Baja Breeze beauty...

Louise brought this make & take to our last demo meeting. I love Baja Breeze! Check out that ribbon and designer paper. They're gorgeous.

The scalloped square frame is chipboard that's been sponged with Baja Breeze ink on top and Pacific Point ink on the edges. Inside is the stamp is from the Ronald McDonald House Charities set Say it with Scallops ($2 from each set purchased goes directly to RMHC), with the middle punched out with the 3/4" square punch.

The big Pacific Point flower is from Eastern Blooms, which is 15% off thru Sept. 30. We applied 2-way glue to the middle dots of the flower and sprinkled on some dazzling diamonds glitter. Then we bent the petals under to make it more 3d-like and stuck it on with a Stampin' Dimensional.

The photo's not the greatest, but I promise it'll look sensational if you make this!

Upsy Daisy...

Louise made this beautiful card for me and I love it!

It uses Upsy Daisy, which is 15% off thru Sept. 30, as well as the butterfly from Dreams du Jour and the Pretty Petals background stamp (on the dormant list), along with Pacific Point and Baja Breeze (new In Colors).

Both the Whisper White and Pacific Point top card stock layers are distressed using the cutter tool kit.

The silver hodgepodge and dazzling diamonds glitter on the butterfly add bling.

Thanks goob!

Thanks for Everything...

A little Flower Power paper, a giraffe (from Wild About You) and "thanks" (from Thanks for Everything) come together to make what I think is a nice-looking fall card.

The card itself is More Mustard, with Old Olive layered behind the giraffe. The brads are Rose Red (Rich Regals), Old Olive and More Mustard (Earth Elements). And a knot of Perfect Plum finishes the card.

Trivia: A giraffe ranges widely and sometimes is found hundreds of kilometers from water. A giraffe can go for more than a month without drinking, and the few times it does drink, the animal must spread the long forelegs widely to reach the water. (Source: http://squidoo.com/africansafaritriviaquestionsandanswers)

Big Shot goody...

We played with Sherry's Big Shot at our demo meeting Saturday. It's easy to see how addicting this machine can be! With the coming of the Holiday Mini Oct. 1 (Sept. 1, if you're a SU! demo), you'll be treated to TONS of fabulous dies.

This is the Top Note die using Kiwi Kiss and Whisper White card stock. There's a perforation mark around the perimeter, which we cut off of the white to layer on the green.

Then we used Upsy Daisy (15% off thru Sept. 30) flowers in Kiwi Kiss and the "Thank You" sentiment in Chocolate Chip. The topper is stapled to a small cello bag filled with peanut M&Ms.

You can fold the Top Note the other way for larger cello bags. It's a quick and easy way to make favors for neighbors, classes or any occasion.

Demo meeting swaps...

I look forward to our demonstrator meetings, just to see what stamps everyone is using and colors and so forth. These swaps come from demonstrators with years of experience to our newest demos new this month!

Here's the Big Deal - Big Shot!

Sizzix has come out with a Big Shot for Stampin' Up!. It's sleek and black with a shiny white logo.

This machine, along with dies that coordinate with other SU! products, can be used for scrapbooking, card making, home decor and other paper crafting.

And, you can use it to cut through 50 kinds of materials.

Big Shot Approved Materials

Cut through the following 50 materials using steel rule dies and your Big Shot machine. Please note the maximum thickness of several materials.

Brass (.055)
Light weight steel
Aluminum (.016)
Tin (.008)
Aircraft plywood (1/64")
Basswood (1/16")
Balsa (3/32")
Paperwood
Mat board (adhesive or none)
Chipboard
Fabric
Silicone
Foam with chipboard (.1)
Corrugated pad
Adhesive-backed cork
Fine sandpaper (.00)
Strene
Extra thick template plastic
Template plastic
Plastic canvas (7 mesh)
Bubble wrap
Sheet foam
Friendly (jewelry) plastic
100% pure beeswax (cut with parchment paper on top & bottom of beeswax)
Adhesive and non-adhesive rubber
Ruffleboard
Static cling vinyl
Warm & natural batting
Fusible fleece
Quilt batting
Adhesive and non-adhesive flexible magnet
Heat n' shrink plastic
Adhesive and non-adhesive felt
Pop-up sponge
Shiny self-adhesive and non-adhesive paper
Iron-on fabric
Poly foam adhesive and non adhesive
3-D illusionary plastic
Glow in the dark adhesive and non adhesive
Suede paper
Funky fur
Personal Embossing Plastic (PEP)
Shaggy plush felt
Canvas
Vinyl flooring
Shelf lining
Placement
Embossing rubber
Thin leather
Gasket material

Fun displays...

