How to Gift Wrap with Stampin’ Up!

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How to Gift Wrap

We all need ideas on how to gift wrap presents sometimes!  I was late getting my friend's gifts mailed to her, but this gift wrap idea came to me when I saw these Big Shot Flower Folds die cuts (#115970) laying on the table.  They were cut from both the Real Red Patterns Designer Series Paper #117155 and the First Edition Specialty Designer Series Paper #121878 in the Occasions Mini.  I put them together, liked what I saw, and added a Filigree Designer Brad #112577 with a Clear Rhinestone Brad #113144 to hold it together.  I wrapped a band of card stock around the boxes and adhered the flowers to it!  You might recognize that the brown boxes are from the Stampin' Up! Simply Adorned line of jewelry.  For being so spontaneous, this gift wrapping idea turned out to be very cute and my friend liked it!

There's more to stamping than Stampin' Up! cards!  Next time you need to gift wrap something, think of Stampin' Up! ideas, using your stamping supplies and maybe the Stampin' Up! catalog for inspiration!  It's a great source for ideas for all sorts of things.

Need anything from Stampin' Up!?  Just shop at my Online Store HERE!  Sale-a-Bration is still on until March 31!  Don't miss out!

So Much to Sale-A-Brate CD

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The "So Much to Sale-A-Brate CD" is one of the free products you can earn from the Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration Promotion……but only if you place your order by March 31!  It's so much fun to play with My Digital Studio and now you can have all the digital content of the Sale-A-Bration catalog FREE with any $50 purchase from Stampin' Up!

I began by choosing a card in the Designer collection….meaning, it is already made up for you.  

My Digital Studio Designer Card

And then I changed almost everything about it!  I changed the Old Olive background paper to a pattern in the Ice Cream Parlor Designer Series Paper; changed the color of the Scallop Border Punch; and added Ice Cream Parlor Ribbon, Bows, and Buttons.  You could make this same card with your real supplies or you can make this digital version.

So Much to Sale-A-Brate CD Card

If you want to get all this free digital content to use with My Digital Studio or your own digital program, please place your order with me or at my Online Store before Sale-A-Bration ends on March 31st!

 

Stampin’ Up!: Baby Shower Gift

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Another baby shower gift idea might be something like this:   A decorative tin, notebook and pen.  It is decorated for the nursery and is a handy way for the new parents to write quick notes about the baby and later add them to the baby book.  We parents know how harried the first weeks (and years!) are, and yet you want to remember all those special, fun, and funny moments.  I've also used new paint cans wrapped with designer paper or cardstock in a similar fashion.

Baby Tin

On this tin, I used designer paper from Nursery Suite Specialty Paper #117165 (the bunny paper in this package is SOOO CUTE!), some Eyelet Border #119853 punched Melon Mambo cardstock for trim, Ice Cream Parlor Buttons #123529 from the Sale-a-Bration catalog, a little stamped medallion on top and ribbon tied on the handle.  I've always had good luck with our Stampin' Up! Anywhere Glue Sticks #104045 on projects like this.  I apply the glue to the paper as well as to the tin.

And here is the cute little notebook, just covered with some matching paper and ribbon.  The pen is an RSVP Pen….just unscrew the top, pull out the ink cartridge, wrap a 1"x3" piece of designer paper tightly and stuff down into the barrel of the pen.  You'll have to shove it the last little bit but you can get it in there.  Insert the ink cartridge into the center of the wrapped paper and replace the top.  Very cute!

Baby Notebook and Pen


Baby Shower Gift

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Baby Scrapbook Page

Want to incorporate scrapbooking and Stampin' Up! in a nice gift for a new mother?  Instead of an entire baby scrapbook, how about just one scrapbook page….and put it in a frame to hang on the wall!  It can be both art for the nursery as well as documentation of a new baby's early days. Photos and journaling can be put in the blank spaces or journaling box and the rest can fit the theme of the nursery.  On this 12×12 page I used animals from various stamp sets as well as other embellishments just to decorate the page.  You can find scrapbooking ideas right in the Stampin' Up! 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog as well as plenty of supplies and embellishments to make one page or an entire scrapbook.

You can see some other baby scrapbook pages I made for framed gifts HERE and HERE.  It's a unique gift idea for a new baby and something the mother will appreciate.

Stampin’ Up! First Day of Spring Card

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The first day of spring was yesterday, and I took pictures of our beautiful azaleas that have really burst into bloom this past week.  The weather was a perfect spring day as well….and you won't normally hear people raving about how good the weather is here in Houston…except for this time of year when other cities are still experiencing snow and we are looking at beautiful spring flowers and digging short pants out of the closet.

Here is a Stampin' Up! card to commemorate the first day of spring.

Spring Flower Card

I just grabbed a Note Card #107311 (did you know you can buy a pack of 20 note cards 5"x 3 1/2" including envelopes?!) to make a simple card with the stamp set Bold Blossom in the Occasions Mini (page 31).  I assumed I would put a little greeting on the card or embellish the flowers with some kind of center layer, but in the end I decided to just go with simple!  When I looked in the drawer to possibly use my glitter, I spied the Basic Rhinestones #119246 and decided just a little bling was what the flowers needed….and that was enough!

Here are some photos of our azaleas!  You should be able to click on each photo to enlarge it.

Azaleas

Neighbor's view of Azalea Bush

Azaleas

Pink Azaleas

  Pink Azaleas

Purple Azalea

Red Ruffle Azaleas

If you need any stamping supplies to make some beautiful spring cards, please contact me or shop online at my store HERE.

 

Stampin’ Up! Cards: St. Patrick’s Day

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Stampin up cards St Patricks Day

 

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!

Stampin’ Up! Houndstooth Matchbox

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Stampin' Up! Houndstooth Matchbox

Use the Stampin' Up! Matchbox Die #114890 with your Big Shot #113439 to make this cute little box!  The Love Letter Designer Series Paper #117162 with the black and white houndstooth pattern really makes this box up-to-date!  Just the other day I read how trendy houndstooth is and that gave me the idea to make something with this paper.  I LOVE the Real Red, Basic Black and Very Vanilla colors in this paper and have seen many cute projects using it.

To top off my matchbox, I used the Scallop Circle Punch #119854 to punch two scallops in the same pattern. Fold each scallop in half, making sure that you aren't folding any scallops on the ends in half…..you want to just fold in the lines between the scallops. Fold in half, open, fold in half in another spot.  I found that if you just go around the circle to each scallop you will probably get them all and get them folded correctly. After you have made all the folds (so that it looks like spokes on a wheel), take your Paper Snips #103579 and cut on just one of those lines into the center.

Scallop Punch Folds

Then starting with the slit, accordion-fold the scallops back and forth all the way around.

Scallop Punch Accordion-Folded

Take the two folded scallops and adhere them together do you have one whole flower…..you can even use three scallops if you want!  On my matchbox, I actually used two scallop flowers, one with a different pattern on the bottom.  Then I attached a linen-threaded Real Red button from the Candy Cane Big Designer Buttons which were in the Holiday Mini.

Stampin' Up! Houndstooth Matchbox

If you need any supplies to make cute little projects like this, please visit my Online Store HERE.

Pi Day–March 14th

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Today is “Pi Day“, and, if you are mathematically inclined, a day to celebrate!  I’m sure it’s something we all learned in school way back when, but I couldn’t really tell you much about it anymore!  Here is what the site www.piday.org has to say:

“Pi is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th. Pi = 3.1415926535…

With the use of computers, Pi has been calculated to over 1 trillion digits past the decimal. Pi is an irrational and transcendental number meaning it will continue infinitely without repeating.”

I wouldn’t be so interested, since as far as I know it has nothing to do with stamping, but when my son was in high school, in calculus (I guess) he was able to recite over 500 digits of pi and held the record for awhile for his class!  He has a “pi” t-shirt and everything.  So today he is home on spring break and sat down at some website and typed out 110 digits of pi. It’s called Pi Trainer, just in case you want to try it out yourself!  He typed the numbers out real fast, just hesitating for a moment, like it was nothing.  He said it’s muscle-memory!  


 

Daylight Savings Time Starts Tonight/Tomorrow!

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Daylight Savings Time My Digital Studio Card

Daylight Savings Time starts tonight when you go to bed, if you remember to change your clocks!  Technically, it is probably 2 am tomorrow, which is tonight as far as I am concerned! Spring is coming, so SPRING ahead….. change your clocks an hour ahead….so you lose an hour! That's not good for me this weekend because I happen to have all three children home this weekend (or should I say "four" now that I have a new son-in-law!)

To commemorate Daylight Savings Time, I quickly made this card in My Digital Studio!  It is fairly plain and simple, but today I liked it that way!  I did add a digital brass brad in the center of the clock hands! You've really got to try My Digital Studio…..it's not just for digital scrapbooking!  You can order it HERE in my online store.  The software will be shipped to you, and after that you can order the latest downloads and have them appear instantly to begin using!

Don't forget…..when you go to bed at 11 PM set your clocks for midnight! Check your smoke detector batteries, too! (maybe not at midnight, but tomorrow!)  Watch all the news stories on TV of the clock shops that have to reset the hundreds of clocks and watches they have!  And then order My Digital Studio so you can join in the fun!  (And choose your FREE Sale-a-Bration product too!)


Stampin’ Up! Ornament Punch is Available!

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The Extra-Large Ornament Punch #119847 is available for order again! The problems with this punch  have now been resolved and it is ready to go!  You can see a Christmas card I made with the Ornament Punch HERE.  But there are lots of other creative ideas you can do with this punch!  Can you imagine a vase or a fish with this punch??!  You will want to add this punch to your collection!  It has been very popular!

