Sale-o-bration Ends Today!

How sad! Sale-o-bration ends today! I have one last Sale-o-bration project to tempt you with....You can order online anytime before 11:50 pm tonight to qualify for Sale-o-bration products! Just navigate to my Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Website and click Shop Now under my name!


Stamps: Yummy, Polka Dot Punches
Paper: Delicate Dots, Whisper White Envelope, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink

Ink: Basic Gray
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Sale-o-bration Ribbon, Soft Subtles Brads, Piercing tool, 5 Petal Punch, Three for You Punch

Isn't it cute? I thought this concept was super simple, but fun, so we made it at my March Workshops. It turns out it was a bit more complicated, but still a great idea. The idea was from Carol  She's Splitcoast Stampers' WICKED Stampin' Up! Demonstrator for March! 

Basically, you fold an envelop in half and punch open the ends! Then you embellish the front, and add a handle. So fun!

Happy Stamping!

Diva-licious Butterfly

One of the joys of being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator is seeing all the possibilities in new products. When the Big Shot was first introduced at Convention 08, I didn't think the crowd could get any louder. We oohhhed and ahhhed over every little thing Shelli Gardner (Stampin' Up! CEO) showed us. Now, I get to show the Big Shot to my customers and they get to ooooh and ahhh. In the Spring Idea Book and Catalog, I was thrilled to see 4 pages of Sizzix dies, and a whole bunch of them were labeled Stampin'  Up Exclusive. The one I am about to show you is a Shelli Signature Die. That means, it has Shelli Gardner's Stamp of Approval. How cool. 

I love butterflies. I had to have this Bigz die as soon as I saw it. I have so many ideas for it, that I left it in the wrapper until this week. Why? I knew that once I got started, it would be like a box of thin mints, I would just keep going and going! 

The Diva Coffee Break Design Challenge for this week got me going. I needed an idea to use these colors: 

But, I had limited supplies at my home away from home, including no Going Gray card stock, so I needed a great plan. An amazing design...perfection.  Well, I didn't get perfection, but I did make this:

Stamps: Thoughts and Prayers

Paper: Rose Red, Bashful Blue

Ink: Going Gray, Rose Red 

Accessories: Stampin' Up! Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die, Big Shot, Pretties Kit, Piercing tool, Sponge Dauber, Whisper White Organza Ribbon, Corner Rounder Punch

Once I created my first butterflies with the Big Shot, the ideas just kept coming. What to do for a background? My new favorite set  my sister paid for and has yet to ink! What color? The only color I don't have paper for, but have ink for! What to dress it up? Those pesty hat pins I never think of using! What to add to tie it together? That cool ribbon I just bought and love. What to make the butterflies stand out a bit more? Sponge the edges. What to soften it a bit? Corner Rounder the corners! and on and on! I stayed up late on this one! 

Wishing you inspiration,

I love this butterfly! 

Scallop Envelope Cuteness!~

This month has been filled with fun workshops and events. This was a card that we created at the Stamp Camp and at some of my workshops. I just love the cuteness level of this card!


Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly, Polka Dot Punches
Paper: Delicate Dots Designer Series Paper, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Whisper White
Ink: Bashful Blue, Sahara Sand, Certainly Celery
Accessories: So Saffron Sale-a-bration ribbon, Soft Subtles Brad, Scallop Edge Punch, Big Shot, Scallop Envelope Bigz Die, Round Tab Punch

Here it is pulled out:
To make this card, I stamped the flower from the Polka Dot Punches on the background of the Certainly Celery background. Next, I used the scallop border punch on a piece of Whisper White. I adhered this behind the Bashful Blue. I ran the paper through my Big Shot to create the envelope base and folded it up. You have to be careful when adhering, because the envelope sides and bottom flap do not fully overlap. The cutest part of the card is the pull-out message and image. I carefully stamped the words in Sahara Sand so they fit along the bottom. Next, I added the largest butterfly. I added the smaller butterfly to finish. I tied a knot in the ribbon. I added a brad to flatten it a bit. I adhered the ribbon ends to the back the envelope. The final step was to adhere the envelope to the card!

I didn't come up with this idea on my own. I received this card in a swap. I didn't own Cheap Talk and I love butterflies anyway, so I used Flight of the Butterfly. I'd credit the original artist, if I had her name! Sorry!



Happy Stamping! (and the last 3 days of Sale-a-bration)!

Sweet Bags for Special People!

Check it out. I just whipped up this bag of goodies:

Pretty, huh? Not my usual colors! I love this paper and decided to cover my gift bags for  my new recruits. What's inside? You'd have to be a recruit to know! He he he! I am off to a downline meeting, with MY DOWNLINE! How fun! 

