June's Creations

We finally had our December stamp club meeting. Last week we had the blizzard and our roads were closed for emergency travel only. So we met this week with a smaller group. Whenever members can't make it, we make their cards for them so they can have them. This month's cards included penguins made from the Owl punch and a simple elegant card from one of my favorite stamp sets, Lovely as a Tree. Each month we get together to make cards, chat, eat, and have a good time. We learn new techniques and take the cards and projects home. We make a minimum purchase of supplies for ourselves and we take turns as hostess. When it's your turn as hostess, you bring a snack to share and you get to go shopping for the hostess rewards. It's perfect if you don't have friends who are crafty or even if you do. We are starting another round in January- June and we have room for 1 or 2. If this sounds like something you'd like, let me know so I can get you started. Find my contact in...

....is frightful. I'd love to show you some pictures but, as it turns out, I cannot. It seems that one of my memory cards has a teeny chip out of its plastic and it's stuck in the back of my card reader. So, even though I took pictures of the weather and of this lovely technique I'm about to share, I cannot share the pictures today. My hubby has said he will come home from work tomorrow and take it apart so I can use it again. In the meantime, I will try to describe this technique in a way so that you can try it out and get your own pictures. I'm not sure what to call this technique. Maybe double inking. Maybe marker plus. Maybe one of you will come up with a good name. Now we've done several techniques with markers recently. We've selected only a portion of the stamp and have inked it with marker. We've 'thumped', we've edged, and we've dotted. Today we are enhancing. Maybe that's the name.....Marker Enhancing. To do this pick a stamp wi...

Just wanted to show off the cards we made at our stamp club this month. Our hostess this month is not a big fan of Halloween so I wanted to showcase how you can turn a stamp set that you usually use for one thing into something else. Like Halloween stamps. This month we used Halloween Hoot (# 111582- $23.95 Wood Mount Only) for the Free Kisses card and Wicked Cool (# 118738 $19.95- Wood Mount) (#120600 $14.95 Clear Mount) for the cauldron card. Other elements used for the cards. Black ink is Stazon. I love to use it because the ink doesn't smear when coloring. Plus it dries fast. It's also permanent on non-porous surfaces so it's great to use to put your name on your cake pans and such so they come home to you. *The 'Free Kisses' card uses the sponging technique. Sponging is a great way to add texture without a lot of tools. It's a great technique for beginners but also great for seasoned stampers. The moon is colored with the brush tip of our wonderful double-...

I had a wonderful vendor event this past weekend. Looking forward to more coming up. I made these lovely bags of bats. Aren't they adorable? I will be giving these away to people in the next couple of weeks.

Now that my job for the US Census has come to an end I will have more time on my hands. Time to update my blog, play with the new stuff that I've gotten, and prepare for my upcoming classes, clubs, workshops and craft fairs. Be on the lookout for lots of changes coming soon. In the meantime, download the Holiday Mini and look it over or you could give me a call and come get one in your hot little hands. My next event at the house is September Stamp Club. It's on the 13th this month. We'll be using wheels including the new wheel builders. As always, guests are welcome but please let me know by 2pm the day of club so I can make sure a place is set for you.

I'm so excited about all the new goodies in the Holiday Mini! We have new fabric, buttons, paper, rub-ons, tinsel, waffle paper, punches, little brown bags, stencils, stamps, etc. A whole load of new stuff to play with. Just in time for the holidays.   Click the link to download in .pdf format! Once you have the pdf version of the catalog, you can head over to my website to order or give me a call if you're local and want to place an order of any size.

Mr Brown (the UPS guy) brought me fun stuff on Friday. It's all from the new holiday mini. I can't wait to sit down and play with it all. There's the new Designer Fabric in Candy Cane (# 121715- $9.95). You get all 3 designs and the size is larger than standard fat quarters (fabric for quilting). Each pack of fabric also has a booklet with instructions to make the covered book plus 4 other ideas (while supplies last). Look at the new buttons too. Aren't they cute? You get all these in one package. 4 each of 4 colors and 3 styles. 48 in all. Mine are in Candy Cane to match the fabric (# 121718- $8.95) The Holiday Mini starts on September 1st. You can order from me or from my website. Get a jump on your holiday cards. My holiday card class starts on October 10th (pick styles-order materials)

This just in from Stampin' Up! PUNCH CADDIES NOT AVAILABLE August 20, 2010 As you know, the Punch Caddy is listed in the new Idea Book & Catalog (pg. 200) as “Coming soon.” We are disappointed to report, however, that due to serious production and quality issues with the manufacturer, we will not be able to offer the Punch Caddies at all. And because the manufacturer will likely not be able to meet our quality standards for the Punch Caddy in the future, we do not have any plans to offer a revised or equivalent product in its place. As the situation unfolded, we consulted with demonstrators to see what they thought and we received some comforting words from Mary Polcin. “I’d much rather know now that there is a problem than let them get into my customers’ hands,” Mary said. “I am very glad that Stampin’ Up! is dealing with this now rather than later.” I agree with Mary. I'd much rather the caddies not be available than to have them fall apart after you spent good money on ...

You hear all the time about CASEing a card, page or just an idea. What does that mean exactly. Well the term CASE just means copy and share with everyone. So one person's idea get shared because that' what paper crafting is about. Sharing our passions. Stampin' Up!'s "Statement of the Heart" is exactly that. 'To love what we do and share what we love, as we help others enjoy creativity and worthwhile accomplishments . . . in this we make a difference!' Sometimes I CASE someone's idea and run with it. The ideas people out there have are amazing. Sometimes I even CASE myself. April's Stamp Club made a cute butterfly card showcasing our Beautiful Wings Embosslit Die (118138-$11.95) and Sweet Treat Cups (116802- $2.95 for 12). The butterflies are made with Only Orange which is one of the colors that we are bidding a fond farewell to. I took the card to work and one of the girls wanted me to make one for her Mom for Mother's Day only with blue ...

Ever wonder about joining Stampin' Up! as a full-time demo or maybe a part-time demo with a 20% discount on all the products you love? If you've been undecided because you just don't know if you have enough ideas to share (You do. If I can do this, anyone can do this)now is the best time to join. When you join our team by May 31st, you get 2 Free technique DVDs. These DVDs include 37 demonstrator presentations of "WOW" techniques for use in preparing for workshops. That's 37 ways to WOW people with your skill. Contact me for more info or sign up on my website (link on right side- recruit code: love stampin)

I also love my wooden block stamps. The images are clear each time. Unlike the acrylics I've tried, they don't break down over time. The new clingy clear mount stamps from Stampin' Up! are also natural rubber so they won't break down either. Most of the wooden stamp sets from SU! are die cut so you don't need any special scissors although I still use my Craft and Rubber scissors to trim them a little closer for my personal taste. Once a stamp has been mounted, there is no worry about the image shifting or falling off the block. If you find that you have mounted the stamp incorrectly just give me a call and I'll show you how to fix that. Since the introduction of the clear mount stamps from SU! I have bought fewer wooden sets but I still love the quality of them. Wooden stamps have a better image when stamping off (using the same ink two or more times to achieve a lighter shade of the same ink)

Some people ask me what I like about the clear mount stamps vs the wooden ones. I've tried the clear see-thru stamps before and while the idea is great, they lose their appeal because the images are not always good. So you'll understand why I was hesitant at first. I tried one then 2 and now I own like 10 sets that are clear mounts. The clear mounts have die cut images same as the wood. They have the same quality of rubber and give great image quality. They have a sticker you stick on the back of the foam that shows the image in addition to being the clingy stuff that holds on tight to the mounting block without falling off nor leaving sticky residue behind. The major difference is that the clear stamps fit into a much smaller space. The boxes are the same size as a DVD case so you can fit a lot on one of those storage cases in a corner of a small apartment or the corner of a huge craft room and use the remaining space to store stuff like your Big Shot and dies. The SU! acrylic...

Just got this from Stampin' Up! HAITIAN RELIEF RESULTS March 4, 2010 Once again, Stampin′ Up! demonstrators have shown what Stampin′ Up! is all about by making a difference in the lives of others. Worldwide, demonstrators sold 13,587 of the stamp sets that were set aside for Haitian relief. From each of those sales, Stampin′ Up! will donate $2 to the Red Cross’ American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development Fund. That’s over $27,000 donated to people who desperately need your help. Congratulations! Thank you all for your efforts! Thanks to all of you who purchased the set from me and helped out.

Well, spring is around the corner and this year so is Easter. I made these oh so cute Easter themed treat boxes to share. I will be teaching people how to make these at my Spring Themed class this month. The class is Saturday, March 27th at the South Haven library. Class starts at 1pm. The class fee is $10. Please sign up at the library. Final date for signups is March 24th. Their phone number is 219-759-4474. Check my links for more info. More of the class projects will be shown throughout the month. Actual samples will be at the library mid month.

I've been using the new Sweet Treat Cups in lots of places. Recently I made a matching bag and card for my friend's daughter's birthday. She loves Goldfish crackers and I wanted to make her something she'd really like. She loved it but refuses to eat the crackers. Kids are too funny.

I had a table at the Special Needs Resource fair this past Saturday. I gave out lots of minis, info and ideas. All the kids came by and made bookmarks to take home. Some of the adults made them as well. Several kids came by again to make more. It was a lot of fun to watch their faces glow when they were finished. It reminded me that you don't have to have special skills to make something beautiful with Stampin' Up! products. A sheet of cardstock, a stamp and some ink is all you really need to make something cute and simple. Your stock grows as your skills grow. SU also offers card kits which include all the paper and accessories to make some fantastic cards. They even come with step by step instructions and a suggested stamp set to match. You follow the instructions and the next thing you know....you're wondering how the card would look if you stamped the image over here instead. That's the way we all started and the way skills grow. I hear from my newer customers that ...

Dates: January 5-April 30, 2010 Promotion Details: For every $20 spent on products from the Build-A-Bear Workshop Collection, receive a coupon (item 121105) for $5 off a $25 purchase at any Build-A-Bear Workshop store. Customers will receive one coupon for every $20 they spend. Eligible qualifying items are listed in the 2010 Occasions Mini Catalog (pages 38-40) Coupon will automatically be added to the order once the qualifying purchase has been met and will ship with customers' order. Coupon includes $5 off a $25 purchase (expires December 31, 2010). Free 1,000 Bear Bills web code. Unique codes for Buildabearville.com. This is an award-winning Build-A-Bear Workshop virtual world where kids can go online and create a virtual character and play. In addition, when kids buy a bear at Build-A-Bear Workshop, they also get a virtual bear to play with on the site.

I don’t know if you’ve heard or not, but we’re involved in some promotions to help the Haitians who have been devastated by the earthquake last week. In addition to donating portions of the proceeds from the sale of a certain stamp set depending on each market, Stampin’ Up! bought some supplies for 5,000 hygiene kits. A few of our vendors also donated supplies for the kits as well. We invited our employees to help assemble the kits over the next few days, and apparently the response was so enthusiastic that they got all the kits assembled in one day! I felt badly when I found out—I was working from home today and planned on helping assemble the kits later this week. But when I opened the pictures they sent me from the home office, I admit that I teared up a bit and my heart almost burst. My disappointment at not being able to work side by side with others in this good cause was offset by the tremendous sense of pride I felt to be associated with people who are so willing to help out i...

HAITIAN DISASTER RELIEF On January 12, 2010 a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, leaving in its wake devastation so overwhelming that the Haitian people and their leaders can only look for help from the outside to cope. In the past, when terrorists attacked the Twin Towers, when a tsunami struck Indonesia, when a hurricane destroyed New Orleans, and when wildfires ravaged Australia, Stampin' Up! demonstrators stepped forward and showed their commitment to making a difference in the lives of others. This time is no different. From now until February 28, 2010, you can partner with Stampin' Up! to make a difference in the lives of those who continue to suffer from the effects of this devastating earthquake. Stampin' Up! will set aside $2 from the sale of every I {Heart} Hearts stamp set and donate that money to the American Red Cross' Haiti Relief and Development Fund. The Red Cross is already well-established in Haiti, and this money will be used to provide immediate...

Here is one of the cards we made at club this month. I saw a card Lee Conroy made and was inspired. Thanks Lee!