Tacoma Regionals More Swaps

At the Beginning

Checking out what's in our goodie bags are Diane, Erin and my down line Ethel DeTemple. The bags contained our Make N' Take project packages for the day and our lanyards. 



Adel Klassen and her down line Gloria.  Both of these awesome gals  are demonstrators in the Chilliwack BC area.  If you're looking for some talented demos, these two fit the bill!

Diane Ison a Richmond BC demo and her guest Erin Parcey.  Erin just moved here from Winnipeg and wanted to make new friends.  Her mom advised her to join a stamp club, and that's just what she did.  She looked for demonstrators in Richmond and found Diane's stamp club.  Way to go Erin and Diane!

Here's Erin's great swap card using the Perfectly Preserved set from the Holiday Catalogue.  I love the little hearts escaping from the jar........... so much love!  It was so great meeting you Erin and exchanging swaps and sharing a table........... now we're friends too! 

 

Prize Patrol:

Prize Patrol brought lots of prizes.  They gave away lots of stamp sets and $50.00 gift certificate for the best swaps.  Everytime they called out Prize Patrol we pounded on the tables and anxiously waited to see if we were one of the 10 lucky names to be drawn.  We didn't win anything at our table, but we sure cheered on those that did.  Besides, Stampin' Up! is always so generous.  Everyone got one of these FREE clear mount stamp sets called Seasonal Sayings and the Merry Moments Simply Scrappin kit.  WOW, can't wait to use both of these.



Here's Ethel checking out her goodies.



Can you tell I'm happy to be there?  I'm showing off my great swag bag  I got for registering at Convention in July.  It's awesome and great for holding my supplies and swaps.  You just have to love those bold chevron stripes and the colour!

Here's a closeup of all my pins.  I love this bag so much I used a closeup shot of this on my Penny Tokens Face Book page for my banner.  I received all these beautiful pins and badges as a Stampin' Up Demonstrator.  Gonna get me some more!

Demonstrator Gift Exchanges and So Shelli:


From a Down Line to her Up line.  How Awesome!

From an Up line to her Down lines.

Boy I hope I got that right.  Never met the ladies personally, but if you're out there and read this post let me know who you are.  Both of these gifts are fabulous and sure demonstrate Stampin' Ups! Statement of the heart.  

This picture although dark gives you an idea of how big the Tacoma Regional was.  I don't know how many demos made it but I heard that Tacoma was the biggest Regional so far this year. 

It pays to look over your shoulder and check out the other tables. A lot of the tables were exchanging hand made gifts for their up lines/down lines.  On my way back from the Swap boards I came across the above gift exchanges.  Wouldn't you want to be the receiver?  I know I would have.   


Shelli Gardner, Scott(y) Nielson, CFO, Brian Pilling, Carrie Cudney and Holly Linford were sitting just two tables behind us, which was super exciting.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a picture of them but they all looked fabulous!

Shelli gave the opening address and finished up with a wonderful demonstration of this card, which I instantly fell in love with.  Now I just have to have the French Foliage set and I just have to order some of the Natural Composition Specialty paper............. that was used for the leaf.  The leaf is really beautiful!  

 

 

Gloria and a fellow stamper in an earnest discussion about how a swap card was made.  Serious but fun stuff!  I can't believe how much you learn at these meetings.  Someone is always sharing! 

 

Stampin' Up really knows how to treat us.  We were served a very tasty box lunch for our break. It included a salad, wonderful mixed meat sub sandwich, chocolate chip cookie that was to die for, an apple, cheese and a bag of lightly salted chips. Yum!

Make N' Takes:

Doesn't this look cool?  Our first Make N' Take was a set of four thank you cards and matching envelopes all bundled up in a really easy to make vellum envelope.  The envelope is tied with Calypso Coral Baker's Twine and has a small sentiment attached that's been stamped with a sentiment from the One in a Million set.  To give it a little bling a small Rhinestone Basic Jewel was added.   

What a great hostess gift this would make. The transparent envelope was made with a 7 1/4 x 7 1/4" piece of White Vellum Card Stock which was scored with the Simply Scored tool and Simply Scored Diagonal Plate.  Envelope making couldn't be any easier. 

A stamp set called Clockworks was used for all the projects today.  We inked it up with Basic Gray, Calypso Coral, Gumball Green, More Mustard and Pool Party inks.  Wow did they look awesome and what a great combination. 

This is the stamping on the envelope. Love the colour mix.

This is the card front.  Very simple but beautiful.

