A Sneak Peek (Kind of) For You!

If you are following other blogs, you may already know this but since I am still playing catch up, I wanted to let everyone know that Stampin' Up! announced a new product which will debut in this year's Holiday Mini Catalog.  It is so cool and something I can't wait to get my hands on!  Several demonstrators were even lucky enough to win one at convention!  Are you wondering what it is?  Well, here's a clue:  "You'd SIMPLY be a "pal" if you SCORED one of these!"  Figure it out?  Need another clue:  Here's a project that was on one of the desks at Stampin' Up! which would be easier to make if you used this product:

Did you guess yet?  The already available product is called the ScorPal but Stampin' Up!'s version is called SIMPLY SCORED but there is nothing simple about this product!  It is very cool.  Unfortunately I can't show you a picture of it but I can certainly describe it for you.  There is an ergonomic stylus (similar to the dry embossing stylus) as opposed to a plastic bone folder.  The stylus snaps into its' own resting place at the bottom of the product so you never need to wonder where it disappeared to.  There is a storage area on the back side to hold a bone folder or, if you are like Donna who demonstrated it, a chocolate bar!  Finally there are pegs that you can use to mark the positions that you wish to score at - no more measuring each and every time you want to score at a particular place!  Finally, it is going to retail for $29.95 which is LESS than the ScorPal!  I can't wait to get my hands on it!  How about you?  It will be available for ordering on September 1.

Stampin' Up!'s Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set....

Here are a couple more cards that I took to swap at convention.  I didn't make very many of them but I should have!  They were very popular!

 This card was made by stamping the flower with Basic Black ink onto Pretty in Pink cardstock at the bottom.  I then stamped it onto a Post-It Note and masked it.  I then turned the stamp a little to the left and stamped again.  I removed the mask from the first flower and placed it onto the second flower and stamped the third one, again rotating to the right.  I continued this until I reached the top.  I then took a toothpick and a little bit of cotton from a cotton ball and, using bleach, traced on the inside of the stamen on the flowers to bleach the color out.  I then cut along the right side of the flowers and attached it to Pool Party cardstock which had been run through the Big Shot with one of the Texturz plates.  It was then finally mounted onto Basic Black cardstock.  The ribbon is 5/8" Satin in Basic Black and the "love you" came from the Short & Sweet stamp set.  I used the Scallop Trim Border and Scallop Trim Corner punches for the label.  That took a couple of attempts to get it to work out correctly but I was very pleased with how it looks.

This is the same card except I trimmed both sides of the flowers which were on Wisteria Wonder cardstock and the backgrom is Old Olive.
Let me know how your attempts at making the label turn out!  If you are interested, I can always do a little tutorial!

Getting Paid to Do What I Love - Is There Anything Better?

My mother-in-law recently approached me to make some personalized stationery for a couple of friends of hers.  Apparently she is part of a group who celebrates each other's birthdays and the best part - everyone gets a gift!  (How do I get in on this idea?)  The Birthday Girl is given something really nice and the other two are given smaller gifts.  My contribution was the smaller gifts.  A "Thank You" goes out to Christine and Barbara on SCS for the inspiration cards!

 This group of cards used the Bella Bleu DSP which is retired but you could use Mocha Morning or Beau Chateau from the current catalog.  The letters are from the Lovely Letters stamp set.  The colors used are Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Not Quite Navy.  The ribbon is 3/8" Taffeta in Soft Suede.  The box's dimensions are:  8-5/8"x7-3/8".  The sides are scored at 1-1/2".  For the top, I just scored at a tiny bit less than 1-1/2".  I used the Eyelet Border punch around the base of the lid.

The second stationery box was made using Old Olive , Early Espresso, Soft Suede and Very Vanilla cardstock.  The horses came from a retired set called Brushstroke Horses but you can substitute with the bird from Nature Walk, the zebra from Zoo Review, the wolf from In Wilderness or whatever inspires you!  Again, the ribbon is Soft Suede.  The Old Olive cardstock is stamped with the swirl from Creative Elements which is one of my new favorites from the catalog.  I can't wait to begin making cards with that set so get ready to see them!
Aren't these lovely gifts for someone?  Who can you think of to give such a gift to?  A sister, friend, teacher... the list is endless!

