Rubber Stamping & Card Making with Yapha

Both Eve & I decided to use Totally Tools to make Steve his Father’s Day cards this year. He is a wood-working kind of guy, though he hasn’t been able to do much since his knee surgery.  I’ve seen several of these cards with the tools hanging on the cute peg board. I’m not sure who came up with the idea originally, but I love how mine came out! Click on the picture for a better look, so you can see ALL of the holes I pierced to make it look like peg board! I stamped the tools on Naturals White paper so they would be a little thicker, and used my Watercolor Wonder Crayons to color them in. (Love those!) That great shape at the bottom is from the Matchbox Bigz XL Die. I always try to run a few extra tags when I make a matchbox, and I was excited to find this shape in my scrap bag. I was even more excited when I saw how well the Word Window punch fit in it! This card could easily be used for a birthday or any other occasion by changing the sentiment at the bottom.

Stamps: Totally Tool, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Naturals White, Travel Journal Designer Series Paper
Other: Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Silver Brads, Word Window Punch, Matchbox Bigz XL Die, Big Shot, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aqua Painter

This is Eve’s fabulous card, made with Totally Tool as well. She used the Stampin’ Write Markers in Bordering Blue and Chocolate Chip to ink up only the images on the stamps (not the words), and placed them around the card. She also used Brilliant Blue ink and paper, since that is Steve’s favorite color. Didn’t she do a great job?

Stamps: Totally Tool, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Bordering Blue, Chocolate Chip, Brilliant Blue
Paper: Brilliant Blue, Whisper White

I love stamping with Eve. She has such a great vision!

The last thematic unit that the Second Graders study is The West. Earlier this spring, one of the second grade teachers came to me and asked if there was any type of Western card that the kids could. Of course there is, I told her! I knew that the I wanted to use the Wanted Stamp Set with the bandanna technique, but I didn’t have it on hand to make up a sample card. So I looked for a stamp that was similiar in size to the horse from Wanted, and came up with this sample card:

Stamps: D is for Dog, Priceless
Ink: Soft Suede, Basic Black
Paper: Soft Suede, Real Red, Whisper White
Other: Soft Suede Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Star Brads, White Gel Pen

The teachers were able to imagine it as a horse instead of a dog, and were super excited to have card-making be one of the stations at the end-of-unit party. The second graders rotated through every 15 minutes in groups of six, and had their choice of Real Red or Brilliant Blue for the background. They did a fantastic job! These are my samples that they worked off of.

Stamps: Wanted
Ink: Soft Suede, Basic Black
Paper: Soft Suede, Real Red or Brilliant Blue, Whisper White
Other: Soft Suede Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Star Brads, White Gel Pen

The Bandanna Technique was easy and fun for the kids to do. First you stamp your designs in black ink, then use a white gel pen to add highlights so it looks like a bandanna. To make the horse look like it is moving, you stamp it three times, starting from the right, without re-inking your stamp. The second graders loved doing these easy tricks that made their cards look fabulous!

Just so you know — the Wanted stamp set, Brilliant Blue card stock, and the Star Brads are all retiring at the end of the month. Get them while you can!

I love these colors for this week’s ColourQ challenge! They are so fun and little boy-ish! Look:

The first thing I thought of was how perfect these would be for the Build-a-Bear die cuts! Most of the colors are in the Pawsitively Prints Designer Series Paper, and the bear itself could be Kraft! Eve helped me run all of the pieces through the Big Shot. At age 7, after having used the Big Shot with me for a year, Eve is able to build the “sandwiches” and run things through the Big Shot on her own. In fact, she finds it much easier to use than a certain small die cut machine that was sold specifically for kids to use. Of course, she still only uses it under supervision. Here is the card Eve and I put together last night.

Paper: Ballet Blue, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Kraft, Pawsitively Prints Designer Series Paper
Other: Bear Bigz Die, Beary Essentials Bigz Die, Beary Boy Sizzlits Die, Big Shot Machine

Super cute, huh? The Pawsitively Prints Designer Series Paper is still available in the Summer Mini Catalog, but Ballet Blue will be retiring at the end of June. Stock up now if you need it!

The third grade teachers came to me for some ideas for a project their students could make at their Valentine’s Day party. We tossed some ideas around, and decided on having each child make two 3″x 3″ mini cards – one for each of their parents. I put together a supply order for them, and because of Sale-a-Bration and Stampin’ Up’s generous hostess benefits, they managed to get four free stamps sets with their order! We decided to stick with Real Red, Pretty in Pink, and Basic Black as our ink colors, combined with Real Red or Pretty in Pink as their card base. They will be encouraged to use their own creativity to create their cards, but I put together a few samples to get their juices flowing.

Here they each are individually:

Stamps: I {Heart} Hearts, Whimsical Words
Ink: Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Basic Black
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White

Stamps: A Happy Heart
Ink: Real Red, Basic Black
Paper: Real Red, Whisper White

Stamps: A Happy Heart, Sprinkles
Ink: Real Red, Pretty in Pink
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White

Stamps: I {Heart} Hearts, Whimsical Words
Ink: Real Red, Basic Black
Paper: Real Red, Whisper White

Stamps: I {Heart} Hearts, A Happy Heart
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Basic Black
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White

Stamps: You & Moi
Ink: Real Red, Pretty in Pink
Paper: Real Red, Whisper White

I can’t wait to see what cards the kids come up with!

I don’t know if you happened to notice the Love Bots Valentines in the new mini catalog. They look a little something like this. (Not the paper on top, just look at the bottom half of the picture.)

Well, one of the amazing demonstrators at Leadership, the fabulous Patty Bennett, came up with a variety of ways to use this fabulous kit! I have some pictures of the display boards. (You can click on the pictures for a much larger view.)

How brilliant is she? Amazing!

My in-laws were out of town for about five weeks on an amazing vacation. Eve made them an adorable card for my husband to bring with when he picked them up at the airport. That’s Eve in the middle, with Grandpa and Grandpa on either side. Eve did all of the stamping and coloring herself, except for the arms. I stamped the arms, since they can be very frustrating. Especially when they are the last thing you stamp. She blended the Yo-Yo Yellow and Only Orange Watercolor Wonder Crayons to make the skin on the faces.

Stamps: All in the Family
Inks: StazOn Black
Papers: Pixie Pink, Orchid Opulence, Naturals White
Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Crayons (Bold Brights), Aqua Painter

Grandma & Grandpa were thrilled to get this card, and I was happy to have some stamping time with Eve!

Eve, who is 6 1/2, decided to give the Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge a try this morning. She wanted to make a card for her cousin Sophia who will be 2 on Monday. She liked this sketch a lot.

What could be better for her two-year-old cousin than a Build-a-Bear card? Eve did all of the designing, stamping, and coloring herself. I just helped by cutting the layers.

Stamps: Beary Best Friends, Beary Nice Wishes
Ink: Basic Black, Orchid Opulence, Pixie Pink
Paper: Pixie Pink, Lovely Lilac, Whisper White, Pawsitively Prints, Designer Series Paper
Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Crayons

I love stamping with Eve! She’s so much fun — and talented and creative besides!

One of the most amazing things about rubber stamping is that anyone, of virtually any age, can do it. I was privileged today to accompany our fourth graders on their service learning field trip to the Jewish Home for the Aging. They were paired up with senior citizens, asked them questions about their lives, played a word game, and stamped some cards.

(thanks to Samantha Alvarez  for the fabulous photo!)

It was truly amazing to watch them stamp cards together. They shared in the joy of creating together, and the finished project was beautiful.

If you are looking for a way to connect people regardless of age, rubber stamping is certainly one answer. Everyone enjoyed today — the 4th graders, the seniors, the teachers, and the parent volunteers.

Eve loves the these new Build-a-Bear Stampin’ items, and has been wanting to stamp with them for a while now. We had some stamping time this weekend, and this was the first set she reached for. She wanted to have plenty of space for her masterpiece, so she chose just to use a white card base without any matts. We did end up matting the “Happy Bearthday” because she stamped it upside down the first time. Two lessons learned from that — One, always check which way the letters are facing and Two, there are very few things in card-making that can’t be fixed with a little embellishing! Crisis averted, phew!

Stamps: Beary Best Friends, Beary Nice Wishes
Ink: StazOn Black
Paper: Whisper White, Pink Passion
Other: Watercolor Pencils

Stamping — it’s fun for the whole family!

Eve has been doing a lot of stamping with me this summer. It’s a great way to spend time together, especially with all of the rain we have been having. I am happy to share three of her latest creations with you. (Eve is my 6-year-old daughter, for those of you that may not know, who has been stamping with me since she was two.)

This first card is of Eve and me together, with our dog Biscuit.

Stamps: All in the Family, Neighborhood Jumbo Wheel
Ink: StazOn Black, Bermuda Bay
Paper: Bermuda Bay, Real Red, Whisper White
Accessories: Watercolor Pencils

This second card is Eve’s presentation of all of the new In Colors. She wanted to include them all on one card to make them easier to show people.

Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly
Ink: Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry, Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay, Dusty Durango
Paper: Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Whisper White

Eve just got her ears pierced, and this final card is a representation of her starter earrings. She picked the Crystal Rainbow Daisy, which you can see at the bottom of this list. (She got it done at Claire’s. They were great!)

Stamps: Pick a Petal
Ink: Pixie Pink, Ballet Blue, Elegant Eggplant, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Basic Black
Paper: Pixie Pink, Whisper White
Accessories: Stampin’ Write Markers

Pretty accurate, huh? I highly recommend stamping with your children! It’s a great way to spend time together!