Pawsitively Stamps

Work in progress

2010-09-08T16:12:00.000-07:00

It's been such a work in progress. Clearly I went the right direction when I chose a nursing career over computer programming, ya think? Slowly I will get there. The little engine that could .... I think I can, I think I can...

Perhaps I can persuade my brother to help out. Ya? Alright, it was worth a try. Truly, I'd be better off just posting in black and white- you'd see more posts :-).

Here's to you for checking in. I'll get the swing of this designer background yet. Then- cards, projects and the liking will be at your (and my) fingertips.

Until then. .... ... . happy crafting.

Does this blog still exist?

2010-05-31T07:48:00.000-07:00

Here it is, May 31, 2010. Has been an entire year that I've been away from my blog? Holy flying fish. I'm going to have to change that. First and foremost .... the new Stampin' Up 2010-2011 catalog should be in my hot little hands on Wednesday June 2nd. I can't post any electronic pics, but as soon as my pre-order arrives I'll be inking myself silly creating and posting. That's the only tease for now. Check back later in the week for pix and class schedule.

Be well, and happy crafting!

Stampin Up In Colors 2009/2010

2009-06-12T17:05:00.000-07:00

My favorite quick rubber stamp technique is Spotlight or Spotlighting. I used a few of the new "In Colors" from the 2009/2010 Stampin' Up catalog (soon to be released) for this sample.

The second technique used on this card is dyed ribbon. I *love* Stampin' Up's white Grosgrain Ribbon. With this ribbon and a little reinker/water combo you can have any color ribbon you want. Gotta love that! You can make your ribbon lighter, darker or anywhere in between. For this batch of ribbon I used 5 drops of melon mambo reinker to 20 drops of water. Nice! It's a nice way for me to know my ribbon matches without worry.

Recipe:
Stamps: Upsy Daisy
Ink: Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Soft Suede
Paper: Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Soft Suede

Technique: Spotlight, dyed ribbon

Happy stamping!

2009-04-24T07:14:00.000-07:00

Hey crafters!

Wednesday I was lucky enough to take the Copic certification class with Marianne, Cami, Tina and Wanda. How cool to spend the day with a bunch of crafty girls! We laughed, played and had oodles of fun. And I walked away with a Copic Certificate :-).

I soooooo hear the stamp room calling, but card making will have to wait another few days. We're off to camp for the weekend.

Happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Spring Summer 2009 IB&C casing continues...

2009-01-25T06:52:00.000-08:00

since I woke with an urge to stamp. It's early, the house is quiet, and I've yet to ingest my usual quantity (2 cups) of java. So- why not case from the new catalog? At least it's a great jump start.

On page 100 of the new catty it shows a beautiful rust card. Without pun, I'm trying to branch out of my usual color scheme (anything pastel) so it seems rather appropriate to use this card as my inspiration.

Recipe:
Stamps- Kind Thanks, Branch Out
Paper- Really Rust, Creamy Caramel, Confetti White, Night of Navy, Chocolate Chip
Ink- Basic Brown, Really Rust, More Mustard, Old Olive, Bashful Blue
Misc- Aqua painter, stamp-a-ma-jig, linen thread, *new* big brads, distressing tool

Some changes I made to the card included the tire swing complete with big eyelet and linen thread for the rope, some aqua painted ground cover, big brads instead of ribbon, different verse, distressing and a slightly different color scheme.

Hope you get some stampin' time today, I'm glad I did :-).
-Karan

2009-01-24T13:12:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday to Ralph! You wouldn't know it, but this card took a looooooong time this morning. Bling, brads, eyelets, it was all there. Then I realized who I was making the card for, our good friend Ralph. He's not flashy. He's not blingy. Fortunately, I used very little adhesive and was able to take it apart.

Take two, here it is. The background was done with resist emboss technique, then the martini glasses were colored in and embossed. Using my brayer I rolled bashful blue over the entire piece. Deciding it was a bit loud, I toned the entire piece down with a piece of confetti vellum. The finished result is nice and tame.

The top martini piece is inked with staz-on, colored, and finally embossed with versamark and UTEE.

