I love making cards.  There are times when I'm creating one because I have to (birthday, holiday, etc) and then there are other times I create simply because I want to.  Today's card was a combination of both.  From a family of 7, I am the only girl which means I have to make a lot of masculine cards.  I struggle with them for so many reasons but with my brother's birthday quickly approaching I had to come up with something.  I'm also in a group swap where this month's theme was masculine cards! How lucky for me that I get a two for one deal!  

I debated what color to make the base of the card, but lately I have been drawn to neutrals.  I used Sahara Sand which is not a heavily used color for me, however it was perfect for showcasing a little pop of color in the corner with the paper flags.  And, because I love the bronzed buttons, it was a "safe" accessory to put on my brother's card.

The images, both from the Open Seas, have exquisite detail and one of my favorite sets. I hope to see the stamp set around for a long time.

I assembled the card like a shadowbox, having the image set back slightly from the forefront of the card.  Dimensionals do all the work and make shadow boxes easy to create.

I hope today allows you the chance to be creative.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mary Ann

I have five terrific cards to show you today.  These are all part of the swap that I began to showcase yesterday.

Nancy created a feminine card that showcases a lot of eye candy in the mini catalog; butterfly punches, fabric flower trim, designer builder brad and a doily!  

One of my favorite sets, Oh Hello.  Lori also added some dimension and texture by using pearls and the flower trim.

Cathi's card incorporates the Secret Garden stamp set and framelits along with the Sale-a-bration designer series paper for a big pop of color!

Linda created this fun, interactive easel card that uses the Oh Hello stamp set and Tea for Two designer series paper.

Karen's card highlights the Hearts a Flutter stamp set and coordinating framelits to create this pretty birthday card.

I hope you enjoyed viewing these cards as much as I enjoyed receiving them!

Mary Ann

I received some great cards from a recent card swap.  I am fortunate to be able to exchange card ideas with these talented women!  Each card was to showcase products from the Spring Mini Catalog.  Click on each card to enlarge.

This adorable card features the elephant from Henry Says (#128093C, #128090W).  Paired with the Parkers Patterns DSP, this card is bright and fun.

What a great masculine card!  Sandy incorporated the Dapper Dad stamp set (#129198C, #129195W) and the new Oval Framelits to create this handsome card.  

This gender-neutral card features the Parkers Patterns DSP and the sentiment from the Oh Hello stamp set (#130733C, #130730W).  Bold and bright, it will make the recipient smile.

If you like 3-D cards, then you will love this one.  This diorama card is stunning and interactive too. Featuring the By the Tide set (#129120C, #129117W) and some great brayering  this is definitely "thinking outside the box"!

Interested in seeing more?  Be sure to come back tomorrow when I showcase the rest of them!

Thanks for visiting!

Mary Ann

It's official!  Sale-a-bration has begun!  For the next 60 days you can earn FREE product for every $50 you spend.  It's a great time to be a Stampin' Up! customer and demonstrator!

Are you ready to join the fun?  The store is OPEN!

While you're trying to figure out what to add to your order, here are a few more demonstrator Sale-a-bration samples for your viewing pleasure.

All the cards above use one or products available in the Sale-a-bration brochure.  The creativity is endless!

Happy shopping!

So, here we are on the Eve of Sale-a-bration...the most wonderful time of the year!  I can already feel the excitement among my long-time customers.  Some have had their orders to me for over a week now!  Yup, it really is a GREAT time of year.

Maybe you're new to my blog or perhaps new to Stampin' Up! - so you're asking, "What is Sale-a-bration?".  Hard to believe that everyone doesn't know about it, but with nearly 7 billion people in the world I suspect there might be a couple that don't know.  So, for those 2 or 3 of you that don't know what Sale-a-bration is, here is a brief and simple explanation:

• For every $50 in product you buy, you earn free product from the Sale-a-bration brochure.
• There is no limit to how many Sale-a-bration products you can earn.
• Sale-a-bration is for a limited time only - Jan 22nd through Mar 22nd!  Get free stuff while you can!
• Want to earn A LOT of product?  Contact me to have a class, workshop or a private party.  Any class workshop or party order totalling $150 or more earns you hostess benefits, free Sale-a-bration product and an opportunity to hang out with ME (priceless!).
• Not interested in a class or workshop? You can place your own order in my ONLINE STORE.

Don't think about it too long...the calendar is filling quickly.

Contact me today to reserve your date.

I want to give you a peek at some of the awesome cards you can create with Sale-a-bration products.  I had the opportunity to swap cards with some talented demonstrators around the country.  The creativity is really endless with these products!

Aren't these fabulous?  I am honored to be a member of this swap group.  Want to see more samples?  Be sure to come back tomorrow!

And, of course, the PAR-TAY begins tomorrow! 

See you then!

There's still a few more weeks until the official start of Sale-a-bration, but my card today showcases a couple of products that will be available when it begins on January 22nd. 

Not familiar with Sale-a-bration? 

It's the biggest promotion on the Stampin' Up! calendar!  For every $50 you spend on Stampin' Up! products, you earn a free item in the Sale-a-bration brochure.  There are some incredible items available including stamps, designer paper, buttons, ribbons and more.  There's something for everyone!  Need a Sale-a-bration brochure?  Contact me and I will get one to you right away.

Every other month I participate in a swap with 10 other demonstrators across the country.  This month's theme is to use anything in the Sale-a-bration brochure (which demonstrators have access to one month prior).  My items are the designer paper and the button.  I LOVE these colors together but would have never imagined they looked so good together without seeing this paper.  The stamped image is from the stamp set From My Heart which is a great 8 piece set that offers unique and interesting sentiments.

Here are my swaps completed and ready to be mailed!

Over the next couple of days I will be getting ready for the Stampin' Up! Leadership convention that will be held here in Orlando at the end of next week.  It's a great time to be a part of the Stampin' Up! family! 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

I have really talented women on my Ink Happens! team.  I am proud to showcase their work and to share them with all of you today. I am so grateful to know each of these women and am honored to have them on my team.

Like the last swap I was in, we too had a Fall/Christmas theme.  I was really pleased at the variety of swaps I received.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Are YOU interested in joining the Ink Happens! team too?  We would love to have you join us.  It's never been a better time to be a demonstrator!

Join my team now!

Thanks for stopping by!  Be sure to stop by tomorrow to see the latest "Kelley Creations".

This post is a continuation from yesterday.  I have a few more fabulous swaps to show you from my cross-country group swap.

I hope you are inspired!

A big thank you to all of my fellow demonstrators that participated and shared their talent.  I look forward to our next swap in November!

I've decided to make this weekend "swap weekend".  Tomorrow I will post the swaps from my Ink Happens! team swap so I can showcase even more talent from my very own group! And then, be sure to come back on Monday because I have two more "Kelley Creations" to share with you.  She has been busy at her sewing machine creating fantastic projects using Stampin' Up! fabric.  You won't believe what she has created THIS time!

My intention was to post the swap card that I made for my Ink Happens! team swap, but the picture I took of it has disappeared.  And, of course, I didn't keep one for myself so I will have to post that one a little later once I can get another picture of it from someone on my team.  That will teach me not to make on for myself!

But, I do have other fabulous swaps to share with you.  There are nearly a dozen of them so I will divide them over a couple of days.  Trust me, they are worth the wait! These cards are from a swap group I am a part of with demonstrators across the country.  We swap every other month and each swap has a theme.  This swap theme was Fall/Christmas.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Have a great day!

One of my favorite things about being a demonstrator is getting to meet other demonstrators and sharing ideas.  I'm involved with a number of different swap groups (where we swap or trade card ideas) and as a result get some really nice ideas to present to my customers.  I just finished participating in two different swaps and am excited to share some of the great ideas in the weeks ahead.  Today I want to show you the card that I created for one of the swaps.

I wanted to create a "non-traditional" Christmas card that deviated from the typical green and red and I also wanted to add a bit of shabby chic.  The sketch was inspired by a card I found on Pinterest so it was just a matter of filling in with the design elements. 

The trees, cut out using the Holiday Collection Framelits, were a snap to make.  Created with the First Edition DSP, I sponged the edges with Crumb Cake ink and added a rhinestone bling on top of each.  They were arranged on a piece of Early Espresso Core'dinations card stock that was embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder.  A quick sanding with the Stampin' Sanding System turned the polka dots into snow flakes!

The Candlelight Christmas DSP was the perfect addition to my card with the Early Espresso and Very Vanilla colors contributing to my shabby chic look.  With a touch of Real Red, I was able to incorporate a traditional color too.

My favorite element of this card is the snowflake that was created using Silver Glimmer paper and the Snow Flurry Bigz die(LOVE this die!!).  Talk about bling!  I also added a faceted button and linen thread for additional interest.

Stop by tomorrow to see the other Christmas card I made for my Ink Happens! team swap.  I have Christmas on the brain!

Thanks for stopping by!