Weekly Deals Pouch

Hi Stampers! Have you checked out the Weekly Deals yet this week? They are amazing this week....one of my fav thinlits is on sale!  Check out the fun little project I made with Weekly Deals product this morning...

Isn't it fun! I used the Treatbag Thinlits, Fringe Scissors, Early Espresso Cotton Ribbon and Gold Buttons from the deals to make this cute pouch that I put a packet of apple cider in!

If you haven't already placed your order for some Weekly Deals product, you're going to want to contact me ASAP to take advantage of the deals before they're gone!

Have an inspired day!

Simple Card Sunday-Masculine Card

Hi Stampers!  Today I have another simple card featuring the Banner Triple Punch to share with you!

Just like the card last week, I used the punch to make three perfect banners to accent my card. Here's the step-by-step for you.

• Fold a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock (5-1/2x8-1/2) in half.
• Sponge the edges of a Crumb Cake piece (4x5-1/4) with Crumb Cake ink.
• Punch three banners (Basic Black Neutrals DSP, Marina Mist and Whisper White). Layer them on the card according to the picture.
• Stamp a sentiment with Basic Black ink (Happy Birthday, Everyone hostess set)
• Make a little embellishment with a Basic Metal Button, Marina Mist ribbon and Basic Black Baker's Twine

For more info on the Banner Triple Punch and to see the first card we did with it this month you can watch the video and check back on last week's post.

If you're in Canada and need a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I would love to help you out.  You can order everything you need to create this card in my online store, or if you prefer you can contact me directly to order.

Have an inspired day!

Project Life + Tradiditonal Scrapbooking=Memory Keeping Bliss

Hi Stampers!  If you're an avid paper crafter, you will know that an important person in the biz, Heidi Swapp and her family, recently suffered a devastating loss when her 16 year old son passed away. Heidi has been posting a lot about the importance of preserving your memories after this incident.  What she has shared has spoke to me on a deep level.  It's so important to take pictures and PRINT those pictures!  Don't get caught with loads of them on your phone that magically disappear after an update or on a hard drive that crashes.  Seriously people, print those pictures and put them in albums to enjoy.  There is nothing better than sitting down with a photo album and just remembering both the good times and the not so good times.
 
Lately my kids have been taking photo albums off our shelves and looking through them.  They love to see what Kevin and I looked like "in the old days" (seriously, we are not that old!!!), to see where we lived, what we drove and what we did.  They have also noticed a big gap in our memories where scrapbooking and memory keeping was pushed to the bottom of my priority list.  My youngest son especially notices this with the lack of pages in his album!  Because of this, I am determined to get our memories into albums and Project Life is going to help me do just this!

In my Memory Keeping Club, we are combining Project Life with traditional Scrapbooking to create quick and easy layouts.  They had a good chuckle over my mistake on my sample layout this last month.  This is what happens when you are scrapbooking memories from 10 years ago....

I have pictures of my oldest son when he was 2 (he's now 13) on this page with today's dates.  Oops!!!  Needless to say, while this layout was sitting on my desk waiting to be fixed I changed my mind a little about parts of it (so club ladies, if you're looking at these pics wondering why your layout is a little different this is why!).

First of all, I fixed my mistake!

Here's what the whole layout looks like.  This month we used the PL #3 page protector in the assorted pack and some English Garden DSP for our layouts.

I am loving combining the ease of Project Life memory keeping with Traditional Scrapbooking! Here's a look at the journaling card I did for my layout!  In keeping with the planting flowers theme, I used the Handpicked Framelits to make a little banner and cut out that cute little garden shovel!

As I was making up this layout I was remembering the day we planted those tulip bulbs.  My boy was so excited to dig the holes and put them in the ground. And, he was very impatient at waiting for them to grow!  I also remember the look on his face when we finally saw the little green shoots of new plants and then when they bloomed!  We no longer live at that house, and I found myself wondering if the people that live there now still enjoy those flowers coming up every year like we did or if they planted something else in that spot.

Peeps, it's time.  It's time to print your pictures and enjoy remembering. Whether you have kids or not, whether you're married or single, whether you are creative or not...it's important.  I can help you do this quickly and easily with Project Life.  Seriously, it's as easy as sliding pictures into pockets...that's it!  Check out all the Project Life products in my online store and then contact me to order (or ask questions, or for help getting started, or to join my Memory Keeping club).

Have an inspired day!

Weekly Deals Tag

Hi Stampers!  Each week Stampin' Up! releases some Weekly Deals, which are items that you can get at a pretty sweet discount.  More often than not, I love all the items available for the Weekly Deals and this week was no exception.

When I was looking at the Weekly Deals today inspiration hit!  It all started with the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch (which is on sale...and you need one, trust me!) and the In Color Washi Tape (also on sale and looking for a new home at your house!).  From there it just morphed into a fun flower tag that included the Classy Designer Buttons, Wild Wasabi Seam Binding and Clothespins (all on sale too!).

It all just seemed to fit together with a big ole flower from the Flower Patch set (cut out with the Flower Fair Framelits).  And, of course, once I had a fun tag, I needed something to put it on!  So, out came the new Gift Bag Punch Board!

And, there you have it!  A bright and fun tag (made with loads of stuff on sale) on a super fun bag ready to fill with something wonderful for someone special!

Here's all the items on sale this week.  You can order any of them in my online store (but hurry because there's a limited quantity of items available at these prices), or contact me directly to place your order!

Have an inspired day!

Simple Card Sunday 15-Banner Triple Punch

Hi Stampers!  It's Simple Card Sunday where I will feature a simple card for you!  I've decided to make a couple changes to Simple Card Sunday for the time being.  Rather than a different video each week, I will do a video once a month and then feature a card with the same layout or tools each Sunday for the month.  The same Simple Card Sunday rules will apply to all the cards I feature.

Here's a little refresher of the rules:

• must be able to be made in 10-15 minutes max
• must use minimal supplies
• must be able to be created in 5 easy steps

So, here we go! This month I'm going to feature cards using the Banner Triple Punch which is a great punch to make easy banners (more on that in the video!).

Look at those fab banners!!!!

Are you ready to create?  Here's the 5 easy steps for you...

• Fold a piece of Always Artichoke cardstock (4-1/4x11) in half.
• Punch the three banners (Always Artichoke, English Garden DSP and Night of Navy cardstock).
• Sponge a Crumb Cake piece of cardstock (3-3/4x5-1/2) with Soft Suede ink. Sponge the edges of the DSP banner too.
• Glue the banners on the Crumb Cake cardstock, offsetting them as shown in the picture. Glue the Crumb Cake piece to the card base.
• Stamp a sentiment (I chose one from the And Many More set) with Soft Suede ink.  Tie some Linen thread around the whole card (be careful not to tie your card shut!) leaving long enough tails to tie a button on if desired (I used a silver Basic Metal Button).

And, here's the video so you can stamp along with me in real time!

I talked a bit about the fab Triple Banner punch in the video.  Here's a pic of that graphic I showed in the video to see the different widths and pieces punched off when you use the punch.

That's it for today!  Remember to check back every Sunday for the rest of the month to see a simple card featuring the Banner Triple Punch.

If you are in Canada and need a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I would love to help you out!  You can order everything you need to create this card in my online store, or if you prefer you can contact me and order directly through me!

Have an inspired day!

Watercolor Wings....Stampin' On the Road!

Hi Stampers!  I mentioned in my last post that I recently attended Stampin' Up!'s convention and participated in a huge organized swap.  As if 80 cards wasn't enough, at the last minute I decided that I wanted to make some cards for my special friends and general swapping. So, I cut all the supplies I needed and got them ready to stamp on the drive to convention!  Stamping is a great way to pass a 12 hour car ride...well, stamping and a lot of laughing and good times with a great friend!

I stamped, sponged and assembled away as we traveled south to Salt Lake City.  It was quite the adventure making swaps cards while driving through the winding mountain highway and through a nasty storm (we seem to get caught in a storm every year)!

Stampin on the road somewhere between Montana and Idaho!

I'm happy to say I completed all the cards I wanted to on the drive and they were ready for swapping when convention started!

I think Watercolor Wings is one of my favorite sets in the catalog and is the only set I used for this card.  You have so many options to give the butterflies details with this stamp set...two step stamp it, or three step stamp it for even more detail! Because it's a photopolymer set, you can easily see through the stamps to line them up perfectly (even if you're stamping on the road!).  I chose to three step stamp it and used Soft Sky, Tempting Turquoise and Island Indigo to stamp the butterfly.  The body and antenna were done with Soft Sky as well as the sentiment.

TIP:  Best adhesive for sticking the Burlap to your projects....Tear & Tape Adhesive! It's super easy to use and super sticky for the burlap.

If you are in Canada and need a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I would love to help you out!  You can find everything you need to create this card in my online store.  Place your order there or contact me to place the order for you!

Have an inspired day!

Using Clear Blocks to make a Watercolor Background

Hi Stampers!  It's been a while, hasn't it? To say things have been challenging around my house would be an understatement!  We've experienced a health scare with our youngest son, a busy end of the school year and big changes with my husband and his back injury.  Family is number one for me and while I still continued my clubs and some classes, the good 'ole blog took a seat on the back burner for a while. 

I'm happy to say that our youngest son is fine and after a lot of testing and doctor visits we found out we are dealing with something not as serious as we first thought.  Phew!  And, while my husband's back is not better and he is still not back at work, there is hope!  He's participating in an intense back to work program where they are helping him learn how to manage his pain without the help of narcotics and strengthen his muscles so that he will be able to go back to work....although it will be much different that it was before he was injured.  The down side is that he is away from us for the summer, but there is a silver lining!  He's in the beautiful rocky mountains and we get to go visit him often! And, so we begin adjusting to our new normal yet again.

Another wonderful thing that happened was that I was able to attend Stampin' Up!'s annual convention.  I saw my friends from all over North America, learned some new techniques, played with new products and had my bucket filled by my buddies.  I came home feeling inspired and ready to hit the ground running!  One of the things I did while at Convention was participate in an organized swap!  I had to make 80 cards for this swap and I'm thrilled with the 80 cards I got in return...so many beautiful cards and so much inspiration from a group of uber talented ladies!  So, this is the journey of a swap card with a video on the technique at the end!

So what does it take to make 80 swap cards?  80 sheets of cardstock (Blushing Bride, Basic Black & Whisper White), a roll of Everyday Chic washi tape, a package of Old Olive Baker's Twine, 240 gold sequins, 160 inches of Blushing Bride ribbon, and a roll and a half of the new Tear & Tape adhesive!

All the parts and pieces ready to assemble!

Adding Washi Tape!  I had just enough of the design I chose from the Everyday Chic washi tape!

That's a lot of Tear & Tape backing!  After making 80 cards, I can say I LOVE this new adhesive!

Phew....80 cards done and ready to swap!

I was surprised that after 80+ cards I wasn't sick of this card.  I love the way it turned out and I love that each one was a little different because of the technique I did.

As promised, I have a video for you showing how to do the technique.

Here's another close up of the technique as well as another card I did with my stamp clubs using the same technique.

Well, that's all for today!  Thanks for hanging in there with me for this looooong post. I hope that I've inspired you to do this fun technique on a card of your own.  If you do try it, I would love it if you linked to your card in the comments so I can see your creation.

As always, if you are in Canada and need a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I would be happy to help you out!  Contact me for more info or just head on over to my online store to order the supplies you need to recreate the cards I've shown today!

Have an inspired day!

Mother's Love Mini Pizza Box

Hi Stampers!  This month my clubs did a super fun mini pizza box.

I designed it to hold some 3x3 cards and there's even room for some chocolates or some other special little gift, like jewelry!

The box is pretty simple and is made from a piece of cardstock measuring 6x11. With the 6" side along the top of your Simply Scored, score at 1-1/4" and 4-3/4". Then turn your cardstock so the 11" side is along the top of your Simply Scored and score at 1-1/4", 4-7/8", 6-1/8" and 9-3/4".  Check out the diagram below to see where you need to make the cut lines. Crease all the score lines really well and then fold it up and glue the tabs to make a box. Your box should open like a pizza box.

Wanna see what my club peeps made for inside the box?  Yeah, I thought so!

Three sweet little 3x3 cards featuring the Mother's Love stamp set which you can find in the Occasions Catalog. I used the retiring 2013-2015 In Colors, Pistachio Pudding, Crisp Cantaloupe and Baked Brown Sugar.

I love these little pizza boxes. They are just so darn cute! Here's a couple more that I have done.

This one is Strawberry Slush with the Crazy About You set and Stacked With Love DSP stack. I made the black rhinestone is just a regular old Rhinestone that I colored with a black Sharpie.

This one also uses Strawberry Slush and the Stacked With Love DSP with the Painted Petals set.

That last one has an embossed vellum strip.  Here's a little trick for sticking vellum down....make it longer than you need it and fold the ends behind and stick them to the back of the cardstock layer.  Here's a close up of the edge so you can have a better look.

That's all for today!  Everything you need to make any of the three boxes shown today can be found in my online store.  You can contact me to order or order through the online store.  Don't forget to enter the hostess code MPXDNXGV when you order online!

Have an inspired day!

Hi Stampers!  Today I'm sharing one of the cards I did for a swap with my downline when the Occasions Catalog first came out!  It was love at first sight for me when I saw the Painted Petals stamp set so I knew I had to use it for our swap!

I love it when the idea in my head comes to life so wonderfully like this one did!  Everything about this card makes me smile...the color combination (So Saffron, Wild Wasabi & Whisper White), the ovals, the stamp images and the little embellishment I made at the top of the card!

You can find everything you need to create this card in my online store.  Head on over there with the shopping list and place your order today (or contact me to order!).

Shopping List

Stamps:  Painted Petals, Dictionary

Ink:  Wild Wasabi, So Saffron

Cardstock:  So Saffron, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White

Accessories:  Linen Thread, Basic Metal Buttons

Tools: Big Shot & Ovals Framelits, Large Oval Punch, Banner Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stampin' Sponges

If you are Canadian and need a Stampin' Up! demonstrator I would love to help you out!  Contact me today to get a copy of our current catalogs.

Have an inspired day!

Painted Petals Thank You

Hi Stampers!  Another card featuring the Painted Petals set today!

Soft Sky and Pacific Point are two colors that I don't use often, however, with the Painted Petals and coordinating DSP, Painted Blooms, I have been pulling them out more and more....and they go so well together!!!

My card base is Soft Sky which I sponged with Soft Sky ink.  I used part of a banner cut with the Party Pennants die for my focal point.  Everything is stamped on that banner!  I added a small strip of stamped cardstock along the top and tied some of the fab new Painted Blooms Cotton Twine around.  Have you used this twine yet?  You need to!  It's so soft and pretty and comes in three great colors....Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi and Whisper White.

Everything you need to create this card is available in my online store so head on over there with the shopping list and place your order today (or contact me to place your order).
 

Shopping List

Stamps:  Painted Petals

Ink:  Soft Sky, While Wasabi, Pacific Point

Cardstock:  Soft Sky, Whisper White, Wild Wasabi

Accessories:  Pearls, Painted Blooms Cotton Twine

Tools:  Big Shot, Party Pennants Die, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stampin' Sponges

If you are Canadian and need a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I would love to help you out!  Contact me today to get a copy of the current catalogs.

Have an inspired day!

Simple Card Sunday-Painted Petals SIP Card

Hi Stampers!  Today for Simple Card Sunday I have a super simple SIP card for you.  What's a SIP card you ask?  It's a Stamps, Ink, Paper card...so you don't need any embellishments or special tools other than a cutter and adhesive to go with your stamps, ink and paper.

I used one of my favorite go to products for the card today....Note Cards with Envelopes!  Seriously, these are the best little invention for making loads of quick cards.  They come in packs of 20 pre-cut, pre-scored cards and you get the perfect sized envelopes too!  They are offered in Whisper White and Crumb Cake.  Stock up because you can do so much with these blank canvases!

Step By Step

• Fold one of the notecards in half and trim an eighth of an inch off of one of the long sides and one of the short sides.
• With the Painted Petals set, stamp the long stems with Wild Wasabi ink, the double roses with Marina Mist ink on the right side of the card.  Stamp the dotted line across the bottom of the card with Crumb Cake ink
• Using a sentiment from the A Dozen Thoughts set and Soft Suede ink, stamp a sentiment above the dotted line.
• Mat the card on a piece of coordinating cardstock (Marina Mist was used in the sample).

It's so easy, there's only 4 steps this week!!!!



I did up a quick video so you can stamp along with me.

I needed a bunch of cards so, using this same idea, I made up a couple more designs.

This one features the Flower Patch stamp set.  I love how the images in this set layer....and that there's a coordinating framelit set (which I didn't use this time!).

Flowers from largest to smallest are Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral and Cajun Craze

And, then there's this one that features the Crazy About You set.  I am loving all the possibilities for this stamp set.  It definitely wasn't my first choice from the Occasions Catalog, but it has become one of my go to sets lately!

Leaves are Pear Pizzazz and word is Blackberry Bliss

I am loving the possibilities for simple SIP cards!  What do you think?  Give it a try and be sure to leave a link to your creations in the comments so I can go check them out!

You can find everything you need to make these cards in my online store, or by contacting me to place your order.

As always, if you are Canadian and need a Stampin' Up! demonstrator I would love to help you out!  Contact me to get a copy of our current catalogs and my upcoming events list!

Have an inspired day!