Sale~A~Bration Inspiration

I'm sure that most of you fellow stampers are excited that Stampin' Up!s annual Sale-A-Bration has begun! I know I am! I told you about the awesome card swaps I received recently from the QC Swapper group I belong to, and I already shared the Occasions Mini cards. Today I want to share the SAB swaps.

These first two use the So Happy For You set and the Ice Cream Parlor papers. Don't you love the treat holder created using the Petal Cone die for the Big Shot? (and silly me didn't think I needed that die!;-) The card also uses one of the adorable flower buttons from the Ice Cream Parlor Ribbon & Button pack.

These next two pretty cards use the Sweet Summer set (left) and the Bliss set (right).

This next group of cards shows how versatile the Punch Bunch set can be. I love any set that can be used with our punches, and this one is no exception!

More Punch Bunch cards....

Just like the Occasions swap, I also picked the most popular set to use. Here are my Punch Bunch/Ice Cream Parlor swap cards.

I hope you have found these cards to be as inspiring as I have! If you would like to see these ideas...& more in person, contact me today to book your Sale~A~Bration event!

Occasions Card Swap

I participated in a couple card swaps and just received a great group of cards from both the Occasions Mini and the Sale-A-Bration catalogs. So today I'm going to share the Occasions Mini Swaps with you. These are all created by the talented women in the QC Swappers group...enjoy!

These two bright and cheery cards use the Bold Blossom set.

These 3 beauties use the set Nature Walk.

Lots of new goodies used on these next few cards...The top left card uses the Thanks for caring set along with Springtime Vintage papers, and the Framed Tulips Embossing folder. The cute scalloped square card shows off the new Sweet Stitches papers and the adorable Pompom Trim. The Love card on the bottom used the Lots of Love Letterpress Plate.

I think lots of us loved the Build a Cupcake punch and the Create a Cupcake stamp set, because lots of the swaps focused on these new products...including mine.

Here's my swap card...

I hope you enjoyed looking at all these cards as much as I enjoyed receiving them! Next time I'll share the SAB swap cards.

The New Catalog!

Today the new Idea Book & Catalog went live! I had a long wish list of new goodies...yes, I said *had* as in I couldn't wait to put in my first order, and I ordered more stuff than I originally planned on. I couldn't help myself...especially after receiving this wonderful group of swap cards from my QC Swapper Group using all new sets and accessories. This is such a talented group of stampers...I'm sure you'll agree after checking out these cards!

Asian Artistry (Level 2 Hostess Set) by Jane...Love the tile background she created.


Christmas Punch (Level 2 Hostess Set) by Nancy...This is a super cute gift card holder.
Kind & Caring Thoughts (Level 3 Hostess Set) by Andrea...nice color combo, image works great with Oval Scallop Die...I think I need to add that die to my collection next!

The More the Merrier (Level 3 Hostess Set) by Scheli & Marica. Such cute images and both had great use of punches



For All You Do by LeeAnn...I love the layout and colors she used!
Razzle Dazzle by Dawn...love her use of Modern Lable punch

Circle Circus by Christy...love this set and the colors she used

Animal Stories and Tall Tales paper by Mary & Stacey...love the way they've used the Modern Lable punch and the Top Note on their samples.

Lots of Bots & Razzleberry Lemonade DP by Tracy. Love the way she used the Movers & Shapers Star Die


Autumn Days by Barbara awesome use of the pinecone image! She added sparkle & shine with CE & DD, but it doesn't show up in the photo.
Hope you enjoyed looking at these cards as much as I did receiving them!

Wings of Friendship Swap Card

I participated in a swap recently and just got the return cards yesterday...and they all rock! I didn't take photos yet, but hopefully tomorrow I will have those to share here on my blog. In the meantime, here are the cards I created for the swap using the new hostess set Wings of Friendship.

Most everything I used on the card is shown in the photo. Colors used are: Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo & Crushed Curry. I also used Always Artichoke for the swirls on the branch. Here's another photo showing a more close up view of the card.
Today is the last day for the current catalog! I still cannot believe time has went by so fast! If there was anything you want from the current catalog or the Occasions Mini catalog, don't forget to put your order in today.

Have a great day!

Spring~Summer Catalog Swaps

Yesterday I showed you the cards I made for a swap I was in. Today I want to share all the beautiful swaps I received in return. They are all created with sets that will be available in the new Spring~Summer Idea Book & Catalog. I'm still anxiously awaiting the arrival of my pre-ordered catalogs...maybe they'll be here today???

These cards feature some of the hostess sets that will be available:

Dream A Little - Level 3 by Marica

Dream A Little - Level 3 by Christy

Goody-Goody Gumdrops - Level 3 by Melissa

Echos of Kindness - Level 2 by Christy

Echos of Kindness - Level 2 by Rhonda

Itty Bitty Buds - Level 2 by Kim

Here are some more cards featuring sets that will be available to order starting January 19th.

Game Night by Kay

Sweet Stems with Raspberry Tart papers by Andrea

Sweet Stems with Candy Lane papers by Lisa

Petal Pizazz by Mary

Petal Pizazz by Barbara

Hope you enjoyed seeing all these great cards as much as I did! Enjoy your day...hope wherever you are it is a lot warmer than it is here! If not...stay warm & cozy!

Petal Pizazz

I did a new catalog swap with the swap group I belong to, and yesterday I got my return swaps! It's so much fun looking at all the cards! This is the card I did for the swap using Petal Pizazz. Hopefully I'll get a chance today to photograph all the beautiful cards I got in return and share here later.
After all the Christmas projects I had done, I was certainly in the mood for flowers and bright, spring-like colors when creating these...can you tell? This is a fun set that can be used with several of the punches. I started with a Whisper White Top Note die cut and stamped the flowers using the rock 'n roll technique along with some masking. I sponged the edges with Baja Breeze. One leaf and one small flower were cut out to add extra dimension.

Stamps: Petal Pizazz, Flight of the Butterfly, Cute & Curly
Card stock: Kiwi Kiss, Regal Rose, So Saffron, Whisper White & Raspberry Tart DP
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Rose Red, Regal Rose, So Saffron & Baja Breeze
Accessories: Top Note die, Scallop Circle, Curly Label & 3'4" circle punches, Rich Regal brads, mat pack

Have a bright and cheerful day!

House of Haunts Swap

Earlier this month I participated in a new catalog card swap with the swap group I belong to - the QC Swappers, and last week I got back a FABULOUS variety of beautiful cards. I thought I would share them with you here today.

Since I only got a few new stamp sets on my first order, and those were already chosen among the group, I went with a Halloween card using the House of Haunts set and the coordinating jumbo wheel- Haunting.

To create the focal image I first stamped the tree on glossy card stock using Black Stazon. I thought a full moon would add a nice touch behind the tree, so to create that I punched a 3/4" circle from a post-it note. I set aside the circle punch out for later. I used the post-it with the punched out circle as a stencil for the moon. I placed it over my tree, and using Summer Sun ink I sponged inside the circle. After I removed my post-it stencil, I then covered the moon I had just created with the 3/4" circle I had previously punched out. This created a mask that covered my moon as I sponged the other colors around it. After I sponged all colors, I removed the 3/4" post-it circle and a beautiful, golden moon popped against the spooky background. I like the way it turned out, and hopefully the swap group liked it as well!
In addition to the glossy card stock used for my focal image, I also used: Tangerine Tango, Basic Black, Perfect Plum & Kiwi Kiss. The card base was stamped with the Canvas background inked in Tangerine.
Here are the beautiful swaps I got in return:
Make sure to click on this photo so you can enjoy all the details on each card. There sure are a talented bunch of women in this group! Each card showed me something new...maybe it was an accessory or stamp set I hadn't seen in real life, or a technique or a color combo...it sure was a real treat unpacking each card. I'm glad that I was invited to be a part of this group! Hope these cards inspire you as well! Thanks for stopping by to visit...have a great day!

New Catalog Preview Swap

Happy New Catalog Start Day! WOO HOO! I'll be ordering me a Big Shot later...along with lots of other good stuff from the new catalog!

I was invited to participate in a card swap with some other demos to making cards using the preview sets. This was my first time swapping with this group, and I was really happy with all the cards I received!

Serene Spring and Heard from the Heart were the only sets I pre-ordered, so that is what I used for my swap cards. (I'll make up for that later today when I place my new catalog order!) Here is what my swap cards looked like:
I choose colors and the rough texture of the Sanded background to show that just because this set is called Serene Spring doesn't mean you can't use it for other seasons. To me this card has more of an Autumn feel to it, don't you think?
Stamps: Serene Spring, Heard from the Heart & Sanded background
Card stock: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango & Very Vanilla
Ink: Black Stazon, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip & various to watercolor
Accessories: Photo Corner & Scallop Border punches, Vintage Brads & Chocolate wide grosgrain

Have a wonderful day!

Swapping Cards is Time Well Spent

At our SU! group Christmas party on Sunday we did a card swap using the new hostess set Time Well Spent. All the cards turned out so darn cute! I really like this set, and can't wait to have more time to do some scrapbook pages with it.

This first card was made by Karman. I love the colors she used and the textured background! She said she ran her white Craft pad over the background to really highlight it more and soften the color of the Wild Wasabi card stock. I've been trying to resist getting a Cuttlebug...but seeing cute cards like this one makes it even more tempting!

This card was made by Bea. I love how she used the wire for the butterfly's antenna and the way she popped up the center of the flower with the rhinestone brad.

This adorable bookmark was made by Jodie. I said she must really like us to have done so much cutting...she stamped and cut the big flower twice and layered it with the leaves. Then she even shared some of her Pretties with us. The center flower and pearl are from the pretties kit. She said she dyed the flower with her red Craft ink pad and carefully dried it with her heat tool.

This next one is a post it note pad cover made by Kelly. Isn't it cute?! I just love the Fall Flowers designer paper she used.
This last card was made by me. I water colored the big flower with the inks from the coordinating card stock I used: Pomegranate, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky & Guava. Then finished it with a pearl from the Pretties kit and glitter pen on the dots on the flower...which doesn't really show in the photo.

Like Jodie said after our get together...Spending time stamping with friends is Time Well Spent! I agree! Thanks for doing such an awesome job on the swaps ladies!

Holiday Mini Card Swap

I participated in a card swap with some very talented demos on SCS this month. I received the swap cards back on Saturday, so I thought I would share them here with you today. There were so many cards that it was easier for me to just scan them as groups instead of individually. It was so much fun opening that package and going through all the cards! The best part was seeing sets, ribbons and paper that I don't already have. The only bad part is now that I see it all in person it makes me want to buy even more stuff! I love the Apple Cider double sided papers (shown above) even more after seeing them in real life as opposed to just printed in the catalog
The Chocolate Chip Satin ribbon shown on the tag card above is just gorgeous! It comes in Pomegrante too! It was nice to see the Snow Blossom punch used on a couple cards...that is one punch I don't yet have. The Snow jumbo wheel sure is cute and so is Snow Burst! (I have been resisting getting this set...but I have a feeling it will somehow find it's way here;-)

This last grouping has two samples showcasing two of the new double sided designer paper assortments offered in the Fall~Winter Collection: Wintergreen, which is used on the Season of Joy card and Dashing, which is used on the Merry & Bright card. I love both of those assortments of paper! In fact I just got some of each on my last order but haven't created anything with them yet.

I must say, there sure was a nice variety of colors and sets used, wasn't there? Honestly, I was a little surprised that there were so few cards created with the traditional Christmas colors of red & green... but for me that made this swap even better! Thank you to all the talented demos who participated in this swap...I'm excited to share them with all my stamping friends at my upcoming workshops!