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Showing posts from 2008

Ladies Night Holiday Shopping

*Join us for a night of holiday shopping* Friday, November 21, 6:30 - 9:00 at Majestic Oaks Golf Club. With 32+ vendors, you are sure to complete all your holiday wish lists for your loved ones. Many different raffles, including a free trip. All raffle proceeds benefitting Anoka County Adopt-A-Family (a very worthy cause this holiday season). *Mention my email invite when you stop by my Stampin' Up! booth for a free goodie from me! Sponsored by JKL Enterprises For Directions (there is a large event sign right on Bunker where the entrance is located): Majestic Oaks Golf Club 701 Bunker Lake Blvd. Ham Lake, MN 55304 (763) 755-2140 Cheers! Hoping to see you there! ~Sandy McManus

Convention Gift

Stamps: Jumbo Outline ABC 109278, Defining Alphabet 109423, Everyday Flexible Phrases 104383 Inks: various Papers: Chocolate Chip, Bella Rose Accessories: Crystal Effects, brads, ribbons, Pretties Kit, ticket corner punch, scallop edge punch, tag corner punch, etc... Made entirely of Stampin' Up! products.   This darling little fold out album was made for me by my Manager, Sue. It was her custom gift to each of her downline attending Convention, and upline. So cute, so fun, and wow, the work that went into them. Sue, you rock.   Now wouldn't this be a great gift for a co-worker, or friend, just to say - I am thinking about you. I do.

UDI Friendship Swap

Stamps: Wonderful You 111181 Inks: Lovely Lilac Papers: Lovely Lilac, Lavender Lace, Old Olive, White Accessories: silver brad, scallop circle punch, circle punches, Old Olive ribbon, marker, dimensionals Only Stampin' Up! products were used in this card. This card was made for a UDI ( Utah Divas International ) dinner one evening during the 2008 SU! Convention. The card swap theme was Friendship using purple and white. This is the card I made for the swap (20+ gals, 1 guy). They are amazing ladies. So creative and fun and friendly. Check out their website sometime. Oh - sorry about the kitty paw in the picture. That is our one year old Matza. She thought it was her time to be photographed. Spoiled rotten furball!!! This card utilizes many layers. It was easy to cut and stamp. Adhering all the layers, well, um, I may have had to finish the card in the hotel room. um.... If you felt this card, it actually has some heft.

Seriously Now...

Stamps: Seriously Sassy 111056 (on Dormant list), Paisley Inks: Brocade Blue, Rose Red or Lovely Lilac Papers: White, Black, Only Orange, Regal Rose or Orchid Opulence Accessories: sponges, 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Rhinestone Brads (not pictured well), ticket corner punch, piercing tool OK, ignoring the commentary from my daughter in the first picture (everyone is a critic!), this was one of my 2008 SU! Convention Swaps. Having trouble deciding which card base I liked better (purple or pink?) it was fairly fun and fast to do, not to mention mass produce. I made a total of 300 swaps for Convention this year. In return, I have tons of samples to now work with and choose from. 50 of these, 25 with each color base, came with me to Convention. Got to say, I am a little sad to see this stamp set on the Dormant list. You can still purchase it, and it's male conterpart, So Cool, for the duration of the catalog. Such fun stamp sets. So perfect for the tween / early teen crowd!

Calling All Stampers!!!

Hey, ladies, World Card Making Day is almost here! Above is a sample of what lovely cards we have in store for that day. There is still space to attend if you are interested. Details below! World Card Making Day is a holiday especially for card makers around the world to: Celebrate the creativity of handmade cards and the personal connection that they create between friends and family. It is also kick off (and get a head start on) the holiday card-making season. This is the third year this this holiday has been celebrated globally. How cool is that? - - - - - - - - - - - - World Card Making Day, Saturday October 4th, 2008 5 cards for $5 per session, 5 sessions to choose from. Session times: 9:30, 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 1:30 Pick one or stay for all. Coon Rapids United Methodist Church www.coonrapidsumc.org for directions. Please let me know ASAP if you are attending! Your prepaid registration is required. Thank you!!!

Gracious!

