Are You a Little Batty?

It’s October! Happy Halloween! Ha! We’ve got a few weeks left before Halloween but it’s definitely time for me to share some Halloween projects with you!

To Every Season/Halloween

I just LOVE the little punched bats on this card! They are SO cute! This card was made using the To Every Season Season Bundle which you can find on page 50 of Stampin’ Up!’s Holiday Catalog. This stamp set is so versatile. Not only are there Halloween images and sentiments but there are also images and sentiments for Fall, Christmas and Valentines Day! The stamp set is bundled with the Every Season Punch Pack which has little mini punches for Halloween, Fall, Christmas and Valentines Day. I love purchasing items like this that are so versatile!

The sentiment and the punched bats are from the To Every Season Bundle but the spider web is from another the Wonderfully Wicked stamp set on page 55 of the Holiday Catalog.

This card went together pretty easily and would be perfect for the little ghouls and goblins in your life! You can see all of the items below that I used on this project and they can all be purchased in my online store. To make it even easier you can just click on the photo of the item(s) you’d like to purchase and it will take you directly to that item in my online store.

Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Throwback Thursday: Fall!

It’s Throwback Thursday! This morning when I woke up it felt like Fall! I LOVE Fall! It’s my favorite time of year. I would much rather have to put on a jacket and wear jeans than be all hot and deal with humidity. Since it felt like Fall I figured I should choose a Fall card for Throwback Thursday.

Basket of Wishes

As I was looking through my old blog posts to come up with the perfect card for today I found this one. It’s fallish yet still summery. This card was made back in 2016 so it’s not too old. The stamp set I used on this card was called Basket of Wishes. It had a few different images that you could “fill” the basket with. I water colored it with my ink pads and both an Aquapainter and Blender Pen on water color paper.

Isn’t Rich Razzleberry a great color? It’s bright and it makes me smile. Which of Stampin’ Up!’s colors make you smile? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Who Loves Designer Paper?

Hello, my name is Cindy and I’m a Designer Paper Hoarder. Yes, I LOVE Designer Paper! Designer Paper adds so much to a card. It can add that little bit of color and design that you’re looking for on a project or it can be the focal point of your project.

When my church card group has to make a lot of cards for the office I usually go for a simple design like the one below. I layer some Designer Paper on matching cardstock, add it to the front of the card and I’m done!

Simple Designer Paper Card

This simple card idea is perfect for any occasion so you can keep a stash on hand. Just add a message on the inside and you’re good to go! On this card I used the gorgeous Magnolia Lane Designer Series Paper, a layer of Petal Pink cardstock and a Basic Black card. Easy Peasy!

Did you know that Stampin’ Up! now has a sale on some of the designer series papers in the Annual Catalog? Yep! 10 different paper packages are included in the Buy 3, Get 1 Free sale! Woo Hoo!

Now is the time to stock up on your favorite Designer Series Papers! This fabulous sale only last until September 30th so get that order in today!

Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Tuesday’s Tool: Stamparatus Deluxe Foam Mat

Stamparatus

Do you have a Stamparatus (#146276 $49)? It’s a great tool. It really comes in handy when you’re making multiples of the same design. I was working on some swap cards and wanted to get the sentiment in the same spot on all of the cards so I got out my trusty Stamparatus. It worked perfectly!

The Stamparatus comes with a foam mat that you use with photopolymer stamps since they’re not as thick as red rubber cling stamps. You can purchase replacements for this pad if need be but I just recently discovered that you can also purchase a Deluxe Foam Mat (#150866 $6). It’s similar to the foam mat that comes with the Stamparatus but it has a plastic grid laminated to the top of it so it looks just like the bottom of the Stamparatus with the laminated grid on it. I used it when I was making my swaps and it was great!

Deluxe Foam Mat for Stamparatus

Grid marks are a definite plus when lining up images when making multiples of your projects. I really liked this new Deluxe Foam Mat but I do also like the Small Grid Paper (#149621 $6.50) that you can get for the Stamparatus. This Small Grid Paper fits the Stamparatus perfectly and you can mark on. This is especially helpful to me if I’m using it for a class so my guests can know exactly where to place their paper.

Small Grid Paper for Stamparatus

If you don’t own the amazing Stamparatus tool you should definitely consider it on your next purchase. If you do own the Stamparatus, you should consider purchasing either the Small Grid Paper or the Deluxe Foam Mat to use with it. Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Throwback Thursday: Tickled Pink

Tickled Pink

Who loves pink? Who loves flamingos? I do! I do! I was scrolling through old posts here on my blog trying to find something fun to share with you today. As soon as I saw this photo I knew it was the card to share for Throwback Thursday!

Can you guess when the original post for this card was? Many moons ago. I originally posted this card in June of 2014! Five years ago! Wow! I loved this stamp set. It was so fun and whimsical. That’s how I like my flamingos. Sure, I like realistic ones but the more whimsical, the better.

I went back to the original post to try and see what the name of the embossing folder was that I used on the background. Unfortunately I didn’t mention it in my post. It was a fun zig-zag kind of pattern. I did discover though that back in 2014 this Tickled Pink stamp set was a Ronald McDonald set meaning that for everyone of these stamp sets that Stampin’ Up! sold they would donate $3 to Ronald McDonald houses. They don’t support Ronald McDonald houses anymore but they do other philanthropic work.

Doesn’t this card make you smile? I hope so! Have a great day! Take care and Happy Throwback Thursday!

Only 10!

Stampin’ Up!’s Extra Extra Promotion is coming to and end. There are only 10 days left to take advantage of this FANTASTIC promotion! Who knows when there will be another deal like this.

Do you love to craft? Do you love Stampin’ Up! products? Could you use a little extra income for the holidays are a special purchase you’re trying to save up for? Well, this promotion is for you. Whether you’re thinking of becoming a demonstrator for that fabulous discount on Stampin’ Up! products or want to give having your own business a try now is definitely the time!

You all know that I LOVE being a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator and there are SO many reasons I do. Today I want to share with you 10 reasons that I think YOU would love it and why you will want to sign up before the end of August!

  1. Sign up before the end of August and choose $155 worth of Stampin’ Up! products for only $99! That’s $56 worth of FREE product!
  2. Get FREE shipping on that $155 of product in your Demonstrator Starter Kit!
  3. Choose items from the upcoming 2019 Holiday Catalog when deciding on that $155 of product in your Demonstrator Starter Kit!
  4. As a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator you will receive a 20% discount off all future orders that you place.
  5. As a demonstrator you will have access to online resources available only to Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators. This includes a demonstrator only Facebook Page as well as an entire website.
  6. ME! When you sign up to become a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator under me I will be here to help you navigate all things Stampin’ Up! from signing up to navigating the website and helping you hold your event if that’s the way you decide to go.
  7. You will also have amazing Demonstator Support through Stampin’ Up!. If I can’t answer a question for you, Stampin’ Up! can.
  8. New Friends! From my team of Sassy Stampers & Friends to new friends online, to those you may meet at events to new customers you may meet, new friends are definitely one of my favorite things about being a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator.
  9. The opportunity to attend Stampin’ Up! events. I love Stampin’ Up! events. I get to hang out with friends, learn new things and see new catalogs!
  10. You get to run your business YOUR way! You can be in only for that 20% discount or you can run a profitable business. It’s all up to you! Whichever way you choose, I’m here for you!

I hope you will consider this amazing opportunity. I’ve listed only a few of my favorite reasons that being a demonstrator and signing up before the end of August is a great opportunity for you!

One thing that you may want to consider is that there are quarterly minimums of sales/purchases that you need to meet to stay active. Every quarter you need $300 in sales to stay active. Any purchases you make for yourself do count towards this minimum. If you sign up before the end of August you don’t have to reach your first minimum until December 31st so you actually will have 4 months!

Please contact with any questions you may have on this great opportunity. I’d love to have you become part of my team of Sassy Stampers & Friends! If you’re ready to take the plunge head on over to my website and sign up TODAY! Don’t miss out! This great opportunity is only available through August 31st!

Tuesday’s Tip: Change Your Embellishments

I’m a matchy-match type of person. If I’m going to put an embellishment on my project I want it to match perfectly. This is where today’s tip comes in.

Medium Daisy Punch

This is a card that I designed for my classes this week using the Medium Daisy Punch. I could have just used a small circle punch for the center of the daisies but I wanted my flowers to have a little more pizzazz.

I checked my stash of embellishments and came upon some Faceted Gems. These gems come in clear and in gold. The gold ones were a little too…ah, well….gold for me. Not quite the yellow I was looking for. So what did I do? I took out my clear Faceted Gems and grabbed my Dark Daffodil Stampin’ Blend marker and colored those little gems. Perfection! Exactly what I was envisioning for the card!

Colored Faceted Gems

I used the brush tip to color the gems and I will admit that coloring these textured gems did a number on my Stampin’ Blend marker. I won’t be able to color any really small areas with the tip but the marker still works and there’s always the other tip.

So you can see that not only can you color your ribbon with your Stampin’ Blends markers you can also color your embellishments! I love my Stampin’ Blends markers. Do you?

Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Oh….can you guess where I took Holly the other day? 😀

Make it Mine Monday: Good Morning Magnolia!

Good Morning Magnolia

Good morning and Happy Monday! I had a relaxing weekend but got a lot done. How about you? It’s Make it Mine Monday and today I used the Magnolia Lane Suite.

I love everything about the Magnolia Lane Suite in Stampin’ Up!’s 2019-2020 Annual Catalog, especially the Magnolia Lane designer paper. The images are so beautiful! Everything on this card but the cardstock, ink and label die are part of the suite. You’ll notice that the ribbon is Mossy Meadow but when you see it in the catalog as part of the suite it’s linen colored. Hmmm….how did I do that? I colored it with my Mossy Meadow Stampin’ Blend marker! So easy! Coloring your ribbon with Stampin’ Blends is so much easier than try to color it with a sponge dauber/sponge and ink pad.

I CASEd (copy and share everything) from Angie Leach. The only things I really changed were some of the dimensions and the color of the ribbon. Now that I’m comparing them side by side I see that I changed the floral patterned paper too. It’s nice when someone does the basic planning for you and you just need to add your own touch. Thank you Angie for sharing your card.

I hope you all have a great day and a wonderful week! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Fun Friday: Dino Days

Dino Days – Donna Miller

I must be getting old…oh, wait….I am! Ha! I don’t like cutsy, I don’t make cutsy cards. Ha, again! I LOVE this little dinosaur, especially with this sentiment! It’s adorable. And yes, I do have the entire Dinoroar Suite of products (pg. 99 in the Annual Catalog) Sheesh! I’m ruining my image confessing this all to you.

I’m all over cutsy stamp sets and such these days and I can’t seem to get enough of these dinosaurs. I didn’t make this card but next week I’ll share a card with you that I did make with the Dinoroar Suite of products.

I received this swap card at the event I attended in June. Isn’t it adorable? How can you not love the little sentiment and the little T-rex with the short arms?!

Almost every product in the Dinoroar Suite was used on this card except the ribbon: stamp set, dies, designer paper and enamel shapes. This card is TSC! Too stinkin’ cute!

I hope this card makes you head into the weekend with a big smile on your face! Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Throwback Thursday: Generations

Generations

It’s Throwback Thursday! I was scrolling through the old photos that I’ve posted here on my blog and came across this beauty. This was taken almost 5 years ago exactly. Yikes!

Starting on the right you can see my upline Tara, me, my downline Andrea, her downline Janet and Janet’s downline Angela. What’s great is that we are all still demonstrators! Some of us are more involved than others but we’re still Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators.

That’s the great thing about being a demonstrator. You can be as involved as you like. You can hold classes and workshops, be a social media star or you can simply be in it for the discount on the fabulous products. The choice is yours!

If you’ve ever thought about earning a little extra income for the holidays or something special or maybe just saving a little on Stampin’ Up! products with the discount, NOW is definitely the time to give it a try. From now until August 31st you can choose $155 worth of product in your Starter Kit for only $99! Wow! That is a great deal!

Contact me if you’d like to learn more about being a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator. I’d love to have you as a member of my team! Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Sailing Home Swap Cards

Card Swaps are a great way to get card ideas. A swap is an event where you design a card for the event and then make a certain number of those cards and trade your card for someone else’s card. As a demonstrator I like to participate in them whenever I can. Most of the time when there is an event with a bunch of demonstrators there is usually some type of swap. In June I attended a large event and participated in the organized swap. You can click here to see the card I made to swap.

I received a lot of really nice cards. The Sailing Home stamp set was a very popular choice to use on swaps. Today I’d like to share a few of them with you.

Carol Davis

This card by Carol Davis was one of my favorites made using the Sailing Home stamp set and dies. Simple, yet elegant comes to mind when I look at it. I like how she used one of the Stitched Nested Label Dies as the background for the light house.

Sailing Home

Here are a couple of the other Sailing Home cards that I received that day. Aren’t they lovely? This stamp set and die set is so perfect for that masculine card you need to make. Which of these three cards is our favorite? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Holly’s Adventures

“Holly”, the 2019 Holiday Catalog has been on a few adventures this past week. She even came to Oregon with me over the weekend! Did you see her photos on my Facebook Page?

Eye Doctor

You should alway bring your catalog with you to the eye doctor, right? I had to make sure that my eye sight was good so that I don’t miss anything in the 63 pages of the catalog. 63 pages! Wow! There are so many great products in this catalog! I can’t wait to share! While we’re still talking about the eye doctor….what’s the smallest line that you can read? 😀

Mexican Food!

