More Animal Stories

Here is another card featuring the giraffe from the Animal Stories stamp set. I’ve also once again included Teeny Tiny Wishes, Full of Life and The More the Merrier stamp sets. I’ve also used the new In Colors, Bermuda Bay and Crushed Curry. I also used Whisper White card stock. I think this card will be traveling next door for our neighbor’s son’s first birthday. I also used both the Scallop Edge Punch and the Modern Label Punch. You just can’t go wrong with a few good punches.

On the front of the card, I also used Silver Brads. This would also be a good place to incorporate the Deal of the Week, Square Fire Rhinestone Brads. The pumpkin and yellow would coordinate nicely with the Crushed Curry and add a little bling to the card.

On the inside, I’ve added the cupcakes from The More the Merrier Set. And, I have to be honest and confess a mistake. Originally, I stamped three cupcakes on the right side, direclty on the Crushed Curry card stock. However, when I stamped the same image on the left side, I failed to line things up the way I wanted and ended up with part of the cupcakes being cut off on the top. I was so frustrated with myself as it is not easy to correct something that close to the edge. Although not a perfect solution or my preferred solution, I opted to stamp the cupcakes on Whisper White Card Stock and then adhere them over the previously stamped images. I like to call these situations: creative opportunities. Though , in this case, I still wish that I would have gotten it right the first time around. :0)

God Bless and Happy Stamping!

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Animal Stories Birthday

So far, I’m keeping up with the blog while having fun at vacation bible school. Now to also find the time to create some new cards. I owe my sister-in-law a get well card while she recovers from surgery, our neighbor’s little boy turned one over the weekend and Tim and I will celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary this weekend. Busy, busy!

Before I get to work on some new creations, let me finish up the creations from a couple of weeks ago. This card uses lots of new products from the current 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalog. Here is the recipe:

Stamp Sets:

• Animal Stories (Item #116716)
• The More the Merrier (Level 3 Hostess Set)
• Teeny Tiny Wishes (Item #115370)
• Full of Life (Item #111500)

Card Stock:

• Whisper White (Item #100730)
• Melon Mambo (Item #115320)
• Bermuda Bay (Item #115317)

Ink:

• Melon Mambo (Item #115656)
• Rich Razzleberry (Item #115658)

Accessories:

• Watercolor Pencils (Item #101879)
• Stampin‘ Dimensionals (Item #104430)
• Snail Adhesive (Item #104332)

For this card, I decided to color the cupcakes with the Watercolor Pencils and then cut them out and selected three of the cupcakes to be carried by the elephants on their trunks. I used Stampin‘ Dimensionals to lift the cupcakes off the page. On the inside, I used the birthday sentiment from Full of Life along with another elephant stamped in the Rich Razzleberry.

This card is certainly appropriate for a child’s birthday. Next, I need to design a card using the elephant that is appropriate for an adult since my mom likes elephants. I have some time to work on it since her birthday is in October.

I hope you enjoy this card and stamp set. I’ll have more cards featuring this set in the future.

God Bless & Happy Stamping!

OPEN STUDIO NIGHT – July 17th at 6:30 PM

You are invited to join me for Open Studio in my home on July 17th at 6:30 PM. Open Studio is a chance to have some fun with like minded stampers creating some great projects. Bring a project you are working on and have full access to my tools and stamp sets, including many of the new items from the new Idea Book as well as the Big Shot.

Not currently working on a project? I will have some kits available for purchase, including a 10 for $10 card kits for birthdays and thank yous.

This event will earn you one ticket in the Summer Attendance Challenge. If you also make a purchase, you can earn even more tickets! I look forward to seeing you there!

For more information, please email me for details.

God Bless and Happy Stamping!

A Flower for All Seasons

My apologies for the delay between now and my last post. I’ve spent the last week volunteering at our local soccer camp that our daughters attend in the summer. I had a great week working with the kids and I even learned a few things myself. For those of you who live near the Bothell/Everett area, the camp is affiliated with our sports league- Northwest Christian Sports League. This is a great league focused on Christian values and they offer soccer, basketball and baseball/softball/t-ball. Our three daughters are all playing soccer in the fall as will my niece. When our son is old enough, he will also play for this league. If you have kids in sports and are looking for a well rounded league with reasonable rates, please check them out.

I hope to get a few more projects and cards posted this week. However, no promises as this week I’m helping with Vacation Bible School at our church in Bellevue. We are doing a science lab theme and I get to play the wild and wacky Professor Wilma. I have a trusty side kick, Professor Harold. So far, after day one, we are having a great time.

Now on to a card, since that is what you are all here for. :0) This card features The Flower for All Seasons Stamp Set. I have to admit, I mostly got this card because of the cute stamp with the frog. I’m a sucker for stamps with frogs! I stamped each of the four images onto a separate square of Very Vanilla card stock and then colored the images with my watercolor pencils. I adhered to a piece of Crushed Curry Card stock and then attached to the front of my card made of Soft Suede. I added the sentiment from Season of Friendship, stamped with the Soft Suede onto the Very Vanilla and adhered to the Crushed Curry.

On the inside of the card, I used the Modern Word Window punch to make an opening in the Very Vanilla Card Stock. I then stamped “friend to friend” from the new Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp Set onto a small piece of crushed curry card stock and centered it in the open window. This leaves plenty of space on the inside for a note from the sender while still allowing for something on the inside of the card.

The new In Colors are slowly helping get over my grief at loosing the former ones, particularly Baja Breeze. It looks like the only therapy I’ll need to get over this loss is Stampin‘ therapy. :0)

God Bless and Happy Stamping!

DEAL OF THE WEEK!

It’s time for the Stampin‘ Up™ Deal of the Week! This week’s special is Square Fire Rhinestone Brads (Item #109112) available at 30% off the regular price! Normally priced at $10.95 per package, you can snatch these up for only $6.99. You have until 8:50 AM PST on July 20th to purchase this deal of the week. You can order online 24-7.

Autumn Days Card

Here is my first card using the new Autumn Days stamp set. It is also the first time I tried stamping on twill tape. I bought this set because it reminded me of my grandpa. I’m also trying to expand my selection of sets which work well for masculine cards.

I’m not sure I completely like the way it turned out so I’ll have to keep working with this set some more. Maybe I’m just not in a fall mood.

As I said, this card uses the Autumn Days stamp set. I also used Soft Suede, Crushed Curry, and Whisper White card stock. I stamped the wheat with Crushed Curry Classic Stampin‘ Pad and I used Soft Suede for the pheasant and the wheat on the twill tape.

On the inside, I used the Crushed Curry card stock with the wheat stamped in Soft Suede.

I think I’ll keep experimenting with this stamp set to see what kind of creations I can come up with. The next masculine birthday I need a card for is in September so I have some time to play with it some. Hopefully I’ll be able to improve on this theme.

God Bless and Happy Stamping!

Stampin’ Up!™ Big Shot

So, I just discovered a site which is new to me, StampinAddicts.com. It’s a great site with lots of great ideas featuring only Stampin’ Up!™ sets. As I was exploring the site, I came across their July Contest. The winner of the contest will win a Stampin’ Up! Big Shot Die Pack which includes the following dies:

• Stampin’ Up! Thanks (Embosslits)
• Stampin’ Up! Final Press (Embossing Folders)
• Stampin’ Up! Perfect Details (Textured Plates)
• Stampin’ Up! Two Tags (Bigz Dies)
• Stampin’ Up! Fancy Favor (Bigz XL Dies)

To enter the contest, I just have to post a blog mentioning the contest and demanding that I get the dies.

I’ll take it one step further, not only do I want you to check out the contest, I want you to check out the entire site and see all the wonderful cards, ideas and projects, especially those using the Big Shot. And now, I’ll rave about the Big Shot… For those who have previously visited my blog, you know that the Big Shot is one of my favorite tools. I love to incorporate the Big Shot into many of my projects. And, I’m not the only one in my family who loves the Big Shot. My youngest daughter, Tessa, loves it as well. (Contest judges, that’s Tessa in the photo there. If I don’t win, it’ll break her heart. We need that Fancy Favor for her upcoming birthday!)

So, there is my entry. I’d love to win the contest.

God Bless and Happy Stamping!

Wings of Friendship – A Level 2 Hostess Set

Another card featuring one of the new hostess sets available in the newly released 2009-2010 Stampin‘ Up! Idea Book & Catalog. This is Wings of Friendship, a Level 2 Hostess Set. It is available in English, Spanish and French. To earn this hostess set, you need to host a show with merchandise totalling $300 or more. This can be an in-home workshop, a catalog show or even a single customer order.

