IT'S TIME TO SALE-A-BRATE!!!!!!!!! FREE STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHOOOHOOOO!! It is my favorite time of the year - it's SALE-A-BRATION time!!!  Check it out:

FREE GIFTS FOR EVERY $50 YOU SPEND!!

Sale a Bration is the biggest promotion of the year!!  For every $50  you place between January 25th and March 31st, 2011, you will receive a FREE gift from Stampin' Up!! And, that's not all - there is NO LIMIT so  if you spend $100 you get 2 gifts, spend $150 get 3 gifts, etc.  AND, you still earn your Hostess Rewards!  HOLY MOLY!!!  The best part of all???? !! YOU PICK THE FREE GIFT!!!  Yep, that's right, the SAB catalog that you see pictured above is chock full of wonderful items you get to choose for FREE!!!! And, the whole back page of the catalog lists items from the main catalog that you can choose from as well!!!!  If you do not have your Sale a Bration mini catalog yet, contact me and  let me know so I can send you one.. or, if you already have a demonstrator, let them know you need one because you do NOT want to miss out on this deal!!!  You an also view the catalog online here if you can't wait to get your hard copy, *wink*
I am totally blown away by the quality and wonderful selection of the FREE items this year.....we have stamp sets, Decor Elements, Designer Series paper, ribbon, button, and even MDS downloads!! Soooo much to choose from - and you get one for each $50 order - WOWZERS!!!!!  You can place an ONLINE ORDER with me in my ONLINE STORE and it will automatically prompt you to select your free items depending on your total before shipping and taxes.  How fun is that?!! And, there's more (it's like an infomercial, right, heehee!) If you have ever thought about being a demonstrator, now is the time to join!!!  I would love to have you as a part of my INKlings of Stampin' Fun group!!!  So, if you:

•want to earn free stamp sets, embellishments, and supplies
•want to enjoy a discount on all your purchases
•want to be a part of a wonderfully fun and talented group called INKlings of Stampin' Fun
•want to purchase all the new goodies before all your customers
•want to make a little extra money
•want to get 15% Off your Starter Kit AND
•want to get a FREE PRODUCT BUNDLE worth $50 

then you should seriously consider becoming a part of the Stampin' Up! family and joining my INKlings of Stampin' Fun group!!  During Sale-A-Bration, you will receive 15% off the cost of your kit AND Stampin' Up! will give you a FREE product bundle valued at more than $50 just for signing!!!!  That is almost $400 worth of stamping supplies for right around $149 - WOWZERS AGAIN!!!!!  If this has you jumping up and down with excitement, and you want more information, email me and I will be happy to answer any questions you might have!!  Ready to sign up right now?  You can join online at my website - just go here and then click on the box in the far top right corner that says start your own business and it will guide you through the process - it's as easy as that!!!  WHEW!! All this excitement - I just love SALE-A-BRATION time - it is when I signed up to be a demonstrator four years ago, and I am soooo very glad I did!!! I will be back tomorrow to share some fun projects made with some of the FREE SALE-A-BRATION products available so until then, HAPPY STAMPIN'!

WEEKEND SCRAPPIN'

Good Monday morning all!!! WHEW! Very busy weekend with three events but lots of fun stamping and scrapbooking with some new friends - yippee!!! I love to stamp on my scrap pages, it takes two of my favorite loves and mooshes them together to create a WOW!!! Heehee, Loooooove it!!!! So, I thought I would share a fun scrapbook page that I made for my workshop - they actually made the 6x6 page and then I showed them how to take that into a 12x12 layout - too fun!! And, it is all about love to boot! I need to add some pictures still but I have plenty of mushy pics to put on there, lol!!!!  Lots of fun new product used on this layout from the new Occasions Mini Catalog - I swear, they get better each and every time we get a new one and I am not sure quite how they do that but man, I have to have it ALL, heeehee!!!  Just look at that super cute designer patterned paper called Love Impressions (item 121780) - it is totally yummy and I have gone through several packs of it already because it is soooo much fun to play with!  I paired it with some Rose Red and Pink Pirouette card stock and the ribbon is actually Blushing Bride which fits in quite nicely!

Here is the 6x6 page that my workshop ladies go to do!  We used the new stamp set from the mini called Valentine Defined (clear set item 123057).  I had to laugh because I was talking to my sweet husband and when I showed him the layout he said, "oh, you used heart weeds" LOL! So, heart weeds they are :-)  Super cute set, I actually  bought this set for the flamingos but have now used every single stamp, just love it! The stamped and popped up heart is from the I {heart} Hearts stamp set (main catalog, clear item 118571) which is such a great set because you can use our heart punch ( main catalog, item 119883) to punch out the images which makes them really fun to use as embellishments! We added some Whisper White satin ribbon(main catalog, item 114616) which is so soft and yummy - I just love ribbon!

And, here is the sample of taking the 6x6 to the 8.5x11 layout!  You can see how nicely that 6x6 fits and adds so much - just a few added squares for pics, some background stamping, and some pretty embellies and you are done!  They really enjoyed making this layout and some of them even said that they had not tried scrapbooking before but this made it seem doable - and, of course it is!!! Sharing my love of scrapbooking is one of my favorite things to do - it makes me grin from ear to ear!!!! I hope you enjoy seeing this as much as I enjoyed making it!  And, if you are interested in purchasing any of the products that I have shared, you can order online in my online store, or contact me and I will put your order in! Now, I am off to make some fun cards just for me- gotta stamp sometimes just because, right??  I hope you all have a fabulous day, I will be back tomorrow to share another fun layout we did in my scrap club this weekend! Until then, happy stampin'!
Card Recipe;
Paper - Going Gray, Rose Red, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White card stock, Love Impressions Specialty designer series paper
Inks - Going Gray, Rose Red, Pink Pirouette classic stampin' pads, Rose Red stampin' write marker (used with spritzer tool on title)
Stamps - Valentine Defined, I {Heart} Hearts, Lovely Letters (U monogram), Sweet Shoppe Alphabet (title)
Accessories - Blushing Bride 1/2 inch stitched poly ribbon, Whisper White satin ribbon, Whisper White Jumbo brads, rhinestones, stampin' dimensionals
Tools - Jumbo heart punch, Pinking Hearts border punch, Pinking Hearts corner punch, Eyelet border punch, Scallop circle punch, 1 3/8 inch circle punch, 2 3/8 inch scallop circle punch, 2 1/2 inch circle punch, 1 3/4 inch circle punch, spritzer tool

BUTTON, BUTTON WHO'S GOT THE BUTTON??

I do and I love them!!!! HAH! I have an obsession with buttons of any kind - I have tons of them in clear containers that I can run my hands through and look at all the different shapes, colors, and sizes.  Heehee, I bet you did NOT know that about me did you?? *wink* I think they are the best embellishments - I hardly ever do a scrap page or a card without adding one!  So, when Stampin' Up! came out with a new set called Button, Button AND I earned it for free during one of their challenges, well, I was thrilled to my toes!!!!!  I used this set on this card for my downline shoebox swap and I have to say, the ladies loved all the different colors.  It is soooo much fun to play with this set - and I can use as many buttons as I cant and make them any color I want! Such a great set!!! I wanted this card to be bright and cheery so I picked some of my favorite colors and stamped all my fun little button designs in them.  And, I used my circle punches to punch them all out so it was really quick and simple! I also used another favorite stamp set of mine called Punch Bunch - aren't those flowers purdy??  This set is in the Sale-a-Bration catty and will be available to earn FREE with a qualifying $50 order on the 25th of January!! I used my stampin' write markers to ink up the stamp and punched out the image using my scallop circle punch - looooove it!! So super quick and easy and well, cute, right??!!!!  No sentiment on this one - I left it to them to use this card however they felt like.  I sure do love stamping with my downline, it makes me smile and feel good! Nothing like a room full of gals who love to stamp - such a GREAT feeling!!!!  I look forward to our meetings every month, especially when we do a card swap - so much fun!!! I have TONS of stamping to do today as I have filled my weekend with fun events - I have a mini book class tomorrow night, two workshops on Saturday, and them my Scrap Club gals come over on Sunday - whooohoooo!! Sooo, lots to get done - I best get to it :-)  Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you get to fit a little creative time into your schedule today too! I will be back tomorrow with another fun project to share so until then, Happy Stampin'!!!!!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Marina Mist, Whisper White card stock
Inks - Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Marina Mist classic stampin' pads and stampin' write markers
Stamps - Button, Button, and Punch Bunch
Tools - Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch, 3/4 inch circle punch, 1/2 inch circle punch, 1 inch circle punch, Scallop circle punch, Big Shot, Finial Press embossing folder
Accessories - Whisper White Satin ribbon

FUN WORKSHOP CARDS

Hi all!!! WOW! I can't believe it is Wednesday already, this week is flying by! Last night I had my downline meeting and I totally meant to take pictures and was having so much fun with the gals that I totally forgot - DOH!!! But, there is always next month since we meet every month, heehee!! So, today I was going to share my canvas project and then decided that I would share a workshop project instead, lol! You see, I have hearts on the brain right now since we are so close to Valentines so I decide that is what I wanted to share :-)  This first card is a card we made in my last workshop and it is chock full of fun product from the new mini, and super cute to boot!!! (just sayin' :-))  Look at all the purdy color and the bling is a WOW! doncha think??!! I mean, who can resist red glitter paper THAT DOES NOT SHED ITS GLITTER??!!!  I love love love this paper and am hoarding it in great quantities, heehee!!!  And, I love using it with my punches, look how nice that heart looks?  Seriously, just look at how purdy it looks all popped up proudly on this card!  I used the new stamp set Valentine Defined in the new mini (pg. 9, item 123057(c)) and I have to be honest - I bought the set totally for the flamingos, LOL!  However, all the stamps in this set are really fun and I just love the hearts all strung from side to side!  The little heart is from the I {Heart} Hearts set in the main catty (pg. 46, item 118571(c)) which is another super cute set and is fabulous to use with our heart punches.  The sentiment is from yet another stamp set but is out of the Sale-A-Bration catalog called Punch Bunch and can only be earned with a purchase of $50 or more - but trust me, the whole set can be punched so you will totally LOVE this set *wink*  The patterned paper is another one of my faves from the mini and is called Love Impressions (pg. 7, item 121780) - it is soooo yummy and can be used in sooo many different ways! I can go on and on....but I won't heehee!

 I do however want to quickly share with you a stepped up version of the above card to show how easy it is to add one or two embellies to an already cute card and make it that much cuter!  With just a few little changes on this card, it takes it just one step up - kind of like an Emeril thing "lets kick it up a notch", LOL!!  What are the changes? Well, I popped up the small hearts on dimensionals, ran the stamped piece of whisper white through my Big Shot with the perfect polka dots embossing folder, added a couple more layers behind the sentiment, switched out the thin whisper white ribbon with the thicker whisper white organza ribbon, and added a button with twine.  Voila - not a lot to add, but doesn't look even more fun than before??  They gals in the workshop loved it, and  I hope you do too! If you have any questions about ANY of the products or techniques you see here, please contact me, I am happy to answer any questions you may have.  And, if would like to purchase any of these items, you may do so by ordering in my online store or emailing me and I will be happy to help out! I am off now to share my love of stamping with a new friend, but I want to thank you for stopping by and I hope you will leave me a comment to let me know you did! I will be back tomorrow with some more fun things to share but until then, happy stamping!!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Real Red, Whisper White, Going Gray card stock, Love Impressions specialty paper, Glitter paper
Inks - Real Red, Going Gray classic inks
Stamps - Valentine Defined, I {Heart} Hearts, Punch Bunch (avail 25 Jan in the SAB catty)
Tools - Pinking Hearts Border Punch, Full Heart punch, small heart punch, 3/4 inch circle punch, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Big Shot,
Accessories - Whisper White narrow grosgrain ribbon, Whisper White 5/8 inch Organza ribbon, Real Red button, twine, dimensionals

FUN PICS FROM LEADERSHIP

I cannot tell you how much fun I had at Leadership this year - it was a total WOW! event! I mean, every event Stampin' Up! does is a total class act, but this one was absolutely AMAZING!! From the hotel, to the classes, to the food, to the demonstrations, momento mall, and of course, the fabulous giveaways and make 'n takes! I was so inspired and so proud to be a part of such a wonderful company, I just want to shout it from the rooftops LOL! I felt special, really special - I bet not every direct sales person can say that!!! I have always thought that SU! was awesome, but I am in awe of how truly wonderful they really are in every way! From Shelly on down, they are one class act!!! So, I thought I would show you some of the fun pics I have from Leadership - I just love to share!! The first picture is of our whole group plus a few we have adopted, LOL! We had dinner out at the Steak House and this was the stairway inside the restaurant. Dinner was really good and we had a great time laughing our way through our dinner!!!  These next few shots are of areas all around the hotel - which is more like a little city - which is absolutely beautiful! We stayed at the Opryland Hotel and I highly recommend this place if you like to have everything right on site when you are vacationing. There are several eateries, lots and lots of shopping, entertainment venues, bars, and a full service spa! I would have loved to take advantage of more of the options here, there just wasn't enough time!  This is one of the archways leading out to the center and lobby area of the hotel - it's just beautiful! And, check out these beautiful water features - they are in the main area of the hotel as well, and there are a couple of restaurants surrounding them so you can listen to the water, watch the light show, and view the beautiful flowers while eating - just gorgeous!! This waster fountain was towards the Convention Center where we spent most of our time - isn't it purdy??!! There is a light show that goes on in these fountains each night at different times during the night and they are amazing!!! I could stand and watch these for hours if I had the time, LOL!  I could not get over how many beautiful light fixtures they had hanging from the ceilings - just amazing!!! Look at how beautiful they look at night - and they had all different shapes and designs as well.  The garden areas that surround each walkway were full of exotic, tropical plants and so the whole inside of the main areas felt like a hot house, LOL! But, it was totally worthy it, they were absolutely gorgeous and reminded me of Florida and Hawaii!

Okay, so not that I have shown you the inside of the hotel, I guess I should share some of the fun things I actually did do while there, LOL!

Here is a picture of me holding the wonderful bundle that Stampin' Up! gave to each and every one of us - so cool!!! I was so excited because that red glitter paper ROCKS and we also got some fun glitter brads to go along with it!!!  There was also some fun Champagne glass glitter int here too - such a wonderfully nice thing for Stampin' Up! to do - they sure do spoil us!!!  I also won one of the prize patrol offerings they do - they call a color of the buttons that we received when we first got there, and everyone with that color receives a prize - mine was Melon Mambo and we got a great stamp set with matching accessories - whoooohoooooo!!!!!

This next picture is of me and my new friend Darcy, who hails from Louisiana and is absolutely fun to hang around with!  We met during a Focus Group and she is just the sweetest gal - I also got to meet her whole group and they are all so sweet and nice! One of the best things about being a demonstrator is all the new friendships that come out of it - I am so glad to have met Darcy and I am hoping to see her again at Convention and get together for a fun night out!  I have a feeling we will be friends for a long time - she is just my kind of people :-)

I love Stampin' Up! events because I get  a chance to see and catch up with old friends as well! My room-mate Peggy and I had not seen each other in awhile because first I moved and then she moved so we both missed a couple of events - and went to ones where the other was not there, LOL!  Sooo, this was a great time for us to catch up and we so did! We roomed together and had the best time chatting and laughing and yes, stamping! Peggy NEVER finishes her swaps until we are at the event and she didn't' change for Leadership - each night she sat up in bed putting more swaps together for the next day to swap, heehee!!! She is sweet and fun and I am glad I got to see her!
Here is a pic of her and Holly - she is a new team-mate to me, but has been a demo for a couple of years and lives in Colorado Springs.  Holly and I hit it off right away, and we had a great time hanging out together! She is also hugely talented - you should have seen what she made during our card challenge - I so wish I would have gotten a picture of it! She took scraps of paper and totally created a flower pot and flowers while I sat and stared at this paper wondering what the heck to do with it, LOL!

 Well, this post would not be complete without sharing one last picture and that is of me and my upline and friend Kimberly! It is nice to be able to see her at these events because we have never lived in the same state since I have been a demonstrator (the three weeks she was in Jacksonville after I signed and she moved doesn't count!)  Being military has its downfalls and one of them is you don't stay in one area very long - Kimberly has moved twice since I have been in her group - maybe someday her and Russ will move to California, LOL!  In the meantime, we will continue to catch up via email, phone, and at Stampin' Up! events!! So, now you have had a little taste of what Leadership was all about - it was sooo much fun and if you ever have the chance to attend a Stampin' Up! event, I highly recommend you go! And, if you are not a demonstrator and this looks like fun to you, you are welcome to join my team - we have lots of fun, do lots of fun stamping events, and of course attend these fabulous events put on by the home office!!! I will be back tomorrow with a couple of fun class projects that I have recently done - I am excited to share them as they have become very popular with my customers!!!  Until then, happy stamping!!

WOW!!!! I CAN"T BELIEVE IT!!!

I am soooo very sorry I disappeared like that - so much going on with the holidays, then I got pretty sick, and then off to Leadership I went!! BUT, I have TONS to share with you so I hope you all did not give up on me :-)  I am going to share some Leadership items today - it was the best one EVAH!!! I had such a great time, made new friends, some old friends, laughed, cried, got new goodies - just one good time was had!!!! The card is one of my swaps using a set called Nature Walk from the new Spring Mini! Now, I don't know about you, but I LOVE everything in this new mini!!!!  I am having the best time playing with all the new embellishments and stamps :-)  I used a lot of different products on this card - I was having so much fun I think I got a little carried away, LOL! But, I love the vintage look and feel of this and I just know this stamp set is going to see a lot of ink from me *wink*  Lots of distressing and sponging too as I really like the effect these techniques add.  I am going to list all the products in my recipe but I do want to note a few of my favorites such as the new embossing folder called Framed Tulips (item 121809, pg. 28).  Soooo pretty and fun to play with! I actually trimmed the Crumb Cake card stock around the embossing so that it frames the base of my card and it looks really pretty this way! My other new favorite is the Baja Breeze seam binding ribbon (item 122331, pg. 16) - can you say YUMMY??! We now carry this scrumptious ribbon in seven colors and it is my absolute favorite ribbon to use and play with!  I am really enjoying all the new products and can't wait to share some more samples with you! I have some fun items to share with you all tomorrow as well as some more pics from Leadership - I just need to get them all edited, LOL!!  Thanks for sticking with me and I WILL be back tomorrow with more :-)  Happy Stamping!!!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla card stock, First Edition designer series paper
Inks - Old Olive, So Saffron, Early Espresso stampin pads, Baja Breeze stampin' write marker
Stamps - Nature Walk, Tiny Tags
Accessories - Baja Breeze seam binding ribbon, linen thread
Tools - 3/4 inch oval punch, Big Shot, Framed Tulips embossing folder

BUSY GETTING READY....

to head out to a Scrapbook Retreat with a group of friends this weekend and I CANNOT WAIT!! Amid all the craziness of the holidays it is going to be nice to have a weekend of FUN! I am going to do some personal proejcts - something I need to start making more time for so that I can enjoy making my family stuff too, LOL!! When it gets really busy like this, I forget to take care of "me" but I think that is a common occurrence amongst us women, heeehee!! However, I HAVE been making some Christmas cards so I can get those in the mail and so I am sharing one of those with you today! It's another simple card because when you send as many as I do you have to keep them simple or you will never get them done!!  I pulled out one of my favorite sets, this is totally what Christmas is for me - family, reflection, thanks to God, and time spent together - and yes, I get that all from this image, LOL! The stamp set is called Welcome Christmas and it has some wonderful images included that are very reflective of what a traditional Christmas might be.  I paired the stamp wet with some Holly Jolly Designer Series paper and some Early Espresso card stock - added some yummy taffeta ribbon and done! I love the simple prettiness, it makes me smile!!! I hope you are all enjoying the festive feeling in the air and trying to maintain some balance - I know it gets hard!!! Enjoy your weekend and I will have some fun pics to share when I get back!! And, hopefully a whole lot of scrappin' because I have an entire book to get done, heeehee!  Until then, happy stampin'!!
Card recipe:
Paper - Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla card stock, Holly Jolly Designer Series Paper
Ink - Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green stampin' write markers and classic ink pads
Stamps - Welcome Christmas
Accessories - Whisper White taffeta ribbon, designer buttons
Tools - Ticket corner punch