I’M BACK

Hello everyone! We are back from our two-week road trip to Ruidoso, NM, to meet up with our daughter Ciara, who is finishing college in San Antonio, TX. We loaded up our RV with everything we could possibly need and then added some more just in case and hit the road. Our travels took us through Death Valley, then a quick overnight stop to visit the Grand Canyon Skywalk, then to Flagstaff/Sedona, AZ before we made it to Ruidoso, NM.

Once we made it to Ruidoso, that was home base for a few days. Mostly we hung around our campsite playing games like Yahtzee and Rummikub (I kick butt at Yahtzee) with my daughter and having a blast. My hubby taught Ciara how to fly fish in the river that ran behind our campsite, and she was a natural. There was a lot of practicing and no catch, though.  One of the neatest things during our stay was that we watched the Elk that came by to visit every night. Now that was cool!

While in Ruidoso, we made a couple of side trips. One was to a lake to see how the fishing was. While the lake was pretty, it was PACKED, so we decided to stick with fly fishing at our campsite. The next day we drove to the historic town of Lincoln, NM. My boys have always loved the Young Guns movies, so it was cool to see some of the buildings and learn the history behind the town. 

When that sad day came for Ciara to go home, we left Ruisodo, Nm, for Arches National Park in Utah. Such beautiful scenery along the way. After our stop at Arches, we had a long haul to Great Basin National Park, which is just across the Nevada/Utah border. If you have never visited this quiet park, you are missing out. As beautiful and awe-inspiring as all our other stops were along the trip, the Great Basin was by far our favorite stop. The camping in the park is primitive and first come first serve, but the views were breathtaking. And don’t forget the pitch-black night for stargazing. We wished we had a couple of more days to stay longer and explore a bit more, but I had to get home and rescue my boys from dog sitting. We will have to make this trip again since most of the attractions were not fully open due to COVID 19, but we still feel like every second of our trip was incredible. Our county is so diverse in so many ways, which is what makes it a great place to live, and the landscape of our county is spectacular. If you get a chance, please take the time to discover the beauty we are surrounded by every day.

Happy Stamping!

Here is a link to the route we took and the places we stayed along the way.

https://goo.gl/maps/kUd3EySxYNeJUQwd9

 

Slide Show of a few of our trip pictures. 

WELCOME TO A NEW CATALOG YEAR

Welcome to the New Stampin’ Up! 20 – 21 Annual Catalog year. As a demonstrator, a new catalog is exciting, exhausting, and invigorating all at the same time. While you are excited to get your hands on all the latest products, you exhaust your self making new samples, purging the retired products, updating new catalog documents, and getting all the catalogs packets out to customers. Then you are invigorated by all new products to create with and know it is all worth it! I love my job! 

2020 -2021 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog

With every new annual catalog, Stampin’ Up! releases five new colors called In Colors. These colors are to supplement our color line with some of the design industries hottest color trends, and these colors will be around for two years. Below is a color chart showing you suggested color combinations for creating a project.  Click on the link below or the picture to print out your own 2020 – 2022 In Color Combination chart.

 Print your 2020 – 2022 In Color Combination chart

Here is a peek at some of the beautiful product bundles and the new Stampin Seal adhesives in the 20 – 21 Annual Catalog. I LOVE the Whale of A Time Bundle, which is why it is the first video.

And if a new catalog isn’t enough excitement for you, Stampin’ Up! has two specials this month. The first one is the Annual Catalog Kickoff Celebration! Anyone who holds a party or shops during June will receive an extra $25 Stampin’ Rewards with a qualifying $250 purchase (before tax & shipping). So don’t wait! Start planning now to hold an event in June. Are you interested in holding a virtual event? Email me to set up your virtual event now.

If you have ever thought about being your own boss or you would love to have a 20% discount on all your products, then now is an excellent time to join my Creative Dream Team. Join for $99, and you choose $125 in products along with an additional stamp/tool bundle!

Whew, that is a lot of information, sorry for the overload, but I would hate for you to miss the June specials in all the excitement that surrounds a new catalog.

There are a few items that are not ready for ordering in the new catalog at this time. The new Stampin’ Cut machines and all coordinating products on pages 170 – 172 are not orderable but are expected to be ready for ordering in the second half of the catalog year. I will keep you informed when the new cut & embossing machine are available to order.

If you would like a catalog and don’t already have a demonstrator, email me, and I will get one out to you.  Now grab a cup of tea or coffee and scroll through the catalog and start making your wishlist.

Until next time.

Happy Stamping!

 

Document Links:

2020 – 2021 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog

2020 – 2021 Stampin’ Up! Catalog Wish List

2020 – 2022 In Color Color Combo Chart

2020 -2021 Stampin’ Up! RGB / HEX  Color Codes

 

MAY’S PAPER PUMPKIN – A KIT IN COLOR

Hey Everyone! If you were one of the lucky ones that subscribed to the May Paper Pumpkin Kit (PPK), you sure lucked out. This kit was so popular that they ran out! This kit uses the new 20 – 22 In Colors, Bumblebee, Just Jade, Magenta Madness, and Misty Moonlight. You have the supplies to make 12 cards, 4 each of 3 designs, and coordinating envelopes. Oh, I forgot, and a Misty Moonlight Stampin’ Spot!!!!

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You know how us demonstrators always say you have to see the paper in person to see how beautiful, vibrant, or stunning it is? Well, the rainbow wavy striped paper is one of those papers; it is so much fun to create with!

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The projects provided with the PPK are cute as usual. I loved the printed rainbow that looks like it is a stamp, and here is that rainbow wavy patterned paper I love so much.  Once I put a sample of each card design together, then the real fun started. The alternate projects!

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This card uses the Purple Posy card base from the PPK. I stamped the rainbow using Highland Heather ink that I stamped off twice. I made a 2″ banner using the wavy rainbow card front and added one of the vellum banners from the kit as well. The sentiment is from the PPK as well, I just cut the stamp up so I could separate the words (I can hear the gasping know) Yes, I cut the stamp, it makes them more versatile, and you can easily use them as they were intended. Finish the card with a bow. I used three pieces of the bakers twine from the PPK and two pieces of Linen Thread. 

This card base is Misty Moonlight, with a layer of Crumb Cake. I stamped the plus sign on the Crumb Cake using VersaMark and added a 1/2″ strip of Misty Moonlight. To that, I adhered a 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ strip of the wavy rainbow card front. Stamp the sentiment onto the large cloud die-cut using the Misty Moonlight ink from the PPK. Add the medium-size cloud die-cut using dimensional, then add the bow.  

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Now this card was fun to create! I cut 2 1/2″ off the front flap of the wavy rainbow card base (to use on other cards). I then cut the card front off the Just Jade cardbase and glued it to the inside of the wavy rainbow card base. Now cut the Purple Posy cardbase from off and layer it to the center of the Just Jade card layer. Stamp the sentiment onto the vellum die-cut from the PPK and let dry. Once the ink is dry you will add mini glue dots in a random pattern to the left side and adhere to the wavy rainbow flap making sure it is centered. Now place some of the embellishments that came with the PPK over the glue dots to hide them. Wrap the bakers twine around the card front and tie a bow. 

I started with a Misty Moonlight Cardstock base and added an additional Misty Moonlight layer that is 5 1/4″ x  4″ that I popped up using dimensionals. Stamp the Sentiment using the Misty Moonlight Stampin’ Spot in a random pattern onto a piece of 4 3/4″ x 3 1/2″ Whisper White cardstock, then stamp the asterisk image using Crushed Curry ink. Stamp the additional sentiment onto the die-cut tag from the PPK. Cut a Bumblebee banner tag from the PPK in half and glue down to each edge of the die-cut sentiment tag. Add a bow made from the Bumblebee ribbon.

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I added a 4 1/2″ x 3 1/4″ layer of the wavy rainbow card front to the Just Jade card base using dimensionals. Glue down a large die-cut cloud, the add a medium-sized die- cut cloud using dimensionals. Stamp the sentiment onto the Bumblebee banner die-cut tag using the Misty Moonlight ink and adhere using dimensionals. Lastly, I added a bow and the asterisk embellishments. 

For my last card, I used the Purple Posy card base from the PPK and added a vellum die-cut layer by adding mini glue dots only in the area that will have the printed die-cut image. I cut the rainbow die-cut down to 2 13/16″, then took the cut-off edges that look like stamps and glued them to the underside of the printed die-cut. Add the printed die-cut to the vellum layer using dimensionals. I cut off a 3″ x 3/4″ strip from the Just Jade cardbase and stamped the sentiment using the Misty Moonlight ink, then punched the edges using the new Lovely Labels punch then adhere using dimensionals. Add a bow, and you are done!

Whew, that was ALOT to type up! I have a habit of thinking I will do a quick blog post, then all of a sudden, it wasn’t so fast. That’s ok. I enjoy sharing my projects with you all. If you wish you had signed up for this kit, I can’t help you get one since they were sold out, but I can help you make sure you never miss out on these fun kits again.  You have until June 10th to subscribe for June’s Share Sunshine Paper Pumpkin Kit.

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This June kit looks to be as good as the May’s A Kit In Color Paper Pumpkin Kit. Stampin’ Up! keeps setting a new bar each month with these kits. Remember, you only have until June 10th to subscribe to receive the Share Sunshine June Paper Pumpkin Kit.

Happy Stamping!

A VERY SPECIAL GRADUATION CARD

Hidey ho there, and welcome back to my creative home base. Today I am sharing a graduation card I made for an extraordinary young man from our old neighborhood in Texas. Henry and my daughter Ciara were thick as thieves back in the day, they had a crew, and they all had nicknames, Hen Hen (Henry),  Cee Cee (Ciara), Chan Chan (Chandler), and Mil (Emilio)  cute right? Well, these crazies would play football, jump on the trampoline, climb trees, swim, and whatever else they could come up with. It was so much fun to hear the laughs coming off this crew. I sure do miss those days. Well, Henry has graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a degree of Bachelor of Arts and a major in History with high honors!!!!! Impressive right? I remember when Henry wanted to have a career in longboarding, and he could have done it, no problem. One thing about this young man that has always impressed me is that once he makes his mind up about something, he will keep working until he has mastered it, and now he has mastered college.

AboveTheClouds_GraduationCard1_StampinUp_ThisCraftersDream_LoriSkinner

I used Night of Navy and Daffodil Delight for the card since the Cal Bears colors are  Navy and Gold.

AboveTheClouds_Prep1_StampinUp_ThisCraftersDream_LoriSkinner

I stamped the balloon images using Momento Black ink, then colored the images with my Stampin’ Blends. I used the retiring Above the Clouds Stamp set and the Hot Air Balloon Punch that is also retiring on June 2nd. Boo, I love this bundle.

AboveTheClouds_GraduationCard_Detail_StampinUp_ThisCraftersDream_LoriSkinner

I used the punch for the large balloon and basket, but I fussy cut the small hot air balloons. I stamped the clouds in the background, then glued down the small balloons and popped up the large one with stampin dimensionals. I am very pleased with the way this card turned out.

As I said earlier, this Above the Cloud stamp set and coordinating punch is retiring June 2nd, so if this has been on your wish list, click on the Shop Online tab at the top of this page and order it today.

Until Next time.

Happy Stamping!

 

LAST ROUND OF BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP CARDS

Hello everyone, I hope you had a good Memorial Weekend, I know I did! We did some barbecuing, bike riding, relaxing and staying cool! As I was playing with the Beautiful Friendship stamp set, I noticed that the rose images match the artwork in the Best Dressed DSP. Oh how excited I was when I noticed that!  

BeautifulFriendship_Card1_BirthdaysAreTheBest_LoriSkinner

You can see in this card I made using Petal Pink cardstock, how the stamp images match the DSP! Wahoo! Can you tell I was happy about that? For this card, I used the Stitched So Sweetly Dies, Best Dressed DSP, and Linen Thread. The ink colors are Petal Pink, Daffodil Delight, Highland Heather, and Old Olive.  Click on the link below for products used and instructions on how to make this project. 

Birthdays Are The Best Days Project Instructions Link

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For this little beauty, I paired The retiring Lovely Lipstick cardstock with the Best Dressed DSP, and the Label Me Lovely Punch. The ink colors I used are Lovely Lipstick, Highland Heather, Petal Pink, Daffodil Delight, and Old Olive. 

I Love Our Beautiful Friendship Project Instructions Link

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This last card, I paired Highland Heather and Daffodil Delight for a beautiful color combination don’t you think?

A Very Big Congratulations And Best Wishes To You Project Instructions Link

 

Don’t forget, you only have until June 2nd to order your retiring favorites, like this Best Dressed DSP and Lovely Lipstick anything. Click on the Shop Online tab at the top of the page to place your order today.

Thanks for stopping by today and see you soon.

Happy Stamping!