Shaving Cream!

Who Knew...? Shaving Cream to make a card!

This is another one of those WOW! techniques I learned after I became involved with Stampin' Up! With the right amount of shaving cream and drops of ink, you can make this swirly, yummy, funky, great card! Rose Red and Always Artichoke were the base colors. I used the Sweet Stuff stamp from the Very Punny Stamp Set. And in Versamark, I inked the background with the swirly from the lollipop. This will definitely be a card we'll make at one of my next classes. If you'd like to learn this technique, check back for details of the next class!

Have a "Sweet Stuff" Day!

Happy Stamping!

Suzanne

(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

Happy Hearts!

After a very busy weekend of lots of family fun, it was stamping fun tonight for me. We have a Homestay student from Korea staying with us until the end of February. And instead of watching a movie with my boys, he had lots of questions and curiosity about all that I was doing. Couldn't tear him away from my paper cutter until I got out my heat tool for embossing. It was all I could do to keep him from getting his hands on our embossed hearts until they were dry. He sure loved seeing all the colors and feeling all the textures, and couldn't believe that the Snail Adhesive wasn't "White Out"! It was all so very ispiring to me. So, my stamping time tonight was even more fun and exciting than normal.


I've always loved Real Red, Black and Certainly Celery together. And couldn't be more fitting for this "Olive You" Card. I put a little "Seeing Spots" in Always Artichoke, in the background, tied a knot with red gingham and Voila! So simple, yet so eye catching. All the colors just pop right out.










I went to the new "In Colors" for this So Very Loved Card. Vintage Violet, Cranberry Crisp and Marigold Morning with Certainly Celery. It's even more eye catching in real life, as the hearts, from the Happy Heart Stamp Set, are set above the page with Stampin' Dimensionals. 3 Silver Brads on the side give it that final touch. And these colors are so perfect for either a masculine or feminine card.


And this is my favorite of the night. Another Happy Hearts and Wonderful Words Card. The "love" and both hearts are embossed with Winter White Embossing Powder. My new stamping friend helped me come up with the two hearts on an angle, and of course I had to give it that final something with a little bow made of white organdy. I haven't made many black and white cards, but I'm feeling a little inspired now, guess we'll see.

I hope the sun continues to shine. Okay, well not too much I guess, or I won't want to be inside stamping!

Happy Stamping!
Suzanne

(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

Love Matters

As the sun is starting to peek through the clouds, I'm thinking and feeling spring. And as I was thumbing through some of my cards today, I came across these two that totally remind me of Spring and Valentines and Friends and Love.



I love the color combinations in this first one. Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Almost Amethyst and Apricot Appeal. I love the accents done with the stitching on the Apricot piece, it so nicely frames the Stamped Image. A great card for Friends. And thanks to MY friend Bev for this one, as she had given it to me as swap card last month.





And the same colors again, only in different proportions, wow! How coordinating, I love that. From most of my classes and workshops, the one thing I hear over and over again, is how much we all love that Stampin' Up! takes all the guess work out of having to do the coordinating ourselves. For those of you who try to be as organized as I try to, can appreciate this alot. "Love" it!

Both of these cards are made from the Love Matters Stamp Set, featured in Stampin' Up!'s Winter Mini Catalogue, which is available until the end of February.

Have a great day! I smell spring in the air today, do you?

Happy Stamping!

Suzanne

(all images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

"Love" Theme Swap

I was unable to attend a meeting with some of our other very talented Stampin' Up! Demonstrators the other night, but here are some of the cards that I received in return for our swap.


Sonia used Blush Blossom with a Silver Background and the Happily Ever After Stamp Set. And finishing it off with some dazzling diamonds glitter to give it a little
shine. I had a hard time using this stamp set until recently getting into the wedding mode with invitations. Now I see so many different ways to use it, and now another, thanks Sonia!


Maggie made this adorable card made with the cute "Blooming With Happiness" Hostess Set, and the Wonderful Words 2 Set. The paper is Close to Cocoa with Vellum. I love the triple layering look of the vellum, stamped with the umbrellas in the background. And then the dress is stamped in White with dots of embossed gold to match the gold organdy ribbon. Just beautiful!


I love the Real Red and Black together in this Classy "Happy Wedding Day" Card. Alicia used the All Year Cheer 3 and Wild Heart Background Stamps with the Red Grosgrain and Black Gingham Ribbons. Striking!





And again, the Real Red and Black together with the Black Gingham ribbon in this card that Bev Made, so Classy! The stamps are from the Looks Like Spring and Simply Said Stamp Sets. These are two very "Springy" Stamp Sets that go very nicely together. And to finish off, the 4 black brad in the corners are great for the black and white layering effect. Love it Bev, Thanks!!!

Valentines is just around the corner.
I hope this helps you to get inspired!

