Favorite Color Combo??

I've got a little poll going on over there in the right hand side-bar. On Friday night, I'll pick one random person to receive a hand stamped Thank You card from me in the winning colors. You will need to leave a comment in this post so I know who voted! Go on, VOTE!

New My Digital Studio Goodies!

I'm really beginning to look forward to Tuesdays. New My Digital Studio artwork comes out every Tuesday. What's really fun, is that you are likely to see My Digital Studio exclusive Designer Series Paper. When I saw this week's Sun Garden, I went goo goo ga ga!!! Isn't it bright and fun? Add it to the list! Here's a peek at this week's offerings:



To see all of the new MDS downloads, go to my website: http://jenarkfeld.stampinup.net and click on SHOP NOW in the upper right corner. From there click on Digital Designing. I just know that you'll find something that you have to have.

In the meantime, I'm busy trying to get things wrapped up for my Catalog Kick-Off Party that is this Saturday. Lots of new samples for you to eyeball and some great deals too! So, if you want to beat the heat - head on over to the Denison Municipal Utilities Bldg from 10am - 4 pm (come and go), enjoy some snacks and refreshments, I've even got Make and Takes! Hope to see you there!

It's an OPPORTUNITY...you shouldn't pass up!

I'm SO excited about this FABULOUS opportunity…. not only is it super affordable to join the Stampin' Up! family this month ($99 instead of $175) but you get a FREE, EXCLUSIVE, SHELLI GARDNER SIGNATURE KIT that is a $40 value… and there's NO other way to get it!

Here's a look at this AMAZING Kit that comes for FREE!

The Christmas Keepsake Box Project Kit–a $40 value–contains the following products (quantities are 1 unless otherwise noted):

» Pines & Poinsettias Set (wood-mount)
» Keepsake box
» Scallop borders (cut from Tasteful Trim Bigz XL Die)
» First Edition Designer Series Paper (3)
» Holly Berry Designer Series Paper (6)
» First Edition Specialty Designer Series Paper strip (2)
» Holly Berry Designer Series Paper piece*
» Real Red Top Note (cut from Top Note Bigz Die)
» Real Red Decorative Label (cut from Matchbook Bigz XL Die)
» Wild Wasabi Card Stock strips (3)
» Naturals Ivory Card Stock piece
» Holly Berry Bouquet Designer Fabric*
» Real Red 1-1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
» Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon
» Victoria 5/8" Crochet Trim
» Linen Thread
» Champagne Fine Galaxy Stampin' Glitter
» Vanilla Pearl 1/2" Simply Adorned Bauble
» Pearl Basic Jewels (1 pkg.)
» Holly Berry Bouquet Designer Buttons*
» Large Wild Wasabi
» Small Real Red
» Mini Vintage Tags
Don't you just HAVE TO HAVE IT!?!?!? Then all you have to do is spend $99 to buy THIS kit (BUT – it's CUSTOMIZABLE so YOU actually pick what goes in it – these are just suggestions!!! You can pick ANYTHING you want for equal or lesser value!):



COMPLETE KIT CONTENTS (Customizable):

Page Item Description

57 123225 Easy Events Clear-Mount Set*
69 122740 Pennant Parade Wood-Mount Set*
177 102277 Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad
177 105216 Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad
177 103133 Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
177 119706 Brights 8-1/2" x 11" Assorted Card Stock
180 101179 Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pad
182 107311 Whisper White Note Cards (20)
185 124339 Just Add Cake Designer Series Paper*
195 124142 Chocolate Chip 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon*
203 122129 Blender Pen (1)
205 118486 Clear-Mount Block C
206 104332 SNAIL Adhesive

*New to the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog!

When you purchase kit, there are NO STRINGS ATTACHED. However, if you decide to embark on the wonderful opportunity that you can choose to take along with it, Stampin' Up! needs ALL KINDS of Demonstrators! What kind would you consider being?

» FRIENDS & FAMILY DEMONSTRATOR: You just want to buy all your stamping and scrapbooking supplies at a great discount and help your "friends & family" get their supplies too! Also want access to great "demonstrator only" websites and monthly idea magazine–always tons of ideas at your fingertips! No pressure to sell to others, attend events, or communicate with anyone – you just simply order when you want to.
» GIVE IT A TRY DEMONSTRATOR: You join Stampin' Up! to see what it is all about – with no long-term commitment or plan. You purchase the kit (which is a great deal all by itself,) have a couple of workshops or classes, just to see if you might like it. If you find it's not for you–you can become a "discount purchaser" or just say "good bye!"
» HOBBY DEMONSTRATOR: You like the idea if doing workshops and earning extra money, but only when it’s convenient for you. You might work a lot some months and very little, or not at all, during other months. You love to stamp and/or scrapbook and like to support your own “hobby" so that you can buy everything that you want with the money you earn!
» PART TIME DEMONSTRATOR: You see the potential to do a little work and earn a little money on a consistent basis. You want no pressure to ever do more than you want, but you want help and support from a "upline" who truly cares about you and your goals. You may have specific goals in mind–pay for preschool, college tuition, car payment, new furniture, etc…
» CAREER DEMONSTRATOR: You recognize the potential of being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator and want to build a business with long-term career goals. You want to pursue management and want to move up the career ladder. You love attending Stampin’ Up! events and building relationships with other demonstrators and customers. You intend to work at your business in a consistent and outgoing manner.

Alrighty...I'm gonna throw this out there right off the bat....this is NOT my best creation. I do not love this card. Heck, I don't even know that I can say that I like this card! But, I've got to show you all SOMETHING instead of being stagnant over here - right??? I just need to get my cards all rounded up and get the photographed and edited for your viewing pleasure! And, with that being said, I don't want to show you EVERYTHING! I want to save some of my master creations for my Catty Kick-Off Party (see post below).

Anyway....this card shows you something fun you can do with that fancy new Lace Ribbon Border punch - cut that puppy in half and use just a smidgen of it. It's like having your little lace slip flirting out from under your skirt! A little sexy, a little, well, flirty! Kinda like the paper on this card - Flirtatious!

Well, that's all I've got. Need to go get the other two kiddos out of bed and then we are going on a road trip for the morning. I've got to deliver orders in three different towns today. I'm guessing I'll put 100 miles on the ol' van this morning...I'm also guessing that the three kiddos couped up in the van will cause some frustrations on my end. Just as well pack the kids music and plan on singing for about two hours.....joys! The wheels on the bus go round. and. round......

2011 New Catalog Kick-Off Party

So, today, I mailed out over 100 invitations to those on my mailing list to my New Catty Kick-Off party. If you aren't on my mailing list... no worries. I would never turn you away. You can find the details on the flyer below (click to enlarge). I have a ton of really cool things that I've been working on for giveaways, displays, etc. You won't want to miss out! We'll have so much fun!!!

I also included an invite to my upcoming Christmas in July. I've got two brand new Christmas Stamp Sets that we'll be using. This is a great class - what's not to like - new stamps, new paper, new designs!!! Ahhh....it is heaven.

So, go ahead, RSVP for both of these events with me!

New EVERYTHING!!!

Hi all.....Happy 4th of July!!! This isn't quite a 4th of July appropriate card...but oh well. I was meaning to post this earlier thru the weekend, but as I type this, we are camping, and my internet connection hasn't been the best. I am just thankful for a bit of a connection...it keeps me a bit in touch with the outside world.

We've actually had quite a busy weekend. Family picnic, fireworks, family reunion, etc. It's all been great fun. Yesterday afternoon and evening it was just nice to sit by the campfire and RELAX!!! Today we've got a parade and other festivities to do and then probably packing up the camper (my least fave job) and heading home in the morn. Then it's back to reality.

