Friday, March 30, 2018

Having some fun with Brushos....

What an amazing and fun new product Stampin' Up! is carrying in their Occasions catalog!  Brushos - watercolor crystals!  LOVE THEM!  If ever a product was addicting - this is it!  In February we used Brushos in my Technique Clubs - below is a little chart I made about how they looked in different scenarios.  But really, what I found matters most - is the amount of water added.  If you want more of the crystals to show like the first example - then less water; want a more blended look like the last example - then more water. Both watercolor paper and Shimmer cardstock work wonderful - but you can use Brushos on the Whisper White and Very Vanilla - it just gets a little warped from the water.
Below is the card we made using the emboss resist technique with the Brushos.  We first embossed the large butterfly with clear embossing on watercolor paper.  Then sprinkled on the Brushos were we wanted them - and spritzed away with water till we got the look we desired.  After it all dried we just layered it on our card - being sure to use tear tape around all the edges of the watercolor paper to help it lay flat.  We even sprinkled a few crystals on the envelope and spritzed it.
Below is a card I made for my grandson, Zavian's birthday - on this card - I laid down the Brushos in stripes where I wanted it - blue across the bottom, yellow in the middle and red at the top - trying to mimic fire from the Fire Breathing Dragon :)  After completely dry and layered on my card - I added my colored images (I used Blends on these) and popped them up on dimensionals.  I really love how it turned out.
Stop back soon to see more of the fun we had at Club with Brushos!!! ~Maureen
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Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Quick and Clean Christmas Cards

I love these Christmas cards - so clean, and pure - with just a hint of sparkle.  We made these last November at my month Christmas cards class.  The back layer has the large snowflake embossed.
Then we used the Holiday DSP and some of the gold ribbon and a circle from our Champagne foil paper.  Since many of the products are not currently available - I will not have links at the end.
But they are just so pretty- I made up a ton of them for my own stash.  Hope you like them too and can glean some inspiration!
You can always order current products from my online store at www.stampingwithmaureen.stampinup.net  ~Maureen

Thursday, March 15, 2018

SF March No Rules Blog Hop

 
It's mid-March and time for another Stampin' Friends Blog Hop - and this one you do not want to miss out on - because we are giving away a BRAND NEW Stamparatus!  And this is my kind of hop - NO RULES!!!  So be sure to read through to the end - then hop on to all the other links commenting on each - each of those comments will get you an entry in the drawing - but be sure you add all your comments by 3/25/18 midnight (ET)!
So last week I did a fund-raising event for Ronald McDonald Charities - and we came together and made this amazing kit.  I just knew I had to feature it for the blog hop this month - as you get so much for your money - and....it's just plain beautiful.  Here is the box - all set to go - and you put labels on the dividers - then you can add all your birthdays to each month's divider card.
The kit makes four each of the cards shown below -
And I love them all.
You just have to assemble them - and you'll be all set to go -
Make this your year to never forget an important birthday!
Below is the kit contents - and the box can be used forever !!
Perennial Birthday Project Kit - everything but adhesives included!*
Here are all the blogs on this hop - be sure to check each one out and COMMENT on each to get multiple entries for the Stamparatus giveaway!
1. Jenny Hall  
2. Kim Lamos  
3. Elizabeth Jeanne  
4. Katja Ettig  
5. Sue Vine  
6. Steph Jandrow  
7. Kathie Rotti  
8. Kirsteen Gill  
9. Melissa Thomas  
10. Raquelle Clifton-Batth  
11. Lori Mueller  
12. Andrea Tracy-Tucker  
13. Lynn Streifert  
14. Barbara Welch  
15. Cindy Waldroff  
16. Maureen Rauchfuss  
17. Sandra Mastello -Australia  
18. Sara Levin  

*For the month of March I am donating all my profits from the sales of this kit, the Perennial Birthday Stamp Set, and the Ronald McDonald House set from Stampin' Up! - Sharing Sweet Thoughts.  All profits will be sent to RMHC the first week in April.  For this donation you must order through me at www.stampingwithmaureen.stampinup.net-
Perennial Birthday Project Kit Sharing Sweet Thoughts Wood-Mount Stamp Set Perennial Birthday Clear-Mount Stamp Set 

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Thanks a Latte....

