CHA Craft Supershow

What a great day I had yesterday. The photo to the right is a pic of some of the things I purchased while I was there. Most importantly, I was able to spend the day with my daughter. And we did enjoy our shopping and spending (money) time together--LOL! When the doors opened our first stop was the Denami booth. My followers know that I am partial to Denami stamps so I had a list of things I wanted. I thought shopping from a list would be easy--until I saw the new display boards that Paulina made. The display boards are absolutely beautiful. The cards Paulina made are gorgeous and they are grouped according to color families; i.e., ivory, pink and brown; pink, green and yellow; etc. It was great to see Gary, Nami and Laurie again and to meet Gary & Nami's two boys. What polite and very nice young men. There was a lot to see and I was able to gather first-hand information regarding a few products I have been eyeing. If you are going to CHA, have fun and bring your money! I will post pics of a few make & takes tomorrow. Enjoy your day.

More Sunny Garden

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Sunny Garden Designer Paper pack is just gorgeous. Here are two cards using the reverse sides of the papers I used in previous posts. The card on the left is a combination of Peach Parfait, Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizzazz. The image is from the Just Believe Stamp set. I also used a texture plate and a couple of brads to complete it. This card on the right is a combination of Daffodil Delight and Marina Mist. The image is from the Level 1 Hostess Set, Silhouette Sentiments. Again I used a texture plate and then added Marina Mist ribbon. My goal here was to not only showcase the reverse sides of the Sunny Garden papers, but to also show how changing papers and embellishments can make a card more masculine or more feminine. Have a great day!

Sunny Garden Scrapbook Pages

I just love, love, love this paper pack! This 12x12 layout uses many of the designs included in this particular designer series paper. That being said, there are other designs which include Daffodil Yellow and I will create something using the designer papers not included on this layout. All the supplies used for these scrap pages are SU, including Pear Pizzazz and Peach Parfait cardstock, the scalloped square punch and the scalloped edge punch. I can't forget the butterflies which were made using my favorite Sizzix embosslit, Beautiful Wings. Have a wonderful day!

Denami Challenge time

This week I will be going to the CHA show and that is a good thing--for many reasons. Probably the best reason is so that I can do some shopping at Denami. I met Nami and her husband at the Heirloom Show in March, and her daughter Paulina will be joining them at CHA. I am looking forward to meeting Paulina and to again seeing Nami, Gary and one of their design team members, Laurie. At any rate, this is my entry for the Denami Sketch Challenge. My only problem is that I have been purchasing Denami images, but not sentiments, so there really isn't anything Denami on this card. Oh wait--I take that back! Nami showed me how to tie this kind of bow! It is a pretty card and everything is SU with the exception of the ribbon.

A First For Me!

I have been a Stampin' Up demo for more than 2 1/2 years. During that time, I had not purchased any of the premade card kits that SU has offered. That changed when the new catalog came out. The Simply Sent Sweet Hello card kit (p.183) was calling my name. For $11.95, the kit includes 8 cardstock embossed cards, 8 envies and 24 ribbon & pearl flowers. I opened the package last night and this is the first card I made. The Baja Breeze frame around the card is probably what caught my attention, together with the green swirls. And, the little leaves that you see are slightly embossed. To finish off the card, I used Old Olive to stamp the friend image (from the Simple Friendship stamp set), colored in the flowers using a Pretty In Pink Marker and punched it out with the 1 3/4" circle punch. I adhered the stamped image on a Baja Breeze cardstock circle. Adhered that to the card and I was done. This truly is a quick and easy way to make a card. There are 3 card kits available in the new cattie. These kits are great gifts for those who likes to receive hand-made creations but think they could never make a card herself. Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time.

Poppy Parade Has Won Me Over!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I did not care for Poppy Parade, a new In Color. So here I am, posting another project using Poppy Parade. I made my own background paper using the flower images from the Simple Friendship stamp set and Poppy Parade ink. The flourish is from the Just Believe stampset, embellished with the same flower image as the background. I stamped the solid image 6 times, cutting out three and punching the center of the other three using one of the punches from the Itty bitty Shapes punch pack. The sentiment is from the Because I Care stamp set. The green rhinestones are not from SU, but they complimented the card. Poppy Parade cardstock will be in my next SU order.

