4th of July Work of Art

Posted on July 3, 2014 by Stamp with Jini

Were celebrating the 4th with a good old fashioned family cookout here in Clarkesville and it looks like the weather will be perfect for it. I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone again and getting to meet new family members too. Some we haven’t seen in years, along with marriages and babies. What fun.

And since it is the fourth of July I thought it would be fun to do a little something for the kids. So I’ve put together this fun bucket of items for each family.

And created this cute little tag that I attached to it with our Metallic Silver Baker’s Twine (132142) that is part of our Weekly Deals this week.

What do you think? Cute? I’m hoping these will be a hit with everyone since it contains a little something fun for all ages that can be used all day and even until the fireworks!

What’s inside? Well I’ve got some bubbles, a beach ball for the pool, bug boxes for catching the fire flies, glow sticks, sparklers, poppers, and other goodies for the evening.

I’ve got the one done – now just to put the others together. LOL Larry’s got a big family!

Home improvements – oh my!

Today I thought I would also share with you what I’ve been doing lately with my free time. I think I’ve shared with you I’ve had the home improvement bug this spring, my love of painting trim….. and so the projects continued.

Larry and I have “discussed” painting the stairs for years, or should I say I have. He just didn’t think it was necessary and I thought it would be a big help to protect the pressboard and make cleaning easier too.

Well on June 3rd I decided I’d jump in. I’ve never painted stairs so I was a bit intimidated, but after reading up on it I figured what the heck – it couldn’t be that hard, right?

I tried stain first at the suggestion of my sister, unfortunately it didn’t cover up all the spots that had been created from spills over the years. And apparently my brain wasn’t functioning well either, because I didn’t think of solid color stain that the gal at Home Depot had recommended before I started to kilz. Oh, well. I guess paint was meant to be.

So here is the first picture I took – Seems I always forget to take the before photo – caulked, Kilzed, and first coat of trim.

I know it looks a little strange with only part of the stairs done to this point, but I figured I wanted to see how it went. And I wanted to get the color on the tread to see how I liked the color we chose to go with the wood landing. LOL – Like I’d have a choice once I started.

The biggest challenge was making the stairs usable since my guys are always up and down them and of course my classroom is downstairs too. I sure didn’t want to go long without getting to stamp!

So I learned if I started first thing in the morning they’d be dry enough for everyone to go up and down when they got home and the trash and dirt from their shoes would not stick. (It seemed to rain a lot so going around wasn’t really an option Johnathan wanted to deal with.) I also did every other step and added the green paper to keep things clean.

Here is the finished project now after I finished all the touch ups and door trim this week. Yea!

Painting the stairs really brightened up the space and I really love the look. They are so easy to clean now!

However, I am still thinking about stamping on the risers. I’ve had this great two step stamp set I’ve always wanted to use for that, but for now I’ve got other things on my list I want to do first.

Everyone who has been to my classroom before noticed the new look immediately and made my day by commenting about how great they looked. Thanks guys!

Funny thing is my husband, Larry asked me what took me so long to paint the stairs! (He’s a hoot.) They don’t squeak any more which is the part he loves. Of course that means my “alarm system” for the kids is gone since I always knew when someone was coming up the stairs. I’m not sure what made them stop creaking and squeaking, but I’m glad my husband likes the end result too. Now I’ve just got to get him to put trim up where the concrete and sheet rock meets. That little space drives me nuts. After all who knows what can live in that space – eek!

Supplies:

Stamp Set: Work of Art (134111/134114), Fabulous Four (134171/134174), and Something to Say (134177/134180)

Inks: Pacific Point (126951), Real Red (126949), Melallic Silver Encore Ink (132142), and VersaMark (102283)

Paper: Pacific Point (111350), Real Red (102482), Basic Black (121045), and Whisper White (100730)

Accessories: Silver Baker’s Twine (132976), 1/8″ Handheld Circle Punch (134365), Black Embossing Powder (109133), and Heat Tool (129053)

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

Hostess code KGM3XHTJ

Weekly Deals (Special ends Monday, July 7th 2014 at 11:50 p.m. (MT)

Get your favorites Designer Series Paper in July – Sale ends July 31, 2014 at 11:50 p.m. (MT)

Blendabilities are here – Click HERE to get yours today!

Blended Blooms & Blendabilities News

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Stamp with Jini

Great news! The release of the Stampin’ Blendabilities Markers are just a few days way! You’ll be able to order you own Stampin’ Blendabilities Markers on

Tuesday, July 1st! Whoo hoo!

So today I thought I would share with you a project that I made using the Stampin’ Blendabilities Markers that will be available on Tuesday to purchase.

My card is made using the Blended Blooms stamp (135906) from page 167 of the NEW 2014-2015 Catalog. It is one of our single stamps that are available and work well for coloring.

And, I have to say with our NEW Blendabilities Markers it’s a lot of fun to color. I have to be honest and say I was a bit skeptical at first about them since I’m not a big colorer (is that a word?), but by my second image I was hooked. I find coloring with the Blendabilities, well – relaxing. And It is amazing how quiet a room will get with a group of demonstrators using Blendabilities. Ahhh….a Zen moment! LOL

I really wanted to make my flower pop on this card and a black and white combo seemed the way to go, so I chose to use the Back to Black Designer Series Paper.

I started with the Blended Bloom image that I colored using my Rich Razzleberry Blendabilities (131003) and cut the flower out using my Paper Snips. (And it’s ok if your cutting isn’t perfect – when a little of the white showed, I just took my lightest Blendabilities and touched up the edges.)

Next I cut a piece of the Back to Black Designer Series Paper (4″ x 2 3/4″) so that the scallop was right against the top edge of it since I wanted to add the strip of ribbon above it. I layered this onto the bottom of my Whisper White Card stock (4 1/8″ x 5 3/8″).

I stamped my sentiment from the Fabulous Four stamp set in Versa Mark on to my Basic Black card stock (cut 4″ x 2 1/2″) and embossed the sentiment in White embossing powder. I was looking for a happy birthday greeting but for some reason this font reminded me of the pattern in the scallop on the Designer Series Paper, so I went with it instead.

I attached the sentiment to the front of the card, added a strip of the 1/4″ Rich Razzleberry Cotton Ribbon (LOVE this ribbon!) and then added it to my Rich Razzleberry card base.

And of course I had to try my Blendabilities on the Rhinestones, right? So I used my darkest marker to color them. Soooooo easy!

And for the inside I decided to use another sentiment from this set that I stamped in Rich Razzleberry. I also added a scallop edge along the bottom with a bit of Basic Black peeking out.

I really like the way this card turned out and think my friend will like it too. I can already see, I’m going to love coloring again and having another coloring choice is great!

Stampin’ Blendabilities Markers on the Horizon

These exclusive alcohol-based marker sets, come in a 3-pack of light, medium and dark shades (of the same color ), and provide your projects a more saturated look with blended colors. Use Stampin’ Up! Whisper White Cardstock with your Stampin’ Up! Blendabilities, or any one of Stampin’ Up! card stocks would work just as well.

On Tuesday, July 1st the following items will be available to order:

Cherry Cobbler (Item #130995 – $11.95)
Coastal Cabana (Item #131000 – $11.95)
Daffodil Delight (Item #130998 – $11.95)
Old Olive (Item #130999 – $11.95)
Pumpkin Pie (Item #130997 – $11.95)
Rich Razzleberry (Item #131003 – $11.95)
Skin Tone Assortment (Item #129370 – $22.95)

In addition, the following Blendabilities products will also be available:

Memento Ink Pad (Item #132708 – $5.95)
Memento Ink Refill (Item #133456 – $4.95)
Color Lifter (Item #129369 – $4.95)

*On August 1st, the remaining six color assortments will be made available to order.

What Sets Them Apart:

The Stampin’ Up! rectangular barrel keeps your markers from rolling away!
Flat storage helps to maintain the life of each marker.
Each marker comes with a tip on each end: brush and fine.
Marker tips are made of nylon, which is superior to polyester which can fray.
Color coded caps.
Blendabilities Markers coordinate wonderfully with our card stock, and can be used with transparent sheets, rhinestones, and pearls.

Want to Learn More about Blendabilities?

I’ve created the following video to get you started.

And here is another video to show you the basics in coloring.

So what do you think? Want yours right away? No worry – I can accept your order today and place your order on July 1st for you when they go live!

Contact me today.

Supplies:

Stamp Set: Blended Bloom (135906), and Fabulous Four (134171/134174)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black Pad (132708), Rich Razzleberry (126950) and Versa Mark Pad (102283)

Paper: Back to Black Designer Series Paper (133700), Whisper White (100730), Basic Black (121045), and Rich Razzleberry (115316)

Accessories: Rich Razzleberry (131003), Pumpkin Pie (130997) and Daffodil Delight (130998) Stampin’ Blendabilities Markers, Rich Razzleberry 1/4″ Cotton Ribbon (134564), Basic Rhinestone Jewels (119246), White Embossing Powder (109132) and Heat Tool (129053), Scallop Edge Punch (119882), and Paper Snips (103579)

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

Hostess code BRXTH4XS

Weekly Deals (Special ends Monday, June 30th 2014 at 11:50 p.m. (MT)