Retiring Stamps!

Once again it is time to say goodbye to some stamp sets! The retiring list for the Fall-Winter Idea Book & Catalog is here. The sets on the list will be discontinued after January 18, 2009. Click HERE to see the list, or HERE to see pictures of all the retiring sets.

The best news is that from now until December 23rd ALL of the stamp sets on the retired list are 10% off! And, if you order $70 or more, shipping is FREE! Can't beat that. :-) But remember both promotions end December 23rd.


One of my favorite stamp sets that is retiring is Baby Jesus is Born. This card is actually what I made last year for all of my Christmas cards. I basically just copied the sample that was shown in the Fall-Winter 2007 catalog. This card shows off the Watercolor Wonder Crayons and Aqua Painter. A fun technique if you haven't tried it before!

Stamps: Baby Jesus is Born
Ink: Basic Black, Close to Cocoa (for sponging)
Paper: Ruby Red, Close to Cocoa, Bordering Blue, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Crayons (Ruby Red, Old Olive, Close to Cocoa, Blush Blossom, Going Gray), Aqua Painter, Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Linen Thread, Dimensionals, Cutter Kit, Sponge

Way too long. . . .

Obviously it has been WAY too long since I've posted!! In an attempt to make it up at least a little, :-) I thought I would post some pictures of a couple of the things that have been keeping me busy over the last while.

This year I participated in two Holiday Boutiques--one at an elementary school and one private show. My overall best seller for this year were votive candles--the candles and glass are from Ikea. I first created these to fill a special order, and have since made quite a few more! I used the stamp set Deer Friends and lots of punches.


Stamps: Deer Friends
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Brocade Blue, Real Red, and Old Olive
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Brocade Blue, Real Red, and Old Olive, Whisper White
Accessories: Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Real Red 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Brocade Blue 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals, scallop circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, and the 1" circle punch, 1/16" circle punch

Another project I did with the stamp set Deer Friends were some Martinelli bottles. I found these 'mini' bottles of sparkling apple juice at a local grocery store and knew they would be good for something. :-) I originally made these up for gifts for the members of my Stampers 25 Club, but made a few extra as well to sell. As you can see the tag part is almost the exact same as I did for the votive candles above.



Stamps: Deer Friends
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Very Vanilla, Kiwi Kiss and Riding Hood Red Patterns Designer Series Paper
Accessories: Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, dimensionals, 1" Double-Stitched Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, 3/4" Twill Tape, Alpine Ribbon Originals, 1 1/4" Riding Hood Red/Very Vanilla ribbon, Linen Thread, scallop circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, and the 1" circle punch, cutter kit

Another best seller this year were some jars that I decorated with the bulk Decor Elements. I got the taller jars (back row--hard to see in the picture) at Michael's and the smaller ones at Ikea. Sorry for the strange picture, but I can't take another one as I sold all of them. . . . :-) This will be a project I will definitely do again as they were so quick to make. We also made these jars at my Technique Club last month.

Accessories: Rose Red and Chocolate Chip Decor Elements, 1/4" Rose Red grosgrain ribbon, 1/4" Chocoloate Chip grosgrain ribbon, 1/4" Whisper White grosgrain ribbon

Crazy Cupcake Birthday

Here's another one of the cards we made at Technique Club this month. This card highlights one of the birthday stamp sets that is on sale for only one more day! See the flyer HERE.

This card uses the set Crazy for Cupcakes. Stamp the cupcakes with black StazOn ink on glossy white paper, and then color with blender pens and ink pads (for the Riding Hood Red and Pink Pirouette) and Going Gray marker. Next add glitter to the cupcake frosting by first adding Crystal Effects and then pouring Dazzling Diamonds Glitter on top and tapping off the excess.

The scallop border is actually 6 Scallop Square Punches glued together. You can also create a scallop border with the Scallop Edge Punch of course, but this just gives you another option. :-) Use the Slit Punch and a silver brad to create a fun little closure for the card. Happy 20th birthday to Stampin' Up!

Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes
Ink: Black StazOn, Going Gray marker, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Blender Pens
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Glossy White
Accessories: Scallop Square Punch, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Slit Punch, silver brad, dimensionals

Creepy Crawly Acetate

This is one of the projects that we made this month at Technique Club. I got the idea from a challenge that I had seen awhile back on Splitcoaststampers to make an acetate box. To see the original challenge and the pdf for directions by Susie McCormick, click HERE.

