Freaky Convention Swaps!

Thank you for joining us on the Tour de Freaks this month! You may have arrived from Judy DiScipio's blog, or just jumped in here. Either way, you can take the whole tour by clicking the links at the bottom of each post.

I've had lots of excitement this week - besides the Stampin' Up! Convention, the Control Freaks got together during the convention lunch break last Friday to get our swapping done. It was so nice to meet some of the people whose blogs I've been stalking in real life!

STAMPS: Remembering Christmas  CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Basic Black, Brushed Silver, Smoky Slate Textured  INK: VersaMark, Basic Black  ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Stylish Stripes embossing folder, Bitty Banners Framelits, Heat Tool, Black Stampin' Emboss Powder, Silver 1/8" Ribbon

Our theme was anything from the Holiday catalog, and I had a hard time narrowing it down to just these items.  One of the first things that popped out at me from the catalog was the BLING! Trust me when I say that the catalog doesn't do it justice!  That Silver 1/8" Ribbon is sooooo shiny, it reminds me of tinsel on a Christmas tree.

STAMPS: Harvest of Thanks  CARDSTOCK: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Baked Brown Sugar  INK: Early Espresso, Pumpking Pie, Soft Suede  ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Deco Labels Framelits, Bitty Banners Framelits, Pretty Print embossing folder, Brights Candy Dots, Candy Dots Brads Bases, 1-1/4" Burlap Ribbon

Another thing that popped out was the two new embossing folders.  The Stylish Stripes and Pretty Print folders are just what Mr. Big needed to keep him (and me) happy!

Thanks for stopping by....now, off to your next stop on the tour, LeeAnn Greff's blog!

Growing, Growing, Growing!

Welcome, Lili!

My Stampin' Up! family is growing again! I am so happy to welcome Lili, the newest member of my stamping team.  This is the card that was mailed to her yesterday.

I'm also excited to show her what's new in Stampin' Up!  She used to be a SU demonstrator about a million 20 years ago and I do believe things have changed just a weeee bit since then, lol!

So Lili will come to my downline meeting tomorrow evening, and she'll get a sneak peek at every stinkin' thing in the new catalog (ahem) a few new things I've preordered from the holiday catalog, as well as meet other team members, make a couple of fun projects, and hopefully have lots of questions for me!

If you're curious about the perks of being a demonstrator, or what it takes to become one, or just have a question about it, please don't hesitate to ask or even come and sit in on our meeting! You don't even have to be local to join my stamping family. I strive to make ALL my gals feel appreciated and part of a TEAM, no matter where they are located!
Join my team!
Demonstrator Benefits (Many, many more than listed here!)

Stamp: Chalk Talk, Workshop Words (demo-only set)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise DSP (Brights Stack)
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Basic Black
Accessories: Big Shot, Chalk Talk Framelits, Fancy Fan folder, Tempting Turquoise 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon (retired), Rhinestones Basic Jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals

Christmas in July (Make it Mailable) and a Sneak Peek

Let's see, did I miss anything? Nope, I think that title about covers it, lol!  Today's card is the one we are making in our Christmas Card Club today. It features a new stamp set from the Holiday catalog (starts Aug. 1st), as well as some fabulous Christmas DSP from said catalog.  Oooo, and see that shiny gold foil cardstock? That's in there, too! And, since today is Make it Mailable day, I opted not to put a ribbon and bow on it. The Candy Dots looked cuter anyway, and kept the polka-dot theme going.

Did you know we're having a July special on Designer Series Paper? Buy three and get one free! Don't miss out on on this great deal! Click image below to shop.  Note: The DSP stacks and Specialty DSP are not included.

Keeping this post short and sweet today, since I'm up to my neck in Convention swaps. I'm starting to feel a bit anxious about getting them finished in time!!!

Highlighted items below will be available August 1st

Stamps: Wishing You
Cardstock: Whisper White, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Season of Style DSP, Gold Foil
Ink: VersaMark, plus Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive Stampin' Write Markers
Accessories: Heat Tool, Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Emboss Powder, Artisan Label Punch, Brights Candy Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals

Swapping Fever!

It's the 25th anniversary of Stampin' Up! and it's going to be a PAR-TAY!!!  The Stampin' Up! 2013 Convention is less than two weeks away, and once again, my addiction to swaps overcame my good judgement I have signed up for (ahem) a few swaps. It is the best way to get lots of great ideas from other demonstrators, get samples of stamp sets you might not own (um yeah, haha), and get inspiration for new projects.

Sooooo anyway, over the next couple of weeks you will see some of the cards/projects that I'll be swapping at convention.

At this point I have nearly 200 pieces to complete (10 of this, 30 of that, 18 of the other, etc.) for the organized swaps I've joined, and I haven't even thought about what I'll be swapping "on the floor" with demos from around the world! I think I need an intervention to find a twelve step program before convention happens again next year because, obviously, I have a problem!

BTW, yesterday the man in brown came and delivered my Holiday catalog preorder. Holy schnikes were there some very shiny squirrels in there!!!

You'll be seeing some of THOSE goodies in the next couple of weeks, too. 

Stamps: Simply Sketched (hostess)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Gingham Garden DSP, Daffodil Delight DSP (Brights stack), Watercolor paper
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka-Dots folder, Blender Pens, Brights Candy Dots, Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz, Uni-Ball Signo White Gel Pen

Super Simple Thank You

This quick and easy card is similar to one we made at Jill Olsen's stamping get together earlier this year. It was a whole day of fun projects, with prizes throughout the day and a nice lunch. Jill is my 5th level upline and a Senior Advisor at Stampin' Up! (That's the highest level one can achieve!)

Recipe for card:

1. Cut Calypso Coral cardstock to 5-1/2" x 8-1/2", fold in half and emboss front with Chevron embossing folder.
2. Cut Old Olive cardstock to 1-3/4" x 5-1/2".
3. Cut Very Vanilla cardstock to 1-1/2" x 5-1/4".
4. Stamp chevrons from Oh, Hello stamp set on scrap of Very Vanilla (Old Olive x 3 and Calypso Coral x 2) and trim closely with Paper Snips.
5. Glue chevrons to Very Vanilla strip using Tombow Multi-purpose Adhesive, alternating colors. Trim ends even with strip. (Note: I started with the Old Olive chevron in the center, and worked outward from there to make spacing easier.)
6. Adhere chevron strip to Old Olive panel with Snail Adhesive.
7. The Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon is now retired, so find a suitable 8" length of ribbon, wrap it around panel near bottom and tie a knot (a square knot, if you know how!).
8. Use Snail adhesive to fasten panel to card front.
9. With Calypso Coral ink, stamp "Thanks for Caring" from Lots of Thanks stamp set on a scrap of Very Vanilla and punch with Decorative Label Punch.
10. Punch Old Olive scrap with same punch, cut in half and adhere to back of stamped greeting.
11. Using Calypso Coral and Old Olive Stampin' Write Markers, color flower stamp in Oh, Hello set and stamp on Very Vanilla scrap. Cut out and adhere to bottom of greeting label.
12. Use Stampin' Dimensionals to fasten greeting label to card front.

This layout would lend itself to lots of other color combinations and stamp sets, as well. You could even use a strip of designer series paper instead of the chevrons! 

Make it Mailable!

It's "Make it Mailable" day again, so here's another card that will not give the Post Office fits when you send it. This was another from the Masculine Cards class about a week ago. (You really should have been there!)

Even though this stamp retired a while back, I just couldn't part with it because it is so perfect for guy cards. And while I would never demonstrate a retired product at a party/workshop, I'm not against occasionally using something retired in my classes, though I mostly prefer the awesome new things.

This card took me a couple of tries to get right. My first thought was to stamp the image with StazOn, and then use the white gel pen to color in the sails. Truthfully, it looked awful. The coverage wasn't consistent, and it covered up the hatch marks that gave the image depth.

So, Plan B to the rescue! Stamp once on Smoky Slate, then again on Whisper White and fussy-cut just the sails with the pennant on top of the mast. Popped up on dimensionals it looks AWESOME in real life! And the card with envelope is less than 1/4" thick, woohoo!

I love this color combination - Island Indigo, Smoky Slate, and Basic Black (with a bit of Whisper White), on a Basic Gray card base. Very strong and manly looking. ("Strong enough for a man, yet gentle enough for a woman." Name that commercial!)

Speaking of manly cards, too bad you missed the Masculine Cards class, because there won't be another one until next year! Classes have been scheduled through December, and the next class coming up is the Birthday Card class in August, then All Occasion Cards in September...everything else is holiday themed (yes, folks, the holidays will be here before you know it!). Be sure to check out my stamping schedule! Come join the fun with the monthly stamp club, or the monthly Christmas club. Or just take a class or two.

And if you and your friends want to schedule your own private card class, let me know! Better act quickly, though; available time slots are dwindling.

STAMPS: Sails Away (retired), Teeny Tiny Wishes
CARDSTOCK: Smoky Slate, Basic Gray, Basic Black, Whisper White, Island Indigo (Regals DSP stack)
INK: Jet Black StazOn
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Fancy Fan embossing folder, Stampin' Dimensionals, Hexagon Punch (greeting banner end)