Watermelon Banner: Sweet Summer Stamping

Summer is slowing down, but the produce is perfect! We are swimming in peaches and apricots and I've enjoyed some delectable watermelon, too...and it's a fruit, so completely guilt-free.

I was inspired by my friend Jeanna's Summer & Sunshine framed art on her blog a few weeks ago and thus, when the TGIF "CASE your Fave" challenge came up, her craftiness was the first thing I thought of. And I love banners, so this was the brain-child that resulted:

They are super simple to create and I did a Facebook Live video to demonstrate how:

Did you know I am LIVE on FB almost every Monday at 12:30 PM (MST)? I would love to have you join me in real time, so come on over and like my Creative Juice page!

To order supplies to create this project, visit my Stampin' Store and use the hostess code in the right column to get a hand-crafted Thank You from me.

Party Hearty: Stampin' Up! Makes it Easy to Plan Any Celebration

Get the party started! Begin with some printed invitations, choose a color and some embellishments, and you've got yourself a party! Make a banner, place cards, gift bags...the pieces are printed, die cut, and ready for you to personalize. It's simple, fast, and still totally YOU.  Watch it all come together here:

  

 You have lots of reasons to celebrate now you have seen how easy it is to put your party décor and invitations together. 

------------------- SUPPLIES ----------------- 

  

Start your celebration here!

Love Isn't Love 'til You Give It Away (+Blog Candy)

It has been a joy to swap sampler squares with my downline and in my stamp clubs and last month we made Valentine squares! Remember as a kid when you said, "I just love that!" and your friends would say, "Then why don't you marry it?!"...I love this one almost enough to marry it, but I'm already taken :)

I especially love how everyone does something different with their squares (thanks to Heather B, Pam C and Shelly S for sharing a smattering of samplers!)

Would you like to gather your friends together for Sampler Swap? I'd be happy to teach you how! 

Since "Love Isn't Love 'til You Give It Away", I've got a little love to share: I have a few extra Valentine Squares to share with someone who comments below by February 9, 2014! Make sure to check back on Monday, Feb. 10 to see if you've won :)

UPDATE 2/11/14: Congrats Meredith! You are the winner! Check your inbox :)

Love, Guaranteed

It's snowing again, so you need to do something to warm your heart...and the heart of the one you love! I've got just the exercise:

Heart-To-Heart Stamp Camp

Wednesday, February 5 at 7 p.m.

OR

Thursday, February 6 at 10 a.m.

Spanish Fork, UT

These three elegant projects will make you fall in love (with paper crafting) all over again:

You'll create a Valentine charger to decorate your home, a card and a box.  Here's the box up close:

The best news? It's only $10 for the class!! I set the price before I made the projects, so you are getting an AWESOME deal :)  While I provide almost all the supplies, you will need to bring Snail, Sticky Strip and scissors. If you need to order any adhesive, please let me know when registering. And registration is due by February 3rd (space is limited).

My Digital Studio: 5 Ways on Fridays

My Digital Studio is a Sweet digital designing Suite from Stampin' Up! that has evolved to become quite an intuitive user experience. If you are like I (was), you may have just turned off and tuned out...

"I'm computer challenged," you were thinking, "and I'll never be able to learn digital stuff. It sounds too complicated."

Stop. Right. There. 

MDS is INTUITIVE (look it up if you don't know the meaning) and it's EASY...and there are step-by-step training videos. Hello?! And templates that you can drag & drop pictures into (or customize). And you can try it FREE for 30 days. Duh. This is a no-brainer. (As long as you have an hour or two to play with it, so don't download the free trial the week your daughter is getting married) 

Obviously, it is optimal for creating photo albums and cards...but THAT'S NOT ALL it's good for! Today I'm sharing 5 different ways to use My Digital Studio:

1. Fabric Transfers

When I saw this on the SU! blog with instructions for using MDS to print on transfer paper, I was so delighted! How fun and easy to dress up not only our mini muslin bags, but a t-shirt, a backpack or a piece of fabric to frame in an embroidery hoop. Crafters...start your irons!

2. Chalkboard Quote Template

There are plenty of ways to add the look of chalkboard to your card and pages in My Digital studio (I like this video by Kimberly Van Diepen) but did you know you can also print a template to use on a chalkboard wall (or frame)? Check out the tutorial here or click on the picture above.

3. Recipe/Cook Books

There are actually quite a few recipe book templates to choose from in MDS and you can print them as board books, hard bound books, single pages or in this case (and my favorite) as a free-standing recipe book using the Easel Calendar format :) How cool would it be to gather family comfort food recipes (and pictures of family members cooking them) to compile as a gift for a family reunion or Christmas?

4. E-Cutters & MDS

(Personalized Water Bottle by Connie Collins)

Oh, yes, digi-crafters...you read that CORRECTLY! My Digital Studio has SVG files that can be used with E-CUTTERS! Which means that you can cut paper and VINYL (and who knows what else) with an E-Cutter that can import any SVG file. 

Video Tutorials that may be helpful in learning how-to: 

Kimberly Van Diepen shows you the basics of SVG files and e-Cutters

Erica Cerwin also teaches MDS & SVG here

While there are a few e-cutters that seem to work, Silhouette Cameo is a popular choice and
Connie Collins walks you through the process from start to finish in this video

5. Home Decor

Create a year's worth of interchangeable quotes to showcase in a lovely frame. If you create 5x7 postcards in My Digital Studio, you can print on both sides of the card: 6 cards will give you 12 personalized quotes or pictures (and through November 30, 2013, printing through MDS is 30% off). You can even peek at a friend's Pinterest board to find her favorite quotes and make it a very thoughtful gift.

DO YOU HAVE MORE IDEAS FOR MY DIGITAL STUDIO? Share them (or links) in the comments so we can compile a resource of MDS ideas that are "outside the book" :)

If you are fortunate enough to be visiting this list in November 2013, you can take advantage of the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year"...for digi crafters, anyway...because many digital downloads AND print services are 30% off through November 30, 2013! Check out the awesomeness HERE.

5 Ways on Fridays: Thankful Tablescape Simply Created Kit

The pieces of the new Thankful Tablescape Simply Created Kit (item 133463) in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog were designed to decorate a Thanksgiving table, but of course, people get crafty and find new ways to utilize the parts in unique ways, so come along as I share a few of my favorites! Leave a link to other awesome crafts using this kit in the comments. 

1. Starting with cards, here's a pocket card I created from the Tablescape kit following the 

Create with Connie & Mary sketch 273: 

All I added was a crumb cake envelope (for the pocket), a piece of Early Espresso card stock, a strip of 1-1/4" Burlap Ribbon (132140) and I punched the circle using the 2-1/2" circle punch (120906). 

2. At SU! convention in July, Sara Douglass demonstrated how to create a Thankful Journal from the Tablescape kit, but my photos weren't that great, so a quick internet search found another Sarah (Sagert) who had crafted her own...with some nice pictures of her lovely pages :)

3. Admittedly, I'm a sucker for anything in a mason jar, so Jessica Lewis' simply sweet Thankful Jar immediately appealed to me! Can't you just imagine filling this with reasons to be grateful? 

The Birch paper and chocolate chip herringbone paper both come on a roll in the kit and are perfect for wrapping around a vase, jar or candle. 

4. Allison Okamitsu (a very talented Canadian demonstrator) created the last two gorgeous home decor projects from the Thankful Tablescape Simply Created Kit. The first is a Thankful Banner and you see more of this beauty by clicking on the picture.  

5. I love Allison's style and her blog is "Nice People Stamp". Haven't met her, but it's a given she's one NICE person to share her talents! This is also her creation~A frame covered in the Birch-bark paper from the kit. Isn't the banner adorable? Visit Allison's tutorial for the frame HERE (or click on photo)

Thanks for checking out my 5 Ways on Fridays collection! Order the Thanksgiving Tablescape Kit from my Stampin' Store to create some fabulous Fall creations of your own, then post a link to them in the comments so we can be inspired by YOU!

Sensational Seasonal Samplers

My Stitched Stamper family of SU! demonstrators held a "Sampler Square" Swap for the upcoming holidays. Each of us created a 2" square to trade using a set color palette and here are the finished projects, mounted on Designer Series Paper for a 12x12 frame.

Halloween (using Witches' Brew DSP from the Holiday Catalog):

Fall/Thanksgiving (using Sweater Weather DSP from the Holiday Catalog):

Christmas (using Season of Style DSP from the Holiday Catalog): 

Wouldn't this be fun to do with your friends? To order supplies to make your own, visit my Stampin' Up! store!

If you are swapping with friends, invite everyone to participate, because it's great to have "leftover" squares...see what I did with them here :)

A Banner Day and Be In the Know

Just a quick share this morning of a banner I created with My Digital Studio (the quote) and the Flower Fair Simply Scrappin' Kit (item 129302) from the Spring Catalog for my daughter:

Did you know that TOMORROW is the last day to order many items from the Spring Catalog (like the kit above) AND the 2012-13 Catalog? Some of the retiring stamps will be available to order through  Monday, but everything else ends tomorrow (May 31) at MIDNIGHT.

The good news is that starting at noon tomorrow, you have about 12 hours to order from both the retiring catalogs AND the new 2013-14 Catalog!! FYI: Online ordering will be down tomorrow until noon so Stampin' Up! can update the ordering system. 

When you are ready to place your final/first order, SHOP HERE!

Easter Comes Early

As Easter is on March 31st this year (and it's just around the corner), I thought it would be fun to teach a Craft Camp to help prepare for Spring and the celebration of Easter! Here is one of the projects you'll be creating at the camp; A Spring Sampler!

Yes, it includes the frame! There are other projects we'll be making that day, and I'll try to share them over the next few weeks. As always, this will be at my home in Spanish Fork and space is limited, so register early (Paypal link below)!

Easter Craft Camp

Saturday, March 16

1 p.m.

$25

**Bring scissors and SNAIL adhesive** (need a refill? Let me know!)

Creative credit: I pulled ideas from many different places as I created this sampler (and even came up with a few of my own!), but would be remiss if I didn't give credit for the ribbon/doily to fellow demonstrator Kirsteen Gill's sampler here as it really makes this home decor project so beautiful!

Happy Ho-Ho-Holidays!

 

When I saw these frames on sale at Shopko last week, I knew I had to do SOMETHING with them, so I pulled out my Festival of Prints DSP (126901), some Glimmer paper (Silver~124005 & Red~121790), the Big Shot and a few dies (Typeset Alphabet~127553 & Snow Flurry~127813) and of course, some stamps and ink :) 

Once you've created your frame-able art, take a Stampin' Spritzer (126185) filled with rubbing alcohol and a few drops of Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint (116806), shake it up well and spritz glitter all over the finished project...even on the frame!

Even more fun was that I got to share this with my Seasonal Sensations Stamp Club who each made one of their own last week and they loved it too!

The Haunted Village: A Special Club Project

This year, one of my stamp clubs requested home decor and giftable projects so we are kicking off the club next week with this cute little Haunted Village:

The idea came from a class at Stampin' Up! convention 2011 and I transformed it into this spooky trio: Grab a few junk pieces of wood, some paint and ink, your favorite Designer Series Paper and create your own neighborhood for any holiday! I'd love to see what you create, so share a link in the comments if you try it.

Jenn (the club hostess for this month) said she could accommodate a few extra guests if you are in Spanish Fork next Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. The cost is $6 for the village if you place a $25 order and $12 if you just want to come to make the project. It will take about 2 hours. If you are interested, email or call me by Monday morning so we have the supplies ready.

Note: While I am sending out all the cards (and some of the other projects) I am sharing on my blog this Anniversary month, I won't be giving this one away :) Leave a comment anyway, and I'll pick one person to get a copy of one of the other cards from the month!

There are a LOT of fun events and classes coming up in the next few weeks and I hope you'll join me: Check out my EVENT CALENDAR and RSVP early to reserve your spot.

Summer Lollies: Picture Perfect

I'm pretty excited about this fun project we are making today at the Big Shot Class! These "Lollies" or "Medallions" are created with the Designer Rosette Bigz XL Die (item 125594) and the Big Shot (obviously) and when I was trying to figure out what to put on them, my husband suggested pictures of the kids! And it turned out adorable (mostly because I have pretty adorable kids)! Of course, if you know my kids, you can see that these pictures were taken a LONG time ago~giggle~But the fun thing about this project is that you could switch out pictures anytime to keep it "fresh"...and these pretty poppies don't need watering!

I found the sugar shaker at Dollar Tree and it works perfectly for keeping the skewers in place :) then I "upcycled" some old magazine pages along with some scraps of card stock that match the new Patio Party Designer Series Paper (item 126916) to fill the shaker base. You could also fill it with candy or marbles or SPRINKLES!!!

Such fun, such fun...and if you missed the Big Shot Class today, I'll be teaching another one (3 new projects) in August, so watch for the announcement and register early :)

Christmas Cottage

Despite a busy schedule at the bookstore, I did find time to build a house! This cute little Christmas Cottage was made using the Stampin' Up! Decor Accents Design-a-House and the Candy Cane Christmas Designer Series Paper and some leftover batting for the snow covered roof:

It was really quite easy to make, and at $5.95 each, you could make a whole village! You could also make it into a cute Valentine decoration: "A House Filled with Love". After I finished this one, it was claimed by my daughter for her room. If you make one, send me a picture and I'll share it here on my blog!

P.S. You CAN still order Stampin' Up! online to be delivered by Christmas...all orders placed by December 15th will be picked and packaged in time for Christmas Eve Delivery! CLICK HERE to order.

Paper Parasol Topiary

Just had to share this ultra-cute (and simple!) idea for a topiary decoration I stumbled across 

made from paper parasols:

Now I just need an opportunity to make one!

Flutterby, Butterfly

At a family reunion a few weeks ago, we made these beautiful butterflies using the Big Shot and Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper and old magazines. It makes me feel like a true lepidopterist (Word of the day: The scientific name for someone who studies and collects moths and butterflies).

It was such a hit with the family--as well as a fun way to use up those scraps creative people save--that I took it to Convention and invited my friends to make one, too: Sue, Penny, Kristi and Murlynn show off their personalized creations below.


I found Ghostline Grid paper in 11"x17" (also available in postersize that you can cut to whichever size you want) at Walmart. It's the perfect background as it looks scientific and popped the butterflies up with Stampin' Dimensionals (or your excess rubber as pop dots to be "green"). Some of our favorite magazines to find amazing pictures to make into insects were Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple and Country Living. Try this at home, or we could make it a workshop at your house!