Cards for Emily

My neighbor, up the street, had to send his 6 yr old Emily to Lucile Packard Hospital at Stanford over the weekend for testing due to complications with her breathing. It turns out that Emily had a collapsed lung and the CAT scan showed a mass around the size of a apple in her medial stinal cavity. The final news was that Emily has T Cell Lymphoma. On March 12th, Emily started her two years of chemotherapy. She's so young, but that's a good thing in her case. With her age and the type of cancer, the odds for remission is good. It still hurts so to hear of the news. She is such a ray of sunshine!

Will you help me brighten up her hospital room by sending her a card or two? Emily would love getting happy mail from all over and her parents would appreciate it so very much. It doesn't have to be hand made! If you read my blog and you are not a stamper, please feel free to pick up a card and send it off to Emily. It's still happy mail to this precious little girl. Emily likes pink, purple, blue, and she likes cats and dogs.

UPDATE: Good news! Emily is coming home from the hospital just in time for St. Patrick's Day! She just might catch a Leprechaun or two in that Leprechaun trap of hers!
Please email me if you would like her home address. I am sure your cards will be much appreciated. We all love happy mail!

If anything, please send up prayers and happy thoughts to the Pepper family and Emily.

love and hugs!



** Update **
Tracy and Chris have created a blog for Emily.
Please take a moment to send her some hugs.
Updates on Emily

Happy 5th Birthday, Ken!

My boy is 5! FIVE!! I can hardly believe it.

Five years ago I held my first born in my arms. Today, I can hardly hold him because he is so big! lol!

Here's a trip down memory lane.



First Birthday Invitation:


First Birthday Cakes:


First Birthday Cake Picture:


Second Birthday Pull-Apart Cupcakes:


Second Birthday Bowling Cake:


Future Bowler:


Third Birthday Bowling Cake:


He got his bowling birthday party!


Happy 4th Birthday!


Ken's 5th Birthday Cake:


I can't believe he's FIVE!


Happy birthday, bug! I love you!

Wild about Wasabi! Wild about Wheels!

For $3.95 you can get 16 sheets of 4-1/2" x 11-1/2" Wild Wasabi textured cardstock that has been scored at 1-1/8" and 5-5/8". There is no limit to how many you can order! These cute notecards will be available until April 30th.

Here's one I made for the March Hostess Club workshop. It was inspired by my dear friend, Stephanie's awesome Wasabi Notecard Samples.



Two step stampin' was done on the front flap. The bold stamp from "A Good Egg" stamp set was inked up in VersaMark. The outline stamp was inked up in Wild Wasabi. Using the 3/16" corner rounder with the guard removed, I created a scalloped edge. The front panel of the notecard was decorated with the outline flowers from "A Good Egg" stamp set, inked up in VersaMark. 1-1/4" x 4-1/4" strip of DSP (Summer Picnic) was glued to a 1-3/8" x 4-1/4" strip of Barely Banana cardstock. Chocolate Chip Twill ribbon was wrapped around the base of the cardstock, threaded through the ribbon slider, and double knotted. It was all glued to a 2" x 4-1/4" strip of Bashful Blue cardstock, which was then attached to the middle of the notecard, under the flap. Using the Crop-A-Dile, I punched a hole on each side with the small hole punch. I used eyelets from Soft Subtles II. A sheet of 3-1/2" x 5-1/2" Very Vanilla cardstock was inserted inside the notecard. A few of my hostess club ladies opted to stamp flowers or a chick or a bunny on the Very Vanilla cardstock.


And a quick reminder that the end of Sale-A-Bration is fast approaching! You have until Monday to qualify for a free Sale-A-Bration product. To say thanks to my many blog visitors, I will be posting a chance for you to get one of the Sale-A-Bration sets, "Merci" or "Friendship Blooms". Stay tuned for more next week after Sale-A-Bration ends!

Get ready to wheel your way into Spring! Starting on March 28th, SU! will begin their "Free Wheelin'" Promotion where preselected stamp sets will come with the coordinating wheel for FREE! And guess what? I can share this information with you NOW! lol! I asked. They said it was fine. :)

# 112848 Wonderful You ~ Stems & Silhouettes jumbo wheel $ 33.95
# 112851 Life's A Breeze ~ Something Fishy jumbo wheel $ 29.95
# 112850 Pun Fun ~ Sweet Stars jumbo wheel $ 30.95
# 112847 Year After Year ~ See You Around jumbo wheel $ 30.95
# 112849 Stitched Exotics ~ It's Beautiful jumbo wheel $ 33.95
# 112853 Enjoy Every Moment ~ Daisy Dash jumbo wheel $ 29.95

Occasions Mini Catalog is now available! If you have not received a copy, contact me today and I will get one mailed to you right away. I can not get enough of the Tart & Tangy stamp set! I even treated myself to a "hidden Mickey" cherry purse while shopping at Downtown Disney. I'll have to post a picture of it. It's really cute.

