Unfrogettable Stamping!

2011 Summer Shoe Box Swap team meeting, part 2

Last Saturday I had my annual Summer Shoe Box Swap meeting with my downline and we had a blast!  Pictured above is from left to right:  Cindy Blekas, Michelle Arthur, Sherri Gough (back row), Debbie Williams, Darlene Crockett (back row) and me.  I had 13 in attendance but I forgot to take a group shot while everyone was still there (sorry to everyone who left before I remembered!). 

For the meeting, everyone prepared a card in advance and then cut card stock and provided supplies for the card in a "shoe box," which we passed around so that everyone got the opporunity to make each of everyone else's cards.  The cards were really good, although I say that every year... I feel so blessed to have such talented stampers on my team!!  Two people - Kris Sennett and Jaime Penney - participated in absentia, providing their completed cards.  We do potluck for the refreshments and had a wonderful variety of yummy food to munch on throughout the day.  There was also a gift exchange which was a lot of fun... there was a $10 amount put on the gift and some chose to purchase fun items for that amount and others hand-crafted their gifts.

I did remember to take photos of everyone holding the card that they designed... I will share some with you today and the others tomorrow along with the hand-made gifts because they were so creative.  I'll also show a close-up of each card - they are the ones I made and may differ slightly from the original due to a boo-boo being covered up or a forgotten step (I tend to talk so much and forget what I'm doing - the stamping, to me, is secondary to the fellowship and good eats!).

Michelle Arthur - Grunge Rock stamp set

  

Debbie Williams - Flower Fest stamp set

Gerin Martin - Floral Fillers stamp set

Sherri Gough - Precious Butterflies hostess set

Gaylyn Pantana - Best Friends Forever stamp set

Wanda Wilson - Fabulous Florets stamp set

Wendy Boothe - Nature's Walk stamp set

That's it for today.. I'll save the rest for tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by!!

June 2011 Demonstrator of the Month, part 1

I'd like to introduce you to my Demonstrator of the Month for June, 2011... meet Gaylyn Pantana!  She has a blog called The Daily Inker but hasn't posted in a while... please let her know how great these projects are by leaving a comment so she'll start posting on her own blog again.  Here's what Gaylyn would like for you to know about her...

Hello All! I have been a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator for over 5 years now. During that time my love for stamping has grown in many ways. 

I came into it with a love of Scrapbooking and a background in art. I found it difficult at the time to find colors and coordinating products to use in my projects, as well as a lack of the design I was looking for that was similar to the hand drawn designs I had been making. Stampin' Up! fulfilled both of these desires for me with intricate and delightful images, as well as an array of complementary colors and products. 

I signed up to take advantage of the discount Demonstrators get, as well as to offer the products to those I was already teaching other crafts to. I could never get enough of stamping, and my enthusiasm has not waned over time, but increased! I have learned so much about design, presentation, coordination that is an invaluable resource to someone who loves to create in every area of life. 

My favorite product, a surprise even to me, has been the Big Shot. I love to die cut 25 blooming flowers, and add them to Top Notes to finish off a goodie bag that I give as a gift. I enjoy giving gifts, and creating 3D items for the home and for friends. 

Through my years as a Demonstrator I have held many classes, parties, etc. while having another baby and adjusting to 2 kids in school. I have been a hobby Demonstrator in the last year as I have put my focus on sharing this experience with my 3 new Downline ladies! I am looking forward to attending Convention this summer with 2 of them, and for learning new ways to grow my business.

I highly recommend taking classes and learning new techniques. If you are anything like me you will be dreaming up Cards in your sleep, and stamping everything you can get your hands on. My favorite comment of all is when a recipient of a gift I've made/put together says, "YOU MADE this????!!!" 

I love Gaylyn's enthusiasm for Stampin' Up! and how it enriches all areas of her life, don't you?  Her style is very vintage (which you may have noticed with the swaps that I've shared) and here are some beautiful examples of that style. These are some of the projects that Gaylyn submitted for the Artisan Award contest that Stampin' Up! holds each year so you may see some of them on the Convention Display boards if you're a demonstrator.

