It's Party Time....For Pirates and Princesses

The last October Deal of the Week is all about parties. If your planning an upcoming party for your favorite Pirate or Princess this special is for you.

Item Number 116214
Description Princess Party Kit
Special Price $9.99

Item Number 116213
Description Pirate Party Kit
Special Price $9.99

If you want to take advantage of this special make sure to place your order by October 31.

It's Time for a Sketch Challenge...With a Twist!

Good afternoon Ladies. We had a great time this weekend and everyone had a great time discovering all the great things you could do with a Simply Scrappin' kit, on top of just scrapbooks. Thank you all for attending. I decided that after the class was over that I really needed spend some time trying out Stampin' UP!s new digital crafting software, My Digitial Studio. While working with this great new program I decided to combine my pratice with this weeks Stamping 411 challenge, so my entire project was created digitally.

I used the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' kit designer paper and embellishments from the , as well as the Winter Post stamp set. This was really fun and I'm looking forward to seeing all that this software has to offer.

Have a great week!

Deal of the Week #3

I'm excited to announce this weeks Deal of the Week! This week it's all about accessories....you can save big on Grommets, Brads, and Library Clips. See the details below and don't forget to go to my website to place your order for this weeks special is over on Monday, October 26 11:30 AM EST.

Item Number 109857
Mini Library clips
Original Price $12.95
Sale Price $8.99

Item Number 112581
1/2" Library clips
Regular Price $6.95
Sale Price $3.99

Item Number 114348
Basic Jumbo grommets
Regular Price $6.95

Sale Price $4.49

Item Number 112571
Circle Designer brads
Regular Price $5.95
Sale Price $3.99

Happy Hippo Birthday!

I'm so happy it has stopped raining and the sun is finally starting to come out. Aidan has been very upset the sun hasn't been out...gotta love the mind of a 4 year old. For this weeks stamping 411 challenge I decided to use a stamp set new to this years catalog which I hadn't actually used yet. When I first saw the Look Who's Turning stamp set I was detemined that I had to have it for all the kids birthdays we celebrate but everytime I looked at it I had a hard time getting inspired.

The card starts with a base of Rich Razzleberry cardstock and then is layered with a piece of Old Olive cardstock that I wrapped a piece of Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon around. On top of that is a piece of designer paper from the Write Stuff Specialty paper and Crushed Curry cardstock. The main image is stamped on Whisper White cardstock and uses Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive and Crushed Curry ink. I definately had to use the Stamp-a-maj for this project. The greating is from the same stamp set and is stamped with Rich Razzleberry ink on Crushed Curry cardstock. I used the modern label punch to cut out the greating and then attached it using Vintage Brads.

I had a bit of hard time taking the picture but I really like how it turned out and think a kid will definately like it. Hope you enjoy and stay tuned tomorrow for the announcement of next weeks Deal of the Week.

Deal of the Week #2

Week 2 Deals of the Week!

If you have a Sizzix Big Shot or die cutting machine, these are for you:



Perfect Setting Bigz XL die
Item Number 115961

Regular Price $42.95
Sale Price $25.99

Flower Burst Embosslits die
Item Number 114515

Regular Price $11.95
Sale Price $5.99

Pop-Up Three Tier Cake Bigz XL die

Item Number 116760
Regular Price $39.95
Sale Price $25.49

The second deals of the week are from October 12, 10 AM (MT) through October 19, 9:50 AM (MT). For more information on the Deals of Week and to place an order, see my website.

It’s time for another Sketch Challenge…What a Crazy Cast of Characters!

Happy Tuesday! I hope you are enjoying the nice fall air as much as we are. It’s nice to be able to open up the windows and spend time with friends and neighbors on the front porch in the evening. The coming of fall is telling me the holidays are upon us to what better theme for this weeks Stamping 411 challenge then Christmas.

