Happy Retirement

Good Morning My Stamping Friends,

I want to start by saying a BIG thank you to everyone that was able to make it to the Relay for Life Crop this weekend. This is a cause that is near and dear to my heart and it was so nice to get together with all the scrapbookers and card makers for a such a wonderful event. Everyone seemed to have a great time (I know I did) and lots of people were asking when the next one will be held. I'm looking at putting together another crop in month or two. I'll keep you posted once a date is finalized.

While everyone was busy working on thier scrapbooks and cards I worked on a card for a swap that I'm participating in. For this swap I made 24 cardfronts using products from our upcoming mini catalog (ordering from that will start on May 1st). I'll get back 24 different cardfront and can show you lots of samples of how to use products from the new catalog. This is my submission.

And here is a close up of my card.

The card base is old olive. For the larger petals on the flower I used pumpkin pie, rose red and so saffron card stock and my Big Shot with the new Bigz die called Island Floral. The tempting turquoise flower was made with the Extra Large Flower Punch. I used my 5 petal punch for the smallest pumpkin pie flower. I think the rhinestone brad in the center of the flower pulls it all together. Plus I used our new Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spray on the flower for an added shine. The designer series paper is called Island Oasis (and is full of fantastic colors and patterns). The Stamp set I used for the background is called Tropical Party and will be available in clear mount and wood mount. The sentiment is from my current favorite go-to sentiment set Teeny Tiny Wishes. I used 'Happy Retirement' because it would be a dream to retire somewhere as beautiful as Hawaii.

I'm expectng my package of cards to arrive in about 10 days so stay tuned to check out the different I'll be posting.

Until then,

Happy Stamping

RELAY FOR LIFE CROPPING EVENT THIS WEEKEND

We still have spots left so it's not to late to sign up.

The Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department located at 2148 Gallows Road, Dunn Loring, VA 22027 is hosting a crop to Benefit the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life (go team Hootin' Owls) this weekend.

Join us for two days of scrapbooking and papercrafting fun! Bring your supplies, set up on Friday then crop the night away! Come back and do it all again on Saturday! There will be vendors on site so you may purchase supplies and/or get advice from the experts.

Friday • April 16th • 6:00pm – Midnight for only $25
Saturday • April 17th • 8:30am – 2:30pm for only $25
OR stay the whole time and use the 2 Day Special Price of $45

Your registration fee includes croppin’ space for the entire time, dinner on Friday, lunch on Saturday, snacks, coffee, a goody bag, and admission to breakout classes.

I'll be there the whole time working on cards, scrapbook pages and 3d projects for my booth at the upcoming Viva Vienna event on May 30th and 31st. I'll have all my tools with me so you can use my Big Shot and all my dies, my punches, my embossing tools and more. PLUS I'll have some sneak peeks of items from the new mini catalog that you can order from starting on May 1st.

For more information on the Relay for Life crop this weekend contact me at StampingWithRose-Ellen@cox.net or 703-200-2340 or contact the event coordinator Mary Kubisch at kubisch3@verizon.net or 703-560-2804.

Hope to see you there.

I can almost feel the sand between my toes....

...although there really isn't any beach sand close to my house. This project is so inspiring that I had to share it. I got it straight from the demonstrator side of the Stampin’ Up website. If you want to join Stampin’ Up! and enjoy all the benefits of being a demonstrator (including access to a certain part of the website, a monthly magazine with articles and samples galore, access to an online web forum with instant responses to questions and more) let me know and I can answer any questions you might have.

Here are the details for the Big Shot Project shown above, courtesy of BJ Peters and Sandy Poehnelt, fellow Stampin’ Up! creative coaches.


June Beach Scene
Paper
• Bashful Blue card stock
• Chocolate Chip card stock
• Creamy Carmel card stock
• Green Galore card stock
• Only Orange card stock
• Real Red card stock
• Summer Sun card stock
• Whisper White card stock
Big Shot Supplies
• Box #2 Bigz XL die
• Clear Circle Bigz Clear die
• Scallop Circle Bigz die
• Top Note Bigz die
Ink
• Basic Black Classic Stampin’ Pad
• Creamy Carmel Classic Stampin’ Pad
• Green Galore Stampin’ Write marker
• Rose Red Stampin’ Write marker
• Summer Sun Stampin’ Write marker
Accessories
• Sticky Strip
• Boho Blossoms punch
• Stamping sponge

Directions
1. Cut Box #2 from Bashful Blue card stock. Assemble box by scoring all folds well. Cut off box top.
2. Cut 2 Top Notes from Bashful Blue card stock and one from Creamy Carmel card stock. Attach Bashful Blue Top Notes to front and back of box. Create “sand” by tearing Creamy Caramel Top Note. I used 2 layers of “sand” to add dimension and sponged the edges. You will want to place a 1/4" x 4" strip of Chocolate Chip card stock between the first and second layers of sand to secure umbrella.
3. Cut a scallop circle from Summer Sun, Real Red, Only Orange, and Green Galore card stock. Using the Summer Sun circle as a base, create your umbrella by using parts of the Only Orange, Real Red, and Green Galore scallop circles. Don’t worry what the top of the scallop looks like as now you will come in with your Clear Circle die and since you can see through this awesome die, you can create the top of your umbrella very easily! Attach umbrella to umbrella stem you have previously stuck in your sand.
4. Decorate your beach scene by adding a “margarita” from the Cheers to You set colored with
Stampin’ Write markers. No beach scene is complete without a little sun added by punching
Summer Sun card stock using the Boho Blossoms punch!

April Showers....

It’s pouring rain outside right now so I thought I would share something that reminds me what arrives after these glorious April showers (I REALLY do love the rain!). I got this project from the demonstrator side of the Stampin’ Up website. If you want to join Stampin’ Up! and enjoy all the benefits of being a demonstrator (including access to a certain area of the website, a monthly magazine with articles and samples galore, access to an online web forum with instant responses to questions and more) let me know and I can answer any questions you might have.



Here are the details for the Big Shot Project shown above, courtesy of BJ Peters and Sandy Poehnelt, fellow Stampin’ Up! creative coaches.

May Flower Pot
Big Shot Supplies:
• Box #2 Bigz XL die
• Top Note Bigz die
• Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die
• Birds & Blooms Sizzlits die set
• Spring Flowers Sizzlits die set
Paper
• Glorious Green card stock
• Really Rust card stock
• So Saffron Patterns
Designer Series paper
• Scraps for flowers
Ink
• Really Rust Classic Stampin’ Pad
• Basic Black Stampin’ Write marker
• White Gel Pen
Accessories
• Rhinestone brad: Yellow
• Mini Glue Dots
• Sticky Strip
• Stampin’ Dimensionals
• Crimper
• Small Oval punch
• 3/16" Corner Rounder punch
• Paper‐piercing tool and pad
• Stamping sponge

Directions
1. Cut Box # 2 from Really Rust card stock. Assemble box by scoring all folds well. Cut off box top.
2. Cut 3 stems of flowers from double layered Glorious Green card stock (you need the sturdiness of 2 pieces of card stock together). Each should be 5" long. Apply to front of box by aligning at the bottom of the box (this adds to sturdiness as well). Don’t worry about the length as you can cut the tops off later.
3. Cut Top Note from Really Rust card stock and cut in half. Sponge edges in Really Rust card stock. Apply to box front and back using Sticky Strip.
4. Cut two 1" x 4‐3/4" strips of Really Rust card stock, sponge edges and round corners using 3/16" Corner Rounder punch. Adhere with Stampin’ Dimensionals to top of Top Note to create flower pot rim.
5. Cut 3 flowers using various flower Sizzlits dies and scraps of card stock. (That’s one of the best things about the Big Shot—your scraps make such cute things!) Don’t’ forget about the flower centers—using a gel pen or Stampin’ Write marker – add some faux texture. You’ll need fronts and backs as you will sandwich the flower stems as you apply them. I suggest having the flower stems go as far to the top of the flower as possible for stability.
6. Crimp a strip of Glorious Green card stock and send through crimper. Cut your leaves from this strip using your Small Oval punch. Fold in half and score the long way down the center. Apply to stems using Mini Glue Dots.
7. Using So Saffron Patterns Designer Series paper cut 2 of the same butterflies using the Beautiful Butterflies die. I used the smallest full butterfly on the die. With both butterflies together, using a paper‐piercing tool, poke a hole where the body of the butterfly would be and push through a Rhinestone brad. Shape the brad back in a “V” so that it appears the wings are flying. Secure bottom layer of butterfly to flower pot by placing Stampin’ Dimensionals on outside edges of wings.
8. Fill your pot with paper grass and you are set for a great springtime.

Green and Neutral Challenge

Good Morning My Stamping Friends, I hope you are enjoying a bright sunny Friday like I am. The sun is shining and while it is pretty cold outside, I'm sitting in a stream of sunshine pretending its Spring.

Anyway, I heard from my friend Robin this morning about a Bloggers Challenge. The challenge this week was to create a project using greens and neutrals. I don't normally participate in these kinds of challenges but since I'm a blogger now, and yesterday I serendipitiously made a card that fit the challenge, I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring. I made this card for my brother's first wedding anniversary that is coming up in a few days. They got married in a gorgeous setting and the color they choose for the dresses, decorations, cake, etc.was a glorious shade of green (yes we are Irish). I can tell you about the card because I'm pretty sure he doesn't read my blog yet so I think I'm safe.

Here is my card and part of the envelope (you can't have a handmade card in a plain envelope!). Kevin, if you're reading this, stop now - until the card arrives in the mail!).

I used glorious green as my base and for the front layer I used some Bride DSP. I ran it through my Big Shot using the Movers and Shapers die with the heart shaper from the Punch Window Set. I ran it through the Big Shot twice, moving the magnetic heart shaper a little bit on the second run through. I sponged and attached the two Bride heart cut-outs back into place (which really stuck them onto the inside of the card). I also used the Modern Label Punch and the coordinating Modern Label die to cut out and frame the sentiment. Teeny Tiny Wishes is my go-to stamp set for all my sentiments lately and that is where I got 'Happy Anniversary'. I just love that the stamp set covers so many holidays. I used some white taffeta ribbon behind the sentiment which I popped up with domentionals.

For the envelope I used a retired so swirly wheel and I used the Lovely Letters Alphabet for the first initial of thier last name. Of course I coordinated the colors to the card, and used my glorious green Stampin' Write Marker to finish addressing the card.

If you'd like to get any of the supplies to make this card at home, just contact me or log into my Stampin' Up! website to place the order yourself 24/7.

Hope you like my card and feel free to leave a comment. It would make my day.

Enjoy your weekend.

Rose-Ellen

P.S. Check out Robin's challenge card here.

My Rag Bag Purse

Hi there My Stamping Friends!!! I'm soooo excited about my Rag Bag Purse (also known as the purse made using the Big Shot and the Scallop Square Die). I just couldn't wait to share it with you. I finished it about 5 minutes ago and I'm downloading the photos right now. Wahooo!!
I'm going to start out by saying I do NOT sew very often. In a pinch I might be able to repair the hem on a dark colored pair of pants, if you wore them at night....and tucked them into a pair of boots (tee hee hee). Seriously I can fix a Halloween costume and sorta sew a straight line but that is about the extent of it. That is probably why I'm so proud of myself for making this purse. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Big Shot and when I heard about these scallop square bags I was intrigued. I was so excited recently to get invited to my friend Robin Merriman's house for her downline meeting, where Nancy was showing us how to make these purses. Thanks again Robin and Nancy!!
So, The bag is pretty easy (if I can do it, you can do it) so I'll give you some basic instructions but the photos should tell the story. Basically I used my Big Shot and Scallop Square die to cut out 19 squares for the outside and 19 squares for the inside of the purse. I used batting in between the squares to give it some structure.

I stitched an x on each square and lined up my squares in a pattern and stitched them all together.

My hint for the newbie trying this for the first time would be to avoid a fabric that has a directional pattern (such as animal faces that need to be straight and facing in the right direction~ a perfect example of 'Do as I say, not as I do'). After I stitched the scallops together in the shape of the bag I stitched a straight line (LOL) across the top and inserted straps into the top of the bag as I was sewing.

