Whew!

I am exhausted!  This past weekend I was in mass-production mode, cranking out Tootsie Pop flowers for an event I am involved in.  What event?  I am participataing in the Flamborough Baptist Church Mom-Mom sale on Saturday, March 2nd.  Part of the event is that the first 200 attendees receive a grab bag full of goodies.  Enter my bright idea to give everyone a Tootsie Pop flower with my contact info attached to it!  Have a look:

A whole lotta Tootsie Pop flowers...200 to be exact!

A Tootsie Bouquet!

A solitary bloom

To make these pretty blooms I used the three smallest-sized flowers on my Flower Folds Bigz XL die, embossing the smallest one with my Perfect Polka Dots TIEF.  Then it was literally just a matter of sticking the stick of the Tootsie Pop through the centre of each flower.  That's it!  Not terribly tough, but an awful lot of cranking that Big Shot handle to make 200 of them!!  In addition to the stamped tag, each flower has a sticker on the stem with all of my contact info on it.  I'm hoping these will be a hit and generate some interest in my table.  I'm going to be  selling off a ton of retired product, both new and used, as well as promoting my classes and events.  If you're free and in the area, stop by and say hi!

Celebrate Monthly Sketch Inspiration

Ah....Saturday!  Love this day of the week the most!  Even better because this particular Saturday falls on a long weekend!!  Here's to extra time to get stuff done!
To start your weekend off right, I have another take on this month's sketch.  Wondering what I'm talking about?  Check out the Monthly Sketch Inspiration tab at the upper right of this page and see the sketch and a couple of samples I created with it.  Today I have another take on it...this time I've rotated the sketch to make a horizonatally oriented card.  Have a look:

Birthday card featuring the Pretty Petites, Collage Curios and Fabulous Phrases stamp sets.

One thing to remember when working with a sketch is that it is only a suggested starting point for your creativity...don't be afraid to play with it!  Here I turned the sketch on it's side and came up with a completely different look.  What do you think of that metal medallion encircling the sentiment?  Cool, eh?  It is one of the new Soda Pop Tops that I ran through my Big Shot and squished!  So easy and it doesn't hurt the Big Shot one bit!  Just open your platform up so you're using no tabs.  Put a cutting plate on the platform, lay the pop top on the plate so the open side is down, put the second cutting plate on top and run it through.  You'll feel very little resistance when rolling it through, but the result is a perfectly squished bottle cap that makes a lovely embellishment!  Try it for yourself...and while you're at it, try the sketch too! 
Have a happy Saturday!!

Ears to You!

Happy Friday!!  I hope you've had a good week and are ready for some stamping fun this weekend.  I'm excited about my new monthly TGIF class that begins tonight!  I can't wait to get together with some of my stamping friends and just relax and have fun after a busy week.  First, though, I want to show you the card I made for a team member who recently promoted.  I used the new Ears To You single stamp...have a look:

Congratulations card featuring the new Ears to You single stamp (132659)

I love those little bunnies!!  The fact that they each sport a trendy pattern just makes them that much cuter!  When I first saw this stamp I immediately thought Easter (stay tuned for projects on that theme next week!), but the punny sentiment made it perfect to acknowledge my team member's hard work.  The DSP is from the Print Poetry DSP Stack...love the colour combo!  I embossed the background using the new Cloudy Day TIEF from the Spring Catty...just the right hint of texture.  I finished it off with just a bit of stitched satin ribbon for some shine.  Soooo...have you made your single stamp wish list yet?  Just wait till you see what I've got in-store for you next week!  In the meantime, have a great, crafty weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope today finds you feeling loved.  I am so blessed with wonderful people in my life who make me feel special each and every day.  I want to show you a little treat holder I made for some of them to let them know just how much I appreciate them.  Have a look:

Valentine's treat holder made using the Petite Purse Bigz Die and the Hearts Collection Framelits.

This little treat holder actually holds 10+ Hershey's Kisses!  Not so little, huh?  I wanted to come up with something with a bit more impact than the little mini purses (don't get me wrong, I LOVE the mini purses!), so I stepped it up by adding a pair of hearts to the front and back of the purse.  I embellished it up with the new Designer Builder Brads, 5/8" Flower Trim, Large Rhinestone Jewels and a bit of stitched satin ribbon.  The DSP is from the More Amore pack and the sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.  Quick, easy and impactful...my kinda project!

Sentimental Celebration

Last week I featured a series of cards I did using the Feeling Sentimental Sale-a-bration stamp set.  Well, I'm not done yet!  I just love that set and had to take another crack at it, this time with a different colour scheme.  Check it out:

Any-occasion card featuring the Feeling Sentimental and That's the Ticket stamp sets.

I don't know what it is about these stamp images, but I just can't get enough of them!  I'll be sad when Sale-a-bration ends and I can't play with them as much as I'd like.  That just means I have to get lots of use out of them in the meantime!  For this card I used DSP from two different packs:  Fan Fair and Print Poetry.  I love the way the different patterns work together with the Ferris wheel image.  There are lots of layers on this card...I just kept adding and adding stuff...I know, its a sickness LOL!  I don't think you can tell in the photo but I used my new Occasions paper piercing pack to add interest to the oval frame around the stamped image.  I also pulled out one of my new favourite sets That's the Ticket to add some vintagey embellishments.  I love how versatile that set is!  I finished it off with a bit of seam binding ribbon and a mini library clip (retired) to hold everything together.  Not exactly a simple card, but sometimes its fun to just play!

Oh Baby!

One of my team members is expecting her second child in early March.  Last night at our team meeting we had a little mini-shower for her, as it will be her last meeting for a while.  I made her a fun card using some great new products that I knew she'd love.  Check it out:

Baby Shower card feturing the Oh, Baby! single stamp (132667)

I have to say I really love this card!  I love the DSP from the Print Poetry DSP Stack...this colour combo just pops.  I also love the stamp image...so much fun.  I paper-pieced the "B" to look more like a chic maternity dress...with requisite bling, of course!  I think my favourite thing is the little arrow clip pointing right at the baby bump.  Too cute!!  I am definitely making another copy of this card...it's too much fun not to CASE!

Chalkboard Birthday

When Stampin' Up released the latest round of single stamps I did a little happy dance.  I love every single image in the bunch!  With so many fun and versatile stamps to choose from I had a hard time narrowing down my order!  I began with three...and you'll see each one of them this week, as I had some fun last weekend playing with my new goodies.  Today I want to show you the WooHoo single stamp.  First of all, with a name like that, what's not to love, right??  Check out this card I designed for my team to make at our meeting this week:

Birthday card featuring the Chalkboard technique using the Woo Hoo single stamp (132661).

Fun, huh?  I love the look of the chalkboard technique and thought this stamp was just perfect for that technique.  Besides the new stamp image, I also used the new Honeycomb TIEF and silver buttons from the Spring Catalogue.  The DSP is from the Neutrals stack...perfect for subtle pattern.  I hope my team enjoys making this one...I know I sure did!!