Fireman Andy

We are sad to see Joan's final day as guest blogger. It has been a great week filled with lots of creativity and Joan has impressed us all. Thanks to everyone for leaving her lots of comments and encouragement throughout the week. Thank you Joan and we wish you much luck and success on your design team endeavors.

Today is my final day as guest blogger for JustRite Stamps. A huge thanks to Denise for extending this invitation to me. I still haven’t made any monogrammed cards because I’ve had too much fun using the Small Letter Stamps. However, I see lots of sets of cards coming for Christmas gifts. In the meantime, please enjoy looking at my “baby!”


Like all Moms, I have a million pictures of my son, but they are boxed and out of sight. I have always loved this picture of my son, Andy (come on, is he cute or what!!??). I decided to show off this picture by decorating a frame and embellishing it with the JustRite stamper. Andy was 3 when I took this picture on Halloween. I remember that he and his Dad went to a grand total of ONE house, when Andy got scared, started crying and came home. ONE stinkin’ candy bar!

As I write this post, Andy is 17 and sitting next to me on his computer laughing at some Manga comics. What a privilege to be a Mom. Ok, before I start crying and telling you every single thing about my kid, let’s move on to the frame and the JustRite Stamps!

I used a “Create-A-Frame” from Savage Paper and covered the both mats with papers from the Hallowhimsy line from Imaginisce. I’ve never covered a frame before, and of course you have to cut out a hole for the picture — in this case 4x6. Here’s my first tip: Cut the paper with your dreaded Exacto Knife BEFORE you glue it to the mat. I know this is stating the obvious, but I didn’t know this about 2 hours ago! Second tip: buy extra papers (enough said on that subject...). Third tip: this is the kind of frame where you put the picture inside and then glue back on. Once the picture is in, it is in. I decided that my original photo was not JustRite Blog worthy, so I ripped the frame apart (while holding my breath) and put in the better photo. Don’t do that!

The rest is self-explanatory. OH OH OH, I almost forgot. Notice how the photo is black and white with a shadowy background? Photoshop. Debbie Olson posted about “visual noise” the other day and the color picture of Andy fought the patterned paper. Click of the mouse and I put a stop to that racket.


Now doesn’t the JustRite embellishment make this whole frame rock? Personalization baby!!! If I had the time, I swear I’d take orders and make these and make a bundle (assuming I master the Exacto knife.....). Think wedding, engagements, babies, school pictures, etc. LOVE that Small Letter set.

Thanks for sticking with me this week. I can’t wait to see what the next JustRite blogger has created.

Keep us in mind....."When it needs to be JustRite".


Supplies not already mentioned: Stampin Up! Black Cardstock and Marker, Chipboard, Jersey Ribbons, and brads. Spellbinders Nestability Circle and Scallop Circle dies; Paper Shaper Photo Corner Punch, and EK Success 1 and 1/4” circle punch.

Time For Chocolate

From the comments yesterday, you liked Joan's Pot of Rewards as much as I did. I have a funny feeling that Joan has started a new fad that you will see popping up all over SCS.....personalized reward flowers are bloomin. Well here is her day four entry. Enjoy.

"Time" is always on my mind so I got the idea to use the JustRite SmallLetter set (to which I am now officially addicted) to make a clock andsomehow incorporate the clock into a gift. After saying out loud "Time for....." over and over, trying desperately to be witty and creative, myhusband finally said to me -- "It's always time for chocolate!" Works for me!

Before I list the supplies for the Chocolate Box, can I just say how different and interesting it is to be a guest blogger rather than just blogfor myself? When I'm blogging for me, I throw in the kitchen sink -- it's like someone put a spigot in my brain and out comes nutty, sad, creative andnot so creative things! But blogging for JustRite? I've had to tap into parts of my brain that usually are ignored and try to come up with somethingother than the standard A2 card that I always make, and behave like an adult! Not easy! It's been fun to sit back and try to let my creative juices flow and not be totally intimidated by the talent on this blog. I now have even more respect for design team members! I have no idea how they produce such beautiful items, day after day, week after week. (I don't have the nerve totell you how many versions of this chocolate box I made before settling onthis one -- ok, 4!).

Making the clock was a snap, but trying to figure outhow to incorporate a clock onto a gift box of chocolates was not easy and involved lots of consultations with my husband (who really just wanted to get it over with and eat the Hershey Nuggets inside the box!). Thanks Mike!

Keep us in mind....."When it needs to be JustRite".

Bloomin Rewards

Today is day three with Joan Bardee and I am so excited about this post! I just fell in love with this idea and as a mother of four children this is just pure genius in my book. I can't wait to make a pot for my kids and I am thinking about a no homework flower pot for the teachers.

All Moms know that positive reinforcement of good behavior is a whole lot more fun (and often more effective) than punishments, right??? So, with that in mind, I decided to take advantage of the versatility of the JustRite Stamper and make a fun Pot of Rewards.

Each “flower” contains a reward — for this one, I selected “Your Earned a Sleepover,” “You Earned 1 Day with Dad,” “You Earned 1 Day with No Chores,” and “You Earned 1 Ice Cream Cone.” Obviously, you could choose rewards that fit your children's tastes and your family’s values. What fun to set this out as a centerpiece and explain to your kids how they get to win a “flower.” I see homework being done and beds made on time!! (Ok, my kid would still need much nagging, but he’s 17 and has outgrown “Pots of Rewards!”)

For this Pot of Rewards, I made 12 rewards, 3 each of 4 rewards. It is best to do this assembly line. Here is how I made mine.

1. Stamp the rewards with your JustRite Stamper on paper. To keep it easier, I used the same “You Earned” on the top of the flower so I wouldn’t have to create an entirely new saying for each flower. After stamping, tap the ink off onto a wet paper towel, and replace the lower words.
   
2. Stamp a center image. I used flowers, but you could use stamps that relate to the reward or you could have your kids color in a picture, or have your kids find pictures in magazines that fit the reward or gift.
   
3. Punch out the circles. I used a Small Circle Nestability Die. Punch out the scalloped circles — one in a color for you to place the center image on and other one (I used white) to cover the back of the stick and flower.
   
4. Add an embellishment to the center of each flower. Anything with texture will work, and again, if you are making these with your kids, consider gathering items from the yard or garden, glitter, chipboard, extra game pieces, tickets, etc. I used shiny brads from SEI and a variety of buttons.
   
5. I bought already stained craft sticks in the wood department of my local craft store (for some reason my husband thought this was crazy -- “Popsicle sticks in a wood area?” Hmm. I explained that craft sticks are many levels above the quality of a popsicle stick! You could use anything firm, but I was looking for easy, so went with pre stained.
   
6. I stamped the sticks with a design to add a little interest and wrapped each stick in polka dot ribbons, to coordinate with the flower pot.
   
7. Assemble the flowers — I used Scotch double sided tape and adhered the flower to the stick, then adhered the backing to the whole thing, making a nice finished look for the back of the flower.
   
8. Anchor the sticks with heavy glass beads in the pot and wrap the pot with some ribbon (using some double sided tape in the back to keep it from slipping)

This Pot of Rewards is perfect for a variety of occasions including Valentine’s Day (just change the “rewards” to ones you might give your husband!) or for Father’s Day, a birthday, etc. I’ve included some tips on how to get your kids involved in case you decide to make one for Dad.

You could also make a similar Pot, but not have it include Rewards. How about Bible verses, topics for dinner table discussions, your kid’s names (to pick who gets to sit where in the car!), etc. Really, the uses are limited only by your imagination because the JustRite stamper lets you stamp anything you want!

Keep us in mind....."When it needs to be JustRite".


Supplies:
JustRite Do It Yourself Monogram Stamper Kit Curlz Font with 3 Borders and Wooden Stamper; JustRite Small Letter Set for Round Monogram Stamper;
Papertrey Ink Stamper’s Select White Cardstock and Garden of Life Stamp Set;
Stampin Up! Yoyo Yellow, Lovely Lilac, Real Red, Pixie Pink, Ballet Blue, and Only Orange Classic Ink and Cardstock and Linen Thread;
Brads from SEI; Assorted Buttons from Oriental Trading Co.; Ribbon from Tsuruta Designs; Craft Sticks from AC Moore; A Stitch in Time from Clear Dollar Stamps; Black Staz On ink;
Mega Round Scallop Punch from Marvy Uchida (the pink one);
Small Circle Nestability Die and Wizard Die Machine from Spellbinders.

Christening Card for Henry

Welcome to day two with Joan Bardee from Paperlicious. Apparently, JustRite has revealed a big secret about Joan...her identity! Yes, that is her picture in the right side bar and now you know what she looks like! We know you will enjoy her second day of creativity.

My friend Jack asked me to make a Christening card for his grandson, Henry Fonder-Kristy. I was stunned as Jack, like most of my friends, is a lawyer and mocks my hobby! Eventually, they all come crawling to us for help, don’t they???

Jack didn't like any of the cards he saw in the stores. So, thinking I would wow him, I asked him if he'd like a card with his GRANDSON'S NAME and Christening date on it. No! "Anyone can type his name, I want a hand stamped card." Poor Jack, that Harvard Law Degree is useless sometimes! He had no idea that he could have both a hand stamped one of kind card and a personalized card. JustRite to the rescue! I'm happy to say that the card was a big hit with Henry’s parents — a keepsake for the scrapbook.

Now the JustRite Letter set (letters that you use to spell out the name or whatever you want to put in the border) has very small letters, so I wondered if: 1. I could actually get it to work and 2. If I'd get a clear image. As you can see, yes on both counts.

Here are a few tips to make using these letters easy:

1. Use the tweezers that come with the letters. They make the whole project go much faster.
2. Use the letters over a table -- you don't want to lose any of the letters, numbers or other images that come with the set.
3. Once in place, ink and stamp on a piece of scrap paper to ensure that all the letters are going in the right direction.
4. It is easy to move the letters once they are on the border — just gently slide them around to get perfect placement.
5. Don't worry about cleaning these tiny letters. It's a breeze. Just keep stamping off the inked up image on a piece of scrap paper until no ink remains on the letters. If you are a fussy stamper and insist on traditional cleaning, stamp on a damp piece of paper towel until clean. Do not rub on a stamp and scrub or the small letters will come off and possibly get lost.
6. Then put away the letters in the nifty storage case.

I keep all my JustRite products in a plastic case on my stamping table. After I made one personalized card I was hooked!

Keep us in mind....."When it needs to be JustRite".

Supplies Used:

JustRite Small Letter Set and DIY Monogram Stamper Kit with Times New Roman Font

Stampin Up! Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery and Apricot Appeal Cardstock and Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery Markers

Papertrey Ink Spring Moss Classic Grosgrain Ribbon

Memories Black Dye Ink

Spellbinders Nestability Circle and Square Scallop Dies

Buttons from Oriental Trading Company

Waxed Linen Thread

Papertrey Ink Quilter’s Sampler Stamp Set

3/4" Square Punch

Designed by Joan Bardee

**Today is the last day to vote for this week's Stampin Champion. Take a look at the entries here and vote!**

It's day one with the talented and funny Joan Bardee! Although Joan is nervous about her Guest Blogging debut I know that you will be very impressed with her creativity this week. Make sure you leave her some comments and let her know what a great job she is doing.

I took one look at the JustRite Monogram Stamper and figured that I would not be able to use it. Anything that comes with directions scares me. But, there is hope for the average stamper! If I can use these products and make great stuff, you can too! In fact, the whole line of JustRite products is one big "why didn't I think of that and make a fortune?" Easy, intuitive and fun.

To be honest, I'm not your usual guest blogger/design team member/wonderful designer. Denise asked me to be a guest blogger for JustRite after she read my whining that I was running out of $$$ to buy stamping stuff! Isn't she sweet? So she sends me a few JustRite Stamper products and of course I fall in love with them and immediately buy a ton of the stuff that goes with it. I HAD to! (I'm soo glad my husband doesn't read this blog!!!)


For my first project I made a letter "D" initial charm to attach to a bracelet for my mother in law, Dorann, and a coordinating gift package. It took me 10 minutes to make this charm, but she'll think it took me days 'cause she's not a stamper. I love things that are easy but look hard!

I bought the lady bug bracelet for $11 at the local hospital gift shop. Personalizing the bracelet with my MIL's initial really sets it apart from the original bracelet and just adds that something special.

Frankly, this was my first successful foray with shrink plastic. My original plan was to ink up the shrink plastic, cut it with a die cut machine and heat. Then it occurred to me that sending a pigment inked image through a die cut machine would smear the ink, so I used Stampin Up!'s scalloped circle punch to cut out the design after I stamped it. Perfect fit! Hint: be sure to punch a hole to thread wire before heating.

After I punched out the circle and a smaller one for threading wire, I zapped it with my heat gun and the charm flew all over the place! I held it down with the handle of a wooden spoon and zapped it again. The charm curled up, but eventually flattened. As soon as it stopped moving around I put a plate on top and pressed down to make sure it was smooth.


A beautiful bracelet needs a pretty box, so I wrapped the box and then made a personalized sticker for the top of the box. I love how it turned out.

Whew! I’m not used to making things for companies, so be kind!

Keep us in mind....."When it needs to be JustRite".


Supplies:
For the Letter D Charm: JustRite DIY Monogram Stamper Kit with Curlz font and 3 Borders, Stampin Up! Real Red Craft Ink and Scalloped Round Punch and Grafix Clear Shrink Plastic.

For the box: JustRite DIY Monogram Stamper Kit with Curlz font and 3 Borders and Small Letter Set for Round Monogram Stamper; Stampin Up Designer Paper Cerise (Retired); Real Red Classic Ink; Very Vanilla and Basic Black Cardstocks; Black Organdy Ribbon. Papertrey Ink Little Lady Stamp Set; EK Success 1” and 1 and 1/8” circle punches; Small Circle Nestability Die; Joy! Crafts Decorative Pearls Red; Memories Black Dye Ink; Polka Dot Ribbon source unknown.

Guest Blogger Joan Bardee

Please welcome our Guest Blogger Joan Bardee aka Dear Paperlicious. Joan stamps, writes and humors us from her blog called Paperlicious. Here is a quick get to know you interview with Joan. Make sure you stop in throughout the week and see what Joan has created with her JustRite Monogram Stamper. Don't forget to leave her some comments too!

1. Where do you live? I live in Fairfax, Virginia, a suburb of Washington DC
2. Tell us about your family. I am married to Mike, who is a lawyer for the Federal Government (I am too). My son, Andy, will be a senior in high school this year and my Mom lives with us.
3. How long have you been stamping? I have been stamping for about 5 years.
4. Where do you do your stamping? I have taken over an extra bedroom, which I call my craft room. It is all mine!
5. What is your must have stamping too? My must have tool is my Japanese Book Drill — can punch a hole anywhere.
6. How long have you been blogging? I’ve been blogging for about 2 years, although I’ve had this particular typepad blog for a year.

Keep us in mind....."When it needs to be JustRite".