A "MINI" BIT OF LOVE :-)

Good morning stampers!! I hope you are all enjoying a fabulous weekend - I am sitting here drinking coffee in a quiet house! The kids are out doing things with friends, my sweetheart is golfing, and the dogs are snoozing :-) Later on, my friend is coming over so we can plan out the crafty things for her daughter's baby shower - YAY! So, it is a good day here in sunny California (although it is really not too sunny today).  I am going to be prepping things for my next downline meeting, but I thought I would share the project we did at our last downline meeting. I like to have a couple of stamping projects for my team to do using new products, techniques, and ideas so I decided to do a mini page for them this time, and they loved it! Okay, I know I shared the bird yesterday but I just love it so you have to see it again - at least it looks different, right??! Heehee,  I see lots more birdies in my future :-)  This is a 6x6 mini page that will eventually end up in an album, but I need to make the matching page for it and then decide what book, lol! We used a lot of new products on this page, and bright, fun colors from this year's In-Color family. The base of this page is Calypso Coral card stock, which made it easy to choose my designer series paper- Enchanted!! LOVE it, and it is also a FREE pack of paper from the Sale-a-Bration catalog so it makes it that much better :-)  I seem to reach for this paper again and again, sooooo pretty! The wing of the bird is also from this same paper pack, I just love the pretty colors! We also played with three of the Sale-a-Bration stamp sets, which is always fun because they too were FREE :-)
The bird is stamped with an image from the Fresh Vintage Stamp set; we just stamped at an angle all the way across the bottom of the bird to give it some texture. See the frame around the sentiment? Well, that is a stamp from the set called Elementary Elegance, and it is beautiful! We stamped the frame on Poppy Parade card stock in Soft Suede Ink (Yummo) and then trimmed around the frame, which is popped up on dimensionals. This frame is gorgeous and can be used in several different ways - there is even a little crown at the top of the frame so I could totally see a picture (of me, bwahahahaha) in that frame wearing it :-) The sentiment is from the Sprinkled Expressions stamp set - isn't it fun??! The whole stamp set is super cute; it's on page 8 of the SAB catalog which can be found in the sidebar of my blog - just click on it, and it will take you there:-)  The other new product used on this mini layout is the ribbon. The ribbon is also a SAB freebie and actually comes in a two pack of ribbon with matching brads and they are FABULOUS!! The whole pack is called the Everyday Enchantment Ribbon and Brad pack and so of course it coordinates beautifully with the paper! I hope you like this fun little layout - I will have to make the matching page and share that one too, and add some pics too *wink*  If you like the products you see here, all you have to do is place a $50 order for each item you want FREE and you can do that in my online store OR you can email me your order and I will be happy to place your order for you!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend, I am off to get ready to stamp the afternoon away on fun baby items!
Layout Recipe:
Paper - Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Soft Suede, Poppy Parade card stock, Enchanted Designer Series paper
Inks - Soft Suede, Poppy Parade classic inks
Stamps - Elementary Elegance, Sprinkled Expressions, Fresh Vintage (all SAB sets)
Tools - Big Shot, Elegant Bird die,Crimper, Scallop Ribbon punch, Fancy Label punch, Dimensionals
Accessories - Everyday Enchantment ribbon, Basic Pearls

A LITTLE BIT OF SCRAPPY LOVE

WHOOHOO!! It's Friday!! I love Fridays because that means no homework, no practice, AND lots of stamping :-)  I actually have two workshops in the next two days - one tonight, and one tomorrow! I am excited because that means stamping with new friends and seeing some old friends :-) I just love getting together to make pretty things, it's the best part of my job! Heck, every part of my job is amazing :-) I also hope to get some scrapbooking done this weekend as I have not been able to do much lately and I miss it!  I did get a chance to one layout and I wanted to share it with you today! It is one of my daughter and her very close friend Sam - these two girls are glued at the hips, but they are so much fun together! I have never heard so much laughter, they make me smile every time they are here at the house together :-) I used a lot of new products on this page, and I love the way it turned out! I wanted something soft and pretty, and that is what I got! Not a whole lot of stamping going on with this page, but the sentiment is one that makes me smile every time I see it - "Friend Good" by Frankenstein! LOL - it is part of a set called Smarty Pants, and I hope it never retires, it is one of my all time favorites!!

Oh, but look at that beautiful patterned paper!!! Isn't it just gorgeous??!! It is from the Gorgeous suite of papers called Attic Boutique and is in the Occasions Mini. I just love all the patterns and color combos in this pack, it is all soooo very pretty and definitely has the vintage touches that I love!  The pretty details of each pattern make this an ideal suite to use for all kinds of projects - and I have *giggle*. The strip across the bottom of the page is also from the same suite, it's just the flip side of the pattern used on the main strip. It is mounted on Melon Mambo card stock, which I border punched along the bottom with the Pinking Hearts border punch! I often forget I have this punch, and it is an awesome punch, I just love the little hearts border it makes!

Ooh, and look at that pretty birdie!!  Sorry for the shadow, I had a heck of a time with this close-up, lol! However, you can see enough details to know that his is a gorgeous die, and so much fun to play with! I cut the body out of another piece of the Attic Boutique suite, and the wing is Regal Rose Card Stock. See how the wing has some beautiful texture? That's because I ran it through my crimper and oh, I just love how it looks!!!

I added some pretty ribbon (whisper white) and one of the new buttons from the mini from the Twitterpated suite - I love how super cute they are and you get tons of them in different shapes and designs in two different colors! 48 buttons for $6.95 is a heck of a deal :-) I also used a couple more buttons on the bottom right hand side of the page - aren't they just so pretty??!  Most of my little embellishments on this layout are actually dies for the Big Shot - I use my Big Shot every day and I honestly have no idea what I would do without it! So many fun new dies, and embossing tools - I have lots of fun mixing and matching and just playing around with them!

See the hearts? They are so cute, and I actually used two different embosslits to cut these. One is called Scalloped Heart of Hearts and is actually the bigger hearts at the top of the page - soooo very pretty!  I love the textured look at the pretty finished edges it creates. The smaller hearts are from the brand new embosslit in the Occasions Mini called Fashionable Hearts and it has different sizes and patterns for these hearts. You can see them scattered on the page and the close-up of one in this picture. I actually used that heart to cover up the camera that my daughter is holding since they took that picture while looking in the mirror at themselves - ROFL! Silly girls, right??!

Embosslits are fun and easy to use, and at $11.95, they are a great deal to boot!  I really love that our new embosslit has so many different patterns and sizes to choose from because it gives you an instant variety to your embellishments, especially when you mix and match papers and colors to cut them out with! Super cute! Another one of our new products that I used on this layout is our new frame designs. I used the Labels Framelits for the sentiment pieces and I love them! They all nest together so well, and you can use both the negative pieces (just the outline) or the whole shape like I did here! The great thing about these frames is they also coordinate with one of our new stamp sets called Apothecary Art, and, although I did not use it here, I have played with that as well, and it makes cutting out those shapes quick and easy.  I love this layout and now I have decided I need to make a matching page so that both sides of my book are complete, lol! I like double layouts, it keeps all my books looking pretty :-)  So, hopefully I will have time to do that this weekend and I can share it later on next week! If you like any of the products that you see here, you can buy them in my online store, or you can email me your order and I will be happy to place it for you! Don't forget: with every $50 you spend, you get something FREE from the Sale-a-Bration brochure and you don't want to miss out on that!! I love FREE, don't you??!!  Now, I am off to do the last minute prep for my workshop tonight, and hopefully do a little stamping before it is time to go! The kids both have plans tonight, and Tony is enjoying a golf weekend with his buddies down South so it is just me and the dogs! Enjoy your weekend and don't forget to take some creative time for yourself!!
Layout Recipe:
Paper - Regal Rose, Soft Suede, Melon Mambo card stock, Attic Boutique Designer Series Paper
Inks - Soft Sued classic stamp pad and stampin' write marker
Stamps - Smarty Pants
Tools - Big Shot, Labels Framelits, Fashionable Hearts embosslit, Heart of Hearts embosslit, Elegant Bird Bigz Die, Crimper, Pinking Hearts border punch, Scallop Trim border punch, dimensionals
Accessories - Whisper White thin grosgrain ribbon, Twitterpated buttons, Basic Rhinestones

PSSSSTTTTT...........LOVE YOU! :-)

Happy Thursday stampers!!! It is a beautiful day here in Northern California - I swear, winter is skipping us completely this year! It is like a Spring day out there, full of sunshine and already feeling warm :-) I don't really mind, I happen to not be a huge fan of winter, lol!! So, I am planning on spending at least a little time outdoors today so I can soak up some sun! I will probably take a stamp project out to the patio and enjoy the weather AND some stamping :-) I plan on getting a lot of stamping done over the next five days as my husband is leaving for a long weekend golfing trip with one of his best friends. I will miss him BUT that DOES mean I can hang out in my stamp room for hours and hours without feeling guilty - the kids have their own lives, so that is what I am going to do, lol! Today I want to share another sweet card that I made using the PS I Love You set from the Occasions Mini catalog.

I totally love that little Cupid stamp in this set, and seem to use it a LOT :-) You have to admit, he IS cute, lol! This is a card I actually made for my husband to celebrate a special day of ours in January. Our official anniversary is in May, but we do have one in January that is just ours *wink* so this is what I gave to him. It is simple but pretty without being too frilly. I used some greys and blacks to make it a little more masculine, but I could not resist using a little bit of ribbon too!  I also did a bit of embossing - the hearts were stamped in Calypso Coral ink and then I used my Versamark Pen and clear embossing powder to make them all shiny and purdy :-) I also love this heart image because I can punch them out using the Full Heart Punch - makes is so very easy! The sentiment is also from this same stamp set - in fact, this is one of my favorite stamp sets because it has so many sentiments to choose from!  The little hearts along the bottom of the card are a really fun border stamp, I love the little accent it provides here!

I also used some of the fabulous embossed patterned paper from the Sweet Shop series, also in the Occasions Mini. Such fun papers - not really a traditional Valentines or Anniversary paper, but these hearts are puffy and oh so cute, so I decided that for this card, it would be, heeheee! There are some really cute and fun papers in this set, and a couple of the others patterns are also embossed, making them really fun to use! I see an ice cream social in my future class schedule using this same paper *wink*  Like I said, a pretty simple little card, but he loved it and that is what matters to ME :-) If you like the products you see here, you can purchase them in my online store or email me your order and I will be happy to put it in for you! Don't forget: since it is SALE-A-BRATION time right now, for every $50 order, you get to choose something from the SALE-A-BRATION catalog FREE!! I love FREE, don't you?? *wink* I am off to soak up some sun, drink some more coffee, and STAMP!! Have a fabulous day, and remember to take some time to be creative :-)
Card Recipe:
Paper - Basic Gray, Basic Black, Whisper White card stock, Sweet Shop Designer Series Paper
Inks - Basic Black, Calypso Coral ink pads, Versamark Pen
Stamps - PS I Love You
Tools - Eyelet Border Punch, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Dimensionals
Accessories - Basic Black Taffeta Ribbon

SWEET MINI BOOK

Good afternoon stampers! Sorry I am a little late with this one, but today is my birthday and I spent the morning doing NOTHING but drinking coffee and watching some of my shows that I needed to catch up on, lol! I love being lazy every once in awhile BUT then I get restless and need to get back to it, lol! I am spending the afternoon stamping, and then out to dinner with the fam :-) I am excited because we are going to the Japanese Steakhouse, one of my all-time favorite places to go! But before all that, I wanted to share a sneak peek at my mini of the month! You see, every single month I offer a mini book class of some type - I try and change it up to keep it fresh and exciting! This month we are going to do a paper bag book with with some super fun elements like 3d pages :-) I am hoping that they all love it as much as I loved putting it together! I am going to share just the cover; I will share the whole mini at the end of the month once the class has been held. I want them to see it first*wink*
For this mini, I am using the Enchanted Designer Series Paper that you can receive FREE as a SALE-A-BRATION choice with a $50 order - yep, FREE! It's is BEAUTIFUL - easily my favorite paper right now!! I just love all the colors and patterns in this pack, and I can't believe it's FREE!! There are lots of pretty details in this mini - I love to use my Big Shot and all the fun embellishments and of course the STAMPS!!!

I played with two of my favorite new dies to make things for this cover.  The first one is the XL Designer Rosette Die, which I used to make the fan! I just love the versatility of this die, there is sooo much you can do with this one! I have enjoyed experimenting with this one, and coming up with all kinds of cool projects and elements for my cards, books, and scrapbook pages! Such a wonderful die! It is located in the Occasions Mini, and was one of the first things I ordered, lol!

Here is a close-up of the fan that I made using the die. What I loved about it is I can make it as big or as small as I want just by the paper size that I use. So cool! And, isn't that paper just sooooo yummy??!!! Remember, it's FREE, LOL!!!! I used some super cute Lucky Limeade Ruffled ribbon to the bottom to hold the fan together, and I just think it gives this cover the WOW! factor is deserves :-) Plus, it looks purdy, heehee!!!
The second die that I used is called the Elegant Bird Bigz Die and it is just that - elegant! I love this bird; I actually squealed out load when I first saw it in the Mini, and yes, it was also on my first order, lol! Not only does it dress up ANY project that you make, but there are TONS of different projects you can use this die with as well! It is one of the things I love about the Big Shot - there are limitless creative ways to use all the fun dies and folders you can get! See how cute it turned out??!! I did stamp some on the bird, and I used Lucky Limeade Card stock as well as some more of the Enchanted DSP for the wing. I also added some pretty ribbon and bling because well, I LIKE it :-)  I had such fun putting this mini together - the inside pages are full of all kinds of different techniques and elements that everyone is sure to be happy with! It makes a great gift, OR you can keep it to yourself as I tend to do, lol! I always have good intentions to give them away, but then I fall in love with them and I don't want to part with them....so now, I make two so I have one to keep :-) If you like what you see here and would like to order it for yourself, you can do so in my online store OR you can email me and I will be happy to place your order for you! Remember, the patterned paper you see here can be yours FREE with your order of $50 or more - what a great deal!!! So, now I am off to stamp some and then get ready for my birthday dinner! I am excited to be going out tonight - no cooking for ME, LOL!!! Have a wonderful day and don't forget to make time to be creative, it's good for the heart!!!
Mini Cover Recipe:
Paper - Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Soft Suede, Naturals Ivory card stock, Enchanted Designer Series Paper(SAB item)
Inks- Lucky Limeade, Pool Party classic inks
Stamps - Elementary Elegance, Fresh Vintage (both sets are Sale-a-Bration sets), Petite Pairs(sentiment)
Tools- Big Shot, Elegant Bird Bigz Die, XL Designer Rosette Die, Pinking Hearts Border Punch, 1 1/4 inch and 1 inch Circle Punches, Scalloped Square Die, Crimping Tool, Dimensionals
Accessories - Victoria Lace Ribbon, Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon, Whisper White Thin Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, Basic Pearls

TAKE IT TO HEART WOW! SWAP

Happy Monday stampers! I hope you all had as fabulous a weekend as I did :-) I spent the weekend hanging out with my husband - first time in a looonnnngggg time we have both had some downtime on a weekend! Saturday we just lazed around and then went out to dinner, and then yesterday we went over to my in-laws for the game and some yummy food! Really had a nice weekend.....but now, it is back to the work week and I have lots to do! However, since I have one of the funnest jobs around, I can't complain too much *wink* Today I want to share with you the card I made for my WOW! swap during Leadership. My group decided to have an organized swap of our own, and I am so very glad I participated because this is one amazingly talented group of stampers - their cards are all BEAUTIFUL! This was my take on a WOW! swap, and I was really happy with how it turned out! Lots of different products on this one, I was having a blast playing with all my stuff, lol!

The stamp set I chose to use is the uber cute set from the Occasions Mini called Take It To Heart. I love this set because the heart images coordinate with our new Framelits Hearts collection making is super easy to cut the hearts out! I love all the detail that you can see on these images, makes them really fun to color in, or you can emboss the image like I did and give it that extra WOW! look. I used  Cherry Cobbler embossing powder and stamped my image on the Naturals White card stock because I like the more natural look of this paper. I did not cut the heart out on the Big Shot until I had done all the stamping and embossing. Soooo easy to just line up the image with one of the framelits, run it through, and BAM! instant heart image for my card :-)  The patterned paper is from the Twitterpated paper pack, also in the Occasions Mini - love this paper!! I cut it out using the other set of framelits we have - have to try them all out, right??! The heart image is mounted on a 3 inch circle that was cut out on the Big Shot and then embossed using the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. The background of  this card is actually stamped as well, but might be hard for you to see here since it is Crumb Cake ink stamped on Crumb Cake card stock. I used the Parlor Prints background stamp. The ribbon is some of the new Blushing Bride pleated ribbon and oh, it is so yummy!!! The sentiment is actually from another stamp set in the mini called PS I Love You - I love all the fun sentiments in that set! I hope you like my take on what a WOW! swap is - I sure had fun making it *wink* If you like the products you see here and want to purchase them, you can do so in my online store and remember, SALE-A-BRATION is going on so for every $50 you spend, you get FREE things too!! I love FREE, don't you??!! If you would rather email me your order, I am happy to put it in for you! Now, I am off to the stamp room to get some fun things done for my upcoming classes and workshops. If you would like to take one of my classes, you can check out my class listing on my website - I would love to see you!!! Have a fabulous day and don't forget to take some time out to be creative :-)
Card Recipe:
Paper - Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride, Early Espresso, Pool Party, Naturals White card stock, Twitterpated Designer Series paper
Inks - Versamark, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler stampin' inks
Stamps - Take it To Heart, Parlor Prints(background), PS I Love You (sentiment)
Tools - Big Shot, Framelits (hearts and labels collections), Perfect Polka Dots and Square Lattice embossing folders, 3 inch Circle Die, Modern Label punch, Adorning Accents Edgelit Die, Heat Gun, Dimensionals
Accessories - Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon, Basic Pearls, Blushing Bride pleated ribbon