Happy New Year! It's time for Sale-A-bration

Hello there, blog friends! Happy New Year to you! I hope you had a great holiday and New Year's with your families. I know I did. :)

It's always fun to start the year off with a fresh new Stampin'Up! Occasions catalog, but when paired with Sale-A-Bration, it makes it even more fun! Every year, I'm amazed at how Stampin'Up! comes up with the cutest sets that are on trend and so pretty. This year is definitely no different. Take the time to check out all the gorgeous products in the Occasions catty here. For those of you new to my blog, or new to Stampin'Up!'s Sale-A-Bration, well, you're in for a treat! From now til March 31st, you can earn free products with every $50 purchase of Stampin'Up! goodies. How cool is that, right?  You can check out the full Sale-A-Bration catalog here.

Here are some New Year's cookies I baked for our friends and neighbors - don't they look so cute with the "Just for you" tag? I love that sentiment from the Botanicals for You Sale-A-Bration set! It's a great BIG size for tags and cards!

Hope you like it! Thanks for visiting today and make sure to check out the fun new catalogs! Feel free to email me if you'd like a copy of the catalogs. You can also visit my online store anytime. Bye for now!

Sale-a-bration 2015 workshop cards

 

Happy Saturday! Hope you all are doing well! I'm sure glad it's the weekend and so happy I was able to do a Sale-a-bration workshop today for my friend Kaye.  We created the fun cards above and got to use some SAB and Occasions catalog goodies. It was a great time!  One thing though that I realized after the fact is that the Butterflies Thinlits are currently not available for order. Boo.  Fingers crossed though that they will be available again very soon, now that the port strike is over. I will keep you posted, but I am being cautiously optimistic. Let's keep it at that til I know more. :)

Now, here's a close up look at these beautiful butterfly thinlits...

 

Aren't they so pretty? I posted this pic on my instagram (@stampdiehler for those of you that want to check it out).  Hope to get some definitive good news this coming week!

I can't believe we're at the end of March already. Time sure does fly when you're super busy! I have a lot of things I would love to catch you guys up on, so I'm hoping to put out a few recap posts of the latest-goings-on-in-my-neck-of-the-woods soon. It's all good, just so busy - like frenetic pace busy! I'm hoping I get a chance to catch my breath and embrace and enjoy Easter week with the family. 

Thanks to you all for coming by and paying me a visit! 

Here's a quick list of the goodies I used in my SAB cards:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Birthday Bonanza!

Happy Saturday!  How are you all?  Hope you're enjoying your weekend so far.  Birthday season is starting in our family, so I've got a couple birthday cards to share!  I think I'll need to build up my stash, so get ready for more bday cards coming soon :) I can't quite tell you who I created these for since the cards are still in transit, but nonetheless, aren't they so fun and festive? I had a great time playing with the Celebrate Today stamp set and the Balloon Framelit dies that coordinate so perfectly.  I dressed up the envies with the Balloon Bash stamp set. I also love that both the stamp sets I used are photopolymer, too!  Here's a closer look.

The balloon framelits come with the cutest little accent dies, like the banner, bow and tassles that I die cut in the silver glitter paper.

I'm also loving the embossing folders, which add such a nice texture to the cards!

Here's a list of all the products I used!

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Thanks for popping by today and enjoy your weekend!

Hey, Valentine!

Hello there! How are you, friends? Well, Valentine's Day is approaching fast, so I've got a couple of fun projects to share with you today.  The first project is the one above - it's an adorable triangle treat box that was shared with us at Leadership.  This was originally created by Sam Hammond Donald, aka Pootles, and the link to her awesome tutorial is here. I made 2 of these cute little boxes for my little man's teachers.  It makes for such a sweet Valentine with the Stacked with Love paper stack! Here's another look:

 

The next Valentine idea was a ton of fun to put together..primarily because I got to stamp with my son to create his Valentine's cards for his preschool class! I have to say it warmed my heart to see him stamp.  He was just too darn cute and he really did enjoy doing it!  

 

As you can see, he even got to use the Big Shot!  That was probably his favorite. He loved to turn the crank! Do you want to see the finished product? 

 

Aren't these cute?  I am such a big fan of the "Hey Valentine" stamp set! I used the fish image as well as the cute fox #1 Valentine image for the teacher tag. For the Valentine treats for his school friends, I filled them with these mini play packs that all come prepackaged with a small coloring book, 2 crayons, and a sticker.  I have to admit that I did color in the little fish on the cover, but I made it fuss free for the kiddos by stapling the Valentine to the front and just dropped in the play pack without  using any ribbon or string.

Well, my friends, hope you liked these! Would love to hear what you think!  I'll catch up with you all soon.  Have a great one!

Highlights from Stampin'Up! Leadership 2015

Hi all! Boy was this year's Stampin'Up! Leadership conference a whirlwind! I totally intended to blog onsite, but I had some technical difficulties with my computer (slow wi-fi) and also didn't get a chance to download and transfer all my pics from my camera and iPhone to my computer, that I'm just now getting around to doing it!  Pictured above is the roommate gift I made for my dear roomie, Norma. I used goodies from the Sale-a-bration and Occasions catalogs to decorate this cute mini printer tray. 

If you're on Instagram, you can check out my quick posts @stampdiehler as well, but I've put together some highlights for you here as well...

It's always exciting to get into the spirit of things upon arrival when you see Stampin'Up! on the convention center signs!

Here's this year's Leadership bag.  I love that it says "Best. Day.Ever." What a fun sentiment.  Makes you want to make the most of each day. :)

Here's a peek at one of many great ideas we got at leadership - this little envelope treat holds a cookie.  Now, how cute is this packaging! Between the classes we attended and the samples on display, I've become rejuvenated with a ton of projects that I can't wait to try out!

Oh, and of course, we got our fair share of giveaways. Here's lucky Louise with her prize patrol giveaway.  Have to say I was a teenie bit jealous for not winning this fun bundle!

We also got to play in the "Product Playground." Tons of fun.  They had the bouquet kit on display and while I had ordered the kit for myself, I hadn't put it together yet, so it was awesome to see first hand how simple it was to put the flowers together! I made the blue flower in the bottom right. Didn't that come out so pretty?!

The Paper Pumpkin area was a lot of fun. We got a sneak peek of the upcoming kits and they don't disappoint. You will definitely be delighted!  In case you're not familiar, Paper Pumpkin is a monthly subscription where you get a new craft project, complete with all the supplies needed, delivered to your door.  Sound appealing?  You can check out more info about Paper Pumpkin here. 

In typical Stampin'Up! style {thanks, SU!}, we had several all-group giveaways at Leadership, so no one gets left out! Here, Michelle and Norma proudly display the pack of the Birthday Bash DSP we received. How yummy is that!

Here's a look at the rest of us! Norma, me, Louise and Terry, among all the other demonstrators at the session. Fun times!

Thanks for popping by today! I'll be posting more fun ideas for Sale-a-bration and the Occasions catalog, so come and visit soon! Toodles for now!

Hearts and butterflies birthday card

Hi there, blog friends. I have finally gotten some time to stamp and play a bit more with my new Occasions and Sale-a-bration goodies!  Though, I have a confession to make. I was going through a bit of creativity block trying to come up with a card design. Do you ever get that feeling of having so many ideas in your mind that you don't know where to begin?  Top that off with being a little rusty from not crafting as frequently as I'd like to and that's exactly how I felt. I had a lot of stops and starts before I was finally able to design a card that I was excited about!

This is not a typical color palette for me, but one of my influences for this navy and reddish-pink {Night of Navy and Rose Red, to be exact} combo was because I've had France on the brain. I wanted to pay respects to the French in my own little way for the recent tragedies they experienced. So, this is where the inspiration came for the card, and I'm really pleased with how it came out.

The Butterflies Thinlits dies are so pretty, that I had lots of fun die cutting a bunch out of different colored cardstock to see how they looked!  (This diversion definitely helped in getting my creative juices flowing!) Despite their very intricate appearance of the die, these thinlits are really easy to work with.  The main tip here about die cutting with this amount of image detail is to use a layer of wax paper between the cardstock and the die and the die will easily peel right off! Now, let's take a look at the background, shall we? I love the look of those dots. I basically double stamped the dots to get the lighter shading of Rose Red.

Here's a closer look:

I love that one of the symbolic meanings of the butterfly is that it represents "new life." It makes me happy to create cards keeping that in mind :)  I'll defnitely get a lot of use for these thinlits!

