Color Challenge

Here is this week's color challenge, Rose Red, So Saffron and Orchid Opulence. I decided to pull out my Hostess Set Bitty Basics for this challenge. I stamped the flower randomly from the set on the front of the card on an angle so it looks like they are floating down. Next I colored in the greeting from the One of a Kind stamp set and then framed in the Styled Silver frame. The finishing touch was the white grosgrain ribbon, the strips of So Saffron on top and bottom and the Whisper White Scallop edge.

Make sure to check out the following links for more ideas using the color combos of the week from our color girls: Colleen, Debbie, Lorraine, Kelly, Chris, Traci, Dana and Tracy.

Quick & Easy Homemade Halloween Treat Holders

Here's a quick and easy project to hand out for Halloween. I bought a big bag of pre-packaged single bags of candy corn and turned them into little treat holders to hand out to my customers, co-workers and trick treaters. First I made the die-cut with my Big Shot, then I stamped the greeting from the Tasty Sweet stamp set and then last lastly I attached a gingham bow with a mini glue dot.

October Open Workshop

Come celebrate Stampin' Up!'s 20th anniversary and World Card Making Day month with me!

I will be holding the event on two dates:

Wednesday, October 22nd 7 p.m.

Thursday, October 23rd 7 p.m.

We will be making 5 cards. Learn how to make a spinner and how to do the spotlight technique.

Workshop Fee: $15

Bring a friend that is new to stamping and me and you and your friend will pay half price for the class fee! So you and your friend will only have to pay $7.50 for the class. Place a 50$ order or more and your class fee is waived.

Please RSVP as soon as possible for all events so that the card stock is ready for everyone to start stamping when the event begins.

Featuring stamp sets (in order as they appear on this entry): Big Bold Birthday, On Your Birthday, Holiday Trinkets, Sweet Serendipity, Inspired by Nature, Best Yet, Cheers to You, Tasty Sweet

Stampin' Up! Celebrates World Card Making Day

Stampin' Up! is excited to celebrate this holiday with you the week of October 4-11. During this week, we are offering 20 percent off Simply Sent card kits and Simply Sent Card Elements.

112021 Rock Star Card Elements
Retail Price $15.95
20% Off Price $12.76

112028 Flower Power Card Elements
Retail Price $15.95
20% Off Price $12.76

112016 Handmade Holiday Card Elements
Retail Price $17.95
20% Off Price $14.36

109868 Simply Sent Card Kit - Lifelong Notes
Retail Price $42.95
20% Off Price $34.36

109231 Simply Sent Card Kit - Sending Happy Thoughts
Retail Price $54.95
20% Off Price $43.96

Free Stamps for Hostesses!

From October 1 through November 30, 2008, Host a $350 workshop and choose one stamp set for free.

111564 Flight of the Butterfly
Retail Value $31.95

112911 Vuelo de la mariposa (Spanish Flight of the Butterfly)
Retail Value $31.95

111676 Puns from the Past
Retail Value $27.95

111660 Just Jawing
Retail Value $25.95

111624 Dreams du Jour
Retail Value $18.95

111700 Thank You Kindly
Retail Value $13.95

111714 Wow Flowers
Retail Value $12.95

112955 Flores llamativas (Spanish Wow Flowers)
Retail Value $12.95

111600 Bella's Bloom
Retail Value $12.95

Stampin' Up! Birthday Promotion

In the month of October, spend $20 in regular catalog merchandise and qualify to purchase any preselected birthday/celebration stamp sets at 20 perent off.

109439 Big Bold Birthday
Retail Price $27.95
20% Off Price $22.36

112895 Cumpleaños genial y divertido (Spanish Big Bold Birthday)*
Retail Price $27.95
20% Off Price $22.36

111532 Party Hearty
Retail Price $26.95
20% Off Price $21.56

110994 Bitty Birthday
Retail Price $12.95
20% Off Price $10.36

111618 Crazy for Cupcakes
Retail Price $23.95
20% Off Price $19.16

111546 Simple Birthday Thanks
Retail Price $17.95
20% Off Price $14.36

111702 Time to Party
Retail Price $16.95
20% Off Price $13.56

108559 Crab & Company
Retail Price $27.95
20% Off Price $22.36

More Mr. Twigster Holiday Cards

Here are a few more cards made with Mr. Twigster, it's a safe bet that he has become a favorite of mine. In fact, he did make it as holiday card for me for the season. Here are some cards I came up with on my way to making this year's card.

