Just Punchy Card

I love Stampin' Up!'s punches. They are so fun to use when making cards, scrapbook pages, and gift projects. I have hosted two Just Punchy stamp camps - where I always feature some "out of the box" ideas for our punches. My customers love these! When I plan a card or item for my Just Punchy stamp camps, they have to meet the 4-punch criteria or they are not used.

I uploaded my Just Punchy stamp camp on my card gallery website last weekend. One of the cards that I showed my guests for inspiration was this card:

This one certainly uses more than 4 punches! I loved the Just Celebrate stamp set from the Spring Mini Catalog - The "whoo! hoo!" actually was on the owl image, but it reminded me of when my boys played trains when they were younger.

If you want to check out my other stamp camp projects including my Just Punchy stamp camps, here is the link -http://www.stampwithjane.com/

2008-2009 New Catalog Ponderings

Yesterday was the first day to order from our brand-new catalog!  I was at the ready at my computer at exactly 1:00 pm CST to place a few orders!  I cannot wait to get my goodies!  What am I most excited about this year?  In past years, it has been about the accessories for me, and this year that is still somewhat true.  However, I am so excited about the new stamp sets-plus Stampin' Up! had a special with several of my must-have new catalog sets!  Here are some of my purchases:

Snow Swirled
Under the Stars and Skeeter Wheel
Just Jawing and Scary Skulls Wheel
Owl Together Now
Upsy Daisy
Only Ovals
Say It With Scallops

Trust me, the new accessories (especially the new styled brads and ribbons) have me nearly swooning!  I love using both of these in my projects.  The new designer papers and simply scrappin' kits are knock-out gorgeous!  I think the more "manly" versions of the DSP will go over very well too - as it can be difficult to "dress up" masculine cards.

I've already put together my Wow Flowers Card Elements Kit (this was a demo preorder item).  I think this is a perfect kit for those card-makers who don't have a lot of time, but still want to send something with a personal touch. 

The new rub-on collection has such a variety!  I think these will become a staple in every stamper's craft room!

Although demos have seen sneak peeks of the new punches, they are still fabulous to see in the catalog!  My stamping table always seems to have two or three punches on it!

I have been busy creating samples with my demo preorder stamp sets.  These will soon be scanned in my card gallery website.  I spent much of Sunday preparing my card gallery website for new additions and moving the newly retired stamp sets to the retired gallery.

Hope you get a chance to stamp today!

Sock Monkey Birthday Card

I do love this sock monkey set - hopefully, my customers will too! Here is Sammy my Sock Monkey (don't you think he should be christened with a name?) getting ready for a birthday party!

Catalog Coupon Club Pick-Up Party

Thanks to all of my loyal Catalog Coupon Club who stopped by and picked up their catalogs last night. It was a fun night, and I truly appreciate your business!

First off, here is my coupon book this year - I think it is adorable!

I used Chocolate Chip and Baja Breeze colors. What a fantastic color combo! Hopefully, my customers will enjoy their own little sock monkey this year!

It was a whirlwind evening - with lots of food and a new drink! However, my customers were more concentrated on the new catalog than the food. It is a fabulous catalog - with lots of beautiful and fun stamp sets - the Under the Stars stamp set with Skeeter wheel was a big hit. Hmm, maybe that should be on my first order! I love the new punches - the wider oval and the new label punch will be favorites for me. Plus the new papers - WOW!!! I will be planning lots of stamp camps around these gorgeous designs!

I made a delicious Asti punch - it was taken from an online recipe - but I never make things EXACTLY like it says on recipe cards. Here is my punch recipe:

Jane's Asti Sangria

1 bottle Asti Spumante (does not have to be expensive!), chilled
3 c. Ginger Ale, chilled
2 c. Lemonade (not concentrate), chilled
1 c. Frozen Peaches
1 Lemon, sliced in wedges

Mix together in a glass pitcher - and serve cold and on ice. You can add strawberry slices or lime slices too!

It was delicious!

Another crowd pleaser was my Strawberry Lemon Trifle. I bought a trifle bowl at a Pampered Chef party this year - this is a great item! Well, it holds a lot too - so I am actually revising the recipe I had to make it fill up the bowl more completely. Here is my revised recipe:

Jane's Strawberry Lemon Trifle

INGREDIENTS
8 ounces fat-free cream cheese, softened
2 cups lemon yogurt (I used Yoplait Original)
4 cups skim milk
2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant lemon pudding mix
4 teaspoons grated lemon peel (optional)
4 cups sliced fresh strawberries, divided
2 (9 inch) prepared angel food cake

DIRECTIONS
In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and yogurt. Add the milk, pudding mix and lemon peel; beat until smooth. Tear cake into 1-in. cubes; place a fourth in a Pampered Chef trifle bowl. Top with a fourth of the pudding mixture and a fourth of the remaining strawberries. Repeat twice. Top with remaining cake and pudding mixture and add whole or sliced strawberries on top. Cover with trifle bowl lid and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

You could certainly add or improvise with different fruits - a blueberry lemon trifle would be unbelievable!

Oh, I forgot to mention this - I had this party planned for about 2 months...and thankfully, my UPS man came about Noon on Thursday with my catalogs! I was panicking wondering what I would do if I had to tell my customers their catalogs were not in yet!!!!

Can't wait to spend time with my new stamps and play!