Medallion Square Card

Have I mentioned how much I like the Medallion Stamp that is new in the 2009-10 Stampn' Up! Catalog? lol! Yes, I do! At the beginning of August, it was the best selling stamp in the catalog! Here is another card with this gorgeous stamp that I made at a shoebox swap at Convention. The originator of this card is Elaine Wright from Tennessee. What a lovely card! Thanks, Elaine!

The card itself is on a 6" x 6" Whisper White card. Next on that is a 5 3/4" square layer of Orchid Opulence. A wide strip of beautiful Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper is applied to the left side. A 1/2" wide strip of Old Olive card stock covers the edge of the DSP.

The Medallion stamp was inked by sponging with Orchid Opulence ink around the outside circle area then Old Olive was sponged in the center and around the edges to give the stamp a two-tone look; this was then stamped on Whisper White card stock. An Orchid Opulence Scallop Circle punchout was cut every two scallops then shaped using the Empressor Stylus to give it some dimension like a flower then centered with a button. This layer was then adhered to the card.

"Thinking of you" from the Trendy Trees set was punched out with the Word Window punch then layered on Old Olive punched with the Modern Label Punch. A length of Rich Razzleberry ribbon was tied around the Old Olive strip (which is barely visible) as the finishing touch.

Stamps: Medallion, Trendy Trees (sentiment)
Inks: Old Olive, Orchid Opulence
Papers: Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper; Whisper White, Orchid Opulence, Old Olive card stocks
Accessories: Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Grosgrain ribbon, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Paper Snips, Empressor Stylus, button, Stampin' Sponge.

Thanks for coming by today! I appreciate your visit and your comments! I love to hear from fellow stampers all around the world!

Margaret

Lattice Die and Daisy Card

It's Friday so it's Blogger's Challenge day! Todays challenge #114 is a sketch challenge from our challenge "mom" Lisa; it's nice and simple and very useful!

I've been wanting to use my Lattice die ever since I first saw and bought it. It was love at first sight, so why has it been sitting on my shelf? Too much else to do! Now, this is a great sketch to use it with! Can't wait! I began by die cutting Whisper White cardstock to make my lattice then die cut an Almost Amethyst flower with my Daisy Sizzlit using my Big Shot. Using the Boho Flower Punch, I punched a small flower of So Saffron and adhered it to the center of my daisy, adding a Pink Flower Brad in the center of that and laid it aside.

Since I was using this print from the Tea Party Designer Series Paper, I stayed with the color scheme of Almost Amethyst, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron and Whisper White. The card base is Almost Amethyst layered with Pretty in Pink and then the layer of the Tea Party DSP. The lattice was adhered on that and the flower attached with Dimensionals.

For the horizontal band of the design, I used a strip of Almost Amethyst and sponged the edges in the same ink. The sentiment was stamped in Basic Gray, one of the colors in the DSP, and punched with the Modern Label Punch. I attached a white Basic Small Grommet to each end of the label then adhered it to the band with Dimensionals. There wasn't room on the card for the three small circle designs so I omitted them.

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Inks: Basic Gray, Almost Amethyst
Paper: Tea Party Designer Series Paper; Almost Amethyst, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink card stocks
Accessories: Big Shot, Daisy Sizzlit, Lattice die, Modern Label Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Sponge, Basic Small Grommets, Pink Flower Brad, Dimensionals

You can see a list of the Blogger's Challenge girls here to see what they have created for this challenge, or you can click on the Blogger's Challenge icon on my left sidebar.

Thanks for visiting today! Hope you have a good weekend and have some time to be creative and stamp! :)

Margaret

Medallion Cards

At the Stampin' Up! Convention earlier this month, it was announced that the current number one selling stamp is the Medallion! It is such a beautiful stamp I can understand why; I couldn't wait to get it myself! I saw quite a few swaps and samples with it at convention! I just wish I could have traded for more of them! lol! Turns out it is also a much more versatile stamp that one might think at first glance.

Today's cards are two swaps that I received at convention in organized swaps with two different groups and they are beauties.

The first card was from the Ink the Beginning group swap and was made by Cheryl Holtman. She used Basic Gray, Basic Black, Sage Shadow and the elegant Nouveau Chic Designer Series Paper. She embossed the Medallion in black which gives it a shiny surface and a bold presence.A touch of Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon and a black brad are the final touches! Gorgeous, Cheryl!

The second card is from the SSUS group swap and made by Amy LaSpisa. It is yummy in tones of Chocolate Chip and Melon Mambo! Again the Medallion image was embossed, this time in Chocolate Chip. A touch of chocolate eyelet peeks out from underneath the polka dot Melon Mambo ribbon. Oo-la-la! A pearl from the Pretties Kit and a Happy Anniversary sentiment with the Modern Label punch complete it. Stunning card, Amy!

There are only a few more days left in the $85 Mini Starter Kit offer from Stampin' Up! This is a totally low-risk way to start your own business to earn extra money or at least pay for your stampin' habit, whichever is your goal. Contact me as soon as possible with any questions; the offer ends Monday, August 31st! I'd love for you to join my team too! Go to my website and click on "Start Your Own Business" for more information about the opportunity and benefits of being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator!

Thanks for visiting today! Hope to see you soon!

Margaret

Autumn Splendor Leaves, Another Sneak Peek!

Today I have another card made with the Autumn Splendor set of beautiful leaf stamps; Monday's post used the same set. This is a card I made Saturday at a shoebox swap that was part of our demo Mini-Convention here in the Edmond/Oklahoma City area. I don't know who the originator of this design is, but I love it. If it happened to be you, leave a comment so I can give you credit!

The leaves were stamped on Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay and Crushed Curry cardstocks and cut out. Rich Razzleberry card stock was rolled in the same color with the wonderful new Bright Blessings jumbo wheel for a subtle yet readable background. The woodgrain paper is from the Autumn Meadows Designer Series Paper package, also new in the Holiday Mini Catalog. The card base is Soft Suede as is the center horizontal strip which grounds the leaves.

The greeting is from the oh-so-versatile Teeny Tiny Wishes set which is punched out with the Modern Label Punch and layered on Soft Suede. Did you notice that FIVE of the new 2009-10 In Colors are used on this card? Don't they combine beautifully? I love that!

Stamps: Autumn Splendor, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Bright Blessings Jumbo Wheel
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede
Paper: Autumn Meadows Designer Series Paper; Soft Suede, Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay and Crushed Curry card stocks
Accessories: Modern Label Punch, Paper Snips, Jumbo Handle, Stampin' Sponge

The Holiday Mini Catalog is viewable on the www.stampinup.com website. You will be able to order from your demonstrator or online through my website here: Margaret.stampinup.net If you have any questions, just contact me through my Stampin' Up website or at this email: funstampin @ cox.net

Thanks for dropping by! Come back soon!
Margaret

Autumn Splendor Leaves Sneak Peek! TSSC #84

I know I'm pushing the season somewhat because here it is August and I'm posting an autumn card! However, I thought this leaf stamp would work great as the focal point of Mary Jo's sketch today so I just had to use it, lol! The sketch she gave us for today is simple and easy to work with.

Both of the main "ingredients" for today's challenge card are "Sneak Peeks" from the upcoming Holiday Mini Catalog 2009! You'll be so excited to see this wonderful new 40 page mini! It has tons of new products in it. It goes on newsstands September 1st! (Well, actually your demo has it and you can order from it then!) The leaf comes from the new Autumn Splendor set and the wonderful new coordinating Designer Series Paper is call Autumn Meadows. It is beautiful and some of it even has a soft watercolored look!

I chose the wood grain DSP for the rectangle, layered that on Chocolate Chip. The card base is Chocolate Chip with a layer of Really Rust. The bold wide Stitched Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon wraps over the wood grain and tucks under the Really Rust layer on each side. The stitching on the ribbon is white which would be a little stark for this color scheme, so I used my new Crushed Curry Stampin' Write Marker to add a golden color which blends nicely with the other colors used.

For the leaf image, I inked the leaf up with Crushed Curry, used the "Thumping" technique to add more color to it, then stamped on Very Vanilla card stock and cut it out. The background circle is cut with the base of the basket on the Baskets and Blooms die; a 1 3/4" punch out of Really Rust is layered with Dimensionals on then the leaf is layered on top.

The sentiment is from the Trendy Trees set stamped then punched out with the Word Window punch then layered on a Really Rust punch done with the Modern Label Punch and two Vintage Brads.


Stamps: Autumn Splendor (leaves), Trendy Trees (sentiment)
Inks: Crushed Curry, Chocolate Chip; Chocolate Chip, Really Rust Stampin' Write Markers
Paper: Autumn Meadows DSP; Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, More Mustard, Very Vanilla
Tools: Big Shot, Baskets and Blooms Bigz XL die, Modern Label Punch, Word Window Punch, 1 3/4" Circle Punch
Accessories: Vintage Brads, Chocolate Chip Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals.

You can see Technostamper's card here as well as a list of others who played today. Enjoy!

Thanks for visiting! Come back soon!

Margaret

FYI: Blogger's Challenge #113

FYI, one of the new sets in the 2009-10 catalog, has so many expressions that come with it! Ten to be exact, and fitting for many different situations. You could also use the FYI with expressions from other sets for an even greater variety! You'll find it in the "Greetings" section of the catalog on page 144.

The challenge this week is to use dies or punches on our project. This card fits that bill so well ... I made it at a Make n' Take at a pre-convention activity. It is so striking with its bold colors and shapes. The Summer Sun flowers were cut with the great Flower Folds die; it has four sizes of the same flower on it and they stack perfectly. This card uses the middle two flower sizes of the four on the die.

The FYI was stamped in Real Red on Very Vanilla that had already been stamped with the lined stamp from Favorite Things set. This was punched with the 1 3/4" punch and layered on a 2" Real Red circle cut with the Circle Scissors. The two flowers were adhered together then the center was layered on top of them, A paper clip with gingham ribbon knot was slipped onto the center.

The card base is Kraft cardstock. A layer of Night of Navy was run through the Big Shot with the Friend Texturz Plate from Set #4, then has direct to cardstock Navy ink applied to emphasize the texture (see picture to right). Red Gingham Ribbon was adhered across the top and this was this layered on the Kraft card base. Real Red Polka Dot ribbon was the adhered over the lower edge of the navy layer.

The sentiment was stamped on Very Vanilla with navy and red, using markers to ink the stamp. The Modern Label Punch was used to punch it out then silver brads were added to each end. Dimensionals were used to apply this to the ribbon and also an arrow punched out of red with the My Way arrow punch. The large flower was applied last with Dimensionals.

Stamp sets: FYI (#114365, $19.95, p. 144), Favorite Things (#115436, $23.95, p. 117)
Inks: Real Red, Night of Navy
Paper: Kraft, Night of Navy, Real Red, Summer Sun, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Big Shot, Flower Fold Die, Texturz Plates Set #4, Real Red Polka Dot Grosgrain ribbon, 1/4" Red Gingham grosgrain ribbon, Modern Label Punch, Arrow Punch, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Circle Scissors, Glass Cutting Mat

Let's see: One die, one Texturz Plate, three Punches...that should do it for the Challenge! See what the other Blogger's Challengers did this week by checking out the talented players here.

Thanks for dropping by! Come back soon!

Margaret

A Tale of Two Cottage Walls

Today I have two very similar cards I made using the Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper and coordinating card stocks. One I designed for a workshop Make 'n Take and the other for general trading at convention. One of the great things about creating your own cards is that you can change up a few things about a card and have a really different look.

Here is the first one which is the Make 'n Take for the workshop. It is clean and simple, easy to do in a short period of time. The card itself is Orchid Opulence, which is one of the colors listed as a coordinating color to the Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper in the catalog. A strip of Old Olive cardstock was scalloped with the Scallop Edge Punch on both edges; a strip of Cottage Wall DSP was layered over that. Since the strip of DSP was the green polka dot, I stamped Rich Razzleberry flowers on it with the tiny flower from the Priceless set first to pull in another color. Don't be afraid to stamp on your DSP; you can achieve some really cool effects by doing so! The sentiment from Birthday Bliss was stamped in Rich Razzleberry and layered on a Scallop Circle punched from cardstock of the same color. The finishing touch was a line of paper piercing from the card fold to the scallop. Very quick and easy.

Next is the swap card using the same layout but with other changes. It starts with a layer of Pale Plum cardstock stamped with the small flower from Flower Fancy in Pale Plum ink for a background; this is layered over an Old Olive card. A different strip of Cottage Wall DSP, this time much richer in color, is layered over a scalloped white strip. The sentiment is still stamped in Rich Razzleberry but this time layered over an Old Olive Scallop Circle.

It's amazing how little changes can make cards look so different. Try stamping on your Designer Series Paper sometime. Don't be afraid to experiment with combinations of colors and patterns and Designer Series Paper. Add different embellishments too. It's a great creative exercise for your stamping!

Stamp sets: Birthday Bliss (#115442, $15.95, set of 4); Priceless (#115052, $28.95, set of 11); Flower Fancy (#111578, $36.95, set of 10)
Inks: Pale Plum, Rich Razzleberry
Paper: Cottage Wall DSP (#115671, $9.95, pkg of 12 double sided 12 x 12" sheets); Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Pale Plum card stocks
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch ( ), Scallop Edge Punch (), 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Paper Piercing Tool, Mat Pack.

Thanks for dropping by. Come back soon! And have some fun stampin'!

Margaret

Sneak Peek! Delightful Decorations

One of the fun pre-convention events we attended in Salt Lake City was an evening of salad dinner and stamping held by my roommate's upline. We made six different projects that evening and had a great time! These additional stamping events are so much fun and you get to meet lots of other demonstrators from all over!

Below is a sneak peek of a new set in the upcoming Holiday Mini Catalog! You'll definitely want to get a copy of this from your demonstrator because it is forty pages of cool! Lots of lovely and fun new stamps and products, some that will be a totally new direction for Stampin' Up! and perhaps you! Curious yet? You should be! : )

I made this card at the Stampin' Paradise event; it uses the new Delightful Decorations set and a brand-new coordinating Ornament Punch! How suh-weet is that! The Merry Moments Designer Series Paper (DSP) is in the 2009-10 Catalog on pg. 160 and will be beautiful for all kinds of Christmas projects. The DSP strip on the front is longer than the height of the card front and is folded over so the opposite side of the DSP can also be seen and enjoyed.

The big snowflake on the front is also a new punch in the big catalog called Jumbo Snowflake and there is a matching single stamp, Simple Snowflake, on pg. 208 (not used on this card).

I stamped the ornament on white cardstock and punched it out with the new Ornament Punch. Then I also used it to punch the ornament shape out of the front of my card and attached the previously stamped ornament through the hole so that when the card is opened (see picture) the stamped ornament remains on the inside. We didn't stamp a greeting on the inside but that will be simple enough to do later.

The Chocolate Chip grosgrain was tied through the ornament opening and around to the top of the card for the ornament to "hang" on.

Stamps: Delightful Decorations
Ink: Real Red Classic
Paper: Merry Moments DSP; Real Red, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip card stock
Accessories: Ornament Punch, Jumbo Snowflake Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, 1/4" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, silver mini brad

I hope you enjoy the card; it was fun to make and I know I will be using this set and punches a lot more in the future! Ornate-looking Christmas cards just got easier! Woohoo!

Thanks for coming by today! You are always welcome!

Margaret

Wings of Friendship Swap card

One of many fun things about Stampin' Up! Convention is that attendees swap cards with others so that we can get new samples, perhaps of sets we don't own, and also get new ideas. My card today was one of my swaps for an organized group swap on Friday. I received some really pretty cards in return. Thanks ladies!!

I love this new Wings of Friendship Level 2 Hostess set in the new catalog. One of the perks of being a demonstrator is that we get to pre-order one Level 2 and one Level 3 Hostess set from the upcoming catalog the month before it comes out. This was my Level 2 choice, although I liked them all. :)

I decided to make this a bluebird so chose Ballet Blue for my card base which I stamped with a couple of flourishes in the same color. I used the Baby Wipe Technique to make my stamp pad by putting a baby wipe into a flat pie pan and inking it with Ballet Blue, Melon Mambo and Old Olive reinkers in approximately the place where I wanted those colors on my stamp. I was able to get quite a few stampings out of the baby wipe, and reinked it in order to get more. I was happy with the way it turned out. These images were then spritzed with the Spritzer Tool using the Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker. This was then layered onto Old Olive and placed on the card after a length of Melon Mambo Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon was added first.

The sentiment is also from the same set; I stamped it in Ballet Blue, punched it out with the Large Oval Punch and layered that over a Scalloped Oval punched from Melon Mambo cardstock. I like the bright happy colors of this card, and it was good to use Ballet Blue, which I had sorely neglected for quite some time!

Stamps: Wings of Friendship
Ink: Ballet Blue pad; Old Olive Marker; Ballet Blue, Melon Mambo and Old Olive ink refills
Paper: Ballet Blue, Old Olive and Whisper White
Accessories: Scallop Oval Punch, Melon Mambo Grosgrain Ribbon, Spritzer Tool

This is a fairly simple card, but like any card where you make forty-five of them, it does take some time. It was totally worth it, however, because I received some lovely cards in return to share with my customers and stimulate my own ideas and creativity!

Thanks for visiting! Give me a shout-out (leave a comment) and let me know you came by! I appreciate it! Have a great weekend!

Margaret

Another Happy Birthday Card!

Are you like me? It seems that birthday greeting cards are the kind I need the most! I can never have too many. This card is also one of my convention swaps for SSUS, an online group of talented stampers and of which I'm a grateful member : ).

Aren't those flowers great! They were die cut with Stampin' Up!'s new Flower Folds die (4 different sized flowers on the die!); I used the smaller two flowers so you can see that the other two larger flowers would be great for many other applications, even much larger than a card! Before I ran the Crushed Curry cardstock through the Big Shot to be die cut, I stamped it with White Craft Ink using the Polka Dot background stamp so the dots would add even more interest to the flowers.

My color scheme for the entire card uses some of the new 2009-10 In Colors; I am really liking these colors!! The card base is So Saffron card stock (a standard color) which is overlaid with Rich Razzleberry. Over this, two strips of the Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Series Paper and one center piece of Old Olive cardstock was adhered. The Old Olive was first stamped with a stamp from the Circle Circus set and VersaMark ink and the greeting from On Your Birthday in Rich Razzleberry ink before adhering. You might notice that I've used two standard SU colors with the In Colors and they work together in wonderful harmony!

For the flower center, I stamped another stamp from Circle Circus in Rich Razzleberry then punched it out with the 1" Circle Punch and layered it on Melon Mambo punched with the 1 1/4" Circle Punch. (It is so helpful to have punches that layer so well!). These were layered on the flowers with Dimensionals. I could never have made this card so easily without my Big Shot and those handy punches! Love them!

Stamps: Circle Circus, Polka Dot background (on Dormant list), On Your Birthday sets
Inks: VersaMark, Rich Razzleberry, White Craft Ink
Paper: Razzleberry Lemonade DSP; So Saffron, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry card stocks
Accessories: Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Grosgrain ribbon,
Tools: Big Shot, Flower Folds Bigz XL die, 1" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch
All products (c)Stampin' Up! and can be purchased on my Stampin' Up! website here. Just click on "Shop Now" when you get there.

Hope you enjoy! Thanks for visiting and I hope you get time to have some fun stampin' this weekend!

Margaret

Blogger's Challenge #112 - It's Your Birthday!

I've missed several of these lately so it's great to be back participating again! I really enjoy these challenges...they make me think! lol! Actually, I made this card for a dual purpose (don't you do that too?). This was also for a kicked-up small group (of 5 people) Shoebox Swap at the SU Convention last week and could take 15-30 minutes if needed, rather than the usual 5 or 10.

The concept I had in my head was to make a birthday card that looked like a gift box and would fit in a standard quarter-sheet size envelope. I cut my Pretty in Pink cardstock 9 1/2" x 4 " and scored the fold at 4 3/4". I chose a Designer Paper that could look like wrapping paper, Tea Party, for the front and added a strip of Celery Grosgrain Ribbon up the center. Then a white "lid" which is actually a flap was cut and mounted to the top back of the card which opens at the bottom (see picture below). A strip of So Saffron card stock was scalloped and added to the underneath of the "lid" which has a small square of Velcro underneath to keep the card closed.

Next came the Celery Grosgrain Ribbon flat bow with flowers and leaves to adorn the top of the "lid". For the flowers, the single large flower from Petal Pizzazz was stamped in So Saffron and the leaves in Certainly Celery. These were cut out and a Pretty in Pink circle for the center was punched out and a Celery brad added. The Sweetest Stem Sizzix Embosslit was used to emboss and cut out the smaller pink flowers all in one pass through the Big Shot.

I stamped the "Happy Birthday" from the On Your Birthday set in Certainly Celery on Pretty in Pink cardstock. This was punched with the new Modern Label Punch and adhered over the ribbon with Dimensionals. I left the inside blank until I know to whom I'm sending it, then I will choose an appropriate verse. : )

This was an original creation and I was pretty pleased with the result; hope you like it too. See what the other talented Blogger's Challengers did today for the birthday challenge here: Bloggers Challengers.

Stamp sets: Petal Pizzazz, On Your Birthday
Inks: So Saffron, Certainly Celery
Paper: Tea Party DSP; Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, So Saffron card stocks
Accessories: Modern Label Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, Sweetest Stem Embosslit, Big Shot, Paper Snips, Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots, Celery Grosgrain ribbon, Scallop Border Punch, Signo White Gel Pen. All products at Stampin' Up!

Thanks for dropping by! Your comments are always welcome and appreciated. Have a good weekend!

Margaret

More Boxes with the Box #2 Die

A few weeks ago I post a few boxes made with the Box #2 Die and the Big Shot Diecutting Machine. Today I have a couple more to share with you. These are so easy even a... well, you know the rest! Totally easy!

Both boxes are diecut from Real Red cardstock then decorated. The "Good Luck!" box has dice embossed on each end and the saying is a rub-on from the Cheery Chat Rub-On Collection. The top flap is made by cutting both the Jackpot Designer Paper and a piece of white cardstock with the Scallop #2 Die then adhering them together. A black grosgrain ribbon handle and narrow red grosgrain ribbon bows adorn the box. On the very top of the flap, you can see in the smaller picture the word Jackpot is stamped in red and black and layered on red for effect.

A jumbo silver brad layered onto a punched circle of Real Red is the front closure with a small square of Velcro underneath the flap to hold it closed.

The second box purse uses the same basic "ingredients" as the previous one but the front closure is a Build-A-Brad with a poker chip cut out of one of the sheets of Jackpot Designer Paper underneath. Chips from the same paper were punched out and added to the ribbon "handle" for embellishment. "Game Night" words were embossed on the front with VersaMark and White Embossing Powder.

These are so much fun to make and give! I'm amazed by all the different projects I've seen using this die!

Stamps: Game Night
Ink: Real Red, Basic Black, VersaMark
Paper: Jackpot Designer Series Paper; Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: Build-A-Brad, White Embossing Powder, Jumbo Silver Brad, Black 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, 1" Circle Punch.

Hope you have a great day! Thanks for coming by!

Margaret

Circle Circus with Melon Mambo!

Wow, I'm loving the new In Colors (not to slight the recently retired In Colors which I also loved, and miss!). Melon Mambo, which is the color of this card base, is one of my very favorite, along with Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzleberry... well, you get the idea. Yes, I like them all! lol!

I'm using the Circle Circus set that I showed in yesterday's post; this was a recent Make n' Take at a workshop. My guests all seemed to like this card because it was simple and easy to make yet is colorful and eye-catching! The label could be changed out with an expression of your own choosing, of course. The design could easily be stepped up with brads on the sentiment label and also with a layer of a different color under the sentiment.

All the In Colors this year have their own coordinating Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, which has a solid backside for use when you don't want polka dots. These are beautiful ribbons and have a supple feel; they tie into lovely bows!

Stamps: Circle Circus (#115778, $28.95), sentiment from Trendy Trees (#113258, $17.95)
Inks: Basic Black (#101179), Crushed Curry (#115659), Melon Mambo (#115656), Bermuda Bay (#115655) (all $5.50)
Cardstock: Melon Mambo (#115320 $5.50), Basic Black (#102851, $7.50), Whisper White (#100730, $7.50)
Accessories: Melon Mambo Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon (#115611, $9.95), 1 1/4" circle punch (#104403, $15.95), 3/16ths" punch on the Crop-A-Dile (#108369, $29.95), Modern Label Punch (#116630, $15.95).

Thanks for visiting today! Hope you get some time to stamp soon!

Margaret

Finally back ... and Circle Circus

I'm back from the Stampin' Up! Convention in Salt Lake City; I had a wonderful time seeing and making friends from all over the U.S. and Canada, learning lots of great ideas at the convention, swapping, and shopping Memento Mall (!) My friends and I from the greater Oklahoma City area participated in lots of pre-convention and during convention activities which were great learning experiences as well as fun! Hi Jann, Connie, Leslie and Gayle! :)

The convention is for SU Demonstrators only. I'd love for you to join me next year as a demonstrator; Stampin' Up! has a great offer right now through August 31 to join this great company and start your very own business for only a small investment! What are you waiting for? Have fun helping friends and family create exciting projects, while earning free products and also extra cash! Contact me via my SU website here for more information. The password to sign up through my website is ellagrace.

Circle Circus is one of the great new sets in the 2009-2010 Catalog and Idea Book! It is amazingly versatile for creating so many different looks and projects! I saw quite a number of wonderful cards using this set at convention!

Here's a birthday card (aren't we always needing these!) I made using Circle Circus and three of Stampin' Up!'s new In Colors for the 2009-2010 year. This is an easy card to make; it is kicked up a little by stamping one of the circles onto Crushed Curry then punching it out with the 1 1/4" Circle Punch and adhering it to the stamped layer. This give a solid dash of color to the composition. The Dusty Durango grosgrain ribbon is polka dot on one side and solid on the other to make it more versatile also. A Soft Suede stamped image is punched out with the 3/4" Circle punch and added to the ribbon for interest. This card could be used for a male or a female recipient.

Stamps: Circle Circus (#115778, $28.95), On Your Birthday (#111664, $33.95)
Ink: Crushed Curry (#115659, $5.95), Dusty Durango (#115654, $5.95), Soft Suede (#115657)
Paper: Whisper White (#100730, $7.50), Crushed Curry (#115319, $5.50), Dusty Durango (#1153321, $5.50), Soft Suede (#115318, $5.50) cardstocks.
Accessories: 1 1/4" Circle Punch (#104403, $15.95), 3/4" Circle Punch (#107217, $10.95), Dusty Durango Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon (#115609, 9.95).

Thanks for dropping by to visit! Come back soon for more samples! Thanks!

Margaret