StampPaperScissorsInk

My Digital Studio Baby Shower Invite

2012-02-06T11:47:00.000-08:00

I am hosting a Baby Shower with 2 other friends for a friend of ours who is pregnant. naturally I called dibs for the invitations! We are doing a mixture of digital and physical invitations, so My Digital Studio is perfect for the job!

I used the Digital version of Little Additions to create an adorable little nursery room. I also used a stamp for the Inviting set to give myself prewritten Who, What, Where spaces. I created a different version with the correct info, but this one is great if you need to write them out! I also added a line below for the registry information. I'll be posting more favors and cute baby shower ideas in the next few weeks so stay tuned!

If you would like to try My Digital Studio for Free, shop online with me and add the free My Digital Studio Express trial (item 129600) for a 30 day trial! It is an incredible program and I know you will love it!

Pocket Tissue Holder

2012-02-04T11:46:00.001-08:00

I was trying to think of fun crafts to how my daughters on Valentine's Day that don't include candy and came up with this cute idea. Can't claim totally originality as I have seen them before on other site.

I took my candy cane Christmas fabric and cut out two rectangles. I turned right sides together and stitches the edges leaving an opening on the short side to turn the fabric inside out. Once it is flipped fold in the raw edges and run a stitch along each short end.

If you want to embellish the case do so now. I tore a skinny strip of the fabric and stitched down the center then pulled one thread to gather it into a ruffle. I pinned the ruffled on then sewed it near the bottom third. You could run a ribbon, button, or bow now if you would like. Another fun embellishment would be a piece of trim cut from the Tasteful Trim Big Shot XL die.

Next center the tissue packet and overlap the center seams ever so slightly. Pin the short ends. Run a seam across the ends and back stitch over the center overlap to anchor firmly. Flip inside out and insert your tissue packet.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-04T10:05:00.001-08:00

I am so happy to be back at crafting!! I've been dealing with health issues for the last few months.

As you all know Valentine's Day is in less than two weeks! If you are looking for a cute and simple card for your sweetheart, this card will be fun to make. I used the new P.S. I Love you and the Candy Heart stamp to create a heart treat cup card.

I love the treat cups we carry but don't often use them. This holiday is perfect for them! This card does not include a slider to access the candy, but it would be easy to add one in case you wanted to eat it easily!

Tips: tack the 3x3 and 2.75x2.75 squares together with dotto adhesive to mark the spot for the heart punch so both pieces will align properly but don't punch both layers at the same time, it hurts the punch!!

Enjoy and Happy crafting!

Advent Calendar

2011-12-09T07:51:00.001-08:00

I made this one without using my fun little stamp set, and I'm still working on the other version, but I am so proud of this one. It is a gift for a good friend and while I wish it was done for the first, it's better than never at all!!

I used retired supplies from my stash, and it was nice to use existing supers. Along the way I picked up speed and I think the next one will go so much faster!!!

I painted the chipboard and sealed the painted frame. I used 2-3 coats of sealer. I also used a few coats of mod podge for my center piece of scrapbook paper. Then I wrapped every cube. Use plenty of glue stick and perfectly trimmed strips of paper to make this job fast and easy, if sticky!! It worked better than the sticky strip and I think it is more secure this way. I also trimmed each curved notch by hand but a 3/4" punch would work I think, I ordered one as I don't own it!! Gasp!!

The final step was adding glitter to my chipboard numbers, this was super messy. Tombow green glue worked really well for the chunky glass glitter and I liked my two way glue for the
Micro glitter. I love the extra bling the glitter gives! After the numbers dried I used Tombow again to get all the numbers in place. It ships off today. It was a labor of love but so worth it!!

Craft fair

2011-11-19T13:39:00.000-08:00

Today I did a vendor fair at a community fundraiser. I had a great time and was glad to help support a really neat individual.

I made range of items including; reindeer food, bookmarks, notepad holders, post-it pads with pens, and several other items. It was fun making everything this past week, and now I have some great experience! I also was able to use many scraps from my stash of retired paper and embellishments. I'll have to go back and link to all the great websites I used for inspiration! Thank you to all you creative folks out there with wonderful ideas!!!

Fall themed workhop

2011-11-05T07:05:00.000-07:00

I'm doing a workshop today with my friend Brenda, and she chose a fall theme for the Holidays with a scrapbook/home decor project.

I created this adorable page that can be used a framed art, or put in a scrapbook. I had so
Much fun with my Simply Score Tool! It makes creating these little flower embellishments so easy.

I am also showing how to make simple stocking stuffers with votive candles.

I also had to add a simple Birthday card using spice cake dsp. I adore this paper!!! I used out wonder hostess set for the birthday greeting.

Extra Hostess Dollars Now until December 15th

2011-11-03T05:19:00.000-07:00

If your workshop sales total is	You earn hostess dollars		It's Good to Be the Hostess	Total Free Stampin' Up! Merchandise	Plus, hostesses earn full-priced items at 50% off
$350	$50	+	$35	$85	---
$400	$65	+	$35	$100	1 item
$500	$80	+	$35	$115	2 items
$750	$120	+	$35	$155	3 items
$1,000+	$160 plus 15% of amount over $1,000	+	$35	$195 plus 15% of amount over $1,000	4 items

Hostess Halloween Punch Art

2011-10-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

This week for Creative-Sketches.com we have a Holiday Card Challenge. I know we are almost down to the wire, but it isn't Halloween yet, and I have been wanting to get this adorable Hostess set inky!

This card was created with my Owl Punch, the Large Blossom Punch, the Pennant Punch, and 2.5" Circle punch. The Owl punch is pretty clear for use. I stamped, colored,and paper pierced this adorable trick-or-treating owl. I wanted to use my punches to create a Halloween scene, but follow our fun sketches this week. I took some liberties, but kept some elements like the large top curve became my moon. The ribbon at the top of the sketch dropped down and became my fence. To give my little scene some depth and dimension, I sponged edges, and created wood lines for my fences.

Punch Art Tricks-
Use the inside of the Pennant Punch to create perfect angles for the tips of banners and the tops of fence posts. Thread in your strip so that only the corner you want punched is inside the punch itself. It can be tricky to maneuver so a post-it makes a great handle!

Think Outside the box- The Blossom punch makes a great cloud when you cut it apart and reassemble pieces of the blossom in layers as cloud sections.

So Happy Halloween, and be safe when you are Trick or Treating! Swing by our challenge blog to submit your card using our sketch!

No sew pin cushion and Sewn version

2011-10-24T17:20:00.000-07:00

I found this awesome pair on this blog, and had to CASE it! Thank you for the inspiration!

Sewn version first-
I adore my Big Shot for fabric projects. I used my square scallop die to cut out 8 squares from my Spice Cake fabric.
See together with right side out so you have the scalloped edge. Repeat 4 times and then sew the top and bottom block. Now you have a front with 4 squares and a back. Press with an iron. Go around the edges leaving a hole out for stuffing. Stitch the open edge closed.

Take two buttons and a large needle. Go from side to side pulling the buttons in to create a divet. Snip thread all over and you are done!

No sew version-
Cut a 8" square of fabric and grab a handful of fluff. I used a fancy feast cat food can, but a different small container would work for this project as well. Think small flower pot or metal can.

I cut a 1.25" x 12 strip and wrapped my can. I heated hot glue, and ran a bead of glue around the top of the can. Wrap the fabric and fluff in a ball, and pit inside the cat food can without burning yourself! Tie a bow or embellishment and you are done!

Advent Calendar project in the works

2011-10-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

I have been searching for the perfect advent calendar for years ever since we had children. This year, I will have one that I will be able to use for years to come! Stampin' Up! thoughtfully created a great new advent stamp set that I am going to use to make an incredible calendar for this year. I will also be using the new coordinating Big Shot die and 1" Square punch. I debated doing it on paper or in a frame like the awesome one I saw at Stampin Up! Convention, but I think I like this new idea better. I will be using a 25 small boxes around a frame so I can put little treasures inside for my children to take out each day!

I will stamp, punch and color, and then decoupage all the boxes, and create a wonderful punch art for inside the advent frame! Winter Wonderland, snowmen, and glitter here I come. No finished pictures yet since I finally found a supplier online for the box frame, and they have been shipped out Wednesday. Normally I try and use only Stampin' Up Products, but I needed something that we didn't have-gasp!.

Check back next week to see what I have created! This is a great holiday gift which I will be selling only 2 of at a local benefit in November. If you want to order the materials or a complete kit, please contact me!

Layering & Paper Piecing

2011-10-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

This week on Creative-Sketches.com we are doing a layer sketch. I came up with this as my final card.

I really enjoy tearing paper when I am working with a winter or hilly scene. I adore this little snowman set, but then I have to admit, I am a sucker for anything with snowmen! This set is called Snow Much Fun (#122562) So I took our sketch of the week, then added a wonderful snowy background with my Northern Flurry Big Shot Embossing Folder. (#120902) I flipped it around and sponged the back-the part with the dembossed side-so that the snowflakes would remain white and the paper would take the Bashful Blue ink color. I really like this little technique because it is not the normal approach to using this embossing folder.

My tip when doing this: Use dimensionals to lift the embossing folder so that the impression does not get destroyed.

Then I stamped my images a few times on different pieces of paper. You can use Designer Series Paper to do this as well and to great affect, but for my image it worked best with solid cardstock. I colored my images with markers and cut it all out to assemble it.

The bird and the snowman got stamped directly on my white background so that I could have the legs and arms on the cardstock and not trim around them. They are really just too small to cut out effectively even using the Paper Snips, which in my opinion are the best little scissors for cutting. I also highlighted portions of my image with our new glitter glue! So easy to use, and what a cute effect!

So, now you know what I did, what will you create this week? Enter your card on our challenge blog!

Earn a Free Big Shot in October

2011-10-11T14:44:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love my Big Shot! I can't imagine crafting without it. If you don't have this little beauty, consider getting yours for free today when you sign up with me as a new demonstrator. If you already have a Big Shot, get $100 of product instead-maybe the new holiday Big Shot dies would be more your thing! Free is always more fun for crafting!

Win $400 in Free My Digital Studio Downloads

2011-09-02T14:53:00.000-07:00

Stampin’ Up! invites YOU to participate in our digital design contest using Stampin’ Up!’s My Digital Studio digital artwork. You can win up to $400 in FREE downloads! Find more information on MyDigitalStudio.net. The contest ends October 15, so start designing today.

We’ve got something to help you get started—the latest downloads of fresh and irresistible digital designs! Check out August’s new downloads as well as downloads from our Holiday Mini Catalog here.

With your new downloads ready to go, click over to MyDigitalStudio.net for ideas and inspiration using your latest digital additions.

I entered this contest last year, and have high hopes for my entry this year. The prize is worth it though! Everyone is welcome to enter.

Retired Items for Sale

2011-09-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

Clear Stamps For Sale
New Unmounted
Hostess- Long Fellows $10
Hostess Punch Potpouri $10
Hostess - It's the Thought $10

Mounted Lightly Used
Hostess- Playful Pieces $12
Hostess- Apple Blossoms $10
Hostess- Birthday Bakery $8
Paisley Prints $8
For A Friend $10

Wood Stamps
Define Your Life- $20
All Holidays- $18
So Many Thanks $5
Tart & Tangy $ 8
Be My Valentine - new unmounted $8
Great Friend $12- some staining
A Good Egg $15
Love You Much some staining $15
Sock Monkey $15
Big on Christmas $15
Bundle of Joy $15
Dreams Du Jour $8- stained on some stamps
Celebrate Everything $8
Beautiful Baby $4
Unfrogettable $12- some staining
Just for You Series-Santa & Friends $ 10
Yummy- Stained on 1 block only $8
Punches Three $8
Razzle Dazzle $12
Warm Words $ 10

Stamp Pads $4 each
Purely Pomegranate
Brilliant Blue
Lovely Lilac
Dusty Durango
Summer Sun
Crushed Curry

Stampin Spots
Classic Earth Elements $15- mostly unused
Classic Spots Rich Regals $15- mostly unused

Refill
Bermuda Bay $2

Marker
Yoyo Yellow $1.5
Dusty Durango $1.5

Ribbon
Dusty Durango- Polka Dot Ribbon maybe 12 yards left $4
Soft Suede Polka Dot Ribbon - Maybe 8 yards left $3
Orchard Opulence Ric Rack - 10 yards $5
5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon Certainly Celery - 12 yards $4

Buttons
Kraft Corduroy Buttons- 22 of 24 $5
Summer Sun 15 of 24 $3

Virginia Sales Tax Holiday August 5-7

2011-08-02T07:37:00.000-07:00

The state of Virginia is having a sales tax holiday for school supplies up to $20.00 per item from August 5-7. Because school supply items are included in this sales tax holiday, the below list of items will be state tax free during the holiday period. Please note that you must place your order with Stampin' Up! during the tax holiday period in order to receive these items tax free. Also, keep in mind that this is a state sales tax holiday and may not apply to additional city, jurisdiction, or county taxes. Make sure to contact your customers to let them know of this limited-time benefit!

The following items are tax-exempt during the Virginia sales tax holiday:

Item Number	Description	Price
100425	2-Way Glue Pen	$ 3.50
100902	Dotto Refill	$ 6.50
101879	Watercolor Pencils (24)	$ 19.95
102845	Blender Pens (3)	$ 9.95
103179	Craft & Rubber Scissors	$ 19.95
103305	Dotto	$ 12.95
103579	Paper Snips	$ 9.95
103683	Mini Glue Dots	$ 4.95
104045	Anywhere Glue Sticks (2)	$ 3.95
104294	Sticky Strip	$ 6.95
104331	SNAIL Refill	$ 4.50
104332	SNAIL Adhesive	$ 6.95
104430	Stampin' Dimensionals	$ 3.95
105021	Uni-ball Signo Gel Pen	$ 3.95
105394	Basic Black Stampin' Write Journaler	$ 3.50
110755	Multipurpose Liquid Glue	$ 3.95
Varies	Stampin' Write Marker	$ 3.50
119801	2010-2012 In Color Stampin' Write Markers (5)	$ 14.95
119802	Subtles Collection Watercolor Wonder Crayons (10)	$ 16.95
119803	Regals Collection Watercolor Wonder Crayons (10)	$ 16.95
119804	Brights Collection Watercolor Wonder Crayons (10)	$ 16.95
119805	Neutrals Collection Watercolor Wonder Crayons (10)	$ 16.95
123002	2011-2013 In Color Stampin' Write Markers (5)	$ 14.95

Buy 3 Get 1 Free Paper Special

2011-08-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

This month stock up on our Designer Series Paper and Save! Buy 3 packages of Designer Series Paper, and get a Free Package of exclusive paper. Order Online or Email me to place your order.
Learn More here!

Artist Trading Card Owl Punch Art

2011-07-30T13:25:00.000-07:00

At Convention I went loaded down with about 40 swaps-cards I made to trade with other stampers. I would have liked to make many more swaps, but I was so busy prior to convention, it just wasn't possible! I was so thrilled to see all the different cards made by the very talented stampers! Such a treat!

I was participating in a ATC or Artist Trading Card Swap with my upline's group. Trading Cards are smaller cards that can stand alone, or be taken home and added to a larger card. It is fun to create the mini cards as you really have to stretch and think what will look good and work on a smaller scale. ATC cards are 2.5 x3.5. There are several sites with cutting templates to get 10 card bases out per page of 8.5x11, but this is the page I normally use for reference.

I had so much fun designing this little Owl, but when I made the first, I did not think about how many eyeballs it takes to make 20+ Owls! Yikes! Luckily my good friend and downline was willing to help me assemble my little creations.

Supplies Needed:
Two Step Owl Punch
Two Step Bird Punch- wings, branch
Big Shot- Spiderweb Embossing Folder
Great Greetings
1 3/4" Circle Punch
Rich Razzleberry
Daffodil Delight
Early Espresso
Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Pie 1/8"Grosgrain Ribbon

Milk Carton Big Shot - Part 1

2011-07-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

At Convention on Main Stage Carrie Cudney presented the most adorable Gingerbread house made from the Big Shot Milk Carton Die using the Sweets for the Sweets (pg 65 in the new catalog). Now I don't have that stamp set yet, so I had to improvise. I think my little box is quite cute, and uses my love of punch art to create the roof (Scallop Border punch), a tiny wreath(Itty Bitty Punch), door (Large Tag Punch), and gumdrops (Word Window Punch). As soon as I can order from the Holiday Mini, I will add some mini Jungle bells :)

I also made some little curtains using my paper snips. I can't wait to try the new Glitter Glue. I hear it is a lot like Stickles. I used Tombow glue with plenty of Dazzling Diamonds for the gumdrops, roof, and wreath.

I'm thinking Mini Gingerbread Village for fun decorations, or possible party treats!

My next Post will be a Double Milk Carton Box. It was also demonstrated at Convention, although I missed that presentation, but heard about it from friends. It is fun to see how versatile one Die can be when used different ways!

Simply Scored Tool Raffle September 10th - Enter Now!

2011-07-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

I love to make 3d projects for myself, as gifts, in Classes, and in workshops. I have been using my little black slider on my old Stampin Up! Paper trimmer. It works after a fashion. But more often then not, I mess up, and each project I try and score is either done wrong or is not identical to the others. My reject pile can't get pretty high on some projects! This is really frustrating to me so when Shelli announced on Main Stage that we would be getting a Simply Scored Tool, I was absolutely thrilled!! Our Simply Scored Tool holds 12x12 paper. It has 1/8" tracks which is absolutely great! It comes with 3 little place markers that stick in place on the edge (Tiny hash marks on my paper trimmer were not working for me). It also includes a stylus with 2 different size ends. The stylus glides wonderfully well on paper and cardstock! It has nonskid nonmarking feet on the bottom, and has a little storage slot for a bone folder, lipstick, candy, or extra markers.

The best part in my opinion are the rulers. We have 2 different rulers, one goes from 0-12". The other starts in the center at 0" and goes out in each direction. Thank you so much for that one!! Perfect for some many uses. The Rulers will not fade or wear off either. And because they know it will happen, they sell extra feet and stylus. I'll probably lose mine at least once!

So now you know all about it's features, now look and see some of the fun things you can make!

Did I mention as a demonstrator I can preorder it August 1st? That might be one of my favorite benefits as a demonstrator getting to order product early! I was not one of the lucky winners of a Simply Scored Tool Prize Patrol at Convention, but I'll have mine soon enough! It is so worth signing up on my Team in July, just to get the Simply Scored Tool a month early, and at a 30% discount!

Now that you love it and absolutely want to have it, here is how you can win it for free! During the month of August you can earn tickets for my Raffle in September. I'll be giving away a Simply Scored Tool to one very lucky ticket holder.

To enter the raffle:
Like/Follow me on Facebook at Facebook.com/StampPaperScissorsInk and comment on my Facebook page to earn 1 Ticket.

Attend a Class and place a $50 order at class to earn 1 Ticket. Bring a Friend and Earn 1 Ticket.

Place an order online (or email me your order) for $75 and receive 1 ticket. Each additional $75 order earns another ticket.

Host a Workshop in August or schedule your workshop for September to earn 2 Tickets.

Attend a Workshop with a friend to a workshop and receive an extra Ticket.

Place a $50 workshop order and earn 1 Ticket.

Sign up as a Demonstrator to earn 5 tickets. Sign up Before August 16th and earn an extra 5 tickets.

Please add a comment below and let me know your ticket progress!

Iris Folding-ornament punch

2011-07-22T09:19:00.001-07:00

This week our challenge was to do a Card using Iris Folding. I have never done this before, and it was so much fun to learn how to do it, and then make a card myself.

To make an Iris Folded card, you need to have this strips of folded scrapbook paper. Then you layer them around in a pattern based on your template or shape you want to use. If you google it, you can come up with tones of free templates, and some really interesting projects. Mine is a great beginners project though!

I had my ornament punch and wanted to do my folds using that punch so I created my own template. I basically took my punch traced it out, then doodled around with my ruler until it looked good to me. I have a picture of my template. I'll clean it up and add it as a new file for downloading.

Then I used my punch piece and laid it down and taped it with scotch tape so I could check my work. Layer up your strips, trim the excess and go around until you get to the center shape. I popped my ornament with dime Sui dale and finished my card with glitter, and a greeting from Greetings Galore. Simple but fun!

Give it a try, and post your project at Creative-Sketches.com.

Stampin Up! Convention Display Boards

2011-07-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

I will probably stop talking and dwelling on my fun trip in another week or so, but I really had fun downloading my completely full camera and going over my pictures from the trip. I still can't get over the incredibly talented people creating display boards, demonstrating during opening night, and coming up with the incredible Product Park.

This post has a sample of each of those areas. I will try and put together my scrapbook & slideshow quickly to share in better detail!

Most of our new product lines had a display board like each of these. It was filled with wonderful examples of fun and interesting samples to make with the various product lines. These two from Beau Chateau and Big Top were really incredible! They also had sections for each product line in the Product Park.

Here is a display board that was posted after a main Stage presentation by Sara. She showed fun, fast, easy, and inexpensive ideas. She made a 20 page 6x6 scrapbook album, 16 3x3 notecards, and still had supplies left over all from one $20 Simply Scrappin Kit! Now that is a great use of materials! I also loved her fast & easy Big Top Accent cards. She made 40 cards using 1 Quick Accent set, and 2 packages of notecards, plus a stamp set and some ink. It is great to show what you can do when you have limited time and resources.

One of my favorite ddemonstrator presentations on Wednesday night was all about Buttons. We have a new stamp set (Button Buddies p. 71 #122737-clear) dedicated to using our buttons. Each of the 8 stamps in the set goes with a button. Linda Heller had so many incredible ideas to use, store, and give away buttons. Of they are just so shiny and touchable on her button cookie tray. How inviting! Check out her button bracelet in the top picture. Not sure how she made it, but I love it! She also has a button ring.

Cuts like butter!

2011-07-21T12:52:00.001-07:00

I adore my UPS guy! Today a small package arrive with my great rewards -aka free products from Stampin Up arrived. I ordered our Craft Scissors. My friends have them, and I "knew" that they were better with ribbon than paper snips but wow!! I took them up immediately to test them out! I think I may order another pair for fabric only. Such a nice sharp edge, cuts so cleanly! Love them!!

I tied ribbon on the handle, and next I'll mark them on the blades with a Sharpie, "ribbon only"

Fast and Easy Christmas Card Kit Available

2011-07-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

I will be hosting a Christmas in July class this month (see my calendar page to register) but I also wanted to offer a Fast and Easy Christmas card bundle. I have put together a kit that can let you make 20 Christmas cards in just a few minutes.

Your kit includes the Merry and Type clear stamp set, the Quick Accents Letters to Santa Embellishment kit, and a package of our whisper white 5x3.5" notecards and envelopes.

You will only need an ink pad to stamp. ( I recommend Old Olive, or Real Red) The accents are already sticky and assemble easily. I will trim the strips to fit the card fronts. The kit is $38.95. Upgrade the kit with out new 1/2" scallop dotted old olive grosgrain ribbon or designer bright buttons (you'll use only real red and old olive) for an extra $8.95.

To Order the Kit, please email me at hrpilz"at"gmail.com and let me know how many kits you need, and whether or not you would like the ribbon, or the button Add-Ons. If you are local, I'll deliver the kit, if not, I will ship the kit to you after I trim the strips.

Stampin Up fabric projects

2011-07-18T22:35:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share a few of the incredible projects made by Stampin Up demonstrators that were on display at convention.

Flirtatious Fabric

Beau Chateau Fabric

Love the tea towel ruffles!! What a cute gift idea!

Bags, coasters, and ornaments

Messenger tote with Flirtacious fabric. She also had a crayon roll and a round tote!

