Awesome Almost Artisans...

Some of my online friends that also submitted entries for the Artisan Award are sharing their projects on their blogs. I wanted to share the links to their blogs so you could go check them out! They have done AWESOME work! Just goes to show that Stampin' Up! had a DIFFICULT choice to make when choosing the winners. Check these out when you have a second! :)

Cindy Jamie Jackie Patty

Katy Melissa Tina Kelly

Ashley Carmen Monika Tracy

Sam Jenn Renee Carrie

Artisan Award Entry #4

Here's another one of the scrapbook pages I entered for the Artisan Award that I didn't win. :) I still REALLY like this page though. It's a picture of my nephew that I took when we were doing big family photos one day. I wanted to do a boyish page and since I don't have any myself...I thought this was perfect. This page actually has a lot of details going on, but it's a very simplistic page. Here it is!...
SO HANDSOME he is!!! Love this kid! Around that Crushed Curry circle in the top right corner are some fun silver brads...

I love the "manly" accent that adds!

I also love the stars stamped in Basic Gray on the Basic Gray textured cardstock. I did some spritzing with the FABULOUS spritzing tool and my Basic Gray marker. I then took a star Designer brad and altered it a bit. I smooshed it in Real Red craft ink and got the whole thing all inked up. Then I wiped off the ink on the top, so it just stays in the recessed parts. Then I put some clear embossing powder on there and heated it up so it wouldn't smear anywhere. I LOVE the color added on that!...

I used the Top Note in Bashful Blue to add a bit of interest and then also used some Silver Hodgepodge to tie in the silver brads. Once again, I used a Corduroy brad for some more texture. Can I say one more time that I LOVE THOSE THINGS!!!! :) ...

Then here you can see my glossy letters. I cut out the letters using my Simple Letters dies and the Big Shot. Then I put Crystal Effects all over them to give them that 3-D glossy look. LOVE these things! :) ...

I had a ton of fun making this page and hope you enjoy it! Thanks SO MUCH for all your comments/emails on my Artisan projects! You are awesome!!!! And thanks for visiting! :)

***STAY TUNED!!!!*** The Last Chance List is released TOMORROW!!! I will post it on my blog as soon as I see it! There will be hundreds of items retiring so order quick! I have a feeling some things will be going FAST!!!!

Artisan Award Entry #3

Just sharing another one of my Artisan Entries. Another card. I wanted to do different sizes and varieties of cards, so I made this one a 5x5 card. I also used a Sweet Treat Cup to make it a shaker card...
This time it's a fun and cheery card. The flower is from the "Petal Pizazz" stamp set, the stem for the flowers is from the "Sweetheart" set (that is sold for the Heart Sweet Treat Cups. It isn't in a catalog...but you can still get it!), and then the saying is from the set "Stem Sayings." Here's a close-up for you...

Then for the inside of the Sweet Treat Cups I used some fun beads. I used the Pumpkin Pie and Pretty in Pink brads. I also stamped another flower from the "Petal Pizazz" set in Pumpkin Pie ink on Pumpkin Pie cardstock for the background of the Sweet Treat Cup. So as you shake the card...you can see that flower in the background.

Then the saying is embossed with Chocolate Chip craft ink and Clear Embossing Powder. Everything is sponged as well to make it pop.

Thanks so much for visiting! I hope you enjoy! And I SO appreciate your comments and emails. It's helping me heal from not winning. :)

Artisan Award Entry #2

Here is the first scrapbook page I'm showing that I entered into the Artisan Award. I have to say....I LOVE this page! It has so much more detail in person...and I will definitely have to make this one again for my own scrapbook. Here is the whole page...
(***Note: the year on this page is wrong. Maybe that's why I didn't win. :) This really was from 2007 but I had written 2009 and decided it didn't really matter since it wasn't going in my scrapbook.)

You may not be able to tell this in the photo....but the 12x12 sheet is textured cardstock. (Again...LOVE that stuff and the difference it makes!) But then the lattice pieces, (the things in the background...I cut that with the Lattice Die for the Big Shot) I cut out of smooth cardstock. So it makes them pop a bit more and the texture underneath them stands out more too. Hopefully you can kinda see in this picture...
(The letters are cut out of textured cardstock and sponged with Pretty in Pink ink.) For the "at me" part of the title...I stamped and cut those letters out (the alphabet is the Contempo Alphabet) and then put a layer of crystal effects on them. I LOVE this look. It gives them a glossy glaze, makes them 3-D and is just gorgeous! (On my other scrapbook pages I did the same thing with the bigger letters so you will be able to tell more with those. :) ) Then the background of the "at me" piece I ran through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dot embossing folder. Then of course...sponged the edges. And gotta love those Corduroy buttons! They add so much texture and I LOVE using those!...

Here is another shot of that fun ribbon technique. What I did for this was put a strip of Sticky Strip down the page and then just folded the ribbon sticking it to that to make it look like this...

The satin ribbon is SO BEAUTIFUL and looks SO good! The arrows on the page I ran through the same Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. And then used Very Vanilla Jumbo Brads. And take a look at my daughter's face as she goes down. TOO CUTE!!! (If I do say so myself! :) ) ...

Now look at those sweet little feet. :) Love them. Now on to that ruffly edge. (That patterned paper on the page actually matches my daughters dress almost PERFECT! So exciting!!! :) ) I took a few strips of the Designer Series Paper (oh...and it's from the Positively Prints pack in the Build-A-Bear collection. I love the prints in that and use them for lots of things that have nothing to do with Build-A-Bear!) and used the Eyelet border punch to make the decorative edge. Then did basically the same thing as I did with the ribbon. Laid down a strip of sticky strip and just folded it over on each other to get that look...

The colors of the page are Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Old Olive, and Very Vanilla. I hope you enjoy this page! I know I love it and it kinda makes me sad that the judges didn't. :) (OK...I know they could have loved it too. I know they had a SUPER hard time picking because there are lots of fabulous stampers out there that entered! So it's ok that I didn't win. (At least I'm trying to be ok about it. :) ) I'm excited for those that did for sure though. :) ) But I do hope you enjoy and thanks so much for visiting!!!

Artisan Award Entry #1

This year I entered a HUGE contest that Stampin' Up! offers to their demonstrators. It's called Artisan Award. You have to submit 10 different projects (5 cards, 3 scrapbook pages, and 2 3-D items) of your BEST work. Then they judge them all and pick 10 winners. Well....this is my first time entering ANY sort of contest. And I guess it didn't pay off because I didn't win. :( BUT...now I get to show all of you what I submit! So silver lining, right?!? Anyway...it would be WAY too long of a post to share all 10 in one post...so I will spread them out over the next 10 days. I'm excited to show you! I tried to do a variety of styles and techniques and all sorts of stuff! So here is project #1...a card...
This card was made with one of the pages of the On Board Scallop Circle book from the Occasions Mini catalog. So...the big scallop in the background is chipboard. I LOVED this card. It's sad because all of these projects look SO much better in real life. But I'll never have them in my hands again. :( Stampin' Up! keeps all the projects you submit...so they are gone forever. But oh well. At least I remembered to take pictures. :) Oh...and all this stuff that I used is from the Game Night collection in the main catalog. Here are some close-up details...

I cut out the card with my Big Shot and the Clear Circle die. I embossed EVERYTHING that I stamped and then I also sponged all the edges of everything with whatever color cardstock I used. So things really popped in real life. I loved the dice in the background that I embossed. I just stamped in Basic Black craft ink on Basic Black cardstock. The embossed with clear embossing powder. The game pieces I stamped with either So Saffron craft ink or Real Red craft ink.

I LOVE textured cardstock! I think it makes SUCH a difference. I would use it ALL the time if it was sold in packs like the smooth is. :) Here is the card opened up...

And some close-up's...

This card really made me want to have a game night so I could make some invites. :) It was so much fun! I hope you enjoy! Feel free to leave me any comments that may make me feel better for not winning! :) Thanks for visiting!!

Mini Catalog Carryover Items...

There are some items from the past mini's this year that are still available for purchase! So exciting! But how do you know what is still available?!?!? Well....I am adding the pictures of everything here. :) You can also click HERE to download and print out a PDF file if that's easier! So if you missed out on any of these items that you weren't able to get when the catalog was current....you can still get them! YAY! Just let me know if I can help you with anything!

Tropical Party Galore!

Last month when I went to my group's training meeting we had a "card making" portion of the evening event. I was SO EXCITED when I saw that some of the cards are made with a FABULOUS new set in the Summer Mini....called "Tropical Party." I LOVE LOVE this set and wanted to share the cards we made that night with this stamp set...

Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, So Saffron, Rose Red, Whisper White
Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Tropical Party
Ink: Tempting Turquoise
Accessories: Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Island Floral Bigz Die, Big Shot with Cutting Pads, Trio Flower punch, Silver Brad, Eyelet Border Punch

Card Stock: So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Whisper White

Stamps: Tropical Party, All Holiday

Ink: Rose Red, Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise, Basic Black

Accessories: Rose Red 1" Double Stitched Ribbon, Island Oasis Designer Series Paper, Rhinestone Brads, Paper Piercer Tool, Scallop Edge Punch, Stapler

Stamps: On Your Birthday, Tropical Party

Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White

Ink: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive,

Accessories: Scallop Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Tempting Turquoise 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Two Tags Die, Big Shot with Cutting Pads, Island Oasis Designer Series Paper

Cardstock: Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White

Stamps: Tropical Party

Ink: Rose Red, Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise,

Accessories, Rose Red 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, 5 petal flower punch, Playground Buttons, Island Oasis Designer Series Paper

Aren't they SO WONDERFUL and summery!!!! I am SO READY for summer!!!! :) Hope you enjoy! Thanks for visiting!!!

