Black Rose

I love the Big Shot. If you don't have one yet, you gotta get one!!! A Big Shot just gives you so many more options for your projects and so many more dimensions. One of my favorite things to do is to use designer series paper on an embossing folder:

Stamp Set - Matchbox Messages

Paper - Whisper White, Basic Black, Real Red, DSP (retired)

Ink - Real Red

Miscellaneous - Manhattan Flower textured impressions embossing folder with the Big Shot, Wide Oval and Scallop Oval, and 1/4" circle punches, Basic Black 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, sanding block

**After you run your DSP through the big shot, take your sanding block and, VERY LIGHTLY, sand over the embossed areas. Because the DSP is so thin, if you sand too hard, you will rip your paper.

Regionals - Yay!

One of the most exciting things about being a Stampin Up! demonstrator are the functions that we get to attend. This year, the Regionals is in Phoenix and it's this Saturday! I'm so excited to go! It's kind of like a mini convention but just for the day. Here, thousands of demonstrators will come together from surrounding states and we get to hear from the top people at Stampin Up!, meet fellow demonstrators, swap cards, and do make-n-takes (which, obviously, is my favorite part!). I'm working on my swap right now and hopefully I'll get it done tonight so I don't have to worry about it all week!

Here's my swap:

Stamp Set - Tote-ally Tess, Simply Said

Paper - Basic Grey, Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Razzleberry Lemonade

Ink - Basic Grey, Melon Mambo

Miscellaneous - Petals-A-Plenty textured impressions folder, Top Note big dies, Melon Mambo 1/2" polka-dot grosgrain ribbon, Black, Grey, and Brown watercolor pencils, Blender pen, Melon Mambo Stampin Write marker, sponge

Isn't she the cutest?? I love this stamp set! You'll be able to order it tomorrow...

Happy New Year!

I'm super excited to start a new year, hopefully an exciting one! As I put away my Christmas decorations and focus on "the real world" with school starting, I'm excited to set up new classes and start up my monthly stamp club. I've scheduled classes out and you can view the dates on my Stampin Up! website. **Remember, if you cannot attend my class, I make "long-distance" packets for my monthly classes and any special classes that I schedule. Please let me know if you are ever interested in purchasing one of these packets. Depending on the class will depend on the price so contact me for details.

Have you heard...Stampin Up! will be promoting the Occasions Mini Catalog and Sale-A-Bration starting THIS Tuesday, January 5th. It's always very exciting to see all the new stamp sets, papers, and accessories.

The most exciting addition is the Clear-Mount blocks and stamp sets -

"Enjoy the same high-quality rubber and foam you’ve grown to love on our wood-mount stamps in a new clear-mount stamp option! New to stamping? Need to save on storage space? Want to mix and match your images on any clear block? Our repositionable clear-mount stamps offer you an ideal solution. Like our wood-mount stamps, clear-mount stamps are also die-cut, which makes it easy to start stamping right away. And an optional label makes it easy to locate your stamps and also helps you easily position the rubber on your clear blocks."

Look for a picture on pages 6 and 7 in the Occasions Mini Catalog. I bought the block bundle and new clear-mount stamp sets and I'm just loving this idea!!!

I participated in a swap recently and the theme was the Occasions Mini Catalog. Here's the card I submitted. It was a lot of fun to use new stamp sets. I can't wait to get all of the swaps that everyone else made returned to me :)

Stamp Set - Fox & Friends, Well Scripted

Paper - So Saffron, Brilliant Blue, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Tall Tales DSP

Ink - Chocolate Chip, So Saffron (sponged on the Very Vanilla)

Miscellaneous - Brilliant Blue and Chocolate Chip Stamp Write markers, Chocolate Chip 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, So Saffron brads, Scallop punch, sponge