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By the Tide

It's Week 4 over on Create with Connie and Mary Spring Edition and we are showing off the Nature sets in the Spring Mini and Sale-A-Bration brochures.  It's not too late to join us…we still have 1 1/2 weeks left to go, plus you can see all the projects we've already done.  Some are easy, some more difficult…but all of them will work great in your classes and stamp camps!  AND…we leave them up for over a year so you can refer back to them 24/7!  At a price of $34.95 US for over 30 step-by-step PHOTO tutorials…how can you go wrong?  That's just a little over $1 a piece!

By the Tide was one of my FIRST purchases from the Spring Mini.  I don't live by the seashore, but I certainly would LOVE to some day!  I love the beach and sound of waves crashing into it…puts me right to sleep at night!  Since it was one of the first sets I purchased, I used it for my Control Freak Swap a few months ago.  I've been holding off showing my swap card until this week!  I really was pleased how it came out!

Here are the details:

1. 4 1/4 x 11 Pool Party cardstock, folded in half to make the base card.
2. The Whisper White is cut to 3 3/4 x 5.  I used the Oval Framelit to make a template on scrap cardstock, then temporarily adhered it to the Whisper White.  I used a Sponge Dauber to ink up around the edges of the oval with Pool Party Ink, then used the word stamp in By the Tide and Crumb Cake ink to make the background inside the oval.
3. Next I stamped the Fan Coral in Early Espresso Ink inside that oval background.
4. The Oval Piercing template I used to pierce around the outside of the inked oval I just created, giving it lots of detail.
5. I stamped the shell with Early Espresso Ink on Crumb Cake cardstock, then cut it out and popped it up on the front with a Stampin' Dimensional.
6. I stamped Spoil Yourself Today from Bring on the Cake in Early Espresso on a 1/2" strip of Crumb Cake, then cut the flag end and tucked the left side under the shell.

So…do you like?  Love these colors together!

Bootiful Occasions

Hey…did you notice?  Create with Connie and Mary has a NEW LOOK for the Holidays and I have the new badge on my blog!!!  We've opened our Early Bird Special Price savings, too!  Go check it out!

I wanted to show off my Control Freaks New Catalog Swap that I participated in a couple months ago…right before Convention.  I got the idea from my upline, Candy, to use this swing template for my card.  I hadn't made one in years, and the set I selected for the swap, Bootiful Occasions, was perfect for it!  Here is the view closed.

And, here is the view open!

The base is Cherry Cobbler, cut to 4 1/4 x 11, scored at 2 3/4 & 5 1/2.  Fold in half, then fold the front part back on itself.  I added a strip of Be of Good Cheer Designer Paper along the right edge.  I used the 3 1/2" Circle to cut out the front half circle by only partially running it thru the Big Shot, then cut a 3" Circle of the DSP to fit inside.  I also used the Perfect Polka Dots on the half folded in front. 

I stamped the Christmas Boot in Black Stazon on Very Vanilla and colored with Cherry Cobbler and Sahara Sand Stampin' Write Markers and my AquaPainter.  I added Dazzling Details to the cuff and tassels.  I punched it out with the 2 1/2" Circle Punch.  I stamped the greeting on Gumball Green and punched with the Large Oval Punch, popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals on the front.  I added some Gumball Green Stitched Ribbon tied along the front piece. 

On the inside, I also added a greeting from More Merry Messages in Black Stazon on Gumball Green and punched with the 2 1/2" Circle.  I love these motion cards…so much fun!

I'm getting ready to send in an order for more RIBBON SHARES…most shares are almost full.  If you want in, email me…another order will be placed on Wednesday evening! 

See RIBBON SHARE details HERE!!!

Gum Holster Template

During the July Tour de Freaks, I promised the template for the Bootiful Occasions Gum Holster project that I made for one of my Convention swaps shown here again.

So…here is the pdf file with directions and photo of the template…not to scale.

Download: GUM HOLSTER TEMPLATE TUTORIAL

Here is also another sample that my Club Members made in May using Mouthwatering stamp set with Watermelon Extra brand Gum inside!

Enjoy!

July Tour de Freaks – Freak for All!

Woohoo!  It's time for the Control Freak Swappers July Tour de Freaks Blog Hop!  We have a Freak-for-All this month…several of us will be showing off our swaps we did at Convention with our fellow Control Freaks and some will be showing off the new Holiday Catalog items!  You've probably just come from the wonderful Patty Bennett's blog!  We have a total of 16 stops for you this month…enjoy! 

My first card is one I swapped at Convention with the Freaks.  I thought it was a fun tuxedo card and great for those masculine cards we always need.

I used a base of Basic Black.  On the Whisper White, I used the scoring tool to run some "pleats" down the front of the shirt.  I added Basic Black Mini Brads for the studs.  The collar is the smallest Pennant Die piece.  The bowtie is the Pennant Punch from Summer Smooches Designer Paper and a 1/2" Circle Punch for the center.  It's popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals.  I used the Scoring Tool again horizontally for the Cumberband on a piece of Basic Black (hard to see in this photo), then stamped Happy Birthday in Basic Black and punched with the Modern Label Punch.

My second swap item was not a card…I didn't follow the rules of doing a second card because I wanted to give each of them a little treat.  Although the design could easily be turned into a card!  I made a little "gum holster" box.  Inside is a package of Extra gum!  The box base is Early Espresso.  I used the Real Red 1/4 Stitched Ribbon for the handle.  On the front I added the Real Red Polka Dot Patterns Designer Paper on the flap (and on the back), then Whisper White on the front stamped with Kick Up yer heels in Early Espresso Classic Ink.  I stamped the boot with Early Espresso on Real Red and cut it out.  Then used a Antique Brass mini brad in the center so it works as a closure on the flap.  I knew it needed just a little bit more bling, so was SO happy to see that Stampin' Up! has a little star punch in the Holiday Mini!  I used the punch on Red Glimmer Paper for an extra "kick" on my box!  Here's the inside:

Isn't that cute?  And, because I know I'll get asked, I'll put up a template and directions in a couple days after the tour is finished…sound ok?

My last card is a sneak peek from the new Holiday Catalog!  I'm sure you've received yours in the mail and DROOLED over it!  Oh my goodness!  LOTS of goodies in that catalog!  I fell in love with this Halloween set, Googly Ghouls!  The eyeballs are just too cute!  I made up several of these cards for swaps with friends I knew.

The base is Tangerine Tango and I layered on Basic Gray that I ran thru the Big Shot with the new Chevron Impressions Folder.  I added a strip of Howlstooth & Scaringbone DSP.  Then I added two narrow Basic Black "flags" going down the front with the mini silver brads secured at the top.  I stamped the mummy ghoul in Basic Gray on the Very Vanilla and added the googly eyeball.  I stamped Booo from the same set in Tangerine Tango along side the mummy.  FUN!!!

Time to continue on to the next stop on the Tour, the fabulous Mary Brown at StamperCamper's Corner!  I know you'll love her projects!

Summer Smooches

First…THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all of you who supported my Adhesive Sale this past week!  So many of you emailed that you love my blog and that is SO nice to hear!  I'm happy to have shared this huge discount with you on some of the staples of our business.  I appreciate you all SO much for your help in getting me closer to my goal of the  Fiji Incentive Trip this year!  I'm inching closer and closer as you can see from the themometer on my right sidebar.

I love the name of Stampin' Up!'s April Promotion…Summer Smooches.  Since Summer is my FAVORITE time of the year…yes, I love hot weather…it puts me in mind of all the fun activities to do in the summer.  The cute little set, Bright Blossoms, is just SO fun and fits my idea of summer.  AND…that Summer Smooches Designer Paper is so bright and cute and wonderful, I know it will be a favorite of mine.  Fabric Buttons, Fabric, a new PURSE die, ribbon, a Decor Elements Stencil…just look at all those yummy things!  Stampin' Up! is giving YOU, our customers, a chance to get the Summer Smooches products early in April, prior to it being released in the big catalog on June 1st!  So…take advantage and order yours today!  You can see a color flyer HERE!  And place your ONLINE ORDER at my website HERE!

This was my Control Freaks swap card I made last month.  Now I've seen all KINDS of really CUTE ideas that I love using the Bright Blossoms stamp set, but when I got this set there weren't many samples out there at all, so we all were creating without any ideas.  I was amazed to get the swaps back in the mail and they all were SO different, even using the same set of products and stamp set!

I structured my card to use mostly the Summer Smooches family of products.  I used a base of Daffodil Delight cardstock and layered on Baja Breeze cardstock.  Then I cut a 4×4 square of Summer Smooches Designer Paper (did you know that you can get 9 pieces out of a 12×12 sheet of DSP using that dimension?)  for the bottom of the card.  I used a piece of the new Daffodil Delight Seam Binding Ribbon across to hide the seam.  I stamped the Bright Blossoms image, inked up with markers, on Whisper White and cut with the Label Framelits.  It is popped up on the front of the card with Stampin' Dimensionals.  Then, I added a little Boho Blossoms flower punched from the Summer Smooches Designer Paper and a mini brad along side the Label.  Finally, I stamped "I'm Here For You" from Petite Pairs in Island Indigo ink next to the image.

Isn't it a FUN and cheerful card with those bright colors?  I think so!

Merry Winter

REAL quick post today…I wanted to share my Control Freaks Swap from the last swap we did featuring new sets in the Main Catalog!  This Merry Winter set really caught my eye!  I want to use it on my Christmas Cards this year!  Speaking of Control Freaks…the Tour de Freaks will be here in a couple days!  Come back on the 20th!

I love the Lucky Limeade and Poppy Parade colors together…a very BRIGHT Christmas color theme!

The base of my card is Early Espresso.  I layered on Lucky Limeade that I ran thru the Big Shot with the new Snow Burst Impressions Folder (in the Holiday Mini).  I added a strip of Letters to Santa Designer Paper (LOVE all those stripes in that package!), and then added a little sliver of Red Glimmer Paper along the side.  Oh, I used the Corner Rounder and rounded both corners on the right side.

I stamped the sled from Stampin' Up!'s Merry Winter stamp set in Early Espresso on Whisper White, placed the snowman from the same set on top, and then used the line of snow flakes in red across the "ground".  I colored the hat and scarves with Lucky Limeade and Poppy Parade Stampin'  Write Markers.  I layered the Whisper White on Poppy Parade…and rounded the right side corners again.

Finally, I stamped the Simple Snowflake single stamp in Poppy Parade and punched it with the Snowflake Punch, then added the word Merry Winter in Early Espresso on Poppy Parade and punched with the Small Oval punch.  Nice and colorful!

LOTS for me to do today…my girlfriend arrives this evening for the stamping retreat this weekend.  I need to finish cleaning, grocery shop (yuk!) and get some posts ready to go on here…you wouldn't want me to miss a week, would you?  Anyway…have a great day!

Out on a Limb 3

OK…as promised, here is another prototype of my Control Freak Swap for the Holiday Mini.  You can see version one HERE.  I did like this one…and it is closer to where I ended up.  In the end, the spider web and spiders bugged me on this card.  So, I opted not to go with it.  I did like the moon behind the cat!

For this card, I started with a base of Basic Gray cardstock.  I layered on Pumpkin Pie that I ran thru the Big Shot with the Spider Web Impressions Folder.  I added a piece of the stripe pattern from Pick Your Poison Designer Paper…can you see the glittery strip of Silver Glimmer paper down the center of the DSP?  I also added a small Scallop Border Punch piece of the Silver Glimmer Paper in the upper right corner for a little accent!

I stamped the trio of spiders from Out on a Limb stamp set in Basic Black on the spider web impression.  Then I stamped the limb and the cat from Out on a Limb on Whisper White.  I punched a circle in a scrap piece of paper, then used Daffodil Delight to ink up the moon in the background.  The Whisper White is layered onto Basic Black cardstock.

So…as I said, I'm getting closer to what my finished swap card would look like!  Stay tuned!

Did you check out my For Sale items HERE? 

Still a good selection of Christmas sets left!

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STAY TUNED!!!  TOMORROW is the first day of our FREE preview session!  Each of the Design Team made up a FREE project with tutorial over the next couple weeks for you to see what we are all about!  Don't forget to check us out over on Create with Connie and Mary tomorrow…there IS Blog Candy, too!  A FREE subscription to Create Holiday Edition! 

Create with Connie and Mary  is getting ready for our SEVENTH Edition, the Holiday Edition 2011!  We've started Early Bird Pricing…save $5 off the normal $34.95 US!    At only $29.95, your subscription will get you 6 weeks of daily projects with FULL step-by-step tutorials, challenges, and a chance to win prizes.  That is less than $1 a day, and is a HUGE bargain!  Don't wait…sign up today! 

Out on a Limb

I'm going to play a little teasing game with you over the next couple posts.  I did this a couple years ago.  As most of you know, I am a member of the Control Freak Swappers.  Some BIG creative names in this group (should I name drop?  lol…)  Anyway…I always want to make my swaps EXTRA special…this one for the Holiday Mini swap.  I frequently do up 3-4 different swap card ideas before I hit on the one that will be my final swap card for them.

Here is my first prototype.  I did LOVE it…but didn't want to cut out 30 of those little witches to sit on top of her ledge!  AND…I didn't want to cut out 90 of the BOO letters from the Silver Glimmer Paper either (3 x 30).  I do love the Halloween Hang-ups Jumbo Wheel…very cool hanging down.

Anyway…the base of my card is Sahara Sand.  I layered on Basic Black.  On the top layer of Sahara Sand, I ran the Halloween Hang-ups Jumbo Wheel across the bottom in Basic Black.  I added a strip of Pumpkin Pie cardstock on top.  Then I cut a strip of the Pick Your Poison Designer Paper and scored it with the new Simply Scored Tool every 1/4".  I pleated it back and forth and then attached it to the front to hide the seam between the Sahara Sand and the Pumpkin Pie cardstocks.  I ran my Basic Black Ink Pad across the tops of the pleats for a little aging, too, and cut the end with my 1" Square Punch for a pennant shape.  I also added two Basic Black Mini Brads to the end.

