Yippee-Skippee! A jar of taffy from a friend

 

Yippee-Skippee! has some fun stamps in the set. You can find it on page 37 of the annual catalog. Here, the words top a jar filled with some yummy taffy.

 

My friend and downline, Barb, gave me this adorable 3d item just because. She's the sweetest! Barb is a whiz with the Little Leaves Sizzlit (page 188, $5.50) and the Pansy Punch (page 183, $15.95). And she's right - you can never have too much happy!

 

To order any Stampin' Up! item, please visit my Online Store at http://therubberroom.stampinup.net. Use the hostess code this month - AKS76R6P - and you'll be entered into my October 1 drawing to win FREE hostess benefits.

 

Here's the first letter of my SPOOKY Halloween banner. You're invited to come and make one at my studio on Saturday, October 5, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for only $15. There's room for a few more people. If you'd like to make this banner, I need to know by Wednesday, Sept. 25, so I can order a kit for you. Just email me at ericandterry@comcast.net.

 

 

My fun vintage share today - a Planters Peanut tray. See more terrific antique and vintage items at http://www.facebook.com/booth6goods.



Papillon Potpourri in blue and green

 

My friend and downline, Barb, made this striking Papillon Potpourri card for her American Ink team gathering swap last Saturday. I love that she used the Flower Garden embossing folder and adhered the punched butterflies over it with dimensionals. This is definitely a color combo I'll file away to use in the future. I love it!

Pleasant Poppies pop on label framelit

 

My mother-in-law and downline, Ginette, came up with this card design on her own for a swap at Saturday's demo gathering. It uses the Pleasant Poppies background stamp on a label framelit. The Melon Mambo front of the card was embossed using the Fancy Fans folder, and Ginette used an Itty Bitty punch to punch a flower out of each corner, then added a pearl.

Embossed Mosaic Madness swap

The Crisp Cantaloupe color with white and Crumb Cake feel so crisp to me... refreshing. I love cards like this during the summer. This was Puddin's swap. She's my friend and downline. Stamps from the Mosaic Madness set were used, as well as the Modern Mosaic embossing folder. I love that she cut along the embossed lines on the white layer. It's so pretty.

A Perfect Blend of designer paper scraps

My bestie Kim brought this cute Perfect Blend make & take Saturday to our American Ink team gathering. I love that it uses smallish strips of Quattrefancy designer series paper on a Whisper White card. As one of my downline observed - this would make a great card in which to include a gift card to Starbucks!

Mixed Bunch fabulousness in new In Colors

 

The In Colors never looked better than they do on my good friend Barb's fabulous make and take she brought for everyone in our American Ink group to make recently. I love the Pistachio Pudding card, stretch ribbon and punched flower with the Crisp Cantaloupe card stock layer and button. Fabulous! The flower is from the Mixed Bunch stamp set (p. 89), and was punched using the Blossom punch (p. 183).

To order any of these items (and so much more!) please visit my Online Store at http://therubberroom.stampinup.net. Thanks!

Pumpkin kit has more life than just one project

 

Once you've made a My Paper Pumpkin kit, you can still use the 1" square ink spot and stamp to create more projects. Bonnie is one of my amazing downline. Not only did she bring doughnuts, coffee and creamer to our American Ink team gathering Saturday, she also sewed each of us our own journal and used products from My Paper Pumpkin kit for her make & take.

American Ink swaps with sneak peeks and a mini ironing board

 

The new Quatrefancy Specialty designer paper really stands out on this white card. I stamped a long stamp from Mosaic Madness in Pool Party. In hindsight, I think Island Indigo would've been a better choice. Anyway, I used one of the framelits from Apothecary Accent Framelits for the sentiment from Sassy Salutations.

 

 

Barb's swap uses the Honeycomb embossing folder and smallest butterfly punch. The card is Soft Suede with Calypso Coral and new In Color Crisp Cantaloupe. The sentiment is from Bring on the Cake.

 





Frankie's swap uses the new Wildflower Meadow single stamp (she did an incredible amount of coloring with markers - amazing!), and the coordinating embossing folder with the same name. The sentiment is from Petite Pairs.

Kim's swap uses the new Mosaic Madness stamp set, Mosaic Punch, along with the Modern Mosaic Textured embossing folder. "You're Amazing" comes from the stamp set with that same name.

 

Mary Ann's swap uses Floral Fusion Sizzlits, and a sentiment from the Perfectly Penned stamp set.

 

I really enjoy myself at these get-togethers. I'm planning a group retreat August 10-11 at my studio. I'll be prepping a couple of projects for everyone who shows up, as well as prepping random cards for everybody to make as a service project for our troops and a local nursing home.

 

 

Of course I have to share this adorable mini ironing board. That little wooden piece locks the leg in, so it doesn't collapse; otherwise, it does collapse to store easily. The "iron"ic thing - I don't iron. lol

 

Happy Mother's Day to all of my friends! I hope you have a wonderful day of laziness.



Vintage Verses and a sweet little valentine treat

 

I am so blessed to be able to spend stamping time outside of my monthly demonstrator gatherings with some of my downline. Barb created this beautiful card above. It uses Vintage Verses (a Sale-a-Bration stamp set you may pick for FREE when you order $50+), some Core'dinations card stock, and Parker's Patterns dsp. I love that she added pearls along the diagonal line.

 

 

Michelle brought an adorable heart-shaped sucker that's wrapped in plastic, then we put it in a bag and added a Honeycomb-embossed topper with some 2-toned ribbon and a soda pop top. The soda pop top has a circle of More Amore Specialty dsp in it, with an adorable elephant holding a tiny heart from A Fitting Occasion.

Super cute Aviary card with a framelit window

Join my friend and downline Barb as she creates a super cute window card using the Aviary stamp set and Label Framelits for the Big Shot.

You may order these products through my Online Store (open 24/7) at http://therubberroom.stampinup.net. Thanks!

American Ink fall and Halloween swaps ROCK!

Barb's swap

I truly enjoy my American Ink team gatherings. There are always great swaps, fun make & takes, a Workshop Wow! and technique, and yummy food. We talk about the current specials (right now it's the Back to Spool - a free roll of In Color ribbon for every $40 purchased), upcoming events (SU! Regional Seminar in Tacoma on Sept. 29), and more! This is a great group of women. If you'd like to join, there's always room. You can sign up in minutes online at my website - http://therubberroom.stampinup.net.



Barb's make and take

Frankie

 

Ginette

 

Kim

 

Sharlene
 

I hope you enjoy seeing these projects. I've got to head out for a private class tonight! I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

American Ink swaps features techniques and new products

At our American Ink team gathering just over a week ago, we shared everything from Memento Mall items, general session news and prizes, class tips and more. It was a jam-packed afternoon. We also discussed the upcoming SU! Regional Seminar (there's still room, and if you'd like to attend as a guest, it's $75, and you need to have a demonstrator sign you up. The seminar is Sept. 29 in Tacoma.)

 

Special thanks to Ginette for demonstrating a Workshop Wow! - the ornament from the cover of the Holiday Catalog. We were all laughing and having fun!

 

I know I didn't get photos of all of the swaps or make & takes. I'm sorry about that! Here are the ones I did get:

 

Puddin's swap uses a fun watercolor technique and the Apothecary Accent Framelits with the Tea Shoppe stamp set.

 

Kim's make & take uses Core'dinations Card Stock and Labels Framelits.

 

Barb's Frightening Feline swap uses new ribbon and Howlstooth & Scaringbone dsp with the Chevron embossing folder.

 

Kim's Perfectly Preserved swap uses the Windows Framelits, Orchard Harvest dsp and Argyle embossing folder.

 

Frankie's Googly Ghouls embossed swap uses the Doily sizzlit and Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder.

 

Guest demo Kathleen's swap (sorry it's blurry!) uses Mixed Bunch and Teeny, Tiny Wishes.

 

Our next team meeting is the 2nd Saturday of September at 11 a.m. at my studio. If you'd like to attend as a guest, please contact me at tblaisink@gmail.com.

Bea's embossed Tricky Treats card

 

One of my friends and downline, Bea, made this adorable Tricky Treat cards. I love the web-embossed panels of color, as well as the googly eyes on the spider. I'm adding this to The Great Pumpkin Blog Hop from here because Bea doesn't have a blog.

A fun day of rewards for my team achievers

I enjoyed a wonderful day with members of my American Ink team who are achievers. They earned a day of being spoiled by me for 1) earning a title of senior supervisor and above; 2) recruiting; 3) promoting to the next title; or 4) their sales. Though 11 in my group qualified for my rewards event, only five were physically able to show up today. I'll be mailing the others' gifts on Monday.

Today, I made these ladies a salad bar and baked potato with all the fixin's for lunch at my studio. And since temperatures were expected to reach 90 degrees, we had sherbet for dessert!

Each woman received a goody bag I'd sewn with Stampin' Up! product inside, and a gift for each of the four items above they qualified for. Then they sat down to make special projects - an explosion purse, a designer paper-covered frame, a flameless tea light birthday cake, and a fabric holder for their paper snips. I want to share how cute the frames turned out - and the photos of each person with their frame!

Kim with International Bazaar dsp

Olivia with Interational Bazaar dsp

Barb with Candlelight Christmas Specialty dsp

Teresa with Candlelight Christmas Specialty dsp



Kathy with Spice Cake dsp (retired -but it coordinates better in her home!)

It was so nice to be able to sit and chat while crafting. I always feel like I learn just a little bit more about everyone. Hopefully I'll see all of these ladies and more for my next American Ink Rewards event in October.

As for the goody bag and other projects, I'll take photos later to share. Thanks for looking! I hope you're enjoying your weekend and staying cool.

A nice variety of swaps at latest American Ink gathering

These are the rest of the American Ink swaps from our last get-together. You can see there's quite a variety. I love that! I do apologize for not being able to give credit for a few swaps. They didn't have names on them and it's been a couple of weeks, so I simply can't remember who made what. If one of these is yours, please let me know and I'll add your name.

Bootiful Occasions card with First Edition dsp

Elements of Style swap with raised middle panel

Daydream Medallion swap in Melon Mambo

Mary Ann's Summer Smooches card with Bright Blossoms

Barb's Rich Razzleberry Reason to Smile swap

Ric-rac, plenty of embossing and flowery American Ink swaps

Since I was away at convention, I didn't have time to post our American Ink swaps from our last get-together. This is only a handful. I'll post more later!

I love getting these swaps because many times, products are put together in a way I hadn't thought of. This is what stamping is all about, right? We each get to be creative and unique!

Pearl's Bright Blossoms card with Tasteful Trim die for ric-rac

Kathleen's Creative Elements card

Ginette's Pool Party card with Elegant Bouquet folder

Puddin's Cottage Window card

I'm looking forward to our next meeting the 2nd Saturday of August, where I'll be sharing Convention 2012 information. I learned so many things from which hobbyists and business-building demonstrators alike can benefit.

Happy Stampin'!

A goody bag for my American Ink team members

Kim and I put together goody bags for our downline here at convention. It's easy to forget something when you're packing. Most of the bags have Kleenex, wipes, lotion, Certs, granola bars, Post-It notes, an emery board and hairspray or some combination of these items.

I made bag tags - something to clearly mark the convention bag (of which thousands are running around). I printed out the Convention 2012 logo on Fan Fare dsp after cutting it down to 8-1/2" x 11" and used the Oval Accent Clear Die to die-cut it plus a piece of chipboard before distressing it.

I used My Digital Studio to import my SU! team's logo, along with my team member's name, then printed it out, and die-cut it with a label framelit. Gotta have a little bling with some rhinestones! I used some Island Indigo ruffled ribbon to attach the tag to the bag, or Kim had strips of fabric which could be used for the same purpose.

The most exciting thing is that this is the FIRST convention for both Barb and Lorraine. I hope they soak up every minute and meet lots of great, new people.

Wet embossing technique, Fourth of July and pretty butterflies

We had some nice make & takes brought by some of my downline at our American Ink team gathering Saturday. This first one was also our technique, brought by Barb. It's called Wet Embossing. You brayer VersaMark ink on the top inside of an embossing folder, add your card stock, and run it through the Big Shot. Then you simply add clear embossing powder and heat. It's really pretty! You can see it on the card below:

This uses the Blissful Bird stamp set on page 72 of the catalog, along with Bitty Banners and new dsp.

Mary Ann brought this patriotic make and take. I love the polka dots on the white layers, as well as the 1/8" taffeta knots:



And Frankie brought this pretty make & take:

This uses Apothecary Accents Framelits, Beautiful Butterflies embosslit and new dsp.

I'd like to thank those ladies who made my make & takes, and those who supplied them. I enjoyed roaming around and visiting with everybody. I have a great group! Thanks also everyone who shared food. The clear favorite was Cindy's Artichoke Dip. I've included the recipe below (thanks, Cindy). Cindy brought bread and celery and carrots to go with it. Yum!

ARTICHOKE DIP

Ingredients:
1 package (8 ounce size) cream cheese
12 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

Put all of the above in a food processor or blender and blend 'til smooth
(Helps keep the dip from separating later.)

1 onion, finely chopped
1 can (13 ounce size) marinated artichoke hearts (drain well), tear
     artichokes apart with your fingers
I added a couple tablespoons of diced green chiles

Hand mix the above in the cheese mix. Cook about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.