Loving SU DS Paper!

Yes, I'm loving SU DS paper! It makes cardmaking SO simple! Just pick a pack of your favorite paper and use several patterns layered on a card, like mine (also see my card in the post below). Add some stamped images and punch them out for interest. I also used my BigKick to cut the butterfly dies. I love these! The finished product: a quick and easy card!

Thinking of You--Always

I absolutely love this little bird in the Always stamp set! So pretty and so easy to stamp! I cut this one out to give the card some depth and dimension-after stamping it in chocolate chip. All products used are SU. The ds paper is Bella Rose and the cardstock colors are Pink Pirouette and Ruby Red. The flowers are punched with my SU flower punches and held together with Filigree Designer brads. The sentiment is showcased on the large and medium oval punches.

I made this card for my husband's grandma, aka 'Nanny.' Please keep her in your prayers as she has been in the hospital for several weeks and continues to fight infection in her body as well as healing from a broken hip.

Check out the Occasions Mini!

From April 1-30, when you buy $40 in product from the Occasions mini OR host a workshop of $150 or more, you'll get one item from the "Under $10" page (p.208) in the 2009 Spring Summer Idea Book & Catalog for FREE! Download the mini to check it out! This offer is only good through April. Email me to place an order!

Simply Scrappin' kit Options

Love Sparkles

&

Taylor Made

Sweet Nothings
&

Sunshine Garden

Rock-a-Bye Boy & Rock-a-Bye Girl

Petal Party

&

Best Ever

Hoppy Memories

Love Stories

2Sweet

Choose any one of the above kits and contact me for details about the Scrapbook in an Evening class. I will cut all materials and provide layouts for your choice of album size. A fun way to make an album in one evening!

SAB Delicate Dots Card

This card features the Delicate Dots DS Paper & the Ribbon Bundle from the Sale-a-Bration catalog. So pretty. I love this package and the springy colors: 4 each of 4 double sided papers (8 patterns total). And FREE with a $50 merchandise purchase! It's only available through Sale-a-Bration which ends March 31st. Email me for more details. And check out the other free merchandise you can get with each $50 purchase, including several exclusive stamp sets, by downloading the mini catalog on my sidebar.

Always Precious

Here's more scrapbook pages of Isabella! I think the title clearly says it all. My good friend Windy took these adorable pictures of Isabella when she was only 4 days old. She amazingly captured her first smile! The hearts in the bottom corner of the 2nd page are swatches from the fabric my mom used the make her nursery bedding. I used my sizzix to cut them out! Isabella's room is so pretty and special. The white shelf pictured in the collage photo was made by my dad. He also included a special message on the back of it. I'm sure Isabella will treasure it for years to come.

I think I will try to add a journaling box to one of these pages because I'd like to include some of the info I just explained above. After all, part of scrapbooking is capturing and telling a story.

I used the beautiful Always ds paper on these 2 pages. I love the colors and the pictures really coordinated well with it. The flower cut outs were made using my Sizzix and the exclusive Baskets & Blooms SU dies. I think the jeweled brads add a girly touch as well. And if you're wondering, the 'Precious' title is NOT part of the paper. It's actually a rub-on (K&Co).

Pretty Pages

Here's a couple of pages from Isabella's baby scrapbook. I actually have 11 pages completed so far! Pretty good since she's just now 10wks old! While I don't totally use all Stampin' Up products on my scrapbooks, I sure use alot. And I think everything on these 2 pages is actually a SU product. The paper is Bella Rose, Pink Pirouette, & Baha Breeze. The pretty flowers are Felt Fusions and topped with half-back pearls from the Pretties kit. I couldn't get a title to fit properly on this layout, but I think the journaling and pictures speak for themselves. I also added a pretty verse from God's Blessings stamp set. You can click on the pictures to enlarge the details. What do you think?

Sweet Stems Gift Set Complete

Thanks to the ladies who attended my card class Tuesday evening. I enjoyed chatting with you all:)

For those of you who didn't make it, here's the complete Sweet Stems gift set that we made, including the A-2 card box. All six of the cards we each made fit snuggly in the gift box. This makes an adorable hand-made set to give as a gift.

Interested in making a box for yourself? Check out the splitcoast tutorial here. So simple and a really great size for cards.

Sweet Stems meets Raspberry Tart

Finding time to play with my stamps has definitely been a challenge, lately. Here's a card set that I made with the Sweet Stems stamp set and Raspberry Tart dsp. Isn't it pretty? I love how the stamps coordinate with the paper. And the colors are so pretty! I used a variety of card sizes, for interest. I literally had only a few minutes to work on these cards, but creating them was a cinch since everything coordinated. My biggest challenge was deciding which paper patterns to use! Stay tuned for a coordinating notepad + box to top off this cute set.

Baby Girl Thank-You's

Here's the thank you cards that I sent for gifts I received for Isabella. I was so blessed to have 2 showers given for me. We really received many nice things.

As for the cards, the elephant is from one of my all time favorite sets: Wild About You. I stamped her in Regal Rose and then cut her out.

I used Regal Rose cardstock. This is getting to be one of my new favorite colors:) I've used it LOTS in Isabella's scrapbook, so far.

And the dsp paper is Sweet Always. So pretty. I have the Always stamp set on my wish list. Hopefully I will get that soon.

I also used the scallop border punch, some ribbon, and buttons + the 'thank you' greeting across the top to complete the project. Time consuming cards, but so pretty.

The NEW 2009 Spring-Summer Idea Book & Catalog is here!

Yes, the new catalog is here! You can download a copy by clicking on the thumbnail catalog picture. Keep in mind that it may be slow and take a little time at this point. OR click on the 'shop 24/7' link on the right and quickly view some of the new products.

My personal thoughts on the new book:

-Love the fresh color combo suggestions & great samples displayed throughout the catalog; worthwhile inspiration:)

-Love the Style Watch lines: Manhattan, Sweet Bella, Retro Fresh. I love the colors suggested for these lines and most all of the images.

-Some cool new accessories including Sizzix dies (I love Beautiful Butterflies), decor elements, punches, corduroy buttons, clips, hardware, canvas cuts, new chipboard, and my favorite= Fleurettes crocheted flowers.

-Of course lots of new sets....I love Good Friend and Cheep Talk- two really cute bold image sets featuring adorable, retro-look birds. Lots of flowers, as usual; a sophisticated new line= Manhattan. A couple of good inspirational sets/greetings (Thoughts & Prayers, Le Jardin Botanique)

-Pretty, Pretty Designer papers including some new textured & glossy, a great masculine pkg (To the Nines), and a sweet watercolor-look paper (Tea Party). Also, Raspberry Tart coordinates with the Sweet Stems set and there's a few other pkg that coordinate with sets as well.

-New Simply Scrappin' sets. These are such a great value for the price. Petal Party is bright and cheery and is great for general use, Tailor Made is a nice masculine set; I also like Sweet Nothings and I love Sunshine Garden (So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Baja Breeze, and Old Olive)-great color combos, versatile ds paper, and die cuts for the general theme.

It's always fun and exciting to look through a new catalog and this one is no exception. I think I've combed through mine several times:) I'm trying to cut back on my wish list. Try to think about specific uses for any set that catches your eye, and do the same for accessories. SU has the most high quality cardstock that I've seen anywhere. And with matching inks and papers, it's easy to coordinate and perfectly match things up for your projects.

Love You Much Promotion

The Love You Much promotion includes the following items:

Love You Much stamp set
$25.95
Candy Lane Designer Series paper (Close to Cocoa, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla)
$9.95
Heart To Heart punch
$15.95


(Bundle Retail Value $51.85)

Love You Much Bundle (20% off; item 115405) $41.48

Isabella Has Arrived!

Isabella Faith Bishop

December 18, 2008

8lb,12oz

21" long

Isn't she beautifuL?

Mr. Twigster Card Kit

Here's a card kit that I'm currently offering, featuring the Mr. Twigster stamp set of 4. It's really a cute little set and very simple to use. If you're interested, please contact me. Here's what the card kit contains:
Mr. Twigster stamp set (4)

Cardstock and supplies for 8 cards (2 ea of 4 designs)

1 pack of Ski Slope DS paper-12 sheets)

Full color step-by-step instructions w/pictures

TOTAL COST: $35

To complete this kit, you will need the following items, which are NOT included: black stamp pad & colored pencils. I can add one or both of these items to your order and also offer you a 10% discount on those items. Some of you have used my SU pure color pencils, which are very soft and SO easy to use. This would be a great opportunity to take advantage of purchasing that set at a discount.

Email me with questions or to purchase.

Country Living Holiday Collection

The December 2008 issue of Country Living magazine will feature an exclusive SU stampin' kit. This kit has everything you need to create beautiful ornaments with a handmade feel and you can order it through me. The kit includes:

Holiday Collection stamp set (six stamps)
Four 12" x 12" sheets of die-cut chipboard
Eight 12" x 12" sheets of die-cut Designer Series paper (2 ea. of 4 double-sided designs)
Four 12" x 12" sheets of Designer Series paper (2 ea. of 2 double-sided designs)
Two 12" x 12" sheets of Whisper White card stock
25 yds. Silver Metallic cord
10 yds. 3/8" Whisper White taffeta ribbon
Pretties Kit brads (20)
Stampin' Dimensionals
Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter (1/2 oz.)
Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive
Riding Hood Red Classic Stampin' Spot
Old Olive Craft Stampin' Spot
Uninked Stampin' Spot
Whisper White Craft Ink refill

This is an AWESOME deal, at $49.95, and will only be available while supplies last. Email me to order yours today.

Christmas Cards from Workshop

missing: Snowman, Tree, Reindeer card

Sorry for the delay in getting these pictures uploaded and posted. I came down with the flu Sunday evening (I hope no one else caught it) and it kept me down for several days. I know there were several ladies who stamped and planned to put the cards together at home. Hopefully these pictures will help serve as visuals in addition to your instructions. The cards are basically in order beginning with card 1, and as you can see, they're not labeled, so you'll have to count through them. I'm missing the 'snowman, tree, reindeer card' b/cause I gave it away as a sample before taking the picture...sorry. I think the instructions should be clear enough on that one.

Please let me know if you have any questions or need anything else.

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO ENLARGE FOR DETAILS.

Again, thanks to all of you for participating this year. It was fun seeing you all and getting a chance to chat. I wish it would have worked out for me to have found a large room. I know it was a little tight with so many ladies. I probably should have moved a couple of tables downstairs. I hope it wasn't a big issue for anyone. Congratulations on getting such a great head-start on Christmas:)

Holiday Fun-Filled Card Stamping Event!

Hey ladies! It's not too early to think about Christmas! It will be here in only a few short months! I know you will all be incredibly busy, so don't procrastinate on your cards this year. Join me for a fun-filled holiday card stamping workshop!
When: Sunday, October 26
Where: TBA
Time: 2-5pm
Cost: $25
Details: Enjoy making 18-20 Christmas and holiday cards of varying sizes, designs, and colors, and use a variety of simple techniques. Full instructions and personal guidance will be available, if needed. No experience necessary, so invite a friend or two! Holiday ambiance including music and light refreshments will also be included.
RSVP: with payment by October 12th to reserve your seat. Last minute additions may be allowed, space permitting.
**SPECIAL OFFER** Place an order ithrough me of $30 or more with your RSVP/payment and receive $5 off the workshop fee!
Stay tuned to my blog for postings of more workshop cards!

Flower Power Simply Sent Card Kit

For those of you who purchased the Flower Power Simply Sent card elements kit, here are the additional card designs which I included as an optional add-on. This is such a great kit, especially for fall. I love the rich colors, and the self adhesive elements make it so versatile. If you purchased the coordinating stamp set, Wow Flowers, you'll receive even more options for cardmaking. Email me for more details.

Card #1

Card #2

Card #3

Card #4

Card #5

Voila! A Recipe Name Frame!

In addition to recipe books and boxes, the Voila set is perfect for personalized kitchen wall decor! I made this frame for my mother-in-law who is redecorating her kitchen with the adorable chef theme. I think it will fit in perfectly plus add some homemade charm.

Unfortunately, I was dealing with a bad glare when I took these pictures. I used alphabet stamps for the letters in the name as well as the word 'kitchen.' The clothing on the chef is pieced with various printed paper designs. Images from the stamp set "From the kitchen of" were added to the right side of the frame. A little ribbon and some hardware complete the project! I hope she likes it!

Hokies Birthday Invite

My son, Zeb, is turning 11 on Tuesday! So hard to believe! We're having his party this weekend and here's the invites I made for his friends. I have yet to find Hokies or Tech stamps, so I used a sticker for this card. My SU circle punches provided the layers behind the sticker. I used Pumpkin Pie and Bravo Burgandy to represent the Tech colors. I didn't want to make the card too "fluffy" since it's for boys:) but I felt like it needed something at the bottom, so I used the word window punch on a piece of burgandy cardstock + a brad from the retired hodgepodge hardware.
And here's a picture of my favorite guys....having a blast at the Tech game on Saturday. This was a birthday treat for Zeb. Plus, it was Gabriel's very first football game! Notice his lack of Tech clothing...that was due to quite a "messy" accident right before the game started:)

Open House Make & Takes

Here are the two make & takes the ladies made at my Open House. They were both super simple and two different styles, but I loved the look of each. Both cards feature new INcolors, punches, & new DS papers.

The first one features the new, so pretty, Bella Rose DS paper, overlayed on Riding Hood Red cardstock. The bottom piece was scalloped using the new Scallop Edge punch. The stamp set used is Dreams du Jour. The pearl accent is from the Pretties kit. Markers were used to color bits of the stamped image in Old Olive and Pretty in Pink.The second card is clean and simple; not alot of fuss. It features the new Urban Garden DS paper--love the silhouettes, adhered to the new Baja Breeze cardstock. A single flower from Embrace Life was stamped tone-on-tone in Baja Breeze along the side. The greeting was stamped on the new Kiwi Kiss cardstock and punched with the Word Window punch. The color of the cardstock strip below the greeting is actually Not Quite Navy. I loved that I knew how to match this perfectly because in the new catalog, SU has added the names of coordinating colors for each pack of DS paper. So helpful!

Thanks for my Open House Support

Thanks to all of the ladies who attended my Open House last week. It was a fun evening for me and I hope you all enjoyed it as well. For those of you who missed it, here's some pictures of a couple of the items the attendees received. I made each person one of the new Sizzix die cut Baskets & Blooms totes. This adorable little bag was filled with fun goodies: brads, punched cardstock, ribbon, & chocolates.

The folders held all of the paperwork, including my current specials, card kits, classes, & of course an order form & wish list. I used a regular pocket folder and simply embellished the front with DS paper and Carousel notecards which were stamped with one of the new hostess sets: Live Like you Mean It.