, and a 3-day weekend trip to Charlotte, and then I had to get ready for the Vintage Vogue class (FUN!); and now I'm getting ready for the Summer Mini-catalog Open House! It's this Saturday May 1st, you can stop in any time between 10 & 4 to see some of the new stuff from this fab mini catalogs, see new samples, and make a little something new for yourself. I'll also have my mass quantities of retired stamps available for your shopping pleasure - please be sure to take some of them home with you! I'll be here all day, but please RSVP here if you know about what time you'll be stopping by so I can plan my day.Well I've been working on samples for the Open House, but other stuff keeps distracting me... Like the awesome Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set - I picked it up for 20% off, and until April 31st you can too! Trendy Trees, Greenhouse Garden, and Flower Fancy (also awesome, and singing a siren song from the stack on my work table) are ALSO 20% off until the end of the month! These are all Two-step Stampin' sets, like the cool NEW set Awash with Flowers, the sneak peak from the upcoming Idea Book & Catalog - you can get all the details in this flyer.
So anyway, here's one result of my distraction, lol. I used one of the smaller images from Fifth Avenue Floral to create a background pattern, colored the dots in the center with a Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write marker, and then colored the dots again with a Versamarker & clear embossed them. I also covered the middle Rose Red layer of the greeting with Versamark and clear embossed. The Rose Red mat layer was embossed with the new Square Lattice embossing folder from the new Summer Mini, which starts Saturday! I actually used what I think is the BACK of the embossed piece, which to me looks as cool as the front - it's like getting two embossing folders for the price of one!
I really like the subtle effect of the embossed dots, it's a little hard to see even in this detail picture.
And on the inside I used a strip of the same floral background piece. :)
 
Fun! So here's the list of ingredients:
Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral (113734); Warm Words (115108)
Paper: Sahara Sand (105328), Rose Red (102544), Whisper White (100730), Chocolate Chip (102128)
Ink: Rose Red Classic Inkpad (101778), Chocolate Chip Classic Inkpad (100908), Versamark Pad (102283), Versamarker (100901), Chocolate Chip Marker (100071)
Tools/Accessories: Big Shot Die-Cut Machine (113439), Top Note Die (113463), Square Lattice Embossing Folder (119976), Crop-a-Dile (108362), Chocolate Chip 5/8" Satin Ribbon (117287), 5/16" Jumbo Brads (112534), Punches: Slit (104388), Small Oval (107304), Large Oval (107305), Scalloped Oval (114889), Wide Oval (112082), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)
That's all for now - I'll try to post a sample with the sneak peek set Awash with Flowers in the next day or so - like the 20% off deal, you only have until Friday the 31st! So call or email me now if you don't want to miss out, or shop online now!



















All supplies are provided, including pre-cut cardstock & papers, and even high-quality Stampin' Up envelopes - so all you have to do is the fun part, stamp & put it all together!!
  
  
  
Oh yeah, and there's also this cool keyring dealie that I just LOVE - I got mine at the Stampin' Up! Convention ('cause I'm a 

  
I'm having a great time at my sister's house, & it's wonderful to get to see my nephew while he's home on leave from Iraq! This is Stephen & his wife Amber at the airport the day he landed - aren't they cute? I can't wait until he's home for good!









I used the coolio Scallop Trim border punch (#118402) that you can earn for FREE during Sale-a-Bration, and the new Extra-Large Fancy Flower punch (#118073) from the Occasions mini-catalog, along with the With All My Heart stamp set (#118134-wood #118623-clear). See how the large flower fits perfectly in that punched-out flower shape? And the ribbon is the 5/8" Satin Ribbon in Celery (#117288), also from the Occasions Mini.
After I demonstrated the gift card holder, we all made this cute 6x6 scrapbook page using the Butterfly punch (#116629) and the Upsy Daisy (#111710) stamp set. We also used the new Pinking Heart corner punch (#118072) and that scrumptious new Sweet Pea designer paper (#117161), both from the Occasions mini - I just love this paper stack - 48 scrumptious 12x12 pages!
For our last project, we all made this pretty card using the Vintage Vogue stamp set (#117690-wood #118598-clear) & 5/8" Old Olive Satin Ribbon (#117292) from the Occasions mini, and that fun Scallop Trim border punch again. I love using stamps to make your own designer paper!
Did you know that the Big Shot Diecut Machine is a quilter's best friend (in addition to being a stamper/scrapper's best friend!)? The Big Shot will cut about a zillion different materials, including fabric - and Big Shot diecuts make great quilt pieces/squares in a snap! Just check out this cool flower square! (














