Early Mother's Day gifts

It was an early Mother's Day for some special Mom's and one special sister on Easter. I will be away on vacation on Mother's Day this year so I gave them their gift early. I got the idea from fellow Stampin' Up! demo Nelia Harper in this post. As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to make these as gifts.

This is another sneak peek of the Strength & Hope set you will be able to order on May 1st - next week! It is a set of four stamps and when you purchase the stamp set Stampin' Up! will donate $2 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. 

Also, used in this notepad is the stamp set Four Frames which you can order until April 30th. Then it won't be available again until July 1st when the new Idea Book & Catalog is released. The Four Frames set coordinates with the Decorative Label punch which I am loving these days.

I purchased the 4x6 clear photo holder at my local Christmas Tree Shop. You can probably find these at office supply stores or maybe even a dollar store. I will most likely make up some more of these for my Fall craft fairs. I think they are great for the office (at home or at work) or to just leave near the phone to jot down notes.

Supplies:

Stamps: Strength & Hope, Four Frames

Ink: Basic Gray, Blushing Bride

Paper: In Color 6x6 Designer Series Paper, Whisper White & Blushing Bride cardstock

Other: Big Shot, Beautiful Wings embosslit, Basic Pearl Rhinestone, Decorative Label punch, 1 3/8 circle punch, 1 1/4 circle punch, Whisper White organza ribbon, Scallop Trim border punch, post-it notes, 4x6 photo holder

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to you. I hope you have a lovely day celebrating with family. The sun is currently out and shining so hopefully the rain has gone away for today. This year we have family visiting from across the country so it has been a nice Easter weekend so far. We have a tradition on my Mom's side that we get together and make homemade Italian pasta cappelletti's for Christmas and Easter dinner so it is always a dinner you look forward to.

I am sharing two petal cone Easter treats. I was inspired by one I saw on Stampin' Connection, the forum for Stampin' Up! demonstrators. This is just the right size for a little treat. I fit a small bag of jelly beans, a few Peanut butter cups and a little bunny. With these I just popped them into a cello bag and tied off the top with a piece of ribbon. You could also add a piece of ribbon and make a hanging treat. 

So these are made with the Petal Cone die and it is two dies cut out and adhered together with Sticky strip. I cut out the extra chocolate scallop pieces for the front and back to dress it up a bit. The scallop pieces are also right in the Petal Cone die. After I had these put together I realized the celery one reminds me of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream. Yum!

Supplies:

Stamps: All Holidays

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Paper: So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

Other: Big Shot, Petal Cone die, 1 3/4" Scallop circle punch, 1 1/4 circle punch, 1 3/8 circle punch, Sticky strip

Petal Cone Carrots

This carrot treat made out of the petal cone die was demonstrated at the Regional event back in March. I thought it was perfect to make a bunch for Easter and put a little bunny inside. I have seen these all over blogs the past few weeks filled with lots of different treats.

These go together very quickly. Half a sheet of Pumpkin Pie 8.5 x 11 cardstock then a small piece of Old Olive for the scallop top part. Then a small piece of Whisper White for the banner. All three of the pieces come in the Petal Cone die for the Big Shot. You cut off one of the top flaps then adhere along the side with sticky strip. 

I decided to add a bit of texture to the front so ran through my Big Shot with the Perfect Polka dot embossing folder before adhering. I also decided to add a faux bow with my 1/4" Old Olive ribbon & bitty button. Can you also see that my banner is curled? You can get this effect by curling your paper using your bone folder like you are curling ribbon for a gift.

Supplies:

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Old Olive

Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Whisper White

Other: Big Shot, Petal Cone die, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Old Olive 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, bitty button, linen thread

Tooth Fairy Tins

Here are some really cute Tooth Fairy tins that I made up for my fair a few weeks ago. They feature the Tooth Fairy single stamp available in the Idea Book & Catalog for $7.95

I have seen these around a few places so not sure who the original designer is. The tins are from my local craft store in the wedding section. Inside the tin I cut a circle of cotton batting to lay the tooth on. The tins open very easily so a small child can add the tooth no problem.

I colored in the stamp mostly with markers and then used my marker and aquapainter on the dress to give it a softer look. I have an wonderful tip about using the Stampin' Up! markers. You can color your white taffeta ribbon in any color you have for a marker. I colored some of my white ribbon for the ribbon around the bottom of the tin and the faux bow on these. Use just use the wide tip of the marker and color one side then let dry before adhering. 

If you are local I am selling these for $2 each. Available in pink (not pictured), blue, green or purple.

Supplies:

Stamp: Tooth Fairy

Ink: Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Perfect Plum, So Saffron, Blush Blossom markers

Paper: Whisper White cardstock

Other: White taffeta ribbon, Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon, 1 3/4 circle punch, tins from craft store, Sticky strip

Strength & Hope Sneak Peek!

This is a card I made with the new stamp set Strength & Hope that will be in the Stampin' Up! Summer Mini catalog starting on May 1st. I was super excited to be able to get this set early and start creating, This set is near and dear to my heart for many reasons. First being that it reminds me of my Mom since she had so much strength & hope throughout her cancer battle which she sadly lost in December 2007. Second when you purchase this set (starting May 1st) Stampin' Up! will donate $2 from the sale to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. 

I hope to share many projects with you using this lovely set over the new few months. This card idea came from a swap that I photographed at the Hartford, CT Regional event. I believe the creator was Sandra Rosario from NY. I made my card for a swap for our team meeting last week with the theme of ribbon. Overall the card doesn't have much ribbon, but it is used in a different way. 

The Strength & Hope stamp set is available in clear-mount ($13.95) or wood-mount ($17.95) or in the form of a Digital kit. The Digital kit includes a four-piece stamp brush set, 12 Designer Series Papers and 10 embellishment pieces ($9.95). Look for more information on this promotion on May 1st and stay tuned for a few more sneak peeks until then.

Supplies:

Stamps: Strength & Hope

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla

Other: Big Shot, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Pretty in Pink 3/8" taffeta ribbon, Rhinestone Basic jewels

Spring is Blossoming Downline Gift

My downline Colleen just promoted to Senior Associate - way to go girlfriend! I wanted to give her something small at the team meeting last week so I put together this quick treat holder using an envelope. The idea came from Catherine Pooler. Inside I put a roll of Stampin' Up! ribbon for her.

You take a Stampin' Up! envelope and seal it up then punch one end with a border punch. Then I cut a 2 x 12" piece of Designer Series Paper from the Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper. I used the same scallop border punch on the DSP and then adhered it in the back of my envelope. I added a piece of Cherry Cobbler seam binding around the front and tied a nice bow. Then I stamped my label from the Four Frames stamp set in Cherry Cobbler and punched out with my Decorative Label punch. The Congratulations comes from Baby Bundle also stamped in Cherry Cobbler and punched out with my Small oval punch. Adhered those two together and then adhered to the envelope with some dimensionals.

The DSP and stamp set which will be in the upcoming 2011-2012 catalog are part of the Spring is Blossoming promotion going on right now. These two items are available through April by:

• Spend $20 on any Stampin' Up! products and become eligible to purchase both the Four Frames Set and Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper.
• Host a $350 workshop and get the Four Frames Set and Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper for FREE

Supplies:
Stamps: Four Frames, Baby Bundle
Ink: Cherry Cobbler
Paper: Paisley Petals DSP, Very Vanilla cardstock
Other: Very Vanilla envelope, Cherry Cobbler seam binding, Scallop border punch, Decorative Label punch, Small oval punch, Dimensionals

Easter Pencil Treats

The sun is shining brightly this morning so it makes me forget that it snowed here yesterday. Hopefully the snow is gone in the next few days as we should hit 50 degrees. What does this all mean? Spring is here and Easter will be right around the corner. I always like to make some treats that don't involve candy.

I showed this pencil treat for Valentine's Day. These are fairly simple to make:
- Cut your cardstock to 2" x 11" (you can get 4 from one piece of 8.5" x 11") and score at 6.5 & 6 7/8
- Cut your Designer Series Paper to 1 3/4 x 6 1/8 and 1 3/4 x 3 7/8
- Adhere DSP to cardstock shorter piece in the front and longer piece in the inside. You could do another longer piece for the back, but I kept it just cardstock
- Punch a hole with a 1" circle punch in the bottom section only about 1/2" down from the top
- Add sticky strip above the punched hole and adhere to the back
- Add your pencils you could also add a pencil & lollipop but I was going for a non-candy item
- Add your ribbon around and tie in a knot or bow

I did use mostly retired products in making these. The ribbons are currently available in my Online Store in the Clearance Rack for amazing prices.

If you are local I am selling these for $2 each. They come in green, yellow, blue or pink as shown.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Supplies:
Stamps: Year Round Fun II (retired)
Ink: Black Stazon, Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Perfect Plum, Pink Pirouette markers
Paper: Delicate Dots DSP (retired)
Other: 1 3/4 scallop circle punch, 1 3/8 circle punch, 1 1/4 circle punch, Ribbon Bundle (retired), Pink Pirouette 5/8 striped grosgrain ribbon (retired), pencils (local dollar store)

Sping is Blossoming April Special

I just got home from the Denim & Diamonds event at Presentation of Mary in Methuen and would like to give a shout out to the fabulous ladies that attended tonight. Also a big thank you to Colleen my downline for helping me man my table.

Stampin' Up! announced several specials starting today April 1st - no joke!

First is the Spring is Blossoming promotion which runs April 1st - April 30th. When you spend $20 you are eligible to buy the stamp set Four Frames Stamp set and Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper. Also, if you have a $350 workshop you get these two items for free! Contact me today to setup a workshop aka private class for your friends & family to take advantage of this amazing deal.

Here are two cards made by Stampin' Up with the Spring is Blossoming items:

Also, there are some new goodies in my Online Store in the Clearance Rack. There are three grab bag options for $5, $10 and $15. These items are while supplies last so take advantage of them right away. 

Item	Description
125873	$5 Grab Bag (containing at least $20 worth of products!)
125874	$10 Grab Bag (containing at least $40 worth of products!)
125875	$15 Grab Bag (containing at least $60 worth of products!)

I will be sharing some items from Denim & Diamonds over the next week or so. If you are interested in any of the items let me know asap.