Plan B

Last Sunday, I attended a meeting at my upline's house to hear about news from the Stampin' Up! Leadership conference. We also did some make-and-takes and one of them was an adorable stationery box. But when I sat down to complete the project, silly me didn't read and follow the directions, so of course, I totally screwed up the box! I took the rest of the supplies home with me and ended up using them for a card instead. Hope you like it!


I hope everyone is staying warm - we got a few inches of snow yesterday, followed by some ice and now it's snowing again!

Stamps: Smarty Pants
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Rose Red, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie
Ink: Rose Red
Accessories: So Tweet On-Board, Rapsberry Tart designer series paper, Rose grosgrain ribbon, Top Note die, Big Shot machine, stampin' dimensionals

Appletini, anyone?

I wanted to make a card for friend who's adjusting to life without her husband (he passed away recently). Instead of a somber card, I wanted something a bit more cheery and upbeat. When I found this card by Patti Chesky while blog-surfing, I just KNEW it would be a great inspiration. Tonight at a girls-night-out dinner, my friend had an Appletini, so I adapted the standard martini image in the Cheers to You stamp set with a little paper-piecing. I hope it brings a little smile to my friend's face!


Stamps: Cheers to You
Cardstock: Gable Green, Tempting Turquoise, Barely Banana, Whisper White
Ink: Stazon Black, Gable Green
Accessories: scallop circle punch, 1-1/4" circle punch, stampin' dimensionals, stamp-a-ma-jig

Live with passion

I'm participating in a 6x6 single page scrapbook swap with some local Stampin' Up demonstrators tomorrow. I've actually been a scrapbooker longer than I've been a card maker/stamper, but I haven't spent much time on my scrapbooks lately.


I took a bunch of pictures of my son at the beach in California last summer and I love this particular one. He was in his own little world, running in and out of the water (freezing cold, by the way!), oblivious to the fact that I was taking pictures, and I think this picture captured his excitement. The "live with passion" sentiment from the Inspired by Nature stamp set seemed perfect. I don't have any beach stamp sets so the rest was a bit of a challenge, but I'm pleased with the final result. The colors are more vibrant IRL. Hope you like it!!


Stamps: Starring You, Inspired by Nature
Cardstock: Pacific Point, Gable Green, Whisper White
Ink: Versamark, Pacific Point, Gable Green, White craft
Accessories: white embossing powder, embossing buddy, heat tool, wide oval punch, stampin' dimensionals

Dryer sheets?

Yes, you read that right! You can "re-purpose" your used dryer sheets, making beautiful, glittery cards that also smell great! There's a great tutorial on this technique over at Splitcoaststampers. My stamp club started back up again tonight and this technique was a big hit. A shout-out to my club ladies - hey gals! :-)

The dryer sheet and glitter will soften your image, so I find that the key to this technique is to use a bold image rather than a line art image. The bolder images soften, but don't get lost behind the technique. And I really liked doing the monochromatic look of this one.

Hope you like it!

Stamps: Upsy Daisy
Cardstock: Tangerine Tango, Whisper White
Ink: Tangerine Tango
Accessories: Tangerine Tango designer series paper, dazzling diamonds, 1-3/4" circle punch, wide oval punch, stampin' dimensionals, dryer sheet, xyron machine

For Evelyn

Another Valentine's Day card....this one is for my sweet niece, Evelyn. I used an image from the "Pun Fun" stamp set that comes with a "thank ewe" sentiment. I thought she was a cutie holding that little heart, so I cut her out and used a more appropriate greeting. I colored her in using a blender pen and classic ink. I hope she likes it!

Just a close-up to show the dimension of the lamb:

Stamps: Fun Punh, Holidays & Wishes
Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Going Grey, Blush Blossom, Riding Hood Read, Versamark
Accessories: blender pen, 1-3/4" circle punch, scallop edge punch, white embossing powder, heat tool, Summer Picnic designer series paper, stampin' dimensionals

Gearing up for Valentine's Day

Well, I'm officially in Valentine's Day mode now! And the new "A Happy Heart" stamp set (available in the new Spring-Summer catalog) has some of the cutest images!! My first card uses the dandelion image and features a Real Red/Chocolate Chip color combo. I distressed the edges of the panels to add a little more texture. This one took me only a few minutes to pull together.


My second card featured the tic-tac-toe image with a Rose Red/Tempting Turquoise/Chocolate Chip color combo. This one was a little more time-intensive because I hand-cut each of the hearts and x's on the main panel. I tried coloring the image with markers, but found that I kept overlapping the colors because of how tight the space is on this image. So I stamped the entire image with Chocolate Chip ink and then adhered the hearts and x's directly on top, using a dimensional to adhere the center heart. Then I added some faux stitiching on the Chocolate Chip mat (traced the holes with a Chocolate Chip marker).

I hope you like them and feel inspired to create your own handmade Valentine's this year!

{{heart dandelion}}
Stamps: A Happy Heart
Cardstock: Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Summer Picnic designer series paper, Real Red grosgrain ribbon, distressing tool, stampin' dimensionals

{{tic tac toe}}
Stamps: A Happy Heart
Cardstock: Rose Red, Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Ink: Rose Red, Tempting Turquoise, Chocolate Chip marker
Accessories: tool kit, stampin' dimensionals

Looking for inspiration?

In addition to all the awesome things about being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator...the discount, the creative outlet, the friends I've made, the income...there's also tons of inspiration everywhere you look. From demonstrator and non-demonstrator blogs to great online stamper communities to the great resources that Stampin' Up! itself provides, there seems to be no end in sight! Today, I was browsing a SU! demonstrator magazine and found a fabulous little card that I just had to CASE. I didn't follow the exact layout - I changed the colors, the stamps, the designer series paper, and the position of the main panel. But the card featured in the magazine was just the kick-start I needed to create this beauty:


If you're having one of those days when you don't feel like you have a creative bone in your body, just look around. You're bound to find something that inspires you. Just find a place to start and then jump in and you'll be amazed how the juices will start flowing! Good luck!!

Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Inspired by Nature
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Ink: Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: scallop edge punch, Sweet Always designer series paper, 5 petal punch, 1/2" circle punch, Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, stampin' dimensionals

Inspired mini scrapbook

I found a fabulous little project on my new favorite blog that I've been stalking, Stamp with Heather, that incorporates the waterfall technique in a scrapbook. My little brain just wasn't up to calculating the dimensions for Heather's fabulous project, but it inspired me enough to create a mini scrapbook. I absolutely love the Urban Garden designer series paper and was thrilled to find out that Stampin' Up is not retiring it yet - yeah! Enjoy!


Stamps: On Your Birthday
Cardstock: textured Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Grey, Whisper White
Ink: Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Urban Garden designer series paper, 1-3/4" circle punch, Top Note die, Big Shot, tool kit, silver brads, stampin' dimensionals

Worm wishes

Needing some inspiration, I decided to participate in another card sketch challenge on Splitcoaststampers.

I took the sketch and turned it, making it into a vertical card. I wanted to use up some more designer series paper that will retire later this month and ended up with a bright color combo - one perfect for a kids' card. So I pulled out the Bugs & Kisses stamp set and went to town. Hope you like it!!


Stamps: Bugs & Kisses
Cardstock: Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Only Orange
Accessories: Ghostly Greetings designer series paper (retiring 1/18/09), Real Red grosgrain ribbon, Real Red gingham ribbon, stampin' dimensionals

Wish big

Sale-a-Bration is coming up real soon (starts February 1st), and I'm having lots of fun with this new set that you can earn. For my card, I started with one of the cards on the front cover of the Sale-a-Bration catalog, changed up the colors and made some other minor changes and ended up with a girly-girl, flowery masterpiece! Hope you like it!



Stamps: Polka Dot Punches (earn it during Sale-a-Bration 2/1-3/31), Short & Sweet
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Lovely Lilac, Whisper White
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Lovely Lilac, Pink Passion, Certainly Celery
Accessories: scallop circle punch, Pink Pirouette striped grosgrain ribbon, photo corner punch, tool kit, stampin' dimensionals

Non-traditional Valentine

One of the many perks of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is getting to pre-order stuff. I ordered a few of the products that will be part of the Sale-a-Bration event that runs February 1st through March 31st. With every $50 you spend (before shipping and tax), you earn a free Sale-a-Bration product. And this year, you'll get to choose from 4 stamp sets, a ribbon bundle or a pack of designer series paper! I chose to pre-order one of the stamp sets that features 4 images that coordinate with Stampin' Up! punches, the designer series paper and the ribbon. The colors in the designer series paper (Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Bashful Blue, Sahara Sand) are so soothing, so I used them as the inspiration for a non-traditional take on a Valentine.


It's very subtle, but the heart image is stamped with two colors - I inked the stamp with Certainly Celery and then took a sponge dauber and applied some Bashful Blue randomly on the image as well. I cut out the heart, layered it over a circle with stampin' dimensionals and then applied it to the designer series paper panel with dimensionals. It gives the heart a nice depth on the card.

I'll be playing some more with my new goodies, so be sure to check back for some more projects real soon!


Stamps: Polka Dot Punches (available 1/19/09), Holidays & Wishes
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Sahara Sand, Bashful Blue, Whisper White
Ink: Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Versamark
Accessories: Delicate Dots designer series paper (available 1/19/09), scallop circle punch, 1-3/4" circle punch, white gel pen, white embossing powder, heat tool, sponge daubers, stampin' dimensionals.

Mojo Monday challenge

While blog surfing, I came across some stampers who participate in a weekly sketch challenge on the Mojo Monday blog. I haven't participated in any challenges in a while, so I thought I'd accept this week's challenge. Here's the sketch:
And here's my interpretation:


Hope you like it!!

Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Best Yet (retiring 1/18/09)
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue, So Saffron
Accessories: Washington Apple designer series paper, large oval punch

Little birdie birthday

I'm working on replacing all the holiday cards on my sample display, so I dusted off this trusty stamp set, "A Little Birdie Told Me." I forgot how much I like this set and how versatile it is with so many options to go with the sentiment. I used the "it's your birthday" inside this one.


Instead of coloring in the bird images, I decided to paper piece them using some designer series paper. It adds more dimension and character to them! And despite buying them a few months back, I finally broke into the clips assortment. I love how I can use just a tiny bit of ribbon tied around the clip instead of wrapping it around the entire card or a panel. Hope you like it!!

Stamps: A Little Birdie Told Me
Cardstock: textured Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, Very Vanilla
Ink: Stazon black
Accessories: Haiku designer series paper, More Mustard grosgrain ribbon, clips assortment, stampin dimensionals

Kind words

I'm still having fun playing with this fabulous new Level 1 hostess stamp set coming out in the new Spring-Summer catalog.

The flower images are so soft and delicate (there are three of them), and I just love this quote from Mother Teresa. After stamping with stazon, I colored in the flowers and traced the stem with markers. Stazon is perfect when you're coloring images because the ink won't run or pick up on your marker tips.

Stamps: Echoes of Kindness (available 1/19/09), So Swirly jumbo wheel
Cardstock: Always Amethyst, Mellow Moss, Whisper White
Ink: Stazon black, Pretty in Pink marker, Always Amethyst marker, Sage Shadow marker
Accessories: ticket corner punch, Mellow Moss tafetta ribbon, jumbo handle, glue dots

Flower Power II

Ok, humor me with one more card from the Flower Power simply sent kit... :-)


Stamps: Wow Flowers
Cardstock: Old Olive, Rose Red, Perfect Plum
Ink: More Mustard marker, Rose Red marker
Accessories: Flower Power simply sent kit, stampin' dimensionals, scallop edge punch, 1-1/4" circle punch

Flower Power

The list of retiring Stampin' Up! accessories is coming out on Monday, and I've got a feeling that the Simply Sent kits will be retired to make room for some new ones. So I'm trying to use up the rest of the pieces I have from the Flower Power kit. The colors are so nice and bright, and I love the funky adhesive die-cut shapes. Here's a simple card I made for a co-worker's birthday.

Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes
Cardstock: Old Olive, Rose Red, Perfect Plum
Ink: versamark
Accessories: Flower Power simply sent kit, stampin' dimensionals, large oval punch, white embossing powder, heat tool

New year, new technique

I hope 2009 is off to a great start for you! With the new year, I thought it would be great to try out a new technique - not new to the world of stamping, but new to me - the dryer sheet technique. I'm going to teach this technique at my stamp club meeting later this month. Before you see my first attempt, let me say that I just couldn't get a great shot that really shows off how sparkly this technique is. I love anything with glitter and this technique is perfect for glitter-lovers!

In addition to a new technique, I'm also using a new stamp set - a Level 1 hostess stamp set that can be earned when the Spring-Summer Idea Book & Catalog is released later this month - and new designer series paper that is so so yummy! Hope you like it...


Stamps: Echoes of Kindness (new Hostess set available 1/19/09)
Cardstock: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Whisper White
Ink: Stazon black, Rose Red marker, Regal Rose marker, Old Olive marker
Accessories: Rich Regals brads, scallop edge punch, stampin' dimensionals, dryer sheet, xyron machine, dazzling diamonds, Raspberry Tart designer series paper (also available 1/19/09)

It's official!!

Wishing everyone a healthy and happy 2009!