Hopping into Fall

What do Llamas and kangaroos have in common? They like to hop! The Stampin' Llamas have so much fun hopping we've decided to make it a monthly event. This month's theme is Fall-i-Days - focusing on Fall, Back-to-School, Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas projects. If you've been following the hop, you just visited Kathe's blog at Kathe's Adventures. Aren't her projects great? I am always inspired by the wonderful ideas I get from my fellow Llamas. The "next" button below will take you to Stephanie's blog - she's the awesome creator of our blog header and buttons.

As a preschool teacher, back-to-school time was always very important to me. That's probably the reason I was so excited to see the Storytime collection on pages 58-59 of our Annual Catalog. I absolutely love everything in it - the Life Shared stamp, Storybook Friends stamp set, Storytime Designer Series Paper, Dahlias, Typeset Alphabet Bigz Dies and the Storytime Collection DVD. In fact, I love the collection so much, I bought it all!


Here is the first thing I made. 

Stamp: Life Shared
Paper: Naturals White, Midnight Muse, Watercolor Paper, Storytime DSP
Ink: Stazon Black, Riding Hood Red, Midnight Muse, Pool Party, Wild Wasabi,  Pretty in Pink, Soft Suede, Basic Gray
Accessories: Mini Silver Brads, Aqua Painter, Crochet Trim, Linen Thread, Fancy Flower Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, 1/4" Punch (non SU)

My local stamping group, Stamped With Aloha, had a special swap at convention. The theme was "My Way" and we were to make something that reflected who we were. As a teacher and avid reader I made a card with a bookmark and the Life Shared stamp. I remember countless hours spent pulling my preschool students around in a little red wagon.


For my second project I stepped out of my comfort zone and attempted a My Digital Studio project. MDS is Stampin' Up's wonderful digital design program that allows you to use SU's exclusive stamps, colors and embellishments to create digital and printable projects. 

I bought the Storytime Collection DVD thinking I could finally make some photo albums for my boys' elementary days (they are now 19 and 22 years old). There are so many great images in the collection, though, I think it makes really cute cards and party accents, too.

For my final project, I made a set of note cards using the Storybook Friends stamp set. I think these animals are adorable and they were fun to watercolor. I might give this set to my niece - she has 3 young children and it's always handy to have a few notecards at hand.

Stamp Set: Storybook Friends
Paper: Notecards, Midnight Muse and Pool Party Card Stock, Watercolor Paper, Storytime DSP
Ink: Stazon Black, Riding Hood Red, Midnight Muse, Pool Party, Wild Wasabi, Soft Suede, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Gray
Accessories: Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Stripes Textured Embossing Folder, Scallop Edge Border Punch, non SU ribbon

So, that's all I have for now. The next stop on the hop is Stephanie's blog - Please Pass the Snail. Just use the buttons below to navigate forward, backward, or home to the Llama page. Enjoy!

Hopping Again

Summertime! School's out, the days are long, and there's a new Stampin' Up catalog to dream about. This year the catalog has fewer pages than previous years but there are more things on my wish list - how is that possible? I don't think I'll be able to get everything on my list but I'm hoping that looking at all the other Llamas' creations will help me decide. Of course, it'll probably just make me want more! If you've been hopping along, you probably came here from Marsha's Here A Llama, There A Llama blog - doesn't that title just make you want to sing?

For my projects I was inspired by home. I will be staying with my parents for a little while this summer to help out after my dad's heart surgery and, of course, this is the home where I grew up. I just love my dad's garden - I'm a little nervous because I will be responsible for its upkeep while my dad is resting. Here are two pictures from his garden and the cards they inspired.

agapanthus

This first card uses the brand new stamp set Summer Silhouettes. There's another stamp that is made to go with this stem, but I thought these little flowers looked so much like the agapanthus flowers, I just couldn't resist. You can't see it in the photo, but my dad has a little white picket fence in front of his plants. The decorative stamp that comes with this set made a perfect "fence" to put in front of my aggies.

Supplies

Stamps: Summer Silhouettes, A Word For You

Ink: Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party, Versamark

Paper: Whisper White, Lucky Limeade, Twitterpated DSP

Accessories: White Embossing Powder, White 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Wisteria Wonder 3/8" Designer Printed Brad, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Sponge Dauber

My second card was inspired by the colors of his orchids. I just love the orange, pink, and yellow of these tiny blossoms.

orchids

This card uses the set Fruit & Flowers. I love the strawberry, apple, and cherries in this set but since my inspiration was a flower garden, I kept to the flower stamps. I used the leaf part of the Bird Builder punch to accent my sentiment. I love the new Gumball Green - I guess I'm a "bright" girl at heart!

