Monday, October 29, 2012

One Day {Stamp Sale}!


What an opportunity!  For today only, Stampin' Up! is offering almost all of its stamps at a 15 percent savings!  This means stamp sets (wood and clear mount), background stamps, personalized stamps, cookie stamps and Single Stamps are all 15 percent off!  The only stamps which are excluded are hostess sets, digital stamps and those sets included in bundles.

Want to save more?!  If you live in my area, you may contact me to place your order (I have to do it -- online ordering won't work) and I'll add your order to mine to save on shipping (you'll pay 10 percent of your merchandise total instead of $6.95).

Need more incentive?  How about a drawing from orders placed today for a $20 catalog shopping spree with me (you just pay shipping and tax)?!

There's no minimum order (and think of the money you'll save if you combine your order with mine)!

Think ahead to upcoming gift-giving.  Need hostess gifts?  Christmas gifts?  Any birthdays on your horizon?  How about someone with a new home (s/he'd get a lot of use out of a personalized stamp with the new address)?

The details:

Our combined order will be finalized *TONIGHT* at 9:00 PM, Pacific Daylight Time.

If you would like your stamp order to be combined with mine for savings on shipping, you must be local (within 15-minutes drive) and your order must be placed with me by 9:00 PM tonight.

Double-check the list above for the stamps which qualify.  Questions?  Call or email me; I'm home today, so I'm accessible.

If your merchandise order (before shipping and tax) is less than $69.50, email me (click on the "email {Sara}" link above to the left).  We can combine orders and I can save you some money.  If your order is more than $69.50, you can place your order directly through my Stampin' Up! site.  Click on the batty "{Shop}" button at the top on the left.  However you place your order *today*, you're entered for the {Shopping Spree}!

Thank you!  Happy Shopping!


Thursday, October 25, 2012

{12 Weeks of Christmas} Week 2 -- Diverting from the Traditional Color Palette

This card was created for a Color Scheme Challenge a while ago at 365 Cards

While I'm a big fan of the traditional color palette for Christmas, I like how fun and fresh this note is.  The colors we were to use were Old Olive, Bashful Blue, More Mustard and Crumb Cake (or something thereabout -- I assign Stampin' Up! colors to those challenges).

This is also a simple and versatile layout.  By crumpling the scraps of More Mustard and adding a dry embossed layer (and rhinestones!), texture abounds in this project...  The Labels Collection Framelits make the basis of the focal point easy to create.


In a second project, I was going for a bright and cheery look without the traditional colors.  Using Tags til Christmas and my ornament punch, I created the Melon Mambo ornament, tied off with a bit of white floss.


The texture in this card was created using the Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder ("TIEF"), and turning the card base to show the opposite relief from the Elegant Eggplant layer.

This color scheme was brought to you by the Color Coach...

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps:  Snow Swirled (W111690, C127799), Tags til Christmas (W120847, C121169)

Papers:  Crumb Cake (120953), Whisper White (100730), More Mustard (100946), Bashful Blue (105120), Old Olive (100702), and Elegant Eggplant (105126)

Inks:  Bashful Blue (126961), More Mustard (126964), and Melon Mambo (126948) Classics

Accessories:  Big Shot (113439), Labels Colleciton Framelits (125598), Petals-A-Plenty TIEF (116824), Vintage Wallpaper TIEF (120175), Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246), 1/2-inch Circle Punch (119869), Ornament Punch (119847), Color Coach (120148), and Stampin' Dimensionals (104430).


Sunday, October 21, 2012

Blustery {Sneak Peek}

Brrrr!  After three soccer games and a soccer-themed birthday party this weekend, I'm soccered out.  Somehow, I managed to sneak some time in the studio and here was what I was up to:







Wednesday, October 17, 2012

A Promise for a {Sneak Peek}

Hello, Patient Visitors!  I was having technical issues this weekend, so I'll be updating this post with photos soon.  Just wanted to touch base and let you know that they're coming!

Monday, October 15, 2012

{12 Weeks of Christmas}: Week 1 -- Mise en Place: Make a Date

Hello and welcome to a (LATE) first installment of my {12 Weeks of Christmas} series!  I'm switching from PC to Mac and I'm on a steep and troublesome learning curve lately.

As the busy holiday season approaches, I like to see what the dates look like.  For example, I like to check my kids' school schedule to see when their last day is.  I need to know for travel arrangements, if we're going to visit my mom in Colorado for Christmas and I also like to know so that anything Super Secret is taken care of before they're home during the day.  Finally, I like to give the kids' teachers their gifts before the last day of school (speaking from personal experience, they can have a lot to haul out to the car!).

I also look over the calendar to figure out when the last day is to send cards to Canada (I have family there and I hope my greetings arrive on-time) as well as when the deadlines are for mailing to military, out-of-state addresses, etc.

I order calendars for family gifts, so I need to see when the deadline for Christmas delivery is (I *refuse* to pay expedited shipping).

Got any parties on the books yet?  Will you need hostess gifts?

I know it might seem over-the-top when we're not even sure what Halloween costumes are going to be this year, but a little planning can go a super-long way.  Especially on the years when I'm travelling (or having guests come to me), I like to have things mapped out way in advance and tackle them early.

Bottom line:  I *LOVE* Christmas and I want to enjoy the season instead of wandering through it sleep-deprived, stressed out and cranky.

In the interest of honesty, this wisdom is not my own.  I was inspired by Marla Cilley, aka "The Flylady" (she fishes).  I discovered her right after my eldest was born and she's a marvel.  Here's a link to her Flylady Fabulousness.  Specifically, her Holiday Control Journal contains a page that inspired my list of dates.

Finally, after I check my dates, I make a list (on the computer so that I can use it year-to-year and just change the dates) in chronological order of when stuff needs to happen.  Phew!

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Here's What's Coming {this Week}...

My {12 Weeks of Christmas} series begins this week!

Here are a few other things I'll be writing about:














Thursday, October 4, 2012

It's Canning Season with Perfectly Preserved


This project was created for a couple of challenges:  365 Cards' Super Sketchy Sunday and the Friday Mashup Challenge  77 (fall-themed with Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Raspberry Ripple, Lucky Limeade and Early Espresso).


Studio Suggestion:

--Stamp your images first when using the Cannery Framelits (available as a bundle with the Perfectly Preserved stamp set in the Holiday Mini Catalog).  Use a sticky note to hold the framelit in place over your stamped image and run it through the Big Shot.

--Save those scraps!  I used scraps of Cajun Craze over the polka dot embossed Early Espresso piece on the left.

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps:  Perfectly Preserved (W126690, C126692) *Purchased as part of the Perfectly Preserved Bundle, (W129943, C129944) with a 15% savings*

Papers:   Cajun Craze (119684), More Mustard (100946),  Lucky Limeade (122926), Whisper White (100730) and Early Espresso (119686)

Inks:   Cajun Craze (126965), Raspberry Ripple (126859), and Lucky Limeade (126984)

Accessories and Tools:  Big Shot (113439), Cannery Framelits Set (127822) *Purchased instead as a part of of the Perfectly Preserved Bundle (W129943, C129944), Perfect Polka Dots Folder (117335), Scallop Edge Border Punch (119882)