Embellished Paper

Sale-A-Bration is Here!

2012-01-24T13:15:00.000-07:00

It's finally here! Now through March 31, 2012 earn free Sale-a-Bration items for every $60 you spend on Stampin' Up! products. Spend $200 or more and receive Sale-a-Bration items and hostess benefits!

Click here to view the Sale-A-Bration catalogue.

Want the best deal? Join the Stampin' Up! family during Sale-A-Bration for $65 off the regular price (now only $150)! It includes up to $425 of product and ships for free! You can choose and customize either the standard starter kit or the digital starter kit.

PLUS, just for joining during Sale-A-Bration, you get one free designer paper pack (you pay shipping) or a free digital download (no shipping) every month you are active for the rest of the year!

Hobby stampers! Test out the demonstrator benefits and discounts from now through June 30, 2012 with no obligation to purchase anything or host workshops. There is no penalty to drop if you want to take advantage of all the starter kit has to offer! Contact me to discuss all the benefits and discounts Stampin' Up! has to offer.

Stocking Builder Punch Not Being Carried Over!

2011-12-22T16:55:00.001-07:00

Be sure to scroll down for Christmas card posts!

In my almost 4 years as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I have never seen a punch be introduced in a mini catalogue and not carried over into the next, but I guess there is a first for everything! Stampin' Up! recently announced that the stocking builder punch from the Holiday Mini catalogue will not be carried over. If you were wanting this punch be sure to order it soon (and don't forget the fabulous coordinating Stitched Stockings stamp set)! The following statement was issued by Stampin' Up!

Stocking Builder Punch
December 20, 2011

Our occasion-specific mini catalogues allow us the opportunity to share the latest seasonal products with you and your customers, and we often carry over products from our mini catalogues into the following Idea Book & Catalogue. This time, however, we have decided not to carry over the Stocking Builder Punch (item 124095) from the 2011 Holiday Mini Catalogue into the next Idea Book & Catalogue. Instead we will offer other great designs in its place--not to mention a trendy, new design planned for next holiday season.

Once the current inventory of this punch has been depleted, it will no longer be available for purchase. We hope many Stampin' Up! stockings will adorn cards and brighten holiday projects this season and look forward to seeing what you create with the next seasonal design.

I am so sad this isn't carrying over because I love this punch and it was quickly becoming one of my favourites for Christmas cards!

Rudolph Christmas

2011-12-22T16:37:00.002-07:00

It's the last post of my Christmas cards from class (I apparently forgot to photograph one of the cards - if I get a chance I'll try to get one - it uses the set Holiday Lineup and features the mica flakes from the holiday mini). Be sure to scroll down for two other posts from today of other cards from the class.

This final card was definitely the hardest of the cards to make, but is one of my favourites. It was inspired by Mary's card here and uses her tutorial for creating the punch template in the same post. Rudolph's nose is coloured in with a real red marker and covered with a dab of Crystal effects for dimension.

Stamp: SU Jolly Bingo Bits, Heard from the Heart
Ink: SU chocolate chip, real red
Paper: SU ww, real red, chocolate chip
Ribbon: SU 5/8" chocolate chip satin, 1/8" real red taffeta
Punch: SU 1 1/4" square punch
Misc: SU crystal effects, dimensionals, dotto adhesive

Snowflake Happy Holidays

2011-12-22T16:31:00.000-07:00

Scroll down for other posts today of cards from my Christmas card class.

I always love the look of three panels down a card so I had to make one with snowflakes - you'll see a different take on the three panels in the upcoming post. It's hard to tell in the photo, but all the green snowflakes were coloured with my 2-way glue pen and covered with dazzling diamonds. The girls in class all chose various sentiments to use in place of the Happy Holidays from the Four the Holidays stamp set.

Stamps: SU Snow Swirled, Four the Holidays
Ink: SU real red, old olive
Paper: SU ww, real red, old olive dsp from brights stack
Punch: SU corner counder, scallop edge
Misc: SU dazzling diamonds, 2-way glue pen

In Colour Ornament Card

2011-12-22T16:26:00.001-07:00

Here's another one of the Christmas cards from class.

This is a take on Jen's card here. I didn't change too much about it because I loved the colour combo and hints of silver!

Stamps: SU Delightful Decorations, Snow Swirled

Ink: SU basic gray, island indigo, pool party

Paper: SU ww, pool party, island indigo, silver glimmer

Punch: SU ornament punch

Brad: SU 3/8" jumbo silver brad

Embossing Folder: SU Snowburst

Misc: SU dimensionals

Festive Stitched Stockings

2011-12-15T14:39:00.001-07:00

Last post for today! Scroll down for 3 other Christmas card posts! I'll hopefully get around to sharing the remainder of the cards sometime over the weekend.

The stitched stocking stamp set and punch were must-haves for me when the Holiday Mini catalogue came out so of course I had to make a card for the class using it! The girls loved it. Each person used a different stocking image and I have to admit I liked the look of snowflake and argyle stockings better than mine - I went with the polka dots since I thought it would compliment the old olive polka dotted paper!

Despite loving the jingle bells, this was the only card I made for class that used them because they do cost more to mail and I didn't want the girls to have to worry about all of their cards costing too much to send!
TIP: Use a floss threader to thread the baker's twine through the bell!

Stamps: SU Stitched Stockings
Ink: SU real red, old olive
Paper: SU whisper white, real red, old olive, old olive dsp from brights pack
Ribbon: SU white baker's twine
Punch: SU stocking builder punch
Misc: SU mini jingle bell, dimensionals

Northern Frost Snowflake CASE

2011-12-15T14:27:00.002-07:00

Be sure to scroll down to view other Christmas card posts!

As soon as I saw this stunning card by Mary, I knew I would have to CASE it. I swapped the striped embossing for polka dots and changed up the brads, but mostly left everything else the same! I love this shade of blue for Christmas! It was great to see such variety in the cards the girls made just by changing which snowflakes they cut and changing their placement!

Stamps: SU Petite Pairs
Ink: SU Versamark
Paper: SU whisper white, silver glimmer, pool party
Ribbon: SU 3/8" ruffled pool party
Embossing Folder: SU perfect polka dots
Die cut: SU Northern Frost
Embossing Powder: SU silver
Brads: SU silver mini brads, 5/16" silver jumbo brads

Silver Sparkle Dasher

2011-12-15T14:13:00.001-07:00

Be sure to scroll down for other new Christmas card posts!

This photo really doesn't do this card justice, but I think it is one of my favourites that I made for this class. You really have to picture the contrast of the stark white against the shiny silver.

Stamp: SU Dasher

Ink: SU versamark

Paper: SU whisper white, brushed silver

Ribbon: SU silver elastic cord (retired)

Embossing Folder: SU Snow Burst
Misc: SU dimesionals

Joyful CASE

2011-12-15T13:55:00.001-07:00

I've been totally ignoring my blog lately. First, I didn't want to share the Christmas cards I made because they were for a class, then I wasn't felt great, and then we've had Christmas parties, shopping, etc., the list goes on and on and as a result getting photos of the cards just got pushed further and further down the list. So here starts the posts of the cards we made in a Christmas card class for my husband's coworkers - you'll have to excuse the not so great photography!

This first card was a CASE of this card from Jill. I modified it ever so slightly and love both versions. The ladies at the class love to heat emboss so I added it to 3 of the 8 cards that we made!

Stamps: SU Sounding Joy
Ink: SU Crumb Cake, Versamark
Paper: SU crumb cake, very vanilla, cherry cobbler
Embossing Folder: SU Snow Burst
Ribbon: SU cherry cobbler seam binding
Embossing Powder: SU cherry cobbler

MDS Contest Thank You Card

2011-11-04T04:00:00.000-06:00

I posted my scrapbook page I submitted for the MDS conest a couple days ago, and today I will show you the card I submitted as well.

Card Digital Supplies:
Papers: basic black cardstock, very vanilla cardstock, love letter dsp
Stamps: thank you kindly, fabulous florets, petal pizzazz
Embellishments: basic black brads and grosgrain ribbon
Punch: square punch

New Hostess Promotion

2011-11-03T04:00:00.000-06:00

From November 1 - December 15, get an additional $45 in FREE Stampin' Up! merchandise when you host a $450 workshop (before shipping and taxes) in addition to all of the usual great benefits!

Schedule your workshop today to start creating in time for the holidays!

MDS Contest: Scrapbook Entry

2011-11-02T04:00:00.000-06:00

Now that the finalists have been announced for the MDS contest, I thought I would share my entries. Seeing as it was just Halloween, I will start off with my Halloween scrapbook entry.

One of the requirements was to enter a scrapbook page along with journalling. This was the page I submitted and the hardest part for me was definitely the journalling as I typically do not journal in my scrapbooks - I think it turned out okay though.

Maggie actually wore this costume for Halloween and many of the kids who came to the door were more interested in her than in getting candy!

Digital Supplies:

Papers: pumpkine pie cardstock, night and day dsp
Stamps: man's best friend
Embellishments: pumpkin pie brads and grosgrain ribbon, pick your poison borders
Punch: square punch

Halloween SFYTT

2011-10-31T16:03:00.000-06:00

Happy Halloween!

Here's my Halloween take on this months SFYTT.

This is a hybrid card - the image and sentiment were both printed on whisper white card stock after being created in MDS. The rest are actual materials I had on hand.

Stamps: Spooky Treats Designer Template (MDS), Piece of Poison (MDS)
Paper: SU ww, peach parfait, basic black designer series paper stack
Ribbon: SU basic black satin

More Halloween Decor

2011-10-27T14:05:00.002-06:00

I posted my candles that I made for Halloween a couple days ago and here is some more Halloween decor I made for around the house.

These pumpkins were made using the Definitely Decorative vinyl "Spooky Expressions." I actually purchased these around when they first came out but I didn't have anywhere to put them since we were in the apartment. Now that we have a house, we have tons of places to put them! I have one in our kitchen, one in the dining room and one in the living room.

This is a totally non-SU project, but I wanted to share the wreath I made for our front door for Halloween. It was super cheap to create and fairly easy too (except for the second degree burn I got on my finger from the hot glue gun)!

I purchased a wire wreath frame from Michael's and wrapped it with 8 feather boas I got at the dollar store. Then I pulled the leaves off the stems of the skulls (you may have noticed that they are placed underneath the candles I posted a couple days ago) that I got at Michaels and wrapped them around the frame. Finally, I tied on some orange Christmas balls to the frame as well. There are actually quite a few more than you can see in the photo, but the wind made the feathers cover them up when I was photographing it.

Hope you enjoy some of my Halloween projects!