I used those directions for the acetate part of the box, but then did something a little different for the top and bottom. I used a piece of 3 1/2" by 3 1/2" Pumpkin Pie Patterns Designer Series Paper scored at 3/4" on all 4 sides. I trimmed the edges and glued to create the top and bottom part. The ribbon on top was threaded through slits I created on either side of the lid with my cutter kit. I ran the 1/4" Basic Black grosgrain ribbon through the slits and tied the bow.

The technique for this month was glitter, so I figured a glittery spider would do the trick. :-) The spider was made with the 1 3/8" circle punch, 3/4" circle punch, 1/4" circle punch, and strips of paper folded for the legs. The Chunky Essentials Stampin' Glitter was added to the body and head by using Heat & Stick Powder.

If you haven't used Heat & Stick Powder before, it basically acts just like embossing powder. You start by using Versamark, pour the Heat & Stick Powder over, tap off excess and then melt with your Heat Tool. Pour the glitter over, tap off excess and then heat set with the Heat Tool for another second or two. An easy way to add glitter to your projects!

Ink: Versamark, Basic Black marker
Paper: Pumpkin Pie Patterns Designer Series Paper, Acetate, Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, 1/4" Circle Punch, 1/4" Basic Black Grosgrain Ribbon, Heat & Stick Powder, Black Chunky Essentials Stampin' Glitter, Cutter Kit, Heat Tool, Sticky Strip

Bold Birthday

Can you tell my Big Shot has been getting a workout lately? :-) This is another project using the Top Note Die and the Big Shot. We made this at a workshop I did last Friday. We ran the So Saffron paper through the Big Shot and then scored and folded in half.

A really cool thing with the Top Note Die. . . . For this project we folded the short way and used the small cello bags. But, if you fold the other way (long way) you can use the medium cello bags. Don't you just love how everything works together so well. ;-)

So after we folded the Top Note and filled our bags with candy, we stapled it shut and tied around the Pacific Point grosgrain ribbon. Next we used the set Big Bold Birthday to stamp the bottom part of the cupcake. (This is one of the sets that is 20% off. . . see the flyer HERE.) The scallop circle punch was used to make the top part of the cupcake. The small flower was punched with the Boho Blossoms punch.

Stamps: Big Bold Birthday
Ink: Pacific Point
Paper: So Saffron, Whisper White
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Big Shot, Top Note Bigz Die, small cellophane bag, stapler, Tempting Turquoise brad, Pacific Point 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, 1/16" circle hand punch, dimensionals

Happy Halloween Frankie!

I just love all of the Frankenstein cards that everyone has been making! I saw and adorable one by Karen over at Karen's Korner, and then saw some more over at Splitcoaststampers that used the Top Note Die and the Big Shot. So, I of course had to make one too. :-)

I took a couple pictures of the Big Shot as I was making the card. The first one shows how you layer the Cutting Pad, then the Die, and then the paper. On top you put another Cutting Pad and then you are ready to roll it through the Big Shot.

For this project, I wanted the Frankie face (Kiwi Kiss paper) to be the card base as well. So, I cut and scored my card stock and put the folded edge just below the top part of the die so that the edge wouldn't cut. (Can you see that in the picture? If not, click on the picture to see a larger version.) The last picture shows the base after it goes through the Big Shot and before I added the face.

The face was mostly just made with punches. The mouth is free handed, and the highlight on the eyes were added with a white gel pen. Feeling ready for Halloween now? :-)

Stamps: All Holidays (to stamp 'Happy Halloween' inside)

Ink: Kiwi Kiss (to sponge around edges)

Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Lovely Lilac, Whisper White, Basic Black

Accessories: 1" Circle Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, Round Tab Punch, Big Shot, Top Note Bigz Die, sponge, White Gel Pen, Basic Black marker

Rock Star

Here's a quick sampling from another one of the Simply Sent Card Elements Kits that are on sale right now. This set is called Rock Star--what a fun name, huh? :-) I only had time to make up a couple cards, (just found out I have company coming tonight!) but still wanted to do a really quick post.

The card on the right is one of the 3 cards that the kit gives you directions for. The card on the left was inspired by Laura. Click HERE to see some other adorable samples Laura made with this kit! You'll notice I copied one of her cute layouts. :-)

Remember that these kits are on sale right now--20% off! But, the promotion only lasts until Oct 11th. Contact me if you would like to order any of the Simply Sent Card kits. You can see samples made with the Flower Power kit HERE.

Ok, I better start cleaning my house . . . . :-)

Stamps: A Little Birthday Cheer
Ink: Brilliant Blue, Old Olive
Paper: Rock Star Card Elements Kit (Old Olive, Bashful Blue, More Mustard, Designer Paper)
Accessories: Rock Star Card Elements Kit (5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, 1/4" More Mustard Grosgrain Ribbon, More Mustard Buttons)

Scary Pillows!

I can't believe Halloween is almost here! I've been having fun playing with my new Halloween set from the Holiday Mini Catalog--Eat, Drink & Be Scary. I loved the samples shown in the Mini Catalog with this set, so I used those to inspire me and went from there. You can see what I came up with. These are two of the projects that we will be making this month at the non-profit class that I teach at my church.

For the top pillow box, I used markers to color directly on the stamp, stamped, then punched out with the Wide Oval Punch. I cut the black layer with the Coluzzle Cutting System. Oh, and since I wanted to give the pumpkin a little more dimension--but I didn't want to actually cut it out :-)--I used the 3/4" circle punch. It was pretty close to the right size--close enough anyway! Also, for the ribbon I put it through the hole on the first side, knotted, pulled it around to the other side of the box, through the hole, knotted again, and then trimmed.

Last time I posted some pillow box projects, I had people ask a couple questions . . . I did use the Premium Crease Pad to cut out the pillow boxes. Also, these are smaller than you may guess. If you leave them flat, you can just barely slide a gift card inside. So that gives you a rough idea of how big they are. Perfect for a little treat, rolled up money, etc. Such fun little boxes!

Stamps: Eat, Drink & Be Scary

Ink: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie marker, Basic Black marker, Kiwi Kiss marker

Paper: Kraft, Tangerine Tango, YoYo Yellow, Lovely Lilac, Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Black

Accessories: Big Shot, Pillow Box Die, Wide Oval Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, Coluzzle Cutting System, Crop-A-Dile, Star Punch, Pumpkin Pie ribbon, Basic Black Ribbon, Dimensionals

Flower Power!

Did you know there is a World Card Making Day? To celebrate, Stampin' Up! is offering 20% off all their Simply Sent Card Elements and Simply Sent Card Kits. Click HERE or on the link at the right to see the flyer. You can also see the kits on page 176 of the catalog.

The picture above shows cards you can make from the Flower Power Simply Sent card elements kit. The kit comes with:

2 sheet of 8 1/2" by 11" designer paper

6 sheets of textured card stock (2 each of Rose Red, Old Olive, and Perfect Plum)

1 sheet of self-adhesive die cuts

5 feet of Whisper White 1/4" grosgrain ribbon

3 1/2 feet More Mustard 1/4" grosgrain ribbon

6 buttons

5 brads

The instructions that come with the kit show you how to make the 3 cards shown above. You can make 3 of each of those cards (9 total), and/or you can be creative and make your own designs! I had a lot of fun making up these cards and it was fun to have all the colors (paper and accessories) already coordinating and ready to go. I saw a set of 12 cards by scrapperaddict on Splitcoaststampers with this kit, so I used a couple of her ideas to jump start my creativity for my own card set. This kit coordinates with the Wow Flowers stamp set, so I used that as well as the four coordinating ink colors.

All of the pictures in this post show the 10 cards I made from ONE Flower Power kit. AND I had left overs! When I was done with these 10 cards, I still had one full sheet of designer paper, approximately 1 sheet of textured card stock (combined of the 3 colors), a couple feet of ribbon, about 1/4 of the self-adhesive die cuts, and 3 buttons! The only thing that I added to the kit (other than the stamps and ink) was about 1 1/2 sheets of Whisper White card stock and adhesives.

After using one of these kits myself, I think they would make a great gift for a new stamper. Or, if you make up the kit yourself, you have a set of coordinating cards--which would be a wonderful gift to give someone as well. Can you tell I'm starting to think about the holidays and who I need to give gifts to? :-) Also, If you'd like a quick and easy way to make your own Christmas cards this year, you'll want to check out the Handmade Holiday Card Elements set.

Let me know if you'd like to order any of these kits. Remember that this is a short promotion and only lasts from Oct 4-11th!

Stamps: Wow Flowers, Hugs & Wishes, Sincere Salutations

Ink: More Mustard, Rose Red, Old Olive, Perfect Plum

Paper: Flower Power Cards Elements kit, Whisper White

Accessories: Buttons, ribbon, and brads from the Flower Power Cards Elements kit

Check it out!

Wow, well this is an exciting day! With the new month here, there are LOTS of new promotions and products available from Stampin' Up! The picture above shows one of the new products available--Phase 2 of the Decor Elements.

Anyone who has been to my house in the past month has probably already seen this. :-) I was lucky enough to win this "Season of Thanks" Decor Element at convention from the Prize Patrol! I just had to get a shadow box frame and a garland so that I could make up the idea they showed us at convention. This was a really fast project. I added the paper to the back of the frame, filled the frame with the leaves, pine cones, and flowers, and then applied the Decor Element to the top of the glass.

So what is a Decor Element? It is self-adhesive vinyl art. (Kind of like large rub-ons.) You can apply the Decor Elements to walls, mirrors, windows, etc., or like I did above, picture frames. Very versatile! If have questions about Decor Elements, or you'd like to order this Decor Element or others, please contact me.

Other Promotions!

***Stampin' Up! is celebrating its 20th Birthday! In celebration they are offering 20% off select birthday stamp sets with a minimum $20 purchase. Click HERE or on the flyer to the right for more information.

***The birthday flyer also shows a special product offer. While supplies last, you can buy a single large-tip Aqua Painter for only $7.25.

***If you've thought about hosting a workshop, now is the time! During the month of October and November, if you host a workshop totaling $350 or more, you can choose any stamp set in the Catalog Sampler for free! This is in addition to your regular hostess benefits! Click HERE or on the Sampler at the right to see the sets that you can earn for free. Contact me today if you would like to schedule a workshop.

***Also, the Holdiay Mini Catalog is here! Click HERE or on the right to check out all the fun new products and stamp sets that will get you ready for the holidays.

Catch all that?!? Let me know if you have questions about anything! Happy October!

Breezey Bows

It's been a little while since I've stamped anything new since I've been busy with classes and commission work, so I thought I'd do a color challenge to get myself back into it! I went over to Splitcoaststampers, and saw that the color challenge for today is Really Rust, Chocolate Chip and Baja Breeze. Great combination!

So, this is what I came up with. It ended up being a super simple card to make! I used the dotted circle stamp from Think Happy Thoughts to stamp on Very Vanilla card stock in the 3 colors for the challenge. I tore the top edge and then grabbed my 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon. I wanted to do something a little unique since the rest of the card was pretty simple, so I also grabbed one of the wide clips from the Clips Assortment. I've already used a lot of the other two styles of clips (wire clip and small library clip) from the assortment, so I have a small supply of these wide clips laying around waiting to be used. I'm not sure that they were meant to be used as a bow holder, but it works, right? :-)

Anyway the 'bow' is simple and the pictures below show how I did it. I used a 7" piece of ribbon to create the bow part--just fold it back on itself twice, lay it on top of the other piece of ribbon (6") and clip them both together! How simple!

Stamps: Think Happy Thoughts

Ink: Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze

Paper: Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla

Accessories: 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, Wide Clip (Clips Assortment)

Big Shot Pillows

Well, I finally decided to get the Big Shot! If you are wondering what the Big Shot is, it is a personal die cut machine. So far I have been very impressed! I'll definitely be posting more projects in the future that use the Big Shot. If you want to see more about the Big Shot and the available products, click HERE or on the link in the right column of this page.

This project was another one we made at Technique Club this month. We ran the Designer Paper through the Big Shot using the pillow die and it comes out all cut and scored. Very cool! These make for really quick projects. Tie the ribbon around (*hint--you can tie the ribbon around the box when it is still flat--makes it a little easier) and then add the tag.

The tags use the faux metal technique. Stamp on Brushed Silver card stock with Versamark ink and then heat emboss with Silver Embossing powder. Then punch out with the new Curly Label punch. The sentiments were embossed with with Silver Embossing Powder and then punched out with the Small Oval punch and popped up with dimensionals on top of the silver tag. Fun little projects for Christmas or anytime!

Stamps: Curly Label Punch Bundle, Fundamental Phrases
Ink: Versamark
Paper: Bella Rose Designer Paper, Kiwi Kiss Patterns Designer Series Papers, Brushed Silver, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Big Shot, Curly Label Punch, Small Oval Punch, Kiwi Kiss/Vanilla Satin Ribbon, Ridding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon, dimensionals

Wedding Happiness

Here's a card that was one of the projects we made a my Technique Club class this past week. It uses the Heard From the Heart set--another one of the sets 15% off until the end of Sept! I thought the sentiment "wishing you happiness today and always" sounded perfect for a wedding card, so I set out to design something appropriate. I must admit that wedding cards have always been very hard for me, but hopefully this one turned out ok.

The base is Very Vanilla card stock (finished size 3" by 6 1/2") and then layered with Pink Pirouette card stock, designer paper, and last vellum card stock. The Designer Paper is from the Parisian Summer set, and then the sentiment is embossed on the Vellum card stock with Silver Embossing Powder. (Note: If you are embossing on vellum, I would suggest using the Vellum Card Stock as opposed to the Vellum Paper.) I tied around the 1 1/4" Pink Pirouette grosgrain ribbon and then added the hatpin and beads from the Pretties Kit. The card fits into one of Stampin Up's small open-end envelopes.

Happy weekend everyone!

Stamps: Heard From the Heart
Ink: Versamark
Paper: Card Stock Vellum, Parisian Summer DP, Pink Pirouettee, Very Vanilla
Accessories: 1 1/4" Pink Pirouette Grosgrain Ribbon, Pretties Kit (hatpin and beads), Silver Embossing Powder, Heat Tool

Silhouettes Gift Card Holder

Here's another quick gift card holder. I made this up after I took pictures of the tutorial the other day. Since I already had the base done, I figured I could just quick embellish. :-) This is what I came up with. The stamps are from the Pocket Silhouettes set (15% off through the end of September!) and the belly band uses the 1" Double-Stitched Chocolate Chip Grosgrain ribbon. There is actually a strip of card stock under the ribbon though to help give it support so that it will slide on and off easier.

The tag is tied on with linen thread and uses the faux metal technique. Oh and if any club members happen to see this today. . . yes, this is one of the projects we are making at Technique Club tonight. :-)

Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes

Ink: Really Rust

Paper: Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla

Accessories: 1" Double Stitched Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Linen Thread, Word Window Punch, Round Tag Punch, 1/8" Circe punch, Cutter Kit, dimensionals

Gift Card Holder Tutorial

Here it is! This is the tutorial for the gift card holder I posted last week (HERE). Since black paper is hard to photograph, I used different colored paper, but of course the idea is the same. . .

Start with a 4 1/4" by 11" piece of paper. Score at 3", 5 1/2", and 8". Then fold so that you have an "M".

Fold in half and use the Word Window Punch to punch out half of the oval shape. Repeat on the other side.

Here I used the top part of the Round Tab punch to punch out a little more and connect my punches from the Word Window punch. Although, you could use a circle punch, tag punch, etc.
***Note--if you want your corners rounded as I did on the graduation card, do that at this point. Do not glue (the next step) until the corners are rounded.***

Open the card and use either Tombow Mono adhesive or Sticky Strip to glue just the edges of the 3 sides of the middle as shown. Don't glue in the middle as this is where the gift card needs to fit.

After you glue, the base of the gift card holder is ready to go! Now you can embellish as desired.

Here's the inside of the Grad card again:
On the graduation card, I used a belly band as my closure. The yellow band is 1" by 7". The silver band and the scallop square are Brushed Silver card stock.

To make the scallop square, I found these great directions by MJ Albright on her blog Beauty Lies Within. Her tutorial about making different sized scalloped squares with the Scallop Edge punch can be found HERE. MJ did a lot of work for us in figuring out the correct sized paper to start with to get perfectly rounded scallops on the edges! For the graduation card I started with a 1 15/16" square piece of card stock. Just make sure you read all her directions (like I didn't the first time!) and don't push your card stock all the way to the back of the punch. Just line it up with the edge of the scallops on your punch.

And finally, to add the yellow to the Designer Brad (Star Assortment). . . .This is a trick that I saw at Convention and finally got around to trying out. All you need is a Craft Pad and your Designer Brad. Here I used Yoyo Yellow.


First just dip the brad face down into the ink. Take a paper towel and wipe it off. I found it easiest to leave the paper towel flat on the table and rub the brad that way. Then dip again and rub it off again. Repeat about 3 times total.What happens is the ink stays in the depressed areas on the brad and rubs off on the rest. Then just let the brad dry and you have a custom colored brad!

Open House Projects

Well, the gift card holder tutorial is still in progress, so I thought I would post the two projects that we made at my New Catalog Open House in August. Neither of these projects was my idea, but I thought they were both just too cute to pass up. I just made couple minor changes here and there.

