Deer Friends Pocket Card - Tree

Here's another Deer Friends pocket card, this time with the tree!

Enjoy the day!

Michelle

Enjoy Baja Breeze

Here's the 6x6 scrapbook page we made at Becca and Cindy's workshop with my little guy's photo in it. So cute.


Have a great day!

Michelle

Going, going...

There is only ONE space left in the Fall/Winter Prints DSP Swatch Club! To be a part of this great opportunity to possess a piece of each and every paper in all 20 of the new DSP prints that Stampin' offers right now, click on my sidebar! If you are local, choose that option so you don't have to pay shipping!

Pictured above is the Sweet Always DSP...so pretty!

Get your swatch set today!

Michelle

Becca & Cindy's Workshop

I had a great time at Becca and Cindy's workshop last night! The hostess gift was this cute milk carton, filled with Whoppers!


Everyone had 2 Make & Takes. First, a 6x6 scrapbook page:

And a Wow Flowers In Colors card:

Look how busy they are, ignoring my call for "cheese"!

But they were all smiles!

Thanks for coming everyone, it was fun!

Michelle

Deer Friends Pocket Card - Gift

My favorite Hostess set is Deer Friends! This pocket card was done in Kraft, Whisper White, Pacific Point, and Tangerine Tango CS, stitched with matching machine embroidery thread, and tied with natural Linen Thread. I stamped the Deer Friends gift stamp and the Wow Flowers sprite in Tangerine Tango ink, and the retired All in a Row asterisk stamp in Pacific Point ink.

Deer Friends is a Christmas stamp set, but this gift stamp can do any occasion!

Thanks for stopping by,

Michelle

Never-Before-Seen

Until September 30, you can get 15% off these never-before-seen stamps! Contact me if you'd like to order these new stamps, or any others in the wonderful new Fall/Winter Idea Book & Catalog!

Order today and start making some beautiful projects!

Michelle

I {heart} your blog

My online friend Kris at Kween Bee Kreations has shared this award with me! Make sure you check out her blog as she creates wonderful projects! I've subscribed to her blog through my Google Reader for a long time.

The rules for accepting the “I {heart} your blog” award are:

• The winner can put the logo on their blog
• Link the person you received your award from
• Nominate at least 7 other blogs
• Put links of those blogs on yours
• Leave a message on the blogs of the people you have nominated

Thanks so much for thinking of me Kris, I am honored!

Here are my nominations:

1. Teresa's rubbah' thoughts & creations
2. Angie's Chic n' Scratch
3. Jackie's Jackies' Blog
4. Sharon's No Time to Stamp?
5. Patty's Patty's Stamping Spot
6. Angie's schwooo!
7. Jenn's Stamp-n-Scrap with Jenn

Make sure you visit these awesome blogs that I've nominated and give them some love!

Take care,

Michelle

Cheers to You

I am so glad that the US Stampin' Up! catalog had the Cheers to You stamp set that the UK had already gotten (or was it New Zealand?)...anyway, it's a cool set! My husband's uncle's birthday was this last Sunday, so I made this for him!

I used some new In Colors for the paper, ink, and ribbon, Sprinkles background stamp, a few punches, the Top Note Bigz die, and some Crystal Effects and Dazzling Diamonds on the center image. I also tried my Color Spritzer Tool that I've had forever with a marker...need more practice on that one!

Cheers!

Michelle

Book to Look

I'm adding something to my workshops that I just learned about...a Book to Look board (and what fun I had making it with my new Pocket Silhouettes stamp set and Top Note die with my Big Shot!).

If you're a demo, you might be interested in how I built the support for it: I used 1-1/2 sheets of the 12x12 DSP paper pack backing. I scored it for tabs to attach to the main board, then scored it towards the middle in two places. When I glued it down with Sticky Strip, I kept the middle point out but flattened the rest so that it will travel flat in my rolling tote. The scored back "easel" piece is also angle on the bottom so the board doesn't sit straight up.

This is what I printed on the inkjet acetate on front (with paint on the back to accent it), explaining the Book to Look concept (found on SCS SU! forums):

"Book an in-home workshop today and you will be rewarded with an extra FREE gift when you choose a tag from my Booking Board! When you pick a date today and host your workshop within the next two months, your gift will be delivered at the same time as your workshop order. This FREE gift is in addition to your normal Hostess Benefits. Possible gifts include: Classic Stampin’ Pad, Pack of Mini Glue Dots, Tombow Multi-Purpose Adhesive, Signo White Gel Pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Roll of ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon."

So, if you attend one of my workshops, make sure to participate so you can be rewarded with an extra FREE gift, too!

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you soon!

Michelle

DSP Swatch Club Update

There are only 2 spaces left in the Fall/Winter DSP Swatch Club! Hurry and sign up by going directly to my sidebar, or to view more details go this post to read all about it!

As soon as the last 2 spots are filled, I'll get the paper ordered! It's a great way to have a 6x6 sheet of ALL of the DSP papers so that you can decide for yourself which ones you want full size packages of!

Thanks!
Michelle

Happy Birthday from the Cat

We had 2 picnics to go to Sunday, one in our neighborhood and the other an annual family picnic on my husband's side with two birthday boys in attendance. This card I made for my father-in-law's birthday, which is today!

Thanks for stopping by!

Michelle

Puns from the Past Gift Box

I've made another gift box full of cards, this time with the Puns from the Past stamp set, which I love!

I used the Holiday Treasures DSP (non-holidayish side since it looked kinda vintage to go with the stamps), Kraft CS, and Very Vanilla CS, along with Chocolate Chip CS and some of the In Color cardstocks for matting.

The stamped images on each card and on the box are torn then inked in Chocolate Chip classic ink using a sponge dauber. The card set gets held in the box with some natural Hemp Twine.

I hope our neighborhood picnic hostess likes her gift today!

Have a great day!

Michelle

Berry Bliss Baskets & Blooms

Berry Bliss Baskets & Blooms, Berry Bliss Baskets & Blooms, Berry Bliss Baskets & Blooms...say that fast! I can't do it!

This cute little basket was made from the new Stampin' Up! exclusive Big Shot die, Baskets & Blooms Bigz XL Die that customers will soon be able to order. I used the retired Berry Bliss DSP to try it out, along with a couple of vintage brads and natural hemp twine. A little Sticky Strip and some SNAIL adhesive is all that was required to finish this little basket, which would be an easy party favor!

See you tomorrow!

Michelle

Just Jawing

I'm having a ball using all my new stuff from the Fall/Winter Idea Book & Catalog!

Here's the Just Jawing stamp set, each a little different.

For both cards I used Chunky Essentials over wet Crystal Effects in the eyes, and I stamped the skulls and words in Versamark ink so I could emboss them with Black embossing powder. The black center of the red flower on the first card was covered in Crystal Effects too.

For the black ring on the first card, I nested 2 circle nestabilities at the same time and cut out the ring using my new Stampin' Up! Big Shot. I used Tombow glue for that thin ring instead of getting SNAIL adhesive all over the place (the ring was narrower than the tape). The inside solid circle was used on the second card so that it didn't go to waste (or I would have put in my scrap drawer).

The stars background stamp from the Just Jawing set and the Scary Skulls wheel on the second card was stamped in Kiwi Kiss ink to match the paper.

STAMPS: Just Jawing, Scary Skulls wheel

INK: Versamark, Kiwi Kiss

PAPER: Kiwi Kiss, Basic Black, Whisper White

ACCESSORIES: Stampin' Up! Big Shot, nestabilities, Crystal Effects, Boho Flower punch, Black embossing powder, Die-Cut Blooms, Stampin' Dimensionals, Red Hemp Twine, Red Chunky Essentials, Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive, SNAIL adhesive, 1/8" circle punch, Heat Tool, Scor-Pal

Thanks for stopping by!

Michelle

Crazy for Cupcakes and Acetate

I love the new Crazy for Cupcakes stamp set! I used Pink Pirouette and Riding Hood Red paper and ink, and RHR ribbon. I also used Crystal Effects on the cherries after dotting them with the white Signo gel pen, as I did the gray tray.

I wanted to use acetate in my new Big Shot, so I cut out a Scallop Envelope from it and adhered it with mini glue dots.

STAMPS: Crazy for Cupcakes

INK: Classic Black, Going Gray, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Creamy Caramel

PAPER: Pink Pirouette CS, Riding Hood Red CS, Whisper White CS, acetate

ACCESSORIES: Scallop Envelope die, Filigree brad, Blender Pens, white Signo gel pen, Scallop Edge punch, Riding Hood Red 5/8" Striped Grograin ribbon, Crystal Effects, mini glue dots, SNAIL adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals, Cuttlebug folder, Nestabilities, silver rub-on paste

Thanks for stopping by!

Michelle

Kindergarten Teacher Gift

I spent the afternoon making this really cool teacher gift for my son's new kindergarten teacher (when we find out who it is...the bus that goes right by our place goes to a town not in our district, so we're waiting until the week before school starts to find out if there is room for him).

This gift set was inpsired by Lauren Meader's project for JustRite Stampers at http://justritestampers.blogspot.com/2008/08/desk-top-stationery-box.html



There weren't any dimensions for the box, so that was *fun* to figure out.



I used several sheets from the Spring/Summer Prints Swatch Club that I ran right before the new IB&C came out. Each image representing the letters A through J were accented with Crystal Effects.

