Demonstrator Luncheon

What a lovely day we had at our Demonstrator luncheon on Saturday where I surprised my team with a little pampering and some fun projects!  I wanted to show them all just how much I appreciate and value them.  Melanie, Sherri, and Julie were able to attend and share in this special day!  Here are a few images of the day.

I made this basket using Painted With Love Specialty DSP, Basket Weave Embossing Folder, and Calypso Coral 1/8" Sheer Ribbon

Lovely table setting and special card I made for each Demonstrator

Cheers!

Project time

Stampin' Blends Availability and Special Gift Offer From Me

I just read an announcement from Stampin' Up! regarding the Stampin' Blends alcohol markers.  These are fabulous markers and color oh so beautifully!  As such, they are also very popular.  Many colors are currently in a backorder status.  Because of their popularity and a large delay in production and shipping time from our supplier, the markers will be made unorderable until the end of May or early June, beginning Friday, March 23rd.

Rest assured, this is a temporary situation and the markers will be returning as soon as the supply can be replenished in the warehouse.  I'm thrilled you all love the markers as much as I do! ;)   I believe the only colors currently available are:  Light and Dark Rich Razzleberry, Light and Dark Old Olive, Light and Dark Daffodil Delight, Light and Dark Night of Navy, Light and Dark Cherry Cobbler, Light Pumpkin Pie, Light Calypso Coral, and Color Lifter.  This appears to be about half of the collection.  I do not know how many of each of these colors is currently in stock, so their availability may change at any moment. 

I had planned to offer a Birthday Special beginning Friday, March 23rd, as that is my birthday!  I'm having the birthday and thought it would be fun to share a present with you!  Because these markers will temporarily be unavailable to order beginning Friday, March 23rd, at noon Mountain Time, I will begin the special gift offer now!

Anyone who places an order between March 21st and March 31st using Host Code MY3QNJNZ will receive Double Smileys on their order totals.  As a refresher, you earn one Smiley with every $50 increment (before tax and shipping) on one order.  When you collect 10 Smileys, I will buy you the stamp set of your choice (up to $30).  It's just my way of saying thank you for shopping with me.  I truly appreciate your loyalty!  If you do not currently have a Smiley Rewards tracking sheet, I will send you one upon request.  

An additional perk of ordering before March ends is that you also receive Sale-A-Bration rewards.  Be sure to visit my website to see all the newest Sale-A-Bration items.  Even more items have been added for your selection!  See them all here!

Southern Serende

This lovely card was featured at my February Cocktail & Card Event.  I liked it so much I made several to send out myself!  The base is Rich Razzleberry and the next layer is Night of Navy to give the Very Vanilla a little more pop.  Using the Southern Serenade stamp set from the Occasions Catalog, I stamped the lacy image with Crumb Cake ink (stamped off once) and then tapped a sponge with the same ink in the open spaces to create more texture.  I just love how gorgeous and realistic this lace appears!

The flowers were stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored in with Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive Stampin' Blends Markers (light and dark).  The oval was cut out with the Stitched Framelits and layered onto a Rich Razzleberry scalloped oval from the Layering Ovals Framelits.  The sentiment was stamped in Rich Razzleberry ink.  A wispy bow of Linen Thread accents the flower stem.

This card offers a lovely presentation for a Thank You or Birthday card.

Gold, Silver, or Bronze?

In honor of the recent Olympic athletes, I have created three cards to feature gold, silver or bronze.  These cards use the new Black Ice Technique created by Melissa Kerman.  I taught this cool technique in my February classes and it was a big hit!  It's hard to get the full effect of this technique in a photo, but they are absolutely breathtaking in person!  This look is created by dragging Archival Black Ink lightly across the foil, heat set, and then lightly dragging VersaMark Ink across the foil and heat embossing with Clear Embossing Powder.  None of these designs were completely original on my part.  Thanks to Melissa Kerman for all the inspiration and her helpful video!  You can see her original creations here. 

I used Sale-A-Bration stamp sets Epic Celebrations and Amazing You, along with the Waterfront stamp set from the Occasions Catalog.  All three cards were dressed up with Basic Black 3/8" Shimmer Ribbon (p. 199 Annual Catalog) which reflects the color of whichever foil it accents.  That's what I love so much about this ribbon!  It comes in four different colors and they are all gorgeous!  I also used Clear Faceted Gems to accent the silver and bronze (actually copper) cards.  On the bronze card with the Waterfront stamp set, I colored the gems with my Bronze Stampin' Blends Marker to make a rich accent to match the Copper Foil.

What is your favorite metal color?  Please leave me a comment!

Here are a few close-up shots so you can see the gorgeous texture!