My card this weeks was inspired by the Holiday Lounge DSP. I had a stamp-a-stack this weekend and I had a great time hanging out with the ladies. After we completed the cards we were just sitting around looking through the catalog and commenting on all the things we loved. This DSP was one of the items that caught our eye and I realized I hadn’t tried it out yet...so off we go.

The card base is Taken with Teal and has a layer of Holiday Lounge DSP and Ruby Red cardstock. I cut the cardstock a whole inch wider than the DSP so that I could scallop both edges. The main stamped image is Holiday Lineup. I love this set but don’t use it often since you have to do lots of coloring to make each of the figures jump out. I used my Stampin’ Write markers (you all know how much I love them; especially that they have a wide and thin tip so I can get into the little spaces). The finished image was layered on top of a piece of Sahara Sand Textured Cardstock. The greeting is from the Christmas Punch Hostess set (any set that fits in punches is a fav!) and uses Taken with Teal ink on Ruby Red Cardstock. I used the Wide Oval punch to cut it out and then mounted with dimensionals. What about that…easy as pie.

Enjoy and have a great week!

Deals of the Week are Back!

I thought I'd share with you Stampin' UP!'s NEW Deal of the Week for the month of October. This week's current Deal of the Week actually lasts from today until Monday, October 12 at 9:50am Mountain Time. The new deal will be posted on the same day at 10:00am MT.


5-Petal Flower punch, Item Number 109041,$10.99
Trio Flower punch, Item Number 109183, $10.99
My Way punch, Item Number 110709,$11.99

These punches are normally $15.95!! To place your order for these punches or any other Stampin' Up! items, please click on this link and then click on the SHOP NOW button in the top right corner! When you go to place your order, the regular price is shown, but when you go to checkout, the DEAL price is shown in the shopping cart.

Stampin' UP! Announces CLEARANCE RACK - Shop Today for Great Deals!

New Clearance Rack Available in the Online Store September 29, 2009 - surplus inventory of discontinued items are now available for purchase in a new section of the online store called the Clearance Rack.

Click on my SHOP NOW Button for great deals.

REMEMBER these products are available only while supplies last!

Happy Shopping!

Diana

Batty for You!

What a beautiful day! After a very wet day yesterday I'm loving the sunshine today, it's actually making it a little tough to stay inside but at least I'm stamping!!! After a couple of weeks off I'm all set for another Stamping 411 challenge. I've pretty much finished all my halloween cards for the year and I had a make a concerted effort not to use the Batty for You stamp set since it's one of my all time favorites, great for any age.

The card starts with a Basic Black card base and then uses a piece of the Cast-a-Spell designer paper was well as Pumpkin Pie. I wrapped a piece of Basic Black 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon around the seam and then tied a knot in Basic Black and Old Olive Grosgrain. For the main image I used my Stampin' Write Markers to color directly on the rubber to add multiple colors. This was cut out with the 1 1/4" circle punch layered with an Old Olive circle and a circle scallop from Pumpkin Pie using our punches. The greeting is from the All Holidays stamp set and was stamped with VersaMark and then embossed with White Embossing Powder.

What a cutie....I think I'll have to give this to Chris since he has a thing about stinky feet! Have a great week.

Holiday Mini Catalog Samples

What a crazy week!

After having a great Big Shot class this weekend (thank you all for attending) and prepping for the next class this Friday, I haven't had the chance to do any stamping this week (yeah, hard to believe). So instead I thought I would show you the 2 cards I made for the Mini catalog swap I participated. They're pretty straight forward cards so rather than going into detail I'm just going to list the supplies used.

