Taking a little break

I will be taking a brief break from blogging this week. I've been suffering from some pretty wicked headaches for the last couple of months and found out that it's due to severe muscle tension in my neck, shoulders and back. I've had tension headaches before, but never this bad. I'm now on muscle relaxants and extra strength Tylenol. Thank goodness I've got a massage booked for next week. Anyway, in order to try to right things, I am going to take a bit of a break from blogging and stamping (AHHHHH!!!). Please don't leave me completely though - I will be back, I promise! I've got so many more pictures of things to show you!

Take care and make sure you're sitting in a proper chair when you're stamping! :)

I survived!

Today was my first craft show. It went very well and I was really pleased with the number of items that sold. Thanks so much to those of you who were able to stop by and say hello!

Here's a quick pic for today. It was a super late night last night and a very early morning this morning, so I'm just about done in. Stay tuned for more pictures tomorrow!

These were Bath Kits that I did up for the show and all sold but one. I also have an order for 4 more! The tins are decorated with Cerise Designer Series Paper and cardstock. The images are from a new set from the upcoming Spring/Summer Catalogue called "Enjoy Every Moment" - such a sweet little set! I added three different ribbons to the bucket handle. Inside of the bucket is a set of goat's milk bath products - bubble bath, body lotion, bath salts, soap flakes, a bath puff and a scented candle - all decorated with Cerise DSP. Can you tell I'm addicted to Stampin' Up!'s Designer Series Paper?!?! LOVE IT! Don't forget about the great promotion going on until the end of November - there isn't much time left!
On another note, I wanted to post a link to the blog of a very talented woman who used to live in my hometown. She makes some absolutely GORGEOUS glass fusion pendants, bracelets, rings, platters, etc. Be sure to follow this link and check out her work. I saw her display at the craft show today and just had to buy 2 of her pendants. I bought the one called "headlights" and another one not listed on the website, but just beautiful. Her work is so unique and very reasonably priced. There's a contact link at the bottom of her website if you'd like to get one for yourself! Enjoy!

Ornament Cards

I saw the idea for these cards here and thought they'd be a perfect card for Christmas - an ornament as well as a greeting card! Here are the four designs that I came up with for the craft fairs. By the way, feel free to stop by and see me if you're in the area! The first craft fair is this Sunday at the Arthur & Area Community Centre from 9am-3pm and the second one is Saturday, November 24th at the Kenilworth Public School from 9am-3pm! Can't wait to set these up on my mini Christmas trees on Sunday! See you then!

Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Holidays & Wishes, Season of Joy, Snowburst, Glad Tidings
Paper: Purely Pomegranate, Bravo Burgundy, Whisper White, Glorious Green, Green Galore, Garden Green, Handsome Hunter, Very Vanilla, Real Red
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Bravo Burgundy, Glorious Green, Real Red, Garden Green, Versamark
Tools: Coluzzle, Crop-A-Dile, 2-Way Glue Pen, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, 1/16" Handheld Punch, Tweezers, 1 3/8" Square Punch, 1 1/4" Square Punch, Paper Snips

Accessories: Purely Pomegranate Satin Ribbon, Silver Eyelets, Silver Cord, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Dimensionals, Wide Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Copper Embossing Powder, Silver Brads (I used my tweezers to ink them with Versamark embossed them with the Copper Embossing Powder - I was fresh out of copper brads!), Copper Cord

Craft Fair Frames and Updates!

Here are a couple of frames that I made for the craft fairs. I used the Porcelain Prints Designer Series Paper, which is just gorgeous and is also part of the fantastic Paper Party Promotion being offered by Stampin' Up! during the month of November. Once the paper was adhered to the frames, I used my sanding blocks to smooth the edges of the paper. To accent the frames, I used my Stampin' Write Markers to colour in the flowers from the Pretties Kit. The final touches were half-back pearls and Blue Bayou Double Stitched Ribbon. Oh - and the markers that I used were Bashful Blue and Not Quite Navy.

Okay - now for the updates:

RETIRING SETS AND ACCESSORIES
I know that it's hard to believe, but a new Idea Book & Catalogue will be headed our way on January 2nd. With this comes a list of retiring stamp sets. The list of stamp sets will come out on December 1st to give you an opportunity to purchase your favourite stamp sets before they are gone for good. I don't know how many sets will be on the list but rest assured that I will post the list here on December 1st. As was the case with the last catalogue transition, a list of retiring accessories will also be posted. The date of this list's release is December 10th. Again, I will post the list here once I get it. Keep in mind that retiring accessories on the list will only be available while supplies last!

NEW CATALOGUE PRE-ORDER
The new catalogue will be unveiled on January 2nd on the Stampin' Up! website. You will not be disappointed by the new stamp sets, papers, inks and fantastic embellishments, not to mention the gorgeous new samples and helpful tips. If you're like me and you just have to have the real copy in your hands, you will want to pre-order a copy of the catalogue. I will be ordering the new catalogues at the end of the month, so be sure to e-mail me to reserve your copy. Catalogues are $10 each, but FREE if you host a Stampin' Up! party or hold a catalogue party! Contact me to set up your party today!

CHRISTMAS WISH LIST
It's almost that time of year again, and Christmas shopping has officially begun. If Stampin' Up! products are on your wish list, you might want to pass your list on so that family and friends can get you something you really want and could use! Feel free to pass my contact information along. In order to allow for Christmas delivery, Christmas orders should be placed no later than December 14th!

Whisking you a Merry Kissmas

I saw this idea on Splitcoast Stampers and immediately had to make some for the craft shows. Such a cute idea! Simply fill a whisk with Hershey's kisses and package it up with a hand-stamped tag - a quick and easy gift! One thing to keep in mind - be sure to wrap them in a cello bag, as the kisses may start to fall out of the whisk if it's a little on the large side. Aren't these cute?

Stamps: Season of Joy

Paper: Real Red, Whisper White

Ink: Real Red (the rest is printer ink - I fed the cardstock through my printer)

Tools: Crop-A-Dile

Accessories: Silver Brad, Silver Cord, Large Cello Bag, Whisk, Hershey's Kisses

P.S. Please ignore the double watermark on this picture. By the time I realized that I had pasted it to the picture twice it was too late - the changes had already been saved! I think it's a sign that I need to call it a day! :)

A quick one!

Here's today's quick post - it's Grey's Anatomy night after all (6 minutes 'til go-time!)!

I've been working like a little Christmas elf lately and this is one of the things that I've made -an altered notebook. I bought this book at the dollar store and although the spiral holes of the spine don't line up with my Spiral Punch, I was able to use my Crop-A-Dile to make the holes of the Purely Pomegranate cardstock line up with the coil of the book. I love the frosted plastic cover on these notebooks - it makes the Purely Pomegranate Baroque Motifs swirl so soft and delicate in the background! The ribbon wraps around to the other side of the cover so that the adhesive is hidden. There is a matching stamped image on the other side of the cover as well - all the work is hidden. Now I just have to make 3 more large books and 15 small ones! The pile never ends! :)

Here are the details:

Stamps: Baroque Motifs
Paper: Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White
Ink: Purely Pomegranate
Tools: Crop-A-Dile, Sticky Strip
Accessories: Purely Pomegranate Satin Ribbon, Jumbo Pewter Eyelets

FREE SHIPPING!

Hooray! Stampin' Up! just announced that from today (November 5th) until the end of November, SHIPPING ON ORDERS OF $100 OR MORE IS FREE to customers in Canada! YIPPEE!!! A perfect time for a promotion like this with the Christmas season approaching! Imagine the money you'd save on gifts for fellow crafters, not to mention the money you'd save on your own Christmas card supplies!

This offer is available provided the total of the merchandise being ordered (before shipping and handling) is $100. Is your order a little smaller than that? Why not bump it up a little or combine it with a friend's order to meet the $100 requirement. Better yet, combine it with a few friends' orders and not only will you get free shipping, you'll also get the hostess benefits if the merchandise total of the orders you submit is over $225 - just like a catalogue party!

I will be placing orders on November 9th and 15th this month, but if you'd like to take advantage of this promotion and your order is over $100, order it any time! Shipping is free!!! Contact me today with your order!

Note Card Tote Bags

Here's something else that I've been working on for my upcoming craft shows. I LOVE how simple these are to make! I used the "Build a Flower" Accents & Elements from Stampin' Up! (page 178) to decorate the bags and the cards - even the matching envelopes! I fell in love with them so much that I had to buy another set and make more! If you haven't checked out these awesome self-adhesive die-cuts, I highly recommend it (Click on the words "Build a Flower" above to follow the link.)!

There are four different Accents & Elements kits to choose from. This particular set comes with 12 pages of self-adhesive die cuts, which gives you over 180 decorative pieces in four great colours: Lovely Lilac, Rose Red, Bashful Blue, and Wild Wasabi. All you need to do is peel them off of the sheet and stick them on to your project! One set is $14.95, which is a steal of a deal considering all of the adhering is done for you and you have so many great pieces to choose from! The cost per piece? 8 cents! Not to mention the fact that when you've used them all up, you have a CD sized metal tin that you can reuse and embellish!

Here's a great tip that I learned at Regionals: to pop up your self-adhesive die-cuts, peel it off of the sheet and rub your Embossing Buddy on the sticky part. The powder from the Embossing Buddy will stick to the adhesive, so that you can add a dimensional to the back and pop it up without the petals sticking where you don't want them. Check out the individual card pictures to see what I mean! Other products used are Whisper White, Lovely Lilac, Rose Red, Bashful Blue and Wild Wasabi cardstock, Black Grosgrain Ribbon and Dimensionals. Super simple and a great gift! With each kit I was able to make 20 cards with matching envelopes and 4 tote bags! Here is what the Lovely Lilac set looks like:

Paper Party Promotion!

WOOHOO!!! Stampin' Up! has a FABULOUS promotion for the month of November - the Paper Party Promotion! During the month of November, when you purchase 3 packages of Designer Series Paper, you receive the fourth one absolutely FREE! Just think of how many tote bags you could make with all of that paper!!!??? (Can you tell that I've been making a few of these lately!) :)

With 35 fashionable double-sided paper packages to choose from (from the regular catalogue and the Holiday mini), you’ll have no trouble filling your stamping area with designs and colours suitable for every occasion and project! If only designer clothing was this inexpensive!

All current Designer Series Papers are included in this promotion – even those in the current mini catalogue, so be sure to take a look at everything that is available Check out pages 170-173 in the Fall/Winter Catalogue and pages 12 and 19 in the Holiday Mini catalogue. Each package contains 12 sheets (2 each of 6 double-sided designs) and is acid and lignin free!

Contact me today to take advantage of this limited-time offer. There’s never been a better time to dress up your projects in Stampin’ Up! style.