Last Chance to Buy 3, Get One FREE Designer Series Paper

Today's card is a great example of a way you can use some of your DSP scraps to create a fun card.  We made this card at our Paper Palooza class this week.  This card was inspired by one I found on Pinterest a while back by Jennifer Rzasa.  Since each pack of DSP has all coordinating paper, it is easy to create a great pattern like this.  Try it with scraps from one of the packs you have!  The inner "petals" are 1-1/8" squares with two opposite corners rounded using the corner rounder punch.  They are layered onto 1-1/4" squares.  A simple card to put together in a pinch!

Here are the details of this particular card:
Stamp: Oh, Hello
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, I Am Me DSP
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: 3/16" Corner Punch

Be sure to take advantage of the Buy 3, Get 1 Free DSP by the end of the day today by visiting my online store.  Today is the last day to enjoy this great promotion!

Your Chance to be a Designer

In April, Stampin' Up! employees were given the challenge to create a "bucket list" stamp set.   Spread the Joy, by Emily M. from the Stampin' Up! home office, is the first winning stamp set from In With You, our new stamp set design challenge beta program.  Emily wanted to make a set that could be versatile and usable for lots of different things.  Employees fell in love with her design and voted the set to victory!

Stampin' Up! created a way for you to help them design and choose new stamp sets--In with You (beta program). The In with You program is currently open to anyone. So spread the word!

Once you join our In with You online community, you can submit your original artwork for stamp set challenges, vote and comment on other people's submissions, earn badges, and interact with others in the community. Stampin' Up! will produce and sell one or more stamp sets from among the top-voted submissions in each challenge. Plus there are fabulous prizes for top designs.

Here's the scoop on the current challenge, which you'll also find on the In with You site in the left column under Current Campaign:
Contest dates: July 18-August 31, 2013
Submit ideas early so you have plenty of time to gather support for your work (you know--get your friends to vote for your design).
Contest theme: Illustrated Sayings, Plays on Words, Puns

Go ahead--wow us with your brilliance, make us laugh till we cry, show us just how witty you are. Send us one to five of your funniest, cleverest, and cutest illustrated puns, plays on words, or sayings.
Prizes*:
1st place: $200 US/$200 CAN Visa Gift Card
2nd place: $150 US/$150 CAN Visa Gift Card
3rd place: $100 US/$100 CAN Visa Gift Card
*Winners determined by number of votes.

Be sure to read the Submission Guidelines by clicking the link at the bottom of the page before submitting your designs.  Your images may be our next great stamp set! We can't wait to see your designs!

Items to note:

• While we encourage handwritten sayings, you may use fonts. If you use a font, please indicate which font you used.
• All sayings must be attributed to the correct source.
• Trademarked sayings may prevent us from creating your stamp.
• Some fonts carry special licensing agreements that may also prohibit us from creating your stamps.
• Please note that this is design challenge and only ideas submitted with imagery will qualify to win.

For more information, submission guidelines, terms and conditions, and to participate, go to http://inwithyou.ideascale.com.

Photogenic

So today I have yet another swap to share that I made for Convention.  I have a hard time making more than 25 cards of one design so I still have even more coming.  I swapped 200 cards at Convention, so that meant 8 different designs!  I love the little cameras in the Around the World stamp set.  They worked perfectly with the "You Make Me Smile" sentiment in A Round Array.  The faux stitching on the card is created with a ruler and a Stampin' Write Marker.  No need to be exact with your lines.  Variations make the stitches look more realistic!

Here are the ingredients for the card:
Stamps: Around the World, A Round Array
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wasabi, and Calypso Coral
Paper: Soft Sky, Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, and Calypso Coral
Accesories: Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, 7/8" Scallop Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Stampin' Write Marker

Fab Friday 23

Many of my cards are inspired by a sketch challenge I follow weekly.  This week, I located a new one!  Yeah!  You can't ever have too many sketch challenges!  This sketch comes from the Fab Friday Challenge Blog.  I was excited to see some of my favorite demonstrators are designers for this challenge!

Here is the sketch I worked with.  This card was a great opportunity to play with some of the awesome Designer Series Paper you can get free this month!  I also got to use one of my stamp sets that I got for free at Convention as part of an all demonstrator Prize Patrol giveaway, Yippee-Skippee!  When I received this set, all I could think was "Yippee-Skippee!"  To get the multicolor effect on your cake, ink your stamp with Stampin' Write Markers instead of an ink pad and "huff" on it prior to stamping to moisten the ink that may have dried.

The following is everything you need to recreate this card:
Stamps: Embellished Events, Yippee-Skippee!
Ink: Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green, Bermuda Bay, Summer Starfruit
Paper: Birthday Basics DSP (Buy 3, Get One Free til 7/31/13), Whisper White, Summer Starfruit, Raspberry Ripple
Accessories: 2-1/2" Circle Punch, 3" Circle Die, Big Shot, Decorative Label Punch, Extra-Large Oval Punch

REMEMBER Buy 3 Get One Free on select Designer Series Paper available only through 7/31/13.  Click on my "Shop Now" link to order yours today!

Join Stampin' Up! team prior to August 31 and you get to pick one of four project kits for free in addition to receiving the already fabulous starter kit!

Dates: July 15-August 31, 2013

Kit Options:
The first three project kits are from the holiday catalog and the last option is from the annual catalog.

1	Build a Banner Simply Created Kit AND Halloween Banner Simply Created Accessory Kit	133507 132698	$29.90
2	Build a Banner Simply Created Kit AND Christmas Banner Simply Created Accessory Kit	133507 132697	$29.90
3	Thankful Tablescape Simply Created Kit	133463	$19.95
4	Tag a Bag Bundle AND Tag a Box Bundle	131371 131372	$22.45

Contact me today via the "Email Me" link on the right sidebar to see how you can join my team!

Summer Fun

Today's card is another card I made to swap at Convention.  From the image, it may be hard to see that I used the Water Color Wash technique to create a sea-like background of blues and greens for the fish.  All you need is an Aquapainter and some reinkers and you can create great backgrounds for your stamped cards.  Shimmer Paper is a great tool for achieving this effect.

Here are today's card ingredients:
Stamps: By the Tide, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Island Indigo, Crumb Cake, Shimmery White
Ink: Island Indigo, Garden Green, Pool Party
Accessories: Island Indigo Baker's Twine, 3/16" Corner Punch,  2-1/2" Circle Punch, Aquapainter

Buy 3 Get One Free

Brighten Someone's Day with a Little Sunshine

As I previously mentioned, I spent last week in Salt Lake City at the Stampin' Up! 25th Anniversary Convention.  I had so much fun meeting new people and swapping cards!  Over my next few posts, I plan to share the cards I created to swap.  This first card was initially designed for a friend who needed a little sunshine.  I included it in a "Box of Sunshine" that I gave her.  The card could not have gone any better with the gift.  A "Box of Sunshine" is a box full of all yellow items that is given to someone who needs a little lifting up.  It is so much fun to put one of these together for a friend!  I had a great time coming up with yellow items to fill it with.  The card put the finishing touch on this sunny gift.

Here are the details of the card:
Stamp: Feel Goods
Paper: Whisper White, Daffodil Delight
Ink: Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Labels Framelits

Paper Pumpkin: Surprise Box of Fun!

I had the great pleasure to attend my first Stampin' Up! Convention in Salt Lake City, UT this past week.  I had a fantastic time and will have so much to share with you in the months to come!  While I am still rather jet lagged, I did not want to waste a moment before I let you know about a fabulous promotion being offered.  From now until August 31, 2013, new Paper Pumpkin subscribers get their subscription for $10+tx (includes shipping) per month for the first two months.

What is Paper Pumpkin you ask? 

• I come to your door each month (a fully decked-out creativity carriage). I'll help you to escape your life with some paper fun.

• I come in a sweet box, but you'll really love what you find on the inside:

• All the stamps, ink, paper, and accessories to create pinable projects. Create stuff like cards, journals, décor, and more!

Paper Pumpkin by Stampin' Up! is a new monthly kit program that anyone can enjoy!

Now you ask, "How do I sign up?"  

• Visit https://mypaperpumpkin.com.
• Click on "Join Now" and enter all of your information. 
• Make sure you select "1" as the quantity for kits and enter the coupon code PUMPKINDEAL in the promo code box which is located just below the kit quantity. 
• Finish with payment information and click "Submit." 
• You will receive a confirmation and a request to set up a password; you can return and do that at any time. 

When you  sign up for Paper Pumpkin, you can select me as your demonstrator and be sure to check back here for some alternative ideas for your Pumpkin kit each month!