 

For this shabby card, the images were stamped directly on the First Edition DSP and watercolored, then tea stained and shimmer spritzed.

This umbrella card is fun for a rainy day, or for someone "under the weather." The small cloud is from the cupcake punch, while she punched through the Marina Mist with circle punches to reveal the Peach Parfait DSP beneath.

This Sew Suite card is an example for teaching paper-piecing, a technique she loves.  She shares that it is much easier when you emboss the image before cutting.

This card is one that she created for her grandmother, an avid quilter.  Gaylyn's grandmother shares the same birthday that Gaylyn and I both do - May 30th.  This quilt card uses the scallop square punch and the 1-3/8" square and 1-1/4 squar"e. Just slip the scallop square back into the punch to remove one row of scallops-and you have one that fits as a mat to the larger squares!

Thanks for the inspiration, Gaylyn!  Be sure and visit tomorrow when I share her incredible 3-D projects!  Enjoy your day!!

 

 

April 2011 stamp-a-stack cards

Phew!  Another busy week...

 

I held my monthly stamp-a-stack for April last week and wanted to share the cards with you.  This card features designer paper from the Springtime Vintage DSP pack that was in the Occasions Mini catalog along with the Upsy Daisy and Sanded stamp sets.  The color combination is very vanilla, pear pizzazz, crumb cake and rose red.  Do you see the cute fork bow in the corner?  That is made with the crumb cake seam binding ribbon.. no worries, you are still able to purchase the seam binding ribbon from the Occasions mini catalog as they are carryover items!

Here is card #2 - it features the Paisley Petals DSP and Four Frames stamp set that were part of our sneak peek "Spring is Blossoming" special during April.  I CASE'd this card layout idea from Julie Davison and tweaked it just a tiny bit... using the scallop border and decorative label punches for my card.  The color combination is not quite navy, whisper white and river rock.  If you weren't able to purchase these items last month you'll only have a few months to wait before you can get your hands on them... they'll be back in the new Idea Book & Catalog that debuts on July 1st!

Card #3 is a graduation card - I left the colors neutral because I wanted those who didn't need four graduation cards to be able to change the stamp and make this a wedding or anniversary card.  The stamp set Word Play that was used for this card is part of our May scrapbooking promotion and is on sale for 30% off this month.. be sure and get it while it is on sale because it is a fantastic set!!  The texture on the whisper white piece was added with the Vintage Wallpaper impressions folder for the Big Shot (I love this one!!).

The last card of the night was a CASE of one I created last year featuring the Flores Suaves stamp set from our Spanish catalog.  I absolutely love this stamp set!  The color combination is one that I have used over and over and found it in our Color Coach - pretty in pink, rich razzleberry and early espresso.  The pretty in pink card stock is stamped with the Teahouse background stamp and the script that is on the panel behind the flower is actually from the Flores Suaves stamp set and is just stamped twice.  It looks very similar to our retired FrenchScript stamp set that I loved!!

Thanks for visiting.. I'll be back tomorrow for Fabulous Friday with a project featuring products from our Summer Mini catlog.

Easter class at The Williams Home

Earlier this month I met with the lovely ladies of The Williams Home - a retirement home for women here in Lynchburg.  I saw many familiar faces this month (check out our Valentine's class projects here), but a few new ones, too, and we had a great time!  I wanted to share the projects with you even though Easter is now behind us because a couple of the stamp sets used are in the Occasions Mini catalog which is ending on Saturday, April 30th.

This first card features the sweet little girl and sentiment from the Easter Blossoms stamp set.  I used so saffron, blushing bride and pear pizzazz as my colors.  The DSP is from the retired BABW Pawsitively Prints pack.

Here is card #2 - a fun Easter card featuring lots of punches and the Big Shot.  The background stamp used on the marina mist card stock is Teahouse and the "Easter Wishes" sentiment is from All Holidays.  The daffodil delight bird is from the hostess level 1 stamp set Punch Potpourri and I used the Finial Press impressions folder to add texture to the pretty in pink piece of card stock.  Everyone loved the finishing touch of the pearl as the eye of the bird!

I had to design a 3D candy project as many of the ladies send these projects to their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  This matchbook holder has a package of fun-sized M&M's stapled inside... I loved the cute chick in the A Good Egg stamp set and it's always fun to add glitter to a project!  I pulled my colors from the Ice Cream Parlor DSP from this past SAB - daffodil delight, pacific point and melon mambo.

I look forward to stamping with these ladies again in the fall!!

Thanks for visiting me today - please be sure and stop back by tomorrow for Fabulous Friday!  We'll be showcasing products from the upcoming Summer mini catalog which starts on Sunday!!! 

Don't forget to order those items on your wish list from the Occasions mini catalog before it ends on Saturday... you can place an order 24/7 up until midnight EST on April 30th my demonstrator website here by clicking on "Shop Now" and be entered into my "online orders" drawing for a free stamp set.

April 2011 downline swaps, pt. 2

As promised in yesterday's post, here are the remaining swap samples from my team for this month... today's cards feature either the sketch OR color combination from March's Simply Design Paper Challenge on my sister Cindy Blekas' blog.

First up is this beautiful Easter card created by Darlene Crockett featuring the Easter Blossoms and Framed Tulips impressions folder, both of which are found in our Occasions Mini catalog... be sure and get these before the end of April because they may not be back in the new catalog in July!

This gorgeous card was designed by my newest team member Gerin Martin - I absolutely love the tempting turquoise images and sponging on the crumb cake background and what a clever use of the Top Note die to create a pocket.  She used both the Always Elegant and Hodgepodge Happiness stamp sets - two sets in the Idea Book & Catalog that were Sale-a-Bration selections.

Sherri Gough used the stamp set Cheep Talk, one of my all-time favorite sets, with her card featuring the sketch challenge.  Don't you just love this little birdie?  Her color combination of crumb cake, concord crush, always artichoke and pretty in pink is really nice and one I'll have to try!!

 

And the last sample to share with you is this birthday card created by Julia Miller featuring the Party Hearty stamp set from the Idea Book & Catalog and senitment from Teeny Tiny Wishes.  I love the tempting turquoise, crumb cake, melon mambo and basic black combination with the whisper white - what a fun pop of color!

Once again, I loved the swaps produced by my downline members and feel so blessed to have such talent on my team!  If you'd like to become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator for the business opportunity or to be able to purchase your favorite products at a discount, give me a call!  I'd love to have you on my team so you, too, can participate in our wonderful monthly swaps!!

I hope you have found some inspiration here and visit Cindy's blog... you'll find that April's Simply Paper Design sketch and color combination has been posted.  Give it a try or try the ones from previous months... I'd love to see what you come up with!

Have a wonderful rest of your weekend... I finally got my taxes completed and filed so I can relax for the rest of Spring Break with my family!  Woooo hooooooo!!

 

April 2011 downline swaps, pt. 1

We had another great swap theme this month, hosted by my downline Michelle Arthur.  She chose the Simply Paper Design Challenge #3 sketch and color combination from my sister Cindy Blekas' blog.  Everyone could use either the sketch OR the color combination or both if they liked.  You'll be as surprised as I was to see the variety of cards that the participants came up with this month!  The swaps I'm sharing with you today all feature both the color combination AND the sketch... enjoy!

First up is this card from Michelle Arthur, our hostess.  Isn't it great?  She used the Priceless stamp set from the Idea Book & Catalog.

This card was designed by my sister and sketch designer Cindy Blekas.  Who doesn't love a good cup of coffee?!  This would be a great card to slip a Starbuck's gift card into, wouldn't you agree?  Cindy used the Morning Cup stamp set and matching Take a Sip wheel from the Idea Book & Catalog.

Here we have Jaime Penney's card - what a great birthday card!  She used both the Birthday Bakery hostess level 1 stamp set along with the Create a Cupcake stamp set and matching Build a Cupcake punch from the Occasions Mini catalog.  If you love this set and punch, be sure and order them before they're gone at the end of the month!!

And lastly, here is my card... like both Cindy and Michelle, I chose to use crumb cake as my predominant color.  The daisy flower was created using my favorite tool, the Big Shot and the "Hello" sentiment and butterfly image are from the Hello Again stamp set in the Idea Book & Catalog.  Isn't it interesting that both Jaime and I used the same so saffron polka-dotted DSP from the Subtles stack matted with early espresso and yet our cards are so different!

Be sure and come back tomorrow when I share the rest of the swaps!  Have a great day and be safe - they're calling for some severe weather on the East Coast this afternoon!!

 

 

Fabulous and fun punch art Easter Bunny card

 

Wow - where has the last week gone?  I apologize for the lack of posts, but I've been busy with several stamping classes and events and am working hard to get my taxes done.  Every year I vow that I won't be a last-minute Lucy and once again I have failed to keep up with it all year long.  Well, I'm almost done and it's Fabulous Friday so here we go... this week over on the Sisters In Stamping blog we are featuring Easter cards.  I decided to go with punch art since I was in that kind of mood (my Punch Club met earlier this week).  I think it turned out pretty close to what I had envisioned... and we all know that isn't always the case!

For the inside of the card I just kept it really simple - the "Happy Easter" sentiment is from the Easter Blossoms stamp set from the Occasions Mini catalog and is stamped using pear pizzazz ink.  I punched it out using the 2" x 1-3/8" oval punch, sponged it with crumb cake ink and layered it over a scrap piece of pink pirouette card stock.

Here's what I used for the bunny face - I decided to use my Top Note bigz die with the Big Shot to cut out the card base... I cut the card stock 11" x 4-1/4" and put the fold of the card just below the perforation at the top of the Top Note die so that the fold would not get cut.  The rest of the bunny parts are all punches as follows - they were all sponged with crumb cake ink before being adhered together:

    ears -  2" x 1-3/8" oval punch (very vanilla)

                1-3/4" x 7/8" oval punch (very vanilla and pink pirouette)

    eyes - 1-1/4" circle punch (whisper white)

                1" circle punch (chocolate chip)

    nose - small heart punch (pink pirouette)

                1-3/4" circle punch (very vanilla)

I hope you like my Easter card this week... please be sure and visit the Sisters in Stamping blog after Noon EST today to get even more inspiration!  And don't forget, if you like anything in the Occasions mini catalog it is only going to be around for a few more weeks... don't miss out on the Easter Blossoms set, order it now while you can still get it!!

Thanks for stopping by.. have a wonderful weekend!

 

 

It's Fabulous to Bring on the Cake!!!

This week for Fabulous Friday on the Sisters in Stamping blog we are focusing on the stamp set called "Bring on the Cake" from the Occasions Mini catalog.  It features thirteen different sentiments and images that are perfect for all your birthday card needs.  I decided to kill two birds with one stone and create a birthday card for my brother-in-law Dimitrios, who celebrated his birthday yesterday.  That meant I had to come up with a masculine card... always hard for me since I love ribbon, glitter and rhinestone jewels!

I decided to use the Wish Big image from the stamp set as well as the Happy Birthday sentiment and had to go with a basic black/very vanilla color combination because I wanted to incorporate the First Edition specialty DSP on my card and the fact that my brother-in-law loves black.  Once when I was shopping with my sister she was buying some clothes for him and the cashier giggled and asked her if she was getting clothes for Johnny Cash.

Because I coudn't add any glitter or rhinestones on the card I went with an embellishment that is kind of manly - silver brads.  I added them along the center of the 5/8" grosgrain ribbon to look like rivets.  Did I pull it off?

I certainly hope he liked the card.  For more project ideas using this Bring on the Cake stamp set, be sure and visit the Sisters in Stamping blog after Noon EST today to check out what Jacque and Rachel came up with this week!!

I am off to visit Monticello (home of Thomas Jefferson) with my son Brandon and his 3rd grade class today.  Wish me luck... I hope I don't have to chaperone too many kids.  Earlier in the week they were calling for temperatures in the mid-70's, but as of last night there is an expected cold front moving in and it's supposed to be rainy and in the mid-50's... not ideal field trip weather.  Hoping we don't all turn into popsicles!!

Have  wonderful weekend!

Featured products from the Occasions Mini catalog used with today's project include:

Robbin's workshop projects

Robbin and her daughter Shannon invited their friends and family over for a fun evening of stamping on Tuesday and everyone got to make two hand-stamped cards.  Robbin had requested a Mother's Day card for one of the make-n-takes and I wanted to feature the Four Frames stamp set that is part of our sneak peek "Spring is Blossoming" promotion this month.  Using the "Happy Mother's Day" stamp from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set I chose the polka dotted frame stamp and even had enough room to put a little 2-step stamped rose from the Baby Blossoms set from the Occasions Mini on there.

I came up with several other samples for those who didn't want to make a Mother's Day card and had that available for inspiration.  Several of the ladies had never used blender pens for coloring and were excited about how easy they are to use with our ink pads, smooshing them to deposit ink on the lid.  I had rose red, pretty in pink, pear pizzazz and old olive ink pads along with a Jet Black StazOn ink pad in the box of supplies.  This card layout idea featuring the Elegant Lines impressions folder was one I CASEd that was originally created by Amy Fitzgerald.

For the birthday card, I used a card that I had created for Jodi's workshop back in February.  Robbin had recently purchased the Brights Collection ink pads and card stock at her daughter Margo's workshop last month and I wanted to have a card that she could duplicate.  I love the bright and fun colors on this card, featuring the Create a Cupcake stamp set and matching Build a Cupcake punch.  Both of these products are in our Occasions Mini catalog - if you want them, be sure and purchase them before the end of April when the Mini ends!!

If you are interested in hosting a fun stamping session with your friends and family, give me a call and we can book a date for you!

Easter Mom & Me class

I had a private Mom & Me Easter class with my stamping friends at First Southern Baptist Church on Sunday afternoon and it was a lot of fun!  I had 7 teams of Moms/Grandmas and kids from the age of 7 up to 20+ in attendance.  Everyone got to make each of the projects, which you'll find below.  It was a lot of fun and I look forward to being with these ladies again in July for our next scheduled stamp-a-stack class!

I designed this pocket Easter card which features the Springtime Vintage DSP and Easter Blossoms stamp set from the Occasions Mini catalog (available through the end of April).  I love pocket cards - they come together so easily and are so pretty!

This little altered mini composition notebook features blushing bride DSP from the In Color stack along with matching ribbon and basic gray ink for the image from the Crosses of Hope stamp set.  I also had concord crush and pear pizzazz pieces in the box for anyone who wanted to use a different color.  And as so often happens to me, I left one key component at home (40 minutes away) - my basic gray ink pad!!  Luckily, everyone was willing to use the basic black ink pad that I had packed for the jelly bean project below... I am so grateful that my stampers are always so understanding when I forget something at home!!

I always like to include a fun candy favor project with my Mom & Me classes and this jelly bean project features the Sweet Treats cups.  I pulled out my retired Bold Brights card stock for this project because they matched the jelly bean colors so well.  I included the Witness of the Jelly Bean that details the significance of the colors of the jelly beans that I typed up on my computer and printed out for the project... if you can't read it here is what it says:

Orange is for Heaven so bright. (2 Samuel 22:13-14)

Yellow is for God's perfect light. (Revelation 21:23)

Black is for the sins we've made. (Romans 3:23)

Red is for the blood He gave. (Romans 5:8)

White is for our cleansing from sin. (Psalm 51:1-2)

Green is for our new life in Him. (Colossians 1:10)

Pink is for His free gift to share. (Matthew 28:19-20)

Purple is for the crowns we'll wear! (2 Timothy 4:8)

The witness of the Jelly Beans is true, trust in Jesus,

because he loves you! (Romans 10:13)

 

What do you think of the cross on the front of the little favor?  I CASE'd this idea from my downline Jaime Penney's swap card last month.  Sorry the picture's a little fuzzy, but do you see the white cross in the Lattice Bigz diecut?  Just trim off the pieces you don't need... love it!  I have to give a shout out to my sister Cindy Blekas, who helped me come up with this idea for the jelly beans.  Thanks for your help, Cindy!!

If you are interested in having a private Mom & Me class or any other stamping class at your church or with your group give me a call and we can schedule a date for it!