Birthday Presents for CCMC359

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Chris Slogar

I turned this week’s sketch on its side because I just kept seeing a birthday cake or a stack of presents. I decided to go with the presents.

I used papers from the Cherry on Top designer paper stack for the presents, tag, ribbon and bow. The stamps are from “Build a Birthday”. I am loving these bright colors – especially the new Watermelon Wonder and Cucumber Crush that make up the candles.

You can see all of the Thursday Challenge Team cards at Create with Connie and Mary. Please check out what these talented gals have created this week and play along!

Garden in Bloom

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Chris Slogar

I used something new here that is much less obvious than the beautiful “Garden in Bloom” stamp set. It is something that we will use over and over again for our cards – the new heavier-weight Whisper White cardstock. Woohoo!! I am so happy to have this for card bases!

It’s the beautiful stamped images that catch your eye, though, so let’s talk about “Garden in Bloom” (AC pg 119). It is a photopolymer set, so you can get beautiful results very easily with the two-step stamps. There are twenty stamps in the set. All of these stamps and steps mean a lot of stamping, and that makes this a fun set to play with.

My flowers are Mint Macaron and Blushing Bride. Each flower is actually made with three stamps – the outline in Memento Tuxedo Black and two different fillers that create the shaded centers. I stamped the fillers first, stamping off on the larger filler to achieve the lightest color in each flower. The leaves are Old Olive.

The sentiment is from “Build a Birthday”, and I used my Project Life pen to draw in the path of the bee. The bee’s color is So Saffron. I used square framelits to cut out the stamped image and Mint Macaron mat.

Thanks for stopping by!

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Weekly Deals and Paper Pumpkin Sale

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Chris Slogar

First, a reminder that the half-off Paper Pumpkin special ends tomorrow, June 10. I am showing my completed May project as an example. Each month’s kit will be different, and if you sign up for this special, your first kit will come this month.

New subscribers get 50% off their first two months of Paper Pumpkin. Click here and use the promo code SAVE50. Your final cost in the first two months will be $9.98 + tax (shipping is included).

Here are the Weekly Deals…

	Gift Card Envelope & Trims Thinlits Dies Item # 135854 Regular Price: $33.00 US/$41.00 CAN Discounted Price: $24.75 US/$30.75 CAN
	Alphabet Rotary Stamp Item # 133769 Regular Price: $15.00 US/$18.50 CAN Discounted Price: $11.25 US/$13.88 CAN
	Pansy Punch Item # 130698 Regular Price: $16.00 US/$20.00 CAN Discounted Price: $12.00 US/$15.00 CAN
	Gold Glimmer Paper Item # 133719 Regular Price: $5.00 US/$6.25 CAN Discounted Price: $3.75 US/$4.69 CAN
	Zig Zag Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Item # 133738 Regular Price: $7.50 US/$9.25 CAN Discounted Price: $5.63 US/$6.94 CAN
	Whisper White 5/8″ Satin Ribbon Item # 134549 Regular Price: $7.00 US/$8.75 CAN Discounted Price: $5.25 US/$6.56 CAN
	Silver 5/8″ Satin Ribbon Item # 134548 Regular Price: $7.00 US/$8.75 CAN Discounted Price: $5.25 US/$6.56 CAN

Build a Birthday

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Chris Slogar

I love these new bright colors for birthday cards! I started with Watermelon Wonder cardstock and Cherry on Top washi tape to make the tag. I used “Build a Birthday” to finish the sentiment and add some fun candles. The other bright new color that you can see on this card is Cucumber Crush. I used it for a mat, and I also used the new lace trim in that color.

Have a great Monday!

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Mint Macaron

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Chris Slogar

No matter how you say it, it’s a pretty color! I kept it simple here, using the new envelope paper stamped with “Flowering Flourishes” in Perfect Plum. I cut the butterfly from Gold Foil with the butterfly thinlits and embossed the greeting from the SAB set “Lotus Blossom” to match.

If you stopped by this morning, you may have noticed that I was having technical problems. Thank goodness for my 18-year-old nephew/webmaster! He knew what my web host was talking about and could fix it. I usually feel pretty able when it comes to my computer, but these situations do remind me of a funny Pinterest meme.

But just so you know, neither my web host nor my nephew made me feel like they were even thinking this. I just think it is funny, and it matches my card!

Have a great weekend!

Classic Dad

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Chris Slogar

This week’s color challenge was a challenge for me. It includes two shades of yellow, but not the bright ones that I love! I got through it though, with a little help from a Neutral that I do love to use with yellow.

I covered the entire card base with a 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ piece of Basic Gray designer series paper. These are the stripes that are part of the new Neutrals Collection paper stack. I used another new product here, too – the Triple Banner Punch. The So Saffron strip is 2″ wide, and the Hello Honey is 1″ wide. I used that great new punch to make perfect flag ends on both of them. The stamps are from “Guy Greetings”.

You can see all of the Challenge Team cards at Create with Connie and Mary. Stop back to see the entries as they come in, too, or better yet, play along!

Sprinkles Scene

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Chris Slogar

Not only is this set super-cute, it is also so fun to play with! The set is “Sprinkles of Life”, and there is a coordinating punch (YAY!), the Tree Builder punch. So let’s sum this up…cute, fun, and easy!

I started with a notecard, and I had planned to just stamp a tree and some flowers. It was going to be simple, but I couldn’t resist the accessories! The Cherry on Top Washi Tape made this scene complete. My sunshine is made from a Crushed Curry 7/8″ scallop circle, rotated and punched a second time. The center of the sun is a 1/2″ circle from Cherry on Top designer paper.

Here’s another great thing about this set – $3 from each stamp set purchase will be donated to Ronald McDonald House Charities. I can tell already that this will be a favorite!

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Weekly Deals and New Recruit Special

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Chris Slogar

The 2015-2016 Annual Catalog is here! Today is the first day to order from the 2015-2016 Annual Catalog, and it is also the last day to order from the 2014-2015 Annual Catalog or the 2015 Occasions Catalog. Today only, for items that carry over, the old prices apply, and the old Hostess Chart applies to orders over $150.

Want any two NEW sets for FREE? Today is also the first day of the New Recruit Special. New Recruits in June choose ANY two stamp sets from the new Annual Catalog to receive FREE with their Starter Kit. This could easily add an $80 value to the Starter Kit. New Recruits will receive the usual $125 worth of product of choice plus two stamp sets for $99 + tax (shipping included!) There is no obligation beyond the Starter Kit, and many people sign up simply to buy for themselves at a discount. Please contact me if you have any questions, or simply click here to sign up and choose your Starter Kit.

And now for the Weekly Deals…

	Flower Medallion Punch Item # 137417Regular Price: $16.95 US/$22.95 CANDiscounted Price: $12.71 US/$17.21 CAN
	Fun Flower Punch Item # 133785Regular Price: $16.95 US/$22.95 CANDiscounted Price: $12.71 US/$17.21 CAN
	Chalk Talk Framelits Die Item # 129983Regular Price: $24.95 US/$30.95 CANDiscounted Price: $18.71 US/$23.21 CAN
	Modern Mosaic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Item # 129984Regular Price: $7.95 US/$9.95 CANDiscounted Price: $5.96 US/$7.46 CAN
	Floral Frames Framelits Die Item # 127012Regular Price: $26.95 US/$32.95 CANDiscounted Price: $20.21 US/$24.71 CAN
	Eclectic Paper-Piercing Pack Item # 133778Regular Price: $7.95 US/$10.95 CANDiscounted Price: $5.96 US/$8.21 CAN
	Early Espresso 1/4″ Cotton Ribbon Item # 134560Regular Price: $5.95 US/$7.25 CANDiscounted Price: $4.46 US/$5.44 CAN

Have a great day!

Something New

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Chris Slogar

I can’t thank my team enough for their help this weekend with our Second Annual Rubber Stamp and Papercraft Sale! It was quite a success, with customers and teammates selling their used items for money to “trade up” to new goodies from the 2015-2016 Annual Catalog.

First a couple of pictures from the sale, and then I’ll get back to the card…

Here’s me, ready to open.

So many deals.

And Mary Jane, ready for the rush!

Today’s card uses “Bohemian Borders” and the solid stamps from “Layered Letters” along the left side. These are both new sets. I stamped the borders first in Versamark. I stamped over the borders with Bermuda Bay and Delightful Dijon. I guess you could call this technique Versamark Resist. It’s like Emboss Resist, without the embossing.

The little strip of designer paper on the tag is from the coordinating Bohemian designer series paper. These new items will be available starting tomorrow.

I heat embossed the greeting from “Lovely Amazing You”. It was one of the monthly photopolymer releases, and many of those sets are still available. They are guaranteed to be available for 6 months after their release. I’ll attach details of this particular set below.

Download (PDF, 260KB)

Thanks for stopping by on this exciting Monday – exciting because tomorrow is the day we have been waiting for…the launch of the 2015-2016 Annual Catalog! There are a few things to keep in mind if you are shopping tomorrow, June 2 :

Items from three catalogs will ALL be available on June 2 (2014-2015 Annual Catalog, 2015-2016 Annual Catalog, and 2015 Occasions Catalog)

Orders over $150 earn benefits according to the 2014-2015 Hostess Benefit Chart

Starting June 2, get TWO FREE stamp sets of your choice with your Starter Kit. The Starter Kit is $99 + tax for $125 of the products of your choice (shipping is included), and through June, you will get an additional two stamp sets!

There is no commitment beyond the Starter Kit, but you will have a discount on future purchases and be the first to order new product as it is released. You will also enjoy the perks of joining my team – monthly meetings and rewards for advancement and quarterly successes. Please contact me if you have any questions, or click “Join SU!” on the menu bar to proceed.

Have a great day!

Favorites from Painted Petals

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Chris Slogar

Two of this week’s favorites in Card Buffet were made with “Painted Petals”. This one is a mass of Rose Red and Old Olive. The background is a Whisper White mat stamped with “Hardwood” in Crumb Cake. The card below uses Wild Wasabi and Daffodil Delight along with a strip of designer paper from the coordinating Painted Blooms collection. The greeting is from the hostess set “Bloom with Hope”.

Don’t forget that Occasions Catalog items, like retiring items, are only available through June 2. Several Occasions Catalog sets are carried over, but not all. “Painted Petals” will not be in the new Annual Catalog.

Have a great weekend! If you are local, don’t forget about the Rubber Stamp/Papercraft sale tomorrow from 9a-1p. Contact me if you need details.