Mini Milk Carton

So how cute is this? Yesterday I received some of my new SU goodies, among them this mini milk carton die for the Big Shot and the Sunny Garden designer paper pack. I am not a red person, but I purchased the paper because I liked that this particular packet of designer paper made great use of the colors Daffodil Delight and Peach Parfait. When I opened the pack of paper, I saw that the Poppy Parade color added a whole lot of depth to the paper. So, using my limited supply of Poppy Parade cardstock (a new In color I did not like--lol), I cut the carton. The carton was layered with coordinating designer series paper. Daffodil Delight 1/8"taffeta ribbon ribbon was fed thru two holes punched with my crop-a-dile and my mini milk carton is ready to be filled. I will be posting other versions of the mini milk carton, so check back soon. By the way, the finished dimensions of this milk carton are approximately 1 1/2" x 3 1/4". And, I will be purchasing a pack of Poppy Parade cardstock, too!

Concord Crush

I don't think I have posted anything using the new In Color, Concord Crush. So, I am posting a Concord Crush card now. In addition to using Concord Crush cardstock and ink, I am also using an image from a new stamp set, Just Believe. I stamped the silhouette flower image on Whisper White cardstock and then scored vertical and horizontal lines on the remaining two-thirds of the WW cardstock. The friend stamped image is part of the Simple Friendship stamp set, matted on a Concord Crush circle. After tying the ribbon, the card was still lacking something. I happened to check out the Denami blog and one of her design team members made a beautiful card using rhinestones. I grabbed out my gems container and added three purple rhinestones where the score lines intersected. That was just what the card needed. I was thinking about coloring in the flowers in the friend circle image, but I did not want to add another color. The reason for this card was to showcase the deep, beautiful color of Concord Crush and the new stamp set, Just Believe. The more I play with the In colors, the more I am liking all of them. Well, maybe not all of them. I still think that Blushing Bride is a little drab and dingy, but then, I do like bright! Have a great evening.

Cricut Sunday

Today was our Cricut get together and we had a very creative afternoon. I was in charge of the project and snack. The snack, a cream cheese & chocolate chip spread, was a real hit, so I am sharing it with you:

1 - 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup confectioner's sugar

2 Tbls. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 c. chocolate chip miniatures

Combine cream cheese, butter, brown sugar and vanilla extract. When nicely mixed, add the chocolate chips. I put this in a pretty bowl and sprinkled the top with more chocolate chips. (The recipe I read, had you form the mixture into a ball and then roll it in pecans.) Refrigerate it for a few hours.

The original recipe suggested serving it with graham cracker sticks. I used a nice thick square butter cookie. Next time I am invited to a party, this will be my contribution!

Sunny AZ Scrap Pages

As many of you know, my Mom and brothers live in Arizona. While visiting them last November, my brother Dan, took me for a little drive in their motor home. We went up into the White Tank Mountains and had lunch and enjoyed the scenery. (And I, of course, kept my eyes open for any signs of a snake! Luckily, didn't see one--LOL)) My brother took his faithful companion, Auggie, who actually sits in the front sit when they are driving. The only Stampin' Up products I used for this layout were Tangerine Tango and Peach Parfait cardstock and the tearing edge ruler. I purchased the paper at a local stamp store a few weeks ago and the colors of it were nice and bright. I used my Cricut for the title and some Bazzill flowers. With the leftover pattern paper, I made a matching card, one that my Mom will be getting one of these days. Have a great weekend and find yourself a little scrappin' time.

Marina Mist & White

Marina Mist is such a pretty shade of blue. I have been using Marina Mist with different colors and yesterday decided to pair it up with plain white. Turned out to be a striking combination. I embossed two-thirds of the white cardstock, leaving the top 1/3 smooth for the stamped sentiment. Added a flower (used the Simple Flower Embosslits die), a half pearl and Marina Mist 1/8" taffeta ribbon. Such a pretty way to say thank you!

Denami Challenge Entry

Time for another Denami Challenge and here's my entry. This challenge called for using the color equivalents of Very Vanilla, Regal Rose, Real Red, Certainly Celery and Old Olive. Between cardstock, ink and ribbon, all of the colors are represented. Denami released new products very recently and she now has a variety of rhinestones in various colors. So, while I wait for the arrival of my Denami rhinestones, I used some rhinestones from my collection to add a little bling to my entry. I ran the ribbon thru my Xyron for easy adhering to the card. I can't believe this! I just signed on to the Denami blog and the first card on the most recent post from one of her designers is extremely similar to my entry. Darn it! Oh well, I will still post my entry. Rebeka, I didn't scraplift your card--although I should have. Your card is very pretty.

Birthday Cupcake

I wanted to play with my Copic markers again and decided that the cupcake from Crazy For Cupcakes would be a good image to use. I first stamped the image using Early Espresso ink and then colored the image using Copics. I just can't seem to get the hang of shading and blending with Copics. I used two shades of blue and two shades of yellow and you can definitely see where I used the darker shades around the edges. I colored in the little sprinkles and candle and Crystal Effects give the sprinkles a glossy finish. The sentiment, from Teeny Tiny Wishes (I love that set), was stamped on Bashful Blue cardstock, punched out using the Modern Label punch and matted on So Saffron cardstock which was cut with the Movers and Shapers Modern Label die. SU dimensionals and red brads and ribbon were the finishing touches. I will continue to play with the Copics I have, but I must say, I don't know why since I am very fond of my SU markers! Have a wonderful day!

In keeping with my resolve to focus on new colors and use stamp sets that I have, the use of Cherry Cobbler with Crumb Cake (aka Kraft) and Very Vanilla cardstock makes a striking combination. I used the Sincere Salutations stamp set (pg. 155), Cherry Cobbler ink and retired Kraft ribbon. I will say that I am a little disappointed that Kraft colored ribbon is no longer available, but maybe when I order the taffeta ribbon in new colors, I won't be missing Kraft. Time will tell! Have a great day!

Copic Card

A few years ago, before becoming a Stampin' Up demo, I purchased about a dozen Copic markers. They have been sitting in a container ever since--having never been used. Back in March I went to a rubber stamp show and did a Make & Take using Copic markers. Since then I have been interested in learning more. Last week my friend, Regina and I took a class at our local stamp store. I wanted to learn techniques--such as shading how to's and such. Well, the instructor gave us a couple of hints about using Copics, but most of the class we just colored images. We were there 2 hours and came home with three cards. The card here is the prettiest (in my opinion) and had the least amount of detail. Another card we colored had so much detail to color, that I did not even put it together at the store. We stamped all the images for the cards we were making and the edges of two of the three stamps had to be cleaned off before stamping so that unwanted lines would not show up on our card fronts. I personally was a little disappointed as I really wanted to learn techniques. But, the class was titled "Coloring with Copics" and that is what we did. Oh well, next time I take a Copic Class, I will look for the word "techniques" to be in the title. In the meantime, I have found some really good Copic videos right here on the internet. Put the words "Copic Marker Techniques" in your search engine and all kinds of sites will come up. Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time.

Eyes to The Skies

This is a working weekend for us! Actually, it is a fun weekend, but what we are doing is hard work. Our friend from Kentucky is participating in the Lisle, Illinois balloon fest and we are part of his crew. Tom Steinbock is the owner of this beautiful hot air balloon. He participates in many Midwest balloon festivals and also participates in the well-known hot air balloon festival down in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Last night's affair was a glow--balloons stay on the ground and when it gets dark, all the balloons start their burners at the same time. An awesome sight, to be sure. An actual launch was scheduled for this morning and again for tomorrow morning--weather permitting. If you are not an early bird, "Glows" are scheduled again for this evening and tomorrow evening. If you are in the area and want to see an awesome sight, come visit us in Lisle's Eyes to The Skies Festival.

New Color Kit Specials!

Stampin' Up is offering some money saving kits in order for you to get sets of the new In Colors and to add to the renovated color collections. Double click on the picture here to read about the specials. To view this flyer while at my website: Click on the "Products" menu; click on "Our Colors"; Click on "Resources" at the bottom of the "Experience a New World of Color With the Color Renovation" page; Click the "Color Kit Flyer" and there it is! You will have all the numbers you need for ordering some of these great specials. Have a great weekend!

New Catalogs

Just wanted to let you know that I do have some of the new catalogs. If you would like a catalog, the cost is $10 which includes the shipping to your house. (This amount covers what the catalog costs me and $4.90 for shipping via USPS.) If you are at all interested in the new In Colors, there is a kit (page 165)which includes 5 Classic Stampin' Pads in the new In Colors and a pack of 20 sheets of 8 1/2 x 11 assorted smooth cardstock, 4 sheets of each In Color, for $29.95. That amounts to just about getting the pack of cardstock free, as purchasing the five ink pads at $5.75 each would cost $29.75. If you have any questions about the new catalog, let me know. In the meantime, find yourself some stampin' time!