My Blog Has Moved!!!

I will not be deleting this blog, otherwise when people click on my links left in various online communities, they would be broken.  However, as of today, no new posts will be added at this site address.

PLEASE UPDATE YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONS AND BOOKMARKS TO MY BLOG ACCORDINGLY.  I WOULD LOVE TO STILL “SEE” YOU AROUND.  🙂

My new blog address is:  http://frombootstostamps.blogspot.com

See you there!!!

To see how the Butterflies were lined up…

If you are excitedly waiting to see how my butterflies were lined up – my blog has moved!!!

The new address is:  http://frombootstostamps.com

Please add this to your subscription service, change any links/bookmarks, and come on by and visit me!!!

Here is the link to the post you’re looking for over there.

Cottage Wall Squares

So this is another CASE’d card.  I changed up some of the details, but I loved the basic LO of the original, made by Stampin’_Kiwi over at SCS.  I’ve made many cards that have a central panel with four squares, but I liked the pop of having the stamped image right in the middle of them.  I added the detail of the brads and used a wider ribbon.  If you’ll look at the picture to the right, you’ll see that I added a touch of glitter to the flower.  It was a fun card to make!

Stamps: Dreams du Jour  Paper: Whisper White and Rich Razzleberry CS, Cottage Wall DSP  Ink: Basic Black classic ink, Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry markers  Accessories: 1/2″ Rich Razzleberry Polka-Dot Grosgrain ribbon, Silver Brads, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Stampin’ Addicts Sale-a-Bration Blog Hop Stop #7

Hi there!  Some of you may be joining me because you’ve been hoppin’ around the internet checking in with different Stampin’ Addicts to see some fantabulous projects created with Sale-a-Bration items.  I think that the ladies have outdone themselves once again!  The Blog Tour “officially” starts at 12:00 pm EST but most of the stops should be live at 10:00 am EST.  So, if you’re hitting some bumps, check back a little later and it should all work perfectly!!  🙂

If you’re following the Blog Tour, you just came here from stop #6 which was Sharon’s blog Created By You, where she featured Whimsical Words.  Don’t you just love her projects?!?!

My projects will be featuring Whimsical Words as well.  That’s right, you’re supposed to be seeing double – it’s featured twice on the tour!!.  This set is one of the exclusive Sale-a-Bration 2010 stamp sets that will never be seen in an Idea Book & Catalog.  That’s part of what makes Sale-a-Bration stamp sets so special.  That, and they’re FREE!!!  LOL

On Thursday I will tell you some more details about my projects below, and I will also show some additional pictures to explain them a little more thoroughly.  Make sure to check back on Thursday to see how I lined up my butterflies – it’s a really handy trick (as long as you’re using Whisper White CS as your base!!)

The picture you see to the left was my inspiration.  I wanted to make something for my daughter and I used her bedspread for the colors.  She loves what I made her, and of course my other daughter really wants one now too.  I love my girls 🙂  Now I just need a dinosaur punch to make one for my little man!  😉

As I mentioned before, check back on Thursday to see what I did to get my butterflies perfectly lined up.

Stamps: Whimsical Words (Sale-a-Bration 2010)   Paper: Whisper White CS, Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay and Rich Razzleberry Patterns DSP, Razzleberry Lemonade DSP, Sweet Pea DSP (2010 Occasions Mini Catalog)   Ink: Bermuda Bay Classic Ink   Accessories: Fire Circle Rhinestone Brad, Butterfly Punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Wooden Frame

Stamps: Whimsical Words (Sale-a-Bration 2010)   Paper: Kraft, Whisper White and Melon Mambo CS,  Sweet Pea DSP (2010 Occasions Mini Catalog), and Melon Mambo Patterns DSP, Sending Love Notes – Kisses (2010 Occasions Mini Catalog) Ink: Chocolate Chip Classic Ink   Accessories: Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die (2010 Occasions Mini Catalog), Big Shot, Scallop Edge punch, Corner Rounder punch   Chocolate Chip 5/8″ Satin Ribbon (2010 Occasions Mini Catalog), Sending Love Chocolate Chip 1/4″ Epoxy Brads (2010 Occasions Mini Catalog), Vintage Brads – Antique Brass, Paper Piercing Tool, Template and Pad, Stampin’ Dimensionals

And my last project –  a masculine card.  It is my first in a while and I am planning on sending it to my hubby during one of his “trips” overseas for the Air Force:

Stamps: Whimsical Words (2010 Sale-a-Bration)   Paper: Bashful Blue CS, Sending Love Notes – Kisses (2010 Occasions Mini Catalog), Sweet Pea DSP (2010 Occasions Mini Catalog)   Ink: Chocolate Chip Classic Ink   Accessories: Paper Piercing Tool, Template and Pad, 5/16″ Neutrals Jumbo Brad – Chocolate Chip, Stampin’ Dimensionals

If my count is right, there are EIGHTY THREE stamp sets or other items that you get to choose from for this year’s Sale-a-Bration promotion!!!  Never before has SU! offered so many choices for your free item that you earn with every $50 spent.  There’s not even a limit!!  If you spend $150 you get the regular free merchandise and stamp sets as a “hostess” – whether you hold a workshop or not – but you would also get THREE more free items from the SAB brochure!!!!

Now, to see another fabulous array of products made with one of these 83 items, go to stop #8, Cindy’s blog Heart’s Delight Cards, where she will be featuring the super cute Scallop Trim punch that you can earn for FREE!!!  You will love the different ways she has used the punch!  🙂

Enjoy the rest of the Blog Tour and have a GREAT weekend!!!

If you’re a SU! Demonstrator, and if You’re Not

To my fellow demonstrators – I would love to find you on Stampin’ Connections (SU!’s new site for demos to share and inspire each other on).  My name is my username there:  Marie McClellan. I would love to be your friend – it’s a great way for me to get those of you that stop by my blog and don’t have one of your own, or just to connect with all of you even if you do have a blog.

To everyone – I wanted to let you know that there’s another Stampin’ Addicts Blog Hop brewing….feels like Halloween after I say that, huh?  Well, actually, the hop is going to spotlight Sale-a-Bration items and I would love to see you back here when my post goes up for it!  I know it will be another fabulous showcasing of Stampin’ Up! product by some really fantastic gals!!

Sometimes….

it takes a little CASE’ing to get you going…or at least I have found that it is just what I need sometimes to get my creative juices flowing again.  I’ve been in a bit of  a creative slump lately.  Mostly because I have no time to stamp, but also because I am tired even if I do have the time.  I think it’s just the cold, dreary weather.  Anyway….I had to come up with some items for my latest round of SIM, so I turned to trusty old SCS to find some cards that inspired me because I figured if I CASE’d them then they would hopefully inspire my participants as wel as myselfl.  I told them who made each original card and I created a basic sketch of the card for them to keep in My Digital Studio.  This was the first card I made and it was a CASE of Stacey’s (slschaf771) card used the same stamp set but a different and very fabulous color combo.  I hope you like it!

Stamps:  Dreams du Jour
Paper:  Cottage Wall DSP, Old Olive CS (card base), Orchid Opulence and Whisper White CS
Ink:  Rich Razzleberry and Basic Black classic ink, Orchid Opulence and Old Olive markers
Accessories:  Scallop Edge punch, 2-Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Clear Rhinestone Brad, 5/8″ Old Olive Grosgrain ribbon, Linen Thread, Stampin Dimensionals

I’ve Decided….

After much conversation with the hubby, speaking with my brother-in-law (a partner in an accounting firm), thought and prayer, I am going to remain a demonstrator through the end of December…at least.  I’ll re-evaluate in December 2010 for 2011.   I’ve told all of my customers and my downline, so now I’m posting this here.

I have many reasons why stopping might be the right thing (one of the main ones being the PAIN that it is that I do our taxes and being in the military and adding SU! to the mix really complicates them), but I also have many reasons why I really don’t want to quit.  I’ll spare you the details.  I am going to continue to hope for and try to create situations where I might finally (after almost a year and a half!) get a local customer that doesn’t already “belong” to another demonstrator who was already in the area before we moved here.  We will be moving from Dover in 2011/2012 anyway (not sure yet exactly when) so if I can just hang on, maybe where the Air Force sends us next will be better for me and I’ll be able to have events again.  Workshops are really what makes me happy as a demo – I LOVE to teach and share stamping.

I just thought I would let you all know 🙂  Have a great weekend!

I Promised

Here are the close-ups I promised in my post for the Occasions Mini Blog Tour that you can find HERE.  Did you check out the Tour?  There were some really beautiful projects featured by the ladies, and even some blog candy giveaways.  I hope you all enjoyed it, and if you missed it, it’s never too late to go through the stops!

Here’s the close-up of me card that had a small detail from the images in the Tiny Tags stamp set in the bottom-right corner of the card:

This next picture is another view of my masked-heart card.  It is with the card completely shut as the recipient will see it, and then there is a view of the inside of the card where the heart is sponged/stamped.

Well, that’s all for today.  I just wanted you to see some more details on my cards but we were only to have 4 pictures in our Blog Tour post so I couldn’t squeeze these in 😉

Baby Gift Card Holder

I made this gift card after seeing one on SCS.  I don’t have any instructions and I didn’t have any when I made it.  I just tried to “eyeball” it.  Hope you like it!  It had a nice gift card in it for my daughter’s teacher who is expecting a baby over the holiday break.  It will be her first and since she didn’t have a registry we could find to buy her a big-ticket item, we gave her a Visa gift card to buy whatever she wants for the baby, wherever she wants.  You won’t be able to see it very well, but the little moon is stamped on Certainly Celery in Certainly Celery and then covered with the fabulous Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint from SU!.  That is Very Vanilla CS – just so you know – it’s not bad lighting 😉

I wanted to use my Nursery Necessities stamp set originally, but then I remembered I let a friend borrow it, and I don’t have any other current baby sets, so I ended up using this retired set called So Many Scallops.  I’m sure many of you remember it.

Anyway, hope you’re having a lovely day.  I’m sorry that at my best right now I can only post once a week, but it’s better than nothing, right???  🙂  Take care!!!!

Occasions Mini Catalog Blog Tour – Stop #16

Hi there!  If you’ve been making your way around the Stampin’ Addicts Occasions Mini Catalog Tour, then you might have just come to my blog from Joyce’s blog Stampin’ Central, where she used the FABULOUS new stamp set Vintage Vogue.  If you didn’t come from the previous stop, click HERE to see Joyce’s creations at stop #15.  I just love this stamp set – it was one of the ones that I made sure to pre-order (a demonstrator perk!!) and I have really enjoyed using it so far.  Don’t you just love her projects?!?!?  You can order your very own Mini Occasions Catalog products beginning January 5th – so get crackin’ on your Wish List!! 🙂

Well, I’m excited to share mine with you now.  I signed up a little late for this Tour (hush, hush).  Actually, I signed up on Wednesday afternoon, but I was super happy to see that no one had reserved the new stamp set Tiny Tags for use in the Tour.  It is a super cute stamp set and I am a sentiment hoarder, so I love it!  What I am most excited about is that on all three of my projects I think that the alignment of the sentiments turned out pretty darn good, and I DIDN’T use my Stamp-a-Ma-Jig!!!  I am very OCD about my stamping being even and lined up, and while it’s not 100% perfect (I’m not telling you where!! 😉  LOL) it’s pretty close and it’s good enough for me!  I really like these new clear-mount stamps.  It’s the same BEST IN THE INDUSTRY deeply etched rubber images with the ease of a clear block to help see where you’re stamping and to really save on storage space needed.  I hope you enjoy my projects!!

Occasions Mini Catalog item featured on this stop:  TINY TAGS stamp set

This card was made using my Movers & Shapers Bigz die along with the Heart movable die you can purchase separately.  I reverse masked my heart on the inside of the card and sponged some Rose Red in there, along with stamping the little damask image from Tiny Tags inside the heart as well.  I paper pierced all the way around the heart and you can’t see it, but underneath the ribbon too.  I used my scalloped edge punch to add a layer of Pretty in Pink CS beneath the distressed layer of Sweet Pea DSP STACK (in the Occasions Mini!!).  The sentiment is from the Tiny Tags stamp set, and the ribbon is the 5/8″ Whisper White Satin ribbon.  Have you seen that in the Occasions Mini there are NINE new colors of this GORGEOUS satin ribbon?!?!?

This second card was made using some more of the yummy Sweet Pea DSP Stack but I gave the DSP a totally different twist with my color combo.  In a few days I will share some up-close images of today’s projects so you can see the little image I stamped on this card a little more closely, but if you click on the picture it should give you a nice HUGE picture to look at 😉  It’s hard to tell but I did use my Scallop Edge punch again on the DSP, and that is another small layer of Pumpkin Pie colored DSP beneath that 5/8″ Old Olive Grosgrain ribbon.  I did some more paper piercing along the bottom right corner near the stamped image, and again I stamped my image without a Stamp-a-Ma-Jig!

This last project once again features the stamp set Tiny Tags and some scallops.  I’m loving scallops right now.  The envelope is made with the Scallop Envelope Bigz die, and I made a little flower using some of my smaller circle punches and then crinkling the CS and tearing around the edge of the circles.  Layered on top of one another, the circles are held together nicely with one of the Whisper White 5/16″ Jumbo brads.  That beautiful ribbon is the Chocolate Chip Taffeta ribbon.  Again, the DSP used is some of the Sweet Pea DSP Stack paper – isn’t it so pretty?!?!  Well, open up this cute little envelope, and this is what you get:

More paper piercing, some stamped images from Tiny Tags, and did you notice that the paper piercing is “reversed”?  I had the rough side of the holes on the top and I even did it right through my image.  I thought it made it more “interesting”.  What do you think?

Well, I hope you enjoyed my samples, and I hope that you’ll continue on your way to discover some really fabulous creations made with the fantastic new stamps and accessories available in the Occasions Mini Catalog!!!   I haven’t even told you my FAVORITE part about this Tiny Tags stamp set…..IT HAS A COORDINATING PUNCH!!!  I just didn’t use it on any of my projects because I always try to use my Blog Tour items in a way rather than the most expected.  The punch is called the Medium Jewelry Tag punch, and it’s ADORABLE!!!  You’ll have to check it out in the Mini Catalog, or check back here for some samples using it in the near future 😉

Moving on….please click HERE to go to stop #17 on the Tour – Lyssa’s blog, Song of My Heart Stampers where she is going to show you the set everyone will want to have – Messages for Mom.  We’ve all got a mom or someone who is in our life that fills that motherly role, and we all love to stamp, so it’s a must have!!! 🙂 

Thanks so much for joining me on this Stampin’ Addicts Occasions Mini Catalog Blog Tour!!!!!!!  Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

PS – Some of the participants on the Tour will have some Blog Candy for you to win!!! 🙂