More Big Shot Swaps...

Just thought I would share four more of the cards I received in the Big Shot Swap...Enjoy! I'll post the final ones tomorrow...

by Glenda Travelstead

by Heather Medford

by Betty Weisbrich

by NJJ '09 (not sure whose initials these are ~ this is all that was on the back of the card)

Thanks for stopping by ~ see you tomorrow!!

I made it back...

from Hawaii! It was such a wonderful trip! Full of good food, good friends, and gorgeous sites! There was so much to see and do ~ from shopping to touring the Island, from swimming & snorkeling to sunbathing, and, of course, whale watching! The trip was amazing...thought I'd share a few photos from my week...Enjoy!!

The resort right before sunset the first night we were there...

A hammock out on one end of the resort ~ they had lots of chairs and hammocks for relaxing in the shade while watching the water & whales...

Me and Scott at the Welcome Reception on Sunday night...

Our gifts the first night ~ a bag for each of us...

Rainbow Falls right outside of Hilo ~ we got to see this on the Circle Island Tour we took...

THE VOLCANO!!! So cool to see the steam/smoke coming out of the crater...this was also from the Circle Island Tour.

Both of these pictures were taken at the black sand beach we stopped at on the Circle Island Tour...the name of this beach is Punalu'u Black Sand Beach Park.

Isn't this box just the cutest!! It's filled with my favorite ~ SU! Make-n-take stuff ~ stamp set, ink pads, brads, Old Olive marker, etc....

Sunset right before dinner...

These are pictures of the whales that we saw on the whale watching tour we went on Thursday morning....the whales came within about 20 yards of the catamaran we were on. There was a Mama Whale, a Baby Whale, and an Escort Whale...

Our gift for the last night ~ it was waiting for us when we got back from the Luau...

And...lucky, lucky me...I was one of 20 demonstrators to win an iPod...so cool since I didn't have one ~ I had to borrow my Dad's for the trip. Embarrassing when your Dad (who is almost 60!) has one and you don't!!

But...my favorite part about the iPod is the back...

it's engraved with the SU! logo!!! Love it!!

I'll be back this week with more samples!!

Thanks for visiting!!

Big Shot Swaps ~ Post #9

by Margaret Van Vliet

by Barbara Lash

Big Shot Swaps ~ Post #8

For some reason the Post-It Note that was on this card is now missing, so I'm not sure who made it...if you know, please leave me a comment so that I can give this demonstrator credit!

by Dena Rekow

Big Shot Swaps ~ Post #7

by Missy Shipman

by Jackie Ross

Big Shot Swaps ~ Post #6

by Tami White

by Amy Czuba

Big Shot Swaps ~ Post #5

by Lisa Schmid

by Jodi Reinert

Big Shot Swaps ~ Post #4

by Cindy Senese

by Carol Nordquist

Big Shot Swaps ~ Post #3

by Debbie Moczek

by Kathy Slamar

Big Shot Swaps ~ Post #2

by Brenda Hukriede

by Mandy Gaa

Big Shot Swaps ~ Post #1

OK...Here are the first cards from the Hawaii Big Shot Swap that I participated in. I'm just going to show the cards and list the demonstrators that made them. If you have any questions on any of the cards, just leave me a comment and I'll get you an answer when I return! Enjoy...

By Lis Ljung

by Deb Valder

Packing, packing, packing...

Good evening, Everyone! I hope you've all had a great day. I've been busy packing and doing all the last minute stuff before I leave for Hawaii in the morning. I am getting so excited and cannot believe it's finally here! I wanted to show you the cards I did for the retreat last weekend. As a vendor, we had to offer at least one class. I offered two classes ~ a mini album (which I'll share after I return from Hawaii) and a card class. I had a total of 5 cards to choose from and had it set up where the attendees could pick 3 for $6...or if they had time to do more, they could add additional cards at $2 each. Here are the 5 cards that I offered...

The first 2 cards are the ones that I came up with all on my own...

The next 3 cards were ones I had found while utilizing my time on the Internet. I'll have to do my research to see if I can find names so that I can give credit to the amazing ladies that came up with these layouts! I did change up the colors and DSP that were used based on what I had on hand.

I wanted to do simple layouts so that even the beginner could feel like they were a pro! There was one lady that came to make the cards that had never made cards or stamped ~ I just love those customers that try it for the first time and I get to see their faces when they actually love doing this!! It makes this job so much fun ~ it reminds me of the first card that I made and how proud I was of it (even though to look at it now I wonder why I was so proud of it ;D)!

Over the following week I won't be here, of course ~ but I am preparing posts for the entire week showing the Big Shot Swaps that I received. All of the cards were fabulous and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did when I received them!

Enjoy ~ and I'll fill you in on everything from Hawaii when I return!

Club Project #2 from March

Afternoon, Everyone! Here is the 2nd Club Project we did this month. We focused on Watercolor Wonder Crayons and Watercolor Paper using the Aquapainter. The colors are so vibrant and it's such an easy technique to use...If you've never tried it, I highly recommend it. You can just keep blending the colors until you achieve the look you're after.

And...you can always "spiff" up the inside of your card as well....Doesn't it add so much!!

Have a great rest of the day!

Supplies:

Stamps: Just Buzzin' By

Cardstock: Good Morning Sunshine DSP, Kiwi Kiss, Summer Sun, Chocolate Chip

Ink: Stazon Jet Black, Chocolate Chip, Watercolor Paper

Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Crayons (Barely Banana, Summer Sun, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Cameo Coral, Brocade Blue, Night of Navy, Certainly Celery, Old Olive), Aquapainter, Scallop Edge punch, Photo Corners punch (for the end of the banner that has the saying on it), 3/16" Corner Rounder punch, Chocolate Chip 1" DS Grosgrain ribbon, 5/16" Neutrals Assortment Jumbo Brads, Sponges (for background of image)

Club Project #1 from March

Just wanted to share one of the projects we did in club this month. I had seen this idea from another demonstrator named Sarah (sarahanthony.typepad.com) and adapted it to make just a regular A2 card (5-1/2 X 4-1/4). I didn't change the front of the card too much ~ it looked great just the way it was!


And when you open it up....




Isn't that such a great idea for a card ~ made to include a little gift! You could substitute the flower seeds for a teabag or chocolate...

Hope you all like it as much as I did!

Supplies:
Stamps: Hugs & Wishes
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, So Saffron, Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Big Shot, Birds & Blooms Sizzlets dies, Earth Elements Brads, Button Bouquet Designer Buttons, Linen Thread, Riding Hood Red 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, 1/2" Circle punch, 3/4" Circle punch, 1" Circle punch

40/40 Chart Drawing...

Hi, everyone! I just filled up my 40/40 chart and drew a number at Random.org. Here is the number that was chosen...

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:23
Timestamp: 2009-03-17 19:01:25 UTC

#23 is Milly Z! She will get $40 of Stampin' Up! merchandise free!!!

Do you want to know how to get on my 40/40 chart?? Just place an order with me for $40 of merchandise or more (open only to US residents) and you can pick a number between 1 and 40. I'll put your name on that number and when the chart fills up, I will draw a number and that person will get $40 of free merchandise. If you order $80 or more, you will get your name on 2 numbers, and so on. Contact me today with your order! Have questions, leave me a comment and I'll answer it!

Congratulations, Milly!

My other Hawaii swap...

Good morning, all! I wanted to share my other swap for Hawaii. This is the swap in progress....




....lots and lots of pieces! But I still like the way they look...They come together to make this ~

I just love the little details on this card...from the distressed, gold edging to the Eyelet Border punch across the bottom. I thought this came together to be very "French country" looking ~ exactly what I was after...

Details: I used the Gold Encore ink to stamp En Francais on Basic Black cardstock for the background, then rubbed the Gold ink pad around the edges to define them a little more. I then stamped the main image from Le Jardin Botanique in Basic Black ink and colored using a Blender Pen and Pastels. Then I used Sahara Sand on the En Francais background stamp, stamped off, then stamped the background of the main image. Add some color spritzing with Sahara Sand to age it a little more, distress the edges, and run them through the Gold Encore ink pad. Love the aged, distressed look this created! I did the same process on the oval image of the words. Once these steps were completed, I just layered everything and attached it to a Sahara Sand base. Let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks for stopping by...

Supplies:

• Stamps: Le Jardin Botanique, En Francais
• Cardstock: Urban Oasis DSP, Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss, Sahara Sand
• Ink: Basic Black, Sahara Sand, Gold Encore
• Accessories: Cutter Kit (distressing tool), Eyelet Border punch, 1-3/8" Circle punch, 1-1/4" Circle punch, Large Oval punch, Kraft Taffeta Ribbon, Blender Pen, Stampin' Pastels