On top of the Designer Paper, I stamped the witch in Basic Black on Whisper White, then cut her out.  I placed her on her perch with Stampin' Dimensionals.  I cut out BOO from Timeless Type Junior Alphabet dies with the Big Shot and the Silver Glimmer Paper and adhered across the top, too.

A very fun card, but just a little time consuming to make 30 for a swap.  So…stay tuned for Round 2!  Hope you come back to check it out!

WOW!  Our Designers have started sending in their projects and tutorials…all I can say is WOW!  You will be so amazed at the talent in this Edition!  Create with Connie and Mary  is getting ready for our SEVENTH Edition, the Holiday Edition 2011!  We've started Early Bird Pricing…save $5 off the normal $34.95 US!    At only $29.95, your subscription will get you 6 weeks of daily projects with FULL step-by-step tutorials, challenges, and a chance to win prizes.  That is less than $1 a day, and is a HUGE bargain!  Don't wait…sign up today! 

Tour de Freaks coming soon!

We're getting ready for this month's Tour de Freaks on July 20th!  Make sure to stop by and visit me and take the tour!  I'll be showing off the Control Freaks swaps I made for our Convention lunch get together!  Want to put the faces with the names/blogs on the tour?  Here is a photo of our awesome Control Freaks group at the Stampin' Up! Convention lunch this year!

Bottom Row:  List Mom Lisa Martz, Becky Roberts, LeeAnn Greff, Wendy Weixler, Dannie Graves, Joey Hartman

Top Row:  Patty Bennett, Liz Schulz, Mary Brown, Connie Babbert, Lorri Heiling, Kelly Powell, Dawn Olchefske, Jan Tinklenberg

Missing is Mary Polcin…she stopped by a little later to say hi!

I have tons more pictures of Convention…I loved the GROW theme they carried out in so many magical ways this year!  See the large flowers in the background?  Those were all over the convention space.  They had Decor Elements on the doors leading into Convention in those shapes…just a great theme!

May Tour de Freaks Blog Tour!

It's time for the WONDERFUL Tour de Freaks, brought to you by the Control Freak Swappers! Now…you've probably just come from Lisa Young's blog…weren't her projects fabulous?  Of course…all the Freaks do a WONDERFUL job with this blog hop!  Our theme this month is For He's a Jolly Good Fellow…masculine and Father's Day projects.  If you are arriving prior to May 20th, please note that not all links may be working yet.

This month I thought I'd feature The Open Seas stamp set for my projects.  I'm so happy that Stampin' Up! has a nice selection of masculine products in the Summer Mini!  Now…due to time constraints, I sort of combined these with items I am taking with me on the SU Alaska Cruise!  Woohoo!  The first card is one that I will hand over to Stampin' Up! to post on the boards on the ship.

I started with a base of Early Espresso cardstock and layered on Crumb Cake.  I stamped along the left side with the large globe in Early Espresso.  Then I placed a strip of Sticky Strip and ruffled the 1 1/4 Striped Ribbon that I cut down narrower and ragged the edges.  I stamped three of the anchors with Versamark and embossed them with a mixture of Gold and Silver Embossing Powders, then cut them out.  I placed them on a piece of Early Espresso cardstock that I ran thru the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Impressions Folder.  I punched a hole in the top of the anchors with the Crop A Dile, then pulled the Early Espresso Bakers Twine thru and adhered across the top.  To cover the ends, I punched the Modern Label from Brushed Gold Cardstock and stamped Happy Father's Day with Early Espresso ink on Very Vanilla and punched with the Word Window punch.  I layered it on top and added Silver mini brads at each end.  I was going for a award metal look with the hanging anchors!  The focal piece is layered on more Brushed Gold cardstock and placed on the front of the card with Stampin' Dimensionals.

For my second project, I again used The Open Seas, but I made this for a gift for my upline and another friend who also earned the Alaska Cruise Incentive Trip.  It has a masculine feel with that stamp set and Nautical Expedition Designer Paper and you could easily substitute the word "Alaska" with "Father"!  It's a Waterfall Mini Album that I made for them to place some pictures of the places we visit.  I hope I don't get in trouble that I "fudged" on the theme just a little bit!  lol!

I kept it pretty simple for a couple reasons.  One, I wanted something that could be duplicated for a class and two, you don't want the waterfall pages to get stuck on any embellishments.  The photos will make it even thicker than it is now and you still want it to work and close properly.

I only showed you a few of the photos because we have a limit on the number of photos we can post AND I'm VERY short on time before I leave!  I PROMISE that I will do a little tutorial with dimensions on how to put the Waterfall Album together.  It was pretty fun to make and not really hard once you figured out the mechanism!  I'll add photos of each of the pages, too!

Hope you enjoyed my projects…I'd LOVE to hear from you with a comment!  Next stop is the FABULOUS Mary Brown…I know you'll love her projects…I know I do!

Sharing creativity one stamped image at a time!