Retirement Flowers

#stampinup   A good friend is retiring this week. I'm excited for her--she has so many adventures ahead of her. But, I'm a little sad for myself. I'll miss our end of day chats. I'll miss traveling with her. I'm hoping that we will keep up with each other as she steps into her new life.

Of course, I've made a card for her to tell her how much I'll miss her and wish her the best. In fact, I bought the "Wild About Flowers" set specifically because it contains a retirement sentiment. My friends at work and I are all nearing that time in our lives and I wanted to have a stamp set with nice words to usher my friends into the next stage of their lives.

I searched Pinterest for some ideas and I saw this wonderful card by Dawn Olchefske and knew I would CASE it. Dawn's work is always so pretty and I often find myself being inspired by her. I added a few of my own touches--but my card is very much inspired by Dawn.

I started with a Crumb Cake panel and used my Simply Scored Board to score three lines horizontally near the center. I wanted there to be a bit more space at the bottom so I could fit in the sentiment. I stamped the sentiment in Basic Black Archival Ink, and used my Stampin' Pierce Mat to ensure I'd get a good impression. I wrapped two lengths of Linen Twine just under the scoring before adhering this piece to a Basic Black mat. Then I adhered this to a Crumb Cake card base using Stampin' Dimensionals.

Dawn used all three flowers from the "Wild About Flowers" set for her card. I was too lazy to do that, so I used the same image. The stem is stamped in Old Olive onto Whisper White and the flowers are Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, and Melon Mambo. I punched the flowers out with the 1-3/8" Circle Punch. I adhered the stamped circles onto just larger circles of Old Olive that I cut using the Circles Framelits. I adhered these to the card using Stampin' Dimensionals.

For a final touch, I tied a bow of Linen Thread onto the strands of thread I'd already added to the card. Dawn's design is so cute and it was easy to make a quick, but sweet, retirement card for my friend.

 

tams# 6522

Product List

Wild About Flowers Photopolymer Stamp Set [138728] $21.00	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad [140931] $7.00	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad [126953] $6.50	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad [126944] $6.50
Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad [126945] $6.50	Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad [126948] $6.50	Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [120953] $7.00	Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121045] $7.00
Old Olive 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100702] $7.00	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $8.50	1-3/8" Circle Punch [119860] $16.00	Circles Collection Framelits Die [130911] $27.00
Linen Thread [104199] $4.50	Simply Scored [122334] $30.00	Stampin' Pierce Mat [126199] $5.00	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $4.00

Crushing on You

#stampinup   Stampin' Up is holding its On Stage event in Salt Lake City in April and I'm going!! I love Stampin' Up events! They sure know how to throw a party--and I learn so much about the products and building my business. Plus, I get to meet up with all my stampin' friends and meet new friends. It's so much fun!

One of the things I look forward to is swapping cards. This time I'm NOT going overboard. I'm only participating in one organized swap. I only need to make 20 cards. (I've previously made 100 cards!) The swap is black and white and one color. It's a bit tricky, too, because On Stage is occurring near the end of the Stampin' Up year and some products are retiring. So I had to come up with a design in a color I know would still be around and use stamp sets that I know are carrying over. I'm so glad that the "Petite Petals" set--and I'm assuming the matching Petite Petals punch--is carrying over. I'm also pleased that the "B.Y.O.P." set will carry over as well.

I stamped 5 polka dotted flowers in Cucumber Crush and punched them out with the Petite Petals punch. I stamped the sentiment from the "B.Y.O.P." set in Basic Black Archival Ink onto a Whisper White panel. This photopolymer set makes it so easy to place the sentiment perfectly.

I adhered the panel to a Basic Black mat and then onto a Cucumber Crush card base. I adhered the flowers to the card with Stampin' Dimensionals. For a finishing touch, I added a black sequin from the Metallics Sequins Collection to the center of each flower, using the fabulous Fine-Tip Glue Pen.

I can't wait to see the cards I get at the swap! I'll share my favorites with you next month!

tams# 6414

Product List

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $8.50	Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121045] $7.00	Cucumber Crush 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [138335] $7.00	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad [140931] $7.00
Cucumber Crush Classic Stampin' Pad [138324] $6.50	B.Y.O.P. Photopolymer Stamp Set [137159] $25.00	Petite Petals Wood-Mount Bundle [134821] $24.50	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $4.00
Metallics Sequin Assortment [138390] $5.00	Fine-Tip Glue Pen [138309] $7.00

Sharing is Caring

#stampinup   #saleabration2016   We stampers love to share. We love to share our work. We love to share our passion for stamping and we are flattered when someone CASEs our work. CASE=Copy and share everything.  Whenever I CASE someone's card, I like to mix it up a little and put my own spin on it. Or, I like to use the composition and use different colors.

I saw this wonderful card made by one of my favorite stampers (personally and artistically), Lyssa Zwolanek, and knew I wanted to CASE it!

I started with a strip of the fabulous Wildflower Fields Designer Series Paper (FREE with a $50 purchase during Sale-a-Bration) and that set my color scheme. I mounted the DSP onto a strip of Blackberry Bliss card stock. I punched three banners with the Banner Punch from some scraps of Wildflower Fields DSP and added them to the bottom of the DSP strip. Then, I wrapped a couple of strands of Whisper White Baker's Twine around the strip before adhering it to an Old Olive card base with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Next, I stamped one of the flowers from the "Flowering Fields" stamp set (also FREE with a $50 purchase during Sale-a-Bration) in Basic Black Archive Ink onto a Whisper White scrap. I colored the flower with Blender Pens using Blackberry Bliss and Old Olive Inks. I punched it out with the 1-1/4" Circle Punch and adhered it to a Blackberry Bliss piece punched with the Label Bracket Punch. I adhered this to the card with Stampin' Dimensionals.

I stamped "happy birthday" from the "And Many More" set in Blackberry Bliss onto a Whisper White scrap and punched it with the Large Oval Punch. I adhered this to the card with, you guessed it, Stampin' Dimensionals!

For the finishing touch, I threaded some Whisper White Baker's Twine through a Vintage Faceted Designer Button and tied a bow. I adhered this to the card with Glue Dots.

So cute! Thanks for the inspiration, Lyssa!

tams# 6413

Product List

Glue Dots [103683] $5.25	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $4.00	Vintage Faceted Buttons [127555] $6.00	Twine Baker's Whisper White [124262] $3.00
Large Oval Punch [119855] $16.00	Label Bracket Punch [132153] $16.00	1-1/4" Circle Punch [119861] $16.00	Banner Punch [133519] $13.00
Blender Pens [102845] $10.00	Wildflower Fields Designer Series Paper [141022] $0.00	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $8.50	Blackberry Bliss 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [133675] $7.00
Old Olive 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100702] $7.00	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad [126953] $6.50	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad [133642] $6.50	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad [140931] $7.00
And Many More Wood-Mount Stamp Set [134273] $37.00	Flowering Fields Clear-Mount Stamp Set [141303] $0.00

I'm Number 12!

#stampinup   #saleabration2016   A few days ago, I got a card in the mail from my Stampin' Up upline, Connie Heisey. She's one of the company's million dollar achievers--that means Connie has sold one million dollars of Stampin' Up product during her career. These are her personal sales--not the combined sales of her downline. Connie, herself, sold one million dollars of Stampin' Up product. This is a huge achievement--there are fewer than a dozen Stampin' Up demonstrators who have reached this goal!

Connie has loads of people in her downline--I'm not sure how many, but I do know that there are a lot because Connie has built an amazing network of Stampin' Up demonstrators. I think I'm in Connie's third tier, which means there are two other demonstrators between Connie and me. 

Anyway, there are a lot of us in Connie's Proverbial Stampers group. So I was surprised and thrilled to see a note slipped inside the card Connie sent me, congratulating me on being Number 12 in sales for the month of February!! 

I couldn't have achieved this without my wonderful customers who go all out during Sale-a-Bration and host fabulous events that bring in sales for me. It's a win-win-win!! The guests get a free Sale-a-Bration stamp set for every $50 they spend. The hostess reaps the Stampin' Rewards and extra $$ when sales hit $250. And the demonstrator (that's me!) gets great sales numbers for the quarter (and some free sets from Stampin' Up)!

I love this company. In July, I will have been a demonstrator for 10 years! I still remember when I told my husband that I was thinking about becoming a Stampin' Up demonstrator--knowing full well that he would talk me out of it--and he said, "I think you should!" Thanks, honey! My little hobby has grown and I've met some great customers and stamping friends and have been able to express my creativity through Stampin' Up's amazing products. Stampin' Up says that magic happens when you put a stamp and ink in someone's hands--and they're right!

Sale-a-Bration is the best time to join Stampin' Up!  You can become a demonstrator for just $99 and choose $30 more of FREE products for your Starter Kit--a total of $155 in product. Plus, the kit ships for free! I'd love to have you on my team! Contact me today--or click on the "join my team" button at the top of this page. The offer to join always stands--but the extra $30 for your starter kit is only available until March 31, 2016.

Here's Connie's card. Its adorable! Connie used the "Grateful Bunch" set from the Occasions catalog. I love this set--and I love how Connie made this clean and simple card. She stamped the stem image in Basic Black Archival Ink onto a Crumb Cake panel and colored the leaves in Old Olive, using a blender pen. Next, Connie stamped the large flower image in Basic Black Archival Ink onto Pool Party and used a dauber to apply Daffodil Delight to the center. Connie fussy cut the flower and adhered it to the card with Stampin' Dimensionals. The sentiment is stamped underneath the flower in Basic Black Archival Ink. The panel is the adhered to a Pool Party card base. So cute!

tams# 6401

Product List

Grateful Bunch Photopolymer Stamp Set [140691] $21.00	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad [140931] $7.00	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad [126953] $6.50	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad [126944] $6.50
Pool Party 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [122924] $7.00	Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [120953] $7.00	Blender Pens [102845] $10.00	Sponge Daubers [133773] $5.00
Paper Snips Scissors [103579] $10.00	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $4.00