The Write Stuff class kit by mail

Now available for purchase is this kit using the Write Stuff paper collection to make a set of four cards (including envelopes) and a coordinating gift box.

Cost of the class: $20
If you order the Well Scripted stamp set from me, you get the class for $15!

Click here to purchase the kit (plus $3 shipping). If you wish to order the stamp set as well, or any other products, please contact me first so I can arrange your payment and shipping. The ink used in the kit is Soft Suede, which is not included with the kit but is available for $5.95 plus tax and shipping.

Special offer: Place a $50 online order via my SU site and get the instructions for this kit for free!

All offers outlined here are good ONLY through March 12, 2010. You will receive your kit by the end of the month.

Please note: Because I did not design this kit, I cannot sell it to Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. For more information please email me at loririder@verizon.net. I intend to design my own kits from now on, and I will make those instructions available to demos on my Diva Designs for Demos site. Stay tuned!

OCC sketch, Color Throwdown

I'm back from vacation! We had a great time in Mexico. Maybe someday I'll get some photos up, but not this week. I had no choice but to schedule my stamp club for the Friday after we got back, which was yesterday, so there has barely been time for anything else.

I did need to do my card for the latest challenge over at Our Creative Corner. Linda is wrapping up her hostess month with a fun sketch challenge, so be sure you check it out. I hope I didn't tinker with this one too much - it kind of took on a life of its own! I also played along with the Color Throwdown challenge. Of course I had to tweak that one as well - hopefully no one minds that I used vanilla instead of white with my pretty in pink, chocolate chip and old olive.

I tried something different with my background shapes by using the Top Note die cuts. I wanted to stay SUO and not use Nestabilities so that's how I ended up here. What do you think? The paper is from Sending Love. I adhered these to a 5.5" square panel of chocolate chip cardstock, then wrapped this wide striped chocolate chip ribbon around the panel before I adhered it to a 5.5" square vanilla card base.

One thing I wish were different with this card - I think the focal image should be bigger. The balance looks a bit off to me. But I didn't have time to start over so I went with this anyway. The flower is from Friends 24-7, stamped with chocolate chip and colored with pink and olive markers. I used the scallop trim border and corner punches on the chocolate chip layer. Once I'd adhered that panel with dimensionals, I had room to add a knot of ribbon to the right of the image.

The sketch indicated something in the upper right and lower left corners. I first put the two pearls in the upper right, figuring that I would balance them with a third pearl somewhere else. That ended up going on the sentiment, which is from Think Happy Thoughts. Isn't it cool that the flowers from the DP fit perfectly inside the flowers on the Flower Trio punch? You can only punch one at a time, but it looks super cute and gave me a great place to put my pearl.

When all of this was done, I felt like I needed one more olive green something, somewhere. I tried a few things but ended up tying a Playground button to the ribbon with linen thread. It's a very big ribbon treatment, but it really fixed the balance problem with the green. That's one thing I love about stamping and cardmaking - I'm always learning new things, and I think this card taught me a few things.

That's it from me - now go take a peek at all the other wonderful creations from our fabulous team! And have a wonderful weekend!

Divine Diva Inspiration Challenge #22

I have a little bit of a different challenge for you this week. Right now, as you are reading this, I am relaxing with Todd in sunny Mexico on a second honeymoon (and a very early celebration of our 10th anniversary in September). I'm sure that I'm having a great time! So in honor of our trip, I have a photo from one of the hotels where we're staying for your inspiration this week.

I used some old and new stuff on this card. The leaves come from the stamp set Paradise, which I've had since July but I'd never used it. I combined pacific point (retired In Color) with crushed curry (current In Color), old olive, and whisper white. The squares in the pool influenced my layout and my choice of the grid DP. I wanted to be sure that I used a lot of white, so I went for a CAS style with some open space.