Recipe:
Stamps- Cheers to You
Paper- Whisper White, Old Olive, Black, Misc. Vellum
Ink: Versamark pad and pen, classic Real Red, Old Olive, Bashful Blue, Staz-On Black
Misc: Aqua Painter and Stamp-a-ma-jig.

The hidden part- I've decided that all cards I send out now will have a removable piece of card stock on the inside where I will write my note. The person receiving the card will have the option of removing this piece of paper and sending the card on to another recipient. I'm still not sure how I will pass this info on to the original recipient, or how I'll make sure then have an additional envelope... ideas anyone?

'nough said. Have a great day, I hope you get to create a little!

New Stamps are here!

2009-01-22T13:32:00.000-08:00

The new Spring/Summer 2009 catalog is here, and I'm in love. Love, love, love. New rubber arrived via Mr. Brown today and I've already completed a card with a new set Friends 24-7. When the new catty arrived I immediately fell for the sample cards on page 85. However, these are not sets that I have or ordered (yet) so I improvised and this case is what I came up with.

Recipe:
Stamps: Friends 24-7, En Francais, Sanded
Paper: Kraft, Confetti White, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Classic Basic Brown, Creamy Caramel, Always Artichoke, So Saffron, Craft Whisper White,
Misc: Aqua Painter, Tool Kit, Hodgepodge Hardware

The finished card is 3"x6" folded. I used craft white to pattern the saffron background paper to mimic the pattered paper used in the catalog sample.

Other adjustments to my version of this (85A) card include a stripe of saffron paper instead of saffron twill, different stamp sets, and finally I paper pierced the top and bottom chocolate chip pieces to bring a little more to the card.

Admittedly, it was quite fun to go stamp and not have to recreate the wheel. That's why the Stampin' Up IB&C is so great, right?

Enjoy and happy stamping!
Karan

From under the rock I've been livin'

2009-01-11T18:31:00.000-08:00

Where did the end of December go? And the first half of January? Who can remember, and really- does it matter?

Alive, not all that well, but here none the less. Better yet, I actually stamped today. Yep. I barely got a few holiday cards out (sorry if yours what not one of them). The only other stampin' I've done consisted of a card layout challenge by buddy Molly and I did way back mid December at her place in Portland.

I grabbed a quick photo, not so much for inspiration but for proof. I do remember how to ink a stamp, fancy that!

Well wishes to all for a fabulous start to 2009.

MIA

2008-12-02T21:25:00.000-08:00

Oh, missing in action again? Yep. Seems to be a pattern here, don'tcha think? Well, perhaps I'll upload pix of our current goings-on. WARNING: They are not stamp/scrap/craft related. DH has been working hard to rebuild our wrap around deck for the past couple of weeks, and we've had multiple "work parties" to help out. -Glad you're not a local friend, yes? I can confidently say "I can roof." Yes indeedy. As much as I detest heights, I spent this past Saturday up on the roof laying shingles, or whatever they call them. *Love* the nail-gun :-). Do they make they make one for adhesive???????

I don't know about you, but when life gets a little nutz, the first thing to go is crafting for me. With the deck remodel, company for the past two weeks, then T-day ... and T-day recovery, I have yet to have any reminiscent of an ink stain on my fingers for some time. I stepped foot in the stamp room early (3:30 a.m.) today to get some sticky stuff to be able to "start" a project during my work lunch break today, lol. Other than that, I merely check SU updates and hope things will settle soon, or DH will turn his head long enough for me to play/create a little ;-).

Hope to post some creative pix soon. I do have some rumblings of fun ideas in my head, hope the blossom soon.

Happy crafting!
Karan

2008-11-16T16:40:00.000-08:00

Rachel over at Inspirations by Rachel has awarded me with the Kreative Blogger Award. Thanks, Rachel :-). Go check her out - she truly is inspiring!

Rules for the Kreative Blogger Award are:
1.The winner may put the logo on their blog.
2. Put a link to the person that sent you the award.
3. Nominate 5 blogs.
4. Put links to their blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees.

My 5 nominees are:
1. Amber (Amber's Antics)
2. Gale (Stamps and Stitches)
3. Dannie (Dannie's Designs)
4. Aubrie (Paper and Ink)
5. Teresa (enjoy the va.sunshine)

Visit these creative gals, they're quite talented and inspiring!

