Botanical Blooms - 2016 Occasions Catalogue Sneak Peek!

The 2016 Occasions Catalogue will soon be live - and this card is made with one of my favourite sets in the new catalogue, the Botanical Blooms Photopolymer set. Of course, the awesome coordinating Framelits might have skewed it, since I'm a sucker for all things Big Shot related.. This stamp set is available in a bundle with the Framelits and the coordinating Designer Series Paper to save you 15%, beginning January 5!

Supplies Used:

Cookies For You!

The Mini Treat Bag Thinlits dies make a super cute little bag. Instead of just making a flat bag, I cut out two of the large bag pieces and stuck them together to make more of a gift bag (it needed to hold some cookies!) 

And I couldn't resist using my old reliable retired Scentsational Season gingerbread man to help embellish the package:
 

Supplies Used:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Let it Snow!

It's doubtful that the snow we have will last until Christmas, but it's really been nice this weekend with that little dusting covering the ground. Just enough to put my household into the real Christmas spirit. So today's card is asking for more snow!

Supplies Used:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Seasonal Wine Topper

Today's inspiration is a gift label/wine topper. This is a great way to spruce up a gift bottle of wine and to add some personality to your 'wrapping'. This is also a great way to use up some scrap pieces of paper for your cutting.

This topper was inspired by the one that Cindy Brumbaugh made last year. Retired Supplies Used: Scentsational Season stamps and Framelits, Good Greetings Stamp set
Supplies Used:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Embellished Ornaments, and why you need the Precision Base Plate!

I love these stunning ornaments, especially in the shiny red foil paper! If you're thinking how hard these Framelits will be to cut with the Big Shot, you need to be introduced to the new Precision Base Plate. This plate will allow you to cut out intricate designs like never before. Check out the video to see it in action!



This week, the Precision Base Plate is part of the Weekly Deals! Such a great time to see it on special for only $23.25!

Supplies Used:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

It's December! Advent Calendar is Ready!

Here goes! I'm kicking off a series of posts leading up to Christmas - hopefully to help you with your Christmas crafting, and to inspire you to create something for this season of giving! I'm starting again like I did last year with my advent calendar. It was quite labour intensive, so I hope you don't mind that I'm using the same project I did last year ;)

My boys were happily surprised to see the familiar fixture greeting them this morning with treats in box 1. I don't always put treats or candies in the boxes - I've often put activities, or discussion items in the boxes (such as, think about your favourite Christmas memory today, and share it with us at dinner tonight).

I made the numbers using the calendar stamp from the retired Project Life Day to Day set and inked every third number (to give enough room between each one for punching). Then I used the 1/2" circle punch to cut them out. 

Retired products used:
Letter to Santa DSP, Riding Hood Red Marker, Day to Day stamp set, Priority Mail stamp set, A Cute Christmas stamp set, Pines & Poinsettias stamp set, Ornamental Pine stamp set, Mosaic Madness stamp set, Bright & Beautiful stamp set, Endless Wishes stamp set, Scentsational Season stamp set, Tiny Tags stamp set, Scallop Square punch, Postage Stamp punch, Jewelry Tag punch, Ornament Keepsakes framelits, Holiday Collection framelits, Snowflake Card Thinlits, Frosted Sequins, All Is Calm Snowflake embellishments

Supplies used:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Weekly Deals - Hamburger Box Die

Every Tuesday, there's a new set of deals on a selection of fantastic products as part of the 'Weekly Deals' You'll want to check the Online Store to see what's on sale and take advantage of these great deals before they're gone! 

This week, the Hamburger Box Bigz XL Die is one of the products featured. I've had my eye on this die for quite some time. It makes the cutest box perfect for wrapping up treats:

See it in action here:

Supplies Used:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Best Day Ever - MOJO383

I wanted to play along with MojoMonday again this week, and thought that it would be fun to use the 'Best Day Ever' SAB stamp set, since we had a super fun time playing in the snow yesterday.

Here's the sketch for this week: I also did the draw for the prize for the Stamp-a-Stack survey entries - thank you so much for giving me your feedback! By an overwhelming majority, the date is set at April 25! Shara is the winner of the door prize - congrats Shara!

Supplies Used:

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Thinking Ahead to Spring: Flower Patch

Plans are underway for the Spring Stamp-a-Stack. I'm looking for some feedback to help determine the best date for this class, and the types of cards we make. Which date suits you better: April 11 or April 25? Complete this survey (which closes tomorrow, Jan 31) to submit your vote. I'm also doing a draw for those who complete the survey :)

And while we're thinking ahead to spring, I thought I'd share this card using the very fun Flower Patch stamp set (and coordinating Framelits):

While I used the Big Shot for the embossing folder, it's worth noting that the same impressions can be made with the (much less expensive) Texture Boutique Machine, which is part of this week's Weekly Deals along with a number of other embossing folders!

Supplies Used:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Shaving Cream Tutorial - FMS158

As promised yesterday, here's the tutorial on how to do the shaving cream technique… it's a super fun way to create your own patterned paper. And the great thing is that when you use your Stampin' Up! reinkers, you'll have coordinating cardstock on hand too!

Before you start, gather the following items:

• Shaving cream (a dollar store can will work just fine if your spouse isn't keen on you stealing his ;)
• Reinkers: you should choose 2 or 3 coordinating colours. You may wish to have them all handy though, cause it does get addictive!
• A container or paper plate to contain the shaving cream
• Popsicle stick, piercing tool, or paint brush for mixing the colours
• Pre-cut cardstock that you'll be using as your canvas
• Piece of stiff cardstock/box board to wipe the shaving cream off the card
• Paper towels for easy clean up

Spray some shaving cream into your container. You really don't need a lot - the more you put in, the more you'll have to remove when you want to make a new pattern/change colours.
Smooth out the shaving cream using the popsicle stick. It doesn't have to be perfectly smooth, and even having some peaks can contribute to a varied pattern. Experiment :) Drip some drops of reinker onto the shaving cream. I found it was better to squeeze the bottle a bit and then flick my wrist to that the drops were smaller .. it made more opportunities for colour mixing with an equal amount of ink used.
With your mixing device (popsicle stick, piercer, or paint brush), swirl through the colours a few times to get the effect you're looking for. It's a balance, but you don't want to over-mix or it'll look too muddy. The larger the device you use, the bigger the strokes will look. In this pic, I used the piercer. See below for when I used the paint brush.
Place your pre-cut cardstock on top of the shaving cream and press down gently to make sure you have contact with all the ink.
Lift the cardstock out of the shaving cream.
With your boxboard piece, scrape the shaving cream residue off the cardstock. Wipe any excess off with paper towel.
Repeat with different colour combinations :) You will need to set your masterpieces aside to allow them to dry.
Another option when you've pulled off one sheet and want to make another pattern conserving shaving cream is to smooth it back out mixing the colour as you go. This will give a deeper colour as a background.
Once it's smooth, add in some more reinkers, and mix again slightly .. this is where I used the paintbrush to give some broader strokes.
These are the two sheets that were made with the same 'batch'. The first one was just mixed with the piercer and the second was made with the paintbrush (and the coloured shaving cream). These are the two sheets I used for yesterday's card.
And tada! Here's the finished project with one of my other designs.
I used the sketch challenge over at Freshly Made  Sketches to put it together.

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial - I'd love to see some of your creations! I will say that it was incredibly fun and the next time I play, I'm going to make a 12x12 background paper!! 

Supplies used:
Stamps: Four Feathers, Gorgeous Grunge, Kinda Eclectic, Good Greetings
Ink:  So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake
Reinkers: So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke
Paper: Very Vanilla, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke
Embellishments: Gold Baker's Twine 
Tools: Bird Punch, Feathers Framelits, Snowflake Card Thinlits

Big Shot & Bundles - August Special!

This summer is flying by! I can't believe the last time I posted was for Canada Day! Well, here we are at the August long weekend already! Stampin' Up! has an awesome special deal in August … an exclusive Big Shot opportunity that lasts for the entire month!

The upcoming holiday catalogue is full of sweet Big Shot accessories … That's why with every purchase of a Big Shot in August, you will receive a free stamp set/Framelits bundle of your choice (shown below).

Not only that, but if you already own a Big Shot, you can still purchase these designated bundles at an amazing 15% off! This is one deal you won't want to miss - it's only available from August 1-31; these bundles are one-time only exclusives.

Happy Birthday Card-in-a-Box

Have you seen a 'card in a box' yet? I've seen quite a number of variations of these, and just had to try one myself - but had to wait for a special occasion - Happy birthday, Kelly! The box itself is fairly quick to put together (I used this tutorial), but the decorating can be as detailed or as simple as you want.

I included the side view so you can see that you just build each section and then attach onto the little tabs you add in the middle of the box. It was super fun to make - the only suggestion I have is to stamp on each piece before punching/cutting it out. The solid coloured pieces just don't pop as nicely as the ones with ink on them ;)

Supplies used -
Stamps: Betsy's Blossoms, Tag It, Mixed Bunch
Ink: Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Daffodil Delight
Paper: Calypso Coral, Gumball Green, Daffodil Delight, Pool Party, Very Vanilla cardstock, This And That Epic Day Designer Series Paper
Tools: Boho Blossoms Punch, Blossom Punch, Bird Punch, 1/2 Inch Circle Punch, 7/8" Scallop Circle Punch, 5-Petal Flower Punch (retired), Floral Frames Framelits, Chalk Talk Framelits
Embellishments: Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents, Daffodil Delight Pompom ribbon trim (retired)

Seasons Greetings!

Ice storms, snow, and cold weather are all here for the next little while ... with the first day of winter yesterday. That means we're now starting to get more and more daylight each day! It's my favourite time of the year!

Today's card, albeit fairly late, is one of the favourites I've made this year - it was inspired by one I saw online (and can't remember where!) I especially love the extra detail added to the ornament by embossing it after cutting it out :)

Supplies used - 
Stamps: Curly Cute (Retired)

Ink: Island Indigo

Paper: Pool Party, Whisper White, Island Indigo, Winter Frost Designer Series Paper Stack

Embellishments: Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents, Whisper White 5/8 Inch Organza Ribbon

Tools: Labels Framelits, Holiday Ornaments Framelits, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder (retired), Snow Flurry Bigz Die (retired)

Folded Christmas Tree

This card was a fun one to make - you take a half circle of double sided paper, and you fold it back and forth to make the tree. (Instructions here). 

Supplies used -
Stamps: More Merry Messages
Ink: Cherry Cobbler
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso Cardstock, Be Of Good Cheer Designer Series Paper (retired)
Embellishments: Basics Glimmer Brads, Cherry Cobbler 1/2 Inch Scallop Dots Ribbon (retired)
Tools: Lacy Brocade Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (retired)

Warm Wishes on Friday the 13th

Have you noticed a bit of a glittery theme with my cards lately? I'm loving the Silver Glimmer Paper - it's super sparkly and is great for that extra pop on your project. I've hoarded the paper and didn't even open the package until recently. Have you ever had paper that was too pretty to use?

Well, I must say, that once you actually use the paper, it feels even better! I challenge you to go through your stash and find some pretty paper that you've been hoarding and use it! Now, I can't stop :) If I could only bring myself to use more of the stunning Frosted Finishes Embellishments ... 

Supplies used -
Stamps: Warmest of Wishes (retired)
Ink: Silver Metallic Encore Pad
Paper: Pool Party, Whisper White, Winter Frost Designer Series Paper Stack, Silver Glimmer Paper
Tools: Snow Flurry Bigz Die (retired)
Embellishments: Silver 1/8" Ribbon, Frosted Finishes Embellishments

'Tis the Season - Advent Calendar complete with candy!

This December, I'm planning to post a project every day to inspire you - starting with this à propos Advent Calendar. 'Tis the season after-all! I did make this advent calendar a couple years ago now, but I do love it! (And it took a very long time to make, so it's worth re-visiting)! 

A fair number of the products used are now retired, but most of the tools are still available... To see if you know your tools, I'm going to offer up blog candy! To enter, just post a comment with the name of a product used in this project that is still currently available :) 

I hope you'll come back over the next few days to see the cards we're making at the Stamp-A-Stack later this afternoon. I've wanted to share them with you!

Fall Treasure Hunt!

I've decided to join in the fun of the LNS Fall Treasure Hunt .. I was tempted in the spring, but didn't quite get moving in time, so wasn't going to let the opportunity pass by again. This will be a fun little blog hop that I hope you enjoy.  


To participate:

• Visit the LNS Treasure Hunt page found in the header bar to find the rest of the bloggers taking part. 

• Then visit each of the blogs listed and look for the clues. They will list their clue, usually along with a picture. 

• Make a note of what the clue is, and whose blog you found it on.

• Once you've collected all 50 clues, email them to me at stampwithamber@gmail.com listing each clue and where you found it.

• The deadline is midnight PDT Friday, October 25th, 2013 to be entered into the contest. Check back often as more demos and blogs will be added.

• My clue is Bigz and Originals. I love everything Big Shot related: embossing folders, framelits and the Bigz and Originals was where it started for me! My first die, and still my favourite is Top Note! What are your favourite Bigz/Originals dies?

• Above all else, have fun!!

My clue: Bigz and Originals