NC Stampin' Up! Demos September Blog Hop - Get Techie

Welcome to this month's North Carolina Stampin' Up! Demonstrators Blog Hop. Our theme this month is Get Techie - no, not technology. It's all about techniques. I love a good technique and if you don't now, I'll bet you will by the time you're done with this month's blog hop.

I love the Rock 'n' Roll technique -- especially with leaf cards. It's pretty simple in theory, but sometimes takes a few tries to get a feel for it. Once you get it down, though, it adds a lot to a card with only a little extra effort on your part.

 See how pretty those leaves look in two tone. The third one up actually has three colors. To do this technique, first ink up your stamp in your lighter color. Always do the lighter color first. Otherwise your ink pad can end up a big mess. Next, roll the edges of your stamp on your darker color ink pad. When you look at your stamp, you'll be able to see the two colors of ink. Then, stamp it where you want it.

If you get ink on your block you may want to wipe it off before you stamp, just to make sure you don't mess up your project. Also, be sure to clean your stamp before re-inking. Otherwise you'll leave dark ink on your light pad.

One of the fun things about this technique is that each one can turn out different. To me, it makes the leaves look even more natural. After all, they don't all turn at the same time in nature.

Here's another card I made with the Rock 'n' Roll technique. I did the sentiment as well as the leaves on this one. The stamps on both cards are from Colorful Seasons.

On this card, the leaves have a similar amount of color on the outside edges. Since I wanted that look, I  used the same rolling motion each time. For the top card, I wanted more variation, so I alternated how much of the edge rolled into the ink pad. The more you practice, the more control you will have how much ink you pick up on the roll.

 We are making the top card in this month's class, along with two other cards. There is one session left, on Tuesday night. If you are local and would like to come, let me know. I can be reached at the email address in the header or message me on my facebook page.

Have you used this technique before? If so, leave a comment to let me know which set you did it with. Or maybe share your favorite technique. I always like hearing about a new one. And now on to the next blog in the hop, Sue Stapp, who will have another technique for you. Happy Stampin' and thanks for dropping by.


Blog Hop participants:

Tamra Davis

Jo Anne Hewins

Melissa Kerman

Tracie Evans Langley

 Laurie Meier

Sue Root - you are here

Sue Stapp

Kathy Svedberg

Frances Wagner

Christina Walker

NC Stampin' Up! Demos Quarterly Event

Wow! It's been a while since I posted. Sorry! I have been having lots of fun in the interim and not a lot of time for blogging. I'll try to be a little more regular now that I'll be staying put for a while.

Last weekend I went to NC Stampin’ Up! Demos Quarterly Event. I had a blast and made lots of fantastic projects. The hostesses spoiled us with gifts and I got to see a lot of new products. As you know, Stampin’ Up! items are always better in person so now my wish list has gotten longer. Here’s a picture of most of the goodies and projects I came home with.

 Here's a close-up of some of the gifts. Top left is a write-on/wipe-off board. The marker is covered with Designer Series Paper (DSP). The oval decoration is actually a magnet. Close-ups of the front and back of the magnet are in the middle. Also in the top left picture is a little treat box. The bottom two pictures are the box open and a close up of one of the chocolates. Top right is a "Stamper Survival Kit" filled with an assortment of fun items. That's just a Crystal Light container but look how cute it is with some Baker's Twine, some ribbon, and a hand crafted tag. 

 I got this vase because it was my first time attending as a participant. I had helped as a hostess once but never been an attendee, which is kind of funny because I became a demonstrator without ever having been to a party (called workshops back then).  I had been to Stampin' Bunco once, but never a party - but that's another story. Thanks to Cheryl Snow for making these gifts for the newbies.

 We also got lots of samples - DSP, some embellishments, ribbon, an acetate box project, one of the Christmas ornaments from the kit, and probably more. Here are the DSP samples. Now I want the ones I don't already have. That metallic paper is gorgeous in person!

 One last thing I'm going to share. This is a placemat. I think Cheryl made this, too. I thought this was such a cute idea and could be coordinated to any event you are doing. How about a bridal shower in the wedding colors or use baby stamps for a baby shower. You get the idea.

This post has gotten pretty long, so I'll share some of the projects I made in future blog posts. Also, I'm sorry I don't know who gets credit for all of the projects. If you're reading this post and something is yours, please leave a comment so I can give proper credit.

NC Stampin' Up! Demos is open to any Stampin’ Up! demonstrator who lives in NC. If you are a demo and don’t belong, you should join. If you aren’t a demo, join my team (or your demonstrator’s team if you already have a demonstrator) so you can be part of the NC Stampin’ Up! Demos. You'll be glad you did.

Some of you may have followed through the NC SU Demos blog hops I've been part of in the past. There’s another one coming up this Sunday, so be sure to check back. We’ll be focusing on techniques.