PUNCH GUIDE

Yes, I'm STILL playing with the Bind-It-All . . . and having a great time! ;-)

This little dilly is, as the name implies, a punch guide. You'll notice that a few Stampin' Up! punches were used to adorn the cover. I used Enchante designer paper, which is a retired Stampin' Up! product. Current products used to create this book are Pale Plum, Very Vanilla, and Perfect Plum card stock. The stamped swirl design is from the "Priceless" stamp set.

The usefulness of this Punch Guide is demonstrated on the inside pages. I have categorized the punches into five sections and punched samples on the pages. The first useful trick is that the ordering information is in this guide, but what really makes the guide an awesome tool is that the punched "templates" (the white pages) can be placed over images in the catalog to determine which images will fit the punches.

STILL PLAYING WITH THE BIND-IT-ALL

For years, I've used a journal (with black pages) to keep up with notes, passwords, etc., but I finally got tired of having to use a special pen to write on the black pages. And that's how this little gem came to be. I can't show you the inside, silly . . . that's where my special notes are!

Drink Mix Treat/Party Favor

Who wouldn't be grateful for this type treat with the high temps we've had lately??? It's hard to tell from the picture, but the butterfly on top is 3D with lifted wings. If you're not already sick and tired of seeing 3D butterflies from me, give yourself some time because I LOVE this little trick with butterfly images!

This project features the new "Priceless" stamp set, and it's such a fun one! It has an interesting mix of images . . . swirls, heart, butterfly, circle, flower . . . and they work so well together because most of the art images have swirls on them. The word stamps in this set are "Priceless" and "So Kind."

THESE ADDRESS BOOKS ARE ADDICTIVE!

This is the second address book, and you can see the Bind-It-All in this photo. The BIA was used to secure the book with the wire binding. This particular book features Stampin' Up!'s Prints Designer Series Paper (Soft Sky), a scalloped layer of Fall Flowers Designer Series Paper that was scalloped with the Corner Rounder Punch. Punches used to create the floral accent are the new Scallop Circle, 5-Petal Flower, and Spring Flowers. A Rhinestone Brad was placed in the center of the layered flowers. I used the Round Tab Punch to create the alphabetical tabbed dividers on the inside of the book just as I did in the first address book.

ADDRESS BOOK

I'm so excited about this project!!! Is it cool or what???? It was inspired by one that Beate Johns created. You would not believe how incredibly quick this project was!

Some of the Stampin' Up! products used to create this book were Brocade Backgrounds Designer Series Paper, Trio Flower Punch (the one that's in the "Three for You Punch Box"), Round Tab Punch, Rough Edges Alphabet, Gold Brads, Chocolate Chip Classic and Old Olive Classic inks. SU card stock used: River Rock, Old Olive, and Chocolate Chip.

The "simulated brocade" design on the cover of the book was created with the Big Shot and a brand new Sizzix Bigz die that I just bought yesterday, and I'm loving it! It was cut from River Rock card stock, and I sponged Old Olive and Chocolate Chip inks on it. It actually has a dirty suede look IRL.

And finally, I used my Bind-It-All to bind the address book. I didn't have any black O-Wire, so the white had to suffice.

"THREE FOR YOU" PUNCH BOX PROMOTION

It's not too late to order your punch box and receive FREE 3x3 note cards and envelopes from Stampin' Up! . . . AND . . . instructions for making a 3x3 Note Card Holder (shown above on the brass stand) from me. I've been enjoying the punch and stamp set and wanted to share some of my creations. One of my favorite discoveries with this punch kit is faux dotted ribbon (see the So Saffron card at the top of this post)!!!! How cool is that???

The stamps in this punch kit offer a lot of versatility, used with or without the punch, and the punched flowers are adorable! I like how they get punched with curved petal tips!

If you'd like to get this punch box AND the freebies outlined above, just let me know before month end.

"EVERYTHING" ( Lifehouse Skit)

What a moving video this is--simply powerful! Get a tissue, though, because you'll probably need to dab your eyes a little.

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=ee73e63418003b47d7d5

PRETTIES KIT

I have to admit . . . I don't own the Pretties Kit . . . yet, but I came across this information (provided by another Demonstrator) today. Somehow, I feel much better about purchasing products that seem pricey once I find a cost breakdown or do the math myself. The Pretties Kit is $29.95, and following is an itemized list of the contents and cost per item based on current market prices for same/like "pretties":

Flowers - $.14 each
Small Half-Back Pearls - $.02 each
Medium Half-Back Pearls - $.04 each
Large Half-Back Pearls - $.06 each
Small Round Pearls - $.03 each
Large Round Pearls - $.06 each
Clear Beads - $.06 each
Rhinestone Brads - $.14 each
Hat Pins w/Clutch - $.25 each
Spacer Beads - $.02 each

And don't forget the tin! I suppose the remaining $1.05 goes toward the cost of the tin, which isn't a bad price at all for that size tin. Or any size tin!!

