How to make the 'Thank You' card

Hello,

Here is my first 'how to make it' card recipe for this blog!  This is for the water colored Thank You card

Supply List:

Pool party Base & Card stock

Island Indigo piece measuring about two inches by four inches

Island Indigo spot print from Festival of prints measuring base of card in height about three inches wide

Water color paper

Blender Pen

Stampin write markers or water color pastels, in Subtles

The heart folder

Daffodil delight ribbon

Emboss power

Versmark

Stazon

Heat Gun

Begin with the square of water color paper and stamp your Sentiment with Versamark. I used 'Thank You' from Easy events. I colored the flowers with Stampin' Write markers in pastels. For the stems and Thankyou sentiment, I used Wild Wasabi pen.

Emboss the Pool Side base with Versamark of the flower part of the Easy Event stamp set. Don't ink the 'thank you' part. I've done 4 or 5 repetitions, both look good. 

Adhere the dotted paper with Snail. Measure the Daffodil Delight ribbon, knot it and adhere it to the back of the card at the bottom with snail. Pull the ribbon back from the piece. Now run your Island Indigo square through the Big Shot! with the heart template running through the middle of the square. Adhere your water colored image to the Indigo Island square (now embossed).

Finish adhering the ribbon over your sandwich of paper, be sure you adhere everything down well. You can add an optional daffodil delight bow!

Tada! My quick and easy stepped up card.

Inspired by June's class

Hello,
I hope today finds you well!  Today I am sharing some cards that my upline, June Switzer, shared with her class last week. I always find June's cards to be an inspiration and this week is no exception!  Which card is your favorite?

This is such a feminine and delicate card. I reversed the embossing on the card by accident (woops!)

 This card is so bright and cheery I think that its perfect all year round! Who doesn't love butterflies?

I especially am curious about this punch card. I can't wait to try and create my very own punch card design.

Which card inspired you?  Come share with June at her blog
http://stampinwithjune.blogspot.com/
Thanks for reading!
~Anne

Cards from Card Class

Last night was my first card class!  I recovered from the fact that I had ordered the wrong sized oval punch and had to create another card last minute.

The technique for this card class was water coloring & blending with Aqua Painters and Blender pens. I also gave a glimpse of how to emboss.

To kick us off with water coloring we began with 'Thank You' from Easy Events. I used the Indigo Island spot print from Festival of Prints and Indigo Island paper over a Pool Party Base. The ribbon embellishment is daffodil delight.

I originally only had the bow, but the guests liked adding the strip of ribbon on the 1st layer.  The Merry Christmas card is from Easy Events as well:

I am now working on cards with the rest of the 'Easy Events'.  I will photograph the cards for the next two events before the events, I hope!

The next two events are a 'Free Stamping Day' on Sept 11th where attendees bring their own projects and ideas. I will have one idea on hand and some finished cards. The next card class is Sept 28th!
What are your thoughts on these cards?

Danger Will Robinson, danger!

This old joke between my Dad and I drifted back to me when I was preparing my card line up for the card class.  I was making the 'sending Christmas wishes' card with the Joyous Occasions stamp set - and I had bought the wrong punch! The Extra large oval punch coordinates with this set, not the large oval one! Darnit!  So I am going to be making some shape art with that punch...

I am working on how to 'save' the card set without rushing out and buying the right sized punch. I'm trying to only place one Stampin' Up order a month and I am sticking to my guns! I've had two ideas - cut the oval stamped image by hand and use the 'Sending Christmas wishes' as a banner as pictured in the Holiday magazine.  I'll work on that a bit and post pictures here - tell me if I 'saved' it!
~Anne

Card Class

Card Class

Tonight is my first card class! I have this odd burst of creativity as I CASE cards on the Stampin' Connection  to create more cards.  I was originally doing 4 cards for 10$, but now only two people are attending.  We'll be doing Merry Christmas, Thank You, Sending You Love and Happy Birthday from the Easy Events stamp set. I'll also be promoting my 'card kits' by sending home a pre - assembled Merry Christmas card with each attendee. I hope it will be fun!

~Anne

Stampin Pretty

Hello!

I had a rather stressful day at work yesterday.  What was the best way for me to unwind?  To sit down with my box of Stampin' Up ink pads and play the rest of the day away. I decided to have a 'theme' for my event of the month!  The first theme is going to be water coloring.  The card class on August 28th is going to be about water coloring- we will make a Happy Birthday card with Apothecary Art, a Thanksgiving card, a Christmas card (with easy events) and a Thank You card (with easy events).

On Sept 11 I will give a sneak peek of our next technique (Embossing with Versamark) with one card to make on hand. Sept 11 is our 'free stamping' day, so if someone has bought new product they can bring it and we can make new cards with what they have! Its always good to build on what you have.

On Sept 28th, we will have two make & takes and I will demonstrate a Stepped Up card with Water Coloring. I will likely use Apothecary Art 'So Grateful' and a new stamp set... perhaps something floral. I haven't bought the stamp set yet, so we will see what happens!

I am really excited that a friend has booked a party. She wants a Christmas theme! What fun.

Challenge: The power of three!

I was having a hard time getting my crafting spark up and running today. I started reading the 'whats your blog' links on the Stampin Connection and discovered an amazing blog, here
http://mypapercraftingpassion.blogspot.com/2012/08/good-morning-today-im-posting-photo-of.html?showComment=1345654384995#c2613887852444619311

I adore her use of '3' in the banner and the square next to the 'Moving Forward' stamp. Instead of thinking 'I don't have any ideas' I am going to go use images, sentiments or repeated images in my cards. Here's to breaking through the stamping block :)
~Anne

Easy Card prep: Make more than one!

One thing that I love about work shops is that it gives me a great excuse to prep more than one card at a time.  Tonight while watching battlestar Galactica with the husband, I cut 32 white bases for a card work shop that is coming up! Now I can carry my bases over to the craft table and get busy creating.  My friends and family have requested that my first card class be Christmas oriented!  To that effect, we will be making some fabulous Christmas cards in my card class. Stay tuned for pictures of the cards!

Card Class with June: Part 1

Tonight was a very amusing night for me!  I got to spend quality time with my Mother, Genie, and my upline, June.  My mother and I haven't spent as much time together as I would like lately - we work opposite shifts. She doesn't get home until 6 P.M., while I tend to be in bed by 7 P.M. We used to have a Sunday where I would visit her at her home, but now that tends to be the day that my husband and I do chores around the house. For this reason, I was very happy when I learned that my mom was attending June's card class.  I was even happier when we arrived and realized that we were the only ones there!

The other ladies who attend June's class are just fabulous. I love getting to know them while we make June's stunning card creations. Yet I felt tonight was meant to be a time where we three could get to know each other better. June spent more time explaining Stampin' Up and answered some questions that I had about demonstrating, June showed me how to set up for card parties and classes efficiently, saving me time and money.

I can't say enough about how fabulous June's cards were tonight.  I have mentioned that I've had a hard time deciding what to do with the free Patio Party designer paper that I received free when I joined as a demonstrator. June paired it with the Butterfly Punch and pearl embellishments for a delicate, fun look!  Do check back tomorrow or Thursday for a photo edition of June's cards as well as the date of her next class.  June offers classes on Saturday & Tuesday!

Card swap

Today I am having a great Stampin' Up day! I am working on the card swap hosted by Alia. For this card swap,  I am using my new Betsy's Blossoms stamp set to make 8 identical cards.  I am opening the embellishments that I obtained for my new card classes to add some extra pizzazz! If the cards come together beautifully, I'll be adding them to the card class line up. Today is also the first time that my Mom is attending my upline's card class with me. I think that she'll have a lot of fun!

MDS - My Digital Studio

Here is a video from Stampin' Up all about the Digital Studio, a marvelous addition to your card making and scrap booking.

http://craftingupthecoast.com/introduction-to-mds/

August is an excellent time to give MDS a shot with the new promotion:

Is Stampin' Up right for you

Here are some pretty pictures of the free gift from SU for signing up as a demonstrator in August

This is everything you need for some fun Halloween events! Paper, stamp set, embellishments - and that cool little demo tray that is so trendy now.  I feel that becoming a demonstrator is a great way to earn some money for the holidays (or to get a 20% discount on your Christmas presents if you give Stampin' Up products).

There are a few things to know:
How much does it cost?
The cost of signing up is 99$ + your state tax. You do get free merchandise with your sign up, see below!

What do I get for signing up?
You choose 125$ of FREE stampin up merchandise. Paper, Inks, stamp sets, ribbons - anything that you want! I used it to get that Big Shot!

What are the benefits of being a Demo?
The best benefit (in my opinion) is the 20% discount.  The supplies that you will take to your stamping up parties cost less for you. There are also several benefits:

• Extra Income - I love getting money into my bank account on the 10th of each month depending on how many customers bought with credit cards last month!
• Flexible Schedule
• Support from Stampin' Up

The details are here on the Stampin' Up site (on my personal SU DBWS, another freebie from SU to help get you started): http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/annecaulfield/demonstratorbenefits

http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/Flyer_Spooktacular_Demo_Aug0112_US.pdf

If you have questions, ask me at the next event, call me up or comment here. I'd love to answer all of your questions on how Stamping up can work for you.

Fun bits from the August newsletter

Hello!

Here are some updates about new happenings in August!

Favorite Christmas Items in the Holiday Catalog

What is your favorite item in the Christmas catalog? Is it the new Scented Stampin Emboss Powder? The new Sugar & Spice is thought evoking. There is also the more classic Peppermint stick. This is a perfect coordinate to the Scenstational Season  which features a cup of coffee, peppermint stick, Christmas tree and a cute little Gingerbread man.  
Do remember that the bundles will save you for 15% if you purchase them together. This includes the Framelets Dies and the Ornaments keepsakes on page 3.The Sensational Scent Season Bundle costs 32. 95 for both the Framelets Dies and the Sensational Season stamp set!   If you need a better look at the catalog, come on by a Stampin' Up event!  I will have two more classes in August and a free work shop.

A new aspect of my Stampin' Up classes is that we will be making four cards and I will be charging 10$ for the class. The charge goes to bring in new aspects into the class, such as new embellishments, glitter, ribbon and designer papers.

Christmas cards

We will be making Christmas cards on August 13th at 6 PM. The class is limited to 6 people, first come first serve. The cost of the class is 10$ and paying before the 13th guarantees you a seat. Please remember to RSVP by August 10th - if you just show up, I may not have enough materials for you!


Below are the cards that my upline, June Switzer, designed for her card class! They are truly lovely in person.

I am

I have been watching some videos and some comments about the demonstrator event for Stampin' Up Events. The big phrase of the convention was 'I am'.  For example, one woman shared an eloquently written statement of how she was blessed.  It made me wonder what my statement would be. I shied away from the easy 'I am creative' or ' I am new' (to Stampin' up). I visited upon 'I am content'; and discovered that I really am not content.

I am pleased with all of the new changes in my life - the new home and marriage in April, the new job (nine days before the wedding!) Yet I still haven't adjusted yet to the home, the new 'wife work' and my new schedule. I work only 25 hours a week, but the day starts at 2 A.M. This occasionally throws me in a flux where I can not sleep - no nap during the day, nor get a restful's night sleep. The distraction saps my energy to tackle my housework and creativity for Stampin' Up. I occasionally feel like I haven't been at my best. In reflecting at this, it gives me a strong 'I am' statement. 'I am optimistic'.  My husband has been supportive and I still count down the hours until he comes home every night. I hope we do this when we're eighty nine :)


What is your 'I am' statement?

The Holiday Mini is here!

Hello!  I'm happy to let you know that the Holiday mini with its Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas themed stamps and products is officially released!

How to get your hands on this mini: 

• Book a work shop! Comment here or call me to do so
• Attend one of my events in August! The next event is August 3rd and we will be making Apothecary Art cards. I'll be placing my Christmas order with you so our event next week will be a Christmas Mini event!