Get On Board & Be on the Cutting Edge!

During the month of May, Stampin' Up!® is offering two specials--a 25% discount on On Board Chipboard products (with a $35 purchase), and a FREE Hobby Blade with the purchase of a Cutting Mat.

CHIPBOARD SALE DETAILS: Spend $35 on Stampin' Up! products and get 25 percent off any On Board items from the Spring-Summer Collection. All On Board products (pages 178-179) qualify for this promotion. There is no limit to the number of discounted chipboard products a customer may purchase once the qualifying order of $35 has been reached. Below is a table of the sale products with their discounted prices. Workshop Hostesses will be able to use their free hostess dollars to purchase chipboard products at 25 percent off with no additional purchase necessary!

FREE HOBBY BLADE DETAILS: Simply purchase a 12" x 18" self-healing Cutting Mat (p. 184 of Spring/Summer Collection Catalog) for $15.95, and receive a Hobby Blade for FREE. Knife comes with 5 refill blades and convenient storage tube. This is a $4.50 value.

BONUS DEMONSTRATOR SALE: I am also personally offering an add-on special...buy 4 discounted On Board Chipboard products, and get the 5th On Board Chipboard product for FREE. (lowest valued item will be free)

Contact me today to place your orders!

Carousel Birthday Card

This card uses the Carousel Notes, currently featured in the Occasions Mini Catalog. One package includes 12 scalloped 6" circles, 4 each of 3 different colors (Groovy Guava, Soft Sky, and Wild Wasabi--all from the In Color assortment), and 12 Chocolate Chip 6-1/4" square envelopes. The Carousel Notes coordinate wonderfully with the Afternoon Tea Designer Series Paper (DSP), and the Live Your Dream stamp set, also featured in the Occasions Mini Catalog.

Brads from the Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware assortment (also in the Occasions Mini) were used to accent every other scallop. The Pick A Petal Classy Brass Template (Spring-Summer Collection Catalog) fits perfectly over the Carousel Notes, to mark the center of each scallop, but you can also make your own template. Simply punch a 3/4" circle from scrap paper, then fold it half, unfold it, and fold it in half the other direction, and unfold it again. The fold lines will intersect at the center, and you can punch a 1/16" hole at that point. Line up your punched circle template with a scallop on the Carosel Note, and, using a pencil (mechanical pencil is ideal), lightly trace a small dot through the center. This will mark the center of the scallop--repeat as necessary.

I am not one for flowery images, but the Live Your Dream stamp set coordinates so beautifully, I had to use it. One thing I've noticed is that when I stamp the butterflies in one solid color of ink, onto white card stock, there is not as much contrast on the edge of the image as I would like. To remedy that, I ink up the butterfly with an ink pad, then take a dark marker (I used Chocolate Chip here) and trace around the very egdes of the image. I then use the fine tip of the marker to add antennae...check out the pics below to get a visual:

And the butterflies just wouldn't look right unless they were 3D, so I propped them all up on Stampin' Dimensionals®. Actually, the flowers and the greeting are also propped up that way. This was a fun and easy card to make, with a small investment of time for cutting out all the 3D images.

Stampin' Supplies: Live Your Dream and Happy Everything stamp sets; Groovy Guava 12x12 Textured card stock (cut to 6"x12" and folded to 6" square card); So Swirly Jumbo Wheel; Bashful Blue Jumbo Ink Cartridge (or you could ink the wheel up on a Soft Sky ink pad instead); Wild Wasabi Textured card stock (5-3/4" square); Ticket Corner punch; Soft Sky Carousel Note; Groovy Guava, Soft Sky & Wild Wasabi ink pads, Chocolate Chip marker (and ink pad for greetings); Chocolate Chip 12x12 Textured card stock; Afternoon Tea DSP; Coluzzle (largest and 2nd to largest circles); 3/4" and 1/16" Circle punches; Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware (or substitute Silver brads from Vintage Brads assortment); Rectangle punch; Whisper White scrap card stock; Groovy Guava scrap card stock; Groovy Guava Double Stitched Grosgrain ribbon; Stampin' Dimensionals®.

NOTE: this would make a great Mother's Day Card, if you substitute the "Happy Mother's Day" image from the All Holidays stamp set, in place of the birthday greetings shown in the sample picture.

I'm still here!

You probably thought I was dead or something...no, I've just been busy...with a lot of unpleasant stuff, unfortunately. So, I thought I'd throw you a bone and give you a peek at the fun I was able to sneak in yesterday.

These cards are actually invitations for my Mystery Hostess Workshop on Tuesday, April 29th, from 7pm-9pm. Everyone is invited, but I sent my customers a hand-stamped card with an invitation, and left the card blank so they could "recycle" it by sending it to someone else :-)

A Mystery Hostess Workshop is where I hold a free stamping workshop in my house, and instead of me getting the goodies for being the Hostess, my guests are entered in a drawing to win them! Free stamping, free demonstrations, and free stamp stuff--what more could you ask for? Chocolate, you say? We'll have that, too!!!

Stampin' Supplies: Sweet Shapes stamp set ("hello" stamp), Cutie Pie Designer Series Paper (all pieces cut to 5-1/4" x 3" to go across the top of a standard card); Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue and So Saffron card stock, Die-Cut Blooms (Old Olive & Bashful Blue), Sanding Blocks (to sand away any "tabs" left on the Die-Cut Blooms), 5-Petal Flower punch, 1/2" Circle punch, 3/4" Circle punch, Basic Black ink pad, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Mini Glue Dots®, SNAIL.

Upcoming Classes...

I'm sorry, I haven't meant to neglect my blog--I've been really busy lately...I spent a whole week stamping some really awesome things to enter in the Stampin' Up!® Artisan Award. Every year 10 Demonstrators are picked from the entries, on the basis of things like creativity, composition, color, etc., to win a $500 shopping spree with SU!, and $500 cash! The rules state I can't have posted any of my entries on any website, so I can't post them here...yet...I think it's okay to post them once the contest is over. I'll know by May 16th if I'm a winner! Wish me luck :-)

What I have for you today is a little sneak peek at my Tote of Notecards Class, which will be held on April 24th, from 6-9pm at my house. The cost is only $15, and you will make a box that will hold 8 cards (2 each of 4 different designs) and matching stamped envelopes, which you will also make at the class. This makes an awesome MOTHER'S DAY GIFT, so don't miss out!!!

RSVP and payment are due by April 14th so I can order the supplies you'll need!

EMAIL me now to let me know you want to attend this class! If you can't attend the night of the class, we can schedule a one-on-one time after April 24th when we can make this project together.