Sunday Morning Musings - Shoebox Swapping with my TEAM!

So much going on in my life - but I LOVE getting some time to just sit and have some fresh coffee out of a beautiful mug - and relax with stamping and creating.  I get such peace and enjoyment from this hobby and business of mine.  Thank God everyday for this blessing.

So we ended our last Team meeting as we always do - with a Shoebox Swap - and it was fun, as always!  Here are Annette and Paula checking out some card samples.

Below is Annette's card for the Shoebox Swap -note the wink of Stella glimmer on the fern -

Here is Paula's Card -Cannot believe this stamp set is being retired - if you love BUGS, then be sure to order this one before it is gone for good!

And the final card I'm sharing today is Teri's swap card - this was her first swap with our group - and she incorporated another hobby of hers (photography) into her creation.  Sorry for a bit of glare on the photo.

 Great cards ladies - had so much fun creating with you.  I have a few more to share soon from this event!  Our next TEAM meeting is in July,and then I'm looking at a special TEAM event for this fall and hoping it all falls into place.  See you soon! ~Maureen

Sunday Morning Musings! April 17, 2016

My how times flies - I cannot believe it's been over a week since I blogged.  I promise I will try to do better.  My goal is always every other day - and sometimes I'm great and blog every day - and others - well this past week was an example of that.  In my defense the last week or so was filled with -
*a trip to Cambria CA for some much needed R&R to celebrate Hubbies birthday
*a trip to Southern CA to see family and hold my TEAM meeting for my downline
*a special Gramma/Papa day with our sweet grand-daughter, Makai
*a lot of family time and energy spent trying to decide what is best for my 95 year old Mother-in-laws living situation
*new concrete work going in at our home - extending driveway, adding a backyard patio
*cortisone shots in my knee to relieve some pain of a recent knee twist
and much, much more - so busy was the word!  Below is a picture of two of my sweet team members, Karen and Virginia at our Shoebox swap!

Karen brought a bunch of beautiful card samples to share with the group - and I thought I would share some of them with all of you also - for some creative inspiration.  Thanks Karen - love them!! Stop back soon to see the cards we created at the Shoebox swap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

See you soon!!! Promise :)   ~Maureen

Beautiful Fall Card

Today I'm sharing this beautiful card made by my downline Paula - she did this as a project for the group and everyone loved it.  Me - I'm a clean and simple gal - so this card is right up my alley.  It would be a great card to duplicate - and is sure to get oohs and aahs by the recipient.

You can see more of Paula's work at her blog - http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/thehappyfulstamper/ - so be sure to check it out!!  See you soon!  ~Maureen

Heidi's Downline Project

So for Saturday's meeting - Heidi came through in a pinch for me with a project for the downline group.   It was this adorable little card.  I especially loved it as it used a couple items I had really over-looked in the catalog - the "Endless Thanks" set on page 14 and the "Writing Notes" background stamp on page 40.  Ladies - I have looked my catalog over and over - and missed both of these gems. 

The card is simply adorable - the background stamp had now been ordered by me :) and the Endless Thanks is on my list!  Just look how cute the card is with that note paper on there.

This close up shows the doily, the staples, the holes in the note paper, and the items that we popped up - all giving the card some great texture and dimension.  So pretty!!! Thanks Heidi, for having my back!!!   ~Maureen
Here are some of the products used to make this project - 

Endless Thanks Photopolymer Stamp Set

$16.00

Writing Notes Clear-Mount Background Stamp

$15.00

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.50

Perfect Plum 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$7.00

Perfect Plum Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Elegant Eggplant Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Wisteria Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Tea Lace Paper Doilies

$3.00

Whisper White Medium Envelopes

$6.50

Glue Dots

$5.25

Stampin' Dimensionals

$4.00

Whisper White Baker's Twine

$3.00

Handheld Stapler

$10.00

Silver Mini Staples

$4.00

DSP Sampler

So one of the demonstrations I did at the downline meeting was showing how to make these great little DSP samplers.  Stampin' Up! has some of the most amazing Designer Series Papers - but what I've learned over the years is that the catalog does not do it justice.  You really need to touch and see the paper in person.  So these are easy to make - the first one is strips of DSP showing all 12 designs on the front (our packages are 12 sheets - 2 of each 2 sided design - for 12 designs total).  I cut these strips 2" and then as follows for this sampler - 7" 6.5" 6" 5.5" 5" 4.5" 4" 3.5" 3" 2.5" 2" and 1.5" the laid them down as shown - stapled together and tape a little topper over to hide the staple. 

The advantage to this style is you can compare all 12 designs together to see what mixes and matches best for your projects.  The disadvantage is you can only get one sampler out of a 2" strip of each DSP.  Here are the backs of the papers - which will be repeats of the other side.

So another way to do it is to cut you strips of each 2" and then as follows - 6", 5", 4", 3", 2" and 1".  The advantage here is that you can get two samplers our of your 2" strip and the disadvantage is that they are only seeing one side of the DSP.....

And will need to flip it over to see the backsides of the papers.  But either way works!

I finished it off with a little label with the name of the DSP, Item #, Description and Price, so if customers want to order the package - the info is right there.

So hoped you like that little tip - I think it is a great demo tool to use at your workshops.  Have fun making them!   ~Maureen

Here are the products used to make this project -

English Garden Designer Series Paper

$11.00

Stampin' Trimmer

$30.00

Hello Honey 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$7.00

Handheld Stapler

$10.00

Silver Mini Staples

$4.00

Cards for my Tote

So in my last post - I showed  you this little tote for cards - and today I'm going to share with you the cards we made to put in it.  They are very clean and simple - yet adorable.  We made two, but as I had mentioned for a class I would make the tote plus four cards and envelopes - it could be two of each of these cards - or four different - either way - so cute!!!  So in this picture I was still designing the cards - had the basics - but still needed something.

So here are the final cards I came up with.  Just added some flowers and some bling - still simple and easy - but much more finished looking.  You could pull any colors out of the remaining DSP for your strips, ink and flowers; and of course you could use any sentiments you like.

Here's a close up of some of the detail - the strip, the flowers, the bling!

So - would love to hear what you think!  See you soon! ~Maureen

Current products used to complete this project -

Bohemian Designer Series Paper

$11.00

Bermuda Bay 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$7.00

Rich Razzleberry 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$7.00

Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Rich Razzlebberry Classic Stampin' Pad

$6.50

Delightful Dijon 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$7.00

Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes

$6.00

Rhinestone Basic Jewels

$5.00

Petite Petals Punch

$13.00

Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack

$17.00

Glue Dots

$5.25

Snail Permanent Adhesive

$7.00

Friendly Wishes Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$19.00