Sunny Day – Tutorial #330

23 Comments May 10, 2010 zindorfstamps

I’m in a sunny mood today, can you tell? This tutorial features the Stampin’ Up! stamp set, Awash with Flowers that will be in the upcoming Stampin’ Up Idea Book and Catalog that will be out July 1, 2010. I cannot wait!

This is a two step stamping set with lots of stamps in it, 18 to be exact. Love these big sets. 🙂

Let’s get started. . . . . . .

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin’ Up! Awash With Flowers and Medallion

Paper: Stampin’ Up! Whisper White, Summer Sun, Dusty Durango and Always Artichoke

Ink: Stampin’ Up! Dusty Durango, Really Rust, Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Green Galore and Summer Sun

Accessories: Stampin’ Up Markers, White Gel Pen, sponge, Brayer, Photo corner Punch, Circle Die, Big Shot and Old Olive brads

Live in the USA and need a copy of the Summer Mini Catalog? E-mail your mailing address to mzindorf@aim.com and I will get one in the mail to you. Are you getting inspiration from this blog? One way you can help support it is to order your Stampin’ Up products through me. Click HERE to place an order. Want to become a Stampin’ Up Demonstrator , receive a 20% discount on product and earn instant income on orders? Consider being part of my Stampin’ Up Team and start your own business. Click HERE for more information.

Started by using my Big Shot Die cut machine and the circle die to cut a circle from Whisper White card stock. Brayered Summer Sun ink on the circle.

Brayered Pumpkin Pie ink on the circle, not covering the Summer Sun ink entirely.

Brayered Green Galore ink at the bottom of the circle.

Used the edge of the pad to swipe in some Summer Sun ink grasses.

Used the edge of the pad to swipe in some Green Galore ink grasses.

Used the edge of the pad to swipe in some Old Olive ink grasses.

Stamped two of the outline flower stamps using Basic Black ink.

Stamped the corresponding stamps using Pumpkin Pie ink and Dusty Durango ink.

Stamped the stems using Old Olive ink and then colored them in with an Old Olive marker.

Added Really Rust marker to the bottom of the buttercup flowers and Pumpkin Pie marker to the tops of the other three flowers.

Stamped somemore foliage in the scene using Always Artichoke ink.

Stamped the corresponging stamp using Always Artichoke ink to fill them in.

Added Always Artichoke ink to the bottom of the foliage and Glorious Green marker to the tops of the foliage.

Added Ruby Red marker to the very bottoms of the flowers for shadow.

Sponged Dusty Durango ink around the edge of the card stock.

Added White Gel Pen highlights to the flowers and leaves.

Added Always Artichoke ink grasses using the edge of the ink pad.

Stamped the Medallion stamp on a 4.5″ square piece of Summer Sun card stock using Dusty Durango ink. Also sponged around the edges of the card stock using Dusty Durango ink.

Added Always Artichoke and Dusty Durango panels and Always Artichoke photo corners.

Added Old Olive brads.

Here is the finished card measuring 5.25″ square.

May your day be filled to overflowing with sunshine.

Until my next post. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Get ready for Brayer Workshops! I am coming to:

Salem, Oregon (Sold Out)

Wheaton, Illinois

St. Cloud, Minnesota (2 spots available)

Rockville, Maryland (Sold Out)

North Chili, New York (near Rochester) (Sold Out)

Kenova (Huntington), West Virginia

Helena, Montana

Middleburg Heights, Ohio

Venice, Florida

Grinnell, Iowa

Piedmont, Alabama (Near GA border close to Cedartown)

Auburn, Washington (near Seattle)

Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Savannah, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Soledad, California

Here is a link to my workshop calendar where you can see all of my travel schedule and to get info on beginner and advanced Brayer workshops: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/workshop-calendar

Link to my Stampin’ Up website where you can order all of your must have Stampin’ Up products from me 24-7: http://michellezindorf.stampinup.net

Frequently asked questions answers: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/frequently-asked-questions/

My Flourished Laptop – Tutorial #328

33 Comments May 5, 2010 zindorfstamps

If you know me, you know I am not a girlie, girl. I wear my hair very short so I don’t have to spend time styling it. Seriously, I would wear a bur haircut if I could get away with it. You will find me in jeans, tee shirt and gym shoes more times than not. I only put makeup on when I am teaching. Mainly, so I don’t scare people, lol.

Now when I seen this Pink, Dell Laptop come out a couple of years ago, my deep down inner girlie voice spoke up for probably the first time in my life and said “Mickey, you just have to get that!”. So, as you see I did. This laptop is 15″ x 11″ and I love it.

I also love Stampin’ Up’s Decor Elements and purchased the Flourishes in Black. This afternoon I decided to put the Decor Elements on my computer to jazz it up a bit, just in case you couldn’t see me coming with my computer a mile away now. 🙂 Thought I would show you the simple steps it took.

Let’s get started.. .. .

The Decor Elements come in sheets with a backing sheet on each side. One backing side has a grid pattern on it to help you line things up. The other backing side is plain. I cut out the element that I wanted to put on, took the grid pattern backing sheet off, put it down where I wanted it on the computer top, took the handy Stampin’ Up tool and smoothed out any air bubbles by scraping the side of the tool across the design.

Carefully and slowly peeled the backing sheet off of the design. There it is! It is just that simple.

Now I wanted the design to go over that crease in the back of my computer so I used an X-acto knife to cut through the design at the crease.

Put the remaining Decor Elements on the exact same way.

Here is the finished project. This was fast and simple but makes a big statement.

If you want to check out all of Stampin’ Up’s Decor Element Designs click HERE.

Until my next post. . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Oval Planter – Tutorial #327

15 Comments May 5, 2010 zindorfstamps

I love making flower pots out of punches for my cards. Here is one made from oval punches.

Let’s get right to tutorial today because the sunshine is calling me outside. 🙂

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin’ Up! Pocket Silhouettes

Paper: Stampin’ Up! Not Quite Navy, Bravo Burgundy, Going Gray and Whisper White, Stampin’ Up Designer paper

Ink: Stampin’ Up! Going Gray, Not Quite Navy, Old Olive, Close to Coco and Basic Brown

Accessories: Stampin’ Up Punches – 1 3/4″ circle, small oval and large oval, brayer, White Gel Pen, Always Artichoke marker, sponge, post it note, Big Shot machine, Top note die, silver brads

Live in the USA and need a copy of the Summer Mini Catalog? E-mail your mailing address to mzindorf@aim.com and I will get one in the mail to you. Are you getting inspiration from this blog? One way you can help support it is to order your Stampin’ Up products through me. Click HERE to place an order. Want to become a Stampin’ Up Demonstrator , receive a 20% discount on product and earn instant income on orders? Consider being part of my Stampin’ Up Team and start your own business. Click HERE for more information.

Punched a small oval out of a piece of Bravo Burgundy card stock.

Using the large oval punch, lined up part of the small oval punched hole in the center and punch.

This is what you end up with. 🙂

Punched a 1 3/4″ circle out of the sticky part of a post it note and used it as a mask for the moon. Masked the moon on a 2 7/8″ square piece of Whisper White card stock.

Brayered Going Gray ink from the right side to the left.

Brayered Not Quite Navy ink from the right side to the left without covering all of the Going Gray ink.

Removed mask and stamped the plant using Old Olive ink.

Cut a 1″ x 2 7/8″ piece of designer paper and adhered it to the bottom of the main image panel.

Sponged Close to Coco ink on the right and bottom of the oval punch.

Sponged Basic Brown ink on the right and bottom of the oval not covering the Close to Coco ink entirely.

Added a shadow on the leaves using an Always Artichoke marker.

Added a few highlights on the leaves using a White Gel Pen.

Using my Big Shot machine, cut a Top note Die out of Not Quite Navy card stock.

Cut a 3″ square piece of Bravo Burgundy card stock panel and used the corner round punch on the panel and main image panel.

Assembled the card adding Going Gray, Bravo Burgundy and Not Quite Navy panels. Also added two silver brads.

Here is the finished card measuring 5″ x 6.5″

Now I am off to my second office, which is our deck, where I take my laptop to return e-mails. 🙂

I hope you are able to enjoy some sunshine where ever you are today.

Until my next post. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Get ready for Brayer Workshops! I am coming to:

Salem, Oregon (Sold Out)

Wheaton, Illinois

St. Cloud, Minnesota (Sold Out)

Rockville, Maryland (Sold Out)

North Chili, New York (near Rochester) (Sold Out)

Kenova (Huntington), West Virginia

Helena, Montana

Middleburg Heights, Ohio

Venice, Florida

Grinnell, Iowa

Piedmont, Alabama (Near GA border close to Cedartown)

Auburn, Washington (near Seattle)

Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Savannah, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

North Liberty, Indiana

Soledad, California

Link to my Stampin’ Up website where you can order all of your must have Stampin’ Up products from me 24-7: http://michellezindorf.stampinup.net

Frequently asked questions answers: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/frequently-asked-questions/

Emboss Resist Western – Tutorial #325 and a Blog Candy Winner

13 Comments April 27, 2010 zindorfstamps

Hey Everyone, Happy Tuesday!

I just returned home last night at midnight from Boise, Idaho and have to hit the road running this morning to prep for my workshops that will be in Riverside, California this coming weekend. 🙂 I’m always very excited to return to California to teach my brayer techniques since it was the very first State that I taught in and I always get such a warm welcome and a little warm weather to boot! But before I can concentrate on cutting card stock etc. I want to give you a tutorial and also get my embossing fix for the week, lol. Hope you like this one. It has been rumbling around in my brain for a while and it was nice to get it on card stock.

Before I start the tutorial however, I have a Stampin’ Up! Spring Song Set Blog Candy Winner to announce. Drum-roll please . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .

The winner is . . . . . .

Sandi Dailey who wrote “What do I like about Spring? Can I say “EVERYTHING”? Guess not, so I guess it would be the return of all the birds that flew South for the Winter. We have bird feeders all around the house and I love going out early in the morning and sitting on the porch to watch the birds, and the beautiful colors of each. Second or a tie, would be the new leaves coming out on the trees. So beautiful out here in the country. Thank you as always Michelle for a chance to win — I would love to have that stamp set. S. Dailey”

Sandi, congratulations! Please e-mail your mailing address to mzindorf@aim.com within 30 days to collect your stamp set.

Thanks to all for playing along. 🙂

Now on with the tutorial. . . . .. . .

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin’ UP! Wanted and LeJardin

Paper: Stampin’ Up! Whisper White, Basic Black and Going Gray

Ink: Stampin’ Up! Basic Black, Old Olive, Basic Gray, Really Rust and Going Gray

Accessories: Stampin’ Up! Basic Black marker, White Gel Pen, Silver Brads, Piercing Tools, Brayer, Clear embossing powder, Heat Gun, Sponges, Star and 1/2″ circle Punches, Versamark marker and pad and Post it Notes

Live in the USA and need a copy of the Summer Mini Catalog? E-mail your mailing address to mzindorf@aim.com and I will get one in the mail to you.

Are you getting inspiration from this blog? One way you can help support it is to order your Stampin’ Up products through me. Click HERE to place an order. Want to become a Stampin’ Up Demonstrator and earn instant income? Consider being part of my Stampin’ Up Team and start your own business. Click HERE for more information.

On a 4″ x 5.5″ piece of Whisper White card stock, stamped the word “Wanted” by loading my stamp with Versamark and then Really Rust ink before stamping it. Heat embossed the image using clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Stamped the horse by first loading my stamp with Versamark then Going Gray ink and then patted a bit of Basic Black ink on the horses legs before stamping it. Heat embossed the horse using clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Colored over the horse and “Wanted” with a Versamark marker and heat embossed the images again using clear embossing powder and heat gun. This was to protect the white card stock that shows through the two images.

Stamped the trees by first loading the tree with Versamark then Old Olive ink and then colored the trunk of the tree with a Basic Black marker before stamping it. Did this three times and then heat embossed the images using clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Punched a 1/2″ circle punch from the sticky part of a post it note and masked the sun.

Brayered Really Rust ink at an angle at the top of the card stock.

Brayered Going Gray ink at an angle at the bottom of the card stock.

Masked a mountain shape using torn post it notes and sponged in Going Gray ink.

Added a bit of Sponged Basic Gray ink.

Got darker yet by sponging in some Basic Black at the top of the mountain.

Sponged Basic Black ink in for the ground. Be sure to wipe off your embossed images with a paper towel after you cover them with ink.

Extended the tree trunks to the ground using a Basic Black marker.

Removed the sun mask and toned the sun down by sponging some Really Rust on it.

Added white gel pen highlights to the trees, top of the horse and the top of the “Wanted”.

Sponged Basic Black ink around the outside edges of the card stock.

Stamped a couple of stars on Going Gray card stock with Basic Gray ink and then punched them out with a star punch.

Assembled the card front, added Going Gray and Basic Black panels, Really Rust 1/2 ” strips, star punches, Silver brads.

Using piercing tools, pierced around the main image panel and the Really Rust strips.

Here is the completed card measuring 5″ x 6.5″.

Now that this is posted I am off to do laundry, weed the garden, cut card stock etc., etc.

Have a totally terrific day!

Until my next post. . . . . . ..

Hugs,

Michelle

Get ready for Brayer Workshops! I am coming to:

Riverside, California (Southern California)

Salem, Oregon (Sold Out)

Wheaton, Illinois

St. Cloud, Minnesota (Sold Out)

Rockville, Maryland (Sold Out)

North Chili, New York (near Rochester) (Sold Out)

Kenova (Huntington), West Virginia

Helena, Montana

Middleburg Heights, Ohio

Venice, Florida

Grinnell, Iowa

Piedmont, Alabama (Near GA border close to Cedartown)

Auburn, Washington (near Seattle)

Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Savannah, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

North Liberty, Indiana

Soledad, California

Link to my Stampin’ Up website where you can order all of your must have Stampin’ Up products from me 24-7: http://michellezindorf.stampinup.net

Frequently asked questions answers: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/frequently-asked-questions/

Going Green – Tutorial #324

43 Comments April 22, 2010 zindorfstamps

Well yesterday completely got away from me. Ever have one of those days where you start something, see something else that needs done, start doing that, see something else that needs done, start doing that. BUT YOU ARE NEVER GETTING ANYTHING ACCOMPLISHED! That was my day yesterday, lol. I am just sorry I did not get to stamp yesterday.

Doing my tutorials is a real commitment time wise, by the way. I am asked frequently how long a tutorial takes me? Well it takes me between 3.5 and 4 hours to create my card while taking photos, edit the photos, post the photos to my blog and write the tutorial. It’s a wonder I get anything done. But I always have prep work to do for up coming brayer workshops etc. on my plate so I don’t always get to stamp each day and just forget about my posting while I am on the road. There is never ever time for that. I hope you all know how very much I love you even if I don’t get to post daily. My readers are the most wonderful and caring people out there. I know this by the comments that you leave me. Smooches! LOL, I must be PMSing.

Anyhow, enough of that. Today I challenge myself to use some colors of ink that I don’t normally use. So I used Stampin’ Up! Garden Green and Green Galore. They are beautiful colors, but when I use green I normally go to Old Olive and Always Artichoke. As you see below, I have many colors to choose from.

