Rubber Stamping & Card Making with Yapha

Did you notice that all of the Build-a-Bear items are on the retiring list? All of them. The stamps, dies, everything. These are so great for kids cards! If you have kids and don’t have these stamps yet, I highly recommend them!  I made a cute little girl bear card for two challenges today. It combines the Paper Players challenge of Polka Dots and the Friday Mashup Challenge of using ribbon and a decorative edge.

Don’t you love how the scalloped circle from the Perfect Pennants die matches the Scallop Trim Border punch? By the way, that fabulous striped ribbon is retiring as well.

Stamps: Beary Best Friends, Beary Nice Wishes
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, VersaMark, Crumb Cake, Melon Mambo
Paper: Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Just Add Cake Designer Series Paper, Brights Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack
Other: Scallop Trim Border Punch, Perfect Pennants Bigz Die, Circles #2 Die, Melon Mambo Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Black Embossing Powder

I embossed the “Happy Bearthday” phrase so it would stand out more against the Wild Wasabi. I was thinking about using the Melon Mambo embossing powder for it, but Eve thought the black would like better. She’s got a great eye, that kid!

For this year’s Black History Month celebration at school we added several new elements. At the end of the month we had a “Family Reunion” with a soul food picnic. As part of this, each child was given a piece of Kente cloth, and asked to make something unique out of it. There were some leftover pieces of cloth, so I took some of it to make a surprise for the two women who had been organizing the festivities all month. Both of them have preschool age children, so I thought, what could be cuter than Build-a-Bears with Kente cloth clothing!

Supplies: Bear Bigz Die, Beary Essentials Bigz Die, Beary Dressy Bigz Die, Big Shot

I love that the Big Shot cuts fabric like butter! These were super easy to make, with brown felt for the bears and Kente cloth for the clothes. I gave each of them a baggie with two bears and an assortment of clothes. They were beyond thrilled to receive them!

Here’s another card I made for the Stampin’ Addicts birthday swap. I knew I wanted to use my Not Quite Navy striped ribbon for this, so I used my Color Coach to help pick out the other colors. The bear is stamped on Naturals White cardstock, and colored in with my Watercolor Wonder Crayons. The balloon is stamped on Pumpkin Pie cardstock, cut out, and popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Stamps: Beary Best Friends, Beary Nice Wishes
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Not Quite Navy
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Crumb Cake, Garden Green, Pumpkin Pie, Naturals White
Other: Not Quite Navy Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Top Note Bigz Die, Stampin’ Dimensionals

If you are wondering about the shape that the bear is on — it’s a trick with the Top Note Die! You run your cardstock through the Big Shot on the Top Note Die as usual. Then take your cardstock and rotate it 90 degrees on the Top Note Die, and run it through again. Voila! You get this cool shape!

Yesterday I showed you a Valentine that I made for a teenage boy. On the opposite (and much easier) end of the spectrum, I also needed to make a card for a baby boy. I used some of the same colors and paper, and even one of the same stamp set and Heart Framelit. But I combined them differently for a much softer look.

Stamps: Bear Hugs, P.S. I Love You
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Lucky Limeade
Paper: Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Whisper White, Sweet Shop Designer Series Paper
Other: Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon, Hearts Collection Framelits

I love these Hearts Framelits! They have really made making Valentines easy and fun!

There’ a really fun sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week — I like that it has two stripes across the page instead of the usual one.

This gave me a chance to play with some of the new goodies from the Occasions Mini catalog. I love, love, love these new Framelits! I hope they come out with lots of other shapes as well. I also used the new Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details. It is easy to use and adds just the perfect amount of bling.

Stamps: Beary Best Friends
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Cherry Cobbler, Blushing Bride, Soft Suede
Paper: Blushing Bride, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, 2010 In Colors Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack
Other: Labels Collection Framelits, Cherry Cobbler Dotted Scalloped Ribbon, Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details, Stampin’ Dimensionals

I colored the bear with reinkers and my aquapainter. The envelope is stamped on Blushing Bride card stock, then cut out and popped up on a Stampin’ Dimensional.

I loved the Stampin’ Addicts Sketch Challenge 115 so much, I had to make a second card using it! This was for one of Eve’s teachers who is having a baby boy.

Stamps: Bear Hugs
Inks: StazOn Jet Black, Soft Suede, Pool Party
Papers: Pool Party, Soft Suede, Spice Cake Designer Series Paper, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Perfect Pennants Bigz Die, 1 3/4 Circle Punch, Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon

I can see myself using this sketch a lot. Thanks so much, Paula!

Take a look at this fabulous sketch that Paula put up over at the Stampin’ Addicts’ sketch challenge last week. Isn’t it great?

My friend and downline Samantha is starting a new teaching job, in her own classroom at another school. I wanted to make her a card to wish her the best. They sure are lucky to have her! This sketch was just perfect for what I wanted to do! I rotated it 90° so it would fit the bear. The dress is paper-pieced, the rest is colored with ink and an aqua painter.

