Embellish

Easter Bunny Carrot Door Hanger Pouch and Card

Look what I made today! In preparations up to my eyeballs for the upcoming monthly meeting of my Big Shot Budget Buster Club, I have been making things for just about every holiday year-round. But my favorite has got to be these carrot door hanger pouches!

These are made from the Big Shot Pennant Bigz XL die. If you cut out the pennant the ordinary way, it is too wide of a triangle and just doesn’t really say “carrot.” I learned that if you angle your paper on top of the die so that the one end  of the folded side is touching the bottom point of the pennant, but the OTHER end is one inch away from the top edge of the normal pennant, you will get a much nicer carrot shape.

I trimmed off the top scallop on either side as well. Cut two from Apricot Appeal and sponge with Tangerine Tango. I also stamped the stem lines from Fifth Avenue Floral for the little lines on the carrot.

 After that it was a matter of doubling a piece of Glorious Green and trimming it into “grass” with my scissors. I spritzed them with water to make them pliable and curled them in different directions with my bone folder. Attached them with dimensionals and added Certainly Celery ribbon to hang it.

 The carrot card is the bottom of the big pennant, left folded, same thing with the grass. I haven’t tried either of these two projects with the smaller, fatter pennant, but I imagine as long as you angle your folded paper as directed above, you will wind up with much the same results.

So there you are! Sale A Bration is the perfect time to buy this Pennant die, and if you order before my club on Monday night, you can come for FREE to that meeting and learn MANY different ways to use it, other than the ordinary pennant/banners (which are fun too,  and quite addictive!) Visit my site www.lyssa.stampinup.com and place your order today, then call me to RSVP!

Well, whoo-hootie for me! Stamper Showcase again

I tell ya, I'm on a roll here! This card of mine is on today's Stamper's Showcase. I knew they would like this card, because it has always been a hit with my customer friends. I've had several requests for the instructions, so here's the link to my original post--http://songofmyheartstampers.typepad.com/song_of_my_heart_stampers/2008/12/shirt-and-tie-card.html

Inspired by Nature? Still available!

Many of you fell in love with this gorgeous set featuring coneflowers and prairie grass when it debuted in August 2008. I demoed it quite a lot last fall, including this October/November workshop 12x12 scrapbook page. And then it disappeared! You may have noticed it isn't pictured in the new Spring/Summer 2009 Idea Book. Well, it is still available--it's just on the dormant list! There are just too many awesome sets to fit in the catalog every year, yet Stampin' Up hates to retire things before they've run their course. So, the dormant list was created about two catalog cycles ago to help with that. If a set you're looking for is not to be found in the new catalog, and you don't remember seeing it on the retirement list in December and January, drop me a line--you may not have missed out after all!
Supplies used: Inspired By Nature, Schoolbook Serif Alphabet; Paper: Autumn Vine and Always Artichoke DSP, Kraft, Chocolate Chip and Mellow Moss cardstock; Inks: Chocolate Chip; Accessories: Large and Small Tag Punches, Crop A Dile, Hemp Twine, brayer, dimensionals, Photo Corners punch.

My Stamper's Showcase Card! 2/13/09

This is a card of mine that was featured on Friday, February 13th, on the Stamper's Showcase, a demonstrator-only website. It is quite a little hoopty-doo for a demo to get on there (there's forty thousand plus of us, although not everyone submits work) and I am very honored! What a nice early birthday present!
Stamps: Love You Much. Paper: Very Vanilla, Regal Rose and Candy Lane DSP. Inks: Close to Cocoa Craft ink (embossed with Crystal Clear EP) and Regal Rose Classic ink. Accessories: Scallop Envelope die for the Big Shot; Scallop Circle punch; Heart to Heart punch; Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon; dimensionals, Blender Pen.

The Spring Fling 10-10-10 is half full already!

You are most cordially invited to my Spring Fling 10-10-10 event on Saturday, March 14^th at 10:00 a.m. For just ten dollars, you can make ten different cards in about ten minutes each! You only need to bring your preferred adhesive (scissors, bone folder, scorer, etc, optional).

