Life is Beautiful – Sneak Peek of New Products!

by Shannon Jaramillo // June 29, 2018 // 7 Comments

W.O.W. What do you think of my sneak peek of the A-M-A-Z-I-N-G new stamp set Life is Beautiful as well as the F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S new pattern paper Good Life Prints? Both of these products are part of The Good Life suite of products available in the 2018-19 FSJ (Fun Stampers Journey) annual catalog, which will go live this Sunday, July 1, 2018! Do you love what you see? I picked up a bundle of products from the suite at convention this last week and knew that I had to sit down and play with them just as soon as I could!! The rest of the suite is equally amazing and I can’t wait to get it all! I may never play with anything else again!! The rest of the papers in this paper pack are all so beautiful too!! (can you tell I’m excited?!?)

Measurements:

Huckleberry Fusion Card Base 4 1/2″ x 11″, scored at 5 1/2″
Tin Pail Card Stock Layer 4″ x 5 1/4″
Pattern Paper Background Layer 3 3/8″ x 5″
Huckleberry Fusion Layer 2 1/2″ x 4 1/2″
Tin Pail Card Stock Layer 2 1/4″ x 4 1/4″
Pattern Paper Layer 2″ x 4″
Huckleberry Fusion Layer 2 1/4″ x 3 1/2″
Tin Pail Card Stock Layer 2″ x 3 1/4″
Whip Cream Stamped Image Layer 1 3/4″ x 3″

Details:

One of the big announcements at convention was the introduction of 6 new colors to the FSJ color palette. All six colors are warm and earthy and are designed to coordinate with The Good Life Suite. In fact, I have two words to sum up the new colors and the entire suite of products – Joanna Gaines. Yep. Absolutely brilliant. I will share all of the colors in a future post, but the one I used here for my layering is the perfect shade of light gray and is called Tin Pail. The name is PERFECT for the color!!
The blue in the checked pattern is probably actually another new color called Chambray Shirt, I don’t actually know yet because the list of coordinating colors has been released yet, but when I paired the checked paper and the Chambray Shirt card stock, the card stock wasn’t quite deep enough to balance out the blue check, so I went slightly darker with Huckleberry Fusion card stock and think it’s a stunning combination.

I used the Journey Color Burst Colored Pencils to color in this delightful image of flowers in an old-fashioned milk bottle. For the flowers petals I used pencils 31 and 32, for the flower center I used pencil 15 (which is Summer Days) and for the milk jug I used shades of grey with pencils 29 and 47. I used the color burst blender to blend the color just a smidge but really liked the edgy look of the original layers of color.
Both the vase of flowers and the sentiment were stamped in Black Licorice Fusion Ink and the the sentiment was die cut with its’ coordinating die and popped up with foam squares.

Once I had the sentiment all cozied up with my natural twine bow, I used a fine paint brush and added just a touch of Journey Glaze to the sentiment to help it pop and add shine. I’ve never used Journey Glaze, or anything like it before, so I was very cautious about how much I used. I also added a drop of Summer Days ink to the flower centers and then added a drop of Journey Glaze to them as well. They sparkle so prettily!!
The button? I don’t have a big collection of embellishments (yet) so I just pulled this little wood button out of my old scrapbooking stash ad adhered it with a glue dot. The bow just needed a little somethin’ somethin’ 🙂

I have to thank the very wonderfully talented team at The Paper Players for the sketch inspiration for this card. I love a simple layout every day of the week! I’m also sneaking in just under the wire, lol!

REMEMBER, if you would like to receive the NEW and AWESOME 2018-19 Fun Stampers Journey catalog, please email me with your address information! If you contact me by June 30th, I will send the catalog to you AT NO COST TO YOU. On July 1st, I will still be sending the catalogs free, but will be collecting a shipping charge of just $7.00.

PLEASE tell me what you think of these new products! Are you in love?!? I can’t wait to hear from you all!

Supplies: (All Fun Stampers Journey products unless noted differently below)

Card Stock: Huckleberry Fusion, Whip Cream and Tin Pail (available on July 1st)

Printed Paper: Good Life Prints (available on Jul 1st)

Ink: Black Licorice

Stamps: Life is Beautiful (available on Jul 1st)

Dies: Life is Beautiful (available on Jul 1st)

Tools: Journey Glaze, Journey Blooms Paper Trimmer

Embellishments: Journey Twine Natural

Other: None

FSJ Convention 2018 was the “Beary Best”!

by Shannon Jaramillo // June 25, 2018 // 4 Comments

Oh my goodness!! Isn’t this ‘beary’ little guy the cutest?!? I have SO much to share with you all after my long weekend at the FSJ (Fun Stampers Journey) convention, but first, I wanted to share my swap card for the ‘Inking the Way’ team card swap. This little guy is an ‘ATS’ stamp called ‘Beary Best’ and he is retiring June 30th so if you love him too, make sure to place an order right away as he is only available while supplies last!! And he is on SALE!!! ‘Beary Best‘, just the stamp, is only $5.37!! And ‘Beary Best‘, the bundle (stamp and coordinating die!) is only $10.47!! What amazing value!!

