My Day!

Today is my birthday, but I have been celebrating since Friday! The biggest surprise of all was that Dan, my brother from AZ, came in for the weekend. Jenny & Syd had been in Arizona visiting family and friends. We puppy-sat for them and Friday they were coming to pick up their little Maddie. I went outside when they pulled in the driveway and standing there was my brother holding flowers for me! Danny flew home with them, spending Thursday night at their house in Syd's Pink room! (Sleeping in a pink room, in a bed with pink satin sheets, pink window treatments and lots of stuffed animals was a first for him!). It was wonderful! Then it was the new cattie Open House on Saturday, which was a lot of fun. On Sunday, we all went to Maggiano's to celebrate. It was an absolutely wonderful weekend that was spent with my family and friends. And today I was able to play with some new things my family gave me for my birthday--a few stamps that are not Stampin' Up and a set of 72 COPIC markers! These two cards are my practice pieces that turned out good enough that I am posting them here--just don't look too closely at them! There are quite a few more that won't be posted as they are in the recycle bin--lol! Have a great evening.

A Fun Card

Isn't the little turtle so cute? Every since I purchased my Big Shot, I have had my eye on this turtle die. But then I would remind myself that I really had no use for it. I was shopping over the weekend and the little guy was on clearance! How could I not bring him home? He is not a Stampin' Up item, but all of the cardstock is SU, including a few of the new In colors. I made the white background texture using my scoring tool and the "hello" is from the new Pennant Parade stamp set. When I completed the card, I realized that the little turtle will make some cute cards for OWH. I am sure children of our military personnel would enjoy receiving this turtle card so the little guy will be put to good use after all! Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Quick & Easy

Many of the cards I send to Operation Write Home are one of a kind. But then I also send cards that are quick and easily reproduced , such as today's card. Using black ink, I stamped the flower images from the Proud Peacock set on white cardstock for the background and one of the sentiments from the Swirls & Curls set. (Both of these stamp sets are from the Summer Mini.) A little flower punched with an Itty Bitty punch, a rhinestone and Daffodil ribbon are the finishing touches. I will now make similar cards but change the Daffodil to Pink or Red or Pool Party. This is the type of card that makes a nice set of cards for gift giving. Choose the color you like and make a variety of cards using different sentiments. Some cards can be horizontal, some vertical. Then tie them together with a pretty bow and a little "For You" tag and there you have it--a pretty gift that anyone will enjoy! Have a great day!

Happy Father's Day

Hope you have a wonderful day spent with loved ones who cherish you and all you mean to them.

Catalog Open House

June 25th is right around the corner~~and so is receiving your copy of the new Idea Book & Catalog. Stop in between the hours of 12:00 and 4:o0 pm on Saturday, June 25th and have a little fun. I have a couple of make & takes planned--one of which is the ice cream cone gift card pictured here. Since I will be celebrating my "BIG" birthday on the 27th, I will also have cake, snacks, beverages and little goodie bags, too! There is no fee to for this function. If you are a present customer and class attendee, the new cattie is my gift to you for your continued support. If you are new to Stampin' Up, a copy of the new cattie is $5 together with a certificate for $5 off your first $30 order placed thru me. Preregistration by June 23rd is required. Hope to see you then. In the meantime, have a great weekend and find yourself a little stampin' time.

Just Add Cake

One of the new packs of paper that Stampin' Up demos are able to preorder is "Just Add Cake". The colors this paper coordinates include Wild Wasabi, Peach Parfait, Poppy Parade, Baja Breeze, Blushing Bride and Early Espresso. I used Baja Breeze and Poppy Parade and to complete the card "Just Added Cake"--cupcake that is! I embossed the "frosting" on the cupcake, crimped the "cake" and added a candle. Now I just need to straighten out the candle! Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time.

New Hostess Program

I am still enjoying my sneak peek products from Stampin' Up and looking thru the catalog so I can add to my wish list. The Pennant Parade stamp set and the punch are fun. But two of the products I purchased are hostess stamp sets and I am liking those a whole lot. The sentiment on this card is from the Happiest Birthday Wishes set. It consists of 11 stamps all having to do with birthdays. Under the present hostess program, if you have a $150 party/order you receive a free Level 1 hostess stamp set and $15 towards product in the catalog. Under the new hostess program, if you have a $150 order/party, you will earn $25. This $25 can go towards items in the catalog. There are exclusive, hostess-only products specially priced that you can choose from, too. This particular hostess set, Happiest Birthday Wishes, has a $25.95 value (clear mount) that as a hostess you can purchase with your hostess dollars for $15. What I like about the new program is that whether you have a $150 party/order or a $300 party/order you can choose to purchase any of the exclusive hostess products. Or, if you don't want any of the hostess products, just spend your hostess dollars on other things in the cattie. I am really looking forward to getting feedback from you when you have had a chance to go thru your new catalogs. Not too much longer and the catalogs will be available to you. And as a reminder, if you presently attend my classes and/or are a customer of mine, there is already a catalog with your name on it. I am having an Open House on Saturday, June 25th and the catalogs will be available at that time. Have a nice evening.

