It's Sale-A-Bration Time! Avant Garden (143272) It's that time again...are you ready for the Occasions and Sale-A-Brations fest-o-rama (yes, I made that word up)?  Starting January 4 - March 31, 2017, when you shop Stampin' Up!, you have THREE ways to earn FREE products!.  SHOP for every $50 spent, you earn FREE product from the Sale-A-Bration catalog; JOIN my Stampin' Up! Team-start your own business and get additional FREE products in your Starter Kit or HOST a Stampin' Up! party to get more FREE products with Stampin' Rewards!    How cool!  Hey Chick (143331) As a creative expressions artist (read: demonstrator) with Stampin' Up!, I was able to pre-order some of the awesome products both from the new Occasions catty (read: catalog), and from SAB.  Here are two projects done with my two favorites (so far) from the SAB catalog.  Tutorials for both card projects will be available for purchase through Sweets' Signatures Class by Mail. ...

I often times hit a creative block and will need a little inspiration.  Does that happen to you?  To mitigate that, some times I'll search Pinterest for ideas or I'll visit a Facebook Group called Stampin' Gals Gone Wild! where weekly the administrator  +Connie Stewart   will post a sketch/layout for the members to interpret and post their cards based on the sketch. I've decided to share my cards based on these and other sketches found across Pinterest.  I'll post a new sketch weekly on a Monday as well as my interpretation of the design.  If you'd like to join me, you can...here's how: 1. I'll create an Facebook event and a photo album in my Facebook Group page and you can join the event and share your photo uploads. 2. You can comment here and include a photo. There are always rules...but these are pretty simple All entries must have at least one (1) Stampin' Up product (after all, I am a Stampin' Up! demonstrator) Post must fo...

I love my Friday's off (although I went in to work for 1/2 day).  It's when I get to get together with my Stampin' friends and get creative and we share lots of tips, tricks and techniques with each other. Yesterday's tip and trick came courtesy of  +Sharon Coleman  (relatively new to our Friday crop circle).  For my project yesterday, I was "struggling" with trying to make my bow without contorting my body in all sorts of uncomfortable positions.   +Sharon Coleman  watched this struggle for a few minutes then said, "Do you need my finger?"  This led to can I show you something that works for me?  Enter in today's tip, trick and technique. This tip involves a plastic bottle cap (really you can use whatever you'd like, but most inevitably you can find one of these lying around the home) and a toothpick...huh?  How's that gonna help me tie a bow? LOL...that's what I thought to myself too...so here's the tip...to add bows to ...

There are soooooo many different "tools" in our arsenal as greeting card makers...and you all know, I love a good tool...(yes I said tool)...that I decided to get familiar with them...at least the ones I already own (hint, hint...no purchasing of new tools just to blog about them...exactly who am I kidding).  Stampin' Up! Item# 141714    Much better 2nd result...needs just a lighter touch This blog is going to focus on the brayer .  Ok, let's get the "formal stuff" out of the way... Wikipedia says, a brayer is a hand-tool used historically in printing and printmaking to break up and "rub out" (spread) ink before it was "beaten" using inking balls or composition rollers . The word is derived from the verb to "bray", meaning "to break, pound, or grind small, as in a mortar". [1] A brayer consists of a short wooden cylinder with a handle fitted to one end; the other, flat end is used to r...

I'm starting something new with my Stampin' Up! business.  Have you wanted to attend my stamp classes, but can't either because 1) time (we all know there just ain't enough hours in the day) or 2) location...(state, city, or just plain distance issues).  Well, I'm now offering Stamp Class by Mail (SCBM).  Each month will feature a different project the features a specific stamp set.  For the class fee, you'll get the stamp set, plus embellishments and supplies to make the projects.  Other items (such as ink pads, markers etc) can be provided as add-ons. October Stamp Class by Mail This month's kit will make 15 greeting cards:  5 designs 3 cards each. Kit will include the Totally Trees Photopolymer stamp set, 15 card blanks; pre-cut card stock; embellishments; pre-stamped sentiments from the Endless Thanks Stamp Set, and a PDF copy of the tutorial emailed upon receipt of payment. Class Fee:  $35 shipping not included Totally Trees ...

Play dates After a long (and I mean long) work week, I really needed to relax and de-stress.  Thanks to my friends  +Gail Tassey   and Elaine for wanting to have a play date too and sharing their day with me getting crafty.   Floral Phrases Item#: 142355 Today's featured Stamp set is Stampin' Up's Floral Phrases.  Since the catalog release I'd been eyeing this set...a little intimidated by it actually, but loving it just the same...but just didn't get it (to be honest, with the release of the annual catalog and the holiday catalog, there're sooooo many that are in my HAVE TO HAVE column that I just have to pace myself)!  Anyway, I digress a bit...squirrel...LOL  Finally added it to my cart and with that and Pinterest...decided to play with this set today...and boy was I excited to play with it.   So after meeting up with my friends for a crafty play date, I made two cards (started a third) using this set. First, CASEd from Patty...

Top of the morning to you! This morning (last night really), I was having a conversation with my friend  +Anna Varela  (I think) telling her that I'm in my "collecting" phase with my stamps and that I don't really use them...really bad habit (you should see my closet--clothes with tags still on them AND they don't fit).  So I decided that that was going to change.  How is that going to change you might ask?  Well...I decided that at least once a week, I will use a different stamp set and design at least three different cards.  This week, it's Stampin' Up!'s Paisleys and Posies  (Item# 142196).   It's an 18 piece stamp set that IMHO allows your creativity to flow.  In this card, I used Stampin' Up!'s inks from our  2016 - 2018 In Color collection:  Sweet Sugarplum, Dapper Denim, Emerald Envy and Peakaboo Peach. Card base in Night of Navy cardstock 8 1/2" x 5 1/2"' layered with a piece of Whisper White at 4" ...