Stamps: Beary Best Friends, Season of Hugs
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Poppy Parade, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Poppy Parade, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Big Top Birthday Designer Series Paper
Other: 3/4″ Circle Punch, 1″ Circle Punch, Designer Label Punch, Aqua Painter, Paper Snips

Do you see what looks like note book paper in the background? It’s actually a sheet from the Big Top Birthday Designer Series Paper Pack! How fun is that? Only a few more days to get in on the Buy 3 Get 1 Free Designer Series Paper sale!

I was so excited to find an Israeli paper crafting challenge, that I had to do it right away! It is called שלוש בשלישי or Tuesday Trio. This week they had a sketch challenge, plus an additional challenge of using dots.  I combined this with Color Throwdown #131 and the SUO Challenge of using something from Sale-a-Bration.

I looked through my different Sale-a-Bration products, and came back to the Bear Hugs set that I had featured for the Stampin’ Addicts Blog Hop. This is one of the sets from the main catalog that you can earn for free during Sale-a-Bration. I had to add Crumb Cake for the bear. I tried to color him in Pink Pirouette, and it just looked horrid! Here’s what I came up with:

Stamps: Bear Hugs
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Pink Pirouette
Paper: Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Other: Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Small Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Big Shot

I love this stamp set, and these are perfect baby bear colors!

Welcome to the first stop on the Second Annual  Stampin’ Addicts Birthday Blog Hop! (If you just came from Holly K’s blog, don’t worry, we will link you around in a complete circle.) Each of the stops is featuring a different stamping technique. I am excited to show you that old favorite, the shaving cream technique! This technique uses reinkers swirled into shaving cream to create an interesting image. You must use glossy paper, or it looks like a big mess. Be sure to come back on Monday for a video of the technique if you are unfamiliar with it.

Most of the time, the shaving cream technique is used to create card backgrounds. On this first card, I did just that. To add more interest, I used the faux shaving cream technique on the whale image, by smearing a wheel on the stamp itself. Doesn’t the shaving cream piece remind you of water? It is great for ocean-themed cards!

Stamps: Fox & Friends, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Cupcake Wheel
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Wild Wasabi
Paper: Glossy White, Baja Breeze, Night of Navy, Whisper White

For my second card, I again used the shaving cream piece as the background, but I also made two coordinating pieces which I used to create the cupcake. The shaving cream design can lend a lot of spice to punch art.

Stamps: Something to Celebrate (hostess)
Ink: Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake
Paper: Glossy White, Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip
Other: Build a Cupcake Punch, 1 3/4″ Circle Punch, 2 3/8″ Scallop Circle Punch, Paper Piercer

As I was creating these images, I was struck by how much they looked like tie-dye. I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be fun to use this to create a tie-dye T-shirt for the Build-a-Bear? What better card for your favorite Dead Head?

Stamps: none
Ink: Real Red, Night of Navy, Daffodil Delight
Paper: Real Red, Night of Navy, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Basic Black
Other: Bear Bigz Die, Beary Essentials Bigz Die, Beary Boy Sizzlets Die, Big Shot

I hope you enjoyed  these projects. Please stop back on Monday for a video tutorial to learn more about the shaving cream technique. Your next stop is Holly P, who will be featuring some of her amazing punch art! Thanks for joining me in wishing Stampin’ Addicts a very happy 2nd birthday!

I seem to have run out of time to show you the rest of my Valentine projects, since today is Valentine’s Day, so I’m just going to post the last three items here. First is the Valentine that Eve made for all of her classmates. This was a family effort again this year, with everybody but the dogs lending a hand. I am really proud of her for wanting to make her own again, and for coloring in all 44 bears herself! Here is the finished product. (I couldn’t take a group shot of all 44, because the last stop on our assembly line was stuffing the envelopes. This is a 3″x 3″ card. The little envelope is stamped on Pretty in Pink card stock, cut out, and popped up on a Stampin’ Dimensional.

Stamps: Beary Best Friends
Ink: StazOn Jet Black
Paper: Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Other: Watercolor Pencils, Stampin’ Dimensionals

The next project I want to show you is the Valentine that I made for each of the second grade teachers. I used Tanya’s amazing book box, with great instructions! It was perfect for me, as a librarian, to give out, and since it uses the Matchbox Die, it holds four Hershey Nuggets. The below picture shows it tied shut, the front cover without the bow, and what the inside looks like.

Stamps: Valentine Defined, Language of Love Wheel
Ink: Basic Grey, Real Red, Blushing Bride
Paper: Basic Grey, Whisper White, Love Impressions Designer Series Paper, Glimmer Paper
Other: Matchbox Bigz XL Die, Big Shot, Blushing Bride Ribbon, Full Heart Punch, Hershey Nuggets

I have a regular group of friends that I eat lunch with at work each day, and when I saw these amazing little nugget purses on Krystal’s Sunday round-up, I thought they would be a really fun Valentine treat to hand out. They are so cute! They would make great baby or wedding shower favors. Each one holds a Hershey Nugget inside. It’s a little hard to see because of the flash, but that is  little rhinestone on top of each heart.

Paper: Real Red, Love Impressions Designer Series Paper
Other: Real Red 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon, Small Heart Punch, Basic Rhinestones, Glue Dots

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you had a good one! I’ll be back tomorrow with some bold colors for the ColourQ challenge!