Artist Trading Cards

I joined an Artist Trading Card Swap for the year. Every month will be a different theme. This month's theme is Valentine's Day. What is an Artist Trading Card or ATC for short?

Many stampers and scrapbookers find the ATC to be a great way to show off their talent in a little space. They are quick and easy to make. Also, because of its size, 10 ATCs can be made from one standard 8.5" X 11" piece of cardstock.

Although artists have been trading artist cards for years, trading modern ATCs was popularized in 1997 in Zurich, Switzerland when M. Vänçi Stirnemann started trading among other artists within their circle. What is different about the ATC is its unique size. ATCs always measure 2.5" X 3.5".

Making an ATC is easy! The first step is to prepare the base of your ATC. The base is cardstock cut to a size of 2.5" X 3.5". A template for cutting ATCs can be found here. Then you use your creativity to complete it!

Try your hand at it! Once you try it, you might get addicted to them.

Stamp Sets: Priceless, Holidays & Wishes
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8 Circle Punch, Piercing Tool, Purely Pomegranate Double Stitched Ribbon

Buckle Card

Today I want to share with you a card we did in stamp club last week. This is called a buckle card. These are very easy to make. The ladies whipped through this very fast.

You can find directions on how to make one of these at Splitcoast Stampers website.

Thanks for looking!

Stamp Set: Bud Basics
Paper: Sky Blue, Blue Bayou, Chocolate Chip, White Confetti
Ink: Sky Blue, Blue Bayou
Accessories: Word Window Punch, Chocolate Chip Grosgrain, Glue Dots

Open House

I apologize for not having much to share and show this week. I have a very bad habit of not getting pictures done of the things I create. I had stamp club this past Monday, and we did a couple of cute projects. Hopefully, if I remember, I will post them tomorrow.

I just wanted to share with you information about my upcoming Open House. The event is come and go and will be Saturday, February 2 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. I hope that you will make plans to attend because there will be samples, make-n-takes and retired sets for sale.

Of course, this will kick off Sale-A-Bration so if you make a $50 order, you get your choice of a Sale-A-Bration set FREE. Also, as a special thank you from me, if you place a $50 order, you get your choice of designer paper FREE. You can't beat that!

I look forward to seeing you all real soon

Sale-A-Bration Is Coming!!

What is Sale-a-Bration???

For Customers: For every $50 purchase you make, you will receive a free Sale-A-Bration product. . .there are five stamp sets, and a 4 sheet set of rub-ons to choose from!

For Hostesses: In addition to our regular hostess benefits, hostesses will receive a free Sale-A-Bration stamp set for workshops that reach $300 or more.

For New Demonstrators: Anyone who joins as a demonstrator during Sale-A-Bration can choose any stamp set--a value of up to $47.95--from the current catalog! Bonus!

If you love FREE stuff then don't miss out on this promotion! Call or email me for details, to place an order or schedule your workshop between February 1st and March 17th. To see the new Sale-A-Bration sets, click here.

If you haven't heard, I'm having a Sale-A-Bration / New Catalog Open House on Saturday, February 2. Come check it out and see some of the new stuff. You'll find more details on my website.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Stationery Card Holder

Last month I got together with my upline and other fellow demonstrators to make this cute little stationery card holder. I got a chance to play with the Crop-a-dile. It looks very intimidating but was very easy to use. It punches fairly easy. I haven't purchased one of these yet. I've heard some good things about it. I just might have to try it out.


What is good about this stationery holder is that it is a littler wider than the normal holder. It can hold about 6 - 8 cards and envelopes. We used a retired set of designer paper...the name escapes me right now and the stamp set Wanted. I think it turned out pretty cute. We used Chocolate Chip for the holder and Close to Cocoa for the inside band. We then used the wide Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon to tie it closed.

We even had a chance to make some cards to go into it. I must admit this is a stamp set I wasn't too crazy about but after making a few cards, it wasn't too bad. I don't think it's a set I would use every day but if you love the western theme, this is a nice set.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! If you would like more details on this, let me know.

Cute Calendar!

Isn't this cute? My upline, Jackie Ross, made it for me and her other downlines. We got together in December for a stamping night (I'll share the project we did tomorrow.) and this what was waiting at our stations.

I thought it was very cute!!

She got the little calendars at www.vippies.com. Check out their site because they have a lot of neat things to stamp on. I think they are reasonably priced also.

Just wanted to let you know that myself and Darla Paugh (fellow demonstrator) are planning an Open House on Saturday, February 2 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. There will be samples, make-n-takes, retired stuff for sale, and door prizes!!! If you place a $50 order with me on that day, you will get your choice of any designer paper you want. I hope to see you there!!

Also, February 1st kicks off our Sale-A-Bration! For every $50 order placed, you get a FREE SAB stamp set. These sets are only available through SAB and cannot be purchased. SAB runs through the middle of March, and once it's over, the sets are gone. They will not be in any of the upcoming catalogs.

Stamp Set: Time Well Spent
Paper: Old Olive, So Saffron, Real Red
Ink: Black
Accessories: Rich Regal and Bold Bright brads, 1/8 in. hold punch, 1/2 circle punch, dimensionals

Product Wednesday

Of all the fabulous accessories that Stampin' Up! carries, I love the designer papers they have come out with. I have to admit that I don't use them enough. They add so much to whatever project you are working on...very versatile! My goal is to use the paper I order this year. With each new collection, we see fresh, new designs...there is a style for everyone.

To help coordinate all your paper craft projects, here is a list of the new Spring-Summer 2008 Collection Designer Series Paper (DSP) and their coordinating colors.

Azure: Brillant Blue, Very Vanilla
Bali Breeze: Old Olive, Taken with Teal, Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie
Berry Bliss: Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa
Cutie Pie: Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, So Saffron
East Coast Prep: Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Temping Turquoise, More Mustard
Flowers for You: Certainly Celery, Lovely Lilac, Regal Rose, Tempting Turquoise
Fall Flowers: Old Olive, Really Rust, Soft Sky, Sahara Sand
Ginger Blossom: Ruby Red, River Rock, Cameo Coral, Groovy Guava
Jersey Shore: Wild Wasabi, Pumpkin Pie, Brilliant Blue, Bashful Blue
Le Jardin: River Rock, So Saffron, Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke, Bashful Blue
Notebook: Soft Sky, Very Vanilla
Olive Press: Old Olive, Very Vanilla
Porcelain Prints: Blue Bayou, River Rock, Wild Wasabi
Spring Break: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky
Spring Fling: Certainly Celery, Sage Shadow, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron
Spring Silhouettes: Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, Soft Sky, Very Vanilla
Western Sky: Ruby Red, River Rock, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky

Each package of DSP comes with 2 sheets each of 6 different double-sided papers. Each package has a total of 12 different designs. The packages retail for $9.95.

To place your order for DSP, call or email me!

Technique Tuesday

Happy Tuesday to you all!

Just when I think life is going to slow down...it never does. I had hope that after Christmas, I would have more time to stamp and create but that hasn't happened yet. I can't even keep my blog updated! Enough of the whining...time to share.

Here are the techniques we did for our class on Friday.

Technique #1 - Wax Paper Resist

Stamp Set: Bud Basics, Sincere Salutations
Paper: Sky Blue, Blue Bayou, Whisper White, Glossy White
Ink: Sky Blue, Blue Bayou
Accessories: Brayer, Sky Blue Double Stitched Ribbon, Double Hole Punch, sponges,and wax paper

This was a fun technique. What I did was first take the glossy piece and brayer Sky Blue on it. I then crumbled the wax paper and put it on top of the glossy paper. Make sure that the wax paper is larger than the glossy. Then put a piece of scrap paper of top of that and then iron over it for just a few seconds. I then took the glossy paper and brayer Blue Bayou on it. I then wiped it off with a paper towel. I really like how this turned out.

Technique #2 - Glitter Window

Stamp Set: Simply Said
Paper: Apricot Appeal, Not Quite Navy, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Ink: Apricot Appeal, Not Quite Navy, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, Dazzling Diamonds, packing tape

I took the Certainly Celery piece, centered the scallop punch, and punched for my window. I then took a strip of clear packing tape and applied over the hole. Then I flipped it over and applied Dazzling Diamonds to the sticky part. This will be the front of the card because you don't want the packing tape to show. I then took a small piece of white and stamped my image in the middle and centered the image behind the window. If you like glitter...you'll like this!

Technique #3 - Faux Tearing

Stamp Set: Lovely As A Tree, Much Appreciated, Weathered
Paper: Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: 1/16 Hole Punch, Vintage Brads, Daubers, Close to Cocoa Grosgrain Ribbon

First, take a scrap piece of paper and tear it down the middle. Place your torn paper halfway on your card front. On this one, I inked up my background stamp with Close to Cocoa, and stamped the front. Move your scrap paper over just a little bit and then using the dauber, color in the blank strip.

I hope all these make sense to you. I thought I would send you the directions so you can try these out for yourself. If you ever try one of the techniques, send it to me (kfrank03@yahoo.com). I would love to see your creations. It may even show up here!!

New Demo Website

Good afternoon ladies!

Stampin' Up! has redesigned the personal demo websites. I'm really excited about this because it looks so good now. If you click on the projects page, it has some cool projects on there.

Also, should you ever want to sign up as a demonstrator, you can now do it online. I'm really excited about that!

Please go check it out! It still needs a little work but it's getting there.

My share with you today is a 2-5-7-10 box we did at stamp club a couple of months ago. This box can be closed or it can be left open. We used the corner punch to make the scallop by taking off the guard. One suggestion was made by using Velcro as an option to close it. This way you don't have to untie it every time you want to get into it.

As always, thanks so much for looking!

Stamp Set: Priceless
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate
Accessories: So Swirly Jumbo Wheel, Purely Pomegranate Double Stitched Ribbon, 1/8" hole punch, corner rounder

Not Starting Out Right...

I'm not starting the new year right with my blog. I have a few things to share...I just haven't had a chance to get them on the blog.

Today I'm sharing a swap card. This is part of the 9 month swap I am participating in. The challenge for this swap was to use the wheels as a background. I love the look of the wheels but I just don't use them enough. I only have a few wheels so I just happen to have one that coordinates with the Priceless stamp set. I like the way these two colors go together.

Stamp Set: Priceless
Paper: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Ink: Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery stamp pads, Bashful Blue Jumbo Cartridge
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, Bashful Blue Grosgrain Ribbon, So Swirly Jumbo Wheel

Also, I'm working on the technique cards for this coming Friday night. This is my monthly techniques class, and I really look forward to this because it forces me to try something new. I'm learning new techniques along with my ladies. If you haven't been to one of my classes, come try it out. We have food, fun and laughter! What more could you ask for!

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a great holiday season! I did, and I can't believe it's over!

SU! ended 2007 by saying good-bye to the Fall-Winter catalog and some stamp sets but they brought in the new year with a new catalog...the Spring-Summer catalog. If you haven't had a chance to see it, it's available on line at the SU! website.

I also wanted to share with the promotion for this month. January is a sweet time at Stampin' Up! In addition to a brand new catalog full of stamping and crafting treats, they are offering two special offers.

Valentine's Day Bundle (111903 - $33.40...a $41.35 value!)
111089 Happy Heart Day stamp set $20.95
109052 Real Red 5/8" grosgrain ribbon $7.95
102757 Medium cellophane bags $4.50
109056 Regal Rose 5/8" grosgrain ribbon FREE! ($7.95 value!)
Bundle items are available for purchase separately.

In order to get the free ribbon, you must order the bundle.

If you host a $350 workshop this month, choose any one stamp set from our Spring-Summer Preview Brochure FREE (up to a $29.95 value)!

If I can help you with anything, please let me know! I'll be glad to help you!