Going places with Stampin' Up!

I love to travel! All of my bucket list items have to do with going someplace I haven't been. I do my fair share of travel for work, as well as plenty of travel for fun. And many times, I get to work and have fun on the same trip.

Last week was one of those times. I went to Brussels, Belgium. 

Brussels is a great city. It is filled to the brim with history, beautiful architecture, great food, wonderful people, many cultures and altogether greatness. 

My sweetie and I spent our first day there walking for miles and miles checking out the wonderful sights. 

Of course we sampled the many iconic flavors of Brussels as well.
 

But the main reason for going was to attend the very first Stampin' Up! On Stage Live! Now, I've posted before about the wonderful training and recognition events that Stampin' Up! holds. This year, as a growing international company, they combined their market based events into a single global event. I couldn't wait to go meet women from around the world who are just like me. They love crafting, they love sharing creativity with others, and they are part of this great company. 

The event included information about the company's accomplishments and future. It also included recognition of all the great work being done by women who had met particular milestones in their business. 

 

Of course there was hands on training on new crafting techniques, and inspiration for building my business and taking it beyond my wildest dreams. 

But my favorite part, by far, was the sneak peeks at the new products coming out in the 2016 Spring Occasions catalog and Sale-A-Bration (more on those later).

 

Oh and I can't leave out he wonderful prizes and freebies. 

 

 

Now back to my dreams. It never occurred to me when I joined Stampin' Up! that I would be adding to my passport stamps through this business. What an amazing perk. And unlike what some might expect, the twice a year On Stage events are not just for the higher level demonstrators, they are open to all of us. We can all benefit from the great training and fun at these events. (Psst: But there are free trips that can be earned, that's a dream for another blog post someday.)

Another thing that is very clear when you are at a Stampin' Up! event is how much this company values us, not just as the creative, hard-working and independent business women who are going to make the company successful, but as women who, in big and small ways every single day, have a powerful impact on our world. Who doesn't want to feel that kind of respect and appreciation every now and then?

This was my third Stampin' Up! Event and I never want to miss one. I always leave with many new friends and get home refreshed, energized and ready to share what I've learned with my local crafting friends. 

And you know what? Anyone can be part of this wonderful business, in a way that makes sense for them. Whether you're just interested in getting a discount and going to fun events, or if you want to earn some money to cover dance lessons or a car payment, or if you want to build your own little stamping empire, there is room for you in Stampin' Up! 

What did you think? Would you like to join me on these crafting adventures? How about Australia next Fall? Just email me at clothpaperstringcrafts@gmail.com and I would be happy to answer your questions. If you're ready to join now, you can get more details here.

A Nautical Bridal Shower

I'm going to be a Mother-In-Law! And I'm gong to try really hard to be a great one. 

As the wedding draws near, I am helping as I can. Mostly just a sounding board for ideas and of course, helping with the invites. But I was most excited to plan and host the bridal shower. Because my son serves in the Coast Guard, and because as the hostess, I get to choose, I picked Anchors Away for the shower theme. Oh boy, it was fun hunting for anything nautical to include.  The theme also made the menu easy to plan...seafood of course!

What seaside day would be complete without foofie drinks with umbrellas?

And how about a banner with nautical flags that spell out the names of the bride and groom.

For dessert, a cupcake bouquet made by my awesome neighbor Kim. Oh, and she makes the best buttercream.

The ladies got a little competitive over a game where they had to guess the spice. 

 The bride to be looks very happy!

Celebrate Today!

Who doesn't love balloons?

Um....me. 

Ok, I love the idea of balloons. They are so cheerful, cute, and whimsical. But honestly, they creep me out. They float around on their own, they are at every store check stand so my kids would always beg for them, and they EXPLODE! Nope, I will take a clown over a ballon any day. 

But the Celebrate Today stamp set has me rethinking my distaste. These little balloons do none of the things I dislike about their full size, 3D counterparts. So that just makes them cheerful, cute and whimsical!

And when you swap out the string for a basket, a whole new image of adventure comes to mind. That makes this set so versatile. It goes way beyond birthday and kids to more grown up celebrations like weddings and travel. Here are a few items I came up with using this set. 

These next two used the Irresistably Yours paper from the 2015 Sale-A-Bration catalog. I just stamped the balloon on the resist paper, wiped off the excess ink, and used the Ballons framelits to cut out multiple (4 to 6 depending on a full or half circle balloon) balloons to glue together to make the 3D effect. 

Now these are balloons for everyone to love!

Is it Spring Yet?

With two late snow storms in Virginia, we are so over winter. The only upside to bad weather, is that it is an excellent excuse to stay inside and create something beautiful. So as the last storm waned and the forcast promised warmer days ahead, I have decided winter is officially over!

Maybe that's why I've got spring on my mind as I'm stamping. I found this darling little card on Pinterest, designed by Cindy Schuster,   one of the amazing artists on the 2014-2015 Stampin' Up! Artisan design Team. 

Two reasons stamping is such a great creative option for everyone, is first that the stamps do all of the hard work for you. Yes, you just ink it up, press it down and voila, you have a work of art. The second reason is that the community of crafters encourage what we call "CASEing". This stands for Copy And Share Everything, but means you don't have to stare at a stamp for long periods of time for inspiration to decide what to do with it. Nope, just Google it, check out some blogs, or search on Pinterest, and BOOM, dozens of beautiful ideas to copy and share. 

I will admit that some of the fun and challenge is trying to recreate from just a photo, because there are not always detailed instructions, but once in awhile there are. This is one of those times. I am adding some instructions to help you recreate this beauty. 

Start with a 5 1/2" by 8 1/2" whisper white card base. Score and fold it in half at 4 1/4". Then add a 5 1/4" by 4" piece of patterned paper. Stamp and use framelits to cut your garden picks. Use the Berry Basket Bigz L die to cut a basket. Trim it 3" from one edge, nudge it over a bit and score at 2 3/4". This will give your basket a "lip" to adhere it to the card front. Trim the scalloped edge trim to 3 3/4" and adhere to the basket front. Adhere the bottom of the basket to the card front, as shown in this photo. 

 

Snip a Stampin' dimensional in half and place each piece as close to the two outside edges of the scalloped basket trim as possible. This will be important as you are trying to slide in the seed packet. Wrap a doily around your seed packet and tie with twine. Slide the seed packet in the basket and there it is. A great little card to share with someone longing for a little taste of Spring.

Of course, you are going to need some baskets for Easter, or for some sweet summer treats. Keep that Berry Basket Bigz die nearby for quick and easy projects. 

February Paper Pumpkin

Oh, the February Paper Pumpkin is so sunny and bright! Just the thing to help get me out of the winter doldrums.

These little background stamps are great. I love the geometric designs. It's great to have a stash of backgrounds to use on other projects. These monthly kits sure do help build up your collection of stamps and ink spots, so you can make a card in a snap of the need arises. 

So the pre-designed card is a great accordion card that comes in a box. This is almost a gift in itself. And it is so pretty and cheerful. I can just imagine it sitting on the desk of a colleague that has gone above and beyond on a project at work. I love that the Paper Pumpkin designs are so pretty, but also so very easy to recreate. 

As I was assembling this little beauty, it hit me...I had an idea! Ok, so first I have to point out that this almost never happens. I am not a "creative" person. I know, that sounds silly, but it is true. I have always admired people who can gain design inspiration from everyday things. My daughter is like that. I am not. 

What I can do is re-create things. I can see something, and copy it like nobody's business. And I follow directions like a champ. So Paper Pumpkin is great, because I can see the picture, read the directions, assemble the parts, and before I know it, I have made something awesome. 

So you can imagine my excitement when inspiration hit! My own creative thought! It's a big deal. Here's how it went down. As I was folding the accordion paper, I thought, "what if I cut this apart into little note cards?" Ok, so maybe that doesn't sound like the revolutionary idea I have built it up to be, but I was excited. 

What a happy coincidence that the acordian card has eight sections. That is perfect for four little cards...and there are four backgrounds...hmm, maybe the designer of the kit had the same idea. That's ok, I'm still calling it my creative moment. I cut and stamped the cards, which then needed envelopes. I grabbed some DSP, and the envelope punch board. 

To make the envelope I cut a 5 1/2" square. Then using the envelope punch board, I lined up the first side at 2 3/8", punched and scored. Turned the paper and punched and scored the next side at 3 1/8". Then the next side at 2 3/8" and the last side at 3 1/8". Then I assembled each envelope.

I assembled the box and voila, a little gift for someone who needs to have some small thank you notes on hand. Maybe a new Mom, or a someone recovering from an illness whose friends and family helped out.  

Want to get in on the Paper Pumpkin fun and have your own creative escape delivered to your door every month? You can sign up online here: https://mypaperpumpkin.com/?demoid=2128639. It's only $19.99 per month. That's it, no extra fees, even the shipping is included. You can even buy three, six, or twelve months in advance and save a little more. Pre-paid subscriptions also make a great gift. Subscribers can join my exclusive Paper Pumpkin Facebook group, where we will share our own creations and inspire others with our designs. Can't wait to see (and copy) all those great ideas. 

Celebrating Birthdays!

I needed to make a few birthday cards for some close friends and colleagues and decided to grab a set I've owned for awhile but still haven't tried, and a new set I had to have the minute I saw it. I played around for a few minutes and tried something new that I found surprisingly helpful in my design process. I first found the papers and colors I wanted to use and then I took the clear stamps that I wanted to use and actually laid them on the card base so I could see how they would fit and flow with the design I had in mind. I don't know why I hadn't thought of this before, but being a very visual person, I found this really helped me actually "see" what my mind's eye was imagining. Try it next time you are playing with your stamps. It may just give you the creative confidence you need to make your own designs. Here are the cards I came up with.

This fun little set is Just Saying, with the Word Bubble thinlits. This is the set that I've had for awhile, but had yet to crack open. Once I finally did, along with the Typeset DSP I had been hoarding because it is so pretty, the design just made itself. I used a very vanilla card base with a square of Typeset DSP and a narrow strip of the backside of that sheet. Since this was a fun card, I added a sassy sentiment on the inside from the Age Awareness stamp set, just like the ladies I will be sending this card to.

So now I have to share this beautiful set, which was love at first sight for me. It starts with the Butterfly Basics stamp set and the Butterflies Thinlits.

I just love the intricate die cut butterfly that I can recreate in any quantity and color I want. I used a piece of scrap printed paper, matched it with some Baked Brown Sugar, Smokey Slate and Pistacio Pudding card stock. I stamped the honeycomb, Sentiment and the leaves in Hello Honey and Baked Brown Sugar on a Whisper White cardstock card base. 

I just love how the card turned out. It is so pretty and elegant. Just like the ladies I'm sending a couple to this week.

 

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Another Season of Love

The new year is full of promise and as we leave one season of love and joy, we turn to yet another season focused on love, Valentine's Day! I don't know about you, but this is such a fun time for me. I've always loved making and giving valentines, so it's no surprise that' I'm all in as soon as the tree is put away. The heart wreath is on the door, and I've begun crafting special greetings to send to people I love. Of course, my husband, kids, and mother are at the top of my list, but I also like to surprise at least one friend that has been on my mind with a card. Valentine's Day is a great reason to let someone know how special they are to you.

Here are four designs that I crafted for this year.

This little one was featured on page 4 of the Occasions catalog. First I cut a sheet of whisper white cardstock in half on the long (11") side at 5 1/2" and scored one of the pieces in the middle at 4 1/4" to make a card base. Then I took some pieces of the Stacked with Love DSP at various widths and lengths (mine measure 3/4" by 3 1/4", the ribbon is 3 1/2" long, and 1" by 3 1/4"). I used a scrap of black cardstock (1 3/4" by 4") and stamped the sentiment using Whisper White Craft Ink. I clipped the ends into banners, sewed the four pieces together and adhered them to the front of the card base using snail adhesive. I added the heart scatter stamp in Calypso Coral at the top, and the arrow heart in basic black at the bottom. I added a little rhinestone to give it a little shine.

This card is based on a sketch found on Mary Brown's StamperCamper.com site. I made the card base using Real Red cardstock (5 1/2 by 8 1/2, scored at 4 1/4). Using the Stacked with Love DSP, I layered a 5" by 2 1/4" piece, with rounded corners. Before adhering, I wrapped some twine around the bottom and tied a bow. I added a 3 1/4" by 2 1/4" piece of a contrasting design, also with rounded corner. I stamped the greeting on Whisper White cardstock and cut it with a Starburst framelit. Finally, I added some rhinestones, loving that sparkle today.

This card was so easy. I started by making the card base by cutting an 8 1/2" by 11" Whisper White cardstock on the long side at 4 1/4". This will make the card base 4 1/4" by 11", then score it at 5 1/2 to make the fold edge along the top of the card instead of the side. Then I stamped the greeting in Real Red. I cut a 2" by 4" scrap of black cardstock at punched it with the Confetti Heart Border Punch, and layered a 2" by 4" scrap of Real Red cardstock underneath to provide the contrast. I wrapped and tied a scrap of red ribbon and added a red doily, folded in half, under the heart border.

This final card is a regular side fold 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card base using Whisper White and I stamped the greeting using Basic Black (confession time: I trimmed the hearts off of my Be Mine stamp) eight times along the right side of the card. I then stamped the greeting on a scrap of white in Real Red, trimmed it into a banner, and adhered it with a stamping dimensional over the final Be Mine sentiment (though you could place it over any of them). I added a 2" by 5 1/2" strip of DSP wrapped in a scrap of black ribbon. Finally, I added a stamped red heart, punched with a heart punch, and also popped with a stamping dimensional adhesive.

You can recreate these designs using the products featured below. The stamp set, DSP stack and heart punch are available in the Occasions catalog which becomes available on Tuesday, January 6 through the Spring. There a so many other beautiful and fun items in that catalog that I can't wait to share. And every $50 you spend, in either the Occasions or Annual Catalog, you can choose an exclusive Sale-A-Bration item absolutely free!


 
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