Happy Stamping!
Suzanne
(all images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

Love Bug

I was invited to join a card swap this month with some of my fellow Stampin' Uppers! The theme was love, anniversary, wedding etc. Here's the card that I'm giving for the swap. I sure am loving this year's new "In Color" line of papers and inks. This is the Cranberry Crisp and True Thyme color scheme, they look great together. The little "Love Bug" with the heart, too cute! He's from the Olive You Stamp Set. Of course I sponged the edges of the vanilla cardstock with true thyme ink and the finished off the card with some thyme stitched grosgrain ribbon.

Check back for some more great samples from the Olive You Set, plus some of the swap cards I got in return.

Cheers! Happy Stamping!
Suzanne

(all images copyright 1990 - 2007 Stampin' Up!)

Teddy Bear Picnic

My friends Ellen and Mya are in charge of making Baby Shower Invitations. Here's what I've come up with for them. It's going to be a "Teddy Bear Picnic" Theme. Again, the chocolates and the pinks, so cute! I've used the Tag Punch with a little Pink Gingham Bow floating behind the teddy bear. And the "Happy Shower" Stamp is from the Tag Time Stamp Set. And then I sponged the edges of the pink cardstock with some of the coordinating Close to Cocoa Ink to blend it all together.

Cheers!
Happy Stamping!
Suzanne
(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

There is no better time than now, to become a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator!

There is no better time than Sell A Bration to become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator! And until February 28, you can take advantage of the exciting new $137 Mini Starter Kit as an alternative offering to our standard $275 Starter Kit.

The money-saving Mini Starter Kit is ideal for long-time crafters who already have stamping supplies, and just need business supplies to get going in their Stampin' Up! business.

And you'll also receive, as a special bonus, the Polka Dots and Paisley Stamp Set (valued at $24.95) for FREE!!!

See more info on the Stampin' Up! Website or call me for more info on this great opportunity. There are so many benefits of being a New Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, including a 30% savings on your first order as a New Demonstrator.

I love what I do, now you can too!

Thanks for reading!

Suzanne

Very Punny!

This is yet another one of the very cool Sell A Bration Sets that Stampin' Up! has to offer. I wasn't sure how much use I would be able to get out of this one, Very Punny, but after seeing a few of these samples here, as you can see, I think there are lots of different ways to use each stamp out of the set. Some of my fellow Stampin' Up! Demonstrators have been busy playing and here are some of the samples that they came up with. I think they are adorable! So much so, that yes, I'm actually awaiting for my newly ordered Very Punny Stamp Set to arrive at my doorstep on my next delivery.


This "Best Fishes" Card is a Bev Ennis Original. I love how she used Stampin' Up!'s color coach to find out how these 3 colors look so great together. Tempting Turquoise, Taken with Teal and Certainly Celery, great combination. And I like how the fish is highlited on the card with one of the metal edged tags. And she took out the paper in the middle of the tag and was able to wrap the ribbon right around the tag. Very Punny and Cute Bev!





Alicia's card is truly "Like No Udder!!!" So adorable. The black and white is so fitting with the 3 little cows. And when she gave the cow in the middle a touch of color, it makes him just pop off the page just a little bit more. Gave it that great finishing touch!






And Lucie made great use out of the circle punches with this cute card. It really looks like the fish are swimming across the page as she has the fish at different spots in the circle on the top line. I love the Cool Caribbean and Apricot Appeal together. Another new combination of color for me that I can't wait to play with. And of course the beautiful Hodgepodge Hardware piece always adds that elegant finishing touch to any card or project.



I can't wait to get my set and start playing and making some cards for myself!



Have a great day and Happy Stamping!



Suzanne


(All images copyright 1990-2007 Stampin' Up!)

Sell A Bration Open House

And Sell A Brate we did!!!

Thanks to everyone who came to see me to celebrate Sell A Bration today.

Aren't they lovely???

Oh, yes, the cards too...

Here are some of my stamping friends, Ann, Mellissa and Catherine showing off some of their lovely creations.

And the Winners Are... Ann won the big door prize of a $40 value. It was an arrangement of stamping essentials like a basic black stamp pad, adhesive refill, ribbon sampler assortment and the "Sheltering Tree" Stamp Set. Congratulations Ann!!!

And, Catherine is the big winner of the 2006/2007 Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalogue. She shall never run out of ideas now, with hundreds of samples at her fingertips. Congratulations Catherine!!!

Here are some photos of the cards we made:

This ones uses the Big Blossom, with Cranberry ink with White "Little Pieces" on top. And the same little pieces with Artichoke ink on the Mellow Moss Paper. And throw in a little of the "So Very" Stamp to finish it up. I just love having everything coordinating. It's not hard when Stampin' Up! makes it so easy.



Again, the pinks and browns on this "Delight in Life" are so pretty. Rose Red, Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink all atop the Close to Cocoa. Mmmm yummy!!! Reminds me of chocolate covered strawberries.


And these last two cards were both made from the Happy Harmony Stamp Set:


This first one uses the Double Sided "Four Seasons" Paper with Certainly Celery and Apricot to pop out on top. Add some Apricot Grosgrain with a wisp of narrow white organdy to give it it's finishing touches.

