Look at some of the lovely cards I got!

One of my favourite, favourite things about Christmas is receiving cards from my friends! I especially love the handmade ones, some of these are just too lovely to put away without sharing... Here are a sample of some of the beautiful ones I received...

 I just love the paper piecing on this card from Vicki...

 Bev made this card fun by it's unusual fold and she stamped onto foam sheets!

 Grace made these beautiful poinsettias using the Big Shot and fabric

 Melissa's card combined different textures and bling for a fun effect

Teresa's beautiful card doubled up as her Master's Class homework using DSP to make a lovely "quilted" design


I'll be posting more cards tomorrow so please check back! Don't miss the final days of the clearance rack sale either, click here to find out more!

New Clearance Rack items!

October is going to be a good month, I can just feel it in my bones!  This is just a super quick post to let you know about the new CLEARANCE RACK items! Click here to check them out - right now there are punches, previous year's Halloween stuff and lots of lovely RIBBON (my favorite)  Everything is reduced and just "while supplies last" - you can't order these items at a club or workshop you have to order online - so don't delay!  Remember - if you ever hit $150+ in orders online you can get the same benefits as a hostess (at $150 you choose $25 additional free! at $200 you choose $35!) This ONLY applies if you order directly through my website www.brendamarshall.stampinup.net  Have a wonderful day - Brenda

Look what we did at our BLISS team meeting!

Before our last team meeting Shoni mailed us all a little packet of card stock and a few embellishments and challenged us to make a card using those materials. We were allowed to use whatever stamp sets or tools we wished but we were not allowed to add any other materials. It was so fun! Here is what we came up with:

Paula's card

Teresa's card

Janessa's card

Pat's card

My card

Tammy's card


I love how we ended up with such different designs from the same basic materials - which one is your favorite?

Be Very Merry at the Very Merry Card Class!

So I am in total Holiday mode already! I've been working on Halloween treats (already consumed quite a lot), Thanksgiving cards and Christmas/Holiday cards & gift ideas. Somebody get me a candy cane ;-)  I am kicking off with a Very Merry Card Class on Monday in the morning or evening - I hope you can come along! Don't you think it would just feel amazing to be able to send some personal handmade cards this year? I think a card in the mail has increased in value exponentially in recent years with the growing trend to send electronic cards and messages. Don't get me wrong: I love to hear from family and friends in whatever form they choose, but I really treasure those envelopes that arrive in the mail with a stamp on them...  So here is a peek at the cards we'll be making on Monday, 4 each of 4 designs. There will be 2 more classes like this but with different designs so try to come this week if you'd like to make these!
I hope you are having a great week and I look forward to seeing you soon :-)
Brenda

The Morning After

We had so much fun at our Oldies but Goodies event! I wish I'd taken more pictures... here's Lindy winning a door prize she really wanted, a ribbon bundle! I'm so sorry to see her leave town :-(  Other winners were Marissa, Betty Jo & Vicki. Several people went for the "What was I thinking" dress mode, you can see Heather in the background above in a lovely 80's outfit, complete with the ponytail on the side of her head, ha ha. Robin wore this great Mickey Mouse bling shirt which she ended up giving to me because I loved it so much, very appropriate as I finally earned the 2012 DISNEY TRIP at the 11th hour, yay!!! My kids are over the moon as you can imagine, and I am too!!!

Unfortunately you can't see the full glory of this shirt here. Robin was a 1st grade teacher for many years though so I think that's kind of a requirement to wear clothes that have pictures and bling on them don't you?



Look what I woke up to the next day though - ug. I'm really bad at tidying up as I go along and I always regret that when I get up in the morning!

We made a cute Ghiradelli holder, a fun "Popsicle" card and then decorated one of the pendant notes with one of the pages from my Designer Series Paper sampler, which I won't need any more after today now all that lovely paper is retiring, sniff, sniff!  Here is a close up of the easiest card ever:

Today is the last day to order from the current Idea Book & Catalog :-( But tomorrow is a brand new day with a brand new catalog! Let me know if you need to get your hands on a copy, you're going to loooooove it!

I hope you're having a wonderful summer, please let me know if I can be of any help. Brenda

Happy Easter Everybody!

I hope you are having a lovely Easter - here is a card I made combining ideas from a couple of different people... I love these carrots made from the Trendy Trees set!  On my final copy I ran the basket & handle through the lattice square folder which made it way better but I forgot to take a picture :-( 
I borrowed the oval frame die to cut the basket. And I used lots of punches on the bunny! 1 3/4" circle, 1/2" circle, large oval for the feet and the boho blossom punch for his tail. Too cute!

Fabric Covered Bookmarks

Aren't these adorable? These bookmarks are one of the projects that stamp club members got to make this month. We used the Sizzix adhesive sheets to make a piece of card stock sticky, then we stuck the fabric on before running the whole piece through the Big Shot. It looked great just like that! Then I broke out a different type of sticky paper - the sticky sheets that are made from the same material as sticky strip. I wanted to punch out a circle but, in the past, I've found the red rubbery overlay too thick to punch. But I had a brainwave (first ever!) I pulled off the red layer and stuck on a piece of card stock instead. Then I could punch through! I peeled off the backing and got my Melon Mambo Pom-pom trim and laid it around the edge of the sticky circle, TOO CUTE!  Then all you have to do is stick a button or ribbon in the middle and you have this lovely embellishment. I punch out a circle of turquoise card stock using the Scallop punch that fits exactly inside the top of the tag. And I used Puffies (Stampin' Dimensionals) to attach the card stock and the button embellishment. I just love these! And this fabric is so... cute! I entered into a quilt block swap and I'm using this fabric. I've never quilted ANYTHING before so I'm in that "What was I thinking?" place right now but I'm excited too! I'll have to show you what I come up with...

This fabric and the pom-pom trim is in the Occasions mini that ends in less than 2 weeks so if you need anything be sure to let me know! Or you can shop online here

Have a great week! Brenda

No Stamping Required!

Last night was our BLISS team meeting - too much fun! Several of the members bought swaps along for us to make. This is Shoni's card - no stamping at all! She punched out 6 circles from the ice cream parlor Sale-a-bration Designer Series Paper and then we just folded them to a point, no scoring, you just kind of crease a point and flatten the sides over. It was actually easier than I expected. Then we taped them onto a circle and put a brad in the center to cover up the middle which was a little funky. The hardest part was making a little loop in the hemp twine, I just got Shoni to do mine for me ;-)

I can't believe there are only two more days of Sale-a-bration! Have a lovely night. Brenda

BLISS day! Two samples for you :-)

I am really going to miss this set when it retires on Thursday! Especially because they named it after our team, BLISS (Brenda's Lovely Independent Sassy Stampers ;-) ) Well, maybe they didn't name it after us, but we've had our team name for AGES and so I think we can lay claim to it! We have a team meeting tonight, I can't wait to get together and play with the girls! I love this color combo above, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso & Baja Breeze. And the Vintage Adornments & Baja Breeze seam binding add the finishing touches. Below is a real simple card using the same set. I stamped the images using Concord Crush on Confetti White. This is a great card for beginners. Using a dimensional to pop out the circle and a pearl in the center add a little extra. The greeting is stamped using the Sale-a-bration set So Happy For You. Also retiring on Thursday, yikes! The time has gone so fast! That means you have just 3 days left for Sale-a-bration, you can earn one free set with every $50 you spend.

Only 3 days left for my amazingly brilliant Big Shot promotion too, if you're sitting on the fence it's time to jump! Here's a quick re-cap: purchase the Big Shot ($99.95) and 2 dies of your choice (value at least $43) and here's what you'll get for free!!!

One Embossing folder (value $7.95) of your choice!

THREE Sale-a-bration items of your choice!

$15 of free product of your choice!

One level one hostess set of your choice!

A free BIG SHOT 101 class to help you learn how to use your new toy!

Woo Hoo! It doesn't get any better :-)

Please let me know ASAP if you'd like to take advantage of this terrific special only available from me...

Have a great week! Brenda

Super Easy Card!

Often I just get way... too complicated! It's good to remember that a handmade card doesn't have to be fancy, there's a lot to be said for a simple card - especially because, if you can make it quickly, you might actually get around to sending it in time! The punches are a huge time saver. I stamped this cute owl using the Sale-a-bration set, Punch Bunch, then it was really quick to punch him out and then, using the same punch, snip out a little pink heart for him. I stamped the hearts on a piece of Pretty in Pink and layered it onto a strip of Designer Series Paper - it honestly took about 2 minutes to make, love that!

Brenda

I love this card that Susanne made for our BLISS team meeting - I've enjoyed playing with the Sweet Summer Sale-a-bration set, but I've been stuck into more muted colors. When Susanne showed up with this card and it's bright colors and the rhinestones I thought it gave the set a completely different look, isn't it fun? She used the Punch Bunch set for the greeting, I love how the Happy Birthday fits perfectly inside the square scallop punch. Watch for another card later today, I'm playing catch up :-)

Another Sale-a-bration share!

I love this colorful paper that we've had this year - I decided to make a card that I could tuck some money in... I wanted to use my Scallop die to make the little envelopes but I couldn't fit them on unless I made my card really huge so I decided to cut them down into squares. I love how they came out! I also cut a little piece from the envelope flap in a contrasting color to make the edges pop out. Finally I added some little tags using the Tiny Tag stamp set and the Jewelry tag punch.

Cute Cupcake treat holder!

We made this easy little treat holder at last month's stamp club - there is a really cute stamp set in the Occasions mini called Create a Cupcake - it matches an equally cute cupcake punch! We stamped the base in Daffodil delight, the frosting in Pretty in Pink and the sprinkles in Melon Mambo. Then it's easy to hold the punch upside down and slide it along until the shape you want matches the stamped image. We learned how to cut the paper into 1" strips before we stamped so that we could save wasting card stock when punching - I'm so cheap - I'm always looking for ways to save on card stock! Then everybody punched out the little cherry from the red Glimmer paper - I love this paper and was making everybody use the teeniest scraps! See how I am?! We wrapped the paper around a candy bar and stuck the cupcake on the front. Too cute! Now I need a birthday party to go to!
Have a great week, watch for another idea tomorrow! Brenda

Nature Walk Card

From today through the end of March I'm going to be sharing samples using stamps you can get free with Sale-a-bration, the Big Shot or from the Occasions mini! I hope you enjoy them and I hope they inspire you to get out your stuff and start stamping! This one uses the set Nature Walk from the mini - I was trying to get a "vintage" look, which is not my usual style. So I stamped an image from the Notables set and crumpled it and distressed it using the distressing kit before I put it together. I added a Build-a-brad using a scrap of the Botanical Gardens paper, it's ages since I've used those brads and I forgot how fun they are! When Finlay saw this card he said "Mum! It looks like you found it in the street!" I'm thinking that might be a good definition for "vintage" what do you think?

Have a great day and I hope you stop by tomorrow for another sample!

Brenda

Easter is around the corner!

I have been LOVING this Spring weather! Unusual for this time of year and I know, being Colorado, it could still DUMP but that's not stopping me from enjoying it while it lasts! So, yesterday, I pulled out an Easter set to play with... A Good Egg. I used a sketch from SUDSOL as my starting point.

I used some Sweet & Sour designer paper, which has some varnished areas in, it's hard to see in the picture but it looks really cool in real life. I paper pieced the chick and egg to make it really bold and used the new jumbo scallop circle as well as the 1 3/4" circle. I ended up using five punches on this card, three with the greeting! The word window, modern label and large oval. Then I had to use some of the Melon Mambo pompom ribbon to finish it off...

I had a lot of fun with this card, I hope you enjoy it!

Have a great week, Brenda

Explore Your Creativity with Stampin' Up!

Here's a little video of Shelli talking about Stampin' Up!'s creative ideas!

Dazzling Baby Card!

This is a fun little baby card I did last night, we are all waiting for our friends Kyla and Steve to have their baby and we don't know whether it's a girl or a boy, I can't wait to meet that little cutie! I really enjoyed using these dazzling colors which were suggested by a Chat & Challenge on SUDSOL. I stamped the little onesies and then bent a piece of wire to look like a hanger using the retired craft kit, love those pliers! Then I attached them with a puffy to make them pop out. Come on Baby! We're all waiting for you!

A fun playdate

One of Finlay's friends came over last week for a playdate with me ;-) She worked on some super cute birthday cards and I played with this hostess set, Slice of Life, that is in the new mini - I just love it. I stamped each of the images in Staz-on on a piece of watercolor paper and then colored them in using the watercolor crayons and a blender pen. I edged the mat with the scallop edge border punch and added a strip of Sew Suite designer paper. Quick and easy. You can choose this stamp set for free if you host a workshop before the end of April, OR if you put together an order of $150+, this is in addition to Sale-a-bration sets you earn with every $50 you spend! These extra benefits make this a great time of year to stock up on card stock or adhesive or maybe something on your wish list! My calendar is filling up so please give me a call if you'd like to book a girls night out! Have a great week,

Brenda

Blue Valentine

Probably the saddest song in the world... I've been thinking about making a "Blue Valentine" all week and this song has been echoing around my head - do you know it? Tom Waits... such a great voice and truly heartbreaking lyrics. Anyway! my card isn't too sad I don't think! I used the rock and roll technique to ink up the main image, inking it first in Baja Breeze and then rolling the edges in Marina Mist. Then I stamped it again in Marina Mist and cut out the banner with the words on and attached it with some puffies. I tied some of the new Baja Breeze seam binding around - the picture really doesn't do it justice, the color is just beautiful and it's so soft and has a lovely sheen! This is one of the cards we are making at card class tonight... I still have openings if you'd like to join me at 6:30! Have a great day - Brenda

Sew fun!

Today I've been playing with some of the new Stampin' Up! fabric that is in the mini... this is from the Sew Suite collection - I love the designs on all the different things in this line, they are such fun colors and remind me of those fun 50's designs, maybe I've been watching too much Mad Men. However, unlike some of those 50's housewives, I am NOT a seamstress! So far I've made lots of the fabric flowers using the flower folds die - easy, and no sewing required... today I decided to get out of my comfort zone and break out my sewing machine - previously, only used to sew card stock and paper, ha ha! I found this pattern on a website of somebody who knows what she's doing - it really wasn't too difficult and here's what I ended up with... I sewed on one of the giant buttons, also from the mini, and now I have a fun new business card holder! You could also use it for keeping all those loyalty cards that clog up your purse...

Upcoming Events

I have some fun classes coming up, would you like to join me? Card class next Tuesday at 10 a.m. or 6:30 pm. Above is one of the cards we'll be making, all card are suitable for beginning or experienced crafters. Do this class for FREE with a $25+ order (for four free cards) or a $40+ order (for eight free cards!)

Below are some teeny tiny chipboard albums we'll be making at the end of the month... I only have NINE of these albums so please sign up soon if you're interested! These photo's are just to show the albums, you will have a choice of colors/papers/embellishments etc. More details about all my events are here

Sale-A-Bration Starts Today!

Look at this cute stamp set! It's called Punch Bunch because each of the images matches one of our punches - I especially like the little owl - match him up with the owl punch and make a quick and easy embellishment! You can't buy this stamp set for any money... but you can get it FREE in either the clear or wood format with any purchase of $50! There are lots of other stamp sets/accessories to choose from too! And you earn one free with EVERY $50 you spend (so if you spend $100 you choose two). Plus if you host a qualifying workshop or stamp club during Sale-A-Bration you will earn a Sale-A-Bration item too! And new demonstrators are getting a discount and LOTS of free extras. Too much fun... This is a great time of year in the Stamping world, please let me know if I can be of any help, or place your order here.

Stamp Sets Anybody?

We had a great couple of days with the sale and I'm so excited to be able to report that we have over $860 to give to the family... I was stressing yesterday that we wouldn't have a good turnout but we just had a steady trickle the whole time, lots of stuff bought and sold, lots of cards made, M&M's eaten, counting, and reorganizing - lots of fun! Here are some group shots of the stamp sets that are left... If you are interested you can click on the images to see them bigger. If you see anything you fancy please let me know ASAP and we can see if we can make a deal! I will continue to put all the proceeds towards our fundraiser throughout this week... I would just love to get that number up to a round thousand :-) And I'd be happy to mail the stamp sets to you at cost if you're far away! Have a wonderful week - Brenda

GIANT SALE/BENEFIT TODAY & TOMORROW!!!

The boys and I are getting ready for our BIG SALE today! We are trying to raise money for our friends and neighbors, the Espinosa family, Donnie passed away last week and the family could use a little sunshine right now.

I had a big mountain of stamp sets I've been accumulating and hoarding for years and I decided to try and sell them for the family - then a few of my friends donated some more stamp sets, then a few more friends gave me some to sell on consignment, a percentage of those sales will go into the pot. I also put together a basket of goodies to raffle off, including a $50 gift certificate! If you come along there will be door prizes too, plus you'll get to make a free Valentine's card if you wish. And we are going to stamp up some little notecards to give to the Espinosas too.

Phew!

Please come along if you can! Today, from 3-8 p.m. Tomorrow from 8-11 a.m.

Happy Martin Luther King Day! Brenda