A birthday card for you

I made this for my daughter’s birthday over 3 weeks ago – has it really been that long since I posted??  That’s a shame.  I’ve just been extra busy with work and a new church calling, not that I’m complaining – I’m really not.  But these obligations cannot stop me from creating a card for my sweet daughter’s birthday!

Please note the retiring items listed below will be gone after 6-3-13!  Thanks for stopping by today!

To order Stampin’ Up! products online, 24/7 – click HERE

Supplies:

Stamps: Vintage Verses (SAB item, no longer available) & Tiny Tags (retiring)

Paper: Pretty in Pink (retiring), Crumb Cake, & Very Vanilla cs; Tea for Two dsp

Ink: Island Indigo & Lucky Limeade (retiring) ink pads; Crumb Cake marker

Accessories: Island Indigo baker’s twine, Hung Up cute clips, paper piercing tool, 2 1/2″ circle punch, color spritzing tool (retiring), stampin’ dimensionals

Nooooooo!

Did you see the Retiring List that came out today?  My favorite stamp set, Nature Walk is RETIRING!  I’m super sad about that.

Ironically, I made this card earlier this week – the worst kind of card to have to make.  So I used some of my favorites for it.  Of course, I won’t be getting rid of this stamp set, but just won’t be showing too much here in the future.

But I’ll be showing lots of NEW stuff – woohoo!  I got to see the new catalog online today and I have to tell you it made me swoon!  I’m not even kidding – I almost fell.  I can’t wait to see it in person!!

Would you like to see it online now, before it comes out?  Would you like to shop the new In Colors, and some other sneak peaks from the new catalog now?  Would you like to save at least 20% on the items you know you wanna buy anyway?  Would you like all of this with no obligation to hold a party or sell in any way?  You can!  Click here for more information on signing up to receive your own custom Starter Kit – pick out $155 worth of product for only $99!  That’s an extra $30 from the regular value of $125 for $99!  But hurry if you want the extra $30 bucks, because that ends on 5/30!  I have to say that over 6 years ago I signed up thinking I’d just do it for the kit and the discount and I haven’t regretted it for a moment.  You do not have one thing to lose because you get to keep everything in the kit and everything you purchase at a discount if you decide you don’t want to remain a demonstrator.

Ok, I need to get going so I’ll sign of now.  I don’t have time to post my supplies right now (I’ll come back later to add that), but please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.  The colors in the photo turned out not-so-great, but it is what it is.  I used Baja Breeze (also retiring!), Very Vanilla, & Soft Suede.  The Baja Breeze looks “off” to me in the photo.

Check out the Retiring List NOW, because the accessories are up to 60% off and are while supplies last!  The stamp sets, and what’s left of the accessories, will be available until June 3rd.

I’m so happy you stopped by today…and that I had something to show you!  Tah!

This and That – Epic Day, and an update

I don’t scrapbook, although I wish I had the patience to do so.  But that didn’t stop me from ordering the This and That DSP, along w/ some other goodies from the line!  The paper is definitely one of my favorites and I LOVE that rotary stamp!!  I also went ahead and got the washi tape and sticker sheets as well.  You can see I used a bunch of the stickers on this card for my son’s 18th birthday (where did the time go?!).

And can you see that I sewed on both projects??  Yay!  I know the addition of the stitching is a bit overkill for the Petite Pocket, but I just had to do it!  If you read my last post, you’ll understand why I did.  And here’s a tip for you – when you adhere the little “olive slices”, as I call them – don’t glue them down!  You have to be able to get the linen thread underneath – duh!

And now for the update – I’ve some importanat new changes in my life which require a LOT more of my time.  So I’m just giving you a heads up in case my posts are even less than they have become lately.  I want to create and post more, but just may not have the chance to do so as often.  I hope you’ll continue to stop by, and encourage you to either sign up for my posts by email, or subscribe to my posts by some sort of blog reader.  I recently changed to Feedly (it’s an App, plus you can use it online at feedly.com) and I really love it.  Since Google Reader will disappear in July of this year, I went ahead and made the change after a recommendation from a fellow blogger.  It’s very pretty to look at and customizable as to how you view it.  Love it, actually!  I always appreciate you coming to visit and leaving your sweet comments!  I’ll see you around!

To order Stampin’ Up! products online, 24/7 – click HERE

Supplies:

Epic Day This And That Bundle
Item #133350 (bundle available until April 30th w/ a 15% discount; after that will return in the 2013-2014 annual catalog.) All items also sold separately.

Petite Pocket Bigz Die
Item #123131

Perfectly Penned stamp set
Item #122890 (wood mount)
Item #122892 (clear mount)

Basic Gray ink pad
Daffodil Delight cs
Gumball Green cs
3/16″ Metallic Brads
Linen Thread

Time for a {sewing!} project

I really love the look of stitching on cards, but hate to get out my big sewing machine every time…so what usually happens is that I get lazy and do without the cute look.  Just keepin’ it real.  I decided to purchase the Janome Sew Mini and set it up on my desk permanently for just such occasions when I want to stitch on a paper project.  But guess what happened?  The first project I made was this cute cover!  I can’t believe I made this and that it actually turned out cute!

The reason I’m surprised is that I had a mom who was the ultimate seamstress, and I do mean SUPREME!  She sewed my Barbie doll clothes, incredible home décor items, and everything in between.  But unfortunately, I didn’t have a desire to learn how to sew while she was alive…and I wish I had!  Whenever I try to make something (which is extremely rare) with a sewing machine, I have in my head how my mom would be bewildered at why I can’t do it easily…heck I can never remember which direction the bobbin thread goes.  But I think she would be proud of me for this…even though at first I sewed the ribbon ties on the inside, haha!  Thankfully it was an easy fix.

I used the retired Sweet Stitches Designer Fabric and had to do quite a bit of piecing to get the look just right.  These SU! packs of fabric contain just a small swatch really of each design and the main design I wanted to use was oriented the “wrong” way, meaning if I’d used the piece lengthwise, the little girls would be sideways.  So because of that, and since I didn’t have enough of that fabric to go all the way down, I added some of the fabric with the stitching design on the bottom of each side.  And of course I wanted the girls on both sides of the cover to be right-side-up, so I had to cut that piece in half, turn one upside down, and sew a seam at the top so when it was folded over it would look great on both sides.  The inside of the cover has the stitching pattern, which was easy to use “as is” (no piecing!), and the cover can be reversed to show that side if I want.  With the pieces left over from that design, I have one side with the stitching going vertically, and one side with the stitching going horizontally.  That doesn’t bother me at all.  I found the tutorial here and it was very easy to follow.

Wow, I didn’t realize what an emotional post this would become for me.  Now when I look at this on my desk I will think of my mom, who left me way too early.  Thanks for stopping by today!

Free Shipping on EVERYTHING!!

Can you believe it?  Any size order, any item we carry will include free shipping from April 6th – 8th!  This would be a perfect time to stock up on all your favorite retiring/discontinuing color items!  See previous post for more information on that. Thanks for stopping by today!

To order Stampin’ Up! products online, 24/7 – click HERE

Color Refresh!!

NEW COLORS are coming!  And sadly, some are going….

From the Stampin’ Up! website:

Announcing our Color Refresh! We love color and we know that you do too. Color is fundamental to who we are and what we offer. It’s important for us to stay up-to-date with color trends so we are thrilled to share our updated line of colors, and hope you will be as excited as we are by the new possibilities!

Why now? In 2010 we did a big color renovation and shared our plans for smaller color refreshes every three to five years to keep our colors on trend. Well it has been three years and we are excited to announce that the upcoming 2013-2014 annual catalog will include 10 new colors (most of which are returning In Colors from previous years)! We are welcoming back some of your favorites, moving some colors around, and introducing one brand-new color, so take a look!

Beginning on April 4, 2013, all retiring/discontinued color products (i.e. ink, paper, ribbon, accessories, etc.) will be available only while supplies last. This means that some products will not be available through the retired list period. We did anticipate increased demand and based our forecasts for these retiring colors on historical sales information from previous color transitions. However, even with the most careful planning, the response to a transition of this nature can surprise everyone. We want you to know that any of our retiring color products are only available while supplies last so get your favorites and look forward to the exciting colors coming in the 2013-2014 annual catalog. And also announced today, free shipping is going on April 6-8, 2013, which would be a great time for you to get your favorites before they are gone! (Free shipping is for North America only.)  See next post for more details.

To order Stampin’ Up! products online, 24/7 – click HERE

Special Delivery

I loved this stamp set from the moment I saw it.  I am bummed that it is only available for a short time, but at least I got mine!

This card is 3″ x 6″, and is so very simple.  I just stamped the striped border along the bottom, and the “please deliver” and airplane images on the left of my Whisper White card stock, cut out a piece of patterned paper from the Sent with Love DSP pack, cutting it along the chevron stripe at the bottom, and added the arrow clip and exclusive Calypso Coral baker’s twine.  (Was that a long sentence, or what?!).  I popped that piece on dimensionals and adhered everything onto a Calypso Coral base.  Super duper easy.

Get your Sent with Love items today…or at least before April 30th, when they’ll be gone forever.

Thanks for stopping by today!

To order Stampin’ Up! products online, 24/7 – click HERE

Supplies:

Sent with Love (Bundle)
Calypso Coral card stock
Whisper White card stock
Calypso Coral ink pad
Pool Party ink pad
Island Indigo ink pad
Hung Up Cute Clips