Greetings!

This past Saturday I held my Christmas in July Card class.  So, I'm here to show you one of the cards we made at the class.  Because the Holiday Catalog is soon to be released, I did up a couple of cards for them with some of the brand new things in the Holiday Catalog.  This was one of them:

This was super clean and simple, but also quick and easy.  How about those adorable little mittens that have a coordinating punch?  Cute, eh?  I love when there are punches or dies to match - it makes that tedious cutting non-existent.

Tips:

• Create a template out of a scrap to make the drawn frame easier!  I used a piece of the white cardboard that comes with our DSP packages to make the frame here. This one was cut at 3 x 3 1/2. Set the frame template on top of your card to get an idea where to place your sentiment, slide the template out of your way, stamp sentiment.  When the ink is dry, place the template over the top and trace around it with your marker.
• So as not to waste ribbon (and the ribbon trim here is SO incredibly soft!) I left the ribbon on the spool, doubled it over and tied a not in the loop end the cut it off the spool.  No waste!

If you haven't received a Holiday Catalog yet - be sure to email me and I'll get one out in the mail to you ASAP!  

Paper Players Tic Tac Toe Challenge 106!

Howdy folks!  This week's challenge over at The Paper Players is a Tic Tac Toe challenge.  This was FUN! I've never done a challenge in this way, and found that it was hard to narrow down what I actually wanted to do.  But, because I'm pretty smitten with the new elegant butterfly punch and those teensy little (but super cute!) Little Labels punches, I chose this card:

And how about those gorgeous flowers in Stippled Blossoms!?  Love them.  I created my background with one of the newer builder wheels - Travel Journal.  I didn't even care if I wheeled it a bit crooked.  Just made it look a little more true.

Doesn't that little label for the body of the butterfly look so sweet?  Be still my beating heart....

Go off and see what the other fabulous design team members have come up with....you are sure to be inspired!

The Paper Players Design Team

Jen Arkfeld
Lesley Croghan
Dawn Easton
Helen Heil
Jaydee
Nance Leedy

Anne Marie Hile

LeAnne Pugliese

Ann Schach

Amy White

Mojo Monday....on Saturday....

Well, I've had this card done since Tuesday or Wednesday.  And I'm finally getting it published here on the ol' bloggo!  What a week.  Anyway -  here's my card for this week's sketch:

 Lots of sneak peaks here folks!  DSP, Stamps, dies, buttons, ribbon!  All being released on August 1!!!
If you haven't gotten your holiday catalog yet - give me a shout and I'll get one out to you!

Wish I had more time to stay and chat, but I've gotta get a move on here!  Come back tomorrow for some fun with The Paper Players!

Friday....really it's already FRIDAY???

Gosh.  This week went by WAY too fast.  Will is going back to school in 19 days!  YIKES!  Ducks in a row - time to get them all lined up.  That also means that Alex will be back in pre-school, this year 3 days a week.  He'll get to ride the bus with Will and I'll go pick up up at noon.  But!  That gives me three days a week with just one child at home.  Yes, the most needy child, since she is only 2.  We'll have fun tho - Aubrie and I!  I'm really hoping to slam my calendar with all things stampy and crafty.  Like playing along with more sketch challenges like this one:

Here's my creation:

You are getting quite a few sneak peaks here.  New Orchard Harvest Designer Paper (which I love - and now that Stampin' Up! is listing the colors used in the paper right on the packaging, life just got a bit simpler!)  And how about the new Perfectly Preserved and Cannery Die Set?  Awesome for fall.  You've seen these in the Holiday Catalog, right?  If you haven't rec'd your Holiday Catalog yet, please contact me and I'll get one out to you right away!  I love all of the colors in this DSP - makes it really easy to work with.  Here I used a card base of Raspberry Ripple.

That little flower is made with 3 layers of the smallest die in the Floral Frames set.  The bottom layer I just left as is.  The top two, I snipped into petals and then curled them up a bit with my bone folder.  It gave it just the dimension I was looking for.

That's all I've got for you today folks.  But have no fear - I'll have more for you tomorrow!

Goin' to the Chapel. And we're gonna get....

married.  Well, I'm not.  I'm happily married myself.  Although there are days that I could ring my hubby's neck....we've all felt like that, right?

Today I'm here to show you some wedding invited I created for a customer's daughter's wedding. 

These were created using My Digital Studio.  Have you heard that MDS2 is gong to be released on August 1st?  Yippee!!! Can't wait!  If you already have MDS, you can upgrade your system for $19.95.  If you've recently purchased the program (after May 8th) you can upgrade for FREE!  With 75 - yes SEVENTY FIVE - new features, there are going to be lots of fun to be had with this amazing software.

