Stampin with the Goddess

Irish Eyes

Now that Valentine's Day is over, Mardi Gras a hazy memory, I turn my Irish eyes to St. Patrick's Day!  I enjoy making cards for this holiday because the lucky recipients enjoy their unexpected mail.

Over the next few weeks, I'll share some of my St. Patrick's Day cards with you.  In return, I invite you to consider making a few cards for your friends, wishing them the luck of the Irish!

 

This 3x 3 card was super simple to make. 

Supplies Used:

• Pinch Proof stamp set
• Garden Green card stock
• More Mustard card stock
• Whisper White craft ink
• Whisper White embossing powder
• Basic Black grosgrain ribbon

Which Demonstrator Will You Be?

Stampin’ Up! Has All Kinds of Demonstrators

Which demonstrator will you be?

 

• Deal Demonstrator: Buys the starter kit because it’s such a great deal!  May place one initial order (because she’ll get 30% off), but then lets her demonstratorship expire.

 

• Discount Demonstrator: Likes the idea of buying stamps for personal use at a 20% discount and occasionally sells to neighbors, relatives, friends, etc.

 

• Seasonal Demonstrator: Works hard at the business during September, October, and November for seasonal money and maintains minimum orders and sales during the balance of the year.

 

• Hobby Demonstrator: Likes doing workshops or stamp camps and earning extra money when it’s convenient; works a lot some months and very little other months; likes to do workshops that are easy to book.

 

• Career Demonstrator: Views a Stampin’ Up! demonstratorship as a viable business with long-term career potential; pursues management and wants to move up the career ladder; loves attending Stampin’ Up! events and has developed close social relationships with other demonstrators; works at her business in a consistent and outgoing manner.

 

As you can see, this is a flexible, fun business you can build to suit your needs and desires.  Make it fit for you by using your unique talents and style.

 

If any of these ideas appeal to you, click here for more information about becoming a demonstrator!

Big Shot Bonanza Extension

Due the popularity of my Big Shot Bonanza, I have decided to extend this promotion through the end of this week- Friday, February 27, 2009 at 10:00 pm.  For more details of this promotion, click here.

Note:  I am keeping this announcement as a Sticky through the end of the week.  Read further for additional posts.

Big Shot Bonanza

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that I have truly fallen in love with my Big Shot machine.  I can honestly say that I never thought that I would get much use out of a die cutting machine, but I have been pleasantly surprised with the versatility of what I can do with my Big Shot machine. 

This being said, one thing that I often hear is "Why should I order my machine from you when I can get it cheaper with my coupon from [insert store name]"  Well, let me show you why there is no better time than now to order your Big Shot Starter Kit from me.

	Store w/ 40% Coupon	Stampin’ Up! Starter Kit
Big Shot Machine   *$99.95 msrp, less 40% coupon	$99.95 (39.98)	Included
Standard Cutting Pads	8.99	Included
SU Scallop Envelope Die	21.95	Included
SU Top Note Die	21.95	Included
SU Birds & Blooms Sizzlits	21.95	Included
SU Billboard Alphabet	21.95	Included
Decorative Strip Cutting Pads	7.95	Included
Extended Spacer Platform	9.95	Included
Sub-Total	$174.66	$195.99
3 Sale-A-Bration Sets ($16.95 value, ea.)*	$50.85	FREE
Level One Hostess Set*	18.95	FREE
Hostess Free Merchandise of Choice	15.00	FREE
Shipping Costs from Stampin’ Up!	11.47	19.60
TOTAL COST OF ALL ITEMS	$270.93	$215.59

 *Note: These items cannot be purchased separately, you can only earn these items for FREE with a qualifying purchase from Stampin’ Up!

 

As you can see, right now you get so much more for less cost.  In addition, from now through Monday, when you order your Big Shot Starter Kit, I will also give you an additional Sale-A-Bration item of your choice, the Stampin' Up! Little Leaves Sizzlit Die, and your choice of either the Daisy Flower or Flower Blossom Sizzlit Die.  That's an additional $50 worth of FREE items when you place your order this weekend.  To take advantage of this offer, email me [colleen@stampingoddess.com] before 10:00 EST on Monday, February 23.  Be sure to include your choice of Sale-A-Bration sets (pick 4), Level One Hostess Set and an additional $15 merchandise of your choice.  I will send you a Paypal invoice for your total.

Another Big Shot Box

Extended Premium Crease Pad Coming Soon!

Coming this spring, Stampin' Up! is excited to announce the introduction of a wonderful new product into our Sizzix line - the Extended Premium Crease Pad! The extended pad is just as easy to use as our current Premium Crease Pad and will create the same great fold lines in your Sizzix Big Shot projects, but it is specially sized to work perfectly with the larger Bigz XL dies.

Many of you have already purchased some of our Bigz XL diesfrom Stampin' Up! with score lines in their design. If you have used these dies with the Extended Cutting Pads, you may have experienced the die cutting through the score lines and not leaving the fold creases that you desired. While this is not a common occurrence, this may happen due to the range of tolerances in the Big Shot machine as well as the variances in paper and other materials. If you are having this experience with your Bigz XL dies, we have come up with a way you can avoid this problem until the Extended Premium Crease Pad becomes available this spring. This is not a technique that we would recommend under normal circumstances, and we don't recommend using it for any other purpose. However, in this case, it is the best alternative, and it is safe for both your Big Shot and your dies.

Create the following sandwich as a temporary solution for Bigz XL dies with score lines:

• Place the Bigz XL die face up, with no cutting pad beneath it.
• Place the material you wish to cut on top of the die.
• Place two Premium Crease Pads, end to end, on the material. If you don't have two Premium Crease Pads, consider borrowing one from an upline, downline, or friend if possible.
• Place an Extended Cutting Pad on top to complete the sandwich. (This will maintain an equal amount of pressure over both crease pads to eliminate the possibility of unwanted creases.)

Remember that this is only a temporary fix and soon you will no longer have to worry about your Bigz XL score lines with the Extended Premium Crease Pad! Once you have the Extended Premium Crease Pad, you will simply follow the sandwiching technique found in the instructions.

Big Shot Box #2

I've been playing with my Big Shot again.  This time, I pulled out the new Box #2 Bigz XL die, a new yummy Fleurettes crocheted flower, and a half a sheet of the Candy Lane double-sided Designer Series paper to make this cute little box.

 

You won't believe how easy it is to make this box.  You just run your card stock through the Big Shot with the Box #2 Bigz die and the box comes out completely cut and scored.  To put it together, all you need is a small piece of Sticky Strip to hold the side together.  The rest just folds into place.  These little boxes are especially nice with the double-sided paper so that the inside looks as nice as the outside. 

Their finished size is approximately 1 1/2" x 3 3/4" x 2" and will hold 12 of the Hershey Nugget candies- 3 rows with 4 candies in each row.

Enabler Alert

I just wanted to give you a quick heads up that now that Valentine's Day is here and gone, the stores will be putting all of their Valentine's candy on sale.  While you may not need extra bags of conversation hearts, also on sale will be the special bags of green M&Ms which will be perfect for St. Patrick's Day goodies and Valentine's packages of Ghirardelli chocolates. 

Stay tuned, because I'm also stocking up on both of these and will be sharing fun projects using both over the next few weeks.

Happy Valentines Day- a bit late

A belated Happy Valentines Day!  I had high hopes of finishing a few gifts to give my hubby and sons (and to share with you), but yesterday morning I bent over to get a drink of water and when I stood up, I got a stabbing pain in my back!  It was so bad, that I ended up coming home from work after only 2 hours.  Since then, I have been taking it easy, alternating heat and ice on my back for the past 2 days.  So much for a fun and romantic Valentines Day :(

Luckily, I made this card earlier this week.  It uses the new Texturz Plates from Stampin' Up! to give the card base a very subtle embossed look, and Polka Dot Punches, which is a FREE stamp set during Sale-A-Bration.

 

 

Supplies Used:

• Whisper White card stock
• Regal Rose card stock
• Pink Pirouette card stock
• 5/8" Regal Rose grosgrain ribbon
• Regal Rose classic ink
• Pretties Kit
• Full Heart punch
• Big Shot machine
• Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plates
• Polka Dot Punches

Don't forget that there is still time to place your Sale-A-Bration order.  For every $50 you spend (before tax & shipping) you earn your choice of any of the Sale-A-Bration limited edition items.  You can choose from 4 exclusive stamp sets, a ribbon bundle, or Designer Series paper pack.  The more you spend, the more free items you can earn. 

Have you been thinking about getting a Big Shot machine?  If you have, there is no better time than now to order.  When you order the Big Shot Starter Kit, plus add something small, like a glue stick (so that your total goes above $200) and you will qualify for the following FREE items:  Level 1 hostess set of your choice, 4 Sale-A-Bration sets of your choice, $20 in additional merchandise of your choice- that's over $80 worth of FREE goodies!  Just click the "Shop With Me" button at my Stampin' Up! website, www.stampingoddess.stampinup.net and pace your order today.

Now I'm off to trade out my heating pad for an ice pack- lucky for me DH is quite understanding and accommodating.  I guess we'll just have to celebrate later this week.

Don't Forget Your February Card Kit

 

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow (Tuesday, February 10) is the last day to place your February card kit orders.  Tomorrow night I will be ordering the kit contents from Stampin' Up! so that I can have your kit in the mail to you by the end of the month.

For more details about the February Card Kit and to place your order, click here.

Happy Birthday

 

Today is my baby's birthday.  He turned 15 years old today.  Last Friday, my oldest son turned 23.  Since the two of them have birthdays 8 days apart, we always celebrate with a family party the weekend between the two.  So, last night was the big bash.  Even though neither one of them is little any more, I still wanted to do a bit of decorating for the party, so I decided to make a long birthday banner.  This was made by cutting 12" x 12"  Chocolate Chip card stock  into 3 1/2 " strips, scored at 3 1/2" interval and then glued together. 

Next, I cut bits of the patterned paper from the Bella Rose double-sided Designer Series paper into 3" squares.  Now, let me injected that while I realize that this patterned paper isn't very masculine, I used these colors to coordinate with my Valentines decorations, knowing that the boys wouldn't notice one way or another!

The designer series squares were glued to the Chocolate Chip strips before adding the Chocolate Chip letters, cut with my Big Shot machine.  Lastly, I added bits of ribbon, the birthday cake, and a few coordinating brads.

This banner then sat on the table with the birthday cake and presents.

Now, for the beauty of this project, you can use whatever colors you want and spell out any message for a fun and festive banner for any occasion.  Give it a try and see how easy these are to make.