Halloween Candles

2011-10-25T16:16:00.000-06:00

I had been playing with MDS a lot earlier in the month to be able to enter the MDS contest to win downloads and came up with this idea as well.

I created the bands in MDS, printed them, mounted them on black cardstock and wrapped them around the candles. I left them loose enough so that I could slide them off and save them for next year! There are a couple of additional candles that aren't in the photo because they sit up on top of the fireplace mantle.

October 2011 Stampin' Up! Promotions

2011-10-02T23:34:00.003-06:00

Stampin' Up! has introduced two fabulous new promotions for the month of October.

Buy any 2 Simply Sent Kits and get a coordinating stamp set for free!

Buy any two of the following Simply Sent Kits:

Simply Sent Great Day ($15.95) - page 192
Simply Sent Everyday Elegance ($14.95) - page 193
Simply Sent Sweet Moments ($16.95) - page 193

And get a free coordinating stamp set:

It's Your Day (french available) ($10.95) - page 192
Everyday Wishes ($11.95) - page 193
You're Cherished (french available) ($10.95) - page 193

Join the Stampin' Up! Family and Get a FREE Big Shot

This is definitely the best time to become a demonstrator if you have ever considered it. Stampin' Up! is offering a free Big Shot to any new recruit during the month of October. Not interested in, or already own the Big Shot - no problem. Stampin' Up! is offering an alternative up to $125 in free merchandise.

There are two $215 starter kits to choose from if you decide to become a demonstrator: the Standard Starter Kit (valued at $425) and the Digital+ Starter Kit (valued at $415). Either starter kit has free shipping.

This promo is on top of the usual demonstrator benefits including:

20% off product discount
Extra 10% off first demonstrator order (for a total of 30%)
Free subscription to exclusive demonstrator magazine
20% instant income on workshop/customer purchases
Earning cash, trips and other incentives
Ability to work as little or as much as you want
And many more!

Click on the link here to view the flyer.

Contact me using the email link in my sidebar if you are interested in any of these promotions or have any questions.

SFYTT Button Buddies

2011-09-26T12:03:00.000-06:00

Once again, I'm a terrible blogger. Even if I make projects, I don't seem to be very good at getting pictures and posting them any time soon! Unfortunately, I wouldn't expect that to change any time soon - I've been quite busy between work, getting stuff done around the house and now to top it off, my Grandma just passed away, so I'll be going away for her funeral in the near future. I'm having a hard time managing and processing this as my Grandma and I were quite close and she is the only grandparent I had.

Anyways, here's the card I made for this months SFYTT.

Since buttons don't come in the "in colours", I simply used the stamp and covered it in Crystal effects for some added dimension. I love the way this card turned out. I like the sentiment for this card to because it really could be used for just about anything.

Stamps: SU Button Buddies, Bring on the Cake
Paper: SU lucky limeade, ww, Berry Blossoms dsp
Ink: SU lucky limeade, calypso coral
Punch: SU corner rounder
Misc: SU crystal effects, circle cutter

SSSC132 Baby Boy

2011-09-12T19:11:00.001-06:00

Again, I have not been a very good blogger and despite making cards, I have not been good at posting them!

Here is one I made over a week ago for the SSSC132.

I love this new "I Dig You" stamp set - it's so cute and versatile! The sentiment is from another adorable new baby set called "Little Additions." I stamped the truck several times in each of the colours and cut out the separate parts so that I could layer them up on dimensionals to create added dimension to each part of the truck - unfortunately it's not the easiest to see in the photo. The animals were all coloured using my Stampin' write markers and stamped write on the main panel.

Stamps: SU I Dig you, Little Additions
Ink: SU pear pizzazz, marina mist, basic gray, Versamark
Paper: SU ww, pear pizzazz, marina mist, nursery nest dsp
Brads: SU basic gray
Powder: SU whisper white embossing powder
Misc: SU dimensionals, heat tool, paper snips

Holiday Mini Catalogue Now Available

2011-09-01T11:04:00.000-06:00

Today marks the start of the new Holiday Mini Catalogue. It has some fabulous new items in there for the holidays, including the adorable Stitched Stockings stamp set and Stocking builder punch I previewed here.

Click here to view the entire catalogue!
Items in this catalogue are available for purchase today through January 3, 2012.

Array of Sunshine CASE

2011-08-26T11:02:00.002-06:00

I loved this card by Jen as soon as I saw it. As soon as my Stampin' Up! shipment arrived I knew I had to CASE it.

I had to make some modifications to the arrangements of the colours since lucky limeade is the only colour I didn't order ribbon in! I think it works well though - it makes the coral flower really pop. The flower was stamped twice and cut out using my paper snips to be able to raise the center up on dimensionals. To give extra texture to the card, I stamped my woodgrain background stamp on the lime cardstock, heat embossed the sentiment in white, and dry embossed the pooly party background.

Stamps: SU Array of Sunshine (hostess), Woodgrain, Delightful Dozen
Ink: SU pool party, lucky limeade, calypso coral, Versamark
Paper: SU ww, pooly party, lucky limeade
Ribbon: SU pooly party 3/8" ruffled ribbon
Brad: SU lucky limeade designer printed brad
Powder: SU white heat emboss powder
Punch: SU scallop edge punch
Misc: SU dimensionals, paper snips, swiss dots embossing folder

Holiday Mini Sneak Peek

2011-08-24T08:04:00.002-06:00

As Stampin' Up demo's we are allowed to preorder merchandise from upcoming catalogues. The set that I used for this card is form the upcoming Holiday Mini that will be released September 1. It's called Stitched Stockings and has a coordinating punch!

For this card, I went back to one of my favourite layouts that I use quite frequently. I coloured my favourite stocking image from this set using my cherry cobbler and old olive markers, then stamped it on very vanilla cardstock and punched it out using the coordinating punch. Finally, it was adhered to the card base using dimensionals.

I also have to admit that I am not a huge fan of this years Christmas papers so you will probably see me mostly using this jolly holiday designer paper from last year.

Stamps: SU Stitched Stockings
Ink: SU cherry cobbler, old olive
Paper: SU very vanilla, cherry cobbler, jolly holiday dsp (retired)
Ribbon: SU 1/2" cherry cobbler seam binding
Punch: SU Stocking builder punch
Misc: SU dimensionals

SC345 Elebration

2011-08-21T03:22:00.001-06:00

When the new catalogue came in July, I was sad to see the stamp set Baby Steps go, until I found my new favourite replacement for it: Elebration. It's not specific to babies, but the image is just so cute! This card was actually created for last weeks sketch challenge, SC345, but I never got around to posting it until now.

I stamped the image once in StazOn on watercolour paper (and used my aquapainter to colour it in) and once on whisper white cardstock. Once it was coloured, I cut out the elephant and adhered them on top of the image on the whisper white cardstock. It's hard to tell in this photo, but I also used my white gel pen to colour the nails really white! I wish that watercolour paper was white like whisper white. Because it isn't, I thought it looked funny since the background colour of the dsp is white, which is why I decided to cut it out and glue it.

Unfortunately, I realized after colouring, cutting all my cardstock and designer paper that I didn't ahve the correct colour of ribbon, so I substituted the colour I wanted, perfect plum, with wisteria wonder. I think it matches well with the papers, I just wished I had realized it when I coloured the balloon so in wisteria wonder too!

The background paper was created using the stamp set Dot Dot Dot and my stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the image since it doesn't actually span the width or length of the paper.

Stamps: Elebration, Dot Dot Dot, Petite Pairs
Ink: StazOn jet black, Versamark, SU basic gray, blushing bride, marina mist, so saffron, perfect plum
Paper: SU watercolour, ww, blushing bride, nursery nest dsp
Ribbon: SU wisteria wonder 3/8" ruffled
Punch: SU 1" circle
Powder: SU white embossing powder
Misc: SU dimensionals, aquapainter, stamp-a-ma-jig, uniball signo gel pen

New Blog Design and SFYTT

2011-08-16T16:33:00.001-06:00

It's been a long time again since I last posted but this summer is just going by so quickly! I'm sure you all can relate.

Some of you may have already noticed that I changed up my blog design again! I thought I would change it to showcase items that are available in the catalogue too and not just in digital form. I love this new designer paper Domestic Goddess and it has my two favourite in colours: pool party and calypso coral. Hope you guys like it!

This months SFYTT was quite a challenge for me because it contains a panel that is just off kilter. Normally I always straighten these panels but I thought I should really try to stick to the sketch and keep it on the diagonal. I did decide though to use the flower image from the new set Button Buddies because I didn't know how to stamp the image if it actually had a true direction (should I stamp it straight or on the diagonal too).

I think this card actually turned out pretty well. If nothing else, I am at least pleased I managed to not straighten the panel and it didn't look awful!

Stamps: SU Button Buddies, Delightful Dozen
Ink: SU melon mambo, old olive
Paper: SU ww, melon mambo, old olive, old olive dsp
Button: SU old olive designer button from brights pack
Brads: SU old olive brads from brights pack
Ribbon: SU white bakers twine
Misc: SU dimensionals

Another Fabulous Promotion!

2011-08-01T06:44:00.002-06:00

For the month of August, Stampin' Up! has introduced a fabulous new promotion: buy 3 designer series papers, get one free!

Click here to view the complete flyer.

Last Chance for July's SFYTT

2011-07-31T12:08:00.000-06:00

Submitting this card for this months SFYTT just under the wire!

I really struggled with this sketch, mostly because of the three circles but I think it turned out okay. I don't love it but I don't hate it either. I wanted to use the new in colours but I couldn't think of what I would use in place of the buttons since there aren't any in those colours, but as soon as I was done I realized I could have used butterflies there instead.

Stamps: SU awash with flowers, fabulous phrases
Ink: SU basic black, wild wasabi, perfect plum, versamark
Paper: SU ww, basic black, perfect plum
Ribbon: SU 3/8" ww tafetta
Powder: SU ww embossing powder
Punch: SU 1" circle, corner rounder
Buttons: SU perfect plum designer buttons (subtles collection)
Misc: SU heat tool, sticky strip, glue dots

Embossed Wedding CASE and off to Haiti

2011-07-14T04:00:00.002-06:00

I saw this beautiful wedding card that Lisa made and I knew right away that I would want to CASE it, so I put it in my favourites folder and finally got around to making it. Unfortunately, this is one of those cards that I just could not get a good photo of to do it justice - you'll just have to take my word for it that it is really beautiful in real life!

For my version, I stamped the background panel on using the outlined fabulous floret images in Versamark ink on whisper white cardstock and heat embossed them with white embossing powder. You can't tell in the photo but while the embossing powder was still wet, I sprinkled dazzling diamonds on it so that they sparkle as well. I did the same for the main image panel and the sentiment.

