My First Freak Swap

As many of you know the Control Freaks started out as a group of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators that wanted to be able to swap with other demonstrators who were all willing to commit to be held to a very high standard of creativity, artistry, and workmanship. The blog tours that give the Freaks the most publicity are a fairly recent thing.

The Freaks have a swap with every new mini catalog and IB&C release. I was fortunate enough to get into the group in time to be included in the swap for the new Occasions Mini catalog This was my first Freak swap and I was a tad bit stressed over making sure that I lived up to the standards and produced a great product. Fortunately, I had nothing to worry about as far as having great products to use in the process! The Occasions Mini is PACKED with fabulous new stamps, accessories, and tools!

The stamp set I chose to use for my swaps was the new “P.S. I Love You” set. I love how this set has great images and sentiments combined to make the perfect Valentine or a simple heart-felt wish of love to someone dear.

I also used a variety of products from our Twitterpated Suite and also played with our new Framelits and Edgelits dies.

 

So without further ado … here’s the card I created:

I was blown away by the swaps I received in return and truly felt like the work I put into mine was truly worth the wonderful swaps I got in return. I only hope that each of the ladies I swapped with feel the same about my creation.

Thanks for stopping by today. Let me know you were here!

SUPPLIES USED:

Stamps: “P.S. I Love You”; Paper: Blushing Bride, Riding Hood Red, Pear Pizzazz, Island Indigo, Whisper White,  Baja Breeze, Twitterpated DSP; Ink: Island Indigo; Accessories: Blushing Bride Pleated Satin Ribbon, Twitterpated Designer Buttons, Pearls Basic Jewels, White Bakers Twine, Dimensionals; Tools: Hearts Collection Framelits Dies, Adorning Accents Edgelits Dies, Adorning Accents Embossing Folders, Scalloped Heart Embosslit Die, Full Heart punch, Hearts Galore punch, Modern Label punch

I’m a Control Freak!!

I’m so excited to announce that I am a member of the Control Freaks swap and blog tour group!!

I have been a great admirer of the Control Freaks and their fabulous creations for a while now as I tour their blogs during their monthly blog tour. I have a few friends who have part of the group for a while. One of them suggested that I look into becoming a part of the group because the work I do is of the quality they are always looking for. In October I was officially made a part of the group. I decided to wait to make the announcement until it was time for the tour. I will be doing my first swap with the group in December and I am so VERY excited!

Now on to the tour …

WELCOME to the November 2011 Control Freaks Blog Tour!!!

We are showcasing projects based on the idea of keeping things simple. In the Stamping World, it’s called K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stamper). Since we’re still in the Christmas season I decided to make my simple creations Christmas based.

You have probably joined me after visiting our leader, Lisa Martz’s blogand you can click on the "next blog" button at the bottom of the post to continue on the tour.

Our tour officially starts on Sunday, November 20th.. so if you are joining us early, some of the blog tour links may not be quite up yet.. so please check back Saturday morning for the full tour.

Here’s a preview of all three of my projects:

One of the things I like to do if I’m trying to keep things simple is to take full advantage of the work Stampin Up has already done for me. I love how easy it is to make an awesome project using our coordinating products. The other thing I like to do is focus on one stamp set. There are often plenty of images in one stamp set to do everything I need on my project that there’s no need to use more than one.

I decided I wanted to focus on our Polar Party stamp set from the Idea Book & Catalog for these projects.

The trio of trees in this stamp set is by far my most favorite image in the set. I may not have purchased it if this image wasn’t in the set (although I do like the rest as well). This project was made super simple for me by following the color scheme that Stampin Up had already established in our Christmas Lane Simply Scrappin Kit. I used a piece of DSP from the kit and then used all products and colors that coordinate with the set.

It’s difficult to tell by this image, but the center tree has glittery ornaments. I simply used one of our Blender Pens and dipped the tip of it into our Champagne Shimmer Paint to color each of the ornaments.

