Best of Convention Swaps Day 3

This is by far my favorite swap of all. It is absolutely gorgeous. So much detail. It was created by Lori MacFarland. She used the Fabulous Flower stamp set, our new Outlaw Designer Series Paper, the 5/8" chocolate grosgrain, the photo corner and round tab punches. There are cooper brads. If you look really close you will see the Weathered background stamp on the bottom. She also cut the flower out and layered one on top of another and added a little bling with glitter. All I can say is wow and how lucky was I to get this swap.

Here's my second favorite created by Nona Van. It uses the Blossoms Abound stamp set. She sponge the outer edges of the card and used the Spring Bouquet punch and Silver Brads and Natural cording.

Here is the Pick a Petal stamp set stamped onto of the So Saffron Designer Series Paper. This card was created by Sue Ring.

Here's a swap from Dixie Stanford using the Scallop Punch, the French Flair Background Stamp and Carte Postale in the new River Rock color.

Here's a swap from Diane Killeen with the Doodle This Stamp Set. Isn't it gorgeous.

Best of Convention Swaps Day 2

Here are some more wow swaps and some 6x6 pages that I swapped and received. Here is a pinwheel card that Nicole Lofgren made. The pinwheel actually spins. How great is that!



Here is another wonderful wow from Lisa Dallas. She covered a metal tin and filled with chocolate for an Emergency Chocolate Supply box. This unlike the snowman chocolate bar never had a chance to make it home.



Here are two 6x6 scrapbook pages that I received. Julie Millard created the Merry page. The BoWest style page did not have a label so unfortunately, I don't know who created. I just love both the pages. I can't wait to put pictures in them.

Best of Convention Swap Week

I am back. I am going through all my swaps. I was very lucky. I got some fabulous swaps that I want to share them with you. There are so many talented demonstrators out there.

So for the next couple of days until I get caught up, you will see a few cards every day from the best of my swaps that I collected. I have to say it is very hard to pick just a few...

I'll start out with my great wow swaps! Here is a snowman candy bar. Swapper unknown, there is no label on the project for me to tell you who it comes from. It was hard to keep control on the plane ride home not to take the project apart and eat the chocolate bar!


Here is Southwestern Dip comes from Lisa Johnson. Doesn't the dip look yummy! I can't wait to make it!



The gift box comes from Charity Wright. What a fabulous watercoloring job!

Update from Convention

Convention is FABULOUS. I don't have a way to upload photos, but I wanted to let you know the make & takes are the best I have ever seen. I love the hundreds of swaps I received. There has been great stamping and business tips. So many ideas I can't wait to start them!
There has been great stamping ideas for gift idea and home decor. Stop by my new catalog open house see details below. I will have a slide show of all the things I saw as well as the make & take projects on display as well as all my card swaps. So come on over. Hope to see you there.

You're Invited to My New Catalog Open House

I am on my way to Stampin' Up!'s annual convention. So while I am swapping, learning and having fun, I would like to leave all of you with an invitation to my New Catalog Open House for when I return. I will have hundreds of new swaps for you to look at when I get back, so come on by and check them out.

Tuesday, July 31st 6:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Sunday, August 5th 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

R.S.V.P. and receive a free gift!

You will be get to see first hand some of the amazing new products available in the Fall Winter Collection as well as make some projects with them.

We will be making three make and take projects at my new catalog open house. They are as follows: a card, a tag and 2 12x12 scrapbook pages. So stop on by and get a 12x12 double page spread completed, all you will need to do is just add photos when you get home. So if you have never scrapbooked or never stamped in your scrapbooks, this is a great opportunity to learn. The 12x12 spread we will be making can be found below.

There will be prizes and refreshments.

If you haven't had a chance to check out the new catalog, Click here and it will take you to the Stampin' Up Online Catalog where you can view the catalog from the comfort of your computer screen.

Hope to see all of you!

Convention Luggage Tags

I am so excited. Only 1 more day to go and I am on a plane to Denver. Here are some luggage tags that I made with badge holders for me and my convention buddies. The stamp set is Priceless. If you zoom in on the photo you will see that the corners have been pierced. The were done with my paper piercer and the mat pack.

