My Happy Place

I have moved my blog!

2008-10-19T17:32:00.000-07:00

I have been working on getting a new blog set up in Typepad. You can visit me here.
My new address is http://myhappyplace.typepad.com. I have been real nervous to switch sites because I have had to learn a new software but I think I'm ready to take the leap! I hope you'll join me there!

Bear Hugs

2008-10-18T08:27:00.000-07:00

I just love this bear from Under the Stars. He looks like he's going to attack you with a great big bear hug!

Recipe:
Stamps: Hugs and wishes, under the stars
Ink: Jetblack stazon, chocolate chip
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Kraft, Washington Apple designer paper

I've got another card made with this set I was playing with last night. I got to photograph it and edit it and I will post it tomorrow. It's a beautiful fall day here in Minnesota. Have a great day wherever you are!

Snow Flurries

2008-10-17T08:49:00.000-07:00

This was my card for the recipe challenge design team this week. The challenge was to use felt, stickles or glitter, and an office supply. The snowflake from felt flurries is the felt, I used glitter on the snowman and the office supply is the paperclip on the edge of the main image.

Recipe: Stamps:Punch Pals
Ink: Jet Black Stazon, Real Red, Baja Breeze, Old Olive
Paper: Ski Slope Designer paper, Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Old Olive, Basic Black, Riding Hood Red
Other: Word Window punch, Felt Flurries, Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon, stampin' dimensionals, designer circle brads, dazzling diamonds glitter

I have had fun creating in my craft room this week. Sam, my 8 year old came in to see what I was working on. This is the conversation:

Sam: Whatcha doin?
Me: Making cards
Sam: Is that a Christmas card?
Me: Yes
Sam: Christmas? It's not even Halloween! That's just wrong!

I wasn't about to get into the whys with him. Speaking of Halloween, it's only 2 weeks away! It lands on a Friday this year. How fun! No school or work the next day.

Thanks for stopping by!

I owlways love you

2008-10-16T08:16:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to play with this stamp set for awhile now. It's called Owl Together Now. You can view the whole set by going to my online ordering site here and clicking on the shop now button on the upper right corner of my demo website. I don't actually own this set...yet. I borrowed from my friend, Kristina, and stamped a bunch of images. I finally got to do something with it last night. I colored in the owls with my ink pads and blender pens. The flowers are from the 3 for you punch and the middles are 1/4" circle punch with crystal effects layered on them.

Recipe:
Stamps: Owl Together Now
Paper: Old Olive, Whisper White, Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip monochromatic designer paper
Ink: Jet black stazon, creamy caramel, close to cocoa, more mustard, summer sun, old olive, garden green, chocolate chip
Other: 3 for you flower punch, 1/4" circle punch, crystal effects, scallop edge punch, paper piercer

I'm off to pick up my 10 year old from a sleep over. I'll be back tomorrow with more creative projects.

Halloween Bunko Food

2008-10-15T18:51:00.001-07:00

This was where all my creative time and energy were going earlier this week. I hosted Bunko Tuesday night and I love to go all out with fun Halloween food. I bought a couple of little booklets with Halloween food ideas. I made cookie cup cauldrons, quicksand dip with breadstick hands, monster mouths, and magic wands. I had so much making all of this fun food! I also made Halloweenies with miniature wieners with crescent roll strips wrapped around it.

I have stamping projects to share tomorrow. I'm just waiting for some natural light to take the pictures.

Merry Mr. Twigster.

2008-10-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

I was playing around with a few ideas for a holiday swap I am in so I pulled out Mr. Twigster again. Warning: Once you purchase this little guy he's hard to stay away from. There is just somsething about this stamp set that I keep coming back to. This isn't the swap card I chose but I still like it. I used the Punches Three hostess level 1 stamp set for the greeting. I punched it out with the square scallop punch and then cut around actual greeting part. The snowball is from one of my favorite greeting sets called Short and Sweet. If you have been around my blog for awhile you have seen it in action many times. It comes with greetings in cursive and then little images that go with the greetings.

Recipe: Stamps: Mr. Twigster, Punches Three Level 1 hostess stamp set
Ink: Jet black Stazon, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Baja Blue\
Paper: Ski Slope Designer Paper, Whisper White, Basic Black, Baja Blue, Real Red
Other: 1/2" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, square scallop punch, real red brads, stampin' dimensionals, real red striped grosgrain ribbon, 2-way glue pen, dazzling diamonds glitter

The kids are off of school this whole week. We don't have any big plans. We have conferences for all 3 kids this week and I'm hosting Bunko. Other than that we're just hanging out. What do you have cookin' for this week?

Cup Card Tutorial

2008-10-11T10:16:00.001-07:00

I have seen these "cup" cards for years but have never sat down and made one. I received a cup card in a swap at convention from Arlene Stokes. She included instructions too so I finally decided to make one myself. We made this in my card club last Monday and they loved it! I thought this would make a great tutorial for all of you to try!

The first thing I did was cut apart a plastic cup and cut a portion of it for my template. Next I smooshed down the template over cardstock vellum and traced my cup. It must be cardstock vellum and not just regular vellum because regular vellum will be too flimsy.

After I traced my pattern onto cardstock vellum I scored the sides about 1/4 inch on each long side. Then I sponged some riding hood red ink on the bottom of the cup. You may notice a different set of hands in the photos. I ran out of hands to take pictures and show the steps so my 8 year old, Sam, stepped in to help. Notice his pokemon tatoos in one of the photos.

Back to the tutorial... I placed a post-it note about 3/4" down from the top of the cup. This is to give me a nice cut off line for the ink(the beverage in the cup). I then sponged tangerine tango ink above the riding hood red ink. The ink takes a little bit to dry on the cardstock ink versus regular cardstock so be careful of smearing.

Then I put a strip of tacky strip at the very top rim of the cup. I sprinkled chunky essentials white glitter at the top. Now we're ready to attach our cup to the card.

Fold over the edges of the scored lines of the cup. Place 3 glue dots along each edge. Place the left edge of the cup down making sure to place it so there is the natural angle of the cup. Next. Adhere the second edge allowing the 3 dimensional part of the cup to pop out on the card.

That's it! Now just finish your card as desired. Pretty easy really. I used the tart and tangy set with my card. It seemed the perfect go together. I also used the Celebrate Everything greeting set. Let me know if you have any questions about this tutorial. Have a great day!

More Sizzix Projects

2008-10-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple more projects Kristina and I made with our Sizzix this week. The santa and the reindeer were showed by Shelli at convention. We finally got around to making them. I colored the reindeer nose with crystal effects. Both Santa and the reindeer are made with the Stampin' Up! exclusive Sizzix pennant die. The santa's hat trim was made with a strip of whisper white cardstock and the scallop edge punch. We sponged around the white edges with sahara sand ink.

Thanks for stopping by! What are your weekend plans? We are going out to dinner with my husband's side of the family to celebrate our niece's 25th birthday at Buca. This is going to be my first time ever eating at Buca. I have always heard it's good. Then the whole family is going to take part in a Minnesota Heart study at the Univ of Minnesota on Saturday. Fun times! We get paid to do it so more stamps for me!

More fun projects!

2008-10-09T06:31:00.001-07:00

I've been having fun cooking up monsters in my laboratory! I made these fun boxes with Kristina the other day with my Big Shot. These are a CASE from the fabulous Cambria. You can see a tutorial on her blog here. These were made with the Stampin' Up! exclusive Sizzix top note die and Stampin' Up! punches. These were so much fun to make! I feel like a kid playing with toys when I'm creating fun projects like this.

Have a great day and I'll be back tomorrow with some more fun projects!

Halloween Monster Faces

2008-10-08T10:34:00.001-07:00

Aren't these Halloween monster cards the cutest? I CASE'd the idea for these from Gretchen Barron and from rochellee on Splitcoaststampers. I tweaked some of them again and made them my own.

I'm offering these as a mom and me class next Wednesday, Oct.15 from 1:00 to 3:00. We're off the whole week here in Minnesota so I thought this would be a fun class to do with your kids. The cost is just $10 and you can get it to go if you can't make the class. Contact me at krhopperstad@juno.com if you're interested.

Crazy Cupcakes

2008-10-08T07:11:00.001-07:00

Good morning! This was the second card for my stamp club on Monday night. Stampin' Up! is having a sale on some of their cupcake stamp sets this month so it gave me another excuse(like I needed one!) to use my Crazy for Cupcakes stamp set. For this card I stamped on watercolor paper with jetblack stazon ink. I like to use stazon so there wont be any bleeding when coloring. I then colored the image in with Stampin' Write markers. When coloring with our markers on the watercolor paper you don't get streaking. I think I may have mentioned that before.

The greeting on the circle piece is the 1/2 circle "happy birthday to you" greeting. I found the idea to stamp it twice to make a circle from Nancy's fabulous card here! What a great tip! After coloring the image in I used my 2-way glue pen on the frosting of the cupcake and sprinkled dazzling diamonds glitter over the top. I paper pierced the So Saffron panel and the scallop circle.

This card is based on this sketch from Beate's weekend sketch challenge. Another fabulous sketch to try!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Lots of promotions

2008-10-07T07:07:00.000-07:00

This is coming a few days late but there are lots of Stampin' Up! promotions to tell you about. First up is World Card Making Day special: World Card Making Day is a holiday for card makers around the world to celebrate the creativity of handmade cards and the personal connection that they create between friends and family (see the World Card Making Day page).

Celebrated the first Saturday in October, World Card Making Day endeavors to bring together card makers around the world at a time that is traditionally the busiest time of year for card- and gift-making.

Stampin' Up! Celebrates World Card Making Day

Stampin' Up! is excited to celebrate this holiday with you and your customers the week of October 4-11. During this week, we are offering 20 percent off Simply Sent card kits and Simply Sent Card Elements. Hurry - this special ends soon!

Next up is Stampin' Up!'s birthday promotion. October is the official month that Stampin' Up! began. 20 years ago this wonderful company opened their doors. To celebrate Stampin' Up!s birthday there is a special on some of the birthday stamp sets. Purchase $20 in regular catalog merchandise and then you pick out any or all of these stamp sets for 20 percent off! This offer only lasts through October 31.

Time is also running out on the $99 starter kits. You have until October 11 to sign up as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and get a mini starter kit for only $99! Sign up is easy - just go to my website here to sign up!

To order any of these specials you can go to my online ordering site here or contact me at krhopperstad@juno.com.

Stamp club card

2008-10-07T06:58:00.000-07:00

This is one of the cards from stamp club last night. It is called faux(ok fake!)dry embossing. It's a pretty simple technique. There is a great tutorial for it on Lisa Somerville's blog here.

I used the Halloween Frights stamp set from the new Holiday mini. There are so many wonderful stamps, ribbons, papers, and other embellishments in this mini. This is my favorite one of all time!

Back to the card. I did the faux embossing on the Halloween images and then punched them out with my 1" circle punch and popped them up on stampin' dimensionals.

Recipe:
Stamps: Halloween Frights
Ink: Craft White, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, More Mustard, Basic Black
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss, More Mustard, Tangerine Tango
Other: 1" circle punch, stampin' dimensionals, stamp-a-ma-jig, tangerine tango ribbon, scallop edge punch

I love my stamp club nights. This group is such a fun group of ladies. We can have fun and stamp and laugh and have a great time!

