Time Well Spent

Somewhere around Christmas, Stampin' Up! demos began receiving an unexpected gift from the company: a brand-new set of stamps out of the upcoming Spring/Summer Catalog! How exciting is that!! There's nothing like free stamps! This set is also a Level 3 Hostess set, has lots of stamps in it and is quite lovely! I have just now gotten to make a card with it, although I've seen a lot of great samples, and even received a number in a swap with an online group.

The background of the card is one of the designs from the new Bali Breeze Designer Paper, which is just gorgeous! I stamped the large flower from the set on Apricot Appeal cardstock, edged it with Pumpkin Pie ink using a Blender Pen and accented the dots with my Signo White Gel Pen. I stamped a second flower on a scrap, colored it, punched it out with the 3/4" punch, inserted a turquoise circle Rhinestone Brad and adhered it to the large flower with a Dimension for depth.

The card base is Soft Sky overlaid with a layer of Pumpkin Pie. The corners were punched with the Ticket Corner Punch. I used the stamp and punch from the Three For You Punch Box to make the two small flowers on the greeting layer, and again colored the edge with Pumpkin Pie ink. Pumpkin Pie 1/4" grosgrain ribbon is the finishing touch.

This is an adorable and whimsical set with lots of images that are very versatile. It can be earned by hostessing a party of $500. in sales. Call or email me to book a party today! Sale-A-Bration starts Friday, Feb. 1 and goes to March 17!

Happy Thursday! Hope you can stay in and stay warm today!

Margaret

Technostamper Sketch Challenge #2

It's time for the Technostamper Sketch Challenge #2! Here's the sketch Mary Jo sent us to use this week:



Here's my card:

Sets: True Friend, BoHo Backgrounds
Cardstocks: River Rock, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky and Ruby Red.
Designer Paper: Western Sky (stripe)
Inks: Ruby Red Craft, Blue Bayou Classic
Accessories: Clear embossing powder, Blue Bayou stitched grosgrain, Signo White Gel Pen, Ticket Corner Punch, Ruby Red button from Earth Elements asst., Dimensionals, Crafters Tool Kit, Silver brad, Paper Snips. All products Stampin' Up!

This sketch was more of a challenge than last week. I can't wait to see what the other stampers did with it! Check out http://technostamper.com/ at noon Monday to find out!

Margaret

More Valentines

ALWAYS

One of the most well-received and desired sets in Stampin' Up!'s new Spring-Summer Collection is Always, a set of 11 lovely coordinated stamps; this card uses 6 of them. The heart in this set is perfect not only for Valentines but for many other uses as well. See it here.

On this card the heart is embossed on Pretty in Pink cardstock with Chocolate Chip Craft Ink and clear embossing powder then sponged with Pomegrante ink for contrast and depth. The Pomegranate scallops are made from half-circles punched with the 3/4" circle punch (I marked the middle of my punch with a fine Sharpie so that I could punch out multiple halves without measuring). The ribbon is the lucious new Taffeta ribbon in pink.

Sets: Always
Inks: Chocolate Chip Craft and Classic, Purely Pomegranate, Close to Cocoa
Papers: Chocolate Chip, Purely Pomegranate, Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink cardstock; Berry Bliss Designer Paper
Accessories: Scallop punch; 1 3/8", 1 1/4", 3/4" and 1/2" circle punches; Pink Taffeta Ribbon; Clear embossing powder

HAPPY HEART DAY

This is the set that is available in the Stampin' Up! Valentine Bundle Special until January 31! Happy Heart Day is of course great for Valentines, but it is also versatile enough for quite a number of other uses. It includes greetings for friendship and thank you as well as Valentines and a tag shape greeting designed to be punched with the small Tag punch. See it here.
This is a simple little card that is quick to make and carries a cool greeting inside: "To someone with a very big heart". The ribbon is the high-quality wide Real Red grosgrain that comes in the special or is available as an individual item.
Sets used: Happy Heart Day, Three for You Punch Box (sm. flower on heart)
Cardstock: Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Shimmer White
Other: Real Red 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Pink Brad (Soft Subtles Asst.), Ticket Corner Punch, AquaPainter, Real Red Marker, Blender Pen.
All products Stampin' Up!
Have a happy Sunday!

