Charming Day Sneak Peek!

This one is TOO pretty to pass up! The "Floral Charm" Suite coming in July as one of the newest Online Exclusives was absolutely gorgous on my preorder screen - but to open the box and pull it all out was even better!!

This new suite is my absolute favorite so far this year. Why? It has ALL the elements that are my favorites: 1) My favorite colors (puples and pinks) are paired up with my favorite season - Fall! The oranges and greens in the fall colors are so soft and can be used with more neutral tones or even bright fall colors.

2) This has the perfect mix of stamps with matching dies AND stand alone dies! Whether you enjoy stamping, coloring and then die cutting beautiful flowers for a project, or using stand alone dies for a creative bouquet, this set of dies offers BOTH. The etching on the stand alone dies is so soft and delicate, yet the cardstock pops out easily without having to "pick" a bunch of tiny pieces out from inside the die itself. There are five stand alone flowers, buds and leaves to mix and match. All three floral image stamps have a die to cut them out as well. The lightly etched pieces in the stand alone dies pairs *so* nicely with the Textured Notes dies as well - here's the more "up close" view:

Adding details to this suite will be so easy. The little package of bling that is included with the suite and the beautiful ribbon will help projects take on completely different looks. I used our Bubble Bath Stampin' Blends to color some linen thread added a small touch of color around the greeting. Recognize that retired punch? It's our old Ticket Duo Punch that matches this particular greeting perfectly. I am not sure about you, but I have a thing for small greetings. Making the card scene the focal point and adding a smaller greeting is usually my style, so when we sell a punch that works for smaller greetings I *aways* snap one up to use in future projects. Thanks for looking today, enjoy the sunshine if you've got it!

New Catalog, New Colors!

Every year I look forward to the new In Colors. This year was no exception! The stamp set I used is a new Hostess set called "A Whole Lot of Lovely." I made five of the same card in different colors. After putting them all together they seemed a little "busy," but I wanted a LOT of color. I got it!

What's your favorite new color?

Express Yourself!

What's more fun than New Catalog time?  The list is surely very short!!  Every year I get all worked up, anticipating the date that we can order the Catalog and a few Preview items to play with.  This year I was stunned to find the Soho Subway paper in our preview!  Why the excitement?  Because it's a pink and brown combo, of course!  There's just something about it that makes me want to play in my stamp room.  Those of you who have visited me know that's my stamp room color combo too...for that very reason!

The catalog has been available since June, but I've been out of commission for some time.  I am determined to learn how to use social media (some of it, anyway!) and post more creations.

This card uses Soho Subway Designer Series Paper, along with new Buttons and a new Hostess set called "Express Yourself."  Colors are Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla and the new Crisp Cantaloupe.

Thanks for visiting!!

Here's the newest addition to my Stamp Collection! With the release of the new Stampin Up catalog, one of my favorites is the new "Cottage Garden" stamp set. I think I love it so much because it has matching Designer Series Paper - it's called "Sunny Garden" and the colors aren't what I would usually call "me." But it's so pretty! I love when things are matchy matchy.

I think a really big surprise was our new rhinestones and pearls. There are so many in the package! I thought it would be much smaller. I don't have any problem using them on my swaps, there's at least 50 of each size!

Enjoy, and I hope you're having a great weekend!

Well, it's been a LONG time! We've moved MANY miles to a new home in Kentucky. Things were chaotic last year as we left our FL home and waited out the sale, eventually settling in here. We still have boxes to unpack, and things to paint, but we are all together and the furniture is assembled! That's the big part.

As for my new Stamp Room - it's still under construction! But I have managed to make a few projects since the move! One is this Embossing Folder book. I found this sample in the SCS Gallery, from a member named Wenchie before we even moved. (And have since found out that not only is she very creative, she's a SUPER nice person as well!)

I embossed a bunch of samples from my folders before the movers came, and when we got here I finished the job. Would you believe that from August to January, I only had three more to add to my stack??

I decorated and bound my book, now all I have to do is choose how to store the folders. I'm not sure if I have the room to make my own box as she did, but if I do make one I'll post that, too.

Here is the cover of my book, and a photo of the inside. You can see that I have my samples sorted by the company they come from. All my page separators are tabbed and labelled.

Then, a photo of what I did inside the back cover. Since I used a Bind It All to bind my samples, I was stumped as to what I'd do once I bought more. I decided to add a small pocket to the book, where I can place my samples. After I have five or so that need to be added, I'll just take off the binding and re-bind including the new ones. I won't have to do it often, so that should work.

Have you found a creative way to store your samples? I'd love to see!

When You Think Kona...

What comes to mind? Warm breezes, the smell of salt and sound of crashing waves? I think of Hawaii, though, definitely not Florida! This card is from a new set called "Hangin' Loose with Kona" which will be released TODAY by Our Craft Lounge. Why the early release? A surprise for Joy! Today is her birthday! Stop by the store and say Happy Birthday - just don't tell her who told you!!


Happy Birthday Joy!!

My New Notebook!

Yes, it's been a long time, but I'm getting back to posting!!

Our lives have changed a great deal, as have many of you out there in stamp land. My WMWH's retirement from the military and job change have changed our lives quite a bit. Throw in a pending out of state move and the economy, and we've been hit hard just as many of you have!!

This is the reason for today's project. We've had times where coming up with stamping money has been plentiful - or plenty enough - but right now is not one of them! Being frugal and making only purchases I think I "need" is even more important now. Being a Stampin Up Demonstrator gives me a discount for their products, but what to do when I'm eyeing something I don't sell from our catalog??

Those purchases have to meet certain criteria:
1) Will I use it "forever?"
2) If it only will be used for one project, is the cost worth it?
3) How versatile is it?

That doesn't cover everything, but you get the idea. The Quilters Sampler stamp set from Papertrey Ink has been on my list of things I'd REALLY like for quite a while now. It debuted in July of 2008, and I loved it right away! I'm not a quilter, but I have friends who do and like the idea of making them cards or gifts using this set.

I love how easy the stamps are to use! Each square works perfectly with the 3/4" Stampin Up square punch!

After waiting 9 months since it's release, and still loving the set just as much as I did in the beginning, I ordered it this month. I'm so happy I did, this will be in my "forever" collection!

Months ago, there was a set of Pink and Brown cute little notebooks in the Target cards and gifts section. I really liked them - and they went SO well in my pink and brown office! But they were a little on the expensive side. My husband remarked that I could easily make some...and that's been sitting in my mind ever since! I like the idea of making several of these for different things and keeping them in one place. The one pictured here is the first I've made, and as you can see it's for "Stuff I Think I Need!" I have a list of things to add in this little book. A few more PaperTrey sets, the Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, a Mushroom Lane or two, and many more sets from Stampin Up. I used some little notebooks from my stash. They measure about 4 1/4" x 3 1/2" and you can usually find them at the Dollar Tree in a pack of 4. Very economical!!

I will write things that catch my eye and beg "Please, buy me!" and think about it for a little while. Things I want to keep in my "forever" collection will stand the test of time. Impulse buying may be fun, but can make you miss out on something else you would have REALLY liked a lot more!

Here are some ideas for other, similar, books:

1) Time to Reorder list - As I run out of cardstock, or need reinkers, I can jot it in my little book. I never place an online order - Stampin Up or anywhere - for one small item! The shipping would be way too much. I know right now I need the Staz On white opaque refill because it's on a slip of paper somewhere here on my desk. I would LOVE to eliminate some of those little slips of paper!!

2) Inventory List - This idea came to me at StampFest this year. I was looking at stamps at a vendor's table and they carried the Thomas Kinkade line! I've been buying them at Cornish Heritage Farms since they came out - buying what I can, as I can. I knew which images I had in the large size, but couldn't remember which I had in the vignette. I would have loved to have a little book with all of them listed, as well as the proper name of my Nestabilities, and Copic markers.

What would YOU use most? I'd love to hear your ideas, leave me a comment if you have one!!

Until next time,
Debbi

Items used: Papertrey Ink Quilters Sampler, Copic Markers, 3/4" Square and Word Window Stampin Up punches, Basic Grey Sugared paper, Nestabilities, Pink Pirouette and Chocolate Chip Stampin Up Cardstock, and Itty Bitty Backgrounds Stamp set