A Pocketful of...

Well, I stamped again yesterday... and the day before that and the day before...  You could say I'm on a roll!  It helps that there are so many card giving occasions in May and that I've scheduled a stampin' farewell party on May 24!  BTW, you're invited!  My house in Pensacola (email me for the addy) between 1-3pm!  The make-n-takes will be featuring some of the retiring Stampin' Up! products.  If you can't make it but would like to place an order, contact me or order online.

I'm not going to show you the make-n-take projects (yet), but I will show you the birthday card I made for my hubby...

Stamp Set: Delightful Dozen

Paper/Ink: Pocketful of Posies (RETIRING), Baja Breeze, Early Espresso, Night of Navy, Whisper White, Crumb Cake

Punches: 1 3/4" & 1 1/2" circle, Decorative Label

Accessories: Night of Navy 1/4" grosgrain ribbon (RETIRING), Mini Library Clips (RETIRING)

Big Shot Die: Timeless Type Junior Alphabet Sizzlits (RETIRING)

I didn't realize it while I was making it, but it's fitting that I used the paper I did on this card--Pocketful of Posies.  No, my hubby isn't a posy... what is a posy anyway?  No, because inside the card I made a POCKET!  See!

I needed to design the card around being able to fit an 8 1/2" x 11" folded piece of paper.  So I trimmed a 12" x 12" piece of cardstock down to 10" x 8 1/2" and scored it at 4 1/2" 8 1/2".  To create the window, I punched the Decorative Label punch twice, overlapping about 1/2" to create a longer opening.  The pocket edges are secured with eyelets (long retired), set with the Crop-A-Dile (RETIRING).  You could also use brads or staples.

Well, I hope you've been on a roll with stampin' lately too!  If not, come to my party next week and I'll do my best to inspire you!  I have a few other events scheduled for June & July too.  Check MY CALENDER for the details.

Happy Stampin!
Brenda

The Joys of Stamper with a Teenage Son...

So, what do you do when you have a son who's about to turn 17 and he feels he's too cool for a handstamped card?  Lately, when my son is getting ready to go to a friend's birthday party and I offer up my services to make a card, I get a "nooo, that's okay... you don't have to..."  I usually persist and say, "No, really! I want to!"  That usually proceeds with a rolling of the eyes and a "...whatever."  Perplexed, I head to my craft space and try to come up with a masterpiece that I hope will change his mind when he sees it.  Only, to get a "hmmm, thanks..."  Since I don't get to go to the parties with him, I have to trust that he actually gives the kid the card.  It's difficult to know, since when I ask him what his friend (or his friend's mom) thought of the card after the party, I get another rolling of the eyes and a "ugh!"  Oh, the joys of the teenage years!

Soooo, now that it's my son's 17th birthday tomorrow, I had to come up with some sort of card that will hopefully get a "cool" or "nice" or some other positive response.  Don't worry, I won't be passing out from holding my breath.  But I do hope it makes him at least a little bit happy, even though he may not show it on the outside. 

My goto teen card stamp set right now is Grunge Rock.  Here's what I came up with:

I dug through my designer series paper stash to find some "masculine" paper and found this retired pack from a couple minis ago.  Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie and Crumb Cake were all pulled out of the designs in the paper.  I just LOVE how everything matches with Stampin' Up! products--paper, ink, ribbon, etc!

Here's a peek at how the gate fold card looks:

The base of the card is a 4 1/4" x 11" piece of card stock, scored at 2 3/4" from each end with the sides folded in to meet in the middle.  I then built the front of the card on a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Crumb Cake card stock that is only attached on the left side.  Aside from the Grunge Rock stamp set, the U is from the Jayne's Type Alphabet set.

I don't think my son will be as impressed as I am with how this card turned out, but 20 years from now he won't be able to say I didn't care enough to make him a birthday card for his 17th birthday (or any other birthday for that matter)... yes, I am a stamper!!!

I hope you're Happy Stampin too!
Brenda

Personalizing Birthday Cards

We were invited to a new neighbor's birthday party a couple weeks ago.  It was actually for a little boy turning one.  I sat down to make a birthday card and quickly came up with this fun monkey card:

But then I remembered the invitation we received had a sealife theme with a crab and decided to stash the monkey card away and make a new card with the crab from the Summer Mini hostess set, It's a Thought.  If you've seen this set, you might be wondering how a frowning crab with the saying "sorry i was crabby" could be useful on a birthday card.  Well, I used the marker to stamp technique to ink just his body (not his frown or the words).  Then I drew in a smile and cut him out.  Here's the card I came up with:

I also used the Tropical Party and Fabulous Phrases stamp sets.  Oh, yeah... and the Calendar Alphabet set to spell Eli's name.  Cute, huh!

Well, about 30 minutes before the party, I was putting the gift in a gift bag and got to thinking... this bag looks pretty boring.  It needs something!  So I came up with this cool crab tag:

The crab tag was made up of a lot of punches and attached to a scallop circle die.  His name was stamped using Just Perfect Alphabet set.  What do you think?  I think it turned out super cute! 

Okay, so fast-foward to a my workshop last week.  Eli's mom, Kristina, came to the party and was browsing my sample table.  When she came across the monkey card, she picked it up and just had to say how cute it was!  I laughed and told her how that was the original card I made for Eli.  She told me that she had been going back and forth between the crab theme and a monkey theme.  How funny is that?! 

Happy Stampin!

Brenda

Happy Mother's Day!

This will be a relatively quick post because my family is making me breakfast this morning and I don't want to miss out on a nice hot meal... that I didn't have to make! :)


The boxes that come with the Simply Adorned charms & chains just scream to be decorated. They are like little chocolate chip colored blank canvases. Here are a couple that I decorated--one for Mother's Day and one for a birthday gift:

Supplies: Teeny Tiny Wishes, Flower Designer Brads, 1 1/4 & 1 1/2 Square Punches, Tag & Small Tag Punches, Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon and Pink Flamingo Designer Series Paper.


The belly bands were actually made to go around 2 boxes (one with the charm and one with the chain) side-by-side. The ribbon sort of hides that fact. Here's a peek at one of the charms:

The J is stamped with basic black craft ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I had to use tweezers to hold the small square while embossing it. I suppose it would have been a smarter idea to stamp and heat set it before cutting it into a 1" square. However, I did stamp & emboss a J on the opposite side which is a Tempting Turquoise pattern, so it's reversible.

Supplies: All Holidays, Simple Friendship, Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die (from the Occasions Mini, which is still available to purchase), Big Shot, a retired designer paper that I had in my stash and the same punches as the other project.

I hope y'all have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Happy Stampin!

Brenda

A Friendly Birthday Gift

Last weekend, my kids and I had made plans to go out to eat with another deployed family. Our date had been set for a couple weeks. Through the magic of Facebook, I discovered that it would be my friend's birthday the day before our dinner date. Knowing how she must feel without her hubby on her birthday, I decided to make her a special gift. Here it is!

I took a simple junior legal pad and an RSVP pen and decorated them!


If these stamped images look new to you, YOU'RE RIGHT! THEY ARE NEW! The set is called Vintage Vogue and it is a sneak peek from the upcoming Occasions Mini! This set happens to be clear-mount... a new option coming in January! The stamps are still made of our high quality, deeply etched rubber & foam... the additional option of the clear-mount sets just come with a repositionable backing that can be used with clear blocks (instead of wood), making it easier to see where you're stamping! It also cuts down on the space it takes to store the stamps. These sets come in a DVD style case. Oh, and another key advantage... they cost less! I can't wait for you to see them up close and personal, once the new mini catalog goes live on January 5!

Here's a close up of the card:

The 5/8" satin ribbon is new too! It comes in 9 colors!

Of course, you can't give a pretty gift without pretty packaging...

The bag was repeatedly stamped with a single 1" x 2" (approx) flower & vine image to create a climbing vine. I rotated the stamp to give it a meandering "vine-y" feel.

