Christmas Trimmings

A Christmas card in August - I love making Christmas cards, so I don't mind stamping them any time of the year! This card uses Stampin' Up! Merry Moments Designer Series Paper, Holiday Best stamp set one of the new Hostess ones, and Tree Trimmings - new Christmas set.

The layout is from today Mojo Monday sketch, which I followed pretty closely. I embossed all the images and sentiments with Craft Inks and Clear Embossing Powder. Then I cut out the large Chocolate ornament and adhered it with dimensionals. The Vanilla Half Back Pearls from the Pretties Kit are adhered with Glue dots on the ornament as well as to the left of card.

{Inside}
Recipe:
Stamps: Tree Trimmings, Holiday Best, Lovely as a Tree, Many Merry Messages
Cardstock: Real Red Textured, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Merry Moments DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip Craft, Real Red Craft, Old Olive Craft
Accessories: Chocolate Chip 5/8" Grosgrain, Clear Embossing Powder, Pretties Kit, Photo Corner Punch, Designer Label Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Coluzzle

Curry Medallion

The Stampin' Up! Medallion stamp is currently the number one selling stamp in the Idea Book & Catalog and I know why - it's beautiful and elegant and huge and so easy to create with! This particular card is one that I included as a Thank You, in each of my Stampin' Up! customer orders this month.

I stamped the Medallion in Crushed Curry ink onto the Textured Very Vanilla card stock. I used the Eyelet Border punch along the bottom edge and then added a strip of Crushed Curry cardstock and an even narrow strip of Basic Gray cardstock to the inside. I used one of the sentiments from the Thank You Kindly stamp set, stamped in Basic Gray along the front edge.

If you love this card, you will truly love how fast and easy it is to make. This curry Medallion card is one of the cards we will be making at my Workshops in September. Book a workshop with me and we'll have your friends creating this and another beautiful card. It's a lot of fun to share the magic of rubber stamps AND in September there is also a great BONUS Hostess Promotion!



{Inside}

Recipe:
Stamps: Medallion, Thank You Kindly
Cardstock: Very Vanilla Textured, Crushed Curry, Basic Gray
Ink: Basic Gray, Crushed Curry
Accessories: Eyelet Border Punch

Gift Set of Cards

How about this little boxed set of cards? I am loving on the Stampin' Up! In Colors this year - right now Melon Mambo and Crushed Curry have my attention. I especially love that Stampin' Up! has this beautiful Polka Dot Ribbon in the In Colors this year.

I included three each of the following cards in this box, as well as three of these Manhattan Flower cards and three of the Curry Medallion cards that you will see on my blog tomorrow. I stamped the envelopes to match and layered them in this box with the Window Sheet on the lid to give a sneak peek. Sure hope the recipient enjoys them!

Friends Rock - a challenge card

I made this card using one of the Mojo Monday sketches from last week. They celebrated 100 sketches with daily sketches for a week. I used the new Stampin' Up! set Friends Rock! The color combination is from the Stampin' Addicts Color Challenge of Dusty Durango, More Mustard, and Pumpkin Pie.

I stamped the guitar and heart image from the Friends Rock set in StazOn Jet Black ink onto 1/2 sheet of Watercolor Paper. The Hey Friend sentiment from the same set is stamped in Dusty Durango ink. I used an AquaPainter to blend the ink in the sentiment and the In Color Markers and an AquaPainter to color the other images.

I outlined the scallops with a Chocolate Chip marker. The Corner Rounder was used on two of the corners of the card base to mimic the curves of the Scallop Edge Punch. A few Vintage Brads and a piece of Dusty Durango Polka Dot Ribbon finished the bottom.


{Inside}

Recipe:
Stamps: Friends Rock
Cardstock: Dusty Durango, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Watercolor Paper, Very Vanilla
Ink: Dusty Durango, StazOn Jet Black, assorted markers
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, Vintage Brads, Dusty Durango Polka Dot Ribbon

Technique Club

Oh, you are going to WANT this! I have just a couple of spots left in my new Technique Club - this is a great opportunity to add to your stamp stash, receive Hostess Benefits without cleaning your house or inviting friends, learn new stampin' Techniques and have a monthly girls' night out! Oh, and did I mention FREE stamping!?

Each month, for 6 months, we'll meet at my house and do a Stamp Camp style evening, without the Stamp Camp Fee. There will be a Technique Card with instructions, and two other cards or projects, different than the Stamp Camp cards each month. Each Club Member will place a minimum $25 order for 6 months and we will rotate the Hostess Benefits. As a Hostess, you will receive at least $15 free merchandise of your choice and a Level I Hostess set. However, you can increase your workshop sales by inviting friends to the Technique Club night, by getting outside orders or by hosting a workshop in your home during your Hostess Month. Following are the details - please call or e-mail me (button to the right) if you have any questions.

