Spring Fling

Hi there!  Yesterday I attended a "Spring Fling" event and had a blast!  Let me tell ya, it certainly didn't feel like Spring outside!  I heard the snow plow come down our street early yesterday morning.  That got me out of bed real quick to peek outside to see how much snow had fallen.  It wasn't even an inch but I had about 30 miles to travel and snow could make that a scary trip.  Fortunately, the roads were fine!  Now back to the event.... Sally Nusbaum organizes a few different events for Stampin' Up! Demonstrators throughout the year, usually after the debut of a new catalog.  There are demonstrations, make n takes, business information, prizes, and card swapping (optional).  Oh, and food!  The best part, for me at least, is meeting other Demonstrators.  Sally's events are so much fun and I have met the nicest people!  If you're a Demonstrator and would like to attend, contact me and I'll connect you to Sally.  She does an awesome job!  So with all that said, the above packaged plastic shovel is one of the favors we received.  Isn't that just too cute?  We also received this one shown below.

This little cutie holds a square of Ghiradelli chocolate.  Yum!  It was made using the new Angled Tag Topper punch, gold Washi tape, and gold Baker's Twine - all from the 2014 Occasions Catalog.  The next favor designed by Kim Coulter is my personal favorite. 

What a gorgeous presentation!  That rose was made using the new Spiral Flower Originals Die.  Polka dot Gold Fancy Foil Designer Vellum was cut from a Starburst Framelit.  (Each package of Designer Vellum contains 3 sheets of 3 different designs) The branch of leaves (bird punch found in Annual Catalog) and banner (new Framelits) were made from our Foil Sheets found on page 23 of the Occasions Catalog.  The Chevron print kraft bag is a product that appears in the Annual Catalog on page 158 and the Tea Lace Paper Doilies can be found on page 156.  What's inside the bag you ask?  Samples of both gold and silver Designer Vellum, gold and silver Baker's Twine, Mini Metallic Clothespins, Silver 1/8" Ribbon, and Gold Sequin Trim!  
Are you seeing a theme here?  lol  It was gold, silver, and red. 

Tomorrow I'll share the make n take projects.  Thanks for stopping in today!

Wetlands

Hi there!  This is a scheduled post while I'm stamping and chillaxing at the girls getaway retreat!  I know I'm having fun!  lol
This card was CASE'd from one that was made at Sally Nusbaum's Demo Shoebox Swap back in June.  I believe it was Kathy Morales' swap card, but not totally sure about that.  LOVE this stamp set so this card was a no brainer to be in our Card Buffet line-up!  We're always looking for masculine cards, right?

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted. 

Stamps: Wetlands, Teeny Tiny Wishes 

Paper: Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Vanilla 

Ink: Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Soft Suede 

Tools:  Oval Framelits, Woodgrain embossing folder 

Other:  Natural Trim ribbon, blender pen, sponges, post-it notes (for masking), clear block

Inspiration: Kathy Morales (?)

That's it for today.  Thank you so much for peeking in today!

 

Flowering Flourishes & Hearts

Hi there!  Forgot to post this card that was my swap for the Demo Holiday party card swap last month.  It was also one of the make n takes for our Customer Appreciation Open House held on Dec 2nd.

Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: Flowering Flourishes, Field Flowers, Tiny Tags,
Paper: Vanilla, Real Red, First Edition DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Crumb Cake
Other: Large Oval punch, Scallop Oval punch, Small Heart punch, Chocolate Chip Scallop Dots ribbon

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for visiting today!

Snip, Snip

Hi there and happy Friday!  Wow, yesterday we had some brutal weather with 50+ MPH winds and some  rain, then snow mixed in!  I had to run some errands in that mess for several hours.  When I was returning home, our street was partially blocked with the neighbor's tree that had fallen (we live on a cul-de-sac).  A crew had cleared a path wide enough to get through.  That crew (or a different one) arrived a few minutes later with a bulldozer to move the tree back into the neighbor's yard.  Good thing it fell into the street, otherwise it would have been on her house!

Today's post is the paper snips case received from Pam D'Urso as a swap at our Demo Christmas party back on Nov 30th.  Pretty cool, huh?  Love it!  Pam makes the best things.  I've been wanting to make the no sew version.  Now I don't have to!  LOL  The fabric Pam used is Deck the Halls that can be ordered online from the clearance rack..

Must go now to hang out with the granddaughter.  She spent the night with us - she has bronchitis and couldn't go to school yesterday or today.  Her medicine must be working because she doesn't act sick at all.  Plus she had a good night's sleep - and no coughing. 

Keep warm and thanks for stopping by today!

Penguin Punch Art

Hi there!  Hope your weekend was everything you wanted it to be.  Mine was fantastic!   More about that in a minute but first I'd like to post this adorable penguin card from my friend, Rita.  He's so cute!  Didn't she do an awesome job?  Rita was inspired by Kay Sha.  Click here to go to her web site.  Thank you Rita!

OK as mentioned in my last post, Friday evening was our first Demo Christmas party.  It was fun mingling with everyone, making the two projects, and of course swapping.  Sally Nusbaum did an outstanding job organizing this event for us!  Saturday Jayne Singleton held a Valentines for Soldiers event.  We stamped Valentine cards which will be sent to the troops so they'll have cards to send home to their loved ones.  A very worthwhile cause!  Not exactly sure how many cards we stamped.  I had to leave early to get to a Red Hat Christmas party.  The ladies who signed up for the class made three cards each.  Most of them had never stamped before and they did great!  Sunday afternoon Jayne, Mary Taylor, and I hosted our Customer Appreciation Open House.  We had a good turnout and everyone enjoyed the event - and the weather was gorgeous.  Afterwards while cleaning up, we realized that we forgot to take pictures!  Oh well, maybe next time.

It was a busy weekend and tons of fun. (I'll post pics of the cards later)  Now it's time to tend to those things that were pushed to the "back burner" as the saying goes.  Hope you have an awesome week and thank you for stopping by today!

In Colors Papillon - Stamp Camp Card

Hi there and happy Monday to you!  Had a super busy weekend with Stamp Camps and spending time with my stamping peeps cutting card stock for our Christmas Card Workshop being held on Oct 6th. 

 

Stamps: Papillon Potpourri (W-123757, C-123759) 

Paper: Black, White, Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green, Midnight Muse 

Ink: Black, Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green, Midnight Muse 

Tools:  Fancy Fan Embossing Folder (127751), Elegant Butterfly Punch (127526), 1-1/2” Circle punch (non-SU!), 1-3/4” Circle punch (119850) 

Other:  Midnight Muse Satin Ribbon, glue dots, Dimensionals 

Inspiration: Pinterest  www.iembellish.blogspot.com 

 

Sorry for another short post.  Still have swaps to finish for a Demo event this Saturday and more to do for the Christmas Workshop.  Have a great day and thank you for stopping in today!

More Goodies

Hi there!  I have more goodies to share with you.  At our February monthly Demo dinner meeting, Penny Thomas presented a gift bag of stampin' goodies to Kathy Boxdorfer and me.  Each item represents something.  Like the glue is for stick-to-it-ness.  I'll have to find what each item represents for sure and get back to you on that one. There was just so much excitement that Pam D'Urso (our wonderful friend and up-line) and Penny (Pam's sister and up-line who lives in TX) could be there!  Penny doesn't make it to MO too much and Pam recently moved to IL.  So there were a LOT of conversations going on at the same time.

Edited to add the meaning behind the bag of goodies (copy & pasted directly from Penny's email ):

The Stampin' Dimensionals were in there because you added depth and dimension to your business; the 2-Way Glue Pen was in there because you stuck to the job and got it done; the sponge was in there because you soaked up the information and applied it where necessary; and the Dazzling Diamonds was in there because you dazzle and shine above the rest!  The candy and the incentive stamp were in there just for fun!

