GREAT News: SU's Angel Policy

I am wetting my pants over this one ...

Beginning November 15, stampers will be able to sell their handmade items that use Stampin' Up images both online AND at "fixed retail locations." Currently, both are prohibited, which has really put the kibosh on selling anywhere other than craft shows.

In case you're interested, the change applies to Article 4, which on 11/15 will read:

4. Completed, hand-stamped projects may be sold at competitive and non-competitive permanent retail locations, as well as temporary craft events, community fundraisers, and over the Internet. In selling handstamped projects, the seller must make it clear that the items are hand-made, and not a product of the company. The seller may indicate that the supplies used are from Stampin’ Up!, but the Stampin’ Up! logo may not be used in any way for the sole purpose of promoting the sale of hand-stamped projects.

There are still rules to follow. Go to the Stampin' Up! website, click on "Legal," and from there, you'll be able to find the full Angel Policy.

Let the fun begin!

Teacher Treat

I'm making these altered Starbucks Frappuccino bottles for my kids to give to their teachers for little Halloween gifts.

It would be great do do something similar for all the teachers (from the PTO), maybe as a Valentine's gift, or a spring gift, but I'd need more than 60 empty bottles. That's a problem. I'm certainly not going to be the one to empty 60 of them, maybe one or two here and there, but not 60 ... too much caffeine and too much fat. So if you live nearby and you ever drink these, even just one or two, please save your bottles for me!

Supplies (Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Tags So Much (retired)
Paper: Halloween Night designer paper (retired)
Inks: Basic Black
Ribbon: Orange, black gingham, green galore, Vintage Violet (retired)
Other: corner rounder punch (to make the scallops)

Six Months Old!

Wow, my baby was a big six months old yesterday. So hard to believe. Equally hard to believe is how the gifts keep coming in -- he got another on Sunday. Our friends and family are fabulous!

This is one of two different thank-you designs. I do like the card (a lot), but can I tell you how tired I am of looking at it all these months? This design was actually the inspiration for this Halloween card I posted earlier this month.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Wild Things, Canvas, Just Jeans, Riveting
Inks: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery
Paper: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Barely Banana, Whisper White
Accessories: Word Window, scallop, 1 1/4" circle, 1 3/8" circle punches, Soft Subtles brads

He wants you to see his cool socks :)

Another Sketch Challenge

This card was for Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #24. Can you tell I love sketches?

I had a really hard time getting this card to come together. At first, my plan for this star stamp was a super sleek, minimalist design - just the image, then the star cut out and popped up, all on a plain white background. Well, it was sleek and minimalist alright ... and BORING! I always admire the designers who can make a really, really simple card that looks amazing. Clearly I'm not one of them :(

So I brought in some color, did my usual adding, layering, and general fussing, and then adapted it to Beate's sketch. In the end, it was worth the fuss. I'm glad I flexed some creative muscle and pushed this through to the end. It would have been easy enough to quit mid-design.

2 For Tuesday

Last Thursday's challenge over on Splitcoast was to find a way to use wood. This was just the push I needed to alter one of the jumbo clothespins I had on hand. Wouldn't this be neat as a Christmas countdown, too? Decorate with holiday papers, and in the clip have the number of days left until Christmas? I'll have to give that one a try. Might make a good gift ...

Supplies (Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Outlaw dp
Ink: Chocolate Chip (for distressing edges of dp); White, Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow craft ink
Other: Pewter Hodgepodge hardware (spiral clip); chocolate grosgrain ribbon, moss gingham ribbon, On Board Blossoms & Basics chipboard, large deco brad - source unknown, jumbo clothespin from Oriental Trading




This second project is for Jen del Muro's weekly sketch challenge. Wanna play too? Check out this post at i{heart}2stamp for the sketch details. You'll see I not only used her sketch, but I also picked up the colors and theme from her sample. As they say, imitation is flattery. And her work IS amazing!

Supplies (SU!):
Stamps: Snow Burst, Season's Greetings
Inks: Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Sage Shadow
Paper: Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Wintergreen dp
Other: gold brad, dimensionals

Trashy

Last month, when I was taking Gretchen Schmidt's "Creativity: A Daily Dose" class at Big Picture Scrapbooking, one of the altered projects was a door hanger. At first, I was going to make something for my daughter's room, like maybe her name on one side and "the diva is IN" on the other.

Even better? Her name on one side, and "pout in progress" on the other, since the only time she shuts (slams?) her door is when she's gone off for a pout.

In the end, I thought a "trash" sign would be much more useful. Our trashcans hide behind a cabinet door in a pull-out drawer of sorts, so our guests can never find them. Now I have a sign AND the prettiest trash in town ;)

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Baroque Motifs
Ink: Old Olive , VersaMark
Paper: River Rock, Brocade Background designer paper
Accessories: Vintage Brads

To the Musicians

I'm SO excited! This is my first-ever attempt at digital scrapbooking! One day I may look back on this and cringe, but hey, we've all gotta start somewhere.

Technically, not quite my first-ever page. I signed up for a Renee Pearson digital class (through Big Picture Scrapbooking) back in April, knowing I was going to have a baby in the middle of it. I figured I could download the materials and learn at my own pace. Have I? No. I did the first assignment, so technically THAT was my first-ever page. But it was spoon-fed to me, so I can't really count it now, can I?

Here's the story on this layout ... my dd, Miss Adrienne, and I had a funny conversation the other day. It went like this:

Adrienne: Mommy, we learned about dinosaurs today at school!

Me: Really? ... well Adrienne, what did you learn? Are dinosaurs big or small?

Adrienne: Some are big and some are small.

Me: Do they fly?

Adrienne: Some do, some don't.

Me: Are they friendly?

Adrienne: Some are, some aren't.

Me: What color are they?

Adrienne: All colors.

Me: Do they eat people?

Adrienne: Some do, some don't.

Me: I'd like to see a dinosaur. Where can we go see one? At the zoo?

Adrienne: No, you can't see them at the zoo, mom. You have to go to the musicians.

Hmmm ... would I find them next to the strings or over by the woodwinds? ;)

Seriously, these are the little joys I like to scrapbook. And we all know kids are full of funny little sayings, misspeaks, hilarious non-sequiturs, etc. I've always *thought* about making a layout or mini-album of these collected funnies. Today seemed like a good time to start. And it seemed like a good thing to do digi.

I scrounged around my hard drive, looking through a few free kits I've downloaded here and there, and I found this cute little kit I got from Mosh-Posh when I was a kit subscriber. It's called George Frog and was designed by Linda Barber. I also stumbled on a layout template on Sarah Vrolyk's blog that I tried to use for this layout.

Yes, "tried. " Did I mention I have next to no idea what I'm doing? I'm sure had I known how, I could have easily dragged and dropped my elements into the design using her template file, but I couldn't get that to work like I thought it should. So I ended up creating all my elements on my own and then arranging everything according to her design. But I'm gonna figure this out, I am!

Anyway, it was fun! I can't see ever giving up the tactile pleasure of working with actual paper, ribbon, stamps, etc., but I figure it can't hurt to have another "tool" at my disposal. And there's something kinda compelling about scrapbooking in the airport, in the car, at baseball practice ...