Have you been dreaming of owning a Big Shot?

What would you think if I told you I'm going give someone a Big Shot, an embossing folder, pay your shipping & taxes, plus give you 4 Free lessons so you know how to use it? Read on...

Wouldn't this make a nice Mother's Day gift?

First Lutheran Church is doing fundraising for a team of kids that will be going to Tanzania this summer. I am offering ONE silent auction Big Shot package. The Stampin' Up! package value is $173.70 $138.55 plus you'll get $60 in free classes bringing the total package value to $233.70 $198.55   It includes the following:

2 Sale-a-bration stamp sets - value up to $14.95 each

Sizzix Big Shot Machine - $99.95

Your choice of embossing folder (pg.214) - $7.95

2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog - $9.95

Shipping and Taxes - $25.95

4 Free Big Shot classes, I want you to know how to use it! - value $15 each class

Bidding starts at $100 and ends 
midnight March 30  April 24th

I will contact winner on Thursday the 31st on Monday April 25th to finalize your order. Cash or check should be made out to First Lutheran Church, Fergus Falls, MN. You may come get your package or I will delivered it if within 50 miles.

To bid (in increments of $5) simply add a comment to this post.  Include in your comment which 2 items you want from the SALE-A-BRATION mini catalog.  Remember to check back often to see where your bid is. 

Happy Bidding!

The Sizzix Big Shot for Stampin' Up! product line is a BIG deal! Cut over 50 materials with the Big Shot and duplicate creative and intricate designs quickly and easily. Get exclusive dies that coordinate with current Stampin' Up! product lines as well as standard Sizzix dies. 
     
UPDATE:    I've had a lot of lookers but no bids. I would love to see someone get this little package and the church team raise some cash so I'm extending the bidding until midnight April 24th (Easter Day). So tell your families you'd love to get this for Mother's day. The SALE-A-BRATION promotion has ended which means I no longer can get those 2 stamp sets for you. Sorry. The Stampin' Up! package value is now $138.55 and with the 4 FREE classes the total value of this package is $198.55

Summer mini Bicycle Shoebox swap

I participated in 3 different swaps this last weekend. For this shoebox swap we were to use the Summer mini stamp sets, I choose Pedaling Past (pg. 7). We were to have all the pieces cut and ready to assemble in 5 minutes. Uff-da, for me, quick and easy is always a challenge. But look look:

I done good didn't I?

45 Graduation cap cards

You're looking at 45 graduation cap "spring" cards. This time I almost followed the spring card directions without changing too much.

These cards fit in the medium envelops. When the graduate pulls out the card the cap springs up. 40 of these are for the Minnesota Leadership swap that I signed up for plus a few for the graduation parties we have been invited to attend.

Graduation cards & Shower cards Monday Mini May 10th

It's that time of the year when you need to have cards on hand for graduations and wedding showers. Here's the cards that my stampers made for the Monday mini class, May 10th.

This first card is a very quick and easy card:

This next card, I would call a fun funky fold. When I saw the spring fold cards, they reminded me of a graduation cap. I eliminated one of the folds from that pattern and switched around a couple other folds to make the gift pocket. What do you think?

Stampin' Up!s  ribbons only unravel from one direction. Therefore if you tie a knot on the one end and unravel the other, you'll have an easy tassel. Attach it to the top of the card/cap on the other side of the knot that is not unraveled, trim any excess ribbon. When the graduate lifts up the cap, it will reveal a pocket where you can place a gift card, cash and a small note letting them know it's from you.

I'm so loving the Big Shot embossing folders. Seems like my cards are missing something when I don't use at least one of the embossing folders. Here's the punchy shower card that was made, with just a little bit of stamping.

Isn't the crunchy punch flower just adorable? It's no secret I need to work on my photography skills, there really is 3 different pinks.


Punching Tip For Layering: For perfectly centered punches when doing multiple layers, start with the smallest punch, add adhesive and attach to the next layer, then center and punch.


Tip for Punching Corners: If you are having trouble with the new corner punches, curl the tip with your fingernail. Then when you slide the paper in, the tip will catch in the corner so you don't go to far.

Mother’s Day Pansys

OMG! These pansy's are so adorable. Here is the Mother's day card that stampers made at my Monday mini class on May 3rd.

Colors: Crushed Curry, Very Vanilla, Rich Razzleberry, Glorious Green, Shimmmer White

Punches: Bird, wing & branch; Butterfly, Wide oval, Scalloped oval

Big Shot: Manhattan Floral embossing folder, Top note die

Accessories: Fire & Ice brads, Curry Polka dot ribbon

Can you believe it's made from our butterfly punch - yeah sure you betcha' - look again - see. How cool is that?

Okay I know I'm not the best photographer, but those little specks on the flowers are actually the sparkles that are in the shimmer white paper. I'm so proud I was able to capture the shimmer. These are so spectacular in real life.

The larger leaves are the wings from the bird punch. At first the leaves looked so flat and out of place, therefore to add dimension to the leaves, I used the mat pack (pg 191) and Empressor stylus (pg 188). The stylus is like a ball point pen without ink, it rolls so smoothly.

DRY EMBOSSING TIP: Hold the leaves at the base, start pressing at the tip and pull towards you. If you start at the branch and push towards the tip of the leaf, the leaves have the tendency to rip and pull off the branch.

Dawn Olchefske is the very talented demo and creator from right here in Minnesota. Check out her "How to" video tutorial and make sure you leave her a comment. Thank you Dawn for sharing!

Yellow Fifth Avenue Floral

Quick and easy cards have always been a challenge for me. This is card that was made at my Friends & Neighbors Make & Take workshop, and my sister-in-laws workshop. Members also made this card at the Special Touch meeting, and A Place to Belong. It's really made the rounds hasn't it? And with that I say farewell to my (retiring) Summer Sun paper; it is now all gone.

This card is a case of Cindy Baughman's card on Stampin' Connection. Sorry if the link doesn't work for you, it's only for demonstrators. Join my team and you too can have access to Stampin' Connection's showcase of over 65,000+ examples. Stampin' Up! has a couple great specials for new demonstrators, check out my website. My recruit password is BerryPineStampers.

CASEd=Copy And Share Everything. I almost copied everything, only changing three things. The Cindy's background layer was two toned, half white and half yellow. I only did yellow. I also had alternate sayings for my stampers, some made it into a Mother's day card, others used birthday greetings and wedding phrases. Many of my stampers added color to the flower centers for lovely extra added touch.

Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set was 20% off during the month of April. 

Easter Cards

I taught another class on Tues. afternoon (March 23rd) at "A Place to Belong". They were soooooo excited about their creations. They asked the coordinators if I could come back again so they could make Mother's Day and Father's Day cards. I'm booked for May 4th and I am planning to have alternate verses incase Mother's and Father cards are unneeded. You all know that I'm "easy challenged".  Therefore if you see some easy guy cards, I NEED to see them.

A Place to Belong is a social setting for people go to that are having mental difficulties. When demos coined the saying that Stamping is rubber therapy, I don't think this is what they had in mind, but it's right on the mark! Seeing their faces as they look with pride at their cards is priceless. The coordinator said they really look forward to me coming and it's all they talk about for days afterwards. Even though these classes result in no sales, the feeling that I've really made a difference in someone's day is so amazing and fulfilling. And that's therapy for me!

Bunny card details:
7 minutes, 35 seconds is all it took me to make my display card!!! Yeah!! I'm pretty proud of myself about that! When you say chocolate bunnies and baby chicks, it reminds everyone of Easter!

Supplies:
Crushed curry; paper & ink, Chocolate Chip ink, Gold brad, blender pen. The inside is stamped with God's Blessings in chocolate chip ink: Sharing with you the miracle of new hope and new life through the glorious gift of Christ the Lord. They also stamped the little chick and broken egg shell next to the verse. Obviously the yellow envelope is not SU, it's from my before SU stash because I only had enough white ones to give them 1 each. 

Stamping Tips: 

--- Stamp the bunny in the corner  on the whisper white layer before doing the embossing. --- Stamp the inside verse before assembling the card & if you muck it up refold the card so it becomes your front. You can cover up the mucking with your embossed whisper white bunny layer.

Supplies:

Pretty in Pink paper, retired stamp set: 1998 Easter Blessings, retired Raspberry Tart DSP 3"x4",  Mellon Mambo ink, the little flower is from Eastern Blooms, Crystal clear brad. The inside is stamped with God's Blessings in mellon mambo: Blessings brighten when we count them! THANK YOU for blessing my life in such a wonderful way!  White SU envelope. One of the things I so appreciate about doing these classes with "A Place to Belong" is they have provided me with an opportunity and have encouraged me to use retired products. 

