April 18, 2017

All Boxed Up!

Hi All,

Are you looking for a quick and easy way to create a box to hold a gift card or other present for Mother's Day, graduation or Father's Day? You can make a basic box in many sizes in no time using our Gift Box Punch Board. You can use either card stock or DSP to create boxes up to 4" on each side. Watch the video below to see how easy it is to use this tool.





The Gift Box Punch Board is one the many retiring Stampin' Up! products. To check out all of the retiring items, click here.

Hurry! Retiring stamp sets are guaranteed to be available through May 22nd. All other items will be available only while supplies last.

Happy shopping!

Sue

April 16, 2017

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to All!

For those who celebrate this holiday, I hope your day if filled with family, friends and fun and that you are making memories for the future.

We gathered on Saturday at my sister's house to celebrate together. I had so much fun creating these little treats for 'the girls'.


My mom always gave each of us a roll of postage stamps in an egg for an Easter treat. She died earlier this month (the reason I have been 'off the grid') and I wanted to carry on her tradition. In addition to hand dipped chocolates for the adults, they each received their egg with postage stamps. I love to give hand crafted treats.

Happy Easter, Happy Spring!

Sue

March 31, 2017

Happy Birthday Ezra!

Hi all!

Yesterday, my littlest 'great' turned ONE. His mom and dad call him the caboose. He is one of the happiest babies I have ever been around. He almost always has a big smile on his face and he is a little cuddlebug! I wanted to make a special card for him and found the perfect CASE from Carol Payne.


Cute at first look, but check out the full effect!


The Island Indigo and Pear Pizazz make a great backdrop for our tall friend. I hope my baby Ezra likes his card. I love a good punch art project and this one is perfect!

Thanks so much for stopping.

Sue


March 30, 2017

More Beautiful You

Hi all,

Today I'm sharing the last two projects from my Beautiful You class. I wanted my guests to see a variety of ways to use this stamp as well as learn some new techniques. My goals were met!

For the next projects, break out your aqua painter!


Peekaboo Peach is the featured color in this project. It is layered with Basic Black and a panel of Whisper White that was run through the Big Shot with an embossing folder (use one of your favorites!). I still have my old oval thinlits and they were perfect for cropping a piece of watercolor paper and a second oval in Basic Black. The image was stamped using Stayzon ink. It's important to use Stayzon when water coloring as it is waterproof and your image won't bleed.

Squeeze your aqua painter to get the water flowing. If this is the first time you've used an aqua pen, it's easiest to use with watercolor paper - lots of forgiveness there!

We started at the bottom of the oval with Crumb Cake. Squeeze your ink pad to get color onto the lid and pick up the color with the brush of your aqua painter, then apply to your watercolor paper. Not dark enough? Simply add more ink until you're happy with the result. For the water, we used Soft Sky, followed by So Saffron, then topped off with Sweet Sugar Plum. We also used a bit of Peekaboo Peach over the So Saffron to add some depth. Be sure to go back and blend the colors to remove any distinct lines. Truly easy peasy! You're going to get hooked on water coloring!

We used the aqua painter for water coloring in our last project, but this time, the image was stamped onto Whisper White. After creating with watercolor paper, everyone had the 'feel' for water coloring, so working on Whisper White wasn't too scary!


The Falling In Love dsp from the Occasions catalog is featured in this card. The images on the papers in this pack are absolutely beautiful. It's easy to create cards with this paper because it provides all the 'wow' you need for your card. The trick to working with Whisper White paper is to keep your aqua painter brush fairly dry. For this image we used Blushing Bride and Soft Sky. Another, quick, easy and lovely card!

Each class guest did take home a box that I made for their finished cards - guess who forgot to take a photo! That would be me. The box featured a stamped image from the Beautiful You set. It was a great class.

Pinterest has so many amazing samples using this set. Have yourself some fun. I know there are women in your life who would love to receive one of these images in the mail.

Like what you see? Be sure to enter your name in the 'Follow me by email' section on the right. My posts will be sent directly to your email.

Thanks so much for stopping today. Make it a great day!

Sue


March 28, 2017

Beautiful You!

Hi all,

Whew! What a weekend! Saturday morning I held a Beautiful You class. We had so much fun. This week I'll show you our class projects as well as some of the samples I displayed.

We started Saturday's class using the paper piecing technique.


We started with a standard card base of 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", layered with Basic Black cut at 4" x 5 1/4", followed by a layer of Whisper White measuring 3 3/4" x 5". The dancing woman was stamped onto a piece of Whisper White using Classic Black ink then cropped using the Layering Squares thinlits. The dancing woman image was also stamped on to a piece of DSP and then fussy cut the dress and hat. We used the glue pen on the back of the DSP and adhered it to the image on Whisper White. The image was then layered on to a Basic Black scalloped square from the Layering Squares thinlits. The sentiment was stamped and three colored coordinated dots finished the project. I love the sentiment and really like how this card turned out.

