Unfrogettable Stamping!

It's fabulous to spread Easter JOY!

Welcome to another edition of Fabulous Friday!  This week on the Sisters in Stamping blog we are featuring Easter projects... did you realize that Easter is just 2 short weeks away? I created this altered Easter artwork using the Spring Fever Simply Scrappin' kit from the Occasions Mini catalog... I LOVE this kit!  The colors are bright and cheerful and there are so many fun embellishments that come in the kit.

Sandra hosted a workshop for me last night and she had asked for an Easter theme for the projects I demonstrated... I showed how to make this frame and then gave her one as a thank you gift.  She loved it!

Here is a close-up of the word "JOY" that I created with my Big Shot and the Serif Essentials alphabet dies.  I added texture to the letters once I cut them out using the Perfect Polka Dots impressions folder.  The "happy easter" sentiment is from the Delightful Dozen stamp set - my new favorite go-to set for holiday cards.

Here is a close-up of my Easter chick and one of the border strips from the Simply Scrappin' kit.  You may recognize this punch art chick from my jelly bean favor bag a few weeks ago.

To finish off the frame I added this bow made from daffodil delight 1-1/4" striped grosgrain ribbon.  I gathered it and secured it with a very vanilla 5/8" brad and attached it with stampin' dimensionals directly to the frame.

Here is one more shot of the frame... it really is much brighter in person.  Need to check my camera settings I guess.  Thanks for stopping by!  Please be sure and visit the Sisters in Stamping blog after Noon today to get even more inspiration for your Easter projects.

Want to see what comes in the Spring Fever kit... check it out below.  If you want to purchase this kit, please contact me or buy it online here.

December 2011 Team Shoe Box Swap cards, part 2

Here is my card - I expedited my preorder so that everyone could get a chance to use the new Sale-a-Bration DSP (Everyday Enchantment), stamp sets (Fresh Vintage and Elementary Elegance) and new Big Shot Labels framelits, edgelits and embossing folders.

Are you ready for the rest of the cards from my team's meeting last month?  Here you go...

Kathy Kennedy

Kris Sennett

Heather Palm

Carolyn North

Sherri Gough

Kris Burdeaux

Jaime Penney (mailed in - she is a long-distance team member)

In addition to the card swap, we also had an optional gift exchange.  The only criteria I set was that it couldn't cost more than $10 - some people bought items and others created theirs.  I think next time I will make that a criteria since these were so great...

Angie Kinzie created this fun dry erase board using an inexpensive frame which she added a piece of DSP to and embellished with the same paper.  Love it!

Kathy Kennedy created this fun holiday collage using her Stampin' Up! stash.  What a fun way to alter a photo frame.

Delores Wilson packaged her gift in this gift bag that she stamped and altered... I love the jingle bells hanging down from the handle!

Gwen Goulder showed how easily you can alter a set of decorative notecards with a few stamps and punches.

So what do you think?  Pretty great, right?!  If you'd like to join us for our next shoe box swap meeting in July all you have to do is join my team!  Sale-a-Bration is a fabulous time to become a demonstrator with the Starter Kit on sale for $125.  If you want to find out more great reasons to join my team, give me a call or send me an email and I'd love to discuss the opportunity with you!!

Week 10 of the "12 Weeks of Christmas" project tutorials from Get Creative with Rachel and Debbie

I don't know about you, but I am very behind for Christmas this year!  Playing catch-up, here is Week #10 for the 12 Weeks of Christmas tutorials... we plan to have all 12 tutorials posted before Christmas Day!

This tutorial is a great Holiday decor piece that will last for many years to come.  It would be a great addition to your Holiday decor.  It is even a wonderful gift to make and give to your family and friends so they can enjoy it for many years as well.

Please note that if you plan to make this project the Stocking builder punch will NOT be carried over to the Idea Book and Catalog as announced by Stampin' Up! earlier this week.  If you don't already own it, plan to purchase it before the Holiday Mini ends on January 3rd.

You can purchase each week's tutorial individually for $2.95 or buy all 12 of them for only $24.95 (a savings of over $10!!). If you choose to purchase the complete set now, I will email you the tutorials as they are released.

To purchase the tutorial for our Week 10 Holiday Shadow Box for $2.95 click the "buy now" button below.

 

If you want to purchase all "12 Weeks of Christmas" tutorials at a discounted price of $24.95, a savings of over $10, click the "buy now" button below.  Each week as we release the projects, you will be emailed a complete tutorial with pictures and instructions.

 

Ho Ho Ho - Santa is fabulous!

 

Welcome back to another Fabulous Friday - this week on the Sisters in Stamping blog we are focusing on holiday decor projects.  I decided to alter a picture frame that I had picked up at a big box store using my Big Shot and punches.  I left the picture mat in the frame and put a piece of 12" x 5" piece of Real Red DSP from the Brights stack behind it.

This cute Santa punch art is something I CASE'd from the fabulous Patty Bennett.  Instead of a pom pom I decided to use one of the Mini Jingle Bells from the Holiday Mini.  I added some white dots around the scallop square mat with a white uni-Ball Signo gel pen - it mimics the polka dots on the DSP.  There are various punches and the Big Shot involved with this punch art... I taught my Card of the Month club this technique on one of their cards last month and they loved it!

I just love the silver glimmer paper from the Holiday Mini... will it stick around?  I don't know, so I am buying some now while I can!  The Holiday Mini ends on January 3rd... if you want to order some be sure and do so before then.  I cut out the letters using the Big Shot and the Timeless Type Junior alphabet sizzlits for the "Ho Ho Ho."

Lastly, I wanted to use some of my striped ribbon so pulled out the Wild Wasabi ribbon and tied a fork bow to stick on the corner of the frame.  I like the way this turned out and it came together so quickly and easily!  The punch art was a little time consuming, but you could make several of these in a couple of hours as gifts.

Thanks for stopping by!  For more inspiration on holiday decor, please be sure and visit the Sisters in Stamping blog after Noon EST today.  Have a wonderful weekend!  I'll be sharing the shoe box swap cards that my team designed at our meeting earlier this month over the next few days so please come back for some non-Holiday inspiration.

 

 

Who needs Black Friday when you have stamps!

Why fight the crowds on Black Friday when you have all the items you need to create wonderful hand-stamped and altered gifts for your friends and family?!  That is the theme of our Fabulous Friday projects over on the Sisters in Stamping blog this week and my contribution is this Christmas banner.  I love making these banners - they come together so quickly with the help of my trusty Big Shot and the Scallop Circles #2 and Scallop Square bigz dies.  I used the Frostwood Lodge DSP papers along with the Christmas Lodge stamp set - I really love these products from the Holiday Mini, don't you?!  Make sure you order them before the Mini ends!!

Here are some close-ups of the squares - the scallop squares are cut out using early espresso card stock and the scallop square bigz die.  I attached 4" coasters to the backs to add some sturdiness.  The DSP squares are cut to 4" x 4" and then the scallop circles are cut from the scallop circles #2 bigz die.  I added texture to these by running them through the Big Shot with the Snowburst textured impression folder and then sprayed them with shimmer mist that I made using the champagne shimmer paint and some rubbing alcohol.  The whole thing is held together with 1/4" whisper white grosgrain ribbon.  Fun, right?!  I think I will make up a few of these to give away this holiday.

Don't forget to stop by the Sisters in Stamping blog today after Noon EST to check out some other great gift ideas that you can create in the comfort of your home with Stampin' Up! products you probably already own.  Have a wonderful weekend!!

Week 4 of the "12 Weeks of Christmas" project tutorials from Get Creative with Rachel and Debbie

This week's project is a great "SNOW" banner perfect for hanging on your mantel.  I know you will get a lot of use out of this project, either as a gift for a loved one or holiday decoration for yourself!

You can purchase each tutorial individually for $2.95 or buy all 12 of them for only $24.95. If you choose to purchase the complete set now, I will email you the tutorials each week as they are released. Our tutorials give you complete directions along with measurements and tons of photos to help you re-create the project with ease.

To purchase the tutorial for our Week 4 Snow Banner for $2.95 click the "buy now" button below.

 

If you want to purchase all "12 Weeks of Christmas" tutorials at a discounted price of $24.95, a savings of over $10, click the "buy now" button below.  Each week as we release the projects, you will be emailed a complete tutorial with pictures and instructions.

 

September 2011 Demonstrator of the Month

I'd like to introduce you to my Demonstrator of the month, Gwen Goulder.  She has been a member of my team since early 2009 and has created some wonderful projects to share.  Here is what Gwen wanted you to know about herself...

  I've been a Stampin' Up! demonstrator for about 3 years after being a customer for a year. I consider myself to be a part-time hobby demo and a part-time business demo. I love being able to alter different types of things such as picture frames, notebooks, or even making wall art. My card making style is usually classy and/or whimsical. I hope you enjoy the projects I've shared with Debbie as much as I enjoyed making them!

And now I'm happy to share with you some of her beautiful work.

 

This is an altered picture frame featuring paper from the Neutrals designer paper stack and a great photo from her wedding.  I love the little "love" tag and the rick-rack created with the Big Shot tasteful trim bigz xl die.  Great project, Gwen!

 

I don't know where Gwen found this great set, but it is 4 glass coasters that have some sort of pocket on the back that she slid these images from the Morning Cup into after coloring them.  What a fun gift for a friend or for your own home!

I hope you've enjoyed these projects!  I'll be sharing some of her great cards with you tomorrow so be sure and come back for another visit!

August 2011 Demonstrator of the Month - part 1

Meet Darlene Crockett, my Demonstrator of the Month for August.  Darlene and I go way back, to the days when she was my son Brandon's pre-school teacher for "Mom's Morning Out" once a week when he was just 2.  I treasured those mornings that I could go to the grocery store alone or meet a friend for coffee.  I didn't get the opportunity to speak much to her when she was his teacher but then a few years later when Brandon was in a five-day 4-year old class I ended up being her aide once a week wiht the little ones and I enjoyed getting to know her better - I now consider her a dear friend.  Here is what Darlene has to share about herself...

   I have been stamping for almost four years now. I can hardly believe how quickly the years have gone by. I signed up under Debbie in October of 2007. As I thought about it, it seemed impossible that I have been stamping that long and still enjoy it just as much as the first time, if not more. I think I signed up after just two or three events. I was buying so much how could I not take advantage of the discount? I am a hobby demonstrator which works great with my lifestyle.

   Debbie used to work with me at preschool. She would always share her excitement of Stampin’ Up! with me. Well, I don't see myself as a very creative or artistic person so I thought, “how nice for her.” Until I actually attended a workshop at her studio and realized I didn’t have to do it all by myself. Stampin’ Up! gives you everything you need to be creative and artistic. The stamps, and color-coordinated everything gives you the foundation of limitless possibilities; from cards to framed art to personalized clothing. For instance, you can make party favors, the card, gift bag or wrap and tissue paper all to match the theme of a party or gift. Not to mention the resources to make the gift itself. I have cards for every occasion and everything for homemade gifts at my fingertips.
One of my favorite products by Stampin’ Up! is my Big Shot. It just gives any project that little extra WOW! factor. And the punches, I absolutely love the punches and working at a preschool they come in quite handy, as does my Big Shot.

   My husband and I relocated to Lynchburg from the Chicago area 25 years ago. I have been married for 27 years and am the Mom of three great grown children of whom I am very proud. I also became a Mother-In-Law in January. That sure is a mind blower!
As I mentioned, I work for a preschool teaching three year olds and working with all of the age groups in the after care program. I am also the bookkeeper for the preschool. This summer I accepted the position of Assistant Director for the Summer Program for preschool age through 12 year old children. What a fun and fast summer that was.

   As a demonstrator I have also had the privilege of attending two regional events for SU!. One at Virginia Beach and the other in Charlotte, NC. I absolutely loved them and all of the great tips and ideas I learned, not to mention the great fellowship with fellow demos! Hoping to attend more of these fantastic events in the future!!

As you can see, Darlene is an enthusiastic demonstrator who enjoys the discount of the wonderful products she would be buying anyway!  We had so much fun in Charlotte, didn't we?!

Here are some wonderful non-card projects she created to share with you.  Tomorrow I'll share the beautiful cards she designed.

This framed art home decor started as a simple frame that she picked up at a big box store.  Notice the shimmer on it?  She added frost shimmer paint to it, altering the look (making it very hard to photograph!).  The inside art work was stamped with the Inspired by Nature stamp set and she sponged the sky and clouds.  The butterflies were cut out with the Big Shot and Beautiful Wings embosslit - they are embellished with dazzling diamonds glitter and rhinestones for some bling.  Who wouldn't want to put this beauty on their wall?

 

This birthday scrapbook page features the Look Who's Turning stamp set and would be great for your child's scrapbook.  Many of the mats and embellishments were created or altered to include texture with the Big Shot.  How great would it be to use this stamp set to create birthday party invitations and use the same color scheme for the party and scrapbook page?

Thanks for stopping by today - I hope you got some inspiration from Darlene's projects!  Be sure and check back tomorrow to see her cards.  Have a wonderful day!

2011 Summer Shoe Box Swap team meeting, part 4

A fun part of our shoe box swap meetings is the gift exchange - anyone who wants to participate brings a wrapped gift that has a value of about $10 - that gives you a lot to work with!  Throughout the meeting we draw names and go up and choose which gift we want - without knowing what's inside, it is amazing how so many people say "oh, I can really use this!"  The altered picture frame above is the one I submitted and was chosen by Angie Kinzie - I forgot to take a picture of her with it.  You will find more information in my post here.  And the rest of the hand-crafted projects are below for your inspiration.  I love that Stampin' Up! products can be used to make so many things other than just cards and scrapbook pages!  With Christmas just 144 days away, you'll want to start keeping an eye out for clearance items and alterables that you can design into beautiful hand-crafted gifts for your friends and family!

Debbie Williams received this beautiful altered notebook and punch from Darlene Crockett.

 

Gerin Martin received this great altered notepad holder and candle from Gwen Goulder.

Sherri Gough received this fabulous ensemble from Cindy Blekas... she has details and more photos posted on her blog here.

 

Wendy Boothe received these gorgeous altered canvas art pieces from Michelle Arthur - you can check out how she created them on her blog post here.

And last but not least, Jennifer Rawlings received this beautiful box with a framed lid from Wendy Boothe (seen in the background).

 

Here is a photo of what I received from Gaylyn Pantana - I love black and white together, especially when you add in a pop of hot pink!  There were cool pencils, a memo pad, a mini post-it note pad, chocolates, a hand-crafted ring (see below) and a Starbuck's gift certificate all tucked inside the cute little box which she embellished with a large flower.

Check out the beautiful ring she created with the vintage flower from our Occasions Mini catalog!  Very cool, huh?! 

Many of the other gifts exchanged were crafting items, great storage pieces for a craft room and gift certificates.  Because the gift exchange is so much fun we usually have 100% participation!

I hope you've been inspired by the cards designed and gifts made for our meeting!  If you want to join my team so you can attend the next one in December, contact me to find out how.

Have a great day and thank you for stopping by!

 

 

 

March 2011 Downline meeting

 

My downline get-together is always on the first Thursday of the month and I try to have a demonstrator on my team do a presentation of a fun technique or 3-D idea that she has seen to share with our group.  This month Gwen Goulder taught us how to make barn stars using metal roof flashing from the hardware store with the Big Shot 5-point 3D Star bigz die.  Look at the great variety of stars made in the photo above!!  Because this is a steel-ruled die, it will cut through a large variety of materials including metal.  Roof flashing is great because it comes in several colors - Gwen brought a silver and brown/white roll for people to choose from.  The metal pieces were cut down to fit the die using Craft & Rubber scissors... a bonus - it sharpened our scissors!

 

Gwen did recommend that everyone bring a pair of gardening gloves since the metal edges can get quite sharp.  After cutting out 5 of the star points everyone was given the option of adding texture by running them back through the Big Shot with impressions folders.  Then, the score lines were bent and the sharp edges were curved under using a pair of flat nosed pliers.  We attached them together with sticky strip and added a large grommet with a crop-a-dile so the stars could be hung.  Later, Jennifer announced to the group that she went home and found out that using eyelets was a great way to hold the sides together more permanently.   Don't you love using our awesome Stampin' Up! products to make beautiful things for your home and to give as gifts?

Thanks, Gwen, for a wonderful presentation and make-n-take this month!  If you'd like to join my team to be able to attend our fun monthly meetings there is no better time than NOW to become a demonstrator!  Our Sale-a-Bration promotion runs through March 31st and right now the customizable starter kit is 15% off with free shipping and a bonus product bundle valued at $50!!  Contact me for more details!!

Products used with today's project include: