Monthly Archives: March 2015

Use Your Ribbon to Make an Easter Egg Card

Ribbon Easter Egg Card

Use your ribbon to make a colorful Easter egg! Use the Oval Framelits to cut an Easter egg shape in a card layer. I used adhesive (Fast Fuse) around the back edge of the oval and stretched the ribbon across the opening.  If I did it again, I think I would adhere the ribbon to a separate piece of card stock that fit underneath the oval opening. I used the three colors of ribbon in the Best Year Ever Accessory Pack in the Sale-A-Bration Brochure.  It also comes with buttons.  The bunny is stamped with Stazon and colored in with Stampin’ Write Markers and cut out with Paper Snips (not too hard!). The greeting is from the stamp set And Many More. For a little bling, I added some Rhinestone Jewels to the Easter Egg and a Pearl to cover where I cut through the bunny to reach that inner arm part that needed to be cut out!

Today is the second to last day of Sale-A-Bration!  The biggest promotion of the Stampin’ Up! year ends tomorrow, Tuesday March 31.  Don’t miss it!  With every $50 purchase, choose a free Sale-A-Bration product!

Are you on my Mailing List?  I sent out a last minute reminder for the end of Sale-A-Bration today! Just trying to take care of my customers!  Be sure to check your Inbox!  And if you aren’t signed up, do it today so you won’t miss a thing!

Shop Stampin’ Up! Online HERE!

The Easter Bunny is Hiding Some Easter Eggs!

Easter Card with Bunny and Eggs

This is such a fun and happy card to make! When you are making an Easter Bunny card hiding Easter eggs, it’s bound to be a happy card! I started with a piece of the Irresistibly Yours Specialty Designer Series Paper #138635 that comes in plain white with embossed patterns on it.  When you apply ink over it, the pattern magically appears! I used a Sponge Dauber with Pear Pizzazz ink. Then just take a tissue or paper towel and wipe just to get any excess ink off the embossed patterns.  It’s so fun! Half the work is already done for you with the embossing already printed on the paper.  You could of course leave it plain for an elegant card or to use on a fancy package.

I thought the Easter Bunny hiding eggs in those leaves on the paper would be a fun scene for an Easter card. I just punched out eggs from the Best Year Ever Designer Series Paper #138633 with the Extra-Large Oval Punch and the Small Oval PunchI wasn’t really planning to use both sizes but decided the two sizes looked cute together and why couldn’t the Bunny be leaving eggs of different sizes?!

The punch-art bunny is simply made with the 1 3/8″ Circle Punch, the Large Oval Punchand the Word Window Punch. His little nose is the heart on the Owl Punch. Just draw on some eyes and whiskers with Stampin’ Write Markers.

The greeting comes from two stamps from the Crazy About You Stamp Set.  The card base is Calypso Coral which coordinates with the Best Year Ever Designer Paper.

You can get either or both of these designer paper packs FREE during Sale-A-Bration, each with a $50 purchase, but only until Tuesday, March 31.  Sale-A-Bration ends at 11:50 pm MT (Stampin’ Up! Time) on Tuesday, March 31.  Don’t miss it! That’s THIS Tuesday, believe it or not!!

If you need just a little bit more to reach your $50, or $100, or $150 for Sale-A-Bration, be sure to check out the Weekly Deals or the Clearance Rack for just an inexpensive item to add! And they did add more items to the Clearance Rack the other day!! Or choose a download for My Digital Studio which anyone can use on their computer.

Feel free to contact me if you would prefer that I put in your order for you.  I’m happy to do so.

Sign up for my Mailing List today in the upper right corner to get one more reminder about Sale-A-Bration —and of course all my newsletters about stamping and Stampin’ Up!

To shop online, click the link below!

Shop at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store today and get your order in ahead of the last minute rush!

Spring Has Come to Houston!

Azaleas in Houston Spring 2015

The weather is gorgeous here in Houston, Texas and our azaleas are in full bloom! I just have to show them off! If you are still experiencing snow, I hope this will give you some comfort that spring will soon come to you as well! Perhaps just looking at these beautiful blooms will inspire you to stamp a card with pretty flowers or make you feel like Easter is on its way. There was an older stamp set with a flower stamp that I used to use to look like my azaleas. But any flower stamp that gives you the same feeling as looking at this picture will do!

While you have some free time this weekend, be sure to shop Stampin’ Up!’s catalogs and Online Store and make your list before the end of Sale-A-Bration.  Tuesday, March 31 will be your last day to get your free Sale-A-Bration goodies with each $50 purchase.  No limit on multiple increments of $50! Any current merchandise counts toward the $50, even My Digital Studio downloads, if you need a couple more dollars to reach $50 or $100. My Digital Studio is going away May 31 so purchase any downloads, or the software, that you want before them – might as well do it now and take advantage of Sale-A-Bration! You can still use My Digital Studio even when Stampin’ Up! no longer carries it.

You might consider stocking up on card stock, adhesives, refills, or In Colors that will be retiring in a few weeks.  Beat the rush and avoid a sell-out.

Remember you have extra choices in Sale-A-Bration products beside the brochure! Click on the links below!

Sale-A-Bration Brochure

New Sale-A-Bration Choices

Newest Sale-A-Bration Choices

Place your Stampin’ Up! order at my Online Store or email me and I’ll be happy to put it in for you! Continue reading

Get Your Paper Pumpkin During Sale-A-Bration!


During Stampin’ Up! Sale-A-Bration you can buy products from the Annual Catalog or the Occasions Catalog or get a pre-paid Paper Pumpkin subscription! For every $50 that you spend, you can choose a FREE Sale-A-Bration product – and, guess what?  The 3-month Prepaid Paper Pumpkin Subscription is on sale $5 off and earns you a Sale-A-Bration item! Just add the 3-month Paper Pumpkin subscription to your order #137859. (Shipping is already included in the Paper Pumpkin kit, and while the SAB item is free, you will be charged minimum shipping if that is all you order – so I suggest adding some other stamping supplies or kits to your order.)

After you place your order, you will receive an email from Stampin’ Up! telling you how to get your Paper Pumpkin subscription set up.  If you ordered one as a gift for someone, you just pass along that information to them. When the three months are up, you can order another prepaid subscription or put in your account information so you will be set up to receive the kits on a monthly basis.

It’s such excitement to receive your red box in the mail and be surprised by what’s inside!  If presentation is important, then Stampin’ Up! got it right because your Paper Pumpkin kit comes all wrapped up as a gift for you!  It’s a gift of time for you to take to make the project inside and enjoy yourself! Follow the directions exactly or strike out on your own with the materials – or a little bit of both!

You can be a non-crafter and still enjoy Paper Pumpkin!  Try something new!  Maybe you want to send a gift to your friend, or your mother, or aunt, or niece, or nephew, or grandma, or granddaughter, or college student, or neighbor. You deserve a papercrafting kit in your mailbox once a month and maybe someone else you know does too!

Just go to my Stampin’ Up! Online Store and place your order for any of the wonderful stamping and papercrafting supplies Stampin’ Up! offers AND add a prepaid Paper Pumpkin subscription just like any other item. For every $50 you spend, you will then choose your free Sale-A-Bration item and you have lots to choose from this year!

Sale-a-Bration Brochure (Blendabiltiies Markers no longer available)

New Sale-A-Bration Choices

Newest Sale-A-Bration Choices

Sale-A-Bration comes to an end on Tuesday, March 31.  Don’t delay!!!

 

Easter Eggs Easter Card

Easter Eggs Easter Card

This Easter Eggs Easter Card was a complete surprise to me because I started out planning to make some totally different project! Once I reached into my Whisper White card stock scraps, I discovered these ovals already cut with the Ovals Collection Framelits  #129381 (as of today, these are on backorder). I don’t know what project they came from, but it was handy to find them! I immediately had the idea to stamp these ovals and decorate them as Easter eggs!  I pulled out the Work of Art Stamp Set and used the chevron pattern, the straight line, and the circle stamps in the set to stamp in various colors to give these ovals the look of Easter eggs!  I choose several ink colors from the Subtles family:  Calypso Coral, Wild Wasabi, Soft Sky, Pool Party, Blushing Bride, and So Saffron. You could also use the Brights or In Colors. I kept this card simple, but you could add glitter to the patterns or some other embellishments like pearls or rhinestones!

The card base is Pool Party.  The Whisper White layer is sponged a little at the top with Pool Party ink using a Sponge Dauber to look like sky.  The grass is a scrap strip of Old Olive and cut with the Fringe Scissors.  So easy! The bottom (chevron) egg is glued right to the layer with the Liquid Multipurpose Glue and the other one is popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals. The greeting is stamped with two words on a clear block from the Crazy About You Photopolymer Stamp Set.  You an order this stamp set in any of the types:  wood, clear, photopolymer, digital. I chose photopolymer because I can see through the stamp to hopefully get the words lined up exactly where I want them. On this card I was able to put both words on the clear block and stamped on scrap paper first to make sure they were lined up and spaced correctly.  Then I just stamped right on the card. It was risky since I already had the rest of the card made!  Better to do the stamping first in case you mess up!  But I also knew that if I messed up stamping directly on the card I could go back and stamp on card stock and then adhere that to the front of the card like a banner or just a strip or a punch.

I might add that this stamp set, in any of the forms, is also available as a Bundle which includes the stamp set and the Hello You Thinlits!  AND you save 15%!

With the exit of My Digital Studio the end of May, as I was looking at these stamp sets and Bundles in my Stampin’ Up! Online Store, I saw the digital version of Crazy About You which includes the stamp brush set (the stamps) plus the Hello You Thinlits words!  All for only $9.95.  It is actually named the So Very You Stamp Brush Digital Download. You can use this whether or not you have MDS, just use it on your computer. But you can still buy My Digital Studio and use it as long as you like even though Stampin’ Up! won’t be supporting it or putting out new downloads. I’m sad to see it go!

Check out the Stampin’ Up! Clearance Rack today!  New items were added, only available while supplies last, of course!

All of this will count toward your order for Sale-A-Bration rewards with a $50 order, or multiples of $50.  Sale-A-Bration ends March 31, next Tuesday!  Don’t miss it!!

Clearance Rack Banner

Happy Easter Bunny Easter Card

Happy Easter Bunny Easter Card

From the minute I saw this Happy Easter Bunny single stamp I loved it! You’ll find it in the Stampin’ Up! Occasions Catalog. It’s just a “happy” stamp!  I kept this Easter card simple, just stamp and color.  And the coloring is easy and fun!

I stamped the image with Stazon Jet Black Ink and colored in the images with my Stampin’ Write Markers. You can purchase these markers in color families, some individually, and best of all, in the complete set with carrying case. If you purchase the Many Marvelous Markers, you will earn two FREE Sale-A-Bration products!  If you add some more products to your order to reach $150, you will earn three SAB products plus Hostess Benefits! That means you get to shop with $25 in Hostess Dollars!

The bunny is colored with Crumb Cake, the leaves are colored with three different “green” markers just for fun, and the eggs and flowers are just colored with random colors.  You choose! To jazz up the greeting “Happy Easter” I used the fine tip of the marker to go over the letters with Melon Mambo. And for a little extra bling, I pulled off some sequins from the Bermuda Bay Sequin TrimTo adhere any sequins, I put a tiny tiny dab of Liquid Multipurpose Glue on the card where I want to place the sequins and then place the sequin on the tiny glue dab.

I find it relaxing to sit and color, and Stampin’ Up! has several ways to do it. I had pulled out my Blender Pens and was going to scribble some ink from the marker on to the stamp case, then pick it up with the Blender Pen, but as it turned out I just colored lightly straight with the marker. But if you need a lighter look, you can try the Blender Pen.

There’s still time order the Happy Easter Bunny stamp and get it before Easter if you hurry.

Shop at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store today!

Stampin’ Up! Updates

Stampin' Up! Weekly Deal Mar 24 2015

Here are the current Weekly Deals from Stampin’ Up! for Tuesday March 24 through Monday March 30.

