BUILD A BEAR CARD FOR MY MOM

I am so excited that the BUILD A BEAR dies are available first thing in the morning. That is right - as of September 1st - you can order anything from the SU! holiday mini catalog. As a demonstrator I was able to preorder some things from the Mini catalog. I ordered the bear and her clothes and the new Build A Bear Designer Series Paper. I have die cut a few of these bears and have been dressing them up like crazy. I love adding the bow to her head and her new clothes. My mom loves homemade cards so I'll be sending this one to her tomorrow.

LAST FEW PROJECTS FROM LINDA'S

We made some great cards at Linda's (see previous few posts) and I promised that today I would post the last 2. This first is a brand new look at Build A Bear. Diana gave me the idea of dressing the bears up for the different holidays and we are going to do that over the next couple months. There are two adorable Halloween costumes and some Christmas costumes yet to be tried. They are all part of the Big Shot exclusive to Stampin Up! Here is my first one. I think he is so adorable. Those who came to Linda's got to dress the bears up in either little girl or little boy bear outfits. We adhered them to black clips so they can stand up. Did you know that you can die cut the bears using magnetic strips and you can also do the clothes? At the SU! convention they did this and they adhered the bears to a framed metal board. They put the clothes in magnetic containers and adhered that to the back. This is a great idea for teachers for school, for little and big children for holiday and birthday gifts. Build a Bear is not just for kids. Did you know that I have gone to Build a Bear twice and made my own bears? It is a fun experience if you have never tried it. This was the card we made. It is actually part of the make and takes from the Hawaii Trip I went on with SU! I thought this card would be a winner and it was.

The card features the stamp set For All You Do - one of my favorites. We stamped the flowers using the rock and roll technique and the kissing technique and then cut them out and adhered them with brads - one in saffron and one in white. Did you know we sell colored brads and brads in larger sizes? Very cool!

This was my simple envelope. I think I better go back and add more flowers.

FEATURED PUPPY - BELLA

Linda sent me this great photo of her new puppy Bella. Of course I love that name ever since I read about Bella in the Twilight series. It is just a gorgeous name. This puppy is almost a year old. She is a sweet as pie Great Dane and reaches the kitchen table in height on all fours. She is an adopted puppy that is going to get lots of lovin from Linda's three boys, herself and the hubby. Don't you just love how her ear just flops over when she turns her head? So adorable. If you have a dog you would like me to feature on my blog, send me a photo and some info and I'll be happy to post the photo.

MORE FUN STAMPING AT LINDA'S

Here are some more photos of us gals stamping at Linda's on Thursday night. The class was so much fun. This is one of the cards I designed. I'm using the stamp set Dasher (SU!'s most popular stamp second only to Medallion) and brand new flocked holiday paper coming out Tuesday.

You know me....I made an envelope to match. Everyone agreed that this card was really a very easy but elegant card. It wouldn't take too much time to make this card for the holidays. Some of the ladies put glitter on Dasher's antlers.

This next card uses some elegant ornaments and some retro type colors. I cased this idea from another stamper Laney Hendry who did this card originally for the remarkable dinner swap in SLC a few weeks ago in more traditional holiday colors.

Another matching envelope.

Tomorrow I'll show you the last card we did and our Build A Bear.

A CARD MAKING EVENING AT LINDA'S HOME

Last evening we were invited to Linda's new home for a fun evening of stamping. It was such a great night. Linda is a super hostess. She told us to come an hour earlier for a light meal of soup and salad. When we arrived she had homemade chicken soup, greek salad, watermelon, fruit, sausage/cheese sombreros (Eileen's famous recipe), veggies, chips, caramel corn, cheesecake, cookies, homemade brownies and iced tea. It was fabulous. Linda gave everyone the grand tour of her new home and introduced us to her new great Dane Bella. She is the sweetest dog. After the fabulous meal, we sat down for a great evening of card making. Everyone had a nice evening.

Here is the first card we did. Linda designed this using the extreme elements stamp set. You can't go wrong with this set. It makes the best backgrounds. And this was the perfect stamp set to use because this month the SU! promotion is that if you buy $35 in the growing up section (yeah, the extreme elements is in that section) you get a pack of designer buttons FREE. Linda is demonstrating in this photo with Janet next to her and Carol looking on.

Carol is stamping in this next photo. The first step is to stamp your main image in black and emboss it. After that you can add the elements in any color ink you love.

This is Linda's great envelope. I love it. notice how she chose most of the new SU! in colors for her ink choices.

Carol and Sue are stamping here. They both really liked the cards we did.

Try as I might, I can't get this next image to come in the right way. Despite that I still had to show you this creation by Sue. I love her big splash of color underneath the skate boarder.

A night of stamping wouldn't be complete if Katie didn't demonstrate some fabulous creation. Here she is showing her card to the group.

Katie used the stamp set Pendant Park and a new Autumn Splendor stamp set coming out in just a few days (holiday mini Sept. 1). She tied the ribbon in a very unique way that I have not seen done before.

Tomorrow I'll post the rest of the cards we did.

BEOME A SU! DEMONSTRATOR

This is a great time to become a SU! demonstrator for only $85. This special is available until August 31st only. Got to my website and sign up on the Internet. I'll be happy to provide a password if you email me.
Dates: July 15 - August 31, 2009
Promotion Details:
Become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator with the limited-time $85 Mini Starter Kit. The Mini Starter Kit contains the following products: For all you do stamp set, all IN COLOR ink pads,
package of card stock

Benefits of becoming a demonstrator: Whether you just love to stamp, or you want to grow a successful, thriving business, the Stampin' Up! opportunity is the right fit for you. Stampin' Up! demonstrators enjoy many benefits, with just a few listed below:
Product discount. Demonstrators get a 20 percent discount on all Stampin' Up! products, including stamp sets, paper, and accessories. It's a great way to support your love of stamping and paper crafting.
Extra income. You'll earn extra income based on your sales and recruiting--how much extra income is up to you. Maybe you just want enough income to pay the electric bill every month, or maybe your goal is bigger--the monthly payment for your new car--it's your decision! See the Compensation Table for more information.
Flexible schedule. This is your business, so you can put in as much (or as little) time as you'd like.
Support from Stampin' Up! We love our demonstrators and it shows through our demonstrator support materials, including a monthly magazine, workshop ideas, and audio and video trainings on all kinds of topics available on our website.

RHR CARD SAMPLES

Here are some more of my swap samples that I received at the Remarkably Hot Retreat. These are really gorgeous.

The first card uses that popular Dasher Stamp on Kraft card stock base and old olive and real red card stock accents. The card is crafted by Maureen Martin and uses dazzling diamonds glitter on dasher's antlers. The sentiment is from teeny tiny wishes on an oval punch in very vanilla card stock and mounted on our scallop oval punch. Very nice card. This next card is crafted by Kim Warne and features the stamp set for all you do. I love her use of rich razzleberry card stock and ribbon. This is a great thank you card.

Wow! This is another great circle circus card that is crafted by Brooke Outten of Nottingham, Md. She used a rhinestone brad in the center of the top right circle ornament. I also like her use of the corner punches.

Jeneve Pike of Oxford, Pa crafted this card. My coloring is a little off for some reason, but this card uses the gorgeous lavender lace card stock and the Big Shot embossing folder. The ribbon is my favorite white taffeta by SU!

This next card is crafted by Alison Cooke. The card uses rich razzleberry and crushed curry card stock and also features the oval punch and scallop oval punch. The card stock was embossed with the Manhattan flower embossing folder. Thinking of you sentiment is from teeny tiny wishes the most versatile new stamp set in the catalog.

CARD WINNERS OF REMARKABLY HOT RETREAT

Have I mentioned how fabulous the REMARKABLY HOT RETREAT was? I know, I already did, but let me tell you again. It was such a superb production that Jan Wakeland put on. I was so happy that I worked for my boss on July 4th weekend so that I could get this past weekend off. This was one of the Best Crop and Craft weekends I've ever attended and I think it was almost better than convention. I hope some of you will be considering the one in April. I am signing up today to go to that. I promised some card samples. The top three cards won the card contest. When you look at them you see why.

This first card was the grand prize winner. It is absolutely gorgeous. This snowman stamp is from the new holiday mini. When I first saw this stamp set I wasn't sure I wanted it. It looked like it was more for kids. It is actually a holiday thank you. But...after I saw this card, this stamp has gone straight to the top of my wish list. The card was made by Carol Gilmore of Albuquerque NM.
This next card was also a runner up. It uses the set For all you do (click link to see some cards I made with this stamp set) and is crafted by Debbie Pennachio of Wappingers, NY. If you look closely she has embossed the whisper white card stock with the Big Shot and one of our new SU! embossing folders.

This card was also a runner up winner. It is absolutely gorgeous and handcrafted by Jean Nauta of Salt Point, NY.

This card was one of my absolute favorites made by one of my fave stampers - Deb Lehigh of York, Pa. Deb is an incredibly talented stamper as you can tell by this card even though it wasn't a winner.

This card uses the circle circus stamp set that I can't wait to use with my stampers. I love the clever way the 2 SU! punches were used (word window and modern label). This card is made by one of the sweetest stampers I know - Rosemary Morgan from Md.

This next card uses the second most popular stamp Stampin Up! currently sells - Dasher. Do you know it is less than $10? What a steal for such a great stamp. We are using this stamp at class on Thursday at Linda's. This card was made by Michelle Rahal of Savannah Georgia.

This is another great circle circus card using soft suede as the card stock base. The circles are stamped in new IN COLORS soft suede, dusty durango and bermuda bay. This lovely card was crafted by Michele Mazzola of Ridgely, Md.

Here is another card from the retreat made by Pam Elsbree. I love the cord lasso she made. This stamp is from the Wanted stamp set.

I have lots more to share from this great event. I hope to post a few more great cards this week.

MORE REMARKABLY HOT RETREAT

Here are some more adorable projects from the retreat. See more RHR in the posts below.
This first card uses a new Build a Bear embosslit. I added glitter eyes and a glitter heart. This was a super idea. Janet had us make a Big Shot gift bag (same one as the monkey bag below) and cut the front to make a holiday tag box. The tags are made from the Big Shot as well.This next card is super cute and will make a great card for your sports fans. The paw is adorable. It is a Big Shot embosslit from Build a Bear, but can be used for any team with animal mascots. Very versatile and will be the best money you ever spend.

This was a clever gift tote made from a paper bag. I love this aliens stamp set from SU! It is so cute. I have a niece with a birthday very soon and I think I'll stick some goodies in here for her. We made the Saturn planet from circle punches.

I also have some more projects we made and I want to show you some scrapbook pages and books I made. I hope to be able to post most of that this week.

JAN'S REMARKABLY HOT RETREAT SHARES

These are some of the projects from Janet Wakeland's Remarkably Hot Retreat. We had a wonderful time and each day there were some great make and takes. The first card uses a new embossing template folder that is coming out September 1st in your SU! Holiday Mini Catalogs. We used garden green for the card stock base. I embellished mine a little by adding the red card stock behind the stamped dasher on whisper white. The parenthesis is a Big Shot die from our Big Idea Book. The ribbon and sentiment are also brand new. This next card blew me away. It is foil (yes standard aluminum foil) that we ran through the Big Shot. This is so cool. Jan showed us that it is better to back the aluminum foil with card stock before you put it through the Big shot. This makes such a pretty image. You can bet we will be doing this in a future class.This next card uses our new flocked designer holiday paper and the new ornament punch. I love both of these and the card is fabulous.

This box is made with the Big Shot as well and features a brand new Halloween stamp set in the Holiday mini. If you love Halloween sign up for our Fall and Halloween Class at Katie's on Sept. 11th.

This was an adorable BIG SHOT gift bag made by Jan for each of us for the retreat. Such a cool little candy and gift bag. We each got some safari pens and a cool safari ruler inside.

I'll post more projects tomorrow.