For my Stampers' Club last month, we created these bookmarks to use in our new catalogs. I like these bookmarks because they are long enough to fit in any book I've found (e.g. text books, catalogs, regular paperbacks, cookbooks, etc.), but they are light weight and don't take up much room. They are great gifts to make for just about everyone.

Here's how to make one:

1. Die-cut a small scallop circle with the Scallop Circles #2 die and Big Shot from chipboard (I like to use the backs of the designer paper packs) and from Raspberry Tart designer paper (for the back).
2. Color the chipboard using Old Olive Craft ink and a sponge dauber. Set aside to dry.
3. Stamp the flower (I used Heartfelt Thanks) in Pink Pirouette and the outline in Rose Red on Whisper White card stock and cut out close to the image. Curl the flower petals with your fingers or scissors.
4. Apply sticky strip to the back of the scallop chipboard circle close to one edge. Attach a 20" piece of Pink Pirouette striped grosgrain ribbon to the sticky strip.
5. Cover ribbon and chipboard with the designer paper scallop circle you cut in step 1 (I like to use glue stick to get glue to all of the edges of the chipboard, but this still leaves me some "wiggle" room to get the edges of the scallops aligned perfectly).
6. Punch a 1 3/8" circle from the Raspberry Tart designer paper. Attach to front of colored chipboard.
7. Attach flower to circle using mini glue dots. Attach pearl half (from Pretties Kit) to flower center using a mini-glue dot.
8. To weight the bottom of the bookmark, place a strip of sticky strip along the edge of the ribbon. Slide on a piece of hardware (I used some retired hodgepodge hardware buckles here) and wrap ribbon around and attach to other side of ribbon with the sticky strip.

Here's a close up of the flower:

The new catalog has some fabulous new products you could use to make these bookmarks; be sure to check them out soon.

So is there anyone else out there that likes to "play" with matches, especially the old-fashioned matchboxes?  Okay, perhaps I'm a bit weird (perhaps, you say?), but I lvoe matchboxes.  They are so cute and fun to play with.

And I love this Matchbox die for the Big Shot! It is so much fun – and I have to admit – quite addicting! Do you know how many little goodies you can pack into one of these matchboxes? They actually hold a lot more than I realized. You can get 3 Chap Stick style lip balms in there, chocolate nuggets, tic-tacs, jelly beans, a whole lot of gift tags – hmm, might have to make this up in Christmas colors and give little gifts of Christmas gift tags. I like it!

Here's a little box I created for my workshops this month:

When I created this, I didn't realize that most of the colors would already be sold-out, but you can easily reproduce this in your favorite colors. I love the window in the top of the box sleeve. I don't think you can see it, but it has a window sheet behind the opening, so nothing from inside the box will fall out.

The matchbox itself is a breeze to cut and assemble - just run your choice of card stock and/or designer paper through the Big Shot with the matchbox die and voila!  Your box is perfectly cut and scored for you.  Wouldn't this make it so easy to create favors for a wedding, shower, party, etc?

To create the window, punch a hole with the large oval punch in the top of the window sleeve (before you assemble it).  Put a piece of window sheet (I cut mine 2"x 2 1/2") behind the opening.  Next, punch a large oval from a scrap piece of Pacific Point card stock.  Then take the scallop oval punch and center it over the oval opening you just created.  Punch this to create a little accent that you will put on top of the window opening (I prefer glue stick for this, since the piece is so small).  Now assemble your sleeve with SNAIL or preferably sticky strip.

To make the little tag (with the Matchbox Messages stamp set), I inked up the stamp in Basic Gray, then used a cotton swab to remove the ink from the little heart. I then used my Rose Red marker to add some color to my tag. Cute, don't you think? I punched out the image with the 1 1/4" circle punch and matted it with a 1 3/8" Baja Breeze circle punch. I then used my retired 1/8" cirlce punch to create a hole in the top which I threaded the Kiwi Kiss ribbon through.

Stamps: Matchbox Messages

Ink: Basic Gray, Rose Red marker

Paper: Pacific Point, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Walk in the Park DSP

Accessories: Window Sheets, 1 ¼" and 1 3/8" circle punches, 1/8" circle punch, Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon, Large Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, cotton swab, Big Shot, Matchbox die

Just like you, I love to learn new tips/tricks/techniques for my stamping and scrapbooking. As a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, my friends, family and customers look to me to provide new ideas, which can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. Well, luckily Stampin' Up! demonstrators are a very friendly, helpful bunch and I had the opportunity to take a demonstrators-only class from a very talented demonstrator from Nebraska – Jennifer Thomas.

This adorable little basket is just one of the 8 projects we made at this stamp camp.

I was a little confused a first, but once I figured it out, this was rather easy to put together.

How to make it:

1. Cut 2 Scallop Envelopes from So Saffron card stock (using the Big Shot).
2. Cut a piece of So Saffron card stock 1 ¾" x 7 ¾".
3. Score this piece at 2 ¼" and 5 ½".
4. Fold the 2 envelopes with the side and bottom flaps folded in and the top edge (scallop edge) folded out.
5. Put sticky strip on the side and bottom flaps of both envelopes. Remove the red liner and attach 1 envelope at a time to the So Saffron card stock strip. Now you have the bottom of your basket!
6. Decorate the front as desired.
   1. We stamped the Eclectic Circles in Really Rust on Very Vanilla card stock and punched with the 1 ¼" and ¾" circle punches. The smaller circle was popped up from the larger circle with a dimensional. Attach the circles to a So Saffron scallop circle and attach this to the front of the basket with a colored brad.
   2. I used a piece of Apple Cider designer paper that was cut 1 ½" x 12" and wrapped it around the base of the basket.
7. Cut the handle from So Saffron card stock 1"x12"; use a Stampin' Around Wheel to decorate if desired. Attach to inside of basket with Sticky Strip.

I haven't had a chance to take pictures of the other projects yet, but I will definitely share as soon as I can.

If you try this project, please let me know and it would be wonderful if you shared a picture! I love seeing all of the creative projects you are working on.

Happy Stamping!

The Designer Desk Set is one of my upcoming classes this month and I held this class for my downline last month. Here is the desk set that Sheri created using the Raspberry Tart designer series paper. I love how she used Basic Black to make the colors pop!

There are only a few days left to register, so be sure to sign up soon. You can see more pictures and register online here.

Join us for this month's stamp camp where we will create a 3-drawer chest (yes, the drawers work), a 3-part caddy (magazine-holder style) and 4 coordinating cards! We will be using the Walk in the Park designer series paper and retiring In Colors like Baja Breeze and Pacific Point.

This project is perfect to organize your office desk, stamping/scrapbooking/craft desk and makes a wonderful gift for many different occasions.

Note: paper patterns/colors may vary.

Date: Friday, 6/26 –or- Saturday, 6/27

Time: 6:30p-9:00p (Fri) –OR- 10:00a-12:30p (Sat)

Cost: $20.00 (includes chest of drawers, 3-part stationery caddy and 4 coordinating cards/envelopes)

RSVP by June 18^th.

Want to make your scrapbook buddies jealous?  While they are still organizing their photos, you can have a completed album in hand.  By the time your friends start their albums, you can have multiple albums done and ready to give as gifts.

It's here! 30 pages long with over 50 photographs!

This tutorial contains step-by-step instructions and color photos for completing the Top Note Mini-Scrapbook Album.

Included is a section on various options (e.g. you can still make this album without a Big Shot and Top Note die!) and pictures of additional albums using other color palettes/kits.

Price: $6.95

So, are you ready to create a cute, unique scrapbook without a lot of time or work?

Are you a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator? 
While this is an instructional tutorial, it can be used for holding your own classes. I’ve already had some demonstrators schedule multiple class times because their customers are so excited about this fun project!

Please refer to my policy on teaching my projects for classes.

I apologize for being MIA again. For those of you who know us, our 12 yr old greyhound has not been doing well physically these past couple of weeks. We finally found out that he has a bulging disc in his back, and that has been causing him so much pain that he cannot sleep for very long. (And our greyhound typically sleeps 20 hours a day!). So, he's not sleeping, and neither are we. My poor husband is averaging only about 4 hours/night. Ugh!

Anyway, this isn't why you stopped by, so on to the fun stuff! We had a great time at our team meeting last week and had some fantastic swaps that I just have to share with you. (Remember that you can click on any picture to bring up a larger view.)

The first card is from Karlene and she spoiled us with full cards where she used the Three Little Words stamp set. And she used the Top Note die with thin cork – love it! Here's the front:

And here is the inside (check out the cork oval under the flower image – nice way to tie things together!):

Shari made the cutest Father's Day cards using the Waterfall technique – these are so much more fun in person, because you get to play with them! I love all of the coloring she did on these cards, and they are just addicting to pull and watch them move. Hmm, I might have to bring back my Movers & Shakers stamp camp because these types of projects are just so much fun!

For my part, I finally had a chance to play with my Matchbox die and created these little boxes for the ladies:  

I wanted to show a different way to use the matchbox die, well, then just a matchbox, so I purposely didn't put a sleeve on the Pink Pirouette box. Instead of folding the sides of the box inward, I pulled them towards the outside of the box and punched them using my Eyelet Border punch. I added a strip of Whisper White card stock that was punched the same way, to add some more interest. I cut a piece of Kiwi Kiss DSP for a liner for the bottom of the box and then filled it with tags in different colors from the Matchbox die (these tags are actually on the die itself along with the box). I expect the gals can put this on their desk and pull out a tag as the need arises.

Here's a close up of the other little box, which uses the Bella Bleu DSP – believe it or not! The paper and the Sahara Sand card stock seemed so pale that I spiced it up with some Riding Hood Red. I really liked the way it turned out. I used the die to cut the red sleeve and then just took a piece of the Bella Bleu DSP that was the same length as the sleeve, tore the edges, and wrapped it around the box (I didn't cut it with the die). The paper folds so easily that I didn't need the score lines at all. I used Sahara Sand to ink up the 'thanks' stamp from Matchbox Messages (coordinated to go with the Matchbox die – don't you just love Stampin' Up!), and then used my Ruby Red marker to color the flowers. I punched it out with the 1 3/8" circle punch and layered it on one of the tags from the matchbox die. Add a little Kraft ribbon and voila! An adorable little thank you gift for someone you care about.

Do you like seeing projects made by members of my downline?  Please email me or leave me a comment letting me know what you think.

Just in case you missed it, there is a new video on my Stampin' Up! website creating a shower curtain and candle bowl using our Décor Elements vinyl – they are great! I have been trying to figure out what I wanted to do in our downstairs bathroom, and this may be just the thing.

Take a look at the video and let me know what you think:

- Kari

I mentioned in a previous post that my friend Melanie brought an adorable, miniature scrapbook with her when we got together for a monthly crop night a couple of weeks ago. She took a class at a local scrapbook store to make the book and she was working on making more for friends of hers. I loved her little book so much that I just had to make one for myself, using Stampin' Up! products.

Here's the front of my miniature scrapbook using the Top Note die for the Big Shot machine:

I used the Secret Garden Simply Scrappin' Kit (sadly retired), for the entire album and then coil bound it using my Bind-It-All. (Sneak peek: this is going to be one of the upcoming classes for May, which is National Scrapbooking Month).

This is the inside look, a couple of pages in. It's difficult to see since I don't have the pictures in yet, but this page on the right is actually a pocket. How cool is that?! There are a couple of pockets, quite a few blank pages, and then there's this fold-out, accordion style page that I just love. This is the first page of the accordion pagelet:

And this is what one side looks like open (remember you can click on any picture to bring up a larger view):

The accordion pages are double-sided, so you can load up on pictures, journaling or whatever you choose! *Love it!* (Can you tell I'm excited about this project? LOL.) I was so pleased with myself that I could take Melanie's project and re-invent it using the Top Note die and Stampin' Up! products.

As I mentioned, this will be an upcoming hands-on class, as well as a kit or instructions for those of you who aren't in the Northern Colorado area. (Note: I will be re-making this using current product and will share that as soon as I have it done.)

I am going to make a couple more of these to share with 2 of my dear friends. We get together monthly for a girl's afternoon out, and last week I decided that we had to take pictures to immortalize our outings. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so my best friend brought hers and now we just have to get the pictures transferred from her computer to mine (after we get back from our Spring Break trip). You probably already figured this out, but there are no pictures in my album right now, because I don't have the pictures. I can't wait to see what it looks like with pictures and journaling.

Well, I have to get this posted before we leave (we have to get up very, *very* early in the morning), so I'd better sign off.

I hope you enjoy my little book as much as I do!

- Kari

I have been having so much fun playing with my new Stampin' Up! goodies that arrived last week! This little box has probably got to be my new favorite (though to be fair, since we're away on Spring Break right now, I haven't had a chance to play with the new Matchbox die – I can't wait!!).

I have been having so much fun with it, that I decided it's going to be one of my projects for this month's Hostess Club:

I also used the new Friendly Words jumbo wheel which is part of Shelli's Signature line - *love it*! I also used some items from the Sale-a-Bration brochure, which I earned for FREE! (Gotta love free.) I used the Delicate Dots DSP as an accent around the box and to create a liner. I also used the Yummy stamp set. Now that all of our stamp sets are die cut, it only took me about 3 minutes to put this stamp set together – woo hoo! That's such a time saver. This Yummy set is going to be with me for a long time – I can see so many uses for it.

I don't want to spoil too much of the surprise for my club girls, so if you are interested in the recipe, please let me know.

Wouldn't you love to make projects like this every month? Then you should definitely think about joining one of my clubs (I have some for scrapbooking and card/project stamping). You can join a club at any time – the more the merrier! Contact me for more information. Live long distance and can't attend my club meetings? I've been thinking about creating monthly club kits and/or instructions for each of the projects. If this is something you might be interested in, please let me know.

- Kari