Stampin' up! Summer Mini - SA Blog Hop

Welcome to my stop on the Stampin' Addicts Summer Mini Blog Hop - a blog tour showcasing the Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalog! The Summer Mini Catalog goes live on May 1st and you are going to love some of the fun, new and exciting products in this mini catalog! This Blog Hop will give you lots of ideas featuring the Summer Mini products and I hope you are inspired in your own stamping and creating. You may have arrived from Stamping with Melissa. If not, you can continue the blog hop in a circle from the link at the bottom of my post and you'll find yourself right back here, having traveled the full circle of the Stampin' Addicts Blog Hop.

My blog stop is featuring the Simply Adorned line of Charms and Chains from Stampin' Up! These beautiful charms are not a brand new item for Stampin' Up! They have been featuring them in the last two Mini Catalogs, but I am excited to show you some of the ways I created inserts for the Charms and also some of the different ways to wear these beautiful accessories. Next week I will take a closer look at some of these projects as well as offer my tips for the easiest way to create your Charm Inserts.

Here is a necklace I made using three of the Charms, 1 x 1.25 Rectangle, 5/8" Square, 5/8" Circle, along with a Satin Flower I made. I added several loops of Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon to the Satin Flower, which is a poly satin fabric cut with the Circles #2 die for the Big Shot, heated with the Heat Gun to curl the edges, finished with a Clear Rhinestone Brad in the center.

Two of the inserts for these charms are pieces of the Nouveau Chic Designer Series Paper covered with Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder and stamped images. For the 5/8" Square insert, I stamped the fluer from Elements of Style stamp (new in the Summer Mini) in StazOn Jet Black ink, covered it with Iridecent Ice Embossing Powder and added the rhinestone center from a small Clear Rhinestone Brad.




Here is another necklace made from the Satin Flowers and the Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon. Here I grouped three of the flowers together on a Ribbon necklace and dangled a 5/8" Circle Charm from the center of one. This charm insert is simply En Francais stamped onto Lavender Lace cardstock with a purple rhinestone center from a small Ice Rhinestone Brad. These Satin Flowers can be grouped together on a Necklace chain or ribbon, or on a Bracelet chain or ribbon, or even used alone on a broach pin.

Here is a more colorful Satin Flower with a dangling 5/8" Circle Charm. This particular flower has a pin backing so it can be added to a shirt, jacket, scarf or purse for a great pop of color. This charm insert is a portion of the Elements of Style flower stamp, colored and then covered in Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder.





Finally, here is another trio of Charms, 1 x 1.25" Rectangle, 5/8" Square, 5/8" Circle, all created on Window Sheets for a gorgeous transparent look. For the Rectangle Charm Insert, I stamped the Elements of Style stamp in Silver Encore Ink and embossed it with Silver Embossing Powder. Then I dyed a flower from my Pretties Kit by pressing it into my Only Orange stamp pad and letting it dry. This is adhered to the embossed Window Sheet with a touch of Tombow Mono Multi adhesive and I added a rhinestone center from a small Fire Rhinestone Brad. The two 5/8" Charm Inserts are the Elements of Style flower stamped with StazOn Jet Black Ink onto a window Sheet and accessorized with a rhinestone center of a small Fire Rhinestone Brad for one and the tiniest butterfly from the Beautiful Wings Embosslit for the other. I love the transparency of these charms!





Thank you for swinging through here on your Stampin' Addicts Blog Hop. I hope you were inspired to check out the Simply Adorned line of Charms and Chains from Stampin' Up! I have had the best time stamping and creating with the tiny canvas of these Charms and have loved wearing my custom art!

Click here to go to the next Blog Stop, Lily's Ink Pad, where she is featuring the new stamp set Favorite Thoughts. Be sure to check back here on my blog next week to see some close ups of these Charms and Inserts as well as some Tips and Tricks for working with such a small canvas. Be sure to check out Stampin' Addicts for positive Stampin' Up! inspiration and give me a shout out when you're there - my screen name is MaryR.

Graduation Cards - Happy Grad

It's getting to be that time of year - time to celebrate Graduations and Weddings. I made several cards for these type of celebrations over the weekend. I used a new set from the Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalog called Happy Grad. The Summer Mini Catalog starts on May 1st, so this is a bit of a sneak peak I guess.

I made about 15 Graduation cards and kept mostly to the Black and White color scheme with some silver and occasionally a bit of gold. As I made them my husband said they were 'girly', so here's one that I kept a little low key and hopefully it's not quite as 'girly.' I did add a few swirls from the edge of the Baroque Motif stamp set.



{Inside}
Recipe: Stamps: Happy Grad, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Baroque Motif
Cardstock: Basic Gray, Basic Black Textured, Whisper White
Ink: Stazon Jet Black
Accessories:Circle Designer Brads, Wide Oval Punch






Here's another graduation card I made using the Happy Grad stamp set. This card shows the full image of the stamp. In the card above, I only used the lower portion of the stamp on the front of the card. This card uses some pieces of the retired Designer Series Paper Night & Day. I only had some small scraps of it left from last fall, but those pieces worked great for this design.

I stamped the Happy Grad stamp in StazOn Jet Black ink onto a piece of Whisper White Cardstock. Then I covered that with VersaMark Ink. Finally, a dusting of Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder to give it lots of sparkle. Again I used the Baroque Motif stamp set for the swirls on the edge of the card, this time in Silver Encore Ink.

{Inside}
Recipe
Stamps: Happy Grad, Baroque Motif
Cardstock: Basic Gray, Basic Black, Whisper White, Night & Day DSP
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Silver Encore
Accessories: Ticket Corner Punch, Vintage Brads (Silver), White Taffeta Ribbon

April Showers Bring May Flowers - Stamp Buffet

April Showers Bring May Flowers Gift Class
Friday April 23 5:30 pm
Buffet Style Gift Class
RSVP required 763.614.9735 or e-mail me

Let me help you with your Mother's Day Gift items and end of year Teacher Gifts! You can create as many of these gift items as you'd like and many are offered in your choice color combinations.


Satin Flower Pins $3 each or 2/$5
Create these beautiful Satin Flowers and string them on a ribbon for a beautiful gift wrap accent or add a pin backing for a gorgeous accessory for your jacket, purse or scarf. Available in many color combinations, RSVP with your choice colors.

Tin of Chocolates $3
Add this window tin with 4 Chocolates. Perfect for a small hostess or teacher gift.
Does not include Satin Flowers.




Card Folder and Card Set $12
Create 6 elegant cards and a coordinating Stationary Folder to hold them. Buy the Fifth Avenue Floral Stamp set for 20% off this month!









Paper Roses and Gift Tag $2
Choose the colors and papers for your Paper Roses and Gift Tag to personalize for your recipient.












Rolodex Birthday Calendar $20
Here's another chance to make a Rolodex Birthday Calendar. You can make this beautiful and functional Perpetual Calendar and Address Keeper in your choice color combination. Includes the Rolodex Tray.








Medallion Coaster Set $15
A gorgeous and functional set of 4 coasters, includes cork backing and ribbon tie.

Please e-mail me to RSVP for this class today!

Scrapbooking - a Very Good Bye

Here is one of the scrap pages from this month's Scrap A Stack. I used the Wanted stamp set from Stampin' Up! for the background stamping. The title is a mix of Schoolbook Serif alphabet from Stampin' Up! and Serif Essentials Bigz letters cut with my Big Shot.

Blog Hop coming soon!

BOLO! - Be On the Look Out for a cheery Stampin' Up Summer Mini Blog Hop from several of the stampers at Stampin' Addicts. We'll be showcasing several of the new products and new stamps in the upcoming Summer Mini Catalog from Stampin' Up! You'll love all the great ideas and will find tons of inspiration for your own projects.

The Blog Hop will be a big circle, so you can come back here on April 30th and start from my blog. Or you can jump in at any blog on the Blog Hop and you'll find links to every stamper participating.

Be sure to stop by Stampin' Addicts for Stampin' Up! inspiration and ideas every day of the week!

Stampin' Addicts Color Challenge - Bride Specialty Paper

My friend Trina hosts the Color Challenges at Stampin' Addicts every Friday and this week SACC50 color combination is Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie and More Mustard. Trina's card was completely gorgeous of course - you'll have to go check it out! Here's mine with just a tiny bit of actual stamping! I used the XL Flower Punch and the Tiny Tags stamp set from Stampin' Up! in the Occasions Mini Catalog (which ends April 30!) I also used the Bride Specialty Paper and a Sponge Dauber to color it - so pretty!

{Inside}
Recipe
Stamps: Tiny Tags
Cardstock: Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard, Whisper White, Bride Specialty
Ink: Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard
Accessories: XL Flower Punch, Latte Buttons, 3/4" Circle Punch, White Satin Ribbon, Flower Brads, Scallop Edge Punch, Medium Jewelry Tag Punch

Big Shot - Fabric Heated Flowers

Here are a couple of the Satin Flower Pins I made today with my Big Shot from Stampin' Up! These beautiful flowers can be added to pony tail holders or headbands, scarves or purses or wherever you'd like. I added pin backs to these so they are removable.

Satin Flower Pins are another of the gift items that will be offered at my April Showers Bring May Flowers Gifts Class on April 23rd. You will be able create so many great gift ideas for spring birthdays or Mother's Day at this Buffet Style Class. More details posted soon.

{And please let the new Daffodil Delight be a yummy buttery yellow like this one.}

Stampin' Up! Color Renovation!

Stampin' Up! announced a major Color Renovation today with some exciting NEW Colors and New Collections! Colors and styles are constantly changing and cycling—and Stampin’ Up!wants to stay on top of current trends. This change is going to give us so many new color options. The colors that are retiring, will be restocked and available for sale until June 1st, 2010. June 1 through June 30, 2010, all of these retiring colors will only be available as supplies last. The NEW (and some returning previous In Colors) will debut in the newly aligned Color Collections beginning in July 2010.

Here is a Fond Farewell file of the colors that will be retiring in June. If you have any favorites here, be sure to order cardstock and accessories - Ribbons, Markers, Ink Pads, Watercolor Crayons, etc. You will definitely want to add some Re-inkers to your supplies, too, so that you can keep your ink pads and markers refreshed! If you want to shop online now, just click here to go to my Online Store.







Current Colors that will retire June 30, 2010

glorious green
green galore
gable green
yoyo yellow
only orange
pink passion
pixie pink
orchid opulence
lovely lilac
brilliant blue
close to cocoa
creamy caramel
really rust
ruby red
cameo coral
summer sun
bordering blue
brocade blue
ballet blue
taken with teal
handsome hunter
pale plum
blush blossom
apricot appeal
barely banana
mellow moss
sage shadow
almost amethyst
lavender lace
basic brown
going gray

Clearance Rack Shopping Online

You have to check out the Clearance Rack from Stampin' Up! There are some old favorites there at crazy low prices. These items can only be ordered online and are only available while supplies last - go to my online store and check it out! There are TONS of new items in there, including Designer Series Paper Raspberry Tart and Bella Birds (my absolute favorite over the last several years!), Baja Breeze buttons, Kiwi Kiss ribbons, rubons, chipboard, and much more!

I couldn't believe the prices--Simply Scrappin' Kits for eight bucks (regularly priced at $19.95), double sided Designer Series papers for just 3.99 a pack, ribbon for just $3.00 a spool!

The only problem is, everything is first come, first serve--and you have to order online through my website. So go check it out and find some of those items you thought you missed out on!

Thank You Cards - Fifth Ave Floral

These are the Thank You cards that I tucked in the bag of my March and April customers who placed an order with me. This card set will also be featured in my April Showers Bring May Flowers Gift Class. The Fifth Ave Floral stamp set from Stampin' Up! paired with the fun and trendy In Color cardstock colors makes a beautiful assortment of cards. This card design is based on the stamp style of Kristina Werner.

Here are photos of the same design with a variety of thank you sentiments in each of the In Colors, Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo, Dusty Durango, Soft Suede. What card color is missing? It's the Rich Razzleberry! I ran out of Rich Razzleberry cardstock last week {sob} creating the Awash With Flower cards.

Workshop card - Garden Whimsy

This beautiful spring card is one we stamp at my March and April workshops. The Garden Whimsy stamp set from Stampin' Up! is such a fun set with a beautiful tulip, a large and small butterfly, some adorable little bugs and a couple of great sentiments. It works for so many different occasions including birthday and Mother's Day cards. I just love the round sentiment in this set which a variation of a Walt Whitman quote. The stamp reads "the time to be happy is now. the place to be happy is here."

I would love to share this card with you and your friends at a workshop in your house or at my Stamp Space. We'll also do some Stampin' Techniques with a Stampers 101 Placemat and another fun card in bold colors with the same Garden Whimsy stamp set. Hold a $350 workshop in April and you can earn a lot of Free Hostess Benefits AND the Awash with Flowers stamp set will be yours FREE as well.