Here are the remaining swaps from my meeting with my fellow Ronald McDonald House volunteers. If you like punch art, I have a couple of great cards to show you.

 
This first card is made by Karen Mickel.  Look at this adorable snowman!  It makes me think of growing up in Michigan.  Besides being a cute card, the colors on this are fantastic!

Check out this bug...

This was made by Linda Goldhersz.  Linda is the team leader at our Orlando Ronald McDonald House.  Look at the clever way she used the punches to create this fabulous bug.  Another great mix of color too.  This card made me laugh out loud.

And finally, the last swap is made by Pam Liles (www.palcrafts.com)

 
Obviously, this is not a punch art card, but it did receive special ranking from my daughter.  I was adding all of the swaps to my display board and Rachel left me this note...

Kudos to Pam for receiving Rachel's seal of approval!

Thanks to all of my RMcH friends for participating in the swap. Can't wait til next time.

Just a reminder to my blog readers that are considering joining the Stampin' Up family...this Sunday is the last day to take advantage of the $99 special.  This is a fantastic deal, especially for those of you who already own a good deal of SU merchandise. Don't delay...these kind of specials don't come around very often.  Contact me for details.

I'm off to finish prepping for my Stampin' Up! workshop this Saturday.  If you are in East Orlando and have interest in attending, please contact me as soon as possible. I'd love to have you!

As promised, here are a few of the swaps I received from my fellow demonstrators who volunteer with me at the Ronald McDonald House. 

 This first swap is made by Barb Kemmel (www.stampoutstress.com).  It's too bad you can't see and touch this card because you would quickly realize the flower is made from the flirtatious fabric! Isn't it gorgeous?  Although it didn't come through on the photo, it even has glitter too. Here's a picture of the inside:

 
This next swap is made by Terri Tosh (www.territosh.stampinup.net)

Terri's card uses the Flower Garden embossing folder on vellum - sooo pretty.  The scallop trim border around this card makes it so elegant. This card would be perfect for any occasion.

Come back on Thursday so you can view the rest of the swaps.  If you love punch art, then you have got to see these!!

Just a reminder, if you are in the East Orlando area and have interest in attending my workshop this Saturday, 7/30, Thursday is the last day to RSVP. Please contact me at [email protected].

Be blessed!

It's true.  I have the best job ever.  There is no other job that I can think of that nurture's creativity, builds relationships, encourages community involvement and allows me to be my own boss all the while selling the best paper craft products in the industry.  I love my job.

One of the ways Stampin' Up! separates itself from its competitors is its community involvement.  For years, Stampin' Up! has actively been involved in the Ronald McDonald House Charities. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been donated through the sales of a special designated stamp set in each catalog.  One of the ways we, as demonstrators, reach out is to go to the local Ronald McDonald Houses and provide a respite for those who are there caring for loved ones.  We offer the opportunity to make cards, 3-d projects and special events at no cost to the house guests. 

Orlando has two Ronald McDonald Houses.  I am fortunate enough to work with a group of women and fellow demonstrators who are all committed to making a difference. I am proud to be affiliated with Stampin' Up! and working side by side with these 5 other women. We meet monthly to work on projects for the House, we share business ideas and we genuinely want to support each other. Let me say it again.  I have the best. job.ever.

 
These are my fabulous friends.  Top (left to right): Linda Goldhersz, Terri Tosh, Pam Liles. Bottom (left to right): Mary Ann Reiner (me), Barb Kemmel and Karen Mickel

Thank you, Ladies for making my job so easy...and fun!

Come back tomorrow so I can show you some of the swaps we did between us.  You won't be disappointed.  My friends are very talented!

Until then,

P.S.  Time is running out to join the Stampin' Up! family for only $99!  Contact me about this great offer so you can join the fun at the Ronald McDonald Houses too!

One of the ways Stampin' Up! demonstrators get card samples for their display board for workshops is to participate in card swaps with other demonstrators.  It a great way to showcase different stamp sets and, of course, different types of cards.  Well, quite unexpectedly, I have myself involved in not one, not two, but three swaps in the month of July. Talk about a little pressure!  Take a look at swap #1:

 
These cards used my favorite set Up, up and away.  Such a great and versatile stamp set! I added several layers, several colors and some dimension too!

The most difficult part of this card was having to cut out nearly 30 of the hot air balloons.  Oh, my aching fingers!  By the time balloon #10 came around I was wishing Stampin' Up! had a punch for the hot air balloon.  Maybe in the future!

Over the upcoming week I will be posting some of the swaps I receive from some of my fellow demonstrators.  I'm excited to see their works of art.  In early August I will be posting swaps from my team/downline.

Speaking of my team, we would love to have you join us! And, now is a great time to sign-up with Stampin' Up!.  Check out this deal...

Friends, Fun, and Fabulous Products!

 During July, you can join the Stampin' Up! family as a demonstrator for only $99! This limited time Starter Kit--valued at $185--comes with the following high-quality products:

• Easy Events Clear-Mount Set*
• Pennant Parade Wood-Mount Set*
• Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pad
• Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad
• Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad
• Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
• Brights 8-1/2" x 11" Assorted Card Stock
• Just Add Cake Designer Series Paper*
• Chocolate Chip 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon*
• Note Cards (20)
• Clear-Mount Block C
• Blender Pen (1)
• SNAIL Adhesive
• Business supplies

*Brand new to the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog!

Plus, join in July and get a FREE Christmas Keepsake project kit--a $40 value! Imagine an afternoon spent chatting with friends while creating something beautiful--isn't that what Stampin' Up! is all about? But act now because this special kit is only available as part of this limited-time offer.

As an added bonus, first-time demonstrators can get two free months of Demonstrator Business Web Services (DBWS) when they sign up during their first 21 days as a demonstrator. Subscribing to DBWS means having your own online store, blog, hostess portal, and much more!

Join Stampin' Up! in July and get brand-new products, including an exclusive project kit--all for just $99! Download the starter paperwork now!

Contact me to get started today!  Hurry time is running out!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. I need to go finish my swaps!

Various events and obligations kept me out of the stamp room this past week, but today I ended that terrible cycle!  My good friend and downline, Amber, came over today to share the stamp room with me and to get our creative juices flowing. 

We had good intentions and grand ideas - complete swaps, work on our display boards, talk a bit of "shop", etc.  Well, let's just say we didn't quite get through everything, but the truth is, it was SO good to spend 4.5 hours with Amber today.  And, we DID stamp!

Here's a picture of Amber in action:

And here's a picture of the two of us working on the vintage card we created:

 
And, finally, guess what?  My beautiful daughter, Rachel, all of a sudden wanted in on the party too.  Rachel doesn't exactly share my passion for papercrafts, but every once in awhile she likes to make something quick for her friends.  Today she created a birthday card for one of her friends from college.  It was nice to see you get your hands "inky" Rachel!

 I have a busy few weeks coming up as I am preparing for my monthly stamp camps, three swaps and a Stampin' Up! Workshop at my house next Saturday.  If you are in the Central Florida area and are interested in attending the workshop, please contact me so I can share the details.  The new catalog is filled with exciting new products and I would love to introduce them to you.

Off to finish creating!

There's nothing more disappointing than when "life" gets in the way of my stamping time.  In the words of my Facebook friends, "Dislike!". I had hopes of having several cards completed using my new favorite stamp set, "Up, up and Away", but, alas, I only have one - and I swiped the idea from the Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalog. Truth is, I had intended on "casing' this card away, I just didn't intend to do it so quickly.

Without further ado, here is my cased card from page 64.

I intentionally left off a sentiment since I'm not sure what occasion I will be using this for, but it really doesn't need one, in my opinion.  Why mess with cuteness?

More samples to come this week.

Thanks for visiting!

It was a painful wait, but somehow I got through it. What wait am I talking about?  The wait to get my new stampin' stuff from the 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog!!  The truth is, it didn't take that much longer than any "normal" order would, but because the anticipation was so high, my patience was low.  But imagine my sheer delight when I found this at my doorstep today...

Now THAT's what I'm tallkin' about!  Sheer, unadulterated joy! 

Take a look inside at some of my goodies...

 
Some of my new stamps...

And finally, my long awaited new favorite stamp set...

Woo Hoo!  I can't wait to get creating!  Come back tomorrow so I can show you what I've created with the new Up, up and away set!

See you then!

I don't know what it is, but I'm really drawn to the hot air balloon images in the Stampin' Up! 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog.  In fact, one of the new stamps sets I am eagerly waiting to receive is Up,up and away - a set that features several hot air balloons and sentiments.  I can't wait to get my hands on it!  In the meantime, this balloon image is from the Ain't Love Grand hostess set - equally cute and equally fun to use.

 
I've used a technique on this card called inlaid embossing.  It uses the Big Shot and the Square Lattice embossing folder. If you are familiar with the technique of inlaying in other genres, you know that to inlay you are embedding pieces of contrasting or different colored material into your project. That is, in essence, what we are doing with our card.  The clouds, made from Whisper White card stock, are inlaid into the Bashful Blue card stock which represents my sky. Here's the really fun part of this card.  Can you guess what the clouds are made of?  The frosting on the cupcake punch!  They are perfect clouds! Take a look:

 Isn't that clever? They are even proportionately correct to the hot air balloon! I love when these things fall together so easily.  If you haven't tried the inlaid embossing technique, I encourage you to try it.  It's quick, easy and a great addition to any card or scrapbook page.

Are you ready to give it a try?  Click here to visit my on line store.  Listed at the end of this post are the products and the item #'s that I used for this card.

Are you interested in Stampin' Up! products and don't have a demonstrator? Contact me at: [email protected] .  I would love to help you find the products you have interest in and maybe even a few you didn't know you needed to have :)

Have a great day!

 
Card Recipe:

Stamps: Ain't Love Grand (#122507 clear), Happy Greetings (#123313 clear)

Ink:Real Red (#103133), Black Stazon (#101406), various markers

Paper: Crumb Cake (#120953 ), Real Red (#102482 ), Bashful Blue (#105120 ), Whisper White (#100730 )

Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder (# 117335), Square Lattice embossing folder (#119976), Big Shot machine: (#113439), Cupcake Builder punch (#121807), Owl Builder punch - the small heart (#118074), gold brad (#104337), Real Red 5/8" Satin Ribbon (#117286)

It's been a long time since I've used vellum,  but I was inspired by a card made by Robin Merriman to go into the deep, dark chasms of my paper stash and dig it out.  I had forgotten how elegant a card looks with a vellum overlay.

The card uses the stamps from the Fabulous Florets set - currently available in the Summer Mini Catalog.  The stems are stamped repeatedly on white card stock.  I created first and second generation images by intentionally not re-inking my stamp.  What are generation images, you ask?  Simple. First generation images are images that are stamped in "full strength" ink - meaning you inked the stamp from the ink pad and placed the image directly on the card stock.  Second generation images are those images that are created by not re-inking the stamp.  In other words, you stamped the image two times in a row without re-inking. Second generation images are obviously lighter because there less ink on the stamp.  The lighter stamped images recede into the background giving it dimension. Occasionally, you can get a third generation image depending how much ink remains on the stamp. Unfortunately, due to the poor lighting in my photo, the variation in color of the stems is not that obvious.  You'll have to take my word for it since the card has already been mailed ;(.

Here's another secret about this card.  The standard way to heat emboss is to use craft ink, Versamarkor some other ink that remains wet long enough to apply embossing powder.  The fabulous trait about card stock vellum is that due to the coating on the paper, regular dye ink won't absorb into the vellum like it does on uncoated/regular card stock.  When embossing on vellum you don't have to use a craft or pigment ink, any ink you have will work.  Then, by using clear embossing powder, the color of your dye ink will show through.  Think of all the colors you can emboss with now! For this card, I used Stampin' Up!'s new In-Color called Calypso Coral.  The flowers were stamped in Coral and then embossed with clear embossing powder.

The finished sized is 4.25"x4.25".  Although square, it still fits perfectly in an A2 envelope and it will not require additional postage. The supplies for the card are listed below.

And finally, to the recipient of this card, Lisa - my dear college roommate of 25+ years ago -I will hold you and your family up in prayer knowing that you will perservere through this crisis! 

Thank you for visiting.

Supplies:

Stamps: Fabulous Florets and Thoughts and Prayers

Ink: Calypso Coral and Lucky Limeade

Paper: Caypso Coral, Whisper White, Card stock vellum

Accessories: Clear embossing powder, heat gun, Embossing Buddy, Scalloped oval punch, large oval punch, gold brads, pearls, dimensionals

I have the pleasure of sending a card of "congratulations"  to my friend, Debbie.  On July 2nd, Debbie joined my team and the Stampin' Up! family.  I am happy to welcome her to the fabulous and creative world of Stampin' Up!  I know she will enjoy it. I hope to showcase one of Debbie's creations in the near future.

When you go through the new Stampin' Up! 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog, it's obvious that the new stamps and accessories are fantastic. However, don't forget to look at the samples too!  That's why it's also called  an IDEA BOOK. My card was inspired by a sample in the catalog. This is a pocket card and the insert is pulled up by the flower.

The lighting is off a bit, but the base of the card is Bashful Blue and then embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder. The picture below shows the true color a bit better. 

  
I would love to make a card for YOU when you join my team. Let me show you what a fun job this can be. Whether you decide to do this as a business or simply as a hobby is up to you. It is rewarding either way and a decision you won't regret.

Contact me at: [email protected] for more information on getting started.

Have a great day!