XL Cogs Double Punch Tips

Stampin' Up!'s new Extra-Large Cogs Double Punch (Item 118873, $17.95) is a cool new tool, but as the name implies, it is a double punch, and it works a little differently. This punch creates two cogs in two different sizes, and also gives you two punched circles--one is 11/32" and the other is about 21/32". They layer nicely with our 1/2" and 3/4" Circle Punches.

As you press down on the punch, the two center circles will pop out the bottom first...but you aren't done yet. You need to squeeze a little more, or press, if you have your punch on the countertop, to get the cogs to punch out. The cogs will not fall out the bottom as the circles did. You'll need to tilt your punch to the side, and the cogs will slide out.

I usually hold my punches upside down so I can line up an image inside them, but because the Extra-Large Cogs Double Punch is a double punch, you won't be able to see through the bottom to line up the cogs. You'll only see the holes for the center circles if you look at the punch from the bottom.

Well, old habits die hard, and I constantly find myself holding the Cogs punch upside-down. So, in order to further enable my stuborness, I decided to mark the location of the cogs on the bottom of my punch. I punched out the cogs from some Vellum Card Stock, and centered each over its respective hole on the bottom of the punch. (I used Vellum Card Stock because it's translucent, so you can see through it!) I stuck each cog there temporarily with Dotto, and traced around each cog with a fine tip Sharpie marker. Then I pulled off the punched cog pieces. You can see what I did in the pictures below.

The marker will not stay permanently on the metal surface (you can wipe it off with alcohol), so the markings will probably fade a little over time, but at least I have an idea of how close to the edge of the card stock I might be when I'm punching, so ideally that means less waste! The marker also bled a little through the edges of the Vellum Card Stock on the little cog, but I don't mind. It gives me the visual reference I wanted.

Please feel free to email me if you have questions regarding any of the other cool new products in the 2010 Summer Mini Catalog!

~Kimberley Morris
Stampin' Up! Independent Demonstrator
Colorado Springs, CO
procrastistamper@gmail.com
http://kimberley.stampinup.net (click HERE to Order Now!)

National Scrapbooking Month

In case you didn't notice the special on my sidebar, May is National Scrapbooking Month, and you can earn from FREE Designer Brads with qualifying purchases! Please CLICK HERE FOR FLYER.

One of the qualifying purchases is My Digital Studio™. You can make digital scrapbooking pages, cards, calendars, and even interactive slideshows with exclusive Stampin' Up! images, using My Digital Studio™. Check out the samples below:

On the soccer page, you can see the color matching feature of My Digital Studio™. I matched the green on the layout to a green on my daughter's soccer jersey. On the Together page, you can see how I used a My Digital Studio™ photo feature to display the picture in sepia tones--the picture was originally taken in color. The last project is a greeting card I made in My Digital Studio™, which I actually made for my brother in Texas, ON his birthday, and I sent it to him in email!

If you like to scrapbook, or even if you just like sharing pictures, or if you're just looking for something fun and easy to do with all those digital pictures on your computer, you NEED My Digital Studio™. Visit my ONLINE STORE and pick up your copy today...it's available for both MAC and PC. Order before May 31st and receive your choice of FREE Designer Brads.

~Kimberley Morris
Stampin' Up! Independent Demonstrator
Colorado Springs, CO
procrastistamper@gmail.com
http://kimberley.stampinup.net (click SHOP NOW near top right to order 24/7)

Vintage Vogue Life Happens

I'm still having camera issues where I can't get to old stuff, and I think I'm going to have to reformat the card from my camera, so I'm trying to get everything out that it will let me. That'll teach me to procrastinate, huh? Here is another single card I made, using the Vintage Vogue stamp set.

The colors that I used are Sahara Sand, Soft Suede, Not Quite Navy, Always Artichoke, Bashful Blue, and Very Vanilla. I used the VersaMark ink pad to get the tone-on-tone color of the vine flourishes in the background. The Designer Series Paper is a pattern leftover from the Sweet Pea Paper Stack from the Occasions Mini catalog. (Sorry, I try not to use supplies you can no longer purchase, but this paper was handy so I grabbed it!)

~Kimberley Morris
Stampin' Up! Independent Demonstrator since 1994
Colorado Springs, CO
procrastistamper@gmail.com
http://kimberley.stampinup.net (click SHOP NOW near top right to order!)

Kangaroo Thanks

Here is another single card I made the other day, using the Build-a-Roo stamp set. Colors used include Sahara Sand, Melon Mambo, and Soft Suede. There's also a little bit of Certainly Celery in there. [TIP: click on any image to see it full-size]

The kangaroo was stamped in StazOn ink on Very Vanilla card stock, then colored with markers. The flower image on the background of the card is included in the Build-a-Roo stamp set, which makes coordination easy! (See entire Build-a-Roo stamp set pictured below.) Of course, you could doll this card up so much more with extra embellishments, but if you're looking for a quick and easy card, this one definitely fits the bill.

The Build-a-Roo stamp set (item 115948) is available in wood mount, and is $25.95.  The stamp set includes 10 images, and is a wonderful, versatile set. Here's another darling card you can make with this set:

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions--you can visit my ONLINE STORE to order anytime!

~Kimberley Morris
Stampin' Up! Independent Demonstrator since 1994
Colorado Springs, CO
procrastistamper@gmail.com
http://kimberley.stampinup.net (click SHOP NOW button near top right to order!)

Graduation Card a la Sock Monkey

Still having problems retrieving photos of my old projects from my camera, but it's apparently letting me take new pictures and access them.

Below you'll find a graduation card I made with the Sock Monkey stamp set, the Sock Monkey Accessories stamp set and the Starring You stamp set. I made the little diploma out of rolled up card stock, and actually wrote the graduate's name on it! (the name is blurred out of the picture for privacy reasons) To make the diploma, I just punched out a 1-1/4" square of Very Vanilla card stock, trimmed away two slightly concave sides, and rolled it up. Then I drew and colored the border, and added words. This card is for a boy, so that's why it's not all frilly.

The colors I used are: StazOn Black ink pad, Basic Black (marker), Basic Black Craft pad, Real Red, Soft Suede, and Sahara Sand. Because of the watercoloring, I stamped the images in waterproof StazOn ink on watercolor paper.  I used the Sahara Sand marker to color the end parts of the monkey, going back over it again with the marker after it was dry, to make shading lines.

I watercolored the rest of the monkey using the Soft Suede reinker, and Real Red reinker, with the Aquapainter.  I used the Soft Suede marker to go in after the monkey was dry, to add shading lines on the body.  I used the Basic Black marker to add color to one corner of the graduation cap, then used the Aquapainter to pull that black across the hat.  To get a nice dark, crisp greeting, I stamped the "way to go" image on the Real Red card stock in Basic Black Craft ink.

~Kimberley Morris
Stampin' Up! Demonstrator since 1994
Colorado Springs, CO
procrastistamper@gmail.com
http://kimberley.stampinup.net (click SHOP NOW near top right to order anytime!)

Blog Candy Winners & Tutorials

The winners of my blog candy from the Royal Blog Tour are Debbie Gendorf and Roberta Smith! Debbie will be receiving the Vintage Vogue stamp set, and Roberta will be receiving a Vintage Vogue class planner.  I'll be emailing you gals privately to make arrangements for delivery on those!

I had also intended to post two tutorials today for the projects on THIS POST. However, I have been having some camera problems and I can't get to my photos! So, I will post the patterns and some simple instructions for you below, and follow up when I can get my camera to cooperate again...or after I take new pictures, if that's what I have to do (ugh). I apologize for that inconvenience, and please email me if you have any questions in the meantime.

Click HERE for a PDF pattern and instructions for the pages for the Matchbook Album shown below. Be sure you measure very carefully and exactly, for best results. The cover of the project was made from two other pieces of card stock adhered together, with the pages adhered inside the back of the cover, so the pattern is just for the inside pages.

Click HERE for a PDF pattern and instructions for making the stationery box shown below. Eight standard size cards and eight coordinating envelopes will fit inside. (TIP: Keep your layers as flat as possible on the cards, to avoid the sender having to pay extra postage for thickness or non-machineable letters).

~Kimberley Morris
Stampin' Up! Independent Demonstrator since 1994
Colorado Springs, CO
procrastistamper@gmail.com
http://kimberley.stampinup.net (click SHOP NOW button near top right to order)

ROYAL BLOG TOUR Spring 2010

I created the projects below for the Royal Blog Tour, and they feature the Vintage Vogue stamp set (Clear Mount, Item 118598, $17.95; Wood Mount, Item 117690, $23.95).

This first project is something I call a Matchbook Album. All the inside pages are created by scoring and folding one sheet of 12"x12" paper or card stock. The colors I used for this project were: Very Vanilla card stock and craft ink, Bashful Blue card stock and classic ink, Soft Suede textured card stock and classic ink, Kraft card stock, and VersaMark ink. I "cheated" a little and also used the coordinating Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel, and the *{love}* image from the Tiny Tags stamp set.

You can see the pages sort of fanned open below. I used both the Sending Love Hugs Notes, and Sending Love Kisses Notes, and their respective Glassine Envelopes for a couple of the pages. These come in Whisper White, but I sponged the notes with Very Vanilla Craft Ink so they'd match the vintage look, and dried them with my heat tool--and I think they turned out great!

Here's a picture of a bunch of the individual pages when they're opened up:

If you would like measurements and instructions, mark your calendar to come back and check my blog on May 4th, and I'll have a tutorial for the matchbook album.

This next project uses the same colors and stamp sets. The box on the left will hold 8 cards plus 8 envelopes inside. The card on the right is just an example of a note card you could put inside the box. Like the matchbook album above, the box is created by scoring and folding one 12"x12" sheet of card stock. I personally think either or both projects would be great for Mother's Day!

Again, if you would like measurements and instructions, mark your calendar to come back and check my blog on May 4th, and I'll have a tutorial for the box.

I created this 12x12 scrapbook page using My Digital Studio™, and the same colors I used on the previous projects. As you can see, the digital Vintage Vogue stamp set images are the same ones included in the rubber stamp set, but with My Digital Studio™ the images can be sized to better fit your page! And instead of stamping off to get a lighter color, you change the opacity of the image.

This final image is another My Digital Studio™ project--a card made in the same colors as the previous projects, using the Vintage Vogue stamp set. It's awesome to design projects in My Digital Studio™ because the program works through a system of layers, so you can "stamp" over other images without masking or cutting anything out!

~Kimberley Morris
Stampin' Up! Independent Demonstrator since 1994
Colorado Springs, CO
procrastistamper@gmail.com
http://kimberley.stampinup.net (click SHOP NOW button near top right to order)