Two step stamping with Raining Flowers and Workshop Words!

2011-07-18T11:09:00.000-07:00

Free stamps stamp better! It is simply more fun with free goodies! I got home from Utah last night and could not wait to get my newest stamp sets inky!! This card is for one of my customers to thank her for a recent order. I'm using the new set in the catalog that all convention attendees received Raining Flowers. I also used a wonderful new set that we earned by going to different classes, Workshop Words! What a great set! I will be using it quite a lot as I plan on doing many more workshops!

I used 3 new colors, Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo, and Pool Party. Stampin Up has the most fun color names! I also used my square lattice embossing folder and color spritzer to give some great texture to the cardstock.

Raining Flowers is a 2 step stamping set. 2 step stamping is a great technique and a lot of fun to do. The catalog has a special symbol to indicate which sets can be used as 2 step stamping. If you don't know how to do that technique and would like to learn it, I'd be happy to teach you! Click on my events page to schedule a workshop on an open workshop night, or contact me to arrange a convenient time.

Final day of convention

2011-07-17T18:00:00.001-07:00

Yesterday classes and general session finally ended for Stampin Up!'s annual convention. It has been an incredible 4 days. It is always hard to say goodbye to the end of something wonderful.

However I am heading home filled with inspiration and enthusiasm. I feel energized and more than ready to dive in and clean up the office, workspace, and home and dive into a busy round of workshops! I have come away from this convention feeling that as a company, Stampin Up truly cares about their demonstrators and our needs. They have done so much to help us share what we all love to do with others, and make us a more competitive company compared to other home based businesses as well as other craft companies.

The new catalog is truly wonderful. Our new paper, colors, stamps, and accessories are delightful! Our new hostess plan however is so fantastic. We now have hostess dollars for our hostesses holding qualifying workshops. There are more award levels at lower levels making it easier for those workshops to have truly great rewards. We now offer $25 in hostess dollars for our lowest qualifying workshop. Those dollars can be spent on special hostess only stamp sets, or catalog merchandise. We also now offer 50% off items of your choice for qualifying workshops. Big ticket items like the Big Shot or The Marvelous Marker set are much more affordable!

At convention my camera and I was filled to the brim with workshop ideas, hostess gift projects, and wonderful Make & Takes. The Product Park was filled with inspiring samples in every section. I know we will have a fantastic summer and fall season in all my workshops!

This year the Grand Vacation incentive trip is to Fiji. I have dreamed of taking an exotic romantic vacation since I was a little girl. It was not financially possible when my husband and I got married and has never been an option for us. Earning this trip for free as a demonstrator would be a dream come true! I love to share my passion for card making, scrapbooking, and crafts. I plan to host 6-8 workshops each month in my effort to earn the Fiji Trip so I will be contacting friends to invite each to host a Workshop. I will have Yes Tickets at my workshops and classes for guests to turn in. If you turn in your ticket before I can ask you about hosting a workshop, you will receive a special gift from me!

I also can't help bubbling over about the fantastic mini starter kit for $99 available until July 31. This kit is filled with fantastic stamps, paper, ink, and embellishments! There is over $180 of product in the kit as well as business supplies! It is a wonderful opportunity for someone who can imagine doing what I do or someone looking to get a great discount on our wonderful products, and access to demonstrator library, online resources and privileges. In addition to this kit, new demonstrators will receive an incredible Christmas project box filled with supplies to make this lovely box.

We will be able to put this together and celebrate your decision to get a starter kit!

To take advantage of this opportunity, either visit my website here, or contact me directly to answer any questions you may have.

Convention- sneak peek holiday mini

2011-07-14T11:09:00.001-07:00

So exciting to be here! Just finished the first general session! Wow! I'm so excited about our July $99 recruiting special starter mini kit!

Best part is the incredible Christmas box that the new recruit will receive for free.

Contact me before July 31st to take advantage of this incredible offer.

We also just got a sneak peek of the Holiday mini for this fall, and my jaw is on the floor! I can't wait to start preordering in august, and start my new holiday classes and crafts. Can you say advent calendar? With a great big shot die to make it with?

Stamping Up is going to be launching their very own Simply Scored tool. Wow! Score 12x12 paper, every 1/8", stylus comes with, plus 3 awesome little place markers. Perfect time saver, so good for all 3D projects! This little beauty will be available September 1st, and I know you will want one for all your 3d projects. It will come out in The Holiday Mini catalog. If you are not on my mailing list, and would like to be added to the list, please contact me with your information. This will also be available through my store online.

Please be ready to come and make incredible holiday projects! This new mini is out of sight! Pictures to come!!

Stampin Up Convention

2011-07-13T11:40:00.001-07:00

I am so happy to be back at convention in Salt Lake City this year!! I arrived early this morning and crashed for a good rest. I kicked off convention by participating in a fun focus group! What a treat to sit and give my opinion to Stampin Up!!

I spent the last hour wandering the demonstrator inspiration area. I have my moments where I feel quite talented, but their incredible designs and artwork are so incredible and inspiring!

I'm planning a trip to see Riverton next!

6x6 kids scrapbooking class

2011-07-05T07:28:00.000-07:00

I recently taught a fun kids scrapbooking workshop using the now retired play date line. Each child went home with a 6x6 ring bound album and 24 pages ready for them to add their own photos and stickers from the sticker pack. Everyone had a wonderful time!

Here are a few of my favorite pages.

If you are a demonstrator and would like to teach my class or if you would like to order the class instructions and see all the pages, please contact me.

Pennant parade card set

2011-07-03T07:20:00.000-07:00

I got this as a stamp set and punch as bundle for demonstrators and boy am I impressed at the versatility of this stamp set and punch!!

I was able to create a birthday card for a boy or girl, and a wonderful manly card.

But I can also make a baby card, Christmas, thank you and more!! Little but why a punch!! I think on of my favorite cards I've seen uses this punch and the cupcake punch to create a ice cream cone. Now I want that punch for my collection!

Army Retirement announcement

2011-07-02T07:13:00.001-07:00

A good friend asked me to design an invitation for her husband's retirement party. We had limited time, but happily she had some wonderful retired stamps tucked away in her stash we were able to pull out and use. I got the color idea from colorq, but tweaked it to use basic gray, night of navy, and cherry cobbler. It is different than what I have used before, but I like it! I love the patriotic feeling of this card.

I created the invitation on the inside using MyDigitalStudio, planning to print on vellum, but we shifted and went with white instead.

I am going to miss Sanded, such a wonderful background stamp, but the new worn one is wonderful too!

Holiday Sketch My Digital Studio Father's Day

2011-06-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

So this is incredible late, but I wanted to post my Father's Day card I made for my church group. It is also Holiday Week for The Creative-Sketches.com blog challenge. We are doing Holidays this week.

I normally don't do MDS cards for the site challenge, but I really loved this one. My plan was to print it and turn it into a hybrid card. I should have planned ahead and had it printed out. My laser printer does not do a great job color matching with SU colors, which is truly disappointing.

Please visit the site to add your sketch to the site list. Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Nautical Masculine card

2011-06-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

Monday I got to spend a few hours with a good fried making on board journals using the nautical expedition DSP, the Open Sea set, and Sail Away. They turned out so wonderful, and I completely forgot to take pictures!! Her family will be using them on their upcoming sailing trip. Such a wonderful gift.

While we were working, I created this masculine nautical card using The Open Sea, and Word Play. I love the card, and will probably be sending this to a wonderful guy in my life!! It would also be a great graduation card too. Hmmm, the possibilities!

Punch Art Class Animals

2011-06-14T08:44:00.000-07:00

It's punch art time!! I adore animals, so I had a wonderful time coming up with a lion, monkey, and penguin! These would be great embellishments for a zoo page!

Class is going to be tonight, and again next week. But if you are not local, order the tutorial for $3 or a tutorial and punched shape kit for $6.

Scrapbooking club starts July

2011-06-14T06:24:00.001-07:00

I'm hoping to kick off a summer scrapbook club to get caught up on all those years of photos I have in scrapped!

I'd like a group of 6 ladies together who want to participate for 6 months. You will placing a $25 order each month which will allow you to slowly stock up on scrapbooking supplies. You will each enjoy the awesome new hostess sets and new hostess dollars program. You will also get the new idea book free, as well as a new free in color (or regular) stamp pad of your choice! Club members will also receive class discounts, and special promotions from me each month.

If you are interested, please let me know. I'll plan and prepare the projects (12x12 two page spread) and there will be a small $3 materials charge with a $25 product order.

I usually work 12x12, but if another size-8.5x12 is better for you, let me know!

Week 2 - color challenge

2011-06-09T03:00:00.000-07:00

This week at Creative-Sketches.com, our weekly challenge is a color challenge. We are using Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Soft Suede, and Whisper White! What a fun summery color combo.

I went with my new set, On The Grow, #123077-clear. I love that I can use my watercolor paper and aqua painter on this set. So fun! It makes me long for a Vespa. I also used my brand new, and sadly about to retire background stamp, Sanded from the 2010-2011 Idea book. Check out the Retiring List on my site for other wonderful stamps and accessories by Stampin Up! that are about to retire.

Try this color combination and see what you can make at Creative-Sketches.com.

Retiring List is Here! Soon Accessories won't be though

2011-06-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

Check out the list of fantastic sets that are going to be retiring at the end of the month, as well as paper, ribbon, punches, and more accessories. Accessories are limited, so get your order in soon! And if that wasn't all, many accessories are now on sale! Visit my website to shop day & night, or email me your order. Send me a second or third choice with accessories as they tend to go fast!

June Promotion from Heather Pilz only!
Order $25 and earn a free 2011-2012 catalog from me, valued at $9.95.
Order $50 and earn the new catalog, and a free class voucher- valued at $10.00
Order $100 earn a free catalog, a free class voucher, and a free new In Color ink pad- color of your choice. (a $26 value)

Week 1 sketch- summer mini

2011-06-01T20:11:00.000-07:00

I love the weekly sketches, for no other reason than getting the creative juices going.

This week I did a sketch layout from creative-sketches.com, with my new stamp set from the Stampin Up Summer Mini Touch of Kindness,#123203- clear. I adore cats, so when I saw the set, I had to have it!! Plus, I love to color, always love a session of coloring therapy! I also used my newest Big Shot die, with two scalloped squares. They are absolutely wonderful! The designer series paper is the flip side of the fantastic Play Date Designer Series paper, which is on sale and will be retiring at the end of the Month. Supplies for this paper are limited, so order soon!

My posting this month has been a bit slow, but please visit Creative-sketches.com to try our weekly challenges! We have a new one each week.

My Digital Studio 30% off Starter Kit Special till May 31st

2011-05-28T17:53:00.000-07:00

If you have been following my blog for awhile, you know I love Digital Scrapbooking. It is fantastic, and if you have not tried My Digital Studio, you are missing out on a truly wonderful program. I just finished making a hybrid Wedding invitation Suite for my wonderful niece, and I so enjoyed using MDS. I took a slightly different approach given my design background and did the layout of the invite in a different program, then imported an image of my design as a stamp. That way I was able to change the color properly so that when I printed it, I could mount it on Cardstock that would match perfectly. I am on pins and needles waiting for the printed pages to come in. I made a 6x6 invite, which means I was able to print 4 per 12x12 page, and I lucked out given that this month we had a special printing discount! 3 days left on that 30% off single sheets! What a savings when you print out many pages.

But I digress, the point of this post is to let you know about the incredible deal on the My Digital Studio Starter Kit.This month only is is available for $122.50-normally $175, and worth over $300. The full software alone runs for $80 so for only a little bit more money, you get a lot more product! I love sales!

