Texture Boutique Embossing Machine While Supplies Last!

Stampin'Up! is partnering with Sizzix to offer the Texture Boutique Embossing Machine while supplies last.  It's cute and compact and for embossing only.  You can get it bundled with our Flower Garden and Stripes embossing folders for $39.95, or alone for $29.95 (includes a pair of embossing pads and a shim).

This card features the Winter Memories stamp set, the Holiday Frame embossing folder and Cherry Cobbler Core'dinations card stock--all currently available in the Holiday Catalog.  It's perfect for using the Texture Boutique Embossing Machine!

Another cool new product being offered currently .... Talking Tags.  Use a free app available for your iphone or android to record a personal message on the label and attach to cards, invitations, gifts...anything!  The recipient downloads the same free app to receive the message.  How cool is that!  Buy 'em by the sheet.  You get 10 tags for $7.95.

Happy Stamping!
Marge

Spooktacular Savings Today Only!

TODAY ONLY Stampin'Up! is offering a 15% discount on all their stamps!  This does include the Cookie Press stamps and the Single stamps (excludes bundles, hostess sets and digital stamp brushes)!!


Also, for one entire week (October 29 - November 5), to celebrate Digital Scrapbooking Day, there will be FREE downloads and 50% off all digital kits.  Go to my online store to access your FREE digital downloads!  If you have MDS, this is a great opportunity!  Don't miss out!

Single Stamps Available

From now until January 2nd, 2013, Stampin'Up! is making individual stamps from 3 of its stamp sets available for purchase!  They are only offered in Clear-Mount stamps.  Clear blocks are not included with the stamp, so you will need to purchase the correct size block if you don't already have one (the recommended size block is listed on the flyer).  Click on the links in the margin for the details.

MDS2 is sooo cool!

MDS2 has some incredible new features like the ability to color in line-art stamps as I've done to the graduation card below.  You can add color in layers and easily reorder the layers to achieve the look of shading.  This also makes it easier to fix any mistakes.

You can also apply more than one color to a stamp, or only color parts of the stamp as I've done with the "Happy Graduation" stamp below.  It's a little hard to see, but I used a darker red on the lower half of the word Graduation.

In this piece I colored the line-art stamp, painted and shaded the flowers, and cropped the stamp!

Just playing...

If you recently bought MDS, you should have already been contacted via e-mail to download your upgrade to MDS2.  If you've had MDS for a while, you can purchase the upgrade for $19.95 through my online store and download it immediately.  If you've never tried digital papercrafting, you can take advantage of Stampin'Up!'s 30-day FREE trial before purchasing the full version.  And currently Stampin'Up! is offering a 31% discount on select downloads and print products through August 31st!

Happy digital papercrafting and stamping!

Marge

DON'T MISS OUT!

There's only a little over a week left to order those retired stamp sets and accessories on your "must have" list!  The deadline is May 31st, so check out the retiring lists and head on over to my online store to shop! Items are only available while supplies last.

We made the next 3 cards at my last "Tons of Techniques" class.  Join us, and you can make great projects like these as well.  Call or e-mail me to reserve your spot.  Class fees are $15.

My upcoming classes are:

Tuesday, May 29, at 7 p.m. or
Wednesday, May 30, at 10 a.m.

Thursday, June 14, at 7 p.m. or
Friday, June 15, at  10 a.m.

If you ever see cards from classes that you have missed but would love to make, contact me to customize your own class.  Sets and colors may change depending on availability at the time of your class, but I will try to keep the project as close as possible to the original.

Vintage Vogue, the set used in the card shown here, is retiring, as well as the Pear Pizzazz seam binding ribbon, since the 2010-2012 In-Colors are going.  The gingham background was made using the stripes embossing folder, the brayer, Baja Breeze and Marina Mist ink, and the Big Shot.

This next card, called the Snip & Tuck card, closes with an overlapping slit....how fun!  I CASEd this card from a tutorial by SU demonstrator, Julie Davison.  It was demonstrated by SU at the 2011 SU Leadership Conference.  Of course, I changed the card just a wee bit.  

The set used is "Clearly for You," which is retiring, the embossing folder used on the punched label, "Finial Press," is also retiring, as well as the "Lace Ribbon Border" punch, which is on sale!

The stamp set, "Fabulous Florets," in the next card is not retiring, but the Ticket Corner punch is, as well as the Paisley Petals and Beyond the Garden designer series papers.  If you have My Digital Studio, our paper crafting software, you are in luck!  You can purchase these papers in the digital version and always have them available.  One great thing about using the digital version of our papers is that you can adjust the size of the pattern as I did below so that part of the flowers were visible inside the window (the pattern is much larger), and you can print out the same piece of the paper for every project you are making (instead of having a piece with no pattern or too much pattern on it)!