Count down to Convention

Only 2 more days to Convention. I can't wait. I am heading for 4 fun filled days in Denver Colorado for Stampin' Up!'s annual convention. I am so looking forward to it. My first one was 4 years ago and it was a blast. I am so happy that I am going to be able to go this year.

There are the best swaps ever, free stamps, make & takes, project displays as far as the eye can see, business and stamping classes and so much fun.

Here are one of the many swaps that I made that I will be swapping as soon as I walk in the door to the convention center.

The I just love you Double Line Doodles card uses the Apple Grosgrain Ribbon. I made the swap long before the retired accessory list came out. I never thought that so many of the grosgrain ribbon would be retiring. The great thing about Stampin' Up! is even though they don't sell the Apple Grosgrain anymore. You can dye the White Grosgrain Ribbon and make your own by running it across the Gable Green stamp pad or using a sponge dauber.

Finally

I finally finished putting all my new stamp sets together. The last one took forever, So Many Sayings. The stamp set comes as 3 big stamps. The intent is for you to use the Stampin' Write Markers and you can color in the words you need and stamp them.

I instead mounted them seperately on blocks of wood. The blocks of wood I used from the game Jenga. If you are lucky you can find the Walmart version of the game called Jumbling Tower and it will be not cost as much.


So as you can see I went from 3 stamps to 34! I needed a bigger stamp case, but it actually worked out in my favor. The Fundamental Phrases case was way to big for the stamps so I swapped the cases.


Here are two samples I made using new stamps, colors, punches and ribbon. Both the book marker and card feature the So Many Sayings stamp set.

What a surprise!

I was surprised yesterday by my group at work for my birthday. They surprised with the card, a muffin with a candle in it and a tiara to wear. Check out the homemade card made by my boss. It is not your typical card. Check out the handy work. I was touched. The top of the card says No Store Bought Card for You!!! I have to say it is one of the best cards I ever received.

Pick a Petal Scrapping

Here is a scrapbook page that I did with the Pick a Petal stamp set. As soon as I saw the polka dots I knew which picture to scrap it with. Here is my niece for her first birthday.

The extra touches on the page are stamping the little flowers in my Three for You punch box and then punching them out with punch. I made the button in the middle of the Pick a Petal flowerwith the 1 3/8" inch circle punch. I punch the holes in the middle with the eyelet tool kit, you can also do it with the new Cropadile. I just ordered mine it should be delivered in the next couple of days. Then I tied white grosgrain ribbon through the homemade button holes. The scallop edge was done with the slit punch.

Happy Early Birthday to Me

I just got my first birthday card in the mail. I am so excited it is a homemade card made by friend Tracy. If you go to her blog, you will see the card there as well. I actually noticed this morning on her page and was thanking her for the inspiration. I just got the stamp set Think Happy Thoughts and the only image that comes with the set to put in the center of the greeting was a flower. I was thinking what else can I use to put in there. Thanks to Tracy, I know now I can use the Short & Sweet greetings set. Thank you Tracy for my card, it is beautiful.

My new toys came today!

Well my long awaited order came in with all my new toys! Here it is! So as you can see before I can play I need to mount some stamp sets. So that is what I spent most of the evening doing. I still have few more to go, but they will have to wait until tomorrow. Here's a little friendly tip on how to mount Fundamental Phrases when you get the stamp set, here are the words and phrases and the correct block size:
Largest Block (quantity 4):
Anniversary & Birthday
Christmas & Celebrate
Congrats & Everything
Happy & Good Luck

Smallest Block (Quantity 2):
Family & For You
To My & Wish

The remaining phrases get mounted on the other 6 medium size blocks.

My favorite new toys are the punches. We finally have a circle punch that works perfectly with Circle of Friendship! The new punches make layering circles on top of our new scallop and designer label punch so easy. Check out the punched circles to the right.

Basic Black circle is our 1 3/8" inch circle.

So Saffron is our 1 1/4" inch circle punch.

Whisper White is our new 1 inch circle punch.

The last Regal Rose is our 1/4 inch circle punch.

There is one more circle punch the 3/4" inch circle punch but it was not used in the samples to the right.

