My Sweet Stampin Spot

Full of Love

I recently was asked to do quick demo for the lovely ladies in my mother-in-law's Homemaker's Group. Several were interested in an additional card class. This simple love card is my nod to a Valentine card. I love the classic color combo of Real Red, Whisper White and Crumb Cake. More interest is provided by the embossing and off-center placement of the red layer. Sometimes just a little change from the straight forward make a card look fresh. This simple card is so easy to recreate that you can whip out 1 or 20 in no time.  

If you play along with the weekly SUO Challenges, you'll see that this week's theme is Valentine Wishes. Join the challenge and post your creation on the blog! Check out the blog here: http://suochallenges.com/?p=4399

Supplies: Real Red, Whisper White and Crumb Cake cardstock. Big on You stamp set. Real Red Ink. Big Shot, Chevron embossing folder. Stampin Dimensionals

A Herd of Thanks

Oh my goodness, it's been ages and ages and ages since I've posted to my blog. The poor thing has fallen the way of my many as yet unopened boxes from our move last year. One of my New Year's goals is to be more consistent and proactive in my stamping business. 

Much of my time is also spent cooking and baking. One of my host duties as a volunteer for Kids with Food Allergies is to help families learn to cook with dietary restrictions. I've learned so much in our decade+ long journey and love to pay it forward. So I plan to start adding some food posts as well.

So on to today's project. I'm heading out to a church board retreat this weekend. One of our members has graciously loaned us their lake house for the retreat. I knew my brand spankin new From the Herd stamp set was perfect for a thank you card for this occassion. Have you seen it yet? It's in the Occasions Catalog (please bear with me the next little bit as I dust out the cobwebs of remembering how to update all those widgets and links!)

Supplies: From the Herd, Lots of Thanks stamps, Basic Black and Wild Wasabi Ink, assortment of markers, aquapainter, Early Espresso, Whisper White and Wild Wasabi cardstock, Adventure paper stack, label punches. 

Sale-A-Bration

Earn FREE, exclusive products during Sale-A-Bration, our annual sales event with perks for shopping, hosting a party, or joining Stampin’ Up! You can take advantage of all Sale-A-Bration has to offer from January 28−March 31.

 

Make sure you don’t miss out on your FREE gift with each $50 US! We’ve made it easier than ever to get your free gift; just order one of our Sale-A-Bration bundles and then pick your exclusive gift!

 

Contact me today to get in on the action.

Here's a little fun demo about the Party, Party Party Bundle from the Stampin' Up! Youtube channel. Subscribe today and you'll get all the up to date information about products. 

 

 

A Hundred Years from Now

Flipping through the radio channels one day in my van this week I stopped to listen to Garrison Keillor. My dad got me started listening to Prairie Home Companion and now I stop when I hear his voice. I was really struck by a poem he read. You can read or listen to it on The Writer's Almanac website, but here is the poem. 

A Hundred Years from Now

by David Shumate

I'm sorry I won't be around a hundred years from now. I'd like to
see how it all turns out. What language most of you are speaking.
What country is swaggering across the globe. I'm curious to know
if your medicines cure what ails us now. And how intelligent your
children are as they parachute down through the womb. Have
you invented new vegetables? Have you trained spiders to do your
bidding? Have baseball and opera merged into one melodic sport?
A hundred years....My grandfather lived almost that long. The
doctor who came to the farmhouse to deliver him arrived in a
horse-drawn carriage. Do you still have horses?

No Layer Birthday

This week's SUO Challenge is to create a card with No Layers! I am a clean and simple girl, but I find myself generally having 1 layer. So to truly do a no layer card took some restraint.  I'm loving all the watercolor themes lately so I wanted to try my hand at that. I played around with several coloring techniques and finally ended up with a usable card ;)

I placed drops of 3 colors of ink (Melon Mambo, Real Red, Calypso Coral) on the Stampin Up C acrylic block and with a light hand blended them together with my aquapainter. I worked my way from right to left stamping the block. For the 3rd pass I added a bit of rubbing alcohol with my aquapainter to get it wet enough to stamp again. This ended up giving the colors a bit more definition and "bubble" effect. 

Again with a birthday card since we have so many in the family this quarter. I wanted a candle image but couldn't find a current one. I ended up pulling out one of my oldest stamp sets - Perfect Party. This set came in my Starter Kit way back when. I only have a handful of retired stamps and this is one of them. The top edge is torn to add to the watercolor vibe of the card. I painted a stripe of color on the inside of the card for contrast. 

Supplies: Naturals Ivory cardstock, Real Red, Calypso Coral and Melon Mambo reinkers, Stazon Black ink, Aquapainter, Sassy Salutations and Perfect Party stamp sets, Simply Rhinestones, Acrylic Block C - all by Stampin Up. 

Weekend Baking

A couple of months ago I started the Artisan Bread in a Day method of bread baking. I have my lovely buckets of gooey dough in the fridge and when I'm ready for freshly baked loaf I just pull off a piece and bake :YUM: Our big meal this weekend was a turkey dinner thanks to me stashing the post-thanksgiving sale turkey in the freezer. So of course we had to have some fresh bread for that. 

