Today I’m not featuring any creative projects. Instead this is just a quick post to share what’s been happening in our household during this first part of June. It’s been busy to say the least. But it’s been fun! And if you’ve been tuning into my Online Paper Crafting Classes you may know some or all of this news. But now I have a few photos to share. 😁
Our oldest son, Nicholas graduated from high school! His commencement ceremony was on June 3rd. It was a warm, sunny evening. So everyone was hot, but happy for the sunshine. It was a wonderful day for sure!
When I first started blogging in 2013, this was one of the first photos I shared of him. He had turned 7 years old a few months prior (on October 1st) to when I posted, and I was sharing his Mario themed birthday card and cake that I had made. Look at how little he was! Quite the change from what he looks like today, right?
(Luke, our other son was just 5-1/2 years old at that time. This is another photo from that post.)
I can’t believe it’s already over 11-1/2 years since then! And now Nick will begin college in the fall.
He’s majoring in Exercise Science. He loves fitness, nutrition, and exercise. And he loves to challenge himself to do his best. So it makes sense that he is passionate about body building and has been in training for his first competition for several months. Here he is at that event which took place on June 8th, 5 days after the graduation ceremony.
Here is another side-by-side photo of the boys. Gosh! They are young men now! Nick really enjoyed being on stage. He’s back in training and already planning to compete in another event in September.
On June 9th, the day after the competition, we had his graduation party. We were so blessed to have so many friends and family attend and share in the celebrating.
A bonus to having the party the day after the competition was that he was free to eat whatever he wanted and eat like a “normal” person. Hahaha! I’m not sure if he had any of this cake, but he certainly COULD have.
Though no major events for Luke, he IS done with 11th grade and he is enjoying his summer off so far. Next year around this time I’ll be posting photos from HIS party.
No news about my husband Tim either other than he has been a gem helping me prepare for that party. The yard was in tip-top shape!
My own personal news is that I just created and posted a video sharing details and information about my hair journey and the topper that I’ve been wearing recently. You can view that video by clicking here.
It took a lot of planning and preparation to get it recorded and done. It was also very emotional for me, because I put myself out there. But I’m so grateful I did it, because the comments coming in have shown me that I’ve already helped others dealing with hair loss. If you left a comment, thank you for that support…and for your support in general!
I have more creative projects that I’m working on, so stay tuned for those in future posts! Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend!
Click here to shop my online store. Click here to access & view the current catalogs. Click here to shop My Favorite Extras. Click here to subscribe to those fun Paper Pumpkin kits of creativity! Click here to learn about my Loyalty Rewards program. You can earn free stamps just for shopping with me! Click here to learn more about joining my Stampers With ART community. Get the MOST rewards including a discount on future products! Follow me on social media! I share regularly on Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, my Facebook Page, and my Facebook Group! Please subscribe to my blog, too!Click here and enter your email in the blue box (above the butterfly).
JUNE SPECIAL – 10% OFF & 10% MORE OFF Stampin’ Up! is offering 10% off all Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machines and 10% MORE off stamp/die bundles June 5-30! So if any of those items are on your wish list, I encourage you to take advantage of this sale. Click here for details
STAMP-N-STORAGE MEGA SALE!! It’s the BIGGEST Stamp-n-Storage sale of the summer! Shop June 12-17, 2024, and you’ll save 15% OFF. You’ll also get FREE SHIPPING and a Free Gift (Limited Edition Magnet Cards) on orders over $150. And you can save 20% OFF Daily Doorbusters. Click here and scroll down for details.
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES NEWS– NEW ITEMS ARE COMING! You won’t find Online Exclusives products in any catalog or publication. So be sure to visit this link to shop today. Then on July 3rd, you’ll be seeing even MORE added… including the Glass Mat Studio! Yep…it’s returning! Click here for images and downloadable flyers of what’s to come. (All Online Exclusives products are always available while supplies last.)
KITS COLLECTION: EXPRESSIONS OF KINDNESS & THE SCENIC ROUTE TRAVEL JOURNALKITS ADDED These are the kits that were most recently added to the Kits Collection! Click here and scroll down for more details.
A PEEK AT JULY’S PAPER PUMPKIN KIT Painted Petals: Craft beautiful cards with unique watercolor designs and pretty layers! Makes 9 cards (3 each of 3 designs) & includes printed cards and coordinating envelopes. The kit also includes precut paper pieces and embellishments and comes in a beautiful coordinating box. Coordinating colors: Calypso Coral, Gray Granite (Classic Stampin’ Spot), Melon Mambo, Mossy Meadow, Old Olive. Click here for a flyer showing peeks of the July-September kits. And don’t miss the special add-on that coordinates with all three months: the Every Celebration Dies (#164991) — made available June 11th and only while supplies last! If you are not a Paper Pumpkin subscriber, I invite you to give it a try. CLICK HERE to learn more. CLICK HERE to sign up by July 10th for this next kit.
ALL STAR VIDEO CLASSES I’m a designer with the All Stars, a group of globally recognized Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. And we are excited to share exclusively with our customers, paper crafting friends & team members our June 2024 Take To The Sky Suite Video Class Bundle which is now available. CLICK HERE for more information. Click here to get to my Tutorials/Classes for Sale page to see others that have been offered. The next one featuring the Full of Life Suite from the 2024-25 Annual Catalog will be available June 1st.
