Create With M.E.

Leadership 2012~a Few of My Favorite Things.

Well, I have been back from Texas and Stampin' Up! leadership for 4 days now and it's taken this long to get my life back in order.  Ha who am I fooling, life in order just aint gonna happen around here. The laundry hadn't been touched for a week, yikes! (remember 5 adults and one teenager live in my house, yes take pity on me :) the house was a mess and I had to play catch up on a ton of stuff.  But today, I do a little blogging, quick bloggin but still blogging.  I made a quick collage of my favorites.  My favorite things about going to leadership.  Enjoy with M.E.  My favorite things...

 

My Favorites....

Motivation from my Mentor Shelli Gardner Owner & CEO of Stampin' Up!

Delicious meals with my Favorite Stampers!

Friends! some who I just met and some who I only get to see at Stampin' Up! events a couple times a year.

Ideas Galore!

Great Desserts! YUMMO!

Free Stamps!!

Fabulous Stamping time!

All this, yet this was not my VERY FAVORITE part of the whole week. Come back to hear about my backstage "pass" to personally visit with the Stampin' Up! corporate team, get a tour of the backstage with pictures galore and a stack of more free stamps!

Sale-A-Bration started on January 24th  Book your workshop today or shop in my online store by clicking on my signature image below!  Want to know more about what I do?  This is the BEST time to join Stampin' Up! and my Create With M.E. team.  Discounted starter kit.  Drop me a line I'd love to talk to you about the opportunity.  Next year you too can join us for Leadership!

It's a Party~Cupcake Wars!

I just got through the busiest 3 weeks of our other businesses season.  My family owns a deer processing business called River Bend Wild Game & Sausage Co.  We have processed close to 1,000 deer in the last 2 months and perhaps that doesn't sound like a lot to some but this is only our "nights and weekends" job.  My husband works/manages a full time federally inspected meat processing facility at the local University.  Anyway it was a great pleasure to get away last Friday to go to my Stampin' Up! upline's home for a Christmas gathering.

I felt like it was my first real time away with women for ever. and it was definitely the first time I got to STAMP for myself in awhile....a long while.  I have been craving it but just couldn't fit in a spare minute to do it!  Well, this was a unique party and I thought a GREAT idea. Meg, my upline had a build a party, party!  We each contributed part of the party decor making it so festive for all without just one person doing all the work and when it was over we each had a little part of everything to take home.  This is what I made to share.

I know it's not christmas and I was going to do christmas but I had just received my new order from the Occasions mini catalog and this adorable cupcake adorned Designers Series Paper was in there and I couldn't resist so I played off the colors Chocolate Chip, Pool Party and Poppy Parade in my decor.  I thought that this way everyone has a chance to see the new product if they hadn't and have a sample they can use as a tag or element on a card to showcase the new products for their customers. These picks were made with a new tool called framelits!  AWESOME!

I made these two cupcakes for the event after watching Cupcake Wars on TV. hehe  The one on the left is a decadent chocolate mouse filled cupcake with chocolate mouse on top.  The one on the right is a cookie dough cupcake and you can get the recipe here as I did when I googled best cupcake recipe ever! Ha Ha

Although you can not order these beautiful, fun crafting supplies yet (unless you take advantage of the offer below) they will be available soon for everyone!  I can't wait for you to see all that the occasions mini holds.  SO many new supplies and fun new big shot tools!  Oh My! 

*Last thing before I leave for today if you want to order your sneak peek supplies from the occasions mini and receive FREE Sale-A-Bration stamps yourself I have a special deal for you.  This is a special from M.E. because I am registered to attend the Stampin' Up! leadership event in January.  They have offered a special sign up for my customers.  Here is what they have sent me as a special:

Over a month before Sale-A-Bration begins, and for two days only, you can offer your customers the Sale-A-Bration joining benefit! Yes, you read that right! On December 13-14 only, your new recruits will be eligible for the exclusive Sale-A-Bration recruiting offer, including

• A $125 Starter Kit (standard or Digital+)—$50 off the regular price of $175!
• A FREE package of Designer Series Paper OR a FREE digital download every month in 2012 (excluding January)—a total value of up to $120!
• Preorder from the occasions mini catalog now!
  
• FREE Sale-A-Bration sets for every $50 you spend on your occasions mini preorder!
  

Can you believe this?! Sure we have had offers as low as $99 but NEVER with all these bells and whistles which are WAY over the $25 savings on the kit!!!  Drop me a line or give me a call today and let's talk about the details for signing up tomorrow.  Sign up Tuesday or Wednesday December 13th or 14th ONLY! Sign up for this exclusive special with M.E. and have your occasions mini supply items on your doorstep by the end of the week! (expedited delivery necessary)

Today's Featured Artist~Rachel Chamberlain

Today's featured artist is my friend and fellow demonstrator Rachel Chamberlain.  We just attended a Stampin' Up! regional event in Louisville, KY this weekend and had so much fun together!  Stampin' Up! always does such a fantastic job making the day special for their demonstrators.  One of the things we love to do is swap ideas with each other and this featured card is one my friend Rachel created to share with us. 

Don't you just love that precious little bow on the front?!  This card just says Welcome to me! That's why I took her great idea and am sending it to a new member of my downline. 

There is still time for you to join the Create With M.E. team by signing up on my website www.CreateWithME.stampinup.net and click on Join now in the upper right hand corner.  For today and tomorrow only,(October 30th and 31st 2011) if you sign up to take advantage of the greatly discounted kit full of beginning stamping supplies you will also get a FREE BIG SHOT or $100.00 in FREE Stamping Merchandise!  Wow!  The kit is already a $345 value for $175 but now it's a $445 value!!  That's over 60% off!  Email me if you have questions or click on the FREE big shot icon on the left for more details. And remember if you are local we will set a date to make the adorable angel featured here!

Angel Tutorial~Better yet why not come to my FREE class?

I put together a FREE PDF tutorial for you on my elegant angel that I featured here. Just in time for the holiday season. Now you can make a whole choir of them!

Best yet, Sign up to become a demonstrator, joining the Create With M.E. team. Not only will you receive tons of fantastic Stampin' Up! product but also in October only you will get a FREE Big Shot or a $100 shopping Spree (your choice) and I will also hold a special Angel class with you!  We will make these elegant angels together!!  I will provide all the supplies and instructions that you need to make them.   

Only a few days left to take advantage of this special deal...dont' miss out!  You heard me say FREE BIG SHOT right??

Ready to sign up click here!

Or just Download Elegant Angel file here.

 

 

 

 

Perk Up!~With your Morning Cup.

Today I held my 3 C's class around my kitchen table. (Coffee, Cookies and Cards)  It brings joy to my heart to sit around the kitchen table and visit with other women over a hot cup of coffee or tea and a little treat.  Add a little card making and I am giddy!  Today we made a card that hopefully will perk someone up!  That's why I went straight for the Stamp Set 'Morning Cup'.  I love this set probably because I love tea and coffee so much.

Here is the card I came up with for us to create together.

It's a matchbook style card.  We used a 11.75 x 4 piece of cardstock as our base.  Scored at 1 inch (folded up and stapled) and 6.5 inches. Gives us a 5.5" x 4" finished card.  After we got it all put together a few of us had to trim our flap down just a little depending on where we put our staple so keep that in mind.  It's not a definitive size. 

Here is the inside.

Surprise! We tucked in a little Spice Cake Designer Series Paper pocket to hold a tea bag for that instant Pick-Me-Up! And as women we all know that 'Caffeine isn't a drug it's a vitamin!'  That vitamin that many of us need to start our day with, to do everything on our "to do list!"

Want to order your 'Morning Cup' set or the supplies to complete this project.  Click on my signature below or on the link at the top of this blog to go to my online store where you can order 24/7.

Place an order in my online store in October and receive a FREE pdf tutorial sent right to your inbox!

Gift Giving Season~It's in the Bag

Gift bag that is!  Are you like M.E. and never plan ahead?  Sometimes we just get busy (right?) and need that last minute gift and gift-wrap.  That's M.E.! So, I took an oldie and turned it into a goodie.  The old Bag-A-Lope as we used to call it.  These gift bags were made from 9 x 12 envelopes.  I have a huge box of these envelopes (150 to be exact) that I bought a few years ago from Mr. Waltons warehouse store.  I just looked up the cost online and now they come in boxes of 100 for around $20 so that is .20 a piece.  Add a 2¢ piece of tissue and gee whiz it's a bag for under .25¢ can't buy that!  Even with all the extra embellishing which puts it WAY above store bought in cuteness it's still less than $1.00!! 

Here is my assortment of bags.  From Thanksgiving through Christmas to Thank you!  All of them made the same except the Snowflake fold-over bag.  So you want to  know how?  Of course you do!

Cut the envelope top off to make it a 9 x 9 square.  Score each side and the bottom 1.5" in from each side and bottom with the simply scoring tool.  Fold both ways on the scores before trying to assemble into a bag to make it a little easier.  If wheeling the bag do that now before you put it all together.  If you are just embellishing you can wait until it's "a bag". 

You will stick your hand it and make "gussets" on each bottom edge. Use sticky strip to fold these onto the bottom of the bag for strength in the bottom.  Voila it's done. 

Tips on some of the bags above: 

Thanksgiving bag-brayer first with the primary colors from the Spice Cake Designers Series Paper.  More Mustard, Pool Party and Old Olive.  Then Wheeled with Early Espresso.  Reinforce the top if adding handles of torn fabric in this instance but ribbon would be just as great! 

Snowflake Bag- Do not cut off as much from the top of the envelope if you want to do a fold down bag.  Leave it around 10.5-11" long

Basic Wheeled bag-When wheeling your tissue only wheel around the perimeter of the tissue.  No need to wheel the whole paper because all you see is the tips anyway!  You can fold the paper before wheeling because the paper is scrunched and you can't see any spaces or gaps. When wheeling always wheel on the diagonal because then if you aren't perfectly straight the eye can not pick it up like it does if you try to wheel horizontally or vertically.  Or use your wheel guide if you "must" wheel straight.

Want to make the card the embellishment?  Adhere a clear envelope to the front of your plain bag and slip in the card and voila it's done! Bottom right example that is trimmed with a little ruffled ribbon.

Create your bag to suit you and your needed occassion and size! 

Order you supplies 24/7 in my online store by clicking on my signature below or on my online ordering button on the top of this blog.

Order online in October and receive a bonus FREE PDF tutorial sent right to your mailbox!

You're an Angel~You're A Positive EXample

APEX time again!  APEX is something my upline, Meg Loven, has offered to us for the last several years and I try to NEVER miss it.  She offers it every quarter to anyone who has $1200 in sales and/or a new recruit.  It stands for A Positive Example and it's what we call an over the top swap or wow swap.  If you participate in person it's a shoebox swap but if you live far away or are busy like I am this month you can participate by mail.  

I had fun putting these little angels together for the other participants.  I had seen something somewhat similar at convention and had snapped a photo and had it in my "ideas" folder on my computer.  So when I was trying to decide what to do I pulled up that folder and saw this little cutie and thought it was time to create her.

She's a pretty nice size angel.  I started with a 12 x 12 sheet of textured vanilla cardstock and one of my dinner plates.  Yes, I needed a larger circle so I did the old trace around the dinner plate trick.  I traced with my embosser from the new simply scoring tool and cut out by hand.  Then I found my center and went from there with my folds.  I would love to give you exact measurements but truthfully I am not sure how to tell you my markings on a circle.  If you want to duplicate her I would suggest making a pattern from newspaper or brown packing paper from your Stampin' Up! order you can place with me online ;-) (you don't throw that stuff away do you?!!) Then use it as a template.  I had fun embossing then decorating her wings with dazzling details and her dress with glass glitter.  She is just heavenly.  I went with the very vanilla because I thought it just made her a little softer than the true Whisper White.  Although that would be just as ethereal.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my choir of angels.  I think they would be adorable made with their choir books in hand.  It would mimic the angel I put on my tree.  It's an angel my mom bought at the five n dime when my oldest sister was little so I would think that would make it an antique now (ha ha sorry sis!) and my mom never thought much of it.  She said it was just temporary, one of those things you get just to get by when you don't have money until you can get something better.  Her skirt is made of straws and glitter and cheap foil adorns her head as a halo and her head it a wooden ball her foil choir book it held on with cording. Growing up it was tradition to me and even though mom would buy new angels to put on her tree, as long as I lived at home I never let her. I can't remember if she gave it to me before she died or I got it after now but it's been a part of my tree since my kids were little or even before.  Mom's been gone now for almost 20 years and every year I place her on top it gives me a special moment to dream of my mom.  I think my kids feel about our angel the way I did as a child.  Funny how that works. It makes me smile thinking of our "silly" little traditions.  

Share your favorite Christmas traditions.  I'd love to hear how you make Christmas special at your house.  Leave me a comment.  

If you want to order supplies to make this cute little angel or any other stamping project click on my signature or on the Online Order icon at the top of my blog.

*Edited 10/23/2011- Download Elegant Angel tutorial here

  

Quick & Easy~You can't make just ONE!

Last week I did an hour long demonstration at a Christian Senior Living Facility in the area. This was not for the residents although some did come to watch, but it was for the volunteers that help in the home. They had a craft fair going on at the same time along with a nice luncheon for the group. Well, needless to say I had a lot of fun showing the big group of ladies all about Stampin' Up! And I KNOW they had fun because they didn't want me to stop demonstrating for them!  As I told them about all the products we carry I heard one of them proclaim..."Stampin' Up! really does have everything!" Not only everything but high quality everything or I wouldn't still be a demonstrator 9 years later or a customer 15 years later!

I wanted to make sure my projects were quick and simple so I came up with this adorable card using the Posy Punch hostess set from the Idea Book & Catalog. This would be a great card for me to demonstrate at your workshop this month. It's one of those cards that you can create multiples of quickly to have on hand to encourage someone or to just say Hello!

 

I liked the way it turned out so well we made it at this months Forget-Me-Not card keeper class and those gals loved it too!  Sometimes it's the easier cards that just grab our attention the most. To order supplies at your convenience order in my online store by clicking on my signature below or my online order button in the upper left corner of my blog.   

Anyone who places an online order from me this month will receive a FREE PDF tutorial from M.E.! 

Today's Featured Artist~Leslie Sollars

I thought you might enjoy seeing a beautiful card from my friend and fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator Leslie Sollars.  I stopped at Leslie's house earlier this week to pick up something she had borrowed from me and she showed me this card she had done that weekend with one of her clubs.  Now people tend to call me bold or assertive perhaps well I didnt' let them down this time either.  I snatched it right up and said, "Can I have this?!"  What was the woman to do? ;-) Of course she relinquished the card to me. 

I was hoping to use it this week in my class but I had too many sign up and not enough buttons on hand (a great "problem" to have) so I am saving it for another day but I really wanted to share it with you today.  Leslie used 1/2" strips of my current favorite Spice Cake Designers Series Paper and added a tag punched with the Decorative Label punch and stamped with the Falling Leaves set from the 2011-12 Idea Book & Catalog.  Add the Matching Spice Cake Designer Button tied with some linen thread and it makes a very adorable Thanksgiving/Fall card! 

Hope you enjoy seeing it as much as I have been enjoying viewing it here on my desk this week. Click on my signature box below to order your Stampin' Up! supplies 24/7 in my online store.

 

A FREE Big Shot?~ Yes, and much, much more!

 

So many Wonderful promotions...don't read this blog...go, go click on the pics above to view them all!