Birthday Blog Candy and PPA Sneak Peak

How about a little peek at this week’s Pals Paper Arts inspiration card? Don’t you just love the way I smooched this rose with the new Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz? Remember that you can see this card in its entirity when the Pals Paper Arts challenge goes live this Thursday at 5:00 AM CST. If you have not joined us before, why not play along this week? The design team is a fun-loving group of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. Although we use Stampin’ Up! supplies only, you are free to use any type of product you desire!

Yesterday was my birthday, and I would like to continue my celebration with you! And what better way to celebrate than with Blog Candy! If you are the lucky winner, you will be receiving:

  • 56 6″ x 6″ sheets of retired designer series paper (mostly Stampin’ Up! with a smidge of other)
  • 56 6″ x 6″ sheets of DCWV card stock
  • 1 new Yoyo Yellow Classic Ink Pad
  • 1 new and unmounted retired stamp set “Botanical Blooms”
Between now and Friday at 9:00 PM CST, just leave a comment on any of the posts that I happen to make, beginning with this one. On Friday evening, I will use Random.org to select a comment from all that have been left. The winner, whose name will be posted on The Stampin’ Schach Saturday morning, will need to email me their address by Sunday, May 1st so that the package can be mailed Monday, May 3rd.

A New Look
You may have noticed that there has been a change in my blog format. The Stampin’ Schach is now sporting two sidebars thanks to Heather Wright-Porto of Blogs by Heather. And my blog banner received a slight facelift courtesy of Michelle Laycock of Laycock Designs, who designed the original. Heather is available to help you design, set-up and maintain your blog, while Michelle is an expert at developing new custom looks. I highly recommend both of these talented ladies! Thank you, Heather and Michelle.

You may be wondering why the revamp is taking place. It is all in preparation for my official retirement from teaching in June. Watch out, stamping world! I will be making up for all of those days when I could not create or post because I was busy grading papers, typing tests, planning lessons and filling out reports. Woo hoo!

Blog Awards
A little sweetness has been passed my way over the past week, and I would like to thank Jean Fitch of Rogue Thoughts…Jean’s Stamping Studio in the Rogue Valley and Jen Timko of Stampin’ on the Fly for blessing me with the Sunshine Award.

In addition, the talented Melissa Rodgers, of MeGa Stampin Studio, has presented me with the Sweet Blogger award.


I would now like to pass these honors on to these creative stampers whose cards and projects range from elegant and classy to fresh and fun:
1. Mary C. Anderson
2. Tara Bilbao
3. Kari Linder
4. Kylie Nicolosi
5. Debbie Henderson
6. Carrie Fitch
7. Melissa Young
8. Lourdes Torres
9. Jade B.
10. Tiffany Miller

Thank you ladies for blessing me with your talent!

Remember to leave your comment in order to be eligible for this round of Blog Candy. You know how much I appreciate your comments, so let me know what you think of this sneak peek. Until next time…

Click Here to Order Stampin’ Up! 24/7

A Tale of Two Yellows


With the announcement of Stampin’ Up!’s “Color Renovation” came the news that Summer Sun and Barely Banana would be retiring. However, an exciting new yellow, Daffodil Delight would be entering the Bright Collection. How does Daffodil Delight stack up to the other yellows? Well, today we can see a side-by-side comparison with Barely Banana using the same card…same layout. (Don’t you just love this layout? I got the idea from a birthday card that I received from my friend and mentor, Mary Fish.) Plus these cards are showcasing two new Summer Mini items: the stamp set, Pedaling Past, and the wonderful Square Lattice Embossing Folder.

As you can see, Daffodil Delight is a bright and cheery yellow, ala Summer Sun. The replacement of Summer Sun with Daffodil Delight will cause no hardship here at The Stampin’ Schach! It is just slightly less intense and will work well with a variety of other colors. Here we can see it paired with three retiring colors, Mellow Moss, Cameo Coral, and Close to Cocoa:

On the other hand, Barely Banana is definitely soft and subtle. How differently Mellow Moss, Cameo Coral, and Close to Cocoa look next to this pastel:

Although there is no soft yellow slated to be released, the new In-Colors certainly sound like they could fill the niche vacated by Barely Banana. Peach Parfait and Pear Pizzazz sound yummy. After all, anything named after a food can’t be all bad!

The Stampin’ Schach Tips:
  • A trio of textures makes this card sing! Textured Mellow Moss card stock forms a rich base, while the “yellow du jour” is zipped through the Big Shot die cutting machine with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. The Mellow Moss Taffeta Ribbon quickly adds additional texture and sheen!

  • Punch a duet for a harmonious sentiment! The sentiment from Pedaling Past fits perfectly into the Word Window Punch. Layering it onto a Mellow Moss Modern Label creates the perfect pair.

  • A Scallop Trim Border completes the look! And don’t despair if you did not get the Scallop Trim Border Punch during Sale-a-bration. It will be available again July 1st! In the meantime, the Scallop Border Punch is a lovely substitute!
There is still plenty of time to stock up on the retiring colors showcased today, and there are still five days in which to order from the Occasions Mini catalog. You may have noticed that I am revamping The Stampin’ Schach. Until the change is made to a three column layout, the Stampin’ Up! catalogs may be accessed from the Catalogs page located under The Stampin’ Schach header at the top of this post.

Coming soon: Birthday Blog Candy and a trio of Blog Awards

As always, your comments are important to me. Please let me know what you think about today’s card by leaving a comment. And if you have any questions about the cards that I create or the techniques that I use, never hesitate to email me. Until next time…

Click Here to Order Stampin’ Up! 24/7

Stamp Set: Pedaling Past (W 116972, C 120069—Summer Mini); Card Stock: Daffodil Delight (2010 – 2011 Idea Book and Catalog), Mellow Moss textured (108695—Soft Subtle assorted), Mellow Moss (102898), Cameo Coral (100475), Barely Banana (102701), Very Vanilla (101650), Close to Cocoa (101341); Ink: Close to Cocoa (103139); Tools: Big Shot (113439), Square Lattice Embossing Folder (119976—Summer Mini), Word Window Punch (105090), Modern Label Punch (116630), Scallop Trim Border Punch (); Glitz and Glam: Mellow Moss Taffeta Ribbon (109069)

Watercolor Trio for the PPA


It’s Pals Paper Arts challenge day! This week the challenge is to make a KISS card (Keep It Simple, Sweetie!). In case you are wondering about the criteria for a KISS card, it should:
• Be clean with lots of ‘white’ space
• Have a simple design
• Take a minimum amount of time to create
• Have limited layers and embellishments
And most importantly, if it is “KISS-able” to you, it is “KISS-able” to the PPA. This is my favorite guideline. I know that there will be inspiration cards from my Design Team friends that are going to be truly KISS cards. But does that stop me from posting this one? No, because compared to many of the cards I make, this one really is less complex. Therefore to me, it is a KISS card. So don’t fret about your entry. What is important is that you are participating in a challenge, and we all know that challenges are one of the best ways to improve our paper crafting skills and our artistry. Although the PPA Design Team showcases Stampin’ Up! products in our inspiration cards, we welcome everyone and any brand of product. So…what are you waiting for? Join us this week…please!

The Stampin’ Schach Tips:

  • Create textured backgrounds in a matter of seconds! I zipped the Square Lattice Textured Impressions Folder through the Big Shot die cutting machine along with Very Vanilla card stock. Notice the wonderful “non-textured” oval in the middle? If you are new to stamping, you may be wondering how I accomplished this. I simply used my Oval Scallop Frame Bigz Die to cut a frame out of three layers of cardboard. (I used the cardboard that comes in a package of Designer Series Paper). I taped these together in order to hold them in place. I then set my multipurpose platform to Tab 2, inserted my Very Vanilla card stock into the folder, and then carefully positioned the frame on top of the folder. I made the proper sandwich using the cutting pads, and zipped it through the Big Shot. Instant oval! You may need to practice to make certain that you have a thick enough “shim”, but trust me…this is not difficult to do!
  • Lovely watercolored flowers are created in minutes! With Stampin’ Write Markers, you can easily color your leaves green (in this case Always Artichoke) and your flowers any beautiful shade you desire. I selected Regal Rose, Rose Red, and Summer Sun!
  • A stay-put bow is perfect when you want to keep your card simple! Bravo Burgundy 5/8″ Grosgrain Ribbon coordinates with the Rose Red flowers, and adds the “pop” of color that I was looking for at the bottom of the card.
  • “Stamp off” for softness! The background of the sentiment oval compliments the focal image rather than competes with it, and was easily achieved by stamping one more time AFTER I stamped the main image.

Don’t you love the Summer Sun card base and flowers? Summer Sun is scheduled to be retired as part of Stampin’ Up!’s “Color Renovation”. It is so vibrant and cheery! If this is one of the colors that you can’t live without, now is the time to stock up. Not sure how this compares to the new Daffodil Delight? Stayed tuned to The Stampin’ Schach for my next side-by-side simple card comparison!

Have fun with this week’s challenge! And as always, your comments are important to me. So please, won’t you leave me a comment and let me know what you think about today’s card? And remember, if you have any questions about the cards that I create or the techniques that I use, don’t hesitate to email me! Until next time…


Click Here to Order Stampin’ Up! 24/7

Stamp Set: Watercolor Trio (W 117050, C 120084—Summer Mini); Card Stock: Very Vanilla (101650), Summer Sun (103124); Inks: Jet Black StazOn (101406); Stampin’ Write Markers: Always Artichoke (105113), Rose Red (100063), Regal Rose (105108), Summer Sun (100077); Tools: Big Shot (113439), Square Lattice Textured Impressions Folder (119976—Summer Mini), Scallop Oval Punch (114889), Large Oval Punch (107305); Glitz and Glam: Bravo Burgundy 5/8″ Grosgrain Ribbon (109053);