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While waiting and waiting and waiting for this year's Holiday Mini Catalog to arrive in my mailbox--and therefore yours--I've decided to give up. Today is August 31st and there's no Holiday Mini in my mailbox! So I've done us all a favor and decided to post the mini on the right side of my blog. Just click on the image and it'll download. It's right under the regular Idea Book & Catalog. It takes about a minute and a half on mid-high-speed satellite connection, slower on dialup obviously and faster on high speed dsl.
There are so many cute things in the Holiday Mini that I don't want you to have to wait until the postal service and bulk mail processing get it to your door. You can order beginning tomorrow, September 1st. A few things you cannot order at this time:
My Digital Studio. It is not quite ready for release yet. And I'm certainly happy to wait until they get everything right.
Simply Adorned Charms, p. 33. These are very attractive in real life and you can let your creativity run loose as you decide how to 'adorn' yours. That being said, they are on hold for right now due to quality issues with the manufacturer. I'll let you know as soon as we (that means me too!) can order them.
And if you're wondering, yes, as a Demonstrator, I do have my copy---that's so I can create samples and make a 'few' pre-purchases to share with you once September 1st arrives. I'm almost ready for you!
Yesterday I made (yes m-a-d-e) the opportunity to make my version of a swap card I received at Stampin' Up's convention in early August. This is the card I received, created by Vonnie Wolcott:
Although you don't see this set, Hit the Road, in the 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalog, it is on the Dormant List*, and IS available for purchase. Item #113242, $19.95.
I love Jeeps and driving off-road although I don't get to do that nearly as often as I'd like. And I'm drawn to rugged, camping-type, playing-in-the-dirt stamps! :)
I have an overdue birthday card to the father of our "German son", our exchange student from 1989-90. Dad Dieter also loved our Jeeps. So this is the card I had planned to make for him. My brother is a Jeep NUT so it will also be his next May birthday card. Hmmmm.....where to put it in the meantime so I can put my fingers on it in May!!! Dieter's card will go postal tomorrow, only a week late.
I made two versions of the card:
Here's what I made it with and how I made it: INGREDIENTS: STAMP SETS: Hit the Road, On Your Birthday (111664) CARD STOCK: Old Olive, Very Vanilla INK: Bashful Blue, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, Soft Suede, VersaMark ACCESSORIES: Embossing Powder: Clear (for one card), Black (for the other card), Heat Tool, Aqua Painter, Stampin' Sponge, Dimensionals, Soft Suede Polka-Dot 1/2" Grosgrain Ribbon
Trim Very Vanilla card stock to 4" x 5-1/4". Wad it up. Wad it up again. Spread out 'flat' and swipe the Soft Suede and Old Olive stamp pads over the card stock.
I actually swapped out the Close to Cocoa pad in favor of Soft Suede after taking the above photo. Before attaching this crumpled piece of CS to the card front, I wrapped a piece of Soft Suede grosgrain, solid side UP, attaching it to the back of the CS with either Glue Dots or Snail Adhesive.
For the card below, mounted on Old Olive CS, I used VersaMark to stamp the Jeep (perhaps I should say 'vehicle'), then sprinkled the image with Black Embossing Powder and heat set it with the Heat Tool.
For this card, mounted on Soft Suede, I also used the VersaMark pad, but this time I inked the stamp with the VersaMark and then moved right on to the Soft Suede pad to pick up the color*. Then I sprinkled the image with Clear Embossing Powder and set it with the Heat Tool. I wanted a brown embossing image and SU! doesn't carry brown embossing powder. This is a great work-around for that problem. *Be sure to clean your stamp before touching it to the VersaMark pad again so you don't track Soft Suede ink onto it. It's a good habit to always clean your stamp after stamping actually.
I'm still not sure which one I prefer! So the Soft Suede one is going to Germany tomorrow.
I colored in 'the vehicle' using my Aqua Painter and ink from the lids of my stamp pads.
TIP: Have you ever used that 'ink-in-the-stamp-pad-lid' trick? With your thumb and middle finger, squeeze a closed pad, lid to bottom. When you open it up, you'll see a blob (technical term) of ink in the lid. Use your Aqua Painter or Blender Pen to pick up color and apply it where desired. You can vary the intensity of color much easier than with the boldness of a marker.
Back to the vehicle: Not knowing what color to 'paint' it, I decided to go camouflage! With a fairly wet Aqua Painter I splashed on a bit of Old Olive and then followed it with a bit of Soft Suede, letting the colors bleed into each other a bit. It was FUN!!!!!
Before layering the stamped pieces, I sponged* the edges with a Stampin' Sponge and Soft Suede ink. Then I layered them on Old Olive CS. I attached the vehicle with snail adhesive and the birthday greeting with Stampin' Dimensionals. *Hold the card stock firmly in one hand and then brush the edges with the sponge, kind of like you would strum a guitar. Let me know if you'd like a picture. It's easy but you don't want to go too heavy with it.
For the inside of this card I added a piece of Very Vanilla CS (4" x 5-1/4") to make my greeting easier to read. Plus I wanted to move that Jeep across the inside. :)
I hope you've enjoyed my vicarious off-road adventure! Let me know if you have any questions about the process I used OR if you'd like to order any of the items used to create the card.
* You can view this list by clicking on the 2009 July Dormant List icon in the right sidebar.
Tomorrow, August 31, 2009, is the last day you'll be able to take advantage of this amazing special new Demonstrator Starter Kit being offered by Stampin' Up!
Have a look at what you'll get for $85:
FOR ALL YOU DOStamp Set (set of 10 stamps) 2009/2010 IN COLOR Classic Stampin' Pads (6 pads) WHISPER WHITE CARD STOCK (8-1/2" x 11") IN COLOR ASSORTED CARD STOCK (8-1/2" x 11") BUSINESS FORMS & TOOLS
You can sign up anytime to become a demonstrator......but right now, especially if you already have some Stampin' Up! product in your home, this is a great offer and great time to go for it! Starting your own Stampin' Up! business means free and discounted products, plus a little extra cash. Now who couldn't use that?
Or if you want to purchase the standard $199 Starter Kit, in addition to
the supplies listed below, you'll get all six of the new In Color
Classic Stampin' Pads and one pack of In Color assorted card stock
(8-1/2" x 11")--a $43 value! The standard Starter Kit (already a $350
value) includes:
* Four stamp sets (in varying price groups)
* Stampin' Around Wheel, Handle and Ink Cartridge
* Stampin' Pastels (oh these are fun and versatile!)
* Card stock
* Eastern Blooms Décor Elements and applicator
* 5 Classic Stampin' Pads (your choice of colors)
* VersaMark Pad
* Stampin' Scrub & Mist
* Blender Pens
* Business Forms & Tools
You can see some great cards made with the For All You Are stamp set that is included with this offer by clicking here to see August 18's blog post.
These special offers--the Mini Starter Kit and the In Color add-on to
the standard Starter Kit--are only available until August 31st, so you
must act fast!
Are you ready to take that step???
Go to my Stampin' Up! Websiteand
click on the 'join now' button in the left side-bar. The required password is 4blossom. I would love to welcome you to my great team of
Stampin' Up! Demonstrators. Join my
team before August 31st and I'll gift you with a set of the new In Color Markers to go with all the In Color products in your
Starter Kit!
By the way, there are definite benefits of becoming a Demonstrator:
Whether you just love to stamp, or you want to grow a business, or you just want to purchase your stampin' supplies at a discount, you'll also receive many other benefits.
PRODUCT DISCOUNT: Demonstrators receive a 20% discount on all Stampin' Up! products. What a great way to support your love of stamping!
EXTRA INCOME: You'll earn extra income based on your sales and recruiting---how much is totally up to you.
FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE: This is your business--you can put in as much (or as little) time as you'd like.
FOCUS ON YOUR INTEREST: You can focus your business on cards or scrapbooking, or both. Whatever you want.
SUPPORT FROM STAMPIN' UP!: You'll receive a monthly Demo only magazine: Stampin' Success, and via the Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Only Website you'll find workshop ideas as well as audio and video trainings on all kinds of topics. You'll also receive new Catalogs a month prior to the general public, with the option to make select pre-purchases of included items.
Call or e-mail for more details! I would love to speak with you about the possibilities!
My stampin' buddy, Kathy Chono-Herring from Fresno, CA, wasn't able to attend Stampin' Up!'s convention again this year. So, again this year, she produced her very own convention for demonstrators and customers in her area. She 'crammed' 8 stampers into her little house, trying to emulate the crowded conditions among 3100 demonstrators in Salt Lake City. They swapped cards, did make & takes, had yummy lunches and an all around good time.
Here are a few of the items they made. Why do I have them? I'm the official proof-reader and sounding board so I get advance insight on it all. Plus, I also get a convention packet for all of my 'hard work'. I am not complaining at all!!!!
Gine sent this 3-D swap:
And here it is, opened:
As an aside, I made similar items for two of my grandchildren in 2007 for their Christmas ornaments. Photos are attached to a punched (Stampin' Up! punches of course) circle and depict times they had spent with Oma and Opa during the previous year.
I'm kind of a nostalgic slob and hope the kidlets will enjoy these and remenise for many years to come. (Do you recognize that beautiful wrapping paper in the left upper corner? I wish we'd have more of that.)
Back to Kathy's convention: She made this lovely floral arrangement using the Sweet Treat Cups that will be shown in the Holiday Mini Catalog that should be in your mail boxes any day now. You'll be able to order from this Mini from September 1, 2009 - January 4, 2010. (oooooh--strange to say 2010!) The flower petals and leaves come from the Sweet Centers stamp set, also in the Mini.
These are going to be so much fun. Be watching for more ideas and 'how-tos' after September 1st.
Have a great day. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you again tomorrow.
Today is our day to stamp at the Mi Wuk Community Center & Lending Library. Our usual crowd is somewhere between 8 and 16 people and that's not bad for a small community and a building the size of a 4 car garage. We do love this monthly opportunity!!!
Today's card are based on cards I received as swaps at Stampin' Up!'s convention earlier this month.
The original card, by Angie Brailsford, was simply the texturized Top Note die cut. I added the card base itself and the ribbon and changed the greeting. I love the colors and the whimsiness of it. INGREDIENTS: STAMP SET: Trendy Trees (thinking of you) CARDSTOCK: Brocade Blue, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie INK: Chocolate Chip ACCESSORIES: Big Shot Die Cut Machine,Top Note die, Perfect Details Texturz Plate, Buttons #5 Sizzlet, Snail Adhesive
Our second card uses the Kind & Caring Thoughts Level 3 Hostess set. It is cut along the length of the cardstock, 4-1/4" x 11" and it opens on the side as do many cards.
I was the proof reader for all of the projects my stampin' buddy Kathy Chono-Herring used in her Mini Convention this past weekend and so today I determined it was OK to use two of her card ideas for my Stamp Club. I'm still recovering from Stampin' Up!'s convention, the (ahem) mess in my stamp room, and working on preps for two other classes and a workshop this week. I'm a happy camper actually--just a tad busy at the moment.
Here are our cards. As I've said before, I like to challenge my Club members with special folds or techniques as well as offer them templates they can use for many cards in the future.
The first card is a "slant card". I understand this card was originally made by demonstrators who went on the SU! incentive trip earlier this year, made with the new stamp set they received: For All You Do, (115360, p. 118, $28.95). I would alter the 'slant' a bit next time I make this card to make it show more dramatically. I do like the card a lot though.
The second card is just a lovely card which can be adapted to many sets and colors. When I get off of my treadmill I'll try a few and post them. In the meantime you could take a stab at another set and color combination and send it to me for sharing with our readers. That's a little challenge for you.
There's a bit of Dazzling Diamonds Glitter in the center of the two flowers and on the butterfly's head but it doesn't really show up in the photo.
I'll be happy to send you dimensions on either of these cards if you'd like them.
And finally, here are a few swap cards I received at SU!'s convention using this same "For All You Do" stamp set:
Below: Created by Connie Babbert, Dublin Ohio
I wish you all a good day and hope you've enjoyed For All You Do.
I got more swaps from this set, Circle Circus (p. 129, 115778, $28.95) than any other. If I know who made the card, I have identified that person. If YOU have made one of the unidentified cards, please let me know and I'll add your name to your card. I took many of these photos in our hotel room and they were swaps of my roommates or a few people I was swapping for. I no longer have their cards to check out the back for i.d.
I think the variety of colors and layouts is so indicative of the variety of cards you can make from all Stampin' Up! sets.
Below: Stamped by Michelle Halleen, NY
Below: stamped by Lisa Stout, California
Below: Stamped by Sandra Shinn
The earrings below were made by Shelli Garder (SU!'s co-founder and CEO) and/or family members one evening when they were just having fun creating gift items. Pretty cool!
What's your favorite set? I'll be sharing one or two more bunches of swap cards and then it'll be back to fun projects and classes.
Can you imagine 3000 women, and a few men, moving around a convention center, with 25-300 cards each saying "Wanna swap?" "Are you swapping?" This can happen in a restaurant, the airport, on the street, in a restroom, in a line that forms anywhere! It's definitely a type of feeding frenzy.
See those clusters of swappers? They're everywhere! And it's a good thing.
This year I took a little stress off myself and opted to swap with 2 groups, privately (one at dinner on Wednesday: UDI; the other at lunch on Friday: Sudsol) and then do my remaining swaps with the 'general population'. That way I could walk around most of the time just enjoying myself without the need to swap swap swap. Of course, when I do this, I find myself offering to swap cards for someone who's not able to attend convention but wants some new ideas. A Convention Buddy.
I'm going to share some of my favorite cards for the next few days. Then I'll share the Make & Take projects that Stampin' Up! prepared for us. More about that in a few days.
The theme for convention was INSPIRE. CREATE. SHARE. So here are my photos honoring that....
My roommate, Sue, and I met (for the first time) at the Salt Lake City airport. After dropping our bags at our hotel, we wandered over to the convention center to see what it was going to look like. We met via Sudsol (the demonstrator only business email group). We are CREATE.
Katie, from New York, arrived later on Tuesday. And the three of us became INSPIRE.
Judi, from Illinois, arrived Wednesday afternoon. We became SHARE.
We had the same kind of silly fun you see above for the duration of the Convention experience. And we all met on Sudsol over the years.
And now, a few favorite swap cards:
Dasher, under $10 stamp (116816, p. 208, $8.95). This guy just makes me smile!
How cute is this little punched lion? I could only take a photo of him at convention.
In addition to great Stampin' Up! cardstock this card uses these dies from the Big Shot Die Cut Machine (113439, p. 194, $99.95): Stampin' Up! Little Leaves (exclusive SU! die) (114511, p. 196, $5.50) and Flower, Daisies #2 (114520, p. 199, $19.95).
I can see a class project coming with this sample made with the Box #2 die (114518, p. 201, $34.95) and of course, the Big Shot Die Cut machine.
This looks like another project to me......a small portable photo album. It's made with another die for the Big Shot Die Cut machine: the Stampin' Up! exclusive Top Note Bigz die (113463, p. 198, $21.95). This die is incredibly versatile.
Final card for today, made with the same Top Note Bigz die shown above. The flowers are also made with Big Shot dies: the SU! exclusive Simple Flower die (114514, p. 195, $11.95) and the Little Leaves (exclusive SU! die) (114511, p. 196, $5.50).
It's so hard to select which cards to show since all of those I received are just wonderful. I'll be showing you more in the coming days.
I fell in love with the Medallion Background stamp (115223, p. 133, $17.95) upon first sight. I could see so many beautiful uses for it. I still have lots of experimentation to do with it. In the meantime, I swapped with every person I could at convention who used this stamp. Here are some of them:
This is one of the 3-D swaps for the UDI demonstrator group. I didn't participate in the swap but I sure took a few photos! This is one of those "cheap plastic clocks from W___mart", less than $5.00! But look what a little window dressing can do. The hours are marked with half pearls from the Pretties Kit (109114, p. 178, $29.95/over 250 pieces. I'm going to try to do this for a class. That means I'll have to shop at "that store" which I usually don't do, but for this clock.....hmmm....maybe. :)
Shelli Gardner, SU!'s CEO and co-founder made this giftable cork coaster. Simply stamp on cork (which you can cut with the Big Shot Die Cut machine (113439, p. 194, $99.95) and the Clear Circle die (114533, p. 199, $19.95), any color of SU! Craft ink (p. 156-7, $7.50--all 48 colors). Make a set of coordinating colors.
Shelli also made these 3" x 3" gift cards as a paper weight.
Creator unknown
Creator unknown
Creator unknown
Creator unknown
Created by Christine Rebbert: Versamark Ink (102283, p. 190, $7.50) with Clear Embossing Powder (109130, p. 188, $4.75)
Creator unknown.
Creator unknown
And then I thought I throw this in as a little smiler since you've meandered through all of those medallions:
I don't know how tall he is, but this is little me (not quite 5' 2"), with oh-so-very-tall Thurl Bailey, former pro basketball player and member of Stampin' Up!'s board-of-directors. He is just soooooo personable! I think I could wear his shirt as a dress.
I'll continue to throw in a few personal photos from convention. They add a smile and sometimes a giggle to the day.
As promised, here are some of the great swap cards I received at SU!'s convention in Salt Lake City. I am a part of two SU! Demononstrator on-line groups: Sudsol (Stampin' Up! Demonstrators Sharing On Line) and UDI (Utah Divas International). The UDI group swapped on the first evening, after dinner at Z'Tejas at the Gateway. Yummy food. My Achiote Chicken Salad was refreshing and yummy yummy yummy. OK, I digressed. Here they are......all from the stamp set For All You Do.
Stamped by Gretchen Barron from Illinois
Stamped by Laura Milligan from Ohio
Stamped by Cheri Hunt from Ohio
Stamped by someone from Janet Baker's downline
Stamped by Connie Babbert from Ohio
I love seeing what different people do with the same stamp set. Wonder what stamp set I'll focus on tomorrow????
Today's stamp set: For all You Do, (115360, p. 118, $28.95, 10 pieces).
Please ask if you have questions about any of the cards. I should be able to help you out. See you tomorrow.