These invitations were quite simple to create.  I was also able to print an entire invite on one sheet of paper, so I didn't have a lot of waste.  I did end up with some scraps that I can use for other things because they were a nice size.

Initially, I had created a pocket on the bottom section above to hold the Reception/RSVP cards, etc.  But, because the caterer didn't need a RSVP number, they choose to not include the RSVP cards, and we eliminated the pocket - which really made these even easier to assemble!

The real beauty of these invites?  The invite itself is also the envelope!

Simply fold it up, place a seal on the back, flip it over, and write your addressee info and put it in the mail.  Plus, they are the right size that they don't cost any extra to mail.  Because they are on cardstock, they are very sturdy!  Nifty - eh!

If you'd like to learn more about My Digital Studio, I'm holding several classes (one per month), with the first one beginning July 31st at 5:30 pm.  Class will be held at the Denison Municipal Utilities Mtg. Room.  Fee is just $5.  Email me to learn more.

Christmas in July

Here is a sneak peak of what we'll be making in my Christmas in July class on Saturday.  Sorry the picture isn't the best - was a quickie with my cell phone. And there is one card missing from this bunch....

Want to join in on the class?  There is still time.  I've still got room for 3 more people, so I'm extending the deadline to Friday July 27th.  Here's the details:
When: Saturday, July 28th, 9am  (this is a round robin type of class - so when you are done, you're done!)
Where: Denison Municipal Utilities, Denison, IA
What: You'll craft 10 cards - 2 each of 5 designs, along with envelopes to dress up to your fancy!
Fee: $30 - all supplies are included - just bring your scissors and adhesive!

Many of you have asked to take this as a "class to go" !  YES!  You can take it to-go.  I will stamp and punch everything for you in the case that you don't have the appropriate stamps, and I will include photo instructions of each card.  The fee for the class to go is $35 to cover shipping costs too!  Just shoot me a message and I'll send you a Pay-Pal invoice.  If you'd rather pay by check, that will be accepted also.  Once payment has been received, I'll ship you your little goodie package and you'll be singing "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"!!!!  So join in on the fun!

Email me to sign up for the class (only 3 spots left) or take it to go!

Refreshing drink gifty!

Recently I had a hostess do a book party that helped me earn my trip to FIJI (thanks Julie!) and I crafted this little giftable for her.  What I forgot to do was take a pic of the bag I stuck it all in - which was adorable!

I know I've shown these little drink mix packets before - but they were slightly different.  These were a bit simpler to make because I was able to use the Petite Pocket Bigz die for the Big Shot.  No tracing of templates or cutting out.  Just run your paper thru your Big Shot and stick together!  Easy Peasy Puddin' and Pie!  Love that!

This first one was for an Appletini drink mix (all mixes are from Crystal Light).  Done up in Rich Razzleberry to compliment the packaging.  I tried the Appletini - it's a little too apple-y for me.  But I love the colors of the packaging.....

And how about these new punches in the Little Labels Punch pack.  Of course I didn't think I needed them until I saw how cute they were when layered behind buttons!  Wish I would have threaded my button on this one - it would have been much more adorable!

Here's the packet I came up for the Mojito drink.  From a refreshing type of drink perspective, this is my fave!  With or without rum added to it!  It's just crisp and. well. refreshing!  The little packet I made isn't too shabby itself!

Next up - Margarita!  Gotta love a good Margarita.  And I do.  I layered up the outside with one of the new delicate doily dies and a punched out Decorative label.  Fyi - this Margarita mix isn't as lime-y or tart maybe as I would have liked it to be.  Of course, I didn't try it with tequila - maybe that's what I was missin'?

I'll see if I can't find a picture of the bag - cuz it was super cute!

In the meantime - go whip up something cool to drink.  It's blazin' hot here - tired of temps in the 100's and we're praying for rain.  Watching the corn fields burn up is depressing.  I think the last time we had a real shot of rain was June 13th or 14th.  Our crops are suffering, and I won't let Aubrie go in the garden anymore either - she'd get swallowed up by one of the cracks in the dry ground!  So, I'll sit in my air conditioned house and STAMP ON!

Paper Players #105

Good day folks!  I'm here with this week's challenge for The Paper Players! Jaydee created a great sketch for us this week.  Here's my creation:

I decided to play with some of the new products from the upcoming Holiday Catalog.  Have you received yours in the mail yet?  If not - but sure to shoot me an email and I'll get on out to you right away!  The Holiday Catalog is larger in size and much more full of good things! The only things that aren't new on this card is the Cherry Cobbler Cardstock and the Cherry Cobbler Bakers twine!

One of my favorite things in this mini - this fabulous Sweater Trim Ribbon.  My goodness.  This stuff is so stinkin' soft - I seriously could wrap myself up in it!  If it wasn't 100 degrees out 24/7, I probably would!  And how about that woodgrain embossing folder???  Nice, deep embossing!  Love it.

What you see here is that I heat embossed the candy cane for some shine - what you may not be able to tell, is the fact that it is Peppermint scented embossing powder!  It's heavily scented, but once I embossed it, it really tamed down.  And I simply cut a slit in my "cocoa" with an exacto knife to slip my candy cane thru.  Wish I had some marshmallows to throw in there!  To get the appearance of cocoa, I inked up the mug with Gumball Green, then wiped away the area where the drink (cocoa, coffee, tea...) is supposed to be with a q-tip, and then colored it in with an Early Espresso Marker.  Why did I do it this way?  Well, sometimes I feel like I don't get a nice enough stamped image if I have to color a large area with marker, so I went this route and was quite satisfied.  I did not huff back on the stamp and I suppose that is why the cocoa part is not so dark?????  Not sure.

Well, go off and see what the rest of the design team has to show you this week - there are some amazing cards to draw inspiration from!

The Paper Players Design Team

Jen Arkfeld (you are here)
Lesley Croghan
Dawn Easton
Helen Heil
Jaydee
Nance Leedy

Anne Marie Hile

LeAnne Pugliese

Ann Schach

Amy White

Above & Beyond!

 Aren't these butterflies in Papillion Potpourri super awesome?  How a bout the coordinating punch?  Love!

 What are you thinking of my color combination?  Anyone feeling a groove with this Summer Starfruit/BasicGrey/Pool Party mix???  I'm kinda hooked on it.  Seems so trendy right now.  And here I went on and on not too long about about how I didn't like Summer Starfruit.  Well, bite my tongue!  I'm diggin it!

How about that little safety pin body and bakers twine antenae?  Sweet!  But my favorite:

A doubled up butterfly and little dahlia body!  Swoon!

And they all come together to create this:

You like?  I'm sending this one to some awesome friends of ours that are taking care of the ranch while we are on va-ca! I have to tell you, without our friends, I would be lost.  They are the greatest.  They help out with our kids when needed, stop at the store when I'm not heading to town.  They are there when we need them to be.  And they definitely go above and beyond.  We love them.

Howdy folks!  Time once again for a challenge from The Paper Players.  This week we are using sentiments as the focal point on our cards.  I picked this sentiment from You're Amazing.

When I paired this with the new Patio Party DSP, it just clicked.  And how about a shout out for the chevron embossing folder.  Can you say, "favorite"?

As you may know - I'm enjoying some much needed family time right now in the Rocky Mountains.  So - that means that YOU can earn double Stamped Silly Rewards this week (July 14th - July 21st).  Every order  of $25 placed thru my website will receive 2 Smiley Faces.  Order $50 and receive 4 smiley faces.  You'll quickly be on your way to free stamps!  So, jump on over to my online store and have a little fun!

Wanna see what the other talented design team members came up with?  Go take a look-see:

The Paper Players Design Team

Jen Arkfeld
Lesley Croghan
Dawn Easton
Helen Heil
Jaydee
Nance Leedy

Anne Marie Hile

LeAnne Pugliese

Ann Schach

Amy White

Stamped Silly Rewards!

As you read this, my family and I are heading on a much needed vacation to the majestic Rocky Mountains, where we are hoping to find some comfort from this sweltering heat.  I've got a few projects that I've got scheduled to post so as not to leave you completely bored while I'm gone.  Heck - you may actually see more action on my blog while I'm on vacation than while I'm home!  My poor, poor blog.  It's so neglected some weeks.

However, I want to kick this weekend off with a special deal for YOU!  Starting today, July 14th  thru Saturday July 21st, I'm offering DOUBLE Stamped Silly Rewards.  Wondering what those are all about?  Well, click on the link above, or simply click here.  So, this week - when you spend $25 at my ONLINE STORE you can earn 2 smiley faces.  Spend $50, earn 4 smiley faces.  Spend $100, earn 8 smiley faces.  You'll be on your way to free stamps in no time!

Go ahead - shop away, after all - there's something in it for you too!

See you all tomorrow for a new challenge over at The Paper Players blog!

The Paper Players Colour Challenge

Good Day folks!  Is everyone having a nice weekend?  Mine started off with a BANG - Friday night we celebrated my 10 (x2) year high school reunion.  (Fyi - I refuse to believe that I've really been out of high school that long!)  It was a great time, and was so nice to chat with old friends and catch up.  Wish I could have gone back for the festivities on Saturday, but this old lady and her hubby we tired!  More so the hubby than me!  We actually saw 2 am and I haven't seen that in well over 6 years!  But I'd go do it again if it meant more time with all of those grand friends!

So, you want to really hear about my card tho right!  I know!  This week The Paper Players are hosting a color challenge.  Phew....you know me.  I'm not always thrilled with color challenges.  When I first saw the color combo, I was a little perplexed.  But once I decided to let the Calypso Coral stand out, it was pretty smooth sailing from there.

So, let me tell ya a bit about this card.  I couldn't find any DSP that just called to me.  Guess what.  With stamps and ink, it's pretty darn easy to create your own!  I used the flowery image from Lacy and Lovely and stamped it with Calypso Coral on Calypso Coral CS.  I didn't bother with the stamp-a-ma-jig - just practiced a bit on my grid paper and got a feel for how to line things up.  Worked slick.  And I'm thrilled with the results.

This sweet little butterfly was punched with the new Elegant Butterfly punch and layered on a delicate doily die, and for his body I used one of the punches in the Little Labels punch pack.  So cute!

Go see what the rest of the design team came up with this week!

The Paper Players Design Team

Jen Arkfeld
Lesley Croghan
Dawn Easton
Helen Heil
Jaydee
Nance Leedy

Anne Marie Hile

LeAnne Pugliese

Ann Schach

Amy White

Poppy Love...

My mother in law loves poppies.  She has fabulous flower beds and she just started growing some poppies.  She's actually tried to grow them for several years, but I think she finally found a good spot to grow them.  And they are beautiful.  I couldn't help but think of her when I saw this set in the 2012-13 Stampin Up! Catalog.

Then, because I didn't want to take from the image too much, I thought this would be a great stamp for a set of note cards.  This was quick and easy to make.  I stamped it in Stazon Jet Black (my favorite black ink) and colored using watercolor crayons and a blender pen.  It was so super easy - making these super Pleasant Poppies!

Hope you like!!!

Til next time - go stamp YOURself silly!

Happy Independence Day!!!!

Hi all!  I crafted up this card in the spirit of the 4th of July!  It was a little bit trying, I'll admit, with all of the heat embossing and layering of heat embossed items.  I'll even admit that it took me three tries to get a finished background that I was pleased with!!!  (pretty bad, or pretty anal, I don't know.)  In the end, I think it looks a lot like Fireworks.

I used the large blossom from Betsy's Blossoms, the little blossom center from Mixed Bunch and a snowflake from Snow Swirled.  And retired glitter with heat and stick powder.

So, go forth and celebrate your independence and be grateful to our forefathers that were courageous enough to seek a new life!

Paper Players #102 and FIJI BOUND!!!!

Hi everyone!  I'm here with my first post as one of The Paper Players Design Team Member!  This week our theme is Christmas in July.  It might be sweltering hot outside, but this card is screaming cool Christmas!

The Paper Players

For my card I used the new Be of Good Cheer DSP.  This paper might just grow on me.  I wasn't sure at first, but I think I'm gonna like it.  And I love this little gal from Greeting Card Kids.  I stamped her with Stazon Ink on Watercolor paper then used a blender pen and markers to color her.  I glittered her trim with some (retired) Smooch. 

Before I go - I want to thank my wonderful customers and great downline - I've earned my first ever Stampin' Up! Incentive Trip - to FIJI!  This seems like a trip of a lifetime, I think I'm still in shock that I did it, but know that I couldn't have without my great customers and Stamp Us Silly team!  Now, it's a matter of convincing my hubby that he should go with me.  He seems to come up with new excuse all the time. - the trip will be right in the middle of planting season and he's the one who plants the crops (although his dad or brother COULD probably manage), someone needs to be around to take care of the kids, oh, and the flight is just too long!  I will have to find a way to break him down.....this may be harder than earning the trip itself!  :)  Anyway - I can't wait to go on my first incentive trip - I just know it will be amazing!

Check out what these other fabulous Design Team Members have come up with:

The Paper Players Design Team

Jen Arkfeld
Lesley Croghan
Dawn Easton
Helen Heil
Jaydee
Nance Leedy

Anne Marie Hile

LeAnne Pugliese

Ann Schach

Amy White