The Digital+ Starter Kit includes

My Digital Studio software suite
Three complete stamp sets (including a clear-mount set and clear-mount block)
Assortment of card stock
Four Classic Stampin' Pads
Two Stampin' Write markers
Real Red 1/4" grosgrain ribbon
Brights Designer buttons
Songbird Décor Elements and applicator
Adhesives
Stampin' Scrub and Mist
Box of Idea Book & Catalogs
Business forms and tools

For anyone who would like to sign up and take advantage of this incredible offer, I will also include, from me personally not SU, $20 of digital downloads of your choice for your new incredible software. You can sign up on my website, or email me and and I will help you sign up online.

Creative-sketches celebration challenge

2011-05-26T20:32:00.000-07:00

This week at Creative-Sketches.com, we are trying out a Celebration and Holiday Challenge. I really love the Strength and Hope stamp set from Stampin' Up!, and love that $2 from the sale of this set supports Breast Cancer Research. This is not the best picture, so you can't really see the sparkly Rhinestone Brads for the butterfly body. I'll have to try again!

The color combination on this one is Rich Razzleberry, Pear Pizzaz, and Marina Mist. Simple, and lovely. My sketch this week is turned vertically from the challenge, but try it out and see what you can come up with!

Color Challenge - Wild Wasabi, Rich Razzleberry, and Peach Parfait

2011-05-12T11:26:00.000-07:00

Another fun Color Challenge this month from Creative-Sketches.com. I used my new Touch of Kindness set from the Stampin Up! Summer Mini. I absolutely love cats, and so do both of my daughters. I know they will be all over this stamp as soon as I let them in my stamp room!

Come on over to the challenge site, and submit your card or scrapbook page, using this color combination. Summer, and fresh. I would not have put these three colors together!

Creative Sketches Design Challenge

2011-05-05T03:00:00.000-07:00

My new box arrive this week with my pre order materials from the Summer Mini Catalog. Yeah! I adore all my new toys. This card uses the fabulous Florets Stamp set. I didn't use my coordinating paper or embossing folder yet, but believe me, they are coming soon!

My sketch this week from Creative-Sketches.com was a fun and simple sketch.

I almost turned the sketch horizontally,but decided to try and plan it as intended. I'd love to see what you can make with it, so pop over and submit your designs. Can't wait to see what you make.

Birthday Invitaton

2011-05-04T20:27:00.000-07:00

I designed this invitation for a friends daughter's Birthday Bash. She loves Hard Rock Cafe, and I was thrilled when I found the Grunge Rock set. Not only was it birthday themed, but it had an awesome guitar. I used the rock and roll technique to stamp each guitar in Cherry Cobbler and Basic Black, creating a unique guitar on each invitation.

Supplies on this card included the Rockin Wheel, Twine, Inviting Stamp Set, and the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder. Unfortunately the inside image is terrible, and I already gave the cards to my friends.

Creative Sketches Week 4 Holidays

2011-05-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

This week we were working with circles in our sketch at Creative-Sketches.com. I took the sketch below and altered the circle concept to use a variety of circles, punches, and dies. Our concept also included Holidays, but my card didn't have an actual holiday in mind. Is there a National Friends Day?
I adore my new Boho Blossom Punch! My favorite stamp set right now is the Just Believe stamp set. I have watercolored it, stamped it and now colored it with markers. Love all the variations! Hope you get a chance to come by and join us in our design challenge!

Creative Sketches Week 3

2011-04-21T03:00:00.000-07:00

This week at Creative-Sketches.com, I was working with this layout below from our Design Team Lead. I really wanted to go with a clean simple project, and I was excited that this layout will allow me to use minimal layers, and just pare it down to basics, but still create a lovely card to send to a friend. To make my life a little more fun, I took some color inspiration from the lovely Inkspirations-challenges Blog. I look forward to their color challenges as the encourage me to mix up some colors I otherwise would never match myself. Regal Rose and Sahara Sand poor things, almost never get used at my house!

Our Technique challenge this week was Using Chalks or Pastels on your card. I have done several different cards using chalks, and took a different approach this week. I wanted to use my pastels very simply, trying to make this more of a minimal card. I stamped my background image in Versamark, then popped chalk to highlight just a few flowers. I also added some turquoise chalk to my eggs in the basket. Both are fairly subtly and easy to add simply with the little wands that come in the Stampin Up pastel kit, or with a cotton swab.

I hope you can visit Creative-Sketches.com to try your hand at either the Layout or Chalks Technique! Can't wait to see what you make!

Add caption

Strength and Hope Campaign

2011-04-07T11:54:00.000-07:00

Stampin Up! just released a wonderful stamp set which will be not only beautiful, but proceeds from purchase will go towards Breast Cancer research. I got my set just yesterday in the mail, and I was thrilled to be able to make my first card with it.

This was based on the Creative-Sketches.com layout challenge. I used my wonderful Designer Series paper in the Occasions Catalog, Presto Patterns DSP, as well as the adorable rosebud buttons! My palette was Baja Breeze, Blushing Bride, Early Espresso, and Crumb Cake. I'd love to see what you can make with this layout at Creative-Sketches.com, so go over and post your entries!

Grab Bags - No April's Fools Joke

2011-04-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

Today I signed into my Stampin Up account wondering what was new this month and saw a really exciting deal! Stampin Up! is offer Grab Bags! I love Sales!!

These grab bags will come in three sizes: the $5, the $10, and the $15 grab bag. Each bag will contain a variety of discontinued products that could include a combination of any of the following: ribbons, Accents & Elements, chipboard, Designer Series Papers, and Simply Sent kit components. Grab bags will not contain stamp sets or tools.

Please keep the following in mind:

Grab bag orders can only be placed in the Online Store.
There is no minimum purchase required to participate in the grab bag special offer.
There is no limit to the number of grab bags a customer may purchase; however, grab bag items are only available while supplies last.
All grab bag sales are final. There are no refunds or exchanges.
Not all grab bags will be unique.
You should use the following item numbers when ordering grab bags:

Item	Description
125873	$5 Grab Bag (containing at least $20 worth of products!)
125874	$10 Grab Bag (containing at least $40 worth of products!)
125875	$15 Grab Bag (containing at least $60 worth of products!)

Pop on over to my online store, and go crazy shopping!

Faux Mother of Pearl Technique

2011-03-31T05:16:00.000-07:00

Week 5 on Creative-Sketches.com is Anything Goes with a twist-try and use the sketch in your project but in any format you want. So, I wanted to try the newest technique from the Demonstrator Support Magazine I get each month from Stampin Up. It uses the awesome Frost White Shimmer paint which I almost never use, but always love when I pull it out again. Silly me!

I will be teaching this technique next week at my technique Tuesday class, so I won't go into details now. Join me for class if you are local, or contact me if you would like to sign up for my distance techniques class. Enjoy the sketch, and stop by Creative-Sketches.com to try your hand at our weekly contest!

Creative Sketches Week 4 Mother's Day

2011-03-24T03:00:00.000-07:00

This week, the Creative Sketches Design Team tries to combine a Sketch and a Holiday card. Knowing that Mother's Day is really not all that far away, I started thinking of what my mom might like to get in the mail. My Mom does not love pastel colors, which typically are used in the spring and for Mother's Day so that makes it challenging to make a card for her. She loves rich jewel tones though. I was thrilled that I was able to combine the Color Challenge from Just Add Ink (Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, and Whisper White) with the Creative-Sketches.com Sketch Challenge to come up with a card that I think my mom will love!

This adorable card uses one of my favorite Holiday stamps sets, All Holidays. It covers just about every major holiday in the year. So versatile! I pair with my trusty Big Shot Top Note Die, and Vintage Wallpaper Embossing folder, my new Boho Blossom punch, the two Step Bird Punch, and some wonderful Designer series paper from the Bold color pack.

To add a little sparkle on this card, I used my favorite Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, a Rich Razzleberry brad, and some wonderful pearls. I love the different sizes with the pearsl too!

So, go on over to Creative-Sketches.com and post your holiday card! Can't wait to see what you make!

Punch Art Spring Bunny

2011-03-17T04:59:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of punch art rabbits out there but I took inspiration from Carla's Scraps. My little guy used a ton of punches, and I will upload better instructions next week. I will be making the bunny with my Stamp Club, so they will get first dibs!

Creative Sketches Week 3

2011-03-17T03:00:00.000-07:00

This week on creative-sketches.com we went with a fun challenge - Fancy Folds, Cuts, or Punches. I combined this with a challenge from my upline as well. We took tags we made at a downline meeting and turned them into cards. My "tag" card began with a wonderful 3x3 card with the Big Shot Daisies and the new blossom punch. I scallop punched, embossed, and created tada! a mini folding card mounted on a larger card. You could glue the bottom edge of them small card and use it to hold a tag that pulls out, or just have 2 places to write a loving note to a friend.

Messages For Mom - Contest Submission

2011-03-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

So I finally got up the nerve or punctuality to submit an entry to Stampin Up!'s monthly challenges. The theme for my entry was Mother's (or Fathers) Day. I am writing this post in January, and the contest ends in February, so I will have to do an update. At this point I have no idea if I have a chance or not, but it is my goal to win at least once this year, and to do that, I will have to start submitting every month.

This card is not one I would ever want to make in bulk, but I love the results. I stamped the flower in this set on watercolor paper, water colored it all in, and then cut all the little flowers out. Then I added crystal effects to the little flowers to add some sparkle and dimension to each one. I am really loving tearing paper, so that was another fun way to perk up the color palette of Rose Red, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Pear Pizzaz, and Blushing Bride. those colors are part of the color palette for the Springtime Vintage Designer Series Paper which I love!

Mosaic Tile Card

2011-03-09T13:19:00.000-08:00

I got to help my newest downline with her first workshop and together we designed this adorable card. We used the new Clearly for You set (#121911 W or #121976 C) from the Occasions Mini catalog. I love that the 1 1/4" square punch fits the large background stamp. We punched 9 squares and layered them onto daffodil delight, and whisper white. The whisper white piece will be the card body and opens from the bottom. The basic black piece is difficult to write on, so this way, we get the look we want, and don't need an extra piece for the inside.

We also used the scallop punch to create a wonderful distressed flower. Punch two scallops and distress and crumple repeatedly until the edges seperate. Pull apart and layer with fuzzy edges facing up. I wanted to use a Black button for the center, but since I didn't have any, I stamped the background stamp again with VersaMark, and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. Unfortunately this picture did not show the wonderful shimmer. After it had cooled, I punched it out using the 1/2" punch. I also used the Two Step Bird punch for the leaves on the card.

I just posted this to a new sketch challenge site I found out about - Try Stampin' on Tuesday. Fingers crossed!

Video Tutorials Coming Soon

2011-03-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

I just got a camera and tripod to starting posting some video tutorials on my blog and on You Tube. I'd like to get a feel for the sort of tutorials that would be most beneficial. For the comment that I decide to start off with, I will send them a special handstamped gift.

So post your comments below, and stay tuned and see who wins the gift! Thanks!!

Creative Sketches Week 1 Challenge

2011-03-03T03:00:00.000-08:00

This week for our sketch challenge, we had a vertical layout with several thin layers. I decided to use one of my layers with a stamp instead of adding a piece of cardstock. It is a little hard to see in the picture, but look to the left of the larger image. I used my other layer as the edge of the top note die.

I have really struggled with Poppy Parfait as a color, but this color challenge from Handstamped Sentiments provided the Colors for the week, Pear Pizzaz, Poppy Parade, and Blushing Bride. I like the combo very much. I will definitely be using it again soon! I cheated slightly and added a tiny sliver of Crumb Cake! Sorry guys!

The stamp set I used is Just Believe. I absolutely this set and have used it several times. I had not used the frame stamp though so it was great to get that inky! Hope you like it and want to go over to Creative-sketches.com and give it a whirl for yourself!

Leprechaun Punch Art Owl

2011-03-02T21:10:00.000-08:00

Someone posted a request for a Punch Art Owl on a yahoo group I belong to, and I just had to give it a whirl. I don't have a tutorial up for this yet, but I can provide a long list of punches!

Two Step Owl Punch
Large Oval punch
Two Step Bird Punch
Corner rouncer
small oval
1 3/8" Circle
word window

For the most part all the pieces you need come from the Owl punch. I got the heart for the nose on the punch to be the beak, and the bowl tie, small circles to be the eyes themselves and the gold coins. The wings came from the bird punch, as did the branch. I punched out 2 vests, and trimmed one and made it look more vest like. Folding and creasing the white vest gives a better illusion of a shirt front, and it makes it easier to center the other pieces.

The hat was tricky. I punched half a large oval, then punch a small oval with black, and cut a strip with the large oval. Then I trimmed both the hat shape with a curve across the top, and the trimmed the edges of my black curved hat band to fit. I added a small black piece inside my yellow square so I could have a buckle. I experimented with all sorts of hat brims, but in the end it made my owl less owl like so I skipped it. Normally leprechauns have a beard or a mustache, but the best I could do was some wonderful orange eyebrows. I tried hair, and it just looked funny but feel free to experiment on your own.

I did need a pot of gold at the end of my rainbow, and my large oval along with 1 3/8" circle created the pot. The handle was made using a small oval punched first, then a large punch second to get the thin handle. It is not the right shape to got vertically in the air, so off to the side of the pot is prfect! I filled it with gold coins from my owl punch. Be careful, they really fly everywhere with those guys!!

I just have to point out the adorable shamrock is from the Free Sale-A-Bration set, So happy for You, as is the sentiment. I also used the layout from inkspirations-challenges.blogspot.com. But I did need to tweak the layout to accommodate all my rainbow colors.

Any questions, feel free to post them in the comments below.

Creative Sketches Week 4 Challenge

2011-02-24T00:00:00.000-08:00

So our sketch this week at creative-sketches.com uses a triangle layout which is not something I normally do. I really enjoyed pushing triangles around trying to get the right look.

I have not done anything with my Eat Chocolate set in a few weeks, so I wanted to test it out along with the color challenge this week on Inkspirations-Challenges.blogspot.com.

The colors are Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Tangerine Tango, and Whisper White. I think it makes a great manly color combination, and I am going to try it again with another stamp set. My to do list portion can be pulled out like a tag. I made that work by running my adhesive around where I planned the tag to go, but not all over. texture from the Square Lattice Big Shot made me need a bit more adhesive, but definitely stepped up the look of the card. I also really like my 1/8" Early Espresso ribbon.

So what can you create with the layout? Come on over and submit your link.

Non MDS File Installation Tutorial

2011-02-23T05:50:00.000-08:00

I know My Digital Studio isn't the only digital scrapbooking software out there, and I know that theoretically we are compatible with other files, but to date, I have not experimented with that. So I went looking for a Girl Scout themed Digital Scrapbook paper and embellishments. I wanted to test out and see how tricky the installation process was to do to help guide anyone importing existing files into MDS. Plus, I have 2 girl scouts in my house and I have been taking a bunch of pictures at their events so I hoped to find the troop numbers we use somewhere.

So here goes. I found a really cute kit page on Scrapmatters.com. I purchased it and downloaded the 5 files. Then I did a quick google search for instructions. Once I knew what I was doing, I got started.

On a Mac- this is what you do. Find your application folder, and got to My Digital Studio.

It should look a little like this with 3 main folders. Open the Components Folder

To install your items, you will be working from this point on. Paper will go in Backgrounds, Embellishments, in their folder, and so forth. So, start with paper

Go to the Designer Series Paper Folder>Designer Kits and create a new folder for your new download. Unzip the file you have downloaded, and open the new folder you just downloaded. Drag the new files into the new MDS folder. Repeat for any other papers you need to install.

Repeat the same sequence when you install the other files just be sure to find the proper folder. Embellishments need their folder, and I gave them a new folder under the main embellishments folder instead of in Designer Kits as I did for the paper. I did find that an "alpha" I had downloaded in my kit needed to be placed in the embellishments folder not the stamp folder. It did not display properly as a stamp. I changed it over while the software was running, but in order to view the new placement, I had to quit and restart the software. After that is worked perfectly.

Stylish Blogger Award

2011-02-22T06:46:00.000-08:00

Wow! I am so excited! I just got given the Stylish Blogger Award. This is my first award for my blog. I really work hard on my blog, so this means a lot to me! Thank you Studio B-Belinda Keller I am flattered. So the rules for this award are these, when you recieve this award you are to pay it forward and follow these rules:

1) thank the person who gave this award to me and link it back to their blog

2) share 8 things about myself

3) pass this award to 8 other individuals that I have recently discovered

4) leave a comment so that they can pass along the recognition!

So lets see 8 things about me........

1. I went to my first stamping workshop only because I desperately wanted to get out of the house. I was fairly certain I did not like stamping at all and didn't really want to go. Oops! I was terribly wrong. I've been stamping since 2007. I was hooked instantly that first day, and I love helping other people get that same wonderful feeling I did when I first picked up my first stamped card. I think everyone has a creative side, but some people have not picked it up and dusted it off in awhile.

2. I am a mother of 3 children, 2 girls and 1 boy. All but one of my children have made at least one unauthorized mural on at least 1 wall in my home, usually their own room fortunately. The child who didn't make a wall mural has made several on rolls of paper. My kids love crafts and I can't really scold them too much! But clutter control is a challenge.

3. I have a Black Belt in Karate although I am currently very rusty in my self defense skills. I also love to swing dance and daydreamed about dancing competitively as a teenager.

4. I love crafts! I have been doing stuff (sculpting, photography, sewing, knitting, ribbon embroidery, cross stitch, doll clothes) since I was a little kid. I went to school for Bachelor of Fine Arts, majoring in Illustration and Graphic Design. In college I planned to be a children's book illustrator.

5. My favorite color is pink in all possible shades, but especially hot pink- ala Mambo Melon. My favorite stamping colors are Baja Breeze, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, and Early Espresso. I do miss Taken with Teal though!

6. I adore having painted toenails, and think pedicures are divine!

7. I love blogging! Everything about the code behind the blogs and optimization of blogs fascinate me. I love to tinker with my own blog trying to make it a little better.

8. I have never been to Hawaii, and hope to do so very soon. I love the ocean.

So, now that you know a lot more about me....here are 8 other fascinating folks to go visit! thanks so much Belinda, this was fun!!

Random order...

Sam Woodruff - A Latte Stampin

Kay Sha - CreationsOnPaper

Sabrina Satchwell -L ittleMissScrapalicious

Karen Thomas -LuvToStamp

Erica - PinkBuckarooDesigns

Adriana Benitez Escape2Stamp

ColorLabChallenge

Chat Wszelaki Me, My Stamps, and I (this site has music)

Sale-A-Bration Stamp Kit

2011-02-21T16:59:00.000-08:00

If you are new to Stampin Up! you may not know what Sale-A-Bration is all about. It is the one time of the year when any $50 purchase will let you earn a fantastic free item from Stampin Up! They have 4 wonderful stamps sets this year, 1 Chalkboard Decor Element, 1 bundle of paper and stickers, and 1 ribbon button bundle. All are absolutely wonderful. If those were not enough, on the back page of the SAB catalog, there is a list of stamp sets from the main catalog that are available for free instead of a regular SAB item.

So in case you are out of ideas on how to earn them, I have a list of 6 bundles that will allow you to earn and use the SAB item of your choice.
(My card above used the Bliss stamp set, plus the new Tulip Embossing Folder, Scallop Oval, and Large Oval punches, and some Rose Red Seam Binding ribbon, and Rhinestone brads. I love the color combination too! Rose Red, Blushing Bride, and Baja Breeze)

Get the Basics!

104152 Stampin’ Up! Paper Cutter $24.95

119979 Getting Started Stampin’ Spots $21.95

120954 Getting Started Cardstock $6.95

104332 SNAIL Adhesive $6.95

______

Merchandise total: $60.80

121853 So Happy for You stamp set FREE

123220 (clear stamp set)

Build a Kit!

You pick the stamp set $18.95

3 Classic Stamp Pads $17.85

Assorted Color Smooth Cardstock $6.95

Whisper White or Vanilla Cardstock $8.50

White or Vanilla Medium Envelopes $6.50

______

Merchandise total: $58.75

121851 Bliss stamp set FREE

123217 (clear stamp set)

Color My World!

101406 Stazon Black pad $7.95

102845 Blender Pens $9.95

103954 Aqua Painters $16.95

105019 Water Color Paper $6.95

Page 194 Watercolor Crayons $16.95

______

Merchandise total: $58.75

121849 Sweet Summer Stamp set FREE

123214 (clear stamp set)

Punch it Up!

118074 Owl Punch $16.95

119854 Scallop Circle Punch $16.95

119884 Scallop Square Punch $16.95

______

Merchandise total: $50.85

121847 Punch Bunch stamp set FREE

123211 (clear stamp set)

Make Me a Memory!

Page 178 Simply Scrappin’ Kit $19.95

Page 180 12 x 12 Linen Post Album $29.95

100670 Page Protector Refills $10.95

______

Merchandise total: $60.85

122242 Ice Cream Parlor FREE

Designer Series Paper

Let’s Accessorize!

Page 176 Quick Accents $8.95

Page 173 Designer Series Paper $9.95

Page 187 Assorted Color Brads $6.95

107311 Note Cards $5.95

104144 Days to Remember Calendar (2) $19.90

______

Merchandise total: $51.70

123529 Ice Cream Parlor FREE

Ribbon & Button pack

Any of these can be ordered off my website, at Scrappystampers.stampinup.net or via an email or phone call to me.

Valentines MDS Style

2011-02-17T15:02:00.000-08:00

I have two school age girls, and both girls are in Girl Scouts, which meant we were looking at over 70 valentines that needed to be made. Shockingly enough I left it until the last minute. My Digital Studio was able to help me out! I created a 6x6 card, then shrunk everything down and placed 12 on a page. I mounted those 2.625" squares on a 3x3 piece of cardstock, which got adhered to candy and a pencil. The concept was lollipop, but it became more of a flag:) I'll choose different candy next time. I also used some leftover candy cane fabric to make an adorable little flower from my Island floral Die. Not only did it make a great accessory for the bag, it is actually a hair clip for her teacher. My daughter said she wore it the rest of the day! Yeah!

Creative Sketches Week 3 - Watercolor

2011-02-17T14:55:00.000-08:00

I adore watercolors! When I was in college as an illustration major, my media of choice was always watercolors. I am always happy to spend some time with my trusty aqua painters. The colors of my pictures below are a tad off, so think Tempting Turquoise, Pear Pizzaz, and Poppy Parade.

This is the Happy Together stamp set, which has the most adorable little birds. I painted their bodies with Tempting Turquoise using multiple coats. I liked that the stazon covered by the ink, just looks like a rich dark blue, and I can still see the details for the feathers. It is important to let things dry between coats. I also let everything dry and then did a light wash of pear pizzaz at then end for my ground. I used my marker tip to color in the beaks and go over the feet so they were peach parfait instead of black.

Video from Shelli Gardner

2011-02-17T06:06:00.000-08:00

this video just went up on the Stampin Up! facebook page, and I wanted to share it on my blog to show a little more about what the company is all about. I truly love creating things using the wonderful materials I have purchased from Stampin Up! Their products, and a wonderful demonstrator took a girl who knew she didn't like stamping, and turned her into a stampaholic! I wanted one of everything from the first catalog I saw! Now three and a half years later, that same happy feeling occurs when I see those crisp brown boxes arrive from UPS, and then I drag them to my craft space, and go crazy! Could not be happier with my addiction, ehem, hobby:)

Scrapbooking- Month at a Time

2011-02-07T16:30:00.000-08:00

While I no longer remember how I found Debbie Hodge, but I want to share a great scrapbooking resource I found popping up on Facebook. I know at some point in the last week, I liked her blog, but I must be having a senior moment, because that liking moment is gone from the data banks! Anyway....she is doing a great challenge this year, and doing 1 month at a time. I love this idea because it means you will always stay current for the year, and at the end in Jan 2012, you can go get your book printed, if you are working digitally, or you can start all over again if working traditionally.

So... here is her challenge page on her blog, but she also has some incredible design ideas and resources that are worth browsing around on her site. I will be playing with a few of her sketches tonight as I work on January 2011.

This image is actually from December and I have scrapbooked it already, but in a different format. I decided I really do want to stick with 12x12 for Family scrapbooking. I love to use lots of pictures, and that really gives me plenty of space! I experimented with one of her sketches for a 2 page spread. I am pretty pleased with what I was able to create last night. My title is a little hard to read though, gotta work on that. At any rate, I love the Duplicate mirrored feature in My Digital Studio. It made the creating process easier for me!!

Creative Sketches Week 1 Challenge

2011-02-03T07:12:00.000-08:00

This week at Creative-Sketches.com, we are working with a Sketch challenge. What can you make with this Sketch?

I don't have any handy Oval cutting dies,so I chose to use my Stampin' Up! Big Shot, and my largest Circle punch. (We have an even larger circle in the current Mini catalog, but I don't on that yet!) I really love Elements of Style, and wanted to showcase the gorgeous flowers in a subtle fashion. I stamped it out and punched out 2 circles, the trimmed out two more flowers. I used the stamp in the background, for a tone on tone look. I also used my Color Spritzer to add interest to the bottom half of the card. my Top Note die, trimmed the long way added another element to the card. The final element was my grosgrain ribbon.

Pop over and send us your card submissions!

Diva's Challenge #212 Color Challenge

2011-02-01T07:12:00.000-08:00

I love doing Color challenges! They get me thinking of colors I might never have put together. This week at DivaCoffeeBreak Challenge, the combination was a great one! Mambo Melon, Old Olive and Peach Parfait. I don't think I ever would have put those three colors together, but they look wonderful together!

To make my card, I used the Layout sketch from last weeks Mojo Monday. I did the card last week in time to enter it, but I had a rough weekend with a sick kiddo in the hospital and never got a chance to post to their site.

As soon as I saw this layout I knew I wanted to use Full of Life from Stampin Up!. It is a great stamp set filled with fun sayings. One of my personal favorites in the set is "Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans." by Josh Lennon. I experimented with circle shapes and used my Circle #2 Big Shot Die. I didn't want to pull out the Circle Cutter to make a 2 3/4" circle, so I used the Scallop Flower Fold technique. I cut out out two scallops, scored them in between scallops, snipped to the center on one line, and folded into a fan. I used two scallops to give myself the volume needed. Once I had both scallops folded into a fan, I glued them together making sure the creased aligned perfectly. It gives a wonderful puffy fan. And I have no idea how I would ever mail this card!

I also used my newest Designer Series paper, the Bold DSP pack along with the Bold buttons, Must confess, that is a Pumpkin Pie button. But it works since the cardstock in Peach Parfait. I needed a shocking amount of glue dots to get everything together, but I love it! I think I might have gone overboard with my Striped Grosgrain ribbon this week, but I love that stuff! I promise the next card will use another ribbon!

Just Add Ink Inspiration Challenge

2011-01-27T13:43:00.000-08:00

This Challenge from Just-Add-Ink gave a inspiration image to start. They have chosen of all things, my favorite flower, the sunflower. Stampin Up! used to have a wonderful set using sunflowers which I bought before it retired a few years ago, and there is no way I'll be parting with that, but I wanted to try doing something different, a punch art sunflower.

So I got out my Daffodil delight Early Espresso, and Old Olive cardstock and went to work! My large oval, 1/2" circle, and large 2 3/8"Scallop were all that I needed to make a great flower. The rest I sponged, tore, and popped until I had everything where I wanted it!

Then of course I needed a saying, so I pulled out Teeny Tiny Wishes, since the flower filled the whole card, and used my two tag punches to make a nice little saying. A little bit of striped 1 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon finishes off the card.

Digital Scrapbooking

2011-01-27T06:37:00.000-08:00

I have a friend who is going through a bit of a crisis right now, and she asked her friends who had pictures of her daughter to help her out and create some 8.5x11 scrapbook pages to help her get caught up. So I pulled out my trusty sidekick, My Digital Studio, and went to town. Our daughters had attended preschool together, and I went to most all of the fieldtrip, so I had a good deal of material to work with. I was able to create 9 pages for her. I am excited to get them back from the printers. I have only created bound albums before, so single sheets will be fun to see!

Here area few of my favorite pages.

Creative Sketches Week 4 Holidays

2011-01-26T20:04:00.000-08:00

This week at Creative-Sketches.com we are creating a card for a Holiday. Since Spring is coming our way, and I made about 5 valentines day cards this week, I was in the mood for something else and went with a Mother's Day Card.

I really love the stamp set Just Believe, but so far I have not tried using it on moist watercolor paper. I colored in the flowers and inked up the grass then pressed firmly on my damp but not wet paper. I also tore the edges for the deckle edge. I also just got some wonderful new ribbon, Blushing Bridge Stitched Poly Ribbon. It is heavy weight stuff, but makes a great bow! My final step was to turn this into a Mother's day card. The modern label punch would have worked, but instead I used a smaller approach with the Word Window punch, then embellished it with another stamped flower. This time I did not use moist watercolor paper, but colored it and cut it out. I added a Pearl in the center to give it a little more polish. Now to store it somewhere safe until it is time to send it to my Mom! Pop over to Creative-Sketches.com and post your holiday card.

So when I started the card, I just chose the colors myself, or so I thought. After I was popping around on a few other sites, I remembered seeing the Inkspirations Challenge Color Challenge this week. So my first version was all but perfect except I forgot the Early Espresso on the card. So I stamped it again, and here we are!...I just found another fun challenge site, and had to submit this there are well. They wanted a card with a bow :) Thank you Pals Paper Arts! I love bows! I also submitted it to CraftyCardmakers Challenge site with their Floral Challenge.

Always Valentine

2011-01-26T19:07:00.000-08:00

I took an existing layout from a previous post, and converted it to work with a different stamp set. I really like swapping out layouts that I like with different stamp sets. When something works, it is easier than dreaming up a whole new plan.

I like this card because it could work as a Valentine, but would also work nicely as a simple card of affection at any time of year.

New My Digital Studio Downloads and MDS Card

2011-01-25T20:55:00.000-08:00

I just went online and downloaded about 8 new brush sets, embellishments, and papers for My Digital Studio. I had to take a stab at a Digital card before going to bed. I love the new Springtime Vintage paper, but mine has not arrived yet, so the instant download is really fun. I didn't get to download the Baby Blossom Stamp set, since it isn't available yet, but I think Simple Friendship works really well with the paper I have chosen.

My upcoming class on My Digital Studio will cover my tutorial, making a card and scrapbook page, as well as creating a hybrid card using the tutorial card. I absolutely love digital crafting!!! There is never any mess to clean up, and I never run out of supplies!

3x3 Pizza Box - Free Template

2011-01-22T08:10:00.000-08:00

This adorable little box is made from a half sheet of cardstock, scored, folded, decorated, assembled, then finally glued! I used Valentine defined again from the Occasion Mini Catalog. This little box will be part of my Love Sweet Love Class, which will be available as an online class/kit for purchase. I will send you all the supplies and instructions to make the 2 cards and the pizza box for $8 (Includes shipping). I'll have a list of additional supplies which can be purchased though my website. (stamps et, blocks, ink, etc)

I do love my heart punches, and had to bring back the coordinating stamp from my Love you Much set. My next project is going to dust of the entire set and bring back my favorite little mouse, but in the mean time, it fits perfectly in my punch!

I still say when in doubt, labels make the best Nugget wrappers. Designer Series paper is always adorable, but in a hurry, stamp and wrap! I made a simple divider to keep the chocolate in place, but when you are done, the box can be reused to hold your 3x3 note cards.

I have included the template to make this little guy, but you can also watch an awesome video by fellow Demonstrator Mike Funke, and he also has a handy mathematical formula for figuring out how to make the box at any size. (On a side note, I met him last year at Convention -. Really great guy, and always fun to meet a guy demonstrator!)

I made a second box last night using a set of Free Rub Ons that Stampin Up gave all the demonstrators. With that box I included a set of 3 note cards.

I love the Red tree with the Crystal Effect Hearts. I think it really makes the card pop!

If you would like to order a box & set of cards for yourself, it is also $8 plus shipping.

This template has instruction for a 3x3 box. Check out Mike's blog to get the formula to enlarge the box. Happy Stamping! I also have submitted it to the handstampedsentiments blog challenge.

Valentine Defined!

2011-01-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

I really love this set, but I had a harder time using the tree stamp. I was browsing around on StampinConnection.com, which is a really awesome online community for Stampin Up! demonstrators, and saw some wonderful cards. With that inspiration, I made this card. I stamped the background and ran it into my Big Shot embossing folder. I love how I was able to create a great looking background without buying more paper for this card, not that I don't love Designer Paper, but sometimes is isn't in the budget!
I inked the tree with my lighter Pretty in Pink ink pad, and colored with my Chocolate Chip marker on the trunk. I could have hit a few of the hearts with Melon Mambo or Rose Red, but I was in a hurry!
I repeated the process with my Love stamp, only this time it was all done in markers since the area was quite small. I stamped and punch with my Small and Large Oval punches. I stamped another heart, dazzled it up and popped it with Dimensionals. To finish off the card, I added a fine line of two way glue and sprinkled on Dazzling Diamonds. I think next time I will use Crystal Effects for the Glue. It will dry slower, but I would have made less mess using that glue I think.

Sale-A-Bration Starter Kit

2011-01-21T12:31:00.000-08:00

SALE-A-BRATION SIGN UP SPECIAL

Have you thought about joining Stampin Up? During Sale-a-bration - January 25th through March 31st you will receive 15% off the starter kit AND a special BONUS BUNDLE (over a $50 value) shown here - absolutely FREE.

Item	Page	Description
121620	165	Color Coach (or multiple languages Color Coach)
120806	183	Something Special Simply Sent (or any Simply Sent kit)
117114	183	Live, Laugh, Love Stamp Set (or any Simply Sent Stamp Set valued at $12.95 or less)
119883	202	Heart to Heart Punch (or any punch valued at $17.95 or less)

And here are some other great reasons to join:

Minimum discount of 20% on all your orders - and as much as 40%
Opportunity to make some extra money sharing something you love to do.
Creating your very own business and working it as little or as much as you like
Earnings sales rewards and incentive trips
Being able to pre-order new product a month before everyone else
Receiving the great Stampin Up monthly magazine
Attending Convention with about 3,000 other people who love to stamp too!
Becoming part of my team where we share friendship, ideas, business tips and so much more!!!

You can join online immediately at my website under the Start your Own business tab, or follow the link on the Join my Team page. Or, if you have more questions, I'd be happy to go over them and see how I can help you understand a little more about this awesome company.

Creative Sketches Technique Week

2011-01-20T11:46:00.000-08:00

So this week we were using punches at Creative-Sketches.com. I had planned to do a punch art card, but my inspiration just wasn't there. I'll keep trying! So instead I got out my new favorite stamp set, Sew Suite, from the Stampin Up! Occasions Mini Catalog and went to town with my punches.

I used my 1 1/4" square punch to make a Designer Series Paper quilt. (I even went the extra mile and sewed it down!) Then I stamped buttons out from the Button, Button Stamp set, which nicely fit into our 1" and 1/2" circle punches. I finished of with my 2 3/8" scallop punch which went behind what could be a 2" circle punch but was actually cut from my Circle #2 Big Shot die. So there you have it, punches galore on this card! 4 in all on one card. So what can you make with your punches? Post your card at Creative-Sketches.com to play along.

This card was also designed using the layout from Mojo Monday. I skipped the bow and used the tape measure instead for this card.

Cute Typefaces for your blog

2011-01-17T19:40:00.000-08:00

If you are noticing and admiring the adorable new typefaces on my blog, I have to give credit to KevinandAmanda.com. Their site has a great tutorial on how to download and install a (free) typeface for your blog.

