Nutz about Stamping

Flirtatious Notepad & Pen

This past Saturday there was a large package inside my mailbox - how exciting to see it was from Connie, one of my Stampin' Up! uplines. The package contained a lot of very nice surprises, one of which was this Flirtatious Notepad & Pen:

Isn't that cute? Inside the Flirtatious designer series paper cover is a lined notepad - wouldn't that make a nice gift for someone special? 

One of the reasons I love being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is to show you how to make fun gifts like this one. A lot of people who have heard about Stampin' Up! think the company sells products to make cards and scrapbook pages. They don't realize you can use the same products to make 3D gifts as well. 

If you and your friends would like to host an "Anything but a Card" workshop or monthly club I can make that happen. If you live local to Raleigh, NC you can come on over to my Stampin' Spot for your workshop or meeting. If you live long distance we can do a long distance club. I will make video tutorials to show you and your friends how to create cool projects like the one above and you will still earn the hostess benefits. Contact me at [email protected] to learn more!

Sundays with Sizzix: Mocha Morning Greeting Card

Today I am going to show you a different card using your left-over pieces of Mocha Morning designer series paper, Big Shot, Adorning Accents Edgelits, and Designer Frames textured impressions embossing folders!

 

Mocha Morning Greeting Card

Stamp set: Tea Shoppe #125547

Markers: Crumb Cake, Basic Black

Paper: Mocha Morning designer series paper #122336 (4 1/4 x 2 1/2), Whisper White (2 x 1 3/8"), Basic Black (one piece 2 1/2 x 2; two pieces (1 1/2 x 4 1/4")

Accessories: Big Shot, Platform, Standard Cutting pads, Adorning Accents Edgelits #125595, and Designer Frames textured impressions embossing folders #123130, Paper Snips, Snail Adhesive, Clear Block C

And now for the video tutorial. Enjoy!

 

The Occasions Mini Catalog retires tomorrow night at midnight - are there products that you will be sad not to have in your stamping room? If so, remember to place your order either in my Online Store or you can email me for help ([email protected]). 

Spring Fever

A few blog posts ago I showed you a Matchbook project I made using the Spring Fever Simply Scrappin' Kit. I learned how to make the Matchbook from a monthly magazine (filled with ideas!) Stampin' Up! mails to their demonstrators each month. 

I demonstrated this project at Kristy's scrapbook party last week and her guests responded so well that I decided to make some additional Matchbooks to give to my office friends for Adminstrative Professionals Day. 

Here are two additional ideas for you to create at home:

 

And of course I need to create some cards to give along with my gifts and did so using the same Kit!

Remember that the Spring Fever Simply Scrappin' Kit and all other products in the Occasions Mini catalog retire in three days! If you have some of those products on your wish list you had better order them today. Click here to go directly to my Online Store or email me at: [email protected] and I am happy to help!

Team Shoebox Swap, part 2

A couple of days ago I shared one of my Team Shoebox Swaps - and it was actually a box, hehe! Do you know why it is called a Shoebox Swap? Each team member participating in the swap brings a card sample and enough supplies for everyone to make her card. All the supplies are brought in a box, usually a shoebox - hence the term "Shoebox Swap".

Here's the card that Vicki brought for us to make:

This Mother's Day card was created using the Bright Blossoms stamp set and Summer Smooches designer series paper which are both part of the April promotion. Vicki demonstrated a technique I hadn't tried before to show us how to bump this cute card up another creative notch. If you are in my Techniques Club I can't wait to show you this cool technique!

If you love the Summer Smooches promotion I urge you to place your order in my Online Store soon. I am sorry but the Summer Smooches Fabric Brads are already sold out but as of today the other products are still available for ordering. 

If you have questions or need support in placing your order, please email me at: [email protected]

Ronald McDonald House

Monday night of this past week was my time to stamp with the families at Ronald McDonald House in Chapel Hill. I decided to use Turtle & Company which is the Idea Book & Catalog stamp set to support this very worthwhile charity. 

There are four of us who regularly stamp at the house each month and I wish I could express in words how much appreciation the families have after they sit with us and stamp. Interestingly, when we sign up at the house we do so under a special guest tab: Therapeutic. And if I have to be honest (and I always am!) I am not sure who gets the most benefit from our time at the house - me or the families. 

