Can stamping cure a stomach ache?

I wasn't feeling well, so I dragged myself upstairs to the craft room thinking if I got my mind off the pain in my stomach, it would go away. I was wrong...but at least I made something cool! I decided to use True Friend, just because I love the set so much, and I found some DP in my drawer that I've had for a while from K&Co which I love, but the bright colors sometimes scare me...and Taken With Teal is definitely out of my comfort zone, to say the least! Still, it worked so well with the paper, and Chocolate Chip perfectly accented it, so I just went for it. In the end, I actually love how it came out.

I made six 3x3 cards, three each of the two different designs, and then made a 3x3 notecard box to hold them. The image on the Taken with Teal part of the lid is embossed with clear EP. I accomplished the embossing of the main image in an interesting way...first I inked up the stamp with VersaMark, then inked it with Chocolate Chip. The EP stuck to it, and saved me the step of using the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to reink the Versamark over the Chocolate Chip in order to put the clear EP layer on it. There's a large brad in the middle of it that I pulled from my stash of Christmas gifts from Kenny. He did good this year! :)

The box itself was made using these instructions from SCS. The lid seems a little too big for the box, but I think I can tweak it next time around to be a little snugger. I want to make more of these, they are so easy, and would make great gifts. Maybe tomorrow I'll come up with some using my Puns From the Past set...it just seems like a set that would work well with this particular project...

Fast & Fun Sunshine Garden Card

I feel like I've been on a dry spell when it comes to creativity, but tonight my mojo showed up again and I put together what will probably be a demo card at my first workshop on March 1st (Thanks, Patti!). It's a pretty simple one, but came out much cuter than I thought it was going to. The main image is from Fun & Fast Notes, stamped in Chocolate Chip on Very Vanilla and colored with a blender pen and Stampin' Pastels. It's then layered on Chocolate Chip and Old Olive cardstock. The card base is textured So Saffron cardstock from the Sunshine Garden Simply Scrappin' kit and the stripes are cut from a sheet of DSP in that same pack. I then used my Stamp-a-ma-jig and a Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write marker to stamp the sentiment on Very Vanilla. It looked kinda plain, so I added the flower from Totally Tabs using Old Olive ink. I punched that with the round tab punch, folded it in half and nestled it in behind the DSP.

Hope that wasn't too much detail...this whole blog thing is still kinda new to me and I'm not sure what all I should say! :) I feel much better having a cute card that I can show at the workshop that uses a lot of different basic techniques but comes out to be less than boring. If you have any suggestions for me, feel free to offer them!

I'm still looking for players for the Embellishment Sampler Pack, and I'm willing to ship anywhere in the US, so if you're interested, let me know! (Details in post below!)

'Til tomorrow's mojo comes around....

-jen

Everyone Loves Embellishments!

Everyone loves embellishments, right?

But to buy a large assortment of embellishments from the new SU! catty could cost you more than $150! What if you could sample some of these embellishments for a mere $19?

Join the Everyone Loves Embellishments club now and take advantage of a 62-piece sampler for less than twenty bucks. Your sampler will include the following:

• 3 Corduroy Buttons in each of these colors: Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Kraft, and Summer Sun.
• 3 1½ inch Library Clips; one each of Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, and Whisper White.
• 2 Star Designer Brads
• 4 Jumbo 5/8" brads in asst. colors
• 8 Jumbo 5/16" brads in asst. colors
• 10 clear rhinestone brads
• 1 Fleurette
• 4 Flower brads; one each Pumpkin Pie, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, and Chocolate Chip.
• 2 Large Shape Canvas Cuts
• 2 Medium Shape Canvas Cuts
• 8 Pewter Jumbo Eyelets

There will be eight members in the club, and once I receive all eight payments, I will make the order. I will form additional clubs if necessary. I will notify you once the order has been made, and will keep this blog udpated as to the status of the order. You will recieve your embellishments within two weeks of the date the order is placed. Those outside of the Atlas, PA area are welcome to join, and are asked to send $2 for shipping (in padded envelope.)

Join in on this wonderful opportunity to sample the great embellishments offered by Stampin' Up! in their exclusive colors. To join, email me for payment directions at jenzarko@ptd.net. I look forward to sharing this opportunity with you!

I've done it!

Well, it's been official since last week, but today it's super-official...I'm an SU! Demonstrator! The big box came today, and I'm really excited. I even booked my first workshop (thanks, Patti!) and made a small order (Thanks again, Patti!) I think this will be really fun, and I'm looking forward to meeting new people and giving them an outside-the-box approach to making their purchases...I'm planning a bunch of clubs and group purchase events to make it a little easier on people's wallets during this time of economic crunching...just because times are tough doesn't mean we should give up doing what we love, right?!

I'll be posting some of the clubs on this blog, so be sure to check back often to see what's going on. I'll also be posting samples here along with tutorials and challenges. I'm hoping to build this humble little blog into something impressive. I'm excited about that too!

For now, I'm off to do some more business planning and eventually to bed as it's way past my bedtime. I'm just too excited going through this box a million times to sleep!