Doing this made the bag reversible so it has a 'scallop' side and a 'straight' side.

What's that you say? You can't live without one of these bags? You can't live without the Big Shot (#113439) and the Scallop Square die (#115950)? Just contact me and I can help you place an order so you can get exactly what you need. Don't forget that we are currently running the Sale-A-Bration promotion where you get a FREE stamp set (from a list of 70+ sets) for every $50 you spend. If you order a Big Shot, the Scallop Square Die, one more die and a few other smaller items such as snail refills, you could get three SAB sets and you would qualify for a FREE hostess set and $15 in FREE merchandise. WOW!!!

So, What do you think of my first purse? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Have a great day!!
Rose-Ellen

Ribbon and Buttons/Brad Shares

Hi there My Stamping Friends!

I wanted to let you know about two Product Shares that I’m offering. For those that haven’t done a product share before, this is a great way for you to get a sampling of different accessories without having the expense of purchasing a whole package of each and every product.

My first product share is a Ribbon Share. You will get two yards of each of the 9 new 5/8th inch satin ribbons (including: Bashful Blue, Very Vanilla, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Basic Gray, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Real Red & Basic Black ) featured on page 27 of the Occasions Mini Catalog. That is a grand total of 18 yards of assorted ribbons for only $13.50 inclusive. If you want to get 4 yards of each ribbon, you can pay $27.00 for two ‘shares’.

The second product share is the Buttons and Brads Share. Dress up your projects and add texture with these assorted Epoxy Brads and custom colored Corduroy Buttons and Brads from page 13 of the Occasions Mini Catalog.
This share includes:
½” Pretty In Pink Sending Love Epoxy Brads: 4 each of 2 designs
½” Real Red Sending Love Epoxy Brads: 4 each of 2 designs
¼” Chocolate Chip Sending Love Epoxy Brads: 4 each of 2 designs
Pretty in Pink Corduroy Buttons and Brads: 2 each of 3 styles
Real Red Corduroy Buttons and Brads: 2 each of 3 styles
You get a grand total of 36 assorted buttons and brads for only $5.75 inclusive. If you want to get 72 yards of assorted buttons and brads you can pay $11.50 for two ‘shares’.

Please let me know right away if you are interested in one or more spots in either or both product shares. There are 7 slots available for the Ribbon Share and 4 slots available for the Button Share. If those slots fill up I will open up a second set of slots for each share. I will close this share on Wednesday, February 3rd at 5pm ET and place the order that evening. If the first round of slots fill up, I will randomly pick someone that joined the share to get a Sale-A-Bration set. If two rounds fill up I will pick two names to get a Sale-A-Bration set. I will contact you on Wednesday evening to find out which item you'd like as your SAB choice.
If you are long distance just let me know how you would like the merchandise shipped to you and we can work out the details. This share is only open to customers in the United States.

If you have any questions please let me know.

Until next time~ Happy Stamping,
Rose-Ellen

A few Valentine cards swapped in Phoenix

Leadership and Regional in Phoenix, AZ

I'm back from Leadership and I'm so excited to share everything with you. Unfortunately I had to wait a little bit because my laptop is STILL in for repair. UGH!!! I borrowed this laptop (thanks Shannon!) and downloaded my photos and I'm hoping the post works out (reminder: I'm new at this so I'll be proud if I can get the photos posted at all ! If someone can tell me the trick of how to get photos placed int he right place on the page that would be huge!! If they look good now, it is just luck.)

While I was at Leadership I was in two organized swaps. One was using product from the Occasions Mini and one used products from the SAB catalog. Here are my two submissions for that. For the first one I went to the Occasions Mini and used Something Sweet (#118589) which is one of our new clear mount stamp sets. You can also get it in the regular wood mount (#117688). Stampin' Up! didn't want to compromise quality so we are still using the same red rubber and foam that gives the wonderful impressions that you associate with Stampin' Up! We've added a different mounting option and now you can mount these stamps to any one of our 9 sizes of acrylic blocks (page 6 of the mini). All four sides of the acrylic blocks are grooved with finger grips and you won't believe how easy it is to stamp with them.