Caterpillar Punch Fun...

I forgot to show you this Award I won when I went to a training meeting in April. It was for entering a creative contest. So much fun to win an award for that! :) You are going to be so jealous! :) Here it is...
HOW CUTE!!!! There were some dimensionals and pop-up glue dots in the cello. SERIOUSLY cute!!! :) Here is the little caterpillar close up...

Don't you just love him! :) The colors are Green Galore and Gable Green (with some Basic Black, Real Red, and Whisper White in there) so if you want to make him...better do it before these colors are gone! :) (They are two of the ones retiring with the Color Renovation.) I think he is just precious! Hope you enjoy!!!! Thanks for visiting!

Club Card...Stepped Up!!

I posted the club projects that we made for this month HERE. (It was the last post I did.) Well...that club card actually came from this card that I made just for fun...

This was a tough card to photograph...but trust me when I say it's tons of fun! When I got my new supplies from the SUMMER MINI , I sat down to play one day. Well I LOVED this card so much and I wanted my club girls to make it. However...it took a bit too much time for a club card. So I adapted it a bit and came up with the club card we did this month. But you still get to see this version as well! The outside part of the card is a "frame" in Kraft (I cut out the middle) with a window sheet covering the frame. And I spritzed the front with Log Cabin Smooch Spritz before I put the window sheet on. :)

Then this is the inside:
The three ice cream scoops are all done with the same "rock and roll" technique we did. (The blue is Tempting Turquoise rolled in Taken With Teal, pink is Regal Rose rolled in Rose Red, and the green is Certainly Celery rolled in Old Olive.) And the cones are all Close to Cocoa rolled in Chocolate Chip. I also spritzed the whole thing with the Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz. SO PRETTY! :)

Here is a photo of the back of the card front. I tied the ribbon around first (using the 1/4" grosgrain ribbon in Tempting Turquoise, Rose Red, and Old Olive) and then glued on the window sheet with glue dots...

Here is a photo of the layers...

I hope you can tell how this card works. I had a lot of fun making this card and hope you enjoy as well! Thanks for visiting!

CLUB DAY FOR MAY!

Wednesday was club day! Club day is a blast and I have so much fun with everyone that comes! And we MISS everyone that can't make it!!!!! I meant to show you these projects earlier in the week...but things have been crazy! So here they are now!

We first made this card using the Sweet Scoops set. I LOVE LOVE this set! It's screams summer and is just so much fun!!! Here is the card...

How cute?! :) Now...look closely at the ice cream...

We did the "Rock and Roll" technique. What we did was ink up the ice cream scoop in Certainly Celery ink. Then we "rolled" the edges in the Old Olive ink to get the darker outside edge. LOVE IT! Then with the cone we inked it up in Close to Cocoa and rolled those edges in Chocolate Chip. This is a super fun technique so go try it! :) The background is spritzed with the Log Cabin Smooch Spritz spray! SO pretty in real life!

Stamps: Sweet Scoops, Rough Type (both from Mini Catalog)

Ink: Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip

Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise
Accessories: Tempting Turquoise 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Bitty Buttons, Punch Pack, Island Oasis Designer Series Paper, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Corner Rounder, Log Cabin Smooch Spritz

This was our other project...

It's a purse made out of a lunch bag! I have seen these around for awhile so finally tried one myself! How much fun! (By the way...can you tell how much I am in the mood for SUMMER?!?! :) ) Here is a side view so you can see the paper bag...

Oh I forgot to take a picture of it opened! Shoot! But the flap is held down with some velcro. Here is a close-up of the focal point...

We used those YUMMY Filigree brads! (That you can get FREE this month by purchasing certain stamp sets. Click on this link to see the list... http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/ScrapbookingMonthPromo_0410_US.pdf ) And then we even decorated the back a bit...

Here is the info for this project:

Stamps: Tropical Party (Summer Mini), FYI (Main Catalog)

Ink: Rose Red, Old Olive, Basic Black

Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Rose Red, Whisper White, So Saffron, Old Olive

Accessories: Old Olive striped ribbon, Filigree Brads, Wide Oval Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Cutter Kit (distressing part), Crop-A-Dile (for the holes for the ribbon), Island Oasis Designer Series Paper

Thanks for visiting! Hope you enjoy!!!