The Stamp Workshop

Here's the Other...

In yesterday's post, I said I post another card using Love Owl-lways.  Here it is!

I used Stampin' Up!'s paper piercing template from the Mat Pack to make the dots in the corners.  I again used the designer series paper from the Holiday Happenings Bundle.  The heart is colored using Pink Pirouette ink and an aqua painter.

Here's the recipe for this card:
Stamps: Love Owl-lways
Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Jet Black StazOn
Designer Series Paper: Holiday Happenings
Accessories: Silver Brads
Tools: Paper Piercer, Paper Piercing Template, Oval Punches (Small, Large, Wide)

Enjoy!

Come and Meet This Week's Featured Stamper!

I had the pleasure of "meeting" this week's featured stamper in a Sisterhood that we both joined - the Sisterhood of the Stamping Bloggers.  We've been visiting each other's blogs now for a few months, and I have grown to really admire the stamping she has done.

Please welcome this week's featured stamper:

Louise Forsyth

Louise Forsyth (aka loulou31) is a New Zealand Stampin' Up! Demo.  She is the author of the blog - Louise? Yeah that's me!

Here's what Louise says about herself...

My name is Louise Forsyth and I am a Stampin'Up demo here in New Zealand. I am also a Stay at home mum to three boys.  Stampin'Up is relatively new here, it arrived in April last year and I signed up in September.  I stamp because I love having a quick and easy outlet for  my need to sometimes embrace the girly things in life as I am surrounded by boys, even my cat is a male!  I love being able to make my family and friends gifts and cards that are one of a kind, and the bonus is I made them.  I am also a  bit of a fanatical scrapbooker, which I have been doing since I was pregnant with my first son in 05, I LOVE IT! I think it is so fantastic to be able to add a personal touch to photos and also tell a story which may be appreciated years from now.

I take classes and do workshops locally which keeps me busy. I love learning new techniques and adore playing with new products.

Michelle: How long have you been a stamper?

Louise: I have only been stamping since becoming an SU demo last year.

Michelle: What was the first Stampin' Up! stamp set your purchased and what drew you to it?

Louise: Seeing Spots, I saw it used by Ali Edwards on a layout in "Creating Keepsakes" back in 05, I was so stoked when I saw that Stampin' Up was in NZ as I had been hanging out for this set, I rang the toll free number, got my nearest demos phone number and rang her and ordered it! BTW that demo is now my wonderful upline!

Michelle: Which color family do you find you use most often?

Louise: I would say Soft Subtles, although I am loving our in-colours at the moment.. We are a little behind you and have only just got groovy guava, wild wasabi etc

Michelle: What Stampin' Up! tool do you find the most useful?

Louise: My edge distresser, I use it all the time.  So much it has become a bit of a joke with some of my class ladies.

Did you enjoy Louise's interview?  I finally decided to change up the interview questions!

And now for you viewing pleasure, take a look at some of Louise's Stampin Up! creations...

Don't you just LOVE that dragonfly?  It is the cutest!

Thank you to Louise for sharing her wonderful creations with us!  Don't forget to leave Louise a comment.  Let her know what you think!

Don't forget to check out her blog - Louise? Yeah that's me!

Thanks for reading!!

Meet This Week's Featured Stamper - Nicole!

If you are a Stampin' Up Demo, you can find this week's featured stamper on Splitcoast hosting the Friday Demo Challenge - Demonstratable 3-D projects.  As a former host of the Demo Challenges, I was able to work behind the scenes with our featured stamper.  Her talent as a hostess and as a stamper is amazing.

Please join me in welcoming this week's featured stamper:

Nicole Cooke

Nicole Cooke aka Stampin' Library Girl is a Stampin' Up! Demo and like last week's featured stamper, contributes to a couple of design teams.  Check out her blog - The Stampin' Librarian

Read on for more about Nicole...

My name is Nicole Cooke, otherwise known as Stampin' Library Girl / The Stampin' Librarian.  I am indeed a librarian (I have had many ask me, "Are you a really a librarian?")  :D   I am a Jersey girl, and I currently work in an academic library in northern New Jersey, not too far from New York City.  And soon, I will also be a full time Ph.D. student.  Hopefully, that won't cut into my stamping / crafting / therapy time too much!

I love to make cards, and I have recently gotten into digital scrap booking, but my passion really lies with altering projects, making 3D items and stamping on non-traditional surfaces (i.e., fabric, tile, glass, etc.).  I am a hobby demo for Stampin' Up! and have taught some classes at my local stamp store.  I am also a design team member for Kitchen Sink Stamps and Scrapmagasinet Stamps. 

I'm constantly taking stamping and project classes - I love getting new ideas and learning new techniques.  I'm looking forward to this year's Stampin' Up! convention (my third).  There's nothing like a live SU! event!  :D

Michelle: When were you first introduced to Stampin' Up!?

Nicole: I've always been into crafts (jewelry and needle crafts), since I was a little kid.  I didn't get into stamping until 2003 when I bought some used SU! sets off eBay (I know, gasp! : ) because I wanted to make a wedding card, and I dabbled off and on until 2005 when I became a demo - that's when the obsession set in, LOL!  In late 2006, I decided to become serious about my art.  When I made that conscious decision, I started my blog and I really started growing in my work, working outside of my comfort zone, and thinking "outside of the box" when it comes to stamping and artwork.

Michelle: What's your favorite all time SU stamp set?

Nicole: Ask a hard question, why don't you?  :D  I can never have to many floral or sentiment sets.  But I'd have to say that my all time favorite SU! set is Bodacious Bouquet.

Michelle: What's your favorite SU color?

Nicole: I love all things, pink!  Pink Passion is my favorite SU! color.

Michelle: What's your favorite SU embellishment?

Nicole: My favorite accessory is ribbon, hands down!  The more ribbon, the better  :D  I especially love the wider ribbons, and some of the striped and patterned ribbons we've seen in some of the mini catalogs.

I hope you enjoyed Nicole's interview. Now take a look at some of her Stampin' Up! artwork!

Take a minute and leave a comment for Nicole!  She is a wonderful artist, and I thank her for letting me feature her on my blog!

Don't forget to check out her blog - The Stampin' Librarian

Thanks for reading!!

Lori Tecler - This Week's Featured Stamper!

This week's featured stamper is someone who I have had the chance to swap with on a few occasions.  She has a distinctive style.  I could always pick her cards out of a pile of swap cards.  I was just drawn to them!

I am very pleased to introduce this week's Featured Stamper:

Lori Tecler

Lori Tecler aka ltecler is a Stampin' up! Demo and contributes to a couple of design teams.  You can see some of her work on her blog Inking Aloud.

Here's Lori's bio...

I never considered myself a "crafty" kind of person. In fact, as a kindergarten teacher, I always had kids criticizing my drawings ("That doesn't look like a dog at all . . ."). So, it's somewhat surprising to me that I've become such an avid stamper.

Like I said, I'm a teacher by profession, and currently work in the early childhood office in a large school district in the DC suburbs. I just (this week!) finished work on a masters degree in instructional technology, so we'll see where I end up next.

When I'm not at my day job, I'm an SU! demo and work on design teams for Kitchen Sink Stamps and Clear & Simple Stamps.

I live in Maryland with my adorable but crazy German shepherd/golden retriever mix, Cosmo. He is always getting into some kind of trouble and really keeps me on my toes!

Michelle: When were you first introduced to Stampin' Up!?

Lori: My best friend Michele introduced me to stamping at an Stampin' Up! party at her house about 5 years ago. She signed up to become a demo and I became her best customer. Eventually, I decided to sign up as a demo myself and I'm thrilled that I did. I've enjoyed all the training opportunities (regional seminars and conventions) and meeting lots of great people in the stamping community.

Michelle: What's your favorite all time SU stamp set?

Lori: That's such a hard question! My favorites seem to change all the time depending on the season and who I'm creating for. I think my all-time favorite might be Stem Silhouettes from one of the recent mini catalogs. It is a great all-purpose set and is so easy to use.

Michelle: What's your favorite SU color?

Lori: I love blue! Right now, my favorite color is Soft Sky. I hope to fall in love with one of the new blue In Colors once my preview order arrives next week.

Michelle: What's your favorite SU embellishment?

Lori: I love SU!'s ribbons. The wide grosgrains have really grown on me--I hated them at first and couldn't figure out how to use them, but now I reach for them all the time. I love the taffeta ribbons, too. They're so elegant.

I am happy to be able to share with you, some of Lori's artwork.  Take a look!

Thanks to Lori for being my featured stamper this week.  And thank you for reading!

Check out Lori's blog, Inking Aloud.

Go Stamp!

This Week's Featured Stamper - Vera!

I am so thrilled to feature one of my favorite stampers this week!  She has a constant presence on Splitcoaststampers, and you can find many of her creations gracing the challenge threads.

I am very pleased to introduce this week's Featured Stamper:

Vera Schoeters

Vera Schoeters aka Vera (on Splitcoaststampers) is a also a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and has a great eye for color.  You can find her artwork in her gallery on SCS and on her blog Vera Stamps.

Here's a little bit about Vera...

As a kid, I used to play with ink pads and a rubber stamp alphabet, pretending I was working at my uncle's print shop. Who would have thought I would be playing with rubber stamps again all these years later.

I became a Stampin' Up! demonstrator in January 2006 and since then I have enjoyed sharing the fun of rubber stamping at workshops and classes.

I'm originally from Antwerp, Belgium and came to the US after I graduated college with a degree in Dutch, English and German translation. My husband and I live in Columbia, Maryland and we love it here. We enjoy walking and bicycling on the many trails in the area. I work as a computer consultant in Baltimore.

Michelle: When were you first introduced to Stampin' Up!?

Vera: I was invited to my first SU party by a neighbor, shortly after moving here in 2000. I fell in love with rubber stamping right away, and ordered supplies to make my own Christmas cards that year.

Michelle: What's your favorite all time SU stamp set?

Vera: I would have to say Lovely as A Tree is my all-time favorite. You can make so many different types of cards (e.g. masculine birthday, Christmas, sympathy, Father's Day) and use so many different stamping techniques with this set.

Michelle: What's your favorite SU color?

Vera: Although I haven't seen the ink or paper for myself yet (only printed in Stampin' Up!'s magazine), I believe Riding Hood Red will be my favorite SU color this year.  I love making Christmas cards, and this color is just perfect for them!

Michelle: What's your favorite SU embellishment?

Vera: I love all the ribbons, but especially the taffeta ribbon - it's just so elegant, and very easy to use as well.

Here is some of Vera's wonderful artwork.  Vera made this Fourth of July card just for this feature!  I'm so excited to be able share it with you!  Also, check out the great Holiday card she made.  It uses Lovely as a Tree.  Just gorgeous!

If you want to check out another really wonderful project that Vera made, check out my December 13, 2007 post.  She sent me a great altered clipboard for the holidays!

Thanks for reading this little glimpse of Vera.  And a big THANK YOU to Vera for graciously allowing me to feature her on my blog!

Check out Vera's blog, Vera Stamps. Great blog!

Happy Fourth!

Brand New to the Stamp Workshop - Featured Stamper!

Over the next few weeks, you will notice a few changes to my blog - a few cosmetic changes and some new weekly postings. I am very excited about these new changes!

I am thrilled to announce this new item - Featured Stamper!  Each Friday I will be featuring one of my favorite stampers.  It will be a chance for you to read about some of their favorite Stampin' Up! products and see some of their artwork done with Stampin' Up! products.

I am pleased as punch to introduce my very first Featured Stamper:

Julie Ebersole

Julie Ebersole aka Julie HRR (Her Royal Rubberness) is well known throughout the stamping community for her great sense of style and creative flair.  She is the author of the ever-popular blog, Paper•Trufflez.

I asked Julie to tell us a little about herself and then I asked her a few questions about Stampin' Up!  So without further ado, here's Julie...

I've been stamping for about 14 years, and demonstrating, teaching and designing for the trade professionally for nearly 12.  After serving as Splitcoaststampers.com Design Team Coordinator for 3 years, I stepped down to accept a full-time position as Creative Teams Director for A Muse Artstamps in early Spring 2008!

I work from my home on beautiful Whidbey Island, WA state.   My husband of nearly 24 years and I keep busy with our two great kids, a daughter, soon to be 19, and son, age 12.

Michelle: When were you first introduced to Stampin' Up!?

Julie: I actually found SU! through an ad in an issue of RubberStampMadness magazine about 11 1/2 years ago.

Michelle: What's your favorite all time SU stamp set?

Julie:Yikes!  All-time favorite?  Just one?  That's a wicked question to try to answer!  LOL!  Simply Said--but, don't hold me to it forever--I love daisies and hearts.  I love that the set has open line AND solid images within it, and the illustrations have a delightful sense of personality and warmth to them.

Michelle: What's your favorite SU color?

Julie: Certainly Celery.  I thought everybody knew that's my favorite color!  It goes with virtually EVERYTHING!!!   *chuckle*

Michelle: What's your favorite SU embellishment?

Julie: The Flower Fusion Felt Flowers--love the different floral shapes and variety of sizes--they're one of the few companies that does itty bitty felt flowers and I just love them!

And that was it!  Just a short sweet little Q&A with Julie.  Check out these two very cute cards that were made by Julie.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this brief glimpse of one of my favorite stampers!  A big thank you to Julie for being my very first, of many, Featured Stamper.

Check out Julies blog, Paper•Trufflez. It's a real treat!

Happy Stampin'!