Picture the Possibilities!

May is National Scrapbooking Month and to celebrate, Stampin' Up! is offering three incredible Scrapbooking Promotions - great prices and fun product!

• Buy 3, Get 1 Free on all Designer Series Paper or Textured Cardstock!
  
• Buy a sneak peek alphabet set, Jumble Alphabet, from the upcoming new catalog at 20% off the regular price ($35.16, instead of $43.95!)
• Scrapbooking Starter Kit,only $75 - Substitute any of the products for your choice - includes School Book Serif Alphabet, Earth Elements Textured Cardstock, Simply Scrappin' Petal Party and a Whisper White Craft pad, as well as all the business supplies contained in the regular Starter Kit.

** Be On the Look Out **

Also, BOLO (Be On the Look Out) for a Parade of Paper Blog Hop to showcase each of Stampin' Up!'s beautiful Designer Series Paper packs. On May 8th and continuing ONLY through that weekend, I am part of a group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators from Stampin Addicts who are hosting a virtual tour through our blogs. Each blog will showcase a different package of the fabulous Designer Series Papers from Stampin' Up! and will also link to another blog participating in the Parade of Paper Blog Hop. You may start at any post, stop and pick it back up later, or visit all of them in succession. You will eventually wind up back at the blog where you started.

Just like Cinderella at the ball, however, all the fun ends at midnight on Sunday, May 10th. The tour will be over and the blog links will be broken. So check back here on Friday, May 8th at 8:00 am when the Parade of Paper Blog Hop links go active and join in the fun by clicking the links to visit all of our blogs. We hope you will be inspired by all the creative projects and beautiful scrapbooking pages and cards.

NOTE: Some blogs may have additional contests or blog candy. Each will show off our expertise with one particular package of DSP, as well as give you a little taste of our personalities and our blogs. You can find all of us in the chat threads at Stampin' Addicts, a great site for demos and non-demos alike!

3x3 gift card

Here is the 3x3 card I made for a swap I'm in. This gift card size doesn't leave a lot of room for big images like the clock in Sense of Time, but I used the sentiment from this set to showcase some of the beautiful paper in the Walk In The Park DSP that is in the new Occasions Mini Catalog. Baja Breeze is one of my favorite In Colors from this catalog and I will be sad to see it go. When the new Idea Book & Catalog comes out July 1st, we will have an entire new collection of In Colors. Did you know that with the July 1st catalog, Stampin' Up! is returning to one-per-year catalogs?

Stamps: Sense of Time
Cardstock: Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Cameo Coral, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Gray
Accessories: Pink Pirouette Striped Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

Bind It All Notepads

Here are two little note pad covers I made for my demo friends who attended Regionals with me last weekend. I used this gorgeous Bella Birds Designer Series Paper from the 2009 Spring/Summer Idea Book & Catalog. This paper is just soft and so pretty with Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron and Bordering Blue.

I used the chipboard backing that comes in the packages of DSP, and cut it into two 5x7 pieces - one for the front and one for the back of this notepad cover.

TIP: Don't throw that chipboard piece away! It makes a great reinforcing piece for projects like this AND it can also be used with the Big Shot Machine with the steel dies.

I love that my Table Top Cutter slices right through even heavier weight material like this chipboard. I covered both sides of the two chipboard pieces with the Bella Birds DSP, cut to the same 5x7 size. For the front cover, I added some matted pieces of the Bella Birds DSP and the sentiment 'inspire' definition from Define Your Life. Then a coordinating ribbon tab tucked under the front panel to hold a pen.

For the inside of the note pad covers, I added a layer of cardstock to the back panel, adhered only on the very edges with Sticky Strip (strong!) adhesive. Then I tucked in this little 4x6 notepad into the pocket I created. When she uses up all the papers, she can pull it out and add a new notepad!

I bound it at the top with 6 rings from a Bind It All, which cuts the holes and then crimps the binding. Finally, I added a Scissor Charm to the binding. The charm is made from Shrink It plastic, which is a kids craft item. I stamped the circle frame from Frames with a Flourish onto the Shrink It plastic in StazOn Jet Black ink.