Our Little Cowgirl

Yesterday we attended Sydney's dance recital. There was a wide variety of numbers, some beautiful, some cute and some that I did not particularly care for, but dance is an expression of creativity and all who danced did a wonderful job. Sydney's number was a tap dance with about eight other little girls. They wore black and red sparkly costumes in which they were supposed to be cowgirls. I kind of thought "saloon girls" when I first saw the costumes, but whatever they were, the girls were adorable and provided a cute performance. The card was made to match her outfit, but since I did not have any sequence, I used little red rhinestones for the bling. The sentiment is from the Happy Greetings set in the summer mini and fit perfectly on a decorative label punch. Enjoy your day!

Happy Together~~Up-dated

As promised, here's a card I copied from the current Idea Book and Catalog. The stamp set, Happy Together, will be retiring come June 30th, but it is so cute. The little quail are adorable and remind me so much of our years living in Phoenix and Anthem, Arizona. I used Early Espresso, Whisper White and a little Marina Mist and Pear Pizzazz cardstock. The quail are Peach Parfait and the flower is Poppy Parade. Once again, easy to recreate when using a photo from the cattie. Don't have this stamp set? Then use any set you have using this sketch and color scheme. An example would be using the D is for Dog set on page 74. Instead of the quail,I would stamp a line of paw prints in Chocolate Chip. In place of the vine of leaves, an Early Espresso or Black dog. The strip of Pear Pizzazz would be stamped with "a dog wags its tail with its heart." Finally, in place of the flower, I would stamp "D", cut it out and add a dimensional to the back. And here is a quickly created version of what I just described--lol!! If you are ever having a temporary lapse of creativity, just pick up the IB&C and have fun with it!

Three Little Words

I am always happy to find stamp sets that I own being carried over into the new catalog and even happier when it is a set that I use often. Today's card is taken from page 166 of the new catalog. The Wisteria Wonder really highlights the touches of Rich Razzleberry. The one thing I did that the sample in the cattie did not was to sponge the edges of the second layer of Wisteria Wonder and the Very Vanilla. I am also thinking that maybe I should have sponged in Rich Razzleberry rather than Wisteria Wonder ink, but I will try that another day. I am remaking cards from the new IB&C, but until you receive your copy, I bet you can find a card or two in the current IB&C that you could easily redo. As a matter of fact, that is what I will make for my next blog post! Have a great day and stay dry!

Change of Pace

Just about every card I post measure 5 1/2" x 4 1/4". Today I am changing that a bit with a card that has finished measurements of 6 1/2" x 3 1/4". Stampin' Up offers small open-end envelopes that measure 6 3/4" x 3 1/2" and I want to check them out. So, earlier this afternoon I made a card that will fit one of those envelopes nicely. The pattern paper is from the Just Add Cake collection which is in the new cattie. I focused on the colors of Peach Parfait and Baja Breeze, just two of the colors in this paper pack. I am happy to say that the Baja Breeze seam binding will be in the new cattie--yeah!--and completes the card. The multi-circle and the "notebook" design papers are two of the designs in the Just Add Cake collection. And the "u" in the Baja Breeze circle is actually punched out from another of the pattern papers in this packet. The sentiment was stamped using words from the Fabulous Phrases stamp set which carries over to the new catalog (another yeah!). So the card is ready to go. All that is needed is an envelope!

From the New Idea Book & Catalog

After looking thru the new IB&C several times, I have decided that I am going to start doing something new for me: remake the cards and things that Stampin' Up shows in their cattie. I "ooh" and "ahh" over so many of the cards that it is time to showcase my version of those cards. The card that is pictured here is on page 13 and that stamped image is from the Tagtastic Hostess stamp set which will be available to you beginning July 1st. I used Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla and Pool Party cardstock. I would not have put all of these together and then add Pumpkin Pie to the mix. But the card is really very pretty. And, I spent no time trying to come up with an idea! Now, since I do not have the supply list yet for the new cattie, it could be that the cardstock colors used in the cattie are different from what I used, but even if the colors are a little different, it all works! Just wait until you get your copy of the new catalog. It really has some beautiful examples in it and some great new stamp sets.

