Stampin' with Elizabeth

Spring Art

2011-05-02T08:34:00.001-04:00

This project was inspired by another blog post on how to make a hair bow. I read the tutorial and thought, "Hey, that would be so cute using scrapbook paper!" I made one flower using the directions for the hair bow, but that didn't work out well, so I changed the method just a bit to get the perfect flower.

To make the flower you will need:
8 strips of paper 4" x 1/2"
8 strips of paper 3" x 1/2"

Card stock circle ( I used a piece punched with a 1 3/8 circle punch)

Button

Glue the cut ends of the paper together. Loop them over but don't crease. I used Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive and used clothes pins to keep the ends together until they dried. Glue the longer pieces around the outside edge of the card stock circle.

Glue the smaller pieces on top in between the other loops. Use a glue dot to secure a button on top.

Sewing Projects

2011-04-26T20:26:00.001-04:00

I got several sewing projects done recently. One for me and two for my daughter.

This is the Little Ruffle Skirt from Carolina Fair Designs. I found the fabric in the remenat bin at the fabric store and I just happened to have a green t-shirt in the scrap bin that matched perfectly for the ruffle. Yeah repurposing!

I also repurposed a pair of my daugher's jeans with a big hole in the knee. I wanted to make a pair of jean shorts, but didn't want the ragged edge, so I trimed the legs with strips of fabric. The strips are wrapped to the inside with the edges turned under and top stitched.

Finally, I made a draw string skirt for myself. I followed the basic instructions found here.

I am sharing this at:

Today's Creative Blog

Somewhat Simple

Big Bold Cupcake

2011-04-04T06:45:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I used my Big Bold Cupcake die, so I thought I'd pull it out for a fun birthday card. The patterned paper on the card is from the Sweet Life Photo Mat Pad by Ki Memories. It was one of those things I just had to have when I first saw it, but have used only a few sheets. The colors are so bright and fun, I really should use it more often!

I didn't have anyone specific in mind when I made this card, but I think I will give this to our neighbor for her 3rd birthday which is coming up soon.

Sewing Project

2011-04-01T07:01:00.000-04:00

I've been into making some clothes lately and thought I would share one of my recent projects with you. I have been making some really simple skirts for me and my daughter. This is the first one I made for my daughter. I loved the fabric so much that I went back and bought more to make a skirt for me. I ended up making two skirts for her and two wrap skirts for me in one weekend. I just recently bought some more fabric to make a few more skirts. I'll share those projects when I get them finished.

I used this tutorial from To Sew With Love to make the skirt. She calls it a 15 minute skirt, but it took me a bit longer than that. That may be because I had an "assistant" while making mine!

So many cupcakes, so little time

2011-03-30T06:29:00.000-04:00

Mom let me borrow the new cupcake punch from Stampin' Up! and I had a great time creating a couple of cards with it.

My first card was, of course, on the girly side so I made myself create another using colors that I could use to send to a guy. I changed it up a bit by using a different greeting and changing the rhinestones to buttons. For some reason, rhinestones just don't say "guy" to me, ya know?

By the way, most of the cards I've shown lately have been inspired by my Color Coach. I find a color combo I like and then pick the stamp set and design the layout.

Happy Birthday

2011-03-28T06:21:00.001-04:00

We recently went to a friend's son's birthday party. We don't do birthday gifts for kids. Instead we make a donation to a charity in the child's name, but I did make him a card. This one is pretty basic, but I love the way it turned out. I used several sizes of circle punches, my mat pack, brads and a rub-on from Stampin' Up!'s Bday Party Rub-ons.

Baby Cards

2011-03-25T07:12:00.001-04:00

Several people I know are having babies this summer, so I decided I'd get ahead of the game and make some baby cards. These both ended up a bit on the girly side. Which means I still need to make a few more because at least one family isn't going to find out the sex and one hasn't decided if they want to find out, so I've still got to make some neutral/boy cards.

Goin' round again

2011-03-23T07:08:00.001-04:00

Here are two more cards I made when I made this card.

Thank you card

2011-03-21T06:29:00.002-04:00

This is the first card I made when I decided to make thank you cards for Teacher Appreciation. It didn't really come out the way I wanted. It was another attempt at a shabby chic look, but though I love the look, I have a really hard time creating shabby chic cards. What do you think of the card?

Teacher Appreciation Week

2011-03-18T07:16:00.004-04:00

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week at my daughter's preschool. We give the teacher a gift from the whole class, but I thought I would make each of her teachers a thank you card.

Parents also volunteer to bring in breakfast items or snacks the teachers can take home. I volunteered to bring in brownies. I'm making the Barefoot Contessa's Outrageous Brownies. And they are outrageously good, of course the recipe starts with melting a pound of butter and a pound of chocolate, so how can it not be fabulous! I like to make these brownies when I need to have lots of brownies (like a church function or a pot luck) because this recipe makes a full sheet pan.

While I was working on cards, I was looking at the Eat Chocolate set and decided to make tags to go on the brownies. I needed to wrap each one individually, so I figured I might as well make them pretty!

A tale of three cards

2011-03-16T14:07:00.000-04:00

My mom brought me some of her new stamps to play with this weekend. Yeah!

See, lots of new stamps!

I needed to make a birthday card for my cousin's son whose birthday is Friday. I always have a hard time making cards for the guys, so I was excited to come up with a great card using the Bring on the Cake set that is in the Stampin' Up! Mini Catalog.

I really liked this first version that I made, so I decided to make a few more. But when I started working on the next card, I decided to change a few things and came up with this card:

Ditto for the third one I made. I decided to move the stamped image to the top and put some buttons on the bottom.

So there you have it. My tale of three cards!

Round and Round

2011-02-23T06:52:00.001-05:00

This card is inspired by a sketch in Paper Crafts Go To Sketches. I was also trying to use up scraps of paper. The patterned paper is retired Bella Rose paper from Stampin' Up! I made several versions of this card with various retired patterned paper.

I had originally intended for this card to go the other way, but once I stamped the greeting, I realized it needed to go this way.

Materials for this card:
Stamps: Heard from the Heart
Paper: Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss Card Stock and Bella Rose DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Ribbon: 1/8 inch Taffeta Ribbon
Other: Circle Punch

My Attempt at Shabby Chic

2011-02-21T17:27:00.001-05:00

I have always loved the shabby chic look, but I really have a hard time actually creating projects that are shabby chic. So this is my attempt at a shabby chic card. I also was trying to use supplies that I just had to have and yet, since I bought them, they have sat in the cabinet unused. I just had to have the Jenni Bowlin Memo Note Pad and the Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type letter stickers and have never used them.

What do you think of the card?

I'm sharing this project at:
Today's Creative Blog
Creation Corner

MDS Page

2011-02-14T19:46:00.001-05:00

Last week I got a nasty cold that pretty much knocked me on my butt. I did not do much other than lie on the couch. I did manage to create one scrapbook page, though!

I want to do more scrapbooking about me, so I created a page with a list of books I read last year. I discovered the website Goodreads two years ago and it has helped me keep track of what I've read. I read so much and after reading a few books where the whole time I was reading I thought I had read the book before, but just couldn't remember, I decided I had to find a system to keep track of books! Love using Goodreads for that!

So anyway, here is the page I created. I used the sketch for the Sketchy Thursday Guest Design Team contest.

Calendar Part 4

2011-02-14T19:24:00.001-05:00

Here is the final installment in my 2011 calendar. I hope you enjoyed them!

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

I'm sharing this at:

Craft Space Tour

2011-02-02T07:19:00.002-05:00

This has been my craft space for almost four years, but until last year, it was also our only guest room. It had a full size bed and it seemed to be the place where everything that didn't have a home ended up. Now it's pretty much full time craft space although there is a Futon in there for when we have multiple guests. I have been doing some hard core cleaning and organizing of the space. I've thrown a lot away and I've put aside things for a yard sale this spring and a friend just had a craft swap at her house and I got rid of tons of stuff and made some money, too!

I finally feel like everything pretty much has a place. I do have a few areas that need some more work, but they will be small jobs and for the most part they are behind closed doors. So here is my craft space:

My main work area. I like to have everything within reach while I am stilling at my desk. Mostly that consists of papercrafting supplies since that is what I use the most. I will talk more about these areas in the detailed pictures.

The other side of my craft room. This is the opposite corner of the room from the desk. This holds miscellanious craft supplies, finished product for my Etsy Shop. Fabric is stored in the red box and the clear box under it. All of my sewing notions are in a drawer of the grey filing cabinet on the left.

This cabinet sits to the left of my desk. All my patterned paper and punches are in drawers on top and inside the cabinet are my Big Shot and dies, 12 x 12 cardstock, chip board, and some scrapbook projects that are in progress.

Next to that cabinet is a tall media storage cabinet from Ikea (at least that is what it's supposed to be used for!). I store [some] embellishments, ink cartridges for wheels, Stampin' Spots, and extra glue dots in the top section. In the bottom I keep my colored cardstock paper scraps. Each color is in a seperate cello bag. Since this cabinet is metal, I have some magnetic containers on the outside with my scissors and my color coach in them.

I didn't get a good picture of my peg board, but you can sort of see it in the picture above. This is one of the best things I have in my craft room in terms of organization. Almost anything I could figure out how to hang is on there. I've got rulers, small punches, wheels, heat gun, stamp-a-ma-jig, etc up there.

Here is a close up of my work space. Starting from the left, I have some mini drawers that contain glue dots, my Mat Pack, dimensionals, post it notes and punched pieces I have not used. One drawer is actually empty! The drawers were a recent purchase to help keep things a little neater on my desk. Then I have my stamp pads in the Stampin' Up! Caddy. I have a magazine holder with catalogs, magazines and sketches I have printed out. I have a page from the new Stampin' Up! catalog that has the new color families cliped to the front. I had to have something out for reference because I could never find anything! Next, I have a little bucket with pens, scissors, bone folder, hobby knife and styluses (is that the plural of stylus?). I have another magazine holder with neutral scraps. I have to say this used to be in a basket and it was starting to take over my desk, so I put the majority of it in the recycle bin while I was cleaning.

Next to the scraps is a ribbon keeper and then a container with various adhesives in it. The black line between the adhesive and the wooden drawers is my stampin scrub. The wooden drawers were a gift from my aunts a few years ago. They hold celo bags, envelopes, [more] embelishments, more adhesive and magnet sheets. The bottom drawer used to stay pretty inaccesable because of all the stuff I kept piled on my desk, so it pretty much contains junk. (Remeber I mentioned some areas that still need work?) On top of that is a little set of drawers that conatin replacement blades for my paper cutters, paper clips, and other various office supplies. There is a lazy susan on top of that with cans of sharpies, other pens, and more scissors. I also keep my Stampin' Mist and tape dispenser on there.

The shelves over my desk are where I keep all of my stamps, embossing powders and my Stampin' Up! markers, plus various other stuff. My stamps are vaguely grouped in catagories. Under my desk (well, technically they are holding up the desk) are two filing cabinets. One holds current 8 1/2 x 11 card stock and the other holds retired Stampin' Up! cardstock.

So that's my space. I hope you enjoyed the tour! I am really going to try to keep it this clean since it does make it easier to work.

Hip to be Square

2011-01-31T07:38:00.000-05:00

Two more cards from my birthday card marathon. I had not been crafting in a while because of all the Christmas busy-ness, so it felt sooooo good to sit down and make a bunch of cards!

These cards are also based on a card made by Kristina Werner. The designer paper is punched using the 1 5/8 square punch and then popped up on the card. The top card uses Cosmo Cricket's Girl Friday paper and the bottom card is Stampin' Up!'s Play Date paper. The strip of card stock was inspired by a scrap on my desk I happened to notice while making the cards.

Calendar, part 3

2011-01-28T06:51:00.001-05:00

More of my 2011 calendar!

Calendar, Part 1

Calendar, Part 2

Game On: It's Your Birthday

2011-01-26T06:38:00.001-05:00

Here is another guy card I made this month. My husband's cousin played baseball in high school and college, so I thought I would make him a baseball/sports theme card. Stamps are all retired stamps from Stampin' Up! and the names escape me at the moment.

Calendar part 2

2011-01-24T06:31:00.002-05:00

Here are more pictures from my 2011 calendar. Enjoy!

Calendar, Part 1

You're two!

2011-01-21T06:15:00.002-05:00

A cousin's daughter turns two this month so this is the card I made for her. The card came about because of a scrap I had on my desk. I had the piece of Rose Red card stock and I just added it to the Basic Grey card base. Stamps are Seeing Spots (retired) and Birthday Bakery (hostess) from Stampin' Up!

By the way I realized yesterday that I have not shared with you the two newest members of our family.

They are Beemer and Foster (named for football coaches at Virginia Tech). We adopted them from the Humane Society just before Thanksgiving.

2011 Calendar

2011-01-19T07:07:00.003-05:00

I thought I would give you a break from the birthday cards and share some of the pages from the calendars I made. Last Christmas I started making calendars as gifts for all the grandparents and I decided that it's a gift that I'll give them each year.

My dad told me a funny story about his calendar. He keeps his at work and he never has to remember to turn it over to the new month because the ladies who work for him are so excited to see the next month that they always have it turned on the first day of the month. I got such a kick out of that!

I swear to you that this picture is not staged, I walked into the living room one day and my daughter was sitting on the couch pretending to read my book. You can tell what my other hobby is besides crafting!

All of these pages were created with My Digital Studio. I hope you enjoy them! I'll share the rest with you soon!

Valentine's Art

2011-01-17T07:02:00.002-05:00

I've been checking out a lot of crafty blogs lately and I really want to start making more holiday decorations. I found a bunch of cute Halloween crafts, but I ran out of time before Halloween, so on to other holidays! I got the chance to spend a few hours crafting this weekend which I really needed since we had snow this week and my daughter only went to school one day last week!

I have had this idea in my head for a while. It came to me one night when I couldn't get to sleep. I had thought about making it with felt originally, but then I decided to try paper because I didn't really like the selection of felt at the craft store and I already had all the supplies I ended up using (other than the frames).

And can I say there was not much of a selection of white frames. I thought that was a little crazy. I love the larger frame, but I didn't have much of a choice for a 5 x 7 frame. I may have to keep my eye out for a new 5 x 7 frame.

My original thought was to put "Love" at the bottom of the larger piece, but once I had positioned all of the hearts, I realized I didn't have any room for the letters. I liked the way all the hearts looked and didn't want to reposition to make room for the letters, so I decided to make a second piece.

Now I want to create pieces for all the holidays and change them out!

Materials for these projects are:
Various scrapbook papers from Stampin' Up! (almost all are retired); Big Shot; Hearts and Brackets die; Go Go Boots Sizzlet Alpha; Loops and Rick-Rack sizzlet; Heart punch from Stampin' Up!; Basic Grey card stock. Frames are from the craft store.

Sketchy Thursday

2011-01-15T15:54:00.000-05:00

Here is another page based on a Sketchy Thursdays sketch. I created this one night while watching TV. That's why I love digital scrapbooking!

This is one of my favorite photos from last year. We were playing in our neighbor's yard and I snapped this pictures! They look posed, but they're not. (And our neighbor's gorgeous yard made for a great backdrop!)

The papers and elements are a combination of Stampin' Up! and the most recent release from the Daily Digi. I don't think I've ever mentioned the Daily Digi before, but it's a great place to get digital elements!

Guy Card

2011-01-14T06:49:00.001-05:00

I had to make some male birthday cards this month and that is something I have to force myself to do. Most of my cards turn out pretty girly. This is one of my guy cards this month. Ironically, it uses more of Cosmo Cricket's Girl Friday paper.

The "Message for You" piece is from the elements sheet from the Girl Friday line. I stamped "Happy" and "Birthday" from the Happy Everything set from Stampin' Up! The buttons are from a huge set of buttons I got at one of the big craft stores a loooong time ago. They have been sitting in my craft room for years and I have finally started using them as I have been trying to challenge myself to use what I have instead of buying new. I have been trying to use what I have for a few months, but now I am really motivated now because I am trying to save my money for a Nook! I decided I wanted a Nook more than I wanted new craft supplies.

Birthday Card

2011-01-12T07:13:00.002-05:00

We have bunches of family and friend birthdays this month, so I have lots of birthday cards to show you this month.

This card was one based on one of Kristina Werner's A Year in Cards class at Two Peas. The stamp set I used for the sentiment was one I found when I was cleaning/organizing in my craft room. It's from Stampin' Up! and I think it was a hostess set or other free set because it was with hostess and sale a bration sets I had set aside, but when I pulled it out I really liked it and decided to start using it. A fun reward for cleaning the craft room!

Materials for this card:

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Old Olive (Stampin' Up!)

Ink: Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!)

DSP: Subtles Patterns Pack (Stampin' Up!)

Accessories: Sweet Pea Felt, Scallop Trim Punch, 1 3/8 Circle Punch (Stampin' Up!)

Christmas Card

2011-01-10T07:08:00.001-05:00

I know you're thinking "Doesn't she know it's January 10th?" I do, I promise, but I thought I would share our family Christmas card with you.

This year I designed my own photo card in My Digital Studio, had them printed as a 5 x 7 photo, stuffed them in an envelope and mailed them. Couldn't have been easier! I've already got ideas floating around in my head for next year's card.

Message Center

2010-11-24T20:23:00.006-05:00

I had a booth at a craft fair this past weekend and this message board is one of the things I had for sale. It was simple to make and would be a great Christmas gift!

I got the idea for this project while browsing in the craft store. I found a pack of three canvas boards for (I think) $3.99. The canvas board is flat, but you could use a regular canvas on a frame, too. They would just be more expensive.

Here's what you need for the project:

Canvas board (mine was 12 in x 9 in)

Adhesive (I used a combination of Yes glue, Mod Podge, Sticky Strip, Tombow Multipurpose adhesive and hot glue)

Scrapbook paper

Ribbon

Cork (I used a 4 x 4 square)

Note pad

Stickers, stamps, and embellishments

Crop-A-Dile

Because the board was 12x9 and I wanted to wrap the paper around the board I used two sheets of paper. I coated the board with Yes glue which is a book binding glue. I have had mine for probably five years and I bought it at the local scrapbook store which was the only place I could find it back then, but I think I have seen it at Michael's more recently. Yes glue is really thick so I used a plastic spoon to spread it on the canvas and then smoothed it out with a foam brush. I placed the paper on top with 1 inch hanging over the edges. At this point I set them aside to dry for a few hours.

Once they were dry, I used the Tombow adhesive to glue the overhanging paper to the back of the canvas board. I used clothespins to hold down the edges until they dried.

Once the paper is dry on the back you can embellish the board as you like. There was a slight gap between the two papers, so I used Sticky Strip (aka red tape) to attach a piece of 5/8 inch grosgrain ribbon over the seam. I also used Sticky Strip to attach a small piece of ribbon that went from under where the note pad will be around to the back. There should be enough room to put a pen under the ribbon.

I hot glued a cork square to the board as well as a note pad. The note pads are sold at the office supply store as Scratch Pads and the ones I bought were sold in a pack of 12.

I spelled out "Notes" using felt letter stickers and created a flower embellishment using paper and a brad.

I punched holes in the top corners with my Crop-A-Dile and threaded more 5/8 inch grosgrain through for the hanger. I used Sticky Strip to attach the ends of the ribbon to the back.

I decided to hot glue one of many clips that I've had around for ages to the bottom of the board. I think it's called a Bulldog Clip. I found mine years ago in the clearance bin at the office supply store.

Once I was finished decorating my board, I used Mod Podge to adhere an 11 7/8 x 8 7/8 piece of Kraft cardstock to the back just to make it look pretty.

Sketchy Thursday

2010-10-28T20:29:00.003-04:00

Here is another MDS page I made using this week's Sketchy Thursday sketch. My Mom and I walked in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer this past weekend, so this is my page from that weekend. We walked 13.1 miles both Saturday and Sunday! I think I might finally be recovered.

All elements are from Stampin' Up!

Blog Giveaway Winner!

2010-10-25T08:09:00.003-04:00

The winner of my Blog Giveaway is Melissa Schabel! Congratulations Melissa and thank you for donating to my Avon Walk. The Charlotte Walk raised 2.3 million dollars for the Avon Foundation!

Melissa, I'll be contacting you for your mailing address so that I can get your package in the mail.

Here is a picture of my Mom and I at the finish line yesterday!

Sketchy Thursday

2010-09-30T15:14:00.005-04:00

So, a while back I found a blog called Sketchy Thursday that posts a scrapbooking sketch every Thursday (Bet you hadn't guessed that one!). I have great intentions of creating a page using the sketch every week, but so far I have yet to accomplish that task. Until today, that is. This morning when I saw the new post, I decided that I was going to get a page done today no matter what! And I did!

I took my daughter to a science museum called Discovery Place this summer and we met up with a friend of mine from high school and her girls for a fun morning. Here is my page from that day:

All of the elements in this page are from Stampin' Up! Fonts are Devon Caps and Faye from kevinandamanda.com (both under fonts for peas).

Sweet Birthday Card

2010-09-29T15:28:00.004-04:00

I know have been posting mostly birthday cards lately, but that is because the majority of what I use are birthday cards. And this week I needed a birthday card for a cousin whose birthday was last week and I forgot to send a card, so I used this week's 2 Sketches card as my inspiration. I have been working on thank you cards for people who have donated to my Avon Walk, so I will definitely have a non-birthday card to share later this week.

Don't forget about my big Blog Candy giveaway!

Materials for this card:

Patterned paper: KI Memories (Sweet Life), Stampin' Up! (Brights Paper Patterns Stack)

Card stock: Stampin' Up! (Melon Mambo, Sahara Sand, Whisper White and Crushed Curry)

Stamps: Hero Arts (Birthday Messages), Stampin' Up! (Party Hearty)

Ribbon: American Crafts

Markers: Stampin' Up! (Tempting Turquiose, Chocolate Chip)

Stamp Pad: Stampin' Up! (Chocolate Chip)

Tools: Stampin' Up! (Decorative Label Punch), EK Success (3-D Dots)

Cards for a Cure Sneak Peek

2010-09-24T07:10:00.001-04:00

Here is another card we'll be making at my Cards for a Cure class on Oct 8th & 9th!

This card was inspired by a sketch in the PaperCrafts Go To Sketches magazine. I love to use sketches for inspiration, so I have loved having this magazine on hand.

Materials for this card:

Card Stock: Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise (Stampin' Up!)

Patterned Paper: Fresh Cut (Doodlebug Designs)

Stamps: Birthday Messages (Hero Arts)

Ink: Soft Suede Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)

Accessories: Certainly Celery Brads and Button (Stampin' Up!)

2 Sketches Birthday Card

2010-09-22T07:55:00.000-04:00

Here is a card that I made using the 2 Sketches 4 You sketch for this week. I got an order from Two Peas last week and one of the things I got was the Birthday Messages stamp set from Hero Arts. I have been searching for a birthday greeting set for a while now and I think I have finally found it! Love this set!

We'll be making this card at my Cards for a Cure class on October 8th & 9th! If you live in the Winston-Salem area, I hope you'll join us!

Materials for this card:

Card stock: Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Whisper White and Basic Black (Stampin' Up!)

Patterned Paper: Rainbow Sherbet (Doodlebug Designs)

Stamps: polka dot (Martha Stewart), cake/greeting (Birthday Messages by Hero Arts)

Ink: Black Chalk Ink (Inkadinkado)

Tools/accessories: 1 3/8 Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Summer Sun Marker (Stampin' Up!)

Cards for a Cure

2010-09-20T13:26:00.000-04:00

I am holding a card class to raise money for my Avon Walk. We'll make ten birthday cards (two each of five designs.) The entire class cost of $25 will be donated to the Avon Foundation.

There are two sessions for you to choose from!

Friday, October 8th 7pm

Register here.

Saturday, October 9th 10 am

Register here.

Hope to see you there!

2 Sketches Card

2010-09-15T10:26:00.005-04:00

Here is my 2 Sketches 4 You card for this week. I just got this new embossing folder from Stampin' Up! just a few days ago and had to try it out. I just love this design!

I am still having my big giveaway to help me raise money for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. Please read all about it here. I really need your help to raise $1,800 so that I can walk!

Materials for this card are: Early Espresso, Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery and Whisper White card stock; Soft Subtles Patterns DSP; Two-Step Bird Punch; Pretty in Pink 1/8 inch Taffeta Ribbon; Elegant Lines Embossing Folder.

Adhesive Review

2010-08-27T15:07:00.000-04:00

I used to love, love, love to use the Tape n'Roller. It was my go to adhesive and it pretty much would stick anything to anything. I stocked up on a bunch of refills and then I sort of felt guilty that I was a Stampin' Up! Demonstator and I didn't use their adhesive, so when they started to carry the Tombo Multi Purpose adhesive, I started to use that. Alas, that affair was short lived (just too messy!), but much to my dismay the Tape n' Roller has been discontinued!

Needless to say, I have been on a search for a new adhesive to use. I bought a cheap Scotch tape roller at the craft store first and I didn't like that one. It was constantly getting gummed up and it wasn't always applying adhesive when I thought it was. So I went to a different craft store to see what I could find. I ended up buying three different adhesives and here is what I think about them. By the way I am not being compensated for this review and no one actually asked my opinion, but I thought I would share with you anyway!

Here are the three that I bought:

Scotch Adhesive Dot Roller (different from the previously mentioned Scotch adhesive that I didn't like), Pioneer Photo Memory Fix and This To That from American Crafts.

I think the Scotch Dot Roller is great and I know that some people prefer dots to solid or strip adhesive, so if you do then you'll probably love this adhesive. It applies easily and holds well. The applicator does not get gummed up and it is refillable (which was important to me.) The display with the Scotch Dot Roller also had a tear pad with a mail in rebate which will make the roller free when I get my rebate back, so I figured why not? I would definitely buy this again, although at $6.99 it was a bit pricey.

The next is the Pioneer Photo Memory Fix. This one was so-so. I honestly bought this one because it was $2.99 and so I figured I would give it a try. It is a solid adhesive similar to Mono Adhesive and the previously mentioned Scotch that I didn't like. It was easier to apply than the Scotch tape roller, but it still required just the right wrist flick when you pulled up the applicator. It also had a tendency to gum up the applicator. Not my favorite, but I'd use it in a pinch. I guess you get what you pay for!

Finally, is the This to That from American Crafts. This was my favorite of the three. I don't remember what I paid for it at the craft store, but it is available from Two Peas with a refill for $4.99. I bought the Stripe, but it is also available in Dot and Solid. This one is closest to the Tape n' Roller and it holds really well and goes on easily. It is an opaque adhesive, so you can't use it with vellum or acrylic pieces. I may try out the other two types of This to That adhesive just to see what they are like (Two Peas has an assortment pack for $9.95.

So there you have it! Hope that helps a few of you!

This week's 2 Sketches card

2010-08-25T14:34:00.005-04:00

This week was a fun sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You! I also got the new Color Coach from Stampin' Up! and I really LOVE some of the combinations in the new color coach! I started out with one of the color combos that I loved: Pear Pizzaz, Rich Razzleberry and Tempting Turquoise. I used a piece of the new patterns paper in each of those three colors and then mounted them on a piece of Early Espresso card stock. I used a rub-on from the Chat Room Rub-ons (now retired) for the greeting. I just didn't want to deal with Craft ink or embossing on the dark cardstock ;).

I love how this card turned out! (If I do say so myself!) I will definitely be making a few more of these (and using up some more of my paper scraps).

By the way, I am doing a REALLY BIG giveaway right now! Read all about it here.

Materials for this card: Pear Pizzaz and Early Espresso cardstock; Brights Patterns and In Color Patterns DSP; Twill Tape; Fresh Favorites Buttons (retired, but you can win a pack in my giveaway!); Chat Room Rub-ons (Retired); Glue Dots.

Big Giveaway

2010-08-24T14:22:00.007-04:00

A year ago this week I sat with my mom in her doctor's office while she got the news that she had breast cancer. My mom went through chemo, radiation and surgery and is now cancer free. To celebrate, my mom and I are participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in October. I also decided to walk because I have a three year old daughter and I hope that by participating in fundraisers like this one, my daughter's generation will not have to deal with breast cancer. My mom and I'll walk up to a marathon and a half over two days. We also have to raise $1,800.

In order to help me reach my $1,800 goal, I am offering a chance at a big prize to anyone who donates. I will also give another entry to anyone who blogs about my giveaway.

Here's how to enter:

Go here to donate and then leave me a comment that you made a donation.

Blog about my giveaway and leave me a comment with a link.

So what can you win? All of this! (All of these items are retired Stampin' Up! merchandise.)

8 (new and unmounted) Stamp Sets: Wee Watercolors, Comfort Food, God's Beauty, Gently Falling, Yummy, Congrats, Botanical Blooms & A Little Somethin'
Accordion Book Kit
Chinese Take-out Box Kit
Tin with 7 sheets of flower self-adhesive die cuts
19 6x12 Sheets of self adhesive die cuts (from various Simply Scrappin' Kits)
5 White gable boxes ready for you to decorate
Stampin' Up! water Bottle
Bag of assorted chipboard pieces
Package of Fresh Favorites Buttons (I forgot to put this in when I took the pic)

Scrap Card

2010-07-28T21:55:00.004-04:00

Here is one of the cards that I am making with many of my scraps and patterned paper. Everything on the cards is retired except for the stamp that is from Fiskars. I got this stamp on a recent trip to AC Moore. The card is based on a sketch from Sheet Load of Cards. Can I just say that I really miss Sheet Load?

I have enough cut to make about 20 of these cards, so I'll have a good stash of cards! I will probably leave some of them without a greeting, so that I can stamp whatever suits my needs at the moment.

2 Sketches Card

2010-07-20T13:49:00.005-04:00

I was so excited to get some craft time yesterday morning! I got an order of new Stampin' Up! product on Saturday and I was so happy to get a chance to play with some of it. I am still working on using up all of my scraps and I will have my scrap card to show you later this week.

This is my card using this weeks 2 Sketches 4 You sketch. I haven't been participating lately, but I'm glad to be back! I had so much fun with this sketch (and with my new stuff!)

I really love the new Patterns Stacks of DSP from Stampin' Up! There are only four patterns, but they are in ALL of the colors in the collection. Loving the new colors as well!

Materials in this card: (All materials SU!) Birthday Bliss stamp set; Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose, Tempting Turquoise and Whisper White card stock; DSP Patterns Stack-Brights; Designer Series Paper Pack (Hostess); Jet Black Staz-on; 1 3/4, 1 3/8 and 1 1/4 Circle Punches, Scallop Edge Punch; Brights Designer Buttons; Celebrations Quick Accents; Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose and Old Olive Markers.

Holy Scraps

2010-07-13T15:51:00.002-04:00

So I've been organizing and cleaning out my stamp room and I have realized that I have way to many scraps and papers I'm not using. Deep down I knew this already, but I don't think I wanted to admit it, but I found two packs of retired Stampin' Up! Designer Paper that only had maybe one sheet used and then I realized that I had to admit that I had too much stuff I wasn't using. Admitting it is the first step, right? ;)

Now on to step two, I have recently come across a few card sketches that will be great for using up my designer paper and have been cutting like crazy!

I also plan to use up some of my scraps punching out shapes and cutting out shapes with my Big Shot for future use.

I'll have some pics of my scrap cards soon. I made a really cute one for a birthday and then forgot to take a picture before I mailed it.

Father's Day Cards

2010-06-14T18:51:00.005-04:00

It's funny that making Father's Day cards kind of snuck up on me. I started thinking a few weeks ago that I needed to get to work on my Father's Day cards, but then I thought nah, that's still a few weeks away, I can wait. Then, of course this weekend I realized that it was only a week away and I needed to get cards in the mail! Luckily, my husband let me sneak away to my stamp room after church yesterday to get some cards done!

This first card is for my Dad who is a banker, so I thought the background paper would be fun for a card for him! The paper is from Cosmo Cricket's Girl Friday collection. The rest of the supplies are from Stampin' Up!

This second card is for my grandfather, I thought the Cosmo Cricket paper looked like a tie, so I made a pattern for the tie and used a strip of Whisper White card stock to create the collar. Again the paper is from Cosmo Cricket's Girl Friday collection and all other supplies are from Stampin' Up!

Teacher Gifts

2010-05-25T20:12:00.004-04:00

It's hard to believe that another year of preschool comes to an end tomorrow. My daughter had awesome teachers again this year and this is a little gift that I made for them as a thank you.

Both of the cards were based on sketches from Sheet Load of Cards. (Can I just say that I was so sad to see that end!)

Materials for the cards are:

Stamps: Schoolbook Serif Alphabet (Stampin' Up!)

Card Stock: Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Chocolate Chip and Taken with Teal (Stampin' Up!)

DSP: Sweet Pea and Cottage Wall (Stampin' Up!)

Ink: Rose Red and Rich Razzleberry (Stampin' Up!)

Color Inspiration

2010-05-17T19:51:00.004-04:00

Kristina Werner has started her Color Inspiration Challenges again, but this time her blog readers are submitting and voting on the inspiration photos. All of the photos submitted this time were so gorgeous, it was hard to pick just one to vote on!

I was so excited to see the colors in this challenge since they are some of my favorites. I love Kiwi Kiss and Baja Breeze and I am SO glad that Stampin' Up! is bringing them back! I also used the new bird punch from SU! I borrowed the punch from my mom forever ago to play with it and tonight was the first time I have used it. Love it! I'm going to have to use it some more before I return it!

Materials for this card are: Medallion and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets; Baja Breeze, Going Gray, Kiwi Kiss and Whisper White card stock; Bird punch; Regal Rose grosgrain ribbon; I also used a retired SU! DSP and for the life of me I can't remember the name of it.

Stamp a Stack card

2010-05-12T15:14:00.005-04:00

I just wanted to share a card that we made at my last stamp a stack. The stamp a stack was actually back in January before things really got going on our house addition and I still had time to stamp! My stamp room was where we stored all of the things we had to move while addition was being built and it eventually got to where you could hardly get in the door.

Posting this card reminds me that it's time for another stamp a stack! I'll be holding my next stamp a stack on June 26th, so stay tuned for details!

Did you know that Stampin' Up! now offers clear mounted stamps? I had never tried them before, but now that I have, I love them! The monkey stamp is from Fox and Friends which is one of the new sets that is offered as clear mount stamps. I just love that little guy!

Materials for this card are: Fox and Friends, A to Z and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets; Kraft, Old Olive, Rose Red and Whisper White card stock; Sweet Pea DSP; Old Olive and Rose Red classic stamp pads; 1 3/4 inch and word window punches; silver brads.

I'm Back

2010-04-30T19:31:00.005-04:00

Hello everyone! Hopefully I am back to blogging on a regular basis and I'll catch you up on the goings on in my life soon, but I wanted to get this card posted and I'm not sure that I can keep my eyes open much longer!

I haven't made a card in months, so I thought I would get back into the creative mood with a sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You. I have really missed being able to play along with their sketches.

I was on a sort of limited supply challenge as I am out of town at a conference with my husband and only brought a few things with me. I love how this card turned out! I remember seeing the flower embellishment on another blog, but I have no idea which blog.

Unfortunately, both the stamp set I used and the patterned paper are no longer available.

Materials for this card: Chocolate Chip, Rose Red and Pretty in Pink Card Stock; Sweet Pea DSP; Chocolate Chip Classic Ink; Silver Brads; Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon; 1 3/4 inch, 1 3/8 inch and 1 inch circle punches.

Valentine's Day Card

2010-01-25T15:22:00.004-05:00

Man, it has been a while! It's not that I haven't wanted to stamp, but I just haven't had the time. We are putting an addition on our house and I have spent most of my free time answering questions and picking things out. I will have a new craft room when it's all done so I'm looking forward to getting that organized!

I created this card with the sketch over at 2 Sketches 4 You this week. I bought the Love Sparkles Simply Scrappin' Kit back in November to make some Valentine's Day projects and today is the first time I have opened it up. I love these kits because you can create awesome projects just using what is in the kit. I did add a few things for this card, but not much.

Materials for this card: Love Sparkles Simply Scrappin' Kit, Whisper White card stock, Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, white gel pen.

Occasions Mini Sneak Peek

2009-12-16T19:49:00.004-05:00

I had so much fun playing with new stamps from the Occasions Mini. The Occasions Mini will be out in January, but as a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, I got to order this month. I haven't stamped in a while (hence, my sporadic appearances here), but today was the last day of preschool before Christmas break so I promised myself that I would stamp for fun today with my new stamps.

This card is based on this week's sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You. I used the new set Fox and Friends and the new Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder for the Big shot.

I should add that starting with the Occasions Mini Stampin' Up! is offering their stamps as clear mount stamps which I now LOVE. You can still get the wood mount, too, you just have more options! I had never been all that interested in clear mount stamps before, but one stamp set and I am hooked!

So here is my card using the 2S4Y sketch....

Materials for this card: Fox and Friends stamp set (Occasions Mini); Rose Red, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White card stock; Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad; Chat Room Rub-Ons (Occasions Mini); Chocolate Chip 1/4 Inch Grosgrain Ribbon; White Gel Pen, Perfect Polka Dot Textured Impressions Folder and Big Shot; 1 3/4 Inch Circle Punch; Stampin' Dimensionals.

Christmas card

2009-12-14T10:12:00.004-05:00

Here is one of the Christmas cards we made at my Christmas card Stamp-A-Stack. It's my favorite card that we made. The colors are a little unusual for Christmas cards. I used the colors from the Cottage Wall DSP.

Materials for this card: Season of Joy stamp set; Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, and Whisper White card stock; Old Olive and Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pads; Cottage Wall DSP; 1 3/4 inch Circle Punch; 5/8 inch Grosgrain Ribbon; Clear Rhinestone Brads; Stampin' Dimensionals.

Holiday Extravaganza Sale!

2009-11-23T19:45:00.004-05:00

You can get select items at up to 50% off through November 30th when you shop my online store! Click here and then Shop Now to see all the deals.

I can make that party!

2009-11-09T07:36:00.002-05:00

Chris over at Just a Girl is hosting an "I can make that!" party with all kinds of great gift ideas to make. I can't wait to see what everyone else has made! But first I have to go do the grocery shopping, so I guess that will have to wait.

Here is what I made for the party:

I have had this idea in my head since I made these for Mother's Day gifts and I decided that now was the time to finally make it. I kid you not this project took me less than 30 minutes to make! (Well, except for looking for the image to use. I did that on another day.)

Here is what you need for this project:

Picture frame (I used an 8x8 frame.)

Patterned scrapbook paper

Coordinating card stock

Glue or other permanent adhesive

Temporary adhesive (optional)

Pencil

Image

Here is what you do:

1. Find an image you want to make into a silhouette. I found mine on Microsoft's online clip art site.

2. Cut out the image.

3. Turn your image over and trace it on the back of your patterned scrapbook paper and cut out. You may want to stick your image down with temporary adhesive while you are tracing to keep it from shifting. Tracing on the back means you won't have to erase any stray pencil marks.

4. Cut a piece of coordinating card stock to the size of your frame.

5. Glue your silhouette onto the card stock and put it in the frame.

I already had the frame and, of course, I have plenty of scrapbook paper and card stock in my craft stash, so this didn't cost me anything to make, but even if you had to buy the supplies, you should be able to get them for minimal cost.

Materials for this project: Orchid Opulence card stock; Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper. You can order these products here.

Digital Scrapbooking Day

2009-11-07T13:35:00.002-05:00

Today is Digital Scrapbooking Day, so I thought I'd share some more pages I've made with My Digital Studio. I just had all of the pages I've made so far and they look awesome! I have also been busy working on some Christmas gifts with MDS. (Sorry, can't tell you what it is because my family reads my blog.)

Have a happy Digital Scrapbooking Day!

More from My Digital Studio

2009-10-23T10:49:00.004-04:00

I am seriously hooked on My Digital Studio! I have been looking forward to the release of MDS since Stampin' Up! announced it in January, and I love it more than I thought I would. It is so easy to create awesome pages! I have done more scrapbooking since I got MDS than I have this whole year.

I also love the fact that I don't have to wait to have my pictures printed. The page with pictures of my daughter on the trike were taken on Monday and I created the page on Tuesday night! You can also use different effects with your photos in MDS. I changed the trike photos to black and white after I started the page. If I had printed the pictures in color and then decided I wanted B&W, I would have had to wait for more photos.

Here are two of the pages I created on Tuesday night. I worked on a third page, but I'm not quite finished with it yet. I'll have it to share soon!

Click Here to order your copy of My Digital Studio!

My Digital Studio Cards

2009-10-21T14:07:00.004-04:00

I have been having a great time playing with the new digital paper crafting software from Stampin' Up! This week I made some cards using my Digital Studio. I almost made my daughter late for school this morning because I started playing with MDS and lost track of time!

Here are two of the cards that I made using MDS:

If you want to get a copy of My Digital Studio click here to shop online.

Halloween Cards

2009-10-14T14:57:00.005-04:00

I don't normally send cards at Halloween, but a friend wants to come over and make some. I decided that I would play around with the new Halloween set in the Mini Catalog: Pumpkin Patch. This set is just too cute!

I have to admit that neither of these cards was what I had pictured in my head when I started out, but I think they both turned out darned cute!

By the way, if you have been wondering where I've been, I've been setting up my new Etsy store. I've decided to try selling the cards and other things that I make. I'll always be adding things so keep checking back!

Materials for these cards: Pumpkin Patch stamp set; Old Olive, Basic Black, Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry and Pumpkin Pie card stock; Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Old Olive and Close to Cocoa Classic Stampin' Pads; Big Shot, Top Note die and Circle Die; Word Window and Modern Label Punches; Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon; Silver Brads

This week's 2 Sketches 4 You

2009-09-28T14:33:00.004-04:00

I was so excited to get a card made this week with the sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You! And on Monday, too! I always intend to make a card using the sketch, but most of the time I never get around to it.

I love this week's sketch and the card I made was so easy! It took just a few minutes and I want to try and create some more cards with this sketch.

I've been busy creating projects for my 12 Weeks of Christmas email series, so if you want great Christmas project ideas, be sure to sign up for my newsletter. Tomorrow is the last day to sign up and not miss any of the great ideas!

Materials for this card are: Birthday Bliss stamp set; Orchid Opulence, Rich Razzleberry and Whisper White card stock; Cottage Wall DSP; Old Olive, Orchid Opulence and Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin' Pads; Jet Black Staz-on; Blender Pens; 1 3/4 inch Circle Punch; Old Olive 5/8 inch Grosgrain Ribbon; Clear Circle Rhinestone Brads; Stampin' Demnsionals.

12 Weeks of Christmas

2009-09-26T11:23:00.003-04:00

Want to get 12 weeks of great Christmas project ideas? Be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you don't miss out!

Starting on Wednesday, I'll be sending out a weekly email with a project idea including photos, supplies and instructions, but you'll only get them if you are a newsletter subscriber!

My Digital Studio

2009-09-23T20:25:00.004-04:00

My digital Studio is Stampin' Up!s new digital scrapbooking software. My copy arrived yesterday and I am really loving it! I love to scrapbook but I don't always have time for it so I really love how easy it is to create pages.

I wanted to share the first two pages that I've made. I literaly loaded the software and got started. I didn't read any directions or have to use the help function. I created both of these pages while watching TV last night and tonight. I might actually complete my goal of having 24 pages created this year!

My Digital Studio is available for puchase starting October 1st! Contact me to place your order!

September Specials & Holiday Mini

2009-09-02T13:00:00.002-04:00

Starting this month, Stampin' Up! is offering a great Hostess special! When you host a party with orders totaling $250 or more you can choose one item from the Holiday Mini for just $10! That's in addition to all of the regular hostess benefits you will earn.

Starting next month, in addition to a getting a $10 mini item with a $250 party, you can get My Digital Studio (Stampin' Up!s new digital scrapbooking software) at half off when you have a party totaling $400 or more!

If you would like to view the Holiday Mini click here. Be sure to check out all of the great Holiday stamps and accessories as well as all the great ideas!

September Stamp Class

2009-08-28T11:03:00.008-04:00

I have no idea what happened to the month of August, but here we are at the end of the month and it's time for me to share a sneak peek of my September class!

This month is my Holiday Stamp-A-Stack. We'll be creating ten Holiday/Christmas cards. You'll make two each of five different card designs. This class is a great way to get ideas for your Holiday Cards!

Class attendees will also get $5 off an order of $50 or more placed on the day of class.

Click the links below to register for class!

