Arts and Crafts Garage Sale!

NEXT SATURDAY, May 7th, from 8:30-noon

HUGE GARAGE SALE with nothing but craft items -- rubber stamps, card stock, designer paper, stencils, fabric, scrapbooking, new and gently used -- A CRAFTER'S PARADISE!

Directions:

Hwy. 80 west to Riverside Exit

Riverside turns into Auburn Blvd; Auburn Blvd. turns into Sylvan Rd.; Sylvan turns into San Juan Ave.

Turn LEFT on Greenback.

Turn RIGHT on Mariposa Ave.

Take SECOND LEFT to Farmgate Way

Take the FIRST LEFT to “Our” Way

Our Way turns RIGHT and becomes Madeline Way

7645 Madeline Way (on LEFT)
Citrus Heights, CA 95610

8:30 -- noon -- SEE YOU THERE!

Cheers to you!

It's finally Friday -- cheers!

The Cheers to You stamp set is another great set to use when making a card for a woman or a man. It has three "girlie drink" glasses, a beer stein, and two champagne glasses that look like they are clinking together. You can almost hear them saying, "Cheers!"

This is also a fun set to color, and I LOVE TO COLOR!! It's one of the reasons I became a stamper -- so I could be an adult and still color. I think it's very calming. I used to always try to get my kids to color. They would, for about two minutes, then be off doing something else, and I'd still sit there, finishing my picture.


Ahem...ANYWAY, it's fun to use Crystal Effects on the glasses to give them a little shine. Give this set a try, and give yourself permission to COLOR!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Perk Up!

I'm often asked how to make cards for men, when we Stamping Divas LOVE our ribbons, buttons and bows! Truth be told, I don't put the same effort into making a card for a guy as I do for a sister-friend or fellow stamper. I'm convinced that they say, like my DH (dear husband) says, "Oh, you made me a card," then they count one-one thousand, two-one thousand, and pretend that they are really looking at it!

But the Morning Cup stamp set (pg. 60 in the SU catalog) works great for both genders. On the top card, I used Basic Black and Pink Pirouette, Newsprint Designer Paper and some Chantilly Crochet Trim. I sponged the Scallop Circle with the Pink Pirouette, and punched each scallop with the 1/16" Circle Punch.

For the more masculine card, I used the same layout and designer paper, but swapped the pink for Cherry Cobbler, and instead of ribbon, I used pewter brads.



I love this stamp set because it works for both coffee lovers AND tea lovers, like ME! There is also a coordinating wheel, called "Take a Sip." Check these stamps out -- I think you'll love them, too!

Strength and Hope

I am very pleased to introduce the wonderful "Strength and Hope" stamp set.

Throughout the 2011 Summer Mini Catalog sales period (May 1-August 31), Stampin' Up! will donate $2 from the sale of each Strength & Hope set and Strength & Hope digital kit to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). BCRF is dedicated to preventing breast cancer and finding a cure in our lifetime by funding clinical and translational research worldwide.

I love the empowering and encouraging words in this set -- courage, hope, believe, unity, survivor, caring, together, love, kindness, support, strength, blessed, thank you.




This card is embossed on Pink Pirouette, the scallop circle around the H has the smallest pearls on each scallop, and the butterfly shimmers with Dazzling Diamonds.

The set is #123660 for clear mount - $13.95 and #118100 for wood mount - $17.95, and will be available beginning May 1st.

If you know someone who is going through breast cancer, or really any kind of tough time, this set is ideal to create a card to show that you care.

Spring is Blossoming!

There are just a few days to take advantage of a sneak peak of two brand new products from the upcoming 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog. After April 30th, the Four Frames stamp set, which coordinates with the Decorative Label Punch, and the Paisley Petals DSP won't be available again until July 1st! You can order both these products with a $20 minimum purchase (or FREE if you host a $350 workshop).

Four Frames Stamp Set - #123442 (clear) - $15.95; #123440 (wood) - $20.95
Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper - $122367, $9.95

Call or email me to order these by Saturday, April 30th!

Just keep swimming...

There's just something about Mondays, isn't there? How they sneak up on you, despite how many days off you've had. And, did you notice that when you have a Monday off, Tuesday can act just like a Monday?? But like Dory said, "Just keep swimming!" (Love, love, LOVE the movie Finding Nemo!)

Well, this little guy is swimming by to wish everyone a mellow Monday.

Can you guess what punch was used to make the fish? Yup, it's the good ol' Blossoms Petal Punch! (Are you sick of me telling you how versatile this punch is??) I love punches that can be used for more than one thing, and I think this little fish is a perfect example.

I sponged the sea (but it kind of looks more like a sky - oh, well), used Pumpkin Pie ink and card stock for the fish, and used the Little Leaves Sizzlit for the underwater plants. I also cut some thin strips of Always Artichoke and Old Olive card stocks for that 3-D look.

So..."Hey there, Mr. Grumpy Gills. When life gets you down do you wanna know what you've gotta do? Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim!"

Have a great Monday -- or get through it any way you can and know that you can have wine when you get home!

Last day of spring break

Today is my last day of spring break, and wow, has the week flown by! Despite the crummy weather, I got to spend time with many of my friends, so it was a fun week. I have another card to show you that uses the Blossom Petals Punch.

This 4" square card has a Regal Rose layer, which was textured using the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. The flower was made by punching 2 of the large flower petals, and using scissors (or you could use an oval punch) to trim the scallops off. I heavily sponged Regal Rose ink on the edges, which created a lighter center. The middle is one of the smaller leaves punched from Daffodil Delight, with some Dazzling Diamonds added. I punched 3 leaves in Old Olive, and trimmed one for the stem of the flower.

This is a very versatile punch and is only available until April 30th!

Happy Easter, everyone!

A great way to spend Monday!

I was on spring break this week, so I was able to hold a workshop on Monday, during the day!  And it was WAYYYY better than being at work!  We made 2 cards and a simple Easter basket.  Here is one of the cards using the Blossom Petals Punch -- we punched the petals from card stock that was embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder. This card uses Rich Razzleberry, but for the one we did on Monday, we used Concord Crush.  The leaves are Old Olive, and it is layered on Crumb Cake, which was run through the Framed Tulips Embossing Folder.  We used an Antique Brad for the center of the flower, and there is a tiny pearl on the birthday greeting.  The punch and Build a Blossom stamp set are only available until April 30th, so be sure to contact me if you want to place an order.  (Thanks to Tami White for the layout of this card.)

Well, here we go!

My 2011 New Year's resolution was to start a blog.  Since it's nearly the end of April, I thought I'd better get going!  I am having a hard time imagining what I will write about, and I'm nervous that I will say something that will offend or anger someone.  But, I guess I just have to jump in, and sink or swim!  Please bear with me if the blog is a little boring at first -- I'll be learning as I go!