Are you interested in purchasing other stamps and dies at amazing prices? Who wouldn’t be, right?!? Then check out the FSJ Retirement Party (after you finish this post of course :))!!

Measurements:

Card Base 4 1/2″ x 11″, scored at 5 1/2″
Stamped Image Layer 3″ x 5 1/2″
Printed Paper Layer 1″ x 5″

Details:

Would you like a way to use up those scraps of darling pattern paper that we all hoard…I mean have? This layout packs a TON of pattern paper punch and uses only two 1″ x 5 1/2″ pieces of pattern paper!!
Assembly is SO easy! I attached both the bear stamp and the sentiment stamp to the ‘F’ block. The grid lines on the block and indexing (stamp image) on the stamp, make getting things lined up straight a BREEZE!! Then I inked this both stamps up with Hazelnut Blend Fusion Ink and stamped him on Buttercream card stock!
I cut thin strips of color coordinating card stock, applied adhesive and attached them to both sides of my stamped image layer. One done, I adhered everything to the card base!
I added two Journey Sequins Bloom Time sequins in the lower right hand corner for a bit of pop and then balanced them out with a hand snipped banner of pattern paper and a teeny tiny bow of Journey Natural Thread!

I added a bit of the Through the Years pattern paper to my photo so you can get a better idea of the overall design…it’s gorgeous in Butter Cream, Banana Cream, Summer Days, Pool Play, Beach Breeze, Lemon Grass and Fresh Forest.

Now….CONVENTION. Oh my goodness! FSJ (Fun Stampers Journey) KNOCKED it out of the park at Convention!! Honestly, LOOK at ALL the goodies that were included in the price of Convention!

Just look at all the STUFF!!! The natural canvas tote in the upper left was the bag given to us at registration. It contained THREE full size stamp sets, 1 ATS size stamp set, the black and white checked planner you see to the left (complete with a full compliment of calendar pages in it) as well as the convention pin and a pin announcing this was my first convention. You can see those attached to my lanyard (also included in the bag). The REST: a $600 party host set for staying at the convention hotel, 2 ATS stamps, the mini envelope die, a full spool of Lemon Drop satin ribbon, a pen and stickers for our amaze machines with the new logo on them, a darling take out box, another fold away tote which came with the new annual catalog in it, the 2018-19 Annual Catalog (SPIRAL BOUND!!!!!) and a commenorative wood mounted Convention 2018 stamp set! OH! And the Holiday mini catalog!!! (eek!)

Whew!! That’s a TON of STUFF, right?? I’ve been to stamping conventions before but they pale in comparison to the way we were treated. And that’s just the stuff. We also were treated to THREE days of general session with SO many new products and tips and techniques and SIX breakout classes!! I learned SO MUCH!! And FOOD!!! I will share photos of the food in the posts to come, just let me say here that we did not go hungry! No boxed meals happening with FSJ!!

Oh! And the opportunity to shop in the Journey store and purchase SO many bundles and a la carte items from the new catalog!! And we got to take them home with us!! And we were able to purchase them with our coach discount and a 10% convention discount!!

Are you on overload yet? lol, I am. I am SO inspired by the wonderful FSJ crew and all of their hard work producing a GORGEOUS 334 page color catalog FULL of amazing projects to inspire!! Would you like one????? You’re like “You’re Kidding” right?? Of course you want one!! Just shoot me an email and as soon as I receive the catalogs, I will ship them out to you!

Thank you so much for visiting my little blog and I hope to see you back! Don’t forget to subscribe so you can get peeks of amazing FSJ product delivered right to your in box!

Supplies: (All Fun Stampers Journey products unless noted differently below)

Card Stock: Buttercream, Summer Days, Lemon Grass, and Fresh Forest

Printed Paper: Through the Year

Ink: Hazelnut Blend

Stamps: Beary Best

Dies: None

Tools: Journey Blooms Paper Trimmer

Embellishments: Journey Sequins Bloom Time and Journey Thread Natural

Other: None

Live Like You Mean It

by Shannon Jaramillo // March 17, 2018 // 2 Comments

Sharing a bit of stamping I did this morning! When I got up this Saturday morning, I had a mile long mental list of things to do and was full of ambition to get started on my tasks…and then I walked by my stamping space, which has the most gorgeous light in the morning…and I veered in there instead and got lost in paper and ink! Does that happen to you?

I love how cheerful this little card turned out and I know exactly who I’m going to give it to – she is indeed one of the loveliest people I know!

The DSP (Designer Series Paper) I used is called ‘Gingham Garden’ and is probably 5 years old now. But there is no expiration date on cuteness and this paper has that in spades. And the stamp? I have no idea how old it is (perhaps you can enlighten me), but it showed up in my mailbox this week and I couldn’t WAIT to ink it up!

The color combination is Melon Mambo and Cucumber Crush (retired), the flower is from the very retired ‘Live Like You Mean It’ stamp set, and the darling sentiment is from the ‘Hanging Garden’ stamp set. I used a few pierced dies from MFT Stamps to bring definition to all the white space.

And in the picture below you can see one of my most favorite new products, the ‘Glitter & Clear Epoxy Shapes‘. They are the teeniest little gems I have seen on the market and I am definitely going to be stocking up on them! You can find them on page 33 of the 2018 Occasions Catalog, on the lower left hand side. Because they are clear, they are hard to see, but are SO worth the investment!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by today and I hope your weekend is fabulous!

Blessings,

What’s Old is New Again – Honey Bear circa 2000

by Shannon Jaramillo // March 5, 2018 // 3 Comments

Lately I’ve become obsessed with vintage Stampin’ Up! stamps. I adore the images and have been trying my hand at coloring them.

Do you know what I found when I goggled ‘Honey Bear’? Nothing. Not one image of this stamp stamped and colored. So sad 🙁

Here he is a bit closer up. I used Stampin’ Blends for all of the colors:

Light Crumb Cake for the Bear with touches of Dark Crumb Cake and Bronze. Ivory was used for the pads of his feet.
Several coats of Light Daffodil Delight were used for the flowers as well as some Dark Daffodil Delight and a touch of Light Pumpkin Pie.
The bee hive was colored with Light and Dark Daffodil Delight
Bear’s bandana and the patch on his foot were colored with Light and Dark Pumpkin Pie
The grass was colored with Light and Dark Old Olive with a touch of Light Crumb Cake on the grass clumps
I wanted the leaves to be green, but not the same as the grass so I colored all of the leaves with Light Daffodil Delight before going over them again with Light Old Olive. I shaded with a bit of Dark Old Olive.

The Fence is Light Smoky Slate. I used my Smoky Slate Stampin’ Marker to color along the grain of the wood to bring just a bit of detail to them.
The birdhouse is Light and Dark Crumb Caked the bird is Light and Dark Pool Party with a smudge of Light Bermuda Bay.
All of the bees are colored with Dark Daffodil Delight and their wings touched by a bit of Light Smoky Slate. I dabbed a bit of the color in the center of the wings and then used the color blender to spread it, giving the wings ever so slight color to them.
I colored the sentiment with my Crumb Cake Stampin’ Marker as that was the only tip fine enough not to bleed.
I’m not sure if you can see it, but all of the flowers, the bees, and the bird have been touched with Wink of Stella so they sparkle 🙂
A triple loop linen thread bow adds to the country charm.

I used a non-SU die to cut out Mr. Bear, backed him with some fresh and fun Tutti Frutti DSP and popped everything on a card base of Crushed Curry.

I masked the sentiment stamp to add a few bees to the interior of the card…they are SO cute!

So what do you think of this 17 year old stamp set? I would love to hear your thoughts! As I have purchased a number of vintage Stampin’ Up! stamp sets, I think this will be a regular feature on my blog. So pull out some of your old favorites and stamp along!

Thank you for ‘buzzing’ by!!!

To Love What We Do and Share What We Love

by Shannon Jaramillo // February 28, 2018 // 2 Comments

“To LOVE what we do and SHARE what we love, as we help others enjoy CREATIVITY and worthwhile accomplishments…in this we make a DIFFERENCE.” This is Stampin’ Up!’s Statement of the Heart and reflects who we are as demonstrators and why we do what we do.

I adore this basket of flowers, which is FREE with any $50 purchase, and I thought it would fit perfectly with the newest Freshly Made Sketches challenge. But then I saw the statement of the heart stamp, which I recently acquired secondhand for $1, and wanted to use it as well. Since I couldn’t decide which one to use, I used them both!

While I was creating this card I received a message from someone who had reached out to me recently. Her message to me this evening was to share with me how much she appreciated my time and patience with her. It didn’t seem like much at the time, but I tonight I realized how fitting this statement of the heart is. I shared my time and love of stamping, perhaps helped her a bit in the process, and it made a difference to her. It really made this statement hit home and resonate with me. I made a difference. I’m so glad I had the opportunity!

I stamped this darling basket from the Blooming Basket stamp set with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, then colored with Stampin’ Blends in Crumb Cake, Light and Dark Calypso Coral and light and dark Old Olive. I added a bit of Fresh Fig marker to the berries and finished the basket off with a simple bow. Of course I added Wink of Stella to the flowers…it’s a huge ‘wow’ in person!

The statement of the heart was stamped with Staz-On ink and adhered using Ranger Multi Medium matte liquid glue which dried clear underneath the vellum except for where I adhered it over areas colored with alcohol markers. You still really can’t see the glue so I’ll take it since adhering vellum can be quite the challenge!

Here is the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches that inspired today’s project:

Thank you again for sharing a bit of your day with me, I hope you like the card…

Blessings,