A Mixed Bunch of Easter Flowers for Dynamic Duos!

I worked so hard yesterday, getting my Easter packages ready to send to my family!  I wanted to combine card-making with some of the challenges around, and the Dynamic Duos challenge this week was perfect.  I mean purple and yellow are Easter colours, are they not?  Well, I got out my Mixed Bunch stamp set, because I thought the stylized flowers would work perfectly for a light and cheery spring card.

Here's the Dynamic Duos Challenge:

and I entered it in the Linky Party on The Crafty Blogstalker's blog.
and this is my design:

• Mixed Bunch was a best-seller for Stampin' Up! at one time and for good reason.  The flower images are all epic and they all coordinate with one punch or another. This large, airy daisy design is made for the Blossom Punch and the thinner lines with no solid areas is necessary when you are working with complimentary colours like yellow and purple.  If the images were solid the colours would be too overpowering together.
• The strip of DSP on the left is from the Afternoon Picnic Design Series Paper, which is the only current series which features Wisteria Wonder. 
• The sentiment is from the Delightful Dozen Stamp set, stamped in So Saffron ink.  I love the font of this particular stamp!

• The other images are also found in the Mixed Bunch stamp set and coordinate with the 1" Circle punch and the 3/4" Circle punch.  The punches made putting this card together a cinch!  And this is one we'll be using for our Quick and Cute class this week.

In light of yesterday's big announcement of the partnership with Project Life and Becky Higgins, I've had several inquiries about how to become a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, so I thought I'd review that process with you, in case you have been wondering about it as well.  This is a perfect time to join my team for several reasons:

1. With this announcement, Stampin' Up! is set to access a whole new customer base, as Project Life is very popular, and for good reason.  Business is bound to be good!
2. This year, Stampin' Up! is paying the registration for Convention 2014 for all those new demonstrators who joined since July 2013 until registration closes June 27 (or it fills up, whichever is first).
3. The new Annual Catalogue comes out June 2 and as a demonstrator, you will have a chance to see it a month before the public and you will be able to order a select number of products from it a month earlier than the public!  Woo hoo!
4. You will get your hands on the new Project Life products as early as next week!

But the Starter Kit is always a great deal.  You can choose any current products you like to a total of $155 and you only pay $125!!  With free shipping!!  Plus you get a business pack worth $70 for free!

To get the Starter Kit and sign up, just click on "Join My Team" in the top menu bar and follow the prompts to an agreement and on-line sign up form. (Or just click here!) It's best to have an idea of what you want to order before you start.  (Canadian residents only please.)  And that's it!  Except that you can order the Stampin' Up! products you love for a 20% discount and get to belong to an amazing group of women who have the same interests you have!  Let me know if you need help with the process.  I'm more than happy to help you.

Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today!

Product List

128442	125537	128547	122652	131390	122922
105118	100730	126985	126957	125603	119868
119873	104430

Yikes! Timed Stamping Challenge with As You See It Challenges!

Let me start by saying I hate anything to do with timed tests of any kind!  As a kid, I would always fall apart anytime we had to do a times table test that had a time limit.  It took until I was an adult and a teacher, to learn how to handle timed assignments:  put your emotions in the background; take data in, spit answers out! No feelings allowed!  But this week's challenge from As You See It Challenges brought all those anxious emotions back to remembrance again!  It is a Speed Stamping Challenge - you have to complete a card in 10 minutes!

I also wanted to enter The Paper Player's Tic Tac Toe Challenge #189 :

I did the diagonal line, Birthday, Patterned Paper and Any Shade of Blue.

And I promise I didn't cheat!  Here's what I came up with in 10 minutes:

• Before I started the clock, I had the card planned out in my mind and I knew I wanted to do an ombre design of some sort with the "Shades of Blue" part of the As You See It Challenge.  I originally thought I would do fringes, but thought maybe it would take too long to get it looking nice.  Then I decided to stamp and immediately thought of Gorgeous Grunge.  I could picture the "splotch" stamp in my mind in a range of blues.
• I had to use Patterned Paper for the Tic Tac Toe challenge and knew I could find some Coastal Cabana polka dots in the Afternoon Tea DSP.
• We were allowed to gather our materials before starting, but as soon as the cutting blade hit the paper, the timer started!  I had inks, paper, stamps, stamp cleaner ready to go.

• The inks I used were Midnight Muse, Island Indigo, Bermuda Bay, Tempting Turquoise, Coastal Cabana and Pool Party, going from darkest at the bottom to lightest at the top.  I stamped some off first to give some depth to the design.
• The sentiment is from Bring on the Cake.  I had originally intended to use Stampin' Write Markers to fill in the letters if I had time.  I didn't and I'm glad now.  I think the outline letters create a good contrast to the solid splotches.

• As I worked on this, everything was going fine until I was ready to glue the last two panels on to the base.  Then I realized that the patterned DSP was incredibly crooked and I couldn't move it!  Yikes! Things started to go south, until I remembered the advice I gave my students:  "No feelings!  Data in! Solutions out! "  I took a deep breath, cut another piece of DSP, ripped off the crooked one and glued the new piece down.  Phew. Crisis averted!
• It was done but needed something.  I glanced at my watch. 59 seconds remaining.  I ran to my embellishment drawer and grabbed some Coastal Cabana In Colour Boutique Details and some Midnight Muse Dahlias.  The Boutique Details were too big and wouldn't fit anywhere.  I experimented with the dahlias, but finally used just one and glue-dotted it down with split seconds remaining!  DONE!
• If I had had more time, I think some linen thread or Baker's twine might have added some interest to break up the vertical a bit, but I'm pretty happy to at least have a feasible card done in 10 minutes.

Try this challenge yourself!  It's a bit nerve-wracking, but lots of fun!  I wouldn't want to always have to have time limits, but it's amazing what you can do when you push yourself a bit!

Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today!

Product List

130514	130517	128490	121958	131390	101650
126843	126860	126986	131171	126952	131175
126982	127556	110755

On the Road Again

Well, the first leg of the journey to Salt Lake City complete, we hunkered down in our Seattle motel room for the night.  Today we fly to Salt Lake City and meet our friends and get settled.  Wednesday we plan to do some sight-seeing and shopping, then the Conference begins on Thursday.

The trip has been a blast, so far, and by far the funniest time was had at our favourite restaurant, the Olive Garden, near Bellis Fair Mall in Bellingham.

If you do end up there one day, make sure you ask for Will to be your server, because he is too funny.  He entertained us from appetizer to dessert and I'm sure we drove him crazy with our banter and laughter, but he was such a good sport and we left him with a nice tip and a beautiful thank you card that Jill Buehler made.


Today, I want to share my first swap card with you.  It is one that I shared before here, except I hadn't decided which embellishment I wanted to add to finish it all off.  I tried ribbons, buttons, brads, but finally settled on the Natural trim and Very Vintage Button you see here:

• This is for a WOW Vintage Swap - right up my alley so to speak.  I just love the new Tea Party stamp set for its Vintage feel.
• Don't you just love the way the Ruffle Stretch Trim goes around circles and ovals perfectly.  And since we now have the Ovals and Circles Collections Framelits, it's a match made in heaven!

• You can see here that the Very Vintage Button is sewed onto the Naturals Trim Bow with some Wisteria Wonder thread I just happened to have!
• I also used my machine to to a little sewing on the Afternoon Picnic DSP panel.

More tomorrow from Salt Lake City!  Ta, Ta for now! 

Stamps:  Tea Party (w129135; c129138)

Paper: Afternoon Picnic Designer Series Paper (131390); Wisteria Wonder (122922), Soft Suede (115318) and Very Vanilla (101650) cardstock

Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pad in Soft Suede (126978); VersaMark (102283)

Accessories:  3/8" Ruffle Stretch Trim in Coastal Cabana (130024); Very Vintage Buttons (129327); Tea Lace Doily (129399); Delicate Designs Lace Tape (130966), 3/8" Naturals Trim

Tools: Ovals Collection Framelits (129381); Stamping Sponges (101610)

It's a Boy!!

I am pleased and proud to announce that my third grandson, Wyatt Drysdale Poettcker, was born at 9:12 am on Wednesday, June 26, weighing in at 8 lbs. 6 oz.  His mom and dad are doing well!  We left at 10 pm for the four hour journey to Vancouver, and arrived just as Erin was heading to the hospital.

Wyatt is such a contented little guy, SO FAR!  And he is a natural at nursing, his career choice at this point! lol


Just before we left, I designed a vintage-style card, which I am thinking of using as one of my Convention Swaps.  It's missing some embellishments, because my order didn't arrive before we had to go, but I'll show it to you again, once I've got them.  Here it is:

• Do you ever find that when you look at a photograph of your cards, that you can tell right away if it's one of your better creations or not?  Not sure about this one.
• I think that I would use less sponging in Soft Suede.  I was doing an emboss resist technique for the newsprint panel, but all the other panels and elements just cover it up, so there's no point, and therefore no need for such heavy sponging with the Soft Suede.
• What other embellishments would you use with the Very Vintage Button?  It needs more to balance it.
• How do you like the new stamp set: Tea Party?  Just made for a vintage card, I think.

• Here's another example of how the 3/8" Ruffle Stretch Trim is ideal for curves and ovals, due to the stretch and the gathered ruffle.  Here, I'm using Coastal Cabana, which is one of the colours in the Afternoon Picnic Designer Series Paper.
• The Delicate Details Lace Tape is so easy to use and adds a pretty element to the card.
• I did a little stitching with my sewing machine down the right side of the polka dot panel.

Just a reminder that today is the last day to submit orders for the Mystery Hostess Contest and the $50 Shopping Spree as well as for Product Shares.  Product Shares are going ahead, so you might want to take advantage of the opportunity to get more variety of paper and embellishments, without having to buy full amounts of each colour or style.  The orders have really been pouring in, so I know the rewards are going to be BIG!!  Don't miss out on the opportunity to win lots of free product from Stampin' Up!!

Stamps:  Tea Party (w129135; c129138)

Paper: Afternoon Picnic Designer Series Paper (131390); Wisteria Wonder (122922), Soft Suede (115318) and Very Vanilla (101650) cardstock

Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pad in Soft Suede (126978); VersaMark (102283)

Accessories:  3/8" Ruffle Stretch Trim in Coastal Cabana (130024); Very Vintage Buttons (129327); Tea Lace Doily (129399); Delicate Designs Lace Tape (130966)

Tools: Ovals Collection Framelits (129381); Stamping Sponges (101610)

Afternoon Picnic DSP

Tea Party Stamp Set

Very Vintage Buttons