Happy St. Patrick's Day

Being an from an Irish family, St. Patrick's Day is a very special day in our house. We even get presents!! My father created a character similar to the Easter Bunny and Santa Clause that comes on St. Patrick's Day, Michael the Leprechaun. Michael comes and hides little treats around us the house for us to find. Even as adults my brother, sister and I go to my parents house to look for goodies from Michael. That being said, I could let a holiday as important as St. Patrick's Day go by without sending cards to family members. Of course that card had to be hand stamped, I don't really like any of the St. Patrick's Day sets in the catalog so I had to take matters into my own hands.



Wishing everyone a happy St. Patrick's Day!!
Cead Mile Failte

Don't you just love a bargain?

JOIN Stampin' UP! - NEW 3 Easy Payment Plan!


Three Easy Payments Option for the Starter Kit is Here!


Is your Stampin' Up! wish list too long or too expensive? Here is the simple solution to that problem, sign up to be a demonstrator with the 100% customizable starter kit and get up to 40% off all your future orders!!

This economy has everyone thinking about how they can earn extra money for the families. Now is the perfect time to start your own business and Stampin' Up! has just made it affordable. Join my team today and take advantage of this super offer. You will have the freedom to run your own business, create your own hours, and earn money all while doing what you love - Rubber Stamping. It is a great opportunity to share what you love with others and help your family out financially. Did you know you can be a demonstrator and NEVER host a workshop, that's right, you can be your own best customer if you want. Heck, you can be even be your ownly cusotmer if you want.


From today through April 30, 2009, new recruits can take advantage of our Three Easy Payments option for their Starter Kit. If you have considered becoming a demonstrator, but are concerned about being able to pay for the Starter Kit in one up-front payment, worry no more! The Three Easy Payments option is the ideal solution! With just an initial partial payment, you can get your Starter Kit right away and start building your business. Two subsequent monthly payments will take care of the rest.

Now is the time to sign up! With the discounted Sale-A-Bration Starter Kit price and the Three Easy Payments option, you'll have the opportunity to take advantage of two great financial benefits at once. Once Sale-A-Bration is over, you'll still have through April 30 to get the Three Easy Payments option, but why wait?

Please note that this promotion for the Three Easy Payments option is only available to new recruits when the Starter Kit form and other paperwork is mailed to Stampin' Up!. This special offer is NOT available online.If you'd like to take advantage of this special offer of Three Easy Payments for the Starter Kit, please Email me and I'll send the contract and other forms directly to your email.


Payments Breakdown for the Sale-A-Bration Starter Kit Price (March 13-31, 2009)
Starter Kit Payment (Payment Charged*)

Payment 1 (charged at time kit is entered)
$56.34 (+ sales tax)
Payment 2 (charged around April 15th)
$56.33
Payment 3 (charged around May 15th)
$56.33
Total Payment
$169.00 (not bad considering you are getting over $300 worth of merchandise)

*Payments indicated are for the cost of the Starter Kit. They do not include and any applicable state taxes. (Please note that any applicable taxes for the total amount of the Starter Kit, price will be added to the first payment.)

Payments Breakdown for the Regular Starter Kit Price (April 1-30, 2009)
Starter Kit Payment (Payment Charged*)

Payment 1 (charged at time kit is entered)
$66.34 (+ sales tax)

Payment 2 (charged around May 15th)
$66.33

Payment 3 (charged around June 15th)
$66.33

Total Payment
$199.00 (still a great value considering it is over $300 worth of Stampin' Up! merchandise)

*Payments indicated are for the cost of the Starter Kit including shipping. They do not include any applicable state taxes. (Please note that any applicable taxes for the total amount of the Starter Kit price will be added to the first payment.)

Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions you might have I will be happy to answer any of your questions or concerns. Stampin' Up! has an amazing support system and training program that can help you to build your business.

I can't wait to hear from you.

In Full Floom

If only Spring weather would come and stay I would be a much happier person. This weather has been a real tease, I am done with winter and over the snow!!

One of the projects we created at card club this month used a stamp set that I would never think about buying, yet every time I see something created with it I admire it. This card is no different.

The scan really doesn't do this card justice, I put dazzling diamonds in the center of several of the flowers. The sentiment on the white oval says "Because Nice Matters"

Now if only the flowers outside would start blooming and the snow melting....

Stampin' Up! a Storm

I have had some catching up to do when it comes to stamping and creating, as a matter of fact I was 3 months behind in my card club swaps. The ladies in the club are so sweet they didn't even care.

I am an avid blog reader and always get great inspiration from other's blogs. My swap card is a direct result of someones blog, I just wish I remember whose so I could give proper credit.

One of the reasons I love this card is there is very little stamping, just tons of Big Shot fun!!

I promise it won't be too long before my next post, I have tons of other swaps and cards to share.

Happy Valentine's Day

Because of the generosity of my friend and upline dawn, i am not the proud owner of the "Define Your Life" stamp set from Stampin' Up! since this stamp set has been on my wish list for awhile, I mounted it and inked it up as soon as I could- on a side note, I am so glad Stampin' Up! has decided to make all stamps die cut, because I had quite a time cutting out all of those great definitions! OK, now back to the original post, I couldn't wait to ink up that set that I decided to make my husband's Valentine's day card with it.

I realize the scan is a little unclear, the words read:
Together: You and Me; lonely no more. With another; inseparable. In harmony; in sync.

While this card looks very simple and creating it was, it has so many elements that are not part of my typical creating comfort zone- ribbons, and brads plus I used a texture plate. I have a feeling I will be creating similar cards in the future, this stamps set has so many different definitions in it, I can't wait to use them all!!

Finally Posting

I know I promised I was going to be a better blogger and I started off the year on fire; however, I have not been able to keep up that pace, not sure why. I have however been on a creative roll, I have gotten more scrapping and card making done in the past few weeks than I think I did all last year. Only maybe not that much, but lots has been accomplished. I realize I haven't posted any of the projects I worked on when I went away with Kimmie last month and I will, I just need to get them photographed.

The other day my sister came over to scrap, she worked on a project she has been working on forever and I got to play a little. She and her husband received this beautiful wedding invitation from her husband's cousin. Kimberly wanted frame the wedding invitation and give it to the bride to be at her shower. I took one look at the amazing invite and knew we had to do more than just frame it. Pulled out some Real Rust and Chocolate Chip card stock along with some Stampin' Up! rub ons and started to play. I am so please with the finished project and hope the bride and groom are too. (Even though the awful picture I took doesn't do it justice)

I have to finish my Valentine's Day cards so I can get those in the mail on time. Once those are completed (by bedtime tomorrow) I will take pictures of all the other stuff I have worked on over the past few weeks and get those posted.

Until then.........

Midnight Madness

Not sure what got in to me today but long about 10:30 I sat down at my craft table (that should read, folding table in between the "dining room" and "living room") and started making stuff. I started with

this cute little bookmark. I saw it on my friend
Stephanie's blog who got it from the super talented Mathilda Making these bookmarks is so easy and quick, it is a great way to turn scraps into a cute little project. Since that project took less than 10 minutes I decided to keep on going. I made a birthday card for my brother, not that the card is going to matter half as much to him as what is in it but that is okay. Since I know he will pay close attention to the inside of the card (of course looking for cold hard cash) I wanted to do something more to the inside of the card that I usually do, so I grabbed my spiral punch to dress it up just a little.... I love the spiral punch and use it every chance I get. Finally I made a card to include in a catalog pack I am sending to a new customer. My favorite thing about this card.... no stamping!! I love to stamp; however, sometimes I enjoy making cards without stamping and this is one of those cards. Of course I used my spiral punch on this card too, because as I said, I love it!!

I had fun creating today, when I sat down at the table I had no idea what I was going to work on or create which is usually very frustrating for me.... not tonight though, I just enjoyed the process and had some fun.

Card Club

I attended my first card club on Thursday, we had such a great time. Made 2 cards, an adorable box and a banner. We were only supposed to make 1 card but Dawn had to run upstairs to do something with her children leaving the rest of us unattended with the brand new "Stampin' Success" in front of us........... of course the ink on the magazine was barely dry and we wanted to try every project featured in it. We thought the turkey card was too cute not to try it. Of course we had to change what we saw in the magazine just a little and add googlie eyes to it, how stinking cute is he? Funny how the idea came out of "Stampin' Success" magazine yet there isn't one bit of stamping on the entire card! Everything was created with punches and the sentiment is from the holiday rub-ons.


Nothing says Halloween like Frankenstein- this card was super easy to make and again very little stamping. Only the Sentiment and the background are stamped, everything else was created with punches or the big shot- gotta love that!!!

Deck the Halls

Diana Gibbs is hosting a Holiday Mini Swap, 29 demonstrators are participating. The stamp set I selected was "Deck the Halls" when I first saw it I thought it was adorable and welcomed the opportunity to work with it, then it arrived at my house and I had no clue what to do with it. Being the avid blog reader I am I found tons of samples I thought I liked and would be able to CASE, Heather Summers had this adorable card on her blog and thought for sure it would be my inspiration I sat down with my stamp set and various combinations of colored paper and just couldn't get it to look anything like what Heather created. As I was moving things around on the page, Doris said something that got my creative juices flowing (too bad I don't remember what it was- I know it has something to do with a fireplace) with Doris' mystery statement, I was off and running. I remembered reading a blog about how to create a camp fire using punches. Kathy from Texas did a great job sharing the step by step instructions. As a result of Kathy's post I came up with

Funny how I sat down at the table with one design in mind and ended up creating something totally different. I am really happy with the way the card turned out and hope everyone else in the swap will be happy with it too.

Recipe:
Stamp: Deck the Halls
Paper: Chocolate Chip (base) Real Red (fireplace) Very Vanilla (ornaments), More Mustard and Old Olive (ornament hangers)Only Orange (flames) Close to Cocoa (fire logs)
Ink: Real Red, More Mustard, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip (for the logs) and Real Red (to shade the stars)
Punches: Word Window, Large Tag, Large Star, Small Star
Accessories: Twine ribbon from the Holiday Mini, sponge daubers to ink the flames and the fire logs.

I can never have enough chocolate chips in my life

Especially when it is 1" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon!! D's bosses' wife had a baby about a month ago and of course we are just now getting around to sending a gift. No gift is complete without a hand stamped card, so I sat down and played around a little until I came up with something I thought was acceptable.

I have tons of stamps but none that are really baby themed so I decided to go a little generic and just do a congrats card. I never use ribbon on my cards because I don't know how to tie a nice looking bow. At least I didn't know how to until I attended convention.... tie your ribbon around anything that is at least as wide as your card, cut the ribbon off the spool and get your bow exactly the way you want it. Once you are happy with the way it looks (if you are like me you will have to tie and untie a few times)cut the back of the ribbon so the bow comes off whatever object you tied it around. Now you have a perfect bow that you can just adhere to your card, no muss, no fuss. (by no means am I saying the bow on my card is perfect, I just know it is one of the better bows I have tied)

(one of these days I will post a clear crisp scan, just not tonight, I am tired.)


Recipe:
Stamp Sets: Say it with Scallops
Paper: Pink Pirouette,Bella Rose DSP and Kiwi Kiss
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: 1" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Circle Punch, Circle Punch (not sure what size)

I am almost finished with my holiday mini swaps, hope they will be going postal tomorrow which means I should be posting a pic of them soon. D said "I think that is the best thing you have ever done" Not really sure they are all that but I do know I am really happy with the way the came out and hope the other stampers in the swap will be too. Off to get some sleep so I can finish them in the AM.

I love new rubber.......

The past 2 days have been great mail days for me the UPS man came not once, not even twice but 3 times- how exciting! I got tons of goodies from the new Holiday mini I can't wait to start playing with. I am in a swap run by Diana Gibbs that should be awesome. I have heard nothing but great things about her and her swaps, I can't wait to see what everyone creates; at the same time I am a little nervous, I need to make sure I produce a card everyone wants and would be proud to demonstrate, talk about pressure!!

Every month my upline coordinates a swap with the girls in our group, this one the requirements were you had to use the new InColors and "Say it with Scallops" stamp set. Since I am a major blog hopper I have seen tons of great cards made with this set (after all about 6000 demonstrators got it free at convention) one of my favorites was created by Sherri Barron I loved her card so much I made one very similar........(again excuse the scan, one of these days I will get it right)
The base is Baja Breeze, followed by a layer of Whisper White and some new 1" Double Stitched Grosgrain ribbon in my favorite Chocolate Chip. Stamped "Hi" with Chocolate chip onto Pink Pirouette and punched it out with the 1 3/8 square then used a pop up glue dot to adhere that to a Pink Pirouette scallop square punched out with the new scallop square punch (I have no idea how we made cards without that punch, it is awesome!!!) I then added scallop squares in Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango (who thinks of these names?!?) and Chocolate Chip to complete the look. Pretty simple card yet pretty cute if I do say so myself.

Did I mention my Big Shot arrived today?!?! So exciting and well worth the 2 day shipping fees. Since I am off for the next 3 days I plan on doing nothing but scrapping and card making, looking forward to posting tons of new creations this weekend.

Pick a Petal, Any Petal

I am still trying to figure out how I am going to organize all of the swaps I got at convention, almost a month after being home! So far I have gotten as far as grouping them together by stamp set, I guess that is a step in the right direction. One of the classes I attended at convention was about investing in your business and buying stamp sets that are going to "pay you back" one of the key features to such a set is one that is versatile, I can't think of a more versatile set than "Pick A Petal" I loved all of the swaps I received at convention but these have to be my favorite. I love that you can create all of these different things with just one stamp set, how cool is that?

First you can create a dragon fly like Cheryl Parker did.
Mara Bates created a dragon fly too.
Of course you can create flowers and that is just what Jenni Hogan did Nichole Nelson made a flower too Tracy Belvens said "Thank you" with a flower

Pick a Petal is a great stamp set for all holidays, you can wish someone a Happy Mother's Day with this card created by an unknown artist Ann Leek came up with this adorable Thanksgiving card. And if you just want to say Thank you, there is always this card made by Suzanne Lawrence.

To Have or To Have Not......

I was off yesterday and was lucky enough to spend the day with my friend and upline Dawn and her family. The day started with swimming lessons for 2 of her 3 kids to swimming lessons, then we grabbed lunch and went back to the pool to enjoy the sunshine. Whenever I spend time with people who have kids it amazes me how they do it, Dawn is no exception. Her oldest daughter is in 3rd grade (I think she is 8) her other two children are 5 year old twins. Talk about having your hands full.... Dawn makes it look so easy, it I had to do what she does every day I am sure I would have lost my mind by now and if not my minds, at least one of the kids. I always say days like this are really good birth control, they remind me what the life of a parent is like and why I have decided to NOT have children.

After spending the day at the pool we got to spend some time stamping and hanging out with some other people from our group. It just so happens one of the other ladies (Doris) has to go to a wedding this weekend. (so do D and I) so the first priority for Doris and I was making wedding cards. After looking through what felt like thousands of samples (Dawn has millions!!) we came up with our inspiration. We decided we wanted different colors, changed some other elements and this is what we came up with (as always it isn't the best scan but in person the card looks great if I do say so myself)
Recipe:
Stamps: Always and Wonderful Words
Card Stock: Whisper White and Brushed Silver
Accessories: Silver Embossing Powder, Stampin' Dimensionals, Retired Ribbon and Ribbons slider.
It really felt good to stamp and paper craft with friends. I need to do more of that, based on my work schedule it is hard to go to crops and other things because they are almost always on the weekends so when I get the chance to craft with other people I jump on it. After making the wedding cards we worked on some projects Dawn needed to complete, then we played around with the BigShot (can't wait to order mine, kind of impressed I haven't ordered it yet) and planned some activities for the rest of the year. All I have to say is watch out because it is going to keep getting better and better as the year goes on!!!

Am I missing something?

There is a new stamp set in the Stampin' Up! catalog called "Sock Monkey" everyone loves. I don't, as a matter of fact I am going on record here and now saying it freaks me out a little. It is definitely not a stamp set you will ever see on my wish list. That being said I received tons of really cute swaps made with the sock monkey that I just had to share.....(as with all of the pics I post I apologize for the clarity or lack there of of the pictures, blame it on my scanner)

Created by Barb Coblentz of Marshfield, WI

This one is from Krista Jensen of Corona, CA

Then we Megan Verhoeven of Parker, CO creation which really got attacked by my scanner. In real life the card is straight and even!

This was created by Susan Miller (not sure where Susan is from)

Jill George created this one, again I am not sure where Jill is from.

Finally I received from an unknown stamper.

I think all of these cards are adorable (obviously, I shared them with you) but I just don't see the big deal about the Sock Monkey..... oh well it must be me!

I'm Lovin' It.....

It isn't every day you get to have your picture taken with a celebrity, especially one who is world famous. I had no idea when I get on the plane for Salt Lake City I would be meeting someone was well known and reconizable as.......
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Ronald McDonald!!!! How lucky am I? I am sure you are wondering what the heck was Ronald McDonald doing at the Stampin' Up! convention? "Stampin' Up! designs an exclusive stamp set every year to help raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities" (RMHC) Ronald was there to accept the check from Shelli and visit with demonstrators.

As if that wasn't cool enough, the last day of convention looked liked because donated this (sorry for the crappy picture, my hands were shaking with excitement while I was taking it) to every demonstrator who attended to convention. I thought I got excited when the UPS man showed up at my house, you should have seen how we all acted when he showed up at convention, it was unreal. What is even more exciting is there were about 5600 people there and since UPS purchased the stamp sets from SU to give to everyone attending convention that means RMHC received more than $11,000 from Stampin' Up! Now that is something to cheer about!!!

Simply Sent

I am so in love with the new Simply Sent Card Elements Kits. Using the kit I was able to make this adorable card (At least in person it is adorable, I don't think the scan did it justice, oh well) I did alter it a little. I was supposed to use a button in the middle of the flower but in true Kelly fashion, I lost the button so I used a pearl from the "pretties kit." The cool thing about the kit is you get everything you need to make 9 cards, including step by step instructions which is exactly what I need.

The card is for my DM, after a little more than 2 years working together we have been realigned and are no longer working together. She is coming to my store tomorrow to "hand over" the store, I know it is going to be an emotional day,thankfully I am not working the business so I won't scare any customers away with my "I have been crying face"

Swapping was fun.......

All of this talk and pressure around swapping at convention had me on pins and needles, I wondered was my swap good enough? would people want to swap with me? how would people know I had swaps? and tons of other things ran through my head as I entered the Salt Palace for the first time with my Ziploc bag full of swaps. It didn't take me very long to figure out how the whole swapping thing worked. Basically everyone in the building was swapping, it made waiting in line for Memento Mall seem not so bad. People were basically walking up and down the line swapping. I very quickly learned the easiest way to do it without dropping everything on the floor was to give with one hand and take with the other (remember high school graduation, you shook with the right and received your diploma with your left, same concept) I started putting all the swaps I received in the back of my very cool new bag from SU and the one I was giving stayed in the front of the back so not to mix them up. I would be lying if I said I went through all of the ones I received. Making 150+ cards was over whelming; however they were all the same design so it wasn't that bad; however, I received 150+ cards all of which are different designs, it is amazing to me the time and effort that went into alot of them. I really need to figure out a way of sorting through all of them and filing them for future use/inspiration. In addition to giving me some really great gifts (including an adorable picture of her dog "Snowball"- that is for you Judy if you are reading this) my roommate gave me several cards and card designs to use in the future. The two cards posted are from her. I am going to my cousins' birthday party tomorrow and these cards are perfect for them, they are turning 6 and 4. I am sure they are going to love them and hope you do too. I hope to post pics of the swaps I received as I sort through them, not committing to any specific time frame though, sorting through them could take awhile.

It keeps getting better and better

Stampin' Up! has done it again. They are running an amzing recruiting special lstarting on Monday, I am so excited about it, I couldn't wait until then to share the news. For $99 you can sign up to be a demonstrator and get amazing discounts on every order you place. One of the things that makes this promotion so special is there are 3 different starter kits to pick from and as usual all of the kits are 100% customizable... how cool is that?



When I placed my first Stampin' Up order I never thought I would become a demonstrator but because I had an amazing demonstrator who was so motivated and passionate about what she does I became to think more and more about it. I was going to place the order anyway, why not get a discount? I have never hosted a workshop, or taught a class yet I get a great discount with EVERY order I place. I LOVE IT!! After attending convention I realized there was a lot more I could be doing with "my business" and I promised myself I would work a little harder at it than I had been. I still don't plan on hosting workshops or teaching classes and that is okay because I don't have to!

One of the things that is so inspiring about convention is watching demonstrators walk across stage for their accomplishments in various different categories. Like me, many of my "sideline sisters" signed up as hobby demonstrators after being at convention and seeing people get rewards and walk across the stage we are committed as a team to walk across the stage next year. I am so excited to be feeding off their energy and motivation I just know this is going to be an amazing year!!!

Another exciting convention announcement......

Stampin' Up! has announced a partnership with Sizzix!!! Please join me in welcoming the newest member of the SU family.........The Big Shot. How exciting!! There are so many amazing things you can create with it, I can't wait to get my hands on it.

When Shelli announced the partnership all 5500+ woman in the convention center went crazy, it was unreal. I am sure you are wondering what is the Big Shot and when/where can you get one? I have the answers to those questions and more....... The Big Shot is a sturdy manual die cutting machine used to die cut materials for use on crafts, home décor projects, and even clothing--it's a big deal! Starting September 2nd you will be able to order the Big Shot along with Exclusive Stampin' Up! Dies how cool is that? I am so excited I can barely control myself!

Convention was amazing............

If I talked about all of the great new products and announcements made at Convention I would be typing for days! It was awesome. The new catalog is amazing, be sure to contact me today for your free copy!!!

Stampin' Up! has sweetened the deal a little more by putting some of the new stamps sets on promotion.....

Never Before Seen Promotion

From August 11 through September 30, Stampin' Up! is providing never-before-seen savings on brand-new stamp sets: 15% off select new, die-cut stamp sets from the Fall-Winter 2008 Idea Book & Catalog--no additional purchase necessary. Select items are listed in the table below:

Item Code Pg. # Description Regular Price 15% off Price
111690 32 Snow Swirled $24.95 $21.21
111586 55 It's a Stretch $23.95 $20.36
111544 81 Putt Putt $24.95 $21.21
111626 91 Eastern Blooms $21.95 $18.66
111672 98 Pocket Silhouettes $18.95 $16.11
111710 101 Upsy Daisy $18.95 $16.11
111556 109 Under the Stars $29.95 $25.46
111644 145 Heard from the Heart $22.95 $19.51
111570 157 Contempo Alphabet $40.95 $34.81
109381 23 Felicidades Siempre* $17.95 $15.26

*From Celebrando Creatividad

Pictures of these stamp sets and more are int he new idea book and catalog, be sure to contact me to request your copy!