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Polar Party, Petite Pairs; Paper: Christmas Lane DSP, Lucky Limeade, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White; Ink: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Lucky Limeade, Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Bashful Blue; Accessories: Cherry Cobbler Scalloped Dots ribbon, Dazzling Details, Champagne Shimmer Paint, Blender Pen

I am one of those that is a fan of nontraditional Christmas Colors. I love having blues, pinks, and other colors that give Christmas projects more of a whimsy feel for me. Here I paired Marina Mist with Old Olive simply because those are colors that are part of the palette of the Letters to Santa DSP.

I really wanted to add some shimmer and glimmer to this card, so once again I turned to our shimmer paints. I brushed the Frost White Shimmer Paint around the edge of the Top Note shape as well as colored the bear in with Frost White Shimmer Paint using a Blender Pen. Then I turned to our Dazzling Details and Dazzling Diamonds to add some glitter to the project. I finished it off by adding some bling with our rhinestone jewels.

Take a look at the image below to see it better:

The blues I used to color the bear are the exact same color. For the lighter blue I used a blender pen and picked the ink up from my ink pad really lightly. For the darker blue I used our Stampin Write marker of the same color.

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Polar Party; Paper: Letters to Santa DSP, Marina Mist, Whisper White; Ink: Basic Black, Marina Mist, Lucky Limeade, Real Red; Accessories: Bashful Blue satin ribbon, Dazzling Details, Frost White Shimmer Paint, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Dazzling Details, Northern Flurry snowflake die, Rhinestone jewels, Blender Pen

This pillow box turned out different that I had originally planned. I had planned to hang a tag from it stamped with an image from Polar Party to fit with my other projects. But after I got the box and snowflakes cut from our glimmer paper, I just didn’t want to cover them up at all and I felt the box said plenty all by itself.

I just love the glimmer and shimmer that our new glimmer paper has. I can’t wait to see even more colors come out in the future!

Supplies Used:

Paper: Red & silver Shimmer Paper; Accessories: Northern Flurry snowflake die, Sizzix pillow box die, Whisper White taffeta ribbon, rhinestone jewels

I hope you’ve enjoyed my first ever contribution to the Control Freaks Blog Tour!! You’ll find more simple yet fabulous inspiration as you continue on to Barb Mullikin’s blog.

Thank you for joining me!

Join me Saturday ...

Join me on Saturday, November 20 for an exciting announcement!

I'll give you a little sneak peek though. It looks something like this ...

**FREE** Digital Downloads

 

Celebrate Digital Scrapbooking Day with Stampin' Up! for a four-day online event designed to introduce more of our customers to our digital content. Digital Scrapbooking Day is November 5, but we'll keep the celebration going from November 4-7! The event will include free downloads, blog posts with exciting project ideas all weekend long, and the announcement of the 2011 My Digital Studio Contest winners.

Here’s a peek at the free downloads:

 

Don’t miss out on this fun opportunity to become familiar with Stampin’ Up’s digital software and content!

Click the image below to be taken to the My Digital Studio site where you can join in on the celebration!

Christmas Mini Album Class

Christmas CD Holder Mini Album

Get a jump on your holiday preparations with this fabulous album!

Sign up today for my Christmas CD Holder Mini Album class (if you're local)

or order a full kit of the class (if you're not local).

This fun and festive mini album is not only beautiful and easy to make,

but it is also very interactive and loads of fun to decorate, fill, and then enjoy!

(They make wonderful gifts too whether filled or empty!)

With all of the necessary supplies included (even the ribbon and other details),

this class is a steal at only $25!

You can sign up for the class by emailing me here or contacting me through my Stampin Up website. Please sign up ASAP so I can order the correct amount of kits that I will need.

If a kit needs to be shipped to you there will be an additional shipping charge.

Contact me today to reserve your spot!!

Giving Thanks!

Welcome to the October 2011 Pals Blog Hop! This month is all about “giving thanks” whether it be with Thank You cards or Thanksgiving inspired cards. You’ve likely arrived here from Leah O’Brien’s blog at Leah’s Stampin’ Corner and I’m so glad you’ve stopped by! I am stop #7 on today’s hop, but if you need to see a lineup, please see the list at the bottom of this post.