So, for today, my card. Umm....gotta say these new Delicate Doily stamps and I have been having an absolute blast! They work wonderful with embossing powder! Here I used black ep and even embossed the sentiment, which is now retired - sorry! And the black on the new Calypso Coral is AWESOME. This is such a simple card! I LOVE it!

Well, that's it for today folks....best get in gear for parade watching!!!

Oh, my pennant love....

So...pennants are hot! They're everywhere. Scrapbook pages, cards, home decor....they are HOT! And I've got to give Stampin' Up! HUGE kudos for jumping on this bandwagon with one of my favorite paper crafting items - the punch. That's right folks. Starting in just one day, you too will be able to order this fun little punch. It's great because not only does it punch the scallopy outside, it also punches the middle rectangle.

The results - too too cute! And the ribbon. Swoon. Adorable! I've used just about an entire roll! One side is polka dotted and the other not. I didn't think I would like the polka dots and the scallops - I thought it would be too over the top. Umm....I was wrong. My husband would love to hear those words more often. I WAS WRONG! Again *swoon* !!!

The new Pool Party color - what do you think? I thought it would be too close to Bashful Blue or Baja Breeze. Nope. It's great! It's got a slight bit of green undertone to it. I'm really liking it.

And while I was at it - might as well make a girly one too!

I actually used Blushing Bride for the pink in this card. It went great with that So Saffron piece of DSP - which is from the new Just Add Cake DSP pack. There are some great patterns in that pack! And just think....starting tomorrow (after 1pm central time) you can start ordering those new goodies!

Who has more fun than us???

NOBODY!

To Infinity and BEYYOOOOND!

I really should have saved this post for the 4th of July. It's kind of appropriate for the holiday....kind of.

Heads up - other than the paper, there is nothing Stampin' Up! about this card! But I just love the way this turned out, I had to share. Okay with you???? Hope so. If not, turn away, right now. I mean it. If you are here only for Stampin' Up! goodness, you need to walk away from your 'puter. NOW! Now, if you are here for all things paper crafting....keep reading!



I could not create a card that my boys loved more. And the fact of it is, this card and it's counterpart took me about 2 days to complete. Simply for the fact that I was continuously stamping and coloring other rockets for my boys to fly around the house. I believe I created 7 other rockets before they were satisfied enough to leave me alone! I'm not kidding. I was getting quite frustrated with them, but their smiling little please's, I just cave under!

I created this card with a stamp set from Papertrey Ink, and that rocket, yeah, there is a coordinating die. I'm a sucker for things like that! The moon too - coordinating die!

And while I was at it, I figured it could be a cute girly card too. Simply switch out the colors, and

VOILA ~~~~~

FYI - this had nothing to do with my Summer Card Camp! This was just for fun....

Miss me??? :)

Hi all....sorry for my recent MIA. Life just gets busy ya know.....while I would love to have the time to blog daily, somedays it just doesn't fit into my schedule.....so here we are. My thought right now is that you should be seeing a lot more from me in the coming weeks. I've got a lot of stuff that I've been working on and would love to show you. So, sit back and enjoy the show!

First off -


I am on Day 2 of my Summer Card Camp. Didn't you just love going to camp as a kid. I can't really say that I did. I never really went to camp. But I did do some summer classes. One I remember was a sewing class at our local sewing store. I can't really remember the name of the store but it was something like Vanhorst's. Maybe my mom will comment and let us all know? It was run by a foreign lady with a great accent. And I'm pretty sure that me and another little gal drove her crazy. I recall that I sewed a shirt complete with pockets and it was adorned with pearliscent snaps. That's right = SNAPS! It even had some white piping I believe. Think semi western style shirt. Hey - I was like 12....and it was 1980something.
So, wouldn't YOU love to relive some summer camp life? Guess what? You can. You have until June 29th to sign up for this Card Camp. They send daily PDF's with great info. And videos. And the designers involved? To DIE FOR!!! Many, Many of my all time faves. Go check it out!

So, here is my first card with this week's color combo.

I used the sketch from this weeks CPS Card Sketches. All in all, it's pretty clean and simple. Would I have it any other way? I used some retiring SU DSP paper - along with some new SU paper. The card base is Pool Party. I was going to go with Baja Breeze, but these colors seemed to melt with the Pool Party much better.

And, check out this embossing:

I tell you what. My poor heat gun has seen so much action in the last few weeks, it's about to overheat! These new embossing powders from SU are wonderful. I held back for quite a bit before ordering them. I don't know why. This is Tangerine Tango on Rose Red cardstock. Stunning. I really could have gone without the purple on this card, but I think it ended up working okay. I'm not a fan of purple....I don't know if anyone can get me to sway on that one.

BTW - it is a Top Ten day here in Iowa today. OMG! It's rare when we can have windows open in the house at the end of June. There is NO humidity, the sky is a beautiful blue, and a mild breeze with a temp of 75. THIS is what I could go for all year!!! Helps too that I can sit out on the patio with my 'puter and look out over the gorgeous Iowa countryside and take it all in too. (and the wrens beside me singing so pretty...make my day!) This is the life!

TTFN people......

Well, folks, today is the day! We can start the countdown for the NEW 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog and we start saying farewell to some of the stamp sets and accessories we've become fond of. If there are items on your wish list that are retiring, you better hurry and get them! Especially ACCESSORIES. They are on a first come first served basis.

Want a little extra bonus? Order $50 worth of retiring products and receive a little gift from me, plus a $5 Gift Certificate to use on your first order from the NEW Catalog! (Stamp Club orders do not qualify for this promotion from me.)

CLICK HERE TO SEE STAMP LIST


CLICK HERE TO SEE ACCESSORIES LIST

CLICK HERE TO SEE DEFINITELY DECORATIVE LIST

Contact me to place your order via phone or email. Or go to my website and click on the Shop Now icon in the upper right corner! What are you waiting for? Get shopping! :)

Me + My Digital Studio = FUN!

Did you know that My Digital Studio is compatible with other digi embellishments and papers out on the market? I know that Stampin' Up! has a TON of embellies and such, but I was looking for some more things like doilies and flowers and pennants and what not. So, I went for a search. I landed at Two Peas in a Bucket and bought a couple of digi packages. I didn't want to get a lot for fear that they wouldn't be compatible. I wasn't going to be overly sad if I was out $4, so took the plunge. I also spent the weekend searching for some online digital scrapbooking classes to educate myself a little more. Well, in my research, I noticed that those classes all seem to revolve around Photoshop in some way, shape, or form. I HAVE Photoshop, I use it to edit my photos. But, I have to tell you this. My Digital Studio is BY FAR much easier to use and manipulate. Stampin' Up! thought of all of us when they developed this program. I really appreciate the ease of use of MDS. And I'm sure that I could TRY to learn Photoshop a little more, but for the cost of the online classes, no thanks! I could have paid for MDS 3 times over. Plus, it's pretty darn self explanitory to use, and if you get stuck - I'm just a phone call away! I'll help you, walk you thru issues, for FREE! I am your tech support. And if I don't know the answers, Stampin' Up! has great helpers that will help too - for FREE!

That page above I made in MDS. Most of the elements are from another source. The background paper is SU, but it was quite easy to add those other items in. The page below is almost all SU. I am diggin' the new tapes they have available. So real looking, and such a fun touch. While I still like a "real" scrapbook page, I am falling very quickly in love with digi scrapping. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get more pages done before my kids graduate - which is 12 years from now. But at this rate, I'm already 5 years behind!!! :)

Keep in mind - today is the last day to sign up as a demonstrator and receive a 30% off discount on the Digital Starter Kit! Don't delay any longer! Contact me and I can guide you thru the sign up process!

Love....

