New Products - Fireworks!

New from Tsukineko is the Fireworks Sprays! They are very glitzy!! They come in several color and they can be used to add glittery color to ribbon, twill, flowers, paper and more. I use three techniques on this card using the Fireworks sprays. First I sprayed some of the Danube Blue and the Lulu Lavender onto a craft sheet, letting the colors blend together a little. Then I inked the butterfly stamp from Penny Black and stamped it on white cardstock. There was still lots of ink on the craft sheet, so next I rolled over the ink with my brayer. Then brayered over a 4" x 5 1/4" light purple cardstock until the entire paper is covered. The background is now sparkly with color. Stamp a design over the paper with a background stamp and VersaFine black ink. The third technique, I stamped my sentiment onto paper and cut out with the Spellbinders Petite oval die. After I cut out the oval, I left the die over the paper and sprayed over the sentiment with the Lulu Lavender fireworks spray. Remove the die and you have a glittery sentiment. I used black cardstock for the card and accents to really make the glitz sparkle! I'm not sure how much sparkle you can see from the picture, but you can see the real card at the store. Thanks for looking!

Shimmer Leaves

You can make your own Shimmer Mist colors! Check out our new Shimmer Mist class coming in March. We will be using our own mixed colors and smooshing a background for our stamped images as well as other techniques. Leaf stamp is Penny Black. Sentiment comes from Flourishes rubber stamps. Paper is from Robin's Nest. Cut outs are using the Nestabilities, Martha Stewart border punch and Cuttlebug background embossing folder. Lots of fun techniques in this class.

Black & White Challenge

Here is the challenge material that we had to work with in our Stamp Club for the month of April. All was in the black and white theme. We had black and white paper from Cloud 9, six black and white square brads from Karen Foster, clear buttons from Junkitz and a black slide mount from ScrapWorks. We could use any stamps that we wanted. These are the three that I came up with. Keep in mind, I needed a couple Mother's day cards and so that is where my thoughts went:

I used the nestabilities and cut out my pieces for the card below. Then I used the scraps from the cut outs on this card. There happened to be this seafoam green card laying on my table (imagine that!) and I thought that they would go together. Using a Penny black stamp, I colored the flowers to match the card and added pearls to the center of the flowers. The border was punch with a new EK Success border punch and the piercing was done as an accent with the Scor Bug. Then I used double sided sticker paper to adhere the matching paper to the back of the clear circle button and threaded ribbon into the button holes.

Here are the nestabilities cut out and stamped on. This was another Penny Black stamp that I inked with VersaFine. The VersaFine makes a clear impression with the solid images. On the surface of the brads, I used alphabet rub ons to have a personalized message to "MOM"

Another Penny black stamp! Again I used a black square brad for an accent. The purple was from the back side of the black and white striped paper. Scallop can be cut out from the long rectangle nestabilities. Mother's Day sentiment was from Printworks. Come in and see what the other members did. All cards are on display at The Stamp Shoppe through the month of May!

12 Days of LOVE

Using this versatile stamp set from Penny Black, Jane Bosi has created a Valentine's Class. This is the 12 days of Christmas clear set. Using the 10 drummers drumming and adding "You Rock!" Makes a cute valentines day card. Using the the lady dancing and the french hen, makes a fun valentine's treat. There are some spaces left in this class. Thursday, February 5 at 6:00 you can make these Valentine's just in time for the Special day! Call soon to reserve your spot!

I Adore You!

Penny Black's frogs are just adorable! Especially when Heidi hits them with the Copic Markers...and check out her fancy doodling! Check out all the fun papers and embellishments in the store!

TIP: you can use the back side of the Cuttlebug Embossing Folder for a different *debossed* look! ~michelle~

Snowboarding!

Here is Heidi's version of the Snowboarding Girl by Penny Black! Amazing how color scheme and paper choices make an image look entirely different! Colored in Copics. Pieceing, scuffing, inking and faux stitching add lots of dimensional interest. Designer Paper is by Fancy Pants.
~michelle~

Reflections

There is a stamp club at The Stamp Shoppe that meets once a month. If anyone is interested in joining, there are a few spaces left. We meet the second monday night of each month. There are shoe box exchanges, demo techniques, sketch challenges, goodies to create with and a really fun time. This is the reflection technique that I demonstrated at our first meeting. This down and out snowman looks cute looking at his reflection. First you stamp the image onto the cardstock leaving "white" space beneath the image. Then you stamp the image on acetate with dye ink. This will not work with permanent ink. Press the inked side down beneath the original image, leaving a lighter "reflection" image. I colored the original impression with copic directly to the paper. The reflection is colored with the copic blender picking up the color and coloring the second image. Using glitter glue, I covered the "ice" to give the icy appearance.

Here is a sample of the same technique that I used to make a friend's anniversary card. I took the Penny Black clear stamp. I stamped the dog on the white cardstock. Then I did the reflection of the dog to look like two dogs in love. The reflection is definitely lighter, so I used my black fine line pen to trace the second dog, so the image was as dark as the first. Then I colored the dogs with Copics. Here is that Cosmo Cricket paper from the paper pack you've seen before. With the stripes of the paper, you don't need a whole lot more on the background. Happy stamping!!

Happy Birthday

These little critters are going to a birthday party!! I love the way the white gel pen helps the colors to just pop. I have noticed lately that after I color with the Copic markers, I want just a little more...the white gel pen does the trick. Use an oval nestabilities to round the top of the image. The faux stitches adds a little more. The flower is a ribbon brad with the sparkle background paper from Cloud 9 add a fun feel to this birthday party. It still needed something, so I used a small circle punch for a little tab for the sentiment. Thanks for helping me celebrate!!

Sticker class

Check out some of the new classes coming in February. One of the classes that will be offered is *Penny Black* Sticker Cards. Using one sheet of stickers, you will make 5 beautiful, but quick cards. Often one of the comments people make when they see these cards are...Those are stickers?? There are other sticker embellishments that are used to "dress up" these cards and to make them extra-special. Check out other Penny Black stickers we have in stock!

Penny Black Thanks!

Check out this cute snowboarder chic from Penny Black! I colored her with Copics and a black Spica Glitter Pen for accents. The pouf on her hat is white flocking. I put some snow under her board with some Art Institute glitter. The Snowflake Cuttlebugged layer has been distressed and resembles a ginormous snowball to me! Happy Thursday to you! ~michelle~

Fancy Pants Cheery Hello!

This card features Fancy Pants' Arctic Chill collection. The flowers are a Penny Black Stickeroo. We are in the midst of painting our half bath....and so I put to use a paint chip for my mat layers! I used a Marvy square scalloped punch to finish off my main image. The heart is from Cuttlebug....the set has a die cut and four embossing options. With Love is by Hero Arts. Various flowers and gems finish the card off. Thanks for stopping by! ~michelle~

Penny Black Stickeroos!

Penny Black's Stickeroos are just the ticket for a very classy card done quick! I used two of the eight stickers on the sheet and came up with two nice cards. The designer paper is by The Paper Loft. Just Because is by A Muse and is stamped in black Stazon ink. I layered the stickers on cardstock and then added the glitter dots for a bit of pizazz! I will be back with some more of these quick cards soon....how fun for a change of pace! ~michelle~

Fun Ideas for the Holidays

One fun Holiday gift is a calendar with the cute Amuse Images. Dawn Stein is teaching a class Thursday, December 4 at 10:30. You will make a 12 month calendar and bind it with a Bind-it-All. Each month has images that go along with the theme of the month. There are a few spaces left!! Come join us and have a great gift to give someone special this year.

Jane Bosi is also teaching a 12 Days of Christmas class, Tuesday night, December 9 at 6:00. Here are ideas for fun cards, gift card holder and small gift box. These are all using one stamp set from Penny Black. These are fun and festive. You can use these for your gifts. Sign up today!!

Tile card

Using your Scor-Pal, you can make a diamond background. When you stamp on the "debosses" side with a solid stamp, the image appears as tiles. Be sure that you don't press too hard on the stamp or the image will get in the cracks. The cuttlebug background was done after the dark green strip of paper was glued to the light green piece. You'll have to give it a try!!

Sympathy

Making sympathy cards can be hard. You want it to express sympathy without it being too much. Sympathy cards are more on the simple side. Using strips of decorator paper and some gemstones add just a little extra. These flower stamps from Penny Black are perfect for keeping the cards simple. Add a sentiment and you have the perfect card!!

I like you better than flies!!

I have been going through old decorator paper that I have laying around and wanting to put it to use. Sorry this little frog is popping up again, but he is perfect for this buggy paper. The saying is from a Lizzie Anne stamp set. Don't you just love these Nestabilities. I sure don't know how we got along without them. If you haven't tried them, we will be happy to give you a demo on how they work!!

New Class Added....

We've added a new class offering to our September schedule! This tag focused class will be offered on Thursday, September 4th at 6pm. Stop in today to see all of the samples in person and to register for the class! Some of the stamp images being featured are: Technique Tuesday, Amuse Artstamps, Penny Black, and Lizzie Anne. Hope to see you there!

"Hoppy" Day

Hoping your day is just "hoppy"! I didn't have a stamp that said Hoppy Birthday, so I used my labeler to say what I wanted. I used the new Branches cuttlebug on the background after I stamped the dragonflies. The branches looked a little like water ripples on this card. The clouds were made by sponging a light blue on the cloud template. The coloring was done with Copic markers. I love using the blending technique with the frog to give it a more natural yellow/green color. If you are interested in learning more how to use Copic markers, we are having Kathy from Whippersnapper Designs coming on Saturday, Oct. 4th to teach a class with the Copic markers. Email us if you want more details, space is filling fast!! Have a "hoppy" day!

Copic class

Tuesday, I went to Milwaukee to become certified in Copic markers. We have been using these markers for years now. I have always like the look I got when using these fabulous markers, but I wanted to learn some more techniques...which I did. I will be having Copic classes at the store. Here is one of the cards we will do in the class.