Note: You to need them all. 🙂

Today’s project also sneaks in a stamp that will be in the new Stampin’ Up Summer Mini Catalog due out May 1, 2010. Live in the USA and need a copy of the Summer Mini Catalog? E-mail your mailing address to mzindorf@aim.com and I will get one in the mail to you. 🙂

Now on with the tutorial. . . . . .

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin’ Up! Watercolor Trio and Bloomin’ Beautiful

Paper: Stampin’ UP! Whisper White, Certainly Celery and Garden Green

Ink: Stampin’ Up! Garden Green, Basic Black, Green Galore and Certainly Celery

Accessories: Stampin’ Up Markers – Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Blush Blossom and Summer Sun, Brayer, Certainly Celery Ribbon, Gold Brads, Sponges, Versamark Pad and Marker, Big Shot Machine, Top Note Die, Large Dots Texture Plate, Clear Embossing Powder and Heat Gun

I started this project by using my Big Shot Machine to cut two Top Note Dies from Whisper White card stock.

Using the stitch pattern as a guide, cut edge off of one die cut.

Stamped the flower from the Stampin’ Up! Bloomin’ Beautiful set by first loading my stamp with Versamark and them loaded the stamp with Basic Black ink before stamping it. Heat embossed the image using clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Stamped the bee by first loading the stamp with Versamark and then with Basic Black ink before stamping it. Heat embossed the image using clear embossing powder and heat gun.

Colored the Bee and the center of the flower in with a Summer Sun marker.

Colored the darkest parts of the flower head using a Blush Blossom marker. Colored the leaves and stems in with a Certainly Celery marker and then the dark parts of the leaves with an Old Olive marker.

Colored over the images using a Versamark marker. Heat embossed the images using clear embossing powder and a heat gun. Now my images can be brayered over and the embossed images will resist the ink.

Brayered Certainly Celery ink at the top of the card stock.

Wiped the ink off of my embossed images using a paper towel and then dried the brayered on ink with my heat gun for a moment.

Stamped the flower from the Stampin’ Up Watercolor Trio set (this will be in the Summer Mini Catalog) using Versamark only. Heat embossed the images using clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Brayered Green Galore at the top of the card stock.

Wiped the ink off of my embossed images using a paper towel.

Sponged Garden Green around the edges of the card stock.

Added just a bit of Basic Black ink to the edge of the card stock, not covering the Garden Green ink entirely.

Adhered my main image Top Note to the other none cut top note die using Tombo Mono Multi Glue. This is my favorite adhesive.

Used the Big Shot Machine and the Large Dot Texture Plate on a 5.25 piece of Certainly Celery card stock and a 2″ x 5.25″ piece of Garden Green card stock.

Adhered the Garden Green piece to the Certainly Celery piece and sponged Garden Green and Basic Black around the edges.

Assembled by my card adding a Whisper White and Garden Green Panels, Certainly Celery Ribbon and Gold Brads. Here is the finished card measuring 5.5″ square.

May your day today be as productive as you want it to be.

Until my next post . . . . . . . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Get ready for Brayer Workshops! I am coming to:

Boise area of Meridian, Idaho (seats available)

Riverside, California (Southern California)

Salem, Oregon

Wheaton, Illinois

St. Cloud, Minnesota

Rockville, Maryland (Sold Out)

North Chili, New York (near Rochester) (Sold Out)

New Johnsonville, Tennessee

Kenova (Huntington), West Virginia

Helena, Montana

Middleburg Heights, Ohio

Venice, Florida

Grinnell, Iowa

Piedmont, Alabama (Near GA border close to Cedartown)

Auburn, Washington (near Seattle)

Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Savannah, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

North Liberty, Indiana

Soledad, California

Link to my Stampin’ Up website where you can order all of your must have Stampin’ Up products from me 24-7: http://michellezindorf.stampinup.net

Frequently asked questions answers: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/frequently-asked-questions/

Prismacolor Pencil Butterfly – Tutorial #321

28 Comments April 13, 2010 zindorfstamps

I’m a bit late posting today. I just arrived home yesterday evening from Colorado Springs where I had the best time teaching and this afternoon I spent some quality time with my oldest son, Jesse, who is 29. No matter how old my sons get I still love spending time with them one on one. We went out to lunch at a local diner and then came back here and played a few Wii Bowling games where I handed him a can of Whoop A**. He still loves me though.

Also Spring is on my mind today and I cannot wait to see the first butterfly of the season. Especially, since I just received my pre-order for the Stampin’ Up! Summer Mini catalog that will be in effect on June 1st. I received in the pre-order this beautiful butterfly stamp, named All a Flutter and a bunch of other great stamps and products that I cannot wait to use.

Today’s tutorial shows how dramatic Prismacolor Pencils are when you use them on dark card stock with Odorless Paint Thinner. It is so very easy.

Let’s get started. .. . . . . . . . .

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin’ Up! All a Flutter and Bella’s Bloom

Paper: Stampin’ Up Basic Black, Lovely Lilac, Elegant Eggplant, Tempting Tuquoise and Whisper White

Ink: Whisper White Craft and Basic Black

Accessories: Stampin’ Up Photo Corner Punch, Big Shot Machine, Circles #2 Die cut, White Gel Pen, Prismacolor Pencils and Orderless Paint Thinner

If you are a Stampin’ Up Customer of mine the new Summer Mini will be hitting your mail box any day now. 🙂 If you would like to be a customer of mine, please e-mail you address to me and I will send you free Stampin’ Up Summer Mini catalog. Are you getting inspiration from this blog? One way you can help support it is to order your Stampin’ Up products through me. Click HERE to place an order. Want to become a Stampin’ Up Demonstrator and earn instant income? Consider being part of my Stampin’ Up Team and start your own business. Click HERE for more information.