Technique Club

• $25 minimum order each month (before shipping and tax.) 6 month commitment
• FREE monthly stamp class at my house - 3 projects and a Technique Card each month - these will be different than the monthly Stamp Camp projects.
• Rotating Hostess benefits - minimum $15 free product and Level I set - may be more!
• Hostesses of the month brings snacks and receives all workshop benefits. Lottery draw for your Hostess month.
• Always welcome to bring a guest - $25 order or $15 fee.
• If cannot attend Club Night, must submit order to me before Club meeting via phone or e-mail.
• Meet on Monday evening after the second Friday of the following months - Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb.
• Voluntary Swap group with other club members.

One Layer

This is a card I made for a One Layer Swap that my Convention Buddy, Pammy, took and swapped for me at the Stampin' Up! Convention in Salt Lake City a few weeks ago. (Thank you Pammy!)

The swap rules were a single layer (no matting, extra layers of cardstock) and include an embellishment. I used the citrus slice stamp from the Tart and Tangy stamp set in these bright, summery colors - YoYo Yellow, Only Orange, Gable Green. These aren't colors I use too often, but I do love them on this card. I stamped them and then used a template I created from scratch paper to doodle the borders around each slice of lemon/orange/lime. I used the Stampin' Up! Basic Black Journaler and then added an inside doodle and some extra stitches to the straight border. The sentiment is stamped in Basic Black and is from the Best Wishes and More Stamp set.

To finish my cards off I pried open the Ice Circle Rhinestone Brads, adhered the gem at the end of the sentiment with Crystal Effects. Then punched a hole on the upper left side and tied a piece of Tempting Turquoise 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon in a knot. Finally, I added Crystal Effects to each of the citrus segments so they appear shiny and juicy.

Recipe:
Stamps: Tart & Tangy, Best Wishes & More
Cardstock: Confetti White
Ink: YoYo Yellow, Only Orange, Gable Green, Basic Black
Accessories: 1 3/8" Square Punch, Tempting Turquoise 1/4" Grosgrain, Ice Circle Brads

Fabulous Nouveau

This card uses several of the patterns from Stampin' Up!'s Nouveau Chic Designer Series Paper. I love this paper with dominant colors of Basic Black, Basic Gray, Sage Shadow and Apricot Appeal. Mmmmm, I do love Apricot Appeal!



{Inside}
Recipe:
Stamps: Oval All
Cardstock: Basic Gray, Going Gray, Apricot Appeal, Sage Shadow, Nouveau Chic DSP
Ink: Basic Gray
Accessories: Mat Pack and Paper Piercer, Large Oval Punch

Manhattan Flower Embossing

How beautiful and elegant is ANY card created with the Manhattan Flower Embossing Folder?! I am completely in love with this Embossing Folder and with the coordinating stamp set, Fifth Ave Floral.

This is another of my August Stamp cards. Stampers had the choice of making their card in Crushed Curry or Melon Mambo. I'm certain this was the quickest and easiest card of the month!

The picture doesn't do this card justice, either, as we used the Shimmer White cardstock, which is a subtle but beautiful finish.

{Inside}


Recipe:
Stamp: Fifth Ave Floral
Cardstock: Kraft, Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo, Shimmer White
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry
Accessories: Manhattan Flower Embossing Folder, Crushed Curry 1/2" Polka Dot Ribbon, Melon Mambo 1/2" Polka Dot Ribbon

Lots of Bots

Here is another card we made at my August Stamp Camp, again featuring the Stampin' Up! In Colors. This one uses the Lots of Bots stamp set - an adorable little line art set featuring several different robots and sentiments. I cut the sentiments separate from the images and mounted them on the ends of the corresponding block. This way I can stamp the image with or without the sentiment, without masking or using a marker.

For this card, we used Bermuda Bay and colored the robot with the In Color Markers - hurray for that addition to the line of In Color products! The other new In Color product that I am in love with is the Polka Dot Ribbon! So yummy and in the great colors of this season. I like that I can show the Polka Dot side, or I can flip the ribbon and show the plain side, as on this card.







{Inside}

Recipe:
Stamps: Lots of Bots
Cardstock: Basic Gray, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White, Nouveau Chic DSP
Ink: Basic Gray, In Color Markers
Accessories: Bermuda Bay Polka Dot Ribbon, Jumbo White Grommet, Cutter Kit




This stamp set will be featured in a September Birthday Class - You'll have the choice to make a set of Boy (Lots of Bots) or Girl (Friends Rock) Birthday Invitations, Thank You's and Party Favors. I will be posting the details for this upcoming class on my Stampin' Up! website soon.

Rich Razzleberry Medallion

This is one of the cards we made at August Stamp Camp. It's an elegant card made with the Medallion stamp set - currently the number one selling stamp set in the 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalog!

I really like the Rich Razzleberry paired with the Basic Black scallop edge and the narrow strip of Rich Razzleberry. The card front is cut 1/4" shorter, so that the scallop edge is adhered to the inside of the front.










The best feature of this card is the dimension created by spotlighting the center portion of the Medallion with a circle mat in Basic Black, Clear Rhinestone Brad center and then raised on Stampin' Dimensionals.

Stamp Campers chose a sentiment to stamp on the inside - mine is just blank for now.

{Inside}

Stamps: Medallion
Cardstock: Naturals Ivory, Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black
Ink: Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Clear Rhinestone Brad, Stampin' Dimensionals

Convention 2009 and a Challenge to YOU

Well, I didn't go to the 2009 Stampin' Up! Convention in Salt Lake City this year - but I was lucky enough to have a Convention Buddy. Pammy was my 'eyes and ears' at Convention and let me know what was happening during the exciting week with 3,000 Stampin' Up! demonstrators. I will be demonstrating some of the new techniques and ideas they learned at Convention at several of my upcoming classes and events.

One of the many highlights of convention is getting together with other Stampin' Up! demonstrators who are just as passionate about Stamping and Scrapping as you are! Demonstrators love to SWAP and will swap cards, 3d items, mini scrapbooks and any item you can hold still long enough to stamp! I am so lucky to be part of a group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators who are not only passionate about Stamping, but are obsessed with Swapping!

They organized several different swapping categories and because of our move, I wasn't able to participate in many, but one that I wouldn't miss for anything, was an All About Me page swap. I found it to be the most difficult scrapbook page because of the personal journaling - what do I say about ME?! But I didn't want to miss out on the page from each of my good friends, so I got my page done and sent it off to Pammy who swapped it out for me. My package of swap returns will be arriving next week and I am SO looking forward to each of those All About Me pages of my friends! Here is my page - it is 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" square and my pages will fit into our 8 1/2" Chipboard Album.

My Challenge to you, and I know it's a real challenge - Scrap a page ABOUT YOU. Share a recent photo and some insight into WHO you are, WHERE you are in life right now, WHAT is important to you, HOW you think and view yourself. I found it difficult and challenging, yet I know how important these AAM pages from my friends are to me - can you imagine how important an All About Me page is to your family and close friends? And in just a few years, it will be a snapshot of your life and where you were and how you've changed. Capture that moment - and please share your All About Me pages with me!

For the cover page of my album, a note that one of my Swap Addicts Sisters wrote:

In 2008, a group of women found themselves in the same forum complaining about the same inability to stop swapping. Swappers Anonymous was born. We performed countdowns, provided encouragement, and challenged each other to follow through. As we went through the process of getting ready for Convention, we found we enabled a lot more swapping between us than just cards. We swapped stories of family and festivities. We swapped experiences with health issues, parenthood challenges, creative dinner ideas, work debacles, and great crafting ideas. We swapped opinions without fear of another’s response in an environment where honesty was respected and expected and someone was always able to find the positive. We swapped avatars, swapped belated birthday cards, swapped cupid & peep gifts. After a year, we even swapped sites! What originated as a support group for stamping addicts who over-commit transformed into an online family that will remain committed to one another forever. A group we call SA Sisters.

Paper and Ribbon Share

I have had a few requests asking about a Paper Share and a Ribbon Share - these are the perfect way to have a piece of every Designer Series Paper or Polka Dot In Color Ribbon for a fraction of the cost of buying every package yourself! So here are the details and if you're interested or if you have any questions about the Paper Share or the Ribbon Share, click on the E-mail Me button to the right.

The Paper Share $20
includes a 6x6" square of all of the regular designer series paper in the new Idea Book and Catalog. (It does NOT include the Patterns DSP.) There are 15 packages of designer series paper, excluding the Specialty papers and the Patterns DSP. In total, you will receive 90 pieces of 6x6" paper - this for only $20, plus $5 if you need me to ship it to you. (pages 160-163)

The Scrapbooker's Paper Share $35
includes a 6x12" piece of all of the regular designer series paper in the new Idea Book and Catalog. (It does NOT include the Patterns DSP.) There are 15 packages of designer series paper, excluding the Specialty papers and the Patterns DSP. In total, you will receive 90 pieces of 6x12" paper - this for only $35, plus $5 if you need me to ship it to you. (pages 160-163)

The Ribbon Share $10
includes 2 yards each of the 6 Polka Dot In Color Ribbons (Rich Razzleberry, Bermuda Bay, SoftSuede, Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Melon Mambo.) This share will be only $10, plus $2 more if you need me to ship it. (page182)

The Wedding Collection Specialty FREE
BONUS 6 samples (6x6) of the Wedding Collection Specialty foiled paper FREE when you purchase both the Paper Share (either size) AND the Ribbon Share. (page 158)

Everyone is welcome to participate and I will take orders from now through my Open House on August 14th. You can sign up for one or another or all of the Shares and place as many Share orders as you wish. The best way to get on the list is to e-mail me at mjrindal at yahoo dot com or click on the eEmail Me button to the right. If you are not local, I will send you a link to my Pay Pal so that you can make your payment.

I will place the order on August 16 and will ship or have your shares available for pick up as soon as it arrives. If something gets back ordered, I will complete the package when all can go out at one time.

The Paper Share and Ribbon Share is available for US orders only.

Summer Cookout Kit 40% off

Stampinup just announced 40% off their Country Living Summer Cook-Out Kits! This is only while supplies last - click on the photo to see everything included in this fun BBQ invite set. Then order anytime at my online store. Click the Online Order 24/7 button on the right to visit.