You stand out in a crowd

Everyone else pales compared to you.

A picture is worth a 1,000 words, right? A beautiful smoky slate card, the barest black outline of vivid vases and flowers, then a pretty pop of red and one simple flower stands out from all the others.

There isn't anything else special about it, it is just that it has been given a different background a pop of red, but it certainly does stand out now!

We had fun a class last week, using one stamp, Vivid Vases, a stamp that Stampin' Up! sells as a single, stamping in Versamark ink and embossing in black. But giving the cards a variety of different treatments. It is nice to design a few very different cards to stretch the imagination and see some of the different styles one stamp can be used.

See you tomorrow with one more version. Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Vivid Vases in nice bright blue

There is a cardinal outside my window, whistling his little 5 notes, over and over and over. Yea! I'm so glad to hear anything other than a snow blower coming from outside my window!

It has been a busy week, full of fun and stamping and friends. A few of us got together and made 4 cards featuring the Vivid Vases stamp. This bright version had the most parts and layers and pieces.

More to come, with a few simpler versions. I made it easy on the stampers and used only Versamark ink, and we heat embossed the image on all 4 cards.

Stay tuned for more flowers and heat embossing! Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Easy and Impressive

Easy. I know I keep saying it, but seriously, making a pretty card is easy, after I show you how. Before you were taught how to drive a car it wasn't easy, but you can do that and making this card is a whole lot easier than that!

We will be making this pretty card Thursday at 1:00 at my house. All we do is ink up the rubber and stamp it then color it with markers, glue on a couple die cut layers of scallop card stock and add a pretty bow. Easy!

And impressive!

Just leave me a comment here if you're interested in joining us at 1:00 or 7:00 to make a set of cards using these beautiful vases. . . or call or email. Plenty of room for you and you can invite a friend or two to join us!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

I love you, Man

I'm working on an assignment: masculine cards. I only have to design one card, no other design requirements. And I feel like I am completely without a clue.

I brought this card to the swap last month. It is a perfectly acceptable masculine card, there are no flowers or ribbons, but there are two shiny embellishments and it uses washi tape and Gorgeous Grunge stamp set as well as Love You to the Moon stamp set. I like that this one can extend well beyond Valentines Day, as a good set for an "everyday" affection card. So, I know it can be done. But I can't seem to do it again!

But the swap is just a week away, I have a few other events to prep for, and I am just not feeling the mojo. Grrr.

I don't know why every stamp set is so feminine. Or why I only own feminine stamp sets. Hmmm. Maybe I have a problem. Back to the drawing board!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Easter Collage

Today is the first day of spring, according to the calendar. I guess we will have to just go on faith, because it has been such a brutal winter, there are very few hints of spring here in Chicagoland.

But I see on the calendar that Easter is right around the corner, so the stampers are coming tomorrow to make an Easter collage home decor frame. I am almost done with mine, it needs a bit of color on the stamped images, and then it will be finished.

If you are available, I have seats open! Join us! This is the fun group, and they have promised to bring a bottle of wine this time, so it should be quite interesting. Friday, March 21 at 5:30 pm.

I provide all the supplies for the collage, you provide your own 8 x 10" frame, I have the corkscrew and glasses, BYOB, $22 for the class. Just leave me a message or email or call! We would love to fill the table, a couple fun new faces would liven up the class.

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Are ewe thinking of Easter?

I guess this month Stamp Club had to endure an overdose of cute-ness. First there was the bunny card, which was definitely a 10 on the cute scale, and now there is the Easter lamb!

This cutey is holding an Easter basket and he has a fluff on top of his head and darling little ears, I mean, really, CUTE!!

We added about a million eggs and Dazzling Diamonds to make the card spectacular. The white panel was cut using the Chalk Talk die on the Big Shot and the light pink piece was cut with the new Scallop Top Tag Punch, these two fit together perfectly.

If you are looking for a monthly social and stamping event, Stamp Club is perfect for you, just leave me a comment or shoot me an email and I'll give you the details. We would love to have you join us! If you're not local here in Chicago suburbs, you might enjoy doing the projects by mail, you're welcome to join Club by Mail!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Did you survive kindergarten?

Do you like to color? I used to think I was the only one who still loved that kindergarten thrill of a box of new Crayolas, the love of shopping the school supply sales, the secret stash of 48 Sharpie markers in a rainbow of colors. Then I became a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and found that there are zillions of people who survived kindergarten with their love of coloring intact! Hooray!

This stamp set, So Very Grateful, from the Celebrate catalog, is perfect for us. We can use the markers or we can dig in our stash and use our colored pencils or Copic markers or whatever our fave tools might be. The flowers are perfect for setting a tone or for coordinating with DSP (designer series paper). They can be subtle for a sympathy card or bright and cheery for a thank you or birthday.

