Have a Happy Easter!
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A Handmade Berry Basket for Easter
If you own the Berry Basket Die, you are all set for making cute little Easter baskets! My other berry baskets have been made with card stock or designer paper, but this one is made with Coaster Board and is much sturdier. The Vanilla Coaster Board is described as thinner than chipboard and sturdier than card stock.
I decided to stamp mine with the Wildflower Meadow Stamp Set. This is one large background stamp, which I would recommend you purchase in the wood-mount. Those large stamps are just easier to manipulate on the wood block than sticking on the very large clear block. I colored the flowers and leaves with various Stampin’ Write Markers and then pressed the Coaster Board pieces, after they were die cut, onto the Wildflower Meadow stamp. I had to cover the portion of the Coaster Board basket that I didn’t want stamped. And think about which way your pattern is going. I stamped different portions of the large stamp on each side of the basket.
Once it was all stamped, I realized that if I attached the usual basket edges around the top, they would cover up some of my stamping! So I adhered the basket edges to the INSIDE of the basket to hold it together and adhered the Venetian Crochet Trim around the outside top edge of the basket. I tied a separate bow and adhered it with a Glue Dot to the front. I love the way it turned out, if I do say so myself!
This berry basket won’t even be just for Easter! It’s pretty for any time, especially spring!
If you are interested in the Berry Basket Die, you can also purchase the Magnetic Platform for the Big Shot to use with framelits and thinlits on Monday, taking advantage of FREE SHIPPING and the Weekly Deal discount ending on Monday! Hey, with free shipping all next week (Mon, April 6 – Friday, April 10) you can order the Weekly Deals you want on Monday and then order again if there is something you want that comes out on Tuesday!
Shop HERE at Stampin’ Up!
Next Week! Free Shipping for Stampin’ Up!
What a surprise today to find out Stampin’ Up! will offer FREE SHIPPING next week, Monday April 6 – Friday, April 10! That’s it, only those days!!! Be sure you take advantage of that because free shipping does not happen very often!
- Get FREE shipping on any orders placed April 6-April 10, no minimum purchase required (excludes expedited orders).
- All order types qualify (customer, demonstrator, workshop, online).
- Orders placed for Hawaii and Alaska will receive free 2nd Day Air shipping.
- Paper Pumpkin past kits and kit refills are eligible for free shipping if purchased online. Paper Pumpkin subscriptions are not eligible for free shipping.
- Submit orders by:
- Phone: Friday, April 10, 2015; 6:50 pm (MT)
- OEX: Friday, April 10, 2015; 11:50 pm (MT)
If you have any free time over the holiday weekend, start making out your list! Let me know if you have any questions! (I probably would wait until Monday when the free shipping takes effect to actually put in your order because sometimes it won’t accept the offer if you have input your order ahead of time and have it sitting there waiting.)
Shop HERE to take advantage of FREE SHIPPING next week!
Paper Pumpkin Sew You Kit Cards
With each Paper Pumpkin Kit, the papercrafting kit that comes to you in the mail once a month, you can choose the make the project, whatever it might be, exactly as described or you can change up the design and perhaps add some extra materials of your own. This kit for March, Sew You, comes with little prepunched cards all ready for some embroidery! If you’ve never picked up a needle and thread (or it has been awhile!), the instructions with the kit tell you how to do it. It’s very simple. You can even change up the stitching if you like, as I did on the middle Thank You card. On the bottom card, I cut one of the black and white card bases in half and used that as a layer on top of my own Coastal Cabana card stock to which I added some Daffodil Delight Seam Binding Ribbon. The little acrylic stickers come with the kit. They are a fun little accent to add to the card!
Once you are a Paper Pumpkin subscriber, you can purchase any past kits that are available or any refills for the kits. Maybe you want to make more or maybe you missed a kit that you would like to have. The refill kits come with just the supplies, not the stamp set, so you might have to supplement with your own stamps and greetings but that shouldn’t be so difficult.
If you haven’t made your kit yet, here is a GREAT way to thread the needle without fighting with the multiple strands in the thread. Just take a piece of paper, folded in half that will fit through the eye of the needle. Lay the end of your thread inside the folded paper and insert through the needle. Your thread goes through easily and perfectly! I love it! There are all kinds of threading gadgets, but this tiny piece of paper worked great!
To purchase any Stampin’ Up! products, just visit my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE. If you are interested in Paper Pumpkin, just click on Kits. Or if you would like to subscribe just month to month, sign up for Paper Pumpkin HERE.
Uh-Oh! My Paper Pumpkin Kit Doesn’t Work!
After being on vacation when my March Paper Pumpkin Kit arrived and then preparing for a tax audit, I am finally getting some time to play with my Paper Pumpkin Kit! This is a very versatile kit. Make the cards exactly as designed or double your options by cutting the card bases in half and using them as layers on your own Stampin’ Up! card stock! Add some embellishments, like ribbon, to tie around the card. Make invitations, birthday cards, thank you cards, any occasion cards. Probably many other ideas.
But I have to say, this kit was weird! After making a card, it unmade itself and put everything back in the box!!! How could that happen???!!! Watch the video to see for yourself!!
Ok, my pathetic attempt at an April Fool’s joke!
Happy April’s Fool Day!
What tricks are you playing today?
Don’t Let This Be You Tomorrow!!
Don’t let this be you tomorrow morning when you realize you missed Stampin’ Up! Sale-A-Bration!!!
Shop Now at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE!
Use Your Ribbon to Make an 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!
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 Punch. I 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 Punch, and 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!
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!
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)
Sale-A-Bration comes to an end on Tuesday, March 31. Don’t delay!!!
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!!
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 Trim. To 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!
Easy to Make Blooming With Kindness Flower 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:
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!
Today 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.
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!
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!