The only stamp set I used is the Wings of Friendship set. The other supplies are:

• Bashful Blue, Whisper White and Kraft card stock.
• Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink and Old Olive Classic Stampin‘ Pad
• Regal Rose and Old Olive Stampin‘ Write Markers
• Very Vanilla Hodge Podge Hardware (Brads and Designer Label)
• Pretty in Pink 1/4″ grosgrain ribbon
• Designer Label Punch
• Stampin‘ Dimensionals
• Snail Adhesive

I also spent some time embellishing the inside of the card. I went a little overboard with the inside top. It was one of those things that once I started, it kind of snowballed on me. It started out as a method of disguising the fact that I chose not to wrap the ribbon all the way around the card front. I wanted to hide the cut ends.

If you enjoy this stamp set, consider hosting a workshop or catalog show. Stampin‘ Up! has some great promotions including the Deal of the Week. As a hostess, you’ll also receive your own free copy of the 2009-2010 Idea Book and Catalog. And, as a bonus, all my hostesses receive a special gift from me. Contact me today to learn more about hosting a show!

God Bless & Happy Stamping!

Summer Attendance Challenge Update

Hello! So far we have lots of entries in the summer attendance challenge. Some for attendance and some for purchases.

For those who took advantage of the Last Chance Promotion, you may be wondering if you made a purchase which qualified for bonus tickets. To satisfy curiosity, here are the Last Chance Stamp sets which earned purchasers bonus tickets:

• Just B
• Life’s a Breeze
• A Little Birdie Told Me
• One Smart Cookie
• Pretty Amazing

If you purchased one of the above sets in the month of June, you have earned 5 additional entries in the Summer Attendance Challenge! Congratulations to those who earned additional tickets.

For those who missed out, remember, there are more chances to earn tickets. Forgot how? Here are the details again:

“Summer School” is in session! During the months of June, July, and August, you will have an opportunity to win a $25 gift certificate for Stampin‘ Up! Products (This promotion available only through Charity Lawson). Each time you attend a class/open studio, place an order, or host a Stampin‘ Up! Workshop, your name will be entered in a drawing to win a $25 gift certificate. There will only be 2 lucky winners! The more entries you have, the better your chances.Increase your chances to win by:

• Attend an Open Studio: 1 ticket
• Attend a Technique Class: 2 tickets
• Place a $50 Order: 3 tickets
• Place a $75 Order: 4 tickets
• Place a $100 Order: 5 tickets
• Host a Workshop/Catalog Show: 10 tickets

Earn 1 Bonus Ticket for each friend/guest you bring to Open Studio or a Technique Class and for any referrals. The challenge begins June 1 and ends on August 31, 2009. Winners will be notified in September. This promotion is only available through Charity Lawson, Independent Demonstrator.

God Bless & Happy Stamping!

The More the Merrier – Part II

As I mentioned in my last post, I’m having lots of fun with this stamp set. Host a show in July and you can have this stamp set in your collection!

The first card is one I made for my dear and wonderful friend, Shawna. She just celebrated another birthday and I wanted to make her a wonderful card. As with the previous cards featuring this stamp set, I colored the images using my watercolor pencils. On the inside, I repeated one of the birds by coloring only one of the birds with a marker and then stamping the image. I also embellished this card with some Real Red grosgrain ribbon.

The next card is a Halloween card. All the images in the stamp set are in a row like the birds. For this Halloween card, I stamped the row of pumpkins two times and then colored them using the watercolor pencils. Once everything was colored, I cut all the pumpkins out and then stacked them in a pyramid. I topped the card off with some Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain ribbon.

I know it is hard to think about winter themed cards in July, especially after the chilly winter those of us in the Seattle area are trying to forget. But, since The More the Merrier set includes some cute snowmen, I thought I’d make a card featuring these snowmen. As with the other cards, I used my watercolor pencils to color the snowmen. I also masked off the snowmen and sponged some Brilliant Blue in the background. I’m not sure you can tell in the photo, but I added some Dazzling Diamonds along the ground and in the sky. It’s far better in person.

The snowflakes along the side of the card are from the Season of Friendship stamp set. This is another fun set that was formerly in the 2008 Holiday Mini which is now in the Idea Book and Catalog.

I hope you’ve enjoyed all this set has to offer. Again, you can earn this set by hosting a qualifying show. Don’t want to clean your house for a show? Consider a catalog show. Merely pass the catalog around to a few friends and you can earn hostess benefits. Even personal orders totalling the necessary show minimum are eligible for hostess benefits.

God Bless and Happy Stamping!