Thursday, May 29, 2014

Happy face, sad tale

This sweet little face came on the stamp scene and left so fast, I don't think Stampin' Up! had a clue that she would be so popular. Sweetie Pie stamp set is a photopolymer set, so it was "while supplies last" and it sold out very quickly, unfortunately. I purchased the faces set and the accompanying set that includes lots of graffiti and frames, super cute.

I'm hoping you and lots of others will write Stampin' Up! and ask for it to come back, because it is so super cute!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

This Too Shall Pass

Blackhawk fans, keep the faith. This card is for you. The team is just keeping it exciting.

The sentiment reads "This too shall pass, they just never say when!" Hopefully, the Hawks will start winning and take home the Stanley Cup this season, not make us wait for another year!

At least we can rejoice that spring seems to have settled in and we can pack away the sweaters and parkas. It looked like winter was never going to leave!

Just a couple more days until the Stampin' Up! catalog is officially retired and we can all order from the new book. If you don't have a new catalog in your hands, leave me a message and I'll be happy to get your copy in your hands!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Monday, May 26, 2014

Memorial Day celebration

It is Memorial Day here in the United States. My connection to this celebration will forever be
changed since my son joined the Marine Corps. I am blessed that he served his contract, three deployments to Afghanistan and has just completed his five years, so I don't have to worry about that anymore. But please join me in praying for all the men and women who continue to serve and for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Tomorrow I will be hosting a class for this red, white and blue collage. If you are available, leave me a little message and I'll fill you in on the details. If you are interested but need to schedule a different time or place, I have openings on my calendar and kits-by-mail available! Just touch base with me and we can make it happen!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen



Saturday, May 17, 2014

Try collage style stamping

I'm a little bit fancy, a little bit rustic, a little bit sparkly, a little bit sponged, a little bit metallic, a little bit soft.

When planning this card, I wanted to feature Stampin' Up! shimmer paper. It is very durable and beautiful, with a subtle shimmer. It takes ink beautifully, so I inked a big collage stamp and then added color with a sponge from three different ink pads. In person, you can still see the shimmer plus the black and the colors.

Then the brads, the burlap, the ruffle, it definitely demonstrates the collage style that is so fun and popular right now!

Just pick one component you want to feature, then build on it. With collage, you can't really go wrong!
Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Friday, May 16, 2014

Where are my green suede fringed boots?

I knew if I held on to my fringed accessories, they would eventually come back in style. LOL Just kidding. My avocado green suede boots were super cool in 7th grade, but no matter how hip fringe is right now, those boots are never coming back in style!

These fringed cards are definitely popular right now, and our Stamp Club had some fun with the Fringe Scissors making these beauties. When you add some glimmer paper and candy dots, the card is definitely a winner!

I will be starting Stamp Club fresh and fun in September. If you are ready for 10 months of card-making in a fun, low cost club, leave me a comment and I'll fill you in on the details.

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Mastering the Manly card

For the manly needs, a nice card with a few things going on but still not "too pretty." When we stampers look over our supplies, it can be difficult to find a stamp set that isn't all flowers and flourishes, too much prettiness for the guys in our lives, but we do need to make cards for them, too!

Hello Lovely stamp set is retiring at the end of the month. If you're thinking you might want to own it, pick up the phone or get on-line RIGHT NOW because once these sets sell out, they are gone for good! click here to SHOP NOW

Here we have used Cherry Cobbler, Basic Grey and Basic Black to make it masculine. The sentiment can easily be switched up to be a birthday card or graduation, the color could be changed to school colors or favorite colors.

We used Coordination cardstock which looks awesome after running it through the embossing folder and sanding a smidge off the surface, but you can re-create the look by rubbing a lighter color of ink over the embossed surface or sponging a light coat of white ink over your dark cardstock.

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

The new catalog has arrived, come pick one up

Playing with the re-inkers and water with the aqua painter is so much fun. Every card is totally unique and fresh.

I heat embossed the sentiment and border in white on white water color paper, then just painted with watered down re-inkers.

This class was great fun for the ladies who attended, but I think it would be a perfect mother and child class, because kids are so willing to work with this kind of free-form art supply!

The new Stampin' Up! catalog has arrived in my stamp room, I have yours here and ready for pick-up, just leave me a message!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Friday, May 2, 2014

Come take a peek at the new catalog

The new Stampin' Up! catalog is just around the corner, many new stamp sets, lots of new embellishments, a whole new way of "memory keeping," so much excitement in the air!

My group of demonstrators gathered for an exciting evening of announcements and a pre-release of the catalog, we enjoyed dinner and shared a swap of cards. It was just a bit of a challenge, since we didn't know what stamp sets would make the cut and which would be retired until days before the event. But there was no penalty if you didn't guess right. Lucky for me, I totally pulled it nailed it! Although I thought the Sassy Salutations was a goner because it had been "on sale" earlier this year!

Gold and metallics are so trendy this year, I used a strip of our gold paper, gold sequins removed from the sequin trim, and gold embossing powder to jazz up this card. The theme of the swap was "any congrats card." Come on over and I'll show you the cute baby cards and graduation cards that I received in the swap! Oh, sure, you can have a peek at the new catalog while you're here!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen