I got mail!

Hi there, just a quick post today as I am super busy getting ready for a class I am teaching on Friday. I am really excited about my class because I have taken the summer off and I have missed my girls so much!

This morning I got a lovely suprise in the mail. A card from my dear friend Sue Engblom. She is one of the most thoughtful people I have ever met! I am so blessed to call her friend. Sue and I went shopping and to lunch with our friend Lynn last week and I mentioned a trip I am going on for my anniversary next week... well Sue must have gone right home and created this stunner for my husband and I. Thank you Sue!

Well when I went to put the card from Sue on my card display board I saw this lovely card from my sweet friend and fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Amy Parker. Amy sent it a couple of weeks ago just to let me know she is thinking about me and looking forward to my upcoming classes. I have the best friends! Thanks Amy.... I am looking forward to seeing you too!

Well thanks for stopping by. I hope you are having a wonderful day.

~Sara~

Holiday Mini Sneak Peeks

Hello again, I am on a roll this week! Today I have my October stamp-a-stack cards to share with you.
I swear every year I think I am starting early enough with Christmas cards but it seems I am always up making cards well into the night on December 15th! This year I vowed to start earlier than I have every started before and that will be evident in my classes!

I have used some new products from the Holiday Mini catalog for this class. Thank goodness I can share the catalog with you on this blog on September 1st... I promise you are going to LOVE it!!

If you look closely on page 35 of the Holiday Mini catalog you will see this card featured there. Well, something very similar anyways. It goes back to my idea of not reinventing the wheel constantly and also reminds you to use that Idea Book and Catalog, so many great ideas!!

Say... did you notice the stockings? Aren't they snazzy? They are from a stamp set called Stitched Stockings which actually includes five different stockings and the best part.... (drum roll please!!) there is a coordinating punch! Thank you Stampin' Up! This is why I love you!! The sweet little mini jingle bells can be found in the new Holiday Mini as well, and they are only $2.95 for 48!

Patchwork cards are one of my favorite types of cards and this great new dsp called Holly Berry Bouquet is perfect for patchworks. Initially I wasn't crazy about this paper but it is absoluetly beautiful in small pieces. I used a stamp set called Jolly Bingo Bits for the sweet little accents.

You aren't going to believe which stamp set I used to make this darling card. It is called Pennant Parade. Pennants are all the rage right now and Stampin' Up! doesn't disappoint, but turn those babies upside down and you have Christmas trees. How awesome is that?

There you have it... my early start on Christmas cards and a few more sneak peeks at the products in the Holiday Mini catalog. Thanks for stopping by today!

~Sara~

Looky Loo!

Well looky loo!! Look who's back three days in a row! It might be a record for me! Today I want to share with you some cards I have created for a class I will be teaching in October, on Friday the 14th to be exact! If you are in my neck of the woods and would like to take this class just let me know.

Sometimes when I am creating cards for a class, I don't feel like reinventing the wheel so to speak, so I often use card sketches that I have previously used... often my Mojo Monday cards because I just love love LOVE those sketches! Come along... I'll show you.

Check out my owl! I gave him bat wings and crazy eyes... isn't he cute! The sentiment is from a set called Delightful Dozen. The dsp I used for this class is called Frightful Sight and to be honest with you, when I saw it in the catalog I wasn't impressed but when I opened it and looked at it I found I really do like it. Here is where you have seen this sketch before!

Aren't those witchy boots fun? They are from a stamp set called Wicked Cool and I'll let you in on a little secret. The focal image on this card... I got the idea right from page 27 of the catalog. They don't call it the Idea Book and Catalog for nothing! If you are running to check it out in your catalog... please note (haha! I crack myself up with my goofy language sometimes!) I left off the "Goblin Greetings" because it would have made my focal image too large which would have covered too much of that fun polka dotted dsp. Here is where you have seen this sketch before.

This fun pumpkin is from a stamp set called Got Treats. Here is where you have seen this sketch before!

Lastly, this card was created using the Bingo Card background, and Spooky Bingo Bits stamp sets. The Bingo Back ground is a bit large for a standard A2 card so I cut it down a bit. I also stamped it twice, cut out the B*I*N*G*O letters and adhered them with pop dots slightly overlapping to add depth and interest.
I don't have a another card using this sketch to link you to but if you were to look on page 25 of the Idea Book and Catalog you will see where I got the inspiration for this card.

Well, that's it for now! I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!

~Sara~

Pursuit of Happiness

Good morning! Here I am, a few days late, with the card I created using this weeks Mojo Monday sketch. Better late than never... right!?!

I must tell you I love this new dsp from the Holiday Mini! It is called Spice Cake and that is exactly what it reminds me of... kind of makes me want to bake up a batch of pumpkin bread. I have the best recipe for pumpkin bread. If I get around to making it this week I will come back and share the recipe with you. It is TO DIE FOR!! Well, maybe not to die for but it IS amazing!

So... back to the card I wanted to share with you. As I said the dsp is called Spice Cake, and will be available on September 1st in the new Holiday Mini!! Yeah!!! The colors I have used with it are soft suede, pool party, more mustard and very vanilla. Notice that luscious crochet ribbon, so soft and sweet. The sentiment is from one of my new favorite stamp sets called Pursuit of Happiness, it is stamped with soft suede on very vanilla cardstock and matted on a soft suede doily I cut from the Perfect Pennants die (another one of my favorites!)

Well thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a lovely weekend!

~Sara~

Sweet One Baby Onesie

Goodness it has been awhile since I have posted! It isn't because I haven't been creating new things, it is because I am so busy creating new things that I don't take time to photograph them and share them with all of you on my blog.

My latest creation is a baby card I made for my friend Heather's baby shower on Saturday. I had seen this idea before and always wanted to try it but never had. It was quite simple and I enjoyed it so much I ended up making 2 more baby girl cards and 2 baby boy cards as well!

I used a piece of Pink Pirouette cardstock for the card base, it measured 4 1/4" x 11." I scored it at 5 1/2" giving me a standard size A2 card. I took my 1 3/8" circle punch to make the leg and neck cut outs. Then I measured from the top of the card 1 3/4" on both side to make my sleeves, from that point I measured in 1/2" from both the right and left side and cut from there down to the tops of the leg openings. (I hope this makes sense!) After I had the shape I wanted, I embossed the front of the card with my Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. I created the white scallop details by first punching a 1 3/8" circle into a piece of Whisper White cardstock and the punching around the hole with a 1 3/4" scallop circle punch. The shirt sleeves trim is 1 3/4" x 1/2" strips of Whisper White cardstock. Finally, for the sentiment I used an old favorite (although retired... sorry!) stamp from a set called So Many Scallops and finished it off with three silver brads for the "snaps."

Oh! One more thing before I go... I have had several people email me about not being able to leave comments, so I have checked into my blogger settings and I think I have solved the problem. So... leave me a comment if you please :)

Have a wonderful day, thanks for stopping by!

~Sara~

Hello there Monday!

Hi there! It's Monday once again so naturally I am back to share with you the card I created using this weeks Mojo Monday sketch. I used some of the new products that will be available September 1st in the new Holiday Mini catalog. Before I go on, let me just say....... Oh my goodness!!!! You are going to L♥VE the new Holiday Mini!!!!!! It is amazing. Just between you and me... I think I love it more than the new Idea Book and Catalog! Make sure you check back on September 1st, that is when I will post the link to the online edition of the 2011-2012 Holiday Mini Catalog.

Ok... having said that, I can now go on and tell you about some of those awesome products that I have used on my card today. I started with an Early Espresso card base, added a layer of Blushing Bride and then that luscious layer of Whisper White which I embossed with the brand spankin' new embossing folder called Snow Burst. The dsp I used is from the Idea Book and Catalog, it is called Letters to Santa. I just love all of the non-traditional Christmas colors and all of the plaids in this paper pack. I added a length of Blushing Bride ribbon and an Early Espresso photo corner I created by using the Curly Label punch, I then added a little flower shaped Early Espresso button to my photo corner. The focal image is from a new stamp set called Gift Givers. It is an awesome set all you punch fanatics, like me, are gonna love! Each of the seven images in the set represents a different holiday and coordinates with a different punch! All of you coloring fanatics, like me, will love that they are all line art rather than solid images so you can color or paper piece the images as I have done here! (Aren't her coat and hat darling with the pink and green plaid!!)

Say... did you notice that this is a shaker card?!? In the Holiday Mini catalog you will find a nifty new product called "shaker frames." They are double-sided adhesive foam circles that are about 1/8 of an inch thick. Want to hear the best part? They coordinate with many of the Stampin' Up! circle punches making them a breeze to use! Thank you Stampin' Up! Want to know what is inside my shaker card? A super cool new product coming you way in the new Holiday Mini called Mica Flakes. They pair perfectly with the new shaker frames but could also be used with our treat cups! I matted the focal image on a piece of Early Espresso cardstock, attached the shaker frame to the image, sprinkled in some mica flakes, removed the sticky back on the frame and then added a piece of window sheet. I topped that all off with a piece of Old Olive cardstock that I punched a 1 3/4" circle from... added the pearls to the corners of my centerpiece and called it done!

Well thanks for stopping by today. It was nice to share with you my excitement about the new Holiday Mini catalog. I know you are going L♥VE it as much as I do!

~Sara~

Mojo Monday

Hi there! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I sure did! Friday night my husband and I took Justin and Hannah and her boyfriend, Nick, out to dinner and a movie. We had a terrific dinner at Johnny Carino's and then we saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes. My husband thought it was incredibly stupid and Hannah didn't particularly like the movie either but the rest of us loved it! I must tell you when I was in elementary school, I think I was in the second grade, this was the lunch box I had...

I also remember seeing the movies on tv as well and enjoying them. More than likely it was the influence of my older brother and the lunch box may have been a hand-me-down from him but I carried it to school with pride!

On Saturday Daniel and I went shopping for a few things for the house and then watched the movie How Do You Know with Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson... we should have passed on this one, not good in my humble opinion! And then last night we took my parents out to dinner at Andiamo's... a wonderful Italian restaurant in Novi for a belated Father's Day gift. We had been trying to go for the past few weeks but things kept coming up, so we were excited that we got to do that. We had a fantastic meal and the company wasn't too bad either! :)

Oh! I better stop rambling! I have a hair appointment in a bit and I haven't even started talking about the card I made to share with you!

So naturally I used the Mojo Monday sketch for the card I made today. I wanted to use a designer series paper that I hadn't used before... it being on special this month and all! (Don't forget you can buy 3 and get 1 FREE!!!) I picked Beyond the Garden dsp and paired it with Wild Wasabi, Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight card stock. I used the Tasteful Trim sizzix die to make the scalloped border and the new scallop dots ribbon in Melon Mambo. I love that it is reversible to a solid. I was able to get all those great scallops without the polka dots, great ribbon! Finally for my sentiment I used a stamp from the Happiest Birthday Wishes hostess set. One of the great things about the changes Stampin' Up! made with the new catalog is that when you host a party you get hostess dollars to spend on what you want from the catalog and you can use those dollars to buy exclusive hostess sets at a discounted price or regular catalog merchandise. I love that!

Anyways... back to my sentiment! I used the scallop circle stamp and used punches to punch various elements out of that one image and then I adhered those elements to solid colored cardstock and then layered them on top of each other with pop dots. I love the way such a simple little stamp can really POP!! when you layer like this.

I better get going if I am going to make it to my hair appointment on time. You all have a wonderful day. Thanks for stopping by!

~Sara~

A little punch art!

Hi there! Today I want to share with you a card I made for my friend Sue to give to her granddaughter for her birthday. Her granddaughter has a new love for giraffes so I thought she might like this.

I started with regal rose cardstock, added a layer of pretty in pink cardstock, then pretty in pink dsp. I paired the pinks with so saffron. The giraffe was created with Stampin' Up! punches. I think I used the large oval for the nose and mouth, 1/2" circle for the tongue. His ears were created with the 5 petal flower and the blossom petals builder punches. His head is a 1 1/4" circle, his eyes... the circle from itty bitty shapes punches and 1/4" circle punch. His nostrils are the from the smallest circles on the owl punch, and his head knobbies (what are those things called!?!) are from the larger hole punch on the crop-a-dile. Finally the spots are punched from cajun craze with the 1" and 1/2" circle punches. The accents are 1" circles in chocolate chip and the small star is also so saffron. The sentiment is stamped in regal rose on one of the tags from the Lots of Tags dies.

Although it was crazy time consuming figuring this out, it was a lot of fun and I am sure it will delight my friends granddaughter to no end!

Have a great day!

~Sara~

Buy three, Get one FREE!!!

Hello August... Hello FREE designer series paper!! Stampin' Up! has announce a great promotion for the month of August. You know all that great designer series paper I am always talking about? Well for a limited time you can get a pack free when you purchase three. That's a $10.95 value!

Choose from a wide variety of designs and colors available in the Stampin' Up! Catalog and the Summer Mini. Don't delay... offer ends August 31st. You can place your order with me TODAY in my On-Line Store HERE.

Have a great day... happy crafting!

~Sara~

Mojo Wednesday...

Good morning... gosh I wish it was Monday! Time is just flying by way too fast for my personal taste. The card I am going to share with you today I made on Monday using the Mojo Monday sketch but I just haven't had time to photograph it, upload it and write a blog entry. I am not sure how it is that I have taken the summer off from teaching classes and I still manage to stay super busy!

I really enjoyed taking the time to make this card and I love how it turned out. It was a great sketch and I used some great products so naturally I love the end result! The paper is once again Just Add Cake... still one of my favorites in the new catalog. The stamp set, Easy Events, is one I got for FREE at convention. To be honest, this one was not on my "must have" list when I got the new catalog so I was happy it was FREE. However, the more I use it the more I am loving it! I used it last night for a make-n-take for my stamp club, which I will share with you as well.

I used the the Perfect Pennants die to create that awesome Peach Parfait scalloped circle, and the new Petite Pennants Builder punch to create the patterned paper triangles. The little blue flags I cut first out of thin chip board and then covered with Marina Mist textured cardstock. I stamped the snail with Staz-On ink and then used my makers to go over the outlines and filled in the "white space" using my blender pens with my stamp pads. (A technique I just learned from my awesome friend Jill. Thanks Jill!!) I am also sharing with you the inside of the card... which is nearly as cute as the outside!

When I was making this card I was thinking to myself, I should set up my video camera and make a little video to share with you here. Perhaps I will get around to doing that in the near future! Ok, on to the make-n-take card from last nights stamp club.

While I was at the Stampin' Up! convention they gave all of us these little kits for doing a workshop and in the kit was the instructions and supplies for making these adorable cards. We used the Note Cards which come with 20 cards and envelopes.... sealed the envelope, cut an inch from one end, then used the 2 1/2" circle punch to punch a half circle from the open end of the envelope. Stamped the sentiment in Staz-On, wrapped the melon mambo dotted scalloped ribbon around the envelope and tied it in a knot... wahlah! On the note card we stamped in Staz-On the cupcake from the Easy Events stamp set, colored it with blender pens, added some dazzling diamonds to the cupcake top and pom pom trim on the cake plate, punched a tiny scalloped circle from with the itty bitty shapes punch pack, added a rhinestone to the scalloped circle and finished it off by stamping the sentiment again on a piece of melon mambo that we "flagged" the ends of and adhered to the card front beneath the image. So simple, fun and adorable! Thanks Stampin' Up! for this great idea!!

So... that's it, two great projects using the Easy Events stamp set.
Thanks for stopping, have a wonderful day!

~Sara~