I hope y'all are finding time to relax and enjoy yourself during the holiday season. Sorry I've been lax in posting lately. Now that my Christmas cards are signed, sealed & delivered and most of my crafting projects are done or I've sent an IOU and am very close to completing them... I promise I'll be back to post some more projects before Christmas.

Happy Stampin!

Handcrafts + High Tech = Happy Birthday Boy!

My son, Nicholas turned 13 years old today. Thankfully he still enjoys receiving my handmade goodies... meaning, he doesn't think they're not cool... or sick... or whatever slang they use these days. Here are the party favors I made:

Stamp Set: Just Perfect Alphabet

Accessories: 1 3/4 Circle Punch, Crimper, Crop-A-Dile, brads (retired), large cello bags

and his birthday card...

Stamp Sets: Nature's Nest & Celebrate Everything

Accessories: 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, 1/16" Circle Punch, Slit Punch, Designer Circle Brad, Large Polka Dot Texturz Plate, Big Shot, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Versamark Marker & Basic Black Craft Ink

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I was so excited that Stampin' Up! came out with a new turtle stamp in the 2009-10 catalog! Nick LOVES turtles! I didn't want to go with the traditional colors with this birthday turtle, so I decided to use some bright cheery colors. First, I stamped the turtle in black craft ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. Then I colored him in with our Stampin' Write Markers and let him dry a little... I got impatient, so I dabbed off the excess ink before I used a Versamark marker to color over the entire turtle to be able to emboss him with more clear powder. Had I not dabbed off the excess color from the markers, I would have smeared my work of art. Then I cut him out and attached him to the card front with dimensionals.

Here's a closer look:

As I said before, Nick LOVES TURTLES! So when he requested that the laptop he gets for his birthday be different from the rest of our laptops (yes, we're a laptop family), I immediately thought...

A DECOR ELEMENTS TURTLE!

What a fun day!

Happy Stampin!

I'm Back... with my Sept Stamp-A-Stack Projects!

I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted here. It appears life has gotten away with me. I did warn y'all when my husband left on his deployment that things might be a bit crazy here.

Here are the projects we made at my last Stamp-A-Stack.

The first 2 are actually from the same supplies. My customers had the choice to make either or both of these cards. I also added an additional option (not pictured here) of inking the butterfly in Melon Mambo and then sponging it with Rich Razzleberry around the edges to create a 2-toned butterfly.


Stamp Sets: Simple Friendship & Sincere Salutations
Accessories: Razzleberry Lemonade DSP, Wide Oval Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Piercing Tool, Sponge, Sanding Block, Big Shot & Perfect Details Texturz Plate.

This next card is perfect for Autumn...

Stamp Set: Best Wishes & More

Accessories: Card Stock Vellum, Versamark Ink Pad & Tearing Edge

This last card was a total CASE from a card I found in the Nov/Dec issue of Paper Crafts. While looking for inspiration for card ideas, I came across the card on page 76 and knew it would perfect for this class. Aside from changing out the colors & stamps, I did make a couple other alterations. Instead of attaching a plain rhinestones, I used Stampin' Up!'s rhinestone brads. I also decided to bring all of the colors together in the sentiment by inking each letter separately with markers.

Stamp Sets: All Holidays, Nursery Necessities, Itty Bitty Backgrounds & Circle Circus

Accessories: Rhinestone Brads, 1" Circle Punch, Small Star Punch, 1/16" Handheld Circle Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, In-Color Stampin' Write Marker Set & 8 1/2 x 11 Textured Card Stock

Something I have to point out about all of these cards, I did not use one inch of ribbon! I think that might be a first for me with my classes. Usually at least one, if not all of the cards have ribbon of some sort on them. I don't think any of these cards needed it...

I am hoping to get back into the routine of blogging on a more regular basis. I have a class coming up to make a really cool box out several Pillow Box Die cutouts that I found on Splitcoaststampers. I will be sharing my version of it with you soon!

Happy Stampin!

My Birthday Challenge!

My sweet friend, Ellie, has challenged me to join her in her challenge to make 3 cards today. Being that it's my birthday and I should "get" to do something fun for myself today... I accepted her challenge and, therefore, feel obligated to HAVE TO STAMP TODAY! How cool is that?! I will share one of the projects I have already completed... it's actually the 2nd one so far today. I will post the other one a bit later.

Inside:

Close-up:

Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, All Holidays

Accessories: 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch, Piercing Tool, Apricot Appeal & Chocolate Chip markers, Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Die, Big Shot, Dimensionals

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I actually made 2 of these cards with the plans to use them as thank you cards for my thoughtful friends who have been extra-special to me lately. Hopefully they aren't reading my blog today. :)

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Hope you're having a Happy Stampin' day too!

Brenda

Blogging on my New Computer!

Today is a bittersweet day for me. My kids went back to school, which should have me doing back flips of excitement. However, at the wee hours of the morning, I had to bring my hubby to the airport for his deployment to the middle east. He will only be gone for about 4 months, but during those 4 months we will be celebrating several holidays and a couple birthdays--including mine (Sept 7). Since he was taking his laptop with him and our desktop computer has become so sluggish in its old age, I got my birthday present, my very own laptop computer, a little early! I've had it for about a week now and spent yesterday transferring all of my files from my hubby's computer to my own. AND... I made it look pretty with some So Saffron Upsy Daisies Decor Elements ($9.95/117926):

These were super easy to apply. All I did was trim them down a little bit, gently rub them with my finger and peel back the backing paper.

To make it through the day, I think I'll head to my craft room to create some new Holiday Mini samples for my upcoming Holiday Mini Open House on September 3... it's called Stamp Therapy!

Happy Stampin!

Seeing Spots No More...

At my stamp-a-stack card class this morning, we'll be making several cards using retiring stuff. Here's one of them:

Say good-bye to the following: Seeing Spots, Zoofari, Baja Breeze Double Striped Ribbon, Black Hemp Twine, Baja Breeze & Kiwi Kiss (card stock & ink).

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To create the spotted Kiwi Kiss layer, I ran the card stock through the Big Shot with the small dot patterned Texturz Plate, then I lightly sanded it using a sanding block held flat with the paper.

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Happy Stampin!

Peak-A-Boo Pocket Cumpleanos Card

Do you have a teenage son? If you do or ever have, you may know how complicated life with one can be. My 15 yr old son was invited to a birthday party awhile back and I was excited to hear that the boy who invited him was in his Spanish class. Why, you might ask? Well, I have this Spanish stamp set called Flores Ilamativas (Spanish version of Wow Flowers) that I have been dieing to use! When I mentioned this to my son, he rolled his eyes and said "You don't have to do that!" (meaning, DON'T... YOU'RE GOING TO EMBARRASS ME!) I kept pushing, as most teenage boys' moms do... and said, "No, really, I'd like to!" He said, "Why do you HAVE to use a Spanish stamp?!?!?!?!?!!!!!????!! He's not Spanish!" See, it's not that he didn't want me to make a card for his friend, he just didn't want it to be... different. Well, I was determined to use the Spanish stamp set... so I said I'd make a card and he could either use it or not... I DIDN'T CARE! (yes, I used that attitude... and YES, I REALLY DID CARE) Well, here it is (sorry for the blurry pictures):

I tried to make it as simple and non... different as I could. But I couldn't help but do a little peak-a-boo window with the circle stamp. And, since he would be giving the boy cash, I figured a little pocket out of the Scallop Envelope Die would be perfect! I cut away the scalloped flap, of course... that would have been too girly.

Here's a close up view:

When I proudly presented the card to my son, he exclaimed "Why did you HAVE to make it with a Spanish stamp??!!?!?!?!?!!!" Other words were exchanged and I stormed off WITH my card! Well, right before we were to leave for the party, my son came to me and asked where the card was and said that he could probably use it. I told him where he could find it (no, not there) and off we went to the party. Of course, I couldn't make eye contact with him as he walked up to the house or get out of the car to meet the kid's parents or anything... but he used MY CARD!!! :)

After the party, I did ask him what the kid (and his parents) thought of the card and I got the "I dunno." sigh...

Hope you're happy stampin!

Leftover Scraps = Paper Weaving

With all I had going on last week, I waited until the night before my hubby's birthday to make his card. My craft desk was overflowing with scraps from various projects I've done over the last few days... well, maybe more like months. It's called creative chaos! Among the layers of scraps, I found some leftover strips from a pack of Walk in the Park designer paper. On one side they were floral and sort of girly, but flipping them over I found funky designs that would be perfect for a guy's card. I also found some strips of Kiwi Kiss and Baja Breeze card stock... so the weaving began!

You may wonder what a fru-fru umbrella drink has to do with my hubby. Well, this was the closest thing I had to a margarita stamp. You see, it's been a year long quest of his to make the perfect margarita. Coincidence or not, this quest started soon after our move to Texas. Yes, Tex-Mex and Margaritas go hand in hand. If you need a little proof, here's a picture my hubby "secretly" took yesterday (with MY new camera, I might add) of all the ingredients he has so carefully gathered:

I have to admit, of all the margaritas I've sampled over the last year, the one he made yesterday has to be the best so far!

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MAY SPECIAL

Don't forget about the Buy 3, Get 1 FREE special on Designer Series Paper and Textured Card Stock--feel free to mix and match! Shop online or give me a call... but don't wait, this sale ends on May 31.

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Happy Stampin!

Mission "Emboss"ible Projects

Here are a couple of projects we made at the Mission "Emboss"ible classes I held last week.

The chipboard heart was embossed several times. First it was inked with Rose Red craft ink, sprinkled with Iridescent Ice embossing powder and heat set. Then Versamark Ink was applied and it was embossed with clear embossing powder (at least twice), to create a smooth look. A tip for heat embossing small items, attach it temporarily to a scrap piece of cardboard to use as a handle to keep your hands at a safe distance from the heat tool.

Here's a closer look:

The rose from the Fifth Avenue Floral set was stamped onto Shimmery White card stock using Basic Black craft ink and embossed with clear powder. The technique for adding the color is called Reinker Spread and was demoed at a Stampin' Up! regional seminar by Connie Ingram. It involves 3 colors of reinkers, an aqua painter, and spray bottle of water. You really need to see this one in person to appreciate how shimmery and gorgeous the colors are!

You may have also noticed that I used the Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Die on the Kiwi Kiss background.

MY SCRAPBOOKING GOAL UPDATE: I don't want to make excuses for not having a layout to share with you from this last week... but... things came up. My sweet hubby's birthday is today and I spent several days making him a hat (while he wasn't looking). After seeing this hat and recalling that we live in Texas, you may wonder "What the...?"

Well, he's been watching Out of the Wild: Alaska on The Discovery Channel and he was inspired! LOL! Actually, we are also going on a trip to Alaska this summer and he felt he just HAD to have a flap hat! So I dug through my yarn stash and knit him one! I certainly hope the temps aren't cold enough for him to really need it while we're there. Although, I think it brings out the blue in his eyes. Love ya, Hon! :)

Back to my excuses... err, I mean non-excuses for not having a layout to share with you... I was also busy making 4 dry erase message boards for my son's Sunday School teachers:

AND, my calendar was also full of social events, a vet appointment and classes. I did "scrapbook" in the technical sense of the word when I prepped for a class that I have coming up on Monday--making a paper sack mini album. Unfortunately, I can't share a picture of that project since it will be a gift (in the near future) for a special someone who reads my blog. :)

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I promise, I will be Happy Scrappin' in the coming week... I hope you will be too!

Embossed Vellum: Manhattan Flower Card

Here's another reason the Big Shot is a GOOD THING!

This is the 3rd card we made at the Just Cards Class I held a couple weeks ago. Believe it or not, it was the easiest of all the cards. The Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Die made the gorgeous embossed roses on the card stock vellum, which was then simply attached to the Elegant Eggplant colored card stock base using a couple glue dots. The textured impressions die is designed so that you can also insert the base of a standard sized (4-1/4 x 5-1/2) vertical card, run it through the Big Shot and viola! you have an embossed card!

