Manly Moments

I think a lot of us struggle with masculine cards - at least I know I do!  So I was tickled "blue" (not pink - it's a girly color!) when I opened my Paper Pumpkin last month and discovered the Manly Moments inside!  I love the laser cut pine trees in the kit.  The kit makes 10 full sized A2 cards with 10 decorated envelopes.  There are 2 styles of cards included - 5 regular side-fold cards and 5 tri-fold cards.  I made a couple of them using the directions that were included.  But I had fun looking through Pinterest and finding a few other ideas for the cards.

This is an alternate card.  I used the negative from the pine trees and sponged different greens on it, layering them on the card.

This is another alternate using the negative after popping out the label (see the Happy Birthday above).  I sponged Mint Macaron, Granny Apple Green and Soft Sea Foam onto the white card.

Another alternate.  This time I cut strips of the envelope, one of the cards and some scraps I had from the Wood Textures DSP pack and layered them onto a Mint Macaron card.

This is another alternative using the lighthouse from a previous Paper Pumpkin.  The Happy Birthday is from the die on page 217 of the annual catalog.

This card folds in from both sides.

Simple - just taped a piece of Mint Macaron ribbon underneath the badge (sentiment)

If you'd like to get signed up for Paper Pumpkin, there are a couple of ways to subscribe.  You can sign up for a subscription where you are billed monthly for your kit OR you can purchase a pre-paid subscription in my online store.  To see more information and to sign up for the monthly subscription, click above on Order Paper Pumpkin.  To see the options for pre-paid subscriptions in my online store, click above on Order Online.

I have been busy getting ready for my mom's 90th Surprise Birthday Party on Sunday!!  Ashley is flying in on Thursday so I'll have to keep her hidden until Sunday.  Mom will really be surprised to see her since she and I were just there (in Hawaii) visiting Ashley last month.  It worked out that Ashley has a class in DC in a week so she was able to take a little vacation time for the party.  Mom had told us girls a couple of months ago that she didn't want a party because all her friends were dead.  My sister (who lives with mom) is in charge of the invitations since she knows most of mom's church friends and friends from the Lion's Club.  Our numbers creep up every day and we are now at almost 80 people!!  So I guess everyone's not dead!  I have to go to the Dollar Store every couple of days to get more packs of plates, napkins, cups, etc.  After the party, our family members are going to a local restaurant for dinner which will make her happy too for all of us to get together.  The only one missing will be my son and his family which makes me so sad.

Great July Specials

Get ready for some great specials in July!!

First as I have told you in this post, there is a great signing bonus for July new demonstrators.

Second is great news!  The Stampin' Blends are back in stock - all of them!!!  Not sure how long they'll last before going on back order so if you have been waiting for them, I'd suggest that you go online to place your order and please use my Workshop Code 9RCXG2BZ.  You can find the complete list of the Stampin' Blends on page 205 of your brand new catalog.

And last but not least is a great sale on Designer Series Paper.  Get ready for some FREE paper with an incredible offer of buy 3, get 1 free on select Designer Series Paper pack.

Date:  July 1 - 31

Designer Series Paper included in the sale:

• 146338 Nature's Poem DSP  
• 146284 Twinkle Twinkle DSP  
• 146921 Under the Mistletoe DSP  
• 146902 Animal Expedition DSP
• 146897 Best Route DSP
• 146913 Petal Promenade DSP
• 146331 Tranquil Textures DSP
• 146289 Garden Impressions 6x6 DSP
• 146916 Tropical Escape 6x6 DSP
• 144177 Wood Textures 6x6 DSP

ANIMAL EXPEDITION

NATURE'S POEM

BEST ROUTE

GARDEN IMPRESSIONS 6"X6"

PETAL PROMENADE

TROPICAL ESCAPE 6"X6"

TRANQUIL TEXTURES

WOOD TEXTURE 6"X 6"

TWINKLE TWINKLE

UNDER THE MISTLETOE

Stampin' Up July Joining Offer - Incredible!

We have the MOST . AMAZING . EVER  joining offer starting today, Sunday, July 1!!

Our Joining Offer is pretty amazing anyway - spend $99 and choose any products that you want up to a value of $125 AND get free shipping!  That's a pretty good savings but here is where it gets even better.  Just for the month of July, you can choose any of our 4 core color collections (Regals, Subtles, Brights, Neutrals) OR the two In Color Collections for FREE!  I don't know about you, but I like FREE!  Our Color Collections sell for $67.50 so that's a huge savings.




But wait .... there's more good news!  Demonstrators have the opportunity to pre-order 3 new products which will be available in August to the public while supplies last.  When you join Stampin' Up! this month:

• You can ADD these 3 products (stamp set, framelits and 10 new watercolor pencils) to your starter kit!  You can also choose to purchase them at 20% off after joining instead of adding them to your kit.
• This is in addition to other product which you can choose to add up to $125.
• And of course you get the free ink pads above.

The codes for these items are:

• Blended Seasons Bundle (stamp set and framelits) #149894
• Watercolor Pencils (10 new colors) #14014  (Balmy Blue, Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, Coastal Cabana, Crushed Curry, Flirty Flamingo, Garden Green, Gorgeous Grape, Granny Apple Green, Night of Navy)
• Blended Seasons Stamp Set #149016
• Stitched Seasons Framelits #149013

I would love for you to be a part of my team!!

Graduation cards

I was busy last month making graduation cards.  Think I'm all done with that now and they are all mailed out so thought I would share.  I used a lot of retired DSP, punches and stamps in making these cards.

My cousin's youngest daughter graduated from nursing school and is now a full fledged nurse.  Way to go, Alex!

inside of Alex's card

My brother's daughter (my niece) graduated from high school in Charlotte.  She plans on going to community college for a year or two before leaving home and going to a 4-year college.

This one was my favorite!  My son's youngest (step) daughter graduated from high school in Alabama.  Cassidy has down's syndrome and has really accomplished a lot in her life so far.  I wish I could share their Facebook video of her graduation (but not sure how to do that!)  They held it in their backyard with family and friends.  It was so sweet!

My Stamp Club met last week and we made some fun cards.  You can sure tell it's summer time though - I had a really low attendance this month.  But we had a good time anyway!  Now I'm patiently waiting for some new products to arrive via Mr. UPS!!

Here are the cards we made using some new products and some that have been gathering dust on my shelf!

Supplies: 

Ø  Ink:   Grapefruit Groove, Smoky Slate, Blueberry Bushel, Granny Apple Green  

Ø  Cardstock:   Very Vanilla Thick CS    

Ø  Stamps:    Jar of Love 

Ø   Framelits – Everyday Jars

Instructions:

Ø  Stamp background jars with Smoky Slate.

Ø  Stamp the string around the jars w/Grapefruit Groove

Ø  Stamp 1 jar in Whisper White and die cut.

Ø  Stamp a bow w/Grapefruit Groove and die cut.

Ø  Stamp about 5 stems of leaves w/Granny Apple Green & die cut.

Ø  Adhere leaves to card with glue.

Ø  Stamp sentiment on Jar in Blueberry Bushel ink.

Ø  Use dimensionals to adhere Blueberry Bushel Jar to card.

Ø  Adhere bow to jar.

Supplies: 

Ø  Ink:   Blueberry Bushel, Highland Heather, Flirty Flamingo, Black, Granny Apple Green

Ø  Cardstock:   Thick CS, Whisper White, Daisy DSP (retired)

Ø  Stamps:   Love What You Do

    White Twine & Dimensionals

Instructions:

Ø  Cut 3 panels at 3” x 4 1/8” & 3 panels at 3 ¼” x 4 3/8”

Ø  Stamp the flowers on the 3 smaller panels.

Ø  Stamp “thank” on the bottom of one panel; Stamp “you” on the bottom of one panel in black.

Ø  Tie white twine around 3^rd panel (that you did not stamp on bottom)

Ø  Mat the 3 panels onto the larger 3 panels with dimensionals.

Ø  Adhere strip of DSP in center of white card.

Ø  Adhere panels to card.

I love, love, love this stamp set!!

Supplies: 

Ø  Ink:  Black, Whisper White

Ø  Cardstock:   Thick CS, Rich Raspberry, Basic Black

Ø  Stamps: Serene Garden, Sheltering Tree (sentiment)

Ø  Framelits –Garden Scene Framelits

Ø  Subtle Embossing Folder

Ø  Stampin’ Blends

Instructions:

Ø  Emboss flower (framelit) in bottom corner of Thick card; fold in half

Ø  Stamp image onto White CS (using Stamparatus).

Ø  Stamp & Die Cut single flower and butterfly.

Ø  Use Stampin’ Blends to color all images.

Ø  Stamp sentiment onto Rich Razzleberry strip of cardstock with White Ink (Use Embossing Buddy FIRST)

Ø  Emboss sentiment and cut flag at end.

Ø  Emboss sentiment w/the new Subtle Embossing Folder.

Ø  Adhere butterfly, single flower & sentiment with dimensionals.  Layer onto black cardstock & then onto card.

We had trouble getting the sun out of the framelit without tearing it up.  I suggest when you use these framelits, you sandwich a piece of wax paper between the cardstock and the framelit.

Supplies: 

Ø  Ink:  Pineapple Punch, Blueberry Bushel, Lovely Lipstick, Pool Party

Ø  Cardstock:   Soft Sea Foam, Blueberry Bushel, Whisper White, Pineapple Punch

Ø  Stamps:  Swirly Bird, You Are My Anchor (April Paper Pumpkin)  

Ø  Swirly Scribbles Thinlets, Duet Banner Punch, Seaside Embossing Folder

Instructions:

Ø  Die cut swirly sun

Ø  Stamp swirl from middle of die cut swirly piece (sun) with Pineapple Punch (or for darker image, use Daffodil)

Ø  Emboss Soft Sea Foam panel with Seaside Embossing Folder & adhere to Sea Foam card

Ø  Adhere “wave” & sun to card.

Ø  On scrap white paper, stamp sailboat – cut out.  Adhere w/dimensionals.

Ø  On scrap white paper, stamp sentiment & use Duet Banner Punch.  Adhere with dimensionals.

More Swaps

These are the remainder of the swap cards I received.  Lots of ideas using some of the new stamp sets in the catalog!  My wish list keeps getting bigger and bigger!!!

Love this using Rooted in Nature - definitely on my Wish List!

Another stamp on my list.  The Handwritten background stamp (pg 172)!  Plus I love these new doilies.

I've already purchased the Lovely Floral Embossing Folder.  It goes with the What You Love Suite (p. 176-178).

Another card using the Lovely Floral Embossing Folder.  Is it on your list???

A great set - Hold on to Hope.  This set was carried over from the Occasions catalog.

Another one from my Wish List - Animal Outing!!  I have seen a lot of cute cards using this set.  The Layered Leaves embossing folder pairs with it well.

A beautiful card using Love What You Do.  I really like the new Detailed Trio corner punch.

I hope these cards have inspired you!  If you decide to purchase any of these items, please use my Hostess Code at the top left.  Thanks!

Hawaii Pictures

As promised, here are a few of my Hawaii pictures.  I still have about half of them to go through!!

Ashley met us at the airport with lei's.  Mom loved it!  We had a little problem leaving the Charlotte airport though.  Mom doesn't have a drivers license, only a NC DOT ID card.  Well, it had expired - but we had not realized it.  Luckily, they let her through using the expired ID and her bank card!  Coming back home, the Hawaii Security didn't say a thing about it!  She was hoping she'd be stuck in Hawaii!!

Her first walk on the beach.  The water was pretty cold - I never got in past my waist.

It was really windy and the wind was bothering her hearing aids so she clipped the beach towel around her ears!

We had lots of good food in Hawaii!  This was our final night on the way to the airport - garlic knots and pizza!

These mai tai's were pretty strong!!

Mom had her first shaved ice at Uncle Clay's House of Pure Aloha.  This is her with Uncle Clay.  She told him to come to NC and open up a shop!!  He taught her to do the "shaka."

This was taken on Ford Island which is just across the bay from Pearl Harbor.  We went to Pearl Harbor first and watched the film before boarding a boat that took us around the memorial.  Unfortunately, we could not go on the USS Arizona memorial because of something being fixed on the ramp but we got a pretty good view anyway.

This is a banyan tree on Ford Island.  It is huge and I'm sure, several hundred years old!!!  

A selfie from Ford Island.  The USS Arizona Memorial is over Ashley's shoulder.

Mother spent most of her time in Hawaii sitting on Ashley's lanai!  She loved sitting out there - eating her meals, talking to her friends, playing with her IPad.  She wanted us to put a bed out there for her!

We didn't get many pictures of the 3 of us!

We went to a luau at the Hale Koa.  This was one of the fire dancers.

In Waikiki, there is an International Market with this statue of Don Ho.  

We had dinner one night at the Hula Grill in Waikiki.  This was our dessert - with a bowl of chocolate syrup on the side since Ashley does not like chocolate!!

We did a lot of eating!  This was at the luau.

Every good trip deserves a beautiful sunset!!

Swap Cards from 2018-19 Catalog!

Hi!  I'm back from Hawaii - returned last Friday.  Had a great time of course and I think my mom had the time of her life!  I'll be posting some pictures as soon as I get them (over 200!) downloaded and edited!  In the meantime, I participated in a NC Demos Swap and thought I would share the cards with you.

This is the card I made using the new stamp set, Love What You Do.  Other products used were:  Black, White and Pineapple Punch cardstock; Stitched Shapes, Flourish and Layered Circles Dies; Lovely Floral Embossing Folder, Old Olive Sheer Ribbon and a little pearl.

This card was made by Robin Purdum.  She also used the Love What You Do stamp set along with one of our new In Colors, Blueberry Bushel.

Isn't this flamingo so cute from Fabulous Flamingo (a two-step stamp)???  This card was made by Wendy Grover.  The leaves on the background are from Tropical Chic (I think!)  

Here is another beauty using Accented Blooms.  There was no name attached to this card so I can't give anyone credit for designing it.  This stamp set coordinates with the Tailored Tag Punch.

This card was made by Barbara Hansen.  She used a piece of the Specialty DSP, Share What You Love.

I love this Lemon Lime Twist card made by Jennifer Granstrand.  The products she used are: Detailed With Love stamp; Blackberry Bliss, Lemon Lime Twist, Whisper White and Vellum paper; Seaside Embossing Folder; Silver Edged Ribbon; and Rhinestones.

These are just a few of the great cards I received in the swap.  I'll be back later in the week to share the rest of the cards.