b original

it is time to say good-bye.....

No, it isn't time to say good-bye to either me or my blog, just MANY stamps and accessories found in the Idea Book & Catalog! Every year, Stampin' Up! "retires" many of their stamps and accessories to make room for new products in the next Idea Book & Catalog, and the official lists are here. The retiring stamps are available until May 31st but the retiring accessories are only available while supplies last. I will keep this post at the top of my blog until the new catalog starts, and will update the accessories list each day as the availability of products change.  Click on the link below to print out your own copy -- and as always, let me know if you have questions. --B

Download RetiredStamps_0412 

Download RetiredAccessories_052112

Download RetiredDecorElements_052112

get your summer smooches on

OK, so that title looks a little weird by itself.  Although if you live in Wisconsin, it feels like it IS summer already, which may make it sound even stranger.  But what I'm really talking about is a new line that will be in the upcoming Idea Book & Catalog in June, and Stampin' Up! is giving everyone a sneak-peak.

As ALWAYS when I first saw this on the Demonstrator Website, I wasn't sure exactly what to think. These colors are all so bold and bright and wouldn't necessarily look good together in my humble opinion. However, after I received the product and started playing with it a bit, I realized that Stampin' Up! had done it again! 

All customers will be able to "pre-order" this line of products in April, even though the new Idea Book & Catalog won't be coming out until June 1st. In honor of this sneak-peak, I'll be hosting a Stamp Camp on April 17th from 6-8, in my home. We'll be making several projects (I haven't nailed them down yet) and the cost is just $8. Let me know if you have any questions.

As always, thanks for stopping by!  More to come soon!  --B

Simply Scored Diagonal Plate

I must confess that I wasn't all that impressed with the Simply Scored Scoring Tool or the Diagonal Plate, and didn't rush right out to order either one, when they first became available.  However, after playing with them a bit, I love them both!! Just like the Big Shot, I find myself going back to them time and time again.

I showed you this card earlier (it was one of the swap cards I made), but now you can see it with an envelope that I made too.  I decided to make some extras up in case I'm in need of a card on the quick, and rather than turning it into a full card, I just put a white piece of cardstock on the back and stamped on that -- kind of making it into a postcard.  Since it wasn't a "full" card, I felt a little guilty about sending it to my niece for her Birthday, so I decided to jazz it up a little by putting into a coordinating envelope that I made myself. Obviously, I had to put extra postage on it, for both the hand-stamping and the extra weight, but I think it was worth it (it cost me 65 cents in case you are wondering).

Thanks for stopping by!  --B

 

PRODUCTS USED FOR ENVELOPE:
Stamps: None
Cardstock: Island Indigo
Designer Series Paper: Sweet Shop (from Mini Catalog)
Ink: None
Accessories: Simply Scored Scoring Tool, Simply Scored Diagonal Plate, Sticky Strip Tape 

PRODUCTS USED FOR CARD:
Stamps: Petite Pairs
Cardstock: Island Indigo, Pool Party, Soft Suede, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper: Sweet Shop (from Mini Catalog)
Ink: Island Indigo
Accessories: Basic Rhinestone Jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals, 1-3/8" circle punch, Big Shot Die Cutting Machine, Labels Collection Framelit Dies (the two smallest ones), Textured Impressions Embossing Folders (the hearts) 

swaps I received

I received oodles of wonderful card-fronts at the Regional Convention last weekend, but these three were especially good.

This first one uses some product that will be in the next Idea Book & Catalog, in the Summer Smooches line (that you can pre-order in April). The really cool part of this card is that the flower is actually a pin that comes off, so that you can wear it! Thank You to Debby Krueger!

The next card is so simple, but so elegant.  I usually photograph everything I do on a white background, but since this card is all white, I put some red cardstock behind it so it would pop a little bit more.

I don't know if you can tell from the photo or not, but this card was made by embossing with white embossing powder on white cardstock.  It really looks nice. Thank you to Carla Marquardt!

What impressed me with this last card was how elegant it looked, but also how quickly it could be put together. Always a good thing! Thank you to Liz Craddock!

As always, thanks for checking in!  --B

Swaps that I brought along

A large part of attending any Stampin' Up! event is exchanging ideas with other Demonstrators and one of the easiest ways to get new ideas is by 'swapping' card-fronts with others. I chose to participate in two different organized swaps and that was all I could get finished - one on the bus and one through SUDSOL. In years past I've made over a hundred card-fronts to swap, but then once I got home I didn't really know what to do with the darned things, so they often just sat in a box. This year I chose to take more pictures of the display boards and the demonstrations that we attended.

These are the two card-fronts that I made to bring along...I was almost embarrassed when I saw what I was receiving in return - some stunning cards from some very talented ladies!!

 

 

Tomorrow, I'll show you a few pictures of the swaps I received.  Thanks for stopping by!  --B

Milwaukee Regionals

I had great fun yesterday at the Stampin' Up! Regional Conference in Milwaukee. This is the third time I've attended (they come to Milwaukee every-other-year) and I think this was probably the best one yet.  I learned a ton of new tips and tricks and the day was just a good time overall.  Instead of hanging out with my kids and their friends, I got to hang out with hundreds of stamping maniacs!

One of the best things, was that I FINALLY got to see Shelli Gardner alive in person (she is the Co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up!)! She always attends the National Convention every summer and usually attends the Regional Conferences as well, but the last two times the event was in Milwaukee, her schedule didn't allow her to attend.  She was just as genuine and nice as she looks in all of the pictures you see sprinkled throughout the catalogs and online.  I was even lucky enough to have my picture taken with her!

 

 

I'll be posting pics of some swap samples as soon as I can get them into my computer!  As always, thanks for stopping by!  --B

easy-easy, lemon-squeezy

OK, so that title is a bit corny, but if your life is anything like mine, it is B-U-S-Y!! I seriously don't know how raising three girls can take so much time and energy! I do have little pockets of time where I think I'm all together and have projects completed on time, but most of the time I'm just flyin' by the seat of my pants. This is a sketch that I turn to often, because you can alter it so easily so many different ways and it doesn't require a lot of extra tools to complete it.

Instead of using two different designer series paper patterns, you could replace them with two different coordinating cardstock colors, or you could use one paper and one cardstock; you can replace the ribbon in the middle with cardstock; you can replace the sentiment with an image...the list goes on and on.  I use this OFTEN.

I've been busy making swaps for the upcoming Stampin' Up! Regional Convention in Milwaukee and I'll post those soon.  After I get back from Milwaukee, I'll post pictures of the swaps I received in return along with a few gorgeous samples from the sample boards that Stampin' Up! always puts together.

As always, thanks for checking in!  --B

 

 

 

PRODUCTS USED:

STAMPS: Sweet Cake (Occasions Mini)
CARDSTOCK: Indigo Island, Whisper White, Riding Hood Red
DESIGNER SERIES PAPER: Twitterpated (Occasions Mini)
INK: Riding Hood Red
ACCESSORIES: Pear Pizzazz Stitched-Poly Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

a wee bit of Irish

As I mentioned before in a previous post, I have not an ounce of Irish blood running though my veins. I am just a stubborn Norwegian with a large heaping of German-temper thrown in for good measure (my husband actually thinks my temper can be so brutal that I must have some Italian in me too). Anyway, the only time in my life that I've celebrated St. Patrick's Day was back in college and then there was some nasty green beer involved, and I sure don't want to go back to THAT again.  Blah. But my husband does have some Irish blood running through his veins so I'm trying to keep St. Patrick's Day on my brain this year. I'm still searching for tasty recipes, so if you have any, please pass them along.

Here is a super-quick card that I put together that we'll probably send on to my husband's aunt who lives in Nebraska. My middle daughter adores her, and they have been pen-pals ever since she was old enough to write to her, so we put together at least one card for every holiday of the year that gets sent her way.

As always, thanks for stopping by...and Happy Stamping!  --B

 

 

PRODUCT USED:

Stamps: Got Treats
Cardstock: Garden Green, Certainly Celery, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Garden Green
Accessories: Designer Buttons (garden green from Regals collection and certainly celery from Subtles collection), Whisper White Organza Ribbon, Basic Pearl Jewels, 1-3/4" circle punch, 1/16" hand-held punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Glue Dots (for the ribbon and the buttons), Big Shot die cutting machine and Scallop Squares Duo die (I used the larger square on the die)

sab inspiration

Here is another super-easy-peasy-quick card that I put together in less than 10 minutes. I actually made this card at a stamp camp with a great new bunch of gals, but I like the simplicity of it so much, that I'll probably make it again and again.  I chose to use one of the butterflies on the 'Beautiful Butterflies' die and then ran it through the 'Vintage Wallpaper' embossing folder, using my Big Shot, but you could also get an embossed butterfly just using the 'Beautiful Wings' embosslit die.

As always, thanks for checking in, and happy stamping!  --B

 

PRODUCT USED:

STAMPS: Elementary Elegance (from sab catalog)
CARDSTOCK: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy
DESIGNER SERIES PAPER: Well Worn
INK: Early Espresso 
ACCESSORIES: Basic Pearl jewels, paper snips (to be able to get a good close edge around the stamped image), Curly Label punch, Big Shot die cutting machine, Beautiful Butterflies die, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder

 

are ye a little irish?

I'm not at all Irish but my sure husband is, and EVERY SINGLE YEAR I make a promise to myself to celebrate St. Patty's Day more and then EVERY SINGLE YEAR I don't do it. Well, not this year! He is always wanting me to make him Corned Beef, so if you have a good recipe for it, please pass it on. I hate the stuff, but since I force my Norwegian heritage on him the other 364 days of the year, I guess I'm thinking I should make him some anyway.

Trying to get into the Irish spirit, I made up some St. Patty's Day cards and plan to make up some little treats too. Here is one of the cards that I made:

My apologies for the glare on the photo - I sure wish I had a better place to take my pictures. Anyway, this little guy is in the stamp set 'Gnome Sweet Gnome' in the Occasions Mini Catalog. I added the little shamrock from the stamp set 'Every Little Bit', found in the main Catalog.  I lined everything up using my handy stamp-a-ma-jig and colored him in using markers.

Thanks for stopping by!  --B

MATERIALS USED:

STAMPS: Every Little Bit, Gnome Sweet Gnome, Teeny Tiny Wishes
CARDSTOCK: Garden Green, Basic Black, Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery
INK: Black Stazon, Garden Green; Wild Wasabi marker, Garden Green marker, Daffodil Delight marker, Riding Hood Red marker, Certainly Celery marker, Blush Blossom marker
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot & 'Square Lattice' embossing folder, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Modern Label punch, Garden Green brads (from Regals collection), 1/16" hole punch, White gel pen, Stamp-a-ma-jig 

more inspiration

I've found another blog that I just LOVE when I need a little inspiration to get me going - it's called Freshly Made Sketches and their stuff just "works" for me.  Be sure to check them out!

Here is a copy of this week's sketch:

And this is what I came up:

I loved this sketch so much, that I came up with two more cards using it:

As always, thanks for checking!  --B

CARD #1 

STAMPS: Awash with Flowers, Teeny Tiny Wishes
CARDSTOCK: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant, Wonder Wisteria
INK: Elegant Eggplant, Wonder Wisteria, Lucky Limeade
ACCESSORIES:  Big Shot & 'Stripes' textured embossing folder, Modern Label punch, Basic Pearl Jewels, Sticky Strip tape, Stampin' Dimensionals

CARD #2

STAMPS: Turtle & Co
CARDSTOCK: Not Quite Navy, Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, Always Artichoke
INK: Stazon Black inkpad; Always Artichoke marker, Lucky Limeade marker, Daffodil Delight marker, Not Quite Navy marker 
ACCESSORIES: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Stampin' Dimensionals

CARD #3

STAMPS: Look Who's Turning
CARDSTOCK: Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo, Elegant Eggplant, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White 
INK: Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Elegant Eggplant
ACCESSORIES: Daffodil Delight brads (from Brights collection), Stamp-a-ma-jig, 1/16" hole punch