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It's a new month and Stampin' Up! has a SUPER special going on!  Buy 3 packages of Designer Paper and get 1 Free.  Specialty Paper and Hostess Exclusive Paper are excluded.  What an AWESOME deal!  I know I plan on stocking up!

Here is a card that I swapped with a fun group at Convention!  If it looks familiar, it IS similar to one I made for Create with Connie and Mary's challenge HERE a few weeks ago…the layout and colors are slightly different.  Funny how just changing a few things makes it look totally different, huh?

I started with a base of Wild Wasabi and layered on Whisper White that I ran thru the Big Shot with the FInial Press Impressions Folder.  I added the stripe from Just Add Cake Designer Paper…this could be one of your selections for the special this month!  I added the ruffled strip of Chocolate Chip Polka Dot Ribbon across the bottom (I LOVE that ribbon…so easy to handle!)  I stamped the pinwheels in Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight and WIld Wasabi and cut them out, placing a Gold Mini Brad in the center and popping them up with Stampin' Dimensionals.  I stamped Just for Fun in Chocolate Chip on Wild Wasabi and punched it with the Pennant Builders Punch.  Love it!

OK…don't forget I have RIBBON SHARES going on, too!  Several shares only need 1 or 2 more people to join and I'll be ordering! 

EMAIL me today!

The base is Pool Party cardstock.  I made my own "designer paper", by stamping the two smaller stamps from Stampin' Up!'s Serene Snowflakes in Blushing Bride and Pool Party randomly over Whisper White.  They were cut to fit the front panels.  I stamped the snowman from Snow Much Fun in Black Stazon on Whisper White and used my Blushing Bride, Pool Party, Pumpkin Pie and Basic Gray markers to color him.  I layered the white on Blushing Bride and added to the front of the Center Step base.  I stamped the greeting with Black Stazon on Blushing Bride and punched with the Modern Label Punch.  Then I added a Pool Party snowflake from Northern Frost Decorative Strip Die with a Silver Mini Brad in the center.

Here is a template…not to scale, but shows the dimensions (sorry…if you downloaded this before I did the revision, you'll need to print it again.  I'd forgotten one of the score lines!)

REVISED:  CENTER STEP CARD TEMPLATE

The long, lanky snowman was just PERFECT for this type of card!  Love it and hope you do, too!

RIBBON SHARES GOING ON NOW!

SIGN UP TODAY FOR $99!!!  ASK ME HOW!

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!

First, remember that the Tour de Freaks starts tomorrow!  You can start here and tour 16 blogs brought to you by the Control Freak Swappers!  I always look forward to seeing what awesome projects my fellow Freaks come up with…and I must say that I LOVE my projects, so you won't want to miss them!

Next…the first round of the 5/8 Satin Ribbon Shares ends tomorrow.  I want to mention it today since I won't be able to have it in my post tomorrow!  Click HERE for more information!  Don't miss out on getting a sampling of 3 yards each of the 10 Satin Ribbon colors for only $21 plus $3.50 shipping!

This sweet little post-it note holder is the 3D project I made for some friends at Leadership.  The base is thick chipboard that I covered on front with the Sending Love glittery Designer Paper.  The back I covered with Real Red Cardstock and added a magnet so it holds on your refrigerator.  I rounded the corners for a smooth look.  I added two flowers diecut from the Flower Layers with Leaf Bigz Die in Pretty in Pink and Real Red cardstock.  The Pretty in Pink I ran thru the Big Shot again with the new Perfect Polka Dots Impressions Folder.  I put them together with one of the flowers from the Trio Punch and a Red Rhinestone Brad in the center. 

I stamped Friend from Stampin' Up!'s With All My Heart stamp set in Real Red Classic Ink on Very Vanilla.  I punched it with the Scallop Oval Punch and placed it on the flower.

Finally, I stamped the Heart Flower in Real Red Classic Ink on the Post It Notes and attached the the chipboard backing.

I thought it was a fun little gift to give some special people I've met online or at events through the years!  It truly energized me to talk with them a few minutes (or longer!) and catch up!

OK…big day today!  Lots to do for Create with Connie and Julie!  I'd better get started!

Did you enjoy all the Preview samples from Create with Connie and Julie last week?  It's not too late to join!  We have 8 weeks to go, but you still have access to all the posts once the subscription ends.