TIP: Only use StazOn ink on projects like this, using plastic or metal - Craft or Classic Inks will not dry or remain permanent on non porous materials.

I stamped a monogram letter inside the frame and punched it out with a 1 3/8" Circle Punch. I punched a ring hole with my CropADile. Finally, I used my paper piercer to hold the Shrink It circle onto my work table and heated it with my Heat Gun until it was done - this tiny little charm! I added a cell phone charm string to it and hope that it works as a great identifier for her scissors!

Stamps: Frames with a Flourish, Define Your Life, Lovely Letters Alphabet, Short Order Alphabet
Card stock: Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Bella Birds Designer Series Paper
Ink: Basic Black, StazOn Jet Black
Accessories: Pink Pirouette Ribbon, Chocolate Chip Ribbon, Ticket Corner Punch, BIA, Stampin' Dimensionals, Sticky Strip, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Cell Phone Jump Ring and Charm String

My Peep Gifts

My Secret Sister was Rhonda, who is The Stampin' Bunny. I saw these adorable bunny serving dishes at a store and couldn't resist them for her. That became the cornerstone of my gifts and from there, I worked with some hints she had mentioned here and there, including that she loves the color Baja Breeze. I packaged her gifts each in a Trader Joe paper bag and tied them off with a Top Note die cut tag out of some of the Delicate Dots Designer Series Paper and tied them off with some of the ribbon from Sale-A-Bration also. I used the Serif Essentials Bigz Dies to add the day name to each tag.

Day One: Covered Notepad - this easy peasy little cover uses two pieces of the chipboard from the DSP packages covered in Walk In The Park DSP. I created a pocket on the back inside piece by only using adhesive on three outside edges of the Kiwi Kiss card stock. This way a little notepad can be slid in and out and be replaced. For the cover, I made a little bunny out of several punches and added her name with the Natural Serif BS alphabet. The pen is a mini RSVP pen that has a hole in the lid, so I added a binder ring and attached it to the coils of the notepad cover. I used my Bind It All to add the coils to the front and back of the Cover.

Day Two: Real Red Striped Ribbon in an Origami Box. I used more of the Walk in the Park DSP to fold this Origami Box and Lid. For the inside, I Crimped and rolled narrow strips of the DSP around my Paper Piercer for filler. For the tag, I stamped the 'Friend' image from the A Little Somethin' Level II Stamp Set in Black Craft ink and then heat embossed with Clear Embossing Powder. I punched it out with the large Oval Punch and layered it on the tag with a large eyelet from the SoHo Designer Hardware.

Day Three: The Bunny dishes and Window Sheets. I cut a set of the Printed Window Sheets and placed them inside a Translucent Envelope. I used a strip of the Walk in the Park DSP for a belly band and finished it off with a badge using the A Little Somethin' stamp set - again with the Black Craft ink and Clear Embossing Powder.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! My kids had a fun morning already finding LOADS of Easter eggs inside and out and eating candy for breakfast!

I had a fun Easter morning with them and then settled down with my final Secret Sister gift and reveal. What a fun fun Secret Sister swap - I have loved the surprise of each day and was so excited to find out my Secret Sister's identity - CRISSY!

Thank you so much for the generous and beautiful gifts, Crissy - these gifts are ones that I've never made myself, and have loved receiving -the DVD tin and the Paper Bag Album especially!



Today's gift was this springy Paper Bag Album with a title that I love - Enjoy every moment! I've never made a paper bag album before, either, so it was especially fun to get one, especially one with so many beautiful details! Then I opened my card and found out that Crissy is who has been blessing me with fun surprises - Thanks again Crissy! I have loved every day!

Secret Sister Gifts Day 2

My Bunny is taking good care of me! Today was very fun to open the gifts and oohh and ahhh and SQUEAL! My gifts were packaged in this brown bag decorated again with a Raspberry Tart dsp cover and today is tied off with a piece of Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon.

