Big Shot Blog Hop

Welcome! This month, I'm so excited to show off one of my very favorite tools: the Big Shot! For those who aren't familiar, the Big Shot is an epic multi-tool. Check it out.

Run dies through it to cut shapes out of all sorts of materials. Use it with Textured Impressions Embossing Folders to give dimension and texture to your projects. Also be sure to check out the Framelits, Embosslis, Bigz dies, Edgelits, and Thinlits. So many options!

If you've been waiting for the right time to purchase a Big Shot, that time is now! When you buy a Big Shot during the month of August, you'll receive your choice of one of five FREE exclusive stamp set and Framelits bundles (see bundles here)--that's up to a $60 value absolutely free! If you already own a Big Shot, we're also offering a 15-percent discount on these select bundles.

My project today showcases a few of the fun things you can do with the Big Shot. I had a friend ask me if we could make invitations for her daughter's 4th birthday. What a fun project! So we brainstormed and came up with these super-cute invitations.

The texture on top is the Mosaic Madness embossing folder, and the cute little butterflies are part of an Embosslit. We took a strip of DSP and creased it into an adorable ruffle to stick underneath the edge of the Tempting Turquoise paper.

This is just such a small sample of all the great things the Big Shot can do, so be sure to hop through to the other bloggers to see what they've showcased!

Bundle & Save Blog Hop (Or, Please excuse the moving madness)

Welcome back, stampers! This month has been insanely busy! As you saw in my last post, I'm getting ready to move, along with helping several friends move and deal with other huge life changes, and getting to go on vacation with my husband (our first road trip!). So please excuse the temporary lack of project and enjoy the quick post about the great Bundle & Save options that Stampin Up offers.

This year's catalog features several fantastic "bundle" options that pair a stamp set with matching accessories -- usually Framelits for the Big Shot -- and give you a 15% savings! You can't beat coordinating products AND great savings!

Here's a handy list of each of the Bundle & Save options included in this year's catalog:

• Chalk Talk -- pg 11 
• Label Love -- pg 14
• Four Frames -- pg 21 
• Journal Bundles -- pg 29
• Apothecary Art -- pg 57
• Something for Baby -- pg 74
• Itty Bitty Banners -- pg 79
• Simply Sports--  pg 90
• Playful Pennants -- pg 91/92
• Starburst Sayings -- pg 117 
• Honeycomb Hello -- pg 134 
• Flower Patch -- pg 156 
• Tag a Bag -- pg 201

I decided to feature the Chalk Talk bundle, which is so much fun to play with! It was one that I borrowed from Julie, actually, but it may be on my "need to buy" list now! The stamps are super fun, but the really awesome part is the Framelits! You can cut out (somewhat) customized tags out of anything! So versatile!

This card features a cute little narrow tag and a popped-up heart. As you've seen in previous posts, I really love the combination of Crumb Cake and Cherry Cobbler (maybe because they're both desserts?) It's such a simple card, but the textured background and the chalk-like font give it a lot of character.

My second card was a little more tricky to figure out. I tried and tried and tried to figure out how to put one of the big tags on this card, and it just wasn't happening. So I browsed Pinterest and got the inspiration I needed: Ditch the big tag and focus on this super-sweet sentiment instead! After that, things just fell together so much better. The oval was cut out using a punch, rather than the Chalk Talk framelits, but I think the Oval Framelits would work too.

What's your favorite Bundle & Save option? Be sure to hop through all the other blogs to see their great projects!

Promotion Playtime - "We Create" Blog Hop

Welcome back! This month, we wanted to show you some of the great products that are available outside of our traditional catalog. Sometimes these fun offerings are overlooked, but they are too awesome to miss out on!

My projects use a few products from our Sale-a-Bration catalog that you can earn for FREE for every $50 you spend this month. Yep, for every $50 you spend, you get to chose a FREE item from the SAB mini catalog! (check out the sidebar for more info!) 

I started with a simple outline, inspired by Pinterest.

The banner "string" between pennants was simply drawn
in with the Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Write marker - easy!

This simple, cute card uses the Banner Blast set and coordinating punch from the SAB catalog, as well as one of our new totally clear photopolymer stamps. The photopolymer stamps take some getting used to, but they do give a super-sharp image, as you can see above with the "Thank You." A little Cherry Cobbler baker's twine and a "string" (drawn with the Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Write Marker) finish off the card. Love!

Then I moved on to a more-involved card. This one uses the same stamps and punches as the first, but I also used our super-fun Envelope Punch Board! You can use the punch board to make a custom envelope in pretty much any size, and it's so easy!

As you can see, I also added some DSP to this card, as well as using the polka-dot Textured Embossing Folder from the SAB catalog. I LOVE that the embossing folder coordinates so well with the pattern on one of the pennant stamps! (The orange one on the right end). I went through about 5 different color/paper/texture combinations before finally settling on this one, so now I have a bunch of itty-bitty envelopes laying around -- oh darn!  ;)  The layout for this card, and the instructions for the custom-sized envelope, were found over on Julie Kettlewell's blog.

Thanks for stopping by my blog! Be sure to check out the rest of the ladies in the Hop, and don't miss out on all these great products!!

Blog Hop - Celebrate the Everyday

Happy New Year!!

The We Create Blog Hop group has committed to another year of fun, inspiring blog hops, and I can't wait to see the awesome projects my fellow demonstrators and I come up with this year! This month's blog hop is up a few days later than usual to accommodate the crazy holiday schedule.  We also bumped the date back a bit because . . .

our Occasions Catalog debuts today!!

Check it out in my sidebar! There are SO many great stamp sets, project ideas, supplies, and tools in there! The theme is great too. So great, in fact, that we stole it for our Blog Hop this month! There's always a reason to celebrate, and this catalog encourages you to "Celebrate the Everyday." Sounds like an excuse to party to me!

One of the first things to catch my eye in the new catalog was this fun Burlap and Blooms Wreath. I've been doing a lot of home decor projects lately, and this is the perfect thing to hang on your door to welcome in Spring! The fact that we're just starting Winter is irrelevant - ha! The pastel colors and the fun blooms make for a welcome addition in all this white snow and ice. It took longer to put together than I originally thought, but it's super simple. Just folding, gluing, and wrapping - easy, peasy!

I haven't put all the flowers on yet, but I thought it was pretty darn cute as-is!

Lots of opportunity for customizing and personalizing this fun wreath.

I'll be hosting a class to make these adorable wreaths in March, so stay posted for updates!

Here's wishing you a fun, happy, and creative year in 2014! Thanks for stopping by!

Getting Back on the Wagon

These last few months have been crazy for me, hence the virtual "radio silence" on the blog lately. It mostly started in September, when I went to Salt Lake City's first-ever Comic Con and put together a costume within 5 days. After that huge burst of creativity and resourcefulness, my brain had just had enough!

So now I've taken a bit of a hiatus and I'm back! Unfortunately, during my "break" I completely missed sending my own Dad a birthday card! (Yeah, I'm such a great daughter... But I did call him on his birthday!) When Julie invited me over to stamp the other day, I thought "Here's my chance to jump back into stamping again." Looking through some stamp sets, this one jumped out at me as the perfect choice for a belated birthday card for my Dad. And hey, it happens to fit with a challenge! I'm on a roll!

I love the way the Smoky Slate looks with Pacific Point. My default was to just go with Whisper White, but on a whim I tried out the (relatively) new color of gray. I think it turned out great! The fun stripe details come from the "Gorgeous Grunge" stamp set, and the phrases are from (ironically) the "Remembering Your Birthday" stamp set. By the way, this Gorgeous Grunge set is ON SALE for 25% off! But hurry - sale ends October 28! Use hostess code ABJABXYN at checkout.

I'm linking this card up at The Paper Players weekly challenge. This week it's to make a masculine birthday card. Perfect! The colors, layout, and details of this card are definitely great for a guy's birthday.

Sale-a-Bration!

It's time for Stampin' Up!'s BIGGEST promotion of the year! Sale-a-Bration starts tomorrow, January 22, 2013.  And there are three amazing ways to PARTY during this annual celebration!

At your party, you'll get to:

• create fun, beautiful projects to show off to your friends (or on Pinterest)
• earn fabulous freebies
• enjoy time with friends

Once you have gathered your friends, you will:

• get a free pack of Silver Glimmer Paper AND $25 hostess dollars! (with a qualifying party order)

If you invite even MORE friends:

• get free pack of Silver Glimmer Paper AND $65 hostess spending dollars AND free Sale-A-Bration product bundle AND 50% off any full priced item! (with a qualifying party order)

Do you have a wish list?  If not, go here to get one started!

• For EVERY $50 you spend, you receive one FREE product from the Sale-A-Bration catalog!

What you'll get when you join my SU! team during SAB:

• 25% more free product in your COMPLETELY customizable kit.  (That means $156.50 worth of product for on $99!)
• 20% off all product -- all the time!
• Access to Stampin' Success -- the exclusive Demonstrator magazine
• Opportunity to pre-order items before they are released to the public.

LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED! 

Contact me today to host, shop, or join!

Paper Pumpkin -- Your personal "Fairy Creativity Godmother"

Introducing Paper Pumpkin

Starting Monday, January 14th: Paper Pumpkin comes to your door each month (a fully decked-out creativity carriage) that will help you to escape your life with some paper fun. It comes in a sweet box, but you'll really love what you find on the inside: All the stamps, ink, paper, and accessories to create fun, Pin-able projects. Create things like cards, journals, decor,  and more! Paper Pumpkin by Stampin' Up! is a new monthly kit program that anyone (even you) can enjoy!

 It's so easy to get started.   

A Paper Pumpkin membership is $19.95 per month (and shipping is included!).Simply sign up for the program starting Monday, January 14 by visiting www.mypaperpumpkin.com (or click on the button in my sidebar) and click Get it. Every month, a new surprise project kit arrives at your doorstep. Just think of the anticipation of creating a fun project to pin, showoff, and share with your friends and family every month! You're automatically set up on an auto-renew system, but you can cancel or even just skip a month at any time.

Contact me, Michelle Stoll, if you have any questions, and don't forget to choose me as your demonstrator!