Wisteria Wonder

For those of you looking for a lighter shade of purple, it is here with the new In colors and named Wisteria Wonder. I made this top note quilt card using Pool Party, Island Indigo and Wisteria together with the polka dot embossing folder. In real color, the Wisteria is a little more gray than it appears on this card. The white mat around the top note shape was made using my Cricut and SCAL program. The first top note quilt I made had all of the new In colors, but the Calypso Coral and Lucky Limeade just didn't look right to me. If I was going to select my favorite of the new In colors, it would be the Island Indigo. Pool Party would be second~~and together they look good. Have a nice day and find yourself a little stampin' time.

About The Ribbon

With the release of the new catalog, SU is releasing some new ribbons, too. And anyone who knows me, knows that I really like ribbon. As a demo I was able to preorder a spool of the new 1/2" Scallop Dots ribbon in chocolate chip. This grosgrain ribbon is printed with white polka dots on one side and solid on the other. The scallop edges of this ribbon have little pinholes in each scallop. It is adorable! The ribbon will be available in several colors, so in the future you will be seeing this ribbon on many of my cards. And speaking of ribbons, one ribbon that I absolutely love is the Daffodil Delight 5/8" satin ribbon and sadly, SU is retiring it. I will miss it, but then, 5/8" satin ribbon in Bashful Blue will be gorgeous! And did I mention the 3/8" ruffled grosgrain ribbon in the new In colors? Have not seen it yet, but the picture in the cattie looks pretty! Have a nice Sunday and find yourself a little stampin' time.

New In Colors Compared

Made a quick color comparison chart before my card class begins, so here you go. The center circle in each row is the new in color. I have compared the new colors to both present and retired colors. And at that, these do look much nicer in person.

Another New Cattie Peak!

Pumpkin Pie & Daffodil Delight--a sunny summer color combination! Even better--using those colors for a card I made using new stamps and new Designer Paper. The lower section of this card is from the Flirtatious Specialty Paper; the top is stamped using the Delicate Doilies Stamp set which coordinates with the paper; and the tag is from a new Hostess set--Happiest Birthday Wishes. I am liking my new Stampin' Up supplies and am sure that you will, too! Have a great day!

A Sneak Peek!

Mr. Brown was here earlier than usual today so I had time to make a card before I start dinner. Pool Party is one of the new In Colors. It is prettier in person than on the computer and here I paired it up with Chocolate Chip. The pennants were punched with the new Petite Pennants Punch. The Pool Party pennants were stamped using the Pennant Parade Stamp Set which is one of the sneak peek sets we were able to purchase. The new colors are pretty and I look forward to sharing them with you. Ok. I have to go work on dinner. Depending on how the evening goes, I might just have time to make another little project using new items.

Inlaid Embossing...

...an easy technique that produces an awesome card. I punched star shapes from scraps of Perfect Plum and Very Vanilla cardstock and adhered them to the Baja Breeze cardstock. I slipped this into the Square Lattice embossing folder and ran it thru my Big Shot. I put the card together, stamped a sentiment and now have a great birthday card! I will be using this technique often and will post samples that I make using different embossing folders. Happy stampin'!

Sunny Days

Today I am sharing a couple of cards I made using the Sunny Days stamp set in the Summer Mini. The actual image is of four kids in their inner tubes but I only wanted to use a couple of kids. In order to do this, I inked two of the kids using my black marker and then stamped, colored and punched. Another item I am highlighting in this post is the dotted scallop ribbon border punch. On the Tempting Turquoise card I am revealing only one half of the "card stock ribbon". On the Pacific Point card, I have trimmed both the top and bottom of the pattern paper with the entire "card stock ribbon" showing. And here is where I confess that the first card I made using this punch is being recycled--LOL! I made a cute card and then I was going to punch this pretty dotted scallop ribbon trim edge on the front of the card. So I get all done punching and the card is laying on my counter and I am holding this strip of "card stock ribbon"! What? DUH, I get how this punch works (as I smack myself on the side of my head)! The design on this punch is such that the punched card stock is actually a strip and not just an edge as illustrated below. And on that note, I wish you all a happy day!

Big Stampin' Up Day!

Stampin' Up released the list of retired stamps and accessories this morning. Click on the button on the right entitled "Last Chance" and you will be taken directly to my SU website where you can view the retired items and purchase items if there are any that you want before they are gone. (The items on these lists will be available while quantities last.) While I am sorry to see some of them retiring, on the opposite side of the coin I have gotten sneak peeks at some fabulous new items--paper, punches, stamp sets and five new In-colors! I placed my order earlier and as soon as I get my items, I will create and post a few projects so you get an idea of what is in store beginnning July 1st. Ok~~now I need to go have my coffee! (It's pretty bad when seeing the new and retired SU items is more important than reading the paper and drinking my coffee--LOL!!) Have a great day!