Happy Friday everyone!  We have an interesting weekend ahead…I think I told you that last week Randall and Alana were really sick (super bad soar throat, aches, fever, and a chest cold to boot!).  Anna went to school this morning to take her End of Grade test and I’ll pick her up at noon.  She had that "thick" voice that you get when you have a really bad sore throat. 

This is going to be interesting, because Randall and Alana are going to their Y Princess Spring outing all weekend and Eva, Anna and I had big plans!  Out for some fun tonight, going to school to help with the school play (painting sets and working on costumes), trip to the museum, and a swim meet on Sunday.  At the moment, it’s all up in the air depending on how sick Anna ends up getting.  Wish me luck!

I did get some stamping in this morning and I’m really excited about this card.  Actually, I made one like it yesterday for Simply WOW! Issue #30, it just has a fun, unexpected twist.  If you haven’t subscribed yet, click here for deets.

Do you see an unfamiliar shape here?  It’s coming on June 1…the Apothecary Accents Framelits…oh, la la!  I’ve been wearing these dies out!  (StampNation Members…I already have SEVEN videos ready for our Virtual Open House that begins on June 1.  Yipp!)

View the video to see how this card came together.  If viewing this via e-mail, click on the title of the post to view online.

My favorite part of this card?  The leaf inked in Pool Party and Rock and Rolled in More Mustard.  Who woulda thunk how cool that would look!!!???

Measurements:

• Base: 11 x 4-1/4
• Early Espresso Lyaer: 5-1/4 x 4
• Indigo Island: 4-3/4 x 3-1/2
• Very Vanilla: 4-1/2 x 3-1/4

Stampin’ Up Supplies:

• Gently Falling Stamp Set, Word Play Stamp Set, Music Notes Wheel
• Cardstock:  Indigo Island, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso
• Ink:  Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Pool Party, More Mustard
• Accessories:  Apothecary Accents Framelits (coming June 1), Vintage Trinkets, Linen Thread, Crop-a-dile, Stampin’ Sponges

This card was entered in the challenges at CAS-ual Fridays, Clean and Simple Stamping and Gallery Idol.

If you like this card, click one of the share buttons below to spread the love.  Thank you!

Simply WOW! tutorials are designed so you can quickly and easily implement great ideas and techniques into your paper crafting.

No more searching online for something awesome, something fun, something cool….every 14 days an issue will arrive in your E-mail Inbox like magic!

You’ll save time AND take your skills to the next level!   Inspiration has never come faster or been easier.

Not a subscriber yet?  Click here for all the details, to subscribe and immediately receive your Issue #1!

Each issue comes with ONE quick, to the point video and between ONE and THREE samples showing how to use the technique in a number of different ways.  Here is a sneak peek at a few of the issues: 

Stenciling Issue #2 

Color Wash Issue #15

Crayon Resist Embossing Folders Issue #17

Iridescent Ice Resist Issue #19

Ink Swipe Issue #30 

See you on the other side! 

oooh, GURLS!  I have some new Stampin’ Up products in my hot little hands!  These beauties go by the name of Betsy’s Blossoms Stamp Set (stamped on the white Label Framelit in So Saffron) and the Floral District Designer Series Paper, shown here in all it’s glory on the banners.  You like it?

Do you recognize this layout?  HERE is the original card I made, complete with video tutorial…basically I changed the colors, greeting, embossing folder and came up with another fun card with a softer feel.

I’m going to enter it into the PaperCrafts Magazine Gallery Idol Contest.  What do you think?

Stampin’ Up Supplies:

• Betsy’s Blossoms Stamp Set (Avail. June 1), Smarty Pants Stamp Set
• Cardstock: Whisper White, So Saffron, Baja Breeze
• Ink:  Early Espresso
• Accessories:  Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Labels Framelits, Houndstooth Embossing Folder, Pearls

With this beauty right here!  She is a master at CAS cards and I think she may be branching out a bit.  What do you think of her skills at the Shabby Chic look?  When she showed me this card, I seriously let out an audible gasp!  It’s gorgeousness literally stopped me in my tracks.  I e-mailed her right away praising her goddess-ness and begging her to let me share it with you.  Thank goodness she said YES!

