Hop to it

Moving Forward stamp set has some cute images, and this little dancing frog is a winner! And the dotted line showing his dance, totally perfect. This is a super easy card, just a flag from DSP, the Polka Dots pack is just so fabulous! A dab of ribbon, a couple brads and pile it all onto a card base that has been run through the Big Shot using the Chevron embossing folder. Quick, cute and fun!

If you like this kind of killer cute card, that goes together in seconds and is super cute, maybe you are just the right person to join a Stamp Club. We will meet every month to make a card, a tag and a 3D item, you will commit to making a small purchase every month, just $15 and during the 10 month duration, you will be awarded hostess benefits one time receiving at least $25 in free Stampin' Up! merchandise of your choice!

Just leave me a comment or email me if you're interested.

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Something old, something new. . .

Something old, something new, something (sparkly), something blue.

No bride today, but another card with the Perfectly Preserved mason jar! I used the Daisy die for the Big Shot, which unbelievably!!! was retired last year. (The daisy die, not the Big Shot!)

This is one of my most used dies, I just love the daisies. Oh well. I own it, so I use it. I put a dab of the Stampin' Up! Dazzling Details in the center of each flower for a little sparkle, a bit of water coloring to look like water in the jar and again the Big Shot to cut the scalloped scallops.

There are so many possibilities for this jar! I think every stamp company has produced one of these this season, so the blogosphere is jammed with samples, and I love every one of them!

Gotta take the husband to the hospital this morning for some pain relief surgery. Pray for a good outcome for him. Thank you.
Dee Tollaksen

BARGAIN project

 Rumor has it that crafters are hoarders. You know you've heard it, "why are you saving all these jars?" I have the perfect use for that hidden stash of recyclables!

I have cut a scallop circle of fabric (Stampin' Up! has these packages of 3 fat quarters on sale for just $1 on the clearance rack). Then I used Mod Podge to glue the fabric to the lid of my jar, a length of ribbon around it, tied in a bow and the lid is fabulous.

Then I used the Mod Podge (glitter version!) to adhere a length of DSP to the jar. The Mod Podge goes under and over the DSP to really seal it in place.

Then I die cut some tags, punched some scallop circles, stamped some seasonal images and punched them out. I jammed slipped it all into the jar and now I have a TAG KIT ready for any last minute gifting. I can add a Thank You to a water bottle for the mail carrier, wrap a ribbon around a bottle of wine with a tag as a Hostess Gift, tie a tag to a candy bar for someone sweet, drop a love note into a lunch bag. I'm ready for anything!

You can join me and use my tools and card stock to make your own TAG KIT this Friday at 1 pm or 7 pm, just leave me a comment or give me a call!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water jar

 Ooooo, yuck! Of course I hate spiders. Certainly our brains are wired to make us hop around and scream and flap our hands when we see a spider, right? Oh, not everyone does that? Just me?

Whatever.

These spiders are smart guys, they have been captured in the preserving jar, but they have knocked the lid off and are escaping, so find a shoe and get ready to smack 'em!

I do know that it is still August, Halloween is a few weeks away, but I LOVE the Perfectly Preserved stamp set, and I just wanted to do something creative with it.

And in the second picture, my boys. The Marine who visited for a few days last week, having a good laugh with the dog. This terrier feels he must growl and bare his teeth at anyone standing between me and the dog, so my son just scooped him up and gave him some love, completely disarming the dog!  I was trying to figure out why the angle is so dramatic, it looks like I might have been sitting down, Steve's head appears to be touching the ceiling!  But my 5'7" normal height just doesn't compare to the height of my very tall son, and the picture sure exaggerates his height!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

You have to use imagination

Whew, I hate to say it, but I'm kinda relieved that it is Monday. Back to normal for a week.  We had my 20something son in the house for 5 days, a moving van out in front and the disruption to normalcy that comes with deal. He is a Marine and was finally able to bring his wife to the base, along with all their possessions and the cat.  OMG, I love that kid, and I hate that he lives in North Carolina. Do you know how far it is from Chicago to North Carolina? In a rental truck!?

So I had created this sample tag for my classes at the Historical museum, fast, easy and cute. When the loud ugly moving van finally left our street, I thought I should thank my neighbors for putting up with the noise and sight of it. I made similar tags and tied them onto a jar of fancy jam and delivered all of them. Then thought, "hmmm, maybe I should have taken a picture for the blog. duh."  Sometimes I'm even sarcastic when I'm alone. Oh well. Imagine the darling canning jar from the new Perfectly Preserved stamp set, with a cute jaunty cap off kilter and cherries stamped inside the jar on this exact tag, minus the bells. Now you got it. They are cute and the neighbors loved them.

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Secret SURPRISE!!

You know that I'm working on Christmas samples for a class, but this beauty can be modified for any gifting occasion.

I received the original as a swap, and there is no name on it, but I am ever so grateful for the inspiration. Of course, it looks like a pretty wrapped present. See the little fold of ribbon on the right side of the "box"? Gently pull on it, and it will reveal a secret envelope.

Just spin that envelope out from the face of the card and surprise! Cash! The envelope is too small for a gift card, but it will hold jewelry or a key (you know, the old fashioned kind, not the giant kind that some cars have now) or a love note or a special chocolate piece.

You get the idea, right?

And the card opens as well, so you can still sign it and mention some well wishes.

It does take a teeny bit of engineering, a brad, some snipping and folding, but it is easy and so cool!

Interested in making this beauty? We will have to update our DSP and ribbon, as these are both retired, but that's easy to do. Just leave me a comment or shoot me an email!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Jumping the gun

I know, I hate it when people jump the gun on holidays.

Just wanted to share what I am working on. I am giving a class for the Historical Museum/park district and it won't be held for a few months, but I need to provide samples.

So, We have some holiday happenings here. I used the ornament punch to pop this image from Delightful Decorations stamp set onto Whisper White card stock that has been embossed with the Northern Flurry embossing folder. I added a bit of retired ribbon, some rhinestones and a sentiment from the Happy Hour stamp set.

Easy Peasy, but truly a complete card that goes together in minutes, if not seconds!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Change of pace

If you don't look too closely, this could be a nice masculine card, except that the flags are made from "Christmas" paper, red and green, snowflakes, plaids.

It is amazing, every year, when people gear up for the holidays, trampling all over half a year of life. I prefer to address each event as they occur. But I will be teaching a class for the historical museum in town, and I have to give them some samples, so I have to "think Christmas."

These class attendees are likely to be raw recruits, so this is a super simple card, that can be reproduced, modified and won't have anyone freaking out and running away, yet. . . looks good!  I actually used a sheet of adhesive strips that was in last year's catalog, cut them into flags, then the top layer is retired Designer Series Paper (DSP). They kind of look like Washi Tape, the Japanese craze that is all over the crafting biz. Add a bit of bakers twine in Cherry Cobbler, and the card is ready to go!

Hope you're enjoying the current season, but if you're thinking ahead to Christmas, the new Holiday Catalog is awesome. Just leave me a comment and I'll be sure you have your very own copy.

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Resist and irresistible

Maybe it looks a bit blurry, or maybe I had a couple drinks last night and they're still at work?

I used the new clear embossing powder that is Scratch N Sniff! The Stampin' Up! Holiday catalog has so many outstanding and interesting new products!  First dig through all your card stock and find the white glossy paper, ink up your Perfectly Preserved stamp set with Versa Mark ink and create your images, then sprinkle on the embossing powder. I treated myself to the new Stampin' Up! heat & embossing tool, so HOT! And I heat embossed my images. Then I searched everywhere for my brayer, to no avail. So I used a sponge to apply color to the entire image area, the flowers and jar pop right out, resisting the ink. Love it!

Do you recognize the embossing folder I used? Also brand new in the Holiday catalog, Lacy Brocade--gorgeous! I think if I had to scale down to just one stamp set, and no others, it would be this Perfectly Preserved set. Just so fun!

And irresistible girls, my daughter and her two cousins, all the girl cousins on my side of the family. We were waiting out a storm that hit during a wedding party at Bass Lake, IN. A wonderful celebration with family and young adults, Love it!

On the road again!

Our weather is absolutely perfect today. I'm saying it, PERFECT!  The cicadas are chirping, the sun is shining, the temp is mid 70s, I love love love this kind of day!

If I had a bike, with flowers in the basket and a bird on the handlebar, I might even go for a ride!

This image is from the "Moving Forward" set which Stampin' Up! has dedicated to helping the Ronald McDonald House charities this year. Each sale generates $3 donation to this worthwhile charity. If you would like to own this cutie, help a charity AND attend a fun class making this card and more, sign up now! Leave a comment, send an email or call me, ASAP!

Thursday August 23 at 1 pm or 7 pm, for just $20 we will make 3 cards and you will take the set home ($5 extra if you want wood mount stamps.) Deadline is Aug 15, so I can get the stamps ordered.

Happy stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

"Bee" preserved

Have you ever listened to a speaker that resonated completely with your state of mind? In July I enjoyed a talk that spelled out the differences between Baby Boomers and the GenX and GenY members. We laughed our butts off, being Boomers and comparing ourselves with younger people.

The speaker, Jason Dorsey, was first thing on the agenda, and he is a GenY guy. He was invited to come over prior to his time slot to check over the location. . ."seriously? I am speaking at 8 o'clock. . . in the morning! And you think I might want to come over early?!"

While all of us had already been out to breakfast, swapping cards and stories, waiting in line to be allowed into the presentation--because we are Boomers and have a completely different mind-set!

This darling preserving jar makes me feel so happy, all the things I can stamp that coordinate with a preserving jar! And let me enjoy the nostalgia of my youth, just by brainstorming around one simple image. Look for many more cards and techniques featuring this stamp set! And I hope that it makes you feel nostalgic, whether you are a Baby Boomer, GenX or GenY!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Multiplicity

You are not seeing things, do not try to adjust your monitor, there are multiple identical cards.

I am so in love with this stamp set, I made a bunch of identical gift cards. I will pop them in with orders as needed, instead of wishing I had a cute card to put in your bag. It seems like I would always have a cute card, right? But it is definitely wrong to put a wedding card or sympathy card into an order. Really, only a thank you card will do, and I seem to be out more often than I am stocked up. So, some multiples will be handy!

You'll be seeing much more of this canning jar, stay tuned. . .

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Trick Box

 Two tricks, in fact, are used on this box. First, I ran the ribbon from flap down the side, under the box, up the other side and up the other flap. So when you close the box, the flaps are tucked in and it looks like the ribbon goes under the giant bow on top of the box, giving it a finished appearance, and the box opens without damaging the packaging! Nice trick!

ALSO we used the plain circle of rubber of rubber from the center of a stamp to add giant polka dots to the box. So  never toss the excess rubber from your new stamp sets!

These are 3x3" cards and we stamped them while at the Stampin Up convention in July. The envelopes are inked by using a wheel stamp. While this isn't my favorite technique, I just might have to keep the wheels handy to decorate my envelopes. I used to be much more dedicated and always decorated the envelope. But lately I have been sending cards in plain white envelopes, gasp!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Lovely fabric flower

So many details, so much to describe! This Designer series paper is so gorgeous! It is really heavy, and embossed! There are six different patterns, and perfectly embossed. Not like I emboss, with scattered powder speckling the project, powder all over my table, and some spots that are faint or wiped clean.

We made this at the Stampin Up convention. The flower is a 2" strip of fabric, with a line of sticky strip all the way along the long edge, then wrapped around a wooden skewer. Then a flower punch was trimmed and wrapped at the base to disguise the raw edges. So simple and cool. Then we stamped the simple flag with all kinds of curliques and wings and sentiments.

This project is labeled a "pouch" and you could slip a small gift inside the pouch, or a gift card or a wrapped cookie. Super cute!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Laughs, no charge

Time for a little dancing. . .

MY DIGITAL STUDIO

Enjoy a little peek at the fun of the new MDS2! Then call me!
Happy (digital) stamping!
Dee Tollaksen