Get a glimpse at what the scrapbooking trends are, as well as Stampin' Up! projects that have appeared in national publications.

Owl Together Now diorama card...

Diorama cards are great fun to make with punches and your favorite stamp set.

This one uses Creamy Caramel card stock (2 pieces that are 3" x 8 1/2" and scored 2 inches from each end), and Sage Shadow card stock (1 piece that's 3" x 6 /2" and scored 1" from each end). I shoved the 1 3/8" circle punch as far as it would go from the bottom and lined up the outside of the punch with the folded lines, punching holes. Then I lined up the circle punch in the middle (eyeballing it) and punched a third time. Do that on one of the Creamy Caramel layers, and the Sage Shadow layer.

I used classic Chocolate Chip ink for the leaves and hearts. The owls were stamped in Basic Brown and colored with a Brocade Blue marker and a blender pen and Tangerine Tango ink pad. They're cut out and stuck on with dimensionals.

On the Sage Shadow layer, I stamped the flower numerous times in Sage Shadow at the bottom and dotted the centers of each flower with the Uni-bal white gel pen. I then stamped the flying owl a few times at the top of that layer.

The back layer is the easiest. I stamped the entire branch and stuck on a cut out owl, then stamped hearts around its head.

This card collapses flat and fits into a 3" x 6" small open-end envelope. Give it a try!

Faux silk technique...

Faux silk is a fun and easy technique.

We're making this card in my clubs this month. The branch with flowers is from a new stamp set called Eastern Blooms. It has a variety of flowers in it and is 15% off thru Sept. 30.

The flowers are stamped in Riding Hood Red on tissue paper, then you wad it up into a little ball, unfold it, and adhere it to a piece of Whisper White card stock with glue stick. The tissue paper needs to be larger than the white layer. When they're glued together, turn the white card stock over and trim the tissue around the edges.

From there, we layered it on Pink Pirouette card stock and Riding Hood Red that's been punched at the bottom with the new scallop edge punch.

SU! sells Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon, but my order hasn't arrived yet, so I improvised by using white taffeta ribbon and passing it between my Riding Hood Red ink pad and sponge three times. Tip: Cut your ribbon a couple inches longer than you need it so you don't dye your fingers.

I used a 2-way glue pen and Dazzling Diamonds glitter in the center of each flower for that added sparkle. The card is finished with the greeting, which comes from another 15% off stamp set called Heard from the Heart.

I hope you'll try this technique!

Inspired by Nature...

This is one of my favorite sets in the new catalog. It's called Inspired by Nature. It comes with 4 images (4 labels) and 2 wooden blocks, so it's double-mounted.

This card uses Bella Rose designer paper, a slit punch, paper piercer, corner rounder, classic Chocolate Chip pad and Kiwi Kiss pad. The card itself is Kiwi Kiss - a new In Color and also one of my new faves.

New Decor Elements!

There are fabulous things coming our way in the world of home decor and Decor Elements!

And what's even cooler is that with a Big Shot machine made for Stampin' Up! by Sizzix, you can make your own vinyl wall decor elements! There are more colors to select from... and new dies coming out as soon as the Holiday Mini Catalog.

You can order the Sizzix Sept. 1.

Quick little booklets...

While in Utah for the Stampin' Up! convention, I visited a friend of mine, Jules. She has loads of SU! stuff so we played for the few days I was able to spend with her.

Here are two of the little books we made using all SU! product (including rub-ons and the new stamp set A Flower for all Seasons).

The "Live Every Moment" book features photos of my friend's family and is adorable in real life.

Jules made the little pink book for me on her own. We were playing with the Zutter Bind-It-All and having a ball! The covers of the booklets are chipboard that we covered with designer paper. Super easy!!!

And I was really surprised when Jules bought me a Bind-It-All! This machine (and my friend) ROCK!!!

Some old and some new...

These cards feature something new or current... and something recently retired (mainly ribbon, card stock and designer paper). What's important is that you PLAY with your stuff!