Another Tea Shoppe Card

When my SUper Friends demonstrator group met last week, we had a swap, and here is the card I prepared for it:  

Can you tell how much I am enjoying the Tea Shoppe stamp set?!

This card is an adaptation of a card I saw and admired on Stampin' Connection (a special place Stampin' Up! provides for demonstrators to share ideas, projects, and more online).  The card that inspired me was this beauty by Mary Fish.

For my card, I changed the color scheme and papers.  I used Very Vanilla for the base, for one layer, and for the stamped squares.  The frames around the stamped squares and the layer on top of the card base are Early Espresso.  I also used a piece of the Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper (available as part of Sale-a-Bration!).  The colors for the tea cups are drawn from that paper -- Pool Party, Calypso Coral, and Poppy Parade.  I had fun using pearls to embellish my tea cups, as Mary Fish did on her card!  The little flower is punched from Pool Party card stock using the four petal flower punch from the Itty Bitty Shapes pack.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

It's Time to Sale-a-Brate!

Hi everyone!  I've been a little quiet this week because there's lots happening around here!!!  I'm the yearbook coordinator at my boys' school, and there's been quite a bit of coordinating to do this week.  We also have a couple birthdays coming up in our family, so trying to get ready for those.

Plus, it's Sale-a-Bration!  For those who don't already know, this is a fun and amazing time at Stampin' Up! when there are extra-special rewards for customers, hostesses, those who become demonstrators, and those who already are demonstrators!  Here's a little more information on that (and there's a link in my blog sidebar to the electronic version of the Sale-a-Bration brochure, if you'd like to see all the great products and ideas in that).

Here you can see the free tote hostesses can earn (adorable!!!), and for workshops with over $400 in orders (before tax and shipping), there's a wonderful product bundle as well (which includes the designer paper, brads, and ribbon shown in the photo below right!)

And, if you've ever considered becoming a demonstrator (or just want to take advantage of the amazing deal on the products in the starter kit!), you won't want to miss this:

Please be sure to contact me with any questions, if you'd like to place an order, be a hostess, or join the Stampin' Up! family and my team of SUper Friends!  (Speaking of which, we just had a get together last night, so I'll have some cards and a project to show you from that soon . . . stay tuned!)

In the meantime, did you notice my new blog banner?  It's made with images from the One Big Sale-A-Bration Content CD!   

- Michelle

P.S.  In case you're reading this on a feed and don't want to have to click through to see the banner, here it is: 

Clean and Simple Mixed Bunch Poppin' Pastels

At our SUperFriends team meeting in December, I challenged my friends and team members to create a card on the spot using some pieces of card stock that I had purchased in a "grab bag" when Stampin' Up! had that fun promotion last fall.  These were pieces that had been part of a Simply Sent kit -- a Crumb Cake card base plus some smaller pieces of More Mustard, Real Red and Old Olive card stock.  We combined that challenge with trying out a new technique -- Poppin' Pastels, with a new stamp set -- the Mixed Bunch set from the Occasions Mini.  We also used the new Blossom Punch, which coordinates perfectly with the Mixed Bunch stamp set.  

For those who haven't tried Poppin' Pastels before, this is a very fun technique!  You simply stamp your image in Versamark, then use a sponge or applicator to pick up a pastel color and rub it onto the Versamark.  The Versamark catches the color and holds it.  

Here's the card I created:

Here's a close view of the flower:

I used Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard, and Old Olive Pastels to color the flower.  To color the jewel rhinestone in the center, I used a green permanent marker.

The greeting is from the new Apothecary Labels stamp set.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Hostess Tea Mysteries Revealed!

Before my hostess appreciation tea this weekend, I'd teased you with some photos of decorations and favors in progress.  (You can see those photos in this post and this post.)  Well, it's time for the big reveal!!  The first project was a special banner I created to decorate my "tea room" for the day . . . although I'm liking it so much I probably won't take it down until the boys or their dad voice some objection . . . we'll see how long that takes!  Oh, yes, here's the photo:

The banner pieces were cut from the beautiful Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper using the Perfect Pennants Die and the Big Shot.  The letters are from the Letter It stamp set, stamped in Calypso Coral on Very Vanilla.  I punched those out with the 1-1/4" Circle Punch, then sponged around the edges, first with Calypso Coral, then with Poppy Parade.  I layered the letters onto two flowers I'd punched out of vellum using the new Blossom Punch.  I sponged around the edges of the vellum flowers with Pool Party so they'd show up a little better.

The pennants were stitched onto the lengths of the Ruffled Pool Party Ribbon.  Then, I added other random embellishments to complete the project.

For the other project, those were upcycled glass containers that I filled with chocolates and gave out as party favors.  Here's the bigger picture as far as those were concerned:

Again, I used the Everyday Elegance Designer Paper on these.  The labels are stamped images from the Apothecary Labels stamp set, which I die cut using the Labels Framelits.  Ribbon is the Lucky Limeade and Calypso Coral taffeta, from the Everyday Elegance Embellishment set for Sale-a-Bration.

Finally, here are some of the goodies I prepared for the tea:

The top photo is of the "Bed of Roses" cake, brownies and Earl Grey Tea Cookies!  In the bottom photo are some tea sandwiches -- Greek Chicken, Cucumber and Egg Salad.  Yum!

Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Hostess Tea Make and Take!

I had such a fun time with my friends who came for the hostess tea this afternoon!  I really appreciate them taking the time from their Saturday to come have tea and stamp with me -- and their support of my stamping business this year!!!  Anyway, here's the card I designed for us to make as our project.  It's another shaped card made with the Labels Framelits, but this time it is an easel card:

The card base is Very Vanilla, with a top layer and a bottom accent cut from Pool Party.  We used some of the beautiful Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper (from Sale-a-Bration -- you can get yours starting on Tuesday!!!) for the inner label, as well as for some of the flowers.  The flowers were punched using the Boho Blossom and Bitty Punch Trio.  We used Calypso Coral card stock for a couple of the flowers as well.  Flower centers are Rhinestone Jewels.

Here are some close ups of the flowers:

The stamped tea cup images and the greeting are from the Tea Shoppe stamp set in the Occasions Mini.  They are stamped in Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, and Soft Suede Classic ink, respectively.  The ribbon is the beautiful new Riding Hood Red 3/8" Pleated Satin Ribbon (from the Occasions Mini -- I'm going to be offering an Occasions & Sale-a-Bration embellishement share including this soon, please stay tuned for more details!).   The leaves were punched out of Lucky Limeade using the Bird Punch.

 Here's a side view of the card, so you can see the easel better:

I'll post more photos from the tea soon.  Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Fresh Vintage Label Shaped Card for Late Night Stampers Challenge 156

Happy Friday!  We have a rainy day here . . . in fact, my boys are a bit disappointed because the rain is too light.  They were hoping for big rain and thunderstorms . . . that's pretty rare here, though!   And, that's something I'm thankful for since I'd seen plenty of those before we moved here!!!

Anyway, on to the card I want to share with you today!!!  This is a shaped card I came up with while working on a make and take for my hostess tea tomorrow, and it also happens to fit this week's challenge over at Late Night Stampers!!!  

I created this card using the Labels Framelits (can you tell I'm loving these!?!!!)  

This card is made with a Very Vanilla Base, and a Pool Party layer on top of that.  Then, I added a Very Vanilla frame, and inside that, another piece of Very Vanilla, cut with a smaller one of the Labels Framelits.  The Pool Party Base and center piece were both stamped with an image from the Fresh Vintage Sale-a-Bration set (Only 4 more days until Sale-a-Bration starts!!)  I then sponged around the center label with Pretty in Pink on top and Lucky Limeade on the bottom. 

The greeting is from the Apothecary Labels set, stamped in Lucky Limeade on Lucky Limeade Card Stock.  

Butterflies are embossed and die cut using the Beautiful Wings Embosslit and the Big Shot.  I added a Pearl Jewel in the center of each one.  

Here's another view, so you can see how this card opens from the side:

And, here's the back . . . you can see from this that I created the card by running the Very Vanilla card base through the Framelit with the fold inside one side of the frame:

  

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!!

- Michelle

Another Hostess Tea Sneak Peek

Here's another sneak peek at another project I've been creating for my upcoming hostess appreciation tea.  Can you guess what these will be?

