Under the INKfluence

New Blog Home!

2008-06-22T09:36:00.004-04:00

I'm excited to announce a new home for my Under the INKfluence blog! Please come by to visit at www.undertheinkfluence.com.

This will be my last post at blogspot, so point your browser to my new home where you'll find all my old posts as well the new things I post. If you've got this site bookmarked/favorited/linked (I LOVE YOU!), make sure you update them with my new URL - www.undertheinkfluence.com.

See you over there! :D

Hugs!

SU Announces Exciting New Product!

2008-06-19T12:45:00.005-04:00

I'm so excited about the new product line that Stampin' Up has just announced! It's called Décor Elements - a line of self-adhesive vinyl elements. They coordinate with stamps in the Definitely Decorative line - how cool is that?? Use them on your walls, to create coordinating home decor items, and more!

I'm not sure what I like best about these. Maybe the fact that they're so affordable. Or maybe that they're so easy to apply. Hmmm.. maybe that they're easy to remove, too, and won't damage the surfaces they're applied to. No... I think it's that they coordinate with our stamp images! Oh.. they're just fantastic and I can't wait to get some up on my own walls!

Décor Elements will be available beginning July 1st, but you can see the brochure now - simply send an email to me to request the brochure and I'll get it right over to you! In about a week, I'll have printed brochures available, too, as well as a sample for you to see in person.

And as an introductory special*, when you purchase $30 of Décor Elements, you'll get the applicator tool for free. OR... If you purchase $75 of Décor Elements, you'll get a free Monogram letter of your choice plus the applicator tool.

Contact me for your brochure so you can see what all the excitement is for yourself!

* Note: this special is valid only through Nicole Kowalk

Inspiration

2008-06-16T19:52:00.008-04:00

Sometimes, no matter how hard I try, I just cannot come up with ideas for projects without a little help! I've started to become more aware of opportunities for inspiration as I look around me. Nature, especially, provides fantastic inspiration, but other things do, as well. The next time you pick up a newspaper or magazine, make a concious effort to notice things that you can base a card off of. Ads are a wealth of inspiration!

Take this one...

Isn't she precious? This is a Downy ad from a couple of years ago. I think it came in the mail with a sample. I love the simplicity and the elegance of it - bright white with a splash of lavendar. Simple is a great place to start - I think that's another post! This is the card that I was inspired to make...

The card base is a square of Whisper White a(5 1/4" square after folding); ink is Lavendar Lace and Lovely Lilac; ribbons are organdy and grosgrain in the same shades as the ink. As simple as this is, I think it's incredibly appealing and is still one of my favorites, even after two years. {Sorry about the quality of the images. Sometimes scanning leaves a lot to be desired, but I've ordered a small light tent for taking pictures. That should help quite a bit!}

This next ad is from this week's Target ad. I love Target ads! They're a great resource for color combinations, as you can see here. This one section has three totally different combinations to work with...

For the first color combination, take a look at the lower right of the image. The colors I pulled out of that are Green Galore, Pink Passion, Only Orange, Tempting Turquoise, and Whisper White. I knew that bright, bold colors were going to be hot this summer - this example really illustrates that well. Here's the card I came up with based on this color combo...

Stamps are from the retiring Office Accoutrement set, except for the "Happy Birthday", which is from Bitty Birthday - a new set in the current Spring/Summer Idea Book.

And the second color combo I pulled from the ad is on the lower left - Pink Passion, Pretty in Pink, and Whisper White. The design elements I'm using from that part of the layout are the polka dots and the light pink strip across the bed. Here's what I came up with...

I really wanted the white polka dots to pop, so I embossed them with white embossing powder. Other than that, I wanted to stick real close to the ad, so I kept the overall design pretty simple. Stamps are from the retiring Polka Dots & Paisley set. Can you tell that I love the organdy ribbon? It's been retired from SU for a long time, but you know me... I'm a ribbon junkie so I have a ton of it still!

So now that you've seen my creations, I've got a challenge for you. Use the colors from the Target ad and create something. Email a picture of it to me or post a link to it in the comments and I'll put it on my blog! To recap, here are your three color combos from the ad:

1) Green Galore, Only Orange, Pink Passion, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
2) Pink Passion, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
3) Brilliant Blue, Green Galore, Barely Banana, Whisper White

Can't wait to see what you create!

Retiring List is Released!

