Stamping On The Bayou

Colorful Butterflies!

 

Look how lovely these beautiful butterflies are!!! And, they are super easy to make! Each butterfly is made from 1/2 a sheet of cardstock (cut lengthwise) and you will still have a scrap of cardstock left! Cut a sheet of cardstock to 4"x8" and score at 4" to make a 4"x4" card. Run this card through the Big Shot with the Beautiful Butterflies die. Cut just below the top of the larger butterfly's wing tips so that the scored marks are still intact. Next use scraps that were left over from your first cut and cut the larger and smaller butterflies with die and Big Shot. Run those through pieces through the Big Shot with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder. Punch a hole in the center of each of these butterflies and attach with a Rhinestone Brad. Score one side of your "butterfly" card widthwise in the center to create the "easel" then add Snail to the bottom tips of the wings just under the score mark. Match up the bottom wings of card to embossed wings and voila... a beautiful gift card or lovely way to decorate a tablescape! You can purchase any materials to make this product through my online store. Enjoy and happy summer!

Treat Cups aren't just for TREATS!

The Stampin' Up! Sweet Treat Cups (circles 116802 and hearts 120435) are just perfect for cards and projects for my kids and their friends. Add a few small candies and they are very happy. But, the Sweet Treat Cups aren't just for treats...

 
This Valentine shaker card is so fun to receive, but even more fun to CREATE! The Sweet Centers (116521), Something Sweet (117688), and Sweetheart (120415) stamp sets were created especially for Stampin' Up!'s Treat Cups. The 1 3/4" circle punch and the Full Heart punch coordinate beautifully for worry free creativity!

 
I used Silver Glass Glitter (120995) and the Red Chunky Glitter (108797) for my shaker card. It's just thick and chunky enough to make that "shaker" sound!

Valentine's Day is coming up very quickly, so don't delay! To purchase these products, contact me or visit my online store.

Thanks for looking!

Is it Christmas already?

It's getting close! With so many items to cross off your list, make sure to check back here for finishing touches! I love Christmas and it is the perfect time to give from the heart... what better way than a handmade card or gift!

 

This card was so easy to put together with Stampin' Up!'s new Designer Fabric and Big Designer Buttons. This one uses the Deck the Halls Designer Fabric and was "cut" using the Tasteful Trim Bigz XL Die for the Big Shot. I can't wait to use this die to create some beatiful textiles.

Stampin' Supplies: Tiny Tags stamp set; Deck the Halls designer fabric; Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla cardstock; Big Shot; Tasteful Trim Bigz XL die; Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon; Linen Thread; Deck the Halls Big designer buttons; Scallop Trim Border and Jewelry Tag punch

If you would like to create handmade cards to send out for Christmas, make sure to sign up for my mailing list on the left sidebar of this blog to recieve the 10 Weeks of Christmas emails. PLUS, you can check back often for even more inspiration on all your Christmas projects!

Recipes anyone?

Creating this recipe card set was really fun and would be an excellent project for the kids! These were created for one of my hostesses as a thank you for having a Stampin' Up! workshop. Imagine creating these lovely cards and presenting them this fall to family or friends at holiday events! The up side of creating your own recipe cards with Stampin' Up! is that you can customize them the way you want. Using Stampin' Up!'s exclusive color pallette and artwork you can create a set of recipe cards based on the theme of a party or holiday. The possiblities are ENDLESS!

 
If you would like to create your own set of custom recipe cards, please contact me to place your order for the From the Kitchen of stamp set.

French Foliage Samples

You want them, I got them!!!! I love to look at lots of samples using only one or two stamp sets, it gets my creative juices flowing!!!! The new French Foliage stamp set from the Holiday Mini is no exception!

 

The very talented Lisa Lange created this sample - I love her use of color!

Created by Lana Chiasson (yes, she's related) - Lana used one of my favorite textured impressions embossing folders,Vintage Wallpaper!

Laura Milligan used my favorite new punch, the Extra-Large Decorative Label!

 
 
Pam Derks created this beautiful card and included the Seasonal Sentiments stamp set. It is perfect for all your holiday stamping!

 
Lori Marcantonio swapped this sample using one of my favorite new colors, Cajun Craze! My team likes to think this color was created especially for us! 

I love how she attached the ribbon to the Modern Label punch!

I hope these samples have inspired you! Thanks to the Stampahowlic swappers for their beautiful samples! To get a peak at some exclusive samples, make sure to like the Stamping on the Bayou Facebook Page!
 
 

"Where do you get your ideas?"

It is the absolute number 1 question that I get from my customers and friends! And the answer is that I steal them! What???? Isn't the highest form of flattery copying??? That's exactly what I do, except in the "stampin' world we call it CASEing (Copy And Share Everything), sounds better doesn't it?

The number one way I get ideas is directly from Stampin' Up! This awesome company shares so many great samples and ideas at events, through the demo website, and the monthly Stampin' Success magazine. It is so easy to recreate these projects because they design them to be "duplicate-able"!

We also have our own on-line community called Stampin' Connection. This is a "facebook" kind of community only for Stampin' Up! demonstrators where we share creative and business ideas. I love to look through and see all of the projects from the talented women AND men that are part of the Stampin' Up! family.

The last place I go to is my "stock" of swaps! You may ask yourself, "What is a swap?" At events and local meetings, fellow demos "swap" ideas in the form of cards, scrapbook pages, 3D's, and WOW's. What you do is come up with 1 idea for your project. You mass produce those (however many you want to make) and then you swap with other demos. When you are done you have tons of new ideas for layouts, color combos, techniques, and products! I recently participated in a swap with the Stampahowlic team of demonstrators of which I belong! I'll be sharing some of these swaps here and on Stamping on the Bayou's FB page. Hope you enjoy the inspiration!

This card uses my favorite SU! product - Big Shot Textured Impressions Embossing Folders! The new Spider Web embossing folder is so awesome! Deb Hagberg created this sample and she heat embossed the Midnight Raven a la carte stamp. She also used some of the Nite Owl dsp that is so spooky! Isn't this so very frightening????

Julie Carattini used the Spider Web Textured Impressions Embossing Folder on her wickedly awesome card too! I don't think I will send a Halloween card without it this year! A beautiful Halloween color combo this year is Cajun Craze, Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black, and Old Olive! That combo comes directly from the specialty designer series paper Wicked Fun! I love the witch's feet from the Wicked Cool stamp set! Check out the matching Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry taffeta ribbon!

Tammy Neperud created this simple but elegant card with the Spider Web embossing folder as well. My favorite new Holiday Mini product is the 1/2" Lace Trim Raven. It is truly gorgeous and incredibly glitzy!

Which one do you like best? Post your response in the comments for this post!

Fast and Fabulous

 
Looking for a card that's fast AND fabulous? Here you go!!!! This brightly colored card features the Fast & Fabulous stamp set. I was able to copy this card from a very talented demonstrator through out demo only online community. This hostess set is THE perfect 2 step stampin' set. I stamped the lined flower images in Jet Black Staz On. Then stamped the solid images in different colors to finish the look. You can be an artist without being an artist... know what I mean???? For an even more artistic look, I blended the colors a bit with a Blender Pen. This step fills in the missing "spots" of color.

I LOVE this set, but you know what? You can't buy it, you can only earn it for FREE! It is a level 2 hostess set and can be earned when you have a $300 net workshop or catalog party.

Stampin' Supplies: Fast & Fabulous hostess set and Perfect Punches stamp set; Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, and Whisper White card stock; Greenhouse Gala designer series paper; Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Daffodil Delight, and Tempting Turquoise Classic ink; Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Write Markers; XLG Oval punch; Stampin' Sponge; Blender Pen; Black Mini Library Clip; Daffodil Delight 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon 

I'd like to share some stampin' tips with your friends and family. Contact me at nickole@stampingonthebayou.com to find out how you can host a Stampin' Up! workshop!

Find me on Facebook

Facebook fans of Stamping on the Bayou get exclusive info, photos, and more! Here is a sneak peek at what was posted today!

To become a fan, click this link and "like" my page!
 
 

Sweet & Sour Birthdays

I am so in love with the new Sweet & Sour Specialty designer series papers! Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie, and Very Vanilla are trendy colors that make me HAPPY! I've found that Melon Mambo works with it too!

Two of my nieces had a birthday last week so I created this card especially for them! I used textured Melon Mambo card stock as the base with accents of Sweet & Sour specialty dsp! I'm so happy that Stampin' Up! added Pumpkin pie 5/8" grosgrain ribbon (HINT HINT - Halloween!!!)! A pearl and a little bling bling always adds that little something!

The image (Elizabeth - 117120) was stamped in VersaMark and embossed in Clear for that shiny appearance. For the bling, check out the Basic Pearls and Basic Rhinestones!

What do you think of the pink/orange color combo? List your thoughts in the comment section below.
 

Look What my Kids Created!

I love that I can share my passion of stamping with my kids! We have so much fun when we stamp together! My sister-in-law's birthday was this week so we pulled out the card stock, stamps, and ink to make cards for her. Each one is unique and simple to create. Tell me what you think!

This one was Connor's. He watercolored the boy bear with the Aqua Painter and Classic inks. He loves to color and did I mention, he is 5??!!!

Jack did a little 2-step stampin' on his card. The Sweet Scoops set is really one of my favorite, Jack's too (anything that has to do with food)! He is also 5 (they are twins)!

 

My Facebook fans have seen this one already. My daughter, Laurel (age 9) used Crystal Effects on this funky cupcake! It really turned out pretty - I love Pumpkin Pie and Melon Mambo together!

I wanted to make a card too, so I used the new set, Just Believe (I got it FREE at convention)! You may be wondering where is that gorgeous paper from... the Holiday Mini! It's from the Deck the Halls selection and is absolutely fabulous! Cherry Cobbler is my new favorite color and compliments Baja Breeze very well!

I hope these cards inspire your birthday creations! I love to brag on my kids and hear compliments about them so please leave your comment below.