Swaps for meeting

I thought some of you might be interested in seeing the cards I made for the meeting I am attending today. Amy Czuba is a dynamic demonstrator and has created a very large downline.

Four times each year she holds a big meeting that she opens to all members of our group. Her meetings have often rivaled a Stampin' Up! Regional event! I feel so lucky to live close enough to participate! Anyway there will be lots of demonstrators there to swap with and so I created 3 card designs to take with me. I think I made just over 50 cards altoghter so that means I can potentially bring back 50 new ideas to share with you!!

All three are based, at least loosely, on a sketch Challenge by a fellow demonstrator and friend, Lynn Larson. You can check out her blog here. This one uses the Porcelin Prints DSP and the Heartfelt Thanks stamp set.

This next one I used the Baroque Motifs set, I just love that one!!! I also used some of the Designer Prints DSP in Rose Red. I had some Shimmery White tags left over from making samples for the Punch Class I am doing tomorrow.

The last card I did, last night after shopping for 3 hours with Shannon. She is going to the Sadie Hawkins Dance at KHS tonight. Rich has promised to get lots of pictures!! I used my new favorite set called Embrace Life. I love the clean lines and delicate images! I paired it with the new Ginger Blossoms DSP and really like the resulting card. This one doesn't quite match the sketch challenge that Lynn proposed but I like it the best of the three I think. Enjoy these and watch for posts of the punch cards and also samples from Amy's Meeting. Happy Stamping!

GO PATS!!

Happy Friday

So here it is Friday already! This is going to be a busy weekend for me! Today I will be stamping with my friends at LifeArt in Keene. I am very happy about this as we have not been able to schedule time for me to stamp there in quite awhile. Many of the folks who frequent LifeArt are clients of Monadnock Developmental Services and are a joy to stamp with!
On Saturday I am heading to MA to a big demonstrator meeting with some of my good stamping buddies. My van will be full and it should be an awesome time!! I will have lots of new samples to share when I get back as I am bring lots of swaps with me.
On Sunday I am holding a Punch Class with my upline demonstrator/friend/cousin, Lisa. We will be using some of Stampin' Up!'s great paper punches to make a train, a fish, a beautiful star, an Easter Bunny and some fun hats. I will post pictures of them after class so check back soon.
Time to get ready....Happy Stamping!

18-0 on to Arizona!

WAHOO!!! Those Patriots just keep winning!! 21-12 was a bit closer than I wished for but a win is a win! I am thinking about what kind of special I should offer leading up to the Super Bowl and then what to do if they win!! I will let you know when I have it figured out. Check back soon!
The NFC game is a lot closer than I thought it was going to be. Still tied in the 4th quarter...we will just have to be patient to find out who we will play in the big game.

Some of my swaps

Well if the winter continues like this we are going to be going to school until July!!! Yikes...I am home again today because of the weather. I have spent some time on my Stampin' Up! website and trying to get a "snail mail" mailing ready.

I got some great swaps at my last demonstrator meeting and I said I would share some with you so here goes.

This one uses the Time Well Spent and Polka Dot sets and our Designer Series Paper. A simple but elegant card designed by Lisa Bunce. I love Lisa's work becuase her cards are so easy to demonstrate at a workshop!

Irina O'Brien is another demonstrator that creates cards that are easy to demonstrate at a workshop. You may see this one again in the near future!! She used a lovely combnation of Soft Sky and Close to Cocoa to create this card. The flower is from Time Well Spent and the "wonderful" is from Warm Words. Remember that Time Well Spent is a Hostess Only set that you can choose if you host a workshop or catalog show with orders totaling $500. This may seem like a lot but I can help you attain that goal!! If you do that during Sale-A-Bration you would also receive at least one Sale-A-Bration set of your choice.

The next two use the Embrace Life stamp set from the Preview Brochure and is also in the Spring /Summer Collection Catalog. This one is one of the projects we made at the meeting using a piece of the Ginger Blossoms Designer Series Paper and River Rock stitched ribbon. We used the Aquapainters to put color on the lovely flower blossom after we had embossed it. It uses the Dimensionals to give the blossoms some lift.

The next card was designed by Dorene Decibus and uses the Embrace Life and Celebraate Everything stamp sets. Dorene used Blender pens to apply the color to the delicate blossoms. Dorene is a very talented stamper and a wonderful friend! I am so glad I met her through my Stampin' Up! business!

Thanks for looking today! I will post more another day. Right now it is time to clear the driveway and run a few errands.

Ladies Night Out

Yes I know I have been slow getting things posted! Life in general can get so crazy...and then the NFL Playoffs take up a big chunk of the weekend....YEAH the Patriots won again!!! 17-0!! This weekend they will play the San Diego Chargers on Sunday at 3pm for the AFC Championship and a trip to the Superbowl! GO PATS!!

Alright, enough of football for the moment...I promised I would post the samples we made at Ladies Night Out for those of you who couldn't make it. So here they are! The first sample is a darling 3x3 card that came right off a swap that my upline, Lisa Bunce, created. We decided to use the focal point and create a 3x3 card with it. We used textured Blue Bayou card stock as the base 6x3 folded to 3x3. Then we used Black Stazon ink to stamp the cute little mouse from Happy Heart Day on both white and Pomegranate card stock. We cut out the Pomegranate heart and created a slit along the edge of the mouse on the white card stock to slip the Pomegranate heart under the mouse's nose and hand. Lastly the mouse was watercolored using ink pads and aquapainters. So cute!

The second sample we did used the Time Well Spent hostess set which Stampin' Up! gave to all active demonstrators in December!! The card base was Naturals White because I don't like using Whisper White for a card base. To me it does not feel sturdy enough when you add the other layers. We added Soft Sky flowers around the edge and then stamped smaller flowers in Real Red on the Real Red layer. A layer of Soft Sky Designer Prints DSP tied things together nicely! On a layer of Whisper White we stamped the words and added small flowers in the the corners. These were stamped in Basic Gray so that they wouldn't run when we added the coloring. We used Blender Pens and markers to add the Soft Sky and Real Red. Lastly, a piece of the stitched Red Grosgrain Ribbon was stapled to the top. This ribbon is available in the Jersey Ribbon Originals. A great time was had by all and many ladies signed up to host a workshop. My calendar is filling fast so if you want to have a workshop let me know soon! Remember, you can earn Hostess Benefits by hosting a "Catalog Show" as well as having an actual workshop. A catalog show is a great way to get FREE product for yourself while offering the convience of shopping from home to your stamping friends!!!

I spent a bit of time last night updating my Stampin' Up! website. If you haven't checked it out yet you should! Just click here and check it out!

I guess it is time to shovel and then get on with the rest of my day...I have several errands to run today...

Until next time when I will share some of the great swaps I got at my last demonstrator meeting!

Sweet Treats Bundle

I thought I would just take a moment to let you all know how much fun we had at the ladies night out event in Hinsdale on Friday evening. There were laughs a plenty and some winners of prizes as well. It was so much fun to stamp with those ladies that could be there and I am looking forward to more fun on Wednesday evening!!

If you have not RSVP'ed yet that you will be coming please let me know by tomorrow night. So far I have heard from only 2 ladies and I am looking forward to seeing Janet and Samantha. If you want to join them please let me know!!!

On Friday several people looked at but passed on the Sweet Treats Promo. I do want to point out that in addition to the Valentine bundle there is also a GREAT hostess component to this promo. If you choose to host a workshop (or catalog show) in January and the sales are $350 before S/H then you get to pick ANY set in the Spring/Summer Preview Brochure valued at $29.95 or less!! If you were someone that did not receive a Preview Brochure because of my oversight please feel free to check it out online. Click here to view the Preview Brochure and check out the stamp sets you could get for FREE!

This gorgeous card was made using the Embrace Life stamp set from the preview brochure. It has accents from the Pretties Kit and also some paper piercing using the Crafters Tool Kit.

I LOVE this set and will try to take advantage of the Sweet Treats Promotion and get it for FREE!

I guess it is time for me to get ready for school!

Until next time...

Today's the day!

Today was the very first day to order out of the Spring/Summer Collection Catalog!!! You can click on the catalog name above to view the online catalog or you can call or e-mail me to get your very own copy to look at, drool over, and mark up to show sets you have and sets you wish you had!

Sale-a-Bration begins February 1st. For those of you who are not familiar with Sale-a-Bration it is an annual promotion that Stampin' Up! creates for customers, hostess and demonstrators alike. It is soooo easy to get FREE stamp sets!! See the sets you can get FREE by clicking here. Many of you will be receiving a Sale-a-Bration brochure in the mail sometime around the middle of this month. Please let me know if you don't receive one and I will be sure you get one!

While we wait for Sale-a-Bration we can enjoy another fabulous promotion that Stampin' Up! created to help you get ready for Valentines Day!! The Valentine Bundle is available only from January 2nd through January 31st. This is a great way to get an awesome stamp set and other great goodies to help you create wonderful Valentines at a significant savings. The items in the bundle make it easy to make cute projects with your kids for their classmates. Call or e-mail me to order this terrific bundle now before it is gone!

Okay I promised a couple more cards from the swap I was in. Let's see...what to show you first? I love this one! I think it would be a gorgeous baby card or a great card to celebrate the most recent star in your family! What kid wouldn't love to be singled out for some thing that they did that you thought was terrific? You might consider changing the color scheme to fit an individuals likes.

Okay I am fading fast so I guess just one card tonight. More another day...I promise!