Regional Display Boards

One of the great things about going to a Stampin' Up! Regional event is all the great ideas we get while there.  I especially enjoy seeing the display boards filled with wonderful samples.  So, I thought I'd share some of them with you here from last weekend's event.

Don't you just love the colors here?  One of my favorite papers is the one used mostly here - Twitterpated from the Occasions Mini.  You should be able to click on the picture and see a larger version.

What do you think?

~  Donna

Phoenix Regional - Make & Takes

I wanted to share the two make & takes we did at Regionals this last weekend.  It's always fun to do the Make & Takes and learn some new color combinations and some new (at least to me) ideas for making punch combinations.

They both use the stamp set "Send Me Soaring" (125440 - w / 125442 - c) from the Occasions Mini.

Kite Card uses:

Cardstock and DSP: Basic Gray, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Whisper White and Berry Blossoms DSP

Ink:  Basic Gray, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade and Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pads and Calypso Coral and Lucky Limeade Stampin' Write Markers.

Accessories and Tools:  Bakers Twine, Brads, Scallop Edge Punch, Small Heart Punch, 1 1/4" Circle punch, 3" Circle Originals Die.

Hope Every Thing Looks Up card uses:

Cardstock and DSP:  Calypso Coral, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Berry Blossoms DSP, Sweet Shop DSP

Ink:  Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pads, Calypso Coral Stampin' Write Marker and Uni-ball Signo Gel Pen

Accessories and Tools:  Pool Party 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon, Bitty Buttons, Blossom Bouquet Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Small Heart Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch.

Aren't they fabulous?  I really enjoyed making them.

Thanks for peeking in... Donna

The New Catalog is Closer than You Think!

New Catalog Release Date Great things are happening at Stampin' Up! Instead of waiting for July 1, 2012 for the next Idea Book & Catalog to start, you only have to wait until JUNE 1st! There will be other changes as well.  So what are the changes you say?  Well, I'm glad you asked! On June 1, 2012, Stampin' Up! will release one annual catalog, comparable to (but smaller than) the current Idea Book & Catalog, and TWO seasonal catalogs, comparable to (but larger than) the current mini catalogs. Pretty simple, right? Here are the details: Annual Catalog The annual catalog will run from June 1, 2012 through May 31, 2013. The annual catalog will be reduced from over 240 pages in the current Idea Book & Catalog to 208 pages. The annual catalog will be printed on lighter-weight paper. Seasonal Catalogs The Occasions, Summer, and Holiday Mini Catalogs will be replaced by two seasonal catalogs called the Holiday Catalog and the Spring Catalog. The first Holiday Catalog will run from August 1, 2012 through the beginning of January, 2013. The first Spring Catalog will run from the beginning of January, 2013 through May 31, 2013. The seasonal catalogs will be larger in both size (8 1/2" x 11") and page count (about 40 pages) than the current mini catalogs. These new seasonal catalogs will allow us to enjoy the Mini Catalog items longer and get more use out of them before the next Mini comes along.  I'm really excited about the changes and I'm really anxious to see the new IB&C! It will be here sooner than we think!!! Have a great week!  It's a busy one around here... tomorrow is not only Valentine's Day, but it is Arizona's 100th Birthday and we're having a Centennial Pot Luck for lunch tomorrow.  It should be fun, especially if everyone finds a grand old recipe to use for their presentation.  I'm making Campfire / Cowboy Stew.  I'll let you know how it turns out! ~ Donna

Today's card is a simple card I cased from Mary Fish.  I just love the quick and easy cards for when I want something nice without taking a lot of time.  I made a few changes since I didn't have the Jolly Bingo Bits set, so instead I used the taller birthday gift from Every Little Bit (w - 117096 / c - 120558) in the Idea Book and Catalog.  For the "happy birthday" at the bottom, I used On Your Birthday (wood only - 111664) and inked just the "happy birthday" part of the stamp with my Stampin' Write marker.

