Bev Adams, Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator
More Organization – More Time for Crafting
You can get all of your Christmas cards made quickly! The basic supplies from my Getting Started Challenge can be used for just about any event, including Christmas.
Click here to learn more about the Getting Started Challenge.
Click below for a free printable supply list and directions.
Getting Started Sample – Christmas 1
This card goes together fast. The Daffodil Delight and Whisper White card stock and Pumpkin Pie ink will cheer up anyone or stamp with another of the greetings in Sweet Essentials for a thank you or birthday card… even a card for a baby or wedding shower.
This is one of my Getting Started cards. For more information on the Getting Started Challenge,click here or for the video click here.
Click below for a free printable supply list and directions
This card is quick and thrifty. I wish you could feel the texture of this card stock. It feels like artists’ watercolor paper. It could be used for many occasions. You could even change it up more with a different sentiment covering up the one on the stamp.
The Watercolor Wonder note cards come in a pack of 20 for just $12.95, pre-printed with soft background colors and include the envelopes. You just need to add a stamp and they’re ready to go!
We added People Like You stamped in StazOn ink and with Aqua Painter brushes and Tangerine Tango and Gumball Green ink, quickly added color. Stamp the same image on white card stock, punch it out with the coordinating Decorative Label Punch, and pop it on with Stampin’ Dimensionals. Done!
For the free printable supply list and directions, click below.
People Like You Watercolor Card 3-8-14
Big Shot Cutting Plates get cut up and warped when used for cutting. You can extend their life by placing your die cutting toward your worst plate. When that one is too marked up, rotate your “good” plate to the cutting side and replace it with a new one. You can buy 2 replacement cutting plates for only $8.95. But you can extend the life of your cutting plates even longer! Put that old cut up plate in the oven. Here’s how.
We all need thank you cards and I think this one is just the ticket! The fancy fold is called a Joy Fold. Perhaps it’s called that because it brings joy by being pretty thrifty and easy.
When you open up the top layer, a little bird peeks out the window and the bird is still there when the second layer is opened.
It will take some precision stamping to get the bird to sit perfectly on the branch, but Stampin’ Up! has a tool with a funny name, a Stamp-a-ma-jig, to help you. I know… my Getting Started Challenge is all about minimal supplies. Don’t worry. Here’s a link to sh
ow you how to make your own. It’s not quite as good, but it will get you through until you are ready to buy the real thing. In the picture with the bird in the window I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig and took a picture and forgot to press the stamp down. The Stamp-a-ma-jig is so great, I was even able to stamp again. If you look very closely you might be able to see those tiny bird toes are not precisely lined up. That was with my home-made tool, so perhaps if I’d used the real one it would have been perfect. The bottom picture shows a close up of the bird precisely on the branch (only stamped once).
Click here for free printable supply list and directions.
Getting Started Sample – Joy Fold Thanks
I love my Stamp-a-ma-jig! It’s one of the tools that hangs next to my work area. With it, I can stamp with precision and while I don’t always care about precise positioning, sometimes it’s needed. Clear-mount stamps have reduced the cases where I need my Stamp-a-ma-jig, but even still there are times I really do need to place an image or greeting exactly where I want it.
The critical part of a Stamp-a-ma-jig is an inside corner and a transparent sheet. You place the sheet in the corner, stamp on the sheet with the block exactly in that corner, move the image on the sheet to where you want it, place the inside corner at the same position around the clear sheet, remove the sheet, and stamp in the corner on the card, right where you want it. It sounds complicated and there are a bunch of steps, but once you get the hang of it, it’s like magic!
So I’ve been working on my Getting Started Challenge where I talk about working with minimal supplies. A Stamp-a-ma-jig isn’t going to make that cut. There are a lot of tool I would buy before I spent $11.95 for one. So I’ve been looking for a substitute when getting started and this morning, as I was using the last cotton swab, I saw it! A home-made Stamp-a-ma-jig!
It has an inside corner and a flat piece of clear plastic! You could do the same thing with an old frame. I’m sure there are many substitutes. Keep your eyes open!
So I got to work. I separated the backing and the plastic. I used the square hole to trace the rectangle with precise right angles and cut it with a blade and ruler.
And here is my new tool!
I used it to place this bird so it sits on a branch and can be viewed in the punched window. In fact, I placed the stamp, took the photo, and forgot to press down on the stamp. I was able to precisely reposition the stamp and I have to look close to see I stamped twice.
I’ll be making a video for this card soon, but I was so excited I just had to share this right away!
Don’t get me wrong! I still recommend a “real” Stamp-a-ma-jig. It has a nice long handle. The bottom has a surface that doesn’t slide too much. The frame part is nice and high and easy to get the stamp block in just the right place. It’s way easier to use than my home-made version. And really, $11.95 is not a high price for such a useful tool. You will want to get one when you can. But if you are trying to get started with minimal supplies, try making your own.