Stampin' Up! - Hostess Promotion

"September 1-November 30, 2009 Hostess Promotion"

Stampin' Up is excited to bring you this sweet deal for hostesses September through November: Host a workshop totaling $330 or more and choose any one item* from the 2009 Holiday Mini Catalogue for only $14! *Offer excludes hostess sets and My Digital Studio.
After My Digital Studio is released, this offer will become even sweeter:
Host a workshop of at least $525 and get My Digital Studio for 50 percent off the retail price (retail price: $106.95; promotional price: $53.47)!"

Having a Great Day .............

What a day it's been! About 3:30 this morning our dog Murphy woke us up to say something was wrong............. and he was right. The power had gone off around 1:30am and had come back on again with the clock radio lights flashing and the house alarm beeping. What a dog! It's kind of reassuring to know you have a little angel looking over you. So we fixed the alarms and went back to sleep.

Around 8:00 while we were having coffee and watching the morning news, the power went out again. Since we couldn't do anything without the electricity in the house, we both headed outside and tackled some of our garden work that has been lagging behind. We finished that and the power was still out........... an hour has passed. So, nothing else to do we took Murphy for a nice long walk around the lake and neighborhood where we live. The power was out everywhere so it wasn't only us who were inconvenienced. If there was any silver lining to today's power outage, it was the fact that it's a grand day with the sun shining brightly and a light breeze blowing and no where to be in a hurry.

On our way home we picked up our mail and there was a package from Dawn Rapsas for me...............my prizes for having her blinkie on my blog and guessing one of the questions on the July 27th chat night. How exciting!!

Well that just made the day even brighter and so much more exciting......I wanted to rip the envie open right then and there but my DH suggested waiting until we got home. The with the suspense deepening we returned home. When we arrived the power had returned and all was back to normal. I opened the package as soon as I could and look what I got........... a full package of dimensionals, a beautiful package of Hidden Garden Rub-Ons and a Ribbon Measurer. Here's all my stuff. Thanks Dawn for making it such a great day after all!

City of David

Today while I was browsing through the fall 2007 Holiday Cards Volume 2 Paper Crafts Magazine, I was inspired to make a card using the retired City of David stamp set from Stampin' Up. Having recently acquired this stamp set, which I've always loved, I thought now's the time to get out the ink and get stamping.

The card and matching envelope above were designed by Dianna Halevy. I loved the card colours and how she used the 1 3/8" circle punch to create interest at the bottom of the card. The figures of Mary and David are stamped on the base card in Really Rust and then restamped on Very Vanilla cardstock and painted with More Mustard, Really Rust, and Sage Shadow inks. They were then mounted with dimensionals. This is my version of Diana's card. Hope you like it.

Fall Session - UStamp With Dawn & Friends

Only a few more sleeps............. I'm so excited! The fall session of the UStamp with Dawn & Friends session begins on September 4th and will run until October 1st a full 28 days! That's 4 more days of FUN!! It will be the same format of new projects/video every day!! Tons of Chats, Lots of Prizes, Gallery Sharing and Dawn says there will be a few more surprises too!! Using products from the 2009-2010 IB&C and the Holiday Mini Catalogue the focus will be on holiday gift giving ideas, fall birthdays and everyday tokens of appreciation and gratitude.

If you are looking for new ideas, you will not want to miss this event!! Cost is $25.00 US............ money well spent! To register check out Dawn's website for more information: http://ustampwithdawn.blogspot.com/

Water Colour Roses

Here's a sneak peek at some future cards I'll be making using the water colour roses technique made so popular this summer by Patti Bennett's Watercolor Roses - Technique and Video Tutorial. If you haven't seen her video I would strongly suggest you go to her blog and check it out. I can't thank Patti enough for the wonderful video and her excellent instructions.

So one of my wonderful customers and I got together last Thursday for some stamping and technique sharing. We both were interested in trying the Watercolor Rose technique. I got out my reinkers, spray bottle of water and some plastic lids and before you know it we had each painted one rose image. We had so much fun trying out this technique that we couldn't stop at just the roses. We had to include the lilies and other flower image in the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set shown on page 98 of the SU Idea Book and Catalogue. What do you think? Aren't they gorgeous. I used Crushed Curry, Pirouette Pink, and Red Riding Hood reinkers for the roses and lillies and Brocade Blue and Red Riding Hood for the blue flowers.

Another UStamp with Dawn Project

I still have a few projects that I'm catching up on from the UStamp with Dawn Summer session. This is my version of Makeesha Byl the Australian Dream Team Member's Double Boxed Gift Basket. I filled mine with Stampin' Up goodies, but this would make a great gift basket for a baby or wedding shower.

The basket which is made from two 12 x 12 sheets of cardstock is comprised of two separate boxes that are joined in the middle by a divider that also acts as a support. The divider is made from two A4 pieces of cardstock covered with designer paper. To further stabilize the basket a 6 x 10 piece of cardboard is cut and adhered to the base of the basket. I was really amazed at how strong the finished baskets are.


















I made a small gift card to go along with the gift basket and gussied up the envelope with designer paper and a 5/8" piece of regal rose grosgrain ribbon.

My Swaps for My International Swap Sister

For those of you who read my August 7 post about Jenny Adams, my swap sister from Australia and were interested in what I had sent her, I am posting some photos of my swaps.

For the first project and card I used the "Tart and Tangy" stamp set. This has to be the best value stamp set in the catalogue (page 126) because there is just so much you can do with it. At $16.95 for four stamps how can you lose! I used Crystal Effects on the apples on the card, and strawberry on the bottle topper. I wish you could see how it brought out the image. They looked good enough to eat!

I also included a bottle topper with some crystal light and a magnetic Tic Tac Toe game. The Tic Tac Toe game is made in a 6 x 6 metal tin and each of the game pieces is mounted on a magnet so they don't get lost or roll around. This is a great game for the kids when you're travelling. I used Summer Picnic DSP another retired designer paper for the card and the apple images on the game pieces.

I absolutely loved making the second project using Ginger Blossom DSP from the 2008 Spring Summer Collection and In Colour card stock (Groovy Guava & River Rock). The 3 x 3 card holder was fashioned after a tutorial on Split Coast Stampers. It was a lot of fun to make and so easy. The flowers on the cards and box are made using the scallop punch, distressing the edges with Groovy Guava Ink and then cutting through each scallop so they appear more like petals. The flower centers are made from DSP punched with SU's 1 1/4 inch circle punch. The leaves were punched from River Rock card stock using the small oval punch. Once the leaves were distressed I ran them through my crimper to give them some depth. All flowers and leaves were mounted on dimensionals. Mellow Moss 1/4" grosgrain ribbon was used as an accent on the cards and pizza box.

"Have Fun Doing What You Love"

"Have Fun Doing What You Love"
Do you love creating beautiful cards or scrapbooking? If you do, then there's still time to join the Stampin' Up! family for as little as $105 with the Mini Starter Kit. This promotion is only available until August 31st. Sign up today and you can have fun helping friends and family create exciting projects, while earning free products and even a little extra cash"

Decor Elements Growth Chart

"They Grow Up So Fast

Here's a great way to track your children's growth. Stampin' Ups Décor Elements™ Growth Chart, is now on sale for just $33.95. But hurry—it's only available through September 30!"

Get Your Free Designer Buttons

"Just for Kids...and the Kid in You! "

From August 1–31, get a FREE package of Designer buttons—a $10.95 value—when you spend $45 on stamp sets in the Growing Up section of the catalog or my Online Store."

"Country Living Summer Cookout Kit - 40% Off!

"Country Living Summer Cookout Kit - 40% Off!
The Country Living Summer Cookout Kit gives you everything you need to hold a fantastic summer party, including:
Creative invitations
Fun food wrappers
Customizable coasters
And more!
Now only $19.75 (refill $13.95), the Country Living Summer Cookout Kit will ensure your summer party is a hit. Available through August 31, or while supplies last."

Surprise Blog Award

Wow, imagine my surprise when I opened my email today to see that I was nominated to receive a Kreative Blogger Award from Laurie .
You can't believe what an honour this was coming from Laurie, as I absolutely love her blog. Each time I visit it I am so inspired by her stamping creations and fabulous recipe cards, that I can never get enough of her site! Thanks Laurie.

So now to get on with the business at hand. In order to accept this award I have to: 1. Thank the person who nominated me for this award. 2. Copy the logo and place it on my blog. 3. Link the person who nominated me for this award. 4. Name seven things about me that people might find interesting. 5. Nominate seven Kreative Bloggers. 6. Post links to the seven blogs I nominate. 7. Leave comments on all seven blogs letting them know I nominated them. So here goes:

Seven things you may find interesting about me (or not):
1. I've been married to my childhood sweet heart for 40+ years and love him as much as I did when I was a teenager.
2. My second love is my little Bichon Frise/Shih Tzu cross...... he lights up my days!
3. I never end a day without ice cream.
4. I love to blog surf and look at everyone else's creations.
5. A vivid imagination and a desire to be creative has given me many outlets and opportunities.
6. Procrastination is my middle name but organization is my winning game!
7. I love to walk and I usually find pennies along the way - every day.

Here are some of the amazing blogs that inspire me:
1. Paper Bag Create by Sheri
2. A New Ink on Life by Jennifer Picard
3. Stamp With Heather by Heather Summers
4. Layin Rubber Ink by Alysbeth Johnston
5. Treasure Trove by Jenny Adams
6. My Creations by Lainee
7. Learn to Stamp and Scrap by Lynn Larson

These are truly amazing sites I follow and I'm sure you'll enjoy visting them too. Enjoy!

Meet My International Swap Sister

Today I arrived home from vacation full of anticipation. I ran to the mail box to check for a package from Jenny Adams my International Swap Sister. I opened the mail box door and there it was.........I was so excited!

Everything in this package was just delightful, starting with the envie which had writing around the perimeter and flowers stamped on it. Here's a shot of the contents. Jenny included a great little note card on Almost Amethyst card stock with a strip of "Tea Party" designer paper and Almost Amethyst scallop edge.

Just look at this adorable little Flower Pot Card with the beautiful Baja Breeze cordoroy buttons - don't they just make the flowers come alive? Austrailian Stampin Up products are a season behind Canada and the United States, so Jenny says these buttons will be available to customers in Austrailia the beginning of August. Lucky them!
For the flower bouquet, Jenny used the 5-Petal Punch to cut the flowers from the Holiday Treasures DSP. The flower pot is in Ruby Red cardstock and is topped off with a 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon. Using the small Tag Punch, she made a tag out of vanilla cardstock that was distressed with Kiwi ink and stamped with the 3-flower pot set from a Level 3 hostess set called Window Dressing. This little tag was tied to the card with natural hemp twine. The pull out tag was made with vanilla card stock layered onto Ruby Red card stock and stamped with the Window Dressing stamp set. The sentiment says "You Make Me Smile", and trust me I did. I'll definitely be casing this card...... it's a winner!

The next item in the package was a beautiful set of 3 x 3 cards stamped on
Whisper White Card stock and layered with the Holiday Treasures DSP - 2 in Kiwi
Kiss and 2 in Riding Hood Red. For these cards Jenny used an Aussie stamp set
called "Bloom Away". The flower stamp on the Kiwi Kiss cards is the "Waratah"
plant and the stamp on the Red Riding Hood cards is a "Gum Blossom" plant. Both native to Austrailia. I absolutely adored the gift card holder which was made
from a 3 x 5 cellophane bag. Jenny had cut a piece of the Holiday Treasures DSP to 2 3/4 x 4 3/4, inserted it into the bag as a liner and then punched a slot a half inch from the top through both the bag and liner. Once the cards were inserted in the cellophane bag she tied it off with a beautiful Baja Breeze double stitched ribbon. Oh and did I mention she included cute little Stampin Up Mini Square envelopes that had a portion of the Bloom Away stamp in the corners. Chocolate Chip ink was used for all the stamping.

Thank you Jenny for doing such a great job and being such a fabulous swap sister. Make sure you check out Jenny's blog it is just delightful!

Are You Ready For UStamp With Dawn and Friends Fall Session?

August 1st rolled around so quickly and that meant the end of my first session with UStamp with Dawn and Friends. What a fabulous adventure this has been for me. You know I just loved participating in this event and the opportunity to meet so many marvellous women and new friends around the globe. Through their sharing, laughter and friendship, I think my stamping ability has reach a new level and I've learned so much from everyone including Dawn and her fabulous Dream Team and Crew girls. Everyone is saying this has been the best UStamp yet, and they've enjoyed all the projects and opportunities to meet and chat with members of the Dream Team. Now that I'm home from Las Vegas I'll be working away to finish all the projects I wasn't able to complete before my trip and I'll try to post my finished samples over the next week or so.

I'm also super excited to share with you that a new season of UStamp With Dawn and Friends will begin on September 4th and will wrap up October 1st. This session which will focus on the fall mini catalogue with be 28 days long..........that's an extra 4 days of Fun................. can you believe it! If you'd like more information please View article... and sign up now so you won't be disappointed. Admission is $19.95US until August 14th and then ithe price will increase to $25.00 US.