After any great party is the clean up. I left my mess from stamp club out in my basement last night. I need to go clean up because Kristina is coming over to stamp today. We're going to do some fun stuff with the Big Shot. Stay tuned.

Whooo loves you?

2008-10-06T07:03:00.001-07:00

Whew! I had a busy weekend. I taught my Get Punchy punch class Friday night, had soccer tournaments for both boys on Saturday, went to play cards with our card group Saturday night, and prepped for stamp club on Sunday. I got my cards done for stamp club and even had a little extra time to play with some stamps I haven't touched yet. This card is made with the Love Owlways stamp set that's in the new Holiday mini. You can order from this now too! I colored in the owl with markers. There is chunky red glitter over the heart and I googly eyes too. This was based on a sketch by Lauren Meader.

After stamp club tonight I will show you the projects we are doing tonight. I don't want to spoil the surprise for my stamp clubbers in case they are taking a peek in here today.

2008-10-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

I had a little time last night to play with my Halloween stamps. I used Tamara's sketch 57 for the layout. I used the Halloween Frights stamp set from the Holiday mini and Tasty Sweet from the big catalog. It was pretty easy straight stamping. For the greeting I inked it up with the Tango Tangerine ink pad and then went over every other letter with my Basic Black Stampin' Write marker.

Did you know the Holiday mini is now available? You can order from it now! Click here to see the mini or click on the link on the right side of my blog under Stampin' Up! links.

We had our family photo taken for our Church directory yesterday. Why is it so hard to get everyone to dress nice, comb their hair and smile? I think they came out pretty good in the end though.

I have my punch art class Friday night. There's still room if you live locally and want to come. Just shoot me an e-mail at krhopperstad@juno.com

Saturday it's all about soccer. Both of my boys have soccer tournaments. Go Burnsville Blaze! Then my dh and I will be playing cards with our every other month card club. What are your weekend plans?

Clearly Spooky!

2008-10-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

This is my card for the recipe challenge on Tamara's sketch blog this week. I hosted the challenge this time and it was using something clear, ribbon, and something to give dimension.

I used a clear transparency over my stamped image and attached it with brads. I also used a clear button over the ghostly greetings designer paper. I used crystal effects over the image and attached the button. The funny thing is I broke my own rule and didn't use ribbon! Oops! How did I not use ribbon? It's not like I don't love it and own drawers full.

Hop on over to Tamara's blog to see what the other design team members came up with. Give it a try yourself and post your link to your project under the comments on Tamara's blog. We'd love to see what you come up with!

Christmas Ivy

2008-09-30T06:13:00.001-07:00

I got a chance to do Beate's weekend sketch challenge again. I think that's two weeks in a row! I used three different strips of designer paper from the the Ski Slope designer paper pack that is in the holiday mini catalog. You can order from this tomorrow! Whoohoo! I sewed around the panels of dp with my real sewing machine. I don't do this very often but I love the results! The stamp is from the Holiday Trinkets stamp set in the big catalog. I love it because it's just simple stamping and the images are cute. The berries are covered with crystal effects to give them a sheen. The image is punched out with the 1 3/4" circle punch and backed with the bottom of the basket from the Sizzix Stampin' Up! exclusive baskets and blooms die cut. It fits the 1 3/4" circle perfectly!

Recipe:
Stamps: Holiday Trinkets
Ink: Old Olive, Real Red
Paper: Ski Slope designer paper, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Old Olive
Other: Crystal Effects, Sizzix baskets and blooms die, stampin' dimensionals, sewing machine

I went to see my mom yesterday. Sunday was her 77th birthday. I don't visit her often enough. She only lives 1 1/2 hours away from me. She has 10 children, 27 grandchildren, and 3 great grandchildren. It means so much to her when her family visits her. I vow to do it more often.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!

More punch art

2008-09-27T06:59:00.001-07:00

I saw variations of this owl floating around Splitcoaststampers. Here's my version. I sent this in as a swap card for my up-up-upline's meeting and it was on a board for a card contest there. It won first prize! Yippee! I hope this inspires you. It's made with many of Stampin' Up!'s wonderful punches.

Recipe:
Stamps: Heard from the Heart
Ink: Chocolate chip
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Whisper White, Basic Clack, Kiwi Kiss, More Mustard, Tango Tangerine, Chocolate chip monochromatic paper pack
Other: Top note sizzix die(I love this thing!), riding hood red ribbon, boho blossom punch, silver brads, 1/4" circle punch, 1/2" circle punch, 3/4" circle punch, round tab punch, circle scallop punch, boho blossom punch

Get Punchy!

2008-09-25T09:42:00.000-07:00

In honor of World Card Making day I am holding a Get Punchy! punch art class. These are the 5 cards we will be making. I scoured blogland and Splitcoaststampers for ideas and then tweaked them to come up with this set of 5 cards. I'm thrilled with how they turned out! Thanks for all of the inspiration. I can't remember where all of the different ideas came from but if it was you - thank you!

The class will be held on Friday, October 3. There are two sessions: 1:00-3:00 or 7:00 - 9:00 pm. Normally I would price a class like this higher but in honor of World Card making day it's for the bargain price of just $10! If you are in Twin Cities area of Minnesota and are interested in attending one of the sessions you can contact me at krhopperstad@juno.com for all of the details.

Thanks for stopping by!

Owl notebooks from Target!

2008-09-23T14:07:00.001-07:00

I found these cute owl notebooks in the Target dollar spot. The one on the right is the original. The one on the left is my altered version. I just added some googly eyes and ribbon on the spirals. I used to not be a big fan of owls but with cute stuff like this out there they are really growing on me!

I've been especially busy lately so not a lot of time for chitchat. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Halloween stamp camp

2008-09-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

These are the 5 projects we will be making at my Halloween stamp camp on October 12. There is a Boo Banner, Halloween mini album, test tube with test tube holder, Halloween patties with treat topper, and a Halloween card. The test tube holder is from Lisa Somerville and the idea for the halloween treats with topper came from Angie Kennedy Juda. If you are local to the Twin Cities of Minnesota and are interested in attending you can contact me at krhopperstad@juno.com for more information.

A crowd of snowmen

2008-09-21T10:31:00.001-07:00

This card was based on Beate's WSC58. The stamp set is called Holiday Lineup. I love the group of snowmen all squished together. The paper is called Ski Slope and will be in the holiday mini and the felt snowflake is from the new holiday mini coming out Oct.1. My color combo came directly from the paper pack. That's one of the things I LOVE about Stampin' Up! It just makes it easy to coordinate everything!

Recipe:
Stamps: Holiday Lineup
Ink: Jetblack stazon, riding hood red, baja breeze, old olive, chocolate chip
Paper: Baja Breeze, Riding Hood red, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Ski Slope designer paper
Other: Little Felt Flurries, circle designer brads

It's another gorgeous day here in Minnesota. We are having a late summer I guess. Have a great Sunday!

Halloween Decor Elements

2008-09-20T08:38:00.001-07:00

Are you a Halloween nut like me? Then you are going to want to get yourself some of the Spooky Spider Decor Elements from Stampin' Up! He comes in 3 sizes for a variety of uses. Put him on your wall, on a candy jar, on a shadow box frame, etc. This is only available through Oct.31, 2008. Contact me or your local demonstrator to order yours. You can even go on my website here and use the online ordering system. Just click on the "shop now" button in the right hand corner.

You can view the full sized flyer here.

Stampin' Up! and Country Living

2008-09-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

Stampin' Up! and Country Living magazine are teaming up this fall to offer you a fantastic deal! Stampin' Up! is going to have a huge holiday spread in the December 2008 issue of Country Living. You wont want to miss it!

Subscribe to a year of Country Living for only $12 and get a FREE mini stamp kit! For just $1 an issue, you'll receive great craft projects, articles on collecting, makeover features, recipes and entertaining ideas-all delivered to your home each month. PLUS, Country Living will include the exclusive Stampin' Up! mini stamp kit. Use it to design note cards, menus and anything else that inspires you! Click here to subscribe.

Spookable Fun!

2008-09-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

I have been playing with my Halloween stamps and papers trying to figure out which projects I want to do at my upcoming Halloween stamp camp. These are a few of the things I made. The first one is a Halloween sketch card based on Beate's Weekend Sketch#57. This is a new stamp set that will be in the Holiday mini October 1.

The Halloween mini album is based off of an album I made as a make-n-take at scrapfest. Super fun and easy!

The third project is a CASE from a treat box made by Angie. Go check out her awesome tutorial for it here.

I have my 30 Scrappin' card class tonight. Tomorrow it's more playing with Halloween stuff for my upcoming Halloween stamp camp. It's dirty work but someone has to do it. hehehe.

Fall Once Upon a Barn Sale

2008-09-17T14:17:00.000-07:00

My sisters and I are having a sale! Check it out:

Take two sisters with a passion for everything old and add a dash of whimsy and charm. That’s called Once Upon a Barn, a collection of furniture, vintage linens, retired Stampin' Up! stamps, hand-stamped cards, journals, garden art, cool Yule and Halloween decorations.

Check out our friendly jackos and vintage Christmas decorations. Dig through our boxes to find an unusual curiosity or two. We’ve got fine china and rusty old tools. From jars of buttons and thread to benches and tables, we’ve got a bit of everything. We’ve gathered our friends and they’ve gathered their treasures. So come and see what we’ve put together.

Check it out for yourself at 310 Wayside Road W. in Hopkins, Minn. We’re just a half block off Hwy. 7 at the junction of Fifth Avenue.

Hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 18; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 19; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20.

Questions? Need directions? Call Therese at (612) 867-5095 or e-mail Geri at geri.parlin@gmail.com or Kathleen at krhopperstad@juno.com.

The Silly Side

2008-09-16T13:57:00.000-07:00

This is a page I did for the recipe design team on Tamara's sketch blog. We had to do a monochromatic color scheme, brads, and scallops. These are pictures from Father's day. I did the formal Father's day page spread earlier and these are the silly pictures from that day.

Recipe:
Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Short Order Alphabet
Ink: Pacific Point
Paper: Bashful Blue, Pacific Point
Other: Silver brads, scallop edge punch

Halloween Frights

2008-09-15T19:41:00.001-07:00

This card took about 10 minutes from concept to completion. I love simple cards! I used a new set from the upcoming holiday mini called Halloween Frights. So fun! You can order this set as of October 1. Check out the new Stampin' Up! online ordering. You can go here and click on the "shop now" button on the upper right hand corner.

Recipe:
Stamps: Halloween Frights
Ink: Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Whisper White, Kraft, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Eggplant Envy
Other: 1" circle punch, square scallop punch, stampin'dimensionals, tangerine tango ribbon

mini scrapbooks

2008-09-14T17:46:00.000-07:00

These are little mini scrapbooks I made as gifts for my stamp club ladies. Beate decorated little books like this a few years back and I copied her idea. The books came from Walmart a few years back. The bear is from the Under the Stars set which I just love! It's also on special for 15 percent off through this month so it's pretty hard to resist!

I just got back from Scrapfest at Mall of America. I'm dog tired but it feels good to be home in my jammies and relaxing. I had a great time and learned lots of fun stuff that I think I will be able to incorporate into my Stampin' Up! business using Stampin' Up! product. It was so much fun to hang out with the girls,do lots of creative projects, and shop! I'll share some of my ideas in the coming weeks.