Supplies:

Stamps: Fruit & Flowers, Occasions Alphabet

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo, Gumball Green

Paper: Whisper White, Gumball Green, Polka Dot Parade DSP

Accessories: Top Note Die, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Bird Builder Punch, Gumball Green 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon, Pearl Basic Jewels, Stampin' DimensionalsMy final card is a nod to my mom's wonderful patchwork blankets. In Hawaii, we don't really need quilts or comforters, but sometimes it's nice to have a lightweight blanket to sleep with. My mom used scraps of fabric and flat sheets to make these blankets for everyone in the family. My aunties, uncles and cousins loved it when she was their secret Santa because it meant they would get a new blanket. I don't know about everyone else, but I used mine until there were holes in it. She isn't able to keep up this tradition anymore so I am hoarding the last two blankets she gave me. This blanket is a small one she made for my son when he was a baby. 

The card that arose from my favorite blankie is made with the Bright Blossoms stamp set. This is a new set that was released a month early in the Summer Smooches bundle. I also used the Summer Smooches DSP to make the alternating squares. Making a quilt pattern with paper is so easy using Stampin' Up's square punches. To make sure my layout was straight, I attached the squares with the Anywhere Glue Sticks - this gave me some wiggle room to make sure the edges were snug up against each other before the "stick" became permanent. The Razzleberry border was made with the Adorning Accents Edgelits - I just ran the paper through the Big Shot 4 times. Who knew the corners would line up so nicely?

Supplies:

Stamps: Bright Blossoms, A Word For You

Ink: Lucky Limeade, Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, Real Red, Island Indigo, Rich Razzleberry

Paper: Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry, Summer Smooches DSP

Accessories: 1" Square Punch, Adorning Accents Edgelits, Stamp-a-ma-jig, White Baker's Twine, Anywhere Glue Stick, Multipurpose Liquid Glue

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this stop on your journey. Your next click will take you to Kathe's Adventures - have fun!

Stampin' Llamas

Colors of Spring Blog Hop

It's time for another Stampin' Llamas Blog Hop! Our theme for this hop is Springtime images and soon-to-be-retiring In Colors. I loved the Spring Fever Simply Scrappin' Kit as soon as I saw it in the Occasions Mini Catalog. I like the Scrappin' kits because they include textured paper, designer paper, and self-adhesive die cuts in coordinating designs and colors! This particular kit includes the 2011-2012 In Color pear pizzazz - along with melon mambo, daffodil delight, and basic gray. I added some very vanilla to complete my color palette.

Photos are very precious to me, perhaps because I don't have a very good memory and pictures help keep my memories alive! Coupled with my addiction to paper, scrapbooking is a natural outlet for me. I wanted to scrapbook the children from the day care center where I work. Most of them have graduated and the last three are scheduled to move on to preschool this summer, so a memory book was just what I needed. 

This pic shows all the pages in my book. Believe it or not - I made these in just two days. The Scrappin' kits make page layouts so easy I can start and finish a whole book before life gets in the way!

Here are close-ups of two of the spreads. As you can see, the kit comes with everything you need to make a variety of beautiful pages.

The only things I added were some smooth card stock, a little bit of pear pizzazz seam binding ribbon and some dazzling details on the flowers. To make the flower stems, I twisted a length of seam binding and glued it down with Multipurpose Liquid Glue.

Supply List for all 20 pages:

• Spring Fever Simply Scrappin' Kit
• Stamp Sets: Mixed Bunch, Friendly Phrases, Short & Sweet, Perfect Words, On Your Birthday, Classic Alphabet (retired)
• Card Stock: Pear Pizzazz, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Basic Gray, Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Textured Very Vanilla
• Inks: Pear Pizzazz, Melon Mambo and Basic Gray Classic Ink Pads, Pear Pizzazz, Melon Mambo and Basic Gray Stampin' Write Markers
• Punches: Boho Blossoms, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, 1", 1-1/4", 1-3/8", 1-3/4" and 2-1/2" Circles, Scallop Circle, Decorative Label, Large Oval, Scallop Edge Border
• Accessories: Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding Ribbon, Dazzling Details, Stamp-a-ma-jig, SNAIL, Mini Glue Dots, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals
• Wow - I sure used a lot of tools, didn't I? I just can't resist playing with my toys!

When I finished my scrapbook, I still had lots of supplies left to make another scrapbook or make some quick and easy cards, like this one. Don't you love the little peeps?

I hope you've enjoyed this stop on the hop. The next time you need to preserve some memories of your own, give our Simply Scrappin' kits a try. Your next leap will take you to Diane's blog at dianeoliver.blogspot.com. Enjoy - and have a colorful Spring!