I was fortunate to receive the French Filigree background stamp as a Christmas gift from my sister. As you can imagine, I was excited to ink it up. I thought that it would pair perfectly with Vintage Vogue to create a card with a definite “shabby chic” flair. Chocolate Chip and Rose Red add to the richness, and although you cannot tell from the photograph, Brushed Gold adds a delightful sheen. This is one card that is so much prettier in person! And in case you are wondering who will be the lucky recipient of this card, it is being sent off in the mail to my sister to thank her for this perfect gift!

The Stampin‘ Schach Tips:

• Shabby doesn’t have to be drabby! Add a sheen to your cards with Brushed Gold card stock! Here it serves as a matting layer between the Rose Red and Chocolate Chip, thus making both colors “pop”! Plus, it accentuates the Scallop Trim Border that frames the image mat.
• Dare to be different! A unique and coordinated look can be achieved by using your background stamp, in this case French Filigree, for the card base background AND for the image background! Tres chic! Chocolate Chip ink and Very Vanilla card stock make a yummy combo!
• Practice makes perfect! And I am still trying to reach that state of perfection with the new Scallop Trim Border and Corner Punches. However, “friends” came to my rescue and covered up the flaw in an otherwise perfect Rose Red square. Isn’t that what friends are for?
• “Pop” rocks, especially when you are using Stampin‘ Dimensionals to “pop” up specific elements of your card to add depth! The “F” and the “Flower” from Vintage Vogue, which were inked in Rose Red and snipped out, were popped onto the card with Stampin‘ Dimensionals!
• Simple touches can add so much! Just a snippet of the new 5/8″ Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon and a new Chocolate Chip Epoxy Brad, along with a little Chocolate Chip ink applied with a Sponge Dauber, complete the shabby chic look I was trying to achieve!

Dormant Sets are Retiring

Please Click Here to Order Stampin‘ Up! 24/7!

Please Click Here to Open the Occasions Mini

Please Click Here to Open the Sale-A-Bration Brochure

Please Click Here to Open the Definitely Decorative Update

I hope that you enjoy browsing these catalogs over the next few days. Remember to get your Wish List in order. Until next time…

Happy New Year’s Eve! Since it is Thursday, it’s time to play @ PPA! This week, the Pals Paper Arts Design Team is sponsoring an “Anything But a Card” challenge. Since this is the most difficult of the challenges for me, I browsed Splitcoast looking for ideas. In my searching, I discovered the “5-in-1 Template Box”. It is large enough to fill with candy and even cookies, making it a wonderful choice for Valentine’s Day! However, I did not have a “5-in-1 Template”. But where there’s a will, there’s a way! I present to you, the “5-in-1 Template Box made without the 5-in-1 Template!” I simply tweaked Beate’s tutorial Located Here. If I can do it, you can do it! And isn’t it fantastic with the Sending Love Designer Series Paper available in the new Occasions Mini? It’s so quick and easy to make, that I know I will be making several more throughout the year!

The Stampin’ Schach Tips:

• Making reference to Beate’s tutorial, I began with a 4″ x 4″ square. I then set a compass to 2″ and added half-circles on all four edges of my square. (I re-cycled a piece of cardboard from a package of designer series paper to create this template!) I traced the template onto a piece of Sending Love Designer Series Paper and snipped it out.
• Pink Pizzaz! The scalloped corners were made using the Big Shot and the Scallop Circle die. A little “Pretty in Pink” ink accents the scallops, which have been pierced with a Paper Piercer. The rest of the tutorial is just as Beate wrote it. How easy is that!
• Flower Power! Make flowers in minutes with the Big Shot and Bigz XL Flower Fold die. Alternating pink and red patterns from Sending Love DSP coordinate perfectly to form the petals of the over-sized blossom which adorns the top of the box. The Boho Blossoms and 1-1/4″ Circle Punches were used to create the center of the bloom.
• Glitz and Glam! A few snippets of 5/8″ Whisper White Satin Ribbon completes the package. Although it does not show up in the picture, many of the patterns in the Sending Love collection are pre-glittered, and so pretty! Extra glitz is not required!

Please Click Here to Order Stampin’ Up! 24/7!