A whole week has gone by, time is just getting away from me lately!  I spend a lot of time weeding the garden.  Technically, it is grass I'm pulling.  There aren't many weeds but the grass is trying to take over.  It has been a garden spot for years and years but the grass still hasn't taken the hint that we don't want it there.

 

Here is another card with the new Everything Eleanor stamp set.  You will be able to order from the new catalog Friday!  This set is definitely on my wish list.  I love that label background stamp and the flowers, little bird and big swirl are great images as well.  Mary Robinson created this swap card using a very neutral but beautiful Whisper White and Soft Suede color scheme.  I love it!

Next is another card we made at the team meeting.  This one uses the new Layered Labels stamp set.  That is another great set with 4 great labels.  Another one that is on my wish list!  Notice how the polka dots around the "For You" sentiment is so deep and solid?  That isn't designer patterned paper, it is the stamp.  It shows how beautifully the new ink pads stamp a solid image.  I'll be replacing all my ink pads because these are so superior.  The paper used on the card is called Comfort Cafe, isn't it great paper?  Also, the ribbon is a new offering this year.  It is 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon.  I love all the stitching on the ribbon which comes in the 5 new In Colors.  This color is Summer Starfruit.  The cardstock on this card is another new In Color, Midnight Muse.  It is a quick and easy card that carries a lot of impact. 

Let me know if you need a catalog or better yet, if you want to host a workshop so you can earn some of these great new products.  You can start ordering from the new catalog on Friday so you need to get one!  I better order a couple of more boxes so I'll have plenty on hand.   

I Won!

I won $50 in free Stampin' Up merchandise from Sherrill Graff!  It was so hard to decide, I ended up getting a couple of things I had been wanting but for some reason I never got them on my order.  The die strip is going to retire soon and I wanted to get that alphabet set before it was too late but the other 2 items will also be in the new catalog.  I love the En Francis background stamp.  I've wanted it for a long time, it gives such an elegant touch to a card.  You will be seeing it on my cards soon!  And I think I was rebelling against the little oval punch because they retired the small oval that coordinated with the medium oval so I just didn't order it.  I like the little punch though and have sentiment sets that it will be perfect for punching out so I do need it, right??

Here are a couple of cards we made at our team meeting I went to last week.  I love the neutral colors of this first card.  This is  made with a beautiful new stamp set called Everything Eleanor.  I love the flowers and the swirls.  The set has a couple of other great stamps in it, I'll show one of the swap cards made with the same set next time.  The sentiment comes from a set called Pursuit of Happiness, a great little set of 5 sentiments for only $13.95 in clear mount or $17.95 on wood.  The card is actually stamped clearly, it is hard to read for some reason in the picture.

Last is a nice little card, simple and easy but very pretty.  It uses 2 of the new In Colors, Midnight Muse and Gumball Green, I think they are both great colors.  Not too bright but definitely not dull!  The stamp set is a new set named Betsy's Blossoms and the ribbon is our new 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon, again, in Gumball Green. 

The new catalog will come out in 9 more days!  You still have a little time to place an order before the retiring list is no longer available.  Don't let it sneak up on you and miss those great retiring goodies. 

I'm working on a Father's Day card and gift class and a retirement shindig (not for me but for the things retiring from the old catalog).  I reckon I need to get off the computer and stamp a bit.  I'll let you know when the classes will be soon!   

Swaps From Saturday's Team Meeting

I can't believe it has been almost 2 weeks since I've posted!  I haven't gone that long since I started my blog.  Needless to say, I have been very busy.  I've got my garden mostly planted and have been raising chickens and ducks.  I haven't even had time to hold any Stampin' Up classes in over 3 weeks.  I need some stamping time!

I went to a team meeting Saturday and we made some great projects using some of the new stamps and paper.  I want to post some swaps first, starting with my swap card.  I used the new Twitterpated DSP for the background and used the heart Framelits to cut out hearts from the front cardstock.  I let each heart go off the edge of the cardstock a bit and then took a marker and did the stitching around each heart.

I used the Boho Blossoms punch to make the little flower, added a Basic Pearl to the center and stamped the saying from the Occasions Alphabet stamp set.  It is all mounted on a Not Quite Navy base.

The first swap card didn't have a name on the back so I don't remember who made it.  That is a shame because it is a very nice card and I'd love to give her credit.  She used Concord Grape, a retiring In-Color from the 2010/11 collection. 

If you still want anything from the 2011/12 catalog, there are only 15 more days to order the items that will be retiring.  It is amazing that May is nearly over, where have the days flown????  In the next few days I'll post some of the projects we made with the new stamps and colors.  My camera stopped taking pictures before I could get all the pictures taken, I hope it isn't broken.  Sometimes these digital gadgets get a bit stubborn. 

Mixed Bunch Card

I used several great but easy techniques to create this card with the Mixed Bunch stamp set.  It is a no layer card so that means no extra postage.  I hardly ever do a card without some kind of layer or embelishment, I really don't mind placing an extra stamp on a card after I've spent all that time making it special.  Most of the cards I make go for only 1 stamp though.

I started by placing 4 post-it notes in a square in the corner before stamping the flower.  This is called masking, making it so part of the area where you are stamping doesn't get the ink on it.  I also used the "Rock and Roll" technique on the flower by inking it up with Daffodil Delight ink and then rolling the outer edges of the flower stamp in Pumpkin Pie ink.  This gives it dimension without much trouble at all! 

After I stamped the flower I stamped another flower on another post-it, being sure the edge of the flower was stamped so it would be above the sticky part.  Then I cut it out (actually I only cut half of it out since the other half would be on the other mask and didn't need to be cut) and placed it exactly over the flower image I had stamped on the card.  That is double masking!  With the border mask and the flower mask in place I sponged on some Pacific Point ink lightly in the remaining unmasked area of the card.

It is kind of like magic when you remove all the masks.  This is a fun technique.  After removing the masks I doodled some lines and stamped a greeting with the Thoughts and Prayers set.

I'm thinking about doing some straight line embossing using my Simply Scored tool instead of the doodle lines.  If I get around to it I'll post so you can see the difference.  I think the doodles are easier but I'm always dissatisfied with my doodling and the scored lines would be more "perfect". 

Guess what else I did today - planted more beets and some squash in my garden!  I reckon it doesn't make your day but I'm all excited about it when my garden starts sprouting up in the Spring.  I have lots of spinach and lettuce coming up as well as snow peas, corn, tomatoes and beets.  Oh, and I planted these funny gourds they call snake gourds.  They are supposed to curl around and look a lot like a big ol' snake.  I hope they turn out looking like the picture on the front of the package.  Today I planted 8 hills of yellow squash, 8 hills of zucchini and 6 hills of butternut squash and another row of beets.  Did I mention that I LOVE beets???