creativestampingwithjan

Look What I Made To Show You Today!!

My new office needed some sprucing up, so I made an adorable decorated picture frame out of this Dollar Store picture frame.  I used a sheet of Stampin' Up's Sending Love designer series paper as my background, added my picture and adorned the remaining open squares with pieces from the Sweet Pea Stitched Felt set. 

I am offering a free package of Sweet Pea Stitched Felt to you ($7.95 value) for any on-line orders of $40 or more placed with me during the month of March.  This is a gift from me, so you will receive these in a separate shipment than your Stampin' Up! order.  Once you see these, you will fall in love with them, as I have.

Day #2 of Sweet Pea Projects

Here's my next idea to spruce up my desk at work.  I wanted something for my desk to put notes on, pictures, reminders, so this note holder is what I came up with:

 

You just need one of those large black binder clips available at Wal-Mart or Staples.  I covered the base with designer paper, added a ribbon and Sweet Pea Stitched Felt pieces, and there you go!  Sweet and adorable.

You can attach your Sweet Pea Felt pieces with Stampin' Up's glue stick, as it states right on the stick that it is for paper, fabric, etc.  The glue stick works well, as does glue dots and Sticky Strip to hold these adorable pieces in place.

Check back tomorrow for another idea, and remember to comment on the blog your thoughts and ideas about these projects, so you can get a FREE handmade gift from me!

What Can I Do With the New SWEET PEA STITCHED FELT?

Well, I have ideas!  Don't you just love the new Sweet Pea Stitched Felt that Stampin' Up! is offering in the Occasions Mini Catalog, right?  If you haven't seen it yet, just turn to page 32 in your mini catalog (or look at the catalog just by clicking on the icon on the left of this posting).  It is cute in the catalog, ok?  But in person, wowsa!  I am in love with it.

Of course, the first thing we think of is cards or scrapbook pages, and they are lovely on a card:

 

This is a very delicate and girly look when paired with our Sending Love Specialty designer series paper that is also in the Occasions mini catalog.  The paper has glitter on one side of each page--even prettier in person.  This card was made using the Scalloped Square die cut and my Big Shot machine (same die used for the quilted rag purses).

Anyway, each day I want to show you my newest ideas on what we can use these adorable felt pieces for besides scrapbook pages and cards, which of course I love too.

Here's my new keychain:

I gotta tell you that I came up with this idea out of necessity (besides it's adorable).  Those of who you know me in person know I go to a lot of my kids volleyball, basketball, soccer, baseball, softball (any sport with a ball) games and I never take my purse.  I just want to stick my keys in my pocket and go, but the are key chains are bulky and always "pinch" me when I am sitting down, so I wanted a "soft" keychain.  Well, here you go.  The background fabric matches my new rag quilt purse (which I will also show you soon). 

Anyway, leave me a comment on my Sweet Pea designs 3 DAYS IN A ROW and I will send you a handmade gift made by me!  Let me know what you think, and make sure you check back tomorrow!

Have You Seen What Else You Can Do With Your Big Shot Machine?

I have been busy making tote bags, purses, craft bags, etc. using the Big Shot die cut machine.  It's not just for cardstock and chipboard!  No Way!  The newest medium I have been cutting with my Big Shot and my Scallop Square Bigz Clear Die is fabric.

I was sewing for years before I started stamping, and now I have found another way to merge my two fabric crafts!  Wow, these tote bags are even cuter in person.  I made this one for my daughter, Kirsten.  She picked out the colors and the pattern, as she wants to use it for a bag to carry all her stuff in to school and volleyball practice.  Tune in tomorrow to see my purse and information on a class I am offering to make your own.

Want to See One of My Very First Cards?

No, I mean one of my VERY FIRST cards!!!  I made this card for my grandma when I was 8 years old.  When my grandmother died, and we were sorting through her things, she had a small stack of things that I had given her or were special to her about me together in a dresser drawer, and my mother gave those to me.  Anyway, I suppose because my grandma thought they were special, now I have saved them all and get them out occasionally and look at them.  There were things you would expect a grandma to keep:  my baby announcement with my pointy-headed first baby picture, a lock of my hair in a wax paper envelope she made, various letters and cards I had sent her (she lived in Virginia and I didn't get to see her very much, so I wrote letters to her and she wrote back).  Anyhow, this card was in there:

 

Of course, the top picture is the front of the card, and below is the inside with my letter and more flowers and a bird that I had colored.

Wasn't I special--guess I thought a pink rhino with yellow flowers eating another flower was something my grandma would love and cherish for years!  Well, she did.  That just goes to show you how special cards are to the ones we send them to.  I am sure she didn't think this was going to be featured at an art museum any time soon and would be valuable, but she kept it because I SENT IT TO HER. 

That is the way people treat the cards we make and put our special touches on, and that is what I want you to remember as you create special cards for those you care about.

Wait A Minute--Sale-A-Bration is Already Half Over.....

But there is still plenty of time to enjoy some free Sale-A-Bration gifts.  I Love, Love the adorable Good Neighbors stamp set that is available for free during Sale-A-Bration.  You can order it in either wooden or clear mount (brand new clear stamps).   I used the Sale-A-Bration free pack of designer paper as the background too.

Did you know there are lots of ways to earn free Sale-A-Bration gifts!! 

1)  You can be a hostess and hold a party with your friends at your home--when your sales reach $300 at your party, you get a free Sale-A-Bration gift. ( I have dates still available through the end of March, just ask.)

2)  When you spend $50 stocking up on your Stampin' Up supplies, you will earn a free Sale-A-Bration set of your choice--just think, you are probably in need of some cardstock, envelopes or adhesives anyway, or how about Stampin' Mist?  This is the perfect time to stock up, while you can get more bang for your buck and get a free Sale-A-Bration item too!

3)  Come to my Stamp-A-Stack on March 5 and receive a door prize ticket for a free Sale-A-Bration set to be given away as one of the prizes that night.  You can't win if you aren't there!  Contact me to RSVP at 618-204-1274.

4)  Or, you can always sign up to be a Stampin' Up demonstrator with me, and get any stamp set you want, up to a $47.95 value for FREE, just for signing up to be a demonstrator up during Sale-A-Bration (and that would be through the end of March.)

Who/What Do You Love the Most?

My sister's birthday is this Friday, February 19, so I am going to share the birthday card that I came up with for her.  Remember, now that she is the one who I thank (blame) for getting me addicted to stamping!  Here is the front of the card for her, and I know she will love it!

 

But, you also have to see the inside greeting to get the whole meaning:

So basically, I am saying that I love chocolate over her....well.  We both share an intense addiction to chocolate, especially when we stamp together!  So I know she will appreciate my somewhat crazy sense of humor.  

Happy Birthday, Melinda!!!

Super Fast Ideas from Stampin' Up!

Don't you ever feel like you have run out of ideas?  When I am feeling like my creativity needs a boost, I will take a look at project ideas in Stampin' Up!'s big catalog or current mini catalog to find a project I love.  Check out the little love note idea from the Occasions mini catalog on page 19.  Now look at my version of this project:

 

I just love the fact that I can get oodles of ideas from Stampin' Up! when my creativity needs a shot in the arm.  All I did on this love note was to tweak the saying and the color of the designer paper to suit my wishes.  I still used the new Hugs Sending Love Notes and Glassine envelopes on page 19 of the Occasions mini catalog, and I also used a Chocolate Chip epoxy brad (so cute).  This turned out adorable, and all because I used an idea that Stampin' Up! had presented to me.

We made this project at a workshop held in Fairfield in January and then again at my Valentine's Day Stamp Camp held the first of February.

If you would be interested in having your friends get together and me coming with precut, pre-designed projects for you to complete, just contact me at jan@creativestampingwithjan.com to set up a time.  I would be glad to be the entertainment at your next get-together.

if you are interested in classes, my next class on the schedule is a Stamp-A-Stack where you will complete 20 cards with envelopes on March 5 in Mt. Vernon.  Just let me know if you would like to come to this great event.  There will be door prizes and refreshments as well.

Fun at the Mt. Vernon Teachers' Conference

What a great time I had talking about my Stampin' Up! business with all the teachers that stopped by my booth during the Mt. Vernon (Illinois) Teachers' Conference.  There were two full days of talking with the conference attendees, and I just loved it!  Letting me talk for two days about stamping?!  What do you think?

My daughters helped me prepare and kept me company during the two-day event.  I wanted you to see what they were busy doing.  They punched out and sold scrapbooking embellishments that were girls' sports figures, all ready to pop into a scrapbook or picture frame with your favorite sports star.

These little gals are about 3" tall and adorable.  We are taking orders for these little dolls.  They can be customized depending on what sport your daughter is into, what her hair color is, and of course, what the colors of her uniform are.  We even  took an order for one customer who wanted the name of the team on the uniform.

We did cheerleaders with uniforms of all colors, soccer players, tennis players, volleyball players, softball gals, and basketball gals.  You can choose to have their hair in a pony tail, brown hair, blond hair, etc.

Aren't they the cutest thing?  Just contact me by email at jan@creativestampingwithjan.com if you would like to place an order with me for several of these sports stars.  They are just $1 each!!
 
 

Holiday Punch Class 1

I just wanted to show you the projects we did at the Holiday Punch Class 1 last Friday evening.  We had some new stampers who thoroughly enjoyed themselves:

 
My little gingerbread man was quite a hit on the front of this Christmas card.  With just a few punches, a black Stampin' Write marker, and a white gel pen, we made some small pieces of cardstock into a cutsie Gingerbread man to decorate Christmas cards, tags, or a gift bag.  This is the perfect man, you can take him anywhere and he will behave!

This adorable Christmas tree was made with Stampin' Up's Heart to Heart punch.  I used the two largest hearts and alternated them in building this Christmas tree.  Before layering the hearts onto the card, I sponged the edges of all with Old Olive classic ink.  The packages were More Mustard square punches stamped with a snowflake.  This was a super quick and fun card!  

And then there was Rudolph, romping in the sparkly snow!  He's starting to look a little chuppy, so he's working out before Santa's big ride this year.  Notice what punch I used for his antlers?  The new Snowflake punch.  Be creative, think out of the box when looking for new uses for your Stampin' Up punches.