Stamping Intervention

Today's the Last Day...

Goodbye to you, Last Chance List. At the strike of 12:00 midnight Mountain Standard Time, some of my favorite sets will be retired...Zoofari, Short Order Alphabet, Big Deal Alphabet, Say it with Scallops, Heartfelt Thanks. Oh, and the sentiments in Hugs and Wishes and Holidays and Wishes. What a bummer, dude.

Our darling Say it with Scallops, the Ronald McDonald Charity set for the year is leaving us. I love how the Scallop Square punch coordinates with it! I hope that we were able to sell lots and lots of them to help support their worthy efforts to provide places for families to say when their children/siblings are in the hospital.

If you haven't placed your final order from the 2009-2009 Idea Book & Catalog, visit my Stampin' Up! website to place your order now at www.saraystamps.stampinup.net.

What to do with Pastels...

I've been really busy in the Studio the past couple weeks, making samples for my new Catalog Open House and July Newsletter...here's one that's not for either of those things that I can share with you now:

Pastels are a versatile medium that I honestly forget about...but I shouldn't. You shouldn't either! Stampin' Pastels (Stampin' Up!'s version) come in our 48 signature colors and can be used to watercolor, create Poppin' Pastels with a VersaMark pad, and now this...

I punched a piece of scrap cardstock with my Scallop Circle Punch to make a template. Then, I used my sponge dauber with my pastels to create a background for the stamped image. You can also use Classy Brass Templates instead of making your own template with a punch.

I just love how the image from Boho Backgrounds jumps right off the page with the scallop circle image behind it!

To see my new samples, attend my New Catalog Open House on July 11th from 9:00am -1:00pm at my house in Ann Arbor. Please contact me for directions at sara@stampignintervention.com! All are welcome! Hope to see you there!

Baroque Motifs, Barbie style???

 A card for my special niece who turned five at the beginning of the month...she was having a Barbie party. Her favorite color is blue. Hmmm...I didn't have any Barbie-like stamps, but I sure do have Barbie appropriate colors!

I used Baroque Motifs to make this cute card for her. I jazzed it up by adding some Dazzling Diamonds glitter with my VersaMarker (R). (Can you see the sparkles???)

I think this is a fun interpretation of Baroque Motifs, proving that it doesn't have to seem overly elegant or (dare I say it) "mature" all the time. Color choice can make all the difference in the world. By the way, the colors I used were: Pixie Pink, Tempting Turquoise, and Orchid Opulence. FUN!

Wanna learn some more tips about color choice? Book a workshop with me for July before my calendar fills up! Email me at sara@stampingintervention.com to reserve your date!

Yippee! My favorite man in Brown came to visit!!

You know how in some households, there's the running joke about how Mom and the milkman are having a fling? Well, as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, for the past two and a half...nah, I'll go with three years, the joke between Brent (my husband) and myself is that the UPS man is really Jackson's Daddy. (NO!!! IT'S NOT TRUE! Promise!!!)

While in Maine and now here in Michigan, Brent knows that I anticipate the UPS man coming like a child awaiting Santa's visit the days prior to Christmas. I yearn for it; I scheme about all of the wonderful things I'll do with what are in those brown, dusty boxes. I get my tracking number and know exactly which day he'll be here. I get almost fixated until the moment he arrives.

Well, Thursday was definitely like Christmas! This is what came...

My Big Shot Starter Kit with the adorable Doctor's Bag, the NEW In-Colors (all six inks, ink refills, cardstock in each color...), lots of 12 X 12" cardstock for scrapbooking with, a new wheel to coordinate with my new alphabet set, a ton of SNAIL (a girl can never have enough, right?)...and with my hostess BONUS benefits (June Hostess promo!!) I got the Circle Scissors and the Cutting Mat!

I'm like a kid in the candy store...no wonder you haven't heard from me, right? I've been doing nothing but playing with that Big Shot! I love it!

But wait, there's more! (No, this is NOT a tacky infomercial!) I received TWO separate Demo. incentive orders from Stampin' Up (one for my Sale-a-Bration sales & recruiting and one for Promoting!) and chose: Defining Alphabet, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Fifth Avenue Floral, Totally Tools, and Hoppy Memories Simply Scrappin' Kit. Can you believe I received over $150 in free stuff between the incentives and the hostess promo? Now that's a deal!

If you'd like to learn more about becoming a Stampin' Up demonstrator and receiving all of the wonderful gifts I have (not to mention making money doing something you love...) email me at sara@stampingintervention.com. I'd love to share my great Stampin' Up! experiences with you!

Cute Word Window Idea

I CASE'ed this idea from one of the extremely talented ladies over on Splitcoast; unfortunately, I just spent 15 minutes searching for the inspiration card again to give her credit and I can't find it (and can't justify spending the time to go through over 500 pages of "word window" cards...sorry!)
Anyways, I just chose my colors and used scraps to punch out the word window. Then, lined them all up and adhered them. Finally, I tied a piece of black gingham ribbon around it and stamped "happy birthday" from Family Phrases. Cute, simple and a great way to use up my scraps!

Confessions of an Embellishment Hoarder

I have to admit,I'm a bit of an embellishment snob. I love them...the way they look, the way they add texture and dimension to my projects, the way people always want to touch them on the cards. And, I love the "oooohhhhs" and "ahhhhs" I get when I demonstrate them at workshops. But, I don't like to USE them.

I'll use this blog as my own personal intervention with myself, going a little something like this:

Me: "Hello, Stampaholics. My name is Sara."

Group: "Hi, Sara."

Me: "I'm here because I'm an embellishment hoarder."

Now, I'm trying to break that silly little habit of mine and use them as much as I can. So, here's an idea of how to dress up a clear button (yup, the same clear buttons I've owned for the past three and a half years and I've only used two of them...I told you I need help!)

This sweet card I made using So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, and Old Olive. It's a really fun color combination that I found in the Idea Book & Catalog from one of the samples I liked.

Anywho, I went crazy with punches on this one: punching the Pumpkin Pie with the Scallop Edge Punch; the "Congrats" (from the Ronald McDonald Charity set, Say it with Scallops, which retires at the end of the month) with the Scallop Square Punch; and the piece of Old Olive with the 3/4" Circle Punch that I adhered with a piece of linen thread and then a Stampin Dimensional.

I had fun using the Clear Button and the linen thread in this card...maybe I'll force myself to use my embellishments more often...

To purchase the Say it with Scallops set and have $2 from your order go to the Ronald McDonald Charities and benefit children and their families who are in the hospital, click here.

Sweet card by Connie

One set that's on the Last Chance List that always brings out a smile in people is Comfort Food. It has the cutest little line-art images with adorable sayings like "Donut be Sad" and "Pop on By". I'm sure lots of hostesses will be sad to have missed the opportunity to earn this one!

My hostess from last month, Connie, sent me a card last week and I wanted to share it with all of you. She used Comfort Food with some red and yellow cardstock. The watercoloring makes it look like old-style popcorn from the fair. Thanks for the cute card, Connie!

Sharing: Jackson's Handmade Birthday Cards

A dear friend, Amanda, sent Jackson this adorable card that she made with All in the Family, Family Accessories, and Family Phrases. Jackson recognized the baseball! I love how Amanda made it look like a baseball diamond with her punches! Thanks so much, Amanda!

Another great friend, Kanaan, made Jackson this card with some of his favorite things: dinos! Kanaan used the Ghosting technique with Prehistoric Pals for the palm trees in the background. The color combination is great...very prehistoric and perfect for my boyish-boy!

My mom, Linda, made this adorable card for Jackson using the retired Unfrogettable set. Jackson adored the googly eyes on the frog!

FYI: the "Jackson" stamp was one that she had made for him at the Big E last year. Isn't it darling?

Mom used the white gel pen to color in the dragonfly's wings. What a nice pop they have, huh?

This darling card was made for Jackson by our friend, Becca. While she didn't use stamps, she certainly got crafty and I'm willing to give her props for that! Jackson loved how colorful it was and the giraffe popping out from behind the tree. Smooches,"Bec!"

Finally, here's my simple card I made for my handsome little guy. I used By Land (retired), which was the theme for Jackson's party. He's totally into cars, trucks, trains, airplanes...okay, anything that goes! So, likewise, he was thoroughly impressed by this green and blue tractor card.

Thank you to all of my friends and family for the wonderful birthday Jackson had, especially because of these sweetly handmade cards!

Do YOU YouTube? Well, Stampin' Up! does now!

Stampin' Up! has joined the YouTube nation! Regularly visit the site at http://www.youtube.com/stampinupvideo to see videos about stamping, scrapping, and home decor!

While there, you can become a subscriber so that you'll receive all of the latest Stampin' Up! videos directly into your "My Videos" folder.

This is so exciting to me! It's another way that Stampin' Up! is encouraging the creativity in each and everyone of you! Be sure to check it out.

How do YOU feel about the Last Chance List?

With the Last Chance List being posted yesterday by Stampin' Up! there's all sorts of chatter on the internet about the sets that'll be leaving us at the end of the month.

How do I feel about it?

Being a Coastie wife, I was disappointed to see the Boatloads of Love set going because I know that one's popular among Coast Guard and Navy families. Additionally, I was expecting to see Heartfelt Thanks go, as it's been around for a number of years.

One of my favorites that seems to be older than dirt and I'm glad its still going strong is Lovely as A Tree. I love using it for all sorts of techniques AND it's great for masculine cards. I made this Father's Day card by embossing the tree with black embossing powder. Isn't it just so handsome and strong looking?

I'm truly shocked by how many alphabet sets are on the list this year. But, likewise, I'm excited to see all of the new ones that will surely replace them.

I would love to know what all of you think about the Last Chance List. Feel free to write your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of this thread. And, don't forget that with a $50 purchase with me, you get a free gift. Click here to read more about this limited time offer!