End of the Month Specials plus Party Pictures

As the end of the month is approaching (3 more days!), I wanted to remind you of the Stampin' Pad Recruiting Promotion.  During this promotion, new team members will receive a FREE assortment of Classic Stampin' Pads (your choice) with your Starter Kit!  That's an extra $67.50 of goodies.

People join Stampin' Up! for different reasons.  While some want to build a business with customers and clubs, most just want to be a part of the Stampin' Up! community and earn a discount on the products they already love.  There are so many great reasons to be a Stampin' Up! demonstrator.  Not only will you immediately receive a 20% discount on the products you love, but you're eligible to earn a bigger discount with other benefits and incentives.  The Starter Kit is just $99.  You get to choose what products you want to add to your Starter Kit AND get free shipping (plus the assortment of Stampin' Pads mentioned above.)  AND there is no commitment to ever purchase anything again!

Another promotion that will end in 3 days is the Designer Series Paper promotion.  You can get one pack of select papers FREE when you buy three packs of select papers,   Here are the ten papers that are part of this amazing promotion:

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

Remember, Tuesday is the LAST DAY for these offers!!

OK -  enough business - on to some fun pictures from my Mom's 90th birthday party!  She was surprised but she really enjoyed herself!

Beautiful cake from Publix

We asked for donations to Camp Dogwood (a Lions Club camp for the visually impaired.)  I decorated Mason Jars and scattered them around the tables for donations.

My brother, Lee and my daughter, Ashley.  I think they were trying to see who was the tallest!

Not 90 candles but enough that she had a hard time blowing them out!

Mom and Sally, her sister-in-law (my dad's sister.)  They don't get together nearly enough!

Mom and her niece, Candy (mom's brother's daughter)

Lee, Marianne, Mom, Me and Angela

Mom with Marianne's Girlfriend (Sharon) and Sally

The grandchildren that were present + Morgan (the future granddaughter in law)

We were missing my son, and my brother's 2 children.

Greg and Marianne, mom, me and Sonny

Mom with Candy and Mark

After the party, the family and close friends went to a local BBQ restaurant.

We didn't have a kids table at the restaurant, but most of the kids were at the end of the table - away from the old folks!

August Stamp Club

These are the cards we made at Stamp Club this month.  I was thankful to have Ashley here to help out!

I think this one was my favorite.  It uses the Handwritten background stamp (P 172) and the Daisy Delight stamp and punch (p 123).  I sponged a little of Grapefruit Grove ink over the background.  I used the Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits for the little black dragonfly.

What a great use of the Tailored Tag Punch .... and a great way to use up scraps of DSP!!

I love the Varied Vases Punch!  For this card, I stamped the flowers directly onto the Crumb Cake cardstock with Versamark and embossed it with white powder.  The vases were stamped onto scrap white paper and punched out.  I love the color combination of Lemon Lime Twist and Gorgeous Grape!

I don't usually purchase the Hostess stamp sets but I fell in love with Hand Delivered (p 229) this year.  It is so versatile as you can see in the other cards below.  One of my gals needed a wedding shower card so I made this one for her to use.

Hand Delivered - birthday - I used the Stampin' Blends on the balloons.

Hand Delivered - missing you!  The dress is paper pieced with Subtles DSP stack. (p 191)

Here is another card using the Tailored Tag punch and some retired DSP.

Hopefully these cards give you some inspiration!

Broadway Star Paper Pumpkin

Yay!!  Another opportunity to spread the word about Paper Pumpkin.  These kits just keep getting better.  If you have not subscribed to Paper Pumpkin in the past, NOW is the time!  Please choose me as your demonstrator when signing up for Paper Pumpkin and use the Promo Code BLOOMO818.

I broke into my June Paper Pumpkin kit last weekend and made 2 of the cards per the included instructions and four alternative cards.  I still have materials to make several more cards.  I just love this kit - the Lemon Lime Twist and Lovely Lipstick go great together!

Card #1 per instructions included in Paper Pumpkin kit.

Card #2 per the instructions.

Alternative card #1 - I pieced the "Yay" together from the Hooray sticker that was included.  Peel and stick it with the balloons and stamp "It's your day."  Super easy!!

Alternative card #2 - I stamped the party hats, candles, etc. on the white sticker using the stamp set from Broadway Birthday (pg 69, annual catalog).  The die cut "WISH" is from the Broadway Lights Framelits.  I love how this bundle coordinated with the Paper Pumpkin this month.

Alternative card #3 - I die cut "happy" (retired Hello You framelits) from Lovely Lipstick cardstock and stamped "birthday" from Special Celebrations, masking "happy" that was on the stamp.

Alternative card #4 - The white piece with green dots down the side is one of the envelopes that came with the kit that I cut down.  The "hello" die cut is also from the retired Hello You framelits.  It is cut out from Gold Foil Sheets.

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!