Building Bob

Inspiration
I spent the last two evenings making these cute invitations for our daughters birthday party! One thing about having the internet at your fingertips is the wealth of resources available... I just did a search in the SCS gallery for "SpongeBob" and found this cute invitation designed by Carrie.


Problems
I didn't have any red felt, I don't have the Simple Shapes stamp set, and I don't own Gable Green in Classic ink. So I had to improvise and while I was at it I also made a few other minor tweaks. As far as stamps, I managed to find two circles from different sets I could use, and I'm happy with just the two variations of spots. To get by with Green Galore, I just stamped off on my mat before stamping on Spongebob....perfect!

Tweaks
The first change I planned to make was to his pants. Spongebob wears a belt, so I decided to draw it on with my black journaler, easy! For his tie I used Real Red textured paper, and I decided to paper piece his collar since the nose is done that way...and it's too cute!

Measurements are as follows
Card base 4-1/4 x 5-1/2"
Body 4-1/4 x 3"
Shirt 4-1/4 x 1 - 1/2"
Pants 4-1/4 x 1"

And the assembly goes on...

Cut the body in a random wavy pattern.

Stamp circles overlapping on his body

Cut circles with punches to assemble eyes

Add eyes

Draw on eyelashes and add nose

Draw on smile and dots on cheeks

Make yourself a template to trace and cut out neckties

Draw belt on pants

Punch a square and cut it in half

And then cut those in half

Assemble shirt and add collar

Bunches of Bobs

*Republished in 2012 to embed photos from Slide.

Fun and Festive Fall Goodies

The next Ladies Night projects

The little bag was inspired right out of the new Stampin' Up! Fall/Winter catalog; it's on page 29! I filled mine with candy to give it a more festive purpose, and used a pretzel for the stick.
The tag is Kiwi Kiss card stock with "Happy Halloween" stamped repeatedly on it. I used my Crop-A-Dile to punch around the Perfect Plum scallop circle, overlapped a Tangerine Tango piece with pumpkins from Thoroughly Thankful, and added a black cat from Window Dressing. The cat was heat embossed with silver embossing power before I colored him black and trimmed him out.

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The card is a simple colorblock design, that I've added some distressing and quick doodling to. I used leaves from the level 2 hostess set Fall Flair, floral branches from the Eastern Blooms set (15% off through 9/30), and the sentiment is from a Level 1 hostess set Best Yet. The center features a die cut flower and leaves from the Birds and Blooms Sizzlits Set. I did the polished stone technique on glossy white paper using gold pigment ink, and Classic reinkers in Close to Cocoa, Kiwi Kiss, and Riding Hood Red. The die cut leaves, scallop circle, and center button give it a nice finished look.

Customer Satisfaction Survey

Stampin' Up! is inviting you to share your thoughts and opinions about its products, the catalog, online options, and me, your demonstrator! Please click here to take a short 10 minute survey.

Your responses are confidential. You will not be asked for any personal information and your answers will not be disclosed to other parties. You will not be subjected to any marketing or sales efforts as a result of your answers to this survey. The deadline for completing the survey is Wednesday, September 24, 2008. Thanks!!!

Guess What!? Exciting News!!!

Today is the beginning of a new era with Stampin' Up!
I'm sure you are aware I am a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and I also have an "official" SU! website. It has come a long way in functionality and personalization from what it was "back when." The catalog used to be online as a seperate link, and you could access it from my website, and I was linking it on my blog...but wait...the new one isn't. Why, you might wonder!? Well as of TODAY, you can go directly to my website and do your online shopping! Yup, that's right! The 2008 Fall/Winter Idea Book & Catalog is now available right on my website. From my homepage (http://sally.stampinup.net) click on the blue box that says "shop now" and do some exploring! You can search for a specific item, browse by product type, there are even new projects you can browse and select items of interest from!!! We've come a long way baby!

A Slight Boo Boo

I announced the arrival of the 2008 Holiday Mini catalog in my September newsletter. While I have a copy, I realize the mailings have not yet gone out. Oops!!! Once they do, I will update the sidebar on the right and include a .pdf version like the other brochures you see there.

So stay tuned, the Holiday mini is coming soon!

Sketch Time!

Here's the sketch I posted yesterday over on Splitcoast. I was hoping to utilize a little time this afternoon to scrap it, but the day got away from me. So, I'm sharing it with you regardless, and will post again if I manage to use it soon!
Hope it inspires you!!! Oh, and if you use it and post somewhere, leave me a comment with a link, I would LOVE to see it!

Papered Over

What would life be like without ModPodge? Isn't it just the greatest for gluing paper all over everything???

I just got several packs of Designer Series paper in my last SU! order and I so love them all. I got Windsor Knot for a clipboard class. I decided to paint the clipboards with acrylic paint and just add a strip of paper instead of covering the whole board. It gave me a place to stamp, which is important for a stamper! I choose a dotted pattern even though the stripes were my favorites, but the color scheme is awesome either way. My attendees snagged up those stripes and wouldn't you know, they're clipboards turned out fantastic!

Doing the beaded pen wasn't hard, but it was a learning experience. If you lay five strips of sticky strip on a piece of wax paper it makes transferring the tape to your pen easier, BUT if those strips are butted up next to each other you'll end up with a slight gap in your beads....so here's a tip: space them just a hair apart and the pen will come out perfect!!!

The day after my workshop a certain crafty child of mine, yeah you know the one, wanted to make a clipboard too. She choose the Bella Rose paper, and I gave her a flower out of the Eastern Blooms set to stamp with...ummm, her clipboard is GORGEOUS! How did that happen? LOL! Well I wanted the class clipboard to be neutral, not feminine, and it is. But Miss Thang wanted hers to be ALL GIRL!

This Saturday I'm doing another workshop. This time we're making little recipe files. This was a cute project we saw at convention. Mine is different from the one that was shown to us there, but the idea is the same...converting PopTart boxes! hehehe Like I needed an excuse to buy PopTarts! This is the Maine Blueberry paper. Isn't it yummy?

Something Purty...

Before I went off to convention and I was posting here about going. I did a Google search looking for convention photos from prior years. I know they are out there but I found myself distracted when I found this:

Isn't it adorable!? Well this stamper couldn't resist and armed with my PayPal account I just had to ask Elisha from Silver Sentiments to make me one. Once I talked to her via email, I realized she can put just about anything you want on one of these sweet little silver discs. Yeah, she can!!! So as much as I love the one that simply says "stamp" I decided to go for something special...I love it Elisha!!!

Can you read it? it says IMAGINE & INSPIRE, and the charm make a soft little jingle sound!

A Little Perk

I feel so blessed to have so many good friends IRL (in real life) as well as online!!! My sweet friend Erika awarded this to me and she is not only sweet, she is an inspiring scrapper! She has been doing a lot with digital papers and embellishments lately and she is FABULOUS!
Check out her blog: Inkin' Creations

I'm also passing this little goody on to two very inspiring and deserving ladies.

Melissa, our little gourmet chef wannabe! When we chat online and she mentions dinner, it is NEVER something hum drum. She has a natural knack with food and I really do LOVE her blog!
Give it a visit: From Laptop to Stovetop


Betsy, is an amazingly talented scrapper! She should be in publications on a regular basis. Her blog is shared with her Husband Matt, and you'll find an eclectic mix of daily life with two kids, scrapping and photography, and plenty of witty commentary to amuse you! Love ya girl...miss chatting!!!
Check out One Million Reasons

Stamping School Supplies

Last week I went to Walmart armed with the 1st grade school supply list and bought nearly everything. One of the things I couldn't get though, I picked up at Kroger a few days ago, and they've been eyeballing me ever since - the colored folders!

As soon as she knew what I was planing, my little demo in training "Sydney Stamper" wanted to help. She is always ready to stamp. In all honesty her main contribution was the decision to stamp hearts all over the red folder...and she did them herself! She was also in charge of ink color selection (with a few suggestions), a very important job! We had fun together, that's for sure!!!

The orange folder has her name on it too, we stamped it up the side you just can't see.

Stamp sets used:
Green folder - Pick a Petal
Yellow folder - Inspired by Nature & Lovely Letters Alphabet
Orange folder - Window Dressing (hostess reward)
Red folder - Have a Heart
Blue folder - Brocade Basics

Convention Make & Takes

I still haven't completed all the projects from convention, but I only have 2 left...actually there was a card I really didn't like, so I used the supplies for something else. All of the following projects use stamp sets from the new catalog, so that alone makes them a little bit exciting! :) Brief descriptions below each project... Inspired By Nature stamp set
LOVE this 7/8" Polly Twill ribbon in So Saffron

Eastern Blooms stamp set
Hidden Garden rub on, chunky glitter, & 1 1/4" Pink Pirouette ribbon
make this little note box special

Eastern Blooms stamp set
1/4" grosgrain & orange beads

Eastern Blooms stamp set
An On Board Something Seasonal scalloped frame
5/8" Striped grosgrain, and
a few designer brads from the Filigree Assortment

Inspired by Nature stamp set
a little clip from the Clips Assortment, and a vanilla open end envelope

A Sketch for FRIDAY! ;)

Mornin' It's been a while since I posted a Friday sketch here, but I hope you know I do one every week for Splitcoast.

This one includes a few measurements, but I can also share the background paper sizes. The smallest one is 6x6 layered over an 8x8 piece. All but one of the photos are 3x4 just in different arrangements. That doesn't mean you have to stick with those sizes...but I've found that can sometimes be helpful!

I actually have pictures pulled for this layout, so look for a finished version coming soon!

Convention...the LAST Day

The final day of convention was fantastic for so many different reasons. The first one was simply because we got to sleep in an extra 30 minutes or so...and believe me, we needed it!!! The day started with Demonstrator Theater. Several demonstrators were introduced on stage and they each did a unique demonstration for us, a few that had a real WOW factor; I was taking notes!

Next we had lunch, the last two business classes, and then back to the main stage for the entertainment. Shelli showed us some adorable commercials made by fellow demos and announced the winners, and then they set up the stage for a game show. It was pretty cute. They called it Stamp-tionary. There were two teams each with a large dry erase board, and the game was played just like pictionary.


In between rounds they called out more wrist band colors and the prize patrol handed out prizes. They also showed a few more commercials made by the SU! creative team. The last was a "Convention Barbie" commercial. That one really made us all laugh so hard, we didn't hear it all. So Shelli rolled it again..."UPS Ken sold separately" LOL!!!

Suddenly we heard a doorbell and a real UPS man came on stage with Shelli. He said he was confused about who to deliver the box he was carrying to, and then said it was for all of us ~ WOOHOOO!!!!
The crowd cheered and confetti came pouring down as the prize patrol ran around in UPS t-shirts. They passed out approximately 6,000 "Say It With Scallops" stamp sets. The best part, is that this is the new Ronald McDonald set, and UPS bought them for us...The Ronald McDonald House will receive about $12,000 from this purchase since $2 from every set sold is donated by Stampin' Up! Here's a pic of Debbie and Barbara with their sets:


We spent our last evening together touring the Copper Canyon, and had a nice dinner on the way back. Chinese buffet, YUM! I've been back in Texas since Monday afternoon, and have just barely settled back into my normal routine. I'm so glad I had this opportunity and I'm hopeful to attend again next year, but it's good to be home!

Convention Day 2 & 3

Yesterday started with a general session where Shelli Gardner (Stampin' Up! CEO) announced what to expect with the Decor Elements line. There will be several new things and MORE COLORS!!!

When we grabbed our lunches my sis noticed the line to meet Shelli wasn't very long (yet) so we jumped in. She is such a genuinely sweet and down to earth person. I am really proud to be a part of all of this.

It was also the first day we got to do make and takes. The only downside was lugging all three stamp sets with us since we didn't know what we'd be doing first. The projects were all cute, and we were scrambling to finish what we could before we had to pack up and zoom down the hall for our two motivational classes. We also had to hustle back to the hotel for a quick bite. It's crazy how much rushing around we've been doing.

It was Award Night, so we got ourselves dressed up and headed back for the festivities. The ceremony took about 2 hours and we were wiped, but after all the awards Shelli introduced the most fun and unusual entertainment! A band called Tonic Sol Fa. They were so funny and really awesome too!!! It was a fantastic day...actually the first "real" day.

Today we again had a general session first thing in the AM. My upline Debbie won a pack of Designer Series Paper, and package of rub ons, ribbon and a new In Color stamp pad!!! There was also a new product announcement...

Stampin' Up! is partnering with Sizzix to bring us the Big Shot. We will have some exclusive dies and embossing folders. Check out this brochure. They will become available on Sept 1, 2008. It was so exciting and I can't wait to pre-order mine!!!

We had the final make & takes after lunch again, and then our classes. I really laughed when I saw these...

I tried so hard to take a "self portrait" of the three of us, between the classes. Barbara tried too, fortunately, sensing our frustration at the outtakes, another demo came to our rescue! :)

I would say the highlight of this day (other than Debbie's good fortune) was our tour of the Stampin' Up! home office. It was incredible!!!



The warehouse is AMAZING. We were all three amazed by all the boxes traveling on the conveyor belts. It was really cool, and the facility is beautiful!

Convention Day 1

Yesterday was check in and after navigating our way around we picked up the CUTEST bag that was STUFFED with stamp sets, convention info, and the NEW catalog!!! WOOOHOOO!!!!
We didn't even peek at the new catalog...shocking huh!? We shopped at the memento mall (it's the convention gift shop) where I got a few things I can give away at workshops, and I got this darling camera case that matches the Designer Series Paper!

I witnessed the wild and crazy world of SWAPS! ha ha ha I didn't do any myself, but Barbara and Debbie brought a few to see how it went, and got plenty of ADORABLE card fronts from other demonstrators. I think next time I attend a convention (hopefully next year *wink*) if I do any, I'll make some 3D items. That seems to be more my style.

There are a BAZILLION display boards with awesome cards and other projects demonstrators have sent in this past year and I photographed them ALL, as did plenty of other ladies. It was often difficult to squeeze in and get a look let alone snap a photo!

I also noticed a few with ideas using the stamps we got in our bags, as well as a board showing what make & take projects we would be completing on day 2 and 3. It's all so exciting. I can hardly believe I'm really here!


When we got back to our room, we FINALLY poured ourselves over the catalog and went through the whole thing page by page as a group. Fun, but too quick. I really need to go over it again, and this time I'll take my time and start a wish list! :)

We scrambled to get our stamp sets assembled for the next day's session and finally collapsed in bed around midnight (that's 1:00 AM Texas time, whoops!) but a girls gotta do, what a girls gotta do, right!?

We Made It!!!

Well we arrived in Utah around 2:30 yesterday, and it's been too crazy to post just yet. On our way to awards night, but I'll have more pics to share soon...