The Big Shot

Yes, today, the third day of the Virtual Party (please check out previous days if you don't know what I'm talking about :D), the focal topic will be the Big Shot. Before we get started, I just want to remind everybody of the Online Extravaganza: http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/daisys/promotions . I finally got a chance yesterday to really look through everything and see the savings on some items that I really like and, well, gosh darn it, it's having me replan my own order for next week! There are some items that just seem too good to pass up, like the On Your Birthday stamp set (both in English and French) for 50% off, the Many Merry Messages, also for 50% off, and the Joyful Season Letterpress--after the 50% off, it's only $3.48. WOW!

Of course, you mustn't forget to keep looking at the Holiday Mini and Idea Book and Catalogue. :)


For today's "workshop presentation" part, I am going to talk about a product I love: the Big Shot.

I love the Big Shot. (Yes, I realize I'm repeating myself, but doesn't that say something?) I first used it earlier this year when I went to a friend's workshop. There is just something so cool about it. lol.  And yes, I took part of a promotion in October where you got one free if you signed up as a demonstrator. (Alas, that promotion is no longer available.) How could I pass that up? Or, in my 14-year old daughter's words: "What's there to think about?" As you can see in the link above, there is so much you can do with the Big Shot. You can:

• cut shapes in a variety of materials: paper, Stampin' Up wood sheets, cork sheets, magnets and even fabric!
• cut out shapes while embossing them at the same time (see the Embosslits Dies on p. 216 of the Idea Book and Catalogue)
• have ink *debossed* effects (see p. 217 for the Letterpress Plates)
• there are all kinds of embossing folders available (see p. 218-219 for those)
• the Texturz Plates are fantastic--they give a very subtle embossing
• just cut a variety of shapes with the Originals Dies (p. 220) or with the Bigz Dies (p. 222) or the Sizzlits Dies
• use dies and folders from other companies! Yes! You can use your Cuttlebug accessories with the Big Shot!
• do even more, like dies that help you make little gift boxes (no, not joking!) but I will stop linking the pages now. ;). Check out pages 216-225 (yes, that is 10 pages of Big Shot accessories!) for all the details.

The Big Shot is really easy to use and, really, just a lot of fun for some reason. My 14-year old daughter loves the Big Shot, too, and my 11-year old son likes to be the one to "build the sandwich" and turn the handle. I just showed it to my 6-year old niece this week and she is not only able to use it on her own for texture plates, but wants to keep going and going and going! It's just a fantastic product and so easy to use. Here are some videos for you to check out to see it in action, but do check out others:

• The Big Shot with Letterpress Plates http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJpeQ7fL5mw  (Don't pay attention to her mention of what's in the catalogue--the video is a year old!)
• The Big Shot with Texturz Plates http://youtu.be/JNFQq6opMpg
• Make a box template with the Big Shot http://youtu.be/2mpGfN0aqZM
• Setting up the Big Shot (for the dog! lol; so cute) and using it with dies http://youtu.be/llWG4nhS52E

If you decide to get the Big Shot and some dies, folders or plates, do make sure to see the description of the dies, folders or plates in the catalogue to find out what else you need to get. While the Big Shot comes with two plates, some of the dies, folders and plates require special platforms or pads to work properly. I will check your order and ask you if you have the required items, but it's always best for you to know ahead of time just what you need to buy to be able to use a product!


So, how about a project to share for today? Since Christmas is so close, how about another Christmas card?

(Not sure why my phone is leaving a smudge on the right-hand side. 

It did that to another photo. Hm... 

In any case, I believe this card was designed by Tamara Bertram. 

I made it at her house, anyhow.)

Another nice, simple Christmas card. The standard Whisper White for the card itself (you just take an 8.5" x 11" sheet, cut it in half horizontally, then fold each half; voilà! two cards!). For the purply colour, it's all done with Elegant Eggplant from the Regals Collection, both the card stock and the ink. The decorations image is a stamp from Merry & Type and the sentiment comes from the Word Play set. Use a 2-Way Glue Pen and some Dazzling Diamonds glitter and that's it! Very easy to do, yet just lovely.

As previously mentioned for Edmonton and area residents participating in next week's group order, when putting together your order list, write down the item, the item code and how many you want! I can take your order anytime, but I won't be sending it in until Nov. 30.

Virtual Party - Day 2

Welcome to the second day of our Virtual Party! (If you are dropping in just now, please see the pre-party information http://stampinupadventure.blogspot.com/2011/11/virtual-party.html, as well as yesterday's post.)

In a typical, in-home workshop, I would be spending time showing you various things and giving you the chance to make your own projects for which I would provide the supplies. I can't do the latter, but I can at least show you throughout the week different projects and let you know what was used.

I can also highlight specific things I would be highlighting or explaining during a workshop. I thought today I would spend a little time discussing the Classic Stampin' Pads (the regular ink pads).

The Classic Stampin' Pads are nice and big and most Stampin' Up stamps (even large ones) fit just fine on the pad when inking the stamp. The pads are kind of like a puzzle to open, but once you know how, it's a piece of cake. (Ok, the odd pad, when new, can be a little stiff. Just open and close it repeatedly and it gets easier. I have one pad out of all of my pads that's been ornery and opening and closing it a lot has put it in its place!)

