Nina's Southern Accents

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Getting the Most Out of Your DSP, Let's Get Hopping Round 1

Hi Everyone!
I am so excited to be a part of this hop! I know you are finding some great tips for how to use up your paper scraps. Here in the South, we have an expression, "Get all the goody out of it," meaning you want to get every last bit of use that you can out of something, and that is what this hop is all about.
I want to share with you how I store my DSP (Designer Series Paper) so that I can "get all of the goody out of it!" How many times have you cut a new piece of paper, then realize you had a piece that was already cut and you could have used that one instead of a brand new piece? Story of my life, right? Until....

These are some folders I found at a craft store to hold scrapbooking paper. When I get a set of DSP, I put that stack of paper in its own folder.

As I use it, I put the smaller pieces back in the folder. When I am making a project and need some paper, I find a piece closest to the size I need. Those smaller pieces are great to use for dies in the Big Shot. Like this cute tag from the Swirly Snowflakes Thinlet Dies:

I cut it out of Whisper White, then added the DSP to just the front of the tag and stamped the To and From sentiment from the coordinating Snowflake Sentiments stamp set.

I added a piece of the linen thread, and I have a sweet little tag to add to a gift! Now, that leftover piece? Back in the folder it goes---There is a lot of real estate left to use on that piece of paper!!

I know you have lots of scraps you can use for all kinds of elements in your papercrafting! Do you have a thrifty craft tip to share? Leave it in the comments below, after all, who doesn't like being thrifty and saving money to, well, buy more craft supplies of course! Subscribe to my blog to receive more project ideas and inspiration every week. Now click on the arrow to see another tip from Gwen Stenzel Eich!

Here is a list of the supplies I used to make this project, if you would like to order, click on the image and it will take you to my online store.

Product List

Snowflake Sentiments Clear-Mount Bundle

[146053]

$46.75

Snowflake Sentiments Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[144820]

$22.00

Swirly Snowflakes Thinlits Dies

[144678]

$30.00

Fresh Florals Designer Series Paper Stack

[144131]

$22.00

Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Pad

[144086]

$6.50

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[100730]

$9.00

Linen Thread

[104199]

$4.50

Friday, September 15, 2017

Fall In Love with Painted Harvest

Hey Y'all!
Do you have a favorite season? There are things about every season that I love, I couldn't pick a favorite. One of my favorite things about Fall is the colors, I love earthy colors (you can probably tell from my card samples!) and they are everywhere at fall! The browns (Early Espresso and Soft Suede), rusts (Cajun Craze), mustard yellows (Crushed Curry) are all so beautiful.
There is a set in the new Stampin' Up! 2017 Holiday Catalog that is going to make you fall in love with fall. It is the Painted Autumn suite, and everything about it is gorgeous!
In fact, it inspired me to decorate an entire table!

Our church has an annual event called Tables of Love, and women in the church sign up to host a table and invite other ladies to come. It is an awesome event that I enjoy participating in. When I saw the Painted Autumn suite, I knew exactly what theme my table would be! Sunflowers!! Here are the place cards I made with the stamp set and DSP:

The place cards inspired me to make a card.....

I added some Cajun Craze cardstock and Copper Trim. I also embossed the greeting in Copper embossing powder. Watch the video below to see how I made this quick and easy card, and see a tip for stretching your punches!

Here are some more cards I have made with this set:

This one uses the Burlap Background Stamp

I used the coordinating leaf punch, and the Layered Leaves Embossing Folder to make this card.

This set is a must have! And don't just think yellow and brown for the flowers, I have seen some other amazing color combinations! If you don't currently have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I would love to earn your business. Comment below and tell me what your favorite season is and what you love about that time of year. And I want all of my readers to know.... I am thankful for YOU!

Blessings!

Nina

Product List

Painted Harvest Photopolymer Stamp Set

[144783]

$21.00

Painted Autumn Designer Series Paper

[144613]

$11.00

Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[120953]

$8.00

Cajun Craze 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[119684]

$8.00

Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[101650]

$9.00

Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad

[126944]

$6.50

Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad

[131173]

$6.50

Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad

[126978]

$6.50

1/4" Copper Trim

[144179]

$6.00

Versamark Pad

[102283]

$8.50

Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder

[141636]

$5.00

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Why Do I Do The Things I Do? Special Family Day

Hi Friends!
This post is going to be a little different than my normal post. Do I even have a normal post? I haven't been doing this long enough to have that! But I wanted to give you a little insight into my family life.
Yesterday was a special day for our family. My daughter Blair participated in our county's Special Olympic's Bowling Event!