Happy crafting,

Season's Greetings

2008-11-11T04:23:00.000-08:00

Really, I still know where the stamp room is.... it's the uploading pictures that slows me down. Really.

I can't get old olive out of my head. I don't know if it strikes you as a holiday color or not, but every card I've attempted (and yes, not shown) has included old olive somewhere.

This was inspired by a fellow stamper (who I absolutely can not remember). Sponging the edges took away some of that stark white I struggle with.

Happy Tuesday, now go make it a good day.

Happy stamping,

Ninety Nine Pictures

2008-10-27T05:16:00.001-07:00

It might appear to some that I've been out of the crafting loop this last week. Not so! I spent all of Thursday and most of Friday locked away in the stamp room. Believe me, all you'd have to do is look in the window to see what a mad woman I must have been, cutting, gluing, taping, layering, cropping, matting.... it's all a blur right now. However, I did manage to pull together 99 pictures (almost all of them are matted) in over 40 pages of layouts to put together what will always be known as "my first scrapbook." No you don't get to see it! Not yet.

Happy crafting!
Karan

Watercolor crayons

2008-10-21T04:08:00.000-07:00

Why I love watercolor crayons.... and Aqua Painters. Combined together with watercolor paper there is forgiveness beyond belief. You really can take off color if you've put too much on. I even accidentally got eggplant (the color) on one of the corners and you can barely tell which corner it was. Yeah!

Recipe: (100% Stampin' Up)
Stamps- Morning Soft, Sanded Background
CS- Watercolor paper, eggplant, lavender, olive and black
Ink: Staz On Black, Olive and Eggplant markers
Misc: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Pretties Kit, grosgrain ribbon
Technique: Watercolor

Happy stamping!

CC188

2008-10-15T05:12:00.000-07:00

It took me most of the day yesterday to procrastinate into not working on the scrapbook. I did however clean the house, clean the hot tub, load 382 songs into iTunes, and run into town for an emergency vet trip (thankful to report all is well currently.) I had every intention of ... oh well. If you've read any of my previous posts you already have a good idea that my favorite pass time is procrastination.

Upon returning home from the vet I realized my day was shot. Well, most of it. I went over to Splitcoast to get some inspiration for a quick birthday card. Love it! I went straight to Tuesday's color challenge CC188, picked one stamp set and went to work, having only 10 minutes to create. Down to the stamp room I flew in a hurray, brushing obstacles on my desk aside (we all do that, right?) I got down to business. Having slept on it, I think I would use different ribbon- it's a little too bold for the image, don'tcha think?

Stamps: Party Hearty
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Basic Black
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Glimmer Mist, EP

Instead of inking the dots part of the cuttlebug folder, I inked the flat side with classic ink, which somehow made the white cs appear shimmery (don't ask me how). I rubbed the pretty in pink over the dots to make them stand out more. The main image is embossed and layered. I used the Glimmer Mist over the main image piece, which I don't think shows up here.

I think I'll revamp this card over the next couple of days to see what I can do with it. Input is always welcome.

Happy stamping!

My name is Karan and I don't know ...

2008-10-05T16:38:00.000-07:00

... how to scrapbook. There. I've come clean. Uh, am I suppose to feel better now? I don't. Though, now that I've said it, perhaps I'll move forward with my plans to change. Yep. I'm 40, married 5 years (this Oct. 25) and I'm determined to give DH a scrapbook for our anniversary. Don't worry, he never comes to the blog side. This first ever scrapbook is about change. Not any change, the change at Azalea Lane, 95060. No, nothing to do with 90210, there's a good 356 miles difference more or less. We're talking Santa Cruz, baby. Bonny Doon to be exact. This 30 year old house has seen some serious change in the last 4 years. Floors, walls, bathrooms, bedrooms, windows, doors, kitchen, closets ... did I leave anything out? Oh, the decks. That'll be a different (date tba) book, trust me on this!

So, with quivering knees (don't you dare laugh!) I'm taking on my challenge. I have 3 weeks. Well, as long as I can get it wrapped in time, technically I have 20 days and 1 hour to get it finished and wrapped. Heck, who cares about wrapping it? As long as it's done and maybe in some plain box to present it in, I'll be all good. My very good friend Kathy D. came over this weekend to kick me into gear. It worked. I have the first 5 pages of photos matted and ready to go. Which pushed me to get 68 more photos developed at Costco today, ready to pick up tomorrow after work. Ok, does everyone start with 179 photos for a scrapbook, or is it just me?

I know some would shudder at the thought of me cutting up pix, but I am. For those of you said shudderers (sp?) if you've seen the old stained glass windows we removed, would you not agree that a meer 1 1/4" square punch of each said window would not be more than sufficient to replacate the hee-bee-gee-bees those windows represent? Really?

Movin' on. I've chose an 8" x 8" album, of course made from scratch. Thanks to my recently purchased Bind It All, I'll have fun binding it in some uniquely Karan way.

So, stay tuned to see future presentations of my first ever scrapbook. It should prove to be very intersting, I guarantee!

Stamping Top 50

2008-10-04T07:44:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure if I should laugh or not. If you scroll way down to the bottom left of my blog you'll see the "Stamping Top 50" symbol. I have been amazed from the beginning of placing that logo in my blog- how in the world can I be #163? DH has been impressed by this fact which he infrequently asks about. Not only how could I be #163, but how could I always stay at 163? So, out of the blue today I went searching the Stamping Top 50 site. I'm not 163, nor am I 263. As a matter of fact, I don't rank in the top 500! ROTFLMBO. Seriously.

So I ask you, do you have this banner/logo on your site? Is it accurate? Has it ever changed? Yes, I'm going to remove it in a few days.... after I can lend some chuckles to others.

Is this a good marketing technique, or misleading? After all, what are they going to do, create a "You're not in the top 500" badge? Hmmm.... I think I could photoshop one of those babies up in a heartbeat. There might be some legality issues I should think about.

Enough with the numbers. I'm going to go play- after all it IS World Card Making Day!

Happy stamping :-).

eta: After moving on to other projects, and posting this little fact, I now see my ranking is in the 800's .... That seems a little more realistic. But, why did it change today? Lol.

5 Minute Man Card

2008-09-25T04:55:00.000-07:00

In the oodles and oodles of cards that are taking over the stamp room there is not 1 card I consider a "man card." While in the midst of attempting to clean up yesterday, DH came in and asked for a Thank You card for a client of his. So much for cleaning. I rummaged through mounds of cards. Nope, huh-uh, not that one, too girly, no, no, no ....... ugh! Those comments were from me, not DH. He would have been happy with anything. If only I could adopt that attitude, I would not own the mound of cards referred to earlier. Finally we both settled on one card, he liked it more than me. Hmmmpfhh. As he walked away to mail it, I decided I needed to make a quick man card. Looking around I realized I must own almost every flower stamp made. I settled on Fresh Cuts because the Thank You stamp seems a little more elegant than most. Here's what I ended up with. Simple. This was a 5 minute card. I never produce a card in 5 minutes. Ever.

My tricks:
Focus- I was focused on making a man card.
Distraction- I was (glady) distracting myself from cleaning.
In the process of cleaning, I found an envy complete with all the parts here (minus the ribbon/brads) already precut/prescored left over from a class 2 weeks ago. I could either put it all away or making something quick. Quick worked.

Recipe:
Stamps- Fresh Cuts, Sanded BG, Print Patter (retired) BG
Cardstock- Caramel, Teal, Craft
Ink: Basic Brown, Teal, Red, Celery, Caramel
Misc: Brads, Grosgrain ribbon, Dimensionals, Distressing tool

Alright, now back to cleaning. The carpet cleaners will be here in 3 hours and I have a mess of stuff still on the stamp room floor!

Happy stamping,
Karan

House of cards

2008-09-24T12:10:00.000-07:00

I might just be the slowest stamper ever. Or, to put a positive spin on it, the best card making procrastinator. :-). I received an order for cards about 3 .... or 4 .... or maybe 5 months ago. Here they are, complete at last. All 64 of them.

It's not as bad as it sounds. This order is for Christmas gifts, technically not needed for what, another 3 months? Fortunate for me, this customer (and very good friend) knows me, and plans much better than I do. Thus the early order for something needed by the holidays. These various cards have been inspired by many layouts from various publications as well as samples in the 2008 Fall/Winter Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog.

Not pictured is the pile of extras I made for future card sets to sell. Of course, will I ever actually sell them? It's not that I can't part with them. Believe me, with piles of cards laying around, it would be awesome to get some sold to free up some stamp room space. I simply can't set prices to my cards. Does anyone else have this problem? Seriously? I value my work, and always peruse store bought cards to check out their pricing. It seems as though the cheapest price for anything handmade with only 1-2 layers is at least $3.50, and upwards of $6. Most of my cards have a minimum of 3 layers, not to mention ribbon and embellishments.

Enough pondering. I'm off to prep for Saturday's Christmas Card class. Are you registered yet? Contact me via email now to register.

Happy crafting,
Karan

Order Stampin' Up online

2008-09-09T19:41:00.000-07:00

You read right. As of earlier this afternoon you can now make your Stampin' Up purchase right online. Simply click on the shop now button of my demonstrator business website here. I'll always gladly place your order the way you always have, or you can shop anytime day or night right at the click of a button. You'll notice at the top right corner a button indicating "shop now." From there you will be able to create a profile and place your order.

I'm always here for any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Happy stamping,
Karan

Stampin' Up TEASER ALERT!

2008-09-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

Yikes! I don't usually shout here, but this is so exciting that I had to. I know a secret, I know a secret. Hee... hee.... can't you just picture me skippin' around as if I'm ten years old with the biggest well kept secret, ever?

Why don't you go check out the Stampin' Up! website a little later today. Maybe then you'll know my secret.

Have a fun day!
Karan

Focus

2008-08-29T10:25:00.000-07:00

Do you have a hard time finishing that last bit of a project? Do you need a push in the right direction? Me, too! Stamp class is tomorrow and I have all but one kit together. How in the world do other demonstrators get class together up to 4 times a month (or more!) And they work full time jobs! Holy guacamole. My hat is off to all of you. Lol... what in the world am I here posting instead of finishing that last little bit. What holds me back? Maybe this will explain it...

She looks innocent, doesn't she? I think not. She decided I needed to play. I needed to play. The battle ensued. Out came The Claw, her favorite.

Sufficient time has been whittled away. I'm off to focus.
Happy stampin',
Karan

Inspired by a Sock Monkey

2008-08-18T17:52:00.000-07:00

The scraps have been flying, inking, stamping, cutting, embellishing. You name it. Convention 2008 (Stampin' Up!) has inspired my stamping creativity. Ok, that and I've been doin' a whole lot of casing lately. CASE as in Copy And Share (with) Everyone. So I shall.

This is a modified case from a fellow stamper, creator, and lover of chocolate. Ah, the love of chocolate. Anyhoo... her name is Jan and she is flying pigs amazing. You can find her and my inspiration here at Stamps, Paper, Scissors. I stock her blog when I can. After you see her
creations, just remember who sent you there, ok? So give this card a try, case Jan's or mine, or get creative and modified it a bit. Send a link to your rendition and I'll post it here.

Recipe:
Stamps: Sock Monkey
CS: Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Bashful Blue, Whisper White
Ink: Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Black Staz On
Misc: Grosgrain Ribbon (dyed to Pacific Point), eyelets, brads, Crop-A-Dile, sponge, glue, dazzling diamonds, watercolor brush

I can see using this layout again, how fun is it? Seriously. I love using punches in ways that you wouldn't normally think of. So, should this be a card (or something similar) that we do in my upcoming class? That's right, card class is around the corner. If you haven't already, sign up now! I'll be posting more cards that will be presented to make in class. :-).

As always, happy stamping!
Karan

What happened to Stampin' Up! convention posts?

2008-08-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

Oops! Yeah, my bad. You see, I was having so much fun making swaps each night (late each night) that I completely goofed on actually posting what was happening at convention.