The next card featured the Blender pen and the Playful Palette DSP stack.


Our glamorous lady was colored with the blender pen using Sweet Sugar Plum. Simply squeeze the ink pad when it is closed to transfer ink from the pad to the the lid of the case. Pick up the color with your blender pen and apply to the stamped image. We started on the left to give deeper color and  depth. Be sure to use long, vertical strokes to provide even color. This is a very simple, but striking technique. The base is Blushing Bride, the image is layered on to Sweet Sugar Plum and the ribbon is Sweet Sugar Plum.

I absolutely love this set and went crazy looking at ideas on Pinterest and coming up with a few of my own. Stay tuned for more of our projects as the week goes on.

Saturday afternoon my nephew and his family arrived for an overnight stay. My 'greats' are aged 6, 3 and 1. I got in LOTS of kisses! It was so much fun having them here. I hope there's a repeat visit soon!

It's been a bit gloomy here in Wisconsin. Hoping your world is filled with sunshine!

Take gentle care,
Sue

March 16, 2017

Hi All,

If you've read my blog over the years, you know that I make 200 holiday cards for my friend to send out to his customers. After receiving his birthday card from me last month, he asked me to make 50 birthday cards!

The easy part of the holiday cards is that I design 4 samples, he chooses one design and I get cutting. With the birthday cards, I am making 50 different cards! I'm about halfway through and will share some of them as I create them.

I decided to share this card, because Lisa Pretto, my upline x 2, has challenged us to post a green project each day this week. At the time I am writing this post, I have three completed - I will need to do a bit more crafting this week!


For my birthday cards, I am using retired DSP and cardstock. This polka dot DSP is fun and festive. I prefer the smaller polka dots to the larger ones. Which do you prefer?

The Balloon Adventures stamp set makes this card easy to create. I embossed the strings right on to the DSP, used my Balloon punch, popping a couple of the balloons up with dimensionals and hand cut the banner. They were done in a snap. I made several colors and will use the excess to send to employees at work. 

Another simple birthday card idea that will be festive with many of the DSP choices in your craft area.

Happy Stamping!
Sue

March 14, 2017

Dress Up Your St. Patrick's Day Table

Hi All!

My sister is hosting a St. Patrick's Day dinner party for 20. As she was perusing Pinterest, she came across a pin and asked if I could replicate it for her. The minute I saw it, I knew it would be a snap to create with my Envelope Punch Board - and it was!



Because the handles of her flatwear are a bit thick, I needed to play around a bit with the size of the box. My end project was made with an 8" x 8" piece of Emerald Envy card stock - what better color name for a St. Patrick's Day project! I scored it at 3", punched and scored again at 3 3/4". Next, rotate the card stock 45 degrees, line up the Envelope Punch Board 'pointer' on the 3" scoreline and punch and then on the 3 3/4" scoreling and punch, rotate the card stock 45 degrees and repeat. Rotate your cardstock one more time and punch on the 3" score line - DO NOT SCORE (if you do score, the score mark will be covered by the napkin - no worry!) These go together very quickly, so you have time to put together a few of them for your St. Patrick's Day dinner table.

I printed the Irish Blessing on my computer using Whisper White card stock. The bow is made of Emeral Envy 1/8" ribbon.

I'm anxioius to hear what my sister's friends have to say! I think the table will look fabulous.

Make it a great day!

Sue

March 8, 2017



Welcome to the Pals Blog Hop for March 2017. We are thankful you stopped by to take a look at our 2017 Blog Hop monthly themes.  This month we are featuring Spring or Spring related projects. We hope you enjoy our creations.
You may just be starting the Blog Hop or may have come from the previous link from the Line-up on the Pals Blog Hop listing shown below.  The full lineup will help you move along from blog to blog so you may see all the projects.

To me, nothing says spring better than flowers and butterflies! Thanks to a Sam Hammond tutorial, I have the perfect spring project for you, a beautiful and charming gift box that you can make now, store flat and pull it out when you need it! I like to have packaging on hand 'just in case'!


I started with a base of Daffodil Delight and wrapped it in Affectionately Yours DSP. This DSP is beautiful! Two of the pieces feature copper foil. With paper like this, you can keep your embellishments to a minimum and let the DSP steal the show!


For the top of the box, I used the Elegant Butterfly punch on a small square of Daffodil Delight and layered it onto a piece of Copper Foil prepared with dimensionals. The Bitty Butterfly punch was used for the smaller butterflies and a Night of Navy Candy Dot finished off the top of my box.