Even though we live in a fairly small community, we have an OUTSTANDING Special Olympics Committee that goes above and beyond to love and support these special member of society, and their families. Blair is 25 now, and over the years I have received so many cards and other things from people over the years to encourage me personally.

Thus the title of my blog....Why Do I Do The Things I Do? Making cards, crafting, my card classes, it is not only to sell Stampin' Up! products, it is a vehicle that allows me to bless others, and I have been blessed as well with new friends. Isn't that why we are here? To honor God and bless others? When it boils right down to it, that is the purpose of life in a nutshell.

Yesterday was also my Watercolor Class. I will do a video soon showing some of the techniques we did, but, for now, here are the cards we made:

This one used the Dragonfly Dreams stamp set and framelets. We did a watercolor wash over an embossing resist.

This card feature the "This Little Piggy" stamp. Who is not in love with this set?

And last but not least we combined "Beautiful You" with "Mediterranean Moments", did some masking, and used the awesome new Embossing Paste and stencils with Copper Embossing Powder.

So now I am going to issue a challenge to you! Who in your life do you know needs encouraging? Truett Cathy, the founder of Chic-Fil-A, said, "How do you identify someone who needs encouragement? That person is breathing." (Thanks for the quote Cameron!) Maybe you know someone who has a sick family member and they have been a caretaker for a period of time...perhaps a young mother with young children who is at her wits end...it may be a student who is struggling with peer pressure or a new college student that may be homesick. You never know what a simple card will mean to someone. Your challenge this week is to send a card. Get out those craft supplies and make one or if you don't have the supplies, (gasp!) go to the store and buy one. Then contact me for some Stampin' Up! LOL! Leave a comment below and let me know if you accepted the challenge and whom you sent your card to, no names, just a description of the situation is fine. Let's live life intentionally and be a blessing to others! Trust me, YOU come out with the biggest blessing!

With Hugs and Encouragement to all of you!

Nina

If you are interested in any of the supplies used in the cards, here is a list! Click on the link, and it will take you to my online store where you can purchase.

Product List

Dragonfly Dreams Photopolymer Stamp Set

[142924]

$21.00

Timeless Textures Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[140517]

$20.00

This Little Piggy Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[143922]

$20.00

Beautiful You Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[143637]

$28.00

Mediterranean Moments Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[143191]

$20.00

Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad

[140931]

$7.00

Watercolor Pencils

[141709]

$16.00

Embossing Paste

[141979]

$8.00

Palette Knives

[142808]

$5.00

Pattern Party Decorative Masks

[144103]

$6.00

Ink

Card Stock

Tools & Adhesive

Accessory

Big Shot

Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits Dies [142749] $31.00

Monday, August 21, 2017

Stamping 101: Sponging and Masking

Hi Everyone!
I am so excited to share this card with you! It is probably my most favorite card I have ever made. I totally CASE'd (copy and share everything) from Tina Zinck, another Stampin' Up! demonstrator. Look her up on YouTube at Serene Stamper Channel, she is absolutely amazing, and you will get some great inspiration for your cards.
Here is my version:

This card showcases the High Tide stamp set found in the 2017 Annual Catalog.

The card base is Cherry Cobbler with a Whisper White mat that I have stamped and sponged. The lighthouse image is also a two-step stamp, I stamped the base in Memento TB ink, then the accent in Cherry Cobbler. I then stamped the lighthouse onto a sticky note and "fussy-cut" it out for the mask. I punched a 1-inch circle out of the sticky note as well to mask off the area for the sun. I put a sticky note on the bottom 1/3 of the card, and then I sponged the sunset scene with So Saffron, Crushed Curry, Calypso Coral, and Perfect plum. Stampin' Up! sponges come in a pack of 3, then I cut them in quarters to use on my projects. The next step was to move the sticky note to the top, stamp the rocks in Smoky Slate then stamp over them with Versamark and heat emboss with Clear embossing powder. Next, sponge the water in Night of Navy then stamp the "waves" with Craft Whisper White. Wipe off the rocks with a paper towel to remove any ink residue. I also added some Calypso Coral to the top of the water to make it look like the sun reflecting off of the water.

I stamped the birds in Memento, then used the "Thank You" sentiment from the Daisy Delight stamp set. I heat embossed that in gold.

I added a mat of Whisper White to the inside and stamped the lighthouse there in Memento: