hello buzzing bees

Along with the two Valentine's Day treat holders that we made for Big Shot Club, we also made a card using some of the new embossing folders in the Spring Catalog. I love the Cloudy Day and Honeycomb Textured Impressions Embossing Folders and I thought that combining them together into one card would create a fun look. These sweet little buzzing bees came from the new set Spring Sampler. How cute are all of these images?!

Clear Mount - $27.95 (#125512) or Wood Mount - $38.95 (#125510)

I used Dazzling Details for the bees' wings...it gives it that extra sparkle!

Can't forget the inside...

Card Recipe

Stamp Set: Lacey & Lovely, Spring Sampler

Paper: Basic Gray, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Baja Breeze

Ink: Black Stazon, marker - Daffodil Delight

Accessories: Dimensionals, Dazzling Details, Black Gingham Ribbon (retired)

Tools: 2-1/2" Circle punch, Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine, Cloudy Days Embossing Folder, Honeycomb Embossing Folder

sale-a-brate our downline!

My direct upline (and friend), Andrea, and I co-hosted a special "Sale-a-Bration" of our own last Sunday and had each of our downline (and their downline) over for a fun afternoon of fun, stamping, and ice cream sundaes! Both Andrea and I have been blessed with a great group of women to be able to share our passion with. We started out with just the two of us and over the last (almost) 4 years for me (and I think 5 years for Andrea) we have grown into a steadily growing group of Stampin' Up! addicts! *wink*

Andrea and I both decided we would try to shower our downline with some gifts, so we both came up with a couple of goodies to share...

I made these picture/card holders from jumbo clothespins. They have the first initial of each of the gals in our group. The DSP is from the Spring Catalog (Sunshine & Sprinkles).

Andrea made everyone these cute Paper Snips holders from different kinds of Stampin' Up! fabric (I have been wanting one of these!) and she also put together a little product sampler from the Spring Catalog. Such a fun gift to have...not only to use if you wanted to, but to share with your customers if you don't always buy everything, so they can see it all in person.

We started off the meeting with a "Random Act of Cards". Andrea gave everyone a card insert and gave us time to write to someone "just because" (no birthdays or for any particular reason). We were then supposed to take it home and send a card off in the mail.

After that, we played a memory game (forgot to take a picture of all of the action!) I set this tray in the middle of the table and the ladies had 1 minute to look at all of the Stampin' Up! goodies. I then took the tray away and they had 2 minutes to write down as many things they could from memory...extra points for details! (Doesn't this remind you of a baby shower game?!)

 Whoever had the most points at the end won this little treat I made! It uses the Petite Pockets Die, Happy Heart single stamp (promotion now ended), and a doily from the Spring Catalog.

Next we played Stampin' Up! Trivia (so bummed I didn't get a picture of this in action either!!). Andrea had come up with a list of questions for the ladies which covered a lot of the "business topics". Each of the ladies held a stamp and whoever was the first one to "stamp" it onto the table got to answer the question. If she was correct, Andrea gave them a Sale-A-Bration button. Whoever had the most buttons in the end won a prize that Andrea had brought (again, no picture...ugh!!) They all got to keep their buttons! It actually was a really fun way to get some business talk added in without going on and on and on.

Then came our swap cards!! Everyone was encouraged to bring a swap card that used products from either the Sale-A-Bration brochure and/or the Spring Catalog. It was so fun to see the many ideas the ladies came up with. Swapping cards has always been a favorite of mine!

Andrea's downline

Laura Howell

Jen Nyburg

 

 Jessica Parrack

 

 Lois Costine - her mom!

 

 

My downline

Terri Takashige

 

 

 Tami Gaumer

 

 

 Andrea and I had each planned a make n take as our swap card.

This is mine using SAB products (I also shared this card yesterday).

My AWESOME upline and her make n take "swap" card...

 

 SUPER CUTE chalkboard technique card...too fun!

The ladies hard at work...

After make n takes, we had ice cream sundaes to enjoy! More taking pictures of samples, chatting, sharing ideas, etc. Such a fun afternoon with some inspiring and great women!

This is a picture of everyone who was able to make it. Unfortunately we were still missing a handful of ladies...hope to see them at the next one!

