It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas!

The rubber is burning in my craft room! I've been busy making cards, bags, bows and centerpieces. It's been awhile since I posted to this blog, so I thought it was time to upload some of my work.

I love Christmas and crafting my own cards and decorations. Some of these have been inspired by designs I've seen on line and some just came out of my own head (sometimes the creativity is working). I hope these examples inspire you.

NEW CATTY IS WOW!

The new Stampin' Up! Fall-Winter Idea Book and Catalog became effective last Monday and it's full of fantastic stamps and accessories. I'm really excited about the scallop edge punch and the scallop square punch. There are several new Christmas stamp sets that are really beautiful and, of course, the cool new In Colors. My wish list is growing!

To celebrate the new catty I'll be having a workshop on Friday, August 22, 7:00 pm. Since we didn't get a chance to make the candy card at my last workshop, I've reworked it in the In Colors for this workshop. Additionally, we'll be making a 6"x6" scrapbook page and I'll demonstrate how this can be incorporated into a progresssive page.

There has been a flurry of paper, glue and ink in my stampin' room this week as I have had 4 birthday cards, 3 baby cards and an baptism card to do, as well as my samples for my upcoming workshop. All of this while watching the Olympics...couldn't miss seeing Michael Phelps win his 8 gold medals! Needless to say, the housework hasn't happened, but who wants to dust when you can stamp. : )

FAREWELL, GOODBYE

The Froggy Film card was CASED from lizzier on SplitcoastStampers. The "Find Joy" card has a candy bar inside.

It's hard to believe we are coming to the end of the Stampin' Up! Spring and Summer Collection period. August 10 is the last day to order the retiring stamps and accessories. Many of the accesssories are already sold out. On August 7 and 8 I will be having a farewell workshop where we will make 3 projects with retiring products.

I loved the In Colors and hate to see them go, but I've seen the new In Colors that will be carried in the new Fall and Winter Idea Book and Catalog and they are great colors as well. August will be an exciting time of transition, saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the wonderful new products that Stampin' Up! will reveal. The new catalog is effective August 11 and I can't wait to see it!! Above are the 3 project we will be making on August 7 and 8. Also, mark your calendar for August 22 when I'll be having a special workshop to introduce the new catalog.

THREE POCKET CARD

This 3-pocket card was fun to make! My good friend and downline, Deb, will be the big FIVE-O tomorrow, so this card is for her. I used the Berry Bliss Designer Series paper from Stampin' Up!...one of my favorite DS paper sets. The tags go into the pockets and I left room on one of them for a personal hand-written message. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEB!

Fresh-Cut Notes

Stampin' Up! has a great special this month. They are offering a brand new, die-cut Fresh Cut stamp set, which is one of the new sets in the upcoming Fall and Winter catalog, for $21.95. Purchase this set during the month of June and you can order the Fresh-Cut Notes for only $5. Or you can order the notes by themselves for $8.95. Here is a trifold note card I made using both of these items. These cards are 4"x4", 15 cards with envelopes, and make great little notes to tuck in with a gift. You can get both for FREE just by hosting a $400 workshop in the month of June. For more information, check out Stampin' Up!s website.

I saw a great post on SCS from Traci Gentry and have decided to add my version of her 4th of July bag to my workshop this week. You can check out Traci's version here. Thanks, Traci, for this cute idea!

FANCY FOLDS CLASS

On Thursday, June 5, 7:00 pm, I will have a Fancy Folds Class. With Father's Day around the corner, we will be making a masculine card that could be used as a Father's Day card or a birthday card. This unique folded design looks like a shirt. At ths class you will also learn to do the Iris Fold technique. The cost for the class is $10, but place an order of $25 or more and the class is FREE. Please RSVP to kathystamps@gmail.com or call me at 269-7363.

We are excited to offically announce Stampin' Up!'s first-ever eScape Day, June 25, 2008. This will be a day to turn off laptops, cell phones, pagers, PDAs, and all those other electronic devices that we'e grown so accustomed to. Take the time to reconnect with friends and loved ones through personal communication...no roaming charges, guaranteed!

To celeberate and promote eSacape Day, for the entire month of June, Stampin' Up! is offering an eScape Bundle featuring four great products for a special price of $30 (that's 25 percent off):

- Circle of Friendship stamp set
- Love Notes assortment
- Rose Red Classic Stampin' Pad
- Very Vanilla 5/8" grosgrain ribbon

Happy Stampin'!
Kathy

Wow, Here it is March already!

Time is flying! Easter is soon upon us. Spring is bursting here in NE Florida...the Azaleas are beautiful and my rose bushes are sprouting leaves. I just want to dig out all my flower stamps and create a garden of cards.

We had fun on Leap Day as we made an Easter Card with the From the Garden hostess stamp and then decorated a blown egg with the little flowers from the Carte Postale stamp set, and added glitter and embelishments from the Pretties Kit.

I love the Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration season and have gotten 3 sets already (that shows you how much I spend!) I will have a "Last Chance Workshop" on March 14 since Sale-A-Bration ends on the 17th. We'll do something fun using the Sale-A-Bration sets. If you don't know what Sale-A-Bration is all about, e-mail me at kathystamps@gmail.com and I'll fill you in, or go to SU's website: http://www.stampinup.com for details.

Since my husband is gone until May on a mission project in the Dominican Republic, I have found great solace in my stamping. Also, our sweet little fur-baby, Kiki, keeps me company. I am hoping to get over to the DR either the end of March or in April for a visit. There are mission teams going that I might be able to join.

Got to go...my stamps are calling me!

FEBRUARY FUN!

This week is Valentine's Day, and since my honey will be leaving Tuesday for the Dominican Republic for 3 months, we are celebrating today. At least the restaurant shouldn't be too crowded!

Splitcoast Stampers had a really fun challenge last Monday...a centerpiece made with paper folded like the "cootie catchers" we did as kids. I made one with a Valentine theme for the fellowship table at my Thursday morning Bible study.

It's been fun making Valentine cards, especially with my new Sizzix machine that I got for Christmas. I've really gotten into the Designer Papers and love the Berry Bliss collection from Stampin' Up! At my last Stamp Camp we decorated Valentine Mailboxes with these papers and I've used the papers on several cards. Above is a Birthday Card I made for my friend, Darlene.

We have just completed a Marker Club so my class this Tuesday evening will be Many Marvelous Markers in which I will teach the many ways to use all those beautiful markers. At the end of the class everyone will have a little booklet to keep for future reference. I know there are several gals who can't make this class, so I will be repeating it on Friday, February 15 at 1:00 pm. E-mail me at kathystamps@blogspot.com if you'd like more information.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wow! Where does the time go? I know it's been awhile since I last posted...the holidays were quite busy. But... now the Christmas decorations are all packed away and I'm ready to tackle a new year.

The new catalog has arrived and its gorgeous! I had a catalog "unveiling" last week and we made a valentine card. Can't believe Valentine's Day is next month already!

Now I'm getting ready for a stamp camp next week Saturday (Jan. 19). We'll be decorating a mini-mailbox, so anyone who missed this cute project last year can make it this year. We'll do a small project ... probably a Valentine card to go in the box, then we'll make an adorable coaster photo album. This cute little album is an acordion fold book with room for pictures and journaling. (See picture above.) I love these projects and can't wait to share them with you! E-mail me if you are interested in attending this event: kathystamps@blogspot.com.