Rubber Stamping & Card Making with Yapha

Hello and welcome to Stop #22 on Stampin’ Addicts Holiday Mini Catalog Blog Hop! Whether this is your last stop or your first, I hope you are enjoying the hop. I am lucky enough to feature the Build-a-Bear Big Shot Dies! Not only does Stampin’ Up have a fabulous partnership with Sizzix, producing exclusive dies for the Big Shot, but they have recently partnered with Build-a-Bear Workshop as well! Putting these three companies together has produced amazing results.

The first thing that I thought of when I saw the Stampin’ Up Bear Bigz Die, was how fun it would be to make felt bears and clothes for my daughter to play with! Since the Bigz Dies can cut over 50 different types of materials, I knew felt would be no problem. The surprising part was that I was even able to cut felt with the Sizzlets. I cut out two bears and a bunch of clothes and let Eve go to town. Here is what she came up with:

Supplies: Stampin’ Up Bear Bigz Die, Stampin’ Up Beary Essentials Bigz Die, Stampin’ Up Beary Boy Sizzlet, Stampin’ Up Beary Girl Sizzlet, Assorted Felt

Of course, these super cute bears can be cut out of paper and used on cards or as fabulous scrapbook page embellishments. There is a great new pack of Designer Series Paper in the Mini catalog, Pawsitively Prints, that is fabulous for bear clothes among other things. I made two quick and easy cards. Now I need to print off all my pictures of Eve at Build-a-Bear Workshop and scrapbook them with these cuties.

Paper: Pretty in Pink, Old Olive, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Basic Black, Real Red, Pawsitively Prints Designer Series Paper
Accessories: Stampin’ Up Bear Bigz Die, Stampin’ Up Beary Essentials Bigz Die, Stampin’ Up Beary Girl Sizzlet

Paper: Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Real Red, Pawsitively Prints Designer Series Paper
Accessories: Stampin’ Up Bear Bigz Die, Stampin’ Up Beary Essentials Bigz Die, Stampin’ Up Beary Boy Sizzlet

The final project I have to show you for this hop is a super cute Halloween project. Since the Bigz Dies are able to cut through several layers of cardstock, I folded a piece to cut out each of these bears. the fold is hidden under the hats, and allows the bears to stand up by themselves and to be opened as shaped cards. These can be super cute invitations for a Halloween Party, or to hold Halloween treats inside or in their paws.

Paper: Creamy Caramel, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Stampin’ Up Bear Bigz Die, Stampin’ Up Beary Essentials Bigz Die, Stampin’ Up Kooky Spooky Original Die

I hope you enjoyed this stop on the Stampin’ Addicts Holiday Mini Blog Hop! The Holiday Mini Catalog will be available beginning Tuesday, September 1st. Please be sure to visit the previous stop, Barbara’s Creative Stampin’ Spot, and the next stop, Tracy’s Stamp Therapy.

I’ll tell you what I love “beary” much, it’s all this fabulous Build-a-Bear stuff from Stampin’ Up! So cute and fun! I finally had a chance to do  the Mojo Monday sketch challenge for this week, and I decided to make a card for Eve’s first day of first grade on Tuesday. (I’ll slip it in her lunch box like my mom used to do for me.) This week’s sketch:

I used some of my exciting new stamps from the Holiday Mini Catalog, which also starts next Tuesday! Need a copy? Drop me a line and I’ll get you one. Here’s my card for Eve:

Stamps: Beary Best Wishes, Beary Best Friends
Ink: StazOn Black, Old Olive
Paper: Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Whisper White, Pawsitively Prints Designer Series Paper
Other: Whisper White Satin Ribbon, 1 3/8″ Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Watercolor Wonder Crayons

Want to see more great Build-a-Bear projects? Come back an visit for the Stampin’ Addicts Blog Hop! It starts this Saturday, August 29, at noon EST.

What a crazy week this has been! We made it back to Los Angeles, found an apartment, and have been unpacking like crazy! I finally found a little time to look at my Mini Catalog pre-order (one of the great perks of being a demonstrator!) and play for a few minutes! Wow! I can not wait to start creating with all of the fabulous new goodies I got. Tonight Eve and I had a little fun with the brand new Build-a-Bear Dies from Stampin’ Up. Here’s the before picture:

Did you know that the Bigz Dies cut felt? Oh yeah, felt and about 49 other exciting materials! So what do you get if you combine felt, a Big Shot, and some super cute Build-a-Bear dies? Well, I can’t show you yet! Nope, this is part of my stop on Stampin’ Addicts’ Holiday Mini Catalog Blog Hop! From Saturday, August 29th to Monday, August 31st you can get a look at some of the exciting new items that will be available for purchase starting on September 1st. And there are some great hostess specials in September as well, so stay tuned!

I’ll have some more sneak peeks of items in the Holiday Mini coming up this week as well, so be sure to check back.

Yes, I know that it is not spring now, but this was just too beautiful a spring tree not to show you! This stamp set, Branching Out is not in the current Idea Book and Catalog, however it is still available. It is on the Dormant List, with a few other fabulous stamp sets. I could easily see making this card into a fall card by stamping the pink in fall colors instead.

Stamps: Branch Out, Sanded
Ink: Soft Suede, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink
Paper: Soft Suede, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White

Let me know if you try the same card in fall colors. I’d love to see it!

I love this tree! Have I mentioned that I love this tree? It is a fabulous tree, and I was so excited when Paula wanted to put one up at her house! It looks so great on her wall. Actually, I’ve never seen a wall that it looks bad on! Here are some of the highlights as we put it up:

And the final out come! It looks so gorgeous in real life!

So, when are you getting YOUR tree?

We are taking a major road trip starting today, as we drive from Massachusetts to California. In celebration of this epic journey, I have a Road Trip Ribbon Special just for you. You see, we will be rolling our wheels down those ribbons of highway, and I thought, wheels, ribbon, hey, Stampin’ Up has both of those! So here is the special:

Purchase any of Stampin’ Up’s wheels through my website while we are on the road (now through August 17th), and I will send you a sampler of some of the new Stampin’ Up ribbon!

My good friend and colleague Laura picked up an Advanced Reader’s Copy of Catching Fire (the sequel to Hunger Games) when she was at BEA and sent it to me. It was fabulous!! I highly recommend this series for 6th grade and up. I saw her last week when she was in Boston for some family stuff, and I wanted to give her a little thank you gift. I know how much she loves cats, so I put together a pack of kitty cards using the new C is for Cat stamp set.The layout and design are from Michelle.

The cards are all the same and are blank on the inside.

Stamps: C is for Cat, P is for Paw Wheel
Ink: Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie
Paper: Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, Razzleberry Lemonade, Whisper White

I even stamped the envelopes to match. I love doing that. I think it adds such a fun touch!

Thanks again Laura!

Ahoy there! Have you seen this incredible Pirate Party kit? Hoist the Jolly Roger and get ready to have a swashbuckling good time! Gather your little buccaneer and his or her mateys for a pirate party of the finest sort, complete with invitations, decorations, and eye patches to create and wear.

You can watch a fantastic video from Stampin’ Up that shows some if the projects from this kit, and a peak at the Princess Party kit, too.

The Pirate Party kit contains products you need to create party invitations and decorations for eight guests. It includes invitations, eye patches, banner, treasure boxes, and food toppers for eight.

It also coordinates with Stampin’ Up’s Pirate Time stamp set and Pirate personalized name stamp.

Pirate Time (Set of 5) $16.95

Or, if you prefer edgier Pirates, take a look at this set!

Beware, Pirates (set of 5) $26.95

Be sure to order in time for Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19th!

Contact me to place your order, or visit my website to shop at your convenience.

In addition to the organized convention swaps that I signed up for, I also sent Melina with some general swaps. Not too many, just enough to get some fun swaps back. I decided to use the new Scallop Square Bigz Die for my base, and the adorable D is for Dog stamp set. I made two versions of the card — one in Bermuda Bay and Soft Suede, the other in Real Red and Close to Cocoa. I love them both! Which one do you like better?

Stamps: D is for Dog
Ink: Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay
Paper: Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White
Accessories: Bermuda Bay Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Clear Square Scallop Bigz Die

Stamps: D is for Dog
Ink: Real Red, Close to Cocoa
Paper: Real Red, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White
Accessories: Real Red Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Clear Square Scallop Bigz Die

I’m very excited about the second swap I am in for the Stampin’ Up convention. When I get the pieces back, I will have an alphabet book, where each page has a letter and an animal made of punch art to match. There are 13 people in the swap, and each of us are doing two letters. I chose to do “D” for dog and “L” for lion. A big thanks to Angie Kennedy Juda for her fabulous lion and dog punch art designs.

Stamps: Varsity Alphabet, Jumbo Outline Alphabet
Ink: Real Red, Brilliant Blue, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel
Paper: Real Red, Brilliant Blue, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: 1″ Circle Punch, 1 1/4″ Circle Punch, 1 3/8″ Circle Punch, 1/4″ Circle Punch, Word Window Punch, Slot Punch, Small Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Sponge Daubers, Googly Eyes, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Stamps: Varsity Alphabet, Jumbo Outline Alphabet
Ink: Real Red, Brilliant Blue, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard
Paper: Real Red, Brilliant Blue, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Whisper White
Accessories: 1″ Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8″ Circle Punch, 1/2″ Circle Punch, 1/4″ Circle Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Small Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Sponge Daubers, Stamp-a-ma-jig

We had very specific instructions as to size and design of the pages so that they will all fit together nicely into one 6″ x 6″ album. I can’t wait to see the other 24 letters!