You all know me and Coffee!!! Or if you don't you haven't been checking my blog often enough.  I am addicted!!!  I love anything and everything coffee related - but most of all I just LOVE drinking it.  So I saw this adorable tutorial on Sarah-Jane Rae's cardsandacuppa blog, on how to make a little treat bag using our Coffee Cafe set and framelits - and I had to try it.  Here is a link to the post - COFFEE TREAT BAG  Her instructions are great, but measurements were metric - so I'll give you my measurements for my treat holder, later in this post.
So here is the finished treat holder - front and back.
And inside I wrapped Hershey nuggets - put them in a cello bag and tied with a coordinating ribbon.
We made these at a recent club meeting -
and then I made a bunch more for treat at an upcoming BUNCO event I'm doing.
I did the large cup - so here are my measurements and tips - 
Large Cup: 
Cut 2 cups from 2 1/4"x3" piece of Espresso cardstock
Cut 2 lids from 1 x 2 3/8" piece of White cardstock
Cut 2 sleeves from 11/2x2" piece of DSP of your choice
Stamp and cut 1 oval with verse from a 1 x 1 1/4" piece of white cardstock (for front of treat holder)
My measurements to make the bottom and sides of cup - a piece of Espresso cardstock 5 1/2" by 3".  Score long side at 2 1/4" and at 3 1/4".  Score short side at 1/4" and at 2 3/4".
Then follow her video to complete.  She left  her bottoms on the cups rounded, but I wanted mine to sit flat, so I trimmed the extra rounded part off the bottom on each side -and it worked great.  Hope you enjoyed!  ~Maureen
You can go to my online store here  or click on any image below to go right to that product in the store.

Monday, March 5, 2018

A Sale-a-bration Favorite

If  you missed it, back in February, Stampin' Up! released a 2nd round of products you can get FREE with purchase during Sale-a-bration.  You have till the end of March to take advantage of this awesome opportunity.  One of the new products is this amazing Foiled paper below - Springtime Foils - you get three sheets of each of the four single sided designs.  The foil is a combination of Rose Gold, Silver and Gold and they are so, so beautiful in person.
Each sheet is heavier than our regular DSP - more like our thick cardstock and smooth, and slightly glossy and did I say beautiful?!  But the bonus is you can color on it with our alcohol markers (Blends) or our inks and it is beautiful.  This picture shows me playing a bit when mine first arrived.
And here is one of the cards I made with the colored images - so much fun!
Below are four more projects from the Stampin' Up! website done with this amazing paper.  Don't miss out - check out my website www.crazystampinglady.blogspot.com and click on SHOP to place your order and you can choose this for your free item!
Be sure to use Hostess Code 6T4S4HX2 before checking out to get credit toward my Greek Isles celebration in October!  Thanks for your support! ~Maureen

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Christmas in February

Many of you know that I hold a Christmas card class once a month January - November.  If you attend each session - you'll have a total of 44 cards ready to go :)   It is always a really popular class.  This month I made a super sparkly card - and the ladies LOVED it!  It uses the Night in Bethlehem set with the coordinating edgelits - both on the Carry Over list and still available from the Occasions catalog.  The layer of buildings in the back is Basic Gray to look more shadowy.  Then we used our Silver Glimmer paper for the front part of the village; and the star.  Just how beautiful is that!
We lightly sponged the light blue sky with Marina Mist to give it a twilight feel - and Mary, Joseph and the donkey are popped up in front with dimensionals. 
This is one of my favorite Christmas cards I've made, and I came  home and made 10 more for my personal stash.  My next class is on March 20th - so let me know if you'd like to join us.   Each month features two new card designs.  Full details are in my Upcoming Sections Page - link at the top of this page. ~Maureen
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