Occasions Mini Catalog 2010

Last week I mentioned the new Stampin' Up! Occasions Mini Catalog that has just been released.  It's chock full of beautiful new products that are only available from now until the end of April.  I always get inspired when new catalogs come out - not just because of the products (which are fab-u-lous!) but because of the gorgeous sample cards and projects that are featured on their pages.

With so much to choose from, I thought I'd highlight some of MY favorite products from the Mini...

I think this satin ribbon is soooo luxurious.  Wouldn't it be just so elegant used on a Valentines card?  It comes in nine colors, too!  (real red 5/8" satin ribbon, 117286, $8.95)

These little animal stamps are adorable!  Perfect for kids and grown ups alike!  (Fox & Friends Stamp set:  Wood mount = 117020, $18.85,  Clear mount = 118565 $14.95)

 

 

I love both of these Designer Series Paper sets!  I love that Sending Love paper (top) can be used for Valentines Day, or any time of the year!  (Sending Love Specialty Designer Series Paper, 117153, $11.95 and Shades of Spring Designer Series Paper, 117160, $9.95)

 

LOVE these cute brads!  The perfect embellishment to any Valentines project!  (Sending Love Epoxy Brads in Real Red 1/2", 117270, $4.95)

 

I didn't give this stamp set a second look until I saw it featured HERE and now I luuuurve it!  This is a great set to watercolor with!  (My Matryoshka stamp set, Wood mount = 115213, $14.95, 

Clear mount = 118583, $11.95)

Want your own copy of the Occasions Mini Catalog?  Drop me a note at joanneroehm(at)yahoo(dot)com with your mailing address and I'm be happy to send one out to you!  You can order the products above, and the many others from the Mini on my Stampin' Up! website HERE.  Michiganders -- don't forget that you can get your own copy of the Mini and try out some of these great products at my open house this Sunday!  Details at the end of Monday's post.

Oh Martha (and your team of super crafty staffers), you're SO clever!

I've got to admit, I'm a bit of a magazine junkie.  Anything glossy with good photography and I'm hooked.  Considering my recent lull in crafty productivity due in equal parts to the craft studio re-do and a cold/flu/sinus something or other I'm fighting, I was EXTRA excited to get Martha in the mail yesterday.

Now, no matter your personal opinions of Martha, you've got to love the stuff that her team comes up with.  I can't, for example, tolerate Martha's TV show for more than five minutes at a time, but I sure do love me some LIVING Magazine.

I always get sucked in by the covers... and February's issue was no exception...

Actually, my favorite part of this cover was the fact that, with my limited cake decorating experience (remember the cake class debacle?) I could so do this!  You just use a shell tip to create the hearts.  Nice!

You can imagine my excitement then, when I opened up to find these adorable chocolate filigree hearts.  Love!  You just may see them here again in the future!

This idea is so simple but so clever.  Using large mailing labels to create bookplates.  Wouldn't it be fun to do this with a fun kid-friendly stamp set with kids to label all of their books?  Great idea!

And this new take on a "box of chocolates" is clever.  Arranging candy filled heart-shaped cookie cutters in a box to wrap and give?  So fun!  I wonder how well everything would stay put if you even picked up the box to hand it to someone?  Seems like you might have candy all over the place, no?

And as if all those warm and fuzzy Valentines-ish ideas weren't enough eye candy (ha ha, candy, Valentines, I'm hilarious!) the magazine also had a beautiful photo spread of glass cake stands... which I ALWAYS oogle in antiques stores.  Sooo pretty!

 

Congratulations Martha, (and your hard working staff members who don't get half the credit or half the $$$ you do!) you've done it again!  I now have even MORE new projects to add to my crafty to-do list!

Fun with Two Step Stamping

Coming off of Christmas, I had a whole list of people I needed to drop a thank you note to.  You know the deal... thanks for hosting, thanks for having us, thanks for the gift, etc. etc. etc.  I truly am thankful for everything that we participated in and received this holiday, but boy was I procrastinating with the thank you cards.

And then inspiration arrived in the mail.

You see, I had earned two free stamp sets from Stampin' Up! (one of the many great things about being a demonstrator is that there is about a million ways to earn rewards and free merchandise... especially when you're starting out like I am.  Interested in learning more about being a demonstrator?  Just let me know!)  When my stamps arrived in the mail last week I was soooo excited to get making some thank you cards!

I thought I'd share with you two easy card designs for you to try at home.  They both feature two step stamping - which means that the stamps layer on top of each other.  Sooo pretty!

Here's card design number one:

 

 I used the Greenhouse Garden stamp set, and cardstock in Whisper White, Crushed Curry, and Dusty Durango.

  

 I also used the beautiful Eyelet Border punch.  It's my absolute favorite!  And inks in each Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, and Soft Suede.

I folded a card out of the Crushed Curry cardstock, and stamped the background on the front AND inside of the card.  I stamped several times before re-inking.  You can get several different shades of one color of ink by stamping multiple times like this.

I then took smaller pieces of each Dusty Durango and Whisper White to use for my main image.  I stamped the petals of my flower with the Crushed Curry ink as shown.

 

And then stamped the center of my flower in Dusty Durango, right over the top of my existing stamp.  So pretty, and so easy!  I added a stalk and sentiment using my Soft Suede ink...

 

 Then assembled the card.  Pretty, no?  The bright colors are so nice to look at at this time of year!

 

The next card design I worked on was soooo simple that I made a whole set in about twenty minutes!

 

I used the Flower Fancy stamp set which has a bunch of flowers and leaves in different sizes.  I used Sahara Sand cardstock to make my card.

 

I used Whisper White cardstock to stamp my image on, and backed it with Soft Suede cardstock.  Instead of working with ink pads for this card, I used Stampin' Write markers in Melon Mambo and Soft Suede to ink my stamps.

I inked the petals and leaves of my flower first, and stamped off on a piece of scrap paper before stamping on my card - this created lighter shades of my original colors.

 

 I then inked the outline stamp that matched, and stamped over the top of my petals and leaves.  Using the Stampin' Write pens allowed me to ink multiple colors on the same stamp.

 

I adhered my image to my card front and added a sentiment at the bottom.  Done!  You can see from the photo of my set of four cards like this above that I experimented with different amounts of ink on my stamp, and stamping off one or more times.

 

The great thing about both of these sets is that your stamping doesn't need to be perfect.  There's no need to try and line everything up perfectly when you're two-stepping, it often looks prettier if it's just a little off.  I love the instant "wow" factor that these stamps create!

Want to order any of the products above?  Head over to my Stampin' Up! website HERE.  Or drop me an e-mail.  I'm off to write and address these cards - I hope they bring a smile to my friends and family when they receive them in the mail this week!

PS)  Are you a Michigander?  We'll be playing with these two stamp sets along with brand new items from the Occasions Mini and Sale-A-Bration catalogs at my 2010 Stampin' Up! open house this coming Sunday.  Here's the info...


2010 Stampin' Up! Open House
Sunday November 17, 2-4pm
641 Giddings Ave SE, Grand Rapids MI

Come try out new products, check out the new catalogs, and learn about Sale-A-Bration at my 2010 Open House!

Come check out the NEW Sale-A-Bration and Occasions Mini products and catalogs.

We'll have snacks, make-and-takes, and product samples (try the new SU clear mount stamps and new punch design!).

Bring a friend who has never stamped with me before and get a free gift!

Sign up to host a workshop and get a free ink pad of your choice!

Everyone who attends will leave with their own copies of the Sale-A-Bration and Occasions Mini catalogs.

Stop by for a few minutes or stay the entire time!

Week In Review

Each weekend in my Week in Review post I share with you some of my favorite crafty links I've come across during the week, from all over the blogosphere.  Enjoy!

Polka Dot Cupcakes at A Spoonful of Sugar

So easy, yet visually stunning!

Christmas Card Re-Use Ideas at Making Lemonade

I luuuuuuurve the memory book idea!

Washer Necklaces at Little Birdie Secrets (linked at Dabbled)

These would make such wonderful gifts!

Matryoshka Watercolor Card at Sunny Stampin'

Absolutely gorgeous.  Using one of the new stamp sets from the Stampin' Up!  Occasions Mini Catalog (more about that next week!)

Barbie Shoe Bracelet at Kristine McKay Designs

Created by her 13 year old daughter!  Such a wonderful idea!

Paper Fairy Wings at Salsa Pie

Simple and magical...

Happy weekend to you all!

Craft Studio Update 1

I think it's getting worse before it's getting better.  That's okay, right?!

I can't even bring myself to photograph the majority of the studio space right now -- it is a disaster area!

I have loved, loved, LOVED reading all of your ideas for my craft studio space!  (Joining us for the first time?  Check out the original post here.)  Please, keep them coming!  Either here or on the original post.  I truly appreciate all of your comments and plan on using many of the ideas.

My approach so far is to do a little bit at a time, and start with the easiest things first.  Since I need to essentially take everything out of the room to paint and re-position furniture, etc. I figured I may as well organize it all as I go.

I started by accumulating all of my clear containers and setting them out on my long table.

My MIL got me a huge set of small rubbermaid containers for Christmas... you can see them with the fancy red lids that attach to the bottom...

And I found a bunch of small glass vases from the dollar store that I bought for something or other once, and a couple of large class jars...

As I sort through the existing boxes and shelves I'm re-organizing all my supplies into these clear containers and labeling everything.  My label maker is working over time!

The jars are working out perfectly for holding markers...

 

And I cleaned out these little drawer units I've had for... well... ever.  As you can see, they are now neatly storing all my sewing bits and bobs.

I'll be updating every week on Friday's from now until the end of February.  I'm hoping to have the craft studio completed and ready to rock for a Stamp & Crop event I'm hosting on Friday February 26.  Hang in there with me while I revamp this space!

Have a lovely weekend, friends!