Stamps: Sweet Stems, Statement of the Heart

Paper: Raspberry Tart, Rose Red, Kiwi Kiss

Ink: Old Olive, Rose Red

Accessories: Gift Bag, Paper Crimper, Blender pen

Happy Stamping!

Honey of a Card!

Did I ever mention that I move part of my stamp room each week to the house I stay in during the week from my stamp room? This makes designing challenging as I cannot possibly bring everything! This week I was also trying to get some swaps ready for a Stampin' Up! Training Event called a Regional next weekend. So, as I designed this card this week, I was trying to use the limited supplies I had in quantity. Here's what I created:



Whew!
Stamps: Honey of a Day, Thoughts and Prayers
Paper: Kraft, So Saffron, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Parisian Breeze Speciality Paper
Ink: Basic Gray
Accessories: Watercolor Water Crayons, Aquapainter, Scallop Edge Punch, Organza Ribbon.

The inspiration for this card came from the Mojo Monday Sketch Blog Challenge #79.

I was trying to not use my Big Shot. I seem to be using it a lot lately! I also needed something great for swapping. This sketch is amazing and makes it easy to create beautiful cards. Because I was short on paper, I did do some substituting until I ran out of the Parisian Breeze Speciality paper.





To add the "Thinking of You," I used a masking technique. First, I put a piece of good old clear tape over the part of the stamp I didn't want around:

 Next, I pulled the tape off. You can see here that part of the stamp is inked and the other part uninked. 

Finally, I stamped it by using a matte as a placeholder.

Happy Spring and Happy Stamping!

40 and Fabulous

Over the past 10 years, my sister and I have gotten amazingly closer. Growing up we were such different people, that we really weren't emotionally close, even if we got a long ok. (minus those teen years of yelling matches when mom and dad were away). But, really, at this point, she's my best friend. Which is weird to me at the same time as it is special. She called two weekends ago to tell me about an 80's bash for a friend of hers. She needed a good idea for a gift. I was designing in my stamp room so had stamping on my brain. I thought, 40 things for being 40! She loved the idea. Next thing I know, I'm creating this:



Stamps: Polka Dot Punches
Paper: Delicate Dots Designer Series Paper
Ink: Bashful Blue
Accessories: Matchbox Bigz Die for the BIg Shot, Sale-a-bration Ribbon Bundle, Stampin' Up! Gift Bag

Kit contents include: 3 Bath and Body Works lotions and soaps, 24 Bliss chocolates, 12 tealights, and a magnet.

I love the Sale-a-bration paper. By the way, you need to place a $50 order by March 31 to get it! Time is running out! I used an item I just got on a preorder. As demonstrators, we get sneak peaks at upcoming products! The little boxes are made using my Matchbox Die. Just run the paper through the Big Shot, fold a bit, and Voila! a box! Inside I put 12 Bliss chocolates. The lotions I had around waiting to alter them a bit, so I added a strip of DSP. Not much, but fun. Finally, I found this certainly celery magnet in my stash (that cupboards full of stuff I keep buying, but not using). I added a label accent from when I used the Matchbox die and I was done. Almost. I next, needed to decorate the bag. I cut pieces of DSP, Snailed them up, and added ribbon for flair. My sister still wanted a sign that said 40 and Fabulous, but I never did get around to that! Opps.

Happy Spring!

Always Mojo!

Today, I saw my first robin. BamBam the cat was sitting in the picture window looking out and I realized that there was lump in the bush...a robin. Spring must really be coming! I also took this picture last Sunday in my flower garden at home.

A sure sign! The other sure sign Spring is around the corner is the way the middle schoolers I teach have been acting. Whew! Love, fiestyness, forgetfulness, craziness, tiredness....you name a -ness, they have it!

The therapy that gets me through is stamping and today I created this card:

Stamps: Always
Paper: Parisian Breeze Specialty Paper, Baja Breeze, Kraft, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip and Sahara Sand
Accessories: 1 3/4 circle punch, Circle Scissors, 5/8' organza ribbon, Stampin' Up! Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plates, Big Shot, Multipurpose pad, silicone pad, and crease plate.

The sketch came from the Mojo Monday Card Sketch blog.

I love the sketch. I had this idea floating around and tonight just couldn't get it all the way to my vision, but I am using limited supplies and away from my stamp room. I set up temporary camp in Carmen's front room and this week have a lot of stuff due to my crop Saturday, but since I forgot my ink pads, life got challenging when creating today! It's amazing how handy owning them all is!

Enjoy your first days of spring!

Grateful and Glad!

