Playful Penguins!

Hi there Stampers!
Well, it happened! We got our first snow yesterday, September 29th. That's a tad earlier than usual but not completely shocking. It's still trying to spit a little more snow today but the rest of the week is supposed to be a balmy 50 degrees!  In the meantime, I was searching for hats, gloves, and scarves!

Speaking of such, have you seen the "Playful Penguins" stamp set and their cute winter accessories? They are some super cute sketched penguins in this stamp set, a really nice hand scripted font for the sentiments and some warm winter accessories for that cold wind and snow. I had fun playing with this set and want to share some simple stamping ideas with you!  This set is a real winner if you are new to stamping and don't have a lot of ink colors and also don't own a die cutting machine. There are no coordinating dies!  Here we go:

This first card stuck with a couple of shades of blue, Blueberry Bushel and Balmy Blue, as well as Basic Gray for my penguins. I did fussy cut the scarf, bow tie and stocking cap. I love that  the penguins look friendly and real but not cartoonish.

For this second card, I used a few more tools including the "Softly Falling" embossing folder   (#139672 now on the Clearance Rack for $5!!), a retired snowflake trinket and the adorable felt hat and scarf from the "Let It Snow" Embellishment Kit. These felt accessories were designed for the snowman punch, but they work on the penguins as well!  By the way, I did do all my stamping BEFORE I embossed my Whisper White cardstock with the Softly Falling embossing folder. 

I decided to make at least one Holiday Card with the penguin set.  I grabbed some Designer Series Paper from the new "Most Wonderful Time" product medley. There are lots of stamps, dies, die cuts, sequins and more to play with in this product line. Stampin' Up! has gathered up coordinating products and put them together in a medley for you to buy and do what you want with them! I did fussy cut the penguin and also used some Sparkle glimmer paper to create the illusion of snow.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing some fun penguins and thinking about what you would do with these stamps. Just for fun, I want to share a couple photos I took of real live penguins at the Cincinnati Zoo, back in February, when I was visiting there. They are fascinating creatures to watch, especially their distinctive waddle!

Well, that's it for today!  I'm heading back to the stamp room to see what other fun I can come up with! Hope you are finding some time to be creative as well!

Happy Stampin'!

Sarah

Band Together Bundle

Hello Stampers!
Happy Friday!  We are having some gorgeous sun this morning which is a prelude to a forecast of intense winter storm coming this weekend with up to 2" of snow in some elevations.  Yes, I know it isn't even October but it's also Montana and Montana can do whatever it pleases in the weather department. We have wide open prairie spaces and majestic mountain spaces and all of it combines for some crazy weather.  I'm going to ignore the predicted snow for now and dwell on something much more springy - flowers!

Have you seen the "Band Together" bundle in the Annual Catalog on page 121?  It's a charming set with some great sentiments and a fabulous flower to color. The dies are unique in that they include some sentiment dies as well as ways to make belly bands for your cards or more ornate background pieces. Confused?  What's a belly band anyway?  It's like a belt!  Keeps the whole thing together and in place!  Here are some designs I came up with while playing with this set.

I tried a lot of things with this card. First, I stamped the large flower stem in Tuxedo Black Momento Ink. I then colored it with a combination of Flirty Flamingo and Petal Pink Stampin' Blends. These were easy colors to blend together. I stamped my sentiment and cut it out with one of the dies, then cut the Flirty Flamingo frame with another die and then cut the belly band part with a third die.

Here's a picture of the same card only with the belly band removed. You want the band to be snug but not so tight that you can't slide it on and off the card. Oh, one other thing I did after coloring my base layer. I grabbed the Subtle 3D embossing folder and embossed it to give it a textured, woven look.  I love the Subtle folder and it is an absolute "must have" for your stash of folders.

Here are a few other ideas:

For this card, I again used Stampin' Blends to color my flowers, leaves and the background of my card stock. This gave me a mottled background look. I wouldn't do this very often because it takes quite a bit of ink from the Stampin' Blend marker!  this time, I created a side fitting belly band as well.

One of the band dies in the set is quite narrow so I thought I could probably do several of them, different colors, stacked on top of each other. I'm always looking for ways to show off the In-Colors and this was the perfect number of bands I needed. I just glued these on flat on my card and love the look. This card looked great without a sentiment but I added a Happy Birthday while I was at it.

It's fun to think a little outside the box and create projects by using products in alternate ways, like the last card.  We have so many choices for dies, stamps, paper and more. It can be overwhelming but once you go to our online store, you'll see some easy shopping categories to explore and you can always contact me if you can't find what you're looking for or have any other questions. I'm here to help! Supply information is listed below!

I hope you have a beautiful weekend, whether you're stunned by the first blizzard of the year or enjoying a gorgeous autumn somewhere besides Montana!  I report back on Monday and let you know if the snow actually showed up!

Happy Stampin'!
Sarah

Welcome to the Team!

Hi Stampers!
I'm enjoying getting back to my blog and sorting through some pictures of cards that I've taken but not featured yet for you to see. I'm taking a brief break from the Holiday Catalog to showcase some Annual Catalog sets that you may have been curious about. The set I'm sharing today is a wonderful idea for any of you who work and like to make cards for co-workers.  It's not just about birthdays, but sometimes there is a "welcome" or a "goodbye" that needs to be said as well as a "congratulations" or "just because".  This set covers all the ideas and features a coffee cup and work chair as the perfect symbols of so many jobs!  Here are some fun ideas I created recently:

This first card features the iconic desk chair that so many people spend so much of their life in!  I chose to stamp it in Tuxedo Black Momento and then color with my Stampin' Blends.  Can you guess where I got that background paper from?  If you are having a hard time placing it, I wouldn't be surprised. Believe it or not, it's one of the sheets from the "Come Sail Away" Designer Series Paper!  It has just about nothing to do with sailing but makes an awesome background in a little-used color - black!

My next card features one of my favorite sentiments of the stamp set, addressing the crazy it takes to perform some jobs!  Of course, it could be in jest, or serious! This card is fairly monochromatic, featuring Terracotta Tile, a new In-Color this year. I used the embossing folder and Designer Series Paper from the Mosaic Mood suite of products. My coffee mug die is from the "Cup of Cheer" set in the 2019 Holiday Catalog!

And, of course, the coffee cup!  This was fun to stamp with Early Espresso Ink and then lightly color with the light Pool Party Stampin' Blend marker. My Designer Series Paper choices harken back to a year ago or two when we had a hold suite of products with a coffee theme.

So, if you are part of a team at work, an office mate, etc., consider purchasing this set to make cards for all the work people!  They can be any style or color scheme making it such a versatile set!

I have lots of fun things on my Stampin'Up! radar this fall. I plan to hold several classes in October as well as get going on more videos. I know for those of you who can't come to a class, seeing a "how to" video is so helpful!  October 1st is the start of a new Stampin'Up! year and so I'm setting some goals. You can help me!  What would you like to see me do more of?  More blogging, more videos, more classes, more info about promotions?  What's your preferred way to connect with me on Social Media? ~ My blog, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram?  Would a monthly Newsletter be helpful?  I am open to all the possibilities and would love to hear your comments!  You can comment here or on any other platform and I will take it to heart!  Thanks so much for your help!

Happy Stampin'!
Sarah

Wiggle Worm!

Hi Stampers!
Wow, I can't believe it's been a couple of weeks since I've blogged. It's one of my favorite activities but alas, real life and its challenges have taken my time and energy.  It's good to be back to a happy place for me. Thank you so much for subscribing or checking in on my posts to see what is new and what I'm up to.

We are well into fall now and the end of summer. I am assuming most of the insects and bugs are also gone or at least hibernating or whatever they do once it gets cold.  The set I want to share today wasn't one that attracted my attention at first, but then I decided it was really cute and worth some love!  It's called "Wiggle Worm" and comes with a great stamp and die bundle. I recently spent some time playing and wanted to share some fun ideas.

For this card, I wanted to feature some unique dies that come in the bundle but are not part of the stamp designs. The big leaves and the grass are awesome!  I am excited to play more with the grass and combine it with other sets.  I felt this sentiment was perfect for a young person in your life, like a sweet grandchild!

Of course, I had to use the bee stamps and die when I saw this sentiment!  It would be easy to color them, but it was even easier to stamp on Daffodil Delight paper and just cut them out with the coordinating die. Do you love mushrooms?  I will eat them in almost anything except dessert!  The mushrooms are another die that do not have a coordinating stamp but they were easy to cut out and add to my project.

I also figured I should try all the bugs and see what happens!  I used bright colors and my Stampin'Write markers to give these bugs some life. Again, this is perfect for young children!  If you love bugs or you just have lots of kids to make cards for, this is a great set with a little different theme that will serve you well!  I've listed my supplies below and a click on any one of them will take you to my online store which features a new format and look. I think it's easier than ever to shop online!

It feels good to be back, chatting with you and sharing my love of stamping. I have a son getting married in about 10 days so I can't promise I will be here everyday, but I do plan to get back to blogging! There is so much to love and stamp, right?!

Thanks for stopping by!
Sarah

Snowfront

Hey Stampers!
Remember a couple of years ago when a wonderful stamp set called "Waterfront" came out?  All of a sudden there were oodles of ideas on Pinterest and other sites as people used this set to build wonderfully creative scene of mountains, trees, water and more. Well, Stampin'Up! has done it again, this time with "Snowfront"! There are still mountains and trees but now we have a cabin, some deer and even a snowman!  This is such a fun set to play with and let your imagination sore as you create many different scenes with paper and ink.  Here are some ideas I had:

This card uses a lot of the stamps and then I cut it with a stitched edge rectangle die to give it a framed piece of art appearance. Don't you just love the cabin and deer?

This card features a fun technique. You simply do all your stamping and then run your piece of stamped cardstock through an embossing folder. I chose our new 3D Brick folder!  I think this card looks like a mural on the side of a brick wall.

This last one is a little fancier because I used the snowflake dies from the "Christmas Layers" dies. I love our new In Color, Seaside Spray and it's perfect for wintery moods.

If this stamp set isn't already on your wish list, you should add it!  Any color of inks will work for the components and it is so fun to play with!  I'm not exactly wishing for snow yet, but I know it's on its way sooner or later. Today I'm off to do some 4-wheeling in the mountains so I'll be on the lookout for trees, cabins, deer and hopefully no snow!

Happy Stampin'!
Sarah

Tidings All Around

Hi Stampin' Friends!
Are you a wreath-lover?  All seasons, all types?  I sure am.  I think it's such a warm and welcoming addition to a wall or door at any time.  There are some great new wreath-themed products in the new Holiday Catalog that you will really enjoy!  Today I want to share some ideas featuring the "Tidings All Around" set. It's a great wreath and branch set that also comes with coordinating dies. Here are some of the ideas I came up with recently:

This card shows off the wreath stamp and die. I did use a bow from another set ("Free Skate") but the sentiment is from this set. I also lighted stamped the new "Wired" background stamp on my Very Vanilla background. It is designed to look like chicken wire!

This card features a new favorite stamp!  It's the three branches and it is carved to take different saturations of ink.  I can't figure out how they do that, but it is lovely to stamp with. The "Toile Tidings" Designer Series Paper is also featured on this card, which is just gorgeous. I daubed some Soft Suede ink on my edges to give this card a vintage look.

This card features a separate wreath die cut that doesn't require any stamping. You can also see some bare branches and I used red rhinestones for some hollyberries.  The Toile Tidings DSP is again featured on this card.

I hope you've got your wish list started from this fun catalog!  There's lots to love and inspire you.  Keep checking back as I share more ideas featuring all new products from Stampin'Up!  My supplies are listed below and clicking on any of them will take you to the online store.

Happy Stampin'!
Sarah

Merry Christmoose!!!

Happy Friday Stampin' Friends!

I'll bet anything the last time you went through your craft supplies you thought to yourself, "gee, I sure wish Stampin'Up! would come up with some more fun punches...."  Hey, guess what! Your wish came true!  The Holiday Catalog is full of new punches and I'm sharing my favorite today, the moose!  It coordinates with a wonderful stamp set as well so you can stamp and/or punch all the moose you need for your great ideas. I actually live in a place where the moose live too, although you don't see them everyday, like deer!  They are gorgeous, graceful and absolutely huge creatures. They are also fun to use for crafting.  

Here are some quick ideas for you using my moose punch:

I actually did use the moose stamp on this card before I punched out the moose, but my ink color and paper color were too dark to see it well. The trees, boughs and pinecones are part of the set and I used one of the "Frosted Frames" dies for my background piece.

For my second card, I wanted to play with some of the new Plaid Designer Series Paper, the tree punch and the moose punch. I did have to cut the scarf out by hand ;)

This card features the moose walking through a quiet morning, snowy scene, created by the "Feels Like Frost" 6 x 6" Designer Series Paper. This paper is so easy to grab and create something special with.

Finally, I just had to make a card featuring this cute raccoon!  It's part of the stamp set as well and I just love him.  This time I used a pine tree from the "Winter Woods" stamp set. I did some shadow stamping by inking up the tree stamp once and then stamping three times, in different, overlapping places.

Just in case you have to have a moose punch, I want to show you the bundle so you can see the great stamps that go with it. You can buy the stamps or punch separately or as a bundle and save 10%.



What a fun way to add some adventure and outdoors to your Christmas crafting!  Check these supplies out and all the rest of Stampin'Up!'s full line of papercrafting supplies at the online store. Simply click on "shop now" and you will be directed to my online store.

Hope you have a great weekend ahead of you!  We are going to try to do some four-wheeling next week and I'll keep you posted if I see any moose!

Happy Stampin',
Sarah

Harvest Hellos

Hi Stampers!
I hope you're doing well on this fine morning. I just watched some kids load up on the school bus outside my kitchen window and it reminds me that this has been going on for years.. the return of the school year. With a few teachers in our family it means summer is over and it's back to work. There's excitement and anticipation as they head into a new year of adventure and learning.  When I was young, I thought I wanted to be a school teacher. Somehow I forgot about that dream and instead raised some kids that became school teachers. Now I can live vicariously through them!

Since it's the beginning of the school year, I wanted to start off my Holiday Catalog debut showcasing a fun set with a school theme - the apple!  This includes a bundle of stamps and a coordinating punch that can alternately be an apple or a pumpkin. Let me show you:

For my first card, I wanted to stick with a school theme and so I tried to recreate a blackboard with Basic Gray cardstock and white craft ink.  I ended up heat embossing my white craft ink with white embossing powder to make it stand out a little more. I used the apple punch to cut out an apple with some Designer Series Paper from the Holiday Catalog called "Night Before Christmas".  The punch includes the pieces for the leaf and stem.

The stamp set also includes a get well sentiment, playing off the old wives' tale of "an apple a day keeps the doctor away", I suppose!  The apple section is one of the stamps as well and it cut really easily with the punch. It cut a whole apple and then I just used scissors to cut off the unstamped half.  I used my Stampin' Blends markers to color the apple section.  The embossing folder in the background is the new "Winter Knit" 3D embossing folder, which I just love.

For this idea, I thought it would be fun to cut some applies in different colors and decided to make it a birthday card with a sentiment from the "Perennial Birthday" stamp set. The apple stamp set, "Harvest Hellos", also has a small apple seed stamp. I used that to create a border and then colored the seeds in with an Early Espresso Stampin Write marker.

Finally I wanted to show you how this punch can be adapted for a pumpkin with another stamp that includes the pumpkin lines.  There's also a cute Jack-o-lantern face.  For my background, I used some of the Halloween Designer Series Paper for this year, called "Monster Bash".

This is a really cute and affordable bundle that can be used for lots of different ideas. Here's a look at the bundle:



Punches are great tools to reach for and quickly cut out a design that you've stamped.  They are especially good if you are stamping with friends or in a class setting as they are easy to pass around and let everyone have a turn.

I hope I've inspired you with some "back to school" ideas and more with this great set. You will find my supplies listed below and a click on any one of them will take you to the online store for easy shopping.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek!  You can see more of what I'm up to on previous blog posts and watch for many more new products from the Holiday Catalog in the days and weeks ahead! I've been busy playing and have created over 80 original, new designs to celebrate all the holidays the catalog offers.  I can't wait to share them with you!

Happy Stampin'!
Sarah

WooHoo! It's time for the Holidays at Stampin'Up!

