Cards

I’m back! Yes, I finally made it to Minneapolis a day later than expected. We made it and that was the important thing. We didn’t get a chance to do any site seeing but my friends and I had a fun evening putting together the projects we all brought to share.

It was an early morning on Saturday getting down to breakfast and then heading over to the convention center for our event. It was a fun-filled day learning new things, seeing and playing with new products and enjoying each other’s company.

This collage shows some of the highlights of the weekend. The first picture is of my and my new 2019-2020 Annual Catalog. Woo Hoo! This publication is great! So many fun new products! Next to that picture you’ll find the group I went with. Glenda, Jan, Laura C., Laura K., me and Nancy. These events are a fun place to hang out with the friends you came with but it’s also fun to meet up with old friends. In the photo in the bottom left you see my friend Lori who I met when hubby and I went to Thailand for the Stampin’ Up! incentive trip. Lori and her husband live in Lincoln, Nebraska. It’s fun catching up with the friends I made on that Thailand trip. The last picture is of me and my friend Laura. We both had our 15 year anniversaries with Stampin’ Up! this past year. We got to walk across the stage in celebration.

These events are always fun. We’re already looking forward to the next one in November. Would you like to join us in Las Vegas? You just need to be a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator to attend. Contact me if you’d like more information on what it entails to become a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator and a member of my team. If you’re are anxiously awaiting the new Annual Catalog and don’t want to wait until June just remember that demonstrators are checking out the online catalog right now and can order from it on May 1st! 😀

Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

As you read this I may or may not be in Minneapolis for Stampin’ Up!’s On Stage event. If you’d like to find out be sure to check out my Facebook Page. Whether or not I made it to Minneapolis I did make cards to swap with other demonstators. We exchange cards to get new ideas from each other.

I decided to use the Dandelion Wishes stamp set. It’s so pretty. I love the delicate dandelion images. Are you wondering why I chose the Bermuda Bay/Coastal Cabana color scheme? Don’t laugh….I wanted to use the Bermuda Bay Mini Striped Ribbon! Honest! 😀

Isn’t this a fun card design? I like it because it’s a bit different yet not too complicated. We also made this card in class this week. What do you think of the rhinestones in the centers of the large dandelions? Pretty, aren’t they? Are you wondering how I got them to match exactly? Stampin’ Blends! Oh…that was another reason I chose this color scheme….I needed to make sure I had Stampin’ Blends markers that would coordinate with the cardstock and ink! Ha! Hey….you’ve got to plan! The plain rhinestones just didn’t do the trick.

OMG! Springtime blizzards everywhere! This weekend is Stampin’ Up!’s On Stage Local events throughout the country. My friends and I are heading to Minneapolis today (hopefully). I’m writing this post on Wednesday evening while watching the blizzard here in Denver out my windows. I’m also keeping tabs on the weather report for Minneapolis because….yep….they’ve got a blizzard too! Sheesh!

Update: It’s Thursday morning now and yes, our flight got cancelled but we are all on flights tomorrow. The weather is suppose to clear in MN in the morning. Keep your fingers crossed!

With all of these spring blizzards I definitely think we all need to dream about a warm, sunny beach somewhere…preferably with a nice cold fruity drink! That’s where today’s card come’s in. The Beach Happy stamp set is perfect for helping us to imagine that we’re on that warm sunny beach instead of shoveling snow in April!

The palm trees were what hooked me on this stamp set. I have this thing about stamp sets with trees. I can’t seem to get enough of them. Weird, I know. The great thing about this stamp set is that it’s photopolymer and tree trunks and the palm fronds are separate stamps. There is only one tree trunk stamp in the set but did you notice how my palm trees face different ways? That’s the beauty of photopolymer…it’s bendable! I just curved the stamp on the block in different ways when I stamped the two trees. Tricky, huh? 😀

The stamp set has some cute sayings in it. Besides the “Wishing you sunny days” there is also “Don’t worry Beach Happy” as well as “Relax, you deserve it” and “Thanks”. You’ll also find a beach chair, a beach umbrella, beach bag and sun hat. What more do you need?

I do wish you all sunny days….especially today if you’re in blizzard territory. Keep your fingers crossed for my friends and me that we make it to Minneapolis. If not, I won’t be able to fill you in on the fabulous new catalog and upcoming new products! Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Calling all stampers….who chose the fabulous Country Floral Embossing Folder as one of your free items during Sale-a-bration 2019? I did! I did! Woo Hoo! It is absolutely gorgeous!

Now don’t fret. It will be in the 2019-2020 Annual Catalog so if you didn’t get it during Sale-a-bration you will be able to purchase it starting in June.

Even though this gorgeous folder isn’t currently available I had to use it in this week’s classes. I saw a sample on Pinterest in these same colors and knew I had to make a similar card. The Night of Navy Gingham Ribbon is SO fun! This whole combination just makes me smile. How about you?

The “thanks” is from the Well Written Framelits (#148534 $40). This set of framelits has 24 dies in it and over half of them are words! Wow! I adhered a piece of Multipurpose Adhesive Sheet to the back of the Night of Navy cardstock before I ran the die through the Big Shot. Then I just peeled the backing off of the back of the die cut word and adhered it to the front of the card! Easy!

The Well Written Framelits coordinate perfectly with the Well Said stamp set (#148796 $45). This stamp set has 51 words/phrases in it that…you’ve got it….COORDINATE perfectly with the Well Written Framelits. Of course you can purchase these two items in a bundle (#150609 $76.50) until June 3rd and receive a 10% discount!

If you have a die cutting machine this card is EASY! Run a couple of things through the machine, layer them up and add some ribbon….your card is done!

Like this bright and cheerful card, I hope you have a bright and cheerful day. We’re suppose to get an April blizzard. Sheesh! Take care and Happy Stamping!

The Amazing Life stamp set was one we received at Stampin’ Up!’s On Stage event last November in Orlando. At the time, I have to admit that I wasn’t all that impressed with it. I don’t know why, it just didn’t do anything for me. As I was trying to figure out what stamp sets to use for this week’s classes I came across it and thought “I need to use this”. It’s been sitting on my shelf since November and it was time to dust it off.

The more that I look at this stamp set the more I like it. There are some great sentiments in it! “You are amazing!”. “Good luck”. and “I believe in you!”. These are all things we like to hear at one time or another and these are things we should definitely be saying to others. The stamp set also has small images that go with these wonderful sentiments.

I chose to go with an Amazing Life birthday card. I mean really….you can never have enough birthday cards on hand! Once I had the stamp set and the theme of my card figured out I needed to figure out the color scheme. I knew I wanted to use Stampin’ Blends to color my image and I’m kind of falling in love with the Mini Striped Ribbon so I had to find colors that came in both. I was limited to Bermuda Bay, Gorgeous Grape and Poppy Parade with the ribbons. I already had a card using Bermuda Bay so I went with Gorgeous Grape and the coordinating Highland Heather.

I love the Rectangle Stitched Framelits….or any stitched framelits for that matter. They just add that little something, something to a card like my favorite Subtle Embossing Folder (which I also used on this card!) Did you know that you can purchase the Amazing Life stamp set (#148750 $21) and the Rectangle Stitched Framelits (#148551 $35) in a bundle (#150624 $50.25)?! Woo Hoo!

I hope this card brings a smile to someone’s face. Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Yesterday I showed you my fabulous new STORAGE by Stampin’ Up! storage for my Stampin’ Blends so today I thought I’d show you a card I made using my Stampin’ Blends!

This card was SO Easy! With a few noted exceptions I could almost classify this card as “simple” stamping. First of all there is no stamping on the card at all! None! Hard to call it simple “stamping” if there isn’t any stamping on the card. Ha! Secondly, you need a Big Shot and the Lace Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder so these are items that a more seasoned stamper would have.

The hardest part of making this card was getting the piece of Whisper White cardstock centered in the embossing folder the way I wanted it. I wanted the row of flowers basically in the center of the cardstock. I think it would have worked if they were a bit lower too. The important thing was to make sure I wouldn’t cover up the row of flowers with the ribbon.

Speaking of the ribbon…isn’t this Petal Pink/Whisper White variegated ribbon lovely? It works so perfectly with this card! Ribbon is usually the very first accessory I look to when designing a card. Lately though I’ve noticed that I haven’t been using much ribbon on my cards. I don’t know what my problem is. Ha! You’ll be glad to know that of the 8 cards I have designed for next week’s Card Buffet only two of them DON’T have ribbon on them! Whew…

I guess I should tell you about the Stampin’ Blends technique that I mentioned in the title…. I first saw this technique used with the beautiful Country Floral Embossing Folder that was available during Sale-a-bration (and will available again in the new 2019-2020 Annual Catalog!). I saw people using their Stampin’ Blends to color the embossed flowers on their cards and it was gorgeous. I decided to try it on a simpler embossed image and this card is what I came up with!

I first embossed the Whisper White cardstock and then I used my Dark Petal Pink Stampin’ Blends Marker to color the embossed flowers. So easy! Then to really make the flowers pop I added Rhinestone Basic Pearls to the center of them. I then added a layer of Petal Pink cardstock and a Thick Whisper White card and my card was done!

I hope you enjoyed this simple technique that you can use with your Stampin’ Blends. Have a great day. Take care and Happy Stamping!

Look what the UPS driver brought yesterday! A whole box of goodies! Not only did I receive supplies that I need for next week’s classes but I also received the new STORAGE items that I ordered. Woo Hoo!

In the above photo you see three of the sets of Stampin’ Blends Storage Trays. Each set contains 5 trays. The total of 15 trays that I purchased is more than enough for all of my blends and I have all of the available colors.

Each set of 5 trays comes in a nice cardboard box with foam padding so that the ends and corners don’t get chipped or dinged or anything. You also get a little set of silicon feet for the bottom so the trays won’t slide. I forgot to put the storage lid that I also ordered on top of my stacked trays…..I was just too excited to get my Blends in the trays and take a photo for you! 🙂

If you’re wondering how I arranged my Blends I can tell you but don’t think I’m too anal. First it’s alphabetical by color: blues, browns, greens, etc. Then they are arranged alphabetically within each color: Balmy Blue, Bermuda Bay, Night of Navy. Hey! I told you not to laugh! I’m not going to tell you that I also arrange my cardstock this way….

If you are wanting to get some of these fabulous STORAGE by Stampin’ Up! items I wouldn’t wait. They are predicting that this first shipment will go fast and then you won’t be able to order them again until they’re back in stock.

I’m going to go finish unpacking the Stampin’ Up! box I received yesterday. I was too excited to get my Stampin’ Blends all organized that I never finished unpacking the box!

Head on over to my online store and get your favorite STORAGE items ordered today! Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping.

As you can see I’m updating by blog. Stay tuned. I hope to have it looking pretty for your SOON! Thanks for sticking with me.

— Cindy

It’s probably safe to say that the majority of people in the U.S. have pets. That would probably mean that the majority of paper crafters have pets. So, who wouldn’t either love to make or receive a card with some type of pet on it?!

I designed these cards for an upcoming class. I used the Happy Tails stamp set (#148682 $17 bundle (#150631 $31.50) for the dog card and the Nine Lives stamp set for the cat card (#148703 $16) Aren’t they adorable? Simple, yet TSC! Too Stinkin’ Cute! I love that Stampin’ Up! has both a dog punch and a cat punch (#144666 $18)!

Are you a dog person or a cat person? I am a cat person, I don’t dislike dogs I just prefer cats. I love my little (?) Tasha. She loves coming around during card class. She acts shy but she loves the attention she gets.

I used the pet card photo above to advertise for my upcoming class in hopes that pet lovers might want to attend. I had to giggle when I got an email back in return asking “What about horses?”. Needless to say, I had to order the new Let It Ride stamp set and promise her we would use it in the following class! Ha! Stampin’ Up! does try to have a little something for everyone! 🙂

Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

The Butterfly Duet Punch is back in stock WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!  This little punch has been quite popular so get it while you can!  We haven’t been able to order it for quite a while!  I have quite a few customers who have been waiting patiently for this punch who will be quite happy today!  🙂

Seriously, this punch and the COORDINATING Butterfly Gala stamp set are perfect for Spring and Easter!  I’m actually working on a project right now using this Butterfly Gala Bundle.   I’ll share it with you in a few weeks when I return from Stampin’ Up!’s On Stage event.

The best part of having the Butterfly Gala Bundle available now is that Sale-a-bration is still going on.  This means that you can order the bundle (#150599 $35) and a few other items like cardstock, adhesive and envelopes getting your order up to $50 and then you can choose the Botanical Butterfly Designer Series Paper pack as your FREE Sale-a-bration item.

Did you know that you the Butterfly Duet Punch will punch out some of the butterflies on the designer paper?  Oh, yeah!  Coordination at it’s best!  I love when Stampin’ Up! makes my crafting so easy!

Here’s a card we made in class a month or so ago using the Butterfly Duet Punch and the Botanical Butterfly Designer Paper.  This gorgeous butterfly was punched directly from the designer paper!  No coloring involved!  I simply stamped the background piece with the fun Handwritten background stamp (W-#146521 $20 C-#146524 $15) die cut a circle in the Grapefruit Grove cardstock and ran it through the Big Shot with one of the new Rectangle Stitched Framelits (148551 $35) before adding ribbon and adhering it all to the front of the card.  I actually popped up the Grapefruit Grove cardstock to add a little dimension.  I then punched out my butterfly, folded up the wings a bit and adhered just the body to the front of the card!  Pretty easy.

I do love the Butterfly Gala bundle.  You get a four different butterfly designs and some nice sentiments in the stamp set.  Best of all, the large butterfly and the small butterfly are both on the same stamp which makes punching them out EASY!  Thank you Stampin’ Up!

I’m off to place an order for this bundle for one of my customers!  Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Oh, no!  There is only one week left of Sale-a-bration!  How did that happen.  I know that Spring has sprung and all that but where did the last three months go?  I’m not sure I have all the Sale-a-bration items that I wanted to get.  How about you?

Well, don’t worry…we still have time.  Seven days to be exact!  We could place an order every day or maybe just one big one.  Hmm….I like the idea of one big order with everything I need to stock up on.  Cardstock, envelopes, adhesive…..

If I place one big order and it just happens to be over $250 I will get $25 in extra Stampin’ Rewards.  Woo Hoo!  I just may need to work on that because there are things I need.  How about you?  Are you working on that last minute Sale-a-bration order?

Now, $250 may seem like a big order but what about $99?  I know, the threshold for Sale-a-bration items is in $50 increments.  Why would you only spend $99?  Well, if you are going to spend $99 you definitely should purchase the Demonstrator Starter Kit!  This is the BEST deal EVER!  If you purchase the $99 Starter Kit you get to choose $175 in Stampin’ Up! merchandise!  That’s $76 of FREE product!  On top of that you will receive a 20% discount on all future orders!  Woo Hoo!  Best Deal Ever!

Don’t miss out on Sale-a-bration 2019!  Check out all of those items you can get for FREE right here!  Or even better!  Click on over to this page and sign up NOW to become a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator….$175 worth of product for only $99 AND a 20% discount on ALL future purchases!  You can’t go wrong!

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!  And don’t miss out on Sale-a-bration 2019!

Frogs can be so stinkin’ cute!  I actually used to collect frogs.  Little glass one, stuffed animals and anything in between.   I still think frogs are cute but I got rid of the collection when we started to move.

When Stampin’ Up! came out with the So Hoppy Together stamp set for Sale-a-bration I was pretty excited.  TSC!  Too Stinkin’ Cute!  I designed a card back in December with the set but I knew I needed to use it again before Sale-a-bration.  I designed this card for my most recent class.

Do you recognize the die cut words that I used on the card?  They were a Sale-a-bration item last year.  I love them and am so glad they carried over into the new Annual Catalog.

The designer paper I used on the card is from the Tropical Escape pack in the Annual Catalog.  As you can see from this pattern, not all of the designs are “tropical”.  There are some great designs.

The Granny Apple Green color works perfectly with the frog, don’t you think?  Not only does the designer paper coordinate with the cardstock but I was able to color the frog with my Granny Apple Green Stampin’ Blends.  I LOVE COORDINATION!  🙂

I hope you have a “hoppy” day!  Take care and “Hoppy” Stamping!  😀