And last but not least... Take Happy Harmony, and mix it with some Very Vanilla, Rose Red and Mellow Moss, and you've got this so simple but classy card. I sponged some Mellow Moss ink around the vanilla paper to soften the look and tie all the colors in together. Love it!!!

Great to see everyone today!

Happy Stamping!

Suzanne

Big Blossom

I'm getting ready for my open house tomorrow, so I was playing with my new Big Blossom Stamp from the Sell A Bration Stamps Sets. I'm loving these new "Big" stamps. So many different techniques to use with them.

This first card uses the "Kissing Technique". I inked up my stamp with Cranberry Crisp and then took the flower from the "Little Pieces" set and stamped it right onto the Big Blossom Stamp. The ink had started to dry by this point, so I had to "huff" on it a little. My hot air, moistened the ink back up, ready to stamp. The Cranberry looks gorgeous against the Apricot Appeal and the Mellow Moss. The weather'd background stamp with Always Artichoke was used on the Mellow Moss paper. And I thought the Hodgepodge Hardware in the Pewter, looked "too cute" with this card. The "cute" stamp comes from another Sell A Bration set "So Very". I'll get to play with that one tonight after the kids go to bed!

And this card again uses the Apricot Appeal, but with Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip and Always Artichoke, it also really pops up right out of the card. The background stamp on the Regal Rose is the "French Script" and the saying in the middle is from yet another Sell A Bration set called "Happy Harmony". I punched the circle out in the middle with my 1 3/8 in. circle punch and roughed it up with the distressing tool from the Cutter Kit. Then punched the regal rose with the same 1 3/8 in punch to matte the saying. And the blossom, of course, looks great stamped with the "Canvas" Background stamp.

How fun will it be to incorporate these big flowers into scrapbook pages. You can certainly test mine out at my "Open Crop" night coming up on Friday the 26th. Only $5 for the whole evening, 6:30 to Midnight(if you wish). No Kids, No Hubbies, bring your books and use my stamps to help get them done. But of course, babes in arms are always welcome!!!

Sell A Bration Open House

Stampin' Up!'s biggest and best promotion of the year is already well underway. Between January 1st and February 26th, 2007, you can earn FREE stamp sets with a minimum order of $75. There are 5 very cute stamp sets and 1 "Just Delightful" Simply Scrappin' Kit.

Here is a card I made with the "Delight In Life" set. I love the pinks and browns together. This one uses the Kraft, Rose Red and Regal Rose Cardstock and Regal Rose, Rose Red and Chocolate Chip Inks. I used the Stampin' Pastels to give a soft subtle color in the middle of the flowers and an Apricot Appeal Brad in the Middle to hold the 3 cut out flowers together. I used a Stampin' Dimensional behind the flower to help pop it up a bit. I love doing the faux stitching with the White Gel Pen, that, in this card, matches the stitching in the Mellow Moss Ribbon from the "Prep School" ribbon combination. I think it's "Just Delightful"!!!

I'm having an open house this Saturday between 10am and 4pm (drop in anytime) at 2397 Sunriver Way in Sooke. You'll have a chance to view these Sell A Bration Stamp Sets and make up to 4 Cards, for only a $1 each.

Come and see and Play!!!

Happy Stamping!

Suzanne

(all images Copyright 1990 - 2007 Stampin' Up!)

Accordian Album

This year's version of the accordian album, uses the Natural Beauty Stamp Set. This was probably my favorite stamp set for the most part of 2006. In this one, I used the butterflies on the inside of the album on the Certainly Celery paper. Then I aged the look of the paper by sponging the edges with Always Artichoke ink. The main part of the album is on the Bravo Burgundy Paper with Certainly Celery and Always Artichoke Accents. The ribbon that ties it together on this one is the Black 1/4in grosgrain. I started making the accordian albums to satisfy my wanting to scrapbook. With a 2 and 4 year old running under foot, there isn't a whole lot of time in a day to have the energy to create ongoing pages in a scrapbook. This mini album, which became my mini Brag Book, only takes about an hour or two at the most to create. And then I've got this beautiful little "Mini Scrapbook" that I can carry around and show off my "two little men" as well as my craft! Classes for projects like these and many others are listed in my E-Newsletters that I send out monthly. If you would like to be added to my mailing list, please let me know!

(All images copyright 1990 - 2007 Stampin' Up!)

Welcome To My Stamping World!!!

This is so exciting, to finally have my own blog up and running. I can't wait to share what I learn and discover and create with you! I look forward to bringing you delight, surprise, inspiration and so much more! This is going to be a great year for stamping for me. What am I up to right now? I kick it off with my first open house of the year next weekend. My accordian albums have been a great hit at christmas that I'm having to make more for the New Year! It's just about coming up to wedding season and I'm doing up invitations for summer weddings. And of course, Stampin' Up!'s biggest and best promotion of the year, Sell A Bration has got me making cards, cards and more cards. Can't wait to show and share!