Never A Better Time to Sign Up!

There are many new and exciting things happening at Stampin’ Up! Whether you are an avid scrapbooker or stamper and would simply like to receive discounts on your supplies or maybe now that the kids are returning to school, you are looking to earn extra income, there has never been a more affordable way to sign up to be Stampin’ Up demonstrator. For only $99, you can choose from 3 focused starter kits: stamping, scrapbooking or home decor. Or if you want the larger, standard starter kit for $199, you get to chose an additional free stamp set from the brand new catlog valued up to $41.95! Wow! With lots of fun, new products to offer, including a new spanish catalog, there has never been a better time to sign up. And it is so easy. You can do it online from my demonstrator website. Click on this link!

Be sure to check out my special promotions going on now through September 30th!

Not So Clear Skies Ahead!

In light of the fact that a Tropical Storm (soon to be "Hurricane Fay") is looming in the Keys and is on its way here, I thought that it would be appropriate to post this card called Butterfly Skies. It features one of the recently discontinued Stampin' Up In Colors, Soft Sky, with Basic Black ink on Whisper White Cardstock. This spotlighting technique was done by stamping the entire background with bold silhouette flowers and butterflies. Next I used a square punch to remove a section of the background and matted the square in a rounded off black frame before layering on card front. To create the faux wide ribbon effect, glue a strip of b&w gingham ribbon around a strip of black cardstock . Tie white taffeta ribbon around strip, mount "thinking of you" verse on top of layers and adhere to card front. Mount all layers to soft sky card stock to finish.  This was created with one of my favorite new stamp sets, the Essence of Love set from Stampin' Up!

Here's to seeing clear skies again in Florida and for everyone to safely weather this oncoming storm. What a way to start off the new school year.

Anniversary 22 - Love You, Always!

Today is our 22nd Anniversary, and we got married right before I turned 22! Who would have thought then that those next 22 yrs. would be filled with so many memories. 

If someone were to ask me what it takes to keep a marriage together, I would have to say it is a recipe of supporting each other's passions, love and respect, meeting somewhere in the middle on those things that you don't agree on, doing random acts of kindness for one another and making each other laugh.

This is the card I made for my sweetie, Dan, for our anniversary. I tried one cool idea with my trimmer, using the scoring blade to fold the pink accent card stock as well as to make the patterned lines. I was able to tuck my flourish inside the small pocket that I created. The beaded heart was done with chipboard, tombow adhesive and pink & white seed beads from Stampin' Up! I also used the four flower border from A Beautiful Thing set along with dbl-sided Berry Bliss designer paper in the background. The Always clip is from Making Memories. 

Finding Daily Doses of Inspiration - news stand alert!

Finding creative inspiration doesn't mean having to change your daily routine. In my new article published in the October issue of Scrap & Stamp Arts magazine, I will reveal where you can find inspiration in your daily life. It is all around you, if you take time to look for it! The monochromatic color scheme of this “Dream of Being 13” layout features my favorite color, lavender, a super cool outline marker from Pentel Arts, stamps from Inque Boutique, velvety flowers from Bazzill and rhinestone brads from Stampin’ Up. It is a sneak peek of one of the project samples featured in the article entitled, A Daily Dose of Inspiration.

How to Create a Frosted Flower

I stamped the background of the inside fold with floral scatters from the Sprinkles set from Stampin’ Up. In my opinion, pretty in pink and chocolate chip look so yummy together. I used markers to colorize the inside verse that is from the One of A Kind set. 

I stamped all the flower layers (from the One of a Kind set) in chocolate chip and used a circle punch for the center. 

For dimension, I raised the  layers with Dimensionals. To create the frosted flower, I used Crystal Effects on top of the stamped pink cardstock with Dazzling Diamonds glitter on top. Such a simple way to create some shimmer and interest to a card. Before attaching the overhang panel to the card, I punched a hole and ran taffeta ribbon. Wrap ribbon around back and tie a bow in front to secure the card closed.

“Tray” Elegance

This summer I have definitely stepped out of my scrap & stamp comfort zone into uncharted territories trying new projects and techniques that I have never tried before and even coming up with a few new ones of my own...which I will share in some upcoming posts.

If you are looking for a gift idea for the holidays, now is a great time to get started on some projects. This is a b&w wooden tray that I made for my mother-in-law for Mother’s Day. I primed, painted and sanded it. Then I embossed stamps from Inque Boutique’s Arabesque stamp set, designed by my friend Susan Stringfellow. The corner elements and medallion where just perfect for this project. I handcut the elements out and arranged them on the tray and used Modge Podge to adhere them. I used a couple coats of varnish on top to seal it.  I tied some ribbons to the handles for a finishing touch. For additional photos, you can check out my Inque gallery. If I can do this, so can you!

I’m Wild About Paper Bag Albums

If you haven't ever made a paper bag album before, then you are not alone. This was the first one I ever did, and boy are they fun! This is a mega make-n-take that was done with my Stampin’ Up stamper's club group. It was a fun way to say goodbye to a retiring wheel, In Color and the Bali designer papers and some other favorite ink pads. I used Stampin’ Up’s One of a Kind and Wild About You sets as well as some assorted punches. By using the stamp omission technique, you can make this album totally customizable to whatever you are Wild About. Whether it is a person, event or your favorite foods, this cute and colorful mini album has 10 inside pages, some flaps and pockets for you to store memorabilia, pictures, journaling and more. You can view a slideshow of this album below. To view at a larger size, click on the slideshow to go directly to Picasa. Or visit my Stampin’ Up gallery or website for pictures and information about the supplies used.

Totally Tubular Day!

Living in Florida has its many perks...like visits from family and friends throughout the summer, along with fun days at the beach. 

Yesterday, the Jones family came to visit and we went to Indialantic beach. Although we only had a few hours of fun in the sun, the girls had a blast horsing around on these inner tubes in the ocean.The grown ups did, too, but we made sure no one took pictures of that! Since it was low tide, the waves were crashing close to the shoreline and were pretty brutal. The cousins drank mouthfuls of sea water, got pummeled by the waves, yet we all had a totally tubular day!

Embracing Life...the good and the bad

It is important to embrace life...all the highs, lows and curves in the road. If I could have one card that has been my anthem for this year, it would be this Embrace Life card I designed for a Stampin’ Up Stamp-A-Stack workshop. The clean lines of this oriental inspired stamp set help me find peacefulness. I love the hibiscus flower because it reminds me of my Florida surroundings and the ginger blossom papers used on the flower and patterned card element have colors that make me happy...something we all like to feel.

This year has been a challenging one filled with lots of illness among family and friends, a declining economy and other changes. It has been a year of soul searching, renewed spirituality and a time for me to “embrace life” and appreciate the simple gifts each day brings. 

This card uses the Embrace Life stamp set and some soon-to-be-retired In Color papers, inks and ribbon from the Stampin’ Up Spring/Summer ’08 catalog. If you are a fan of Stampin' Up products, check out my new Stampin' Up demonstrator’s website by clicking on the link under my websites or clicking on this link. The new Fall/Winter Catalog will be coming out in August so these products will only be available for a few more weeks.

Farewell to a Few Favorites

As the Stampin’ Up Fall/Winter 2008 catalog is about to premiere next month, it is time to use some of my favorite papers and sets before they are no longer available. Above, is a pull out card make-n-take project done at my July workshop. This can also double as a cool photo CD holder you can share with family and friends. It uses two In Colors that I will be sad to see go...Purely Pomegranate and Wild Wasabi (pg. 163)...one of my favorite greens! It also uses the friend stamp from the For A Friend hostess set (pg. 21) along with flower stamps from the soon to be retired Bud Basics (pg. 92) and Little Pieces (pg. 116) set. The felts are from the Flower Fusion embellishment set. Contact me before August 10th these to order these or other items from the Spring/Summer ’08 catalog before they are no longer available. The supply list for this project can be found on my new demonstrator's website at:

http://www.cwartz1.stampinup.net.

Ready, Set, Slide!

These summery floral cards feature all Stampin’ Up! products and a fun butterfly ribbon slide. This is a sneak peek at the two comparison sample cards found in the Sept. 2008 issue of Scrap & Stamp Arts magazine featuring my article, Products that Make Your Projects Sparkle, Shimmer & Shine (pgs. 26-29). Also featured in this article are the Volleyball scrapbook layout and tropical cards plus a pet care gift card holder posted on my Inque gallery.

I won’t be at CHA, but some of my projects will (updated)

It has been a busy summer, and unfortunately, I won’t make it to the summer Craft & Hobby Association show in Chicago next week. However, some of my projects will be on display at the Glue Arts booth. As part of the Glue Arts design team, we were to take three manilla mini albums from Making Memories, add photos and embellishments along with solid colored papers to showcase the Crop & Glue line of adhesives from Glue Arts. One great thing about mini albums is that their size makes them less intimidating than large scrapbook albums to work on. You get started and before you know it, you feel the satisfaction of completing an entire project. And if you have a bunch of photos of a particular subject, vacation or theme, it is a fun way to showcase them. I chose three different themes for my albums: a quirky album showcasing all the goofy ways my family makes me laugh; an album featuring what we loved about living beachside when we first moved to Florida, and an album showing what makes Bella such a loveable pooch. Featured here is the Indialantic, FL album, and the other two are out for publication. The You Make Me Laugh album will be in Scrapbook News and Review Sept. ’08 online issue. The “Our Crazy Dog” mini album will be featured in Crafts ’n Things March ’09 issue.