 

 

 

Today I got a craving for cookies. I go to cookie is always chocolate chip, but I opted to go for a slightly healthier cocoa oatmeal raisin. Due to my son's egg allergy, I either use vegan, egg free or susbstitute traditional recipes. This one is from my well loved Bakin' Without Eggs cookbook by Rosemarie Emro. I've been tweaking it slightly as the cookie is not a chewy cookie and is fairly crumbly. 

Want to know the secret to making yourself not gorge on the cookies once you've made them? Just forget to add the sugar <smacks head> I was so focused on my changes that I completely missed adding the brown sugar. I did get the white sugar added so they're not completely horrible. I salvaged them by drizzling with a powdered sugar glaze. 

 

School Spirit

Hello again friends! After quite the long hiatus, I am finally resurrecting my long neglected blog. I was derailed by lack of computer, time and a relocation. I am finally settled in my new town - well as much as I can be for now. We endured a whole house remodel and 4 moves in 3 months last year. We all survived intact with only a few scars ;) 

I've changed the look of my blog a bit to reflect what I hope to do as I move forward. Previously my blog was dedicated solely to my Stampin Up business. Since I'm very much into food as a creative outlet, I've decided to add the occassional post about food. My time spent as a volunteer for Kids with Food Allergies has allowed me to help teach others how to be creative in the kitchen when faced with new challenges. My son was diagnosed with food allergies over a decade ago so I'm not new to the rodeo. I hope you like what you see and want to come back and keep tabs on my little corner of the world. 

Today's project is for my daughter's school auction. Her class is doing a school spirit theme. The colors are black and gold. I found a clearance keychain that had a few silver and black baubles on it. Perfect for my purposes. I was able to tear it all down and use a few of the pieces while adding some amber gold accents and the Stampin Up bottle cap. I sealed the paper insert (words blurred for privacy) with a layer of Crystal Effects. I may have to go back and pick up a few more as I suspect some teachers and other staff may want one. 

Cherry Scented Valentine

One of the most fun new products Stampin Up is offering is scented clear embossing powder {yum}. It's available as part of the Sweet Shop Suite of products in the Ocassions Mini Catalog. So in addition to the lovely look of heat embossed images on your projects, you add the allure of a scent. They currently are offered in 3 scents - vanilla, cherry and melon. What a fun surprise! Don't think this stamp set is only for Valentine's Day - the sentiments also include a You're So Sweet and Happy Birthday.

Scrumptious! Since the scented powders are clear, you'll need to use a colored craft ink if you want your image colored.

Supplies: Sweet Cake stamp set, White Craft Ink, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler and Early Espresso cardstocks, Cherry Cobbler and Early Espresso markers, Cherry Scented Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Full Heart Punch, Twitterpated Designer Paper.

Interested in learning embossing techniques? Contact me today to schedule your party.

Twitterpated Scrap Page

I created this page was for a recent scrapbook workshop. I was inspired by a page layout I saw at Leadership. The hostess has a new daughter and wanted something girly, but not strictly baby so the other guests weren't excluded. The new Twitterpated Designer Paper perfectly fits that bill!  

This 8x8 page features several products from the Occassions Mini Catalog - Twitterpated Designer Paper, Blossom Builders Designer Printed Kit, Loving Thoughts stamp set, and Blushing Bride Pleated Satin Ribbon. I also showed the guests how they could easily mount this on a 12x12 page if that's the size they prefer or would like to frame. The flower layers include a Triple Flower punch of the Twitterpated paper layered over a die cut flower from the Blossom Builders Kit, topped off with a halfback Pink Rhinestone also from the Blossom Builders Kit.

You can view the Occassions Mini Catalog in pdf form HERE

To purchase Stampin Up products, stop by my Online Store anytime. It's always open :)

FREE My Digital Studio Express Trial

Over considered digital crafting? Now you can give My Digital Studio a try for free! My friend loves digital scrapbooking because she can do it on her laptop during the many hours of waiting at her kids' various practices and games. When she's done, just close the computer - no mess to clean up! You can download or purchase other Stampin Up products in my online store at www.kwilliams.stampinup.net. Just click SHOP NOW. Here are some FAQ's about the Trial Offer: Q: How long can we take advantage of the My Digital Studio Express trial? A: This is an ongoing offer. We want all our customers to be able to try My Digital Studio. Q: What digital content comes with the My Digital Studio Express Trial? A: My Digital Studio Express includes one stamp brush set, 12 Designer Series Paper patterns, 81 embellishments, 26 punches, and 5 designer templates. Q: What's the difference between My Digital Studio and My Digital Studio Express? A: My Digital Studio Express is My Digital Studio software that you can download directly to your computer without having to wait for discs to be shipped to you. The program functionality is exactly the same as the disc version of the software with less digital content. Q: Do I have to have access to the Internet to use the trial? A: Yes. You need access to the Internet both to place your order (as an online order for customers) and to download the program. Q: Can I get the My Digital Studio Express Trial on a disc? A: No. The My Digital Studio Express Trial is only available as a download over the Internet. However, the file is not large, so even if you have a dial-up internet connection, you will still be able to download the program. Q: How do I order the My Digital Studio Express Trial? A: As a demonstrator you can add the free My Digital Studio Express trial (item 129600) to your online shopping cart. You do not need to purchase any other items with the My Digital Studio Express trial, but you can add it to an order with stamping supplies or other digital downloads.