Copy and Share Everything! It's the Stampin' Up! way!

Have you ever thought: "Oh, I'm not creative, I don't know where people come up with those great ideas?" If so, you're in good company - I do this for a living and I share that sentiment! So today I'm going to let you into a little secret... I COPY AND SHARE EVERYTHING!  (CASE) I know in school that wasn't allowed but I'm here to tell you that in Stampin' Up! it absolutely IS! 

Here's an example - in September I received this beautiful swap card from the lovely Karen Duke using the Blooming with Kindness stamp set and the Delicate Designs embossing folder.

In January I needed a sympathy card so I took her design and COPIED it pretty much exactly. Didn't it come out great? And I can even feel comfortable bragging about it because it wasn't my idea... 

One of things I really, really love about Stampin' Up! is that they encourage us to share and they set the example with their generosity. As a demonstrator we don't have geographical territories and so we sometimes have to learn how to overlap with other demonstrators. Over the years I have learned that this is a real blessing. Our customers can get different ideas from all around and know that they're not stepping on our toes. I have learned that when I hold onto things & people with an open hand (rather than clutch them tightly) that I am blessed somehow.

I'm sure we all have examples of things that we let go of only to find a surprising blessing. I could list countless examples of extreme generosity in sharing from fellow demonstrators (in the form of advice, business tools, creative ideas, tutorials etc.) and also from the women who come and stamp with me. Over the years I have been the grateful recipient of many little gifts: from cards, yummy treats, ideas, inspiration, materials, friendship (my fave!) to thoughtful handmade gifts.

Isn't it so true that the more we give the more we receive? So - if you're stuck for an idea... go ahead and copy someone else's! CASE - it's the Stampin' Up! way!

A great place to start copying is from the catalogs! Do you have one of your own? If not, please let me know and I'll be happy to send you the current catalogs. Have a great day - Brenda

Great tip for using the new edgelit die!

Hi!

Have you seen the new edgelits and their matching embossing folders in the Occasions Mini? They are so cool but I was having trouble getting my embossing to line up with my cut edge... watch this short video to give you some great hints on how to use these two pieces together. (Wish I'd known this sooner!)



Another idea I learned at Leadership was to place the edgelit where you want it on your card and then use a post-it note to hold it in place. Saves a LOT of fiddling around! (Another tip I wished I'd known before I made 40 cards using these dies for my Leadership Swaps!)

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