Mixed Bunch Thank You Note

I received this thank you note from my wonderful Up-line mentor, Patty Bennett.  Patty sent me this card before I became a demonstrator and was still taking classes and ordering through her.  I love the simplicity and over-all cute factor of this card.  I ended up up-cycling the card by trimming down the card front and mounting it on a new card-base (a trick I do a lot and encourage you all to do too!)

Tips:

• Stamp your sentiment first so you're sure to have enough room for it and then stamp the background cascade of flowers in Summer Starfruit
• Stamp the same flower again on a scrap piece of Whisper White cardstock in red and again in Gumball Green.  Punch out both flowers using the Blossom punch.  Snip off two of the Gumball Green petals for the "leaves."
• Stamp the larger circle image on Whisper White and punch out using the 1" Circle Punch.  Assemble your flower layers using a coordinating brad.

Stampin' Up Supplies: (If you'd like to order any of the supplies for this card, please visit my online store)

Stamps: Mixed BunchStamp Set (Wood-Mount 128442, Clear-Mount 125537)

Paper: Whisper White Card Stock

Punches: Blossom (125603), 1" Circle Punch (119868)

Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals

 Mixed Bunch Stamp Set (Wood-Mount 128442, Clear-Mount 125537)

Free Project Kit - Now Through August 31

Through August 31, join Stampin' Up and receive a super-cute free project kit!  This is in addition to the $125 in product you receive for only $99 (plus FREE shipping!).  Depending on what kit you choose, that's up to $154.90 in wonderful paper-crafting goodness for $99.  

If you have a growing wish list, this is a great time to sign up and enjoy the savings.  If you'd like to turn Stampin' Up into a part-time business, that's awesome.  If you'd like to be a Hobby Demonstrator and receive 20% off all your orders, that's also awesome.

Contact me for more info or click here to join!

#1-3 are all in the brand new Holiday Catalog - please let me know if you do not yet have a copy and I'll send you one right away.

#4 is located on pages 158-159 of the 2013-2014 Idea Book & Catalog.  Here's what the Tag a Bag and Tag a Box bundles look like, so cute!!

 

Buy 3, Get 1 FREE!

Now through July 31, buy 3 packs of select Designer Series Paper, get one free!  That's a savings of $10.95!

Here's a cute way to use up little scraps of DSP - make them into a fun banner:

Tips:

• Cut out multiple banner shapes at once by stacking strips and lining up in corner of square punch.  This takes a little practice, but once you get it down, it's a fast way to cut the banners
• Lightly sand the Core'dinations cardstock to bring out the lighter color.
• Use a glue dot to adhere the little knot of ribbon.

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Banner Greetings Hostess Set (Wood-Mount 129711, Clear-Mount 129714)

Paper: Quatrefancy DSP (130141), Pool Party Core'Dinations, Island Indigo Cardstock

Ink: Island Indigo Classic Stamp Pad

Accessories:  Mosaic Embossing Folder, Big Shot machine, Daffodil Delight 1/4" Stitched Ribbon, Glue Dots

Banner Greetings Hostess Set (Wood-Mount 129711, Clear-Mount 129714)

Mixed Bunch

I love this stamp set!  It's one of the very first sets I purchased and I have used it a bunch. (Pun intended).  It's great for creating focal points as well as backgrounds and it coordinates perfectly with the Blossom Punch, making is super easy to cut out the flower shape.  I'll be featuring some samples made with this set over the coming days, so stay tuned!

Crafty Carrie's Tips:

• Stamp larger images first and fill in the empty space with the smaller stamps
• Feel free to practice your placement on a piece of scrap-paper before stamping on your cardstock
• Each layer is 1/4" smaller than the last which means that Real Red is cut to 4"x 5.25" and Whisper White is cut to 3.75" x 5"
• Easily mix up the message with any one of the great sentiments in Teeny Tiny Wishes.  This card would be great for birthdays and thank-you cards too.

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Mixed Bunch Stamp Set (Wood-Mount 128442, Clear-Mount 125537), Teeny Tiny Wishes (Wood-Mount 128748, Clear-Mount 127802)

Paper: Pool Party, Real Red & Whisper White Cardstock

Punches: Modern Label (119849), Word Window (119857)

Accessories: Pool Party Ribbon (retired), Stampin' Dimensionals

Mixed Bunch Stamp Set (Wood-Mount 128442, Clear-Mount 125537)

Teeny Tiny Wishes (Wood-Mount 128748, Clear-Mount 127802)

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The end of Google Reader...

I am morning the loss this week of my tried and true blog reader from Google.  Why Google decided to do away with my favorite procrastination tool way to stay informed of important crafting trends, I may never know.  After a very quick Google search, it looks like most of the blogosphere is switching to Feedly.com to track their blogs and stay on top of all the amazingness on the web.

The loss of Google Reader may not turn out to not be as devastating as I had feared.  So far, I'm really enjoying Feedly's user interface and I like that I can see more of the blog from my reader (with Google's reader I almost always had to open the blog in another window if I really wanted to read it look at the pictures.)

I have added a button the right-hand side of my page for you to subscribe to my blog using Feedly.  Let me know if you've found another blog reader you prefer and I'll investigate adding a button for it as well.

Crafting with Friends

I'm pretty sure there is no better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than hanging out with girlfriends and creating together.  I've done a lot of crafts over the years, but one of the things I love the most about card-making is how (relatively) quickly you can make something cute to brighten someone's day.

Here's a picture from a recent gathering:

We made cards featuring products from the new catalog, and I love how my friend Veronica added her own twist to the Christmas card.  I'm generally drawn to pretty traditional color combos, but I absolutely love what Veronica came up with.  See my sample on the left and her interpretation on the right:

I'd love for you to come craft with me!  See my upcoming classes page or host your own private class and earn free products!  Contact me for more info.