Feeling Sentimental

Sale-a-bration will be over before we know it.  If you want to get a free stamp set, punch, DSP or digital download, you need to place your $50 order by next Friday, March 22.  I love the Feeling Sentimental stamp set.   I made this card of the telephone booth (don't think that is what is called in England though - telephone box???  not sure).  I used my daubers to ink up the edges of the card.  I used French Foilage to stamp the "dots" and script. The bottom of the card is torn with a piece of Early Espresso torn and adhered to the bottom.  I used daubers to color the trill ribbon (retired) and frayed the ends.

We had a nice evening.  We had free tickets for the Charlotte Checkers hocket game (thanks to the Golden Boys) and invited some friends to come along with us.  We drove downtown Charlotte right at 5:00 p.m. and surprisingly, there was no traffic back-up on I-77 which shocked all of us.  We had dinner at a nice Irish bar / restaurant (yummy fish & chips!) and then walked over to the game.  The Checkers lost by one but it was a good game anyway.

Papercraft Crew Challenge

Hello Everyone,

Here is this weeks challenge sketch we are working with at the Paper Craft Crew. St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner and the Paper Craft Crew is celebrating it in this week's challenge #33 with their theme of St. Patrick's Day.  I was inspired by a couple of different things I'd seen on Pinterest to make this card.  I made the card using MDS2.  I wasn't sure whether I had a shamrock or not but after doing a search with the Global Search feature, I found the circular stamp with the shamrock in the middle.  So .... I just cropped that shamrock out, enlarged it, colored it green, lowered the opacity and put it behind the saying. 

Here is the sketch we were working with:



Hope you will hop on over to the Paper Craft Crew page and check out the other members version of St. Patrick's Day.

Today was not a great day for me!  I am hoping tomorrow is much better.  I started off with not being able to sleep well last night which is unusual for me.  I had to get up pretty early this morning to go to the Soup Kitchen.  We were scheduled to make taco salad today, a pretty easy meal or so I thought.  The local Chipolte restaurant had donated the meat so we put it in pans to heat up - it was already cooked so that was not a problem.  They were supposed to have the rest of the ingredients for us for the salad - cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, salsa, chips, etc.  Well, the guy in charge couldn't remember what I had told him I was making so they didn't have anything taken out for us.  We were ok with lettuce and tomatoes - had plenty to cut up.  But the cheese and sour cream was frozen.  The cheese was actually an off-brand Velveeta type cheese - not cheddar that we could grate.  So we rigged up a double boiler and eventually got the cheese to melt.  The salsa they brought me consisted of 2 cans of salsa and 2 jars of marinara sauce!  I don't think so!  They tried to tell me it would be fine.  I was not putting marinara sauce in my salsa not to mention only 2 cans for approximately 150 people?????  So I rummaged around and found a box full of cans of Rotel tomatoes that I added to the salsa along with some plain tomatoes.  The sour cream ended up, after it melted, being the consistency of a thin cream.  Then there was the matter of the chips.  I was told a couple of weeks ago that they had large taco shells.  My plan was to just break them up in the salad.  Turns out what they called taco shells was actually flatbread.  Unbelievable!  So we took several packages and cut them up into strips, put a little cooking oil on them and salt and baked them.  They were ok.  Just as we were getting ready to serve, they brought us two boxes full of Dorito chips!  Much better!  We served about 135 people today and they all seemed to like the meal.   I don't think those people at the Soup Kitchen have ever been to Texas and had a real Tex-Mex Taco Salad.  It was nothing like we made today!

Remember I told you about the new montly kit that SU is offering?   Well if you haven't joined Paper Pumpkin yet  and wanna get a closer look first .... No worries - you can give Paper Pumpkin a try for one month with the Try It kit!  It's now available for order.

Here's the Try It kit info:

•$16.95 -plus shipping. (Item #132600).

•Includes stamps, a clear block, ink, paper, and accessories.

•It's all cut, measured, and ready-with instructions included.

Try it - I know you'll want Paper Pumpkin to visit your doorstep every month!



Tuesday was Digital Download Day - one of my favorite days!  Get in touch with your inner awesomeness this week with our latest downloads. 

Check out the Made to Be Awesome Framable. Download it. Print it. Frame it. 

If you've ever asked yourself what does, "LOL, BRB, IMO, or YNK" mean, then check out the FTW Stamp Brush Set. (You'll thank us later when you actually understand what your favorite teenagers are saying.)  I have to admit, I didn't know a lot of them!!

