Stampin' Up's May Promotions

Dates: May 1-31, 2009

Promotion DetailsThe Scrapbooking Promotion has two exciting parts:
1. Buy three packs of Designer Series paper (including our Specialty Designer Series paper) or 12" x 12" textured card stock, and get one FREE!
You can mix and match these papers.

2. Buy a sneak peek stamp set from the 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalog--
Jumble Alphabet (set of 52; double-mounted)--at a 20% discount.
Regular Price $43.95 - Sale Price $35.16 add shipping and tax.

Click this link to shop now: http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/encourageinkwords/products

We're blooming all over!

Rustic Rooster - Hostess Set Level 2

Well this is my 2nd post today, I have got to learn how this works (blogging) because it is taking me a lot of time just to get back to my blog sight to enter my next blog. But I am determined to learn how this works. I believe you can teach and old dog new tricks (LOL).

The card base above is Riding Hood Red and is distressed by tearing the bottom of the front of the card and then using my Basis Brown ink pad to antique the edges (it is also sponged on the piece with the rooster stamped on it). The rooster from SS Rustic Rooster is stamped on Very Vanilla CS with the Black StazOn Ink Pad because I used my water color pencils to color the rooster and the blender pen to finish it. The StazOn Ink Pad will not smear when used with the blender pen. The scalloped piece coming out from behind the rooster is made with Chocolate Chip CS and the SU Eyelet Border Punch (isn't it beautiful). All the stamps are SU except the greeting; it and the background paper are from HL, I think. All the green on the card are in SU Old Olive.

I had to get a little creative to make the two little accents on the left edge of the card. The CC piece at the top is an outty corner from punching a SU Scalloped Square and the tab on the side is made by putting a small strip of paper in my corner rounder to round the ends then I used to antique brass brads to attach it to the front of the card and the adhered it with adhesive on the back. I thought it was funny that my husband, who usually gives words of praise for my creations, didn't like this card until I added these last two little accents.

This stamp set is a Hostess Level 2 gift for the approriate workshop sales ($400 and up). Available through June 30th.

Click on the Encouageinkwords link to the right to Shop now at my website with Stampin' Up.

Don't forget to give someone an Encouraging Word today!!!!!

Nature Silhouettes

"This is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it."

This morning when I went to the kitchen, as I usually do, I looked out the back door window and saw that there was a gentle rain falling. I just gave thanks to the Lord for a few minutes because it was the perfect rain for the plants and seeds Dan had planted yesterday in the garden. I love this time of year when the spring rains come and make the whole world look so clean. The dogwoods are in full bloom and they are brilliant against the vibrant green of the new leaves and the wet forest floor and the salmon azaleas border the backyard, it is beautiful. Maybe I'll post a photo but they are never as gorgeous as the real thing.

You may think this odd but since I have started stamping color has more meaning to me. The picture I described above makes me want to make a card with the colors whisper white, kiwi kiss, close to cocoa and cameo coral. Well, now for the cards that I made above. I used Not Quite Navy for the card and Old Olive, Whisper White, and Sahara Sand CS for the layers. I stamped the images from Nature Silhouettes in Classic Close to Cocoa ink on the SS. I used the stamp from my free stamp set I got during Sale-a-Bration for the "congratulations" on the card on the left which I stamped in OO on WW. I used the Versamark Stamp Pad to stamp the Happy Birthday on the OO CS. Just let me say that I love the Versamark Stamp pad because it always gives me the shade just darker than my cardstock (a watermark). I made these on Friday and have adopted the card making strategy of making more than one card at a time so that scraps are minimized. With this strategy hopefully I will build up my card supply so they will be ready when I need them, of course there will always be those time when I have to make a card that fits that special person's taste but that doesn't mean I can't make two cards using the same card stock and ink just different stamp sets or DSP (SU designer series paper). If you have any questions please feel free to call or e-mail.

Here are those photos

First Day of Blogging

I have had a hard time getting this setup so it is late in the day and I need to get to bed so tomorrow hopefully I will get to do a real post and put some pictures on hear of the cards I made the week.