Grab a Pillow...

No, I don't think it's nap time... although I wouldn't really mind one to be honest! I'm actually referring to Pillow Boxes, the round, puffy little box you can make from thick card stock and other "foldable" mediums and fill with treats. At one of my recent Spring Fling classes I was surprised by my friend Linda, who gifted me with a set of 25 clear acrylic pillow box forms (thank you so much Linda!) Last night I sat down with one of the boxes and started contemplating different ways to decorate them...

.

.

For this "first attempt" I stamped flowers and circles from the "A Good Egg" stamp set using Jet Black Staz-on, then filled the images in using Gelly Roll Glaze pens. Once the ink dries you see that the pens provide a unique, almost stained-glass finish on clear, non-porous surfaces like acetate, plastic and glass - the photo below will give you a better idea of the effect. To make the colours "pop" I lined the pillow box with Whisper White card stock, and accented the outside with a pretty Tempting Turquoise ribbon. Looking in the side of the box you'll see some colourful Easter Eggs peeking out... what a pretty way to deliver some sweet treats!

.

Last Chance...

I'll be submitting my final order for the month this evening, which means it's your last chance to take advantage of both Sale-a-Bration (where you earn free stamps and accessories for each $60 of merchandise you purchase) and my Surprise Sale (taking 20% off anything you would like to order - no exceptions!)

The clock is ticking... contact me in the next few hours if you would like to place an order and take advantage of these two great sales!

Sunset...

I'm so inspired (karmic word choice) by the "Inspired By Nature" stamp set... in part because the oversized florals lend themselves so well to variance in colour and technique. After spending a few minutes browsing around Split Coast Stampers I came across a beautiful card that gave me even further inspiration - and here's my resulting project:

.

.

I used a masking technique to leave the "sun" uninked while I sponged sunset colours around it in More Mustard, Really Rust and Close to Cocoa. The flowers are inked in Chocolate Chip, and I accented the greeting with brads from the Vintage collection. The card base is Really Rust, with Chocolate Chip and Barley Banana layers.

Big thanks to flatfish for the great design!

.

So Easy A Child Could Do It...

One of the cards we made at this afternoon's Spring Fling card class utilized the Big Shot (you may have noticed a few recent posts about it). After the class my daughter Sophie decided she wanted a crack at it too, and I was amazed at how quickly she mastered the layering & rolling techniques the Big Shot uses. I can now say confidently that the Big Shot is so easy to use that even a child could use it!

Sophie making her "sandwich" using the Multipurpose Platform, Cutting Plate, Sizzlits Die, Paper and final Cutting Plate.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The rolling is her favourite part - I offered to help but got Sophie's traditional response of "No, I do it by... my... self."

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Lifting up the layers after rolling them through the Big Shot - it was exciting to discover what cool shapes she just made.

.

.

.

..

.

.

Look! It's the itty-bitty bird from the 4-piece Birds & Blooms Sizzlit Die set!

More Big Shot Fun!

I mentioned in my last post that when you purchase the Big Shot you receive a multipurpose platform to use with smaller dies and texture plates. I'm a big fan of the Birds & Blooms Sizzlit die set, and thought demonstrating it would be the perfect way to show how it's used.

The multipurpose platform looks like a three-page book with a very thick back cover, and conveniently comes printed with all the information you'll need to use the Big Shot with any thickness of die (including some made by other manufacturers). 

.

.

.

.

.

.

When using the multipurpose platform, you basically add another ingredient to your Big Shot Sandwich. Place the platform on the Big Shot before you layer your other ingredients, so your sandwich will now be layered as such: multipurpose platform - cutting pad - Sizzlits die (again, soft side up) - paper - cutting pad. One of the great things about Sizzlits dies is that their small size means small pieces of paper will provide you enough coverage to cut the image - it's a wonderful way to use up the scraps you haven't thrown out!

Roll your sandwich through the Big Shot just as you would using a Bigz die, and remove it when it pops out the other side.

.

You can now pop your beautifully cut image out. Another nice things about the diminutive size of Sizzlit dies is that the resulting images are perfect for greeting cards and other small-scale projects. 

.

.

.

.

The wings on this sweet little bird are scored to allow for easy folding - a simple way to turn her into a 3D item like a mini-mobile, or to give depth to a card (imagine her "flying" off the front!)

.

As Easy As 1... 2... 3!

To quickly and easily create intricate embellishments for your cards and scrapbooks, you just can't beat the Big Shot personal die-cutting machine. It's not only a great way to save time when cutting multiple images, but when using smaller Sizzlit dies is also a wonderful way to use scraps (and everyone knows that I never throw scraps away, so I have lots of them to use!) 

The Big Shot is a personal die-cutting machine based on a "rolling" design, which works in either a left or right handed fashion. When you purchase Stampin' Ups Big Shot for $118.95, you also recieve a set of standard cutting pads and a mulitpurpose platform (to be used with smaller dies & texture plates.) We also sell a Big Shot Starter Kit for $232.95, which comes with the Big Shot, standard cutting pads and multipurpose platform as well as 2 Bigz dies, a 4-pack of Sizzlits dies, a Decorative Strip die, and the Decorative Strip cutting pads and Extended Spacer Platform. Additional dies are sold seperately.

To use the Big Shot, first select the die and paper you wish to use - for this demonstration I'm using the Scallop Envelope Bigz die, and Designer Series Patterned paper. Then, build yourself a "sandwich"... layer first a standard cutting pad, then the Bigz die (soft-side up), then your paper, and finally another cutting pad.

.

Slide your "sandwich" into the central rolling section of the Big Shot, stopping when you meet resistance. Then use the handle to roll your "sandwich" through the Big Shot and out the other side.

.

Pop your perfectly cut shape out of the remaining paper, and get ready to craft with it. One of the great things about the Big Shot is its ability to cut multiple layers of paper and single layers of many other exciting materials. Imagine what you could do with die cut fabric (an amazing opportunity for creative quilters), leather, metal and more!

Our finished project is complete once a bit of Snail Adhesive is applied to the underside of the flaps. This pretty scalloped envelope could be used for a tiny greeting card, or even mounted on the front of a larger card with a tag or other embellishment nestled inside. The alternating patterns on each side of the Designer Series paper is one of the nice things about it for a project such as this - you get the effect of a lined envelope without the extra steps!

.

Inspired By Nature

The above card is a recent creation for my "Spring Fling" class... it uses the vibrant blue of Pacific Point as the background, Whisper White stamped with grass from the Inspired by Nature set, and finally a raised layer of Garden Green cut using the Top Note die in the Big Shot die-cutting machine. The flowers are from the Inspired by Nature set as well, and are stamped in White ink accented with Pacific Point sponging. This is absolutely one of my favourite recently created cards!

.

The inside of the Inspired by Nature card... simple and pretty, with a single flower inked in Garden Green and sponged in a combination of White and Pacific Point blue inks, and an inspiring message. Simple, clean and perfect for spring!

Surprise Sale!

We're almost at the end of March, and these gloomy skies are inspiring me to do something to brighten your day! From today through the end of March I'm offering you 20% off any merchendise you order - no exceptions! Now is the perfect time to buy that crafty item you've had your eyes on, because in addition to my 20% discount we're also wrapping up Sale-a-Bration, where you can earn free stamp sets and accessories for each $60.00 merchandise order you place... Here are two examples of great deals you could take advantage of for the next week only:

.

Summer's "Always Beautiful" Bundle

.
(Contains everything you need to make many of the card shown here, and more!)

Always Stamp Set, regularly $33.95 - 20% = $27.16

Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pad, regularly $6.95 - 20% = $5.56

Riding Hood Red Classic Stampin' Pad, regularly $6.95 - 20% = $5.56

Chocolate Chip Card Stock (24 sheets), regularly $6.50 - 20% = $5.20

Very Vanilla Card Stock (40 sheets), regularly $8.95 - 20% = $7.16

Bella Rose Designer Series Paper (6 patterns, 12 sheets, double sided), regularly $11.75 - 20% = $9.40

Total merchandise before tax = $60.04

Earn a free Sale-a-Bration item, like the "Congrats" stamp set shown here!

Summer's Big Shot Bundle

.

(Everything you need to start making amazing projects with your very own personal die-cutting machine!)

.

The Big Shot, regularly $118.95 - 20% = $95.16

Birds & Blooms set of 4 Sizzlits dies, regularly $25.95 - 20% = $20.76

36 sheets of assorted In Colour card stock, regularly $9.50 - 20% = $7.60

.

Total merchandise before tax = $123.52

Earn two free Sale-a-Bration items, like the Ribbon Bundle and "Yummy" stamp set shown here!

This sale will only be available from today through March 31st, so if you're interested in taking advantage of it please contact me today at either (519) 672-5485 or via email at summer.burton@sympatico.ca

.

A New Face on an Old Favourite

I attended a fundraiser last weekend up in the Lake Simcoe area, and was happy to create a Stampin' Up gift basket that was raffled off as part of the event. The creative person who won the basket received the Elegant Thank You stamp, Green and Blue beads from our Bead Duo collection, a 6" x 6" photo album and Designer Series scrapbook paper, die-cut shapes, and a set of eight hand-made note cards.

.

I created the note cards using one of my favourite designs, the same 6-layer layout we used for last November's Christmas Stamp-a-Stack card. The background is Certainly Celery featuring layers of Old Olive and Very Vanilla , and I used the Itty Bitty Buds Hostess stamp set with a wide variety of soft colours to bring a touch of spring to the cards. I think the result is lovely, and would make a great "any occasion" card!

Stampin' Up Regionals

We were all very excited to learn earlier this year that one of Stampin' Up's Regional Seminars would be held here in London... it's a huge coup for our area, as most often Demonstrators have to drive or even fly quite a distance if they want to attend one. After much waiting, the day of Regionals finally arrived - and it was quite the experience. I don't have the official numbers, but I believe there were around a thousand women (and men) in attendance... and all of them were sharing ideas, swapping cards, and learning great tips and techniques during the many presentations we saw. Another fun element of the day were blocks of stamping time built into the schedule, so attendees could work on projects and share supplies. Here are two of the cards I completed during the seminar:

.

.

They both use the set "Soft Summer", which appears on the first page of the new Occasions Mini Catalogue (I've included a picture of the entire set below). The flowers on the card on the left were completed using the Two-Step Stamping technique, while the ones on the right were water coloured. These techniques are favourites of mine for different reasons... they both give depth and colour to floral stamps; the Two-Step stamping technique can be very completed quickly, and the watercolour technique gives you the opportunity for lots of creative expression even though it does take longer to do. In the coming days I'll post tutorials of both these techniques - stay tuned to Summer's Creative Corner!

.

Above: The Soft Summer set from our Occasions mini catalogue. It's available for purchase only from April 1st to June 30th... contact me if you would like to place an order!