StampingChallenges -- SC1 (Anniversary Card)

Today I'm excited to share my first sketch challenge for Stamping Challenges  (SC1 -- January 4, 2013).  

It's been a very fun process getting to be a part of the Design Team. It's made up of a lively group of avid stampers, so I'm very proud to get to stamp alongside them. (Even if not physically next to them, in spirit!)

Each week they create a sketch for you to try, and the challenge is for you to interpret it the way you see those elements used -- make substitutions with your creativity!

It's open to everyone, so start stamping with us today.

Here was the sketch to work from:

Here is the card I designed:

Get the materials to make this card here:

http://cecile.stampinup.net

For this card I used

Cardstock:

- Whisper White (base)

-  Pirouette Pink

- Raspberry Ripple

Stamp Sets: 

You Are Loved

En Francais

I made this card for my anniversary to a very sweet and wonderful man. :)

He's incredibly kind, funny, handsome and super smart. I feel so lucky and happy that we treat each other with such love and respect. That doesn't always happen in life so it makes me extremely grateful. Well... so much for that.

I hope for an excellent 2013 for everyone!

Cecile's Stampin' Newsletter -- January 2013

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Hello everyone and happy 2013 so far!

I hope everyone had a great time reminiscing on the past year and ringing in the new one!

I'm thankful that I got to spend time with my loved ones, strengthen current friendships and make new ones as well. I look forward to an exciting 2013 as well.

This year, I'm taking to being a more active blogger and really showcasing more of my cards. One thing that is helping me reach that goal is that recently joined the StampingChallenges.com Design Team. Each week, they create a sketch for you to try, and the challenge is for you to interpret it the way you see those elements used; make substitutions with your creativity! I've already submitted my first card, which you can see on my blog.

In other stampy news -- the NEW Spring Catalog is available for ordering, so if you haven't seen all the new Spring items, visit my store through my site, here.

So what's the big deal about stamping this month?

For You, My Stampers:

We've got TWO SPECIAL OFFERS perfect for your Valentine's Day projects. And they're only available until January 21st.

1) From January 3-21, purchase the brand-new My Little Valentine Stamp Set, and you'll get the Sealed with Love Simply Sent kit FREE! That's a $7.95 value for FREE just for buying a new stamp set that you'll definitely want to have anyway. Use the stamp set with the Simply Sent Kit to quickly create gorgeous love notes, or go out on your own and create something as unique as you! Take a look here.

2) Just in time for your valentine creating, we're bringing you the Valentine Treat Bundle. This sweet bundle contains the all-new single stamp, Happy Valentine Heart, as well as a package of 1" x 8" cellophane bags. Use it to make treats for your child's classroom or for each of your 50 bestest friends. The possibilities are endless! See more here.

For You, My Hostesses:

Spending time with friends and family is a reward all by itself. But when you host a Stampin' Up! workshop, the rewards can be even greater! For just sharing what you already love to do with your friends, you can earn FREE Stampin' Up! products, including exclusive stamp sets -- available only to those who host workshops.

The hostess always gets her catalog for free, so contact me to schedule your workshop!

For You, The One that Wants to Make Extra Income:

The new standard Starter Kit is here! Now, every new Stampin’ Up! demonstrator can create a fully customized Starter Kit for just $99.

With the new, flexible Starter Kit, you can customize your creativity -- your way. Each kit contains a business supplies pack (valued at $65) -- things that every demonstrator needs to start business. After that, the choice is yours to put together a kit with any of our high-quality products. You can choose $125 worth of any traditional or digital supplies to create a kit valued at over $190 that ships for free! If this sounds like something you would like to do, please contact me so that I can answer all of your questions.

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New To Stamping?

It's easy -- you can start creating with only 5 basic products - stamp, ink, paper, cutting tool and adhesive.

1. Choose your stamp set or try any one of our money-saving single a la carte stamps.

2. Pick your ink pad in a color that appeals to you.

3. Select a pack of card stock or patterned paper in a color or design that strikes your fancy.

4. Find the right cutting tool for your project -- whether it's scissors, a punch or a more advanced tool.

5. Pick an adhesive to put your project together. 

Also, I'm here for you if you ever have any questions or need anything.

Thanks so much, and I'll hopefully see (or talk to) you soon!

Happy Bird-Day

I love punny things, so I just felt the need to make a fun card with one of my favorite sets. Plus I had to use a really Spring-y palette... I'm so glad that winter is just about over! (Austin has relatively mild winters, I don't know how you folks with all that snow do it!) Anyways, I thought it came out kind of cute, so I thought I'd post it. I originally was going to enter it for a contest for Papercrafts magazine, although this one ended up not making it into the bag. I'm really proud of the other cards that my best friend and I made, so wish us luck! :)

For this card I used:
Stamps - Pun Fun (SU!), Occasional Quotes (SU!)
Card stock - Crumb Cake (Base), Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery and Whisper White
DSP - Delightful Dots (SU!) -- Retired from Sale-a-Bration 2009

I {Heart} Sharing

"To love what we do and share what we love, as we help others enjoy creativity and worthwhile accomplishments. . . in this we make a difference!"

I think this is an amazing motto for a company to have, but more than anything, I think it's amazing for a company to be able to live up to that standard every day.

Crafting for me has been an extremely joyous experience, not only for motivating me to be creative and take some "me time" but also for giving me a chance to share it with friends in family, be it when I give gifts, send cards or sitting down to craft and chat together.

For those who don't know, Shelli Gardner is kind of a rock star in the stamping world. She is the one of the founders of Stampin' Up! and today she posted a video about what Stampin' Up! is all about. I know it sounds cheesy, but just watching that video really made me feel warm and fuzzy about getting to be part of that company. I felt that she was very sincere in her delivery, and best of all, everything they showed was really inspiring. (OMG all those beautiful looking craft rooms! I wish I was at home crafting right now!)

This is essentially... crack, but for geeked out stampers like me.

I just thought I'd share so other people can go "ooooh ahhhh" about some of the cute things displayed, too. :)

Sunday on Congress

My best friend, Nicole, and I decided to try out a craft fair. We made a ton of cards to sell on Congress on Sunday. It was a beautiful day, albeit a little windy.

We shared a tent with her cousin Becky who was selling one of a kind feather accessories. (Visit her at Foxy Flight)

Here we are in our tent:

We met alot of nice people and had a fun time. It wasn't super busy... I think alot of people weren't walking around because they were prepping for their SuperBowl parties. But we did get alot of nice feedback from people who thought we did a great job.

Nicole and I really liked pushing ourselves to create alot of different designs. We crafted together weekly, and when we weren't crafting together we were sending photos back and forth of what all we came up with.

I also liked how we used many of the same stamps but came out with really unique end products. It just goes to show you how you can really add your own flair to things.

I had friends visit and show support, too, which I thought was really sweet.

All in all, we'll definitely be doing it again this Sunday (February 13th). We hope to see a ton more folks come out! And for those who can't come out to Austin, I'll be posting a video tutorial to make one of the Valentine's cards that I especially liked making.

Don't forget that Sale-a-Bration is still going on -- from now until the end of March, you can earn lots of free stamp sets, ribbons, paper, buttons and digital downloads. Check out my website to see the Sale-a-Bration specials.

Video Tutorial #2: Clear Mount Stamps

Hello!

For those of you who didn't get to see my first video tutorial I wanted to let you in on why I started making them: I love, love, LOVE stamping. But more than anything, I love sharing it with people I care about. Many friends and family members stamp with me. We live all over the place though, so it's difficult to find time together. That's what spurred this idea to create video tutorials.

This is my second video, and it shows you an easy peasy way to mount your clear mount stamps once you get them.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by and check it out. :)

If there something in the Stampin' Up! catalog that you've always wondered "What does that do?" please send me a message and I'll see what I can do to help you out.

Steam Punk Invitations for my Sister

My sister got married in December in Orlando Florida, at the Disney Boardwalk. It was a very beautiful ceremony and I'm happy for her and my new brother-in-law (who I already felt like he a family member even before he was officially inducted)

She wants to have a party at their home for the folks who couldn't make it, so they are having a steam-punk themed party. Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, alternate history, and speculative fiction. Specifically, steampunk involves an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century and often Victorian era Britain -- that incorporates prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy. (Thanks Wikipedia)

So here's what I came up with:

For this card I used:
Cardstock -- Basic Gray (base), Black, Whisper White
Stamps -- En Francais (SU!) and Extreme Elements (SU!)
Inks -- Tempting Turquoise, Concord Crush, Brushed Gold