It’s Bloomin’ Marvelous!

So many new stamping toys to play with!  It’s hard to know what to start with!  I love everything in the Sale-a-Bration Flyer.  Sale-a-Bration is Stampin’ Up!s biggest sale of the year.  For every $50 product purchase, you get a free item from the Sale-a-Bration Flyer.  If you spend $100, you get 2 items.  If you spend $150,… Read More »

A New Paper Craft Crew Challenge

This week’s challenge is not only a sketch challenge, it is also a color challenge.  I find the color challenges more difficult because I’m still building up my paper stash and don’t always have the colors.  I LOVE the sketch for this coming week.  Please play along!  Create a card and post it on the Paper Craft Crew… Read More »

It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown…in January?

It’s a Magical Paper Escape Every Month! Sweep away the mundane-your creativity carriage awaits! I’m Paper Pumpkin . . . I come to your door each month (a fully decked-out creativity carriage). I’ll help you to escape your life with some paper fun. I come in a sweet box, but you’ll really love what you find on the… Read More »

3 New Quick Tips, 1 New Envelope Bag and a Birthday Card!!!!

I’ve been busy creating this weekend!  It is so relaxing to just spend time at my craft table.  You really need to claim some small space that you can have a table and a small amount of storage space (even if it is under the table), just so you can sit down at any moment when you have… Read More »

A Great Scrapbook Layout

Not only can you participate in weekly card sketch challenges at Paper Craft Crew, you can participate in monthly scrapbook page sketch challenges!!!  I love this.  I have not created many scrapbook pages since my kids started college!  I have all of the high school graduation pictures to get into albums along with those first days of college… Read More »

Send a Love Note!

I think that it’s always the right time to send a love note!  I felt like my card today just created itself.  I’m falling in love with the colors in the More Amore Designer Series Papers.  Tips: Keep the colors simple.  If you aren’t sure what works together, take your inspiration from the combinations put together in the… Read More »

Making a Gift Bag From an Envelope!

I have been playing with envelopes!  Today, I discovered that I could make quite a nice little gift bag from a Stampin’ Up! card envelope.  You really could do this with any size envelope.  In my experimenting, I learned one rule…all score lines must be the same distance from the edge of the envelope!  That’s it.  So simple!… Read More »

Challenge Yourself in 2013: Try a Sketch Challenge!

I absolutely love trying the sketch challenges.  I find myself creating card layouts that I never would have thought of before.  The sketch challenges have really stretched my creativity to a new place!  It just gives you more ideas for making beautiful cards in your bag of tricks when you create a card from a sketch created by… Read More »

More Amore For Valentine’s Day!

Everyone is crafting for Valentine’s Day!  It seems that we move from one holiday to another in the stamping and crafting world.  Holidays and events give us a purpose…or at least a very good excuse…to craft.  I’m not sure I need an excuse anymore.  Crafting has become such an outlet and such a source of relaxation for me… Read More »

2013 Trends: Hexagons!

The Hexagon is in!  I’m seeing cards and scrapbook page designs all over the place with hexagons everywhere!  I just couldn’t resist trying to figure out and easy way to cut nicely shaped hexagons without a punch!  Well, here it is! The new Honeycomb Embossing Folder (#129379) makes this a fun trend.  The embossing folder gives you a… Read More »

2=8+1! Oh, Yes it Can!

You can create 8 gift cards and a gift bag out of two 12 x12″ sheets of paper!  I challenged myself to see how little I really need to create a set of gift tags and a bag.  Of course when I was done, I just had to step up my cards by adding some buttons, bows and… Read More »

Exciting News and My January Customer Thank You Card!

I’m so excited to share my news!  I’ve been invited to join the Paper Craft Crew Design Team!  I love designing cards and participating in sketch and color challenges so I’m very excited about this new venture!  I hope to inspire you with my designs and I’m inviting you to participate in the weekly challenges along with me!… Read More »

The New Spring Mini Catalog is Live!

That means you can finally order from the new Spring Mini Catalog!!!   The colors are romantic, the catalog is full of product bundles designed to save you money.  I love buying coordinating products that are designed by artists to work together!  There are 9 bundles in this catalog! Check out two of my favorites:  The Secret Garden… Read More »

Fun Stampin’ Up! Color Combinations

I just can’t find it in myself to use Fall and Christmas Colors.  After looking at the colors of the new papers in the Spring Mini and the Sale-a-bration flyer, I just had to move forward and use bright cheerful colors! The Paper Craft Crew Challenge 22 was not only a sketch challenge, it was also a color… Read More »

Stamping Technique: Inked Dry Embossing

You can add some great dimension to your cards by using a technique called Inked Dry Embossing.  You use a brayer to ink up the front inside of your embossing folder and then emboss your paper.  It really gives a beautiful effect. Here is an up close view of two samples. One is gumball green on whisper white, the… Read More »