Whew... I barely made it!

I look forward to Jen's sketch for you to try every Saturday on her blog. Here is my card for last Saturday's sketch. Just made it in time to post before her next sketch. I decided it was time to pull out my Flower Fusion II box. These flowers are so sweet and girly.

The felt flowers come in three colors: Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette, and Chocolate Chip so those are the colors I used for everything else as well with the addition of Whisper White. On the Whisper White cardstock I lightly sponged the blue and pink inks before stamping with the En Francais background in chocolate. I distressed three edges and used the scallop edge punch on the fourth side. That piece was adhered to a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock. Next I stamped a label from the Designer Label punch kit in chocolate chip ink on to Whisper White cardstock In retrospect I wish that I had used Baja Breeze cardstock for that piece instead. Chocolate Chip grosgrain and white tafetta ribbons were layered with the tafetta thread through and notted in the silver hodgepodge. A pink rhinstoen brad is the cetner of each of the felt flowers. Lastly I stamped a piece of Baja Breeze with flowers from the Simply Said set in Baja Breeze and then distressed the edges before adhering on to a Baja Breeze card.

Both of my kids are sleeping over at friend's so that means I get uninterrupted craft time and complete control over the TV plus No need to make dinner!!! A triple whammy!!! In my mind that means I'll make 30 different cards for all the challenges that have popped up this week and I'll be up all night without feeling the least bit tired after working all week.... HA! In reality I may get a card or two done and a rough draft of my customer email with my list of fall classes. Well, a little something is better then nothing right?

I added a new feature on my blog. Now you can see which of my favorite bloggers have recently added a post. Thanks for stopping by and now go get inky!!!

I survived PTC!!!

Portland to Coast is touted as the "Mother of All Relays". It's 129 miles walking from downtown Portland to the beach at Seaside. Those who know me know that I am super out of shape and should not be walking the long legs of this relay, which I did. Next year I am picking the short legs!!!! Anyway, we have a team of twelve Wonder Women in two vans and we trek through night and day handing the baton off from person to person until we cross the finish line. We feel like celebrities because so many people comment on our costumes and ask to take our picture. When we pull to the side of the road to cheer on our walker, we treat everyone to a dance routine set to the Wonder Woman theme song. It is a ton of fun!

After a lot of rest I managed to put together these two cards. Both are based on a recent "sketch for you to try" at Jen's blog. I love her sketches. Both cards use the same color scheme and stamp sets. The colors I used are Kiwi Kiss, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, and Baja Breeze. On the second card I also used Tangerine Tango. The stamp sets were Eastern Blooms. Inspired by Nature, and Embrace Life. I misted the Whisper White cardstock with water before stamping to get the watercolor look. I also distresssed the edges of all the layers. Both flowers were made with two layers of the flower cut out and adhered together. On card two, I layered the Tangerine blossom on a fabric flower that was dyed with Old Olive. Of the two cards, card one is definitely my favorite.

Thanks for stopping by. Please check out my web site for lots of cool specials from Stampin' Up! and me!!!

Retired stamps for sale!!!

My New Catalog Celebration on Thursday night was a great time! We had a lot of fun looking through the catalog!!! There were a lot of retired stamp sets for sale as well. Below is a list of what I have left.

On Thursday night I also offered two Make and Takes, the first one was a copy of a card from Convention. We used the Eastern Blooms stamp set (love it!). The base of this card is Baja Blue cardstock which is stamped with one of the smaller flowers in Baja Blue ink. Then tear the edge off a piece of Kiwi Kiss cardstock and adhere that to the card. Next dry emboss the small vine of flowers using the Floral Frenzy Classy Brass on a peice of Whisper White cardstock. Now here is the tricky part: ink up your brayer with Tangerine Tango and LIGHTLY roll on to the Whisper White cardstock on the side that is debossed (meaning that the flowers are indented). Using a sponge dauber, sponge Apricot Appeal around the edges to soften the Tangerine. Add a clear rhinestone brad to one of the flowers. This piece is adhered over the Kiwi Kiss cardstock with stamping dimensionals. Stamp a sentiment in Chocolate Chip on to Confetti White cardstock, tie chocolate chip grosgrain to one end, and adhere with stamping dimensionals. Cute card, huh?

The second was a CASE of a card on the Art from the Heart CD that is sold at the convention Memento Mall. We used the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set. The base of the card is Pink Pirouette. Stamp the small flower with Kiwi Kiss ont he Kiwi Kiss strip of cardstock. Punch one edge of the Riding Hood Red cardstock with the scallop edge punch. Stamp the grass from the Inspired by Nature set with Kiwi Kiss ink on the Whisper White piece. Adhere these together and then tie black grosgrain ribbon around before adhereing to the card. Stamp one of the sentiments in Basic Black and the little butterfly with Riding Hood Red. Punch a circle scallop from Riding Hood Red cardstock and a 1 1/4 circle from Basic Black. Stamp the butterfly background with Pink Pirouette ink on Whisper White cardstock, then the butterfly dots in Riding Hood Red over it. Cut out and adhere with dimensionals to black circle. Whew... that's a lot of typing!

Lots of promotions going on! Check out my web page (www.desiree.stampinup.net) to see the latest.

• Never before seen stamps at never before seen savings! August 11 through September 30. Don't delay! Click here for list!
• Sign up with the $99 Starter Kit between August 11 and October 11 and choose from three different options! Click here for flyer!
• Sign up with the $199 Starter Kit between August 11 and October 11 and choose a stamp set from the new catalog for FREE! - Click here to sign up! Contact me about the benefits of being a SU demonstrator!
• Hostesses: Have a $350 Party from October 1 to November 30 and choose one stamp set from the Fall-Winter Sampler for FREE. - Click here for sampler!

Do you want a new catalog???? I would be happy to deliver one to you for $10 OR host a party and get one for free!!!! Either way, shoot me an email at desdm@msn.com and we'll work out the details.You will love looking through this catalog, there are so many cool ideas for gift giving, scrapbooking, and card making. I love looking through all the new designer papers and embellishments. It is so easy to want it all!!! That is why I became a demonstrator!

Retired stamps for sale! They are all 40% off the original price. Shipping is $4.80 for one set, if you purchase more then I'll need to find out postal charges. Now for the list of stamps that I am selling: Amazing to Zany $25.17; Crazy Alphabet $16.17; Print Pattern $10.77; Sweet Shapes %15.57; Looks Like Spring $17.37; Time Well Spent $19.17; Spring Party $14.97; Bud Basics $10.77; All About U $15.57; Polka Dots and Paisley $11.37; Be Happy $12.57; Birthday Best $7.77; Eat Cake $15.57; So Much $19.17; Touch of Nature $16.77

Thanks for stopping by and happy stamping!!!

Desiree

I can't believe it....

I haven't stamped a single thing since Convention. What is wrong with me????? I must be on some weird non-creative vibe or something.... HELP!!!!

I have been looking at lots of blogs and there are some truly awesome projects out there. Lots of great sketches too!!! After I get my house all spiffyed up and my projects prepared for Thursday (New Catalog Celebration at my house) then I will pull out some supplies and get busy!!!

Tuesday is Lillianna's 17th birthay. She is quite a big girl now. I'll be taking her and her boyfriend out for dinner. Not sure what to get her yet, she is very difficult to shop for. I will make her a special birthday card though....

So, since I don't have project photos, how about decor elements photos from convention??? Here you go. This office vignette uses Urban Garden DSP as accents behind the string of photos along the wall, on the file folders, and on the magnetic bulltin board. The wall is stamped with the Organic Outlines stamp set in a coordinating color using craft ink. The chair and desk have matching vinyl rubons applied to them. Very fun design for an office area of you home.

WOW! So much to share...

I got back from convention last night late... and I had a fabulous time! Look at all the people, and this isn't the half of it. There were about 6,000 women (and a few men) attending. Besides great general sessions full of inspiration, demonstrations, information, and prizes, there were special cupcakes at lunch, tons of displays, lots of swapping, and fantastic music. Awards night featured an a cappella group called Tonic Sol-fa. You have to check them out!

Stampin' Up! made some great announcements that I am super excited about!!!

1-They have partnered with Sizzix to offer the Bigz Shot with exclusive dies that coordinate with stamp sets. The Bigz Shot cuts through just about any material from lace to leather, vellum to chipboard, and you can use dies from all the other systems with it.

2-Shelli Gardner, co-founder and CEO, will be starting a blog tomorrow (Monday 8/4) at www.soshelli.com where she will be chatting about her life, giving stamping tips, and throwing out challenges. And Shelli will also be picking out her favorite products and those will be indicated with a heart.

3-Stampin' Up! has entered into the Spanish-speaking market with products, catalogs, and a web site in Spanish. This is great for Spanish-speaking customers and demonstrators.

4-Stampin' Up! will be featured in a 21-page spread in Country Living Magazine this November. Check it out on newstands this fall!

5-More Decor Elements are being released including more colors. Look at what you can do with the Stampin' Up!'s Decor Elements and Bigz Shot with exclusinve dies!

6- Some cool promotions and specials are coming up SOON!

So that is it for now. I gotta order some cool stuff from SU for upcoming classes and then I gotta get to my craft table and make something!!!

Happy stamping!