Here's a list of the supplies I used for your reference.  Note that the items shown as $0.00 are Sale-a-bration items, which means that you can earn the item for free with a $50 purchase. Not bad, huh?  You can take a peek and shop at my online store if you'd like. You can also click on any of the items below to get to the store, too  :)

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Thanks for popping by today. Have a great weekend!

Happy New Year! It's time for Sale-a-bration!

Hi there blog friends! Happy New Year to you!  Hope you all had a great holiday with your friends and family. It was a busy time here at the home front, but it was nice we got to spend some quality time with my brother's family who was visiting from Alabama and we also got to do a road trip to San Luis Obispo to visit my hub's sister and family.  So, as you can imagine, the days pretty much just whirled by and here we are!

I'm exited to announce that today kicks of Stampin'Up!'s Sale-a-bration catalog, which is an awesome way to start the year!  From January 6 thru March 31, 2015, you can earn free products in the Sale-a-bration catalog with every $50 purchase. 

Today also marks the start of the new Stampin'Up! Occasions catalog, which is AMAZING as always this year. You will definitely not be disappointed! So, the pairing of these two catties is just a heavenly way to get your crafting started for 2015. You can do your shopping and earn free stuff! Woot woot!

To whet your appetite, how about video so you can take a look at one of the stamp sets you can earn!

Thanks for visiting today.  Have a great one! 

Oh hi there!

Hey there, blog friends!  Sorry for the radio silence again…I'm still here, although it's just been a super crazy busy month on all fronts!  And, here we are already at the end of March.  Wow. All I can say is, I'm glad it's the weekend and I'm finally able to take a breath! So, here I am  popping in with a quick, yet big {HELLO} to YOU! Today I wanted to share some pics of 2 of the projects we created at Michelle Halleen's Demonstrator Event earlier this month.  It was an amazing day of crafting inspiration - lots of stamping, demonstrations, paper crafting samples and speakers.

First up...how about this adorable little Card-in-a-box card for Easter?  This Easter card was designed by Michelle and it's just so much cuter in person, too!  And, if you'd like instructions for this fab card technique, you can check out Brianna Thompson's video tutorial here.  I, myself, can't wait to design one of these cute cards {when I get my next free moment!}.

For this card, we used Watercolor Wonder DSP, Wild Wasabi and Tangerine Tango card stock, Oval Framelits, Oval punches, Small heart punch and Circle from Itty Bitty Shapes Punch pack.

Another project we created was a sweet 3x3 card and mini gift bag.

I love the Retro Fresh DSP!  Here, Michelle paired it with the Pansy Punch and complementary Flower Shop stamp set.  Doesn't this make such a great little gift?  I love it with the Brown Sugar Ruffled Stretch Trim ribbon.  So cute.

Hope you guys have a great rest of your weekend!  I promise it won't be so long til my next post. Thanks for visiting! Ciao for now.

Sweet Sorbet Birthday

Hey there! I've got a quick share today - it's a birthday card I created for my dear mother-in-law for her bday. I got to use some fun goodies from the Sale-a-bration catalog and I also used the fancy sequins ribbon from the Occasions catalog, which I just LOVE!  Here's a look at the full card..

I'm pretty much digging the Decorative Dots embossing folder too - love those bubbles!  And of course, the banner framelits are a must have!  Here's the recipe for you:

{Sweet Sorbet Birthday}
Cardstock: Pool Party, Whisper White
Inks: Early Espresso
Stamp Set: Something to Celebrate {retired hostess set}
Accessories: Banner framelits, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Basic Pearls, Gold Sequin Trim

Thanks for stopping in!  Bye for now.

{Tech Tip Tuesday}: #7 - Using wax paper with Hexagon Hive Thinlit

Hello and happy Tuesday, blog friends!  This week's tech tip is using wax paper with the Hexagon Hive framelit, but it's definitely a tip that will make die cutting intricate thinlits much easier!  It's amazing what a little wax paper can do.  It does make using detailed thinlits much more enjoyable where you don't have to work so hard to peel off the DSP or card stock from the metal frame.  If you're like me, then you probably didn't read the packaging that recommends you use wax paper with the thinlits {heehee, packaging smackaging!}.  But, not to worry - once you make the discovery, you will definitely keep wax paper at your disposal! I had fun finally using the Hexagon Hive thinlit and taking it for a spin!  How do you like the 3 cards I created above?  What's cool is, you get all the cut hexagons from the thinlit as a byproduct, too, so you can definitely create more projects!  Now, here's the super simple process of using the wax paper:

1.  To create this cute and simple 'Gee, thanks' card, you'll need Real Red card stock cut at 4 1/4" x 11" and folded in half, a piece of wax paper, one sheet of Fresh Prints DSP, and the Hexagon Hive Thinlit.
2. Assemble your sandwich for the Big Shot starting with the acrylic plate at the bottom, then Fresh Prints DSP, wax paper, Hexagon Hive Thinlit, and acrylic plate on top.  Now you're ready to take it through the Big Shot!
3.  Your finished Hexagon Hive die cut!  The hexagons pop out and you'll be able to easily remove the die cut from the thinlit die.  Gently peel away the wax paper and you'll have your fun Hexagon Hive piece of DSP!
4.  Assemble your card.  Tip - I use SNAIL adhesive and apply it onto the Hexagon Hive die cut on the silicon craft sheet.  Why?  This way, I'm able to to put adhesive along the edges easily without making a sticky mess on my work surface!  For the sentiment, I used the Just Sayin' Clear Mount Bundle, which comes with the Just Sayin' stamp set and Word Bubble Framelits!  Just stamp it using the Coastal  Cabana stamp set, adhere it with dimensionals and you're done!

Easy peasy, right?  Here are the 3 cards I made for my first batch of Hexagon Hive projects:

Here's a bigger view of the card we just created.  Simple, quick and fun!

This card is my favorite of the bunch! I created the flower using the Pansy and Blossom punches.  For the center of the flower, I used the Linen Thread and Regals Designer Buttons and embellished a little with the Natural Chevron ribbon.  

Here's a bit of a closer look at the flower. The Pansy and Blossom punch make such a fun bloom!

For this card, I used the Crumb Cake card stock as the base and stamped the flower from the Nature's Hello hostess stamp set as my sentiment.  The ribbon is the Natural Chevron ribbon on the reverse side and the pretty button is from the Very Vintage Buttons.

Hope you liked the projects today and hope this week's tip helps make your crafting with framelits and thinlits much more enjoyable!  Thanks for stopping by today!

ETA: So excited to play along in the Happy for Hexagons Challenge in the Moxie Fab World!

{Tech Tip Tuesday}: #5 - Stamped Banner Window Card!

Hi blog friends!  Welcome to {Tech Tip Tuesday}!  This week, I'm sharing the technique of stamping on a window sheet using StazOn ink. I started off with a trifold card base, which I created from a 12x12 sheet of Core'dinations paper.  I also got to use my Perfect Pennants Clear Mount Bundle (which includes the Banner Framelits and the Perfect Pennants clear mount stamp set - an excellent combo!). Are you ready to check it out?  Let's get started, shall we?

1. Cut out a 5 1/2" x12" piece of card stock and score the 12" side at 3 1/2" and 7 3/4".

2. Use the Big Shot to die cut the 2nd largest banner framelit on the 4 1/4"x5 1/2" panel of your trifold card.

3.  Cut a 3" x 5" piece of window sheet and adhere on the inside of the card using glue dots along the edges.

4. Stamp the "Make a wish" sentiment {from the Perfect Pennants stamp set} to the front of the card using white StazOn ink.

5.  Die cut the largest banner framelit using a sheet from the Sweet Sorbet DSP.  Next, die cut the 3rd largest banner framelit using a scrap of Pool Party Core'dinations paper.  Then lastly, die cut the 2nd smallest Labels framelit in Basic Black card stock.  Assemble these layers on the 3 1/2"x 5 1/2" panel of your trifold.  Tip: line up the Sweet Sorbet DSP banner piece along the inner edge of the card panel. This will make all the banners align with your front banner window.

6.  Embellish the front of the card. I used the Banner punch from the Sale-a-bration catalog and the Itty Bitty Shapes flower. I added the Pearl Basics to the flower centers to give my flowers that fun dimension.  Viola - you're done!

Here's a couple more views of the card for you.

