Stacie Stamps

Swap Card

I finally sent off 3 sets of card fronts for a demo-only on Splitcoast Stampers.  I signed up over a month ago and today was the last day to get it postmarked and be in the swap...my procrastinating ways live on.  The design I'm going to post today was actually designed in time for a class a friend and I held Feb 7, so I didn't procrastinate on all of the cards, just some of them.

This card features the HUGELY popular "Thoughts & Prayers" Stamp set and the new texture plates for the Big Shot as well as my favorite die, Top Note... 

This is not the best picture - sorry about that.  I took it quickly as I prepared for the class.  The colors featured on this card are Blush Blossom, Close to Cocoa and Whisper White cardstock and Blush Blossom and Close to Cocoa Classic Inks.  In the class we also varied things up and used markers to color the leaves Mellow Moss and Blush Blossom.

I used the texture plates on the Close to Cocoa cardstock layer and then used the corner rounder on both that layer and the Blush Blossom card base.  The finishing touch is the Mellow Moss taffeta ribbon...I LOVE Stampin' Up's taffeta ribbon.  It is wonderfully easy to use and ties so nicely. 

This stamp set is so popular that it went on backorder the first day of the new catalog (this issue has since been resolved and it's shipping in a timely fashion now).  It is wonderfully versatile from simply saying "Thinking of You" to "Praying for you", "Get well Soon" and "Sharing in your Sorrow".  In addition to the tree, there is also a lovely, flowering vine and longer greetings to go with each of the sentiments.

This next card is a sample of an invitation to a bridal shower/farewell party a group of friends recently threw for the physical therapist who has help our children so very much over the past year and a half.  She is a delight to know and will be greatly missed as she embarks on her new adventures as a Navy wife.  I tried to make the invitations as close to her wedding colors, while sticking with supplies I had on hand (which are all SU b/c that's all I own).  My children helped make these as well - my son cranked out all 30 of the flowers we needed to make the invitations using the "Simple Flower" embosslit die.

The colors for this card are Close to Cocoa, Almost Amethyst and Whisper White.  I used Versamark for the stamped image "Together Forever" and another of the textured plates for the design on the Amethyst.  The ribbon is the Whisper White taffeta (told you I love this stuff) and the half pearls in this sample are from the Pretties Kit.

To place an order for any of the supplies used for these cards, go to www.staciestamps.stampinup.net and click on "shop now".  If you place your first online order between now and April 30, you will receive a free catalog along with that order.  In addition, this month and next are Sale-a-Bration...receive special, free product for every $50 you spend in SU product.

Where have I been????

By now I've pretty much dropped off of most people's radars, I bet.  It's been 2 months since I posted which is pretty much business suicide in the world of stamping blogs.  Sorry, but part of it was having a few events in a very short time which resulted in a touch of burnout.  And part of it has been my re-prioritizing.  I've spent a lot of quality time with my children instead of encouraging them to watch way too many videos while I stamp (yes, that's my deep dark secret - that's how I found so much time to stamp.)

So, what have I done with myself in my absence?  Well, I actually stamped our Christmas cards (although, if you are a friend/family member who didn't receive one, don't lose hope - I still have a few to make).  I made gifts for many, many preschool, Sunday School and AWANA teachers.  I travelled with my family twice in the past 2 months and successfully wrapped up a stamp club from the last catalog period.

Okay, enough about the non-stamping and non-business stuff I've done.  A friend and I are planning a stamp-a-stack class for next month and I want to show off one of the cards I've designed for it.  Funny thing is after I designed it, I found something similar on another blog - it's a masculine card and this set is perfect for that very type of card.

 

It's a little difficult to tell the colors in the picture - I used Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke and Kraft cardstock and the "Happiness Always" stamp set and "Sanded" background stamp.  I distressed the edge of the Kraft cardstock using the distressor that Stampin' Up! carries as part of the cutting kit.  I think my favorite parts are the black hemp and the distressing - just makes the card rough and masculine.

If you are local to Beavercreek, you can reserve your spot in this February 7 class by emailing me.  If you are not local, but would like a kit, please contact me to inquire about pricing.

Reminder

Sorry, another post sans pics.  I took a bunch today but I have them in my new digital frame that I'll be taking with me to the Holiday Extravaganza tomorrow...and I'm not going to unpack it at this point (sorry).

