Convention 2013 Swaps

Stampin' Up! Convention 2013 has finally arrived.  The open song was sung by Ryan from The Voice, and then Shelli and her entire family came out to welcome us.  Everything looks stunning and I am so excited to start the first full day here in Salt Lake City.

I posted a few days ago about a 3D Swap that I was going to be doing here at Convention (see post here).  I thought I would also show you some of the goodies I got in return.  This is a cute, bright drink powder holder (like the Crystal Lite packets) that you can hang on a water bottle. It was made by the swap organizer Erin Cook from North Carolina. I love all the colors!

This cute bird pin was made with a metal plate and pin back purchased from a craft store and then embellished with our "For the Birds" stamp set.  This pin was created by Alyce Brown from Illinois and is a sweet gift idea. 

This bright and cheerful ornament was created by Denise Knowles from North Carolina.  I love that you can see both sides and the DSP and the super cute embellishments that she used.

Besides wonderful friends, great swaps, and lots of free goodies, Convention this year is about making a difference in many ways.  Last night I helped put together birthday kits for a local chidren's hospital.  It was lots of fun.  Stampin' Up! also set a Guinness Book World Record for the most greeting cards sent simultaneously from a single location (the record is now 2,984 if you are wondering).

Well, I am off to another fun day of classes and projects.  More to come!

Stampin' Up! Convention 2013 Swaps

Well, it is finally here!  Stampin' Up! Convention starts tomorrow and I am sooooooo excited.  Besides the two organized swaps that I signed up for, I am also making some general swaps.  When I am deciding what to do for general swaps I try to think about what people will want.  Many demos use these swaps to show new stamps, new tools, or fun techniques.

I focused on the Happy Day stamp set, which has the medallion, the sentiment, and a large stamp that I used a small part of to make the red circle.  I use both dry embossing (background) and hear embossing (medallion).  I also featured a large circle and one banner in the I Am Me DSP.

Then, because one is never enough for me, I decided to make another swap that focused more on one stamp set.  The Tape It stamp set was one of my favorites the first time I looked through the new catalog.  I love being able to stamp and create that Washi Tape feeling.  Here, I am using five of the eight tape designs in this stamp set.  There are just so many things you can do with these designs.  This sentiment also comes from the Happy Day stamp set.

I can not wait to see all the great swaps that everyone else will make, too.  I will be sure to post pictures soon!

Buy 3, Get 1 FREE!
Collect a paper stash for every mood and project.  From now until July 31st, buy three packs of your favorite Designer Series Papers and get one FREE! No limits. Order six? You'll get two for free. Nine? You'll get three for free.

The Fine Print:

• These items don't qualify for the offer:
  • Designer Series Paper Stacks
  • Specialty Designer Series Paper
  • Designer Series Paper from the holiday catalog preorder
  • Designer Series Paper ordered through hostess benefits
• To get your free DSP, enter it in your order separately from the three packs you're paying for. For example, if you want four packs of the same type of paper, put in the three you're paying for and enter the fourth as a separate item.
• Check out our Designer Series Papers in the annual catalog pages 151, 153, and 154.

Technique Tuesday: Altered Clear Mount Case

I had hoped to get this posted earlier today, but Blogger did not seem to want to cooperate.  So, it is a little late... but still Tuesday.

Today's technique is an Altered Clear Mount Case.  I am using this for a 3D Swap at the Stampin' Up! Convention in just a couple of days.  I think it will be perfect, since we are swapping right before it starts and the girls will all need something to write notes on in all the great classes we will be taking.

The main decoration is all cut from one piece of DSP.  You can see here that the largest piece is for the cover (10 5/8 x 7).  The pocket is 3 1/2 x 5 1/2.  I then scored it on three sides at 1/4" and 1/2" to form the folds which give the pocket some depth.  Then I cut the Notepad Top down to 5 inches and wrapped it around the notepad (which I had cut to size at my local office store).  The extras are great for creating additional elements, like an altered pen.

I made all the cases the same way, but used different sheets of DSP for each one.  The new I Am Me DSP is so colorful and fun.  And the camera and suitcase images were perfect for Convention.  I also added the Convention theme on the inside.

Since Convention is all about meeting other demos and making new friends, I could not pass up this sentiment for my cover.  Sitting around with a few thousand (yes, thousand) other demos just laughing and talking is the best part of Convention for me.  All of the colors came straight from the DSP.

Only one more day to get ready and then I am off to Salt Lake City.  I will have plenty of pictures and lots of great tips and tricks when I get back.  And of course, lots of notes in my cute, handy notebook case.

Papers: So Saffron (#105118), Pool Party (#122924), Whisper White (#100730), I Am Me DSP (#130138)
Inks: Calypso Coral (#126983), Basic Gray (#126981)
Stamps: Tape It (#130715), Feel Goods (#129684)
Other Supplies: Clear Mount Cases (#119105), Real Red Stitched Ribbon (#126875), Whisper White Baker's Twine (#124262), Pool Party Button (retired), Big Shot (#113439), Chevron Folder (#127749), MDS (#130910)

Buy 3, Get 1 FREE!
Collect a paper stash for every mood and project.  From now until July 31st, buy three packs of your favorite Designer Series Papers and get one FREE! No limits. Order six? You'll get two for free. Nine? You'll get three for free.

The Fine Print:

• These items don't qualify for the offer:
  • Designer Series Paper Stacks
  • Specialty Designer Series Paper
  • Designer Series Paper from the holiday catalog preorder
  • Designer Series Paper ordered through hostess benefits
• To get your free DSP, enter it in your order separately from the three packs you're paying for. For example, if you want four packs of the same type of paper, put in the three you're paying for and enter the fourth as a separate item.
• Check out our Designer Series Papers in the annual catalog pages 151, 153, and 154.

Friday Focus: Mosaic Madness Stamp Set

Today I am posting a couple of cards I made recently with the new Mosaic Madness Stamp Set.  The first card is one that I made for a swap at Convention next week.  The swap required full cards, at least three layers, and one embellishment.  I love the way the Mosaic Madness stamp makes a perfect poinsettia (with leaves) for this holiday card.

This next card is CAS.  I have a friend who will be moving to Japan soon and we are giving her a going away dinner tonight.  I though she would appreciate the clean and simple look as well as the bold pops of color.

I also used some of the long stamps in the set to add a little decoration to the envelope.  I hope she likes it and I hope she enjoys her new adventure in life.

Mosaic Madness (#130249)

Buy 3, Get 1 FREE!
Collect a paper stash for every mood and project.  From now until July 31st, buy three packs of your favorite Designer Series Papers and get one FREE! No limits. Order six? You'll get two for free. Nine? You'll get three for free.

The Fine Print:

• These items don't qualify for the offer:
  • Designer Series Paper Stacks
  • Specialty Designer Series Paper
  • Designer Series Paper from the holiday catalog preorder
  • Designer Series Paper ordered through hostess benefits
• To get your free DSP, enter it in your order separately from the three packs you're paying for. For example, if you want four packs of the same type of paper, put in the three you're paying for and enter the fourth as a separate item.
• Check out our Designer Series Papers in the annual catalog pages 151, 153, and 154.

Summer Card for Two Challenges

Today's card is the product of two challenges: one for the layout and one for the colors.

The layout is from the Paper Craft Crew Sketch Challenge.  The overlapping design is not my usual style, so it was fun to step out of my comfort zone and see what I could do.

The colors for this card came from the Color Throwdown Color Challenge this week.  I love the summer feel of these colors and knew as soon as I saw it that I had to use it for something.  Since I did not have any DSP with these specific colors, I used the recolor tool to make my own.

I will be leaving in a week to attend the Stampin' Up! Convention in Salt Lake City.  I am so excited, but my husband will be left here with our wonderful (if sometimes crazy) children.  This card will be perfect to leave behind in an unexpected place for him to find while I am gone.

I used the base of the layout, as well as the main image, on the inside of the card.  I love the way MDS lets you group multiple images into one and then resize them all together.  Makes things like this so much easier.  Have a great summer and come back next week to see all the great things from Convention this year!

Supplies: Joyful Times Kit (#130850), Delicate Doilies Stamp Brush Set (#124226)
Colors: Whisper White, So Saffron, Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo, Crumb Cake

Buy 3, Get 1 FREE!
Collect a paper stash for every mood and project.  From now until July 31st, buy three packs of your favorite Designer Series Papers and get one FREE! No limits. Order six? You'll get two for free. Nine? You'll get three for free.

The Fine Print:

• These items don't qualify for the offer:
  • Designer Series Paper Stacks
  • Specialty Designer Series Paper
  • Designer Series Paper from the holiday catalog preorder
  • Designer Series Paper ordered through hostess benefits
• To get your free DSP, enter it in your order separately from the three packs you're paying for. For example, if you want four packs of the same type of paper, put in the three you're paying for and enter the fourth as a separate item.
• Check out our Designer Series Papers in the annual catalog pages 151, 153, and 154.

Technique Tuesday: Acrylic Post It Note Holder

I use a lot of Post-It Notes when I am crafting.  They are great for holding my framelits in place, masking off areas of a card, and getting lit pieces of paper into punches.  So, I decided to make a pretty way to display one of my favorite craft tools.

I started by stamping a background to fit in my acrylic frame (in this case a 4"x6").  I am absolutely in love with the new Tape It stamp set so I just had to use it on this holder.  I also used the new Happy Days stamp set for the sentiment.

Then I put the finished background into the frame so that the frame sat at an angle on the desktop.

To dress it up a little more, I added some ribbon with a bow.  I tied this on the outside of the frame so it did not get smashed inside the frame.

All that was left to do was take the backing sheet off the Post-It Notes and stick it to the frame.  When the notes run out, I can just add another one and I will be ready for more crafting.

Papers: Wild Wasabi (#108641), Whisper White (#100730)
Inks: Wild Wasabi (#126959), Marina Mist (#126962), Early Espresso (#126974)
Stamps: Happy Day (#130297), Tape It (#130715)
Other Supplies: Marina Mist Ribbon (retired), Acrylic Frame, Post-It Note Pad

Buy 3, Get 1 FREE!
Collect a paper stash for every mood and project.  From now until July 31st, buy three packs of your favorite Designer Series Papers and get one FREE! No limits. Order six? You'll get two for free. Nine? You'll get three for free.

The Fine Print:

• These items don't qualify for the offer:
  • Designer Series Paper Stacks
  • Specialty Designer Series Paper
  • Designer Series Paper from the holiday catalog preorder
  • Designer Series Paper ordered through hostess benefits
• To get your free DSP, enter it in your order separately from the three packs you're paying for. For example, if you want four packs of the same type of paper, put in the three you're paying for and enter the fourth as a separate item.
• Check out our Designer Series Papers in the annual catalog pages 151, 153, and 154.

Homemade Necklace Packaging

Well, I took a week off to clean my craft closet (yes, closet).  My craft room is also our guest room.  I have a murphy bed that folds up to becoming my craft table.  We purchased an cabinet for guest to hang clothes in and converted the closet to hold all my toys.  When I finally get it all put together I will have to show it off.

I did manage to get things put back together enough to do a little craft therapy.  I decided to start by making a holder for a necklace I just bought for a swap I am doing later this month.  My book club does a swap every July where we all bring a unique and/or handmade gift.  I found this necklace on Etsy, but needed a cute way to wrap it.

I started by cutting two lines about one inch long at an angle on the top of my base.  It is hard to see, but I also punched holes at the end with my brad hole puncher to allow room for the chain.

Here you can see how the necklace fits into the cuts.  I pulled the chain so that the necklace hung exactly where I wanted it.

The chain was longer than the base on back, so I added a small cardstock pocket to hold the excess chain.

I just added adhesive to three sides, leaving the top open for the chain to slide into.

I secured the base with more Sticky Strip and then added a little "grass" to the bottom.  I wanted to go with a natural theme, since the necklace was a bird and branch.

On the front I added some flowers and leaves to a panel.  Since I do not know who this will end up going to, I just left the sentiment simple.  I attached the finished panel to a belly band to keep the card closed.

This looks so much cuter than the plastic bag the the necklace originally came in.  I can not wait to get to the swap and see what the girls think of it.

Papers: Rose Red (#102544), Bashful Blue (retired), Wild Wasabi (#108641), Whisper White (#100730)
Inks: Rose Red (#126954), Wild Wasabi (#126959)
Stamps: Secret Garden (#129144)
Other Supplies: Sticky Strip (#104294), Big Shot (#113439), Apothecary Accents Framelits (#127003), Secret Garden Framelits (#129372), Stripes Folder (#123128), Word Window Punch (#119857)

Buy 3, Get 1 FREE!
Collect a paper stash for every mood and project.  From now until July 31st, buy three packs of your favorite Designer Series Papers and get one FREE! No limits. Order six? You'll get two for free. Nine? You'll get three for free.

The Fine Print:

• These items don't qualify for the offer:
  • Designer Series Paper Stacks
  • Specialty Designer Series Paper
  • Designer Series Paper from the holiday catalog preorder
  • Designer Series Paper ordered through hostess benefits
• To get your free DSP, enter it in your order separately from the three packs you're paying for. For example, if you want four packs of the same type of paper, put in the three you're paying for and enter the fourth as a separate item.
• Check out our Designer Series Papers in the annual catalog pages 151, 153, and 154.