Friday, May 31, 2013

It's HERE! And it's LIVE!!!

 

The new Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog is here!  And you can begin ordering from it now!

Want to see it?

CLICK HERE FOR A FLASH VERSION

CLICK HERE FOR A DOWNLOADABLE PDF COPY

Ready to order some of this fun stuff - feel free - just CLICK HERE TO SHOP NOW!



The Hispanic Catalog is also available starting today!

VIEW FLASH VERSION HERE
VIEW PDF COPY HERE


To celebrate this catalog kickoff - we've also got a NEW Photopolymer Stamp Set available:


 I just love this new stamp set option!  Perfect for summer vacations - great for scrapbooking!  Just love it!

Guess what - I have another big deal!  Check this out....


These stamp sets are now on sale!!!
Dates: May 31-June 30, 2013
Sale PriceRetail PriceDescriptionItem
$17.96
$23.95
Sassy Salutations Wood-Mount Stamp Set
132070
$13.46$17.95Sassy Salutations Clear-Mount Stamp Set126707
$14.96
$19.95
Sweet Essentials Wood-Mount Stamp Set
132085
$11.21$14.95Sweet Essentials Clear-Mount Stamp Set126457
$21.71
$28.95
Petite Pairs Wood-Mount Stamp Set
128706
$15.71$20.95Petite Pairs Clear-Mount Stamp Set122497


And....I know I have been quiet here for a little bit.  I assure you that it's not on purpose!  I seriously have not had time in the past two weeks (at least!) to stamp anything!  That makes this momma just a little bit irritated!  There just has not been a spare moment to do anything in my craft room at all.  
The kids have been out of school for a week and a half.  They seem to be sending me into overdrive.  I thought this summer would be smooth sailing since they are older, and because they have a chore list for the first time! My thinking with that was that I'd have more free time to do business things.  Well....the first week of chores was rough....I was really beginning to think that it would be easier if I just continued to do everything myself.  However, after a week under our belt, the chores are getting easier.  Will is now making his bed before he even comes downstairs.  Aubrie does not want anyone to help her at all (she's three).  Alex...well...he's Alex, and he'll complain about chores forever.  Unless it's to sweep out the garage.  Really. He WANTS to sweep out the garage.  I think we'll get there.  At least by August!
We also threw a garage sale into the mix recently.  It was good.  I purged all of our baby gear - which made for more room in our basement.  Well.  It kind of made more room.  I've still got some things to get rid of.  In time.  Mostly kids clothes.  Which I did sell a lot of, but will donate the majority of what's left. 
Anyway - 
I finally made a card yesterday - A CARD!  It felt so good to put some ink to paper again. (don't worry - I WILL share it tomorrow!)

Have you stuck with my thru all of this???  Cuz I have some more news!  I am a Guest Designer this month (June) over at Craft Project Central!!!!  I have a really great project that will be included in your subscription this month and I can't wait to share it with you - but you will have to wait a little bit!  Just a little bit - don't worry!!!

Alright - so here's to June being a better, slower month for me!!!  And here's to June being a very inspirational month for you!  I really believe that as my family settles into the new routine of summer....all will be good! And creative. And inspirational.  Cheers!
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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Seriously....Seriously!



Howdy folks - I have a fun little card to share with you today.  This is one of the cards that we made at this month's Stamp Clubs - and it's about the shine!  I tried something a little different for the top portion of the card - and think I may have overdone it slightly....I used my Versamark pad around the edges of the cardstock - much like if you were distressing the edges with an ink pad.  Then I sprinkled on the Silver Embossing Powder and heated away.  I just think I should have used a bit less ink/powder.  It's a little much.   I did use the Silver EP to stamp the 'seriously' stamp too.  The arrows and hearts come from the Show & Tell Photopolymer stamps.
Oh - and I'm sure you are wondering where the 'seriously' comes from.  It was in last month's My Paper Pumpkin kit.  I am loving these kits - and I'm always so pleased when my kit shows up in the mail.  You can join the Paper Pumpkin craze by subscribing HERE.  Want to simply try the program?  You can do that too!  Simply click here for more information!  What do I love about Paper Pumpkin?  Well - for starters - everything is cut for you and ready to go, instructions included.  Secondly, all you need is some adhesive to glue things together. (and guess what?  I'll send you a complimentary tape runner just for signing up!)  Also - the kits are small enough - they don't take up any room.  Likely you will make your project up (it takes about a half hour to complete the projects) and display it, or send the cards off, or gift your project.  Each kit is different - they won't always be cards!  What's stopping you from having a little creative bliss delivered to your door each month?

Are you now wondering where those shiny chevrons are from.  Guess what - it's one household item that about everyone has....Aluminum foil!  Simply glue it to a scrap piece of cardstock, and run thru your Big Shot Embossing folder!  

Be sure to stop back tomorrow and I'll show you how you can color the foil!!!  



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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

More Blue Ribbon Graduation! And a challenge for you!


Howdy folks!  I've got another graduation card to share with you today!  This one is clean and simple, and bold and graphic.  Sure to please a teen graduate - right??



This one has a card base of Smokey Slate - have I mentioned that I really like this shade of gray?  (no pun intended there peeps!)

To make this card, I simply used our largest square punch, 1 3/8" and marked the center - which is 3/4" - I think...Heck....I'm no mathematician!  I was just saying the other day that I don't know why Algebra is a required course.  After all....when was the last time I used Algebra - 1992???  

Anyway....mark the center of your square so that you can punch the center out with a circle.  I use the mark as a guide to make sure that I'm not going to end up with my punched circle off to one side or the other.  It's not going to be perfect, but it'll be darn close.  

THEN - I laid out my four circle-squares and decided how much space I needed between them, which determined how big my white square would be.  In other words - I kind of worked backwards.

The numbers were a die I used from my stash, but I did use our Adhesive Sheets on the back of the cardstock before I die cut them - and that was a LIFESAVER!  No Two Way Glue, No Tombow - just peel and stick!  SWEET!   

And once again - I splattered the card all up - for that teen appeal!  Well. And because I like it!

I hope you'll use this as inspiration for some graduation cards yourself - but what else could it be?  An Anniversary card?  Soften the colors, and it could be a Baby card with the year the baby was born.  Shall we try a little challenge?

Use this card as inspiration for your own - and link up your creation back here.  You can use the color combo, the sketch, whatever inspires YOU!  You don't need to stick with just Stampin' Up! products. Post your creation on your blog, an online gallery, Flickr - just be sure to link it back here!  I'll leave this challenge open for one week, and next Tuesday I'll pick a winner that will receive a prize package of lots and lots of goodies - embellishments, cardstock, designer paper...  So - go have some fun, would ya!


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Monday, May 13, 2013

Congrats Grads! --- Blue Ribbon


It was a weekend filled with Graduation Parties!  Which also meant that I needed to create some cards.  One of my girlfriends also needed several cards - so I went to town.


This one was super easy to duplicate, and I liked it because I could change the colors to coordinate with the school colors of the graduate!  I even got to try out our new Smoky Slate cardstock - and I really like the color.  It's not too dark, it's not too light, and it gives a bit of a silver tone to your crafts.  The cards we needed were all for boys, so to grunge the card up a bit, I used the Color Spritzer Tool to spritz on some red color.  Then I used a mix of Platinum Shimmer paint and rubbing alcohol mixed in one of our spray bottles, but instead of spraying, I unscrewed the tube and flicked the hose portion, creating some splatters instead.  You can really see them here:



Like I said before, this card was easy to switch out the colors to coordinate with the school colors:


I also used a different embossing folder - I think I like the chevron one better, but this lent a masculine touch also.


Hope you like!  Let me know by leaving me a comment!

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Sunday, May 12, 2013

Happy Mother's Day! A Noteable Gingham Garden Gift


Hi there everyone!  I hope you are having a wonderful Mother's Day today!

I've got a fun little gift to share with you.  We created these notepads at my most recent Crafts and Cocktails event.  I made a couple - one for my mom, one for my mother in law, one to give away (keep reading!) and one for ME!   They are so cute and pretty easy to whip up - especially the way all of the papers in the Gingham Garden DSP Pack coordinate with each other.  And I've got a little bit of a crush on these papers!

 I layered up several patterns of paper and topped them off with some washi tape, a doily, and some die cut letters.


I added some washi tape to the top corner, and topped it off with our new Vintage buttons!  These are really  cute, and I love that they have a flat back, making it easy to glue onto projects.

I created a pocket on the front of the notepad, with a pull-out tag.  I can write a message on the tag if I want to!  And of course, I embellished it a bit.  The washi tape is so easy to work with, if you don't like where you've put it, it lift back up easily so you can move it around til you're content.



I also duded up a pad of sticky notes.  Aren't these just stinkin' adorable???  It just seems so flirty and fun.

Now - I wanted to gift this - so needed some cute packaging!  No prob....I whipped up a matching gift bag:


And to hold the bag closed - I created a magnetic clip!  Multi purpose there!

Let's hear it - would you love this little gift?  How about a give away!  Leave me a comment, and one lucky person will get this package mailed to them!  You have until Thursday, May 16th to comment, and this will ship out on Friday!

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Wednesday, May 8, 2013

I love Sneak Peeks!


I'm just gonna throw this out there right away - Gingham Garden Designer Series Paper ROCKS!  Be prepared to see a lot of upcoming projects from me that use this paper.  There are so many great designs in this pack!

At first I was a little leary of using this bold blue design - but loved it when I paired it with the Strawberry Slush Cardstock!  Throw in some Gingham print, and I think I really like the blue print....


Only wishing I'd done some stitching along the bottom of the gingham where it meets the Daffodil Delight Scallop.....maybe I could add a few random buttons......I mean, c'mon - I've finally used some DSP, but no buttons and no ribbon.....Something must be seriously wrong with me!  Do ya s'pose I could use all three on a project for tomorrow?

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Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Celebrate Today - Perfectly Penned


I've got a little sneak peek for you today!  Just a teeny one tho!

This past Sunday we had the opportunity to help a great couple celebrate their 45th Wedding Anniversary!  Forty Five!  That's quite an accomplishment.

I made them this card, and used the new Strawberry Slush cardstock and ink to help me out.  Plus some adorable new vintage buttons!!!!

To create this look - I started with the Hello, Doily stamp, and inked it up with Versamark, then heat embossed it with White Embossing Powder.  I let it cool completely.  Then I grabbed my Crumb Cake ink pad and a sponge dauber.  Using a very light hand, and a very little amount of ink, I started in the center of the doily and began to swirl the ink outward.  If I need to add ink to the sponge dauber, I do it ever so lightly and again, start in the center and work outward, swirling the dauber the entire time.  Once, I have the entire doily sponged, I may need to wipe some ink off the embossed area - I just use a kleenex.  Next, I inked up the En Francois stamp with Strawberry Slush, stamped it off once on a piece of scratch paper, then stamped it over the top of the doily image.  Again, you'll need to wipe the ink off the embossed area - and I'd say rather quickly, as I've noticed that the White Embossing powder can absorb some ink if you let it set too long.


 I used White Embossing powder again to emboss the sentiment.  This strip of cardstock was edged with two pieces of Crumb Cake Cardstock that were punched with the Dotted Scallop Border Punch.  Once I adhered that, I glued on those super adorable buttons.


This is really a pretty easy card to create - and so elegant at the same time.  It was almost a flat card - but those buttons were a must!  I mean really, how long did you think I could go without buttons, DSP or ribbon? One outta three ain't bad - right??

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Monday, May 6, 2013

Out with the Old and in with the NEW!


Let's do that phrase in reverse today tho, ok.....In with the new and out with the OLD!

I always get terribly excited when a new catalog comes out.  Whether it's the annual catalog, or a Seasonal Catalog!  It's all good.  And there is plenty to be excited about with the release of the 2013-2014 Annual Stampin' Up! Catalog.

A  lot of times it takes me a while to "get on board" with the In Color selection - but not this year!  These are colors that I love.  Strawberry Slush!  Doesn't that just scream SPRING??  (and we are still in major need of some spring here in Iowa!)  I really like how it pairs with Coastal Cabana and Crisp Cantaloupe, as I used it in this card.  Throw in some "goes with everything" Old Olive, and we've got a winner folks!


Using the new Mosaic Madness stamps, and the "Gee, thanks" sentiment from Really Good Greetings, and we've got a super easy - ONE LAYER!!!  card!  Aren't those quatrefoils fun???  Using the clear mount stamps, it was really easy to create the pattern.  No Stamp-A-Ma-Jig needed!

Let me say something quick about the sentiment - I love it for two reasons - it's sincere....but it can also be snarky~!!!  And sometimes. Well.  I need to be snarky!   The Really Good Greetings set is full of great ones!


Now it's time to say ta-ta to a great stamp set.  Kindness Matters.  I've had this set for quite a while, and unfortunately it hasn't had a lot of ink time!  I do like this set, but then again, I like the other 70+ sets that are vying for attention on my shelf!!!  YIKES!


I decided to stamp these butterflies twice.  Once on the main panel, and then again on an extra scrap that I could color and cut out.  When out and about in nature, I love it when I see a butterfly, and as it flits it's wings, another color appears.  So, that was the look I was going for here.  I really am pleased with the way that it turned out.

Talk about a clean and simple card!  And it's another one that would mail super easy!  The kicker today - two cards - no buttons, no designer paper, and no ribbon.  Somebody please call 911~!!!~

Inquiring minds want to know - do you like these simple cards without all of the embellishments, or do you like a little more?  Leave me a message in the comments!


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