About Stamp with Jini

My name is Jini Merck and I'm a Stampin' Up! Independent Demonstrator. I love being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, not only do I get to be creative every day, I also get to be a creative coach, offering fresh project ideas and encouragement to my customers and friends. For me, helping someone create that perfect project for a special occasion is the best feeling in the entire world. After all, creating cards, scrapbook pages, and gift items is about more than just stamps and ink—it’s about sharing a part of yourself with the people in your life. I live in Clarkesville which is in the North Georgia Mountains with my husband and two children. Although my family keeps me busy I enjoy the creativity of stamping and crafts and the fellowship stamping brings into my life. Spending time creativing cards and gifts for friends and family has been one of my favorite hobbies over the years.

Frightening Feline

Want a great stamp for just $8.95 – why not take a look at the single stamp Frightening Feline from our Holiday Catalog? I love the unique way that the words make up this image.

Here is a great swap using the Frightening Feline stamp that I received from Pamela Kroeger during the Chattanooga Regional last month just in time for Halloween. Don’t you just love it – I think the little Googlies in the hole of the tree are just too stinking cute!

 

Supplies:

Stamp Set: Wicked Cool and Frightening Feline

Inks: Night of Navy and Versa Mark

Paper: So Saffron, Night of Navy, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Always Artichoke and Basic Black

Accessories: Basic Black Marker, Googlies, Tangerine Tango Embossing Powder and Heat Tool, Big Shot and Woodgrain Embossing Folder.

Click here to order your Stampin’ Up! Products online 24/7! (US only)

Festive Fall Fun Stamp Camp Tutorial Option Being Offered

I’m excited to be offering for the first time the option of one of my stamp camps in a Tutorial form. So now if you’re someone who doesn’t live in my area, or maybe you live close by but aren’t able to attend, you can still enjoy my Festive Fall Fun Stamp Camp!

For just $12.95 you will get a my Festive Fall Fun Stamp Camp Tutorial loaded with step by step photos in a PDF format to work on in your leisure! Click on my Tutorial Store tab above to all the details about my Tutorials and other items for sale.

Live  in my neck of the woods? Why not go the traditional route and join me in my studio. There are three dates being offered.

Sunday, October 21st at 2 p.m.

Tuesday, October 23rd at 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, October 24th at 1 p.m.

Class Fee $33 or RSVP and Prepay by October 7th and pay just $28

Click HERE to see Flyer

I’m offering a new way to make your Class payments. Don’t want to mail a check? Click on the button to pay for your class fee and select your choice of day and time.


Class Fee
Choose a Class Date & Time



Organizational Skills

Have you ever laid something down and then minutes later not been able to find it again? I know I do all the time. I wasn’t like this pre-children – so it must be because I’ve got are teenagers right, and not because of my age!

I’ve just spent the past 30 minutes hunting for a stamp set that I used yesterday and can’t find it. I’m sure I left it on my desk where I planned on using it next. I’m thinking this is my cosmic pay back for feeling rather smug yesterday for reaching my goals and being on schedule with things.

Grrrr… Well I got to thinking that I can’t be the only one with a craft room that looks like it exploded, right? So I thought I would share with you a photo of what my room looks like.

Keep in mind I’m normally very good at organizing my spot after I’m done creating but with learning new technology, events, and my daughter’s competition band season in full swing I just haven’t been home much and haven’t gotten things done like I normally do. Sound familiar?

Be prepared  – if you are a little compulsive, here’s your warning – don’t look!

Made you smile huh? I bet you’re feeling better about your space right now!

Punch Art Scarecrow Tutorial

Wednesday I had my TEAM meeting and we made this little Punch Art Scarecrow Notepad together.

As I mentioned yesterday I received this scarecrow punch art swap at the Chattanooga Regional which was the inspiration for this project and I just tweaked the idea a bit to suit my style. You can click HERE to see my earlier post.

I loved the way this little guy turned out and so did my TEAM members. We had a lot of fun putting these Punch Art Scarecrow Notepads together. I like to make little gifts like this and thought this made a great project to give someone this fall who may not celebrate Halloween.

What do you think? Why not leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I love receiving feedback from you and it makes my day to know you’ve read my post. Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only one out there. Ever feel like that? I’ll try and respond to you when you leave comments too.

So……without further ado…. here is the promised tutorial for my Punch Art Scarecrow.