Sorry I Have Been Away So Long.....

Hi Everyone!  Did you miss me while I was at Convention?  Hopefully my posts of my convention swap cards kept you inspired while I was gone.  I knew that I would be tired from the drive home on Sunday so I had a post all ready for you on Monday and figured I would jump back on Tuesday with new postings.  Well, it didn't quite work out that way.  On Wednesday, July 20, we put our 16 1/2 year old Britney Spaniel named Fergie to sleep.  She had such a great, long life but we really miss her.  Here's a picture of Cassidy, Fergie and me from a few years ago.  She loved sitting in the back of the boat where she could watch everything.

Tomorrow I will begin posting again with pictures from Convention as well as getting some techniques to you.  Hope all is well with your families.

Stampin' Up!'s Clearly For You stamp set....

This is my last swap card from convention.  I figured I better have a card ready for you because I am exhausted from convention but it was a blast!  Over the next couple of weeks, I will be sharing cards and information that I received at convention so stay tuned!
This card was a bit more involved than some of the others.  The cardstock I used was Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White and Paisley Petals DSP.  The ink colors are Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Always Artichoke, River Rock and Crumb Cake.  The ribbon is the Baja Breeze seam binding - I just love the seam binding ribbons and am so glad that Stampin' Up! kept them in the new catalog!

Stampin' Up!'s Four Frames & Teeny Tiny Wishes sets....

For sentiments, it seems Teeny Tiny Wishes has become my "go to" set!  It is so versatile and fits in just about any of the punches.  Here I stamped the Four Frames image in Cherry Cobbler ink and the Thinking of You in Always Artichoke and then punched it out using the Decorative Label punch.  I then used Always Artichoke and made a layer using the cut method I have shown you before.  The border is the new Lace Ribbon punch.  I made two of them and used an Always Artichoke seam binding ribbon to weave them together.  I then tied a bow and placed it behind the raised label.  The flower was made with the bird punch for the leaves and the Boho Blossoms and Flower Trio punches for the flower.  A Cherry Cobbler brad was used to hold it all together.  Everything was then layered on Paisley Petals DSP and Always Artichoke cardstock.

Stampin' Up!'s Elizabeth stamp & Lovely Letters set...

Here's a card for everyone.  I showed this card to my upline, Stella, and she said "oh, an "S" for me?"  I had to be honest and say it was for "Stampin' Up!" but it certainly could be for Stella!  I stamped the "S" from the Lovely Letters stamp set with Basic Black ink and used a sponge with Cherry Cobbler ink to distress the outside edge of the 1 1/4" punched image.  I then layered it onto a piece of Cherry Cobbler cardstock punched with the 1 3/8" punch.  I stamped the Elizabeth stamp with Basic Black ink on Whisper White cardstock and then colored it with Always Artichoke and Cherry Cobbler markers.  The pearls were also colored with the Always Artichoke marker.  When using Stampin' Up!'s markers to color the pearls, I find a couple of coats of color work best - just let them dry in between.  This image was layered on Cherry Cobbler cardstock again and was layered on the Paisley Petals DSP and Always Artichoke cardstock.

Stampin' Up!'s Fabulous Florets stamp set....

I am thrilled that Stampin' Up! kept this stamp set because I just love it.  I also like the Beyond the Garden DSP that matches it.  I used the Fabulous Florets stamps in Wild Wasabi for the leaves and Pacific Point for the flower.  I also used the Thank You Kindly set for the sentiment.  For each of the flowers, I had to cut out three so the flower would be layered.  I attached the Beyond the Garden DSP to the Pacific Point cardstock and then ran it through the Big Shot using the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder and then layered that onto Wild Wasabi cardstock.  A 5/8" white satin ribbon topped it off!

Stampin' Up!'s Aviary stamp set....

