You say good-bye; I say hello!

Good-bye, Occasions Mini Catalog!

The Occasions Mini Catalog will be waving bye-bye come Saturday, April 30, 2011. There are so many must-have items in it. If you haven’t gotten a copy, please let me know so I can get one to you asap…by email, snail mail, or hand delivery!  Better yet, click on the Occasions Mini tab on the right right now! I want you to see all the beautiful things at your disposal for cardmaking, scrapbooking and crafting…before it’s too late! Plus, as always, this little catalog is jamb-packed with ideas to inspire you! I keep ALL of my catalogs for INKspiration!

Not only is Saturday the last day to order from the Occasions Mini Catalog, it’s also your last opportunity to order the Spring is Blossoming sneak peek items from the 2011-12 Idea Book & Catalog. You won’t see them again until the new catalog comes out in July! Check out the beautiful NEW 12 x 12 paper and  NEW stamp set! Just click on the Promotions tab to the right. With just a $20. order, you may order BOTH of these awesome products NOW! Hey, have you checked out the Clearance Rack recently?

Look what my upline sent me this week!

Hello, Summer Mini Catalog!

The NEW Summer Mini Catalog products become available on May 1! Watch for new punches, new embellishments (My fav? Embossing powder in Melon Mambo, Tangerine Tango and Wild Wasabi! WooHoo!), new stamp sets, new designer papers, new digital content and more! Check out the catalog HERE! Email me if you’d like your own copy!

Order online or let me know if I can help you with anything!

Until we meet again…HAPPY STAMPIN’!

Lovely as a Tree

I’ve returned from my weekend retreat of silence, solitude, sleep and prayer. Without TV, radio, computer, telephone, or even conversation, I revelled in God’s glorious creation. I listened to the birds…phoebes, cardinals, titmice among them. I stood awestruck watching a tree full of cedar waxwings clean every single berry from that tree. I gazed in wonder at the sight of five bufflehead ducks on a little hidden pond, spotted on one of my two hour walks, because of a lone Canada goose pointing me in that direction as it flew. I stood still in my tracks as I watched eight white-tail deer cross the road in front of me, each turning to look at me, as if to acknowledge my presence.

The view through my window

At night, I stood at this window, looking out at these same trees, listening to the screams of a bobcat and the barks, howls and whines of coyote.

You never know from whence will come your inspiration. Today, as I sat down to create a card of thanks for our retreat leader, I wanted to capture the night view out my window. I hope you like what I came up with.

Journey

I used Basic Gray to create my card. The top layer is also Basic Gray, cut to 4″ x 3-3/4″. I used Whisper White Craft Ink to stamp the bare-branch hardwood trees from the Lovely as a Tree stamp set, stamping off first to create a soft, subtle background. Then I stamped the lone pine from the same stamp set, again with Whisper White Craft Ink, once, twice, three times. I adhered the top layer with four Stampin’ Dimensionals, one at each corner.

I used a length of Whisper White 3/8″ Taffeta Ribbon — cut to about 5-3/4″ to wrap around the card front. I cut a small slit in the fold so that I could run the ribbon through it and adhere it on the inside of the card. The bow is attached with a single glue dot.

The sentiment — from the Define Your Life stamp set — was also inked with Whisper White Craft Ink and stamped on Basic Gray card stock. I punched it with the  Decorative Label Punch. I added a little shimmer with the two Basic Gray Glimmer Brads from the Glimmer Basics collection. I used four Stampin’ Dimensionals, one at each point of the punch, to attach the sentiment to the card front.

Inside card

Inside the card, I stamped the trees across the bottom, again using Whisper White Craft Ink. The sentiment is from the God’s Blessings stamp set. It, too, is stamped in Whisper White Craft Ink.

Until we meet again…HAPPY STAMPIN’!

From the Heart

You may be saying, “What, another Valentine from this woman? Is she crazy?” Well, the answers would be “Yes and “No” but not in that order! I created this card as a thank you card for one of my stamping clients! Hope you like it!

How to make this card:

1. Card is 8-1/2″ x 11″ sheet of Pretty in Pink card stock, cut to 8-1/2″ x 5-1/2″, and folded in half to make an A2 card.
2. The top layer is Pink Pirouette, cut to 4 x 5-1/4″, and then run through the Big Shot with the Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.
3. After running the Pink Pirouette layer through the Big Shot, I used a wedge of my Stampin’ Sponge and my Pretty in Pink Classic Stampin’ Pad to lightly ink the raised impression.
4. Using Basic Black ink, I stamped the “heartfelt” sentiment on Pretty in Pink, and then punched it out with the Full Heart Extra Large Punch. (This sentiment is part of a discontinued stamp set: Watercolor Trio.)
5. Finally, a touch of bling…a row of 5 little rhinestones to set off the beautiful sentiment! Oh, I’ve got a tip for you…work with odd numbers…it’s more pleasing to the eye!

I’m off to Northern Virginia with three of my “Group Therapy” team members! Can you say ROAD TRIP?  We are headed to Springfield to the quarterly meeting of “Stampers with Sparkle,” AKA Ruth Murphy’s fabulous team! As excited as we are about spending time with all our stamping sisters up that way, we’re also very excited because we are making stops at IKEA and Costco, neither one of which we have anywhere near us. We’ve got it down to a science…1-1/2 hours in IKEA (We’ll have the catalog in the car on the way up so we can pre-shop!) and 45 minutes in Costco. Talk about power shopping! I told the girls to dress comfortably and wear good walking/running??? shoes!!

I’m telling you…we stampers have FUN! If you’d like to learn more about being part of my team, I’d love to sit down with you over coffee (with a side of chocolate, of course!) to answer all your questions. Now — during Sale-a-bration — is an especially great time to join Stampin’ Up!!