This is just a quick reminder to anyone who stops by my blog that tomorrow (Saturday, November 8) I will be donating 10% of all orders of $49.95 or more (before shipping and tax) to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Dayton.  This applies to orders placed in person, by email and through the online ordering feature on my business website. Once you click to my website, look for the "shop now" button in the upper right corner immediately below my contact information.   This applies to anyone within the United States (as I am not allowed to sell SU! product outside of the US)...so even if you don't live anywhere near Beavercreek, OH you can still help support families affected by Cystic Fibrosis with your order.

Thanks!!!

Details of a Christmas Card

  I've had several people ask me for details about this card from a recent class that I did.  So, in the spirit of giving I thought I'd share the details here for anyone who would like them.

The supplies I used are Ski Slope designer paper, Chocolate chip textured cardstock, Baja Breeze textured cardstock and Whisper White cardstock.  I also used the Real Red wide grosgrain, rounded tab punch, silver embossing powder, a silver eyelet (yes, we do still have the metallic eyelets) and silver cord (which is back in the mini catalog this year).  This card also features the "join in the cheer" decorative die from Sizzix (this is one of the exclusive dies that you cannot find except through your Stampin' Up! demonstrator).

The ornament has been what most people have inquired about.  I used the Coluzzle to cut out the circle.  Then I took a scrap of whisper white cardstock and covered a section in versamark, sprinkled with the silver embossing powder and heat set with the heat tool.  Then I used half of the rounded tab punch to cut out an ornamnet topper.  It really is very simple.

The ribbon is actually 3 pieces of ribbon (a technique I learned at convention and cannot explain well without showing you).  It takes a bit more ribbon than I am usually willing to devote to one card, but it's such a nice touch and it lies flat on the card!!!  No more concerns over a card needing extra postage - and I guess if I'm going to put the extra expense into sending it, I'd rather it be to make the card prettier rather than the money going toward postage.

Rogue UPS (little) Man

While I personally have the best UPS driver, I know at times packages will still arrive damaged.  Tonight I got to see first hand what happens when no one is looking...

 

You can't see it, but we actually had a Stampin' Up! logo stuck to the box, and most of the night he carried it facing out - gotta train 'em young - LOL!

And in case you are wondering, for some reason here in Beavercreek the kids trick-or-treat on "Beggar's Night" which is rarely on Halloween.

Happy Halloween!!

Holiday Extravaganza

So, no pictures today - sorry.  But I do want to tell everyone about an event I'll be at in November and how you can help regardless of you location (as long as you are in the US, that is - can't sell out of country!)  I will be participating in a big holiday shopping event (and once I get a new memory card I'll show off some of the things I'll be selling) - a portion of the proceeds from my registration fee will be going to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Dayton.  I will also be donating a door prize valued at approximately $50 (it will include a new stamp set, a sample card and supplies to duplicate the card). 

In addition, I have chosen to offer everyone an opportunity to help me support this organization.  So, if you place a catalog order with me ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8, and your order totals $50 BEFORE shipping and tax, I will donate 10% to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Dayton.  You can place your order in person (and shop from my completed items as well), place an online order directly through my business website (remember to click on "shop now") or email me an order.  This is a one day offer only, so get your lists together (Christmas card supplies, your personal wish list AND the gifts you want to get for your loved ones) and place an order that will benefit families affected by Cystic Fibrosis.

To find out more about the event, click here

Thank You!!!

Reminder email

Okay, I received a reminder email today from another Stacie (those of us w/ the "ie" have to stick together - LOL).  She said "update your blog, girlie" (or something like that).  So, if you notice I'm slacking, you can also give me a kind reminder ;)

One problem I have is that I have misplaced my memory card - it isn't in the camera or the computer, and with 3 children 6 and younger my thoughts on where it could be are a bit overwhelming at times (wonder how the guys at the waste treatment plant are enjoying the pictures of all my cards and my kids??? Maybe on my next memory card I should have the first picture be of our address and phone number - LOL).

Hopefully, you will start to see some changes around here soon - I need to add a calendar and an online ordering button.  I need to post some pictures (once I have a way to do it) of some Christmas cards I'm going to offer as a "stamps in the mail" concept...and while I probably won't happen before Christmas (which is poor planning on my part), I do have an extra blog now which will one day have cards and 3-D items for sale.

  Now, for a fun card (fortunately I took a picture of ONE of the cards we made in stamp club last week before losing the memory card - and look, I'd even changed the date).  This card features the "Crazy for Cupcakes" stamp set that is on special this month.  You can get this great set at a 20% discount once you have spent $20 on regularly priced items (make sure if you order this on line that you enter the other items FIRST - or it can get a bit hairy...or just email or call me to place the order on your behalf).

Now for the details on the supplies used:

Stamp set - Crazy for Cupcake; Cardstock: Real Red, Bashful Blue & Whisper White; Designer Paper: Summer Picnic; Ink: Basic Gray Classic, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive and Real Red Stampin' Write markers; Accessories: Dazzling Diamond glitter (cupcake frosting - it's more obviousl in person), 2 way glue pen, wire clip (from "clip assortment"), Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain, Stampin' Dimensionals & SNAIL adhesive; Sizzix Die - Top Note (exclusive through SU!)

Shoebox swap

A friend of mine is hosting a shoebox swap tomorrow (if you are in the Dayton area, I highly recommend keeping an eye out for these on Splitcoast - Anna does a great job of running a very organized event), and I got a spot at the very last minute.  So, what's a stamper to do when she finds out on Wednesday that she needs to pinch hit on Saturday???  I pulled out all my old designs as well as swaps I'd received for inspiration.  There were a few swaps I was going to just copy stamp for stamp, color for color because they are so lovely - but the card creator in me just couldn't do it.  So, I went to a swap I created for another shoebox swap at convention (can you believe that before I met Anna a year ago I didn't even know what these things are???).  I quickly discovered I didn't have enough designer paper to make the original card again, so I made a few changes to the paper and came up with these 2 cards...

  

Both use the "Always" stamp set and the "Sweet Always" designer paper, but because each design uses close to a 4" square of designer paper, I couldn't get all of my 20 cards to be exact duplicates of each other (you can only get eighteen 4" squares of any one pattern in a pack of designer paper - which generally isn't an issue because I rarely make more than 18 cards that are duplicates of one another).  What you are seeing here is a total of 4 of the 12 designs represented in a pack of the "Sweet Always" designer paper.  Each sheet is double sided which is great for cards like these because I didn't have to sit around and decide which patterns work well together, I just used both sides of the same sheet of designer paper.

I also made one additional card with the same designer paper and base color, but I changed up a few of the other elements - including the ribbon just to show the versatility of the exact same stamp and sketch, but different patterns (still from the same pack of paper though - so now you will see patterns 5 & 6)... This card is not for the swap - it was actually the first card I designed on Wednesday, but then I decided to switch the ribbon and the color focus a little bit.

The final project I prepared for tomorrow is a 3-D item for a bonus swap - I'm not sure if anyone will swap with me because I'm a late add-on and so no one planned for me - but I'm hoping at least a few people will have extra of their item to swap.  This particular idea is far from unique as I've seen it in the gallery at Splitcoast and on several blogs.  I've seen the Owls' nose done with a variety of punches (the 3/4" square folded on the diagonal, the photo corner punch - and I tried the arrow punch before putting together this idea).  I used the small oval punch folded in half.  One tip for making this work, score a line on your Basic Black cardstock, THEN punch out the oval using that scoreline as your halfway mark.  It will make the folding of the beak much easier.  I also kind of crumpled the beak a little to give it a slight curve and make it appear a little more realistic.  I don't know who came up with this idea first, it wasn't me, but I love it anyway - and thank you to everyone who has shared this idea with the cybercommunity as a whole...

Christmas Card Class

I'm almost finished designing the cards for my upcoming Christmas card class - 9 of the designs are shown here...  

Hmm, I'm noticing that I still haven't adjusted the settings on my camera, so it looks like I somehow made these cards almost 3 years ago - long before most of these stamps and Sizzix dies came into existance...makes me appear psychic (which those of you who know that I always end up ordering stamps and/or accessories that retire the next month will know is absolutely NOT the case).

Normally, I'd put all the info about my classes on my business website where it belongs but I cannot get the calendar to update...so here it is.

20 cards for $30 or 40 cards for $55.  The only supplies you need to bring is adhesive.  The date is October 18 and I'm offering a 10AM class and a 1:30 PM class. If you read this post previously, you may have seen an incorrect date - my thanks to Jen for catching the error. 

I am also looking into what it would take for me to offer this as a kit for anyone who is not local and wants the supplies (cardstock, DSP and ribbon) and instructions.  So, if you are interested, you can email me to inquire about cost and what it will include.  Stampin' Up! rules dictate that I cannot prestamp images for you, so you would still need to provide (or order) your own stamps and ink pads.

Quick reminder

Sorry, no fun pics or projects today - but I do want to put out a reminder that I'm having a class on Saturday - so if you are reading this and are local to the Beavercreek area, let me know if you want to attend.  I only have 2 remaining seats!  You can get all my contact info from my business website. 

Thanks for dropping by and we'll resume regularly scheduled creativity in a day or two.