For the second card I used the Sale-A-Bration set called Vintage Labels (wood mount # 118392; clear mount #119122) and I added in the Very Vintage wheel (#117693) and a touch of our whisper white organza ribbon (#114319).

This next one (with the tiger) is a swap from my fantastic up-up-up-up-upline Carol Bartle. Whenever I see her she is happy and smiling. She is so enthusiastic and its contagious. She's also very caring and happy to share tips. She's a wonderful lady!

For this card she used the top note die (#113463) in the Big Shot machine (#113439), Fox and Friends (wood mount #117002 or clear mount #118565).

Hopefully I'll get some more photos downloaded and posted later on. I saw a bunch of cute Valentine cards in my swap bag so I'll work on those.

I'm also swamped with the Pajama-Scrap-A-Rama that I've got on the calendar for this weekend. We'll be in Dunn Loring scrapping, creating and papercrafting for 20 straight hours. Want to join us? Let me know and I can send you all the details. Until later....

Rose-Ellen

Upcoming Event for My Stamping Friends that are local

Just wanted to let you all know that on January 15th and 16th the Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department is hosting thier next Overnight Pajama-Scrap-A-Rama. Starting at 6:30 on Friday evening and going straight through till Saturday at 2:30 in the afternoon, we'll be stamping and scrapping our hearts out. I'll be there will some make and takes and a break out session or two. I'll also have lots of things to share with you from Leadership and the Phoenix regional.

Want to come stamp and scrap with us? Contact me (StampingWithRose-Ellen@cox.net)and I can e-mail you a flyer and registration form.

I'm heading to the Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference and Regional Seminar in Phoenix, AZ this week but feel free to email me with any questions since I'll be checking e-mail daily.

Happy Stamping!
Rose-Ellen

Welcome to My Stamping Friends

Happy New Year to My Stamping Friends!!
I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful beginning to 2010. My main ‘umbrella’ resolution this year is to be more organized. I’m calling it an umbrella resolution because it really covers so many areas that will fall in line if I get more organized. No more trips to the grocery store every other day if I just plan out the meals for the week and do one larger grocery store trip. That in turn will give me more time in the evenings to plan the next day lunches for the girls, which will give us more time in the mornings for when we can’t find a missing shoe (but now we’ll know where the shoe is because it will be in the very organized closet). I know this probably sounds like a pretty big resolution but I’ll take small bites and before I know it, things will just fall into place (I hope!).
One of the things that will help me be more organized is that I now have an actual craft room. More on that at a later date, but a HUGE THANK YOU to my darlin’ hubby for the wonderful gift.
Another thing I will be doing for my business is to introduce you all to my blog. Welcome!!! I started this a while back and spent some time teaching myself how to post text and photos and items on the sidebar. I’m not sure I have everything down 100% yet but with my life being more organized I’m sure I’ll have more time to play with it, and the more often I post, the more I’ll learn. I can tell you that I won’t be promising to post something every day and I don’t know how often I will post but I will say that I’ll put something up here several times a week at least. Probably the best way to keep up is to follow me on a Google reader (a Google webpage where you subscribe to blogs and you get notified when something new is posted. If you want more info about that just let me know).
This post is going to be long one but it’s got LOTS of information that you’ll be glad I reminded you about.

1. Dormant List – As promised, many of the stamp sets currently on our dormant list have been available for a year and now it is time to say goodbye. (In June we communicated that these stamp sets would be available for another year, but since there has been very low demand for these sets, we have decided to discontinue them earlier than expected.) They will be discontinued and no longer available after January 4th, 2010. To see the list of discontinued sets please see my earlier post below. You can order through my website or by calling or e-mailing me at StampingWithRose-Ellen@cox.net
2. The current Holiday Mini Catalog ends on January 4th so if there is something you want to order out of that catalog, order it before it’s gone! We have been told that a few of the items will carry over (Build A Bear Workshop stamps and accessories, the shimmer paint, the Simply Adorned products and the Charming stamp set). Click on the photo of the catalog on the right side of the blog to see the holiday mini catalog.
3. The new Occasions Mini Catalog will start on Tuesday, January 5th. Stampin’ Up! announced an unexpected delay in mailing the catalogs so they have posted the catalog on line for our wonderful customers. Click on the photo of the catalog on the right side of the blog to see the Occasions Mini catalog.
4. SALE-A-Bration is almost here. The best sale of the year starts on Jan 5th and runs through March 31st. That’s three months of Sale-A-Bration celebrations. Call me or e-mail me if you’d like to host your own SAB event. Check out the details and benefits here in my earlier post. Check out the catalog on the right side of the blog.
5. I’m heading off to Leadership and the Phoenix Regional from Jan 5th through the 9th. You can still place an order with me while I’m gone. I am going to try and post to my blog from Phoenix but I just don’t know how that will work out. I promise lots of great photos and fun when I return.
6. Finally, I wanted to let you know that I’m rescheduling my new catalog Open House until after I return from Leadership and the Regional in Phoenix, AZ. This way I can show you photos of all the new things I saw while I was there.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the blog so far. I’ll try to post swap samples from the new catalogs while I'm in Phoenix, AZ so keep your eyes open.
Have a great day!
Rose-Ellen

Sale-A-Bration 2010

Preorder Dates: December 1, 2009-January 4, 2010

Promotion Dates: January 5-March 31, 2010

Promotion Details:
Our Sale-A-Bration promotion gives reason for everyone to celebrate!

Customers: Receive a free Sale-A-Bration product for every $50 purchase (before tax and shipping).
Hostesses: Receive a free Sale-A-Bration product for every $300 in workshop sales*, in addition to our regular hostess benefits.
*Note: This benefit only available on qualifying customer, demonstrator, and workshop orders. Online orders do not qualify.
Recruits: Choose any retail stamp set (valued up to $47.95) from the current catalogs when signing up during the promotion. Plus, get 15 percent off your Starter Kit (Standard or Digital+)!

Starter Kit Regular Price Sale-A-Bration Price (15% off)
Standard Starter Kit $199 $169
Digital+ Starter Kit $185 $157

Dormant Stamp Sets Discontinued on Jan 4, 2010

As promised, many of the stamp sets currently on our dormant list have been available for a year and now it is time to say goodbye. (In June we communicated that these stamp sets would be available for another year, but since there has been very low demand for these sets, we have decided to discontinue them earlier than expected.)

The following stamp sets will be discontinued on January 4, 2010.

Item Number Stamp Set
113407 Back Woods
114492 Beautiful Baby
114486 Birthday Wish
113200 Branch Out
114496 Celebrations
113732 Central Park
113206 Classic Sketches
113226 Classy & Fabulous
114498 Flowers in Silhouette
113405 Font of You
113216 For the Bride
114494 Forever
109425 Friend by Definition
114488 Fun Flowers
113716 Garden Greetings
114490 Glad Friends
111580 Grand Soiree
113242 Hit the Road
113710 Lexicon of Leaves
113236 Man's Best Friend
114423 Ocean Commotion
113728 Playful Petals
109276 Polka Dot
111544 Putt Putt
113240 Quilt Quips
113754 Really Retro
113403 Sip by Sip
113726 Sweet Stems
113250 That's Funny
113688 Wonderful Watercolors
114028 Para la novia
114032 Acuarelas Maravillosas

If any of these stamp sets are on your wish list (or your customers' wish lists), make sure to purchase them before they are gone for good!

October is a busy month

Hi there Stamping Friends,

October is usually a very busy and festive time around here because we LOVE Halloween. This year we were booked solid with our neighborhood parade, Halloween parties at two different elementary schools, a preschooler birthday party and an adult birthday/Halloween party. We were busy, busy, busy and we loved it. The only drawback? Not enough stamping time, of course.

I did hold a Stamp-A-Stack on the 27th that was lots of fun. Some of my most fun stamping friends came over and spent a few hours chatting, stamping and catching up. I also had a new stamping friend join us and all in all it was a wonderful time. I do have to say that the icing on the cake was that my friend Karen showed up with a fantastic item to share. I was so excited that she brought this with her and so proud that she is one of my stamping friends. I'll attach a photo so you can love her project as much as I did. I'll also attach a photo of the girls during the Stamp-A-Stack.

Enjoy!!
Rose-Ellen