Stamping on a Budget

Well, I thought I may as well post what we will be making in tonight's class since I am just sitting around watching my court shows.  I probably should be more productive, but I had a massage today and I am lovin' that relaxing feeling.

So, while I am waiting for my guests to arrive, here are the photos of tonight's projects.  I've used Stampin' Up!'s "Natures Nest" in all of them.  Tonight's class is all about using your stamps to their utmost.  I gave in on the push/pull card and added a sentiment (but it is an option).  Hope you like the cards.

This is a push/pull card.

Free Mother's Day Card Event at My Home

I just wanted to share the card that we made at my home the other night.  It's a simple card, but I hope you like it.

Helping Other Direct Selling Consultants

After the party I had with some Scentsy consultants, I got very motivated to do more along the same lines.  Scroll down for the projects we did at Angie's party.  BTW, she had an awesome party and earned lots of free product.  After her show though, I thought it would be great to share this with other consultants.  So, if you are looking for a way to personalize your customer's orders even more, check out the ideas I showed these ladies.  On top of the items used at their party, I also put together these items.

I found a similar bookmark in a magazine and thought I would create something that would be good for a customer.  Great use of the set "Taking Care of Business".  On the left is a photo of the bookmark closed up and on the right is a photo of how it pulls out of the sleeve.

I've been using a similar template for years and am not sure where I found it, but I love this business card holder.  I just changed it up from my norm and added some great "shopping tools" to the holder.

The picture on the left is a cute little gift tag to attach to your customer's order.
The photo on the right is another Thank You notecard that can be added to your customer's order.

Hope you like the samples.  And, if you are a consultant of any sort and would like to host a party with me, I would love to do the same thing for you.  We can sit together and work out colors to match your company's colors as well as find the perfect stamp set for your product.

Some of my Photography

Just thought I would post some of the photos I have taken in the past couple of years.  It's something I love to do, but would like to learn more about all the functions on my camera.  I recently joined a photography meetup group, but they disbanded shortly after I paid my dues.  They certainly had a lot of drama for a group that was supposed to be about something fun.  Hmmm...  Hope you like my photos.

Mother's & Father's Day

With Mother's Day and Father's Day soon approaching, I thought I'd better get to work on some ideas for upcoming events.  I will be participating in the Military Spouse Appreciation Day at the Air Force Academy on May 6th, so want to offer free make-n-takes for the spouses who come.

Hope you like them.

I know that these do not say Mother's Day on them, but after creating the one on the left, I thought it would make a great Mother's Day card (more so than a birthday card).  The one on the right would be good for a special person who isn't your mom (or just change out the sentiment). 

These are my Father's day ideas so far.  I really like them (esp the one on the left).  The background on the left is using a technique called double-embossed foil.  I learned this technique from the Technique Junkies newsletter that I subscribe to.

Thank You Party

This Sunday I will be meeting some ladies who sell Scentsy.  Their hostess has asked me to come up with some cute, but simple Thank You cards/gift tags that they can make for their customers.  How sweet is that - to add a personal touch to their customers' orders.  This is what I have come up with so far.

This is a cute tag bag of sorts. I took 2 of the tag die cuts and glued them together. Inside is a cello bag of Hershey kisses. What a great way to thank a customer or friend.  I will actually demo this and give it to the hostess.




 
 

 
 
Using the same gift tag die, I created a simple gift tag that could be attached to the customer's bag of candles.  The ladies will each get to make one of these.  I love the faux button used in the flower center (I used crystal effects to create the look).
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I haven't decided between the 2 of these.  I'm leaning towards the one on the left.  Whichever one I choose will be the one the ladies get to make.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
This is a card that I will demo for the ladies and then give to the hostess.  I love 2-step stamping.  It always looks so elegant.

Another Snowy Day in Colorado

Well, the meteorologist said we would have thunderstorms today and tomorrow, but not so.  It has been snowing non-stop since I got up at 0530.  It is really pretty though and a great day for stamping.  I have actually stamped before today, but I am just not very good at keeping up with the blogging.  Hopefully that will come in time.

I have been asked to do a couple of projects for a friend's sister's birthday party.  So the other night I designed a few items to show her.  I let her sister pick out what she liked the best.  Please forgive my photos, they may not show the true look of the projects.  I have a hard time knowing how to photograph 3-D items.  I hope you find them interesting, or cute.  Thanks for looking.

This is a cute little gum holder.  On the inside, I used the word window punch to hold a pack a gum.

This is one of the items she chose.  It is a mini scrapbook purse.  I found the "recipe" for this purse in an old Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine a while back.  It really is a cool make-n-take for pre-teens and teens.

This is another little book/scrapbook.  It opens at the top by pulling the flap from behind the stamped image.  Once open, it has some empty pages for you to write on or place photos.

This is a clear envelope brag book.  I got the tutorial for this from splitcoaststampers.com (I love that site).  This was the second project chosen for the birthday party.  Inside are 10 clear envelopes that she can use to place photos of her and her friends.  Again, a great idea for a teen.

Stamping on a Budget

I have been looking forward to putting together a class that focused on using just one stamp set.  I know that before I became addicted to stamping, I could get overwhelmed with all of the amazing stamps and supplies out there.  So, this month I started offering a class "Stamping on a Budget".  I am hoping that this can allow my friends, family and customers (who are my friends as well) to find ways to use their stamp sets in more versatile ways - not to buy a stamp set just for one card they have seen somewhere.

I have to say that this was a lot of fun to work on as well as a challenge for me.  I, too, get frustrated when I see a stamp set on my shelf and know that I have only used it once.  This class is going to make me use my stamps more as well - which will make both my husband and me happy.  Nobody likes to spend money on something that just sits on a shelf.

I'm hoping that you can see all the "bits" I've added to my cards.  The scanner does not pick up everything that you can see in person.  I have not figured out the watermark issue, so please note that all images are owned/copyrighted by Stampin' Up!  I love looking at other people's blogs, magazines and technique books/sites.  I try to make up my own style and design, but if I have created something too close to your own - please send me a post - I will be glad to credit you.  I will say that the techniques used are not my own.  I love all of you that teach those of us who are creatively challenged all of these wonderful techniques.  Unfortunately, I cannot remember all of the wonderful artists from whom I have learned.  Thank you, though, for sharing your artistry.  I will always love learning new techniques, but will never be the person who says "hmmm...I wonder what would happen if I put Future floor wax and re-inker on transparency...".  But, I am so glad that some of y'all are out there doing just that.

Okay -- so here are the cards for tonight's class.  Hope you like them.

I haven't used the technique from the first card in a long time.  I used drywall tape for the background after coloring it with a sponge and an ink pad.  I've been wanting to do a cut-out of this flower for ages and this class pushed me into doing so with this second card.  I really like it.  I also love making my own leaves, so I have to say that this is my favorite card.

This 3rd card is really hard to see.  The white card on a scanner just didn't do very well.  It is a cute card in person though.  I just thought I would have some fun with stripes and colors.  The 2 end flowers use glitter, while the center flower is glitzed up with a rhinestone.  The 4th card I kind of stole from a Just Cards magazine.  The designs are way different, but the card cut is what I copied.  Basically, you cut the front at a diagonal while cutting around your image.  I embossed all of it, cut out the lower flowers and backed with Brushed Silver cardstock.

This 5th card was a lot of fun.  I love playing with vellum.  The flower is on vellum and I "watercolored" the color onto the back of the image.  It gives it the look of stained glass.  LOVE IT!  The 6th card is simple.  The technique on the center rose is a faux plaid.  It's kind of hard to see the colors, but I basically chose 2 colors and dragged color from both directions which created the lines that you see.

This is the simplest card of all, but I think it is still cute.

Well, that's all from me today.  I had a lot fun coming up with so many cards just using my one stamp set.  Today was great!!

Let the fun begin

Well, I'm finally going to start making use of my blog.  I have been a Stampin' Up! demonstrator for 3 years now and am still trying new ways to share my love of stamping.  Through the disovery of how much I love stamping, I have also discovered other paper-crafting methods.  That is why, eventually, you'll see more than just rubber stamping ideas and samples.

Being a military wife, I move quite often.  I have learned to adjust to this way of life, but haven't quite figured out how to meet other stampers/crafters to hang out with.  If you are in Colorado Springs, be sure to get in touch with me.  I'm always interested in having friends over to share ideas and such.  I do have a Yahoo Group now as well.  It is called Stamping_With_Cyndi.  It has my calendar of events.  I will also be posting my "artwork" on it.

I still need to learn how to overlay my photos with a watermark before placing them on here.  That way I don't infringe on Stampin' Up!'s copyright.  But I hope to have that down by tomorrow night.  I want to be able to show the cards/projects that we make at the classes I hold at my home, as well as the items I make for fun (or am learning to make).

I hope that I can eventually inspire others to find their artistic side.  Until I started stamping, I thought I had no creative bone in my body.  I had tried just about everything - crocheting, cross-stitch, sewing, painting and stained glass.  I just couldn't find the desire to try very hard.  I liked the items I created, but just had no urge to try any of them again.  I love to see what I can do with all my paper-crafting tools.  It is a lot of fun and I love seeing what comes from my brain...my creative window.

Please check back later. I'm currently creating my site and will be under construction for a little while.

Thanks for coming by and have a wonderful day!