7.31.2008

Award


My blogging friend, Lynn has sent me this award. Thank you so much Lynn! I really appreciate it. I love Lynn's blog and all her fabulous cards and projects! Go check out her blog!

7.29.2008

Peach Jam



Our neighbor has a peach tree and usually asks me to come over and pick some peaches, which I'm always anxious to do because I love peaches. As I'm picking, I sing the song, "millions of peaches, peaches for me...millions of peaches, peaches for free..." Anyway, I decided to try to make some peach jam this year. So I put some in all the baby food jars I've been saving and dressed them up with some Ginger Blossoms dsp to give to the neighbors. I printed out little labels and put them on the side and top of the jar. Yeah for peaches!

7.28.2008

One of a Kind

I decided to try another sketch challenge. I have been having fun trying these new layouts.


I tried two different cards. Which one do you like? My dh said he likes the first one.




I changed a couple of things on the second one. I love using the Berry Bliss dsp. I'll be sad when it retires too.



Stampin' Up!'s annual convention starts tomorrow. This year is going to be special because it's Stampin' Up!'s 20th anniversary! I had planned on going, but my son had surgery two weeks ago so I decided that I needed to be home with him. But I will be keeping tabs on what's going on at convention and I'll let you know any news!

Recipe:
Stamps: One of a Kind, Boho Backgrounds
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Purely Pomegranate
Paper: Berry Bliss dsp, Purely Pomegranate, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Purely Pomegranate double-stitched ribbon, dimensionals

7.25.2008

Another 3x3 box


I love making these 3x3 boxes! They are just too cute! Nicole featured them as a 3D demo challenge on splitcoast. If you're a demo, join in the fun!

I used the new Dreams du Jour set for these 3x3 cards and box. I just love how it looks with the new Bella Rose dsp. Check out this post for the pattern. Have a fantastic weekend!

7.23.2008

Blossoms Abound


I will really miss this beautiful set, Blossoms Abound, when it retires next month. I love two-step stamping and the beautiful effect it has! For this project I made a little mini tote and some 3x3 cards to go with it.

The tote is super easy to put together. I started with a 5 1/2 x 6 1/2 piece of bravo burgundy and scored it at 1 and 4 1/2 on the 5 1/2 side and 2 3/4 and 3 3/4 on the 6 1/2 side. I cut on the 2 3/4 and 3 3/4 scores from the outside 1" to the crosswise scoreline on both sides.
Then I used a piece of 1 3/4 x 2 3/4 piece of whisper white with bravo burgundy stamped off for the first layer and then the full strength for the second layer to get the two-step stamping effect. I did the same with certainly celery for the leaves.
I cut a thin 3/4 x 11 strip of certainly celery for the handle and my marker to curl the strip before I adhered it to the box. That trick helps give the cardstock a nice curve without getting any ugly creases in it.
I stamped friend in bravo burgundy and then punched it out with the small oval punch and layered it with a piece of certainly celery punched out from the large oval punch.
Then I made some simple 3x3 cards to go in the tote. I left off a sentiment so that the receiver of this gift could use them for whatever she likes or even stamp her own sentiment on them.
Don't forget to place your order for these retiring stamp sets and accessories before August 10th! I will be placing an order this week, so call or email me to get your order in!

7.22.2008

Online Ordering

This is the news I've been waiting for! Stampin' Up! is going to be unveiling a new ONLINE ORDERING system! You be will able to order through my demonstrator business web site or directly through the customer web site! More details will be announced tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Gift Bags

I'm always looking for great projects that use Designer Series Papers. So when I saw these cute gift bags in On Stage, a Stampin' Up! publication for demonstrators, I knew I had to make some!





Here is my first one. I used the retiring Le Jardin paper, some ribbon and some large pewter eyelets! Here are the instructions and pattern. What a beautiful way to give a gift!

7.21.2008

Retiring Accessories 25% Off!


The Retiring Accessories List is now available and for the first time ever, selectitems are 25% off! Click on the picture above to see and download the list. For the complete list of Retiring Accessories, email me and I will send it you. These items will no longer be available August 10th or until supplies run out! So don't delay, get your order in to me as soon as possible!


7.18.2008

Blog Candy Winner & Sneak Peek #3

Here is the next sneak peek: Heard from the Heart. It a set with four cute sayings. I was inspired by Kristina Werner's simple style for this card. The only In Color I haven't tried yet was baja breeze so I used some bella rose dsp and some olive grosgrain ribbon to go with it. I really love simple cards.

