Convention Pics

I have been so exhausted this week.  I guess my body is still trying to get back to Eastern Standard Time vs. Mountain Time.  I ok until about 4-5:00 and then I'm making friends with my couch for a while.  I haven't even felt like stamping.  I've got all my new stamps put together just waiting.  But, I've also had Stamp Club on Tuesday and Thursday so I haven't had a lot of extra time to stamp ... maybe this weekend.

Today is my mom's 85th birthday!  We're going to take her out tomorrow night to celebrate.

I've been working on trying to label all the pictures Marianne and I took last week.  Wow!  What a job!!  But, in the meantime, I want to share a few of the display boards at convention with all the wonderful cards and projects.

Specials and New Promotions

Convention wasn’t the only excitement last week ...  Stampin’ Up! also announced some really great promotions and new products.  I want to share those with you today

****  THINLITS - There are some really great Thinlits in the Holiday Catalog, but these Thinlits take it all to another level.  With these Thinlits, you can make “flip cards”  (see below).  The Circle Card Thinlits Die comes with 10 total pieces; the Label Card Thinlits Die comes with nine total pieces.  Starting August 1, Stampin’ Up! is bringing Thinlits your way. Check out the flyer HERE.





***** UNDEFINED   Have you ever wanted a stamp but couldn't find the perfect image? Maybe one of your customers has a special family logo or a sketch she'd like to have as a stamp. Well now she can! Undefined is Stampin' Up!'s new stamp carving product line. You define the rubber stamp any way you want.
When you carve your very own stamp, you will have an entirely new and different creative experience. And when you're finished, you will have created a one-of-a-kind stamp!

**** -  PAPER PUMPKIN   Now is the time to try out Paper Pumpkin!  

This is why you will love Paper Pumpkin -

• precut supplies to make adorable projects
• stamps that are one of a kind and desired
• a WONDERFUL surprise each month - cards, mini albums, home decor
• adaptable to suit my style and needs - even if something isn't my style, I know it'll be perfect for someone!
• very reasonably priced.....and now it's on SALE!!

In your first month's kit you will receive everything you need to craft for months to come - a clear block to use with future stamps, an ink pad and all consumables.  The only thing you need is adhesive!  How great is that!?!?!

Offer Dates: July 18, 2013 -August 31, 2013

Offer Details: Use the promotion code PUMPKINDEAL to join Paper Pumpkin before August 31, 2013, and pay only $10 a month* for the first two months.
*plus tax, where applicable. Shipping included!

The Fine Print:

• For new subscribers only.
• Promotion applies only to the first two months of a new subscription. After receiving two month's worth, the price for each month's kit will go to the regular price: $19.95.
• You need to visit mypaperpumpkin.com to join.
• You must click "Add Promo Code" and then enter the promo code PUMPKINDEAL in the "Promo Code" field when you sign up on the mypaperpumpkin.com website to take advantage of this promotion.
• You must join by Saturday, August 31, 2013; 11:50 PM (MT).

AND here are a couple of specials going on now -

**** - SINGLE MARKERS 
 
In the 2013-2014 annual catalog, SU offered the Stampin' Write Marker New Color Kit (item 130034, page 163) to help you update your Many Marvelous Marker pack. Now, they've sweetened the deal. For a limited time, from June 26 until October 31, you can buy any of the new colors in the pack or on their own! Go ahead, fill in the missing pieces in your collection or buy the whole lot.
Check out the flier HERE 

DESIGNER SERIES PAPER

 
  
Offer Dates: July 1-31, 2013
Offer Details: Buy three packs of select Designer Series Paper and get one for free!
The Fine Print:

• These items don't qualify for the offer:
  • Designer Series Paper Stacks
  • Specialty Designer Series Paper
• No limits. Order six? You'll get two for free. Nine? You'll get three for free.
• Check out our Designer Series Papers in the annual catalog pages 151, 153, and 154.

Life is Better at the Beach!

We took a week off from the Paper Players Challenge because of convention but we're back in full swing this week.  I designed my card using My Digital Studio and the hot summer in mind! 

I really like this color combo of pink and green.  I was one of those "preppies" years ago that liked to wear Izod, weejuns, madras and pink and green while I was shagging on the beach to beach music.   I found out today that one of the theme nights on our cruise is going to be "going for a drive, back to the beach, back in time... going Back to the Bowery with 70's Theme Night!"  My days of going to the Bowery (club at Myrtle Beach) is more like the 60's though!  I was getting married and pregnant in the 70's!!  (married in '73, pregnant in '75 and '78) ummmmm .....

OK - back to the card - I used the kit, Anchors Away for this one.  Check out what the other gals have done with the sketch this week.  There are some really great cards HERE. 

Convention Samples

I thought I'd share a few of the great display cards I took pictures of at convention.  There were so many great ideas!  I have been working on trying to get my pictures in some kind of order so I can refer to them during the year.  It's proving to be quite a task!!  I'm about half way through.

This is a Paperbag Album made by a German demonstrator, Jenni Pauli.  Her blog is in my sidebar.

This card I saw when we toured the home office.  It uses the Morning Post Alphabet.

This was one of Shelli's 25 projects that she shared with us.  I love the snowman!  If you do too, you can check him out on page 25 of the Holiday catalog

This butterfly is just gorgeous!  Another one of Shelli's projects using the Swallowtail stamp.

Some of the cards I captured on one of the display boards.  A lot of good ideas here!



Isn't the display board great? 

Well the toothpicks that are holding my eyes open are poking me.  Think I am going to make my way upstairs to bed!!  Stamp club is tomorrow and I have a lot to do.

Convention Video

Here's a video from the Opening Night ceremony.  You can see how heart warming this company is and how much they make you feel like you are a part of their family. I hope you take a few minutes... to watch this to get a feel of what Stampin' Up! is really all about.... it's so much more than stamps.  It is Being the Difference, making incredible friends and spreading wonderful creativity around the world.

Look for Marianne and I dancing with our bags in the first part of the video!!




Here is a picture of some of the things I came home with.

Back from Convention!!

I'm home!!  It will be good to sleep in my own bed tonight.  I'm not saying the hotel bed was bad - it was actually quite comfy but by being in my bed tonight, I won't have to get up tomorrow at the crack of dawn!!!  Just hope my body understands that and lets me sleep.  Our flight left Salt Lake this a.m. at 7:30.  We had a 2 hour lay-over in Detroit- enough time to grab some lunch and charge our laptops.  Then boarded our flight to Greensboro.  That plane was reallllllly small - 2 seats on one side and 1 on the other.  As we were approaching the Greensboro airport, there were storms in the area so the pilot made a few circles.  The storms were not moving so we headed north and landed in Richmond, VA to refuel.  Then back to Greensboro - luckily that was only about a 30 minute or less trip.  Then we got our bags and drove home and met our hubbies for dinner.  I haven't even unpacked - tomorrow
will be plenty of time to do that!!

Here's a little thumbnail of our convention highlights:

The first general session began Thursday night with an emotional, heartfelt welcome by CEO and cofounder, Shelli Gardner, who was thrilled to kick off Stampin' Up!'s historic 25th anniversary party by welcoming demonstrators from all over the globe--some of whom joined the event via a live streaming broadcast on YouTube.

Shelli began the session by sharing how Stampin' Up! started--with her sister, Vonna--and the incredible way it went from a small start-up based in Shelli's living room to a multimillion dollar business spanning the globe. As Shelli said, "It all began with a genuine desire to meet our needs and offer the same opportunity for others . . . whether those needs were social, financial, creative . . . [or the need for] recognition."

From the very beginning, Stampin' Up! was founded to make a difference--and it has--including their philanthropic Make a Difference program. Over the years, Stampin' Up! has raised money and donated to many worthwhile causes worldwide. Shelli was especially happy to announce during this session that Stampin' Up! is now a global sponsor of Ronald McDonald House Charities. (Ronald McDonald himself made an appearance, to the delight of all!)  Marianne and I have decided to look into doing something with Charlotte's Ronald McDonald House.

Shelli also spent a few moments distinguishing between making a difference and being the difference. Shelli explained: "Making a Difference looks back at our history--the things we've done and the legacy we've created as a Stampin' Up! family. Be the Difference, on the other hand, embodies where we are right now and where we are going. Moving forward, how are we as a group and each of us individually going to be the difference?" Over the next few days, Shelli said that we would explore the possibilities together--how we can make--and be--the difference in peoples' lives.

Pam Morgan, vice president of demonstrator and employee development, followed Shelli with a fun stamping presentation. She gave tips on gorgeous cards demonstrators could make using the free stamp sets they received at convention.  We got Gorgeous Grunge, Tag It, and Hello Lovely and at the end of the session, they gave us all another set, Tags for You from the Holiday Catalog.

After the session, we participated in an Opening Social which included a Guinness World Records challenge--with the goal to send as many cards from a single location as possible. We also had the opportunity to put together special birthday kits for children who are patients at Primary Children's Medical Center.

During the Opening Social, we enjoyed Learning Labs, including a Social Media Lab, a Recruiting Lab, a Booking Lab, and a Paper Pumpkin Lab.  Finally, the karaoke stage was a big hit--where demonstrators showed off their musical talent (not us though!!)
What a fabulous first day of convention! 

Day 2 kicked off early Friday morning with thousands of demonstrators thronging the Salt Palace Convention Center for one of the biggest events Stampin' Up! has ever held--celebrating its twenty-fifth year anniversary in fabulous style!   It was almost a stampede when they opened the doors and 5,800 people rushed in to find a seat!!

This year Stampin' Up! also welcomed demonstrators from all parts of the globe--some of whom joined us on their way to Grand Vacation 2013 in Park City, Utah.

The Friday morning general session began with Sara Douglass reminiscing about the first convention she ever attended in 1993, when she was twelve years old. Growing up as she did--with Stampin' Up! being such a big part of her life--Stampin' Up! conventions just seemed "like a family reunion--a very LARGE family reunion," said Sara. "Who else can say they have 50,000 family members spread around the world?"

Stampin' Start achievers were honored in the Friday AM session, as were annual personal sales award achievers, recruiting and leadership achievers, and Getaway and Grand Vacation earners.

Shelli Gardner followed Sara with a stamping presentation featuring 25 projects (for 25 years)! She introduced two new products and demonstrated exciting, innovative ways to use these fun new products.  (Details coming soon!!)

Shannon West also introduced two new products - one of them being the new Undefined Stamp Carving Kit and she showed us her fun stamps--which she carved herself using the new kit!  (Again, more details later.)

The General Session ended around 11 a.m. and we had time for lunch, make and takes, mini classes, new product demos, etc.  It was such fun!  Marianne and I took over 500 pictures!  So we had to make a run back to our hotel and charge our phones/cameras for about an hour before heading back for Awards Night.  Due to changes in recognition, Friday evening's Awards Night was short and sweet but just as fabulous.  This year's Awards Night achievers were also presented with gorgeous Hawaiian leis--and little did they know--those flowers were a hint of good things to come! Scott Nielsen announced that for North American and South Pacific markets, Grand Vacation 2015 will be held in Oahu, Hawaii.
Awards Night was followed by a truly exciting 25-Year Celebration which included aerial ballet, photo ops, live music, interactive activities, and delicious refreshments.

Day Two of Convention 2013 could not have been more exciting. 

Here is one of the cards I took for swaps with Sketched Birthdays.  I was in need of a new birthday stamp set and really like this one.  I used all the new In Colors on the card.  But this set has so many possibilities!!



 OK - I am falling asleep at the keyboard!  This gal is going to bed!!  Night!

Almost home

Marianne and I are at the Detroit Airport almost home. the internet connection at our hotel was not good so I was not able to blog while I was away.  We had a great time at convention and have lots of good stories and cards to share with you.   Hopefully I'll have time tonight when I get home 2 get on the computer if not you'll hear from me tomorrow

We are in Salt Lake City!!

We are in Salt Lake City!  We got to our hotel room about 1 a.m (3 a.m. EST though!) and in the bed by 1:30.  But we were both so keyed up, it took a while to fall asleep and of course, my body woke up at 6:30 since it thought it was 8:30!!  Hitting the bed pretty soon tonight for our full day tomorrow.  But thought I'd share a few pictures from our day.  We went to the Mormon Tabernacle today.  All I can say is WOW!  Words can't describe how beautiful that place is.  Of course, we could not go into the Temple but were able to go inside the other buildings.  We listened to an organ recital in the tabernacle that was just wonderful. 

We won't be doing any pub hopping here though.  We arrived to dinner about an hour early (didn't realize there had been a last minute change in our reservations) so decided to find someplace to have a drink.  We ended up at the Macaroni Grill's bar.  The bartender brought us a menu.  We told her no, we just wanted a glass of wine.  Well .... it is a Utah LAW that you have to order food in order for them to serve you alcohol!!  She recommended a $3 small bowl of olives!!  Marianne told her she didn't like olives but that was ok - I would eat them.  The bartender said to her - you will have an olive, won't you (or else she wouldn't get her beer!!)  So funny!

At Grreensboro airport trying to get organized!!

Mormon Temple

NC Demo swapping group



 And to give you a good laugh -----



Marianne found her some glasses!!

Lollipop Swaps

This is one of my favorite cards at the shoebox swap at Allison's a few weeks ago. I ended up CASEing it and making several to take to convention for swaps.  Just punch 1" circles from Polka Dot DSP and arrange in a circle.  Glue together and add a circle in the center with a pearl.  I colored the white pearls in various colors.  I bought the lollipop sticks at a big box craft store and tied a piece of ribbon around it.  Easy Peasy!!

I am all packed.  Got all my swaps done.  My suitcase is UNDER 50 lbs!!  And I am waiting for Marianne!  We have a 6:30 flight from Greensboro (about 1 1/2 hours from here) to Atlanta.  Then we have a 2 hour layover in Atlanta before boarding a plane to Salt Lake City.  We arrive in SLC at midnight .... 2:00 AM our time (EST).  Marianne will have been up almost 24 hours by that time.  I'm sure by the time we retrieve our luggage, find our shuttle and get to the hotel and checked in, she will be a zombie!  She's not used to late hours so I am going to have to work on her this week.  Luckily Wednesday is a "do nothing" day for us.  We are going to take in the sights of Salt Lake before meeting our NC demos for dinner.  I will do my best on blogging this week but my laptop was not cooperating with me last night so we'll see!

Ice Cream??

I'm making progress with my swaps for convention!  Finished up a few more this morning before heading over to the Soup Kitchen to do a little volunteer work.  Marianne and I met up later for dinner.  I don't think we've seen each other in about a month!  It was funny.  I stopped off at Belk's to browse while waiting for her to get off work and get her hair cut.  She called me right after I got to Belk's and asked me where I was.  When I told her, she said, "no way - where are you?"  Turns out she was in Belk's too - right across the aisle from me.  The sales girl got a big kick out of it - she could hear both sides of our conversation!  After she got her hair cut, we went to Chili's for dinner - one of favorite places.  

This is one of the cards I have made for a convention swap.  I saw a card similar to this somewhere on the internet and made my own version of it.  Doesn't it look like a yummy ice cream cone?  It was so easy to make - I used my scallop circle punch for the three "flavors" and cut the come free-hand and embossed it.   Then I used the ticket punch to punch out a few tags.

MDS Challenges

 

 This is my card for the Paper Craft Crew Challenge.  #50 - can you believe it??!!

 I tried to post it last night but my laptop just wouldn't cooperate.  Our lights kept flickering and we could hear thunder in the distance so I just gave up and called it a night.  Someone must have gotten a storm but we never did.  And (I don't want to say this too loud!) but the sun is shining today.  We are supposed to meet a group for dinner on the lake late this afternoon - weather permitting.  So, back to the card .... of course, I used My Digital Studio.  A couple of tricks with this card - the three brads in the center.  They actually had different colored little hearts on them and not in my color combo.  SO, I inserted a circle punch and shrunk it down to fit on top of the brads; color filled them with the DSP and voila! three custom brads to match!  The two little flags are from a bow that I cropped and just used the two ends.  The butterfly is one of my favorites.  It is from the Flores Suaves stamp set - which was offered in the Spanish catalog several years ago but now I can get it digital which makes it great.  It is an open stamp meaning if it were an actual stamp, you would have to use markers, etc. to color in the butterfly wings.  I used the Freeform (add brush) technique; colored in the butterfly in Soft Sky and Pistachio Pudding and when I was finished, brought the stamped image butterfly to the top.  The script behind the butterfly (in white) is also from the same stamp set.

While I'm talking about MDS, I have entered a SU color combo contest.  I would love your comments on my pictures on Stampin' Up's site.  You can check them out and leave your comments HERE.  Just click on my two layouts and comment.  Stampin' Up says "it doesn't hurt your chances of winning by having a lot of comments!"  Thanks!

Birthday Chalk Talk

I just love the stamp set, Chalk Talk!  Here is a card I made for a friend's birthday last month.

Aren't those colors great - Daffodil Delight, Coastal Cabana and Strawberry Slush!  How about that polka dotted background?  A good way to use up your scrap rubber bits!  The big circle is from the circle that is punched out from one of the Chalk Talk stamps!  And the small polka dots are from a pencil eraser!  I made the flower using the clay and flower mold and decided to keep it white instead of coloring it.  Ummm - maybe I'll whip up a few of these for convention swaps.

Quick post tonight - I have to get to bed.  Early wake up tomorrow to go to the Soup Kitchen.  I have to be there at 8:30 am which is my normal time to wake up!!

Backyard Basics Swaps

As you probably know, Stampin' Up is celebrating it's 25th anniversary this year.  Each month they are featuring a "best of" stamp set.  We' ve had flowers, hearts, and now Shelli's favorites.  Who better to pick a “Best of” stamp set than the person who helped start Stampin’ Up! out of her garage 25 years ago? Shelli Gardner, our CEO and co- founder picked her favorite stamp images from the past 25 years and helped combine them into a single set just for you. 

Best of Shelli Clear-mount Stamp Set #133488 $14.95

Even better, this set includes a never-before-seen flourish image, and the flower image coordinates perfectly with the 3/4” Circle Punch.

Shelli has some samples on her blog of projects she created with this Best Of Set.  Check them out HERE and HERE.

I got a few more swaps done today.  I think I have about 60 now not counting the 40 for the "January" organized swap and the 15 cards for the NC Demo dinner and swap.  So I'll be coming home with a bunch of new ideas! 

This one is my favorite though!  I think this is called the stained glass technique.  Whatever ... I love it!  I think we will be doing this at club this month too.  I stamped the butterfly from Backyard Basics in white on vellum paper and embossed it.  After cutting the butterflies out with the matching framelits, I used my markers to color the back of the embossed butterflies.  I did a few of these cards using one of the flowers from Secret Garden too but I like the butterflies the best.

My Convention Swap

I think we may be building an ark here soon if this rain doesn't let up!  It has rained the whole week.   But that has given me a good shot at staying inside and working on my swaps for convention (which is next week!!)  We went to the movies on Thursday, the 4th and saw The Heat.  I really liked it and got a few good laughs in but I'm a big Sandra Bullock fan.  I heard some people complain about the language (the "F" word was used a lot.)  But it didn't really bother me.  I don't use that word and don't like to hear others use it, but I'm not a prude about it either.  I think we may go see White House Down this afternoon in between the rain drops.

Here is the card I finally chose for my organized swap at convention.  I had to make 40 of them and they had to be something for the month of January.  My hopes of doing a snowman card was dashed when Stampin' Up did not include any of them in the big catalog.  So I borrowed Zoo Review from my downline and made this card.  It turned out pretty cute.

 

The sentiment is from Chalk Talk (pg 12) - probably my favorite set in the catalog!  It's hard to see but I put a bit of Dazzling Diamonds right under the bear's paws.

Well, back to the drawing board - I have more swaps to make that I will be sharing with you soon.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!

Hope your day is a good one - stay safe!  I also hope that your fireworks viewing is better than ours was.  The YMCA in Mooresville puts on a fireworks display every year.  This year they chose to do it on July 3.  Not sure why but .... they didn't ask me.  The weather has been pretty bad here all week - raining every day and Wednesday was no different.  It rained off and on all day.  We were going to enjoy watching the fireworks from my mom's church.  They were also planning on having an ice cream social.  But with the rain, they canceled the social.  The rain let up a little bit about 8 so we drove to Mooresville at 9 to watch the fireworks with Mom and Angela.  They were supposed to start at 9:30 but .... they started them early!  So we got to see about 10 minutes of the fireworks!  Oh well, better luck next year!

A template from MDS - easy peasy!!

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG,
OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ,

AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS,
ONE NATION UNDER  GOD,
INDIVISIBLE, WITH  LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!


For all of our other military personnel, where ever they may be.
Please  support all of the troops defending our Country.

And God Bless our Military who are protecting our Country for our Freedom.
Thanks to them, and their sacrifices, we can celebrate the 4th of July.

We must never forget who gets the credit for the freedoms we have, and to them we should be eternally grateful.

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.

A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform;
so young, so tall, so proud.
With hair cut square and eyes alert,
he'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him
had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil;
how many mothers' tears?

How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
NO, FREEDOM ISN'T FREE !

I heard the sound of Taps one night,
when everything was still.
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times
That Taps had meant 'Amen.'
When a flag had draped a coffin
of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,
of the mothers and the wives,
of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.

Paper Craft Crew Sketch

My card for Paper Craft Crew this week uses Neon Notes with My Digital Studio. 

Embellishments
    Crochet Trim Ribbon\Chantilly (re-colored)
    _Designer Kits\Neon Notes - embellishments\Neon Notes - flourish tag 4 (re-colored)
    _Designer Kits\Neon Notes - embellishments\Neon Notes - flourish tag 1
    _Designer Kits\Neon Notes - embellishments\Neon Notes - flower 1
    _Designer Kits\Neon Notes - embellishments\Neon Notes - flower 2
    _Designer Kits\Neon Notes - embellishments\Neon Notes - flower 2
    _Designer Kits\Neon Notes - embellishments\Neon Notes - flower 3
    _Designer Kits\Afternoon Tea - embellishments\Afternoon Tea - lovely
    Crochet Trim Ribbon\Chantilly - bow (re-colored)
    Antique Brads\Antique Brads - brad 4
    Basic Pearls and Rhinestones\Basic Pearls and Rhinestones - pearl large

Stamps
    _Designer Kits\Be Brave\Be Brave - love

Punches
    Basics\1.25 Square Punch,  Filled with: Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Neon Notes - designer series paper\Neon Notes - 9
    Labels & Tags\Lots of Tags - shape 2

Make sure you check out what the other members of the crew have done for this challenge HERE.

More Swap Cards

I have more swap cards from Saturday to share.  They were all so good it would be hard to pick a favorite.  But while we were eating lunch, Allison had her neighbor come over and pick her favorite card.  It was fun even if mine didn't win.



The sentiment above comes from Hello Lovely (pg 22).  It is one that I will be gettingfree  at convention!  I love the color combo of this card.



This is a great new single stamp - Five Way Flower (pg 85) that coordinates with3 of the Scallop Circle Punches and the small flower punch in the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack.  But my favorite is the little strip on the side.  We made that by stamping the flower stamp onto a tiny strip of card stock - creating our own DSP!!  Cool, huh?



A bright and fun card.  This card used Create a Cupcake and the new set, Label Love (pg 33) along with the cupcake punch.  Another great color combo.



Update your Marker Collection

In the 2013-2014 annual catalog, Stampin' Up! offer the Stampin' Write Marker New Color Kit (item 130034, page 163) to help you update your Many Marvelous Marker pack.

Now, they've sweetened the deal.  For a limited time, from June 26 until October 31, you can buy
any of the new colors in the pack or on their own!

Go ahead, fill in the missing pieces in your collection or buy the whole lot.

ITEM PRICE DESCRIPTION

130034 $28.95 Stampin' Write Marker New Color Kit
Bermuda Bay, Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry, Island Indigo, Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party, Smoky Slate, Soft Sky, Wisteria Wonder

131899 $3.50 Bermuda Bay Stampin' Write Marker

131265 $3.50 Blushing Bride Stampin' Write Marker

131902 $3.50 Calypso Coral Stampin' Write Marker

131901 $3.50 Crushed Curry Stampin' Write Marker

131905 $3.50 Island Indigo Stampin' Write Marker

131266 $3.50 Pear Pizzazz Stampin' Write Marker

131904 $3.50 Pool Party Stampin' Write Marker

131898 $3.50 Smoky Slate Stampin' Write Marker

131900 $3.50 Soft Sky Stampin' Write Marker

131903 $3.50 Wisteria Wonder Stampin' Write Marker

Swap Cards

Another busy weekend for me.  We went to a 70th birthday party for our friends on Friday night.  It was a lot of fun and I had my dancing shoes on!!  I was kinda the official photographer - at least that's what everyone thought!  I took pictures the whole night of the party and I am going to make a scrapbook for them with MDS.  I decided that would the best gift I could come up with - what do you give people when they get to a certain age and don't want to collect anymore "stuff"!!??

On Saturday, I went to a shoebox swap over in the Kannapolis/Concord area - about an hour from my house.  We were to take three shoebox cards for everyone to make.  Well, I got my cards ready a couple of weeks ago and put sticky notes on the outside of the boxes to make sure I didn't forget to put all the supplies in since I was still using the ink, stamps, etc.  Well, guess my sticky note system was not the best!  I felt like an idiot and left 2 of the stamp sets out!  Luckily, Allison (whose home we were in) had Mosaic Madness so I borrowed hers.  Midway through doing the cards, I discovered that Karen and I had done almost the same card as the other one I'd forgotten so they were able to use her set to make my card also.  Guess we CASE'd the same person!!

This is my card in Basic Gray and Pool Party using Oh Hello with a clay button.  I used the Pool Party Core'dination card stock and sanded the embossing

This is Karen's card in Blushing Bride and Soft Sky.  I guess great minds think alike (or in this case, CASE alike!)

This is another one of my cards - I remembered all the parts for this one!  I made the Strawberry Slush circles by using a piece of the rubber that popped out of one of the stamps in Chalk Talk - a great recycling tip!  I used the Chalk Talk Framelits and stamp set for this card. 

Stay tuned - I'll be sharing some of the other great cards later in the week!

Washi Tape

 If you are like me, you're not too sure what all the hub-bub is about Washi Tape.  I have used it a few times (see my journal below) and I really like it but would like to know more.  Well, Stampin' Up to the rescue!

The gray striped tape & the coral tape (beside the gray one at the top) are all This & That Washi tape.  It goes on great and just adds a little something to your project.!

 

What to Washi!    

Stampin' Up!'s brand new online class - What to Washi - is now available. Offering seven different sections of Washi wisdom, this class includes everything you need to know to make the most of one of the hottest crafting trends out there, including written instructions, step-out photos, instructional videos, and supply lists for more than 30 projects.

All for just $14.95!The following topics are covered in the class:

. The Washi Basics
. Washi-The Next Step
. Above and Beyond
. Sharing Washi with Others
. Memory Keeping
. Storage
. Only the Beginning. . .
 
 

But wait, there's more! This class is also being offered as part of the What to Washi Bundle.

Bundle Includes:
* 7 PDF Documents
* 2 Instructional Videos
* 4 pkgs of Washi Tape (3 rolls per pkg)
* 20 Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes

All this for only $36.95

The class features seven different sections, and takes a customer from the basics to incredibly creative and customized Washi Tape ideas. Customers receive more than 30 projects ideas, along with Stampin' Supplies and detailed instructions; in addition, there are step outs and two videos included with the class. When you order the What to Washi Bundle, you'll be the first to receive our Season of Style and Witches Brew Washi Tape packages; they aren't available to individual purchase until August 1!

If you want to order this class OR bundle, please use my July hostess code when ordering - Y4BBPUMB

You can order HERE.

And don't forget about the new CLEARANCE items.  Stampin' Up strongly recommends that customers order clearance items on online orders via a hostess code to guarantee availability. Customers may add clearance items to a workshop order, but because clearance items are only available while supplies last, it's possible that the item will not be available when the order is submitted.

Chalk Talk

 In the 2013-2014 annual catalog,  the Stampin' Write Marker New Color Kit (item 130034, page 163)  helps you update your Many Marvelous Marker pack. Now, SU has sweetened the deal. For a limited time, from June 26 until October 31, you can buy any of the new colors in the pack or on their own! Go ahead, fill in the missing pieces in your collection or buy the whole lot. 

ITEM	PRICE	DESCRIPTION
130034	$28.95	Stampin' Write Marker New Color Kit Bermuda Bay, Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry, Island Indigo, Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party, Smoky Slate, Soft Sky, Wisteria Wonder
131899	$3.50	Bermuda Bay Stampin' Write Marker
131265	$3.50	Blushing Bride Stampin' Write Marker
131902	$3.50	Calypso Coral Stampin' Write Marker
131901	$3.50	Crushed Curry Stampin' Write Marker
131905	$3.50	Island Indigo Stampin' Write Marker
131266	$3.50	Pear Pizzazz Stampin' Write Marker
131904	$3.50	Pool Party Stampin' Write Marker
131898	$3.50	Smoky Slate Stampin' Write Marker
131900	$3.50	Soft Sky Stampin' Write Marker
131903	$3.50	Wisteria Wonder Stampin' Write Marker

I have been trying to work on a few swaps for convention.  I can't believe it is in three weeks!  Usually by now, I have a lot of them ready to swap out.  But I am not taking as many this year as I have in the past.  I love the swapping at convention but seriously, do I really need 100 more samples to find a home for in my craft room???!!   

One of favorite stamps is Chalk Talk with the matching framelits.  I'll have to admit the framelits had me stumped though.  They come with several frames and 3 odd looking pieces.  I couldn't figure out what they were until just yesterday.  You put those little pieces in the frames to cut a little opening in the tag!

This is the first card I made.  Don't you love red and black?  The DSP is from Modern Medley and I used Vanilla for the card and tag.  I love it but I am in a swap that is trying to use everything new in our swaps.

  

So, I went back to the drawing board and made this card using the new In Colors that I love!!  The DSP I used in this one is from Quatrefancy Specialty.  I particularly like the DSP piece that is on top of the Coastal Cabana flag piece.  It is a window sheet with the quatrefoil design on it in white.  So you can see the Coastal Cabana piece through it.  See the faux ribbon I used on the tag?  I cut a sliver of paper - some of them are DSP and some are from card stock.  I used my scissors to break down the fiber of the paper a little bit so it would be more flexible.  Then I carefully tied it into a little knot through the tag opening. I used the Fancy Fan embossing folder for both of the Crisp Cantaloupe flag pieces.

 

I had a helper today while I was making my cards!  Sammie tried hard to keep her eyes on me .... as well as the squirrel who was sitting on the roof outside the window but just couldn't do it for long!

 

 

See?  eyes are pretty much closed.  She didn't even wake up when I ran something through the printer!!

Hello Summer!

First off - Stampin' Up has put new items in the Clearance Bin so go check it out for some deals.  Order online using the hostess code Y4BBPUMB.

I have my card for the Paper Crew Challenge this week.  Just forgot to post it last night!!
 



I used this new kit that I downloaded yesterday to make the card.  It is called Summer Possibilities Kit and was released June 11.  I love the red, white and blue and all the elements in the kit.

Yesterday was also a digital release day and I purchased a few of the new ones too.  Also, there is a FREE download from yesterday so make sure you check it out.  Here is the new download - Get Going July Wallpaper -



I think I am going to play around with this one and make a new blog title - or maybe with the summer one.  Check back and be surprised!

I also like this pocket card download - Be Brave.

Well, I am still fighting about my cell phone!  Verizon and I are getting to be good pals!  I received my "new" phone on Monday and turns out, it was not NEW but a pre-owned phone.  I was really mad!  I called the number provided and he suggested I go to the store.  So, off I went.  I spoke with the manager who was really helpful.  She showed me a few things that she thought I was doing that could be making the phone lock up.  She also told me that the phone I received in the mail was not a refurbished phone but just extra inventory or one someone perhaps returned.  So, I returned the new phone and decided to give my old one another chance knowing the new tricks she showed me.  Would you believe, yesterday it locked up again!  So today, back to the store to talk with Casandra, the manager.  Again, she looked through the phone and made a few adjustments and we decided to give it one more try.  I left the store, stopped at the bank and stopped to get lunch.  Guess what?  The phone had locked up again and I had not even used it!!  So, after lunch, back to Verizon (I have lost count how many trips I have made to that store!)  She was as puzzled as I was but decided that it was time to send for another new phone.  I should have it tomorrow and then I get to reload everything once again!  Keep your fingers crossed that this one works!