Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Retirement LIst is posted!

It is an exciting time of year for Stampin' Up!  The list of stamp sets and accessories was released this  morning.  I'll be sad to see many things go but excited for the promise of new goodies to play with.  If you see something you want, the accessories and colors go very fast and when they are gone they are gone so order quickly.  The stamps will be available until May 31 so you have a little more time to decide about them.  You can check out the list here.  If you hurry, this is a great time to get the Watercolor Wonder Crayons before they are all sold out as well as lots of ribbon and DSP.  Some of the ink and cardstock colors that are retiring have already sold out!  If you order directly from my website you can see what is sold out and what is still available and it will be sent to your house so you will get it more quickly.

I made this card using Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White and Basic Gray Cardstock.  I ran the Cherry Cobbler through my favorite Honeycomb Embossing Folder and made hexagons from the Twitterpated DSP to fill in a few of the spaces.  A little Baker's Twine and layered punches with Mixed Medley and Teeny Tiny Verses stamp sets finish off a thank you card that I'm sure will be appreciated.

 
Be sure to get your order in quickly to be assured that most of the products you want are still available!

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Free Shipping! That is like getting 10% off your order!

Stampin' Up is offering free shipping this weekend.  I need more paper so I'm going to take advantage of getting an extra 10% off my order!  If you need something, let me know before 3 PM on Monday, April 8th and I'll add your order in with mine and you can take advantage of free shipping too.  Or you can place an online order here and have the order sent directly to your house. 

I'm working on a class using the Moving Forward set, more details on that early next week.  For now, another project we did at the Spring Retreat.  I love the Tea For Two Designer Series Paper, it is kind of old fashioned quilt-like but the colors are fresh and new.  I think the paper we used on the note card portfolio is my favorite from the pack.
The portfolio is so quick and easy, just take a 12X12 sheet of designer paper, fold up 4" and fold in half (at the 6" point the other direction) and adhere the overlapping edges. 

The note cards are just quarter size paper embossed on one edge with one of the Delicate Designs Embossing Folders.  The flower stamped on the envelope is one of the ones in the Oh Hello set featured in the Spring Mini catalog.  I think this is a beautiful set of note cards and it is so easy to be impressive!
 
If you want this fabulous paper or anything else, why not hop to it and order it before Monday is over so you can get free shipping?  I reckon it is always a good thing to save some money!

Monday, April 1, 2013

Necklace instructions and the new Hostess Code!

I am very excited about the new Hostess Code that Stampin' Up has implemented so you can get orders from your friends who even live in a different state when you host a Stampin' Up workshop.  It will help hostesses build their sales totals since their friends from all over can "join" the party and place an order.  You can keep your workshop open for several weeks but when a friend places an online order using your hostess code, her order will be shipped right away.  She won't have to wait until the workshop order is finalized to get her goodies! 

If you have thought about having a workshop but hesitated because you don't know many local people, call me and we will get a date on the calendar for you.  We can do cards or a scrapbook page or even a 3-D item at your workshop, whatever you prefer.  It is easier than ever to get some great hostess gifts to add to your stampin' supplies.

Several people asked me how I made the Diffuser Necklaces that I posted a month or so ago.  They are a fun and unusual project.  I started with terracotta clay, the no-bake kind.  You just need a small piece for each pendant.  I used small circle cutters to cut out my clay.  You could also make a small ball and flatten it out and smooth out any rough spots around the edge.  Any small stamp will do to put a nice design in the clay.  I thought Circle Circus was a great set since the stamps were round. 
 After stamping the clay circles be sure to make a hole to hang the pendant with.  That is pretty much it for the clay part.  They will take 24 hours or more to dry.  They will dry faster if you put them on a rack of some sort after they have dried a few hours.  If you don't have a rack you can just turn them over the next day so the backs can dry.  You may find some rough edges as they dry, just use a emery board or fine grit sand paper to sand them down when they are completely dry.

After the pendant is completely dry you can choose your cord and beads and put the necklace together.  Then you get the fun of choosing an oil to infuse it with.  Different oils last different amounts of time.  I tried lemon and it just lasted a day.  I used a blend called On Guard and it lasts 5 days strong and a couple of more days after that just not as strong.
 
I don't know if you picked up on it but I have become a doTERRA Essential Oil distributor.  I love how much more safe I feel that I can manage health problems with these oils on hand.  There is a wide range of things the oils can do.  If you want to have a less stressful day, try some lavender oil on your pendant.  If you are hoping to ward off any of the viruses and flu bugs going around try On Guard.  I didn't get sick in Jan, Feb or March after I started using the On Guard!   
 
Mental fatigue?  Try some Frankincense.  Morning sickness or nausea, try Ginger.  Are you going to be outside and want to keep the mosquitoes away?  Put a drop of Terra Shield on your pendant.  There is a long list of oils that can help you with just a drop or 2 rubbed into your necklace.  I'd love to hear if any of you try it.  Of course, I can supply you with both the stamps and the oils now!
I reckon you  might want to see a card while you are here.   This is one of the swaps I got at the Spring Retreat.  It is from Laura Ballinger.  I love how she stamped the swirly stamps from the Everything Eleanor set onto the First Edition paper and then stamped the flowers on Very Vanilla cardstock and cut them out and layered them with Stampin' Dimensionals.  It is a great card, one of my favorites.  Of course, Everything Eleanor is such a great stamp set you can't go wrong with it!