The designer paper is again from the Everyday Enchantment Sale-a-Bration pack, and I paired it with ribbons from the Everyday Enchantment Ribbon and Brad pack.  The labels are created with the Apothecary Labels Stamp set and the coordinating Labels Framelits from the new Occasions Mini.  Can you tell I'm having great fun with my new stuff!  Can't wait to share more of what I've been making with you!

Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Hostess Tea Decorations Sneak Peek

Thought I'd just pop in quickly and give a little sneak peek of a project that I finished up recently for my upcoming hostess appreciation tea.  I created this as one of my decorations . . . I'll show the whole project sometime next week, after the tea.   

This is also a Sale-a-Bration sneak peek because the brads, designer paper, and Lucky Limeade ribbon are all items that you can earn during Sale-a-Bration!  

Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Jungle Love for the KKC09 Color Challenge!

I am so excited, I actually had a chance to play along today with the current KAPOW Kreative Challenge.  This week is a color challenge:

When I saw the colors, the first thing that came to mind for me is that Cajun Craze and River Rock are in the Well Worn Designer Series Paper pack, and it would be fun to use that to create a Valentine's card.  I've been playing around a lot with my new Labels Collection Framelits, so I also decided to create a shaped card.  Here's how that turned out:

I used the P.S. I Love You stamp set, which is from the new Occasions Mini, for the heart and the sentiment.  The heart is stamped in Cajun Craze Classic Ink on River Rock card stock.  After stamping, I sponged the edges with Cajun Craze ink, then sponged the whole heart with Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint.   I couldn't stop there, though.  I had to sponge the outside of the Soft Suede label piece with the Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, too.  Hard to capture the shimmer with a photo, but this one does a little better than the one above:

The heart reminds me of a leopard print, which is what got me thinking this is kind of a "jungle love"-looking card.  Here's a closer view of the heart:

I added a few touches of Regal Rose -- first, in the flower embellishment on the heart.  This was created from two of the medium sized flowers on the Boho Blossoms Punch.  I used a stylus in the center of the flowers, then curled the flowers upward to add more dimension and shape to them.  Then, I inserted a Fire Rhinestone Brad in the center. 

For the "love you" tag coming out of the heart, I started with a strip of Very Vanilla, trimmed it into shape, then sponged it with Regal Rose Classic Ink and a bit of Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint. 

The final touch I added was a bit of "faux stitching" with a River Rock Stampin' Write Marker around the edge of the designer paper label layer.

This was a really great color challenge -- and particularly fun for the Valentine's cards (you know you need to make some!)  So, hope you'll play along, too!!!

Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Marlene's Amazing Emboss-Resist Noel Card

When I opened the envelope that contained this card from my super-talented friend Marlene Caravello, I'll admit it, I actually squealed with delight!  The colors are just so soft and beautiful!!!  And, this card is truly even more beautiful in real life!

I love how Marlene used the Hello, Doily! stamp like a large snowflake in the foreground, embossed over the trees and sponging, which create the beautiful sunrise snowscape in the background.  The Silver Glimmer Paper snowflakes and rhinestones add the perfect touch of sparkle, too.

Thanks again, Marlene, for sending it to me!!!

And, thank you for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Delicate Doily Birthday Wishes

Here's another emboss resist card I have created using the combination of the Hello, Doily stamp and the Delicate Doilies stamp sets.  For this one, I wanted a really pretty, feminine card, so I used a color combination of Pool Party, Regal Rose, and Pretty in Pink.  Here's how it turned out:

I first stamped the Hello, Doily image in Versamark on Whisper White card stock, and embossed it using Clear Embossing Powder.  Then, I stamped the Delicate Doily images using either Regal Rose or Pool Party Classic Ink.  Finally, I sponged on Regal Rose and Pool Party inks in various places, but particularly around the Hello, Doily image, so it would "pop" out.

I added a small circle of fabric (from the Springtime Vintage collection) behind the little flower embellishment (which I created using the Boho Blossom punch and pieces of Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink).  I also used Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon.

The greeting is from the Perfect Pairs stamp set.  It is stamped in Early Espresso on Whisper White.  I punched that out with the Large Oval Punch, and layered that onto a piece of Early Espresso punched with the Scallop Oval Punch.

Emboss resist is such a fun technique!  If you'd like to see a couple of other cards I created using the same technique, please be sure to check out this blog post.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

My Digital Studio In Color Tags

Before Christmas, I decided to design and then print out some tags using My Digital Studio.  It couldn't have been easier!  For the first one, I started with a template for a 2.5 x 4.5" tag that came with the 2011-13 In Color Pack.  That template is in peach and blue tones (Calypso Coral, Pool Party and Island Indigo with a bit of Lucky Limeade, to be exact), and reads "Mr. & Mrs." -- in other words, it could make a beautiful tag for a wedding gift.  With a few quick changes in colors and stamps, I converted that to this Christmas tag, which I had professionally printed through Stampin' Up!:

At the same time, I also created and printed out a few "thank you" tags.  These tags are also from a template that comes with the 2011-13 In Color Pack, but for a 3x3" tag.  I printed these out without making any changes -- they're perfect for attaching a little thank you note to a customer order or to a little thank you gift or well, there are lots of possibilities.  Here's the front of the tag:

And, here's the back:

Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Apothecary Label Happiest Birthday Cards

Have you seen the new Occasions Mini yet?  So many beautiful new stamps and accessories in it!!!  I've been having fun playing with new supplies.  In fact, I needed some special birthday cards, and created these using the fabulous new Apothecary Label set and the matching Framelit dies!  Here are the cards (with apologies because I didn't have the best lighting to work with when I snapped these photos!):

For this one, I watercolored the flowers using Regal Rose Classic Ink and an Aquapainter.  I used Lucky Limeade for the leaves.  The sentiment on this one is from the Perfect Pairs Stamp Set.

The 3D flowers are made using a combination of shapes from the Boho Blossoms, Trio Flower (retired), and Itty Bitty Punches.  I placed one of the smallest pearls from the Pearl Jewels in the center of each flower.  Here's a close up of the flowers. I shaped them by placing a stylus in the center and bending the petals upward around that.

Here's another version of the card:

For this one, I embellished with a combination of Pumpkin Pie and Tangerine Tango flowers.  The flowers were punched using the Trio Flower Punch, four petal flower from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch set or the Birds and Blossoms Sizzlet (now retired, although I had seen it recently in the Clearance Rack). There are mini pearls in the centers of these flowers as well, and for the watercolored flowers, I added a drop of Dazzling Details in the center.

Here's one more variation:

Hard to tell from the photo, but the large flower in this one is actually Calypso Coral.  I created it using the new Blossom Punch from the Occasions Mini, with a center from the Mixed Bunch Stamped Set stamped in Soft Suede in the center of the blossom.  I added Dazzling Details over the stamped area, and then attached a medium-sized pearl in the center.

The card bases are all Lucky Limeade.  The designer paper is from a retired calendar set that I'd been hoarding for a while and decided should be put to good use!

Hope you like these.  Thanks for stopping by!

- Michelle

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!!  Hope 2012 is off to a wonderful start for you.  So far, so good here!  My guys were all back to school or work today.  While I do miss the fun times we had together over the break, I'm sort of amazed at how much I was able to accomplish in the short time I had "free" today!  Funny how that works!!!

Today I have a few pages from the My Digital Studio calendar I created for this year to share with you.  I created an 8-1/2 x 11 calendar, and I used the 2012 Year to Remember Digital Download for the background paper and other elements.  First is the cover:

The snowflakes are from various digital stamp sets -- I opened up the stamp menu and used a search function there to see the different options and choose from them.  I added a digital pearl in the center of each snowflake.

The second page is the photo page for January:

I tried to choose photos for each month of significant events that happened in that month the year before.  These photos show Daniel with his new braces and my guys on a visit we made to Point Lobos State Park in the Carmel/Big Sur area of California.

I didn't add many embellishments on my photo pages . . . I wanted to keep it quick and easy, with the main focus on the photos.

And, finally, I wanted to share perhaps my favorite of all the pages I created -- the back cover!  I didn't realize until this year that I could fully customize this page as well.  I enjoyed adding a favorite photo from each month to the back.  Here's how that turned out:

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle