Monday, January 30, 2017

January Anything But a Card (ABC) Class Project

Today I'm sharing this beautiful desk calendar/post it note/pen combo.  This is what we made at our January Anything But a Card class.  The design was totally cased and inspired from Juana Ambida from Australia - it is one of the prettiest uses of the Special Reason Bundle, that I have seen.  I had ordered little calendars, but they did not arrive in time - so I had to print, cut, space, copy and cut them again - but they turned out great. Sorry about the glare - the flash added way too much brightness to the picture - but the calendar on the right is pretty clear.
And below  you can see it even better.  We cut out the framelet flower and sponged some green to give the two tone on the turquoise flower.  The we cut out the leaves, pink and yellow flowers and mounted with glue dots and dimensionals.  The border of DSP was added at the top and the bottom to coordinate with the DSP we added to the RSVP pen - making it all match beautifully.
It is basically an easel card - you can see here from the side - but with the added calendar, post-it notes and pen - it becomes a wonderful desk accessory.
Stop back soon to see more of what I did with this bundle.  ~Maureen
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Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Hard Cards - to make and send

What a rough few days - in the past week I've had a friend break an arm, one break a foot, one recovering from cancer surgery and one with pneumonia.  I also had a dear friend lose her father; and another lose her sister.  These cards are never fun to make or send --- but I am so glad I can do it.  To me stamping has become a ministry, and as I make cards I think of and pray for the recipients.  So last night I pulled out this beautiful set - Thoughts and Prayers - and created 10 cards -several of each of the designs below.
I was able to specifically pray for the six I mentioned above, but even on the others, I prayed for who they will go to one day.  God already has that information - even if I don't.


I really love the simple elegance of this set - not a lot is needed - and the sentiments are beautiful.  A few simple pearls attached and they were ready to go in the mail today.  Hopefully each person that receives one will know how much I care.  ~Maureen
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Sunday, January 22, 2017

Shoe Box Swap and Networking -

Last weekend I had the opportunity to get together several other lovely Stampin' Up! Demonstrators in our area to get to know each other, stamp and do some networking.  Several were from my TEAM - but there were a few who were not.  It was just a delightful time and we hope to do it again soon.  Today I thought I'd share the cards we made.  Hope you can glean some inspiration!  The theme was general - but as you can see - there was a lot of LOVE going around!
Darle
Eva
Kelea
Mary
Nancy
Nola
Maureen
Stamping is such a creative and social hobby.  I want to encourage each of you to try something like a shoebox swap with your friends - and get out there and STAMP! (Note: there is a link at the top of my blog that tells more about what a Shoebox Swap is, if you're interested in trying one.) ~Maureen

Friday, January 20, 2017

Happy New Year to my TEAM!!! Live with Passion!

Each year I try and make a little "thank you" easel calendar post-it note gift for my TEAM.  That's a lot of ladies.  And each year I think they'll go out around Christmas - but that never happens.  But I finally did get them all done and in the mail and I love them.  I used the new "Beautiful You" set from the Occasions catalog - which is such a great set!
Here are a couple closer up and a side view so you can see how I made them.  I really, really love this stamp set and was so excited to use it.  I especially like that verse - "Live with passion, Laugh out loud, Love deeply" - a good sentiment for every day of the year!
So here's to my TEAM of amazing ladies!!! Thank you for all you do!  Looking forward to a wonderful year!  ~Maureen
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Thursday, January 19, 2017

Stampin' Friends January LOVE themed HOP!

EDIT 2/4/17: Post #14 Was the winner of my DSP sampler - Kim said...
"Great card and banner! I love all the different designs using this stamp set :)" - Kim, please email your full name and mailing address to crazystampinglady@gmail.com -and I'll get it out to you!  Thanks for commenting. 

 ~*~*~*~*~
Welcome to the Stampin' Friends January Blog Hop!  This month's theme is LOVE. 
If you're following along the hop you arrived from Kim Smith's blog.
http://craftingbuddy.blogspot.com/2017/01/stampin-friends-january-blog-hop.html
This month's card is for my SWEETIE!  Paul and I have been married over 40 years - and I swear I love him more than ever.  We have got a LOT going in our lives - but he is always there for me  - and truly my LOVE!  The Sealed with Love Bundle from the SU! Occasions catalog fit the bill for me.  I used the traditional Whisper White and Real Red - but added in some non-traditional Tip Top Taupe and Pool Party - and I love how they all came together to make this beauty. 
The Sending Love DSP was perfect for the little envelopes spilling out their Hearts of Love!  Inside my wish and a little kiss!  I love how you can put more than one stamp on the clear block and stamp it just once. 
 
My second project is this adorable little banner.  It only took 2 - 6x6" pieces of DSP, a few staples and a little ribbon to put this together.
Here you can see a close up and the pretty papers used.  It's going to be used on my seasonal wreath - and isn't up yet, because I may (or may not have) taken down my Christmas portion of the wreath - YET!  Please don't judge! lol
However - that doesn't take away from how adorable this is!  Hope you liked it too!  
PS - here it is added to my wreath - 
Please leave a comment - one lucky commenter - just might win some of that pretty DSP!!  So onto more great ideas - don't forget to click the NEXT button below to continue the hop with Andrea Tracy-Tucker's post.  So let's jump right in - 
http://onestampinmothertucker.blogspot.com/2017/01/stampin-friends-all-about-love-blog-hop.html
January's Blogger list -
  1. Elizabeth Jeanne
  2. Raquelle Clifton  
  3. Kathie Rotti 
  4. Barbara Welch 
  5. Twila Davis 
  6. Kirsteen Gill
  7. Steph Jandrow 
  8. Lynn Streifert 
  9. Cindy Waldroff
  10. Stacey Lane 
  11. Melissa Thomas
  12. Kim Smith 
  13. Maureen Rauchfuss - YOU ARE HERE!
  14. Andrea Tracy-Tucker 
  15. Kim Lamos

Friday, January 13, 2017

More Christmas Tags....

So - just wanted to share a few more Christmas tags I made in December.  These were gifts to customers who helped me reach a sales goal.   I really love  how they turned out.  They were made with our Crumb Cake cardstock and washi tape.  So FUN!

All I did was add the coordinating washi in strips, trim.  Add a few stamped items and add a cute little cherry cobbler twine to tie to the package. 


You can see here that some were made at an angle and some straight across - not sure which I like better!


So I packaged them up in our cello envelopes - and mailed off to my customers before Christmas - hope they all were able to use them.  You could duplicate this for birthday's with some more fun and funky washi, or really for any other occasion.
Stop back soon for more creative inspiration!!  And don't forget it's Sale-a-bration time!  
www.stampingwithmaureen.stampinup.net
January 4 - March 31, 2017 you can receive a free item from our Sale-a-bration brochure - for every $50 (pre S&H and Tax) that you order.  You can see more details at my website - www.stampingwithmaureen.stampinup.net!  If you order online, please use this hostess Code before checking out - DZWJRWRU.  
~Maureen