New Stamp Sets, from Elegant to Fun!

I got a couple of new stamp sets from the new cattie. I've been busy, so I haven't had time to play with more than two of them - but the two I did play with I LOVE! These are two very different stamp sets... Fifth Avenue Floral - a classy, elegant, simple stamp set. The second is Man's Best Friend. I love dogs and I got this stamp set for myself really... what more can I say? It's just too darned cute, lol!

When I first saw the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set in the new cattie, I loved it, but it thought, WOW - that would be a lot of colouring in! But then I saw some samples on Splitcoaststampers and I realized the flowers are so big, elegant, and just gorgeous - I could just layer them maybe colouring in only one, or even none! In the card below, I did color in the big rose, but mainly because I also finally jumped onto the Watercolor Wonder Crayon bandwagon and they arrived with my new stamps. So I HAD to try them out (I LOVE LOVE LOVE them, btw). I have created cards with this set where I coloured in no flowers, and some where I coloured in all of them, and they all look great (well, in my opinion...). I of course had to splurge on the new Eyelet Border Punch, which is also used in this card ;)

The recipe for this card includes:
Stamp Sets: Fifth Avenue Floral (new), Warm Words
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Taken with Teal, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Chocolate Chip,Taken with Teal, Versamark
Accessories: Chocolate Chip 1" Double Stitched Ribbon, Black EB, Eyelet Border Punch, Wide Oval Punch, AquaPainter, Watercolor Wonder Crayons (Regal Rose), Heat Tool

And this is my 'fun' set that I got for myself - Man's Best Friend. A day after I got it I put it to good use, making a 1st Birthday Card for a good friend's daughter. She loves our little dog (or more like she's fascinated with her) so I thought it was fitting. I made a border with the paper piercer on the pink layer, I thought it looked too plain without it. It's a simple card, but sometimes simple is better :) I think this set is so cute, you don't have to do too much with it to make a great card.

My recipe for this card includes:
Stamp Sets: Man's Best Friend, Family Phrases
Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Ridinghood Red, VersaMark
Accessories: Silver EB, Heat Tool, 1/4" Chocolate Chip Polytwill Ribbon (retired), Wide Oval Punch, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack

Hope you like my latest creations! Keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Cupcake Birthday

I had so much fun this morning, making a birthday card for my mom. Using Fire Rhinestone Brads and Raspberry Tart Designer Series Paper. As usual, I just sat down and let my 'Stampin' supplies' inspire me - yeah, sounds pretty cheesy, but that's how it works for me :) I must admit that the general idea for this card was inspired by a good friend and stamp club member, Joelle. She made a similar one for Anna's 3rd Birthday. I liked it so much, I had to make one too! I had originally borrowed this stamp (Simple Birthday Thanks) from Joelle to make my daughter's birthday thank you's but I've kept it a bit longer to play with it ;)


I know this stamp has the writing on it, but if you just want the outline, the easiest way to ink it is with a Stampin' Spot. Even though it's a very big stamp and the Spot is only 1" by 1" in size, it's perfect for the job. I actually found that inking this stamp with the Stampin' Spot, even when you DO want the 'thank you' sentiment, worked best as you could be more accurate and have less smudging.


The recipe for my card includes

Stamp Set: Simple Birthday Thanks
Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss Textured Cardstock, Raspberry Tart DSP, Confetti White Cardstock
Ink: Basic Black (Stampin' Spot), Ridinghood Red, Kiwi Kiss (for Cherry on top), Cameo Coral, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Aquapainter, Stampin' Dimensionals, Fire Rhinestone Brads

Come learn how to make cards like these at my Open House this Saturday, from 7-10! Contact me at monkeypapercrafts@gmail.com for more info or see this post. My specials that evening include

*FREE Stampin' Write Marker with every $40 purchase or FREE Ink Pad or spool of 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon with every $60 purchase
or
*FREE Decor Elements Applicator with your first $25 purchase and FREE Decor Elements Monogram Letter (or DE of equal/lesser value) with every additional $50 purchases.

That's IN ADDITION to Sale-a-bration freebies and door prizes, etc! I've also posted some retired stamp sets I'm selling. Contact me anytime to purchase one!

Keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Check out some of the great NEW Decor Elements!

With the new catalog came a new Decor Elements Brochure. If this is the first time you've heard about Decor Elements, let me fill you in! It's affordable vinyl art, based on Stampin' Up! designs. Even if you're not a stamper, or you just don't want to risk stamping on your walls, you can still enjoy beautiful Stampin' Up! artwork in your home. What's so great about Stampin' Up!'s Decor Elements? They are

*Easy to apply - I can vouch for this as I have applied them in my home. They are truly fool-proof, even if you're not the 'home decor' type ;)

*Affordable - Take a look at my online store or in the Decor Elements Catalog to see how you can easily transform the look of a room for $30 to $50! Or add a little "Je ne sais quoi" for only $10-$20! They are more inexpensive than painting, framing art, or buying new furniture. Now THAT is home decor made easy!

*Available in a variety of styles and colors - There's something for everyone! Something for the baby in the house, preschooler, teenager, and even for mom & dad!

*Versatile - They can be applied to various smooth surfaces such as walls, mirrors, and windows!

*Removable - Decor Elements are as permanent or temporary as you want them to be. If you like to redecorate every few months, then these are for you. Easy to apply, and easy to remove, without stripping the paint underneath them! If you like to keep your decor for a longer time, that's fine too - Decor Elements will last as long as you want them to!

The full sampling is available in the brochure. But to give you an idea of what's available, take a look at the pictures below! Please note that some Decor Elements are available in colours other that those shown. The multicolored Decor Elements are SU!'s new '2-Step Decor Elements'. Interested in learning more? Contact me today at monkeypapercrafts@gmail.com or plan to attend my Open House on February 21st from 7-10 PM! I'll be offering a FREE Decor Elements Applicator with your first $25 in Decor Elements purchases. Get a FREE Monogram Letter (or Decor Element of your choice of equal of lesser value) for every additional $50 in Decor Elements purchases (or your first $50 if you don't need the applicator) that evening! Can't make it that evening but want to take advantage of my specials? Contact me before the open house to place your order! Don't forget that it's also Sale-a-Bration so for every $60 you spend you can select a FREE item from the Sale-a-Bration Brochure!

For Baby

For Preschooler

For School-Aged Child/Teenager

For the Grown-Ups

As I mentioned, this is just a sampling! Now keep on letting stamps (or Decor Elements ;) ) bring out YOUR creativity!

Stamper's Group Projects for February

Well, we've had our first Stamper's Group for the year. With Valentine's day coming up I focused on Valentine's day related projects. I really liked a card I saw using mainly punches to make cute fishies, so we made a similar card. Secondly, for our first group I wanted to do something 3D rather than a card, so we made a Valentine's mailbox, filled with 12 Hershey's Kisses for my wonderful Stamper's Group Ladies :) I was really happy with how both projects turned out and certainly hope that the ladies enjoyed them too!

This is the 'Kissing Fishies' card. I thought it was unique because rather than using stamps to create the what we focus on, it uses mainly punches. I CASED this card, the idea for the fish and general layout came from a fellow Wisconsin Demonstrator Katie Resop.


The recipe for this card includes
Stamp Set: A Happy Heart, Itty Bitty Backgrounds
Cardstock: Baja Blue, Pink Pirouette, Tangerine Tango, Ridinghood Red, Textured Pacific Point
Ink: Baja Blue, Pacific Point, Ridinghood Red
Punches: 1 3/4" Circle, 5-Petal Flower, Scalloped Edge, Boho Blossoms
Other Accessories: Pretty in Pink 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Googlie Eyes (dollar store)

The second project was the Valentine's mailbox. I used a template I found on the Demo SU! website (e-mail me if you'd like the template). The only difficulty I encountered was attaching the back 'flap' (i.e. the back end of the mailbox). So I created 3 1" x 1/4" paper tabs and attached it to the main rounded part of the mailbox once it was put together. What made this project relatively easy to prep was that most of the parts are rectangles which can just be cut with a paper cutter. The front and back flaps do require some cutting with scissors but it's easy (and I'm not one who likes to cut...)! The scoring is simple too. I used textured cardstock for the 'frame' of the mailbox, since it's a bit heavier than regular cardstock, and covered it with DSP.

All elements were put together using Sticky Strip. You definitely need the Sticky Strip to make sure it all stays together. Finally I stuffed the back half with red paper strips I bought at the dollar store. The stamp set used here is a Sale-a-Bration stamp set, 'Yummy'. I think it's very appropriate for this project ;) I embossed the images with Perfect Plum Craft Ink and Clear Embossing Powder. Here is the finished creation, I hope you like it as much as the ladies and I did!

The recipe for the this project is

Stamp Set: 'Yummy' (Sale-a-Bration)
Cardstock: Textured Pink Pirouette, Raspberry Tart DSP, Perfect Plum, Confetti White
Ink: Craft Perfect Plum
Punches: Designer Label, 1/8" Circle (retired)
Other Accessories: Silver Brads, Fire Circle Rhinestone Brads, Silver Elastic Cord (Holiday 2008 Occassions Mini), Heat Tool, Clear Embossing Powder, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Sticky Strip, Chocolate Chip 1" Double Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, 1/4" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Cellophane Bags

Want to learn how to make cool projects like this? Come to my Open House on February 21st and find out more! That's it for today, keep letting stamps bring out YOUR creativity!

New Catalog Open House!

Spring/Summer 2009 Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalog Open House

Join me at my Open House on
February 21st from 7-10 PM
at
115 Kittiwake Drive, Stittsville ON

At my Open House you'll enjoy
*A make-and-take project using a Brand New Stamp Set
*Door prizes, a new catalog Scavenger Hunt, and special offers
*Taking advantage of Sale-a-Bration, Stampin' Up!'s biggest promotion
*Seeing new accessories and stamp sets up close
*The opportunity to purchase my retired stamp sets at discounted prices
*Yummy munchies!

***Be sure to bring a friend I haven't met to receive a special gift!***

Please RSVP before February 18th
to
613-836-8844
or
monkeypapercrafts@gmail.com

Sale-A-Bration is Here!

Exciting times for Stampin' Up! customers, hostesses and recruits - Sale-a-bration is here! That means FREE stamps and accessories for everyone!


What does Sale-a-Bration offer?

*Customers get a FREE product (stamp set or accessory) out of the Sale-a-Bration brochure with every $60* in purchases - there NO LIMIT to how many FREE products you can get! Be sure to attend my Open House on February 21st to take advantage of Sale-a-Bration!

*Hostesses get a FREE product out of the Sale-a-Bration brochure for every $350* in workshop orders - in addition to regular hostess benefits! Contact me today at 613-836-8844 to book your workshop!

*New Demonstrators get 15% off the Starter Kit AND can choose any stamp set out of the Spring/Summer Idea Book & Catalog for FREE!

There are so many fabulous products you can get for only $60* which will earn you a FREE stamp set! Shop 24/7 in my Online Stampin' Up! Store! For the new stamper you can start stamping for just over $60:

-Animal Crackers Stamp Set, 113395, $23.95 (Not your style? I'd gladly help you choose one that better suits your needs!)
-3 Classic Ink Pads, $6.95x3 = $20.85
-In Color 8.5x11 Assorted Cardstock,111347, $9.50
-Whisper White 8.5x11 Cardstock, 100730, $8.95

Interested in the Big Shot? How's this for a deal? Purchase the Big Shot Starter Kit for $232.95 and get over $100 in additional FREE PRODUCTS:

-$20 in Hostess Benefits
-1 FREE Level I Hostess Stamp Set
-3 FREE Sale-a-Bration products (add on $7.05 in additional purchase to quality for an additional FREE Sale-a-Bration product!)

Contact me today for more information or to confirm your spot at my open house!

So let's all enjoy Sale-a-Bration and keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

*Before shipping and taxes