Christmas in July

The weather has finally cooled off a little - although its not cool enough to be thinking winter. But with Christmas only 5 1/2 months away it is definitely time to start thinking about Christmas cards, especially if you make your cards. Today we are having our Christmas in July event. This time its 8 cards and making 2 of each.

The picture to the right is a composite image of all 8 cards. Future posts will give details on each of them individually. 

They almost all use an embossing folder. Lots of rhinestones and glitter and embossing. Tons of texture and layers.  More details.  I tried for lots of different styles - vintage, traditional, monotone . . .  The green ornament card has a 3-dimensional effect, the card in the lower left has an acetate window. 

I had so much fun designing these cards.Check back over the next few days for details on how each one is made. 

Happy Stamping

--Katie

Retired Rummage Sale

This Weekend starts at 7AM

Friday the 22nd and Saturday the 23rd

I am on a role now - the piles just keep growing. I've even added some packages of retired paper with matching ink pads, markers and re-inkers.  

It was really hard at first to make the emotional break with stamp sets and colors that I dearly loved. But as a demonstrator it does not help my business to use retired product. So I've been sorting and purging and have been spurred on by the sight of empty shelf space. Which will be quickly filled with great new products from the new catalog and the new Holiday Mini (which, by the way, comes out Sept 1). 

Its feeling really good to have the space available - and you'll find some deals at the garage sale so you'll feel really good too.

Hopefully most of this stuff will go. I have ads in the local papers and have posted it to Craigslist. I've also sent out email reminders to everyone on my email list. Click here if you are not on my mailing list and would like to be added.

I will also be handing out this coupon at the sale. Stampin'UP! is all about sharing. The rummage sale is my way of sharing with you and the coupon is your way of sharing with your friends. 

We all benefit from sharing. I get space, you get great product at a great price, your friends who are crafters will get a good deal and your non-crafting friends will get introduced to a great hobby.

Its a win-win-win for everybody.  Hope to see you at my house this weekend.

--Katie

Stamp Versatility

This post is about the stamp set called Awash with Flowers and the versatility of this set.

First this set was made for 2-step stamping - you'll notice that each leaf shape and flower shape has 2 stamps. One is an outline and the other is a bold solid stamp.  You stamp the outline and then over-stamp with the solid stamp.

You have several different flower shapes to choose from. The fact that the flower heads are not attached to the stems adds to the versatility of this set. Check out these 2 images. We made the card on the left at the Stamp-a-Stack this weekend. One of the stampers accidently stamped her flower "upside down" and got the card in the middle (thanks Barb).  Then I started playing with it a little more and stamped the flower twice to get the card on the right.

       

So what do you think?  Petals down?  Petals up?  Or stamp the petals twice for a full flower effect?  Leave a comment below with your choice.

I like the subtle neutral color combination on this card. These are made using River Rock as the card face, framed in Basic Black and mounted on a Whisper White card stock.

The petals are stamped in Stampin'UP!'s Whisper White, which is a Craft ink so it takes a little longer to dry. Now, speaking of inking the petals - if you look up at the image for the stamp set you'll see that the petals AND the center of the flower are all one stamp, yet this card has them in 1 colors, white for the petals and black for the flower  center.  The trick is to ink the whole stamp in white, then use a Q-tip or Kleenex to remove the ink from the flower center and re-ink it with a black marker.

This card was finished off with 3 black brads and a sentiment from a stamp set called Short and Sweet.

Our yard is starting to really look like a garden. Perhaps I was inspired by some daisies I planted last week. I am out there every day working on things because my youngest decided to have her Sept wedding here in our yard!  Despite the constant need for tending its actually a lot of fun. There are many similarities between gardening and stamping - creative placement of elements, playing with color and texture.  Love it.

Hope you are also finding time for creative fun.

Contact me with any stamping questions

--Katie

Huge Rubber Rummage Sale - July 22 and 23

Out with the old and in with the new. The new catalog is here with lots of wonderful, beautiful, charming, cute, amazing new product. Can you tell that I really like this new catalog? You can view the new catalog on-line or contact me to get your paper copy.

I really had fun going through this catalog but as a result my wishlist is HUGE - and my work space is too crowded. Just look at the piles of retired stuff that simply must go!.

As stampers you can  just buy what you like - but as a business owner I need to keep my product current. So, I've made the emotional break from tons of retired sets and I'm holding a GIANT RUMMAGE SALE on July 22 and 23.

Hope to see you then.

My house is in rural Stoughton, if you don't know how to get here then just email me or call for directions (608.220.3450)

Hope to see you on the 22nd or the 23rd. 
And be sure to check out my calendar of other events.

Happy Stamping

--Katie

Get more from your Wishlist with your Demonstrator Discount!

Have you seen the new catalog yet?  How long is your wishlist?  Want to know a way to stretch those hobby dollars? Join Stampin'UP! There are many reasons to join the company: some people join to have their own home based business (like me) and others join because they use their demonstrator status as a preferred buyer program. Read more . . .

My Story: One of the reasons I became a demonstrator was for the discount. Demonstrators get a 20% discount on all purchases. And NEW demonstrators get 30% on their first order (placed within 45 days of joining). To stay active you only need to place one $300 order (which costs you $240) every 3 months. There's no other obligations - you can quit anytime. Wow I thought. What is there to lose?   

My original plan was to join and place one huge initial order and get a ton of stuff and "be set for life". Well, my upline invited me to attend demo meetings with her. Those meetings were so much fun and I learned so much - both about stamping and about running a stamping business. Soon I changed my plans and decided to lay the ground work for a real business that I could run after I retired. Happily thats where I am today. I retired last month and consider my new career to be stamping.

There are 2 Starter Kit Options:  one is just stamps and tools for paper projects. The other contains less paper project product and instead includes the digital software:  My Digital Studio. The cost of either of these kits is $175 and you get over $310 worth of product and business supplies.

July Special:  If you join Stampin'UP! during the month of July you have the option to purchase a modified Starter Kit for only $99. See the Kit contents here. This kit contains over $185 worth of product and business supplies, PLUS it comes with a FREE ($40 value) Christmas Box Project. At only $99 the ROI (return on investment) is huge. Even if you only join as a "hobby demo" to get the discount on your personal purchases (and purchases of your friends) you'd earn your investment back in less than a year. And if you actually start a business you'd see that investment come back much quicker.

So whether you are actually thinking of starting a business or whether you just want a preferred buying program, you should think about investing in the Starter Kit. And at only $99 for the July special there is no better time than now. You can sign up on my website - click the "join now" button to the left of the video. Feel free to call me with any questions (608.220.3450)

--Katie