I can't believe it's almost November!  It has been in the 80's here in North Carolina, I'm still waiting for Fall to begin. I am originally from the mountains and miss having a true Fall.  The crisp days, vibrant colors and smell of wood burning in the fireplaces.  The Christmas decorations have been up in the stores for over a month and many of my demo friends are sharing the holiday projects they have made. 
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All of this inspired me to begin working on my holiday projects.  Linda, a friend of mine, and I made Christmas cards last weekend.  I forgot to take a picture of one of my cards before she left.  Here is my most recent creation.

•   I used the stamp set Holiday Happiness 120792 and stamped the image on Very Vanilla card stock in Early Expresso ink, you could use Old Olive ink 102277 for the image if you wish.  Some of the stamped ornaments are on dimensionals and some are stamped directly on the card.  There is a star stamp included with the set, I decided to use a brad.  To gather the ribbon I used a loose stitch with needle and thread and pulled the thread to gather the ribbon until I was able to work it around the back of the card and used sticky strip to attach it to the oval.

The supplies I used are listed below:

Holiday Happiness Stamp Set wood mount116982 or clear mount 120480

Very Vanilla card stock 101650

Old Olive card stock 100702

Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper 117159

Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon 109054

Scalloped Oval extra large punch 119856

1 3/8" x 5/8" oval large 119863

Stampin' Dimensionals 104430

Sticky Strip 104294

Early Espresso Classis Stampin' Pad 119670

Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad 102277

Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Pad 119689 

I hope you enjoy this card and hope to stamp with you soon,

THE BUNDLE SALE

 October  19th - December 16th

 

                                                                                            

The Handmade Holiday promotion has begun!!  Now is the perfect time to begin making your holiday cards and gifts.  Order your supplies now and save 20%. Please use the item numbers listed above to ensure your savings. 

Do you need some ideas to get started? Contact me today or check my calendar.




Hope to stamp with you soon! 

I have been looking at a blank wall in my office for 10 years and finally decided months ago to put something up.  I work in a high school so  felt that it needed to be appropriate for the environment.  What better than something from the Definitely  Decorative Catalog?   Thoughts and Prayers 113252 is one of my favorite stamp sets, I used the same image from the catalog and added a quote, also from the catalog.  Here is what I ended up with. 

The quote is hard to read, I tried to make the picture bigger but I lost part of it, when I sized the picture it offset and just wasn't working.,  It says "Go Confidently in the Direction of Your Dreams".   I have been wanting to show this but hid the picture from myself  :(  The picture looks small or the wall very large.  Actually it is a perfect fit ( no my office is not big) and I have received many compliments.  If you have a wall that you can't decide what to do with  look through the Definitely Decorative catalog.  They have something for every room.  They come in different sizes, this was the medium.  We also have chalk board images you can write on with chalk and use for notes and reminders.  Functional and it spruces up your wall.  Decor Elements are also great to use in a child's room or for seasonal decorating.  

Go to my sidebar and take a peek.

Hope to stamp with you soon,

I have, over the last few months, had a number of people talking about the big box discounts and how they can get stamps etc. for as much as 40% off.  I thought today I would post what I love about Stampin' Up! and why I use their products.  Let me stop here and say that yes, I am a demonstrator, but, I was using Stampin' Up! products by choice before I became a demonstrator.  I priced some of the stamps at one of the big box stores and one stamp was about $9.00.  I know, you can use a coupon and that drives down the price.   Now let's look at one of our stamp sets.  Not one stamp, but a set of  coordinating stamps you can use in hundreds of combinations. If you want every card to have a different look, it will.  One of my favorite holiday stamps this year is Welcome Christmas 120597, a set of 5 stamps for $19.95.  The math says...WOW each stamp is about $5.00, unless you have a 50% off coupon with big box this is less per stamp.  Below are more reasons I love Stampin' Up!  


All of the card stock, designer paper, stamp pads, markers, ribbon, brads and buttons coordinate.  I guess I should have said everything Stampin' Up! carries is made to coordinate.  You don't have to spend hours going through paper trying to match your colors from all of the different companies.  Actually, I just tried to do that with a scrapbooking set that was a gift.  I wanted some solid, coordinating card stock to mount my pictures.  Let me just say that I never did find what I was looking for and was very frustrated.  In addition to rubber stamping Stampin' Up! also has Simply Scrappin' kits for those that prefer to use a kit for scrapbooking.


The punches designed by Stampin' Up! coordinate with stamps.  You can stamp a butterfly and punch it out with a coordinating punch.  

This company cares about its customers and customer service is very important.  I have never called and had a rep "having a bad day".  They are always cheerful, willing to go the extra mile and help with any problem  we may have.  Suggestions for change and product requests are passed to the proper department for consideration and changes have been made based on customer and demonstrator needs and requests.  Stampin' Up! will correct any problem you have without having to call corporate and wait for a supervisor after you have explained the problem to two other people.  Simply return the item to your demonstrator and it will be taken care of.  


Stampin' Up! also demands quality.  Recently an item was being offered through the catalog which was not meeting the quality that Stampin' Up! required.  Rather then continue selling the item they have discontinued offering the product.  I have to admire that customer satisfaction was considered before making money that could be made from continuing to sell this item.  They are in the process of finding a manufacturer that can produce the item with the quality they demand.


For those of you that haven't checked out the Holiday Mini we have fabric now.  You can cover journals, make rag bags or fabric flowers using the Big Shot 113439 which, by the way, has a 3 year warranty.  Stampin' Up! keeps up with the latest design and color trends and in addition to the yearly catalog you will have mini catalogs offered during the year to give you seasonal offerings and ideas.  To take a peek just click the mini on my side bar.  


Items are going like hotcakes from the clearance rack.  These items must be ordered online.  To save a little in shipping make sure you go to my Stampin' Up! website and order.  If you go to the Stampin' Up! site, even if you name a demonstrator you will pay more in shipping.  If you have a problem with the site due to the number of people ordering please contact me and I will order it for you.

Thanks for stopping by,
Hope to stamp with you soon,

WOW Stampin' Up! has over 200 discontinued items listed in the Clearance Rack.  Many of my old favorites are selling for as much as 80% off. Remember the slit punch and the  Petal card die, those are just a few of the items you can find.  A few more items are:

• Water Color Wonder Crayons in color families.  You can buy them super cheap and replace only the discontinued colors.

•  Ribbon 

• Card Stock

• Stamp pads and ink refills - now is the time to get your favorite colors before they are gone forever

• Build a brad

• On board clip boards, briefcase and other items

• Corduroy Buttons

Oh my gosh it's a bargain basement full of those items you wish you had gotten, after they were gone. 


Click on the Clearance Rack and take a look for yourself.  Don't forget paper and pencil to make a list, but don't wait too long.  Items are as long as supplies last.  

Happy Shopping ,

Karel Standish kstandish@bellsouth.net karelstandish.stampinup.net stampininmyjammies.blogspot.com