Whoa...it's been a year???

Well, it certainly is hard to believe that I have not posted in over a year. I don't know where time goes! Suffice it to say that since my last post, I have started a new job, been sorta promoted (went from working for 2 attorneys to 3...LOL) and I am absolutely loving my new job.

This weekend I dedicated my time to going through some of my stamp things - was going to pack them away, then decided to go for it and make my own craft area. Now mind you, my apartment is not huge, so it is taking some creative juices. In fact, today alone, I got the new desk and chair put together and got some of the stuff organized. I am going to try to do one thing per night (i.e. Monday-stamps, Tuesday-ribbon, Wednesday-embellishments, Thursday-paper, Friday-the rest). AAARRRGGGGH! Who in the world let me accumulate all this stuff?

Anyway, these are some cards (below) that I had made over the past year that I have really enjoyed making. I ended up making a set of them for my grandmother's birthday. Hope she enjoyed using them!

Butterfly-Small

...here comes the bride....

Nope! Not me! LOL. Instead I have been dutifully working on mockups of wedding invites for a friend that has asked me to design their wedding invitations. Since they are having a late fall (November-ish) wedding, they are going with a plum, black and white theme. SO---what better paper than purely pomegranate, basic black and whisper white? Here is my first go-ahead:





So...that was too busy, so here's my second attempt. Haven't heard anything yet...but...hopefully...she will like it!



(of course the picture would be of the 2 of them, not these 2 crazy kids!)

Busy last night!

I accidentally created this card using scraps of paper and I love it! I might make a whole set for my boss who loves PINK (ok, I'm not too far away from loving pink if you can't tell by now!)

The card is 5 inches by 6.5 inches -- perfect size for a thank you note. After all, you can only say thank you so many ways, right?

Ingredients: Basic Black CS, Whisper White CS, Pink ribbon from Michaels (shhh!) and a sticky jewel from Michaels (Shhhh!!!), Looks Like Spring Stamp Set (I used the dotted argyle), the THANK YOU sentiment is from "Much Appreciated" and the flower was made from "In the Spotlight". Very simple and fun - took about 5 minutes to make it - literally.





The card below is one we made at our downline meeting on Saturday. Love the idea -- thanks Faith!






That's all for now - maybe a stroke of genius later this afternoon after work!

More cards!!!

Yay! I have new cards to post!

Card #1: Butterfly Thanks

Ingredients: Basic Black CS, Whisper White CS, Pink Passion CS, StazOn Black Ink, Basic Black Ink, Pink Passion, Aqua Painters

Next, I have another thank you card I made for someone at my church. I like this four piece idea but cannot seem to get it right! Oh, well...all's well that ends well. Ingredients: Basic Black CS, Pink Passion CS, Whisper White CS, all the same ink (except the white is craft ink so you can emboss it, although I did not).

Last but not least is an experiemental card. The card measures 5" x 6.5". I used white as my base and mounted chocolate chip on the white base. Then I mounted the old olive on top of the chocolate chip. I used Looks Like Spring for the flower and cut it out painstakingly! then stamped "My dear kind & wonderful friend" in chocolate chip. I really love this card and think I'm going to make a set of them!

My Swap Went Postal! Yay!

Been a little busy and crazy trying to finish this All-Occasion card swap...but, alas, I finished the last of my cards last night about 1:00 a.m. I've put the pictures below so you can see what they are!

Card #1 is the Baroque motifs one already featured on the website, so I won't bore you with the details on that one again.

Card #2 is a general birthday card - fairly simple and quick (definitely my speed!) I used Wild Wasabi card stock, very vanilla cardstock, blue bayou double stitched ribbon, blue bayou and wild wasabi ink and a yellow eyelet. Stamp sets were In the Spotlight and It's Your Birthday.

Card #3 is a female birthday card - again, simple and quick. I used the stamp set Natural Beauty (retired, but we have some great comparables in the catty) and used StazOn ink so I could watercolor the flowers. I matted them with black cardstock and mounted the two flowers on the wild wasabi cardstock then mounted on purely pomegranate. For the extra bling on this card, I used a pearl brad in the center of the flower above the saying. The other stamp set used is It's Your Birthday.

Card #4 is a baby card - I was stumped on this one. I don't think in all my years of stamping that I have made a baby card. I don't have any baby sets. Luckily my friend is selling some of her stamp sets so I borrowed it and used the bib that has a cute little saying on it. I used the word CELEBRATE out of the new set Celebrate in the 2008 Spring-Summer catalog and sprinkled with soft sky Itty Bitty Backgrounds (a staple!).

I hope this has provided some inspiration, I will forward more as the time goes on. Have a great day!

Stampin' Up! (R) releases 2008 Spring-Summer Catalog! New deals for stampers!

Hello Stampers!

Just a heads up to let you know the 2008 Spring-Summer Catalog is now active on the Stampin’ Up! ® website! I will be forwarding each of you a catalog when I receive my copies, but until then, have fun browsing it online!

If you would like to place an order, please let me know. I am offering a “new catalog” reward plan. See below for more details. Additionally, if any of you would like to place an order, the person that replies to me first with their order is eligible to be the hostess and earn free Stampin’ Up! ® merchandise! Also, the hostess of this order will receive a stamp pad of their choice from the “In Colors” (Wild Wasabi, River Rock, Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Purely Pomegranate and Groovy Guava) as well as a package of the assorted cardstock sized 8.5” x 11”.

If you book a party/workshop before January 31, 2008 (note: your party doesn’t have to be before January 31st, just the booking), upon completion of your party/workshop, you will receive an extra-special surprise when your order comes in (trust me, you won’t be disappointed)!

If I can be of any help or further assistance, please contact me at 757-277-9581 (home), 757-235-0698 (cell), or n2stampin@gmail.com.

Happy stamping!

~Ashley Warren~
Independent Demonstrator
# 2028842

Details on the Stampin’ Rewards program:

For every $50 worth or merchandise you order (before tax, handling, rebates, incentives, etc.) you will receive 1 classic stamp pad of your choice. So, for $100 worth of merchandise, you will receive 2 classic stamp pads, for $150 worth of merchandise you will receive 3 stamp pads, and so forth.

paisley background

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Ingredients: Green Galore CS, Chocolate Chip CS

Inks: Chocolate Chip Craft Stampin' Spots

Accessories: Non-SU green polka dot ribbon, Non-SU flowers with gold brads, clear embossing powder

experimenting with baroque motifs

One of the first cards I have CASEd in a very long time.

Ingredients:

Cardstock: Blue Bayou, Very Vanilla, River Rock, Purely Pomegranate

Inks: Blue Bayou, River Rock, Purely Pomegranate, Groovy Guava

Accessories: Groovy Guava DS ribbon

Sets: Baroque Motifs (2007 Fall Winter Catty) and Simple Sayings II (retired)