Cheers and happy stampin'!
Jane

Disney Day 1

Oh, happy day! I LOVE Disneyland! We had a fantastic time!
Here are a few pictures I wanted to share before I have to log off.

T-shirts from Auntie Carolina... they refused to take these shirts off all day... even after it got so cold that I had to put on long sleeved shirts and then put these t-shirts over the other shirts!:




LOOK!! Keiji did it! He was finally able to ride the bumper cars in A Bugs Life at California Adventures!



Family Photo Op:



Cheers!
Jane

We made it!

We made it to Anaheim safely! We left San Jose at noon (long story) and traffic was bumper to bumper once we made it closer to Pasadena. I'm starting to nod off here so I'll log off in a short bit and go crawl into bed with Keiji.

We will be heading over to Disneyland tomorrow and Monday. Then we have a week long JANBA (Japanese American National Bowling Association) bowling tournament in Fullerton... less than 10 minutes from Disneyland!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Jane

Let's Rock 'n Roll!

I made this card for my dear friend, Carolina, whose grandfather passed away on Saturday.



I used the "Rock and Roll" technique.
It's a technique I use all the time. It's so quick and easy to do. All you need are at least two colors to work with.

Always remember to work with your light colored ink pad first!
You do NOT want to get dark ink stains on your light ink pads!

I will show you how I made the flower in the front with the word "heart" on it.


Stamp set: Holidays & Wishes
Ink pads: Groovy Guava, Purely Pomegranate
Punch: 1-1/4" Circle Punch
Accessories: Sponge Dauber

I am just inking up the word "heart" so I bring the word up to the edge of the lightest colored ink pad (Groovy Guava) and ink it up.



Then I carefully rock the edge top, side, and bottom of the word in the darker colored ink pad (Purely Pomegranate).



Stamp to see the pretty two-toned image you get with this simple technique.



For the flower, I used three colors.


Stamp set: So Many Scallops (Sale-A-Bration)
Ink Pads: So Saffron, Groovy Guava, Purely Pomegranate
Punch: Scallop Circle Punch

Ink the stamp in the lightest color (So Saffron).



I found that when you "huff" on the stamp when doing this technique, the lighter color tends to pop more. You can see a difference on the rubber before and after I "huffed" on it.

Before:
After:


Here's how I "rock 'n roll" in Groovy Guava:




Here I "rock 'n roll" in Purely Pomegranate:




A bit hard to see the So Saffron, but it is definitely there!



Punch out the flower and the word.



Sponge the edges with the sponge dauber to give the punched edges some dimension.



Happy Stampin'!

Trimming your rubber stamps

I just got asked about trimming Stampin' Up! rubber stamps.

The best pair of scissors for this job is the SU! Craft & Rubber scissors.
These scissors will cut through the rubber like butter!

Now I am very particular about the way I trim my stamps. I get in very close to my images and so I finish off the details with my Paper Snips. The thin blades of those scissors will get into the tightest of corners.

Don't forget to keep an Adhesive Remover nearby when trimming your rubber stamps. These things are so handy in taking off the gunk that accumulates on your blades.
Just a few quick swipes and you are good to go!

I just finished trimming 18 stamp sets for a few of my Japanese clients.
Here's a sample of my work:





Thank goodness that the Sale-A-Bration and Occasion Mini catalog stamp sets are all diecut!

Stampin' Essentials!

Every stamper has to start somewhere. We all have to have our basic supplies to get started. I have put together a list of things I think are "Stampin' Essentials" to help beginner stampers get started on making quick and easy cards!

Paper Cutter #104152 $24.95
Get one that cuts up to 12" with a swing arm that extends the trimmer to measure out to 15 1/2" wide. SU! Paper Cutter comes with 2 orange cutting blades. You can purchase a Cutting & Scoring Blade Refill pack #104154 for $5.95.

Paper Snips #103579 $9.95
These scissors are amazing! They cut into the tiniest of areas all the way to the very tip of the blade.


Anywhere Gluesticks (2) #104045 $3.95
Rectangular in shape to cover all areas of cardstock with ease. Glides on smoothly and does not dry up too fast. Easy to peel off and restick quickly before it sets. I forgot to mention... you can use it as a bone folder! You get 2 gluesticks to a pack.

Snail Adhesive #104332 $6.95
Have you ever wondered why this product is called "SNAIL" adhesive?
I joke that it looks like snail trail.
The catalog says "S-imple, N-eat, A-ffordable, In-Line", adhesive in a convenient dispenser. Whatever the definition, it is a must have!

