A Whole Lot of Lovely for the Pals

I love the title of this post! Not only is it the name of the stamp set I used to make these cute 3" x 3" Thank You cards, but it also describes my past weekend perfectly. As I mentioned, I had all my kids and grandkids home for the weekend. That might not sound like a big deal, but it is notoriously hard to get everyone in the same place at the same time, especially when one of them has a ten hour drive to get here and the other two have four hour drives. Everyone made it and there was a Whole Lot of Lovely in my little house, with 5 children under the age of five! It was chaotic, but wonderful! Here are some photos that I've been promising you:

Cedar in her bright pink tutu swim suit! She loves the water!

 Jackson is teething big time!

Kesten was more interested in the chips than the water when we went to the beach!

Parker and his daddy in our kitchen!

Wyatt really loves the water, too!

The whole gang together for a photo! Miracle!











So a tired but happy me got back to work today, and first order of business was getting orders sorted and ready for delivery. I always include a thank you card and here is the quick one I came up with:

• This uses a palette of Tip Top Taupe, Mint Macaron and Pool Party, which just happens to be the colour challenge over at Pals Paper Arts this week.

• A Whole Lot of Lovely is one of the new Hostess sets in the Annual Catalogue. You can only get it through Hostess Rewards. To get those, you need to get your friends together and get me to do a Private Class for you. As Host, you earn rewards for all the product ordered by your friends and these Hostess sets are priced low so you can get a lot for your money! If you'd like to earn all sorts of free products of your choice, contact me and we'll set up a date for your Private Class. We'll do three awesome projects and I'll bring all the supplies with me! The price is only $15 a guest, but that can be put towards an order, so they get double value for their money. I'll even have it at my house, if you would prefer!
• The background paper is Mint Macaron watercolour stripes from the English Garden Designer Series Paper. I love the stripes with the circular sentiment.
• The sentiment is stamped in Pool Party, then it is punched out using the 2 1/2" Circle Punch. Small Pearl Basic Jewels are added to the flowers and a little fork bow is tied using Pool Party Cotton Ribbon. It's added with a Glue Dot.
• It's quick and it's cute! You could do this for your next thank you card!

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

A Whole Lot Of Lovely Wood-Mount Stamp Set [138942]	A Whole Lot Of Lovely Clear-Mount Stamp Set [139456]	English Garden Designer Series Paper [138440]	Tip Top Taupe 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [138336]	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730]
Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad [126982]	2-1/2" Circle Punch [120906]	Pool Party 1/4" Cotton Ribbon [134568]	Pearl Basic Jewels Embellishments [119247]	Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755]
Glue Dots [103683]

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

Last Post and Mystery Hostess Winner

As the trumpet plays the last notes of lament, and the sun sets today, several good things must come to an end.





First this is my last post.... in August!  Ha! Got you going there didn't I?

The Pick a Free Project Promotion is over today, so you only have a few hours left to purchase the Starter Kit and get a free Project Kit from Stampin' Up as a further benefit!  Read here about all the reasons you might want to join my Stampin' Up team!

Secondly, the Paper Pumpkin Promo Code Deal ends today.  You have only those same few hours to sign up to subscribe to My Paper Pumpkin.  Read about it all here.

The Winner

Next, the August Mystery Hostess Contest has come to an end and I'm happy to announce that the winner is Polly Dale.  I will contact Polly and get her to choose her free products from any current Stampin' Up catalogue.  If you didn't win, don't worry!  There will be another opportunity at the end of September!

New Promotion from Stampin' Up:
If you like butterflies (and I'm not mentioning any names, Diane) here's a promotion from Stampin' Up, just for you:

Stampin' Up has bundled the Papillon Potpourri Stamp Set with the Bitty Butterfly Punch and has taken 15% off the price!!

Dates: August 29-September 30, 2013

Offer: Get 15 percent off when you buy this bundled butterfly stamp set and punch!

Bundle Item	Page in Catalogue	Description	Retail Price	15% Savings Price	Amount Saved!
135311	90 183	Butterfly Bundle (Clear-Mount) Papillion Potpourri Clear-Mount Stamp Set Bitty Butterfly Punch	$39.90	$33.92	$5.98
135312	90 183	Butterfly Bundle (Wood-Mount)  Papillion Potpourri Wood-Mount Stamp Set Bitty Butterfly Punch	$44.90	$38.17	$6.73

Here's a little Thank You mini card to share with you today:

• The base is 3" x 6" scored at 3" and folded.  I used Bermuda Bay cardstock.
• The Whisper White panel is 2 3/4" x 2 3/4".
• I used the Regarding Dahlias Stamp Set for both the image, in Crushed Curry or Strawberry Slush, and the sentiment, in Bermuda Bay.
• A Designer button in Bermuda Bay adorns the top right of the card.

Quick, easy and cute as a button!  You could totally do that!

Stamps:  Regarding Dahlias (w130324; c130327)
Paper:  Bermuda Bay (131197) and Whisper White (100730) cardstock
Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Crushed Curry (131173), Strawberry Slush (131178) and Bermuda Bay (131171)
Accessories:  Brights Collection Designer Buttons (130028)

Brights Collection Designer Buttons

Regarding Dahlias