Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Easter Bunny & LAST DAY of Sale-a-bration!


You probably know that tomorrow (the 31st) is the FINAL day of Sale-a-bration :-( I have loved this year's offerings with all the extra stamp sets we could choose from the big catty as well as all the lovely things in the SAB brochure. Click here to see the SAB brochure before it expires and click HERE to place an online order - or just email me before 8 p.m. Wednesday night. Remember, anytime you order $150 or more you will get hostess benefits TOO, in addition to at least THREE Sale-a-bration stamp sets, yay!
Can you believe how cute this bunny is? I got the design from Kimberley over at her http://www.procrastistamper.blogspot.com/ She has some really great ideas! If you scroll down to the fox box you can download a .pdf file with the inside box measurements on, thanks Kimberley! We made this bunny as one of the projects at our Easter class and then when our fabulous BLISS demo. group got together I took him along for everybody to make there too - he's been a big hit wherever he goes! Want to make one of your own? You need the Top Note die for the Big Shot, the wide oval punch, large oval punch, and the 1/2" circle punch. Not too bad huh? The finishing touches are made by daubing on some pink pastel chalks around the punched edges, using the white gel pen to highlight his "eyes" and a black marker for his whiskers.
Have a great week!
Brenda

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Easter is coming!


I can't tell you how happy I am to see the snow receding, I can see earth and grass in my yard and when I dug through the debris I can see green "life" under there... it's probably weeds but at this point I don't care, as long as it's green! This is a little trading card that Misty bought to stamp club last week... It's a simple design that really shows off the image. Misty chose Eggplant Envy as her key color and highlighted the daffodil with some dazzling diamonds glitter. I loved getting something to remind us of the upcoming season. This winter has felt pretty long! Finlay reminded me that we leave for our cruise one month today, now THAT'S something encouraging! Hope to see you at my Easter class tomorrow.
Have a great day!
Brenda

Monday, March 22, 2010

Masked Card

These little cards were quick and easy, we punched out a flower from a post-it note and stuck it onto these cute 3"x3" cards. Then we simply brayered ink over the whole card front, when we peeled the post-it not off we had a great start to a card that we could decorate. These we finished off by stamping the flowers from the Happy Moments Free sale-a-bration stamp set which we colored in using blender pens and our classic inks. Quick and easy! Of course I couldn't quite stop there so we punched a scallop border and added a little flower with a gold brad.
This is the last stretch of Sale-a-bration so be sure to get your order in if you'd like to earn free stamp sets! Let me know if you'd like me to send you a list of all the available sets!
Have a great week, Brenda

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Cash Card!


This was another card for my Masculine card class. Customers had to provide their own $$ ;-) I thought this would be a great way to present a cash gift. Most grad's might not be too impressed by a single dollar but there is a recession on! (The shirt would work with any denomination obviously!) You could make it suitable for a different occasion just by changing the colors and background. It's fairly easy to fold the note -here is a link to a website with instructions: http://members.cox.net/crandall11/money/shirt/
Check back tomorrow for another Man card.
Next week (Wednesday the 24th) I'm offering an Easter class, we'll be making 2 special Easter cards and two treat holders. Check my events page for more info. http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/brendamarshall/events
Have a great week! Brenda

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Masculine Card Class


Yesterday was masculine card class. Sometimes it's a challenge to make cards that are suitable for men! Keep an eye on my blog for the next few days to see some more ideas for the men in your life. And remember, you can always order online on my SU website, http://www.brendamarshall.stampinup.net One of my customers asked me to do a class featuring men's cards and it was fun having a challenge to focus on. Please let me know if you have any special requests!
The card above was made by Barbara. We stamped the trees in Always Artichoke, used a post-it note to "mask" out the moon and sponged Brocade Blue over the rest. We used Chocolate Chip Craft ink to stamp the wolf. And Night of Navy Craft ink to stamp the greeting on the twill tape at the bottom.
My boys are busy getting ready for the Destination Imagination (DI) tournament this weekend. Finlay's on the Durango Dragons and Callum's on the Rising Snakes team. It's a lot of fun but I have to say I'll be glad when Saturday is over!
Have a great week. Brenda

Monday, March 15, 2010

Another Lovely Gift




This one was from Teresa who was my BLISS secret Santa this year - isn't it lovely? It's really handy to just have a little stash of note paper right on my desk, plus it's exactly the right size to write an address on and slip inside a cellophane envelope when I'm ready to send a card.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Stamp Club week


I have been crazy busy and having a blast this week with the March stamp clubs, I've had four so far this week and I'm getting together with a brand new group of ladies in Ignacio tonight, can't wait! This month we are playing with stencils, above is one of the projects we'll be doing. The great thing about stamp club is we can do projects that are a little more difficult and learn new techniques. This card is made by inking up a stencil and running it through the Big Shot, easy and really effective. We incorporated another couple of neat tricks into this card though - we hand dyed the white organza ribbon using a sponge dauber and the Cameo Coral ink, and we backed our modern label punch shape by punching it out of Night of Navy card stock, cutting it in half and gluing it behind the original shape. I love how it makes the greeting pop out.

You should see what wonderful snacks some of the club members bring when it's their turn to host! Jennifer is a new club member and she made these amazing snacks that were (almost) too pretty to eat! I'm so ready for Spring, I loved to see these little ladybugs. (I still find it hard to see them as ladybugs actually, in England we call the ladybirds but I guess "bug" is more accurate!)
Have a great day!
Brenda

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Vintage Vogue Calendar


Just a quickie today as I'm rushing around getting ready for the first of this month's stamp clubs tonight! Here's a little calendar we made during our January stamp club. The backing is a piece of leftover card from some packaging. I cut it to size and then using the Vintage wheel to decorate it. This month we are making some cool projects using the new Stampin' Up! stencils that are hiding away in our catalogs. Stenciling is new to me but I'm having fun! I'll post a sneak peek tomorrow ;-)
Have a great day!
Brenda

Friday, March 5, 2010

Simple Bird Card


This is one of the easiest cards ever thanks to the XL bird punch from the Occasions Mini. I chose to emboss the whisper white using our polka dot embossing folder from the mini but I also made some without the embossed part and it still looked great (in my opinion!) The only stamped part is the greeting using the Thankful Wishes set from the main idea book & catalog which you can get free with a $50 order thanks to Sale-a-bration! This card is a great way to use up those scraps of Designer Series Paper that you can't quite throw away but have no real use for!


Have a great day, Brenda

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Refrigerator Catch All

Tammy mailed me this before Christmas - we had a secret Santa gift exchange between our little group of BLISS demonstrators. Tammy showed me one of these that she was sending to Shoni and I loved it - next thing I knew I was picking up my own one from the mailbox! She is just SO generous. She used the Vintage Vogue stamp set and some fun bright colors to go with my kitchen - and don't you love the sock monkey card my friend Krista sent me? My son is learning to read and he read it to say "It's Hiccups Being Me" (!) Sometimes that feels pretty true too.

Have a not too hectic (or hiccups) week!

Brenda

Monday, March 1, 2010

My Funny Valentines

These were my Valentines this year - they were easy and I just loved them. As you know I'm kind of a sucker for anything with a monkey on - they really are my favorites. These little guys are from the Fox and Friends set in the Occasions Mini as is the owl. They are standing on/swinging from the branch which I punched out using the XL bird punch that's also in the mini. The stripy paper is from the Sale-a-bration free Welcome Neighbor pack - I always gravitate towards the stripes ;-) I copied this design almost exactly from one I saw on line but I didn't make a note of the poster, so I apologize if it was you! Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery - right?

Have a great day! Brenda