Stamp(s): Serene Snowflakes, Yuletide Greetings
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, Old Olive, and Christmas Cocoa DSP
Ink: Real Red, Soft Suede, Old Olive
Accessories: Oval Scallop Punch, Large Oval Punch, Soft Suede Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Big Shot, Petals-a-Plenty Embossing Folder (love this, stamp the paper first and then run it through your Big Shot to creat dry embossed paper)


Stamp(s): Delightful Decorations, Four the Holidays
Paper: Whisper White, Night of Navy, Old Olive, and Christmas Cocoa DSP(this is the great, soft flocked paper)
Ink: Real Red, Night of Navy, Old Olive
Accessories: Decoration Punch, Gold Brad, Gold Elastic Cord

This is a very simple card but would be great if you have to make a large quantity.

Hope you enjoy!

A Quiet Evening Alone....

Good evening! So I'm having a rare evening. Chris and Aidan are enjoying a night out with friends at the Nationals-Phillies game so I had a quiet house all to myself. What am I do with all this new found time? Stamp of course! I started by participating in a training webinar on the new My Digital Software.....this was the first time I had seen the software and I must say, I'm in love! This program is great and I can't wait to get my hands on it.

For this weeks Mojo Monday challenge I decided to embrace the new In Colors. My cardbase used a piece of Rich Razzleberry cardstock with a piece of Melon Mambo and Old Olive layered on top. On the Old Olive piece I stamped the flower image from the Razzle Dazzle Stamp set and Old Olive ink.

The 3 pieces of designer paper are all from the Razzleberry Lemonade DSP and shows off some of my favorite patterns. The main stamped image is also from the Razzle Dazzle stamp set which I colored on the stamp with our Stampin' Write markers (don't we all love the new markers in the In Colors??) I used a sponge and the Melon Mambo ink to sponge around the end of the cardstock before using SNAIL to adhere the cardstock to the card.

Crushed Curry Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon is tied around the card and the sentiment was from the All Holidays stamp set with Rich Razzleberry ink.

Hope you all enjoy this card. I just heard the garage door open so I guess my quiet evening has come to a close. Hope you all have an enjoyable weekend and for those of you coming to this weekends Big Shot II class, I'll see you on Saturday!

Stamping 411 Challenge - In a Halloween State of Mind

So I was busy all last week making custom halloween cards and photo albums that my mom ordered (thanks mom!) and I spent so much time getting her halloween cards done that I thought I might as well start working on our cards so it's not last minute. When I saw this weeks Stamping 411 challenge I knew that I would be making a halloween card and the new Night and Day DSP from the mini catalog would be perfect. The card base is Basic Black and the first layer is this beautiful designer paper, this print reminds me of an elegant dvorack picture.

The main focal image uses the Haunting Hill Jumbo wheel (also from the mini catalog). Originally I had not planned on coloring the image but I just thought it was to much of one color. I colored the image in with a variety of techniques, Stampin' Pastels for the dirt and moon, Stampin' Markers in Going Grey for the tombstones, and a blender pen and ink pads for the grass and walk ways. For the sky I used the Stamping Sponge first with Bashful Blue and then with the Not Quite Navy.

The image is matted on a piece of Pumpkin Pie cardstock. The ribbon is Basic Black 1/4" Grosgrain which I notted on the left side. I also notted a piece of Black Gingham ribbon. The greeting uses the Teenie Tiny Wishes stamp set which I embossed with Black embossing powder on Elegant Eggplant cardstock. I cut the greeting with the Modern Label punch and attached it with Vintage Brads.




Hope you enjoy this card. I'm off to enjoy the last day of our holiday weekend, take care!

Holiday Mini Catalog Released today!

The Holiday Mini catalog was officially released today and I have to say....I love it. Some of the great new items to check out are: sweet treat cups and matching stamp set (great for holiday gifts), new Big Shot Dies, Shimmer Paint, exclusive Build-a-Bear stamp sets and Big Shot dies, and mini catalog exclusive hostess sets, just to name a few. Click on the link to the right for the full catalog.

Also, just announced today, the new digitial Scrapbooking software, My Digital Studio is available for preorder today and will be available for all customers to order Starting October 1.

What better way to kick off the mini catalog with a great new promotion? Between now and November 30 when you host a workshop totaling $250 or more you can choose any one item* from the 2009 Holiday Mini Catalog for only $10! *Offer excludes hostess sets and My Digital Studio. To make things even better, starting October 1 when you host a workshop over $400 you can order the My Digital Studio at a 50%, on top of the $10 mini catalog item and the usual hostess benefits. There is no better time to host a workshop, so contact me soon to book your personalized party!

Cravin' a little Mojo!!!

Hey Ladies!


So it's been quite a while since participated in one of the Mojo Monday challenges but I shut the door to my stamp room last night so I could focus (gotta love it when your 4 year old loves to explore all your stamp supplies!)


This weeks Mojo Monday challenge was a lot of fun and a great way to celebrate the Mojo's 100 celebration. For my entry I decided to use the Very Thankful stamp set and the Kaleidoscope DSP (this paper is a bit out of my comfort zone since I don't normally use all these different Bold Bright colors but it's very sunny and fun and fits the images for this stamp set). The cardbase is Tempting Turquoise and has a panel of Green Galore and the Kaleidoscope stripe paper. Then I used the Regal Rose 5/8" grosgrain ribbon and cut the flag tails (love the ribbon scissors!)


The insert is another piece of Kaleidoscope DSP matted on to Summer Sun cardstock. The stamped image uses the turtle from the Very Thankful stamp set and is stamped on Whisper White cardstock with Basic Black ink. Then I took my Blender pen and Stampin' Pastels to color in the image. I cut out the image with the 1 3/8" circle punch. Then I used the Circle Cutter to cut a mat circle out of Temping Turquoise.


What a little cutie!

Great Friend Butterflies, oh my!

Welcome Tiffany to the Stamping 411 operators, I love your creations and look forward to seeing your future challenge creations. I really liked this weeks sketch and had to play along since it’s one of my favorite layouts. For this weeks Stamping 411 challenge I used the Great Friend and Matchbox Messages stamp sets and thought they would work great with the new Cottage Wall DSP (I loved this DSP when it first came out but this was the first time I used it). The card base uses Old Olive cardstock and has two pieces of Cottage Wall DSP. The ribbon is Rich Razzleberry which I flipped over so you only see the polka dots on the tails.

The main image border is uses the Matchbox Messages border stamp with Old Olive Ink and the butterflies are from the Great Friend set. Since the Rich Razzleberry ink is very bold the top butterfly was stamped after I stamped off the image once and the bottom butterfly was stamped without reinking the stamp (so it was stamped off twice). You can’t tell from the picture but I added a little strip of Dazzling Diamonds to the center of the butterflies. The image was matted with a piece of Old Olive cardstock before attaching it to the card.

The greeting is on Old Olive cardstock and was cut out with my Matchbox Big Shot die (I always cut the little pieces from that die when I make a box and then keep them in a little drawer (the set of three matchbox boxes we made at Big Shot class in June) so I always have fun shapes for greetings. The words are stamped with Rich Razzleberry ink and then I used my white gel pen to drawing faux stitching around the end.




I really like this card, very simple but pretty and I do love the new DSP, can’t wait to use it again.
Thanks and have a great day!

Holiday Mini Sneak Peak

Happy Sunday!

What a hectic weekend. After being out of town all week for work I returned home to help host the neighborhood Fantasy Football draft party that my husbands involved in on Saturday. It was great to see all our friends but it means today we've all been exhausted and just kind of chillin'. I did at least have some time to create this weeks entry in the Stamping 411 challenge. For this weeks challenge I had to play with some of the great new stamps sets and accessories from the upcoming holiday mini catalog (I love that one of the perks of being a demonstrator is that we get to preorder items from the new catalogs before they are officially released. Let me know if this is something you want to take advantage of as well!

This card starts with a base of Real Red Cardstock and the Merry Moments DSP. The main image is from the new Yuletide Greetings stamp set. I stamped the wreath with Old Olive ink on Very Vanilla cardstock. I used my Real Red marker to highlight the berries around the wreath. Then I used the stamp-a-majig to line up the stocking stamp in the center of the wreath with Chocolate Chip ink. Then I used my markers to color in the stocking (love the little teddy bear and rocking horse!). I distressed the edges of the cardstock with Old Olive ink and the Stampin' Sponge. The image was then matted on a piece of Not Quite Navy Cardstock.

The sentiment is from the Four Holidays stamp set (also from the new mini catalog) and once again I used the stamp-a-majig to line up the greating around the sides of the main image. The accent was created using the Big Shot and the Birds and Blooms Sizzlets die with Real Red and Garden Green cardstock. I layered it to create kind of a poinsetta and finished it off with a Red Fire Circle Crystal Brad.

This is definately a cool card and I really like the classic look to this stamp set, even if it does take a while to color in all the images, it's definately worth it.

Hope you enjoy and have a great week!

Stamp-a-Stack Projects

What a crazy week! After a fun time a stamp-a-stack on Sunday I left town for the week for work. While I'm not going to be able to create anything new I thought I would post some quick pictures of some of the project we made this weekend.

This card uses the new Circle Circus Stamp set and the new Bermuda Bay and Rich Razzleberry In Colors (love the random circles).

This card uses the new Very Thankful Stamp set. This is this years Ronald McDonald set and Stampin' Up! donates $2 from the sales of each set to Ronald McDonald House.

This card uses the Crazy for Cupcakes and Melon Mambo. Can you see the crystal effects on the cherries (love to use it as a little accent!)


This card uses the Two Cool Dudes Stamp set as well as the Big Shot Textures Plates which we brayered with ink before running the Whisper White Cardstock through the machine (this feels great in person). I also attached the greating so it has a kind of ripple in it, thought I would change things up!

I did receive my Holiday mini preorder before I left and I was able to use a few of the great new items so that I can make some swap cards in the hotel....stay tuned because I know you'll love the new new mini catalog so many great new things.

Hope you enjoy!

Diana

Gotta Love Baby Animals!

I spent the majority of my weekend, and part of last weeks Stay-cation working on our family christmas cards (yes, I'm proud to say they are done, with the exception of our family photo so one less thing to worry about during the holidays). I've also starting planning new classes for the fall and making samples, any excuse to play with new toys. After all this I decided I needed to participate in this weeks Stamping 411 challenge, especially since the layout was a little challenging for me. The circle element was the toughest part for me, especially since I decided I wanted to use the new Big Shot Lattice die that I'd been wanting to use. I cut the lattice out of Rose Red cardstock and cut around the corners to make it into a circle. I turned out pretty good and I'll be definately using this die a lot. Behind the circle is a piece of Tall Tales DSP on top of the So Saffron card base.


The main stamped image is from the new Animal Stories stamp set (I love those cute little guys). I inked the image in So Saffron and then took my Rose Red Marker and highlighted the mane and tail. The image is layered on a piece of Old Olive cardstock so it really stands out.

Next, I took a piece of 5/8" So Saffron Grosgrain Ribbon (part of this years SAB ribbon bundle) and stamped the sentiment with Old Olive ink directly on the ribbon. This was the first time I've stamped directly on the ribbon and it looks kind of cool, definately more experimenting will be needed. The final touch was a Rose Red Button from the Fresh Favorites II Colored Buttons.


Hope you enjoy this weeks card and for all those convention goers have a great time!


Diana

Free Buttons, Limited Edition Growth Chart

"I may get older but I refuse to grow up!"

This month we kick off our KIDS PROMOTION -

Follow this link to find pages of great product to Celebrate the Kids in your life or the Kid In You..

http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ItemList.aspx?categoryID=16In addition Check out this amazing Limited Edition Growth Chart - How cut is this..

Remember that you can order directly online - 24 hours a day and that my Website!!!

Diana