“Holly” also got to go out for Mexican food last week. It’s a good thing she came along because I was with my demo friend and we kept looking things up…our favorite stamp sets, our favorite new designer papers…all sorts of stuff!

Do you have your copy of “Holly” yet? If you’d like a copy be sure to let me know. Also…don’t forget to comment below or on my Facebook Business Page when you see a “Holly” post. You could win a free stamp set from “Holly”, the Holiday Catalog! 🙂

Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Fun Birthday Celebration Weekend!

I just returned from a fabulous weekend in Portland, Oregon with the fabulous ladies you see with me in the photo above. From left to right you have my cousin’s daughter Julie who live here in Denver, my cousin’s daughter Janet from WI, my cousin Sally from Chicago, me, my sister Lori from MN, my neighbor-daughter Lauren from Denver, my daughter-in-law Margot from Los Angeles and my niece Allison from MN. As you can see we came from all over to gather for a fun weekend. My cousin Sally turned 65 last Monday and I turned 60 in July so we wanted to celebrate BIG!

We had a blast! This photo is taken from day one when we did a wine tasting tour in the Wilamette (sounds like dammit) Valley south of Portland. Fun, fun day! Lots of wine, lots of beautiful scenery and lots of fun together.

Willamette Wine Tasting

One of the wineries had fantastic views and you could sit in these adirnodack chairs and enjoy both the views and the wine. Can you see the wine glasses in the pictures? These wine glasses will fit an ENTIRE bottle of wine! Honest, it’s true. At one of the wineries they filled an empty wine bottle with water and poured it in the glass! It’s amazing!

Day 2 we toured the grounds of the Pittock Mansion that overlooks the Portland area and visited an amazing rose garden, had a fun lunch and then hung out at our Airbnb.

Now it’s time to recooperate and get back to some stamping! Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Throwback Thursday: Birthday Celebration!

Flamingo Birthday

This is a photo from 3 years ago. As you may or may not be aware, I have this thing for flamingos. Around the time of my birthday three years ago I held a Flamingo Bingo event for my customers. They got to try and win some Stampin’ Up! product and I got to celebrate my birthday flamingo style!

Flash forward to this year’s birthday. I had a lovely birthday with dinner out and then my son took me to see “Lion King” as it was a favorite of his when he was younger. A very nice birthday indeed. It was a BIG birthday (6-0!). The reason I’m sharing all this with you is because today I’m off to really start celebrating! I’m calling it a Female Family Fun weekend. I’m on my to Portland, OR to celebrate with one of my sisters and her daughter, my cousin and her two daughters along with my daughter-in-law and my neighbor-daughter. We are heading on a wine tasting tour on Friday and then who know what trouble (I mean fun) we’ll get into for the rest of the weekend.

Gotta love birthday celebrations! I’ll tell you all about it next week! Have a great day. Take care and Happy Stamping!

Where in the World is Holly?

It’s SO exciting! Not only do I have my hands on the new, upcoming 2019 Holiday Catalog but I have my grubby little hands on some of the AMAZING products that you will find in the catalog! I can’t wait to start playing!

Speaking of playing…we’re going to play a little game until the new Holiday Catalog goes live on September 4th. I’ve name my Holiday Catalog “Holly” for fun and I am going to take her with me when I go places and I’m going to take a picture of her in that location. I’ll be posting all of these pictures on my Facebook page and periodically I’ll be posting them here on my blog too. I encourage you to head on over to my Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/StampbyStamp and “like” it and “follow” it so you don’t miss out on any of the fun locations. If I get brave I may even start posting on my business Instagram account! Ha!

I already have some fun ideas of where you’ll find Holly, the Holiday Catalog. Now, checking out the pictures of the catalog in these fun locations is only going to be part of the game. You are going to earn points by commenting on a catalog photo and/or sharing a catalog photo. Comments on my FB page or my blog (or on an Instagram post) will be worth 1 point. Sharing a FB post (or an Instagram post) will be worth 2 points. The person who has the most points on September 4th will get to choose a stamp set from the Holiday Catalog valued at $20 or less! How’s that for fun?! Oh…I may be feeling generous and have a little something for the runners up too so don’t forget to play!

Now, I do have to let you know that from Sept 4th – 8th I will be in the Canadian Wilderness and may or may not have service so you may have to wait until September 9th or 10th to find out who won.

I’ll still be posting samples and tips during this time. It’s not going to be all fun and games. Ha! I hope you’ll join me on this fun adventure with “Holly”, the Holiday catalog! Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!