The content of this blog is my sole responsibility as an independent Stampin' Up! demonstrator and the use of, and content of, the classes, services, or products offered on this blog is not endorsed by Stampin' Up!
Stampin' Up! has chosen to carry over several products from the 2009-10 Holiday Mini Catalog which is wonderful for all of us. These products will be available in the next Idea Book & Catalog(IB&C) as well. There might be a few other items from the 2009-10 Holiday Mini Catalog but we won't know that until the new IB&C comes out on July 1st. In the meantime, we have plenty of great stamp sets and accessories to choose from and play with.
Here are the items that are definitely available now and will be in the next IB&C.
If you are having trouble seeing the above image, PLEASE let me know.
I know I'm glad to see that these items are being carried over. I'd miss that Ornament Punch that can be morphed into a fish! And the Shimmer Paints. And the accessories for the Big Shot. And the Charming stamp set for the new charms. Yip, I'm a happy camper. :) I hope you are too.
Sorry I missed you all yesterday. I was traveling to Fresno (140 miles south of me) to play with my stampin' friend, Kathy Chono-Herring, and then attend a stampin' meeting in the evening. You'll see some of our swap cards and projects next week. Back to my travels: I couldn't get logged in to Kathy's wireless internet. Sooooooo frustrating. We finally got it going just before time to leave for the meeting.
All that said, here she is......
<--Cover; Below: inside
This is just a simple 3" x 5" plain white notepad, wrapped in a piece of Taken with Teal cardstock, the front of which is layered with a stamped piece of Whisper White stamped cardstock.
Take ANY notebook of a size that can 'wrapped' with a piece of Stampin' Up! cardstock and trim it to fit. Lay your notebook on a piece of cardstock on a piece of grid paper or with a ruler in your hand. Make tick marks where the card stock will fold around the edge of the notepad, then the cover, another edge, and finally a 1" flap to go behind the pad. Cut your card stock to size and score where it will wrap around the notebook.
I use a strip of magnet tape along the inside of the flap and its 'mate' on the back of the card stock cover for securing it.
About Tote-ally Tess's hair........ After 5 years of coloring my hair, I decided to let it grow out to my natural white/silver hair. So I figured she could flash in her natural white hair too. (I'll get my photo changed in the sidebar as soon as I figure out how again. My learning challenge!)
Tess is stamped in Basic Brown, a waterproof ink. I knew I would be coloring in her clothing and didn't want the ink to bleed and turn all muddy. I used a Blender Pen to color in her top (Taken with Teal) and her slacks (Creamy Caramel). I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to position her tote bag and the stamp in her hand. For her lovely hair-do, I used the Blender Pen to color Going Gray around the edges. Then I used a cotton swap (too big, a small paint brush would have been better) to color in the rest of her fair with Frost White Shimmer Paint.
I received this little notebook, my inspiration, about 5 years ago from my Fresno friend Robin Rouch:
I hope you've enjoyed Tess. I'll be back later today I hope. I'm off to my next 'stop' on my traveling tour. I've made another 'something' to share with you which you'll see on the next post. It's tote-ally different from today's little project. :)
This is another of the cards from class focusing on the Extra Large Two-Step Bird Punch from the 2010 Occasions Mini Catalog (p. 10-11, 117191, $15.95)
I love it when stampers see my sample cards and exclaim "How do you create THAT"? Of course that's why I have that particular card in my samples. It gives me an opportunity to explain another technique for stampers to learn and then take and recreate as they will.
Here's the card I'm talking about today:
Here are the ingredients you need to duplicate this card:
CARDSTOCK: So Saffron, Taken with Teal, Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Stack (2010 Occasions Mini, p. 33, 117161)
INK; Chocolate Chip Classic Pad and Marker, Taken with Teal pad
ACCESSORIES: Extra Large Two-Step Bird Punch, Stamping Sponge, SNAIL Adhesive, Blender Pen
This card is a wonderful all-purpose card--when you're in need of a card, simply pull it out, and stamp the appropriate greeting, using Taken with Teal Classic Ink, in the upper right hand corner. Click here for the creation tutorial. And have fun!
COMMENT BEFORE YOU GET INTO THIS POST! If you were fortunate, or unfortunate enough to have seen the post for a 32" Toshiba t-v...........I have no idea how it got onto my blog!!!!! Yes, we're selling/giving one away but that information was supposed to be placed on Craigslist! Either I was triple-multi-tasking, hallucinating, or having a pitifully VERY senior moment. Hopefully it is now removed from the blog and now you can just enjoy reading the intended post for the day. I don't know whether to be embarrassed or frightened. Oh my oh my oh my. (Hi cousin Christy C!)
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We participated in a surprise birthday party for my sister (and Stampin' Up! downline) a few weeks ago. I just have to share the thank you card she sent us.
I'm honestly not sure what stamp set she used on the card front. It's very much like Priceless (p. 130 of the current 2009-10 Idea Book & Catalog) but I don't think that's it.
Janet used two of the Punch Windows (set of 4, p. 201, 115953) Magnetic Dies for the Movers & Shapers Curly Label Bigz XL die. And of course, the Big Shot Die-Cut Machine (p. 194, IB&C). Then for the inside she used the Scallop Oval punch (p. 186, 114889, $15.95) and the Modern Label punch, (p. 186, 116630, $15.95). Have you used the Movers & Shapers die? I feel a tutorial coming.
I am going to assume she stamped and embossed her sentiments before punching them. Have you ever done that? It's a much easier way to get your punched words right where you want them. It's best to use a 2" x 4-5" scrap of card stock. Rub it with your embossing buddy, stamp your greeting with either VersaMark*, Craft*, or Encore pigment ink*, sprinkle with Embossing Powder*, shake off the excess, and heat with the Heat Tool*. Let it cool for a minute and then punch the sentiment out with the desired punch by turning the punch upside down so you can see the placement of the words in the punch window. *Each of these items can be found in the 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalog.
To position these punched out pieces where you want them, close the card and then lay the punched pieces right in the center of the punched holes. Remove and put some snail adhesive, or dimensionals, on the back of the punched stamped pieces, place them through the holes again and secure to the inside of the card.
Write the rest of whatever you want around these punched pieces and you have a lovely card.
If you have any questions, please ask. And if you'd like to know more about embossing with powder, let me know. I think I feel another tutorial (maybe finally that first video tutorial) coming up.
I wish you a great day! I'm sitting in my stamp room, glancing through my windows and watching a lovely light snow fall . Next I'm going to play with my new friend, Tote-ally Tess (p. 41 of the 2010 Occasions Mini). She just came to live at my house yesterday. I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.
Well, follow me and you'll soon see! We'll be making this card, and four others, at my Extra Large Two Step Bird Punch class this afternoon in My County Loft studio here in Mi Wuk Village CA.
I've made my first one the other day and sent it to my son-in-law for his Valentine's Day birthday. I wanted to steer way clear of a Valentine theme. Think I succeeded???
Here's the card:
Is this what you expected???
And here's what you'll need to make it:
STAMP SET: Well Scripted
CARDSTOCK: Pumpkin Pie, Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Stack (2010 Occasions Mini), Chocolate Chip scrap, Pretty in Pink scrap
INK: Chocolate Chip Classic pad and Marker
ACCESSORIES: Stampin' Up! Extra Large Two-Step Bird, Crop-a-Dile, Paper Snips, Stamping Sponge, Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots, SNAIL adhesive.
After you get all of your pieces punched and then most edges sponged with Chocolate Chip ink, you're almost done. It's only assembly from there. Hop on over here for all of the instructions.
I'll be back with 4 more cards made with this delightful Extra Large Two-Step Bird punch over the next few days. Be sure to check back.
Have you made anything 'out-of-the-box' with this punch yet. Be sure to share it with me it you do so we can share it with other readers! Just email me, with a photo of your creation, via the box in the upper left corner of my blog.
Do you own this punch yet? I can't guarantee you that it will be in the next Stampin' Up! annual Idea Book & Catalog so be sure to order it before the 2010 Mini Catalog expires on April 30, 2010. Remember how quickly Christmas comes upon us later in the year? Don't let April 30th sneak up on you. Just click here to order your punch soon via my Stampin' Up! website.
Milestones can be awesome! And I received notification from Stampin' Up! this morning that I have just achieved one. I knew I was getting close, but in the middle of mega snow (for our area), a week long power outage, and a miserable cold that just won't go away, I'd totally forgotten to be tracking my progress. And this morning, in my in-box was a lovely email from Stampin' Up! announcing my Milestone. What is it you ask?
Thanks to you, my customers, I have just achieved the
$100,000 personal sales career milestone!
Wowsers! I must admit, that over the 14 years I've been a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, I've contributed a lot of those dollars myself. LOL! But then, why not?
I can
purchase my SU! products at a discount, before they're released to the public, complete with ideas for how to use them
attend demonstrator only training opportunities, like our annual Convention, Leadership Training and Regional Seminars
Have access to a Stampin' Up! demonstrator-only website overflowing with creative, as well as business ideas and guidance
Have access to a new Stampin' Connection community for demonstrators only---lots of sharing of ideas going on there!
and best of all: I've been able to meet the most marvelous, sharing and caring demonstrators and Stampin' Up! employees from the U.S. and Canada and now around the world.
Wouldn't you love to join me in this great adventure that offers continuous therapy? I think one of the greatest things about being a stamper/demonstrator is the phenomenon of "having a bad day" (for whatever reason), going out to my stamp room, starting to stamp or plan a project, or even c-l-e-a-n, and voila! I'm in a happy, "up" mood before I know what's happened.
When I signed up as a demonstrator we had a choice of stamps that were either mounted on foam rubber or wood. I remember getting the darling Button Bear stamp set in my Demo Kit mounted on foam rubber. I must admit that I just couldn't use it. I purchased a wood mount one (which I still have).
Our stamps were from other stamp companies, not exclusive to Stampin' Up! Then we eventually went to stamps/artwork that was exclusive to Stampin' Up!. What a great move that was. Oh, if you could only see some of my first class or workshop projects. Sad sad sad. If I had a sample left I'd share it, but, fortunately, I don't!
One thing that hasn't changed: we have always had our exclusive colors that match everything: cardstock, markers, and stamp pads. There have been some color changes over the years but they were good moves. I am amazed that the decisions made by SU! over the years have always been good ones: changing a color, moving colors groups a bit, bringing in or taking out a line of products. Change is always shocking and difficult to grasp at first, but soon you don't even fret about it.
If you'd like to learn more about becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator yourself, and take advantage of those perks I pointed out above, now would be a great time! During Sale-A-Bration, new recruits will get 15 percent off the price
of the Starter Kit (Standard or Digital+), plus, a FREE stamp set
(valued up to $47.95) from the current catalogs! The Standard Starter Kit, regularly $199, is $169 until March 31, 2010. And the Digital + Starter Kit, normally $185, is only $157 until March 31, 2010. Contact me directly via email (left side bar) or phone (up there in my banner), and I'll be glad to give you one-on-one elaboration of this great opportunity.
OK, enough excitement and blah-blah from me about the fun and joy of being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and achieving a real milestone of selling over $100,000 in product to myself and others. How about some
BLOG CANDY ?!?!?!?
Since I just received my email from Stampin' Up! this morning I haven't yet ventured out to my stamp room to determine just what the Blog Candy will be. But I'll have a photo of it posted by tomorrow (Thursday) morning. Leavea comment on my blog about either a favoritestampin' project you've DONE or a project/technique you WOULD LIKE TO DO.
UPDATE: Friday, February 19th
Here's the blog candy:
On Monday, February 22nd, George Washington's real birthday, I'll announce the winner, selected by random drawing.
Thanks so much for listening to my excitement and being a part of my life at this exciting time in my demonstrator career. Now I have to finish getting ready for this afternoon's stampin' class. (Vacuuming the room!)
The Extra Large Two-Step Bird Punch wasn't on my first order from the 2010 Occasions Mini catalog. Silly me. It's so versatile!!!!!!
Have you experimented with one of these new style punches yet? They're really quite amazing. And storage?? Great! They can stand on end or on their sides, side by side.
First, the punch......... Here's the Extra Large Two-Step Bird Punch, closed, and resting on its side.
From the side: The slim design save storage space. It can be stored flat or standing on either side or the bottom end.
Latch: The latch on the underside of the punch slides toward the punching area to unlock and open.
Latch again: Close the punch and slide the latch on the underside of the punch towards the edge of the punch to lock it closed.
Leverage: The larger handle area allows for extra leverage to punch with ease even on detailed designs. As with any punch, keep yours fingers and hands clears of the handle to avoid being pinched. And I've been pinched twice. I learned!!
Tomorrow I'll show you how I put the punch into action by turning a lovely bird into a silly clown. Honest! See you then. :)
