Tamarra's Stamping Spot

Back to tutorial tuesdays........

how's that for a come back?! (OK now I know I am not posting it until Wednesday but I was on the 2nd to the last step when my husband needed the computer and was on it until really late) Hi everyone. Now that I have gone through pneumonia twice, I am on the up hill end of being sick, or at least that is what they tell me. I still have bronchitis and a sinus infection but hey I'm not in the hospital, ER or the urgent care so I'm happy!!! Still under the weather but happy. Ok so I know you normally don't come by for family stuff but I am going to share a picture before we move onto the tutorial.

Yasmine was a stick person, she is all into home made costumes. She got extra candy for originality! Go figure just what she needs.... more SUGAR!!!! LOL

 

 

Christia went as a fifty's girl. We had the costume from Yasmine a few years ago but I did go buy the cute little glasses from the dollar spot at Target. The super cute saddle shoes we had because she chose them back in August as school shoes. Go figure how perfect was that!

Ethan of course was Buzz Lightyear. His second favorite Disney charter. Only second to  Lightning Mc Queen. This is the first year he really remembered dressing up. While trick-or-treating at a house I was trying to get him to hurry up and catch up to his sisters and her turned around to me and said, "Top Mommy! you tan't dough ricker-reeting. You have no Tostume!"

Ok enough with the kiddo's on to the tutorial. I actually found it while surfing the web which lead me to Carol and splitcoast but I thought I would share it here for ease.

To start here is what you are going to need to get started.....

2 different Designer Series Paper patterns (it could be front in back if you want)

Pretties Kit (1 hat pin, small pearl and crystal tear drop)

Coordinating Ribbon

Personal Paper Cutter

1/16" whole punch or Paper piercer and pad

Ruler

Pen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To start you are going to cut 8 pieces that are 1/2" x 2". If you are using 2 different DSP then you will want 4 of each.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next thing you are going to want to do is mark both ends of 1 of the strips at 1/4" from the edges on both ends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I stack all 8 in one stack with the marked one on top. And punch them on the marks I made.

 

 

 

 

 

Now you need to cut 12 strips of DSP.The measurements are 1/2" x 3". If you are using 2 different DSP patterns then you will need 6 of each pattern.

 

 

 

 

 

Now again you are going to mark one of your strips at 1/4" from the sides on both ends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again stack up the 12 strips and punch a whole on the marks you just made. You can punch through all 12 even though it is a bit tough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next you are going to start putting the 3" strips on your hat pin in alternating colors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once you have all 12 of the large strips on it should look something like this. Note some of mine are not spread out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now we are going to start assembling the first ball. Start with the strip that is closest to the loop end of your hat pin. Then just continue on...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until you have put them all on. You should have a ball-ish shape now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now we are going to put on the 2" strips just like we did the 3" ones in alternating colors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now we are going to assemble the smaller ball by starting with the closest strip to the loop of the hat pin again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The strips on this ball are a little more tricky because they keep wanting to slip off. But this is what it should look like when it is done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your Almost done... Now add the small pearl, the crystal tear drop and the hat pin cover.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take the coordinating ribbon and tie a knot in the end as shown. (Sorry I had to use red so you could see it better) --Be back Peter needs the computer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next you are going to take the ribbon and slid it under the loop of your hat pin. You will need to "squish" the top ball down a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So that's it you are done. You just made a double ball ornament. Hope you had fun.

 

So let me know what you think of the ornament or how cute my kids are....LOL

 

Anyway, thanks for stopping by!

For Sale.....

Hi everyone,

I am cleaning out my stamp room and ran across some Technique books that are left over from a class I held. I am asking $10 for each blank book or $30 for a completed book + postage. I have 1 completed book and 4 blank books, however I could complete the books if you would like. The book is broken into 4 sections Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Backgrounds. There are 52 different techniques in the books. There is written directions on how to do each tech and a black space for a sample. See pictures below. They are first come first serve.

