The Greenhouse Gala Tote

I don’t usually talk a lot about recruiting on my blog but here is my second post in two days about signing up to be a demonstrator. I had some e-mail questions and I thought I would post the answers here since it isn’t something we all talk about that often.

One of the questions was whether or not you could sign up to become a demonstrator and never place an order. The answer is YES. I have had several people sign up to become a demonstrator just to get the starter kit, which at $215 (shipping is FREE and there is NO tax on a starter kit!) is a fabulous deal. If you just want the kit (and the Greenhouse Gallery Tote and the new not released yet Eat Chocolate stamp set) and don’t plan to ever place an order that is 100% ok! Your regular discount if you do place orders is 20% but the first order you place is 30% off.

The second question I got was what exactly is in the Starter kit. There is a ton of stuff including stamp sets, ink pads, cardstock and ribbon. The easiest way for you to see what is in the starter kit is to click on the photo below. The best thing about Starter kit is that it is totally customizable. You get to pick which stamp sets, which ink, what colours of cardstock you would like to get.

The third question was whether or not you could still be in my club or classes if you signed up and the answer is OF COURSE. My downline (demonstrators who have signed up through me) have been in my clubs and classes for the past few years so it’s not a problem at all.

As an added bonus, if you sign up to get your demonstrator kit BEFORE October 1st (like the fabulous tote and Eat Chocolate set isn’t enough) you will get to attend my November “Christmas Vacation” card class absolutely free.

How to sign up:
Go to my Stampin Up Website (HERE) and click on the “Start Your Own Business” link along the top of the page. Follow the instructions and see how you can customize your kit. It is NOT finalized until the end so if you want to go in there and play around go right ahead. The only thing you need is my password which is “chocolaterocks”

My Weekend....

I had such a fabulous weekend! Yesterday I attended a Stampin Up convention in Hamilton with Irene and it was a blast! It was so much fun to meet other demonstrators and to be able to sit and watch awesome demonstrations of some super cute techniques and projects. Those of you who are in my clubs and classes will get to see some of them really soon. Believe me, you won't be disappointed!

I posted three of the pictures I took of the display boards they had out. There were so many fabulous cards to look at. I have a whole box full of cards I swapped with other stampers for you all to check out when come to class and club this month. Believe me, you wish list is going to grow like crazy (mine has) when you see them! Start saving now.....LOL!

Thanks for all the fabulous ideas for what you would like to make in my final Christmas class of the year. Stay tuned this week because I will be posting it on my blog. Congratulations to Anne who's name Mary picked to with the Dasher paper and cardstock package!


The last picture I posted is special because it features the brand new stamp set "Eat Chocolate" which will be available in the next mini! You can earn this set FREE if you sign up to be a demonstrator by October 10th. Whether you just want a discount on all your stamp supplies, just want the Starter Kit ($215) or think you might want to earn some extra money now is a great time to sign up. Not only will you get the fabulous free Eat Chocolate stamp set you will also receive a Free Craft Tote! Contact me if you have any questions!

Autumn Harvest Halloween

I used three stamp sets to make this card: Wicked Cool for the spider web, Grateful Greetings for, well, the greeting and Autumn Harvest for the pumpkins. What I love about the Autumn Harvest stamp set is that the faces for the pumpkins is a seperate stamp so you can just make a nice traditional fall scene with pumpkins, leaves and squash or you can add the faces for Halloween.

I used white craft ink to stamp the webs on black. It's the only way to get ink to show up on black cardstock unless you emboss in white. The pumpkins were stamped in black and then I used classic ink (More Mustard, Tangerine Tango) and an aqua painter to colour them. I used a sponge dauber and black ink to sponge around the white piece I stamped the sentiment on. I think it gives that instant Halloween look if you sponge things with black!

Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive

Just Believe is definitely my favourite set in the new catalogue. I always tend to love flower stamps, ever since I began stamping years ago. This set is so elegant and pretty I keep reaching for it even though I have lots of other new stamp sets I want to use.

I made this card with Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla and Old Olive which are absolutely gorgeous together. Not only are these colours super elegant with the Vanilla but they also make super cute Halloween colours if you exhange the vanilla for Basic Black and add some Pumpkin Pie.

It is embellished with an Olive Satin ribbon, the Finial Press embossing folder, the Ticket corner punch and a frame holder from the Styled Silver Hodgepodge kit. I used Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry Stampin Write markers to colour the image before stamping it.

I am planning a non-card Christmas class on December 4th and I am looking for some idea’s of things, other than cards, you would like to make for Christmas. Post a comment and I will enter you into a draw to win a retired pack of Dashing Designer Paper and 8 coordinating sheets of 8 ½ by 11 cardstock. This paper is so super cute with the beautiful Christmas colours of River Rock, Real Red and Old Olive! I will announce the winner of this on Monday so be sure to let me know your opinion before then.

***If you are not sure how to post a comment just click on the title of this post (Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive) and it will take you to a new page where you can let me know what you think!) Don't forget to sign your name to your comment!

My Saturday October 23rd "It's a Wonderful Life" Christmas card class is now FULL but there is still room in the Monday October 25th class.

My next order is going in on Sunday the 26th so if there is anything you need please get your order to me before then!

Baby Bundle

I don't make a lot of baby cards because most of the people I know are done having babies (we're all way too old...LOL!) but I do know a few people having babies so I thought I would make this sweet little baby card.

I tend to always make baby cards in pink (probably because I have a girl) but the pink could easily be substituted for Bashful Blue in this card. This card was made with the Baby Bundle stamp set and the Short and Sweet stamp set. I used Very Vanilla, Pink Pirouette and Soft Suede as the colours. It is embellished with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, the Modern Label Punch, A Paper flower, Antique brass brad and the ticket corner punch.

I totally forgot to do the draw for the card kit yesterday (my parents came for dinner) so the winner of the card kit is GISELE! Congratulations and thanks to all of you who post comments on my blog. I really love reading what you all write! I will be posting more contests in the next week!

Greeting Card Kids...

I don't normally make Halloween cards but this little girl is so cute I have to find lots of ways to use her this year! The Greeting Card Kids set is new in the catalogue and the images are just super darling...I hope SU makes another set using these kids! If you love to colour this stamp set is for you.

This card was made with Concord Crush and the main image was coloured by using Classic Ink and a watercolour brush. The Happy Halloween is from the All Holidays stamp set.

I will announce the winner to my last blog contest so you still have one more day to post a comment.

I have added a second date to my "It's a Wonderful Life" Christmas Card class because the Saturday filled up so fast. The class is now available on Monday October 25th, 10 am at my place so contact me to sign up. To see more details on the class click HERE.

Just Believe in Brights...

When I first started making this card I pulled out my typical autumn colours (Very Vanilla, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso and More Mustard) mostly because I feel ""Just Believe is a very elegant stamp set and needed elegant colours. Of course I changed my mind and you can see the finished product here.

I stamped the circle stamp with every colour in the Brights colour family and then set them out to see which colours would pop together. In the end I chose Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise and Tangerine Tango. I punched the circles with a 1 3/8 circle punch and layered them onto circles I cut out with the Circles #2 Sizzix die. The card is finished with a sentiment (from the Level 3 Hostess set Simply Sent Cute as a Button) stamped in black and a corner rounder punch.

Let me know which colours you are reaching for when you go to stamp and I will enter you into a draw to win a kit to make 5 of the card shown (with lots of different bright colours!)

Elements of Style in Pretty in Pink

I’ve been very much into “Autumn “ mode that I thought a pink card would be a nice change of pace today. This card was made with the Elements of Style stamp set with Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery and Very Vanilla colours. As much as I love pink and bright colours I am finding it really hard to make cards with them at this time of year. I just want to use the rich colours of fall and I can hardly wait to get out all my Christmas stamps and start making cards with them!

Thanks to all who posted a comment below under my Got Treats post. I just did the draw and the winner of the treat kit is Gisele! Congratulations!

"Autumn Harvest" Leaves

I love stamps with leaves on them, especially in the fall because you get to colour them some fun colours. This card took a little bit of extra work. First I have to stamp and emboss all the leaves in the shape of a wreath. I used Black Craft ink and Clear embossing powder for the stamping. To get them in the shape of a wreath I punched out a circle and stamped the leaves around the punch out. This took a few tries to get it looking the way I wanted it. I ended up creating a mask (stamping the image on a post it note, cutting it out on the lines) and placing it on the leaf image I was stamping next to so the leaves wouldn’t over stamp each other.

To colour the leaves I put a few drops of More Mustard ink refill on a tile and then I dipped a small watercolour brush into Champagne Mist shimmer paint. I mixed it in with the More Mustard ink and painted the leaves. I then did the same thing with Cajun Craze ink, adding just a bit more to the leaves to give the leaves a two tone look.

To finish off this card I coloured a Vanilla Taffeta ribbon with a More Mustard Stampin Write Marker. Other items used on this card were the Sanded Background stamp, Cajun Craze and More Mustard Classic inks, gold brads and the Ticket Corner Punch.

My next orders for this month are going in on Saturday September 18th and Sunday September 26th. If there is anything you need please get your order into me before these dates. Thanks!

Got Treats?

I just love the "Got Treats" stamp set! I make a lot of treats to send to school throughout the year and this stamp set with the super cute Milk Carton die for the Big Shot is going to get used A LOT!!

To make this box I used Tangerine Tango, Very Vanilla and Basic Black cardstock. I used Tangerine Tango Classic ink as well as Chocolate Chip, Old Olive and Basic Black Stampin Write Markers. I finished the box off with Mini Library clips (page 187), Sunny Days Designer Paper and googly eyes for the jack-o-lantern.

Post a comment and tell me what you like to make for Halloween, whether its baked goods, treat holder, cards are any other craft and I will enter you into a draw to win this super cute box as well as the parts to make 6 more! Comment before Tuesday morning because I will be doing the draw then!

Falling Leaves....

It's so cool today I thought it would be the perfect day to post a card that felt like autumn. This card was made with the stamp set Falling Leaves and the background stamp Sanded. For the colours I used More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Elegant Eggplant and Very Vanilla. I also used the Modern Label Punch (and the Big Shot with Punch Windows for the layer) and the Square Lattice embossing folder to embellish the card..

I am soooo excited that there is only 1 more day until school begins. Today we were cleaning out Mary's backpack and we found last years lunchbox, still full of last years lunch....super gross let me tell you. Needless to say I didn't even open some of the containers because one of them had milk in it and another had yogurt. Thank goodness i bought a few new containers because those ones went straight into the garbage! Along with the lunchbox which did not smell good! I guess that is a lesson to be learned. Clean out the backpack on the last day of school, not right before school starts again!

Congratulations to CeeJay who won my draw for some silver goodies. Be sure to watch my blog for more giveaways this month!

Hopefully you will all see the Holiday Mini in your mailbox by the end of the week! I called and the last of the mini's were sent out by Stampin Up last week so please let me know with a quick e-mail or comment when you get yours!

The Holiday Mini

On September 1st the new Holiday Mini Catalogue began and it is full of some fabulous new autumn, Halloween and Christmas stamps and accessories. Click on the link to check out the fabulous new Northern Flurry embossing folder (page 26), the Candy Countdown Calendar Kit (page 34), the Paisley Prints stamp set (page 11) and much much more!

I hope most of you have got your copy in your mailbox but if you didn't receive it please send me a quick e-mail to let me know so I can make sure you get yours.

There is still three spots in my Super Quick cards class on the 18th. Be sure to let me know if you want to sign up for that.

Post a comment on this post (click the title to post...comments are moderated by me so it won't show up until I approve it) and let me know what you like about the Holiday mini and be entered into a draw to win a roll of Silver Elastic Cord (retired) and Platinum Shimmer paint. I will do the draw on Sunday morning.

Host a workshop in September!

Host a workshop in September and get a FREE bonus stamp set. That is on top of the other hostess benefits you are entitled to ($20 in free merchandise and a Level 1 Hostess set for a $200 workshop!). I have several envelopes with pictures of stamp sets in them. Pick an envelope and I will bring that stamp set in that envelope to your workshop for you! Club members are entitled to this benefit as well as long as they invited 3 extra people to their club meetings this month!

This card was made with the Birthday Bakery Level 1 hostess set, Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzazz and Tangerine Tango Cardstock and Daffodil brads. I coloured the image with Stampin Write Markers.

Congratulations to Helene who won the Punched Posies stamp set at my All A Flutter Class this past weekend.

Watch my blog in September, comment on some posts and win some prizes. I am going to be offering some "blog candy" throughout the month so those of you who read my blog will be eligable for some great prizes!

Flight of the Butterfly in Cajun Craze....

I know I have been neglecting my blog this month but I've been away and was too lazy too post anything. Hopefully things are getting back to normal and in September there will be more regular postings! One more week until back to school and I am looking forward to having some creating time. Taking a few weeks off stamping has left me creatively impaired. I hope I get back to normal soon because I have some nice new stamp sets I want to get some ink on!

This card was made with one of my favourite stamp sets, Flight of the Butterfly. It's so simple and easy to use, mostly because I have the great Butterly Punch to cut out the butterflies for me. For the colours I used Very Vanilla, More Mustard and the fabulous Cajun Craze (a must have colour for fall I think) To finish off the card I used the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, a Scallop Border punch and a Cajun Craze brad.

Sooooooo happy to be home!!!

It's been a long 2 1/2 weeks since I have been home and I am so happy to see my bed, my coffee maker and my cat again! Jake LOVED PEI! He loved going to the beach and chasing the birds (I'm sure the birds loved it...don't worry, he never got close!) We had beautiful weather, at lots of seafood and hunted down a bunch of sea glass!

Don't forget to check out the garage sale this Saturday at my house, 2pm until 3:30. I have several stampers bringing stuff to sell so I am sure you can get some great deals!

Upcoming Christmas Card Classes...

Christmas card classes are starting in October so here is some advance details of my two Christmas Card classes for October and November. These classes are available as private card classes in your home. Details of the private classes are slightly different so contact me for more details.

The Christmas card classes this year will not be available "to go". If by some chance you can't make it to a class and you are past the cancellation deadline, there will be a fee for me having to make them for you.

The card I posted today is one from last year and is not on we will be doing this fall. The "A Merry Little Christmas..." sentiment is now retired.

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“It’s a Wonderful Life” Christmas Card Class

Saturday October 23rd, 10 a.m.

Classic cards will be the theme of this Christmas card class. We will use traditional colours and elegant stamps on these card. This is a 10 card class (2 each of 5 designs)

Class fee is $30 or FREE if you place a *$65 order the day of the class.

*before shipping and tax.
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“Christmas Vacation” Christmas Card Class
Saturday November 20th, 10a.m.

Cute and fun is the theme of this Christmas card class. Lots of cute images and fun colours will be used at this Christmas card class. This is a 10 card class (2 each of 5 design)

Class fee is $30 or FREE if you place a *$65 order the day of the class.

*before shipping and tax.

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I will be posting details of my December class a little later since I don’t have all the details worked out yet but it will be on December 4th.

Super Quick Cards Class

To the left are a few of the cards we will be doing in my Super Quick Cards Class in September. This will be a 15 card class (3 cards each of 5 designs)

This class is on Saturday September 18th, 10 am at my place (only one date for this class) This class is $30 but FREE if you place a $70 (before shipping and tax) order the day of the class. $30 is still required in advance to hold your spot. 4 spaces left so sign up early!!

If you signed up for Stampers Club I will be e-mailing you shortly letting you know the date of your first club meeting and the month in which you will be hosting. I am just waiting to hear back from my September hostesses (sp?) so I don't have to pepper you all with e-mail. I have already drawn names for months so feel free to e-mail me if you can't stand the suspense! LOL!

I am hoping to have all my Christmas card classes from October to December posted before the end of August. I am just working out the details of each class right now!

Watercolour Trio

This is a slightly unusual colour combination that I am starting to really enjoy, red and purple. On this card I used Cherry Cobbler and Concord Crush together with some Old Olive and Pear Pizzazz. Not colours I would normally use together but I saw them together on a Kleenex box and knew I had to try the colours together on a card.

On this card I used the Watercolour Trio stamp set, the new Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder and a Filigree Brad. The Watercolour Trio stamp set is in the Summer Mini which is ending August 31st. My last order of the month will be going in on the 30th so be sure to get your orders to me before then if there is anything you would like.

Some Reminders:

• Sunday is the last day to sign up for this years Stampers Club.
• I have one space left in my All A Flutter Card Class on Monday August 30th.
• If you are bringing stuff to sell at my Stampers/Scrappers Garage sale please be sure to let me know so I have a table for you to set up on.

I have a friend who is looking for an old stamp set called "Elegant Ornaments" If you have this stamp set and wish to get rid of it please let me know so I can get you two in touch with eachother.

I love Iridescent Ice Embossing powder...

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It's hard to tell from this picture the but whole butterfly image was covered with Iridescent Ice embossing powder. I just love the way that looks! It's such an easy technique that adds some real ooh la la to your card.

First I stamped the butterfly image (All A Flutter, Summer Mini) with Black Staz On on white cardstock. I then coloured the butterfly with Marina Mist, Bashful Blue and Basic Gray Stampin Write Markers. When that was dry I pressed my Versamark Watermark ink pad all over the white cardstock and piled on the Iridesent Ice embossing powder. I tapped the white cardstock to remove the excess powder and then carefully heat it up with my heat tool (holding onto the edges, kind of like how you should hold a photograph)

Other items used on this card are:

• Scallop Edge Punch
• Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder
• Pewter Brads
• Whimsy Jumbo Wheel

Friends are Flowers....

Cherry Cobbler is so YUMMY! I just love this new colour and I am thinking people are going to be seeing a lot of this colour on my blog because Christmas is coming (I know it really isn't but for me and Christmas card designing, it's practically here...LOL!) In fact I have already designed two Christmas cards for upcoming classes. I am hoping to have my classes for October, November and December posted by the end of August so you can all see what is coming up. Check out my Stampin Up Website to see the details of my September Super Quick Cards class. I will post one of the cards here before the end of the month!

This card was made with the Friends Never Fade stamp set, Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White Cardstock, the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, White Taffeta ribbon and a Silver Ribbon Slide from the Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware Kit.