The Joy of Stamping

Fresh Vintage meets Mocha Morning

I was flipping through some old craft magazines that I have and came across a card that uses one of my favorite color combinations - pink and brown. Truth is, anything with pink in it I tend to like.  My card today was inspired that color combination and my affinity for "shabby chic". 

I have an eclectic mix of stamps, ink and paper on this card.  This was so much fun to make! The butterfly is stamped with the image from the Fresh Vintage stamp set (which can be yours for FREE during Sale-a-bration) and embossed using Rose Red craft ink and Iridescent Ice embossing powder.  Oh, you should see how that butterfly *sparkles* in person!  So, pretty! 

With all of the new product out in the Occasions Mini Catalog and the Sale-a-bration catalog, some of my "older" product wasn't feelin' the love.  The colors in the Mocha Morning Designer Series paper pack were a perfect match for the look I was trying to achieve. 

And, what's a card without accessories?  I added a touch of my favorite ribbon, Blushing Bride 3/8" pleated ribbon and bit of  Very Vanilla satin ribbon.  And, then of course, no shabby chic look is complete without the pearls.  A little distressing of the edges pulled it all together.

There's still time to place your Sale-a-bration order!  Remember, you earn FREE product for every $50 you spend.  Shop now to earn your free goodies!

 

Framelits Labels Collection samples

Going through some of my pictures from Leadership Conference and thought I would show a few of my favorites using the Framelits Labels Collection:

 

 

 

Have a great day!

Mary Ann

Unexpected Valentine...and blog maintenance

In my post on Valentine's Day I explained that my husband and I really don't buy into the commercialized holidays - Valentine's Day being one of them.  I had a full schedule that day and got home around 10pm.  On the kitchen counter was a small card...a card with a Stampin' Up! image on it.  And, it was a card that I had not made.  We are empty nesters so the only other person who had access to my stamps was the husband - oh, and the dog.

This is Kayla...my 12 year old pup and the other love of my life.  Apparently, she's very talented because she made this card:

She was very considerate of my card stock because she went into my scrap bin to make this so as not to use paper that I need for workshops and classes.  She has an affinity for pink, with the retired Pixie Pink a personal favorite - hence the Pixie Pink heart.  Is this a great dog, or what?  I <heart> her!

A keeper of a card for sure!

On a different note, you may have noticed my blog looks a little different.  I have had the same blog look for almost 4 years and I wanted a change.  It's a work in progress and I expect there will be several more changes before it's complete.  Bear with me and my temporary construction zone as I work towards a fresh look.

Happy Weekend!

 

 

Stampin' Up! Fresh Vintage Hostess Pack

I'm really excited to show you today's project.  It was inspired by a card I received from my friend and upline, Pennie McCallum.  Pennie always sends me the most lovely cards and I am often creating something as a result (I hope she buys into the theory that imitation is a form of flattery and should be viewed as a compliment!).

Due to the popularity of Sale-a-bration, I have a number of workshops scheduled over the next few weeks.  As a thank you to my hostesses, I have made a set of Thank You cards based on Pennie's card.  They use my absolute favorite ribbon, the 3/8" Pleated Satin Ribbon.  Each pack contains 4 cards with envelopes.  This was intentional because I wanted to make a card using each of the 4 colors of pleated ribbon - Pear Pizzazz (#125568), Riding Hood Red (#125569), Blushing Bride (#125570) and Baja Breeze (#125571).

If you followed my blog earlier in the week, you may recall my post on Valentine's Day where I mentioned the use of Stampin' Up! note cards (#107311).  All of these hostess packs were made with the note cards.  They were so quick and easy to make because so much of the prep work was already done for me!  And, I was able to make 5 (FIVE!!) hostess packets with just one set of note cards!  Talk about economical!!  I am certain each of my hostesses will love this gift.

Interested in hosting a workshop with me?  If you live in the Central Florida area and would like to have your own Fresh Vintage Hostess pack, then contact me at maryann@thejoyofstamping.com to schedule your workshop today! I would love to be your demonstrator!

Stampin' Up! Fresh Vintage Stamp Set

Sale-a-bration is in full swing and my local stampers are LOVIN' the free product with this promotion!  To showcase some of the awesome products in the Sale-a-bration catalog, here is a card we made at one of my stamp camps last week.

My inspiration for this card was actually from a sample right out of the 2012 Sale-a-bration catalog!  Not only are there great products in there but great samples/ideas too!  My stampers LOVED this card and it was voted "favorite" for the month.  What makes this card so great is that most of the card elements were earned for FREE!

The stamp set is Fresh Vintage (#125115W, 125117C) and has 5 beautiful images and one of the images coordinates with the Postage Stamp Punch (#122344)!  My favorite part of this card are the colors and the Everyday Enchantment designer series paper . Wow!  Stampin' Up! totally rocked it with this new paper.  The colors work well for so many different occasions and many are gender neutral too.

The butterfly was created by covering a cereal box with the Everyday Enchantment paper (I used our glue sticks to adhere it - it's the best glue stick around!). Once the paper was adhered, I cut out the butterfly with the Beautiful Butterfly Bigz Die (#114507).  I really love how a simple chipboard embellishment, or in this case, an dsp covered cereal box embellishment can make a card POP.  So pretty and so elegant.

Are you interested in earning this beautiful stamp set or designer series paper for free?  Contact me today at: maryann@thejoyofstamping.com with help to place your order. 

Don't need any help?  Then head on over to my ONLINE STORE and have fun shopping!

 

Ribbon Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day!  I should admit upfront that my husband and I don't make much of a fuss about this day.  In fact, I will be gone most of the day and he will be left to fend for his own dinner tonight.  Not that we don't appreciate the meaning behind this day, we just don't like to buy into the commercialization of it.  I'm certain he will be just fine with whatever leftover he can find in the fridge.  He will likely embrace the idea of eating in his recliner in front of the T.V.

So as not to come across as a Valentine scrooge, I would like to prove that I have made a Valentine.  It's a ribbon Valentine that incorporates scraps of ribbon.  It also gave me the opportunity to use Stampin' Up!'s Hearts Framelits.

This card came together pretty quickly.  On the inside, I secured the ribbon around the heart with Sticky Strip and then placed an additional piece of card stock over it to hide the scraps from the inside. As you can see, I used all sorts of ribbon to include: satin, grosgrain, crochet and the new pleated satin ribbon (LOVE that ribbon).  A simply greeting at the bottom from the P.S. I Love You stamp set was a perfect way to tie everything together.

This card also uses something that I have neglected for many years...Note Cards (#107311).  It's hard to tell in the photograph, but this is a 3.5" x 5" note card, not a standard A2 card.  I recently received a card that used the note card which reminded me they were suitable for mailing.  I immediately took them out of my drawer and have used them for several projects since.  Be sure to check back here on Friday to see the awesome hostess card packs I made with the note cards.

Here's the beautiful thing about Stampin' Up! note cards...they're pre-cut, pre-scored and they come with envelopes!  I don't have any prep work and it saves so much time!  And, they're a great value too!  For only $5.95, you get 20 cards and envelopes per pack. They're a bit hidden in the catalog, but you can find them on top of page 182.   If time is an issue for you too, you should consider getting a pack or two of the note cards.  You won't regret it!  Click HERE to purchase your notes card today!

For those of you who embrace today and all that it means, Happy Valentine's Day to you! 

 

Pursuit of Happiness

I have recently returned from a fantastic conference in San Antonio hosted by Stampin' Up!  I have come back rejuvenated, inspired and ready to share fabulous ideas and products.  Stampin' Up! has some wonderful products and changes on the horizon - it's a great time to be a Stampin' Up! customer and even better to be a demonstrator!

While in San Antonio, I participated in a swap - which is basically an opportunity for demonstrators to exchange card ideas.  It's a fun way to get a variety of styles of cards that I may not normally have an opportunity to showcase.  Here is a photo of my swap:

I can across the color combination in an old scrapbook magazine.  I don't think I would have put Real Red and Pool Party together, but coupled with the black, I found it a really refreshing, trendy combo.  In addition, I find the colors to be gender neutral which can work with a number of types of cards or projects.

My card uses a couple of new products available in the current Occasions Mini catalog to include the Fashionable Heart embosslit die and the Adorning Accents embossing folder.  How can you resist those adorable hearts?

Are you ready for some exciting news?  Within the next 24 hours Stampin' Up!'s most anticipated event begins...Sale-a-bration! For every $50 spent on product, you will earn FREE product in the Sale-a-bration catalog. Don't believe me?  C'mon back tomorrow to see for yourself!

See you then!

Birthday Butterflies

I received a really lovely card in the mail the other day from my friend Kelley B.  Kelley is a fellow demonstrator in AZ and she often fills my mailbox with fun cards and projects.  Kelley's card is bright and whimsical and uses some fantastic designer paper that will be available on Jan 24th.

What is so special about Jan 24th?  I'm glad you asked!  Mark your calendars because Tuesday, January 24th kicks off the best Stampin' Up! promotion of the year - Sale-a-bration!  What makes Sale-a-bration so special is that everyone wins during Sale-a-bration!  For each $50 you spend in product, you earn free product from the Sale-a-bration catalog!  Products include stamps, designer paper, accessories, and more!  Don't have a Sale-a-bration catalog?  Contact me today to have one sent to you.

Over the next few days I will be in San Antonio, Texas at the Stampin' Up! Leadership conference.  As long as I have cooperation from my camera and tablet, I will be posting pictures of the upcoming events.  Be on the lookout for those.

Have a great day! Make it a good one.

Color Coach 101

I'd like to begin by thanking my son and nephews for sharing their cold with me.  The fact that I haven't been able to breathe or sleep lately has hampered my efforts to be creative and has forced me to abandon all things crafty until I could start to function again.  I am slowly returning to normalcy - whatever that is.

To aid me in my effort to be creative, I reached for my Color Coach.  I haven't had any formal training in color principles or understanding the color wheel, but fortunately for me, I don't have to.  Stampin' Up! has created a Color Coach that does all the work for you.  This is such a great tool, especially when you are color challenged like me.  All you do is start by picking a color, turn the card over and voila! you have a color combination that makes you look like you know what you're doing.

Really!  It's that simple!

For my project today, I wanted to use a color that I don't use very often.  It was time to show it some love.  So, I picked Poppy Parade.  I simply found Poppy Parade on my color swatch, turned it over and it told me a "creative combination" would be to use Poppy Parade, Baja Breeze and So Saffron.  So here is the result:

I could have mixed the color combination in any number of ways, but I already had a card base of So Saffron available. A card base of Poppy would have been equally pretty.  The image on this card is from a set called Friends Never Fade.  It, too, hasn't seen much ink lately so I brought it out for my color challenge.

The really cool thing is that the Color Coach offers several combinations, so you're never "stuck" with just one option.  It's a great tool to have on hand when you want to stretch you're creative boundaries and think outside the box. Truth is, I would have never put these colors together on my own, but I like it!

The Color Coach comes in multiple languages too so for all of my Spanish, German and French friends, you won't be left out of the fun (# 120148 English Only  or #121046 Multiple Languages). Interested in owning your own Color Coach ?  I can help with that!  Click here to go to my on-line store. 

Thanks for dropping by! 

You're A-maze-ing!

Creating and sending cards just got more fun! With the introduction of maze games in the Occasions Mini Catalog, the recipient of your card or project can be entertained for hours!   Kids young and old will appreciate the interactive nature of this card.

With a coordinating stamp set called Totally A-maze-ing (#12505W/125507C) you can create a project with this toy for numerous occasions.  The set has 11 pieces with four cleverly worded sentiments.  Check out the other fun stamps in this set:

The maze games are sold in packs of four (4) and very reasonably priced at $2.50 per pack (#124332).  What a great way to add an unexpected surprise to your project!

Ready to test your skills with the maze game?  Click here to order the stamps and games now.  Add a little "fun" to your crafting today!