For our second Make N' Take session we made this awesome card holder.   Isn't it cute!  Love the flower which was made with the Fancy Flower punch. The scrunched up paper in the flower and on the box is made with First Edition Specialty paper.  This is a very lightweight paper similar to old encyclopedia pages, so it scrunches really well.  Oh and it's stamped on too with the Clockworks stamp set.   

 

The big surprise for me was that it's made with the Two Tags Bigz Die. If you're interested in how to make this box check out Heather Cserni's great tutorial, it's posted here.   

Here's another shot of the card holder and the cute cards that are inside it.  The cards are only 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" so they are tiny, but oh so cute.  The stamp set used for this project is called Clockworks.  Looking at this 8 piece stamp set in the Idea Book and Catalogue (page 105) I would never have guessed what a terrific stamp set this is.  It's definitely on my Wish List and I have plans to use it for a future card class. 


Our third and final Make N'Take was a very trendy scrapbook page called Above and Beyond. And, it truly was!   Again, we used the Clockworks stamp set and added some texture with buttons and some scoring (Baja Breeze piece was scored in 1/4" increments in both directions - kind of a cool technique).

The background Basic Gray card stock was stamped with the large image from the set in Basic Gray ink.  By stamping off some of the images it gave a grunge appearance to the scrapbook scene. 

I love the variety of card stocks used for the pennant pieces and how easy they were to assemble.  They were cut long and in a variety of widths.  The photo is layered over them.  Some of the pennant pieces were stamped or textured and all of the pointy ends were cut freehand, although you could use a square punch to make them more uniform.  Just sayin............  

This shows some of the lovely buttons and the colourful clock face.

 

Well that's it for this rather length post.  Tomorrow you get to see the actual swap cards I received .  Sorry for the suspense but I had so much fun I wanted you to share in my excitement.  Hope you've found it interesting.  See you back soon!

 

Stampin' Up Tacoma Regionals

Well stampers, I have to tell you this past weekend more than met my expectations! 
My downline Ethel and I attended Stampin' Ups "My Way" Regional Meeting in Tacoma Washington on Saturday and we had a ball!

 

We set out early Friday morning, enjoying a leisurely coffee and muffins in Linden, then did some shopping in Bellingham (can you say an hour in Michael's with no one bugging us "how much longer"), followed by a quick lunch and some casino time at theTulalip.  We arrived in Tacoma shortly after 3pm after a hectic but uneventful drive to Tacoma. Awesome!

 

We stayed at the Best Western Tacoma Dome hotel, which was  located in close proximity to the Tacoma Dome, Glass House, Zoo and Historic Car Museum.  During a short walk we found free transportation to the Convention center just blocks away at the historic Freight House Square. This old fashioned mall which stretches along several blocks, is a hub for a multi-modal commuter station and shopping district.

The shop keepers were very friendly and helpful.  One shop called Reclamation Candle Company run by Barney and Tammi Loucks proved to be a terrific place to browse.  The owners were more than friendly showing us all their wares and they had tons of great things including fun funky jewelry, antiques, candles and small inexpensive gift items. We bought ultra blingy lanyards for our event badges and I got a Mandles Cup O' Joe coffee scented soy candle that's to die for! 

 

View of our lovely room at the Best Western Tacoma Dome.

Freighthouse Square Shopping District

Ethel and I waiting for the free commuter train which runs every 20 minutes.  It's a lot like Sky Train on tracks. 

 

We met up with several members of Kristina Koch's Colourful Impressions stamping group during our stay. Kristina wasn't able to come but sent her best wishes to everyone for a good time.  It was wonderful seeing members of this group as it's been awhile since we've had a gathering.

 

Ethel and I had a few laughs when we saw this sign outside the Freighthouse Square and had to share it with our group.  Although spelled the American way, this signage was quite a coincidence!  Inside the shop they had lots of paper crafting supplies, including some Stampin' Up cards for sale.

 

Some members of Colourful Impressions .... Debbie, Sandra Farrell, Jenn Picard, Paul Jensen.  What an awesome group! 

 

 The following are some pictures of our swap cards and convention highlights. 

For my first card swap I chose the Jolly Jingles Jumbo Wheel and Four Seasons Hostess Set.  I embossed the images from the Jolly Jingles wheel with Silver Embossing Powder on Midnight Muse cardstock base.  The other layers are Brushed Silver, Midnight Muse and Whisper White cardstocks.  Some Rhinestone Basic Jewels were added for a little bling. 

The card base measures 4 1/4" x 8 1/2" and is scored at 3" and 4 1/2". Front fold will be a mountain and inside fold a valley. 