If you are interested either post a comment or email me at tnkerbele@aol.com.

Thanks for stopping by! ~Tamarra

What have I done while I was gone???

To be totally honest not to much except for a few classes. One of which I can't believe but didn't take pictures of and one that I lost the pictures of when the computer crashed. Actually, I lost all my pictures that were taken and downloaded between January when we ran out last back up on them and March when it crashed but that is another story. I will give you a quick recap of some of what happened.

First we had Easter...... Let me share when you have an almost 2 year old dieing Easter eggs that love baseball...... you will have some Collateral damage. Out of 18 eggs we only had 5 with out cracks. But they had fun and that is all that counts!

 

 

My Baby turned 2, YES 2! I can't believe it either but here is some proof.

Who needs to be graceful when eating a cupcake, just cram it all in at once.

Ok since I am sure you are wondering what happened to Ethan's head!? I will share that also, He was sliding down the slide at Church and he fell forward at the bottom totally missed the grass and landed face first on the concrete. And why not something must always go wrong for birthday pictures, last year it was the broken arm and this year it was the face.... can't wait until next year.....LOL.

So a week after we celebrate Ethan's we have Yasmine's who is not 8 going on 18. She has some more stampin involved in her party. Unfortunately I totally missed taking a picture of the invite but as a quick idea it was a pull card with a bag of microwave popcorn inside it with all the information of the party on it. The front said "POP on by" and we paper pieced a box of popcorn on it. I will try to find enough supplies to make another one to take a picture. Here theme was "Pizza, popcorn and movies". They had a blast watching movies and eating candy and popcorn all night.

Since it was a Movie party we had to decorate accordingly. I made the cake from the Walton Jumbo Cupcake pan, I iced the whole thing in white icing then used mini marshmallows to make the "popcorn" on it and fruit-by-the-foot to make the stripes. The Mini cupcakes were done the same way and the girls loved having bite sized cupcakes.

Not to be out done by her sister we made a birthday banner from the SU banner die, and we decorated the ceiling just like we did for Christia's but used stars instead of hearts.

 

 

I took my Girl Scout troop to Disneyland for selling 2500 boxes of cookies. Then Peter was on Vacation and we went to Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure a few times (we have a pass) then too. So here is one of my favorite pictures that doesn't have the whole troop in it.

As most of you know Ethan is obsessed with Wall-E so we had to take a picture of them with him.

I also received some RAKS that I will try to get picture of and post tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by! ~Tamarra

Christia's Birthday

A little over a week ago Christia turned 6. And if you follow my Blog you know the theme was "CUPCAKES". So the invite seen here was done with Crazy with Cupcakes and done in pinks and browns. Thus began the whole party theme. All the kids decorated their party favor bags with the Cupcakes wheel, crayons and stickers. Then they each decorated 2 cupcakes: 1 to take home and the other to eat as "birthday cake". I had 2 tables set up with tons of cupcakes, 3 flavors of icing and TONS of candies, decorativesugars and sprinkles for them to use. 54 cupcakes later they were done and happy! It was the cutest thing watching them all decorate their cupcakes. All the pictures have other kids in them and I don't want to plaster my daughters Kindergarten class on the web, sorry, so you will just have to imagine...... The main reason she wanted a cupcake party is because she wanted a Jumbo Cupcake as her cake.  

I love this cake pan the cakes always turn out so cute. Even if Mom doesn't have time to pull out the tips to make it super cute. But that didn't matter, you would have thought it was the best cake ever. Even the boys told me it was "COOL".

 

I decorated the cake to look like the cupcakes on the banner, which my daughter LOVED and now has hanging in her room. Or at least the CHRISTIA part. The Happy Birthday is from Cuttle Bug. The rest is Stampin' Up! exclusive dies for the Big Shot. You can see a close up of the cupcake here .

