Something Special in the Air!

I have some exciting news--tomorrow I will post all the details--but here's a little sneak peek for you! My Stampin' Addicts friends and I are hosting a totally fun blog tour that will feature EVERY SINGLE ONE of the Designer Series Papers in the Spring/Summer 2009 Idea Book, which are on special in May. You are NOT going to want to miss it! Check back tomorrow for full details!

My CASEd Swap Card

Yes, I'm having no problem admitting that this swap card was a CASE of my blogging buddy Georgeann. Her card is so much more fabulous than this one, but I had to simplify to get 20 done in 1 day. Eeeeeek! Yes, you read correctly, stinkin' taxes! Alas, I did get the taxes done on time and I did manage to make 20 of these cards and 20 of my vellum rose cards. (See this post.) Yes, I did 20 of these also. Why, you ask? Because I love to swap, I love to have samples of stamp sets that I don't own, and I love to hear everyone say "ooooh, that is soooooo pretty!" Yes, vain and crazy, since I won't see most of those people again, but hey! It's my life. So, this card...not as gorgeous at the original, but still managed to draw some oooo's. I'm happy. :-)

I'm also going to be trying to step up my business a little to make up for the shortfall of my DH's new job. So don't be surprised if you receive a phone call from me, asking if you'd like to host a workshop or party. Feel free to say no ~ my feelings won't be hurt. But I'll be tickled Pink Pirouette if you say "yes!" :-D

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station.

Blessings,
Julie

Seattle Regionals

I had so much fun today! I went to the Stampin' Up! Seattle Regionals conference. It's a mini-convention. So much fun! I hung out with some sidelines of mine and a customer, Bri, who also had a blast. I think Bri's favorite thing was swapping card fronts. It is so fun to get new ideas from others and also to have your creations validated. We learned many new things, so I might just have to schedule 2 different classes to show them all to you. Be on the look out. And tomorrow, I'll try to post one of my swaps that I brought along. It was a quick and simple design.

Blessings!
Julie

Pixie Pink 3-D Treat Bag

The 3-D challenge today on Stampin Addicts is to make a treat bag. They've even posted a video to make it easier. (Click on the link to go directly to the challenge and video.) This is my treat bag. I chose not to put a greeting on it so that I could decide what to use it for later. I used Pixie Pink for the main piece of cardstock, Kiwi Kiss for the 1" strip, Pink Passion for the embosslit flower and Old Olive on the Sweetest Stems embosslit. White Gel Pen makes the center of the flower "pop" and the flowers and leaves stamped on the backgrounds are from Embrace Life.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station!

Blessings,
Julie

New Stampin Site I'm Trying Out...

Hey there. A friend let me know that there's a fairly new stamping website that caters only to Stampin' Up! Well, you know me, I'm sooooo there! The name of the site is Stampin Addicts. Go check it out! It's pretty fun. I'm looking forward to watching it grow. This is a sketch from Stampin Addicts for last Thursday. I liked it, so thought I'd use it for inspiration. After inking my texture plate with Pretty In Pink, I put the Pink Pirouette cardstock on the plate and ran it through the Big Shot. I just love the look of it...much easier to see the texture. The ovals are from the Occasions Mini Catalog...Oval All and the Scallop Oval Punch. Bella Rose Designer Paper, Earth Elements Brads, Wide Oval Punch, and Riding Hood Red Taffeta complete the card.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station once again.

Blessings,
Julie

Happy Easter!

I didn't have a chance to make you all an Easter card. Sorry about that...the call of the mom, trying to get everything done and all...but here's my wish for you. I hope that today brings you to a place where you see how much God loves you and how much he values you. God desires a closer relationship with each one of us...that's why he sent his Son. Everyone quotes John 3:16 but forgets about verse 17. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." No matter what we've done, God is willing to forgive us. Murder, hate, selfishness, ...it's all forgiven through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. Praise the Lord!

And now, we live a life of gratitude. Thank you, Jesus!

Thanks for visiting the Stamping Station.

Blessings,
Julie

Shimmery White Shimmers

Hello! Here's a card that I made for last week Saturday's hostess, Rebecca. I stamped the Oval All sentiment and the Bella Toile background in Perfect Plum on Shimmery White cardstock. Can you see the shimmer? You might have to click on the picture to enlarge it to see the shimmer. I colored the oval with blender pens and the large white piece with chalks. The background Kiwi is stamped in Kiwi with the background stamp. A pink rhinestone brad, eggplant grosgrain, and white organza ribbon for the finishing touches.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station! I hope you all have a blessed Easter. We'll be celebrating by attending church, singing the Hallelujah Chorus, and then heading to my family to celebrate together.

Blessings,
Julie

Little Bluebird and Riding Hood Mother's Day

Here are a couple more cards from last Saturday's workshop. I've been buying some special accessories and made a point to use some of them. This card uses Hidden Garden Rub-Ons, Kiwi/Vanilla Satin ribbon, Button Bouquet, Bella Rose Designer Paper, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss and Whisper White cardstock. The button has a bit of crochet thread tied through the center. The sentiment is from All Holidays and the flowers on the corners of the sentiment are from Eastern Blooms.
This was one of my favorites from Saturday. We sponged Sahara Sand and Baja Breeze on Glossy White cardstock, then stamped the vase and pussy willows in Close to Cocoa. We stamped the vase again on a sheet of Parisian Breeze Designer Paper, cut it out and glued it on. The large white grommet is from the new Occasions Mini Catalog, which is also where you'll find this stamp set, Scene in a Garden. After punching a 1/2" circle in the Baja cardstock, you put the grommet prongs through the hole and bend them back with a bone folder. After gluing the Baja to the background Kraft cardstock, we stamped the little birdie on glossy, colored him in with a blender pen and Baja ink, then punched him out with the 1/2" circle and glued him inside the grommet. For the last touch, we used the White Gel Pen on the pussy willows. Very easy card, yet it looks more involved.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station once again. I'd love to hear from you!

Blessings,
Julie

Easter Projects

Hello! Happy Sunday night to you. I wantedto share with you two Easter ideas. These are projects that we made at yesterday's workshop. The first card is a basket made out of a rounded tab punch and the small and large oval punches for the handle. See those cute little eggs inside? They're small oval halves. The texture on the basket is the texture plate called Weave. A bit of grass and the flowers on the background from Inspired by Nature and you're done! Pretty easy card.
This second card is a CASE from the Idea Book & Catalog. The main cardstock was rolled with the Scatter Sunshine jumbo wheel in Barely Banana. The designer paper is from the Level 1 designer pack. This stamp set is called A Good Egg. The Eyelet Border Punch makes a great edge and a strip of Regal Rose is adhered to the edge of the inside.

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station once again. I'd love to hear from you...show me what you've been up to.

Blessings,
Julie

Pop-Up Cake FINALLY! and Another Mini Catalog Stamp Set

And here it is...the long awaited pic of the pop-up cake. I'm getting much quicker at putting them together. Yes, mine isn't as creative as some demos out there who blow me away with their creativity, but I still think it's pretty cool. I made one of these for our neighbor girl and she saved it...her mom said it disappeared from the kitchen and that she must have squirreled it away somewhere. :-) I love it when you make someone feel special with a card! It's such a great reward!
This is a thank you for Tuesday night's hostess, Jessica. We had a lot of fun at her workshop and made 3 cards. There was delicious food there, too! Anyway, I had fun making this for her. It's stamped in StazOn Black and watercolored with Watercolor Wonder Crayons and an Aquapainer. The white on the pussy willows and the butterfly is from my white gel pen. Isn't this Scene in a Garden Stamp set beautiful??? We're using it on one of the cards at Rebecca's on Saturday. I can't wait for them to see it! It's one of my favorites out of the new Occasions Mini Catalog. Have you checked it out yet? Click on the link in the column to the right. The greeting is from Oval All and used the Scallop Oval Punch, mounted with layers of Dimensionals. Yes, I do love this set, too! A bow in in the corner, some texture on the main cardstock and we're done!

What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station and being patient, (yes Cheryl, I'm talking to you!) while I deal with more computer woes.

Blessings,
Julie

Occasions Mini Catalog Starts Today!

I LOVE the new Occasions Mini Catalog! Some of the sets are so different from what's in the main catalog - I love the diversity. So here's my first official Occasions Mini card. See that cute oval? Well, the stamp set is called Oval All and the adorable Scallop Oval Punch coordinates with all 4 stamps in that set. This is a "must have" if you love scallops. I colored the stamp with my blender pens and my Kiwi Kiss and Riding Hood Red ink pads. The background is Itty Bitty Backgrounds stamped in Pink Pirouette on Pink Pirouette cardstock. See that adorable cupcake? It's a sizzlit set called Bold Cupcakes. I ran the cupcake lower layer through the crimper so that it would look like a cupcake liner. And then I just glued it all together. Super easy and fun!

Now on the inside of this card...is a pop-up cake! I'll try to get a good photo today and post it. You're going to love it! It's another new release from SU! today. You can order a 3-tier cake and a pop-up ball. How clever is that???!!! Here's the link - if you order online, don't forget to select me as your demo.

Well, off to do my errands and then I hope to be back to post more photos for you. Thanks for a good Sale-A-Bration season!

Blessings,
Julie