Christmas Midnight Madness

I guess all the preparing that Susan and I did for our Christmas in July event last Saturday put me in the Holiday spirit. I can't stop thinking about Christmas cards and possible projects for Christmas. So when I saw this week's challenge for Midnight Madness, I immediately thought of this stamp set. This stamp set is "SEASON OF JOY". I have used it many times and I think it is a good versatile set. It is a set that you can get many different looks from. I again used the new designer paper "MERRY MOMENTS". I love this paper! I used markers to color in the words on the tag. By using markers, I was able to make the words many different colors. I stamped the Poinsettia in Real Red, placed gold brads in the center, and used dimenionals to raise the flower. This card went very quickly for me. I think because I did not play around with a lot of possibilities fro a change. The idea was in my head and it just flowed out for some unknown reason and it felt right when I was finished. For those people who really know me, they will tell you that after I make a card or a scrapbook page, I leave it lay on a table for a while. I walk past it during the day looking at it. If something doesn't feel or look right, I will change it. But it lays there in pieces until I walk past it and don't feel I need to change anything and then I attach all the pieces. This time, it just felt right. I hope you feel the same way about it. The supplies that I used for this card were:

STAMP SET: Season of Joy

PAPER: Whisper White, Real Red, Merry Moments DSP

INK: Real Red

ACCESSORIES: Garden Green, Real Red, Yoyo Yellow and Night of Navy Markers, Jumbo Eyelets, Gold Brads, Eyelet Border Punch, 1/4" Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon

I hope this got you into the Christmas spirit! This is the time of year I start to make my Christmas Cards. I always start now so that I finish early and do not feel so rush closer to Christmas. Go and enjoy the rest of your day!

Mojo Monday 97

I finally was able to get this posted today. The computer store was busy the last two days transferring the data from my old computer to my new one. So now I am ready to go. I really enjoyed this challenge. This card took me longer to do than normal but I did enjoy working on adding color to the detail of the stamped image. I also thought that the leaves were a perfect addition to the card. I used "Harvest Home" for this challenge. I always liked this set and for some reason, I just thought this set would be perfect for this card. I am in the holiday mode for some reason. For the last few weeks I have been stuck on making Autumn and Christmas cards. But I think this one is my favorite so far. The supplies that I used on this card were:

STAMP SET: Harvest Home

PAPER: Autumn Harvest DSP, Really Rust, Watercolor Paper, Always Artichoke

INK: Dusty Durango, Really Rust, Yoyo Yellow, Only orange, Real Red, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard, Always Artichoke, Close to Cocoa, Black Staz On

ACCESSORIES: Blender Pens, Dimensionals

The new Designer Paper "Autumn Harvest " is fantastic. I have found myself using it more and more. I love the fall colors that it uses and the designs on the paper. The package that I ordered is almost gone, so I guess that I will be ordering more of this paper in my next order. Today I will be working on techniques for my August classes. Go out and enjoyed the day!

Mojo Monday-Really Late

I know that this is really late, but I was determined to do this challenge this week. Unfortunately, I had such a hectic week that I did not get finished until yesterday. Well, that is only half true because I did finish one Friday evening but I did not like it and tweaked it yesterday to come up with this card. For some reason, the last few days, I end up with masculine type cards. This trend is so unlike me but it seems to be making my friends happy because they have been trying to get me to create more masculine cards. So this one is for you guys! The supplies that I used for this card were:

STAMP SET: Autumn Days

PAPER: Autumn Harvest DSP, Soft Suede, Always Artichoke, Crushed Curry, Whisper White

INK: Crushed Curry, Soft Suede, Dusty Durango

ACCESSORIES: Bermuda Bay Marker, Dusty Durango Marker, Gold Brads, Dimensionals, Dusty Durango Polka Dotted Ribbon

I turned the ribbon around to the plain side because I felt that the polka dots were too busy on this card. I used the THUMPING technique on the pheasant to give it a more dimensional look. All in all, I am pretty pleased how this card turned out. Just an update on the Christmas in July event. It went very well yesterday. I thank everyone that turned out and I hope you had a good time too. I did take my camera yesterday to take pictures of everyone working on their projects but I forgot to take any pictures until after we had everything cleaned up. You just have to believe me when I say that there was Christmas music, Christmas cookies, Christmas decorations, Christmas Tree, Christmas projects going on and a lot of good friendly Christmas cheer! It was a GREAT day!

Midnight Madness

During this crazy week, I finally was able to sit down last night to create this card for this challenge. I wish you could see the background on this card better because it has a lot of small detail that this picture is missing. I used the FRIENDS 24-7 stamp set for this card. I first took the damask piece and used bleach to stamp all over the Mellow Moss card stock. After that I took the Friendly Words wheel and with Night of Navy rolled over the stamped images. It gave it a more distressed look. And that is why instead of flowers, I used the Neutral Brads. I originally had flowers but they did not seem to go as well with the card as the masculine looking brads did. While I was working on this card, my daughter told me that she felt it was a more masculine card than feminine. I think that is why I used the embellishments that I did. I hope you like the card. I am on my way now to CHRISTMAS IN JULY!!! Will let you know how that turned out. Have a Merry half Christmas today!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to me! Today is my birthday but it is also my upline's daughter, Grace and my sideline Jaime's birthday. I thought this 3 x 3" notecard would be the perfect card to show you today in honor of all of our birthdays. This was one of the projects that we made at my Open House. It is very simple but I thought it was a good way to introduce a couple of new products to my customers. The stamped image is from the Razzle Dazzle stamp set. We took the new In Color Markers and colored in each design strip a different new In Color. We used the new In Color ribbon and made a bow on the side. We took the new Modern Label punch and punched from Bermuda Bay cardstock. For the sentiment we used the new stamp set "TEENY TINY WISHES" in Melon Mambo and used the Word Window punch to cut it out. Voila! You have quick and easy note card made almost entirely from new products. Quick and easy to make so you can make a lot of them to have on hand for that special occasion. Go out and enjoy your day today because I knew I will!

Christmas Punch Gift Tags

Christmas is almost here! Well,"Christmas in July" anyway. Only 2 more days until the big event! Here is the second project we will be working on, gift tags in a gift box. We will be using the level two hostess set,"CHRISTMAS PUNCH". What a nice set. You can really make a variety of gift tags with that set. We made four separate designs and placed them in a matchbox container made from using the Stampin' Up MATCHBOX bigz XL die. We also used the 3/4" Real Red Polka Dotted Grosgrain Ribbon to tie around the outside of the box to make it a nice gift to give someone or you can use the tags yourself and put something small in the box and use it as a gift box!

Christmas is Coming

My " event will soon be here. My sideline Susan and I are doing an event together and we are so excited! This is one of the projects we will be making. This is a gift card holder which hopefully looks like a present. I saw the directions on "Stamp With Heather"s Blog and liked the construction of the holder. I used the new Merry Moments Designer Paper. The base of the gift card was Real Red cardstock. I used the 5/8" Red Grosgrain Ribbon for the bow. The gift tag was punched from Whisper White cardstock after we stamped the snowflakes on using Garden Green. We liked that it was the opposite of the designer paper. The stamp comes from the level 2 stamp set, Christmas Punch. This is one of five Christmas projects we will be working on. I am hoping that everyone has a good time and can get a jump start on the holiday. And by the way, the Christmas cookies that I was baking last week will be there!!! Something to look forward to this week.

Razzle Dazzle Me

I am back and up and running.  My daughter helped me figure out how to get my pictures on this computer.  How simple!  I thought it would take me days to figure it out!  This note card was one of my Make and Take projects at my Open House.  How cute and simple.  I was showing off a few of the new products from the 2009-2010 Idea Book and Catalog.  We used the new stamp set "RAZZLE DAZZLE" to stamp the image onto the RICH RAZZLEBERYcardstock   -one of the new In Colors. The designer paper that was used is my favorite from the new catalog.  It is the "COTTAGE WALL" DSP.  The color combination is gorgeous.  It combines, Orchid Opulence,  Rich Razzleberry, and Old Olive together in various designs.  It really is my favorite DSP so far!  Lastly, we used the brand new Rich Razzleberry Polka Dotted Grosgrain Ribbon.  Another outstanding product.  I wanted my customers to get a small taste of the great products Stampin' Up has this year in their new catalog.  So far they are loving it too.  Wait until they see the other new products that are coming that are in the Holiday Mini.  All I can say is WOW!!

Virus

I have had an up and down weekend.  First, I got a new laptop!  It is a birthday present!  But before I could get to the Apple store and have all my files , transferred from my PC to my Mac,  my PC got a virus and I cannot access anything.  It has shut me down completely!  So until I can get my files or figure out how to transfer my pics to this computer, I am stuck.  Unfortunately I didn't have any of my One on One lessons at the Apple store( birthday gift from my daughter), so it will take me a few days to figure things out.  Please be patient and check back later.  I will post the new Deal of the Week later today!  Enjoy the rest of your day.  I will be trying to figure out this new computer.

Midnight Madness- Flower Fancy

It felt so good to be able to sit down and work on my projects this week. The past two weeks have been crazy and not really my own. I have been trying to get ready for two events that I have been planning in addition to the three technique classes that I held this past week. Add that to making room for my daughter to move back in until she and her husband find an apartment near her new job. You have a crazy crazy couple of weeks. So now that I can breathe again, I sat down and worked on this challenge. I have been wanting to use this stamp set "FLOWER FANCY" for a while but just have not been able to find the right card to use it on.This card just seemed to fall into place. First I just love the new "COTTAGE WALL DESIGNER PAPER"! The color combination in the paper is beautiful. I used the new Orchid Opulence for the base of the card. I then mounted a piece of the Cottage Wall DSP onto a slightly larger piece of Rich Razzleberry cardstock an placed that onto the base. Then I stamped the flower on to Whisper White with Staz- On and colored in the flower an leaves using the blender pens. The small trio of flowers are from the same set but I used the two step stamping technique for those flowers.. The background rectangles were run through the big shot to add texture. The ribbon is the new Rich Razzleberry Polka Dotted Ribbon but I used the other side. I thought that the polka dots would be to much for this card. And to finish it off I used the half pearls from the Pretties Kit to add embellishment in the upper corner. All in all, I am happy with the way it turned out. The women that were over at my house on Wednesday for class, really liked this card also. They asked me when they could make this card. The supplies that I used for this card were:

STAMP SET: Flower Fancy
PAPER: Old Olive, Orchid Opulence, Rich Razzleberry, Cottage Wall DSP
INK: Orchid Opulence, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Black Staz-On
ACCESSORIES: Rich Razzleberry Polka Dotted Ribbon, Pretties Kit (1/2 pearls), Dimensionals, Blender Pens, Flourish Texturz Plate, Small Dots Texturz Plate, Big Shot

Well since things have slowed down here a bit, I plan to bake some cookies today. I am going to bake Christmas Cookies today! Yes, Christmas cookies for my "Christmas in July" event. Next week I will post samples on my blog. Go have a great day.

Mojo Monday 95

I am so excited that I even was able to get to work on my own cards this week. My daughter from Arizona arrived 3:30 am Monday morning. Needless to say the whole week so far has been crazy! She is back in Pennsylvania because of relocating for a new job which she will start in a week. It has been hard to find time to do my own things because of all that had to be done before she got back. I needed to get all of my things out of her room to make room for her. My stamping and craft items have now been relocated various locations throughout the house. It takes me more time to remember where they are than to do the projects!

Any way... this is what I came up with for Mojo Monday. It feels good to do these challenges again and I hope to be able to keep up with them. For some reason, I am in the Christmas mode. It could be that I am gearing up for Susan's and my "CHRISTMAS IN JULY" event on the 25th. More about that during later posts. But I was very pleased how this turned out. I love the designer paper in the background. That came from the new SU Merry Moments Designer Paper. The Merry Christmas sentiment is from the Level One Hostess set, "HOLIDAY BEST". That is a cute set with four different holiday sentiments. For this card, the supplies I used were:

STAMP SETS: Holiday Best, A Cardinal Christmas

PAPER: Merry Moments Designer Paper, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip

INK: Real Red, More Mustard, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive

ACCESSORIES: Red Micro Beads, Very Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware. Dimensionals, Blender Pens, 1/4 inch Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon

Last night I had my last Technique Class for July and I was showing the girls what I was working on. They really liked this card. They also remarked about the new Holiday Designer paper that I was using. I showed them the whole package of paper and they all were so excited about it. I think I have got them all in the Holiday Spirit also! I need to stay in the Holiday Spirit because today I will be finishing up bagging all the supply packages for next Saturday's Christmas in July event. So have a great day and Merry Christmas!

Technique Class-Card 3

This is the last card that we will be making in this month's technique classes. The theme this month is "BLEACH" and all the cards are made using bleach in different ways. This is Shadow Stamping with Bleach. I wanted to use the new In Colors on a project and I think combining the Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo and Pale Plum together looks really good. This is a more subtle look. I used the Teeny Tiny Wishes for the sentiment. The supplies that I used for this card were:

STAMP SETS: Close as a Memory, Teeny Tiny Wishes
PAPER:Pale Plum, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Melon Mambo
INK: Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry
ACCESSORIES: Rich Razzleberry Polka Dotted Ribbon

This is a retirement card for one of the women that I used to work with. She retired this June. Happy Retirement Elaine! Enjoy it.

Matthew's New Room

My friend from work, Nicole, had her second child in April. He is adorable!! This is a picture of his room. On his wall, you will see one of the Decor Elements.. This one is Snips and Snails in Chocolate Chip. She had ordered this before he was born. After he was born, I went up to the house and placed it on the wall for them. It was so easy to do! It did not take long to do and looked so nice when it was done. It really made the room look better by having something there instead of a big empty wall. While I was there, Nicole made us lunch, (delicious!) and I had a wonderful time visiting and holding Matthew. So take a look at the new Home Decor items. I am sure you can find something in there that can help you bring more personality to your room.

Have a great day!

July Technique Class-Card 2

This is the second card that we will be working on in the July Technique Classes. Although it might be difficult to see in the picture, the flowers are bleached out on the Pixie Pink cardstock. I used the new In Color-Bermuda Bay for the background. I love the brightness that it brings to the card.It took me a while to figure out the design of this card. It is very simple and geometric looking so you would not think it took as long as it did for me to decide this was the card. I think because the stamped image and what I did to it was so simple, that it was harder to come up with the layout of the card. Because the card is so simple, I felt it needed something extra to the background. That is why I decided to stamp an image, tone on tone, onto the background. I added plenty of layers to surround and brighten up the simple image. Even after I had all the layers placed onto the card, it still looked as though something was missing. That is when I added the small round section on the bottom right corner. It is the opposite of the image I stamped. Instead of taking out the color (like I did with the bleach), I added the color on the image of the flower. It is really a positive-negative type of thing. The supplies that I used for this project were:

STAMP SET: Embrace Life
PAPER: Bermuda Bay, Pixie Pink, Green Galore, Whisper White, Basic Black
INK: Black Staz-On, Bermuda Bay
ACCESSORIES: Bleach, Blender Pen, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, 1/4" Pink Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals

Although this was the simplest card I created for the technique classes, it took me the longest. I think it took me longer to do because I did not want it to be simple and boring. It took a while to come up with additions that were subtle but added interest. Tomorrow I will post a picture of a baby's room that became more interesting after Decor Elements were added. Enjoy your day!

Technique Class-Card 1

This month' theme for Technique Class s "BLEACH". I will be demonstrating three different ways that you can use bleach in making your card. This is the first card we will be making. I used a lot of the items from the NEW 2009-2010 Idea Book and Catalog for this card. The designer paper is called "Autumn Traditions". I also used the same DSP on yesterday's card. I really like this selection of paper. The package has a nice assortment of fall colors, fall patterns and papers that have a masculine feel to them. I like this color combination, it gives you a very fall like feeling. Besides using the new DSP from the new catalog, I used the "Teeny Tiny Wishes" stamp set, the Modern Label Punch, and Dusty Durango cardstock which are also new products from the new catalog. The supplies that I used for this card were:


STAMP SET: Teeny Tiny Wishes

PAPER: Autumn Traditions DSP, Old Olive, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip, Dusty Durango

INK: Dusty Durango

ACCESSORIES: Bleach, 1/4 Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon, Gold Brads, Dimensional

Just a tip. If you are using bleach on your stamps to stamp, please make sure that you clean then right after use. That will insure that they stay in good shape. I was so excited to make this card because I could not wait to use this new design of designer paper. I really like the new designs that they have in the catalog this year. I can not wait to try out more of them. This afternoon I am going to do my most favorite thing of summer. I am going to my friend's house where she has prepared a lunch for a small group of us. (a couple of women that I used to work with) and after lunch we are going to stamp. We do this once a week in the summer. We have had this tradition for at least 5 years now. I love that time with my friend's. So go and enjoy your day, I know I will. You can check my website www.dereag.stampinup.net for the dates and times this month.

Mojo Monday 94

I know I am late posting this card but my week has been extremely hectic. I feel lucky to have been able to complete a card this week! First, I am on overload because I am getting prepared for my technique classes this Saturday and I am also hosting my Open House on Saturday after the class. I am also in the process of creating projects for my Christmas in July Stamp Camp. I was not able to start as soon as I wanted to because a certain shipping company shipped my box to another state after it arrived in PA! So my delivery date was rescheduled and that put me behind with all my projects. BUT... the number 1 reason I am so far behind is my daughter from Arizona is relocating back to PA. She was offered a position back in the area at the end of last week! You would think I would be happy, I am but I have to relocate all my stamping supplies out of her room. She will need a place to stay until she can find one closer to her new job. And she will be arriving home this Sunday! Meanwhile I am crazy cleaning, trying to find places to put my things. Cleaning out drawers and closets this holiday weekend was not what I had in mind. So after all this complaining, I came up with this card last night.(I felt I needed to do a little relaxing. and what better way to relax than stamp!) I used some of the supplies that I received yesterday. I really enjoy using the "Autumn Days" stamp set. You can do a lot of different thing with it. I stamped the pheasant using the Thumping Technique. I thought that using that technique would help to get the different colors of feathers that a pheasant has. I used the "Autumn Traditions" designer paper for the background. Since this card had such a Fall feel to it, I decided to add the different colors of falling leaves as an accent. They were stamped, cut out and attached with Dimensionals. The supplies that I used were:

STAMP SET: Autumn Days
PAPER: Autumn Traditions DSP, Chocolate Chip, Dusty Durango, Whisper White
INK: Always Artichoke, Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango
ACCESSORIES: 1/4 inch Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals

I like how this card turned out. It is a very masculine looking card. It would be good to use for birthdays, Father's Day, or anytime for the manly man in your household. Well, after this post, I am back to being a cleaning machine for the day. Hope you enjoy your day better than I will mine today. Have a great one!

Friends in the New In Colors

Well, I made this card the other day when I first received my pre-order. I loved the cover of the new catalog. I thought the colors looked so good together. The Crushed Curry and Bermuda Bay really make a nice color combo. After I started to put the background colors together, I thought that I needed to put a different color on the flowers. If I had painted the flowers with the Crushed Curry, the flowers would not have stood out. So I decided to use one of the other new In Colors-Melon Mambo to paint the flowers. That little pop of color, I think, makes the flowers the focal point of the card. I thought the card looked elegant. So to continue with that feeling, I added the pearls instead of metallic brads. I was very happy with how this card turned out. The supplies that I used for this card were:

STAMP SET: Friends 24-7
PAPER: Razzleberry Lemonade DSP, Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry
INK: Melon Mambo, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Black Staz-On
ACCESSORIES: Scallop Edge Punch, Pearls from the Pretties Kit, Blender Pens

I thought that I would be posting my Mojo Monday card today but the UPS man did not come to my door today. He is rescheduled for tomorrow. I am waiting for my order from the new catalog. I can't wait to get my hands on the new stuff and play and play and play. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to post a new card with my new stuff. Until then, enjoy your day!

Happy Fourth of July

Happy Fourth to everyone! I thought this card was really appropriate for today's celebration. I have a confession to make though. This card was not made by me but one that was sent to me from my upline. Kim sent it to me to congratulate me for my sales for the month. She always sends the top five people in her downline a card to congratulate their sales.I just thought it was so patriotic that I save it to show you today. Hope all of you have a nice day spending it celebrating with your families!

Mojo Monday 93

Unfortunately, I have a friend who lost both a parent and a brother-in-law the last few days. Needless to say it was a rough week for her and her family. I needed a sympathy card for her and was working on Mojo Monday challenge when I found out about the second death. I used that card for a sympathy card. I think you will agree with me that this card would work well for a sympathy card as well as a masculine birthday card. I was able to use the new In Colors for this card and I think the color combination is fantastic. The new Crushed Curry, Soft Suede and Dusty Durango work very well together along with Old Olive. These colors would also work well together for an Autumn card. The name of this stamp set is "AUTUMN DAYS". The supplies that I used for this card were:

STAMP SETS: Autumn Days, Teeny Tiny Wishes
PAPER: Razzleberry Lemonade, Soft Suede, Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Old Olive
INK: Crushed Curry,Dusty Durango, Old Olive
ACCESSORIES: Scallop Edge Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Dusty Durango Polka Dotted Grosgrain Ribbon, Linen Thread, Earth Elements Buttons(retired)

I like the way the card came out and I think the color combination worked well. I hope my friend liked this card that I sent her. Enjoy the reat of the day.

Open House and New Catalog

It's Here!!! The NEW 2009-2010 Idea Book and Catalog starts today! You can acccess the new catalog and order. You will like the new products that you will find there. The new IN COLORS are spectacular! Do you want to check these new items out in person? I have arranged that for you. You are invited to an OPEN HOUSE at my house on July 11 at 12 to 2 PM. Please check my website or contact me for more specific info. Here is what you can expect to find that day.

1. Display of New products for you to see
2. Catalogs for you to look through and check out what is new or you can get one of your own
3. Make "2" Make and Takes using the new products
4. Try the Big Shot if you have not already
5. Retired sets for you to buy at a discount
6. Display of projects using the "NEW" products
7. Door Prizes

So come on out and see the "NEW" catalog and what it has to offer! I just know you will be as excited as I am about it! Hope to see you there.