Stampin-Style

Christmas Magic

Stampin’ Up! Tartan Foil and Shop The Town

I love the combination of the Tartan Foil and Shop The Town stamp set.  There’s something about the plaid pattern and the house that just ticks off the right box for me.

I’m currently on a Danube Christmas Market Riverboat Cruise  we just left Nuremberg and are headed for Regansberg.  If you’re a Christmas person (and I am) hitting all the Christmas Chriskindle markets is an amazing experience. It’s the 4th time we done this. I’ve tried to attach some pics but the ship internet is too slow. I’ll post a bunch when I m back in the states.

 

 

Noel

Stampin’ Up! Joy of Noel Bundle and

Shining Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper

Here’s a super simple Holiday card using the Joy of Noel stamp set and coordinating dies.  The letters are on one stamp. So I stamped the letters in Mossy Meadow on white card stock. I cut them out using the coordinating die.  Hold on to the scrap created here as you can use it to position the cut out letters on the red foil.  The “ribbon” is red foil on Shining Christmas Designer Series Paper and matted on a piece of Mossy Meadow card stock.  But the Designer Series Paper can be any small pattern Designer Series Paper. Get creative!

Happy Thanksgiving

Thankful For…Billions of…CRANBERRIES?

On Thursday we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving in the US.  And for many of us the staples of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner are turkey, stuffing (or in my family we call it dressing), mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, and of course, cranberry sauce.  But not that gelatinous red cylinder that slides out of can, but the fresh kind made from scratch.

But do you know where cranberries come from?  Or how they get from wherever that is to our Thanksgiving table.  I stumbled across this video and I was amazed how it’s done!

For my simple cranberry sauce recipe,

check out this Bon Appetit recipe:

Bon Appetit Simple Cranberry Sauce

Paper Pumpkin November 2023

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It’s Time To Deck The Halls

Stampin’ Up! Christmas Classics Photopolymer Stamp Set &

Joy of Christmas Designer Series Paper 

 

I’m sitting in Palm Springs Airport waiting to board my flight for Michigan to spend Thanksgiving with my sister and her family.  I make this pilgrimage every year.  But this year the terminal is depressingly void of all decorations.  I’m heading east this year a week earlier than usual. I’ll be leaving Detroit a week earlier to board a flight to Nuremberg Germany.  Rick and I are doing a Christmas Riverboat Cruise down the Danube with friends.  So Palm Springs Airport, let’s get busy decking those halls ( or in this case, terminals)!

This is such an easy card. I let the Designer Series Paper do all the work.  A little gold foil and it’s ready to go!

Day Of The Dead

The Day Of The Dead was always a mystery to me. Celebrated November 1-2, this Mexican holiday remembers family and friends that have passed.  Then in 2017 Disney released the movie Coco and it all made sense.  If you haven’t seen it or even heard of it (or even if you have) rent it and watch it.  It’s a beautiful animated feature that explains everything. 

In the movie they show how marigolds are used to commemorate the dead. So what better card to create to commemorate this holiday than the retired Stampin’ Up! set Marigold Moments from the 2023 January - May Mini Catalog.  The cluster of flowers was stamped twice, die cut out and locked together to create a longer image.  And the sentiment Thinking Of You is the perfect sentiment for a Day of the Dead card. 

Stamp Review Crew - Apple Harvest

Stampin’ Up!

It's the fifth Monday of the month and that means it's time for the Stamp Review Crew’s Bonus Blog Hop.  We are a group of Stampin' UP! demonstrators sharing a ton of ideas focused on a single stamp set. This week we're featuring the Apple Harvest. You have likely come from Cindy Elam’s blog on your way through this amazing hop. If you get lost, simply click on the banner for a list of participants and get back on track.

I thought I’d go for a more subtle antique look.  I’m also using my watercolor pencils more and more.  This image is perfect for a soft rendering of the image.  The background stamp Crackle was the perfect background for this project.  I stamped over the colored image.  I used a blending brush and Smoky Slate ink to soften the Crumb Cake cardstock.

      
Next stop on the Hop is Ellen Woodbridge’s blog
where she'll wow you with her beautiful design skills.

Open If You Dare!

Stampin’ Up! has some gorgeous Designer Series Paper!  In fact, it’s so beautiful that sometimes I just save it…FOR YEARS!  And I look at it and look at it and can’t imagine any design that is worthy of it.  This has got to stop!  So here’s a card I created exclusively from four different designs of the same Designer Series Paper pack and two stamps.  It should say “USE if you dare!”

Trick or Treat!

Here’s a blast from the past!  I NEVER throw ANYTHING away!  And you’d know that if you saw the mountains of Designer Series Paper I have.  Some are full 12x12 sheets and others are cut into 4x6 sheets so I can store then in photo storage boxes. 

Here’s a card primarily from retired Designer Series Paper.  And the sentiment frame is from a Christmas stamp set.  I love the banners and Photopolymer stamps are so easy to bend into submission!  If you don’t have these papers, you may have some equally delightful ones that will work.  Boo!

 

 

Stamp Review Crew - Cottage Wreath

Stampin’ Up!

It's the third Monday of the month and that means it's time for the Stamp Review Crew’s Blog Hop.  We are a group of Stampin' UP! demonstrators sharing a ton of ideas focused on a single stamp set. This week we're featuring Cottage Wreath. You have likely come from Terri Tank‘s blog on your way through this amazing hop. If you get lost, simply click on the banner for a list of participants and get back on track.

I’m a firm believer in using both old and new products.  So this project is a combination of both.  The featured stamp set is a super flexible set that can be used to celebrate any holiday simply by changing the color palette a a few small stamps.  

      

Next stop on the Hop is Cindy Elam’s blog

where she'll wow you with her beautiful design skills.

Happy Fall All Y’All!

It’s September 21 and the first day of fall.  Here in California we don’t “fall back” to standard time until November 5th, but it’s already noticeably light later in the morning a darker earlier.  But autumn is still my favorite season.  The smell of damp leaves (growing up it was the smell of burning leaves cuz that’s how we got rid of them back in the day) and the taste of apple cider and baked cinnamon sugar donuts.  

I love this style of card.  It looks so complicated and appears to look like several layers of cardstock/Designer Series Paper.  But in reality it’s just a 4 1/4” x 5 1/2” pieces of cardstock, and the same size Designer Series Paper. It’s a great way to use up small patterned paper and can be used as your “go to” design year round. 

Stampin’ Up! Complete Color Palette Tool

I’ve created, what I think is, a great Stampin’ Up! tool.  It’s created in the style of the paint palettes you get at paint stores. The colors are actual card stock samples of the full palette of Stampin’ Up! colors. On the back are the item numbers for cardstock, ink pad, ink refill, and Blends if available. The are shipped with a scrapbook post to hold them together but I’ll also include a ring. They are $35 plus $3 shipping for the palettes. International shipping will be based on the actual shipping charge. If you’re interested in purchasing one, send an email to mike@stampin-style.com  I will respond to you acknowledging the order.  I’ll send you a PayPal invoice when I’m ready to send it to you. This way if I run out and have to create more, you won’t be charged until they’re ready to ship. Please use the email you use for PayPal.  The address attached to your PayPal account will be the shipping address.

In the future I plan on offering a collection of the recently retired colors.  It will consist of the 10 colors from the 4 color families (Neutrals, Regals, Brights, Subtles) plus the Retired 2021-23 In Colors for a total of 3 color palette cards.  Further down the road, I will offer the retired In Colors from 2010 to 2020.

I hope you like them as much as I do.

Mike

Customers reactions:

“I just got mine in the mail! This is fabulous and the work that went into it is extraordinary! It’s worth so much more than $35! Thank you!!”  Sue Connell Jackson - demonstrator

“I have one and love, love it! Makes seeing all the colors and quickly matching up scraps a snap!”  Mary Fish - Demonstrator

“I received the stampin up color selector and it was in perfect condition. It is even better than the photos. I have left you 5 star all positive feedback but wanted to say an extra thank you for making such a great item available. I am ordering 2 more for friends who loved mine when they saw it. Thank you for working with me and being such a great eBay seller.” Mary - eBay customer

“Your color cards are excellent. Sometimes I just look at them to see if certain colors work together. I hope you can sell many of them. I have saved you as a seller in case you invent other great items. Good luck.”  - eBay customer

 

Stamp Review Crew - Sweet Citrus

Stampin’ Up! Sweet Citrus Hybrid Embossing Folder

It's the third Monday of August and that means it's time for the Stamp Review Crew’s Blog Hop.  We are a group of Stampin' UP! demonstrators sharing a ton of ideas focused on a single stamp set. This week we're featuring Sweet Citrus. You have likely come from Terri Tank’s blog on your way through this amazing hop. If you get lost, simply click on the banner for a list of participants and get back on track.

I throw away nothing!  I have Designer Series Paper dating back to 2009!  So when it came to creating this hop’s project, I knew I’d find a leaf background in my stash somewhere. Enter Mosaic Mood Specialty Designer Series Paper. The finish on this paper is awesome with shiny and matte finishes in a modern leaf. If you look closely you’ll see I embossed the Designer Series Paper using the Sweet Citrus Hybrid Embossing Folder. The citrus slices were stamped on Whisper White card stock using Granny Apple Green, Daffodil Delight, Flirty Flamingo and Pumpkin Pie. The stamped images were then die cut using the dies that are part of the Hybrid Embossing Folder dies.

      

Next stop on the Hop is Kim Fee’s blog 

where she'll wow you with her beautiful design skills.

Mid Century Rays of Light

plus Stampin’ Up! Bright & Beautiful Designer Series Paperback 

Yesterday I posted a card on the Stamp Review Crew featuring the Rays of Light background stamp. On my post I promised a second card featuring the same stamp. Here it is.

I stamped the Designer Series Paper using VersaMark®️ and clear embossing powder.  It changes the entire look of the Designer Series Paper reminding me of a Midcentury style card. It really does make it look like Rays of Light!