Thinking of You card

I have a friend who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. I hadn't heard from her in a little bit and just wanted to let her know I was thinking of her, so I came up with this card to send her. I really liked the simplicity in how it turned out.

Supplies:
Ever After and Thoughts & Prayers stamp sets
Pink Pirouette and Chocolate Chip card stock
Pink Pirouette textured card stock
Candy Lane Designer Series Paper
Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pad
Pewter Build a Brad
Hidden Garden Rub Ons
Pewter Hodge Podge Hardware (retired - can substitute the new Styled Silver or Very Vanilla Hodge Podge Hardware)
Mat Pack & Paper Piercer
SNAIL, Tombrow Liquid Glue

The card Keila helped me make

My 3 year old daughter had a birthday party for a preschool classmate of hers yesterday. Ever since I let her play with my ABC Images stamps while I was making the flash cards a couple weeks ago, she has wanted to stamp with me some more. I must admit that this has been something that I've had a difficult time with since I am very, well, picky, about how clean my stamps and ink pads and such are. And we all know that 3 year olds have no concept of being gentle with the stamps and not getting the wood in the ink pad and such. But, I've determined that it is more fun seeing her have a blast with the stamps, just like I do. So, our next project was to make a birthday card for her friend Dominic. It took me a little bit to decide how to design a card that Keila could help me with, but finally I decided to let her have a grand old time with birthday themed stamps and then I would use that as the background image for the card. I think in the end, it turned out pretty well. By the way, on the Pacific Point piece on the right, I used a scor-pal to score a lattice design into the card stock. I then punched out 1/4" circles and used those to create the "quilt" look.

Supplies:

Party Hearty and Celebrate Everything stamp sets

Riding Hood Red, Pacific Point and Whisper White card stock

Riding Hood Red, Pacific Point and Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pad

On Board Lots of Letters

1/4" Circle Punch (retired)

SNAIL

Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive

I'm Back!

Hello all! I'm back from my wonderful vacation and am working on getting the last chance lists posted and updated on here. Keep your eye out - I'll have them available later today!

Couple of cute kid projects

I always love looking through Stampin' Up!'s Idea Book and Catalog(s) over and over. I have the past 7 or 8 catalogs, and I still enjoy going back to the old one's to get ideas if I'm drawing a blank on my own. There have been two projects recently in the catalogs that I have been dying to try, and this week I finally got around to making the projects myself.

The first project is in the current catalog. It is a 3-D project - a way for you to "spice up" a photo in a frame. I just bought a frame I liked at Target, then cut my own cardstock to match the size of the frame. I had to resize my photo a little bit - but that of course is the great thing about digital photos, it is so easy to resize and print a new one! Anyway, I love how this frame turned out, especially with the adorable photo of my son playing in one of the fountains at our local botanical garden's children's park. NOTE: for the placement of the letters on this one, I just took my chances of free-handing the stamps. If you want to be sure your letters are straight though (like for the next project), you can use the Stamp-a-ma-jig.

Frame Supplies:
ABC Lower and Prehistoric Pals stamp sets
Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Garden Green, Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, and Riding Hood Red Classic Stampin' Pads
Whisper White card stock
Paper Snips
SNAIL and Stampin' Dimensionals
store bought frame

The second project was in two or three IB&C ago. It was on the page with the ABC alphabet sets, and was one of the main reasons I bought all the ABC sets. I've been wanting to make these flashcards for quite some time. My husband and I are going away in a couple of days for our 10 year anniversary (we're going to Paris and London!) and the grandparents are watching our kids. I thought the flashcards would be a great gift for them to have when we leave for our trip.

I used our 2008-2009 in-colors as my card stock and ink colors for the flashcards. I decided to only use the Pink Pirouette for the wheel color because it is such a light color and I thought it might get lost in the brightness of the other colors if I tried to mix it in with the letters. Also, I didn't use it as a card stock base, just an accent color, because, honestly, I need more Pink Pirouette card stock! :-) I'm also saving my Baja Breeze card stock because that is my favorite color and I know it is going to be retired next month (watch out for a post tomorrow about the retiring stamp sets and accessories). Anyway, once I got the hang of making these, they went relatively quickly. This is a great project to make with your kids too - especially if you have older kids who want to help make the flashcards for their younger siblings. NOTE: it is a good idea to use a darker ink color (like Chocolate Chip) on the imaging sheets of the Stamp-a-ma-jig, even if that isn't the color you are going to use on your actual project.

Flashcard supplies:
ABC Upper, ABC Lower, and ABC Images stamp sets
My ABCs Stampin' Around Wheel
Whisper White, Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, and Pacific Point card stock
Tangerine Tango and Pink Pirouette textured card stock
Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, and Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pads
Kiwi Kiss 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
Stamp-a-ma-jig
1-1/4" Square Punch
1" Circle Punch
Tag Corner Punch
Crop-a-Dial
Wheel Guide
Stampin' Around Wheel Handle
SNAIL and Stampin' Dimensionals

So Shelli Father's Day Challenge

I have to day off today for the Memorial Day Weekend, and I've been trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my day. I decided that one of the things I would work on is some things to enter in different challenges and contests hosted by Stampin' Up! and folks in my upline/sideline. I realized it had been a little while since I had participated in one of Shelli's challenges on her web site (Shelli is the co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up! - the link to her blog is on the left). So, this month's theme is Father's Day, and I had a perfect card that I had created for my upline's monthly meeting a couple of weeks ago. The layout may look familiar to you - it is the same layout from the card on pg. 81 of our current catalog, and the one I used for my friend's baby shower invites in yesterday's blog post. Similar to the shower invites, I used Whisper White Craft ink on Close to Cocoa for the background look on the bottom portion of the card. I've also included the inside of the card for two reasons. 1) I've started decorating the inside on some of my cards, especially if my base is a dark color card stock. I figure this both adds some interest to the inside of the card as well, but also allows you to be able to write your message easier without using a white gel pen, or silver marker, etc. 2) I wanted to show you a great technique for tying your ribbon around a card front when you want to put the ribbon in the direction that would take it over the card fold (you may have to take a second to see what I mean on the card... it is along the left side of the photo below). I found this on another demo's blog (I'm really sorry -it has been a while and I don't remember who's blog I found it on), but it is so simple. All you do is take your Horizontal Slot punch and punch a hole in the part of the card fold where you want the ribbon. The thickness of the ribbon hides the "dent" in the card fold when you are just looking from the front. I thought that was a great idea!

Supplies:
All Holidays, Full of Life and Sanded stamp sets
Creamy Caramel and Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pads
Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad
Close to Cocoa, Kiwi Kiss, and Whisper White card stock
Close to Cocoa textured card stock
Candy Lane Designer Series Paper
Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware (star brad)
Silver Brads
Kiwi Kiss 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
Horizontal Slot and Photo Corners punches
SNAIL, Sticky Strip and Stampin' Dimensionals

Baby Shower Invite for my college friend

A good friend of mine from college (and my sorority big sister) asked me to help her design a baby shower invitation for her sister. They know that her sister is having a little boy, but Lainey was interested in having the invitation be more of a tea party theme than overwhelming "baby" theme. Since she lives about 2 hours away from me, I sent her some images from the current catalog as some basic formatting ideas. We ended up settling on using the card on pg. 81 of the current catalog as our basic layout (and some of the color palette too). She came to visit me last Saturday and we had a blast making the invitations. I've included photos of both the original layout I had ready for her when she arrived and then the final layout we ended up going with for the invitation. The original card was made using the Parisian Breeze Specialty Designer Series Paper (which we both loved) but I wanted to come up with a way to use a similar design but not have to buy a bunch of packs of the Designer Series Paper for just one design. So, what I ended up doing was using the Bella Toile background stamp, and stamping it in Whisper White Craft ink on textured Baja Breeze card stock. The effect is pretty darn close to the one pattern in the Parisian Breeze paper (if I do say so myself) - and I think it turned out perfectly. As you can see in the original, I had planned on also using the Bella Toile stamp in Blush Blossom as a background on the main image, but we thought that was a little too busy - so Lainey suggested making the main image smaller and just having the bunny on the Whisper White card stock. (Yes, I accidentally messed up the stamped image on my example - I promise that double stamp was not anywhere on the final versions though!) We had a great time stamping all day (with a break for a great lunch) and it was a wonderful reason to get together and catch up on all that was going on in our lives.

Card Supplies (for the final version - the card on the right):
Bella Toile and Cute & Cuddly stamp sets
Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, and Whisper White card stock
Baja Breeze textured card stock
Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pad
Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad
Baja Breeze 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon

Now it's my little girl's turn...

You get two scrapbook pages today since I know I won't be posting tomorrow. I will be at the monthly meeting that my second level upline is hosting. It's one of the great perks of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator - there are a ton of ways to get together with fellow demonstrators and share ideas. Lisa hosts a shoebox swap: some of the folks coming to the meeting volunteer to bring a project. If you are bringing a project (like I am tomorrow night) you provide all the supplies such as ink pads, stamps, card stock (already cut to the correct dimensions) and put them all in some sort of small box. Then you will have one card that is your example card that everyone can look at to see how to put the card together. At the start, we all show our project (card or 3-d project) and describe any things that might be a little tricky. Then we pass the shoeboxes around the table. By the end of the night, you have 8 or so projects to show as examples, use as ideas for future layouts, etc. It's an awesome time to talk and share and just have fun with fellow demonstrators!



Ok... so on to tonight's scrapbook layout. I did this double layout as a project for the Scrap all Day vendor fair I did in late February and my March club meeting. As with my son's birthday page, everyone made the two 6x6 layouts and I showed the way those could either be 8-1/2x11 or 12x12 pages. I admit that I used a ton of supplies for these pages, so I don't know if I'll be able to correctly identify all of them here. I'm going to try - oh, and yes, I did use the Sale-a-Bration paper and ribbon here again (sorry)...

Supplies:
It's a Loop Thing, Big Deal Numbers, and Heard from the Heart stamp sets
Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Barely Banana, Pumpkin Pie, and Chocolate Chip card stock (some of it is textured - Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette)
Delicate Dots Designer Series Paper (SAB '09 - no longer available)
Certainly Celery Poly-Twill Ribbon (SAB '09 - no longer available)
Pink Pirouette 1-1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon
Rose Red 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon
Bashful Blue 1" Double-Stitched Ribbon
Scallop Border Punch
5-Petal Flower Punch
Summer Sun Corduroy Buttons
Flower Fusion
Filigree Brads
Rich Regals Brads
Gold Brads
Metallic Eyelets
Big Shot Die-Cut Machine
Stampin' Up! Top Note bigz die
Stampin' Up! Join in the Cheer sizzlits decorative strip die
Note: I did use a different letter decorative strip die than is in our catalog - I think it was called Broadway. It is still a Sizzix die - but it is also easy to use the Bollboard die offered in the catalog.

My little boy's birthday scrapbook page

If you look down (or remember) my previous post about Sale-a-Bration, you might recognize the smaller 6x6 portion of this scrapbook page. I created this page for my February club meeting. In the club we only created the 6x6 portion of the page. I then had this set up to show them how you can take a 6x6 scrapbook page and easily turn it in to an 8-1/2x11 or 12x12 page. Just to point out exactly what I'm talking about - and since I know you can't take a tape measure to the computer screen - the Baja Breeze (blue) square portion with the main larger picture is the 6x6 layout. Then the Certainly Celery (green) portion is the 8-1/2x11 layout. This is just one way to easily start small if you are unsure about scrapbooking, and as you get more comfortable with scrapbooking, you can always go back to your inital 6x6 pages and just add a few elements to make it one of the larger sizes.

Oh - and yes, the designer series paper on this is from Sale-a-Bration this year, so unfortunately it is no longer available; and the jumbo wheel I used is retired (I actually did not do that on purpose, I realized after I made the page that the wheel was retired), but since it is National Scrapbooking Month, I wanted to put more scrapbook pages out there. You can easily use other great designer series papers and wheels with this layout.

Supplies:
Define Your Life & It's a Loop Thing Stamp Sets
Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip, and Close to Cocoa Classic Stampin' Pad
Certainly Celery and Brocade Blue Craft Stampin' Pad
Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, and Whisper White card stock
Baja Breeze and Basic Gray Textured card stock
Delicate Dots Designer Series Paper ('09 SAB - no longer available)
Certainly Celery Poly-twill Ribbon ('09 SAB - no longer available)
Linen Thread
Silver Brads
Clear Buttons
Ice Square Rhinestone Brads
On Board Timeless Type
Leaves a la Carte Jumbo Wheel (retired)
Jumbo Wheel handle
Wide Oval Punch
Key Tag Punch
Ticket Corner Punch
Heat Tool
Mat Pack & Paper Piercer
Stampin' Sponges
SNAIL
Sticky Strip
Stampin' Dimensionals
Mini Glue Dots

National Scrapbook Month

I'm so excited - I managed to post two days in a row! I'll try to keep this up for most of this week, but I make no promises!!!!

Tonight I'm going to combine National Scrapbooking Month (you know, I never remember if it is "scrapbook" or "scrapbooking" month - so I go back and forth) with Mother's Day. I had created this scrapbook page for my May club meeting, but we never got around to making it. You'll see the project we did later this week and you will understand why we didn't make it to the scrapbook page! Anyway - for those of you who look over and over the catalog like I do - you may recognize the layout. I CASEd it from page 4 of the current catalog. I love this picture and thought it perfect to use - it is the four generations of "Elaine"s. My grandmother, my mom, myself and my daughter all have Elaine in our names whether it be as a first or middle name.

A couple notes about the parts of the layout... for the "mom" at the top, I used craft ink to color some of our on-board letters. I had always been hesitant to do that because of how long it took to dry; but then I discovered the joy of using our heat tool to make that drying job so much quicker! You have got to try it! You can tell when the ink is dry - there is a slight color change. Also, I don't know if you can see it in the picture (sorry it is a little dark, and I promise it is a 8-1/2" x 8-1/2" square - I just had to take the photo at a slight angle in order to avoid the camera flash in the photo - and I still got a little bit)... anyway, I don't know if you can tell in the photo, but I also stamped the Lilly of the Valley stamp behind the Whisper White scrap; on the Going Gray card stock.

Supplies (don't forget - you can always order Stampin' Up! products at any time of the day or night from my web site; link is at the top left):

Ever After stamp set
Basic Gray, Always Artichoke, and Cameo Coral Classic Stampin' Pads
Cameo Coral Craft Stampin' Pad
Cameo Coral Stampin' Write Marker
Going Gray, Baja Breeze, and Whisper White card stock
Walk in the Park Designer Series Paper
1-1/4" Square Punch
Eyelet Border Punch
On Board Lots of Letters
Baja Breeze and Basic Gray Corduroy Buttons
Fresh Favorites II Colored Buttons
Baja Breeze 1" Double-Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon
Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon
Linen Thread

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there! I hope you had as wonderful a day as I did - my husband and kids spoiled me all day!

I know it has been way too long since I posted. I finally got everything done with my grad school class and my May stamp club. I'll be working this week on getting updated posts to my blog. And I'll try to make sure I am better about keeping this up to date more regularly than I have been!

So, I thought it only fitting that I post the Mother's Day card that I made for my Mom and Mother-in-Law. I had seen a number of other Stampin' Up! demos use this quilt technique with the Top Note Bigz Die for the Big Shot and thought it was finally time I try it. I love the Parisian Breeze Specialty Designer Series Paper; I'll be sorry to see it go with the new catalog, along with the Baja Breeze in-color. I'm excited to see the new in-colors - I always think I won't like them as much as I did the previous ones; but then I'll find I love one or two (or more) of the new in-colors just as much!

Here are the supplies:
All Holidays Stamp Set
Baja Breeze, Whisper White card stock
Baja Breeze Classic Stampin' Pad
Parisian Breeze Specialty Designer Series Paper
Pretties Kit
Whisper White Organza Ribbon
Big Shot
Top Note Bigz Die
1-1/4" Square Punch
SNAIL
Dimensionals

It's been way to long!!!!

I know, I haven't posted in forever. I'm finishing up my grad school class for this semester. I promise I will post some of my club projects when I am done with my final exam and last project for the class!

To all the Hokies out there...

When I first saw the Smarty Pants stamp set in the catalog last year - I knew it was one of the ones I had to have for personal reasons. My husband is a graduate of Virginia Tech, and anyone who has heard of them knows that they are called the "Hokies". If you have ever been to a football game (and probably other Virginia Tech sports games as well, but I've only ever been to football games), you might know that the "Hokey Pokey" (or maybe "HOKIE Pokey") is usually played and danced to at least once. So, I love the stamp that reads: What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's ALL about?

I was having so much fun doing the last challenge by my 2nd level upline (see post below), that I decided it was time to finally make a Hokie card with that stamp. I thought the bear from the Under the Stars set was a great dancing bear - (sorry no turkeys) - so I added him in. I'm still working on my watercoloring, but I'm having fun doing it! :-)

Oh... and by the way, Pumpkin Pie and Bravo Burgundy were the closest I could get to Orange and Maroon. But I also think the Sahara Sand looks a lot like Hokie stone!

Supplies:
Under the Stars and Smarty Pants stamp sets
Sahara Sand, Pumpkin Pie, Bravo Burgundy (textured) card stock
Watercoloring paper
Basic Brown, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, and Bravo Burgundy Classic ink pads
Pumpkin Pie and Bravo Burgundy 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon
Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon
Linen Thread
Gold Brads
Sticky Strip
Stampin' Dimensionals
SNAIL

Lisa's Group Challenge

Happy March! I know it has been forever since I posted... I was getting ready for an awesome vendor fair that I had yesterday. I will tell you all about it in another post - I just wanted to share this card really quick. Then I need to get ready for tomorrow and head to bed - although I'm hoping the weather is nasty enough that tomorrow will either be delayed or no work at all! Then I can stamp some more! (and update this blog more)

My 2nd level upline, Lisa (her blog is on my favorites list to the left), is in a weekly challenge group called the Diva Coffee Break Designs. She has given her group of downline demonstrators some of the challenges that she has been participating in. I haven't participated every week, but I wanted to just do some fun stamping and decided to try out this week's design. Some weeks it is a color challenge, some weeks a design challenge... this week was a design challenge.

