Sweet Birthday

Ready for some more Sale-a-Bration projects?! Today's card features two stamp sets that are available for FREE through March 31st. I also used some new designer series paper from the Occasions Mini Catalog - such fun colors in the Sweet Pea paper pack! And it's a little hard to see in the picture, but the flowers and cake stand are sparkly!

I'm thinking of using this card as part of my birthday stamp-a-stack events next month. What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~

Stamps: Happy Moments, Whimsical Words
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Taken with Teal, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Ink: Stazon Black, Pumpkin Pie, Taken with Teal, Chocolate Chip, Yoyo Yellow
Accessories: Sweet Pea designer series paper, dazzling diamonds, stampin' dimensionals

Rag Quilt Purse

Have you seen the fabulous rag quilt purses floating around blogs lately?? I've been totally intimidated but after watching a video tutorial by the fabulous Angie Kennedy Juda, I visited the fabric store this evening and gave it a whirl. The project uses the Big Shot machine with the Bigz scallop square die. I scaled mine down a bit in size since it was my first attempt. So please forgive my prototype!


I love, love, LOVE the colors and patterns. There's defnitely a learning curve, especially considering I haven't used my sewing machine in quite a while. It's in the washing machine right now so that the scallops become frayed. Let's hope it comes out in one piece!! If it turns out beautiful, I'll post the final project tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~

Peacock Love Note

Today's card features quite a bright color combo! Definitely something different for me, but it's such a cheerful color combo, like a little burst of sunshine :-) And isn't this peacock image lovely!

I'm having fun playing with the new Sending Love Notes from the Occasions Mini Catalog. They're made to be used as small note cards, but I like using them ON a card. The delicate scallops make these perfect for showcasing your images.

Not much else to add...need to grab some shut-eye. Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~

Stamps: Very Thankful, With All My Heart
Cardstock: Gable Green, Tempting Turqoise
Ink: Bashful Blue, Gable Green, Tempting Turquoise
Accessories: Sending Love Hugs, Bashful Blue taffeta ribbon, stampin' dimensionals

Free stamps!

What's not to love about FREE stamps?! Sale-a-Bration is in full swing and you can earn free products for every $50 (before tax and shipping) that you spend until March 31st. Stampin' Up! offers 4 new stamp sets, a punch and a pad of designer series paper as part of this annual promotion. And for the first time, you can opt to select any stamp set from the Idea Book & Catalog that retails for $15.95 or below!

I made today's card using two of the Sale-a-Bration stamp sets: Happy Moments and Whimsical Words.

I love this cute birdcage image! I stamped it twice - once with Basic Black and once with Bermuda Bay. Then I cut the bird from the Bermuda Bay image and layered it. It was much easier than trying to color in this intricate image with markers!

Looks like Bermuda Bay and Basic Black have quickly become a new favorite color combo. Everything just seems to "pop" when these colors are paired together!

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~

Stamps: Happy Moments, Whimsical Words
Cardstock: Bermuda Bay, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Basic Black
Accessories: Bermuda Bay polka dot grosgrain ribbon, stampin' dimensionals

Lots of Swap Goodies

Ready for some incredible new projects?! Here are some cards I received in a swap with other Stampin' Up! demonstrators. They all feature new products from the Sale-a-Bration and Occasions Mini Catalog. Lots of great ideas here!








Hope you liked them! I'll be back later this week with some new projects to share.

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~

Filigree Hearts

Another "clean and simple" card using the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set that is part of Stampin' Up!'s Haitian Disaster Relief efforts. I love the filigree heart image in this stamp set - it's so elegant! And this is my first time using the new Hugs love notes from the Occasions Mini Catalog. These are die-cut note cards made to be used with the new glassine envelopes, but I used one as the main image panel on a full-size card instead. I love the delicate scallop edges!

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~


Stanps: I {Heart} Hearts
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Pale Plum
Ink: Cetainly Celery, Pale Plum, So Saffron
Accessories: Sending Love Notes - Hugs, Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon, stampin' dimensionals

Haitian Disaster Relief

On January 12, 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, leaving in its wake devastation so overwhelming that the Haitian people and their leaders can only look for help from the outside to cope. As a Stampin′ Up! customer, you can help make a difference in the lives of those who continue to suffer from the effects of this earthquake by purchasing the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set.

From now until February 28, 2010, $2 from every I {Heart} Hearts stamp set sold will be donated to the American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development Fund. The Red Cross is already well-established in Haiti, and this money will be used to provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need.

In the past, when terrorists attacked the Twin Towers, when a tsunami struck Indonesia, when a hurricane destroyed New Orleans, and when wildfires ravaged Australia, Stampin′ Up! has stepped forward and showed their commitment to making a difference in the lives of others. This time is no different.

The I {Heart} Hearts stamp set is available in traditional wood-mount (item #117010) and new clear-mount (item #118571). You can order your stamp set here.

Small Wonder

I just can't get enough of the new embosslits in the Occasions Mini Catalog! I used the Beautiful Wings embosslit again to create this cute baby card. Clean and simple designs are my favorite. I love being able to create something so quickly that still has a wow factor. I love that you can crank the Big Shot handle a few times and instantly have beautiful embossed butterflies! Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~

Stamps: Whimsical Words
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Apricot Appeal, Whisper White
Ink: Bashful Blue
Accessories: Big Shot, Beautiful Wings embosslit, stampin' dimensionals

Embossed butterflies

Ok, so I think I missed the cut-off, but I gave the Mojo Monday challenge a go. Here's the sketch:

And here is my card:

I used a new stamp that's not yet available - Elements of Style. At the Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference, all attendees received this fabulous stamp set! It's part of Shelli's Signature Collection - products that Stampin' Up!'s co-founder Shelli Gardner loves. This set will be available in the Summer Mini Catalog that will be out in May. the butterflies were made with the Big Shot machine and the new Beautiful Wings embosslit in the Occasions Mini Catalog. Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~

Stamps: Elements of Style
Cardstock: Crushed Curry, So Saffron, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Ink: Old Olive, Melon Mambo
Accessories: Big Shot, Beautiful Wings embosslit, Razzleberry Lemonade designer series paper, 1-1/4" circle punch, 1-3/8" circle punch, scallop circle punch, stampin' dimensionals

Cupcake Wishes

This card is CASEd from a card featured in the new Occasions Mini Catalog (p. 5). When the creativity just isn't flowing, CASEing is the solution! If you're not familiar with CASEing - it stands for "copy and share everything." Find a card or a project that catches your eye, use it as a starting point and then let things happen. In this case, I used the same color cardbase and the general idea for the image panel. But I changed the other colors, changed the image, changed the ribbon, moved the sentiment and didn't use a button. By the time you finish, you've created something uniquely yours!

So the next time you find yourself stuck or just plain uninspired, use someone else's creation as your inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~

Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes, Heard from the Heart
Cardstock: Kraft, Bashful Blue, Melon Mambo, Watercolor Paper
Ink: Stazon Black, Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue, Melon Mambo, Yoyo Yellow
Accessories: aquapainter, Pretty in Pink grosgrain ribbon, stamp-a-ma-jig, stampin' dimensionals

Leadership Swaps

Not only did I have a fabulous time at Stampin' Up!'s Leadership Conference last week, I also came home with some wonderful project samples from other demonstrators! Here are just a few of the swaps I scored:


I got some other great swaps but a lot of them didn't have names on the back, and I'd hate to post a picture without being able to give credit to the designer.

Hopefully I'll have some of my own projects to share in the next few days, so please stop back!

~~Marilyn~~

Lots of hearts

For my stamp club this month, I pulled out a project from a few years ago called a waterfall card. I thought it would be perfect for a fun, interactive Valentine's Day card :-) And I used a fabulous non-traditional-Valentine color combo that I picked up at the Leadership Conference last week.


The ladies LOVED this project! It's such a fun technique and always produces lots of ooh's and aah's! I wish the picture did the designer series paper justice - the sparkly goodness on this paper is just incredible! Here's a picture of the project as you pull the tab to release the "waterfall."

Now who wouldn't think this was an awesome Valentine's Day card?!?!?

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~

Stamps: I {Heart} Hearts, A Happy Heart
Cardstock: Basic Black, Bermuda Bay, Real Red, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red, Bermuda Bay
Accessories: Sending Love designer series paper, paper piercer, Bermuda Bay polka dot grosgrain ribbon, silver brads, horizontal slot punch, sticky strip, Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder

Back from Leadership!

Sure was cold last night, getting off the plane in Ohio with only 16 degrees after spending a few days in Phoenix! It was my first time attending this event and it was FABULOUS!! I spotted quite a few "celebrity" Stampin' Up! demos - Patty Bennett, Mary Fish, Corinne Summerville, Richard Garay! Saw tons of fabulous project ideas and brought some of those home as part of the swapping I did (I'll be sharing some of those over the next few days)! And heard some incredible speakers/presenters! Here's a peek at the main stage:


The excitement of nearly 1,000 crazy demonstrators was incredible...crazy dancing in the aisle...screams and hugs...total mayhem when free stamps were doled out! It was so much fun! I hope I can go again next year!

I missed the make-and-take sessions Wednesday night, so I had to assemble my projects at home. I don't have all the tools they used on the projects, so I had to improvise a bit. Here a few of the projects:



Be sure to check back later this week to see some of the great swap cards I received!

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~

Do you know what day it is???

It's January 5th, which means the start of Stampin' Up!'s awesome annual promotion, Sale-a-Bration, and the start of a new mini catalog!! So what does this mean to you? It's time to earn some FREE products!

During Sale-a-Bration (January 5th through March 31st), for every $50 you spend before tax and shipping, you can earn a free product from the Sale-a-Bration catalog! You can choose from 4 stamp sets, a punch and a designer series paper pad. And for the first time, you can select any stamp set in the Idea Book & Catalog that retails for $15.95 or less (that's over 60 stamp sets!!) as your free product! If you host a $300+ workshop during Sale-a-Bration, you earn another free product in addition to your hostess benefits! And if you sign up to become a demonstrator (with a 15% discount on the starter kit), you also can choose a free stamp set from the Idea Book & Catalog valued up to $47.95! It's a great time to become a demonstrator!! :-)

The new Occasions Mini Catalog has some fantastic new products: stamps (including the new clear-mount option!), punches, ribbons, brads, buttons, embosslits, designer series papers, stencils and MORE! To showcase some of the new products, here are two cards I designed for swapping at Stampin' Up's! Leadership Conference this week!


Now, for those of you who thought they missed out on ordering the fabulous new shimmer paints, don't despair! Because of their popularity, Stampin' Up! is offering them as a write-in product!

116806	Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint	$5.95
116854	Frost White Shimmer Paint	$5.95
116807	Platinum Shimmer Paint	$5.95

So, have I tempted you enough?? Call or email me to place an order, book a workshop or find out more about becoming a demonstrator!

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~

Rockin' in the New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

In just a few days, I'm going to be heading to Phoenix for a Stampin' Up Leadership conference! It's my first time attending this annual event and not only am I excited about all the stamping, but I am SO looking forward to the warmer weather!

I signed up for an organized swap and came up with this design. It's a CASE of a card I posted back in August, but I played around with the color combo - this one is a bit more bold. And what rocker card is complete with the rock-n-roll technique?! I started by inking the sentiment with Crushed Curry and then rolled the edges in Rich Razzleberry for an awesome effect! I sure hope the other swappers like my cards! :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

~~Marilyn~~


Stamps: Extreme Guitar, Extreme Elements, Starring You
Cardstock: Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry, Not Quite Navy, Basic Black, Naturals Ivory
Ink: Versamark, Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry, Not Quite Navy
Accessories: black embossing powder, heat tool, spiral punch, large oval punch, stampin' dimensionals