I am finally beginning to create cards for Christmas. This one is for the Stamping 411 challenge for last weekend.

Here is the sketch:                                               And here is my version:

Stamp Set: Bells and Boughs   

Inks: Basic Black

Paper: Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper, Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler

Other: Music Notes Wheel, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding,

Raven 1/2" lace trim

Have you fallen in love with the new Clear Mount stamps Stampin' Up! offers? Do you find that scrubbing them often scrubs them right off the acrylic block? Yes, we do have to be more gentle with our scrubbing when we use the Clear Mount stamps but it also helps if you gently twist the stamp rather than using a back and forth motion to clean them. If you need stamp cleaning supplies or more acrylic blocks and don't already have a demonstrator, contact me or visit my online store to place an order. I am always happy to help you!

Happy Holiday stamping,

Sue

I will be starting the 12 Weeks of Christmas campaign as a free gift for my mailing list subscribers. Each week, subscribers will receive an e-mail containing a project idea for a holiday card, gift, tag or wrapping, along with the steps necessary to assemble it! This is for Mailing List Subscribers only and you have only 48 hours to sign up before the first e-mail goes out. Sign up for my mailing list right now so you don't miss a single project!

Merry Holiday stamping,

Sue

Way back in 1949, the American Business Women's Association was founded by Hilary A. Bufton, Jr. and three other Kansas City business women. The first Business Women's Day was observed in 1982. In 1983, a joint Congressional resolution was passed and signed by President Ronald Reagan establishing September 22 as Business Women's Day.

I am proud to consider myself a business woman who owns a rubber stamping and paper crafting business. The thing I like best about owning my own business is that I can determine how much I make and how much I work. Of course, if I put in little work, I will get little income but at least I have control of my hours and income. The beautiful thing about being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is that the company welcomes people who want to build their business as a career and those who just want to do a small side business to keep themselves in stamps. Can you imagine owning your own business where going to work is fun because you are doing something about which you are passionate? The extra money is an added bonus.

Are you thinking that you would love extra money to help pay bills or pay for little extras in life? Are you wanting a job where you can express your creativity, have fun, and earn money? Can you imagine yourself owning your own business where you can set your working hours around the family's schedule? Then give me a call or send me an email for more information about this great business opportunity. Don't delay though, you could be starting your new business this week!

Hope to hear from you soon,

Sue

Have you started making your Christmas cards yet? Yes, it is only September and we have about two months until all our cards have to be mailed out, but you know how fast time flies. Of course, it depends on how many you plan on sending. So that is the question for this poll. How many Christmas cards will you make and how many have you already finished? Please post your answers as a comment. This poll will be open until September 17th. Then I will post the results. If you email me a picture of your 2010 Christmas card, I will post it along with the poll results. To start you out, I have posted my two Christmas cards from 2009.

Happy Christmas card stamping,

Sue

Stamp Set: Scenic Season

Card stock: Shimmery White

Inks: Alway Artichoke, Real Red

Other: Dotted Real Red 5/8" grosgrain ribbon (retired), red and gold glitter glue (not Stampin' Up!)

Stamp Set: Lovely As A Tree, Scenic Season

Card Stock: Handsome Hunter (retired), Whisper White

Ink: Craft White

Other: Two-Step Bird Extra-large punch, non Stampin' Up! DSP, retired ribbon, Top Note die

Imagine you are in the middle of a desolate place in Iraq or Afghanistan. You miss your family so much and would love to send them a card to let them know how much you think about them. So you go to the exchange in the military base and find only two choices of cards. Neither one suits the feelings you want to send. Discouraged, you leave, even more depressed. But…wait….there are cards in the chapel that have been donated from stampers back home. There are a variety of cards…birthday cards…Thanksgiving cards…Thinking of You cards…Love You cards….and Christmas cards…that have not been used and are free for the taking. You carefully select a card and your spirits are lifted because someone back home cared enough to make these cards.

October 2 is National Card Making Day and I am going to hold a free stamp camp where we will make a variety of cards to send to From Our Hearts who will then send the cards to the military overseas. It will be held in the Presbyterian Church of Craig and Klawock from 10 AM until 4 PM. Bring a salad to share for lunch and your own adhesive. Those of you who do not live on Prince of Wales Island in Alaska can join in the fun by making cards at home and mailing them to From Our Hearts. Email me with the total cards you have made and your snail mail address and I will send you a Thank You card. Let's see how many cards we can make for this great cause.

Blessings,

Sue

…sitting down in a brand new car. Can you smell that new car smell? Can you see the pristine interior unmarred with dust, dirt, and clutter? Can you feel the excitement as you start the engine and drive off on a test drive? Now can you imagine that the new car is your new car? I had that experience this summer and the $300 I plan to earn from my Stampin' Up! business will help cover the expense of the car payments. Here is a picture of why I am doing business:

Now, how about you? What would you do with an extra $300 a month? Can you imagine yourself finally realizing that dream? A good goal for a beginning Stampin' Up! demonstrator is to make $300 per month. But building a business to meet that goal is just the beginning. As you are building your business, you are building great friends, having fun at your job, and sharing in the excitement of others discovering their creativity. But there's more….Stampin' Up! rewards your hard work with incentive trips, cash awards, and free stamps. If earning extra money while having fun, contact me for more information about the Stampin' Up! business opportunity.

Blessings,

Sue

Now that Stampin' Up! is selling Clear-Mount Blocks and offering an unmounted option for their stamps, you might be considering taking all your mounted stamps off the wood blocks to save space. The process is easy.

First heat the mounted stamp in the microwave for about 10 seconds to soften the adhesive. Then you can peel the rubber and cushion off the block. If you can also peel the clear label off without tearing it, you can now stick it right on the back of the stamp.

This label will not cling to the acrylic block so you have two options. One is to adhere static cling over the label. Sheets of static cling can be purchased several places. I purchased mine from Sunday International Rubber Stamps. You can do a Google search for clear static cling to find other places that sell it. You stick your stamp onto the sheet  of static cling and then cut it out. A second way I am told works well is to apply a layer of Multipurpose Liquid Glue (#110755) and let it dry. When it dries, the glue is repositionable and can be stuck to the Clear-Mount block and then removed numerous times. If the glue looses its stickiness, just apply another layer.

If you can't get the label off the block, you can just apply the static cling and use the stamp without a label. You should stamp an image or make a photocopy of the image to keep with your stamp. I tried to stamp the image onto static cling with black Stazon ink and it still rubbed off. Stazon ink is supposed to be permanent on any surface so I may have not let it dry long enough. After stamping the image on the static cling (and letting it dry) cut it out and apply it to the back of your stamp.

A third alternative I have thought of but not tried. is to scan the image into your computer and print out a mirror image onto either the static cling or onto a clear window sheet. This way, the printing would be protected by the static cling so it wouldn't rub off. If you use a clear window sheet, you would have to do one of the two options described in the third paragraph above.

If you try any of these suggestions, please come back to leave a comment letting us know how they worked for you.

Happy Stamping,

Sue

As primarily a card maker and not much of a scrapbooker, I hesitated to purchase a Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine. After all, I most likely wouldn't be using it to do scrapbooking and would I really need it for cards? Let me tell you….it is one of my tools I use most!

The variety of dies available through Stampin' Up! is amazing. You can find dies for small gift packaging like the Matchbox die (114890), the Fancy Favor die (115965), and the Mini Milk Carton die (117310). There is even a die to cut out a card with a window in it, the Magnetic Movers & Shapers (114506, 116821, and 115953). All kinds of dies are available to cut out accent pieces and the Sizzlx Embosslit dies will cut out and emboss an accent at the same time. I use these accents on my cards all the time.

