Cool School Tools – August Pals Blog Hop

Welcome to My Stampin Space and to the Pals Blog Hop for August. This month we are showing off our favorite crafting tools – those Stampin’ Up! tools that we just can’t live without. We hope you enjoy our projects!

You may just be starting the blog hop or may have come from Lynn Kolcun at Stamping with Avery’s Owlery #22 on the Pals Hop. If you get off track at any time, the full lineup below will help you move along from blog to blog so you see all of the amazing creations.

I need to thank the Pals for planning the Blog Hop on my son’s birthday so the immediate world can see the cards I’ve made for his birthday.  My  ‘little boy’ turns 22 today.  He’s grown up to be such a fine young man.     I’ve always loved back to school time; I still love school shopping.  Note books, folders, paper, pencils, markers, crayons, calendars & organizational stuff.  Have you seen all the cool locker accessories?  I never had magnetic pencil cups or mirrors for my locker when I was in school.   But I won’t be doing any school shopping anymore so I have to content myself with buying cardstock, ink, Blendabilities and cool school tools from Stampin’ Up!  Come to think of it, I like that much better!

I had fun playing with the Moustache Framelit die and have made 2 cards for my son using this die.  Tell me which one you like best.

This card uses the Moustache framelits die, and the Word Bubble framelit dies, and the Word Window punch (cut in half) for the eyes.  A simple square card from Crumb Cake cardstock and Basic Black cardstock.  The sentiment is from the stamp set “Just Saying” & is stamped with Tangelo Twist ink onto Whisper White cardstock.  Did you notice how the stamp image and framelit die coordinate so perfectly?For this card, I used a Pumpkin Pie cardstock base, with a layer of Soft Suede cardstock for the background.  This time I cut out 3 moustaches, one each from Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie & Old Olive DSP.  A strip of Very Vanilla cardstock was stamped with Early Espresso ink and uses the sentiment from “Peace, Love & Cupcakes”.  A button and piece of bakers’ twine secure the banner to the cardstock.  Candy dots add just a little bit of whimsy to the moustaches.

Now for my favorite tool – but I can’t narrow it down to just one! The most basic tool that any paper crafter has to have, and usually a first purchase, would be the Stampin’ Trimmer.  Every project starts with paper that needs to be cut, and of all the many brands & models of paper cutters out there, none offer the features & engineering that the Stampin’ Up! trimmer have.  Watch the video and you’ll see why!

I can remember my early days of paper crafting and thinking I would never get a Big Shot; I could never justify spending a hundred bucks on a tool and then needing to spend more money on the embossing folders & dies.  But I hosted a $400 workshop and decided the best way to use my half price was on a Big Shot and my hosting rewards for dies.  My papercrafting was taken to a whole new level and I’ve never looked back!  Now I couldn’t image papercrafting without it!  So the Big Shot, and the Magnetic Platform are my top choices for Cool School Tools!

With the Big Shot & Bundles Promotion going on right now, there’s never been a better time to step up your papercrafting and take the plunge.  Order a Big Shot, get a free Stamp set & Framelit die bundle.  I promise you’ll wonder why you waited so long!  Click here or on the graphic below to see all the stamp & framelit bundles you can get with this promotion!

The next stop is #24 Sherrie Gross at Stampin’ Sunshine on the Pals Blog Hop! Thanks for visiting and I hope to see you next month.

1. Sue Becker at RnR Stamping
2. Beth Beard at My Little Craft Blog
3. Susan Lankford at Stamp and Create With Susan
4. Brian King at Stamp with Brian
5. Rae Harper-Burnet at WildWestPaperArts.com
6. Debbie Mageed at Secret Stamper
7. Diane Roberts at Score at Four and a Quarter
8. Jackie Diediker at Stampin’ Jackie
9. Kelly DeTommaso at Kelly’s Creative Corner
10. Amanda Merrill at Inkflair
11. Shannon Hokanson at Paper Works by Shannon
12. Amy Williams at Stamp and Spice
13. Kerry Willard Bray at Peonies and Paper Chains
14. Michelle Gleeson at Stampin’ Mojo
15. Nicole Watt at Pixel Maven’s Retreat
16. Peggy Noe at Pretty Paper Cards
17. September Gray at SeptemberGray.com
18. Shannon Jaramillo at EZPeasy Cards
19. Natalie Bradley at Natalie Bradley Events
20. Susan Itell at Simple Stampin
21. Wendy Klein at Doggone Delightful Stampin’
22. Lynn Kolcun at Stamping with Avery’s Owlery
23. Nancy Gleason at My Stampin Space—YOU ARE HERE—
24. Sherrie Gross at Stampin’ Sunshine
25. Becky Gifford at The Social Stamper
26. Kalyn Shubnell at The Stamping Chronicles
27. Lisa Ann Bernard at Queen B Creatons
28. Martie Pollard at The Crafty Bandit
29. Amy Hoptay at Inking of You!
30. Kim Jolley at Stampin’ Artfully
31. Donna Kopenski at craftycardmaker.wordpress.com
32. Katy McGloin at Just Fun Stamping
33. Maggie Mata at Maggie Made Cards
34. Jane Knudsen at www.seejanestamp.com
35. Candy Ford at Candy’s Blog
36. Dawn Tidd at Tiddbits from Dawn
37. Katie Ferguson at Cottage Paper
38. Liz Gautreaux at Kind Deeds Stampin
39. Mary Fish at Stampin’ Pretty