Monday, January 31, 2011

Starting Your Own Business and Getting Good Training

Have you ever considered owning your own business.  Some considerations are
**the financial investment to get started,
**the time and skills needed to get the business up and running profitibly
**and the actual activities of the business.  Is it something you'd enjoy doing?
-Well, I found everything I was looking for as a Stampin'UP! demonstrator. The investment is minimal and the bonus is that most of the items in the Starter Kit were what I considered to be "toys".
-The activities of the business are very enjoyable, I get to stamp and create and I get to share the fun with family and friends. The Home Workshop aspect of the business allows me to meet lots of new people which is also great.
-The time and energy in this type of business are totally flexible. You put in as much time and energy as you want. I am doing this "part time" now because I do have another full-time job. I hope to retire soon and then the stamping business will be my only business.

I am making this post now for 2 reasons.
First: Stampin'UP! has a recruiting special on during Sale-a-bration - the Starter Kit is 15% off. Actually there are 2 starter kit options, one with all stamps and one with the Digital ScrabBook Program. If you've ever thought about trying this business now is the time to consider it again. Please contact me to discuss any questions you have about being a Demonstrator and what its done for my life.
Second reason for mentioning it now is because I have been working with a Stamping Business Coach and for a very limited time he is also offering a special on his training. The offer is a 10-day trial membership in his coaching group for only $1.  If you sign up as a recruit with me I will ask you to do the 10-day trial and will strongly advocate that you become a member of his group.
BTW: if you are already a demonstrator  visiting my site, I also encourage you to check out this offer. Its really made a difference in my mind-set, my business practices and in my business itself.

Click here to learn more, or start your $1, 10-Day Trial!

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Retrofited Valentine

If this card looks familiar then check out yesterday's post. All I did was add three little hearts to the stamped image. They are raised up on dimensionals because it was hard to see them without the extra lift. You can read all the details about this card in yesterday's post. The only differences are the sentiment, this one comes from a cute little set called Short and Sweet.  And the hearts were made with the Two-Step Owl Punch (118074).

One of the things I try to stress in all my workshops is how easy it is to come up with card ideas. Ideas are everywhere. And I love showing how you can take one card or one design and change it just a little to make something new. This card had the same colors as yesterday's. But imagine it in red or Regal Rose. Imagine either card in blue or purple or green. Change the sentiment, make it in black and silver, keep the hearts and make it into an anniversary or wedding card.  Hmmm . . . I like that last idea.  I may have to try that myself.

Well, thanks for checking the blog, I hope you found ideas.  Let me know if there is any way I can help you with your stamping needs.

Happy Stamping
--Katie

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Pocket Silhouette

Here is another card made with one of my favorite stamp sets: Pocket Silhouettes. I just love the delicate little flower images in this set. They look great as a solid image like on this card or you can use markers to color the image.

For this card I punched an oval template with Stampin'UP!'s Wide Oval Punch (119859) and used it to sponge some Pink Pirouette ink as a background for the stamp. The flowers and the sentiment are both stamped in Rich Razzleberry. The sentiment is from a great set called On Your Birthday. The framing layer is Rich Razzleberry and the ribbon is the 1/4" Razzleberry Grosgrain (120930). The card itself is Pink Pirouette and the swirls on the card were made with the French Filigree Background Stamp.

Remember this tip for working with background stamps: remember when you are using a background stamp that you should leave the stamp on the table, inked rubber side up, and put the paper on the stamp. Rub around on the paper to transfer the ink - you'll get much better coverage than if you tried to stamp that giant piece of wood onto the paper.  Just be careful not to shift the paper.
Let me know if you have any questions about this card or if you want to purchase any of the supplies used on this card. By the way, you'll see this same card tomorrow, just changed up a little to turn it into a Valentine's Day card!  ;)

Thanks for checking my blog
--Katie
 
You can order these or any supplies
24/7 from my Stampin'UP! website

Friday, January 28, 2011

Love You Much Valentine


Valentine's Day draws near so you can expect to see lots of red and pink cards coming in the near future. This card was made with a great stamp set called: Love You Much. I love how you can make the V in the word Love to look like a vase. And don't you just love those 2 llittle "love birds". I can see using them to make a cute wedding or anniversary card. There are some other interesting things about this set. The circle stamp was designed for use with the Scallop Circle Punch. Also the Stamp with the three hearts, it was designed to fit the Heart to Heart Punch shown to the right.

The colors on this card are Cherry Cobbler and Pink Pirouette. For this card I colored in the V to look like water. The flower pieces were created using the Boho Blossom Punch. The center of the flower is a Gold Brad and the whole flower is raised up on a Dimensional. The gorgeous 5/8" Black Satin ribbon really adds a little elegance to the card. This card was actually fairly quick to make.  I think the thing that took the longest was doing the coloring.

