Wow Flowers Part II

I have three more cards made with the cute Wow Flowers set! I received these cards in swaps. For a set with just four stamps in it, you can sure get a lot of mileage out of it! (Wow Flowers, #111714, pg. 167, set of 4, $12.95).


The first card is from Stephy (no last name). She used Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango and Whisper White. The Thank You sentiment is part of the set; the "Kindness" sentiment is from "Heard from the Heart" set of 4, pg. 138. A silver brad sets off the Thank You.

Gayle Enouen's Happy Birthday card is in Pacific Point, Baja Breeze and Kiwi Kiss. She used the SU 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches as well as the large and small Tag Punches. She used the Happy Birthday wheel for a very cute background for the images. Gayle must have used the Wheel Guide to keep her lines straight, or else she has very steady hands! lol! Her lines are SO straight! Great card, Gayle!


The last card is from Rose Kerry. Rose used the same color scheme as Gayle's, with the addition of Chocolate Chip. Rose used a number of circle punches to punch out images and layer them in an interesting arrangement on the strip of Kiwi Kiss Polka Dot Designer Paper from the Bella Rose DSP. The Scallop Edge punch was used onthe Chocolate Chip layer and the scallops are repeated in the Scallop Circle layer under one of the circular designs. The Word Window Punch was used to punch out the sentiment and layer in the lower right corner.

I hope you enjoyed these colorful and cheerful cards using the fun little set! Thanks to the artists who swapped with me! :)

Have fun stampin'!

Margaret

Wow Flowers card with Simply Sent Card Elements

One of the easily overlooked great products in the Stampin' Up! Catalog are the Simply Sent Card Elements kits on page 166-167. These kits include all the components you need to create nine 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" cards (A2 size), three each of three styles. A very colorful sheet of self-adhesive die cuts, six sheets of textured cardstock, two 8-1/2 x 11" sheets of double sided Designer Paper, two ribbons, brads, buttons... All you add is the stamp set and your ink pads! At only $15.95 for the kit, that's a great bargain for nine cards, and even have some extra cardstock left over! Oh yes, also included is a sheet of instructions with full-color photos!


This card was made with the Flower Power Simply Sent Card Elements kit which coordinates with the Wow Flowers stamp set. I love the very colorful and distinctive color scheme and the stamp set is such fun! I added the Happy Birthday sentiment, punched out with the Word Window Punch and layered on another solid Rose Red Word Window punch out.

Stamps: Wow Flowers (#111714, $12.95).
Inks: Rose Red, Elegant Eggplant
Paper: Elegant Eggplant, Rose Red, Old Olive, More Mustard; Designer Paper (all in the Flower Power SS Card Elements kit (#112028, $15.95)
Accessories: More Mustard grosgrain, self adhesive die cut (image on white) (from kit). I added a circle Rhinestone brad that wasn't in the kit but the kit does furnish coordinated brads and buttons; Word Window punch.

Don't overlook these great kits for quick and easy cards; they also made great gifts for yourself or your favorite papercrafter!

Happy Stampin'!
Margaret

It's Sale-A-Bration Time!

It's Sale-A-Bration time again at Stampin' Up!, and free product is what it's all about!

Every year Stampin' Up! gives customers, hostesses, and new demonstrators the opportunity to earn fantastic, FREE, limited-edition products they'll enjoy for years to come.

Here's how Sale-A-Bration works:

Customers: When you spend $50 on Stampin' Up! merchandise, you'll receive a free Sale-A-Bration reward. There's no limit-for every $50 you spend, you can select another free Sale-A-Bration reward.

Hostesses: When you host a workshop of at least $300 (before tax and shipping), you'll receive a free Sale-A-Bration reward in addition to all of the regular hostess benefits!

Recruits: During Sale-A-Bration, anyone who joins as a demonstrator can choose any stamp set-a value of up to $47.95-from our current Idea Book and Catalog. Plus, for a limited time, get 15% off the price of the Starter Kit!

The Sale-A-Bration promotion started on February 1 and runs through March 31, so don't miss your chance to earn free products! Talk to me today to book your workshop or learn more about this promotion. I have a full-color Sale-A-Bration brochure full of beautiful project ideas you can make using these limited-edition Sale-A-Bration sets. You can also view the Sale-A-Bration brochure online.

If you don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I would be so happy to help you, and get ready to Sale-A-Brate!

To contact me, leave a comment with your email address in it and I will email you back asap.
Let's Sale-A-Brate together!

Margaret

TSSC #57 Delicate Dots, Always

It's already Monday again and time for Technostamper's Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge. Feel free to use the sketch to make a card... see what you can come up with and share it with us.

Here's today's sketch, #57 in the series:

Once again I'm having fun using the Delicate Dots Designer Series Paper, same that I used yesterday, that is a free gift for a $50. purchase during Sale-A-Bration! Today I used four patterns from the package plus Bashful Blue and Old Olive for the card base.

The sketch called for a circular focal image so I cut a scallop circle with my Big Shot and Scallop Circles #2 die. I'm so happy to have the Big Shot...it's so useful in cardmaking and all kinds of papercrafting! Then I cut out the pieces of DSP for the background and adhered them to the olive card. I used a paper-pierced strip of Bashful Blue for the vertical piece and at opposite corners added two Sahara Sand Photo Corner Punches which I also paper-pierced. A So Saffron button from the new Button Latte assortment is in the upper left corner with a thin strip of white cardstock cut with the Stampin' Up! Paper Cutter (what a great tool!) threaded through it and tied.

I stamped the bird from the Always set onto Sahara Sand card stock with white craft ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. After cutting the bird out with my Paper Snips, I attached it with foam Dimensionals to the celery scallop circle and attached the scallop with Dimensionals to the center of the card.

The sentiment was inked with a Cocoa marker and stamped on white, then punched with the Word Window punch. A second piece was punched from celery card stock and layered underneath the words.

Stamps: Always
Inks: White Craft ink, Close to Cocoa Classic, Close to Cocoa Stampin' Write Marker

Paper: Delicate Dots DSP; Old Olive, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Whisper White card stocks

Accessories: So Saffron button (Button Latte asst.), Photo Corner Punch, Word Window Punch, Mat Pack and Piercer from Crafter's Tool Kit, white embossing powder, heat tool, Big Shot, Sizzix Scallop Circles #2 die, Paper Snips.

Using all this designer paper was fun! I hope you like the card and will try some of Mary Jo's sketches yourself! Check her website for links to the other cards created using this sketch: http://technostamper.blogspot.com/

Thanks for dropping by today! Have a good week!

Margaret

Polka Dot Punches, a Sale-A-Bration Sample!

Sale-A-Bration is always an exciting time of the Stampin' Up! year! For one thing, there's a new brochure with brand-new products that are free gifts available with any $50. merchandise purchase, or with any $300. workshop or order, you can receive a free Sale-A-Bration gift! Until last year, it had always been free stamp sets, which was great, but now we have more variety from which to choose for our "rewards": stamp sets, beautiful ribbon and darling Designer Series Paper are the premiums we can earn this year!

Todays card uses two of our SAB products: Polka Dot Punches stamp set and the Delicate Dots Designer Series Paper! I had fun putting this card together using these two SAB gifts I earned. I couldn't wait for them to arrive but the wait was worth it. Like so many Stampin' Up! products, these are coordinated to work together and they do so easily. The layout of the card is Splitcoaststampers Sketch Challenge #SC215; it works well to show several patterns of the Delicate Dots DSP.

One of my new favorite "toys" is the Big Shot and the Texturz Plates! I used the Eyelet pattern Texturz plate on the So Saffron cardstock background. It adds so much and looks so great in real life although I didn't get a very good picture of it. : ( I hope you can see one IRL yourself as they're so pretty.