The first one shown above is one of the cute popsicle cards that a lot of people have been making. When I received one of these popsicle cards from LeeLa Smith as a convention swap, that's when I decided to used it for my open house. They are even cuter in person! The only change that I made from LeeLa's was that I added the Kiwi Kiss Designer button in the middle and the Kiwi Kiss Striped Grosgrain ribbon on the stick. Here's a picture of the inside. Stamps: Think Happy Thoughts
Ink: Basic Black
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Corner Rounder, Horizontal Slot Punch, Designer Buttons, 5/8" Kiwi Kiss Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, dimensionals, popsicle stick



The second project is my version of a project that was shown during Demonstrator Theater at Convention. I was glad to be reminded of the simple, yet pretty technique to sponge directly on your stamp to add a second (or third, as shown at convention) color.

This technique is very easy. All you do is first ink the stamp in the lighter color (here Pink Pirouette) and then use a sponge duaber to add a second darker color in select places. Here I added Rose Red. Then when you stamp the image you have a two-tone effect. I used the scallop edge punch along the bottom of the flowers and the top right side is just a 1 3/8" circle punch folded in half. I used my Crop-A-Dile to punch through all 4 layers of card stock and then tied the ribbon through. This layer is up on dimensionals. Oh, and the final size of this card is 5" by 4 1/4".

By the way, Upsy Daisy is one of the stamp sets that is on sale 15% off until the end of September! To see a flyer of all the sets on sale, click HERE. If you would like to order this or other sale sets, contact me or just click the button at the top right of this page to go to my demonstrator website where you can shop online.

Stamps: Upsy Daisy
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Rose Red
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Whisper White
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Crop-A-Dile, Pretty in Pink 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, sponge dauber, Dimensionals

Scalloped Congrats

It's not really the time of year for graduations, but I've had the idea for this card in my head since convention, and I finally got it on paper--so to speak. :-) I saw this cute way to fold a gift card holder a little while ago. I'm not sure who the origional creator is, but what a fun idea! I'll be working up a tutorial for this card to show not only the unique fold, but also how I added the yellow to the Designer Brad (something I learned at convention). So, check back later!

Stamps: Say it with Scallops

Ink: Basic Black, YoYo Yellow Craft

Paper: Basic Black, YoYo Yellow, Brushed Silver, Whisper White

Accessories: Large Star Punch, Star Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, 1 3/8" Square Punch, Designer Brads-Star Assortment, 3/16" Corner Rounder Punch, Word Window Punch, Round Tab Punch

Online Ordering is Here!

Awhile back Stampin' Up! announced that soon customers would be able to order online--and that day has come!  Now you can shop for Stampin Up products online anytime and have your order sent directly to you.  You'll just need to first click through a demonstrator website.  Visit my Stampin' Up! website and click on the "Shop Now" button at the top right of the page.  The button at the top right of my blog will take you to my Stampin Up website too.  If you want to go directly to my Stampin Up webiste, the address is http://allison.stampinup.net.  Easy to remember, huh?  ;-)  

Also, you can earn Stampin' Rewards (same as hostess benefits) once your merchandise total is $150 or more.  Even if you want to just browse through the catalog, this where you want to go.  It is easy to search, and you'll definitely want to check out the projects section to get your creative juices flowing!  

Of course you can still order directly through me, but this is just one more option!  And I am still here to help teach you about stamping products and techniques whether you order though me or online.  So, go check out the new online catalog--you'll be glad you did.  :-)    

Bashful Tango

The other day I ran across a Color Challenge over at Belinda's blog stampwithbelinda.com. The colors were just so fun that I just had to join the challenge! Follow this LINK to see the post about her color challenge and the pillows that gave Belinda the inspiration.

The colors Belinda chose were Bashful Blue, Tangerine Tango, and Basic Black. To me these colors are bold/funky. Since that isn't my 'usual' stamping style, I had to take a long look at my stamp sets to see what could work. And Wow Flowers came to the rescue! My card is very simple and litterally came together in a few minutes once I had the idea. The card base is Glossy White cardstock. I hope I still qualify for the challenge even though I used very little black (only for the sentiment). I tried to add more, but it just didn't seem to fit. :-)

By the way, the 5/8" Tangerine Tango Striped Grosgrain Ribbon that I used here is part of my Accessory Sampler that you can order before Sept 18th. Check this link for details.

Stamps: Wow Flowers

Ink: Bashful Blue, Tangerine Tango, Basic Black

Paper: Glossy White

Accessories: Tangerine Tango 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon