Whirlwind Weekend!

I'm not quite sure how it can possibly be Monday already.  I don't seem to remember having a weekend!!  What a crazy couple of days!  The good news is that part of my craziness involved designing new projects for various events I have coming up.  The first one I have for you features my beloved Blendabilities...

Christmas card featuring the Christmas Bauble stamp with sentiment from the Good Greetings set.

I designed this one for my Blendabilities Club this month.  They are receiving the Cherry Cobbler Blendabilities set, so I focused on Christmas-themed projects.  To create this look I began by heat embossing the Christmas Bauble image in gold.  Then I coloured the image using the Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive Blendabilities sets.  The top of the ornament is coloured using the gold Stampin' Dazzle Marker.

Once I had finished colouring the image I fussy cut it out using my paper snips and adhered it to a Whisper White card front that I had embossed using the Filigree Frame TIEF.  I added some Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon and a bit of long-retired gold elastic cord I had in my stash.  The only bit of bling is a single rhinestone in the centre of the ornament that I coloured yellow using my Daffodil Delight Blendabilities.  The sentiment from the Good Greetings (retired) host promo set is heat embossed in gold.  I used Crumb Cake for my card base.

Inside view with sentiment from the Beauty of the Season stamp set.

On the inside I stamped the sentiment from the Beauty of the Season stamp set and added some holly that I trimmed from the Christmas Bauble image.

I love the way this one turned out...hope my Blendabilities Club members do too!

A New Month and A New Promotion!

If you asked my what my single most valuable tool is, aside from stamps and ink, my resounding response would be my Big Shot.  It is the one tool that I use on almost everything I design.  In fact, I have challenged myself in the past to design without using the Big Shot and found it extremely difficult.  That's why I am SO excited about this month's promotion!

Click the image to view all of the fabulous exclusive bundles available.

If you've been waiting for the right time to purchase a Big Shot, that time is during the month of August and starts TODAY!  Now through August 31, you'll receive your choice of one of five FREE exclusive Stampin' Up! stamp set and framelits bundles when you purchase a Big Shot Die Cutting Machine. That's up to a $65 value absolutely free! 

BIG SHOT FREE bundle choices are below. 

Bundle Name	Item #	Stamp Name	Framelit	15% OFF PRICE
Sumthin' with Bubbly Words Clear-Mount Bundle	138920	Sumthin' Sumthin'	Word Bubbles	$ 38.95
Sumthin' with Bubbly Words Wood-Mount Bundle	138923	Sumthin' Sumthin'	Word Bubbles	$41.50
Decorative Goodies Clear-Mount Bundle	138921	Oh My Goodies	Deco Labels Collection	$44.75
Decorative Goodies Wood-Mount Bundle	138924	Oh My Goodies	Deco Labels Collection	$52.50
Celebrating Chalk Talk Clear-Mount Bundle	138922	Day of Celebration	Chalk Talk	$45.75
Celebrating Chalk Talk Wood-Mount Bundle	138925	Day of Celebration	Chalk Talk	$53.25
Flowery Daydream Clear-Mount Bundle	138910	Daydream Medallions	Floral Collection	$55.95
Flowery Daydream Wood-Mount Bundle	138911	Daydream Medallions	Floral Collection	$65.95
Bright & Beautiful Stars Clear-Mount Bundle	138200	Bright & Beautiful*	Star	$54.25
Bright & Beautiful Stars Wood-Mount Bundle	138644	Bright & Beautiful*	Star	$62.75

* Stamp set in the upcoming 2014-15 Holiday Catalogue

Do you already own a Big Shot?  You can get a 15% discount on the bundles above.  Please be sure to use the product numbers listed to ensure you get your discount!

Now for a project!  Today is the day that we demonstrators get to start pre-ordering products from the upcoming Holiday Catalogue.  I have my order in and can not wait until it arrives...so many awesome new goodies for the fall and Holiday season!  Today I want to feature a pair of cards I did using the Beauty of the Season stamp set, which is available right now(!) and is a sneak peek of the Holiday catty.  Check them out...

This one is done using an aquapainter and ink pads for a watercolour look...

Holiday card featuring the Beauty of the Season stamp set and watercoloured using an aquapainter.

...and this one is coloured using Blendabilities:

Holiday card featuring the Beauty of the Season stamp set with sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes and coloured using Blendabilities.

As you can see you get two very different looks with the two different colouring media.  I can't say I prefer the look of one over the other...they are just very different.  So you have a preference?  Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

Bloom With Hope Birthday

Before I show you today's project I have some important news to share!  Stampin' Up! has just updated the online Clearance Rack with tons of fabulous items at ridiculously low prices.  All items listed are availble only while supplies last, so if you see something you need to have order it today, as it may well be gone tomorrow!

Also, I neglected to mention in my previous post about new products that there is a brand new GORGEOUS Christmas stamp set, a sneak peek from the upcoming Holiday Catalogue, that is now availble for all of you who (like me!) like to do Christmas in July.  Check it out:

Beauty of the Season (135779) $20.95

Isn't that just begging to be coloured??  I can't wait to get at it with my Blendabilities!

Now for today's project.  I finally had a chance over the weekend to ink up my Bloom With Hope hostess set.  I LOVE this set!  So many beautiful floral images to colour, but first I wanted to see what I could come up with that didn't require colouring, for those who don't (gasp) enjoy it.  Here is the result:

Birthday card featuring the Bloom With Hope stamp set

Can't get much simpler than this one!  I masked off part of the card front with sticky-notes and sponged with Mossy Meadow, Hello Honey and Blackberry Bliss.  Then I heat embossed the flower image in white...I love the way it pops against the darker background.

 I added a bit of stitched satin ribbon in Hello Honey and layered it on a Blackberry Bliss card base.  The sentiment, which is also from the Bloom With Hope set, is stamped in black, punched with the Modern Label punch and then layered on a Large Oval punched from Blackberry Bliss card stock.

On the inside I simply stamped the same image from the front in Blackberry Bliss, leaving plenty of space for a personal message for the birthday girl!

Now...go check out the Clearance Rack...so many great deals!