They are designed so that when you store them right-side-up, the ink pad inside is facing down. Why? So that the ink stays at the surface instead of settling down into the bottom where your stamp can't reach. To open, you hold it upright, find the 3 dots on the top with your other fingers below, your other hand holding the sides, you press against that edge (where the 3 dots are) horizontally, the top will slide back, then you flip it around. To show you better, since I can't demonstrate for you in person, here is a video I found: http://youtu.be/l0gCmLI-KXs . Now, she doesn't focus on the 3 dots like I said, but you can see the 3 at times. And I don't put my whole hand over--I find it harder to do how she shows it. There is a little "edge" underneath that helps to press against while you push with your thumb on the 3 dots. (This is so much harder to explain without the accompanying visual! I might have to take up doing videos! lol)

These ink pads come in all of the card stock colours (well, except Whisper White and Very Vanilla, understandably)--that means that there are 48 different colours to choose from. Yes, that's a lot of colours! If you find it hard to choose, a common recommendation is to get one of the sets of Stampin' Spots. The Stampin' Spots are like mini Classic Stampin' Pads--or about the same size as many "full-sized" ink pads I've seen in stores. Same ink, just in a smaller package and you get 10 or 11 colours at a time. You can get the Getting Started Collection of Stampin' Spots on page 174 or look on the following pages where you will see that each of the sets of the Collection colours (not the In Color series) have their own set of Stampin' Spots you can order. **You can get the Classic Stampin' Spots Getting Started Collection for 40% off right now: only $16.17 instead of $26.95!**

On to some projects...

Christmas is on its way and this is the perfect time to share with you the Serene Snowflakes stamp set from p. 36 of the Idea Book and Catalogue. I love this stamp set. I bought it back in May or June, deciding to get some things ahead of time for Christmas card-making. Since it was for Christmas, it got hidden away with other Christmas stamps. As I prepared a fall stamp order, as soon as I hit the page with the Serene Snowflakes stamp set in the catalogue, I wrote it down as a must-have. I had completely forgotten that I had already bought it! What a joy to discover it among my stamp sets! lol. Good thing I checked what I had before placing an order. ;)

Here is one card I've created with this stamp set:

I took Whisper White card stock and stamped the front with the smallest of the stamps, just kind of here and there, making sure to hang over the edge in some places, then I put it through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. I then used a separate stamp from the set (unfortunately, it doesn't show up well in the photo at all) and stamped the Night of Navy card stock with Night of Navy ink, kind of like a watermark feature. The VersaMark can give the same effect. The snowflake on the topmost level is the largest stamp. There is no punch; I had to trim it by hand. I then put a Basic Rhinestone (not sure which size) in the middle of that snowflake. I'd like to try this card with glitter or embossing sometime on the snowflakes that are stamped onto the blue card stock or the focal snowflake. I think it would really make it pop. You could also turn the card 90 degrees and present it horizontally, move the long blue band to another spot...

Here is one of the Christmas cards I made at my demonstrator's home for her Stamp-a-Stack:

She used the Snowflake Punch (p. 210 of the Idea Book and Catalogue) for the 3 snowflakes (I tried to make my own without the punch, just using the accompanying Simple Snowflake stamp and cutting around the image--it didn't work very well and took a lot of time to cut; the Snowflake Punch is on my list of things to order next). She used Wisteria Wonder card stock from the 2011-2013 In Color series, Concord Crush from the 2010-2012 In Color series (see p. 176 for both) and the silver Glimmer Paper available in the Mini. The stamp is one of the stamps from the Delightful Dozen stamp set and is stamped with the Concord Crush ink. It doesn't show up very well in the picture, but there is a beautiful light embossing on the topmost White Whisper card stock made with one of the plates from the Backgrounds 1 set of Texturz Plates. Specifically, if you look at the catalogue at the Texturz Plates section, it is the plate on the far left, but the flip side (the triangle image to the right). Does that make sense? lol. There are also Mini Brads to hold the snowflakes in place rather than glue or tape.

Since I feel like still sharing today ;), here is a card I'm working on. Or rather, part of a card I'm working on.

(Eek! Sorry for picture quality! I'm using my phone! lol)

I've used a stamp from the Every Little Bit stamp set. This is another of my favourite stamp sets. Every time I flip by it in the catalogue, I am pulled toward it. It's just a wonderful set and with so many stamps (28 in the set!), you can do so much with it. I just used the Basic Black ink and then watercolour pencils to colour the presents. Stampin' Up does sell a set of watercolour pencils, as well as watercolour paper (watercolour paper can sometimes be a necessity when doing watercolour effects--the water can cause regular card stock to bubble or deform!). The Stampin' Up pencil pack is a better price than what my current set is, but has just as many colours. My set is probably about 5 years old and barely touched, so I do admit to using that! I will get the Stampin' Up ones sometime to compare.

That's it for today. See you tomorrow!

Have you been looking through the catalogues at all? Working on your list of things you'd like to have ordered and delivered before Christmas? If you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to contact me through Facebook or email: emicolas@yahoo.ca.

P.S. Don't forget about the Holiday Extravaganza!