Have you thought about joining Stampin' Up!? NOW is a great time!! During Sale-A-Bration (through March 22nd), you will get an extra 25% in your starter kit! That's $156.50 product for only $99!! Contact me for more details or if you have any questions. Whether you live far away or right around the corner, anyone can be on our team!! We'd love to have you join us!

*Last call for the ribbon holder giveaway!! It ends TONIGHT (Wednesday, January 23rd). Leave a comment on THIS POST to enter to win a free Ribbon Roll Control ribbon holder.**

Stylin' Stampin' Squad Spring Catalog Hop

 It's another month of blog hopping and this month the Stylin' Stampin' Squad is focusing on the Spring Catalog and/or products that are coming up during Sale-A-Bration (which starts on January 22nd!) If you're following the hop, that means you're coming on over from Justin's blog -- welcome! I decided to do a little bit of both Spring Catalog and SAB products for my card creation mostly because I wanted to play with some colors that I don't normally choose to work with. This card will definitely be in the category of "extra postage" if you were sending it in the mail! ;)

A little extra decorating for the inside to add a little more fun...

And, then I added the same DSP on the envelope flap for some more pizzazz!

Card Recipe 
Stamp Set: retired sentiment
Paper: Sahara Sand, Island Indigo, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Sycamore Street DSP (2013 SAB)
Ink: Tangerine Tango
Accessories: Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots, Large Rhinestone Basic Jewels (2013 Spring Catalog), Sycamore Street Ribbon & Button Pack (2013 SAB)
Tools: Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Elegant Butterfly Punch, Bitty Butterfly Punch (2013 Spring Catalog)

I was knocked out with the cold flu throughout the weekend and all day Monday, so I was happy to get into my craft room and have something to work on! It's been almost a month since I have done anything crafty, especially with the busy holiday season and then my craft room makeover, so I felt a little "rusty". Hopefully this is a jump start to getting my creativity back because there's a busy month with lots of things to create!

OK, next stop is to head on over to Jennifer's blog at NW Stamper to see what she has to share with us...something beautiful as always, I have no doubt! Thanks for stopping by...hope to see you again!

Blog Hop Participants:

1. Annie L. of Love Me Cards
2. Pam S. of Stampin' in the Sun!
3. Nancy B. of Lady Stamps-A-Lot
4. Rose C. of Stamp with Rose
5. Tonya B. of Stampin' with Tonya
6. Dawn S. of Dawn's Creative Chalet
7. Patricia T. of Sunnyone Stampin'
8. Pamela W. of Stinky Tofu
9. Kim R. of Stamping with Kim
10. Terry B of Goin' Over the Edge
11. Justin K of JK Cards
12. Heidi B of Stuck on Stampin'
13. Jennifer B of NW Stamper
14. Bree R. of Craft-somnia
15. Diana E of Stampin' Fun with Diana

valentine's promotions and the 2013 Spring Catalog is here!

Happy New Year stampers!!

I hope that you all have had a wonderful holiday season surrounded by your loved ones!!

My apologies for the lack of posting over the last few weeks, but as you can probably relate the Christmas season was a whirlwind, so I am just coming out of the fog of all of that. "Lucky" me got the stomach flu over Christmas Eve night and into the morning. What a bummer way to start Christmas, but thankfully it was short lived and I was still able to enjoy the beauty of Christmas with my family!

And, if you hold on for a bit I will show you my NEW CRAFT ROOM MAKEOVER! This past week my hubby has been working hard painting and hanging things up on the wall. I'm just now finishing the organizing part, so it should be ready to show off soon! I have been wanting to do this for awhile now and I am so glad I finally did it! My little 10x10 space has never looked so good! *wink*

In the meantime, here are some fun Stampin' Up! promotions for you to enjoy...

{click here for the full PDF}

And, the Spring Catalog debuts today!

{click on the picture below to visit my online store}

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One of my 2013 goals is to be better at sending cards in the mail. In this world of texts, emails, Facebook, and other electronic greetings those little "surprises" in the mail are few and far between. I want to make it more of a priority. Ironically, this was also a goal of mine last year. I think I started off strong, but then over time I didn't do as well. My goal is to keep on going all throughout the year!

What is one of your 2013 goals?