BLOG CANDY ENDS TODAY! Scroll down for full details!

Christmas Card Stamp Camp

Today I want to share the two cards we made this month at our Christmas Card stamp camp - we do 5 each of 2 designs for a total of 10 cards. Each month the designs are different. The first is a sneak peek of some of the great new items from the upcoming Holiday Mini - this card features our new Stitched Stockings set; Stocking Builder punch; Silver Glimmer paper and our tiny little Mini Jingle Bells. So much fun - this card is adorable - and the bling in person is amazing! The holiday mini starts Sept 1 and if you'd like one - just email me and let me know and I'll get one right out to you.The second card uses the new Beautiful Season set from the current Idea Book & Catalog. I love this chickadee; and had to order this set almost immediately. Our image was stamped in Early Espresso and then we used blender pens to add in a little color here and there; and then pull in some of the espresso from the outlines giving it a vintage Christmas look. Then we sponged around the edges and added the cute little trio of ribbons bow at the top. And, as always, we stamped the envelopes too.
Our next Christmas Card Stamp Camp is Sunday, September 25th, 1:00 - 3:30 PM - $20 to make 10 cards (new designs) - plan to join us!

Club HOSTESS gift

Today I want to share with you the Hostess gift for my first Club Hostess of the stamping year. This past week Jackie was a wonderful hostess of our group. The hostesses this year for my technique club will receive a beautiful notebook in a case - our SU DVD cases to be exact. Here is the outside of the case - The butterflies, pearls and ribbon are all under the plastic cover of the case, so they are protected from damage. Here is a close-up of some of that detail -here you can see the little vellum trim behind the ribbon.
Finally here is the inside of the case - on the right side a lovely decorated notepad and on the left a pack of post-its and a small little pouch at the bottom to tuck receipts, etc in.
You may recall the notebooks like this we made for convention - http://crazystampinglady.blogspot.com/2011/04/pre-convention-kickoff-meeting.html
I've been carrying mine around in my purse since we made this in April and it looks wonderful - my paper is never messed up and I always have a pad at hand to use. LOVE IT!! Do you want one???? Consider signing up in one of the last spots of this CLUB - just email me at crazystampinglady@gmail.com and I'll get you all the details!

Technique Club

This week our Technique Club started again for the new stamping year, and I want to share with you what we did. This month we learned the Floated Reinker technique that is all over the web. I LOVE the way this technique looks on flowers - so beautiful. Here's the technique card they made for their binder - sorry for the glare!
Here is a close up of the rose we made for our card - note how the shimmer of the SU shimmer cardstock comes through.
And below is our finished card - so pretty! We used the Manhattan Flower embossing folder on the background, and the Rose leaves are made by looping our seam binding behind and taping it.
Here are a few more flowers we made using the same technique. Each flower turns out so uniquely different and beautiful - just like a flower garden. I think the ladies enjoyed learning this and I can't wait to see what beautiful creations they might come up with in the future.
If you'd like to join one of my Clubs contacting me now - this Simi one has two openings, and my San Fernando Valley Club has several openings. Just email me at crazystampinglady@gmail.com and I'll get you full details. Come join the FUN!

Scroll down for a chance at BLOG CANDY!!

Happy Birthday Card

Today I want to share the cute Minnie Mouse Birthday card I made for Kamili last week. Here is the outside - I punched the white circles and used the embedded embossing technique to make it look like a polka dot background. The mini mouse if just three circles punched and put together, and the bow is cut out off flower punch from SU's Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch. I also used the "Happy Birthday" from the Perfectly Penned set. To me it has the Disney look to it. Here is the inside of the card. Where I used the outside layer from the blossom above to frame a smaller Mickey head. I think it turned out so cute!!So for all of you who are "uber" observant - you'll remember I've been making voice cards for the grandkids this year where I sing "Happy Birthday" to them. But when it came time to make Kamili's card I could not find the card base anywhere. So one "Sound Card" is on order, and once it arrives this card will be transformed for her. Thanks for stopping by!

Kamili turns "5" with Minnie Mouse

Can't believe this sweet little baby is now 5 years old!!

So last weekend we celebrated Kamili's "5th" birthday - I just can't believe how quickly these little ones are growing up. Above is the adorable invitations that Heidi made to her party. This is the outside, and inside was all the info done on MDS. Who wouldn't want to come to this party.

Here is the lovely candy display she had for parents to fill up a cello bag of goodies for their kids. All in white/black/red theme of Minnie.
Here is the wonderful "Minnie"punch with Marshmallow polka dots. Plus polka dot mini cupcakes. And finally "Minnie Mouse" cake pops. Everything was just amazing. And speaking of amazing - here is our "5" year old blowing out her crazy candles. Happy Birthday Kamili - we love you.

BLOG CANDY GIVE-AWAY!

It's BLOG CANDY TIME! Here you go - a full pack of Love and Happiness rub-ons; 60 6x6" sheets of designer series paper; and a retired Birthday Bakery wood-mount stamp set - how great is that!

Here's a close-up of that adorable stamp set!

To be entered to win - do one of the following -

1) Sign-up as a follower or subscriber of my blog and email me at crazystampinglady@gmail.com to let me know

2) Refer a friend to my blog and have them email me and give me your name - you'll both get an entry.

3) Link to this blog candy from your blog and let me know by email.

Open to U.S. only - winner will be picked randomly at 8:00 PM on Wed. Aug. 31st! and notified by email. Must respond within 48 hours of notification or another winner will be chosen. Thanks for playing!

MISSING IN ACTION

HI all - just a quick note to apologize for the lack of posts recently - lots of excuses - probably no good reason :)

1) I am trying - unsuccessfully to get over a miserable summer cold - that has just wiped me out.
2) It is the first week of school at the college I work at and it has been crazy busy.
3) I've had two Stamp Camps to prep for; one swap to finish; a grand-daughter's birthday celebration; Palm Tree Perks items to get ordered; grand-kids back to school; a hubby with bronchitis and a in-home workshop for SU to get ready for - all in the last two weeks!

Somehow blogging just got pushed WAAAAAAAAAY! back. But - hopefully I'll be back up and blogging in a day or two. As an apology - one of my first blogs back will be a BLOG CANDY give-away - so watch for that.

Love ya all - Maureen

BUY 3 and GET 1 FREE

Promotion Dates: August 1-31, 2011

Stampin' Up! Promotion Details: During the month of August, you'll get a FREE package of Designer Series Paper when you buy three! Stock up on all your favourites, including brand-new designs from the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalogue. This is a once a year GREAT sale you won't want to miss.

Things to Remember -

There is no limit to the number of free packages of Designer Series Paper you can earn.
Specialty and Hostess Designer Series Paper are not part of this promotion and cannot be redeemed through this offer.

You can see all the DSP choices here - http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ItemList.aspx?categoryID=785

Order now by emailing me at crazystampinglady@gmail.com or go to my SU website at http://www.stampingwithmaureen.stampinup.net/ and SHOP NOW! And don't forget the wonderful Palm Tree Perks special I have going on that ends on Sunday - thank you to all for the great response so far. Full details are here - http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ItemList.aspx?categoryID=785

Thanks for stopping by!!

NEW Crazy Stamping Ladies -

This past month we had a ton of ladies join our group of Crazy Stamping Ladies as Stampin' Up! demonstrators; and last Saturday Heidi and I had a little welcome for them. We got together for some light refreshments, time to get to know them better and let them ask any questions they might have and of course - STAMP! We decided to make a set of three cards with them that will coordinate with their Christmas Keepsake Box they'll be getting from Stampin' Up! this month when they put in their first order. It gave them an opportunity to use some of the great new products that will be coming out in our new Holiday mini catalog next month. We can't show you the new products yet, but we can show you projects made with them - so here are the cards.

All three used the Pines and Poinsettias set that they get with their kit.

Card 1 used the new Holly Berry Bouquet DSP and the Early Espresso Quilted Satin ribbon. The berries on the card are our SU pearls colored with a red sharpie. The banner is cut out and popped up on dimensionals, but that's hard to see in the picture.

Card 2 also used the new DSP and the new Snow Burst textured impressions embossing folder. The poinsettia is stamped twice and cut out and layered with the petals turned up. The yellow in the center is one of our gems colored with a yellow sharpie; and you can't see it, but each of the little white flowers has our new Dazzling Details iridescent glitter glue. It's lovely and sparkly.Card 3 also used our new DSP, and the rose and poinsettias were stamped, cut out and layered. The DSP on the bottom is folded back on itself on each end to mimic a ribbon and the Christmas is framed. The bonus on this project was the cute little jingle bell from the new mini, tied on with our linen thread. If you'd like to have one of new mini catalogs that starts Sept. 1, let me know and I'll get one right out to you. Email me at crazystampinglady@gmail.com Enjoy!

Downline Challenge and a Birthday Card

At our last downline meeting the challenge was to make a Holiday Gift Item - only one person brought a project - but it was wonderful. Lisa made these beautiful candle sticks. That's our champagne glitter around the top.This close up shows the lovely flowers and leaves she added to the stems of the candlesticks - how nice is that. Lovely gift Lisa - and she was of course our WINNER! I also wanted to share this lovely birthday card from my friend Kathy W. - her note said it was purposely late - to allow me to keep celebrating! Kathy you are a great friend - thank you!

A Day at the Park with the Kiddos

So last weekend Paul had another Sunday off, so we picked up Heidi and Aaron's kiddos and headed for the park. We decided to take them down to a park that has a great duck pond. Here are Paul and the kids feeding the ducks - I'm the official bread hander outer :)

Here's a close-up of Paul with the kids.

We packed some juice drinks and fresh fruit and had a fun little picnic. The weather was perfect, we played on the toys and we had a lovely time with them. Looks like they enjoyed it too! Such fun.

Thanks for stopping by!! Don't forget to check out my latest Palm Tree Perks special here - http://crazystampinglady.blogspot.com/2011/08/i-want-to-go-to-fiji-so-im-offering.html

Downline Meeting Project

This month's downline meeting was great - I love getting together with these ladies. This month Heidi did our project and it was amazing - as usual! Here she is demonstrating, with Kathy, Sandy and Maria also at her table - We made these beautiful little favor boxes - that would be perfect for Thanksgiving. Actually - they probably will be used as my Thanksgiving favor on the table.

She modeled them after the beautiful favor box she received from Stampin' Up! at the Artisan Award Winners dinner - you can see that box on her blog by going here - http://stampinking.blogspot.com/2011/07/artisan-award-dinner.html

Everyone was thrilled with the project - thank you Heidi!

We also honored Heidi as it was her five year Stampin' Up! anniversary this month. Here I am with her, giving her the charm bracelet I made for her for her 5 year anniversary. Glad you're a part of my group (and my daughter :), Heidi -

Thanks for stopping by! If you're interested in finding out more about being a part of my downline - the Crazy Stamping Ladies - please email me at crazystampinglady@gmail.com.

August Cards Stamp Camp

Welcome! Here are the cards my guests made at Tuesday night's stamp camp - they each got to make two of each card - while eating and chatting and stamping with friends. I LOVE Stamp camps! The first card is made with Sail Away from the current mini catalog - I love this set and it's going away the end of August - so if you love it too - email me now to order! This card uses the ink to block technique to get that amazing frame for the sail boat image - to me it looks like a stormy sea - and we paper pieced the sails with white to make them pop. Masculine cards are always a bit hard for me - but this set makes it easy!

The next card uses the flowers from easy events in the new catalog - all of the stamps in this set have a verse with them, but I cut the verse from the flowers so I can use them seperately. We watercolored the flowers with ink and blender pens, and added the black and white flowers to the bottom for interest. The verse is from the Hostess set Occasional Quotes.

The final care we made uses the Strength and Hope* set, that is only available through August 31st. This is a beautiful set and we made it by stamping the encouragement words tone on tone to the Rose layer for a subtle background. The two butterflies were stamped, cut out, a pearl added, and the wings curled down. Then we mounted them to the card with glue dots. Purchasing this set is a great way to support Breast Cancer Research and a lovely set to use every day. To see the full imagery go here - http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/Strength_Hope_Images.pdf

*Stampin' Up! is donating $2 from this purchase to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® . BCRF is dedicated to preventing breast cancer and finding a cure in our lifetime by funding clinical and translational research worldwide. For more information about BCRF, visit http://www.bcrfcure.org/

Isn't it beautiful - to order this stamp set email me now at crazystampinglady@gmail.com

Palm Tree Perks "Up, Up and Away" Bundle -

I want to go to Fiji!! so I'm offering a -
Special Palm Tree Perks “Up, Up and Away Bundle” with a FREE card kit and PDF instructions.
When you order the "Up, Up and Away Bundle," you will receive:

"The Up, Up and Away Stamp Set and the Designer Series Brights Buttons”
(see below for more information on this) and the
Card Kit with all pre-cut pieces to make 6 of the cards shown above for FREE!

*PDF file emailed to you with step-by-step instructions for the featured card, as well as 3 bonus designs and supply lists using this stamp set & accessory.

Want to make more cards? No problem! When you order the Stamp Set of the Month Bundle, you can order additional quantities of pre-cut cardstock kits. Each "kit" will contain pieces to make 6 of the featured cards. Order as many additional kits as you want so that you can make as many as you want to have on hand! These would be great for a Card Stamp Camp!

Up, Up and Away WOOD Bundle:
$35.90 + Shipping and Tax
(Includes your order of the "Up, Up and Away" stamp set in wood mount & 1 package of Brights Designer Series buttons, plus the FREE card kit)

Up, Up and Away CLEAR Bundle:
$27.90 + Shipping and Tax
(Includes your order of the "Up, Up and Away" stamp set in clear mount & 1 package of Brights Designer Series buttons, plus the FREE card kit)

Additional Quantities of the Card Kit:
$6 + Shipping for every set of 6 cards

Already have this Stamp Set or Accessory?
No problem. You can order any stamp set and/or accessory of equal value to the featured items and still receive the FREE card kit and PDF File!

Other supplies you'll need to complete card as shown above:
*Daffodil Delight (119667), Pumpkin Pie (105216), and Tempting Turqouise (100814) Classic Stampin' Pads; Real Red Stampin' Write Marker (100052) and Medium White Envelopes (107301)

HOW TO ORDER
You can order your Up, Up and Away Bundle two different ways:

1. Order ON-LINE: simply go to my Stampin' Up! website http://www.stampingwithmaureen.stampinup.net/ , make sure it is my name at the top of the site, and click on shop now:

Order -
*Up, Up and Away Wood Mount Stamp Set (122755) for $26.95
OR Clear Mount (122757) for $18.95
and
*Brights Designer Series Buttons (119747) for $8.95
(or other products valued at $27.90 or more)
(don't forget to order any other products you might need!)

After you have placed your order--simply send me an email
requesting your FREE Card Kit and to order any additional Card Kits

Or, if you prefer -
2. You can email me your order at crazystampinglady@gmail.com
and I will place the order for you
(these orders will need to be picked up at my home when ready, but you will save on shipping charges for the card kits.)

Orders for the Card Kits must be received by August 21, 2011. You will receive an email confirmation from me with full charges including shipping based on what you purchased. Your kits will be ready for pick up, or to be shipped out to you by September 1, 2011

Call or email me today to order:
Maureen Rauchfuss
805/404-8183
crazystampinglady@gmail.com

My Kitchen Backsplash

So my wonderful Hubby strikes again. You probably remember we recently put in new countertops - and if you go here you can see that we had no backsplash - just painted walls and a white stripe where old tile came down - http://crazystampinglady.blogspot.com/2011/07/new-kitchen-counters.html But this past week Paul finished my backsplash and did an amazing job! It is soooo beautiful. Heidi helped me pick out the tiles and the one large tile for a focal point under the microwave.Then Paul got to work and put it all in place. I absolutely love how it looks - thanks so much for all you do honey! You are the best!

One more Birthday goodie!!!

Wow - this birthday never ends - and I LOVE IT!!! Yesterday, my friend Lyn brought me this beautiful card and decorated bag and inside a this lovely blue bottle of a German Reisling! So sweet of her and we had it with Salmon for dinner and it was YUMMY!!! Here's a close up of the beautiful card - thanks so much for thinking of me Lyn!

Belated Birthday Presents!

So this was a FUN week of continuing my birthday celebration. First I got this lovely gift from Marc and Elaine for my birthday. The card is beautiful, and she wrapped and decorated this beautiful candle for me. I love candles and always have them burning, and this one smells wonderful!! Thank you both. Plus Elaine signed up to be a Crazy Stamping Lady with our group this past month - she signed under my daughter Heidi - and I'm so happy to welcome her to our group!!Then Wednesday evening Heidi had a downline meeting with her downline group to share her goal of winning the Fiji trip this year through SU; and to help them plan and create some projects that could be used at a workshop of their own. How great is that. Two of her downline had recently had birthdays and she made them beautiful fabric covered birthday gift boxes - that I just loved. But guess what - she made one for ME too!!! It pays to be the Mom of an Artisan Award winner :) Here is the lovely box she made for me - It is a plain white pencil box that she covered and decorated - how lovely is that!! Here is a view of it open. I'm deciding what special fun things it's going to hold. Look at this close up of all the amazing detail she put into this. I LOVE IT!!As a side note the 2011 Artisan Award Winners are holding a 10 day blog hop featuring all of their projects - you can follow the blog hop by going to Heidi's blog here - http://www.stampinking.blogspot.com/ - you won't want to miss these amazing ladies and their projects.