Circus, Anyone?

Doesn't life just feel like a circus sometimes? I can't say it happens to me often, as I only have to try to keep track of myself and my husband (no kids, no pets), but every so often, things just seem to go a little crazy.

Maybe that's why I was drawn to the Stampin' Up! set, Circle Circus, recently for a couple different cards. The first was "commissioned" (ooh, doesn't that make me sound like a fancy artist?) by a coworker. It was for some special teenagers in her life, so I went for a trendy combo of colors, and well, just went a little crazy.


I used Marina Mist card stock for the card base, then layers of Early Espresso and Pumpkin Pie (scrumptious, almost). The green accents are Old Olive, and the Classic Ink colors are all coordinating with the paper.

The next one was just to say hello to a special little guy and his parents. I thought primary colors were cute for a little boy, so I dug into Pacific Point, Real Red and Daffodil Delight card stock. Again, the ink is all coordinating, and the ribbon is Real Red 1/4" grosgrain. The cute border is the Scallop Edge Border punch.


It's still Sale-A-Bration time at Stampin' Up!, which means for every $50 order, you get to choose a free, exclusive stamp set! Sale-A-Bration lasts through March 31, so you've got time to host a workshop or place an order. Contact me to learn more!

Have a great Sunday night!
Julie

Stage presence!

Hello! Back on February 12, I presented ON STAGE at the Stampin' Up! regional conference in Minneapolis. I submitted my animal-print background technique and was chosen to be part of the "Workshop Wow!" line up. It was super cool to share this with the 500 other demonstrators in attendance, and it came with cool perks like getting in the hall early to get front-row seats for the day and earning a free stamp set.

Above, I'm on stage. The camera was pointed at my work area, so my demonstration was shown on the big screen, but I was talking to the crowd.


These were all the samples I took with me to share, but I only showed the basics of the technique on stage. I didn't have to make all the cards. Another big accomplishment--I managed to stay just under my allotted five minutes!

Stay tuned this week for more on Stampin' Up!'s great promotion that's going on this month--Sale-A-Bration! For every $50 order, you can choose one free stamp set from an exclusive list! If you want to know more before I have a chance to write more, let me know!

Thanks for reading!
Julie

Happy New Year!

One thing it seems crafty people like nearly as much as crafting itself is how to organize their crafting supplies. I'm no different. Sometimes I'll waste an entire afternoon getting ready to make cards or sew something up.

So today, along with apparently half of the population of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, I trundled to IKEA. I got there within the first hour of the store opening, and I got the last one of the particular EXPEDIT shelving unit I wanted! It was like I won an eBay auction! Whew. (I have no affiliation with IKEA).

Here's what it looked like when I opened the two boxes. I wondered if this would be easy to put together, or a disaster.


I managed to put the whole thing together myself, except for getting DH to help align one panel. The directions even had these funny cartoons that showed you should have two people to do the work, not just one.

The finished product gives a fun, storage vibe. Hopefully it keeps me more organized in 2011! Or at least makes more space for the additional crafting supplies I'm sure I'll accumulate.


Of course, I didn't take a picture of the closet that's half torn apart while reorganizing...

Happy New Year!

Julie

Last-Minute Christmas Prep!

I'm pretty prepared for Christmas, but there is always just that "one more thing," isn't there? I made these tags for a workshop early in the month, but they would be a perfect last-minute touch for your gifts. Just get out your card stock scraps, some Stampin' Up! Designer Series (patterned) paper, some punches and ribbon, et voila!

These were inspired by (nearly "CASEd," which means Copy and Share Everything) by my friend and fellow local SE MN demonstrator Angie Bennett. The cardstock is Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla and Always Artichoke. The Designer Series Paper (patterned) is Deck the Halls from the Holiday Mini Catalog (only available until Jan. 4!), and the ribbons are Very Vanilla satin, twill tape and Cherry Cobbler seam binding. The stamp set is Perfect Punches, and the punches used are Fancy Label Punch and Round Tab Punch.

Now, the food portion of the program! Since my husband's snowmobile broke down as we were on our way out of the neighborhood, we didn't ride on Saturday. I baked instead. Notice the Christmas Crappies in the lower left?

The sugar cookie recipe is from Real Simple and the Royal Icing from allrecipes.com. This icing worked better than the Martha recipe I tried last year. Just sayin'.


And these couldn't be simpler. I first got the recipe from Kahla years ago...it's so simple, I probably shouldn't tell you how easy it is! But here goes...buy a bag of mini Reese's Peanut Butter cups. Buy a tube of prepared chocolate chip cookie dough. Cut the dough in slices and then in quarters. Place one piece in each cup of a mini muffin tin. Bake five minutes at 350 degrees. Quickly place a PB cup in each half-baked cookie. Bake five more minutes. Yum.


Good luck with your last-minute activities? What do you still have to do? I haven't wrapped a single gift. Guess that's my answer!

Merry Christmas!
Julie

Blizzard Activities

Today's blizzard showcases my husband's and my very different personalities. He is outside, smoking meat:


I am inside, making Christmas cards:



Later, the baking will commence. I love Christmas!

Thanks for stopping,
Julie

Tag Alongs

No, not the Girl Scout cookies, the Stampin' Up! stamp set that benefits the Ronald McDonald House! These cute penguin tags were made with the Tag Alongs stamp set, which includes three other images to use throughout the year. From every sale of this set, Stampin' Up! donates $2 to the Ronald McDonald House. It was one of the first sets I purchased this (catalog) year.


If you'd like to help the Ronald McDonald House out this year while you do a little Christmas shopping, I'd be happy to set you up with this set.

Happy Holiday Crafting!

Julie

Shiny Things

Awhile back, I ordered Stampin' Up!'s brushed gold cardstock so I could show it to someone. I kind of fell in love with it. It looks so nice when dry embossed with our Northern Flurry embossing folder and the Big Shot, so I made this card.

The card also features the self-stick rhinestones that Stampin' Up! offers; cardstock in Bravo Burgundy, Always Artichoke, and Very Vanilla; the Snow Swirled stamp set; and Bravo Burgundy ink.


And, if you're not into the brushed gold, here's a version using patterned paper from the Holiday Mini Catalog and Cherry Cobbler cardstock, and Cherry Cobbler and Soft Suede ink. The rhinestone still made it in!


Thanks for reading,
Julie