Thank you Stamp Campers!

Look at these Demos! They work so hard. I just love this group!!!! Stamp Camp was yesterday and it was another huge success. Thank you to all the ladies that attended. I hope you had a good time. And thank you to all the demonstrators that worked so hard. For being two ladies short and only being let into the hall the morning of camp, we did good. It was a really fun day for me!

As you can see our morning session was really hoppin'. We OVER sold out. We even had to have a table that was standing room only. I know that was hard for some ladies but it did allow us to get more ladies at the tables. Thank you for being so understanding.

And here are the cards we made. I was especially happy with these card. The colors, the variety, the techniques and all the new tools we got to use were great. There is not a set date for next stamp as of yet, but don't worry there will be one. Garage Sale and next Stamp Camp will be announced soon. Please stay tuned............

Stamp Camp Raffle

Today is Stamp Camp. If you are coming, you are in for a treat. I love all the cards we will be making today. Not only do all the attendees get to make 10 beautiful cards, but they will also get a chance to win the Grand Prize and each person gets a favor and a raffle prize.

These are the raffle prizes that I am bringing. These are desk organizers with note paper for grocery lists and notes. I also added a matching book mark. I will have pictures of all the raffle prizes that each demonstrator brings tomorrow. I love seeing all the amazing creations these talented demos come up with.

Back tomorrow with lots of pictures. Stay tuned!

Updates and Reminders

There are just a few days left to participate in Stampin′ Up!’s Haitian relief efforts! Until February 28, 2010, Stampin′ Up! is setting aside $2 from the sale of select stamp sets to be donated to the American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development Fund. So far, demonstrators around the world have sold 11,895 sets, which equates to over $20,000 to be donated to this fund--but don’t stop now! You still have 2 days left to participate in this effort and join other Stampin′ Up! demonstrators and customers in making a difference in lives of those who continue to suffer in Haiti.

Also, if you have reserved your spot for tomorrow's Stamp camp remember to bring the following: Your Stampin Kit (snips, snail and bone folder), camera, wish list, and possibly an umbrella. Remember doors don't open until the session begins and it could be rainy. Looking forward to seeing you. And if you weren't able to make it to this camp don't fret a new one will be just around the corner. I also hope to have some great pictures of tomorrows camp for you on Monday.

Lastly, remember to reserve your spot for the Recipe Exchange party on March 18th. I need to know if you would like to come so I can order our Recipe Boxes by March 3. Have a great day!

Baby Shower Sneak Peak

Yesterday I told you that I am going to be working on a baby shower set and a bridal shower set. Today I thought I would give you a little sneak peak of the baby invites. This post card style card will be the invitation to the shower. I used a "save the date" stamp just for my trial run but that will be changed to "your invited." Next to the card you will see the room inspiration card. This is the inspiration for all the goodies too. What do you think? Did we come close?

Mini Milk Carton Die

Yet another Leadership make and take. I really loved this one because it used our new Mini Milk Carton Die. If you have showers or birthday parties planned then our dies are the way to go! There is no easier way to knock out a bunch of original, creative, personalized treats than with our easy to use, perfectly coordinating supplies. Don't have the Big Shot yet? Use mine! Just order your supplies and favorite die. We can work on these together. In fact I am doing just that right now with a few customers and friends. I have one baby shower and one bridal shower that we are working on. The benefits are two fold because you get extra help with your projects and I get more goodies to post on my blog! I hope to have pictures of all the goodies to show you next month.

Now back to our die. This adorable die was much smaller than I pictured. I placed my snail next to it so you can have a size reference. Isn't it cute? Be sure to order this one before Easter. How cute will these be in your Easter Basket!?!

Flower Pin

I have ran all over my house trying to get a good picture of this flower. But none of the pictures do it justice. This flower pin was made for me by my up-up-line Karen. I love it so much. It is beautiful! I believe Karen said she used some old blouses that she ran thought the Big Shot. My favorite part is that Epoxy Brad in the middle. Karen made one of these for all of us that came to the Opportunity Day. We wore them proudly and I continue to wear mine. Thanks so much Karen!

Carry Over Products

Stampin Up has decided to hang on to some of our Holiday Mini Favorites. The following list of goodies will continue to be available for order and will show up in our new Idea Book and Catalog coming this July.

Holiday Mini Carryover Products

Item # Description Price

116794 Ornament punch $15.95
116806 Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint $5.95
116854 Frost White Shimmer Paint $5.95
116807 Platinum Shimmer Paint $5.95
116829 Décor Elements Blocks $9.95
116824 Stampin' Up! Textured Impressions Folder Petals-A-Plenty $7.95
116821 Stampin' Up! Holiday Windows Magnetic Movers & Shapers $29.95
116819 Stampin' Up! Table Setting Bigz XL die $42.95
116820 Stampin' Up! Embosslits Merry die $11.95
116823 Stampin' Up! Sizzlits Merry Details die $5.50
116822 Stampin' Up! O Christmas Tree Pop-Up Bigz XL die $42.95
118140 Stampin' Up! Tree Decorations Sizzlits die $5.50
118108 My Digital Studio $79.95
116519 Charming stamp set $19.95

Gettin' Punchy

Ever wonder what to do with all those left over punches you hang onto? Here is a cute card idea I copied from one of my fellow stampin demonstrators. Thanks for the inspiration Patty. I used this card for another friend that had a birthday yesterday. I hope she liked the card. It was fun to make. I started by throwing my circles on the card and then just moved them slightly to give it the right look. I think this card has a fun party feel. Don't you?

Of course the card did need a bit of bling too. Just one clear rhinestone brad to finish it off. Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Birthday Jenn!

I know I am a day late on posting your card. It just didn't get finished in time to make that early morning post yesterday. But here it is. I hope you like it. I hope you had a really wonderful birthday. Maybe we will get to see you tonight?? If not I will get this to you soon.

For Jenn's card I used my Fox and Friends set and some of the new Welcome Neighbor DSP. The DSP worked perfect for my card because one pattern gave me sky and the other had little waves on it. Perfect! I really love this bold color combo too. I used Whisper White, Bermuda Bay and Real Red. How do you think it turned out?

Happy Birthday Grammy Dolly

This was the card I made for our Grandma Dolly's birthday. It was a little bit of a CASe. I copied the layout and colors I saw from a card on Stampin Connection ( an awesome site for demos only) On the original there were DSP hearts across the middle which were really pretty too. But for my card I switched the hearts out for these all white flowers. I forgot to snap a pic of the inside of the card before I gave it away but I added the sentiment to the inside place on punches the make it look fancier. I think Grandma liked it. What do you think?

Sammie's Birthday Invites

Here are the My Digital Studio Invitations I made for my little Sammie's 2nd birthday party. I know the writing is a little small in the picture but is says: TWO. Join us for a little celebration.....

This is the inside of the card. Can you tell I am going with a "2" theme. I do apologize for blocking out some of the party info. It is not that I don't want all of you to attend but the party place we chose does charge per person and that could get a little expensive. Sorry.

Thank You, From Operation Gratitude

Several months ago we had a class where it was optional to stay behind and make some cards for our U.S. troops deployed overseas and that is just what some of the ladies did. We ended up sending a total of 55 greeting cards some we made at class and some were cards donated from the demonstrator stash. Just last week we received a Thank You letter from Operation Gratitude thanking us for our thoughtfulness and wonderful patriotic spirit and putting smiles on service members faces.

As one Private First Class wrote:
" I cannot express to you how great it feels to come home after a long day of running missions to find a care package full of love sitting on your bunk. You are exhausted from wearing 50 plus pounds of armor for hours on end, then you open the package, see all the love, and are rejuvenated and ready to face the world again. It may sound small but it really does help enormously. Our location doesn't have a PX so we rely on the support of our people at Operation Gratitude for items that we need--not to mention the morale boosting such as cookies or candy. You all are the true heroes. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Needless to say we weren't expecting a thank you letter for our cards but it was definitely pretty cool to know that they did receive our cards and it was appreciated!

If you would like to find out how you can contribute to Operation Gratitude visit this website: http://www.operationgratitude.com/. Thank you again to all the ladies that participated.

Recipe Exchange/ Class

Your invited to a Recipe Exchange Party/Class

Thursday, March 18th 6:30

I don't know about you but I can always use new recipes. I seem to rotate the same old recipes over and over. I need some variety for my poor little family. How about you? Of course this recipe exchange still has a Stampin Up flare to it. Stampin Up has introduced these stylish Recipe Boxes perfect for taking home all of you new recipes home in. All you have to do is RSVP to me by March 3rd. The cost of the recipe box is only $30.

In the box you will get one Magnetic Storage Box, 64 recipe cards, 8 divider cards, one cooking tip and measurements card, and 11 sheets of die cut embellishments. Then let me know what you plan to bring (is it a starter, salad, soup, side dish, main dish, or dessert?) I hope to get a variety of recipes for you to take home with you. Come and bring your dish and the recipe, then taste all the other dishes and write down your favorites.

Even if you have never come to a stampin class before this is a good one to start with. No stampin required. Just a need of recipes and an appetite to try lots of yummy food.

I hope you can make it!

Birthday Wishes

This was a card I made for my manager last week. It is really hard to make cards for ladies that are really good at making cards. I always feel like the pressure is on! Beverlee is really good at making all these great flower broaches and pins with fabric and the Big Shot. That is something I really want to start getting into. So for her card I wanted to mimic the idea of a flower broach but I made it with paper. This was a really big flower and used a lot of punches. To recreate this flower use the following punches:

Five full heart punches
two Round Tab punches (layered to make a circle, like in the post a few days ago)
one Scallop circle punch
one 1 1/4" circle punch
and one jumbo brad

I hope Bev liked the card. What do you think?

Message in a bottle

Did you know you can send a message in a bottle? Yes, that's right. You can send it right through the mail. Isn't that a cute way to send a little love note to someone? How about a beach themed Wedding Invitation? Cute, huh? This was another cute project I saw at Leadership. I really hoped to send some of these out but time just got away from me. But I still liked the idea.

I started my bottle by taking off the old wrapper and replacing it with some cute DSP. Then if this one was going in the mail I would add the address label right over the top. I rolled a piece of computer paper for the note inside and tied it this some cute ribbon. Then to finish, I added a bit of small heart confetti. This punch is a really good reason to hold on to all those little scraps of paper. The small heart punch is small enough to use up all those little scraps you don't know what to do with. And how cute is it as a colorful confetti.

Now I better run. I need to get some real food into the girls. They are quickly devouring a breakfast of Valentine's Chocolate!

I know the sugar rush is coming. Aaaaaahhhhhhh!

You stole my heart!

I made these goodies bags for some of the ladies that work with my husband. I am loving my Love Bandit set right now. I have got plenty of use out of it.

For these bags I used the sm cello bags and filled them with Red Hots. I used the little raccoon stamp and the punch that worked best for it was the largest circle. But I wanted to matte the little guy so how do you do that? Well the easiest thing would be to use the circle scissors. But what is you don't have them?

Use the round tab punch! It makes the perfect size circle as a matte. To cover silly shape across the middle I just covered both sides with a white circle. That also gave me a space to sign who the treats were from on the back. You can also use this same technique to cut a hole in card stock to get the reverse effect. Check out this great tutorial I found: Round Tab punch tutorial.

Opportunity Day Make and Take

These little cuties were the make n take project at our Opportunity day event. I thought these were so cute. I love the idea of altering one of our embellishment containers. I have so many of these. Now I know what to do with them. I think when they are decorated like this they kinda look like hat boxes (mini, hat boxes.) But that's not all. Look what is inside:

We also made these "I Heart U" Valentine's mini garland. These are a really cute gift to give someone. If you don't want to make to garland or you don't have time you can just fill your altered container with some candy instead.

We used a ton of dimensional on the lid to pop up all the layers. I think that really gives this project an elaborate look. What do you think? I hope the ladies that got to make them liked them too. Again thanks to everyone that came to Opportunity day. And remember you can join our Stampin family at any time all you have to do is click on Join Now when shopping my online store and use the password : ava&sam.

Ava's Birthday Thank Yous

When it comes to thank yous I always try to keep them simple so I can get them out the door quickly. These are the thank yous I mailed out a few days ago for Ava' birthday gifts.

Can you tell I am really digging this Valentines color theme right now? Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Rose Red and Pretty in Pink. And by the way, I love the new Polka Dot embossing folder. Put that on your wish list for sure! I am sure you are gonna see a lot of my projects using it. The new small heart punch is really getting it's money's worth right now as well. I wish I would have snapped a picture of the inside of the card as well. The best party is on the inside. Ava signed her name on all the cards. Sure, its a mess! But is says Ava and its so cute. I was so proud of my girl!

Chocolate Anyone?

Chocolate anyone? These super easy and quick treats are going to Ava's teachers for Valentine's day. Can you tell I am having fun with the Love theme? And I am not even done yet. I have so much more to show you. All I did for the Heresy's Bar was add one trimmed down sheet of DSP from the Welcome Neighbor DSP pack (Love that paper pad, and remember its a free item!) and tied a bit of thick ribbon around it.

I am not sure why this picture keeps turning. I changed it three times. So I apologize if it is making you dizzy but I just cant figure it out. For the card I used the new Hugs and Glassine envelopes. On the hug I stamped three little owls (I know in the picture you cant tell the colors but they are pretty in pink, Rose Red and Real Red) and the "I like you more than..." stamp from the Love Bandit set. In the sentence I wrote, "Chocolate." I thought that was appropriate. When this set was used at Leadership on a super cute card they used the word "stamping" as in "I like you more than stamping." Everyone in the room collectively said, "Ooooooooooooooh!" As you can imagine that's a whole lot of LIKE!

To finish the Glassine envelope I finish it off with a cute closure. This was another trick I saw at Leadership. What do you think?

Valentine Treats

I had the idea of these in my head and you know how that works. Sometimes the idea is better in your head! But these little dum dum treats I think are cuter than I pictured. These are the super easy treats Ava will be handing out to her Pre-school class at the Valentines party. I know you can't see it in the picture but they are also stamped with the Teeny Tiny Wishes "Sweet Treats" stamp and say, "Love, Ava."

Only a few punches for these pretties: 1" circle (I used a bright colored DSP), 4 Full Heart punches, and one Five Petal flower. I forgot to add in one more picture but here is a little tip that makes these go even faster. I had to punch holes in each punch to get the lolly pop stick to go through it. I used the Crop-A-Dile to punch holes in as many as 8 layers of card stock at a t time. That is a real time saver. Love that tool! What do you think?

Opportunity Day

Yesterday was so much fun and a real success as well. Thank you to Karen for inviting all of us into her home. She always has great displays and the Chocolate fountain, seen in the background of the picture, was to die for!! Yesterday we got to listen to some experienced demos talk about "Doing what they Love" and believe it or not I was inspired myself. I love listening to Stampin stories. We played games, talked, watched two very cool demos and made a very adorable make and take. But the BEST part was welcoming new ladies to our team. So, I would like to say congratulations to Emiko Nakagawa for becoming the latest member of my personal team and a member of a truly fabulous group of ladies. Emi, you are gonna have so much fun!! And I will be there to help you each step of the way. Whoo Hoo!

Here are some more pictures from yesterday. This is the fabulous card tree that was sold at Leadership. You will also see a basket of some valentine goodies that the ladies took home. And don't you love those pots and watering can embellished with our Decor Elements? Not to mention if I had shot my picture a bit higher you would have seen more of the Decor Element on the wall too.

Here is our sign up table complete with more prizes that were won yesterday including two ribbon jars, bath soaps, and some love chip board projects. Oh, and check out that Love banner is that the cutest!?!

Know remember if you were not able to make it to the Opportunity day yesterday it is not too late to sign up. You can sign up anytime. Just let me know. Now Emi got a very good deal yesterday and some extra goodies but you can still get our business starter kit for 15% off plus a free stamp set of your choice. Just give me a call and we can talk about it. Hope to hear from you soon.

Thank You Sarah!

Thank you to my hostess Sarah for inviting me into your house yesterday. I hope you had a good time. I know I did. I really enjoyed meeting all of your friends and seeing some friends again. I am also looking forward to the parties we booked yesterday! I always hope to impress the ladies when I go to a party and I try to choose projects that I think everyone will enjoy. I think I achieved that goal. I love the hear new faces say, " Wow, Sarah now I can see why you love this stuff so much!" I think Sarah loves Stampin Up as much as I do! And I hope we bit a few more ladies with the Stampin Up bug. I think we did. The scrapbook page today was one of the projects that I demo-ed yesterday. I know most ladies that are new to Stampin Up are into scrapbooking first and then we hook them on cards too. So I wanted to show the ladies how easy it is to put together a page using our perfectly coordinating supplies. This page uses our Welcome Neighbor DSP packet from the Sale-A-Bration catalog (FREE item.) I also made a card and we did one make and take. I hope to show you those projects in the next few days.

Now, its time for me to get ready for Opportunity day!!! Whoo Hoo. If you wanted to be part of Opportunity Day but had SuperBowl plans please let me know and I will give you the "post party highlights" tomorrow. Have a wonderful day!

Monkey Around

I love the new Fox and Friends set. It is perfect for babies and little kiddos. This card has a clean and simple look but it still uses a lot of great supplies. I Love the Thoroughly Modern DSP. For me that paper is so easy to use. Then notice our new edge punch along the bottom of the card. And for me the Polka Dot Embossing Folder (which was used on the white card stock) is a MUST! I love adding texture to my cards. This card was another swap from Leadership. The talented creator's name is Marcella Lau. Love it!

Another Fab Card

I love this card. This is another swap card. The cool thing about this card is the maker of the card, Jen Sannes, is one of the bloggers that I follow. I didn't even realize that I met her until I got home and saw the card pop up on her blog. I really love bright colors so this is a great card. And really, I think it would work to give to just about anyone. Check out Jen's blog: http://www.simpleandsincere.com/

*** Haiti Update***

This card also used the I {Heart} Hearts set. Since the announcement of the Help Haiti effort with this set, over 7,500 sets have been sold. Remember $2 of every I {Heart} Hearts set that is sold will go to helping Haiti. This is a good start. Be sure to orders yours too. Offer is good through Feb 28.

Another Card Swap

Here is another card I received in my Leadership swaps. I really love this card. It is so simple and really beautiful. The Tulipe Die used on this card was not one that jumped out to me at first but the more I see it the more I am really loving it. I love how it was used in the reverse version on this card. I have also seen this same die used to cut out fabric and the design placed on a baby onsie. So elegant! The half pearl from the Pretties Kit was a nice touch. The card sentiment used on this version is for Mother's Day but I think this is such a versatile card it would really work for any occasion. This card was made by Ann Lohmeyer.

New MDS Downloads

Stampin Up has released some new digital downloads for My Digital Studio. Check out the latest and all the downloads by shopping my online store. Click here to see my personal favortie. You may also notice that some digital stamp sets and exclusive to MDS and or not in our catalog. Here are the latest:

Corduroy Buttons - Digital Download 120170
Price: $3.95

Sending Love Epoxy Brads - Digital Download 120169
Price: $1.95
Epoxy Brads

Stamp Camp Reminder

If you haven't already sent in your registration for Stamp Camp now is the time to do it. Our morning session is already half full. The date is set, the cards are picked out, the prep work is being done. All we need is you! You don't want to miss Sale-A-Bration stamp camp. Not only will you get to see all those fabulous new Occasions Mini and Sale-A-Bration sets in action but you will have chance to win prizes and earn Sale-A-Bration merchandise as well. If you don't already have your registration form please be sure to email me so I can get you the info.

I {Heart} Hearts

Here is one of the fabulous cards I received in my swaps from Leadership. I love the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set. I hope it is on your wish list too. Remember this is our set that is helping Haiti. For every set that is sold $2 will be donated to Helping Haiti. This card is a prefect card for Valentines Day. But remember this set is great all year round. This card was made by Kari Metzger. I love her blog it is one that I frequent. Be sure to stop by and say hello.