DID YOU KNOW . . . that the flowers in the Pretties kit can be colored with ink or Stampin' Pastels to coordinate with your project?????

DID YOU KNOW . . . that the pearls can be colored with SU markers to coordinate with your project?

TYPE A? I DON'T THINK SO!

You Have A Type B+ Personality

You're a pro at going with the flow You love to kick back and take in everything life has to offer A total joy to be around, people crave your stability. While you're totally laid back, you can have bouts of hyperactivity. Get into a project you love, and you won't stop until it's done You're passionate - just selective about your passions Okay, so this is what the Personality Test concluded from my answers. I'm not sure that I agree with all points, but how clever of this test to recognize that I'm a joy to be around. Hee! Hee! Find out what the Personality Test says about you!

Do You Have a Type A Personality?

COORDINATING COLORS FOR DESIGNER PAPERS

It isn't always easy to tell from the catalog which colors coordinate with designer papers. In a perfect world, you'd purchase all of the designer papers from me and have the pleasure of discovering coordinating colors for all the gorgeous papers, but . . . someone recently told me that the world isn't perfect. Imagine that!! Following are some suggested matching colors, but feel free to discover others:

Brocade Backgrounds: Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, River Rock

Cerise: Real Red, Very Vanilla

Charbon: Basic Gray, Very Vanilla

Creepy Crawly: Basic Black, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust

Cutie Pie: Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, So Saffron

Darling Doodles: Brocade Blue, Groovy Guava, Rose Red, Wild Wasabi

Dashing: Old Olive, Real Red, River Rock, Very Vanilla

Fall Flowers: Old Olive, Really Rust, Sahara Sand, Soft Sky

Flowers for You: Certainly Celery, Lovely Lilac, Regal Rose, Tempting Turquoise

LeJardin: River Rock, Soft Sky, So Saffron, Very Vanilla

Linen Prints: Apricot Appeal, Cameo Coral, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, Pink Passion

Notations No. 2: More Mustard, River Rock, Very Vanilla, Wild Wasabi

Outlaw: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Really Rust, Sage Shadow, Very Vanilla

Petals & Paisleys: Certainly Celery, Cool Caribbean, Rose Red, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Taken with Teal

Porcelain Prints: Blue Bayou, River Rock, Wild Wasabi

Uptown: Almost Amethyst, Basic Gray, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi

Wintergreen: Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Sage Shadow, Soft Sky

STAMP SETS & PUNCHES

Have you ever wished for a list of stamp sets that fit some of the SU punches? Following are some suggestions for you:

Scallop Circle: In the Spotlight, Glorious Garlands, Punch Pals, Double-Line Doodles, Wanted, Priceless, Big Flowers, Big Deal Alphabet, Looks Like Spring, Fabulous Flowers, Ginormous Flowers, Sweet Shapes, Illuminations, It's Your Birthday, Warm Words, Pictograms, Short and Sweet, Sincere Salutations, All Holidays, Jumbo Alphabet, All About Occasions, Brocade Basics, Baroque Motifs, Sparkling Sayings, So Much, and Fun & Fast Notes. This punch also coordinates with some of the On Board Blossoms & Basics pieces.

Tag Punches: Perfect Presentation, All About Occasions, Flaky Friends, Punch Pals, Be happy, Tagger's Dozen, Bundled in Love, Business Boosters.

1" Circle: Sending Happy Thoughts kit, Perfect Presentation, Glorious Garlands, The Snowflake Spot, Perennial Favorites, Holiday Blitz, Double-Line Doodles, Polka Dots & Petals, Create a Coupon, Genuine Articles, Business Boosters, Calendar Cues. This punch also coordinates with some of the On Board Blossoms & Basics pieces.

1-1/4" and/or 1-3/8" Circle: Simple Delights Simply Sent kit, Perfect Presentation, Batty for You, Holiday Tag Team, Sparkling Sayings, Be Happy, Figures of Speech, Double-Line Doodles, Polka Dots & Petals, Big Flowers, Stamp of Authenticity, Carte Postale, Think Happy Thoughts, Big Pieces, Seeing Spots, So Happy, Dots Are Hot, Brocade Basics, Labelicious, Genuine Articles, Circle of Friendship, It's All Good, Sporting.

1/2" and/o 3/4" Circle: In the Spotlight, Holiday tag Team, Glorious Garlands, Cold Play, Snow Flurries, Merry merry, Punch Pals, Forever in My Heart, Holiday Blitz, Double-Line Doodles, Sweet Thing, Wanted, Star Struck, Little Flowers, Little Pieces, Please Come, Dot Spot (background), Alphabits, Art by Design.

1-1/4" and/or 1-3/8" Square: Simple Delights Simply Sent kit, Perfect Presentation, Forever in My Heart, Sealed with a Kiss, Be Happy, Figures of Speech, Tagger's Dozen, Sweet Thing, Office Accoutrement, Stamp of Authenticity, Carte Postale, Glad Tidings, It's All Good, Art by Design, Sporting, Business Boosters, It's a Date.

5-Petal Flower: In the Spotlight, Be Happy, Priceless, Simply Said, Looks Like Spring, Heartfelt Thanks, Ginormous Flowers, Office Accoutrement, Big Pieces, Cutie Pie (Designer Series Paper). This punch also coordinates with some of the On Board Blossoms & Basics pieces.

Word Window: So Many Sayings, Block Party, Boatloads of Love, Fun & Fast Notes, Take Three, Everything Baby, Short and Sweet, Happy Everything, Wonderful Favorites, Warm Words, All Holidays, Everyday Flexible Phrases, Amazing to Zany, Fundamental Phrases.

HOT TIP: As you acquire new punches, create a "punch guide" that you can use with the catalog to determine if certain images will work with certain punches. To make the guide, take a piece of Vellum Card Stock and punch each of your punches along the four sides of the Vellum. Then, as you browse the catalog, lay the Vellum punch guide over images to determine if they'll fit with particular punches! Since the majority of images in the SU catalog are shown at 100%, your punch guide becomes a valuable tool.

Scallops & More Scallops

Scallops seem to be all the rage, and I have to admit that I love them, too. There are scallop punches in all shapes and sizes, and there are other punches that can be used to create scalloped edges if you don't own the special punches. The dark scalloped circle in the center of the flower was created with Stampin' Up!'s brand new punch! What I like about this new punch is that it's just the right size to use with our circle punches, AND there are many stamp set images that fit this new punch! It's hard to tell from the picture, but two of the "Pick a Petal" images were used to create the flower petals. I also used a stamp (hello) from "In the Spotlight." Of course, the wavy sentiment on this card is from "Stem Sayings." This card is just full of new stuff . . . Pick a Petal, In the Spotlight, Stem Sayings, Scallop punch, Blue Bayou and Soft Sky card stock and . . . the "popcorn scallop" technique. Since I plan to demo this neat edging at my upcoming workshops, I won't reveal how it's accomplished. You might as well stop hitting your monitor because my mind is made up. ;-)

Diorama Drama!

I recently hosted a "Fancy Folds" swap, and the Halloween Diorama is what I made for that swap. I waited until I'd received most of the swaps to decide what type of fancy fold I would do, and I decided on the Diorama because no one made one of these. If you're in one of my hostess clubs, chances are we'll be making the Halloween card in September so don't study it too closely. ;-)

Ahoy! Me Matey Needs T'Shave!

But isn't he cute anyway? This card is all kinds of dirty and distressed! No, I didn't drop it on the floor and walk all over it. After stamping the background, I used a sponge to apply ink to the outer edges of that layer, used the distressing tool on the edges, and then inked them with Chocolate Chip ink. All of this was done after I'd wadded up the layer! I also wadded up the layer that "me matey" is stamped on! He was colored with markers, but I used the ZIG Painty on his knife. Other products used were the Round Tab Punch, natural hemp twine, eyelets, and the Crop-a-Dile.

Most people think this stamp set (Ahoy, Matey) is just for kids, but anyone (any age) would probably like to get this matey in the mail. You can even search for pirate lingo/talk and come up with your own sentiments!

LOOK MA! NO LAYERS!

How fun is this???? At first glance, it would appear that the three image blocks and, possibly, the More Mustard portion of the card are separate layers, but they aren't. I masked the card with copy-weight paper (using temporary adhesive), used a sponge to apply Not Quite Navy ink to the top portion, lifted the bottom mask to color that portion of the card with More Mustard ink, and then removed the masks and stamped the three flowers. A ZIG Painty pen was used to draw (very crooked) lines around the three flower blocks. There's a bit of smeared ink but, fortunately, it doesn't show up in the picture as well as it does in real life.

If you don't mind masking, this technique is a good one to employ when you don't have a lot of card stock on hand.