Join the Stampin' Up! Family

The time is now to join the Stampin' Up! family.  I just wanted to share with you a wonderful opportunity that is quickly coming to a close. You can join the Stampin' Up! family for only $99 until Sunday, July 31st. You will get 2 stamp sets, 4 stamp pads, an assorted pack of cardstock, a pack of notecards and envelopes, a pack of Designer Series Paper, a clear block, snail adhesive and a roll of 1/2" scallop dotted ribbon.

Plus Business Supplies (no alternative selections can be made for business items)

Getting Started DVD
Getting Started Guide
Guest Invitation Postcards (100)
2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog (8)
2011 Summer Mini Catalog (8)
Stampin' Up! logo vinyl
To My Hostess Envelopes (10)
Recruit Folders (5)
Recruit Brochures (20)
Customer Order Forms (50)

It's over $185 in product and supplies for only $99. Whether you join for discount on great product, need a little extra income, or would love to make stamping your career, Stampin' Up! is for you.

Plus you will also get the above Christmas Keepsake box project kit (a $40 value) when you join the team by Sunday, July 31. I will also give you a special gift after you join. What are you waiting for? Head over to my website right now and get started.

Below is a short video from Shelli Gardner, Stampin' Up! co-founder, about this wonderful opportunity.  Watch it and you will know why I love what I do and why I love being a part of this great company.

Head over to my website right now so you too can be a part of this special family called Stampin' Up!  You won't regret your decision.  I know I haven't

There is Always New Growth

And because of that, this week at Sisters in Stamping we are focusing on the Growing Up section of the catalog.  We are always surrounded by people that are growing, babies, toddlers, young children, tweens, teens, young adults and then adults.  I'm sure you can all relate somehow.

The Growing Up section of the 2011-2012 Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog is filled with stamps that will cover you in all of these sections. Yes even the big boy toys are covered with the Need for Speed stamp set. 

I had a tough time deciding which set to work with because they are all pretty great (No, of course, I don't have them all. Yet anyway. lol)  But alas, I decided to work with a set that I received for FREE at Convention, Best Friends Forever. I'm pretty sure we all have a BFF or know some teen girl that certainly has a BFF that could use this card.

I like the look of this set and can see so many uses for it besides making BFF cards.  I used the new Petite Pennants Builder punch to make the banner on the card.  (Have I told you how much I love this new punch?  It's going to be getting a lot of use.)

The colors are Melon Mambo, Marina Mist, & Old Olive. The base of the card is whisper white.  I am loving the clean look of whisper white as the base. I stamped and cut out the hearts from the set and attached them to the bottom of the pennants to make them look like exclamation points, because afterall, a BFF certainly is a strong point to be made.

Then I stamped each letter individually (so I can punch them out) on whisper white cardstock. I used the Stmapin' Write Markers to make this task much easier.  I also used the markers to "doodle" around the edges of the white pennants to bring it all together.  I then added a rhinestone to each of the letters.  All BFF's love bling, don't they?


I strung the pennants together using the natural hemp.  I then used the fun, new 1/2" scallop dots ribbon (love my polka dots) to tie around the twine at each end of the banner as well as in between the pennants.  I can promise you that you will be seeing lots of this awesome ribbon in the next year.

Hope you enjoy the card and it brings new inspiration to you.  Don't forget to head over to Sisters in Stamping for more Growing Up ideas.

Precious Memories

I know I have talked about Brittney's wedding for months and you have all been patient, so now I am going to share with you a few picutres that Oaktree Photography took that day. It was such a beautiful day that we were blessed with. Couldn't have asked for anything better and if you have ever planned a large event for outdoors you know the stress that comes with not knowing if Mother Nature will cooperate or not. Well she did cooperate and in a big way.  Sun was shining bright all day long and all the planning and organizing certainly paid off.

Here is a picture of us (Don and I) at home before the ceremony with Brittney.  She looked so beautiful and happy for her special day.

Here is Brittney with her two little brothers.  Noah and Jonah were NOT thrilled with wearing some tuxes but look how handsome they are in them.  Jonah loved the shiny shoes that he had to wear though. He actually wants a pair of his own.  I would have never thought that would come out of his mouth either. 

Here is a family shot of all 5 of us.  We clean up pretty nicely, don't we?  Now family photos will be with 6 of us. Vinny are you ready for the annual family photo?  You better start mentally preparing for it.  Don't worry Brittney will fill you in on what you need to do, where you need to be, and when it is.

Here a photo showing the inside of the invitations I made.  I will have to post a picture of the outside (that is, after I take the picture, lol).  Eighty of these babies were made with tender loving care.

The above picture is during the cermony.  Brittney and Vinny exchanged vows in a circle of rose petals.  You can also see the program that I made for the ceremony.  The backside, (I will have to take a picture of that too) has all the attendants names listed.  I stamped the center of the program using the large flower image from Wedding Sweet.  I used a lot of basic black, pink pirourette and whisper white cardstock in making everything for the wedding. I don't think I will be using those colors for awhile.

And, finally, Mr & Mrs Vinicius Santos.  Aren't they a cute, happy couple?

Isn't this a fun picture?  I love it.  Oaktree Photography does a great job and you should certainly look into them if you are in my local area. You won't be sorry. You will have great photos to last a lifetime.

And I saved this photo for last.  It is my ulitmate favorite photo of the morning.  Look at the boys sitting back and watching their sister get ready to be married. Look at how beautiful she looks.  Am I biased?  Probably but I don't care.  It's exactly how I feel.  I can't believe the little girl I raised has grown into a woman so quickly but she has and I'm very proud of her.

It's all about those Special Occasions, right?

We have so many special occasions to celebrate every month, every year.  And Stampin' Up! is certainly there to help us create along the way.  This week at Sisters in Stamping we are showcasing sets from the Occasions section of the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog. 

I choose the Patterned Party stamp set for my card this week.  We always need a birthday card.  Come on, have you ever been caught without a card at the last minute?  I thought so.  This is a pretty easy card to duplicate and make mulitples of so you won't be in a frantic hurry when you get a last minute invite or you simply forgot that party was tonight.  (I know it's happened to me and I'm pretty sure I not alone in this category).

I used 4 of the new 2011-2012 In-Colors, Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade and Island Indigo (I just love this year's in-colors, a great green, Lucky Limeade and a much needed light purple, Wisteria Wonder.  These are my favorite 2, even though I like them all).  I also used whisper white and basic black.

I used the In-color markers to ink up the balloon image and the versamark pad was used with the number and banner stamps. It's the easy way when stamping on several colors all at once.

The main image is attached to the card using dimensionals.  I also used the fun new 3/8" ruffled ribbon in the Lucky Limeade shade to finish off the card.  And I can't forget the fun Designer Printed Brads in the In-Colors that I "tied" the ribbon off with.

I wanted to add some crystal effects to the balloons but it's so stinkin' hot and humid here in PA (there is sweat from just sitting and typing, that's how crazy it is), that I thought it would never dry for me to take a decent picture.  Guess I'll have to add that on a cooler day.

Don't forget to visit the Sisters in Stamping blog for more great card ideas using sets from the Occasions section of the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog.

If you don't have your own copy of the catalog yet, let me know and we can arrange for you to get one.

Rachel's July's Stamping Classes

**Stampin’ Classes**

By Rachel Yurkanin – Stampin Up! Demonstrator

570-689-5371 Email: dryurkanin@comcast.net

Website: www.rachelyurkanin.stampinup.net

Gather your friends for a night of fun while you earn free stamps and supplies. These would include ideas for cards, invites, favors, decorations, etc.

July 2011 Classes
Classes are held at my home unless otherwise noted.


Stamp-A-Stash: Thursday, July 28, 2011 – 6:30 PM

Make 12 cards: 3 designs, 4 of each design. Great way to build your card collection so you won’t be caught without a card for the next special occasion.

Cost: $20.00 – Includes all supplies to complete the cards and envelopes. All you need to bring is your own snail adhesive.

Registration Deadline: Tuesday, July 26, 2011


Big Shot Club, Sunday, July 31, 2011 2:00 PM

Do you love the big shot but can’t justify the expense all at once? Well, I have the perfect club for you. Read on for all the details.

As a part of this club you are in essence purchasing a big shot and some accessories for it using a layaway plan.

This club will run for 4 months and be $46 a month.

At the end of the club you will have your own big shot machine, one die ($21.95), the Stampin’ Up! Texture plates ($11.95), one embosslit ($11.95) and one sizzlit 4 pack ($19.95).

This is plenty of supplies to have a lot of fun playing with your new big shot at the end of the club.

Each month we will meet and I will share 3 projects with you (that you will make as well) using the big shot. By the end of the club you will know how to work all the great tools that are available for the Big Shot. We won’t be using just paper either. I will show you several different materials that work wonderfully with the Big Shot.

If you are unable to attend the make n take session, you can still join this club. I will make the projects for you and get them to you. So this is a club for everyone.

Plus as a club member you will receive $15 credit and a level 1 hostess gift. Isn’t this a sweet deal?

If you already own the Big Shot you are welcome to attend the class for $10 per month.

Registration Deadline: Thursday, July 28, 2011

Hey, hey, Mr Big Shot!

I love my Big Shot!  Just had to get that out. I think many of you know that by now. I use it every chance I get.  So I was very excited to work on this week's Sister in Stamping theme, any new Big Shot die/template.

Since it is July, I decided to use a Christmas in July theme.  I used the new Houndstooth embossing template.  I was very excited to get this one and couldn't wait to use it.  I used black and white as my color scheme, very elegant looking (in person anyway).  It is a quick card to put together too so it would be an awesome card to mass produce.

Here's another view (different angle) of the card. I had to add some dazzling diamonds to make these pretty ornaments sparkle.  You should see them.  They sparkle from every angle, just what an ornament should do when the lights or hitting it.

Be sure to head over to the Sisters in Stamping blog to see the other Big Shot dies/templates that the rest of the sisters used.

Why should you host a Stampin' Up! workshop?

You ask, "Why should I host a Stampin' Up! workshop?  Well after this week's Sisters in Stamping posting, you will see exactly why.  There are great new hostess sets in the new idea book and catalog.  Plus, there is a new hostess program that you are going to absolutely love.  Gone are the days of level 1, level 2, or level 3 hostess sets.  Now each hostess set has a dollar amount attached to it and you can get any one of your choice (as long as you have enough hostess dollars).  Isn't that awesome?  I just had someone this week place a $150 order and she was able to select 3 sets for FREE, and all 3 of them were hostess exclusive.  Before she would have only been able to get one set. Cool, right?

Enough about that, onto today's card.  This card was created using the Faith in Nature hostess set.  This one is a beauty.  There are 5 stamps in this set, 2 words, a flower, a leaf, and a pear.

I went with some fall colors, Cherry Cobbler, More Mustard, and Always Artichoke to create this card.  I just did some random stamping on the background in all three colors. And then did direct to paper using the More Mustard pad along the edges of the stamped very vanilla cardstock.

Just a close-up view of the saying on the front.  I stamped the leaf image in the 3 colors on scrap paper and cut them out to add to the corner of the greeting.  They are attached with dimensionals (but you knew that already, right?)

And because the always artichoke cardstock is so dark, I added a piece of very vanilla cardstock to the inside of the card (stamped with a single leaf image) so you can write in this card and allow the recipient to actually read what you write. (smile)

Hope you enjoyed my card but don't forget to head over to Sisters in Stamping to see even more great ideas using this year's Hostess Exclusive sets.

And when you're done drooling over the awesome sets, call me to schedule your own workshop. Remember my customer received 3 hostess exclusive sets for her $150 order, way better than the old hostess program of only getting one.

Have a great weekend.  I'm busy, busy, busy this weekend.  Open house tonight (which you are welcome to attend) at the Sleep Inn in Dunmore (5:30 PM - 9:00 PM), Brittney's and Vinny's wedding rehearsal tomorrow and Brittney and Vinny's big Wedding Day on Sunday.