Valentine's Day will be here soon!

I received this card not long ago from a very thoughtful lady and online friend, Laura Lipe. She just wanted to let me know that my husband and I had been and continue to be in her thoughts and prayers. Isn't that just the sweetest thing? To know that people care and pray is such a blessing! That's what all this stamping is all about... people and relationships. I love the card, Laura, and your note inside is treasured.

Laura used the new stamp set Sealed with a Kiss and the adorable giraffe is from the retired set Bundle of Joy. Such cute sets! I love the warm and cheery color combination of Real Red and Pixie Pink with touches of white. Thank you so much, Laura. I was so touched by your kindness.

Stamp someone a card this weekend and touch their day with love when they receive it. You'll both be blessed!

You have eighteen days yet to stamp your Valentine's cards! : )
Have a happy weekend! Margaret

Technostamper Sketch Challenge

Here's another card with this beautiful Embrace Life set, and again I've paired it with the yummy Ginger Blossoms Designer Paper. This card is made for Mary Jo Price-Williams' blogger's sketch challenge group (these are some wonderful stampers!) and this is our first weekly challenge. I'm looking forward to lots of fun and inspiration doing this!! You can see the other stampers' cards by clicking on the Technostamper TSSC link on the left column of this page or here.

Here is the original sketch:

Three of the patterns in the Ginger Blossoms Paper form the background and the main image (flower) is stamped in Ruby Red Craft Ink on Ruby Red cardstock then embossed with clear embossing powder. I then used an old Blender Pen (which I won't ever use as a Blender Pen again! lol!) to pick up some bleach and bleach out the inside of the flower. A mini glue dot in the middle of the flower is coated with Dazzling Diamonds glitter. The corners of this layer were punched with the Ticket Corner punch, then layered onto River Rock then Regal Rose cardstock. Ruby Red brads were added at each corner for accent.

A strip of small polka dot designer paper from the same package is used as a band across the card and River Rock grosgrain ribbon, a Hodgepodge Hardware buckle and a Groovy Guava stitched grosgrain tie are the finishing touches.

Be sure and check out the other stamper's blogs to see the super cards they did with this sketch!
Happy Sunday!
Margaret

True Friend

Ever in need of quick inspiration to make a card or project? Stampin' Up! previously called their catalog the "Catalog and Idea Book" and it truly is that! I saw a True Friend sample similar to this one on pg. 106 of the current 2008 Collection catalog which inspired me so I copied it (called a "case" for "copy and share [with] everyone"), changing the colors and tweaked it just a bit to give it my own interpretation.

I used the beautiful "In Color™" Purely Pomegranate and Soft Sky plus Handsome Hunter for my color scheme. The pattern on the Hunter layer is the BoHo Friend wheel rolled in Pomegranate; I really like how this wheel looks with the True Friend set! The focal flower is stamped on a Soft Sky layer and set off with a Fire Rhinestone brad center, the greeting stamped beneath and all tied up with the stitched Pomegranate grosgrain ribbon. I used the Ticket Corner Punch to add interest to the corners.

True Friend is a part of the BoHo West Style Watch Collection, and you know I love that whole group of designs and products! Hope you enjoy it too!

Thanks for dropping by! Happy Weekend!

One of a Kind

Woohoo! I got to use my new set One of a Kind last night to make a card! This set is part of the BoHo West Style Watch collection in the new 2008 Catalog and it coordinates with all the other stamps and products in that collection in such a wonderful fashion! (see pg. 13 in the 2008 catalog... my catalog kind of falls open to that place automatically as I've looked at it so much!) The gorgeous new Berry Bliss Designer Papers (Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink and Purely Pomegranate colors) are used for the backgrounds. I stamped the large pink flower in Pomegranate ink on Pretty in Pink cardstock then cut it out. I stamped it again on white cardstock, cut it out and layered it onto the larger one; then I stamped one of the small flowers in Chocolate Chip ink on Pink cardstock, punched it out and added one of the medium-size Fire Rhinestone Brads in pink for the final touch. A dimensional underneath gives emphasis (see the next picture for the detail).

