Become A Demonstrator, Get More Ideas!

Ideas for cards, ideas for boxes, ideas for gifts, ideas for scrapbooking...

That's what we all want, right? Well as part of the Stampin' Up! family of Demonstrators, we have access to thousands of extra project ideas, and endless box & gift pattern templates. And I'd like to share that with you!

You might remember this card from a few weeks ago, when I posted it as my swap card for the Stampin' Up! Convention. It was one of the cards shared on the Stamper's Showcase last week--a section of the Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Website reserved for creative card or scrapbooking ideas.

I couldn't resist adding "one more thing" though, for another sample. Here's the version that uses the Stampin' Write In Color Markers:

My card made one more appearance last week... in the mailboxes of all the Demonstrators in my LovenStampfuls Group who participated in my recent New Catalog Open House Challenge! Here are just a few of the 25+ kits that went out last week. Congrats to all who participated! Each kit has a stamped sample plus supplies for 10 cards to use as a Make N Take or class project, or just to stamp on your own or with friends.

Kits also went out to the new Demonstrators who signed with me in July and August... it's not too late to join our family and receive your own kit though!

Don't forget, TODAY, MONDAY the 31st, is the LAST DAY to sign up with the $85 Mini Starter Kit special, or get the bonus 6 ink pads and cardstock with the $199 Starter Kit!!



To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Where Did You Say to Put that Ink?

I absolutely LOVE this technique! As stampers and scrapbookers we are so accustomed to using our supplies in 'traditional' ways, so I love having an 'out of the box' idea.

With this technique you're going to ink your Big Shot Textured Impressions Folder, not your stamp or your cardstock!



If you're excited about this project, don't miss the chance to sign up for my Big Shot Die of the Month Club for September -- this is one of the cards that you'll have a chance to make as part of the club. You can learn more or sign up for the club by visiting my website.



To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Stamps: Oval All Inks: Elegant Eggplant Paper: Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant Accessories: Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Big Shot, Stampin' Up! Elegant Bouquet Impressions Folder, Brayer,

Simple Stamping Challenge: Stamps, Ink and Paper

With our projects these days, it seems like there is ALWAYS 'something more' or 'one more thing', as I like to say. Well sometimes it's nice to just have a card that uses the basic supplies: stamps, ink and paper.

Basic doesn't mean simple or plain, it just means that there aren't a lot of doo-dads on the finished project.

Here's a card that I designed with just that goal in mind: limit myself to stamps, ink and paper. Think "SIP": Stamps, Ink and Paper...

Of course there were a few more products involved in creating the card though! I'm calling the technique "Reversed Texturz", and it uses the Big Shot Textured Impressions Embossing Folders. The folder I used here is the Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder.

Directions are pretty simple:

• Use your Brayer to apply ink evenly to the side of the Impressions Folder with the depressions.
• Place your cardstock in the folder.
• Run folder through the Big Shot as usual.
• Enjoy the magic!

I also have a free Video Tutorial available for this project--be sure to check it out soon.

And if you really like this project, you'll be excited to hear that it's one of the projects in my September Big Shot Die of the Month Club! You can learn more or sign up on my website...

To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Stamps: Oval All
Inks: Elegant Eggplant
Paper: Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant
Accessories: Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Big Shot, Stampin' Up! Elegant Bouquet Impressions Folder, Brayer,

Love Dogs? And It's Your Birthday?

I created this card today with pet lovers in mind... What dog aficionado wouldn't be happy to receive a greeting with paw prints across the front, inside and over the envelope? I love dogs, but the part of this card that jumps out at me is the "EAT CAKE" right in the greeting ;-)

Even better? That greeting is from the Everything Nice stamp set that I received as part of an award at the Stampin' Up! Convention this summer! I love free stamps! (especially when they refer to cake) If you're interested in becoming a demonstrator, there are only a few days left til the $85 Mini Starter Kit special is over!


It's hard to tell from the picture, but the Whisper White background is textured with the Polka Dot texture from the Stampin' Up! Backgrounds for the Big Shot.

The other trick that's hard to see? The full card is 5x5" to fit in the Square Envelope. The Designer Series Paper is cut to 4-3/4 x 4-3/4" and has the Scallop Circle Big Shot Die cut out of the center, so that the Whisper White layer shows through the hole. The nice part of using the 'negative' paper from the Scallop Circle Die is that I still have the large Razzleberry Lemonade Scallop Circle to use on another project!

This card is very similar to a set of Big Shot Butterfly cards that I created last summer. Check out the layout--look familiar? :-) No use reinventing the wheel, all I had to do was update the colors to the current 2009-2010 In Colors and add the cute paw prints.




To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Stamps: Everything Nice (113818), On Your Birthday (111664), P is for Paw Stampin' Around Wheel (115620)
Inks: Melon Mambo (115656)
Paper: Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Series Paper (115675), Melon Mambo (115320), Whisper White (100730)
Accessories: Big Shot (113439), Stampin' Up! Backgrounds I Texturz Plates (114512), Scallop Circle Die (113468), Melon Mambo Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon (115611), Clear Rhinestone Brad (113144), Heart to Heart Punch (113694), Scallop Edge Punch (112091)

Big Shot Baby: 2009 Convention Commercial Contest

I wanted to share with you... I checked with Stampin' Up!, and they said yes, I could post the video that I submitted for the 2009 Convention Commercial Contest.



***Disclaimer: no Big Shots were harmed in the filming of this commercial

I promise this wasn't staged... Tucker was playing with my Big Shot, and my camera was handy! Since the commercial was selected as the 3rd Place Winner for the Contest, I'm letting my kids use the Stampin' Up! Shopping Spree that we won. Abby's first choice? The new Pony Party stamp set!

And of course, if you're interested in becoming a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and attending a Regional near you, I'd be happy to help you! You can learn more on my website!


To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!

As seen on TV ;-)
Big Shot (113439), Stampin' Scrub (102642),

Stamping Question #234: How to Stamp for a Guy?

I have no idea what happened to questions 1 through 233, but maybe they'll come up sometime in future posts ;-) In the meantime, let's tackle question #234... how to make a masculine card using your Stampin' Up! supplies.

It can be tricky... we're used to ribbons, glitter, hearts & flowers, etc., and a card just looks 'naked' without those fancy embellishments.

Here are a few tips for making a card without the 'girlfriend glitz', plus a sample for using the tips:

1. Play up the texture: try a no-frills background, like this one using the Big Shot Texturz Plates
   
2. Go for a geometric motif: think squares or circles and repeating patterns, like the grid layout here, or the circle motif repeated in the background and the dots on the cakes.
   
3. Use a non-glam embellishment: think buttons, brads or in this case, lots of Stampin' Dimensionals (and Crystal Effects in the sample down below)
4. Pick guy colors: open up a store ad from the Sunday paper and see what colors the boys are wearing--you can bet it won't be pinks and purples. These colors are all from the 2009-2010 In Color set, Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay, Dusty Durango and Soft Suede.

So there you have it, a great guy card, and not a ribbon or flower or heart in site! The On A Pedestal stamp set could be pretty girl-y if you let it, but take some of those tips into consideration and you can pass the set off for any man on your card list!



To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Stamps: On A Pedestal (115814)
Inks: In Color Stampin' Write Markers
Paper: Dusty Durango, Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede
Accessories: Big Shot, Stampin' Up! Backgrounds Texturz Plates, 1-3/8" Square Punch, Stampin Dimensionals

Taste of Convention Online Drawing

We had a fabulous time on Friday evening at my Taste of Convention event! I'm already looking forward to our next Open House -- for the Holiday Mini Catalog!!

Here are the details--mark your calendar, because the Mini Catalog products are REALLY EXCITING and you're going to want to see them in person :-)

Holiday Mini Catalog Open House
Friday, October 2nd
5:30 to 7:30 pm
Hilton Garden Inn, Champaign, IL

We had about 65 guests attend our Taste of Convention, and 14 demonstrators from my LovenStampfuls group participated. Everyone seemed to enjoy the Make N Take projects--and of course the door prize drawings!

And in addition to the drawings AT the event, I held a special drawing for a free stamp set, and made 'virtual tickets' for people who couldn't attend the event and instead placed orders with me online this past week. I put the numbers for the virtual tickets in the Random Number Generator at www.random.org, and let the website pick the winner...

And the winner is...

Shelley R.! Congrats Shelley--I'll be emailing you directly so you can let me know which set you'd like to select :-)
If you didn't win, don't worry--your name is still in the running for my FREE Stamp Set of the Month drawing!


To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Which Scrapbook is that on the Shelf?

School started here today--I guess that makes this the official end of Summer, right? The official end of Summer Scrap Camp was actually 2 weeks ago, but I wanted to share the Album Tags that the girls created for the books that they've been working on all summer.

Problem: I love these 6x6" Stampin' Up! Linen Albums -- they're my favorite size to work with for a single summer or a favorite vacation or holiday. But I end up with a row of 10 albums on my shelf, and I want to know which album is which!

Solution: Album Tags!! Shelli Gardener showed some fabulous Album Tag ideas a few years ago at the Stampin' Up! Convention, and I've been adapting her idea and creating them for my own books ever since.


This particular tag uses the Long Board Chipboard, and I used my Tombow MultiAdhesive (love that stuff!) to attach a scrap of Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Series Paper to the chipboard before I ran it through my Big Shot using the Stampin' Up! Pennant Bigz XL Die. The little "A" is for 'Abby', and it comes from the On Board Lots of Letters chipboard set. I covered the letter with Pixie Pink Craft Ink, and left some of the natural chipboard color to show through, adding a little extra texture.

And what little girl doesn't like a little bit of bling?! The pink Square Rhinestone from the Fire set adds just that perfect accent, and the Crushed Curry Polka Dot Gingham Ribbon ties the tag onto the album.

Want to see how the tag is attached? It's simple--the ribbon is just looped through the ring on the Linen Album, and the Rhinestone Brad holds it onto the tag. This way the tag can hang on the side of the book if the album is stacked on a shelf, or hang on the front of the book, if the album is lying on a table.


To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Inks: Pixie Pink Craft Pad
Paper: Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Series Paper
Accessories: Big Shot, Stampin' Up! Pennant Bigz XL Die, Fire Rhinestone Brads, Crushed Curry Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Tombow Multi-Adhesive, Long Board Chipboard Sheets, 6x6" Linen Ring Album (Natural)

Perfect Pirate Party Planning

Have you seen the new Pirate and Princess Party kits in person yet? If not, you'll want to be sure to check out this video on my Demonstrator Website, and look at all the fun you and the special kids in your life can have with these products!

And really, if you've priced party supplies lately, these kits are a bargain at $15.95 each. Plus you know you're getting high-quality Stampin' Up! products.



To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Princess Party Kit: 116214
Pirate Party Kit: 116213

You Mean You Can Cut WOOD with that Big Shot?

Yup! The new Stampin' Up! Wood Sheets Texture Cuts will go through your Big Shot Die Cut Machine like butta... (that's butter, for non-SNL fans out there ;-)

This is the collection of projects that you'll have a chance to make on Friday evening at my FREE Taste of Convention event. Don't they look fun? Don't they make you want to RSVP now? Don't they make you want to invite a friend to join you? Hee hee... okay, maybe that's just hopeful on my part, but really, this is going to be a fabulous event and you don't want to miss it!


And if you can't make it on Friday (I know you want to, but I understand that it's not always possible!), then here are some highlights for you on these fabulous products, so you won't miss out completely:

• Wood Cut leaf on top of the box: That's cut with the Leaves #2 Big Shot Die (113459), and the Texture Cuts wood sheets (116309) come in a package of four sheets, nearly 6x14" each.
• The Designer Series Paper on all these projects is from the new Autumn Traditions pack (115668), and it's a must-have for your fall projects.
• The box itself is a new one, Stampin' Up! Itty Bitty Box & Envelope (115697). Yes, it's a super-easy box and yes the little envelope cuts right with the box. The envelope easily fits a 2x2" card.
• Very Vanilla Envelopes: they're textured with the new Stampin' Up! Perfect Details Texturz Plate (115962). What a bargain for that single plate, and yes, the pattern styles are very flexible.
• Get Well Wishes card: the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set (115370) is one of my new favorites. I actually used it here on the 'thank you' card, too. And if you're wondering about the new Stampin' Up! Elegant Bouquet Impressions Embossing Folder, yes, that technique uses the Sanding Blocks, and I have a Video Tutorial posted on my blog.
  
• Leaf card: Autumn Harvest stamp set (110372) is one of my favorites. I used it last fall for a kid-stamping event with my local Park District. The scattered lines of the drawing style give the simple images a little extra bulk and pizazz.
  

Hope to see you on Friday night, and if you can't make it, don't forget that you can still enter my drawing for FREE stamp sets on Friday if you place an order online through my website before Friday night!


To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Stampin' Around with 200 Kids

This past Saturday was a stamp-filled day! The Champaign Park District held their annual Downtown Festival of the Arts: a chance to close down all the major streets and fill them with artists, artwork and shoppers. As a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, I participated in the Little Artist's Alley and offered a craft to kids of all ages (age 1 through... well... quite a bit older than that ;-)


Top Ten Reasons to Love the Downtown Festival of Arts:

10. FREE parking in downtown lots
9. Lunches from Aroma Cafe (yum!)
8. Excuse to walk right down the middle of the street (it's the kid in me ;-)
7. $2 Pina Colada Smoothies from Jim Gould's (yum!)
6. Happy visits from kids & parents that stamped with me at this event last year
5. Stampin' Around Wheel choices: puppy paws, pink skulls or cupcakes
4. Lots of invitations to my FREE Friday Taste of Stampin' Up! event
3. Post-stamping expressions of "WAY COOL, I did that!"
2. Excitement over upcoming Holiday Mini Catalog release of Build-A-Bear items
1. Over 200 Happy Stampers going home with fun lunchbags!

Looking for another fun Stampin' Around Wheel project? Here's a tutorial that I posted awhile back, including directions on how to create custom stationary in a snap.



To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!

To order your own Stampin' Around Wheels, visit my online ordering site above and search for "stampin around", then select "jumbo wheels" or "standard wheels" from the 'category' menu. For Jumbo Wheels, be sure to add the Jumbo Handle (103661) to your order, or for Standard Wheels, the Standard Handle (102971). Ink cardtridges in many colors can be found using the "Stampin' Around" category after you search.

Taste of Stampin' Up! Convention -- Don't Miss It!

My upcoming week is consumed with getting ready for this fun event... we're going to have a BLAST!
Do you live in the Champaign, Illinois area? I hope you're free on Friday night--you won't want to miss out! You can RSVP online: http://tasteofconventionmeg.eventbrite.com
If you don't live in central Illinois or can't come on Friday, you can still participate! I'll do a special drawing JUST for orders placed online this week. The tickets will be the same (see below for the details) and I'll give away one stamp set for every 5 orders placed.

But if you can join us on Friday, here are the details!!

Taste of Convention
Friday, August 21st
5:30-7:30 pm
Hilton Garden Inn, Champaign, IL (Alumni Ballroom)

Wish you could spend 4 fabulous days doing nothing but STAMPING?!
That’s what we do at the Stampin’ Up! Annual Convention in Salt Lake City, and we’re excited to bring the experience home to you in Champaign!

Don’t miss this fabulous FREE event, and a chance to see what we learned.
You won’t want to miss this event and all that we’re offering:

• SIX (6) FREE Make N Take Stations, you take them all home!
• Demonstrations
• Displays
• Drawings for FREE STAMP SETS every 30 minutes

earn 1 drawing ticket for:
*Each $15 you order
*Attending the Open House
*Setting a date for a September / October workshop
*10 tickets if you order the “I Want It All” Kit!! (Special $85 kit in August!)

Plan to stop by after work! Bring a new friend with you for an extra bonus gift. You’ll want to be sure to bring your Wish List along with you so that you’re ready to put your order in – the drawings begin at 6 pm and each $15 you order gets you an extra chance to win FREE stamps!

RSVP optional but appreciated


To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!

FREE Stamp Set of the Month Winner is...

For July, the lucky FREE Stamp Set of the Month winner will receive the Limited Edition (and retired) Goody Goody Gumdrops stamp set. This was a Level 3 Hostess Stamp Set, available to those who hosted a Stampin' Up! party that totaled $500 or more.

I assigned everyone a number and had Random.org choose the winner.
And the winner is....
Amy S.! Congrats, Amy!

Good news! You can still enter for my August drawing! Just place an order through my online ordering system. You get an entry for each online order you place through my website during a month. In August, I'll be giving away another Goody Goody Gumdrops stamp set!

To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Party Picks: Make Your Own Cupcake Toppers

If you've been following my blog, you know that we just celebrated my mom's 70th birthday a few weeks ago. I wanted to share one more project that helped set the stage and create the theme at her party. Do you ever see the little plastic cupcake toppers in the bakery? They can really dress up a cupcake, but they aren't always the exact theme you want. For example, there were no "70 years" picks in the bakery when I dropped through ;-)

So I decided to make my own toppers, and I didn't limit them to the cupcakes either. We used them in the veggie tray, the silverware basket, pretty much anywhere that we could stick a bamboo skewer!

• 

Here's how we created them:

• Start with a 1-3/8" Circle Punch, in coordinating cardstock. Place a Pop-Up Glue Dot in the center of the cardstock circle.
• Press the end of a bamboo skewer into the glue dot, then place a 2nd glue dot on top of the skewer end.
  
• Add a die-cut Scallop Circle (from the Pennant Banner Bigz XL die). These were leftover from the banner pieces that I cut for the same party from the Kaleidoscope Designer Series Paper.
• Decorate the front of the Scallop Circle with whatever fits your theme. I used the Stampin' Up! Alphabet Simple Numbers die set to die-cut the "70". I also added several pieces cut with the Cherry Blossom Embosslits.
• Add glitter--doesn't everything look better with glitter? ;-)

To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Back To School Projects for Kids: Notebooks

Looking for a few last summer projects to complete together before your kids head back to school? Here's one that the girls did last month for Summer Scrap Camp. They used several Big Shot dies, and the background paper on the right side was created using the Flower Fancy stamp set and Watercolor Wonder Crayons. I find that Watercolor Wonder Crayons and AquaPainters are a favorite tool set for kids, beginning around age 5 or 6.


A few tips for stamping with kids:

• Choose projects open to creativity: while most adults like to see a sample and copy it, most kids like to create something that's uniquely theirs. Give them instruction on how to use high-quality art tools, and let them go to town.
• Limit some choices: don't give them access to every tool or color under the sun. Kids are more successful in their projects if they have a few colors that are designed to match each other. A perfect choice would be to use all Bold Brights color family inks or cardstocks, since you know the colors will mesh well.
• Add glitter: enough said, right? Be sure to contain the glitter though, or you'll be wearing it for weeks. I like to use the Stampin' Up! Powder Pals, since the trays have spouts for pouring excess glitter back into the containers.
  
• Pick 'useful' projects: kids are proud of their art and like to keep it around. Projects like treasure boxes, photo frames or notebooks will be handy and popular
  

And one more Stampin' Up! Convention detail... this yummy bouquet from Edible Arrangements was delivered to me yesterday! Thanks so much to all my LovenStampfuls and Impeckable Stampers friends for the gift! You all inspire me so much...and the fruit basket has been a huge hit with my family :-)


To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Stamps: Flower Fancy (111578)
Inks: Basic Gray (109120),
Paper: Rose Red (102544), Cameo Coral (100475), Whisper White (100730), Pretty in Pink (100459),
Accessories: Scallop Border Punch (112091), Big Shot (113439), Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die (114507), Serif Essentials Alphabet Dies (113464), Metallic Eyelets (105319), Crop-A-Dile (108362), Rich Regals Watercolor Wonder Crayons (106698), Aquapainters (103954), Cosmo Fine Glitter Stack (108796), 2-Way Glue Pen (100425), Powder Pals (102197)