Thinking of You

This card I received from a good friend the other day. It's a sympathy card for the recent loss of my Grandma. I really appreciate her thinking of me. The card is beautiful. I love the colors she used and as you can see in the below picture this card has great dimension. Alyssa makes really beautiful cards. You can see more of her creations in the Guest Stamper Label of my blog.

Thanks again Alyssa. You are a great stamper and a wonderful friend!

NEW Clearance Section of SU! Online Store

Stampin' Up has just opened up a NEW Clearance Section of the online Store. Click HERE to be taken directly to my store. These items are while supplies last and I don't know how fast they will go so if you see something you like your better snatch it up quick. You will notice that these items are retired goodies and the prices you cant beat! Up to 80% off on some. They even have some of my favorites: Felt Flurries and the Rope Twine. Both of those are absolutely adorable on Christmas cards and gift tags. Happy Shopping!

Final Week to Register for Stamp Camp

We are nearing the deadline for registration to the Holiday Stamp Camp. This event will be on October 17th (two sessions to choose from) in Tracy, CA. For more information please email me right away. All registration forms need to be in by October 6th if you plan of attending. Just by attending not only will you be able to make a stack of beautiful holiday cards but you will be win a door prize, see hundreds of projects ideas, be entered in the Grand Prize and have a great time with a bunch of "Stampin" friends. If you already have your registration form then be sure to send it in right away, if you need one please email me so I can get one to you. Hope you can all make it!

Patterned Pines

Today I have another Christmas card for you. This card was made with the New Patterned Pines set that can be found in the Holiday Mini. But you may notice it doesn't have a price that is because it's a Level One Hostess set. So if you love this set you have to book a party! I also used the small snowflake from the Short and Sweet set for the back ground of the card.

In this picture you will see the inside of the card. I really like the big snowflakes that went with the Patterned Pines set but I thought that it was a little too big for the front of the card. Then I thought why stop at the from on the card? So I decorated the inside as well.

This flat style bow is made with a few small cut pieces of ribbon. You can attach your pieces together with Sticky strip and attach to your card. This is just another reason to hang on to all those scraps.

Blog Enhancements

Sorry no pictures today just some Blog Enhancements. I have spent some time going back through all of my previous postings (all 225 of them.) Which really isn't a lot. I am still a newbie. I was sometimes cringing along the way at some of my pictures and postings. Sometimes I was thinking, "why did I post that?" Crooked pictures, fuzzy pictures, some that are projects that I just didn't like. I do try to give variety in my work because I know that everyone has a different style. I do notice that I lean toward the cutesy, kiddie thing a lot though. But what can I say, I have two little ones that provide me with a lot of work. Anyway, what I have done to make my blog (hopefully) a bit easier for you to navigate on is broke my labels into categories for you. Now not only will my LinkWithIn try to connect you with related posting that you might enjoy but now you can easily search based on categories. So, if you need a Masculine card you can click and see all the cards I have posted related to Masculine cards. Same goes for other categories such as Birthdays, Sympathy, or For the Kiddies. There are also some categories based on Tools such as: Big Shot, Simply Scrappin Kits, Quick Tips, and more. I hope this helps you when navigating on my blog and gives you more inspiration when looking for the right card for that special occasion. As always I love feed back so please let me know what I can do to improve my blog more for you.

Little Pumpkin Favors

I have seen a lot of these little guys around and so I made one just to see how cute they are in person. Yep, they are cute. These would be so cute out as decorations for Halloween. Or how cute would they be on each place setting at your Thanksgiving dinner? Each little pumpkin uses 10 Round Tab punches. Give it a try they are super easy and cute. I made just one as a sample but look how some stampers can take it to the next level: Pumpkin Patch. Isn't that cute? Some people are so talented.

Back to School

Well actually since she has never been to school before it is just "to school." We are so proud of our little "BIG" girl. She recently started preschool and these are her new school pictures. Isn't she a doll? I am such a proud mama. This is the card I made to send out her pics in. I was having a really hard time designing a card for school. I wanted to coordinated the colors of the card with what she was wearing. So I chose Soft Suede, Old Olive, and Melon Mambo. Not sure if you can see what I was going for but I used the Full Heart Punch to make an apple. I added some linen thread for the apple stem and a couple leaves from my Lovely Leaves Sizzlit. This is just the first of a bunch of cards I still have to make so I better get to work.

Merry and Bright

Here is another card I made with my Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin Kit. I have been a bit distracted lately and I actually almost forgot to post today. I woke up this morning with nothing to share with you. After looking through my supplies and going through old cards, I decided to pull out my Simply Scrappin Kit and a whip somethin' up real quick. It got me thinking too. These kits are really fun. For those of you (like me at times) that love to make cards but sometimes feel like making 20 of the same card is a little boring and repetitious then these kits are perfect. The kit alone gives you plenty of supplies to make a stack of cute coordinating but different cards. But if you want to step it up a notch you can always add in many different coordinating embellishments such as brads, eyelets, ribbon and more. I really love this kit so I hope to have more goodies for you to look at soon.

Blog Candy

I know I have been promising that I would do a redraw for the blog candy I offered last month and I keep forgeting to do it. So today is the day. I used the original comments from the August 13th posting. Then using a true random number generator at Random.org our new winner was selected. Here is the winning comment:

Hi Niki!

I love checking the blog everyday and love that there is always a new entry! You give me tons and tons of inspiration! Not to mention, all the advice when I don't know how to do something! Keep up the good work! I'm sure this milestone is only the first of many!~Alyssa

Thank you for the wonderful comment Alyssa. You will have your goodies shortly. Again thanks for all the sweet comments.

Double Birthday Party

Ava and Sam were invited to a double birthday party of their cousins Alexa and Shaina. Because I thought they both needed their own present to give out I made two cards too. I thought it would be cute if Big Sister Ava gave her gift to Alexa and Little Sister Sammie gave her's to Shaina. Ava/Alexa. Sammie/ Shaina. Cute, huh? Maybe that is only cute to me. Anyway, here are the similar but different cards that I made for the girls. This design was Disney inspired. You know that commercial where someone peeks in an envelope and the fun balloons pop out? That was what I had in my head. I am not sure if I achieved the look but that's what I was going for. Hope they like them.

Stamp Camp Reminder

Our Holiday Stamp Camp is coming! You don't want to miss this event. Come and join us for a fun day of Stampin'. At this stamp camp you will make a variety of different holiday themed cards, will win a prize and have a chance to win the GRAND PRIZE. This is a great event to jump start your holiday season and get great ideas for this year's holiday cards and projects. We will have hundreds of cards and projects on display for you to take pictures of so don't forget your camera. For full stamp camp details and a registration form please contact me ASAP. Don't hesitate on this one. Stamp Camp fills up fast and I would love to have YOU there!

Little Pumpkin Party

These are the little invites that just went out for Ava and Sammie's "little pumpkin party". We are having a toddler friendly pumpkin decorating party with all of our little pals. Because carving makes me nervous with little ones we will be using stickers, paint, markers, pipe cleaners and more to decorate our pumpkins. As the invite says, "No pumpkins will be harmed in the making of this party." We will also have some other exciting goodies too. The girls are excited to see all their friends. The invite is mostly punch art but the little spider comes from the Eat ,Drink and Be Scary stamp set. I used some Old Olive Scraps for the vines on my pumpkin and I rolled them around a small dowel to get them to curl. How do they look?............Why are my pictures so crooked? I must have been in a real hurry;)

Class Favors

I found these little ornaments while blog surfing the other day. I wish I could link it back to the creator but I forgot to bookmark it and now I cant find the spot....Sorry. Just know that the idea was copied and not my original. I did change the color and add the little circle tag but the 3D look was cased. I had so much fun creating these that I decided to make a few of them and give them as favors at my Tag Box class last night. I can see these little guys hanging all over a small Christmas tree. Wouldn't they be cute? Or maybe as a tag for a gift bag? I have to tell you I am having so much fun with this set and punch. I just cant stop using it!

Rock and Roll

This card was a make and take I recently did at a party. I used the popular For All You Do set. This set is a two-step stampin set. That means that you can stamp the stem in one color and the flowers in another. But just to take the look one step further we did some "Rock and Rolling" on the large flower. For those of you who don't know what that is I would love to show you at our next party or class. I think that technique really adds a lot to the look of the card. And it is a real Wow! for new stampers. I think the ladies enjoyed this card and all the cards came out great looking!

Simply Scrappin Card

As promised here is the card that went along with the page that I made at my last party. Both use the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin Kit. This card was really quick and I used it to show the ladies at the party how you can easily use our wonderful Simply Scrappin Kits for scrapbook pages and cards. I think they are perfect for beginners and advanced stampers (even though there is no stamping involved.) Maybe you just don't have a ton of time to put something together. Simply Scrappin Kits are nice to have around just for those situations. Need a card quick? These self adhesive embellishments save you steps and look adorable. The only thing I added to my card was a bit of the 5/8" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon.

Christmas Jingle

Here is one of the Progressive pages that I did for a party last night. I had a big group of first time stampers so I was glad I went with the Simply Scrappin kit. They are perfect for beginner Scrapbookers and I showed them how easy our kits are to turn into cards as well. This page was put together in a snap and looks great. I will show you the card I made tomorrow. We also made two projects I will also share with you slowly. I had a really great time last night and I hope all the ladies did too. If any of them are reading now, thanks for coming last night. I hope you had fun and learned something new!

Treat Boxes

These new Treat Boxes caught my eye when the new catalog came out. I thought these were perfect for the holidays. If you bake these are the perfect way to give co-workers, neighbors or friends a little treat. I am using these for my hostess gifts. My hostess tonight will receive one. But if you want to know what is inside then you have to book a party. These bags are perfect on their own but they are fun to embellish as well. I added a bit of the Double Stitched Ribbon to mine and finished with a "thank you" stamp from my Short and Sweet set that I punched out with my Modern Label Punch. Quick and Simple, that's what I like.

Big Shot Hero

I am trying my hardest to embed this video here on my blog for you but it just wont work. I wasn't able to go to Convention this year but I found this video that was shown there. Before Convention started there was a contest put out to all the demonstrator to come up with a creative video showcasing one of the Stampin Up products. I wish I had this kind of talent and creativity to come up with something but this group takes the cake! When you get a chance watch this video. It is so funny! Let me know what you think. I cant wait to go to convention next year. Now with a bit of Jerry McGuire in my voice....WWWhhhhoooo's comin' with me?????

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lanvWxV3YA

Big Shot Halloween Costumes

I don't know why, but whenever it is time to take a picture my girls always have the goofiest smiles. Those are faces only a mother could love, right? Anyway, as you can see Ava and Sammie are ready for Halloween already. I started these early because I didn't know how long they would take me and because I don't sew at all I was worried.

Luckily thanks to my Big Shot and my favorite new Die (well new to me at least) Stars#2 these were pretty simple. I didn't even have to sew. I used Farbi-Tac for most of the design which can be found at a fabic store.

I was a bit worried at first when Ava said,"I don't want to be a super hero." So I decided to work on Sam's costume first so I could give Ava some time to warm up to the idea. I know I will be stuck with Princesses for the next 10 years anyway. As expected, once Sam had her costume on Ava wanted one too. Just call it Mommy's Manipulation;)

Now I just have to finish them off with some Superhero tools like flashlights, squirt guns and glow stick necklaces for Halloween night. What do you think?

New Stampin Tool

I love when talented Stampers create these wonderful tools and share them with all of us to make our Stampin experience that much more enjoyable. This is a handy little tool I suggest you print out and keep in you DSP drawer, if you have one. It is the Designer Series Paper Color Chart. Now as most of you know the colors that are in each DSP packet are listed in the catalog as well. But this little tool if handy keeps you from having to dig out your catalog and search for the paper there. It may save you a few steps. It even includes the new DSP from our Holiday Mini. I also encourage you to check out the blog of the creator of this tool Kween Bee Kreations. Into the Stampin Tools section it goes!

My Digital Studio

As I buzz around the Stampin world from Blog to Blog I am finding so many creations that Demonstrators are posting using their new My Digital Studio. I haven't ordered mine yet. I am one of those people that likes to sit back and watch others play a bit before I decide on my products. I was like that with the Big Shot and I can say that now that I have it I use it for everything. And I do mean everything. I am working on a big project right now that I cant wait to show you. But you will have to be patient with me because I broke my camera yesterday. Well actually my 2 year old did. Anyway, back to MDS (My Digital Studio). Because I dont have samples of my own yet I want to share with you some samples from other super talented Demonstrators. Click HERE to browse through some cute projects. Sometimes these projects are so good you can barely tell they are Digital. We will be able to make cards, scrapbooks, calendars and hybrid projects in a snap! I cant wait. I am definitely ordering one. But remember if you book a party in October when the MDS is release you will have a chance to order yours at a discounted price with the new October Hostess Promotion!!!!!!

Sweet Rewards

The new Hostess Promotion is Here! From September 1-November 30, 2009 Host a workshop totaling $250 or more and choose any one item* from the 2009 Holiday Mini Catalog for only $10! *Offer excludes hostess sets and My Digital Studio.

On October 1, when My Digital Studio is released to customers, this offer will become even sweeter:
Host a workshop of at least $400 and get My Digital Studio for 50 percent off the retail price (retail price: $79.95; promotional price: $39.97)!
This is an exciting offer because our new Mini is full of great items to choose from. And once the My Digital Studio is released you will be that much closer to creating these fabulous scrapbook ablums in a snap! I will show you more on that tomorrow. Know go check you calendar and lets plan your next party! Click HERE to print a copy of the Sweet Rewards Flyer.

Looking for the Blog Candy Winner

Morning Everyone. I am still looking for our Blog Candy winner. If you are the Alicia that wrote the winning comment a few weeks ago please email me so I can get you your prize. I would like to hear from you by the end of tomorrow or I will draw for another winner. I still have a nice stack of stampin supplies I would like to get to one of my readers. I will keep everyone posted if I do another drawing. Thanks again for all the support. I hope everyone had a great Holiday weekend. I know I did!

Same Card Different Holiday

Just switching it up a bit. I removed the jack-o-lantern face and this card quickly starts to become a Thanksgiving card. I am sure you can see I changed the colors from Halloween-ish to Thanksgiving-ish. But that was about it. I even used the same Holiday Best (level 1 hostess set) stamp set. The pumpkin was fun to make so I just couldn't resist using it twice. What do you think? I know this is kinds cheating, huh?

Pumpkin Punch Art

Some more Punch art for you. This pumpkin was made with the Large Oval punch and a Modern Label punch. I used my sponges to ink up the sides of the ovals a bit. The jack-o-lantern face was made with scraps of black paper and I only used a 1 1/4 circle to create the mouth. I tied a bit in the Linen Thread around the stem. I used my new Holiday Best stamp set for the wording on the card. That is a Level 1 Hostess set. Here is the full recipe for the card:

Stamps: Holiday Best

Ink: Basic Black, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie

Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Orchid Opulence, Basic Black and Very Vanilla

Accessories: Linen Thread, Punches, Jumbo Eyelets, Basic Black Grosgrain Ribbon

Happy Birthday Sister!

Today's post is the card that I sent to my sister for her birthday. She is a new mommy now and I thought she might like to get herself some new post-preggo clothes. That is why I chose this card for her. I can't take credit for it however. This was a creation that I cased (copied and shared.) click HERE to see the original. It actually was a case of a case as you will see. Cute idea, huh? I hope she likes it.

Itsy Bitsy Spiders

Here are some quick little cuties you can recreate with some punches and a York Peppermint Patties. I found a lot of these little guys on Splitcoast but first spider creation I saw came from my Upline Beverlee. Remember you can always check out more of her creations by clicking on her blog in the 'Blogs to Frequent' section of my blog. You can also make an easier version of these goodies using the 'Batty for You' stamp set and your Scallop Circle Punch. Give it a shot and let me know how they turn out.

Basil Blessings

This card I sent to my Grandma who is a bit under the weather right now. I am really happy with the way it came out and I think she will really like it. If I can just ask my readers to keep my family in your prayer right now as this is a bit of scary time for us I would really appreciate it. I used heat embossing for this card which I haven't done in a while. If you are interested in learning how to do that let me know and I can demo it at your next party. Here is the recipe for today's card:

Stamps: Herb Expressions

Ink: Versa Mark

Paper: Textured Tempting Turquoise, Textured So Saffron, Textured Certainly Celery, Flock Together DSP

Accessories: White Satin Ribbon, Jumbo Brads, Punches

My Talented Downline

First off for those of you who don't know what and Upline or a Downline is, it is the order in which us demonstrators refer to so we know who recruited who and in what order. So, for example my Upline is Beverlee because she was my demonstrator and I signed up to be a demonstrator under her. Then my first Recruit was Ashley (my cousin). She is my Downline. So today is all about Ashley. She is super talented and I love the spin that she put on her business. I knew when I signed up to be a demonstrator that I would love to demonstrate at parties ( sure I was nervous at first but that passed quickly) and I have so much fun doing it. But when Ashley signed up to be a demonstrator she wasn't sure if that was the avenue she wanted to take. Instead she focuses on her Esty site and making customer orders of bulk cards for her customers. That is just another idea to think about if you are considering becoming a demonstrator yourself. Just remember the Angle Policy if you are going to be selling card. YOur cards have to have the Stampin Up copyright on the back of your card. Ashley recently made this arrangement for a friends wedding Isn't it beautiful? You can always check out her site in the 'Blogs to Frequent' section of my blog. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a demonstrator yourself please contact me so we can chat about it.

The New Holiday Mini is Here!

Finally! I feel like I have been keeping a huge secret for the longest time. I have been waiting to share the exciting new Holiday Mini with you and today I finally can! Click HERE to Start shopping. I am super excited about this Mini here is why:

- This Mini has 40 pages of great new products and fabulous projects.

- On page 4 and 5 you will find two new Hostess sets to sweeten your party

-Today also starts the beginning of the new Hostess Promotion: Hostess a party of $250 or more and receive an item from the Mini for only $10 (excludes My Digital Studio)

-On page seven you will find one of my favorite new products "Sweet Treat Cups"

-New DSP, New Ribbon, New Punch, New Rub-ons!

-On page 32 you will find our New Simply Adorned Jewelry. These will make great Christmas Gifts! (we will have to hold off on ordering these for a bit however. Stampin Up is very particular about the products they release and they are working on some quality issues so they will be perfect for use when we do order them)

-New Build-A-Bear Workshop stamp and Die Cuts

and drum roll please..............

-On page 38: My Digital Studio! This is a Easy-to-use software Studio that will help you create Scrapbook pages, photo albums, cards and more! Right now this is available for Demonstrators only and will be available for open purchase on October 1. This is so us demos can have some time to practice so when the time comes we can help and have samples ready for you to see.

Well that's all I have to say about my favorite Mini ever!!!! Happy shopping. Also, just to help you with your wish list, I have added the Holiday Mini Stampin Supplies to the "My Stampin Tools" section of my blog. Please let me know if you have any questions.