My second favorite accessory is the taffeta ribbon. I wasn't sure if I would be happy since I loved our organdy ribbon so much, but it is very beautiful ribbon. Very elegant.

So check out my calendar and stop on by and check out the new accessories, papers and stamp sets in person.

Happy In the Spotlight

Here's a card using the In the Spotlight stamp set, a hostess exclusive stamp set. It's a great set for scrapbooking. Groovy Guava and River Rock are the colors that were used in the card sample. I used the 1 3/8 inch circle punch and the Coluzzle cutting system to cut the circle images out. The curve in the card was made with my favorite tool the Cutter Kit. Happy saying was taken from the Polka Dots & Paisleys stamp set.

Vases in Vogue

I was just playing with the new hostess exclusive stamp set, Vases in Vogue. I have to say I am liking this set more and more. If you love this set as much as I do, the only way you can get it is you host a workshop. So if you have ever thought about hosting your own workshop, click here to learn more about it.

Spinner Card

Here's a spinner card that I made with the monkey from the Zoofari stamp set. If you move the card from side to side, the monkey actuall spins along it's path. If you want to learn how to make the spinner card click here to see my upcoming events and I can show how easy it is to make it.

What an Amazing Year!

What can I say. I am in shock. This has been so amazing. I signed on this morning to the Stampin' Up website to find another one of my projects on Stamper's Showcase. This is truly incredible!!! What a remarkable year for me. Three projects on Stamper's Showcase on the Stampin' Up website and another project published in Stampin' Up's demonstrator magazine On Stage, all in one year! I am still shaking my head in disbelief.

The project that was on Stamper's Showcase this morning is my Bubbles Scrapbook page that was inspired by my niece, click here to be taken directly to that blog entry that features the 12x12 scrapbook page!

Thank you for sharing in my excitement.

Just Married

They have been keeping me busy making cards this week at work. We just found out a co-worker just got married recently. So here is a card that I made for the happy couple. The Just Married stamp set is from Greetings Galore and the Prints Designer Series Paper in Rose Red.

A Lucky Friday the 13th for Me!

I didn't have much time to stamp tonight. I am too busy looking at all the goodies I won that I finally had a chance to pick up. AC Moore was having a Scrapbooking Event and this is all the things that I won.

I finally had a minute to pick it up at my friend Kim's house where it's been sitting since before I went on vacation. I am so excited. I can't wait to play with my new things. Kim is such a talented scrapbooker. We meet almost 3 years ago at a scrapbooking crop and became instant friends. This year she also signed on to be a demonstrator and is a part of my downline. I love her work, click here to see her gallery on Scrapbooker Online.

Getting Inspiration from Desiger Series Paper Color Combinations

Have you ever gotten stuck in a rut and find yourself using the same color combinations over and over? Well I decided today to try some of the color combinations that are found in our new Designer Series Paper. The colors I used are Wild Wasabi, Groovy Guava and Rose Red which are all used in Darling Doodles.

Click here to be brought to my post from the other day that lists all the colors being used in the new Designer Series Papers. For more color combinations, you can also visit this great site, Stampin' Up Color Combos, the link for this site can also be found under the Favorite Sites section of my blog. Lastly, there is also the Stampin' Up Color wheel that is great to have on hand to find color combinations when you are working.

If you are wondering what ribbon is on the card, well I had to go into my ribbon from last year's catalog, it is the Ribbon Originals Sweet Shop since my Stampin' Up order still did not arrive. I finally shipped today, so I should have right around this time next week. I can't wait.

Three for You Punch Box

I just got the Three for You Punch Box. It comes with the a trio flower punch, 9 piece stamp set and 3 Stampin' Spots. 2 of the Stampin' Spots being the new 2007-08 In Colors, Wild Wasabi and Purely Pomegranate. Just add cardstock and you are ready to start creating.

Here is a 8 1/2 x 11 scrapbook page I made using the punch and the one of flower stamps from the set. I stamped the flowers on the top of the page using Regal Rose and Apricot Appeal. The flowers on the side of the page lined up were created using the trio flower punch. I punched the flowers out of the Apricot Appeal card stock and then using the uni-ball Signo white gel pen, I made a white dot for the center of the flower.

