Fall/Winter Collection Sneak Peek!

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

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!

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

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?

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

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

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??