Back 2 School page spread

2008-09-13T10:12:00.000-07:00

This is the Back to School page spread for my scrapbook club this month. The apples are from the Tart and Tangy stamp set, the title block is the Stampin' Up! exclusive top note sizzix die, the clip board is made from corner rounded the creamy caramel cardstock, taking a piece of whisper white and punching the left edge with the spiral edge punch and drawing notebook lines with a marker and ruler. The top is the tag punch in basic gray and silver brads.

It's a rainy Saturday. We had soccer games for both boys in this lovely weather. Now maybe I can get down to some stamping!

Online Ordering Now Available!

2008-09-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

Stampin' Up! has now officially rolled out online ordering! I couldn't be more excited!!! You can now order 24/7 from my Stampin' Up! demonstrator website. You can go here and it will take you to my demonstrator website homepage. Just click on the shop now button in the upper right hand corner and it will take you there! This link is also on the right hand side of my blog under Stampin' Up! links. Go ahead and bookmark it so you can come back anytime you want to.

Here's all you need to do to get started:
1) Go to my demonstrator website: website
2)Click on the "shop now" button on the upper right hand corner of the homepage
3)Click on the customer login to set up your personal shopping account.
4) You're ready to shop!

Now if you are scrapbooking with your pals and you need some supplies, hop online and shop!

Planning a birthday party? Hop online and order your supplies!

Making baby announcements and need some supplies? Hop online and order!

You get the idea. The online ordering is waiting for you when you are ready.

And if you spend $150 or more you are eligible for Stampin' Rewards(hostess benefits).

The first 5 customers who place an online order with me will receive a free goodie from me!

Happy shopping!

Sunny Mr. Twigster

2008-09-11T06:17:00.000-07:00

This cute little guy is from a new stamp set called Mr. Twigster. He will be in the Holiday mini catalog coming out October 1. It's a good one! ;) I first spotted that yummy ribbon at the Stampin' Up! headquarters when going on a tour at convention. I couldn't wait to get my hands on it! It's just as yummy as I had hoped! Mr. Twigster is punched out with the 1 3/4" circle punch and backed with the sunburst otherwise known as the bottom of the basket in the Stampin' Up! Sizzix Baskets and Blooms exclusive die. It's the perfect size for the circle punch.

Recipe:
Stamps: Mr. Twigster, Short and Sweet
Ink: Jetblack Stazon, Craft White, Riding Hood Red, Summer Sun, Kiwi Kiss
Paper: Kraft, Whisper White, More Mustard dp from the Level 1 prints paper pack
Other: Sunburst from the Baskets and Blooms Sizzix die cut, 1 3/4" circle punch, ribbon from the Holiday mini, stampin' dimensionals

Cupcakes and polka dots

2008-09-10T05:45:00.001-07:00

What an irresistable combination! This was one of the cards we did at stamp club on Monday. The cupcake is embossed with black embossing powder and colored in with reinkers. It gives more intense color so the black embossing helps balance that.

Recipe:
Stamps: Crazy for cupcakes
Ink: Versamark, Pirouette Pink reinker, Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip reinker
Paper: Pirouette Pink, Riding Hood Red, Bella Rose Designer Paper, whisper White, Chocolate Chip
Other: Scallop edge punch, ticket corner punch, pretty in pink brads, stampin dimensionals, 1 3/8" circle punch, key tag punch

It's another crazy week! I had club on Monday, a party last night, I'm doing a garage sale over the next couple of days with my neighbor and Scrapfest at Mall of America on Friday and the weekend. My Holiday mini pre-order comes today. I hope to play with it tonight if I'm not too worn out!

Getting Sketchy

2008-09-08T11:33:00.000-07:00

I had a little bit of time to play today so I finally got to make Beate's latest weekend sketch card. I'm so glad she's back to blogging and posting her challenges! For this card I wanted to use the new In colors because I really love them! The stamp is from the set A Flower For All Seasons. I got this one for free at convention. I punched the image out with the 1 3/8" square punch. I wanted to back it with the square scallop punch but it's too small. I saw some people making rectangles by placing 2 square scallops together. I decided to make a bigger square scallop using this same method. I punched 4 square scallops and moved each piece over until is was big enough to border my square punch. I really love the result! It takes on the thickness of chipboard so it has a little more presence.

Recipe:
Stamps: A Flower For All Seasons
Ink: Jet black stazon, kiwi kiss, tango tangerine, riding hood red, basic grey, baja blue, summer sun
Paper: Baja Blue, Haiku designer paper, whisper white, riding hood red, bella rose designer paper
Other: 1 3/8" square punch, square scallop punch, black gingham ribbon, aquapainter, stampin' dimensionals

Our bbq was very fun! It started to rain after 7:00 but it didn't seem to deter folks. We had lots of tables set up in our 3 car garage so that's where most people hung out. There were people inside and kids running around outside in the rain. We had well over 50 people here. It's exhausting but fun! I spent most of Sunday just recovering.

I have stamp club tonight. I'll be back tomorrow with one of the cards we made in club.

Bright Birthday

2008-09-06T07:25:00.000-07:00

This cupcake card is a little bright. I really like the new Pacific Point In color but I'm still trying to find the color combos using it that I like the best. I used re-inkers to color in the cupcake so the color is especially intense. The sprinkles are silver and clear beads attached with crystal effects.

We are having our annual end of summer bbq today. We have been doing this for 18 years- since we got married. It's grown a bit over the years. Now the kids invite their friends too so we will have lots of neighbors, family, and friends here this afternoon. We still have a lot to do to get ready. We have 2 soccer games to fit in today too so it's going to be a busy one today. At least the weather is cooperating for us today. It's supposed to be sunny and 70. I'll take it!

Happy stamping!

Good Works

2008-09-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is a stamp set called Inspired by Nature. I received it at convention and it's not one I would have purchased on my own. I really like it though. I wanted the flowers to be the Riding Hood Red because I love this color. Stampin' Up! doesn't sell markers in the In colors so I tried to mostly ink up the flower images. Then I went back with a wet wipe and removed the red ink from the rest of the image and colored the stems and the middle of the flowers with my Chocolate Chip and Old Olive Stampin' write markers. The sentiment comes in the set along with the tall grass and another sentiment, "Live with Passion".

I'm off to get my haircut this morning. I was waiting until the kids went back to school so I didn't have to work around their schedules. It feels weird having them back in school but I'm sure I'll adjust!

New backpacks for school!

2008-09-03T09:42:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was the first day of school for my kids. They all headed off to new schools. I couldn't get Sam, my youngest, to loosen up for pictures. I had to start talking about farts before I could get him to loosen up and smile. If you have little boys you know what I'm talking about. Notice the difference in the second picture with his brother. Yah, there's the smile now! My daughter Rebecca started 9th grade at a new school. It's a junior high that has 7-9th so not off to high school yet. She leaves the house every morning with wet hair so I had to wait until evening to take a picture of her.

Aren't these little back packs the cutest? I made one for each of the boys' new teachers. Gotta start a new school out on the right foot! I stumbled upon these on splitcoast. It was posted by Becky of Inking Idaho. She has a tutorial on her blog - go check it out!

They all had great 1st days of school. I couldn't get a whole lot out of them. Don't you hate that? I wanted lots of details and they weren't willing to share it all.

I have lots more cooking on the stampin' burner to show you. Stay tuned!

30 Scrappin' Good cards!

2008-09-02T13:53:00.001-07:00

It's time for another one of my 30 Scrappin' Good cards class! In this class you will make 30 cards from 1/2 Simplly Scrappin' kit! You will be amazed and how quick and easy these go together! If you are local to the Twin Cities area of Minnesota I hope you will come to my class! Cost is just $30 for 30 cards! Registration and payment must be received no later than September 9 so I have time to order the kits. Contact me at krhopperstad@juno.com for more information. I am also offering this class to go. If you can't make my class or don't live locally cost will be $30 plus shipping.

New challenge

2008-09-02T12:14:00.001-07:00

Today is the first day of a new challenge for me. I am on the recipe design team for Tamara's sketch blog! I'm very excited for this opportunity! I like a good challenge when it comes to stamping. For this first challenge we needed to include three elements: chipboards, 3+ designer papers, and circles. My cupcake card fulfilled all three of these elements. I used the new Sweet Always designer papers from Stampin' Up!. I acutally used 4 of the patterned paper from this pack. The glittered heart is my chipboard element and the circles are the circles the heart is attached to. This was a lot of fun to complete. Check back every week for my latest recipe challenge for Tamara's design team.

I got all three kids off of school today. It felt very strange having each of them going to new schools. None of them seemed very nervous but I was! I can't wait to hear about their first day!

Trinkets

2008-08-31T19:12:00.001-07:00

I did a little playing today. I love this new Stampin' Up! stamp set, holiday trinkets. It's pure and simple stamping. I live the stylized images. I stamped each image on a whisper white square and then stamped again on scrap whisper white. I then cut around each image and popped them up on stampin' dimensionals. The designer paper is from the Washington Apple paper pack.

Corie asked to see the scrapbook pages Nicholas did yesterday. I decided to start him out on 6 x 6 pages because they are quick and simple. One photo per page usually. He picked out the colors with a little guidance from mom. He picked out his own title and stamped it all himself. He sponged around the edges of the first page. This was my kids' first flight ever so they were pretty excited!

We all went out to dinner as a family last night at Axel's Bonfire. I love this restaurant. Such yummy food and decor! This was the first time we took the whole family there. We usually don't do anything more adventurous than Perkins with the boys but we decided to splurge and everyone had a great time! A little funny story-
My husband wore his really rust button down shirt. It turns out the staff at Bonfire have new uniforms and they are really rust button down shirts! A pretty random color if you ask me. My husband looked liked he worked there! LOL! I told him to go up to the bar and ask for drinks like he was a waiter. hehehe.

It's the last day of summer tomorrow for my kids. Then it's back to school and back to routines. I think we are all ready for it. Happy Labor Day!

Scrappin' and Stampin'

2008-08-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

I started a new guy out in scrapbooking today. My son, Nicholas, has been wanting to learn how to scrapbook. When he wants to I'm busy, and when I have time he's not interested. We finally were in sync today. He decided he wanted to make a scrapbook of our California vacation that we took last fall. We kept it pretty simple. He mostly stamped the title on each page, photo matted, and just a few embellishments. After 3 pages he was done. I told him we could pick it up another time. Who knows when that will be next with school starting Tuesday.

I spent a chunk of today cleaning up my craft room. It's not nearly done but I did make a dent. I'm trying to get more organized. My old 12 x 12 paper storage is no longer working for me so I ordered some 12 x 12 paper trays online. I am waiting on them. In the meantime, my whole room could use an overhaul. Things are piling up everywhere. My goal is to get it all neat and tidy so I can finally take a picture of my craft room to post for everyone. My husband custom built countertops, cabinets, and shelving for me. He finished it just before Christmas and then I had to sort of shove everything back in because we were hosting Christmas for my large family. It's never been organized and clean since. It seems I'm always working on something and the mess begins again.

I was also working on some of my class on the go kits to mail out on Tuesday. I did manage to make a new card too. This one uses a technique I haven't used for awhile called spotlighting. I stamped the tableau of terror folks on whisper white cardstock and punched a portion of them out with my 1 3/4" circle punch. I then stamped them again on my Big shot Top Note die. I cut on the perforation on the white one and backed it with a black one. Then I punched holes on each side with my slot punch and threaded the 5/8" wide olive grosgrain ribbon through. The Really Rust cardstock is stamped with my Sanded background stamp and mounted on basic black cardstock.

We stayed in town for this Labor Day weekend so I'm planning on doing some more stamping tomorrow. Stop back to see what I have been up to!

blog awards

2008-08-28T07:19:00.000-07:00

I received a couple of blog awards recently. The first is the Brillante blog award from Shawn of What's Happening in My Life. She's a fellow Minnesotan so you gotta love that! I'm supposed to tag 7 people but I received this award awhile back from Marilyn so I'm not going to tag anyone.

The second award is I Love your blog award from Julie of Special Craft Mom of 4 Julie is a super sweet blogging friend and as you may be able to tell a mom of four and a crafter like me. I appreciate this sward Julie! Right back at ya!

I'm supposed to nominate 7 other blogs. I can't pick just 7 so I'm not even going to try. I love getting these awards but I hate picking nominees. It's hard to keep track of who already received the award, who you want to give the awards to, to make sure you don't leave anyone out, maybe someone doesn't want to get tagged..... you get the picture!

Thanks ladies and have a great day!

Eastern Branch

2008-08-27T17:14:00.000-07:00

I CASED(copy and share everthing) from Paula of Inking Addict. Here is her original card. I changed some of the colors and added a little library clip to the edge of the ovals. This is going to be one of the make-n-takes for the party tomorrow night. I hope they like it!

I'm still here!

2008-08-27T13:10:00.000-07:00

I haven't had time to post anything new for a bit. I taught my stationary set class on Monday, I'm getting ready for a party tomorrow night and I took my daughter to the Minnesota State Fair yesterday. I have also done some stamping but I can't show you yet. I will it with you soon though.

Speaking of the Minnesota State Fair, it was a great time! The weather was gorgeous-sunny, low humidity and not too hot. My neighbor Diane and I took our 14 year old daughters, Taylor and Rebecca to the State Fair and then to the concert, Paramour. They had 3 opening acts before they came on around 9:15. It was general admission standing. Ugh! We got into the concert about 5:45. Our feet and legs ached so bad after walking all day and then standing all night. It was worth it though, to see how excited our daughters were to see their favorite band.

I hope to be back later with something new to show you.

Party Daisies

2008-08-22T07:15:00.001-07:00

I used a sketch from Julie of the Verve Visual design team. There is a challenge going on on SCS with their design team on Thursdays. I moved the circle around on the sketch because I needed it on the other side. I used a color combo from the the Color Combo document. You can find it on the right side of my blog under Stampin' Up! links. I once again used a piece from the Stampin' Up! exclusive baskets and blooms Sizzix die cut. This will be available to everyone on Sept.2. The sunburst looking piece is the bottom of the basket.

Recipe:
Stamps: Upsy Daisy
Ink: Tangerine Tango, Not Quite Navy
Paper: Whisper White, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Prints pack level 1 hostess
Other: Silver brads, 1 3/4" circle punch, baskets and blooms sizzix die cut, stampin' dimensionals

I'm going to try to get the kids in for haircuts today. That's one of my last tasks on the back to school list. Only week left of summer vacation! They are all off to new schools. I think we are all looking forward to the change.

Playing with new stamps!

2008-08-20T15:25:00.001-07:00

I had a little bit of time to play with my new stamps today. I started with a couple of sketches from the Poetic Artistry blog. I did a little housekeeping on my blog today and created a list of a few blogs where you can find card and scrapbook sketches. There is a link to all of the past sketches from Poetic Artistry on it. Their sketches are fabulous!

Halloween card recipe:
Stamps: Tasty Sweet
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun, Old Olive and Basic Black stampin' write markers
Paper: Basic Grey, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie,Ghostly Greetings designer paper
Other: 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, circle scallop punch, stampin' dimensionals, earth elements buttons

Christmas Card recipe:
Stamps: Holiday Trinkets, Sincere Saluations
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Basic Black, Taken with Teal
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Black, Taken with Teal
Other: 1/2" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 3/4" circle punch, Baskets and Blooms Big Shot die cut, stampin' dimensionals, crystal effects, dazzling diamonds glitter, Kiwi Kiss ribbon

I took my boys shopping for hoodies for school today. Just when I think I'm done school shopping there's something more. My 10 year old thinks he's too old(and too cool) for Children's Place. That makes me sad cuz their clothes are cute and affordable. He's a little dude too so he definitely still fits in their clothes. I think he just doesn't like their name - Children's Place. LOL.

We only have 1 1/2 weeks of summer left. I'm not sure where it went. We still need to get back to school haircuts and a few odds and ends but otherwise, we are pretty well ready for school.
Other:

Cupcake Birthday

2008-08-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

Most of you know that I'm cuckoo for cupcakes. That's why when I saw this new stamp set in the Fall/Winter Stampin' Up! catalog it was first on my list! This is a card for my friend, Kristina. Her birthday is actually tomorrow. She shares it with her daughter, Mallory, so she often doesn't get a celebration of her own. We surprised her early yesterday with a little party at her house.

Recipe:
Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes(that's me!)
Ink: Jetblack Stazon,tempting turqoise, regal rose, certainly celery
Paper: Sweet Always designer paper, Pink Pirouette, Whisper white, chocolate chip
Other: ticket corner punch, stampin' dimensionals, bling from Michaels, dazzling diamonds glitter

Halloween Bunch

2008-08-18T08:50:00.000-07:00

As soon as I saw this group of spooks in the new Stampin' Up! Fall/Winter catty I knew I had to have them. They were on my first order that came last week. I stamped them with Jetblack Stazon on watercolor paper and colored them in with my Stampin' Write markers. Do you see how there are no streaks when you color the markers on watercolor paper?

Recipe:
Stamps: Tableau of Terror, Arachnophobia wheel
Ink: Jetblack Stazon
Paper: Basic Grey, watercolor paper, old olive, eggplant envy
Other: Photo corner punch, paper piercer, silver brads, stampin' dimensionals, markers

Stationery Boxes

2008-08-17T13:27:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure who originally came up with these stationery boxes but aren't these the cutest? I am teaching a class on these on Monday, August 25. If you are interested in coming e-mail me at krhopperstad@juno.com. If you can't make it that night or you don't live local I am offering this class on the go. You can choose either the fruit stationery set or the cupcake stationery set. The cost is $25.

I used the Tart and Tangy on the first set. I am so happy this fruit set and the picnic paper made the new catalog! The second stationery set was made with the crazy for cupcakes stamp set and the Sweet Always paper. A match made in heaven!

Thanks for stopping by! I have been too busy to blog. I have been watching the Olympics. So inspiring! I always get a kick out of watching these finely honed athletes accomplish unthinkable feats while I'm plopped comfy on my couch! LOL!
I had a two day Stampin' Up! open house, a scrapbook club, and back to school stuff with the kids. Life's busy! Stampin' is near and dear to my heart so I will never be away for too long!

Father's Day Scrapbook Page

2008-08-13T15:12:00.000-07:00

I used Tamara's Sketch challenge 57 to make this Father's day scrapbook page. This is for my scrapbook club. I added a second page so we can have a page spread. I used my new Bigshot diecutting system to make the journaling piece. It's a Stampin' Up! exclusive Sizzix die. I have just started to use my new Big Shot. This is going to be such fun to play with!

Recipe:
Stamps: Wanted, Short Order Alphabet
Ink: Basic Black craft ink, Chocolate Chip craft ink
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa
Other: Big Shot label die, arrow punch, crop-a-dile, jumbo pewter eyelets, natural hemp, stampin' dimensionals, word window punch

Cute Convention Swaps!

2008-08-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

These are some of the card swaps I received at convention. Didn't I get some good ones?! The first two are from a very talented demonstrator named Laura Mellinger. She was in a Wow card swap with me. I love her work! I don't have names on the rest of the 3. Sorry I can't name you. If it's your card let me know so I can credit you! Aren't those window cards adorable? They are made with a new hostess set. The last card is a clear card. Isn't it gorgeous?!

A funny story about the sock monkey card. I was waiting in line at convention to use the restroom. I saw a lady swap the sock monkey card with someone else in the bathroom(we demonstrators will swap just about anywhere!). I LOVED this sock monkey card so I hurried back to my table and came back with my swaps. I stood(stalked) outside of the bathroom ready to swap for the sock monkey card. I stopped one lady coming out of the bathroom and asked her to swap. Oops! Wrong woman. Well, of course I swapped anyway. I started getting worried thinking I missed her or I wouldn't recognize her. Then a few more ladies came out and I found the lady with the sock monkey card. I was so pleased to get one of these cards! She probably thought I was a little crazy! That's the lengths us crazy demonstrator ladies will go through to track down a card we love!

Thanks for stopping by today. Today is the second day of my New Catalog Open House. I had a great day yesterday and look forward to seeing some more ladies tonight! The catalog is so awesome - I'm very proud to show it off!

Sunshine Butterflies

2008-08-09T15:46:00.000-07:00

Flight of the Butterfly - that's what this stamp set is called. It sounds a little dramatic for a bunch of pretty butterflies flitting about doesn't it? LOL! I really like how this color combo looks together. So happy and light! This is going to be one of the make-n-takes at my open house tomorrow. If you want more information click here.

Recipe:
Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly
Ink: Tango Tangerine, So Saffron, Kiwi Kiss, Pumpkin Pie
Paper: Whisper White, So Saffron, Kiwi Kiss, Tango Tangerine
Other: scallop edge punch, ticket corner punch, 1"circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, pumpkin pie grosgrain ribbon, stampin' dimensionals

Pick a Tulip

2008-08-06T16:47:00.000-07:00

At the Stampin' Up! convention there are always tons and tons of boards with card and scrapbook samples that were sent in by other demonstrators. I saw a tulip card made with the pick a petal stamp set. I couldn't wait to get home and make my version of the pick a tulip card and here it is! The bottom of the tulip has the Snow Blossom punch peeking out in kiwi kiss cardstock.

Recipe:
Stamps: Pick a Petal, Short and Sweet
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Riding Hood Red, Basic Black
Paper: Bella Rose designer paper, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Riding Hood Red, Tempting Turquoise
Other: Silver brads, photo corner punch, paper piercer, Snow Blossom punch, scallop edge punch, small and large oval punches, stampin' dimensionals

New stuff

2008-08-06T16:36:00.001-07:00

This was sketch challenge 55 from Tamara's sketch blog. I used one of the new stamp sets, Flight of the Butterfly, that I got at convention. It is two step stamping but the polka dots were really easy to line up with the body of the butterfly. The shadow was stamped in Kiwi Kiss and the dots were stamped in Pacific Point. I really wanted the coordinating ribbon. That will be on my first order next week.

Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point
Paper: Kraft, Whisper White, Bella Rose designer paper, Pacific Point
Other: Vanilla taffeta ribbon, stampin' dimensionals

Blog Awards

2008-08-04T17:55:00.001-07:00

I was awarded a couple of blog awards by some good blogging friends. The first one is the Brillante Blog Award that was given to me by Marilyn. Marilyn is a very upbeat and positive blogger with some cute projects to boot! Check out her blog here.

The second award is from Gabby of Confessions of a Stamper. It's the BFF Gold Card. Gabby is a sassy, funny, and very talented blogger. Go check her stuff out here.

