Going bananas

Well, I didn't get any guesses on what those cute little flowers are made out of, but you are sure to recognize it when I tell you. You know all of those envelopes that bills arrive in at your home? Did you ever check out the inside of the envelopes? These flowers are punched out of those envelopes using the 5 Petal Punch!! Aren't they fun?!? Sometimes those envelope insides are even different colors, like blue, red and green, and there are so many different patterns, too. Just think of what you can do with what we usually throw away.... For this card, I also used the stamp set called Celebrate Everything and heat embossed it with White Embossing Powder. I added Bold Brights (red) buttons stuck on with Mini Glue Dots to give just a little splash of color!


These are a couple more cakes made by my daughter Emily. She is really enjoying this cake decorating thing. Both of these cakes are banana flavored, one with nuts and one without. Then she did bananas on one and a camera on the other out of icing. The first was a practice cake to see what the banana cake recipe tasted like, then the second was for a friend for his birthday. She charges a very reasonable price for cakes and can be quite creative. Let me know if you are interested in getting a cake done by Emily! :0)

I need to run and get started on my day, but I wanted to ask if you have thought about taking advantage of the wonderful Stampin' Up! Starter Kit promotion yet? Don't remember the promo? Here are the basices: Get the Starter Kit for only $159 (20% off), plus add one any price set for free (value of this kit is $330 + the price of the set that you choose to add). It has everything that you need to get started and you are never required to sell anything again!! But if you do decide to sell either to yourself or to others, you get a nice discount on all of those Stampin' Up! sets and products that you want!! Let me know if you want more details. This promo ends March 17th, so don't delay in contacting me!!

Have a blessed day!

Flowers!

I have been doing lots of cards recently with flowers. I think that I might be ready for spring. Our winter has not been too cold, but I am ready for sun and warmth! Before I show you some of my flowery cards, I wanted to tell you about a Stampin' Up! (R) special going on right now: It is the Wild Wasabi Card Stock Special Offer---get 16 sheets of precut and prescored (folded) Wild Wasabi textured card stock (4 1/2" x 11"--scored at 5 5/8" and 1 1/8") for only $3.95!!! The cards you make would fit in a regular size medium envelope. This paper would be great for all of your spring card making needs--and you can't beat that it is already cut and scored for you!! Use this LINK to check out some card ideas using this card stock. Let me know if you would like to take advantage of this special. I have an order going in on February 26th in case you want to order this right away!!


I used my brand new prize stamp set (see THIS post) called Ginormous Flowers for this thank you card. (I made two to send to the wonderful ladies who were holding the contest that I won the stamp set through!) The colors are rose red, regal rose, always artichoke. I used Stem Sayings for the flower stem. Then I inked the flower stamp with Regal Rose. After that I took my Rose Red marker and drew on the inside of each petal to give the petals a little design, then stamped. I used a Glue Dot (not the mini kind!) for the flower center. Once I applied the glue dot the card, then I dipped it into a mixture of Microbeads and Dazzling Diamonds glitter. Finally, I used my Oval Punches to make my "Thank You" tag and added a Brad just because it was cute!

Ginormous Flowers again!! I used lots of Bold Brights colors for this card. Easy card, just stamp randomly around with different flowers in different colors. I then used the Scallop Punch and both Circle Punches to make the layered tag which I attached to the card with Stampin' Dimensionals. Do you have any Dimensionals? They are a great and inexpensive way to add some layering to your cards. And they are light weight and won't make your card heavy if you are mailing it! Cute and super quick card!!


This card was made with the same stamp set as above, plus the 5 Petal Punch, Versamark and I used the Stampin' Pastels (aka, chalks!). For the background, I used a cotton ball and picked up some chalk and rubbed it in a circular motion on the card. I started with the yellow in the center, then orange for the next ring, and finally red around the edges. For the words, I used the Sale-a-Bration set called Lots of Thoughts (this link will show you the whole SAB brochure---have you ordered $50 worth of SU! stuff so that you can get one of these great sets or rub-ons for FREE?). For that cute little middle flower, I inked my stamp with Versamark, then I used a Q-tip to dab pastels directly on the Versamarked stamp. Then huff on the stamp (that means breathe on it to remoisten) and stamp. I cut out the stamped flower and layered with punched flowers and attached with a Gold Brad. Do you like it?s


For this card, I used the 5 Petal Punch again, plus some buttons and embossing. Can anyone guess what paper I used to punch those cute little flowers? I'll be waiting to hear your guesses.



Also, I saw your comment, Kathryn, and will try to do a brayer card soon! I just need a few minutes to play. :o) Have a wonderful day, everyone!!

More new stuff!

I meant to apologize to you yesterday for going for so many days without posting anything new. I have NO good excuse, except I just hadn't gotten any new stamping done. :o) Life just gets so busy sometimes!

My pictures today start with this cute soccer ball cake that my daughter Emily made. Miss Jackie loaned us the pans to make this. I really think that it turned out cool. We ate this as part of our celebration meal of my middle daughter Meredith's half day. What is a "half day" you ask? Well, that is when you are half way between one birthday and the next. So on February 13th, Meredith turned 11 1/2!!!

The first card today is also for the Versamark and Vellum class this Thursday. I used the Just Like You stamp set to make this card and the techniques that I used are Poppin' Pastels and then Versamark used to make watermarks in the background. My colors are blush blossom, certainly celery and very vanilla. I love how soft and sweet this turned out. I used a card layout from Stampin' Up!'s Techniques booklet, and I even used the same stamp set, but changed the colors.

The next card is made using the new Hostess Only stamp set called Infinite Goodness. I really like the nature feel of this set. For this card, I used the Earth Elements colors of really rust, summer sun, more mustard and not quite navy. This is the first time that I have ever used all 4 of these colors together and I love the look of them. I used Versamark to heat emboss the pear on the not quite navy piece of cardstock. Just for fun I used my Crop-a-Dile and added a Jumbo Antique Brass eyelet.

And one more Vellum Votive Wrap for Thursday's camp. The stamp set is Simply Said. First stamped with White Craft ink, then let it dry. Next colored with markers on the backside of the vellum. This is a version of the stained glass technique. For the second picture, I took more of a close up so that you could get a better feel for how beautiful this wrap is.

That is all I am going to share today. I've been working on some other things, but I need to save something to show you tomorrow or the next day!! I may not get to stamp again for a couple of days. :o)

Busy, busy, busy....

These pictures are of some of the projects that I will be doing at my upcoming Versamark and Vellum stamp camp. It is this Thursday, February 21st at 7pm. Have you reserved your spot yet? Contact me right away to make sure to get a spot. The blue card uses vellum to create a stained glass effect. I love doing this. Stamp on one side then color with markers on the reverse side. Fun and beautiful! We will be using the Sale-a-Bration stamp set called Merci (click on "Merci" for a link to the entire SAB catalog!) for this project. You can earn this set FREE by placing a $50 order!! Make sure to get the SAB sets that you want by March 17th because when they are gone, they are gone!!

This card uses a vellum overlay. I used the new Seaside stamp set. I love, love, love anything with seashells, don't you? I had to have this stamp set. I used Basic Gray cardstock and ink for this card. I also used the corner rounder to make the border. Come to stamp camp and I will show you how to do it, too.



These are two of the vellum votive wraps that we will be making at the stamp camp. These are so elegant. I used the Baroque Motifs set for one and the Artfully Asian set for the other. For the Baroque wrap, we will be doing heat embossing. I will show you how you can emboss in any color by only using clear or iridescent ice embossing powder!!! For the Asian wrap, we will be using the markers directly on the rubber stamp.


I just can't wait for camp so that I can teach you how to do these wonderful cards and wraps!!! It is only a few days away now. :0) I hope that you are taking a little time away to be creative. But more importantly, are you taking time to make cards to send to those that you love?



Happy Stamping!

I got a PRIZE!!!

I am so excited! I am part of a wonderful Stampin' Up! (R) Demo family. My up-up-upline, Melissa, and one of her downlines, Faith, are holding a monthly/quarterly/yearly contest right now. The demos in their downlines get to work to attain certain goals and we get a star for each goal that we acheive each month. Then they are giving away quarterly prizes. At the end of the Stampin' Up! year, they are given away 15 wonderful grand prizes. So, the last quarter, I participated and I received a prize that was a package of Bashful Blue cardstock. Exciting, yes, and free is always a good price to pay!! But yesterday, I received my prize for the second quarter----I can't even believe that I won a prize again. Anyway, here is what I received.....






GINORMOUS FLOWERS!!! Get out! I am so excited. I have looked at this stamp set numerous times, but just have never gotten around to purchasing it. Now I won it!!! I love my SU! demo family. You ladies totally rock!!! Beside the set are the "stars" that I have earned so far in the contest. I am working and crossing my fingers that I will have enough stars to attend the final grand prize gala event in July.



I really want to go and put this set together and stamp some cards, but instead my priority must be the show that I am doing tomorrow night. We are going to have a great time and make some great cards.



I would love to do a show for you, too. Contact to me to find out more details! Happy Stamping.

Being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

I have had a couple of people ask me for some more details about what is involved in becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, so I wanted to give you some details here.

First, let me just say that there is no time like the present to become a part of Stampin' Up! I already told you that between Feb 1st and March 17th, if you sign up, you get to choose one any price stamp set from the entire Stampin' Up! catalog for FREE!!! Guess what SU! announced yesterday? If you sign up during those same dates, you can now also get your Starter Kit for 20% off---making it only $159!!! This is such a great deal---I only wish they had had this deal when I signed up.

To get started you now know that you have to purchase a STARTER KIT, normally $199, plus tax, now only $159, plus tax. If you click on the capitalized words "starter kit" in color above, you will see a flyer that tells you everything that you receive in your kit. SU! has chosen 5 stamp sets for the kit of various prices, but you can change any of those out for sets of the same or lower prices---thereby customizing your kit. The same goes for the 6 ink pads---you can customize. The cardstock color family packs---choose what you want for those too. Make sure to check out the flyer to see all the other stuff that you receive. Not including the extra any price set that you can choose, the kit is valued at over $330----for only $159!! There is also a Stampin' Memories Add-On Kit which is optional and costs an extra $50, plus tax. This is a great kit if you are interested in scrapbooking at all. Details about it are on the same flyer.

The next question that most people have is, "What do I have to do to maintain my demo status?" With SU! the quarterly minimum is only $300 in sales. You do receive 20% of your sales as commission, including anything that you order for yourself. So when you order for yourself, it's like you get a 20% discount. (An added bonus is that on your first order placed within 45 days of signing up, you get 30% off!!!) If you sign up, you have until the end of your first FULL quarter to meet your quarterly sales requirement. That means that if you sign up in February or March, you have until the end of June to sell your $300.

I will tell you that there are lots of benefits to selling more than your minimums though. There is a program called Stampin' Start that is a little too detailed to go into now. It is based on your sales and/or recruiting in your first 6 months, and you can earn up to 9 free any price stamp sets of your choice from the catalog! Great incentive to get out there and do some shows. There are often surprises (which I cannot guarantee in the future) from Stampin' Up!, like free stamp sets that arrive in the mail or an added discount on a preorder. Oh, preordering is great, too. As a demo, you get to preorder items from the mini catalogs and even some selected choices from the new big catalogs a month before those catalogs are out to everyone else!! This is a great way to get some of the new stuff and make some samples before those sets are available to the public.

Another benefit that is also very detailed and too much to go into here is the ability to earn volume rebates (extra money) for your sales. Starting at only $400 a month in sales, you can earn an extra percentage of your sales. If you have recruits to sign up under you, then you can earn bonuses and a percentage based on the amount of their sales.

Wow!! The benefits and earning potential is mind boggling. What you earn is basically based on how much time and energy that you want to put into your business or that you are able to put into your business. I like the ability to cut back a little if life is really busy and to step it up a notch or two if I am trying to earn an incentive.

If you have more questions, please feel free to contact me personally and we can talk one on one or through e-mail. Thanks!

Here are some fun things that I have done lately. I made two notebook and candle sets for the ladies who spoke at our homeschool meeting the other night. (I just have pictures of the notebooks for you tonight, but the candles coordinate with these.) For one set I used the new hostess set called Infinite Goodness. My color scheme was More Mustard, Summer Sun, Ruby Red and Not Quite Navy. I used Stampin' Up!'s rhinestone brads to add some sparkle to it. The Bible verse is from an older set, but I can't remember the name right now. The other set was made with the retired set called Abundant Joy. I still can't believe that set was only available for 6 months. (Mental note---if you see a set that you love, make sure to purchase it while it is still available.) My colors were Ballet Blue and Always Artichoke, then I used Antique Brass hodgepodge, plus some old and new Stampin' Up! ribbon.







For this fun springy card, I used the Garden Whimsy stamp set. My colors are Passion Pink, Pixie Pink, and Glorious Green. I made a glitter window using packaging tape. Fun and easy technique! I also used the ticket corner punch, circle punch, and glitter to make my decorative corners.

I hope that you like my creations today. I'm working on things for upcoming classes and camps currently, so I'll show you those soon.