Hello Beautiful

How do you say Happy Birthday to Someone Special?

February 4, 2016

Well, I decided to wish my Mother-in-Law a Happy Birthday with the new Botanical Gardens suite! Designer Series Papers, stamps, and framelits!

My Mother-in-Law loves flowers so I knew that this product suite would be the perfect thing to create a card for her. I started with the soft color of Mint Macaron for the card base. I then used a strip of Botanical Gardens designer series paper. I cropped a Whisper White circle and stamped it with the Happy Birthday greeting from the “Sky is the Limit” in Blackberry Bliss ink.

Hello, Honey and Blackberry Bliss cardstock was used to create the beautiful flowers from the Botanical Builder framelits dies. Look at those flowers; aren’t they beautiful? These dies create a 3-D type of flower! It really is like no other die I’ve seen before; almost like a new generation of framelit dies. It’s like a petal within a petal.

Mom LOVED her card! And you? You’ll love the fact that the Botanical Gardens Suite is a bundle, and this bundle is a triple-play! This Bundle contains the Botanical Blooms stamp set, the Botanical Builder Framelit dies AND the Botanical Gardens Designer Series Paper! BONUS! This bundle, priced at $51.75 earns you a FREE Sale-A-Bration item! SWEET!!! I used the Sky is the Limit stamp set, which will be retired on February 15th. Now is a great time to score this bundle and stamp set, in a few days you will no longer be able to get this stamp set. And trust me, this is stamp set you’ll want! It makes great masculine cards, too!

To order any of the products shown here, just click on the product names above or on the pictures below.Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Thank you for stopping by My Stampin Space. Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of this card; do you love it as much as Mom did?

I’ve been trying to fill my stash of Birthday Cards, to fill my New Year’s Resolution of sending birthday cards (on time) this year! You’ll see more birthday cards on my blog in the coming days/weeks. And you are welcome to join me for my next class, Thursday, Feb. 11th where we will focus on making Birthday Cards. Email me to RSVP to my class! If you just want to make your own cards, and want to shop with me, please know that I appreciate each & every order! Thank you 🙂

Come back soon as I’ll be sharing more birthday cards in the next few days.

Nancy

Playing with the Pals Papers Arts

February 3, 2016

I am blessed to be part of a wonderful on-line community of Stampin’ UP! demonstrators called the Stampin’ Pretty Pals, under Mary Fish. The Pals have their very own place to play with paper, called Pals Paper Arts. Twice a month, they offer an opportunity to play with paper: a sketch challenge and a color challenge.

PPA-285-Jan28-1

This lovely color combination is the inspiration for this weeks challenge. I have to admit ,I’m not sure why but at first I wasn’t too keen on these colors. But I stretched myself to use them together, and this is what I came up with:

I wanted a simple one-layer card and this really came together much better than I anticipated! And once I sat back and admired my work 😉 I REALLY LIKED THIS COLOR COMBO! All because I tried it.

Now, I can tell you there are some really talented folks who play at the Pals Paper Arts. You can click here to head over there and take a look at all the fabulous creations made with these colors. It will knock your socks off!

I used the Grateful Bunch stamp set for the lace border, Bloomin Love for the hearts and What I Love for the sentiment. You can order any of these by clicking on the stamp set name, or clicking here.

The Grateful Bunch is part of bundle – add the coordinating Blossom Bunch Punch and SAVE! The What I Love stamp is FREE with a $50 order during Sale-A-Bration. (I love FREE!)

What is Sale-A-Bration? Click here to find out!

Thanks for stopping by My Stampin Space. And if you choose to shop with me please know that I am grateful for each and every customer and will go out of my way to take good care of you. If you have questions on any products or techniques, don’t be afraid to ask! I love to share my knowledge of paper crafting!

Come back later, I have a special card to share.

Nancy

Hello, My Friend!

January 24, 2016

I spent a half an hour the other talking on the phone to a friend that I haven’t spoken to in a while (we text & facebook, but haven’t heard her voice in a while). I’m not much of a ‘talk on the phone’ kind of person; I call when I have something to say and usually keep it short & sweet. But it was really nice to catch up with Laura, and she is going thru some really rough physical ailments, and recently had a set back in her journey. Laura has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know, and is always full of joy and maintains such a positive spirit! I was so uplifted just talking on the phone with her, that I went down to My Stampin’ Space and whipped up this card to send to her. Hello Meets What I Love Of course, I had to use all my new goodies to make this special card for a special friend! I started with a Whisper White card base layered with a piece of Perfectly Artistic DSP in gray with the watercolor side up. I layered a piece of Botanical Gardens Designer Vellum on top of that layer. (Both of these items are FREE with a qualifying order during Sale-A-Bration! – Sweet!) I cropped a banner of Whisper White card stock using the Banner Triple Punch and then stamped the Hello, My Friend sentiment in Crushed Curry ink and Lost Lagoon Ink using the “Hello” stamp set (also FREE during Sale-A-Bration).

The flowers are from the “What I Love” stamp set (you guessed it, also FREE! – I love FREE, how about you?) This was my top pick from the Sale-A-Bration catalog. I used Lost Lagoon, Mint Macaron, Crushed Curry & Melon Mambo for the flowers & leaves. My paper snips helped me fussy cut all the flowers & leaves in no time.

The overall design/layout was CASE’D from the Sale-A-Bration catalog. The samples shown were the reason that this is my favorite stamp set in the SAB catalog. The designers at Stampin’ UP! offer us such great ideas and layouts and are a great springboard for our own creations. While the catalog was my inspiration, my card is uniquely my own. Is there a project in the catalog that has inspired you to make a project your own?

Well, by now, you’re probably wondering how you can get all of these stamps and papers for FREE, right? Sale-A-Bration, that’s how!

What is Sale-A-Bration? CLICK HERE to learn all about Sale-A-Bration and why you don’t want to miss out on this limited time promotion!

Weekly Deals. Stampin’ Up! releases new Weekly Deals every Tuesday – some of your favorite products at a discount for one week only (or while supplies last). To check out this week’s deals, click here.

Click here to start shopping!

Thanks for stopping by My Stampin Space today! I hope that you enjoyed the project I shared with you, and hope that Laura liked receiving my card in the mail. Please feel free to leave me comments; I love to hear from you. And if you don’t have your own Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, and choose to order from me today, thank you! I am always honored when someone chooses me as their demonstrator and I will do what I can to earn your trust and provide excellent customer service.

Nancy

White Space

January 21, 2016 5 Comments

I was inspired to make this card after a friend shared a card she made that was white on white.

Bloomin Hearts thinlits die, heart, bridal, white on white

I had just received my Bloomin Heart Thinlits dies and just couldn’t stop playing with it! (It is a little bit additive, especially when used with the new Precision Plate and Big Shot Die Brush!)

White on White, or any monochromatic project can be a little tricky but it doesn’t have to be dull! One of the best tips to keep in mind when working white on white (or color on color) is that since you don’t have colors, you need to work with layers and texture and dimension. Who needs lots of color when you’ve got all that going for you?

Notice all the layers? First is my Whisper White card base. Then comes another, smaller layer of Whisper White that was embossed with the Gently Falling TIEF. A little strip of Botanical Gardens Designer Vellum, stamped with a sentiment in Silver, is wrapped around this layer prior to adhering this to the card base. (Even this vellum is white on white!) This tiny bit of silver ink is the only ‘color’ on the entire card!

Now for the focal point! I cut out a heart from Whisper White cardstock using the Bloomin’ Heart thinlits and several flowers as well. The Big Shot die brush makes easy work of getting all those little pieces out of the intricate design. Stampin’ Dimensionals strategically placed behind the 5 flower areas prop this heart up from the embossed background. Next I curled the flowers and using pieces of dimensionals, adhered the flowers to the flower spaces. On the 2 larger flowers, I added a smaller flower on top of the larger flower. Each flower was then topped with a Pearl. Lastly, a piece of Organza ribbon was adhered on top of the heart for yet more texture & dimension.You can see the layers and dimensions in this view.

While I originally made this card as a Congrats on your Engagement, I thought it looked more ‘bridal’ and decided to use it as a Congrats on getting married instead! My Rose Wonder bundle was on it’s way, so I waited, then added the sentiment “Wishing you a marriage made in heaven and a lifetime blessed by God” to the inside.

Here’s another look:
bloomin hearts thinlits die, bridal, white on white

If you don’t have a Stampin’ UP! Demonstrator and want to order any of the supplies I’ve used here to create this card, I’d be honored to be your demonstrator! Click here to start shopping, or click on any of the items below. This die is part of a product suite that includes a coordinating stamp set and designer series paper, as well as embellishments. And you can bundle & save when you purchase the die and stamp set together!

Don’t forget, with every $50 in products (before shipping & tax) you will earn 1 FREE Sale-A-Bration item!

What is Sale-A-Bration? CLICK HERE to learn all about Sale-A-Bration and why you don’t want to miss out on this limited time promotion!

blogpost_pp_sab_header_12-29-2015_na

To keep the creativity coming every month, Subscribe to Paper Pumpkin. Order a prepaid 3 month subscription and SAVE $. (You can even “GIFT” this to a crafter of your choice) AND select 1 FREE Sale-A-Bration item.

Please leave me a comment below and let me know how you liked this project today! I love to hear from you.

Thanks for stopping by,

Nancy

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

My Lucky Stars

January 17, 2016 1 Comment

When I saw this sketch by the Freshly Made Sketch challenge, I knew exactly what stamp set I wanted to use. What I didn’t know was that Cindy Hall, the sketch designer, used the same paper and same stamp set, until just now, when I went to upload my project to their site, and took the time to admire all of the other entries. I guess great minds think alike!

I thank my Lucky Stars

While Cindy designed the sketch to be used as a joy-fold card, mine is a standard size 5-1/2″ x 4-1/4″ card.

You can see all of the other entries at the Freshly Made Sketch challenge here.

The GOING PLACES product suite zoomed to the top of my ‘Must Have’ list when the Occasions catalog came out. I’ve always had a love of maps; I got that from my Dad who always drove with a map folded on the steering wheel when we would go on long road trips and family vacations. In fact my office has a wall paper border of world maps. Even in this day of GPS and google maps, I still love a good paper map, with all its folds, and legends, and…, well I digress!

The suite includes the “Going Global” stamp set, the “World Traveler TIEF”, an “Going Places” Designer Series paper stack. A great product suite for projects that lend to a masculine feel, but also for memory keeping for trips and journeys, as well as astronomers and star-gazers.

This card is headed straight to my son Matt. Even though he still lives at home, I feel I don’t always tell him how much he means to me. I hope this card, that he’ll find tucked in an unsuspecting place, will let him know I’m so thankful for him, and the joy he brings me!

Thanks for stopping by My Stampin Space. Come back again soon. I’ll be sharing another card using this product suite later in the week.

Thanks,
Nancy

Click here to start shopping!

What is Sale-A-Bration? CLICK HERE to learn all about Sale-A-Bration and why you don’t want to miss out!

From the Heart – Pals Blog Hop

January 13, 2016 6 Comments

Pals Blog Hop 2016 badge

Welcome to the Pals Blog Hop for January 2016. We are thankful you stopped by to take a look at our new 2016 Blog Hop monthly themes. This month we are showcasing projects using Stampin’ Up! products featuring a theme from any of the following: Valentine’s Day; Thinking of You; Get Well; or Sympathy. All of these themes come “From the Heart.” We hope you enjoy our creations.

You may just be starting the Blog Hop or may have come from the previous link from the Line-up on the Pals Blog Hop listing shown below. The full lineup will help you move along from blog to blog so you may see all the projects.

My project was made “From the Heart” for my dear Aunt Jan. Jan was in a tragic accident about 2 weeks before Christmas and suffered multiple, traumatic injuries. I made this card for her using elements that came straight from my heart to hers!

hearts & butterflies

I started the card with a piece of “Perfectly Artistic” designer series paper (free with a qualifying order during Sale-A-Bration now thru Feb. 15) in a pale shade of blue using the soft watercolor side glued to a Whisper White card base. Aunt Jan loves to paint so I thought this would be the perfect backdrop. Since my Bloomin’ Heart thinlits die was begging to be used, I cut a heart from the now retired Painted Blossoms designer series paper. Aunt Jan LOVES to garden; she plants literally hundreds of flowers each year on her huge property. I just had to use flowers as a nod to her love of gardening. (I’m glad I stocked up on this paper before it retired because those beautiful blooms will never go out of style!) A banner cropped from the pink paper shows off a silver foil banner and grounds the heart to the base.

Next I cropped a Lost Lagoon butterfly and layered that with the intricately-cut butterfly that coordinates with it cropped from Whisper White. Jan is also a big animal lover: her horses, cats & dogs attest to that, as do the numerous bird feeders in her yard. With all the flowers, butterflies are always welcome too! But a subtle message too, that this accident may be a life-changing event, but like a butterfly, she will come out stronger and more beautiful on the other side!

Lastly, a little heart punched out using the Sweetheart punch, and the Botanical Gardens Designer Vellum (free with a qualifying order during Sale-A-Bration) is the final layer topped off with a Iced Rhinestone – a subtle message that Jan is a shining jewel! The silver bevel of the rhinestone, the silver foil banner in the background and the silver metallic cording are also hints that Jan is a precious metal in my eyes! (and precious in the eyes of the Lord God, too!).

The sentiment is from “Thoughts & Prayers”.

hearts & butterflies

This card was offered with many prayers from my heart, and God is good! He is answering our prayers and Jan is recovering; although it seems with two steps forward and one step back at times, but overall she has amazed us with her determination and strength! I would, however, covet your prayers for my Aunt Jan. She still has a long road ahead of her.

I hope that she will see each element of my card, and the meaning behind each one, and know that it was made right From My Heart!

Thanks for visiting My Stampin’ Space and listening to my story. Please feel free to leave me a comment below. To continue with the hop, please refer to the Blog Hop Line-up below. We hope to see you on next month’s Pals Blog Hop!

If you want to order any of the products I used here, or any other Stampin’ Up! supplies, please feel free to visit my online store. You can click on any of the items below to add that item to your shopping cart. I would love to have you as a customer!

Stampin’ Hugs,

Nancy

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Today is the day you’ve bee waiting for!

January 5, 2016

It's Your Day!, Party with Cake, Party Punch Pack, Nancy Gleason, My Stampin Space

It’s your day! The day you’ve been waiting for! The 2016 Catalogs are here!

So without any further adu, here they are:

The Stampin’ Up! 2016 Occasions Catalog: (Click on cover to open)

The Stampin’ UP! 2016 Sale-A-Bration catalog ( Every item in this catalog is FREE with a qualifying purchase of $5o or more – excluding shipping & tax. There is NO LIMIT to the amount of Sale-A-Bration items you can earn; every increment of $50 gets you one item. $100 gets you two, and so on.).

I know your wish list is probably really long right now, so to help you see each of the items more closely, Stampin’ UP! has created a number of product videos. You can watch the videos here:

https://youtu.be/s4LXgYV3lc8
Whew! That’s a lot to look at so grab a cup of coffee, a notebook to make a wish list, and enjoy! When you are ready to shop, remember to keep your purchases in $50 increments so you can earn Sale-A-Bration items, and then click here to shop with me.

Want it all? If you are planning on spending $100 anyway, you may want to consider purchasing the Starter Kit for $99. During Sale-A-Bration, you can choose $155 worth of products in your kit, and it Ships FREE! Bonus! Then, after that you can enjoy product discounts to fill the rest of your wish list without breaking the bank, Sweet, right? There is no obligation to ‘sell’ anything or to conduct workshops. You can simply become a wholesale customer and enjoy the discount for your own purchases.

Enjoy the new catalogs and feel free to contact me if you have questions. In the NE PA area? Come to my Open House on Saturday, January 9th to play and shop the new products.

See you soon.

Nancy

You’re Invited….

January 3, 2016

In just a 2 short days, the 2016 Stampin’ Up! Occasions catalog and Sale-A-Bration catalogs will be released! It’s almost like waiting for Christmas!

Be sure to tune in Tuesday, Jan 5th as I will have the catalogs posted on my blog. On Saturday, January 9th, you’re invited to attend my Open House where you can come Play & Shop the new products in person! Get your hands on new stamps, papers, embellishments and tools. I’ll have different stations set up for Make & Takes, door prizes, and lots of new products and samples for you to explore. And of course, I’ll have the new catalogs so you can get your hands on paper version of the catalog, in case the e-catalog just isn’t enough for you!

My January & February class schedules will be posted along with samples of the projects we’ll make in those classes, and attendees of the Open House will be the first to sign-up for classes.

I know you’re dying to see a sneak peek of the catalog, and while I can’t post the catalog just yet, here’s a peek of one of the Make & Takes you’ll make if you attend my Open House.

Nancy Gleason, My Stampin Space, Botanicals for You, 2016 Sale-A-Bration

Don’t you just love this bold sentiment? This is stamp set called “Botanicals For You” and it’s FREE with a qualifying order during the Sale-A-Bration promotion. This could fit the bill for any occasion, and I can see making this in other color combo’s too.

So, make your RSVP now to attend the Open House; there is no cost for this event, but you must RSVP to reserve your spot (and catalog, and project kits).

Saturday, Jan. 9th from 1-4 PM in Moosic, PA. I’ll give directions as needed when you RSVP. Need more info? Email me.

And then check back early, early Tuesday morning to view the catalogs right here on my blog. See you then,

Nancy

Welcome 2016

December 31, 2015 3 Comments

Happy New Year, Number of Years, Confetti TIEF, 2016, Nancy Gleason, My Stampin Space

I want to wish all of my friends, my customers and my blog readers a very Happy New Year! I hope that 2016 brings health and happiness to you all.

I used a few new products to make this card, the Confetti TIEF was used to created the party-like embossed background. I used a large oval framelit die and stamped “2016” in versamark ink and heat embossed the numbers in pewter embossing powder. The numbers are from a new stamp set “Number of Years” and there are coordinating framelit dies as well. I love bundles and this is going to be a staple in any paper crafters supply. A little Melon Mambo bow adds just the right finishing touch!

Be safe! Just 5 more days until the new catalogs are released! Now, that’s something to celebrate!

Nancy

Let the Tradition Continue….

December 31, 2015

While you may think this post will have something to do with Christmas or Holiday Traditions, it’s not. December is the time of year Stampin’ UP! demonstrators get to pre-order from the much anticipated Occasions and Sale-A-Bration catalogs set to debut in January.

Last year, I needed to send a birthday card to someone celebrating a Christmas birthday, and I had one ready to go. But just then, Mr. Brown (aka UPS driver) delivered a package to my doorstep. Not just any package, but a package from Stampin’ UP! containing NEW PRODUCTS!!! Well, I looked at the clock and decided I had just enough time to open the box, play with my new goodies and create a card for this dear customer/friend who would appreciate a card made with NEW PRODUCTS more than anyone else. So I dashed down to My Stampin’ Space and created a masterpiece, with just seconds to spare before I had to leave for work. I threw my newly created card into an envelope and mailed it, just in the nick of time! I was so proud of that accomplishment, and still made it to work on time.

Days later, instead of a “Thank you, the card you made for me was beautiful, and I’m drooling over the new products” like I expected, I got a “Are you kidding me? The card you sent was blank; you never signed it! Of course you stamped your ‘hand stamped by Nancy’ on the back, but you never signed it! I couldn’t believe it! I felt like an idiot! In my rush to get done, I made and mailed the card but never even signed my name.

So this year, I sent her a card that wasn’t signed ON PURPOSE! After all, the tradition must go on, right? And yes, it was made with lots of new products from the new catalogs.

Party Wishes, Confetti TIEF, Nancy Gleason, My Stampin Space

First, there is this awesome Embossing Folder called Confetti TIEF that just looks like a party in progress. Then then stamp set called Party Wishes; don’t you just love the cake and the sentiment? And the candle punch is part of a punch pack trio called Party Punch Pack (and you can bundle and save with this stamp set and punch pack!) And you noticed that adorable little dot, didn’t you? That’s from the Love Blossoms Embellishment kit.

And the Icing on the Cake? Party Wishes, Wink of Stella, Nancy Gleason, My Stampin Space It’s this cool new product called Wink of Stella. It’s a magical paintbrush that adds glittery glimmer without the mess of glitter! There’s no glue, no glitter, just a beautiful glittery shine. See how the candles appear to flicker? This is going to add so much to so many feature projects, I see it as a go-to project enhancer. I can’t wait for you to try it.

Tomorrow I have another project to share with you for the New Year and then I’ll share some more birthday cards, including the one I sent that I DID SIGN!

Don’t forget there are still several ways to shop and save right now:

Year End Sale & Clearance Rack
Weekly Deals
15% Off Bundles
Holiday Catalog Retiring Products List (discounts to 40%)
$99 Starter Kit (the best deal of all–I WELCOME hobby stampers)!

Thanks for stopping by; I welcome your comments so please take a moment and tell what you think of this card.

Nancy

A Sneak Peek JUST FOR YOU!

December 15, 2015

Don’t you just love FREE! And don’t you just love seeing Sneak Peeks from the yet-to-be released catalog? Well, today’s post features BOTH! Just for you

You can get this stamp set, “Botanicals For You” for FREE during the upcoming Sale-A-Bration promotion. The patterned paper “Wildflower Fields” is also from the SAB catalog. Sale-A-Bration is great: you earn a free item from the SAB catalog for FREE with every qualifying purchase! No wonder so many people look forward to SAB each year.

I’m also proud of myself; I stretched out of my comfort zone to do two things I normally don’t do. First I used a bold patterned paper. I’m always afraid it might be too much and overpower my project so I usually shy away from bold patterns, but the bold sentiment really pairs well with the bold patterned background, don’t you think?

Secondly, I stamped directly onto patterned paper. Again, I normally shy away from doing this, but it works really well here. I’m glad I stretched myself to try something different.

While Blackberry Bliss is the most dominant color in the paper, and what I used to stamp the sentiment, I picked up the other colors in the paper for the other elements. Calypso Coral, Mossy Meadow, Lost Lagoon and Hello Honey play together well against the Blackberry Bliss.

This card is headed to someone special because she is awesome! I hope she likes it, and I hope you do too. If you do, make sure to put Sale-A-Bration on your calendar; January 5 – March 31, 2016. And don’t worry about making the qualifying purchases; when you see the Occasions catalog, you’ll want everything!

Make today a happy day, and keep stampin’!

Nancy

HUGE YEAR END SALE STARTS TODAY!

December 10, 2015

Stampin’ UP! has just announced a YEAR-END SALE with dozens of our retiring favorites from the Holiday Catalog, along with some other retired merchandise just in time your last minute shopping & gift-giving. AND I’m giving you permission to give those gifts to yourself, too!

Some of the deals are too big to pass up! But everything is “While Supplies Last” so don’t delay! My Favs:

2014-2016 In Color Backgrounds Designer Series Paper Stack by Stampin' Up! — 2014-2016 In Color Backgrounds Designer Series Paper Stack Price: ~~Reg. $21.95~~ **SALE $13.17**

Black Glimmer Paper by Stampin' Up! — Black Glimmer Paper Price: ~~Reg $5.00~~ **SALE $3.50**

Oh What Fun Tag Project Kit by Stampin' Up! — Oh What Fun Tag Project Kit Price: ~~Reg $21.00~~ **SALE $14.70**

Don’t forget about our WEEKLY DEALS either; you can score some good deals on a few different item each week; new deals are revealed every Tuesday.

The 10th of the month is also the last day to subscribe to Paper Pumpkin to get that months kit delivered to your door. Sign Up Here today. Not sure what Paper Pumpkin is: Watch this video:

Paper Pumpkin also makes a great gift for that crafter in your life, and you can give that gift all year long if you choose to! Prepaid Paper Pumpkins can be purchased in 1, 3, 6 or 12 months. Click here to shop Prepaid Paper Pumpkins – NO SHIPPING either! You’ll receive an e-mail certificate to give, the recipient just follows the included instructions to redeem. Sweet!

Happy Shopping and Happy Saving!

Nancy

Pals Blog Hop: Winter Wishes

December 9, 2015 8 Comments

Welcome to the Pals Blog Hop for December; we are thankful you stopped by. This month we are showcasing projects that feature Stampin’ Up! products that should be on everyone’s wish list. We hope you enjoy our creations.

My project features the Holly Jolly Greetings stamp set and a classic winter color combination of white with blues.

The white is hard to photograph so that the picture does the project justice. Let’s try another background:

Hard to see, but this card features 3 layers, yet it is made from just one sheet of cardstock! I like to feature quick & easy cards this time of year. I showed the gals at my first ever Sip & Stamp class the other night how easy it is to make this card.

First, I cut an 8-1/2″ x 11″ sheet of Whisper White cardstock in half to create the card base. Then I cut a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece which we ran thru the Big Shot with the Gently Falling embossing folder. Lastly I cut another piece 3″ x 4-1/4″. On this layer we stamped the background snow flakes with Lost Lagoon ink several times in the upper right corner. On top of this we stamped the bold snowflake in Island Indigo ink. We mixed and matched words to create whatever sentiments we wanted on the lower portion, again in Island Indigo ink.

The finishing touches included tying a 3/8″ Lost Lagoon ribbon around the top layer. The top layer was adhered to the embossed layer using stampin’ dimensionals, then glue that to the card base. (The ribbon is retired but is available on our Clearance Rack – SCORE!) We had our choice of Iced Rhinestones or Metal Rimmed Pearls to embellish the snowflake.

Did you notice that I used one of each on the two cards above? Pay close attention and you’ll see that I even have two different sentiments, too!

Thanks for visiting. To continue with the hop, please refer to the Blog Hop Line-up below. We hope to see you on next month’s Pals Blog Hop!

If you’d like to order any of the supplies used here to recreate this card yourself, click here to go to my online store.

Thanks for stopping by. Leave me a comment and let me know which embellishment you like best; the pearl or the rhinestone.

Nancy

How I Made 26 Cards from 1 Sheet of Paper!

December 6, 2015

I recently got my pre-order in, and with lots of new stamp sets, and new DSP, I had lots to choose from when I set down to make some birthday cards. 44 Birthday Cards to be exact. Yup, that’s right! The girls from my Stamp Club wanted to do a Card Swap where we would each make 44 of the same card and swap with each other, so we would each go home with 4 sets of 11 cards. We divied up the occasions so each set would have birthday, get well, sympathy, baby, etc.

So I need to make 44 of the same birthday card and I wanted to use my new papers & stamps. But since I have limited amount of paper to play with; I had to make what I had stretch.

So, how DID I make 26 cards from 1 sheet of paper? Very frugally, of course! Planning, careful measuring and careful cutting, and only a 1″ x 1″ piece of scrap left over! So I bet you can’t wait to SEE what I did, right? I won’t make you wait any longer; here it is:

I used a 1″ x 5-1/2″ strip of DSP, which is how I was able to get so many out of one sheet of paper.

The paper is Wildflower Fields DSP which I got FREE from the Sale-A-Bration catalog. The flower is from a set of 7 stamps called Flowering Fields, another freebie from the S-A-B. I love Sale-A-Bration! No wonder it’s the most anticipated sale of the year!

Here is a picture of multiple cards: (not a very good picture, I admit !)

I can’t show all of the 26 cards at once because I don’t have enough room to spread them all out!

So How did I do it? My trick: I cut a 1″ strip off the 12″ x 12″ paper, leaving me with a 1″ x 12″ strip and an 11″ x 12″ piece. I cut the 1″ strip into 2 1″ x 5-1/2″ pieces. leaving my only scrap of 1″ x 1″.

I cut the remaining 11″ x 12″ piece into 12 pcs. 1″ x 11″. Then I cut each 11″ strip in half to create the 1″ x 5-1/2″ pieces.

Well, this only about half my cards. I have one sheet of this paper left (there are 2 each of 6 patterns in a package). So I can either duplicate this and use up all of this pattern of paper, or make the others with another piece of paper. You’ll have to stop back to see which way I go! And next week I will be posting all of the cards that the ladies in my Stamp Club made for the Swap. I can’t wait to see all the goodness they’ve stamped up for us!

And make sure you stop back on Wednesday. The Stampin’ Pretty Pals will be hosting our December Blog Hop; you’ll be inspired and amazed as we hop from blog to blog showcasing our “Winter Wishes”

I’m so blessed by being a part of the Stampin’ Up! family, and specifically the Stampin’ Pretty Pals under Mary Fish. I have met so many wonderful people thru this gig, and have developed personally in so many ways. My creative side has certainly flourished, along with my self-confidence. I’ve taught myself how to blog, and created this blog all by myself – an accomplishment I’m quite proud of! I’ve honed my skills with teaching, as I love sharing my passion for papercrafting and it has naturally evolved into teaching. Mostly, I love all of the people I’ve met along the way, and many more to come I’m sure.

If you think you’d like to share in this, please consider joining Stampin’ UP! Many people join as wholesale customers – just for all the benefits: the discount, the opportunity to pre-order from new catalogs before they are made public, and the private chat groups with other demos around the country, and many more. You are under no obligation to ‘sell’ anything, host workshops or anything else. If you would like to learn more, email me and we’ll talk. If you’re ready to take the next step, order the starter kit here, it’s only $99 and you fill it with $125 of your choice of products.

Thanks for hanging out with me for a little bit today!

Nancy

A Special Reason to Play with the Pals Paper Arts

November 29, 2015 4 Comments

Well I needed to make a special card for the person we call ‘Our Fearless Leader’, my upline Mary Fish, of Stampin’ Pretty. She refers to all of her downline as her Stampin’ Pretty Pals. It’s her birthday, and I thought what better way to make her a card than to use the sketch challenge from her Pals Paper Arts challenges. Here is the sketch that inspired my card:

And here is my card:

Notice anything new? That’s right. A new stamp set, new DSP, new baker’s twine. Some sneak peeks from the new 2016 Occasions catalog that will make it’s debut in January 2016. Because I attended the Stampin’ UP! OnStage event in Baltimore a few weeks ago, I was able to pre-purchase some items from the new catalog; even before the pre0rder period begins for demonstrators! Sweet!

Here’s a close-up: This was the first chance I had to use those new goodies (I received them the day before Thanksgiving) but I can assure you, they’ll be getting a workout! I just love this product suite; you should see all the patterns of the paper in the DSP set! And the coordinating embossing folder! OMG!

Well, I hope that Mary enjoys her card, and her birthday. And I hope that you enjoy this sneak peek! Seeing the new catalogs before they are revealed, and ordering new products before it is offered to the public, are just some of the perks that I enjoy as a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator. And YOU can enjoy these perks too! It’s easy to join Stampin’ UP! – just buy the starter kit for $99 and fill it with your choice of $125 worth of products. Then sit back and enjoy all the perks! Like product discounts on all your purchases, pre-orders, and so much more! We welcome wholesale customers so you can join just to feed your own papercrafting passion without any pressure to sell. Or set some goals for yourself to earn an income sharing what you love. Either way, you’ll enjoy the same perks. And when you join with me, you’ll instantly become part of the Stampin’ Pretty Pals too so it’s a win-win! Click here to Join Now!

Don’t forget that we have the Online Extravaganza going on now, and there will be a special 24 hour Flash Sale on Monday, Nov. 30th. Head over the Pals Paper Arts and see what the other Pals did with this sketch challenge.

Keep your ink on the rubber!

Nancy