A strip of the stripe pattern is used on the vertical piece in the back, then the Bashful Blue dot is the next layer with the Certainly Celery flower print on the top. Each is layered on white cardstock, with the one under the celery layer edged with the Eyelet border punch. I stamped the flowers in White Craft Ink then embossed them with white embossing powder on So Saffron and Bashful Blue cardstock. The saffron flowers were punched out with the 5-Petal Flower punch and I easily cut the blue one out with my sharp little Paper Snips. I embossed a couple of extra blue flowers and punched out the centers with the Trio Flower punch to use for the Saffron flower centers.

I love how the pattern of the paper reflects the dotted or stitched look of the stamps in this set! That combined with the lacy look of the Eyelet Border punch and the White Organza ribbon lends a springy feel to this card. After a cold winter, that looks pretty inviting to me! lol!

Stamps: Polka Dot Punches (SAB set, #113788, free with $50 purchase)
Ink: White Craft Ink
Paper: Whisper White, So Saffron cardstock; Delicate Dots Designer Paper (SAB - free with $50. purchase)
Accessories: Big Shot, Stampin' Up! Backgrounds I Texturz Plates, Silicone Rubber, Impressions Pad, Eyelet Border Punch, 5-Petal Flower Punch, Trio Flower Punch, White embossing powder, White Organza Ribbon, Paper Snips, Snail Adhesive.

Remember that you may order online through my Stampin' Up! website. From now until April 30, 2009, you will receive a free 2009 Idea Book and Catalog from Stampin' Up! with any order placed through the demonstrator website. Just click here to get there; once there, click on the "SHOP NOW" button. If you have any questions, just contact me. Thank you!

Hope you've had a nice weekend! Thanks for visiting!

Margaret

Another Love You Much "Bundle" Card!

Just one more card made with the Love You Much stamp set, Candy Lane Designer Series Paper and the Heart to Heart punch. I've used this bundle so much already and it still has so many possibilities I haven't even touched! Love it and look forward to lots more projects with it!

I received my new Stampin' Up! Texturz Plates(c) Backgrounds I set for the Big Shot! I couldn't wait to play with them! I love texture on my cards, whether visual or tactile, so I was eager to try these out and see what and how they did. They work really well and I'm very pleased with them. So I now have the second set of plates in the catalog, Kit #4, on order! : ) When you order any Texturz Plates, be sure that you order the Texturz Silicone Rubber pad (#114615, p. 193, $5.95) and the Texturz Impressions Pad (#114614, p. 193, $5.95) if you don't already have them, as they are required for using the Texturz Plates.


For this top fold vertical card, Regal Rose cardstock was cut to 4 1/4" x 11" for the card base. For the next layer, I used the small dots Texturz Plate to emboss the Pink Pirouette cardstock. I love the way it turned out and the texture it gives!

The circular image was stamped on white cardstock and punched out then a second image was stamped on white and the heart cut out; this was layered on the first circle with a foam Dimensional. I colored it with a Blender Pen and Regal Rose ink. Two silver brads were added to this.

A piece of the cocoa with small pink dots Candy Lane DSP was stamped with the three hearts stamp in rose then layered on Regal Rose cardstock. A strip of Regal Rose grosgrain ribbon was added then this layer was adhered to the front of the card and another strip of ribbon was tied to that. A Regal Rose scallop circle punch out was tucked under the lower right of this layer then the circular image was adhered with a Dimensional. I used the same layout Leslie used on her card here.

Stamps: Love You Much (#113756, p, 23, $25.95)
Paper: Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White cardstocks; Candy Lane DSP
Ink: Regal Rose
Accessories: Regal Rose 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, silver brads, Snail Adhesive, Dimensionals, Blender Pen
Tools: Big Shot, Texturz Plates Backgrounds I, Texturz Silicone Rubber Pad, Texturz Impressions Pad, 1 1/4" circle punch, Scallop Circle punch, 1/16" hole punch

Another cute card for Valentine's Day or other occasion when you want to express your affection for someone. : ) Hope you enjoyed!

Thanks for visiting! Come back soon as I have more to share! And I always appreciate your comments too. : )
Thanks!

Margaret

Thoughts and Prayers

Thoughts and Prayers is a new set in Stampin' Up's Spring/Summer Catalog and it caught my eye the first time I leafed through the pristine new pages! I love it's elegance, simplicity and beauty, and it also has six sentiments that are so useful and range from Thinking of You, Get Well to Sympathy. There is also another graceful image of a flowing vine with flowers on it. This tree image is also a Decor Element so it can be used to decorate your walls too! What a beautiful set, in more ways than one!

I designed a very similar card as the one below for a workshop last week and just tweeked it a little for this one, adding the knot in the bow and a little more of the chocolate chip background showing. I really like this color combination of chocolate/cocoa and kiwi with vanilla; it offers great contrast and looks so clean and fresh.


First I used my Kiwi Kiss ink pad to ink only the leaves on the stamp. Then I inked the tree trunk and branches with a cocoa marker; because the marker is darker, it will cover the kiwi ink. Occasionally "clean" your marker by scribbling on a piece of scrap paper to get the green ink off. I then "huffed" on the stamp to re-moisten the ink and stamped this on vanilla cardstock, then stamped the sentiment with cocoa ink, This piece was layered onto Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip and a vanilla cardstock base. The Kiwi Kiss striped grosgrain ribbon was tied in a single knot then the ends were adhered to the underside of the chocolate layer.

This was a quick and easy card, yet striking in it's simplicity. The ladies at the workshop seemed to really like it and finished theirs quickly.

Stamp set: Thoughts and Prayers (#113252, p. 58, $25.95)
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Close to Cocoa pad and Stampin' Write Marker
Paper: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss cardstocks
Accessories: Kiwi Kiss Striped Grosgrain ribbon, Snail Adhesive

Thanks for dropping by for a visit! Sorry I haven't posted sooner but I've been busy with a workshop, classes, health and then yesterday we had tornadoes in Oklahoma, one of which skipped over our house but did alot of damage in the Oklahoma City/Edmond area and we were without electrical power for a number of hours.

Please pray for those who lost loved ones yesterday in the tornado at Lone Grove in south central Oklahoma. God bless them. Thank you.

Margaret

TSSC 55 Happiness is a Journey

Happy Monday! Whew! I'm just barely getting this in on Monday! Today is Technostamper's Monday Sketch Challenge again. So glad I got to participate today!

Here's the sketch. It is pretty straightforward... a long card this time.

Happiness is a Journey was a new set in the Fall/Winter catalog and is now on the Dormant List (not in the catalog but still available for ordering). This is the first time I've gotten to use this set and I really like it. One of my grandfathers was a railroad engineer so I have a fondness for trains and train images.


My color scheme is Kraft, Not Quite Navy and Baja Breeze; this is Color Challenge 201 over at Splitcoaststampers. It's a great combo and works really well for cards for men too! I cut Kraft cardstock into 8 1/2" x 7 1/2" and folded the 7 1/2" side in half. This size card fits nicely in a standard business envelope; it is a little larger and a different shape than the regular quarter-sheet size card yet still requires only regular first class postage.

I stamped the engine image on a strip of Baja Breeze in Not Quite Navy Craft ink and embossed it with clear e.p. I then masked off the image and stamped both ends of the strip with the Sanded background stamp for visual texture. The circular image comes from the Enjoy Every Moment stamp set; it was stamped twice in NQN on Baja Breeze, punched out with the 1" circle punch, added a silver brad then layered with a Dimensional on a 1 1/4" NQN card stock punch out. I stamped "happiness" and "cherish" from Warm Words on the strip then adhered the two circular images. This entire piece was layered over a strip of NQN cardstock and adhered to the Kraft card.

I punched out a little red heart with the Heart to Heart Punch that was part of the Love You Much bundle and adhered it to the side of the engine. I will probably use this card for my DH's Valentine.

Hope you enjoy. I wish my picture was better but I had to scan my card rather than photograph it tonight.

You can see Mary Jo's card and the list of other participants at http://technostamper.blogspot.com/. Leave them a comment if you wish!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stampin'!
Margaret