I'm a demonstrator!

I recently became a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator because I enjoy crafting very much. It's very rewarding to create something by hand to share with the people you care for. If you want more information about Stampin’ Up!’s exciting products or the opportunities you can have as a demonstrator, please contact me.

I'm merging this blog with the Stampin' Up! one, so you're going to see some post-dated entries, but once that's all squared away I plan on being much more diligent in showing you all the things I'm working on. :)

I am super excited!

Robot Birthday

I made this card for one of my co-workers... in January... of last year -- that's how behind I am! I think robot stuff is so fun, and I'm happy that stamp makers are picking up on this trend! I found a great pack of designer paper from Jo-Ann's called Generation Tech. It was a pack full of video game/technology themed papers. This binary code sheet seemed a perfect background for the card. Then I embossed the nuts and bolts on the side in silver.

For this card I used:
Card stock: Kraft (base), Generation Tech (DSP), Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss and Basic Gray.

Stamps: Lots of Bots (SU!)

Coworker Commissions

Last year one of my supervisors had requested some cards from me for his wife, for Valentine's and her birthday (there's only 5 days difference between the two). Well this year I was pre-emptive and brought some for him to choose from beforehand. He was very appreciative and this is what he chose:

For his wife's birthday:
I love, love, LOVE punny things, so I had to get this set. I'm also digging this new DSP called Razzleberry Lemonade -- the color combinations are so perfect. It's probably the fastest pack I've gone through... I'm about to have to order more!

For this card I used:
Card stock - Kraft (base), Melon Mambo, Razzleberry Lemonade DSP and White
Stamps - Comfort Food (SU!)

And for Valentine's Day:
I learned a great watercolor technique from Kim at Stamp-a-rama during stamp club and that's how I made the rose. I had been on the fence about getting that stamp set but making this definitely convinced me to spring for it.

For this card I used:
Card stock - Kraft (base), Razzleberry Lemonade DSP and White (photopaper)
Stamps - Yummy (SU!) and Fifth Avenue Floral (SU!)

Graffiti Birthday Card

I tend to have lots of real cutesy stamps, but I wanted to make a card that had a bit of different feel, and I'm pretty happy with what I was able to do.

For this card I used:
Cardstock: Bermuda Bay (Base) and White
Stamps: Alphabet Soup (SU!) and Extreme Elements (SU!)

Card Catch-up!

Ok I've done a cruddy job of being up to date in the new year. I hardly remember November and December at all -- it's a big blur! It was super busy... it makes me think of the the John Lennon quote "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

Regardless of how hectic it was, it has been an extremely happy time. (But I'm also glad for a little breather to pay attention to the blog.)

So today I'll spend some time catching up slowly until I get up to present day stuff. But first -- here's a look at some November birthday celebrations.

My older sister had a birthday (I'll refrain from posting her age, as a courtesy). I thought this Thoreau quote was perfect for her. She has lots of great ideas, so we bought her a book on entrepreneur/business type stuff. I think she'll do really well with whatever she chooses to pursue.

For this card I used:
Cardstock: Kraft (base), Chocolate Chip, Sweets Pack DSP and White
Stamps: Live Your Dreams (SU!)

This next card is for my younger niece's birthday. Her birthday was actually in September (on the same day as my brother's birthday), but I wasn't able to come out until November because of my work schedule. She likes sweets alot, so I thought this was a cute theme.

For this card I used:
Card stock - Kraft (base), Chocolate Chip, and Sweets Pack DSP and White
Stamps: Bitty Birthday (SU!)

This last one was for my older niece. She plays the viola so I chose a music background. It's neat seeing my nieces grow up and really become their own people.

For this card I used:
Card stock - Kraft (base), Soft Suede, Melon Mambo, Sweets Pack DSP and White
Stamp: Animal Crackers (SU!)

Work Birthday

My co-worker Meredith turned 22 yesterday, so I made this card. Birthdays are fun at work, we always get cake. I can't help but think about that scene in Office Space where Melvin(?) doesn't get to have a piece.

I've totally gotten my money's worth out of the Animal Crackers set. Who could hate it -- it's cute animals and puns! I used a few of these stick on pearls which I think are adorable... to the point that I sometimes hoard it, but I have been getting better about using things up. As long as I take a picture, I think I can part with some of these things now. I hope kraft colored paper doesn't go out of style anytime soon, it's so great to use!

For this card I used:

Card stock - Kraft (base), So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Tea Time DSP and white

Stamp - Animal Crackers (SU!)

Halloween Treats

Happy Halloween!

While I'm not super nutty about this holiday, I do love any reason to celebrate and make fun things. For work I made these cute little treat boxes. I learned it at Stamp Club last week with and you can see the instructions here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/trianglebox/

At Stamp Club we made a Christmas one, so I adapted it and made my Halloween ones. I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out. First I cut and scored my paper. Then I ran it through the Cuttlebug and tied it off with orange ribbon.

Next I stamped this small spider image and mounted it on a piece of Pumpkin Pie cardstock (how appropriate!) I even put a bit of Crystal Effects on the spider part, for added cuteness.

Scored and folded it to make it a mini card on the outside of the box.

Then I stamped the outside with "Eek! You're Sweet"

It was fun making them (I made 16 in all). It's been awhile since I've made something that wasn't mostly pre-designed so I'm happy with the final product.

For this box I used:

Card stock - Black, Pumpkin Pie and White

Stamps - Random Spider (I'm guessing just a Hobby Lobby one, I got it as a bonus with an eBay auction I won) and Sweet Centers (SU!)