STAMP YOUR ART OUT LOGO MERCHANDISE Be sure to check out my line of Stamp Your Art Out logo merchandise! From the menu at the top choose SHOP > TUTORIALS, LOGO ITEMS & MORE > LOGO ITEMS. Or just click here. Many of the items have more than one color option. Thanks for shopping!
We are busy preparing for Nick’s graduation party that will be held here on June 9th. He’s super excited and ready to move onto college to focus on Exercise Science, but will be enjoying a well-deserved summer off first. His last day of school is Friday, and the graduation ceremony is Monday evening.
In addition to party prepping, I’m creating many personalized graduation cards for the other kids we know that are also graduating this year. This fun fold card I’m sharing today is pretty popular. In fact, I found several versions of it out there on the internet. So I tweaked it a bit to make it large enough to hold a gift card upright AND large enough to fill our standard Basic White envelopes.
I just showed live on YouTube and on Facebook about an hour ago step-by-step directions for creating these Grad Cap Fold Cards with Pockets using the the Wonderful Thoughts Stamp Set and other fabulous products from Stampin’ Up! I also shared measurements of other basic variations. And now I’m sharing that video here in my blog post. Be sure to watch the video by clicking here (or you can just click on this image below if you are already on my blog post), scroll through the close-up photos that follow, check out the measurements & products list below, and then let me know if you have any questions.
Products I used… See below for a complete list of products linked to where you can find them in my online store.
Click here to access and download a printable “measurements & supplies” sheet.
Measurements …
Basic White Cardstock
6” x 12” (scored and cut per directions in video)
3/4”x 6” strip
Basic Black Cardstock
(2) 3-3/4” x 3-3/4”
Colored Cardstock, Foil or Designer Paper
(2) 4-1/8” x 4-1/8”
Twine
4”
6”
24”
Here are photos of the finished cards I demonstrated.
What a fun card for a grad to open, right?!
And the sentiments from Wonderful Thoughts are perfect.
I love that this size allows a gift card to fit upright, too.
I hope you enjoyed what I shared today!
Winners: After live winners from last week’s live… mariepayne3811 & Faye McGinley This week’s live winners… JoDee Lent & Patti Eddlemon
Congratulations to these individuals!! If your name is above, be sure to reach out to me at stampyourartout@comcast.net to claim your prize.
Tune into my events on my Facebook Page to see notices of my upcoming Lives. Or subscribe to my YouTube channel. And then click on the bell next to the subscribe button and set notifications to “all” so you can get updates when I share and when I go live. My next Live will be on Wednesday, June 5th at 11 AM Central Time. I hope you can join me!
LAST DAYS OF IN COLOR STARTER KIT SPECIAL Stampin’ Up! has a fabulous Starter Kit offer for May 2024. Choose $125 worth of product for just $99 + tax. But also enjoy the gift of four new 2024-26 In Color products shown in this flyer (a value of $82) for FREE. Click this link to purchase this amazing Starter Kit, and begin the fun of being on the demonstrator side of things! Click here for more details on this promotion.
JUNE SPECIAL – 10% OFF & 10% MORE OFF Stampin’ Up! is offering 10% off all Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machines and 10% MORE off stamp/die bundles June 5-30! So if any of those items are on your wish list, I encourage you to take advantage of this sale. Start making your wish list today.
Click here to shop my online store. Click here to access & view the current catalogs. Click here to shop My Favorite Extras. Click here to subscribe to those fun Paper Pumpkin kits of creativity! Click here to learn about my Loyalty Rewards program. You can earn free stamps just for shopping with me! Click here to learn more about joining my Stampers With ART community. Get the MOST rewards including a discount on future products! Follow me on social media! I share regularly on Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, my Facebook Page, and my Facebook Group! Please subscribe to my blog, too!Click here and enter your email in the blue box (above the butterfly).
IN COLOR STARTER KIT SPECIAL Stampin’ Up! has a fabulous Starter Kit offer for May 2024. Choose $125 worth of product for just $99 + tax. But also enjoy the gift of four new 2024-26 In Color products shown in this flyer (a value of $82) for FREE. Click this link to purchase this amazing Starter Kit, and begin the fun of being on the demonstrator side of things! Click here for more details on this promotion.
JUNE SPECIAL – 10% OFF & 10% MORE OFF Stampin’ Up! is offering 10% off all Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machines and 10% MORE off stamp/die bundles June 5-30! So if any of those items are on your wish list, I encourage you to take advantage of this sale. Start making your wish list today.
THE2024-25 ANNUAL CATALOG IS HERE! New products (stamp sets, dies, embossing folders, punches, papers, ephemera, embellishments, ribbons, colors, etc…) just debuted with the release of the 2024-25 Annual Catalog! How fun!! Shop the online store. And see the digital version of this new publication in my Catalogs section of my website. Are you one of my regular customers, but didn’t get your copy? You may have missed my notices asking you to fill out the request form. Filling out the form helps me make sure I’m sending catalogs to correct addresses and to those who actually want the publication. Thank you!
KITS COLLECTION: CITY SIGHTS & HELLO HOLLYHOCKS KITS ADDED These are the kits that were most recently added to the Kits Collection! Click here and scroll down for more details.
A PEEK AT JUNE’S PAPER PUMPKIN KIT Life is Sweet: Celebrate the sweet things in life with textured, artistic cards. Makes 9 cards (3 each of 3 designs) & includes coordinating envelopes. The kit also includes iridescent glimmer sentiments, precut paper pieces, vellum accents, iridescent pearls, and linen thread. Plus it coordinates with the Country Woods Designer Series Paper (item 163393). Coordinating colors: Poppy Parade, Peach Pie, Lemon Lolly, Shy Shamrock (Classic Stampin’ Spot), Pool Party, Pretty In Pink. Click here for a flyer showing peeks of the April-June kits. And don’t miss the special add-on that coordinates with all three months: the Thanks & Beyond Dies (#164397) — made available March 11th and only while supplies last! If you are not a Paper Pumpkin subscriber, I invite you to give it a try. CLICK HERE to learn more. CLICK HERE to sign up by May 10th for this next kit.
ALL STAR VIDEO CLASSES I’m a designer with the All Stars, a group of globally recognized Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. And we are excited to share exclusively with our customers, paper crafting friends & team members our May 2024 Country Woods Suite Video Class Bundle which is now available. CLICK HERE for more information. Click here to get to my Tutorials/Classes for Sale page to see others that have been offered. The next one featuring the Take To The Sky Suite from the 2024-25 Annual Catalog will be available June 1st.
STAMP YOUR ART OUT LOGO MERCHANDISE Be sure to check out my line of Stamp Your Art Out logo merchandise! From the menu at the top choose SHOP > TUTORIALS, LOGO ITEMS & MORE > LOGO ITEMS. Or just click here. Many of the items have more than one color option. Thanks for shopping!
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES NEWS– NEW ITEMS ARE HERE! You won’t find Online Exclusives products in any catalog or publication. So be sure to visit this link to shop today. All Online Exclusives products are available while supplies last.
I wasn’t able to make the invites back in March for my son’s graduation party that will be taking place on June 9th. We needed something quick at that time, so we used Shutterfly. But I AM making time to stamp and put together thank you cards for Nick to write in and send. And several cards of congrats are already arriving in the mail. So I’m trying to make the thank you’s now rather than wait until after the party.
I had a bunch of stamped and punched leaves, because I’ve created MANY cards with the Layering Leaves stamp set during this past year (which doesn’t surprise many of you who know me and how this set came to be). So I combined them with a bit of woodgrain paper from the Country Woods pack (because it coordinates so well with the Shutterfly party invitations) and came up with this design.
Since I have a lot of already stamped and punched leaves, these first several cards were quick and easy to make. Below are the details.
Products… Scroll down so see my visual list of supplies linked to where you can find them in my online store.
Measurements…
Basic White Cardstock
4-1/4″ x 11″ scored parallel to the short side at 5-1/2″
2″ diameter circle
Basic White Cardstock
(2) 4” x 5-1/4″
1-3/4″ diameter circle
Country Woods Designer Paper
2″ x 4″
Gold Metallic Trim
(3) 1″
AND…cardstock and inks of your choice for stamping and punching leaves.
Directions…
Emboss one of the Basic White 4″ x 5-1/4″ layers with the Exposed Brick Embossing Folder.
Adhere the designer paper layer to bottom of it, and then add this all to the front of the folded card base.
Stamp the other Basic White 4″ x 5-1/4″ layer with the inside sentiment using Early Espresso ink and add to the inside of the card.
Stamp the front sentiment using Early Espresso ink onto the 1-3/4″ diameter Basic White circle. Adherer this off center to the 2″ diameter Early Espresso circle.
Stamp and punch leaves in the way you wish. Trim one of them into 3 separate parts (the top 4 leaves together and the two other leaves as singles). Add Seal Adhesive under the sentiment circle, then attach the trim and leaves coming out from the sides as shown. Add more seal adhesive and add this layered piece in place on the front of the card.
I hope you enjoyed what I shared today! Now it’s time to get back to graduation party preparations (putting together the photo boards today).
OH! And please connect with me when YOU have created a card or project with this stamp set. I love seeing what others are creating with it!
Click here to shop my online store. Click here to access & view the current catalogs. Click here to shop My Favorite Extras. Click here to subscribe to those fun Paper Pumpkin kits of creativity! Click here to learn about my Loyalty Rewards program. You can earn free stamps just for shopping with me! Click here to learn more about joining my Stampers With ART community. Get the MOST rewards including a discount on future products! Follow me on social media! I share regularly on Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, my Facebook Page, and my Facebook Group! Please subscribe to my blog, too!Click here and enter your email in the blue box (above the butterfly).
Products used… (This list does not include any of the cardstock and inks used to make the leaves, because my leaves were leftovers from other projects.)
IN COLOR STARTER KIT SPECIAL Stampin’ Up! has a fabulous Starter Kit offer for May 2024. Choose $125 worth of product for just $99 + tax. But also enjoy the gift of four new 2024-26 In Color products shown in this flyer (a value of $82) for FREE. Click this link to purchase this amazing Starter Kit, and begin the fun of being on the demonstrator side of things! Click here for more details on this promotion.
STAMP-N-STORAGE MEMORIAL DAY SALE Stamp-n-Storage is having a Memorial Day Sale now through May 27th. Get 15% off your entire order! Click HERE to shop and save.
THE2024-25 ANNUAL CATALOG IS HERE! New products (stamp sets, dies, embossing folders, punches, papers, ephemera, embellishments, ribbons, colors, etc…) just debuted with the release of the 2024-25 Annual Catalog! How fun!! Shop the online store. And see the digital version of this new publication in my Catalogs section of my website. Are you one of my regular customers, but didn’t get your copy? You may have missed my notices asking you to fill out the request form. Filling out the form helps me make sure I’m sending catalogs to correct addresses and to those who actually want the publication. Thank you!
KITS COLLECTION: CITY SIGHTS & HELLO HOLLYHOCKS KITS ADDED These are the kits that were most recently added to the Kits Collection! Click here and scroll down for more details.
A PEEK AT JUNE’S PAPER PUMPKIN KIT Life is Sweet: Celebrate the sweet things in life with textured, artistic cards. Makes 9 cards (3 each of 3 designs) & includes coordinating envelopes. The kit also includes iridescent glimmer sentiments, precut paper pieces, vellum accents, iridescent pearls, and linen thread. Plus it coordinates with the Country Woods Designer Series Paper (item 163393). Coordinating colors: Poppy Parade, Peach Pie, Lemon Lolly, Shy Shamrock (Classic Stampin’ Spot), Pool Party, Pretty In Pink. Click here for a flyer showing peeks of the April-June kits. And don’t miss the special add-on that coordinates with all three months: the Thanks & Beyond Dies (#164397) — made available March 11th and only while supplies last! If you are not a Paper Pumpkin subscriber, I invite you to give it a try. CLICK HERE to learn more. CLICK HERE to sign up by May 10th for this next kit.
ALL STAR VIDEO CLASSES I’m a designer with the All Stars, a group of globally recognized Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. And we are excited to share exclusively with our customers, paper crafting friends & team members our May 2024 Country Woods Suite Video Class Bundle which is now available. CLICK HERE for more information. Click here to get to my Tutorials/Classes for Sale page to see others that have been offered. The next one featuring the Take To The Sky Suite from the 2024-25 Annual Catalog will be available June 1st.
STAMP YOUR ART OUT LOGO MERCHANDISE Be sure to check out my line of Stamp Your Art Out logo merchandise! From the menu at the top choose SHOP > TUTORIALS, LOGO ITEMS & MORE > LOGO ITEMS. Or just click here. Many of the items have more than one color option. Thanks for shopping!
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES NEWS– NEW ITEMS ARE HERE! You won’t find Online Exclusives products in any catalog or publication. So be sure to visit this link to shop today. All Online Exclusives products are available while supplies last.
My oldest son, Nick and I had an amazing time this past week on our vacation near Playa del Carmen, Mexico. I took him as my guest on this 2024 Stampin’ Up! incentive trip* as a gift to celebrate his 12th grade year and high school graduation. And we both were SOOooo very impressed with the whole experience.
We actually arrived in Mexico a couple days early and stayed at the Occidental at Xcaret Destination Resort nearby to extend our vacation a bit longer & to fit in more experiences.
During our initial stay at the Occidental, we took time to visit Xcaret Park which was included with our stay.
We paid a little extra so we could swim with dolphins.
We also saw lots of animals… sea turtles, manatees, bats in an underground cave, butterflies in a pavilion…
…a jaguar, and sharks.
Back at the resort we saw lots of other animals as well… deer, lizards, agouti, macaws, flamingos, and iguana.
We hung out with other demonstrators who were also staying at this place beforehand. And we ate wonderful foods at the many restaurants. The resort was beautiful, and we were very impressed by everything.
On Monday we transferred to the Xcaret Mexico Resort in one big van with our friends Elaine Schader, her husband Ryan, and their kids Katie, Noona and Nathan for the incentive trip portion of our stay to get pampered by Stampin’ Up!
Check-In was in a special room where we met with Stampin’ Up! board members and staff and where we got to pick out a bunch of gifts.
A big thanks to Sara Douglass for doing such a fantastic job running this amazing company AND for posing with us for this photo.
This is a thoroughly all-inclusive resort that includes transportation and access to all nine uniquely themed parks/tours, several on site restaurants and bars, many pools and water activities, and more! And we were wowed right away as this resort was even more incredible than our first one. I felt like royalty the whole time we were there! Our room was beautiful and had a hammock on the deck with a great view.
Every nook and cranny of the resort was breathtaking, service was always with a smile, the food was unique at every restaurant and every meal, and though we are happy being home now, we already wish we could go back.
We took it easy on Monday, the first day. After we found our room and unpacked, we walked around a bit and explored the resort taking lots of photos along the way and having fun with posing.
We ate lunch as Las Playas, a restaurant near the ocean. Then we found the gym on the opposite end of the resort so Nick knew where to go to work out. (Yep, he kept up with his workouts. He will be competing for his first body building competition in early June!) Then we got in the river that runs through the resort and swam for about an hour. It was SOOooo relaxing!
After that we were hungry again and met up and chatted with friends while we waited for the restaurants to open at 6. Here I am with Alanna Wharf and Julie Davison.
Dinner at the Mercado (and any meal we had here later in the trip) was WONDERFUL.
We got cleaned up from our swim, and then joined fellow demonstrators, their guests, Stampin’ Up! staff, and board members to finish the day having fun at a special Welcome Party. Here we are with Anne Oshiro and her daughter Rebecca.
And here we are posing with Marissa Alvarez, her husband Max, my upline Susan Campfield, and her sister Anne.
I started Tuesday by attending SU’s General Session. (There were times when Nick didn’t join me on the trip so he could fit in a gym workout. This was one of those times.) I sat with good friends Silvia Werner and her husband Uwe during the session. And then afterwards met up and mingled with lots of other demonstrators. Here I am with Kylie and Bruno Bertucci, my new friend Rachel Aziamadi and her husband James,…
…the sweet and caring Natalie Travis,…
…and Emma Goddard and Linda Dalke (laughing it up in the Hospitality Room after spinning for prizes and dropping off swaps).
After returning back to the room to change, Nick and I took off for a full day of ziplining at Xplor which turns into Xplor Fuego at night. Yep…we did a 7-course zipline during the day (which included the highest and longest one in the resort parks) and then returned in the evening with a large group to do that course again in the dark and with “rings of fire!”
After zipling, we all still had energy. I took it easy though and joined half the group for rafting through the caves. Nick kept on with the dare-devil activities and joined the other half to experience an extreme water slide.
We were starving by the time we got back to our room and ordered room service around midnight! Hahaha!
Wednesday was another more low-key day hanging out at the resort. We ate a late breakfast at Trajinera by the infinity pool. Then Nick grabbed us some awesome chairs in the water, and we enjoyed time in this pool meeting lots of new people (a whole wedding party not affiliated with Stampin’ Up!)…
…and connecting with demonstrator friends. Here I am with Irene Wendlandt .
When we got hungry again, we had a small meal at Chabali by the Octopus slide pool in the family area of the resort. They had lots of “kid food” but also appetizing adult choices. Then after more relaxation and getting cleaned up, we joined our friends Silvia and Uwe Werner at Las Cuevas, a Brazilian steakhouse restaurant in the caves for a late dinner.
This is me with Sylvia and Michelle Last during the wait to get in.
And this is us after our amazing meal. We texted this exact photo to my husband who was texting back and wishing he was with us. (He knows Silvia and Uwe well because we stayed with them for a few days in Germany after our Thailand incentive trip.)
We got up early Thursday morning to get transportation to Xenotes. We experienced amazing adventures in these natural cenotes like rapelling (upside-down if we chose), zipping into the water in creative ways, jumping in from far up, kayaking, going into the water on a slide, exploring under the water with masks, and swimming under the stalactites!
There we connected with Marissa and Max Alvarez again and made a new friend, Kari Doyle who is the daughter of fellow demonstrator Susan Nygard.
It was amazing. The photographer who joined us took almost 150 photos that included either Nick or me! And I got brave and brought my iPhone inside a waterproof case. So we had over 200 photos just from this day alone! It was hard to pick which ones to share.
After transporting back to the hotel to clean up, I stopped at the Hospitality room to spin for a prize, pick up swaps, and photograph all the cards. Here are photos of the swap card boards.
Can you find my swap card? I shared it on my blog post on Friday.
Nick and I joined Alanna Wharf and her husband Ryan at Xin Gao for a Japanese dinner that evening.
And then Nick took off again for his 3rd night in a row to hang out late with friends that he had made while on the trip. And Alanna, Ryan and I stayed out late chatting with other demonstrator friends.
On Friday I met up with Susan Campfield and her sister Anne for breakfast at the Bio restaurant while Nick slept. I was so happy to finally try this one out. It’s near Las Cuevas and also inside caves. And the food is all vegan. I tried ALL the smoothies and two different breakfasts. Yum!
Then all three of us ventured to the hospitality room to spin for our last prize and explore things in the lobby area (I did a little shopping and purchased vanilla and some pretty blue and white platters).
I finally met back up with Nick at the infinity pool. After a few hours of relaxing in the water, we got cleaned up for the evening and attended the Stampin’ Up! farewell celebration at Xcaret park which included the famous Xcaret show (where I hung out with Sam Hammond Donald, Sonia Bernard, Sarah Schueler, and other parents with the kids that Nick had connected with all week)…
…and a private party afterwards with food and music.
Here I am with Barbara Greenlee, Elaine Schader, Anne Oshiro, and Sarah Edwards.
And here is a photo of the young people that Nick hung out with often on the trip. He had such a great time!
These are photos of the gifts from Stampin’ Up! Some I received the first day when checking in. Some were gifts left in our room each day.
Here are gifts from the resort.
Here are gifts from fellow demonstrators.
And here are all the swap cards I received.
I felt so blessed to be on this amazing trip with my oldest son. We had a lot of great quality time together and made a lot of memories to last a lifetime.
*Disclaimer: Earning the incentive trip is something very few Stampin’ Up! demonstrators achieve—less than 1%, in fact! I was so excited to be among those that attended this one at the Xcaret Mexico Resort. And I am so grateful for all the support I get from you…my team members, customers, subscribers, viewers, friends, family, etc. Hugs!! And a big thank you!
Click here to shop my online store. Click here to access & view the current catalogs. Click here to shop My Favorite Extras. Click here to subscribe to those fun Paper Pumpkin kits of creativity! Click here to learn about my Loyalty Rewards program. You can earn free stamps just for shopping with me! Click here to learn more about joining my Stampers With ART community. Get the MOST rewards including a discount on future products! Follow me on social media! I share regularly on Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, my Facebook Page, and my Facebook Group! Please subscribe to my blog, too!Click here and enter your email in the blue box (above the butterfly).
IN COLOR STARTER KIT SPECIAL Stampin’ Up! has a fabulous Starter Kit offer for May 2024. Choose $125 worth of product for just $99 + tax. But also enjoy the gift of four new 2024-26 In Color products shown in this flyer (a value of $82) for FREE. Click this link to purchase this amazing Starter Kit, and begin the fun of being on the demonstrator side of things! Click here for more details on this promotion.
THE2024-25 ANNUAL CATALOG IS HERE! New products (stamp sets, dies, embossing folders, punches, papers, ephemera, embellishments, ribbons, colors, etc…) just debuted with the release of the 2024-25 Annual Catalog! How fun!! Shop the online store. And see the digital version of this new publication in my Catalogs section of my website.
KITS COLLECTION: CITY SIGHTS & HELLO HOLLYHOCKS KITS ADDED These are the kits that were most recently added to the Kits Collection! Click here and scroll down for more details.
PRODUCT SHARES, SAMPLERS, & COLOR CLUBS I have an amazing team of demonstrators with a few who offer great ways to get your hands on “tastes” of the new products. Click here for details and links.
A PEEK AT MAY’S PAPER PUMPKIN KIT The Best There Is: Make cards for Father’s Day and more to express your gratitude and admiration! Makes 9 cards (3 each of 3 designs) & includes coordinating envelopes. The kit also includes precut paper accent pieces & labels AND woodgrain textures & masculine earthy tones. Plus it coordinates with the Country Woods Designer Series Paper (item 163393). Coordinating colors: Wild Wheat, Pool Party, Misty Moonlight (Classic Stampin’ Spot), Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Basic Beige. Click here for a flyer showing peeks of the April-June kits. And don’t miss the special add-on that coordinates with all three months: the Thanks & Beyond Dies (#164397) — made available March 11th and only while supplies last! If you are not a Paper Pumpkin subscriber, I invite you to give it a try. CLICK HERE to learn more. CLICK HERE to sign up by May 10th for this next kit.
ALL STAR VIDEO CLASSES I’m a designer with the All Stars, a group of globally recognized Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. And we are excited to share exclusively with our customers, paper crafting friends & team members our May 2024 Country Woods Suite Video Class Bundle which is now available. CLICK HERE for more information. Click here to get to my Tutorials/Classes for Sale page to see others that have been offered. The next one featuring the Take To The Sky Suite from the 2024-25 Annual Catalog will be available June 1st.
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES NEWS– NEW ITEMS ARE HERE! You won’t find Online Exclusives products in any catalog or publication. So be sure to visit this link to shop today. All Online Exclusives products are available while supplies last.
A bunch of new products just landed in the Online Store today! Yes…the new items ARE HERE! Click here to view all the Online Exclusives. The newest ones will be the ones you see first.
Today I want to introduce you to one of the new products…a great new background stamp called Drizzling Droplets. It’s a fun image that can cover the surface of a card front and depending on how you stamp it can look like so many things…possibly snow, water, bubbles, carbonation, lights, confetti, or even just an abstract fun background.
I inked the stamp up in two different colors using my brayer. First I rolled half of the brayer multiple times across one ink pad, then I rolled the other half of the brayer multiple times across another ink pad being careful not to mix the inks together. (Inking the lighter color first might be wise in case the first color accidentally comes in contact with the second.) These are the backgrounds I achieved on my first couple cards.
For each of these I used the Azure Afternoon and Berry Burst Ink Pads. When you roll the brayer across the stamp to ink it up, you need to shift it up and down the image. Doing this will mix the two colors in the middle. So it creates a gradient. (See below for a complete list of products I used on my cards. These products are linked to where you can find them in my online store.)
After stamping the Drizzling Droplets image onto a 4″ x 5-1/2″ Basic White piece of cardstock, I used Blending Brushes to add a soft glow coming in from the top and bottom (same ink pads). Then I trimmed 1/8″ off of each side to get rid of the harshness of the color on the edges.
Measurements
Basic White Cardstock
5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ scored parallel to short side at 4-1/4”
4-1/4” x 5-1/2″
3/8″ Sheer Ribbon
5-1/2”
Colored Cardstock
Scrap that is at least 2″ x 3-3/8”
I adhered a length of Azure Afternoon 3/8″ Sheer Ribbon wrapping the ends and taping them to the back. I added this to to the front of the folded card base with Dimensionals – one in each corner. Then I added the “Hello” (with Mini Dimensionals) and Rhinestones to finish off the design.
Notice that the drops are “falling down” on one card and “bubbling up” on the other. I liked the bubbling up look and wanted to try it out with other colors. So I made two more cards which I personally like a bit more. They have a sunshine feel to them.
I did the same thing I did with the first two but just used different colors of ink and cardstock.
Card #3: Melon Mambo Ink, Pumpkin Pie Ink & Cardstock, Cajun Craze Ink (for the outline of the word Hello), Bubble Bath Ribbon
Card #4: Daffodil Delight Ink, Parakeet Party Cardstock & Ink, Lemon Lolly Ribbon, Granny Apple Green Ink (for the outline of the word Hello)
For the “Hello” I inked up the raised lettering on the embossing folder, placed the coordinating hybrid die in place, add the cardstock to cover the word, closed the folder, and ran it all through the Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine to ink emboss and cut it out. Then I used a white gel pen to draw on highlights.
Do you have a favorite? Can you think of occasions a hello card like this would be perfect for? If you recreate this card or a version of it, I’d love for you to share it with me.
I haven’t shared much news about my oldest son Nick on social media or my videos since the fall when he was competing in marching band. So I thought I’d show you a couple photos and give you a quick update.
He’s been meal prepping. He cooks salmon, steak, chicken, rice, sweet potatoes, and green beans. He weighs everything out and packages it all up into multiple meals. And he does this two times each week.
Nick has been very serious about fitness, exercise, and strength training. His goal for some time has been to have a career in the fitness industry, be an influencer, own his own business, and compete in body building competitions. And thanks to his coach, his more routine schedule now that he is done with marching band, his dedication to the gym, his drive and hard work, his discipline, and his positive mindset, he will be participating in his first competion on June 8th. And he has been posting to Instagram for some time now working hard to build a following. It’s been amazing to watch his journey.
He is a high school senior and graduates this year! So I’m now planning and prepping for that. SOOOooo fun!
Click here to shop my online store. Click here to access & view the current catalogs. Click here to shop My Favorite Extras. Click here to subscribe to those fun Paper Pumpkin kits of creativity! Click here to learn about my Loyalty Rewards program. You can earn free stamps just for shopping with me! Click here to learn more about joining my Stampers With ART community. Get the MOST rewards including a discount on future products! Follow me on social media! I share regularly on Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, my Facebook Page, and my Facebook Group! Please subscribe to my blog, too!Click here and enter your email in the blue box (above the butterfly).
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES NEWS– NEW ITEMS ARE HERE! You won’t find Online Exclusives products in any catalog or publication. So be sure to visit this link to shop today. All Online Exclusives products are available while supplies last.
STAMP YOUR ART OUT LOGO MERCHANDISE Be sure to check out my newly released line of Stamp Your Art Out logo merchandise! From the menu at the top choose SHOP > TUTORIALS, LOGO ITEMS & MORE > LOGO ITEMS. Or just click here. Many of the items have more than one color option. Thanks for shopping!
KITS COLLECTION: BIRTHDAY SPARKLE & HAPPY HOUSEPLANTS KITS ADDED Two kits have been recently added to the Kits Collection! Click here and scroll down for more details.
A PEEK AT MARCH’S PAPER PUMPKIN KIT Memorable Meadows Kit: Share nature’s beauty with lovely all-occasion cards! Makes 9 cards: 3 each of 3 designs. Projects include printed cards & coordinating envelopes. Kit includes precut vellum pieces and wood embellishments. This kit coordinates with the Meandering Meadows Suite Collection (item 162745). And it includes an extra bonus stamp set! Coordinating colors: Granny Apple Green, Garden Green (Classic Stampin’ Spot), Balmy Blue, Night of Navy, Gorgeous Grape, and Fresh Freesia. Click here for a flyer showing peeks of the Jan-March kits. And don’t miss the special add-on that coordinates with all three months: the Love of Spring Dies Add-On (item 164396) — made available December 11th and only while supplies last!
If you are not a Paper Pumpkin subscriber, I invite you to give it a try. CLICK HERE to learn more. CLICK HERE to sign up by March 10th for this next kit.
ALL STAR VIDEO CLASSES I’m a designer with the All Stars, a group of globally recognized Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. And we are excited to share exclusively with our customers, paper crafting friends & team members our March 2024 Rock & Roll Suite Video Class Bundle which is now available. CLICK HERE for more information. Click here to get to my Tutorials/Classes for Sale page to see others that have been offered. The next one featuring the Nature’s Sweetness Suite from the Jan-Apr 2024 Mini Catalog will be available April 1st.
I designed and put together twenty using a half pack of the M&M cards and shared them at my Silver Elite Retreat. Then I gave everyone supplies to create the same ones. Paper crafters love to be creative though. So many made variations of my designs.
After scrolling through the photos of my 20 card designs, keep going to see the variations from Vy Tran, Kayla Cory, and Margo Tessman (my mom).
The only extra product we added into the card designs were either 3-1/4″ x 4-1/4″ or 3-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ layers of Basic White Cardstock. The 3-1/4″ x 4-1/4″ Basic White was used for layers under the 3″ x 4″ Sweet Thoughts cards and for inside layers. The 3-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ Basic White was used for inside layers. And then I used tools and adhesives of course.
I love how Dimensionals create shadow. Below I added Dimensionals under the butterfly layer on the left card and under the Basic White layer (AND under the birthday sticker) on the right card. Oh! That’s a fun bonus…the Sweet Thoughts Memories & More Cards come with sheets of coordinating stickers. So you don’t need to add in any outside ribbons, embellishments or stamps to fancy up your creations.
On these next two cards I added Dimensionals under the Basic White layer on this “Dream Big” card and under the M&M card layer with the card on the right. Then I added some stickers from the M&M card pack as decorations on the insides.
Here I added Dimensionals under the Love You Forever layer on the left card and under the Basic White layer on the right card.
For these two I added Dimensionals under the Basic White layer on this “Love” card and under the M&M card layer with the card on the right. I also added some stickers from the M&M card pack as decorations on the outsides and insides.
The landscape card on the left with the 4″ x 6″ M&M card has no Dimensionals. The one on the right has them under the Basic White layer. I added the copper sticker with the word smile to the paintbrush sticker, then trimmed it up before adding it to the inside of the card. The sticker on the inside of the landscape card is one flower that was cut into two pieces.
These two are quite simple…no Dimensionals & only one sticker added to the inside of one of the cards.
This “Hello Beautiful” card also uses no Dimensionals. But the butterfly one I turned into an easel card by adding an extra score/fold half-way through the card base front at 2-1/8″ and attaching the butterfly M&M card only to the lower half so it can prop up behind the My Heart sticker that was attached with Dimensionals to the inside.
These cards below also got an extra score line at 2-1/8″ to make them into z-fold cards. I added the Basic White layers to the insides first to make it easier to line up when adding the layers on the front. The blue card has no Dimensionals. The “world” card has them between the M&M card layer and the Basic White layer.
This “sunshine” card is similar to the “world” card above. For the “paintbrush” card I added Dimensionals between the M&M card and the Basic White layer. And on the inside I added two stickers strategically to cover the words that were on the floral & lined M&M layer.
This top card is super simple…Dimensionals under the M&M floral card, and then two added stickers (the “hello” and the flower on the inside).
The second one involves a bit more thinking though. I cut the 4″ x 6″ M&M card just to the left of the white vertical stripe. Then I attached just that right portion to the card base keeping the left portion lined up to help center it all on the front. I removed the left portion, trimmed the front to separate the right side from the left just where the right layer ends, and added flower sticker on the left front to represent asterisks before each word. And then I adhered the right side completely down, opened the left and adhered the remaining left portion of that M&M card to the inside. And I finished it all off with the “you are” sticker.
I also shared these cards in my Show-n-Tell Live that aired on Facebook and YouTube Saturday if you want to watch that. And I shared cards I’ve been gifted lately PLUS new product peeks!
Now I’d like to show you some of the variations of these Memories & More cards that were made by those who attended my Silver Elite Stars’ Retreat the weekend of January 19-21, 2024. Those who created the cards are named in the watermarks of the photos. Here are Vy Tran’s…
Here are Kayla Cory’s…
And here are my mom’s…
We had a birthday to celebrate Saturday night…my youngest Luke is turning 17 on the 7th! So we celebrated with a family party. The date was agreed upon on just last week Monday which only gave us five days to pull it together. And teenagers are busy AND aren’t the most chatty creatures when they aren’t in the mood to talk. So it took me until Thursday night to have a decent conversation with Luke. 🤣
Friday morning I shopped on Amazon for decor and found a talented local cake maker that could fit our order in. And it all came together! I’m thankful to my husband who ran all the errands, Amazon for speedy delivery, and Diedre Zelin (the gal who was able to make a fun cake with only 24 hours notice). Here are a couple photos from the fun celebration. (I’m at the party, but I was taking the photo. So you don’t see me.)
Thanks for stopping by!
Click here to shop my online store. Click here to access & view the current catalogs. Click here to shop My Favorite Extras. Click here to subscribe to those fun Paper Pumpkin kits of creativity! Click here to learn about my Loyalty Rewards program. You can earn free stamps just for shopping with me! Click here to learn more about joining my Stampers With ART community. Get the MOST rewards including a discount on future products! Follow me on social media! I share regularly on Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, my Facebook Page, and my Facebook Group! Please subscribe to my blog, too!Click here and enter your email in the blue box (above the butterfly).
SALE-A-BRATION 2024 – NOW MORE OPTIONS The Sale-a-Bration promotion is here and runs January 4th through February 29th! Click here for all the initial details. Click here to view the online version of this new publication. Please note: Additional offerings were added February 1st as some original items are anticipated to run out.Click here to see all the current products online.
KITS COLLECTION: BIRTHDAY SPARKLE & HAPPY HOUSEPLANTS KITS ADDED Two kits have been recently added to the Kits Collection! Click here and scroll down for more details.
*this link will reveal all the newer products on 3/5/24.
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES NEWS You won’t find Online Exclusives products in any catalog or publication. So be sure to visit this link to shop today. All Online Exclusives products are available while supplies last. New products will be added March 5.
A PEEK AT FEBRUARY’S PAPER PUMPKIN KIT Sweet Springtime Kit: Celebrate Easter and Spring with adorable cards and treat boxes! Makes 9 projects: 3 each of 3 designs. Projects include printed cards, coordinating envelopes, and gift boxes. Kit includes precut paper pieces, baker’s twine, and embellishments AND comes in a unique box to match the season. Coordinating colors: Petal Pink, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green, Berry Burst, Early Espresso (Classic Stampin’ Spot), Crumb Cake. Click here for a flyer showing peeks of the Jan-March kits. And don’t miss the special add-on that coordinates with all three months: the Love of Spring Dies Add-On (item 164396) —available beginning 11 December and only while supplies last!
If you are not a Paper Pumpkin subscriber, I invite you to give it a try. CLICK HERE to learn more. CLICK HERE to sign up by February 10th for this next kit.
ALL STAR VIDEO CLASSES I’m a designer with the All Stars, a group of globally recognized Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. And we are excited to share exclusively with our customers, paper crafting friends & team members our February 2024 Perennial Lavender Suite Video Class Bundle which is now available. CLICK HERE for more information. Click here to get to my Tutorials/Classes for Sale page to see others that have been offered. The next one featuring the Rock & Roll Suite from the Jan-Apr 2024 Mini Catalog will be available March 1st.
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Rachel Tessman
Independent Demonstrator 763-502-6813
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