Unfrogettable Stamping!

Elizabeth's private stamp-a-stack cards

Elizabeth invited her friends to join her in my stamping studio for a private stamp-a-stack card class last night.  It was a lot of fun - everyone went home with 2 each of 3 cards that she had selected from my card sample baskets and display board.

I love swapping with other demonstrators and attending shoe box swaps when I go to Stampin' Up! events like Convention, Regionals and Leadership because it gives me (and my stampers) an opportunity to see a variety of different stamp sets and card styles.  This card above was designed by Jody Sutula, whom I met at Convention last summer during an organized shoe box swap put on by my friend Dawn Rapsas.  Elizabeth really liked this card so we included it in her stamp-a-stack class.  It features a fancy fold and the Asian Artistry hostess level 2 stamp set.  The colors are rich and gorgeous - very vanilla, always artichoke and rich razzleberry.  I photographed the card in the sunlight so you could see how shimmery the dragonfly is with the dazzling diamonds applied to its wings.  I really like how Jody distressed the edges of her cardstock using the cutter kit and I had several people purchase it because they got to play with it.

 

The next card that everyone made was the Easter one above featuring the Chocolate Bunny from the Occasions mini catalog with Bermuda Bay, Chocolate Chip and Kraft cardstock.  I had received the bottom card pictured above in a shoebox swap at Leadership last January that was designed by Catherine Sanders.  What a difference color plays in the feel of the card!  Elizabeth really liked this card but requested the change to bermuda bay - I have to admit that I love it!  The cards are identical except for the bermuda bay vs. rich razzleberry, although it doesn't appear that way in the photographs (camera's acting up!).

This last card is another CASE of a card I received in a swap from Jennifer Cotton, seen above in old olive and night of navy.  It came from a swap while I was at Founder's Circle last fall.  Jennifer's card has beautiful fall colors, but I wanted to use more bright and fun spring-y colors so opted to use tempting turquoise, cameo coral, whisper white and chocolate chip.  I think it still works, don't you?  The butterfly, flower and sentiment are all from the Simple Friendship stamp set and are stamped on a Top Note die cut using the Big Shot.

Are you interested in hosting a private stamp-a-stack with your friends?  The cost to make these 6 cards is $12, but if you are the hostess you come for half-price AND get to choose a free stamp set from my hostess basket.  You'll earn hostess benefits on orders from the class just like a traditional workshop and get to choose your cards.  They are lots of fun and you'll have one card to keep for inspiration and one to give away.  Contact me to book your date!!

Thanks for stopping by - I'll be back tomorrow with more stamping inspiration to share with you.

Donna's workshop projects

Donna invited her friends and family over on Sunday afternoon for a fun Sale-a-Bration workshop.  Here are the two projects that she and her guests got to make.

This first card is full-sized and everyone had the opportunity to make any type of card that they wanted - I put my favorite Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set (#115370, $36.95) in the box of supplies along with the word window punch.  That's the great thing about flower cards during this time of year - they can be turned into a feminine birthday, Mother's Day, thinking of you or Easter card.  I used very soft colors for this card made with the Abundant Hope daffodils (available through the end of April in the Occasions mini catalog and available in clear-mount and woodmount) - apricot appeal, very vanilla and certainly celery.  The image and sentiment were inked with basic brown and the flowers were colored with a blender pen, picking up ink from the lids of the apricot appeal and certainly celery ink pads (a favorite way to quickly color an image).  To make the whole image pop, I outlined the entire image with a Sahara Sand stampin' write marker and finished it with some dazzling diamonds glitter, applied with a 2-way glue pen.  Texture was added to the apricot appeal cardstock mat using the Perfect Polka Dots textured impression folder and the Big Shot.  For another bit of texture I added a strip of certainly celery satin ribbon - it is so soft, smooth and luxurious.  To finish off the card, I rounded the corners of the bottom of the apricot mat and card with my 3/16" corner rounder punch.

Here is the second card that the workshop guests got to make - it was created with a notecard.  These are sold in sets of 20 with matching envelopes and come pre-scored - they're a great basic staple for beginning stampers (item #107311, $5.95).  I love them for creating thank you cards... they don't require additional postage and are just the right size for a small note to a friend.  I created a card for my February stamp-a-stack using this same DSP (see that post here) and loved it so much that I used it for my workshop.  It features the Scallop Trim border punch, which you can earn for FREE with a $50 qualifying sale-a-bration order (HURRY - the last day to earn this is tomorrow, March 31st!!).  I also wanted to showcase some products in the Occasions mini catalog and so I used a strip of DSP from the Shades of Spring pack and the vine and flower are from the Vintage Vogue stamp set.  The "Thank You" comes from Thank You Kindly - a favorite sentiment set of mine and a Sale-a-Bration selection with a qualifying $50 order.

Thanks to Donna for inviting me into her home to share our love of stamping with her guests!!

 

Time is running out!!! 

Don't forget that Sale-a-Bration is ending soon... less than 48 hours left to earn FREE products!   Place your order online via my demonstrator website here or contact me via phone or email and I'll be happy to place that order for you... and don't forget - a $50 order also gets you on my $50-50 board. 

Want to join my team of demonstrators while the customizable starter kit is on sale for $169 and you get to add one free stamp set of ANY price to your kit?  My password is debstamps and you can join online here by choosing "join now."  Be sure to click on "Edit" once you have begun your starter kit order so you can customize your kit!!  Please note that the default additional free stamp set is Define Your Life ($47.95!!!) but you can substitute any stamp set that you like, including any from the Occasions mini catalog.  Have questions?  Call or email me and I'll be happy to discuss the opportunity with you!  I fully support my downline with a yahoo group, Stampin' Connection group, monthly gatherings and lots of contact... won't you join us?

Thanks for stopping by!  I'll be sharing my stamp-a-stack cards tomorrow from Elizabeth's private stamp-a-stack that we're having tonight.

I'm a Featured Artist on the Late Night Stampers blog today!!!

Was I ever thrilled when Sherrill Graff emailed me to let me know I had been chosen to be a featured artist on the Late Night Stampers blog today - woooo hoooooo!!  You will find a ton of inspiration here!!  Please visit by clicking on this link.  Thanks!!!

March Scrapbook Club layouts

We started a new round of Scrapbook Club today, which will go through the next four months.  The layouts I designed for this month are below for your inspiration.

 

This first one is an Easter layout...I have seen sooo many adorable Big Shot Top Note Easter bunny boxes on Stampin' Connection (a social networking site for Stampin' Up! demonstrators) and thought that a bunny would be super-cute on a 12x12 layout (it is a bit too big for a card).  My version of this bunny is a conglomeration of those posted and shared by Kimberley Morris, Marie Shaugnessy, Barb Calbick and Veronica Vazquez.  Thanks for sharing, Ladies!

Here is a close-up of the bunny.. I used a ton of punches and sponged the white pieces with barely banana ink to make it pop a little bit more.  The egg that the bunny is holding is a medium oval cut with my Big Shot Ovals die and the Build-a-Bear Pawsitively Prints DSP pack.  Colors used for the bunny are whisper white, blush blossom and close to cocoa.  The stamp set used for the "easter" title is the Schoolbook Serif alphabet set.  I fell in love with the alphabet stamps 6 years ago when I first attended a Stampin' Up! workshop and wanted to use one for my page.

This is the second layout - does it look familiar?  I used the 6x6 scrapbook layout from a workshop earlier this month and built it up to a 12x12 page (see that original post here).  I loved the colors in the Sweet Pea DSP stack and used them for the rest of the layout - so saffron, chocolate chip, taken with teal and pumpkin pie.  The "happy" is from  Happy Everything and the flowers are from the With All My Love stamp set, punched out with the extra large flower punch found in the Occasions mini catalog.

Thanks for stopping by today... tomorrow I will be sharing my workshop projects from yesterday.  Have a wonderful day and happy stamping!

Piranha-palooza

My kids swim for the Lynchburg YMCA swim team and their mascot is the piranha.  We had a fundraiser swim marathon this morning that is called Piranha-palooza.  They were supposed to swim 200 laps in 2 hours (a little over 3 miles!!!).  Here is a photo of the parents (and my daughter Amanda on the right) counting the laps.  Amanda had already swum 5000 meters in her practice this morning so didn't get to do the marathon, much to her chagrin.  I can't even fathom that after a 2 hour practice she would even want to swim 200 laps for another 2 hours!  I guess she must be part fish...

This was Brandon's first year participating.  He actually made it through 100 laps before quitting to warm up in the showers - the little guys really weren't expected to complete all the laps and I thought he did great for his first try.  The kids were wearing swim fins and used kick boards for part of their time in the water so they weren't completely exhausted!

Here is a picture of Kelsey - she was so excited about today that she spent 2 hours on the phone with her best friend Kate and they designed their own 200 lap workout for today (see it on the kickboard?)... she may have a coaching job in her future!

You would think the kids were totally exhausted, but when Kelsey and some of her friends didn't show up in the team room for pizza and doughnuts after their showers we went searching for them... and found them doing ZUMBA - can you believe it?!

I finally got Kelsey to sit down and eat... while Brandon played with the exercise balls.

It was a great morning for the kids and I hope they were able to raise a lot of money for the team! 

Thanks for letting me share!  I'll be back tomorrow with some stamping projects

Fabulous Tess

This week on the Sisters in Stamping blog we are focusing on the Tote-Ally Tess stamp set found in the Occasions mini catalog.  Isn't she cute?

I created a 3-d project this week - a framed piece of art.  It is something I've been wanting to create since I purchased our Statement of the Heart stamp a few months ago (sorry, this one is only available to demonstrators).  I will have this displayed in my stamping studio and will take it with me to workshops and other stamping events. I picked up this simple black frame at a discount store and opted to remove the glass so that my flower wouldn't get smooshed.

The background DSP is a current favorite of mine - Cottage Wall.  I LOVE the colors!  And I pulled the orchid opulence, rich razzleberry and old olive colors into the stamped images.  Check out Tess' tote - I have a pair of paper snips and some stampin' write markers peeking out of the top... this was created by using a mask made out of a post-it note.

And do you see the little bling on the card she's holding - it is a sticky-backed rhinestone from the Eggcoutrements kit from the Occasions mini catalog... I'm sorry to say that these are now sold out and no longer available.  I wanted to create that same flower look on a larger scale so used my Flower Fusion sizzlit and a clear rhinestone brad to embellish the Statement of the Heart.  I finished off the frame by tying a piece of rich razzleberry polka-dotted grosgrain ribbon in a fun knot.

I really love this Tote-Ally Tess stamp set and see it being a staple in my collection for a very long time!  As the sentiment in this set says, "the best things in life are made, not bought." 

Thanks for stopping by today - please be sure and visit the Sisters in Stamping blog after Noon EST to see what creative ideas my Sisters came up with using this fun stamp set this week!

Products used with today's project:

Easter Chick box

I just realized that I neglected to share the make-n-take from my monthly team get-together earlier this month.

Lori Subosits, a member of my Design Team, created this super-cute Easter Chick box made with the Fancy Favor Box Bigz XL die and the Big Shot.  The blue egg was cut out with the Ovals die and then run through the Big Shot again with the Finial Press texturz folder to create the pattern on the cardstock.  Next, a Versamark pad was run over the whole piece and then sprinkled with clear embossing powder - the egg is super shiny and so pretty in real life.  I love the feather, so cute!  The chick and sentiment are images in the A Good Egg stamp set, found in the Idea Book & Catalog.

You will find further details on Lori's blog here.

Thanks for stopping by!  I'll be back tomorrow with my Fabulous Friday project tomorrow.

The two S's that are my life...

Stamping and Swimming - that is how I spend most of my time these days!  When I'm not busy getting ready for a class or holding a stamping event, I am at the pool with my kids for swim practice or a swim meet.  Don't get me wrong, I love every minute of both!!! 

This past weekend we were in Rock Hill, South Carolina for a Regional YMCA championship swim meet that my daughters Amanda and Kelsey qualified for with multiple events.  There were 679 swimmers from 39 different teams from Virginia, Noth Carolina and South Carolina represented.  Our Lynchburg YMCA team took 40 swimmers to this meet - making us the 5th largest team there.

This was my vantage point on Friday, Saturday and Sunday - from the bleachers.  It is very hard for me to sit still for very long when my kids are in the water... whenever we have a home meet I like to volunteer as a timer so I am right there on the pool deck able to cheer and yell for my kids.  I still did cheer and yell for my kids, and they tell me that I'm loud enough that they can hear me even from all the way up in the bleachers... which explains why I have no voice today.  But since I didn't work during the meet, I was actually able to take some photographs which I can't wait to put into a My Digital Studio album.

I wanted to share just a few with you today... I am such a proud Mama to my little fish!

Here is a photo of the relay teams behind the blocks during the pledge of allegiance - what a great image!  It gave me goosebumps every time.  Amanda's relay team has the yellow swim caps with blue suits.  And they won GOLD each day, too, and broke the team record on all 3 of their relays - how exciting!!

Here is Amanda on the blocks, getting ready for her 200 yard backstroke event on Sunday.  She was seeded 6th, but dropped 2 seconds and ended up in 4th place for 11-12 year olds. 

This is Kelsey behind the blocks, anticipating her 200 yard IM, and in the water doing the breaststroke.  She dropped time, too, and ended up 13th overall in the 10 and under category!

One final picture to share on the medal stand - this is Amanda's relay team on Sunday after they won GOLD for their 4 x 100 yard freestyle relay.  They also got a trophy for highest points for the 11-12 year old girls age category... another great accomplishment.  Way to go, Girls!  Our LY girls also took the 1st place trophy for overall points for the meet... yippeeee!!

And here are my goofy girls in the backseat of the car on our long drive home Sunday night in the rain.  So ends our short-course season for the winter.  My kids will continue to practice as we head into long-course season this summer.   Swimming never ends for us but we love it!  Hopefully we will be taking Brandon to this championship meet next year, too, as he gets a little bigger, stronger and faster. 

Thanks for stopping by!  I'm so grateful that my stampers understand when I can't hold stamping events on weekends that we have swim meets... especially during Sale-a-Bration!

Sympathy tree

I had to create a sympathy card for some friends who recently lost their grandfather.  I find that Lovely As a Tree is such a great stamp set for this type of card.

I first cut out at Top Note shape with very vanilla cardstock and then inked my large tree from the Lovely As a Tree set with more mustard ink.  I then took a chocolate chip marker and went over the trunk of the tree with it.  Next, I used an old olive marker and colored the grass at the base of the tree and then thumped it over the leaves.  I then did the same thumping with my pumpkin pie, really rust and ruby red markers.  When I was done, I huffed on the stamp and created the image above.  I love this easy technique to give the tree such great color.  The "Sharing in your Sorrow" sentiment is from the Thoughts & Prayers stamp set as well as the sentiment stamped inside the card.  I used my chocolate chip marker to connect the perforation marks around the Top Note to simulate stitching.  Finally, I tied on a knot of old olive satin ribbon and attached it to a mat of close to cocoa that had been run through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots texture folder.  I really like how this card turned out and plan to feature it in my stamp-a-stack tomorrow night as I've had some requests for sympathy cards lately.

Thanks for visiting and happy stamping!

Design Team swaps

My Design Team is made up of some very creative business builder demonstrators from my downline and each month we get together to design class and workshop projects.  This month our focus was on simple workshop cards featuring a variety of different accessories.   Here are the different project ideas:

This first card was created by Sherri Gough.  I LOVE the Pink Flamingo DSP, as you have probably figured out if you've been following my blog for any length of time.  I also especially love the color real red and Sherri used both so well together - who knew the large flower from Eastern Blooms would match so well with this DSP?  I like how she incorporated quite a few punches into this card, too - from the ticket corner punch to the modern label and word window punches.  The sentiment is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set - a GREAT one to own since it includes so many different sentiments.  And what a great card for anyone kicking off their new Stampin' Up! business since Eastern Blooms and Teeny Tiny Wishes are stamp sets that are included in the Starter Kit.  Remember, you have until the end of March to take advantage of the $30 savings on the Starter Kit AND get an extra FREE stamp set of any price!  Want to join my team?  Use this link and click on "Join Now" - my password is debstamps.

This next card was designed by Lori Subosits.  I believe she saw this idea somewhere online, but I don't know to whom I should give credit - I'll update this post when I get that information from Lori.  Anyway, it is super-cute and uses a strip of DSP from the Tall Tales package.  She even used the Uniball Signo white gel pen for faux stitching around the edges of the romper.  The colors - so saffron and old olive - were pulled right from the DSP.  What a great masculine baby shower card idea!!

This card was created by Darlene Crockett and features the Trendy Trees stamp set as well as the crimper - a tool that I don't use often enough.  It adds great texture to cardstock!  Darlene, like Sherri, used the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set along with the word window and modern label punches.  Colors used are bashful blue, certainly celery, close to cocoa and whisper white.  This is a great "Get Well" card for anyone feeling under the weather!

I designed this last card, which features the C is for Cat stamp set - one that is a FREE Sale-a-Bration selection with a qualifying $50 order through March 31st.  I decided to feature the Big Shot with my card - it was used to create the texture on the chocolate chip piece (Finial Press texture folder) and to cut out the ovals for the focal image (Ovals originals die).  The colors include very vanilla, more mustard, chocolate chip, close to cocoa and creamy caramel.  I inked up the cat image with creamy caramel and then added the color with various markers.  You can't tell from the photo, but I added a sticky-back rhinestone to the cat's collar.  Sadly, the Eggcellent Eggs kit that I got that from is no longer available - Stampin' Up! has completely sold out of these fabulous kits in the Occasions mini catalog.  I'm really hoping that we'll get these sticky-back rhinestones in the new catalog in July!!  I made this a sympathy card because losing a beloved pet deserves a beautiful hand-stamped card, too.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, happy stamping!