Stamps: Gratuitous Graffiti 111636, Sanded 109294 Inks: Going Gray, Basic Gray, Black, Riding Hood Red Papers: Basic Gray Accessories: Sanding tool OK, so maybe I have not fallen completely off the earth! Boy, it has been a loooong time since I posted anything crafty. I made this card for my son. He is into the grungy, underground, skateboarder scene (at 8 years old). All about looks with that one! Inspired by a poster I saw at the "J" store (Joann ETC, if you HAVE to know), using the direct to rubber technique, I smooshed the going gray and basic gray ink pads onto the Gratuitous stamp. Then I came back with black and "highlighted" areas. Press paper onto stamp. Stamp sanded stamp using going gray onto card front also. Ink up just the word Gratitude using Riding Hood Red. Cut out. Sand and ruff up edges. Sand heavily the card front. Dust off the card (it gets kind of messy). Adhere Gratitude right over the gray Gratitude on the card front. It is an oh

An Apology Owed

An apology is owed to anyone still checking my blog. Between two broken digital cameras (I would rather have my arms chopped off than be without a camera. And yes, I do see the point - no arms, no point!) and a rather busy back to school schedule my posting has flown right out the window. Big Ooops and Big Sorry but I do love Big Shot! I have been playing around a lot, it is too bad I do not have the pictures. I have been hinting at the hubbie that maybe something new might be in order. Or borrow someones for a coupla hours might do the trick too. We did have a nice end of the summer stay-cation, just the four of us. We went tubing down the Apple River in the middle of the week. Went to the State Fair with another family. Bummed around a local mall and went out for big, overpriced, expensive desserts. We rarely go to a Mall. MOA - Mall of America - we get to about 1-2 times a year. There is just nothing that we need. It is fun to people watch, though. I have so much to post. Quit

Stampin' Up! / Sizzix Big Shot!

While my knee hinders me I have a new tool to play with - my new Big Shot by Sizzix for Stampin' Up! I have never had a dye cutting tool nor Cricut nor any other except the traditional punches. I have tons of those! Today a mysterious brown truck (UPS) arrived with my new toy. Something I can play with in bed with an ice pack on my knee! Needless to say it was unpacked shortly after delivery and being played with in moments. My daughter has already figured out how to use it and wants to go shopping for Sizzlets or dyes or something (still learning terminology) for a dragon one. When I get my camera in order (my son set one of ours in the sand and that was the end of that!) I will have to take a picture of some of the items we have been having fun with already.   For a short time you can purchase the Sizzix Big Shot for an unbelievable deal of $195.95 (or $259.95 with the Bag. It really does add up to a huge savings purchasing the packaged bundle) . It includes the Sizzix Big Shot,

My Apologies

I know I have not been posted daily to "The Blog". I am hoping that I get some relief to my knee that has been plaguing me all summer later on this week. I have not been getting around much at all since I returned from Convention. It took all my concentration to hide my pain at Convention. For those who saw me there, I hope you didn't notice any more than just my normal limp/gimp! Who knew that shopping at Target was a dangerous Olympic sport (that is where the injury occurred). I twisted to the right looking at some hot deal I guess, and my knee went left, and down I went. OR something like that. Thank goodness my daughter was with me to help. I did finish my shopping that night, but on one leg and four wheels (of the cart). As I said, Target shopping is a very dangerous Olympic sport! Requires years of training and endurance. Apparently I have not trained enough and will need to keep working on the sport until I am the best in my field! {I can just hear my hubbie groan

Update Your Decor

Stamps: None Inks: Chocolate Chip Reinker Papers: None - only a preprepped canvas Accessories: Small Lollipop Flowers in White Decor Elements, Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, White Taffeta ribbon, some Bling from the Pretties Kit Update your decor quickly and easily with the new product line from Stampin' Up! - Decor Elements. Decor Elements are self-adhesive dye-cut vinyl elements. They go on you walls (or windows or car or fabric or ??) fast and easy (and are easy to remove, but why would you want to?). I participated in a swap (a picture idea exchange) at the Stampin' Up! Convention, 100 people, 100 different ideas. It was great! This is what I chose to swap. I mixed, about equal parts water and reinker (chocolate chip in this case), and using a large paint brush, brushed it on a pre-prepped (gessoed) canvas I had purchased from JoAnn ETC. To speed up the drying process I set the canvas in front of a fan. It completely dried between 30-60 minutes. Then the fun began. T

3 Generations of Stampin' Up!

Me Denise (Upline), Sue (her upline) OK, really it is only 3 levels of Stampin' Up! Three generations of stamping would be awesome, but in all seriousness, all three of us are fairly close in age. We paused for a few minutes between classes for a "generation" photo. Aren't we darling?

Celebrate Good Times

Every day at SU! Convention we got some kind of 20th Anniversary edible goodie!

Get Your Silly On

Crazy me after I won a free stamp set at the SU! Convention. Blue Checks rule!

