Sunday, September 22, 2019

You Make Me Smile's Fall Color Inspiration featuring Harvest Hellos

Hello and welcome to my blog; today I am going to share with you my color inspiration for my You Make me Smile card featuring the Harvest Hellos Bundle.  Color drives most of our decisions and we don't even know it.  It's very important when crafting that you can find color inspiration and this is what I based this entire bi-weekly series on.  I get asked all the time where I come up with color combinations and there's inspiration out there everywhere.  It's just a matter of being observant and stopping and noticing all the beautiful colors around you.  I crated this series to help you find inspiration for your projects by sharing some of the ways I find mine.  Since tomorrow is the first day of Fall I drew inspiration from Fall leaves and harvest pumpkins.  Here's a look at my card.

Harvest Hellos: 

The Harvest Hellos Bundle includes the Harvest Hellos Photopolymer Stamp Set and the Apple Builder Punch.  The Harvest Hellos Stamp Set is an A+!  Use the apples for teacher or student gifts.  Then, like the autumn colors shifting from red to orange, the apple becomes a pumpkin with a spooky face!  The stamp set features 15 photopolymer stamps.  When matched with the Apple Builder Punch you can create beautiful die-cut apples (or pumpkins) for your projects. {* Largest punched image: 2-1/2" (6.4 cm)}  The Harvest Hello Bundle is in the Holiday Catalog on page 49.

Tips & Tricks:  

To start off my card I picked out the supplies that I knew I wanted to use.  I already knew my colors from picking my inspiration so I started out by picking the pumpkin stamp from the Harvest Hellos stamp set.  I stamped three of the pumpkins stems and larger leaves in Memento Tuxedo Black ink because I knew that I wanted to use my Stampin' Blends to color them.  To color I picked Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Soft Suede, and Old Olive all in light and dark tones.  I started out coloring the pumpkins in light Daffodil Delight and then brought in the darker and slowly built up the colors to Pumpkin Pie as my darkest colors.  I did the same thing with the pumpkin leaves.  Once the pumpkin was colored I punched them out with the Apple Builder Punch.  I also punched out the stem but sadly the punch doesn't cut out this leaf but does do the other leaf design in the set. Since I couldn't punch that leaf out I had to pull out the paper snips and fussy cut it out.  Which was super simple to do.  

Once I had the main focal images cut out either by punching or fussy cutting I put them all together using a little liquid glue.  Next I picked my card base.  I knew the colors I was using but had to decided which one to use for the card base.  I went with my favorite color Crumb Cake.  I cut my Crumb Cake Cardstock to 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 scored at 4 1/4.  I then cut down a piece of the Regals Designer Series Paper  to 3" x 5 1/2".  Out of the four patterns in the this pack of paper I picked the gingham pattern in Cajun Craze.  I layered the designer series paper on a piece of Crushed Curry cardstock cut at 3 1/2 x 5 1/2" and then layered that on a piece of Early Espresso Cardstock that was 3 3/4 x 5 1/2".  I placed all my layered cardstock and designer series paper onto my card base.  Once I had everything stuck down it was time to start arranging the pumpkins.  Before I started layering my pumpkins I stamped the little curly cues that you normally see on pumpkins in Early Espresso ink on the designer series paper.  Once I had that stamped down I added the pumpkins.  The two on the sides I just glued them onto the card.  The center one I placed on Stampin' Dimensionals and placed on the center.  I tied a little double bow on the stem of the center pumpkin.  I stamped the sentiment on a little piece of Whisper White cardstock and made a fish tail banner.  I also popped it up on dimensionals.  This finished off my card.  

Pin Me!  

The photo below shows the key color inspiration along with the Stampin’ Up! Coordinating colors for today’s project idea that you can save or pin to Pinterest.  If you are viewing this post by email, you will need to click the title of the post to access my blog and pin.   You can view my entire project recipes by visiting my Color Inspiration Pinterest board by clicking here!  Make sure that you follow my board to be notified when a new color inspiration is added.
Thanks for dropping by today I hope that you have found a little inspiration from my card today.  If you live in the US.  I would love you to choose me as your demonstrator.  If you would like to purchase any of these products you can click on the Shop Now Button or by clicking on any of the images below.  Alternatively, you can also contact me by email to place your order.  Please be sure to use the monthly host code and I’ll send a little something out to you the following month to say Thank You!  
Happy Stampin' 
Rick 



Host Code and Free Gift:

September HOST CODE:  SQ2WWJZN
  1. Spend any amount with me this month and receive the Creative Stampers Tutorial Bundle featuring Fancy Fold or Interactive Projects.  Plus get a gift from me in October. 

Please remember that if you use the host code you can not use that order towards my KCRP’s (Kinmon Crafty Reward Points) that would be double dipping and is not allowed.  For more information on KCRP’s click here. 

Stampin' Up! Shopping List:

Paper Snips
[103579]
$10.00

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Rick’s Saturday Simple Stamping Episode 32: A Simple Christmas Card Using the Holiday Catalogs Host Sets

Hello and welcome to my YouTube Channel and Blog: Today I am going to share with you the next Episode of Saturday Simple Stamping.  In this Episode  I am going to share with you a super quick and easy Christmas Card using the two new Host Stamp Sets from the 2019 Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog.  The stamp sets I am using are Holiday Haul and Greatest Part of Christmas.  Both of these again are host sets and must be earned with a qualifying order.  You will find a full list of the supplies I used in today's Simple Stamping Episode below.  Here's a look at my cards.


In each Episode of Saturday Simple Stamping I share with you a super easy card geared towards beginners.  These are easy recreatable cards using stamps ink and paper.  Every once in awhile I may throw in a designer series paper, punch, or other embellishment, but meanly I keep it to the basics just stamps ink and paper.  If you are a brand new crafter or stamper looking at getting into card making this is the series for you.  I have currently 32ish videos or episodes you can find here by searching simple stamping or #simplestamping in the search feature on my site.  

This week I am featuring the two Holiday Catalog Host Stamp Sets Holiday Haul and Greatest Part of Christmas.  Each of these sets can only be earned with Stampin' Rewards.  Those are points earned for purchasing products in my online store read more about Stampin' Rewards.

The Holiday Haul Stamp Set allows you to combine the images to build a scene for any occasion.  I put my images on a slight slant for this card to have a little more visual interest without having to do a log of work.  I chose to use a different color ink for each image.  I wanted them to each have equal value and visual weight on the card.  So by having each in a different color it allowed me to let the images guide the viewer.  You will also notice that you see the same colors repeated at least three times on the card.  This is a visual element that helps to tie everything together and keeps the viewers eyes moving around the card and not leave the visual plane.  Now that I have gotten all technical with you lets just talk like real people shall we.  You can pair with your favorite greeting stamp set for even more versatility I paired it today with the Greatest Thing About Christmas stamp set.  The greatest part of Christmas is spreading cheer to everyone! No matter what sentiment you want to express for the season, you'll find it with the Greatest Part of Christmas Stamp Set. Pair with any image set for unlimited possibilities.

This is the first version of the card I created for today's episode.  I used a ruler and lightly drew off the lines with a pencil so that I would have a guide to keep my images straight and aligned.  I used a piece of Cherry Cobbler cardstock cut at 4 1/4 x 11 for my card base and added the whisper white to the front of the card.  The Whisper white piece was cut at 4 x 5 1/4 a 1/4" smaller than the card base this allows for a nice equal border around the focal image.  I added the strip of the Wrapped in Plaid Speciality Designer Series Paper to add a little more visual interest with the fun plaid pattern in Shaded Spruce, Whisper White, and Gold foil accents.  
I did the same thing with the card above but I didn't draw off the lines to follow.  I thought that I would be able to stamp the images freehand in a straight line.  And I was wrong!  If you look at the card above again you will notice some of the images go up slightly or down slightly from the visual straight line that I have on the original version.  But, that's okay I mean it's handmade after all and not Hallmark.  One of the fun things about creating a handmade card is the fact that you made it with love and it may have impressions and that's okay.  It doesn't matter that it's not perfect.  Yes, I know there are some of you out there that thinks otherwise but the small things like it being off slightly really doesn't bother me.  For me it's more about how the person feels when they get the card I've made, not if it's perfect or not.  
I also stamped my envelope with the same images in a line going across the flap.  I almost only stamped the reindeer and the slay but decided it needed the other two images to match and to more visually appealing.  I think you should always dress your envelopes with something before you send them.  It helps to give the person receiving the card a little hint of what my be on the inside.  And with our Stampin' Up! products it helps add coordination to it as well, since all our inks, and papers all color coordinates perfectly.  That's one of the things that drew me to Stampin' Up! and becoming a demonstrator myself.  I hated searching for things at the big box stores that I thought my match only to get home to find out they were close but no cigar!  

Video Tutorial: 

Here's the Video tutorial of how I created this card step by step.  If you are viewing this post by email you may not see the video pop up.  Some servers will not show you the embedded videos.  So you will have to click the image below to go to my YouTube Channel and watch.  


Thanks for dropping by today for another episode of Saturday Simple Stamping.  If you are new to stamping or crafting and you are interested in learning more or interested in purchasing some products to help you get started I have the Beginners Experience Creativity Brochure you can download by clicking here.  This publication is smaller than our other catalogs and not so overwhelming.  It's filled with items that are perfect for someone just starting out.  
Happy Stampin' 
Rick 
If you live in the US.  I would love you to choose me as your demonstrator.  If you would like to purchase any of these products you can click on the Shop Now Button or by clicking on any of the images below.  Alternatively, you can also contact me by email to place your order.  Please be sure to use the monthly host code and I’ll send a little something out to you the following month to say Thank You!  


Host Code and Free Gift:

September HOST CODE:  SQ2WWJZN
  1. Spend any amount with me this month and receive the Creative Stampers Tutorial Bundle featuring Fancy Fold or Interactive Projects.  Plus get a gift from me in October. 

Please remember that if you use the host code you can not use that order towards my KCRP’s (Kinmon Crafty Reward Points) that would be double dipping and is not allowed.  For more information on KCRP’s click here. 
Are you on my list to get a NEW 2019 Holiday Catalog?  If you are not a demonstrator or don’t have a demonstrator that you work with in the US I would love to: 

1.       Send you a Copy of the 2019 Holiday Catalog and Idea Book
2.       Add You to My mailing list for 10 + PDF tutorials in my Monthly Newsletter each month
3.       Ordering opportunities and my customer Ordering specials
You can click the link here to sign up or you can message me or email today.  Email rick@rckinsmonstudio.net

Stampin' Up! Shopping List: 


Friday, September 20, 2019

Boo to You Werewolf Gusseted Treat Bag by Rick Adkins

Hello and welcome to my blog; today Halloween is just around the corner and it's time to start making super easy and quick but cute treats; I am going to share with you one that I made and it's super easy to recreate.   Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year and I love to get ready for  them.  I was thinking the other day I may actually get organized and make some treat boxes and bags this year super early and actually fill them with candy.  It helps that I got my September Paper Pumpkin since I know that makes 20 treat boxes, so I was feeling inspired and came up with this little cutie using the Boo To You Stamp Set.  Here's a look at my project.

Tips & Tricks: 

The first thing I did was cut a piece of the Monster Bash Designer Series Paper (#150447) down to 
3" x 10".  This designer series paper was roughly scored at 2" & 6 1/2" on my Simply Score Scoring Tool.  So, you can get 4 inserts for your bags from one sheet of /designer series paper.  Which means if you used the entire pack of DSP for this project you would get 48 treat bag inserts.  Once I had the treat insert folded and scored it was time to put it into my 3" x 6" Gusseted Treat Bag (#141704).  Just a little side note if you don't have a scoring tool you can totally just measure it out with a ruler and fold the paper on those measurements, the papers so easy to fold it's not a big deal.  This is the method I prefer.  The 2" part of the designer series paper is the bottom of the bag.  You can place it in and put it on the bottom you may have to do a little work to get the gussets to sit down or you could add a little tape to the bottom.  I found that once it sat for a little while the bottom flaps were just fine.  The top flap folds over; you will want to fill the treat bag and then press in the gusseted sides flip the top part of the Designer Series paper over that and punch two holes.  You are punching through the gusseted bag and the designer series paper.  Make sure that your holes line up with the folded sides of the treat bag and then secure close with your ribbon.
Once I had the Designer Series Paper inserted into the bag I could then fill it with treats.  It was time to dress it up just a little.  So I stamped the werewolf from the Boo To You Stamp Set (#150550) in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on a piece of whisper white cardstock that I cut out using the largest stitched oval die from the Stitched Shapes Die set.  I then colored him using my Stampin' Blends.  You can find a full list of the colors that I used in the Stampin' Up! Shopping List below.  I then stamped my greeting at the top in Old Olive and added a couple of the Googly Eyes from the Assorted Googly Eyes pack using just a little Liquid Glue.  I then popped the oval up on the front flap with a couple dimensionals.  And, that my friends finished off my cute little treat bag.

Wonderfully Wicked Online Class: 


I have a Online Class going on right now that you can purchase the products form using the monthly Host code to get enrolled in.  You simply purchase the items listed here and use the host code for this month.  In this class we are making six boxes, Cards with matching envelopes and six tags.  If you're not into Halloween you can substitute products of equal or greater value to meet your needs.  This class looks beautiful with any of our Designer Series Papers.  I will tell you that you have to use 12 x 12 paper for this class 6 x 6  will not work.  But I have everything you need listed in the class Shopping Cart for you all you have to do is follow the instructions to order.  
Happy Stampin' 
Rick

If you live in the US.  I would love you to choose me as your demonstrator.  If you would like to purchase any of these products you can click on the Shop Now Button or by clicking on any of the images below.  Alternatively, you can also contact me by email to place your order.  Please be sure to use the monthly host code and I’ll send a little something out to you the following month to say Thank You! 

Stampin' Up! Shopping List: 

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