Thank You Cards and Box - Oval All

Our friends Steve and Brook are having their second son in 3 weeks. We went to a BBQ tonight to celebrate. Although they didn't want anyone bringing gifts, I can't show up anyplace empty handed! I figured this was the perfect time to try out some ideas I have for my upcoming class. I will be using different papers for the class, because I want to use the papers from the Occasions Mini Catalog. James was a sport and helped me with assembling the pieces together on the cards. He did a few of the punches, too. I think he enjoys it more than he lets on... he certainly never complains when I ask him for help, and now he has started to offer help. He may not like me sharing that info, so let's keep it a secret!

Close up of box.

Top view of box.

The cards and envelopes in the box.

I included 6 cards. All the cards used the same paper, but each card was a little different.

Close up of one of the cards.

I forgot to take pictures before we left, so I took them on my Blackberry - please forgive the photos!

All materials are from Stampin' UP!

Card stock: Bashful Blue (#105209), Not Quite Navy (#101722), Whisper White (#100730)
Patterned Paper: Bashful Blue Designer Series Paper (#112151)

Stamp Set: Oval All (#113790)from the Occasions Mini Catalog

Inks: Not Quite Navy Classic Ink (#103008), Whisper White Craft Ink (#101731)

Ribbon: Bashful Blue grograin ribbon (#109029)

Punches: Large Oval (#107305), Scallop Oval (#114889)

Baby Boy Scrapbook (2)

Here are a few more pictures that went into the baby book for my new nephew Max!

I thought I had taken more pictures, but I obviously didn't because there were many more pages! I'll have to get in touch and ask my sister to take some pictures and send them to me. So... more to come!

Baby Boy Scrapbook (Entry 1)

I know, I know, I haven't posted any new projects. James and I went to Aspen, CO to visit my sister Mel who just had a baby boy in February. I did start to work on a few things while there, but I haven't had a chance to finish anything since getting home. I came back to finals... yuck!


However, I don't think I ever ended up posting pics from the baby book I made for cute little Max! I didn't use any Stampin' UP! products on this book, because I started it before I was using SU! products and before I became a demo.

I mostly used my Cricut and paper from Die Cuts With a View from the Baby Boy stack. For the die cuts, I mostly used the New Arrival cartridge with my Cricut. I used SCAL for a lot of the fonts to add some variety.

I don't think these pages even represent half of the book. So, this is just a sneak peak! Stay tuned for more pages!

A Few More Cards...

I am in heaven!!!

I recently discovered that the Stampin' UP! colors are almost identical to some of American Crafts colors! Being that both companies are located in Utah, it is more than possible they use the same company for printing. In December (before I became a SU! demo and fell in love with their paper sets) I went to an American Crafts warehouse sale and went overboard on the great deals they had on card stock and patterned papers. Some of the paper I bought in packs... now when am I ever going to use 50 pieces of the same paper? To make cards of course!

Here are a few cards I've made using a combo of Stampin' UP! and American Crafts supplies:

This first card uses American Crafts paper for the base and the purple layer (this is actually the backside of the striped paper). I used Whisper White CS for the stamped image base, because NOTHING works as well for stamping as Whisper White card stock! I inked the edges with Kiwi Kiss and Chocolate Chip inks. I stamped the image from Botanical Blooms (one of the Sale-a-Bration) sets in Chocolate Chip, the petals are Cameo Coral, and the leaves are Kiwi Kiss. I tied Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon around the stamped image. The saying is from the "Heard from the Heart" stamp set. I love the font on this stamp set! I made a pack of these cards, put them in a cello bag with envelopes, and gave them to a friend who had us over for dinner this week.

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I used the same paper from American Crafts on the next three cards and combined it with Kiwi Kiss and Baja Breeze card stock from Stampin' UP! I am ecstatic at how well they match!!

Seriously!! Can you believe how well the colors line up?? I used the "Fifth Avenue Florals" stamp set and used the masking technique to give the look of overlapping flowers. I used Kiwi Kiss and Baja Breeze stamps for the flowers. I wrapped a black, velvet ribbon from my stash around the image. The saying didn't show up well in the photos (I tried several) but it looks great in real life! I used the "Congrats" set from Sale-a-Bration for the word "Congratulations" and stamped it in the Essential Glue Pad before covering it in Black Fine Galaxy Stampin' Glitter.

I wanted to try making some basic cards with a more masculine look. For the above card, I used Kiwi Kiss CS and ink for the "Happy Birthday". I used the Scallop Circle Punch and a Nestabilities die.

This last card was super quick to make. I cut a piece of Kiwi Kiss CS using my SU! Scallop Circle punch. I used a rub-on from my stash for the sentiment and some black ric-rac. I used Stampin' Dimensionals under the scallop to pop it off the paper.

Love You Much stamp set

Before becoming a demonstrator for SU! I attended a class that my upline, Natalie, held using the "Love You Much" stamp set. Since then, I have continued to use this set - it is so cute! All of these cards use the Candy Lane Designer Series Paper Set, another one of my favorite paper sets from SU!

For this card, I used Chocolate Chip CS for the base, Pink Pirouette CS for the stipes, Candy Lane for the polka dot paper, Riding Hood Red CS for the mat, and Whisper White CS for the stamped image. I inked the edge of the WW with Chocolate Chip ink and a sponge. I stamped the image in Chocolate Chip and used the Blender Pen and the ink-in-the-lid technique using Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red and Pink Pirouette inks. I used the Masking technique to overlap the word "Love" and the birds. I punched out hearts using the Heart to Heart Punch and adhered them to the card using snail. I then used 2-way glue and Dazzling Diamonds SU! glitter.

This card also uses Chocolate Chip CS for the base, Pink Pirouette CS for the stipes and stamp mat, Candy Lane for the polka dot paper, and Whisper White CS for the stamped image. I inked the edge of the WW with Chocolate Chip ink and a sponge. I stamped the image in Chocolate Chip and used the Blender Pen and the ink-in-the-lid technique using Riding Hood Red and Pink Pirouette inks. I stamped the hearts using Riding Hood Red on Pink Pirouette and Riding Hood Red CS and used the Heart to Heart Punch to cut them out. I also added two brads... I didn't realize they were crooked until now!

By now you're getting used to this pattern: Chocolate Chip CS for the base, stamped with a Versamark Pad to get the watermark effect, Pink Pirouette CS, Candy Lane CS, Whisper White CS, image stamped in Chocolate Chip and colored with Pink Pirouette and Riding Hood Red, and punched with the Scallop Circle Punch. I used 2-way glue on the center heart and added Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter. The other hearts are stamped in Riding Hood Red and punched with the Heart to Heart Punch.

Last card! I used Riding Hood Red CS stamped with Riding Hood Red ink for the base. I used the Scallop Edge punch on the Pink Pirouette CS and used paper from the Candy Lane set for the brown. I stamped the large hear in Chocolate Chip, colored it with Riding Hood Red and Pink Pirouette using the Blender Pens, and added Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter using the 2-way glue pen. I tied Riding Hood Red striped grosgrain ribbon around the front and stamped "friend to friend" in Chocolate Chip.

Whew! I do love this stamp set and hope I've inspired you to give it a try!

Crazy for Cupcakes Stamp Set

Here are some cards I have made with the Stampin' UP! "Crazy for Cupcakes" stamp set. I love this stamp set!

This first card I made using some paper from my stash. I stamped the image in Chocolate Chip on SU Whisper White Cardstock and colored the image using a Blender Pen and the Magic Colored Pencil Technique (MCPT or Gamsol). I used the SU 2-way glue pen on the frosting and added SU Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter.

On the inside of the card, I stamped "hope your day is the sweetest ever!" which is also from this stamp set. This is such a great set for birthday cards. I made a set of them at once, so I would have cute cards on hand when needed!


I made this next card using a base of Whisper White CS and SU Bella Rose Designer Series Paper. This is one of my favorite sets of SU paper! I think I love this set because it has several different polka dot sheets and the combination of pink and brown makes my heart sing!

I stamped the image in Chocolate Chip on Whisper White CS and colored the image using Blender Pens and the ink-in-the-lid technique with Close to Cocoa, Riding Hood Red, and Pink Pirouette. I tied Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon around the front and used the SU Scallop Edge punch along the floral layer of paper. I think I made this card at a card demo by my upline Natalie.

This paper is only available for a few more months, so stock up now if you love it as much as I do!

April Specials

Connect with family and friends when you make them beautiful cards and gifts using products from the Occasions Mini Catalog. From April 1-30, when you buy $40 in products from the Occasions Mini or host a workshop totaling $150 or more, you'll get one item from the "Under $10" page (p. 208) in the Spring-Summer 2009 Idea Book & Catalog--FREE!

In addition, I'm also running a special for the month of April. For every order you place through me, I'll send you a Classic or Craft inkpad in your color choice when your order totals $50 or more (before taxes, and S + H). Now is a great time to buy SU! products or to host a workshop!