Last Post for a Little While

I’m preparing to leave for vacation, so this blog will not be updated again until February 13th.  You may still order online while I’m away, but shipping rebates will be delayed until I return home.  Sorry for any inconvenience. 
Before I leave, I wanted to share what I recently made with the Good As Gold Card Kit.  It’s great for cards!  You can use it to make simple ones, as designed, or you can kick it up a notch and add some extra embellishments.  Best of all, you may select this kit for FREE with a $50 order between January 28th and March 31st, 2014.

The above photo shows my basic card made just with items from the kit.

I stamped and embossed some gold flowers on one of the envelope liners (included in the kit) and punched them out to create my embellishments.  I used the new Petite Petals stamp set (133155)and coordinating punch (133322.)  Then I added an extra strip of cardstock.  I think it’s so cute & it was so simple.   I love this card!

Then I used items from the kit and my gold flowers to make a cute treat holder. 

It holds 4 of the Hershey Nuggets. 

I started by cutting up one of the cards.  I cut a 2” strip.  The opened length of the card was already the perfect 7” length. 

I scored at 2 3/4 & at 4 1/4.  (That other score line you see above was the original one on the card.)  Once the project is together, you won’t see that extra line because it will be on the bottom of the treat holder.

I slipped the end into the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch (133324.)

Then I flipped it to punch the other size.
Fold it up, add your candy, and decorate! 

Till mid-February, Happy Stampin’!

A Sale-a-Bration Preview

Sale-a-Bration begins next week!  As a demonstrator, I was allowed to get some of the freebie items ahead of time.  One of my favorite things is the Sweet Sorbet designer series paper.  I love the colors and designs of the paper.  I used it to make this folded octagon box lid and base.  I also used some of the Cantaloupe twine (another Sale-a-Bration freebie item) to decorate the top of the box.   

Cute Little Flowers

Spring is just around the corner!  I know, I know, right now you’re saying “I’m freezing.  It’s NOT Spring.”  While it is cold in many places, I know Spring is coming because there is a tulip pushing it’s way up into my flower bed. 
To get me into the mood for Spring, I decided to try out my Petite Petals stamp set and the coordinating punch from the new Occasions catalog.  I made the colors really bright and cheerful by using Real Red, Tangerine Tango, and Tempting Turquoise.  The little flowers in the photo are the Petite Petals, while the bigger flowers are from Mixed Bunch.  I also used the photopolymer set called Another Thank You.

Have a great weekend!
PS – I PROMISE I have taken down my Christmas decorations.  It’s just that I made these cards last month and took the photos when the decorations were still up.  hehe

An Odd Couple

When I was playing with my Happy Watercolor stamp set, I had an idea.  What if I combined that stamp set with one of my old favorites, The Open Sea?  Would it look nautical or just weird?  I decided to try it and I love the result.  The watercolor swooshes seem to anchor my ship and make it look even better.  It just proves to me that sometimes I should think outside the box.  Many “odd couples” I know have awesome marriages.  Evidently those differences just make life a little more interesting.  Shouldn’t that apply to the stamping world too? 

it’s Tuesday & That means It’s Sale Day!

There are some good things to be had on sale this week.  Perhaps my favorite of the group is the Framed Tulips embossing folder.  It’s the perfect card accent for spring!

More Pretty Birthday Cards

I thought I’d share some more of the handmade cards I received.  I’m going to apologize in advance to the artists.  All of these have way more detail than shows up on camera. 

Diane knows I love brown, so she made this card with lots of brown embossing and vellum.

This card from Karen had lots of embossing and glitter.  Even the paper ribbons holding the front panel to the back was covered with pretty silver glitter.

The card Kathy made for me is all glam with silver glimmer paper and rhinestones.

Thanks for making me feel special on my birthday. 

Happy Birthday to…

Me!  Actually tomorrow is my birthday, but I thought I’d share some of the birthday cards I have received over the past few days. 

My friend and downline, Doris, made this one for me.  I need to try this painter’s tape technique.  I love the look!

This is from my friend, Phyllis.  She always puts such detail into the cards she makes for me.  Love the embossed background with the punched edges of the image. 

This card from my friend Robin is so pretty.  I’m not sure what she used to color and shade these flowers (I need to remember to ask her!), but I think they just pop off the card.

Have a great weekend & I’ll be back to blogging next week! 

Alcohol Based Markers!

Remember yesterday that I mentioned that while I love Stampin’ Up that I still use other brands in my crafting.  One of my favorite things are Copic Markers.  I’m still getting the hang of using them, but I love being able to color with blending and shading.  News is that Stampin’ Up is going to be selling their own version of alcohol based markers called Blendabilities.  This is a VERY exciting  announcement.  I’m not sure when these will be available, but at least I see which color families will be represented.  It’s my understanding that there will be 3 markers for each color which will make it easy to figure out what colors to combine for shading and highlighting.  That’s a great benefit because frankly that is one of the things that drives me crazy about my Copics.  When I sit down to color I struggle to figure out which colors I should put together for blending.  For example,  I love the idea of pulling out my Night of Navy grouping and just start coloring.  So excited!  I’ll let you know when these are available for purchase.  Hopefully it’ll be soon!

It looks like these will be the only colors offered in the new alcohol based style of markers at first.  I suspect if people are receptive they will release more.    Woo Hoo!

Warning: This is NOT a Stampin’ Up Post

I just wanted to add a disclaimer before I offend some readers.  If you are a crafter who ONLY uses Stampin’ Up products, please pass by this post. 

That said, I love Stampin’ Up, but I also love papercrafting in general.  I do sometimes use non-Stampin’ Up items.  Today I saw that one of my favorite closeout websites was offering Sizzix products at a nice discount.  Some of the things that caught my eye were insert dies for the Pop-n-Cuts system.  I have the Stampin’ Up base and the inserts sold by Stampin’ Up, but there are others available from Sizzix.  I found some on Zulily on sale.  Zulily is a membership based daily deals website.  I buy all my bras there because when they offer my favorite brand it is at a 40% discount over my normal lingerie store.  I think this is the first time I’ve purchased crafting items from them.  If you do not have an account, you’ll need one to look/purchase items.  You can visit Zulily here.   

I bought inserts for my Pop-n-Cuts base die for $10 each!  I “needed” an extended platform for my BigShot for only $23.  I got a triple square flip card die for $19.  And I was excited to find a storage box for my Bigz dies for only $16.  Granted the box won’t match the others I have from Stampin’ Up, I was pleased with the price.  

There are a couple of things you should know, however, about buying from Zulily.  First, shipping takes forever.  It is not at all unusual to wait 2 or 3 weeks to receive the items purchased.  If you need something in a hurry, Zulily isn’t where you want to make your purchase.  Speaking of shipping, they charge $7.95.  I think it’s the same price regardless of how much you buy, however.  I usually buy more than one item when I shop there to make it worth my while.  After all, a $10 insert isn’t much of a deal when you add $8.  But it you buy several, I think it’s doable.  Finally, this is a limited time and quantity site.  It reminds me a little of the Stampin’ Up Clearance rack.  When you see something you want, you should get it because it might be sold out 5 minutes later.  Finally as a closeout site, they do not accept returns.  I am extra cautious when buying things like clothes and shoes from them because I know the item will be mine even if it doesn’t fit.  That keeps me buying brands I know so I can ensure that the fit will be as expected. 

Thanks for letting me share the deals I found today.