Snow?

Hello friend.

Snow. Yes snow. What happened to our warm weather? Oh, yeah. We live in Ohio.

Inside I have warmth, and a Paper Pumpkin package:

The boxes "talk" to you...

 

(Sounds like Paper Pumpkin is a flirt.)

But inside you'll find crafting goodness!

It's so easy to get started. Simply sign up for the program by visiting www.mypaperpumpkin.com and click Get it. Every month a new, surprise project kit arrives at your doorstep. Just think of the anticipation of creating a fun project to pin, showoff, and share with your friends and family every month!

Of course, you'll want to know more. So here's the nitty gritty:

• Each month we send you a unique, surprise kit with a project-cards, journals, décor, and more! (We've even colour-coordinated, measured, and cut everything for you!)
• Each kit includes stamps, ink, paper, and accessories-everything but adhesive. 
• Each kit gives you a 30-minute creativity escape. 
• We will ship your Paper Pumpkin on or around the 15th of the month.   
• You need to sign up for a kit by the 10th of the month to get that month's kit. If you sign up on the 11th of the month, your first kit will come the next month. 
• A Paper Pumpkin membership is $24.95 per month (and shipping is included!) 
• There's no commitment, you can cancel your monthly Paper Pumpkin at any time. You can also skip a month if you want. 
• The Welcome Kit is the very first Paper Pumpkin you will receive in the first month of your membership. The Welcome Kit includes a free gift-a clear acrylic block!
• A Try-It kit is available on the online store if you'd like to try Paper Pumpkin for one month.

Happy Stamping!

Wendy

April Scrap Club Pages!

Hello friend!

There is a lovely group of six women who come to my house between September and April to create scrapbook pages.  They are my "Friday Night Scrap Club" (really wish we'd come up with a more creative name) and while some of them are brand new, some of them have been club members for years.

Well, club has ended (we always break for summer) and we won't be back together until fall.  It is a little sad.  These are our club pages for April:

The clouds are simply Whisper White ink sponged on the Bashful Blue card stock.

This month I wanted to create something for them that was soft and summer-ish.  Since we meet during the fall and winter months, we don't make many summer pages.  Somehow this spring, I've been thinking about kites quite a lot.  (I even have two different kite quilts planned, so be on the watch for them!)

These kites started with two pieces of Tea for Two Designer Series Paper, cut 2 x 2  and 2 x 3 inches.  Cut each one diagonally, flip, and voila!  A kite!  We found it best to glue the four triangles to a scrap piece of card stock to make it easier to move around for placement on the page.  The tails are made by tying thin, torn strips of Tea for Two Designer Fabric to a piece of Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine.

Have fun with this, and go fly a kite!
Happy Scrapping!
Wendy

The Easter bunny had to get creative this year

Hello friend!

The Easter Bunny was a little forgetful at our house this year.  "He" forgot to buy Easter grass for the baskets.  Luckily, there were some beautiful fabrics laid out for quilt inspiration, and this was the result:

It worked well, and we didn't have the mess of Easter grass.  This may be the way our baskets get filled from now on.

Those three in the front are designer fabrics from the Spring catalog, Tea for Two, and I have an idea for a special project for them now that they are out of the basket... so stay tuned!

Happy Stamping!
Wendy

FREE SHIPPING! FREE SHIPPING! FREE SHIPPING!

Hello friend!

I'm excited to let you know that Stampin' Up! is offering something I've never heard of before:  FREE shipping on EVERYTHING April 6-8 (excluding expedited orders)! 

That's right!  There are no minimums or limits and all orders qualify.         
I did tell you this was FREE shipping on EVERYTHING, didn't I?

Don't delay, this offer ends Monday, April 8!

Happy Stamping! 
Wendy

Color Refresh for the 2013/2014 Annual Catalog!

Hello friend!

Here is some news that startled me this morning--but now that I have read through the information Stampin' Up! has given demonstrators, I'm getting excited!  When the last major color change came in 2010, they told us there would be changes every three to five years to keep up with color trends.  Now there will be changes made, and these are our color families coming in the 2013-2014 annual catalog:

As you can see, most of the "new" colors are actually returning In Color colors.  There is only one totally new color: Smoky Slate--and in my opinion it is something we've needed since they discontinued Going Gray so many years ago!

If you see a color on the discontinued list that you know you will miss, just remember to stock up now.  Or look to the color list and see what you can replace it with (for me, I'll miss Not Quite Navy--but Island Indigo is also gorgeous, and I'll probably survive!)

And I am also feeling good about the fact that so many of you already have some of the "new" colors
Please let me know what you think.

Happy Stamping!
Wendy

Best of Butterflies

Hello friend!

Somehow butterflies have not been my thing.  (maybe I think of them in the Historical Society collection... mounted on pins.  Ugh!)  But, in the last couple of years, I've started to enjoy our butterfly stamps.  So much so that when a set retired, I'd still keep the butterfly,and continue using it.

This month, Stampin' Up has a collection of butterflies from the past for you as part of the Best of 25 Years promotion.  Check it out:
Best of Butterflies

This makes me want to go pull out a butterfly or two and make something springy!

Happy Stamping!
Wendy

Fabric Frenzy

Hello friend!

I'm so EXCITED!  Monday is the beginning of a week-long promotion:

I love our high-quality fabrics,and whether you sew with them or embellish a card or scrapbook page with them, I believe you will love them!  And at 50% off, there is more to love!

Page	Item	Description	Retail Price	Sale Price
170	126892	Essentials Designer Fabric	$29.95	$14.98
171	126983	Floral District Designer Fabric	$9.95	$4.98
171	126894	Comfort Café Designer Fabric	$9.95	$4.98
171	125411	Summer Smooches Designer Fabric	$9.95	$4.98
171	125412	Twitterpated Designer Fabric	$9.95	$4.98
171	122337	Timeless Portrait Designer Fabric	$9.95	$4.98
171	122336	Beau Chateau Designer Fabric	$9.95	$4.98
171	124066	Spice Cake Designer Fabric	$9.95	$4.98
171	122335	Flirtatious Designer Fabric	$9.95	$4.98
6*	129308	Tea for Two Designer Fabric	$9.95	$4.98
13*	129307	More Amore Designer Fabric	$9.95	$4.98

*spring catalog

Our fabric comes in extra-wide fat quarters (18" x 26").  The sale only lasts from March 25 to March 31,  so don't delay! 

Wendy

March Scrapbook Club Pages

Hello friend!

These are our pages from Scrap Club this month. We used Designer Series Paper, Buttons, and Ribbon from the Sale-A-Bration Catalog:; Oval Framelits Dies and Paper Doilies from the Spring Catalog; and.First Edition Designer Series Paper and Beautiful Wings Embosslits from our Yearly Catalog.

The "you suit me to a tea" title was printed using Tea Shoppe on My Digital Studio.  The tea cup was printed out to make a template, and then traced on the designer paper.

 A close-up of the tea cup:

A close-up of the tea pot:

Happy Stamping!
Wendy

Happy Birthday to my Dad!

Hello friend!

 Happy Birthday today to my dad!  We had a family party for him on Saturday.  I made a (yummy) three-layer, chocolate/marble/yellow cake, and had fun making a banner to decorate it.  Safer than 78 candles!

This is the birthday card I made him.  Simple, and it matched the banner.

Happy Stamping!
Wendy

Overnight Stamp & Scrap... we survived!

Hello friend!

Last week I talked a little about the Overnight Scrap & Stamp.  Here are most of the attendees: Melissa, Kirt, Samantha, Victoria, Sarah, Alexis, Jessica, Vickie, Natalie and me.  It was a small group--but we sure had fun!

Thanks to all who attended.  See you there next time!

Happy Stamping!
Wendy

Several projects....

Hello friend!

Yes, I'm still here. Much has happened in the last three months.  Holidays, stamping, events, and more--none of which I mentioned here.  It is time to decide whether to keep this blog or not.  If I don't communicate with you, what good is it?

This weekend was my Overnight Scrap & Stamp, so let's start by talking about that.   I have plenty to show you from just this weekend!

We have fun with swaps at the Overnight.  There is one on Friday night, and one Saturday afternoon.  Here is my swap from Friday's "Anything Goes" swap:

This was fun to do. Just a little card stock, some designer series papers, and sponging on the sky.   The frame is 5 x 7 so it is a nice size that would fit in many places.

Every year I give the attendees a packet of supplies. This year the supplies included a journal and everything necessary to copy the journal on the cover of the Spring Catalog.  If you are interested in details, please let me know.

Happy Stamping!
Wendy

Stampin' Success... for you!

Hello friend!

As a Stampin' Up Demonstrator, I receive a magazine called Stampin' Success.  I've shown it to some of you over the years.  Now there is a Stampin' Success for our customers.  Here is a link to the first one:

http://204.228.150.61/stampinsuccess/US_SS_1112_cust.pdf

I hope you enjoy it!

Happy Stamping!
Wendy

Digital Scrapbooking Day means FREE & 50% OFF!

Hello friend! 

Have I told you how much I enjoy digital scrapbooking?  Well, now we can enjoy it even more with FREE downloads, plus 50% off kits!  Yes!  You can get the following downloads for free:

132557 Enjoy Everything Kit, FREE until November 5!
132562 A Split Second Designer Template Pages, FREE until November 5! 
132558 Days in December Kit-Updated 10/29/12, FREE until November 5!

And you can go to my web site to get these items for FREE & 50% off!

What are you waiting for?

Happy Stamping! 
Wendy

This may surprise you a bit....

Hello friend!

Yes, I have some surprising news to share with you. Stampin' Up is trying out something new! We're excited to offer you the chance to buy single pieces from these select stamp sets: Word Play, Perfectly Penned, and Seasonal Sayings. The offer will be available now through January 2, 2013.

Here are the details:

These stamps are available on any order type-customer,workshop, or online.

You can find the stamp item numbers on the flyers.

These won't be sent to you in our typical cases or packaging; they'll be packaged in cello bags. If you'd like a case for your stamp, you can buy our Clear-Mount Stamp Cases that come in packs of four (item 119105).

This offer is available for clear-mount stamps only.

The stamps won't come with a Clear-Mount Block, and you'll need to buy a block separately if you don't already have one.  (If you need help, I can help you with the recommended block sizes.)

There's no limit on how many you can buy!

You can see the three stamp sets below, or go to:  http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/CategoryPage.aspx?categoryid=1154  to get the item numbers and prices.


Perfectly Penned (Catalog page 132):

Seasonal Sayings (Holiday Catalog page 34)

Word Play (Catalog page 135)

Please remember that this is a pilot program, so take advantage of it while you can!

Happy Stamping! Wendy

Hello friend! School is back in session, the days have been cooler, and I've been thinking "fall" quite a bit. It's my favorite time of year! Before I start carving pumpkins (haha) I better show you some of what we've been doing this summer.

One of the things I really wanted to accomplish was a make-over in our son's room. This photo shows what it has looked like for 13 or 14 years... it was definitely time to change things around!

This is the color we painted. Sorry, but I don't have a true "after photo" to show. Maybe if he would clean his room up a little more.... :)

And of course there's been stamping going on! We had a wedding and a birthday party in the same weekend, and somehow I was in a mood to make "kitchen sink" cards. (That's all they need--they have everything but the kitchen sink, hence the name.) This one was fun, because it was for Jessica & Joe's wedding. Jess likes color, so I just kept adding embellishments and glitter and whatever else I could get my hands on.

This 75th birthday card was for my uncle Lonnie. We surprised him at our reunion with a birthday party, and this needed to be special. Happy Stamping! Wendy

Old Uniontown Quilt Guild 2012 Quilt Show

Hello friend!

 Today is the second day of the Old Uniontown Quilt Guild annual quilt show! It is at Park Street Brethren Church in Ashland and goes til 5 pm. This year we have more quilts than ever before, so if u are looking for something to do today, come on over! (And keep an eye out for the 7 items entered by Shrefflers: myself, Natalie and Hannah)

Have a great day!
Wendy

Hello friend!

There are so many great new items in the 2012/2013 Annual Catalog!  One of the neat changes they have made is to our ink pads.  Watch this video to learn more:

While you don't need to replace every ink pad you have... you may WANT to do just that!

If you will be attending the Hostess Appreciation Brunch or the (Almost) All-Day Scrap & Stamp, you'll get to play with some of the new pads.  Hope to see you there!

Happy Stamping!
Wendy

Hello friend!

Well, we did it.  Actually, he did it.  Our Nick is now a high school graduate.  How did this happen, and where did that darling little boy go?  The last couple of months have been so exciting.  Not only did we have the usual end-of-school-year excitement, but his baseball team was the Regional Runner-up!  (we spent a lot of time on the ball field)

I was able to keep up with his scrapbook at the end of the year because I was using My Digital Studio.  There were nights when I was so tired, but I could sit on the couch with the laptop and scrap what had just happened that day. Baseball... prom... everything got done in time for his party!  These are 2 pages from the day they won the District:

If you have never used My Digital Studio, I'd love to show it to you.  But I'll warn you... it is addictive!

Things are settling down a little, and I'm looking forward to some free time--maybe in July.  :)  This weekend our "baby" turns 12 and next weekend is my annual Hostess Appreciation Brunch--plus what I'm calling an
"(Almost) All Day Scrap & Stamp" immediately after.  Still spots open for the crop... interested?

Whew.

 Happy Stamping! Wendy

A perfect bow, every time!

Hello friend!

A while back I learned a fun way to tie a bow--using a fork!

Wrap your ribbon around the fork, crossed in front:

Push one end through the middle tines to the back from the bottom of the ribbon:

Push the other end through the middle tines to the back from above the ribbon:

Pull the ends together in back, keeping centered:

Turn the fork over, and it looks like this:

Tie the ends together, over the ribbon.  (a single tie is enough, no need to make a knot):

Pull the ribbon off the fork, and what a pretty bow!

Isn't that too much fun?  I've made different sizes of bows, too.  One of my favorites used a large serving fork that's four inches wide.  A friend told me she's used her potato masher, that would also be even wider.  

Have fun with it!

Happy Stamping!
Wendy

Announcing MDS 2!

Hello friend!
I've been having a lot of fun with My Digital Studio.  In fact, I just finished (and printed) my first scrapbook.  It is gorgeous!  Here is a video announcing an update to My Digital Studio.

If you have ever thought you'd like to try digital, now is a great time to jump in!

Wendy