And now for the exciting news: the blog candy winner! Thanks to everyone for their great tips on lighting for pictures. I'm going to try to take some of my pictures outside and see how they turn out.

As for the blog candy winner: It's "j" Jean! Email me your address and I'll send your blog candy to you!

Recipe:
Stamps: Heard from the Heart
Paper: Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Bella Rose dsp
Ink: Baja Breeze
Accessories: scallop edge punch, olive grosgrain ribbon

7.17.2008

Sneak Peek: Wow Flowers

BLOG CANDY ALERT: See 2 posts down!

Here is another sneak peek at one of the new stamp sets: Wow Flowers. Since I had so much fun with the last sketch challenge, I decided to try the next one.

I noticed that a lot of the new In Colors coordinate with the Bali Breeze dsp, so I used a strip of it in the middle. I used tangerine tango, kiwi kiss and riding hood red to go with the "birthday wishes" from Wow Flowers that I stamped in pacific point.



I even used my build-a-brad set for the first time. It's so cute to be able to create your own brad!


Don't forget to check out the blog candy post! I will post the winner tomorrow afternoon!

Recipe:
Stamps: Wow Flowers
Ink: Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Pacific Point
Paper: Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Pacific Point, Bali Breeze dsp
Accessories: Build-a-Brad, scallop punch, 1 1/4 circle punch, dimensionals

7.16.2008

Dreams Du Jour & Sketch Challenge

BLOG CANDY ALERT ( see next post to win!)

As promised here is a sneak peek of one of the new Stampin' Up! sets that will be available in the new catalog August 11th, Dreams Du Jour.

I decided to try my first splitcoast sketch challenge. Here is the layout:



I also used the new In Colors Kiwi Kiss, Pirouette Pink, and Riding Hood Red and the new Bella Rose dsp. And I just had to use the new scallop edge punch too! Here is the card:


I used a lot of dimensionals on this card! I just love the way they make everything pop! I also made the butterflies 3-dimensional by stamping them on the cardstock and then stamping another one and cutting it out and then popping out the wings.


How did I do? I'll have to try some more splitcoast challenges, this one was fun!

Recipe:
Stamps: Dreams Du Jour
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Pirouette Pink, Kiwi Kiss
Paper: Bella Rose dsp, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Red gingham ribbon, scallop edge punch, lots of dimensionals

7.15.2008

Blog Candy



As promised, I have some blog candy! It looks like everyone really liked this box and cards, so I thought I would offer one as blog candy. Nicole even wants to feature it as a 3D demo challenge on splitcoast!


I still need some help with lighting for my pictures. So if you would like to win this cute box, please leave me a comment with a tip on how to use better lighting for taking pictures of cards and projects.



Here are all of the cards that are in the box. I will pick a winner on Friday, so good luck! Keep checking back for more sneak peeks this week!

7.14.2008

Sneak Peek

I got my box of new Stampin' Up! goodies this morning!


I got all the new In Colors, three new stamp sets, Bella Rose dsp, and....


here's the first sneak peek: the new scallop edge punch!






Even though using the corner rounder to create the scallop edge was cool it was time consuming. With the new scallop edge punch you'll be able to create those cute scalloped edges in just a few punches! And there's more! Check out Mary Jo's blog where she shows even more ideas for the scallop edge punch.




It's easy to use. You just slide the cardstock in one side and you'll feel a place where the cardstock stops. Punch down and then slide the cardstock over.




Then you just line the cardstock with the scallops on the punch and punch again and slide it over again till you've reached the end of the cardstock .


You'll end up with a beautifully scalloped edge that was quick and easy to make!

7.12.2008

Retiring Stamp Projects



These are the cards we made at my Retiring Stamp party. I'm still having a hard time parting with the In Colors. I've really enjoyed using them this year. Can you tell? I've used them in all of these cards too!



For the first card, I used Wild Rose and Porcelain Prints dsp. I love how I can easily pick colors from the dsp to create my cards and projects! So for this card I used stamped the smaller flower from Wild Rose (retiring) on very vanilla and matted it on bayou blue. I used the ticket corner punch on the corners. Then I stamped "Happy Birthday" from It's Your Birthday (retiring) and punched it out with the large oval punch and matted it on a piece of bayou blue I punched out with the designer label punch. I love how the ticket corner punch coordinated with the designer label punch. I finished it off with some bayou blue double-stitched ribbon. I sure hope SU is coming out with new ribbon in the In Color colors!


For the next card I kept it simple. I stamped the blossoms from Blossoms Abound (retiring) in purely pomegranate matted on wild wasabi and mounted it on dimensionals. I tied some wild wasabi striped grosgrain ribbon onto some hodgepodge hardware (retiring) and stamped thanks from Much Appreciated (retiring)on the side.