The greeting was stamped then punched out with the smaller Oval Punch, then layered on Close to Cocoa punched with the larger Oval Punch. The surrounding flowers were stamped with Purely Pomegranate on Pretty in Pink cardstock and punched with the brand-new BoHo Blossoms punch! I love that punch and the coordinating stamp in this set! Perfect! This sure makes quick work of preparing all these little flowers for your artwork!

I used the SCS Sketch SC159 for this card. This is my first time to use one of these, but it is nice to have a pre-determined layout to follow, especially when you have "stampers block", need inspiration or maybe just have a limited amount of time to create a card.

If you want to get a new 2008 Catalog, just call or email me! Have a great day!

Margaret

Embrace Life

Whew! I've had such a busy week; somewhat chaotic! I was glad for the chance to stamp a card last night. I've been so eager to use some of the new stamps and accessories from the new catalog and share them with you! Finally! : )

Oh my goodness, I just love the In Colors that Stampin' Up! has inspired us with this year! This card uses Groovy Guava, River Rock and a perennial SU color, Ruby Red. Embrace Life is one of the gorgeous new sets in the Spring-Summer Collection catalog; it is SO pretty! On this card I paired it with the coordinating new Designer Paper "Ginger Blossoms", which has all the aforementioned colors in it. I stamped the large flower in Ruby Red, then colored it with a Blender Pen and Groovy Guava and Ruby Red inks from the lids of the stamp pads and cut it out. It is mounted on Dimensionals to give depth to the design. The words were stamped then punched out with the oval punch; a Circle Fire Rhinestone brad in pink was used to highlight the words and also pull out the soft pink of the Designer Paper. Other accessories used are Groovy Guava and River Rock stitched grosgrain ribbon and a tiny touch of Pretty in Pink grosgrain and Dazzling Diamonds Glitter on the flower.

There are so many beautiful new stamps and accessories in this new Spring-Summer Collection! If you would like a copy, contact me today to get yours!

I've been working on getting my stamp room organized. I've been putting up shelves and some cabinets and am in the process of getting it "open for business"! : )

Hope you've had a good week and enjoy your weekend!
Margaret

New Catalog and Preview Brochure!

The Preview Brochure which (obviously, hehe) shows you some of the new sets and accessories in the 2008 Spring~Summer Collection should be online by the time you read this. It is to be available January 2nd here. The new catalog will soon be online for your perusal at http://www.stampinup.com/ or contact me for a copy! They are regularly $10. but I am offering the same special price I always do for my customers.

There will also be a Stampin' Up! special in January for those who hostess a workshop in this month... (hint: it involves FREE stamps!!)

Contact me soon about scheduling your workshop for this spring!

Thanks! Margaret

Fun and Fast Notes

images copyright Stampin' Up!

Fast and Fun Notes is one of the versatile stamp sets we demos received at the Stampin' Up! convention in July and it is also in the new 2008 Catalog. Marjie Shulsinger sent me this sweet card a couple of months ago using the adorable little birdie from this set, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive and Whisper White cardstocks. The Whimsey jumbo wheel in chocolate provides depth on the background Old Olive and the Spiral punch provides the interesting"faux filmstrip" look on the edge of the chocolate piece.

Brocade Blue grosgrain ribbon and the words punched out with the Word Window Punch and anchored with brads provides the greeting and the finishing touch. Thanks for the lovely card and note, Marjie. I really appreciated it.

Another online friend, Rose Kerry, sent me this darling card using another image from the very same Fun and Fast Notes set! She used one of my favorites, the Cutie Pie Designer Paper, for the backgrounds, several circle punches, the Spring Blossoms punch and stitched grosgrain ribbon in Wild Wasabi to make this wonderfully cheerful card! Thanks, Rose! : )

I made a name frame for my granddaughter Meghan who came to visit this past weekend but I forgot to take a picture of it! :P She lives in San Antonio so it will be a while before I can get a picture to post here. What WAS I thinking!

Speaking of the new 2008 Spring/Summer Catalogs, I have received mine PLUS all the ones I ordered! If you would like one, email me at funstampin@cox.net for details. The catalogs are gorgeous, have some great new stamp sets and exciting new accessories too! I can't wait for you to see it; I know you'll love it too!

Happy New Year and a blessed 2008 to you all!!