Valentines Workshop

Yesterday I had a wonderful day attending Cheryl Lefore's Valentines Day Workshop. I always enjoy Cheryl's events.  Not only is she such a great Stampin' Up Demonstrator but she's a superb hostess.   She made the most awesome Red Velvet Cupcakes for the occasion and they were simply awesome!  A good time was had by all.   

As you can see from this picture we made four awesome projects, based on Cheryl's recent involvement in Regionals and Leadership in Phoenix.  Here are some pictures of the projects we made.

Don't you love receiving those little heart boxes at Valentine's with the chocolates in them?  I always have, and now thanks to Cheryl I can make my own!  Isn't this just adorable.  It was a little time consuming to make, but really rewarding when completed.  How do you like the shabby chic flowers made using the new Extra Large Fancy Flower punch (118073), corderoy buttons and felt flowers?  Here's a look at the interior of the box.

The next project, a Heart Card, was really a card within a card.  Very fun and easy to make and the kind of card that really delivers the WOW factor.  This card utilized one 12 x 12 sheet of regal rose cardstock for the exterior card.  The inner card was made using

Old Olive textured cardstock for the base, pretty in pink for the layer and awesome Old Olive Striped 1/2 in Grosgrain Ribbon.  I {Heart} Hearts Stamp set was featured on the inside.  The A to Z Stamp (115711) pg. 41 Mini Occasions Catalogue, was used with Chocolate Chip Ink on  the Heart cutout on the front of the card as well as on the bottom of the Old Olive interior card.  I really liked this stamp as it added just a bit different look for a background.  I also had a chance to work with the Stampin' Up Embosslits Die - Scalloped Heart of Hearts (117332) pg. 15 of Mini Occasions Catalogue, and I've immediately added it to my "Wish List".  Wow is it nice to work with.   Here's an interior view of the Heart Card so you can see the full effect.

The green heart is embellished with Certainly Celery Chunky Sprinkles Stampin Glitter  (11343) and a small Chocolate Chip button from the Button Latte (114333) Designer Buttons featured on pg 180 and 181 of the IB&C.  A small piece of velcro was used on the back of the cover heart to hold the card envelope closed.  So there you have it, a card in a card.  I think this was an awesome project!

The 3rd project was a scrapbooking page that was very quick to make but had several elements that were new to me.  A 12 x 12 sheet of Real Red Cardstock was used as the base and a piece of the Sending Love Specialty DSP (117153) was torn and mounted on the base.  Prior to mounting the DSP we used the jumbo roller I {Love} Love (117084) pg. 15 Mini Occasions cattie, with Real Red ink cartridge on the Real Red base.   The LOVE letters were cut on the big shot using the Serif Essentials die cut (113464) pg. 199 IB&C.  Another Big Shot first for me was cutting out the felt flowers using the Stampin Up Flower Folds die cut (115970) pg. 201 of the IB&C.  I couldn't believe how simple it and fast it was to make these flowers...........another "must have" on my wish list!!!  The rest of the embellisments on this card were layers of Chocolate Chip, Real Red and Very Vanilla Cardstock and some hearts made again from the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set and the Scalloped Heart of Hearts Sizzlit.  Another new item to me was the Glassine Small Square Envelope (117226) pg. 19 of the Mini Occasions.  This housed a number of little hearts punched out with the Heart to Heart punch.  The final touch is a picture of Murphy my little bichon cross dog and me at Christmas enjoying a moment of pure "Love"! 

The final card was made with the Sweet Treats Heart Cups filled with deliscious pink, brown and red M&M's............ one of my favourite snacks.  A layer of Pretty in Pink was added to the Real Read cardstock base and the stamped image was on Very Vanilla.  Once again strips of the Specialty Designer Series paper were used and strips of Chocolate Chip cards stock were punched with the new Pinking Hearts Border punch (117649) pg. 11 of the Mini.  A beautiful 5/8" Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon was added as a finishing touch.  This is just a beautiful card and very fast and easy to make.

So thanks Cheryl for a great day and for all the inspiration you give me.  You are a fabulous demonstrator and I will be sad when I go home to miss any of your coming events.............. oh well next year! 

Matchbox Frame

Matchboxes seem to be all the rage these days and can be used in many ways.  Betty Traciak one of the very talented Guest Designers on UStamp with Dawn and Friends "With Love 2010", designed a really great "Matchbox Frame" using the "Love Bandit" stamp set 117086 from the Occasions Mini Catalogue.   Betty's version used the Matchbox Die cut. Since I don't have my Big Shot here in Southern California, I made my matchboxes from a template I found on SCS.

Recipe:


Cardstock:  Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry, Old Olive and Soft Suede
Stamps:  Vintage Vogue 117690, Very Vintage Wheel 117693 and Three Little Words
Ink:  Rich Razzelberry
Accessories:  Scalloped Heart Punch, Heart to Heart Punch and Heart Punch, Rhinestones and Ribbon non-SU

Just Add Ink Challenge - Just Add Hearts

Tonight while I was blog hopping I came across a wonderful new challenge blog from the land down under called Just Add Ink.    The design team have made some fantastic creations to get you inspired.   Anyone can participate!
This week's challenge ends on February 3rd, so there's lots of time for you to join in if you feel inspired and want to play along.
So, to that end, I am including a post of a card I made for my UStamp photo gallery, as it meets the criteria. for this week's challenge #JAI2

Kirsty Brown a Dream Team Member for UStamp With Dawn and Friends designed a fabulous Valentine Card and Matchbox set for her project for "With Love 2010".  I really loved Kirsty's version which used Kraft Cardstock, and an unusual ribbon detail.  I decided to incorporate "ribbon on ribbon" for my version and chose to add the new Stampin' Up designer series paper called "Sending Love Specialty" 117153.   It's a bit more expensive but certainly worth purchasing as you get 2 each of 6 double-sided 12x12 sheets of paper in beautiful patterns with glittery designs on one side.  These papers are truly gorgeous and so if you love working with Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla and Pretty in Pink this DSP is for you. I love it so much, that I'm going to order more so I don't run out, before the Occasions Mini Catalogue expires on April 30, 2010.

So here is my Heart Valentine Card and the matching Matchbox.  I used the "Heart" and "Heart to Heart" punches for the hearts which I mounted on chocolate chip and then cut free hand to get the little border.  I really loved the feminine look achieved by combining Pirouette Pink (PP)  from last year's In Colour selection and Chocolate Chip cardstock and so I decided to use the PP for the box lid and the first layer on my card.  To jazz it up a bit I scored in 1/2 inch increments across the face of the cardstock. The inside of the card is also done in Pirouette Pink. 

If you enlarge the picture you can see the beautiful glitter on this card and the scoring.  The ribbon and buttons are non Stampin' Up.  Leave me a comment if you enjoyed this card and matchbox gift set. 

Clear Mount Stamps - Now You Have a Choice

"Over the past few years, some customers have asked for Stampin’ Up! to “switch” to clear-mount stamps. Well, now Stampin’ Up! is about to do the impossible and PLEASE EVERYBODY!”  Available in the Occasions Mini Catalogue and the 2010 Sale-A-Bration brochure, Stampin' Up is offering exclusive stamps in BOTH traditional wood mounted and new clear-mount sets.


The new clear-mount stamps are the result of extensive research with the intent to maintain the very best image quality (because that is what makes Stampin’ Up! so great), while at the same time offering the ease-of-use and storability of clear-mount stamps.


Here are some features of the new clear-mount stamps:

• nine different sizes of clear blocks available individually or as a discounted bundle
• blocks have ergonomic grooves on all FOUR sides for easy grip and traditional wood-mount feel (THEY FEEL SO NICE TO WORK WITH!!!)
• stamps and blocks and DURABLE and easy to clean just like your wood-mount stamps
• optional image labels on stamp backs let you decide if you want to see the image through the block or not. (YOU WANT TO SEE IT!)
• tight die-cutting for easy image positioning
• same high quality rubber and foam you expect from Stampin’ Up!
• large clear blocks can be used to create collages or spell words with alphabet sets
• stamps store easily in standard DVD type cases with artwork on front and spine"

Haitian Disaster Relief and Stampin' Up

On January 12, 2010 a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, leaving in its wake devastation so overwhelming that the Haitian people and their leaders can only look for help from the outside to cope. As a Stampin′ Up! customer, you can help make a difference in the lives of those who continue to suffer from the effects of this earthquake by purchasing, the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set.

From now until February 28, 2010, $2 from every I {Heart} Hearts stamp set sold will be donated to the American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development Fund. The Red Cross is already well-established in Haiti, and this money will be used to provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need."

Product Name Item # Price
I {Heart} Hearts – clear-mount (block D recommended) 118571 $24.95
I {Heart} Hearts – wood-mount 117010 $35.95

Valentines View Finder Card

Hi everyone.  Happy Saturday.  I want to share another card I made based on a design by Lynn Pratt Guest Designer from Vermont on UStamp with Dawn and Friends "With Love 2010".   Can you guess what it is from the pictures below? 

Wow, you've guessed it, it's a View Master Card.  Lynn used the "All in the Family" and "Love You Much Stamp" sets for hers, and she did a great PDF tutorial that was fun to follow. Having only a limited number of stamp sets and tools here in SC  I decided to try using the "A Happy Heart" stamp set and a really cute 4- stamp set from the Idea Book and Catalogue called "Yippee Kiyay Holiday" (114369 page 42). This inexpensive little set was great because I was able to incorporate two of the images and the sentiment for this project.  I really loved the western theme throughout and I think it worked great for this card.  When I mounted my set I cut away the sentiments from each rubber image and glued those to the ends of the stamp block............voila I now have 8 stamps instead of 4. 

Here's what the finished card looked like.  Let me know what you think.

Yippee Kiyay Holiday 114369    Price: $26.95

These country-themed images will lasso your heart. Use them for four occasions: Valentine's Day, Christmas, Halloween, and Easter.  Set Quantity: 4

It's Raining Hummingbirds.................

What a week it's been in Southern California! We've had rain, rain and more rain.  A banner on the front page of the Desert Sun Newspaper this morning said "Drought May Be Ending".......a bit premature, however possibly true!  So many roads are flooded and there have been  power failures in the valley.  The bad news is more rain is expected before the weekend and the good news is there should be lots of sunshine following the storm.  From what I hear, all the snowbirds visiting the area for the Bob Hope Classic this week are in a great flap because "there's no sun" and another favourite whine "if we'd wanted rain we would have stayed home"........ you get the drift. 

I'm kind of enjoying it to tell the truth.  Gives me time to catch up on things especially spend some time stamping........... who could ask for more. 

So after looking at all this rain, I thought I'd share a picture of my little hummingbirds friends that come to visit every day.  They're all shivering and huddled under the canopy and are greedily lapping up the hummingbird food in the feeders. You can see the wet streets in the background.......... just to confirm "it is raining".  Anyway these little guys are so cute, and I love watching their antics out my kitchen window. We usually have between 35-40 at any given time between our 5 feeders.  All our visitors find them quite fascinating.  My DH and I often laugh about how rich we'd be if we'd taken out shares in a "Sugar Refinery".  These little guys are eating us out of house and home.  My favourite statement is "don't forget to buy sugar today", LOL!

With Love Tri Fold Card

Ustamp with Dawn and Friends "With Love 2010" is now underway, but it's not too late to join in.  Just click here if you want more information.  So today is day four and the projects so far have been just fabulous.  How can you miss with a theme like "LOVE"!

Since I am such a huge fan of Tracey Olds I decided to choose her project first.  She made a beautiful Tri Fold Card  called "With Love".  Tracey is the Dream Team representative from New Zealand, and all of her projects are simply awesome.  Here is my rendition of her Tri fold Card.

I've used the "Happy Heart" Stamp Set (11758) " from the 2009-2010 Idea Book and Catalogue to stamp my images.  I used Kraft cardstock for my base, followed by layers of Black, Real Red and Whisper White.  The Love hearts were stamped in Versamark Ink on the Real Red cardstock to give a little more depth.  I used some non-Stampin' Up red crystal hearts to add some bling. 

I think you'll agree that these cards have a definite  WOW factor when opened, and are so much fun to make.  This Tri-fold is a  little different from most templates, and once you master the process they can be made in any size.  You could even use DSP instead of the card stock layers and I'm pretty sure most stamp sets could be adapted to fit the design.  Hope you enjoy this project.  Let me know if you like it!

Winner of Free Pass to "With Love 2010"

Thanks ladies for entering my draw and  for your great comments regarding Valentines traditions or happy memories.   I've run the random number generator and the lucky winner is Paula Jensen of White Rock, B.C.   Congratulations Paula! I will be in touch by email regarding your free pass.  Paula said "We have a jar full of those coloured pebbles. Every time someone does something nice or thoughtful for someone else in the family, you get to take a pebble from the jar & put it into the Love Bowl. The kids love to watch that bowl fill up with love (pebbles) & it makes them want to continue to do more nice things! ♥

Hey Girls.........."with Love...2010" is ALMOST here!!

Wow, only 2 more days to go before - UStamp with Dawn and Friends "With Love 2010" begins!  I'm thrilled that I've been invited to be a guest designer again and I've designed a simple gift project that I know you'll enjoy making. 

So, if you haven't already registered there is still time to do so. Just click here to go to Dawn's website or paypal and sign up.

I also thought since it's almost a month until Valentine's Day, and this session is all about "With Love 2010", that Ii would offer my final "free pass" to join this event.  If you want to be the winner, just send me a note tellling me what you love about Valentine's Day or something you love to do for it, by 8:00 pm on January 14th, and I'll enter your name into my random integer draw for a free pass to this event!  So don't delay send your comment today....................... hope you're the winner!

Special Promotions

"15% Off Starter Kit"

During Sale-A-Bration, join the Stampin' Up! family as a demonstrator and get 15% off your Starter Kit—plus, you can choose between the standard Starter Kit and the Digital+ Starter Kit!  Contact me today to get started!

Special Offer: Heart Treat Cups


Just in time for Valentine's Day, our new Heart Treat Cups coordinate perfectly with the Sweetheart stamp set and the Full Heart punch. Contact me to learn more about this fantastic new product and to place your order!"




Country Living Cards à la Carte

Once again, Stampin' Up! has partnered with Country Living magazine to bring you the Country Living Cards à la Carte stationery kit. This beautiful French-country kit contains:
•Dinner Party stamp set (set of 3)
•Ballet Blue Classic Stampin' Spot
•Preprinted stationery (24 sheets: 4 each of 6 designs)
Use the kit for letters, invitations, or a special dinner menu—there are so many possibilities!

In addition, Country Living is offering Stampin' Up! customers a special deal: get 10 issues of Country Living magazine for just $26! For $2.60 an issue, you'll receive great craft projects, articles on collecting, makeover features, recipes, and entertaining ideas—all delivered to your home each month. Click here to learn more or contact me for extra savings!.

Sale-A-Bration ........... It's Here!!!!

Sale-A-Bration, Stampin' Up!'s biggest event of the year, means friends, fresh ideas, and free products! And with three ways to earn exclusive Sale-A-Bration products, there's something for everyone.
Spend: Buy $65 worth of Stampin' Up! products and get a FREE Sale-A-Bration reward!
Host: Host a $395 workshop, and get a FREE Sale-A-Bration reward!
Join: Become a demonstrator, and get a FREE stamp set (up to a $56.95 value)!
This promotion ends March 31, so contact me today to spend, host, or join! Or click here to see the Sale-A-Bration brochure."

Last Look at 2009

I have been without a camera since October so wasn't able to take pictures of my cards Okay even though Christmas is now over I did promise to post pictures of the cards I made so here goes:

This was one of my favourite cards to make.  I saw this card on the fabulous Diana Gibb's blog, and just couldn't resist.  The pine branches are made from the "Lovely as a Tree" (115026) stamp set and the Merry Christmas Sentiment is from the "A Cardinal Christmas" (111760).  I used Whisper White for for card base layered with Old Olive, Real Red and Whisper White.  Miscellaneous ribbon and buttons were used for accents.

The next card is loosely based on one I saw on SCS and again uses stamps from the "A Cardinal Christmas" and is made with Close to Cocoa,  Chocolate Chip, Real Red and Very Vanilla cardstock.  The Close to Cocoa layer was run through the Big Shot with the Finial Press, textured embossing folder.  I loved doing this card.  Quick and easy but big impact. 

My third card utilizes one of my favourite Stampin' Up christmas stamps "Dasher" (116816).  This stamp which was presented on page 208 of the IB&C at $8.95 was one of the best deals Stampin' Up offered this year............... don't you think?  I've see so many beautiful renditions using this stamp.  Here is mine:

This card has a vanilla base and a layer of Old Olive which is stamped with a small snowflake image.  Dasher was stamped with Chocolate Chip on Very Vanilla and heat set to bring out the ink.  He has a small red rhinestone for his nose and Dazzling Diamonds on his beautiful antlers.  5/8" Real Red grosgrain ribbon was added over a strip of dsp from the Christmas Jingle (1156960 - Simply Scrappin kit).  The Eyelet border punch (113692) was used on a each side of a 2 1/2" strip of very vanilla cardstock. 

My fourth card uses the Ornament punch and Delightful Decorations Stamp Set that was featured in the Holiday Mini Catalogue.  The base cardstock is Whisper white with layers of Black and Kraft

cardstock. I used the So Swirly jumbo wheel and Whisper White Craft Ink to add a decorative background on the Kraft cardstock layer. The ornaments were stamped in Whisper White Craft Ink on a separate piece of Kraft cardstock, embossed with a layer of clear embossing powder, and then punched out with the Ornament Punch.  The ornaments were mounted on dimensionals.  The  Merry Christmas sentiment from the "A Cardinal Christmas" was stamped in Black Ink and embossed with Clear Embossing Powder.  Four cyrstal rhinestones were added for embellishment below the sentiment.  I used gold cord for the ornament hangers and tied small bows with 1/8" satin ribbon.  I wish the picture wasn't such poor quality, as these were really stunning, and got lots of rave reviews from the lucky recipients. 

Here is the 5th and final card I made.  Quite a stunner, if I do say so myself.  I used one of the snowflakes from the Winter Wishes stamp set and the sentiment was from Heard from the Heart.  The card base was Whisper White and I added layers of Pomegranite from last year's In Colors and Brushed Gold.  I embossed snowflakes in clear embossing powder on the Brushed Gold cardstock to add some additional glamor.  The Snowflakes on the Whisper White were stamped in Pomegranite then I applied Heat and Stick and Dazzling Diamonds for some glitter.  The hearts were punched using the Heart to Heart Punch (113694).  Other punches used were the 1 3/8 and 11/4" circle punches and the 1 3/8" square punch.  Here's a close up of the detail on the card.  I used the snowflake stamp and versamark ink on the large heart and then dried it with the heat gun to give it some definition too.

Some of my ideas came from looking at Split Coast Stampers, and liking the Mojo Monday sketches. 

I hope you like these. 

Free Gift Giveaway..............................

Thanks everyone for responding to my "Free Gift Giveaway".  I received 7 wonderful comments on your New Year's Resolutions for Stamping.  Unfortunately, I've already broken some of my resolutions:
1.  Haven't blogged since before New Year's Eve
2.  Didn't draw the winner and announce in a timely manner............... you get the picture!  LOL! 

 

Anyway today the company is gone, flying over head as we speak.  The laundry is on and my house is getting back to normal from all the visitors.  Best news is we are starting back on our renos today and  my dh is installing our new kitchen windows.  So, life is good!!

 

I have two announcements............ one the winner, and second my good news!   Okay drum roll please........... my winner is #1 (Random numbers generated Jan 7 2010 at 9:46:21 by http://www.psychicscience.org/).    Congratulations Kathryn Mangelsdorf  from Austrailia who said " Hi Penny, wow you are going to be busy in 2010! I look forward to chatting with you more on UStamp, I have found that this round I have mainly only chatted with Australians as the time difference is important when we are having such a busy time. Take care and I hope you have a great time with New Year Celebrations.".  

 

And now for my second announcement which ties in with the prize giveaway.  Kathryn has won a free pass to the UStamp With Dawn and Friends "With Love..........2010", which starts January 15th!  Kathryn I know you'll make good use of your pass, and I will be in touch with you by email to confirm details.   Also if you haven't checked out the Guest Designer Blinkie on my Blog that's my exciting news.  Dawn Rapsas has invited me back again and I've completed a wonderful project for this next round.  I can't wait, and hope to see you there.  For registration details click on: http://www.ustampwithdawn.blogspot.com/
UStamp with Dawn & Friends!! "withLove... 2010" will deliver all same opportunity to do something REALLY FUN, even if only or a few minutes a day, to check out a project or peak into the chat room to say hello to some friends around the world. Come each day to the website and stay as long as YOU like!!

  Here is what you can expect:

• New projects shared everyday, for 31 days!!
• Several "Double Designer Days"!! 2 projects on 1 day!! Woohoo!!
• All projects include a step by step tutorial, including LOTS of Photos!!
• EVERY Tutorial is available in English, Spanish, German and French
• All measurements are available in Inches and CM
• Prizes, Prizes and MORE Prizes!!
• Live Chats
• Friendships around the world...happens every event!!
• Way Cool SWAP!! (Optional... but really fun!!)

Some Christmas Cards from My Friends.............

This post should have been done in December but I didn't have my camera when these arrived.  Even though it's now January I wanted to share these two very special Christmas cards from my friend Betty Lee and my very special sister Heather.  I know you'll be happy I did. 

 Here is the card and envelope from Betty Lee........isn't it gorgeous!  The set is called Scenic Season (115354).  A beautiful rhinestone glistens on top of the first tree and the star and the Season's Greeting sentiment are in Gold Embossing Powder. 
Betty Lee has layered Brushed Gold and Handsom Hunter Cardstock on Whisper White and has stamped her beautiful crisp images with Handsome Hunter Ink. 

Along with stamping the envelope Betty Lee has embossed the middle tree in gold on the inside of the card cover and added the sentiment May the peace and Joy of the season be with you throughout the new year, which is also from this set in Handsome Hunter on the base card.  As if all this wasn't good enough, imagine my delight when I flipped the card over and on the back read the following:
Paper and Embossing Powder..... $18.65
Stamp Set and Ink ........$32.93
Making Christmas cards for my friends.........Priceless!  

Thanks so much for making my day Betty Lee.............this card was fantastic!



My next Christmas card I want to share with you came from my very special sister Heather, who I adore........can you tell!  Heather loves card making and is honing her talents and stretching her skills.  I know this card was made with pure love as it just glistened on the shelf..   She's used one of my all time favourite stamp sets "Loads of Love", to set the scene.  It wasn't hard to envision her and Ken in the front seat of the truck, after a fun day in the snow picking their tree.   Thanks Heather........... loved this card and you're the best!

My last little post is a small treat pouch I made for friends in Palm Springs when we were entertaining.

The treat pouch was made with the Holiday Lounge DSP.  I embossed strips of Taken With Teal card stock for the front and layered a Sahara Sand scallop punch with Taken With Teal and Whisper White Circle Punches.  Mu little snowman's face was all a glitter with Dazzling Diamonds.  When you open the pouch it holds one Ghiradelli square.  What would Christmas be without Chocolate Treats!!!  Hope you enjoy.