SO MANY TOYS...

Today I thought I would share a picture of one the Decor Elements that I put up on one of the walls in my Stampin' Studio.  The phrase fits my room perfectly right down to the paper airplane!  I have rough texture walls as you can see if you click the picture to enlarge.  Stampin' Up does not recommend the vinyl on this type of wall.  However, I took a risk and it paid off!  They work perfectly well on the rough surface - it just takes more time to apply as you have to be much more careful while doing so.  I have several more phrases I am just waiting to find the time to put up!

And here is a long-view so you can see the scale of the piece:

SO MANY TOYS SUPPLIES:

• Decor Elements - So Many Toys, Medium Black (#117807, $15.95)
• Tools - Decor Elements Applicator (#114285, $1.95)

Check out our Definitely Decorative Catalogs for ideas to personalize your space today.  It is so much fun and they come off easily, so they are even perfect for renters, holidays or those who frequently like to change their decor!
 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME...

Yesterday was my birthday.  Much thanks to those who sent birthday wishes via email and Facebook yesterday!  Got a little break from our remodeling and spring rejuvenation undergoings.  Jen took me out to lunch and for a little plant shopping.  She got me an Egg Genie (yes I have a little penchant for selected "as seen on tv" items) and some island colored Tervis Tumblers I have been wanting.  Colleen and Devin got me a beautiful hanging basket that I had admired but dare not spend the very high price for. Michael made my favorite dinner, Chicken Parm, and got a yummy almond cake for me.

And great news for all of you... for my gift, Michael said I could pick out a dSLR camera of my choosing!  Yippee!  Finally, better pictures for all of you.  Right now I am debating between a Nikon D90 and a D5000.  It has to be able to take fabulous card/project pictures, of course.  But I also take a lot of nature pictures and family pictures (often inside in low light).  Anyone have any input?

This is the card that Jenni made me.  It features a retired set, but it is one of my favorite sets and many of you have asked me to feature retired sets, too, so that you can have inspiration for the ones you own and love.  Also, I do have one new set left for sale ($22.95) if anyone is interested.  Enjoy!

BRANCHED OUT BIRTHDAY CARD SUPPLIES:

• Stamp Sets – Branch Out (retired), Messages for Mom (W #117016 $25.95, C #118580 $18.95)
• Card stock – Whisper White, Sage Shadow, non-SU textured paper
• Ink –  Close to Cocoa, Sage Shadow, Pale Plum Classic
• Punches – Word Window (#105090, $15.95), Modern Label (#116630, $15.95)
• Accessories – Silver Brads, Retired Ribbon

ONLY 4 DAYS LEFT - DON'T MISS OUT!...

Friday is the Last Day to Order from Our Beautiful Occasions Mini!

There are lots of must-haves that you don't want to miss out on - Real Red Corduroy Buttons, Folk Flowers Stencils, Shades of Spring DSP, On Board Bird Book and some fabulous stamps sets (Well Scripted and Something Sweet are among my favorites).   Several wonderful products have already sold out, so don't delay!  These items are no longer available:

• 117161: Sweet Pea Designer Series paper stack
• 117266: Sweet Pea stitched felt
• 117236: On Board Heart Book
• 117179: Eggcellent Eggs Kit

To help with planning your purchases, the following products will appear in upcoming catalogs:

Item #	Description	Price
116519	Charming Stamp Set	$19.95
117690	Vintage Vogue WM Stamp Set	$23.95
118598	Vintage Vogue CM Stamp Set	$17.95
118882	Vague vintage WM Stamp Set	$23.95
119109	Vague vintage CM Stamp Set	$17.95
118091	Tiny Tags WM Stamp Set	$22.95
118592	Tiny Tags CM Stamp Set	$16.95
117535	DÉCOR ELEMENTS F IS FOR FOX CHOCOLATE	$4.95
117536	DÉCOR ELEMENTS G IS FOR GIRAFFE CHOCOLATE	$4.95
117529	DÉCOR ELEMENTS "IS FOR" BLACK	$1.95
117541	DÉCOR ELEMENTS L IS FOR LION CHOCOLATE	$4.95
117542	DÉCOR ELEMENTS M IS FOR MONKEY CHOCOLATE	$4.95
117544	DÉCOR ELEMENTS O IS FOR OWL CHOCOLATE	$4.95
117528	DÉCOR ELEMENTS SCALLOP FRAME BLACK	$6.95
117549	DÉCOR ELEMENTS T IS FOR TURTLE CHOCOLATE	$4.95
117552	DÉCOR ELEMENTS W IS FOR WHALE CHOCOLATE	$4.95
118072	PUNCH - PINKING HEARTS CORNER	$9.95
118870	PUNCH - SCALLOP TRIM CORNER	$9.95
117191	PUNCH - EXTRA-LARGE TWO-STEP BIRD	$15.95
118073	PUNCH - EXTRA-LARGE FANCY FLOWER	$15.95
117649	PUNCH - PINKING HEARTS BORDER	$15.95
117190	PUNCH - MEDIUM JEWELRY TAG	$10.95
117193	PUNCH - SMALL HEART	$5.95
117310	SIZZIX BIGZ LARGE MINI MILK CARTON	$32.95
118138	SIZZIX EMBOSSLITS BEAUTIFUL WINGS	$11.95
117332	SIZZIX EMBOSSLITS SCALLOPED HEART OF HEARTS	$11.95
117335	SIZZIX PERFECT POLKA DOTS EMBOSSING FOLDER	$7.95
120435	HEART TREAT CUPS	$2.95

The following products will not be featured in upcoming catalogs, but will be available while supplies last.

116772	RECIPES BY DESIGN	$24.95
118139	DECOR STENCILS FOLK FLOWERS	$12.95
117597	DECOR STENCILS PAISLEY PATTERNS 2-STEP	$14.95

 Friday, April 30 is also the last day to order Awash with Flowers until July 1 (see sample card below) and the last day to get 20% off the following sets:

 click photos to enlarge

AWASH WITH FLOWERS THANK YOU SUPPLIES:

• Stamp Sets - Awash with Flowers (W #117062, $39.95  C #120549, $27.95), Thank You Kindly (#111700, $13.95)
• Cardstock -  Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Whisper White 
• Ink - Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip, Orchid Opulence, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron Classic, Certainly Celery Stampin' Write marker 
• Ribbon - Pretty in Pink 3/8" Taffeta
• Accessories - Clips Assortment
• Tools -  Color Spritzer

N IS FOR NAUGHTY MONKEY...

Letter #5 for Baby Logan!   This little monkey is upside down to reflect his mom who's always been  off-beat and a little naughty.

Done at last!  Also, there is a picture of the whole set following.  Hope you enjoyed seeing this neat child's project.  Now to start on the scrapbook...

Oops!  Just noticed the N was upside down in the group picture.  Sorry about that!  I'll try to redo it later and update the blog picture.  If you'd like to review the details for other letters, here they are:

L is for Lion
O is for Optimistic Elephant
G is for Giraffe
A is for Awesome Tiger

N IS FOR NAUGHTY MONKEY SUPPLIES:

• Card stock – Chocolate Chip Textured, Creamy Caramel, Real Red, Tall Tales DSP
• Ink – Creamy Caramel, Certainly Celery Classic, Markers (Chocolate Chip, Ballet Blue)
• Punches – Wide Oval (#112082, $15.95),  Large Oval (#107305, $15.95), Small Oval (#107304, $15.95), 1⅜” Circle (#104401, $15.95), 1-1/4" Circle (#104403, $15.95), ¾” Circle (#107217, $10.95), Boho Blossoms (#110711, $15.95), Trio Flowers (#109183, $15.95), Crop-a-Dile (#108362, $29.95)
• Accessories – Tombow Multi, 2-way Glue Pen, Stampin' Sponges, Crystal Effects, Wood Letter, Sanding Block

MONKEY PUNCH DIRECTIONS:
As in previous punch art cards, many of my punches are done "on the edge" of cardstock with second punches done above and/or around the first cuts.  See previous punch art cards like the Christmas Elf Card  for pictures of these methods.

• Head:  Punch one 1-3/8" Circle from Chocolate Chip.  Punch one 1-1/4" Circle from Creamy Caramel.  Place on the sticky side of a post-it.  Re-punch the Circle again about halfway down.  Round out the top of the circle.  Punch one Small Oval from Creamy Caramel.  Cut in half and place under the Creamy Caramel Circle to form the eye area and affix to Chocolate Chip Circle.
• Ears:  Punch two 3/4" Circles from Creamy Caramel.
  
• Nose:  Punch one 3/16" Circle from Real Red.  Place on the sticky side of a post-it.  Re-punch the Circle again to form a more oval shape (had to match the nursery or I would have left it round).
• Body:  Punch one Wide Oval from Chocolate Chip.  Punch one Large Oval from Creamy Caramel.
• Arms: Punch a small portion of a Wide Oval from the edge of Chocolate Chip.  Punch again over and around this punch to achieve the arm.  For the hands, punch two Trio Flowers from Chocolate Chip.  Trim off two petals from each flower leaving a rounded shape on that side with your paper snips.
• Legs:  Punch a small portion of a Wide Oval from the edge of Chocolate Chip  - this time at an angle.  Punch again over and around this punch to achieve the leg.  For the feet, punch two of the smallest of the Boho Blossom flowers from Chocolate Chip.  Trim them down to three petals on one side and one petal on the opposite side.  For the soles, punch one 3/16" Circle from Creamy Caramel.  Place on the sticky side of a post-it.  Re-punch the Circle again to form a more oval shape.

A IS FOR AWESOME TIGER...

Letter #4 for Baby Logan!  Almost done...

This will be a painting weekend!  Trying to get some minor remodeling done before the in-laws come for hubby's graduation.  I hope I have better luck with this color selection!  Fingers crossed...

A IS FOR AWESOME TIGER SUPPLIES:

• Card stock – Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie, Blush Blossom, Always Artichoke, Tall Tales DSP
• Ink – Apricot Appeal, Always Artichoke, Creamy Caramel Classic, Markers (Real Red, Ballet Blue)
• Punches – Ornament (#116794, $15.95), Wide Oval (#112082, $15.95),  Large Oval (#107305, $15.95), 1” Circle (#104401, $15.95), 1/2” Circle (#104390, $5.95), 5-Petal (#109041, $15.95), Crop-a-Dile (#108362, $29.95)
• Accessories – Tombow Multi, 2-way Glue Pen, Stampin' Sponges, Crystal Effects, Wood Letter, Sanding Block

TIGER PUNCH DIRECTIONS:
As in previous punch art cards, many of my punches are done "on the edge" of cardstock with second punches done above and/or around the first cuts.  See previous punch art cards like the Christmas Elf Card  for pictures of these methods.

• Head:  Punch one Ornament from Apricot Appeal.  Cut off the hanging portion and round the pointy end. Cut two Large Stars from Pumpkin Pie.  Cut off the star ends and glue onto the face as shown.  Then trim the stripes around the Ornament head with paper snips.
• Ears:  Punch two 1/2" Circles from Apricot Appeal and two 3/16" Circles from Blush Blossom.
  
• Nose:  Use another Large Star end from those for the head.  Cut down and round top.  Handcut small triangle to fit underneath.
• Body:  Punch one Wide Oval from Apricot Appeal.  Punch one Large Oval from Blush Blossom.
• Paws: Punch a Scallop Circle Punch from Apricot Appeal.  Use the 1” Circle Punch to cut a 3 scallop portion for one paw.  Repeat for a second paw.
• Tail:  I hand-cut this to match the wavy tale of the nursery Tiger character. 
• Leaves:  Fold your Always Artichoke cardstock in half.  Punch with the Large Oval on an angle approximately one-half of the punch window on one end and just to the top of the other end to result in a pointed leaf.  Repeat three more times.

G IS FOR GIRAFFE...

Letter #3 for Baby Logan!  A couple of people have asked about the eyes.  All the letters have eyes that I drew with markers (to match the nursery characters) and then I added Crystal Effects to make them a little more dimensional.

G IS FOR GIRAFFES SUPPLIES:

• Card stock – Blush Blossom, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Tall Tales DSP
• Ink – Creamy Caramel, Blush Blossom, So Saffron Classic, Markers (Chocolate Chip, Ballet Blue, Real Red)
• Punches – Wide Oval (#112082, $15.95),  Word Window (#105090, $15.95), ¾” Circle (#107217, $10.95), 1/2” Circle (#104390, $5.95), 5-Petal (#109041, $15.95), Crop-a-Dile (#108362, $29.95)
• Accessories – Tombow Multi, 2-way Glue Pen, Stampin' Sponges, Crystal Effects, Wood Letter
• Tools – Big Shot, Ovals Die

GIRAFFE PUNCH DIRECTIONS:
As in previous punch art cards, many of my punches are done "on the edge" of cardstock with second punches done above and/or around the first cuts.  See previous punch art cards like the Christmas Elf Card  for pictures of these methods.

• Head – Punch one Wide Oval from Blush Blossom and one from Creamy Caramel.  Punch the Creamy Caramel again about 1/3 of the way up using the long side of the punch for the bottom of the head.
• Ears – Punch one 5-Petal Flower from Blush Blossom.  Cut two petals from the Flower for the ears.
  
• Horns – Punch one Word Window Punch from Blush Blossom.  Cut in half lengthwise for the horns.  Punch two 3/16" Circles from Chocolate Chip for the heads of the horns.
• Neck – Cut one large Oval from the Ovals Die. Move the Oval over about 3/4" or so to cut again for the neck.  Trim end to fit.  Punch 1/2" and 3/4" Circles from Creamy Caramel for the spots on the giraffe's neck.  Trim spots to the neck after gluing on.

O IS FOR OPTIMISTIC ELEPHANT?...

Well, maybe not.  But in this case the elephant is featured for Letter #2 for baby Logan.  This little elephant has no legs as there are no legs in any of the nursery decor elephants.  Plus, if he had legs, he wouldn't fit on the letter very well.  Enjoy!

O IS FOR OPTIMISTIC ELEPHANT SUPPLIES:

• Card stock – Going Gray, Blush Blossom, Tall Tales DSP
• Ink – Going Gray, So Saffron Classic, Markers (Basic Gray, Ballet Blue, Real Red)
• Punches – Wide Oval (#112082, $15.95), Large Oval (#107305, $15.95), ¾” Circle (#107217, $10.95), Butterfly (#116629, $15.95), Boho Blossoms (#110711, $15.95), Crop-a-Dile (#108362, $29.95)
• Accessories – Tombow Multi, 2-way Glue Pen, Stampin' Sponges, Crystal Effects, Wood Letter
• Tools – Big Shot, Ovals Die

ELEPHANT PUNCH DIRECTIONS:
As in previous punch art cards, many of my punches are done "on the edge" of cardstock with second punches done above and/or around the first cuts.  See previous punch art cards like the Christmas Elf Card  for pictures of these methods.

• Head – Punch one Wide Oval from Going Gray.
• Ears – Punch two Butterflies from Going Gray.  Trim to fit under head without showing.  Punch two 3/4" Circles from Blush Blossom.  Shape sides to fit in Ear with paper snips. 
  
• Trunk – Punch one Wide Oval from Going Gray.  Punch a portion out of the Wide Oval piece with the Large Oval punch to arrive at the trunk.
• Body – Cut one medium Oval from the Ovals Die.
• Tail – Punch a small portion of a Wide Oval from the edge of Going Gray at an angle.  Punch again over and around this punch to achieve the tail.   Punch one of the smallest Boho Blossoms flowers from Going Gray for the end of his tail. Trim with paper snips so three petals are left on one side and one rounded one on the other.

L IS FOR LOGAN...

My girlfriend Diane's daughter, Adriana, is 7 and 1/2 months pregnant.  Her husband is in the Navy and they are stationed in Sicily.  I've known Adriana since she was 10 years old and have watched her grow up.  I am so excited to be making some things for her baby.  Besides these letters, I am also working on a Baby Scrapbook for her little monkey - coming soon!  I will post one letter and the punch directions each day.

I have been planning out the letters to spell out their son's name to go over the crib for a while, but it was finally time to start actually making them!  I started with wood letters from the craft store and covered them with our Designer Series Paper.  Then I made punch art animals to accent them.  The colors/shapes on some of the animals may look a little different than I would otherwise do them, but they are designed to match the nursery decor as closely as possible (see the picture of the nursery below the letter).  I will probably apply a matte sealer to them as well.

L IS FOR LOGAN (and LION) SUPPLIES:

• Card stock – More Mustard Textured, Chocolate Chip Textured, Blush Blossom, Tall Tales DSP
• Ink – More Mustard Classic, Markers (More Mustard, Chocolate Chip, Ballet Blue)
• Punches – Wide Oval (#112082, $15.95), Large Oval (#107305, $15.95), Small Oval (#107304, $15.95), Word Window (#105090, $15.95), 1” Circle (#104401, $15.95), 1/2” Circle (#104390, $5.95), Trio Flower (#109183, $15.95), Boho Blossoms (#110711, $15.95), Crop-a-Dile (#108362, $29.95)
• Accessories – Tombow Multi, 2-way Glue Pen, Stampin' Sponges, Crystal Effects, Wood Letter

LION PUNCH DIRECTIONS:
As in previous punch art cards, many of my punches are done "on the edge" of cardstock with second punches done above and/or around the first cuts.  See previous punch art cards like the Christmas Elf Card  for pictures of these methods.

• Mane – Punch one Scallop Circle from Chocolate Chip.  Place on the sticky side of a post-it.  Re punch the Scallop Circle again lining up the space between the scallops in the middle of the scallops already punched to result in a "zig zag" edge.
• Face – Punch one 1" Circle (head) and two 1/2" Circles from More Mustard (cheeks). Punch two 3/16" circles from More Mustard (ears) and one from Chocolate Chip (nose) with the Crop-A-Dile.
  
• Body – Punch one Wide Oval from More Mustard and one Large Oval from Blush Blossom. 
• Front Legs – Punch two Word Windows from More Mustard.  Trim a little off one end and taper that end for the bottom of the leg.  For the paws, punch two Trio Flowers from More Mustard.  Trim off two petals from each flower leaving a rounded shape on that side with your paper snips.
• Back Legs – Punch two Small Ovals from More Mustard.  Punch and cut two more paws as above.
• Tail – Punch a small portion of a Wide Oval from the edge of More Mustard at an angle.  Punch again over and around this punch to achieve the tail.   Punch one of the smallest Boho Blossoms flowers from Chocolate Chip for the end of his tail.

MOJO MONDAY, APPEAL-ING MOTHER'S DAY...

Time for to get the Mojo pumping again!  For this Mother's Day card, I used a couple of my favorite Big Shot dies (Two Tags and Flower Folds) as well as two of our colors retiring at end of June (Apricot Appeal and Cameo Coral).  I managed to use only one stamp set and the great thing about this stamp set is that it also has a Happy Birthday stamp, so the center of the flower could easily be swapped out to make this a Birthday card for Mom instead.  Plus there are four lovely sentiments to choose from for the inside of your card.  This set is from the Occasions Mini Catalog and available through April 30 only!

I used the Bride Specialty Paper again for my background paper and brayered the right side with Cameo Coral (went a little overboard so it came out kind of dark) and the left side with Apricot Appeal.  Then on the left side, I also sponged on Cameo Coral and Regal Rose.  It is difficult to see the color variations in this picture (ancient camera strikes again!), but it gives it a pretty tie-dyed effect.   You can see it a little better if you click the picture to make it bigger.  To get the petals of the flowers to curl up (difficult to see in the picture), I rolled the petals between a pencil and my finger similar to the way you make curling ribbon curl with scissors. It gives the card a very 3D look.  Enjoy!

APPEAL-ing MOTHER'S DAY CARD SUPPLIES: 

• Stamp Sets – Messages for Mom (W #117016 $25.95, C #118580 $18.95)
• Card Stock – Cameo Coral, Regal Rose, Apricot Appeal, Whisper White, Bride Specialty DSP
• Ink – Apricot Appeal, Cameo Coral, Regal Rose Classic, VersaMark, Markers (Apricot Appeal, Cameo Coral, Regal Rose)
  
• Ribbon – Apricot Appeal 1/4" Grosgrain (#109040, $4.95)
• Punches – 1 1/4" Circle (#104403, $15.95)
• Accessories – Clear Embossing Powder (#109130, $4.75), Pewter Jumbo Eyelet, Fresh Favorites I & II Buttons, Stampin’ Dimensionals, crochet thread colored with Apricot Appeal Marker
• Tools – Stampin' Sponges, Brayer, Big Shot, Two Tags Die, Flower Folds Die, Color Spritzer

GORGEOUS NEW STAMPIN' UP! MAGAZINE ARRIVED...

Wahoo!  I received my May Stampin' Success magazine today!  Stampin' Success is the beautiful magazine we receive every month as a fabulous perk of being a demonstrator!  It is a great resource with lots of tips, techniques, updates on the stamping/scrapbooking/papercrafting industry, etc. - just jam-packed with fresh and fun ideas for us.  I always look forward to receiving it, but I have to say that this particular issue was especially gorgeous - truly a feast for the eyes!  And it doesn't hurt that there were five sheets of cardstock included - one of each of our new colors.  Yippee!

As many of you know, I am a little OCD (according to Jenni that is a lot OCD) and I keep all my cardstock, ink, etc. in rainbow (ROYGBIV) order.  So when I received the new cardstock samples, I promptly set about determining what my new rainbow order would be after the retirement of 30 of our colors and the addition of our new and returning colors.  It took a lot of time comparing my cardstock to the chart under a Daylight lamp, but I think I finally came up with what I would use.  I thought I would share my new line-up with those of you who are also a little OCD about your color co-ordination.

Artists use a color chart that has a color/hue order that may appear out of place to some, as they consider how much yellow, red or blue is in a color. For example, most yellows are right in the middle of the greens with yellow-greens coming before the yellows and the rest of the greens after. If you are looking for how our colors fall in this exact hue chart, I did make one.  Email me and I will send it to you.

I prefer to group colors together more while still staying close to the hue order of a color chart/table. Since more of our new/remaining "pink" colors fall in the red hue range, I am putting them just after the truer reds even though they traditionally  follow the Violets (or precede the reds). Also, I didn't distinguish the Indigos as a separate group since most people no longer consider it a part of the "spectrum", but instead a particular color shade.  Here is my Color Renovation line-up (I separated them into color groups to help you visualize the spectrum):

Bravo Burgundy
Cherry Cobbler
Real Red
Riding Hood Red
Rose Red
Melon Mambo
Regal Rose
Pretty in Pink
Pink Pirouette

Early Espresso
Chocolate Chip
Soft Suede
Crumb Cake
Cajun Craze
Tangerine Tango
Pumpkin Pie

More Mustard
Daffodil Delight
So Saffron
Very Vanilla

Always Artichoke
Old Olive
River Rock
Sahara Sand
Wild Wasabi
Certainly Celery
Garden Green

Baja Breeze
Not Quite Navy
Marina Mist
Tempting Turquoise
Bashful Blue
Pacific Point
Night of Navy

Elegant Eggplant
Perfect Plum
Rich Razzleberry

Whisper White
Basic Gray
Basic Black

Of course, you could also just go dark to light within each group as well and not consider the exact hue. It's all up to your individual perception (or OCDness).  If this rainbow order appeals to you, you may want to bookmark this for when the new colors begin on July 1.

If you would like to get your own Stampin' Up! magazine every month, contact me for more information about becoming a demonstrator!

TECHNIQUE THURSDAY, EMBOSS & BRAYER RESIST...

Tonight was my Technique Thursday class.  This time out we had Emboss Resist and Brayer Resist in preparation for my Brayering class next month.  For our Emboss Resist Technique card (bottom), we used one of the Elegant Trio Stencils, Perfect Plum Craft Ink and Iridescent Embossing Powder.  It came out so pretty and elegant - I am looking forward to using it in a card soon!

For this card, we brayered the Bride Specialty DSP with Pretty in Pink.  I love that this paper can be brayered to match any of our colors, yet still have the pattern of the DSP.  Gorgeous!  It has quickly become one of my favorites!  For the main piece, we embossed the sentiment and flowers and then sponged Pretty in Pink over the whole piece.  Then I added some Rose Red to the flowers with a sponge dauber to make them pop a bit and assembled the card.

Ir-RESIST-able MOTHERS DAY CARD SUPPLIES: 

• Stamp Sets – Well Scripted (W #117072 $19.95, C #118601 $14.95), Fifth Avenue Floral (#113734, $19.96 - 20% off in April ONLY!) 
• Card Stock – Rose Red, Whisper White, Glossy White, Bride Specialty DSP
• Ink – Rose Red, Pretty in Pink Classic, Whisper White Craft, Versamark 
• Ribbon – Rose Red 1" Double-Stitched Grosgrain (#111846, $8.95)
• Punches – Scallop Trim Border (#118402), 
• Accessories – White Embossing Powder (#109132, $4.75), Clear Embossing Powder (#109130, $4.75), Sweet Pea Stitched Felt (#117266, $7.95), Stampin’ Dimensionals,
• Tools – Sponge Daubers, Stampin' Sponges, Brayer

NECKLACE TRANSFORMS INTO A BAG CHARM...

Today, when I showed my daughter-in-law my necklace, she informed me that it looked "gangsta" or something to that effect.  Huh?  I guess the kids are of the opinion that the charm is too large for necklace.  So I popped it off, grabbed a large safety pin, threw on some of the beads and spacers from our Pretties Kit, changed the ribbon and VOILA - I now have a pin-on charm for my Scallop Square Rag Bag!  When will May get here, so I can order new charms to play with???

Working on class projects today, so nothing else to show you. :(   Maybe tomorrow...

SIMPLY ADORNED IS SIMPLY FABULOUS!...

I finally got around to ordering some Simply Adorned products.  They came in today and I have been having so much fun playing with it!  I got one necklace and one charm to try them out and see how I liked it.  WOW!  I will definitely be ordering more on my next order.  I can see making these inserts can be QUITE addicting!  I am already planning lots more...  holidays, different outfits, etc....  This is the largest Rectangle charm.  Not sure if I will leave it on the necklace or make it into a keychain and use a smaller one for the necklace.  Decisions, decisions!  :o)  This one is also perfect for wallet-size pictures to embellish!

I am posting several pictures as they were very difficult to photograph with my ancient camera.  The glare on the glass from the flash was very hard to get around and even the best of them ended up washing out the pattern of the DSP.  This was the best I could do for now.  In the future, I will probably just post pictures of the inserts not in the charms until I can save up for a new camera.  The Bloom charm is the front and the I Love Stamps Charm is the back - two completely different feels.  I love that these charms are 2-sided!  Enjoy!

BLOOM & I LOVE STAMPS CHARM NECKLACE SUPPLIES:

• Stamp Set – Bloomin' Beautiful (#111490, $25.95), Tote-ally Tess (W #117076, $22.95, C #118595, $16.95) 
• Card stock – Whisper White, Orchid Opulence, Bella Bleu DSP
• Ink – Brocade Blue, Lovely Lilac, Blush Blossom, Soft Suede Classic, Ruby Red, Summer Sun & Creamy Caramel Markers, Versamark
• Ribbon – Very Vanilla 3/8" Taffeta  
• Accessories – Simply Adorned Chain 34" (#116853, $12.95), Simply Adorned Charm 1.5" x 2" (#116799, $21.95), Dazzling Diamonds Glitter (#102023, $4.50), Crystal Effects, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Clear Embossing Powder
• Tools – Paper Snips, Crop-A-Dile, Aquapainter

MINIVAN DECOR ELEMENTS UPDATE...

Last month I posted about the Decor Elements I had put on my car so far and asked for your opinions (Decor Elements, Opinions Needed) about whether to add anything or not.  The advice seemed to split right down the middle - most demonstrators said to leave it plain and businesslike.  Most customers/stamping enthusiasts said they would put some color and creativity into it.  I appreciate all your comments and emails and carefully considered them all.  Ultimately, I decided to add a little something.  Not too much or too busy.  But I decided that I needed to show a taste of what you could do with our FABULOUS Decor Elements line.  Hopefully I inspire others to add their unique personality to their vehicle as well!

So today after church, I added these flowers to the back of my car.  No matter what I did, I just couldn't get my camera to pick up all the colors in the vinyl.  I think it's time for me to turn in my ancient relic of a camera that was among the first digital cameras available...  I hope you like the final results!  So, what do you think?

Initially, I used the larger Stampin' Up! logo (for demonstrators only on our supply list) and I cut the letters for my website address out of our White Decor Elements Vinyl Sheets with my Big Shot and our Alphabet Simple Letters Dies.  Just today, I added the Medium Flower Garden Decor Elements #116057, $16.95 pictured here: