Simple Valentine

This is a valentine we've been making at my workshops recently and it fit the bill for the SUO Challenge this week!

Card Recipe: Pool Party and Very Vanilla card stock, More Amore DSP (this includes the printed paper AND the laser cut heart), Red Glimmer Paper, Full Heart and Small Heart punches, Bloomin' Marvelous Sale-a-Bration stamp set, Soft Suede and Pool Party Ink, stampin' sponge, Dimensionals.

If you would like to share paper-crafting like this with your friends at a class at your house AND earn EXTRA free supplies from Stampin' Up! during Sale-a-Bration, I only have a few dates left, so call me and let's plan a party! 801-376-8685

A Way with Words

Sometimes words just speak for themselves: That's how I feel about the new "Feel Goods" stamp set in the Spring Catalog! The quotes are uplifting and positive, and don't we each know someone who could use a little encouragement or appreciation? The challenge is sometimes how to create the card with words as the focal point. Here's one idea I wanted to share with you today:

Go ahead, make someone "Feel Good" by sending them a card today!

Card Recipe (all supplies from Stampin' Up!): Pretty in Pink, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla card stock, Early Espresso and Crumb Cake ink pad, Tea for Two Designer Series Paper (129311), Feel Goods stamp set (Spring Catalog pg 21), Labels Collection Framelits (125598), Designer Builder Brads (129329), 1 3/4 Scallop Circle Punch (119854), Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (118309), 5/8" Crochet Trim (118481), Honeycomb Embossing Folder (129378) and Big Shot (113439), stamping sponge (101610) and sanding block (129367) 

 

Sentimental Journey (S-A-B) + Musical Treat

Feeling Sentimental may be my favorite Sale-a-Bration stamp set! It evokes a whimsical sense of the past and is perfect for masculine cards, too :) Best of all, it's one of the choices you can choose FREE when you spend $50 before March 22nd!

To make it even easier, I created these cards with a custom kit that will create 48 cards:

Crumb Cake 8.5"x11" card stock (120953) $6.95
Black card 8.5"x11" card stock (121045) $6.95
Very Vanilla 8.5"x11" card stock (101650) $8.50
Silver Glimmer Paper (124005) $4.95
First Edition Specialty Designer Series Paper (121878) $12.95
Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon (122332) $6.95
Basic Black Stamp Pad (126980) $5.95
TOTAL: $53.20 (+tax and shipping)
+ Get the Feeling Sentimental stamp set FREE!!!

If you already have any of the supplies, you can substitute one of these items:
Crumb Cake envelopes (107297) $6.50
Stamping Sponges (101610) $3.50
SNAIL refill (104331) $4.50

There will be plenty of supplies left over...the only things you may need to order more of (in order to make more of the same cards) would be the Crumb Cake card stock and ribbon. You can choose your Sale-a-Bration stamps in wood mounted OR clear mount. If you choose the latter, you will need clear block D (118485) with it.

Here's another version using the same supplies (the bow makes it a little more feminine, too):

Shop, Host or Join!

And for your listening pleasure today, I want to share one of our family's favorite new songs that we've been singing around the house...the music video is incredibly delightful, too:

Sale-A-Bration: How Will You Party?

If you need an excuse to party, permission granted! You can party in THREE ways during Sale-a-Bration...choose all that apply:

1. HOST (Invite your friends over to craft together and earn fantastic freebies!)
2. SHOP (Free products for every $50 you spend!)
3. JOIN (Party all the time when you join my Stampin' Up! Family!)

Tomorrow: See the "Feeling Sentimental" Sale-a-Bration stamp set in action!

All the Single Stampers (Put a Stamp On It!)

All the Single Stampers (All the Single Stampers!)

All the Single Stampers (All the Single Stampers!)

Put your hands up!

Down at my desk, it's just such a mess
I'm doing my creative thing
I wanna send a card, but it's so hard
Cause I need something that screams SPRING!
I up to see, there's two or three
My demonstrator has 'em
Just want ONE, now it's all done
She sent it right to me!  

Cause if you liked it then you should have put a stamp on it
If you sent it then you should've put a stamp on it
I'm not mad because I have put a stamp on it
I know you'll like it now that I have put a stamp on it!

Wuh uh oh uh uh oh oh uh oh uh uh oh
Wuh uh oh uh uh oh oh uh oh uh uh oh

SING ALONG!!

For your enjoyment, here are the newest SINGLE STAMPS available for purchase through the end of March (clear mount only, clear block not provided):

And here's more good news:  

As part of Stampin' Up!s 25-year anniversary celebration, we're bringing back some of our favorite stamp images from the last quarter century and combining them into 12 sets, and will release-one set per month-during 2013. Even better, along with some great classic images, each "Best of" set will also include a never-before-seen image and is available in clear mount for just $14.95 (clear blocks not included)

Check back every month for a new "Best of" Set!

While we are releasing just one Best of stamp set per month, all of the Best of sets will be available until March 31, 2014.  Here is January's BEST OF set:

What's more, if you are a collector of classic stamps: Get a FREE stamp set for every 6 Best of stamp sets you order! Just print off one of these and adhere the special sticker that comes with each Best of set to it and mail it in when you have purchased 6:

Hello, Pumpkin: A Magical Creative Escape!

Sweep away the mundane-your creativity carriage awaits!

I'm Paper Pumpkin . . .

I come to your door each month (a fully decked-out creativity carriage). I'll help you to escape your life with some paper fun.

I come in a sweet box, but you'll really love what you find on the inside:

All the stamps, ink, paper, and accessories to create pinable projects. Create stuff like cards, journals, décor, and more!

Paper Pumpkin by Stampin' Up! is a new monthly kit program that anyone (even you) can enjoy!

Get Started

It's so easy to get started. Simply sign up for the program by visiting www.mypaperpumpkin.com and click Get it. Every month a new, surprise project kit arrives at your doorstep. Just think of the anticipation of creating a fun project to pin, showoff, and share with your friends and family-every month!

Of course, you'll want to know more. So here's the nitty gritty:

• Each month we send you a unique, surprise kit with a project-cards, journals, décor, and more! (We've even color-coordinated, measured, and cut everything for you!)
• Each kit includes stamps, ink, paper, and accessories-everything but adhesive.
• Each kit gives you a 30-minute creativity escape.
• We will ship your Paper Pumpkin on or around the 15th of the month.  
• You need to sign up for a kit by the 10th of the month to get that month's kit. If you sign up on the 11th of the month, your first kit will come the next month. (Let's say you sign up on May 10th, we'll send your kit around May 15th. If you sign up on May 11th, we'll send your first kit around June 15th.)
• A Paper Pumpkin membership is $19.95 per month (and shipping is included!)
• There's no commitment, you can cancel your monthly Paper Pumpkin at anytime. You can also skip a month if you want.
• Starting in early March, we'll offer a Try-It kit if you'd like to try Paper Pumpkin for one month. 

Click here to get started and please choose Loni Spendlove as your demonstrator when prompted :)

Bridal Shower Open House

Last week I had the pleasure of throwing a Bridal Shower for my new daughter-in-law-to-be (that made me feel old while I typed it). Kayson chose a beautiful young woman to marry and we are happy to welcome Whitney to our family!

This was the invitation which matched her wedding colors of Pool Party, Silver & White, and we threw in a pop of Melon Mambo, for fun:

The new Cloudy Day embossing folder (127022) was the perfect addition to the background! I found the umbrella stamp in the Carry On stamp set (a hostess set you can choose when you hold a SU! party) but there is also a really cute NEW stamp set in the Spring catalog called Rain or Shine that would be fun to use, too, in case you are making invitations and want to "borrow" this idea!

I hope you can see this adorable banner that says "WHITNEY": we made it with the new Paper Doilies (129399) from the Spring Catalog and the Typeset Alphabet Die (127553) and the Big Shot, the flower punch from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (118309) and a few Rhinestone Jewels, because you know how I feel like everything needs a little bling!

Her sister made red velvet cupcakes and we served our traditional warm "Shower Sandwiches" and fruit. That is Whitney and her mom in the background :)

Since it was Open House Style, we asked people to write advice or solutions to potential problems for Whitney's book (above) and took pictures of Whitney with each of her guests to go into the book I created with SU!'s clear envelopes, card stock and DSP.  For some awesome pre-made (and free!) Problem/Solution Printables get them HERE!  The Label Framelits (125598) made it easy to cut all the advice papers, too, and this is my FAVORITE response:

We also asked guests to write their address on an envelope to make it easy for Whit to send "Thank You" cards and I created a stack of simple cards for her using the Million Dollar Moments set (another Hostess-only set from the Spring Catalog!)

 

Free Valentines (with purchase of stamps!)

Click pictures for details in my store!

LOVE Your Big Shot Class

Deck the halls with Hearts and Letters...fa, la, la, la, la...la, la, la, la!

You are invited to my Big Shot Camp on Saturday, January 26th at 1:30 p.m. at my house in Spanish Fork, UT.

You don't have to own a Big Shot to attend this class, but you may want one when you are finished :) We'll be making 3 projects for winter/valentines for just $15...including this fabulous framed art! Bring scissors, SNAIL or Liquid Adhesive AND Sticky Strip. If you need to order refills, please do it when registering.

Go ahead and share the love...invite a friend to come along with you!

RSVP by calling me: 801-376-8685 and I'll give you my address and directions.

MDS Valentine: To Infinity & Beyond!

Time again for the annual Spendlove Valentine! While we love getting cards ANYTIME, over the years our family has chosen to check in with family and friends at a holiday other than Christmas...just to break the mold and to celebrate friendships all year long :) 

Our first 20 years of marriage, we sent Thanksgiving cards, and the kids got used to the assembly line as we stamped, embossed, glued, sealed and sent our cards (about 150!). Then a few years ago we thought, "Since we are the Spendloves, maybe Valentines is the time to send our cards." Not to mention we can see who sends us a Christmas card and cut everyone else off our list...

We are mailing wedding announcements for our son and his fiance this week, so we decided to make it easy and save time/money/postage by adding our Valentine to the envelope.  I used My Digital Studio and opened up one of the scrapbook templates to create this full page valentine letter! Change a few colors, add our own words, put in a few pictures and voila! It was finished! And I love how it turned out :) And the kids don't really miss the assembly line.

Speaking of Valentines, there are some awesome new downloads for My Digital Studio today, including SAD templates (Singles Awareness Day!) and of course, don't forget to download the MDS2 30-day Trial FREE from my website. Need instruction? Come to the FREE MDS CLASS this Thursday, January 17th and learn more!
 
And BTW, we really let a LOT of people stay on our mailing list who never send us anything, but we keep them on the list because we love them. I'm just saying...

Dude, You're Welcome!

Love that he doesn't even read the instructions! This is THE kit for men, BY men. Real men BUILD cards! Get your kit in my store  and give your man the TOOLS he needs to be creative.

How To: Pop'n Cuts & Dress Form (Spring Catalog)

A Creative Journal Journey

"Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special."– Isabel Allende

I have been known to save things like fancy china, a new dress and even underwear "for a special occasion"...and it seems like that special occasion never comes! I was always afraid the kids would break the china plates or I'd spill something on my new dress, and who know WHAT I was thinking about the underwear!?...so when I saw the above quote on a friend's Facebook page, I knew it was for ME. It's a reminder to enjoy every passing moment and not wait until a future, undetermined event to come along. To MAKE today special. 

Thus, it may not seem so funny that I've had a blank book that Stampin' Up! gave us at leadership LAST JANUARY to use as a creative journal, still in shrink wrap on my stamping table. So today I opened it and decorated the front in an effort to start the process of figuring out a little more WHO I am and what makes me tick when I'm crafting. And it tickled me that it turned out so....Me!

I broke out my favorite (retired) Designer Series Paper from last year's Sale-a-Bration and went to town with ribbon, flags and this stamp/saying (From My Heart catalog pg 139) that will remind me to enjoy the passing of time, each and every moment of it.

Along with the blank book, SU! gave us a list of ideas and challenges to get us started in our creative journal journey and I'm going to be sharing them~ one every week~ with my friends on my SU! Facebook Page so that we can do this together! As with any journey, it is always sweeter with friends.

So grab a blank or old book you've been thinking to alter and pull out your favorite supplies and decorate the front in preparation for this fun journey...then share a picture of your own "creative journal" below before and one lucky "traveler" will win a grab bag of many of the supplies I used on my creative journal :) Don't forget to "Like" Creative Juice by Loni on Facebook to travel along with the creative challenges, too: The first one will be posted Monday, January 14 which allows you time to embellish your journal and share it here first! Can't wait to see what you make today!

UPDATE 1/17/13: Congratulations to Shelli S for sharing her Creative Journal on Facebook and winning the grab bag!

Spring Share: Secret Garden Miracle

My friend Sally created this elegant card with a few products from the Spring Catalog. Isn't it beautiful?

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!): Whisper White, Real Red, Wild Wasabi card stock, Secret Garden stamp set and Cloudy Day textured embossing folder (from Spring catalog), Little Leaves sizzlit, Big Shot, Pearl jewel. The words are from a NEW Sale-a-Bration set called Bloomin' Marvelous and will be FREE with a $50 purchase starting January 22nd :)

Go ahead and put that embossing folder (item 127022) on your wish list...as you see more and more of it, you won't be able to live without it!

Spring is the Air?

Well.....maybe not, since it was -9 degrees in Utah this morning when I woke up! But we can celebrate the eventual coming of Spring with the elegant new products from Stampin Up!


Meanwhile, we are still below 0 and this is the view from my back porch...brrrrrr freezy! :

I'm going to go stamp to keep myself warm!

Feel the Love

TWO special offers to prepare you for a Happy Heart Day!

Treat Giving: Complete with the exclusive Happy Heart single stamp and 50 (that's right, fifty) 1"x8" cellophane treat bags! Item 132771~Valentine Treat Bundle,  $5.95.  

Card Giving: FREE Sealed With Love Simply Sent Kit (10 love notes) when you buy the brand new My Little Valentine Stamp Set! Item 132242~ My Little Valentine Bundle (clear mount stamp set), $9.95. Also available in Spanish or French.

Click the picture above for details and remember this special is only available through January 21st!

The End...or the Beginning?

"What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from."  ~ T. S. Eliot

I took the Christmas tree and decor down this morning and my oldest daughter left to fly back to where she lives back east...and while it was a little sad to leave the holidays behind and say goodbye to one of my best friends, there were some things that perked me up: a clean living room and the knowledge that she is moving forward with her life and becoming a wonderful woman! I guess it's true that when you walk out of a room through one door, you are really walking into a new room and a new adventure!

The same is true when we transition from one "season" at Stampin' Up! into another: While we hate to say goodbye to some of our old favorites, we are delighted to say hello to fresh, new products! But before the Holiday Catalog exits, let me remind you that TODAY is the last chance to order a few stamps that you may want to snag before it's too late:

Too busy during the holidays to send cards? Well, if your weather is like ours in Utah today (-2 degrees this morning at 6 a.m.!!) then you could easily create cards from the Winter Memories stamp set (Holiday Catalog pg 19) like the one above created by the talented Pam Clyde!

Or looking forward, send a valentine, which is what we do, since we are the SpendLOVE's! This LOVEly card uses a unique color palette: Pool Party, Real Red and Calypso Coral and the Affection Collection stamp set (HC pg 35) and was made at Jill Olsen's stamp day in Dixie:

 

And WHOO could forget this cute little critter and the Owl Occasions stamp set (HC pg 13)? Dress him up for Christmas or Birthdays! While the Woodgrain Textured Embossing Folder (127821) will still be available for purchase in the new Spring Catalog, the Early Espresso Core'dinations Card Stock (127848) will not be...and see how realistic it looks when the white "core" shows through? WHOO "wood"n't want some of that in their craft stash?

Finally, if you need any Champagne Glimmer paper (127885) for upcoming projects, order it today too...for while I'm hoping it makes it into the next catalog coming out in July, it's not carried over into the Spring Catalog, as far as I can see....

And of course, new items have been added to the Clearance Rack at AMAZING prices (up to 80% off), so click the image below to start shopping before the Holiday Catalog and Clearance Rack Items are gone for good!