Blessings and Thank Yous

How was your weekend?  Mine was full of blessings and thank yous!  I had a big order to sort and deliver and some of it was for some new customers and new members of my Stamp Club so I wanted a nice way to thank all my customers for their business.  The weekend was also full of blessings as we went to a wonderful church service and then attended a World War II era presentation of Pilgrim's Progress.  It was very well done and I'm actually going to have to read Pilgrim's Progress now I think.  Then we learned we were getting a surprise, quick visit from my youngest daughter and her family, including little Parker, so that is a very big blessing still to come!!

Here's how I expressed my thanks to my customers this week:

• These little 3 x 3s were fun to make using the Easter Blessings stamp, masking the Easter sentiment and inking up using Melon Mambo and Pear Pizzazz Stampin' Right Markers.\
•  I used the colour combination from Gingham Garden Design Series Paper, some of which you see here.  The colours used in that DSP include Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizzazz.
• The sentiment is from Express Yourself, a hostess set which you can order if you are the hostess of a workshop, or for your month as Hostess in my Stamp Club.  It is priced lower than regular sets so that your Hostess dollars stretch a little further.
• I added some Melon Mambo or Daffodil Delight Candy Dots to add balance and interest.  I love the way the darker stripes of the gingham look like shadow under the image panel and make it look as if it is raised on dimensionals, even though it isn't.

Papercraft Cat Rewards Program

Inside each thank you card for orders of $30 or more before tax and shipping, I was able to include one or more Papercraft Cat Reward Tokens for customer loyalty.  As my customers record and keep track of these points, when they reach 20 points, they will receive a $50 Stampin' Up! Gift Certificate to redeem through me.

If you live in Canada, you can also participate in my Rewards Program.  Just visit my On-line Store which is available 24/7 and place an order, choosing me as your demonstrator.  If you make sure to indicate that you'd like me to contact you, I will be able to send you a thank you card similar to the ones above, with the appropriate numbers of Papercraft Cat tokens as well as a Tracking Sheet to record your points.  Then you will be able to redeem them for a $50 gift certificate when you reach 20 points!!

Be a Member of My Stamp Club

I am also looking for some people who might be interested in being part of a Stamp Club.  The idea behind this is you commit to spending a minimum of $20 a month for 12 months to gradually build your stamping supplies and equipment.  One month you would be named Hostess and you would receive all the Hostess rewards from all the orders of the other members.  You are guaranteed at least $35 in free product, but it is usually from $40 to $55 and more.  I am starting a second club and so all the months are open.  The first to sign up will get the best choices of months for their Hostess Months.

There are other perks to belonging to Stamp Club including special treats from me in your Hostess Month and at Christmas and just for the heck of it, reduced rates on classes, all the catalogues mailed to you and Customer Appreciation events.  Stamp Club members can attend any classes of their choice at a reduced rate.

Live Out of Town?

If you don't live in my area, you can still be a member of my Stamp Club.  You can sign up for stamp club by downloading the Stamp Club agreement and emailing it back to me along with your name and email address.
Instead of attending classes, I will give you special private access to a monthly project tutorial, both PDF file and You Tube Video, including a list of all the supplies you would need for the product.  Think about signing up and be one of the first, so you can choose the month you want most!

Thanks for dropping by, and see you tomorrow with a new video introducing a new product from Stampin' Up this spring!

Here is a list of all the supplies used in this little 3 x 3 Thank You card.  Click on the links below to view the products and you can also purchase from this link as well.

• Blessed Easter
• Express Yourself Wood-mount Stamp Set
• Express Yourself Clear-mount Stamp Set
• Gingham Garden Designer Series Paper
• Daffodil Delight 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Whisper White 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Brights Stampin' Write Markers
• Pear Pizzazz Stampin' Write Marker
• Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad
• Brights Candy Dots

Round or Square? Mojo Time Again!

I love MOJO Monday Challenges, but once a month they give me a choice I don't know what to do with!

Round or Square Week?!   Seriously??? How about neither? I mean, I've always been kind of a square peg trying to fit into a round hole but I don't need to be reminded of it monthly!!

And what do you do with round or square cards? There's the envelope problem of course.  I know, I know, with our Simply Scored Tool, I could make my own, but that takes more time!

There is something coming soon from Stampin' Up that will make envelope crafting much easier, but I have to wait for awhile to show you what it is!  Are you curious?  Curious like a cat?  Good!

Here's this week's Mojo Monday Challenge #304:

After some debate, I finally settled on Round!  It's just easier!  Here it is:

I will be using it for my Technique Night classes next week.

•  My ladies all wanted to learn how to do rolled flowers.  They are really easy to do. I will get my video camera rolling a do a tutorial after technique night is over, but basically you just punch out a scallop circle, spiral cut it and roll from the outside to the inside, using the last bit of the spiral to hold the rest with a glue dot. 

Your cut doesn't need to be perfectly even because it will give your flower more interesting variation.

• I'm using a new stamp set called Kind and Cozy, which was made to coordinate with Gingham Garden Design Series Paper (DSP).  See the gingham around the edge of the circle and that little nosegay stamp which matches the flowers on the DSP?
• The colour palette I'm using is Strawberry Slush, Island Indigo, Pear Pizzazz and Daffodil Delight.
• I used the Circles Collection framelits to make the shaped card here.  I took one 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of Strawberry Slush cardstock and scored the long edge at 5 1/2".  I folded it and put the largest Circle framelit on it with one edge of the framelit overhanging the edge of the fold.  That gave me the shaped card base, but because the fold edge was flat instead of round, I cut out another full framelit piece and matched the two up and glued it on, so the scallops matched.
• The Bird Builder punch created those Pear Pizzazz leaves.
• I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to position the gingham ring and the flower bunch perfectly around my sentiment.

In other GREAT news, the Holiday Mini goes live tomorrow!  Have you got your orders ready?  I will have a link to the catalogue here on my blog and the phone lines will be open if you want anything!  I will put in an order on Friday!

Did you know that the Holiday Mini Catalogue is interactive?  Here's Brandi Barnard from Home Office to tell you all about it:

           


Stamps:  Kind and Cozy (w129123; c129126)
Paper:  Gingham Garden DSP (129310); Strawberry Slush (131295), Island Indigo (122923), Pear Pizzazz (131201), Daffodil Delight (119683), and Whisper White (100730) card stock
Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pad in Island Indigo (126986); Stampin' Write Markers in Island Indigo (131265)*, Strawberry Slush (131260)* and Pear Pizzazz (131266)
Accessories:  3/8" Ruffle Stretch Trim in Strawberry Slush (130023); Pearl Basic Jewels (119247)
Tools:  Circles Collection Framelits (130911); Big Shot (113439); 2 3/8" Scallop Circle Punch (118874); 
1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch (119854); Bird Builder Punch (117191)
*As part of the Colour Collection package

Bird Builder Punch

Circles Collection Framelits

Gingham Garden DSP

Kind and Cozy Stamp Set

Strawberry Slush 3/8" Ruffle Stretch Trim

It's Friday!!

I enjoyed this week immensely!  I had some breathing room to get organized.  I got my craft room up-dated with all the new products that arrived!  I made some cards with the new stamp sets I ordered. I filmed some videos, one of which is posted here. (It's been awhile!)  I planned some projects for up-coming events, and I still hope to get started on my swaps for Convention coming up in mid-July!  I really needed a week to do all that!

The last part of June is kind of up-in-the-air, as we wait for news that our third grandbaby is making a grand entrance into the world.  The due date is June 20, but we all know how punctual first babies are!  So I have to have a lot of contingency plans ready for some of my classes and events!






But this means that we will miss the first birthday of my second grandson, Kesten!  His birthday is June 25 and he is such a little dear that I'm sad to miss his big day.  We have sent his present and card north, but I wanted to share with you the card I made for him.

• I used the stamp set You're Amazing to create this card including the beautiful script, which I used the Apothecary Accents Framelit to cut out, trimming off one end. 
• The balloon was inked up in Island Indigo and was stamped off once so that the image was light enough so you could see the number 1 on it.  
• I stamped the number using the new ABC-123 Sketch Alphabet & Numbers in Real Red.
• The cardstock colours I used are Sahara Sand, Island Indigo and Real Red.
• The DSP is from the new series called Gingham Garden.
• I used one of the new Candy Dots in Island Indigo on the sentiment.

Here's a quick peek at the inside:

• I was pleased with how easy it was to line up the letters, also from ABC-123 Sketch Alphabet & Numbers, to form Kesten's name.  
• The set only comes in Clear Mount, which I find is much easier to line up to make words than  wood mount would be.  
• I just lined up the first four letters on a clear mount block and stamped them.  
• I left the T where it was to help with adding  the E and N in the right position after the T, then I removed the T and stamped the last two letters and it looks pretty even.
• I had to cross out the last two words of the verse from Bring on the Cake, because he will only have one candle! lol

I hope he has a great day!

I also have a quick Crafty Clues by Heather video tutorial to share with you today.  This one shows you the steps to making a fork bow.  Here it is:

                   

Have a great weekend!  See you on Monday.  Don't forget to check out my Product Shares.

Stamps:  You're Amazing (w132103; c126722); ABC-123 Sketch Alphabet & Numbers (c130565); Bring on the Cake (w128490; c121958)
Paper:  Gingham Garden DSP (129310); Island Indigo (122923), Sahara Sand (121043) and Real Red (102482) cardstock
Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Island Indigo (126986) and Real Red (126949)
Accessories:   Regals Collection Candy Dots (130932)
Tools:  Apothecary Accents Framelits (127003); 2 3/8" Scallop Circle Punch (118874)

You're Amazing Stamp Set

Apothecary Accents Framelits

Bring on the Cake Stamp Set

ABC-123 Alphabet & Numbers Stamp Set

Gingham Garden DSP

Regals Collection Candy Dots