Inkychatter

Haunting Halloween

Here are a couple of different views of Haunting Halloween. You have to love this little cat on the broom; he loves life. I don't know what is in the pot but the frog seems to be hanging close to it.  And how about the little spider hanging from the H in Halloween - he just looks like a happy little guy. One of these cards will be sent to a dear friend of mine who did a huge favor for me at convention by mailing some things I had left behind.  Shellie, thanx SO MUCH!

Prestwick is one of the new Designer Series Papers I have on hand and is such a great "guy" paper.  I decided to use it on these cards and paper pieced the cape on the cat I have nicknamed Hal. (Get it, HALloween) and as an accent on the bottom of the card. Lovely as a Tree (what an awesome versatile set!) makes him look like he is flying high. The background is Barely Banana with some Orange and Black sponged over it.  The big moon is embossed with a sprinkle of red glitter and gold embossing powder sprinkled on it.  I embossed from underneath so the glitter would stay in place. I used Floral background on Handsome Hunter simply to add some texture to the card.  It is hardly noticeable that it is flowers. On each card the elements have been cut out and popped up with dimensionals.

The second Haunting Halloween card is a simple look with blocks of color to set off each element and the background is the same as the card above.  Two different looks with a couple of simple changes.

New catty's are in

If you haven't stopped by to get your new catty from me I do have a few left.  Those who are looking for them in the mail, they are going out tomorrow.

I just love the cover on this years IBC with the butterfly and scalloped edge...very classic looking.

Catty's are $9.95 each but if you have ordered from me before they are only $5 and that $5 is returned to you with any order of $5 or more in merchandise. Can't beat that!  You will love love love the new sets and embellishments and papers. My list is getting longer and longer.  We have lots of new chipboard for you scrapbookers too!

Holiday Mini's are on their way too so if you don't get one in the next couple of weeks let me know.

Goodbye Summer

Summer is almost over.  I have enjoyed bright colors this summer more than ever.  I have one last big blast of color to wind up the last days before September and the trek into Autumn colors. This is an anniversary card for a fellow demo in our group and uses Eastern Blooms and Heard From the Heart.

Check us out at the Southern Women's Show Oct 2-5

Check us out at the Southern Women's Show at the BJCC (Bham Jeff Civic Ctr) October 2 - 5th where 3 of my demo buds and I will be stampin' it all up in our booth.  More information about the general show information can be found here. They do not have us listed in the exhibitors as of the date this is posted, but I have been assured they are updating more and more everyday.  We are across from the seminar stage where we will have our stamping demonstrations. This is an annual event with many vendors from every avenue: hair, food, home, decorating, and of course, us, stamping and scrapbooking. Be sure to come by and say hi, learn some stampin' techniques, registered for free stuff, and have some stampin' fun!  I look forward to your visit! 

I have been working on my upcoming classes and have posted some to my Stamin' Up website, www.marthabeck.stampinup.net and have more coming.  Stay tuned! It's time to think about making Christmas gifts, Christmas cards and taking time for stampin' fun to help you keep your sanity during the hectic fall time leading up to the holidays.

Has anyone seen Two Cool Dudes?

There is nothing like a new Stampin' Up! catalog!  It's so much fun going through the pages and imagining all the things you can make with a fresh set.  I have a new set call Two Dudes that consists of a large snowman stamp, a small snowman tag stamp and a large snowflake along with a saying. I was trying to come up with ideas for a simple card for my Qtrly Meeting with my upline/sideline group.  There is nothing out there, that I could find, using this set.  So, I sat down and of course pulled out the blues because of snow but even trying different shades of blues, both light and dark, I had .... nothing.  I had a piece of pink and green sitting on my table and I thought, hmmmm.....in my world a snowman can be anything I want it to be.  So I got out my Craft Whisper White ink pad (gotta love that pad) and started stamping.  I stamped the main image to the left, got out my Itty Bitty Backgrounds to make snow since it is the perfect stamp for that, and made a snowstorm all over my card.  Then I stamped that honking snowflake and since the craft ink stays wet for awhiles I sprinkled the Irrescident Ice over it, hit it with some heat and voila! beautiful card. But of course I didn't stop there.  I have been playing with ruffling our ribbon since convention and I do believe they will all ruffle, so I ruffled the white grosgrain and in the process pulled the selvage thread, which unraveled the ribbon as I pulled and pulled. What is it that when you start pulling a never ending thread you just can't stop!  So, here were these long threads so I snipped off a long set, tied a knot in the middle and with a glue dot attached it to Dude's scarf. Cute!  Then I needed something more to break up this sea of pink that was going on and tried different things then decided to punch out two tags with the green and pink and using Expressive Flexible Phrases stamped Christmas and Peace.  I actually layered one of the tags by punching out multiple word windows, stacked them up and punced a hole in the end with my Crop A Dile.  It doesn't show from this angle, but that is a good way to make your own chipboard embellishments. Next I inserted a rhinestone brad along with a piece of white grosgrain ribbon, attached another glue dot and slid it under the ruffled ribbon and pressed it to adhere. The sentiment was stamped at the bottom using black Stazon.  This card is too time consuming to use at a workshop but I had so much fun making it!  For my swap I'll simplify it a bit by not ruffling the ribbon or shredding the scarf threads but rather use a ribbon that will come in on each side of the scarf and tie or just leave it as is. Whatever the case, I love this set and can't wait to make more cards with it!

Tags and Silhouettes

Aren't these tags bright!  I love our new In Colors!  This is Pacific Point blue and Kiwi Kiss green.  I thought it would be nice to make a customer thank you tag to go inside the orders I was delivering so I made several of these.  The jagged edge was made using the straight Scallop Punch and over punching the scallops to make it look like grass or a ragged edge, more botanical.  I stamped the blue with Inspired by Nature (which you know by now was a free set from convention). I love the look on these tags using the silhouette.  I punched the tab with the Round Tab Punch and made a hole using the 1/4" Circle Punch. The "Thanks" was stamped with Thank You Kindly Set (another free set from convention) using Stazon Black on Whisper White and punched out with the Key Tag Punch.  I stamped the back with Pacific Point using my new Stampin' Up! Statement of the Heart stamp that I got at Momento Mall at convention.  I love this saying and it pretty much sums up what we do.  "To love what we do, and share what we love, as we help others enjoy creativity and worthwhile accomplishments, in this we make a difference." I threaded a black ribbon through the tab for a dramatic look and voila!  Done!  I just love how they turned out. 

After my Big Shot arrived I made little envelope thank you cards but I don't have a picture.  I'll post when I make more.

Have a great day.  I am off to take my westie rescue to her new forever home!  I just love a happy ending!!  God Bless!!

Big Shot Meets Gift Bag

I have been playing with my new Big Shot from Stampin' Up!  What a great tool this is!    It requires no electricity or suction so I can take it anywhere on any surface.  All the dies from other machines work with my Big Shot.  There is a special adaptor called a Multipurpose Platform that makes it all work.  All those cute little folders you have been seeing will work in this machine.  Stampin' Up! has special dies exclusive to us and some even match some of our stamp sets. How cool is that to die cut, decorate your walls and stamp and have everything matchy matchy!

We have a list of 50 approved items the Big Shot will cut.

• Brass (.055)
• Light weight steel
• Aluminum (.016)
• Tin (.008)
• Aircraft plywood (1/64")
• Basswood (1/16")
• Balsa (3/32")
• Paperwood
• Mat board (adhesive or none)
• Chipboard
• Fabric
• Silicone
• Foam with chipboard (.1)
• Corrugated pad
• Adhesive-backed cork
• Fine sandpaper (.00)
• Strene
• Extra thick template plastic
• Template plastic
• Plastic canvas (7 mesh)
• Bubble wrap
• Sheet foam
• Friendly (jewelry) plastic
• 100% pure beeswax (cut with parchment paper on top & bottom of beeswax)
• Adhesive and non-adhesive rubber

• Ruffleboard  Static cling vinyl
• Warm & natural batting
• Fusible fleece
• Quilt batting
• Adhesive and non-adhesive flexible magnet
• Heat n' shrink plastic
• Adhesive and non-adhesive felt
• Pop-up sponge
• Shiny self-adhesive and non-adhesive paper
• Iron-on fabric
• Poly foam adhesive and non adhesive
• 3-D illusionary plastic
• Glow in the dark adhesive and non adhesive
• Suede paper
• Funky fur
• Personal Embossing Plastic (PEP)
• Shaggy plush felt
• Canvas
• Vinyl flooring
• Shelf lining
• Placement
• Embossing rubber
• Thin leather
• Gasket material

Oh yeah, loving this new toy.

 

Using some of my Big Shot scallop dies, I made a cute little gift bag yesterday for a sweet little girl who was turning one. Her mom is one of my scrap booking buds (hi Michelle!) and since I am surrounded by little grandsons, whom I love DEARLY!!!, it was fun to play in pink and butterflies for a change.

I used our convention make and take bag as a pattern but changed a few things.  I love the new silhouette stamp sets and used my free convention sets, Inspired By Nature and Flight of the Butterfly to stamp the front.  I used Whisper White on our Pink Pirouette textured card stock it turned out so pretty, quite subtle.

The top is Whisper White card stock stamped with the smaller butterfly and flower in Pink Pirouette and Kiwi Kiss. I used the straight scallop punch

on a piece of the textured Pink Pirouette for the top. The ribbon is 5/8" Regal Rose Grosgrain topped with a pretty non SU pink gingham ribbon. I thought it just looked too sweet not to use! The tag is made from the Circle Scallops #2 using Whisper White Card stock and Pink Pirouette with about three scallops hanging over the edge on the Whisper White so it would make a folded tag. The smaller circle scallops I put on the inside. (Pictures below) and left blank for Michelle to journal on if she decides to put the tag in her daughter's baby book.  The gathered ribbon is the same 5/8" Regal Rose with a thread snipped and pulled to gather it up a bit to look ruffly (is that a word?). I put a dimensional on the two ends to connect the ribbon to the package and the tag to the ribbon.  I love this technique!  I was asking around about the gathering technique Shelli had done at convention but the ones I ask couldn't remember if it was taffeta or grosgrain. I am happy to report they both work well.  You just have to work with it and get a feel for it. Back to the tag.  On the outside front of the tag I stamped the butterflies to match the topper piece, put a pink scallop, then cut out a Kiwi Kiss large butterfly and a Pink Pirouette smaller one to sit on top of the Kiwi Kiss butterfly.  I used the selvage of the Regal Rose ribbon for the butterfly antennae, then took the lower case L from our convention chipboard to use for a "1", Loads of Letters I think is the name of it, and smushed it into the Whisper White craft Ink.  (I think "smushed" is much more graphic sounding than "pressed") After it dried I covered it with our Tombow Multi Purpose glue, smoothed it with a special card making tool, my finger, and then drowned it in Dazzling Diamonds.  It made it so sparkly!!!  Here is the inside of the tag...I only used the Pink Pirouette inside to make a softer look.  What fun to make things in PINK!

 

 

 

 

Select Stamps 15% off!

Wow, the new Fall Winter Idea Book and Catalog has just hit and already Stampin' Up! is giving us great deals!  They have never offered a discount on brand new stamp sets!

From August 11 - September 30 enjoy a 15% discount on the following stamp sets. No additional purchase is necessary and you can get as many sets as you like!

Item         Page    Description                   Regular Price    Promotional Price

111690       32       Snow Swirled                   $24.95                 $21.21

111586       55       It's a Stretch                    $23.95                 $20.36

111544       81       Putt Putt                         $24.95                 $21.21

111626       91       Eastern Blooms                $21.95                 $18.66

111672       98       Pocket Silhouettes           $18.95                 $16.11

111710       101     Upsy Daisy                       $18.95                 $16.11 

111556       109     Under the Stars                $29.95                 $25.46

111644       145     Heard from the Heart       $22.95                 $19.51

111570       157     Contempo Alphabet          $40.95                 $34.81

109381       23   Felicidades Siempre            $17.95                  $15.26 

Contact me today to place an order for these special savings. 

Martha Beck - gadgetgirlsu@gmail.com - 205-337-7283

$99 Starter Kit!!

Becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator has never been easier! From August 11 - October 11 you can choose from three different Starter Kits with three different focuses, depending on your interests, and each one is only $99!

From now through October 11 you can choose from the following kits:

Stamp Focused Starter Kit:

Fun & Fast Notes Stamp Set

Whisper White Card Stock (8-1/2" x 11")

Bold Brights Card Stock Assortment (8-1/2" x 11")

Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pad

Snail Adhesive

Business Supplies

Getting Started DVD, Getting Started Guide, Starter Kit Sample Sheet, Guest Invitation Postcard (100), Idea Book & Catalog (8). To My Hostess Envelope (10), Recruit Folder(5), Recruit Brochures(20), Hostess Brochures (20), Hostess Benefits Forms (10), Customer Order Forms (50), Holiday 2008 Mini Catalog (8, AFTER 9/1/08)

Scrapbook Focused Starter Kit

Contempo Alphabet Stamp Set

Petal Party Simply Scrappin'

Pixie Pink Classic Stampin' Pad

Business Supplies

Getting Started DVD, Getting Started Guide, Starter Kit Sample Sheet, Guest Invitation Postcard (100), Idea Book & Catalog (8). To My Hostess Envelope (10), Recruit Folder(5), Recruit Brochures(20), Hostess Brochures (20), Hostess Benefits Forms (10), Customer Order Forms (50), Holiday 2008 Mini Catalog (8, AFTER 9/1/08)

Home Décor Focused Starter Kit

Inspired by Nature Stamp Set

Décor Elements Chocolate Classic F

Décor Elements Medium Chocolate Long Stem Silhouettes

Décor Elements Applicator

Kiwi Kiss Classic Stampin' Pad

Business Supplies

Getting Started DVD, Getting Started Guide, Starter Kit Sample Sheet, Guest Invitation Postcard (100), Idea Book & Catalog (8). To My Hostess Envelope (10), Recruit Folder(5), Recruit Brochures(20), Hostess Brochures (20), Hostess Benefits Forms (10), Customer Order Forms (50), Holiday 2008 Mini Catalog (8, AFTER 9/1/08)

If you want even more product, select our standard $199 Starter Kit during this promotion and get a stamp set of your choice from the catalog for free--up to a $41.95 value! See all information here

What are the reasons for becoming a demonstrator?  The discount in a hobbyist position, a business builder, Stampin Success publication with project ideas and business building tips, training through Convention and Regionals, a great website full of information and ideas, your own Stampin' Up! website (fee applies) fun and new friends, upline to help you every step of the way, making extra money doing something you love! And so many more reasons...if you think this is for you then contact me to join my team.  Martha Beck, gadgetgirlsu@gmail.com, 205-337-7283.

 

CONVENTION Celebrate 08

Wow!  I have been back from convention for a few days...caught my breath, catching up on things at home.  I sent updates to our group from convention but didn't have my typepad set up on my mobile...maybe next year.  Of course, I can't get it to work now that I am home either.  Just not computer savvy.  So sad. 

 

This was my very first convention.  I have been a demonstrator for three years but not doing a lot with it other than supporting my habit.  After seeing all the possibilites I think I will pursue a bit more this year than I did last year.  It's fun to hold workshops and classes so why not have more fun!  I was fortunate enough to have my name drawn from the magic box naming me Make and Take helper, thus the cute little custom made apron you see me in. This gave me the opportunity to assist other demos with their make and takes, receive free stamps for participating, and making lots of new friends. It was a wonderful experience and I encourage each of you to apply for this at convention time.

We had a lot of exciting news from convention, which I am sure you have all heard by now, but just to recap a few things on the customer side, online ordering from my website is going to be available very soon!!  How great is that!  Imagine you are sitting up late at night, the kids are asleep, you are pouring over your new Fall/Winter Idea Book and Catalog, making your wish list and thinking, if only I could just order this online right now...you CAN! From my website you can order and have it delivered direct to you. How cool is that! This is the day and age when that is the norm and is such a time saver to boot.  Of course, I still expect to see you in classes and have you host workshops, after all, getting together is the most fun of all, right?  Stampin' time, girl time, is what it's all about. 

The Décor Elements line is expanding and will have some remarkable products for making your home look so nice everyday and for holidays as well.  I just love the rubons for the wall, which is what I call them.  I wanted to buy a Cricut Expressions to make my own but now I don't have to.  Our elements will match some of our stamp sets too, so how cool will that be for coordination.  Say, a picture frame with Décor Elements on the glass and a stamped or punched image, along with pics of your sweet little ones.  It is so elegant for the wall making a piece of art from a mere photograph. 

We will now be carrying the Big Shot die cutting tool.  Love, love, love that!  I have had my eye on one for awhile vs the other machines.  I think the Big Shot does more of what I want since it can cut not only paper and cardstock but fabric, vinyl, cork, leather, and a myriad of other items, which some of the others can't do. It's easier on the wrists as well. Imagine Christmas items cut from velvet....uh huh! I am so happy I waited and got this one.  It should be here in a few days and I will be demoing it at my Catalog Open House, date not set yet but you will be notified. (Doorprizes and Grand Prize!  You don't want to miss it! Go ahead and RSVP when you read this.) There are exclusive Stampin' Up! only dies, again, coordinating with our stamp sets and paper making it desirabel for card makers and scrapbookers alike.  So exciting!

Gosh, I have so many free sets from convention, I feel like it's Christmas!  I'll have samples made up for my Open House using those as well as customer hands on for make and takes that day. I will have the new Fall/Winter Idea Book and Catalog (IBC) in so you will be able to take yours home with you! Sweet!  Hostesses, as always, get them for free -- $7 for everyone else. Or, place a $25 minimum order and get your IBC free. Place a $50 order and get on my 50/50 board. The IBC has so many samples in it you can make cards, calendars and projects for weeks without repeating yourself.  Good idea to call it an Idea Book huh! Just a note: we have won Creating Keepsakes award for 8 years including 2008 for best rubber stamps. Woo hoo!  That says something good is happening at Stampin' Up! We do awesome make and takes at convention so I will try to duplicate some of those for you and let you try your hand at debossing.

The last day was fun, Shellie Gardner, CEO and Co-founder of Stampin' Up!, was doing her presentation and a UPS man walked out on stage and said he had a box to deliver but he was having trouble figuring out who it went to.  Shellie said she could help him and when she read the label and said EVERYONE the place went balistic!!  We all got another free stamp set and UPS employees actually were helping to deliver them.  Not only that, UPS paid for the stamp sets we got.  How cool is that! It was the Ronald McDonal set that is in each and every IBC and a portion of the money goes to fund the Ronald McDonal House. Wonderful cause!

Here are some things I got from Momento Mall, which is Stampin' Up! exclusive merchandise.

Love, love, love this bag.  I used it as my carry on coming home on the plane.  I couldn't pack my stamps! Along wtih all the other stuff it held.  The matching camera case is really nice with a velco tab that keeps your camera from falling out should it open.

The lip gloss is a wonderful thing and something I use all the time so I got several of those.  Who doesn't want to be kissable all the time!  Aren't the little tubes just so cute with our Designer Series Paper as the theme for the case!

OK, more later.  Have to run for now. Can't wait until ordering day for the new IBC!