Today I took part in a "shoe box" swap with some of the other demonstrators in my local area - there aren't that many of us, so it was nice to meet up and share some project ideas. The idea is that everyone designs a project and brings everything needed to make it in a "shoe box" - the projects are then passed around the table and everyone takes home a selection of "new" ideas. I wanted to make a card with a small gift, something that makes a quick last minute gift. The colours I used are Early Espresso, Rich Razzleberry and Very Vanilla, the stamp set is the gorgeous UK exclusive Everything Eleanor. This was a fairly simple design, with some flowers cut out and layered with dimensionals and a large pearl for the centre and a length of Victoria Crochet Trim. This is the side view of the card. This is the inside with the chocolate bar and a "thank you" stamped with the Oval All stamp set. My project was inspired by the colours of the wrapper on my chocolate bar!! If you would like to join our next "shoe box" swap, contact me to find out how easy it is to start your own Stampin' Up! business - join my team of Sparkly Angel's before 30th March and you can choose a stamp set of any value FREE!! I would like to say a huge "Thank You to Margaret who hosted this swap in her home and surprised us all with a gorgeous buffet lunch she had kindly made before we arrived. I will hopefully get the other projects I made photographed in the next few days and share them - there are some fabulous ideas!! Angela x

Hi friends and Happy Wednesday! I took a little break from creating my swaps this morning to play along with this weeks Freshly Made Sketches sketch. I need a few wedding cards to have on hand and this sketch seemed like a good one for a simple yet elegant card. Supplies Used: Paper ~ Very Vanilla, Typeset DSP Ink ~ StazOn Stamp Sets ~ Flowering Flourishes, Bravo Other Supplies ~ Gold Bakers Twine, Gold Sequin Trim Want to know a little secret? I've had the Flowering Flourishes stamp set for-EVER and this is the first time I've ever used it! I really need to get better about using all of my stamp sets before they retire...yes, that has happened! Next week at this time I will be in SLC getting all geared up for the 26th Annual Stampin' Up! Convention! I am so stinkin' excited to get there and have a week full of fun with all of my bestest stampin' friends!!! EEEEEPPPPP!!! Thanks for stopping by! I may get another post in later this week if I can stay on top of my swaps...i'm about half way done with them! I WILL get them done! Happy Stamping! 

This week's One-Layer Wednesday Challenge is to use a flourish on your card. Small or large, one or more, doesn't matter. Just use a flourish. My card uses PTI's Silent Night flourish and a sentiment from My Sentiments Exactly. The ink is Memento bamboo leaves and Danube blue. A sprinkling of blue rhinestones in two sizes completes the card. Rules for OLW9 1. A one-layer card is defined as a single piece of cardstock folded in half. 2. OLW9 highlights flourishes: use at least one flourish on your one-layer card. 3. You may embellish as necessary, but please keep it clean and simple, with minimal embellishments to make your design work. 4. After you post your card online, come back here and link to it using the OLW9 InLinkz button on the sidebar. 5. The most important rule: HAVE FUN! FYI: For the next week and a half, I'll be spending time with extended family and will have very limited time to plug in. Karen Dunbrook has graciously agreed to start the Clean and Simple Favorites thread at SCS on the 19th and 26th. Next week, I will not be posting a OLW Challenge, but it will resume on June 30. I have something special planned for Simplicity next week (you'll never guess the theme!), but if I miss a day or two, know that we're having lots of fun in real life and my internet life will resume soon.

Hi there friends of The Paper Players! Nance here. Weren't Lesley's colors last week gorgeous? We were thrilled that so many of you joined in the springtime fun. This week I am delighted to be your hostess for our Clean and Simple Challenge featuring...BUTTONS! Everyone has a jar full of them right? So dig 'em out and let's put them to good use! Now, don't panic over the clean-and-simple concept. However clean and simple works for YOU, works for us at The Paper Players...we're all about the fun! Our fearless leader, Lesley, is on a much-deserved break this weekend but let's see how the rest of the Design Team and our fabulous Guest Designers interpreted this week's challenge: Ann Schach Anne Marie Hile Jaydee LeAnne Pugliese Nance Leedy Jenn Picard Heidi Boos Sherry Eckblad PLEASE FOLLOW OUR RULES FOR PLAYING: Create a NEW project for this challenge. Be sure to link your blog with a direct link to the post you would like us to visit. Please put a link on your post to our challenge. Create a project with only THREE challenges including our challenge. Feel free to use any CRAFTING products you have! Be sure to post your project to the linky by Friday, March 23rd at NOON (PST). We look forward to visiting your blog!