Also, last week when I was on vacation, there was an announcement about My Digital Studio (MDS). This program has been evaluated by Stampin’ Up! and determined that this product has not been as successful as Stampin’ Up! had hoped.  Therefore, it will no longer be offered after May 31, 2015. If you own MDS you can certainly still continue to use it and have your products printed anywhere other than the SU printer. Stampin’ Up! will no longer offer support, although if you ask your demonstrator about any questions or problems, we may be able to find out the answer for you within our demonstrator community. Be sure you have downloaded all the downloads you have purchased (I need to do this!) before May 31 and it is suggested you have everything backed up because you will not be able to go back to Stampin’ Up! to download again. You can use the SU Printer up until May 31 (I need to do this too!). I hate to see MDS go, as do a lot of demonstrators and customers, but I didn’t use it as much as I intended to and maybe that was true with a lot of people.

However, for your memory-keeping, we do have Project Life by Stampin’ Up! created by Becky Higgins that is very easy to use! Stampin’ Up! continues to bring us exciting new products so while I am sad to see MDS go, change is a part of life and stamping! Just be sure you purchase any downloads (or the software) before May 31 and if you have any projects you have made but not printed, have them printed by the SU printer before May 31. You can always print things yourself or have them printed at other local businesses.

Remember, Sale-A-Bration comes to an end March 31, a week from today!

Oh No!!!

Shop today at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

Easy to Make Blooming With Kindness Flower Card

Blooming With Kindness Card

Sometimes it is so easy to come up with an idea for a card, and the Blooming With Kindness Stamp Set seemed to fit the bill for this easy card. While catching up on reading newspapers after our vacation to Death Valley last week, I saw a furniture store ad that had a pillow that caught my eye. The main image on the pillow actually looked a little like a retired stamp we used to have but I also thought of this Blooming With Kindness flower stamp. Then I just stamped a small portion of the flower in each corner of the Whisper White layer.  This is a 4″ x 4″ card.

On the inside of the card I stamped a larger portion of the flower in the lower right corner of a piece of Whisper White. A greeting can be stamped inside or I can simply write a little note in my own handwriting.

The card base is Night of Navy card stock 4″ x 8″ folded in half.  The layer is Whisper White 3 3/4″ x 3 3/4″ and the images stamped in Night of Navy Ink.

Here is a picture of my inspiration for this card:

Pillow Inspiration for Card

I think you will find that often home decors ads or pictures in magazines can really give you ideas for card, especially pillows! They are the accent pieces of the room and often the colors or the basic design pattern can catch your eye and make you think of how you could translate that into a card or other project. Think about that next time you are paging through one of your magazines.

We are often focused on the newest “mini” catalog, but don’t forget the beautiful stamp sets in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog!  I have a few copies available if you do not have your own demonstrator that you work with and if you would like the hard copy of the catalog to look through. Just send me an email or leave a comment on this post.

This is about the last week for Stampin’ Up!’s biggest promotion, Sale-A-Bration!  Last day is the last day of the month, Tuesday March 31. Earn a free Sale-A-Bration product with every $50 purchase in current Stampin’ Up! products!  Just shop online RIGHT HERE!

Sale-A-Bration is also a good time to sign up to join Stampin’ Up! and become a Demonstrator! Not only do you get the Starter Kit chock full of $125 in stamping supplies plus some business supplies to get you started for ONLY $99, but during Sale-A-Bration you have two extra options to choose from:  Receive a FREE Simply Created Project Kit from the Occasions Catalog OR Receive two free Sale-A-Bration items of your choice. And remember, the Starter Kit is customizable now, no set products that you will receive.  You make your own list according to your likes and needs. As your upline, I can help you build your business in whatever manner you prefer. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have. It’s a very easy process to sign up, you will be a Demonstrator in minutes, and it just may be the best thing you could do for your life or for your family’s benefit.

Shop HERE during Sale-A-Bration until March 31!

Stampin’ Up! Coloring Techniques for You!

Maybe this is the end of your Spring Break, or the beginning.  Maybe you are snowed in or rained in. Maybe you are having a relaxing and lazy Sunday and would just like to sit back and watch some videos!  Here are some that Stampin’ Up! released the other day showing various coloring techniques that you might enjoy.