Inside were these treats! A little gift bag of Tazo Black Tea and this DVD notebook/pen holder. The notebook is a pink lined pad with the binding wrapped in the coordinating pattern paper with a little pocket on one side and a matching pen lined with the paper and tied off with a piece of Kiwi Kiss ribbon. Inside the pocket of the DVD tin were these SO COOL die cut Baseball and Softball pieces! Those made me squeal! My hubby was impressed, too - he thought the die cuts were amazing.

Thank you Bunny! Can't wait to see what you put together for me for tomorrow and to finally find out your identity!

Secret Sister Gifts

I am in a Secret Sister Swap for Easter and it's so fun! (In fact, my kids are so excited about it, that I need to do something like it for them.) We went to many lengths to hide our identity, including mailing the packages from other states when we are traveling and giving 'tricky' clues as to our identity. When the secret sister package arrives, there are three gifts inside; one for each of the three days leading up to Easter. Each day we open a gift, labeled as 1, 2 or 3. On Easter Day, the final gift will reveal who our secret sister is.

Here are my three gifts - so pretty with this gorgeous DSP and spring colors. I love the way she labeled the gift bags and that embosslet flower - yummy! Theses little gift bags have been taunting me - on my front room table, whispering to me - 'open us' - 'we have goodies' - 'you want to see!' * hehe*

And here are my Day One goodies! oh, yay - my secret sister just spoiled me already - the stickles are 'baby blue' and cotton candy' and so sparkly and pretty! I can't wait to use them on a spring project, along with the matching Soft Subtles brads! They can inside this adorable little box with such pretty details - the scallop edge on the lid, the taffeta ribbon tie and another embosslet flower. And that little bag next to it is filled with candies! Chocolate Candies to be exact - Neopalitin eggs and dark chocolate Mounds - mmmm!

I am off to have a cup of coffee and some chocolate!

More Swaps (yes, really)

Here are my swap cards for Jami's Occasions Mini Swap - I used Sense of Time for both of them, but the second one is emphasis on the Walk In The Park Designer Series Paper - which I love love love!

The first card I wanted a masculine feel, instead of the springy style I've been playing with. My swap card is actually a little different than this - apparently I did not take a photo of my final version before mailing it off? The card base is Always Artichoke followed by a layer of Sahara Sand which is distressed with the Cutter Kit. Then I put a piece of Not Quite Navy partially into my Crimper and rolled it a few times. I inked the edges and the crimped lines direct-to-paper from my Not Quite Navy ink pad. On my *real* swap card, I added two Vintage Brads to the bottom and two to the left of the tag, on the Not Quite Navy layer.

The Sahara Sand tag uses a piece of Textured card stock. I stamped the clock image from Sense of Time in Sahara Sand ink just off the right edge of the tag. I used my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to stamp the sentiment from this stamp set in Not Quite Navy ink. Then a very thin strip of Always Artichoke is wrapped around the bottom of the tag and secured on the back. I used a Jumbo Eyelet and on my *real* swap card, I used a wide piece of Twill Tape, tied off with a piece of Chocolate Chip Taffeta ribbon. The wide Twill Tape made the card fairly bulky, but I like that stuff! I adhered the tag with several Stampin' Dimensionals.

For the inside of these cards, I stamped the clock image from Sense of Time repeatedly in Sahara Sand ink on a Sahara Sand card stock liner. Finally, I layered a few strips of the Not Quite Navy card stock and Chocolate Chip card stock. If we get our own card back (I don't remember) I'll take a picture of my *real* swap card and you can tell me which version you prefer!

Stamps: Sense of Time
Ink: Sahara Sand, Not Quite Navy
Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Sahara Sand, Not Quite Navy, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Jumbo Eyelets, Vintage Brads, Mat Pack, Crimper, Twill Tape, Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals



My second card is using these GORGEOUS pattern papers from Walk In The Park DSP, in the new Occasions Mini Catalog and the Sense of Time stamp set again.

I used a card base of Kiwi Kiss Textured card stock - I just love the little extra dimension that the textured card stock has - makes me want to touch it! The pattern paper I used is the same sheet, just the two different sides with the So Saffron print on the top and the Pink Pirouette print on the bottom of the card. I layered a piece of So Saffron card stock and a piece of the Baja Breeze pattern paper as an anchor. The Kiwi Kiss Striped Ribbon is knotted and tucked under the So Saffron strip. I edged the card front with paper piercing, using the Mat Pack.

I stamped the other sentiment from A Sense of Time in Basic Gray ink onto a strip of Whisper White card stock and layered it onto a mat of Kiwi Kiss, punched with the Ticket Corner Punch. This is adhered using Stampin' Dimensionals.


For the inside of this card, I used a Whisper White card stock liner and stamped the gears image in So Saffron ink. The corner accents are another pattern from the Walk In The Park dsp, punched with the Photo Corner Punch.

Stamps: Sense of Time
Ink: Basic Gray, So Saffron
Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss Textured, So Saffron, Whisper White, Walk in the Park DSP
Accessories: Ticket Corner Punch, Photo Corner Punch, Kiwi Kiss Striped Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mat Pack

Save $50 off Demo Starter Kit

Minneapolis Regionals was a lot of fun - we made several beautiful Make and Take Projects, watched many Stampin Demonstrations and Workshop Wow's and got some great ideas for our Stampin' Up! business. We also got to take part in a NEW promotion that Stampin' Up! offered only to the Minneapolis Regionals Attendees - they've never done anything like it before:

As an attendee of the Stampin' Up! Minneapolis Regional Seminar, I can offer you $50 off the Stampin' Up! Starter kit. Wowza! For only $149 (regularly $199), you can get started with your Stampin' Up! business.

You won't believe all the product that is included in the Demonstrator Starter Kit, especially at this price. Also, you get to customize your kit with the stamp sets and colors that you choose! Plus, if you sign up with me during this special, I'll add my own gift to you - your choice of a stamp set or tool from our catalog, priced at $30 or less! The Stampin' Up! quarter is just beginning, so you will have until September 30th to meet your quarterly minimums AND you'll have a chance to earn many additional FREE stamp sets from Stampin' Up! as you meet Stampin' Start goals and/or Consistency Counts goals! Contact me for the paperwork to get started on your business today!

This Demonstrator Sign Up Special ends April 20th - so act fast. (All paperwork must be completed manually and be received by Stampin' Up! by April 20th.)

Same Card, Different Set

If this card looks familiar, it's because you saw my Game Night card back in January. This is a layout and color combination that I love. I also love this new stamp set, Sense of Time, that is in the Occasions Mini Catalog right now. Both sentiments from this set really speak to me, but this one especially.

"An unhurried sense of time is in itself a form of wealth." Bonnie Friedman

I liked the imagery of a fractured clock with this sentiment, so I stamped the clock gears in the background in So Saffron ink on a piece of Whisper White card stock. Then I stamped the clock image over that in Basic Black ink. Finally, I punched out four corners of the image with my 1 1/4" Square Punch and adhered them to a piece of Basic Black Textured card stock using Stampin' Dimensionals. I stamped the sentiment in Basic Black ink onto the Whisper White card stock strip and layered it onto a very narrow mat of Basic Black card stock and then onto a wider mat of So Saffron card stock. I used my CropADile to add the Jumbo Eyelet and tied it off with a piece of Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon and adhere it to the Real Red card base.

For the inside of the card, I just added a Whisper White card stock liner with a strip of the So Saffron pattern paper from the Jackpot DSP.

Stamps: Sense of Time
Cardstock: Real Red, Basic Black Textured, So Saffron, Whisper White, Jackpot DSP
Ink: So Saffron, Basic Black
Accessories: Jumbo Eyelet, Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain, 1 1/4" Square Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

Mpls Regionals Swaps

Stampin' Up! has several regional one day events for the demonstrators and I am attending one this weekend in Minneapolis - whoo hootie! I'm excited to go as I've never attended a Stampin' Up! event - even though Convention was in Denver the year before last, I was racing back and forth from baseball fields to softball fields with both kids playing in tournaments.

In addition to all the stamping demonstrations and business ideas at Regionals, the demonstrators swap card fronts with each other. There are floor swaps - where we all swap with each other as we walk through the room or the hallway. There are also pre-organized swaps with groups of demonstrators who know each other or who have met online. For the organized swaps, there is usually a designated theme and also a planned meeting area either before or after the regional event to swap the cards and catch up with friends. I am doing some swaps for both the floor swaps and some organized group swaps.

This card is my floor swap card. It uses a stamp set, Sense of Time, from the new Occasions Mini Catalog and a few of the In Colors of this year - the dsp is a Baja Breeze pattern from the Occasions Mini Walk In the Park DSP. The ribbon is Pink Pirouette Striped Ribbon from the main catalog. I used Baja Breeze classic ink to stamp the clock image and then the sentiment from Sense of Time is stamped over the clock in Basic Gray classic ink. I liked the Basic Gray here because it's not quite as stark as Basic Black would be. I used a Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to put the sentiment exactly where I wanted it on the clock. I wrapped the Pink Pirouette Striped Ribbon around a narrow strip of Pink Pirouette card stock and secured it with a Rhinestone Brad, instead of just tying a knot. The card base is Cameo Coral, which coordinates with the Pink Pirouette and Baja Breeze, yet gives a little contrast.

Although for the swap cards I did only card fronts, for my card I finished the inside with a Whisper White liner over a mat of the Baja Breeze pattern paper from Walk In The Park DSP. I stamped the clock gears image in Pink Pirouette ink in the corner.

Stamps: Sense of Time
Cardstock: Whisper White, Cameo Coral, Pink Pirouette
Ink: Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette
Accessories: Pink Pirouette Striped Ribbon, Rhinestone Brads

Occasions Mini starts today!

The Occasions Mini Catalog starts today. This mini catalog is filled with beautiful spring stamp sets and some gorgeous paper and new accessories. The Occasions Mini Catalog is effective from now until June 30th and although some of the stamp sets may appear in the main catalog, most do not. This may be the only time they are available.

My favorite set from the Occasions Mini Catalog is called Sense of Time and I sneak peeked it last month on a card I shared here. Here is another card with the same stamp set, but only using the second sentiment stamp. I also used some of the beautiful Walk In the Park Designer Series Paper from the Occasions Mini Catalog. The colors in the Walk In the Park paper are Basic Gray, Cameo Coral, So Saffron and Baja Breeze - mmmm!

For this card I stamped the sentiment from Sense of Time in Basic Gray ink onto a narrow strip of Whisper White card stock. I used a Stamp-a-ma-jig to be sure it was perfectly straight on this narrow piece. I layered it onto a narrow mat of So Saffron card stock, which I had punched the corners with the Ticket Corner Punch. I love the layout of this card and you've seen it a few times on my blog with different sets and different colors - you'll see it again tomorrow on one of my Regionals swap cards, too. I used two pieces of the Walk In the Park DSP and layered them onto the Basic Gray card base. The ribbon is the So Saffron grosgrain ribbon from the Sale-A-Bration (FREE!) Ribbon Bundle. I wrapped it around another piece of the Walk In The Park DSP and secured it with a Baja Breeze Corduroy Button, a new accessory from the Mini Catalog, also available in Basic Gray. There are three different sized buttons in this Corduroy Button pack, including some with metal holes, these large buttons with brad backs and some smaller ones, also with brad prong backs. The sentiment piece is adhered using Stampin' Dimensionals.

For the inside of this card I layered another piece of the Walk In the Park DSP with a Whisper White card stock liner. Then I stamped the clock gears in Basic Gray ink. I stamped 'a note for you' from the Level I Hostess set called Sweet Little Sentiments.

Stamps: Sense of Time
Cardstock: Basic Gray, Whisper White, Walk in the Park DSP
Ink: Basic Gray
Accessories: Baja Breeze Corduroy Buttons, So Saffron Ribbon (retired), Ticket Corner Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals.