Independent Stampin'Up! Demonstrator!

Hey friends!
I've been a demonstrator with Stampin'Up! since 2011. I'm located in Bozeman, Montana, but have customers all over the country. I have a very fun and active downline called "Big Sky Stamper Stars" and we get together in person and online to share what we love. My blog posts feature what I'm up to recently and I try to share new product information, tips and tricks and creative inspiration. You can shop from this site or find out more information about our products and becoming a demonstrator! Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, July 30, 2021

Peaceful Cabin bundle!

 Hey Stampin' Friends!

Today I want to share with you the first product I wanted to buy when I saw the new Mini Catalog (comes out on August 3rd) - the Peaceful Cabin bundle! Today I have a sneak peek for you and video "how-to" and on the 3rd or shortly thereafter, I'll post the details, including product purchase information. 

I love this set! It has trees, fences, cabins and even a cute little fox to spur on your imagination. I have only made one card so far so I hope to play with more of the dies and make some more, possibly even a non-wintry card! We did this card in my classes this week and it was a big hit!


The dies for the trees and cabin are unique and almost fool-proof because all you cut is the upper edge of both the trees and cabin. Check out my video for a better explanation and as we all know, you understand things much better when you can see it!


I have a feeling I've only just begun with this set! Stay tuned to my blog and YouTube channel for more with the Peaceful Cabin set as well as many of the Mini Catalog products! I hope Tuesday hurries and gets here soon!

Happy Stampin'!

Sarah


Thursday, July 29, 2021

Picture This with What's Cookin!!

Hey Stampers!
It's great to check in again with some more ideas from the Annual Catalog that launched in May. It seems like a long time ago now, but it's really only been a few months and there's so much to play with! I keep coming back to the "What's Cookin" bundle as an easy favorite to create a themed card that will appeal to all those who cook and even all those who eat, so basically, everyone!!

Have a look at the card and then I'll tell you about it:


 My inspiration and starting point for this card was actually the die cut circle holes in the base layer. Have you noticed the "Picture This" dies in the Annual catalog? They are stand alone dies in that they are not bundled with any specific stamp set. I cut a base layer for a card out of one of the more colorful sheets of Designer Series Paper from the Hostess pack "Pattern Party", available as a hostess reward or stamper reward with an order of at least $150. I ran this piece of DSP through my Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine with the round circle "Picture This" die and these holes were cut. My next challenge was what to put in the holes. I grabbed my "What's Cookin" bundle, thinking I could do a combination of stamping and die cutting. I stamped some of the stamps on some white background paper after tracing the "hole" with a pencil on my white paper. I also stamped and die cut some additional elements to place on top of the card. In the end, I was really happy with how this card turned out as I was able to do a variety of things to create it.  I highly recommend both products if you love to stamp, love to cook and love to have a ready-made template with the dies which will cut windows in a circle shape or rectangle shape. Check out this blog post to see the rectangle die in action, which I featured a few weeks ago:

Picture this rectangle die post

We are coming to the end of the Designer Series Paper Sale - it is going on through August 2nd with a 15% discount on many of the DSP packs in the Annual Catalog. Check out the savings and choices here:

Designer Series Paper Sale

It won't be long until the Aug-Dec Mini Catalog will launch (Aug 3) and you will be able to get your hands on some lovely products for all your fall and Christmas holiday crafting and stamping. A year goes pretty fast anyway and it always go fast with new Stampin'Up! products on the horizon! Check back on August 3rd when I'll have a link to the new catalog and online store for all the goodies!

Happy Stampin'!

Sarah

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Hats Off bundle for the whole family!

 Hey Stampers!

How's your July going? We are doing all the summer things so I'm not as faithful and consistent with my blog or my card making but I'm hoping to be a little more diligent the next couple of weeks. I'm not complaining! Summer is for getting outside and we love to do that as much as possible!

The sun is blazing in Montana and with unusually high temps, I'm even wearing a hat most days! That's a casual introduction to the theme of the bundle I want to feature today, hats! There's a great stamp and die set on page 47 of the new 2021-2022 Annual Catalog that will have you creating hats for all your favorite people and all their favorite causes, teams and hobbies! It's called "Hats Off" and has a fabulous ball cap die that you can customize  and make it all your own! Here's one I created, probably for my husband, who wears a ball cap almost all the time!


I had quite a bit of extra Designer Series Paper from the "Well Suited" collection that recently retired so I decided to use that for my background and color scheme.  These are perfect guy colors of Basic Black, Basic Gray, Night of Navy and Pacific Point.  There are two hat dies included in this set, one is large and one is very small. Don't you love the detailed stitching the dies create? Just like the real thing! There are all sorts of combos for hat customization and I chose a mountain scene and lightly colored it with some Blends alcohol markers. There are also some cute small dies including a buffalo, fish, tree, star and lightning bolt, all of which help you make the hat just like you want it! I used a dense embossing folder on my white strip of paper to give it some texture, any embossing folder will do!

Just to give you more ideas, Stampin'Up! created a short video featuring this bundle!


If you have some guys in your life and you enjoy making them cards, why not add the "Hats Off" bundle to your stash! I've included my supplies below and a click on any of them will take you to the online store for easy ordering!

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek! I hope you're making the most of summer but also taking some time to stamp, which is the best therapy of all!

Happy Stampin'!

Sarah 


Monday, July 5, 2021

Happy 4th of July and Happy Birthday!

Hi Friends!

I have a quick post today after a very fun 4th of July celebration at our house last night. Our middle daughter was born on the 4th of July so the fireworks are doubly meaningful and festive! I had some extra time so I wanted to make some table decor to celebrate the occasion (s). I grabbed some Stampin'Up! dies to help me out, as well as some patriotic-themed non SU paper and look what happened?!!


 I used the "Stitched Stars" Dies for the star die cut and the "Playful Alphabet" set for the letters!



This one includes a retired "Happy Birthday" die and retired "Hand-Lettered Prose" dies!



And the birthday girl!

It's fun to use your stash of products and your creative abilities for something besides cards or scrapbooks!
Give it a try sometime and you'll be amazed at the results!

Happy Stampin'!
Sarah

Friday, July 2, 2021

In Symmetry bundle

Hey Friends!

One of my favorite things to do with a new catalog is to look it over first really quick, then look it over more slowly and take time to savor and then start marking specific pages with sticky notes, color-coded to show order of priority to purchase! Maybe you approach it the same way or just start at the beginning and choose what you want here and there! 

The bundle I want to share today stood out to me for a couple of reasons. I really liked the solid stamp images (no coloring required) because as much as I love to color, I love bold stamping too. I also really liked the size and style of the font for the sentiments. Curious? Here's a sample I made when I was playing around with the "In Symmetry" bundle, consisting of a stamp set and coordinating punch.


 I neglected to mention there is also coordinating Designer Series Paper  - of course! It's Stampin'Up! and they love to coordinate their products so you can achieve a perfect, streamlined look to your project. I stamped the  large flower and smaller tulips and punched the Night of Navy leaves. I couldn't resist adding a little Bumblebee gingham ribbon because a small check gingham is almost irresistible!  This card was featured at a card class of mine in June. By the way, I am back to holding in-person card classes so check out my calendar for what's scheduled each month. I'd love to see you!

The "Sweet Symmetry" Designer Series Paper is on sale from now through August 2nd at 15% off. There are quite a few paper packs from the Annual Catalog on sale so if you love paper, you'll love this news! Here's a list of all the papers and I've included a link to the online store for easy ordering!

ITEMPAGEDESCRIPTIONPRICE
155841130BEAUTY OF THE EARTH 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER$11.50 USD | 15.75 $ CAD
$9.78 USD | 13.39 $ CAD
155696131BLOOM WHERE YOU’RE PLANTED 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER$11.50 USD | 15.75 $ CAD
$9.78 USD | 13.39 $ CAD
155499131HAND-PENNED 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER$11.50 USD | 15.75 $ CAD
$9.78 USD | 13.39 $ CAD
152494132IN GOOD TASTE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER$21.00 USD | 29.00 $ CAD
$17.85 USD | 24.65 $ CAD
155817132IN THE WILD 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER$11.50 USD | 15.75 $ CAD
$9.78 USD | 13.39 $ CAD
155807132PANSY PETALS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER$11.50 USD | 15.75 $ CAD
$9.78 USD | 13.39 $ CAD
155605133SWEET SYMMETRY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER$11.50 USD | 15.75 $ CAD
$9.78 USD | 13.39 $ CAD
155718133TIDINGS OF CHRISTMAS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER$11.50 USD | 15.75 $ CAD
$9.78 USD | 13.39 $ CAD
155686134YOU’RE A PEACH 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER$11.50 USD | 15.75 $ CAD
$9.78 USD | 13.39 $ CAD

Designer Series Paper Sale

I hope enjoyed some "In Symmetry" inspiration! This is a fun bundle and I'm so glad I added it to my stash. 

Have a great weekend and Happy 4th of July!

Sarah