Lots of Congrats!

I know, I know…. it's been WAY too long since I've posted some samples!!! I've been beyond busy with Spring Retreat Preparations and Home Life — having an almost 1 Year Old who has just discovered his mobility doesn't leave much time for stamping! Gone are the days that he played in one area while I stamped – now it's "You touch a stamp mom and I'll climb the stairs!" – but I wouldn't trade being home with him and working a little less for the world!! I really love the flexibility of running my own business and working on my own terms… it just hasn't left all of you with many samples this past week!

So I'll make up for it and show you THREE samples today!!! Only I didn't design a single one, but that's OK!

My 2nd Level Upline, Missy Shipman, has "unofficially" rolled me up to her first level in terms of recognition and incentives this year so that I receive a little extra support and encouragement – it's so nice to have someone being in that role for me! So I thought I would share with you some of the things she's sent me based on my sales and recruiting in January & February.

Here is January's Congratulations Card:

WHAT TO ORDER:

Vintage Vogue Stamp Set (Wood – 117690, Clear – 118598), Well Scripted Stamp Set (Wood – 117072, Clear – 118601), Soft Suede Cardstock (115318), Rich Razzleberry Cardstock (115316), Very Vanilla Cardstock (101650), Soft Suede Classic Ink (115657), Rich Razzleberry Classic Ink (115658), 5/16" Neutral Brads (112534)

And then in January I also received this fabulous Simply Adorned Charm with a couple of charms! I just love how she created the "slider" for the Sweet Treat Cup!

WHAT TO ORDER:

Starring You Stamp Set (111696), Scallop Circle Punch (109043), Large Oval Punch (107305), Full Heart Punch (113693), 1 3/4" Circle Punch (112004), Round Tab Punch (108340), Big Shot Die Cut Machine (113439), Old Olive 5/8" Satin Ribbon (117292), Simply Adorned Bracelet (117342), Simply Adorned Square Charm (118476), Stampin' Up! Perfect Polka Dot Textured Impressions Folder (117335), Heart Treat Cups (120435), So Saffron Cardstock (105118), Rich Razzleberry Cardstock (115316), Whisper White Cardstock (100730), Rich Razzleberry Classic Ink (115658), Paper from the Level 3 Hostess Set "Lovely Flowers Bundle" – 116916 – FREE with $500 order or workshop!

And then here is a card that I received for my February Sales:

WHAT TO ORDER:

Designer Paper and Stamp Set come from the Level 3 Hostess Set "Lovely Flowers Bundle" – 116916, FREE with a $500 Order or Workshop! Other supplies… Rich Razzleberry Cardstock (115316), Rich Razzleberry Classic Ink (115658), Whisper White Cardstock (100730), So Saffron Cardstock (105118), Old Olive Classic Ink (102277), Old Olive Satin Ribbon (117292), Scallop Edge Punch (112091), Wide Oval Punch (112082), Big Shot Die Cut Machine (113439), Scallop Circle #2 Die (113469) and Stampin' Up! Perfect Polka Dot Textured Impressions Folder (117335)

TO ORDER STAMPIN' UP! PRODUCTS ONLINE 24/7 CLICK HERE!

Don't Forget!

There are just 4 days left to Register for our Spring Retreat Weekend! Don't forget to get registered today!!!

For more details on our Spring Stamping Retreat Weekend Click Here !!!

• To place your qualifying orders to earn FREE Stamp Sets, it's Sale-A-Bration!! Click Here for more details!

March Team Time!

We had a fantastic Heartfelt Stamper's Team Time last night!! We have re-vamped our Team Times and have a fabulous, fun new format where we're creating a Technique Page, Card and 3-D Project each month!

Jen Rios Raner led our card project this month, here she is teaching us how to use the Tulipe Die negative for stenciling!

And here is her fantastic creation that we each made!

I can't share the technique page or the 3-D project that we did here, that's exclusive for attendees and Out of State Team Members – one of the many perks of being on our Team! But I will share with you the cover of my Technique book. I issued a "Technique Cover Contest" for each of the girls that attended, they were all given a blank cover and then this month need to decorate it in whatever way they wish, then we'll be voting on our favorites at our Retreat Weekend and giving out free prizes to the winners!

Here's some of the ladies hard at work with their projects!

We also kicked off a BRAND NEW Incentive & Recognition Program for Team Members!!! We have a brand new incentive day called "Grand Sales Achievers Day" and anyone who receives "Sweet Treat Accessory Cups" throughout the Year gets to attend! Here's a look at all of the Sweet Treat Accessory Cups that were given out this month:

So much fun! Click here to learn more about joining our Team so that you can join us for the next one!!

TO ORDER STAMPIN' UP! PRODUCTS ONLINE 24/7 CLICK HERE!

Don't Forget!

• To sign up for the Sweet Pea Scrapbooking Class! Click Here for more details! Deadline is TODAY!!!
  
• To order your March Card Kit of the Month! Click Here for more details!!
  
• To Sign Up for the Spring Card Class! Click Here for more details!!
  
• To Sign Up for our Spring Stamping Retreat Weekend!! Click Here for more details!
• To place your qualifying orders to earn FREE Stamp Sets, it's Sale-A-Bration!! Click Here for more details!

Use the Holiday Mini for Valentines: Part 1

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! I hope that everyone had a wonderful (and safe!) time last night ringing in the New Year. It's become a rather uneventful celebration in our house… my husband being a Youth Pastor is with the youth for a Lock In all night, and Mr. L's bedtime is quite earlier than midnight… so I celebrated among stamps! Can't complain about some time to myself…

The Holiday Mini Catalog ends in just a few days – January 4th to be exact! And while we all think of the Holiday Mini to cover Halloween through Christmas, it has a lots of wonderful items for Valentine's in addition to items that were meant for Halloween or Christmas, but can easily be used for Valentine's! So here's your first Valentine Holiday Mini project — and be sure to get your Holiday Mini Valentine Products ordered before they're gone forever!

ALY'S HELPFUL HINTS:

• I just adore the Night & Day Designer Series Paper in the Holiday Mini and will miss it dearly! If you haven't already ordered it, be sure to get a package before January 4th. While it was designed for Halloween, it's just so versatile and I love having black and white paper with no color. On this card, I used the Black and White Polka Dot paper from this package to stamp the Heart Image on to add a little bit more pizzaz to the image.
• Both stamps on this card come from stamp sets in the Holiday Mini. The heart from "Sweet Centers" was designed to coordinate with our Sweet Treat Cups, and the Valentine Greeting come from the extremely versatile greeting set "Grateful Greetings"
• The ribbon I used is part of the holiday Mistletoe Ribbon Originals pack. When you look at the two ribbons together they DO look like Christmas, but when you look at each one separately you have to fabulous individual ribbons good for any holiday or occasion.
• It's very hard to see, even in the enlarged photo shown here, but if you look closely to where the arrow is pointing, I used the perforating tool on the Cutting Kit to create an "x" behind the Sweet Treat Cup so that the recipient can just break open the back to get to the candy without ripping apart the card.

WHAT TO ORDER:

Sweet Centers Stamp Set (116521), 1 3/4" Circle Punch (112004), Sweet Treat Cups (116802), Grateful Greetings Stamp Set (116511), Night & Day Specialty Paper (116768), Mistletoe Ribbon Originals (116792), Real Red Classic Ink Pad (103133), Basic Black Classic Ink (101179), Neutrals 12×12 Textured Cardstock (108693), Whisper White Cardstock (106529), Cutter Kit (106958)

TO ORDER STAMPIN' UP! PRODUCTS ONLINE 24/7 CLICK HERE!

Don't Forget!

• To register for the Valentine's (and more!) Class – Click Here!
  
• To order everything on your Wish List from the Holiday Mini Catalog!! The catalog ends in just 3 days!!! Click Here to view the Mini Online!
  
• To register for the Winter Memories Scrapbooking Class – Click Here! Deadline in just 3 days!!! Registration by January 4th at Noon is FIRM!
  
• To order your retiring stamp sets before their gone forever on January 4th – Click Here for the listing! Ends in just 3 Days!!!
  
• To place your qualifying order for a FREE Decor Element until January 4th Only – Click Here! Ends in just 3 Days!!!!
  

Fall Frolic Day #5

Welcome to the 5th Day of the Fall Frolic Online Event! Today I’m going to share with you the last of my Halloween Ideas. This one isn’t a 3-D, but rather a Halloween Card using the Sweet Centers line. No Halloween idea is complete without some candy, so these fit perfectly!

This card featured the "Sweet Centers" Line on pages 6 and 7 of the Holiday Mini Catalog. The first component to this line is the "Sweet Centers" stamp set. This stamp set allows you to put the Sweet Treat Cups center stage and become part of the image. To create the entry way for your Sweet Treat Cup, you’ll need the 1 3/4" Circle Punch. This punch is sized perfectly to just pop the Sweet Treat Cup through the hole! The Holiday Movers & Shapers Die Set also has a 1 3/4" Punched Die so that you can place this size circle anywhere you want on a card without having to worry about the punch reaching. And when it comes time to mailing out your delightful Sweet Treat cards, you’ll want to put them in one of our Padded Envelopes, designed just for standard sized Sweet Treat Cup Cards!

ALY’S HELPFUL HINTS:

• Stampin’ Up! has designed this stamp set fabulously so that once you’ve punched out the center of the cardstock to create an entry way for your Sweet Treat Cup, you don’t just have a scrap punch out circle, you have an additional element for your card! The one shown here is the "EEK you’re sweet!" greeting. Of course, I did want it in a different color so ended up stamping that image twice.
• Sticky Strip is the perfect adhesive solution when adhering layers that hold the weight of the Sweet Treat Cup!
• The delightful accents at the top of the card were created with the Word Window Punch and Black Brads! A simple yet striking accent to any card.
• Try tying a simple knot in the center of the 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon – it’s not as bulky then your typical knot or bow!
• Have a hard time getting bold stamped images to stamp solid instead of blotchy? Try this tip:

Remember these coasters that I made at Christmas Time last year? I took a plain version of these, the raw tiles I purchased at my local Lumber Store for just .15 cents a piece, and laid it on on my stamping area.

Then I put my cardstock that I wanted to stamp on down on top of the tile, and used this hard tile as my Stamping Surface. Whenever you are working on a table that has any kind of give to it (even if it doesn’t look like it has give, if it’s not tile or hard wood, it gives!) it’s going to make it more difficult to get crisp, bold images. This is an easy way to make your stamping surface more durable! 

WHAT WAS USED: Sweet Centers Stamp Set (116521), Sweet Treat Cups (116802), Sweet Treat Padded Envelopes (116911), 1 3/4" Circle Punch (112004), Basic Black Cardstock (102851), Whisper White Cardstock (100730), Pumpkin Pie Cardstock (105117), Pumpkin Pie Classic Ink (105216), Perfect Plum Cardstock (101889), Perfect Plum Classic Ink (101437), Cast-A-Spell Designer Series Paper (115677), Vintage Brads (109109), Linen Thread (104199), Pumpkin Pie 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (115616), Word Window Punch (105090), 1 3/8" Circle Punch (104401), 1 1/4" Circle Punch (104403), 1/16" Circle Punch (101227), Sticky Strip (104294) and Stampin’ Dimensionals (104430)

TO ORDER STAMPIN’ UP! PRODUCTS ONLINE 24/7 CLICK HERE!

Don’t forget about this week’s Deal of the Week! You only have until Monday to take advantage of these fabulous savings!

Have you entered to win the 2nd Blog Candy Giveaway Yet? The deadline has been extended! To enter to win the Hemp Twine and Linen Thread, you have until Thursday! View the Fall Frolic Day #3 Post for Details.