Sneak Peek at Swap

Here is the card I've made for my swap at the Gateway Glitter 'n Ink group meeting tomorrow. I used the new DSP Good Morning Sunshine, Kiwi Kiss, Summer Sun, Whisper White and Chocolate Chip cardstock. The stamp set is A Little Birdie Told me. I haven't received my second order from the new catalog to get my Cheep Talk stamp set so I used this set. I just love the little birds!!

Have a great weekend.

"Love" Cards

Love is in the air. It's such a nice time to be making pretty pink and red cards after all the Christmas holiday preparations. Valentine's Day is great time to let the ones you love know how much you care and a perfect time to make a hand-made, heartfelt card. Here are a few I've been working on. This first one was created by Cathy at our Gateway Glitter 'n Ink Holiday party shoebox swap. We had just received the our pre-order of the Love You Much bundle and it was fun to play with the stamp set and punch.



Here is another one using the Love You Much bundle. I just love the little "love birds." I got the idea here. I used Candy Lane DSP, Pink Pirouette, Very Vanilla & Chocolate Chip cardstock, Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon and, of course, the fabulous Heart to Heart punch.

This card is adorable because it uses Riding Hood Red, Basic Black and Whisper White cardstock. One of my favorite combinations. The DSP is Riding Hood Red and the ribbon is RHR taffeta. I got the idea here. I even bravely doodled around the love birds!!



Lastly, this one is my favorite from one of my favorite blogs to follow -- Tiffanyscardtique. It seemed to be the favorite of my Stamp-a-Stack group too. It also uses RHR DSP, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White and Riding Hood Red cardstock, along with RHR striped ribbon. I loved that the card had rounded corners -- such a simple thing to do but it made the card very unique. Thanks for stopping by and looking at my cards. Let me know what you think?

A Cold Wintery Sunday

I'm reminded today by the weather that we are still in the middle of winter. Earlier this week the St. Louis area reached a high temperature near 60 degrees. Today, it's cold (I'm not sure it made it to 20 degrees) and it's been snow flurrying all day. It was a great day to stay inside and make homemade soup -- so I made my famous (only to my family) Vegetable Beef Bean Soup. It makes the house smell good all day. I can't wait to sit back with a hot bowl of soup and watch one of my favorite TV shows -- Cold Case.

However, before I do that I want to share with you the cards I made for this months stamp club and my Stamp-a-Stack group. One of my New Year's Resolutions was to not spend so much time preparing for my classes. I now have three regular groups a month and I'm hoping I can create the projects at the beginning of the month and use them for all three groups. It should work because they are all different people and I have not crossovers.

I decided some spring like cards would be in order. The first card I found on Karen's blog who is in the Gateway 'n Glitter group. I just love the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set. I used the retired DSP Maine Blueberry and Bashful Blue, Old Olive and Not Quite Navy cardstock.


Here is another card using some more retired DSP (I've got plenty to use up). I cased it from a blog I found here. I just love the Crazy for Cupcakes set and the Summer Picnic DSP. I just never thought of putting them together. The cherries on top of the cupcakes and the cherries on the DSP go so well together -- what do you think? I used Real Red, Whisper White and Bashful Blue cardstock. The hardest part was using the "happy birthday to you" semi-circle stamp to make a circle -- the Stamp-a-Ma-Jig came in handy!


Here is another card I found on Jan Tink's blog using the new Raspberry Tart DSP and the new Sweet Stems stamp set. I needed to make sure I used new stuff to get my customers excited about the new catalog. That doesn't take much because the new catalog is awesome!! This card uses Rose Red, Camero Coral, Whisper White cardstock.

Thanks for stopping by!!

It's Been a Long, Long Time ...

since I shared any photos of what I've been working on. One of my fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrators asked when I was going to post some of the things I'd been working on. So first, I want to share with you a gift item I made for our Gateway 'n Glitter Group's Christmas party. I made this Coaster Caddy which I found on one of my favorite blogs -- S.T.A.R.S.--Sharing The Art of Rubber Stamping. I used one of my favorite DSP's Sweet Always and printed a small 2009 calendar and put pink post-it notes. It was a big hit at our gift exchange.



Another cute gift item that I used for one of my monthly Stamp-a-Stack classes is a set of cards using the Season of Friendship set placed in a magazine holder. The cards turned out great because I went with a four season theme so the finished holder contained 2 cards of each of the four seasons (with envelopes). I found a great tutorial for this here. How do you think it turned out?




Thanks for checking in with me and I'd love to hear your comments.

New Catalog & Other Things

I know I haven't posted in a while but once the New Catalog arrived that was all I could think about. Well, here it is -- the 2009 Spring/Summer Idea Book & Catalog.

If you are like me, the experience of holding that new catalog, the feel of the pages, the smell of a new book and, of course, browsing for hours at all the new products can be intoxicating!!

If you don't have a 2009 Spring/Summer Idea Book & Catalog, please contact me to get your very own copy. I've included a link to the online catalog at the right. Check it out!

A couple of important things to tell you:

Stampin' Up! had to remove the project recipes from the back of the catalog. They had to make room for the new items, the Big Shot items, and the Decor Elements pages. However, don't worry, Stampin' Up! has provided the recipes for you in a different location. You can now get the recipes online! Click here to download the Project Index. For your convenience, I've also included a link to my right sidebar. Save it to your computer for quick reference.

Now that Stampin' Up! has went to two catalogs a year, there is a list of stamps that are still available, but are not in the current catalog at this time. This allows SU! to place sets that are not likely to sell at the time of year that the catalog is in effect, such as most Christmas and Halloween sets, or allow them to introduce more new sets than they could usually fit in. But you can still order these sets!! You can view the current dormant list here.

A New Year!

The holidays are such a busy time. I get totally consumed with preparations -- shopping, wrapping, baking, making handmade gifts and then finally the celebrations. I enjoy all of it but I'm always glad when everything is over and life can get back to normal. Actually, normal for me is just about as hectic! That's why I like the start of a new year. It's a time to clean the slate and get a new start. I've always struggled with organization and managing my time so once again those are the areas I'm going to focus on.

Since it is January 7th already it looks like the managing my time resolution is not going to well. I opened up my blog today and realized I hadn't posted for almost a month!!! How time flies when you are having fun.

I was going to post a few pictures of items that I made for Christmas gifts. When I went to use my photo-editing program to crop my photos, it decided not to cooperate. It wouldn't load properly and it locked up my computer. After three reboots and a lot of frustration, I gave up trying.

So, instead of pics let's talk about what's going on at Stampin' Up! Here is a quick breakdown of the promotions for this month:

1 - The new catalog is coming out and will be available as of Jan 19. YEAH!!! I can’t wait to see all the new spring and summer stamps and accessories! I'm hosting an Open House on Saturday, January 24, 2009 from 9:00-11:00am. Contact me for location and other details. Reserve your spot to receive your own copy of the 2009 Spring/Summer Idea Book & Catalog.

2 - The Retiring Stamp Sets list is HERE for those of you who want to have another look at it.

3 - Stampin’ Up! has just released their Retired Accessories List -- See list below. Hurry items go fast. Contact me to check status of items.

4 - There’s an INVENTORY BLOWOUT - excellent specials on lots of accessories up to 50% off - click HERE to see the flyer!

5 - The Love You Much Bundle is available for the whole month of January! Great products to make valentine’s projects! Click HERE to see the flyer.

Check out some of the great specials. You can either contact me by email or go to my Stampin' Up! demonstrator website to order on-line. Don't wait these things will go fast!!

Don't forget to join me at my Open House on January 24, 2009 anytime between 9:00-11:00am to receive your new 2009 Spring/Summer Idea Book & Catalog!

Retired Accessories List: Updated Today - Items will sell out fast!

111377 ACCENTS & ELEMENTS ROOF GARDEN
112012 ACCENTS & ELEMENTS SEASON TO SHARE
112088 ACCENTS & ELEMENTS TRUE ELEGANCE
102782 ALBUM LEATHER BLACK 12X12 SOLD OUT
104188 ALBUM LEATHER BLACK 6X6
105384 ALBUM LINEN POST MELLOW MOSS 6X6*
104516 ALBUM LINEN POST NAVY 6X6
105381 ALBUM LINEN POST REAL RED 6X6* SOLD OUT
103977 BUTTONS BOLD BRIGHTS*
103978 BUTTONS EARTH ELEMENTS
103981 BUTTONS EARTH ELEMENTS & NEUTRALS
105446 BUTTONS RICH REGALS
105445 BUTTONS SOFT SUBTLES
103604 DAYS-TO-REMEMBER CALENDAR 12X12
102174 DAYS-TO-REMEMBER CALENDAR 8 1/2X11
112465 DESIGNER SERIES PAPER BANBURY
112462 DESIGNER SERIES PAPER GEORGIA PEACH
112463 DESIGNER SERIES PAPER GHOSTLY GREETINGS
112040 DESIGNER SERIES PAPER GREEN TEA
112470 DESIGNER SERIES PAPER HAIKU
112460 DESIGNER SERIES PAPER HAWAII PAPAYA
112469 DESIGNER SERIES PAPER HOLIDAY TREASURES
112458 DESIGNER SERIES PAPER JUNIOR VARSITY
112459 DESIGNER SERIES PAPER MAINE BLUEBERRY
112466 DESIGNER SERIES PAPER MUIRFIELD
112149 DESIGNER SERIES PAPER PARISIAN SUMMER
112467 DESIGNER SERIES PAPER PRESTWICK
111355 DESIGNER SERIES PAPER SUMMER PICNIC
112039 DESIGNER SERIES PAPER WINDSOR KNOT
106523 ENVELOPE TEMPLATE FIVE-IN-ONE CARD COVER
104104 ENVELOPE TEMPLATE MINI
107298 ENVELOPES CONFETTI WHITE MEDIUM
110695 ENVELOPES OPEN END KRAFT SMALL
109115 ENVELOPES OPEN END VERY VANILLA SMALL
103372 METAL EDGE TAGS ALUMINUM WHITE SQUARE
107925 ON BOARD BITTY BOOK*
109190 ON BOARD CLIPBOARD 9X9*
109180 ON BOARD SIMON UPPER
112086 ON BOARD SOMETHING SEASONAL
107923 PAGE PROTECTORS RING 3.25 X 3.25
104942 PUNCH 1/4 INCH CIRCLE
104943 PUNCH 1/4 INCH SQUARE
107273 PUNCH 3/4 INCH SQUARE
104389 PUNCH DOUBLE CIRCLE*
100391 PUNCH HANDHELD 1/8 INCH CIRCLE SOLD OUT
104830 RIBBON GINGHAM CARAMEL
104829 RIBBON GINGHAM LIGHT BLUE
104828 RIBBON GINGHAM LIGHT PINK
104831 RIBBON GINGHAM MOSS
109037 RIBBON GROSGRAIN MORE MUSTARD 1/4 INCH
110282 RUB ON ANCHORED
111806 RUB ON CHILLS & THRILLS
111805 RUB ON SCHOOL DAYS
111417 RUB ON WORD FLURRIES
110283 RUB ONS TAKE NOTE
112193 SIMPLY SCRAPPIN I WISH
112186 SIMPLY SCRAPPIN PINA COLADA
112068 SIMPLY SCRAPPIN SUMMER HOME SOLD OUT
112043 SIMPLY SCRAPPIN U R SWEET
112061 SIMPLY SCRAPPIN WINTER RETREAT SOLD OUT
112016 SIMPLY SENT CARD ELEMENTS HANDMADE HOLIDAY
109868 SIMPLY SENT CARD KIT LIFELONG NOTES
103647 STAMPIN STORE MINI
105813 WRITE ME A MEMORY FONT CD VOL II

RETIRING WHEELS
107212 Matey's Map
106749 Bright Bulbs
109672 Bronco SOLD OUT
104100 Making Tracks
108978 Sandy Shells
110332 Snow
101233 Snowflakes
109694 Sweet Stars
111249 Take a Number

*These items are discounted and included on the Inventory Blowout.