Stampin’ Up provided us with the absolute PERFECT products this year for our Fall and Thanksgiving themed projects. I am so in love with the Spice Cake Suite found in the 2011 Holiday Mini that I’m already panicking about what I’m going to do when it’s not available anymore! Thankfully it’s been made available in My Digital Studio, so I never have to worry about it going away forever!

This month in my club meeting, I wanted to feature the Spice Cake Suite along with the FABULOUS stamp sets we have to celebrate Fall & Thanksgiving. My customers all loved these products as much as I do and couldn’t wait to order their own. If you fall in love with them as well and want to order your own, please visit my online store.

Now onto the fabulous feast …

This first project features the Gently Falling stamp set, Spice Cake DSP, and the Spice Cake Fabric all from the Holiday Mini. I am so thankful for such perfectly coordinating products!!

This project features older stamp sets with newer accessories. We used the Day of Gratitude and En Francais stamp sets which can be found in the IB&C along with the Spice Cake DSP from the Holiday Mini and the Soft Suede Taffeta Ribbon which is new in the catalog this year! I’m grateful for new products that beautifully compliment tried and true products from the past!!

This fun fold card not only featured our beautiful products that the other cards used, but it also featured the use of our FABULOUS Simply Scored Tool which premiered in the Holiday Mini catalog. This wonderful tool made it so easy to score up a bunch of these accordion fold cards! I’m so thankful for fun and fabulous tools that make creating my projects easier and more fun!

 

When I saw the Leaves of a Tree a la carte stamp in the back of the Holiday Mini, I immediately fell in love with it and knew I would be purchasing it and using it my creations. Though this beautiful single image stamp looks best when it is colored, it is also gorgeous stamped in a single color. For our coloring method we used blender pens and ink straight from the ink pads. I am grateful that the DSP made it so easy to decide which colors to use to make the best looking image to coordinate with my card!!

This card is not a project we made in club, but one I made ahead of time to show to my club customers. This is a card that features not only beautifully coordinated papers, colors, inks, and fabrics but also a plethora of tools that are made to work together to create beautiful works of art. Here I used our Simply Scored Tool, Big Shot Dies, Circle Scissor Plus, Circle punches, and dimensionals to get a beautifully layered card. I am so thankful for all of my fun tools that make my creations so enjoyable to put together!

So there you have it. Those are some of my Fall/Thanksgiving creations using fun and fabulous coordinating products and tools exclusive to Stampin’ Up. I’m so glad you stopped by to visit today!

Please leave me a comment to let me know you were here and I would love to hear what you’re most thankful for as well!

Continue along the Pals hop by visiting Barbara Chatzkel at Take Out Paper Arts. You can also click the “Next” or “Previous” buttons below or use the full lineup to move around the hop. I hope you enjoy all the amazing projects that are in store for you!

                                                 
 
Nancy Gleason at http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/mystampinspace/blog
Sandie Conner at http://www.prettyprovisions.com/
Cindy Hall at http://www.prettyimpact.com/
Kylie Nicolosi at http://www.kyliescraftycorner.blogspot.com/
Nina Dee at http://www.deesignsbyninadee.blogspot.com/
Leah O'Brien at http://www.leahsstampincorner.com/
Jason Casper at http://www.stampindad.com/
Barbara Chatzkel at http://www.takeoutpaperarts.com/
Mike Funke at http://stampin-style.typepad.com/stampin-style/
Mary Fish at http://www.stampinpretty.com/
Nicole Watt at http://www.impressionsbynicole.com/
Barb Furlong at http://www.theloveofstamping.com/
Jennifer Takacs at http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/jenntakacs/blog
Mikki Sarkisyan at http://www.mikkiscreativecorner.blogspot.com/
Patti MacLeith at http://papercraftsbypatti.blogspot.com/
Rae Harper at http://wildwestpaperarts.com/
Camila McManus at http://www.obxscrapbook.wordpress.com/

Thank you to the following stampers for their inspiration:
catrules
Jill Coleman
Tessa Wise

Halloween Hopping!!!

Welcome to the September Pals Hop! This month, we're featuring Fall and Halloween inspired projects! Enjoy the hop and the amazing creations that the Pals have come up with.

You've likely hopped over from Camila McManus at OBX Scrapbook, I'm stop number 22 on the Pals Hop and I'm glad you hopped in! I'll help you "hop along" from blog to blog where you'll find great ideas for Fall and Halloween paper projects from the Stampin' Pretty Pals! Should you hop off course, simply click on any of the links in the Pals Hop Line-up below and you'll be back on track!

Since I planned my September club meeting to be all Halloween cards, I thought this blog hop would be a great opportunity to share those cards with you.

I had a customer recently ask me to include some chalking techniques in some of the cards we make at club so she can learn to use the Stampin’ Pastels she recently bought.So I decided that the Haunted Forest a la carte stamp from the Holiday Mini would be the perfect image to use to do some chalking with. I combined the image with some Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, More Mustard, Always Artichoke, and Cajun Craze for a beautiful palette of Fall colors!

I definitely wanted to use the Out on a Limb stamp set from the Holiday Mini to do one of our Halloween cards, but I struggled to come up with a design that I liked very much. This one is a pretty shameless CASE from my uber-talented friend Heather Summers. Of course I changed up a few things to make it my own and had to simplify a few other things for my club customers. You can view Heather’s card here.

Several of my customers have made it very clear just how much they love the Wicked Cool stamp set in the IB&C since it debuted last year. I definitely have to agree with them that it is one of my favorite Halloween sets to use. The set is full of great Halloween images without being too creepy or too cutesy (and those shoes are just so sassy!). This card is based on a swap I received at Convention this year because one of my customers loved the design and idea and demanded we do it in club!

This card is probably my most favorite one we did this month at club. This is a version of a card I created to use as swaps at Convention this year. I decided to change up a couple of colors and design elements on this version though. I absolutely LOVE our letterpress plates and this Trick or Treat one is by far my favorite!! My customers really enjoyed getting to use this plate! The inside of the card is done using our Bring on the Bats jumbo wheel and only the sentiment from the Haunted Forest a la carte stamp in the Holiday Mini. The closeup shot shows how we spritzed the image with some shimmer mist and some black ink for detail and texture.

    

I hope you’ve enjoyed the projects I had to share with you today as part of the Stampin’ Pretty Pals Fall Hop. Please be sure to sign up to receive email updates and stay tuned throughout the month as I continue to share more Halloween cards and projects that I have in store!

Now hop along for more inspiring ideas from Jeanne Norris at My Creative Impressions. If you’d like to hop over to another location on the list, use the line up listed below.

                                           








1. Jeanne Norris at http://www.mycreativeimpressions.com
2. Patt MacLeith at http://papercraftsbypatti.blogspot.com
3. Melanie Collines at http://oopsadaisy.typepad.com
4. Ann Schach at http://www.stampinchic.com
5. Mikki Sarkisyan at http://www.mikkiscreativecorner.blogspot.com
6. Leah O'Brien at http://www.leahobrien.com
7. Mary Fish at http://www.stampinpretty.com
8. Barb Furlong at http://www.theloveofstamping.com
9. Linda Fisher at http://lindas-stampinloft.blogspot.com
10. Mike Funke at http://stampin-style.typepad.com/stampin-style
11. Nancy Gleason at http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/mystampinspace/blog
12. Joan Norris at http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/clearlycreative/blog
13. Barbara Chatzkel at http://takeoutpaperarts.com
14. Kylie Nicolosi at http://kyliescraftycorner.blogspot.com
15. Cindy Hall at http://www.prettyimpact.com
16. Nina Dee at http://www.deesignsbyninadee.blogspot.com
17. Sandie Conner at http://www.prettyprovisions.com
18. Nicole Watt at http://www.impressionsbynicole.com
19. Rae Harper at http://wildwestpaperarts.com
20. Debbie Pierce at http://www.stampinsunshine.com
21. Camila McManus at http://www.obxscrapbook.wordpress.com
22. Jason Casper at http://www.stampindad.com
 
Thank you for stopping by today and I hope you have enjoyed our hop! Don’t forget to leave a comment to let me know you were here!

Thank you to the following stampers for their inspiration:
kvsquires

3-D Blog Hop by the Pals

Seeing as it’s been a long time since I’ve been blogging regularly, it’s also been a long time since I’ve participated in one of the Pals blog hops. So I decided it would be another great incentive for me to get back into the saddle again.

Welcome to the August Pals Hop! This month, we're featuring fun and creative three dimensional projects! Enjoy the hop and the amazing creations that the Pals have come up with.

You've likely hopped over from Barbara Chatzkel’s Take Out Paper Arts, I'm stop number 4 on the Pals Hop and I'm glad you stopped in! I'll help you along from blog to blog where you'll find great ideas for 3-D paper projects from the Stampin' Pretty Pals! Should you get off course, simply click on any of the links in the Pals Hop Line-up below and you'll be back on track.

Normally I like to share more than just one project when I post for a blog hop. This project took me a while to complete though and I think it’s GORGEOUS enough to stand alone as my blog post. Without further ado:

This is my Halloween Rosette Wreath. For any of you who have already seen the 2011 Holiday Mini catalog, you will know where the inspiration for this project comes from.

I was SO EXCITED to use my new Simply Scored tool (debuting in the Holiday Mini) that I had to make sure I used it to create my 3-D project. I have LOVED making these fun little rosettes over the past year to put on my projects and this FABULOUS new tool made it so much easier for me to do!! I can’t wait to share the Simply Scored scoring tool with all of you in Bloggerland and with my customers!

Here’s another view:

I was also REALLY excited to do a Halloween project using the new Spooky Bingo Bits from the Idea Book & Catalog as well as the new Hand Penned Holidays from the Holiday Mini catalog! Halloween is just one of my FAVORITE holidays and I always love making decorations for it!

Enjoy a few closeups of the project:

I hope this fun little project gets you excited about the endless possibilities available with the new Simply Scored scoring tool like it has for me!

Continue along the hop lineup to Melanie Collins blog at Oopsadaisy where you will find more fun and inspiring 3-D projects for your crafty delight!

Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to leave me a comment to let me know you were here!

 

 

 

 

 

1. Stephanie Uzee at http://www.stampinwithsuzee.blogspot.com

2. Nicole Watt at http://www.impressionsbynicole.com

3. Barbara Chatzkel at http://www.takeoutpaperarts.com

4. Jason Casper at http://www.stampindad.com

5. Melanie Collins at http://www.oopsadaisy.typepad.com/

6. Carmen Sublasky at http://creativestamptuary.typepad.com/the-creative-stamptuary/

7. Patti MacLeith at http://papercraftsbypatti.blogspot.com/

8. Sandie Conner at http://www.prettyprovisions.com/

9. Nina Dee at http://www.deesignsbyninadee.blogspot.com/

10. Leah O'Brien at http://www.leahobrien.com/

11. Mary Fish at http://www.stampinpretty.com/

12. Rae Harper at http://wildwestpaperarts.com/

13. Kylie Nicolsi at http://www.kyliescraftycorner.blogspot.com/

14. Pam Giudici at http://www.pamshobby.blogspot.com/

15. Linda Fisher at http://lindas-stampinloft.blogspot.com/

16. Mikki Sarkisyan at http://www.mikkiscreativecorner.blogspot.com/

17. Martha Stewart at http://www.seasonsofstamping.com/

18. Mike Fuke at http://stampin-style.typepad.com/stampin-style/

19. Barb Furlong at http://www.theloveofstamping.com/

BUY 3 GET 1 FREE!!

 

Stampin’ Up is offering an exciting opportunity during August to stock up on our exclusive Designer Series Papers! For every 3 packages of DSP that you buy in August (on the same order) you will receive one for FREE!!

Promotion Dates: August 1-31, 2011

Promotion Details: During August, get a FREE package of Designer Series Paper when you buy three!  Stock up on all your favorites, including brand-new designs from the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog.

Things to Remember:

• There is no limit to the number of free packages of Designer Series Paper you can earn.
• Take advantage of this opportunity through online, workshop, or club orders!
• Specialty Designer Series Paper and Hostess Designer Series Paper are not part of this promotion and cannot be redeemed through this offer.
• On-line ordering deadline is Aug. 31 at 11:50 P.M. MT

Contact me today or visit my online store to place your order!