The bottom line... it was loads of fun. This was my first convention in the 3 years I've been a Stampin' Up! demo. Wowza. Mind you, I go to semi-local RS conventions all the time. But Stampin' Up! convention is like no other. Imagine ~6000 demonstrators gathering in one spot all for the love of rubber. I spent 2+ hours in line for Momento Mall the first day with my good buddy and fellow demo, Kathy D. Neither of us had swaps to share, but it really didn't matter. We had so much fun watching others swap, checking out other demo's swaps, and meeting wonderful people. I even got to hook up with my upline Sherry and my sideline Judy (and many other great folks in my demo family!) Although I missed the last day of general session (where a UPS truck drove onto stage and men in brown jumped out and hand delivered a rubber stamp set to each demo in the audience!), I am so happy to be fortunate enough to attend this year's SU convention. Really!

My goal each night was to make 10 cards to swap the following day. Kathy helped me each night (and laughed at me, rightfully so) while the card stock was flying, ribbon tied, eyelets set... you get the idea. Good thing I brought my card making supplies. I was able to take new sets we received in our goodie bag and use them for swaps.

Moving along, here's one of the cards I made for class at the end of August. If you haven't signed up yet, do so ASAP. Space is limited and I want to make sure you get your spot.

Recipe:
Stamps: Happiness Always, Sanded BG
Paper: Mellow Moss, Apricot Appeal, Black, White
Ink: Mellow Moss, Basic Black, Apricot Appeal
Accessories: Silver Eyelets, Ribbon, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds, Crop-A-Dile

I will try to post a few more samples of cards before class (August 30th at The Crafter's Studio.) Call or email to reserve your spot. *Ask about my bring a friend special discount!* Also note- sentiments on most card can be changed to meet your needs. Although I show samples of certain sentiments, you will have others to choose from. This is a way I can help you individualize cards for your current needs. :-).

Happy stamping!

Karan

Holy Carp!

2008-07-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

Has it been long since I've posted? Sheesh! What rock have I been under? Well, I know the name of the rock, but it's really not important. The GOOD thing is that I'm still here, still stampin' (first time in over a month!), and creatin' like mad. Why? Well, it's called a deadline. Yep. I'm sure plenty of you have heard of it. I'm going to my first Stampin' Up convention tomorrow and I've got not one, or two ... but 4 swaps to bring with me. That's not including anything I want to swap in the general sense. The swaps I'm responsible for are ones I signed up for months ago. True to my form (clearly have not finished many chapters in GTD) I am last minute crafting like a mad woman (insert mad (woman) scientist pict. here) to get my obligations done. Yep. This a.m. I realized that I had signed up for FOUR not TWO organized swaps. Oh carp is right. It's not such a bad thing, since I do fairly well under extreme stress. Thus I might actually be the nurse you want at the bedside in your moment of distress. Possibly. I digress. Anyhoo- I'm really down in the stamp room creating and not up here blogging (What would GTD author have to say about this?)

As I mentioned, I realized a few hours ago that I really did have more swaps to create than what I could recollect (can I take that to court?) So, moving along in swaps I thought I'd whip out my chalkboard technique swap. Yep, should be simple. No, I haven't tried it before. But how hard could craft ink and chalk be? Seriously. Well, it turns out, in my picky little world, it's very challenging. Not so clean as I'd have thought. After a struggle, some food, some chocolate, and a heartfelt chat with my creative guru (DH- he's a whiz at figuring things out), I went back to the stamping board to redo an hour's worth of work. That's when I picked up my handy dandy white gel pen. Oh, yeah baby. That's what I'm talking about. (Sorry, the chocolate is kicking in right about now.)

Not perfect in any way, but I'm much happier with this card than the many prototypes. Although the bg looks rather stark (I'm patiently waiting for the new SU catty to find out all the new *current* background stamps I will soon have at my disposal) I decided the focus was on the technique and not the background. And, since time is of essence (what in the world am I doing blogging now?) I decided stark would be appropriate. Enjoy.

Don't forget to stay tuned. I'll be posting around the clock at convention. My clock, that is. So early in the a.m. and late at night I'll be delivering up to date info on the haps of the new catty and convention chatter.

Happy stampin'!
Karan

Stampin' Up! Retired List

2008-06-16T06:01:00.000-07:00

The newest retired list is out from Stampin' Up! If you want to place an order - email me today! Remember, you can now pay for your stampin' fix via credit card :-).

Happy stamping,
Karan