Here's the card I decided the families would stamp:

On May 5th RM Houses of NC are having a simple fundraiser: they are selling t-shirts for $10 to support families who cannot afford the nightly rate to stay at the house. The campaign is called: Sport a Shirt, Share a Night. I bought a shirt and plan to wear it on May 5th to show my support.

Why am I telling you about this? Please check to see if there is a RM House in your area. If you can't volunteer your time to help, you can always drop off cards and envelopes for the families to use or walk in to a NC house and buy a t-shirt to support their campaign. You can even take a meal and drop it off or books, toys, movies - there are LOTS of ways to help. All you have to do is ask. 

Want one more idea? Purchase the Turtle & Company stamp set before it retires on May 31st. With every Turtle & Company stamp set sold, Stampin' Up! will donate $3 to RMHC. Make an investment in the RMHC stamp set in every catalog and tell all your friends and family members so they, too will, support RMHC in the US. Let's all make a difference in the lives of others!

 

Announcing: Retiring Accessories!

Get them before they are gone! The retired accessories and Definitely Decorative (including Décor Elements) lists are now available and won't stay around for long--these items are only available while supplies last!

Now when you download and have a look at this list, don't panic when you see the Classic Stamp Pads on there. We are NOT retiring the Classic colors....there is a style coming for those colors. I can't divulge more until the new catalog comes out!

Dates: April 15-May 31, 2012 (select items available while supplies last)

Details
Hundreds of stamps and accessories from the 2011-2012 catalogs are retiring, and this is your chance to get them before they're gone. Many products are only available while supplies last, so be sure to get your orders in early!

Ready to see what's retiring? CLICK HERE

And for those of you who have been telling me for years that you wish retiring accessories would be at a discounted price, Stampin' Up! has heard your pleas. Yippee!

The best way to get those retiring accessories before they fly off the shelves is to go directly to my Online Store to place your order. Or email your order to me at [email protected] - I am standing by to place your order as soon as I receive your email. 

 

Team Shoebox Swap

This past weekend I held my April team meeting and part of the meeting was a team Shoebox Swap. One team member demonstrated a really cool technique that I plan on sharing with my Raleigh Techniques Club. Another team member demonstrated how to use the Simply Scored Diagonal Plate to make this really cute 3x3 card box:

If I had seen this box before Pam's demonstration I would have thought that it would be quite difficult to make. But Pam made it super easy by creating four score lines and using one of our Square punches.

The photo above shows the front of the box. We used the Bright Blossoms stamp set and matching buttons. The back of the box has a punched flower and brad - the box lid tucks under this element to stay closed. 

Don't forget the Bright Blossoms stamp set is part of the April Summer Smooches promotion which ends April 30th. 

Would you like to learn how to make this cute 3x3 card box? Contact me to book your Stampin' Up! party and I would be happy to how you and your friends how. You can have a look at my open dates here. 

Card Map Challenge

This weekend I spotted a Card Map Challenge on a demonstrator-only site and thought I would give it a try. I had bits and pieces of the Mocha Morning Specialty designer series paper and wanted to use some of it before it retires at the end of May (yikes!).

Here's the card map:

Doesn't this map make you think of a column of designer series paper? You could make several different cards using up lots of left over designer series paper scraps and each card would look completely different. 

Here's the card I created:

I used Sincere Salutations as the stamp set which is retiring May 31st. And the Mocha Morning designer series paper works beautifully with the black layer underneath, doesn't hit? Quite a striking card that is Clean & Simple in design.

Now it's your turn. Clean out some of your left over designer series paper and use this card map to create two completely different card ideas. (You'll be glad you did!)

Sundays with Sizzix: Mocha Morning Wedding Card

This is the time of year to have a bunch of wedding cards and gift cards set aside for all those Spring Occasions. If you haven't seen the Mocha Morning specialty designer series paper on page 183 of the Idea Book & Catalog then I highly recommend you take a close look - it is perfect for those formal cards and masculine cards too. 

I took a flocked piece of Mocha Morning paper and created this wedding gift card:

 Mocha Morning Wedding Card

Stamp set: Oval All #113790

Ink: Jet Black StazOn

Paper: Crumb Cake (6 x 3), Basic Black (3 1/4 x 3), Very Vanilla (2 1/4 x 2 1/2; scrap for punching), Mocha Morning specialty designer series paper # #122366 (2 3/4 square)

Accessories: Large Oval punch, Big Shot, Platform, Standard Cutting pads, Labels Collection Framelits #125598, Stampin' Dimensionals, Crumb Cake Seam Binding (8" piece), Paper Snips

And now for the video tutorial - enjoy!

 

If you want to place an order for any of the products retiring at the end of April (Occasions Mini & Summer Smooches) click here to go directly to my Online Store or email me at: [email protected] and I will be happy to place your order for you.

Happy stampin'!

Digital Scrapbook Map

I belong to a yahoogroup just for Stampin' Up! demonstrators. The mission of this group is to support each other with business and creative ideas and we meet up at Stampin' Up! events in the US and Canada to swap cards and get better acquainted. 

One part of this fun group is the challenges. Some of the members take on leadership roles and send out email challenges and I think by now you know that I love a good map challenge!

This week the Scrapbook Map challenge caught my eye:

I decided to take a few digital photos I had stored away and use the above map to create this My Digital Studio scrapbook page highlighting a super fun trip I took last fall to Hershey, PA:

This map is super simple but also provided me with a chance to think about adding subtle details to the page for added interest. I chose an image from the Sweet Details brush stamp set.

The Sweet Details set is part of a FREE My Digital Studio Express 30-day trial download for those of you who want to try digital paper crafting before you buy! If you want to explore the digital crafting world, here's what you do:

- Go to my Online Store and look for the My Digital Studio Express icon

- Click on that icon to download My Digital Studio Express to your computer

- I will get a notice that you have downloaded the 30-day trial and will send you an email that has a training link

- Click on the link to subscribe to my eleven FREE video tutorials teaching you how to use My Digital Studio

- After you watch each video practice the lesson elements while you wait for the next video link to arrive by email! 

When your 30-day trial is over you decide whether or not you want to purchase My Digital Studio Express and add digital crafting to your crafting bag of tricks. 

Have questions? Please ask!

How to Make Your Paper Crafting Less Taxing!

Whew, tax day is over and we are all reeling from the paperwork and details. And if you are like me you have decided next year will be different!

Did you know you can make paper crafting less taxing as well? One of the ways to do so is to get your paper crafting supplies better organized. Over the next few weeks I will be sharing how I orgaznize my supplies and inviting you to share your organization tips too (we can all learn from each other, right?).

One of the best things I did to help keep me organized was to develop a way to organize my punches. In the past I had my punches piled up in several drawers and as I added a new punch to my collection each month I soon outgrew my drawers and became very dissastified with digging around through those drawers each time I wanted to use a punch.

So here's my new way I organize my punches:

First, I have several styles of older "whale tail" punches and so have them organized like this, using two different wall racks:

This one I bought at Target in the kitchen section:

I also bought a magnet "knife" bar for my hand-held punches and now never have to dig for those as well!

Here's a different wall mount system I bought at Ikea - I also purchased the hanging basket there too and it contains my Anywhere Glue Sticks, Sticky Strip, and boxes of Mini Glue Dots (behind the Sticky Strip):

Here's how I decided to organize the new style of Stampin' Up! punches, using tubs that I store on top of a low bookshelf in my Stampin' Spot:

I love how these stand on end and have the image on top for easy viewing!

How have you decided to organize your Stampin' Up! punches? Let's share with each other so we can all find a way to make paper crafting less taxing!

April Customer Card Swap

My March Customer Card Swap was such a success that I am hosting an April Customer Card Swap too!

What is a card swap you ask? Well, it's just like what Stampin' Up! demonstrators do at all the major Stampin' Up! events: we take cards we have created and swap them for cards that other demonstrators have made - a GREAT way to see a variety of styles and ideas using sets and accessories you may not own yet. 

Card Swap Details:

1. Sign up for my card swap! Deadline to sign up: April 20th (tomorrow!)

2. Design an original full card (5 1/2 x 4 1/4") using only Stampin' Up! current catalog products. (Idea Book & Catalog products only as the Occasions Mini retires at the end of April)

3. Create copies of your card (no more than 10 cards) and mail them to me. In your card package also include a self-addressed return envelope, complete with stamps. Once the sign-up deadline passes I will email the number participating.

4. Watch your mailbox! In a few weeks you will receive a package with cards from my other customers who also participated!

 

Card Swap Rules:

- Please do not copy a card you have seen online and has been designed by someone else

- Have at least one layer on your card front

- Have at least one embellishment - ribbon, brad, jewel, pearl, etc. 

- Create your cards and mail to me by the arrival deadline: April 27th. Any swaps received after April 27th will be returned to you. 

Ready to give it a try? Email me at: [email protected] no later than April 20th!

Spring Fever Project

Stampin' Up! offers amazing support to all their demonstrators and in a variety of ways. Each month we receive a magazine called Stampin' Success. Recently Stampin' Up! changed the format, size and contents and although I enjoyed getting the magazine in the past, now I can't wait for it to arrive each month. 

Last Friday the May issue arrived with all sorts of juicy announcements about the new Catalog - sorry I am sworn to secrecy for now. But one of the articles was how to make this really neat project and this past weekend I made time to give it a try.

I had some leftover Spring Fever Simply Scrappin' Kit designer series paper and self-adhesive die-cuts and so got them out to create this:

Do you know what this project it? It's not a scrapbook or a card. If you are one of Kristy's party guests this weekend you will not only learn what this is but also how to make it too!

Why not book your own Stampin' Up! party? You and I will plan a fun event together and your guests will create two fun projects to take home with them.

And finally, the Spring Fever Simply Scrappin' Kit is only available through April 30th. I have several photos of scrapbook pages that I created using this kit and am happy to share them with you if you purchase a kit from me! Contact me at [email protected] for more information.

Happy paper crafting!

My Digital Studio Express

I really enjoy digital paper crafting and wish I had time to play with My Digital Studio on a regular basis. When Stampin' Up! announced that you can download My Digital Studio Express (the "mini-me" version) for a free 30-day trail, I knew that I had to get in gear and provide support for you. 

One product that comes with My Digital Studio Express is the Sweet Details Photobook so I decided to create a page using the photobook to share with you here. Last fall I earned an all expenses paid trip to PA with some other demonstrators and I had some fun photos from my trip. Here's just one of the pages in my photobook:

The Sweet Details photobook is a template and you can just add your photos on each page layout or after adding photos you can add more sweet details (pun intended!). I added some embellishments and a few more dotted circles in the background and then journaling to explain my photos. 

Have you thought of trying digital paper crafting and would prefer to try before you buy? I can make that happen!

Click here to go to my Online Store and download My Digital Express for free. Once I get a notice that you have done so I am going to send you an email offering you a FREE set of video tutorials to teach you how to use My Digital Studio Express. When you subscribe to my free videos all you have to do is sit back and watch your email Inbox. Every three days or so an email will arrive linking you to a new My Digital Studio Express video. After watching my video you can practice each lesson while you wait for your next email to arrive. 

Happy digitizing!

Raleigh Techniques Club

 This past weekend my Raleigh Techniques Club members had their April meeting. Our lovely hostess, Maura, made a request to create a card that uses a butterfly. I am all for that because I, too, love butterflies - have you seen my newsletter logo?

So I had a blast creating three completely different card ideas and also thinking about techniques that I could also feature. 

Here's one of the projects the club created, using the Beautiful Butterflies BIGZ die to feature the emboss resist technique:

To add some delicate interest on this card I also used the Lace Ribbon Border punch, and Calypso Coral Ruffled ribbon and Old Olive Taffeta ribbons. The phrase comes from the Curly Cute stamp set and the image on the Butterfly comes from Baroque Motifs. 

Would you like to learn stamping techniques? If you live in the Raleigh NC area I am happy to show you and your friends this super cool technique. All you have to do is ask! (email me at [email protected])