 

Tip:  If you make this style of card, make sure the layers all match up.  To do this, assemble the inside layers first and secure with adhesive to the inside of the card.  Next, assemble the front layers.  Press down on the front fold of the card so it lays flat, then line up the front brushed silver layer with the inside brushed silver layer, before securing with adhesive.  The other layers will automatically line up as long as you have made them all the same distance around.  

My second card is made with Button Buddies and the Mixed Medley Hostess sets.  The card base is Sahara Sand and I've used a 4 x 1" strip of striped DSP from the Be of Good Cheer Christmas paper pack.  The Cherry Cobbler layer is 4 1/2" x 3 1/2", the Gumball Green layer is 4 1/4 x 3 1/4" and the Whisper White layer is 4" x 2". 

The snowmen are coloured with Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler and Gumball Green Markers. A 2/8" strip of Red Glimmer Paper is adhered on top of a 4" strip of Gumball Green cardstock that was punched out with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch.  This is a really fun card to make and my card class stampers really enjoyed making it. 

Tip:  To get those little snowmen lined up in a straight row I recommend using the Stamp-a-ma-jig tool. It makes stamping so much easier.   Start by colouring and stamping the center snowman first (if you're doing a class get everyone to do this step then switch to the other colours).  Then, clean off your stamp and ink up with the Cherry Cobbler and Basic Black markers and then stamp the snowmen on either side of the center image, matching up the little twig arms.  You'll have to reink the snowman image in between stamping each of the Cherry Cobbler images to ensure a bright, crisp image.  Voila 3 little snowmen in a perfect row!  The rest of the card is just layering and a little bling.  I used Rhinestone Basic Jewels and some of the awesome Gumball Green 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon on the embellisment.

Here is Ethel DeTemple's beautiful swap card.  The card base is in Whisper White and the next layer which is embossed with the Framed Tulips Folder, one of my all-time favourite embossing folders, is in Baja Breeze.  Her little angel is fan folded using Snow Festival Designer Series Paper featured on page 10 of the Holiday Catalogue.  She used the Simply Scored scoring tool to make those folds a 1/4" apart.  The halo is punched from Silver Glimmer paper using the large oval punch.  She used the Scalloped Oval punch for the sentiment. Layered Boho Blossoms were used for the embellisment on the front of the angels dress. 

On Friday evening we spent some time with Paula Jensen, Sandra Farrell and Jenn Picard.  Jenn and Sandra, both placed in last year's Stampin' Up! Artisan Award Contest Top Ten, and let me tell you they are both such awesome and talented papercrafters, we could see why.  Ethel and I got to watch them assemble these swap cards, and let me tell you we were amazed at their assembly techniques, not the least of which was speed and craftsmanship.  We were star struck!

Jenn Picard's Swap card features one of the lovely ornaments from Delightful Decorations from the Seasonal Celebrations section of the Idea Book and Catalogue.  Her sentiment stamp is from the Greetings of the Season stamp set featuredon page 8 of the Holiday Catalogue.  Both winners and when paired up with the beautiful First Edition Specialty Paper and the Lacy Brocade Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, absolutely sensational.

Sandra Farrell's Swap Card made with the Scentsational Season's Bundle in the Holiday Catalogue. 

Sandra's second swap card is equally awesome.  It's made with the Christmas Wishes hostess stamp set from page 39 of the Holiday Catalogue.   This card layout is perfect for this stamp set and would just as easily showcase the other two stamps from this set (minus the clouds of course)

Okay, well that's it for today, but I'll be back with more cards from the Tacoma Regionals that you're sure to love.  Come back again!

Single Stamp Pilot Program

Introducing Stamp Sets Gone Single!

Have you ever looked at some of the more popular sentiment stamp sets and wished they were sold as individual stamps? 

Well, Stampin’ Up!® is launching a Single Stamp pilot program from October 1^st through January 2^nd, 2013, that just might interest you.  Here’s your chance to buy single pieces from these greetings stamp sets: Word Play, PerfectlyPenned, and Seasonal Sayings.  

Some Things You Should Know:

• You can find the stamp item numbers on the flyers (just click on the links above).
• These won't be sent to you in our typical cases or packaging; they'll be packaged in cello bags. If you'd like a case for your stamp, you can buy our Clear-Mount Stamp Cases that come in packs of four (item 119105).
• This offer is available for clear-mount stamps only.
• Note:  The stamps won't come with a Clear-Mount Block, and you'll need to buy a block separately if you don't already have one. The recommended block sizes can be found on the flyers. 
• There's no limit on how many pieces you can buy.
• This offer is not available in Quebec.
• Remember that this is a pilot program, so take advantage of it while you can!

Stampin' Up Regionals, Tacoma Washington....... only 3 more Sleeps

I'm beginning to get very excited about the up coming Stampin' Up Regional 2012 My Way Meeting being held in Tacoma Washington on September 29th.  Yesterday my registration badge arrived in the mail and that made it seem so official! 

I think it's totally awesome that Ethel DeTemple one of my team members is able to join me for this road trip.  She'll get to experience first hand the excitement of attending a Stampin' Up! event.  This is the first time I've had a member of "my" team attend a Regional meeting with me so it makes it even more special for me.  I know it's going to be so much fun.  

Since joining Stampin' Up's family in 2006, I've attended three Regional meetings and Convention, and I really can't say enough about these events.  Getting together with so many SU Demonstrators from the US and Canada is awesome in itself, but when you also get fabulous demonstrations, samples and freebies on top of that, it's simply mind blowing.   

For me, being able to attend Regional and Convention get-togethers is one of the greatest perks of being a Stampin' Up Demonstrator. I learn and grow so much as a demonstrator through the examples and sharing of others and I can't wait to share that with Ethel.  I know she's going to be dancing the happy dance after Saturday. How do I know?  Because we'll both be coming home excited, full of new ideas and wanting to do it "our way"!

This is my very own "My Way" slogan which I created on My Digital Studio. 

If you'd like to experience this excitement and find out more about becoming a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and sharing in the many fun and exciting events and opportunities that are available click here for more information, or contact me.  I'd be happy to set up an "opportunity night" get together to answer your questions and help you with this decision.   

Before I leave, this sneak peak picture is just a tickler of what's to come.  Ethel and I are working on our swaps right now and this is one of mine.  I'll be adding more pictures and a tutorial for this swap card so please come back again.  If you'd like to be automatically notified when I update my blog, just click on the "subscribe" button on my side-bar. 

Thanks for dropping by and see you real soon!

Penny

 

Spotlight on "Swap Shares" #1

Hi Stampers.  Today I'm going to begin my new series "Spotlight on Swap Cards" with a group of very talented stampers I had the pleasure of attending Convention with in July.  Not only are these gals talented but they were funny, spontaneous and oh so sharing................ great attributes for a group you just want to have fun with!

In this group photo Joni Metras from Charlton, Massachusetts is on my left while Adel Klassen and Diane Ison from British Columbia Canada are on my right.  For obvious reasons, we called our little group the "Can/Am Girls". We had so much fun this year we're hoping to join up for Stampin' Ups! 25th Anniversary celebration next summer.  It's sure to be a blast.  When we parted after convention it was with this thought........same time, same place, same group and more fun! 

 

And now for their great swaps.  I've thrown in some product and technique details but if you want more information just click on their links below I know they'll be thrilled to help you out with any questions or kudos.  I hope you enjoy these little works of art as much as I have! 

 

Spotlight on Diane Ison:

What new mom wouldn't want to receive this sweet little baby card? It was created by Diane Ison a very talented stamper from Richmond B.C.  Diane's featured stamp set is called Baby Prints. There are 7 great stamps in this set and she's used two of them to complete this great card. 

 

The image of the baby's feet was stamped in classic white ink and embossed.  The card base and the circle with the baby's feet were made with Baja Breeze cardstock and the Scalloped Circle is in Certainly Celery.  What a great colour combination. 

 

The sentiment Cherish the Moments is also in the Baby Prints set.  The cute ribbon detail is achieved with two small strips of 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon in Baja Breeze and Old Olive and the base ribbon is a strip of Whisper White 1/4" Grosgrain Striped Ribbon.  The Whisper White background  layer was embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder. 

Spotlight on Joni Metras:

How can you tell this card was created by a gal who loves the seashore with a passion?  When I look at this card I can feel the sand between my toes, the breeze on my face, and hear the roar of the waves.  Fantastic! 

 

Joni has featured the appropriately named Stampin' Up! stamp set "By The Seashore".  She used Naturals Ivory cardstock for her base and layered it with Baja Breeze and Crumb Cake that have been torn into strips.  Her seashell images are stamped with Early Espresso Ink on Crumb Cake, Natural Ivory and Baja Breeze cardstocks.  She's embellished the sand dollar image with a basic pearl.   The beautifully scripted sentiment "Imagine the Possibilities"  is from the Word Play stamp set and stamped in Baja Breeze ink. 

 

Don't you love the glitter along the water strip?  That was achieved with by laying down a strip of multipurpose liquid glue (pg. 177) and covering it with Glass Stampin Glitter.  This beautiful Glitter, which comes in Champagne and Silver is a chunky glitter that slightly tarnishes over time giving an aged vintage look to your projects.   