Are you thinking of me?  On the road, crossing Nevada and wondering why didn't I just fly?  Oh yeah, the money!  I probably am feeling like this little bird stuck in my cage which is a dark green Honda CR-V. 
Okay, enough whining!  Here's the card:
The layers are made with Poppy Parade, Early Espresso, Just Eat Cake DSP and Whisper White.  The ribbon is Poppy Parade.  The leaves are punched out from the bird punch and the flowers come from the Boho Blossoms punch and the Flower Trio punch.  The brads are from the brights brads and I used a Poppy Parade marker to color one of the pearls at the top of the cage.  The top flap of the Early Espresso piece was run through the Big Shot using the Lots of Tags die but I didn't run it all the way through.  I just did one full a turn of the handle after I felt the resistance from the die in the Big Shot.  I then cut a straight line out to each side and used the corner rounder punch to round the corners.  I then folded it down a 1/4" and placed the stamped image up inside the fold.  The image was stamped using Poppy Parade and Early Espresso markers.

Stampin' Up!'s Always Elegant stamp set...

Here is the first card that I will be swapping while at convention.  Today I am packing and getting ready to leave for Salt Lake City in the morning.  We will be leaving at 5 am so we get into SLC early enough to attend events put on by other stamping groups.  I will be riding with my Mom, Kay Brown and Christine Bellow.  It should be a fun but long road trip!
Now, back to the card - I am using the Paisley Petals designer series paper which was offered back in April on a "sneak peek".  I am glad I ordered a couple of packages of the paper so I could get started on swaps early.  The colored area on the Baja Breeze cardstock which is stamped with the Always Elegant stamp is colored with a River Rock marker.  It really looks much more green with the Baja Breeze color below it.  It ended up working perfectly!  The card is layered with Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze and River Rock cardstock.  "Always" is stamped in River Rock ink and the scallop line below it is stamped in Baja Breeze.  These stamps are also part of the Always Elegant stamp set.

IT'S CHRISTMAS IN JULY!!!

$99 Starter Kit

Stampin’ Up! just announced a fantastic promotion if you are interested in signing up as a demonstrator. During the month of July, you can join the Stampin' Up! family as a demonstrator for only $99! This limited time Starter Kit--valued at $185--comes with the following high-quality products:
     · Easy Events Clear-Mount Set*
     · Pennant Parade Wood-Mount Set*
     · Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pad
     · Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad
     · Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad
     · Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
     · Brights 8-1/2" x 11" Assorted Card Stock
     · Just Add Cake Designer Series Paper*
     · Chocolate Chip 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon*
     · Note Cards (20)
     · Clear-Mount Block C
     · Blender Pen (1)
     · SNAIL Adhesive
     · Business supplies
*Brand new to the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog!

Plus, join in July and get a FREE Christmas Keepsake project kit--a $40 value! Imagine an afternoon spent chatting with friends while creating something beautiful--isn't that what Stampin' Up! is all about? But act now because this special kit is only available as part of this limited-time offer.

As an added bonus, first-time demonstrators can get two free months of Demonstrator Business Web Services (DBWS) when they sign up during their first 21 days as a demonstrator. Subscribing to DBWS means having your own online store, blog, hostess portal, and much more!

Join Stampin' Up! in July and get brand-new products, including an exclusive project kit--all for just $99!

Are you interested? Would you like some more information? Just contact me and I can help you get started having fun.

It's Here! Stampin' Up!'s 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog....

It's here and I love it!  Have you ordered your copy yet?  What are you waiting for?  I have one sitting in my craft room with your name on it!  There are lots of new beautiful stamp sets and embellishments.  Also, the new In Colors for 2011-2013 are here - what do you think?: 

When I first saw them, they seemed real close to other colors that we currently have but as I began creating with them, I really like them.
Over the next week, I will be preparing for Stampin' Up!'s annual convention which is less than two weeks away.  I have been working on my swaps so I can bring home lots of ideas to show you here on my blog.  While I am gone, I will be posting the cards that I am going to be swapping.  I didn't want post them early just in case there are other demonstrators out there taking a peek at my blog.  That would ruin the surprise of swapping!  I leave on July 12th and return on July 17th.  I am second-guessing my decision to drive - what was I thinking?  Ten hours in a car!  Hopefully I will come home with lots of ideas to share with all of you!