Home Again

I am home from Convention and wow not only did I see so many cute projects, I learned so much about my business. I have an "I have been tagged" to take care of, and so much more. I should be able to get that all caught up and start posting my personal Convention swaps. Of course, I need to get this all accomplished before the Olympic Opening Ceremonies start at 6:30 pm CST August 8th, 2008. The picture posted above is how nuts we demonstrators can be, it is some of us (OK maybe most of us) standing in line for 3 hours for a chance to shop at Memento Mall at Convention. The picture was taken at 9 am, right after the doors opened. I stood, and stood, and stood some more. It took me a grand total of 15 minutes of shopping for the 3 hours of standing. It is all a part of the craziness and fun at Convention. I did get some cute items. But what do we do when we are standing there that whole time? Swap! of course. I came with 300 swaps (50 each of 6 styles), and swapped most of them

Rhino Birthday

Stamps: Zoofari, Sweet Serendipity Inks: Basic Gray Papers: Carbon (retired), Basic Gray, Vanilla Accessories: Brads, Ticket Corner punch, markers, sponges, tag punch Great for a little boys birthday, and so cute and quick. Cut your DSP to 4 x 4. Sponge edges with basic gray. Stamp rhinocerous in basic gray. Color in. Punch paper with ticket corner punch. Sponge edges. Layer on basic gray. Adhere to Carbon DSP. Stamp greeting from Sweet Serendipity. Punch out using tag punch and adhere to card base. Voila - instant card.

My Schedule

So very sorry for no posts this week, or at least no crafty ones. My kids are at day camp all week. We leave at 7 am and get home at 7 pm. I have been hanging out at Archiver's inbetween stuff I have scheduled during the week working on my Convention swaps. Needless to say, that after being gone for 12 hours and the heat and humidity of the week, all three of us are pooped when we get home. Stay cool, stay inside, stay stamping!

Thought for the Day

{me} If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning! -Catherine Bird

Sunny Celery Flowers

Stamps, Simply Said, Canvas, flower stem of choice Inks: Certainly Celery, Versamark Papers: Certainly Celery, White, Old Olive, DSP Celery Accessories: White Taffeta ribbon, celery button, paper piercer, sponge, dimensionals, Crystal Effects Stamp flower head in celery on white. Pierce a flower stem free hand. *Or stamp a flower stem of your choosing using versamark as an outline. Pierce holes following stamp. Adhere to celery layer then olive layer. Tie taffeta ribbon around piece. Glue button to flower center using Crystal Effects. Set aside for a few minutes to let glue set. Stamp canvas on white. Adhere to celery card base. Adhere a narrow strip of DSP of choosing to card. Adhere ribbon flower accent to card using dimensionals. Voila!

Dude That's Cool

Stamps: So cool, Canvas Inks: Brilliant Blue, Old Olive Papers: Old Olive, More Mustard, Bashfull Blue, Confetti White Accessories: Twill ribbon, mustard brads, circle punch (non-SU!), My Way punch Stamp canvas on bashful blue in brilliant blue. Adhere to mustard piece. punch out a circle. Stamp Dude stamp on white. Mount underneath blue and mustard layers. Adhere all to card base. Adhere a strip of twill at top of card and place brads. Fringe twill by pulling some lose threads. Adhere an arrow from my way punch of confetti white. Done. Voila!

Sandy Seaside

Stamps: Seaside, Sanded, Warm Words Inks: chocolate chip, sahara sand, apricot appeal Papers: pumpkin pie, vanilla, apricot appeal, Accessories: blender pen, tag punch, brads, chocolate chip grosgrain ribbon Technique: Masking A nice card for just about any occasion. I stamped the conch shell on a piece of scrap and cut out around the image. I adhered it to my desired location on the white layer. I then stamped the sanded background. You now have a nice area where the paper is blank. I came back with the conch shell stamp and stamp it in the blank area in choc. chip. I colored in the conch with apricot appeal using a blender pen. Then I adhered the vanilla layer to the card base. I finished off the card with the apricot strip with ribbon and brads, and the tag accent. OK, I am signing off because "weather is here". The intense storms are bearing down on us right now. You can tell I am a hardcore weatherspotter and crafter if I am still doing this instead of hanging out w

Doggone Cute!

