Strength & Hope Stamp Set...

Here is the final card from the Necessities Bags Sacramento fundraiser.  I thought it was appropriate to use this set since a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this set went to breast cancer research.  The colors are Baja Breeze, Peach Parfait and So Saffron on Blushing Bride cardstock.  I do miss those In Colors! The swirl at the bottom of the card is from the Best Friends Forever stamp set which retired after just one year in the catalog but you could use the new Flowering Flourishes stamp set.  For the butterflies, you could use the new Papillion Potpourri stamp set and the new butterfly punch to give it some depth.  Wouldn't that be cute?

Necessities Bags Sacramento Fundraiser Cards....

This card was made at the fundraiser as well.  The stamp sets used were Baroque Motifs (retired) and Perfect Punches (current).  The bottom of the card was made by punching several times using the Curly Label punch but with the new Edgelits, you can made something like it so easily now!

Necessities Bags Sacramento Fundraiser Card...

Today's card is another one we made at the Necessities Bags Sacramento fundraiser.  The flowers are from the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set which retired but you could use the flower from the Summer Solstice set which is in the new catalog.  The sentiment came from the Thank You Kindly stamp set which is also retired.  Made For You, a new set, has a great "thank you" as well as a "happy birthday" and an "especially for you" - all three for just $8.95.  That is less than $3 per stamp (in clear amount)!

The pearls are colored with a Sharpie marker but I just learned from another demonstrator (thank you Tina Shelton) that you can lightly coat the pearls with Modge Podge and then use Stampin' Up!'s markers to get a perfect match for your card.  Isn't that awesome! 

The colors are Poppy Parade and Peach Parfait which are now retired.  By using these materials, I ended up with very little left over when they finally retired.  The card would still look great in Pumpkin Pie and Real Red or perhaps even in Raspberry Ripple - one of our new in colors!

Did you miss me? Well, I am back!

Oh my gosh, I can't believe it has been over a month since I last blogged!  My apologies to those of you who have been missing out on your Technique Tuesdays and daily inspiration.  Life has just been so crazy lately and I just haven't had time to catch up on everything.

Okay, enough excuses, let's get to the cool stuff - stamping!  I have to catch you up on projects dating all the way back to May so there may be some retired items.  If so, I will make some suggestions for current product to use in its' place.

We made this card at a fundraiser for Necessities Bag Sacramento who provides tote bags filled with all the things a mastectomy patient needs during her stay.  The ribbon and DSP are both retired now.  If you wanted to go with the bright look of this card, you could use the Summer Smooches DSP and the new 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain ribbon in Pacific Point instead. 

The images are from the Fabulous Florets and Thank You Kindly stamp sets and we used the  Elegant Bouquet embossing folderwhich is still available.  The colors are Wild Wasabi and Pacific Point.  The wonderful women and young girl who came to the fundraiser made a total of 12 of this card.  A big thank you to everyone who participated!

June 1st is here and that means a new Stampin' Up! catalog!

I have been so busy and June 1st just snuck up on me!  There is so much new stuff to tell you about so let's get started!

First, the new catalog is here!  I love, love, love the new layout.  I hope that you do too!  It is simply stunning in its' simplicity.  The stamp sets stand out now as do the accessories.   Start compiling your wish list!  Click on the catalog to the right side of my blog to view it.  Email me if you need a catalog too!

So now that you have compiled that long wish list, here's a new promotion during the months of June and July that will help put a dent in that list!
          Dates: June 1 - July 31, 2012
          Details: During June and July, hostesses who hold a minimum $450* workshop will receive an additional $50 in hostess FREE merchandise dollars--that's in addition to the $65 they already receive for a $450 workshop!  Plus, at that level you get to choose one item for 50% off so during these two months, you will receive $115 in FREE merchandise dollars plus 1 item at 50% off.  *Excluding shipping & tax.
          Contact me today to book your workshop!

To further excite you, Stampin' Up! has a new promotion for signing up as a demonstrator!  If you have been thinking about becoming a demonstrator and having fun like I do, here's an awesome deal.  Contact me for information on signing up!
            Dates: June 1-30, 2012
            Details: During June, new demonstrators not only get to choose the products for their fully customizable Starter Kit, they'll also get products from the brand-new Patio Party Suite for FREE, including the Make a Cake Set on page 44 (wood or clear), Patio Party Designer Series Paper (page 165), and the Patio Party Digital Collection DVD (page 199)! That's up to $48 in additional FREE products!

The new standard Starter Kit is here! Now, every new Stampin' Up! demonstrator can create a customized Starter Kit for just $99. This is just one of the ways Stampin' Up! is demonstrating the My Way philosophy of doing business-by making the Starter Kit completely customizable.
With the new, flexible Starter Kit, you can customize your creativity-your way. Each kit contains a business supplies pack (valued at $65)-things that every demonstrator needs to start her business. After that, the choice is yours to put together a kit with any of Stampin' Up!'s high-quality products. You can choose $125 worth of any traditional or digital supplies to create a kit valued at over $190 that still ships for free!
So why wouldn't you want to sign up?  Have lots of stamps and inks already - then choose to get the Big Shot and some dies instead.  That's what is go great about the new starter kit, you get to choose what you want!

With the introduction of the 2012-2013 annual catalog, Stampin' Up! has made a very big change to the Stampin’ Pads.  Introducing firm foam pads! They change your stamping experience for the better.  You’re going to love these new Stampin’ Pads—just look at all the exciting benefits:
           •Provide better ink coverage for your stamps!
           •Light-tap stamping produces flawless images!
           •Create wonderfully solid images. The Firm Foam releases more ink onto your rubber stamp than the felt pads. When using the Firm Foam pad, your stamp will get an even, solid covering of ink that you may not have been able to achieve with the felt pads. Please note: if you are using the ink pad frequently you may need to re-ink your Firm Foam pad more often.
           •Have a crisply printed, glossy label on the top of the pad that is easier to read and that will not fade or chip off!
           •Come with color name labels in all four languages (English, Spanish, French, and German)--just choose your language, peel it off the back, and add it to the side of the pad for easy identification!
           •Use the same patented flip-top case design that stores the inking surface upside down, so the pad surface stays moist!
           •Are available in all colors, including our exclusive In Colors!
Please note: Five ink colors have undergone formula changes to improve functionality and color stability with the new firm foam pads. These colors are Basic Black, Basic Gray, Marina Mist, Perfect Plum and Tempting Turquoise.  All five colors of the reformulated inks have been fully tested and approved. While using the new ink formula in the old Stampin’ Pads is fine, we do not recommend using the old ink formula for these five colors in the new firm foam pads. Any refills purchased after April 30, 2012, will contain the new formulated ink.

Stampin' Up!'s Language of Friendship Stamp set

Here's a card we made at my class in March which highlighted stamps offered in the Sale A Bration catalog.
Here are the products I used to make this card:
Language of Friendship Stamp Set
Whisper White, Daffodil Delight and Concord Crush card stock
Daffodil Delight, Concord Crush, Pear Pizzazz & Wisteria Wonder classic ink
Scallop Circles #2 Bigz die
Scallop Trim Border, Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer and Bird Builder punches
Stripes and Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folders
Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding Ribbon
Rhinestones
Click on SHOP NOW to order any of the items used in this card.

Cute 3" x 3" Cards and Envelopes

Here's an adorable 3" x 3" fold card and envelope that we made using the Simply Scored and the diagonal plate for the envelope. Thanks to Dawn Griffith for this idea!



Here's what the inside of the card looks like. The stamp set used is Elementary Elegance which was a Sale A Bration free set. The card is created by taking two 3" x 6" pieces of paper. They are scored on both ends at 1 1/2".

Click on SHOP NOW to order any of the items used in this card.