Open House Make and Take

My stamp open house is this coming Thursday August 5, at the Potter Fire Hall on Front Street. Time: 10:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.
I will be showing off my swaps from convention, make and takes from convention, new color chart samples and this cute owl card is the free make and take project. You can create your card from the variety of cardstock and designer papers provided. Yes, this is a discontinued color but I really need to get the retired colors out of my stamp room and make more room for the new colors (which are fabulous!).

Also available:

*Garage sale items - two tubs full of goodies with most sets being $5 or $10.

*Scrapbook page kits and card class kits for $5. Sit and enjoy scrapbooking or cardmaking for a few hours (air conditioned room!)

*Big Shot machine and tons of dies will be available for your use. Bring your favorite paper to cut out shapes of your choice from the dies I have there that day.

*You may also come work on projects for the day. Bring your scrapbooking or card making projects and come craft the day away!
RSVP for this so I save a table for you.

Artistic Etching convention swaps

Aren't these gorgeous cards made with the new "Artistic Etching" set from Stampin' Up!? This set is still on my wish list and the more I see such fun designs with it of course the more I want it! This set goes so well with the new Newsprint DSP and look great in any color scheme. These are more swaps I received at convention last week. Valerie Mayer from CA made this black/yellow card.


Jolene Harms from MN made this black/blue/red card. Great work gals. Thanks for swapping with me!
Stay tuned for more samples coming soon,
Jennifer

Convention Swaps

Glancing through the pile of convention swaps I just added to my sample basket I see a couple really jump out at me. I love the 3-d pink flower on this tag (Two Terrific Tags). Appears to be 6 pink and 1 green "Fancy Flower X-Large Punch". I believe I got this from one of my Canadian stamping friends. (on the last day so I was kind of exhausted & forgetful! LOL!)
This gorgeous card is from Connie Babbert. I love the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder for the Big Shot and the new Ribbon Border punch. I think this Ribbon Border punch is going to be so much easier to use than the other border punches. Those of you in my classes that complain about the other border punches will probably want to try this one for sure! It made the shape to the white vertical piece.:-)

The new "Basic Rhinestones" add the bling to this gorgeous Christmas card from Terri Brantz. The cardstock is the new Cherry Cobbler and Wild Wasabi....which you just want to use as it is fun to pronounce! :-)

More samples to post at a later day. Have a great day,
Jennifer

Wheat Harvest & a Masculine Card

Here's a quick and easy idea for a masculine card. I love the Square Lattice embossing folder for the Big Shot machine. And, I'm kind of laying low hanging out in the house today to avoid the heat and all the farm trucks out on the roads.

Yep, it is that time of year here in western Nebraska....time for wheat harvest. I live near the grain elevator as you can see from the photo of the my back yard with the tall white grain elevator peeking out over the treetops. I can hear the rumble of the trucks coming and going all day/night until the farmers get all the wheat out of the field. Of course there is always an urgency to do this once the wheat is ready and before any hail storms come. So you can't miss that window of opportunity. Here's a few picture of my son cutting wheat last year for my uncle.

And yes, next week I'll have to dust the entire house...see all the dust from the combine and we have lovely dirt streets in town too! I'll be going to convention tomorrow so it will just have to wait (as usual) ha!
Have a great summer day,
Jennifer

Time for Swim Trunks!

When I saw this adorable card on Shannon Eberhardt's blog I just had to try them.

I used them for a workshop this last week and now decided to make up more to swap at convention. For those of you that will attend the next monthly stamp class they will probably be a class project. I love the yellow trunks made from the Greenhouse Gala designer paper. What a great way to use up scraps of designer papers...the crazier the design the better!

Have a great summer day & try and stay cool. It was 104 here yesterday so it truly is "Hotter in Potter"!!! :-)

Jennifer

I might be addicted to fabric & the Big Shot! LOL!

Instead of cleaning up the fabric mess in my tiny stamp room I just keep finding more fun projects for it. This is a set of 4 coasters. Aren't they cute stacked up and tied with a fun ribbon?

I can't wait until the Stampin' Up! Holiday mini catalog comes out because there is designer fabric in there! Can't wait to get my hands on some of that. Luckily demonstrators get to pre-order items from the upcoming mini catalog a month before it is available to customers.
Hmmm, wonder what I can make next with these 3 dies (Big Flower, Scallop Square, Scallop Circles #2)

Jennifer

Yet more Big Shot Big Flower projects!

I had this simple tote/purse pattern and thought it would be fun to try it with yet more of those fabric Big Shot Big Flower shapes. I just appliqued some flower shapes onto the purse pieces before I started sewing anything together.

More Fabric & the Big Shot

From some past posts you have seen some quilt blocks made with the Big Flower die. I found some time to try some other sewing projects while I had that mess out. These are fun little coasters made from quilted fabric. I appliqued the Big Flower shape onto the quilted fabric and then cut w shapes out with the Scallop Square die....then sewed those two layers together. I think these will make fun "roomie" gifts for my roommates at convention this next week!....and if you are one of those roomies viewing this post try and act surprised! :-)

Convention Swap....something different!

I decided to do something a little bit different for one of the organized swaps I am in for this year's convention. Instead of a card or a 3-d item I decided to make an 8x8" stitched quilt block. I used my Big Shot machine and the Big Flower and Scallop #2 Dies. I can cut up to 8 flower shapes at one time so the Big Shot really makes this easy.
I went with a yellow flower that kind of reminds me of a sunflower,....sunflowers remind me of summer in the country.

I started with the yellow flower shape and stitched it into place on the 8x8 piece of ivory.

Then I added the brown scallop shape and stitched around the inside of the scallop circle shape and then continued on to make a spiral type of random stitch line to complete the look for the inside of the flower. As I sewed I just continued in smaller and smaller until I ran out of area to stitch. No two blocks look alike! :-)

I like the way these turned out. Now I have some more ideas in mind for more quilt blocks, just need to find the time to work on them.
Have a great week,
Jennifer

My new Crush! :-)

I'm in love with this new inline color: "Concord Crush"...it is just gorgeous! I've even painted my front door a deep purple recently and found out it is a perfect match to this fabulous new color. (You can see that in this post.)
This card is copied directly from page 214 of the new 2010-11 Stampin' Up! Catalog I just changed the colors of cardstock and the ribbon and this card was super easy and .....if I don't say so myself...it's awful pretty! :-) The "Elegant Lines" textured embossing folder really adds the extra special touch to this card. You can find that on page 214.
This card design could easily be any greeting card you need....just change the sentiment! I used the set: Word Play from page 147....which I earned free from Stampin' Up!. You too can earn free stampin product from Stampin' Up! as either a customer hosting a book party, home workshop or individual order; or as a new recruit. Let me know if you would like more info on that. I'm in my 14th year with this company and I just love it. It is a great creative outlet for me and I love the extra perks, extra income and all the great stamping friends I have met along the way.
Have a great summer day! It looks like a beautiful day here in western Nebraska,
Jennifer

Builder Wheels! I might be a fan!

Ok, I have to confess that I have never been much of a fan of the stampin' wheels. They have just never been my thing. I guess I always felt like once I used them that then, I was kind of... well,... bored! Yes you can change the color of the ink cartridge and yes you can roll the images on tissue paper, lunch sacks, scrapbook pages or anything that stands still long enough! :-) But honestly they were not that much of a thrill to me. However,.....the new builder wheels seem kind of exciting. I love the fact that I can create my own 3 color ink cartridge with colors of my choice and the best part is that each and every time I use my wheel I have the choice to "MIX IT UP" a bit. I can rearrange the wheel designs in any order and also can add spacers and use 1-2-3 images at a time. So thanks to this great new product from Stampin' Up! I'm becoming a fan of wheels...finally! :-)
This is a super easy card design that you can use over and over and just by changing the images I can create several different cards for a variety of occasions.
It is also a great way to use up spare pieces of cardstock and ribbon left over from previous class projects & events.
Check out all the great new Builder Wheel designs on page 219 of the new 2010-11 Stampin' Catalog

I also used a Big Shot textured folder for the strip of cardstock below the ric rac bow.
Once again this a basic layout that can be used for any theme/occasion.

New Set: "Apple Blossoms"

From the new 2010-11 Stampin' Up! catalog this new set is called "Apple Blossoms". Big Shot items used were: Finial Press Textured Impressions Embossing Folder #115963 and the Oval Scallop Die #114521.

With these card designs you could make the same layout from any set in the catalog (or in your stamp room...but you know you want a fabulous new set from the new catalog! :-)

I'm using up retired ribbon & retired Designer Paper. You can find great deals on those on the Clearance Rack...go to the "Order Online 24/7" on the right side of this blog to get to the shop now button on my Stampin' Up! website.
Enjoy your summer day...hope you find time to stamp today,
Jennifer

More Deco Elements Samples

I'm getting ready to do a Decor' Elements Fundraiser with a group from school and what to show off some samples here on my blog. This is my neighbor's house. The "Happiness" pg. 28 and chocolate flowers are on one wall in her kitchen.

The "Many Welcome Signs" pg. 29 is on the dark chocolate accent wall in her kitchen...as you walk up the steps from the porch this is the first thing you see.


The phrase "Life Milestones" pg. 31 is hanging in her living room and goes great with her son's graduation picture (which I took of him & really like! :-)




All the Decor' Elements go up on the walls very easily. The dark brown kitchen was heavily textured but the "Many Welcome Signs" sticks well. For the fundraiser I will be putting the vinyl wall up on the walls at the host mom's house to show the guests just how easy this is to apply. She chose the "Many Welcome Signs" in white to go up on her green wall in her kitchen. So this should be a fun fundraiser. I'l share more later,
Jennifer

Front Door Decor Elements

I finally got around to doing some Deco Element projects. I had my front door as a Rich Razzleberry color but really wanted it more of an Elegant Eggplant...as I love purple. So I repainted the door, let the paint dry and then applied the vinyl "Welcome" to the door.

Once the paint was dried I used a level to get the image on straight.


Then rubbed the image with the applicator and pulled it off.





I think it looks great! I have some other vinyl wall art ideas in mind for the rest of the house so I'll post those as I get them completed.
Have a Happy 4th of July weekend. Have fun and be safe!
Jennifer