And, once you've caught up with all the lingo, use the Seriously Teen Kit to document teen life-epic style.

FTW Stamp Brush Set - $5.95

 

Seriously Teen Digital Kit - $9.95

Made to be Awesome template and stamps - $2.95

Henry Says "It's Your Birthday"

Hope you had a great weekend.  The weather here was really nice.  Spring is just a few weeks away!  Hope you remembered to "spring forward."  Isn't it a pain to have to go around your house and change all the clocks?  Sonny and I each have a clock radio on our bedside tables.  I remembered to change mine but Sonny didn't change his until this morning.  It was so confusing during the night.  I'm one of those people who wake up during the night and have to know what time it is.  I just had to make sure I was checking the correct clock! 

I spent most of Sunday working on entering my retired stamps into Evernote.  I had just about used up all my data for the month so I went ahead and joined as a premium member for a month.  It was only $5 and worth it to get them all in.  I am finding out that I have way too many flower stamps!  I think my number is at about 80 sets that have a flower or two in them so far!!  Guess this is also a drawback about entering all of them - I now know I have way too many stamps!!  I will be selling a bunch of them in May when Stampers Alley has their Used Stamp Sale.

I just love this little elephant!


Henry Says

 I stamped Henry on some retired DSP.  The pennants and the elephant are popped up with dimensionals.  Don't you think this little guy would make someone smile on their birthday?

I used the Tasteful Trim sizzix die to cut a piece of Melon Mambo for the inside of the card.

Pop Up Posies

How do you like my new blog heading?  I saw a similar blog heading on another site where you have to purchase the download for your blog and decided I could re-create it with MDS.  It took me a couple days to get the recoloring and layering done but it was fun to do.

A reminder - if you would like to get the very first issue of Stampin' Up's Paper Pumpkin - the creative project that will be delivered directly to your door - you need to sign up by Sunday.  Check it out HERE.

I have been working on my projects for the Quarterly meeting in a couple of weeks.  I am participating in a card swap, 3D swap, shoebox swap as well as doing a presentation on MDS.

Today I played around with the Pop Up Posies kit offered in the Spring Mini catalog.  There is so much you can do with it and you get a lot of elements.


Here is the first card I made using the Calypso Coral and Baja Breeze flowers.  I sprayed them with water to "fluff" them up a bit.

For the second card, I used the same layout but used the cupcake liner elements to make my flower.  I used my dauber to color the ends of the flower with Poppy Parade.

The only thing I would do different on the two cards is to use my paper pricker and templates to prick holes around the die cutout.  That would add a little "pizzaz" to them I think.

Happy Birthday Pam!

Today is the birthday of our Papercraft Crew coordinator, Pam Staples.  So I made this card for our challenge in honor of Pam's birthday.  Happy Birthday, Pam!!

Such a fun card to make using mostly the Designer Kit, Topsy Turvy Celebrations and stamps from Under the Big Top.  I just love MDS!!  Bet you didn't know, huh?  ha ha

Background     Color = Summer Starfruit

Embellishments
    _Designer Kits\Topsy Turvy Celebration - embellishments\Topsy Turvy Celebration - flag 3 (re-colored)
    _Designer Kits\Topsy Turvy Celebration - embellishments\Topsy Turvy Celebration - flag 3

Stamps
    Border Banter\Border Banter - diamonds, 
    Under the Big Top\Under the Big Top - celebrate
    Under the Big Top\Under the Big Top - bear

Punches
    Basics\1.25 Square Punch, Fill Color Summer Starfruit 
    Basics\Scallop Oval Punch, Fill Color Tempting Turquoise
  
Photos
    Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Big Top Birthday - designer series paper\Big Top Birthday - 9
And here is the sketch. 

Why don't you make a card using this sketch?  It's a good one. 

Digital Download Tuesday

Digital Download Tuesday!  A great Easter set as seen here -
Love it!






There is more too -

Feels Good Stamp Brush Set

Bookstagram Photobook Template - Digital Download # 133424

Ex Libris Stamp Brush

MDS Challenge Week 1

Last week I challenged my NC demonstrators (and you too) to create a page or card or something on My Digital Studio using the "text on a path" technique.  Here are some of the entries:

Beth Fox also followed the color challenge from mydigitalstudio.net

Mary Ellen Harrison had good intentions of the freeform text but decided against it.  Love her page anyway!



Regina Andari's cute birthday card - she created the free form text in the balloon.




Makes you want a popsicle, huh?  This cutie is done by Karen Culler.



Elegant card by Pam Staples - waiting for those May flowers!



Circular text by Debbie Michael.




A card by Marcia Enns - this is the inside



Marcia's card front

Marcia even used the free form text on the back of the card!  Great job!!

 Here is what Marcia had to say after doing the challenge - "I started with a Designer Template to create this A2 card, and I managed to attach text to a freeform line on the card front, the inside of the card, and the “hallmark” on the back of the card.  Not only was this great practice with attaching text, but I also played with page layers, drop shadows, opacity, and more!  The more I do, the more excited I am about MDS. " 

That's what it's all about!!

Clear - Photopolymer - Stamps! Whoo Hoo!!

I'm hoping to do a lot of stamping this weekend.  The weather is supposed to be cold - possibly snow - and highs in the high 30s to low 40's.  Brrrr - maybe this is the last hurrah for winter weather!!  I will be ready to go to Texas and enjoy their warm weather in a few weeks!

Stampin' Up has some great news today!  They are introducing their first really clear stamp set.  It is called a Photopolymer Stamp.

What makes them so great?

• They're entirely transparent for perfect placement every time! 
• They are durable. The photopolymer material is designed to last. 
• Can you say sticky?  These stamps stick amazingly well to the clear blocks.
• They're age tested. They won't yellow or cloud up over time. 
• They use FDA, food-safe material. How far can you stretch your stamping creativity?

They are clearly a great choice.

Photopolymer stamps will be offered on a trial basis. Based on popularity, SU hopes to release more photopolymer stamp sets over the coming months. 

• Available beginning March 1, 2013. 
• Not available in wood-mount or clear-mount.  
• All photopolymer will be packaged in cello bag w/insert, but don't forget you can store them in our clear cases.

		They are trying them out and if it's popular they will keep the photopolymer sets coming! So if you want to see more, buy! And if you like a set you see,  buy it now since there are no guarantees that it will be available later.

Features:

• Use this exclusive photopolymer alphabet set (with extras!) for titles or embellishments on scrapbook pages, cards, or any type of project. 
• Clear block sizes A, B, G, F, and I are recommended (not included in the set).
• Our photopolymer stamps offer a versatile all-clear stamping option. 
• Our top-quality photopolymer gives a perfectly stamped image every time. 
• Best of all, you get to enjoy tons of images for a great price...only $13.95 for 57 images!

In fact - at this price you can afford to get two sets.  Then you can spell out greetings like "Happy Birthday".

 I'm getting ready to order mine - what about you?

Butterfly Fly Away

Stampin' Up is now offering an on-line class which will offer clever tips and techniques to get the most out of your stamping supplies. Divided into six PDF documents, this class includes written instructions, step out photos, a few videos, and supply lists for 34 projects.

•Stamping Basics (7 projects)


•Stamp-a-ma-jig (4 projects, video)

•Masking Techniques (4 projects, video)

•Embossing Techniques (7 projects, 2 videos)

•Markers and watercoloring Techniques (6 projects, video)

•Big Shot and punches (6 projects, 2 videos)

*No shipping, no tax!!

 The 34 projects are simple, creative, and cute! The material included is a great resource that gives comprehensive project details in one place. No searching all over the Internet for all of the different topics being covered.  Any stamper would love it! The projects range from simple to stepped up. A new stamper could learn a lot from the class, and there are more advanced techniques that even experienced stampers will be excited to learn.
PC Instructions:   The files will be downloaded as archive files that you can then extract and save on your computer. When you click on the download link, an extraction program will automatically launch. Choose the location where you would like to save the files (be sure to note where you save them). Follow the prompts on the extraction program, then navigate to the location where you saved the files. Click on the file and open.

Mac Instructions:   When you click on the download link, the file will be mounted as a drive. Once it is mounted, open the drive and drag and drop the files to the location of your choice on your hard drive. The files can then be opened.

Here is a card I made a couple of months ago and forgot to share with you.  I stamped the label from Everything Eleanor in Crumb Cake onto the Whisper White card stock and then embossed it with the Polka Dot embossing folder.  The leaves are cut using the leaves sizzlet.  I used some small pearls for the center of the flowers and colored them with a Sharpie marker.  The little blue flowers are punched with the Itty Bitty Punches and the butterfly is punched with the Butterfly Punch and some retired DSP.  I just love the way the Seam Binding ribbon ties into a bow!