Catalog Premiere Party!

On Monday evening, I joined my good friends Jana and Cheryl as well as other Bay Area demonstrators at a movie theater to watch a live stream of Stampin' Up!'s Catalog Premiere!  Here's a photo of us getting ready to head into Theater 10:

(Thanks, Jana, for the photo!  I'd brought a camera along, but discovered when I went to take a photo of the marquis that the memory card was full, and worse than that, when I went to delete a few photos, the battery died!  Oops!  Not as prepared as I thought!!!)

Anyway, the event was amazing!  I'm really hoping that Stampin' Up! will make this an annual event!!!  We were treated to some awesome presentations on new products and at the end of the evening, received our new catalog, our Stampin' Success, and a new stamp set!!!  I'm still a little star struck to have been handed my goodies by Shelli's lovely daughter Sara! 

Jana, Cheryl, and I headed to dinner after the event, and pored over our new catalogs, forward and backward and then a few more times!  This is by far my favorite catalog yet!  Can't wait to share it with you.  I can't show the inside pages to you here yet, but can show you the cover (as well as Isabella guarding my new book!  Tried to take some "selfies" with it, but still have such a happy, goofy expression from the excitement of it all, that I'm too embarrassed to show you those!):

If you'd like to be on my list to receive a free copy of your own once they are available, please let me know!

Thanks for stopping by!

- Michelle

Pomp and Circumstance in a Box

 Happy Friday!   Hope you are having a wonderful day! 

The end of the school year is approaching . . . more rapidly than I care to admit!  However, I'm very relieved because we were able to get all pages finished and the proof of our school yearbook ordered today . . . a little behind schedule, but if all goes well, we should have just enough time to review and do the finishing touches before our final deadline.  Phew!!!

Today's card is another of the samples I created for my card in a box class.  I wanted to create a relatively neutral graduation card that could be dressed up in the grad's school colors, if desired.  The Pomp & Circumstance stamp set from the Occasions Catalog is perfect for this . . . and works well with the Starburst Sayings set: 

(Look who snuck into the background!  :)  )

Supplies used:
Stamps:  Pomp & Circumstance, Starburst Sayings
Ink:  Basic Black, Summer Starfruit (although Crushed Curry is a great substitute!), and Bermuda Bay Classic Ink, and Summer Starfruit and Crisp Cantaloupe Stampin' Write Markers
Paper:  Basic Black, Whisper White, and Summer Starfruit Card Stock, Champagne Glimmer Paper, Window Sheets, and Kaleidoscope Designer Series Paper
Accessories:  Starburst and Banners Framelits Dies, Extra-Large Oval Punch, Banner Punch, and Gold Sequin Trim

Thanks for visiting!

- Michelle

Simply Happenings Kit Samples

At my hostess appreciation tea this year, everyone had the opportunity to make a card with materials from the Simply Happenings kit.  (In case you haven't had a chance already, you can see everyone's creations in this blog post.)  I still had some supplies leftover afterwards, so used those to create these cards:

I used the Happy Watercolor stamp set on these cards, as well as Coastal Cabana pieces cut with the Elegant Butterfly Punch, Pansy Punch, and Fun Flowers Bigz Die.

I love how quickly the cards come together with the supplies from the kit!!!  And, it is fun and easy to "step up" the designs with a few simple additions, too!

Thanks so much for visiting!

- Michelle

A Paper Pumpkin Thank You . . . or Two . . .

I realized it's been a while since I've shared some Paper Pumpkin creations here!  So, wanted to share a couple of cards I made with my pieces from my January kit.

For this first card, I layered two Calypso Coral pieces (one striped, one solid), cut from the card bases that came in the kit, onto a Whisper White card base.  I added the arrow stickers from the kit, "thank you" from the Happy Watercolor stamp set, the Coastal Cabana Pansy Punch flower, Pistachio Pudding leaves punched with the Bird Builder Punch, and some of the In Color Boutique Details (love that a package of these came free inside the January kit as a thank you gift!!!!)

On the second card, I started with a Baked Brown Sugar card base, then added a strip I cut from one of the kit's Calypso Coral card bases.  The kit also came with doilies, and I used a full one here.  Layered on top of that is a Pistachio Pudding circle, framed with a circle I die cut from a leftover piece in my Simply Happenings card kit (and I have more samples from that kit to show you soon)!  The flowers I stamped using the Petal Parade kit from Sale-a-Bration.  The flower centers are a Large Pearl Rhinestone and In Color Dahlias (both on the retiring list.  sigh . . . ).  "Thank you so much" is from an earlier Paper Pumpkin kit (Pedal Praise).  The hexagons are from the January kit.  And, the butterfly was punched from Pistachio Pudding using the Bitty Butterfly Punch, with a butterfly sticker from the Paper Pumpkin Try It kit and some pearls on top.

Hope you like these!  Thanks for visiting!

- Michelle

Marlene's Watercolor Easter Card

Couldn't resist sharing this beautiful card by the talented Marlene Caravello:

The front features the Blessed Easter stamp, embossed in white, and with a gorgeous watercolor resist around it.  Marlene used the Oval Framelits, plus added some fun texture with the Chevron folder and the Dots folder from Sale-a-Bration.

The card opens to reveal this adorable artwork:

The egg and bunny are from the Eggstra Spectacular Stamp set, and the bottom embossing is done with one of the Delicate Designs folders.

Thanks for visiting!

-Michelle

Retiring List is Here!

It's that time of the year again!  Stampin' Up! posted the Retiring List this morning.  Have you seen it yet?  If not, click here to visit the online store and check out the products on the list.  All products are available only while supplies last!  So, you'll want to be sure to head over right away and pick up your favorites before they're gone.  Plus, from April 21 to 25th, you can also get

free shipping on any order (excluding expedited shipping)!!!  What are you waiting for?  Head on over to the online store to do some shopping now!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Michelle

SUper Friends Easter Tags

Happy Easter!!!  Hope you have a wonderful day!  I have a treat for you today -- some special projects by my SUper Friends (my talented team of demonstrators) and I.  At our last gathering, we decided to swap tags, and everyone made tags with either an Easter or spring theme.

For my tags, I die cut Soft Sky card stock with one of the Ovals Framelits, then embossed it with the Dots folder from Sale-a-Bration.  I die cut the roses out of Daffodil Delight Card stock using the Spiral Flower Originals Die (two sheets per rose), rolled them together, and sponged the edges with Calypso Coral.  I added a Large Rhinestone Jewel inside.  From Gold Foil Paper, I die cut a leaf using a shape from the Secret Gardens Framelits.  Then, I added a greeting on a piece of Old Olive die cut with a Banner Framelit.  The Crisp Cantaloupe twine is from Sale-a-Bration:

These egg tags were inspired by this tag, which I'd made for my last swap with Marlene. For the rose on this tag, I die cut two pieces from Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Paper and rolled those together.  The greeting on the Very Vanilla tag is from the Blessed Easter stamp set.

Jana created this adorable tag, which could also be used by the recipient as a sweet bookmark:

For her tag, she used the "Sending Good Thoughts . . . " from Perfect Pennants and the coordinating Banners Framelits dies, along with the Flower Shop Stamp set and coordinating Posy Punch.  The perfect finishing touch is a bit of Whisper White Organza Ribbon!


Cheryl created this clever and adorable 3D carrot tag, which can be slipped onto a bottle of wine (or sparkling apple cider, in my photos):

She used the Eggstra Spectacular stamp set.  Love that bunny!

Thanks for visiting my blog!  Hope you have a wonderful day!

- Michelle

P.S.  Be sure to stop back tomorrow for the retiring list!!!

Easter Watercolor Wonder

It's been a crazy couple of weeks here, with preparing for and then having our house tented for termites, taking a wonderful trip to Monterey while we were "homeless," trying to finish up the school's yearbook, and  enjoying the kids' spring break!  That hasn't left a whole lot of time for stamping, but I did manage to make these cards pretty quickly and easily:

Thank goodness for the Watercolor Wonder Note Cards!  Those are the card bases.  Then, I just stamped the tulips from the Blessed Easter stamp set on some rainbow-colored paper remnants I'd made last year for a Wizard of Oz themed stamping birthday party.  (Knew I was saving those for some good reason! ;)  ).  I couldn't resist fussy-cutting the tulips and some of the leaves.

Well, had better head off and finish up the boys' baskets so they'll be ready for tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by!

- Michelle

Baby Love

This coordinating card and heart-shaped scrapbook were created as a special gift for a dear friend's new baby:

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  I'm Here (retired; however the current Baby Prints set would work nicely, too)
Ink: Pink Pirouette
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, and Simply Scrappin' Love Stories (retired)
Accessories: Hearts Framelits, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack; Whisper White Organza Ribbon, Pink Taffeta ribbon, Crocheted Flower, Pearl Jewels

Thanks for visiting!

- Michelle

Cupcake Card in a Box

Today I thought I'd share a cupcake-filled card in a box I designed for a recent class.  This one was inspired by this card I saw on Pinterest (and actually I've been seeing and pinning quite a few great card in a box ideas there lately . . . if you'd like, you can see them on my Card in a Box pin board.)  

For my cupcake card, I started with the Retro Fresh Designer Series Paper -- love the fun, fresh color combination!  My card base is Baked Brown Sugar, and the cupcakes are punched out of Baked Brown Sugar, Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, and Coastal Cabana Card Stock.  The gold stars that appear to float out around the cupcakes are on little pieces of Window Sheets.  It turns out that the best way to attach the stars and Window Sheets to each other and the card (without leaving sticky, glue-y fingerprints on the Window Sheets) is using mini glue dots!   Guess how I figured that out? :)  

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  Create a Cupcake, Perfect Pennants ("Make a Wish" on the back), Peachy Keen (arrows), Yippee Skippee ("carbs, schmarbs" saying)

Ink:  Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, So Saffron, and Tangerine Tango

Paper:  Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White Card Stock; Gold Foil Sheets; Retro Fresh Designer Series Paper; Window Sheets

Accessories: Cupcake Punch; On Film, Word Bubbles and Pennants Framelits; Merry Minis Punches (mini star); Arrows Textured Impressions Embossing Folder; Crystal Effects (on cherries and sprinkles).  

Thanks for stopping by!!!

- Michelle

Everyday Occasions Cards

Hi!  Happy April!  The boys were sure into April Fool's yesterday . . . managed to make it through the day with just some fun laughs at the pranks they pulled (and I confess, I was in on a couple they did for their dad, too!)  Whew!  Hope you enjoyed your day, too!

Today, I thought I'd show you some of the cards I created using the Everyday Occasions kit!  Love this kit -- perfect for all stampers from beginners to advanced -- and all the elements are just so much fun!  And, even though I've used up all the cards the kit came with, and most of the other pieces, I continue to use the stamp set!   Okay, now on to the cards!  Lots of them today!!!

 For this one, I brought out the Whisper White Craft Ink and stamped on the heart with images from Gorgeous Grunge and Flower Shop.  Here's a close up:

(Dressed up with a Bitty Butterfly punched out of Quatrefancy Specialty Designer Series Paper and a rhinestone.)

What do you think of these?  Please leave me a comment and let me know!  Love to hear from you.

Thanks for visiting!

- Michelle