Blog Archives

Aug17

Building it like a Boss!

by Tamra Davis on August 17th, 2017 at 8:10 pm
Posted In: Stampin' Up! Projects, Tamra's Tips-n-Tricks!

Who said girls can’t build stuff?

Not my Daddy and not my hubby, Ken, either.  Daddy taught me to think out of the box and build things to solve any issues creatively, and now Ken is helping me to carry on that tradition and I love it!  He handles the lifting and the main cutting of the huge boards, but design and assembly is usually just me.

This is how I store my cardstock (by SU color family) in some great cabinets I got a few years back at Best Scrapbook Storage out of Canada.

Having the cardstock arranged like this helps me and more importantly, help my team and customers get the color families in their head a bit easier.

It also helps when embellishments or asst packs come in color families… I can just point to a row and they know exactly what colors are included.

The ink pads are stored the same way, by color family.

The storage thing cabinet for the inks is similar to ones available online.

BUT, I built these myself just to fit my needs.

The front panels and interlocking shelves I cut out on my laser and then inserted them like a puzzle into the cabinet I built in Ken’s shop.

2 at least of each ink pad, 2 markers each, a reinker and also a spritzer if I have one loaded in that color.

One thing that has just driven me NUTS is what to do with scrap paper pieces that are still ‘good’.  You crafters all know what I mean.  Big enough for a punch or a background mat or even a card base.

I don’t like to put pieces back in the slots with the full sheets.  And the TaDa! Stampers team members that come to craft with me on TaDa! Tuesdays want and NEED a place to get into and use for punch paper with no guilt.  I never fuss at my team, but apparently THEY don’t like waste either, so they provide the guilt, not me.  Oh yeah, we are ALL crafters!  lol

So I finally have had a couple of days to build my solution!  A custom sized cart on wheels that will fit perfectly in the space I needed it to.  And it will hold perfectly the stuff I need it to.

Is it perfectly built like a piece of fine furniture?  NO, but that is not what I needed anyway.  I might put drawer fronts on later and at some point I will paint it.  In a creative way of course.

But for now, I am thrilled and wanted to share my creation with folks that will ‘get it’.

This is the front end of the cart.  Holds 2 hanging file folder boxes in a frame that is on heavy duty drawer slides.  Each box has a bunch of filefolders with all the color names on them.

One storage box holds Neutrals and Subtles, and one set of the incolors.  The other holds the Brights and Regals and the other set of in colors.

The little wicker basket in the shelf above is for new pieces that haven’t been sorted into it’s file folder yet.

Here is the left side that will be seen the most.  

The black boxes are snap and store DVD storage boxes from amazon and hold 26 cases each.

This will be out of season or retired stamps I want to keep, and sadly all but 3 are already full.

Labels coming soon.  And probably a vinyl flourish of some kind to help decorate that empty side panel.  hmmm.

The other side is strange, but it will fill a special need that I have and I am excited about it.

The shelves didn’t need to be any deeper that the storage boxes or craft totes I wanted spaces for.

That left about 3″ to play with which isn’t much when you take away the 3/4″ back board width.

So what will go in this strange shaped space?

I will be storing my display boards there between retreats or other events.  Haven’t figured out whether I want some wood slats to hold them in or just some elastic across them.

But either way, I am excited to have a dedicated space to keep them safe and protected.  (I have 4 toy poodle boys, NOTHING sits on the floor!)

My cost was $75 for wood and wheels and the other stuff and tools and screws we already had, so a big storage piece for that amount for sure.

Thanks for looking, I had such a good time designing and building this, I just had to share.  Don’t be afraid to design something custom for yourself!

 

 

 

 

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Aug14

International Project Highlights Blog Hop – Easy Way to Stay in Touch ALL Year!

by Tamra Davis on August 14th, 2017 at 6:00 pm
Posted In: Stampin' Up! Projects, Tamra's Tips-n-Tricks!

Another challenge this month, as in another CONTEST. I love participating in these things and seeing what all folks make, such talented people on this blog hop.  One day I finish as a top ten, who know?  lol

This month’s theme is gifts for teachers.  I don’t have little kids in school anymore (thank goodness!) so I no longer need teacher’s gifts either.  BUT, if I had of been in Stampin’ Up! when Kristin was little, you better believe I would have been gifting the teachers with LOTS of little handstamped gifts.  Staying in touch with them about my child and also making them want the super cute products I sell from Stampin’ Up!

So that is kinda what I was working on this weekend.

Cute little notecards… in my case, Thank You notes.  Read on for a few Spoilers on new holiday catalog products.

Not for teachers, but for my Tee Shirt customers in my Etsy store (link in the top right sidebar), the folks that will be needing Engraved Bonefolders for onStage/retreat gifts/Holiday team gifts, my Stampin’ Up! customers(US customers click the shopping cart in the right sidebar).

And hopefully some Ebay customers as I list tons of retired products on there this week.  🙂  (I am embossingfool on Ebay if anyone is interested).

So before all of that gears up, I took a few hours this past Sunday to create these cards…  and I have it down to a science.  😉

They are super cute, too, if I do say so myself!

2017-2019 In Color 12″ X 12″ Cardstock item #145453 Price: $11.00

I have shown my technique for doing these cards on here before, but maybe it is time to show it again.

First off, I make 3×3″ cards and start with a sheet of 12″x 12″ cardstock.

Shown here is the 12″x 12″assortment package for the In-Colors that are new this year, which would be wonderful for making these note cards.

Just enough of each color to use well without getting bored!

I also got the new Washi tape assortments available in this year’s annual catalog.

washi tape Basics packs #2 (left) and #1

I really love the way they are packaging washi tape now… you can really pick the colors you want to use based on the project you are working on at the time.

Since I want to show you this project with the new In-colors, I am using the washi Basic Packs 1 and 2 which contains coordinating colors.

It is worth mentioning here that I do use a lot of retired products when I make my thank you cards, and I do buy Washi tape from the clearance rack (great ones still there!)

Spoiler alert 1 – The little 3×3’s have a little envelope that will again be available in the holiday catalog, and it just a wonderful size to send a note of thanks. encouragement, welcome, or whatever you need to say.

OK, to start this process, get your 12×12″ sheet and cut the whole thing in half at 6″.  Score each piece at the 3″ mark all the way down the 12″.

Lemon Lime Twist is the color I am showing in this example, but all would work.

The stamp set I am using and recommending here is the Banners For You photopolymer set.

A great assortment of sentiments that will work for many occasions and messages.  And their size is great!

Take your chosen washi rolls and check their size by placing right below the score you just made.

Then make sure there is room for the stamps of your choice at the bottom.

Now using your grid paper, lay the scored 6″ x 12″ piece on the bottom and take the top washi pattern and lay it down all the way across the top.

Start off the cardstock and use the grid lines to help you get it straight right below the score line.

This first piece will also hold it down on the grid paper so there is no wiggling.

Go across the cardstock with all the washi butting each against the previous pattern.

You just quickly decorated 4 little notecards… easy!  Trim the end of the washi flush at the sides of the cardstock and then cut at 3″ intervals creating 4 notecards.

Now take some other coordinating cardstocks and punch some focal pieces using the punches of your choice.

I am using the Pansy Punch and Spoiler alert 2 – a super cute new leaf punch coming in the holiday catalog.

This is the back of these shapes, with their dimensionals applied already.

Have you seen the new mini dimensionals yet?

They are AWESOME for attaching things like these leaves.

It is quick and easy to use a production line assembly method  to affix the leaves and flowers to the notecard fronts.

You can see the photopolymer stamps laid out on the cards, showing you what they will look like, although they are hard to read in the photograph.

It is great to pre-make a bunch like this to have on hand ready to stamp an appropriate phrase on them when needed.

 

Spoiler alert 3 – look forward to the return of 12″ x 12″ Pumpkin Pie cardstock in the holiday catalog.

So I also made a few notecards using it and the Black and White Pick a Pattern washi.

The Pansy on that card is Tangelo Twist, and adds a nice contrast to the Pumpkin Pie background color.


We all know how a little well-timed note can brighten someone’s day.

I hope the little personal thank you notecards I put in customer’s orders will brighten their day as well as express my appreciation.

In a Sunday stamping marathon, I watched 2 Hallmark romance movies and created approx. 200 notecards.

That is a great productive stamping day using these assembly line techniques.

Now look closely at the card group and see your final Spoiler alert 4… another fun new punch shape coming in the holiday catalog!

If you like these cards and quick card ideas, I would appreciate your vote so I can participate in another special blog hop my friend Kylie Bertucci from Australia is having for the winners.

Cast your vote HERE or click on the picture.  

The products I used to make these cards that are currently available are listed below.  If you live in the US, just click on the links to go to my Stampin’ Up! store.  THANKS!

Thanks for looking, and enjoy the rest of the projects!

Product List

2017-2019 In Color 12" X 12" Cardstock

$11.00

Basics Pack 1 Washi Tape

$8.00

Basics Pack 2 Washi Tape

$8.00

Banners For You Photopolymer Stamp Set

$27.00

Pick A Pattern Washi Tape

$8.00

Pansy Punch

$16.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

$4.00

Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

$4.00

Halloween Night Designer Washi Tape

was $8.00
now $3.20

Presents & Pinecones Designer Washi Tape

was $8.00
now $3.20

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Jul30

Christmas in July – Carols of Christmas Blog Hop

by Tamra Davis on July 30th, 2017 at 6:00 pm
Posted In: Stampin' Up! Projects

(click picture to see full size)

Playing with the new Carols of Christmas Bundle this week.

This bundle has lots of potential for some easy and really cute cards.  Just in case others show those, I am going to show something a tiny bit more involved.

The first card uses the poinsettia corner cutouts in the corners of an Emerald Envy card mat piece.  Thinking about what colors were going to ‘show thru’ in the cutout pieces, I layered this piece on the Tranquil Tide base card.

That took care of the leaves. 

Cutting this same group of corner pieces using Real Red cardstock creates little poinsettias ready to be paper pieces in to the mat piece.

For extra interest, I used the little poinsettia stamp with Cherry cobbler ink on the pieces before I stuck them back in with some mono glue.

Didn’t perfectly fit all, but still worked fine.

Using a scrap of Cherry Cobbler cardstock, I cut little squares and glued them under the places where the berries were.

I liked the look of the darker berries showing thru… worth the extra trouble!

The card still needed some ‘glitz’ and our gold glimmer paper and gold foil paper did just the trick!

I also made a container of our gold embossing powder with a little of our gold glitter in there… works great to add that extra sparkle to embossed images.

The Lots of Labels thinlits is a great size for the layering and the gold faceted gems finish it off!

For card #2, the same corner thinlit is cut out of the Real Red cardstock layered on gold foil.

The card base for this one is Emerald Envy, and all the other components are similar.

For the stamped piece, the Peace on Earth stamp was a bit too large for the area I had between my die cut poinsettias.

That is easy enough to fix, just used my versamark ink pad on just the word Peace and use the same glittery gold embossing powder on the word.

I cut this out using the thinlit that fit best in the middle.

I also cut out a corner piece from my scrap of Cherry Cobbler cardstock so I would have some extra little accents to spice up the Peace label a bit.

The finishing touch? Adding the fold centers from the Metallic Enamel Shapes.  You need these for the holidays!

Now, take a look at these two cards  together.

Did you immediately see that I did the cutting out of the red piece and then used those flowers as the inserts for the top Emerald Envy piece?  Doing one card lead to both cards with just a little bit of planning!