Double-Line Doodles

Here is a card sample using Double-Line Doodles stamp set.
I needed to make a card so that my entire department can sign. It is for a co-worker that is going to be out sick for a couple of days. Since there is about 35 people in the department, a small card will not work for our group! To provide plenty of room for everyone to sign, I attached additional card stock in the middle of the card and fastened the card stock to the card with some black gingham ribbon. To make the holes in the middle of the card, I used eyelet tool kit since none of my punches would be able to reach the center of the card.

It's a Girl!

One of my oldest and dearest friends just emailed me to let me know she had a baby girl. So here's the card I made for her using Zoofari. Enjoy!

Stampin' Up Original Ribbons & Designer Series Papers

Sorry it's been a while since I posted. I was away for a couple of days at the Jersey Shore. Now, I am relaxed and ready to go. So let's start with the most important question, what does everyone think of the new catalog!! My favorite stamp set is Priceless and Garden Whimsy. I can't wait for my order to come in so I can play with them.

Since I have a lot of unpacking to do, for today, I will just post new information that was passed onto me on what the coordinating colors are for the Stampin' Up Designer Papers & Ribbon Originals. Look for more project samples in the days to come...

Coordinating Colors for Ribbons Originals

Beachfront:
White - rickrack
Sahara Sand - zig zag
River Rock - pleated
Very Vanilla – gathered grosgrain
Basic Gray – velvet

District:
Pumpkin Pie – stripe grosgrain
White w/ Celery – diagonal stripe woven weave
Basic Gray w/white – stripe grosgrain
Blue Bayou/Sage Shadow – checkered weave
Sage Shadow – grosgrain

Fairy Tale:
So Saffron – jacquard flower
Rose Red – grosgrain w/ white stitch
Certainly Celery – woven loop
Regal Rose – gathered grosgrain
Almost Amethyst – grosgrain

Jersey:
Basic Black w/ white –stripe grosgrain
Real Red – twill w/ zigzag
More Mustard/Wild Wasabi – grosgrain
Brocade Blue – wide grosgrain w/stripe
Wild Wasabi – twill

Sherbet:
So Saffron – wide grosgrain w/ stripe
Groovy Guava – woven loop
Purely Pomegranite – w/ white polka dot
Mellow Moss – velvet
Soft Sky/Very Vanilla – elastic w/ gather

Theater:
Always Artichoke – grosgrain w/ loop
Close to Cocoa – velvet
Old Olive/River Rock – reversible satin
Old Olive/ Vanilla – elastic w/ gather
Chocolate Chip – satin w/ border

Coordinating colors for the new Designer Series Papers

Brocade Backgrounds: Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, River Rock

Cerise: Real Red, Very Vanilla

Charbon: Basic Gray, Very Vanilla

Creepy Crawly: Basic Black, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust

Cutie Pie: Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, So Saffron

Darling Doodles: Brocade Blue, Groovy Guava, Rose Red, Wild Wasabi

Dashing: Old Olive, Real Red, River Rock, Very Vanilla

Fall Flowers: Old Olive, Really Rust, Sahara Sand, Soft Sky

Flowers for You: Certainly Celery, Lovely Lilac, Regal Rose, Tempting Turquoise

LeJardin: River Rock, Soft Sky, So Saffron, Very Vanilla

Linen Prints: Apricot Appeal, Cameo Coral, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, Pink Passion

Notations No.2: More Mustard, River Rock, Very Vanilla, Wild Wasabi

Outlaw: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Really Rust, Sage Shadow, Very Vanilla

Petals & Paisleys: Certainly Celery, Cool Caribbean, Rose Red, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Taken with Teal

Prints: Monochromatic papers available in Almost Amethyst, Always Artichoke, Blue Bayou, Brilliant Blue, Certainly Celery, Close to Cocoa, Groovy Guava, Lovely Lilac, More Mustard, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, River Rock, Rose Red, So Saffron, Soft Sky, Tempting Turquoise

Porcelain Prints: Blue Bayou, River Rock, Wild Wasabi

Uptown: Almost Amethyst, Basic Gray, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi

Wintergreen: Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Sage Shadow, Soft Sky