Christmas in July Stencil Card

This is another example from my Christmas in July Stamp Camp this week. Stampin' Up! introduced stencils in their Decor Elements line last year. This is a new addition! These stencils are perfect for home decor, but they can also be used in cards and scrapbook pages! This card also used the Big Shot texture plate - Perfect Details.

Christmas in July Stamp Camp

Last night I held my Christmas in July stamp camp. It was a full house filled with fabulous stampers! Here is one of the projects they did:



This card used a lot of punches! Here is a list of what I used:

1-3/4" Circle Punch (1-Blush Blossom and 1-Real Red)

Scallop Square Punch (1-Whisper White)*

Small Oval Punch (1-Whisper White)*

Large Oval Punch (1-Real Red)

Wide Oval Punch (1-Real Red)

Word Window Punch (3-Basic Black** and 4-Real Red)

3/4" Circle Punch (Whisper White)

1/4" Circle Punch (Basic Black and Real Red)

Warm Words Stamp Set and Real Red and Chocolate Chip Ink (sponged edges of Santa piece)

*Punch out a Whisper White small oval punch-then punch out Scallop Square Punch for beard
**Cut off ends of two black Word Window Punches for mittens and boots

I also made a dessert everyone loved. Here is my Double Berry Trifle recipe:

2 Angel Food Cakes (Store Bought)

2 pkgs small vanilla pudding

3 cups milk

2 cartons of Cool Whip

Frozen Blueberries and Frozen Strawberries

Make pudding with 3 cups of milk. Let set until not quite firm. Fold in 1 and 1/4 of the cartons of Cool Whip to the pudding.

Tear Angel Food cake into pieces and line a layer in the trifle bowl (mine is a Pampered Chef Trifle Bowl).

Add a layer of pudding mixture. Layer one of the fruits on top. Then add another layer of Angel Food cake and pudding mixure. Layer the second fruit. Add one more layer of Angel Food cake and pudding mixture. Then top with the remaining Cool Whip.

Add a few fresh berries on top if desired.

Big Shot Stamp Camp Project

This is one of the items my stamp campers made at last week's Big Shot Stamp Camp! They loved how easy it was to make the basket using the Big Shot. The color combination was perfect for a summer event!

Another Fun Project for Kids

I was stamping with some West Bend kids last week. The theme was July 4th - so I designed a Parade Goody Bag! I love making these bags using a paper bag and cardstock. We used several different star stamps (my example used a retired set called All Through The Year).

I told the kids that with this bag they could really "clean up" when the candy is thrown out at the parade!

New Catalog Anticipation!

You can just feel it in the air - today will be an exciting day! The new 2009-2010 Stampin' Up! catalog will be going "LIVE" in just a few hours!

For Stampin' Up! demonstrators, the first day of a new catalog is like waiting for Christmas. Our CEO, Shelli Gardner, is OUR SANTA CLAUS. This year was extra sweet as demonstrators had the opportunity to receive our catalogs earlier than ever before. We were good boys and girls this year I guess. We've made our lists, checked them twice (probably a LOT more), and now we just need to place our orders.

I will be placing an order for myself today. On my first order this afternoon, I plan on purchasing some new Christmas stamp sets and accessories to prepare for my Christmas in July stamp camp later this month. My husband used to be in charge of sealing my wood blocks, but now my son Michael has the job (he has a true knack for spray painting). He's "only" 12, but has been at my husband's side in the garage since he could walk.

After the blocks are sealed and stamps are assembled - it will be time to make samples! The new 2009-2010 In Colors will add some excitement to the mix for sure!

So why oh why is my computer clock moving sooo slow???

My Catalog Coupon Book

I offer a free catalog coupon book to my customers who preorder a catalog. For this year's version, I used the new Circle Circus stamp set, the newer Statement of the Heart stamp set, and some of the 2009-2010 In Colors. I really like how this year's book looks!

Fun Summer Project for Kids

One of my customers asked me to do some fun kid projects for the West Bend summer daycare program. Here is the first one we did last week. This is a summer photo album - perfect to keep pictures and memories of the summer.

The background design is so easy - just put your hand in a fliptop sandwich bag dab with an inkpad! A perfect technique for little ones (kept their hands clean too)! They stamped the fish and the woody wagon on top (and put a fish and their name on the back cover).

They had fun and so did I!!!!

New Catalog Thoughts

Hello stampers~

Well, I expedited a demonstrator order so I could get my hands on the upcoming 2009-2010 Stampin' Up! catalog and some of the In Color preorder items.

There are some very strict rules in place for demonstrators about what we can and cannot post on our websites and blogs. I will be posting what I can when I can...

All I can say right now is WOWZERS. The new In Colors up close are gorgeous. My favorite combo will probably be Soft Suede and Rich Razzleberry. I love the new In Color ribbons too (and we have MARKERS to match!!!!)

I love the new stamp sets...without giving too much detail...the holiday sets and coordinating items ARE THE BOMB!!! They also have pleased me with the amount of new stuff relating to my boys' interests.

New Big Shot items will make gift giving effortless this year!

Some of my favorites from the mini catalogs made it in this year's catalog too.

Have to go back and look over the new items. One time through is definitely not enough!

Under the Stars One Sheet Wonder

A while back, I showed my stampers one of my favorite techniques for quick stamping results - the One Sheet Wonder. Basically, you stamp a collage on a full sheet of card stock. Then you cut it in smaller pieces to serve as a focal point or a background for cards or other projects.

This is the sheet I started out with:

You can view the slide show above to see the results! There are a few tacked on the end of the slide show which didn't use the OSW sheet...but they were so cute I had to include them!

Enjoy!

Stampin' Up! and YouTube

Stampin' Up! has launched their own YouTube channel. They've created the YouTube channel to help spread the word about fabulous Stampin' Up! products and opportunities. These videos are a great way to learn about current and upcoming products as well as assist you in learning new techniques.

http://www.youtube.com/stampinupvideo

Happy Stamping and Surfing!