Free products!  Who doesn't like to hear that phrase?!  Time is running out for the greatest Stampin' Up! promotion of the year….and the oldest! Stampin' Up! has been promoting Sale-a-Bration since the early days of the company (back then, called Sell-a-Bration), so you know it is a good thing!  But today and tomorrow are the last days.  Sale-a-Bration 2011 ends tomorrow, March 31.

With a purchase of just $50, you get to choose one free product from the Sale-a-Bration Mini Catalog.  With a $100 purchase, choose two free products…and so on!  No limit!

You may have seen some of the new SAB stamp sets in the mini, but did you know there are MANY stamp sets from the Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog that are also available?  They are listed on page 11 in the Sale-A-Bration Mini.

Here's one of them…Elizabeth!  It's a single "a la carte" stamp.  I was asked to make some simple invitations for a school event thanking some volunteers.  This was one of the samples I made.  The Elizabeth stamp is very elegant!

It's time to stock up on card stock, adhesives or those stamp sets you've always wanted because with your $50 purchase you will receive the Sale-A-Bration benefits.  Check it out HERE.  And then click on the "Shop Now" button on my website to place your order!  Have fun!

Card making is so easy when you use Stampin' Up! products.  When inks, paper and accessories coordinate, all you have to do is choose a few colors or a main color to work with and everything else will fall into place. This 4"x4" card base is Melon Mambo which coordinates with the Sale-A-Bration Ice Cream Parlor Designer Series Paper & Quick Accents Pack #122242.  I knew I could also use the Ice Cream Parlor Ribbon with the buttons included in the Ribbon & Button Pack #123529.  The stamp set in the Sale-A-Bration Catalog "Sweet Summer" has a little stamp of stems and leaves that I easily colored with Stampin' Write Markers and then adhered the little buttons.

You can choose any of the Sale-A-Bration products FREE with a $50 purchase, but only until Thursday, March 31!!  The last day is fast approaching and I'd hate for you to miss the fun of choosing your free product from the amazing catalog this year!  There are stamp sets, accessories, a Decor Element, and digital content for digital papercrafting with My Digital Studio.

Just think how special it would be for someone you know to receive a handmade card!  There are plenty of Stampin' Up! ideas on my blog and in the Stampin' Up! catalogs that are easy for you to be inspired and to duplicate.  And copying is allowed!!

Avoid the crowds!! Place your Sale-A-Bration order today!!  

Stampin' Up! cards are so easy to make, even for holidays like St. Patrick's Day!  Without buying a special St. Patrick's Day stamp set, I found this shamrock in the Got Treats stamp set.  And if I wouldn't have had a shamrock stamp, I could have used hearts to make a shamrock!  Or I could have just used our great colors of green to make a generic St. Patrick's Day card.  I found the greeting in the fabulous stamp set Teeny Tiny Wishes #115370…..or you could have used something simple like "Celebrate" or "Thinking of You".  Maybe add some ribbon, some brads, a punch or our new Fabric Designer Brads #121880 and you've got some easy embellishments to jazz up your card!

For some other St. Patrick's Day ideas from last year, click HERE, HERE, and HERE.

My Online Store is always open for shopping!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy Mardi Gras!  Today is the big day, especially in New Orleans, although Mardi Gras isn't limited to only one day…..and not even to one city.  You've got to have beads! Here you see some of mine in a bowl, gathered from several years of Mardi Gras parties we attended.  The colors of Mardi Gras are purple (for justice), green (for faith), and yellow (for power).  Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday" which is the last day of eating rich foods before Ash Wednesday, when the fasting of Lent begins.  Here's a card I made for Mardi Gras using the colors of purple, green and yellow.  In the background you can see the little favor bag I made last year in this post.

Mardi Gras 2011 Card

Stamps:  Artistic Etchings (p. 125), Something to Celebrate (Occasions Mini)

Ink:  Concord Crush, Daffodil Delight, Garden Green

Cardstock:  Daffodil Delight, Concord Crush, Whisper White

Accessories:  Scallop Trim Border Punch #118402, Scallop Oval Punch #119856, 1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval Large Punch #119855, Trinket Crowns #121891, 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon Daffodil Delight #119254

Just stamp the medallions and crown from Artistic Etchings randomly all over the Whisper White cardstock.  I just LOVED the stamped crowns! Then I also added a "real" crown from the Occasions Mini tied with a taffeta ribbon right above the oval greeting.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Last week I got a surprise when my brother flew to Houston to pick up a plane to fly back to Wichita (he's a pilot).  He was supposed to fly it back the same day, but driving from one airport to the other on opposite ends of town and getting stuck in traffic made it rather late, plus Wichita was expecting freezing rain. Therefore, I got the benefit of a longer visit with him.  When he called his wife to say he'd be staying overnight, she told him he had to make her a card while he was here!  She loves stamping and scrapbooking!

So after dinner and visiting awhile, we made a card!  He did a great job and even got a little artistic I think!

When I handed him a pen to sign the inside of the card, he wasn't finished stamping!  He learned to color part of a stamp with a marker to stamp just the greeting that he wanted!

And he still wasn't finished!  Why just write the person's name on the envelope when you could stamp it?! (yes, his wife's name is Karen also!) Here he is planning it out!

So if you ever thought YOU would never be able to make beautiful cards and scrapbook pages and learn card making techniques, just think of my brother making a beautiful card…and envelope!!…for his wife with no training!  Of course he could take an airplane apart and put it back together…or a car…or a kitchen….so putting a little ink on a stamp and pressing it on paper probably isn't that hard!

If you and your friends want to learn to stamp, contact me for a workshop or lesson!  Anyone can do it….the first time!

I can't tell you how quick and easy this card was to make! I've seen lots of cards with various strips of either designer paper or different colors of card stock adhered to the card front so I decided to try that style.  I already had the Springtime Vintage Designer Series Paper out, so I grabbed a piece of Crumb Cake card stock for the base, cut it to 4 1/4" x 8 1/2", folded in half, just so the math would be easy with the strips!  I cut four 1" x 4" strips that fit perfectly across the front.  I made a little tag on the front with two punches and tied on some ribbon!  You could put any kind of greeting on the front!  Keep this style and size in mind!!

Take a minute and think about your Sale-A-Bration order this weekend!

I'm playing with the Springtime Vintage Designer Paper #121782 today and came up with this card.  I used a piece of the designer paper and trimmed it with Rose Red and two different punches, Scallop Trim Border #118402 and Eyelet Border #119853.  Then I used the Decorative Label Punch #120907 to punch through the cardstock and layer of designer series paper.  I stamped inside that punched area then with the frame from "Charming" and stamped the word "Friend" inside from the stamp set "You're a Gem" in the Occasions Mini Catalog on page 25.  To finish it off, I tied some Victoria Crochet Trim #118481 around the front of the card and attached an Antique Brad #117273 over the top of the bow.

If you need some punches that I mentioned in this post, please visit my Online Store to place your order!  Don't forget about Sale-A-Bration…Spend $50 (before shipping and tax) and choose a free reward in the Sale-a-Bration Catalog!

Hot air balloons always seem to be popular and almost magical as we see them gliding across the sky.  Many cities, including Houston, have an annual hot air balloon festival, which is really a spectacular sight.  But hot air balloons are a hot trend in papercrafting right now.  I decided to use up most of my "Love Impressions" Rub-Ons #121886 which Stampin' Up! gave us demonstrators as a gift!

Two of the hot air balloons are rubbed right on to the card.  The one with the cross-hatch balloon is rubbed on to a piece of Whisper White card stock and cut out, then popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals.  The two smallest clouds are also rub ons, but guess what the other three clouds are made from??  They are the frosting from the Build a Cupcake Punch #121807 in the Occasions Mini Catalog!  I sponged a little bit of Marina Mist ink around the edges of the "clouds" and two are popped up with Dimensionals.  Even the "Love You" is rubbed on to a piece of Whisper White card stock and punched out with the 3/4" x 15/16" Oval Punch #120908.  It would have looked good just applied straight to the card but I embellished it with an oval punch of Marina Mist card stock and two silver brads.

If you need an easy way to make a card, having some rub ons and card stock will do it!  To order any of these supplies, please visit my Online Store!  Don't forget, with a $50 order (before shipping and tax) you may choose a free Sale-A-Bration reward!