Let It Snow, Let It Snow....Let It Snow!

All this snow we've had lately has certainly made it look more like Christmas around here.

Here are some of the cards we made at our last Card Club, all set to give out to loved ones for the holidays! At least 2 of the ladies went home and re-created some variations using different colours, so I will post those in the next couple days as well.

Happy Card Making!

It's Deer Season!

Lots of orange and camo has been spotted out around the countryside here in Lambton County this week. Here is a pretty deer-themed card in honour of that...perfect for the outdoors-lover on your list!

It's AMAZING!!! SALE! SALE! SALE!

They're calling it a "Rare Offer" and it truly is! Stampin' Up! is having a 9 Day sale starting November 22 until November 30, 2010.

Several items are available at 30% off or 40% off and even 50% off, including the "My Digital Studio" at an amazing 50% off!

Not only that, for every order over $200, you get FREE shipping.

Wow! What an awesome sale....just in time for Christmas!

For more details, click here or on the image above and then give me a call! (Note: it is being called an "Online Spectactular", but is available to everyone, not just online)

Look WHOOOO'S Having a Birthday!

I think the new Stampin' Up! "Two-Step Owl" punch is absolutely adorable! The punch includes all the parts you see on the owl, including the eyes, and then we just topped it off by adding some brads to the eyes.
We made this card at our last Card Club night and some the girls stamped the setiment "Look Who's Turning _!" on their while others left theirs blank as there really are tons of uses for this card! (eg. "Who Loves You?", "You're a Hoot!", "From Owl of Us!", "Hoot-Hoot Hooray!", etc)

Guess what is just around the corner!!!

Can you believe that Christmas is just around the corner?! Get a head start on your Christmas cards with this gorgeous card using the trees from the "Scenic Season" set and the deer from the "Nature Silhouettes" set, and a little bit of "Dazzling Diamonds" glitter.
This card is also great for an outdoor-lover's birthday, Thank You, Father's Day, etc!

ABCs of the Perfect Handmade Holiday!

Create Amazing cards, Beautiful packaging, and Cherished gifts this holiday season!From October 19-December 16, choose from several different holiday bundles containing gorgeous Stampin' Up! products--perfect for creating cards, gift packaging, and gifts--and all at 20% off!

Click on the above image for more details and to see the bundles!

My Digital Studio Design Contest

Date: October 1-November 15, 2010Stampin' Up! invites YOU to participate in its first ever digital design contest using My Digital Studio and Stampin' Up!'s digital downloads! The My Digital Studio Design contest was created to recognize the amazing digital design skills of our talented, creative customers and demonstrators! The contest is open to all customers and demonstrators who have access to My Digital Studio in the US and Canada; five customers and five demonstrators will be selected to win. To enter the contest you will need to design one digital card and two single-page layouts using ONLY My Digital Studio product and Stampin' Up downloads. Submit all samples along with an official entry form and photo release form (if applicable) to MDSContest@stampinup.com.
Winners will receive free My Digital Studio digital downloads from Stampin' Up valued at approximately $500! You will also receive a digital pin for your personal blog.
Don't own My Digital Studio or want to purchase new Stampin' Up! digital downloads? Call me at 828-3850!
Our panel of judges can't wait to see your digital artistry on display, so submit your project today!

For more info, click on the image above.

A Fall Birthday...

Aren't the colours in this cards gorgeous? Of course, you can use this card any time of year, but the browns and oranges just remind me of fall. LOVE this time of year!

Create a Haunted House or Gingerbread House or any other themed house you want with the....

...Design-a-House Decor Accents!

One look at Stampin' Up!'s Design-a-House Décor Accents and I know you’ll instantly have multiple ideas of how to decorate this charming little cottage for all kinds of holidays and occasions. Whether it’s haunted, looks like it’s made of gingerbread and candies, or dressed up as a centerpiece for a housewarming party, there are all kinds of ways to use this piece for adding a special touch of beauty to your home or a friend’s home. Let your imagination guide you in choosing from our many Designer Series papers and other accessories to adorn your little house.

■ Charming and versatile holiday décor item
■ Create a Christmas village, gingerbread house, haunted house, or Build-a-Bear Workshop® Playhouse
■ Finished house size approximately 6-1/4” x 6” x 5”
■ Embellish as much or as little as you like
■ White

Ok, ladies, it's time to steal your hubby's/father's/brother's shaving foam!

This is a really neat technique where you spray some shaving foam on a plate, add some drops of Stampin' Up! ink (from the refill bottles), swirl the ink around in the foam, gently lay your card front on top, wipe off...and VOILA, you have a GORGEOUS card!
Easy-peasy, and it looks great!

Don't let this tote-ally awesome opportunity pass you by!
September 1 through October 18, receive a FREE craft tote--a $49.95 value--when you join Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator! Imagine sharing your love of Stampin' Up! with this stylish and practical tote, patterned after our Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper and large enough to carry 12" x 12" card stock and a Paper Cutter, as well as punches, ink pads, and accessories. And with two Starter Kits* to choose from--Standard and Digital+--at a new lower price, there's never been a better time to join the Stampin' Up! family.Contact me to get started with this tote-ally awesome opportunity.

*Sample Starter Kit contents pictured in tote

Click on the image above to see a video with more details about the tote!

Deck the Halls With Boughs of Holly......!

Well, maybe it isn't QUITE yet time to deck the halls, but before you know it, it soon will be!

In the meantime, you can get a jump-start on your Christmas cards and gifts using the beautiful new products from the 2010 Holiday Mini Catalogue that was released today!

There are tons of new limited edition stamps, papers, tools, and other products, even some cool new fabrics...yes, that's right...fabrics!

This mini catalogue is in effect from Sept 1, 2010- January 3, 2011. For more info and to see the catalogue, just click on the image above.

Retrofit Your Existing SU! products...

Do you want all the fabulous new colours but don't want to have to buy the whole set to get them?
Stampin' Up! is now offering you the chance (from now until June 30, 2011) to retrofit your existing Stampin' Up! products with new colour kits! Get all of Stampin' Up!'s new colours (and just the colours you need) without the expense of replacing products you already have!
Click on the image above for more info.

Extra! Extra!

Extra! Extra! Stampin' Up! hostesses get extra hostess awards July 27-August 31, in addition to the already fantastic hostess benefits! Click the image above for details!

Zippidity Do Dah, Zippity Day, my oh my what a wonderful......catalogue!

Yaayy!!! The new 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalogue is here and it looks fabulous! There are a TON of great new products and I really like how they organized the catalogue this time. It seems much easier to find the items you're looking for and to see what all is available, especially how they now have the inks, markers, papers, embellishments, etc all colour-grouped together.
Give me a call if you would like your own copy or else click on the image above to see it online!

Greenhouse Garden

I just love this stamp set! This is the Greenhouse Garden set and it is a "2-Step" stamping set, which means the main flowers (lighter solid parts) are stamped first, and then the darker 'veins' are stamped on after. Gives a really nice effect!

Here is another nifty idea to do with your border punches. Fold the paper in half and then use the border punch (here we used the Scallop Trim Border punch), and then unfold, and tada! You can now weave your ribbon through it and tie a pretty bow!

Peace Within

Here is another card made with the "Peace Within" stamp set that I think could be used for either a man or a woman.
We also offset the length of the front to add a little interest and show off our birthday message!

Isn't this a cute card? This nifty little card is called an "easel card", and a simple brad and a few quick folds is all there is to it! A perfect way to add a different twist to a card and really show off your message!

$119 Starter Kit Promotion!

From June 1-30, 2010, you can start your own business for just $119! Stampin' Up! is now offering a Mini Starter Kit (valued at over $220) for just $119.
Click here for more details!

Get Them Before They're Gone!!!

Stampin' UP! has announced several "Last Chance" items that are being discontinued and only available while supplies last. Click on the image above for more details.

Get them before they're gone!

Add some "Punch" to your cards!

Here we made great use of Stampin' Up!'s double sided paper (DSP) and the "Large Oval", "Scalloped Oval" and "5-Petal Flower" punches to make this fresh, Spring-y card!
We also dry embossed the flower petals to give them dimension and pop off the page.

Bride/Groom Specialty paper

This "Bride", "Groom", and "Bridesmaid" line of Specialty papers are often overlooked as the catalogue doesn't do them justice. They truly do have to be seen in person to see just how elegant and classy they really are!
We used the Sizzix Bigz die, "Lattice" to make this simple but elegant card, using papers from both the "Bride" (white) and "Groom" (black) paper packs.


Here is a closeup to show the detail in the paper. Isn't it gorgeous?!

Dust off that paper crimper!

Remember that fancy-dancy paper crimper you have tucked away in your crafting supplies? It's time to dig it out!
This card looks like it's difficult to make, but it's actually quite easy. Just fold the corners of your paper in, feed the whole thing (still folded) into your paper crimper, and then ink the folds.
Finish it off with the stamp of your choice (we used the bird from "Spring Song"), add a nice bow, and you're done!

The new Summer Mini Catalogue is here!

The new 2010 Summer Mini Catalogue is here and is filled with lots of fun stamps, embellishments, dies and other great products, including a new "Double Cog" punch! Click on the picture above to see all the great new items that will only be available from May 1-August 31, 2010.

May is National Scrapbooking Month!

May is National Scrapbooking Month, and to celebrate, Stampin' Up! is giving way free packages of Designer Brads! See below for details...
(click on the image to see the qualifying stamp sets)

New Colours!

Stampin' Up! has announced some exciting news...

....they are doing a "colour renovation"!

Starting in JULY, some of the current colours will be discontinued to make room for some more up-to-date colours, some of the retired "In Colours" will be returning, and some fresh new colours will be added!

(click on the images above more more details)
The 5 completely NEW COLORS:
Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Cherry Cobbler, Cajun Craze and Early Espresso


The 10 RETURNING IN COLORS:
Baja Breeze, Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette, Rich Razzleberry, Riding Hood Red, River Rock, Soft Suede, Tangerine Tango and Wild Wasabi

Not only that, we will still get 5 MORE brand new In-Colors in July too, which will stay active for TWO years! And then a year after their release, we will get 5 more new in colors, which also stay active for two years. So we will always have 10 in colors with rotating new ones in and old ones out…

For the colours that are being discontinued, don't fret as you will still be able to purchase them right now up until the end of June, so please be sure to stock up at least on the ink refills of your must have colors (2-3 bottles per ink pad will last you forever!!!!)

April showers bring May flowers...and so does the Ornament Punch!

We're in the middle of April right now and the forecast is calling for rain. The best thing about a nice spring shower, is the pretty flowers that follow.

That means it is also time to bring out the Stampin' Up! Ornament Punch. Yes, you heard that right...the Ornament Punch! No, it isn't anywhere near Christmastime, but it's time to dust off that Ornament Punch and put it to work making these beautiful roses.

We simply punched out a minimum of 13 'petals' with the punch and rolled them around a pencil, with some of them being wrapped tighter than others. We then bent back to top part of the ornament and stuck them down on our card, starting from the outside and working our way in, making sure they were staggered and that the ones that were wrapped tighter were in the center.

Of course, we had a few laughs over the thought of actually trying to send a card like this in the mail! :) This is one of the special cards that definitely needs to be hand delivered! Imagine what a nice gift it would make though, all wrapped up in a pretty box with a nice gift card?

Two-Step Into Spring!

Stampin' Up!'s Two-Step Stampin' sets allow you to quickly and easily take your creativity to the next level. And now, from April 1-30 only, you can purchase the brand new "Awash with Flowers" Two-Step Stampin' set or get it FREE when you host a $460 workshop!

Awash with Flowers Stamp Set (wood mount) $52.95
Awash with Flowers Stamp Set (clear mount) $36.95

Plus, get 20% off a selection of perfectly springy Two-Step Stampin' sets from our current catalogue:
Greenhouse Garden $27.96
Fifth Avenue Floral $26.36
Flower Fancy $39.16
Trendy Trees $19.16

Printed Window Sheets

This is one of my favourite cards that we have made in our Stamping Club. It uses the "Clearly Thanks" Printed Window Sheets. They really add a nice, elegant touch.
The photo below shows a closeup view so you can see the details on the window sheet better.