 Scarecrow Punch Art Tutorial

Supplies:

So Saffron card stock

Soft Suede card stock

Riding Hood Red card stock

Tangerine Tango card stock

Whisper White card stock

Basic Black card stock and Stampin’ Write Marker

More Mustard Classic Ink and Stampin’ Write Marker

Cherry Cobbler Classic Ink and Stampin’ Write Marker

Cajun Craze Classic Ink and Stampin’ Write Marker

Early Espresso Classic Ink and Stampin’ Write Marker

Stampin’ Sponges or Sponge Daubers

Small Heart Punch

½” Circle Punch

¾” Circle Punch

1″ Circle Punch

Big Shot

Square Lattice Embossing Folder

Paper Snips

Bone Folder

Multipurpose Liquid Glue

Start by punching out the following pieces –

Riding Hood Red CS and the Small Heart Punch – 2 hearts

Basic Black CS and the ½” Circle Punch – 2 circles

Whisper White CS and the ¾” Circle Punch – 2 circles

So Saffron CS and the 1″ Circle Punch – 1 circle, cut in half with the Paper Snips

Then take a piece of Tangerine Tango CS that is 1″ wide and cut a triangle shape, Cut off the one pointed end to create the nose.

You should now have what looks like this and you are ready to begin. 

Using the Cherry Cobbler Marker Add Faux Stitching around the outside of both hearts.

Then sponge both of the hearts with Cherry Cobbler Classic Ink. Set aside for later.

Next add Faux Stitching to your Tangerine Tango triangle with a Cajun Craze Stampin’ Write Marker. 

And Sponge the edges using Cajun Craze Classic Ink and set aside for later.

Create more Faux Stitching on the two half circles with the More Mustard Stampin’ Write Marker, 

Sponge the outside edges using More Mustard Classic Ink and set aside for later. 

Now take a 3 ½” x 1″ piece of Soft Suede CS and add Faux Stitch using an Early Espresso Stampin’ Write Marker on both short sides and one of the long sides. 

Sponge all four sides on the front and then flip it over and sponge the bottom long edge on the back. 

Next take your Paper Snips and cut a fringe on the bottom edge of your Soft Suede CS piece.

Next add some texture by curling the fringe you just created with your Bone Folder, alternating front and back curls. 

Using a More Mustard Stampin’ Write Marker create Faux Stitching around 3 sides of your 3 ½” x 3 ½” So Saffron piece of CS. 

Sponge the edges on the same three sides using More Mustard Classic Ink.

Next give your little guy a smile with a Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker. I used the flare tip end. (Here is a Tip – Not comfortable free handing this part? Use the edge of a glass or any round shaped item as a guide.) Look you can see his little face already starting to take shape. 

Run this piece through the Big Shot using your Square Lattice Embossing Folder.

Now you’re ready to assemble and you should have what looks like the photo below.

Add a smile to this little guys face by adhering the 2 small hearts to either side of the smile you drew. 

Next add the ¾” Whisper White circles. 

(Just a tip – when using Multipurpose Liquid Adhesive I like to place the glue on the bigger piece of card stock versus the smaller piece that I am gluing on. It is easy to reposition the piece once it is placed onto the project and I seem to stay a little cleaner too!)

And then the ½” Basic Black circle – look mom I can see! 

Next add his little Eye lids to make him look a little sleepy and give him some personality. After all guarding those sunflowers is hard work! 

And finally add his little nose so he can smell the sunflowers.

Attach the piece of fringed Soft Suede CS and Voila’ hair!  Here’s your little guy – you’re almost done. 

Finally take your Paper Snips and cut at different angles chunks out of his hair. That sponging on the back of the piece earlier is now starting to show a bit. Its ok you’re adding to his personality.  You can also fold, bend and crumple it a bit to add a little height and disarray to his do – After all whose hair looks great after standing in the field all day? 

Voila’ you’re finished and isn’t this little guy adorable?  Go ahead and attach his little face onto your project!

Click here to order your Stampin’ Up! Products online 24/7! (US only)

Chattanooga Regional Wrap Up

I’ve been so busy telling you all about the great things going on that I haven’t been able to post my Regional Wrap Up or share any of the great swaps that I received. So I’m going to do that today – Better late than never right?

Here is a photo of my TEAM and myself heading into the Regional event. This was Cindy and Janie’s first Regional and we were all excited to start the day.

Have you ever wondered what a Regional looks like? Here is a shot from when we first arrived of the hallway and some of us in line “swapping” our cards. It’s so much fun meeting fellow stampers and sharing ideas. I think it’s one of the best parts of a Regional event.

Prize Patrol – lots of fun and Janie was so excited to be in the first group of winners! Everyone received a Wonderfall stamp set from the Holiday Catalog in their choice of wood or clear mount.

Oh, the Make n’ Takes – What fun it is to stamp together, try new things and learn about new products.

It’s great to meet the staff and those on the other end of the phone in Demonstrator Support during these events. Here the three of us are with Bonnie Thurber.

Little did I know when this photo was taken that I’d be joining Bonnie up on stage later in the event. You can click HERE to read more about that.

All too quickly the fun was wrapping up at the Chattanooga Convention Center so a group of us took advantage of enjoying a meal together at the Terminal Brewery in downtown Chattanooga before we went our separate ways.

If you ever have a chance to stop by the Terminal Brewery I can highly recommend it. The food was delicious and our waiter was wonderful! He was even sweet enough to snap this shot of our group.

An evening with my TEAM reviewing the day, late night giggles and a great ride through the scenic mountains home the next morning – All in all a wonderful time was had by all.

If this sounds like something that you would enjoy. Why not contact me today and make plans to attend one of my monthly TEAM meetings. See what it’s all about – you won’t regret it!

Oops – I almost forgot. Here is one of the great swaps I received during the Chattanooga Regional. I’m sorry to say there was no name on the back to give credit. So if you know who make this cute little guy please let me know.

Come back tomorrow and I’ll show you the project that I created with the inspiration from this swap and my own little twist on it along with a punch art tutorial.

Click here to order your Stampin’ Up! Products online 24/7! (US only)

Introducing Stamp Sets Gone Single!

Stampin’ Up! is tring something new!  A chance to buy single pieces from 3 stamp sets instead of the whole set! The offer is good until January 2nd, 2013.

Stamp sets being offered as Singles are the following:

Word Play

Perfectly Penned

Seasonal Sayings

Here are the details:

  • These stamps are available on any order type-customer, workshop, or online.
  • You can find the stamp item numbers on the flyers.
  • These won’t be sent to you in our typical cases or packaging; they’ll be packaged in cello bags. If you’d like a case for your stamp, you can buy our Clear-Mount Stamp Cases that come in packs of four (item 119105).
  • This offer is available for clear-mount stamps only.
  • The stamps won’t come with a Clear-Mount Block, and you’ll need to buy a block separately if you don’t already have one. The recommended block sizes can be found on the flyers.
  • There’s no limit on how many pieces you can buy.
  • Remember that this is a pilot program, so take advantage of it while you can!

Click on the Stamp Set below to see the PDF flyer to see items available.

Word Play

Perfectly Penned

Seasonal Sayings

Love alot of the items – why not buy the whole set? There are a great addition to any stampers collection.

Click here to order your Stampin’ Up! Products online 24/7! (US only)

Save More on MDS2 Photobooks, Cards & More – Forever!

Do you love MDS2 like I do? It makes things so quick and easy to create and I love that I can do things to use for both printing and sending out digitally. Hybrid projects are my favorite – how about you?

Stampin’ Up! has done it again with just introduced NEW Pricing for MDS2 projects! Now you can Save More on Photo books, cards, & More Forever!

Here is what Stampin’ Up! released yesterday evening –

We’re happy to let you know that we’ve lowered all of our My digital Studio print product prices – permanently! That’s right. Now you can print your photobooks, cards, calendars, and other projects for less. You’ll notice some have been lowered up to 50 percent!

You can see the new print prices HERE.

New Design Features in MDS2 – along with the lower print prices, we’ve added more design features

Click HERE to see all 75+ new design features

Here are today’s NEW Digital Downloads. There is something for everyone.

Item # 132266 Any Witch Way Template $4.95

 

Item # 132191 Everyday Woodcuts $5.95

Iem #132267 Quick Whit Costumes Templates $4.95

Item #131522 Year End Review Infographic Postcard Template $3.95

Item #132264 Neon Notes Kit $9.95

If you haven’t tried MDS2 now is a great time to do so. Why not download the trial today. You can click HERE for more information. Don’t forget to keep an eye on my Calendar for special upcoming MDS2 events coming your way soon!

Click here to order your Stampin’ Up! Products online 24/7! (US only)

NEW Festive Fall Fun Stamp Camp Being Offered

Come and learn a new technique while you create 3 fun fall projects along with a Holiday Organizer!

Sunday, October 21st at 2 p.m.

Tuesday, October 23rd at 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, October 24th at 1 p.m.

Class Fee $33 or RSVP and Prepay by October 7th and pay just $28

Click HERE to see Flyer

I’m offering a new Class Payment option with my classes. Don’t want to mail a check? Click on the button to pay for your class fee and select your choice of day and time.


Class Fee
Choose a Class Date & Time