Lego Birthday card using Itty Bitty Banners from Stampin' Up!

Hi there My Stamping Friends, I hope you're having a fantastic week. Ours has been packed! One thing we did was attend a birthday party last night for my daughter's classmate that was turning 5. He was having a lego themed party and I wanted to make him a card that fit his theme so I went to Stampin Connection (the demo only site full of ideas, samples and instructions) and found a lego card made by a fellow demonstrator named Teresa Hyde. I CASED it pretty closely since the colors and layout were perfect for what I needed, and I used Stampin' Up! Bitty Banners from Stampin' Up!.

So, what do you think? Next time I'll place the legos on the card before I do the shading with the gel pen, so I can make sure the shading all goes in the same direction.

Don't forget that today is the last day to shop from the current catalog and retiring list. You can shop online and get a discount by clicking here http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/CategoryPage.aspx?categoryid=736 Tomorrow (Friday) is the first day we can order from the new catalog.

Have a fantastic day.
Rose-Ellen

Musical Note cards for Teacher Apprecation Week using Stampin' Up! Music Notes Wheel

It was Teacher Appreciation Week in our area last week and that is our time to show all our teachers a little extra love. My daughter Samantha plays the clarinet, so I wanted to make sure that her music teacher was included on the list of teachers that received our Teacher Appreciation gifts. Since I know a lot of teachers, I know that they write a LOT of Thank You notes at the end of the school year so I thought I would make them some Stampin' Up! thank you notes. One of my other daughters, Jordan, takes piano lessons and when she saw me making the musical note cards  (get it, musical note....note cards....sometimes I crack myself up!!) and asked if I could make her a card to write out to her piano teacher. I'll share more of the teacher gifts over the next few posts but today I wanted to share the cards I made for the music teachers.

I'm having Samantha deliver the note cards to her clarinet teacher so unfortunatly I'll miss her reaction, but I was there when Jordan handed over her card to her piano teacher. She wrote him a note about how much she loved piano and how happy she was that HE was her teacher. It was very sweet; misspellings and all. And then, he raised himself up ANOTHER notch in her eyes. He actually sat down at the piano and played the music, or at least the parts he could see, from the front of the card and it sounded beautiful. I wish you could have been here (well, not really cause it would have been a packed room and my house isn't that big, but you know what I mean).

This is where I give KUDOS to Stampin' Up! They went out of their way to make sure that the Music Notes wheel had ACTUAL music on it. Imagine how embarrassing it could have been to have the teacher sit down and try to play some random notes that were just put there for 'looks'. I'm so impressed that once again Stampin' Up! is proving to be such a wonderful company.

For this project I used:
Crumb Cake cardstock
Very Vanilla cardstock
Crumb Cake ink
Chocolate Chip ink
Music Notes wheel
Sentiment Stamp from a retired set called Just A Note
circle punch
sponge (for an aged look)
3-1/4 x 3-1/4 mini envelopes
Big Shot
Top Note Die
Hand-Penned Holidays from the 2011-2012 Holiday Mini

I hope you enjoy the cards and feel free to leave a comment. I LOVE reading them. They really make my day.

Have a wonderful creative day!
Rose-Ellen

Betsy's Blossoms and Itty Bitty Banners by Stampin' Up!

I was so, so, so stinkin' excited to get my box of sneak peek goodies that I ordered from Stampin' Up! this week (an awesome benefit of being a demonstrator is that we get to order products one month before they are available to the public).I wish I could show you photos of all the products in my box of goodies, but at this point, I'm only allowed to show projects, not products.

I finally got a few minutes to stamp and play around for a bit on Sunday and here is what I came up with.

I had several frames that I picked up at a craft store years ago, sitting on my desk (honestly, they were waiting to go in the donation box) and as soon as I saw this wonderfully colorful Designer Series Paper from from the Floral District pack, I knew I had to alter the frame. I cut the

GOING, GOING, GONE!! Stampin' Up! Retiring Accessory List

Get them before they are gone! The Stampin' Up! retired accessories and Definitely Decorative (including Décor Elements) lists are now available and won't stay around for long--these items are only available while supplies last! And with discounts of up to 60% off, they won't last long!

When you look at the retired accessories list, you'll note that all of our Stampin' Pads are listed. This is for two reasons: (1) Craft Stampin' Pads will now only be available in black and white; and (2) we are introducing a new Firm Foam pad in our Classic Stampin' Pads with the 2012-2013 annual catalog.

The Firm Foam pads offer better ink coverage and, in turn, better stamped images.

In addition, please note the following about the new catalog:

• Only select Stampin' Write Markers will be available individually (Stampin' Write Markers in color collections will continue to be offered)
• 12" x 12" Textured Card Stock will no longer be offered
• 12" x 12" Smooth Card Stock will only be available in select individual colors and color collections

Please remember that these accessories are only available while supplies last (and they often sell out quickly). If you want something from this list you can call me or email me right away to let me know.

I am also attaching a link to the list of retiring stamp sets. You'll notice it's longer than in years past. During this transition to the new annual catalog, there are a higher number of stamps being refreshed and replaced than usual. While many stamps are going away, most are being replaced so that the breadth of our stamp lines is every bit as broad as ever!

***UPDATE***
Two items that were included on the Retiring Accessories List are not actually retiring. We have updated the lists to remove these items.

208	108360	Craft Scissors
208	103579	Paper Snips

Because these items were included in error, the Paper Snips will not be offered at a discounted price.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
***UPDATE***

The list of retiring accessories can be found here  PDF WHILE SUPPLIES LAST !!

The list of retiring Definately Decorative    PDF

The list of retiring stamp sets can be found here PDF

If you're thinking about joining Stampin' Up! as demonstrator to make income or to get a discount on the products you purchase, be sure to check out my post on our Starter Kit for $99.

I hope you have a fantastic day!!

Stampin' Up! Starter Kits for only $99 !!!

I'm excited to announce that beginning May 1, 2012, Stampin' Up! will be offering a fully customizable Starter Kit for new recruits at a new lower price of $99! This will give them the perfect start to their businesses--their way!

When a new demonstrator joins Stampin' Up!, the choice is hers to put together a kit with any of our current high-quality products--she can choose up to $125 worth of any Stampin' Up! products! She'll also receive a business supplies pack (valued at $65) to create a kit with a total value of $190 that still ships for FREE!

With the introduction of the new Starter Kit, new demonstrators will no longer have the option to purchase another kit or the add-ons. If you want to order the current kit option, you will need to place your order by 30 April 2012, 11:50 PM (MT).

You can order your starter kit on my website at www.roseelleneastman.stampinup.net by clicking on JOIN THE FUN.

I'd be happy to answer any questions you have so feel free to contact me here or via email at StampingWithRose-Ellen@cox.net

Fresh Vintage Sale-A-Bration sample

Today, March 31st, is the last day for Sale-A-Bration

Good Morning My Stamping Friends, I hope you've been enjoying a wonderful day so far.

I am writing to remind you that today, Saturday, March 31st, is the last day of our Sale-A-Bration promotion and therefore the last day to to receive a free gift with your $50 order. If you've been planning to place an order but never got around to it, today is the day. If you know you're going to need a lot of envelopes or whisper white card stock or snail over the next few months, you might want to go ahead and get it today and reap the rewards of a FREE item with every $50 purchase. If you purchase $150 in merchandise you wil get THREE FREE SAB items, $25 in hostess benefits and a FREE tote bag. If you enter orders that total over $400 you also get a bundle of all the items from pages 6 & 7 in the SAB catalog (this isn't available with online orders so call me to enter your order if you would like to take advantage of that gift).

You can view the catalogs by visiting my website at www.RoseEllenEastman.stampinup.net and clicking on products and then clicking on catalogs.

I also want to remind you that today is the last day to join my team and get the full starter kit for the amazing price of only $125. Tomorrow, April 1st, the price of the starter kit will return to $175. To be fair, I want to let you know that Stampin' Up mentioned at the Leadership conference in San Antonio in January that they are going to be looking at creative recruiting promotions in the future and they insinuated that they would be stepping back from discounting the starter kit. If you're considering joining, now might be the right time for you.  Another bit of information to consider about the current promotion is that you will get a FREE 12x12 pack of designer series paper OR a FREE digital download every month for the rest of the year! That's a great deal ! 

Of course you can place your orders or join my team via my website, but if you have any questions, I will be available to help you until 11:30 eastern time. 

Have a fantastic day, Rose-Ellen

Stampin' Up! Bordering on Romace and Twitterpated Designer Paper Make and Take at the Crop

Good Morning My Stamping Friends, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Mine was choc-full of stamping friends at my Stampin' Up! Scrapbooking and Card Making event on Friday and Saturday and then I spent Sunday afternoon putting my craft room back together (since I brought most of my tools with me to share with everyone at the crop). Ah, now its nice and clean and ready for me to make a stampin' mess.

Here is a peek at the Make and Take we did at the crop this weekend. What do you think?

Stampin' Up! Bordering on Romance & Tagtastic with Twitterpated Designer Series Paper
and pink rhinestones from the Blossom Builders Designer Printed kit

We used the Stampin' Up! Bordering on Romance stamp set and the Tagtastic Hostess stamp set along with the Twitterpated Designer Series Paper. If you click on the photo you should be able to enlarge it to see that we also used the pink rhinestones from the Blossom Builders Designer Printed Kit in the center of the flowers. At the end of the post there is a list of everything you need to recreate this card.

All of the attendees at the crop received a welcome bag with Stampin' Up! goodies inside. In the bag they each got Twitterpated Designer Series Paper, a glue stick, dimensionals and some chocolates. Attached to the bag was a reusable gift tag also made with the Twitterpated Designer Series Paper.

Welcome Bag from the Scrapbooking and Card Making event to benefit the Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Dept

Gift Tags made with Stampin' Up! Tagtastic stamp set and Twitterpated
Designer Series Paper and 3/8" Pleated Satin Ribbon

Just for being a guest at the event they were also gifted with a little envelope with some Riding Hood Red and Pear Pizzaz 3/8" Pleated Satin Ribbon and some coordinating Twitterpated Designer Buttons.

Gift envelope for Scrapbooking and Card Making Event attendees made with
Stampin' Up! Twitterpated Designer Series Paper

Inside gift envelope with Stampin' Up! Pleated Ribbon and Twitterpated buttons

Everyone had a great time and most of them are able to join us for our next Scrapbooking and Card Making event scheduled for Friday, May 11th and Saturday, May 12th. This is Mothers Day Weekend so on top of everything else, we'll be spoiling all of our guests with lots more goodies such as gift certificates for facials, manicures and pedicures, and possibly even a massage. If you want to stay up to date on the latest news for that event, follow me on Facebook at Stampin' Up! with Rose-Ellen or on Twitter at @REEastman , or you can contact me to get a registration form.

Have a great day. I'm off to work on some cards for two upcoming events. If you're local check out my online calendar here and join us for an event.

Rose-Ellen


Card Supplies:
Stampin' Up! Bordering on Romance stamp set #125480 w & #125482 c 
Stampin' Up! Tagtastic stamp set #122745 w & #122747 c
Stampin' Up! Twitterpated Designer Series Paper #125406
Stampin' Up! Blushing Brider card stock #119796
Stampin' Up! Whisper White card stock #100730
Stampin' Up! 5/8" Whisper White Organza Ribbon #114319
Stampin' Up! Pear Pizzaz & Blushing Bride Markers #119801 (5 piece set)
Stampin' Up! Baja Blue Marker #120965
Stampin' Up! Island Indigo Marker #123002 (5 piece set)
Stampin' Up! Blossom Builders Designer Printed Kit (pink rhinestones) #125410
Stampin' Up! Large Oval Punch #119859
Stampin' Up! glue dots #103683
Stampin' Up! dimensionals #104430

Other Supplies
Stampin' Up! glue stick #104045
Stampin' Up! Pear Pizzaz 3/8" Pleated Satin Ribbon #125568
Stampin' Up! Riding Hood Red 3/8" Pleated Satin Ribbon #125569
Stampin' Up! Twitterpated Designer Buttons #125579
Stampin' Up! Big Shot #113439
Stampin' Up! Ovals Originals Die #114525

Stampin' Up! Outlined Occasions & Sprinkled Expressions Rainbow Cards

Good Morning My Stamping Friends, I hope you're having a fantastic day! I'm sitting here with the sun pouring in the window, warming my back, and wishing it was already Spring. Only a few more weeks to wait and I'm super excited about that.

Anyway, on to my card share for today. I recently needed a quick, cheery, colorful, thank you card so I looked at one of the Valentines day cards I posted here and tweaked it a little bit. In my mind I was going to do a similar card and just change the colors to a rainbow and this is what it turned into.

Stampin' Up! Outlined Occasions and Sprinkled Expressions on Concord Crush base.
Rose-Ellen Eastman

I started with a 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 piece of Stampin' Up! whisper white card stock and used

Three Valentines Cards using Outlined Occasions, Sprinkled Expressions, Mixed Bunch, Blossom Punch & Take it to Heart from Stampin' Up!

Good Morning My Stamping Friends, Today I thought I'd share three of the Valentines Cards I made recently, inspired or cased from cards on display at the Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference in San Antonio, TX. I hope you like them.
The first one was made using the stamp sets Outlined Occasions and Sprinkled Expressions from Stampin' Up! which are part of the Sale-A-Bration promotion right now. Sale-A-Bration, is Stampin' Up!'s biggest promotional event of the year and we offer amazing benefits for customers, hostesses, new recruits and YOU! Click here for the details.

I used:
Stampin' Up! Whisper White Card Stock #100730
Stampin' Up! Real Red Card Stock #102482
Stampin' Up! Real Red Classic Ink #103133
Stampin' Up! Large Oval Punch #119855
Stampin' Up! Scallop Oval Punch #119856
Stampin' Up! FREE Sprinkled Expressions stamp set #125132 (clear) or #125130 (wood)
Stampin' Up! FREE Outlined Occasions stamp set #126016 (clear) or #126014 (wood)

For the next card I used the Mixed Bunch and the Blossom Punch from the current Stampin' Up! Occasions Mini Catalog. You can view the mini catalog by clicking the link here or checking it out on the right side bar of my blog.

I used:
Stampin' Up! Mixed Bunch stamp set #125537 (clear) or #125535 (wood)
Stampin' Up! Blossom punch #125603
Stampin' Up! Pretty in Pink card stock #100459
Stampin' Up! Whisper White card stock #100730
Stampin' Up! Pretty in Pink ink #101301
Stampin' Up! Crumb Cake ink #121030
Stampin' Up! Stampin' Sponges #101610
Stampin' Up! Dimensionals #104430
Stampin' Up! Modern Label punch #119849
Stampin' Up! Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch #119275

And for my last share card I used the Take it to Heart stamp set from Stampin' Up! and colored using my Stampin' Up! blender pens and accented with some mini basic pearls in the center of the flowers (which you probably can't see all that well in this photo).

I used:
Stampin' Up! Take it to Heart stamp set #125522 (clear) or #125520 (wood)
Stampin' Up! Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set #115370
Stampin' Up! Big Shot #113439
Stampin' Up! Framelets Dies - Hearts Collection #125599
Stampin' Up! Regal Rose card stock #105130
Stampin' Up! Whisper White card stock #100730
Stampin' Up! Chocolate Chip ink #100908
Stampin' Up! Eyelet Border punch #119853
Stampin' Up! 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon-Daffodil Delight #119254
Stampin' Up! Daffodil Delight ink #119667
Stampin' Up! Lucky Limeade ink #122935
Stampin' Up! Pumpkin Pie ink #105216
Stampin' Up! Regal Rose ink #105211
Stampin' Up! Basic Pearls #119247

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day full of love and surrounded by loved ones.
Rose-Ellen

Already Stamping ~ using my Stampin' Up! Simply Scored Diagonal Plate

Good Morning My Stamping Friends, I made it back from the Stampin' Up! Leadership with only a 45 minute delay (we had a hard time landing in Atlanta due to thunder and lightning). I'm so thankful because some of my friends were hours and hours late arriving and others had to stay in Atlanta overnight because of delays. Ouch!

Anyway, on Sunday I spent a few hours at Robin Merriman's team meeting and we had so much fun. Robin was one of my friends that had a several hour delay and since I had a little time and a brand new Simply Scored DIAGONAL PLATE that I won at Leadership, I helped out my bringing a Make and Take.  After I got home I made another little project very similiar to that. Here is the little 'box' and gift card with envelope that I made using my Stampin' Up! Diagonal Plate. It is sitting on top of my Simply Scored tool (you cna tell because the diagonal plate's groves are much thinner). Sorry about the lighting. Its such a bright day here and my camera was mis-behaving.

The Diagonal Plate (#125586)  is a plate that sits on top of the Simply Scored tool. It is held in place by rubber pads and ridges on the back of the plate. This plate has etched groves every 1/8th inch and can score cardstock up to 12x12. Then you get yours it will include instructions for creating common envelope sizes. This amazing tool will be available for clients to purchase on March 1, 2012. Meanwhile, keep following my blog because I plan to use mine all the time.

For this project I used:
Stampin' Up! Simply Scored Scoring Tool #122334
Stampin' Up! Simply Scored Diagnonal Plate (available to cusomters on March 1st) #125586
Stampin' Up! Twitterpated Designer Series Paper #125046
Stampin' Up! White 1/4 inch Grosgrain Ribbon #109025
Stampin' Up! Riding Hood Red cardstock #111348
Stampin' Up! Whisper White cardstock #100730
Stampin' Up! Riding Hood Red Ink #111836
Stampin' Up! Pear Pizzazz Ink #119784
Stampin' Up! Basic Black ink #101179
Stampin' Up! Blender Pen #102845
Stampin' Up! Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp Set #115370
A newly retired stamp set from the holiday mini to make a wrapper for the chocolate nuggets.
We also made a few other Make and Takes and looked at everyones swaps from Leadership. I'm very thankful to know and to be able to stamp with this group of Ladies.

Have a Stamptastic Day,

Stamping' Up! Leadership Conference in San Antonio, TX ~ January 2012

Hi there My Stamping Friends, I'm sorry I haven't been in better touch but as you know I've been in San Antonio, TX for the Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference. It was such a blast. I caught up with some wonderful friends, learned a lot, laughed a lot and saw some amazing paper creations. All in all it was a fantastic trip. Here are some highlights (and this will probably be my longest blog post ever):

Day 1: Wed. Jan 18, 2012 ~ I arrived in San Antonio and had lunch with some friends before heading over to pick up my Leadership bag and work on my Make and Takes. When we sat at our table to start our Make and Takes, we were greeted with this lovely delight. Many Thanks to Mike for working so hard to make these chocolates for all the 1300+ attendees!

When we finished we headed off to the demonstrator resource center to take some photos of the displays and cards created by the employees and demonstrators. Just beautiful, don't you think?

We also met up with some friends there too.

with Sara Douglass

with the fantastic Diana Gibbs

I love, love, love my up-up-up-upline Carol Bartle. Isn't she adorable?

Next we went off to dinner where I met some fantastic 'new to me' friends.

Rose-Ellen, Julie, Blair, Lesley, Julie, Christyne, Cathy and Janet

A quick stroll by the Alamo and back to the hotel to fall into bed. I'd been up for 20+ hours at that point.

a night at the Alamo

Day 2: Thurs. Jan 19, 2012 ~ My roommate Janna and I were up early for breakfast (check out this Texas style waffle)

A Texas sized breakfast

and we made our way over to the convention center for the Opening Session of the conference .....meeting up with friends along the way. I just love My Stamping Friends!

Janna and Rose-Ellen

One of my Stampin' Up! favorites, Shannon West

At opening session we learned the theme of the conference was 'My Way' and were reminded about the qualities of being a leader, we learned that we surpassed our recruiting goal, we saw our friends walk across the stage for promoting within the company by sharing what they love (check out Janna and Michelle),

 

Janna Unterzuber

Michelle Suit

we found that our demonstrator magazine Stamping' Success is being revamped and modernized (if you're considering becoming a demonstrator and want to get your own trial subscription to this magazine just let me know), we found out about a new product offering called the Simply Scoring Dagonal plate ( which will be available to customers to order on March 1st) and I WON one of the Diagonal Plates so you'll see projects with it very soon, we heard all about the MAJOR changes they are making to the catalog ( the current catalog and Idea Book will end May 30th rather than June 30th as originally planned) and then we went to lunch. YUMMY!!!!!

After lunch we had classes and breakout sessions and another trip to the demo resource center to check out all the additions to the displays. There is some amazing work here.

We headed to the Riverwalk for dinner again but this time we found out that Ty Pennington was in town to film the Christmas 2012 episode of Extreme Home Makeover. He was just a hop, skip and jump away from where we were eating so we went to see if we could get a glimpse. It wasn't nearly as crowded as I thought it would be and I took a few great photos.

Dinner on the Riverwalk

Ty Pennington

Ty Pennington

I ended the day with a quick visit to some friends that were participating in a shoebox swap (LOVE you girls!).

Kristyne, Maddy and Rose-Ellen

Thank goodness it was at my hotel because I had just enough energy to make it upstairs to my room.

Day 3: Fri. Jan 20, 2012 ~ today we started with some opening session entertainment in the form of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. Our CFO Scott showed us his latest MDS creation to highlight the financial state of the company (which is fantastic by the way). We finished up with an amazing salsa dance - Scott's Way.  Oh, and next time we chat, ask me about Scorin' with Scotty ~ Too funny! Then we were off to lunch.

The highlight of my day happened as I was at lunch! Let me back up and say that I have been Tweeting about Stampin' Up! for a while now (you can find me on twitter at @REEastman) to let people know about the company itself and my busines including my blog updates and classes. Well, during Leadership we were given a challenge that if we were tweeting with the #MyLeadership hashtag we had a chance to win a prize of going ackstage during the closing session. Well let me tell you the power of positive thinking (and tweeting with the right hashtag) because I got up that morning just positive that I was going to go backstage and meet Shelli and even asked my roommate to take photos in the afternoon session since I would be backstage. I chose my outfit, did my hair and makeup all with this in mind......and at lunchtime, I was notified that I was one of the two winners to go backstage. Talk about exciting!!!!!!!

Rose-Ellen getting notified of winning the backstage pass

I'm not sure I remember the classes that afternoon but I know I was there because I have class notes and photos to prove it. I was just so excited to go backstage. At 3:30pm I met Mary Ellen my fellow tweeter and Chad took us backstage. I was armed with my camera and phone (to tweet of course) and off I went. I can't even describe how much fun it was! I hope the photos do it justice! A HUGE Thank You to Chad for the whole backstage tour and all the details that went with it. You really made my trip!

Mary Ellen, Rich, Pam, Shelli and Rose-Ellen

Shelli and Rich watching the line monitor backstage

Shelli, Chad, Rich and Chad

Chad, Rose-Ellen and Rich

Who's dressing room?? Guess this happens when its a convention of women.

Rose-Ellen and Shelli during my backstage visit

Rose-Ellen and Scott

I have a bunch more but for some reason they are not showing up properly. I'll try and post them on my Facebook page at Stampin' Up! with Rose-Ellen .

I had one more dinner with friends left before I got back on the airplane so a if my day could get any better, I met with Janna, Cathy and her husband for cocktails,

Janna, Cathy, Rose-Ellen & Mike

watched Little Joe open up his TWO GRAMMYS (ugh, that photo won't post properly either - check out my business facebook page mentioned above).

I ended the day at dinner with great friends (and learned exactly where your finger should be while taking a photo with someone else camera). Thanks for some wonderful laughs Ladies.

Rose-Ellen, Janna, Cristena, Blair, Christyne and Diana.

Thank You Stampin' Up for a fantastic #MyLeadership Conference!