Wednesday, January 30, 2013

More Amore!

If I remember my french lessons in Junior High correctly, amore means love.  So one of the product suites in the Spring Catalog, More Amore, translated would mean more love!  And, there's lots to love about this product suite!


I have a love for Designer Paper...do you?  The papers in the More Amore Specialty DSP pack are so pretty and, of course, coordinate beautifully with the Hearts A  Flutter stamp set and matching Framelits.  Last week I featured this product suite with my clubs and they made this fun and easy card.  It's a Basic Gray card base jazzed up a but with some DSP, embossed paper (don't you love the new Honeycomb embossing folder?!?!?!), ribbon and some stamping!


Can you even imagine my excitement when I realized the small heart punch is a perfect match for the heart in the valentine stamp from the Delightful Dozen set?!?!?!  And, it's even cuter when you pop it up with a dimensional!!!

Did you notice the ribbon?  It's the cotton ribbon from the holiday catalog.  At the end of the spring catalog there's a page of items still available from the Holiday catalog and I was thrilled that this ribbon was on that page!

All items used to make this card can be found in my online store.  And, if you place a $60 or more order you will earn FREE SAB items!  Head on over to the online store and check it out!

Have an inspired day!






Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Happy MDS Day!

It's Tuesday...new digital download day!!!!!  You can find the newest downloads in my online store here.

And, I have a digital project to share!  This weekend my oldest son is turning 11 and we are celebrating by taking him and a few of his friends to a Hurricane's game.  He is so excited!  I did up some quick invitations for him with MDS and used the Lemonade Stand images (Lemonade Stand is one of the digital content discs you can get FREE during SAB!!!).

 
 
Quick and easy...and he thinks they look "cool", which is always a plus!
 
 
Did you know that Stampin' Up! sponsors a Digital Challenge?  You can find all the info on the My Digital Studio website.  Right now, the challenge is to design a digital project with a Valentine's theme.  You must upload it to the MDS website no later than February 8 at noon to enter.  And, if you're chosen as a winner, you get a FREE download!  All the details on the challenge can be found here on the MDS website.  Hope you enter...and if you do, GOOD LUCK!  There are some great Valentine downloads this week that could help you with your project!
 
 
Happy digital day!  Have an inspired day!
 



Monday, January 28, 2013

I CAN Stamp, CAN you?

One of my favorite parts of the month is club weeks!  I love getting together with my club ladies once a month for loads of fun.  They are always so excited and enthusiastic and we laugh...a lot!  This last month I had them all bring an empty, clean soup can with them for one of our projects.


I know, it looks a lot like my memory jar project!  I love that project so much I wanted to share a part of it with my club girls.  So, we decorated some cans with product from the Tea for Two suite that they could use on their desks or put a fun bag of treats in to give to someone special.

It was a super simple project and pretty straightforward, so I'm not going to go into great detail (however, ask away if you have questions and I will try to answer).  I do have one little tip for you if you're covering cans...run the paper long the side of your table or work surface so that it gets a curve to it.  This way, the curve hugs the can making it easier to apply the paper and less likely for the seam to pop open.  One more little tip is to use the right adhesive for the job...I like Sticky Strip or Tombow, or a combination of both, for this kind of project.  And, one last tip...it's easier to get the paper onto the can straight if you start applying it from the middle and work to the ends rather than end to end.  When I start in the middle, I find it's easier to get the paper to go on straight!

All the products used for this can project, can be found in the Spring Catalog (specifically the Tea for Two product suite).  Head on over to my online store and order your Tea for Two stuff today so you can start creating fun projects like this one!

Have an inspired day!







Saturday, January 26, 2013

Oh, Whale!

There's a whaley cute stamp set in the Spring catalog called Oh, Whale!  It's perfect for almost any occasion!  One of the fun things I like doing is using my stamping supplies to decorate food...especially cupcakes!

I didn't make this particular cupcake, my upline and good friend Christy did.  It's so super cute and so easy!  She stamped the whale on whisper white cardstock and cut him out with the coordinating Clearlit!  It couldn't be easier!  She then gave him a googlie eye and attached him to a tooth pick.  Super simple and super cute!

Have an inspired day!






Thursday, January 24, 2013

Soup & Stamps

One of my favorite events that I do during the year is my SAB kick-off...Soup & Stamps!  I look forward to this event as much as my customers do!  It really is a fun evening of dinner and some stamping.  I always make 2 BIG pots of soup (one cream based and one broth based) as well as buns or biscuits.  We enjoy a fun dinner together and then we finish our evening with some stamping!

This year I made Chicken Parmigiana and Corn Chowder soups as well as home made buns and a super yummy Coconut Cake.  It was delicious!  And, I have put my Corn Chowder recipe on the LA Stamper Cooks blog, so be sure to go and check it out!

I always do a fun project that incorporates as many SAB products as I can.  This was the project this year.


Isn't is cute!  I learned how to do the box during one of the stamping demonstrations at Leadership.  For the life of me, I can't remember who showed it, but I'm thinking it was Shelli?!?!?


It's the easiest box ever!  I cut down one of our Kraft boxes to be an inch and a half high (and with no top).  Then I stamped it with the Distressed Dots background stamp and some Versamark ink.

The project included 4 cute 3x3 cards with matching envelopes.  The cards featured the Pretty Petites set, Sycamore Street DSP and the Ribbon & Button pack...all of which can be earned during SAB!









I love them all!

Remember to check out my Corn Chowder recipe here and don't forget to place your $60 or more order to earn some FREE stuff!

Have an inspired day!






Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Digital Day

You think Friday is the best day of the week, right?  Well, I'm here to tell you, you are mistaken!  The best day of the week is Tuesday because Tuesday is digital day and Stampin' Up! releases new digital downloads!  You can find this week's downloads in my online store.

I took a few My Digital Studio classes when I was in Orlando a couple weeks ago and was inspired to use the program more and show you more fun projects done with it.  So, I decided to incorporate a hybrid card as one of my club projects this month.


I started with a template from the Lemonade Stand digital disk (it's a SAB item, so you can get this disk free...and it's FULL of super fun stuff!).  This particular template was for a 6x6 card and I just re-sized it to a normal card front size.  Then I printed it on Whisper White cardstock.

After I trimmed it, I did some layering with Island Indigo and Daffodil Delight ink and stamped a sentiment (which is from the Best Dad set).  And, to finish it off, I blinged it up!


That's right...9 big rhinestones baby!  You may need sunglasses to look at this card!!!!!

I do have to thank the talented Heather Summers for her inspiration!  She showed a card very similar to this during her digital class in Orlando. 

Remember, you can find today's downloads in my online store and the template I used for this card is from the Lemonade Stand disk (which is a SAB item).

Have an inspired day!






Saturday, January 19, 2013

Swappin' Crazy at Leadership

Im so excited!  Today is Soup & Stamps day!  I can't wait to spoil some of my customers with homemade soup and a fun stamping project tonight!  I will be sure to share the fun we had next week, so be sure to check back!

One of the best things about any Stampin' Up! event is swapping!  We make card fronts to trade with each other to get ideas.  This time I made 40 card fronts to take to Leadership with me...20 of each of two designs and they went quickly.  I got some fantastic swaps in return and I'm excited to use them on my displays and for classes!

Here's one of the swaps I made.


A while back I saw a similar card layout in Pinterest and filed it away in my brain for future use.  Turns out this layout works perfectly with the images in the new set, Spring Sampler (which I like to say is a cousin to Jolly Bingo Bits and Spooky Bingo Bits!).   It's a pretty simple and straightforward card, so I won't go into too much detail.  But, I will say the best thing to do is make a template so you know where to punch (and your circles end up in a straight line!).  And, you will want to punch those circles before you emboss.






After making this card for swapping at Leadership, and two other organized swaps I know have a huge amount of 1" Midnight Muse circles waiting to be used on something!

Speaking of Leadership, here's a little photo collage of some hilights for me!  One of the best parts was being able to attend Manager's Reception at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!  I loved how all the employees were "in character" ALL the time!  We had the place to ourselves...no lines, awesome food, all the rides we wanted and so many of my stampin' friends!  We were spoiled and it was the perfect evening!



So fun!  I miss Butter Beer already!

Have an inspired day!






Thursday, January 17, 2013

Happy Valentine Heart

Right now Stampin' Up! is running a Valentine Treat bundle promotion where you can get a super cute single stamp and a pack of 1x8 bags to make some valentine's treats!  I ordered this bundle a few weeks ago and made a fun little project to show you what you can do with it...and a few other supplies!





Isn't it a cute little image?  I love how it looks a bit like it's wood cut!  And, as you can see, it's made to coordinate perfectly with the Full Heart punch.  I stamped mine with Pool Party ink and then embellished with a little heart (can you guess which punch it's from?) which I punched from Primrose Petals cardstock.  Here's what the whole thing looks like....


The pouch is made by cutting 2 of the scalloped tag from the Two Tags die...one from cardstock and one from DSP (I used the More Amore DSP from the Spring catalog)!  I put 6 Cupid Corn into one of the 1x8 bags and tied it off with some Pool Party ribbon (here's a little hint...that ribbon is part of a bundle that is available for Sale-A-Bration!).  My bag was too long once I tied it, so I cut the top off to make it shorter.

This project was based on a swap I received at Convention this last summer and I also did a Christmas project like it with a peppermint stick in it.

The Valentine Treat Bundle promotion only runs until January 21.  So, head on over to my online store, check out all the details and order yourself a bundle today!

Have an inspired day!







Monday, January 14, 2013

Leadership was soooo fun!

Well, I've been absent for a while now, haven't I?  Between being sick over the holidays and then being away for Stampin' Up!'s Leadership Conference, it's been a busy time.  I do have some fun stuff to share though!

Near the end of last year, Stampin' Up! came out with their first ever app...the Simply Sent app (and, it's FREE!!!).  My travel buddy and stampin' sistah, Rose, downloaded it while we were in Orlando and here's one of the "cards" she made....


Right now the app is only available for iPhones :( (I don't have an iPhone), but I do know that Stampin' Up! is working on having it available for androids soon.  In the mean time, if you have an iPhone, be sure to download the app and start sending your friends and family cards!

Anyway, on to the project I want to share with you today.  I originally saw this project on Pinterest (are you on Pinterest yet?  If you are, you should follow me!) and I thought it was a perfect project.  So, I set out to "Stampin' Up!" it and here's what I came up with.


It's a memory jar!  Throughout the year we will write our memories down on the little slips of paper in the tin and pop them into the jar.  Then at the end of the year we will read through them all and remember what an amazing year we had!  I placed our jar on our side table in the main living room and so far everyone in the family is on board and excited about it.  As you can see, we even have some memories in there already!


The jar is a big ole pickle jar from the pickles my Grandma sent for us...which sadly makes our memories smell like pickles right now (despite me washing it multiple times!).  After washing, I spray painted the lid with some vanilla spray paint.  The focal point of the jar was actually pretty simple.  I started with a piece of DSP from the Tea for Two suite and cut it with one of the framelits from the Apothecary Arts set.  I also cut out 2013 from Basic Gray cardstock and stuck it on.  Over top of that is a piece of vellum that I cut with the Oval framelits and stamped on it.  It's attached to the jar with a piece of the luscious two toned ribbon from the Spring Catalog.  I LOVE this ribbon!  And to finish it off, I added one of the Tea Time charms.


Yes, I stamped all those letters...it's easier than you think!  After it was done, I thought we needed a cute container to hold some paper close by and of course a matching pen!


I covered an empty soup can and prettied it up!  The stamps, DSP and flower trim are all from the Tea for Two suite.  Check it out...it's awesome!

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