Are you ready to be "Charmed"?

The next few days feature cards I made with the borrowed Charmed set in December. The stamp set was in the Holiday Mini, but is also available through April 30, 2010 as a write-in. If you love this set, contact me at juliana.bibas@gmail.com for ordering details!

Today's card is CASEd from "Aunt" Karen Barber, who is my upline's upline's upline (confused yet?) Tara is my direct upline (my stamping "mother"); Claire is Tara's upline (my stamping "grandmother") and Aunt Karen is Claire's aunt and upline (which makes Aunt Karen my stamping "great grandmother"). Anyway, Aunt Karen is known both for her watercoloring and for perfecting a technique called "Black Magic."


In this technique, you stamp with white or vanilla craft ink on dark cardstock (black, brown, dark blue, dark green, etc) and use colored pencils to color it in. Aunt Karen's twist on this technique is to add white gel pen highlights to the finished product, which really makes the card pop. I had some fun with her technique in December, mainly using the Charmed stamp set because the little flower is just perfect for Black Magic. Aunt Karen is also fond of making her own dsp using small stamps, so I followed her lead on this card and used the medallion in the same set to make the pattern on the Not Quite Navy layer.

The second photo I took using flash so that the detail on the background flowers would come out a bit better. I think I need a stronger light on my light box!

Asian Artistry Stamped Candles

I made these as a Christmas gift for my sister, who loved them! I got the idea from Renae Wilson and thought the colors and stamp set would be perfect for my sister's home decor.

I did three candles and made the middle one double sided, which is why there are two pictures of it. I personally like the little red bird best, but my sister liked the flower and dragonfly best.


Here's a mobile photo she sent of the arrangement on her dining room table.


Stamped candles are easy-peasy to make, but you have to watch out for burned fingers! (I burned mine a few times on these!). Stamp your image on the shiny side of tissue paper that matches your candle (in this case, white). Color your image with markers if desired--this is tricky because the paper is so fragile. Make sure you aren't coloring on a surface you care about. I had a craft mat under my paper when I was coloring because the red bleed was pretty bad. Cleaned up easily, however.

Cut out your images close to the edges but it doesn't need to be precise. Put your images where you want them (you may want a dab of two way glue pen on the candle or just wet your finger and wipe the candle to make them stick). Cover with wax paper and apply your heat tool until the wax starts to melt. Don't overheat or the images get yellow spots and scorch. It should look sort of shiny when hot enough but not too hot.

Gently peel off wax paper and smooth any edges that might have come up. Let cool and repeat with other images. You need to do one image at a time and change wax paper each time you do a new one because the paper gets waxy. There are lots of great step-by-step video tutorials on stamped candles, so if my quick and dirty tutorial doesn't do it for you, just google it and you'll probably find a more detailed one!

Blowing Leaves, Direct to Paper

I made this card the same day that I made yesterday's card, also following one of La Zindorf's tutorials. This one uses zero brayering and is all direct to paper (using the corners and edges of the stamp pad to directly apply ink to the cardstock). While all the fall leaves are long gone by now, I still think the card kind of evokes a wintery feeling, so it is appropriate for a cold January day! I love how Michelle often uses the Baroque Motifs flourish to symbolize wind in her cards--she helps me think outside the box with my stamps. :)

A meadow in the woods: Direct to Paper

I used one of Michelle Zindorf's excellent tutorials to make this card in December. I had borrowed Kristin Kortonick's Charming stamp set (I think I mentioned it last month) and had just gotten Branch Out (did I mention how much I love this set??)

The day I sat down to make the card, however, I was kind of on the outs with my brayer (still am, come to that...) but wanted to make one of her cards, so this was perfect. All you do is use the corners and edges of your stamp pad to make the suggestion of shapes and landscape. The card, like Impressionist paintings, looks a bit better at a distance. I'm really pleased with how it came out and my New Year's Resolution (one of many) is to try more of Michelle's tutorials.

Occasions Mini and Sale-A-Bration start TODAY!!

Yippie and hip-hip horay, Sale-A-Bration starts today! Sale-A-Bration (SAB) is that special time of year when every $50 you spend (before tax and shipping) gets you a free stamp set! This year there is even a punch in the brochure, plus more than 75 sets from the IBC to choose from, in addition to the exclusive SAB sets.

Click the images on the side bar to browse the SAB brochure and the Occasions Mini-Catalog. These are large pdf files, so be sure to give your browser adequate time to download the document. SAB runs from January 5-March 31, 2010, while the Mini runs from January 5-April 30, 2010. The Occasions Mini-catalog features lots of great new products from felt flower accents, epoxy brads, pink and red cordouroy buttons and brads (love it!), new punches, and, of course, lots of great new stamp sets. Contact me at juliana.bibas@gmail.com for more information or to place an order.

Having said that, today's card features all new products from the Occasions Mini--the dsp even has glitter! And now the wonderful satin ribbon comes in 8 colors in addition to whisper white, how about that for great? The card was designed by Kristin Kortonick and we made it as our make-n-take at our December Philly Inker's meeting. I think it would make a sweet Valentine, don't you?

Supplies:
With All My Heart stamp set (Occ Mini)
Sending My Love dsp (Occ Mini)
5/8" Real Red Satin Ribbon (Occ Mini)
Pretty in Pink epoxy brad (Occ Mini)
Real Red and Pretty in Pink classic ink
1 3/4" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1" circle punch

Christmas packaging

I know Christmas is over for almost everyone, but Thursday, January 7, is the day that the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates the Nativity of the Lord.

Most Orthodox Churches world-wide follow the Julian calendar, which is 13 days behind the modern Gregorian calendar currently in civil use and in many Orthodox Churches in America.

Our family attends a church that still follows the Julian calendar, so we will celebrate this week with 12 days of feasting after! I promise this is the last of my "holiday" posts--I know I am ready for something else by now!!

I wanted to show some of the packaging ideas that I used this year for various gifts. I got some good ideas from other stampers for gift card packaging and treat packaging and made some modifications, so I can't take credit for originality--just tinkering!


The top two are gift card holders and are made from Stampin' Up!'s medium envelopes, folded in half with the envelope flap cut off on the one side and scalloped on the other. These are quite easy to make and are perfect for even those gift cards that don't fit in a "standard" gift card holder. Plus they are good for using up those pesky dsp scraps! These holders also gave me an opportunity to use the images from the Yuletide set (retiring today!)--they are small and detailed and the perfect accent on something like this.

The bottom two are coffee packet holders. The tin I clear embossed with the Branch Out stamp set and then put dsp scraps on the inside and stuck the Starbucks Via 3 packs on either side with mini glue dots. This was part of my MIL's Christmas gift this year. The last one I made for my husband's grandmother and it contains the larger packet of Starbucks Via. I modified a template from (I think!) Julie Davidson. Hers contained a Mrs. Fields cookie and was smaller than the Via package, so I had to get a little creative in tinkering with her idea. I also used the same idea to make a quick gift package for the lady who helps me keep my house clean. Again, great idea for using up scraps!

Bert and Ernie join my Punch Pal Gang

As I think I've mentioned a time or two, the Sesame Street Punch Pals party invitations that I made have been very popular in my etsy store--I think I made 5 or 6 sets of quantity orders this fall! Let me tell you, that is a lot of little eyes and noses to punch out and glue together. I always had in mind to expand the repertorie to include other Sesame Street characters and this week I had the chance to make up Bert and Ernie for a customer who wanted them for party favors. While I think the hair would have been better using Boho Blossoms for the punch, I don't yet own that one, so I made do with the scallop oval. It works. I'm pretty pleased, actually, and now am looking forward to attemping Kermit the Frog and Grover, among others.