The whole card ends up with a white on white glitter effect that looks quite pretty and actually not difficult to read!

This will be the last of my posts for a while this summer. I'm off to Haiti tomorrow to volunteer nurse there for 8 days plus a few more for travel and I didn't have time to make cards to post while I'm away! If you are interested, you can read a bit more about my nursing trip here. I'm not really nervous about going at all, but this will be the first time in several years that Grant and I have spent this long apart. At least I'll have access to email to see how he and our puppy Maggie are doing!

Stamps: SU Fabulous Florets, Occasional Quotes (retired hostess)
Ink: Versamark
Paper: SU whisper white
Misc: SU white embossing powder, dazzling diamonds glitter, heat tool

SC340 Get Well Embossed

2011-07-11T04:00:00.004-06:00

Fabulous Florets is one of my favourite new stamps and it's perfect for embossing. This card was inspired by the sketch challenge SC340 and the ways to use it challenge WT329 to combine something old and something new.

In terms of something old, the challenge suggested something older than 6 months. So, I used retired ribbon from when melon mambo was an "in colour" and not yet in the brights collection. I also used the Thoughts & Prayers stamp set that I have owned since it was released at least a couple years ago.

In terms of something newer than 6 months old, I used my new stamp set Fabulous Florets, and two new embossing powders (melon mambo and wild wasabi).

There are four different heat embossed elements on this card:

the larger flower is heat embossed on whisper white paper with melon mambo embossing powder
the small flower is heat embossed with white embossing powder on melon mambo paper
the stem is heat embossed using wild wasabi embossing powder
the sentiment is heat embossed using black embossing powder.

I love the look and feel that heat embossing gives to cards and I used to do it much more so now that Stampin' Up! has some great colours of powders, I plan on trying to use it more often again.

Stamps: SU Fabulous Florets, Thoughts & Prayers
Ink: Versamark
Paper: SU ww, basic black, malon mambo
Embossing Powders: whisper white, basic black, wild wasabi, melon mambo
Ribbon: SU 1/2" polka dot melon mambo grosgrain (retired), white bakers twine
Button: SU basic black from neutral designer buttons
Misc: SU heat gun, dimensionals

New Simply Soft CASE

2011-07-06T04:00:00.000-06:00

I never even got around to finishing up making cards with all of my retiring stamp sets last month - I still had three more. Oh well, on to newer things!

As a demonstrator, we get a sneak peek of the new hostess sets in the new catalogue and are able to purchase a couple if we choose. I know it's another flower set, but I knew I wanted the simply soft set and I've had it in my possession for quite a while now but only just got around to stamping with it.

This is a CASE of this beautiful card by Karen. She always creates the most beautiful scenes like this using various techniques. This one involved what she calls "marker layering." It takes several shades of the same colour and layering them over one another leaving a little of each colour showing at the top. For this card I used pink pirouette, pretty in pink, regal rose and melon mambo. Karen also added a dot of white at the top of her flowers but it didn't look quite as nice without the dark contrast of her flowers so I opted to just leave it out.

Stamps: SU Simply Soft (hostess)
Ink: StazOn jet black, SU pink pirouette, pretty in pink, regal rose, melon mambo, certainly celery, lucky limeade
Paper: SU ww, pretty in pink, melon mambo
Ribbon: SU 5/8" pretty in pink satin
Misc: embossing folder

July $119 Starter Kit Promotion

2011-07-01T04:00:00.004-06:00

Along with the new catalogue comes a great new promotion to become a Stampin' Up demonstrator. For the month of July, become a demonstrator for only $119. This limited time starter kit, a value of $205, comes with:

Easy Events clear-mount set*
Pennant Parade wood-mount set*
Old Olive classic stampin' pad
Pumpkin Pie classic stampin' pad
Real Red classic stampin' pad
Brights 8-1/2" x 11" assorted card stock
Basic Black classic stampin' pad
Whisper White note cards (20)
Just Add Cake designer series paper*
Chocolate Chip 1/2" scallop dots ribbon*
Blender pen (1)
Clear-mount block C
SNAIL adhesive
Business supplies

Getting Started DVD
Getting Started Guide
Guest Invitation Postcards (100)
2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalogue (8)
2011 Summer Mini Catalogue (8)
Stampin' Up! logo vinyl
Décor Elements applicator
To My Hostess Envelopes (10)
My Digital Studio Marketing DVD
Recruit Folders (5)
Recruit Brochures (20)
Customer Order Forms (50)

* new to the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalogue.

Note that you can still purchase the standard or digital starter kits. Just like the standard and digital starter kits, you can change the $119 starter kit to an alternate stamp set of equal or lesser value, alternate card stock of equal or lesser value and alternate classic stampin' pads of equal or lesser value.

PLUS, if you join the Stampin' Up family in July, you will earn an exclusive Christmas Keepsake Project kit, a $50 value, that includes additional Stampin' Up products!

It's Here! 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalogue

2011-07-01T04:00:00.003-06:00

The new 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalogue is here. Click here to view the catalogue.

Goodbye Best Bots Forever

2011-06-27T04:00:00.005-06:00

I have to admit that this is one of the sets I've purchased that I had the best of intentions of using but never got around to even using it until now that it is retiring! Grant and I had picked it out to use for Valentine's for his class, but for several reasons I never got around to making them so I bought the similar boxes (seen in this post) for him to use instead. This is what I would have liked the cards to have looked like if I had made them!

The images were stamped using my stamp-a-ma-jig and Jet Black StazOn ink on watercolour paper. They were all then coloured using my stampin' write markers and an aquapainter. I created a little shadow underneath the robots using crumb cake ink to match the main cardstock. The designer paper is from the Nursery Suite set that is also retiring and, as seen above, is not limited to baby crafts!

Stamps: SU Best Bots Forever
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, SU regal rose, baja breeze, basic gray, crumb cake, real red, early espresso, pear pizzazz
Paper: SU crumb cake, baja breeze, regal rose, early espresso, nursery suite dsp, watercolour
Misc: SU aquapainter, dimensionals, stamp-a-ma-jig

Goodbye Sparkly & Bright

2011-06-25T04:00:00.003-06:00

I know it's a bit early for Christmas cards, but it is exactly 6 months away now! Plus, the super cute Sparkly & Bright stamp set is retiring.

I decided to CASE this beautiful card by Stacey - I've had it in my favourites folder forever! I wanted to make it a standard size card instead of square because I don't have any satin red ribbon and I thought having a large card with skinny ribbon would look kind of funny. I was so annoyed because after the card was all assembled and all I had left to do was adhere the bow, I smudged the middle reindeer! If you are as picky as me, then you know this means I will probably never give this card to anyone but I was too annoyed with myself to make another! Maybe later!

It's a little hard to tell in the photo, but the one nose is coloured red,then covered with crystal effects and dazzling diamond glitter.

Stamps: SU Sparkly & Bright
Ink: SU chocolate chip, real red
Paper: SU chocolate chip, real red, ww
Ribbon: SU 1/8" real red taffeta
Misc: SU crystal effects, dazzling diamond glitter

Goodbye Lots of Bots

2011-06-24T04:00:00.003-06:00

Here's a card to send of the retiring set Lots of Bots. The ribbon and celebrations dsp are also retiring.

The robots were first stamped in black ink on whisper white paper and coloured using the various ink colours and blender pens. The middle part of the robot was then stamped again but this time in StazOn ink on watercolour paper, then wartercoloured with my stampin' write markers and aquapainter. Once coloured, they were cut out with my paper snips and glued on to the original stamped images.

The sentiment on the stamp was initially not coloured when I stamped the robots. Instead, I inked it up alone afterwards and used my stamp-a-ma-jig to line it up at the top where I wanted it!

Check out the little rhinestones on the bags too!

Stamps: SU Lots of Bots
Ink: SU basic black, pear pizzazz, bashful blue, real red, basic gray, StazOn jet black
Paper: SU ww, real red, watercolour, celebrations dsp
Ribbon: SU 5/8" real red grosgrain
Misc: SU aquapainter, blender pens, paper snips, rhinestones

Tart & Tangy Teacher Thanks

2011-06-22T04:00:00.002-06:00

Seeing as there are only a few days left of school, I thought I would use the apple image from the retiring set Tart & Tangy to create a thank you card for a teacher.

The sentiment is from Upsy Daisy and actually has another line to it, but I just inked up the thank you with my Stampin' write markers.

Stamps: SU Tart & Tangy, Upsy Daisy
Ink: SU poppy parade, old olive, chocolate chip
Paper: SU ww, poppy parade
Punch: SU 1 1/4" square

Goodbye Earthling

2011-06-20T04:00:00.001-06:00

Time to say goodbye to the super cute set Greetings, Earthling before it retires.

This card is made using this months SFYTT. I stamped the aliens/monsters in Jet Black StazOn ink on watercolour paper, then used my aquapainter to paint them using the main colours in the also retiring celebrations dsp. I really enjoy watercolouring and have just started trying it out on stamped images that are not just flowers. I think it turned out quite well! The grass line was just made freehand using my basic black Stampin' write marker.

For my sentiment, I used a retired set from Sale-A-Bration several years ago, called Birthday Whimsy. For all the birthday stamp sets I have, none of the fonts seemed to suit this image, they were all too "pretty" looking! Guess I know what I'll have to buy from the upcoming catalogue!

Stamps: SU Greetings Earthling, Birthday Whimsy (retired)
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, SU real red, pear pizzazz, pacific point, bashful blue, basic black
Paper: SU watercolour, real red, ww, pacific point, celebrations dsp, in colour patterns pack (hostess)
Misc: SU circle cutter, dimensionals, aquapainter

Goodbye Great Friend

2011-06-16T04:00:00.000-06:00

Great Friend is another retiring set that I own that I will be sad to see go. I originally had to have it just because I loved the butterfly image.

Not much to say about this card! It's pretty self explanatory! Again, this designer paper is being retired as well.

Stamps: SU Great Friend, Thoughts & Prayers

Ink: SU soft suede, baja breeze
Paper: SU soft suede, baja breeze, very vanilla, elegant soiree dp
Ribbon: SU 3/8" very vanilla taffeta
Brad: SU very vanilla
Misc: SU pearls

Goodbye Eastern Blooms

2011-06-14T04:00:00.004-06:00

Eastern Blooms has definitely been one of my favourite sets since I got it in 2008 so I will be sad to see it go. I recently posted this paradise card set that I modified from the original inspiration piece that had been made using the eastern blooms set (as seen here). Well, I liked it so much I made the eastern blooms version again but swapped out the colours, designer papers (to feature the retiring elegant soiree dsp) and sentiments.

Here's a closer look at each of the individual cards. You can again click on any of the images to enlarge them.

My favourite is definitely the last card in all versions I've made of it! I just love that layout!

Stamps: SU Eastern Blooms, Thank You Kindly
Ink: SU soft suede, baja breeze
Paper: SU crumb cake, baja breeze, very vanilla, elegant soiree dsp
Ribbon: SU very vanilla 3/8" taffeta
Misc: SU piercing tool, mat pack, dimensionals, paper snips

Goodbye to Everything Nice and Bugs & Kisses

2011-06-12T04:00:00.001-06:00

Today, I'm sharing the retiring sets Everything Nice and Bugs & Kisses as well as the retiring dsp nursery suite.

This first card is for a baby girl and inspired by the sketch Mojo194. Finally, I found a great use for some of my buttons!

This card is for a baby boy, I wish I had a little dog set to go with it too!

Supplies

Baby Girl Card

Stamps: SU Everything Nice

Ink: SU chocolate chip, regal rose

Paper: SU ww, chocolate chip, so saffron, regal rose, nursery suite dsp

Button: SU so saffron from subtles designer buttons

Ribbon: SU 3/8" whisper white taffeta

Misc: circle cutter

Baby Boy Card

Stamps: SU Everything Nice, Bugs & Kisses

Ink: SU chocolate chip, baja breeze, pear pizzazz

Paper: SU ww, chocolate chip, baja breeze, pear pizzazz, nursery suite dsp

Misc: SU dimensionals, paper snips

Goodbye Baby Steps

2011-06-10T04:00:00.002-06:00

Today I thought I would share cards made with the retiring stamp set Baby Steps. It was definitely my go to baby set this year because those elephants are too cute!

Here's the baby boy version

And the baby girl version

I really wanted the attention to be on the image so I didn't even use any designer paper. For the same reason, I kept the embellishments to a minimum. I still had to stick to quite a few layers though! I substituted the bow for a button in the second because I just couldn't get the 5/8" satin ribbon to make a bow that was both small enough for the space and pretty!

Baby Boy Card

Stamp: SU Baby Steps

Ink: SU baja breeze

Paper: SU ww, baja breeze

Ribbon: SU 1/2" baja breeze seam binding

Brad: SU whisper white

Misc: swiss dots embossing folder (similar to perfect polka dots)

Baby Girl Card
Stamp: SU Baby Steps
Ink: SU pretty in pink
Paper: SU ww, pretty in pink
Ribbon: SU 5/8" pretty in pink satin
Button: SU pretty in pink from subtles collection
Misc: swiss dots embossing folder (similar to perfect polka dots)

Goodbye Paradise

2011-06-08T04:00:00.013-06:00

Since posting the last chance lists on June 1, I have decided to make cards for this month that feature retiring items that are some of my favourites! Today, I'm sharing items made with the Paradise stamp set and Woodland Walk dsp. I also recently discovered The Paper Players challenge blog and found that this weeks challenge #50 coincides perfectly with my need to make thank you cards for people who have donated towards my volunteer nursing trip to Haiti! Click on the photo to enlarge it for clarity!

Some of you may recognize the layouts and designs here as I used them previously in this post (which also features the soon to retire set Eastern Blooms).

Here's a closer look at each of the cards individually. Click on any of the photos to enlarge them (they appear a bit fuzzy until they are blown up).

I'm sad to see this leaf set go - it was one of my go to sets for masculine cards, but at least I will still have the Autumn Splendor leaf set to use!

The background stamp on the main panels is the grassy image from the set Inspired by Nature. I also used the linen thread for a more natural look to go along with the leaves, grass and woodgrain (plus it keeps them a bit more masculine than ribbon).

It's also hard to tell but these cards have a lot of dimension. All of the leaves are raised up on dimensionals and all of the sentiment panels are raised as well.

Stamps: SU Thank You Kindly, Inspired by Nature, Paradise
Ink: SU chocolate chip, garden green, wild wasabi
Paper: SU crumb cake, garden green, wild wasabi, very vanilla, Woodland Walk dsp
Ribbon: SU linen thread
Punch: SU scallop border punch
Misc: SU dimensionals, paper snips

CASEing Mary Fish

2011-06-06T04:00:00.002-06:00

Here's a card I made about a month ago that I forgot to post.
I CASEd this beautiful card by Mary Fish when I was having a complete lack of stamping mojo, though I don't think I did the card much justice.

The colours don't come through well in this photo but they are pear pizzazz and early espresso. I changed the sentiment so it was just straight as opposed to having an oval at the end because I personally am not an oval fan.

I despise the placement of the brads on this card. I wish I had paid more attention so that they were centered between the right edge of the pear pizzazz cardstock and the right edge of the main panel. Probably one of those things only fellow crafters notice, but it drives me crazy!

Stamps: SU Just Believe, Fabulous Phrases
Ink: SU early espresso
Paper: SU ww, pear pizzazz, early espresso
Punch: SU corner punch
Brads: SU silver

More Masculine

2011-06-04T18:23:00.000-06:00

Some of you may remember this card that I made for a workshop. I thought I would take that exact same card and only change the flower to make it a more masculine card.

I think it turned out quite well. I stamped the autumn splendor leaf in early espresso on top of garden green cardstock and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.

Stamps: SU Thank You Kindly, Autumn Splendor
Ink: SU early espresso
Paper: SU early espresso, crumb cake, garden green, woodland walk dsp
Ribbon: SU 1/8" early espresso taffeta
Punch: SU corner rounder
Misc: SU dimensionals, paper snips, clear embossing powder

MOJO193 Wishes

2011-06-02T04:00:00.002-06:00

It's been a while since I participated in any of the Mojo Monday sketch challenges but I really liked the Mojo193 sketch so I gave it a try.

I love the way this card turned out. The colours are so bright but also make a perfect masculine card. I only used a little strip of ribbon and decided to use a corduroy button instead of making a bow to keep it a bit more masculine. Maybe I'm the only one that thinks bows make it more girly!

I really hope that SU brings back this cupcake stamp set in the new catalogue available July 1! SU did carry over the build a cupcake punch so it is still currently available but unfortunately this stamp set isn't. Check out this flyer to see other items from the Occasions Mini Catalogue that are carried over and still available for purchase.

Don't forget to check out the last chance lists in the post here.

And be sure to stop by this post to see the first card I posted since my month long hiatus!

Stamps: SU Create a Cupcake, Short & Sweet

Paper: SU ww, bashful blue, pacific point, celebrations dsp

Ink: SU real red, wild wasabi, pacific point, bashful blue

Ribbon: SU 1/8" real red taffeta

Punch: SU Build a Cupcake
Button: SU real red corduroy button (retired)
Misc: SU dimensionals

Last Chance Lists Available Now!

2011-06-01T18:59:00.001-06:00

It's that time of year when Stampin' Up! releases its last chance lists. These items will only be available until June 30 or while supplies last to make room for new products in the upcoming 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalogue! Sad to see some of my favourites will be going.

Click here to view the last chance stamp sets (available until June 30)

Click here to view the last chance accessories list (available while supplies last). Some items are even discounted 25-40%!

Click here to view the last chance definitely decorative list (available until June 30).

NOTE: Items that are being "reconfigured" as marked with an "*" are not going to retire. They are being modified (ex. new packaging, prices, resizing) for the new catalogue.

SFYTT Finally

2011-05-31T15:08:00.000-06:00

I didn't realize I haven't posted in a month! But there's been some good reasons - Grant and I went to Vegas, when we came home I just had no crafting mojo, then lately, I've been busy getting everything in order for my trip to Haiti. I will be going with Project Medishare to volunteer my nursing skills in Haiti, which is still suffering devastating effects from the earthquake over one year ago. I have chosen to go here as opposed to somewhere like Japan that recently had a tsunami or the US that has lost a lot due to recent tornadoes because unlike those two countries, Haiti does not have the resources or capacity to rebuild as easily. Not to belittle those events at all, but I just feel personally that my nursing skills would best serve those in Haiti. I am not going until July but I am already so excitedd.

Anyways, primarily because of those things, I have only just gotten around to creating a card for this months SFYTT. I'm trying to focus on making thank you cards especially to be able to send out to those who have helped donate towards my trip to Haiti.

This card uses a lot of items that are now retired, but I just had to use them because I hardly did when they were available. I coloured the floral image using my stampin' markers and then once it was stamped, I went over the petals to give a little more detail - it's hard to see in the photo. Although the yellow is actually a muted daffodil delight, I used so saffron cardstock and ink because I liked the way it looked better.

Stamps: SU Inspired by Nature, Tiny Tags
Ink: SU markers in melon mambo, regal rose, wild wasabi, so saffron
Paper: SU ww, so saffron, sweet stitches dsp (retired)
Ribbon: SU ww 3/8" taffeta
Punches: SU jewelry tag punch
Button: SU daffodil delight sweet stitches big button (retired)
Misc: SU circle cutter, embroidery thread

2011 Summer Mini and Promo Round Up

2011-05-01T04:00:00.006-06:00

The new 2011 Summer Mini Catalogue is available starting today! Be sure to read to the bottom of the post to catch up on the two new promotions starting today as well!

Check out the catalogue to view these fabulous new products available May 1 - August 31, 2011. I've already got several favourite and must have products from this one!

Combine your wish list from the new catalogue with the fabulous National Scrapbooking Month promotion (running May 1-31) and the Strength & Hope Campaign (running May 1 - August 31) that helps to fight breast cancer.

Strenth & Hope Campaign

2011-05-01T03:30:00.000-06:00

Some of you may already be aware of how Stampin' Up strives to make a difference in the community through various programs and donations. With the release of the Summer Mini Catalogue, Stampin' Up! has joined up with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and created the "Strength & Hope Campaign."

With the sale of every "Strength & Hope" stamp set or "Strength & Hope" digital kit, Stampin' Up! is going to donate $2 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. This campaign will run the entire length of the Summer Mini Catalogue (May 1 - August 31).

Strength & Hope wood-mount stamp set - $21.95 (item number 118100)
Strength & Hope clear-mount stamp set - $16.95 (item number 123660)
Strength & Hope digital kit - $12.50 (item number 124475)

includes a four-piece stamp brush set, 12 designer series papers and 10 embellishment pieces

Click here to view images of the stamp set and digital kit.

National Scrapbooking Month Promotion

2011-04-30T20:19:00.003-06:00

May is National Scrapbooking Month and Stampin' Up! has come up with another fabulous promotion for the month

This promotion features:

30% off select scrapbooking stamp sets
30% off selected My Digital Studio digital download bundles
30% off selected My Digital Studio print products
The digital+ starter kit (valued over $385) for only $150.50
The stampin' memories add on option for only $42 (over $95 value if you purchase the starter kit)

Click here to view the flyer with the stamp sets and bundles available.

