Out with the old, in with the new!

Today is IT - the LAST day to place a Stampin' Up! order from the 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalog!  Many of you are anxiously anticipating the new catalog's arrival, and believe me - it's awesome!  The 2010-2011 catalog will officially become available tomorrow, which leaves today as your final day to take advantage of retiring and discounted products from last years catalog!

• Head here to check out all of the retiring product

• Head here to check out retiring product that's 25% off

• Head here to check out retiring product that's 50% off

All of these products are available only while supplies last and will retire completely at the end of the day today.  Get your orders in before it's too late!

For those of you that live locally, you should have received your invitations in the mail to my New Catalog Release Party (and if you haven't, be sure to drop me a line so I can get you one!) on Friday July 9th.  Here's the info...

2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog

Release Party!

Hosted by Joanne Roehm,

Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator

Friday July 9, 2010 from 6-8pm

641 Giddings Avenue SE in Grand Rapids, MI

The NEW idea book and catalog is here!  It’s sixteen

pages longer than last year and features new color

families, stamp sets, accessories and so much MORE!

Come on by for door prizes, make and take projects,

to try new products, check out the new catalog or just

to have a cupcake!

RSVP’s appreciated:  joanneroehm@yahoo.com

Here's a little sneak at two Make & Take projects I'll have available at the event.  This little alligator is from of of the NEW hostess sets, called "Long Fellows" - isn't he cute?

And this sweet card uses the new small heart punch, and the new In Colors:  Poppy Parade, Concord Crush, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizazz, and Peach Parfait.  I am just LOVING this new color group!

I've been a busy bee stamping and punching using the new "Homemade" single stamp and the new XL Scallop Circle punch to create some cupcake toppers for the party.  They need a little ribbon embellishment and perhaps some glitter and will look darling on the cupcake tree!

If you would like to order a copy of the 2010-2011 catalog - you can do so starting tomorrow online at my Stampin' Up! website for $9.95.  OR - if you're already a customer of mine, drop me a note to reserve one at just $7.50 and I'll get one out to you!

I hope you've enjoyed this little New Catalog Party sneak peak!  Have a great day!

Bandana Picnic Blanket & Weekend BBQ

Hubs and I hosted our annual summer BBQ this past weekend.  It's a lovely opportunity to get all of our friends and family together - some of whom we see all year long and some that we only see a few times a year. 

We have many friends that have young children - and I always like to try to accomodate them.  One of the things I did this year was to sew a little picnic blanket for them.  I found this great idea over at Aesthetic Nest, and featured it in one of my Week In Review posts a little while ago.  You can see Anneliese's post and directions HERE.

I made mine three by three bandanas big - and picked the bandanas up from Hobby Lobby for 99 cents a piece.  I plan on backing it later in the summer to give it a little more weight - but overall I was really pleased with how it turned out.

I had a crate of outdoor toys for the kids, and a little kid-size table and basket of coloring stuff, bubbles, and play doh.

I think they liked it...

We provided the burgers, hot dogs, ribs, condiments and buns, and everyone brought a dish to pass and some beverages to share (we provided some drinks, too)  I've found potluck style is far and away the best way to go with almost any large get together - it's less stress for me, and with very little planning there always ends up being a huge selection of food! 

I wish I had taken a picture of the food table when it was full!

I used brightly colored re-usable tablecloths, and summery colored  glasses, straws and drink stirrers.

We had a great turnout...we counted about twenty-five people in our little backyard at the height of the action.  It was a really lovely evening - I'm so glad that we do this every year!

I hope that you all have the opportunity to spend summer evenings with friends and family at gatherings big and small this summer!

Getting Crafty!

What I truly love the most about being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, and an all-around crafty gal, is getting groups of people together and creating.  Whether it's introducing people to stamping for the first time and seeing their astonishment as their make and take project comes together, or getting a group of experienced stampers together for a stamp a stack or to learn new techniques.

Last Friday I hosted a Craft Night.  There were six ladies total, all working on completely different projects!  It was a free event that I hope to do on a monthly basis, and everyone brought their projects with them to work on with a little socializing mixed in!

I had the big Shot and my paper cutter on hand, and Heather brought her Cricut...

Emily worked on some cross-stitch, Erin made a baby shower card and a decoupage frame, 12-year old Mariah worked on some friendship bracelets and a card, Heather worked on Lily's scrapbook, and my Mum stamped some cards.  Everyone was very willing to share supplies and help each other out...

I made a little set of 3x3 notecards with envelopes that fit into a little gift box.  I used some retired designer series paper, the scallop envelope die for the Big Shot, and the "Picture This" stamp set fom the Occasions Mini Catalog...

Here it the card that my Mum made... she only started stamping about six months ago... isn't this card beautiful?  She's been such a help and inspiration to me with sewing, so it's fun to be able to teach her a little about stamping and see her enjoy it!

And Mariah is ALWAYS so creative.  She used the Bugs & Kisses stamp set with some Stampin Write markers and a couple of circle punches to create a card for a new baby in her family.  She did a great job!

If you're interested in becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator - it's easy to get started!  For just $99 you can join my team - no matter where in the US you live.  Check out the Starter Kit info below, and just drop me a line at readysetcraft@yahoo.com if you'd like more info, or want to get started.  I've loved being a demonstrator, and would love to help you get started, too!

Starter Kit Flyer 0610 JUNE US

Thanks for coming to Craft Night, ladies!  Looking forward to more creative time with you in the future!

Busy Girl!

Do you have big plans for the weekend?  We do! 

Every year we host at least one big backyard BBQ/party for our friends and family.  This year's is on Saturday, and I've been so quiet here these past few days because I've been running around cleaning, shopping, organizing, planning and prepping for it!

I'm really excited to spend (what I hope will be) a lovely sunny summer afternoon and evening with my parents and out of town friends, in addition to my local friends!

So I'll be back on Monday or Tuesday for sure (also have my final paper for my first summer class due on Monday - it went by so fast - so need to get that churned out before crafting and blogging!) and I hope that you have a beautiful weekend!

xoxo
Joanne

Presents!

Who doesn't love giving or receiving a gift?  I've been so lucky in the past few days to receive a couple.  This unexpected, lovely, package arrived on my doorstep from my dear friend over at Steinway Street...

You may remember that she won my blogiversary giveaway back in January?  Well she put together a little thank you gift using her "winnings" - isn't that sweet?

I love the butterflies stamped on the brown wrapping paper.  So pretty.

She made me a birthday book - and it's so completely clever and unique!

Inside there are tabs and pages for all of my friends and family - each person gets a page.  As I think about birthday gift or project ideas for a specific person, I write them down on their page.  So clever!

There's even a little pocket in which to keep receipts!

Thank you so much, Abs!  What a darling gift and so creative!  I love it!

Now, my other gift may make me a bit of a dork.  But I have seriously wanted one of these for FOREVER...

Yup, I'm awesome.  Stop laughing and hear me out!!!

I am the slowest coffee drinker of all time - seriously.  I am constantly having to suffer through lukewarm coffee or run downstairs to reheat - to only forget about it in the microwave.  It's such a pain!  I've been casually dropping hints to my family and friends about how much better life would be with a mug warmer for some time now - and hubs finally caved in and made it happen!

As I sit here typing my mug warmer is next to me with a perfectly warm cup of coffee sitting atop it.  I'm one happy girl.

Have you given/received any sweet gifts lately?

Anniversary

Yesterday was Travis and I's second wedding anniversary.  Here's the card I made:

Our wedding was on the beach, and our colors were turquoise and orange, so I used my small heart punch to punch out five hearts in those colors and stamped "Happy Anniversary" above them.  Simply stated.

On Travis took yesterday off work, so on Sunday evening we headed to Roses, one of our favorite eating spots in town, for dinner.  We got a table right by the water.

I drank strawberry-vanilla sangria - yum!  And we split root chips with goat cheese and red pepper dips for a starter.  It was a delicious meal - and a lovely evening!

Yesterday, after taking the pup for a walk and grabbing breakfast at a place down the street, we decided to head over to Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.  Have you ever heard of it?  We're really lucky to have this gem right here in Grand Rapids - literally 10 minutes from our house!  Almost every time I've ever been it's been with a huge group of kids (I used to work in kids programming and child care) so it was extra fun to go with just Travis - who had never been there before!

I especially wanted to go there to see the Chihuly exhibit that's going on this summer.  Chihuly is a glass sculptor (read more here) and is responsible for the Bellagio lobby in Las Vegas.  So amazing!

Some of the glass pieces were just spectacular!  Don't you think?  Although the photos really don't do it all justice...

We ended the day with a little backyard BBQ.  Travis made kebabs and we enjoyed a bottle of wine, playing with Bella, and relaxing in the sunshine...

Happy Second Anniversary to my wonderful husband!  I'm looking forward to many more years ahead!

June Cupkins Double Whammy: Part 2

Welcome back to CUPKINS, a collaboration between Meg at Mega•Crafty and I.  Each month, Meg shares a muffin recipe and I share a cupcake recipe with the same theme.  This month, we're giving you a double whammy of Cupkins!  We shared some Father's Day ideas with you at the beginning of the month, and today we've got some July 4th goodies to share with you!

Red, White & Blue Cupcakes!

First off, color and roll out some fondant in both blue and red.  You can get pre-made fondant by Wilton at Michael's, JoAnn's, etc.  Using a star fondant or cookie cutter, cut out stars in both colors in a variety of sizes... (make sure to use lots of powdered sugar when rolling and cutting to prevent sticking)

To remove excess powdered sugar once cut out, lightly spritz fondant with butter flavored cooking spray, and wipe gently.  This will give your fondant and nice, clean, sheen.

Then, using edible glitter (again, from JoAnn's etc - made by Wilton) give your stars a little glitz!  Use a small brush dipped in water to wet the stars, then sprinkle with the glitter and set aside to dry.
  Look at that sparkle!

Meanwhile, mix up a batch of vanilla cupcake batter and separate into three bowls.  Leave one bowl white, then tint the other two red and blue.

Using an ice cream scoop with a lever, layer each color into cupcake liners until about three quarters full.

Back and cool.  Look at those colors!

Pipe a swirl of white frosting and decorate with your sparkly stars.  Garnish with red, white and blue sprinkles or sugars, and ENJOY!

So simple - but sure to get a "Wow!" at any July 4th get-together!  Happy cupcaking, folks!

Now hop on over to Meg's place (click on the Cupkins logo below!) to check out her July 4th muffins!