So, I've been busy uploading new pictures and information on my garage sale page, as well as deleting sold items.  Please check them out here http://stampwithjane.com/for-sale/garage-sale/

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I just love the gingerbread man and the pumpkin!  Here is one of the first cards I made with this set:

For this card, I used the new In-Color Peach Parfait card stock and the reintroduced Tangerine Tango card stock and ink as well as the Peach Parfait 1/2" Stitched Poly Ribbon – which is FABULOUS to work with.  Two other new items used on this card – the bat punch and the 2-3/8" Scallop Circle punch.    Do you want to get some of that ribbon?  Why not order some from my product share?

Color Choices are the 2010-2012 In Colors – Concord Crush, Poppy Parade, Peach Parfait, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz

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One of the retiring stamp sets I will miss using with my customers is Owl Together Now.  At my Technique Tuesday class this month, I showcased one of the easiest ways to create a Faux Shaker card.

The biggest time saver is using a CD/Disk Envelope.  You can find these in almost any office supply or discount store.  I then cut one apart to use as a template when planning my stamped piece.  The white insert piece is 4.75" x 4.75". 

I punched out one Scallop Circle in Old Olive.  I trimmed off the edge on the left side.  I then trimmed the strip of textured Chocolate Chip card stock to look like a tree trunk.   The textured card stock does give the tree some dimension!  Do not use too much confetti – in fact, less is more!  I used small gold and red hearts.

Before attaching the tree parts to the Whisper White card stock, I stamped the branch in Old Olive and then stamped 3 owls in Chocolate Chip.  The hearts and the phrase were stamped in Real Red.  (Sorry for the fuzzy picture here)

I stamped the outside of the CD envelope with hearts and then sponged it with Chocolate Chip ink.  I inserted the Whisper White stamped piece into the CD envelope.  I put the confetti inside and sealed the envelope so the confetti doesn’t fall out!   I mounted the sealed envelope to a piece of Old Olive card stock and then to a folded piece of Whisper White.    Here is the finished card:

Supplies Needed:

• Textured Chocolate Chip/Old Olive/Whisper White Card Stock
• Chocolate Chip/Old Olive/Real Red Ink
• CD Envelope
• Confetti
• MonoAdhesive
• Sponge

What is VC Rocks…and why do I love it??  VC Rocks is an online community where members share their love of stamping before, during, and after the Stampin’ Up! convention.  If you can’t go (or even if you can) to convention, you can get your "stampin’ mojo fix" with challenges, swaps, and discussions!  I have "met’ many fabulous stamping demos and nondemos through this group.

Welcome to the first 2010 VC Rocks Bloghop.. you’ve most likely arrived here from www.stampinldyglfr62.blogspot.com, but if not, you can return to the start of our Blog Hop at www.vcrocks.blogspot.com .

I had the extreme pleasure of creating scrapbooks with a group of Brownie Scouts.  As a mother of three boys, this was a dramatic change from my usual environment!  It was lots of fun, and I think they really enjoyed creating a memory scrapbook from this year’s activities.  One of their activities we scrapbooked included baking together…I knew I had to create a little chef using my Stampin’ Up! punches!!!!

Since May is National Scrapbooking Month, I thought I would share this page for the first-ever VC Rocks Blog Hop!  For this month’s Blog Hop, we are featuring retiring colors and new Summer Occasions stamp sets.  I used both:  Close to Cocoa is featured on the page and is on the retiring color list (thankfully, more brown hues are coming), and I used one of the phrases from Go, Graduate from the Summer Mini Catalog on the page.  Here is the page:

Supplies Needed:

• Chocolate Chip/Close to Cocoa/So Saffron/Very Vanilla/Whisper White Card Stock*
• Chocolate Chip and Ruby Red Markers and Chocolate Chip Ink*
• Big Shot with Ovals Die
• Punches:  Scallop Edge/Word Window/Large Tag/1" Circle/Designer Label/5-Petal Flower/Trio Flower/Round Tab Punch
• Go, Graduate Stamp Set
• Flower Assortment Brads
• Paper Piercing Tool and Mat Pack
• Crimper
• Stampin’ Dimensionals and MonoAdhesive

