Gretchen Barron

Christmas Thank-You's!

Hello everyone! I've been meaning to share these with you for awhile -- the thank-you cards that I made for Christmas.

This is such a quick and easy design, especially when you need to make multiples quickly!

You begin with your Card Base and add a 4" square of Designer Series Paper -- I used Jolly Holiday DSP and Old Olive cardstock for the Card Base. You can cut a total of 9 squares of DSP from each 12" sheet -- I told you this was a fast and easy recipe!

Add a strip of SNAIL adhesive and then a strip of ribbon (I Used Seam Binding Ribbon in Cherry Cobbler). Make "pleats" with the ribbon about every 1/2" or so. Add an embellishment (I used the Scallop Circle Punch and 1 3/8" Punch and stamped the little flower from the Gifts of Christmas Stamp Set and embellished with a Basic Pearl) and a Sentiment (Thank You Kindly) and there you have it!

I stamped another little flower image on the inside layer of Very Vanilla and another on the corner of each envelope. Still, this was quick and easy -- I made 20 of these in less than an hour, using minimal supplies! And I think they turned out beautifully!

This is definitely a sketch to remember and one that can be used for any occasion! Great for workshops and any event!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you'll be back soon for more ideas and inspiration! Until then ...

Washington Apple Meets Flower Fancy!

Our task for the Late Night Stampers challenge this week was to create quick and simple cards that could be offered for a beginning class. I decided to go with one Designer Series Paper Pack and One Stamp Set plus a Greeting Set to keep it even simpler (KISS = Keep It Simple Stamper). I choose Washington Apple DSP, the beautiful Flower Fancy Stamp set as well as the Thank You Kindly Stamp set (since I always need thank-you cards anyway). The coordinating colors in Washington Apple DSP are Riding Hood Red, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie and Bashful Blue.

This first card uses a fun, graphic print from the DSP pack along with Brocade Blue and Riding Hood Red mats and a little 3/8" Bashful Blue Taffeta Ribbon. I used the Stamp-a-ma-Jig for all three cards to make sure I was positioning the outline stamp correctly over the first stamp. Click on any photo to see it larger. I also tore the bottom edge of the Whisper White and Riding Hood Red layers.

This second card uses the wider stripe pattern from the DSP and some of the So Saffron 5/8" Grosgrain ribbon from Sale-a-bration. Both of the two-step flower stamps used Pumpkin Pie Ink. The sentiment is stamped with Black Stazon ink.

This final card is my favorite of the day, I think. It's quick and simple but very bold and dramatic with it contrasting colors. I used the flower cluster from the stamp set and colored directly on the rubber with a So Saffron and Mellow Moss Marker. The outline stamp was stamped with Black Stazon ink. The card base is Basic Black and the first layer is Riding Hood Red with the side edge punched with the Scallop Eyelet Border Punch. The DSP is the polka-dot pattern. The sentiment was stamped on a scrap of Whisper White and punched out with the Large Oval Punch and then layered on a Basic Black Scallop Oval punchie. I finished it off with some 1/4" Black Grosgrain ribbon and a bow! Just lovely!

I have one class kit that is available right now -- the Top Note Purse Favors Kit. These little purses are so pretty for spring and quick and easy to put together with my partially assembled, pre-cut and pre-scored Kit. For more information or to order your kit today, click HERE!

Just a reminder that I'm running a Many Marvelous Markers Special through March 31st! This is such a great deal. When you purchase the set of Many Marvelous Markers, you will receive approximately $120 in FREE merchandise. Yep, that's right -- I said it was an incredible deal! See all the details HERE!

It's hard to believe that Sale-a-Bration is almost over for 2009 but there's still time to take adavantage of this once-a-year opportunity! The promotion is good through the end of the month as well! This is the Stampin' Up! BIG sale of the year. With every $50 purchase, you receive a FREE Sale-a-Bration product from the brochure (includes Stamp Sets, Ribbon and Papers). Click HERE to see the brochure online!

Have a great weekend everyone! And don't forget to make some time for Stamping!

Blessings, Gretchen

Candy Lane Thank You's!

  Candy Lane Designer Series Paper isn't just for Valentines! As you can see, this beautiful paper, in hues of Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Close to Cocoa and Very Vanilla, is quite versatile and can be used for all occasions! Today, I made some elegant Thank-You cards using Candy Lane DSP, Baroque Motifs and Lovely Labels. The card base is Riding Hood Red (you can see another version using Pirouette Pink below). Accessories include the 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch and 3/8" Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon.

Candy Lane DSP can be purchased from the new Spring and Summer Idea Book & Catalog and is also included in the Love You Much Bundle (Candy Lane DSP, Heart to Heart Punch and Love You Much Stamp Set), available through January 31st at a 20% discount.

Remember, I am selling 6x12 Samplers of all the Designer Series Papers in the new catalog! This is a great way to get a lot of DSP without purchasing entire packs. Click here for more information!

Glittery, Wintery Thank-You's!

I'm working on getting my thank-you notes out from the holidays and came up with a couple new designs! I wonder if anyone else can hear their mother's voice in their head every year about this time saying, "Did you send your thank-you's yet?" (sorry, mom). Well I think my mom will be happy with these cards! Both cards are the same design, but with two different color themes from the Ski Slope Designer Series Paper. This first one begins with a base of Chocolate Chip and then a layer of Baja Breeze cardstock. A 2" strip of DSP is added and ribbon is applied over the seam. I cut the large snowflake with the Big Shot and added lots of Dazzling Diamonds glitter (enlarge the photo to see the bling!). I punched out a Scallop circle from Chocolate Chip cardstock and added a 1 3/8" circle of Baja Breeze. Finally, the stamped image (from Lovely Labels with Chocolate Chip Ink) was punched with a 1 1/4" Circle Punch and applied with SNAIL. The entire medallion was attached with Stampin' Dimensionals!

Here's the second color theme with Real Red, Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip!

That's it for this evening! Check out all the specials and sales HEREand let me know if there is any way I can help you with Stampin' Up! products and orders!

Stop by again soon for more inspiration and ideas!

Blessings, Gretchen

A Little Peak at Some Exciting Things to Come -- Raspberry Tart Designer Series Paper!

Good Morning, everyone! With the holidays over, I found myself with a little time to play in my stamping room this morning. I needed to make some Thank-You cards to send to everyone for the wonderful gifts we received at Christmastime and then I remembered I hadn't played with (and had barely looked at) my new preview items from the Spring and Summer Catalog. They arrived just before Christmas and I'm sad to say, I didn't dare pick them up with so much to do. But this morning, WOW, did I have some fun. This is the new Raspberry Tart Designer Series Paper that will be available for purchase on January 19th when the new Catalog and Idea Book is released (can you tell I'm excited -- I hope you are too). Everyone knows by now that I'm a paper addict and let me tell you, this new DSP is so beautiful and vibrant in real life. The coordinate colors are Rose Red, Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Cameo Coral and Kiwi Kiss! You know there will be so much more to come but I made three fairly quick cards this morning to share with you! With this first card you also get a sneak peek at one of the new floral stamp sets called Sweet Stems. The card base is Kiwi Kiss with a layer of Cameo Coral. I layered a small rectangle of the paisley DSP onto Rose Red cardstock. I stamped the floral image and sentiment from Sincere Salutations on Whisper White cardstock using Black Stazon Ink and colored in the flower with Kiwi Kiss and Rose Red inks. This was then mounted on Ruby Red Cardstock, using the Scallop Edge Punch on the bottom and tying off with a bit of Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla 3/8" Satin Ribbon.

You know how hard it is to stop at just one card, especially when your daughter is sleeping in late and you have new toys to play with! So next I made this card, using another print from the Raspberry Tart DSP, Cameo Coral, Kiwi Kiss, Pretty in Pink and Rose Red Cardstocks. I stamped the image from Say It With Scallops (the Ronald McDonald House Charities stamp set for this year) with Rose Red Ink on Whisper White cardstock and punched it out with the Square Scallop Punch. I rounded the corners on all the layers (every single one) and tied it off with a bit of Rose Red 1/4" Grosgrain ribbon! Yum! I love the sweet, delicate look of these prints and the beautiful "girly" colors!

Well, you know how I like things in threes so I did yet a third card this morning using the new DSP! This one begins with a base of Pretty in Pink and layers of Rose Red and DSP. How do you like this floral image? It's not a stamp ... it's the new Sweetest Stem Embosslit that you use with your Big Shot! It both cuts and embosses this delicate little flower with one pass through the machine! It's amazing and I'm hoping that Stampin' Up! has other new embosslits and dies waiting for us to be revealed on January 19th! To bring out the embossing, I lightly brayered over the image using Rose Red ink (click on the photo to view larger). This is mounted on another print from the DSP pack and layers of Kiwi Kiss and Pretty in Pink cardstock. The sentiment from Elegant Cheer is stamped with Black Stazon Ink and I finished off the card with Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon!

If you haven't yet seen or used the Embosslits, I took a couple of photos so you can visualize what it's like. The thin metal die is hinged and you just sandwich your cardstock in-between the two layers of metal. From the bottom up, you use the Multi-Purpose Platform on Tab 1, Acrylic Cutting Pad, Embosslit (with cardstock in the middle) and another Acrylic Cutting Pad! As you can see, it cuts perfectly (click on photo for larger image).

Well, I hope you've enjoyed today's Sneak Peek! There is so much more to show you so be sure and stop by often!

Blessings, Gretchen