Hi Stampers!
I've been eagerly waiting for this day - the launch of the Holiday catalog!  If you haven't seen one yet, first thing you should do is click on the catalog to the right --->>> It's the one with the pretty red cover and lots of great ideas on the front of it.  That link will take you to a PDF version of the catalog that you can scroll through and see all the wonderful new products Stampin'Up! has. I'll be featuring a ton of them in the days and weeks to come in my blog. As a demonstrator, we get to preorder from the catalog and boy, I took advantage of that!

Here's a couple of tips when you're considering what to purchase or put on your wish list:

1)  If history is any judge, there are a few things that may sell out and not be available. Usually the first thing to go are kits and this year, I'm convinced the "Countdown to Christmas" Advent box kit will be very popular. If you want one of these, I would order it in Sept or early Oct. Do not wait any longer or you may be disappointed. Inventory is ordered 6 months in advance at times so it's not possible to place another big order to replenish a sold out product. Just don't wait if you really want it!  Here's a pic of it:

There is a coordinating stamp set you can get or you can get a kit and then come to a class and we will share the stamp set. More details on the future about a class.  Order info is included below the blog post.

2)  Holidays are the best time to up your crafting game with some treats, cards, table favors, gift packaging,  party decor, etc.  We have lots of items that will help you create with confidence. I'm guessing another item that will be hot are the cute little coffin treat boxes!  They come in a pack of 12 boxes that you assemble with tear tape or glue dots.  These are adorable!!

3)  It's easy to earn Stampin' Rewards with a large order!  Once you hit the $150 threshold, you earn 10% back in free product of your choice. As your order grows, so does the %% of freebies!  If you don't have a big enough order yourself, consider getting a friend or two to order something as well and grow your order that way.  In fact, you could all buy a kit or project and gather together to make them!  Creativity with girlfriend time - a win/win!!

4)  Just to sweeten the pot, Stampin'Up! is also holding their annual "Buy 3 get 1 Free" Designer Series Paper sale!  It's a great opportunity to save on some DSP packs from the annual catalog. They are especially gorgeous this year and I can't wait to stock up myself.  Here's a look:

ITEM	PAGE	DESCRIPTION	PRICE
149100	166	PERENNIAL ESSENCE DESIGNER SERIES PAPER	$11.50 usd/$15.75 cad
149443	166	SEE A SILHOUETTE DESIGNER SERIES PAPER	$11.50 usd/$15.75 cad
149481	167	COME SAIL AWAY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER	$11.50 usd/$15.75 cad
149484	165	MAGNOLIA LANE DESIGNER SERIES PAPER	$11.50 usd/$15.75 cad
149488	165	GARDEN LANE DESIGNER SERIES PAPER	$11.50 usd/$15.75 cad
149489	165	FOLLOW YOUR ART DESIGNER SERIES PAPER	$11.50 usd/$15.75 cad
149497	165	WOVEN THREADS DESIGNER SERIES PAPER	$11.50 usd/$15.75 cad
149589	166	DINOROAR DESIGNER SERIES PAPER	$11.50 usd/$15.75 cad
149592	166	BIRD BALLAD DESIGNER SERIES PAPER	$11.50 usd/5.75 cad
149500	167	PRESSED PETALS SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER	$14.50 usd/$20.00 cad

You'll notice a lot of your favorites on this list!  The DSP can be added to any order and once you add 3 packs, the fourth one will show up as free.  Let me know if you have any questions!

I'm sure there's more to be said about this fabulous Holiday Catalog!  I'll start in with showcasing all my samples this week!  It's a fun time to be crafty and this year Stampin'Up! makes it easy!  If you are ready to shop, click on the "shop now" link to the right which will take you straight to the online store!

Happy Holidays!

Sarah

A Few More Sneak Peeks before tomorrow!

Hey Stampers!
I am counting down the hours until September 4th when the Holiday Catalog launches!  Be sure to check back tomorrow when I will have some links for you and updates on all my social media. I'll be so curious to see what has caught your attention and what is on your "must have" list!

Just to keep up the excitement level, here are some more sneak peeks from my time playing with new products!

There's a whole lot of fun and inspiration at your fingertips with the all new Holiday Catalog being released tomorrow! I hope you're as excited as I am!

Happy Stampin',
Sarah