Enjoy the rest of the hop!  The product list I used is after the other names in the hop.  Thanks for looking!


Product List

Emerald Envy 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.00

Real Red 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$8.00

Cherry Cobbler 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$8.00

Gold Foil Sheets

$4.00

Gold Glimmer Paper

$5.00

Lots Of Labels Framelits Dies

$27.00

Gold Faceted Gems

$5.00

Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder

$5.00

Gold Stampin' Glitter

$4.00

Metallic Enamel Shapes

$7.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

$4.00

Banner Triple Punch

$23.00

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Jul27

Holiday Catalog Sneak Peek – an EXTRA Thailand Achievers Blog Hop

by Tamra Davis on July 27th, 2017 at 4:00 pm
Posted In: Stampin' Up! Projects

While we were on the recent incentive trip to Thailand with Stampin’ Up!, we got a TON of new products from the upcoming holiday catalog as part of our nightly pillow gifts, hospitality room daily prizes or even prize patrols at the welcome session.  And a copy of the catalog to drool over early.

There are always ‘spoiler’ guidelines for demos when new catalogs are coming out, but this time, as trip achievers we have been given permission from Stampin’ Up!® to share these products with you early. This is one of the amazing perks that we get for earning the trip, to play early and share what we make!

So, of course, I have been playing with the new stamps, papers, thinlits and embellishments a little bit this week, since I have signed up for another big round of swaps with other demos.  I love seeing all their ideas and learning from each other!

Today, I want to share one set that is a breakout fave for me already.  It is called Every Good Wish and it is just so easy to use and make awesome (and quick) holiday cards with!

Don’t you just love the stamps that look like water colored images?  I know I do!

There are several products in the big catalog that looked so rich and lush, I knew I would be using them for holiday projects, so those are in these cards as well.

This new ribbon fave is the 5/8″ Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon.

I used the Emerald Envy and the Berry Burst in these cards, but this style of ribbon is also available in Peekaboo Peach and Night of Navy. (I love them, got them ALL)

I was also very interested in the holiday colors that would be used this year, and of course I use the fabulous In-Colors whenever I can.

For these cards, I used all In-Colors, and Emerald Envy (from last year’s group) is a fantastic holiday green!  GET SOME with this month’s $5 bonus coupons for $50 purchases.

And here is another suggestion… Stock up on the Shimmery White 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock.

OMG, soooo pretty!

It is like the whole piece is covered with Wink of Stella, simply fabulous!

Hard to get a good pic of shimmery White, so trust me on this… your holiday creations need this paper.

Ok, so here are my cards with this set.  

Two of these stamps are perfect for the inside of the cards, and I am not showing that here, but you will have total cards to choose from.

The measurements of the paper on these card were done to maximize the number of cards you can make using this specialty cardstock.

The Shimmery White piece on this one is 4″x 3.25″

The Emerald Envy mat piece is 4.25″ x 3.5″

The Berry Burst base card is the normal A2 size.

You can get 6 pieces out of the shimmery white and 6 mat pieces out of the Emerald Envy.

Using the corner ribbon piece adds a great bit of texture and shine AND really saves ribbon since one roll could do MANY cards like this.

Now for this card, the measurements are even MORE efficient!

The shimmery white piece is 2.5″ x 3.25″

And the Fresh Fig mat piece is 2.75″ x 4.25″

That means you get 8 out of each piece of cardstock and on the Fresh Fig piece, there is ZERO waste!

I love maximizing my materials.  😉

Another thing I have been loving lately is cutting the cardstock for the base card in maybe a slightly different way than usual.

Still half a sheet, but cut down the middle long-ways creating a piece 11″ x 4.25″ before it is scored and folded at 5.5″.

Just a little something different, just like the wide margins of the base card showing.  Love this look!

So get ready for an AWESOME holiday catalog (as usual) and enjoy earning the $5 coupons on a $50 purchase in July and spending  them in August as you stock up and get ready to have some crafty fun this fall!

A $50 purchase from me will get a new holiday catalog sent to your door and you will be ready.  Just click on the shopping cart in the right column to go to my Stampin’ Up! online store 24/7.  Please use the hostess code DTZWCNUP when you check out, thanks!

Now follow the blog hop list to see what the other trip achievers have been playing with as we adjust back to our own time zones… lots of middle of the night crafting going on lately, but that is still FUN!

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Jul25

Thailand Achievers Blog Hop – Adventures on the Other Side of the World!

by Tamra Davis on July 25th, 2017 at 5:00 pm
Posted In: Stampin' Up! Projects

Welcome everyone to another Global Trip Achievers Blog Hop! This month we are sharing some of the highlights from the trip to Thailand we all just returned home from.  This was literally on the opposite side of the world for us… 12 hours time difference.  A week later, that is still affecting me a bit, but this is worth every little bit of sleep lost.  This adventure was not even on my radar before!

And WOW, what an adventure!

When we started planning this trip with the travel agency for Stampin’ Up!, we kinda thought some type of pre-trip would be great.  Not like we are on the other side of the world often, you know!  The first flights had us connecting thru Seoul, South Korea.  Ummm, not crazy about being that close to missile tests personally.  So I asked on a FB group where others were transferring.

This simple question began the planning of a fun pre-trip with some of the best folks I have ever met!  We decided to transfer and extend in Beijing, China and go walk on the Great Wall of China.  Now THAT was a bucket list item!!!

Here is a pic of us on the wall with a little sign I made for us to hold up and then Ken and I with another. It is actually hard to see the Great Wall in pictures, but it went right along the ridge of the mountains. How amazing is it that a hillbilly girl from the mountains of NC is standing on the Great Wall of China?   The ‘history’ of this place we were standing was just overwhelming.  So we took it all in, and celebrated by going to a real Chinese buffet with the biggest lazy Susan I have ever seen.  lol

We also saw the Summer Palace, some of the buildings from the Beijing Oympics, Tienanmen Sq, the Forbidden City, a Clooney billboard (no translation needed!)…. and the dreaded squat toilet with no TP!!!  (we brought wipes, thank goodness we were warned about no TP first)  There was fabulous art and beauty there, but as blonde (and tall) Americans, we were quite the curiosity.  The people were rude and pushy, had never heard taking turns or ‘No, not interested in buying that’.  Bottom line… loved seeing the sights, had fun with our group.  But China as a whole?  Been there, done that, checked off our list.  lol

So on to Thailand and the real start of the Stampin’ Up! Incentive trip.  Ah, Thailand, the land of Smiles  What a difference! A few pics of this fabulous resort, how they spoiled us immediately, and of course, some great friends I was so pleased to catch up with.  Plus the next trip announcement… Greek Isles!

The next day was a prearranged couples spa massage day.  Actually, the first day some of the Beijing girls and I discovered the Massage tent run by locals on the beach.  And the price?  400 Baht for 1 hour.  That is around $12 USD!!!  Over a dozen tables with demos on them already, but there were 3 tables open for us.  Most folks had on bathing suits.  We did not but when we heard the price, we all striped down to our sports bras and drawers right there and climbed on the tables.  LOL!

There was a little moment of pause for me as I laid on the table and Kylie Bertucci got on the table next to me in my underwear.  Kylie was fine, but Bruno on the table next to her was awkward at first.   Not for long, and I did have a nice convo with Kylie as we both enjoyed the experience.  Bruno was pretty happy over there, too.  Boy, was Ken surprised when he came to retrieve me, and Bejing buddies, Robyn and Teri.  No shame… we were all too relaxed.  A funny memory.  hehe

Here are some highlights of the day,  starting with some stamping fun with friends, wonderful treats in the hospitality room, and the ride to the fancy Spa.  Check out the overhead wires… amazing there was any electricity at all.

The next day was an organized full day for all the achievers.  Speedboats, kayaks, a cool floating village we toured, James Bond Island and a fabulous leisurely picnic and opportunity to play in the Indian Ocean.  My friend and Beijing group buddy, Jeanne Moss and I, posing again with our sign (ignore the beach hair) after spending some extended quality time chatting with Rich Jutkins, the President of SU.  such a great time and conversation.  Love how the corporate team is so open with the demos on these trips.  Really special!

The next couple of days were full of more fun with friends, amazing experiences, and treasured memories.  And beach massages… lots of beach massages!  SU demos kept those ladies hopping!  Their tent was full all day as long as they would stay… some folks were doing 2 a day.  I was happy for 1 (a day, duh!)  😉

Here is my happy peanut head in my riding helmet since I was leading Ken all day.  hehe  We did this with Aussie friends Linda and Paul Dalke who we first met on the Hawaii Incentive trip.  Linda gave Judy Pinner and I a personal tour of Sydney Harbour when we went to Australia for OnStage, great lady!

The ziplining was amazing!  With several wonderful friends including some from our Beijing group, and Robyn Cardon, my roomie in Brisbane.  It was great to finally meet her hubby Brian, too.  Great folks on this adventure, including Sara and Sean Douglas (SU CEO and hubby) and their daughter Sydney.

There was lots more fun in between all these pics.  The pool was amazing… as was the fun we had with Lisa and Verlyn Fast as us 4 stalked the folks walking above the pool on the bridges with our squirt guns… ahh, good times!  hehe

Also great dinners with friends. including catching up more with Zoe Tant from the UK and her family again (they all ziplined, too!).  Zoe and Martin were in the cabin next to us last year on the Med Cruise.  More friends we would have never met otherwise… check out Martin and Ken with the Thai beauties below… yes, Ken, I see that big ole grin!  What an amazing venue and event this was.  Over the top!

I got a pic with Ken enjoying his drinkie right from a coconut.  He loved that!  And there was my brave friend Jennifer Blomquist dancing on stage, the SU logo carved in fruit, an elephant guest, and one of my favorite pics at the bottom.  This pic is of my friends Pip Toddman from the UK, me for the USA, and Jackie Noble from New Zealand.  I met each of these talented ladies when I when to the global Onstage events in Europe and Australia.  How amazing that I am lucky enough to have these global friends, a true blessing in my life!

Stampin’ Up! is making the dreams I didn’t even know I had come true, I am so thankful I opened my mind to the opportunity 9 years ago.  And so is Ken.  lol  And I love that we both have friends we look forward to seeing and enjoy spending time with.  And you know we will all be working hard to be together on that fabulous Greek Isles cruise they announced.  Come JOIN US ALL!

Ready for the next blog and more fun memories?  Click on the names below to see the other folks joining in on this GLOBAL blog hop.  Hope to see you next month!  #gvachieversbloghop  Scroll below the names for my fun Thailand trip motion card.

Have you tried making those cool motion cards yet?  This is from a recent post and were a gift for a group of ladies in a FB group with me that were in Thailand.

If you want to get started playing with these motion cards, get the tutorial  here and save yourself  the time and effort to figure it out for yourself!  I share tons of pictures and tips from hours of trial and error to save you time and frustation.  Why recreate the wheel? Get to the fun as you go thru all the pictures and tips I put in there for you. If you are in the USA, I would love to help you with the Stampin’ Up! supplies you need.  Just click on the shopping cart in the right column to go to my Stampin’ Up! online store 24/7.

If you do not have YOUR engraved bonefolder yet or need gifts for your upcoming retreat attendees, I would love to help you with tees, totes, yeti style cups or other custom gifts.  Some gifts are listed on this page, and but feel free to email me for info about YOUR custom items at TaDaMoments@gmail.com   Some other ideas in my Etsy store here, check them out!

I look forward to hearing from you and seeing the motion cards you make!

 

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