Used the Big Shot machine and the Circles #2 die cut to cut a 2.5″ circle from Basic Black card stock.

Stamped the “All a Flutter” butterfly stamp with White Craft ink on the circle.

I used Prismacolor pencils and Odorless Paint Thinner to color in the image.

To do this I pour a little bit of the paint thinner in the cap of the bottle and dip my Prismacolor Pencil point into it. This will make the pencils melt like butter on to the card stock and blend oh so easily.

Started coloring with a True Blue Prismacolor Pencil.

Added Lilac Prismacolor Pencil.

Added Violet Prismacolor Pencil.

Added Rose Prismacolor Pencil.

Added White gel pen and a Lovely Lilac, Whisper White and Basic Black panels.

Added Elegant Eggplant Punched Photo Corners. Butting the Photo-corners up to the Whisper White Panel corners.

Layered a Tempting Turquoise panel, an Elegant Eggplant Panel and a Basic Black Panel. Then Stamped the Bella’s Bloom Flower stamp around the edge of the Elegant Eggplant Panel using Basic Black ink.

Colored the flowers in with Odorless Paint Thinner and Lilac, True Blue and Violet Prismacolor Pencils.

Added Basic Black Photo Corners. Here is the finished card measuring 5.5″ square.

I hope this tutorial has inspired you to do some coloring today on dark card stock.

May the sights and sounds of Spring warm your heart.

Until my next post. . . . . . . . . ..

Hugs,

Michelle

Get ready for Brayer Workshops! I am coming to:

Boise area of Meridian, Idaho (seats available)

Riverside, California (Southern California)

Salem, Oregon

Wheaton, Illinois

St. Cloud, Minnesota

Rockville, Maryland (Sold Out)

North Chili, New York (near Rochester) (Sold Out)

New Johnsonville, Tennessee

Kenova (Huntington), West Virginia

Helena, Montana

Middleburg Heights, Ohio

Venice, Florida

Grinnell, Iowa

Piedmont, Alabama (Near GA border close to Cedartown)

Auburn, Washington (near Seattle)

Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Savannah, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

North Liberty, Indiana

Saledad, California

Link to my Stampin’ Up website where you can order all of your must have Stampin’ Up products from me 24-7: http://michellezindorf.stampinup.net

Frequently asked questions answers: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/frequently-asked-questions/

Flowers for Mother – Tutorial #320

27 Comments April 8, 2010 zindorfstamps

After taking a good look at my calendar, I thought to myself “Mickey, you better get a move on and make a Mother’s Day card before you forget or run out of time.” So, today’s card is a card I made for my Mom for this coming Mother’s Day. I am safe to post it since my Mother is not computer literate and therefore, does not read my blog. 🙂 If I were a teenager, I would be so happy about that, lol.

And yes, my nickname is “Mickey” and that is what I call myself when I have a conversation with myself. Scary huh? My friends call me Mickey, so feel free to use it.

Anyway, I used the Stampin’ Up! set Fifth Avenue Floral. One of my wonderful customers purchased it recently and it made me think to pull mine out and use it. Inspiration comes from so many different places.

Although this card is for my Mother, I am dedicating this card to my Friend and Up Line, Karen Barber. She said recently that I should do more flower cards. Well Karen, here you go! I hope she likes it and you do too.

Let’s get started on the tutorial. . . . . . . . .

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin’ Up Fifth Avenue Floral and Elements of Style

Paper: Stampin’ Up! Whisper White, Basic Black, Sage Shadow, Really Rust

Ink: Stampin’ Up Bravo Burgundy, Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow, Really Rust, Pumpkin Pie, Blush Blossom and Basic Black

Accessories: Stampin’ Up Blender Pen, Sponges, Markers (Apricot Appeal, Really Rust, Pumpkin Pie, Blush Blossom and Basic Black), Gold Brads, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Post it notes, Photo Corner Punch and Whisper White Ribbon

Don’t forget to request your copy of the Stampin’ Up Occasions Mini Catalog . Just e-mail me your address and I will be glad to mail you one for free. Are you getting inspiration from this blog? One way you can help support it is to order your Stampin’ Up products through me. Click HERE to place an order. Want to become a Stampin’ Up Demonstrator and earn instant income? Consider being part of my Stampin’ Up Team and start your own business. Click HERE for more information.

Stamped the Rose on a 4 1/8″ square piece of Whisper White card stock by first loading my stamp with Versamark and then with Basic Black ink before stamping it. Heat embossed the image using clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

I wanted a soft look to the rose so I added some Blush Blossom marker using my Blender pen. When I use my Blender pen I rub the Blender pen on the marker’s brush tip and then color with the blender pen. This gives a soft look with out hard edges.

Added Pumpkin Pie marker using my Blender pen.

Added Really Rust marker using my Blender pen.

Added Really Rust marker to the darkest parts using just the Really Rust marker.

Stamped the Rose on a post it note and cut it out. I will be using this as a mask so when I cut it out I cut just inside the lines. You want your mask to be a hair smaller than the original image.

Masked the rose and stamped the Daylily using my Stamp-a-ma-jig for placement and by loading my stamp with Versamark and then Basic Black ink before stamping it.

Heat embossed the image using clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Removed the mask temporarily and added Apricot Appeal marker to the center of the Daylily.

Added Really Rust marker to rest of the Daylily’s petals using a Blender pen.

Added Really Rust marker to the tips of the petals.

Colored the stamens in with a Really Rust marker and added Basic Black marker to the tips.

Stamped the Day-lily stamp on a post it note and cut it out. Masked both flowers.

Sponged Blush Blossom ink on the card stock.

Sponged Really Rust ink on the card stock.

Sponged Bravo Burgundy ink on the card stock.

Added just a bit of Chocolate Chip ink at the edges of the flowers.

Loaded the Stamp from the Stampin’ Up set “Elements of Style” (This set will be in the Summer Mini Catalog) by loading the stamp with Sage Shadow ink and then added a little Really Rust ink to the stamp before stamping it.

Removed the masks, assembled the card by adding Basic Black and Sage Shadow card stock panels, Whisper White Ribbon, a Really Rust photo corner punch and Gold brads.

Here is the finished card measuring 5.5″ square.

I hope this tutorial inspires you to use your Blender pen to get a softer look when coloring.

I am off to beautiful Colorado Springs to teach my Brayer Workshops. Behave yourselves until I return. 🙂

Hugs,

Michelle

Get ready for Brayer Workshops! I am coming to:

Colorado Springs, Colorado (Sold Out)

Boise area of Meridian, Idaho

Riverside, California (Southern California)

Salem, Oregon

Wheaton, Illinois

St. Cloud, Minnesota

Rockville, Maryland (Sold Out)

North Chili, New York (near Rochester) (Sold Out)

New Johnsonville, Tennessee

Kenova (Huntington), West Virginia

Helena, Montana

Middleburg Heights, Ohio

Venice, Florida

Grinnell, Iowa

Piedmont, Alabama (Near GA border close to Cedartown)

Auburn, Washington (near Seattle)

Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Savannah, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

North Liberty, Indiana

Saledad, California

Link to my Stampin’ Up website where you can order all of your must have Stampin’ Up products from me 24-7: http://michellezindorf.stampinup.net

Frequently asked questions answers: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/frequently-asked-questions/

Spring By the Sea – Tutorial #318

21 Comments April 2, 2010 zindorfstamps

I woke this morning feeling a little uninspired, still feeling under the weather. It must have taken me over an hour just to pick out a stamp to use. But once I picked up this Stampin’ Up! set “Abundant Hope” things started to fall into place. Especially, since this set just screams SPRING! So, with that being said, I picked out some Spring colors and off to the races I went with embossing powder and brayer in hand.

Let’s get started on the tutorial.. . . . . . .

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin’ Up! Abundant Hope and Inspired by Nature

Paper: Stampin’ Up! Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White and Brilliant Blue

Ink: Stampin’ Up Basic Black, Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise and Brilliant Blue

Accessories: Stampin’ Up Heat Gun, clear embossing powder, white gel pen, Versamark pad and marker, markers – Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Barely Banana, Yoyo Yellow and More Mustard, Gold Brads, Photo corner punch, sponges, Stamp-a-ma-jig, post it notes and brayer

On a 3.5″ x 4.5″ piece of Whisper White card stock, stamped the flowers by first loading my stamp with Versamark and then with Basic Black ink before stamping it. Then I heat embossed the image using clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Colored the Flowers in with a Barely Banana marker.

Added Yoyo Yellow marker to the dark parts of the flowers.

Added More Mustard to the darkest parts of the flowers.

Colored the leaves and stems in with Certainly Celery marker.

Added Old Olive to the dark parts of the stems and leaves.

Colored over the flowers, leaves and stems using a Versamark marker, staying inside of the embossed lines. Heat embossed the image using clear embossing powder and a heat gun. Now my image is protected and will resist my back ground inks.

Brayered Tempting Turquoise ink at an angle in the sky area. Note: Wipe ink off of the embossed image after brayering.

Brayered Brilliant Blue ink at an angle, not covering the Tempting Turquoise ink entirely.

Masked the sky area of the card stock using a post it note and sponge Tempting Turquoise ink at the post it note edge.

Using the edge of a Old Olive ink pad, lightly smear grasses in the ground area. I used a half of a “C” motion, top half.

Stamped some grasses in using Old Olive ink.

Stamped a few grasses in using Basic Black ink.

Sponged Basic Black ink at the bottom of the card stock.

Added highlights to the flowers, leaves and grasses using a White Gel Pen.

Sponged Basic Black ink on each edge of the card stock.

Assembled the main image panel, Tempting Turquoise panels and Brilliant Blue panels. Using a Stamp-a-ma-jig stamp the flourish on each side of one of the Brilliant Blue panels using Basic Black ink.

Added Tempting Turquoise photo corner punches and 6 gold brads. Also, sponged a bit of Basic Black ink on my largest Brilliant Blue panel.

Here is the finished card measuring 5″ x 6.5″.

Although I am not feeling well, the warm Spring weather is calling me outside to my gardens for a little bit of Spring clean up.

May you get some fresh air today also.

Until my next post. . . . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Get ready for Brayer Workshops! I am coming to:

Colorado Springs, Colorado (Sold Out)

Boise area of Meridian, Idaho

Riverside, California (Southern California)

Salem, Oregon

Wheaton, Illinois

St. Cloud, Minnesota

Rockville, Maryland (Sold Out)

North Chili, New York (near Rochester) (Sold Out)

New Johnsonville, Tennessee

Kenova (Huntington), West Virginia

Helena, Montana

Middleburg Heights, Ohio

Venice, Florida

Grinnell, Iowa

Piedmont, Alabama (Near GA border close to Cedartown)

Auburn, Washington (near Seattle)

Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Savannah, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

North Liberty, Indiana

Saledad, California

Link to my Stampin’ Up website where you can order all of your must have Stampin’ Up products from me 24-7: http://michellezindorf.stampinup.net

Frequently asked questions answers: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/frequently-asked-questions/

Watercolored & Punched Potted Flower – Tutorial #317

23 Comments April 1, 2010 zindorfstamps

Occasionally, we all need to step outside of the box and shake things up a bit or our creative side might just get a bit stagnate. Today’s tutorial shows me stepping outside of my normal creations and trying something a bit different. I have water-colored before and really love the process, but I haven’t done it in quite some time.

When I watercolor, I like the image to look like it is water-colored and a bit messy. This is achieved by using wet watercolor on wet watercolor paper. This allows the color to spread. Then you can dry your watercolor paper and proceed to darken and shade things using wet watercolor on the dry paper. This gives you more control and the color won’t spread like it did on the wet watercolor paper.

Today’s tutorial shows the process.

Let’s get started. . . . . . . . .

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin’ Up! Flower Fancy

Paper: Stampin’ Up! Watercolor Paper, Old Olive and Brilliant Blue card stock

Ink: Stampin’ Up Bashful Blue, Brilliant Blue and Jet Black Stazon Ink

Accessories: Stampin’ Up! 1 3/4 circle punch, White Gel Pen, Aqua Painter, Heat Gun, Basic Black marker, Mat Pack and Piercing Tool, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Old Olive Brads, Non-stick craft ink.

Don’t forget to request your copy of the Stampin’ Up Occasions Mini Catalog . Just e-mail me your address and I will be glad to mail you one for free. Are you getting inspiration from this blog? One way you can help support it is to order your Stampin’ Up products through me. Click HERE to place an order. Want to become a Stampin’ Up Demonstrator and earn instant income? Consider being part of my Stampin’ Up Team and start your own business. Click HERE for more information.

I started by covering my work surface with a non-stick craft sheet. On this sheet you can wet your paper without it soaking through to your table etc.

Misted a 3.75″ x 4.5″ piece of Watercolor Paper using a spray bottle of water.

Let the water soak into the paper. Loaded my Aqua Painter with the Tempting Turquoise Watercolor Wonder Crayon, by swiping the tip of the Aqua Painter against the Crayon. Dabbed the Aqua Painter on the wet watercolor painter creating a blotchy area in the top right corner.

Note: You will want your color to be dark when wet because it will dry much lighter.

Heat you watercolor paper with your heat gun. I heat both sides of the paper a bit at a time to help with keeping the paper flat. Drying the paper sets the color you just put on.

Stamped the flower image using Jet Black StazOn ink on my dry paper.

Misted the paper again with the water bottle. Added Brilliant Blue Watercolor Crayon using the Aqua Painter. You will notice the color spreading on the wet paper, so you will want to put your color towards the center of the flower.

Added Old Olive Watercolor to the Leaves and stems on the wet paper.

Added a bit of Always Artichoke Watercolor to the base of the leaves.

Dried the paper with a heat gun and added more Brilliant Blue watercolor to the center of the flowers. With the paper dry you will have more control on where the color ends up.

Added a bit more Always Artichoke to the leaves and added some to the stems. Also, extended the stem to the bottom of the paper.

Added Basic Black marker to the stem to extend it to the bottom of the paper.

Dried the paper well with my heat gun.

Added Basic Black marker to the center of the flower and darkened the veins on the leaves.

Added highlights to the flower, leaves and stem using a white gel pen. Also, added white gel pen dots to the center of the flower.

Cute a 4.75″ x 6.25″ piece of Old Olive card stock and sponged Brilliant Blue ink to the edges of it and my main image panel.

Loaded my Aqua Painter with Always Artichoke watercolor and tapped the Aqua Painter on the finger of my other hand to get it to speckle the watercolor paper.

This was a last minute decision, lol, I decided to make a pot for my flower.

Punched a 1 3/4″ circle from Bashful Blue card stock. Cut the top and bottom off of the circle.

Sponged Bashful Blue ink on the pot to shade it.

Stamped leaves at the top of the pot using Bashful Blue ink. Sponged Brilliant Blue ink on the pot not covering up all of the Bashful Blue ink.

Assembled my card front and added Old Olive and Brilliant Blue Panels, Old Olive brads and some pierced holes using my mat pack and piercing tool.

Here is the finished card measuring 5″ x 6.5″.

I hope this has encourage you to do something a bit different today.

May you feel the warmth of the sun on your face today.

Until my next post. . . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Get ready for Brayer Workshops! I am coming to:

Colorado Springs, Colorado (Sold Out)

Boise area of Meridian, Idaho

Riverside, California (Southern California)

Salem, Oregon

Wheaton, Illinois

St. Cloud, Minnesota

Rockville, Maryland (Sold Out)

North Chili, New York (near Rochester) (Sold Out)

New Johnsonville, Tennessee

Kenova (Huntington), West Virginia

Helena, Montana

Middleburg Heights, Ohio

Venice, Florida

Grinnell, Iowa

Piedmont, Alabama (Near GA border close to Cedartown)

Auburn, Washington (near Seattle)

Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Savannah, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

North Liberty, Indiana

Saledad, California

Link to my Stampin’ Up website where you can order all of your must have Stampin’ Up products from me 24-7: http://michellezindorf.stampinup.net

Frequently asked questions answers: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/frequently-asked-questions/

Foxy Reflection – Tutorial #316

17 Comments March 31, 2010 zindorfstamps

Hi there, I am still under the weather but decided to drag myself out of bed, after sleeping the last 24 hours away and get in a little stamping. Since my mind is a bit foggy with cough medicine etc. I used the help of my Color Coach to come up with this color combo. I should use my color coach more often, this color combo is wonderful!

On another note, thank you for all the get well wishes I have received. My readers are the best!

Now on with this tutorial. . . .. . . .

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin’ Up Fox & Friends Eastern Blooms

Paper: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Bashful blue and Mellow Moss

Ink: Stampin’ Up Night of Navy, Always Artichoke, Creamy Caramel, Mellow Moss, Bashful blue and Really Rust

Accessories: Stampin’ Up White Gel Pen, Brayer, Versamarker, Clear embossing powder, heat gun, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Really Rust & Apricot Appeal markers, Sponges, post it note and Color Coach

Don’t forget to request your copy of the Stampin’ Up Occasions Mini Catalog . Just e-mail me your address and I will be glad to mail you one for free. Are you getting inspiration from this blog? One way you can help support it is to order your Stampin’ Up products through me. Click HERE to place an order. Want to become a Stampin’ Up Demonstrator and earn instant income? Consider being part of my Stampin’ Up Team and start your own business. Click HERE for more information.

Stamped the fox with Really Rust ink on my Stamp-a-ma-jig plastic, turned it over on my 2.5″ x 5.5″ piece of Whisper White card stock and then rub the back of the plastic to transfer the image. This makes a reverse image of the original.

Stamped the fox using Really Rust ink.

Added shadowing to the original image using a Really Rust marker.

Colored over the original image only with a Versamark marker and heat embossed the image using clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

I wasn’t sure what colors to create my scene with so I pulled out the Color Coach. The coordinating colors for Really Rust are Mellow Moss and Bashful Blue and the Complimentary color is Night of Navy. Okay then, these will be the colors I will include in my scene.

Brayered Bashful Blue ink at the top and bottom of the card stock.

Also Brayered Night of Navy at the top and bottom of the card stock, not covering the Bashful Blue ink entirely.

Ripped a post it note and used it mask the bottom of the card stock. Sponged Mellow Moss ink in to create the grass.

Sponged a bit of Creamy Caramel ink, not covering the Mellow Moss ink entirely.

Removed the post it note mask and sponged lightly Mellow Moss and Creamy Caramel ink on the reflection side.

Stamped the Flowering Branch stamp using Mellow Moss ink on the reflection side.

Stamped the same image above the original image of the fox using Always Artichoke ink.

Colored the flowers in on the Always Artichoke branches with a white gel pen.

Colored over all the flowers using an Apricot Appeal marker. The colored marker will stick to the White Jel Pen on the top flowers and they will appear lighter.

Added White Gel pen dashes in the water.

Cut a 4.75″ x 6.25″ panel out of Bashful Blue card stock. Brayered Night of Navy ink at the top and bottom of the card stock and then stamped the flowering branch stamp again on the top and bottom left side using Night of Navy ink.

Sponged Night of Navy ink on the main image panel and the Bashful Blue panel edges.

Added Mellow Moss panels and Old Olive brads and here is my finished card measuring 5″ x 6.5″.

May your day be filled with the sights of Springs approach.

Until my next post. . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Get ready for Brayer Workshops! I am coming to:

Colorado Springs, Colorado (Sold Out)

Boise area of Meridian, Idaho

Riverside, California (Southern California)

Salem, Oregon

Wheaton, Illinois

St. Cloud, Minnesota

Rockville, Maryland (Sold Out)

North Chili, New York (near Rochester) (Sold Out)

New Johnsonville, Tennessee

Kenova (Huntington), West Virginia

Helena, Montana

Middleburg Heights, Ohio

Venice, Florida

Grinnell, Iowa

Piedmont, Alabama (Near GA border close to Cedartown)

Auburn, Washington (near Seattle)

Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Savannah, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

North Liberty, Indiana

Saledad, California

Link to my Stampin’ Up website where you can order all of your must have Stampin’ Up products from me 24-7: http://michellezindorf.stampinup.net

Frequently asked questions answers: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/frequently-asked-questions/