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Woo Hoo! Stampin' Up! is on YouTube! This will make it easier for me to feature their videos from time to time, and I figured a good place to start today would be to feature this "Meet Shelli" video…. a segment from an interview with Stampin' Up!'s Co-founder and CEO at her local TV station. Tomorrow I'll show you that darling ornament that's mentioned in this video - so stay tuned….
Just wanted to share with y'all again the fantastic opportunity to start a Stampin' Up!® business for the unheard of investment of only $75! If this is something you've EVER entertained the idea of doing, the price certainly shouldn't be the reason to hold back now. (Or if it IS, then don't be shy about talking to me about it; I may have some ideas that could help.)
With a Demonstrator Starter Kit priced at only $75 this month, you could easily earn back your investment with your very first workshop. But the clock is ticking on this special; it'll only be around for a little more than a week from now. Click here to review some of the benefits of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator.
Oh! And just announced this week – a brand-new benefit I haven't even had time to add to my list yet: demonstrators will have the opportunity to get their hands on their own personal 2009/2010 catalogs in early JUNE! Yes, that's just around the corner! Woo Hoo!!!
Perusing my box of card samples from a long time ago (last fall, I believe), I came across this one this morning – that I don't think I ever got it photographed and posted. I can hardly remember what the occasion was at which we stamped it; I know it was a Make & Take that I provided at a demonstrator group meeting, but beyond that it may have also shown up at a Stamp-a-Stack or workshop, too.
The stamp comes from "It's a Stretch", shown here with the other 3 images in the set. The cake image is actually mounted on the inside of the card in this design; the blue scalloped ring on the front is actually a framed hole through which the cake is viewed. This additional shot shows that.
To make a punched frame such as this, I start by punching the inner shape (in this case a circle) from a scrap of cardstock – leaving a bit of margin all around it. Then I center the resulting hole inside the opening of a larger punch (in this case, the scalloped circle punch), and punch that out. Note that the original circle that got punched out is not actually used; rather, the remaining hole is what becomes the innermost part of the frame.
The design of this card requires a circle to be punched through 3 layers of cardstock - but don't even TRY to punch through that many layers at once! You won't do your hand OR your punch any favors! In this case I stamped the image onto the layer of white cardstock & colored it; then punched out the cake with the circle punch.
Then I placed the white layer (with a hole in it where the cake used to be) onto the yellow layer and punched the yellow layer in alignment with the hole in the white layer. Then I mounted the yellow layer onto the blue layer, and punched it the same way – leaving a hole all the way through the front of the card.
After creating a blue scalloped frame as described above, I mounted that to the front – and then adhered the cake inside the card by inserting it through the hole while the card was closed. Neat, huh?
So if you were following my frustrating browser saga last month, you already know that I was about ready to kick Internet Explorer 8 (and maybe even my entire computer) out of my life altogether. Until Firefox proved a thousand times worse, and then I eventually settled on Safari for browser purposes for a month or so. But finally bored with THAT, I took a chance and went back to IE 8 just about a week or so ago. Figured maybe whatever bugs there had been in those early weeks might have been resolved by now. (Well, a girl can always hope, right?)
But alas, no such luck. I STILL about pulled all my hair out while trying to submit a big workshop order last week! Customers' entire orders were disappearing – and reappearing, dollars were dancing in the summary column; it was all pretty frustrating. Thought about calling Stampin' Up!® to see if they had any wise words of advice, but never did get around to it; just continued to struggle through it. "Saved" and backed out and re-entered again and again . Stupidly, I know - but I finally made it through and figured I'd mess with it NEXT time I had an order to submit.
Until today….. when a customer called in frustration complaining that the order she was attempting to submit online had products disappearing from HER shopping basket right before her eyes. Hmmm….sounded familiar, so I inquired about her browser and sure enough – IE 8. Sent her off to try again with Safari, and I got on the horn with Stampin' Up!
And came away with the SOLUTION! (Well, I will consider it the "solution" until my next order, anyway, when I will either get proved right or wrong.)
So here's the scoop – in case you, too, should encounter similar problems while using IE 8. It's pretty simple, really.
Start by going to the website that's giving you fits. (Demonstrators, you should log onto the demo site, and customers should log onto the online ordering system as if you're about to place an order.)
Now locate the "Tools" option on your IE 8 toolbar. Click the drop-down list and select "COMPATIBILITY VIEW SETTINGS". In the box called "Add this website" you'll probably already see "stampinup.com"; click the nearby "add" button….. and then the "close" button at the bottom of that window, and that's all there is to it!
Oh, but since you'll still be at my ordering website, you might want to go ahead and order yourself up somethin' fun anyway! 🙂
These past couple of weeks I've been hearing about an apparent greeting card shortage on South Whidbey. (Perhaps brought about by the closing of several local stores in recent months.) Not only have I spoken to someone who had to drive all the way to Coupeville to find an appropriate greeting card earlier this month, but another friend had to shop for a birthday card on the mainland.
Before you find yourself in the potential position of falling victim to this local card shortage, may I suggest maintaining a stack of your own cards to keep at the ready? Click the links below to sign up for one of my next Stamp-a-Stacks – June 5th or 6th. Not only will you leave with AT LEAST 5 lovely greeting cards (of different designs), but they will be made by YOUR very own hands! What could be more thoughtful and personal than that?!?
Oh! And we TEACH you how to make the cards, btw; no prior experience necessary!
(Card shown here and in previous posts are from prior Stamp-a-Stacks; we'll make different cards in June.)
Stamp-a-Stack – Friday morning, June 5 - 9:00 am
Only a few more hours to take advantage of Earlybird pricing on this fun “Scrapbooking In and Out of the Box” class – May 28th! Save $4 by registering before 9:00 o’clock tonight!
Can’t make THAT deadline? Well you still have until 9:00 pm (Pacific), on Tuesday, May 19th to get signed up. But either way, there’s no time to dilly-dally if you want to make this gorgeous 3-piece set of projects! (Oh, and btw, have I mentioned you’ll even have pieces left-over after your class to take home and design even MORE projects from?!?)
Click here to review some other pictures of the projects you’ll make in this class.
If you've placed an order through me at any time since July 1, 2008, you're invited to play my annual stamp retirement guessing game! Win ANY stamp set of your choice (from those I'll soon be retiring). But you'll need to understand all the rules of the game; click here for all the specifics!
I'm very excited to announce this 3-piece "Scrapbooking In & Out of the Box" class on Thursday, May 28th! Check out these pictures of the 3 projects you'll make, and then be sure to get registered before the deadline! (Or even before the *earlybird* deadline, if you'd like to save some $$, too.)
In this class you'll make these 3 projects:
All supplies will be included except for your own SNAIL adhesive.
You'll be amazed at how simple it is to create this beautiful 3-piece set with just 1/2 of a Simply Scrappin'® Kit, and a few other supplies! This clever Scrapbook in a Box opens to reveal a gorgeous 12" x 12" scrapbook page like magic! Bringing joy to anyone who receives it, this delightful coordinating set will make the perfect gift for any special occasion. What gift-giving occasions do YOU have coming up? Birthdays? Weddings? Graduations? Bridal Showers? Anniversaries?
Class Details
Date: Thursday, May 28
Time: Open House Style (10 am – 9 pm)
Location: Langley, WA (directions provided upon registration)
Class Fee:
$28 (Earlybird registration – if registered and paid by May 16)
$32 (Regular registration – registration deadine, May 19)
Premium Club, Stampers 30 Club, and Sea to Sea Stampers: see your special discount pricing here.
* Read about my class cancellation policy here.
If you're not already getting my updates either via RSS feed or via email directly to your inbox, then you might find it easier to subscribe to my feeds than remembering to return here regularly to check for updates.
If you're already familiar with RSS feeds you probably already know how to subscribe that way…….. but to subscribe to my EMAIL feeds just click on the link below. It's easy as 1-2-3!
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Annual Catalog & Idea Book. Click to view online.