Dazzling Butterflies

Hope your weekend was a good one.  We had beautiful weather this weekend so Sonny and I took advantage and went out on the boat Sunday.  I made the mistake of not applying sunscreen (didn't realize it was as hot as it was) and got a little sun on my arms and back.  I'll know better next time!  

I made several cards today in preparation for my upcoming All Occasions Stamp a Stack.  It is Wednesday, May 7 at 2:30 p.m.  If you live in the area, you are welcome to come.  We will be making 20 cards - two of ten designs - and you can mix and match the sentiments.   Here is one of the cards we will be making.



I think this is my favorite.  It's so much prettier in real life.  Each butterfly has Dazzling Diamond (glitter) on it and just sparkles.  Hopefully, Stampin' Up is coming out with another kind of glitter since the Dazzling Diamonds has been discontinued (and is sold out).

I'm excited for tomorrow.  I'll be going to Raleigh with some other demonstrators for the Catalog Premier.  I can't wait to see the new catalog.  Every year this is such a great surprise and we demonstrators get so excited to see what's new and what has made it to the big catalog from the year's mini catalogs.  

Retiring Pennants Parade

I hope you ordered all you needed while the shipping was free this week and before the things you wanted sold out.  I hope I did too!!  Stampin' Up has been really hustling this week in getting the packages shipped out.  I put two orders in on Monday and one on Tuesday.  I received one of the orders today and the other two will arrive on Monday!  Usually they take several days longer than that.  And I placed an order late this afternoon and it is already in "picking" so I should get it sometime next week.  

I pulled out my retiring stamps from my current collection today and went through my retiring stamps and really cleared a lot of them out.  I will be putting them in the used stamp sale Saturday, May 3 at Stampers Alley in Mooresville.  Now I just have to sit down and price them - the part I don't like to do since it is not an exact science.  I had so many retired stamps that I haven't wanted to part with but I am just running out of space and I really don't use them that much anymore.

Here are a few cards made with some retiring items.

This card uses the following retired items:

• Gumball Green card stock
• Pennants Parade stamp set
• Gumball Green Dahlias
• Itty Bitty Punch pack (I'm really going to miss it!)
• Houndstooth  embossing folder
• Ink for pennants:  Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, Primrose Petals

Another card using Pennants Parade

The card above is one I received in a swap.  Unfortunately, I don't know whose card it is but it is a great one!  The Lattice Die is the retiring items in this one.  I'm holding on to my die because I like it so much.

This is a simple card to make but makes a big Wow!  I either got this in a swap or shoebox - can't remember!  The embossing folders - Flower Garden and Stripes - are both retiring.

I'm really struggling with my vision.  On the days I play cards - Hand and Foot, bridge, mahjongg - my eyes get sooo tired they almost hurt.  Today was Hand & Foot.  I go back and forth between using my readers and no glasses so don't know which is the best.  I am not supposed to go back to my eye doctor until June but I think I will be going sooner than that and see about getting some glasses.

Paper Craft Challenge MDS

Well, what did you think of the Retiring Stamps and Accessories?  I lost a bunch of dies, embossing folders and ribbon but didn't do too bad on my stamps.  I'm going to pull them today and make a count.  Several that I lost were ones I received free from Stampin' Up and really weren't used a lot anyway so it wasn't so bad.  I am going to start sharing some cards this week made with the retiring stamps.  There are only 5-6 stamp sets that have sold out completely so there is still time to order a retired set.  And with free shipping all week, it is a great deal!  I ended up putting 3 orders in on Monday and still missed out on getting the In-Color reinkers and card stock because they sold out so quickly.

Don't forget the weekly specials - with free shipping, they are a good deal too!

We had a very nice and quiet Easter.  We went to church with Mom and after church, we brought her back to our house for the day. Angela had to work so she didn't arrive until after 4 pm.   I spent most of the day in the kitchen getting our Easter meal ready,.  I almost forgot to make Sonny's special cherry jello salad and the deviled eggs!  Luckily, he reminded me about his salad early enough so it was mostly congealed by the time we ate!  And I remembered the eggs around 2 and got them made in time.  The weather was nice but just a bit cool.  But by the time we finished our meal, it was warm enough to sit out on the deck with our sweaters on and listen to the birds chirping.  Mom really enjoyed that.  I wish we could put our bird feeders back up but the squirrels got to be such a nuisance that we took them down a couple of years ago.  But I did see a beautiful bright blue bird in the trees yesterday.  And this morning while eating breakfast, I saw a bird bringing materials into a bird house that I have sitting on the railing of the deck.  Maybe I'll be seeing and hearing baby birds soon!

I made my card for the Paper Craft Challenge late last night and didn't get it turned in in time to be featured on the site.  But here it is anyway.  You can check out what the other members did with the sketch HERE.

Sonny and I enjoy playing trivia and we discovered a small bar in Mooresville that does a live trivia every Tuesday night.  We went last week and had a good time although we didn't do so good on the trivia questions.  But we went again last night and did terrible!  They do 4 rounds of questions and you assign points to each category.  The 3rd round we didn't get ANY questions correct.  A lot of the questions seem to be targeted to the younger generation.  Here are a few of the questions - see if you can get them right!  (answers at bottom of post)

1. Name all the members of the singing group, New Kids on the Block (5 of them)
2. What team drafted John Elway right out of college?
3. What is the name of this shot - vodka, triple sec and lime juice?
4. When a car has been "chopped" what is lowered?
5. Where did Dwaye Wade (NBA) go to college?

These are just 5 of the 20 questions we had.  Lucky for us, they give bonus points if you "like" them on Facebook, if you "check in" on Facebook.  At half time, they ask a bonus question and if you get it right you get additional points.  We thought we had this one!  Q:  What is the highest rated animated series - Lion King, Frozen, Cars - we answered Lion King BUT it was Frozen!!  Then at the end, you can bet up to 30 points for the bonus question.  Stan Lee created all but one of these comic books - Spiderman, Hulk, Wolverine, Beast - which one did he not create?  We guessed Wolverine and got it right!!  So we ended up tied for 3rd.

OK - give up on the answers????

Answers:
1.  Donny Wahlberg (only one I knew), Jonathan Knight, Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Danny Wood
2.  Baltimore Ravens
3.  Kamikaze
4.  the roof
5.  Marquette

Retiring Stamps and Accessories PLUS Free Shipping!! Woo Hoo!!

It's time to say GOOD-BYE to some of our favorites.  These stamps and accessories are available AS SUPPLIES LAST so if you see something you want, don't hesitate to order it.

Remember - FREE SHIPPING all week!!

I will be sending in an order MONDAY night around 9 PM EST.  I will be glad to include your order with mine.

But you can also order ONLINE in my store - HERE - and it will be shipped directly to you.  Please use my HOSTESS CODE FOR ON-LINE ORDERING  -  BZA7N7DP .

RETIRED STAMPS

RETIRED ACCESSORIES

Woo Hoo! Free Shipping!

I am so excited about Stampin' Up's big news today!!  Free shipping next week!!!

RETIRED ITEMS LIST.  On Monday, April 21, Stampin' Up! will reveal the list of items that will be retired - these won't carry over into next year's catalog, so get 'em while the gettin' is good.  This list will include stamp sets and accessories.  For the first time ever, these items are being sold on a "while supplies last" basis.  Any item on this list is game to go away for good before you have a chance to snatch it up.  Don't miss out!  I will post the list as soon as it is released Monday.

HOSTESS CODE FOR ON-LINE ORDERING  -  BZA7N7DP

FREE SHIPPING!  As if the announcement of retired items wasn't good enough, Stampin' Up! is also offering FREE SHIPPING on everything you purchase between April 21 and April 25.  That's AMAZING!  Consider it an additional 10% savings.  Apply that savings to a small or large order.  Woo hoo!

Start making your wish lists!!

Stamp Club Cards

This week was Stamp Club and we had fun making a gift card holder (thanks to Allison!) and three cards using stamps and bundles from the Occasions Catalog.  I had a lot of DSP to use before it retires.

This is a Gift Card holder.  The gift card slides in behind the stars.  It is super easy to make using SU's note cards.  You get 20 notecards and envelopes for $5.95!!  What a deal!  Think of how many of these you could do at Christmas.  This is another great use for the Envelope Punch Board.  I used Retro Fresh DSP for the card...  The Tangerine Tango star (Perfect Pennents) is hand cut and the two gold paper stars are punched using a retired SU Star Punch.  We also used the DSP to make a liner for the envelope.  "Woo Hoo" is from Just Sayin' bundle (stamps and framelits).  To make the Gift Card Holder, cut away 1 3/4" from the front of the note card.  Make the file folder tab using the Envelope Punch Board.  Decorate.  Use Red Line tape for the sides.

This card will be my mom's Mother's Day card.  I used Afternoon Picnic DSP on the card.  The card and the Arrows embossed piece are Very Vanilla.  I used the Banners framelits to cut out the large and smaller banners.  The little flags are punched with the Flag punch from Sale-a-bration but it will in the new catalog this summer.  I used the Itty Bitty punches for the little flowers.  I stamped the sentiment on a scrap of DSP.  I also used a scrap of DSP for the top of the Vanilla banner.  Everything is popped up with dimensionals.  The pearls are some non-SU ones that I had in my stash.

 The card above is the one we made in club but I also stamped the one below as a sample.  This is a technique I hadn't done before called Telescoping.  I found it on Splitcoast and it is so easy!!  I stamped "Oh Happy Day" in Smoky Slate twice onto white card stock.  Then use the Sunburst framelits - from one stamped image cut the largest and smallest circle.  On the second stamped image, cut out the middle image. Then you just put them together like a puzzle.  The DSP is from the Watercolor pack.  There are so many pretty pieces of paper in this pack of paper!  The three smaller circles are stamped and cut out with the framelits.  The "celebrate" is back with a scallop circle punch.

On the card above, it is hard to tell but I stamped the one circle in Tangerine Tango and the second one is Calypso Coral.  It was not enough of a contrast.  Next time I think I'd like to try to totally different colors.

The final card was the Just Saying' Rainbow card (bundle).  You can check out the other ones I have done and the information HERE.

Stampin' Up News

Here are this week's Daily Deals: Stamps will be WHILE Supplies Last!

The Retired Stamps and Accessories List will be available April 21st and for the first time every... STAMPS and Accessories will only be available While Supplies Last.  So make sure you check out the list Monday and get your order in ASAP.  When ordering on-line, I would greatly appreciate it if you would use the following HOSTESS CODE:  BZA7N7DP

In other Stampin' Up news - 

Project Life and Stampin' Up! Stampin' Up! is partnering with Becky Higgins  to bring you the real deal-authentic Project Life products, now in exclusive Stampin' Up! colors and designs.  If you've somehow missed the Project Life craze and are wondering what it's all about, I'll fill you in:  it's a super simple, totally affordable way to get your photos into albums: you just slip your photos into Photo Pocket Pages and add designed cards. It's a back-to-basics approach to documenting your life. In a nutshell, it's all about spending more time making memories and less time scrapbooking them. Check out this video ....

Get ready for a scrapbooking revolution with Project Life! It helps busy people document life using photos and journaling in a quick, simple, and fabulous way.  Customers can order starting May 1.

Here’s a quick peek at some of the exclusive items:

How exciting is this!?!  More to come.

More Shoebox Swaps

Sometimes if you don't have bad luck, you don't have luck at all!  Ashley made a quick recruiting trip Sunday to Little Rock, Arkansas.  I believe she could have driven there quicker!  She flew from San Antonio to DFW for a connecting flight and ended up spending about 6 hours in the DFW airport!  Her noon time flight was canceled and she couldn't get on another flight until around 6 pm.  When she arrived at her hotel in Little Rock, her wallet was missing!  Yep, all her ID, credit cards, etc.!  She knew she had it right before she boarded the flight.  She was finally able to get checked in to her hotel with a little help, but the next day, she did not have any ID to fly back home.  And to make matters worse, she had flown to Little Rock on American Airlines but was traveling back to Texas on Southwest so there was not even a round trip on one airline to follow.  Plus getting through Security with no ID can be tricky!  She was in her uniform which helped a bit.  But the only thing she had with her name and address on it was a mailing label on her Real Simple magazine that she had brought along to read on the flight.  That worked!  Now the hard part - trying to replace all that you lost!  I have always been scared when I am on a trip as to what would happen if I lost my ID.  Guess I'll save my magazines from now on!!   Although sometimes a bus pass will work.  When we lived in Washington, our friends, Margaret and Graham came to visit and brought Margaret's parents from England.  They wanted to see the Army base where Ashley was stationed.  So, they all piled into Ashley's car and then realized that Marg (the mom) did not have her ID - all she had was a bus pass (or maybe it was a library card - can't remember).  Anyway, Ashley bundled everyone's ID up and gave them to the guard at the gate.  I guess he didn't look at them close because he saluted Ashley and sent them onto the base!  Same thing happened last year to Marianne.  She arrived at the airport for their family trip to Las Vegas without her ID.  She was able to get through Security with her BJ's Club card because it had her picture on it!!  Maybe we're not so secure????

You should be able to get a lot of ideas from these great shoebox cards from Quarterly!

Quarterly Shoebox Cards

We are almost at the end of our catalog year.  It's always exciting to guess what will and won't make it into the new catalog.  I have a few guesses on what will be retired and I'm sure I'll miss a few stamps plus a few of the outgoing In Colors (like Summer Starfruit). I will be going to Stampin' Up's Catalog Premier event at a theater in Raleigh in a couple of weeks.  This is the first time Stampin' Up has revealed the new catalog in such a flashy way.  It should be a fun event.

 Here's the schedule of some of the upcoming events:

• Monday, April 21 - Retired List to be published (products available while supplies last)
• Monday, June 2 - New 2014/2015 Annual Catalog goes live!  (ordering begins at 12 pm MT)
• Wednesday, June 4 - Last day to order from the "old" 2013/2014 Annual Catalog
• Thursday, August 28th - New 2014 Holiday Catalog goes live! (ordering begins at 12 pm MT)

These colors will be retiring so make sure you stock up and get your ink refills before they are all gone.

We have a lot of talent in our NC SU demonstrator group.  We did 31 shoebox cards last weekend.  That sounds like a lot - wait a minute!  It is a lot!  But everyone designed their cards so that they were pretty quick to put together and followed the instructions to package each card separately and do all the embossing and die cutting in advance.  So we started putting the cards together around 5 and Marianne and I were finished about midnight.  Here are some of the cards:

Show and Tell from Quarterly

Today has been a nightmare for me!  I got a text message from a friend in Texas this a.m. telling me my email had been hacked.  As I was reading that message, Marianne called me to tell me the same thing.  They got an email supposedly from me asking for a "favour".  The spelling of favor gave them the clue.  Others who answered that email got another one from me (supposedly) saying we were in the Ukraine, were robbed and needed money or something like that.  So, I logged into my Yahoo mail account and was going to send an email to every one of my contacts telling them to disregard previous emails from me.  Well, imagine my surprise when ALL my contacts were gone!!   I was able to go on Facebook and post a message there.  But my phone was ringing off the hook from friends and family calling to let me know I had been hacked.  I worked on trying to fix the matter and change my passwords all day!!  Finally about 3:30, I started getting a few emails but not many like I would guess I should be getting.  So I don't know what is going on.  Luckily, I have a Charter email account and was able to use it to alert contacts in it.  I am still trying to get to the bottom of this mess.  I may end up having to delete my current Yahoo account and set up another one.

Here are a few photos from Quarterly.

This is the nametags that Marianne made.  Aren't they darling?  She used the small tag punch.  We stapled different colors of ribbon on the bottom for our Prize Patrol!

I downloaded (for free) this spring subway art and bought some colorful frames at M's; framed them and we gave them away to our three demonstrators who did projects for us.  They were really cute.  I was going to make them in My Digital Studio and actually started one but decided why reinvent the wheel??!!  Here is the link to the download - SPRING

I made a couple of banners and we tacked them up in the room.  The top one is from Sale-a-Bration and say's WELCOME.  The bottom one uses the canvas banners and says CREATE.

Here are a few of my favorite "SHOW and TELL" items that the gals brought.