An Oldie but a Goodie!

So, this pattern has been around for ages, but it's till pretty fun! If you come to my First Friday Technique Class on March 6th, you'll get to make one of these. I'll most likely be changing up the colors and the look, but it will be similar. The top picture is when it's flat, ready to fit in a standard 1/4 sheet (A2) envelope.

Then you push down the exterior, or pull up the little tag part, and it turns into a stand-up pop-up card. Super-easy and fun - something for someone to put on display! You could even add a photo for a desk display - lots of options.

Thanks for stopping by,

Julie

A Little Luck O' the Irish!

Here's a card I made the other day with my favorite "centered layout." Sometimes it's good to go back to your familiar layout and just use different sets and colors. Like a good old comfortable feel!! Anyway, I used the Heart to Heart Punch and made four of the little hearts from Kiwi Kiss cardstock. I even used a scrap edge from one of the larger hearts that just kinda "happened" as I was punching small hearts. It created the stem piece, although you could just trim a piece with your paper snips! I put all those pieces together to make my shamrock. Kinda cool how Valentines can be transformed right into St. Patrick's Day clovers huh?!! Same punches different colored cardstock! And, I did use the saying from the St.Patrick's set, "Pinch Proof." But if you didn't have the set you could always use 'Good Luck' from the Sincere Salutations set or Fundamental Phrases set, or use an alphabet set to spell 'Lucky.' You don't always have to have a particular Occasions set to create a holiday set, just a little imagination!

I also used the Small and Large Tag Punches, the Eyelet Border Punch, Basic Gray Taffeta, a Clear Rhinestone Brad and Kiwi Kiss Designer Series Papers. And, of course, lots of Stampin' Dimensionals!

Have a good one!

Julie

Happy Birthday!

Here's one of the cards I made over the past week - when I had some time off work! I used the Sweet Always Designer Series Papers to guide my color choices. And, my awesome upline, Tami, gifted me the Stampin' Up! Big Bold Cupcakes Sizzlet 4-pack. (I'm so loving the Big Shot and all the new options we have for it now!) I kinda went basic on the cupcake and the sprinkles (sprinkles were made with the double rectangle punch and some scrap cardstock in the same colors). I probably could have added the candles - which are part of the Sizzlets 4-pack. Anyway, I got a little carried away with the layers and the circle layers - using the set Sweet Celebrations - but, I think overall I was happy with it in the end! I used some Regal Rose 5/8" grosgrain to "tie" it off! Also, you can't see it in the picture, but I scored some vertical lines in the Close to Cocoa cupcake base to make it look like a real cupcake.

Hope you had a Happy Monday - mine was the first day back to school after a week off - kinda hard to feel back in the groove!

Thanks for stopping by~

Julie

The Rest of Simple Friendship

So I told you that my last post was the fourth card in the Simple Friendship swap I was doing. And since there was a second and third card, I thought I'd share those with you too!

The card to lthe left doesn't have a whole lot from the set on it, besides the saying! But I like how the Simple Flower Embosslit coordinates with the flowers in the rest of the set. So I Big Shotted one of those to put as my focal point of the card instead of a stamped flower! I also added a half pearl on its center. And, I used the Designer Series Papers "Washington Apple" to help me coordiante it all together. The card on the right uses a lot more of the set. I made my own "fake Designer Series Papers" by using the open and solid flower stamps along with the swirl stamp. I aquapainted some parts of the flowers (just used water direct to the Egglpant Envy stamped images, and "smudged" the color around), and added a hint Certainly Celery to the little leaves and flower centers. I also colored the Friend circle stamped image the same way. Then, I added Certainly Celery 5/8" grosgrain, Soft Subtles brads, and a large flower from the Pretties Kit! Oh, and the Friend Circle stamped image is punched out with 1 3/4" circle punch.

I'll be back soon to share some more things I worked on this past week! Hope you had a great weekend!

Julie

Another Simple Friendship Card

This was the fourth card I designed for a demonstrator swap I'm participating in using this set, Simple Friendship. We went out of town last weekend and I only brought a few select colors of carstock and ink, and the Bella Rose Designer Series Paper (because I knew I had lots of it - and I wanted to use it!). And, sometimes you can surprise yourself - I actually made it work. I'm not saying that this is the best card I've ever made, but I always get myself "stuck" when I try to limit myself to certain supplies. So, I was happy with myself that I completed it!

Hope you're having a great week!

Julie

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you had a nice Valentine's Day. Here's a quick project made with the Petal Card die from the Big Shot. I keep running into some great ways to use this die! At first I thought it was a little small to fit anything real, but I'm really glad now that I have it! A few posts back I showed a 3-D pouch made with two of the Petal Card dies together. And now there's this cute little one layer - fits a Ghiradelli square just perfect! I guess not just for Valentine's Day, but any day! The set used is the Level 2 Hostess set, A Little Somethin'. All the stamps in that set have a coordinating punch with them - so no cutting, gotta love it!

Thanks for stopping by~

Julie

Just One More Last-Minute Valentine!

So who says Valentines have to be red or pink?! This last-minute, but of course well-thought out and planned, Valentine is for my husband. He's not really the pink kinda guy, so I thought this would be a little more "him." I used the Sale-A-Bration set, Polka Dot Punches and some white embossing, a few Stampin' Dimensionals and tahdah!! Probably a little hard to see, but I also Texturz-ed the background of the Baja Breeze part of the card using the small dots Texturz Plate and the Big Shot. I really like that little bit of extra those Texturz plates add!

Hope you have a great Valentine's Day!!

Julie

More Valentines!

It's almost Valentine's Day! So I made a couple more Valentines today. This one is a "boy" Valentine, so I kept it "not-too-frilly." I used the Candy Lane Designer Series Papers and the Happy Heart Day set that came back from the Dormant List into the Spring/Summer catalog. I'm glad it's back - I love that little mouse!! The rest of the card is pretty simple layers.

Then I made this card. It is a 5 1/4" x 5 1/4" square card. I always like square cards, but I don't think to make one very often. For this layout, I htink it fits everything pretty nicely. I did use the retired word set for the scripted "love," but the rest is all current Stampin' Up! stuff. It also uses the Candy Lane Designer Series Paper, plus some Riding Hood Red and Pirouette Pink cardstock, and Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon (love that Ribbon too!). And, my favorite part, another "I don't think to do it often, but REALLY like it" Chunky Red Glitter!! I put it on the medium sized hearts from Heart to Heart. It's kinda hard to see in the photo, but it's along the edges of the Riding Hood Red hearts.

Thanks for stopping by ~

Julie

A Couple Quick Valentines!

Even though I always feel like I have all these great ideas swirling around in my head, I never actually get them out into a real "hand-held" card. They often times stay right there in my mind and never become real!

Kinda sad - but last night I just sat down and wanted to create a couple of quick Valentines. I realized that Jessie would be home only for the afternoon today, and I wouldn't probably see her again until after Valentine's Day. So I thought, "that super-dooper, creative card" might not quite make it into reality in the short time I had last night to create, So it better be quick! Anyway, I made these two cards. They probably took almost as much time as I would have taken to just bust out the creative one I had in mind. But I fiddled with "simplicity" for while, and got here:

And... I decided on giving her the second one - I thought it looked like a little "more" than the first one. Anyway, by the time I finished I was too tired to write the inside. So, I put it in my school bag and figured I would get a few minutes at school to write out something super special to her! Sure... I only work a half day ..... it didn't happen!! So when I got home she was already here, but I thought I'll sneak it into the house and write it secretly, then sneak it in the gift bag. Well, when I took it out of my school bag - It was SQUISHED! I was so bummed! I gave her the gift, and then tonight (after she left) I "repaired" - or almost re-created it!! So, at least it was here to take a quick picture of it. But now I'm mailing it off tomorrow. Hopefully she'll get it on Valentine's Day!

