Henry meets photopolymer!

I made this card for my lovely friend and fellow demonstrator, Tammy. I have had a blast matching Henry up with the adorable Designer Typeset photopolymer stamp set. I have to say these completely clear stamps are kind of different to use... but the one thing I LOVE about them is, because they are completely transparent, they are super easy to stamp in a specific place, like the numbers inside the pennants. The other great thing about them is that you can bend them when you stick them on the block. So I was able to curve the flags, so fun!

Did you know that the Happy Birthday greeting from Henry Says fits just perfectly inside the speech bubble from the Designer Typeset Photopolymer set? I was so excited to discover this (it doesn't take much!) I did that on this card, which was my first attempt for a swap card for Fiji. (I ended up choosing something else instead though!)

I had a lot of fun paper piecing Henry and these little banners. I think they made a super cute birthday card don't you?

Wish Big!

I have to confess that this, 'Wish Big' pointy hand was the MAIN reason I bought this Bring on the Cake stamp set, I just love this image! I have used it several times... you can stamp or write something different and stick it onto a card and put it in his hand too :-)  The other images are cool but this is the one that is always calling me!

I used a fun double embossing technique on this card too, it was re...ally hard to get it to show up on the the photo though, do you see it? There is a frame around the image using the Designer Frames embossing folder, and then the square lattice die over the whole piece.  Are you interested in learning how to do this? I'd be happy to do a tutorial.

I am so glad this Island Indigo color is rolling on through into our core colors, I LOVE IT! Actually, I don't think we've ever had a "blue" that I don't like. Always my fallback color!

Today I am celebrating finally feeling BETTER! I've had a virus that absolutely knocked me out, I had a fever for 7 days straight! We're going camping for a couple of days and I know that's going to be time to heal and relax. I hope you have a wonderful long weekend,

Brenda

FeeeJeee!

Oh my word, we had an amazingly brilliant, once in a lifetime trip to Fiji! I cannot even begin to tell you how wonderful it was... I was really anxious about leaving our children behind and traveling so far away without them, but, thanks to our lovely friends who stepped in to help, they did fine.

So, I'm going to try and squish some of our best experiences into this post... ready? Here we go! First picture at Albuquerque airport - I knew it was going to be a good trip when I discovered my bag was at exactly 50lbs!

Here's Marsh with his new best friend - Fiji Bitter - Bula!

 When we got to Nadi we met up with Marsh's sister Jill and her huband Mark who live in New Zealand and immediately transferred onto this tiny plane to Taveuni Island. The plane was so tiny they couldn't accommodate our luggage, that's why we're carrying our beach towels so we can go swimming while waiting!

Not much wiggle room on this flight!

 An hour and a bit later we landed at Taveuni Airport, hah! Bit different to LAX. We landed in the rain but that didn't last long...

From here we took a ride in a pick up truck and then a small boat out to Maqai beach on Qamea Island - we stayed in a tiny little backpacking place on the beach... here's the view from our "room"

 And here's our room! It was really just a tent on a platform...

 It was extremely basic but absolutely perfect, there was an outdoor shower and and outside toilet, a mosquito net over the bed and the ocean crashing outside. I took these pictures at low tide standing out in the sea!

The best thing about Fiji was how friendly all the people were - here Jill is learning how to weave a basket out of palm leaves...

We went for a jungle walk but couldn't quite find the path! So we ended up making our way back to the sea and walking around the shoreline, on the way we bumped into these fisherman with their collection of lobster and shellfish, yummy!

We went on a tour around Taveuni Island - here we are at the International Dateline we could jump over and be in yesterday or today, I didn't seem to look much younger though :-(

We swam in the pools below this amazing waterfall in Bouma National Heritage park - just beautiful, Marsh jumped off the ledge behind the waterfall but not me!

Also on Taveuni we went to the natural water slides - a TON of fun but I did get a massive bruise on my butt!

Kava ceremony on Maqai beach - it took Jill and I a couple of days to pluck up the courage to do this... not too bad but not something I'd particularly want to do again!

Leaving Maqai early in the morning... :-(

View of Maqai from the boat

 Back at Taveunu lodge, just time for a quick coffee before we head back to the airport, looks pretty different in the sunshine!

 This has to be one of the world's prettiest runways don't you think? Just a beautiful flight...

Well, I only managed to fit in the first few days of our trip! Haven't even got to the Stampin' Up! resort yet! I'm going to put the second half of our trip into a second post so please come back and check that out.  I hope you're having a wonderful week and please let me know if I can be of any help.

This is the FINAL week of our current annual catalog AND the Spring seasonal catalog so don't miss out if you still have things on your wish list. Click here to see list of retiring stamp sets.  Lots of accessories on SALE too! Click here to view sale accessories.  I have to tell you I have seen the upcoming book though and there is lots of fun stuff to look forward to :-)

Brenda

Lucky Stamp Club Girls!

I had lots of inspiration for this month's club when I was in Fiji last week (still feels exciting to say that!) I have lots of fun pictures and stories to share from Fiji but I can't sit and play with my pictures until I've got my stamping done - club starts tomorrow and I "borrowed" a couple of ideas from the swap cards I received.

Right back when I first started stamping I came across this fun technique using hair gel inside a cello bag. We made adorable little Mother's day gifts at the pre-school. The fact that my pre-schooler is entering High School this year gives you some indication of how long ago that was! I received a swap using this technique from Diane Carr - I was so excited to see it again after so many years! I had to copy it for club... Here's what we'll be making, isn't it SO COOL?!!! Love it!

This is one of three fun projects we're doing this month. My club girls can make more steppy, complicated projects because they have the opportunity to develop their skills month by month. One of the many things I love about club is the fact that we can branch out into more fun ideas. (My favorite thing about club is getting to visit with some of my favorite friends every month though!) Interested? Ask me for more info!

Look what arrived on my doorstep!

Isn't this the most exciting thing ever?!  Stampin' Up do such a fantastic job with the trips we earn. This is the packet that held our tickets and travel docs - I especially love the bag tags, oh, and the burlap purse!! I only have 3 days left before we leave and I am flying around like CRAZY trying to get everything squared away!

This is the first time we've left our kids behind, they have a fun week planned, staying with various friends, but I am anxious about being away from them... I'm sure the sun, sea and sand is going to make everything ok though :-)
I hope you're having a wonderful start to your week, Brenda

Stamp Club Share

I have been holding our monthly stamp club this week. I love this time to get together with old and new friends and play for a couple of hours. Something we all need more of in our lives don't you think?  Anyway, one of my favorite things is that sometimes the girls bring along things they've been making to share with the group. My friend Rhonda bought along a selection last month and I think this was my fave (I apologize for the poor quality photo - I was quick trying to snap it in the middle of all the craziness!)

She used this adorable 'Spec-tacular' single stamp and used more than one color of embossing powder to emboss the glasses different colors. This is a technique we had learned at our last Master class - and I LOVE how she used it here! Then she came back and decorated some of them with markers and some with foil or rhinestones, so imaginative! I love the whole 80's feel of the finished card! (I have to love anything to do with the 80's because that's really my era.)

This batch of single stamps were originally only going to be available through the end of March but thankfully they extended that through to the end of July!  I'm pleased because I wanted to get this one and the little His and Hers towels.  You can see all of the single stamps on offer here:
Assortment 3: http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/Single_Flyers_Assortment3_US(1).pdf
Assortment 4: http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/Single_Flyers_Assortment4_US(1).pdf

If you want to buy some you can email me or check out my online store 

Have a great week! Brenda

New Wood Mount Cases!

Ooh, check these out! I know a lot of people prefer the clear mount stamp sets but I actually still really love the wood mount stamps. Especially if I want to use a lot of images at once it's really handy not to have to keep switching them out. Or if I'm doing a class where I want to give stampers lots of choices.

There's something about holding the wooden block that really makes me happy :-)

Here's a little video about the new cases!

This & That Kit - My kind of scrapbooking!

Now, this is MY kind of scrapbooking!

My life is busy, chaotic and crazy. I have very few blocks of time to sort and organize and figure out what to scrapbook and by the time I do I don't remember the details or the funny things that happened, and I feel stressed about having everything match and where I put the cute accessories etc.

When I saw this my interest was piqued... but I still wasn't sure... when I got it in my hands I squealed, I was so excited! No more doing anything in order (unless you want to.) No more chronological, needing to get everything down. Just throw in the bits YOU want. Often, the most important thing to me is not the who, when, what, where, how... It's the life lessons. The little things I see or feel and say "I want to remember this. I want to hold onto this feeling or this new knowledge."

So, for example, we just spent part of our Spring Break in Albuquerque - we went to the zoo and had a great time. The things that made it special for me are the little things though... Finlay got a fancy camera at Christmas time and I loved watching him stage pictures and photograph the animals and the flowers. I wonder where this hobby will take him, if this is a formative stage in his life? We went on a train ride and Marsh and I were transported back in time to the days where our whole lives were immersed in train paraphernalia. Our boys are so grown up now it's great to get those reminders.

So I super quick threw together these pages. The kit makes it SO SUPER EASY and (most important to me) QUICK!

Everybody's will be totally unique based on what YOU want to record and remember, I love that there are no rules, just save whatever, it's all good!

 You can get the squash journal or other parts separately or buy the whole bundle at 15% off! Here's the scoop... remember if you order it today you'll get free shipping!

131268

Epic Day This and That Journal

$10.95

130814

Epic Day This and That Designer Series Paper

$10.95

130133

Remember This and That Rotary Stamp

$5.95

131271

Epic Day This and That Designer Stickers

$4.95

131269

Epic Day This and That Designer Washi Tape

$4.95

Epic Day This and That Bundle  133350
Includes the five This and That products listed above. Only available in a bundle until April 30.

$32.08
15% Off Retail Value!

 Check out this little video to see more!

If you want to order be sure to go to my website www.brendamarshall.stampinup.net 

Henry Says let's eat a Toblerone!

So fun to just wrap up a candy bar sometimes! I made these last minute Valentine treats for the boys by simply measuring a Toblerone (yummy!) candy bar and cutting a piece of card stock long enough to wrap around and then scoring it so it would fold nicely. I stamped the hearts using Whisper White Craft ink and colored Henry using a blender pen and Classic ink. Easy peasy! The ticket duo punch makes cutting out the tickets a breeze too!

We ran to the dollar store yesterday and all their Easter candy was half price, Ruh Roh. So, of course, we couldn't leave without grabbing a few Cadbury Creme Eggs. I planned on having mine with a lovely cup of tea when I got home but, actually, I gobbled it all up before I even got to the car. Such self control!

I hope you're having a wonderful week, Brenda

You have now entered... the Twilight Zone!

Have you ever made a Zoetrope card? They are so..... cool! You pull the string and it spins, kind of like in those old movies when you're going back in time or to another space/time dimension!

We tackled this at Master class this week, and do you need to be the kind of person who will enjoy a fiddly design. Not really difficult but lots of steps and you have to pay attention to how to put it together or it doesn't work. Totally worth it though when it's done!

Would you like to learn how? Let me know and I'll post some directions...

I hope you're having a wonderful week - Brenda

Now this card is Bloomin' Marvelous!

Look at this beautiful card! One of the talented demonstrators in our BLISS team made this and shared it with us at our meeting last week. I love it! It uses the Bloomin' Marvelous stamp set (free during Sale-a-bration!) 

I love how she backed the greeting with strips of Summer Starfruit card stock cut with the Scallop Ribbon punch. 

She popped up some of the flowers using puffies and that really finished it off. Great job Erika! 

Have a great week! Brenda

Patterned Occasions, Congratulations Smarty Pants!

Another SUPER easy Sale-a-bration item, I LOVE this stamp set, Patterned Occasions, and this little pair of jeans is my favorite stamp in there. I made this little favor for some of the demonstrators in our BLISS team of Stampin' Up! demonstrators this week. I put it together in a flash using the Oval Accents Bigz die and the Designer Label Punch. The rhinestone for a button finished it off.

Only 5 more days of Sale-a-bration left now, don't miss out! And please let me know if you might be interested in joining our BLISS team of demonstrators.

Have a great week! Brenda

Patterned Occasions Get Well Card

Less than one week left of Sale-a-bration! So I will be posting something using a SAB stamp set every day till Friday! Don't leave it too late to get your SAB order in - you don't want to miss the opportunity to get free stuff, especially when it's as cute as this!

Have a great weekend! I'm off to teach a scrapbooking class today, yippee!

Brenda

Easter Scrapbook Pages!

It's been ages since I've had the chance to do any scrapbooking! I put these pages together for a class I'm doing this weekend. 

I made the Easter basket using the new Oval framelits. The base of the basket is the largest scallop edged oval cut in half. Then I made the handle by punching ovals out of Designer Series Paper using the Extra Large Oval punch.  I stamped the letters in Basic Gray using my favorite alphabet set - Morning Post. And I stamped the little bunnies (that are hard to see on this photo!) in Pool Party using the single stamp, Ears To You (so cute!)
Have a wonderful week! Brenda

Big Shot Special and Class!

Do you have or would you like the Big Shot personal cutting and embossing machine? I have a GREAT special that you might be interested in!

If you buy a Big Shot and a couple of accessories or dies totaling $150 (before tax and shipping) in addition to your amazing new Big Shot you will receive:

• THREE free Sale-a-bration items of your choice! (You could choose from stamp sets, beautiful Designer Series Paper or even an embossing folder for your new Big Shot!)
• A free pack of Silver Glimmer Paper! (All ready to be cut out into cute shapes with your Big Shot!)
• $25 in free items of your choice! (What will you choose? Another die? Extended cutting plates? New stamp sets? It's up to you! AND
• Free Big Shot 101 class including tips and tricks teaching you how to use it and a couple of fun and easy projects! I have one scheduled for this Monday, the 4th, at 1 p.m.

This offer is valid for three weeks only so please let me know right away if you would like more info.
Have a great weekend! Brenda  

Get your Masters in Stamping!

Have you been crafting for a while now? If so you might really enjoy this monthly Master class!

I come up with slower, more "steppy" projects like this that would intimidate many people but are PERFECT if you have been around the block a few times and like a challenge!

We have class tomorrow, Thursday, at 9 a.m. or Monday at 6:30 p.m. Please let me know if you'd like to know more about it!

Hope you're having a great day - Brenda

When the rain is done...

I don't know about you but I am REALLY looking forward to Spring! I love this hopeful little wellington boot card - but, I have to say, it reminds me of England more than Colorado - a snow boot, or some BOGS would be more appropriate here!

Isn't it cute though? It's a swap card I received at leadership - but I gave the original away so I don't know who designed it, please let me know if you do and I'll credit her! We made this same card at one of my classes. Classes are a fun option if you want to just come along, pay a flat fee and leave with some finished cards! Please let me know if that's something you might be interested in.

I hope you're having a great start to your week, Brenda

Did you know you can stamp on plastic?

Have you ever tried stamping on plastic? It's so cool! And it's really easy too... Here's a little video showing you how - why don't you try and send me a picture of your project? I'd love to share it!

If you don't have them already you really need Staz-On ink to do this
Jet Black - $7.95
Cotton White (comes with a refill) - $11.95
We also carry lots of different sized cello bags

• 1" x 8" - $2.50 for 50
• 4" x 6" - $4.50 for 50
• 6" x 9" - $4.95 for 50
• Gussetted 6" x 14" $3.95 for 25

Have a great day and please let me know if I can be any help!
Brenda

Callum's Spooky Monster Valentines

Do you recognize this little monster? Not Callum! The little purple monster? He's from the stamp set Spooky Bingo Bits but Callum thought he'd be perfect for his Valentines and I have to agree.

We made a simple little sleeve to wrap around a box of Sweethearts - of course it had to be orange (Callum's favorite color) We punched out a red heart using the biggest heart from the Hearts a flutter framelits and then used the full heart punch for the yellow heart. 

Callum stamped lots of little monsters in Rich Razzleberry and punched them out with the 1" circle punch. We added a little red glimmer heart and we were done... except for the writing part...

That takes a lot of concentration when you're in 5th grade, we're thankful that the teacher printed out a checklist though, that was a lot of help! Callum said I had to tell you that 5th graders get a lot of work which makes it hard to remember all the people in your class(!) 

Hope you have fun making your Valentines! Brenda

Henry Says Happy Valentine's Day!

As soon as I saw this cute elephant, Henry, I knew I had to get him!
This is the first card I made with Henry, it's real simple: I just stamped him in Jet Black Staz On and colored him a little bit using the Basic Gray watercolor crayon that I could blend with a blender pen to soften and shade a little. That makes it sound quite clever doesn't it?! But really I just rubbed over the crayon lines so they blurred and didn't look so stripey! That's the beauty of the watercolor crayons, they are lovely to work with.

The set comes with various things you can add... a banner, birds, hearts, pennants and Christmas ornaments - all sized to hang from his trunk or walk along the top! Haha - I don't know why but that whole idea really appeals to me!

I wanted to use this as a Valentine's so I stamped the hearts twice and added a cheery greeting. I think it came out cute!

I hope you're having a great day and hope to be stamping with you again soon! Please let me know if I can be of any help.

Brenda