Ornament Punch - by Stampin' Up!Ordering some of the punches you have been dying to have and maybe a pack of paper or a stamp set will get you to $50 for your Sale-a-Bration reward!  Be sure to check it out!  Just click the Online Ordering button in the corner to go to my store and place your order any time you want to!

Fat Tuesday

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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

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!

St. Patrick’s Day Votive

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St Pats Votive

 

Just a little St. Pat's decoration!  I was going to make my own shamrock with hearts, but came across this stamp in the set "Got Treats" in the Stampin' Up! 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog on page 55.  It is available in either wood- or clear-mount.  In order to leave off the words this time at the bottom of the stamp, I just colored in the shamrock with a Stampin' Write Marker in Garden Green.  Then I punched out the circle and mounted in on a Garden Green Scallop punch….and to jazz it up a bit, mounted that on another scallop in Brushed Gold card stock.  With my white Signo Gel Pen #105021 I added a dot on each scallop edge.  I originally wanted to wrap the votive holder with vellum stamped with shamrocks, but due to the shape of the glass it would not fit right, so I just used some 5/8" Whisper White Organza Ribbon #114219 instead (it's my favorite ribbon anyway!). 

Wouldn't this be an easy little table decoration for your St. Patrick's Day party?
 

My Azalea Trail Card

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I realize this card doesn't exactly look like a real azalea, but its inspiration came from going on the River Oaks Garden Club Azalea Trail yesterday!  My husband and I enjoy going on the Azalea Trail every year, even if the azaleas aren't in full bloom yet.  We really like seeing the inside of the homes that you can walk through, and the floral arrangements and gardens are always beautiful.  The flower colors are so gorgeous, so I made my pink azalea with Melon Mambo card stock.  Our own azalea bushes are just starting to bloom. You can see one of the flowers I picked beside my card!

Azalea Card

The flower on this card is made with the Fun Flowers Bigz Die #121812 in the Occasions Mini.  Even though I didn't think I "needed" this die, once I saw all the beautiful flowers other people were making, I knew I had been mistaken!  The leaves are stamped with the Build a Blossom stamp set, page 12 Occasions Mini, and punched with the Blossom Petals Punch #121808 on the same page.  I added some Subtles Brads #119738 to look like the azalea stamens and put a greeting from the Hostess Level 2 set in the Occasions Mini, Something to Celebrate.  The background paper is Springtime Vintage #121782. I also used my bone folder to curl the edges of the azalea petals a bit.

Now that spring is coming, you will want to start stamping flowers, so if you need some new supplies, check out my Online Store at my website HERE or email with any questions or help with your order.  

You have one day left to hit the Azalea Trail if you are in Houston this weekend!

 

Last Month for Sale-a-Bration!

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 Sale-a-Bration

March is here already!  There is a whole month to go of Stampin' Up!'s great promotion called Sale-a-Bration, but don't let it slip by you!  We know how fast time flies by and I wouldn't want you to miss out!  This is the time of year when you can get free Sale-a-Bration product for just spending $50 (before tax and shipping) with Stampin' Up!  And there's no limit to the free products you can get with each $50 purchase.  So, spend $100 and get 2 free Sale-a-Bration products…and so on!

As a hostess, if you have a $300 workshop (or even your own purchase) you will choose an EXTRA Sale-a-Bration product, beyond what you get for your own order, and beyond the usual Hostess benefits from Stampin' Up!

As if those two things are good enough, if you join as a Demonstrator during March, you can purchase the Starter Kit for 15% off!  You may choose either the Standard Starter Kit or the Digital+ Kit!  You even get an additional bonus!!

If you join soon, you still would have time to hold a workshop or collect orders and take advantage of Sale-a-Bration as a demonstrator!  You can even sign up online at my website HERE.  It only takes minutes and you will have your Demonstrator number in an email immediately following your sign-up.  I will be happy to be your upline and guide you as you begin your new business as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator!

Please click on the links above to find out more information and contact me if you have questions or would like more help!

Cupcake Card

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Cupcake Card

Since I had so much fun making a 4 1/4" square card last week with strips of designer series paper in THIS post, I thought I would make something similar today. This is the Sale-a-Bration designer paper, Ice Cream Parlor #122242 on page 7.  You can get this paper free with a $50 purchase from Stampin' Up! until March 31st….and with another $50 purchase, you can also get the Ribbon & Button Pack #123529 for added embellishment!

The cupcake is of course punched with the Build a Cupcake Punch #121807 in the Occasions 2011 Mini Catalog.  Really a fun card to make!

Let me know if you need any supplies!  Sale-a-Bration only lasts one more month!!!  Go to my website to place an order anytime!