Paper Pumpkin – 30-minute Monthly Creativity Escape

Feb 21, 2013


Paper Pumpkin intro
In celebration of their 25th anniversary, Stampin' Up! has certainly been busy pumping out specials, and new products and new programs this year!  Lots already announced since the first of the year, and many more coming, they say.  But as luck would have it, this has all been happening while I've been fairly distracted and preoccupied by getting moved and settled into my new place!  So I'm kind of delinquent getting all this exciting stuff studied and published, but today I'm finally ready to share my very favorite piece of the "new"!

Meet Paper Pumpkin – by Stampin' Up! 

Paper Pumpkin red boxRemember how Cinderella was whisked away in her pumpkin carriage to escape her mundane life and experience a few hours' fun at the ball?  Well Paper Pumpkin is designed to provide a 30-minute creativity break in today's world!  (Just in case YOUR fairy godmother has failed to show up recently!) 

Paper Pumpkin subscribers will have a delightful papercraft project kit delivered straight to their doors every month….. and each kit will contain everything needed to complete the project, except adhesive.  And of course you can expect everything to be cut to size so you can get right to work as soon as you open your beautiful red box.

Now, given that these projects are designed to be completed in around 30 minutes or so, and all supplies will be included (all at a practical price), I think we can expect that these projects will be "very nice", but not necessarily "elaborate, jaw-dropping masterpieces".  While they're designed to appeal to a broad cross-section of people, perhaps those who prefer lots of detail, layers, techniques and embellishments might not find Paper Pumpkin projects exactly up their alley. 

BUT on the other hand I'll bet EVERYONE knows SOMEONE who would enjoy Paper Pumpkin projects, and a gift subscription for a predetermined length of time might make an awesome gift!  Just think of who you may know with limited time, space, creativity or money….. and that's exactly who Paper Pumpkin was created for!

For more details, download my 2-page flyer:
Download Paper Pumpkin Kit FlyerUS …… and then let's get your subscription going (https://secure.jotform.us/lglassmoyer/paper-pumpkin-signup) before March 10th so you can get your first kit when the program launches in about a month!

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Hand-stamped cards

Feb 17, 2013

Today I finally have some stamped cards to share!  I received this first one to commemorate my recent birthday, and the set of 3 similar cards are the product of my own very first stamping session in several months! 

Woo Hoo!  Yes, I can stamp again!  Although not very efficiently, because I only have about 2 square feet in which to work….. and still only a part of my total collection onsite….  and each item I need requires getting out of my chair and going to fish for it in another room.  But what-the-heck; I'm STAMPING again!  🙂

So here's that birthday card from Maureen D.  Don't you just love the layers and texture on this?!?

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And for this set of cards I chose a limited palette of 3 colors (Rose Red, Bashful Blue & Chocolate Chip), and started stamping and cutting out elements (Big Shot as well as some fussy-cutting), and then just played with laying them out, adding some pearls to dress 'em up.

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These latter 3 cards feature (all images © Stampin' Up!):

Hearts a Flutter Bundle (stamps + Framelits for 15% off)

Vintage Verses (a Sale-a-Bration stamp set available free with a $50 order)

Bloomin' Marvelous (a Sale-a-Bration set available free with a $50 order)

and Hello, Hello…. a single-stamp exclusive.

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Catching up and coming back….

Feb 14, 2013

Wow!  I'm wondering if this just might be one of my driest periods *ever* since starting this blog way back in 2006!  I've been trying to convince myself for several weeks now that I need to get back to posting, but the whole thing has been so overwhelming I just couldn't figure out where to start.  Today I just decided I'll start at the beginning – more or less. 

But right after I wish my stamping friends a Happy Valentine's Day!

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Ok. So…… in case there might be some reader out there who hasn't yet heard, way back in August (eek! That's 6 MONTHS ago!) I decided to put my house on the market and begin the long, slow process of relocating to Idaho where my (now 2) grandchildren live.  Little did I know just HOW long that process would take, though, and while I thought I was up for the task, perhaps I wasn't quite as "up for it" as I'd initially thought. I admit to feeling pretty wrung out pretty often these days.

Technically and thankfully, the house didn't take very long to sell by today's standards; we had a buyer on board within approximately a week and then began the escrow process.  But it turns out the whole "selling/moving" thing was a pretty big task I'd bitten off.  (Dang, just like childbirth, why don't we REMEMBER the pain from the LAST time?!? I KNEW there was a reason I'd sworn way back in 1996 that I'd never move again!) Thank GOODNESS for all the help I've been blessed with – from my parents, my brothers, my son and his wife, neighbors, and my stampin' friends, too!

Anyway, I had a ton of "stuff" (both personal and related to my Stampin' Up! business), and consequently a gazillion decisions to be made and carried out regarding whether to keep the items? Sell them?  Store them? And "how"?  How-to-pack "the stuff" and make it all fit on the moving truck and still be able to locate it on the other end, etc.  So the ton of stuff translated into a ton of work, from which I'm still not fully recovered, either physically or mentally, it seems.

Point to ponder: why do we spend the first half of our lives *acquiring* stuff, and the second half wondering what to do with it and almost wishing we didn't *have* it?!?

So the bulk of my "stuff" (both personal and Stampin' Up!-related) has been in storage since October (translation, I basically haven't stamped since before then, either).  I finally found an apartment I liked mid-January and have been in the "process" of moving in ever since.  Can't BELIEVE how it's managing to take so long, but somehow it is.  I suppose part of that is that I've got about 20% of the space here in my new place compared to the space I moved out of, so I'm having to be really selective about which items I bring in.  (And of course most of the 80% that will have to stay in storage is in front of the 20% I need access to…. so THAT might have something to do with the speed with which this process isn't happening, too!)

Nonetheless, I'm pushing forward, determined to make headway, even if slow.  And learning to be patient with myself. ('Cuz the alternative is frustration.)  Earlier this week I got the kitchen (mostly) settled (definitely a one-butt kitchen; you can stand in the middle and reach just about anything you need to without taking more than 1 short step), so now I'm starting to turn my attention to getting back in the Stampin' Up! saddle.  That's a HUGE part of my life that I miss terribly.  But I'm coming to the realization that holding classes and meeting with stampers will certainly look very different going forward than it has in the past, since I won't be able to hold classes in my home, and everything will have to be done off-site.  The meeting-room rental options I've seen so far have been discouragingly pricey, but I'm remaining optimistic that there's an answer out there SOMEWHERE…… if only I can uncover/discover it and figure it out!

And you can bet I'm looking forward to THAT day!  🙂

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February sunset from my living room window. Something I NEVER saw while tucked in the woods in my last home!

Announcing…..

Dec 20, 2012

I know many of my stamping friends have been waiting for the news, so here ya go:

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Born 1:07 am, 12/20/2012. 9 lbs…. 21-3/4".  Everyone doing well, but tired.

MDS 2 to the rescue

Dec 13, 2012

Have I mentioned lately how much I love, love, LOVE MDS 2?  Because my living situation is still pretty much in limbo until I have a place of my own, it has been quite impossible to stamp…… which is, of course, the usual way I create cards & projects – and scratch that creativity itch.

But thankfully I've had MDS 2 to play with a bit in the meantime.  It's not a total substitute for actually getting hands in the ink, but has certainly been a lifesaver when I've needed to produce SOMETHING unique!

Take, for instance, the invitation I needed for this crazy Open House I'm doing today.  I'll be featuring products from the upcoming Stampin' Up! Spring Catalog & Sale-a-Bration, but the time and setting will be smack in the middle of the Christmas season – surrounded by Christmas decorations!  So I've dubbed it my "Scrambled-up Seasons" Open House, and had to come up with an appropriate – and obviously unique – invitation!  (I've invited my entire Whidbey Island-area customer  & downline-demonstrator mailing lists, so it was impractical to invite by snail-mailed or hand-stamped invitation anyway.)  So here's the invitation they received by email….

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One of the new features of MDS 2 is that the program can choose coordinating colors for you.  I was facing a bit of a mental block as to color-selection (you know, what colors DO you do Christmas, Valentines, St. Patricks, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Graduation, and wedding in, anyway?)….. so I chose the "Surprise Me" feature, and it came up with 5 colors that went together nicely.  "Nope, not those", I thought of its first option, so I clicked again. And a few more times until it found just the right combo of 5 colors, and voila!, the color quandry was resolved!  Totally easy, and totally what I was looking for! 

Oh, in case you're wondering, the colors are Regal Rose, So Saffron, Island Indigo, Tempting Turquoise, and Wild Wasabi.

The frame in the center is actually an embellishment that initially came in bright green with red berries.  I knew the design was what I was looking for, but the color was definitely not.  So (once again, thanks to a new feature in MDS 2), I recolored it in a flash – to the Wild Wasabi I was using elsewhere.  And I'm pretty pleased with how the whole thing turned out.  (What do YOU think?  I'd love if you left me a comment!  Hint, hint…)

Ok, now off to frost those red velvet cupcakes….. and decide whether they'll get "Christmas" or "Spring" decorations on top!  Hmmm…… Christmas tree bulbs, or butterflies?  "Scrambled-up Seasons" sure leaves room for plenty of options!  😉

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Holiday Helper – Have you subscribed yet?

Nov 26, 2012

Customers: Sign up here for my 2012 Holiday Helper series

I just sent out the 6th issue of my complimentary 2012 Holiday Helper series of holiday project ideas & tutorials.  That means the series is now half-way complete.  But if you haven't yet signed up to receive this daily dose of project inspiration, it's not too late…… 'cuz there are still 6 days (and projects) remaining to be revealed!

So what are you waiting for?!?  If you're not a Stampin' Up! demonstrator click here to sign up for the remainder of this complimentary tutorial series. 

And if you ARE a Stampin' Up! demonstrator email me to find out how to get this project (and tutorials) series FREE – direct from the author.

Stamp Happy!

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Stampin’ Up!’s 24-hour Door Buster Sale

Nov 19, 2012

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Stampin' Up!'s 10 Day Online Extravaganza (which applies to online orders as well as all other types of orders this year – yeah!) launched today with a 24-hour Doorbuster Sale TODAY ONLY featuring 20% off each of these 3 items that belong in any serious crafter's collection!

 

Big Shot Die-Cut Machine - by Stampin' Up!Doctor's Bag - by Stampin' Up!Simply Scored Diagonal Plate

To take advantage of today's Doorbuster Sale, you may order online at my Stampin' Up! store before midnight tonight (Monday, Nov. 19) MOUNTAIN TIME (which is 11:00 pm Pacific Time), or contact me by noon today and I'll include your goodies with several group orders I'll be submitting at that time. 

And be sure to take advantage of the rest of the savings these next 10 days will provide….. price cuts as deep as 50%-off!  (MDS fans, you'll swoon over MDS2+…… yes, the whole shebang….. for only half-price! Amazing!)

Craft happy today!

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PS:  If you've EVER thought about joining or re-joining Stampin' Up!, RIGHT NOW would be a great time to take action because you could choose your Demonstrator Starter Kit contents at their SALE prices, PLUS get a full set of 10 brand-new firm foam ink pads (Brights, Subtles or Regals, your choice) for FREE!  And of course you could take advantage of your 20% demonstrator discount (actually 30% for newly-joined demonstrators) on any of the other sale items you'd like. Talk about double-dipping in the goodies…….!

 

Free ink pads – 2 ways to get ’em

Nov 7, 2012

Free ink pads promo

Stampin' Up! is offering free (firm foam) Ink Pad Collections this month (Brights, Regals or Subtles – your choice), and there are 2 ways to earn 'em! 

 

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Host a party or private class, or place an order (directly with me, or at my online store) of $450 or more.

OR

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Join Stampin' Up! and choose your free ink pads as a bonus when you're selecting the contents of your Demonstrator Starter Kit.

 

But why not get TWO free Ink Pad Collections?!?  Here's how the clever ones will do it: 

Get your first free set of ink pads at the time you join Stampin' Up! and order your Demonstrator Starter Kit…. and your second free set of ink pads by hosting your own $450 party by December16th.  Not only would you get your 2nd free ink pad collection at the time of your party, but you'd also earn $65 in free merchandise and 1 half-price item (your hostess benefits) PLUS $157.50 in cash (commissions) or demonstrator discount!  WAY more in value than the $99 cost of your starter kit, lol!

If this holiday treat interests you, ask me for details right away – so I can guide you to make sure you get maximum benefit!

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Single stamps now available

Oct 30, 2012

You've asked for it….. and Stampin' Up! is trying it! 

Seems that for my entire Stampin' Up! career I've heard again and again the wish that Stampin' Up! would offer single stamps and/or split sets.  Well as you know, we've had several single stamps available in our catalogs for the past several years now, but for the first time ever Stampin' Up! is offering (on a trial basis) several individual stamps from some of our most popular stamp sets….. including greetings.  These individual stamps are only available in clear-mount, and arrive packaged in a cello bag, rather than in a box.  (IDEA:  You might want to purchase a set of Clear-Mount Stamp Cases to store your single stamps in.) Clear blocks are not included, of course, so don't forget those, too.

At this time there are over 30 such individual stamps….. available through January 2, 2013.  Will there be more after that?  Well, since we don't know, I'd encourage you to choose your favorites now while they ARE available.  To view the specific stamps and their recommended block sizes you can either click the image above to download a 5-page color flyer……. or see and order the stamps at my online store.