A Spooktacular Offer for You!

Would you like to:

• Have a business of your own that combines fun and creativity
• Create an income from home or online
• Be part of a fun "we're going places" team
• Receive a discount on all your papercrafting products
• Receive all my tutorials for free!
• Have access to fantastic ideas from other demonstrators
• Opportunity to earn incentive trips (think Caribbean cruise)

I'd love to have you join my team and help you create the business you want! Whether it's earning an income or getting a discount and enjoying the perks, I'd love to help you do just that!

Stampin' Up! has a special promotion that makes starting your own business (or just receiving a discount) more fun than ever. For the month of August it's just $99 to get started.

You receive $125 of your choice of product and....

receive the  Howl-o-ween Printer's Tray Project Kit  set shown above!

Great for Halloween and then switch it out for other holidays or celebrations.

The Printer's Tray Project includes

• Toxic Treats stamp set (wood or clear mount)
• The papers shown along with a full pack of Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Baker's Twine and the right amount of ribbon and buttons to complete the finished pictured project.
• Extra cool is that the Howl-O-Ween project kit is exclusive to Stampin'Up! -
• don't miss out!

                                                               Let's create it together!

Click here to join now or email me for more info.

Convention Bling!

Just a fun little convention gift I put together for a downline that wasn't able to make it there this year. Missed her and so look forward to next year!

We each received amazing totes at convention in Summer Starfruit and Very Vanilla,

(check those out here!) so thought I would duplicate the colors and the Chevron pattern in my own rendition to give Renee. (I have a coffee date with her this morning at 9am so am hoping she doesn't see this post before we meet!) You will want to check out her blog here.

The purse is filled with goodies from Memento Mall - an amazing shopping stop that SU! provides for us, as well as one of the banners I made there (there are so many fun classes!) and a card I made after arriving home  with one of the free exclusive stamp sets we were given while there.

Check out the very cool saying! The tag says "you are". How fortunate we each are to have good friends that we can say this about!

Woo hoo! A Free Tutorial for You!

                                             Flowered Garden Tote

I am so excited to offer you this free tutorial download for a grown-up version of my Summer Smooches Garden Tote. It will hold 4-6 regular size cards and their envelopes or a nice size gift. It's quick to put together with an easy to follow eight page tutorial complete with photos and step-by-step directions. Just click below to get started.

If you've ever wondered "why would I purchase a tutorial?", try this one out for free. It's like having a private class, just for you, any time you like.

Share it with a friend, teach it in a class - it's up to you. Refer your friends or students to my blog for their free download! Easy as that!

                                                  Flowered Garden Tote Tutorial
                                                       free download            
                                                                                                

Happy 8th Birthday Kaylee!

Here she is! One of the cutest little gals in the world - and just happens to be our oldest grand-daughter!

Not the best pic, but the most recent. She actually had just gotten her pink and blue cast. A big oops! on a 3-wheeler scored her a broken wrist. Big ouch and a very lucky little gal that nothing more happened. She has such a sunny attitude, as the picture shows and is a tremedous little gymnast (when there's no cast!)

Happy, happy 8th birthday, Kaylee!

And just a few more people.... this one from the SU! convention.

Wouldn't you love to be part of a fun group like this? One that's going places, making money and having such a great time doing it! Let's chat... about how I can help you be there next year.

And now a sneak preview of something new that will be available tomorrow!

And, yes, I know the hearts are upside down - whoops!

Not So Spooky, Spooky!

A fun light hearted Halloween card that all started by a card I saw online that really doesn't look anything like this - but it was my jumping off point. Really, it was just the banner idea that sparked a card in me. What sparks a card in you? For me this week, it's been a shirt, an awesome dress I saw on Sunday (that card is coming!) and the delightful paper bags we received at convention.

 The Perfect Pennants Punch makes quick and easy work of this card. I wanted to keep it simple yet elegant with a few pearls to anchor the banners and a bit of bling! Pair it with a great stamp set and new DSP that will be available August 1st in the new Holiday Catalog. Request your catalog today!

                                                     Petite Pennants Builder Punch

Stampin'Up! Convention 2012

I AM ....

jazzed, excited, grateful, enthusiastic and grateful again!

Check out this beautiful bag and the gifts we received from Stampin' Up! Amazing!

What a tremendous time we had at the 2012 Stampin' Up! convention! Wish I could have met each one of the wonderful demonstrators (think 3,500!) that were there, but nevertheless, I loved your enthusiasm and what each of you added to the event!

And Becky Roberts... you are the most amazing upline!

We were greeted on Wednesday to a wonderfully upbeat get-together, a great buffet and look at this very special gift. - a great hand sewn bag with buttons, ribbon and Paper Snips!

 Thank you, Becky, again for a wonderful time and congratulations on your amazing achievements!

There were amazing samples - hundreds of them! Super creative, the best of the best!

Fantastic seminars - one of my favorite was by Jason Ryan Dorsey, author of My Reality Check Bounced. He was amazing and gave us a very humorous, realistic look at the different generations and how we can appreciate each other. Laughed til we cried and loved it!

So.... join me next year at Stampin' Up!'s 25th Anniversary! 

Mark your calendar for July 18-20, 2013 in Salt Lake City, UT. 

See you tomorrow when I'm back to share some of the fantastic ideas that were shared with us at convention! Missed you if you weren't there!

My Digital Studio Updates

Okay, how fun is this!

And, does it remind you of anyone you know?

Hopefully it reminds you of you.... and a good friend or two, or three.

First, I'd like to tell you who this saying especially reminds me of and then I will share how you can create this also.

We were priviledged, through another terrific friend of mine, to meet a young couple (back when we were kind of a young couple, hah!) that are outstanding. We knew them as they began their family, which is now a wonderful family of four children, who are graduating, getting first jobs, etc. But from the get-go, what was special about Tammy is her incredible ability to turn lemons into lemonade, her can'ts into cans, and ultimately her dreams into plans.

She began an online business, before it was cool, not because she knew the ropes or had all the answers, but in her quest to find answers she realized others are looking for answers also. She took the answers she found, made them available on her website and her business grew! Recently, she took her desire to learn more about becoming a potter and started youtubing her goal of creating a cup a day. She has a huge following, has a personality that lights up a room and not only am I so proud of her, she has been a tremendous inspiration to me.

I know her as Tammy Jo but you may know her as the Hobby Potter or the creator of RentalDecoratingDigest.com Check her out - she's, well, as she posted the other day,

"A dog in the hunt doesn't know it has fleas"! You know when you get so inspired you forget all else that can hold you back? Yeah...it's been one of those kinds of days!!!

So above is a card I made for her. It's created with MyDigitalStudio from Stampin' Up! 

Here's the dealio - today you can download a free 30-day trial of MyDigitalStudio. You can play with it for 30 days, create cards, albums, use their printing services if you like - all for free for 30 days. Then you can decide if it's something you want to own for keeps.

Each Tuesday Stampin' Up! releases new dowloads. So Tammy's card was made from one of the downloads made available this week.

What is very, very cool is you can sign up to receive an email notification of what their new downloads are each week.

Just click here to let me know you'd like to be updated each Tuesday, it's that easy!

Happy Stamping!

Penny

Off to Convention!

Well, the swaps are all done ( almost 100!), we're packed and we're on our way to the the 2012 Stampin' Up! convention.

We look forward to four days of fun, learning, making new friends and getting lots of creative ideas. I hope you're joining us there! If not - next year for sure!

Blogging will be a tad slow the next couple of days while I'm gone, but I'll be back Monday morning with new ideas and projects to share.

Meanwhile - here's our grandson, Brittyn, and the card he made as he was working with me last Saturday. It's his "swap" - a great looking coffee cup! He's ours for sure!

H is for Hooray!

H is for Hip-hip-hooray, also!

Hip-hip-hooray for each of you that are going to the SU! convention next week.

They're gearing up to give us an unforgettable time and I can't wait!

This card puts the sweet Storybook friends stamp set in the spotlight along with the

Typeset Alphabet Die.

It makes me smile to be able to die cut letters - so crisp and clean.

I just enjoy fonts of any type, actually. I love to decorate with them too!

And what about dressing up a lunch bag - just a regular paper sack transformed with a little DSP, ribbon and a button. I adhered the DSP to the top of the envelope and then ran it through the Big Shot using the largest Labels Collection Die. Perhaps a little over the top for every day, but sure would be sweet for a special lunch or even a gift bag.

How many of you remember doing cursive and making your "Z's" this way. Z's and Q's were my very favorite to practice with their swirly-dos! Do kiddos even do that anymore what with all their txt msgs idk cd b! 

And that's where card making and card giving come in again - something special to receive in the mail, to enjoy today, tuck away and enjoy again another day, perhaps years down the road.

Save America - send a card!

And here's how you cut the lunch bag with the Top Note Die. This pic was after the fact so you can adhere your DSP in place first and then cut it. Tip: There's a front and back to lunch bags so adhere your DSP to the side without the seam going down the center - how did I get that smart?  Hmmm..... smile.   I also use a small piece of removable tape to hold my dies in place.

A Reason to Smile!

Baja Breeze and Tangerine Tango - wow, I love these two colors together!

This great flower is from the awesome "Reason to Smile" stamp set that you can purchase for $5 when you place a $50 order (during the month of July 2012)
 What a fantastic promotion Stampin' Up! has right now! Click here for more info.

Do you love this woodgrain embossing folder or what?! It will be available August 1st in the new Holiday Catalog.  I love them! It works great with summery looking cards but you will not want to enter the fall season without it! Just wait and see what we have in store with this embossing folder! Look how crisp and clean the embossing is - have you noticed a difference with the brand new embossing folders? I'm kinda likin' it!

Reason to Smile

130828c

Need for Speed!

Need for Speed - definitely for the guys in our lives!

As I'm sure we all do, I looked through my cards and realized I needed some more masculine cards. So pulled out this great set and got to work. There's a vehichle for every guy in this set.

I thought the Houndstooth embossing folder looked a bit like tire tracks,
so decided to create banners with them.

A little paper piercing at the ends to emphasize the "V"'s.

The "Take a Ticket" wheel was used for a little color on the side.

(has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that someone in our family recently

got stopped and got off with a warning! Hint: see yesterdays post :)

I've just been wanting to use this wheel and thought it went well, smile!

I also wanted to give you an update on Renee's blog - there's been a name change and you can find her very creative site at cupocreativity.blogspot.com 

You'll be glad you stopped by for a peek!

Need for Speed

122715w

122717c

Take a Ticket - 126941

Happy Birthday to our Son-in-law!

Today is our son-in-law, Rod's, birthday! And this is the card I made for him this year
(and actually got it mailed off in time!)

Postage Due is one of my favorite sets in the new catalog and these wonderful metal buttons are a great accent for it. They happen to be another sneak peek from the Holiday catalog.

I stamped the background with Versamark ink onto Crumb Cake card stock. The banner is Baja Breeze, embossed with the Chevron Embossing folder, and trimmed with Early Espresso. I created the rolled effect at the top by rolling the Early Espresso around 

a skewer - stays in place great!

A couple of stamps, also from the Postage Due set are stamped with Early Espresso ink

and cut out with the Postage Stamp Punch ( love that punch!)

And here's the son-in-law! Love you lots and have a great birthday!

If you don't have a new catalog yet, I'd be happy to put one in the mail to you!

2012-2013 Stampin' Up! catalog

$5.95 includes shipping

Postage Due

126395w $21.95

126397c $16.95

I love this jar!

Another appearance of this wonderful little jar and the die cut that comes with it! It's still a sneak peek of the Holiday catalog so can't give away too much, but I can entice you with a few pictures.

I designed this as one of my card swaps for the SU! convention - next week, woohoo! I can't wait to be there and am thrilled to be taking my Mom with me. It will be nonstop learning, fun and inspiration I know!

Here's a close up as it's a little hard to tell in the first photo that I used a window sheet so you look through to see the stamped jar. Baja Breeze and Real Red seem to go well when paired with Whisper White.

• Cut the jar out of the top layer of Whisper White using the jar die, emboss it with the Adorning Accents Folder and then adhere a window sheet to the back of it.  
• Stamp the jar in Baja Breeze onto the die that was cut out, then the cherries in Real Red
  and Gumball Green, adhere the pearls and adhere to Baja Breeze which has been
  distressed on all edges (kind of like can be sometimes, hah!)
• Stamp the jar lid in Real Red and top off with a little Bakers Twine tied in a bow
  through a  Designer Button.
• Using Glue Dots adhere two folded pieces of Real Red Ribbon to top right hand corner before assembling card.
  
  Now off to make twenty seven more!
  Happy Stamping!
  Penny

Holiday Catalog Sneak Peek!

This is a special week for me as I have my Mom with me and she fortunately loves to stamp as much as I do! The guys are gone overnight so we've got the house to ourselves and can stamp all night if we want to! We'll see how long we last...

My new pre-order from the Holiday Catalog arrived this afternoon in the middle of an incredible wind storm - bless that dear UPS man - and  we've been stamping ever since. 

 I thought I would share two cards we made from a brand new set that I know I will use over and over again. How many things can you put in a great little glass jar? Marbles, flowers, buttons, veggies, fruit .....

And this one really should have my Mom's watermark on it, if only she had one. We may have to get Ben to design her one! (think Becky Robert's son) Isn't this card great? I love the pear and the cute jar topper and the wood button!

You'll have to check back August 1st for a chance to order this delightful set along with all the other wonderful products from the Holiday catalog.  Remember, this is only a sneak peek!

But now, if you were a demonstrator... you could order today! Did you know that for $99  you can start your own business and choose $125 worth of product (your choice of product) plus  get in on all the pre-orders, demonstrator magazine, website, ideas, tips and have fun with Becky and I as we stamp our way to success! Questions? Contact me @ stampsnsmiles@gmail.com

Saturday Farmers Market, a thank you and a welcome!

Our Saturday morning started with a three mile walk (coffee in hand!) along the Boise River. It's always a beautiful place to spend some time, a great walking path, a nice river, and people out enjoying the day.

Thirty seven years with this wonderful gentleman! Still fun to spend time with him! 

On to the Farmer's Market - a favorite stop of ours with it's incredible produce

and flowers and musicians!

Isn't this a very cool sign - first time I had noticed it!

Besides the great bread sticks, which we always eat while we're browsing, a hand held rhubarb pie is high on our list!



And now for a card and fun mini-tutorial!

I needed a simple card... to go along with scones for a friend and a neighbor and this will work just fine.

I had seen twist ties re-made with paper and tho't I'd give it a try. Kinda' fun!

Here's how to make them.... I just started with regular twist ties - mine came with the cellophane bags I had bought. Cut 1/4" strips of DSP, adhere sticky strip to wrong side of one strip of DSP. Adhere to twist tie and then add second 1/4" strip of DSP on top. What if you embellished the edges with scallops? Could be kind of cute!

 

Post Script: After posting, I had to run back up to my stampin' room and create a few in bright polka dots - and with embellished edges! The Finishing Touches Edgelit makes a perfect little sawtooth border! Ta Da!

Have a wonderful week! Penny