Thank you so much for these awards ladies. I am supposed to tag some others but I think these have made the rounds of blogland. I'm a little late in getting these posted. I really do appreciate the tags Marilyn and Gabby! I may be forgetting another tag but with convention and all I have lost track. I'm sorry if I have forgotten someone.

Have a wonderful stamping kinda day!

Convention Make-n-Takes

2008-08-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

These were the make-n-takes we did at the Stampin' Up! convention. My favorite is the pink and brown notebox with the big pink ribbon flower. I really liked all of them though. They were fun to make!

I'm trying to settle back into a routine at home. There are so many new things happening with Stampin' Up! Our new online ordering system will be introduced this fall. It will make placing orders even more convenient. Our home decor elements is now available. Click on the link on the right hand side of my blog under Stampin' Up! links to take a peek. And the big news at convention was that Stampin' Up! will start to carry the Sizzix Big shot this September! We will have the die cutting machine along with lots of dies and some that are Stampin' Up! exclusives! I couldn't be more excited about this!!!

I'm baaaaack!

2008-08-03T18:52:00.000-07:00

Hi Ladies! Did you miss me? I hope my postings while I was gone kept you happy. Convention was an absolute blast! I had so much fun and feel sooooo inspired! I will be posting our make-n-take projects tomorrow. This is a picture of me on stage for my 5 year anniversary. I'm the one on the left. On the right is Diana. Hi Diana! She came to convention alone and set by me and my downline the first day. We invited her to have lunch with us and then we all went on our way to classes. We didn't find Diana again during convention. I met a couple of good blogging friends while at convention. I got to meet Alex and Angie! I randomly ran into both ladies during convention. It was so fun to meet you ladies face-to-face!!!

I have lots of news to share with you about convention but that will have to wait until tomorrow. I just flew in today and I have been spending the rest of today with my family, unpacking, doing laundry and going through my swaps. It was a lot of fun at convention but it is so good to be back home. I'll check in with you tomorrow.

Another sketch challenge

2008-08-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

This was based on another sketch challenge. Right now I can't remember from where.
The base is Kraft cardstock. I used Fabulous Flowers and the Bella Rose Designer paper. This is a square 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 card. I don't do this size very often but it's fun to do every now and then.

2008-08-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

This card is based off of this sketch by Jenn of KiyomiKrafts. I just loved her owl card and knew it would make a good card design. The papers are from the Bella Rose designer paper. I hope you aren't getting too sick of this paper. I think it's just gorgeous! The cupcakes are from the Holiday Blitz stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by today. I'm coming home from convention today. I can't wait to share more new stuff with you!!! Don't forget about my New Catalog Open House Next weekend. See here for the details.

It's a challenge

2008-08-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Last week I got kind of sick of mass producing swap cards for convention so I took some time out to try a bunch of challenge cards. It's fun to try different sketches and other challenges out.

Did you know if you color with markers on watercolor paper it wont leave coloring lines? This is another color combo I got from the new Stampin' Up! In Color color combination. Check it out on the right hand side of my blog under Stampin' Up! links.

Recipe:
Stamps: Doodle This, Zoofari, Celebrate Everything
Ink: Jet Black Stazon, Not Quite Navy
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Kiwi Kiss, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip,Watercolor Paper
Other: Felt Flowers, Boho Blossom Punch, 1/4" circle punch, silver brads, 5/8" wide chocolate chip grosgrain ribbon, scallop edge punch

2008-07-31T07:00:00.000-07:00

This card was for last week's SCS Sketch Challenge#186. I used a color combo from the new 2008/2009 Stampin' Up! In color combos. You can check it out on the right hand side of my blog under Stampin' Up! links.

Recipe:
Stamps: Doodle This(or is it Doodle That?), Sincere Salutations
Ink: Basic Black, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Baja Breeze, Bella Rose Designer Paper, Pirouette Pink, Chocolate Chip
Other: Pretty in Pink Brads, Scallop Edge Punch, chocolate chip ribbon

Cupcake Box Bag

2008-07-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

Isn't this the cutest thing? This is a box bag. You can find the tutorial for it here. I have seen these around on other blogs and finally got to try it myself. These are so much fun. I wanted to make mine with a cupcake theme. The designer paper is from Heidi Grace. The trim and base is chocolate chip cardstock. The cupcakes are from the stamp set, Holiday Blitz. I just got this stamp set. I am really loving this cupcake! This would make great gift packaging for a special little treat. I'm thinking of coming up with a whole cupcake ensemble for a class. What do you think?

This is the registration day for convention. By now I have received the new Stampin' Up! Fall/Winter catalog. I'm sure I'm drooling heavily over it. I'll be sure to post some hightlights at the end of the week. I'll be back tomorrow with another card.

Poetic Artistry Sketch

2008-07-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

I based this card off a sketch on the Poetic Artistry blog.
I loved the sketch and used some of the new In Colors. I got this color combo from the new Stampin' Up! In Color combo. You can click on it on the right hand side of my blog under Stampin' Up! links.

Recipe:
Stamps: A Beautiful Thing
Ink: Pacific Point, Tango Tangerine, Summer Sun, Chocolate Chip
Paper: So Saffron, Whisper White textured cardstock, Chocolate Chip, Pacific Point, Tango Tangerine
Other: Chocolate Chip wide grosgrain ribbon, oval punches, corner rounder, stampin' dimensionals

I am flying out to SLC today for the Stampin' Up! convention. Whoohoo! I don't want you to miss me too much while I'm gone so I have scheduled a post each day with new projects for you to see. I will have more to share when I get back on Sunday. Have a great week!

Quick Fresh Cuts card

2008-07-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

This was a quick and cute 3 x 3 card I did at my up-up-upline's house, Karen Titus. I think it gives the Fresh Cuts stamp set a whole new look when done in these fun bright colors.

Stamps: Fresh Cuts
Ink: Old Olive, More Mustard, Ruby Red
Paper: Whisper White
Other: Earth Elements buttons

New Catalog Open House!!!

2008-07-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Join me on Sunday, August 10 or Monday, August 11 for my New Catalogue Open House. I will be giving away the new catalogue for FREE to anyone who has purchased $25 from me in the last 6 months and who RSVP’s by Friday, August 8!(regularly sells for $9.95). For those who haven’t purchased $25 in the last 6 months I will be selling catalogs for $5 with a $5 gift certificate towards a purchase in the Fall/Winter catalog. These are my special open house prices. I will also be selling my retired stamp sets and accessories, hand-stamped cards, and other goodies. You can get a look at some new stamps, papers, and accessories. I will have a make-n-take or two as well. I will be displaying the goodies I made at convention too! Fun stuff!!! You can order from this new catalogue starting August 11.

Date and Time: Sunday, August 10 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Or
Monday, August 11 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Stop in anytime between the stated times above.

Please RSVP to Kathleen at 952-226-2190 or krhopperstad@juno.com to let me know if you are coming.

Great Swaps Girls challenge card

2008-07-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

There was a challenge on the GreatSwapsGirls website to CASE(copy and share everything) card from the featured stamper, arinstamps. I opened her gallery and was immediately drawn to the first card in her gallery here.

The rules are that you are supposed to change a few things about the card. I used a different stamp set, colors and paper. I don't think you can see very well but I stitched around the kiwi background paper. I actually got out my real sewing machine for this one! It was kind of fun. Stamping the Celebrate at top was kind of a leap of faith. I was almost done with the card so if it stamped crooked I would have had to redo a big chunk of it. Fortunately, for me it stamped straight. It's really not hard to line up that Celebrate. That's one of the things I love about this greeting set. The "your day" smeared when I stamped it directly on the designer paper. I decided to fix it by stamping and then punching out with the word window punch. I cut off one edge and adhered a ruby red brad. I like the way this turned out better so it was a happy accident!

Recipe:
Stamps: Stemming From, Celebrate Everything
Ink: Old Olive, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Bella Rose designer paper, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Other: Oval punches, chocolate chip taffeta ribbon, stampin' dimensionals, uniball white gel pen, 1/2" circle punch, ruby red brad, word window punch

Challenge Card

2008-07-25T16:24:00.000-07:00

I combined two challenges for this card. One was the Dare to Get Dirty Challenge from Julia on SCS. Her challenge was to use stitching on a card. The other was a sketch challenge from Tamara's blog. It was a circle card.

I cut the circle out with my Coluzzle circle cutter. I folded the cardstock in half and then cut it on the fold. I added a strip of Bella Rose designer paper and the layered flower.

Recipe:
Stamps: Short and Sweet
Ink: Craft White
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Bella Rose designer paper
Other: Winter White embossing powder, 5-petal flower punch, circle scallop punch, 1/2" circle punch

Sam's page

2008-07-24T06:01:00.001-07:00

This is the final interview page I completed at my Scrapbooking weekend. This is for my youngest, Sam. His pictures reflect his personality. He likes to be the center of attention and do silly things. I used a transparency over the page. The overlay had the black circle with the words, "Look at me". Certainly appropriate for my Sam. The base of the page is Old Olive. Sam's favorite color is green. Sam's name and age were done with whatever die cut system the retreat place had on hand. The toughest part was getting the photos to fit right and look good inside the circle. I attached the overlay with basic black brads in the corners.

I'm still plugging away at convention swaps. I have been doing a little shopping for some new things to wear at convention. It's always fun to have new things to wear when you're enjoying a fun stamping vacation with the girls!

Nick at 9

2008-07-23T07:15:00.001-07:00

This was another page I completed at my scrapbooking weekend. I don't know what that strange beam of light on his head is. lol. It must be the flash on my camera. It's not there on the actual page I promise! The letters are from whatever diecut system the retreat had on hand. I picked up the designer paper at Hobby Lobby on the way to the retreat. Part of the fun of getting away is shopping along the way, right? The cardstock base Chocolate Chip with Kraft cardstock behind the dp. I spiral punched one edge of the kraft cardstock and the journaling block. I put chocolate chip satin ribbon along the bottom edge of the dp too.

I'm caught up with last year's interview pages of my children. Now I can start on their current ages.

I leave for Stampin' Up!'s convention on Tuesday. Can you believe it? It's coming so fast! It's the 20 year anniversary for Stampin' Up! so it ought to be extra special. I'm rooming with two of my downline, Kelly and Nancy. I'm finishing up swaps. Packing happens the night before or even the day of. I just can't seem to pack any earlier than that.

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a good one!

Scrapbook Weekend

2008-07-22T07:36:00.000-07:00

I got to go away for a free scrapbook weekend this past weekend. My friend, Kristina, won a weekend for four at this new place in the little town of Granada, MN. The place was a converted church and it was beautiful. It was spacious and had all of the amenities you could hope for. I didn't get near the amount of things done that I wanted to but do we ever?

This is one of the pages I completed this weekend. I have a boatload of prima flowers that I left at home. I had to get creative with what was at hand. I created the layered flowers using a combination of punches, diecuts, bling and brads. I was pleased with how they turned out. The second picture is a close up of the layered flowers. The green piece is a cardstock overlay by Creative Imaginations. The lettering is from whatever diecut system the scrapbook retreat had on hand. The ribbon is this yummy grosgrain ribbon from a set called Sassy tubular ribbon from the Coconut Scrapbook shop. The journaling piece has the edge punched with the new Stampin' Up! scallop edge punch.

Retiring Accessories List

2008-07-21T07:23:00.000-07:00

The retiring accessory list just came out from Stampin' Up! today. Items on the list are while supplies last and they go fast! If there are some things you want on this list contact me or your local demonstrator ASAP. There are a select number of these items that are 25 percent off while supplies last. They are the ones with the * after the product description.

Item# Product Description
109200 Accents & Elements Build A Flower

110718 Accents & Elements Lucky Star

110719 Accents & Elements Messenger
103158 Acrylic Graph & Grid

108638 Card Stock 12 X 12 In Color

108642 Card Stock 8-1/2 X 11 Blue Bayou

108643 Card Stock 8-1/2 X 11 Groovy Guava
108637 Card Stock 8-1/2 X 11 In Color
108640 Card Stock 8-1/2 X 11 River Rock
108639 Card Stock 8-1/2 X 11 Soft Sky
108641 Card Stock 8-1/2 X 11 Wild Wasabi
108644 Card Stock 8-1/2 X 11 Purely Pomegranate
103975 Card Stock Brushed Copper
108694 Card Stock Textured 12 X 12 In Color
107312 Cards & Envelopes Gift Whisper White
107292 Cards & Envelopes Greeting Whisper White
109116 Notes & Envelopes Long Notes
109118 Notes & Envelopes Love Notes
109117 Notes & Envelopes Pocket Notes*
110729 Notes & Envelopes Scallop Notes
109119 Notes & Envelopes Gift Notes
109018 Classic Stampin' Ink Blue Bayou
109019 Classic Stampin' Ink Groovy Guava
109017 Classic Stampin' Ink Purely Pomegranate
109016 Classic Stampin' Ink River Rock
109015 Classic Stampin' Ink Soft Sky
109020 Classic Stampin' Ink Wild Wasabi
109013 Classic Stampin' Pad Blue Bayou
109012 Classic Stampin' Pad Groovy Guava
109011 Classic Stampin' Pad Purely Pomegranate
109010 Classic Stampin' Pad River Rock
109009 Classic Stampin' Pad Soft Sky
109014 Classic Stampin' Pad Wild Wasabi
110751 Designer Series Paper Azure*
110749 Designer Series Paper Berry Bliss
109154 Designer Series Paper Cutie Pie
110699 Designer Series Paper East Coast Prep*
109160 Designer Series Paper Fall Flowers
109159 Designer Series Paper Flowers For You*
110697 Designer Series Paper Ginger Blossom
110479 Designer Series Paper Jersey Shore*
109151 Designer Series Paper Le Jardin
110748 Designer Series Paper Notebook*
110750 Designer Series Paper Olive Press
109153 Designer Series Paper Porcelain Prints*
109175 Designer Series Paper Prints Almost Amethyst*
109177 Designer Series Paper Prints Always Artichoke
110696 Designer Series Paper Prints Bali Breeze
109173 Designer Series Paper Prints Blue Bayou
109174 Designer Series Paper Prints Brilliant Blue
109178 Designer Series Paper Prints Certainly Celery
109169 Designer Series Paper Prints Close to Cocoa*
109168 Designer Series Paper Prints Groovy Guava*
109171 Designer Series Paper Prints Lovely Lilac
109172 Designer Series Paper Prints More Mustard
109176 Designer Series Paper Prints Old Olive
109170 Designer Series Paper Prints Pumpkin Pie
109164 Designer Series Paper Prints River Rock*
109167 Designer Series Paper Prints Rose Red
109166 Designer Series Paper Prints So Saffron
109165 Designer Series Paper Prints Soft Sky
109163 Designer Series Paper Prints Tempting Turquoise
110698 Designer Series Paper Prints Spring Break
110273 Designer Series Paper Prints Spring Fling*
110271 Designer Series Paper Prints Spring Silhouettes
110272 Designer Series Paper Prints Western Sky
107299 Envelope Confetti Cream Medium
105320 Eyelets Basic
100375 Eyelets Bold Brights
100381 Eyelets Earth Elements
107233 Eyelets Fresh Favorites I
107234 Eyelets Fresh Favorites II
105316 Eyelets Rich Regals
100378 Eyelets Soft Subtles
105515 Hodgepodge Hardware Pewter
105531 Hodgepodge Hardware Antique Brass
105532 Hodgepodge Hardware Aged Copper
101120 Metallic Art Pencils
107307 On Board Accents
109181 On Board Blossoms & Basic
109179 On Board Ginormous Pieces
107306 On Board Simon Lower
102678 Paper Mulberry White
109227 Punch Box Three For You
102686 Punch Handheld Rectangle
100271 Pure Color Pencils
109060 Ribbon Double-Stitched Blue Bayou Not Available
109063 Ribbon Double-Stitched Groovy Guava
109061 Ribbon Double-Stitched Purely Pomegranate Not Available
109062 Ribbon Double-Stitched River Rock*
109059 Ribbon Double-Stitched Soft Sky
109058 Ribbon Double-Stitched Wild Wasabi
109189 Ribbon Originals Beachfront*
109187 Ribbon Originals District*
109188 Ribbon Originals Fairy Tale
109185 Ribbon Originals Jersey*
109184 Ribbon Originals Sherbert
109186 Ribbon Originals Theater
110716 Ribbon Striped Grosgrain Wild Wasabi*
110281 Rub-Ons Cherished Memories*
110284 Rub-Ons Eastern Elegance*
110285 Rub-Ons Urban West*
110557 Simply Scrappin' Boho Blend
109610 Simply Scrappin' Confetti
110572 Simply Scrappin' Crew Kids Boy
110567 Simply Scrappin' Crew Kids Girl
109597 Simply Scrappin' Home Again
110562 Simply Scrappin' Rose Cottage
109648 Simply Scrappin' Special Delivery Boy
109627 Simply Scrappin' Special Delivery Girl
110587 Simply Scrappin' Summer Days
110577 Simply Scrappin' Tie The Knot
111184 Simply Sent Friendly Notes
109228 Simply Sent Simple Delights
109229 Simply Sent Three Thoughts
106662 Stampin'Around Wheel Daisy Field
107561 Stampin'Around Wheel Garden Annuals
109681 Stampin'Around Wheel Good Dog
109678 Stampin'Around Wheel Kisses
107482 Stampin'Around Wheel Lily Pad
109680 Stampin'Around Wheel Meow
109677 Stampin'Around Wheel Mistletoe
106610 Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel Basics Outline
107467 Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel Birthday
109571 Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel Dilly Dally Baby
109570 Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel Dilly Dally Friends
109569 Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel Dilly Dally Party
108423 Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel Leaves A La Carte
107468 Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel Nature Hike
108980 Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel Petals
107464 Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel Rough Texture
111261 Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel Spunky Spots
109554 Stampin' Color Index Labels
109553 Stampin' Color Index Labels (French)
106694 Stampin' Kids Markers
101399 Stipple Brushes
102673 Zig Painty

*Items are 25% off and part of our discounted retiring accessories promotion.

10 minute card

2008-07-21T06:49:00.000-07:00

This was a card we made at my 10/10 card class last week. The idea behind the class is to make 10 different cards that take about 10 minutes or so each. Simpler cards but still cute! Well, I precut all of the paper so it makes it easier for my customers to make them in 10 minutes - lol! I saw the idea for the flower on SCS. You punch out the circle scallop punch, then cut slits in it and fluff it a little bit to look like petals. The middle of the flower is stamped with the polka dot circle from Polka Dots and Petals. This set makes great backgrounds and middles of flowers and sadly, it is retiring from the spring/summer catalog. You only have a couple of weeks to order it so hurry!

Recipe:
Stamps: Polka dots and Petals, Sincere Saluations
Ink: Taken with Teal craft ink
Paper: Old Olive, Apricot Appeal, Bali Breeze designer paper, pumpkin pie
Other: Circle scallop punch, 3/4" circle punch, irridescent ice embossing powder

Wow card swap

2008-07-20T06:43:00.000-07:00

Another card swap I joined for convention is a Wow card swap organized by my friend, Chris Fuhs. I love how she says you can sign up for it, show up to swap, and you can do as many or as few as you want. These were the best cards I received at convention last year. This is one of the cards I'm going to make for this year's wow card swap. Hopefully, it's wow enough.

Stamps: Stemming From, Hugs and Wishes
Ink: Robin Hood Red, Old Olive, Kiwi Kiss, Taken with Teal
Paper: Bella Rose designer paper, Robin Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Other: Photo corner punch, scallop edge punch, boho blossom punch, silver brad, stampin' dimensionals, dazzling diamonds glitter

What was I thinking?!

2008-07-19T06:37:00.000-07:00

This card is for the SCS dinner card swap at convention. I made one card and was pleased with it. Then I started in on making 46 of them for the swap and realized just how putzy this card is. This will be my 5th convention and I have done many, many swaps over the years. You would think I would learn but apparently I haven't. Good thing I had the time while the family was camping last weekend. I finished them all and even typed out the recipes for them and put them each in a clear envelope so these are good to go!

Recipe:
Stamps: Big Bold Birthday, Polka dot background
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Taken with Teal, Basic Black, Tango Tangerine
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Taken with Teal, Basic Black, Whisper White, Tango Tangerine
Other: Boho blossom punch, 1/4" circle punch, silver brads, key tag punch, black gingham ribbon

Thanks for stopping by. I'll be back tomorrow with more.

Teen/Male convention swap

2008-07-19T06:30:00.000-07:00

It always seems like the hardest cards to make are the ones for men and teen boys. I joined a swap at convention specifically for these types of cards. This is my swap for it. I'm excited to see what I will get back! The star spins. I found this idea on Dawn's blog. Such a fun twist!

Recipe:
Stamps: Wanted, Celebrate Everything
Ink: Baha Breeze, Robin Hood Red, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Kraft, Baha Breeze, Whisper White, chocolate chip
Other: Small and large star punch, stampin' dimensionals

I find myself using this greeting set, Celebrate Everything, on all of my cards lately. I love the big clear font on the celebrate and then the smaller words you can use with it. Check in tomorrow for more convention swaps!

Convention swaps

2008-07-18T07:11:00.000-07:00

I have been really busy lately working on convention swaps. It's now less than two weeks away so it's crunch time - yikes! I'm actually in pretty good shape with my swaps. This card is for a swap I joined for baby/child. I was inspired by this card by Valerie. I made it in to an invitation size card, changed the colors, and added the cupcake on the bug instead of the party hat.

Recipe:
Stamps: Bugs and Kisses, Celebrate Everything
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Robin Hood Red, Pacific Blue, Tango Tangerine, Basic Black
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Basic Black, Pacific Blue
Other: spiral punch, stampin' dimensionals, Real red striped grosgrain ribbon

I am off to a scrapbook weekend with some friends. My friend, Kristina, won a free weekend for 4! You can't beat a free scrapbooking weekend! I'll probably work on some convention swaps but plan on scrapbooking too.

I will be posting more convention swaps over the weekend. I love it when I can set up my posts to post when I'm not here. teehee!

