Stampingroxmyfuzzybluesox

A fun stampin' day with good stampin' friends!

A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to attend an annual event one of my stamping groups has every year. They get together every November on a Saturday morning and have their own "shoebox swap", meaning they each design a Christmas card and bring enough supplies for everyone at the gathering to make their card. They set up their card at one of the tables in the church fellowship hall where the event is always held, then everyone gets to make each other's cards! I've been invited in the past, but usually my busy stampin' party schedule keeps me from being able to attend. This year, however, I was able to put it on my schedule in July, so I got to go, and am I ever glad I did! I got to stamp with alot of supplies from other stampin' companies, which gave me the chance to try some new things out! Some I really liked and will recommend to SU! to consider carrying, and some not so much, but either way, it was loads of fun!

Here are the cards I got to make! (I will put the name of the creator before each card) Almost every card used a Stampin' Up! product, whether it was a stamp, the cardstock, ink, a punch, etc. I was proud that almost everyone used SU! in their creations!

Here's the first one, by Shelby Adams (her card used ALL SU!, including the Scenic Season Stamp set!)

 

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

Next, an adorable card by Shirley Quarry! I love her use of the Liquid Applique on this sassy little monkey! Wish SU! would carry that stuff again! I tried to hoard a few tubes back when it was retiring, but found that you really need fresh liquid applique, it turns brown in the tube when it gets a little age to it!

Next, another Scenic Season, this time by Marla Agin! I love her color combo of Not Quite Navy and Always Artichoke!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

Karen Moon used "Serene Snowflakes" for her beautiful blues card:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

Christy Christensen used our Brilliant Blue cardstock for the base of her card. It coordinated beautifully with the checkered DP!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

Another cute little monkey card, this time by Trudy Reed! She used SU! Real Red, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White cardstock along with a felt ribbon we had in our Holiday mini last year!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

Betty Everett created this lovely vintage Santa card for us!

Sharon Hazely combined SU! Always Artichoke & Sahara Sand cardstock with Real Red ink  and the Eyelet Border punch to create this beautiful card! I need to find time to do an all SU! rendition of this one!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

Ronita Murrie created this happy card with SU! Ballet Blue & Whisper White cardstock and our Jumbo Snowflake punch!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

Elaine Lemonds chose SU! Old Olive cardstock for the base card of her Origami tree!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

Jeanette Alexander combined SU! Night of Navy, Whisper White, Basic Black, and Pumpkin Pie cardstock with Iridescent Ice e.p. to create this fun snowman!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

Marsha Jones used SU! Ruby Red cardstock, the Scalloped Edge punch, and "Teeny Tiny Wishes" on this sparkly card!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

Last but not least, Jana Youssef used Kraft cardstock, Basic Black ink, Whisper White Craft ink, and Real Red 1/4" grosgrain ribbon to complement the punched holly leaves on this card!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

It was a very relaxing, enjoyble day which included a fantastic potluck meal and an ornament exchange! I hope I can stamp with these ladies again next year!

"Elegant Ornaments" October 30th Stamp-a-stack! REVISED POST

I am revising this post to remove the fronts of each of these cards at the request of Sandi Maciver, a fellow demonstrator whom I gain much great inspiration from. This revised post is part of my apology to her. I am still showing the insides of these cards because they are my original creation, taking no inspiration from anyone else.

I am however, still holding my Stamp-a-Stack with these cards on Friday night, October 30th, 6:30 p.m. and Saturday afternoon, October 31st, 2 p.m., so contact me to reserve your spot.

I've been holding a monthly Stamp-a-Stack of Christmas cards so everyone has the opportunity to make a BUNCH of Christmas cards so they will be ready when it is time to mail them out after Thanksgiving. My next Stamp-a-Stack will be Friday night, October 30th, 6:30 p.m. and for once I have almost all the cards al planned and samples stamped ahead of time! Here are 4 of the 5 cards we will be making, using the Ornament Punch, an altered Finial Press Embossing Folder, and "Leaf Lines" stamp set!

Card #1:

Here's the inside:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

Card #2:

Inside:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

We will be using Versamark ink to stamp all the images to sprinkle the embossing powder, but on this card we will also be using Versamark to do the "watermark" technique with the holly leaf stamp. This is one Versamark technique that often gets overlooked. By stamping on dark cardstock (which shows this technique the best) with Versamark ink, you get an image that looks just a shade or two darker than the cardstock it is stamped on without having to use that color of ink! Amazing! And the great thing is when the Versamark dries, you can still see the image, the color doesn't fade! Super! All 48 SU! colors, neutrals, and In-Color inks in ONE inkpad!

Card #3:

Inside:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

And the fourth card:

and the inside:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

There's still one more card "in the vault", (which I did NOT CASE from Sandi Maciver but did CASE from one of my awesome downline, Sandy Dixon), but you'll have to come to the class to see and make it!

Fee is $20 for 10 cards, 2 each of the five different designs or FREE with a $50 order.

Ta Ta for now!

A "Vintage Ornaments I" Card Inspired by a Purse!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

Isn't this just a beautiful card? I was inspired by this purse I bought off the clearance rack at Wal-mart last spring. It was too dark to use in the summer but perfect for right now:

I used the browns and the "Taken with Teal-ish" colors and ended up with a "Not Quite Navy/Chocolate Chip" creation! I started off with the "Vintage Ornaments I" stencil and a sponge dauber with my Not Quite Navy Classic pad. I used a bit of "Dotto" on the back of the Very Vanilla Top Note and on the back of the stencil to hold it in place. After I had the ornament all inked up, I layered the "flourishy/misteltoe-ish" stencil on top and daubered on "Champange Mist" Shimmer Paint! I sponged the edges of the Top Note first with the NQN ink, then sponged along the edges with Chocolate Chip ink! I layered this on top of a mat of Autumn Meadows DSP I had sponged with NQN ink. The inside is similarly sponged with the same ink combo. I decided to not embellish with anything else, this card stands on it's own! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

Ta!

Another Cincinnati Regional card!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

This is the last card I was able to take  a picture of before my camera battery ran out last Sunday afternoon! This swap from the Cincinnati Regional was made with the "Christmas Punch" Level 2 Hostess Set, a very popular choice of many of my hostesses! It also uses "Holiday Lounge" DSP and the very reasonably-priced set, "Christmas Greetings"!

Tomorrow is our family's September birthday get-together for my oldest daughter, Jessica's 31st birthday! I can't believe my oldest baby girl will be 31! (yes, I know, I was a "baby" when I had her, 19 actually, and although I guess I was classified as a "teen pregnancy", we had been married over a year (by 18 days!) when she was born! I'm so thankful I had her when I did, she is one of my very best friends (besides Kimmy & Alisa my two additional "baby girls"!) I can't imagine my life without her!

Winter Post! ANOTHER REVISED POST

So sorry to have to remove this post too, guys. Sandi Maciver requested that I remove this card, which was not part of any tutorial, but was shown on her blog, so I am honoring her request. It was changed slightly from the original, and when I took a picture of it at our Downline meeting last month I had no idea it was Sandi's creation, but she has requested it's removal, so I am honoring her.

This card was one that Linda Reaney shared with us at our Downline Technique Class last Sunday afternoon! We didn't get to stamp it, but we did get to handle it and take pictures! This actually one of the cards she will be doing for her group's Stamp Camp at her house on Saturday the 26th!  Its an unusual but beautiful color for a Christmas card: Rich Razzleberry!

BTW: Today is the last day to RSVP for my "Christmas in September" Stamp-a-Stack on Friday, Sept. 25th at my house, $20 for 10 cards, two each of five different designs, or FREE with a $50 order! Contact me TODAY for the 1 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. classes!

The 4th Card for Friday's Stamp-a-Stack! And Stamp-a-Stack goes on the Road!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

Isn't this a cool card? I love it! We will be using the "Top Note" Die with the Big Shot, "Serene Snowflakes" from the Holiday Mini, and "Christmas Cocoa" DSP from the Holiday Mini! I can hardly wait for Friday, can you?

Note: My Christmas in September Stamp-a-Stack is going on the road! We will be making the same cards from Friday on Saturday, Sept. 26th, 1:30 p.m. at Melodie Anderson's house in Marion, IL, so if you live down her way, just contact me to RSVP!

Question of the Day: What will the 5th card at the Stamp-a-Stack be?

Answer: You'll have to come on Friday and find out!

Another "Christmas in September" Stamp-a-Stack Card!

©Stampin'Up! ™ 1990-2009

Here's another one of the cards we will be making on Friday using punches! Everything will be pre-punched for you and ready to go! Call me to RSVP!

Ta for now! Lots of punching to do!

Christmas in September Stamp-a-Stack!

I have been holding a Christmas Card Stamp-a-Stack every month since July, and the next one is almost here! Every month I choose 5 designs, cut and prep all the supplies, and my stampers come and make 10 cards, two each of the five different designs, all for $20! If they place a $50 order at this event, their class is free! My next class is this coming Friday, September 25, at 1 p.m. & 6:30. I still have some spaces left in both classes, so contact me by phone or email if you would like to come!

Today was my Technique Class/downline meeting with my "Yes Ma'am!" stampers, and one of my 2nd level downline, Cathy Hewlett, showed us this new technique, "Sparkle Plenty"! First I'll show it to you, then I will tell you a little bit about how we did it!  (I'm thinking a tutorial for this one is in order, whaddayathink?) NOTE: This card is one of the Christmas In September Stamp-a-Stack cards!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

We stamped first with the snowflakes from the "Christmas Punch" Level 2 Hostess Stamp set, then stamped over these images with Versamark and "Scenic Season". After embossing with Iridescent Ice embossing powder, we brayered over the whole piece with Not Quite Navy ink! Gorgeous!

A few other samples I took pictures of before my camera battery ran out:

This was one of Cathy's swaps she received at the Cincinnati Regional she attended last weekend with her downline, Melanie! In case your wondering what stamp was used to make this card, it's made with "Delightful Decorations" and the NEW Ornament punch! That ornament punch ain't just for Christmas, ya know?

This was one of the M & T's at the Cincinnati Regional using the Holiday Mini set, "Berry Christmas" and the "Bitty Box" Big Shot Die!

Well, that's all for tonight, but I"ll be back tomorrow with another sample for the Christmas in September Stamp-a-Stack!

All images in this post ©Stampin'Up!™ 1990-2009

Christmas in August Stamp-a-Stack!

I know I've missed a few days blogging, but we've been VERY busy with the kitchen renovation, and I've been squeezing in stamping for the SAS in between! I'm almost ready, just have one more card worth of preparation to go! I find, however, that I will probably have to go to town tomorrow to buy a new printer. Mine broke off a teeny-tiny piece of plastic as it was jamming up the other day, and now it won't pull through paper at all, it just eats it! Seems like I go through about one printer per year. I just hope I can find a reasonably priced one that still uses the same ink cartridges I already have!

But on to the stamping! I'm going to show you ALL the cards we will be making at my SAS tomorrow night and Saturday:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2009

Well, upon checking my pictures in the computer, I have realized there is one card I didn't take a picture of, a gorgeous case of a swap card I received from Mary Polcin, one of SU!'s top demos every year, and since it is almost midnight, I believe I will make you wait until tomorrow to see it! Dont worry, it's worth the wait, and if you can't wait, you can always come tomorrow evening and make it!

Hope to see you all soon!

A few Christmas card swaps for inspiration!

I am in the planning stages right now for my big Christmas Card Stamp-a-Stack this coming Friday and Saturday, and here are a few swaps from convention to get my (and your!)creative juices flowing!

This was a swap one of my downline received at convention, therefore I have no idea who created it, but I have all the supplies on hand, so it is a definite possibility!

I love the unexpected color combo of this "Winter Post" card, Pale Plum and Rich Razzleberry!

I love the use of the "Side Stair-Step" technique for this "Season of Simple Grace" card!

©Stampin' Up!™1990-2009

And lastly, I love the Medallion technique used with this stamp from "Sweet Season"!

As with the first card shown, all of these were swaps I took pictures of but do not have in my possession, therefore I cannot give credit to the fabulous creators!

If you have an opinion about these cards for my class, leave a comment here!

Well, it's back to stamping for me!