Saturday, September 12 10 am

Wednesday, September 16 9:30 am

Don't miss out on August Specials

2009-08-26T20:54:00.006-04:00

Stampin' Up! has several specials this month and you don't want to miss out! Be sure to contact me with your order by 5 pm on the 31st or order online until 11:59 pm.

Free Buttons

Spend $35 on stamp sets in the Growing Up section of the catalog and choose one of the Designer Buttons for FREE!

Limited Edition Decor Elements Growth Chart

Track your children's growth on this Limited Edition growth chart. The chart comes in Old Olive, Taken with Teal and Chocolate Chip. The growth chart is a great deal at $24.95 and is only available until September 20th!

Mini Starter Kit

If you want to start your own stamping business and you already own lots of Stampin' Up! product, than this mini starter kit is for you! You will get one stamp set, all the In Color Classic Stampin' Pads and Whisper White and In Color Card Stock as well as all of the business supplies you'll need to start a successful business. This Mini Starter Kit is just $85.

If the Mini Starter Kit's not for you, but you still want to start a successful Stampin' Up! business, you can purchase the regular Starter Kit ($199) and receive all six In Color Classic Stampin' Pads and an assortment pack of In Color Card Stock for FREE!

Email me today to get your Stampin' Up! Business started!

Cards for a Cure

2009-08-12T09:41:00.003-04:00

It's time once again for my Cards for a Cure fundraiser to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! Mark your calendar for October 3rd from 1-4 pm. We'll be stamping the afternoon away and raising money for a good cause!

I got involved with supporting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society about four years ago through our friend Kelly Linderman. Kelly was diagnosed with Recurrent Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 1997. I learned from Kelly that we need to celebrate even the littlest moments in life. When my life gets hectic and I am feeling overwhelmed I think of Kelly and that in the end, it's not going to matter how many loads of laundry I did today or whether dinner was made from scratch. What matters is spending time with the those we love and celebrating life.

Kelly lost her battle with Lymphoma in 2007. Please help me continue to fight to find a cure for cancer by attending the Cards for a Cure event. We'll be making ten cards for $25 and $10 of your fee will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Cards for a Cure
Saturday, October 3rd
1-4 pm
Redeemer Presbyterian Church
1046 Miller Street
Winston-Salem, NC
Registration deadline is September 23rd
Register Now

2 Sketches Card

2009-08-07T09:50:00.003-04:00

I'm back! I know I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy with other things. Mostly, It's just that it's summer and I've been working less. If I am working, then I've been doing work that's not blog related. Also, my daughter decided that two weeks before her second birthday she would start climbing out of the crib so that added a little stress to my life, but now we've got her happily sleeping on a mattress on the floor.

It's been a while since I've done a card from 2 Sketches 4 You, so I thought I'd give this week's sketch a try. I really love the Medallion stamp and for this card, I stamped it in Old Olive Craft Ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder. I used the saying from Fifth Avenue Floral because I like it so much. That is stamped on a tags cut from the Lots of Tags Sizzlets die. I added a Clear Rhinestone Brad to the center of my knot. (I used my Craft and Rubber Scissors to cut off the prongs and attached it with a glue dot.)

I just recently bought the Clear Rhinestone Brads for the first time and I really don't know why I waited so long. I love to use them!

Materials for this card are: Medallion and Fifth Avenue Floral stamp sets; Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Almost Amethyst and Whisper White card stock; Old Olive Craft Stampin' Pad; Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pad; Clear Embossing Powder; 5/8 inch Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon; Clear Rhinestone Brads; Big Shot and Lots of Tags Sizzlet; Stampin' Dimensionals; Glue Dots.

NC Sales Tax Holiday

2009-08-06T13:58:00.001-04:00

The state of North Carolina is having a sales tax holiday from August 7 - 9. Because school supply items are included in this sales tax holiday, the below list of items will be tax free during the holiday period. Please note that you must place your order with me during the tax holiday period in order to receive these items tax free. Email me with your order or click here and then Shop Now to order online.

Uni-ball Signo gel pen, 105021, $3.95
Basic Black Stampin’ Write journaler, 105394, $3.25
Stampin’ Write markers, various, $3.25
Watercolor Pencils, 101879, $19.95
Watercolor Wonder Crayons Bold Brights, 106695, $19.95
Watercolor Wonder Crayons Earth Elements, 106696, $19.95
Watercolor Wonder Crayons Rich Regals, 106698, $19.95
Watercolor Wonder Crayons Soft Subtles, 106697, $19.95
Watercolor Wonder Crayons Neutrals, 106746, $9.95
Stampin’ Pastels, 105542, $24.95
Craft & Rubber scissors, 103179, $19.95
Paper snips, 103579, $9.95
Craft & Paper scissors, 108360, $29.95
Pencil sharpener, 100745, $4.95
Blender pens, 102845, $9.95
2-Way Glue Pen, 100425, $3.50
SNAIL adhesive, 104332, $6.95
SNAIL refill, 104331, $4.50
Mini Glue Dots, 103683, $4.95
Pop-Up Glue Dots, 104183, $3.95
Stampin’ Dimensionals, 104430, $3.95
Anywhere Glue Stick, 104045, $3.95
Dotto, 103305, $12.95
Dotto refill, 100902, $6.50
Sticky Strip, 104294, $6.95
Tombow Adhesive, 110755, $3.95

Birthday Bliss

2009-07-21T19:48:00.003-04:00

I make mostly birthday cards, so when I saw this set in the new Catalog, I just had to have it! And I love the saying: "May your layers be many and your frosting be thick." So cute!

I think I have confessed this before, but I have been having a hard time with the new In Colors. Some of them seemed really loud to me when I first got them. Now that I have been playing with them for a while, they are starting to grow on me. This combination of Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie works really well together. I'm sure I'll be using it again!

Materials for this card are: Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White card stock; Jet Black Staz-on; Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive and Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pads; Blender Pens; 1 3/4 inch Circle Punch; Hearts and Brackets Die and Big Shot; Stampin' Dimensionals; Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon.

Deal of the Week #4

2009-07-20T12:25:00.002-04:00

This week's Deal of the Week is the Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware for $18.99 (reg price $29.95)!

Contact me to order!

Bears on the card and in real life

2009-07-17T07:27:00.001-04:00

So little did I know that when I made this card, there would be real bears in our neighborhood. Now we don't live where there would normally be bears, we live in a city. I'll admit that our lots are pretty wooded for being in the city, and we do get wildlife (we have a lot of deer come through the yard) but never bears!

I just recently got this set Under the Stars. I've always thought it was cute and I am teaching a paper bag scrapbook class at a Girl Scout Leaders retreat, so I thought this set would be so perfect for the class! I haven't started designing my scrapbook yet, but I thought that I would play with it a little to see what I could come up with.

Since it's camp season, I thought I would make a card that kids could send home from camp. Do kids even send letters home from camp anymore? Do the just send email these days?

Anyway, the materials for this card are: Under the Stars, Woodgrain, Calendar Alphabet, Taffy Alphabet stamp sets; Always Artichoke, Night of Navy, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Real Red and Whisper White card stock; Always Artichoke, Real Red, Night of Navy and Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pads; VersaMarker; Hemp Twine.

Color Inspiration

2009-07-16T10:11:00.004-04:00

Yeah! It's a new Color Inspiration from Kristina.

I decided to play with some of my new stamps on this card. I used the Birthday Bliss stamp set for the image on the tag. One of the things I like about this set is that all of the images can be punched out. I also used the new Cornelli Lace Jumbo Wheel. I thought this pattern was really cool and I just had to have the wheel.

By the way, my blog will be moving soon, so stay tuned for the new blog!

Materials for this card: Birthday Bliss stamp set; Cornelli Lace jumbo wheel; Rose Red, Ballet Blue, So Saffron, and Whisper White card stock; Pumpkin Pie and Rose Red Classic Stampin' Pads; Certainly Celery 5/8 in Grosgrain Ribbon; Mat Pack and Paper Piercing Tool; Stampin' Dimensionals; Crop-a-Dile.

Join my mailing list

2009-07-15T19:51:00.004-04:00

Have you signed up for my mailing list yet? My email newsletter is a great way to information about what I am doing. You can sign up for my classes, get great stamping and scrapbooking tips and ideas for cards. You'll also get information on specials offered by me and by Stampin' Up! Use the box below to sign up today!

Color combination ideas

2009-07-15T07:48:00.002-04:00

Today I am starting a weekly series on Twiter that will give you great ideas for color combinations you can use in your stamping projects. Be sure to start following me today!

New stamps!

2009-07-14T13:38:00.004-04:00

My order of stamps from the new Catalog arrived while we were on vacation and I finally got a chance to play with them on Sunday. It was the first time in a while that I have taken the time to just be creative. I had so much fun!

This stamp is one that I just had to have the moment I saw it. The new Medallion background stamp. I used a technique called chalk board to color the image. Basically, you stamp and image with White Craft Ink onto dark paper and then color with chalks. I only used Old Olive, but I think this same card would look great with several colors of chalk.

Next month, I am teaching a technique class on August 15th. We'll be creating this card, so if you're in the Winston-Salem area and want to attend, contact me today!

Materials for this card are: Medallion stamp set; Bermuda Bay and Elegant Eggplant card stock; White Craft Ink; Stampin' Pastels; Sponge Dauber; Clear Rhinestone Brads; Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon.

Deal of the Week

2009-07-13T11:56:00.002-04:00

This week's Deal of the Week is Square Rhinestone Brads for just $6.99! Click here to Shop Now.

Deal of the week

2009-07-06T12:01:00.003-04:00

This week's deal of the week is the Doctor's Bag for $49.99! Contact me today to order! This deal will be good until Sunday!

Deal of the Week!

2009-07-01T14:40:00.003-04:00

Each week in July, Stampin' Up! will be offering a Deal of the Week. This week's deal is the Scallop Edge Punch for just $10.99! Contact me today to take advantage of the Deal of the Week.

Last Day!

2009-06-30T10:51:00.003-04:00

It's the last day to order from the Occasions Mini and the 2009 Spring and Summer Catalog. Contact me with your order before 8pm Eastern Time or shop online until 11:59 pm tonight!

Want a copy of the new catalog?

2009-06-25T06:47:00.001-04:00

Would you like to have a copy of the new 2009-2010 Idea Book and Catalog? I've got them and you will love all of the new stamp sets and ideas!

I will send you a copy of the catalog for free all I ask in return is that I can call you after you receive the catalog to see if you are ready to place an order.

Just email me with your name, address, phone number and the best time to call and I get your copy of the catalog in the mail!

Time is running out!

2009-06-24T06:41:00.001-04:00

Time is running out to order stamps, Decor Elements and Accessories that are on the Last Chance List! These items will be gone forever on June 30th.

Last Chance Stamps
Last Chance Decor Elements
Last Chance Accessories

June 30th is also your last opportunity to order from the Occasions Mini.

Don't wait. Contact me today!

Color Inspiration

2009-06-22T10:42:00.002-04:00

This color inspiration was really tough for me, but that is why I like doing them so much! I actually sat down a couple of times to try and create something for the color inspiration and I would just get up again or stamp something else instead. Once I got the idea for this card, it wasn't too hard to put together. The idea for weaving the strips of paper came to me because, since I don't use earth tones very much, I didn't have any accessories in these colors.

Materials for this card: Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set; Basic Gray, More Mustard, Really Rust and Very Vanilla card stock; Basic Gray, More Mustard and Really Rust Classic Stampin' Pads.

Father's Day Cards

2009-06-17T15:27:00.004-04:00

I have been having some trouble creating Father's Day cards this year. I realized that I really don't have many masculine stamps. I've gone into my stamp room several times in the last week with the intention of making Father's Day cards only to leave frustrated. Well, today was the day the cards had to go in the mail. I ended up in a race to beat the mailman and I just barely managed to beat him to the mail box. Literally, as I turned from the mail box to go back into the house, the mailman was pulling up to the neighbor's house!

Inspiration finally struck this afternoon! I spent this morning designing cards for my Birthday Stamp-A-Stack this weekend and the set Party Hearty was still on my desk. I looked at my desk and say the "Celebrate You" stamp from the set and thought "Ah Ha! that will work!" Then I decided to stamp Dad using the Big Deal alphabet (which is retiring) and my Father's Day cards were born! (Don't worry, Honey. I'm making you a different card.)

Materials for this card: Big Deal Alphabet, Party Hearty stamp sets; Kraft, Bashful Blue and Whisper White card stock; Real Red and Kiwi Kiss Classic Stampin' Pads; 1 3/4 inch Circle Punch; Kiwi Kiss stripped grosgrain ribbon; Stampin' Dimensionals.

Color Inspiration

2009-06-11T10:08:00.005-04:00

I took some time to stamp this morning to create a card for Kristina's Color Inspiration. I was nice to be able to just be creative for a few minutes. I have been preparing for a paper bag scrapbook class for 20-25 people that will be on Monday, so I have busy cutting paper and writing instructions and have had no time for stamping. My super sweet friend Ann Marie even came over to help me cut paper.

I was inspired by the circles on the car seat cover in Kristina's inspiration photo, so I cut circles using my Big Shot and circle punches and stamped with Seeing Spots. Seeing Spots is on the Last Chance list, so if you want it make sure you order soon!

Materials for this card are: Seeing Spots and Bitty Birthday stamp sets; Taken with Teal, Green Galore, Baja Breeze and Whisper White card stock; Baja Breeze Taken with Teal and Green Galore Classic Stampin' Pads; Big Shot and Circle die; 3/4, 1 and 1 1/4 inch circle punches.

Another card from my May class

2009-06-08T21:14:00.004-04:00

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted anything. Things have been a bit crazy in our family lately, besides the fact that my daughter has been out of school for almost two weeks now, so I've had less time for stamping and blogging. I have several projects to show you and I'm working on some projects using new product that will be available in the new catalog that comes out on July 1st, so stay tuned for that!

This card was inspired by dessert plates I saw in a Crate and Barrel catalog. This is a really quick card to make. I took three strips of card stock, punched them with the Scallop Edge Punch and then layered them on the card. The cupcake was created using the Big Shot and the Big Bold Cupcakes Sizzlits. The greeting is the Birthday Wish stamp from the Under $10 page of the catalog.

Materials for this card: Birthday Wish stamp; Whisper White, Tangerine Tango, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip and Kiwi Kiss card stock; Baja Breeze Textured card stock; Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Pad; Big Shot and Big Bold Cupcakes Sizzlits; Stampin' Dimentionals.

Color Inspiration Card

2009-05-26T14:43:00.005-04:00

When I started out making my card for this week's Color Inspiration, I was going to make a masculine birthday card because I need one. But as you can see, that's not what I ended up with. These bright colors were just right for the flowers in Petal Pizazz.

Materials for this card are: Petal Pizazz and Curvy Verses stamp sets; Pacific Point, Summer Sun, Real Red and Whisper White card stock; Real Red Pacific Point and Summer Sun Classic Stampin' Pads; Scallop Edge Punch; Black Gingham ribbon; White gel pen.

Don't forget to check out my Retirement List Contest!

Retirement List Contest

2009-05-26T11:17:00.002-04:00

The list of stamps that will retire from the current Idea Book & Catalog will be here in a few days, but before it gets here, I have a contest for you!

Email me a list of 10 stamp sets you think will be on the retirement list and the person who gets the most guesses correct will win a $30 gift certificate. (In the case of a tie a winner will be drawn randomly from all correct entries.)

Everyone who participates will get a $5 gift certificate good on a purchase of $50 or more from July 1-August 31, 2009.

Entires are due by Midnight Eastern time on Saturday, May 30, 2009.

You can view the Stampin' Up! Catalog here.

This contest is available only through Elizabeth Goliber, Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and is not offered by Stampin' Up!

May Stamp Class Project

2009-05-22T06:47:00.000-04:00

This is one of the cards we made at my class this month. The theme for this month was design techniques and finding inspiration. This card is from the February '09 issue of SheetLoad of Cards. I love to use SheetLoad sketches because they include the measurements so I don't have spend a ton of time figuring out how to cut my paper.

The materials I used for this card are: Good Friend stamp set; Rose Red, Taken with Teal, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White card stock; Taken with Teal, Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pads; Pumpkin Pie Patterns Designer Series Paper; Silver Brads; Stampin' Dimensionals.

June's class is a Birthday Stamp-A-Stack! We'll be making 10 birthday cards (2 each of 5 designs) to help you build up your stash of cards. Class cost is $15.

Friday June 19th at 7 pm

Saturday June 20th at 10 am

Click on the date to register for class!

2 Sketches Card

2009-05-21T07:06:00.000-04:00

This is my card from the 2 Sketches 4 You sketch for this week. I almost forgot to post it! I made a few cards earlier in the week and this was one of them. It wasn't until yesterday afternoon when I was adding photos to my Facebook page, that I realized I hadn't posted this card.

I used my new Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Die to emboss a background on the card and then added the textured card stock and a tag cut from the Lots of Tags Sizzlets. I used the saying from the Fifth Avenue Floral set. I really love the saying!

Materials for this card are: Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set; Basic Gray, and Sahara Sand card stock, Baja Breeze textured card stock; Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad; Big Shot, Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions die and Lots of Tags Sizzlets; Old Olive 5/8 inch grosgrain ribbon; Stampin' Dimensionals.

Giveaway for Facebook Fans

2009-05-20T09:22:00.002-04:00

If you haven't became a fan of my stamping business on Facebook, make sure you do it soon! On May 29, I will enter all of my fans into a drawing for some fabulous Stampin' Up! merchandise. You can only win if you're a fan so visit my page today!

Color Inspiration #52

2009-05-18T15:40:00.004-04:00

This week's Color Inspiration from Kristina was a little difficult for me. I'm not a big fan of More Mustard, so it took me a while to figure out how to incorporate it in my card. I also wanted to use a stamp set I haven't used in a while. I am loving the new sets that I just got, but I want to make sure I keep things interesting here.

Materials for this card: Pick a Petal and Sincere Salutations stamp sets; Sahara Sand, Baja Breeze, More Mustard and Whisper White card stock; So Saffron and More Mustard Classic Stampin Pads; Big Shot and Lots of Tags Sizzlets; Button Bouquet Designer Buttons, 1 inch circle Punch; Whisper White Taffeta ribbon; Glue Dots.

Stampin' Up! Wins Readers' Choice Awards

2009-05-15T09:34:00.002-04:00

For the ninth year in a row, Stampin' Up! has won several categories of the Creating Keepsakes Readers' Choice Awards!

This year they won for their rubber stamps, the 2008 Spring and Summer Idea Book and Catalog and the Write Me a Memory Font CD. Stampin' Up! has won in the Rubber Stamps category every year since 2000. That's not surprising, though, considering how awesome their stamps are!

Mother's Day Gifts

2009-05-13T11:26:00.005-04:00

This is what I made my Mom and Mother-in-Law for Mother's Day. They read my blog, so I couldn't post this until after Mother's Day. The one in the picture is one that I made for me to keep. Since I was making more that one, I traced my daughter's hand onto an old folder and cut it out. Then I used that to trace onto my Designer Paper. (It took both my husband and I to get a good tracing.)

You can do this with any kind of silhouette or shape to make quick wall art for your home. This would be great decorate a child's room or playroom. Hmmm... Oh wait, I don't need another project to add to my list.

Fun Card

2009-05-11T06:59:00.000-04:00

I have a big pile of scraps on my desk and I decided that rather than file them away, it would be more fun to try to use only scraps to make some cards. I've made several cards but so far the pile doesn't seem any smaller.

My mom also brought me some of her Big Shot dies to play with. So this card is a combination of using up scraps and playing with my Big Shot.

Materials for this card are: Seeing Spots and On Your Birthday stamp sets; Rose Red, Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango and Whisper White card stock; Kiwi Kiss Textured card stock; Pacific Point and Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pads; Big Shot, Lots of Tags Sizzlits and Flower Blossom Sizzlets dies; 1 3/4 Inch circle punch; Black Gingham ribbon.

Scrabook Page

2009-05-08T07:58:00.000-04:00

I decided that since May is National Scrapbooking Month, that I would actually try to get some scrapbooking done! Remember back in January when I said my goal for this year was to scrap two pages a month? Well, I created two pages in January and since then, NOTHING. This month I am going to try to get back on track!

I created this page based on a video from Carrie Cudney of Stampin' Up! that you can view here. This page was really easy and fairly quick to make. I only used a little bit of card stock and the rest is Bella Rose Designer Series Paper. I totally agree with Carrie when she says in the video that one of the things she love about the Stampin' Up! Designer Paper is that since it comes in packs with twelve designs, you don't have to worry about coordination. That's already done for you!

Materials for this page: Warm Words stamp set; Chocolate Chip and Whisper White card stock; Bella Rose DSP; Riding Hood Red Classic Stampin' Pad; Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Marker; Big Shot, Lots of Tags Sizzlets and Naturally Serif Decorative Strip; Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon; Button Bouquet Designer Buttons; Glue Dots;

Color Inspiration 51

2009-05-06T15:43:00.004-04:00

I love this week's Color Inspiration from Kristina Werner! (I think I say something to that effect every week, but they are always so inspiring!) I can't say that I would use mustard if left to my own devices, but I think it looks really great on this card.

I created this card using Petal Pizazz which is one of the sets I earned for my sales and recruiting during Sale-A-Bration. I love having new sets to create with! Even better that they were free!

Materials for this card are: Petal Pizazz and Hugs and Wishes stamp sets; Rose Red, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White card stock; Rose Red and More Mustard Classic Stampin' Pads; Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad; 3/4 inch and 1 inch circle punches, Rose Red grosgrain ribbon; Top Note die and Big Shot; Stampin' Dimensionals.

First Birthday Card

2009-05-05T16:58:00.002-04:00

Today is our friend and neighbor's first birthday and we are going to her birthday celebration this evening. I made this card for her. I actually made the card below first and decide to try making it into a standard size card.

The materials for both cards are pretty much the same, so I'll lump them both together. Petal Pizazz, Serif Numbers and On Your Birthday stamp sets; Rose Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White card stock; Regal Rose, Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise and Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Pads; Tempting Turquoise grosgrain ribbon; Background 1 Texture Plates and Big Shot; One inch and 1 3/4 inch circle punches; silver brads; crafter's tool kit.

National Scrapbooking Month Specials

2009-05-01T10:49:00.003-04:00

May is National Scrapbooking Month and Stampin' Up is offering several great specials to celebrate!

Buy Three Get One Free

When you buy three packs of Designer Series Paper and/or Textured Car Stock, you get the fourth FREE! You can mix and match DSP and Textured Card Stock and there's no limit to the number of times you can take advantage of this offer. Now is a great time to stock up!

Designer Series Paper is on pages 158-161 of the Idea Book & Catalog and page 9 of the Occasions Mini. Textured Card Stock is on pages 153-155 of the Idea Book & Catalog and is available in assorted packs.

Stamp Set Sneak Peek

Stampin' Up! is offering a sneak peek at an alphabet set that will be available in the next Idea Book & Catalog. You can purchase the Jumble Alphabet this month for 20% off! (Just $35.16.)

Scrapbooking Starter Kit

If you want to get started as a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and you are a scrapbooker, now is a great time! In your Starter Kit, you'll get to choose an alphabet set, Simply Scrappin' Kit, 12x12 Assorted Textured Card Stock and a Craft Stampin' Pad. You'll also get all of the business supplies you need to start your own Stampin' Up! Business. The price of this special Starter kit is $75. If you would like to join my Stampin' Up! team, contact me today!

New Stamps

2009-04-30T09:36:00.003-04:00

Tuesday the UPS man brought me the stamp sets I earned for free for my sales and recruiting during Sale-a-Bration. I was so excited to get some new sets! I decided to wait to create my card for this week's color inspiration until I had my new stamps.

This week we could choose our specific colors. I chose to use Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise and Whisper White.

Materials for this card are: Good Friend stamp set; Riding Hood Red, So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise and Whisper White card stock; Bella Rose DSP; Tempting Turquoise, So Saffron and Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pads; Scallop Edge Punch; Jumbo Eyelets; Crop-a-dile; white gel pen; Stampin' Demensionals.

More from my Big Shot Class

2009-04-28T07:04:00.001-04:00

Here is a card we made at my class this weekend. We were making projects using the Big Shot. This card was made using the Cherry Blossom Embosslit Die. The embosslits both emboss and cut out a shape. I also used the 5 Petal Flower Punch and cut it apart to create the leaves.

Materials for this card are: So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango, Tempting Turquoise, and Rose Red card stock; Kiwi Kiss Textured card stock; 5 Petal Flower Punch; Big Shot and Cherry Blossom Embosslit Die; Tempting Turquoise 1/4 inch grosgrain.

April Sheet Load Card

2009-04-27T06:43:00.000-04:00

I've mentioned before how much I love Sheet Load of Cards and this is my version of the April card. We made this card at Stamp Club last night and everyone loved it. If you want to be part of my stamp club be sure to email me for more info!

One of the things I love about Stampin' Up!s products is how easily everything coordinates. I decided to use two of the patterns in the Bella Rose Designer Series paper and I chose the colors of my card stock from colors in the DSP. The Button Bouquet buttons also coordinate with the DSP. So easy!

Materials for this card are: Heard from the Heart stamp set; Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette and Whisper White card stock; Riding Hood Red Classic Stampin' Pad; Bella Rose DSP; Pretty in Pink grosgrain ribbon; Corner Rounder punch; Button Bouquet designer buttons; Glue Dots.

2 Sketches Card

2009-04-23T20:08:00.004-04:00

It's been a really long time since I have actually created a card using a sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You. I look at the sketch every week, I just never get around to actually making the card.

I didn't set out to necessarily create a masculine card, but that is how the card turned out. That's a good thing, since I usually need masculine birthday cards. Most of the cards I make are very flowery and feminine.

Materials I used for this card are: Party Hearty stamp set; Basic Gray, Bashful Blue, Not Quite Navy and Whisper White card stock; Not Quite Navy Classic Stampin' Pad; Kiwi Kiss Patterns DSP; Bashful Blue Striped Grosgrain ribbon; Stampin' Dimesionals.

Don't forget to check out my Facebook Page!

Mini Note Cards

2009-04-22T14:36:00.000-04:00

I made these note cards as a make and take when I had a booth at a vendor fair last month. I really love making these 3x3 cards because they make great gift enclosure cards. I will be using these with the end of the year thank you gifts for my daughter's teachers. I can't believe that there are less than six weeks of school left! I have no idea what the gift is going to be, but hey, at least I have the card to go with it!

Materials for the cards are: Pocket Silhouettes stamp set; In Colors Textured Card Stock, Whisper White, Not Quite Navy and Chocolate Chip card stock; Kiwi Kiss Patterns and Bella Rose DSP; Chocolate Chip and Riding Hood Red Classic Stampin' Pads; Scallop Square and 1 1/4 Inch Square Punches.