The best part of this box is that it folds flat. You can create for all kinds of occasions and store them for future use. This would be especially handy for birthday, shower or wedding favors. You can make them at your leisure and not have to worry about storage space.

Thanks for visiting. To continue with the hop, please refer to the Blog Hop Line-up below. We hope to see you on next month’s Pals Blog Hop! 

Blog Hop Line-up:  

March 7, 2017

Sweet 16!

Hi All!

This week my sweet niece Anna turns 16! I can hardly believe it. I remember the first time I held her and wanted to steal her away from her mom and dad and take her home with me.

I couldn't let her day go by without celebrating without a card made especially for her!



I used some retired product for this card, but it all just fit my need. I think it is festive enough for this big event, don't you?

Happy Birthday Anna Liz - I love you to the moon and back!


Be sure to check out my upcoming class featuring the Beautiful You stamp set!


Beautiful You!
March 25th at 9 am
$38 for Clear Mount   $49 for Wood Mount
Create 4 beautiful cards with my current most favorite stamp set!
You take the stamp set and lots of alternate ideas home with you!
LOTS of techniques using Water color pencils, aqua painter, blender pen, paper piecing
Payment for this class must be received by March 15th.
Join the fun! Contact me to reserve your spot!



March 3, 2017

A Birthday Box!

Greetings!

I'm back from my weekend trip to San Antonio. I travelled with my older sister, sister-in-law and my nephew's wife. We had a great weekend and enjoyed temps in the 80s. The Riverwalk is beautiful; we were able to celebrate Mardi Gras, view the river boat parade and even catch some beads! My niece is from Louisiana, recently relocated to Wisconsin and enjoyed the taste of home - quite literally. She inhaled three pounds of crawfish in no time! 

The day before we left it was 70 in the Milwaukee area - an all time record breaker. Yesterday, there was 5-6 inches of snow in the driveway when I got home from work. Every day is a weather adventure here in Wisconsin!

Tomorrow after work I'll make the hour trek north to get my son home from school for the weekend. After a mere two weeks of not seeing him, I miss him and am excited to see him and give him a big hug! I'm sure he feels the same:)  (that would be a sarcastic comment - he's 18 - get real mom!)

Okay, enough of my babbling - let's talk about today's project. I totally cased Sam Donald on this project. She comes up with the most amazing 3D projects. This package will be given to a friend and will hold a gift card.


Isn't this fun? It is 6 sided and not nearly as complicated as it looks.


Here's a better look at the top of the box and below is a photo of the open box.


The top simply folds together to close the box - too fun! The project features the Balloon Pop Up Thinlits and the Party Animal DSP. What a great way to package a gift!

Thanks for stopping in. Wishing you evenly inked images!!

Sue







February 28, 2017

Open House Samples

Happy Tuesday!

Today you get to see the projects we made at my open house.


You may recognize this  card from page 4 in the Occasions catalog. We CASEd it - just to show, you don't have to design everything on your own. Stampin' Up! catalogs are FILLED with ideas and inspirations. Don't be afraid to use them!!


This dreamy dragonfly features a background using our Watercolor Pencils. With a base piece of Shimmery White cardstock, we scribbled, and I mean literally scribbled, Pacific Point and Bermuda Bay, then washed over the color with an aqua painter. To get a good blend of color, be sure to have your brush really wet. What a beautiful, easy and FUN background. We used Memento Black for the image and sentiment, layered the focal piece onto Bermuda Bay and heavy Whisper White, added a few rhinestones and tah dah!


Hey Chick is a free Sale A Bration stamp set and it is just doggone cute! We used So Saffron and Pumpkin Pie markers to color in this little cluck. The edge was done freehand. This will make a cute gift enclosure for your favorite chick!

A highlight of the day was having my older sister come and stamp. She is NOT crafty - just ask her! She has a running commentary going as she stamps, entertaining all of us. She was so proud of her creations! Too funny.

If you're local and would like to join the stamping fun, consider one of my March classes.


Contain Yourself!
March 4th at 9 am
For $15 make 3 beautiful boxes, enjoy a couple hours to yourself, meet some new friends, enjoy a cuppa jo and some giggles.
Contact me to reserve your spot by Wednesday March 1


Beautiful You!
March 25th at 9 am
$38 for Clear Mount   $49 for Wood Mount
Create 4 beautiful cards with my current most favorite stamp set!
You take the stamp set and lots of alternate ideas home with you!
LOTS of techniques using Water color pencils, aqua painter, blender pen, paper piecing
Payment for this class must be received by March 15th.
Join the fun! Contact me to reserve your spot!


February 24, 2017

Come Join Me!!


If you're local and would like to join the stamping fun, consider one of my March classes.


Contain Yourself!
March 4th at 9 am
For $15 make 3 beautiful boxes, enjoy a couple hours to yourself, meet some new friends, enjoy a cuppa jo and some giggles.
Contact me to reserve your spot by Wednesday March 1


Beautiful You!
March 25th at 9 am
$38 for Clear Mount   $49 for Wood Mount
Create 4 beautiful cards with my current most favorite stamp set!
You take the stamp set and lots of alternate ideas home with you!
LOTS of techniques using Water color pencils, aqua painter, blender pen, paper piecing
Payment for this class must be received by March 15th.
Join the fun! Contact me to reserve your spot!

February 23, 2017

Open House Celebration!

Hi all!

A couple weekends ago I hosted an open house, inviting friends to come and play with paper for a few hours. Thought I'd use the time I'm in San Antonio to share the event.


Each person who came received a goodie bag.


What was inside? A variety of treats, chocolates and a pen.


The first little bag held a mint. A small notebook is hidden behind the Rich Razzleberry cover and the flower packet holds mini post-it notes. I needed to use some of my vintage DSP!


I also created a quick and easy match book that held a packet of hot chocolate. I think everyone enjoyed the treats!


I know they enjoyed the stamping!!

Stop back on Tuesday to see the projects we made.

Until next time, take gentle care,
Sue




February 21, 2017

Birthday Creations

Greeting all!

I'm sharing more February birthday cards with you today. This is another big birthday month for me.


This card went out to my high school music director. He and I share a birthday and have been celebrating together for many decades! Music was the center of my high school universe and I spent a great deal of time with Carmen. He was a very positive influence in my life. I'm grateful we're still in touch!

I used the Kinda Eclectic stamp set with Soft Suede ink. I sponged the center of the image to soften it a bit. The greeting is vintage and the music paper is contraband (oh my!) I used linen thread to tie the balloons. I figured even a guy needs bling at times! Cardstock colors are Whisper White and Soft Suede. This was a quick and easy card to put together.


This Sahara Sand card base is topped with Falling in Love DSP and features the So Detailed Thinlits in Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla 1/4" Satin Ribbon and a Falling in Love embellishment. The greeting is from Balloon Celebration. I sent this card to 'my Nan'. Nan and I were in the hospital nursery together when we were born.Through our school years we became extremely close and remain so to this day. Nan is one of those friends who, no matter the amount of time between conversations, it is as though no time has passed. Her friendship is a blessing to me. 

I'm gearing up for a weekend trip to San Antonio. I'll post in advance, so you won't even know I'm gone!

Until next time, take gentle care,
Sue


February 16, 2017

Happy Birthday Jax!

Hi all,

Today I'm celebrating the 3rd birthday of my great nephew! I was at our northern Wisconsin cabin with no cell reception the weekend he was born. It wasn't until we were well on our way home that we found out our Jaxon had arrived. He is such a joy and is so much like his daddy was at that age.

So what might a little boy like for his 3rd birthday? I'm hoping he'll like 3 happy monsters!!


Do you recognize the owl punch? I punched an extra owl and trimmed the feet to make the arms for these little guys. The sentiment and buttons are vintage. I used my markers to color the sentiment, gave the stamp a 'huff' and put it to paper. These monsters make me smile!

The Balloon Pop-Up Thinlits make a perfect pop for the inside of the card.


The best thing is that my nephew and his family moved back to Wisconsin from Louisiana, so this year I won't have to travel as far to celebrate birthdays with the kids. Last year I was in Louisiana for a duo birthday party with the theme "Tutus and Trucks". My sisters, sister-in-law and I saw and purchased tutus while staying in the French Quarter. I cannot begin to tell you how impressed my nephew was with his family;) He expects these crazy things of his aunts, but when his mom joins in, that's another story!!


I'm off to create a few more cards for special upcoming birthdays. I'll be sure to share them with you.

I hope you're enjoying the huge Sale-A-Bration event. Next week there will be three new SAB offerings. You're going to love them!

Until next time, happy stamping!

Sue



February 14, 2017

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi all!

A quick post to wish you a happy 'Love Day'! 

My card today is a CASE from my upline, Mary Fish. It's a beautiful card that could be used as an anniversary or 'just because' card.


The DSP is from the Playful Palette DSP stack. I used Very Vanilla cardstock for the base, Real Red and Very Vanilla for the layers. Sunshine Wishes Thinlits were used to create the heart and 'love'. A bit of Basic Black Baker's Twine and a vintage Very Vanilla button finished the look. Clean and simple, which is Mary's style.

Be sure to take a moment today to celebrate the loves in your life, loves from the present as well as loves from the past. Enjoy your memories!!

Take gentle care,
Sue