More Waterfall Cards

Here's another waterfall card that we stamped at my events this month.  This great card uses Doodle That from the Spring Mini Catalog and also the Au Chocolat designer paper.  It's a fun little flippy project that my stamp club members loved!  Clubs are filling fast so email me today if you want to take the last spot in my scrap club or the last spot in my stamp/technique clubs! 

Do you have Your Palette o' Prints Yet?

Did you order your Palette o' Prints yet?  Don't forget that the last day to place an order for this great designer paper sampler is Thursday, May 31st!  You will be able to order full sheets of this great paper starting on July 1st but don't miss your chance to  get your hands on these beautiful designer papers before everyone else!!

My Personal Challenge

It's great to be a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and there are so many benefits!  One of the great things that I get to do is to earn FREE stamps and who doesn't like that???  Well, my problem is getting them all put together to use!  Does anyone else have this problem?  Here is my box of unmounted stamp sets - there are twelve shown here.  And, I'm here to say that my plan is to get caught up with these by the end of June and then stay caught up!  I love to stamp and love getting new sets to stamp with so I don't like seeing any in this box!  I did put one set together yesterday so I'm officially at 11 to go.  I'll post my progress over time so check back for more updates! 

If you're like me and have a problem getting to putting your stamp sets together then consider making my challenge your challenge.  If you want to join me in my quest to get all your stamps mounted then feel free to post a comment to this post, either now or when your box of unmounted stamps is put together!

And, if you need a box of unmounted stamps to put together, consider browsing the list of retiring stamps and getting the ones you can't live without!! 

Stampin' on a Boat!

Yes, we did stamp on the Stampin' Up! cruise and here's proof.  This is me at my stampin' table with two of my sidelines, Laura and Bobbi and three other ladies that we stamped with that morning. 

The night before stampin' day I returned to my room after dinner to find a beautiful package which included a new stamp set (Flowers & Flourishes to be included in the Fall-Winter collection starting in July), inkpads, a new wheel and other stampin' goodies.  We used this to make three great projects two of which included some new designer papers! 

One of the very cool things that Stampin' Up! did was to include the large ribbon from the Seaside Ribbon Originals on everything they gave us - this is even what our nametag lanyards were made of!   

Waterfall Cards

Last Monday at the demonstrator gathering we held at my house for my downline, one of the projects we stamped was this waterfall card.  Waterfall cards are so much fun!  The confetti white squares flip to reveal the full image below when you pull on the tab with the ribbon. 

Once you pull the tab all the way out you see just the last image and the greeting underneath! 

When I was on the Stampin' Up! cruise I saw another demonstrator who had made a waterfall scrapbook page as a way to showcase a bunch of photos of one event without having to have a ton of pages on that event.  I am planning on having that be one of our projects in my scrapbook club that will be starting in July!  So girls, you have that to look forward to!  Speaking of cruise, watch for more photos to be posted this week on my virtual scrapbook!   

Not Exactly my Favorite Card

OK, so I admit that this is not my best work.  But, I wanted to play along with my friend and downline Diane's card challenge this week and time was running out!  So, I grabed my stamps, colors and started to play.  I liked the idea of using the Wishing You the Best stamp set because the purchase of this set sends $2 to benefit the Ronald McDonald House charities and I think that's a great cause.  I also think it pairs well with the Lexicon of Love stamp set and both are retiring at the end of June! 

Maybe the color combo for this challenge didn't speak to me but this is what I came up with.  Not my best work but it's still OK.  And, not every project we stamp will turn out exactly to our liking! 

In other news, last night we had a demonstrator only swap at Diane's house and you can see photos of us stamping (and me being goofy) also on Diane's site.  Swaps are a great way to share ideas and you'll probably see some of the cards at upcoming workshops because they were all great ideas!! 

More about my trip to Canada!

Here is a photo from the Stampin' Girls Convention that I attended in Canada two weeks ago.  I have a previous post with more information but wanted to share this photo of us!  That's Josee Smuck on the left, the leader of the INKredible Canadian group, Vicki Garrett, the truly talented guest artist is in the middle and I'm on the right.  You'll notice that I got to be an honorary Sparkle Daisy Stamper for the day and love the pin!! 

Also while in Canada we went to the Tulip Festival which was great fun!  We learned how to write our names in Japanese, saw beautiful downtown Ottawa and spent the lovely day outside.  Here is a photo of my hosts, Josee, Dave and their daughter Hailey.

I thought this was a really fun photo too!  After Josee and I wrote our name in Japanese we had a little fun with a photo op! 

Check back soon for more of my stamping adventures from the Panama Canal Cruise!! 

Decorative Tile Class

Don't forget to register for the decorative tile class that is coming up at the end of this month!  See my class schedule for more details.  You'll make a trivet like the one shown here or you'll use the monogram letter that is included in the class fee to make one for your family or as a gift for a friend! 

Home from Canada!

Wow, I had an awesome time last weekend up in Ottawa, Canada!  My friend Josee asked me to be the guest speaker at her Stampin' Girls convention - an event she held for her downline.  I spoke at both her Friday night Leaders event and at the general session the following day.  There were so many talented and friendly demonstrators there and I enjoyed meeting them and making some new friends!  I'm looking forward to a reunion with the girls who will be attending the Stampin' Up! convention in July! 

I was also very lucky to meet Vicki Garrett who was the guest artist for the weekend.  Vicki has some amazing artwork and ideas!  She demonstrated two techniques using watercoloring, one with the Stampin' Write markers and the other with the watercolor crayons.  She's posted the tutorials for both of these techniques on her blog and I highly recommend that you check out her artwork and samples!  Thank you Vicki for sharing with us - you are an amazing artist! 

Palette o' Prints Special is Ending Soon!

The Palette o' Prints special is ending soon!  Don't forget to call me to place your order before the end of May!  While you're at it, register for my Palette o' Prints journal class!!   

This cute card is what I sent to the girls in my downline for their achievements from the month of April!  I love to celebrate their success and I would love to help you get started with your business too!  Email me for more information on how to earn two free hostess sets by joining my family of demonstrators in May! 

Parts of site down today

Just a quick note to let you know that parts of my site will be down today for maintenance.  So, if you're looking for upcoming classes, specials and information about being a demonstrator check back tonight or first thing tomorrow morning.  Sorry for the inconvienience! 

Watercoloring Wow!

I tried a little bit different spin on watercoloring last night!  I used three different colors on this bird from natural beauty.  First, I colored him in with Cool Caribbean.  I then added Temping Turquoise and Taken with Teal as shadow color.  By starting with the lightest color and working my way darker I was able to get a very nice shaded image!  I  used to do watercoloring techniques with just one ink or watercolor crayon color but what I've learned more recently is that it's actually easier to get shading when you use 2-4 different colors! 

This little tri-fold card was not my original design, I CASE'd it from Karen who demoed this card at the Canadian Stampin' Girls Convention that I attended recently.  It was just so cute and such a great color combination (love that mustard with the teals) that I had to make one for myself! 

I changed the inside from the original and have posted the inside below for you to see.  Enjoy!  

Aruba!!

After stopping at Half Moon Cay, the Stampin' Up! cruise headed to Aruba, "One Happy Island".   On Aruba, Carrie and I hooked up with a friend and fellow rising star Ang Fronek and her husband Ryan for a jeep tour.  This was one thing that Carrie really wanted to do and she wanted to drive!  So, the rest of us were more than happy to oblidge and enjoy the views of the island.  And, it happened to be a yellow jeep, just what she's been dreaming about! 

Here we stopped at a large rock formation that you could climb up.  We could see the cruise ships from the top!  There was a bit of a traffic jam climbing down but it was definitely worth the hike! 

On the jeep tour we saw the collapsed natural preserve, lighthouse, gold mine, sunken ship, a pretty church and finally stopped at the beach to wade in the ocean.  It was a great tour! Here is our tour guide checking out Carrie's license, he didn't believe that she was old enough to drive!    

Palette o' Prints Journal class

Check out this cute journal that I made using the Palette o' Prints pad that is available only in May!  You can come make one too, just register for my Palette o' Prints On Board Journal class in June - click on my class schedule for more details!  You must register and prepay by May 31st! 

As a part of the class we'll also learn how to make the coordinating ribbon to match the colors included in Palette o' Prints.  We have celery ribbon available to purchase but it's very easy to make ribbon in the other three colors: Rose Red, So Saffron and Almost Amethyst.  I'll teach you how at this class!

Please note that this is a free class, you will just be paying for the ingredients to make the journal!  The hodgepodge hardware set is not included in the class fee but you can get a special deal on it when you register and pre-pay for the class by the end of May!  You can also purchase additional journals to make more than one that day or when you get home.  Ask me about this too!   

Space is limited so email me for more details and to register today! 

Scrapbooking 101

It's not too late to sign up for the Summer Scrapbooking class to be held this Wednesday evening at the Itasca Library.  I've attached photos of the two pages we'll be making during class.  Space is very limited so don't wait to RSVP!  You can sign up for this class by calling the Itasca library at 630-773-1699.

This class is also available as a class on demand through June - email me for more details.  You can also sign up for other classes, view my class schedule for more information. 

The Beginning of the Cruise!

I have to go back to the very beginning of our trip.  There is just so much to say, it was an awesome vacation and even better that we were surrounded by 400 of our closest friends (other demonstrators who earned the cruise)!  This is Carrie and I at the cast off party (this was after the lifeboat drill that we did when first boarding the ship). 

That night we went to the Pinnacle Grill with all of the Stampers In Stitches who earned the cruise.  Stampers In Stitches is the name of the group of stampers led by one of my uplines Glenda.  We had a great time at dinner and it was a wonderful way to kick off the best vacation of my life! 

The next day we arrived in Half Moon Cay for a very relaxing day at the beach!  After Half Moon Cay Carrie and I went to the Crow's Nest to watch the sun set before dinner.  Here we are in the Crow's Nest - notice the Ribbon Originals used as the lanyard for my name tag?  I thought this was a very cool extra touch.  Stampin' Up! sure does think of all the details!   

I think we're caught up now but I'm sure I'll end up posting a few extra photos at the end as I forget things or get additional photos from friends.  I love that this blog can act as a virtual scrapbook for you to read about our adventures on the cruise, after all, you helped us get there!   

Card Challenge!

My friend Diane, who is also in my stampin' group, posted a card challenge this morning on her blog. It was to use the Tag Time stamp set (which is retiring at the end of June) with a specified layout and the colors Gable Green, Tempting Turquiose, Orchid Opulence and Whisper White to make a card.  This is what I came up with for her challenge.  I rotated my card by a quarter turn but kept the basic layout the same. 

I love background stamps so I used the Canvas, Word Search and Dotted and I think it really sets off this card!  If you'd like to play along with this challenge then please let me know, we'll post your card on my site and Diane's and you can be our guest artist of the day! 

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's out there!  This is the card that I made for my Mom and Grandma on this special day.  It was done with the Wild Rose stamp set using Vintage Violet, Always Artichoke and Very Vanilla cardstock and Ink. 

At the Beach!

Don't you just love the photos from those throw-away cameras?  This is Carrie and I on Half Moon Cay after being done in the water.  We have a habit of doing self portraits and this photo is no different!  We had one photo left on our underwater camera so here we are and not too sunburned! 

Oh, and here's that barracuda that Carrie saw while snorkeling.  I had to borrow her mask so I could get a good look too!

Half Moon Cay

So, I mentioned that I'd be sharing more photos and facts from the cruise, well here is the view of our ship from Half Moon Cay (pronounced Key) which was our first stop on the cruise.  Carrie and I were supposed to do a snorkling excursion but it was actually too windy that day so the excursion was canceled.  That was OK because I really wanted to just lay on the beach and do nothing.  I didn't exactly do that but we rented a set of snorkel equipment and a floaty mat so Carrie was able to snorkel (and she saw a barracuda and a sting ray plus tons of little fish) while I floated along and enjoyed the warm water and the sun.  It was really a great way to start our vacation together! 

When we arrived on the island the Stampin' Up! executives were waiting to greet us and they gave each person a frisbee with the Panama Canal logo on it.  While we didn't play with ours in the water it was a very cool souvenier to take back home! 

Retired Wheels are Back!

I just got home from a quick trip to Canada where I was a guest speaker at another demonstrator's large group meeting and I had an awesome time!  More about that soon! 

I just checked and all the wheels that have been announced as retired from my previous post will now be available until June 30th!  Even though Stampin' Up! has sold out of many of the wheels they are working with their vendors to restock the wheels that are retired and previously had sold out!  So, if you have these wheels on your wish list you still have until June 30th to order them!! 

Retiring Stampin' Around Wheels

If you're interested in ordering Stampin' Around wheels, you should know that the wheels listed on the retiring list will only be available while supplies last or until June 30th, whichever comes first.  You can check the availability of the wheels on the wheel status list but email me sooner than later if you want any of these wheels before they're out!

Retiring Stamps!

Each spring we must say goodbye to a number of stamp sets and wheels from our regular catalog in order to make room for new stamps on July 1st.  Here is the list of retiring stamp sets from Stampin' Up!  Be sure to order the things that you want soon because they're only available through the end of June! 

In addition to the stamp sets listed here, ALL of the Hostess stamp sets will retire!  So, if there is a hostess set that you've had your eye on, be sure to book your party or book show today to earn your FREE sets before they're gone forever at the end of June!

Lastly, all of the In Colors from this year will also be retiring.  This means that it's time to say goodbye to Cool Caribbean, Cranberry Crisp, True Thyme, Buckaroo Blue, Vintage Violet and Marigold Morning.  You still have until the end of June to stock up so be sure to call to order those inkpads, cardstock and re-inkers to help your inkpads last and last!  Enjoy the retiring list, read it with a tissue in case some of your favorite sets are listed here!