Thanksgiving Blessings and Gratitude

Isn't it awesome that we set aside a day specifically to focus on our blessings but isn't it sad that we don't do that all the time?  Ah... Thanksgiving!  It means so much to so many. I was thinking over some of my most memorable Thanksgivings; trips to Big Timber to Grandma's,  surprise visit home to my folks when I was in college, many feasts with treasured friends wherever we have lived, the first Turkey dinner I cooked, a recent one in Rapid City (my home town) where all of my siblings and their families were able to attend and now, this year, a first Thanksgiving in a new house. I love that my kids are old enough to help and can't wait to just be together.   For those of you who have some sad associations with this holiday, I am there with you too. Last year at Thanksgiving, my mom was still alive but soon after, she really started declining and was gone by January 2nd. I'm anticipating some wonderful nostalgia tinged with loneliness for her. I hope you have some way special to spend this wonderful holiday.

I thought I would share some Thanksgiving related cards I have made over the past few years. The first one is from this year and the rest are a random collection. Enjoy the inspiration!

Hope that puts in you the mood to be thankful while you are being creative!  Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Blessings,
Sarah

My favorites!

The list of what is on sale this week is looooong.... It's Online Extravaganza and you can shop here:

https://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/CategoryPage.aspx?categoryid=10500

I thought I would share some of my favorites, in no particular order, except my first one is

1)   #142202    Glamper Greetings

2)  #140619   Rose Garden Framelits Dies

3)  #141841     Christmas Stockings Thinlits Dies

4)    #141632 and #141635  Affectionately Yours DSP and washi tape

Those are just a few of the goodies! Be sure to check the complete list out.

Have a wonderfully creative day!
Sarah

Online Extravaganza starts today! - See some card samples!!

I hope you are as excited as I am about the deals that Stampin'Up! has cooked up for us this week!  TODAY ONLY, YOU CAN GET THE EMBELLISHED ORNAMENTS STAMP/FRAMELIT BUNDLE FOR 20% OFF!  The regular price of these products would be $49 but they are on sale for $39.20. These came out last year and have been some very favorites of many of my customers. Here are some cards that have been featured at some of my classes/buffets using these products:

As you can see, they are fun to use and have so many possibilities!  To get the discount, use product #146005 (clear mount stamps) or #146004 (wood mount stamps) when you order this bundle!

I'll be back tomorrow with cards featuring the products on sale so you can see some samples!  

Here's the link to the sale!

Online Extravaganza 2016!!

Have a great week!

Sarah

ONLINE EXTRAVAGANZA STARTS MONDAY!!

It's that time of year!!!



Once a year, Stampin'Up! hosts a special promotion called "Online Extravaganza" which features some of our best selling product at up to 40% off! There are a couple of details to be aware of. Some of the specials are only available on Monday, November 21st!  Other specials are only available Monday, November 28th! Everything else is on sale for the whole week.  There is ink, paper, stamp sets, framelits/dies and embellishments  on sale.  I will post a link first thing on Monday morning so you can get a look at the list. If you want a list before hand, I can email you a PDF for you to check out. Just contact me and I'll do that this weekend!

Have a great weekend and GO CATS!  BEAT THE GRIZ!

Happy Christmas to all....

Hey Stampin' buddies!

I'm getting to my blog a little late today... I had a planned day of all sorts of activities and that went by the wayside again. The details only matter to me and my dad, but suffice it to say, I was tied up all day.

I have to say how heartwarming it is to see how many of you are checking out my blog!  This week I passed 10,000 views and tonite it's up to 10,300!  That blows me away if it is true, haha!  I am not completely sure I trust the stats on my blog traffic, but it sure is encouraging. I am so grateful that so many people think my designs and ideas are worth a click of the mouse!

Today, I have what turned out to be a very favorite card. I bought a full stamp set because of one tree. Have you ever done that? Had to have one stamp even if the rest were only okay. Well, I'll show you the card and then the stamp set that I'm talking about:

The stamp I "had to have" is the tree stamp. It's a single tree and I triple stamped with it. What you do is ink once and stamp 3 times, moving your stamp up and down just a little bit to get some height variation. You can see the color variation as more of the ink comes off with each succeeding stamp. I love this look!  I then added a spectacular elk/deer (I don't know which but either is awesome) and a great saying.   Curious about the stamp set?  Here it is:



It's called "Greetings from Santa" and is a wonderful addition to your Christmas stamp collection. I decided the background paper needed a little something and so I added washi tape. The saying used to be "when in doubt, add glitter" but I've changed it to "when in doubt, washi"...

Hope you like the card and find some inspiration here!  We are getting that much closer to Christmas!
Happy Stampin'!
Sarah

Classy Copper!

Hi stamper friends!

We have had various gold and silver papers, ribbons, inks, embossing powders since I started with Stampin'Up! 5 years ago but now we have COPPER!  I wasn't sure about it until I saw it in person and I have been re-ordering the copper foil paper multiple times this fall!  Here's a fun card featuring it:

I realized that I was remembering the Affectionately Yours designer series paper collection had a crumb cake/copper accent specialty piece of paper. I pulled it out and loved how it looked against the copper foil paper. So, next step was what to make that combines both! Since I only had one piece of the DSP, I decided to cut 3" squares (for a total of 16 squares out of one sheet of paper) and then using the Merry Tags Framelit die, I cut a tree ornament.  I decided to go really classy and have black as my color accent. this would also look amazing with a Night of Navy, Elegant Eggplant, Cherry Cobbler and more dark and rich colors.  What do you think?  I would love to hear your thoughts or variations on my theme!

Hope you have a very creative day!
Sarah

Swirly Snowman

Hi friends,
We are having one of the longest fall EVER in Montana!  It continues to be mild temperatures most days and no snow. While that's nice for a change, alot of skiers and snowbunnies are wondering what is up!  We don't know what to think; is it going to be a mild winter or are we getting it all at once?!

One thing you won't see around here is a snowman, so I had to play some paper ideas for one!  If you happen to have the "Swirly Scribbles Thinlits" set, here's a great idea for you:

This thinlit set does all the work!  It's hard to see, but I used our Shimmery White paper for the snowman, some black glimmer paper for his hat and then added some holly and ivy for a Christmas touch.    Here are the Swirly Scribble thinlits... all kinds of possibilities with a little imagination!



Of course, I see waves, wreaths, nests, flowers, raindrops, suckers, bubbles, etc. This is a fun set to own and there is a coordinating stamp set that takes you even further.  Here's a look at that:



I hope I have inspired you today!  I have quite a few more Christmas cards to show you, as well as some others in the coming days and weeks leading up to the end of the year, then we have another new catalog, 2017 Occasions!  I've been able to sneak a peek at it and it will be so fun to explore!

Don't forget you can always join the fun. If you want a little, place an order. If you want quite a bit, host a party. If you want "it all", become a demonstrator!  I have all the details, just contact me!

Thanks for stopping by....
Sarah

Joyful Wreath

Hey stampers!
Those of you who have been around Stampin'Up! for at least a couple years will recognize the stamp/framelit combo I am showing you today!  It came out awhile back and has been hugely popular for all seasons but especially Christmas.  There are a ton of things to do with this set, but I went very quick and easy and switched it up instead with my color scheme.  Instead of a more traditional green or red, I chose Mint Macaron and Soft Suede as my wreath colors. I got to those choices by the background paper from the Petals and Paisleys Designer Series Paper. Here's my card:

I also added some touches of copper with my washi tape and copper foil paper "Joy". The copper tone really looks nice with Soft Suede... I'm going to remember that!  This isn't a difficult card design, instead, it's about the color choices and copper accents, and of course, having the right tools!

Having a Big Shot has become indispensable to paper crafting. All the companies are designing with the use of framelits in mind and there is an explosion of stamp/framelit combos everywhere!  Maybe you have never seen a Big Shot... here it is!



Here are the details:

Big Shot	143263
Price: $110.00
Say hello to your crafty friend—the Big Shot. It's a manual, multipurpose die-cutting system that you can use to quickly and easily create die-cut or embossed shapes, envelopes, tags, and 3D items. * Portable; no electricity required * Includes Standard Cutting Pads and Multipurpose Platform * Cuts a variety of materials depending on the die used Check this out online or contact me with any questions. Jump into major paper crafting with your very own Big Shot! Happy Stampin'! Sarah

A Very Beary Christmas!

Most of the time, Stampin'Up! features a stamp set or two that are full of puns. I am amused by most of them even though they can be a little cheesy sometimes! Here's a cute one!

This card was made with that incredibly popular and versatile Cooke Cutter Christmas punch and stamp set!  Now it's a bear (also available are an Eskimo, gingerbread man, reindeer, Santa, etc.) I plan on remembering this overall design and adapt it to being a birthday card or baby card with a little different color scheme and different sentiment. Did you notice the cable knit background made with an embossing folder?  One of my favorite items from this season of stuff ;)

There's so much to love in the Holiday Catalog and it's not too late to get going on a Holiday card project!  Check out the online store and buy some supplies today!

Hope your Monday is off to the start of a great week!

Sarah

Life is Messy....

Hi friends,
I'm interrupting my Christmas card posts with a real life one... This past weekend, my husband was gone for 5 days of hunting and to be honest, I was really looking forward to having the house to myself, dragging out my sewing machine to do some long neglected quilting, getting ready for my upcoming card buffets (Thursday and Friday this week!), eating whatever I wanted and catching up on sleep... oh and watching the entire season of "The Crown" on Netflix.  My day unfolded as planned at first and then life intervened. My dad became ill and after one thing leading to another, he was hospitalized, again, and I'm spending my time tending my dad and running home here and there to tend to my dog.  I was faced with "what I have to do" interrupting and crashing down on "what I want to do". Ever been there?  It happens alot to me and although I wish I could say that I handle it with grace and patience, I do get resentful that my plans just blew up. After a couple minute pity party, I kicked into caretaker mode again and that continues today. My dad's situation is a little complicated at this point so it will be a few days before it gets sorted out. Meanwhile, the sewing machine got stashed, I only made it through 6 episodes of The Crown and I am still working on my buffet.  My husband is back home so I have help with the dog and my dad if need be.

If that isn't enough stress, today is election day (not going there on my blog) and tomorrow I turn 60 years old!  What a perfect storm of life getting messy ;)  Speaking of which, here's my card:

I bought this cute cat themed set because of this stamp.... It resonated with me on so many levels... life isn't black and white, not good and bad. It is complicated and messy and often wonderful too. I'm also a knitter that has unknotted many snarls of yarn so this also spoke to me ... haha!

I hope you are finding some "me" time and creative time in the midst of your messy life as I have learned we all have messy lives... different details, but all messy at times.

Contact me if you want more details about my buffet! I would love to see you!
Happy Stampin'!
Sarah

Hey, someone took a bite out of my gingerbread man!!

We (demonstrators) recently learned that the most popular product in sales for the 3rd quarter of 2016 is the "Candy Cane Lane" Designer Series Paper and the most popular stamp set in the 3rd quarter is "Cookie Cutter Christmas".  I have designed several cards now combing these two products and had no idea... guess I'm on trend, right?!!  This card is great and will bring a smile to anyone's face:

Given all the fabulous tools we have, this card is a snap!  The Cookie Cutter punch helped me punch out the gingerbread men and their cute red bow ties.  The Cupcake Cutouts framelit set has the pop up banner with score marks provided for easy folding and popping up. Everything else is just taking advantage of a great color scheme provided by the Candy Cane Lane DSP.  Card making doesn't have to be complicated, especially with some key tools to save you time and headaches! (I used a retired small scallop circle punch to take a "bite" out of the gingerbread man's head!)

It's Friday!  This week went really fast~!   I plan to blog this weekend so come back for more!

Happy Stampin',
Sarah

A special gift for a special friend

Quite often, real life interrupts the crafting journey. I know I have found that to be true and so have others. That's when you take a break, forced or voluntary, from your creative endeavors to attend to that which is demanding your time, energy and focus. My Stampin'Up! downline group is a group of ladies who are very fond of stamping, but even more, are real people that appreciate the ups and downs we all experience.  We are the Big Sky Stampers and we stick together like ink and paper!

Recently, we had a team meeting where about 2/3 of us were able to attend and chat about upcoming promotions, new catalogs, product questions etc. I decided this time, we would do a stamping project for one of our own. Our fellow stamper is facing monumental health issues now that require her to focus on trying to get well even though she is a young mother, wife, blogger, stamper, entrepreneur, etc.   We mustered our talent and resources and made about 30 Christmas cards for her, in about an hour. She can use them for this year, next year, or whenever, but it will be a little supply of creative goodness for her to grab when she needs them.   I thought you would like to see our cards. They were purposely not very complicated because I wanted to try to go for volume of cards and not necessarily over-the-top design.   Here they are:

This was a fun way to combine a passion of ours to help a friend. We are always looking for new members in our team!  If you love to stamp, consider signing up as a demonstrator with Stampin'Up! under me!  I offer coaching, advice, ideas, a private Facebook page, team events and tips on making the most of all that Stampin'Up! has to offer demonstrators. You can join for your reasons... to get a discount on your product purchases, to earn a little extra income by selling Stampin'Up! to others or just to be part of a great group of gals!  Contact me for more information!  The initial expense is the size of a good order anyway, so what have you got to lose?

Happy Stampin'!
Sarah