 

The final detail on Joni's card that I love is how she tied it with Linen Thread and then added some Baja Breeze Seam binding.  Can't get enough of that ribbon. 

Spotlight on Adel Klassen:

I travelled with Adel Klassen from Chilliwack BC to Convention this summer.  We were both first-timers and we had a couple of great pre-convention "swap assembling" sessions before we left on our big adventure.  This is one of many swaps Adele made.  She put so much work into this card and I was simply thrilled when she gave me one.  Thanks Adele!

 

Adele's beautiful wedding card features the "Love and Laughter" stamp set featured on page 38 of the IB&C.  This beautiful set has eight wonderful stamps that can be used for weddings, anniversarys and engagements.  The side-step card features five of the stamps from the set.  Adele did a beautiful job of embossing the dress in Pewter Embossing Powder and the cake and Congratulations sentiment in Black Embossing Powder.  Now that's a lot of embossing for one card. 

 

The side-step card base is made with Basic Grey cardstock and the contrasting Tempting Turquoise and Whisper White details really add some pizzazz to it.  The three Basic Pearls on the waist band of the wedding dress were coloured with a tempting turquoise marker and the heart on the top of the wedding cake was coloured with Perfect Primrose. 

 

Other accessories used to make this card included the Modern Label Punch, the Scalloped Oval and Large Oval Punches and the Labels Collection Framelits.  I can't remember how many of these cards Adele made but the number "50" comes to mind........... it might have been even more, and she told me her grandma, whom she adores fussy cut every single cake image by hand.  Now that's love!



Just in case you've never made a side-step card and would like to try, here is an easy video to help you out.  Side Step Card Video showing how to assemble the card base:



 

Spotlight on Swap Shares

Today I've been busy checking out the latest Stampin' Up! creations on the blogs and Pinterest site of the 2012 Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team.    You can check them out too by simply clicking their blog links on my side-bar.  Have fun because there are so many interesting and inspiring projects on their sites. 

One of these sites that I always enjoy visiting is "Stamping with Heather" by Heather Summers,   Today while browsing, I was drawn to her "Swap Share" posts. What a terrific idea!  I love that she's sharing the swaps and gifts she's received at this years Convention, because that's what's at the heart of Stampin' Up, ....... sharing!  Well she's up to share #38 now and I think that's simply amazing.  

I liked this sharing idea so much that I've decided to add a "Spotlight on Swaps" feature to my own blog and plan on posting it on a regular basis. The picture above is just a little teaser of what's to come, so stay tuned for this regular feature and some stunning card shares.  Who knows, you may see your own card spotlighted.

Happy Hour

Who doesn't like Happy Hour?  It doesn't matter how you celebrate Happy Hour, it's always such a fun and social time of day.  Whether you send out formal invitations or have a standing invitation, it's always nice to have cards and/or decorations that reflect the light-heartedness of the event. 

To help with your preparations you'll find a great stamp set on page 38 of the Annual Idea Book and Catalogue, called Happy Hour.  How appropriate! This set includes 17 really fun stamps in either wood or clear mount versions.  Both are reasonably priced.  If you do the math, that works out to $2 or less per stamp and that's a great deal! Here's a look at what's included:

While this set is great for invitations and decorations it's also great for tags, birthdays and other festive celebrations.  Go ahead and toast your friendships and fun occasions with this seventeen-piece stamp set. Have fun with it......make your drinks "sparkle" with a little Multipurpose Liquid Glue and a pinch of Stampin' Glitter! For even more fun, emboss with our new Scented Embossing Powder.  The possibilities are endless.

 

Here are some samples from other Stampin' Up! Demos that demonstrate what a great set this.  Just click on the links below to see their original posts. 

 



I received this fantastic card in a Late Night Stampers swap at Convention in June I totally fell head over heels in love with the Happy Hour stamp set.  It was created by Peggy Murwin. 

 

Shawn Crawford's colourful birthday card is just a delight.  Check out those ice cubes in the martini glass........ so cute.  Here's the link to Shawn's blog where you'll find another card using this set:  http://fireflyscards.blogspot.ca/2012/09/3-cheers.html . 

  And, here are two great cards by Jennie Maier featuring this set.

Made for Split Coast Colour Challenge #390 http://jenniemstampinspot.blogspot.ca/2012/08/cheerful-color-challenge.html

http://jenniemstampinspot.blogspot.ca/2012/09/happy-hour-card-for-sketch.html

My set is on order and I know I'm going to make good use of it. Can't wait until it arrives!