Simply Amazing!

Starting today and running through the end of the month you can sign up as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator for only $87.50. Even if you have no plans of running your own crafting business, this is an amazing deal for all the items you will receive! Did you know that many demonstrators sign up as a hobbyist? What that means is you can enjoy the demonstrator discount for your self without the added pressure of holding classes and workshops, but let me tell you, that part is actually really fun! Contact me anytime if you would like to know more about this opportunity. I'd be happy to talk you through what signing up would mean and help you decide if it's right for you!

Click on the flyer to enlarge

Wickedly Fun

One of the Stamper's Club projects for October was this little paper coffin. The paper itself is to die for and using some in this way was really fun! I have plenty left to make a super cute scrapbook page, and I'm sure I'll have no problem coming up with other projects to use it for as well. It's called Wicked Fun and these first  pages below have "fuzzy" raised images, the bats are my fav!!!

 The rest of the paper pack is double sided...

I found the coffin pattern through Family Fun. They send me emails with recipes and other fun craft ideas that almost always get my wheels turning! :)

It's not too difficult to assemble, but I recommend using Sticky Strip to hold it together since the double thickness of the card stock layered with DSP will add additional stress to the flaps that hold it together. I used one 12x12 sheet of DSP for the inside of the box. One side of the paper in the bottom of the coffin and the reverse (a purple stripe) on the inside of the coffin lid...looks AWESOME!

Stampin' Supplies:
STAMPS - Baroque Motifs, All Holidays

PAPER -Basic Black, Wicked Fun DSP

INK - Whisper White Craft

OTHER - Chalks, Sticky Strip

Punch Pumpkins

Don't you love things that are easy? These little pumpkins are just that. All you need is an Oval Punch and you can make one in 20 seconds! I did two different sizes here, and I just used the flat side (not sharp) of my scissors to curl a strip of card stock and make the vines. This is what we're doing at Ladies Night this Thursday...you should come! Read HERE for more details.

Stampin' Supplies:
STAMPS - Jumble Alphabet, Day of Gratitude

PAPER - Pumpkin Pie, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Old Olive

INK - Pumpkin Pie Craft, Soft Suede, Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, More Mustard

OTHER - Oval Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Eyelet Border Punch, Green Satin Ribbon, Color Spritzer Tool, Stampin' Dimensionals

Pssst, a new promotion started today!
Handmade Holiday

Getting in the Spirit of Things

Halloween is my favorite holiday! My whole house is decked out in true fashion this year because I convinced my 9 year-old to have her party (she was born on 9/25) in October and make it a costume-birthday party! Also with everything out this year, my oldest is inspired to have her own shin dig too; she's never had a costume party and we might as well make the most of it all! :)
The photo above is a small representation of my Spooky Town. I have the whole village set up on the dining room table and you might recognize the paper I used as the backdrop. Yup, it's the packing material you get when a Stampin' Up! order arrives via UPS! hee hee

This is the cake I made her. Using these cookies as tombstones was not my original idea, but the way I saw them they had "RIP" and things like that written on them. Cute, but I wasn't going to do that on a birthday cake. I also crushed up a bunch of Oreos for the top of the cake. It tasted even better than it looks!

I did some super fun  invites using the Fang-tastic Stamp Set (Vampire on some, and a Witch on others), and I also had some done with the Make a Monster Set...so cute. I'm sorry to say I can't share a pic today though, I guess I miscounted because we gave them all away!!!
This is Sydney, AKA Vampire Girl, with her graveyard cake...

...and now for something crafty using paper! ;)
This is an 8-1/2 x 11" scrapbook page using the new Waffle Paper as well as other goodies in the Holiday Mini...LOVE it!!! The spider web was done super easy using the Big Shot, and if you like the Designer Paper I used here, you will love the whole package, too! The spiders were done by trimming off select parts of snowflakes from a Sizzlits Die 4-Pack...yeah they only have 6 legs, but aren't they cute!?

Stampin' Supplies:
STAMPS - Make a Monster (for eyes), Fang-tastic (treat bags in background)*

PAPER - Pumpkin Pie, Waffle Paper Assortment 2*, Whisper White, Basic Black, Night Owl Designer Series Paper*

INK - Pumpkin Pie

OTHER - Textured Impressions Spider Web*, 1" Circle Punch, White Gel Pen, Snowflakes Set #2 Sizzlits Die 4-Pack (3 used)

*Items from the current Holiday Mini Catalog (Sale Dates 9/1/2010-1/3/2011)

A Page and a Smile

I created this sketch at the end of July and have been eager to use it ever since. Over the weekend I was feeling the need to pull out some photos and get a page done, and the cute photos I found were made for this sketch!