This is what she said in her blog post for this card: 

"As you know, Shabby Chic is not my normal style.  But after making my first Shabby Chic card the other day, I had to make another one.  I have never used this many layers on a card!  But, what fun!

• the inking was done with white craft ink direct to paper on both the card base and the embossed layer.
• the flower contains 3 layers.  The top is vellum that was die cut, then embossed.  It is layered over 2 white die cut flowers.
• The doily is not a die cut, it was purchased at AC Moore in the baking section.

A new tutorial and challenge on Shabby Chic design was added to StampNation this week.  There are now 185 video tutorials on StampNation!  WOW!  You should head over and check us out.  The ladies there are a hoot!"

Thanks for letting me share your post, Maureen, this card is stunning!  If you are wondering who Maureen is, she is my dear friend, she runs the challenges at StampNation and writes tutorials for the site.  I had the great pleasure of meeting her recently, which you can read about: check it out here.

**Be sure to visit my blog tomorrow, I have a sneak peek for you!

Stamp: Fillable Frames (non SU)

Ink: Fresh Snow, Crumb Cake

Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Vellum, Paisley Petals dsp

Accessories: Fun Flowers, Labels Collection Framelits, Designer Frames Embossing folder, Perfect Polka Dots & Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folders, corner rounder, Banner Trio Die (non SU), Basic Pearls, Linen Thread, Sponges, Doily

Hello stampers!  This week, new catalogs are going out!  A couple weeks ago, I announced how you can get your hands on a new catalog.  Here it is again: 

• If you are a current customer of mine that has placed $150 or more in orders with me since January 1, I will automatically ship one to you.
• If you have placed an order with me since July 1, 2011 but are not on the first list and plan to order within the first 30 days after the catalog is released, shoot me an e-mail and I will send one to you.
• If you don’t fit into the above categories, place an order with me by May 15, then e-mail me to request your catalog and I will put you on the list

It has come to my attention, that even if you have ordered from me recently, you may not be in my customer manager.  If you have visited another demonstrator’s online store, you may have been switched over to her database.  If this is the case, you will not receive a catalog from me.  If you want to double check, e-mail me!

CUSTOMER REWARDS CARD- This program ends on June 30, so be sure to fill up your card and REDEEM it by then!

One last order of business today…

Take a peek at one way I used the "storytelling method" for scrapbooking this week in my newsletter!  To subscribe, put your deets in the box at the top of the sidebar.  See you on the other side!

To get the full low-down on the "storytelling method", check out my book: Life Scraps, how to scrapbook your life through storytelling.

Hope your day is lovely!

Are you signed up for my newsletter yet?  If not, all you have to do is put your deets in the box on the top of the sidebar.  When you do, not only will you get the videos in the exclusive, subscriber-only "My Friend" stamp series, but you will also get 2 -3 newsletters from me each month with subscriber-only projects, tutorials and information to keep you up to date on stampin’ happenins!

The next one comes out this week and here’s a sneak peek at the project inside!

See you on the other side!

I enjoyed the challenge at CAS-ual Fridays last week so much, I popped over there this morning and saw that their challenge for this week is BIRDS!  Wow, perfect!  I haven’t used the Aviary Stamp Set in a while.  So that, and a few new products from the upcoming Stampin’ Up Catalog were used to put this Clean and Simple Card together in a jiffy!

View the video to see how this card came together (if you are viewing this in a feed, click on the title of the post to visit my blog):

Stampin’ Up Supplies:

• *Itty Bitty Banners Stamp Set, Aviary Stamp Set
• Cardstock:  Crumb Cake, Whisper White
• Ink: Early Espresso, Real Red
• Accessories:  Berry Blossoms Stamp Set, *Apothecary Accents Framelits, *Bitty Banners Framelits, Mat Pack, Paper Piercing Tool, Stampin’ Sponge

*Premiering on June 1 in the new Stampin’ Up Catalog!

Coming later today to StampNation….click here for details on membership! 

Hope to see you there!

Hope you have a lovely weekend!  We have two sickos home today (Randall and Alana), hopefully they will be feeling better tomorrow.  Alana has tryouts for Tap Company, Randall is supposed to help build a raft for Y Princess and I plan to go help work on sets and costumes for the school play.

Oh, yeah!  And Sunday is Mother’s Day!  Hope yours is wonderful!

Oh, please, PLEASE!  Tell me it’s not true.  The Have a Seat Stamp Set and the Finial Press Embossing folders are retiring.  If you love them as much as I do, you don’t have much time to get them before they are gone.

To view the post and video on how this card was made,CLICK HERE!

Awash With Flowers is a stamp set that has been on my shelves for years and years and I have made some lovely projects with it!  It is a two-step stamping set, but usually I watercolored with it.  

Let’s take a quick peek at some of the cards I’ve made with it!

A few years ago, I had a shoebox swap with my downline and Tracey Renaud made one of these cards…not sure if it was the one above or the one below!  Is this what they call a senior moment?  lol!

I was so inspired by her beautifulness, that I made my own, tweaking it up just a bit…Tracey!  Which one was yours?

Click here for the entire list of retiring products.

I’m about to shove off to meet my dad for lunch.  We are trying out a new restaurant in Raleigh, the Flying Burrito.  Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!

P.S. My new catalog pre-order comes TODAY!  Can you guess what I’ll be doing later?

Hello Friends! We have just 3-1/2 weeks left until the new Stampin’ Up catalog premiers. Until then, a couple times a week, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of my favorite projects that use retiring products and stamp sets. Here’s #1!

Today’s card doesn’t feature any retiring stamp sets, but the gorgeous Beyond the Garden Designer Series Paper and the Library Clips are going bye-bye. 

If you own the Fabulous Florets Stamp Set, you’ll want to grab this paper pack before it’s gone (psst…it’s 25% off!).

Click here to view the original Post on this card and the details.

Click here for the entire list of retiring products.

Friends!  I loved, loved reading all your comments from those of you that would like to win a copy of my book.  Most of you have the same problems:

• you don’t know where to start
• you feel overwhelmed by all the photos piling up
• you feel like you have to scrap in chronological order and scrap it ALL

I stood in my kitchen and exclaimed to my husband that I wanted to GIVE my book to all of you because it made me sad that you all are having these problems, and I know my book would help you and conquer these problems.

He reminded me that I pretty much put my life on hold and worked about 20 hours a week for 6 months on the book and I can’t really give it away to everyone.  He’s right, so we’ll stick to one…for now.

I truly believe in the mission of my book and I can see first hand how it’s helping scrapbookers on StampNation.  We are working on journaling about ourselves for the next two weeks and look at what Heather has to say after working on some journaling prompts I provided:

"Thank you, Catherine, for the reminder that our own stories are important and that chronological scrapbooking is not always the most important thing to do. Working through this little album has brought me such joy and reminded me of how empowered I felt, not to mention how far I have come in feeling "home" here in WA. "

Heather, I’m so glad you are experiencing scrapbooking freedom!!! 

ok…so now the moment you’ve been waiting for…our winner!

By becky:

My biggest challenge in scrapbooking is that I’m so FAR BEHIND that I just can’t find the motivation to start. I used to scrap ALOT and then took several years off and now just can’t get going again. The last couple of years i’ve done nothing but cards because I can’t even bear to think about trying to get caught up! I’d love to see how your book could help.

Becky, e-mail me and I will send you think link for downloading your book.  Enjoy it!

To check out my e-book, Life Scraps, CLICK HERE for all the details.

How better to celebrate Friday than with the CAS-ual Friday Challenge?  My friend, Maureen, told me about this blog and when I saw today’s challenge was a birthday card, I jumped on it!

View the video to see how this card was made…my favorite part is the frames. 

Stampin’ Up Supplies:

• Curly Cute Stamp Set, En Fracais Stamp
• Cardstock:  Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Early Espresso
• Ink:  Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise
• Accessories:  Label Framelits, Brights Patterns DSP Stack, Cupcake Punch, Stampin’ Sponges, 2 Way Glue

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial!   On Sunday, I will draw one winner for a copy of my book, Life Scraps…how to scrapbook your life through storytelling.  Be sure to enter to win!  (Post from yesterday).

Are you ready for National Scrapbooking Day?  In order to help you get in the spirit, I have a few things going on!

Want to win a copy of my e-book

Life Scraps…how to scrapbook your life through storytelling? 

To enter, leave a comment here:

1. if you have the book, tell me what your favorite part of the book is?  If you win, you can give the gift to a friend.
2. if you don’t have the book, what is your biggest scrapbooking challenge?

One winner will be chosen on Sunday evening!

For StampNation Members: beginning tomorrow, we will have 2 weeks of focusing on journaling, the storytelling part of your scrapbooking! 

I have a HUGE list of storystarters for you.  I will be adding a few scrapbook pages and videos on journaling and ways to write down your story, EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT A SCRAPBOOKER!  At the end of the two weeks, one member will win a wonderful prize pack!  

Details on StampNation membership here!

To check out my e-book, Life Scraps, CLICK HERE for all the details.   The sneak peek will be found here as well.

Have a wonderful Thursday!

This winter, I made a few cards to submit to Papercrafts Magazine.  Unfortunately, none of my cards fit into their plan for the issue…maybe next time! 

For my submissioins, I tried to do something a bit different.  So for this card, I wrapped a piece of Tafetta Ribbon around the Antique Brad, tied it off with Linen Thread and topped it off with a Trinket Key charm and a stamped jewelry tag.

To make the main image of the card, I stamped the Hello Doily Stamp in Versamark ink  on Crumb Cake, Early Espresso and Bravo Burgundy, then covered each Doily in Clear Embossing Powder and heated it.  I used my Circle Scissors Plus to cut out the BB and EE circles to layer them in the center of the Crumb Cake Doily.

Before adding the center pieced and embellishments, I crumpled the Crumb Cake layer, smoothed it out, then sponged Chocolate Chip Ink all over it.  I think it looks a bit like a paper bag!

I thought the Celebrate along with the Mr. & Mrs. combined for a nice wedding card.

I hope you enjoyed today’s card.   Be sure to sign up for my e-mail newsletter if you haven’t already!  In less than 2 weeks another exclusive project comes out to subscribers only!  (Simply put your deets in the box at the top of the sidebar to subscribe!).  My next newsletter project is another "reject", LOL!  You can tell me what you think!

Stampin’ Up Supplies:

• 122845 Hello Doily Stamp Set, (WM: 118091, CM: 118592) Tiny Tags Stamp Set, (WM: 122890, CM: 122892) Perfectly Penned Stamp Set
• Cardstock: 120953 Crumb Cake, 119686 Early Espresso,105123 Bravo Burgundy, 101650 Very Vanilla 
• Ink:  119670 Early Espresso, 102283 Versamark
• Accessories:  104199 Linen Thread, Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon, 109130 Clear Embossing Powder, 100005 Heat Tool, 101610 Sponges, 117273 Antique Brads, 117190 Jewelry Tag Punch, 112530 Circle Scissors Plus, 112531 Glass Mat , 121892 Trinket Keys, 114890 Matchbox Die (for label)

Click here to learn more about the Retiring Stampin’ Up Products.

Click here to place your Online Order for Stampin’ Up Products…just a reminder!  If you leave the online store for more than 30 mins., once you come back and click on something, your cart will be cleared and you will default to stampin’ up.com and would no longer be ordering from ME, but would be ordering directly from stampin’ up.  Just a heads up!

This card was entered in the following challenges:  365 Cards, My Mum’s Craft Shop, Ruby’s Rainbow, Deep Ocean Challenge Blog, LEJ Designs, Oldie But Goodie (almost everything on my card was more than 6 months old!), Papertake Weekly