DREAMIN TAKE TWO

Good morning all! I hope you are enjoying your weekend whatever you are doing :-) Today Kayla and I are going to repaint/redecorate her bathroom - she wants a very pale purple and gray - sooooo pretty! Right now it is a gold color and decorated in sea life so it will be a big change, lol!  I will take pics when we are done - everything has already been taken out of it, but I can do the before and after I think *wink* She is very excited, so I am excited to be doing it with her!! But, I did promise to share with you the male version of the Dream Canvas I shared yesterday - this one is of my son when we were in Fort Bragg.  He was standing on this huge rock formation just looking out at the water, and I had to take the picture! I LOVE how it turned out, shows Tyler's contemplative side, which we don't see very often as he is a big jokester :-)  As you can see, the layout is very similar to the one I did of my daughter, just a few things moved around to accommodate the picture, and of course the colors are different -more masculine! The letters are cut out on the Big Shot with the Serif Essentials alphabet but this time using Soft Suede and the Brushed Gold card stock - love it! The lace border is also cut out in the Brushed Gold, and added to the border of the pic, which really draws your eye to it!  The patterned paper is Beau Chateau, but the negative sides of the paper are used as they have a more masculine look and feel to them.  The ribbon is Very Vanilla Seam Binding Ribbon with an overlay of Soft Suede Taffeta - yummy combo!!! The stamp set used is called The Open Sea - fitting, right??  I stamped the ship and the compass in Versamark, added gold embossing powder, and heat set them with my heat gun. Then, I just cut them out and popped them up on dimensionals.

Here is a close-up of the ship so you can how nice the embossed gold looks - I love it!  The chipboard is from my stash and is sponged with Soft Suede classic ink.  There are bitty buttons down the side of the lacy ribbon border, and then some Early Espresso twine on the side to give some visual interest.   I love how this one came out too, and will have to decide where I want these two to hang because they need to be seen, lol! I hope you enjoyed seeing both versions of this canvas, and if you love the products and want them NOW, you can order them in my online store or contact me and I will be happy to help with an order *wink*  I will be teaching a similar class in September so if you are interested in making a canvas, watch for the schedule and get signed up because this class always fills!!  Now, I am off to put on my painting duds and get to painting with my daughter!! I hope you have a wonderful weekend - be back on Monday with something cute to show you, but until then, STAMP SOMETHING :-)
Canvas Recipe:
Paper - Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Brushed Gold card stock, Beau Chateau designer Series Paper
Inks - Soft Suede classic ink and Stampin' write marker
Tools - Lace Border punch, Eyelet Border punch, Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Versamark, Big Shot, Serif Essentials Alphabet
Accessories - Early Espresso bakers twine, Soft Suede taffeta ribbon, Very Vanilla seam binding ribbon, designer buttons, bitty buttons, chipboard

DREAMIN'

I can't believe it is Friday night already - Sheesh!! I promise I have not forgotten about all of you, I just have been working on projects that I cannot share just yet, but will soon :-) I have been in my stamp room most of the week working away - don't you feel sorry for me, lol??!!  I LOVE my job, so much fun!! My stamp room is not looking so pretty right now, but I made lots of pretty things IN it *wink* And, I want to share one of them with you - it's the Canvas from the Vintage Summer Canvas class I taught last week.  It is one of my favorite classes to teach, I just love watching people get so excited about the piece of art they have created! I have these hanging all over my house, and they sure do make beautiful gifts as well!  I actually am going to share two versions because I did the male version and the female version so my customers could choose depending on the pics they brought! I will share my male version with you tomorrow!!  This first one is of my daughter - this is on the ship tour we took in the Harbor when we were in Annapolis this past May. I just loved capturing her in this moment - my heart melts when I look at this because I can still see my little girl in there underneath all that teen attitude, lol!  We used the Beau Chateau Designer Series paper, sooo pretty and perfect for this project! We also used some of the brushed silver card stock and punched a beautiful lace border for the picture using the Lace Border punch! The letters were cut using my Big Shot and the Serif Essentials Alphabet - they are mirrored letters using Blushing Bride and the Brushed Silver card stock and they look fabulous together!! That pretty little journaling note is one of the many that you can get in the new Beau Chateau Side Notes pack - you get TONS of different choices, and they are all soooo pretty! I did very little journaling, just enough to remind me of where she was that day.  My customers really liked the journaling addition as it is the first time we have really done any journaling on our canvases so I may have to keep doing that :-)  The stamp set we used is called Creative Elements and I am totally in love with this set, it has so many beautiful images in it, and they all scream vintage!! We used the butterfly and the pretty flower, both which we stamped twice, cut out, and popped up! The flower is actually trimmed to the inner piece on the second layer and then a pretty vintage brad is added to the middle, making it really dimensional.  To finish off our canvas, we added a lace border with Victorian Lace ribbon and Marina Mist satin ribbon, which we layered together and then added buttons to give it some depth.  Lastly, we created a beautiful flower out of the Beau Chateau fabric and the Flower Folds die on the Big Shot - lots and lots of layers, but it really came out gorgeous!

 Here is a close-up shot of how pretty this flower really is!!I just love how all of our products coordinate to make gorgeous creations - and they mix and match so well that they are all fun to play with!   I loved all the beautiful canvases - no matter whether they use the same stamps or colors, the pictures make them each unique so it is always fun to see everyones finished projects! I am excited to share my male version - I think you will love that one too *wink* If you love the products you see here and want them all for your very own, you can order them all in my online store or contact me and I will be happy to take your order for you! And remember, right now is our big paper pack sale - buy three, get one free so it is a PERFECT time to stock up on all of our beautiful papers!  And now, I have to go and pretend I am cold because I am stamping Christmas cards for a Stamp a Stack on Monday -  very hard to do August in California :-) I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! I will be back tomorrow with the other canvas to share but until then, stamp something!!
Canvas Recipe:
Paper - Marina Mist, Blushing Bride, Brushed Silver card stock, Beau Chateau Designer Series Paper
Inks - Marina Mist, Blushing Bride classic inks, Soft Suede Stampin' Write marker (journaling)
Stamps - Creative Elements
Tools - Big Shot, Serif Essentials Alphabet dies, Flower Folds die, Lace Border Punch, Eyelet Border Punch
Accessories - Victoria Lace Ribbon, Marina Mist Satin Ribbon, Beau Chateau side notes and fabric, vintage brads, designer buttons 

FRAME GIFT SET

Happy Monday stampers!!! I woke up this morning full of ideas and headed straight back to my craft room, lol! I love days where I have nothing planned so that if I want to play all day, I can *smile* and today is one of those days!! Of course, it IS a beautiful day outside so I may have to go out for a little while and maybe hang out with the kiddos by the pool, lol! However, first I am stamping :-)  I wanted to share with you the frame gift set we made in class the other night!  We used the new Flirtatious Specialty Suite designer series paper - I love the fun, bright colors of this pack, it makes me happy! We started out with an unfinished wood frame and using Sticky Strip, adhered the patterned paper to the frame.  There is no glass on this frame which I like so that the center can have some 3d items if you want. The yellow circles are punched from a sheet of DSP and popped up on dimensionals with some pretty rhinestones added to the center - love it!!! We used the stamp set Precious Butterflies, a hostess set that is absolutely gorgeous and definitely a favorite of mine :-)

 

The pretty butterflies on the frame are cut out using the Beautiful Butterflies Big Shot die, then embossed with the Finial Press embossing folder (the same one is used on the main images for the card).  Across the bottom of the frame and the side of the card you can see the pretty Lace Border punch was used on some patterned paper - doesn't it look wonderful??! I really like the effect of using this new punch on the patterned paper - it really makes it pop!  It's just soooooo pretty!!!  And, of course we had to add some of the gorgeous pearls to make our butterflies all girly to match the frame - love those!!

And, on the frame, my favorite part is the flower - it is made out of the YUMMY Flirtatious fabric! We used the Flower Folds Big Shot die and created a beautiful embellishment! Here is a close-up picture of just the flower so you can see how pretty it turned out! It is really full and fluffy IRL! The center is a button from my collection - they were allowed to pick whatever they wanted from my big button jar, even if it is retired, which I think this one is (uh, oh!)  I love it though - so I don't feel too too bad about it, lol!

 The BEST part of this frame is of course the picture in the middle! The beautiful girl on the left is my daughter and the other beauty is her best friend Jordyn - these two are joined at the hip, I swear - they spend pretty much every waking moment together, lol! This was taken at the American Idol concert - I just made it black and white so I could do any color I wanted on the frame *wink* This is one of my favorite pics of the two of them - they are both smiling and look like they are really having a lot of fun!  I know I didn't talk to much about the card, but all the products used on the frame were also used on the card, with the exception of the flower - I did this so if my customers want to gift this frame to someone else (they all said they were keeping it though, lol!) they had a matching gift card to go with their pretty gift!  I will leave you with the recipe for this and then I am off to stamp! I am so excited to play today - I just know I am going to come up with something fun, cute, and wonderful to share with you later on this week - lol!! If you like any of the products that I used in these projects, you can order them in my online store OR contact me and I will be happy to place an order for you! Or, if you would like these products FREE, why not host a workshop? Contact me now and let's get you set up with your very own afternoon of stamping fun :-)  Have a wonderful day and I will be back soon with another fun project to share :-) Until then, go STAMP SOMETHING!!!
Frame/Card Recipe:
Paper - Daffodil Delight, Wisteria Wonder, Melon Mambo, Very Vanilla card stock, Flirtatious Designer Specialty Designer Series Paper
Inks - Wisteria Wonder, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Concord Crush, Regal Rose class inks
Stamps - Precious Butterflies (hostess set)
Tools - Big Shot, Flower Folds Die, Beautiful Butterflies Die, Finial Press embossing folder, Lace Border Punch, Designer Label Punch, 1 inch Circle Punch
Accessories - Basic Rhinestones, Basic Pearls, Daffodil Delight Wide Striped grosgrain ribbon, Daffodil Delight narrow grosgrain ribbon, Buttons, Whisper White Twine

DESIGNER SERIES PAPER PROMOTION STARTS TODAY!!!

Dates: August 1-31, 2011
Promotion Details:
During August, get a FREE package of Stampin’ Up!’s® exclusive Designer Series Paper— a $10.95 value—when you buy three! Choose from a wide variety of designs and colors available in the 2011-2012
Idea Book & Catalog and 2011Summer Mini Catalog.  Find a Designer Series Paper for every crafting occasion, every crafting project, and every creative mood.  TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OFFER AND CONTACT ME TODAY

Things to Remember:

• Orders may be placed on any order type (customer, demonstrator, workshop, or online).
• There is no limit to the number of free packages of Designer Series Paper a customer can earn.
• Specialty Designer Series Paper and Hostess Designer Series Paper are not part of this promotion and cannot be redeemed through this offer. 

 So, what are you waiting for?? Head on over to my online store and place that paper order today - FREE is always good :-)

A SPECIAL BIRTHDAY

Happy Friday all!!! I am so glad it is Friday - I am ready to spend some time with my husband :-) I feel like we have been high fiving in the doorway as we both are rushing around to and from work, kids events, errands, etc.  I am teaching tomorrow but Sunday we are going to take the boat out and have some fun on the lake, and I am very much looking forward to that!!! Saturday my daughter is also participating in a very special birthday event for one of her best friends - a Quinceanera.  This is a special party that is celebrated in the Hispanic culture for girls who turn 15.  Sort of like a sweet sixteen party :-)  So, Kayla asked me if I would make her a card (of course!) for her birthday, and so I decided to use one of the fun stamp sets I purchased from our Spanish catalog.  Many of the sets are the same, just the sayings are in Spanish; however, there are some sets we don't have and this is one of them! It is specifically for this special event, and so it was perfect for making the card!  My daughter's dress is gorgeous - it is coral in color with sparklies all through it, just a beautiful dress! The birthday girl is wearing a white dress with coral accents, so I thought our new in-color Calypso Coral was perfect! This is a square card, which is probably my favorite size card to make.  I used the new patterned paper called Domestic Goddess, I just loved the pretty flowers and colors of this particular pattern! I used my Scallop Trim border punch on both sides as well as the patterned paper strip going across the middle of the card. All the images are from the stamp set Quinceanera, which can only be found in the Spanish version of the catalog - if you want to see it, you can click on the image in my sidebar the right, and it will take you directly to the catalog :-) I stamped the pretty birthday girl in stazon, then accent colored the dress with my Calypso Coral stampin' marker.  I used my two-way glue pen and my dazzling diamonds glitter to make the dress and crown all pretty and sparkly just like the dress she is going to wear!  Can you see how pretty it looks? If you click on the pic it should make it bigger - it is soooo sparkly IRL, I just love it!  The ribbon is the new Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon, which is available in all our new in-colors.  It is soooo pretty! The sentiment is also stamped in Stazon, punched out, and mounted on a Calypso Coral scallop circle, then popped up with dimensionals.  I am very happy with how this turned out! However, since this is a special card, I also had to do the inside because I wanted the card to look finished, lol!
So, here is a pic of what I did to the inside of the card! I stamped the crown, flowers,  and the word in Stazon, and again accented with the Calypso Coral marker, but I also added some rhinestones to the crown and the flowers on the bottom as well! I think every girl deserves a little bling, don't you *wink*  so, there is plenty of room left for Kayla to write her secret birthday message to her friend (I was not allowed to see it, lol) and my daughter loved the card as well! So, that means I was successful because if I can get the 14-year old stamp of approval, I am good! If you like this set, you can order from the Spanish catalog in my online store as well! Or, you can contact me and I can assist you in putting your order in! I will leave the recipe below so you have all the pretty ingredients in one spot, and again, if you have questions, please feel free to ask! I am now off to prep for tomorrow's canvas class, which is one of my favorite classes to teach! I hope you all have a fabulous weekend and get some time to be creative!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Calypso Coral, Whisper White card stock, Domestic Goddess Designer Series Paper
Stamps - Quinceanera (from the Spanish version of our catalog)
Inks - Calypso Coral stampin write marker, Black Stazon ink
Tools - Scallop Trim Border Punch, 1 3/8 inch Circle punch, Scallop Circle punch, mat pack and paper piercer, two-way glue pen
Accessories - Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Calypso Coral ruffled ribbon, basic rhinestones

OPEN HOUSE EVENT!

Good morning all! I have been CRAZY busy around here getting the kids ready to go back to school, two workshops, classes, and yes, I had my Open House :-) We had soooo much fun so I thought I would share the pics as well as the cute make n' takes they did!  This first pic is of the display table of items made with items from the new catalog!! Sorry for the glare - my cards are in plastic pockets so I can switch them out, lol! I have to say, my customers LOVED looking at everything on this table, I think it helps when deciding what you want from the new catty to actually see it used - I know that happens to me anyway, heehee! I had fun making all of these things - the little houses you see in the corner was actually a kit I got at Convention, and I had a great time putting it together!
Here is a closer look at the little village I made:  isn't it cute?  I added some extras of my own although the kit came loaded with really everything I needed to make this! You probably can't tell but I put my address on the one house, lol!  I just love all the pretty details although cutting out all those little circles for the roof was not as fun as I would have liked, heehee! But, it sure was worth it seeing how awesome they all look on roof - just like shingles only way better!!  I plan on making another one of these for my house at Christmas time - can't you see cute little gingerbread houses that make up a village?  I can't wait until I can get my husband to cut the wood for me so I can play around with this idea - I just love the thought of a gingerbread village :-)

These next few pictures are of the cute little make n' takes they all got to make during the Open House - they really seemed to like them and they all used new sets and colors from the new catalog so it was a chance to get to play with some of the new products!!  I am not going to list all the fun things we used, but if you have a specific question, you know you can ask and I will get right back to you!  These are little 3x3 cards - so perfect to slip in someones lunch or include in a gift bag! These are one of my favorite size cards to make and I use them all the time! Here is the third one!  I just love the bright, cheery colors of all three and my guests also really enjoyed making them as well! In fact, one of then told me they were nice, happy cards, lol! Just the kind of cards I love to make :-)  Happy cards for happy stampers, right??  I would like to share a few pics of the wonderful ladies who shared this fun event with me - they are so used to me having my camera out all the time, now they pose, lol!! I love it though - they are all good sports and wonderful friends - the best part of what I do!!! I have made sooo many great friends through stamping, and I cherish each and every one of them!  

This first picture shows two of my favorite peeps Maggie and Lori, who are diligently stamping away at the make n' take table, lol! I love these ladies - they are so much fun to be with! Maggie actually just joined my team of stampers - I am sooooo excited for her because she truly loves to stamp and scrapbook, she always has a smile on her face!  I am looking forward to all the great projects she has planned already - the woman is amazing!!! This one is of my friend Teri who is working on the scavenger hunt game - it was such a great game; they had to use their catalogs to find the answers! Every one who came to the Open House played all the games, and told me they really enjoyed them!  

I also got this great picture of my new friend Sarah - isn't she beautiful?  I just love her pretty smile! Sarah was the winner of one of my grand prize door prizes - she won a whole set of the clear blocks and the carrying case! Needless to say she is thrilled! She is a new stamper, and has already fallen in love with all the fun things you can do with stamps!  All in all, it was a great day filled with lots of laughter, teasing, chatting, eating, and of course stamping! I loved every minute of it, and am already looking forward to my holiday Open House when we get to do it all over again :-) I hope you enjoyed what I shared, and if you are local, you are more than welcome to come to the next event I hold - I sure would love to have you there! Now, I am off to prep for my class tonight but I will be back tomorrow to show you the fun frame and gift card we are making tonight! Until then, happy stampin'!

GIFTS FOR SPECIAL FRIENDS

Happy Friday everyone!!! I am busily getting ready for my Open House tomorrow and I have TONS to do today so I need to get going! First though, I wanted to share two of the gifts I made for two  lovely ladies who I wanted to thank for being such wonderful friends! They are both little shadow boxes that you can either hang or just stand on a shelf or wherever.  This first one I made for my sweet friend and sideline Christie whose tough Jersey exterior tries but can't hide a good heart the size of Texas underneath :-) Christie is a wonderful friend,  and I love being around her because she always makes me laugh, and reminds me not to take everything so serious - love that girl!! I made this one with butterflies because she LOVES LOVES LOVES them - even more than me and that is sayin' something, lol!! Lots of texture on this project as well - the butterflies are cut out with my Big Shot die and then embossed with the Finial Press embossing folder.  The patterned paper is actually from a hostess offering called Cheerful Treat - it's a whole pack of 12x12 paper and I think it is YUMMY!!! I used my Eyelet border punch on it to give it some visual interest and then added that pretty lace on top which is punched with our new Lacy border punch out of Rose Red.  The background is Wisteria Wonder and is stamped with the French Filigree background stamp, one I have been using a lot lately - I just love how elegant it looks!  The half scallop circle was also cut on the Big Shot and embossed again with the Finial Press folder.  And, see that cute circle the sentiment is stamped on?  It comes from the new Big Shot Die called Perfect Pennants - love, love, love this new die!!!  I threaded some of the pretty new Wisteria Wonder ruffled ribbon through the edges and just love how it makes it pop!

This second frame is for my sideline Cathy, whom I have never actually met in person, but who was so very sweet and helpful to me in recent months.  So, I wanted to show her how much I totally appreciate her! She is EXACTLY the reason why I love Stampin' Up! soooo much - without a thought, she was there to offer her help and friendship and a fellow demonstrator - isn't that awesome??!!!  So, thanks Cathy, you ROCK!!!!  Her frame has a similar layout but is made with completely different papers, colors, and embellishments.  I used the Paisley Petals patterned paper as my color chart, with River Rock as the base, which is stamped using the French Filigree background stamp (see, I told you I love it, LOL!)  I cut a Top Note Die in half and embossed it using the new Houndstooth embossing folder, which I think look amazing! I did the same type of  design for the sentiment, but used Pear Pizazz ribbon this time.  The pretty flower is made using the Fancy Flower punch, some pretty Victoria lace ribbon, and a vintage brad, all sprayed with shimmer mist - sooooo pretty! And, I did add lots of pearls because it seemed to need some pretties *wink*  I hope she likes it - she was not at Convention so I sent it home with Christie, since they live close to each other.  My favorite thing to do is stamp and make things for friends, customers, family, etc.  It brings me a lot of happiness, and that is why I stamp!!!!  If you have to have any of the items featured here, you can purchase them in my online store or you can contact me and I will be happy to place an order for you!! And, don't forget:  the $99 kit special is still going on but it ends this month, so if you have ever thought of being a demonstrator, now is the time - I know I would LOVE for you to join my team :-)  Now, I am off to get ready for tomorrow's Open House - if you are local and would like to come by, please do - this is a  FREE event showcasing lots of new catalog items, and we are going to do make 'n takes, product demonstrations, play games, and yes, there are prizes to win as well *wink*  Check out my website and look on my events calendar for all the details and come on by - I would love to see you!! Have a fabulous weekend everyone - and, I hope you take some time to create something :-)