Stampin' Dimensionals #104430 $3.95
Quick and easy way to add a little bit of dimension to your cards.
You get 3 sheets of 100 1/16" double-sided adhesive foam dots.

Adhesive Remover #103684 $1.95
When you are trimming the rubber of your stamps or using Sticky strip tape, you will notice build up on your scissors. I like to use this handy dandy material to rub off the gunk. It's also great to get rid of excess adhesive.

8-1/2" x 11" Whisper White Cardstock #100730 $7.50
or other "Neutrals" cardstocks (pg. 163) "Naturals" cardstock (pg. 166).

Pack of Colored Cardstock
The packs of cardstock can be purchased in individual colors or as a family of colors.
You can find them on pages 163 - 165.
The best start is with your favorite family of color... one that you think you will use often.

Pack of Designer Series Paper

For a quick and easy accent piece or layer, try a piece of Designer Series Paper.
They are double sided and come 12" x 12" (pg. 168 - 171)

Basic Black, Basic Brown, or Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad (pg. 163).
These three are waterproof... very important when it comes to coloring with markers and aquapainters. You do not want your image to smear!

Ink pads:
Collect full size Classic Stampin' ink pads ($5.95) as you go if you are going to be a serious stamper. If you are planning on being a hobby stamper, then you may want to consider a set of the Classic Stampin' Spots ($22.50) in the family color of your choice that matches your pack of cardstock.

Stamp set:
Find a stamp set that has small and large images as well as words... something that you like right away but keep going back to everytime you open the catalog. The small images are great for creating a background. The words are important for occasions.


Wheels:
Does your stamp set come with a matching wheel? If so, you may want to consider getting it so that you can create a simple background or layer with little effort and thinking.

Ribbon:
It is amazing what a little piece of ribbon can do for a card.

Not sure of what color to get? Try white!

Punch:
I think a punch is a really terrific tool to start off with, whether it's a corner rounder or a ticket punch, or a circle punch, or a scallop punch. It adds another quick and simple layer or dimension to your card. Who doesn't like quick and easy?


Stampin' Scrub #102642 $14.95
Alcohol free and lanolin free wipes will do just fine. However, the Stampin' Scrub is so simple and convenient! Just spritz, scrub on the wet side, scrub on the dry side, and put away.


Stampin' Mist Cleaner (2oz) #102394 $3.95
Lightly scented mist cleaner to help clean and condition your stamps.

Other accessories such as Stampin' Write Markers, Color wheel, brads, White Gel Pen, glitter, Aquabrush, Cutter Kit, Sponge Daubers, etc, can be added on as you learn new techniques.

I hope this helps simplify things as you get started!
Email me or post here if you have any questions!

Nihongo itsudemo dozo!

Happy Stampin'!
Jane

Build-A-Brad Workshop

That's Build-A-BRAD workshop... not Build-A-Bear workshop! lol!

I had a "Build-A-Brad Workshop" in addition to my Hostess Club workshop where I showed my ladies how easy it is to design your own brads using the rub-ons from Sale-A-Bration, since our theme this month was "Sale-A-Brate".

The Reversible Afternoon Tea Purse that I had posted on Saturday features a Build-A-Brad and I'm going to use it as an example to show y'all just how simple it is to put it together!

First thing to do is find an image that fits into your 1/2" circle punch (#104390 - page 180 in the catalog - punch #8). I like to use this punch to punch out the image, whether it's a stamped image, or something on your Designer Series Paper, or even on your rub-on sheets!

Side note for rub-ons:
If the image that you want is too far in on your rub-on sheet, then just use your Paper Snips to carefully trim around the other images and cut out the image you want to use. For the rub-ons, I like to use the large tip of my stylus (the one I use for dry-embossing). It's especially handy when you are rubbing the image directly onto the brad instead of onto a piece of cardstock.



Then take your snail adhesive and dab on a bit of adhesive to the back of the cardstock. This will help keep it from moving around on your brad.



Choose your Build-A-Brad.
For my purse, I went with Antique Brass #109108.
You can also get it in Pewter #109128.
Each kit comes with 24 brad bases and adhesive acrylic bubbles.



Place your punched circle on your brad.



Take the top protective layer of film off the adhesive acrylic bubbles. Be very careful to pick up the bubble of your choice on its SIDE as you would a DVD or CD. If you put your finger on the sticky side, your fingerprint will be on it permanently and visible for all to see.





Very carefully place it over your image on the brad.



Once you have it on there, press down and you have yourself a customized brad!



They would make terrific accent pieces for your cards or scrapbook layouts.
But wouldn't they look just as cute on your jacket or on a hairband? ;)

Happy Stampin'!