I also decorated the ceilings with pinks and white to match the pretty in pink and Rose Red I used. My oldest daughter who doesn't like pink came out after I finished and said and I quote "Oh my Gosh it looks like Cupid threw up in here". She was right too, way to much pink for me. To which her sister had to come out and see and said "It"S ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS MOM!! I LOVE IT!!!! I guess her opinion was the only one that really counted since it was her party. The picture doesn't show how pink it really made my house look, but it does give you an idea. The pig hearts floating are 26 inches wide for an idea of the size.

Now for the real stampin' part...... the thank you's. Christia wanted me to use the Simple Birthday Thanks. So I did.... LOL Here it is closed

and opened...

Stamp Set: Simple Birthday Thanks

Card Stock: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red and Berry Bliss DSP (retired)

Inks: Chocolate Chip IP and SWM

Accessories: Taffeta Ribbon (not SU!) and paper snips-- lots and lots of cutting to make 26 of these.

And just a fun shot of the Birthday Girl herself...... 

Love ya Baby Doll!!! Happy Birthday!

Thanks for stopping by! ~Tamarra

Back to School.........

So as many of you know School started back up for us at the end of August. And I get to send 2 of the 3 to school. While Christia is only Half day it still leaves me some nice alone time while she is gone and then boys are taking a nap. My daughters wanted to give something to the teachers for their first teachers meeting. Thanks to a friend of mine, Sheilah, I knew exactly what to make. She shared a flower with us at our last meeting so I made them a flower pot with York peppermint patty flowers in it. I have blanked out the wording on the cards because they had information about where my girls attend school. So onto the picture...... As usual all items are from Stampin' Up! unless other wise noted.

Stamp set: True Friend

Card Stock: Scrapsof Retired DSP and brocade Blue

Inks: Brocade Blue, Regal Red and Mellow Moss

Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, Double Rectangle punch, 1 1/4 circle punch, Mini glue dots, 1/16 circle punch, Brocade Blue wide grosgrain and silver cord (retired)

Non SU!: Flower pot, long Popsicle sticks, Styrofoam ball, and cello party bag filling.

 

 

And just because we are talking about going back to school here is a picture of my girls.....

Both my girls were ready to go to school weeks before the first day. They both had their backpacks pack and ready to go a month before and started counting down about a week after school got out for the summer. Christia was especially excited to get to go because it was her first day of Kindergarten. Well, thanks for letting me be a bit more personal then normal.

Have a stampin' great day and Thanks for stopping by! ~Tamarra

You know your Gardner's are MIA when.....

.......you can lose your kids in the backyard! My girls were playing Lion King in the backyard today because our grass is WAY TALL. I thought it would make a great scrapbook layout with the new "Inspired by Nature" set. I haven't done the layout yet but will later this week. Not that it matters I am out of color ink and can't print the pictures. But, I thought I would share one of the pictures now and then share the layout with the rest once it is complete. Aren't they cute!?!?.... :-) Ethan was fine until I got the camera then he just kept saying "Mom".

Stick around tomorrow I have a cute project to share.

Thanks for stopping by! !Tamarra

Looking like new.......

We are going to pull away from convention for a moment to answer some questions I have been getting about the way I mount and clean my stamps. It has been let out of the bag that my sideline and uplines and even some of my customers tease me about how clean my stamps always are. And they joke that if I borrow a set it always comes back cleaner then when I took it. Ok, so blame that bit on being a Girl Scout and always being told by my Mom that we should always leave/ give back something cleaner then when we got it or there. So here is a copy of an email I sent out to everyone........

 

Ok since I keep getting the same questions about my sealer and how I clean old looking stamps I figured it would be easier to post to the group then to keep replying to everyone. So please don't think I am being rude by not getting back to you personally I just have over 30 emails about it already. So here are the answers to the questions so far.

 

Unmounted sets:when I get a new set I spray a few coats of Krylon spray wood sealer (I should own stock). It usually runs between $2.50 and $3.50 where I am at. You can get it almost anywhere, but I usually get mine at Walmart or Home Depot. I have tried the cheaper kinds but I have found that it takes more coats so it really isn't any cheaper in the long run. I use an old box from SU! upside down to seal them on so nothing special there.

 

Mounted sets: if I trade a set and it is already mounted I will usually just paint on a layer of clear varnish/ sealer. I have tried to tape out the images or even remove them and replace them but it is more time consuming then it is worth. So I just use the cheap .50 cent brushes at Home Depot to paint them.

 

Stains on Wood: Now this is going to sound really anal but the truth is I am. I should own stock in Clorox bleach also. I LOVE their Bleach Pens; they are one of my favorite things! (Well them and tide pens but that is a different subject) I use the bleach pen to clean my blocks. It is easy because it has the bold or fine tip and you just squeeze lightly and let it sit for a bit. I rinse them off afterwards and if they need another round then I will do it again. It usually doesn't take more then once maybe twice and they are clean enough to seal. Sometimes I still have faint staining on the wood but it always looks better afterwards.

 

Stains on Rubber:I will try with the Stazon cleaner but if that doesn't work I again use bleach. I figure if it is safe enough to teach Bleach stamping on a stamp then bleach stamping for cleaning can't be any worse. :-) I do rinse them off with water afterwards and then again with Stampin' Mist to condition them.

 

Hope this helps everyone. And again sorry for not sending this to each of you individually but it was just much easier then emailing it 30+ times. If I didn't answer all your questions please feel free to email me with them.

 

Thanks for stopping by! ~Tamarra

Link to Photos........

Ok so I haven't figured out how to put a widget thing on the side column so you could all see what some of the sets look like that are for sale but here is the LINK to get there. As soon as I figure out how to link it in the side lines I will do that for you.

Thanks for stopping by! ~~Tamarra~~

More Retired Sets to clear out!!!!

Hello again everyone,
I have updated and added some sets to the list. The Newest to be added are in Purple. Also I am currently inventorying a friends set of retiring sets so I will post them as soon as I get them typed out.... Lots of oldies there!!!

Prices are negotiable. Buyer pays exact postage or if you are local you can pick them up. I will mail either PM or 1st class. Also I have pictures if you would like to see them.

Most sets are on sealed wood

N-UM = new un-mounted

N= Mounted but never used

$3.00 wheels

Blossoms & Bugs     N   Pending 

Hearts & Flowers     Staining on part of the wheel   

Heart Angle    

Ho Ho Ho    N

Hot to Dot    N    SOLD 

$5.00 Jumbo Wheels

Adoring Hearts    SOLD

Holly Woodcut

Perfect Polka dot 

$3.00 sets

Alpha Shadows     some staining on 2 blocks    pending

Beyond the Basics     N    SOLD 

Around the Block     N    SOLD   

Birthday Balloons     not sealed-some staining on wood- TLC written on wood   SOLD     

Birthday Best     only 1 mounted  SOLD    

Burst into Bloom     pending   

Hand Made    missing 1 stamp Rubber stained

Itty Bitty Boarders    SOLD  

Mostly Flowers   SOLD    

Stars & Swirls     staining on wood    SOLD  

Stippled Stencils     2 mounted    SOLD   

So Very  SOLD 

Spring Fling   SOLD   

Too Terrific Tags  SOLD 

$5.00 sets

Best Blossoms    N-UM  SOLD   

Drawing on Nature     faint staining on 1 stamp      pending

Happy Winter     faint staining on rubber   SOLD  

Let's Party    

$8.00 sets

All I Have Seen     Very faint staining on word stamp   SOLD   

All Natural     unsealed-staining on wood and rubber   

All the Best     slight staining on rubber   

Along the Same Lines    SOLD   

Alphabet Soup     N    SOLD    

Autumn Leaf Prints    Pending    

Bold Shapes     N-UM       

Brushstroke Double Alphabet     wood not sealed- staining on wood and rubber   

Classic Double Alphabet    Light staining on a few letters    

Fine Print     some staining on rubber   

Fun Filled    

Furnished with Love     N-UM    SOLD 

Groovy Lines   

Happy Harmony     N   

Happy Hearts     unsealed- some staining on wood   SOLD 

Holiday Hello     unsealed-staining on wood and rubber- writing on case    SOLD  

It's a Date    N

Little Hellos    2 mounted    SOLD  

Little Layers    staining on ladybug block

Little Layers    some staining on wood   SOLD  

Little Layers II    snowflake is stained   

Little Layers Plus   

Loving Hearts     some staining on rubber   SOLD  

Mini Messages     light staining on rubber   

Mini Messages    N-UM  SOLD  

Natural Beauty    1 corner of 1 block has some staining   

Noteworthy     N-UM    SOLD   

Oh, My Word     wood sealed, rubber cut not mounted    SOLD   

Simply Circles     some staining on wood    SOLD   

Smorgasborders     some staining on rubber   

Sweet & Sassy   

Sweet of You    

The Art of Life     N-UM    SOLD   

Tiny Talk     N    

Weather of Not     N-UM   SOLD   

Wonderful Weaves 

$10.00 sets

A Light Heart    N    SOLD   

Aged to Perfection                used at convention only    SOLD

All About U    wood not sealed- some staining on some of the blocks- label on blocks   SOLD

Botanical Garden     N    SOLD    

Dream Come True  light staining on corners on 2 blocks   

Flower Filled    slight staining on 2 stamps   

Fresh Flowers     not sealed-staining on wood and rubber   

Fun With Shapes   

Looks Like Spring    wood is not sealed--- I also have the matching punch

Love Without End     faint staining on rubber   

Love Ya Bunches     some staining on 2 stamps   SOLD    

Simple Shapes    N   

Simply Sweet     only dresses mounted-stained rubber  SOLD

Spring Garden     staining on 1 block     pending    

Word by Word    N

$15.00 sets

Event Full     N-UM

Figures of Speech    faint staining on 2 of the stamps

Label Classics    1 stamp used once

Mixed Bouquet     SOLD   

Party Punch     N        SOLD

Phrase Starters

Phrase Starters II

Power Up         NEW- only half mounted

Sew Seasonal   

Stipple Celebrations     N   SOLD   

Tag Time    SOLD   

$20.00 Sets

Bold Double Alphabet set and #'s     some staining on rubber but stamps perfectly

Expressive Flexible Phrases           NEW    pending

In The Spotlight                 BNIB     pending

Island Blossoms

EXTRAS

Old Corner Rounder Punch       $3.00

Old Notched Punch      $5.00

Old Square Punch       $5.00

Paper Piercing Punch      $7.00

Spring Bouquet Punch      $10.00      Pending

Thanks for stopping by!  ~~Tamarra~~

Keeping everything in order

On Friday during the Last Minute Valentine's Idea Class I had a few of you ask about my Stamp Stuff Mess (as I call it) or my Organization methods as you all called it. So Like I promised here are some pictures and information on where I got it and how I use it.

  So to start on my desk is Obviously 2 Color Caddy's that hold all my Ink pads, Craft pads and refills. Next to that I have a Pampered Chef Tool Turn About (except mine is white) and as you can see it holds almost everything I might need like Scissors, pencils, pens, Pampered Chef Bamboo tongs(I use them for embossing brads so I don't burn my fingers (didn't find them during my on-line search)), Stipple Brushes, Aqua painters, 2-way glue and other things like that. On the other side of that I have a Color Family Ink Pad Box which holds miscellaneous pads like my VersaMark, Spectrum Pads, StazOn and Metallic Encore Pads.

This is one of my Ribbon Boxes my Dear husband made me. I actually have 2 of them with holes in them. They are Stylites (spelling) box that he drilled holes in. Storage box about $5.00 try and beat that! And it has a lid so it stays clean! There are holes on both sides. It holds all the Grosgrain Stampin' Up!! has and had on one side and the other is Narrow organdy, gingham, and Cords. I also keep a small jar on hand to drop extra pieces of Ribbon in so I look through it first and then move to the box. It ran about $2.00.

I also give them away as samples to sometimes. So it is really nice that it doesn't cost to much.

My non- Stampin' Up! ribbon is kept in a drawer (for now) on pieces of Recycled Stampin' Up! Box flaps they come free with Stampin' Up! order...LOL how can you beat that cost? :-) In the drawer I also keep my Stampin' Up! Ribbon Originals, Twill Tape, and retired Stampin' Up! fibers. I tend to collect Ribbon. It is one of my favorite embellishments. It takes 2 storage boxes with holes drilled in them, 3 storage boxes without the holes in them yet and a drawer to hold all my ribbons...... Obsessed? Maybe but don't tell anyone.

Ok so the only way to go in my tiny room is up so I have items stacked almost up to the ceiling. Yes, it requires me to use a chair or step stool to get to but it is stuff I don't use to much. The white photo boxes I got on sale from Micheal's. They were 3 boxes for $4.00 so I got 6. Anyway, I know they are for pictures but I keep my wheel handles and Ink Cartridges in one, extra adhesives (sticky strip, 2-way glue, glue dots, etc), another has extra SNAIL (you can fit at least 12 refills, one has extra tools (spare scissors, eyelet setters, hammers, bone folders, etc. for larger classes), the last one has extra samples like the clear Forget-Me-Not Keeper.

Ok now this little 4x6 photo album came from Walmart. You can get them for about $0.99. I keep saying I am going to cut it open and insert a stamped sheet but it has been 5 years and I still haven't done it....LOL Anyway, it works great for holding my Classy Brassy's. Not only does it keep them all in one place but it also keeps them nice and flat so the don't get bent or tweaked. Now that doesn't necessarily mean that I never misplace it but it does keep them together! :-)

Ok on to another one of my favorites...... Prima's!!! I love Prima's almost as much as I love ribbon. If that is possible. The run a very close second. I like to see the different colors at a glance so I don't have to search through them each time for the right color. I have them stacked on shelves that I got a Walmart for around $2.50 each. They are 3 tiered spice cabinet racks.  They work great. I also have them in my spice cabinet for my husbands spices.

As most of you know I keep my 81/2 x 11 Card Stock in the portable Rubbermade File Boxes from Walmart. They run about $10.00 each (I have 6- I like a little extra space in mine) and they can hold a color family if you want. I actually keep my in Rainbow order; not sure why but I guess it is for the same reason I kept my crayons in rainbow order as a kid. Anyway, they hang in the boxes and I have placed the tab labels on each with a punched out flower on each with the name and order # on it (to make it easier when ordering). I toss the small scraps in the front, the larger in the middle and the full sheets in the back.

I think that is really all the great secrets (LOL) to my room. I do store all my Stampin' Success's in the binders from Stampin' Up! but hey are only available to  demonstrators. Oh another trick to you magazines which I don't have a picture to is only keep the pictures you like. Tear them out and put them in page protectors in a 3 ring binder and then get rid of the rest of the magazine. I do this about every 3-6 months that way I have more room for more stuff.  Ok and as you might be able to see in the photo I need another Scrapbook to put my pages in so they are not sitting on the top of my other albums. I guess I should purchase 2 since there are about 30- 2page layouts just sitting there. Since we are on the subject of Scrapbook Albums.... as most of you know I store my photos in my computer or disk. And vow that one day they will be put in my 8 albums of pages..... until then the pages wait. ;-) As soon as I get my own Stampin' room back I will update you then but until that day happens I will stay squeezed in the conner of my husbands 7x9 foot office (which is why I am selling off my retired stamp sets..... click here to check them out).

Anyway, there you have it as promised. If you have any questions let me know and I will try to answer them.

Thanks for stopping by! ~~Tamarra~~