Happy June!

The summer is in full swing, and Stampin' Up! has revealed two new promotions for the month:

Fresh Cuts Sneak Peek Promotion

Stampin' Up! would like to offer all of its customers the opportunity to buy two new products that will appear officially in the Fall-Winter Catalog & Idea Book 2008. This promotion includes the advance purchase opportunity for the Fresh Cuts stamp set as well as the coordinating Fresh-Cut Notes.

The Fresh Cuts Stamp Set is a die-cut stamp set (no cutting for you!) and has images that are perfect for that summer gift, project, or card. The Fresh-Cut Notes are 4" x 4" cards and are sized perfectly for a note on a gift, a hand-delivered thank you, or dinner name place holders!

The Fresh Cuts Stamp Set costs $21.95 and is pictured on the left sidebar. The Fresh-Cut notes (also pictured to the side) cost $8.95, but with the purchase of the Fresh Cuts Stamp Set, you'll receive the Fresh-Cut notes for only $5.00! Take this opportunity to order these new products 2 months before they're officially released!

eScape 2008

break free from the 'e'!

Plan now to join Stampin' Up! during the entire month of June in breaking free from the 'e'! Stampin' Up! has designated June 25, 2008 as eScape day--a day to put away your cell phones and laptops and focus on reconnecting with your "wireless network."

To help you reconnect with your "wireless network," Stampin' Up! is offering a special eScape bundle at a special price:

• Love Notes assortment (p. 167, $8.95)
• Circle of Friendship stamp set (p. 143, $17.95)
• Rose Red Classic Stampin' Pad (p. 165, $5.25)
• Very Vanilla 5/8" grosgrain ribbon (p. 191, $7.95)

Total (non-bundled): $40.10
eScape Bundle price: $30.00

Contact me today to take advantage of these great offers!

I LOVE Tart & Tangy

I think it's safe to say that I LOVE the Tart & Tangy set from the Occasions Mini catalog. I am overjoyed that Stampin' Up! has extended the end date for the Occasions Mini to June 3oth (instead of May 31st) so I can keep creating and demonstrating with this set!

Throughout April & May, I decided to take on the task of training 14 new aerobics instructors for the gym I manage. Of course I wanted to share not only my knowledge of teaching group fitness, but also my love of stamping...so I created a mini Tart & Tangy box for each of the new instructors. I filled them with Hershey's Kisses and gave them out at our last meeting.





The boxes are so easy to make! Here is the pattern for the box. I used regular card stock for the base and Summer Picnic Designer Series Paper for the lid. The "congratulations" stamp is from the Fun & Fast Notes set.

If you make one of these mini boxes, take a picture and email it to me! I'll post it here under the "Creative Inspiration" page! Here's your chance at fame...or at least your chance to be on my blog :)

Inspired

Have I mentioned that our catalogs are an EXCELLENT source for inspiration...or a simple CASE (Copy And Steal Everything) card? Our catalogs serve as more than just a book to display our wonderful products. They are an amazing source of ideas as well. Take some time to flip through the catalog to find fun new color combinations and cool new card and scrapbook page layouts. Let me know if you'd like some old catalogs to use as idea books as well. I'd be happy to get some for you!

On that note, here's a card created by Juli Smith. She says that it was originally inspired by a card in the Stampin' Up! Fall/Winter Collection 2007.



And here's the card that I created based on the card Juli posted:



All I did was change the stamp featured in each square, change the colors used, and change the greeting--it's that simple!

Now seriously, take a few minutes and create an inspired card yourself! It's not hard--in fact, it's quite easy (and fun, of course)!

Spring is Here!

I am a glitterin' fool...I'm not going to try to hide it. When I made this garland, I was covered in glitter, my living room was covered in glitter...and therefore my husband was covered in glitter too :)

I went to Starbucks with my mom on April 12th--the day it snowed... The starbucks guy (full of wisdom as Starbucks employees always are) said to us, "If April showers bring May flowers...what does April snow bring?" My mom and I politely chuckled as he continued making my Carmel Macchiato. When he handed me my drink he said, "I'm predicting a May Apocalypse!" Lol...oh how I love Kansas!

Now, back to stamping...I made this garland using square chipboard coasters. I covered them with some retired Designer Series Paper and proceeded to attach the sticky cuts letters. Now, my mom and I have discovered a foolproof way to use the sticky cuts letters without all the bending and sticking and crookedness that I (and most of my stamp clubbers) experienced the first time using those silly letters:

Find the letter you want and, using rubber scissors, cut the letter out of the sheet leaving a border. Turn the letter over and peel off the white backing--but just from the letter, not the border. Now you've got a non-sticky border to keep your letter straight and allow you to place the letter exactly where you want it. Once you've stuck it down, peel the red tape off the letter only. Again, leave the border as is (with red on the front and white on the back). Add the glitter, then peel the border from the letter. Ta-da! A perfectly-placed perfectly-glittered letter!

For this garland, I actually put all the letters on Whisper White card stock and cut them out so I could have a small white border around each letter.



I decorated each coaster using the One of a Kind stamp set and coordinating punch. I then used the Crop-a-Dile to punch holes in the top-hand corners of each coaster. I strung the coasters together using the new Old Olive twill tape (Occasions Mini Catalog).

Have fun glittering your living room (and your husband) :)

Happy Stamping!
Cari

My First Inspiration

I saw a picture on SUDSOL of this tin created by Dannie Graves:



And here is the card I created:



Let's see what you can come up with!

Welcome!

Welcome to my new stamping blog! I plan to post weekly updates that will include creative inspiration, ideas, and reminders for upcoming events.

If you are inspired by any of the designs I post to my blog and design your own version of the card, please take a picture and email it to me. I'll post it here (with your permission) to hopefully add even more inspiration to this blog.

For now, be sure to check out my first "Creative Inspiration" post. Also check out my most recent examples in the Gallery as well as my Upcoming Events.

Happy Stamping!
Cari