Instructions

1. Use Scallop Edge punch on large Close to Cocoa piece and Chocolate Chip Photo Backing.  Mount pieces.
2. Stamp phrase and punch out with Large Oval punch.  Stamp a Designer Label piece in So Saffron.  Mount pieces.
3. Center holes for trio of brads and insert brads.
4. Use Big Shot and Oval Die with So Saffron card stock.  Use largest oval for punched art backing.
5. Crimp piece of Whisper White card stock.  Punch out with round tab punch at halfway line.
6. Punch in Very Vanilla the following:  (2) Word Windows-arms, (1) 1" Circle – face, (1) Trio Flower – dress buttons
7. Punch in Chocolate Chip the following:  (1) Round Tab – back hair, (1) 5-Petal Flower – front hair, (1) Large Tag – dress
8. With the 5-Petal punched piece, use the 1" Circle punch to cut off a section for the "bangs".
9. Use half of Round Tab punch for the "back hair"
10. Cut off a section of the Word Window pieces for shorter arms.
11. Create eyes and mouth and dots in the buttons with the markers.
12. Attach all pieces and pop up with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
13. Mount remaining pieces.

*colors you may use will differ for hair color and eye color…

ALSO – in the theme of "little chef"  – My customers have been begging for me to share my dessert recipes that I serve at events so I have added a new section on my blog under EVENTS for my EVENT RECIPES.  I will be adding more this weekend…

I love to work with household products in my stamping.  I also love to stamp quick and easy cards.  Bleach stamping accomplishes both!  When you use bleach in your stamping, you are taking out the dye in your card stock. 

First things first – safety is important when stamping with bleach.   I do not recommend bleach stamping with pregnant ladies, young children, and those who have allergy or sensitivity issues.  If I am planning an event in my home and will be using bleach, I notify my stampers ahead of time.  If I want to showcase a bleach technique at a workshop, I will feature it as a demonstration not a make and take.  I’ll substitute water for the bleach but bring samples of each step so they see the bleaching results.  If you do take bleach along with you to a demonstration, make sure you store it in an opaque container that is tightly sealed. 

Please note:

• Do not let bleach dry on your stamps.  Bleach can damage the rubber.  Clean your stamps immediately after you are finished.  I usually use a wet paper towel to clean the bleach residue off and then I will use my Stampin’ Mist and Stampin’ Scrub to do a final clean and conditioning.
• Clean off any other materials the bleach comes in contact with.
• Once bleach reaches open air, its strength dramatically lessens.  You will need to add more bleach if you are stamping many pieces at once.
• Bleach affects colors of card stock differently – you may even get variations with the same color but a different dye lot.

To use bleach as a stamp pad, you will need the following:

• paper to protect work surface
• some folded paper towels
• a small container
• household bleach
• card stock
• a clean and damp paper towel (to clean off stamps)
• ventilated area

Protect your work surface with scrap paper.  Put the folded paper towels inside the small container.  Pour some bleach onto the folded paper towels.  Using a clean stamp, press stamp into the bleached towel.  Immediately stamp onto the card stock.  Lift off the card stock and set the card stock aside.  It will take a while for the bleach to interact with the card stock.  Be sure to let dry completely before using on your project.

CLEAN YOUR STAMPS IMMEDIATELY – DO NOT LET BLEACH DRY ON YOUR STAMPS.  I always use a wet paper towel to clean off the bleach first, and then I use my Stampin’ Mist and Scrub for a final clean and conditioning.

Here are some of my examples of using a bleach pad:          

 To bleach with a spritzer,  you will need the following:

• paper to protect work surface  (the new COLOR CATCHER would be great for this technique)
• spritzer container
• household bleach
• card stock
• ventilated area

Pour a small amount of bleach into a spritzer bottle.  Prepare your work area as above.  Spritz your card stock.  Set aside to dry. 

DO NOT LEAVE BLEACH IN THE SPRITZER BOTTLE.  RINSE OUT THE BOTTLE AND THE SPRITZER MECHANISM BEFORE STORING.

I’ll be inserting samples for this technique early next week.

To bleach with a Sponge Dauber,  you will need the following:

• paper to protect work surface 
• sponge dauber
• small container
• household bleach
• card stock
• ventilated area

Pour a small amount of bleach in a safe container.  With a clean sponge dauber, tap into the bleach and then pounce the dauber all over the card stock where you want to bleach.  Set aside to dry.   Once dry, you can even stamp inside the space you bleached!  If the bleach sits out a while, you will have a softer effect (see the Garden Whimsy sample).

RINSE OFF THE SPONGE DAUBER WHEN FINISHED AND TAP OFF THE EXCESS WATER – BUT PLAN ON DESIGNATING THIS DAUBER AS YOUR BLEACH DAUBER!!!

To accomplish the bleach brushing technique,  you will need the following:

• paper to protect work surface 
• paintbrush or AquaPainter
• small container
• household bleach
• card stock
• ventilated area

Pour a small amount of bleach in a container.  With a clean paintbrush or AquaPainter, dip into the bleach and lightly brush your tool over the card stock.  Variations in depth of bleaching depends on how much bleach you use and how long the bleach has sat out.  Set aside to dry.  You can stamp or emboss right on top of the bleached portion.  I love to tear the edges of the bleached section to highlight the bleaching effect.  You can also use two pieces of scrap paper, tear them, put them over card stock as a mask for part of the card stock, and then bleach in between the torn mask pieces.

BE SURE TO THOROUGHLY RINSE OUT YOUR AQUAPAINTER OR PAINTBRUSH WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED!

  Sorry for the bad picture – this is Brushed Gold card stock bleached out!

 I love to find different tools or items around my home to incorporate into my bleaching.  Here is one item I love to use with bleach:

It is a pencil topper Koosh Ball!  I can’t remember which of my three boys received it and for what I occasion, but I snatched it for myself.  It makes great background designs by just dipping it into an inkpad, but the design it leaves behind when you dip it in bleach is fabulous!   Use the same directions as sponge dauber bleaching, but dip the koosh ball into the bleach instead of the sponge dauber.

Believe it or not, this is just a start to all the ways you can incorporate bleach in your stamping.  Since I only had 5 minutes to do the presentation, I had to stop there! 

Follow my blog for more bleach and other techniques!

Want to place an order to start hoarding your favorite colors that will be retired?  Give me a call or send me an email!

The Color Renovation Handout is HERE

Here is the information you need:

Colors We Are Losing: (31)

Basic Brown
Going Gray
Glorious Green
Green Galore
Gable Green
YoYo Yellow
Only Orange
Pink Passion
Pixie Pink
Orchid Opulence
Lovely Lilac
Brilliant Blue
Close To Cocoa
Creamy Caramel
Really Rust
Ruby Red
Cameo Coral
Summer Sun
Bordering Blue
Brocade Blue
Ballet Blue
Taken With Teal
Handsome Hunter
Pale Plum
Blush Blossom
Apricot Appeal
Barely Banana
Mellow Moss
Sage Shadow
Almost Amethyst
Lavender Lace

InColors We Are Losing:  (8)

Kiwi Kiss
Blue Bayou
Groovy Guava
Purely Pomegrante
Soft Sky
Dusty Durango
Crushed Curry
Bermuda Bay

New Colors!!  (6)

Daffodil Delight
Early Espresso
Crumb Cake (Renamed Kraft)
Cajun Craze
Cherry Cobbler
Marina Mist

InColors We Are Gaining:  (10)

Melon Mambo
Rich Razzleberry
Pacific Point
Tangerine Tango
River Rock
Soft Suede
Riding Hood Red
Pink Pirouette
Baja Breeze
Wild Wasabi

Colors We Are Keeping:  (24)

Regal Rose
Tempting Turquoise
Old Olive
Pumpkin Pie
Real Red
Chocolate Chip
Sahara Sand
Very Vanilla
Whisper White
Basic Gray
Basic Black
Eggplant Eggplant
Night of Navy
Not Quite Navy
Always Artichoke
Garden Green
More Mustard
Bravo Burgundy
Pretty in Pink
Rose Red
Perfect Plum
Bashful Blue
Certainly Celery
So Saffron
Kraft (renamed to Crumb Cake and will have an inkpad to match) 

Today’s card features the new Vintage Vogue stamp set.  I absolutely love this card for a several reasons:

#1.  I’m using my favorite card format – the tent card.

#2.  I’m using one of my new favorite techniques – brayered specialty paper.

#3.  I’m using one of my favorite color combinations – Brocade Blue, So Saffron, Silver, and Whisper White

#4.  I love the colored brad insert for the Filigree Flower brad.

I hope you like it too!