Mini Calendar...

After receiving several nice, thick coasters on the Stampin' Up! cruise to Bermuda, I used them to make these adorable calendars. The inspiration came from www.StampingwithRoxy.typepad.com.

Six coasters are covered on each side with various designs from the Afternoon Tea designer paper in the Occasions Mini. I downloaded a free mini calendar from the Internet (searching simple for "free mini calendar") and printed it on Whisper White card stock.

For the finishing touches, I set jumbo eyelets on both sides of each coaster and threaded through double-stitched Wild Wasabi, adding knots of Groovy Guava and Blue Bayou between pairs of coasters.

I think this makes a great gift!

Wonderful You...

Louise came up with this gorgeous card using the Wonderful You stamp set and coordinating jumbo wheel (you'll get the wheel FREE if you order this stamp set by April 30).

Have you purchased the Pretties Kit yet? It has tons of pearls, half pearls, rhinestone brads, clear beads, hat pins and spacers... not to mention loads of silk flowers you can color with markers, crayons, ink pads, etc. Look at how much this decorated hat pin adds when poked through the wide Regal Rose grosgrain. It adds a touch of elegance.

So does the silver hodgepodge (available in the Occasions Mini through June 30).

Make yourself a beautiful card to celebrate Wonderful YOU!

Tart & Tangy stationery holder...

This photo shows the outside and inside of an old hodgepodge hardware tin decorated with Summer Picnic designer paper and Tart & Tangy.

The skinny old olive ribbon and silver hodgepodge come from our Occasions Mini (only available till May 31). And the saying in the designer label holder is from the stamp set Sweet Serendipity.

The little glass pebble magnets also use One Smart Cookie, which complements Tart & Tangy so well.

Each person made three magnets, and 5 notecards with matching envelopes (they're not all the same). They also received a SU! pen and small Post-It Note pad. Now who wouldn't love receiving this?

Western Sky photo album...

Why go shopping for a photo album when you can make one? This album uses the card board backing in the 12" x 12" pack of designer paper (only Western Sky paper was used here), and clear envelopes. The only thing not Stampin' Up! was the prong fastener holding the envelopes inside.

Also used on this project - the scallop punch, 1/2" circle punch for the build-a-brad, double-stitched River Rock ribbon, and Blue Bayou ink pad.

Wanted gumball jar...

Talk about a cute and easy gift for anybody! I purchased these gumballs with smiley faces on them at Wal-Mart. I couldn't resist. I finally decided to part with them to celebrate the recruiting accomplishments of a few gals in my downline - Kim, Dani and Brandy. They all recruited at least 3 new demonstrators during Sale-A-Bration. It's an awesome feat, and I couldn't be prouder!

So we celebrated with a special Stampin' Retreat, complete with approximately 18 projects. I've only included a few photos, since I didn't take pictures of everything. After all, I was stamping too!

This jar came from Creative Express on-line. There's a rub-on on the lid, red striped grosgrain, and a tag stamped with the Wanted alphabet - one of my favorites. Also used: Natural hemp and the horizontal slot punch.

Seaside...

Believe it or not, this is my very first shaker card - and I've been a demonstrator for more than 6 years! Crazy, huh?

Well, after picking up some "pink" Bermuda sand, I wanted to share it with my club members and YOU. I put the word "pink" in orphan quotes because Bermuda is supposedly world-reknown for having pink sandy beaches. After visiting a half dozen different beaches, the four of us in our party never did see "pink."

Putting the shaker card together wasn't difficult at all. I used foam mounting tape below the window sheet and Brocade Blue card stock "frame" (using my paper cutter to cut out the inside) to hold the sand.

The card body is River Rock card stock, with the entire Seaside stamp set stamped all over the front in the matching ink pad. The Groovy Guava shell was actually embossed with a VersaMarker pen and some Glassy Glaze embossing powder and stuck on with dimensionals. It's very pretty in person.

I think I'm ready to hit the beach!

Serenity...

A Light unto My Path and Sweet Serendipity came together in Soft Sky and Blue Bayou for this card. I love the way the designer label punch works flawlessly with the new silver Hodgepodge Hardware in the Occasions Mini. It's very elegant looking.

The bottom layer of paper is from Western Sky. I just wanted a look of texture... and I'm on a mission to use lots of designer paper! I have so much of it!!!

I'm thinking this card will be perfect for my Man Card Stamp-a-Stack next month. What do you think?

Groovy Pun Fun cat...

This Groovy Guava cat makes my day! It's "so very, very cute" as the white rub-on says (though I'll admit it's hard to read).
The cat comes from Pun Fun and the paper is from Afternoon Tea (still my fave!). It's on a Wild Wasabi piece of 6" x 6" textured card stock, with some double-stitched ribbon. The cat was colored with the Groovy Guava ink pad (push in the closed lid with your thumbs to get some ink inside the lid) and aqua painter.

Great Grads...

My nephew is graduating from high school next month, so I thought this Great Grads stamp set was appropriate.

It's a Blue Bayou card with River Rock and Western Sky papers.

Simple and effective - especially with a check inside!

Wild About You...

Summer Picnic designer paper works with more than just the Tart & Tangy stamp set (though that's a favorite right now). Here the brads and eyelet bring out the fun of the patterned paper - very fitting for a kid's card.

Louise made this card. I love the way the top two layers are distressed using the cutter tool kit, and the ribbon originals wide pumpkin ribbon frayed at the ends (using a paper piercer).

More Pun Fun...

Same stamp set as below and same designer series pack... and I LOVE it! Find a layout that works and use it and abuse it. It's one way to make cards you need fast.

The card body is Wild Wasabi, as is the striped grosgrain. Markers were used on the bird (Bashful Blue and Pumpkin Pie), and so was Brilliant Blue card stock and pad.

Pun Fun...

Pun Fun is one of the stamp sets you can buy this month and receive the coordinating jumbo wheel for FREE.

The designer paper is Jersey Shore - it's bright and cheerful - perfect for a kid card. It's layered on Brilliant Blue card stock.

The rocket is colored with Garden Green, Pumpkin Pie and Bashful Blue markers, then layered on Pumpkin Pie card stock, with matching striped grosgrain.

The words were stamped in Brilliant Blue and punched with the Word Window punch.

Morning Glory...

This set is a beautiful one for Mother's Day or any occasion for a dear friend. The colors are Regal Rose and Close to Cocoa, and the image is colored in using watercolor wonder crayons and an aqua painter.

Kind Thoughts...

I love the simple elegance of this stamp set. The card is Bashful Blue, with coordinating striped grosgrain ribbon, and Close to Cocoa ink and card stock.

The cocoa strip on the left is pierced down each side, and the butterfly has Dazzling Diamonds on its wings and is stuck on with a dimensional.

Sneak peek at new In Colors, papers...

On the Stampin' Up! cruise to Bermuda last week, there was a general session the first full day at sea where we saw terrific demonstrations, upcoming In Colors, and some new papers and stamp sets. It was AWESOME!

Stampin' Up! TV...

One of the coolest things about being on the cruise? The one channel dedicated to nothing but Stampin' Up! shows. There were ones filmed by TV studios, as well as videos of Workshop Wows from demos at SU! regionals around the country.

Above: One demonstrator showed how to make diorama cards of various sizes.

Using craft stampin' spots rubbed on opened brag book page protector with glossy card stock sandwiched between, one demo dubbed this technique the "Craft Smoosh."

This technique uses scraps of paper stuck to sticker paper, with embossing powder (irridescent ice here) poured in the gaps and heated.

The circle in the card front was made using the round tab punch vertically, then horizontally. It works! You should try it at home if you haven't already.

Cruise Share...

One late night on the cruise, some demonstrators brought special projects to share. We congregated in the dining room and it was packed! Here are a few of the things we saw:

Bermuda Zoo & Aquarium...

This zoo wasn't a typical one. We saw these very stinky flamingoes, along with Galapagos tortoises, an American alligator, wallabies, cockatiels and a peacock. My hubby reached over the short fence to pet the tortoise, which seemed to enjoy being touched.

In the Caverns...

We were greeted with this sign as we entered the Fantasy Cave.

Our guide pointed out all kinds of images to look for in the stalagmites and stalagtites. This is supposed to look like the creepy pirate in Pirates of the Caribbean. What do you think?

My hubby outside the caverns.