Sweet Floral is my New Favorite!

Hi everyone!

Hope this beautiful summer day finds you well...it's so nice out here today.  I just wanted to share a quick card before I'm off to go swim at my friend's pool. 

This background stamp is one of the new ones that made an appearance July 1st with the new catalogue release. It's called Sweet Floral and it is so elegant. 

Here I've made the card base from Blushing Bride cardstock.  Then inked up the Sweet Floral stamp with Staz On black ink and stamped on vellum.  It's very important to use Staz On when stamping on vellum or other less porous surfaces so it won't smudge.  Once the ink dried, I flipped over the vellum piece and simply used Stampin' Write Markers to colour it from behind.  Then the vellum was attached to a same-sized piece of retired Night & Day DSP.  Instead of using my special invisible vellum glue, I just used a mini brad in each corner to adhere the layers. 

The sentiment is from the Hostess only set "Tagtastic".  It goes great with punches of course! 

Hope you liked it!  Oh, and one more thing before I go.  I wanted to introduce my blog helper...

Her name is Kitty Kitty or KiKi for short.  I think she's actually more of a hinderance than a help since I have to type all this stuff one handed. 

But she loves hanging out with me at the computer so I feel bad to kick her off.

Bye everyone!

From Charlene & KiKi

NEW STUFF!!!

Hi friends!

I am SOOO excited that I got a chance to play with my new catalogue goodies tonight.  My new favorite products are part of the Domestic Goddess Suite.  It's such a cute, cool, retro suite - you'll love it.  Here are a couple cards I made using the products:

This card uses the new "In Colour" Calypso Coral as a base.  Then I covered most of the card in the Domestic Goddess DSP.  The top edge of DSP is covered with Pool Party 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon. 

I used the Big Shot to cut the long tag from the Two Tags die.  Then I stamped the ironing board from the House & Home stamp set.  The Thanks sentiment is from the exclusive hostess-only set Tagtastic. 

The new hostess benefits are so flexible - you earn hostess dollars which you can spend on exclusive lower priced hostess sets, or any other merchandise from the catalogue.  You can even earn items up to 50% off.  Contact me today to learn more about hostess benefits!



This card was made pretty much the same as the first, except I used the other tag from the Two Tags die and anchored the closure with an adorable new Mini Clothespin. 

The front of the tag is stamped with coloured images from the Now You're Cookin' single stamp.

When you pinch the clothespin off the tag, the sentiment is revealed....



Hope you enjoyed these cards and new products.

Remember, you can get this DSP and these stamp sets at a great discount when you sign up for the $119 starter kit!  Besides a pack of DSP and 2 stamp sets, you also get 4 ink pads, cardstock, notecards, ribbon, blender pen, acrylic block and Snail glue runner!  You'll also receive all the supplies and instructions to make a very cute and fancy Christmas keepsake box ($50 value). 

There is only a few days left until this promo is over!  Contact me before July 31st!





This is the Christmas Keepsake box that you will get to make if you sign up for the $119 deal!

C'mon...you know you want it!

Hope you like!

Super Deals for July!

Hi everyone,

Stampin' Up! announced a super deal for the month of July!  Get 2 stamp sets, 4 ink pads, cardstock, notecards, patterned paper, ribbon, blender pen, acrylic block & glue runner for $119 this month!!! With free shipping!

With this special starter kit, you'll also get a free Christmas keepsake box project (value of $50).  You will join Stampin' Up! and get 30% off your next order, a regular 20% off everything after that, a monthly magazine and access to our online community with over 160,000 card ideas.  You can drop at any time, there is no committment required - after 3 months of inactivity you'll be dropped, but get to keep everything in the starter kit.  You won't get any of the demonstrator perks anymore though :(

Or spend a bit more to get much more! For $215, you'll get 2 more stamp sets, 1 more pack cardstock, Versamark Inkpad, ink refill, 2 markers, wheel stamp with handle & cartridge, stamp scrubber & spray, large punch, small decor element, foam dots & stack of patterned paper!

Click this link for more information or to sign up now! My recruiter password is Shoomka.

Here's a card using some items from the new catalogue! 

This card uses the new set "My Friend" as well as Pocketful of Posies designer series paper.  The butterflies are cut using the Beautiful Wings embosslit for the Big Shot.  I used our Pearls for accents on the swirl and the butterflies. 

Hope you like!

Goodbye, Hello!

Hi everyone!
The paradoxical title comes from this month's news - the Last Chance list is out as well as the July catalogue sneak peeks (for demos anyway!). 

The Last Chance list is where you can find a list of all the stamps and accessories that will not be carried over from the current catalogue to the new catalogue on July 1st.  If you have some favorites on your wishlist, now is the time to get them before they're gone for good!  Click the button on the right sidebar to go there now.

One of the many perks of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is that we get to purchase sneak peek products before they're even available to or seen by the general public!  I've ordered myself some of the newest papers and stamps from the Sneak Peek and I got a free copy of the new catalogue with my order!  Being a demo rocks! 

Here are a couple cards I made using items from Sneak Peek:

This one is a get well card that features the new Lace Ribbon border punch.  It makes a very stylish and delicate border.  Here, I've punched it out of Concord Crush then threaded 3/8" white tafetta ribbon through it. 

The Designer Series Paper (DSP) you see here is also new and it's called Pocketful of Posies.  It's my new favorite - it's whimsical, it's retro-mod, it's eclectic....I just love it!

The base colour of this card you may notice is different...No it's not the old Lavender....it's a brand new In Colour from the 2011-2013 colours and it's called Wisteria Wonder.  There are 4 other new yummy In Colours added to the current 5, making a total of 10 In Colours to play with!

There is a matching stamp set that makes the little rain drops and it's called "My Friend".

I've used the "My Friend" set again for the sentiment on this simple card. 

Then I adhered 3 squares of the lovely Pocketful of Posies DSP and bordered it with Chocolate Chip and another new In Colour "Pool Party". 

A couple buttons faux threaded using a tiny strip of white paper and voila! Done!

I hope you enjoyed your special sneak peek at some of these new products. 

I'm enjoying my new catalogue so much - looking through, making my wishlist, imagining how the new stuff will work so well with my current stuff!  Ahhh June is a great month here at Stampin' Up!

To get your hands on a new catalogue, contact me to host your own New Catalogue Party!  As a hostess you will get a free catalogue plus all of us will have a blast seeing some new products and making something to take home!

Hope you like!

Bad News / Good News (a.k.a. Out with the Old, In with the New!)

Hi everyone,

Well....another month long absence from the blogosphere!  Let's just say between personal life, work life and a ginormous flood all across Manitoba, it was a very busy month of May! 

I'd like to just take a quick break from my regularly scheduled programming to say that I am so impressed with my fellow Manitobans and so proud to be part of such a great, big, giving community.  The Flood of 2011 has been so stressful, especially where I work.  It also affected our family personally as well.  My parents', grandma's, and aunt and uncle's house were all in the "danger zone".  I've only been alive 24 years and never in that time have we ever had to worry about flood water; it simply didn't occur in our area.  But this year was different.  A one in 300 year event occured where the cresting of both rivers happened so close together, combined with major snow storms late in the year, plus weeks of rain...it was a recipe for disaster.  Our Province and community made national headlines for weeks.  People put their lives on hold to go protect their houses, their family's houses, move their belongings and livestock, find places to stay in event of evacuation.... It's been so busy and stressful that sometimes you forget to stand back and look at the good that is happening. 

When I drove down the main street in my little town, it was taken over by a giant row of sandbags, nearly 10 feet tall.  The Canadian Forces, along with just about every able-bodied person in the village, were loading these sandbags into homeowner's trucks and trailers.  We gathered up friends and neighbours to help sandbag around my grandma's house and my heart just swelled.  All these people donating their time and muscles, everyone in the community pulling together.  This was (and is still) happening all across Manitoba, not just in my little community!  The flood is by no means over, even though the threat level has dropped considerably in my area, it's moved on further north now.  To get a visual of how things looked nearby a week or so ago, this is a living complex off one of our major highways:

Those 2 little dark blobs are people and they are walking across a home made bridge of pallets that are floating on waist high water.  It is nuts here!  So now that you know why I've spent so much time away from the craft room and computer, let's move on!

So for today's blog post I have bad news and good news for you guys... Bad news first, always. 

June 1st marked the day that the Last Chance List came out.  This is a listing of all the items in the current catalogue that will not be available when the new catalogue launches on July 1st.  This means if any of these stamps or accessories are on your wish list, you have less than 1 month to purchase them!    Check to see if any of your favorites are on limited time availability!

Good news is that the new catalogue is coming on July 1st and I promise you, based on the super-secret, demo-only sneak peek I have seen, IT WILL BE AWESOME!!!  I can almost taste the yumminess emanating from the 5 new In Colours that will be added to this year's In Colours.  That's right, in July you will now have 10 In Colours to use to augment our regular 40 colour collection!  Also, the designer series paper is totally rockin'!  It is fresh - or is it phresh?! I can't wait to get my hands on it and I know you'll feel the same.

Despite the flood, I did manage to make some awesome Mother's Day cards!  Take a peek:

This one uses Concord Crush as a base and Perfect Plum as accent colour.  The large flower is made by putting the Fun Flowers die through the Big Shot, then slightly curling the leaves for dimension.  The little rose was made by using Julie William's tutorial - isn't it gorgeous! 

The flower is anchored with an Antique Brad - so pretty!  The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes (my go-to stamp set for almost every card) and is stamped on a die cut from the Lots of Tags dies.

This next card I think is really fun!  I used to think monochromatic cards were boring, but as you can see, I'm on a monocolour kick now!

This one is Daffodil Delight and the super cute white patterned DSP is from *NEW* paper that is featured in the summer mini and it's called "Beyond the Garden".  Besides yellow it also has vibrant Wasabi, Melon, Pacific Point and Tangerine colours. 

The two flowers are stamped from the coordinating set "Fabulous Florets". 

I just love the new summer mini stuff!  If you'd like to see more of it, book a party and I'll be sure to show off some awesome new projects you can do!

Happy spring!  To my fellow flood buds, stay high & dry!