More Great Buys from Stampin' Up!

If you are still looking for supplies for all your holiday papercrafting projects Stampin' Up! has one more great opportunity for you!  On Tuesday morning at 1:00 AM at CST they will restock the Clearance Rack with all kinds of goodies!! If you have never shopped the Clearance Rack you need to go see what is available. Unfortunately I can't tell you exactly what items will be added since I will find out at the same time you do - but I can tell you there will be some great items you will want to have and they will be at some great prices! There will be stamps, cardstock, Designer Series Paper, punches, buttons, embossing folders, ribbon and more.  How do I know all of these items will be there? Because they are there now!! Plus there will be even more on Tuesday morning! Click here to go straight to the Clearance Rack. While you are there remember that Valentines Day is not far off and currently there is a number of great items listed that are specifically for Valentine papercrafting.

Another great, easy holiday papercrafting idea is to make packaging tags.  Many of the ideas for cards can be scaled down and used to make gift tags and which can be made very quickly!




This  is a card I made with fellow demonstrator Dianne Eure. Several of us regularly get together at Dianne's house to make cards. Dianne comes up with the design - sometimes her own and sometimes inspired by another card she has seen. She comes up with some really great cards. I keep telling her she needs to start a blog and that if she doesn't I am going to start putting the cards on my blog!! Well she has officially run out of time. This card makes a great impact. It involves a lot of punching but is really not difficult to make and the idea can easily be used to create tags. Each individual square with the sparkly circle could be placed on a square tag. (Note that the white squares can be easily cut with a paper cutter if you don't have the Squares Collection Framelits.)

Here are some quick tags I made with washi tape. Washi tape is very versatile. It can be an addition to a card or used to make the entire card. Plus it can be used to wrap the gift itself! I generally wrap my gifts in wrapping paper that looks like Kraft paper (Kraft shipping paper is usually too heavy) and washi tape looks great on the packages. The tag on the left was made by tearing the tape and adhering it directly to the tag. The tag on the right was made by adhering the pieces of tape to a piece of white paper and then cutting the sides into a tree shape. The tag in the middle was easily made using two markers to color just one stamp.


                                      

Don't forget to check out the Weekly Deals before you place your order. Go to the Stampin Up store and click on Weekly Deals.  Note that they change every Tuesday.


Supplies Used

Stamp Set: Seasonal Sayings clear mount (128009); Wishing You (131751)

Cardstock and DSP: Real Red (102482); Whisper White (100730); Silver Glimmer Paper (124005); Red Glimmer Paper (121790); Champagne Glimmer Paper (127885); Cherry Cobbler (119685); Soft Suede (115318)

Ink: Versamark (102283); Cherry Cobbler Marker (119681); Old Olive Marker (100079)

Tools: Merry Minis Punch Pack (126882); 1" Circle Punch (119868); Squares Collection Framelits (130921) 

Accessories: White Embossing Powder (109132); Season of Style Washi Tape (132155); Basic Pearls (119247); Linen Thread (104199)


To order click on the ordering tab above just under the header. You can email me privately with any of your papercrafting questions or ask them in a comment below!

Cyber MondayAdditional Items Added to Holiday Sale!!

As a result of its very successful Holiday Sale Stampin' Up! decided to add a few more 30% off items to the sale for Cyber Monday only! The added items are on sale from midnight MST on Sunday until midnight MST on Monday. They have included some great items to use during the holidays. The most exciting item is the Envelope Liners Framelits Dies. These have been a very hot item this fall. They are great for all your cards. They come in three sizes and perfectly fit the three sizes of Stampin' Up! Envelopes.

As part of the sale promotion I wanted to make a card but I had to make the card before I knew what the additional sale items were since I was going to be away from home on Sunday when the additional items were announced to the demonstrators. I decided to make a Christmas card with the hope I would be lucky and one of the items I used would be added to the sale.  Here is the card I made.





While none on the additional sale items were used on the card there were some very similar items. First notice I lined the envelope with the striped paper from Season of Style Designer Series Paper.  I have been lining envelopes for a while though I had not yet ordered the Liners Framelits. They have been on my wish list since they first came out but they had not yet made it to my actual order - at least until now!! They will be perfect to use to make liners for multiple envelopes for holiday cards. Next I used the small Rhinestone Basic Jewels to accent the little ornaments. The Large Rhinestone Basic Jewels are now part of the sale.

You can see the original sale items by clicking on the Holiday Sale icon on the right side of this page and following are the additional sale items.

These products are 30 percent off for 24 hours on Cyber Monday:

Envelope Liners Framelits Dies (item 132172) $26.95 sale price $18.87




Expressions Thinlits Dies (item 132171) $24.95 sale price $17.47




Holly Jolly Greetings Simply Sent (item 132159) $14.95 sale price $10.47




Snowflake Season Simply Sent  (item 132176) $14.95 sale price $10.47




Extra-Large Gift Box (item 132147) $3.95 sale price $2.77




Large Rhinestone Basic Jewels (item 129324) $4.95 sale price $3.47

In addition to the above sale items Stampin' Up! is having Weekly Deals with each week's deals being posted on Tuesday. Weekly Deals for this week. I would like to particularly point out the following items.

• Regals Markers set which includes the colors - Always Artichoke Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, Crushed Curry, Elegant Eggplant, Garden Green, Island Indigo, Night of Navy, Perfect Plum, and Rose Red. These are $21.71 which is 22 cents each.
  
• Cherry Cobbler Chevron 3/4" Ribbon which is $6.21. This is great for card making and to wrap packages.

Supplies Used

Stamp Set: Wishing You (Wood 131748) (Clear 131751)

Cardstock and DSP: Cherry Cobbler (119685); Gumball Green (126840); Whisper White (100730); Season of Style DSP (132340) Digital (134858)

Ink: Cherry Cobbler (126966)

Tools: Stylish Stripes Embossing Folder (132174)

Accessories: Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246); Gumball Green 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon (126848)


To order click on the ordering tab above just under the header. You can email me with any of your papercrafting questions or ask them in a comment below!

Truly Grateful

Last week I made a card for a special friend. I decided to use the set Truly Grateful. I really love this set and think it is very versatile. The acorn and wheat sheaths are probably limited to fall but the text, log end and chevron design can be used anytime of year. Since I was sending this card in November, fall colors fit right in.  The twist is that it is a birthday card! This person has had some life challenges in the last year. My family and I really are truly grateful for his friendship and for all the lessons we have learned from him about dealing with these challenges. Truly Grateful just seemed like the perfect sentiment for him and his birthday!  Here is the card.

For this card I used the birch paper ribbon included in the Thankful Tablescape Simply Created kit (133463) for one of the background layers but you could also use the Frostwood Lodge DPS Digital Download (125609). That paper includes a birch bark pattern which you can print it out and use on your cards! I have found that the best paper to print on for creating DSP is Hammermill Color Copy Digital Cover.  

Supplies Used:

Stamp Set: Truly Grateful Clear Mount (131733)
Cardstock and DSP: Sahara Sand (121043); Chocolate Chip (102128); Whisper White (100730); Epic Day This and That DSP (130814); Soho Subway DSP (130140)
Ink: Crumb Cake (126975); Chocolate Chip (126979); 2012-2013 In Color Markers (126856); Subtles Markers (131263)
Tools: Woodgrain Embossing Folder (127821); Ovals Collection Framelits (129381)
Accessories: Naturals Designer Buttons (127554); Linen Thread (104199)

To order click on the ordering tab above just under the header. You can email me privately with any of your papercrafting questions or ask them in a comment below!

BIG Holiday Sale! (plus some thoughts on quick inexpensive holiday cards!)

Stampin' Up has announced it's annual Holiday Sale which is taking place now through Monday, December 2, 2013. There are over 50 unique items from both the Annual catalog and the Holiday catalog with some items 40% and 50% off. The items include stamps, cardstock, DSP, punches, Framelits, ribbon, embellishments plus digital items at really great prices! A large number of the items are perfect for your holiday papercrafting! My sale flyer can be viewed, printed or downloaded by clicking on Holiday Sale on the right of this page. 

If you would like to make some holiday cards, tags or decorating items but have not yet bought your supplies NOW is the time!! You can choose from six individual stamps plus three sets. One of the sets contains a great collection of eight sentiments, perfect for the inside of cards.  Then you can add silver and gold ink pads, silver glimmer paper, Silver and Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details, Vintage Faceted buttons, and Gumball Green ribbon. From the Clearance Rack you can receive Cherry Cobbler Scalloped ribbon and Coor'dinations cardstock in Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green or Early Expresso. All of these are great color choices for the Holidays! If you need still more (don't forget envelopes!) you can supplement your supplies from the Annual and Holiday Catalogs.  You can view these catalogs on the right side of this page. You will be totally ready!

I decided to show your how easy it would be to make a very simple card using supplies from the Holiday Sale. Since I have not yet received my new sale supplies, I pulled together some of the sale items that I already had on hand. Here is my card.

This card uses the Holiday Ornaments Framelits Dies which are now 25% off and Silver Glimmer paper which is 30% off (I realize in this photo it looks like champagne glimmer paper, which would also look great, but is not on sale!).  These few items plus some cardstock can be the basis of many great cards and tags. If this card interests you but you don't have a die- cutting machine the Annual Catalog has an ornament punch. It is not on sale but it could be used as a substitute for the ornament dies and the coordinating stamps are included in the sale. One way to quickly step-up this card is to emboss your cardstock with an embossing folder before you cut out the ornaments. I did not do that since there is not an embossing folder included in the sale. Almost any embossing folder would work and there is one on the Clearance Rack - Lacy Brocade that would be absolutely perfect for ornaments!

Now for my card I did cheat a little. Stampin' Up! has a new product called card bases. They are standard card sized pieces of cardstock, precut and pre-scored. They are available in several great holiday colors including Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, and Old Olive. They are not on sale but if you are in a hurry or feel you are paper cutting challenged, they are a perfect answer to creating cards in a shorter time. Here is a great Stampin' Up blog post discussing card bases. Otherwise, if you would like to stick to sale items, you can get the Coor'dinations cardstock from the Clearance Rack at over 50% off. In addition to being used with embossing folders and sanding to expose the core of a different color, Coor'dinations can be used as regular textured cardstock, perfect for cards. Here is a link to the Clearance Rack where you can find it and other great deals on supplies for holiday packaging, cards and decor.  Between the Holiday Sale and the Clearance Rack there are lots of opportunities for great holiday cards!

Supplies Used:

Cardstock: Old Olive cardbases (135809); Cherry Cobbler cardstock (119685); Old Olive cardstock (100702); Silver Glimmer Paper (124005)

Tools: Holiday Ornaments Framelits Dies (127816)

Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you plan your cards and tags.  To order click on the ordering tab above just under the header. You can email me privately with any questions or ask them in a comment below!

97

Recently a very special man I know celebrated his 97th birthday.  In recent years I noticed that as each birthday arrived he became more and more proud of his age! That started me to thinking about making him a card with his age on it just like you see on cards for kids.  When I came across these vintage metal numerals at a flea market I thought they were exactly what I needed for his card. Next I looked for Designer Series Paper to use with the numerals and this Birthday Basics DSP with all the numerals all over it seemed perfect!  The great thing about using DSP on a card is that your color combinations are already pulled together for you. It makes it all so easy!  While this collection of DSP is great for birthdays for all ages, at least one side of each piece can be used for any occasion, making it completely versatile. I then created a mat for the numerals using one of the Chalk Talk Framelits and then cut a second piece out of Brushed Silver cardstock to use as an outline on each end of the mat.

I bought my numerals last summer before the Holiday catalog came out but the Morning Post Numbers clear mount stamp set (131841) in the current Holiday Catalog would also work great on this card or on a similar card for kids or adults alike!


Supplies Used:

Cardstock and DSP: Summer Starfruit (126839); Brushed Silver (126839); Very Vanilla (101650); Birthday Basics (130145)

Tools: Chalk Talk Framelits Dies (129983)

Accessories: Summer Starfruit Ribbon (126846); Silver Mini Brads (122941)


Please email me any questions or ask them in a comment below!

Surprise "Royal" Visit!!!

On Saturday Jeremiah and Brian King paid a surprise visit to the Cottage! They had been to Huntsville Alabama to visit September Gray, fellow member of Brian's InKing Royalty Stampin' Up! group. Going to Huntsville from Atlanta involves a drive over Lookout Mountain. As they drove on their way Brian suddenly realized they were passing thru our area. He gave me a call and I invited them to come by the Cottage on their return to Atlanta which they did! 

We had a short but great visit. Surprisingly there was no real papercrafting talk. Most of the conversation involved food - how good September is at cooking it and how much we all like eating it, especially the not good for you kind! But, we did decide that we would try to schedule a future InKing Royalty group meeting on the mountain! I very much look forward to that since I know what great meetings Brian can host.    

While we have not yet had an official InKing Royalty group meeting, earlier this month Brian, his upline Pam Morris, and fellow demonstrator Katy McGoin hosted a wonderful meeting in Atlanta for members of Mary Fish's Stampin' Pretty Pals. While most of the attendees were from the southeast, some came from several states away. With the prize for farthest distance traveled going to Mary Fish herself! It was an all day event with swaps; make and takes; demonstrations; and games.  

Here are a few pictures taken that day.  I will have more in future posts.  This is a picture of Mary Fish with me. 

Here are the members of InKing Royalty who were in attendance plus Pam, Brian's upline, and Mary her upline.

Front row L to R: Pam, Chris, Allie, September.
Back row L to R: Jeremiah, Brian, Mary, and me.


This is the entire group in attendance.  What a great bunch of people they all are!!!

Best Stampin Up! Deal Ever!!!

This deal extended until midnight Tuesday October 22!!

As part of their 25th Anniversary Celebration Stampin' Up! has announced a fantastic promotion. If you become a Stampin' Up demonstrator between now and October 21 the sign up fee is $25.00.  Why this might be of interest to you?

• For $25-$27 (more about that below) you get $25-$27 worth of Stampin' Up! Product. Ok, so far that doesn't sound like much of a promotion but keep reading!
• You will receive a 20% discount on anything you order until the end of April or for as long after as you remain a demonstrator.
• If you place an order for $150 or more within 45 days of your joining you will receive an additional 10% discount for a 30% total discount.
• You will receive advance access to the Spring Catalog and Sale-A-Bration promotion with the Spring Catalog available around the first of December.
• You will be in the know about all the latest Stampin' Up! info and news.
• If you join under me you will be part of the most amazing papercrafting group ever - Stampin' Pretty Pals!! Mary Fish, www.stampinpretty.com, and Brian King (named first male Stampin' Up Rising Star), www.stampwithbrian.com, will be part of your upline. They are two phenomenal people.  Mary has a Stampin' Pretty Pals Facebook page which provides a way for all of us to communicate, share ideas, and ask questions.  In addition she holds monthly webinars to discuss all the Stampin' Up! news and the latest products. This last weekend Brain and his upline Pam Morris assisted by fellow PAL Kate McGoin hosted a fantastic PALS event in Atlanta. I addition to the quasi-local people, like me, who drove to Atlanta, six PALS flew in from all over the US.  I will be posting more about the event in the next few weeks but Brian has already posted lots of pictures and info on his blog which you should check out. I noticed that one of the commenters on his blog said, "I don’t want to be a demonstrator, but your weekend made me think about it."!
• All of this with no obligation on your part to do anything more!

Now how to join.  Pick product(s) which total(s) exactly $25-27 before taxes.  This can consist of many items or one item. It just has to total $25-$27.  Then email me and I will help you with the registration process. But you may want more stuff than that!  Once you have joined and your order is on its way you can immediately place another order - large or small - and you will receive your 20% discount!  Plus if you want a lot more stuff you can receive 30% off your first $150 order placed within your first 45 days.  What is not to love!!
To make things a little easier I have created a list of individual items which fall in the required price range.  There might be something on the list you have been interested in.  If so, what a perfect time to act - no calculator needed!  Here is my list. Please email me with any questions or put them in the comments below! Stay tuned for more about our fabulous event in Atlanta.