Paper Expressions Rubber Stamping & Video Tutorials

Nativity Information

I forgot to add this to the last post-  here you go

http://www.nativitycelebration.com/

I am personally Involved in this program and It is going to be spectacular!  Please feel free to share this website with anyone in the Springfield, Rolla, Branson (or other places) Missouri Area. The entertainment is free of charge, no strings. I helped set up 25 nativity sets on Monday just from our ward(geographical name for congregation) and there were are at LEAST 300 more that same day, and that doesnt include those set up on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The focus is on Jesus Christ and his birth, the REAL  meaning of Christmas.

I hope to see you there- My hubby Kay and I will be there Sunday Dec 3  5-9 pm at the refreshment table! (serving not snacking ! lol)

My Classroom & Workshop

Today I am sharing photos of my classroom and work area in my stamp room.

When we moved in a year ago, this room was bare concrete walls.  My wonderful hubby and I framed the walls, added sheetrock had a wonderful  young man named Nathan Hart  tape and mudd then I painted.   We have a set of cabinets and counter to add along the wall where you see the stamps and cardstock (when money allows)  and we still have carpet to add.  I love my room and so do my customers.  They especially love that they can book a workshop and hold it here in my classroom and all they have to do is show up and have fun!   You can see more photos of the work, other rooms etc on my webshots site under the "House" folder.

WEATHER Update FIRST then the photos! Right now the rain has stopped and instantly (no kidding) turned to ICE everywhere.  Schools are closed so teens are home and we have 2 projects today-  Christmas Cards and put up the tree!  WE are expecting snow this afternoon. HOORAY!  For a PNW girl, that is music to my ears!  Just missing my good old woodstove. (insert sad face here)  ok enough for now and on to the photos, sure wish the room were as clean today as they are in these photos!! Remember,  click on the photo and it will come up larger or go to my webshots site for full size photos.

This last image (yes, I forgot to rotate it sorry! just lean to the left)    is the drawer in my file cabinet where I keep all my scrap cardstock.     I used our small round punch and punched the cardstock out stapeled it to the name tab so you can either see the color to put it away or read the name to be sure you are in the right folder!  I show all my classes where this drawer is and tell them that they have free use of the scraps so that we arent wasting cardstock when we make projects.  (of course I provide whatever they need for the class project, but sometimes they just want a small piece of something and this is a perfect way to help out) ok friends, I am off to get the kids going, set up stations for making our Christmas cards and get to work!   We will be putting up the tree this afternoon. (as long as we have electricity we will be fine! or then we go to the neighbors to sit by their wood fire and stay warm) missing my woodstove (insert another sad face here).   

Kits FOR SALE

When club scrap FIRST began, I signed up to be on the monthly program and purchased many kits before deciding the club wasn't for me. I still have these kits, I have NEVER used them. They are brand new and still in the original boxes. I paid $35.00 each and I am asking $25.00 each plus shipping.(shipping is about $8.00 each)  See photos below.

Each kit has a supply list in it. I have only ever opened them, looked at them and closed them and put them on my shelf. I have added photos of me opening the original sack that the paper came in this morning to photograph them to share, and a copy of the postal cost label . These kits are from 2003 and 2002. Each photo shows basically what is in the kit. I wont be making out a supply list per kit as you can see it in the photos.  Club Scrap is on DIY scrapbooking all the time with projects from their kits.  They even have a website you can go to and check them out http://www.clubscrap.com/ on the left of their webpage it says  SHOP BY KIT, find the kits I have listed and see them there as well and compare- I am sure they are better photos!

here are the EIGHT kits I have:

Americana

Egyptian

Home

Journeys                     

                                            Sea                            To Cheer you

               

Versa Magic                         Weather

  these are the kits and I hope the names of them coordinate- I am having a devil of a time getting them to be "just so" today!

Ok now on your left you will see the photos I mentioned showing me opening the paper sack that the paper came in to prove they are in tact and unused-  you are welcome to go to the clubscrap website click the link to the page and verify the contents.

I accept pay pal only and do NOT accept credit cards in any form.

Feel free to email me about these kits!

Have a wonderful day!  I am off to finish up my decorating (she says hopefully). When it's done I will share photos of the huge project! We are having wonderful warm weather but according to the weather man it will stop tonight and go from 60+ to 28 degrees and he is calling for a HUGE ice or snow storm tomorrow.   Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells...................

6x6 note card holder

Today is the day when a wonderful new friend Rita comes to stamp and take one on one classes from me.  This is the project that "I" made, she used this same set of directions with the weathered paper and horses stamp to create the same project with a different look. I have one in my webshots site that I made a couple years ago.

6x6 Note Card Holder

By: Gwen Mangelson  

Supplies:

• 1 piece of colored cardstock cut to 8 ½ x 6 ½”
• 1 piece of white CS cut to 6x6”
• 1 piece of white paper cut to 1”x 3”
• 1 6x6 page protector
• 1 piece of coordinating ribbon
• 1 Velcro Dot
• 1 RSVP pen
• 4-8 mini note cards & envelopes
• Stamp set of your choice
• Inks of your choice
• Rectangle punch
• Decorative edge scissors

Directions:

·       Score the colored CS at 6 ½” to make a 6 ½ square with a flap

·       Cut the edge of the flap with decorative edge scissors

·       Stamp the flap and sponge the edges to soften them

·       Stamp the white 6x6 piece of white cs as if doing a one sheet wonder sheet.

·       Stamp the note cards to match

·       Stamp the back flap of the envelopes to match – make sure you sponge the edges to make them show up

·       Using the rectangle punch, punch two holes in the top flap – right on the score line. 

·       Attach the ribbon by pulling through the holes and tying knots on the underside

·       Run a line of Mono adhesive along each edge of the colored CS and under the flap.... keep it in a little

·       Attach the page protector to the cs – making sure you have the opening at the top.

·       Put the white background cs inside the page protector and add your note cards and envies.

·       Attach the Velcro dot to the flap – leave the two pieces together.  Now close it and the other side of the Velcro will be in the correct position.

·       Stamp the 1”x 3” piece of paper to match the background.  You don’t have to get the whole stamped image... just a hint of the image.  Your brain will be tricked into thinking that the entire image is stamped.  Be sure to use all the colors you used in the background.

·       Unscrew the end of the pen and take out the pen part.  Wrap the paper around the pen as tight as you can and re-insert it into the barrel part.  Put the pen back together.

·       Attach the pen by sliding it over the top of the holder.

I forgot to photograph the pen- and I wont include it you have all seen the rsvp pens with the coordinating paper in them or you can see some on my webshots site with the other 6x6 holders I have there.

This project is NOT my design nor did I come up with the directions on my own, as like all of you ,I case projects and this one I cased a couple years ago, I am sorry that I dont remember where the directions came from to give her proper credit.  I never tire of making them and every time SU! comes up with new 2 sided designer papers I love to make a couple! The one key for me is to SEW the 6x6 page protector to the designer paper- its classy and it wont come loose and I never have to worry about the adhesive showing through the plastic!

I love prima flowers and now that I have a nice variety, I plan to use them more in my projects.  The stamped flowers have diamond dust in the centers!

Have fun and good luck and I would love to see the projects that you come up with using these directions!

Poem

Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,

I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.

My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,

My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,

Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,

Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,

Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.

In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,

So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,

But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.

Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,

Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,

And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,

A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,

Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.

Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,

Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,

"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!

Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,

You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,

Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light

Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right, I'm out here by choice,

I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,

That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,

I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at Pearl' on a day in December,"

Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram' always remembers."

"My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',

And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,

But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile."

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,

The red, white, and blue... an American flag.

"I can live through the cold and the being alone,

Away from my family, my house and my home".

"I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,

I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.

I can carry the weight of killing another,

Or lay down my life with my sister and brother."

"Who stand at the front against any and all,

To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,

Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,

Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?"

"It seems all too little for all that you've done,

For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,

"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.

To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,

To stand your own watch, no matter how long."

"For when we come home, either standing or dead,

To know you remember we fought and we bled.

Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,

That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

I am thankful to our soldiers wherever they may be at this time, I am grateful to my dad who fought in WW2 to protect his posterity AND YOURS.  My wish today is that all of us remember our soldiers and what they sacrifice for us, and that we dont hesitate to tell them, and NOT just at Christmas time!  May your day be filled with thanks for all that we have and especially for our FREEDOM that has been given to us through the years due to our Soldiers, and may we show them the RESPECT they deserve.

 

Now, the Christmas decorating has begun at my home, all the fall is down and in the garage, some minor cleaning has to take place this afternoon and then the "27" Christmas TUBS will be brought in and so it begins.......  Hubby is at the hardware store buying rebar for his Christmas light project (we left it behind when we moved due to its weight factor)   and I will share photos on my webshots site as I take them-I believe in the Missouri house folder you can see some from last year- we moved here Dec 12th, so a lot has changed (wall color etc) in the last year!  I am sick again today, I hate sinus infections- they drag on forever!!   I keep reminding myself= this to shall pass (kind of like my teenagers attitudes! lol)   have a great day and I will see you here tomorrow (but never on Sunday)  hugs! Gwen

Happy Thanksgiving!

THE FIRST THANKSGIVING

The Pilgrims held the first Thanksgiving
At Plymouth in October 1621.
The bitter winter of 1620, was over
With a loss of many father, mother, daughter or son.

Life for survivors was much better now
As a good harvest improved what was rationed
Settlers enjoyed good health and prosperity
As homes were raised from the logs they fashioned.

They walked unafraid and safely in the woods
For they had made peace with the Indians.
After the signing a long-lasting treaty
Natives and Pilgrims shared the land as friends.

Sending four men to shoot waterfowl and wild turkeys
The Pilgrims decreed a holiday of good fortune
A chief was invited who brought 90 braves
And five deer to increase the portion.

It was an open-air roast and festival
Held along the north bank of Town Brook.
Where there were games of skill, chance and dance
While everyone gorged on the feast they cooked.

From then on Thanksgiving spread through the colonies
Though each region chose its own date.
Till in 1789 president Washington proclaimed
November 26 a day to give thanks and celebrate.

The theme of Thanksgiving has always been the same.
Though its date has changed many times.
A day for giving and remembering the less fortunate
Expressing thankfulness with our prayers, hearts and minds.

It is our duty as a nation to acknowledge providence
Of Almighty God, and to obey his will.
To be grateful for his blessings, and protection
As we humbly partake in the tables we fill.

By Tom Zart

Today's Tip:

The Color Spritzer Tool is great for adding the look of traditional air brushing to a background or by adding just a splash of color to help finish off your stamped artwork. Use it in place of a speckle stamp.  This tool is used with our Stampin Write Markers or blender pens.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!   Gwen

go to my webshots site link on this page to see the inside photos of this book!

Paper Sack book I made using the Designer papers from the Holiday Mini Catalog.

Girls love Jewelery

Here they are, 2 photos as previously promised of the bracelet I made and wore to regionals in St Louis 2 weeks ago.   The kit is from 7 gypsies and you can search for them by name on ebay.  The paper used is from the new Winter Mini from Stampin Up!  The bracelet looks a bit victorian to me using thes e new papers.    I have also found a wonderful source for punches and kits for jewlery called frippery by kandcompany.  they are a LOT more expensive but they are really cute!!  I hope to find these kits at the same price I saw them for in Utah- not the nearly 20.00 each I have found on the internet this morning!!!  They were 14.95 each in Utah and I didnt buy one, just the punch for 9.99 (argh!) you know= hindsight?  I am hoping to go to Michaels here and see them  (hahaahhahahahaahaha)

why oh why wont they build a Robert's Craft Store here in Springfield, Missouri?? (sniff sob)             I have pies to finish baking, have my peach and apple just out of the oven, the pumpkin are next!

one tip with the 7gypsies kit I found.   I put the plastic round on the paper, (its sticky on the back)then I cut it out and then I had to use crystal effects to secure it to the jewlery pieces because it didnt pop in like the directions said it would.  But I love the effect-  Thank you to Taylored Expressions blog for sharing it in the first place a while back!!  Taylor Rocks!  When I grow up I want to be as creative as she is!   

Have a marvelous day!! I hope to get some creative time in, but with 2 teens home and all this cooking to do, who knows! 

 

 

Stampin Success!

One of my favorite things about being a Stampin Up! demonstrator is our monthly demonstrator only magazine called the Stampin Success! Inside this monthly magazine are articles, ideas, photos of projects and more. This fun project took less than an hour for me to make this morning and I used the photo and direction list from the December Stampin Success.  It's a photo box (made from a pencil box) and a Photo folder. I used the new "IN COLORS" and the treehouse designer papers along with Big Deal Alphabet, Looks Like Spring and Rough Edges stamp sets.  After this post, I am eating lunch and heading back to my classroom/workshop and create a few more items to share tomorrow.(like cards for the box!)  Tonight I am attending a class one of my customers is teaching to learn more fun ways to make holiday items with designer papers and chipboard!  I not only love to teach, but I love to take classes and learn new things!!  I am fighting a cold, you know, sore throat, hard to breathe, swallow, sleep etc... I keep reminding myself, this too shall pass....... soon soon soon..... lol What fun for such a busy week!

Join me in my classroom! I offer many different classes, clubs and camps, and I gladly teach one on one or in sizes of up to 20 people!

 

CHIPBOARD~

We are buying it, so now what do we do with it?

 Chipboard is nothing more than cardboard images! Stamping directly on it will not leave crisp clear images. For crisper images, stamp on cardstock or paper first and adhere that to your chipboard using one of the glue methods I have listed below.

Trace around the chipboard image onto patterned paper, then use Mod-Podge, ( I like the "royal coat" antique finish mod podge) liquid glue, crystal effects or "yes glue" to glue the paper to the chipboard.

Paint them with acrylic paints and then sand to get a distressed look.
Have you tried using SU Craft reinkers as paint?  Squeeze some of the ink onto a plate and use a sponge brush to paint the chipboard giving you coordinating colors with your other SU items.

Use the chipboard 'template' that the letters and shapes come in (or more commonly called the negative image) to trace onto regular cardstock.

Use chipboard pieces for accents and bigger pieces as backgrounds or covers.  Tie ribbon around the chipboard piece, or punch holes and tie ribbon through holes. Using brads or hodgepodge hardware will add wonderfully unique accents.

Save lighter weight chipboard from packaging-  hey all those cardboard squares that come in our SU designer paper now have a fantastic use! Now you can trace and make even more chipboard projects!!!!!!!!

Have you tried using a brayer to cover it with ink? I love using my sponges. I just take one of my SU sponges that I have cut into 1/4's and dab it right on my ink pad then sponge my chipboard piece!  love the effect it has, I can then take a stamp and ink it up with craft ink and ink over the top for a gorgeous effect!

Cut patterned paper slightly larger than the shape you are working with. Adhere the paper to the chipboard with any of the glue methods I spoke of above, and then trim against edges of shape with scissors. Use a sanding block to remove the excess paper.

Use chipboard letters and shapes on paint cans, mini albums, scrapbook pages, cards, notebook covers, recipe books etc...

Cover the entire shape with craft ink (use the direct to paper method, taking your chipboard piecce and dab the craft ink directly to it) and cover it with clear embossing powder  and heat to look like plastic letters, or use irredescent ice for sparkle! You can also cover with crystal effects and sprinkle with your favorite glitter or with beads!

When putting chipboard pieces on paint cans use sticky strip tape to adhere chipboard to your project.(just remember that when the sticky hits the paper or cardstock, you can't move it again unless you tear it off, in other words, be sure it's where you want it the first time)

Using dimensionals or glue dots to the back of the chipboard to adhere will add dimension to your project!

I WAS totally intimidated by chipboard at first! Dont let that stop you if you feel the same way I did.  The pieces below are made using all Stampin Up! products,  the "O" is sponged with crisp cranberry ink and then I used the weathered b g stamp in cranberry and stamped over it. What a great look!

The flower I put on designer paper (also from SU!) and traced with a pencil then cut it out. I used royal coat  and a sponge brush to adhere it to the chipboard and then again over the top.  When it was dry, I used a SU sanding block on the edges.

Have fun, dont be intimidated and lets see some of your projects in my email box!

hugs Gwen

copyright SU! 1990-2006

Gwen Mangelson

Necessary Accessories for My Stamping!

Today I am sharing information about

some of the organizational items I use in my classroom/workshop.

The photo on the left is of my ink pad holder, as you can see I am out of room and I have stacked all the new colors on top. Well, I just emailed Zane (the maker of these wonderful creations) for a new holder, see his website at:  http://www.zaneswoodworks.com .

I absolutely LOVE these products and I am excited for my new ink pad holder to arrive.  As you can see, I have them hanging on my walls and I like that because they are off the counter or table tops and out of my way and I always know where to go for these items.  I will also ask Zane if he is making a wheel holder for the jumbo wheels yet.  When we lived in Boise, I drove 1 1/2 miles to Zane's house to pick up my order. (He's in Meridian, Idaho)  He's in his 20's or early 30's and has a really nice family! Anyhow, some of you have emailed me to ask how I organize my classroom/workshop and that is what prompted this post today.  I have more photos of on my webshots site (link listed in the left column) just click the folder that says; Gwen's Stamp Room.  Next year we are adding a cabinet and counter system along the wall with the cardstock and stamp sets , and then we will add full carpeting to the room.   I want to stamp the walls, but the things I have tried just do not suit me yet.  I tried the clear shelf paper mentioned but its to slick and it smears, I have searched for rolls of BLANK wall paper border and wallpaper to stamp on and came up empty handed. So if you know of any place that carries that kind of paper let me know!  I want to stamp on adhesive paper then cut the images out and put them on my walls.  I really want to use our Wild Rose stamp set for this project.  Time will tell.   Well, I have hot chocolate chip cookies to pull from the oven, I made a batch of fudge today also in prep for the holiday this week. Tomorrow will be the pies and thawing the bird and ham.  I am going to do something each day to make Thursday less work and more fun for the family.