Happiest Birthday Wishes

Do you like free Stampin' Up stuff?  I know, silly question.  Who doesn't like free?  Today's card features two great items that you can get for free if you join my Sale-A-Bration stamp club.  Contact me or see here for more details.  We always have lots of fun in stamp club and would love to have you join us!

The background was made by running the Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and a piece of Tempting Turquoise cardstock through the Big Shot.  Both stamps come from the hostess set Happiest Birthday Wishes.  The stamp on the ribbon was punched out with the Large Tag Punch and the Real Red layer behind it was punched with the Extra-Large Tag Punch.  I used Real Red and Delightful Daffodil Stampin' Write markers to add as many candles as I could because on the inside I stamped the saying, "the more candles the bigger the wish!" from the previous S-A-B set Whimsical Words.  Each year Stampin' Up has wonderful sets that are exclusive to Sale-A-Bration.  This year is no exception.  Make plans to get yours for free -- much better than seeing it used later and wonder why you missed out.

I added a few Basic Rhinestones along the side of the card.  The ribbon is retired, but you could substitute for that -- maybe some 5/8" satin ribbon or a strip of Real Red cardstock stamped in Whisper White ink with Dot, Dot, Dot (or perhaps the dots in Confetti).  Or maybe even a strip of Real Red cardstock punched with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border (try it layered on a strip of Whisper White).

So, are you wondering what the free items are?  Well, as part of the Sale-A-Bration stamp club, each member has one turn as hostess.  You could choose Happiest Birthday Wishes and still be able to choose more free hostess merchandise (like maybe the Basic Rhinestones or another hostess set).  The Stripes Embossing Folder is one of the items you can choose for free this year during Sale-A-Bration.  There are four exclusive stamp sets, designer series paper, a ribbon and brads pack, two exclusive CDs full of digital content for My Digital Studio and several items from the Idea Book and Catalog.  Those are some pretty good freebies just for placing a $50 (before shipping and tax) order during the S-A-B period (1/24/12 through 3/31/12).  Whether you join the stamp club or order from my online store, don't let this opportunity pass without earning all the free merchandise you want.

Be sure to check back to see samples made with items from the upcoming Occasions Mini Catalog and the Sale-A-Bration flyer.

Birthday Bakery Card

I just love the sentiment on the inside of this card.  It says, "if you are what you eat, eat something cute!"  I did the front in pastel colors to try to make it look "cute."  The stamp on the front and the one inside both come from Birthday Bakery, a retired hostess set.  Good news, though!  I have one set available.  You can purchase it or get it for free by hosting a party with at least 8 guests.  Since I only have one set, contact me today to make it yours.

I'm pretty sure the Designer Series Paper is from the Patterns DSP Paper Stack.  I love those and have them in almost every color family.  You get 40 sheets of Stampin' Up's high quality, double sided, Designer Series Paper for only $21.95.  You can get a lot of cards and projects from 40 sheets!  And since the packs are by color family it makes it easy to coordinate the colors.



The ribbon is available on the Clearance Rack, along with a lot of other great values.  You can shop through my Online Store for Clearance Rack and regular priced items.

Don't forget that the Holiday Mini Catalog ends on January 3rd!

Hooray! and Thank You!

Over the past several months I have not been as active on my blog or as a demonstrator as I would have liked.  I've mentioned that it's due to health problems, but I don't think I ever went into details.  Well, I was diagnosed with breast cancer over the summer and after a lumpectomy went through chemotherapy.  I am happy to say that I had my last chemo treatment yesterday!  Yeah!  Yippee!  Hooray!

I also want to say thank you to my regular blog readers and my customers (and of course my family, friends, and church family -- not all of which are mutually exclusive -- several of you fall into multiple categories) for sticking by me during this difficult time.  I've been amazed and blessed by the outpouring of prayers, help, meals, support, cards, etc.  I'm hoping to get back to a somewhat normal schedule after the first of the year.

Today's card is in honor of finishing my chemo treatments.

While some of the items are not available, you could easily substitute the Ribbon of Hope stamp for the die cut ribbon and current designer series paper (and matching color cardstock strip in the middle).  The large scallop circle was cut using the  Scallop Circle # 2 die.  The circle under the ribbon was cut using the Circles #2 die.  I really like both those dies because they increase my layering ability.

With all of Stampin' Up's wonderful colors, you can match the ribbon (and, of course, scallop circle and background layer) to whatever type of cancer the person you make the card for is battling.  Then you can coordinate the desinger series paper with the ribbon color.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

My Digital Studio Christmas Card

If you've put off your Christmas cards until now, you need something you can make fast.  Well, today's card is as quick as you can get.  I made today's card using My Digital Studio (MDS).  MDS comes with many pre-designed cards, some of which are for Christmas.

All I did was opened MDS, selected the type of card I wanted to make, chose Designer Card and then selected this card from all of the pre-designed choices that were available.  I could have added to the front of the card, but I liked it just the way it is.

 

When making your MDS card you have the option to add personal touches to the other pages of the card.  For the message on the inside of the card you can use one of the provided stamps or you can type in your own message (or a combination of both).  At this point your card is ready to print.  Stampin' Up offers professional print services and the cards from there are extremely nice.  I have a sample if you're local and would like to see how nice they turn out.  But, if you're looking for a card in time for Christmas, you'll have to print it using your printer (which fortunately is another option).

MDS is quick and easy to use.  It took me longer to do this blog post than it did to make the card.  You could further personalize the card by adding photos (maybe on left flap as you open the card).  On the back of the card you could add a snippet that the card was created by you.  And if you don't want to use the pre-designed cards or want to utilize your own creativity, you can design your own card from scratch.  It really is a versatile program.

The card design and stamp images in this post are copyrighted by Stampin' Up.  But if you order your own copy of MDS you can use this card and all of the other myriad stamps, card designs, photo album designs, calendars and more that are included with the program.  You can order yours today through my online store.

Quick Last Minute Cards

Here's an idea for those of you who have procrasinated or anyone who has to make a lot of cards in a short amount of time.  Use the Jolly Jingles wheel on the bottom half of the card.  If only doing a card or two, inking the wheel on your ink pad is fine.  But, if you are doing lots of cards or any larger sized project (like a scrapbook page), you should use a Stampin' Around Cartridge with your wheel.  You can get the cartridges in black or uninked (you just add the color you want with a reinker) for Standard or Jumbo wheels (and uninked only for the Builder Wheels).  The cartridge just pops into your Stampin' Around Handle and keeps your wheel inked and stamping until the ink runs low (which is a long time).

Along the top of the card, add any stamp of interest.  I've shown two examples below.  One with a stamp from a retired set (but there is a very similar stamp in Delightful Dozen -- I actually like it better) and the other with stamps from Jolly Bingo Bits and Tags til Christmas.

The inside of the card has a nice sentiment from Many Merry Messages.  I also added the ornament from Jolly Bingo Bits down in the corner.

If you'd like more information about using wheels, Stampin' Up or any other stamping related questions, please feel free to contact me.  You can order the supplies to make these cards by contacting me or through my online store.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Sue Root, Independent Stampin' Up Demonstrator

Christmas Wreath Card

This wreath was made using the retired Trio Flower Punch, but you could make it with the smallest flower on the Boho Blossoms Punch.  The bow is made with 1/4" grosgrain ribbon.

The card itself was cut with the Big Shot using the Magnetic Movers and Shapers die and the Movers and Shapers Punch Windows.  I love this combo because it allows me to get bigger shapes that coordinate with my punches.  I used the Modern Label Punch and the Word Window to get the layers that show through the opening in the card.  The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes, which I use tons.

As an added bonus, the piece that was cut from the card front can now be used to on another card layered under a piece punched with the Modern Label Punch.

Hope  you enjoyed today's card.  If you'd like any of the items used on today's card, they can be purchased from my Online Store.



Northern Hearts Christmas Card.

This Christmas card uses a retired set that I really like called Northern Hearts.  It was in last year's Holiday Mini Catalog.  If you didn't get it then, I have an extra set for sale.  Leave a comment or send an e-mail if you'd like it.  The sentiment comes from Many Merry Messages which can be ordered from my online store.



Word Play Christmas

There's still time to get those Christmas cards done.  Here's another quick one.  I used the Big Shot and the Northern Frost Decorative Strip to cut the snowflakes.  The stamp is from Word Play.



Loads of Love Christmas Card

Christmas is fast approaching and time is running out for making cards.  With that in mind, here's a quick, card using the tree from Loads of Love and Teeny Tiny Wishes.



Clearance Rack Blitz

Clearance Rack Blitz:  December 15, 2011-January 5, 2012

Lots of items have been added to the Clearance Rack.  Check them out here.

Cardstock, punches (old body style), Big Shot dies, Designer Series Paper, ribbon, buttons, scrapbook albums and more all at huge savings!

Things to remember:

* Items are only available while supplies last.

* All Clearance Rack sales are final (no refunds or exchanges).

* Qualifying orders earn Stampin' Rewards (orders can include non-clearance items).

* No minimum purchase is required.

* Following the Clearance Rack Blitz sales period, some blitz items may remain in the clearance rack; others may be removed and reappear at an undesignated time in the future.

Shop Now in my Online Store!



Jolliest Time of the Year Tree

I've been going through some of my old samples and found several cards that I have not previously posted.  So the next few days I'll be posting some of those cards.  Those of you who attend my events may recognize them as cards you've made or seen out on the sample table.

Here are two cards that use the tree from the Jolliest Time of the Year.  They both also use the Oval Scallop Frame die.  The top card uses the frame as it's punched out by the Big Shot.  The bottom card uses the part that was left after the frame was removed (i.e. the red part is what is left; the Very Vanilla scallop frame is actually the card base).

A nice feature of the Oval Scallop Frame die is that you not only get the scallop frame, you get the oval that cuts out of the middle of the frame.  This gives a lot of options for mixing and matching or just using the parts by themselves.

Bells and Boughs

Here's a quick card I made using Bells and Boughs.  The textured cardstock (the Always Artichoke) adds a little extra something to the card.  I used my aqua painter to color the holly leaves and berries.  The coloring goes really fast that way.



Supply list:

Stamps:  Bells and Boughs

Cardstock:  Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke (textured)

Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke

Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon

Ticket Corner Punch

Aqua Pen

My Digital Studio Anniversary Cards

Hi Stamping Friends!  Today is my parents-in-law's anniversary.  I created a card for them using My Digital Studio (MDS).  Actually I created two and let my husband choose which one to send.  It was so easy to do and lots of fun because I could just keep playing with embellishments and designer series paper (dsp) until I found what I liked.  I do that with paper cards, too, but my selection of embellishments and dsp is not nearly as large as the one in MDS (though I have to admit it is pretty big).

MDS comes with tons of pre-designed cards.  That's what I used for the first card.  I didn't find any pre-designed anniversary cards, so I chose a different one (thank you, I think) and then modified it for my use.  That's the nice thing about the pre-designed cards -- you can use them as they are or you can use them as a starting point and change them to suit you.

I designed the second card from scratch.  I liked that I could make the punches and stamps any size I wanted.  A note of warning:  you can make punches larger with no problems, but when making stamps larger it's possible that they will pixilate when printed.  Luckily, MDS gives a warning message if that's a danger.  

The dimensions of the two cards are different.  The top one is 6 x 6 and the bottom one is 5 x 7.  MDS offers several sizes for a traditional greeting card and also for tri-fold cards, postcards and tags.  In addition, you can use MDS to create photo books and pages (digital scrapbooking), calendars (great Christmas idea!), swatchbooks, and journals.  There are also multiple output options.

If you'd like more information about MDS check out this website:

http://mydigitalstudio.net/

I'd also be happy to talk to you about MDS.  Contact me by leaving a comment or at the e-mail address in the header.

Hope you enjoyed these samples and I hope my in-laws are having a wonderful anniversary.

Zoo Review Cards

These two cards were made by my very talented daughter using the stamp set Zoo Review.

The penguin card uses Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise and Whisper White cardstock and Basic Black ink.  The Tempting Turquoise and Real Red Brads are from the Brights Brads collection and the big brads along the right are Clear Rhinestone Brads.

The giraffe card uses Soft Suede, More Mustard and Whisper White cardstock, Basic Black ink and Basic Pearls.  I'm not sure of the ribbon, but it's possibly the 3/8" Tafetta Ribbon.