Here is one of the three cards that we made at our May Stamp Clubs. This month our technique was Easel Cards. Funny, I thought this would be a tough card to make....but hello....not so! These were super easy. Just a little more paper and cutting on my end. They sure were cool tho!

I just love the way they prop themselves open. It gives your recipient something to admire, whether it's propped up on thier desk or table. This one was super easy and SO beautiful at the same time. That Medallion stamp is versatile, just add a little bling for some extra punch. And I simply LOVE these sentiment stamps. They are one of the Level 3 Hostess Items. Want some of your own? Contact me ASAP! You can easily earn them, but you better do it before the end of JUNE! Seriously - CONTACT ME! We'll have a PAR-TAY!

BLING, BLING!

Recipe:

Stamps: Medallion, Occassional Quotes

Paper: Peach Parfait, Basic Gray, Whisper White

Ink: Peach Parfait, Basic Gray

Other: Peach Parfait Twill Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, Edger Die (PTI)

Junk in my truck...

...or maybe just apples. Actually - I do have junk in my truck, and in my trunk! I've been busy prepping for a garage sale that I'm having later this week with a girlie friend. I'm trying not to let it consume my days, but geesh - I've got a TON of little kids clothes that have been taking up space. Alot of clothes for the kids we have gotten as hand-me-downs, and those we just handed back down to the next kiddo, so I'm really surprised to have collected so much on our own! Good Golly! And a true sign we are done having children - I'm selling all of my maternity clothes! YIPEE!!

Alright - enough of that....onto today's card. (who is surprised to see me now 4 days in a row - yee-haw!) I played along with Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch.

How'd I do? No Fabulous Flowers here! I've been having fun with this little truck too. He's so fun to color (yes, this is a boy truck). And I also challenged myself to use these colors:

Tempting Turquoise, Garden Green, Pear Pizzazz, Always Artichoke

I challenge YOU to try those colors together.

Recipe:
Stamps: Countryside, Sweet Sentiments
Paper: Pear Pizzazz, Always Artichoke, Kraft, Watercolor Paper,
Ink: Stazon Jet Black, Basic Grey
Accessories: Buttons, Markers, Blender pen

More flowers....

So. Another card. With Fabulous Florets again. I don't know if you should be more surprised about that or the fact that I've blogged 3 days in a row for once. I created this card with two challenges in mind. The Clean and Simple Sketch Challenge and Embellish's Tag and Color Challenge.

I did tweak the sketch in a couple of ways. One, I didn't want to "over do" my card with the piece of scallop paper. So I skipped it. And, obviously I switched out the circle for a tag shape. I also frumped up my card with and actual bow. Let me just go on the record as saying, it wasn't pretty. I think I retied it 4 times. Then I biffed the sentiment when I stamped it. So, because I didn't want to retie that ribbon AGAIN, I slipped it off. Fixed the sentiment piece, then slipped the ribbon back on.

How did I biff the sentiment. Well, sometimes when you stamp with die ink onto DSP, it really doesn't take. Mine was real faint, and didn't seem to want to soak in. SO. Plan B:

I grabbed my versamark. I inked up my stamp in Versamark, then in Basic Grey, then stamped it and Clear Embossed. And actually, when I used the Versamark with the Basic Grey, it was fine. It stamped much better. But, might as well as some punch with the EP.

While that embossing powder is out....

Emboss that flower. Packs a punch.

So, that's it tonight. Gotta hit the sack.

Here's another card with Fabulous Florets. Again, pretty clean and simple. (would I have it any other way?) I do feel like it's missing, I don't know some buttons??? What do YOU think?

And yes, it took me a bit to cut those flowers out, but don't they just look smashing? I find something a little bit soothing about fussy cutting. Those of you who know me, know that I like to cut! I like to cut little difficult things. I would of course prefer a die, but I'll cut away!

Would you like to play with this stamp set too? Head on over to my website and order yourself one!

Stamps: Fabulous Florets, Thank You Kindly
Paper: Crumb Cake, Poppy Parade, Very Vanilla, Newsprint DSP
Ink: Poppy Parade, Early Espresso
Accessories: Edgers Die (PTI), Early Espresso Tafetta Ribbon

Fab Florets

I am in love with these little flowers in the Fabulous Florets set. I need to get out some Poppy Parade and color them - wouldn't they make the most darling Poppies??

For this one, I didn't take much care to perfect coloring. *gasp* I KNOW! So unlike me. For one, I used Basic Gray as my ink, and it's not a waterproof ink, so when I used my blender pen, I didn't want it to smear something horrible. See, method to my madness.

The card pretty well speaks for itself, clean, elegant, simple. Ah, bliss!

FYI - If you've been thinking about hosting a Stampin' Up! workshop - you need to get on my calendar! June is filling up, and I will be offering a little extra bonus to all of my June hostesses. AND - the retiring product list will be out June 1 !!! Get your hand on those items that will be gone for good! Contact me today to book your workshop.

Stamps: Fabulous Florets, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze, Basic Grey, Very Vanilla
Ink: Basic Gray,
Accessories: Black Satin Ribbon, designer button, watercolor crayon, Elegant Lines EF

Hey all - just popping in real quick.

Are you a fan of my Stamped Silly Facebook Page?

*gasp* NO!

Well, head on over there - (link is on the right side). I've got a little poll I'm doing. I'd love to get your opinion.

Plus, once my fan count gets to 100, I'll be having a little giveaway. Well, maybe a BIG giveaway. I'll give little sneaky peaks as my fan count grows, so spread the word!

More pages...

Here's another look at one of the pages I created for my friend. This one was a little tricky, but I worked it out. Remember, they each wrote a letter to the Graduate, and this one was long again. So, I knew I needed to tuck it away. And when I looked at the pictures I had to work with for this page, the one of the girls sitting in the grass with their Grandpa stood out to me. It's the one I took my inspiration from and decided to use some kites on the page. I wanted the page to have some brightness to it, but not overpowering.

I let the kites have all of the color. I also used up some ribbon scraps for the kite tails. A perfect use for those tidbits of ribbon.

I of course had to throw in some buttons. I also doubled up my pop dots for some extra dimension. The particular kite above had to have pop dots only on half of the kite, because....

I needed to be able to lift that cloud up out of there. Whatcha think? I'd really like to hear. Comment PLEASE!!!!

Also - have you liked my Facebook Page yet? If not, you should. I'm offering up some prizes over there, plus, there may be some Facebook Only Promotions here in the near future!! Head on over and see what the fuss is about!

It's National Scrapbooking Month...right??

And guess what??? I've been scrapbooking. Just not for myself. I got hired to do some pages for my friend. Her niece is graduating, and they were putting together a scrapbook that the relatives were to contribute to, along with a letter to the Graduate with memories, etc. What a neat idea!
I will admit, it is a little tough to scrap other people's pictures, but it sure was fun! Really got me in the mood to scrap, however, I've got other work that needs to get done first.....graduation decor, Stamp Club projects, publication calls.....I just keep pluggin' away.

So - let me tell you a bit about these pages.... Like I said, each person's page was to contain a letter to the graduate about memories, etc. Do you see the letter on this page???

No?

Look again!

Did you see that tab at the top....I stuck it in there. The letter was too big, and would have consumed the whole page.

I wanted to keep the same feeling on my pull out as I did on the actual page, so repeated the chocolate scalloped edge, and added some flowers.

And you all know how I like dimension on my cards....same goes for scrapbooking.

Check out the sheen in the paper. THis paper is from the Sweet and Sour DSP. I really like that embossed flourish on here.

Here is the facing page. I continued the flowers and did you notice the actual stitching on there?

And that same flourish is on this side too, but turned.

Do you like? Do you ever scrapbook for someone else? Have you been scrapping this month? I'd like to hear what you've got going on. Leave some comment love would ya?