Anyway, maybe it was meant to go in the mail, right! It is always so nice to get a card - and especially a hand-stamped card in the mail!

Hope you have time to make some Valentines - even if it's a "quick one!" - for someone special!!

Julie

Simple Friendship

Here's a card I created using the new set Simple Friendship. I participate in a swap with some of my demonstrator friends. We each choose a set from the new catalog (or new mini catalogs when they come out), and then we each make four different cards to swap. We end up with four cards from eight different sets - it's cool!! I so look forward to making them, and especially receiving everyone else's in the mail! So, this is my first of the four for this set. It's pretty simple stamping, just a few layers. I used the Urban Garden Designer Series Papers, which isn't new to the Spring/Summer catalog, but I really liked it with the chocolate and Ivory Naturals. I haven't used the Naturals cardstock in a long time, but it sure gives a softer and mellower look! I also added Chocolate Chip Grosgrain to one of the clips from the Clips Assortment set that was introduced in the Fall/Winter catalog (they are still in the current catalog too). I had a little stack of them, but was having a hard time figuring out how to "cutsey" them up, until I got some cards form my good friend Liz (she had the clip on one of her cards too!). It's always great to have inspiring stampin' friends!

Hope you have a good week!

Julie

Accordian Flower Embellishment

Last night was the First Friday Technique class for February, and we made this box with the Big Shot! The die we used was the Box #2, a new one offered in the New Spring/Summer Idea Book and Catalog. I like it A LOT! It's so cool to just run the cardstock through the Big Shot, and wahlah - a box cut and scored!! So, then for the real technique - we made the Accordian Flower. It is pictured in the new Sale-A-Bration mini catalog in a little simpler form. We added scallops to the edge with the Scallop Edge Punch, which also made it super easy to score (Thanks to a hint from one-awesome stamper, Johni, who said maybe you don't need to score - and was right!! We just folded back and forth).

Some ginormous Glue Dots hold the Accordian Flower on the box - and the super cool Corduroy Buttons finish the front and center of the "flower!"

This was another version of the same project, using two of the Petal Card die cuts, also from the Big Shot. It normally has four rounded edges that all fold up into the center, making a cute little treat holder. But I just folded up two of the edges on two Petal Cards and adhered them to a 2" by 5 1/2" piece to create the "bottom." Then I added a ribbon for the handle - and it made a cute heart-shaped box. ~ Just in time for Valentine's Day!

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Thanks for stopping by,

Julie

Sale-A-Bration is Here!!

Sale-A-Bration is here!! Starting February 1st and lasting through the end of March, you'll have some great opportunities to earn awesome stamp sets, a ribbon bundle, and a special package of Designer Series Papers. For every $50 in catalog merchandise you purchase, you choose any a FREE gift! I LOVE this time of year with Stampin' Up!! Check out my Stampin' Up! website at http://www.juliebeltramo.stampinup.net/. You can check out the Sale-A-Bration specials, under Promotions, and even shop directly right on my website!

The two cards here were made at a demonstrator get-together I participated in a week ago. The card above was made by my awesome stampin' friend, Chari. I especially love the Parisian Breeze Specialty Paper she used for the Scallop Circle background - the texture on these new papers is super cool! I made the card below, and it also uses the Parisian Breeze Papers for the little flowered piece. You just gotta see it and feel it to appreciate it!! Also, both cards use the Sale-A-Bration set Congrats. I wouldn't think of a Congratulations set when looking for birthday and thank you; and, it not only includes those, but also retirement, baby, wedding, and anniversary - a Super versatile word set!

Thanks for stopping by ~

Later this week I'll be posting some Sneak Peeks for this Friday's Technique Class, as well as some information on The New Catalog item Try-it Kits (they'll be available this Friday for pick-up at the class! - Wait till see you see all the goodies!)

Julie