for card making.  There’s no wrong way or right way to be creative!  Enjoy!!!

Art Room 05-21-12

May 21, 2012 Art Room, Cards No comments

 

Hello Everyone!  Rochelle here!  Please tell me that you’re on Pinterest.  If not, it’s a must do!  While looking for color pallette ideas for my new home, I ran across this photo.  It’s masculine, modern and chic all at the same time.  This photo translates into Pop Tone Hot Fudge, Tangy Orange and Sweet Tooth.

The perfect color pallete for Father’s Day!  Coupled with the Dad’s Tools and Men in my Life Stamp Sets…you’ve got a winning combination!

Other:

Buttons



Teacher’s Lounge – 5-18-12

May 18, 2012 Altered Art, Teacher's Lounge No comments

Hi everyone – Vicki here today with another fun Teacher’s Lounge project to inspire you!

Here is my finished card:

You can follow the tutorial and make this for yourself (or someone else :) )

Step 1 – using Spellbinder’s Classic Square cutters, cut your first frame.


Step 2 – again, using Classic Squares,. cut a smaller frame


Step 3 – with scissors, cut a square piece of felt a little bigger then your smaller frame.


Step 4 – adhere all together as shown. (I used glue)

Step 5 – using letter dies, cut out the letter you desire, adhere to the felt. You can then adhere it to a card base, or make an ABC project like this:


I used a $1 store napkin holder and covered the outside with this. I am using it for mail that needs a response; either a bill or in my son’s case, a Thank You letters needed for money received for graduating! :)

I hope you try this project — I am thrilled with the end results and I am sure you will be too.

Thanks for stopping by!

Study Hall 05/17/2012

May 17, 2012 Gift Ideas, Study Hall No comments

Hi all!  Amber here from The Country Scrapper.  This month Stamp School is focusing on men in our lives with Father’s Day coming up in June.  Today I want to share an easy to make book mark that would make any Dad proud.

First off decide what colors you want to use.  I decided on Pop Tone Card Stock Sour Apple and Orange Fizz.  Cut your card stock to the size you’d like your book marker to be or use an old book mark as a template.

Next I stamped the Sour Apple card stock with a stamp.  I used “Dad’s Tools” to stamp hammers on my card stock using Hot Fudge Ink.

Layer your card stock and use a hole punch to make a hole at the top of your book mark.

Add a sentiment to your book mark.  I used “Men In My Life” stamp set to stamp “Dad” on a strip of card stock.  I then adhered it to a piece of patterned paper.  Last but not least, decide on ribbon, twine, or anything you’d like to thread thru the hole at the top of the book mark.

This would be great addition to a  book for Father’s Day.

Geometry Class 5-16-12

May 16, 2012 Cards, Geometry Class No comments

Hi Everyone -Lisa here today with the Geometry Class sketch.

Here is my card using Stamp School’s Men in My Life.

My card is a pretty simple one to re-create. I started with a Sour Apple card base. I cut a piece of Sno Cone cardstock to 4 x 5 1/4 and then diecut the Memory Box Leaf Canopy die. That way you can see the Sour Apple layer through the diecut. I used my Ink Blending Tool along with some Sno Cone ink, and went around the edges of the Sno Cone piece. Next, I cut the Memory Box Twiggy Tree out of Hot Fudge cardstock.

I stamped the sentiment from Men in My Life using Hot Fudge ink. I then took a small brush tip marker from Faber-Castel and put a little dark green in every leaf.

 

This is a sketch challenge, so I hope you join in and play! Be sure to link your creation with Inlinkz at the bottom of this post. I would love to see your creations~ Remember, there is a random WINNER at the end of the month for some great goodies!



Study Hall 05-15-12

May 15, 2012 Cards, Study Hall No comments

 

Hello everyone!  Rochelle here!  I don’t know about you but, Mother’s Day has always been a favorite holiday of mine.  So much so, I’ve made a plethora of different cards.  I plan to be ready for the holiday next year!  I’ve got extras!  I want to share a country themed Mother’s Day card with you.  I used Whip Cream cardstock as a base and distressed the edges with Tim Hotlz’s Antique Linen Distress Ink.  I applied my floral panel and another blue chevron pattern on top of that.  Then, I added a Wild Cherry banner.  Do you ever use the negative space of your die cuts?  Well, I do and that’s where that butterfly that’s on top of the chevron paper comes from.  The sentiment is from the Women in my Life.

 

Art Room 5-14-12

May 14, 2012 Art Room, Cards, Color No comments

Hello! Samantha here to kick of another great week at stamp school.  Today, I have this fabulous color combination for you to try out:

Click here to see the original photo.

So, today’s colors are Snow Cone, Lemon Drop, and Wild Cherry.  I LOVE this perfectly pretty photo and color combination, but just to show you it can be done in a manly way, too, I created this Father’s Day 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. I can’t wait to see how you use this color combo!

 



Teacher’s Lounge 05/11/2012

May 11, 2012 Cards, Teacher's Lounge 2 comments

Hi guys!  Amber here from The Country Scrapper to share a fun card I made using the latest Stamp School products.  I love the banner trend that has swept crafting.  For today’s post I combined my love of banners and Stamp School to make a special card.  May is all about the men in your life.  From the new stamps to our latest Pop Tone colors, Stamp School has plenty of “guy power” this month.

Check out my card:

For this card I started off by stamping my sentiment onto Orange Fizz card stock.  I stamped my ties separately on Sweet Tooth card stock.  I then cut out the ties and colored them using Copics.  Now back to my card, I layered the Orange Fizz card stock onto Pink Lemonade card stock.  I then shaped twine into a banner and adhered it to my card stock.  I placed  the ties onto my twine.  Lastly I added a strip of patterned paper and used Stickles for shine.

Thanks for joining us today at Stamp School.  If you’ve made a banner lately leave the link in comments.  We’d love to see your creation!

 

 

Study Hall 05-10-12

May 10, 2012 Cards, Study Hall No comments

 

Hello everyone!  Rochelle here.  I want to share a card with you that I made for Mother’s Day.  Did you know that it’s three days away?  Seems like it got here very quick this year!  Well, luckily this year we’ve got Stamp School Stamps, Pop Tone Cardstock and Pop Tone Ink!

Clean and Simple is my favorite style so, I decided to make a quick Mother’s Day card.  I made my cardbase from kraft cardstock.  Then, I used a strip of Orange fizz, Tangy Orange and Bubblegum cardstock and adhered it to the cardbase.

Using a floral stamp from the Flowers for Mom stamp set and Versamark ink created a pattern on the strips of cardstock.  You still have time to create a Mother’s Day master piece.


 

Geometry Class – 05-09-12

May 9, 2012 Cards, Geometry Class, Sketches 3 comments

Hi Everyone – Vicki here today with the Geometry Class sketch.

Here is my card using Stamp School’s Christian Sympathy and Natural Landscape.

To achieve this look, I made a template the same size as my card, and cut out a circle.

Using Pop Tone Lemon Drop and Pop Tone Orange Fizz, I sponged inside of the template. Then, I stamped my tree.

Taking a post it, I taped it down and sponged on licorice for the ground.
I made my banner and popped up the image with pop dots, and my card is complete~

This is a sketch challenge, so I hope you join in and play! Be sure to link your creation with Inlinkz at the bottom of this post. I would love to see your creations~ Remember, there is a random WINNER at the end of the month for some great goodies!

 



Study Hall 5-8-12

May 8, 2012 Cards, Study Hall 2 comments

 

Hello! Samantha here with you today. I the look of lots of nesting dies layered up to create a frame for a stamped image. However, getting that look can sometimes get a bit expensive. I own a few nesting dies, but sometimes the shape just isn’t right for my image, and I don’t always want to go out and buy a die that will work. In those cases, I’ve found that pieces of patterned paper with journaling cards printed on them can give you the same layered/framed effect.  Here’s the piece of paper I used to create the frame for my stamped image on my card today:

 

And here’s my card:

I really love the briefcase from Dad’s Tools, so I chose that image for my main piece. To bring the briefcase even more into focus, I stamped it on a wood grain paper, cut it out, and adhered it with foam dimensional adhesive to the center of the card.

Thanks for stopping by Stamp School today!

 

Art Room 5-7-12

May 7, 2012 Art Room, Cards, Color No comments

 

Good Monday everyone! Lisa here today. Today, I’m sharing an Art Room color scheme with you. I was looking for some interesting color combinations on our Pinterest board, and fell in love with these SHOES! Aren’t they so very pretty! Now, I have to tell you, I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing these, because I am pretty sure I’d end up with a broken ankle or leg if I tried to leave the house with something like these, but they sure are PRETTY!

My card today is for those Moms who like to golf. Usually when you see a golf cart on a card, it’s for a man…not today!

I started with my Razzleberry base, and cut a Grape Jelly card front to 4 x 5 1/4. Then I took my Dusty Concord Distress Markers to stamp my larger flower image from Flowers for Mom. You’ll see I stamped the second generation stamp to get a little shadow and depth to my flowers around the golf cart. I also took my Picket Fence Distress marker to get the white around some flower petals.

I stamped the golf cart from Dad’s Tools in the flowers directly on the card. Then I stamped it onto my Blue Raspberry cardstock and adhered the top and the cart to the card.

 Last, I used my Spellbinders Labels 22 die and traced it with my Dusty Concord marker. I stamped the sentiment in Black Licorice ink. The sentiment is from Women in My Life.

I hope this gives you an idea to take those typical manly images and maybe girly them up!

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.



 

April’s Challeng Winner

May 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:

Karen M. who played along with the April 9th Art Room Challenge.

You can click here to see Karen’s beautiful card.

Karen, please send an e-mail to Lisa@stampschool.com and let her know you’re the April 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 aah over your creativity. You can find the current challenges for May by clicking on the “Current Challenges” tab on the left hand side of the blog.

Happy Stamping!

Teacher’s Lounge 5-4-12

May 4, 2012 Cards, Teacher's Lounge No comments

 

Hi everyone!  Do you use an Exacto knife or a craft knife?  If not, you should because it’s very helpful when you need to cut spaces where scissors can’t go.

When using a craft knife you want to be careful to make small cuts and take your time.  Typically, the blades are really sharp.

First, stamp and color your image.  You don’t have to worry about the ink bleeding because the image will be cut out.

 

When using your craft knife, make sure to cut on the outside of the lines of your image. You don’t want to cut into your image.

 

Don’t worry about cutting out intricate details of your image.  You can always stamp the image directly on to your project to include the details of the image.

Here is a tip, when cutting out an image, color the outter edges to prevent the white core of the paper showing through.

 

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