You can check out My Digital Studio with a FREE 30-day Trial from Stampin'Up!  They have announced an incredible upgrade to the program coming down the pike later in 2012 with some great new features.  If you buy MDS now, no problem, you will receive the upgrade in a FREE download when it is released!

Happy Stamping!
Marge

Going, Going, Going...Don't miss out!

 There are still a few days left to order from the Occasions Mini catalog.  April 30th is the deadline, so click on the link in the right margin to check it out.

The following swing card was created using Occasions Mini products such as Twitterpated DSP, the Apothecary Art set, Labels Collection framelits, as well as Blushing Bride cs, which will retire June 1st.

 The next card uses the Mixed Bunch set from the mini, along with the coordinating Blossom Punch.  It also uses the greeting set, Short & Sweet, which is retiring from the main catalog.

Yes, the list of Retiring stamp sets and accessories has been published.  You can access it by clicking on the link in the right margin.  The flowers in the next card (from the Flower Fest set) are retiring, as well as the Pear Pizzazz Stitched-Poly ribbon and Blushing Bride cs.  The card, itself, was cased (copy and share everything) from fellow demonstrator, Karen Barber.

The following 2 cards were made using the retiring set, Plant Hope.  They are also inspired by a Beginner Brayer class I took with Michelle Zindorf last weekend.  She's such a great teacher!  Thanks Michelle!

So, don't miss out...place your Occasions Mini catalog orders by April 30th (that's Monday), and your retiring products order before June 1st.  But remember, the sooner, the better, because once the inventory runs out, that's it!

Happy Stamping!

Marge

Last Chance to Sale-A-Brate

We are down to the last 2 weeks of Sale-A-Bration!  You have until March 31st to take advantage of the great Freebies available for every $50 in product you order during this promotion.  Check out the catalogs by clicking on the links in my sidebar.  And remember, you can order anytime online!



Here are 2 more cards made using the Fresh Vintage stamp set from the Sale-A-Bration Mini Catalog.  These were 2 of the 5 cards that we made at my 10-10-20 class last week.  The DSP is Twitterpated from the Occasions Mini, which is good through the end of April.


My next class is scheduled for this coming Tuesday, March 20, at 7 p.m. or Wednesday, March 21, at 10 a.m.  There are still spots available in both sessions.  Contact me asap to hold your spot.



Spring Class Schedule

Tues., March 20, at 7 p.m. or
Wed., March 21, at  10 a.m.

Tues., April 3, at 7 p.m. or
Wed., April 4, at 10 a.m.

Thurs., April 19, at 7 p.m. or
Fri., April 20, at 10 a.m.

Thurs., May 3, at 7 p.m. or
Fri., May 4, at 10 a.m.

Thurs., May 24, at 7 p.m. or
Fri., May 25, at 10 a.m.

Thurs., June 7, at 7 p.m. or
Fri., June 8, at 10 a.m.

Happy Stamping,
Marge Thuen

Everybody Loves FREE stuff!! New MDS FREE 30-Day Trial!

Not only is Stampin'Up! giving away lots of Sale-a-bration (SAB) FREEbies now thru March 31st, but they have just announced that you can get a FREE 30-day trial download of My Digital Studio, their paper-crafting software!  You can download this software now through my website (see link).  Once the trial is over, you may purchase the downloadable or disc version.  You will receive a registration key after your purchase (either via e-mail/digital or with the physical product).  Simply open the trial version and enter that key to continue using the program.

The cards below are from my recent Tons of Techniques class at the end of January.

I used the Owl Builder Punch to create this cute owl and his Snowbuddy.  The background is created using a brayer and sponging techniques.

I'm having lots of fun using the new products from our Occasions Mini catalog....This card uses the Apothecary Art set with the matching Labels Collection Framelits, the Adorning Accents edgelits die and coordinating embossing folder, waffle paper and Twitterpated DSP.

This card also uses the Twitterpaded DSP, and the second edgelit from the Adorning Accents edgelits die pack.  The coordinating embossing folder pack also includes the embossed scallop that you see over the edgelit (3 in the pack).  The set used is Fresh Vintage, a SAB item, FREE with a $50 order!

Happy Stamping!

Marge Thuen 

New Occasions Mini and Sale-A-Bration!

I've been having lots of fun playing with some of the great new products in Stampin'Up!'s new Occasions Mini Catalog.  You can view it online from the link in my sidebar.

AND Tuesday, January 24th, is the first day of Stampin'Up!'s biggest promotion of the year....SALE-A-BRATION (SAB)!!!  Check back here to view the SAB mini catalog online.  There are so many great products that you can get FREE...1 item for every $50 (net) that you spend!  What a great time to host a workshop since everyone can get FREE stuff!!!  There's even a special bundle available to hostesses whose workshop sales reach $400 or more (in addition to all the regular great hostess benefits).  AND get a super-cute Stampin'Up! tote bag with an order of at least $150.

Love stamping so much that you want to get a discount on your stamping products?  Join the Stampin'Up! family of demonstrators during SAB for ONLY $125....AND get a FREE paper pack or digital download every month for the rest of the year!

Scroll down to see some great projects that we made at the last Tons of Techniques class using products from the new Occasions Mini and Sale-a-bration (sneak peak!).  If you live in or around the Morris County, NJ, area and would like to join me, my next class is scheduled for this Thursday evening, January 26th, and Friday morning, January 27th.  Or check the link to my class schedule.  Space is limited so let me know asap.

The focal point on this card is created using the Frosted Window technique.  The set, Bordering on Romance comes from the Occasions Mini and coordinates with the new Adorning Accents Edgelits Dies and Textured Impressions Embossing Folders.  The frame was made with the new Framelits Dies - Labels Collection that coordinates with the Apothecary Art stamp set.  Other Mini caty products used here are Blushing Bride Pleated Satin Ribbon and Twitterpated DSP.  I love the color combo in that new DSP!

Sale-a-Bration Sneak Peak -- The stamp set used here is Fresh Vintage from the SAB mini.  Other SAB products used here...Everyday Enchantment DSP and the Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad Pack.  These 3 products make up the special bundle available to hostesses whose workshop reach $400!!  The border under the greeting was made with the Labels Framelits Die.  Thank you to Patty Bennett for the idea.

This is a hybrid card (that means that part of the card is made using digital elements).  In this case, the medallion was made using elements from the stamp brush version of P.S. I love you (also available as a stamp set in the Occasions Mini) in MDS (My Digital Studio) printed on our Whisper White card stock.  The advantage of digital stamps...you can make them any size you want!  The background was made by spraying the Blushing Bride Smooch Spritz (from the Occasions Mini) over a stencil made with the Lace Ribbon Border Punch.  A piece of that stencil was used as the border on this card...it ends up with a beautiful shimmer.  Got this idea from the Stampin'Up! demonstrator website video technique area...one of the perks of being an SU demo!  It's hard to see from this photo, but I used Crystal Effects on the chocolate dipped part of the strawberry and Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details (another Occasions Mini product) on the scallops of the medallion.

I often look at lots of samples online to get inspired to create class samples, and sometimes it's difficult to remember who's creations inspired me the most.  I rarely CASE (copy and share everything) a project exactly, but if any of these projects appear to have been cased from a project on your blog, let me know, so I can give you credit.  

Happy Stamping!

Marge Thuen

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

 It's hard to believe that we are already 2 days into the year 2012!  Hopefully you had a wonderful holiday and a good start to the new year.  Life was very busy for us the last few months of the year with our daughter, Anna, playing Max, the dog, in the Christian Drama School play about the Grinch (a spin-off of the Grinch who Stole Christmas).  She did a fantastic job, along with the whole cast.  I get involved in costuming and helping backstage, so needless to say, my Christmas cards didn't quite get done (since the performances were the weekend before Christmas this year)!  So scroll down to see a couple of cards that we did in our year-end classes as well as one other card that may end up being next year's card.  Why not be ahead for next year!

REMINDERS...

Tomorrow, January 3rd, is the last day to order from the Holiday Mini Catalog.

January 5th is the last day for the Clearance Rack Blitz.  Check out the fantastic deals through my online store.

Technique Classes in January and February...

* Thursday, Jan. 12 @ 7 p.m. or Friday, Jan. 13 @ 10 a.m.

* Thursday, Jan. 26 @ 7 p.m. or Friday, Jan. 27 @ 10 a.m.

* Tuesday, Feb. 7 @ 7 p.m. or Wednesday, Feb. 8 @ 10 a.m.

* Thursday, Feb. 23 @ 7 p.m. or Friday, Feb. 24 @ 10 a.m.

Happy Stamping,
Marge

This actually uses the digital version of the Christmas Lodge set from the Holiday Mini Catalog.    It's hard to see, but I put Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the roof and overhang to add some sparkle.  The embossed border was resized to frame the image.

This is a side-step card with the new "Snow Much Fun" set in the main catalog.  The background was made by running vellum cardstock through the Big Shot with the Snow Burst embossing folder from the Holiday Mini. 

This uses the set "Come to Bethlehem" from the main catalog.  The image and scalloped border were embossed using the new Pewter embossing powder from the Holiday Mini Catalog, and the sky was "salted" which  gave it a mottled look.

This card incorporates the large star and saying from set "The Sounding Joy" from the Holiday Mini.  The image and greeting were embossed with Pewter embossing powder, and the background was brayered.