My only tip on this, they have a step in the instructions where they tell you "Once your account is created..." I think they meant to say first, "create an account with HostWebs.com." Do that and then follow the rest of their instructions. It took me a little while to figure out what they wanted me to do, basically have a place to load the 4 files needed to make these adorable little typefaces run smoothly. I loaded mine and had it all humming along nicely in about 25 minutes. It took a little longer since I had to modify my signature once I got everything else in place!

Valentine Defined

2011-01-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

This is my second card using this stamp set, Valentine Defined. I really love these little flamingos! I saw a card made by Mary Fish on her site Stampin Pretty, and wanted to try the ribbon technique on her card. I ran my ribbon through my sewing machine on the loosest stitch, and then pulled gently on one string to gather up the ribbon. Just for fun, I also ran around the edge of my card with the sewing machine.

Supplies:
Valentine Defined #123057(clear)
Small Oval Punch
Cherry Cobbler Ink
Whisper White, Basic Black, and Cherry Cobbler cardstocks
Whisper White Sating Ribbon

(adhesive, paper snips, and a sewing machine)

Valentine Defined

2011-01-14T01:00:00.000-08:00

I just love this new set in the Stampin Up! Occasions Mini Catalog. To create this fun Valentines Card, you need Valentine Defined. I am a sucker for our definitions stamps sets like Define Your Life, so when I saw this one, I had to have it. I used it once today creating a card for Stamp Club, but this card is for my Love Sweet Love Class next week.

Creating the card was straight forward. I did a zigzag of the hearts on a string to create my background, stamped my other pieces and assembled. I also stamped my heart punches to give them a little texture. Fun and easy!

Supplies Used:

Punches-1 1/4, 1 3/8 circle, Heart to Heart, and Scallop Edge

Real Red Cardstock, Whisper White Cardstock, Cherry Cobbler Cardstock, Basic Black Cardstock

Basic Black 1/8" Taffeta ribbon

Basic Black and Real Red Classic Ink

Thank you Dad! - Totally Tool

2011-01-13T20:05:00.000-08:00

My parents came to visit us over Christmas break, and it was wonderful having them! I was particularly grateful that my dad was able to fix one or two things at the house that have gone under the ready for awhile. So I borrowed this wonderful Set, Totally Tool #113256 and made this card to send to my dad. I'll be sending it out tomorrow!

I was also able to tie this in nicely into the Diva Coffee Break Challenge with their color challenge with Bashful Blue, Sahara Sand, and Night of Navy. I had never combined those colors, but it is a perfect manly combo!

Supplies

Totally Tool

Big Shot and Square Lattive embossing folder

Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, Sahara Sand, and Very Vanilla Cardstock

Bashful Blue and Sahara Sand markers

brads

Clean and Simple - Punch Bunch

2011-01-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

I was preparing for my Stamp Club and wanted to try some clean and simple stamping. I used the new Sale-Bration set Punch Bunch, which I absolutely love!! I really like this minimal look, so give it a try at home, or come to club and try it out with me.

This fun card was made by running my Poppy Parade cardstock, throught my trusty Big Shot and my with my Elegant Bouquet embossing folder. Then Iinked my stamp and used my blender pen to remove some ink to color my stamp with Old Olive and soft Suede. I punched out my center, then the scallop and placed the scallop base down on the card, then popped the center. I also stamped the scallop on the inside just for fun. Simple, easy basic stamping. It just look awesome when you are done!

My second card is a fun non traditional "love" color palette, but could be given to a guy! Masculine cards always seem a little harder to me. My husband is not into ribbons, lace, glitter, or bling. Silly man! I used Pear Pizzaz, Temping Turquoise, and Chocolate Chip. I stamped and punch the owl, then stamped the hearts and popped Mr. Owl on the heart string. Then I added my little Love you in chocolate chip. I layered it all up on Chocolate Chip, Pear Pizzazz, then Confetti White as the base.

Creative Sketches Week 2- Color Challenge

2011-01-13T06:07:00.000-08:00

This week at Creative-Sketches.com we were working on a color Challenge with Black, White, and Brushed Silver. I love the a la carte stamps Stampin Up! carries in the back of each Mini catalog and in the Main one, so I wanted to highlight one of the newest ones, Be My Valentine # 122045.

I chose Basic Black Cardstock and ran it through my polka dots embossing folder. Then I took my Brushed Silver cardstock and scalloped each edge with my scallop border punch. I inked up my stamp twice, and stamped on my whisper white cardstock with Basic Black ink, and then on scrap with Real red ink for a very subtle pop of color. I trimmed out my Valentine Sash, and mounted it on my card with dimensionals. Before I attached the silver and white pieces, I carefully added a Basic Black taffeta ribbon around the edge of my card and adhered my bow with a mini glue dot. I love that stuff. You can't really see it in the picture, but I also added two rhinestones to the smaller flowers on the top half of the heart. I do love a little bling! I think the overall look is very elegant, but somewhat masculine because of the color palette.

What can you make with just Black, White, and Silver? Pop over to Creative-Sketches.com and post your link! Can't wait to see what you make!

Late Night Stampers Challenge 103 Brrr

2011-01-12T11:56:00.000-08:00

This challenge at LateNightStampers was focused on things that make you say Brrrr! Since we have had a shocking amount of snow lately, I chose to do a scrapbook page of our last snow storm. The snow storm thoughtfully came while the kids were on winter break, and everyone loved it! The city basically shut down for 2 days while people waited for the road crews to dig us all out! So fun to be snug inside drinking cocoa, watching movies, then diving into snow drifts!

So I created this in My Digital Studio, using the Candy Cane Lane Paper, and A Cute Christmas mittens stamp. I added as embellishments a snowflake punch, a round Baja Breeze button and a silver brad. I also added a grosgrain ribbon as well peaking out underneath the designer series paper. I would love to color in the stamped mittens, but I loved resizing them to fit the space I needed perfectly!

Creative Sketches Week

2011-01-06T00:00:00.000-08:00

This is my second post as a member of the Creative Sketches Project Team. Having a blast so far! I was working from the layout below. I created this card using my trusty Big Shot and my Vintage Wallpaper Embossing folder.

I have not used Friends Never Fade stamp set and Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Wallpaper in awhile so it was fun to get those back out. I have been holding back on this sheet with the huge Pumpkin Pie flowers, but it was just right on this project. I used the coordinating markers to color in my stamp to match the paper.

I used a bunch of punches on this card as well; Word Window, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle, 1 3/4" Circle, and my corner rounder. I also used my Circle #2 Die from my Big Shots which nests perfectly inside the 1 3/4" Circle. This was my first time using my newest embellishment- my 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain ribbon.

Hope on over to Creative-Sketches.com to submit your sample!

Mojo Monday 172 - Eat Chocolate Stamp Set

2011-01-03T12:42:00.000-08:00

It's a new year, and there are more Design Challenges to enter! I really enjoy the Mojo Monday one, and it is a always exciting when I can get to it on a Monday!

This layout is really not something I normally do in my own work, so it was stretch for me. But I love my new set Eat Chocolate from the new Stampin Up Occasions Mini catalog, and I knew it would be perfect for this layout. Picking a good color combination was hard since I knew I wanted a lot of browns, but I went with Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Pretty in Pink, and Ridinghood Red. I love my Big Shot Embossing folders, and the square lattice one gave me some fun texture that almost mimics a cork board to hang my to do list. I used my spiral border punch and love the fun note pad feeling that gives! And any good notepad is a little distressed, so crumpling and sponging worked for me there. My Jumbo Brad felt like a giant push pin too! Love those little guys!

I didn't use actual brads as indicated by the layouts since my stamp had the 3 square check boxes. I think that works just as well in this case! I also inked only the saying at the bottom of the stamp to use as my highlighted rectangle strip.

Filled With Love - Valentine's Day Bundle

2011-01-03T11:15:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is the second biggest holiday for sending cards, and during Stampin' Up!'s Filled with Love promotion, you can get an exclusive package of Designer Series Paper perfect for creating cards for family, friends, classmates, and more!

From December 17, 2010 through January 24, 2011, get a FREE package of Bitty Buttons--a $4.95 value--when you purchase an exclusive Filled with Love Bundle. This bundle contains the Filled with Love Set (on page 43 of the 2010 Holiday Mini Catalog) and Love Patterns Designer Series Paper Pack.

Download the flyer for complete details, item numbers, prices, and photos! Or pop straight over to my online store and start shopping! Click on the link, then click shop now under products. Remember to check out the Clearance Rack for some incredible deals!!

Creative Sketches Week 5 Project

2010-12-30T02:00:00.000-08:00

am so excited! I got accepted on a design team for Creative Sketches. So today I am posting my first project as a member of a Design team. How fun!

Our project this week was anything goes, so I made a simple diaper fold pouch for some Christmas treats. To make a Diaper Fold Pouch you need a square piece of paper, folded in half like a triangle, then the joined sides fold in to touch the opposite edge. Fold the top flap over and hold with a piece of adhesive then decorate. You can size this up or down as needed. My piece here was 7" and fits 2 Chocolate squares. A 6" piece will hold 1 treat very nicely.

I love being able to coordinate paper, stamps, and ink! Thank you Stampin Up! I love my A Cute Christmas stamp Set with Candy Cane DSP. I am going to miss these guys!

Pop over to the blog and post your project and link!

Just Add Ink #48 Layout Challenge

2010-12-28T19:46:00.000-08:00

I did this layout challenge from Just-Add-Ink with the new Occasions Mini Bring on the Cake stamp set. I love Early Espresso and Melon Mambo together. I used a small piece of the Sew Suite Designer Series Paper as well.

I flipped this layout and did it horizontally since it worked better for my stamp. I used my trusty circle punch to create the jumbo scallop. The trickiest part had to be lining up the individual punches properly. In retrospect I can think of a few other ways I could have done it to make it work a little better.

Punch Art Elf Card

2010-12-28T19:29:00.000-08:00

I made this little guy before Christmas, but just finally got a chance to post this. This guy take a lot of pieces to create. I didn't get a chance to create a tutorial, but here is a quick list.
Ornament Punch-hat and face
Owl punch - I used the small heart to make the ears and hands and bow, eyes and center of the bow
Oval- bite off the top of the hat, legs
Word window -Socks
Trio hearts-arms, and collar, feet
1/2" circle nose and puff on the hat
Large tab-shirt
I think that is everything. I also used the Snowflake embossing folder and white craft ink to create a fun winter scene. Feel free to email me for a better picture, or if I can, recreate him and post the pieces. I made a UPS guy clock once, and he is similar in concept to the body of the UPS guy.

Build a bear Kids holiday workshop

2010-12-24T10:05:00.000-08:00

My girls have been begging for a stamping class with me, so I am hosting a build a bear workshop Thursday the 30th from 1-3 at my home. Children 6 and up are welcome. Anyone under 5 will need a parent helper.

We will be making a tin for our bear and the outfits. The tin and outfits will be magnetic to make it a handy carrying case. Please RSVP by the 27th so I can have everything ready. The class is $8. I have 6 spots left.

Inkspirations Blog Tour

2010-12-17T03:00:00.000-08:00

WHEN: Friday 17th December 2010

WHERE: Inkspirations Challenges Website to begin and then many other fun places along the way!

The Blog Tour will display all sorts of 3D Christmas gift ideas, and we would love to see what you have been making this year for you all your Christmas cheer, gift and surprises.

If you landed on my site from the tour, then your next stop is Penny's blog, otherwise, start off at the Inkspirations website, and move through the blog tour list. A list of the participating sites is listed below.

We were focusing on 3d Gifts, and I decided to make a little coaster and hot cocoa mug gift set.

I started with my Candy Cane Christmas Designer Series Fabric and my clear Square Scallop die. I cut out 2 scallops, and some fusible fleece, I ironed them, then took my linen thread and did some small stiches in the corners of the scallops to hold them together. I did that part at a workshop to show it could be done with very little sewing! I think next time I will use my sewing machine though. I also attached one of our new big designer buttons in the corner with thread. Coaster complete!

Next step, the mug.
I got this at the dollar store, and cut out one of the Decor Elements. I carefully mounted this on the mug. Because my surface was tapered, I had to finesse the decor element strip, seperating the elements slightly so they would mount on straight.

Finally, I made the cocoa packet.

I took the small clear cello bag and filled it with mix, then tied that at the top securely with some ribbon. I stamped, colored, and punched out my ornaments, mounted them on a scallop and adhered them ot the cocoa bag with a mini glue dot. I added a piece of fabric torn to give it a fun edge, then tied into a bow as well. On the other side I added a simple To From tag so you can identify yourself.

Hope this makes your gift giving easier this year! This was a simple project to do, and I will be making lots for teacher gifts!

Senior Inkspirations Design Team
Keesha - http://www.makeeshabyl.com.au/

Cindy - http://cindymajor.typepad.com/encre_papier_ciseaux/

Kristy - http://kirstyscardnscrap.wordpress.com/

Renee - http://www.reneevs.blogspot.com

Design Team

Brandi - http://www.brandiwiggins.com/

Carrie - http://artisticavenger.wordpress.com/

Helen - http://h2designs.blogspot.com/

Ilina - http://ilinacrouse.blogspot.com/

Lee-Ann - http://www.leeannebarry.com/

Marisa - http://rosemary-reflections.blogspot.com/

The Blog Tour Participants

Julie LeBlanc - kewlstamps-n-more.blogspot.com

Jess Doyle - jesscraft.blogspot.com

Jasmin Owsley - www.wildflowerscraps.com

Gardenia Pepworth - http://alittlelessuseless.wordpress.com/

Denise Willerton - www.chezmoicreations.blogspot.com

Nicole Derendorf - http://stampingdownunder.wordpress.com/

Andrea Lowcock - http://andrealowcock.wordpress.com/

Belinda Tubby - http://stampinbuzz.com/

Karyn Schultz - http://karynscraftingobsession.blogspot.com/

Rebekah Stevens - http://wecraftalot.blogspot.com/

Kim Badelt - http://kimsstampingspot.blogspot.com/

Deb Speijers - www.stampandscrapwithdeb.com

Maureen Rauchfuss - www.crazystampinglady.blogspot.com

Karen G - http://cardsbykareng.blogspot.com/

Tracey - www.photovidal.blogspot.com

Heather Pilz (you are here) - http://scrapingandstamping.blogspot.com

Penny Hanuszak - http://pennytokensstampinspot.blogspot.com

Louise Ryan - http://stamp2it.com/

Sneak Peek New Occasions Mini Catalog

2010-12-16T21:14:00.000-08:00

I just got my box of goodies from Stampin Up! on Tuesday, and I finally had time to sit down and do a little stamping. I am so excited about the upcoming Mini Catalog! It is available for Customer orders starting January 4th! What a wonderful new bunch of goodies! If you don't have your mini catalog yet or you are not on my mailing list, please email me and I will put on in your hands. In the mean time, here is my first teaser. If you don't know, I love to sew, so this set called Sew Suite really spoke to me! Especially with all the coordinating goodies like the designer paper and the Button Button stamp set! For the saying, I used the Word Play Stamp set from the Idea Book and Catalog. I really love all the different sentiments in that one stamp set!

I decided to test out my goodies using the Mojo Monday Challenge of the week. The layout was perfect for this set! Totally worth the wait and the tidying up I had to do before I could stamp! Look forward to my next sneak peek and come back soon!

Penguin Punch Art Card & Tutorial

2010-12-15T18:48:00.000-08:00

We got snow in Virginia this week, and I felt inspired to make this cute little penguin with my Owl Punch. I really do love that thing because there are so many different types of owls.

I also just got my new Northern Snowflake Embossing folder recently and needed to make a wintery scene for my little guy.

So to make a penguin you need...

The Two Step Owl Punch (#118074), the Heart to Heart Extra Large Punch (# 119881), and 1" Circle Punch (#119868)

Punch the Owl body, Large heart, and eyeball in Basic Black, and trim the feet off. Punch the feet with a little extra space and small heart from the Heart to Heart Punch in Pumpkin Pie. Punch the eyes and tummy in Whisper White. Punch another eye ball in Brushed Silver.

Cut the Silver eyeball in half. Cut the Large heart in half. You may need to trim the ears off the owl.

First adhere the feet to the back of the body, then add the whisper white tummy to the body.

Put it up slightly higher than normal (sorry, the step by step was a little lower than I meant to do)

Next add the flippers on the side of the body and trim the ears to fit.

Add the circle head on top of the body.

Follow up with the heart beak and eyes, and eyelids. Last step is to add a touch of white to the eyes.

So I got some feedback that the owl looked a little sad, so here are my ideas to fix that problem, either remove the silver eyelids, or trim them into crescents to look more open and cheerful.

Family Photo Card

2010-12-13T17:32:00.000-08:00

I am running behind on this, but I hope I still have time to get these printed and mailed before Christmas. IN an extra stroke of luck, I wrote the Christmas letter for the family, and did that for the back side so I don't have to print out anything else! Yeah My Digital Studio!!!

This was all designed in MDS using the Candy Cane Lane Photo Card Bundle, however I chose to design my own card instead of the predesigned one. We also took the picture ourselves using a timer and tripod. That was insane, but that is another story!

Designer Fabric Apron- Free Pattern Included

2010-12-12T17:47:00.000-08:00

My upline group had our Christmas party yesterday, and we had a Yankee Exchange Christmas Swap. The criteria for the exchange was to make a homemade or handstamped item that would be valued at $20 at a craft fair.

I decided to make an apron using my Designer Series Deck the Fall Fabric. (#121716) It took the better part of the entire package, but I still have some scraps left over for ornaments and fun coasters.

I have included my simple pattern for the apron. It should be pretty simple to follow, but email me with questions. Next time I think I will include a pocket on my apron. You could also make a fuller ruffle if you want to add an extra strip. There would be enough fabric to do that.

Also, you could include some contrasting trim using the Bigz XL Die Tasteful Trim (#120893) or fun flowers using Bigz Flower Folds Die #115970.

You need 1 package of Stampin' Up! Designer Fabric

1st panel Stampin' Up! Fat Quarter 28x18”
Cut 2nd panel at 4”, 8” and 12” to create the waistband.
Cut 3rd panel at 2“ and 4” to create seam binding for the sides.
Cut at 8” and12” to create the ruffle. If you want a fuller ruffle, cut a third panel for your ruffle.

Sewing Instructions:

Press all the panels flat before you cut. Cut pieces and get ready to sew. You will need thread, lots of pins and your iron handy as you work. Press all seams after you finish them for a more finished looking piece. I like to zigzag all my finished seams to give a more finished look when I sew, but that is up to you. I used a 3/8" seam allowance throughout the project.

Sew the ends on the ruffle together. Pres seam flat. Zigzag the bottom edge of the strip ruffle, and fold 1/2” over the edge making a hem and sew 3/8” from the edge. Press flat.

Sew the top edge of the ruffle with a loose running stitch to gather the fabric. Pull in gathers and adjust to fit. Pin to the main apron panel and sew the ruffle to the apron.

Sew the waistband strips together on end and press in half. Turn wrong sides together, sew and then turn inside out (This is the trickiest step since the strip is about 2 yards long.) and press.

To make binding, fold the strips in half, then fold the raw edges in to the center and press flat. Fold the entire strip together and press the binding flat. Pin those strips to the panel edges, and sew to the main panel.

Pin the finished waistband to the top of the apron, and sew to the center panel. Turn the waistband ends inside, and sew. Press all the seams and trim loose thread.

Christmas cookies and Free recipe!

2010-12-09T04:42:00.000-08:00

My neighborhood had a cookie swap and had prizes for taste and presentation. So I had to throw my hat in the ring. I used my all time favorite Cowboy Cookie recipe and created a recipe card in My Digital Studio. I used my A Cute Christmas download stamp set in MDS so that I could also use my matching Candy Cane Christmas fabric, (#121715) cardstock, and Candy Cane Buttons (#121718) to make the recipe card and bag work together.

I bought a white ceramic plate from the dollar store and dressed it up with a coordinating decor elements rub on.(Candy Cane Christmas #120912) I can make about 15 different things with that set and they all make great gifts!!

Since I wanted the cookies to stay on the plate I had to use a cookie bag to hold everything. I found a simple red and white candy one, but I would have preferred a clear one.

If you would like the recipe, comment below and I will email the cookie card.
I didn't win, but I'll try again next year!

Stamp Club Begins in January

2010-12-02T19:44:00.000-08:00

I'm looking for a two more stampers to come and join my monthly club. We will be doing a variety of projects, cards, 3D projects, framed art, and scrapbooks. This is open for beginners and advanced stampers.

Club members commit to 6 months of the club. They will place a minimum order of $25 each month and each club member will get a turn as hostess and earn Stampin' Up! Hostess Rewards, which include a free Hostess Only stamp sets, and a minimum of $15 worth of free products. Club members each get a free Idea Book and Catalog, valued at $9.95, and any mini catalogs offered during club. Sign up before December 20th, and you will receive a Free Framed Art Snowman. I am also offering a special offer. Purchase $50 for 5 out of 6 months, and get a free $25 stamp set of your choice.

Double Trouble Color and layout challenge

2010-11-27T13:04:00.000-08:00

This card used the Mojo Monday Layout #166, with the Diva Coffee Break Challenge #204. I have been on a challenge kick this weekend! What can I say! So fun!

I used my Birthday Bakery Stampin Up! Hostess Set because I could not stop thinking about sweets when I saw the color combination. Nothing like a little coloring therapy with cute little cakes to brighten up my day. I love my blender pens for getting a lighter than full strength marker look. It makes subtle variations much easier.

Inkspirations Challenge #50

2010-11-26T15:47:00.000-08:00

I saw this Inkspirations Colour Challenge pop up on one of the other blogs I follow, and I had to give it a try! I really love this stamp set (Apple Blossoms - Hostess Level 2 in the Stampin Up Idea Book and catalog), but have not used it before today. I don't know why it has taken me 4 months to get it out, silly me; this set is awesome! I am going to make more cards with it now!

I think this color challenge of Pear Pizzaz, Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, and Rich Razzleberry worked well for a fresh, bright, and happy card. I've been doing a lot of Christmas and holiday stamping, so it was really fun doing something not holiday focused. I loved that I was able to use existing scraps for the bulk of the card. It is always fun to create something lovely from a small pile of scrap paper!

I used a scrap of Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry Grosgrain ribbon, as well as a Rhinestone brad in my folded large oval punch. I also colored the saying with a marker to get just the one word and punched it with my trusty word window punch.

Online Spectacular

2010-11-23T08:12:00.000-08:00

Take advantage of special sales this week only from November 22-30th with Stampin Up! Online Spectacular. My Digital Studio is 50% off for this week only. Take advantage of this and other awesome bundles. Free Shipping and Hostess benefits for orders over $150.

$200 raffle basket

2010-11-21T04:11:00.000-08:00

I had a great afternoon with 4 other ladies doing a multi vendor holiday open house. We had a good turnout, and if you missed a chance to get in on the incredible basket with $200 worth of goodies from Stampin Up!, Lia Sophia, BeautiControl, Thirty-one, and PartyLite, there is still time to earn raffle tickets.

Until next Friday, if you book a workshop with me or place an order with me, you will earn Raffle Tickets for the large basket. Booking workshops earns 5 tickets, and every $10 spent earns 1 ticket. Orders can be placed online, emailed or called in to me to earn tickets.
Every $50 order placed with me earns a free framed art project in additional to the
Raffle tickets.

I also was holding an added incentive tree and will allow you to choose an envelope from my booking tree as well. The tree held items from $3-$10. You would receive them with your workshop order.

Please contact me with any questions, or to place orders. If you would like to order Christmas cards, contact me as well.