Song of My Heart Stampers

"Life Is Sweet" Big Shot Cupcake Banner

I am just having a little too much fun with the theme for this year's Mother-Daughter Luncheon at our church! We are holding our annual event in conjunction with a baby shower for a crisis pregnancy center this year, and it is going to be a cupcake extravaganza! Stampin' Up has so many wonderful cupcake-related stamp sets and punches and dies that it has been very easy to decorate for this one!

For this banner, I took 3x6 pieces of DSP, folded in half for strength (you could also back the DSP with cardstock, but you will want something besides just the one layer of paper). I trimmed the edges at an angle to create a simple cucpake liner look. I used the Subtles stack for this project. Next, I cut cupcake tops by running cardstock through the Big Shot with the largest Scallop Circle Bigz die, then cutting them in half. The cherries were made with the one inch circle punch.

After the words were cut, also on the Big Shot, using the Simple Letters alphabet dies, the rest was just assembly and decorating! I stamped sprinkles on some, put bows on others, and used Crystal Effects on the cherries. I had to make a bunch of these banners, so I went with Shimmer Spray, but if I were just making one I would have used Dazzlin' Diamonds for extra ka-pow.

You've got to try this adorable banner--contact me to order the Scallop Circle die, if you don't already own it, or order the Big Shot before April 30th and I will throw in the Scallop Circle die for free. Then you can get going on this CUTE project, too! And let me know if you would like to attend the luncheon--it's on Saturday, April 30th at eleven a.m. at First Baptist Church, Fort Atkinson, WI, and admission is a donation of a baby item for the Access Women's center. I would be honored to have you as my guest! zwolaneks@att.net

Have you seen my duck?

Do you see my duck? No? Neither did we until a couple of days ago. No idea how long this sweet little momma duck has had her nest behind our Korean Lilac in the front flower bed.

She is SO well camoflauged! She did leave the nest once that we know of, and we got to see the tips of at least three pale green eggs underneath all the down and leaves she has pulled together to make a cozy nest. Hopefully in another week or two, we'll have pictures of fuzzy ducklings to share. Pray nothing untoward happens to them via the neighbors' dogs, or my kids will be absolutely crushed!

We also have a fat little bunny whom I believe might be living under the porch steps. I haven't caught him during daylight yet so no photos. It's starting to feel like a zoo around here--we also have a bird's nest for the ninth year running in the wreath on our front porch. We have had one in the porch wreath or in one of the potted hanging plants every year since we moved in to this house when Dan was six months old. There is also a male and female cardinal that seem to be taking a fancy to our pine tree this year.

It always feels like a little spring blessing when one of God's little creatures chooses to make their home with us!

Happy Mail

Wanted to share some of the cute things that have come my way lately! Thanks for thinking of me, friends!

Grunge Rock stamp set, card by Angie H

Bring on the Cake stamp set, card by Lori B

Thoughts & Prayers/Just Believe stamp sets, card by Janis D

Crosses of Hope stamp set, card by Tracy Z

Whose party will it be?

It's that time of year again! I'm counting down to the Stampin' Up Walt Disney World incentive trip! I'm so excited! It always seems more tangible when it gets under $2k. This will be my fourth incentive trip in a row (!!!) if I get it! I want this experience for my kids so badly! They will be the perfect ages for it.

Many, many thanks to my lovely loyal customers and blog followers for helping me get this far! AND just for funsies this year, I have a special surprise for the hostess or outside order whose party knocks me over the top!

That lucky person will get a FREE ANY-PRICE STAMP SET from me!

That's right, their choice of any one stamp set in the Idea Book & Catalog or the Summer Mini catalog will be gifted to the hostess or outside order whose party total or order finally puts that Disney vacation in the bag.

Let me tell you, I will be in the mood to c-e-l-e-b-r-a-t-e that day, and so will that lucky lady! You can't win THIS contest unless you enter--so call me to pick a date, and invite your friends, because if YOU are the winner, we are going to PAR-TAY!! 

Installing Spring

INSTALLING SPRING...
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Whoopsie! Forgot to post this carrot box & skinny triangle box

Ok, so I made this carrot more than two months ago, and apparently intended to post it closer to Easter and never did. But, better late than never, right? And I can't be the only one procrastinating on making my little Easter goodies, so maybe this will not be too late for some of you.

The carrot is made with a sheet of Pumpkin Pie cardstock and the Petal Cone die. This die in in the Occasions Mini catalog, so don't be looking for it in the main catalog, 'cause you won't find it! We received word that it will be carrying over into the next big catalog, though, so YAY for that! I love this unusual die and am finding it far more versatile than I ever dreamed it would be.

I get asked all the time how I make the lines on the carrot, so I'll forestall the questions this time and tell you it is the flower stem from Fifth Avenue Floral.

Here's another quick idea for the Petal Cone die--you can cut off one of the four sides and make a narrow, tall, three-sided box that is smaller (requiring less candy to fill) and very unique! And don't forget you can punch windows in this box, covering the opening with Window Sheet or with  a piece snipped from one of our clear translucent envelopes.

Isn't that spiffy? Just another use for your Big Shot Petal Cone Die, and another reason why you need a Stampin' Up demonstrator of your very own, to show you how to get the most out of your machine. Consider joining us at Big Shot Club--we meet at 6:30 on the first Monday night of every month--a fun group of gals who are crazy about this die-cutting system and the plethora of materials you can cut with it, including fabric, leather, balsa, metal, vinyl, wallpaper, chipboard and MUCH more. No machine necessary to join--ask me today for details!

BEST MDS downloads ever, released today!

It's Techie Tuesday and Stampin' Up released the BEST set of downloads today! I just adored this Urban Garden DSP, with Baja Breeze, Basic Gray, Not Quite Navy and Kiwi Kiss. There is a matching embellishment pack called Roof Garden that you need to check out, too!

My friend Penni's gonna flip that HER favorite DSP is now a My Digital Studio option as well. Green Tea and the coordinating stamp brush set just came out this morning. And there's a new product called digial tape--so cool! Click here to view it.

Love this--it's a stamp--no wait, it's a Decor Elements--now, it's a download--oh wait--IT'S ALL THREE! The awesome artwork in Tres Chic is available now for digi-scrapping both in its original form and with the words separated out individually for an even better value. Love it!

If you have MDS or another digital paper-crafting software, click here to start shopping. If you'd like to learn what digital designing is all about and have a little overview of My Digital Studio, complete with sample of the finished professionally printed product, call me today!