The page I did includes some super cute and sparkly paper from our last catalog and I had the WHOLE package unused. That's such a crime. I have a ton of paper to use up, so I'll be sprinkling old things with new things in my posts from time to time...especially when I'm scrapping!

Click on any image to get a closer look

Anyway I wanted to share some details about this page. First you may notice the unusual shape of the Chocolate Chip paper. It wasn't tricky to do it. I just traced a bowl on the wrong side of my 12x12 card stock and then used my paper trimmer to cut a straight line up to the edge of the "arch." After that I just trimmed it off with my scissors, lined it back up on the trimmer, and did the other sides.

The distressed paper piecing was something I've been wanting to experiment with for a while. I simply took some thin strips of Old Olive card stock that I had and I crumpled them along their edges and used snail adhesive to stick them down onto my page. Easy!

Stampin' Supplies:
STAMPS - Broadsheet Alphabet, Short Order Numbers

PAPER - Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink

RETIRED - Sending Love Specialty DSP, Barely Banana
INK - Real Red, Chocolate Chip

OTHER - Basic Rhinestones, Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware, Stampin' Dimensionals, Designer Label Punch, Scallop Trim Border

To see more pages done with this sketch visit the SBSC248 Gallery. Why not add yours? :)

Simple Gift Idea

The new Holiday Mini began this month and I am a BIG fan of paisley!!! So the first thing I ordered was this cute stamp set called Paisley Prints. It's a set of 5 with a leaf, a pumpkin, two different size hearts and a little Christmas tree! :) You can look at the mini on my website click HERE to download your own .pdf copy.
I guess I was inspired by the image in the mini, because the first project I did was a candle using 3 leaves in different colors, and that's exactly how they featured it. I honestly didn't remember the catalog version when I created mine...it must have been buried in my subconscious LOL. My club members really enjoyed making their "gift sets!"

Stampin' Supplies:
STAMPS - Paisley Prints, Day of Gratitude

PAPER - Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Confetti Cream (inside card)
INK - River Rock, Pear Pizzazz, Gold, Cajan Craze

OTHER - Hemp, 5/8" Crochet Trim, Gold Embossing Powder, Word Window Punch, Green Satin Ribbon

SU! Regional

Saturday was the SU! Regional Event at the Fort Worth Convention Center. I just had my 5th anniversary as a demo and amazingly I've never attended a regional event before. Well, let me tell you, you'll have to lock me up to keep me from attending another one. That was AWESOME! It was like an intimate version of convention, which I couldn't attend this year, so I'm not feeling as sad about it now. :)

We had 6 make-n-take projects to complete and there were lots of inspiring presentations to watch throughout the day. Business ideas, and fellow demonstrators that went on stage to show us their "workshop wows." I really love being part of the Stampin' Up! family!!!

Twila, her mom, Sally, Laura, Sherry, Barbara, Mary, Jena

After the Regional was over we went to Twila Mooneyham's house for an after party. She was MORE than generous with BBQ, treats, and even THREE projects for us to do while we sat around her kitchen table chatting. As we were finishing the bird (pictured below) I was floored when she said there were two more projects for us to do. WOW Twila, really? We had a GREAT time, but were truly exhausted driving back after a full day of fun. Thanks again Twila, you ROCK!!!

The paper bird we made is somewhat similar to one in our Catalog on p.173, although I honestly think this is a cuter version with the beak, eye, and ribbon detail. The one in the IB&C is more rounded and I checked the corporate website to see if there were instructions for their version, and they have a bird, but it's a little different. It's really cute too, so I'm sharing...see below. Twila found her template on another blogger's site that was her inspiration. We affectionately referred to our birds as Twila Bird while we were making them! lol Here's a link to her blog post about it. She doesn't give instructions, but she gave us each a template to take home, so I'll probably do one for a Future Ladies Night. I really like my "Twila Bird!" :D

Paper Bird (July 2010 Art Show)

