BRING A FRIEND who is new to stamping (or hasn’t stamped with me in a year or more) and you will get to choose a FREE STAMP SET from my stamp basket.

SPEND $50 or more and choose a FREE STAMP SET from my basket AND get a FREE Sale-A-Bration item!

What?  ”Love is in the Air” Class

When?  Friday, February, Feb. 3rd

Daytime Class:  1-3 p.m.

Evening Class:  6-8 p.m.

Where?  Dawn’s House

Cost?  $15 for cards, envelopes, and candy

RSVP by Thursday, PLEASE!

Remember, I am doing lots of prep-work for you…….but please bring your favorite adhesive and get ready to stamp and assemble these “LOVE-ly” projects.  You don’t need any other supplies – only adhesive.

I suppose this really isn’t a card……or maybe it is, it’s just a special card with a treat enclosed……or maybe it should be called something altogether different.  But whatever you call it, it’s cute and quick and easy!  And yummy!

With the help of the Big Shot, 2 dies, and one punch, you can make these treats in less than 5 minutes.  First you will need the Scalloped Envelope Die and the new hearts Embosslet Die for the big shot.  The largest heart above and below is the Heart Punch.  The small hearts are from the Hearts Embosslits Die.  It was lonely and waiting patiently for me on my desk.  I punched out a few different colors to play with and layer with my Heart Punch.

These are very simple and fun treats for adults and kids alike!  Depending on who you give it to……you might have to change the words!  Not sure I want to give “love you” to my c0-workers………ya’ know?  But if you want these words and don’t have them already, you’ll want to purchase Short and Sweet from the IB&C.   I shaded the edges with Early Espresso to add some depth.  It makes a world of difference!

 The last sample uses some lace ribbon for a more feminine touch, and a vintage feel.  No matter which one is your personal favorite, I can guarantee that your recipients will be thrilled.   Here are the different hearts that you get with the Sizzlets die.   Aren’t they cute?

#125596 Fashionable Hearts Embosslits Die $11.95

I already had the embossed card sitting on my desk…….leftovers from something!  I grabbed one of my favorite new paper packs (Twitterpated) and decided that pink and gray was the color scheme for this card!  I don’t own any of the “new” Valentine sets, so I grabbed words instead and built my card around these pretty words.  They are in the set called “Delightful Dozen” and it is full of holiday-ish words.  I also wanted to use one of the new charms that I purchased with my pre-order for the Mini Catalog.  That’s one of my favorite perks as being a demonstrator!  I get to order all the new things early!

These are the other designs that come in the packet of charms/trinkets……..they sell for $6.95.   They come with “o” rings to attach them or clasps that will allow you to hook them onto a chain.  You have both options in the set.

The last photo just shows a little close up of the sentiment.  I added a tiny punched heart from the OWL PUNCH.  It was the only one tiny enough to fit inside the heart without covering up the stamped heart.

Hope you have a great day and that you can find BALANCE in your days.  Try to do something that makes YOU feel good about the day.  Some things are not negotiable, and some things must come before others.  Priorities must be aligned.  But I know that I was a much happier person last night because I took card of “business” and also found a little time to have “fun” with my creativity — and I even exercised!  Now that is noteworthy!

Check out the new Sale-A-Bration brochure!  CLICK HERE!

There are THREE wonderful ways for you to benefit during Sale-A-Bration… here they are!

• Purchase the Stampin’ Up! Starter Kit: During Sale-A-Bration, the Starter Kit is just $125 ($50 off!) AND, for purchasing it you will get a FREE Digital Download OR pack of Designer Series Paper every month for a year!! And those two items are interchangeable and YOUR CHOICE!!!! One month you can pick a download and the next a DSP pack. You can purchase the Starter Kit and receive this deal through March — but you’ll want to try and do it in January so that you don’t miss out on any free items! If you don’t purchase it until February, you’ll loose a freebie. If you don’t purchase it until March, you’ll loose 2 freebies. For more details on the Starter Kit and The Heartfelt Stamper’sTeam that you’ll become a part of for purchasing it, CLICK HERE.

• Hosting a Workshop or being your own Hostess!: When you host a workshop during Sale-A-Bration or place a large order that qualifies for it’s own Hostess Benefits, you’ll get extra perks! For a $150 workshop or order, a FREE TOTE BAG is given!!!! For a $400 workshop or order, an ENTIRE bundle is given – this bundle includes the Sale-A-Bration Exclusive Paper, Brads, Ribbon and coordinating Stamp Set!!

• Ordering!: For EVERY $50 spent, a FREE gift can be selected from the Sale-A-Bration brochure — and there’s NO LIMIT!!!! Spend $50, get a free gift. Spend $100, get 2 free gifts. Spend $400, get 8 gifts PLUS the hostess bundle and tote bag!  And if you’re wish list is long……..you need to be a demonstrator!  The benefits are there………what’s stopping you from joining in the fun!

One of the SAB stamp sets is called “Outlined Occasions”.  I’ve created this sample card for you to see what the “thanks” looks like when mixed with the Twitterpated Designer Series Paper (Occasions Mini Catalog).

You can see the other images on the lid of the stamp box above.

 The colors used in this card are Riding Hood Red, Marina Mist, and Whisper White.  I colored the inside of the letters with a Blender Pen.  You use the tip of the blender pen to color with, but you don’t need an ink pad at all.  Just color the letters and the moisture from the Blender Pen will cause the ink to spread and look as if you had colored in the inside of the letters.  Blender Pens rock!

This card was made using the individual stamp called “Candy Conversations”.  It is sold on page 43 of the Occasions Mini Catalog.  It is only $8.95 — a great deal and very easy to create a variety of Valentines.  I have this stamp, so you will see me creating with it very soon.  Sarah still enjoys taking little treats to her girlfriends at school, and I’ll probably make something for her teachers, too.  I love the Red Glitter Paper, too.  What a “POP” it creates on this card.  Did you notice the heart punch?  How nicely it matches up with the stamped shapes?  What you CAN’T see is that there are words under each of those glitter hearts……..such as “kiss me” and “be mine”…….

If you’d like to work up an order of $50 or more…..paper, stamps, ink, heart punch, ribbon…….I’m sure you could do it…and then you’d get a FREE Sale-A-Bration set, too.  It starts today!!!!

Have a great day and I’ll be back tomorrow with another fun idea!

Sale-A-Bration starts this week and you will soon be able to see the catalog online (if you have not gotten one in the mail) and you will want to start thinking about taking advantage of these beautiful free items.  I will give more details in the days to come and show you even more samples using products from the Mini Catalog and the Sale-A-Bration catalog.  Here’s one of the cards that I made last week for leadership swapping.  I really like how it turned out and how many punches I was able to encorporate to make my job easy peasy!

Colors used: Soft Suede and Marina Mist……..and Early Espresso Baker’s twine coordinated nicely.  Can you imagine this card in pink and brown, too?  I sure can!  It’s definitely time to start thinking about Valentine’s ideas so I hope to plan and pull together some ideas for you this week to encourage you to get started and not wait until the last minute.  (oh…..stamp set is Fresh Vintage from the SAB Catalog!)

Yesterday morning started with Registration and Bag Pick-Up.  I didn’t take a photo of the bags, but they are adorable!  I’ll try to take a photo in the sunshine tomorrow.  They are sewn with some adorable new fabric that Stampin’ Up! has created.  Then we went to Make and Takes and created 9 fantastic projects!

When we first arrived at Make and Takes, we were so happy to find fabric notebooks (that match our purses) and cute little boxes filled with Chocolates…….home-made by someone who WORKS at the Stampin’ Up! home office.  WOW!  Shelli signed each of the matching tags for an added personal touch!  These are my Florida besties — Jen and Maria.

After we worked fast and furious on all the Make and Takes, we headed down to the Riverwalk for lunch at Casa Rio — the original Mexican restaurant on the river.  YUMMY!  The weather is perfect for walking outside and we are very thankful.  The gals in this photo are Katie (Houston, TX), Maria, Katherine (Crawford, TX), and Jen.   We are missing a few of the usual “convention gang”, but we are still having lots of fun re-kindling our friendships.

Last night was the Manager’s Reception.  I was the only one that qualified to attend, so the girls went shopping while I attended a performance by some Chinese acrobats.  It was amazing!  Stampin’ Up! had theater decorated for the theme, and served cute little drinks (NON alcoholic, for those of you looking and thinking) and appetizers.

Today was the first General Session and presentations galore!  It was a packed day…….and we received several freebies along the way.  I suppose that explains some of the big smiles you see!

Since I am in San Antonio, I can’t give you the details on the fabric (sorry!) but I can look it up at home if any of you are interested.  My favorite part about this bag is the little pleat at the bottom.  It is made with a contrasting fabric and really makes the bag special!

And the rosette is fun, too!  I wasn’t sure if I had ever made one like this before, but when I read the details on the pattern, I discovered a new technique!  This is made with a strip of fabric, sewn together and flipped right side out.  However, in order to appeal to the “non-sewing” friends of mine, I am going to make a flower just like this with NO SEWING when I get home.  It can easily be done with Stampin’ Up! products and avoid the sewing for another option.  Just wait and see………I will show you all how to do it, even if you are not in to sewing!

Now, don’t you want this pattern?  Here’s what you need to create a really cute bag……..really cute, really fast, and really easy!

First, I want to share the most special photo I’ve had taken in a very long time.  This is from Matthew’s 7th Birthday Party on Saturday night.  He is front and center.  Zoe is on the far right side (she was 5 in September) and  you know all the rest of the characters.  Especially the crazy bald man!  It was a night of fun at the “world’s greatest money-eating establishment for kids” — better known as Chuck E. Cheese.  It was the most money I’ve ever paid for a large pizza and 2 salads, but it was worth it.  $50 ending up getting Zoe a red/blue stretch bracelet, vampire teeth that glow in the dark (added bonus), and a RED Chuck E. Cheese whistle.  Not the blue one, only the red one!

Notice the strange look on baby Emmy’s face as if to say, “who are these other kids and WHY are you excited about them, and not me!”  G0tta love those white eyeballs on that tiny little darker-than-dark body!

So, here is a little sneak peek at a sewing project that Allyson conned me in to making her before she went back to school.  She found the pattern when we went to McKinney and it is adorable.  I’ll show you more and tell you all the details tomorrow.  Gotta head to the airport!

I’ve already decided that I will need to make this rosette with some of our new Stampin’ Up! fabric from the spring Mini Catalog and add it to a card or gift bag.  I was hoping to do that before I left town, but JUST A FEW things got in my way.  Their names are Allyson, Lindsey, Sarah, Emmy, and Charles……….well, I’m sorry!  That sounds rude………..but I really didn’t have much time to myself the last 4 weeks and I guess I’m celebrating that I’m away for a little bit.  Hope they don’t read the blog today………ha!  Talk to you folks later!

This is another card that we made at my Club Classes this week, and it uses several new products from the Sale-A-Bration catalog.  The Fresh Vintage stamp set, the Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper, and the Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad Pack.  It all coordinates together and turns out the prettiest projects you have ever seen.  The colors in this collection (and on this card) are Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Peach Parfait, Calypso Coral, Poppy Parade, Very Vanilla, and Soft Suede.  I would also like to say that the papers “blended” very nicely with other colors you might have in your Stampin’ Up! collection — such as Pear Pizazz, Early Espresso, and Riding Hood Red. (Some of the papers, not necessarily all of them.) That is just another reason why I love Stampin’ Up!……so many color options and so many coordinating colors!

At the bottom of the card, I used the Adorning Accents Die that I have shown on the last 2 pages.  If you purchase this die, you will want to read the directions carefully and watch the online videos.  You have to be very careful feeding it through the Big Shot or it will not fit and you will bend the die.  I speak from experience, unfortunately, and I now know.   I added a small strip of Vanilla cardstock at the bottom of this card so you can see the detail even better.  I also embossed the scallops with the Adorning Accent Folders. 

The second sample is almost the same, I just added the square image instead of the round image.  The postage stamp punch (which I don’t have) matched perfectly with this image.  However, I opted for the 1 1/4″ square punch and the scalloped square punch.  I colored a tiny flower in the center with the Pool Party marker for a touch of detail.   I did not add the Vanilla paper at the bottom of this one.  And you will notice a different pattern on the brad.  There are 30 brads in the package – 6 each of 5 different designs.   You can earn these products for FREE when Sale-A-Bration starts on January 24th.  You will get one FREE product for each $50 you purchase from our Stampin’ Up! product lines.

I don’t want to scare you off from the new dies (this scalloped one, and the wavy one that comes with it) because they really are very sturdy and work nicely.  You just need to be educated on them so that you put them into the machine the proper way and get the full benefit of the product.  I promise, it works, and you will love them.

Have a great weekend!  We are in for a very special treat tonight.  Our first foster baby, Matthew, is having his 7th birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese!  AND……..our second foster baby, Zoe, just happens to be coming to visit us tonight and she’s going to the party with us, too!  You may not remember Zoe (she lived with us the first 10 weeks of her life) because she was placed for adoption at birth and was placed in her home rather quickly.  She was adopted by a Presbyterian Pastor and they now live in Greenville, TX.  We have kept up with them over the years and visited with them on several occasions as well as Facebook, e-mails, etc.  She is very excited to come and visit her foster family, and we are delighted to have her.  So………we will have our current baby, and 2 others with us tonight — that is rare indeed!  We are so excited we can hardly stand it!