Mother's day page

2008-07-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

This was the page I made for the 12 x 12 page swap at the MN SCS Summer Stamp Fest this past weekend. I stamped the background with the Fabulous Flowers stamp set. The flower on the side of the photo mat is stamped 3 times, cut out in layers and then crystal effects on it. I used the new Tango Tangerine and Kiwi Kiss teamed with Taken with Teal. Taken with Teal goes great with the new In colors! I also used the new scallop edge punch under the photo mat. I don't usually make pages with just one photo because I have a lot more photos to scrap than that. I'm going to put a 5 x 7 photo of me and my kids on mother's day. I'm going to do a second facing page that will have shots of me with individual pictures of each of my children. With this bright page I printed them in black and white. I'm waiting for them to come in the mail. I think it's going to look great!

cupcake shoebox swap

2008-07-15T06:10:00.000-07:00

This was my shoebox swap card for the Minnesota SCS Summer Stamp Fest this past weekend. We had a Stampin' Up! only shoebox swap and an Anything Goes shoebox swap. We were a little short in the Anything Goes swap so I joined it. It gave me a chance to play with my non-Stampin' Up! goodies. The stamps are *gasp* acrylic stamps. I'm not a big fan of acrylics but the cupcake images were so cute I made an exception and bought them. What was the most fun was to play with my cuttlebug. I haven't used it in so long.

Tomorrow I'll show you the 12 x 12 page I made for the 12 x 12 swap. It's using some of the new Stampin' Up! in colors. I'm loving those!

My family gets back from camping today. They have been gone since Sunday and I have been home alone. I have hardly left the house. I have been stamping my convention swaps. I have made great progress there.

I had a scare yesterday while I was home alone. The house was all locked and I was down the basement stamping, talking on the phone and watching tv. All of a sudden I heard footsteps upstairs. I told my girlfriend to stay on the line. I had a moment of panic. I decided to call up the stairs ' "Hellooooooo". It turns out it was my nephew, Michael. He stopped in for a fan to bring to my dh. They were camping just an hour away and Michael was driving there for the day. I guess he rang the doorbell but I can't hear it down the basement. My husband gave him the garage code and that is how he got in. Whew! There was some heart pounding moments.

Cupcake Ensemble

2008-07-13T10:03:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was the MN SCS Summer Stamp Fest. Twenty-five ladies from around Minnesota came to gather for some stamping, demos, doorprizes, and socializing. It was a fun day but it went way too fast! I brought my camera but do you know I forgot to take one photo? I organized the get together and I guess I was too busy announcing door prizes, and making sure things were running smoothly.

One of the optional things to sign up for was a gift exchange. You bring a gift and then your name goes into the drawing to receive someone else's gift. This is what I created for the exchange. Surprise, surprise, it's a cupcake ensemble! I used designer paper from a set of papers I received for my birthday from my friend Kristina. I have been saving these papers for awhile and finally decided to cut into them. There's a tin decorated with the papers a cupcake purse with M&M's in them, a post-it note keychain, covered notebad, a tictac holder, and a jumbo clothespin. It was a lot of fun to put together.

Over the next couple of days I'll post my 12 x 12 page swap and the shoebox card swap I made for the event. Right now I have to get busy cranking out a bunch of swaps for the Stampin' Up! convention coming up in a few short weeks!

Stationary Boxes

2008-07-09T16:13:00.001-07:00

I made these stationary boxes for the non-card gift exchange I'm in at our MN SCS Summer Stamp Fest on Saturday. There are 10 of us swapping so I made 9 of these up. The original measurements I had were for a box that holds full-sized cards. The finished box was pretty big. I decided I wanted to make a box that would hold 3 x 3 cards so I adjusted this to be a 3x3 card holder. Here are the directions for making it. Just a little caveat before I get started. I'm not a techie so I don't know how to make my directions line up with the pictures of the steps. If anyone has some tips on this I would appreciate it. I hope this all comes out making sense even if my words don't line up with the pictures.

Supplies: 3 sheets of 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock
1 sheet of designer paper
4 pieces of ribbon measuring 15" in length each
score blade
cropadile
adhesive

Cut 4 pieces of cardstock 4 x 8. Score each of these pieces along the long edge at 4". Adhere 2 pieces together overlapping one square of each(see second photo). Keep overlapping and adhering the cardstock until your final piece looks like a "t".

Cut 4 pieces of designer paper 3 3/4 x 3 3/4. Adhere the designer paper pieces to the outside of each section of the t except the middle section.

Turn the piece over and measure 2" up from the middle fold on each side section. Make a pencil mark on each side of each section. Punch holes on each side of each section with the cropadile.

Thread of piece of ribbon from the front to the back and over the middle of the section through the second hole to the front(see photo). Do this for each of the 4 sections. This is where the 3x3 cards with envelopes will be held. You should be able to fit a few 3x3's with envelopes on each section. Fold up the flaps and tie bows in the ribbon on the outside of each section.

Next we are going to make a lid for our stationary box. Measure a piece of cardstock 6 1/8 x 6 1/8. Score 1" along each edge. On a fiskars cutter 1" is the right edge of the cutter. Cut a slit from the edge to the score line forming a flap. Fold along the score lines and adhere the flap to the edge forming our lid. This should fit over the top of your stationary box.

Let me know if you have any questions on how to make these. They are really pretty quick and easy. Of course you can dress them up and embellish them any way you want.

Mel inspired flower

2008-07-07T09:33:00.001-07:00

The big flower on this card was stamped three times and then I cut out 3 different sections of the flower. I then coated the petals with crystal effects and mounted the layers of the flower with the dimensionals. The crystal effects on the flower was inspired by my SBS2 sis, Mel. She does some fabulous stuff with crytal effects!(and other things too)

I'm still having fun with my new In Colors! This is my favorite color combo so far. I can't stop using it!

Recipe: Fabulous Flowers
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Taken with Teal, Whisper White, Bella Rose designer paper
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Tango Orange, Taken with Teal
Other: Crystal effects, stampin' dimensionals

To do lists

2008-07-06T14:05:00.001-07:00

I've had these to do lists on my to do list for awhile. hehehe. I made these for my 3 kids. The idea is that I will write their chores on their notepads and they will check them off as they do them. They will hang on each of their doorknobs. I wanted to make these at the beginning of summer but I couldn't find the doorknob holders at Michaels when I looked. I went back last week and I found them this time. The kids are excited about them. I hope by having something to check off it will give them a sense of accomplishment and I wont have to nag them so much to get their stuff done. Here's hoping. My youngest, Sam, has a hard time remembering to turn off lights when he leaves a room. That will definitely be one of the things on his to do list!

I had a very successful stamping day yesterday. Mojo was oozing out of my pores! It's a good thing too because I needed to get some swaps figured out for the upcoming MN SCS Summer Fest event I'm planning for next Saturday. Some of it I can't show you until the event is over but I'm super psyched by what I came up with! I will be showing some other projects throughout the week.

Forget the fireworks....

2008-07-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

I just wanna stamp! LOL. Just kidding. We are going to go to a bbq and then fireworks today but it is tempting to stay home and stamp. teehee. I'm hoping to do a whole lot more of this this weekend. I just wanna play! Wah!

I LOVE the new In Colors more than the other two years' worth! The first card is the Bugs and Kisses stamp set using all of the new In Colors. It's fun to stamp the bugs in new colors.

The second card is using the new Level 2 hostess stamp set, Deer Friends. I knew I was going to love this set as soon as I saw it! It's in the same style as the Halloween one and I love that one. I used the new Bella Rose designer paper for the gingham background paper. Here is the recipe for the rest:

Stamps: Deer Friends, Warm Words
Ink: Robin Hood Red, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Robin Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss, Bella Rose dp
Other: 1" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, circle scallop punch, scallop edge punch, paper piercer, stampin' dimensionals, blender pen, crystal effects

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Playing with New Stuff!!!

2008-07-03T18:35:00.001-07:00

Woohoo! Stampin' Up! demos could preorder some sneak peek stuff from the new catty on July 1. I placed my order right away in the morning and had it two day expressed so I could get it before the weekend to play. I have all of the new In Colors, new dp, button bouquet, scallop edge punch, and a new hostess set. I quick made these two cards up with the new papers and inks.

1st card recipe:
Stamps: Embrace Life
Ink: Jet black stazon, kiwi kiss, robin hood red, taken with teal, more mustard
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Taken with Teal, Robin Hood Red, Bella Rose designer paper
Other: Stampin' dimensionals, blender pen, horizontal slot punch, ribbon

2nd card recipe:
Stamps: A Little Birdie Told Me
Ink: Jet Black Stazon, kiwi kiss, robin hood red, baja breeze
Paper: Baja Breeze, whisper white, robin hood red, kiwi kiss, bella rose designer paper
Other: Scallop edge punch, stampin' dimensionals

It's so fun to play with the new colors! They are gorgeous! I'll be back soon with more new stuff!

Hodge Podge Hardware 25 percent off!!!

2008-07-03T06:41:00.000-07:00

All Hodgepodge Hardware is being offered at a special 25 percent discount from July 1 through August 10(or while supplies last-so order now!)

You can find the Hodgepodge Hardware on page 188 of the Stampin' Up! catalog. Regular price if $27.95. The discounted price is only $20.96! A FANTASTIC deal! Contact me at krhopperstad@juno.com to order yours today!

Heartfelt

2008-07-03T05:04:00.001-07:00

I made these cards as an ensemble. I used one of my go to layouts on these. Very simple. The designer paper is the Afternoon Tea paper. This paper is no longer available. I chose my colors from the dp. The flowers in the full sized cards are in soft sky with a wild wasabi stem. We don't have markers in the In Colors so I brushed my blender pen on my ink pad and then colored the stem with it. It worked out great. I used the Heartfelt Greetings stamp set. This is an oldie but a goodie. It has seen some recent use. I think it goes well with this patterned paper.

For the 3 x 3 cards I used the same Afternoon Tea paper but the stamp set is embrace life. The flower in front has tiny beads glued to the middle of the flower.

We have had another beautiful week of weather this week. For the 4th of July we have ordered up a beautiful 80 degree day! We are going to go bbqing at a friend's house and then on to catch some fireworks at one of the local displays. We have so many to choose from in this area. To all of my US readers, I hope you have a wonderful 4th!

waiting for new stuff

2008-06-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

It's been sooooo long since Stampin' Up! has come out with new stuff. I'm having withdrawal. To get me through I'm dabbling with some non-Stampin' Up! stuff. Or some might say I'm dabbling on the dark side. bwahaha! The penguin is from Imaginescence. The beauty mark(spot) on the left side of his beak is actually a speck from the confetti white cardstock I used. The sketch I used is from Taylor's blog. I like having the 1/2 circle in there to add some interest.

My hubby gets home from his business trip in California today. Yippee! He's been traveling every other week for the past couple of months. He's been working LONG hours to try to fix a problem for a client. He doesn't usually travel much so this has been quite an adjustment for our family. I have had my hands full with keeping my kids occupied, playing referee, and being a taxi cab driver to get them all of the places 3 kids need to go. I know some people have to deal with this with dh's who are deployed or travel regularly. My hat goes off to all of you. Then there are those who are single moms. I don't know how you do it. I guess it makes me appreciate him more and the times when he doesn't have to travel.

Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

That's a sketch!

2008-06-26T17:52:00.000-07:00

This is for Tamara's sketch#48. I used a color combo from SCS again. It's been awhile since I have used More Mustard. I really like this color combo!

Recipe:
Stamps: Embrace Life, Hugs and Wishes
Ink: Jet Black Stazon, More Mustard, Taken with Teal
Paper: Confetti White, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip, Taken with Teal
Other: Key tag punch, corner rounder, 3/4" square punch, dimensionals, aquapainter

You guys aren't going to believe this. I can hardly bring myself to tell you. I was at a bridal shower this past weekend for my nephew's fiance. It was a garden party. I have never been to one of those. It made me think of that song by Ricky whats-his-name. I digress. We were at the part of the shower where we were opening gifts. Everyone was oohing and ahhing over the gifts and some of the pretty cards. It comes to the gift my sister, Peg, gave to the bride-tp-be. This is Peg's daughter-in-law to be. Anyhow, she opens the card and get this.......are you ready? Peg gave her a blank card! I don't mean blank inside. I mean blank on the outside too! She gave her a totally BLANK card!!! OMG! The shame! The horror! I told her I thought she needed an intervention. My sister....a blank card.... I mean, I'm a Stampin' Up! demo for gosh sakes. I teach all kinds of people how to stamp cards. It's going to take me awhile to get over this one.

Thanks for stopping by. I can't believe June is almost over! July 1 demonstrators get a sneak peek at some new catalog stuff and the opportunity to purchase them. You can bet I'll be placing an order right away! I'm itching to get my hands on new stuff!!!

2008-06-25T17:48:00.000-07:00

This is a graduation money booklet for my nephew Andrew. His graduation open house was this past Sunday. What's cool about this is that I was able to use his school colors. That's one of the things I LOVE about making hand-stamped projects - the ability to customize them. This is similiar to the birthday booklet a couple of posts back. You can check there for a link to the tutorial.

It's kinda sketchy

2008-06-24T17:41:00.001-07:00

This card is for Tamara's sketch challenge #49. I used a color combo from a past color challenge on SCS. A color challenge and a sketch challenge give you a great starting point for a card!

Recipe:
Stamps: Fun and Fast Notes
Ink: Jet Black stazon, blush blossom, close to cocoa, regal rose, taken with Teal
Paper: Blush Blossom, confetti white, close to cocoa, regal rose, taken with teal
Other: keytag punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, designer label punch, vanilla taffeta ribbon, corner rounder, aquapainter

I have had several people ask me about the retiring accessories list. That doesn't come out until July 21 or so. I will announce it here on my blog, and in my e-mail newsletter if you are on my customer e-mail list. Once that list comes out it's while supplies last so you better scoop them up quick!

Inspiration challenge

2008-06-21T08:21:00.000-07:00

I have seen inspiration challenges on several blogs but have never tried them before. Basically, you take the inspiration photo that is posted and use that to create a card. When I saw the picture of the Martha Stewart cake on Beate's blog I knew I wanted to try it. This cake is so gorgeous! I struggled with it a bit but in the end made a much simplified version of what I originally intended.

The scallop is made with the slit punch. The middle of the flower is So Saffron cardstock punched with my 1/4" circle punch and crystal effects layered over it to get a sheen. I think I saw this idea on Mel's blog. I love all of the stuff she does with crystal effects. I'm inspired to do more with it now.

Recipe: Embrace Life, Sincere Salutations
Ink: Old Olive, Basic Black
Paper: Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Basic Black, So Saffron, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Bashful Blue
Other: Boho Blossom punch, 1/4" circle punch, crystal effects, slit punch

Well, my weekend is filled with soccer, a bridal shower, and a gradution open house. Typical summer stuff. I hope you have a good one!

Show me the money

2008-06-20T07:23:00.001-07:00

With graduations, birthday parties, etc. I am often stuck with no idea what to get the participant. Money always seems to be the answer. However, I find it boring to give money. Are they going to remember you for it? "Oh yeah, Aunt Kathleen gave me $20 for my birthday." Not really. So I am always on the lookout for a clever way to give money or giftcards. I saw a wonderful idea on Patty's blog for presenting money. It's for this wonderful booklet made out of 3 x 3 envelopes. See her tutorial here.

I made this one for our neighbor boy's birthday. The mom LOVED it! She went on and on about how talented I was. Don't we creative types just love that? It made it all worth it. She loved it so much she wants me to make some up for her. What I did was take five 3 x 3 envelopes,tuck the flaps in, turn them to the side and decorate them with designer paper. Then I made a cover and back and punched holes and bound it with my bind-it-all. You could punch holes and tie ribbon or use rings if you didn't have a bind-it-all but the BIA works slick!
In the first envelope we put $2, the next $3, the next $5, the 4th $10 and the final envelope we slipped a notecard in it with a note from my son(the gift giver). I also used my It's Your Birthday stamp set and used a different greeting on each page. I'm going to make something similiar for my nephew's graduation party. They will remember me for the clever way I presented the money. I put a little more thought than just sticking some money in a card. Mission accomplished.

If it ain't Baroque don't fix it!

2008-06-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry for the corny title. I couldn't help myself. ;) I haven't touched this stamp set in too long! It's about time I dusted it off and gave it a whirl. I used a sketch from Tamara's blog. I think I'm going to use this as one of my swap cards at convention. It's pretty simple so I gave it some dabs of glitter to spice it up a little bit.

Recipe:
Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Sincere Salutations
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Soft Sky, So Saffron
Ink: Basic Black, Soft Sky, Certainly Celery, Regal Rose, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron
Other: Dazzling Diamonds glitter, key tag punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, stampin' dimensionals, regal rose wide grosgrain ribbon

Tag - I'm it!

2008-06-18T06:36:00.000-07:00

Gabby of Confessions of a Stamper tagged me awhile back for this. It took me awhile to get around to it. Hey, I'm on summer blog mode which I know most of you are too!

The "rules" of the game: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

Ten years ago: I had my second child, Nicholas. I became a stay-at-home mom. I was so happy! This was my dream - to be at home with my two beautiful children. My husband recently graduated from college in Electrical Engineering. This was such a relief to have him graduate!

Five things in todays 'to do list':
1. Stamp
2. Bring my boys in for haircuts
3. Finish up the laundry(do we ever finish?)
4. Clean
5. Sort my Stampin' Up! order coming in today.

Snacks I enjoy: chips and salsa, yogurt, chocolate!

Things I would do if I was a millionaire: Buy a new wardrobe, buy me some new stampin' toys, take the family on a vacation, make some home improvements, hire a house cleaner, hire a financial planner, donate some money to favorite charities.

Places I have lived: Grew up in Austin, Mn,went to college in Menomonie, Wi, lived in Hopkins, Mn, Tampa, Fl, and now in Savage, MN

I'm supposed to tag 5 more people:
1. Alex
2. Marilyn
3. Carol
4. Julie
5. Savitri

I'll be back in a bit with a card to post.

Tweety Bird

2008-06-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to get back to sketch cards lately. Here's one from the Great Swaps Girls blog. I haven't used an oval shape in awhile so it was a good starting point.

Recipe:
Stamps: Pun Fun
Paper: Monochromatic Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Real Red, Old Olive, Taken with Teal
Ink: Jetblack Stazon
Other: Bold Brights brads, photo corner punch, red grosgrain

We seem to be settling into the groove of summer more. We returned all of the defective Nerf guns and Sam settled on skyrail rollercoaster. It's tracks the you build and then run marbles down them. He has played for hours with this toy and loves it! He's also been a domino building machine. We picked some up at a garage sale and he keeps building different formations and naming them. Things like "The Christmas bow" or the "Cloudy Rainbow". It's good, clean fun and he's good at it. It also gets him away from the Wii.

Retirement List

2008-06-15T15:58:00.000-07:00

It's time to say goodbye to some of the stamp sets in the Spring/Summer catalog to make room for new ones. Yes, it's that time of year. The retiring stamp set list from the current catalog is out. I have a link that lists them by page number here.

If you want to view the list alphabetical by stamp set name see here.

If you there are stamp sets on this list that you want contact me or your local demonstrator to order them while you can. You have until August 10 to get them.

Mystery Hostess Hawaiian Luau party!

2008-06-12T08:52:00.000-07:00

We all had a great time at my Hawaiian Luau Mystery Hostess party last night. I love this theme. You throw on a plastic lei, sip some punch, eat some Hawaiian munchies, listen to Hawaiian music and you have a fun layed back kinda night! We made two projects together. The first one was the popsicle card. I first saw this on Patty's blog here.

The second card I CASE'd from someone but I can't remember who. I really love the simplicity of it. The background flower is stamped in Groovy Guava. The main flower is stamped in jetblack stazon and then colored in with groovy guava ink and the blender pen.

This was a fun night. Thank you to all of the ladies who came and shared in the fun!

More fun with Carousel Notes!

2008-06-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

I can't seem to get enough of these carousel notes! For this spread I cut the Groovy Guava Carousel note in half and drew journaling lines on it. One half of the note is on one page and the other is on the second page. I got this idea from Vickieky. You can see her page spread here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/824843

The cutie in the photo is my niece, Leah.

Recipe:
Stamps: Taffy alphabet, Best Friends alphabet, Best Friends numbers
Ink: Ruby Red
Paper: Groovy Guava, Blush Blossom, Groovy Guava monochromatic paper, Ruby Red
Other: Groovy Guava carousel notes, boho blossoms punch, silver brads, 5 petal flower punch

The carousel notes are only available through the end of this month. You can order them through the Occasions mini catalog. I'm hoping there will be some of these in the new catalog. It will have to be different colors though cuz this years' in colors will be gone.

Do your kids like nerf guns? My boys love them! Sam had some money saved and wanted one badly so I took him with me to Target. He really wanted a long shot nerf gun. He's been talking about it for a year but they didn't have one so he settled on another nerf gun. The one he bought broke when he was putting it together. Back to Target it went. I returned it at a different Target and THIS one had the Long shot. I picked it up for Sam and brought it home ready to play the hero. He was very excited! I went off to play Bunko for the night. The next morning he tells me the Long shot keeps jamming. We're going to take this back to Target too. Why do they have to make these toys so cheap? This was a $30 Nerf gun. I expect better quality than this. Now he's itching to buy another toy. The money is burning a hole in his pocket!

Image is Everything

2008-06-10T05:35:00.000-07:00

I was going to title my book this - "Image is Everything". This is a pocket booklet. I was pulled into the vortex of blogland and found a tutorial for it. I can't remember the site but I will try to dig out where I found it so I can post the link for you. I used my Bind-it-all(finally!) to bind it together.

Each pocket on this booklet is filled with stamped images from different stamp sets in the Stampin' Up! catty. This will be the hostess gift at my Hawaiian Luau Mystery Hostess party on Wednesday night. I have a fun night planned for those ladies who are coming! I will post projects and pictures after the event.

I did end up taking my youngest, Sam, to Michaels with me. He picked out a foamie kit that was a barn he could build. He enjoyed it. His brother and his friend even ended up playing with Sam so he had a good day after all. I'm hoping for another good day today.

I'm popping back in to say I found the link to the tutorial for the booklet. Click here. I added a cover with mine made out of chipboard and designer paper. I had to use a bigger coil because of this. I only had a 1 inch coil on hand which was TOO big. I think 3/4" would be just about right. I need to make a note to self to pick up this size. That's the thing about the bind-it-all and other coil machines. You don't know what size you will use until you start using the thing!

Pink and Brown Embrace

2008-06-09T09:42:00.001-07:00

I haven't felt very creative lately. We haven't found our groove this summer yet. I definitely need to fit stamping time in this summer because it's how I keep my sanity. My youngest is already bored. He went through the phone list from school to try to find a friend to play but struck out. The neighborhood kids aren't around. He's grounded from the Wii. What's a kid to do? I'm thinking we're going to need to get the crafts supplies out. My boys like to do that kind of stuff too.