Since this gift package is taller than the one in Jolly Bingo Bits, I needed a bigger square punch so the image is punched with the 1 3/8" square punch (119877) and then cut my Pacific Point squares on my paper cutter at 1 5/8" square.  I tried 1 1/2" square but it needed just a bit more color so I made it bigger.

The embossed lines around the edge were made using the Simply Scored - 122334 - (Love, love, love this tool!) at 1/4" and 3/8" in from the edges.  Remember to turn it over so you score the fold line on one side and the embossing lines on the other - depending on the look you want to have.

Ink and stamp the "happy birthday" first so you don't run into an uneven stamp with the squares. The stamped image is raised with dimensionals and then Tombo adhesive onto the card. 

This particular card is for an older gentleman friend of ours, so there's no bling - but for the others I plan to add some jewels to the "bow".

Paper is Whisper White and Pacific Point, as is the ink.

Phoenix Regional Swaps

Today I attended the Stampin' Up! Regional Event in Phoenix.  It was great to see so many people that I've been following on their blogs and finally have a chance to meet them in person.  I finally was able to meet and introduce myself to Lorri Heiling (Hi Lorri!).  I've been following her blog for a very very long time and it was awesome to finally meet her.  We also were treated with being able to see Diana Gibbs do her famous watercoloring WOW Demonstration - (Hi Di! Great job today!) 

I was lucky enough to have two guests go with me today.  Linda Weedon that went to Henderson with me just last summer and Brittney Paulsen.  Both great gals that I work with and stamp with.  We have a great group of girls that get together each month for a workshop and a Stamp-a-Stack.

So, it's been a very long day, so I want to do a quick post to show the swaps that Linda, Brittney and I made for today's Stampin' Up! Regional in Phoenix.  We received some really beautiful swaps from some of the other great stampers there.  I can't wait to sit down and really look them over.

It was so fun to see our swaps hanging on the clothes line with all the others. 

If you were there today and we swapped, please say hello and tell me who you are.  Maybe now I can put some names to the faces!

Happy Saturday!

~ Donna

Stamp-a-Stack - February

I wish I could say I came up with this beautiful card myself, but the credit goes to Dawn Olchefske.  I made a couple of small changes and of course, since it's a Stamp-a-Stack, my customers will choose their own sentiments for the front cover.

Recipe and measurements:

DSP:  
Everyday Enchantment  punched with the Postage Stamp Punch (122344).
Cardstock: 
Very Vanilla 5" x 3-3/4" (100730) 
Pool Party:  5 1/4" x 4" (122924)
Peach Parfait:  5 1/2 x 8 1/2" (119794)
Ink:  Peach Parfait Classic (119783)

Cool Tools: 
Beautiful Wings Embosslit (118138)
Big Shot (113439)
Brad (from the FREE Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad Pack with a $50.00 order).
5/8" Crochet Trim - Victoria (118481)- about 8" for the bow
Stampin' Dimensionals

Dawn's great suggestion is to attach the punched paper with Dotto temporary adhesive (103305).  "Using Dotto allows you to perfectly align your squares.  Once you have them aligned, then adhere them permanently with Snail Adhesive (104332)".  

For those not attending the SAS - check out Dawn's link for a great tutorial for making the Faux Bow.

Looking forward to Friday's Stamp a Stack! 

FREE TRIAL - My Digital Studio

My Digital Studio Express Free Trial Now Available February 1, 2012 Our FREE 30-day trial of My Digital Studio Express is now available. Everyone loves something for Free!  Personally I'm a hands on crafter and enjoy the paper and ink, but when something is free, why not give it a try. This is an ongoing offer.  So the free trial won't be limited to a specific time, only that once you've tried it, you have 30 days to give it a trial run. How do you get it? You can download the software and access the free trial through my website's Online Store. What do you do once you try it and like it? Once the 30-day free trial period is over, you can purchase the downloadable or disc version of the software to continue using it. You'll simply open up the trial version you already have on your computer, and will be prompted to enter the product registration key you received after purchasing the software. (You'll receive this key via e-mail if you purchase the downloadable version, and you'll find it along with your shipped software if you purchase the disc version.)