It's in the Box!

The ladies in my neighborhood had an ornament and cookie exchange this past Friday night. Being the type of person that I am, I made my ornament. I found a picture someone posted on their blog (forgive me, I don't remember where I found it) and decided to whip one up. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I took it up to my LSS to show Ivy and she told me that I just had to teach a class on how to make it. If you like it, I'll be teaching the class at Scrappin' Happily Ever After on Sunday, December 13 at 1 PM. The cost is $25, you can call Ivy at 843-261-2665 to make your reservation. I think that 4 or 5 of my ladies that came to class today already signed up and space is limited. We'll be making the whole kit and caboodle, the box, bow, double-sided ornament and a gift card. The only difference is the paper. The paper we'll be using in class is just gorgeous! I'm hoping Ivy will have pictures up on her blog soon so you can take a look. Hope to see you there!

It's Official!

I'll be teaching a class at my LSS (local scrapbook store) on Sunday, December 6th at 1 PM. Ivy over at Scrappin' Happily Ever After did a very nice write-up of me and my class. Click here to head over to her blog.

Diaper Cake Boy Version

Here are a couple of pictures of the Baby Boy cake I did for my friend Michelle's shower. This was my first cake. I stole these pictures from Susan's facebook page! Thanks Susan!

Diaper Cakes

I have found a new giftable craft that I just love and is so much fun to make for a mom-to-be! I've seen diaper cakes on the internet for a while, but I wanted to try my hand at one and I love how it turned out. I'm also branching out and making these for purchase. They're completely customizable with a theme or can be plain - blue or pink, as well as yellow, green or neutral (cream and brown) for those moms who are waiting to hear "it's a boy/girl" in the delivery room. I have to track down the pictures from the baby boy version I did back in June, but for now I'll leave you with the pictures of the baby girl version I did for my dear friend Deana's baby girl.

She's got a new attitude!

As of August 1st, I'm officially not with Stampin' Up! any longer. It was tough decision, but I decided is was best for me at this time to drop my demonstratorship. I'm not going to stop showing projects that I'm working on, or doing video tutorials (which I've really slacked on), rather I'm going to start showing all of my projects, whether they're papercrafting or sewing, whatever I'm working on, I'm going to share it here. I love what Stampin' Up! has to offer as far as products and quality, and if you're still interested in purchasing products from Stampin' Up! you can visit their website and search under find a demonstrator and they'll give you the names of demonstrators in your area. I am starting on a new business venture, but I'll go into more detail on that when it's official.

Brickyard Craft and Vendor Fair

I'm going to have a table at the Brickyard Plantation Craft and Vendor Fair in Mt. Pleasant this Saturday, July 18 from 10 - 3. I have cards, bookmarks, boxes, card sets, notepads, and more for sale. I'll also be debuting my diaper cakes. I made one for a baby shower and it go rave reviews, so I thought that I would put them out there for preorder. I just got a new computer and I can't figure out how to copy pictures, but as soon as I do, I'll post a picture of the cake. If you're interested, let me know. If you have any questions about the event please let me know. Hope to see you there.

National Scrapbooking Month

May is National Scrapbooking month, and to celebrate, Stampin' Up! is offering a great promotion. Buy 3, get 1 FREE Designer Series paper and textured cardstock. Click Here to view the flyer. You can also become a Demonstrator for just $75 with our limited-time Scrapbooking Starter Kit. You can also buy the new Jumble Alphabet Stamp Set - a sneak peek from the upcoming 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalog at 20% off. This offer is good until May 31st. If you would like to place an order, book a workshop or have any questions please let me know.

Happy Birthday Carrie!

Today is my friend Carrie in Colorado's Birthday. Happy Birthday Carrie!

BTW, your card is the one on the right. I don't know if it's made it to you yet.

Home Business Brunch

I'm going to be at the Brickyard Plantation Clubhouse in Mt. Pleasant on Saturday May 2, 2009 at 10 AM with other members of the Lowcountry Home Biz Mamas Meetup group for a Home Business Brunch. This is going to be an informational event featuring several work at home job ideas and companies. If you're in the Charleston area and thinking about becoming a demonstrator or would like more information, come see me. More information can be found here.

All unattended dimensionals...

will be stuck on things that are almost impossible to be removed. My 2 year old daughter loves to help me when I'm "working" on projects. I don't have a designated stamping area in our home, I stamp and scrap at the kitchen table. I leave my supplies out when I'm mid-project so that I don't forget what I'm doing. Little did I know that she was getting into my stuff. She took a whole sheet of Stampin' Dimensionals and stuck them on the wall, my paper trimmer and herself. They came right off of her, but they're still stuck to the wall and my paper trimmer. We have flat paint and it's pulling the paint off the walls. As for my paper trimmer, I've soaked the dimensionals in water, windex and tried scraping them off with my Pampered Chef scraper and they're still stuck. I don't want to use anything abrasive on my paper trimmer, I still need to be able to read the measurements. And as for our dimensionals, when they stick, they're stuck!

Happy Easter!

I have 2 projects to share. They're pretty much the same concept, just in different form. The first one is a card that I made for my neighbor. I found some egg shaped playing cards at the Target $1 spot and used them as a template to make my little egg chicks and bunnies.

It's an accordion card and here it is closed.

I made this little basket out of some 6x6 Darling Dots paper left over from Sale-a-Bration. The colors in this paper scream spring and Easter! The eggs are covered in the same paper.

The little bunny is from the Eight Great Greetings stamp set in the Occasions Mini Catalog. I stamped him in Chocolate Chip ink and colored it in with markers and punched him out with the new Scallop Oval punch, also available in the Occasions Mini Catalog. I folded up the card and used the basket as my envelope to deliver the card to my neighbors for Easter.

This is the 2nd project. I made this banner last year. I saw one similar in PaperCrafts Magazine and had to try my own version. The one in the magazine was done with wood ovals. Once again, mine is with giant egg shaped playing cards from either Target or Wal-Mart, I don't remember which one!?!? I covered the cards with paper and decorated them. I put eyelets in the corners and tied them together with all different kinds of ribbon. The paper on these is DCWV from the Spring Stack 2008.

Here are some closer pictures. I thought it was appropriate to do 2 bunnies and 3 chickies to represent my family :)

KWerner Color Inspiration 48

I've been a real slacker lately. My creative juices just stopped flowing. When I checked Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration, I loved the color combo so much, I just had to make a card. Here's what I came up with. It uses DSP and a Rubon from the Holiday Happenings bundle from the Fall-Winter 2008 Catalog, but I thought it was perfect for this card. This was my first time dying a flower from the Pretties Kit. I squeezed some Baja Breeze reinker in a paint tray and laid my flower down to absorb the ink. It was so dark and I really didn't like it, so I took it to the sink and ran it under some cold water. I rinsed off most of the color and then dried it with my heat tool. I put the rubon on some Chocolate Chip cardstock and punched it out with the 3/4" circle punch. I thought the center of the flower really needed something else besides just the punch, so I pulled out my clear buttons and decided to layer my punched circle on top. I really like how it turned out.

Stamps: None

Ink: Baja Breeze (to dye pretties flower)

Paper: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Holiday Happenings Level 3 Hostess (Retired)

Accessories: Chocolate Chip Ribbon, Pretties Flower, Clear Button, Rubon (Retired)

Punches: Scallop Edge, 3/4" Circle

Occasions Mini Catalog

Today is the first day you can order from the new Spring Occasions Mini Catalog. From April 1-30 when you buy $40 in products from the occasions mini or host a workshop of $150 or more you'll get one item from the "under $10" section of the Idea Book & Catalog (page 208) for FREE! I've put at link on the top right of the blog to take you right to the mini catalog. If you want to book a workshop or order products please contact me!

Last Day of Sale-a-Bration

Today is the last day to take advantage of a free Sale-a-Bration product for every $50 you spend. If you want to take advantage of this please contact me. You can place an order right on my Demonstrator Business Website or you can call me to place the order for you.

Downline!

I want to send a special welcome to the Stampin' Up! Family to my first downline Kylene Humphreys. She's more than just a downline in the SU! family, she's actual family; my sister-in-law. Welcome Kylene! It's going to be a fun road from here!

Big News!

If you're considering becoming a demonstrator and the upfront cost is just a little out of reach right now, you're in luck. Stampin' Up! announced on Saturday that they are offering a 3 Easy Payment option until April 30. If you act fast and get your paperwork in before March 31, you will still get the 15% Sale-a-Bration discount and a free stamp set of your choice. A $47.95 value. The online sign-up does not qualify for the 3 Easy payments, you have to fill out and mail in the paperwork. I would be happy to email you if you're interested, or if you're local, I'd be happy to deliver it in person. If I can answer any questions please don't hesitate to contact me! Click here to view the details of the 3 Easy Payments.

Occasions Mini Sneak Peek

I'm happy to announce that 4 items from the new Occasions Mini Catalog are available for purchase right now. Click Here to view the pages from the Occasions Mini Catalog. These items are being made available a full month ahead of the release of the catalog, giving you plenty of time to get started on your Easter projects.

Hostess Gift

I always like to make my hostesses a little something to say Thank You for booking a workshop or class with me. I downloaded the template for the box from the demonstrator side of the Stampin' Up! website (a huge perk for being a demonstrator), printed it on some Rose Red cardstock, cut it, scored it, and tied it together with some linen thread. Super easy project, and super cute! I put some skittles in one of our cello bags and tied it with a little ribbon.
Supplies
Stamps: Darling Dots Level 1 Hostess
Ink: Rose Red
Paper: Rose Red, Old Olive, Whisper White
Accessories: Linen Thread, Rose Red 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Medium Cello Bag
Punches: Scallop Circle, 1 3/8" and 1" Circle, Scallop Edge, 1/8" Handheld


I also made her this bookmark. I showed one in a previous post. The giant paper clip is from Staples. I wish they made them in Silver. I know they have big silver ones at Wal-Mart, but they're not as sturdy. I think it turned out pretty good. She liked it and that's all that matters. Thanks again Laura!

Supplies
Stamps: Darling Dots Hostess Level 1
Ink: Rose Red
Paper: Rose Red, Old Olive, Whisper White
Accessories: Flower Fusion Too, Silver Brad, Rose Red 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Pop Up Glue Dots
Punches: Scallop Circle, 1 3/8" and 1" Circle

New Video

I made a video for the card in my last post. I posted it over on YouTube. If you click on the title of the video after it's played it should take you over to youtube where you can subscribe to my videos. My screen name is bngiddy23. By subscribing you will be notified every time I upload a new video. Enjoy!

Four Square Stamp Set

I was challenged by a hostess to come up with a card that could be customized for more than one occasion. Not everybody wants to make just a Thank You card or a Happy Birthday card. Well, this is what I came up with. I used the Four Square Stamp Set, I never really looked at it in the catalog before, but I'm so glad that I have it now. It covers quite a few occasions. I took some of the idea for the card from the catalog and tweaked it a bit. For demonstration purposes I stamped and layered all of the sentiments separately and put them on velcro so that they could be interchanged so the class-goers could see exactly what it would look like with the stamp that they chose. Most of them chose the Hi. I'll be posting the other projects over the next couple of days, stay tuned. Supplies:
Stamps: Four Square
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Washington Apple
Accessories: Riding Hood Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
Punches: 1 1/4 Square, Scallop Square, Horizontal Slot

Happy 5th Birthday!

My daughter turned 5 today! Where does the time go? We had a pretty busy day starting off with oatmeal with sprinkles, with a candle and a Happy Birthday song. Next was lunch, chicken casserole and rice, with a candle and a Happy Birthday song. Then after my husband got home we headed to McDonald's (Riley's choice) and followed it with cupcakes, with candles, a Happy Birthday song and presents. She's really into Barbie now and she got a Barbie house. I'm so excited about her really getting into Barbie, I think I played with Barbie until I was 12. I'm looking forward to many hours of playing and dressing and redressing Barbie, Ken, and all their friends. The only downfall to the Barbie house was the 50 bazillion stickers, ok it was only 51, but still, that's a lot of stickers! Happy Birthday Riley!

Not that you asked

But I'll show you anyway. In my last post I mentioned that I gave my new neighbors a tower of brownies. Well, here's what it looks like. I totally swiped the idea from Erin Lincoln from the Creating Keepsakes message board. The paper is from DCWV. It's 12 sheets of 12 x 12 folded and made into boxes. If there's paper folding involved I'm all over it. Guess that has to do with living in Japan from preschool thru 2nd grade and having to take culture classes. I was all about the origami. I made up the boxes and tied them up with some pretty green ribbon. I also made a couple of the boxes with baby themed paper for my stepmom to give as a baby gift. Inside those boxes was an outfit with socks. So cute, but of course I didn't take a picture of that one. I made a little card to go with it. Keep in mind I gave this to them in October, hence the fall theme.

I used the house stamp from ABC Images for the card. I have to tell you that ABC Images is, hands down, my favorite stamp set from Stampin' Up! You can come up with so many different projects with this set, from teacher gifts to New Baby, and everything in between.

All products Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted
Stamps: ABC Images, Nursery necessities (welcome)

Ink: Kiwi Kiss

Paper: Die Cuts with a View (Fall Stack, I think:)

Accessories: Kiwi kiss striped Ribbon

Punches: 1 3/8", 1 1/4", 1" circles, Scallop Circle

Happy Birthday Deana!

Today is my friend Deana's birthday. Happy Birthday Deana!! I wanted to make a fun little card for her, because she's a fun little woman. She's the tiniest person I've met in a long time. Not only is she a friend, she's also my neighbor. We live in a brand new neighborhood, my family was literally the first family to move in and we were by ourselves for over 3 weeks before anyone else moved into the neighborhood. There are only a few houses at the front of the development, and Deana, her husband and their sweet little boy moved in just 2 doors down. Of course I did the neighborly thing and baked some brownies and made a card to welcome them. After that we just hit it off and Thank the Lord, I've been praying for someone just like her, we're alike and SOOO different that it works. She's visiting family in Texas right now and I can't wait for her to come home!
As for the card, I loosely based it on a card that was in Stampin' Success, the magazine that Stampin' Up! demonstrators get every month. There are always very cute and cutting edge projects in the magazines, so I altered a card from the magazine and made it my own.

Stamps: Wow Flowers
Ink: Kiwi Kiss
Paper: Baja Breeze, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White
Accessories: Kiwi Kiss Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Flower Fusion Too (Chocolate Flower), silver brad
Punches: 1 3/8", 1 1/4", 1" circle punches, corner rounder

Valentine's Class

These are the projects that we did at my Valentine's Class at K'Cee's house. Simple and easy cards that are easy to reproduce and a little pop top fruit can treat holder. The Riding Hood Red Circle under the Birdie card was done with the Coluzzle, which sadly is being discontinued. But now I have a legit reason to buy the new Circle Scissor Plus from the new catalog. Stamps: Curly Label and Goody Goody Gumdrops (Level 3 Hostess)
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Paper: Bella Rose
Accessories: RHR Striped Ribbon
Stamps: Love You Much and Goody Goody Gumdrops (Level 3 Hostess)
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Close to Cocoa
Paper: Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla, Riding Hood Red, Candy Lane DSP
Accesories: Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon
Punches: 1 3/4" Circle Punch
Other: Coluzzle
Stamps: Love You Much
Ink: Jet Black Stazon, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Punches: Scallop Edge, Heart to Heart

Valentine Mailboxes

I am in love with the little mailboxes that you can get in the dollar spot at Target. I think I bought about 20 of them. These 2 are for my son's teachers for Valentine's Day. I used some Riding Hood Red DSP to cover them and the Love You Much stamp set to embellish. I printed a little box (available to demonstrators on the Stampin' Up! website) on RHR cardstock and cut it out, stamped and embellished and filled it with chocolate. The little box fits perfectly inside the mailbox. I tied some RHR striped ribbon around the flag and TADA, a cute little gift. I'll help Ethan with is cards and pop them inside and there you have it, a super cheap, super cute teacher's gift.

Lollipop Holder

These little lollipop holders are my son's Valentine's for his kindergarten class. I was trying to think outside the box and this is what I came up with. I got my measurements by measuring the lollipop itself. The ones I used are Jolly Rancher lollipops. The bucket that I have them in in the picture above came from Wal-Mart last year. I just took my crop-a-dile and punched 2 holes in the front and threaded some Riding Hood Red Striped Ribbon through and tied a bow. I love my crop-a-dile for projects just like this. That little booger can cut through almost anything.
My youngest decided to join me for the last part of the video and I didn't have time to reshoot, so this is reality. It's actually how I stamp almost every time I stamp, with her in my lap "helping" me. I was thinking that I might try to reshoot at nap time, but no dice on a nap today, so you get it Raw and Uncut! Enjoy and if you have anything that you would like to see in a video write a comment or send me an email. Thanks!

Sale-a-Bration

Today marks the official kick off of Sale-a-Bration 2009. For every $50 you spend (before tax and shipping) you get a free Sale-a-Bration item. This year there's the obvious stamp sets, but also Designer Series Paper and a Ribbon Bundle. Check out my sidebar for the catalog or visit my website for more details.

More Bella Rose

This card is a little 4x4 card using Bella Rose DSP. I punched the scallop square with my scallop edge punch. The video for this technique is here I tied some Kiwi Kiss Striped Ribbon under the scallop square and then made a little bow with some Riding Hood Red Striped Ribbon and tied some hemp twine around the middle and adhered it to the card with a mini glue dot.

Spring-Summer 2009 IS LIVE!!

Head over to my website to check out the new catalog! If you don't already have a catalog, please contact me and I would be happy to get you one. $5 if you're local and same price excluding shipping for those out of towners. The site is a little slow, but it's totally worth the wait. I can't wait to get my first order in!!

Simple Baby Card

I made this baby card for my best friend who is expecting her first baby in July. Congrats Michelle! She doesn't know what she's having yet, so I wanted to make something gender friendly. The first colors that come to mind are yellow and green. The sentiment at the bottom is a little crooked, but I had some help from my 2 and 4 year old daughters on this card. I originally put a broader ribbon on the card, but it was really too bulky to mail, so I switched it out for the 1/4" Whisper White Grosgrain.

Supplies:

Stamps: ABC Images, Nursery Necessities

Ink: Black Stazon, So Saffron & Pumpking Pie Stampin' Write Markers

Paper: So Saffron DSP, Whisper White

Accessories: WW 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon

Punches: 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" Circles, Scallop Circle (paper pierced)

The Best Job in the World

I was doing my morning checking of email and blogs and all sorts of fun stuff that I do every morning when I came across an article on yahoo titled "The Best Job In The World." Of course I had to read on. You can read it for yourself .



A lot of you don't know me, so you don't know that this would absolutely be the perfect job for me. Of course, aside from being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, which I love, and a mom to 3 and a wife. (those are just minor details :). I've had this wish since I was a little girl of travelling to Australia and cage diving with a great white shark. This dream vacation is actually on my bucket list of things I want to do before I die. I actually considered going to school to be a marine biologist, but after reading some of the brochures, realized that there's no way I could do that job, I have severe motion sickness and can't live for months on end on a boat. The condition also hampered my desire to be a flight attendant when I was 20. But with the job in Australia I wouldn't even have to leave the ground, except for the occasional snorkeling expedition. The pay's not too shabby either, $105,00 US. You get free room and board, have to blog about your time there and be on occasional interviews with the media, which would quelch my desire to be a news anchor, or an actress for that matter. This would be the perfect job, consuming ALL the things that I wanted to be when I grew up. But I just sit here, comfortable in my life and realize that I would miss my kids terribly for a year, unless they'd let me bring them!