Time to Celebrate for the Paper Players

It's time for a whimsical Valentine card, perhaps for someone who doesn't like mushy cards.  You know who you are! I've been looking for an opportunity to use the Hostess set from the Occasions Catalogue called Time to Celebrate, and when I saw this week's Paper Players Challenge, I knew the time had come!

Okay, I guess a worm doesn't count as a "furry" friend, but he is a critter, I guess, and because I think he's so gosh darned cute, I'm going to go ahead and use him for this challenge!! I mean, look at those delightful glasses (I'm guessing he's a bookworm - the best kind!) and the little posy!  Who could resist that charm?  Let's take a closer look:

• I stamped the worm image in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then took him to my ecutter for the trim! It sure does save a lot of time, but sometimes I miss the therapy! I coloured him in using my Smoky Slate Assortment of Blendabilities, as well as accents of Calypso Coral, Coastal Cabana and Old Olive.
• Both background papers are from the Best Year Ever Designer Series Paper featuring Calypso Coral and Coastal Cabana. Love that DSP!!
• The heart behind the worm is from the Groovy Love Stamp set and punched out with the Sweetheart Punch. I mounted the worm and the heart on a circle of Whisper White and a Starburst Framelit, just larger than that Circle Framelit was used to die cut the Calypso Coral starburst.
• Both sentiments are from Time to Celebrate and I admit I couldn't resist the "worm" wishes! I'm just a punny girl at heart! The little heart is from the Hello Darling Stamp set.

Time to Celebrate is a Hostess Set, which means the only way you can order it is as part of your Stampin' Rewards!  But did you know that there are 3 ways you could earn Stampin' Rewards? 

1. Of course, the first way is to host a private class and that way you earn rewards based on the sales from all your guests! Your friends will enjoy a crafty night out with some fun projects to complete and you'll get your choice of free products in any current catalogue. The Hostess sets are exclusive to hosts and are priced lower than other stamp sets so you get more for your rewards dollars! If you host a private class during Sale-A-Bration, your guests are more likely to have higher sales to earn Sale-A-Bration rewards, plus Stampin' Up! is adding an extra $35 in Stampin' Rewards for every class that earns $330 or higher!
2. But, say you don't have time to host a private class. In that case you could join my Stamp Club. You commit to ordering a minimum of $20 every month for 12 months and during one of those months, you get all the Stampin' Rewards earned by the sales of everyone else in the club that month. I have two spots open at the present time, so if you are quick and contact me, I can register you as a member and assign you a month during which you will receive the rewards!!
3. The last way is to spend over $200 yourself and earn the free product all on your own. If you do that often however, your best bet is to get the Starter Kit and have demonstrator status, so you can get the 20% discount on top of earning the free rewards!

Three ways - which ones will you choose??

Thanks for dropping by today!

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

Time To Celebrate Clear Stamp Set [137945]	Time To Celebrate Wood Stamp Set [137150]	Groovy Love Clear-Mount Stamp Set [134246]	Groovy Love Wood-Mount Stamp Set [134243]	Hello Darling Clear-Mount Stamp Set [133994]
Hello Darling Wood-Mount Stamp Set [133991]	Smoky Slate 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [131202]	Best Year Ever Designer Series Paper [138633]	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730]	Calypso Coral 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [122925]
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708]	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Smoky Slate Assortment [131005]	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Coastal Cabana Assortment [131000]	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Calypso Coral Assortment [130996]	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Old Olive Assortment [130999]
Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad [131175]	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad [126983]	Starburst Framelits Die [132967]	Circles Collection Framelits Die [130911]	Sweetheart Punch [133786]
Decorative Label Punch [120907]	Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755]	Glue Dots [103683]	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430]	Big Shot [113439]

Hello Darling for Fun with Window Sheets

I've been playing around a lot with Window Sheets to get ready for my Technique Night classes this week.  And I'm finding out some interesting information, some of it stuff that I wasn't expecting!! I got the idea for this acetate insert card on Pinterest and thought it was perfect for my class, so I came up with a version using the Hello Darling stamp set and the Lovely Lace Embossing Folder.

The biggest thing I've learned about working with acetate is "Keep your work surface clean from adhesive residues and ink and oil." That stuff sticks to the acetate like crazy! I did find something that clears it off, however, through trial and error. It's the Clear Block Cleaning Cloth that Stampin' Up! sells to clean off the clear blocks used for mounting Clear and Photopolymer stamps. But you have to work at it, and it's best to try and keep it as clean as possible.

I also saw a Pinterest entry that said you could dry emboss acetate and the picture showed white images where the acetate had been embossed so you could clearly see the embossed designs.  When I tried, no matter how many shims I added, I couldn't get the white edges.  The acetate embossed alright, but didn't change from clear look. It also warped the Window Sheet quite a bit, so I decided not to use that technique.

• This view helps you to see the Window Sheet insert in this unique design. I cut out a 2"wide section of my card front and glued top and bottom to the Window Sheet insert with about 1/2"  strip of Fast Fuse on top and bottom. To get the edges glued on straight, I lined both parts up on my grid paper.  Since you can see right through the Window Sheet, it's easy to use the grid lines to make sure the sections are straight and even. (I should add that I dry embossed the cardstock panels on the front with the Lovely Lace embossing folder after cutting them, but before inserting the Window Sheet,)

•  Before gluing the acetate panel in, I heat embossed with White Stampin' Emboss Powder the sentiment from the Simply Wonderful stamp set, which is a Sale-A-Bration Reward.  This means you can earn it for free with a $60 purchase, before taxes and shipping. The heat embossing went well, but another thing I learned is that you have to use the Embossing Buddy on this surface, before stamping with Versamark Ink and covering with the White embossing powder. I tried not to keep the Heat Tool focused in one spot for too long.
• The images on the paper on the card inside are from the Hello Darling stamp set stamped in Calypso Coral and Crisp Cantaloupe.
• The background DSP is from the Best Year Ever Designer Series Paper, another Sale-A-Bration reward.
• With the Best Year Ever Accessory Pack (yes, another SAB reward) comes some Calypso Coral grosgrain ribbon, I wrapped it all the way around the back side of the lower panel and tied a bow to the left of the card.

If you want to make these cards and live in the area, come and attend my Technique Night Classes.

Well, it's Tuesday and you know what that means:  New Weekly Deals!!

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

Hello Darling Clear-Mount Stamp Set [133994]	Hello Darling Wood-Mount Stamp Set [133991]	Simply Wonderful Clear Stamp Set [139128]	Simply Wonderful Wood Stamp Set [139125]	Window Sheets Base Material [114323]
Best Year Ever Designer Series Paper [138633]	Crisp Cantaloupe 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [131298]	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730]	Versamark Pad [102283]	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad [126983]
Crisp Cantaloupe Classic Stampin' Pad [131176]	Embossing Buddy [103083]	Heat Tool [129053]	White Stampin' Emboss Powder [109132]	Best Year Ever Accessory Pack [138634]
Punch Corner Project Life [135346]	Lovely Lace Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [133737]	Big Shot [113439]	Stampin' Trimmer [126889]	Fuse Fast Adhesive [129026]
Glue Dots [103683]