Goodbye April!

I cannot believe April is over all ready.  What happened to this month let alone the first third of this year?  The end of April also means the end of the Occasions Mini Catalog.  Today is your last chance to place orders from it.  And since we don't know what is carrying over to the new catalog, if there is something you want, you probably want to get it now.

A big thanks to everyone who participated in the blog hop this weekend.  Weren't the projects fabulous?  Didn't it make you want all those stamp sets?  I promised a closer look at the projects this week so today we are going to look at the first card I shared:

Colors: Peach Parfait(retiring), Pear Pizzazz (retiring), Daffodil Delight and Whisper White.  Stamps: Borderlines (retiring), Sweethearts (retiring), Mixed Bunch, Heard from the Heart(retiring).  Punches: Blossom and 3/4" circle.  Accessories: In Color Glimmer Brads (retiring), Daffodil Delight 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon (retiring).

This is normally not a card I would demonstrate, because it uses so many parts and pieces from several different stamp sets, but we did make it at club last week. I wanted to show how Borderlines coordinates with all the other stamps in our collection and I wanted to get one more use out of these retiring stamps and accessories.

Remember retiring accessories are only available while supplies last and some of them discounted up to 70%.  Retiring stamp sets will be available through May 31.  However, Mixed Bunch and the Blossom Punch are in the Occasions Mini Catalog and as I mentioned before, that catalog ends today.  You can just click that handy "shop now" button and place your order now, before it's too late.

Come back on Wednesday and I'll show you more details on the scrapbook page from the blog hop and announce my first ever Facebook Contest in honor of National Scrapbook Month.

Apothecary Art

When the Occasions Mini Catalog came out, I tried to be frugal.  I really DIDN'T need every stamp set in the book, did I?  I was really good with my first order.  I just ordered a couple of sets and some of the fun accessories.  But as we head into the final month of the Occasions Mini catalog, it's amazing to me how many additional sets have found their way to my stamp room.  Apothecary Art was one of those sets.  I received it free for participating in a focus group, so at least I can honestly say I didn't pay for it. :)

We made this card at my clubs last month.  Frequent visitors to my blog will recognize it as a rework of this card made with Bordering on Romance.

Colors: Basic Gray, Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Blushing Bride, and Riding Hood Red.  Stamps: Apothecary Art and Bordering on Romance.  Big Shot: Labels Collection Framelits, Adorning Accents Edgelits and Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  Accessories: Twitterpated Designer Series Paper, Blushing Bride Pleated Satin Ribbon, Blender Pens, Crystal Effects.

My club members had seen the Bordering on Romance card and asked to make it.  But I really wanted to show them how well the Label Collection Framelits coordinated with this beautiful stamp set.  And I wanted them to get the chance to use blender pens too.  That's how we achieved that soft water-color look on the flowers.  As a finishing touch, we added Crystal Effects over the flowers to make them stand out a little more.  We also added that border of pleated ribbon right to the fancy edge cut with the edgelit.

Remember that the Occasions Mini Catalog ends April 30.:)  I'm fairly certain the Blushing Bride Pleated Satin Ribbon will not be carrying over since that color is retiring.  I've already been through one bolt of it and I'm on my second.  I love that stuff.   We won't know what other products will carry over to the big catalog for sure so if there is something you want to purchase, you have about a month to do it.  Don't put it off too long.

One more chance to Sale-A-Brate!

So I might have mislead you on Monday by saying that I only had one more Sale-A-Bration project to share with you, because yesterday, I came up with one more.  (And I can't rule out that Friday there might be one more too because that's just the way I roll). 

Colors: Peach Parfait, Very Vanilla.  Punches: Blossom, 1/2" Circle and circle from Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Decorative Label.  Accessories: Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper, Large Pearl Basic Jewels, Simply Scored Diagonal Plate.

This is a little 3"x3" card that features the beautiful Blossom punch from the Occasions Mini Catalog.  I've seen several cards that use the negative of this punch on a card so I wanted to give that a try here.  Since there was no room for the greeting on the front, I put one on the inside:

I made the matching envelope using the directions that came with the Simply Score Diagonal Plate.  Since it was too busy to write a name on it, I added a Decorative Label punch to the front of it too.

Don't forget to place your Sale-A-Bration orders by this Saturday, March 31 at midnight.  All of the exclusive Sale-A-Bration items will disappear forever then and the only way to get them is for FREE with every $50 you spend.  Order online anytime, or contact me by Thursday night.

Bloom!!

Here in Utah, March means one thing: unpredictable weather.  On Monday it was 60 and beautiful.  On Tuesday and Wednesday, we had snow.  Today it's suppose to be 60 and sunny again.  I do love those 60 degree days though.  It means Spring is almost here.

Several weeks ago, I showed an altered canvas project I made for the Sale-A-Bration Blog Hop.  I told you then I had made a second, smaller canvas that I submitted for a Stampin' Success contest.  Well, my Stampin' Success arrived in the mail today and my project didn't win.  I figured a few weeks ago if I hadn't heard already that was probably the case.  But now I'm sure I'm safe to share the project with you here:

Colors: Blush Blossom, Baja Breeze, Whisper White.  Big Shot: Fun Flowers, Fancy Flowers and Alphabet Simple Letters, . Accessories: Twitterpated Designer Series Paper, Fabric and Buttons. Other: Chipboard scraps, 6x6 canvas, Mod Podge, Fabric-Covered Button Kit.

This is not exactly how it looked when I submitted it.  It actually removed half the buttons from the letters because it was a little too busy.  I thought I'd taken another photo after I did that, but if I did, it got erased when I cleaned my photo card off recently.  The theme for the contest was Welcome, Spring which makes me think of how everything just seems to bloom in the Spring. That was the inspiration for this project.

Enjoy those warm spring days in March, even if a little of winter makes an appearance between them.  You know I will be! 

Owl Always Love You

I admit it.  I've been bitten by the Pinterest bug.  If you aren't familiar with it, you should be.  It's a place to store all the fun ideas you see on blogs and other websites.  Mostly I use it to store and share Stampin' ideas but I found myself pinning hair styles today.  Eek!

Last week, one of the people I follow had pinned an adorable owl made from a Big Shot Pillow Box by Lynne Put.  I know I had seen these before but one of the things I love about Pinterest is having a way to store and remind myself of these things I see various places so that I will actually MAKE them and share them with my customers.  Here is my take on it:

Colors: Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Basic Black.  Stamps: Sweet Cake.  Punches: Scallop Oval, 1-1/4", 3/4" and 1/2" Circle, Modern Label, Small Heart, Heart to Heart.  Accessories: White Gel Pen.

It's she so cute?  This is just one of the projects I'll be offering at my Valentines Class and Sale-A-Bration Kick Off Buffet on January 27 and 28.  I'll be posting all the details and projects in the next couple of days so be on the look out.  I'd love to see you there!

And if you happen to also love Pinterest and would like to see the fun Stampin' Ideas (and other random things) I share, I've tried to make it easy.  On the left side of the screen, you should see a "Follow Me on Pinterest."  And of course, it just makes my whole day when someone "pins" something I've created to the site too.  So I'm trying out a new tag at the end of my posts to make that process easier too. Feel free to try it out and see if it works. :)

Sweet Cake

The new Occasions Mini Catalog has us asking the question, do we really need another cupcake stamp?  I'm afraid to count how many I already have in my stash.  But of course the answer is YES!!!  Especially one as cute as this:

And this is what I made with it for a recent swap:

Colors: Pool Party, Soft Suede, Whisper White, Lucky Limeade and Calypso Coral.  Stamps: So Sweet.  Big Shot: Framelits Label Collection and Polka Dot Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  Punch: Modern Label.  Accessories: Whisper White Grosgrain Ribbon, Mini Brads, Dazzling Details, VersaMarker, Cherry-Scented Embossing Powder, heat tool dimensionals.

To make the main image on the card, I stamped it first in Soft Suede and then cut it out.  Then, after cleaning the stamp really well, I colored on the stamp with the Pool Party, Coral Calypso and Lucky Limeade makers and stamped it again.  Before cutting this part out though, I went back over the cherry with a VersaMarker and put Stampin' Up's new Cherry-Scented Embossing Powder over it and heat set it.  (That stuff smells so yummy!!)  Then I cut out that image and lined it up over the Soft Suede one and popped it up using dimensionals.  I also used markers for the greeting and then punched it out and doubled up the dimensionals to make it go over the cupcake bottom.

I added Dazzling Details to this card after the swap because SU hadn't announced that it would be carrying over before the swap was due.  Thank goodness it did, because I love this stuff and so happy it is still available to us.  It's just one of several items from the Holiday Mini that are still available to order.  Check out the complete list and add something you might have missed to your order today:

Old School Valentine

I had a lot of comments on my Old School Valentine from the blog hop.  It's always so satisfying to find out people like a creation.  Especially one that I wasn't so sure about.  I feel like Sally Field, "You like it!  You really, really like it!"

I had the idea for this because the largest die in the Framelits Heart Collections is scalloped and so cute, but it's larger than a standard card front.  But I was thinking back to to when I was in elementary school and we would exchange Valentines and how sometimes they would just be a simple heart with "to" and "from" on it. So that was the starting point of this project.

Colors: Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Blushing Bride.  Stamps: Take it to Heart and Loving Thoughts.  Big Shot: Framelits Heart Collection, Adorning Accents Textured Embossing Folder. Accessories: Cherry Cobbler Embossing Power, VersaMark, Blushing Bride 3//8" pleated satin ribbon, Antique Brads, Rhinestone Jewels.

One of the great things about Framelits is that you can stamp first and then line the die up to cut the image out -- just like punching.  One the smaller heart, I stamped it in VersaMark and then used Cherry Cobbler embossing powder and heat set it before I ran it through the Big Shot with the coordinating Framelit. Here's a view of the project from the side so you can see the texture and details.

And I know I've said it pretty much every post lately, but I love this ribbon.  It is fabulous because it is already gathered.  Makes it very easy to create a great border around an object.  I just put adhesive around the back edge of the heart and then applied the ribbon to it.  Here is a view from the back before I added the final scalloped heart to it:

I hope you've enjoyed this closer look at the blog hop projects.  Next week, I'll have brand new projects to share with you from the Occasions Mini and maybe even a sneak peek at Sale-A-Bration.

Edgelits Card Box

Today is the day!  The Occasions Mini Catalog is live and you can start placing your orders.  I wasn't able to share with you picture of the Edgelits and Framelits before because Stampin' Up! has rules about such things.  But first a closer look at my card box project from the blog hop:

Colors: Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz and Whisper White.  Stamps: Loving Thoughts.  Big Shot: Adorning Accents Edgelits, Labels Collections Framelits, Fun Flowers Die.  Accessories: Twitterpated Designer Series Paper and Designer Buttons, 3/8" Blush Blossom Pleated Satin Ribbon

The box was made from a tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers.  For the base, use a 7 3/4" x 9" piece of cardstock and score at 1-1/2" on all sides. Cut your corners and fold into a box.    For the top, use a 6 7/8" x 8 1/8" piece of cardstock and score at 1" on all sides.  Cut your in at your corners and fold to make a lid.  To get the fancy border, I used the Edgelits.  You will have to fold you lid before you cut so that it will fit through your Big Shot.

Colors: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Basic Gray.  Stamps: Loving Thoughts.  Big Shot: Adorning Accents Edgelits and Textured Impressions Embossing Folders.  Accessories: Twitterpated Designer Series Paper, Baja Breeze Seam Binding, Rhinestone Jewels.

I wanted to keep the cards simple but still add some wow and I think the textures and the shapes do that.  The card box will hold several of these.  I made four all the same.

And now for a look at how you use these Edgelits:

As you can see from the picture, you will need your Tab 2 for your multipurpose platform and two clear plates. See how easy it is to line the Edgelit up where you want it on your project? (I love these things!)  You can use some temporary adhesive to hold it in place so that it doesn't slip when you run it through your machine. 

The Edgelits and the Framelits come in nice heavy storage envelopes.  But I saw an idea on Pinterest to store them in a DVD case, like the ones our clear-mount stamps come in.  I altered mine to use a magnetic strip instead of a magnetic sheet like was posted and I added little magnets to the spine to store one of the Edgelits.  You can see the other one is tucked underneath the Heart Framelits:

I know you will love these new dies as much as I do.  And customers can start ordering them today. Just head on over to my online store and see all the new products Stampin' Up! is offering in the Occasions Mini.  I know you won't be disappointed.