 There will be TEN STAMP SETS GIVEN AWAY THAT DAY! You can be one of the lucky winners in one of four ways—

1. RSVP'ing with a new-to-stamping friend;
2. signing up to purchase the Starter Kit (on sale for just $169);
3. booking a workshop from then until June 30th;
4. placing an order of $50 or more.

I'm also offering 10% off all outside orders that day—just get your orders to me by ten p.m. that night--you do not need to be present to take advantage of that deal.

And don't forget, this whole fantastic event falls within the Sale A Bration schedule, so you can get a free stamp set, DSP package or ribbon bundle with every $50 purchased! Be sure to let me know if you have not received an SAB brochure.

 I hope you can make it! RSVP today to reserve your spot! Space is limited to 30 ladies and is already half full. Check out my blog in the next couple of weeks for sneak peeks of the cards we will be making. 

Happy Stamping! Lyssa (920) 261-3962

www.Lyssa.stampinup.net

February Scrapbook Page and Scallop Envelope Tote

First off I have to say a big "happy birthday!" to my adorable niece Lexie, who turns four today and is pictured here with her three brothers (she's the far left). All the little G's are cute, but the little girl version of my brother, with big blue eyes and a halo of pale gold curls, is absolutely irresistible! That's them below, when Lexie was brand new.
This is the scrapbook page and Scallop Envelope tote that we made at my February downline meeting. You remember the tote from an earlier post--so refer to that for instructions. This was just a Riding Hood Red and Confetti Cream version of that--but they had to supply their own candy, because I ATE all the ones intended for their use! Yikes!!!
Who says pink and red don't go together? Not my five year old for sure! And in February, all bets are off. especially when it's Pink Pirouette and Riding Hood Red... those two are yummy! I don't know how SU does it, but they are the PERFECT shades/hues to complement each other. So you know where this is going... if you've got one, you really need the other.
The scrapbook page was born out of more of those leftover strips of DSP. I seem to have a lot of those! But this shows you how a little DSP can go a long way towards making a page pop. The new Eyelet Border punch was the perfect accent to go with the Bella Rose gingham pattern. You can't see too well in the photo, but there's tiny hearts from the Love You Much set stamped all over the Naturals White background in Pink Pirouette. Add some punches popped up with dimensionals, and the result is cute and quick.

Makin' Valentines...

We spent a very productive and fun Saturday afternoon making Valentine's for all our various peeps... I made them for my downline and extended family, and the kids "made" them (with lots of help from mommy) for each of their 18 class members in both of their classes (nine boys and nine girls in each class, funnily enough) plus a total of six teacher gifts and extras to be handed out as needed throughout the week. Whew! It was a huge project, but so much fun.
Natalie's cocoa and strawberry marshmallow bags are each decorated with her own artwork of rainbows, flowers and VERY colorful hearts, and this year Dan was old enough to address all of his pencil holders by himself. The new Full Heart punch from Stampin' Up  is easy enough for little hands to squeeze, so we had great fun with that. The pencil holders turned out so cute, I think we'll be making those at the next downline meeting. Not nearly as cute as the little bare feet, crossed so neatly, in the first photo, though!

Jan gets her own post

  Jan Hoyt (Inkerzaway on SCS) is so special she gets her very own post! Ok, ok, I'll admit, I somehow missed Jan's card when photographing my CQS#7 slideshow. And it is way too cute to pass up--so here we are. Her classy Fifth Avenue Floral shadowbox card on the right was her entry for the swap, and the adorable coffee themed one on the left, from the cute new set Sip by Sip, was a little extra somethin' she threw in her envelope. Both fold completely flat and fit in a regular envelope. Aren't they cute? I will be using this design for a future Incredible Cards Club for sure. Thanks, Jan!  (does this post make up for me forgetting you?)

Prizes for the winners of my CQS #7 Swap! Urban Garden Photo Cubes

These little cuties are so fun to make, although you do have to extra careful with the scoring! I got this idea from Amysings on www.splitcoaststampers.com when she swapped with me at Convention 2008. My incarnation uses the totally fab Urban Garden DSP and Basic Gray, Baja Breeze and Kiwi Kiss cardstock, embellished with Photo Corner and Designer Label punches and lots of Stylized Silver Hodgepodge Hardware.
Winners of my on-line, demo-only swap are recieving this little thank-you gift from me in their return envelopes. Most of the fun of the contests are the recognition and fame (lol) you get by being listed as a winner, but I always like to come up with something flat and fun that can be mailed back (quite a challenge now by the seventh time!) So congratulations to Jael (Best in Swap); and Allison, Barbara and Kelly (first, second and third place, respectively). Enjoy the little desk decoration!

Swaps from our awesome February demo meeting!

I'm so proud of my ladies! Look at their lovely work. We had eight people at the February meeting and seven participated in the swap (my entry is below). Kelly made more of her hummingbird CQS contest winning card, and Jane did a highly texturized version of her camera card, also from the same swap. Wanda did a classy purple butterfly, and Karri was channeling summer with her Tangerine Tango card. Laura's scalloped square butterflies are sure to be copied, and we all loved Tracy Z's take on Petal Pizazz.
Awesome job, everyone! Thanks for making our meetings so much fun. You all keep me on my toes!

Looky looky! My latest toy for the Big Shot!

I just can't tell you how gorgeous this die is... I really, really like it. I am thrilled with the new Simple Flowers embosslit (embosses and cuts out at the same time) and the Little Leaves Sizzlet die. These three cards were my first projects with it and they all turned out SO pretty! These are thank you notes, but wouldn't that flower be bee-yoo-tee-full on a wedding or anniversary card?
I would never in a bazillion million years ever cut all those leaves out by hand, so the Sizzlet is a life saver for me for sure. I cranked out a dozen in short order. And the flower is a great size for any scraps you have lying around. Both these exclusive Stampin' Up dies are available through my website, www.lyssa.stampinup.net
Some version of this card will be a project at my next Big Shot club meeting. So consider yourself sneak-peeked! And be sure to let me know if you want the last spot--we meet on the third Mondays of each month.

Swapping is SUCH FUN!

These lovely pieces of art were created by demos all over the US and Canada in batches of ten and sent to me by a certain deadline. I swapped them out and sent them each ten different ones back! For this particular swap, there were three groups of ten each. A few of them are submitting theirs for various contests, so I am not posting them, but here are the others for you to enjoy! I have been blessed with truly gifted stampers in my organized swaps. Not a dud in the bunch!

Click on this link to find out more about Demo-Only swaps on Splitcoast Stampers: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=411217

Three Altered Top Note Ideas

  Good morning, all! I'm sure no one wants to think about Christmas in February (except my five year old, who already can't wait) but I had to share these three card ideas because they demo just how versatile that gorgeous Top Note die can be. We experimented with all these at my last Big Shot Club meeting and had a great time. For the record, there is one space left for the $60 per month option, and we could squeeze in one or two more for the $10 or $25 order projects-only option. Now is the perfect time to join--you have missed on meeting, but we could have a private make-up session so you wouldn't be missing out on the dies we have already focused on.

So, going from left to right, here's tidbit about each of the three above projects. The first is a pocket card made from two Top Notes, one of Baja Breeze cs and the other of Urban Garden DSP (my favorite, even though Raspberry Tart comes in an extremely close second!). The Urban Garden one was trimmed off (you could also fold it down) and adhered to the front with our Tombow Multi. I measured Whisper White to fit comfortably in the pocket without being able to slip out too easily, and added a focal point made of punches and stamped with the Eastern Blooms set. A little magic with the 2-Way Glue Pen and Dazzlin' Diamonds (a girl's best friend, ya know), and a twist of Kiwi Kiss striped grosgrain ribbon, and you have an adorable pocket card that fits in a regular envelope easily.

In the middle is a purse card I came up with a while back and posted in my post about those cute Felt Flurries from the Holiday Mini Catalog. The "hinge" of the card is up under the Top Note, so the purse opens from the bottom. I did this because I wanted to only use half the Top Note and save myself cutting out twice as many as were really necessary. However, you could have the "hinge" be along the bottom, and use a full, folded Top Note to close the card at the flap with maybe a quarter velcro dot.

Everyone always loves the polka dots... that's just Crystal Effects (the best 6.95 anyone has ever spent), a technique that is as easy as pie and requires zero talent except for patience to let it dry. You would not believe how CE can take your cards from boring to ba-zam! in seconds.

The final card is the 2008 Christmas card from my talented upline Kristen. The back is just one layer and the actual card is the extended Top Note on the front. Inside is a family picture and her writing. I'd explain that one to you, but you just need to sign up for the Big Shot club and you can see it for yourself! So there you are... three more reasons you NEED the Top Note die!

25 random things about me

This game has been making the rounds of blogs and internet sites lately and I fell for it. It's actually quite fun--see #25! So here you go--more than you ever wanted to know about me:

 

Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. I have been to seven different countries so far: US, Canda, Mexico, Italy, Egypt, Israel, England; and almost all 50 states (missing Alaska and the upper New England states). Adding Hawaii this year--whoo hoo!
2. I am horrifically allergic to cats. This causes issues. I love dogs--big ones, not little ones. But we don't have any because guess who got stuck picking up the dog poop in the yard when she was growing up?? You got it. I don't have anything against cats, by the way--in fact they're so cute it is practically torture for me not to be able to pet them and kiss their little nosie-wosies.
3. I have a lot of flaws, but I'd say my absolute worst one is sheer laziness. I often say, if I can accomplish this much when I'm this disorganized, think of what I could do if I actually got up off my duff!
4. I have a lot of good points, too, but I'd say my best one is sheer creativity. I am blessed to have a job that pays me to create every single day. And a budget that REQUIRES me to be enormously creative with the resources we have been entrusted to steward.
5. I have been lucky enough to fall head over heels in love twice. What a rush!
6. Speaking of luck, lately I have been on a winning streak, winning door prizes, contests, etc. Yes, I should probably go buy a lottery ticket NOW. And I should challenge Mark to Scrabble immediately.
7. I will probably die of skin cancer, but I'm currently tanning in preparation for my upcoming trip to Hawaii. I will NOT spend my first three days there sick in bed from sunburn! Last time I tanned for a wedding in college, I went for two months religiously and was barely cream-colored by the wedding.
8. My blog is named Song of My Heart Stampers, but really it is my children who make my heart sing. I think they're the most beautiful things I have ever seen and they take my breath away on a regular basis. I scrapbook so that I have an excuse to stare at their pictures.
9. My husband is my best friend. I feel very sad for anyone who can't say that about their spouse. I don't claim to understand him (he is a man, after all) but I find life with him to be endlessly entertaining. Those of you who know Mike can fully imagine, I'm sure.
10. Men can tune out here as I'm going to talk about childbirth. I gave birth twice with zero drugs and that makes me very proud of myself and also very sympathetic to any woman who chooses to use pain aids during labor. After experiencing it, I can't blame anyone who gives in and takes the drugs!
11. I secretly detest my mini-van and pretend I am driving something else. Now the driver's side window is stuck and I'm all like, "oh, wouldya look at that, time to get a new car, I guess!"
12. I am very competitive and I hate to lose, although I try to be a good loser. Except when Kim and Jenny Fink beat us at Couples Night. Then it's all about revenge.
13. I can't stand it when all the mini blinds in a room are not drawn up to exactly the same level. Woe be unto he who closes them some-up, some-down, too. Must. Be. All. The. Same.
14. I'm a very good shot. I think my estimation went up considerably in my seven year old's mind last week when Daddy confirmed it. None of us hunt, though. Not sure what I'd DO exactly with anything I shot. I can filet a fish, though. If I had to. To survive.
15. I play the piano very poorly. I think #3 is the likely reason why. The things I am good at are things I don't have to practice (or I would likely not be very good at those things either).
16. We have lived in this house for seven years and I have painted all but one of the rooms at least twice, two of them four separate times--bathroom (now Celtic Sage) and kitchen (goldenrod). The living room has been three different colors (now a Sonoma red) and the dining room has been two shades of plum. I have to have color around me.
17. My cousin just bought my dream house (three story Victorian, all original leaded glass, woodwork, etc) this past year. She promises she will sell it to me when they move. I am hoping they move soon. lol
18. I am truly addicted to caffiene. I just get so much more done on latte days. I have cut out all other vices in order to focus on this one. In the process I have become a little bit of a coffee snob. My new year's resolution was to cut out the donut holes with the coffee, though.
19. My most interesting scar (I have a bunch because I'm a klutz) is probably on my ear lobe, where my earring almost ripped all the way out when I was a teenager. Let me serve as a cautionary tale to any youngster wanting a piercing.
20. I visit www.splitcoaststampers.com almost every single day. And waste a lot of time.
21. My motto is "dream big." I have it on my office wall along with my favorite quote-- "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've always imagined." My newest favorite business quote is "hope is not a strategy."
22. I am "a little bit of everything American"--Irish, Scots, German, Polish Jew, and Czech, mainly.
23. In the US, the place I would most like to return to is Charleston, South Carolina. The place I think is the most gorgeous spot in the nation is Story, Wyoming, looking west towards the Big Horns. The place I most want to live is wherever the Lord leads us.
24. I am thinking of going back to school. Education is truly wasted on the young. Don't ask me for what for, though--I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.
25. I spent over an hour writing this. It's irresistable, the urge to talk about yourself. It's why I resisted starting a blog for so long--just seemed like the height of arrogance to me. I think that's why we love Facebook so much--we can talk about ourselves as often as we want--and in the third person--how fun!

Dan's an artist, too!

  Just had to share the latest obsession at our house--the animated movie Wall-E. We love that little guy! It's the biggest thing to hit our house since the movie Cars. Notice the other robots and the little cockroah sidekick at the bottom. Too cute. Artwork by Dan, age 7

Scallop Envelope Tote Bag & Cards

 

This is one of my favorite new projects to make with the Scallop Envelope Big Shot die. The sweet little tote and cards above were a group present from my sideline Susan Auyer at Leadership. Isn't it cute??? She was the number six Rising Star Demo of 2007-8 for a reason!

To make the bag, just cut two scallop envelopes from cardstock (Close to Cocoa used here). Cut a 1.5x11 inch long strip of the same cardstock to serve as the handle (Susan ran our one-inch wide Chocolate Chip double-stitched grosgrain ribbon along this part on hers). The handle serves as the sides of the box--does that make sense? So you use the side flapes on the envelopes to attach the handle part and the bottom flaps of the envelopes become the bottom of the bag. You can either glue the scalloped flaps down or leave them up as Susan did on hers.

Then the resulting tote bag is just the right size for 3x3 cards and our mini envelopes! Susan made these cute notes using the Love You Much stamp set, Riding Hood Red and Chocolate Chip inks, and the new Heart to Heart punch along with narrow chocolate twill tape. What a great gift!

Those little strips of DSP--don't pitch them!

 

Look at this fun new thing to do with those annoying little one-inch strip of leftover double-sided papers! To make these cute quilted cards, I simply glued DSP on scrap paper (strips in the right hand sample, squares on the left) and cut it out with my Big Shot (my new BFF). Then I added ribbon and a focal point or sentiment and there you go--a quick and CUTE quilted card made from leftover pieces that would otherwise get banged up in your file until you eventually guiltily threw them out.

Above Left: Love you Much, 1.25 inch circle punch, Scallop Circle punch, dimensionals, Riding Hood Red CS and ink, Candy Lane and Bella Rose DSP. Above Right: Autumn Vine DSP, Close to Cocoa cardstock, Chit Chat rub-ons, Very Vanilla Craft ink, dimensionals, Twill Tape.

Main Stage Page--say THAT ten times fast!

 

There is no fuschia in my house, let me just start by telling you that. So if the Really Rust and the Baja Breeze didn't tone down the fuschia and red Jumbotron backgrounds enough for ya, let me tell you, I tried. But regardless, I LOVE this spread.

Talk about memories! The highlight of my Convention 2008 trip was getting to walk across the stage for earning the trip to Hawaii and acheiving more than $20,000 in a year's sales. it's hard to think of any other honor SU could give me that I would be more proud of. I worked my backside off last year, and my customer friends all pulled together, and my downline committed to get me on that trip, and together we all made it. I can't wait for the Aloha party I am throwing after I get back from Hawaii at the end of March!

I am a slow learner (or maybe just cheap)

   NOTE: please read tirade in previous post to see why I say I am a slow learner.

Here I am again with contraband cheapo paper I bought from Hobby Lobby--but this time I got lucky and the colors in the fun swirly leaf pattern actually went quite well with our pretty Old Olive, Rose Red and Pumpkin Pie (and as I'm typing this I'm think oh my word those are the exact colors of our Felt Fusions Flowers and WHY didn't I put some of them on this page they would have been downright adorable!!!)

Oh well. The photos are likewise from Convention 2008 and brought back SO many happy memories of that incredibly fun trip. There's us working on the Make N Takes, me with one of my swap cards (shoulda made 100 more of those!) and my upline Kristen and I. There's also snaps of the banners that were all over the downtown Salt Lake City area welcoming us, and the vinyl on the doors to the Convention Center that transformed it into our personal playground! The over-exposed photo in the center is the best pic I have of the 20th anniversary-themed snacks we got--cupcakes with big chocolate medallions with the logo and personalized trail mix and caramel corn. YUM!

Home Office Scrapbook Pages

 

One of the highlights of Convention 2008 for me was getting to visit Stampin' Up headquarters in Riverton, UT. I took way too many pictures, though, so I weeded them out for this spread. Loved seeing the "ideas room" where they hang out and come up with incredibly cool new concepts, lounging on funky couches, playing fooseball, throwing colors up on the corkboard or whiteboard walls, or meeting in the glass conference room. I also liked the Musem, where you can see a little bit about how stamps are made, how Stampin' Up was founded by Shelli and her sister LaVonne, and some of the displays that they put together to photograph for the catalogs.

Another fun behnd-the-scenes look was at the shipping warehouse and pick lines. I was so impressed with how CLEAN and tidy everything was and how FRIENDLY and smiley all the employees were, from the president and vice presidents right on down to the lowliest janitor. This must be one of the funnest places on earth to work!

Oh yes, the pages... in my waxing rhapsodic I almost forgot this post is supposed to be about the PAGES, not the photos. Ahem. The pages are on some clearance cheapo floral paper I got from someplace, so ignore them. Focus on the lovely frames I made with my Big Shot Top Note die cut! And the plaque for the headline, made from the same die. I was pleased that Elegant Eggplant and Almost Amethyst worked with that dratted floral paper, because whenever I buy some scrapbook papers from somewhere else, nothing ever matches, from the ink to the mats to the embellishments, and so the end result looks junky and I hate it. I don't know why I waste my money on it! You'd think I'd learn.

Anyhoo... where was I before the tirade? Oh yes. So being able to tie in some of our colors was a huge plus, because then I have all the ribbon and whatnot to match, to my heart's content.

Then I actually committed sacrilege (and on a SUNDAY, no less!) and cut up an old catalog to get the Statement of the Heart, the 20th anniversary logo, and those fun round punches for accents. Do not try this at home. This page was done on a closed course by a professional. Do not attempt.