New Year, New Look, New Products!

First, let me apologize for dropping off the face of the earth with this blog!  Yes, I realize that I “blog without obligation” and wear that badge proudly, but really?  Six months without a peep?  I assure you all that I have indeed been busily stamping away during that long hiatus, but the realities of life kept getting in the way and blogging fell by the wayside for a while.  Never fear, however, because I am BACK!  I’ll be retooling some things over the next few days, and will also setting up more regular features.

I’m SOOOO in love with this new catalog and all the great things Stampin’ Up! is rolling out this year — looking forward to sharing them with you!

Thank you Stampin’ Up!

I love this company! They’re so good to us, their demonstrators. Even as they have to tighten their belts along with everyone else, they still found a way to send us a little holiday cheer with a special gift! I’m sure you’ve heard of My Digital Studio by now (and if you haven’t, go check out the link in the sidebar to find out all about this fabulous program!), and they gave us all a free digital download! For mine, I chose The Write Stuff kit. Even though it’s based off of one of our Simply Scrappin’ kits, there were just so many other possibilities for other things like greeting cards, quick custom postcard invitations, treat bag toppers… you get the idea!

Anyway, I just had to thank them for their generosity, so I made this e-card based off of the Designer Template that’s included as part of the kit. After all, what better way to show your appreciation for a gift than to show the giver that you’re using and enjoying it! So you can see just how fast and simple My Digital Studio makes it for you to be able to create a project, I didn’t deviate too much from the original template. I shifted the Top Note off-center, added a knotted ribbon, and put a scalloped border along the bottom of the Kraft layer. I also used stamp images from Petal Pizazz to create my own “die-cut” pieces by layering punches behind them! The scallop circle piece was shrunk down slightly so that it matched the size of the stamp image, and I resized circle punches to fill in behind the Melon Mambo flower. I also played with the opacity just a tad so that the colors weren’t so stark against the neutral background.  A few dropped shadows add dimension and realism.

If you’re in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, I’m planning a series of classes in the new year so that you can see My Digital Studio in action firsthand! Keep an eye on my events calendar either here or on my demonstrator website for more details so you can sign up and reserve your spot!

Where did the time go?

I was going back over past posts, and realized that today is the one-year anniversary of my starting this blog!  Had to think of something to celebrate, so for the first (but I’m hoping not the last) time I’m going to offer a bit of blog candy!  I’m sure you all know the drill – leave a comment between today and Friday the 6th, and I’ll draw a winner to receive a prize!  For now it’s going to stay a surprise exactly what the prize will be, but trust me you’ll love it!

Finally got to place an order out of the Holiday Mini, and I’ve been having so much fun playing with my first new goodies in a long time!  I can’t believe it’s already November, which means it’s time to start looking toward the holidays.  Now ordinarily I refuse on principle to do anything related to Christmas before Thanksgiving, but of course we stampers have to start working on our stuff well before December, KWIM?

I don’t usually go for the traditional red and green on my Christmas cards, but I have a whole pack of 12×12 Garden Green to play with courtesy of a mixup with my last order.  Instead of my Merry and Bright rub-ons, I found the green card stock in the box.  When I called SU! about it, they let me keep the card stock!  Guess it would cost them more for me to send it back – my apologies to whoever’s order was next to mine on the picking line!  Anyway, since I don’t have a lot of the Real Red textured card stock, I think I’ll play with some other colors when I duplicate this card for my craft show inventory.  Hmmm, I wonder how Rich Razzleberry would look? )

To create the medallion piece for the stamped focal image, cut a square of card stock that’s at least 2 1/2” wide (this one’s just a hair larger than that) and center the Scallop Edge punch along each side before punching.  The larger the square, the bigger the corner connector you’ll get.  I’ve loved this look ever since it started showing up on cards all over the place, and can’t wait to try it again with other images!

Stamps: Delightful Decorations (2009 Holiday Mini)

Ink: Garden Green

Paper: Real Red textured, Garden Green

Accessories: Scallop Edge punch, Whisper White organza ribbon, Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder (SU! exclusive)

Click here to visit my demonstrator website and order all the supplies you need to re-create this card!

Coming soon!

Wow, has it really been two whole months since I last posted here?  Good news is that I finally do have all my stamping stuff here in Texas and I’ve been busily tinkering away, trying to create some new goodies to upload for your viewing pleasure.   Thanks so much everyone for all your support and patience, and I hope the wait will have been worth it!

And the moving saga continues…

As you all now know I moved from Virginia to Texas earlier this month, and naturally was expecting my belongings to arrive here shortly after I did. Well, after a lot of frustration, calls to the moving company, multiple no-shows by the moving crew (my parents graciously offered to oversee the loading of the truck so my sister and I could get on the road), and finally a cancellation on my part, I’m having to find someone else to get my stuff to me! Thank goodness some friends of my sister’s graciously offered to let us stay with them while we waited for the moving truck to arrive.

I’ve spent hours these past few days researching and contacting several new companies in an attempt to get my stuff out of storage before I incur another month of costs, and get this — I happened to stumble across a blog by a fellow who recounted the whole sordid tale of his being absolutely hosed by the very same people I was going to trust with my furniture and SU! supplies (minus my stamps, which rode in the back seat of my car… EEK, can you imagine if I’d let those yahoos get their hands on my precious rubber?!) and it was posted just AFTER I had made the appointment with the movers and left for Texas!

I want so badly to stamp something, and those bins of stamps are sitting in the corner mocking me…lol

Still here!

I swear, I’m starting to go through withdrawal — my precious stamping stash has been packed away for a few weeks now since I finished clearing out my apartment and made the move from Virginia to Texas.  Right now, I’m here but it’s not!  *sniff*  The movers should be picking it up in a few days (thanks, Mom, for offering to supervise for me!), and I’m hoping to have my crafting stuff back in my possession soon!  I did bring my stamps with me in my car since there was no way I was entrusting those to the movers, but my inks, card stock, Designer Series Paper, and tools (with the exception of my Big Shot machine) are all sitting forlornly in a storage facility in Virginia.  Never fails, you know, that inspiration strikes with a vengeance just when you’re not able to stamp!

Last “Deal of the Week” from Stampin’ Up!

Wow, what an awesome month this has been – I don’t know about you, but I’ve wanted every single item that has been on sale!  The final DOTW is for the “Heart to Heart” punch, which is an exclusive SU! design that you can’t get anywhere else!  I love all the different shapes and sizes of hearts that this punch makes (not to mention the possibilities for using the “negative space” to make a lovely border), and have seen some great “out of the box” ideas for it as well.  I don’t own this punch yet, but I’ll be sure to post a sample or two once I order mine.  Thank you so much, Stampin’ Up! for such a fabulous promotion!

Just click the button on the sidebar to be taken directly to my demonstrator website, and then click the “shop now” button.  Remember, this deal is shorter than the previous ones because it’s almost the end of July, and is over on Friday!

Another milestone!

Today was my grandmother’s 87th birthday!  Always cause for celebration, but especially so this time because frankly a few months ago we weren’t sure she’d be around to celebrate with us!  Thankfully after several trips to the ER and being admitted to the hospital, they finally figured out she had pneumonia and after a week and a half of antibiotics and proper nutrition she was back to her old self!

Reached way back into my stash for this card – the patterned paper is from a retired Simply Scrappin’ kit called Secret Garden, and the peach border layer is Groovy Guava, a retired In Color from 2007-08.  The birthday greeting used on the front is also retired, and inside is a coordinating sentiment from the same set which says, “Life is not a matter of counting years, it’s a matter of making years count.”  If you don’t have either of these products, you can easily use this layout with any of your favorite Designer Series Paper and coordinating paper colors!

Just a quick tip:  For cards that have multiple layers like this one, you can save paper (and weight when mailing) by cutting out the centers of layers where only a thin border will show.  I used the Paper Cutter (item #104154) to reach the middle of the layer without having to cut through the edge or dig out a hobby blade and metal ruler!

**note: this card measures 4 1/2” x 6” and fits in a size A6 envelope**

Stamps: It’s Your Birthday

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive (inside sentiment)

Paper: Very Vanilla, Groovy Guava, Old Olive textured, patterned paper from Secret Garden Simply Scrappin’ kit

Accessories: Very Vanilla 1/4” grosgrain ribbon

 

It’s been an awesome month of special sales – check back tomorrow afternoon for the final Deal of the Week from Stampin’ Up!

Deal of the Week Inspiration

This week’s 30% discount on the Styled Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware was just the boost I needed to pull it out of my stash and do some creating!  Since I finally got the Scallop Edge punch during the first week of this fabulous promotion, I was itching to make something with that as well.

The ribbon used here is actually Very Vanilla, and I custom-dyed it using a one-to-one solution of Mellow Moss reinker and water because I didn’t have any Mellow Moss taffeta and the grosgrain just looked too heavy.  To set the color, I just tossed it in the dryer (set on low)  for a minute or two!  This method seems to work better than coloring with markers or dragging across an ink pad, and heat-setting it using the dryer is easier than doing it with the heat gun!  LOL, it also triggers flashbacks to junior high and creating my own “designer” t-shirts with puffy paints!

As a final touch, after stamping the vanilla layer I ran it through the Big Shot with one of our exclusive texture plates.  I think it complements the stamped flourish perfectly, and gives just the right something extra so that it doesn’t look flat.

**note: this card measures 4 1/2” x 6” and fits in a size A6 envelope**

Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Rose Red, Mellow Moss

Paper: Very Vanilla, Rose Red, Mellow Moss

Accessories: Styled Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware, Very Vanilla Taffeta ribbon, Scallop Edge punch, SU! exclusive “Backgrounds 1” texture plates for the Big Shot

Click here to visit my demonstrator website and order all the supplies you need to recreate this card – remember, the 30% discount on Styled Vanilla hardware only lasts till 9:50 am MT on Monday July 27th!

Deal of the Week #2

Hey all, so sorry for the late posting! By now you probably already know what this week’s special is, but here it is anyway!

Period	Item #	Page #	Description	Regular Price	Special Price
July 6, 10 AM (MT) through July 13, 9:50 AM (MT)	113474	194	Sizzix Big Shot Doctor’s Bag	$69.95	$49.99

If you contact me by Sunday evening to order the Big Shot die-cutting machine and the Doctor’s Bag, you’ll also get to choose a Level One hostess item from the current Idea Book and Catalog (and receive a free copy of the IB&C!), $15 in catalog merchandise, and as a special bonus from me you can also pick out an additional Big Shot die, texture plate or embossing folder up to $19.95 in value!  You must e-mail me, though, rather than ordering directly through my demonstrator website, so that I can add your free die to the order and have everything shipped directly to you!