To make the flowers: I had them put the punched pieces in the palm of their hand and then rub the petals with the bone folder to add curves. One of the members was worried about the wrinkles in the paper, and I said it made them look like the veins in real flowers. The edges of the flowers are sponged and then attached with dimensionals. My original sample didn't have sponging on the edge of the card, but a couple ladies asked if they could sponge the edges like last time. Then others asked what that meant, so I used my card to show them how it would look. Before long everyone had sponging all over - on every edge you can think of, even the envelopes and the flaps. 

I'm showing two different variations of the same card because one lady had trouble stamping on the inside of the card and smudged the verse. Tip: Stamp your inside verse before embossing the front of the card. This horizontal version of the card has the DSP in the middle to cover up the previously stamped and smudged image. I did this card to show them that there's no mistakes, just revisions in the layout. I think I may even like this one better. If I would have put the saying in the opposite corner it would have looked great vertically also.


Another tip: Never leave home without extra supplies for a couple additional cards.

Inspiration for my cards came from Lisa Reber and Debbie Currier cards on Stampin' Connection. It's an awesome website only for Stamping Up! demonstrators. I'd love to help you sign up to be a demonstrator so you can access to  all the wonderful ideas, examples, and discussions.

Storage idea for alphabet letters

Here's something I shared at a SU meeting earlier this week. The "disposable" society we live in will tell you this idea isn't practical because you could almost cut a whole pack of paper for what it costs to buy this little container. I have no excuse for my defense. By the time you pop out all the letters and sort them into their spaces, I'm not sure it even saves time. 

BUT I don't have to be logical! I am Woman! 

No more explanation should be necessary!   ; )

It bothered me to toss all those extra letters. On more than one occasion I've dug through my recycle pile looking for just a couple letters muttering: Why did I throw away all those extra letters? Here's my solution.

Do you recognize what container this is? 

It's a 4 times daily pill dispenser. I punched circles out sticker paper to cover the Morning, Noon, Evening, and Bedtime words and then glued the letter on top. Pretty creative huh? There's days I just amaze myself (snicker, snicker).

This works great. The letters don't slide under or over the dividers like in other containers I tried. The bottom for each space is rounded so the letters don't get stuck in corners and are easy to pull out. Each letter has it's own cover and I don't have to worry about my kitten making a big mess when she tries to help me. . . Oh one more thing even though it's plastic it makes me feel like I'm being "green" because it's a reduce, reuse, recycle thing - and saving trees. 

Speaking of saving - once you sort out all the letters, you still have a lot of paper with letters left. The negative images still need to be rescued. An example of what I mean is the "r" found on my son's birthday card. 

How cool is that?

What can I say? I just have to spice things up sometimes.

What's happened to my brain? Card challenge SCCSC7

My daughter asked me to bring my Big Shot and scalloped square when I was going to visit her. She wanted to make one of those famous Big Shot rag bags. In the meantime during packing, I forgot to grab my sister's birthday card. So once I got to my daughter's house I found myself in need of making the card and was challenged to use only the supplies my daughter had on hand plus my Big Shot with only the scallop square die.


Thankfully Diane Noble had emailed the Stampin' Connection's card sketch challenge SCCSC7 to our SU Diva group (Thanks Diane, it makes it so much easier to find). With the sketch to help with the layout inspiration, my next challenge was to decide on colors. Boy I never realized how much I used my color wheel to help me decide which colors to use together.



Here's my masterpiece! (big grin)
I just love how the new scalloped punch fits inside the Big Shot's scalloped square die.

So what do you think of my limited resources card? Okay it's not so limited, but without my craft room at my fingertips it sure felt that way   ; )

Here's a couple pictures of my daughter and her helper cutting out her butterfly purse:

Notice the butterflies!

I had taken some pictures of the other pieces, but they were blurry. Hopefully over Easter we can get it sewn together for her and I can post the finished purse then.

In the Dog House

Got-ta love Sale-a-bration FREE stamps!

I'm behind on making special cards. My up-upline was pretty ill and I wanted  something special to send her. I was waiting for my "Wellness Wishes" set to come and had planned to use the "Praying for you during your illness" stamp from that set. But this 3-D card is what I ended up with, hope she liked it. Better late than never, right?

Doesn't the SAB paper make for an adorable back drop?

I left the one side of the top un-sticky-taped so I could send it in the mail. I cut off the front flap and folded it in half, then attached it to the back flap. That way it could be assembled like a box without needing to be taped on the bottom. Here's what it looks like going into the envelope. A perfect fit with some room to spare.

This time I actually made two so I could have one for my own display, but her sister ended up having a terrible week and needed to have a tooth pulled because of an infection. I decided she needed a pick me up card, so here it goes off to the mailbox. It's a good thing I never sticky taped mine together. 

Howled R U?

Sorry, I just couldn't resist the title. 

Close your eyes and say it out loud - you'll get it!

Man am I clever or what?  (giggle)  

Sometimes I even surprise myself with how creative I am.

The stamp set "Nature Silhouettes" was calling me to use it for my son's birthday card. The name of their software company name Howling Moon was my inspiration.

It was difficult to get a good picture that showed the Shimmer frost paint sponged on the moon. This card is impressive in real life. Click on the picture to see a larger image. If you look at your screen sideways, it picks up the shimmer - that's so cool that it can do that!

They've recently released another application program called "Upshot" for macs. Earlier this year they were at a game developers software meeting and found out that a significant number of programmers were using his chipmunk physics program which he released as shareware while he was still in high school. They are currently working on additional upgrades for his chipmunk physics program.

I'm so proud of him, and that he had the courage to go after his dream. Thank you for letting me "howl" a little about his accomplishments.

Happy Birthday Scott!

Now I need SU to make a chipmunk stamp.

Special handicap class Valentine cards

I received a panicked phone call asking if I could help out the Community Education handicap class. They wanted me to prepare 2 different cards for 16 adults for that evening's at 5 pm class. 

Here's the two cards I designed for them:

I used retired DSP for these projects. There was a lot of pre-work involved in their projects. The cards were embossed and pre-punched. I also had the hearts already stamped, pre-punched, and stuck on glue dots so all they had to do was peal and stick. They also stamped matching envelopes. For the brocade blue card they stamped matching envelopes with the SAB polka dot hearts. I ended up giving my sample envelope to one of the students. (I'm always running out of the white envelopes.)

It was wonderful seeing them so proud of their projects. When they finished the cards, they sat and asked what card they could make next. Sadly, 2 cards were all I was asked to prepare for them.

Valentine projects, SCCSC3=Easel card

I thought I was off to a good start when the stampers arrived, however I soon found myself laying things down and then not being able to find them. I couldn't believe it when I mislaid the cut card stock for their easel card; I had to re-cut ALL the pieces while the club members worked on their first two projects.

Then when it finally was time to make that card I also mislaid my mat packs . One minute I was taking my mat packs out of my drawer and the next I found myself at the table holding only the piecing tools. Thankfully we quickly found the mis-laid packs and everyone had a good chuckle. It was just one of those days where a good long scream could have helped. 'Know what I mean?

This little gem was a case of ______'s card. I found the directions on her blog, and thought I saved her address. See it really was a day of losing things.  I loved the idea of using the slit punch to hold the card closed.

If this is yours or you know who's card it is,
please let me know so they can get credit for it.

I try to remember to ask my hostesses to pick one of my sample cards that they want to make for their project. It makes planning so much easier when I know what they want to learn. Here's a peak at my "Berry Pine Stamping" display wall.

The hostess picked the black & red card from a SAB swap made by Mary Hophner. Her simple design lends to the card's elegance and the classic colors of black & white with red accents really pop and catch your eye. It's versatile enough that it can be used as a Valentine's Day card or a wedding card depending on the sentiment you stamp inside. Great design Mary, thanks for letting me post your card.

Now for THAT easel card that gave me so much trouble.
For the front / stand up part of the card, I used Stampin' Connections card sketch challenge tagged as SCCSC3. It was created by Diane Nobel who is part of the Design team for Stampin' Connection AND is one of my sister demonstrators from Patsy Waggoner's downline team.

Everyone really enjoy making this card. It was putzy, but that's my speciality even when I try to be simple. Several of the club members talked about bringing it to work the following day to show it off to their office mates. I sometimes think there's an unspoken contest happening between them.

Here's close up  so you can see the details a little better:

My wish for you is your heart is filled with love this Valentine's.
Thanks for stopping by.

Have a great day. 

Valentine Cards for "A Place to Belong"

I spent a delightful afternoon at "A Place to Belong" helping 10 women created these 2 valentine cards with matching envelopes. I think it is safe to say the highlight of the class was when they each took a turn at the Big Shot embossing their card fronts. It is now on their wish list for their organization to purchase once grant monies can be found.

The first card was designed by Mary Hophner, I received the card as a SAB swap. The second card used retired Raspberry Tart paper.

They were so excited about their projects that by the time I had left, they had convinced their coordinators to schedule another class to do Easter cards.

Milk carton bird houses

I belong to a small group that's part of our Women's Ministries at my church. Our group is currently planning a spring supper event the end of April. When discussing what to make for favors I told the others about the cute little birds on birdhouses made with the milk carton die that so many people are posting. Here's the sample I made. It was suppose to be a robin, but turned out looking more like a wren.

Thanksgiving favors

Yes indeed, I love those little Bigz #2 boxes that everyone is using to make totes.

I made 9 Blessing Mix totes. And yes I did make them a little more time consuming when I decided to add a watercolored pumpkin and gourd.

None the less, I love the way they turned out.

Here's a candle I stamped.

A shimmery case

For those that are wondering about the chocolate Crunch bar, it's no longer unharmed. When I was putting cards together on my display board for a workshop, I wanted to display the wrapper, so I just had to eat it. You agree, it would have been too thick to hang, right?

I was inspired by Ellen Kemper's tote to make this hostess gift.

Here's one of the projects the guests made using rub-ons, the elastic cording, and the new SU ornament punch that's available in the Holiday mini catalog:

The hostess wanted her guests to make an ornament for hanging on a tree, so this is what we came up with:

We talked about many simple hand-made gifts and the different options that Stampin' Up! can help you with for the Holidays. For a fast gift and easy gift, I demonstrated how to stamp on candle.

I did stamp shimmer snowflakes in Dashers horns, but once the image was melted into the candle it was extremely difficult to see the shimmer. I would suggest using two-way glue and dazzling diamonds for a more dramatic effect.

Leave a comment if you'd like me to email

specifics for any of these projects.

Thanks for stopping by!

Michelle Dawn

A little Treat

I love the colors of fall, well most falls anyway. I just had to share a pic of the little treat I made for my hostess and decided to include it with the orders that I am going to be delivering from my last workshop.

Stamp set: Lovely as a Tree

Inks: Old Olive, Really Rust, Ruby Red

Paper: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard

Accessories: Aqua Painter, Stylus, Hemp Twine, Sizzix Leaves#2

On a piece of 6"x 6" pumpkin pie, I stamped leaves in Old Olive and then water colored them. The leaves and letters were die cut out of More Mustard. I used a stylus to emboss the veins in the sizzix leaves, crumpled them and then used a sponge dauber colored them and the letters. And yes that is chocolate you see sticking out of the end; I thought you'd like to see what was inside.

I'm not sure where the last month has slipped away to. Is everyone ready for the Tricker Treaters that will soon be knocking at your door?

Community Education Classes

This fall I will be offering a series of monthly card classes through Community Education office. 

Each month you will be able to stamp 5 cards which will include each of the following themes: gal, guy, sympathy, seasonal, and just for fun.

I have also scheduled several project classes. Build-A-Bear magnetic paper doll with case and 6 outfits; stamp and decorate a picture frame; create a 6"x 6" mini flip album.

The above display shows examples of the various outfit choices available to make for the Build-A-Bear paper magnet; and the picture frame. I will also be offering a 6" x 6" mini flip album in October. A sample of the album will be posted later.

Dates and times for the classes are posted

on my Stampin' Up! website calendar.

ORIENTAL INSPIRED ANIVERSARY CARD

Our pastor and his wife's had spent time in Japan as missionaries; so I wanted to make an an anniversary card for them with an oriental flair.

I really loved the look of the card until I stamped the inside. I didn't like seeing the words show through; so I attached a layer behind the card front.

Stampset: Hostess set-Kind & Caring Thoughts, Priceless

Ink: Real Red, Old Olive, Basic Black

Paper: Real Red, Whisper White, Basic Black

Accessories: Wide Oval Punch, Lattice Bigz die,

dimensionals, clear embossing

If you make this card, try using a piece of 12"x 5.5" card stock and tri-fold it.