Halloween Punched Critters...

Last year I came up with some Halloween critters that I made using various Stampin' Up! punches - this week I have had quite a few emails asking me about them so I thought I would post them here for you to see...

They were super easy and fun to make and each one contains candy...all of the oval critters have a Hershey Nugget under them and the little snake has a tube of Smarties underneath him - they are sure to bring big smiles :-)

I used the Wide Oval Punch to make the main bodies for the critters out of Basic Black cardstock - I also used that oval punch and Vellum Cardstock to make the bug's wings - and also to make the bird's wings which I trimmed using the Scallop Edge Punch. I also used the Scallop Edge Punch to make the tail for the mouse

I then used various Circle Punches to make the eyes, noses and dots - and the snake is made of Circles adhered to a thin strip of black cardstock - this makes it easy to assemble him.

Aren't they cute? I need to make some for this year's class treats...they were sooo popular last year :-)

My Digital Studio Video Tutorials...

I have decided to put together a series of video tutorials to show you some of the cool effects and projects you can create using My Digital Studio...

For the very first tutorial I decided to show you something simple - My Digital Studio comes complete with a variety of pre-designed templates making it super easy to produce items such as calendars and cards incorporating photographs - with the upcoming holiday season in mind, my first tutorial shows you how quick it is to make a holiday photo card using these templates - you can view it by clicking below:

I am in the process of re-designing my blog and will have a section just for these video tutorials very shortly - I am planning to add to them frequently so be sure to subscribe to my blog and come back - you will find a box to do so in the sidebar :-)

This being the first tutorial, please leave me a comment to let me know if you could view it easily and what you thought of it...and if there is anything you would like to see in the future...all comments left will be entered into a drawing and one lucky winner will receive some blog candy... :-)

And please read the post below for details of my customer special offer thats ends at midnight tonite...

My Digital Studio Blog Carnival is here!

Welcome to the first Blog Carnival of Stampin Addicts - by visiting each of the blogs on the list of that is at the end of this post you will be able to see many different and wonderful ideas on using My Digital Studio - the carnival is running through November 1st - so that you can come back and visit and be able to find the posts in the carnival, there is a link in my sidebar that looks like the banner above - simply click on that and it will bring you to this post and the links to the others for this entire month.

My Digital Studio is Stampin' Up!'s brand new digital software that was released this week...you can make various sizes of scrapbooks, pages, calendars, cards and even digital scrapbooks that you can email to family and friends...and the best bit is that it incorporates Stampin' Up!'s Stamps, Embellishments, Colors, Designer Series Papers, Simply Scrappin' Kits to name just a few items...it is just fabulous :-)

WHEN YOU PURCHASE MY DIGITAL STUDIO FROM TODAY THROUGH MIDNIGHT ON MONDAY 5th OCTOBER* VIA THE LINK TO MY ONLINE STORE THAT YOU CAN FIND BY CLICKING HERE, I WILL GIVE YOU FREEBIES - PLEASE CLICK HERE TO EMAIL ME TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS SPECIAL OFFER :-)

I decided to show you some of the cool features of this amazing software that you can use on many different projects - I have made a scrapbook page, a very quick & easy photo Holiday card using one of the templates that is pre-loaded onto My Digital Studio, and a couple of cards that highlight some of the cool features of digi-stamping...please read on...

What is the first thing you might notice about the color of this card? Yes, it is the beautiful Baha Breeze that was retired earlier this year - it is included in My Digital Studio and when I found it I was delighted - I just love this color for snowflake cards :-)

You will also notice that I added virtual 'dimension' to the layers in the same way that you would add Dimensionals to your paper projects - on the software this is called 'drop shadow' - and I also used it to make the ribbon and knot appear to lift slightly from the card base. I used the Polka Dot paper to create the snowy background effect and used stamps from the set Snow Burst to 'stamp' my snowflakes - and notice the sizes of the stamps - yes, another very cool feature that you cannot do with real rubber stamps is that you can resize the images - look how cool they turned out! I also added brads and a sentiment from the set All Holidays...isn't My Digital Studio amazing?

Whilst sorting through photographs I came across one of my favorites and decided to feature it on a scrapbook page to highlight a few other cool things that you can do...

There are lots of Designer Series Papers to choose from and the one I chose features a Brocade pattern as it lends perfectly to a cowgirl themed page - again, I decided to use 'drop shadow' to give depth to some of the layers and embellishments and check out those buttons...yes, Button Latte and Button Bouquet along with others are on it too - aren't they beautiful? You will also notice that one of the layers has a torn edge - that is very fun to do and sooo easy...and I added stitching on the background paper and also all around the chocolate chip layer too...the word 'moments' is taken from the stamp set Greatest Moments which I resized to suit my 12x12 format...I LOVE that you can taken any of the words or phrases from the stamp sets and make them bigger or smaller to suit your title or sentiment needs...a big bonus for scrapbookers :-)

Whilst sorting through my photos I came across another of my favorites...many people like to send out Holiday cards featuring photographs of their families, so I decided to show you just how quick and easy this is to do with My Digital Studio...the card below literally took me 2 minutes to produce...

There are pre-designed templates that you can choose from - I decided which I wanted and to literally just clicked on my photograph to add it - it was as simple as that...or you can step it up if you want to by adding other items or features - I decided to add the mat and then 'drop shadow' it to give some dimension - and it really was that easy...once finished, you then decide how many you want and get them printed - what a super easy way to make your photo cards, perfect for the Holidays, thank yous, party invites...there no bounds :-)

ANNOUNCING SOMETHING NEW!!! I am putting together a series of tutorials to show you how to do some cool stuff using My Digital Studio - my first tutorial shows you how to make this holiday photo card:

I am in the process of re-designing my blog and will have a section just for these video tutorials very shortly - I am planning to add to them frequently so be sure to subscribe to my blog and come back - you will find a box to do so in the sidebar :-)

And finally, well I just had to show you another holiday card...can you tell I love Christmas?! Plus people are always asking me for ideas for them and I love to come up with some...

This card uses those beautiful ornament stamps from Tree Trimmings - I stamped them in the color Very Vanilla and resized them to fit on my background...can you guess how I made that shape?

It is something that you cannot do with the physical tool - it is the Curly Label Punch which I resized...and I love how it turned out :-) You can resize ALL stamps, punches and embellishments to fit your project - how cool is that? And the oval sentiment - well, that is a tag from the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' Kit - there are tags, letters, alphabets, flowers, borders and papers from some of those kits already loaded onto this software - it is just amazingly fabulous value for money :-)

Are you starting to see how My Digital Studio could enhance your crafting life? And how perfect is it for creating photograph gifts? I am hooked and am loving it...if you would like to know what stamp sets, papers, punches and embellishments are included in this software please click on my link in the sidebar which will take you to a page where you can see what is included...it is a LONG list :-)

On to the next blogs in this fun Carnival - all participating blogs will also have a sidebar button for you to easily find their Carnival post after this weekend...please pay a visit to these other very talented bloggers and see what they have to show you...

DM Dezigns

Comeka Stamps

Yapha Stamps

Sarahs Ink Spot

Ink Paper Stamps

Song of My Heart Stampers

Lilys Ink Pad

Stamping Station

Love to Stamp and Scrap

Melina Stamps

Stampin Central

BritineyJ

Stitchin n Stampin on Paper

Kelli Stamps 4 U

Creating with Ellie

If you are one of my customers or you do not already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator through whom you can place your order and wish to do so, you can purchase this fabulous software package by clicking here.

MY DIGITAL STUDIO IS HERE!

MY DIGITAL STUDIO IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR ORDER - TO ORDER YOURS CLICK HERE - it will take you to a page where you simply click on Shop Now in the top right corner which will take you to my online store where you can purchase this fabulous brand new product :-)

My Digital Studio comes preloaded with 48 STAMP SETS and lots of DIE CUT IMAGES from Simply Scrappin' kits - all of the flowers used in my page are stamps or die cuts - you can resize and color them and add embellishments - and a big hit with me is that you can try out everything without having to cut and waste paper and ribbons - it is utterly amazing and so quick and easy to do...what do you think?

My Digital Studio is fabulous value for money - at just $79.95 you get the software, 48 stamp sets, Designer Series Papers, Punches, Simply Scrappin' papers, borders and die cuts, Metal Embellishments including Hodgepodge Hardware, brads & eyelets, Ribbons, Buttons including Button Latte & Bouquet, colors including some retired In Colors and cool features such as adding Stitches, Staples, Flourishes and Tearing...and you can change your photos from color into black & white or sepia at the touch of a button - there will be new items added periodically so that you will be able to download new items to My Digital Studio...CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THIS FABULOUS SOFTWARE...

You can create a variety of sizes of cards, scrapbooks and pages, calendars - you can incorporate video into a virtual scrapbook that you can email to friends and family - there are templates to make putting together holiday or thank you cards and calendars a breeze - you simply add your photos and send them to the printer - Stampin' Up! is also offering a print service which guarantees that the printed colors of your projects will match those of Stampin' Up! exactly.

I am blown away by the value for money of My Digital Studio...it has exceeded my expectations and is so much easier to use and offers a huge range of features and value for money from my experience of other products on the market...be one of the first customers to get your copy - order it today by clicking HERE

THINKING OF SIGNING UP TO BE A DEMONSTRATOR? Stampin' Up! have today announced a brand new sign-up package featuring My Digital Studio - with the Digital+ Starter Kit - you have the opportunity to get this fabulous product as part of your Starter Kit for just $185!

AND IT GETS BETTER - SIGN UP AND JOIN MY TEAM THIS WEEK** AND I WILL GIVE YOU $30 IN FREE STAMPIN' UP! PRODUCTS OF YOUR CHOICE!

For full details of what is included in this Starter Kit please click HERE - basically you get My Digital Studio, 2 Stamp Sets, 4 Ink Pads, 4 Markers, Button Latte, two rolls of Ribbons, White Cardstock, Assorted Cardstock, Snail, Glue Dots and Dimensions PLUS business supplies and Catalogs - this is a wonderful deal as the retail value of the kit contents are $295!!!

I have a section on my website detailing all the fabulous benefits of being a Demonstrator that you can find by clicking HERE - if you have any questions about taking advantage of this fabulous Starter Kit deal please Contact Me and I will be very happy to help :-)

*This offer ends at midnight Central Time on October 4th 2009

**This sign up offer ends at midnight Central Time of October 7th 2009

My Digital Studio is almost here!

Stampin' Up! is releasing their brand new digital scrapbooking package MY DIGITAL STUDIO for customer order TOMORROW OCTOBER 1st - and let me tell you that it is just amazing!

I have been playing with mine this morning and am loving it - it is just fabulous value for money...you can create scrapbook pages, cards and calendars...there are templates for calendars and cards making it super easy and quick to create your holiday photo cards and gifts - you literally just add your photographs...you can also make digital albums to email to friends... it is super easy to use and FUN - I have been smiling all morning whilst playing with it...

My scrapbooking style is very simple - I like simple and striking pages and I love to make the photograph the focal point...

The new My Digital Studio package comes with - wait for it - 48 STAMP SETS preloaded on there for you - WOW - I could hardly believe it...in my page above I used stamps from the set Enjoy Every Moment and as you can see, using it you can resize the stamps to whatever size you like - it is amazing - you are no longer restricted to the size of the stamped image thus can use any stamps to create titles and effects on a 12" x 12" page which is the size of my page above - I also resized the circle of dots stamp from that set too :-)

AND it gets even better if you can believe it - MDS also gives you Designer Series Papers, Punches, Simply Scrappin' papers, borders and die cuts, Metal Embellishments including Hodgepodge Hardware, Ribbons, Buttons including Button Latte & Bouquet, colors including some retired In Colors - including my very favorite Baha Breeze...it also has features such as adding Stitches and Tearing...

I am blown away by the value for money of My Digital Studio...it has exceeded my expectations and is so much easier to use and offers a huge range of features and value for money from my experience of other products on the market...come back soon for more examples of what you can do with this amazing piece of software :-)

Elegant Dasher...

Did you know that Dasher is currently one of the top selling stamps? He is so versatile and is perfectly sized for cards, tags and even scrapbook borders...you can use whatever sentiment stamps you have to hand with him and I have seen cute and elegant cards made with him...

He is adorable and you can find him in the catalog on pg 208 - at just $8.95 he is such a great price and a perfect stamp to use on your Holiday cards this season. My card below also uses a sentiment from the set Four the Holidays from the Holiday Mini Catlalog - at just $13.95 this set is also a fabulous value :-)

I received a gorgeous Dasher card in a swap recently and just had to make some of my own - I love the colors Soft Suede and Real Red used together as they are so elegantly festive...

The base of this card is Soft Suede - Peace on Earth is stamped onto Shimmery White using Soft Suede Ink - this stamp is from the set 'Four the Holidays' which you can find on pg 19 of the Holiday Mini Catalog - it is priced at just $13.95 making it excellent value for money :-)

I trimmed the Real Red borderusing the Scallop Edge Punch and the little holes were made using the Paper Piercing Tool - the patterned paper is from the Christmas Cocoa Specialty pack of DSP that you can find on pg 21 of the Holiday Mini Catalog - it features metallic and flocked prints and is just gorgeous...

I cut the red scallop circle using my Big Shot and Scallop Circles #2 Die (pg 199) and again used the Paper Piercing Tool to make those little holes that really finish off the card. I stamped Dasher onto a piece of Shimmery White in Soft Suede Ink and used my Circle Scissors Plus (pg 191) to cut a 3" circle and mounted it onto the red scallop circle, and finally I added a piece of Soft Suede Polka Dot Ribbon to finish it off...isn't it beautiful? :-)

FREE Pack of Handmade Cards with Every Order...

Would you like to receive a pack of these beautiful cards for free? Please read on for details...

I absolutely loved one of the swaps I received at Founders Circle and this is it - it is stunning and sparkles beautifully and is just perfect for the holiday season...it uses the very versatile stamp Medallion and on our trip to Stampin' Up!'s manufacturing facility at Kanab last week we were told that this stamp is currently one of the most popular...

I was not surprised...this stamp is fabulous value for money at just $17.95 and you can use it all year round to create beautiful backgrounds and to create fabulous focal points on cards and scrapbook pages...and by using the Gold or Silver Elastic Cord that you can find in the Holiday Mini you can use it to make a beautiful snowflake or ornament as below...

This card was made by the very talented Jill Olsen - she took a piece of Night of Navy Cardstock and stamped Medallion (you can find it on pg 133 of the Catalog) onto it using Versamark Ink. She then sprinkled on Heat and Stick Powder, heated it using a Heat Tool and then applied Fine Silver Glitter and gave another quick blast with the Heat Tool to set it.

She added a Clear Rhinestone Brad to the center, Silver Elastic Cord and a bow along with a sentiment from the set All Holidays and Silver Embossing Powder at the top - you could use any sentiment that you have to hand - and finally she mounted it onto a base of Whisper White cardstock - or you could use Brushed Silver as the base which would give a very luxurious effect. It is very difficult to capture the glittery sparkle of this card because in real life it is dazzling in all lights - what a beautiful card to receive this holiday season - :-)

WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE SOME OF THESE BEAUTIFUL CARDS FOR FREE? EVERY CUSTOMER THAT PLACES AN ORDER WITH ME FOR CATALOG MERCHANDISE THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30th 2009 WILL BE MAILED A PACKAGE OF 6 OF THESE BEAUTIFUL HANDMADE CARDS ALONG WITH STAMPED ENVELOPES - to place your order directly online simply click HERE - once there, click 'Shop Now' in the top right corner of that website and you can shop, pay via debit or credit card and your order will be delivered directly to your door - if you would prefer to email your order to me, please click here

Look what you can do with the Big Shot and some fabric...

Did you know that you can use the Big Shot and lots of the Dies to make fabric flowers and even beautiful quilts and patchwork projects?

Whilst at Founders Circle a group of new friends and I decided to see if we could make some of the fabric flowers that we had seen being toted around attached to clothing and bags that had been made using the Big Shot and Flower Folds Bigz Die that is exclusive and only available for purchase from Stampin' Up!...one of the ladies very kindly trekked off on a mission to find some fabric, tulle, eedles, thread and buttons...working together, we figured out how to make them and this is what we came up with...

Isn't it gorgeous? And just perfect for the Fall and Thanksgiving...and we realised that simply by changing the colors and textures of the fabrics you can make them for any time of the year and occasion...imagine a beautiful holiday one using blues and silvers...or reds and golds...and you could even make a Halloween one using orange and black...using a pin that you can purchase at any craft store you can attach it to clothing or on to your bag...we had many comments and lots of ladies wanting to make some - and it simply uses one fabulous Bigz Die that cuts through layers of fabric with ease :-)

We used 4 fabrics to make the one above - red and gold corduroys and two prints plus white tulle that has a shimmer to it. Using the Big Shot and Flower Folds Bigz Die (on pg 201 of the Catalog) you cut a large flower out of all four fabrics. You fold each in half - put your first on the table...then add the second on top, covering two of the petals of the first one. Do the same again with the third...and when you put the fourth on, tuck two petals behind the first - it makes sense when you are doing it and when you have finished it will look like you have 4 heart shapes. Then take your needle and thread and stitch a large X to hold them all together.

Next cut three medium flower shapes using the tulle - fold them in half and then just fold one of the edges in a third of the way and stitch to the base - by doing this, it makes the petals stand up a little and look puffy. Do the same for the other two flowers.

Then choose three of your fabrics and cut a smaller flower out of them - again, fold two of them in half and stitch in place. Fold the third flower and cut in half - then position on opposite sides and stitch in place. Lastly, cut two small tulle flowers and stitch in place, followed by a button to make the center and put your fixing on the back so that you can attach it where you would like to wear or carry it.

DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN USE THE BIG SHOT AND DIES IN PATCHWORK AND QUILTING? I learned that this is a very cost effective way for quilters and patchworkers to cut shapes out of fabric - there are dedicated machines for doing this but apparently they are way more expensive than purchasing the Big Shot and Dies to do the same job - and the Big Shot makes it sooo easy to do...

Check out these fabulous quilts that a very talented demonstrator named Jill Olsen created - she cut out the fabric shapes for her quilts using the Big Shot along with dies such as the 5-Point 3-d Star, Pennant, Flower Folds and Scallop Circles Bigz Dies...click here to see the full list of what these dies can cut through. These beautiful quilts were available at Founders Circle for us to snuggle under and they are made of a variety of textured fabrics including some fuzzy ones that you can see in the pink one below...they are absolutely beautiful and stunning to look at...

You can find the Big Shot and Dies on pgs 194-202 of the Catalog - you can also find them in the online store that you can find by clicking HERE - once there, simply click 'Shop Now' which will take you to the store and you will see 'Die Cutting' on the left - you can view our Big Shot line there and on your Big Shot order you will also receive all hostess benefits (meaning free stamps and merchandise) on orders of $150+ - if you have any questions please click here to contact me and I will be very happy to help :-)

The Last Evening at Founders Circle...

And what a wonderful time it was...we boarded the buses at 5.30 pm and they took us to a secret location - when we arrived, we had a group photograph and then went up to a restaurant surrounded by spectacular scenery and sat outside on the terrace admiring the view :-)

We all had a little box tied with ribbon at our place settings (which were, as always, beautiful) and were instructed not to open the boxes until told to do so...

And did you notice the fabric table cloths, again made of a pattern taken from Cottage Wall - can you believe all the little special touches that they did to make our experience a real one of a kind one? Once all seated, Shelli spoke to us and then we all opened out boxes at once...guess what was inside? Two beautiful butterflies waiting to fly away - they were a little sleepy but soon took to the skies...what a wonderful sight...

We then ate whilst watching the sun go down...the sky was an amazing sight, full of colors...and then all was still and calm...what a spectacular sunset over the Utah mountains...

Whilst eating dessert the lovely Bonnie Thurber spoke to us, inspiring us with a story and then the wind started...it got stronger...and stronger...and stronger...large items blew around...glasses started to smash...lightning was filling the skies...we all ran in to take cover and being girls, of course grabbed our desserts to take with us...and a real tempest of a storm came over...it was sudden and angry and what an experience!!!

We had some more fun and then boarded the buses back to the hotel...we all said our goodbyes to Shelli and the new friends we had made...and then retired to our rooms to find out final pillow gifts which are beautiful...two butterfly charms that are linked, one that has been engraved with 'Founders Circle 2009'...

I have had the most amazing experience at Founders Circle and am going to work very hard to return next year...if you have enjoyed reading about my experience and are thinking that you would like to experience it one day yourself, I would love for you to become a demonstrator and Join My Team - you can find out lots more info by clicking HERE and if you have any questions, please Contact Me and I will be very happy to help :-)

Sensational Saturday at Founders...

Last nite was such a fun evening...we had the business share and swap and let me tell you, we received some wonderful swaps...there are amazingly talented ladies here :-)

And just a little side note - two of my most favorite people in the world told me last nite that I keep using the word 'wow' alot along with the words 'wonderful fabulous and amazing' in my posts while I am here...and when I looked back I realised that I had...that made me chuckle alot - what can I say? This is one of the best experiences ever...how can I not use those words many times over? :-)

Sooo last nite was the swap and business share - we did the swap first and all lined up along a corridor and took it in turns to go down the line...and Shelli was in line too and we all received a swap from her...

I received so many wonderful cards and this morning there was display of them on the trellises in the gathering place...when I get home I will post some of my most favorite that I received...it'll be hard to choose as there as so many fantastic ones...

Next we gathered for the business share and snacked on fruit cups and had pineapple, orange and berry cocktails which were delicious...lots of ideas were shared on the open mic and I learned alot of fantastic tips...

And finally I trekked up to bed intrigued at what I might find as my pillow gift this evening...and we all giggled when we found 'em...the theme of Founders has been 'blooming' and we have had garden themed tables, candy in plant pots and received a stamp set and a book about a secret garden...the pillow gift carried on that theme and was so fun to see...


I have never seen a pair of wellies on a bed before LOL...and never seen them in such a cute design...and the funniest thing is those boots are in my size...they must have crept in one nite and sized up my shoe size whilst I slept :-)

Sooo today we are left to our own devices, to finish up make and takes, relax, read, sit by the pool...eat...snack on candy and chocolate...and this evening we are off to a secret destination and board buses at 5.30 pm for the final evening's activities...I will be so sorry to leave tomorrow morning as this has been an amazing experience but on the other hand, I can't wait to get home and see my wonderful husband and cute girls - and so sorry, I can't help it...WOW - what a fabulous time I am having - the staff has spoiled us rotten :-)

And to my customers...don't forget about my special offer for you...it ends tomorrow evening at midnite central time so hurry and check it out if you haven't already done so...read posts below for the details...have a great Saturday...

Fabulous Friday at Founders!!!

Wow, what a day we had today - it was so amazing and a great experience :-)

We boarded buses to go out to the Stampin' Up! manufacturing facility where they make the stamp sets and we were all very excited to go and see it - on the way we had Shelli on our bus and the time flew by - we arrived and wow, what an amazing building it is...this is part of the front of the building...

Inside we got to go onto the factory floor and got to see exactly how they make the stamps...they also let us trim some rubber and pack some sets...that was FUN :-) And let me tell you, what an amazing group of people they are who work there - I have never seen more dedicated people who look like they really love their jobs :-)

And we also got to tour Shelli's apartment upstairs where she, her family and employees can stay when they come down from Riverton - and WOW it is full of her fabulous decorating style...there are amazing furnishings and linens and the bathrooms have chandaliers for their light fittings - completely inspiring and amazing...and my favorite bit was the laundry
room, fabulously decorated with lots of luxurious touches...what a wonderful place to do your laundry...it has inspired me to redecorate mine once I get home..

And this was so funny and shows you how welcome they made us that I just can't resist showing this photo- because there were ALOT of women arriving today they temporarily changed one of the men's restrooms into a ladies one - and look what they did to the sign - they added a little skirt - we all chuckled alot about that one and were so happy they made us so welcome :-)

Once outside we went over and took our photographs by the famous rock...

And check out the view from the parking lot...WOW...can you imagine seeing that view when you come out of work every day? I am loving Utah - it has such fabulous scenery...

Next they took us to the park and laid on the best lunch for us including fabulous desserts - all packaged up in a lunch pail that we got to keep...isn't that cool? :-)


And then we got to go and check out the kids play area which has off-cuts of rubber underneath - Stampin' Up! donates these off-cuts for such uses which is a wonderful way of recycling them...so we all gazed down at the rubber for ages to find little bits with images on them...and then we took photographs and had a Rising Star group photo that you can see below...then it was back onto the buses and back to the hotel with lots of fun and games on the way home where we got more freebies - we each received a package of the silver HoHoHo Decor Accessories from the Holiday Mini plus a roll of Red Polka Dot Ribbon and I won a little extra something too...FUN!!!

And lastly here is my photograph with Shelli...

Today was sooo very enjoyable and it hasn't ended yet...we have the pajama party with snacks and swapping to do later...I'll write about that tomorrow...be sure to check back and check out my Founders Circle customer special offer that runs thru Sunday...it's a good one :-)

Relaxing Thursday at Founders...

Well this is Day 2 and today we got to do what we wanted...WOW - what a treat and great luxury!!!

The funniest bit is that it took me ages at the breakfast table this morning trying to decide what to do with all this time, so I had breakfast and trotted off into the Gathering Place which they had transformed overnite into an area where we could do our make n takes using the set we received last evening as our pillow gift...well, there were sofas and pillows everywhere and the pillows are made of fabric that uses the Cottage Wall print...


And there are baskets full of quilts for us to use that the amazing Jill Olsen created, and some of them use some of the Big Shot dies such as the Pennant Die and various Flower Dies - they are amazing and it didnt occur to me that the Big Shot is a great tool for quilters too :-)




The afternoon was a busy one with a trip to the pool to read my book, a little shopping and going out for a large group dinner...I then decided to work on my swaps down in the Gathering Place and joined a table of ladies I found there - and guess who was also working on her swaps on another table? The fabulous Shelli and she came over to chat with us and find out what we were working on and looked at our cards - it was alot of fun and you can find my swap by scrolling down a few posts - it is the polar bear blue and silver card :-)

Finally my swaps were complete (125 is ALOT to make) and headed up to my room to find a pillow gift of one of my most favorite childhood books - The Secret Garden - and Shelli has written a note inside - WOW - what a fabulous gift and look how nicely they packaged it :-)


I still cannot believe how lucky I am to be here...they are spoiling us and we are having a wonderful experience...and we still have two more days of fun and mystery and treats - this is definitely worth working hard for and I have met the most amazing ladies here - if you aren't a demonstrator and are thinking of signing up, please Contact Me and I will be very happy to answer any questions that you might have about it :-)

And dont forget to check out my Founders Circle special offer which ends on Sunday...hurry...

Founders Circle - Arrival Day...

Well, today was arrival day at Founders Circle and what an amazing day it was...I got up at 3.45 am to get to the airport...and went to bed at 11.30pm - absolutely exhausted!

We are here in beautiful and sunny St George UT - wow what beautiful scenery - we arrived at the hotel and found beautiful name plates on our doors - we have a hotel room each which is just pure luxury - I am still gazing around at my room wondering how I got here...here is my room plate...


We had an opening game and got a brand new stamp set and had an easy day to wander around and check things out...I got to meet lots of ladies and have hooked up with some fellow rising stars who are fun :-) The theme is 'blooming' and so there is a candy table set up where we use little plant pot dishes to put our candy into - Cottage Wall is used to carry this theme and the hotel is decorated with some fabulous decor elements using this design - just beautiful...


I did my My Digital Studio training and it was my first chance to use the software - all I can say is WOW what a fabulous package - I cant wait to play with mine at home and show you all the fabulous things you can do with it - it is just AMAZING!!!

We had a welcome dinner and found some wonderful table settings at our seats - a card from Shelli along with a cute napkin ring made of woven sticks and a Big Shot butterfly on top made out of cottage wall DSP - the plate chargers were large plant dishes and it all gave us great ideas to make similar ones for thanksgiving using the leaf dies and christmas using snowflake dies...


I crawled back to my room completely exhausted around 11 to find a pillow gift of another new stamp set, some In Color ribbons and a set of In Color markers on my pillow to use for the Make and takes that we get to do whilst we are here...was I ever happy :-)

Well, tomorrow is open to do what we want to do - I have some swaps to finish up so I will go do that downstairs...there are shuttles running for those who want to shop...I am going to hang out and trek out to the pool at some point as it is sooo beautiful outside with no humidity and feels so much cooler than Tx...

Dont forget to check out my Founders Circle customer special offers in the post below...you only have a few days to take advantage of them...have a fabulous and sunny day :-)

Special Offer to celebrate Founders Circle trip...

To celebrate my Founders Circle trip I am offering some special offers this week...and please visit back here as I hope to be updating my blog with the fun that we are having there :-)

Any customer who places an order directly online via my DBWS by midnight on Sunday* will get to choose one Stampin' Write Marker of their choice for FREE - you can find my DBWS at:

http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/sarahsinkspot - simply click 'Shop Now' in the top right corner of that website and you can shop, pay via debit or credit card and your order will be
delivered directly to your door :-)

And it gets EVEN BETTER...any customer who places an order via my DBWS of $150+ for any Stampin' Up merchandise by midnight on Sunday* (before S&H and sales tax as applicable are applied) will also get to choose one pack of Rub-ons for FREE as well as a Marker - with Hostess Benefits on top of that too!!! And check out those beautiful new Hostess sets in the Holiday Mini - I am loving Patterned Pines - you can see a card I made this week by scrolling down...

You can find these beautiful Rub-ons on pages 176-177 of the 2009-2010 Catalog and also in the Holiday Mini Catalog on pgs 25 & 27 - but hurry - these offers end the day I return from Founders Circle at midnight on Sunday September 20th 2009...when you have placed your order, simply email me the freebies that you would like that your order qualifies for and
I will get them ordered for you :-)

And dont forget to check out the fabulous Sweet Rewards Promotion where with a qualifying order you can get any item from the Holiday Mini Catalog for just $10 - this is a fabulous deal - you can find out the details by clicking here

As always, if you have any questions please Contact Me and I will be very happy to help :-)

Founders Circle Swap...

Well I am travelling to Founders Circle early on Wednesday morning which is very exciting and used the weekend to get my swaps done to take with me...we have to make 125 card fronts to swap and I was trying to come up with a design that would be fairly easy to duplicate...phew...that was tough and they took a while to make!!!

I will be offering a customer special offer whilst I am at Founders Circle from Wednesday through Sunday so be sure to check back tomorrow for the details of that fab offer :-)

I decided to use a set from the Holiday Mini that I just love - Cold & Cuddly on pg 18 - it features some adorable snow characters that are sooo cute - and to create a frosty feel, I decided to use blue, silver and white as my main colors...

My cards are sized 5 1/2" square - the base is Bashful Blue onto which I used my Polka Dot Background stamp using Whisper White Craft Ink to create a snowfall effect. I then cut a 3 1/4" circle using my Circle Scissors Plus into the cardfront to create a window and I used the Eyelet Border Punch to make the edge pretty and to carry on the circular/snow theme. I cut a piece of Brushed Silver cardstock to trim the bottom of the card.

I stamped my sentiment using a stamp from Many Merry Messages and embossed it using Versamark Ink, Silver Embossing Powder and my Heat Tool. I stamped my ice image using Bashful Blue Ink and the polar bear using Close to Cocoa - I stamped one of his legs again and cut it out and adhered it on to cover the blue line of the ice - I then attached this layer beneath the card front.

I took a snowflake stamp from the Hostess set Snow Buddies (on pg 5 of the Holiday Mini) and stamped & embossed it and used a Circle Punch to cut it out - I then mounted this onto a larger Circle of Brushed Silver. I attached 3 lengths of Silver Elastic Cord to the cardfront and added the snowflake medallion using Dimensionals - I tied a little piece of elastic cord at the top to finish it off.

I hope the ladies like them...and be sure to check back tomorrow to find out details of my Founders Circle special offer :-)