Clearance Rack Blitz!! Act Now for BIG savings!

From now to October 18th, Stampin' Up! is adding over 200 more discontinued items - some at up to 80% off - to the Clearance Rack section. They need to make room in the distribution center for new items, so this means Huge Savings for You! Orders should be placed through my online store so that you can see immediately if any items are sold out. Remember, hostess benefits and rewards are available on all qualifying orders! All Clearance Rack items are available only while supplies last, and all sales on discontinued items are final.

This is a great way to begin your holiday shopping, so don't hesitate. Click this link and select the Shop Now button. You'll find the Clearance Rack link on the left side.

Have a great day!

Easel Cards

Easel cards are so easy and fun to put together. They really add a different flair to cards and are a great way to really grab your recipient's attention! A great tutorial can be found at Splitcoaststampers under the Resources section - check it out! The one above uses the "Great Friend" stamp set and white embossed vellum butterflies. I love watching embossing powder melt, so this one was extra fun to assemble!



Here's another one made before Easter using the Vintage Vogue stamp set..... love this stamp set to pieces! Oh, don't forget that today, April 30th, is the last day that you can order from the Occasions Mini Catalog - some things have sold out already (ie the On-Board Heart book, Sweet Pea Designer paper stack, Sweet Pea Stitched felt). You can order any other items online at www.june.stampinup.net and be sure to check out the clearance rack section too! Lots of great bargains to be had there.

Have a great Friday! Till next time...

New Techniques, Retirement List & Free Shipping!

Today's post has alot of stuff - first off, the Fall Winter 2008 Retirement List was just announced today, and I found out this morning that Stampin' Up! is giving 10% OFF all stamps sets on this list plus FREE SHIPPING with any purchase over $70 through December 23rd!!!! Just to clarify something, if your merchandise total is over $70, regardless of your selections (retirement items or not), you will still receive the free shipping promotion. How awesome is that?! If you'd like to shop from the comfort of your computer (hey, why fight the crowds and traffic?), and save alittle cash for the things on YOUR wishlist, you can click the "Shop Now" button located in the upper right corner of my Business Website to take advantage of these fantastic savings!
OK, let's get on with some more fun stuff.... So, how do you like my card today? I'll admit that I have a hard time using ribbon sometimes on a masculine card ~and my boys' preference is no ribbon, just metal :) but I like how this card turned out.... now, for the details....
I was visiting Splitcoaststampers this morning and ran across today's color challenge to use Taken with Teal, Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red and Whisper White. I sat in my craft room looking at my stuff for about 5 minutes. Card ideas were forming in my head, but this one idea kept coming back, so I went with it! I have some simple techniques about this card to share with you... This card is my 2nd one made with my new Happiness is a Journey stamp set (the first one is a couple posts below - in fact, take a quick look at that card - see how the train is actually white?). The stamp is sort-of like a reverse from the typical images... instead of the main image being inked up, the background is inked instead to create the main image.... clear as mud? :)
Well, I wanted the train to be colored in Taken with Teal, so I inked up the stamp with Versamark and Baja Breeze inks. I stamped on white and heat embossed the image with clear embossing powder. This created a Baja Breeze glazed surface so that I could use a sponge dauber and sponge in Taken with Teal ink to color in my train. I used a napkin to wipe away any ink on the glazed surface.... Voila! My train is Taken with Teal.... (tee hee!). I matted this main image with Riding Hood Red and Taken with Teal blocks and set it aside.
When I first started stamping and scrapbooking many years ago, mulberry paper was the *in* thing. In fact, I still have alot of it in various colors, but I wanted to see if I could recreate the look of it using ink. This technique, or a similar one, may already be out there, but I've not seen it yet, so I'll post how I did my Faux Mulberry technique. In the picture below and depending on your monitor, you may be able to see some lines that I lightly drew in pencil to approximate the placement of my train block. I followed the edge of this line and used a sponge dauber and Craft White ink to fan outward toward the edges of my Riding Hood Red cardbase. In other words, ink up the dauber and start on the inside edge of the pencil line and swoosh/flick outward (do you like my descriptive words here? ~giggle). The thick and creamy characteristics of the craft ink allows you to move the ink around without absorbing instantly into the cardstock, so you get this cool effect. Seriously, you should try this on a scrap piece of colored cardstock and check it out! Off the top of my head, this would be fun to do around candles, stars, fireworks, or campfire stamps, don't you think?

After going all around the pencil lines, I wrapped my grosgrain around the card front and placed my main block on top. I pencilled in a small dot about 1/2 inch to the left of the train's smoke stack - see it?

Then I took my 1/4 inch circle (hole) punch and punched it out at the dot. I took my snips and cut across to the hole, then slid one end of the grosgrain ribbon through - you don't really need to cut across, just thread it through the hole if it's big enough... Then I glued down the block to the cardbase, pulling on the left tail of ribbon to keep it tight.

The cut line is hidden when I tied my knot.... then I trimmed the ends of ribbon.

Lastly, I stamped the sentiment in Taken with Teal ink and punched out/layered in Riding Hood Red with oval punches.
While typing this post, I realized that I need to play with my camera settings to get better (and truer) color. The first image of the entire card at the top of the post was taken in natural light and show the real colors, and the rest of the pictures were at my craft table under the desk lamp. Anyhow, I appreciate you stopping in today. I hope you enjoyed these simple techniques and get to try them out if you've never done them before... till next time!
Stamps: Happiness is a Journey, sentiment from Fresh Cuts

Paper: Whisper White, Taken with Teal, Riding Hood Red

Inks: Versamark, Baja Breeze, Taken with Teal, Craft White

Accessories: Clear embossing powder, heatgun, sponge daubers, white grograin ribbon, SU punches - 1/4 inch circle, small and large ovals

Holiday Extravaganza Sale starts today!

Happy Wednesday to You!

Stampin' Up! is offering a super sale starting today, November 26th and running through December 1st. This Holiday Extravaganza Sale and has 14 different product bundles offered at special promotional prices - up to 50% off! If you are interested in purchasing any of these bundles, you can order right away through my Stampin' Up! website and click on the "Shop Now" button located in the top right corner. Bundle quantities at these promotional prices are limited, so don't wait! Here's a quick listing of just the bundles ~

Holiday Extravaganza Sale

All in the Family Bundle (item 116217) – 50% Off
Retail $63.40 NOW $31.70
All in the Family, Family Accessories, Neighborhood Stampin’ Around® jumbo wheel
(pages 78-79)

The Manly Man’s Bundle (item 116224) – 50% Off
Retail $56.80 NOW $28.40
Sporting, Just Football, Just Basketball, Just Baseball
(pages 82-83)

Seasonal Stamper’s Bundle (item 116221) – 40% Off
Retail $83.80 NOW $50.28
Autumn Harvest, Snow Burst, A Good Egg, Something New to Love
(pages 30, 34, 47)

Alpha-Betcha Need This Bundle (item 116226) – 40% Off
Retail $64.90 NOW $38.94
Well Worn Alphabet, Well-Worn Numbers
(page 155)

I’m On Board Bundle (item 116218) – 30% Off
Retail $67.75 NOW $46.65
On Board Patch of Blooms, Essentials, Lots of Letters, Timeless Type and 8.5x8.5 ring album (pages 180-181)

Bags & Tags Bundle (item 116216) – 30% Off
Retail $74.95 NOW $52.46
Punch Pals, Riding Hood Red Classic inkpad, Note cards and Envelopes, White gift sacks, Riding Hood Red Patterns Designer Series paper, Tag punch
(pages 37,162, 167, 171, 188)

Santa’s Stocking Stuffer Bundle (item 116219) – 30% Off
Retail $23.85 NOW $16.69
Square Rhinestone Ice brads, Metallic Eyelets, Fresh Favorites 2 buttons
(pages 185, 187)

Curly Label Punch Bundle (item 112966) – 30% Off
Retail $33.95 NOW $23.77
(page 189)

Star Struck Bundle (item 116220) – 30% Off
Retail $41.80 NOW $29.26
Starstruck, Starring You, Star designer brads, Star Punch
(page 117, 138, 184, 188)


Sticky Situation Bundle (item 116222) – 30% Off
Retail $47.30 NOW $33.11
Sticky Cuts Letters, Blue Bead Duos, Green Bead Duos, Fine Cosmo Stampin' glitter, Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' glitter
(page 190)

Mission Embossable Bundle (item 116223) – 30% Off
Retail $66.10 NOW $46.27
Heat Tool, Gold Stampin' Emboss powder, Silver Stampin' Emboss powder, Iridescent Stampin' Emboss powder, Powder Pals, Embossing Buddy
(page 190)

Scrapbooker’s Dream Bundle (item 116227) – 25% Off
Retail $82.95 NOW $60.71
Blooms Again die cuts, Urban Garden DSP, On Board Lots of Letters, Roof Garden Accents & Elements, Natural Linen 12x12 ring album, Basic Gray taffeta ribbon, Basic Black journaler
(pages 166, 168, 181, 182, 183, 187, 193)

Wild Thing, I Think I Love You Bundle (item 116225) – 20% Off
Retail $54.40 NOW $43.52
Wild About You, Bold Brights 8.5x11 assortment cardstock, Bold Brights Classic Stampin’ Spots
(page 77, 164)

Ribbon Storage Bundle (item 116228) – 20%Off
Retail $46.85 NOW $37.48
Small, medium and Large ribbon keepers, 2 each
(page 195)