2008-06-15T18:53:00.007-04:00

Stampin' Up's list of retiring stamp sets was released today! Follow the links below to see it...

Retiring List Alphabetically
Retiring List by Page Number

To bid a fond farewell to our old friends, I'm offering my customers 15% off of all retiring stamp sets on the list from June 15th through July 31st - buy as many as you like. Contact me now to take advantage of this offer but don't wait too long - these sets will be gone for good after August 10th!

Note: This offer is valid only through Nicole Kowalk.

A quickie storage solution - handmade of course!

2008-06-08T21:10:00.002-04:00

I'm terrible about pens. I usually just leave them laying around on my desk and they're either getting in the way or I can't find any. I finally decided that I needed a container to keep them in - not too small but not too big. And it had to be cute! Usually I'd just grab an old glass or jar out of the cupboard, but my goodness - I'm a Stampin' Up demonstrator and I can MAKE cute, right??

I hadn't really used any of the Die Cut Blooms from the Occasions mini catalog, but they've been laying close at hand, just waiting for inspiration to strike. And it just so happened that I had a package of Bali Breeze Designer Paper, too, which matched the colors of the Die Cut Blooms (and my mood!) perfectly. With those in hand, I started the process of making my own, cute, pencil holder.

I cut a 4 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of Tempting Turquiose cardstock, wrapped it into a tube shape and adhered it forever using Sticky Strip. If I'd have thought ahead of time, I would've punched the scallop edge before I adhered it, but I must not have had enough coffee that day, so alas, I did it as an after thought. On top of that, I layered a 3 3/4" piece of the Bali Breeze paper (more Sticky Strip) - no scallops on this layer! The bottom circle was cut from more Tempting Turquiose cardstock using the Colluzle and adhered on with Crystal Effects - yes, this will stay on forever, too! For the front medallion, I chose a pumpkin flower from the Die Cut Blooms - I just LOVE that Stampin' Up chose to use textured cardstock for these! The red center is also from the Die Cut Blooms. I adhered them together, punched a hole in the middle and added a gorgeous rhinestone brad. The leaves were made by punching a 5 Petal Flower from Old Olive cardstock, cutting the petals apart, and adhering them to the back of the flower. All of that was adhered onto the front of my pencil holder using my old standby - Stampin' Dimensionals.

What do you think? Did I achieve cuteness?? :D

More Chipboard

2008-05-26T16:34:00.007-04:00

Just a few more days left in SU's chipboard special. Here are a couple of samples to help inspire you.

The first is one of SU's chipboard clipboards that I altered. I have to admit that I'm not big into scrapbooking, but I do love altering items to use as picture 'frames'. This one was so easy to make... I covered the chipboard with designer paper and cut/punched additional pieces out of the same DS pack for the medallions, for the picture mat, and for the photo corners. I stamped and embossed 'Cherish' and added a couple pieces of Blue Bayou double stitched ribbon to it. Very quick an easy!

Supplies:
4 1/2" x 9" On Board Clipboard
Outlaw Designer Paper (retired)
Blue Bayou & Really Rust cardstock
Chocolate Chip craft ink
Clear embossing powder
Blue Bayou double stitched ribbon
Pewter Jumbo Eyelet
Fire Rhinestone Brad
Scallop punch
Photo corners punch
Spiral Punch
1 3/8" circle punch
1/8" circle punch
Stampin' Dimensionals

The next is an altered file folder that I made. I do have pictures in it now... they're all in black and white. I chose to use black & white pictures so that I didn't have to worry about coordinating colors in the pictures to the colors I used for the folder. This is a great tip to remember for all of your scrapbooking - black and white pictures will coordinate with any color scheme!

The file folder was first partially covered with apricot textured cardstock. The rest of the folder was covered with designer paper from the Bali Breeze collection - this is one of my favorite designer paper collections! I hid the edges by running grosgrain ribbon from top to bottom. The black rub-ons are from the Cherished Memories set - I love how well they adhere, even to textured cardstock. The chipboard pieces on the front were 'painted' with craft inks. To some I added glitter, to another I added a rub-on from A Perfect Day set (from the current Occasions Mini-catalog). The hardware that I used is from the GORGEOUS Stylized Silver Hodgepodge Hardware (also from the current Occasions Mini-catalog). The photo flaps are simply layered cardstock attached together with Prong Fasteners that you can find in any office supply store. I had so much fun making this!

Supplies:

Bali Breeze Desiger Paper
Apricot Appeal textured cardstock
Tempting Turquiose, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie Cardstock
A Perfect Day, Cherished Memories Rub-ons
Stylized Silver Hodgepodge Hardware
Grosgrain Ribbon
Chunky Glitter
Dazzling Diamonds Glitter
On Board Blossoms & Basics chipboard

Bloom Framed Print

2008-05-15T11:30:00.007-04:00

With only a couple of weeks left to take advantage of Stampin' Up's Chipboard promotion, I want to show a sample of what you can do with our chipboard. You're going to love the chipboard.. it's thick, it's smooth, it's awesome!

This project was made using a piece from the Ginormous Pieces chipboard set. The scalloped frame is 8" x 8" square... huge! I covered it with a piece of Afternoon Tea designer paper from the Occasions mini catalog - isn't it yummy?? I cut it close to the chipboard, then sanded the edges smooth. The stamp set is also from the Occasions mini - it's the Bloomin' Beautiful set that I just fell in love with as soon as I saw it! Then again, it's a floral set... I love floral, and I love hydrandeas!

The main image is done in three layers. The first was stamped onto the background cardstock. Two other images were stamped separately. I cut pieces of the flowers out and layered them onto the first image using Stampin' Dimensionals to pop them out of the page and give lots of dimension to them. The silver frame is from the silver Hodgepodge hardware, also from the Occasions mini catalog.

Don't forget to click on the picture above to see the project up close. It's hard to see the dimension of the hydrangea, though, so you'll have to use your imagination! ;)

Other supplies used:

Soft Sky In Color cardstock & classic ink
Chocolate Chip cardstock
Whisper White cardstock
Basic Brown classic ink
Glue stick
SNAIL adhesive
Sand paper
Paper snips

Fall/Winter Collection Sneak Peek!

2008-04-16T07:00:00.008-04:00

Those Stampin' Up demonstrators who worked hard and earned the annual Stampin' Up cruise were spoiled to no end on the latest cruise. They sailed last week to Burmuda and I am so jealous of them! They were treated to many sneak peeks of new products that will be introduced in the upcoming Fall/Winter Collection catalog that will be released in August. Some of those demonstrators were so sweet and shared those sneak peeks when they were able to get an internet connection from the ship and now I'm sharing them with you!

The first sneak peek is the new In Colors. I know you have been dying to see them! Click on the picture below for a close-up. I don't know how true the colors are, but this picture has me really excited about seeing them in person!

The next sneak peek is some of the new designer papers. Aren't they gorgeous?

How about a peek at some of the stamp sets that will be introduced in the Fall/Winter Collection? I don't know if I can stand to wait for 3 months to get my hands on these sets... and I know that I'll have to have them! I LOVE the style of those first three!! {Yes, I know... more floral. But you know how much I love floral sets!}

I have to say that in the 6 years I have been a demonstrator for Stampin' Up, they have done nothing but get better each year! I am anxious to see what else they have up their sleeve for us, aren't you?

Tutorial: Happy Bird-day Gift Card Holder

2008-04-13T14:40:00.010-04:00

We had an intimate Coffee & Craft night this month! It was nice to have one-on-one time with a few customers and I really enjoyed getting to know them better! Glad you could make it, ladies! For those who were unable to make it, either because of other commitments or because of not being in the local area, I am posting intructions for re-creating the cute little gift card holder we made.

Isn't this little guy cute?? He comes from the Pun Fun stamp set. I just fell in love with this set the moment I saw it!

Supplies

Cardstock:
Tempting Turquoise (11" x 4 1/4")
Apricot Appeal (2 1/2" x 3 1/2")
Certainly Celery (2 1/4" x 3 1/4")
Whisper White (1 3/4" x 2")

Ink: Stazon Black, Tempting Turquoise, Apricot Appeal, Certainly Celery, Cameo Coral

Accessories: AquaPainter, Cutter Kit (Distressing Tool), Celery & Apricot Grosgrain 3/8" ribbon, Word Window Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Adhesive, Paper Cutter with Scoring Blade, rubbing alcohol

Directions

Score the turquoise card base at 3" from each end and at 5 1/2". Fold on score lines in an accordian fashion.

Adhere the center section together at the top, bottom, and back leaving the center and the fold free of adhesive.

Using the Word Window punch, punch twice about 1/4" from the top and bottom edge along the fold on the inside flap. Punch only half pieces (fold is in the center of the punch). You'll be left with a slight dimple.

Using the circle punch, punch about 1/2 of the circle, removing the dimple and leaving a notch that extends a little further back from the Word Window-punched sections. Insert a gift card into the slot to be sure it fits. If it doesn't, re-punch using the Word Window punch to lengthen the slot just a bit.

Stamp that cute little bird onto the Whisper White cardstock using Black Stazon ink. Stamp a sentiment on the inside of the card, too, if you like.

Squeeze the unopened ink pads together to deposit ink onto the lid. Open and use these as your paint palette. Fill the aquapainter with rubbing alcohol. We'll use this to watercolor instead of water - your colors will be more vibrant, they'll blend better, and your cardstock will buckle much less. Trust me... you'll love it! Watercolor the stamped image.

Distress the edges of the Whisper White cardstock and adhere to the Certainly Celery cardstock at the top, tieing a piece of Apricot grosgrain ribbon around the bottom.

Adhere the layered bird panel to the Apricot Appeal cardstock using a Stampin' Dimensional in each corner of the Celery layer.

Adhere the entire panel to the front of the gift card holder.

Wrap Celery Grosgrain ribbon around the gift card holder, threading it between the Apricot & Celery cardstock layers and tie in a bow at the side.

That's it - you're done and your gift card holder is ready to be given to that special person!

April Coffee & Craft Night!

2008-04-06T18:03:00.006-04:00

March sure went by quickly! I don't know if it's just that I've been so busy with work and life and trying to plan some upcoming events, but I am just stunned that it's already April. It seems as if we just had our March Coffee & Craft night when here is April's coming up in just a couple of days. Hopefully you'll be able to stop by!

This month, we'll be making a gift card holder very similar to the one shown here. When opened, there's a center panel that a gift card slides into. It's really a very clever design that I wish I'd thought up, but someone else out there in 'stamping land' did instead. I think it was another demonstrator named Patty Bennett, but am not entirely sure. Whomever it was... THANK YOU!

As it is every month, Coffee and Craft Night will be held on Tuesday April 8th at the Eaton Rapids' Evelyn Bay Coffee Shop from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. For $5.00, you'll get your choice of one of Evelyn Bay's YUMMY specialty drinks (coffee, latte, cappucino, smoothy, etc.) and you'll make the craft of the month. Even better, you get a fun night out on the town with your stamping buddies! Come have fun, see old friends, and make new ones! No RSVP is necessary.

Easter: A card and rub-ons redux

2008-03-16T14:31:00.012-04:00

I think it's been a while since I've posted a card on my blog! Easter is only a week away and I've got both a card and a home decor project to show you....

First the card. I am really pleased with how it turned out. I used Wild Wasabi textured cardstock for the base. Actually, this is from the Wild About Wasabi promotion going on through the end of April. Check out the details HERE. I am IN LOVE with textured cardstock, by the way - I can't get enough of it, but I'm finding that it's one of those things that I hoard... you know... want to use it, but if I use it I won't have any for when I REALLY want to use it. How silly is that? So I am trying diligently to hoard less and use more!

For the main image, I watercolored the leaves using the Garden Green watercolor crayon & the Aquapainter. For the center of the flower, the Apricot Appeal WWC & Aquapainter. For the flower itself, I simply added Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the petals. What a WOW effect! Make sure you click on the picture to see the full-size version!

Supplies
Stamps: From the Garden (Hostess), All Holidays
Cardstock: Wild Wasabi textured, Apricot Appeal, Whisper White, Shimmery White
Ink: Black Stazon
Accessories: Watercolor Crayons, Aquapainter, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Silver brads, 2-way Glue, Round Tab Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

And now the home decor (I know - you really wanted to see this first, but I was holding out on you!). My inspiration for these decorated eggs and crate came directly from Stampin' Up's Spring Summer 2008 Collection - page 27. I really wanted to recreate the item to use for spring & Easter decoration. Stampin' Up's rub-on's made it so easy! A rub-on on each egg, whitewashed acrylic paint and ribbons on the crate, a bit of paper shreds - and you end up with a really cute project!

Here's a close-up of a few of the eggs...

Supplies
Accessories: Eastern Elegance Rub-ons, Apricot & Pink grosgrain ribbon, Soft Sky & River Rock Double-stitched Ribbon

Have a wonderful, blessed Easter!

Basket Weaving, Anyone?

2008-03-05T20:32:00.003-05:00

First, let me tell you that I have never, ever done basket weaving before! But I found directions on weaving a basket using patterned paper and I couldn't resist!

Would you believe that this basket used just one single 12"x12" sheet of patterned paper? I used a sheet of the new Afternoon Tea Designer Paper from the Occasions Mini Collection. This paper is to die for! It works beautifully for this basket. I haven't tried it yet, but I think that Stampin' Up's textured cardstock would give a fantastic look, also.

The basket took about an hour to do... I'm talking an hour from start to finish, taking my time because - yes... I've never done basket weaving before! So don't let what looks like a complex project stop you from trying this... you'll be so glad you tried this out!

I'm not going to even try to give directions here. Mainly because I want to make sure that Laura Canale, the creative mind behind this, gets credit for it, but also because she's got it laid out so nicely on her blog. So click HERE for the directions and let me know if you try it.

Supplies:

Afternoon Tea Designer Paper
Silver Brads
Wild Wasabi Double Stitched Ribbon
Glue Stick
Paper Cutter

Occasions Mini Collection Accessories Share Club

2008-03-02T18:31:00.006-05:00

The Occasions Mini Collection introduces some fantastic new accessories. Would you like the opportunity to try some of them at a substantially smaller investment than if you’d purchased them all individually? Join the Accessories Share Club and you’ll do just that! For just $23 you’ll receive a sampling of each of the accessories spotlighted below for less than 1/4 the cost of the full purchase price! And as a bonus, each club member will receive a sheet of Love and Happiness rub-ons from the Sale-A-Bration brochure!

• Carousel Notes: 3 notes and envelopes (1 note of each color – Bashful Blue, Wild Wasabi, Groovy Guava)
• Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware: two (2) of each style label holder, two (2) of each style of Cast brads and twenty (20) silver brads
• Afternoon Tea Designer Paper: Two 6x6 sheets of each design
• Summer Picnic Designer Paper: Two 6x6 sheets of each design
• Chocolate Chip Poly-twill Ribbon: 3 yards
• Old Olive Poly-Twill Ribbon: 3 yards
• Die Cut Blooms: 34 various die cuts in a variety of colors – Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red

To get your Accessory Share, call or email no later than March 14th. If you’d like the convenience of paying with PayPal, use the “Buy Now” button below. Payment is due when you join. All items will be ordered no later than March 17th. Your share will be delivered approximately 1 ½ weeks after that. Please add $5 to your payment if you would like it shipped to you.

Occasions Mini Collection 2008

2008-03-02T11:24:00.003-05:00

The Occasions Mini Collection is packed full of brand-new stamp sets, accessories, and stamped samples. You can order from this fresh new mini catalog between March 1 and May 31.

I haven't decided yet, what my favorite set or product is, but I'm leaning towards the coordinating Love Birds rub-ons, Carousel Notes, Afternoon Tea Designer Paper, and Live Your Dream stamp set. Oh - can't forget about the awesome new SILVER Hodgepodge Hardware set that also goes fabulously with these products!

What's your favorite??

Sweet One Box

2008-02-21T20:41:00.006-05:00

Is this sweet, or what?? I just love this little trinket box and it's soo easy to make! I've been planning on sharing it here on my blog, but it has just not seemed finished - until this evening when it dawned on me that I should put glitter on the little moon. It's amazing how that little bitty last minute touch pulled the whole thing together and finished it off!

I think we will make this box, although in a different design, at the March Coffee & Craft Night (see previous post for details). But I'll include directions for this box here, for those of you who can't stop by the coffee shop and who will miss out on the fun. ;)

Supplies

Stamps: All Scallops SAB

Cardstock: Almost Amethyst, Summer Sun, Whisper White

Ink: Basic Black, Summer Sun

Accessories: Jumbo Eyelets, Dazzling Diamond Glitter, Scallop Circle Punch, Large Star Punch, Paper Cutter w/Scoring Blade, Two Way Glue Pen, Stampin' Dimensionals, White Taffeta Ribbon

Directions

Cut Almost Amethyst cardstock down to 8 1/2" square. Score each side at 2 3/4" so that you end up with 9 identical scored squares, sort of like a tic-tac-toe board - remember that game? Score each of the 4 corner squares diagonally, from the outermost corner to the innermost corner.

Your center square will be the bottom of the box... fold the sides up at the scored lines and fold the corner squares out and along the diagonal scores, overlapping two on each side. Secure with the Jumbo Eyelets (I used the Crop-O-Dile for this step -it really makes quick work of setting those Jumbo Eyelets).

Punch some stars out of another piece of Almost Amethyst cardstock and attach to the box in various places, letting some of the points wrap around the edges.

Stamp the Sweet One image from All Scallops in black twice - once on Whisper White - use a Summer Sun marker to apply ink to the moon and a Basic Black marker to apply ink to the rest of the image; once in all black on Almost Amethyst.

Punch the white cardstock image out using the Scallop Circle Punch. Cut the Sweet One banner only from the other stamped image. Apply Two Way Glue to the Summer Sun moon and dust with Dazzling Diamonds Glitter. Layer the Sweet One banner using a Stampin' Dimensional cut down to fit. Punch a scalloped circle from Summer Sun cardstock using the Scalloped Circle punch and layer under the white Sweet One image, rotating so that the Summer Sun Scallops peek out between the Whisper White Scallops.

Adhere layered image to the front of your box and tie a bow using White Taffeta Ribbon through one of the Jumbo Eyelets. Pop in a gift and it's ready to give away!

Coffee & Craft Night - Spring Schedule

2008-02-21T20:37:00.001-05:00

The schedule has been finalized for the next three months of Coffee & Craft Night at the Evelyn Bay Coffee Shop. Be sure to mark your calendar so you don't miss any of them!

What is Coffee & Craft Night? Once a month, usually on the 2nd Tuesday, I set up shop from 6:00 - 8:00 pm at the Evelyn Bay Coffee Shop (thank you Ron & Suzanne!) and invite anyone who would like to stop by for a coffee and a craft! For $5.00, you'll get your fav 12 ounce specialty drink and you'll make the craft that I've prepared. Sometimes we make a card, sometimes we make something else. I'm thinking that the project for March will be similar to the cute box you'll see in my next post.

Everyone's invited, no RSVP necessary! Hope to see you there!

Spring Schedule

Tuesday, March 11

Tuesday, April 8

Tuesday, May 13

Happy Valentine's Day! (a little late)

2008-02-15T23:33:00.004-05:00

I tried to post this yesterday, but my computer locked up. The joys of technology!

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Hubby and I decided to stay at home and spend the day together. I cooked a special dinner for him, paired with a bottle of wine a friend brought to me from Germany. Dessert was, of course, chocolate - Molten Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Cream. Yum!

This is the Valentine card I made for him. I used my new Always stamp set for this (bought it because of the incredible bird image and haven't used that one at all yet!) and the Cerise Designer Series Paper that was retired from the last catalog. Too bad - I really like this Designer Paper. Ribbons used were 1/4" black and 5/6" red grosgrains and the card base was Very Vanilla cardstock. The scallop/heart layer was popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals. The bottom edge was scalloped with a corner rounder and sponged with Real Red ink. When I got the card done, I just wasn't pleased with it, so I added the piercing on the scallops and underneath the phrase. Those little things really helped to finish the card!

My Excellent Blog Nominations

2008-02-14T20:11:00.002-05:00

Okay... here are my nominations for the Excellent Blog Award:

Twila - if she hasn't already been nominated, she should have been!
Cheri - a talented stamper!
Shelley - a fellow coffee lover!
Dianne - One of the first blogs on my favs!

Check out these talented ladies - you are sure to be inspired!

Excellent!!

2008-02-14T19:45:00.003-05:00

Wow! Thanks, Tracey, for nominating me for the Excellent Blog Award! I am honored! :-D

In return, I'll choose some blogs that I think are excellent for this award. Stay tuned....

Happy Heart Day Class Projects

2008-02-09T20:55:00.000-05:00

I promised that I'd post a picture of the projects we did last Saturday at my Happy Heart Day class. I have it on good authority (all the ladies at the class) that these were awesome projects and that anyone who didn't take the class really missed out on a fun afternoon! ;)

We made seven varied projects - 4 cards and three 3-D items.

A 3x3 card
A Pocket Note card
A 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 card
A shadow box card
A Cupid Corn-filled cello bag & topper
A nugget tin filled with wrapped nuggets
A tube-shaped gift box

Bet you won't miss out on the next class! Stay tuned.... I'm planning an All-Occasion card class for Spring!

Rub-ons!

2008-02-05T21:37:00.000-05:00

Oh my gosh! I am falling in love with Stampin' Up's new rub-ons! I only have one set - the beautiful Eastern Elegance rub-ons, but have more on their way to me. I can't wait til they get here. I can't wait to show you how fun they are! I have been waiting to post this for over a week now, but I can't wait any longer!

I got the idea for this project from my friend and fellow demonstrator, Deb Jacobs. Deb always has the neatest ideas! I took a wine glass and adhered "The Sweetest Thing" rub-on (from the Eastern Elegance rub-ons), tied a piece of red gingham ribbon and a couple of pieces of red grosgrain ribbon around the stem, and then filled the glass with chocolate valentine hearts. This is so simple but makes a stunning presentation, don't you think?

I've already showed it off to the ladies at last Saturday's Happy Heart Day class and now it's here for you to see, too. Speaking of class.... I will be posting the projects we did in the next couple of days. I really liked them and was happy to see that everyone in class did, too.

Sale-A-Bration is here!

2008-02-01T17:26:00.001-05:00

Today's the day! Sale-A-Bration officials starts today! Here's how it works:

Customers
You get to choose a free SAB set for each $50 you spend (net, before tax & shipping). There's no limit to the amount of free sets you can earn!

Hostesses
You'll receive a free SAB set when you host a workshop with at least $300 in sales (net). This is in addition to the fantastic hostess benefits you earn. You'll earn a free SAB set for each $300 in sales.

Recruits
If you sign up to be a Stampin' Up demonstrator during Sale-A-Bration, you' get any set (up to $47.95) from the Spring-Summer 2008 Collection free! PLUS - you'll receive the starter kit at a 20% savings! It can't get any better than that!

You can see the SAB brochure and the Spring-Summer Collection online, by following the links at the right side of the page. Many of you have received an SAB brochure from me through the mail, but if you didn't and would like a print copy, let me know and I'll get one out to you right away.

In the meantime, enjoy this beautiful SAB card, made by my friend and upline, Jociel. She used the Merci SAB set.

Recipe

2008-01-29T21:43:00.000-05:00

It dawned on me after I posted yesterday that I should really include a recipe for any card or project I post. What do you think?

The recipe for the peek a boo card in the previous post is as follows (yes, I added the card to this post, too!). All items used are from Stampin' Up, of course!

Stamps
So Many Scallops (SAB)
Lots of Thoughts (SAB)
A Beautiful Thing
Stem Sayings

Ink
Lovely Lilac
Lavendar Lace
Cameo Coral
Old Olive
Apricot Appeal

Paper/Cardstock
Bashful Blue
Certainly Celery
Apricot Appeal
Whisper White
Celery Prints Designer Paper

Accessories
5/8" Celery Grosgrain Ribbon
Stampin' Dimensionals

Punches
Assorted round
scallop circle
5 point flower

Basic Instructions
Stamp flower images onto white, punch out with scallop circle punch. Punch a 5 pointed flower from celery cardstock, cut in half-ish. Stamp stems onto blue card base. Adhere flowers to top of stems. Punch circle out of top right flower, through flower and front of card. Either stamp saying through the hole, or open card up and stamp. TIP: The Stamp-a-ma-jig REALLY helps at this step. Stamp flower center, punch, adhere to punched layer, adhere to flower with a Stampin' Dimensional. Adhere 'leaves' to the stems. Tear designer paper along one edge and adhere to bottom of card over leaves, leaving just a bit peeking out above paper. Knot ribbon and adhere towards the top edge of designer paper.

Now... pick out some lucky person to receive your artwork, sign the card, pop into an envelope and mail it!

I have to tell you, the punches really make this card incredibly easy to make! If you know me, you know I am a punch-aholic... this card really shows why!

It's About Time!

2008-01-28T21:03:00.000-05:00

I started this blog a year and a half ago and you can see how much I've posted! Even worse... I never told anyone about it. I'm determined to put this to good use from here on out, posting at least once or twice a week. May this be the first of a long, lovely relationship! ;)

The card I'm posting today was made using two of the new Sale-A-Bration stamp sets - So Many Scallops and Lots of Thoughts. I was really good and only pre-ordered those two sets. And now I can hardly wait to put in a big order on Friday so I can earn the other sets and the rub-ons!

Take a peek at the SAB brochure - you can find the link over at the right side of the page. I'll be waiting right here when you call or email me with an order because you KNOW you can't resist those yummy sets! I can't!