New Weekly Deals Posted TODAY!!!

Weekly Deals

We hope you enjoy this week's Weekly Deals!

	Stars Framelits Dies Item # 133723 Regular Price: $27.00 US/$33.00 CAN Discounted Price: $20.25 US/$24.75 CAN
	Schoolhouse 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock Assortment Pack Item # 139009 Regular Price: $7.00 US/$8.75 CAN Discounted Price: $5.25 US/$6.56 CAN
	Go Wild 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock Assortment Pack Item # 139000 Regular Price: $7.00 US/$8.75 CAN Discounted Price: $5.25 US/$6.56 CAN
	Hello Honey 5/8" Striped Cotton Ribbon Item # 138417 Regular Price: $7.00 US/$8.75 CAN Discounted Price: $4.90 US/$6.13 CAN
	Tangelo Twist 5/8" Striped Cotton Ribbon Item # 138420 Regular Price: $7.00 US/$8.75 CAN Discounted Price: $5.25 US/$6.56 CAN
	Blackberry Bliss 5/8" Striped Cotton Ribbon Item # 138421 Regular Price: $7.00 US/$8.75 CAN Discounted Price: $5.25 US/$6.56 CAN
	Little Numbers Thinlits Dies Item # 138278 Regular Price: $20.00 US/$25.00 CAN Discounted Price: $15.00 US/$18.75 CAN
	Updated Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack Item # 138371 Regular Price: $8.00 US/$10.00 CAN Discounted Price: $6.00 US/$7.50 CAN
	Smoky Slate 5/8" Chevron Ribbon Item # 138403 Regular Price: $7.00 US/$8.75 CAN Discounted Price: $5.25 US/$6.56 CAN
	Fast Fuse Adhesive Refill Item # 129027 Regular Price: $7.50 US/$9.25 CAN Discounted Price: $5.25 US/$6.48 CAN
	Fun Frames Textured Impressions Embossing Folders Item # 133727 Regular Price: $8.50 US/$10.50 CAN Discounted Price: $5.95 US/$7.35 CAN

Sprinkles of Life Ice Cream Cone

I have been having a blast this month playing with my Sprinkles of Life stamp set and Cherry on Top designer paper stack.  I told myself that I was going to get serious about actually using the things I buy (you can relate, right?) so I sat down with my stamps, the coordinating Tree Builder Punch, the Cherry on Top stack, and a pile of cardstock and coordinating embellishments and went to town.  The punch and stamp set have proven to be extremely versatile.  You can create ice cream cones, and cupcakes, and tall or short baskets of flowers or leaves or apples.  You can create trees, and decorate any of the above with cherries or flowers or birds.  The sentiments lend themselves to a variety of occasions including birthday, friendship, encouragement, and love.  I just know I'll be coming back to this set again and again.  Stampin' Up! opted to make this set in a photopolymer, which is a great deal for you - the photopolymer allows them to give you more images for less money and they all fit in one slim DVD case, which takes up less room in your craft storage.  Not to mention, they donate $3 to Ronald McDonald House for every Sprinkles of Life set sold this catalog year!  Pretty sweet, right?  (Pun intended).  Thanks for stopping by today!  I look forward to seeing you here again soon.

Sprinkles of Life and Cherry on Top Ice Cream Cone CASE

I'm so excited!  Some friends approached me about teaching a class, and so this month I'm gathering four friends together to create four cards using the Sprinkles of Life stamp set, the coordinating Tree Builder punch, and Cherry on Top Designer Series paper.  Wish me luck!  :) This is one of the cards we'll be making together.  I was inspired by this card, but took some liberties of my own.  First, I wanted a little separation between my white circle and the patterned paper, so I put a Pool Party circle between them.  I used the Circles Collection Framelits Dies to cut these circles.  You'll also notice that she punched her circle so that it was more of a window.  It's a really cute effect, but I was afraid that might take too long in a class setting so I opted to just layer my circles on top of the patterned paper.  The angular pattern on this paper (from the Cherry on Top stack) is printed (deliberately) slight off-center.  I want to emphasize that, so when I trimmed the paper to fit the card, I made sure to cut it so that the angles became even more off center.  I completed the look with a narrow piece of Pool Party ribbon, a tag punched with the Word Window punch, and a little bit of Dazzling Details for a bit of sparkle, which was just the right amount of detail, I think.

Keep checking back in July for more projects featuring Cherry on Top and Sprinkles of Life.

Sprinkles of Life Cupcake CASE

Back when the Sprinkles of Life stamps first became available to demonstrators, I pinned this card. I just love how simple it was to make, yet how interesting the card looks.  I love lots of layers, lots of colors, and lots of textures...so this was right up my alley.  I love how the layout is balanced, but not symmetrical.  And I love how she used patterned paper to mimic the appearance of sprinkles on the cupcake (that paper is from the Cherry on Top stack).  As you can see, I made some adaptations of my own: I changed the color scheme a bit and elongated it from a square card to a rectangle one to fit in the envelopes that I keep on hand. Doing so allowed me room to add an extra banner. Speaking of banners, do you know how I made these?  Using the new Triple Banner Punch.  The product is advertised as making perfect 1", 1-1/2" and 2" wide banners, but really, as long as you are careful about centering you can make banners of any width up to 2".  For mine, I used scraps, so I didn't have those exact dimensions.  I had to be a little more careful in lining it up before punching, but it worked like a charm.  Thanks for stopping by today...be sure to come back throughout July to see more ideas using Sprinkles of Life and Cherry on Top.

STARS Thursday Challenge - Sketch Pad DSC#139

 As a demonstrator, I get to see the new catalog about a month before the rest of the world, and I knew immediately that it'd be on my very first order.  It's called Sprinkles of Life and has a ton of images and sentiments that can be mixed and matched to create lots of fun cards & accents for scrapbooks or other craft projects.  As if that weren't good enough, $3 from every purchase of this stamp gets donated by Stampin' Up! to the Ronald McDonald House.  So, really, adding this set to your collection is a no-brainer, right?  I decided to pair it with some of the patterns found in the stack of patterned paper called Cherry on Top.  Many of the papers are food- or birthday-oriented, but many more are generic enough to used for just about any occasion.  This paper features three of the new In Colors: Cucumber Crush, Tip Top Taupe, and Watermelon Wonder.  Working with them for this card made me fall in love with them.  Finally, my card was inspired by the sketch below. You can see that I swapped the stars out for flowers, and I added a bit of a border to the left side of my card, but otherwise it was pretty faithful to the sketch.

You should also check out the way my friends, and fellow STARS have interpreted this sketch:
Robyn Rasset - Butterfly Basics Get Well Card
Connie Plaumann - Cupcake Party Card
Ashley Martin Simmons - Celebrate Today Birthday Card
Judy Strickling - Pictogram Punches Shaker Card
Mackenzie Fuchs - Gift from the Garden and more!
Sharon Bennett - Scallop Tag Topper Punch card
Miriam Bollinger - Wild About Flowers Card
Dawn Olchefske - Metallic Doily Patriotic Card

Come back all this month to see projects featuring Sprinkles of Life and/or Cherry on Top.  You won't be disappointed.

Sprinkles of Life - my Stamp of the Month

This month, I'm teaching a class in my home featuring the Sprinkles of Life stamp set.  This set just came out in June with the new annual catalog.  As you can see, it's extremely versatile.  And it has a really cute coordinating punch, called the Tree Builder:


So be sure to check back often to see the ways I'm using these,  I will be using other products as well, but I will have a healthy share of these, too!  One of my goals to get more mileage out of the supplies I do own and hope this will inspire you to do the same.  Happy stamping!

IT'S HERE - the new catalog...and my NEW Favorite Things!!!

Click to View Stampin’ Up! 2015-2016 Annual Catalog

I’m pretty excited because yesterday was the start of new annual catalog for Stampin’ Up! (2015-2016 Annual Catalog).  Of course, there are a TON of stamps and other products that I love, but it can be overwhelming trying to figure out where to start, right?  So I’ve narrowed the list down to my top 10 favorite stamps based on their versatility or usability for every stamper, beginner or veteran alike!  Come back tomorrow to see my top 10 list for non-stamp products in our catalog.

What new Stampin’ Up! products are you anxious to get your hands on?  Feel free to leave a comment below…I love seeing what others think and why!

1.  One Big Meaning.  I love having a stash of thank you notes on hand, not just following birthdays and Christmas, but year round so I can drop notes in the mail when my family or friends do thoughtful things (I’m blessed to be surrounded by thoughtful people, I guess), so this variety of sizes, fonts and formality will be wonderful to have on hand.

Page 16: $27 (wood mount, #138788), $19 (red-rubber cling mount, #139420)

2.  Me = Grateful.  I’m always looking for fun sentiments or words to put on my artwork.  Generic stamp images and punch art sometimes need just the right phrase to change it from “just another flower card” to just the perfect card for the occasion!

Page 17: $28 (wood mount, #138786), $20 (red-rubber cling mount, #139319)

3.  No Bones about It.  The versatility of this set is not from the theme, but because it lends itself to perfectly to projects beyond cards….I can see school projects, scrapbook pages, and party decorations & favors being made from this stamp.  I’ll be getting this one ASAP to make a birthday card for my  nephew, who is crazy about dinosaurs right now.

Page 43: $26 (photopolymer, #138756)

4.  Build a Birthday.  Everyone needs a good birthday set, don’t you agree?  And what better set to have than one that allows you to play around with the different images to create many looks with one affordable set?  This set could be adapted to masculine or feminine cards, for recipients of all ages.  Not to mention, it could be adapted to other occasions as well.

Page 11: $16 (photopolymer, #138646) 

5.  Watercolor Wings.  Butterflies fall into the same category as flowers for me: beautiful, easy, timeless and versatile.  They can easily be made to fit many occasions by just modifying the colors, sentiment and accessories.  Not to mention, the exciting possibilities that open up because they coordinate with Bold Butterfly Framelits (new) and Butterflies Thinlit Dies, both on p. 172. Save 15% when you purchase the Watercolor Wings stamp set and Bold Butterfly as a bundle!

Page 75: $26 (photopolymer, #139424)

6. Dots for Days Background Stamp.  You can never go wrong with the ease and versatility of a background stamp.  I love the whimsical look created by the polka dots on this stamp, don’t you?

Page 129: $20 (wood mount, #138950), $15 (red-rubber cling mount, #139550)

 

8.  Watercolor Wash Background Stamp.  Two background stamps in the top 10?  Yes!!!  I believe so strongly in the versatility of background stamps that I typically buy every single one!  In this case, the watercolor image is so on-trend that it makes it a cinch to make contemporary cards & other projects.  And if you’re like me, you kind of like the messy-perfect look – you want the look of random but you want it to be just right – this is the solution!

Page 129: $20 (wood mount, #138704), $15 (red-rubber cling mount, #139538)

 

9.  Sprinkles of Life.  Want to do a little good while participating in your hobby?  Look no further than this versatile set that has an irresistible coordinating punch!  I love this set so much I’m planning a class in June using this set.  Also, a portion of the proceeds benefit the Ronald McDonald House charity...not a bad deal!

Page 189: $21 (photopolymer, #139971)

And last, but certainly not least…

10.  Best Thoughts.  This hostess stamp set features one beautiful, large floral image (good for oh, so many occasions), one small sweet butterfly, and two beautifully penned sentiments.  The fun part about this stamp set is that you’ll “just have to” place a large order OR host a workshop to earn it…oh, darn shopping or girls night, what a shame! ;)  Contact me for help with either and we’ll work out a plan that works best for you!

Page 180: $14 worth of hostess money (wood mount, #139234), $10 worth of hostess money (red-rubber client mount, #138700)

Happy stamping,

~Michelle