Click here to view the promotional prices on MDS print products.

Birthday Wishes CASE

2011-04-26T04:00:00.006-06:00

I loved Wendy's card so much that I not only CASEd it once, but twice! I took inspiration from the colour wheel in her post and decided to go with the analogous three colours green, yellow and orange.

The card in these colours isn't quite as beautiful as the purple, blue and green, but I still like it. It's much more bright and happy feeling and I love this shade of orange. I used to not really like orange but now it's becoming one of my favourites!

Stamps: SU Fast & Fabulous (hostess), Bring on the Cake
Ink: StazOn jet black, SU peach parfait, pear pizzazz
Paper: SU ww, peach parfait, pear pizzazz, daffodil delight, watercolour, peach parfait dp (hostess)
Ribbon: SU 3/8" white taffeta
Brad: SU 3/16" whisper white brad
Misc: SU pearls, dimensionals
Tools: SU aquapainter, sponge daubers, circle cutter

Sorrowful CASE

2011-04-23T04:00:00.004-06:00

I haven't had much creativity again - seems to be happening a lot lately! So as usual, I decided to CASE another card. I've had this beautiful card by Wendy in my favourites folder for some time and finally decided to do my own take on it.

I swapped the colours from elegant eggplant to concord crush and old olive to pear pizzazz. My sponging on the sentiment panel is not nearly as nice as Wendy's but I guess I'll just have to keep practicing because I love the way it looks with the white border. This colour combo is definitely one of my new favourites!

Stamps: SU Fast & Fabulous (hostess), Thoughts & Prayers
Ink: StazOn jet black, SU concord crush, pear pizzazz
Paper: SU ww, concord crush, marina mist, pear pizzazz, watercolour, concord crush dp (hostess)
Ribbon: SU 3/8" white taffeta
Brads: SU 3/16" brads
Misc: SU pearls, dimensionals
Tools: SU aquapainter, sponge daubers, circle cutter

SC327 Daffodils

2011-04-21T14:57:00.002-06:00

It's been a long time again since my last post mostly because I've just been lazy about taking pictures of my cards and then because I had to set up my new computer that acutally doesn't freeze all the time!

Here's a card I made using the idea shown here on Clare's blog for using the growing green stamp set to create daffodils for Easter cards. I didn't put a sentiment on mine so that it could be used for any occasion. The layout is from SC327.

Stamps: SU Growing Green, Watercolor Trio (retired)
Ink: SU daffodil delight, pear pizzazz
Paper: SU ww, daffodil delight, pear pizzazz, watercolour, sweet stitches dp
Punch: SU 1/2" circle
Misc: SU pearls, dimensionals, aquapainter, piercing tool, mat pack

Fabulous Florets - Summer Mini Preview

2011-04-06T04:00:00.003-06:00

I know I have a million floral stamp sets but it seems I always find more that I need to have. The "fabulous forets" stamp set that will be in the upcoming Summer Mini Catalogue is one of those sets. As demonstrators, we get the opportunity to preorder some of the upcoming merchandise - I had to buy the digital copy of this stamp set and a fabulous matching designer series paper called "Beyond the Garden."

I took inspiration from this months SFYTT and came up with the following hybrid card (I printed the floral images and designer paper on whisper white cardstock on my home computer).

After making the hybrid version, I thought I would go ahead and make the same card in digital format too.

I can't wait until I get the clear mount set of this stamp set! I think it will definitely be one of my new favourites!

Supplies

Stamps: Fabulous Florets (digital)

Ink: SU pacific point, wild wasabi

Paper: SU pacific point, wild wasabi, ww, beyond the garden dp (digital)

Punches: SU 1/2" circle

Brads: SU whisper white 5/16"

Misc: SU dimensionals, paper snips, computer

Growing Green for Mother's Day

2011-04-04T04:00:00.000-06:00

I haven't had too many creative ideas lately, so I've been CASEing cards that I have had in my favourites file. I absolutely loved this card by Elaine Uhl as it really showcases the beauty of the growing green stamp set (which is probably my favourite stamp set) so I had to do my own (although not very different) take on it.

The photo really doesn't show how vibrant the colours are but you get a pretty good idea anyway. I really didn't change much other than adding a couple layers, ribbon and the choice of stamp set for the sentiment.

This card was very time consuming! All of the leaves and flowers are watercoloured and then cut out of watercolour paper before being adhered to the card base. To achieve the two-lined sentiment, since the original is all on one line, I used my stamp-a-ma-jig and markers to line it up as I wanted.

Stamps: SU Growing Green, Something to Celebrate (hostess)
Ink: SU basic black, pear pizazz, concord crush, cherry cobbler, StazOn jet black
Paper: SU basic black, ww, watercolour
Ribbon: SU 1/4" basic black grosgrain
Misc: SU stamp-a-ma-jig, aquapainter

Father's Day CASE

2011-04-02T04:00:00.000-06:00

I saw this card on SCS that used the "paradise" stamp set, that I love but haven't used much, and was totally inspired by the masculine feel it has to it. As a result, I came up with this take on it for Father's day.

Normally, I don't really like when the stamp doesn't stamp really solid but I really liked the way the leaves looked like they had texture by not having a solid ink transfer. I also used my SU mat pack and piercing tool to space the brads exactly.
Stamps: SU Paradise, Something to Celebrate (hostess)
Ink: SU basic black
Paper: SU basic black, basic gray, ww
Brads: SU whisper white (from neutrals pack)
Embossing Folder: SU square lattice
Misc: SU mat pack, piercing tool

Spring Is Blossoming Promotion

2011-04-01T03:00:00.004-06:00

With the end of Sale-A-Bration yesterday, Stampin' Up! has started the "Spring is Blossoming" promotion today. This promotion features a sneak peek of products to come in the upcoming 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalogue.

Click here to view the flyer.

There are two ways to get your hands on these new products:

1. Customers who purchase a minimum of $25* in merchandise to be able to purchase the "Four Frames" stamp set and/or "Paisley Petals" designer series paper.

2. Customers who host a workshop with sales totalling $460* in merchandise, receive both the "Four Frames" stamp set and "Paisley Prints" designer series paper for free!

*Net sales before tax and shipping.

Contact me using the email link in my sidebar if you would like to place an order or host a workshop!

Growing Green Workshop Card

2011-03-29T00:50:00.000-06:00

Thought I would share the card we made at the workshop I had earlier in the month.

This is just a simple stepped up version showing that just adding layers, brads and crystal effects to the rose for dew drops (you can't really see them in the photo) can make even more of an impact.

Stamps: SU Growing Green, Thank You Kindly

Ink: SU StazOn, blushing bride, early espresso

Paper: SU very vanilla, crumb cake, early espresso, woodland walk dp

Ribbon: SU 1/8" early espresso taffeta

Brads: SU early espresso

Misc: SU dimensionals, Crystal effects, blender pens

Gift Set for Hostess

2011-03-24T14:02:00.000-06:00

Here's a set of 6 cards I made as a little gift for my hostess at last weekends workshop.

This is made using the Ornate Blossom stamp set that I received free during Sale-A-Bration, the sentiment is from the set Thank You Kindly that can also be earned during Sale-A-Bration.

Stamps: SU Ornate Blossom, Thank You Kindly

Ink: SU daffodil delight, baja breeze, pear pizzazz, basic black

Paper: SU whisper white cs, basic black cs, greenhouse gala dp

Ribbon: SU 1/4" basic black grosgrain

SFYTT Birthday Cupcake

2011-03-20T08:34:00.001-06:00

I finally got a chance to play along with this months SFYTT. I even actually kept the main image panel on the diagonal, unlike usual, where I always end up straightening it out.

I love the new cupcake stamp set and coordinating punch in the Occasions mini catalogue and I hope it gets carried over to next years Idea Book & Catalogue because it's so cute! I stamped the images, then punched them out and popped them up on dimensionals on the card. I also added Crystal Effects to the cupcake topping but it's a bit hard to tell in this photo. I love this set of designer paper too - it's so bright and pretty!

Stamps: SU Create a Cupcake, Bring on the Cake

Ink: SU tempting turquoise, regal rose, melon mambo, daffodil delight

Paper: SU ww, tempting turquoise, sweet stitches dp
Punch: SU Build a Cupcake punch
Misc: SU dimensionals, crystal effects

SU Workshop Invitation

2011-03-07T08:21:00.000-07:00

One of Grant's coworkers is hosting a workshop later in the month and I'm so excited to share my love of Stampin' Up! with them! I thought I may as well get even more use out of MDS so I created this workshop invitation (based on what is written on the SU postcards) for her to e-mail to those she wanted to invite since I think more people prefer to e-mail rather than snail mail! (I have deleted all personal information)

I wanted to keep it simple but still bright and pretty and I love the way it turned out!

Also, I thought I would start sharing what I use on my MDS projects because I have started seeing things that others have created that I would like to CASE but I don't know what they used!

MDS supplies:

Stamps: Baroque Motifs

Paper: Sweet Stitches (yellow stitches)

Ribbon: So saffron grosgrain

Font: AbcPrint in Melon Mambo

Bliss Step-it-Up Cards

2011-03-02T11:22:00.002-07:00

I saw this card a while back on Mary's blog and wanted to re-make it. I thought I would start really basic and then show you how changing one or two things can really make it pop!

This is the most basic version. The bliss stamp is stamped in crumb cake on crumb cake dp using my stamp-a-ma-jig to line it up.

This version adds the extra detail of an extra layer of early espresso dp and the button/threadcombo tied around the ribbon rather than just applied on top.

Stepped up again, this version adds a vanilla layer and swaps the button and thread for a brad and bow.

This final version, swaps the espresso satin ribbon for vanilla and adds an extra layer of espresso taffeta ribbon.

I think the third version is actually my favourite, but it just shows how much you can change a card by changing very few details.

Also note that for my bows, I again used Mary's tutorial here.

Stamps: SU Bliss (SAB), Bring on the Cake

Ink: SU crumb back, early espresso

Paper: SU crumb cake, early espresso, very vanilla

Ribbon: SU 5/8" early espresso satin, 5/8" very vanilla satin, 1/8" early espresso tafetta, linen thread

Brad: SU very vanilla 5/16" jumbo brad

SC321 Baby Animal Squares

2011-02-28T04:00:00.003-07:00

As soon as I saw the sketch SC321 last week, I knew I wanted to make a baby card using the retired Wild About You set using the squares like in this card by Miss Boo.

I love the way this card turned out. It will definitely have to be a card that I only give to someone in person as there is way too much dimension to it for mailing. The squares themselves, the elephant ear, lion's mane and lion's face are all raised up on dimensionals (the animal parts were cut using my paper snips - the best scissors ever for detailed cutting).

The "one" looks crooked in the photo for some reason but it doesn't in real life - I made sure by using my stamp-a-ma-jig to keep the words straight! This is one of my favourite "word" type sets in the catalogue because it's so versatile since you can make it say whatever you want!

I'll probably end up recreating this card using other paper and maybe other animal stamps (like fox & friends or animal stories) because I still need a few more baby cards over the next couple months!

Stamps: SU Wild About You (retired), Fabulous Phrases

Ink: SU bashful blue, pacific point

Paper: SU ww, pacific point, celebrations dp

Ribbon: SU 1/4" bashful blue grosgrain (retired)

Punches: SU 1 1/4" square, 1 3/8" square

Misc: SU dimensionals

MDS Wedding CD Cover

2011-02-26T07:59:00.001-07:00

I recently had a week off and made myself a huge list of all the things I needed to do so I wouldn't forget anything. One of the things I was supposed to order an 8x10" photo from our wedding for Grant's Mom. I couldn't pick which one she would want so we called and said we would just send her a CD of all the wedding photos and then she could order which ever one she wanted.

Then, just for fun, I made this cover for the CD case to go with it using our wedding colours.

If you are interested, you can view the following things I made for our wedding using these colours:

-wedding invitations and RSVPs here

-my thank you notes for my bridal shower here

-wedding thank yous here (we ended up using the first thank you card that Grant liked better) and,
-our seating plan and table numbers here

No Stamp Holly Jolly Christmas Set

2011-02-24T01:00:00.000-07:00

I know it's way out of season, but I only just got around to using my Holly Jolly rubons that I just had to have! I guess it's a good way to get a head start on Christmas cards (this past year was the first time we used all the Christmas cards I like to make because Grant used them for coworkers).

Here's a look at the 4 cards I made!

Happiest Holidays:

Merry & Bright:

Merry (based on February's SFYTT):

Season of Cheer:

These 4 cards were so cheap/affordable to make! Rubons are a fantastic way to make a lot of cards for less. These cards only used a couple sheets of cardstock, hardly any of the pack of designer paper and only a very small portion of the rubons. I could easily make dozens more cards with the amount of supplies left over. The rubons come with two sheets of each image set so I could even make doubles of each!

Rubons: SU Holly & Jolly

Paper: SU very vanilla, cherry cobbler, Jolly Holiday dp

Ribbon: SU 1/2" cherry cobbler seam binding, 3/8" old olive taffeta

Punch: SU 1" circle, scallop circle

Misc: circle cutter, dimensionals

Twins!

2011-02-21T04:00:00.002-07:00

It's been a while since I posted a ton of baby cards that I had to make for several co-workers but now I'm in it again. This time, one of my coworkers recently had twin boys.

I stamped the Baby Steps image once in baja breeze, then coloured only the baby elephant with my markers and used my stamp-a-ma-jig to line it up and stamp it just behind the previously stamped baby elephant. Such an easy way to make a stamp set more versatile and great for twins! I also stamped scrap versions of the elephants so I could cut out the ears and adhere them with dimensionals.

When I stamped the images, I didn't colour in the congratulations sentiment on the stamp so that it wouldn't appear directly below them. I later coloured the sentiment in with my chocolate chip marker and used my stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the sentiment with the bottom center of the card.

As you can tell, I love to use my stamp-a-ma-jig! It is definitely a product I would recommend to any stamper. I use it on almost every card I make!

Stamps: SU Baby Steps

Ink: SU baja breeze, chocolate chip

Paper: SU baja breeze, ww, chocolate chip, baja breeze dp (retired), nursery suite specialty dp

Ribbon: SU 1/4" chocolate chip grosgrain (retired)
Misc: SU dimensionals

Soft Sympathy

2011-02-19T04:00:00.003-07:00

Unfortunately Grant was in need of another sympathy card, this one for his former boss when we lived in Calgary.

I had recently purchased the "Thanks for Caring" stamp set and thought it would be perfect for this card. I mostly bought this stamp set because I loved the flower image (which I coloured with my SU markers) but now the sentiments are coming in handy too! I didn't include the bottom portion of this sentiment however because it just didn't seem that appropriate for someone who we didn't keep in regular contact with.

Stamp: SU Thanks for Caring

Ink: SU soft suede, baja breeze

Paper: SU soft suede, baja breeze, crumb cake, very vanilla, elegant soiree dp

Ribbon: SU baja breeze 1/2" seam binding

Misc: Swiss Dots embossing folder

Punch Bunch Birthday in MDS

2011-02-17T04:00:00.008-07:00

I posted the above card yesterday and thought that I would try re-creating it using MDS to show you how great it looks.

I love using MDS. I like to play on my computer and now this gives me something more productive to do rather than just playing on facebook or games. The only thing that took a while on this card, was using punches to fill all the scallops on the scallop square punch in with melon mambo colour as there isn't yet a feature to colour parts of stamp sets in different colours (fingers crossed that there will be soon)! The shadow feature is an element that I use on everything I create so that it looks like it has more dimension - just like a real card!

Did you notice the new watermark I made on the digital card too? I made it using the butterfly from the Stampin' Up! Bliss set. Which do you think looks better: my original watermark or the butterfly one?

Please note that all of these digital products are available as a disk of digital downloads for Sale-A-Bration.

SAB Punch Bunch Birthday

2011-02-16T16:32:00.000-07:00

I finally pulled out my SAB materials and made this fun card with them. I love the bright colours this year.

The designer paper, stamp set and circle die cuts are all from exclusive products that you earn through Sale-A-Bration. Click the link on my sidebar to view the SAB catalogue and learn how you can earn these supplies.

Stamp: SU Punch Bunch (SAB)

Ink: SU peach partfait, melon mambo
Paper: SU ww, peach parfait, melon mambo, ice cream parlor dp (SAB)
Die Cuts: SU ice cream parlor quick accents pack (SAB)
Punch: SU scallop square
Ribbon: SU peach parfait 1/2" stitched poly ribbon
Misc: SU dimensionals

Valentine Love Bots Boxes

2011-02-14T04:00:00.015-07:00

First off - Happy Valentine's Day.

When I saw that SU had these Love Bots boxes for Valentine's day in the clearance rack I had to get them for Grant to use for his students.

Here you can see how the open and we have filled them with various Valentine's treats. Click on any of the pictures to enlarge them.

This above are the "Love Bots Boy" boxes which are no longer available.

This is the "Love Bots Girl" boxes and they are still available in the clearance rack for a great price AND they count towards your Sale-A-Bration rewards! If you are like myself and Grant, it doesn't matter than there are boy and girl versions (we used pink and blue for either gender).

Valentine Mojo CASE

2011-02-13T04:00:00.009-07:00

When I saw the sketch challenge Mojo176, I had a hard time envisioning anything to create with the wavy line. Once I saw this card by Riley I knew I had to CASE it, but wanted to use more traditional Valentine's Day colours.

I initially made this version using retired basic gray dp and blushing bride but felt that the gray seemed to dark and made the pink look even more pale. When Grant told me he thought the same thing, I tried again and made this second version.

This uses gray paper from the retired walk in the park dp and rose red. Grant and I both liked the contrast between the papers and colours much better.

Notice my bows! Check out this tutorial by Mary Brown on how to make these beautiful and easy bows. These cards make me wish I had ordered basic gray brads - guess they'll have to go on my next order!

Both Cards:

Stamps: SU teeny tiny wishes, I {heart} hearts

Paper: SU whisper white,

Punch: Heart to heart extra large

Ribbon: SU white organdy (retired)

Brad: SU silver

Misc: SU dimensionals

Blushing Bride Card

Ink: SU blushing bride

Paper: SU blushing bride, basic gray dp (retired)

Rose Red Card

Ink: SU rose red

Paper: SU rose red, walk in the park dp (retired)

Mojo177 Love card

2011-02-12T04:00:00.002-07:00

I just got my new Stampin' Up! order right before the new mojo monday sketch (Mojo177) came out this week and had to use a bunch of the new items I got in it. I took inspiration from this card by Mary at Stampin' Pretty and came up with this card.

To create the long XOXO panel, I stamped the image on whisper white cardstock once in Versamark and heat embossed it with silver embossing powder. Once that was dry, I used my stamp-a-ma-jig to line the stamp up just below the previous and stamped and embossed it again.

Stamps: SU XOXO, Something to Celebrate (hostess)

Ink: SU Versmark

Paper: SU whisper white, basic black, brushed silver, red glimmer paper

Punches: SU 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches

Brads: SU black brads, red glimmer brad

Misc: SU dimensionals

Masculine Valentine Challenge Card

2011-02-11T16:14:00.000-07:00

This card isn't the most traditional coloured Valentine card but I wanted to try to make it more masculine and incorporate several SCS challenges into it.

It uses the colour challenge CC308 (river rock, basic gray and whisper white), the sketch challenge SC318 and the ways to use it challenge WT308 (hearts).

I used my large heart punch to create a mask and sponged river rock inside of the mask to create the heart. Before removing the mask, I stamped the flourish in basic gray.

Stamps: SU teeny tiny wishes, flourish (not sure what company)
Ink: SU river rock, basic gray
Paper: SU ww, river rock, basic gray, ginger blossom dp (retired)
Ribbon: SU 3/8" basic gray taffeta
Misc: SU heart punch, sponge daubers, dimensionals

Lots of Posts Coming

2011-02-09T18:26:00.000-07:00

I got a lot of stamping done the other night when I pulled an all nighter to prepare for my upcoming night shifts. It's the only stamping time I have been getting because I don't have to worry about watching Maggie. It'll just take me a couple days to get some pictures since I'm sleeping when the sun is out right now, but there'll be a several posts once I get them.

Until then, I'll leave you with these super cute pictures of my baby Maggie.

Papertrey Ink Celebration

2011-02-05T17:39:00.000-07:00

Papertrey ink stamps is having a fabulous celebration as they head into their 5th year as a stamp company.

Here is one of my favourite projects I have made using PTI products.

You can check out this post for more details and pictures of this duckie diaper cake and card.

Another New Blog Design

2011-01-28T03:51:00.001-07:00

I thought I should change up my blog again since it looked so Christmas-like.

I used all new digital downloads from the Occasions Mini Catalogue.

Click here to view the catalogue. All items in the catalogue are available for purchase from now until April 30 (digital content available past April 30). If you are interested in items from the mini, purchase them before March 31 to enjoy all the benefits of Sale-A-Bration!

Edited to Add: Please refer to this post for links on how to change your blog.

Sale-A-Bration

2011-01-25T17:49:00.001-07:00

From now until March 31, get amazing Stampin Up deals and exclusive items.

Check out these three easy ways to earn free SU products.

Click here to view the entire Sale-A-Bration catalogue!

Another Thank You from Maggie

2011-01-23T17:19:00.001-07:00

Here's another one of the thank you cards I made for gifts that were given to Maggie.

The card front was designed using the Pals Paper Arts Sketch Challenge 77 found here.

Here's a peek at the inside of the card too.

This card was made using MDS and the Stamp sets "thank you kindly" and "man's best friend." The colours are regal rose, so saffron and early espresso. These were printed on ww cardstock, trimmed down and attached to an early espresso card base.

Maggie's Thank You Cards

2011-01-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

Of all the stamps I have, I don't own a dog stamp so I've been using MDS which comes with the dog stamp "Man's Best Friend" to make some thank you cards for people who gave presents to Maggie.

This first one uses the SCS SC316 as a starting point for the card.

Here's a look at the inside of this card.

This one uses the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 100 which can be found here.

Here's a look at the inside of this card.

Seeing as I wanted to get these out in the mail relatively quickly, I just printed them on my home computer on ww cardstock. I trimmed them down and adhered them to the coordinating chocolate chip card base to create a border of chocolate all around the outside. I found that the only thing that didn't print well on my home computer was the chocolate chip grosgrain ribbon in the first card - it turned out just looking flat like a piece of chocolate chip cardstock. Everything else on both cards printed as they look but a bit darker(if you print through SU the colours will be true to the SU colour.

I'll be posting more puppy thank you cards soon!

Meet Maggie!

2011-01-17T19:32:00.001-07:00

Maggie is the newest addition to our family! She is a 5 month old, 10 Ibs miniature schnauzer who will probably grow to 16 - 18 Ibs.

Isn't she just the cutest?! We always had a dog growing up so I couldn't wait to finally get our own dog. First, I had to wait until we were in our house because our apartment didn't allow pets. Then, I wanted to wait until the summer when we could build a fence so she wasn't trained to always get a walk when she has to go to the bathroom. However, I quickly scrapped that idea when I then saw this little girls picture. We decided to buy her from a breeder in BC so we then had to wait until she could be flown out to us, which, turned out to be a good thing so we could build a little dog run for her. Now, after three weeks of waiting for her to fly out, we finally have her! As a result, I most likely won't be posting much because we are busy training and playing!

SFYTT Thinking of You

2011-01-12T13:56:00.000-07:00

Grant got some unfortunate news over the weekend that the mother of one of the little boys from the school he was at last year passed away. He asked me to make a "thinking of you" card using some leafy images so it wasn't too girly. I used Jen's January SFYTT as a starting point.

The leafy image was stamped in StazOn ink on watercolour paper and coloured using my garden green marker and aqua painter. I love the dimension that it gives to the image.

Stamps: SU Teeny Tiny Wishes, Growing Green

Ink: Jet Black StazOn, SU garden geen

Paper: SU watercolour paper, very vanilla, garden green, woodland walk dp

Punch: SU 1" circle

Ribbon: SU linen thread
Button: SU Very Vanilla designer button

Mojo172 Thanks

2011-01-09T16:00:00.001-07:00

This card is based off of the sketch Mojo172.

Not much to say about this one! Just based off the sketch and wanting to use the colour concord crush and the fast & fabulous stamp set!

Stamps: SU Fabulous Phrases, Fast & Fabulous (hotess)

Ink: SU basic black, concord crush

Paper: SU basic black, ww, concord crush, concord crush dp (hostess)

Ribbon: SU concord crush

Brads: SU basic black

Misc: SU dimensionals, circle cutter.

Christmas Cookie Bags

2010-12-31T11:29:00.001-07:00

Here's the last project I created for this Christmas. I made these cookie treat bags for dessert following Christmas dinner. I had purchased these glassine bags when SU had them out during Valentine's Day (unfortunately they are no longer available) and have been waiting for the perfect time to use them.

I ran the glassine bags through my cuttlebug using the swiss dots embossing folder so they would have more texture. Before putting my Christmas cookies (each bag contained 4 cookies), I put them inside SU cello bags so the glassine bags wouldn't get all greasy.

Then I just wrapped a piece of the dp around it, added the stamped circles and adhered a white felt flurry snowflake using the real red glitter brads from the Holiday Mini that coordinate with the red glitter on the dp! I made 6 treat bags and each had a different shaped felt flurry attached so everyone would know which was theirs to take home. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good picture of all of them because of the shadows they created and the light shining off all the glitter! A very quick but fun project!

Stamps: SU Holiday Collection (retired)
Ink: SU baja breeze
Paper: SU ww, real red, candy cane christmas dp (unavailable)
Brad: SU real red glitter brad
Snowflake: SU felt flurries (retired)
Misc: Swiss dots embossing folder, SU glassine (retired) and medium cello bags, glue dots, circle cutter

This could easily be a SUO project if the swiss dots embossing folder was substituted for the SU perfect polka dots embossing folder.

Merry Christmas Cards

2010-12-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! I know I did! I was spoiled again this year!

I just have a couple of other Christmas projects to share to round up the holiday season. These cards are a hybrid project using digital images from MDS as well as actual ribbon and embellishments.

All of the sentiments are from My Digital Studio and printed in baja breeze ink. It`s so easy to do and you don`t necessarily have to use SUs professional printing services, I just used my printer at home for this project. I had these sentiments in a retired rubon set from SU one or two years ago but it wasn`t in the colour I wanted so MDS made it so more versatile. Plus, you can resize them so they fit better with your project (for these cards, I left the sizing as they come).

Here`s a closer look at each of the cards so you can see how well it works out!

A great tip for spacing out pearls is to use your piercing mat pack and lightly pierce equally spaced apart holes to use as guides for where to place your pearls!

Supplies

Digital Stamp: SU Wishes & Greetings

Paper: SU ww, baja breeze, candy cane christmas dp

Ribbon: SU white organdy (retired)

Pearls: SU white halfback

Misc: MDS, dimensionals

Christmas Ornaments!

2010-12-22T16:31:00.002-07:00

Again this year, I made ornaments for Grant's students. You can find the ones I made last year here. This year, I used the Jolly Bingo Bits set - it's not quite as colourful but the images are just so cute (plus I wanted to use an actual stamp as trying to emboss transparency paper that has been through a printer makes it very difficult to get clean lines).

While I was in the process of making these, my Mom brought Grant super cute ornaments for him to give to his students. They were miniature ornament versions of the reindeer here. So, as it turns out, we'll be hanging on to the ornaments I made until next year to give those students. Then, we'll write their name and the year inside the ornament too!

Stamps: SU Jolly Bingo Bits

Ink: SU versamark

Embossing Powder: SU white, basic black

Ribbon: SU silver elastic cord, 1/8" real red tafetta
Misc: ornaments, glitter, transparency

Christmas Tags

2010-12-21T03:25:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the Christmas tags I made this year! They are all using Stampin' Up only supplies but much of it is retired!

More Fun with MDS

2010-12-14T00:59:00.000-07:00

Although I am not posting much these days, I have been busy stamping! Most of it is for Christmas projects for other people so I haven't been able to share much of it!

I've been taking some more time to play with My Digital Studio and made these Christmas images!

I don't really have a particular use for them at the moment - they were the result of my fiddling around to become more familiar with all of the MDS features. Maybe I'll turn them into cards!

New Blog Design

2010-12-10T01:33:00.001-07:00

Check out my new blog look! I designed it all using Stampin' Up's My Digital Studio! When I saw it was on for half price for one week only I had to take advantage and now I can't stop playing with it!

ETA: I used Debbi's tutorial here on how to create a blogger background and her tutorial here on how to create the buttons in my sidebar. I used the same sort of method as the buttons to create my post divider and used the tutorial here to figure out how to add it into blogger. These tutorials are quite easy to follow along with - I had never made any of these things before now and I love the way my blog turned out! If you need specific help, feel free to email me!

My New Craft Room

2010-11-23T17:11:00.002-07:00

Let me start with: I have the best husband! When we were building our house he didn't mind if I took over the entire extra bedroom as a stamping space! He only requested one of the little nightstands and a space for his printer for school use and he put the rest of his school supplies in the basement! I know lots of stampers are teachers and if you are, you understand how much of a sacrifice that is for him! So I thought I would share pictures of my space!

This is my favourite wall in the room! It shows of all the colours of my papers and my decor elements frames that I love!

Here's a better look at my paper storage system. I have labelled all of the shelves with the paper it holds so I can easily find what I am looking for. The drawers on the left are filled with embellishments and alterables! I love this storage system although it was a costly investment (I did wait a long time for a good sale to come along too)! All of my ribbon sits on top of this system in the SU holders.

My desk sits just underneath the window, which I love because it's great to look out while crafting and I can get a good sense of how well the colours really work together! In the drawers I keep my punches and adhesives. The bottom drawer of my dresser is a file drawer in which I file all my scraps of cardstock so I can keep them separate from full size pieces. Also, in the file cabinet to the right of my desk I keep retired colours of cardstock.

Finally, here is how I organize my stamps (not the best photo). They get lined up alphabetically in my Ikea shelving system. To the right you can see our printer sitting on one of the nightstands where I keep extra supplies and my circle cutting system.

I do also have some built in storage in another area of the room, but I haven't quite figured out how to organize it yet! It just contains storage systems for all of my already made cards and cricut items!

Hope you've got some ideas for organizing your space! Overall, I have to say my label maker was my best friend when organizing this space!

ETA: I purchased my paper storage system through http://www.treasuredmemoriescanada.com/ when they were on sale. However, they can also be purchased through the maker of them http://www.bestscrapbookshelf.com/. I know I got them on sale but just looking at the prices now, they seem much more expensive then when I got mine about a year or so ago. The specific ones I ordered are 3 of OC Kit D1 and one of OC Kit D3.

Thank You Cards

2010-11-15T13:05:00.001-07:00

Grant and I wanted to give small thank you cards to the two salespeople that we worked with throughout the home building process. I knew I wanted to use the fabulous "Good Neighbors" stamp set that is now retired from the Sale-A-Bration promotion earlier this year and then I saw the front card here and decided to make my own version of it using some of my favourite retired items from Stampin' Up!

This first card is for our direct sales person. We dealt with her on at least a weekly basis from March until getting possession at the end of October. She helped us to pick out what things we wanted to build our dream home.

This second card is for another sales person that we dealt with quite often when we came to check up on the progress of our house and she was just as willing to help us out with any questions or concerns we had. On both cards the houses and roofs are raised up on dimensionals.

We're still getting settled in the house, unpacking has been on hold because we both have bad colds right now so our heads just aren't up for it! It doesn't help that they are digging the lots up on either side of our house to finally put up houses! We were hoping it would have been at least started by them time we moved in but no such luck; at least they are doing both lots at the same time so the noise is all at once!

Here's a peek at our house for those who are interested!

Supplies:

Heartfelt Gratitude Card

Stamps: SU good neighbors (retired), fabulous phrases

Ink: SU not quite navy, old olive, bashful blue, chocolate chip

Paper: SU not quite navy, ww, maine blueberry dp (retired)

Button: SU old olive corduroy button (retired)

Punches: SU 1 1/4" square

Misc: SU dimensionals, embroidery thread

Kind Thanks Card

Stamps: SU good neighbors (retired), fabulous phrases

Ink: SU regal rose, pretty in pink, so saffron, chocolate chip

Paper: SU regal rose, ww, georgia peach dp (retired)

Button: SU old olive from playground designer buttons (retired)

Punches: SU 1 1/4" square

Misc: SU dimensionals, embroidery thread

Getting Settled and 30th Anniversary

2010-11-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

We're getting all settled in to the new house with not a lot left to unpack. It still doesn't feel like it's ours since we've never owned a house before but I'm sure that will come when we start getting the bills for it! Anyways, the point of this post is to share the card I made for my parents 30th wedding anniversary (which was on Monday)! Congratulations to them!

This card was inspired by this beautiful card by Lynn. I had to make it work with different stamps since I don't own that one. For the flowers I used the set Cottage Garden, cut them out and raised them on dimensionals. For the stems I used the set For All You Do and used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to line them up the way I wanted.

Stamps: SU Cottage Garden, For All You Do, Everything Nice

Ink: SU basic black, regal rose, pretty in pink

Paper: SU basic black, ww, regal rose, pretty in pink, pink pirhouette

Brads: SU pretty in pink

Ribbon: SU 1/4" black grosgrain

Misc: SU dimensionals

New House Congrats

2010-10-20T04:00:00.008-06:00

Well it isn't too much longer until the house we're building is ready! We actually get possession at the end of the month. This card is for one of Grant's coworkers who is actually building a house on the same street as us and gets possession of her place just a couple weeks into November. I figured I better make it now because I'm not sure how quickly I'll get to unpacking all of my craft supplies!

I've been lacking any creativity at making cards so I CASEd this card and just changed the colours and design slightly to suit my style a little more! The houses do not look as crooked in real life as they do in the photo! As with most of my cards, the main image panel is raised on dimensionals!

Stamps: SU Good Neighbours (retired), Occasional Quotes (hostess)
Ink: SU marina mist, pear pizazz, perfect plum, versamark
Paper: SU ww, marina mist, pear pizazz, perfect plum, pear pizazz dp (hostess pack)
Ribbon: SU whisper white 1/4" grosgrain
Embossing Folder: SU Square Lattice
Embossing Powder: SU whisper white
Misc: SU dimensionals

ABC Holiday Promotion

2010-10-19T21:00:00.000-06:00

Stampin' Up! is having an ABC (Amazing cards, Beautiful packaging and Cherished gifts) Holiday Promotion in which you can purchase special holiday bundles at 20% off. There are 6 fabulous holiday offers that you can check out here in the flyer! This promo runs October 19 to December 16.

Mojo159 Dasher Christmas

2010-10-10T04:00:00.001-06:00

Here's a quick simple card for Mojo159.

This card features the fabulous Candy Cane Christmas specialty paper and glitter brads from the Holiday Mini Catalogue. The red glitter brad brings out the glittered red stripes on the paper!

Stamps: SU Dasher, Best Yet (retired)
Ink: SU real red
Paper: SU real red, ww, baja breeze, candy cane christmas dp
Ribbon: SU 1/8" real red taffeta
Brad: SU real red glitter brad
Misc: SU baja breeze felt flurries (retired but available while supplies last in clearance)

Dad's 50th Birthday

2010-10-07T04:00:00.018-06:00

Yesterday was my Dad's 50th birthday! Unfortunately, I couldn't be there to share the day with him but I hope he had a wonderful day. Here's the card I made to go along with the gift we got for him.

It's a pretty simple card but I find that is the only way I can make masculine looking cards! Although, I can't take credit for the inspiration for this card - it's a CASE of the card here. For the center of the build-a-brad I printed out the "50" from the printer and made it chocolate chip colour to match using Marni's RGB values. For the leaf, I used the rock and roll technique to get the different colour along the edges.

Stamps: SU Paradise, Occasional Quotes (hostess)

Ink: SU garden green, wild wasabi, chocolate chip

Paper: SU crumb cake, chocolate chip, very vanilla, whisper white, woodland walk dp

Brad: SU pewter build-a-brad

Punch: SU 1/2" circle punch

Eastern Blooms Card Set

2010-09-26T04:00:00.007-06:00

Some of you may recognize this from Andrea Walford's Eastern Blooms class planner. I made some modifications to it to make it more of my style such as eliminating the distressing and sponging of the edges. I also modified it to make it a "thank you" note set only. Click on the image to enlarge it for a better view.
Please do not CASE these cards and if you are interested in purchasing the complete planner, visit Andrea's page here. Let me just warn you, this project does take some time wtih the cutting out of all of the flowers, but it is so easy to put together!

Growing Green Birthday

2010-09-24T04:00:00.001-06:00

The new "growing green" stamp sets is one of my new favourite. The rose image is perfect for watercolouring. For this card, I stamped the rose image in StazOn ink on watercolour paper and used my aquapainter to colourit with crumb cake ink. Check out the ribbon detail in the photo - I wanted to have the rose look like it was centered in a bow.

ETA: I totally forgot to mention that I had CASEd this card by Andrea Walford for this design! So sorry!

Stamps: SU Growing Green, Fabulous Phrases
Ink: StazOn jet black, SU early espresso, crumb cake
Paper: SU very vanilla, watercolour, early espresso, woodland walk dp
Ribbon: SU 5/8" satin early espresso
Misc: SU dimensionals, aquapainter

Favourite New Christmas Set

2010-09-22T04:00:00.000-06:00

The Jolly Bingo Bits stamp set in the new Holiday Mini catalogue is too cute and has so many fun images. I saw this card on Stampin' Connection and had to create a little set inspired by it using more of the images from this set. This set was fairly easy to make - the most time consuming thing was trying to line up and space the images as perfectly as possible. I accomplished this by straightening the white cardstock they are stamped on along grid paper then figuring out the center line and working out from there for horizontal spacing. Then, I just eyeballed vertical spacing and the angle I wanted the image at. It's not perfect - but I still like it.

Here you can get a better look at the cards:
It's kind of funny how even with such similar cards I still have a favourite!

The stripes were created just using my real red stampin' marker and a ruler! I have to say too, that I love this 1/8" taffeta ribbon! I originally thought it would be too skinny to be useful but it turns out quite nicely.

Stamps: SU Jolly Bingo Bits, Four the Holidays
Ink: Real Red
Paper: SU ww, real red
Ribbon: SU 1/8" real red taffeta

Simple Thank You Notes

2010-09-20T04:00:00.001-06:00

I had started these cards forever ago and only recently actually finished them. Like most crafters, I mostly need thank you cards so I decided to make some quick (well would have been if I didn't forget about them) and simple cards.Here's a better look at each of the cards:
Not too much to say about these ones! The supplies for these are in sharp contrast to my card I posted last because unfortunately a lot of these supplies are now retired!

Stamps: SU Thank You Kindly
Ink: SU kiwi kiss (retired), tangerine tango (retired), old olive, so saffron, regal rose
Paper: SU ww, kiwi kiss (retired), tangerine tango, old olive, so saffron, regal rose, georgia peach dp (retired), hawaii papaya dp (retired)
Ribbon: SU kiwi kiss striped (retired), tangerine tango striped(retired), 5/8" grosgrain old olive, so saffron (retired), regal rose (retired)
Punch: SU scallop edge

New Supplies!

2010-09-18T04:00:00.002-06:00

As soon as I saw the new SU set "Friends Never Fade" I knew I had to have it. The coordinating dp, greenhouse gala, on the other hand, I did not want - until I saw people using it and then I had to get my hands on it. The main image panel is popped up on dimensionals (like it is for most of the cards I make). This card shows off some of the many new items in this years 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue: a new stamp set, a new hostess stamp set, new dp, new ribbon and the new colour daffodil delight.

Stamps: SU Friends Never Fade, Occasional Quotes (hostess)
Ink: SU old olive, daffodil delight
Paper: SU ww, old olive, daffodil delight, greenhouse gala dp
Ribbon: SU 1/8" daffodil delight tafetta
Punch: SU corner rounder punch
Misc: SU dimensionals

Christmas Jingle SS Cards

2010-09-16T08:00:00.001-06:00

I know it's early but I couldn't resist making some Christmas cards when so many other crafters are already! I love making Christmas cards and I don't even send any out - I usually just sell them or give them as gifts for other people to use. This is a set of 5 that I made using last catalogue's Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' Kit. These are great for making cards out of because there are so many supplies contained in them. I made these 5 (albeit I did use a couple other supplies as well) and used maybe 1/8 of the kit, if that! Here's some better pics of each of the cards: The sentiment on this card is from the retired rubons "season of cheer." Some of you may recognize this sketch from last weeks Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge 155! The little tag punched with the jewelry tag punch and stamped with the coordinating "tiny tags" stamp set.Such a fun set to make! And I have so much more kit left to use!

Scrappin Kit: SU Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin Kit (retired)

Supplies not in the kit:

Stamps: SU tiny tags
Ink: SU real red
Rubons: SU season of cheer (retired)
Ribbon: SU 1/8" real red taffeta, 1/4" real red grosgrain, 5/8" chocolate chip grosgrain (retired)
Punch: SU jewelry tag punch
Brads: SU 5/16" very vanilla jumbo brads

Last Few Pages of Album

2010-09-04T04:00:00.001-06:00

Here are a couple more layouts from the bridal shower album I've been sharing over the last few posts. (I didn't have the written page yet at the time I took this photo.)
I haven't shared all the photos, just some of my favourites, hope you've enjoyed it!

Paper: SU ww, basic black, pumpkin pie, island oasis dp
Ribbon: SU pumpkin pie grosgrain, black grosgrain, white organdy (retired)
Punches: SU 1/2" circle punch
Misc: SU pearls