Nutz about Stamping

Double Pocket Tea Bag Holder

Tomorrow night my Anything but a Card Club meets to make three different 3D projects and here's one of them: a Double Pocket Tea Bag Holder!

I have made something like this before but it was much larger and I like this smaller version which uses only one 6x6 piece of designer series paper. Not only will I be showing my Anything but a Card Club how to make this cute project using the retiring Tea Shoppe stamp set, but I will also be making over 20 of them as gifts at the school I work at. 

Here are some more photos of this project:

 

 Want so see the card tucked into this pocket? Pop on over to my Facebook Business page tomorrow - I'll post it over there!

My Digital Studio: April Calendar

I am a calendar junkie. I could stand in a calendar store for hours on end and then leave with not one in hand - frustrating for anyone who shops with me. But I think I have found a cure for my addiction: My Digital Studio.

Now I can design my own wall and desktop calendars in the comfort of my own home and not only make one for me but several more to give as gifts to friends and family. My favorite My Digital Studio calendar is the desktop. Last year when I was designing my 2013 calendar I challenged myself to use only one stamp set and designer series paper in the program, rather than make each month a totally random design.

Here's my April calendar page:

If you want to see the previous month's page, to go to the far right hand side of this blog, look for the dropdown that says "Categories" and drop down to My Digital Studio. This will call up all the projects I have make using My Digital Studio and you can scroll back a few to see my March calendar page. 

Want to learn more about My Digital Studio and how to design your own 2014 calendars? Click here!

This and That Bundle

Yesterday my Stampin' Up! team of demonstrators met for our April team meeting and part of the meeting was a tag swap with a focus on creating tags that we could put into our This and That journals. 

I love my team swaps as each demonstrator has her own style and creativity and I am always delighted with the products. For my swap tag I decided to use some of the products in the This and That bundle as I will be using my tag in the bundle journal. And I used My Digital Studio to help me create a hybrid tag!

First, let me show you the tag:

Confession: I can't create a tag using paper and scissors. Try as I might, the top part of the tag just doesn't turn out so I used My Digital Studio! I used the tag punch image, resized it to be quite large, put four tags onto a page, colored them to be Crumb Cake and printed the page onto Very Vanilla cardstock that I ran through my printer.

I then added the designer series paper strip and brads to make my tag a pocket tag:

The rest of the products used added decorative elements and I am quite proud of the results!

Want to create this tag at home? First, you need to know that this is the final week to purchase the This and That bundle #133350. On April 30th, the This and That promotion will end and these products won't be available until the new Annual Catalog goes live on June 1st. 

And if you want to explore hybrid paper crafting you can now purchase My Digital Studio for only $19.95! Purchase My Digital Studio from me and I will provide you six FREE video tutorials to help you learn how to get started. Click here to go directly to my Online Store to purchase all your Stampin' Up! wish list items. 

**I'll post some of the tags in my swap over on my Facebook Business page. Click here to take a look. 

Introducing: Dapper Dad Father's Day Class

I guess I was always a Daddy's girl because even though my Dad passed away a few years ago I continue to hold a Father's Day Class in his honor. This year is no exception and you have two class options to choose from!

Have you seen that super cute Dapper Dad stamp set in the Spring Catalog? Well I have built an entire class around this set:

 

Dapper Dad Father's Day Class

Date: Saturday, May 25
Time: 10:00 AM
Cost: $25  - includes the stamp set!

Deadline to register with payment: May 10th (so your stamp set will arrive in time)

Option One: Attend this class to make a set of amazing photo frame inserts for a Father's Day photo frame for your Dad, along with a matching card, using the super cute Dapper Dad stamp set. Class includes all supplies needed - including the stamp set! 

Option Two: Attend this class to make a set of four masculine cards with envelopes using the Dapper Dad stamp set. Class includes all supplies needed - including the stamp set!

Choose Class Option

Class with Frame Inserts $25.00 USD Class with Cards only $25.00 USD

This and That Bundle

Today is the final day of FREE SHIPPING from Stampin' Up! and I so I decided to highlight a brand new product that I love: This and That Bundle!

Your life is: Awesome. Quirky. Exciting. Perfectly messy. And happening really fast. So we're happy to introduce our newest product line that lets you capture it all on-the-go. This and That will debut in the 2013-2014 annual catalog, but we're giving you and everybody else the chance to get it now.

What's in this amazing Epic Day bundle? Take a look:

• Epic Day Journal
• Epic Day Stickers
• Epic Day designer series paper 
• Rotary Stamp
• Washi Tape - three rolls!

So let's take a look at three pages I created this past weekend:

See why I featured This and That on the final day of FREE SHIPPING? Don't miss out on participating in my Mystery Hostess event - click here to learn all about it!

And don't forget I am holding a "You're SMASH-ing" class on April 20th to help you get started on your Epic Day journal! Check out the details here. 

Happy St Patrick's Day (yesterday)!

Happy St. Patrick's Day yesterday to all my Irish friends out there in the stamping world. I didn't want you to think I had forgotten about you but I couldn't miss out on my Sundays with Sizzix post either. 

I thought I would share an Irish Soda Bread recipe from the Barefoot Contess on the Food Network website. Have some fun today making the Soda Bread and then give it away as a gift to a neighbor or friend!

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for currants
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 3/4 cups cold buttermilk, shaken
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 cup dried currants
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is mixed into the flour.

With a fork, lightly beat the buttermilk, egg, and orange zest together in a measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Combine the currants with 1 tablespoon of flour and mix into the dough. It will be very wet.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and knead it a few times into a round loaf. Place the loaf on the prepared sheet pan and lightly cut an X into the top of the bread with a serrated knife. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. When you tap the loaf, it will have a hollow sound.

Cool on a baking rack. And while it cools, you can make a fun card to go with your gift bread!

And check out these super cute cupcakes that Pam (one of my downline) made - think of all the cupcake toppers you can make using Stampin' Up! products!

I just LOVE creative people - especially ones that are great bakers too! YUM!

St Patrick's Day, the My Digital Studio Way

I realized this week that I didn't have one St. Patrick's Day stamp set (gasp!) but I wanted to make a special blog post for my Irish friends so decided to show you St Patrick's Day, the My Digital Studio Way!

Have you seen the download called Lucky?

I used this stamp set to create a fun, frameable wall art insert for a frame I had lying around empty. Here's the download I created:

And here's my creation in its frame:

If you haven't given My Digital Studio a try you really should! You can try a free 30-day download and receive FREE training tutorials I developed to help you get started. I even offer a My Digital Studio Virtual Club: check out more information here!

Anything but a Card Club

My Anything But a Card Club meets tonight and I have three super fun projects for them to create. You know that I love to stamp and scrapbook but there is something about using those very same products to make something completely different that really appeals to me. And when my customers asked to get this club up and running again after a two year break I jumped at the chance.

Have you seen the Happy Hello Simply Sent Card Kit in the Sale-a-bration catalog? This product is FREE with a $50 order: 

With this kit you get 8 printed cards with envelopes, 24 Daffodil Delight flower stickers, 8 Basic Gray sticker strips, 8 pieces Basic Gray Baker's Twine and 8 Rhinestone Jewels.

Cool kit, right? 

Well look what else you can make with this kit:

My Anything but a Card Club members will make this super cute box using one of the cards in the kit! Want to learn how? Better join my club! Contact me at: terri@nutzaboutstamping.com for all the club details.

And you can get the Happy Hello Simply Sent Card Kit for FREE just by placing a $50 product order here at my Online Store. 

Get Well Soon Gift

I have such a fun idea to share with you today! Another Stampin' Up! demonstrator shared this Get Well Soon Gift idea a few weeks back and after I changed it up quite a bit I loved my version so much I decided that my Anything but a Card Club members would make one at their January meeting. 

Here's my gift idea:

Is that not the cutest idea for the Owl Builder punch!?! Actually now that I think about it, I used several different punches here: Owl Builder, 2 3/8" circle punch, Scallop Edge Border punch, Modern Label punch and the Word Window punch. 

Now did you think this Get Well Soon Gift idea was a card? Nope, not even close! Here's a side view:

 

Yes, it's a tissue holder! I happened to find a multi-pack of these purse-sized tissue packets at my local pharmacy store and just love the bright polka dot pattern on each packet. 

If you live in the Raleigh NC area and have some friends interested in creating 3D gift ideas too, contact me for my Anything but a Card Club information. You can meet monthly or every second month, whichever works best for you!

Valentine Framed

I recently saw a Valentine Framed that someone had made using a piece of white copy paper and a black pen. It was super cute especially after she framed it. I kept thinking about this idea and a few days later it hit me: I could make a similar idea using My Digital Studio!

And so I did:

 

I decided to use a white background for my Heart frame and so here it looks kind of funny. But think about this: this design printed on Whisper White card stock, layered on Basic Black and popped into an inexpensive frame. What a GREAT gift idea for Valentine's Day! It expresses emotion, shows someone how much you care and is a minimal cost. 

Here's what the above My Digital Studio project looks like framed and up on a shelf I have outside my Stampin' Spot:

 

My Digital Studio is an amazing digital paper crafting program that you can use to express your creativity, whether with cards, scrapbook pages, frames, calendars and much more. Did you know you can try My Digital Studio for a 30-day FREE trial? Click here to access your free trial. 

And watch my blog for a special My Digital Studio announcement, coming soon.....

Valentine's Pocket

Valentine's Day is next week so this is the time to get some gifts made - like this cute Valentine's Pocket!

Hearts a Flutter Valentine's Pocket

Stamp set: Hearts a Flutter

Ink: Rose Red, Tangerine Tango

Paper: Whisper White, Rose Red, Tangerine Tango, Floral District designer series paper

Accessories: Big Shot, Hearts a Flutter Framelits, Stampin' Dimensionals, Scallop Trim Border punch, Snail Adhesive

Other: Hot Chocolate packet

Now don't get stuck in the Valentine's theme here. Use the pocket idea as a jumping off point for all sorts of other themes and occasions. Change the size of the pocket to match whatever you want to slide inside - you could even tuck  a 3x3 notecard inside the pocket to add a special note to the person getting your cute pocket gift.

To place an order for the supplies used to make this pocket, click here to go directly to my Online Store OR email me at terri@nutzaboutstamping.com for ordering support. And remember: all product order over $50 also qualify for one FREE Sale-a-bration choice!

Anything but a Card Club

Tonight my Anything but a Card Club meets to make three different 3-D project ideas. This group loves to make cards and scrapbook pages too but asked me to create this unique club idea to learn how to projects other than cards and pages and to show them how to get more mileage from their Stampin' Up! products.

And I jumped on the idea because I, too, love to make 3D projects to give as gifts to my friends, family, Stampin' Up! team and colleagues at work! 

Our January club theme is Valentine's Day and here is one of the projects they will make, using the Hearts a Flutter stamp set and corresponding framelits (you can save 15% on the Hearts a Flutter bundle!):

This project theme can easily be changed out for a variety of occassions, such as baby shower favors, Halloween, Christmas, Easter and much more! Change the stamp set and colors to match any project idea you want to create. Grab our 1 x 8" Cello bags, pop in your favorite candy and create a topper to suit your theme. For this project I used the Delightful Dozen stamp set for the oval phrase, a scrap Red Glimmer paper heart and some Cherry Cobbler scallop dots ribbon strip. 

To order the products we used to make this fun Valentine's Day treat, click here to go directly to my Online Store or contact me at terri@nutzaboutstamping.com for ordering support.  

 

More Roommate Gifts!

Today I want to share with you two Roommate Gifts I received at Stampin' Up!s Leadership conference this past weekend. And it's kind of funny but, unknown to them, these two gifts pair very well!

Ruth created the beautiful bag tag with my initial on it, using the Lovely Letters stamp set. And the bag was a gift from Becky. Now Becky doesn't sew but she knows someone who does and asked her to use this super cute Stampin' Up! Summer Smooches fabric to make a different bag for each of her Leadership roomies!

Can you see why I love to attend Stampin' Up! events? If you love to travel, meet new friends and have a lot of stamping and paper crafting fun, why not join my Stampin' Up! team and travel with us this summer to Stampin' Up!s 25th Anniversary celebration in Salt Lake City, Utah from July 18-21!

I'll be there with my team, so join Stampin' Up! and come along!

(Want to see more fabric bag ideas? Check out my Facebook Business page tomorrow!)

My Little Valentine Promotion

Announcing a brand new promotion to help you be ready for Valentine's Day!

From January 3 through January 21, Stampin’ Up!’s got two super special valentine offers sure to set your heart aflutter! 

1. Get the Sealed with Love Simply Sent Kit FREE—$7.95 US—when you buy the brand-new My Little Valentine Stamp Set (seen on the left side of the photo)! This four-piece stamp set, created exclusively for this promotion, contains the perfect sentiments to express your feelings for your children, spouse, girlfriends, or mail carrier!

Item	Description	Price
132242	My Little Valentine (English; clear-mount)	$9.95
132245	Enamorados (Spanish; clear-mount)	$9.95
132248	Mon petit amour (French; clear-mount)	$9.95

Sealed with Love Simply Sent Kit

2. Purchase the Valentine Treat Bundle—complete with the brand-new Happy Valentine Heart Single Stamp and the cutest little treat bags ideal for all of your precious valentines. Even better, the brand-new Happy Valentine Heart stamp coordinates perfectly with our Full Heart Punch for fast and easy creating.* 

Bundle Item	Description	Retail Value	Special Bundle Price
132771	Valentine Treat Bundle Includes the Happy Valentine Heart Single Stamp (clear-mount) and 1" x 8" cellophane bags	$7.45	$5.95

*Full Heart Punch not included in bundle

Both of these offers—and the exclusive stamps—are only available through January 21, so contact me today to take advantage of these limited-time offers or click here to place your order in my Online Store. 

 

 

A Box of Gift Cards Gift Idea

I love surprises and received such a nice one this week. One of my downline (someone who joined Stampin' Up! under me) texted me a couple of days ago to let me know she had dropped a present off on my doorstep. When I got home from Chistmas shopping (yes, I am a last minute girl) I took a look on my porch and yes, there was a bag there.

And here's what I found inside!

Nicole had taken the time to make this beautiful little  Box of Gift Cards (with envelopes) that I could use on my presents this year! Isn't this just gorgeous? She even made the bow using Stampin' Up! designer series paper. 

And then I thought to myself - this is such a super idea I am going to turn it into a class for you! Add a comment under this blog post if you live local to the Raleigh, NC area and would like to attend a class showing you how to make a box of gift cards (think birthday!) to give as a gift to someone special or to keep for yourself to use during the coming year. (You can also add a comment if you live in the US and would like this as an Online class and if I get enough people responding I will make it happen.)

Thanks Nicole - you made my day!