This simply stamped Everything Eleanor card is quick and easy to make and only needs two ink colours and two card colours (plus the Very Vanilla). We added a sentiment from Sassy Salutations but you could use any “large font” sentiment set (the smaller ones like Teeny Tiny Wishes look a bit lost). The card base […]

Good Evening Friends! For more than three years, the operators here at Stamping 411 have been bringing you weekly sketches, color challenges, inspiration, techniques, tips tricks and more. I think if you look around the side bar of our blog you'll agree that we have built quite a resource over the years. In the very beginning, I thought that we could support our customers and friends more effectively together by pooling our resources and efforts, than we could as individuals. That spurred the idea for 411 or "information" without strings, without marketing. That original idea has become that shared resource for you and your customers (and my customers) as a go to for an online creative space to play, learn, and share. This journey has been filled with fond memories, team work. beautiful relationships, friendship and fun. Of course, like any journey, we hit our bumps in the road and grew as artists and individuals, always moving forward. Today, I'm happy to announce that we have decided to take a break. You might ask why I am happy. Many (not all) of the operators have had some personal challenges recently that have added so much stress to their lives. Some are having family members who are sick. Others have had a huge shift in the time that they have to devote to 411. As a result, it has become something that they have to do instead of the joy and "value add" in which it was intended. I LOVE seeing people play along and I learn from you. I really try to make the time to see what you've been up to and take the time to leave you a message that "I was there". For some of you, I've watched you grow and develop the way that our blog has through the years. We've grown together! So tonight, I bid you a fond farewell. Please don't think of it as a goodbye forever. We ~ the operators ~ will give ourselves a little break, then re-evaluate. We plan to leave the resource here for anyone to use and when we are ready come back, perhaps it will be in a different way. We are taking an extended leave effective this week. I'll still be by to leave you a comment. Much love to you from all of your operators and from me. Selene Kempton If you want to leave some love for the operators at any time, here are links to their blogs. Selene Kempton Patti Chesky Gretchen Barron Lee Conrey Tammy Fite Vicki Burdick Now. Let's get this last party started! This super cute sketch was done in MDS 2. The designer paper was colored using the new "recolor" method. You can pick any designer paper and recolor it based on one monochromatic color. Happiness! To get lots of ideas with regards to MDS, you can check out the online site for the program mydigitalstudio.net and don't forget to ask your demonstrator for help! So ~ let's jump in! Potential measurements for this card. Base Layer: 8 1/2" x 4 1/4", scored and folded in half at 5 1/2" Layer 2: for the blue section on the bottom, you can either layer something on top, or cut something off, so that the background shows through. The operators this week showed different ways of tackling that element. :) Layer 3: Ribbon up across the middle (maybe a 5" strip would do?) Layer 4: a punched shape or two. Selene Kempton Patti Chesky Tammy Fite Gretchen Barron Are you ready to play along? We hope that you are! Here are our rules for play. Make a card using your Stampin' Up Supplies! Post it online somewhere to your blog or other online forum Post a link to the free linky tool below (please point the link to your post and NOT just your blog). Have some fun and leave comments for each other (and for the operators if you like their work). ~ Everyone loves comments! Please note, we reserve the right to remove links with non-Stampin' Up! product, "sales pitches", links to online stores, or requests to join your team. We're here to have fun, learn from one another and share. We hope you join us this week and play along with this sketch! I'm leaving linky open for a month because this is our last sketch till we see you again and it's the most current! Hugs to all of you, Selene Kempton

When I saw this card I knew I just HAD to make it. It's such a clean, simple, and yet stunning card. I actually got a little obsessed w...

Hello Peeps !!! Happy Tuesday !!! I am sharing a card using the Flowering Flourishes stamp set that is retiring. I amreally getting to like this set. I also used the Lovely lave EF for my backgroundw

This week's Pals Paper Arts sketch challenge is by the very talented Pixel Maven herself, Nicole Watt. I came up with so many ideas for this sketch, but

Card Recipe: Stamp Sets: Petite Petals (133152 Wood Mount or 134821 Wood Mount Bundle or 133155 Clear Mount or 134822 Clear Mount Bundle), Everything Eleanor (131987 Wood Mount or 124164 Clear Mount), Thoughts & Prayers (128751 Wood Mount or 127805 Clear Mount) Cardstock: Very Vanilla(101650) Ink: Daffodil Delight (126944), Jet Black StazOn (101406) Punches: Petite Petals (133322) Embellishments: Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents (119246) Enjoy all your moments! Leanne

I made a lovely simple sympathy card using (guess what?) Copper foil sheets, I cannot seem to stop using them! I die cut the flourish using the Flourish Thinlits and the Affectionately Yours designer

I finished my grandmother's order of birthday cards, so I thought I'd share the last couple I made. I'm not a huge fan of this one, but she liked it, which is all that matters in the end. Stamps: Sincere Salutations (retired) Embossing Folder: Elegant Bouquet (retired) Paper: Perfect Plum, Lavender (Recollections), Clear Vellum Distress Marker: Seedless Preserves (Tim Holtz) Embossing Powder: Violet (Recollections) Accents: Brads I ended up really liking this one. I love the swirls from Inkadinkado! Stamps: Sincere Salutations (retired), Dot Flourishes (Inkadinkado) Ink: Raspberry Ripple (retired), StazOn Jet Black Paper: Raspberry Ripple (retired), Smoky Slate, Whisper White Stamps: Wetlands, Thoughts and Prayers, Best of Butterflies (retired) Ink: Night of Navy Paper: Night of Navy, Whisper White Embossing Folder: I can't remember the name, but it's retired Accents: Pearls

At our Team meeting last month we all swapped cards and this is my Up Line, Joanne's beautiful card! She used the Everything Eleanor Stamp set. Quick post as I am getting ready to leave for the airport. I will check back in as soon as I can! Thanks everyone. You can also reach me now on Twitter @Lyndascards...I will post Tweets frequently there too! News about events and announcements about Stampin' Up! So if you are on Twitter you can follow me and the info! Laters, friends! Lynda xo!

Aloha stampin' friends!!! I'm off today....wahooo!!! I'm enjoying my day with my middle daughter Rebecca!!! We are on a field trip to Tybee Island..my favorite beach!!! Hope the weather plays along...there is rain in the forecast so please keep your fingers crossed that we'll stay dry :) !!! I also have some fun news to share....the sweet ladies from the Pals Paper Arts Blog invited me to play along in their Color Combo ~ PPA67 today!!! Thank you ladies for having me!!! Aren't these some fun gorgeous colors to play with??? I actually had two ideas...... My main image on this card is from the SU Set ~ Just Believe. I used my required SU Markers to color the image. The DP in the BG is from the SU Walk in the Park Collection. For my embellishments I chose a Large Silver Eyelet, the matching SU Poppy Parade Ribbon and some Silver Pearls. The sweet pillow box was created with the SU Pillow Box Die. Again, I used the SU Walk in the Park Design Paper and finished it off with the Poppy Parade Ribbon and Pearls. ******************************************************************************* My second idea was created with another fun SU Set that I have not used in ages....it's the awesome Baroque Motif Set!!! I was a bit lazy cutting out the matching flowers to this Set so I opted to use the SU Three Flower Punch instead. I used my Stylus to *rough* them up a bit and I l.o.v.e how these sweet flowers turned out with my favorite Silver Pearls inside!!! I added a punched Scallop Trim Border on top of my card plus some DP from the Walk in the Park Collection on the bottom. I finished the card off with the awesome Poppy Parade Ribbon and the sweet sentiment....voila!!! Thank you so much for stopping by today!!! I hope you like my ideas and have a chance to play along with us!?! Please make sure to stop by the Pals Paper Art Blog for all the details on how to play along and of course all the fabulous samples the PPA Team has designed!!! Have a wonderful day!!! Hugs ~S~

Welcome Cards for my new Stampin' Up! Team! When I have new ladies and chaps join my team I'm always humbled that they chose me as their upline. It's a

To find an inspiration piece for today's Inspiration and Themes challenge at In Love With Stamping I headed once again for the Designer's Gu...

Welcome to my stamping blog! I am a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and I hope you enjoy the projects I share with you here. If you have any questions on any of the projects shown feel free to send me an email and I'll be happy to help you. I'd love to have you follow me too!

Everything Eleanor Heads to the Soho Subway There are some days when I just have to use DSP. Doesn't matter which one it is, but sometimes, just

I have found that the Petite Pairs set is one of my "go to" sets when I need wording that will fit in the 1-3/8" circle area. I was thin...

Stampin' Up Demonstrator Brandy Cox, shares the a card designed with the Stampin Up Language of Friendship Stamp Set.

Here's a card i made today to celebrate World Cardmaking Day! I used Eveything Eleanor and Make A Wish stamp set. My card base and ink pad is pool party and my second panel cardstock is very vanilla. adhered my card with sticky strip to make sure my cardstocks will be married forever and embellished it with different sizes of jewels basic pearls. Not to forget to mension, this card was inspired by a swap card made by stampinbymarione.

Mornin’, y’all – welcome to another edition of the Happy Stampers Blog Hop. I’m glad you were able to stop by and appreciate you spending a little bit of your day with us.…

Happy Friday, peeps! No one likes to need sympathy cards, but I needed one this week, and the Freshly Made Sketches sketch was perfect for a classic, simple design: Starting with a Crumb Cake card base, I stamped that beautiful flourish from Everything Eleanor on the front of my card in Craft White. I found some pretty MME papers, added some lace, ribbon and an organza flower, along with a Papertrey sentiment: I rounded the bottom right corner just for a little extra interest. Thanks for visiting today! I forgot to share these two cuties that I snapped before Thanksgiving: Cassidy and her step-cousin (is there such a thing?), Jack: Giggles, pretzels & shrieks!

Everything Eleanor is One in a Million Sometimes the simplest of cards carries the most weight. I was desperate to see how Cherry Cobbler would fare over

The challenge at CAS on Sunday this week is Black, White plus One. A black flourish from Baroque Motifs and a flower left from a flower making class, along with an embossed snippet go together perfectly for this challenge. And I'll take another trip to Pixie's Playground to see what the gang is up to. All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted Card Recipe Stamps: Baroque Motifs (retired), You're a Gem (retired) Ink: Jet Black StazOn Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Melon Mambo Other: Big Shot, Flower Fusion Sizzlit, Adorning Accents EF, Basic Black Brad, Basic Black Ribbon I'm glad you could stop by today. Hope you'll come back soon. Enjoy!