STAMPS: ABC Images
INK: Several Classics
PAPER: Spring/Summer (retired) Prints DSP, Kraft CS, Whisper White CS, Summer Sun CS
ACCESSORIES: Old Olive 5/8" grograin ribbon, Scallop Square punch, Scallop Edge punch, Mat Stack, Crystal Effects, Sticky Strip, SNAIL adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stamp-a-ma-Jig, , Blender Pens, Scor-Pal

I hope his new teacher can use it!

Michelle

What are your favorite new DSPs?

If you would like an economical way to find out which of the 20 new Designer Series Papers are your favorite, you can order a DSP Swatch Club from me (look on my sidebar for details and a link). You'll get 120 6" x 6" swatches of all 120 double sided papers from the new Fall/Winter Idea Book & Catalog. Decide on your favorites that you want to get full-size packs of, but in the meantime you've got a huge stack of paper to use for scrapbook pages and cards!

I have lots of favorites, but here are 3 that are my faves today:

Maine Blueberry...


Ghostly Greetings...

and Hawaii Papaya...

There are only 4 spots (ETA: 3 spots! Hurry!) left in this club, so make sure you hurry and sign up now to get your paper ASAP!

Happy crafting!

Michelle

Happiness is a Journey

This is my first card made with my new FWIBC stuff! Trains are big in our house, of course, with a little boy (and 2 engineers).

STAMPS: Happiness is a Journey

INK: Chocolate Chip Classic

PAPER: Baja Breeze CS, Very Vanilla CS, Kraft CS, Manchester DSP

ACCESSORIES: Top Note Bigz Die, Chocolate Chip 1" DS Grograin ribbon, Vintage brads, Ticket Corner punch, 3/16" Corner Rounder punch, sponge dauber, mat stack, SNAIL adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals

It's here, it's here!

I won't even mention what this pile is worth, but I will say that I am really excited to have received my *first* order from the new Fall/Winter Idea Book & Catalog. This hugemondo order was only the stuff that made my first cut! Yikes!

Ok, but please note the Tattoo I and Tattoo II kits: I got those for my little guy's kindergarten teacher when he starts school in 2 weeks. That should save her some money on buying stickers at the store! Those are great to have around with kids, and I even take a set with me to workshops in case there are little ones tagging along...it gives them something like what Mommy is doing.

G and I spent the entire afternoon in my studio (the Man in Brown came at 11:30) mounting stamps (so quick with only 2 of the many sets not die-cut), opening all of the paper packs to put into the paper keeper, fingering all the new accessories and ribbons, and actually stamping and using my new Big Shot! My little guy stamped his own cards for HOURS! We had great fun! I always know when he's enjoying himself, as he turns into a major chatterbox.

I'll post my first new card tomorrow!

Michelle

Deer Friends Pocket Card - Gingerbread Man

As a demonstrator, I was able to preorder the hostess set Deer Friends. I immediately made a set of pockets cards with each stamp in the set.

Here is the gingerbread man. I used Bella Rose DSP and made my own ric-rac out of Whisper White paper using the new Scallop Edge punch. The ribbons in the new In Colors weren't available yet, so I used strips of paper under the circle punched stamp. The edge of the white pull-out card was stamped with the retired set All in a Row, carefully placed using my Stamp-a-ma-Jig.

There are more to come! Meanwhile, my huge order from the Fall & Winter Idea Book and Catalog is coming today, so I'll be playing with that!

Thanks for stopping by,

Michelle

Thanks Charlie!

Being a stamper naturally surrounds you with good people! Today my day started off with a painting and iris folding class in town, taught by Charlie! Make sure you visit her website at www.charliescraftroom.com She's a great teacher, because look what I made!


She treated me to lunch and then we drove up to my place and met Mom, Darla, Kelly, Sara, and Laura to stamp at our last-minute technique class! We had great fun! Before the other gals could even get here, look what Charlie gave me: hand embroidered, hand beaded, and hand stitched cards, some heart pocket cards, and a really cute paper strawberry! I'm not worthy!

Spending time with fun people is another benefit of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, and the best one at that!

Michelle

Mom's Thank You My Friend Card

Mom made this card and I took a photo of it during the rally before she sent it off. Very pretty!

Thanks for sharing, Mom!

Michelle

School Years Album

My little guy is starting kindergarten in a few weeks, so I thought I'd better get his 2 years of preschool scrapped into the School Years Album kit from www.lisabearnson.com/kotm I also got the Expansion Kit. Everything you need for preschool through 12th grade is there, all I had to get was an album.

Each year comes with textured pre-printed and embossed paper for their 8x10 portrait:

Pre-cut page accents:

Chipboard, brads, cardstock stickers, journaling prompts:

And plenty of ideas, like stickers for each year's self-portrait, handprint, signature, etc.:

The tough part was deciding what artwork from 2 years would go into the snap envelope for safe keeping:


Now I'm ready for kindergarten (well, not really!).