(These are the instructions on the SU! Corporate Website)

1. Cut out bird body, tail, and chest from Very Vanilla card stock using this pattern (Other Pattern #13 from Pattern Library). If the link isn't working, email me and I'll send it to you!
2. Repeatedly stamp artistic circle image in Baja Breeze ink on bird body. Apply Crumb Cake ink to bird body using sponge dauber.
3. Pierce holes along edge of bird pieces using paper-piercing tool and Mat Pack. Sew bird pieces together using needle and thread. Spritz bird using  Color Spritzer Tool and Soft Suede marker.
4. Cut flowers from Baja Breeze textured card stock and Newsprint Designer Series paper using Big Shot and Island Floral Bigz die. Punch hole in center of each flower using 1/16" Circle punch. Layer  flowers, and secure with Antique brad. Adhere flower to bird.

 tweet tweet

Celebrations Par-tay!

I've been working hard on the invites for one of my little birthday princesses. Two of my three daughters have a birthday this month, so I'm up to my eyeballs in party planning! I ordered the super cute coordinating Celebrations Party Banner, and Party Hats for the first event and also the Quick Accents and matching Designer Series Paper to scrap the whole thing after the party is over. You should see the cute photos on page 52 in the catalog, there is so much you can do with these!


The first thing I did was punch out the party hats so I could use the leftover card stock on my invites. Who could let this super cute paper go to waste?

I had lots of leftover card stock after punching out the banner pieces too. In the catalog it simply says you get over 100 letters etc. with multiples of popular letters. I decided to take invetory and give you the specifics here.
The set includes 30 white brads for assembly and the following letters/numbers:
4 letter "A," 3 letter "B," 3 letter "C," 3 letter "D," 4 letter "E," 4 letter "F," 3 letter "G," 3 letter "H," 4 letter "I," 3 letter "J," 3 letter "K," 3 letter "L," 3 letter "M," 4 letter "N," 4 letter "O," 3 letter "P," 2 letter "Q," 3 letter "R," 4 letter "S," 3 letter "T," 3 letter "U," 2 letter "V," 3 letter "W," 2 letter "X," 3 letter "Y," 2 letter "Z,"and 2 party hats and 2 stars. It also has 2 of each number 1 - 9 and 1 zero.

After punching it all out I'm amazed by how much excess patterned card stock I have to play with, so I punched some stars from the various patterns to use on the insides of the invites too. Her birthday is Sunday and the party will be on the 25th. All I need to do now is finish typing up the details for the insides and put them together. My goal is to make sure they'll be ready to pass out on Monday when I bring cupcakes to share with her classmates. What 'cha think? I'm lovin' them!!! :)

Stampin' Supplies:
STAMPS - Party This Way, Short Order Numbers

PAPER - Real Red, Whisper White, Pacific Point, Bashful Blue
INK - Real Red, Pacific Point, Pear Pizzazz

OTHER - Star Extra-Large Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, White Gel Pen, White Thread

Little Scrappy Things

We always do a 6x6 page at Club and I'm sure you've noticed how much I love doing them. They are so quick and easy since you really only need one photo. I have a bunch of them in a small album and they represent a nice variety of family pictures over the years that my girls can easily enjoy...not to mention share with their friends without me fearing for the pages inside! ;)
The heart image you see was done with the emboss resist technique. You stamp with VersaMark (a clear pigment ink), heat emboss with clear embossing powder, then brayer a dye based ink in any color over the top. The ink doesn't stick to the embossing powder, but you do need to wipe the excess off with a damp paper towel. This image was prefect for this technique.

Stampin' Supplies:
STAMPS - Baroque Motifs, I {Heart} Hearts

PAPER - Greenhouse Gala DSP, Always Artichoke, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
INK - Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Versa Mark

OTHER - Full Heart Extra-Large Punch, Clear Embossing Powder, Brayer with Rubber attachment

At my last Ladies Night we made this fun little mini scrapbook. I may just be putting first day of school stuff in there, but really haven't decided yet.

Here's what the inside looks like...

...and the back matches the font. I LOVE this paper!

Stampin' Supplies:
STAMPS - In a Word, Upsy Daisy, Paradise

PAPER - Greenhouse Gala DSP, Daffodil Delight, Baja Breeze, Real Red, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
INK - Baja Breeze, Real RedWhisper White, Certainly Celery

OTHER - Scallop Oval Extra-Large Punch, Embosslits Beautiful Wings, Assorted Ribbons

Blissful Birthday

This card was created for my brother Bruce, and my Stampers Club enjoyed recreating it when we last met. It was really easy to do thanks to the Big Shot and all it's really fun die cuts and embossing folders! I'm Finally posting today since I'll be giving it to him in a few hours.

I chose my color combo right from the new Color Coach. I really like how it has a "Dynamic Duo," "Creative Combination," and "Sweet Set" for each color. The Color Coach will continue to be an invaluable tool for my crafting.

Stampin' Supplies:
STAMPS -Birthday Bliss

PAPER - Bashful Blue, Marina Mist, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
INK - Chocolate Chip, Markers: Marina Mist, Certainly Celery

OTHER - Sizzlits Swirly Decorative Strip Die, Textured Empressions Perfect Polka Dots

Digi Dabble

It's almost time to make another calendar. That was a big project last year, and since then I have only used My Digital Studio to make a few 12x12 pages. My only excuse is my undying love for ink and paper. ;) But I will continue to dabble, it's a lot of fun!

MDS can scratch that crafty itch likety split. I really like the built in templates, you can just drag and drop photos in. It's amazing how quickly you can do a page!
Templates are set up as "albums" with multiple coordinating pages. You can also choose one or two by just deleting the extra pages before you build your "project." And the template will still be there for later use if you decide to build additional pages from it. These are from the Designer Template Sunny Day 12x12 album.
I really liked the look of this page the way it was, but I only had one photo I wanted to use. Once I started tweaking things I couldn't stop! LOL Actually I didn't spend too much time on this. An easy thing to do with an existing layout is copy and paste items to move around. That saved me time from browsing through all the other various embellishments available. I also added more background paper and several drop shadows for dimension. Not the best quality photo, but I LOVE it!

Stampin' Supplies:

My Digital Studio™118108 $79.95

For more information about what My Digital Studio can do, visit my website.

COOL Creations

Here are two yummy little cards made with the Sweet Scoops stamp set in the Summer Mini.

The set has 8 images and is available in both wood mount and clear mount...rubber stamps that will cling to acrylic blocks. They come in a case the size of a DVD box. It's a great option for space saving and I like being able to see what I'm stamping on a little easier. Or should I say I can see it more clearly. :)

W 117078 $18.95
C 120078 $14.95

Stampin' Supplies:
STAMPS - Sweet Scoops

PAPER - Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Very Vanilla
INK - Daffodil Delight, Chocolate Chip, Melon Mambo

OTHER - Scallop Edge Punch, Textured Impressions Square Lattice, Clear Embossing Powder

Stampin' Supplies:
STAMPS - Sweet Scoops

PAPER - Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Very Vanilla
INK - Daffodil Delight, Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise, Sahara Sand

OTHER - Scallop Edge Punch, Machine Stitching

The Good Stuff

Today I had an open house to celebrate our brand new catalog and give everyone a taste of some of the new things. I used new Designer Series Paper on both projects and everyone's favorite was the Newsprint DSP!

The card is a little square 4-1/4 x 4-1/4 card. I intentionally left it without a sentiment so it can be used for just about any occasion. I call this a "5 minute card" since it can be done super quick...especially since I had the supplies pre-cut for everyone! ;)

Stampin' Supplies:
STAMPS - Inspired by Nature, Circle Circus

PAPER - Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight, Newsprint DSP
INK - Basic Black, Daffodil Delight

OTHER - Scallop Circle Punch, 5 Petal Flower Punch 

This is a mini scrapbook page. The photo spot is 4-1/4 x 5-1/2, and I used just one glue dot under the photo corners so it will be easy to add a fun picture at any later date. Isn't this paper "funky fabulous" too? I love it!!!

Stampin' Supplies:
STAMPS - Awash with Flowers (2 step stampin')

PAPER - Baja Breeze, Greenhouse Gala DSP, Crumb Cake, Pumpkin Pie
INK - Baja Breeze, Marina Mist, Certainly Celery, Wild Wasabi

OTHER - Photo Corners Punch, Textured Impressions Square Lattice


One more thing. I just had my 8 year-old assistant pick a name from the jar. The winner of the doorprize is Jayne! Congratulations Jayne!!! :)