Eat Chocolate Accordian Fold

This is the cutest stamp set and one that I plan to keep in my collection of favorites! It's called Eat Chocolate and it's only available until the end of April in the 2011 Occasions Mini Catalog. When I'm looking for inspiration I love the browse the http://www.stampinaddicts.com/ gallery. You can search by stamp set to see all the different creations. I combined two cards that I loved made by Yapha Mason and Kathleen Hopperstad to create this accordian fold card.

Spring Petal Cone Favor

You can find the new petal cone Bigz L Die on page 15 of the 2011 Occasions Mini. I also used the Bigz Beautiful Butterflies die on page 206 of the IBC, and the Taseteful Trims Bigz Die (on the side with the pearls) which was featured in the Holiday Mini but still available to order: http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=120893. The little flower in the center of the butterfly is the Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack. I filled it with butterly die cuts and gave it to my friend for a hostess gift, for hostessing March's stamp club.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 
Happy St. Patrick's Day and good luck all through the year. May you be blessed with an abundance of creativity. I CASE'd this card from a beautiful version I saw on Stampin Addicts by Eileen LeFever. I simplified it a bit and turned it into a St. Patty's Day card. I used the Medallion stamp and the Bliss stamp on the background behind the tear. The edges are inked with Soft Suede and the sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes. I sprayed it lightly with gold shimmer spray.

Shimmer Spray and Salt Embossed Blossoms

This technique adds a really cool worn look to your paper. First, you spray whisper white cardstock with shimmer spray. I used Golden Glow and Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spray. Sprinkle salt over your paper and emboss it with your heat tool. Remove the salt, then stamp the petals in So Saffron. Punch them out with the Blossom Petals Punch.

Faux Silk Technique

I love how elegant the faux silk technique looks on a card. This was CASE'd from the January 2011 issue of Stampin' Connection available to Stampin' Up! Demonstrators. Here's the recipe:

Stamp Set: Just Believe

Cardstock: Concord Crush, Pear Pizzaz, Peach Parfait & Whisper White

Stampin' Write Markers: Concord Crush & Pear Pizzaz and the Eyelet Punch

Stamp your image onto whisper white cardstock. Gently crinkle a piece of gift wrap tissue paper then flatten it back out. Cover the stamped image with a glue stick (make sure it is completely dry or it will smear.) Adhere the tissue paper to the stamped image and trim the excess. You can also stamp directly onto the tissue paper before crinkling it, flatten it back out and adhere it to the cardstock. Happy Stamping!

Cherry on Top Award

I have to share this FUN blog award I received from my sweet Stampin' Up! Downline, April Massad.  I was so surprised to  see she awarded me the Cherry on Top Blog Award! Thank you so much April. You made my day!
So now I have to pass it on to 5 wonderful bloggers and list 3 things about myself!
Here are some fun bloggers:
1. My upline, The Stampin' Bunny
2.  Come Stamp With Jamie
3. See Julie Stamp
4. The Maui Stamper
5. Abi Monroe
So here are my 3 things!

1. I have a new love of my life, my new Morkie puppy named Sutton, who is 4 1/2 months old. 
2. I have been a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator for two years.
3. Ironically I make cards, but I have a part time Retail Merchandiser position, organizing "store bought" cards.

Pink Carnation Napkin Ring

I saw these cute carnations all over the internet and had to make one. They are so easy. Just punch out eight scallop circles. You can ink the edges or not. Lightly spray them with water and wad each one up into a little tight ball. (Misting them with water makes the cardstock more flexible to work with.) Then open them up, smooth them back out and stack them on top of each other. Pierce the center then adhere them with any brad (the brad won't show). Starting with the center or top layer scallop, squish it up around the brad. Do the same with each layer, one layer at a time. Make it tight at first, then you can loosen the up the flower a bit when you are done. I just made the napkin ring from a piece of cardstock and stapled it. Then I adhered the carnation with a glue dot. Cute, huh!

Not Too Late to Sale-A-Brate!

There's still time to Sale-A-Brate with Stampin' Up! Through the end of the month (until March 31st) spend $50 and earn one free SAB product of your choice. Host a workshop of at least $300 and earn one FREE SAB product in addition to the fabulous hostess benefits. Join Stampin' Up! by becoming a demonstrator this month and get 15% off your starter kit. Plus, get a bonus bundle filled with over $50 in free products. Shop here: http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/krisk/promotions.

I CASE'd this paper cake from the May 2010 Issue of Stampin' Success. One of the benefits of being a demonstrator is access to all sorts of creative ideas and techniques! I added a paper rose on top (made with the ornament punch) by following Becky Jensen's tutorial at http://www.stampthat.com/blog/ornament-punch-rose-tutorial/.  If you look closely at the first picture you can see the cute new Vintage Flower Adornments I added, found on page 15 of the Occasions Mini Catalog.