Occasions Favorite??? You mean one???

Hello and welcome to this week's Sisters in Stamping blog posting.  We thought we would share with you each of our favorite stamp sets from the Occasions Mini catalog.  Now that sounds a whole lot easier than it really is.  Have you seen the Occasions Mini Catalog?  There are a ton of great sets in there.  I must admit I will have a different favorite one every week from now until the end of April (when the catalog ends).  Which is good for you because then you will get to see most of the used in a way different from what is shown in the catalog.

Remember if you don't have your copy yet, let me know so I can get it out to you. You won't want to miss out on this one.  Plus, it's Sale-a-bration right now.  Remember, purchase $50 of product from the Occasions mini or any current Stampin' Up! catalog (before shipping and tax) and you will be able to select one items from the Sale-a-bration brochure for absolutely FREE.  Can't beat FREE!!!

So without further a do, I bring you this week's favorite Occasions mini catalog set....... Nautre Walk.

I picked this set at first because it was a little out of my "norm" and I wanted to challenge myself.  Well, after I made this card, I decided that I really LOVED the set.  And I'm not normally a "blue" person either but I'm thrilled with the finished look of this card.

I think it's a great card for any Occasion.  Whether you just want to let someone know you are thinking of them, you need a thank you or birthday card, or you need to send a sympathy card this card will do the trick.  It's so versatile.

I used Marina Mist and Very Vanilla cardstock.  I used real red and old olive stampin' write markers.  As far as ink pads, the marina mist and creamy caramel.  I also used the great new frame embossing folder called Tulip Frame.  Of course, the bird is stamped in marina mist, cut out and attached with none other but dimensionals. For me, what truly finished the card was the "ruffled" ribbon and the build a brad. It really brought the whole thing together.

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to go to Sisters in Stamping to see the other sisters favorite sets.  And stay tuned...... next week, Simply Adorned will win your hearts over.

Sale-a-bration is Around the Corner

It's so close, I can hardly wait.  I love this time of year.  The excitement and enthusiasm for Stampin' Up! is on such a high that it is extremely contagious so BEWARE!  You will fall for all the excitement. I did 10 years ago and that's when I decided I NEEEDED to become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. 

This week at Sisters in Stamping we decided to give you a sneak peak (Sale-a-bration begins 1/25/11) at some of the things you can get FREE with a $50 order (before shipping and tax) during Sale-a-bration.

I'm sharing with you another card that I used for swapping at last week's Leadership Conference in Nashville, TN.  It was a great time and I will share more of that with you in the next few days (sorry didn't share all week long but I brought home a special visitor, named, the FLU. Needless, to say I was down and out for the past 4 days.  Finally feeling a more like myself today.  Still a little weak but certainly on the mend.

This card uses the Bliss stamp set from this year's Sale-a-bration mini catalog. I used Basic Gray, Regal Rose and Whisper White for my colors.  The background is stamped in basic gray by repeatedly stamping the scrolly, stencil type image (how's that for an exact discription?)  The butterflies are stamped in regal rose on whisper white cardstock, cut out and attached with dimensionals.  The regal rose strip is cut into a "v" at the end to make it look like ribbon.  There's 2 tiny little pearls attached on that piece and then the greeting is stamped in Basic Gray on whisper white, punched out (large oval) and layered on regal rose (scallop oval) and basic gray (wide oval) punched pieces.

I need to let you in on a little secret and give credit where credit is due.  I designed this card, stamped the butterflies, cut the layers to the sizes they needed to be and then passed it off to my sister, Roxanne, to finish them for me.  She was happy to help until she started cutting those butterflies out.  At first she was thinking 96 butterflies to cut out (that's how many cards I cut cardstock for) and then about halfway through cutting she realized there were 192 butterflies because there were 2 on every card.  And then she still finished them for me.  Don't worry she is being compensated for helping me with some awesome Stampin' Up! products that are on her wishlist.

At leadership, many compliments were handed out about the card, so obviously, Roxanne and I work well completing projects together.

Remember, if you want to see some more ideas using Sale-a-bration items, head over to Sisters in Stamping.  Next Friday, we will be sharing our favorite Occasions Mini Catalog stamp sets with you.

Wanna Swap?

This week I have been in Nashville, Tennessee for Stampin' Up!'s annual Leadership Conference.  What a great time.  Seeing "old" friends, making new friends, learning business building ideas and helpful hints to support my downline (demonstrators in my group), seeing Nashville and of course stamping, stamping, and stamping.

For Sisters in Stamping this week, we are showing you some of the cards we made for swapping here in Nashville.  Three of the four made it here for the conference.  Karla was unable to get here due to the crazy weather.  She was on her way, got rerouted, got rerouted again, and then got sent home. We are really missing having her with us and wish it all turned out differently so she could be here.

Here's one of the cards I made to swap here at Leadership.

It uses the new Build a Blossom stamp set as well as the coordinating punch from the Occasions mini catalog.  Made it pretty easy to make since the flower petals didn't need to be cut out individually with scissors. I also used the Springtime Vintage designer series paper, the Say it Simply stamp set and the tulip frame embossing folder for the big shot from the mini. 

The cardstock colors are regal rose, pear pizzazz, rose red, and very vanilla.  Of course, I picked these colors because of the designer series paper.  I like the two tone look of the flower by just stamping on colored cardstock.  Hope you enjoy the card and remember to head over to Sisters in Stamping to see Jacque's and Debbie's swap card and a picture of us together here in Nashville.

Can't wait to get home and share my swaps and ideas with all of you.  Remember Sale-a-bration begins January 25, 2011 so book your Sale-a-bration workshop now.  Who doesn't want FREE stamps and acessories.  Even your guests have the chance to earn FREE product during Sale-a-bration.

Love Impresses!

Hello and Welcome to another Fabulous Friday.  Hope your New Year is off to a great start.  I am looking forward to sharing many great ideas with you in 2011 and hope you will continue to come back to see what I have to share.

This week at Sisters in Stamping we are sharing Valentine's Day ideas with you.  With Valentine's a little over a month away, it's the perfect time to start thinking of things you want to make this season.

I used several items from the new Occasions mini catalog (don't you just love that catalog?).  For my main focal images I used the Love Impressions rub-on's (p 8). They made this card very quick and easy to put together.  I also used the new Framed Tulips Textured impressions embossing folder (p 28) to frame off the whole card. 

Using only a few products made this card simple to complete.  But the finished card is really quite beautiful.

This card only took a few minutes to put together. So if you don't have a lot of time this would be a fabulous card to put together and still leave a huge impression on the receiver of this card made with love.

Don't forget to head over to the Sisters in Stamping blog to see what the other sisters created.  And check back next week when we will be sharing projects made using the awesome new fabric from the Occasions Mini Catalog.

Christmas Cards I Received (Part 5)

Here is part five (the final part) of the Christmas cards I received this year. Hope you have enjoyed them and have picked up a new idea or two (heck, maybe even three or four).  Again, thank you to everyone that sent me a card this year.  Christmas time is so special and wonderful for so many reasons and receiving hand stamped cards is just one of the many.

This card if from Debbie Naylor (my fellow Sister in Stamping). FYI: The red glitter ornament was punched from some awesome glitter paper that will be available in January. Isn't it cool?

This card is from Jess Schmitt (a member of my downline group)

This card is from Dianne Stilp (a member of my downline group)

This card is from Marcia Larson

Again, thank you so much for taking the time to think of me and my family this Holiday Season.  I really appreciate the love and support I receive from everyone throughout the entire year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  Best Wishes for you and your family in 2011.