Coloring Techniques with Sale-a-Bration Papers:

Watch Carrie use the Sale-A-Bration Irresistibly Yours paper that is already embossed AND the printed Sheer Perfection Vellum Paper Stack!

Watercoloring with Blender Pens – A Happy Thing Stamp Set

When I first started stamping, Blender Pens were one of the main things we used! They are still tons of fun to use with ink pads or ink refills in many ways!  Get re-acquainted with your Blender Pens or order new ones!

Watercolor Wash Technique – For Being You Stamp Set

Have some fun by embossing with White Embossing Powder and the Heat Tool, then use the Aqua Painter and ink to do a watercolor wash!

Order any of the current Stampin’ Up! products and with a $50 purchase you qualify for a FREE Sale-A-Bration product!  Remember, besides the Sale-A-Bration Brochure, new Sale-A-Bration products were added! And a few more were added last week!!

SHOP HERE!!

I’m Back! Happy Spring!

Death Valley National Park Spring WildflowersToday is the first day of spring! We came back from our trip to Death Valley, California yesterday and even here in Houston, where things are green year round, we could see the trees leafing out in that bright green and our azaleas are bursting into bloom! We were excited to see some spring wildflowers in Death Valley on our vacation there this past week. Lots of these little yellow flowers in certain areas, but when you get up close you see they are pretty spread out.

Death Valley National Park Wildflowers

Death Valley National Park Wildflowers

Death Valley National Park Wildflowers

We had never been to Death Valley before and although I resisted going with every fiber of my being, it turned out to be a spectacular place to visit (as long as I could go back to the car when I got too hot or tired from hiking with my husband and kids!!). I didn’t know what to expect (except lots of hiking!) but as all national parks have done, it delivered more than we could have imagined. I certainly wouldn’t want to be there if it was any hotter, but these temperatures were doable and comfortable enough in the mornings and evenings. The hotel we stayed at was very nice and convenient, the food not so great and very expensive, and we kept our water bottles and  the gas tank filled up so we wouldn’t have to worry.

At times we were BELOW sea level and at times 6000 ft above. The views and expanse were amazing, just amazing!!! The silence in many spots was golden. The mountains were rock, not covered by trees like you usually see, so the landscape was quite different. At times it looked like piles of dirt and rock like you see where mining has gone on or where construction is going on. But then you could see the beauty in all the different kinds of rock and their colors and the way they were laid down or uplifted. And it doesn’t hurt that I’m married to a man who knows all this stuff and which way water runs and how these mountains and landscapes were formed. We even visited a volcano that went off as recently as 300 years ago! The wind was so fierce I was afraid we would all blow in over the edge, but of course my family walked around the rim while I waited in the car! Some parts of the park looked like a moonscape. We also stopped to see some very tall sand dunes. There were people laying out in their swimsuits on the sand as if it were a beach – but there was no water anywhere around!

Death Valley

If you haven’t visited some of the national parks, you are really missing something. I find them to be almost a spiritual experience to see these amazing creations on our earth and to witness the forces of nature going on under our own feet or in front of our eyes, invisible but taking place over eons of time to form these magnificent landscapes that we can enjoy.

Even while I was away, I didn’t forget that Sale-A-Bration was going on! It only lasts until March 31 so don’t delay or you might forget and miss out on your free product with every $50 purchase!

Shop HERE for the best in stamping and papercrafting supplies AND to earn your FREE Sale-A-Bration gift!

Save Some Green on St. Patrick’s Day with These Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals & a SURPRISE!

Stampin' Up! Weekly Deal Mar 17 2015

Here are the new Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals for March 17 – 23. Save on pretty ribbons and embossing folders!  And a fun stamp set!

And a SURPRISE!!!

SAB Banner Newest Items

Newest Sale-A-Bration Items

With the loss of the Blendabilities Markers, Stampin’ Up! has added some new items to choose for FREE with a $50 purchase during these last couple weeks of Sale-A-Bration!  All Sale-A-Bration items (except stamp sets) are available WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

Shop at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!  Sale-A-Bration ends March 31!

AND——–

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

St. Patricks Day Pot of Gold and Lucky Shamrocks

Make Yourself a Triple Berry Basket

Berry Basket Die Triple Basket

A few weeks ago, after playing around a little with my new Berry Basket Die, I wanted to try to make a larger basket to actually hold some cards on my desk. Some I saw online were actually two or three baskets put together but I didn’t want the divider inside. So I figured out this arrangement:

Berry Basket Die Triple Basket Inside Assembly

You can see I cut off some of the basket sides in order to assemble this and glued two sides at the ends. I also took the strips that would be the handles and cut them to adhere the pieces together in the basket bottom. Then I covered the inside bottom of the basket with a piece of card stock that fit the length and width to give it a more finished look inside.  You’ll have to measure to get the best fit.

Berry Basket Die Triple Basket Inside

Then my berry basket was decorated with the pretty Painted Blooms Designer Series Paper, along the trim and for the flower.

I highly recommend trying the Coaster Board for making these baskets.  It will be a lot sturdier and stronger than card stock.  However, the card stock is cute and handy to use, too!

Get the Berry Basket Die and have fun making small baskets! How great they will be to make for Easter and spring!  The Handheld Stampin’ Up! Stapler is very fun to use with these baskets and makes them look like real baskets!

Don’t forget to check the Weekly Deals, too!  Last Day!

Shop Online 24/7 at my Stampin’ Up! Store! 

 

Easter Bunny Tag

Easter Bunny Tag

Last weekend I had SO much fun making twenty-four of these fun Easter tags with two of my customers/friends and one cute little girl for a group of children. I found the idea for the punch art bunny on Pinterest somewhere and fortunately the bunny fit just right on a tag made with the Stampin’ Up! Tag Topper Scalloped PunchI added some designer paper on the tag for the background and stamped the Easter greeting from a retired Hostess set (sorry!) right on the paper. We played with different combinations, like stamping on cardstock and punching out a shape, but in the end we just liked it stamped on the paper. That’s how you have to play around sometimes with rubber stamping until you just “know” you have the right design!

This is how you make the bunny:  The head is the Extra-Large Oval Punch. The body is the 1 3/4″ Circle Punch, cut in half. The ears are the Large Oval Punch with the pink insides made with the Word Window Punch.  We opted to fold down the top of the ear for cuteness!  The cute little heart nose is punched with the Owl Builder Punch. The eyes are just drawn in with a black marker and Miss Elsie did the whiskers with some wispy strokes with the Crumb Cake Marker! The rabbit paws are just 1/2″ circles.  The carrot is punched with the Modern Label Punch and then just trimmed down with Paper Snips. With the heart punch in the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack you can make the carrot topper and even fringe it with the Paper Snips if you want to make it look real.

The ribbon on the tag is the Tangelo Twist 3/8″ Satin Ribbon. It really goes well with the tag.

Hang this tag on an Easter basket or put the tag on a card for Easter. Or just make the punch art bunny on an Easter card.  Have fun with it.

If you need any of these supplies, you might be able to earn a FREE Sale-A-Bration product with a $50 purchase. Due to the Blendabilities not being available any more, other Sale-A-Bration items may sell out so if there is something you really want, don’t delay.

Don’t forget about the Weekly Deals and New Arrivals.

Shop at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

 

 

Happy National Pi Day 2015!

Illustration of a Pi Mascot Carrying a Pie

It’s National Pi Day and I won’t pretend to know very much about the subject of Pi! I much prefer the National PIE Day! Pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, which is approximately 3.14159 and apparently very interesting to math geeks! Pi Day is celebrated on March 14 because the date reads 3.14, the beginning of the pi numeral. It will continue beyond the first few numbers after the decimal point, infinitely.

This year, 2015, makes Pi Day especially notable as the date can be expressed as 3-14-15, the first five numbers of pi (3.1415)!  Some people even get a thrill out of memorizing the digits of pi, including my youngest son who did that in high school calculus class. His record stood for a couple years, I think!

That’s about as far as my interest in Pi goes, but I did come across this piano piece for Pi Day! I think you might enjoy it!