Pennant Parade!

They did it again!  Stampin' Up has stamp sets that match with a punch so we don't have to cut!  I just love it when they do that.  The stamp set is Pennant Parade and the punch is called Petite Pennants Builder.  It has 2 punches on it, one just straight and the other a scalloped banner.  These 3 cards were cards from a stamp camp that my upline, Julie Salva did.  I had an important meeting that day and couldn't go but a wonderful stamper and friend, Mary Robinson put my cards together for me. 

The first one uses the punch upside down for an ice cream cone.  It also uses the Cupcake punch for the ice cream part. With some strips of the new Just Add Cake DSP, it makes a great birthday card!

Next, a card that uses the pennants to actually make pennants!  This card features a fun little banner across the top.  The "wish big" stamp is also in the Pennant Parade stamp set.  It has 13 stamps in all, 4 different pennant designs, 6 sayings and 3 other stamps to embellish your projects.  Notice the Lace Ribbon Border punch in white behind the ribbon?  I love that punch!

The last card made with the Pennant stamps and punch was this Christmas card.  The little pot to hold the tree is one of the ones from the stamp set.  Very cute to turn the pennant upside down and turn it into a  Christmas tree.

I reckon I need to get both the stamp set and the punch.  I really like them both.

It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Punches!

There are 5 punches that are retiring the end of June.  These are so hard to say goodbye to!  I love the 1 3/8" Oval Punch.  I use it all the time, I can't believe it is retiring!  I don't use the other retiring punches as often but they are all good punches to have handy.  I was most surprised to see the Bat Punch retire.  It only came out a year ago and it makes great clouds and spiky hair.

Another punch that is retiring is the Spiral Punch.  It was great to make accents along the edges of artwork like Marisol did with this beautiful card that she sent me.  I love the color scheme!  I wouldn't have thought to put Rose Red, Early Espresso and Very Vanilla together but they are beautiful. 

The Artistic Etchings stamp set isn't retiring but the DSP that she used is.  It is called Newsprint and it is great paper, you have until Thursday, June 30 to order some for your projects!

I took some pictures of some projects using several of the new stamp sets but have been planning to post retiring products the last 2 weeks of June.  Hey, I reckon I could decide to mix it up a bit and show some new things before the month is over!

Good bye Pennant Die and Chunky Glitter

This is one of the projects I made at the Spring Retreat.  The pictures definitely don't do it justice but there are so many trees around my stamp room that I can't get good lighting in there to take a picture of it.  We used the Pennant die to make the sections of the banner in Early Espresso and added some of the beautiful Paisly Petals DSP to accent each one.    

The pleated medallion in the center was a bit challenging but they went together fairly quickly and then we added the letters to the center of each one.  I had a hard time deciding what to spell but I knew I wanted to put it in my stamp room so I finally decided on "Happy" since stamping makes me happy.  We sprinkled Chunky Glitter on the letters after we die cut them with the Serif Essentials Alphabet set to add a bit of bling to the project.  It makes me happy to look up and see my banner. 

If you have been thinking about ordering this die, you only have until June 30 as it is one of the retiring dies.  

Fond Farewell

 When Stampin' Up introduces the new hostess stamp sets every year we know we only have them to demonstrate for a year.  There are always lots of great hostess sets in each catalog and this year one of my favorites has been the hydrangea in the Because I Care set.  This has been a versatile flower even though at first look it seems like it is "just a flower" stamp.

It makes a great focal point for a card, I love the smaller single flower stamp that you can stamp and cut out to add dimension to the larger flower.  Of course, a butterfly and ribbon are always great touches.

As great as it is as a focal point, it is also great as a background stamp  It is stamped and embossed with the  Square Lattice Embossing Folder for the So Saffron card. 

It is a great size stamp for scrapbook pages too.  I used it as a focal point as well as background for the stamped mats across the bottom of the pages on the layout.

Since it is a hostess set, you can get it free!  I do have a few days with space for you to have your party to earn this wonderful stamp set for yourself.  It ends the last day of June though so hurry and let me know when you want to book your workshop. 

3 More Flower Cards

I need to post more of the swaps I got at the Spring Retreat.  Despite the fact that the weather has been acting like Spring here in middle TN the past few days, it is Summer!  I still have several great swaps from the retreat that I want to share with you.  These cards are all 3-D flowers, some with diecuts, some with punches. 

First, a Baja Breeze flower cut with the great new Fun Flowers die.  I love the shapes of these flowers so this die was a gotta have for me.  The card was made  by Kathy Brown who said she CASEd it from SandyStamper.   I love the way she used the Lattice Embossing Folder on the center of the flower and the Pear Pizzaz Bias Tape leaves.  I just realized I forgot to flip the picture.  We'll pretend the Happy Birthday was meant to go up the side.

 The next card is a vintage type card made by Kelley Bialoski----  Sorry Kelley, I can't make out the end of your signature.  She rolled the Crumb Cake paper with the Very Vintage wheel and sponged the edges for a vintage feel, then added a DSP flower created with the Die Blossom Party die in combination with the 2-3/8" Scalloped Circle punch, all were crimped before being put together.  What a great flower!

The last card I will share today is one made by Kim May from AL.  She used the great new Blossom XL punch but only put half the flower on her card so she had room for the Happy Birthday sentiment, double mounted on the Decorative Label Punch.  A quick run through the Big Shot with the Tulip Frame Embossing Folder finishes the card off nicely as does the sweet little butterfly.

There are so many great flowers we can make now with all the dies and punches available.  I love to wrinkle them up, crimp them, and run them through the embossing folders to give them extra character and dimension. 

Flower cards

I love pretty flowers, doesn't everyone?  One of our Heavenly Father's best creations (other than grandchildren)!  I wanted to post some of the swap cards I got at the Spring Retreat I went to for Stampin' Up demonstrators a couple of months ago.  I still have a lot of swaps I haven't posted.

First, it is kind of a flower but also I thought it would follow the "Tooth Larry" book from the weekend that I posted.  It is a cute clip that the goodies the Tooth Fairly leaves can be clipped onto the child's pillow case.  It is a cute idea, but then, Tooth Larry is a manly guy and wouldn't want to leave a flower!

Second is a fun idea, do you recognize the flower petals?  Oh, you are smart, yes they are the bird wings from the 2-step XL Bird Punch!  I love the "forget-me-not" feel of this card.  It is the perfect card to send to someone to let them know that you are thinking about them.  Who wouldn't enjoy that???  This card was a creation of Amber Apple.

The last 2 cards are very different although they feature the same stamp set, Awash With Flowers.  It is a 2-step stamp set so you stamp the outline and then choose the color to stamp the middle.  I love this set although I haven't used it much.  First, a fun tri-fold card secured with velcro that was made by Kim McDonald.  She stamped 3 of the half-flowers from the set and colored them with pink and orange markers.  She cut them out and adhered them with a brad so they look like a full flower.  the front of the card is embossed with the Petals A Plenty embossing folder.   I like how she made some of the petals look striped with 2 colors.

The beautiful B&W with yellow flowers doesn't have a name on the back so I don't know who made it but it is very pretty.  I love the simplicity of it.  The funny thing is, when I use this set I want to get the placement of the "watercolor" petals just perfectly in the lines but it doesn't bother me that she didn't.  I guess that means everyone else doesn't have to be perfect but I demand it of myself.  I reckon I should go seek professional help.

VC Rocks! Blog Hop

VC stands for Virtual Convention.  I guess it started a few years back when some Stampin' Up demonstrators who couldn't make it to convention got together and formed a group to keep their spirits up during a sad, sad time for them.  For 4 or 5 reasons, I've decided not to go to convention this year.  I keep thinking that maybe I should change my mind but I haven't yet so it's looking like I won't be going.  I love the Stampin' Up conventions!  They are so much fun and the excitement of the staff is catching.  I love the projects, both the ones we make and the ones on the multitude of project boards. And, I love the convention bag and the stamps it is filled with! 
Anyway, the VC blog hop is today and tomorrow.  If you have arrived here from Jayne's blog, you were treated to several fun embossed projects.  The blog hop is featuring Big Shot projects.  I have been busy but managed to put together a couple of quick projects for you. 

First, a fun little bag you can give small treats in.  wouldn't this be a great presentation for your goodies???  I cut the Fancy Favor bag a little short and added a strip of Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper to the top for a ruffle effect.  I thought about cutting 2 of them and gathering them but didn't, I might try that later, I think it would look great!  As I'm looking at it, I wish I had inked the top edge like I did the flower, maybe I'll do that after I do a little work in the garden before it gets too hot.

The flower is made with the Fun Flowers die and finished off with an Antique Brad.  Did you notice the handle of the basket?  I used the new, not yet released border punch.  It is in the new catalog and will be available on July 1st.  It is definitely a gotta' have punch!

My second project is a small scrapbook that is quick and easy to put together.  Because of it's small size you don't need very many embellishments, I didn't use any on this one.  Just pictures and journaling.  This is a great little size for a single event like the loss of a first tooth.  This one is of my grandson and his visit from "Tooth Larry".  I used the Paisley Petals DSP again on this project, I love that paper!  I cut the chipboard from the DSP packaging into 4" strips and was able to get 6 pages per piece.  Then I cut the DSP the same way and adhered it to the chipboard shapes.  I printed the pictures off in the wallet size so I got 9 per sheet. 

If you are making one of these fun little albums for a child, be sure to use plenty of adhesive!  They are sure to be loved and the pages turned many times.  I can't wait to share this little album with Easton, I think he will be excited.  Hummmm, come to think of it, I better make another one.  I'm not sure I want to give it up!

The next stop on the VC Blog Tour is Krisit's blog.  She has some great ideas for the inlaid embossing technique I posted a couple of months ago.  Enjoy it and all the other blogs!  I reckon I'm out to the garden and then I'll be checking the blog hop out too.

Quick and Easy Embossed Cards

I love how the embossing folders make it quick and easy to make a great card without a lot of trouble.  This card uses the new Flower Garden embossing folder.  After embossing the card front I just put on a crochet flower with a fabric brad center and a sentiment and the card was done.  No need to cut lots of layers or do a complicated technique.  Of course, I still try lots of techniques but it is great when I need a quick card that I can make a great "impression" in so little time. 

Second is another card using an embossing folder.  This time it is the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.  I brayered some Rich Razzleberry ink on the folder before placing the Rich Razzleberry cardstock in it for a nice 2 tone effect on the embossed piece.  

I'm getting ready to start a Big Shot club and a free embossing folder will be included with your club membership.  Be looking for more details soon!

Strength and Hope June Class

The Strength and Hope Campaign that Stampin' Up is running throughout the Summer Mini Catalog period. That is 4 months of support to Breast Cancer Research! I am going to do a class each of those 4 months using the Strength and Hope stamp set and all proceeds from these classes will also be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. $2 from each stamp set ordered will also be donated by Stampin' Up. Each class will feature 3 cards, you will make 2 of each for a total of 6 cards. The classes will be $10 each. Whatever is left after I buy the supplies for the class will be donated.

Nearly everyone you meet has been touched by a family member with Breast Cancer. I have a couple of cousins battling it and my sweet Mother-in-law had it. Surely donations will be used to make progress in stopping this disease from killing so many women.  I just heard today that one of my cousins is not expected to live past the end of the week.  This is such a hard time for her family.  I wish I could do more than pray for them, visit and take a meal over.

The 3 cards in the picture are the ones we will make in our June class. I will offer the class twice during June, Tuesday, June 14 at 10AM or Saturday, June 25 at 2PM. I hope I'll see you at one of these classes. Email me for directions to my house if you can come.

6 cards for $10, that works out to $1.66 per card. You can't buy them in the store for that price AND, you will be donating to a very deserving cause!

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Yes, it's that time of year again.  The 2010/11 Catalog is drawing to a close.  With the approach of July 1st, many of the stamp sets and accessories in this wonderful catalog are being retired.  There are some I love that are leaving and (although I love almost everything Stampin' Up carries) there are a couple that I won't miss at all.  I'm hoping they have a set with a cute giraffe, that one in the Animal Stories set just creeps me out!  Maybe other people like it but I don't!
Do you want to see what is retiring so you can get some of the sets and accessories?   June 30th is the deadline for you to order these stamps, accessories and Decor Elements.
CLICK HERE to view the Retiring Stamps, Accessories or Decor Elements List.

Don't forget that the Accessories & Decor Elements are available  while supplies last and the list will be updated daily at my website.

Here is the layout I designed for my June scrapbook club.  I didn't know when I was making it that the stamp set would be one of the ones on the retirement list.  I used it just in time!

Humm, that isn't the best picture but it's late.  Maybe I'll try to get a better picture with better lighting in the morning.  The stamp set I used is Friends 24/7.  The title is using Lovely Letters which, thankfully, isn't retiring.