Happy Saturday! I just spent 9 hours stamping at this month's Green Bay Scrapbooking Club's Crop and Stamp at St. Clare Hall. Whew! This scrapbooking club is quite fun and the day was full of great food, great company, and great stamping! I spent most of the day working on swaps and a few upcoming projects. At some point, I will finish those scrapbook pages from the past two years, but right now, I am having a ton of fun stamping! I am so lucky to live my life!

What did I finish? I got this swap ready to send off. This is the real swap that I will send for the baby swap. I recently posted a card I thought was right for it, but it turns out, I signed up to make thank-you cards, not invitations! Good thing I had some paper around this week while away from my stamp room!

 

Stamps: Wild About You, Define Your Life

Paper: Certainly Celery, Kraft, So Saffron, Bashful Blue

Ink: Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Sahara Sand

Accessories: Soft Subtle Brads, Stampin' Up! Backgrounds I Texturz, Big Shot, Scallop Circle Bigz Die, paper piercing tool, matte, and template.

I loved this sketch! I got the idea from the Diva Coffee Break Design Challenge this week:

After intense use, my Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery stamp pads need reinking, but I had them in Neenah, while I was at work in Shawano. Bummer. But, since they both had the same effect, I am going to pretend I wanted it that way! I also didn't have my stamp-a-ma-jig, so some of my sentiments on the swap were slightly off-kilter. Considering the week I had (everything was off-kilter), I think they turned out pretty well!

Happy Stamping (and Spring)!

Some Bunny Loves You

My friend and fellow demonstrator said she got out her Easter decorations and found a cute bunny made with heart punches. Since Stampin' Up! has a heart punch, she made a new one with a folded triangle pouch. I loved it immediately when she sent me a picture. Thanks, Kerry! I do not own the larger heart punch (GASP), but I do own the Hearts Sizzlets Dies for the Big Shot! Here's my design:

Paper: Delicate Dots Designer Paper, Whisper White
Ink: Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Hearts Sizzlets, Big Shot, paper piercing tool and matte, Vintage Eyelets, Soft Subtles Eyelets, Black Stampin' Up! journaler, Mini Glue Dots, Scallop Bigz die, Sponge Dauber, Signo Gel pen

This was so easy. Here is a photo of the layout of the hearts:

To make this bunny, cut two hearts in half. One set makes the ears. One set makes the feet. The face and body are upside down hearts. Glue the face heart on top of the body heart. Glue the feet hearts with the cut side at the bottom. Glue the ears behind the face. Use a piercing tool to create a hole for the eyes and nose. Use the Stampin' Up! Journaling marker to draw whiskers and stitches. Dab Pretty in Pink on the feet, ears, and cheeks. TaDAH!

I added a scallop cut out of the Delicate Dots Designer Series Paper in a cone behind the bunny to add a few tasty treats! I think these would make great gifts for coworkers in April.

Happy Stamping!

Envelope Your Message!

Today I am sharing a cool kind of card. I found it on splitcoaststampers.com when I was looking for a new challenge! 

Here it is open: 

Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Inspired by Nature

Paper: Very Vanilla Envelope, Very Vanilla, Bordering Blue, Mellow Moss

Ink: Bordering Blue, Mellow Moss

Accessories: Circle Punch, Key Tab Punch, Paper Crimper, SAB ribbon, Designer Label Punch

All you have to do is cute the top of the envelop off and crimp the bottom part! The inside is a 4x4 square!

Simple, Simple, Simple, but definitely a card I'll be using again! 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Wouldn't it be cool to have a great project here to brighten your day? Yep. Apparently, the St. Patrick's Day stuff I took pictures of in February, well....disappeared. Hmm.


Good news! This is my 101st post! To celebrate, tell me your favorite Stampin' Up! Stamp Set new or retired! Leave a comment. I will let Random.org pick winner on Saturday,  March 20th. I will send the winner BLOG CANDY...a stamp set, a treat, and some paper.....all SU!

Happy Stamping!

Baby Shower...Mojo Style!

Well, I finally got around the Mojo Monday sketch #77. After 4 hours of working, I finally came up with this:

I felt totally limited as I was making a card for a swap...invitation for a baby shower. What do I know about babies? I avoid them. They always puke, poop, or pee on me! When they start walking, they love me, but until then...they are not my thing. I wanted to make a generic card, but ended up with Bashful Blue because the colors felt right. Maybe I've been playing with the Sale-o-bration paper too much! (It's the same colors as the Delicate Dots Designer Series Paper)

Stamps: Cute and Cuddley

Paper: Sahara Sand, Barely Banana, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue

Ink: Going Gray

Accessories: Many Marvelous Markers, paper piercing tool, matte, and template, Stampin' Up! Exclusive Texturz plates, Big Shot, Pennant Die (for scallop), 1 3/4 Circle Punch

This sketch is great. Check out the Mojo Monday Sketch Blog for inspiration!

Happy Stamping!

It's that springy time of year!

I love my big shot. I love holidays. Luckily, I live in a house during the week in which each holiday is thoroughly celebrated. Carmen is an amazing decorator! On the weekend, I get to be in my own house, with very little decoration, but mine all the same. The best of both worlds. Carmen's influence must be rubbing off on me. I have had this idea for a while flowing around my head and decided to bring it out for my Celebrate Sale-a-bration Stamp Camp this weekend!

I used my Big Shot Top Note Die for the basket. I then inked Dotted lines Jumbo Wheel with Creamy Caramel. I went both horizontally and vertically to create a basket-like effect. I used my Ovals Bigz die to create the eggs. To decorate them, I used my Stampin' Up! Exclusive Texturz pads to add dimension to them. To make the handle, I cut a 1 inch by 11 inch strip. I used the Scallop border punch on both sides. The basket was too boring, so I used my new favorite accessory...the Sale-a-bration ribbon! This is amazing ribbon, and FREE makes it better!

Edited on 3/14/09: I totally forgot when I wrote this post that I created this partly for me and partly for the Diva Coffee Break Designs Challenge #118.

Have fun!

WHOOO HOOOOO! An Easter Sneak Peek!

Speaking of Easter, Stampin' Up! is offering a Sneak Peek of Easter Sets from the upcoming Occassions Mini Collection. You can order these sets NOW, instead of waiting to April 1st. How cool is that! 

Click here to see the sets in pdf form. Below is a list.

Item	Description	Retail Price
113196	An Egg-cellent Easter	$21.95
113262	Wagon Full of Fun	$34.95
113822	Eight Great Greetings	$27.95
115421	Ocho saludos geniales  (Spanish Eight Great Greetings)	$27.95
114643	Huit souhaits sympas   (French Eight Great Greetings)	$27.95
113833	Egg Hunt Stampin' Around wheel

My apologies for not noticing this sooner! Remember, that if you order $50 or more, you can choose a Sale-a-bration product for FREE! You can email me your order or go to my demonstrator website and click SHOP NOW under my name in the top right! 

Happy Shopping!

Diva-licious Design Challenge

As one of my stamping goals is to do more stamping, I have decided to do more challenges. I love the Diva Coffee Break Design Challenges and this week's fit perfectly into my planning for next weekend's Sale-a-bration Stamp Camp. Saturday, March 14, 12-4, my house. (There is still room, so if you want to join me for a day of fun, send me an email. )

Stamps: Botanical Blooms

Paper: Not Quite Navy, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue

Ink: Not Quite Navy, Certainly Celery

Accessories: Fresh Favorites Buttons, Earth Elements Brads, Ticket corner punch, Distressing Tool, Small oval punch, Large oval punch, Horizontal Slot Punch, SAB Certainly Celery Ribbon, Bashful Blue 1/4 grosgrain ribbon

Here is the image of the sketch: 

I probably wouldn't have added the brads, but they were part of the sketch. In the future, I will also move the  button to the right side. These were all decisions I made just now looking at it again! 

Happy Stamping!

Sketch Fun, Color Fun, Pun Fun

Whew! I have been furiously stamping as much as I can. Today's project shows what I do when I just can't think of my own idea and need a place to start. Challenges. A challenge is a posting online that can take many forms: a sketch, a color combination, a supply list, you name it! I have shown you many times where my projects were inspired by challenges on Splitcoaststampers. I also have found inspiration in two other places, which I used on this card:

Stamps: Pun Fun, Sweet Celebrations

Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Green Galore, Rainbow Sherbet Designer Series Paper

Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Basic Gray, Green Galore

Accessories: Clear buttons, mini glue dots, 1 1/4 inch square punch, square scallop punch, 1 1/4 circle punch, scallop edge punch, blender pen, Bold Brights Brads, paper piercing tool and mat, crystal effects, 1/4 tempting turquoise grosgrain ribbon, paper snips, Stampin' Up! Texturz, Big Shot

I made this card with a monthly swap in mind. Each month I will create a card along a theme. March's theme is Seeing Clearly. I didn't have any acetate sheets yet to use, so I decided to go with my supply of clear buttons. Here's a close up of my layering. I really am impressed with myself on this one.





Unfortunately, I had more square buttons than circle, so I also designed this version:


But I like it. It's got spunk. I got the sketch idea from Mojo Monday Sketch Blog from February 2. I plan to do at least one of these a month...on time and upload to their blog.



The color combo I got from a different source: Diva Coffee Break Designs. This is a group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators who challenge themselves weekly!
I hope you all are similarly inspired!