The first card I used my Sizzex Top Note which I stamped Mr. Twigster. I colored him with my blender pens and my ink refills. The greeting comes from my Warm Words stamp set which you can still purchase since it is on the dormant list. Then came a piece of our Frosty Day paper laid on top of a piece of Kiwi Kiss card stock. The finishing touch was the chocolate grosgrain ribbon and corner rounding the 2 sides of the card.

The next card uses some of the same things except this time, Mr. Twigster shows up inside the 1 3/4" circle punch. I also stamped the trees in Kiwi Kiss as a background. Then the scallop edge punch and a strip of Chocolate Chip on the top finish this card off.

This time Mr. Twigster was placed on top of a piece of Baja Breeze and framed in two strips of Chocolate Chip card stock. I stamped the greeting from the Sweet Serendipity stamp set and punched it out with our 1 1/4" circle punch.

The last card, I got a little circle punch happy. I stamped the images and greeting and then punched them out with our circle punches along with the Frosty Day paper. The greeting I highlighted by layering on the coordinating circle and tieing a piece of Kiwi Kiss Taffeta ribbon. The background, I stamped snowflakes from the Short & Sweet stamp set. On the bottom, I adhered a strip of Chocolate Chip card stock.

One Card So Many Possibilities

Here is a card I came up with that in the end is 4"x 4" in size. I took a strip of 9 1/2" x 4" and scored it at 4" and then at 8" the last 1 1/2" I scored and folded over to the top of the card. On the 1 1/2" piece I put a piece of our Holiday Treasures designer series paper. I then put a piece of scallop edge punched out card stock and tied it with wide chocolate chip ribbon. Lastly came Deer Friends which I stamped and layered on circles and the scallop circle punch. This was a very close possibility for my Christmas card this year. I loved how I could use up all my designer series paper just by changing up the items I stamped.

Sneak peak into the Holiday Mini

Here is a sample made from Mr. Twigster and our new Frosty Day paper from the Holiday Mini that will be out on October 1st. I colorered in our Mr. Frosty with our blender pens and my ink refills. The finishing touch was adhering the wide chocolate grosgrain ribbon and then tieing a knot and attaching it with a mini glue dot. The greeting comes from our warm wishes stamp set. Can you believe this stamp set is only $13.95! What a cute set to make some cards and send some winter wishes!

Deer Friends and Santa's Lineup

I started the quest this weekend for the perfect Christmas card. For me it has just enough bling and wow without too much work since I have to mass produce it. I am happy to say that I finally did come up with 2 cards this year. Which is great now, I can go order all the paper and accessories I need to make it. You'll see the card a little later in the year, what fun would it be if you got to see it now and not in your mailbox.

So in the next couple of days, I'll post some of the creations I made before I came up with this year's card. It's not to early to start thinking about Christmas cards. Plan ahead and you can work on it in your spare time. I already started with cutting up paper this weekend while watching tv. I also did the scallop edge for about 30 cards while sitting in front of the tv. A little at a time and before you know the task will be done.

So here's a card I made with Deer Friends and Santa's Lineup. I rolled the wheel on piece of Kraft card stock. I then made the scallop edge and placed it under the Kraft card stock. I tied a bow made with chocolate chip grosgrain and attached it with a glue dot. Then came the reindeer from the Deer Friends stamp set. I attached a red pompom that I bought in Michaels for his nose and layered it on top of the circles and scallop punches.

Color Challenge and a little more

Here is this week's color challenge: Apricot Appeal, Bashful Blue and Pumpkin Pie. I took out the Eastern Blooms stamp set for this challenge. I color the flowers and the greeting with my Stampin' Write Markers. The greeting comes from the On Your Birthday stamp set. The finishing touch was the white tafetta ribbon.

I also had to make a card for a friend of mine, so here is another card made with the Eastern Bloom stamp set. The colors are Cameo Coral and Pixie Pink. I also colored the flowers in with my Stampin' Write Markers. I put half back pearls in the center. I then stamped the Pretty Petals background stamp set which is on the dormant list so you can still purchase it and put a scallop edge on the card. The greetings come from the Take Three and the Define Your Life stamp set.

Spooky Decor Elements

For a limited time, Stampin' Up! is offering this spooky spider in their Home Decor Line! It took a while, but I finally found something to put the spider on. At convention, they showed us how they put it on a cookie jar that someone purchased in Target. Click here to see the jar. I was hesitant to put in a glass jar since I didn't want to worry about storing it after the season was over. So I found this metal tin in Michael's and added a wired ribbon that I bought there as well. Now that I've put the decor elements on a few items, I can't believe how easy it is to adhere and put on! Click here to see the flyer on the Stampin' Up! website. The spider comes in three sizes, small, medium and large, ranging from $5.95 to $14.95

This Week's Color Challenge

Here's this week's color challenge in a yummy cupcake. The colors this week are creamy caramel, regal rose and always artichoke. I have to say there isn't much always artichoke in this card, just a small hint in the sprinkles. I first stamped the cupcake from the Simple Birthday Thanks stamp set on a piece or creamy caramel. The bottom half of this stamp set is actually a thank you where your child can fill in and say thank you for their gift. It leaves a place to put the to:, from: and the gift they received. Super easy and super cute. You can just stamp the cupcake, have your child fill it out and color in the sprinkles and the cherry. Personalized birthday thank you card.

Let me get back to the card now that I made now that I went off on a tangent. After stamping the cupcake, I cut the bottom out and crimped it. Next I stamped the cupcake again on Very Vanilla and with my Stampin' Write Markers I colored it in. Next I cut the top portion of the cupcake out. I attached the cupcake top and bottom to a piece of confetti cream. I then stamped the greeting from the On Your Birthday stamp set. I only stamped the words from the greeting by masking off the bottom. Next I stamped the 3 from the Short Order Alphabet. With my 1 3/8" inch circle, I punched out the greeting. I attached the greeting also to the card with Stampin' Dimensionals. Finally the scallop edge was punched and twill tape was tied around it. I just love the size of this cupcake. I can't wait to do a scrapbook page or gift bag with it. I'm sure you will see one in the future!

Pocket Silhouettes

Here are two simple homemade card made with Pocket Silhouttes. The first card I started it with stamping the floral images on Sahara Sand card stock and cutting them into one inch squares and then layering them onto of the chocolate chip scallop square punches. The finishing was the scallop edge made with our punch and the wide chocolate chip grosgrain ribbon.

The next card is just as simple. It starts with the floral image stamped in Kiwi Kiss and then punched out with the large Oval punch. The image at the end is attached with a Stampin' Dimensional. Next came a piece of Bella Rose designer series paper. I laid down a strip of Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla Taffeta ribbon. I love the fact that this ribbon is double-sided. Next came the greeting from the On Your Birthday stamp set. The finishing touch was two vanilla buttons.

Cheers to You Color Challenge

Well I had every intention with this week's colors to do a scrapbook page, but I've been running around all week trying to get things done that I just didn't have the time to devote to scrapping, so here is this week's colors in a card. The colors are Green Galore, Brilliant Blue, Tempting Turquoise and Ballet Blue. I started with the circles that I made by first punching out the 1 3/8" inch circle then I then I positioned the larger circle 1 3/4" to make the open circle. I stamped the martini images first and then laid down the circle. I colored in the martinis with my Stampin' Write Markers. I have to say I cheated in this color combo a little. I used the red marker for the inside of the olives. Next I laid down a strip of Rainbow Sherbet and the Green Galore card stock. Lastly the scallop edge was punched out and the Green Galore buttons were attached with mini glue dots. I have to say what a perfect way to end this week with this drink card! Anyone up for a TGIF happy hour!

While at Fall Fest, Colleen was trying to put familiar faces with some of the girls that have joined us in the color challenge, so just asked are you one of the color girls? So since that moment, I believe we have all been christened with a new name the color girls. Make sure to check out the following links for more ideas using the color combos of the week from our color girls: Colleen, Debbie, Lorraine, Kelly, Chris, Traci, Dana and Tracy.

He's on the Move

Well I have to say I don't think we are going to be able to keep up with this little guy. We were all so impressed that my nephew was moving forward and quickly in the walker just 12 days ago. Here's the picture I took of him that I scrapped. Well on the 8th, he started crawling. So in just 7 months and a couple of days, this little guy is already crawling. He just saw keys hanging and he went after them. There was no time for lessons or proding, he was on a mission and he is moving. So here is the scrapbook page of him walking. I used the new Baja Breeze paper and the Chocolate Chip Patterns paper. The title was stamped in Short Order Alphabet. I stamped the wheel image from the Big Flowers stamp set and cut them out and put a natural button in the center. The wheel images were popped up on the page with dimensionals. The page needed a little more so I put a scallop edge on the side made with our punch. Isn't he a cutie! Boy, can he tug on your hair! It's no wonder his arms are so strong to start crawling!

Homemade Happy 30 Wall Hanging

A friend of mine her 30th birthday is this weekend. Since I am on decorating committee, I decided to make a wall hanging with my new Big Shot! Since I don't have the new pennant die cut, I decided to make something with my chipboard coasters. I have to say I am using these things like crazy since I got my big shot. The coasters that my friend Colleen ordered from American Coaster have been sitting collecting dust. Since the Big Shot came to town, I seem to find new things to do with all the time. My favorite thing to do is use the chipboard with my Serif Essentials die cut to make chipboard letters. I apply the designer paper to the chipboard with my glue stick and then I run through with my Big Shot. How great is this, no applying paper to chipboard, then cutting around it, then sanding it. That is all a thing of the past with the Big Shot.

So here is the sign I made with my Serif Essentials, some chipboard coasters and Bella Rose designer series paper. I tied it together with my 5/8" Old Olive wide grosgrain ribbon. I made the holes through the chipboard with my crop-a-dile. Unfortunately, we still do not have number die cuts, so I had to pull out retired On Board Lower chipboard to get the 30 and needed to apply the chipboard the old fashion way. I think I'll be sending an email to Stampin' Up! telling them that we need number Sizzex dies. Then I asked my dad to get me a stick so I can pull the whole thing together. I have to say I like the way this turned out. I may have to make a few more signs!

Order from me 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

Yes, you read the title correctly! You can now order from me 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Not only that but you should see the online ordering. It is absolutely beautiful and so easy to use. Shop by stamp sets, shop by color family, shop by embellishments. So easy, so fast and so organized. Find what you are looking for in minutes.

Just click on the Shop Now button in the top right corner of my Stampin’ Up! website, http://www.stampzone.stampinup.net/ to access the online store.

You can now place an order online by yourself and have it shipped directly to you all from the comfort of your home.

So say you are working on a project and realize you need more paper, a certain stamp set, check out the website and place your order as you need your supplies! In 10 days it will be on your doorstep. We don’t need to play phone/email tag. Place your order and your things will be on their way. This is also great if you don’t want to call or email me with your credit card information.

As always, you can email me and I can handle your order especially if you live close by. It may save you a couple of dollars on your shipping depending on the size of your order.

Place an order of 150$ and you are entitled to hostess benefits as well! So send the link to your family and friends to the online store. Ask them to email you their orders, put in the one big order and you are one your way to free products.

So in honor of the new online ordering system, the first 5 people who place an online order will receive a free copy of the new Fall/Winter Idea Book & Catalog. 200+ pages of project ideas! Retail Value: 10$ Offer expires September 30th, 2008. So place your orders and I will mail the catalog to you!

Happy Shopping!

More Big Shot Ideas

Here are a few more Big Shot paper crafts ideas from Saturday's regional Stampin' Up! Event, Fall Fest I attended.

Big Shot Ideas from Fall Fest

Well I have to say we made it home before the rain got too out of control on Saturday. I have to say you will be seeing two days of ideas from Fall Fest, because I have to say there were some fabulous Big Shot ideas shown at Fall Fest. We really have some very talented people in our group. First I'll start with pictures of our Big Shot girls, they were demonstrating to all us how to use the Big Shot and answering our questions. We even got to make a few projects to take home. So here they are Kristen Fuller, Tracy Altamose and then Kelly Mahoney, Tracy Bakunas and Jackie Matyasovski.

Here are some Fall and Winter ideas using the Big Shot.

Getting Ready for Fall Fest

On Saturday, I get to spend the day with friends catching up, stamping, scrapbooking and learning new business techniques at a all day regional Stampin' Up! event. The best part of the day is spending it with my Stampin' Up! buddies. There is actually 5 of us driving down together so it should be a lot of fun.

One of the best part of getting together is swapping! It's where you make x amount of one design and then get x amount of new ideas. We really do come from a talented group, I can't wait to see what cards I get in return. I decided this time to make something with my Big Shot. I had a bag of Starburst I never opened that I decided to make a treat bag with. With all those great flavors, the perfect set to use is our Tart & Tangy stamp set. So I stamped the cherry & strawberry images on a cut out Top Note Bigz Die folded in half with my Stampin' Write Markers. I stamped the lemon/orange and then punched it out with my 1 1/4" circle punch. I then cut the image in half to make it a slice and then attached it to the project with my Stampin' Dimensionals. Next I put the Starburst one of each flavor inside a cello bag, put the bag topper on. Then I punched holes with my crop-a-dile and tied pumpkin pie grosgrain ribbon.

Back to School Photo Contest

I was just reading this morning in my Woman's Day magazine that they are holding a back to school photo contest. Upload your photo of your little one's going off to school and win a chance for a Nikon Coolpix S51 digital camera. The contest runs from October 1st to November 1st.

Click here to submit your photo and to learn more about this contest. They are even holding a summer vacation photo contest as well.

Hand print scrapbook page

I finally had a chance to do something that I read about a while ago. To tell you the truth, I don't even remember where I read this, must have been on a mailing list or on splitcoast. It talked about doing hand prints with children. What you do is take the child's hand and put versamark on it. Then place the child's hand on a piece of card stock. Next sprinkle white embossing powder on the image and emboss. There you go a hand print with out the messy ink. Versamark is clear so you can take it off with just a quick baby wipe. Since my niece is starting to ask to go downstairs to stamp with me. I just knew I could get her to do it with me finally.

So here is her hand print that I put with a recent picture I took of her on a scrapbook page. The hand image I cut out with my Coluzzle and put the date with my uni-Signal white gel pen. I then place that along with her photo on top of a piece of the retired Berry Bliss retired designer series paper and a stirp of new 1 1/4" Pink Pirouette Grosgrain Ribbon. I tied a knot and put it in between the photo and the hand print. The scallop edge I made with my slit punch. The name Julie was die cut with Big Shot and Serif Essentials die cut. Then I stamped the butterflies from the Flight of the Butterfly set, cut them out and attached them to the page with dimensionals.

What a great way to capture their hand prints at any age. I still can't believe how big her little hand is already!

Give Thanks 12x12 Scrapbook Page

I was able to work on a scrapbook page the other day when my stamping buddies came by. You had to see us we were like kids in a candy store. We all had new things from the Fall Winter Idea Book that we brought to share. In all the craziness, I was able to create a Thankgiving layout that I made a few tweaks today with. It's funny overnight, new inspirations come to me and I always find myself making a few adjustments to the pages. So here I started with the beautiful Chocolate Chip Patterns designer series paper. I stamped the title with my Schoolbook Serif alphabet. I then took the leaves Sizzex Big Shot die cut and cut out leaves in Tangerine Tango, Really Rust and Ruby Red. I then took my Canvas background stamp and stamped the background on the leaves. On some of the leaves, I embellished them with a natural button with linen thread. Then I did some journaling with on my Top Note diecut. A scallop edge with Creamy Caramel and some 1/4" and 5/8" chocolate chip grosgrain to embellish the page.

September Open Workshop

I will be holding the event on two dates:

Tuesday, Septemer 16th 7 p.m.

Wednesday, September 17th 7 p.m.

We will be making 2 cards. When we are done with the cards, you get to punch the night away! Fill a 3 cup Rubbermaid container with punch cut outs using my 30 punches and my Big Shot die cuts which includes snowflakes, leaves and upper case letters perfect for scrapbooking!

Workshop Fee: $15

Bring a friend that is new to stamping and me and you and your friend will pay half price for the class fee! So you and your friend will only have to pay $7.50 for the class. Place a 50$ order or more and your class fee is waived.

Please RSVP as soon as possible for all events so that the card stock is ready for everyone to start stamping when the event begins.


Featuring stamp sets (in order as they appear on this entry): On Your Birthday, Upsy Daisy, Polka Dot Background Stamp, Short Order Alphabet

Color Challenge

This week's color challenge is Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive. I pulled out my new Upsy Daisy stamp set and my Big Shot for this card. First I cut out with my Big Shot the Top Note die cut. I then stamped the Upsy Daisy stamp set with my Stampin' Write Markers. Next, I made the edge with my scallop edge punch. I then tied some wide Old Olive Grosgrain ribbon around our new Patterns Chocolate Chip designer series paper. I have to say I love the patterns in this new paper line. I didn't think they could beat last year's Prints paper, but I think they did!

Make sure to check out the following links for more ideas using the color combos of the week: Colleen, Debbie, Lorraine, Kelly, Chris, Traci, Dana and Tracy.