Let me know if you want to order any othe supplies used on this card. Sale-a-bration is a great time to buy some things on your Wish List or just to stock up on consumables for the year.  And if you haven't started your wish list yet, you can download a FREE Wish List and Note page here.

Thanks for looking. Thanks for choosing me as your source of inspiration and stamping education. Feel free to contact me with any questions about your stamping projects.

--Katie

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Baroque Motifs Elegant Valentine


Here is a Valentine Card made with one of my favorite all-purpose stamp sets: Baroque Motifs. The sentiments are fairly generic and the images can be used in so many ways. The set is not specific to any one holiday. Here the swirls from the set add a really elegant background to the heart. I embossed the swirls in black to make them shine. The sentiment is from a very versatile set called Teeny Tiny Wishes. I stamped the sentiment on scrap paper and punched it out with the Word Window Punch. Then I punched a black framing layer using the Modern Label Punch. The whole focal piece is raised up with Dimensionals.  

Now there is a trick to the gold cord. I put 2 strips of adhesive on the back and started on one side. I wrapped the cord around the front, all the way across the back and around the front again. Each end hangs over the back by only an inch or so. Then on the front, UNDER the heart, I put just a bit of adhesive to hold the position of the crossed threads in the center of the card.  The whole thing was very quick and easy, my kind of card.

Please feel free to contact me with any stamping questions.  I want to be your source of inspiration and education.

--Katie


Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Sale-a-bration Sign-Up Special

Have you ever thought about joining Stampin’UP!? During Sale-a-bration you get 15% off the Starter Kit AND a special Bonus Bundle (see below) (over $50)
ItemPageDescription
121620165Color Coach - - (or multiple languages Color Coach)
120806183Something Special Simply Sent - - (or any Simply Sent kit)
117114183Live, Laugh, Love Stamp Set
--(or any Simply Sent Stamp Set valued at $12.95 or less)
119883202Heart to Heart Punch - - (or any punch valued at $17.95 or less)

There are many reasons to consider Joining Stampin'UP
  • This is an opportunity to own your own business
  • Other than a small quarterly minimum there are no other company requirements, you set your own schedule
  • You develop your creativity and talent and meet great people.
  • You make extra money and earn sales rewards and incentive trips
  • You get a personal discount of at least 20% (you can get more) depending on your sales
  • Great product - thats what sold me
  • Great Trainning: a yearly convention, regional training seminars, and active upline support
Speaking of Training: If you are thinking of signing up as a Business Demonstrator then I suggest you checking out the website of John Sanpietro. He is a business coach who specializes in Stamping Business owners. You can get a free trial membership in his coaching group and check out the exclusive demonstrator coaching site by clicking here. I've been taking classes on-line with him and I can really endorse his ideas and methods - he's very inspiring and professional. 

Click on the business opportunity tab above to find out more about being a demonstrator. Contact me if you'd like to hear more about this Stampin'UP! offer or if you have any questions about being a demonstrator or about the Coaching Website I recommended above.
StampLadyKatie@aol.com or 608-220-3450

--Katie

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

SALE-A-BRATION starts today!!!

Sale-a-bration is Stampin’UP! way of saying “Thanks for being our customer”. You receive FREE product for EACH $50 catalog purchase.
This year’s event is Jan 25 – March 31
Now is a great time to start your Spring Cleaning and take an inventory of your supplies. Find out what you have lots of and what you are getting low on. I personally use Sale-a-bration to stock up on TONS of paper, envelopes and adhesives. I end up getting ALL the Sale-a-bration items because I stock up now for the whole year on all my consumables.
Customer Benefit: a free Sale-a-bration Product for EVERY $50 (before tax and shipping) purchase
Hostess Benefit: In addition to the customer benefit, hostesses also receive an extra free product for workshop sales over $300.

BOOK YOUR HOME PARTY DURING SALE-A-BRATION!!
Contact me to discuss the details of your party.
608-220-3450

Remember you can place an order anytime online at my Stampin'UP! Website
Or Call or email me with your Sale-a-Bration Order

Feel free to contact me with any stamping questions

--Katie

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

A Flower for All Seasons

This card uses the new Red Glimmer Paper from the Occasions Mini. Its perfect on this card.  I used it as the background layer and the hearts in the basket. The stamp is from a set called A Flower for All Seasons. The stamp really has some little tulips. But I punched out some hearts and layered them over the image. This Glimmer Paper is a nice heavy weight yet the punches can easily handle it. And the glitter stays on the paper, not all over my workspace and my house - Whoo Hoo! I laid a 3/4" strip of black paper behind it with a strip of Black Taffetta ribbon layered on top. The card base is Naturals White. With the glimmery hearts and the lovely ribbon, this card is actually kind of elegant - this one is one to send home to Mom.

I think you'll really like this Glimmer paper and I'm betting you can find lots of uses for it with Valentine's Day coming up. Just an FYI: I'll be sending in my next order on Thursday so let me know if you want to add a package of this glimmer paper or if you need any other supplies.

Thanks for checking the blog
Happy Stamping
--Katie

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Vellum Slopes


I recently did a presentation on Vellum Paper at my quarterly Demonstrator Meeting and this card is one that I showed.  It is a regular white card base. The snowboarder is embossed on one piece of vellum paper (not the card stock). I used a second piece of vellum the exact same size behind him for the slopes.  I tore that 2nd piece and flipped one half and laid them on top each other to make the 2 mountains. I adhered the slopes with a small bit of SNAIL. Remember that the vellum is thin and adhesive will show through. To avoid the adhesive showing through the top piece I just covered it entirely with Glue Stick. Now, the trick to getting the snowboarder to be in the right position for the random slope you made by tearing the vellum is to use the Stamp-a-ma-Jig to position him.  I also embossed the sentiment. Embossing looks great on vellum.  And for any of you snowboarder fans, this is one of the stamps you can get FREE with a Sale-a-bration purchase.  Contact me for details about Sale-a-bration.  It starts January 25th.

BTW:  I really appreciate that there is a strong active group of local demonstrators  here in the south central part of Wisconsin. We get together monthly in our small group and we meet quarterly as a large group. It was great support for me as a new demonstrator - I learned so much. 

Thanks for choosing me for your source of inspiration and education

Happy Stamping
--Katie

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Extreme Snow Boarder

Don't you just love January in Wisconsin? Snow covers everything and its so beautiful. I love to get outdoors in the white stuff - although I'm not quite as "extreme" as the guy on this card. Actually the Madison area has had some warm weather recently and a lot of our snow is gone. Hopefully we'll get more soon.

This card was made using one of the stamps from the  Stampin'Up! "extreme" line.There is a series of 5 stamps, each sold separately for only $8.95. This one is called Extreme Snowboard. The other stamps in the series are: Extreme Guitar, Extreme Skateboard, Extreme Surfboard and Extreme Dirt Bike. This card was really quick and easy to put together.  I just layered pieces of Pacific Point and Bashful Blue.
To jazz it up even  a little bit more I made a second version of the card using a little bit of Dazzling Diamonds for the snow. Using the 2-way glue pen I painted the glue onto the area that was the snowy slope and then quickly sprinkled on the Dazzling Diamonds glitter. What do you think?  You can click on either picture to see a larger version of it and to compare.

I said I quickly because of the nature of the 2-way glue pen. When you first spread the glue onto your project is it blue. If you use it when its still blue it is permanent. When it dries it loses the blue color and becomes a temporary glue like a post-a-note. This is a very convienent feature for scrapbooking because you can use it to re-position elements as you design the page lay-out. 

Here is some Good News. You can get any of these extreme stamps for FREE during Sale-a-bration. This promotion begins January 25th (and goes until the end of March). With EACH $50 purchase of catalog merchandise you can choose a free item from the little Sale-a-bration Catalog - or you can choose any stamp set from the Big catalog that is less than $14.95. And Hostesses can earn extra benefits based on  the workshop sales total. I can place the orders beginning January 25th. You can start working on those orders RIGHT NOW. This is the time of year to stock up on adhesive, papers and ink refills.
1.  Let me know if you need a Sale-a-bration catalog, or need any of the catalogs.
2. You can place an order with me now and ask me to wait until Sale-a-bration starts to actually place the order.
3. If you want even more FREE stuff then ask me for information on having a party. I help with all the details.

As always, let me know how I can help you with your stamping needs.
And thanks for choosing me as your source of stampin inspiration and education.
--Katie
You can order 24/7 from my SU website

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Dasher Thank-You

I'm trying to come up with an appropriate pun about "dashing" off some thank-yous but I'm not coming up with anything good.  Any way, this card uses the very elegant stamp called Dasher. He's one of the stamps that you buy as a single stamp (not part of a set). He's also one of the stamps you can get for FREE during Sale-a-bration, which starts January 25th. Each $50 purchase you make during this sale period will earn you a free stamp set from either the Sale-a-bration catalog or from a selected list of $14.95 or less stamps from the main catalog, and Dasher is on the list. 

For this card I silver embossed both Dasher and the sentiment. The gray background piece was dry embossed using the Petals a Plenty embossing folder through the Big ShotBy the way, if you've been considering purchase of the Big Shot, Sale-a-bration is the perfect time.  The Big Shot is $99.95 and would earn you 2 FREE STAMP SETS. If you added a few dies and embossing folders your order could easily add up to $150.  At the $150 level you'd get even more free stuff because you'd qualify for Hostess Benefits!
  • 3 FREE stamp sets for Sale-a-Bration
  • a FREE Level 1 Hostess Set
  • and an additional $15 of FREE catalog merchandise as Hostess Benefits
Contact me to plan out your Sale-a-bration purchases. 

As always, let me know how I can help you with your stamping needs.
And thanks for choosing me as your source of stampin inspiration and education.

--Katie
You can order 24/7 from my SU website

Monday, January 3, 2011

Snowflake Punch Card

 Here's a card that went together really fast and easy. The layers are easy to cut. The snowflake was created using Stampin'UP!'s Snowflake Punch. I used Mini-Glue Dots to hold the punched snowflake and the button on the card. The glue dots are stronger than regular tape (needed for the button) and just the right size for the center of the snowflake.

And there is only one sentiment to stamp - this came from a lovely stamp set called Thank You Kindly.  I love the variety of fonts used in this set.  AND, at only $13.95 this is one of the sets you can get for FREE during Sale-a-bration. Sale-a-bration begins January 25th and the Sale-a-bration catalogs should have already arrived at your house.  Let me know if you need one. 

BTW: aren't those buttons cute. I'd love to be able to say I sell them but the truth is these came off some cast off kids clothes before they hit the rag bag. They were a perfect match for the Pretty in Pink paper so of course I had to save them!

Secret Stamping Tip: There is a trick to this card that lets you save paper! See in the photo here how I punched the snowflake from the framing layer.  When you sandwich it between the card body and the front piece no one can see the hole. Each pink frame is almost a full quarter of a piece of paper. If you make 4 cards like this it uses 1 full piece and you don't have to cut into a second piece of paper just to get the snowflakes.  It saves a little money and it saves having the rest of that 2nd paper lie around as random scraps.


As always, let me know how I can help you with your stamping needs. Call or email with any questions.

Remember: the last day to order from the Holiday Mini Catalog is TODAY! You can order 24/7 from my SU website or contact me.
Thanks for choosing me as your source of stampin inspiration and education.

--Katie

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Serene Snowflake Thank-you

Here is another Holiday Thank-you note. I really like how simple this card is. That single blue snowflake with its rhinestone center is very elegant and the white satin ribbon really adds to the elegance of the card. And don't you just love that Stampin'UP! now sells these self-stick rhinestones! It really helps to speed up the process of making lots of the same card.

This card really did go together very quickly. The blue framing layer is Pacific Point. The sentiment is from a cute little stamp set called Short and Sweet.  I should point out that with the square shape of the snowflake I really had to use the Stamp-a-ma-Jig to position it. There's no way I could have gotten it straight with out using this positioniong tool. In fact, the Stamp-a-ma-jig is my #2 most essential stamping tool (after a paper cutter).

The big snowflake came from a stamp set called Serene Snowflakes. There's something special to note about this set.  The stamp in the lower left corner is three small snowflakes together. They are designed to fit the Boho Blossom Punch.  I wanted to point that out because you might not think to match the shapes. Stampin'UP! really does a great job supporting the punches with coordinating stamp sets.

As always, let me know how I can help you with your stamping needs. Call or email with any questions.
Remember: the last day to order from the Holiday Mini Catalog is January 3rd. You can order 24/7 from my SU website or contact me.
Thanks for choosing me as your source of stamping inspiration and education.

--Katie

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Snowflake Thanks

This week you will be seeing a series of Holiday Thank-you Cards.  I think this one is my favorite, I just love the soft colors and the subtle sparkle.

I wasn't sure at first about this color combination, who ever heard of green snowflakes! But I really like how this turned out. I stamped 3 of the largest snowflake first in River Rock. Then I stamped the middle size snowflake in Always Artichoke and finally I stamped the smallest snowflake in Pear Pizzazz. After stamping the snowflakes I covered the whole piece in Versamark and sprinkled on some Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder and heat set it. I've used that product on so many cards this season - it really adds a great sparkle. The color of the framing layer is River Rock and I added the cute little edge with the Scallop Border Punch.

 
The snowflake stamps are from the Snow Swirled stamp set. Its a really great stamp set because it has a couple of sentiments and a really pretty tree as well as the snowflakes. I think everyone should have at least one snowflake stamp set and this set has 3 different snowflakes in 3 sizes. Its kind of hard to see in this picture because the smallest snowflake looks like a star on top the tree - but it really is a separate stamp. 

The sentiment on this card is from the Heard from the Heart stamp set - I thought this made a good Christmas Thank-you. 

Look for another holiday thank-you card in tomorrow's post. 

As always, let me know how I can help you with your stamping needs.  Call or email with any questions.
Remember: the last day to order from the Holiday Mini Catalog is January 3rd. You can order 24/7 from my SU website or contact me.
Thanks for choosing me as your source of stampin inspiration and education.

--Katie