As soon as I saw the Classic Sketches stamp set in the new catalog, I knew I had to get it. My undergraduate degree is in Architecture, and even though I'm not an architect now that stamp set gave me a way to have fun with the memories. So, I thought it would be fun to see how I could incorporate that set into a card. Let me know what you think!

P.s. - It is always easier for me to scan in my cards than take photos, because the scanner is right here beside me. However, whenever I have a knot or other 3-d element in my card, it causes focus issues. I'm still trying to work on how to fix this - if I even can; but luckily this card didn't turn out so bad.

Supplies:
Classic Sketches and Define Your Life stamp sets
Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Kraft, and Very Vanilla card stock
Chocolate Chip and Creamy Caramel Classic ink pads
1" Double-stitched Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon
1/4" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon
Vintage brads
Sponges
Stampin' Dimensionals

Wondering where the supply list went???

Have you been looking through the new catalog, seen a great project, wondered what was used for that card, flipped to the back of the catalog to see the supplies... and realized that it isn't there? Don't worry - it still exists and has been improved. Now there are small pictures by each supply list/recipe for the project, so it is even easier to figure out which list applies to the project you are looking for! All you need to do is go HERE to the Stampin' Up! website and download or print all the supply lists for the projects in the catalog.

Happy Birthday to my Upline!

February 12th was my upline's birthday. In case you don't know the term, an upline is the Stampin' Up! demonstrator that you sign up to become a demonstrator with. For example, if you were to join the Stampin' up! team using my web site, or through a demonstrator agreement with me, I would be your upline.

In honor of her birthday, I thought I would show you the card I made for her. I was really happy with it - unfortunately the scan does not do the card justice. For one thing, it is blurry. Any time I have a card with a lot of things that "pop out", the scanner always focuses on those things and makes the rest of the card blurry. I haven't figured out how to fix that yet, and it is so much easier for me to scan my cards than take pictures! Luckily, with this card, the blurriness doesn't matter as much since it is a watercolored image and it looks good a little blurry. Yes, I did use some retired Stampin' Up! items... but you can definitely substitute current products for the items that are retired.

Supply list:
Crazy for Cupcakes stamp set (I LOVE this set)
Very Vanilla, Bashful Blue, and So Saffron card stock
Watercolor Paper
Le Jardin DSP (sorry, this is retired)
Basic Black, Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Always Artichoke and Rose Red Classic Ink
Ivory 5/8" Organza ribbon (also retired)
Filigree Brads
Ice Circles Rhinestone Brads
Clear Rhinestone Brads
Aqua Painter

It's Sale-A-Bration time!

I love this time of year! Sale-A-Bration give you an easy way to get even more free stamp sets and accessories! All you need to do is order $50 and you get a FREE Sale-a-Bration, limited offer, stamp set or accessory bundle. If you order $100, you get two; $150 and you get three; do you start seeing the trend? Plus, there are other great benefits if you host a workshop or join the Stampin' Up! team during Sale-A-Bration. Hostesses: host a workshop with $350 in total sales and get a FREE Sale-A-Bration set or bundle - that is in addition to any you earn with your personal order in the workshop. Join my team: get 15% off the starter kit, plus a free stamp set from the current Idea Book & Catalog (a $47.95 value). See below post for more details on joining my team.

To give you a peek at the fabulous products offered only during Sale-A-Bration, here is one of the projects I am doing for my February club meeting. I used both the Sale-A-Bration designer series paper bundle (Delicate Dots) and the Sale-A-Bration ribbon bundle for this 6x6 scrapbook page. I picked this size, because for my club members who are not scrapbookers, they can easily turn all the exact same supplies in to an adorable 3x6 card.

Supplies:
Define Your Life stamp set
Chocolate Chip Classic Ink
Baja Breeze textured, Whisper White and Pink Pirouette card stock
Delicate Dots DSP (Sale-A-Bration)
Certainly Celery ribbon (Sale-A-Bration Ribbon Bundle)
Key Tag punch
Wide Oval punch
Linen Thread
Silver Brads
Clear Buttons
Stampin' Sponge
Stampin' Dimensionals

Join my Stampin' Up! team

Have you been addicted to stamping for a long time now, or just getting into this fabulous craft? Are you looking for something new to do, either as a full time job or just want to earn a little extra cash? Becoming a Stampin' Up! independent demonstrator may be the perfect answer for you. I have a fabulous time sharing what I love to do with others, not to mention the great opportunities and trips Stampin' Up! offers where you get to meet other amazing demonstrators and, of course, stamp!

Now is a great time to join my Stampin' Up! team. During Sale-A-Bration (SAB - Feb 1 - Mar 31), if you become a demonstrator you get the Starter Kit for 15% off PLUS any stamp set from the Spring/Summer '09 Idea Book & Catalog (IBC) for free! That is an awesome value! If you are interested, e-mail me at memoriesbyvanda@gmail.com. It is easy to sign up - it can be done on my Stampin' Up! website!

Joining Stampin' Up! Frequently Asked Questions:

What comes in the Starter Kit?
The starter kit contains almost $350 worth of fabulous supplies for $199 - and now until March 31 you get it all for 15% off: so only for $169! You get the following:
- You choose FIVE stamp sets, this price or lower: 21.95, 30.95, 27.95, 35.95 and a bonus until March 31 of one at 47.95.
- One Stampin' Around regular wheel ($6.50)
- One Stampin' Around handle
- One Stampin' Around ink cartridge - your choice of color
- Stampin' Pastels - a full box of 51 colors!
- Two packs of assorted 8.5x11 card stock (72 sheets total) - your choice of color group
- One pack of Whisper White or Very Vanilla card stock (40 sheets of 8.5x11)
- SNAIL adhesive
- One Decor Element of your choice valued 20.95 or lower (vinyl wall decoration)
- Stampin' Scrub and Stampin' Mist - awesome stamp cleaner!!!
- VersaMark ink pad (clear ink used for watermarks or embossing)
- pack of Blender Pens (3 pens in the pack, each pen is double sided)
- 5 Classic Ink pads, you choose the color
- PLUS all the business supplies you need to start your business: box of 8 catalogs, mini catalogs, order forms, our demonstrator magazine and more.

What are the minimum sales requirements?
You only need to have $300 in sales per quarter. That is only $100 per month - less than an average workshop! I know I can do that in an order for myself most times, so it really isn't that difficult to meet the minimum. PLUS, if you join during the month of February or March, you don't have to meet your first minimum until the end of your first full quarter as a demonstrator. What does that mean? If you join Feb 1st - you actually have until the end of June to make your first $300 minimum sales. After that, it is $300 per quarter. Also note, the $300 minimum can be done in any increments over the quarter - it doesn't have to be all in one order.

Do I have to hold workshops and classes?
Absolutely not. Stampin' Up! is extremely supportive of ALL types of demonstrators; whether you want to make this your sole career, just need a little extra cash, or just want an extra discount on your own orders! There is no problem with having your $300 quarterly minimums entirely your own orders or with a few from family and friends. By the way, you can even be your own Hostess anytime you want! Just invite friends and family over for a night of stamping and you get all the Hostess benefits PLUS receive your demonstrator benefits of instant income & commission.

Do I have to recruit other demonstrators?
Again, not if you don't want to. All you have to do is maintain your $300 quarterly minimum and Stampin' Up! will love having you as a demonstrator. There is no requirement to recruit other demonstrators into your downline.

What are the incentives and benefits associated with being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator?
Stampin' Up offers all sorts of incentives and benefits - here are just a few:
- You get 30% off your first demonstrator order (that's 10% more than your normal 20% discount/instant income) if you place it within 45 days after signing up.
- With the Stampin' Start program, you have the opportunity to earn more FREE stamp sets from the current catalog within the first 3-4 months of being a demonstrator
- You can earn up to 40% commission on personal purchases & customer orders.
- You can pick even more free items (both business and product options) each quarter through Great Rewards (does depend on sales amounts each quarter).
- You are eligible to earn a FREE cruise each year!!
- The opportunity to meet other demonstrators, learn awesome business tips, and STAMP at Convention and/or Regional seminars.
- FREE catalogs throughout the year.
- Monthly demonstrator magazine (Stampin' Success) which includes great project ideas and business tips. PLUS find all sorts of ideas and support on-line with Stampin' Up!s demonstrator support site.
- Get to pre-order new stamp sets and accessories before they are available! :-)

Why would I sign up just to get a discount?
Here is an example of why you should think about signing up even if it is just because you have a big order you want to place. Say you want to order a lot of Stampin' Up! products for a big project, or something big like the BIG SHOT. First of all, you get all the fabulous products listed above for pretty close to 50% off (about $350 worth in supplies for $169). Then, with your first demonstrator order placed within 45 days of signing up, you get 30% off your first order over $150. Since it is over $150, you also get all the hostess benefits: free hostess stamp set and $15 in free product! Plus, every order you place after that you still get a 20% discount. Just think of all that savings!

What if I decide I don't want to be a demonstrator? Is there a minimum required time, or will I get penalized?
There is no minimum time requirement or penalization of you choose to stop being a demonstrator. All you have to do is no longer place the $300 minimum quarterly. You can stop any time you choose.

Do you enjoy being a demonstrator?
ABSOLUTELY!!!! I have a blast stamping and teaching others all the wonderful techniques and designs that are available with Stampin' Up! products. As your upline, I will be here for ideas, questions, and any and all support you need to get your business (or hobby) off the ground. Stampin' Up! is so great to its demonstrators - I've gotten numerous free stamp sets, the opportunity to travel to Salt Lake City for Convention. I had a blast last year with all the demonstrations, learning about new products, and getting to stamp with thousands of other demonstrators from all over. I even got the opportunity to tour the Stampin' Up! headquarters just outside of Salt Lake City. I can't wait to go again this year! I hope you come join me as part of my downline!

Thank you to other Stampin' Up! demos who I borrowed from to compile this list of questions and answers; especially Lisa Freeman and Angie Kennedy Juda.

Shelli's Valentine's Day Challenge

It's been a couple of months since I entered something in Shelli's challenge on her blog. Of course, due to procrastination and our computer issues - I'm entering this on the last day possible! :-) This month's challenge is for Valentine's day, so I thought I would get in on this challenge because I love Valentine's Day - even if my husband isn't that big on the holiday! ;-) For those who don't remember or know, Shelli is the co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up! She has a blog (link is on the left) and will every month or so post a challenge for demonstrators and customers - note: you don't have to be a demo to enter!

I did both of these cards a couple of months ago for a swap for the Holiday Mini. I was very happy to see that the stamp set I used is in the new catalog since I thought it is adorable. The set is A Happy Heart. I had fun using it for both a more masculine-flavored card (the 3x3 I"Heart"U card) and the regular sized card. A note about the Designer Series Paper (DSP) that is one of the layers - I used the Kraft Patterns paper that was part of the Fall/Winter Hostess Level 1 pack. The colors have been changed for the Spring/Summer Hostess Level 1 pack... but the Basic Gray that is in the new pack would be a great substitute. Or, you can use the Manchester DSP since that has a Kraft background color in some of its designs.

For the second card, I also used the Wonderful You set as both a background and used Stampin' Write markers to create the saying I wanted out of the word stamps from the Wonderful You set. I will admit, I need to work on getting those lined up better! Perhaps I should have used the Stamp-a-ma-jig. :-) By the way, the Wonderful You set is not in the catalog, but you can still order it. It just made its way over to the dormant list. It is kind of hard to see, but for the background, I embossed the outline of the leaves in clear embossing powder. Also, the three hearts that form the diagonal "win" are popped out with dimensionals.

Supplies:
3x3 card -
A Happy Heart stamp set
Always Artichoke, Night of Navy, Very Vanilla card stock
Riding Hood Red Classic Ink Pad
Patterns Level 1 DSP or Manchester DSP (see note above)
Designer Label punch
Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware
Cutter Kit (distresser tool)

"won heart" card -
A Happy Heart and Wonderful You stamp sets
Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke, and Very Vanilla card stock
Riding Hood Red and Regal Rose Classic Ink Pads; VersaMark Ink
1/2" circle punch
Ticket corner punch
Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware
Cutter Kit (distresser tool)
Blender Pen
Clear Embossing Powder
Embossing Buddy & Heat Tool
Stampin' Dimensionals

NEW SPRING/SUMMER IDEA BOOK & CATALOG

Sorry I've been MIA for a little while. We've been doing the rounds of "sick" in our house. First it was me with migraines last week, then my daughter with the stomach bug over the weekend, now it's my husband. So, I don't have a ton of time tonight... I promise I will get back to posting some projects soon!

I just wanted to announce that the new Spring/Summer Idea Book & Catalog is available to order from. If you haven't gotten your copy - contact me to get this awesome book. Not only is it filled with amazing stamp sets and other accessories, but there are a ton of great projects in the catalog as well. The cards, boxes and scrapbook pages are amazing and great ways to jump start your creativity!

If you are interested in getting a FREE Idea Book & Catalog - there are a couple of ways to do that. 1) Host a class with me! Hosting a class is a great way to spend an afternoon or evening with your friends. All you need to do is get together a group of your family or friends. I do the rest! For a $5.00 class fee, you and your guests will make 3 projects (cost and project type and number can vary depending on what you are interested in). If your guests place an order, their class fee is waived. You, as hostess, do not have the class fee, get a free catalog, and may be eligible to earn hostess benefits! If you are interested in more details, or booking a class with me, just drop me a line at memoriesbyvanda@gmail.com.

The second way to earn a FREE Idea Book & Catalog is to join my monthly Stamp Club. I'm signing up folks now for a 6 month club to run February - July. What is a Stamp Club, you ask? A stamp club meets once a month on a set day each month (i.e. the 3rd Thursday or 1st Saturday). You agree to a minimum order each month, even if you cannot attend the club meeting. In addition to the great projects that I will provide each month, including the ability to try out great new products and techniques, the hostess benefits will rotate amongst the club members each month. If you are interested in more details, or signing up for my Spring/Summer Stamp Club, e-mail me at the above address.

Spring/Summer IBC New Sets!!!

**NOTE: if you had visited my site earlier this month, I accidentally posted these images prior to the catalog release date, which is against Stampin' Up! policy. I apologize!**

I love the new catalog and stamp sets!! This is a card that I am making for a swap with my upline. It uses a new stamp set, new designer series paper, and a new BIG SHOT accessory! Yay!!!! It's probably hard to tell in the card scan, but I embossed the three flower images from the Sweet Stems stamp set in silver embossing powder and then colored in the middle image using aqua painters. The silver embossed flower at the bottom middle used the new Sweetest Stem Embosslet for the Big Shot. I can't wait to see all the new accessories they have for the Big Shot! I love the embosslets! Enjoy the sneak peek. :-)

Supplies:
Sweet Stems stamp set
Whisper White, Bravo Burgundy, and Brushed Silver card stock
VersaMark, Rose Red Classic, and Regal Rose Classic ink
Raspberry Tart Designer Series Paper
The Big Shot
Sweetest Stem Embosslet
Silver Embossing Powder
Embossing Buddy, Powder Pals, Heat tool
Silver cord (from Holiday Mini)
Silver brads
Ticket Corner punch
Aqua Painter
SNAIL, Stampin' Dimensionals

A second Sneak Peek...

**NOTE: if you had visited my site earlier this month, I accidentally posted these images prior to the catalog release date, which is against Stampin' Up! policy. I apologize!**

Here's is a sneak peek of one of the awesome hostess sets that are going to be in the Spring/Summer '09 Idea Book and Catalog. I needed to make a masculine birthday card for a good friend of ours and was looking through my stamp sets to see what I could come up with. I saw the birthday greeting in the "Goody Goody Gumdrops" Level 3 Hostess set in the new catalog and thought it would be fun to use the sundae and cherry with a window card. (Is that the correct term? I'm not really sure). So, I used the large oval punch to cut a window in the front of the card and then lined up the sundae and cherry so that you can't see the cherry on the front. I used Stampin' Write markers to have half of the greeting on the front and half on the inside. Oh - and I added the extra dimension with a "h" from one of the on-board chipboard letter sets and the Not Quite Navy patterns pack paper (a level 1 hostess item from the Fall/Winter IBC). (and yes, I need to work on my ability to stamp straight as you can see on the bottom picture which is the inside of the card!)

Supplies:
Goody Goody Gumdrops stamp set (Level 3 Hostess set available 19 January)
Party Hearty stamp set
Kraft and Night of Navy card stock
Patterns Pack (Level 1 Hostess set in F/W IBC)
VersaMark and Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Bashful Blue, Riding Hood Red and Going Gray Classic Ink
Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Marker
Large Oval Punch
Blender Pens
On Board Loads of Letters
Whisper White Note Cards
SNAIL, Sticky Strip and Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive

Extra! Extra! The new catalog is here!!!

I received the Spring/Summer Idea Book & Catalogs yesterday! I've been reading all the previews in the blogs of folks who attended Leadership - but after seeing it in person I'm even more "wow'd"! There are some great new stamp sets, AWESOME accessories (corduroy buttons/brads, textured designer series paper, and new ribbons!!), as well as amazing new Big Shot accessories (textured plates)!!! Don't wait, contact me to get your copy!!!

As an additional note, unfortunately we are having some issues with our primary computer. My husband is working hard getting everything fixed (and getting frustrated when things that should work, don't) but until then I can't post any projects. Just wanted to give you an idea of why I haven't posted... although the migraine I've had for the past two days hasn't helped either!