Ever wonder how they made those lovely engraved invitations and cards where the letters are depressed and colored? Well now we know…they use letterpress plates! Now you too can make elegant engraved cards using the new Stampin' Up! letterpress plates they introduced in the Holiday Mini catalog.

Today I am sharing a video produced by Stampin' Up! on how to use these plates. Tomorrow I will share a tweek I made in the process and a very elegant notecard I created using the Northern Trim Letterpress plate. Thanks for visiting today and be sure to come back tomorrow for some letterpress tips.

Blessings,

Sue

Once in a while you need a quick card that still packs a punch. If you have the Simply Sent Sweet Hello Stampin' Up! kit on hand, you are good to go. This wonderful kit contains 8 printed cards, 8 envelopes, and 24 adhesive-backed ribbon flowers with pearl centers. I bought the kit just for the darling little pink ribbon flowers! All you additionally need is a greeting stamp and ink to complete your card. In this card, I used the retired SAB Vintage Labels stamp set and punched the image out with the curly label punch. I then sponged Old Olive ink on the edges of the label to set it off from the rest of the card. I popped the label up with Stampin' Dimensionals for added dimension. I am so pleased with this card and it only took me about 10 minutes from start to finish. If you don't already have this kit, visit my online store or email me to place your order. You really will be glad you have the kit on hand! Thanks for visiting me today and come visit again soon.

Blessings,

Sue

Stamp Set: Vintage Labels (retired SAB set)

Ink: Baja Breeze, Old Olive

Other: Simply Sent Sweet Hello kit (118710)

I love joining in with the operators over on Stamping 411 with their weekend sketches. This week I wanted to try out my new Stampin' Up! letterpress plates, especially the Halloween one. I turned their sketch sideways so the image would fit. I highlighted the letters with Illuminate Top Coat Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink. (What a mouthful that is!!!) I used the black lace ribbon and tied a bow with it. I love how soft the bow is. Thanks for visiting my blog today. Please leave a comment so I know you came and do come back again soon.

Blessings,

Sue

The sketch :                                                                    My version:

Stamp Set: none

Ink: Basic Black Craft Ink

Paper: Basic Black, Tangerine Tango, Wicked Fun Specialty

Other:  Trick or Treet Letterpress plate, 1/2" Lace Trim, Sizzix Big Shot

I needed to make some birthday cards last weekend so took the opportunity to use the Stamping 411 weekend sketch as the basis of those cards. The Birthday Bakery stamp set and In Color Paper Pack are free gifts for hosting a workshop. If you would like to receive either of these free gifts, schedule a workshop with me. Those who don't live on Prince of Wales Island can schedule a catalog workshop and still earn hostess benefits. Contact me to schedule your workshop. My calendar has just a few spaces open so don't wait! Thanks for coming to visit. I'd love for you to leave a comment so I know you were here.

Blessings,

Sue

Stamp Set: Birthday Bakery

Inks: Basic Black

Paper: Whisper White and Crumb Cake card stock, In-Color Designer Series Paper Pack

Other: Cherry Cobbler, Pretty in Pink, Real Red and Always Artichoke Stampin' Write markers, Early Espresso 3/8" taffeta ribbon, Basic Pearls Jewels

Are you looking at your Christmas list and wondering where you are going to find the money to pay for all the gifts you want to give? Consider becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator! The benefits of being a demonstrator include:

• earning extra cash with a flexible schedule that fits in with your family activities
• financial security in being able to control how much profit you realize
• a great feeling of being able to help others discover their own creativity
• working with a company who values faith, family, and relationships as the basis of their business plan

Sound interesting to you? Contact me to learn more.

Blessings,

Sue

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