This was one of the swap cards I made for Leadership.  I only made about 20 of them, just ran out of time!  I was actually gluing them together on the flight to Phoenix.  The base is Lavender Lace cardstock and I layered on Melon Mambo cardstock.  I ran the I {Love} Love Wheel across the front of the So Saffron cardstock with Apricot Appeal ink, then punched along the bottom with the new Scallop Trim Border (you can get FREE from Sale-A-Bration!)  I stamped Love You Much from Well Scripted in Melon Mambo on Whisper White, then wrapped some Melon Mambo Polka Dot Ribbon across the bottom.  I used the Heart of Hearts Embosslit Die for the Lavender Lace Scalloped Heart.  Stamped the flourish heart in Melon Mambo on Whisper White and cut out.  Then used the Heart to Heart punch and the checked trio heart stamp from I {Heart} Hearts in So Saffron on So Saffron and punched out.

I love the colors in this…what do you think?

It's Sale A Bration time!  Free stamp set with every $50 purchase!  

This is a card I made when Mary Brown and I were doing sketch challenges about a month ago.  I pulled the colors from the Thoroughly Modern Designer Paper…Rose Red, Bermuda Bay and Kraft (instead of Sahara Sand).  I made a simpler version for my swap card at the Cincinnati Regionals (I left off the brads and designer paper and expanded the Bermuda Bay layer.) 

This uses the snowflake and words from the set, Sweet Season, that we received free at Convention!  I love the words in this!  I plan on using it on my tags of baked goods I make at Christmas time.  For this card, I started with the base of Rose Red and added the Thoroughly Modern Designer Paper (rounded the corners first with the Corner Rounder punch) to the background.  I ran the Bermuda Bay cardstock through my Big Shot with the Petals a Plenty Impressions Folder and added it over the DSP.  I cut a strip of Kraft cardstock and rounded the two right hand corners, stamped the words in Basic Black.  I stamped the snowflake in Bermuda Bay on Very Vanilla and punched it with my Scallop Circle Punch.   I layered it on the Scallop Circle from the Pennant Bigz XL die (it layers perfectly!)  On the ones I made for the Cincinnati Regionals, I added a Crystal Brad in the center.  For this one, I added a trio of the Vanilla Jumbo Brads along the right side. I love these non-traditional colors for a holiday card!

I’m all ready for a new round of Stamp Clubs tomorrow night!  These gals are FUN and I always look forward to having them!  I know they will LOVE the projects!

Set:  Sweet Season (116471)

Cardstock:  Rose Red (102544), Bermuda Bay (115321), Kraft (102125), Very Vanilla (101650)

Inks:  Basic Black (101179), Bermuda Bay (115655)

Accessories:  Thoroughly Modern Designer Paper (115673), Scallop Circle Punch (109043), Pennant XL Bigz Die (113483), Petals A Plenty Impressions Folder (116824), Corner Rounder (109047), 5/16" Jumbo Brads (112534)

I made 4 of these for my Roommates and Upline who went to Convention (well…one for me, of course!).  The base of the Acrylic Album is made from Stampin’ Up!’s Thick Window Sheets!  These are AWESOME!  I used one whole sheet for each mini album, cut to four 6×6 double sided pages.  They are very easy to cut on a larger cutter like Stampin’ Up!’s Tabletop Cutter.  However, I did have to use a heavy duty corner rounder because it is too heavy for Stampin’ Up!’s punch.

This is the front.  The Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Paper is used throught and on this page is actually on the inside and secured with Mini Glue Dots in the corners.  I added the large Flower Layers Bigz Diecuts to the front with dimensionals, the leaves were cut with the Build A Flower die.  It is held together with the Summer Sun Corduroy Brad.  I ran all the flower layers and leaves thru the Big Shot again with the Finial Press Embossing Folder to give them some texture.  I also copied the Inspire, Create, Share logo and placed on the front so they can use this for their Convention pictures.

The first two pages.  You can see the reverse of the pattern from the front.  I added Cherry Blossom Embosslit diecut with a mini brad and some 5/8 Old Olive Grosgrain ribbon, along with the edge of the Top Note die that looks like a bracket!  I also used Razzle Dazzle stamp set in Whisper White Craft ink on Crushed Curry cardstock.

The next two pages, on the left is a pocket opening made from the Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Paper for a pull out that will hold a couple more pictures or journaling.  I used another Cherry Blossom diecut and punched the leaves with the 5 petal punch.  On the right I used the Razzle Dazzle stamp again with Whisper White Craft ink on the Rich Razzleberry cardstock…layered onto another square of Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Paper.

Next two pages.  on the left is a long piece of Melon Mambo cardstock folded in half with Razzleberry Lemonade designer paper and Polka Dot ribbon accents.  You can flip it up and add more pictures inside.  I also used the Butterfly Punch for an accent.  On the left is more Crushed Curry cardstock with a Cherry Blossom and Polka Dot ribbon.

Finally, the back has more Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Paper visible.  It is actually secured on the inside with Mini glue dots in the corners.  This was my prototype, but on the ones I made for the girls, I stamped the Razzle Dazzle stamp image with White Stazon randomly over the back.  I also used a sponge and White Stazon around all the edges of the album to soften the look.  Finally, I used my Crop A Dile to punch holes in each of the pages and added binder rings, accented with Polka Dot ribbons tied to them.

These were LOTS of fun to make and I’m sure they appreciated the acrylic album!  I love to make mini albums for my roommate gifts…then they can add their own pictures.  Now I need to get some pictures in mine!

INKspired Treasures

If you want any of the products I’ve used in my project today, click here to place an online order or to join my team and go to Convention with me next year!

Wow…what an awesome time at the Retreat!  I love adding the extra day, because even with it, the time goes by SO fast!  I took almost my entire studio with me, so now comes the part where it all has to go back.  My sweet husband at least took it downstairs for me.  Last night I just wanted to do nothing but rest. I should have been smart and had something ready to post already because I slept in this morning, but I didn’t think that far in advance!  lol!

Here is a card that my Punch classes made last month, plus I took several with me to Leadership for swapping.  I got the idea from Sharon (sorry, I can’t think of her last name or Blog right now!) who had the topiary as part of the scenery for a Control Freaks card swap.  I took off on her idea and made it the focal point of my card.

To start, I used the Heart to Heart punch with three different colors of green cardstock…Old Olive, Always Artichoke and Kiwi Kiss.  I used a sponge dauber and inked Chocolate chip around each one and I layered the fat one on the bottom, then the long skinny one and finally the small one on top.  I hand cut a trunk and the base container is the Round Tab punch cut in half.  I added a second small heart on the container.  I used my fingernail to roll down the lip of the container, too.

The card base is Kiwi Kiss, with the next layer of Sahara Sand stamped with the Sanded background in Sahara Sand ink.  I added a strip of Kiwi Kiss Patterns Paper and used the scallop edge punch along the bottom.  I added some Artichoke Grosgrain ribbon, the Happy Birthday greeting from On Your Birthday and finally two 1/4 circle punches in the upper right corner.

Hope you have a wonderful day!  I need to get back into my routine!

Sets:  Sanded BG, On Your Birthday
C/S: Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand, Kiwi Kiss Patterns DSP
Inks:  Sahara Sand, Chocolate Chip
Other:  Heart to Heart punch, 1/4 circles, Round Tab punch, Scallop Edge punch, sponge daubers, Always Artichoke grosgrain ribbon

I printed off some calendar pages, then stamped the flower from Short & Sweet over the date.  I stamped Game Night in Basic Black on Real Red and punched it with the My Way punch.  The die I stamped with Craft Real Red and Craft So Saffron, then embossed them with clear embossing powder to make them shiny.  I punched with the 1 3/8 circle, then matted with the Scallop Circle punch in Basic Black and popped it up with dimensionals.  I cut a strip of the dice designer paper from Jackpot and layered it onto Real Red.  I covered the seam with the Red striped ribbon.  Bunco was cut with my Big Shot using the Go Go Boots die…what a fun font! 

Trivia for you…there are two correct ways to spell the name of this game…Bunco or Bunko.  I was in several groups when I lived in Canton…unfortunately, I haven’t found a group down here in Dublin that plays regularly.  It is a fun, mindless throwing dice game that allows you to talk and play at the same time.  Loads of fun!

Stamps:  Stampin’ Up! Game Night, Short & Sweet
C/S:  So Saffron, Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White, Jackpot DSP
Inks:  Basic Black, Craft Real Red, Craft So Saffron
Other:  Clear Embossing Powder, 1 3/8 and Scallop Circle Punch, My Way punch, Go Go Boots Sizzix Die set, dimensionals

Inside each envelope is another pullout for pictures on both sides.  I covered 3 white Open End envelopes on both sides, then added two shorter pieces of textured cardstock between the envelopes.  I used my Bind-it-All to put it all together.  The only other things I used besides the Kit were Rhinestone brads,  some Flower Fushion flowers inside and a sheet of 12×12 Textured More Mustard Cardstock.  I used the Round Tab Punch for the inside pocket envelopes and the Scallop Circle punch to add behind some of the die cut adhesives.

 Today I’m getting ready for the Punch Class tomorrow night.  I have several CUTE cards for them to make!  I also need to get ready for my Love You Much stamp camp on Sunday!  Fun!

Have a great week!