We created this fun and simple card in Stamp Club this month, with just a little bling added in the gold twine, to keep the card festive. There is no sentiment, go ahead and stamp it inside when you are ready to send the card. A perfect addition to your stash, ready for whatever last minute occasion might pop up.

Join Stamp Club and enjoy the fun. Just leave me a little comment or shoot an email and I'll fill you in on all the benefits!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Time's flying

These bunnies are so stinkin' cute, they make me want to just faint away. But don't you faint away. Listen up. March is flyin' by! Sale-a-bration is nearly over! If you were thinking of getting a free gift from Stampin' Up! or even jumping on board and getting a starter kit now while there is an additional $25 free included, it all ends at the end of March! Just leave me a comment here and I'll be thrilled to tell you more, answer your questions and help you get started.

The bunnies are actually just one bunny, and I just kept stamping him. I did make a mask so his feet wouldn't be over stamped, but that was just so we could practice masking in Stamp Club. He is in the Baby We've Grown stamp set from the Celebrate catalog. Of course, he would be lovely on your Easter cards as well!

If you would like to know more about Stamp Club, let me know. We meet once a month and it has become quite the social event. Three cards, a small order, an hour or so spent with crafty friends and once during the 10 months, you are the "hostess" and receive all the hostess benefits, usually $50 in free merchandise, awesome!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Relax, you don't have to work

Relax and let the DSP do the work. Sometimes Stampin' Up! offers us a product that is such a gorgeous paper, I want to be able to order pages and pages of just the one design, this is one of those. It is a page from Watercolor Wonder DSP in the Celebrate the Everyday Catalog. I have used a 5 1/4 x 4" sheet to cover my card base, added a simple rectangle of white with a sentiment, then embellished with the Petite Petals Punch and a few little flags and sequins, but all the work is done by the DSP.

This card was one of the projects at Debbie's party recently. There are actually two colors of this sheet in the collection, and both are great, but I am a big fan of blue, over all other colors.

Circle a date on your calendar that you would like to have a Ladies Night Out and give me a call, I would love to order another pack of this Watercolor Wonder and share it with you and your friends!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Scalloped Tag Topper Punch -- Best invention ever

I am going to repeat that header because I am so excited about it: the scalloped tag topper punch is the best invention ever!

That's right folks, it ought to have its own late night info-mercial!

Of course it is a cute tag punch. It makes tags -- but that's not all!!
You could make book marks! You could make cute elements for your cards, as shown here on the Regarding Dahlias card.

But my favorite use of all is the gift bag card holder.

Gift Bag Card Holder! It's Amazing! It's Easy and you won't know how you lived before you had one!

 All I did was take a 2" wide strip of card stock, trimmed to 5.5" and punch each end with the scalloped tag topper punch. Then I used my paper trimmer to slice straight down the middle from the little hole to the other little hole. To fancy up the whole thing, I ran it through an embossing folder on the Big Shot, but that is totally optional. Then I applied adhesive to one side, the upper half of the card holder and adhered it to a lunch bag. My bag happens to be white.

Now you can slide your card onto the the face of your bag, hanging onto the card holder that isn't adhered to the bag.

I have added some silver bows to the sides, just to dress it up an extra bit, but since the edges are scalloped, it really isn't necessary, it just matched my card.

The size of the Gift Bag Card Holder can be adjusted to fit on a larger, inexpensive brown bag or a nice fancy bag that has handles or on a gift bag you are giving from Victoria's Secret or Bath & Body Works, where they provide a darling gift bag.

The possibilities are endless! I hope this gives you a few more ideas of how to use this great tool. Leave me a little comment and I'll be happy to send you a sample and a catalog!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

I think you're lovely

I like to get my fingers inky. When making this card, I had to keep my hands especially clean. Some people are able to keep their hands clean while stamping, but I just don't know how they do it.

 I had to glue the sequins on, then wash my hands. After I used the Versamark ink to emboss the stamped image, I was a sticky mess, off to the sink to wash. When assembling the striped vellum and the strip of gold paper, I used the sticky strip so everything would stay exactly where it belonged, but of course, I ended up with some of the adhesive on my fingers.

Usually it isn't such a big deal, but the white card was simply searching for a speck of dirt to ruin it's lovely stark beauty. Whew! I finished it and photographed it and I don't see a smudge anywhere! This beautiful set is a free gift from Stampin' Up! when you spend $50+ during Sale-a-Bration, which ends March 31. Leave me a little message if you need a brochure.