Michelle

Window Dressing over Lap Siding

I needed a few thank you cards, so (now that the rally is over) I inked up my new Window Dressing hostess set. The lap siding was an idea I found on http://www.splitcoaststampers.com You can see all of the supplies I used to make this card. Since I had such a pile of supplies surrounding the card, it looks so small here...click on the image to see a larger version!

Thanks for stopping by!

Michelle

CHA Winnings!

During CHA I signed up at the Maya Road blog and won one of the days' prizes. Look what they sent! A huge batch of about everything: FIVE chipboard albums (and my little guy likes trains!), rubons, thick vellum tags, velvet flowers, sequined ribbons, and a really cool clear date stamp!

I was also lucky last week during the Sturgis Rally while waiting for my catalogs to get here: My upline Joyce called me and offered some of hers that she had just gotten! Well, I didn't even think to ask, but she knew what I *needed* before I did! Of course I took her up on it (even though I usually don't like to borrow stuff, but we're talking Stampin' Up! here people!), and mine showed up 2 days later so I was able to replace the box I borrowed quickly. Wow, thanks Joyce! It's really nice to have a friend that takes care of you like that!

Michelle

Funny Meeting You Here!

You won't believe how fellow stamper Teresa and I met before we actually got to meet in person at the Sturgis Rally this year...

I was cruising around www.splitcoaststampers.com when my husband walked behind me and saw Teresa's avatar...a photo of her on her bike in Hill City near us! Of course I couldn't let THAT go! We PM'd each other back and forth and finally met up at the campground (twice!) during the rally. Teresa and her husband are the nicest people!

I don't have my Harley anymore, but that's me on the left and Teresa next to her husband's bike on the right. Her ride has a really cool custom paint job.

We had 2 nice visits and I can't tell you how much fun it was to meet them! Thanks for taking the time to stop by Teresa! Make sure you visit her blog at http://love2bcreativewithrubbah.blogspot.com/

Michelle

New Fall/Winter DSP Swatch Club Starts Now!

The brand new Fall/Winter Designer Series Paper Swatch Club is now open for sale by mail or for local pickup/delivery!

These exclusive papers are available in 20 of the newest sets that Stampin' Up! offers. You will get 120-6"x6" swatches including each paper from the Designer Series Paper in the Stampin' Up! catalog on pages 168-171 (not including the Patterns DSP on page 171...I'll start that club when this one is complete), featuring a total of 20 sets of DSP, each with 6 large swatches of double-sided designs! The DSP Swatch Club allows you to own all of the new Fall and Winter DSP papers available in the new Idea Book & Catalog! The 6x6 papers are perfect for making cards and other projects, and if you are a scrapbooker like I am, you will have a quick 6x6 page base to use! The other nice thing about having this hefty stack of papers: it's already cut, so you won't feel so bad about actually using it! Don't save it, use it!

When a total of 8 people have paid for the Fall/Winter DSP Swatch Club, I will place the order. When I receive the order, I will promptly prepare the swatches for immediate mailing. Please choose the Kits by Mail "Add to Cart" button on the sidebar: $30.00 if you are local and can pick it up or get it from me when I am in your area, or $34.80 if I should mail it to you via USPS Priority Mail to anywhere in the US only.

Enjoy!
Michelle

Mom's Thank You

Here's another card from my prolific mother!

Thanks for sharing, Mom!

Michelle

Tagger's Dozen Queen for a Day

I love the Tagger's Dozen stamp set that is retiring...there's a stamp for everything in there!

Michelle

Mom's Get Well Soon

My Mom made this get well card. It's very pretty, don't you think?

Michelle

Mom's Workshop Pocket Card

Here's the pocket card that Mom made at Courtney & Kasey's workshop a few weeks ago. The stamps are from All in a Row and Tagger's Dozen (both retiring!). We used Very Vanilla, Kraft, and Wild Wasabi hostess papers. The inks were Wild Wasabi and Creamy Caramel, and the ribbon was Double-Stitched Wild Wasabi. We used the small tag punch and a vintage brad to top it off.

I demonstrated the card sideways, but I like how Mom made it stand up!

Michelle

18K Gold Squash Book

One bridal gift turned into another! My friend that had me make a pair in blues and browns has a co-worker that wanted one, too. Her gift needed to be in browns, creams, and gold, so I used Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, and another paper. The stamp set I used is Carte Postale (retiring!), and the ribbon is from Hobby Lobby. The special touch added to the squash book's edges is 18K gold from a leafing pen! It adds such a nice detail.

Squash books seem complicated, but I can teach you and your friends how to make them so you can make your own gifts! Contact me for details!

Michelle