The sentiment (from Whimsical Words) is framed out with Nestabilities, and then I added the cut-out leaves and the popped-up flower (which comes from the retired hostess set Itty Bitty Buds). The bottom of the card still seemed to need something. I first added the scalloped border, but then I wanted to bring some color to it and had the idea to glue on these skinny little cardstock strips. I really love how it looks - just a bit of graphic pop. Three silver brads in the lower left corner and I was done.

Be sure to check out the cards made by all the Divine Divas for this challenge!

Anne

Chris

Donna

Julie

Kerri

Hope you are inspired to come and play along. Just leave a comment here with a link to your card. We can't wait to see what you create! The keyword for uploading on online forums will be DDIC22. Have fun and look for the next challenge in two weeks!

To Be Loved

This week over at Our Creative Corner our awesome hostess, Linda Coughlin, gave us a challenge that - at least for me - lived up to its name. We are supposed to find something we've had for a long time but have never used, or haven't used in a good while. The challenge in this for me goes back to my efforts to mostly use Stampin' Up! products on my blog. I struggled with knowing what to do because I just don't have much SU stuff that's old at all, or old and unused. Once I gave myself permission to use some other products, this card came together very quickly.

The whole card started with the papers. I confess, I am a paper hoarder. I have SO much. I'm really trying to make use of what I have, but these Daisy D's papers were sitting around unloved, even though I always thought they were gorgeous. Since I love the fact that SU's products always coordinate, when I use other stuff I find myself figuring out tricky ways to get around not having an ink that matches as well as I'd like. In this case I used American Crafts chestnut embossing powder and Versamark. (The cardstock is by Bazzill.)

I also found some stamps from Cornish Heritage Farms that had been terribly neglected. I stamped the Sophisticated Swirl backgrounder directly onto one of the papers, then embossed it and used it for the background. The sentiment is a stamp that I had to have when I saw it - so why haven't I used it? It's a wonderful quote. I embossed it onto another of the patterned papers and then cut it out with Nestabilities. I created the layers behind the sentiment by cutting out a couple more of the same shape then cutting them apart and fitting them behind the sentiment.

Originally I thought I would stamp an image and maybe color with Copics, but I didn't even get that far. I realized that one of the papers had these gorgeous circles that would look stunning cut out. For the center I used a kiwi kiss button and some skinny satin ribbon that was in my stash. When I put the card together, I did something that I'm not sure I've ever tried before - putting the sentiment under another layer. I didn't plan it out that way - it's just the way the pieces fit together the best, but I love the result. It allows the circle to stand out but somehow features the sentiment at the same time. I decided not to add anything else to my card - and in this case I think that was exactly the right call!

I hope you will dig through your stuff and find something old that calls out to you for this challenge. I enjoyed doing it, once I figured out what I wanted to do! And don't forget to visit the OCC blog to check out what other wonderful creations our team came up with this week.

Last chance for February card kits!

I'll be ordering the materials for the February Card Kit of the Month this weekend. I can extend the deadline a bit for any latecomers - let's say, by Saturday night at 10 pm Eastern - but that will be the absolute cut-off. If you missed my post about the kit, click here for all the info!

Hey, it's me...

I know you are probably tired of me saying this, but it's really, really true this week... I am so busy!! I haven't had much time to stamp, apart from some cards you'll see on my blog in the next week or so. I made this card a few days ago and thought it was a good time to share it. I made one similar for my dad's birthday - his didn't have the little flowers and pearls, though!

My idea with this card was to make something different out of the new bird punch. I used the Bella Bleu DP and punched a couple of the branches, then from the same paper I punched 7 wings that became the leaves. I glued them right on top of the tiny leaves that are already on the branch. You can't tell this because I put the Boho punched flowers (with Pretties Kit pearls) on top, but it's possible to attach the "leaves" so they completely cover the original leaves. Try it and see - it's very cool!

I finished my card with a Top Note cut from basic black textured cardstock, a kraft taffeta ribbon, a sentiment from the SAB set Vintage Labels, and the frame from Great Friend. I just love the color scheme of vanilla, kraft and black - I think it's so elegant.

OK, it's back to work I go. Thanks for stopping by - I'll definitely be back on Saturday for the OCC challenge so come check that out, too!

Rawhide Hearts

It's a new month and that means a new hostess over at Our Creative Corner. For this week's challenge we are to make a masculine valentine card. The card I'm sharing was actually used at my last club meeting, so it's on the simpler side, but it was a hit with my stampers. My layout was inspired by this card.

This was our technique card (we always do one new technique at club) using the technique called faux rawhide. The tutorial I used can be found here. Tip of the day: I learned the hard way that when the tutorial says to put a "few" drops of reinker on your waxed paper, that means 3 or 4 drops, not 10! That much ink just made a big globby mess.

The heart (from what else, I {Heart} Hearts) was stamped on very vanilla cardstock in ruby red and soft suede, then cut out and mounted on a vanilla panel with dimensionals. The faux rawhide background was pierced in the corners and the sentiment (from the SAB set Whimsical Words) adhered inside a Hodgepodge Hardware frame. And that's pretty much it! I think the clean lines, textures and colors would appeal to most men. Maybe not my husband... but those of you who know Todd are probably well aware that he isn't like most men. ;)

That's it from me today. Go check out what everyone else on the OCC team has created - I'm sure you will be inspired to play along. Have a great weekend!

Divine Diva Inspiration Challenge #21

ETA: We had a little mix-up with the challenge link among the DT members. Some of us used a different photo for inspiration, but it's also really pretty. So just enjoy all the creations from the team and take your inspiration from where you find it!

Here's our first challenge for the month of February. I wanted to use something with a Valentine's Day theme and I thought these candy bars shown on the Better Homes & Gardens site were too cute to pass up - even though they are a papercraft item! I think there is plenty of room here to use hearts or not, so have fun with the challenge wherever it takes you.

For my card I pulled out from the inspiration piece the red flowers and bow, the pink stripes, and the use of text. My layout comes from this week's Mojo Monday sketch challenge. I have to confess, it was kind of fun going over the top for Valentine's Day with this card!

I started out punching real red cardstock with the border and corner scallop trim punches. This was my first time using them together - I've been a little afraid after hearing the learning curve required to use these together. But I have to say, with the help of Gretchen Barron's awesome tutorial, it was almost painless. (I say "almost" because I pinched my hand in the border punch twice! OWWWW!) I used the Solid Stripes a la carte stamp (from the Occasions Mini) with pretty in pink ink and very vanilla cardstock for the smaller panel, and some of the Sending Love DP for the larger one. Then over the stripes I added this beautiful heart from I {Heart} Hearts with a pink corduroy button tied with linen thread.

I really wanted to feature words in the circle, and after trying a few ideas I settled on the I {Love} Love wheel. I used a Nestabilities circle to cut it out and created my scalloped circle with the border punch. I cut a slit between each of the scallops and folded them over to make a circle. I wanted to use the gorgeous red satin ribbon at the bottom of the card. I put the ribbon through the front of the card with the slot punch (something I rarely do - just one of those things I prefer to avoid, but I didn't want to add another layer). The bow is separate and was glued on top of the circle. So tell me... was all the effort worth it? I think this is one of those cards that unfortunately looks better IRL. I do like how it turned out, though.

Be sure to check out the cards made by all the Divine Divas for this challenge!

Anne

Chris

Donna

Julie

Kerri

Hope you are inspired to come and play along. Just leave a comment here with a link to your card. We can't wait to see what you create! The keyword for uploading on online forums will be DDIC21. Have fun and look for the next challenge on February 18!

JFF

This is my motto this morning: "just for fun." Is "JFF" my invention or do those of you who text (I don't, LOL - not yet, anyway) use this already? Anyway, I decided that it's been way too long since I did a challenge purely for the fun of it, and today was the day to rectify that. Actually I did two challenges: the sketch challenge on SCS and the color challenge on Stampin' Connection (which I can't link because it's a forum for demos only). These colors were really fun to play with so you should try them even if you're not a demo: dusty durango, bashful blue, basic black, basic gray, and whisper white. When I saw this I thought, "Five colors!?! Now this is my kind of challenge!"

I started out with the main image panel. I wanted a stamp that could somehow incorporate all five colors, and I managed to do it with this image from Asian Artistry - let me tell you how! I inked the flowers with my dusty durango marker, then the stems with a basic gray marker. And then, I shaded the bottom and sides of the stems with a basic black marker before stamping on bashful blue cardstock. Finally I added some highlights to the flowers with a white gel pen. I used a similar technique for the bird: I inked it with the basic gray marker (omitting the bamboo around it), shaded with the black marker, then highlighted with the white pen. The bird is cut out and popped up on top of the same image stamped in black, then circle punched.

To finish my card I made the background with a technique I've been wanting to try. I ran dusty durango DP - the sheet that's solid - through the Big Shot with the Perfect Details texture plate. Then I sanded over the embossing with a sanding block - because this paper has a white core, the white will begin to show through. The gray panel is retired DP from A Walk in the Park, and the sentiment is also retired - from Hugs & Wishes. I used the modern label punch and the Movers & Shapers die there. Finally I added three black vintage brads and a strip of white satin ribbon.

Well, what do you know - that WAS fun! ;) Now I have more stamping to do... getting ready for the first DDIC of February tomorrow. I'm sure that even though I'm on a deadline, that will be fun as well. So be sure to check back tomorrow for a timely challenge I hope you will enjoy!

February Card Kit of the Month

As I mentioned last week, I'm going to be offering a card kit on the first of the month. Since it's February 1 it's time to launch my first kit!

With this card kit you’ll receive complete instructions and all the consumable supplies needed to make 6 of each of these card designs – a total of 12 cards. The price of this kit is just $15, including envelopes. Please note that I can only ship to the U.S. at this time.

If you purchase the monthly kit, you will also have the opportunity to purchase the coordinating stamp set at 15% off retail price (tax and shipping not included). This month the featured stamp set is Vintage Vogue from the Occasions Mini.

Vintage Vogue stamp set (wood-mount) regularly $23.95, with purchase of kit $20.36
Vintage Vogue stamp set (clear-mount) regularly $17.95, with purchase of kit $15.26

The rest of the products used in making these cards are given in the list below. If you have all of these then you’re ready to go, but just let me know if you’d like to order any of these items. You can also use the kit to make your own cards with the supplies you already own.

Please get your orders to me by February 12. You will receive your kit before the end of the month.

Lori Rider
loririder@verizon.net
978-486-8102
divastamper.blogspot.com

To purchase, please choose your option:
(1) One kit delivered in person - click here
(2) One kit delivered via U.S. mail - click here
(3) Two kits delivered in person - click here
(4) Two kits delivered by U.S. mail (to the same address) - click here

If you need more than two kits, OR if you are ordering any Stampin’ Up! products along with your kit(s), please contact me to work out the cost and shipping.

Additional Product List

• Soft Suede Classic Ink ($5.95)
• Rich Razzleberry Classic Ink ($5.95)
• Soft Suede Stampin’ Write marker (from In Color marker set, $17.95) – optional
• Very Vanilla 5/8” grosgrain ribbon ($7.95)
• Short & Sweet stamp set ($17.95)
• Jumbo 5/16” brads ($7.95)
• Silver brads ($6.95)
• Eyelet border punch ($15.95)
• Paper snips ($9.95)
• Bone folder ($6.95)
• Paper-piercing tool ($3.50)
• Mat pack ($9.95)
• Clear blocks A ($3.95), C ($6.95), G ($4.50), H ($8.50)
• Stampin’ Dimensionals ($3.95)
• SNAIL adhesive ($6.95)
• Pop-up Glue Dots ($3.95)
• Mini Glue Dots ($4.95)

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know right away - I've tried to think of every possible detail, but since this is my first kit, I might have overlooked something!