Egg-stravaganza!!

Easter is April 8th this year. Do you have your Easter cards or scrapbooking started yet? Need some fresh Easter and spring ideas? How about new Easter stamp sets?

Stampin' Up! is releasing 4 stamp sets that are available in the upcoming Occasions Mini Catalog early! That's right--early! You cannot order from the Occasions Mini until April 1st but SU! thought you might need some Easter stamps before than...

Item Description Retail Price
113196 An Egg-cellent Easter $21.95

113262 Wagon Full of Fun $34.95

113822 Eight Great Greetings $27.95

The above stamp set is also available in Spanish and French (115421 Ocho saludos geniales (Spanish Eight Great Greetings) $27.95 and 114643 Huit souhaits sympas (French Eight Great Greetings) $27.95).
113833 Egg Hunt Stampin' Around wheel $6.50


Here is a link so you can see all of these great new sets and ideas on how to use them. (Sorry, my posted pictures are a little light, I am still working on how to get them darker).

Contact me to place your order!!

Faux Frosting

"Faux Frosting" is not a new technique and I have no idea who invented it but I think it is so much fun. This was the February Technique for my Stamp Club. It is so much fun! It really is like icing a cupcake but I don't recommend eating it =). It is a great way to add texture to a card.

***If you missed out on Stamp Club and want to make this card or the others we did, contact me to set up a time. ***

Here is an up close look at the frosting. I got a little glitter happy so it makes the texture hard to see but in person it looks awesome!


This is a very simple technique but it does get a 10 for level of messiness! Here is the card we made...


RECIPE: Stamps--Crazy for Cupcakes; Ink--Whisper White; DSP--Sweet Always; CS--Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie and Regal Rose; Big Shot--Big Bold Cupcake Sizzlet (SU! Exclusive Die) and Large Dots Texturz Plate (SU! Exclusive); Chocolate Chip Ribbon; and Pumpkin Pie Flower Brad.

Cupcakes, MMMMM!

I have seen many different ideas using this stamp set--Simple Birthday Thanks. I must admit when I first saw this stamp I knew I had to have it. Than when I got it, the thing sat on my shelf forever. What would I possibly do with this stamp besides my kids' thank you notes? (Plus I bought it in October and all my kids have spring and summer birthdays).


Than I started to see different ways to use the stamp--on cards, scrapbook pages, by itself and so much more. So here is my attempt at thinking outside of the box. Here is an adorable cupcake birthday card!


***TIP: How do you get rid of the words if you don't have SU! markers? Simple! You just use a blender pen. Ink up your stamp on the pad. Than run your blender pad over the parts of the stamp that you don't want inked. The blender pen absorbs the ink off of the stamp. You may have to rub the ink off the blender pen onto scratch paper a few times before you can get all the ink off. I usually run my fingers over the stamp just to make sure I got it all. Breathe onto the stamp to moisten the ink, stamp and there you go. Simple!***

RECIPE: Stamps--Simple Birthday Thanks; Ink-Chocolate Chip; DSP-Sweet Always; CS-Chocolate Chip & Regal Rose; and Embellishments--Crystal Effects.

Birthday Balloon!

Who doesn't love to get balloons on their birthday? I know it is the highlight of my kids' birthday experience. So I thought I would make a card featuring balloons. I must admit the final result looks nothing like the card I had envisioned but I like what I came up with. It is hard to tell in the picture but I used the Small Dots Texturz Plate on the black cardstock.



RECIPE: Stamps--Crazy for Cupcakes; Ink--Basic Black; DSP--Sweet Always; CS--Whisper White & Basic Black; Punches--Scallop Edge; Black Grosgrain Ribbon; and Big Shot & Texturz Plates.

Baby Cards With Texture

I have been playing with my brand new Texturz plates for the Big Shot. They are wonderful! I love textured paper but hardly ever use it (why I am not exactly sure). I also love the look of dry embossing but once again never really take the time to do it. That is why I love these texture plates. They add so much to the look and feel of my cards.

Here are two cards my mom made (with some inspiration from moi) for some friends at work who are expecting. I thought they were adorable and had to share. The color combinations are so beautiful--Pale Plum, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue. These are from retired stamp sets but these sets were way too cute to part with.

This card is for a baby girl. I don't generally think of hippos when I think of baby girls but this one is so cute! I love the purple.


Here is the texture plate we used--Eyelet (a SU! exclusive).


This adorable giraffe is for a baby boy. We didn't want to add a bow (too girly) so we wrapped the ribbon around the corners to add some dimension and a softer baby look.


Here is the texture plate we used--Harlequin (a SU! exclusive).


RECIPE: CS--Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Pale Plum and Whisper White; Stamps--Bundle of Joy & Bundled in Love; Ink--Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, & Apricot Appeal; and the Big Shot with Texturz Plates.

Busy Week!

Where has the week gone?! I had every intention of posting earlier but the week, and the month, has just flown by! It feels like we just had stamp club and next week is our next meeting. Wow! I do have lots of goodies to post for you all so I hope you are ready! I had my downlines debut this week, worked on 100 wedding invitations (still working on those), designed two graduation announcement templates, finalized and mailed out the DSP swap, prepared a card for my shoebox swap, and made 5 cards for my Birthday Card Stamp-A-Stack (if you weren't here you missed out on some great cards, I will share later).

Today I went to the Whidbey Island Demonstrators Quarterly Shoebox Swap and Brunch. This is when the local demonstrators in my group meet and swap ideas, cards and laughs. This morning was no exception. Here are a few of the cards we made in the swap. There is quite a talented group of ladies here on Whidbey Island. My downline Barb couldn't make it to the event but here is a link to the beautiful card she designed for her debut workshop this past Thursday. She is a fabulous stamper and I am so blessed to have her on my stamping team!

This is Christie's card...


I never used to like buttons for cards and scrapbooking but I must admit they are growing on me. Especially the new corduroy buttons in the catalog. I think I am going to have to add buttons to my next shopping list.

This is Becca's card...

This is the Sale-A-Bration Designer Series Paper and the coordinating stamp set. Way too cute! This paper is gorgeous in person and the stamp set is cute too. I must admit I didn't like this stamps set but once I started to see what people are doing with it, I am beginning to like it.

This is Michele's card...


This card is beautiful because of it's simplicity. Her original design was much more simple than mine. I kept adding little embellishments here and there. Look for this card popping up at one of my events. =)

This is Jennifer's project...

How cute is this? Once again the Top Note Die is put to great use. I love this die and this project is so adorable. I think I may have to make some of these for Chloe's teacher's this spring as little thank you goodies.

This is Lynda's card...

This was done using the bleach technique (January's Stamp Club Technique). For this look--we embossed the lined image flower. Than using a very old, dried up blender pen (has to be an icky one because the bleach will destroy the tip) we bleached out inside the petals. We set it aside for about 30 minutes to make sure the bleach was no longer active. Than we water colored the petals using an Aquapainter. It almost looks like suede when you are finished. We made the scallop circle card using the Big Shot and the Scallop #2 die.

Here is my card for the swap. I told you it would turn up again!

It was a great morning and I am looking forward to our next event.

Die Cutting Machine Comparison

I have so many people ask me what the real difference is between die-cutting machines. Here is a wonderful article that shows the differences, perks and cons to four of the major die-cutting machines on the market: Spellbinders, Cuttlebug, Big Shot, & Cricut Expression. I hope this helps some of you out there who are trying to decide what machine will work for you!

Valentine Journal

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

This is a super fun and easy project to do. We took a basic, black & white, composition notebook and covered it with kraft paper. Than we stamped and sponged and decorated to our hearts' content. This is the last gift for Chloe's secret Valentine-Jacquline, which is not a secret any longer.



Sorry, the picture turned out a little dark. Definitely time to start camera shopping!!

Mouse Love

I actually made this box (and a matching card which I forgot to photograph before I sealed it into the envelope, smart, I know) at my recent MOPS meeting. My upline Becca Jung is also a member of MOPS so she came up with the cute craft for all of us to do. I didn't get to watercolor the mouse so I left it blank to do at home. Chloe got to color in the mouse for another gift for her secret Valentine. I love that little mouse, it is so stinkin' cute!

Lovebirds

Chloe insisted that one of the cards had the lovebirds on it from the "Love You Much" stamp set. She is getting very good at properly using my blender pens as well. She loves to stamp and had a blast making all of these projects (with help from Mom of course).

New Goodies!!

I finally ordered some goodies out of the new catalog. I am so excited!! The ideas are rolling around in my brain. Is it 8:00PM yet? I can't wait for the kids to go to bed so I can play and stamp uninterrupted. So keep you eyes peeled in the next few days (after Valentine's) I will have some fun projects to share with you using....

Classy & Fabulous Stamp Set (Got to LOVE it)

Texturz Plates and the Big Shot (Dry Embossing without the stylus)

Big Bold Cupcakes Sizzlits (Exclusive to SU! & will be featured at my Birthday Card Stamp-A-Stacks)!!

New Flower Brads (These are some heavy duty brads)

and Textured Designer Paper!! (This paper feels so nice and it is heavy duty which is great for 3-D projects)

So keep checking back!!

Love Note Punch

Here is a simple little Love Note that I made to go with two mini-puzzles for Chloe's secret Valentine. It was super easy. Just punch, stamp and align. I love cards like that!!

A Little Kiss

Chloe's school (yes she is home schooled but she also attends a school provided by our school district where the parents are the primary teachers) does a Secret Valentine Gift Exchange every year. This year Chloe helped me make some fun projects for her secret friend. This is one of the gifts we will be giving her. We have something for every day up until Valentine's. So I thought I would share them with you as you get ready for Valentine's Day!!



Not super creative I know. But I wanted to show you that anything-even generic packaging can be given a small, personal touch.

Lotus Flower

This is another CASE from page 114 in the S/S catalog. I liked how they used the pointed end of the petals. I am not always great at thinking out of the box so turning the stamp around never occurred to me.



RECIPE: CS-Kiwi Kiss, Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, & Whisper White; Stamps-Pick A Petal & Warm Words; Ink-Baja Breeze & Basic Gray; and a sewing machine with white thread.

Have to Share!!

I am bummed that I had to cancel the ladies Stamping Night Out but my family had a day of rest that went a long way towards beating this cold. It doesn't look like I am going to be able to reschedule this event this month. But I hope you will join me at my Birthday Card Stamp-A-Stack on February 18th or the 21st.

Since I don't know when we will be able to make this card, I thought I would share it anyway. Since I love it so much it will pop up at one of my events, don't worry! I CASEd this card from page 114 of the S/S Catalog. The actual card was a love note but I wanted to make a full-sized card. I wanted you to see that you can take the basic concept of a card and truly make it your own. I wanted to play with colors from the Manhatten Style Watch so I changed the colors from the catalog as well.

The stamp set I used...Pick a Petal. I bought this set when SU! first introduced it. I have recently rediscovered it and am having a blast playing with it again. Be sure to look for more samples of this stamp set this week.

So here is the full-sized picture of your sneak peek...


RECIPE: CS-Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Basic Grey, & Kiwi Kiss; Stamps--Pick a Petal & Absolutely Fabulous; Ink-Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss & Basic Gray.

CANCELLATION!!!

I am so sorry ladies but it looks like I have to cancel Ladies Night Out!! My kids are sick and I don't want to share with you all! I will let you know if I am able to reschedule it or not at a later date. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and can get some stamping time in!!

Ladies Stamping Night Out Teaser!!

***Don't miss out on my Blog Candy Giveaway! See the previous post for details!!!


This Saturday is Ladies Night Out! Don't miss out on a fun night of stamping and pizza. It starts at 6:00PM and goes until we are done stamping or run out of pizza! =) $20 covers your cost of food and projects. But I bet you are wondering what we are making....







Still wondering?






It is really fun! I love the colors!







Are you dying to know yet?






Well, here is a sneak peak....

Want another sneak peak?





Are you sure?





I am having way too much fun!!





Here it is...

I will see you on Saturday!

Blog Candy!!

I just saw that my counter says over 1,000 hits on my blog!! Yippee!! Actually there have been many more than that but I had to change hit counters since my last one went all wacky on me. But I am starting over with the new year. So here is how you can get entered in my first ever Blog Candy Giveaway!!

Leave a comment telling me what your favorite product is in the new catalog! It is that easy!! If you also sign up to be a follower of my blog and I will enter you into the contest twice!! I will send the winner some great paper and five beautiful cards, just for you!

You only have 1 Week to leave a comment so don't delay!! I will choose the winner next Tuesday!!

Potted Plants

I have seen so many cards using this punch idea but I must admit this is the first time I used it. This is also a new color combination for me. But I love all of these colors together! It is so striking and pretty. I have been using a lot of pinks and browns lately so it was nice to veer away from that and try brand new colors. This was another card that we made at my Open House last month.

RECIPE: CS-Whisper White, Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant, & Pacific Point; Stamps-Sweet Stems & Warm Words; Ink-Basic Black, Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant, & Pacific Point; and Punches-Large Oval & Wide Oval.

Cute Elephant

This is such a fun Valentine Set. When I think of Valentine's day I often think of sending valentine's to all of my friends at school. We will be making some Valentine Cards for my oldest daughter for school and for her teachers.

RECIPE: CS-Not Quite Navy, Regal Rose, Baja Breeze & Whisper White; Stamp-Happy Heart Day; Ink-Basic Black, Basic Gray, Regal Rose, Baja Breeze & Old Olive; Ribbon-Baja Breeze Striped Grosgrain; Coluzzle.

A Happy Heart

I have Valentine's Day on the brain. So that is what we made at Stamp Club last month. Here is one of the cards we made. It was very simple but I like it. I used the last pages of my Candy Lane DSP. I am going to have to order more of that cute paper, darn. I really like tearing paper. I like the texture it adds to a card.

RECIPE: DSP-Candy Lane, CS-Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla, & Chocolate Chip; Stamp-A Happy Heart; Ink-Chocolate Chip; Embellishments-Dazzling Diamonds & Silver Brads.