I also did not originally know the scope of materials that the Big Shot can cut. It not only cuts paper but fabric, cork, metal, and vinyl to name a few of the 50 different materials it can cut. I have attached an example of this. I wanted to make an unique 3D item to swap at the Stampin' Up! convention this year. Since the Big Shot can cut metal, I adapted a project I saw on Jane Giggy's blog where she cut butterflies out of pop cans using the Beautiful Butterflies die (114507) and made plant stakes out of them. I love the look of copper (and don't drink pop so didn't have any pop cans around) so I went to the local hardware store in search of sheets of thin copper. What I found was a large roll of copper flashing. It will last me a long time. I have included a picture of my creation. They were a big hit at convention. Now….go to my online store by clicking here to place an order for your own Big Shot! You will wonder how you ever did without it! Contact me for more ideas on using your Big Shot. Thanks for stopping by! Please leave a comment so I know you were visiting.

Blessings,

Sue

Supplies:

Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine #113439

Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die #114507

Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die #118138

Copper Flashing and copper wire from local hardware store

Crystal Effects #101055

The latter part of August is one of the biggest times for family vacations. It is like taking time out one last time to relax or visit relatives before the kids are back in school. We take lots of photos but often they do not turn out good enough to put them into a scrapbook. Here are a few tips to help you take better pictures.

Several factors need to be considered when deciding if a photo is a good one. Lighting is one of the most important things. I have taken many photos myself where the background is so bright that the subjects in the foreground are too dark. The camera adjusts to the bright background by limiting the amount of light entering the camera. The foreground is then too dark. Some cameras have a setting for bright light so check to see if your camera does. When you are choosing a location for taking someone's picture consider the light available. If the subject is standing in the shade, you may need to use the fill flash feature of your camera. If the subject is standing with their back to the sun so they aren't squinting, be careful to shield the lens of your camera so you don't have glare from the sun on the lens. If you are taking a picture inside using a flash, be sure the flash won't reflect in a window or mirror behind the subject.

The composition of the photo also needs to be considered. What do you want your focal point to be? Are you taking a picture of a mountain in the distance or is the mountain in the distance a backdrop for a picture of your children? If you want the mountain to be the focal point, have your children stand off center. Having them still in the picture is a good idea because it helps to place the photo in time and gives perspective to the photo. Many of my pictures from summer vacations have just scenery in the photo. After a few years, those pictures are still beautiful but tend to blur as to their significance since the people associated with that trip are not included in the photo.

So often,it seems, I take pictures of everyone that is at an event lining up for a group photo. While this is nice and good to do, your scrapbook pages will be much more interesting if you also take candid shots of people and especially action shots.

Finally, remember to document the occasion, the place, and the people that are in the pictures you take as soon as possible after taking the pictures. I have a box full of heritage photos from my family. Unfortunately, they aren't labeled so I have no idea who those people are. Always document your photos!

I hope these tips are helpful when you take your photos. Thanks for visiting my blog and do come back again.

Happy Scrapping,

Sue

Yes…there is even a Tell a Joke Day and why not? Laughter is healthy for your body so let's begin the fun. I'll tell you a joke, then you post a joke in the comments section. But….let's keep the jokes clean! Please?

I read this joke in the Reader's Digest:

Steve, a lonely bachelor, wants some company, so he buys a centipede and a small box for it to live in. That evening he decides to go out.

"Want to grab a drink?" he asks the centipede. But there's no answer from the box. A few minutes later, he aska again–still no reply. Finally, he hollers, "Hey! Do you want to get a drink?"

"I hear you the first time!" says a small, irritated voice. "I'm putting on my shoes!"

Now it is your turn! Post a joke in the comments. Let's see how many we can collect.

Blessings,

Sue

Occasionally I will post non-stamping related things on my blog and today is one of those times. I have been challenged to write about a book that has really inspired me in honor of Book Lover's Day. There are two books that have inspired me as being 'right on'! They are Three Cups of Tea and Stones Into Schools by Greg Mortenson. Greg Mortenson is a renown mountain climber who was attempting to climb Mount Everest when he and his Sherpa guide took the time to carry a sick mountain climber back down to the base camp. This effort took all the strength Greg and his guide had so they aborted their attempt to reach the summit. On the way back down off the mountain, Greg's guide had gone on ahead to set up camp and Greg took a wrong path and eventually ended up in an isolated village in the mountainous region of Northern Pakistan. Greg stayed with those villagers for three months while he recuperated enough to return to America.

While in the village, Greg asked to see their school. He was led to a small flat spot where the students were scratching their letters in the dirt. They had no walls, no desks, no books, and a teacher who only came from a distant neighboring village two days a week. Before he left the village, Greg promised to build them a school. That was the beginning of a journey.

Greg raises money and builds schools in remote villages of Pakistan and Afghanistan. He believes the best way to combat terrorism is to educate the people, especially the girls. The Taliban have built schools to educate only the boys and to indoctrinate them in extremist religious principles. Generally, before a young man can attend these schools, he has to have the consent of his mother. By educating the girls and women, they are less likely to give approval. Greg's goal is to have a ring of schools for girls circling the stronghold area of the Taliban thus weakening their control of the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

I highly recommend these two books. They narrate the challenges and successes of Greg Mortenson and his organization and publicize his cause.

Blessings,

Sue

This awesome 3D Explosion box was my contribution in a Utah Diva International 3D swap at convention. I used the tutorials by Valita and Sharri to make this box. While it takes time to complete the project, it is so worth the effort.

I finished the bottom of the rose by adhering the largest flower of the Boho Blossoms Punch punched from Certainly Celery card stock. You have to scrunch it around the base of the rose. I used Old Olive satin ribbon in place of leaves. The pink and green panels are made from the brocade patterned sheets of the Presto Patterns Specialty paper. I used Pirouette Pink and Certainly Celery ink pads directly to the paper.

A very big thanks to Valita and Sharri for so generously providing their tutorials. Click here to order supplies to make this project.

Thanks for visiting today. Please leave a comment so I know you were here.

Blessings,

Sue

Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Regal Rose, So Saffron

Inks: Pirouette Pink, Certainly Celery, So Saffron

Other: 2" x 1 3/8" Oval Punch (119859), Fancy Flower Punch (118073), Boho Blossoms Punch (119858), Presto Patterns Specialty Paper (117175), Old Olive Satin Ribbon (117292), Dazzling Diamonds (102023), Crystal Effects (101055), 2-way Glue (100245),Supplies: Sticky Strip (104294)

Research has shown…and indeed we have experienced it ourselves…that color plays an important part in the mood of our feelings. A person who is depressed is said to have the 'blues' while a person who is cheerful is said to have a sunny disposition. Since the sun is yellow, we associate yellow with cheerfulness.

When creating cards or scrapbook pages, the mood we want to portray should be considered when choosing the colors used on the card or scrapbook page. As an example, let's consider scrapbook pages for two different weddings. One wedding was an elegant affair with the bridal party wearing formal dresses and tuxedos. Most likely, the bride chose sophisticated colors like purple or burgundy or even gray or black for the bridesmaid dresses. The men would definitely be wearing black tuxes. The colors on this scrapbook page would be the colors from Stampin' Up!'s Regal collection such as Elegant Eggplant, Not Quite Navy, Always Artichoke, or Bravo Burgundy, and a touch of neutral color such as Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Basic Grey or Sahara Sand.

If the wedding is an informal garden wedding, the colors would be entirely different. Here the mood is gay and cheerful. The bride might choose a sunny yellow or turquoise or shade of pink for the bridesmaid dresses and her bouquet. This scrapbook page would use colors from Stampin' Up!'s Bold Brights collection such as Melon Mambo, Daffodil Yellow, Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point, or Tangerine Tango with Whisper White accents.

The same considerations can be taken for cards. A card to cheer up a sick friend would use bright yellows, oranges, and blues. I recently saw a card posted online that used Whisper White, Daffodil Yellow, and Pacific Point. This card made me feel so cheerful. The colors were sunny and crisp. A sympathy card would be more subdued. I love to use the Stampin' Up! Soft Subtle Collection for sympathy cards. The colors are calming but not depressing.

Stampin' Up!'s new color coach (#121620 for $14.95) is a great tool to help you with color selection. Click here to purchase it.

What is your favorite color combination and how does it make you feel? Please share it with us in a comment.

Thanks for visiting my blog and do come back to visit often.

Blessings,

Sue