Thursday, March 29, 2012

Try Something New

One of the things I love about being a demonstrator is the monthly magazine we get called Stampin' Success.  This magazine is exclusive to demonstrators and recently underwent a bit of a makeover!  I love the new format and all the new ideas that are included in this magazine...it makes my job a lot easier because I feel like I don't have to re-invent the wheel with my business because Stampin' Up! helps me with everything I need!

This last month, there was a technique in the Stampin' Success that caught my eye!  It's called Acrylic Distress and it's a super easy technique that packs a punch!


We explored this technique this month in my clubs...both my Stamp Clubs and my Scrapbook Clubs.  Basically you start with a piece of cardstock which you paint a thin layer of acrylic paint on.  Once the paint is dry, you run the cardstock through your Big Shot with an Embossing Folder (I used the Petals A Plenty folder for this project).  After that's done, you sand it and the paint ends up sanded off the raised parts of the design.  Once you're done sanding and have brushed off the dust, you can leave it as is, or you can rub some ink (in a contrasting color) over top of it.


Not only did I used the featured technique from Stampin' Success, but I used the same card they had in the article!  I changed it up a bit by using different colors and adding a whole lot of stamping fun to it...we're talking stamping, embossing, pearls, ribbon, twine, punching and DSP.  And, I have to say, I absolutely love the final result and I think my clubs liked this technique too!

Now, I have to say, time is running out for Sale-A-Bration!  Did you notice the stripe embossing on the card?  That embossing folder, while in the catalog, is one of the items you can get FREE during Sale-A-Bration.  Why would you want to pay for it if you can get it FREE!!!!!!  So, you need to go place a minimum $60 order so you can get this fun embossing folder free!  And, while you're doing that, you might want to consider doing what I do and joining my team of demonstrators!  During Sale-A-Bration, the demonstrator starter kit is only $150 AND  you will get a free pack of Designer Paper or a Digital Download each month for the rest of the year!  What a deal!!!!  I would love to have you join my team, so if you've been thinking of signing up, or just want more into, please contact me.

Have an inspired day!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Hostess Bookmarks

Like I have mentioned a few times, I had a new club start recently and with a new club starting I decided to try some new stuff with them!  I think they are enjoying being my "guinea pigs" for some of my new ideas and the few things I have changed or started have been going so well that I think I'm going to start doing them with all my clubs!

One of the things I decided to try was a hostess bookmark (thanks for the idea Kristine!).  A while back I ordered a boatload of clear vinyl bookmark sleeves.  One of the things I've done with some of them is make some bookmarks for my club members with everyone's hostess  months on them.  With this fun little hybrid digital project, everyone knows when their hostess month is as well as when everyone else's month is so if they need to trade hostess months they know who to talk to!


This one is a little different than the ones I gave my club girls.  On theirs, their month is printed in Tangerine Tango, and a little bigger than the rest of the text so it stands out.   The part with their months was done on My Digital Studio, and I used the Summer Smooches download for the flower...which is part of the April promotion and you will be able to get it beginning April 1!  After it was printed and on the bookmark base, I added a little bling in the form of a rhinestone!


You'll see some strips of DSP tied with some Whisper White Baker's Twine along the top of the bookmark...those are also part of the Summer Smooches products (not the Baker's Twine, just the DSP!!!).  Did you catch the Daffodil Delight ribbon tied at the top?  Yep, it's part of the Summer Smooches suite too!  *wink*  I bet you can't wait until April 1 to get your hands on these super fun products!!!!!  In addition to the Daffodil Delight ribbon at the top, I used Tangerine Tango and Island Indigo.  I love all the texture with the three different ribbons!

I think my club girls were surprised and delighted by these fun bookmarks...at least I hope they were!!!!  I had a blast making them and giving them to my club girls and can't wait until my next club starts so I can do this again!

Today is Tuesday and you know what that means...NEW Digital Downloads!!!!  You can find today's downloads here.  Check them out...I know there's something in there that you will love!

Well folks, that's all for today!  Have an inspired day!


Monday, March 26, 2012

Frame It!

I pretty  much squealed with delight at my local craft store when I found some VERY inexpensive unfinished wood frames.  I had, and still have, loads of ideas for these frames...yeah, we are NOT going to talk about how many of these frames I bought!!!!!


I decided to do a frame project with my clubs this month featuring some fun product from the Occasions Mini!


My club members covered their frames with some Twitterpated DSP and then went around the edges of the frame with some Ruffled ribbon.  Each of my club members got to choose from a pile of Twitterpated DSP designs and they got to choose the ribbon to coordinate.  So, each frame was individual and different!  They were fantastic.

I also had a bunch of scraps in coordinating colors so everyone could punch out a flower and they stuck a button in the middle!  Each of them made a banner to go along the bottom which we stamped with "memories" from the Loving Thoughts set.  And, you can't really see it in the picture, but after everything was assembled, we sprayed the frame with Shimmer Mist (which is a combination of Shimmer Paint, Rubbing Alcohol and water), so it shimmers in the light!

Now, to find the perfect picture for my frame!

Have an inspired day!




Sunday, March 25, 2012

Stump The Stamper-Round 2!

Last week at club it was round 2 of Stump the Stamper!  I just started Stump the Stamper with my club that started last month and I've got to say, I'm loving it!  I love the challenge and I love seeing what the hostess brings to try and stump me!

Here's how it works.  My club hostess of the month is allowed to bring something to try and stump the stamper (which is me!).  I then have the duration of club that night to create something with whatever they brought me.  The only rule is that it has to be Stampin' Up! product.  And, when I make something, the person who brought the product gets to take home whatever I've made!  If the hostess doesn't bring something, then someone else can try and stump the stamper.  And, I know that there are a couple girls in this club who will ALWAYS have something in their bags to try and stump me just in case.

This month, the hostess didn't bring anything, but one of the other girls had a little something in her bag...surprise!!!  She had the Circle Circus set.  I'm not gonna lie, I thought this was going to be an easy challenge, but I was wrong.  For the life of me, I couldn't come up with a great idea with this stamp set!!!  So, I went with something super easy...


Quick and easy!  I'm loving Stump the Stamper so much, that I think I'm going to start doing it with all my stamp clubs that are starting!

Have an inspired day!


Friday, March 23, 2012

Tulips!

There are some things that just scream spring to me!  One of those things is Tulips.  The other morning my mom called and asked if we were going to be around.  She had a meeting to come to down here and wanted to stay with us for a night.  It was really short notice, but of course I said it was ok!  Yesterday before she went back home, she came back here for a little visit with the kids and when she got back to the house, she had some tulips for me.  I love them!

Now, I don't get flowers very often, so I had to search for the "safe place" I keep my one and only vase in!!!  I put the tulips in some water and they looked pretty, but needed a little something.  So, this morning I added some ribbon and a super cute tag to the vase.


I used my favorite Two Tags die and cut half of the tag that folds.  Then I embellished with a strip of So Saffron DSP which I edged with some Lucky Limeade cardstock that was punched with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch.  I stuck the punched pieces on the DSP so that just the little scallops were peeking out and then I stamped one of my favorite sentiments on it.  You can find this sentiment in the Pursuit of Happiness set.

The flower was done with the new Blossom punch which you can find in the Occasions Mini right now.  Or, you can sign up for my  Blossom Punch/Mixed Bouquet class on March 30 and get one as well as doing some fun projects with it!  If you want more info on the class, please let me know.  I need to know if you want to join me by Monday at the latest!

There are two sneak peek items on this project!  Can you guess what they are?

And, on a day when I look out my backdoor and see this...


And my dogs go outside and end up looking like this...



Seeing this on my dining room table is fantastic....


Thanks for the tulips mom!

Have an inspired day!


Friday, March 16, 2012

Superstar!

I've started doing some new stuff with my downline in the last month and one of the changes is recognizing their accomplishments differently!  I am so excited for all that they have accomplished and continue to accomplish.  Recently, one of my newest downline members promoted.  So, at our Stamp & Share night this week, I had a little something for her!


It's a spool of our Pretty In Pink Satin Ribbon, which I prettied up a little bit.  You can't really see it in the picture, but I added some Dazzling Details to the three little stars so they had a little sparkle to them.

Congratulations Jodi on your recent promotion!  Keep reaching for the stars girl!!!!

Have an inspired day!


Thursday, March 15, 2012

Sneaky Peeky!

A couple weeks ago, I posted on my Facebook Page that I had just seen some super fun new product that would be available for the April promotion and that I was so excited about it!  Well, as a demonstrator I was able to preorder that product at the beginning of March so I can play and make some samples to be ready when it is available in April.  I'm tickled to say that I just got that order a few days ago and I am in love!!!  I love it so much that I'm going to show you a little sneak peek.


Cute, eh?


I got a new camera for Christmas and have been playing with it.  I'm not quite sure how I got the blurry background, but I love it!!!!

Anyway, I used 3 new products that will be featured in the Summer Smooches promotion in April.  And, that's all I can say...other than I know you're gonna love them as much as I do!!!

Have an inspired day!


Friday, March 9, 2012

How does that happen?

It's Friday already!  How does that happen so fast every week.  It feels like I blink on Monday and then it's Friday.  It is crazy to me that we are almost half way through March...already!!!!  There is so much going on in the Stampin' Up! world in the next few months...I can't wait to share it all with all of you!  The end of March, brings the end of Sale-A-Bration for 2012.  It's a little sad!  Sale-A-Bration is the biggest event of the year with literally thousands of FREE stamps being given away to Stampin' Up! customers.  I always like to speculate which which Sale-A-Bration product will be the most popular...and I'm always wrong (LOL)!!!!!

My favorite Sale-A-Bration products this year are a little suite of products...the Fresh Vintage stamp set, Everyday Enchantment DSP and Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad set.  Just between you and me, I think the Sprinkled Expressions set will be the most popular!!!

Today I want to share a fun, quick and cute little project using some of my favorite SAB products!


I used the Two Tags die (y'all know it's my fav!!!) and cut a scalloped tag from some Everyday Enchantment DSP.  I sponged the edges with Baja Breeze ink.  I embellished with a punched flower...now, this is what I LOVE about Stampin' Up!, it all coordinates!!!  Check out how I punched out a stamped flower from the Fresh Vintage set with the Blossom Bouquet Punch!!!!  Two products that were not made or released at the same time, but work beautifully together.  Makes me happy people (I know, it's the small things)!!!!

Hmmm...sorry, that last paragraph was a bit of a "train of thought" thing and clearly I'm really excited based on the number of exclamation points I used!

Back to the project!  I punched a small tag with the Jewellery Tag punch and stuck it to the middle of the flower with one of the Everyday Enchantment Brads. 

Did you notice how it's folded up and there's a cute little bow keeping it shut (who knew I would love Lucky Limeade ribbon and brads so much!!)?  Bet you want to know what was inside, right?  Cause I ALWAYS have something cute on the inside, right?  Have a peek!


It's a cute chocolate!!!  I used the Mint Patties and prettied it up a bit so it would match the project.  I seriously think those mint patties and stamping go hand in hand!  They are perfect for so many projects!!!

That's all for today.  Have an inspired day!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

A Special Card



Recently I was commissioned to make a very special card for someone very special and influential in so many lives.  Here's what I came up with.


I chose Crumb Cake, Early Espresso and a hint of Baja Breeze for my card and I love the soft muted tones of it.  And, I really love the layers of ribbon, texture and dimension this card has!  Using the music notes wheel makes a quick and easy background, which I then just had to embellish.  It also makes is super easy to jazz up the envelope, and the fact that we have Crumb Cake Envelopes that I used for this card just makes me happy!  Coordinating card and envelope...it's the small things!!!!!

I'm not even going to get into how many cards I made before I ended up with this one...perfect for the occasion!  I'm really happy with the final result and hope the recipient is too! 

Today is Tuesday and you know what that means...new Digital Downloads!!!  There are some super fun ones this week.  I'm really liking the "Check This Out" designer page templates and the fun colors and stamp images of the "Walk In the Park II" kit.  You can see this week's new downloads here.

Have an inspired day!


Friday, March 2, 2012

Call My Mom...

So, you know that NyQuil commercial where the guy is laying in bed acting like he's dying and he says, "Pam, Pam...call my mom" and she throws the bottle of NyQuil to him from the bathroom?  Well, that's kind of how I'm feeling right now.  A little bit like I have a "man cold"...or should I say cobe because my words are not sounding how they are supposed to!!!  After 2 weeks of sick kids, I guess it's my turn...and it's not a good weekend to be sick in my world!!!

Today I want to share a super fun project I did with my clubs this month.  Around Valentine's day, I did this project with a group of Pathfinders.  It was so well received (and I really like the project) that I changed it up a bit and did it with my stamp clubs.

Front view

Side view

It's a cute little box with some 3x3 cards in one side and a bag of chocolates in the other.  It's made by gluing 2 Box #2's together back to back.  I used a boat load of Sale-A-Bration products in this project...the Fresh Vintage stamp set, Everyday Enchantment Designer Papers, Ribbon and Brads as well as the Brights Buttons (which are available in the Idea Book & Catalog if you want to buy them and in the Sale-A-Bration brochure if you want to get them FREE!!!).  The stamp set, designer paper and ribbon/brad pack is available as a Hostess bundle when your workshop reaches $525 in sales.  You can find all the information about Sale-A-Bration here.

Here's a look at the cards...




And the chocolates...


I used one of the medium cello bags and filled it with mint patties.  Because I couldn't find candy to match my project, I punched some circles from coordinating cardstock and prettied up my mint patties.  It's tied shut with a piece of Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine and on the ends of the twine, I attached some punched flowers...like little pom poms!

Super cute and so fun!

Have an inspired day!