Here's the card recipe:

{Make a Wish Banner Window Card}
Stamp Set: Perfect Pennants
Cardstock: Crisp Cantaloupe and Pool Party Core'dinations card stock, Sweet Sorbet DSP, Basic Black
Inks: White StazOn ink
Accessories: Banner and Labels Collection Framelits, Banner Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes punches, Window Sheets, Glue Dots

Product Recommendations for this project - click on the images to check them out on my online store!:

Now, it's your turn to give this technique a whirl! I'd love to see your creations. Thanks for stopping in today.  Have a great one!

Happy Birthday {Greeting}

Happy Monday, dear blog friends! Did you have a good weekend?  It was pretty chilly and drizzly here in Southern CA, so I was happy to have a mellow, quiet weekend to just relax, catch up a bit and hang out with my boys.

For today's share, I've got a birthday card I created last week for a dear friend, Sandy Hancock.  Her birthday was last Friday and I wanted to make her a special card, since she is such a Stampin'Up! inspiration for me.  I hope she liked it! It was so fun to make with goodies from the Sale-a-bration and Occasions catalogs.  I was also really excited to finally get to play with the Core'dination card stock, too. After embossing the Pool Party card stock with the Chevron Embossing folder, I sanded the paper  to bring out the white core and give it that weathered and faded look.  It's such a cool effect! Here's a look at the full card:

I used the See Ya Later stamp set from the Sale-a-bration catalog. It's a super cute set that comes with four clever sentiments.  And, how about the pretty Sweet Sorbet DSP? The colors and patterns are so happy and fresh - they're the perfect palette for spring.  Wait til you see them all.  You'll love it! I know I can't get enough. These colors really do put me in my happy place!  Last but not least, I added just a wee bit of embellishment with the sweet Petite Petals punch and a touch of twine.  Whaddaya think? Here's the card recipe for you.

Happy Birthday {Greeting}
Cardstock: Subtles Core'dination cardstock in Pool Party, Sweet Sorbet DSP {Sale-a-bration}
Stamp Set: See Ya Later {Sale-a-bration}
Inks: Calypso Coral Classic Ink Pad
Accessories: Chevron Embossing Folder, Banners Framelits, Deco Labels Framelits, Labels Framelits, Petite Petals Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes flower punch, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Crisp Cantaloupe twine from the Sweet Sorbet Accessory Pack {Sale-a-bration}, sanding block

Hope you all have a great week! Thanks for coming by. I'm so glad you stopped in for a visit! :)

{Tech Tip Tuesday}: #4 - Heart flowers!

Hi all!  How are you?  I can't believe we're already into February!  With Valentine's Day around the corner, I thought I'd incorporate some hearts in this week's {Tech Tip Tuesday}.  These fun heart flowers are super simple yet have such a pretty way of fancying up a card! It's not a new technique, but it's definitely a goody to revisit.  Ready to check it out?

1.  Punch or die cut 5 hearts. For this card project, I used the smallest heart from Hearts Collection framelits for the big flower and also used the Small Heart punch for the 2 small flowers.

2.  Fold the hearts in half. Doesn't get much easier than that!

3.  Once you have the hearts folded, position them into a five petal flower onto your card and adhere one side of the heart with a glue dot.  Repeat the steps as necessary until you have all the flowers you want on your card.

4.  I finished off my card by adding the sweet sentiment "you make me Happy" from the Happy Watercolor stamp set in the Occasions catalog.

Here's a bigger look of the full card for you:

Don't you love the card base?  It looks like I watercolored those pretty chevrons, doesn't it?  Well, it's actually one of the designs from the Watercolor Wonder Designer Note Card set.  Isn't that so pretty?  I love all the designs in this card set as well as the texture of the paper.  It's a handy stash to have at the ready - all you need to do is embellish the front of the card, or even just stamp a sentiment and you're done! Here's the recipe for this card.

{Happy heart flowers}
Stamp Set: Happy Watercolor
Cardstock: Watercolor Wonder Designer Note Cards & Envelopes, Crisp Cantaloupe, Strawberry Slush, Polka Dot Parade DSP
Inks: Calypso Coral
Accessories: Hearts Collection Framelits, Small Heart punch, glue dots

Product Recommendations for this project:

Thanks for coming by today.  Now, I encourage you to give this fun technique a try.  It's so easy peasy and looks so cute on a card!  Would love to hear what you think about this technique.

Hope you have a fab Tuesday! Bye for now :)