Stamps: Yappy Day Inks: Black Paper: White, vanilla, black, ruby red Accessories: Jersey Ribbon Originals, Photo Corners Punch, brads (gray ones are non-SU!), Marvelous Markers This 6 x 6 scrapbook page was created by my 10 year old daughter last week when she was hanging out in my office one day, summer boredom setting in (LOL). It was all her own doing. I think it is faboulous. She also learned that you have to let the black ink dry a little bit before you lay your hand on it (hence the messy finger print marks). The brads for spots, all her idea. The brads really give the page a 3D feel! I love her layout, and I would even if she weren't my own daughter! Now it just need that perfect picture of her puppy Diamond, who died on April 3rd of anaplasmosis (a terrible tick born disease). I will be sad to see this set go. We all have used it for school projects and such. My son even decorated a cover for his dog story for school using Yappy Day.

Simple Seashells

Stamps: Seaside, Define Your Life, Defining Alphabet, Sanded Inks: Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue, Basic Brown, Creamy Caramel Papers: Chocolate Chip, Blush Blossom, Bashful Blue, Confetti White, Watercolor Accessories: Watercolore Wonder Crayons, Chocolate Chip ribbon, hemp twine, word window punch, brad, sponges, Aquapainter, Cutter Kit I have been playing with this seashell set quite a bit. I really want to use it for swaps for the upcoming Stampin' Up! Convention. This was my first run of playing with it. I think that the sanded background stamp and Seaside go hand in hand, much like a marriage. I was trying to create the look of waves at the seashore. Stamp sanded on confetti white in c. chip. Sponge b. blue. Stamp "simple" definition in c. chip. Stamp Ss in c. caramel. Tear about 1" off, sponge with c. chip. Tear bashful blue, about 1/2" off. Tear about 1/4" off blush blossom. Spong chocolate chip on all. Punch bashful blue word window. Adhere to

No Post on Saturday, Maybe Sunday

Sorry Sohott Fans (that sounds so big headed doesn't it?) but there will be no new craft post Saturday and possibly (thank you Mr. Dursly, Harry Potter fans) no post on Sunday. We are taking the kids fishing - NO I do not fish, plan on being the oldest MN to never fish - ever. I will take pictures, from a distance. Then we are heading to Annie's Malt Shop for some great greasy eatin' and delicious cool treats. For those that don't know, and if you ever come through Minneapolis, you have to spend a couple hours in Dinkytown, Minnesota. Al's Breakfast is there (world known), Annie's Malt Shop (legendary), the Library (a popular eatery and bar) and a darn eclectic crowd. My hubbie and I met there, some 18 years ago, working together at what was then Gray's Campus Drug, now known as the Loring Pasta Bar. Apparently they have great eating there. Just can't go there, not the same as a ratty, smelly, eclectic, interesting Drug Store that it was for some 80+

Loud One!

Have a happy and safe weekend everyone!   As my kids coined the catch phrase last year - LOUD ONE!     Photo taken at this years fireworks with my Canon Rebel XT and my EF 75-300mm lens.

Happy Fourth of July 2008

That is Martha Goose. She has been in the family for quite a few years! She has outfits for just about any occasion - from Christmas, Valentines Day, strawberry picking and more! She is always ready for fun. I was trying to be artsy with the photo and instead I got wonky! Ah well, too many fireworks, I guess. For this quick Happy 4th card you will need the following: Stamps: Warm Words Ink: Night of Navy Paper: Ruby Red, Vanilla, Night of Navy Accessories: Large and Small star punch, hemp twine, crafters tool kit edge distresser As I said in my previous post, my daughter and I had been goofing around with stamps today, and I got inspired by the holiday. In just a few minutes I had this cute card made. I cut the blue 3" wide by card width (5 1/2"). With the 3 inch width the large star punch lines up top to bottom perfectly! Punch large star in center. Punch random smaller stars in blue. To get sparkle word in center of star I traced the star outline in pencil, then stamped sp

You're Fired!!!

OK, funny, but true story. I was stamping today, working on a July Fourth card to post, and my daughter was playing around with some of the soon to be retired stamps (dogs and cats of course!) and all of a sudden looked over at me (she is 10) and asked why aren't they called "Fired" stamps? I got the biggest giggle out of that. She has always had such a way with words. She always call cakes (especially birthday cakes ) happy cake. Guess it is always a happy time anytime you have cake! When she was a toddler she called diapers "beepers" because she thought that when they smell, they beep, as in - time to change me! She still calls her blankets "rugs" because they are big and heavy much like a rug. Don't worry, I have kept track of all of her silly sayings. Maybe I should suggest to Stampin' Up! about a name change to the Retiring List to the "You're Fired" list. Bet Mr. Trump would approve.

Father's Day Jeans

Stamps: Pocket Fun, Stamp of Authenticity, Everyday Flexible Phrases, Canvas Inks: Brocade Blue, Chocolate Chip Papers: Brocade Blue, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla Accessories: Brads, Twill Tape, Dimensionals, brocade blue marker I made this card for Fathers Day a while back, hence the retired or just about to be retired stamps. Use the canvas background stamp and stamp entire card base and a piece of scrap, to give you the denim look. Make sure you get the outside of the card flap (waistband) also. Cut your card base 5 1/2 x 5 1/2. fold over top edge (or score) at 1 1/4. Using your craft knife, cut slits to allow 1/4" for belt loops on the flap cutting to about 1/8" of edge. I recommend making a pattern out of scratch paper ahead of time, even if it is a one time card. You do not want to ruin your entire project. Run a piece of brown CS about 1" wide through belt loops, adhere on either end and trim to fit card. Stamp pocket on canvas stamped b. blue piece. Cut out po

Matza - Our Newest Addition

Let me introduce you to Matza. She will be one in August. She is our new baby. We got her in November from our Vet. She was one of three girls that had come from one of the vets friends farm. I went in to the Vet to get some cat food and all three kitties were up and playing with the vet techs. I just casually inquired as to their status (residents, visiting or adoptable). Big mistake. I put my name on her. She rode around on my shoulder. She was sweet and cute and a little quieter (or so I thought) than the other two. She had to stay a few more weeks for toxoplasmosis (don't forget she was a farm cat before). And I needed to convince the husband not to divorce me for bringing home another animal. At the time we had 2 dogs and 2 cats and had lost two cats earlier in the year. My heart was still hurting over their loss. I waited a few days to approach the subject with him. I reminded him that we had promised that someday the kids would get the thrill of having a kitten.

Time to Sparkle America Transparency

Stamps: Warm Words, In the Stars Inks: Groovy Guava, Whit Opaque StayzOn Papers: Brilliant Blue, Bashful Blue DSP, White Accessories: Groovy Guava Double Stitched Ribbon, Large Star Punch, Small Star Punch, Rhinestone brad from Pretties Kit Cute and simple different take on a Fourth of July card. By using the guava it softens up the normal red, white and blue we are so accustomed to in the good ol' USA. Follow my instructions for using transparencies on post from a few days ago. I cut a 3 x 3" square of the Bashful Blue DSP and adhered it to the inside of the card base. Using the large star punch, punch a brilliant blue star. Stamp an image from In the Stars using Guava onto white CS. Punch out image with small star punch. Adhere small star to large one. Find where you would like your brad hole and pierce a hole. Place brad thru center of stars and into card base. Adhere a 4 1/4" length of the Guava ribbon to card front toward bottom of where your DSP piece on the card i

Transparency Tips

A few TIPS when working with Transparencies: *Use only report cover transparencies available at copy centers. Regular overhead or printer transparencies are not thick enough to support page elements, other than maybe one layer of DSP and not CS. Your transparency will bend, and by the time you finish your project you could end up with bent corners and such. Report covers do not bend very easily. See folding tip on list below. *Most important rule! I know regular transparencies have a nicer look to them (shinier, clearer, smoother), but it is not worth possibly ruining your project right away. Take the time and plan out your project, then hit your local copy center on your next trip shopping! They run around 60 cents a piece. Comparable to CS or DSP. Plus you can purchase them in eaches not 50 or 100 sheets per package. That would take forever to use up. Report Cover transparencies only come in 8 1/2 x 11". If you find an alternate size, please let me know, I sure would like t

Berry Nice Transparency

Stamps: Boho Backgrounds Inks: Purely Pomegranate, Close To Cocoa Papers: Berry Bliss DSP, Chocolate Chip, White, Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink Accessories: Brads, Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Punch, 1 3/8", 1 1/8", 1", 1/2", 1/4" all circle punches, Boho Blossoms punch, sponge Card was made for a punch swap for our Stamp Share. This was one of my trial cards. Again, using a report cover transparency as a card base, I cut the DSP to 3" x 3". Adhere DSP to card base. You cannot see it in this picture, but I also used a piece of Close to Cocoa CS 3 x 3 adhered to inside of card, for your greeting, etc. Adhere ribbon to base. Either now or after accent flower adhered, pierce or punch holes and place pink boho flowers on card base using brads. To assemble accent flower: Stamp boho flower in pom. and chip on white and punch out 1/4" and 1". Stamp white scrap with boho blossoms background, punch out a scallop circle shape

A Happy Heart

Stamps: Happy Hearts Day Inks: Rose Red, White Craft Papers: Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Groovy Guava, Ginger Blossom DSP, Shimmer Accessories: Groovy Guava Double Stitched Ribbon, 1/8" hole punch, scallop punch, dimensionals, rose red marker Card done for a swap quite some time ago. Whether it be for Valentine's Day, Thinking of you, or other occasion, this is still a very nice set to have in your collection. Stamp image on shimmer CS, color in hearts, punch out using scallop punch. Adhere to rose red square, and adhere that to guava square. Punch holes through each side of your image. Tie ribbon through holes. Adhere DSP to celery strip. Adhere that to card base. Adhere the scallop image set to card base using dimensionals. Stamp greeting in corner. Voila, you are done!

Flower Card w/Transparency

Stamps: Pretty Petals background, Warm Words Inks: StayzOn Opaque White, Black Papers: Transparency*, DSP Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Pie CS, White Accessories: Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain Ribbon, Silver brads (stamped in StayzOn), 5 petal flower punch, small star punch, piercing tool *For the card base, I highly recommend using "report cover" transparency available at all copy centers. I made this card for our recent Stamp Share for the Use 2 Punches challenge. Cut transparency in half and fold to form card. You will need a bone folder or Pampered Chef scraper to make fold stay. Stamp card front with StayzOn using background stamp. Set aside for at least an hour. You do not want to heat set due to the melting nature of the transparency. I made a pattern for the brad holes since I was making 20 cards. To get your center take a piece of scrap paper the same size as your card front, fold diagonal, open up, fold diagonal again. The X in the center is your first brad hole. Decide how far

Scraps Escape - Think Green

What do you do with your scraps of paper - cardstock and decorative papers? Being a fairly progressive "green" person, I save most, if not all, of my scraps. Now before you gasp and think that I am nuts, I actually use all of them. I am not a hoarder, but apparantly a prolific stamper. Any scraps that I do not use, go into the paper recycling bin right at my feet. My post earlier in the month shows just how much I do use. I ran out of white CS scraps earlier in the month. The horror! giggles... Before I grab for a new sheet of paper, for something other than a card or scrapbook base, I look in here first. I am always surprised when I find no color match for what I need. I purchased an inexpensive kitchen drawer organizer from Target (it was longer than 12", long enough for all types of scraps), created dividers using (what else) scraps of kraft CS from an old project and just wrote the section name in a sharpie. I keep it just to the right of my art table where I do all

Quilt Thanks

I cased this layout from http://tobicrawford.blogspot.com/ . She has a funky refreshing style to her work.   Stamps: oops! Can't remember what set words came from (SU!) Inks: Rose Red Papers: Bali Breeze DSP, Taken with Teal, Pumpkin Pie, White Accessories: piercing tool, 1 1/4" square punch   I think this card would have more "pop" if I had mounted the quilt squares with dimensionals as the one I cased did. I still love the colors in the paper. Makes me think summer breeze, warm beaches, water splashing.   Stay cool!

New Home Decor SU! Product Line

Just announced a few days ago from Stampin' Up! - a new line of home decor products to be available starting July 1st. It will be called Decor Elements. The product line consists of primarly large to very large "rub-ons" for your wall. Images will consist of earthy/foliage type elements to words or definitions (think: FAMILY or HOME and such) to just plain large to humongous letters, which I am guessing (and probably right) are replacing the large monogram stamps that SU! has carried in the catalog for a few years. The images will be available in a variety of colors and sizes to suite just about any home decor. They can go on walls, wood, glass, canvas, and more. I personally can't wait to get my hands on a few of the items (OK, more than a few!). I already have spots selected for them on my living room and kitchen walls. Now how do I convince my hubbie to paint the walls instead of completing the patio, so I can try out this new product? Did I hear someone mumble

Frog Bag Puppet

Stamps: Just B (just the bee!) item 111093 Inks: Rose Red, Old Olive Papers: Bali Breeze DSP, Old Olive, Regal Rose, Black, White Accessories: 1/2", 3/4", 1 3/8" circle punches, Scallop punch, sponges, and 2 non-SU! circle punches, white Signo gel pen, markers I made this frog puppet using a Stampin' Up! bag (item 100900). Our challenge at our quarterly Stamp Share on June 21st was to decorate this white bag. I figured everyone would roll it, stamp it, or layer some images on it. I just wanted to try something different. Plus I love frogs and won a speech contest in 8th or 9th grade for a speech on how to decorate a frog sock puppet. Silly the things we remember in life! Once I figured out what I wanted to do and where it should all go, believe it or not it took under 45 minutes to complete this bag, and that is with interruptions from children (how dare they ;-) Body: To make your own, first cut your DSP or CS (your choice) to 8" x 6" scoring at 1/2"

TIPs for the Week: Stampin' Scrub

{My items pictured here are still the same items in the catalog but with older labels. Just shows ya how long I have been stamping.} Don't forget to wash the scrubbing pads from your Stampin' Scrub (item 102642) periodically, maybe seasonally. You can tell by smell and splash (the cleaner is inky and splashing colored water all the time) when it is time. You can just pop the pads out of the plastic base, wash them in your dishwasher, with your dishes. I don't recommend sticking them in the dishwasher with your real dirty pots n pans. The next time you need to clean your stamps, spray with your Stampin' Mist Rubber Stamp Cleaner (item 102394). I alternate between moistening the one side of the Stampin' Scrub with SU! Mist and distilled water. It is important to use ONLY distilled water, and not tap water, bottled water or such. Distilled water is just that, it has been cleansed of all impurities that can mold and mildew on your Stampin' Scrub when not in use. Th

A Happy Heart

Stamps: Happy Heart Day, Sanded Inks: Rose Red Papers: Groovy Guava, White, Celery Accessories: Tag Punches, 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" circle punches, celery ribbon, blender pen, dimensionals It would be easy to change the greeting on the tag for this card and use this card to give your sweetie for any occasion. I used the blender pen to color in the images in the circles, hearts, and butterfly. Have a happy heart today!

A Beautiful Thing Card/Scrapbook

Stamps: A Beautiful Thing Inks: Chocolate Chip Paper: Soft Sky, Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip Accessories: Corner rounder, 5/8" chocolate chip ribbon, 3/4" & 1" circle punch, brads, Three For You flower punch This 6 x 6" scrapbook page could easily be turned into a 3 x 6 card, just by a quick fold.

Graduation Gift Card Purse

Stamps: Great Grads Inks: StayzOn Opaque White, Brilliant Blue, Pink Passion Papers: Brilliant Blue, Pink Passion, White Accessories: Word Window punch, rub-ons, white taffeta ribbon, 1 3/8 and 1/1/4" circle punches, corner rounder, pink rhinestone (non-SU!)   This was a -quick, we have to be there in an hour- gift card holder. Taking a quick peak at Splitcoast Stampers I got a feel for what shape the purse should be. Made a quick pattern, which I will not post yet, it needs some work. As I said, this was a -hurry up- type item.   Wanting to use the Great Grads set (it is so cute!) came up with a way to incorporate it into the purse. The flower is the rub-on. Had I had time, it would have looked much more polished. I probably would have heat embossed the "grad" words to make it match the rub-on. I managed to whip this out in under a half hour (and I think it shows :-( ) I saved the pattern, such that it is and would like to try playing with this id

Rockin' Boys, Part II

YoYo Yellow and Barely Banana 4-wheelin' fun. Gable Green and Green Galore free wheelin' fun.

Rockin' Boys

For a recent boys (triplets) birthday party, I wanted cards that were similar but that I could use their favorite colors. Enter - some retired mini catalog stamp sets. Boy I sure wish SU! would come up with something like these again. I have used them over and over and over. Stamps: Catchin' Air (pictured here), Ride On, Rip 'N Shred Ink: Black, Real Red (or Green Galore, or YoYo Yellow Paper: White, Black, Real Red, Ruby Red Accessories: Markers, Sponges, black brads, ticket punch See below for how easy the same layout converts for similar sets. Thanks for looking today.

Desparate Stampwives/ Graduation Cap

OK, I do not watch Desparate Housewives, but I sure was desparate today. While waiting for my kids to finish at Vacation Bible School, I sat in my car stamping. Now before you think I am nuts, my Vibe's front passenger seat flips down and turns into a table. Voila, instant stamping area! In short order I was able to finish up a swap needed for the coming weekend. This was NOT what I worked on. Here is a very fast graduation cap. Using the 1 3/8" square punch on black CS, a gold brad, and yellow grosgrain ribbon. To fringe the ribbon, carefully cut the finished edge up both sides of the ribbon as long as you want the fringe. I used a paper-piercing tool to "pull" the loose horizontal pieces of ribbon off. Fluff ribbon. Done! I can think of many uses for this grad cap: do it in school colors, link a whole bunch together to make a garland, package topper instead of bow, make a really big one as a wall decoration. Tell me what you come up with for this quite quick c

What Gets U Going?

What gets you going in the AM? For me - Diet Coke . I don't smoke, rarely drink, don't rat my hair. I get ill from one cigarette - cough, cough, cough. (Thank you Sandy from Grease!) When my kids were little (and keeping me up late at night) they would go to the fridge and grab a DC and bring it to me in bed. Even when they were just two they knew that would get mom up. Just the cool feel of the can, and the fizzle in my mouth helps to get the synopses a poppin' in the morning. Honestly, I have no other vices. I drink tons of water daily. I eat quite healthy (very little junk goes in this bod). I sometimes think I should stop the pop. It is artificial. There are rumors that have been swirling around for 15 years that it may (or does) contribute to weight gain, metabolic syndrome and more. Should I stop the pop?

Retired List is Here!

The Stampin' Up! Retiring list of stamps was announced June 15th. Check out my Stampin' Up! website to see the list and and my specials for the retirees. Catalog items valid until August 10th. Now is the time I start to wonder what new goodies await the next catalog on August 11th? Hmmm....

Stem Sayings

Again, my apologies for my upsidedown sideways picture. I played with the rotation before I uploaded it to the blog and it still turned out this way. Ugh! I am pretty technically savvy, but this problem I have been having trouble fixing. Email me if you know how to solve. I am clueless at this point. Stamps: Stem Sayings, In the Spotlight (retired hostess set), Sanded background Ink: Groovy Guava, Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate Paper: Groovey Guava, Soft Sky, Purely Pomegranate Accessories: Rhinestone Brad, 5 Petal Flower punch, slot punch, Purely Pomegranate Double Stitched Ribbon I loved the In the Spotlight hostess set. I used it for so many items, and can't part with it - yet. I am glad to see that Stem Sayings is staying in the next catalog. This is one of those layouts that could be altered for many different stamp sets, any flower, any colors. I used this card for World Card Day, back in October 2007. Thanks for looking today.

Happy Everything

Stamps: Happy Everything, Big Flowers Inks: Lovely Lilac Papers: Amethyst DSP, Almost Amethyst, Whisper White, Lovely Lilac Accessories: Word Window punch, 1 1/4" Circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, White taffeta ribbon, silver brad I case'd this layout from my several levels up Upline, Terri that she had done at a SAS last year. She has great ideas for paper folds that are always fun to try. You cut the base paper 4 1/4" x 8 1/4" scoring at 5 1/2 inches. Adhere the DSP (4 1/4" x 2 3/4") to the flap. Punch slot using word window punch. The white stripe is cut 2" x 11" fold in half. Tape bottom half to card base, and insert fold into slot to close card. Fun and simple. You could even flip the layout around a little and cut the DSP to 2 x 11 and leave the flap plain and stamp your image/greeting on there. I may play with that idea and post it later in the summer.

Cherish You

First of all, my apologies for the sideways card, or is it upside down? Anyhoo, I am still learning the ropes of Blogspots capabilites. Some might say it looks better this way :-) Stamps: Illuminations, Baroque Motifs, Paisley background Ink: Blue Bayou Paper: Old Olive, Blue Bayou, River Rock, Always Artichoke, Whisper White Accesories: Hodgepodge Hardware, Olive ribbon, Rhinestone brad This is a nice classic card that could be used for wedding, sympathy, or love type occasion. Except for cutting out the C in Cherish and the swirly background, it was pretty quick. It is difficult to see in the (sideways :-) card, but the long widthways strip is actually two pieces. The top layer has the Paisley background stamped on it. I used River Rock for both layers. Using a different stamp you could use this same layout for a holiday card, don't you think?

Minnesota Zoo's New Russian Coast

Animated Bear Play: Don't try this at home! If you get a chance this summer, head to the Zoo and check out all the new exhibits. The bears are fun to look at, quite entertaining actually. The new Russia's Coast section is so beautiful. Good ambiance. My daughter loves the sea otters. We watched one sit and do about 10 forward rolls in the water without taking a break! We have been members for many years, even though it is a long haul from our house, we always enjoy our time there, even during the tornados on June 5th. Today was no exception.

Disclaimer

This is my personal blog, I am an independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and I am responsible for the content. Stampin' Up! does not endorse the use of the classes, services, or non-Stampin' Up! products I offer her.

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Copy of My Rights: All the content of this Blog (including text, photographs, and design work) is by Sandy McManus, Needs A Ribbon, Inc. You may copy my any of my art posted for your personal use as you please. Please respect the copyright laws: give credit where credit is due (to me!) and deux please do not copy anything on this website for publication and/or contest submission. Thank You! This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License