Tweet, tweet

No, not the twitter type of tweet. The chirpie, birdie type of tweet. I created this little tweeter using the Two Step Bird Punch. Isn't it just adorable? Colors used here are Baja Breeze, Marina Mist, Rose Red, Wild Wasabi and Sahara Sand for the neutral. The background is stamped with the flourish from Baroque Motifs, as is the sentiment. and that is all the stamping there is on this card. I let the chick-a-dee take all the focus, he's even popped up a bit with a dimentional. For a little bit of interest I tore one corner of the focal piece. I like how simple, yet elegant this card turned out.

Don't forget, if you are near me, I am having an Open House tomorrow night. Come by for a make-n-take, a FREE gift, great prices on retired stamps, ink pads, paper, etc. And take a look at the new Idea Book and Catalog. I hope to see you there!

Are you getting ready for Halloween?

As I looked through my stamps, I realized that I had no Halloween stamp sets. That is not really that surprising. I'm not the biggest fan of Halloween. The candy is great, but I tend to get annoyed with the hassle of picking and preparing a costume, whether for myself, or my kids. So anyway, I wanted to make a Halloween card for my sample basket. So what did I do? I got creative, that's what!

I started with a Pumpkin Pie card base (what could be more appropriate?) I stamped swirls around the edges from the Baroque Motif set. Next I punched a bunch of circles and ovals in Pumpkin Pie and layered them together to make just little pumpkins. I drew the jack-o-lantern faces on with marker. I added vines to the tops of the pumpkins with an old corner punch I had hanging around. I attached the pumpkins to a white layer that had been cut with the Top Note die for Big Shot. Next, I added some Garden Green swirls. At this point I was liking the card, but it need something more. So I cut a strip of Garden Green to go across the back of the card, but before I attached it, I spritzed some water on it and crumpled it like crazy. Once it was dry, I attached to the card. It was still missing something... a greeting. I do have the All Holiday set of greetings, so I added the Halloween sentiment and layered that on an oval cut from the crumpled Garden Green card stock.

I hope you are also inspired to make a Halloween creation!

Color Challenge

Today I visited Splitcoaststampers and decided to do today's Color Challenge. I liked the combo so I thought I would give it a try. I used Wild Wasabi, Cajun Craze, and Baja Breeze, along with a neutral of my choice: Whisper White. And the bonus challenge was to use strips for the sentiment. The sentiment is from a set in the Holiday Mini Catalog called Filled with Love. The medallion/flower is from Baroque Motifs. I also used two punches here: Scallop Circle and Eyelet Border. I am just smitten with this card. The color combo is so unlikely but I find it striking. If you would like to see more cards done with this combo, click here for the gallery on Splitcoaststampers.

Northern Hearts Wreath

I was in a stampin' mood today. I also had new stamps to play with, so that's always a good time to stamp! I love the Christmas Collage background stamp that is in the Holiday Mini. Here it is stamped with the Versamark Ink pad on Cherry Cobbler. Cherry Cobbler is one of the new colors in Stampin' Up!'s color line. This color makes me happy. I love it. I even dreamed about it last night, weird, right? I know, but that is how passionate I get over colors. Anyway, I was inspired by a card sample in the Mini Catalog. I didn't have all the products shown in the sample, so I improvised. The blue strip down the side is punched with Eyelet Border in Bashful Blue. The wreath is stamped in a new In Color: Pear Pizzazz. It is stamped twice, the second time I cut the wreath out and distressed it a bit and added two red brads. The whole thing is layered on a Whisper White card.

I love this card, I hope you do too! I did some more stampin' today, so you can expect those to pop up on here in the next few days. Happy Stampin'!

Holiday Fun Card Swap

Hey there! This month our card swap group decided to embrace the holidays. And we could not decide on just one holiday, so we just decided to each decide what holiday we were in the mood to do. So we got a nice selection here. Take a look!

Easter, by Breanna Kenyon

Butterflies, by Nickie Kenyon

Bewitching, by Becca Goodwin

Valentines, by Christine Fouts

Pumpkins, by Michelle Hansen

Thanksgiving, by Lisa Jones

Frankenstein, by DeeAnn Haworth

Merry and Bright, by Michelle Tweedy

Happy Stamping!

Trying out new Stamps and Colors

I have been stamping for my sample basket and for inspiration for workshops the last few days. I had fun with one of the new In Colors for 2010: Poppy Parade. It's such a great, bright red. Take a look at these two cards and let me know which you like best. I may just demo one at an upcoming workshop.

This card was inspired by a card in the 2010-2011 Idea Book and Catalog. It uses the french version of the set: Elements of Style -so chic! The hummingbird just makes me happy and I love the way it pops stamped in Poppy Parade. The ribbon is also in Poppy Parade. Card stocks used are Chocolate Chip and River Rock and Poppy Parade. Inks are Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla and Poppy Parade.

This card uses the Level 1 Hostess Set: Because I Care. Hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers and this one is fantastic! I water colored the flower using ink and blender pens in Poppy Parade and Pear Pizzazz. The patterned paper is from the Designer Paper Pattern Stack of in Colors. The card base is Whisper White. And lastly, I added glitter to the center of the flowers.

I will likely have more to share soon. Leave a comment, please, I need the encouragement!

One more thing: Check out my new Stampin' Up! Website.

Card Swap!!

For August's Card Swap we decided on Get Well Cards or Sympathy Cards. We had a nice big group this month too! And I have even put a get well card in the mail from the swap. It's off to my sil who just just had gallbladder surgery. I like having get well cards on hand because usually when I hear of someone who could use a get well card, I don't have the time to sit and make one. Then by the time I get around to it, the need is no longer there. So I love that I have some on hand! And as for sympathy cards, it's nice to not have to think too hard about that one when they are needed.

I hope you enjoy this month's offering. Next month the theme is Holiday-Any Holiday. Oh, the possibilities! Shall I make a Christmas card? and gear up for that? Or there is always Valentine's Day. Oh, and I have those cute Halloween stamps. And I love the soft colors of an Easter card. Well, I guess you will have to be surprised next month!

Chilly Willy Get Well, by Christine Fouts

Paisley Sympathy, by DeeAnn Haworth

Thinking of You, by DeeAnn Haworth

Patterned Prints Get Well, by Michelle Tweedy

Rhinestone Sympanthy, by Nickie Kenyon

With Sympathy, by Kristy Yapp

Shimmery Butterfly, by Lisa Jones

Flowery Get Well, by Michelle Hansen

Froggy Get Well, by Nickie Kenyon

Under Weather Chick, by Julie Broderick

I Did It!

Yep, I took the plunge. I am, once again, a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. Today, I got my email with my new ID# and password to get on the demonstrator website. I find it sad that my new ID# is 7 digits long. My old ID# was only 5 digits. Time rolls along! So things at Stampin' Up! haven't changed too much, but I've had a mental block for the past 2.5 years, so now I need to re-educate myself on all things SU! Another sad fact is that I only have about 12 current stamp sets. Sure, that's enough for workshops, but any self-respecting demonstrator knows that many more stamp sets are needed! Not to mention all the new accessories that have come out in the last 2-3 years.

Like the Big Shot! Beckie brought hers with her when she visited last month. It is so cool! I totally NEED one. It does so many cool things! And there is the Digital Scrap booking program that SU! has now. I have resisted digital scrap booking so far, but the samples I have seen with it are just beautiful! And honestly, I haven't actually scrap booked in a LONG time. So the idea of doing it all on the computer (where the pictures are anyway) is so awesome.

So here is my big plea: Wanna have a workshop? Or come to a class? Keep me in mind, I will be getting all my ducks in a row and setting up some events. As soon as I have my Demonstrator Website set up I will post a link here and you will be able to enjoy the world of Stampin' Up! at your leisure. Until then, keep crafting!

To Be or Not to Be...a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

Well, you probably already know that I was once a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. In fact, I was a demo for 8.5 years! I love creating and sharing the joy of creating. It was a hard decision to quit when I did in 2008. I hated to abandon my downline most of all. Over the past 2.5 years I have not regretted quitting at all. But now I am considering rejoining the SU! family.

My upline and dear friend, Beckie, came to visit last week and she had a lot of great ideas about me signing up. To sweeten the deal, there is a special for past demonstrators to rejoin for only $35.00!! Now I have a decision to make. Do I want to be a demo again?

I'm just not sure. There are many things I love out Stampin' Up! The main thing that I miss is the whole social aspect. I miss getting together with my fellow demos and with customers at workshops and at stamp camps. I also miss the big Stampin' Up! events like Leadership Conference and Convention. I really miss the sound of the UPS driver pulling up to my house with new stamps! I live on a corner and that darn UPS truck is in my neighborhood nearly every day, but he never stops here anymore. ; (

There are also a few things that I haven't missed about SU! I haven't missed worrying about making my quarterly sales quota. I haven't missed leaving my family in the evenings to go to a workshop. I haven't missed driving myself crazy trying to come up with new a fabulous make-n-takes, or card swaps. I haven't missed telling my kids I can't do something for them because I am getting ready for a workshop or stamp camp. And mostly, I haven't missed finding new customers and talking people into having workshops or buying stamps.

So there is my conundrum. Do I? or don't I? I'm open to opinions here, so feel free to leave a comment with your ever so humble opinion (and Beckie, I already know yours!). I have another week or so before I have to make my final decision. I will keep you posted.

Baby, Baby, Baby!

Today was card swap day. We swapped Baby Cards. They all turned out so cute! We didn't make assignments for gender specific cards. And we got a nice assortment. So take a look at this month's offering of swaps. I'm looking forward to next month already. We will have some fresh faces joining our swap.

Such a bright, adorable card by Nickie Kenyon.

Another one by Nickie, this one is soft and sweet. I love the lamb and the stitching.

I love the texture on this card by Christine Fouts

The snaps are so adorable on this card by Becca Goodwin

I love the color palette of pink and gray. By, DeeAnn Haworth.

So cute! I love the combo of stripes and polka dots. By, Lisa Jones.

This bunny is stamped on craft foam and colored with markers. By Michelle (Me) Tweedy.

"I do" Wedding Cards Abound

This month's theme for card swap was Wedding Cards. And everyone did a lovely job. Take a look!

by, Nickie Kenyon

by, DeeAnn Haworth

by, Christine Fouts

by, Lisa Jones

by, Me!

by, Michelle Hansen

by, Becca Goodwin

This is the cover for the cute little bound album that Lisa brought to share as a make-n-take.

Inside pages are made from envelopes.

Each envelope has a journaling tag inside.

For more information see Lisa's blog here.

I'm having a ton of fun with our card swap. It gets me stamping every month again. Gosh, I remember a time when I was stamping every DAY! But at least I'm using my supplies and getting those creative juices flowing occasionally. Next month our theme is Baby Cards! They are always so fun!

Thank You Card Swap

Lat week I hosted another card swap. This time the theme was Thank You Cards. Everyone did a great job and we decided that next month we will do Wedding Cards. We also did a make-n-take on swap day. I shared the technique, Reverse Spotlighting, and here is the sample. Just click here for detailed instructions on this fun technique. My husband said the card looked psychedelic! Hope you like it. Scroll on down to see all the cards.

Glitter Flower, by Me

Seeing Spots, by Michelle Hansen

Too Kind, by Christine Fouts

Flowers and Circles, by Mina Krutsch

Polk Dots, by DeeAnn Haworth

Scalloped Thanks, by Lisa Jones

Apricot Flowers, by Kristy Yapp

Going Spotty, by Becca Goodwin

Garden Thanks, by Nickie Kenyon

I hope you are enjoying spring. I sure am!