For the last card I used the Artfully Asian set. Since I'm half Chinese, I love Asian sets and keep all of them! I used groovy guava, river rock and basic black, but I decided to use basic grey to stamp the sentiment and flowers. This is the first time I've used basic grey and I really like the softness of the color. I just heard the other day that gray is the new black!

I stamped the "Thank You" and then punched it out with the large oval punch. I wish SU had a larger oval punch, but they don't so I improvised. I punched two large black ovals and placed one a little up and one a little down so it looks like a larger oval. I figure it's better than trying to free hand cut an oval, right?

Stay tuned for next week! I will be showing some of the new products that will be available in the next catalog and well as some blog candy!

7.11.2008

Tiny Treat Basket

I made these tiny treat boxes for door prizes for my Retiring Stamp Party last night. They were quick and simple to make. I followed the tutorial I found on splitcoast. I used the soft sky prints designer series paper for the box and then punched scallops out of the same paper.

Recipe:
Paper: Soft Sky Designer Series Paper
Accessories: Scallop punch, slot punch, white taffeta ribbon

7.10.2008

NEW In Colors!

Here are the new In Colors! I can't wait to get them. My order is coming Monday! Stay tuned, I will have more sneak peeks and blog candy next week!

(Thanks to Dannie for the picture!)

Save the date: Thursday, August 28th will be the New Catalog Party!

Goodbye Wild Rose & Porcelain Prints

I'm so sad that the In Colors are retiring and that means a lot of the Designer Series Paper that have the In Colors will be retiring too. Porcelain Prints in one of my favorites so I decided to make some cute cards and a box to go with them. I've been wanting to make this box I received as blog candy from the very talented Kelly Lunceford. Here is a pattern:



I've also been trying to experiment with taking pictures of the cards. I'm not satisfied with how the lighting is turning out. I use several different lights, but I keep getting a shadow. So in this picture I took away the piece of white cardstock that I was using for the back. Do you think it looks better that way? Can anyone give me some hints and tips on lighting?


I made three boxes. For the first one, I used wild wasabi cardstock and then some of the Porcelain Prints dsp on the front.
For the next two boxes I used the Porcelain Prints dsp as the box.

Make sure to check back this next week when I post one of these boxes as blog candy!

RecipeStamps: Wild Rose
Ink: Bayou Blue, Wild Wasabi
Cardstock: Bayou Blue, Wild Wasabi, River Rock, Porcelain Prints
Accessories: Scallop punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, 5 petal flower punch, wild wasabi striped grosgrain ribbon, blue bayou , wild wasabi , & river rock double-stitched ribbon


Click here to Order Stampin' Up! Online Anytime!!






7.02.2008

Great News

All New Stamp Sets Are Die Cut!

Woo hoo! Happy Dance!

From the Stampin' Up! web site:

We're excited to announce that all new stamp sets in the Fall-Winter 2008 Idea Book & Catalog (including new hostess sets) will be die cut for your convenience! We know you enjoy the flexibility of custom mounting your stamps, and with these die-cut sets, all you'll need to do is pop, peel, and place before you begin stamping.

Only our new stamps will be die cut; sets carried over from the last catalog and those on the dormant list will still require trimming. But, each new set will feature a die cut icon so you and your customers will have no problems identifying die-cut sets.

More time to stamp!

Remember Cranberry Crisp?

With the 6 new In Colors every year, the only retired color I have ever kept is Cranberry Crisp. I still love it. I can't part with it. I decided to use it with close to cocoa to make this quick birthday card. I don't know if I'm going to part with this year's In Color colors either because I have really grown to love them! Are there any retired colors you can't part with?

Stamps: Boho Backgrounds
Ink: Cranberry Crisp, Close to Cocoa
Paper: Cranberry Crisp, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Chocolate Chip wide grosgrain ribbon, scallop punch, paper piercer, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch

7.01.2008

Hodgepodge Hardware Sale!


Hodgepodge Hardware Discount - Limited Time 25% off Discount

Dates: July 1-August 10 (or while supplies last)

Promotion Details:

The following Hodgepodge Hardware finishes are being offered at a special 25 percent discount:

Item # Page # Item Description Regular Price Sale Price
105532 188 Aged Copper Hodgepodge Hardware $27.95 $20.96
105531 188 Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardware $27.95 $20.96
105515 188 Pewter Hodgepodge Hardware $27.95 $20.96

Contact me today to order yours before they are gone!