She Stamps A Lot | Crystal Miller | Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

#SimpleStamping with Hydrangea Haven

Posted by Crystal

· Wednesday, April 28th, 2021

Hydrangeas are certainly one of the most beautiful flowers on Earth. Like delicate globes filled with tightly packed blooms and quizzical names like mophead and lacecap, these flowers have the ability to change color over a period of days. To see one is to be transported back to a simpler, more romantic era when the pace of life was slow and there was time to take meditative walks in a well-cultivated garden.

Our homage to this nostalgic, floral favorite includes the Hydrangea Haven Stamp Set with coordinating Hydrangea Dies (buy them in a bundle for savings!), Hydrangea Hill Designer Series Paper, Hydrangea Hill Mercury Glass Designer Acetate, Gorgeous Grape 3/8″ (1 cm) Sheer Ribbon, and finally—luminous, adhesive-backed Pastel Pearls to add a touch of elegance to any project. Coordinating colors reflect traditional hydrangea colors and include Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather, and Rococo Rose.

To create this month’s #SimpleStamping projects, we used Designer Series Paper to create fun backgrounds, as with the Le Monde and Du Bist Meine Heldin cards. Layering the paper in strips creates an especially eye-catching effect. The Voor een bijzonder iemand card demonstrates how to make an image stand out when you use White Craft ink against richly hued cardstock.

The Hydrangea Haven Bundle is a must-have for anyone who loves vintage chic or dramatic floral focal points, and the stamp set contains lovely sentiments to match the look.

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What do you do with parts & pieces?

Posted by Crystal

· Friday, April 23rd, 2021

Today we’re featuring masculine-themed projects made using the Handsomely Suited Stamp Set.

Speaking of masculine themes, have you ever wondered where bow ties came from? It all started long ago, during the Thirty Years War in the 17th century. Croatian mercenaries wore scarves to close their shirt fronts, and the French aristocracy spotted that dashing look on French soldiers coming home from the war. They adapted it and called the neckwear “cravats.” Over time, cravats evolved into what we know today as bow ties. Fun fact!

Our bow ties are made with pretty ink, and we’ve carefully stamped them close together to create our own Designer Series Paper. We’ve mixed and matched paper layers to create different looks, but the same size parts and pieces were used to make all three standard cards:

Basic White Cardstock: 1‑1/2″ x 1‑1/2″ (3.8 x 3.8 cm); 1‑1/2″ x 5‑1/2″ (3.8 x 14 cm) Smoky Slate Cardstock: 1‑3/4″ x 1‑3/4″ (4.4 x 4.4 cm); 5‑1/2″ x 4″ (14 x 10.2 cm) Handsomely Suited Designer Series Paper: 2″ x 5‑1/2″ (5.1 x 14 cm)

We chose the striped look for our cards, but there are many manly options in the Handsomely Suited Designer Series Paper. This paper collection boasts a little history of its own: It was inspired by the shirts and ties in our creative director’s closet and includes many rugged prints and patterns.

Have fun creating cards and showing love to your favorite dads. Whether they’re nerds, sports nuts, or barbecue masters—they’ll surely love your thoughtfulness!

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Dandy Wishes

Posted by Crystal

· Tuesday, April 13th, 2021

Enjoy Creativity

Dandy Wishes Step-by-Step

Is it okay to love dandelions? We certainly think so! There’s something about the silhouette and the wish-giving lore surrounding this golden flower that lend it special charm. (Did you know that the Victorians prepared sandwiches with it for afternoon high tea? P.S. It is actually considered an herb with many beneficial properties—so feel free to appreciate!)

CASUAL
As you see here with our dreamy dandelion cards (made using the Garden Wishes Stamp Set), this beautiful plant can be highlighted in many ways. Here our artist used the marker-to-stamp method to add rich color to the dandelion image.

Important note: Don’t worry that the ink will dry before you can transfer it to paper. Simply huff on the stamp to reactivate the ink and you’ll have a beautifully colored image.

AVID
We stepped up the second card by using the marker-to-stamp technique described above; this time, however, we used Sponge Daubers and coordinating inks to deepen the color of the Coastal Cabana Cardstock layer and the Daffodil Delight Cardstock tag. This additional step is simple to do and instantly enhances the card’s visual appeal.

ARTFULLY AVID
For our pièce de résistance (the artfully avid card!) we used the marker-to-stamp technique—with a twist! This time we spritzed the stamp with water before stamping. To add more color, clean the stamp and repeat. Die cut using the Dandy Wishes Dies. Isn’t it lovely? You may even want to use it for a Victorian tea party invitation!

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Memory Keeping: Forever & Always

Posted by Crystal

· Sunday, April 4th, 2021

Preserving memories through memory keeping has to be one of the most satisfying ways to feed that creative urge. Not only does it let you express love for the important people in your life, but you can also surround beloved photos with your own creative touches—adding an embellishment here, a Designer Series Paper layer there—until you feel that you’ve honored your loved one and created a work of art at the same time.

We think our Always Together page would be a treasured gift—maybe to copy, frame, and share with family! Our concept artist added some love to her project by inking up the True Love Designer Series Paper background layers. How did she achieve the flowers’ rich color? First, she colored the images with Daffodil Delight Stampin’ Blends, then added a blush of color on top using the dark Petal Pink Stampin’ Blend marker. She also created a bit of depth by adhering a Vellum Cardstock layer behind the photo, then made the page pop with a sprinkling of Artistry Blooms Sequins.

And let’s not forget that beautiful “Always” sentiment! She made it by stamping with VersaMark ink on Bumblebee Cardstock and heat embossing using White Stampin’ Emboss Powder. (Heat embossing is much easier than it looks! Give it a try if you haven’t already!)

What can you do with your boxes of photos gathering dust on the shelf? We challenge you to keep the memories fresh, pull out your papercrafting supplies, and start making a few precious scrapbook pages today. You’ll be glad you did!

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Fun Friday Challenge

Posted by Crystal

· Friday, March 26th, 2021

A Simple Card Could Lead to a Million Things

Have you ever heard the saying “A simple hello could lead to a million things?” The same applies to a simple card. Sharing your best wishes could make someone’s day—or it could change their whole life! That’s why we think everyone should have plenty of simple cards on hand—so you’re ready to make a difference whenever you can. I CHALLENGE YOU TO SEND OUT ONE CARD TODAY!

We’ve got a trio of fun, easy cards that you could create in an hour or less. And fancying up a card with a little trick here or there is easier than you might think. For instance, our concept artist used Watercolor Pencils to color the cute flower images on the Bonheur card—no water or blending needed!

To create the You Make Me Happy card, we designed our own patterned paper with tone-on-tone stamping. Note: Though the background images are meant to be flower centers or small clusters of flowers, we used them to create playful design elements. There are no hard and fast rules with stamping. Just have fun with it!

For the Freude card we used classic stamping off to create a dynamic background using a single ink pad. Isn’t it gorgeous? And the technique is so simple and fast.

For all of you avid stampers out there: Do you have a craft room full of supplies that you could use in unusual ways? What can you create with minimal supplies to achieve standout results? Whether your work is simple or detailed, post it on social media so we can all be inspired!

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#9 CASE-ing Challenge

Posted by Crystal

· Friday, March 26th, 2021

CASE-ing Tuesday #9 (2021 Jan-Jun Mini Catalog, p 46) How to play along? Makeover the card (pictured below). You can change a lot, a little or make the card just as it is in the catalog. Then post it to the thread on my FB group or email them to me. You can use the sketch as a guide when creating your card. I can’t wait to see your cards.

My 2 takes on the challenge…

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2021 March Paper Pumpkin

Posted by Crystal

· Monday, March 22nd, 2021

Check out our March Here’s to You unboxing video! The nature-inspired theme and colors are even more stunning in person, and is sure to bring joy to you and your loved one’s lives! Bonus: in this video, we also teach you how to use the free stencil set included in the kit! Can’t wait to see how you choose to create!

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Fun Friday Dragonfly Garden

Posted by Crystal

· Friday, March 19th, 2021

Did you know? In some cultures, the dragonfly is a symbol for good luck and prosperity—perhaps because dragonflies hovering over the water meant fish were below. We love them for their jewel tones and luminous wings—so pretty!

Casual

To begin creating our dragonfly cards, start simple. Fold Basic White Cardstock in half; add layers of Dandy Garden Designer Series Paper to the card front plus a floral image and sentiment stamped on Shimmery White Cardstock using Jet Black StazOn ink.

The dragonfly is the crowning touch of this card, but how did we make it? Piece of cake! We sized the dragonflies on our Dandy Garden Designer Series Paper to fit the Dragonfly Punch, so you can easily “capture” them for use as accents on cards and other projects.

Simply punch your favorite dragonfly from the Designer Series Paper and adhere it to the card front with Stampin’ Dimensionals; it almost appears to hover above the paper! This classy card takes only minutes to create.

Step it up

Step up our second card by adhering an additional layer of Dandy Garden Designer Series Paper. We also added a little color to the stamped floral image using Water Painters. The Bumblebee and Pear Pizzazz inks really brighten the flower and bring it to life.

Detailed Nature Lover

Our most detailed card features another layer of fun Designer Series Paper, plus some additional color for the stamped floral image. This time we chose Blackberry Bliss, Calypso Coral, and Mossy Meadow. Once the stamped piece was dry, we embossed it using the Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine and the Painted Texture 3D Embossing Folder. We think the extra dimension and depth add the perfect touch to this beautiful, nature lovers card.

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Wednesday Ways to Use It

Posted by Crystal

· Wednesday, March 17th, 2021

Getting to know your machine!

Sleek • Compact • Non-slip •

Easy To Use Use with our dies and embossing folders for a beautiful die-cutting and embossing experience every time!

The Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine comes with:

• Base Plate #1

• Die Plate #2

• Two Clear Cutting Plates both #3

• Specialty Plate #4

Tips: Use both sides to help keep them straight. You can use the full surface of the plates.

How do I make an Embossing Sandwich? Yep, this is the bread and butter of Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machines. The plates are numbered to make it easy to create your Cut & Emboss Sandwich.

For Standard Embossing Folders: • Base plate #1 • Cutting plate#3 • Embossing folder with paper inside • Finally the other Cutting plate #3.

For 3D Embossing Folders: • Base Plate #1 • Embossing Folder with the paper inside • Specialty Plate #4

Tips: Send the embossing folder in with the hinge threw first. Spritz the paper with water before sending through to get a deeper impression. Other plates and accessories are available for purchase separately.

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Case-ing Tuesday #8

Posted by Crystal

· Tuesday, March 16th, 2021

CASE-ing Tuesday #8 (2021 Jan-Jun Mini Catalog, p 13) How to play along? Makeover the card (pictured below). You can change a lot, a little or make the card just as it is in the catalog. Then post it to the thread below. You can use the sketch as a guide when creating your card.

Head over to my FB page and post your photos!

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A Simple Card Could Lead to a Million Things

Casual

Step it up

Detailed Nature Lover

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