Gingham and Babies!

Hi there and happy Tues to ya!  Today promises to be another unusually warm day for Winter - supposedly in the 70's!  I tell ya, St Louis weather is just crazy.

Several weeks ago I attended an all day crop with some friends.  One of the cards that I worked on couldn't be completed due to the lack of ribbon.  Just totally forgot my ribbon.  Anyway, the card was finished at home but then it got busy around here so I forgot to upload to my computer to share with you.

 
The gingham background was a technique accomplished using a brayer and Stampin' Up!s Stripes embossing folder.  Pretty cool!  I CASE'd Krystal's card, which you can see here. Scroll down to her Jan 27th post.  To get the look of gingham, place your card stock in the Stripes embossing folder and run it through the Big Shot. I used a 3x3 square of Whisper White.  Ink up your brayer with color of your choice and run over the stripes.  Now place in the Stripes embossing folder again in the opposite direction, and run through the Big Shot again.  Repeat the brayering process on the opposing stripes.  Adhere the "gingham" to a Certainly Celery scalloped square mat.  Mine was cut from a non-SU! die since I don't own the smaller Scallop Duo square die..... yet!  The focal piece was layered on 3-3/4 x 5 Whisper White (also embossed with Stripes), then onto a 4 x 5-1/4 Baja Breeze layer.  Tie a ribbon around the top portion (I do the faux knots/bows) before adhering to your card base.
Try this technique some time.  How about making a "tablecloth" for some summer cards?  It's such a fun and easy technique - love it!

Supplies used:  Stamps - Button Buddies  Paper - Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery
Ink - Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery  Other - Stripes embossing folder, Designer Frames embossing folder, Wide oval punch, scallop square die (non-SU!), Certainly Celery Satin ribbon

Just a reminder that Sale-A-Bration ends March 31st!  Get the FREE stuff while available!

Also, you can now order the Simply Scored Diagonal Plate (125586 for $11.95).  I saw it demonstrated at our Spring Fling Demo Event this past Saturday.  So many neat projects can easily be whipped up.  A really useful tool - can't wait to get mine!  (Psst, want to know a secret?  It also works with M's scoring board.  So if you already own her scoring tool, order the Diagonal Plate to work with it.  I think our scoring tool has more features, though.  Just saying!)

Now on a non-stamping topic - well indirectly it relates 'cause I print copies of card ideas to CASE.  The ink in my printer is low - very low.  Boy it is just so expensive to replace ink!  I did learn from a former co-worker years ago to buy High Yield ink because it lasts longer.  So last night I went on Amazon (wow they sell everything) and purchased a combo pack for my printer.  The good thing is shipping was only $2.50 and I didn't have to pay sales tax - plus it will be delivered to my door.  So I feel that it was worth it for that.  Hope there are no regrets.

Off to have a late lunch.  Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by!

March Stamp Camp Sneak Peek

Hi there!  Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  Yesterday I attended the Spring Fling Demo Event, which was a lot of fun!  Kudos to Sally Nusbaum and everyone else who helped put on this event.  Had a great time connecting with friends and meeting new ones.  Enjoyed the demonstrations and saw some awesome displays.  We had some cute make & takes, too.  Looking forward to the next one!

Today I'm moving in slow motion.  Gray days and tossing & turning all night are not conducive to a lot of pep! lol   I do have a sneak peek of this months Stamp Camp projects, though.  If you would like to join us Saturday morning (Mar 10th), please contact me to reserve your spot.  My contact information is on the right side bar.  Thanks.

OK, that's all for now.  Thank you for stopping in today!

3-D Items

Hi there!  It's the beginning of another week and almost the end of another month!  Wow!  Where did this month go?
Today I want to share some of the items that were given at our last Demo dinner meeting.  There were so many things given out.  Hope I give proper credit for each item.

Pam D'Urso used the Scallop Envelope Die to make us St Patrick's Day treat holders.  She also made the "Friend" container full of trinket hearts.  The container is adorned with a flower made from the Triple Treat stamp.  The little heart was made by Deana Schultz.  It was made with our Petal Card Double Punch.  When you leave a couple of the flaps unfolded, you get a cute heart shaped treat holder.  We were definitely lucky recipients of some crafty ladies!
Edited to correct: Penny Thomas gave us the flower container.  Thanks Pam for catching that!  

Autumn Days

How are you on this Monday?  Hope you had a great weekend.  Last week and the weekend was busy, busy, busy for me!  Saturday I attended the Happy Holidaze Demo event organized by the Glitter Inks.  Wow, there was a ton of  information to absorb!  The demonstrations and our Make n Takes were great!  Have you ever heard of Hog's Wart School of BBQ?  OMG, they catered our lunch and it was sooooo good!  I had the pulled pork.  Yum, yum! 

Had a wonderful group of ladies at my Stamp Camp yesterday.  (Thanks again ladies for coming!)   One of the cards they made was a simple, yet striking card that I CASE'd from Debra Currier.  You can see her card here - scroll down to her Sep 5, 2011 blog post.  I made a few minor changes.  Thanks Debra!

Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted.

Stamps: Autumn Days (W-115452, C-120000), Grateful Greetings (116511)

Paper: White, Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Old Olive

Ink: Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip

Other:  Chocolate Chip 1/2” Scallop Dots ribbon (124142)

Sorry I don't have time to post more - have several things to do before picking up our granddaughter. Thanks for stopping by today! 

Holiday Mini is Here!

Hi there!  Today the Holiday Mini Catalog goes live!  It is full of great products.  I could order the whole catalog but since I haven't won the lottery or anything, guess I'll have to keep myself in check! lol

This month looks like another busy one.  Busy is good.  I'll be helping Jayne Singleton with Make n Takes at her booth at the "Y" on the 7th.  There were three of us last year and we never had a lull the whole evening.  It was so satisfying to see the expressions on peoples faces when they saw the card they made themselves.  Handmade card...priceless!

Looking forward to the "Happy Holidaze" Demo event being held on Sep 24th.  Sally and the other Demos who put on this event do a fantastic job.  It's always so much fun!!  I'll be busy working on swaps for that.

My next Stamp Camp is the 25th.  I'll post a Sneak Peek at a later date.  If you live in the St Louis Metro area and would like to attend, please contact me to reserve your spot.  Contact information is on the right side bar.

Our monthly Demo dinner is on the 27th.  Hmmm, Jayne gave us a challenge (jumbo paper clip) that I need to think about altering.   

There are a lot of birthdays and anniversaries this month, too!

Jayne and I are in the planning phase for a Christmas Card Workshop being held Dec 3 at the Hazelwood Community Ctr.  I'll post the details at a later date.  Save the date!

Sorry, no card today.  Must run some errands and pick up the granddaughter from daycare.  Thank you for stopping by!

June Demo Dinner Meeting and Clipboard Challenge

Hi!  Just popping in real quick to show you the projects made by the other team members and Don (our mascot - LOL).  I'm getting ready to go stamp with the Wednesday girls and need to pack my project bag.  It's still packed with scrapbooking supplies from the Fri night crop.  (Yes, you read right - scrapbooking. A real shocker!)  Anyway, here are the altered clipboards. 

Donna's

Jayne's

Mary Ellen's

Patty's

Pam's

the back of Pam's - clever storage idea

Don's (Patty's husband)

We sure have a creative group.  Our challenge next month is a mini pail (or bucket).  What to do, what to do???  Last night I was so tired when I got home.  Maybe it was that jumbo margarita that did it.  Nah!  We had a fun time and the food was good.  Pam received her new catalog so it was going around the table. (squeal!)   It made it's way to my side of the table and in my hands when the food came.  I thought it best that Pam get it back in case there was an accident or something.  Know what I mean?  Hopefully my copy will come next week - can't wait!  I'm so glad that the Decor items will be in the same catalog.
OK, need to scoot.  Have a great day and thank you so much for stopping by!

Display Boards

Hi there!  It's Friday -  another week just flew by.  I'm wrapping up this week with photos of some of the displays at the Demo event May 14th.  There are only a few photos that turned out OK.  (Hey, I said I wasn't a photographer - even with a digital camera!)

Samples made with the new triple layer punches

A cute little gift set of note cards and tags

You can make a cross from the doily punch  How cool!

Hello Blossom - single stamp in Summer mini

I'll be at an all day crop today.  Our granddaughter is spending the night.  She'll be sound asleep by the time  I get home, though.  We'll spend some quality time together tomorrow before she goes home.   Sunday is our Demo Stamp Camp at Pam's.

Celebrate Summer Demo Event

Hi!  This week I've been posting swaps that I received at the Celebrate Summer Demo event held this past Saturday (May 14).  There was an early bird registration.  If you registered by the deadline, your name went into a drawing for a special prize.  Guess what?  I won!!!!  Here is my prize.

This is the doily punch - one of the new triple layer punches in the Summer
mini catalog.  What an awesome prize!

We were given name tags when we checked in that morning.  The girls sure went to a lot of trouble to make the cute flower pins on our name tags.  Here's mine.

The flowers were made from soda, tea, or energy drink cans.  Pretty sure mine was from a Mountain Dew soda can.  Boy someone sure drank a lot!  Can you imagine how hyped they were on all that caffeine! LOL

Later in the day we did a Make n Take.  We made some cards and decorated a notebook case (empty clear mount stamp case) by making our own DSP using the One Sheet Wonder technique.  There is some planning involved to do this.  Fortunately, that was done for us.  First we stamped an 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of white card stock using the Flower Fest stamp set in bright colors.  (This set can be found in the Summer mini.)  More color was sponged on to reduce the amount of white space showing.  Then we cut it up according to the template, which was provided in our packet of materials.  I actually assembled my cards & notebook at home.  I just made sure to stamp and punch everything before we left.  I changed the sentiment on the notebook by inking only a select portion of my stamp from the Word Play set.
Here is the set from the One Sheet Wonder.  Wish I would have thought to take a picture before it was cut up. (Sorry for the glare on the notebook.)

 

Well, that about wraps up this post.  Hope you have a great day and, as always, thank you for stopping by today for a visit!

Swaps - Group 3

Hi there!  Today I'm posting the Pieces of Heart swaps - including a couple of "adopted" team members, Mary Ellen and Donna.  Here are our cards:

Pam's Card

Patty's card

Jayne's easel card

Mary Ellen's card

Donna's card

My card

That's all folks.  Sorry for the short post - lots to do.  Thank you for taking time to stop by today!

Swaps - Group 2

Hi there!  Ready to see some more cards?  Here is the next batch of swaps received at the Celebrate Summer Demo event this past Saturday.

Emiko Westerfield

Jean Pitser

 Deana Schultz

Katie Fowler

Carla Spradling

Sarah Klasing

Thanks for stopping in today.

Swaps - Group 1

Good morning.  Ready for a new week?  It will be a fairly busy one for me.  Busy is good, though.
I'll begin showing five swaps from the Celebrate Summer Demo event in Granite City, IL.  Hopefully this  will keep the length of each post to a manageable amount.

Kim Coulter

Carrie Fejedelem

Side view of Carrie's swap

Alicia Tomicich-Wiley

Dawn Lauer

Beth Wilkinson

That's it for today.  I'll have more swaps tomorrow.  Thanks from stopping by!