King for a Day!

The "Card Games" stamp set is so fun! At first glance, it looks pretty limited in what you can use it for, but there really are a lot of fun ideas you can come up with, even if the person isn't a 'game person'.

This card was made for a teenaged boy for his birthday, but with the "King for a Day" sentiment, it could easily be used for Father's Day as well.

The other stamps say "Queen of Everything" (Queen) or "You Make Me Laugh" (Joker) but you could easily mask off the words and put in any saying you want, or even leave it blank.

Country Living Cards a la Carte...available until April 30th!

Stampin' Up! has partnered with Country Living magazine to offer this exclusive "Cards a la Carte" stationery kit. With 24 sheets of uniquely designed 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" printed paper, this kit has everything you need to create a one-of-a-kind menu or handwritten letter.

* 24 sheets 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 printed paper

* 12 medium Very Vanilla envelopes

* Dinner Party stamp set

* Ballet Blue Classic Stampin' Spot

$26.95

Welcome Baby!

Isn't this a sweet card? I just love that little giraffe! He comes from the "Wild About You" stamp set and is just one of several cute little animals in that set.

Wishing you the Luck O' The Irish!

Happy St Patty's Day to you! I know they aren't green, but these mugs of beer could have easily been coloured green in the spirit of the day!

This card was made using the "Cheers to You" stamp set which includes various fun cocktails, martinis, glasses of champagne, and mugs of beer.

Morning Soft

Yes! Bring on Spring! Here is another Spring-y card using the beautiful "Morning Soft" stamp.

I purposely left the oval (which was punched out with the Large Oval punch, by the way!) blank so the card can be use for any occasion.

Spring is Around the Corner!

The past week or so there has been absolutely BEAUTIFUL weather outside. Although I don't know whether we can put away our scarves and mitts quite yet, it gives me hope that Spring is just around the corner!

This card makes me think of Spring with its bright cheery flower and the butterflies (or "flutterbies" as Becky calls them!) dancing around.

See! There is that Butterfly punch again...LOVE that punch! We also used that Sizzix Big Shot with the "Flower, Daisies #2 Bigz Die" for the flower.

Peach Within

Here is another great all-purpose card made from the "Peace Within" stamp set. Don't you just feel like curling up in the chair beside that little kitty with a good book?
We all used the "Top Note" die (one of the Bigz Dies) for the frame. That die is so useful!

Let's Go Extreme!

Do you sometimes have a hard time coming up with ideas for cards for teen boys (or girls!)? Do you have an extreme sports enthusiast on your list?
The "Extreme" series of stamps are the perfect answer! Each stamp is sold individually with themes such as skateboarding, snowboarding, skiing, guitar playing, dirtbiking and surfing.
There is also a full set of background stamps called "Extreme Elements" that coordinate with these stamps.
The card below was made using the dirtbiking stamp as well as the background stamps.

Beary Best Friends!

Isn't this little bear cute? She is from one of the limited edition stamps sets, "Beary Best Friends" from the current Occasions Mini Catalogue.
There is also a boy bear who is just as cute, as well as a balloon (shown here), party hat, shopping bag and flower. So sweet!
This stamp set is from the "Build-a-Bear Workshop Collection" and there are coordinating Sizzix dies available as well.
Also, for every purchase of $25 from this collection, you'll receive a coupon for $5 off any purchase at a Build-a-Bear Workshop store!

Looking forward to Spring?

With the nice sunny weather we've been enjoying over the past couple days, it gives me hope that Spring is just around the corner!
This card reminds me of a nice spring day, with fresh new flowers blooming, and butterflies dancing around....soon, hopefully soon!
This was made with the "Flight of the Butterfly" stamp set and the coordinating Butterfly punch.
The punched-out butterflies were made using the printed window sheets. They were perfect for this!