I am expecting "Mr. Brown" (the UPS guy, who's name is really Carlos) to deliver the coordinating Manhattan Flower stamp set this afternoon... along with some other fun stampin' goodies. So be on the lookout for more samples to come soon!

MY PERSONAL GOAL & MAY CHALLENGE
If you didn't receive my stampin' newsletter and already hear, I want to share my personal goal for the month of May--which happens to be National Scrapbook Month! It has been awhile since I have done any scrapbooking and I am getting WAY BEHIND on my family albums. So my goal is to complete at least one scrapbook layout each week. In turn, I will also be posting some of these pages here on my blog. I'm hoping the fact that I have said this goal "out loud" and have promised y'all I'd share them with you, that it will motivate me to follow through and get scrappin'! If you'd like to join me with my scrappin' goal... or some other goal that you've set for yourself this month, feel free to share! I'd love to know that I'm not alone. :)

Happy Stampin' & Scrappin'!

A Pretty Card and Altered Journal... and final farewell to SAB!

Today is the last day of Stampin' Up!'s biggest promotion of the year: Sale-A-Bration! Here's one last card I made using a stamp set I received FREE: Polka Dot Punches.

I made this card for my niece, Carrie's birthday. The flower is from the Pretties kit and was colored using Baja Breeze ink and a dauber.

It doesn't coordinate at all with the card, but I also made Carrie an altered journal:

As you can see, I used another flower on the cover--I left this one white. You may recognize the patterned paper from another project I recently posted. It's from a retired scrappin' kit and I thought the sage shadow and brown combination would be perfect for my niece.

Here's the inside cover:

I used a Top Note die to frame a gift card on the inside front cover. Several layers of scallop circles from the Birds & Blooms Sizzlit dies are attached (with a jumbo brad and adhesive) to the bottom of the ribbon bookmark.

Happy Stampin!

Altered Bitty Book Gift

I have been hoarding this chipboard bitty book kit for quite some time now... well before it was put on the retiring accessories list. When my crafty friend's crafty daughter invited me to her tween birthday party, I thought it would be the perfect time to break it out from hoarding hiding and decorate it for someone who will truly appreciate it!

You may have guessed... her name is Kerri. Well, Kerri's favorite color combination is blue and brown, so when I dug through some of my other hoarded stash (of retired scrappin' kits) and found this paper, I knew it would be perfect for Kerri's gift. The K is cut out of a Sticky Sheet, using a Serif Essentials Alphabet die and the Big Shot. I combined some green and blue cosmo fine glitter to create the perfect shade of "greeny blue" to coordinate with the paper, which I believe is Sage Shadow. I left the inside pages (alternating sage shadow & chocolate chip card stock) blank and gave her some stickers from the kit and some coordinating gel pens to decorate them as she'd like.

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An early sign that I had picked the perfect color combination was the fact that Kerri was wearing these exact colors at the party! By the way, it was so fun seeing the reaction from Kerri and all the other girls (including my crafty friend, Genean) when she opened it... sort of a GASP! and jaws dropping. You could say I was doing a happy dance inside. :) Living so far from family (who I normally craft gifts for) I don't usually get to see the reaction when my handcrafted gifts are opened. Definitely makes it worth the time and effort that goes into making them.

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I have to say, since I only have boys (12 & almost 15 years old), it was quite an experience going to a crafty "girl" party. Their final activity of the night was altering Stampin' Up!'s skinny clipboards and they had a blast! They couldn't wait to bring them to school to display in their lockers. As I was helping them with their craft, one of the girls even said "Hey, Ms. Brenda, I need to have you come to my party!"

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I am Happy Stampin! Hope you are too!

Blast Off with Punches!

Here's a quick and easy card using several punches: 1 3/8" square, word window and both star punches. It's a fun way to use up scraps of card stock you may have left over from other projects.

Stamp Sets: Pun Fun & Family Phrases

The rocket is watercolored using an aqua painter and ink pads. This is another project that I used only In-Colors on: Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze, Pacific Point Tangerine Tango & Kiwi Kiss.

Happy Stampin!

Seeing Spots with Delicate Dots

Even though the Seeing Spots stamp set has been around for a while, it still has a fun & fresh look. AND it coordinates with the Sale-A-Bration Delicate Dots Designer Series Paper--which you can earn free now until March 31! For more info, click on the SAB brochure--->

Using a similar layout as the Howdy card I shared with you back in January, along with Seeing Spots, Delicate Dots DSP (SAB), Ribbon Bundle (also earned free with SAB), and several other products, I created these cards that were featured at my Just Cards Class yesterday:

Other Supplies: Flower Brad (item# 112583), Big Shot w/flowery swirl Backgrounds I Texturz Plate, 1", 1-1/4" & 1/16" circle punches, All Holidays

Other Supplies: Linen Thread (Item# 104199), Big Shot w/diamond pattern Backgrounds I Texturz Plate, 1" & 1 1/4" circle punches, All Holidays

Unintentionally, all of the projects I had at the class yesterday used the new Stampin' Up! exclusive Backgrounds I Texturz Plates (item# 114512) with the Big Shot (item# 113439). I guess this is another one of my new favorite things in the Spring-Summer IB&C. It's not just me though, everyone at the class LOVED the look the various textures added to all of the cards.

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UPCOMING CLASSES: Be sure to check out my events calendar on my website. Coming up in March, I have schedule a Technique Class where we'll be getting creative with envelopes and an Easter Sampler Class where we'll be making 3 Easter/Spring themed projects (daytime & evening class times available).

Happy Stampin!

Pop-Up Gift Card Holder

Happy New Year, Y'all!

Here's a birthday card I made for my nephew:

Sneak Peek at a new Stamp: A Little Somethin' (Rock Star image) a Level 2 Hostess set

I had seen a gift card holder idea using a typical flat store gift card that was held in the middle of the card--slid inside a flap created by an extra fold. I can't recall the first place I saw the idea, but it has been stored in the back of my mind for awhile. That was my original plan when I decided to get a gift card for my nephew.

Well, once at the store, I found this awesome gift card maze game and couldn't pass it up. I still wanted to use the same card concept, so I had to improvise the design. Here's what I came up with:

Here's a close-up:

The maze is held in firmly with the sticky adhesive that originally attached the gift card to the store card--similar to glue dots.

Stamps: A Little Somethin' (Level 2 Hostess set--new in Spring-Summer 09 Catalog)
Seeing Spots
Celebrate Everything
Calendar Alphabet & Numbers
All Holidays
Ink & Card Stock Colors: Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss & Naturals White
Accessories: Large Star & Star Punches
My Way Punch
1-1/4" Circle Punch
Crimper


Happy Stampin!
Brenda

Stampin' Up!'s Birthday Party Special!

Don't forget, we are celebrating Stampin' Up!'s 20th year during October with a BIRTHDAY PARTY SPECIAL!!! You have just over one week left to take advantage of this great sale.

Spend $20 in regular catalog merchandise and qualify to purchase any of the birthday/celebration stamp sets listed below at 20 percent off.

109439 Pg 62 Big Bold Birthday $27.95 reg/ $22.36 sale
112895 Pg 62 Cumpleaños genial y divertido (Spanish Big Bold Birthday)* $27.95 reg/ $22.36 sale
111532 Pg 63 Party Hearty* $26.95 reg/ $21.56 sale
110994 Pg 64 Bitty Birthday $12.95 reg/ $10.36 sale
111618 Pg 64 Crazy for Cupcakes* $23.95 reg/ $19.16 sale
111546 Pg 65 Simple Birthday Thanks* $17.95 reg/ $14.36 sale
111702 Pg 65 Time to Party* $16.95 reg/ $13.56 sale
108559 Pg 68 Crab & Company $27.95 reg/ $22.36 sale
*Stamp sets are die cut.

Go to my website and shop online 24/7 or contact me today to place your order! But don't wait too long, this sale ends October 31, 2008!

Happy Stampin!