Diva Challenge - Baroque Motifs

Good morning Diva's (do you realise how weird it is saying that at 3.30pm??)

Just before I left for convention I put a challenge to the Diva's to make a creation using the Baroque Motifs stamp set - I just love this set and all the stamps in it as you can create absolutely anything from a soft feminine card to a totally masculine card. Its just so versatile I believe every house should have one!

Our first card today is done by the lovely Pat Washburn.

You will remember the lovely boxes that Pat shared the tutorial for a few weeks ago. Here is her stunning card - isnt it gorgeous??

Recipe:

Card Stock: Very Vanilla, Groovy Guava, Ruby Red, Wild Wasabi
Ink: Garden Green, Groovy Guava
Other: Dimentionals, Glitter Glue, Round Ice Brad, sm. paint brush

I made the flower using the 5 Petal Flower Punch. I used the Empressor Stylus on the flower punch working it all over. Then I split the cardstock so I had two flowers. I again worked the stylus on the smooth side around each petal, turned it over and used the small end of the stylus made a line from the center to near the tip of each petal.

Then I used a small paint brush and "painted" Groovy Guava on the edges and down the center of each petal. The leaves were made by folding a piece (apx 1/2") of Wasabi Green in half and running it through the crimper at an angle. I then cut appropriate lengths and curved one end from the fold out. When opened they resemble leaves with a center and angled veins.

Our next share is from the lovely Maggie Mathern.

Maggie is one of the few Aussies in our Diva's group and made these cards for friends.

This one also incorporates the Simon Lower chipboard and using the Enchante papers which was recently retired - I am still mourning the loss of those papers!

This one also shows the faux stitching done with Stampin' Up!'s white gel pen.

The second one from Maggie is a simple yet very elegant card in Night of Navy, Sahara Sand and Whisper White.

If you look really closely you can see the paper piercing .. as you can imagine it took ages but the effect is just stunning and well worth the labour.

Here are a couple of samples from me too and I do hope you like these samples and that maybe you have been convinced you 'need' this set too.

Just think you oould get this one set and make both your Mother's Day cards and your Father's Day cards from it - now how thrifty is that?

So get onto your friend Stampin' Up! demonstrator and order one today - actually order two so you can give mum one for Mother's Day!

Have a great Wednesday and dont forget to take time for yourself!

Leonie

Introducing Becky Roberts

Hello everyone.  I am the new Tuesday Coordinator and I am very excited to be a part of the UDI Blog.  I am also excited to introduce my first UDI member AND a very dear friend - Becky Roberts.  I contacted Becky when I was looking for other Demonstrators in the Boise area.  She responded and we found that we live in the same neighborhood and quickly have become friends.  With both of us newly to Boise, we are both facing the same challenges of starting our business over.  We are working together on some events and encouraging each other to become successful demonstrators in the Boise area.

So without any further ado - my dear friend -- Becky.

I've loved every minute of my 6 years as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator!  I've met some of the most amazing people and made great friendships.  What started out as a fun discount, soon flourished into a full time business allowing me the flexibility to stay home with my family.  I have 2 boys - ages 12 and 9.  We've recently relocated to Boise, ID for my husbands job and I have been working on restarting my business here.  It's been a little difficult but it's coming along.  I started a blog mainly to keep in touch with my customers in CA, but have met some pretty cool internet friends along the way.  Feel free to check it out at www.inkingidaho.blogspot.net.  Thanks to my great friend, Stacy Palmer, I am happy to be a part of the Utah Divas and look forward to meeting as many of you as possible at convention this year.

My latest class I am offering using the Live Your Dream stamp set is a mail order class.  If you are interested in receiving everything cut for you and delivered to your door, this is the project for you!  All cards are designed using the Stampin' Up! 'Live Your Dream' set and 'Afternoon Tea' designer paper.  I've cut all the paper for you, will send detailed instructions with full color pictures, as a couple of the cards have hidden surprises on the inside.  The kit also includes the ribbons, embellishments and envelopes.  Cost of the kit is $25, shipping included.  Please check out more ordering information on my website.

The latest project I have designed, based on an original idea by Jan Tink at 

http://stampspaperscissors.typepad.com/stamps_paper_scissors/tutorials/index.html is pictured below.  When Jan made her project she used the Carousel Notes & Envelopes.  I used Love Notes & Envelopes.

Here are the instructions for my miniature version:

INGREDIENTS:

*  (2) 3x3 Love Note envelopes, I used Vanilla.

*  3-1/8" x 3" piece of Very Vanilla.  Score the 3" side in half at 1-1/2".

*  Le Jardin Designer Series paper:

   - 2 pieces for the left and right pages cut 2-5/8" x 2-3/4".

   - 1 piece for the center section.  Cut 2-7/8" x 2-3/4", score the 2-7/8" side and fold in half.

   - 2 pieces for the front and back cover.  Cut both 3" x 3".

   - 2 pieces for the inside circle pages.  Cut both 3" x 3".

   - Various scrap pieces for decorating pages.

*  2 Brocade Blue card stock pieces.  Cut both pieces 2-7/8" x 3" for the inside left and right pages.

*  Punching scallops you will need River Rock, Brocade Blue and Always Artichoke card stock.  1 for the cover flap and 2 for the inside circle pages.

*  Various sizes of card stock for whatever you decide to stamp on the inside

 center piece.

*  Marcy 3" scallop punch

*  Marvy 2-1/2" circle punch

*  SU! 1-1/4" circle punch

*  Paper piercing tool and mat

*  Always Artichoke Grosgrain ribbon

*  Sticky Velcro circles

*  Rectangle punch

*  Sticky Strip

*  Live Your Dream stamp set

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Lay the two 3x3 Love Note envelopes down with the flaps facing up.  Adhesive the Very Vanilla card stock to the flaps and fold on the score mark.  It should look like a "W" now when you stand it up.

Inside pages:

2.  Layer the background paper to the Brocade Blue card stock.  Using the 1-1/4" punch, punch half circle in the center of both pages, left and right (so you can see the circle card underneath).

3.  Attach page to the envelope being careful not to adhesive the opening closed.

4.  Attach the scored background paper to the center page and fold.

5.  Using the scallop punch, punch a scallop circle from the River Rock, Brocade Blue and Always Artichoke card stocks.  Punch the background papers for the centers using the 2-1/2" circle punch.  Layer together.  Poke holes in scallops using the paper piercing tool for decoration.

6.  Insert scallop pages into the envelopes.

7.  Stamp and/or decorate the various card stock pieces you want to use for the center 2 pages.  The inside is now finished.

Outside/Cover:

8.  Adhesive the background pieces to the outsides of the envelopes.  Use scrap pieces of background paper to make the decoration strip for the front cover and use ribbon, if desired.

9.  Fold the Always Artichoke scallop in half and use the rectangle punch to place two holes on the back side for the ribbon handle.  Insert ribbon and secure with Sticky Strip.

10. Stamp a center embellishment for the flap and layer on circle punches, if desired.

11. Place the Velcro sticker under the flap and fold together.

12. Add photos and enjoy!

Thank you for letting me introduce my friend, Becky.  I look forward to sharing more with you each Tuesday.  Have a great week!  

Stacy P.

Southern Saturday

Today it is my pleasure to introduce a wonderful woman to all of you. Krista was one of my Stampin' Sisters and became a great friend of mine. I'm so blessed to have met her and become friends with her. Here's what she would like to share.....

Well this is more difficult to do that I thought it would be, I have a hard time talking about myself. I am so pleased and honored to share with you today. Thank you Alicia for featuring me in the diva spotlight.

When I started this journey I never in a million years thought that I would meet and speak to so many wonderful ladies and now a lot are my friends, so thank you for that ladies. Speaking of journeys, the very first card I made looks awful to me now. However, when I first was showing it around, it was darling. Looking at it now it needs to be in the TRASH!!!! WHAT WAS I THINKING!!!!

Hello. My name is Krista and I live in Adel, GA (down South, where it's HOT and the mosquitoes are awful). I have been married to my husband, Shane, for almost four years. I do work outside the home and I love my job. I work at the United States Postal Service as a Relief Rural Carrier. I have been a Stampin Up demonstrator for 4 years and love what I do. I love the products and I LOVE my card making work right now, I so love doing the cracked glass technique and layering. I have two children, Kacey is 19 1/2 and Tyler is 15 years old. Kacey gave me a grandson 5 months ago and his name is Kaleb, he is precious. For those of you that didn't know, he had brain surgery 9 weeks ago, but is doing SO MUCH BETTER THAN WE ALL( including the doctors) EXPECTED. I'm so blessed to have this little bundle of joy in my life.

Here's the recipe for the first card...
Stamp Set: Always Live your Dream
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Groovy Guava
Cardstock: Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
DSP:Afternoon Tea, Ginger Blossom
Accessories:Photo Corner Punch, Groovy Guava Double Stitched Ribbon, HodgePodge Hardware, Pearls from Pretties Set, SNAIL, Two Way Glue
Technique:Sponging
Stamp Sets: Bloomin Beautiful
Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Groovy Guava
Ink: VersaMark, Groovy Guava, Chocolate Chip
Markers: Cameo Coral, Regal Rose, Blush Blossom, Pretty in Pink, Mellow Moss
Acessories: Blender Pen, Aqua Painter, Black Brads, Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Heat Tool, SNAIL
Technique: Cracked Glass

Thank you so much Krista for sharing your creations with us. I'm so happy that you are beginning to love what you create. Hugs!! Alicia :)

Inspiration from Convention

Have you ever seen a demonstration where you actually went "Wow! I HAVE to try that!"? Last year during convention, that happened to me. (Many times actually, but this one in particular inspired me.) Brent Steele was demonstrating a flower made from our new Taffeta ribbon. I went straight to the Internet Cafe and ordered all the supplies so that they would be waiting for me when I got home! (Sound like anyone you know????)Here is a picture of the card that Brent demo'd:

Beautiful right? And how funny was it to see him rummaging through his "Pretties Kit" looking for the right beads? This inspired me to make a paper bag scrapbook in the boho-west theme. I love making these books and knew right away that it would make a great class. Here is what I came up with once I got home:

It was fun, but then the designer paper retired! Whaa whaa! BUT THEN Stampin' Up! came out with a NEW Boho-West colorway.....do you love it?

It just goes to show you that one little flower can turn into a huge project! Thank you to Brent and to Stampin' Up! for the WOW that cost me a million dollars in the end....LOL, joking of course. I am looking forward to Convention this year, where we will be celebrating 20 years of Stampin' Up! I am looking forward to many more "WOW's" as we Celebate '08! See you there!

Jennifer

A Day of Inspiration

This past week has flown by - I cannot believe it's Thursday again! Just recently I have become super interested in Inspiration Challenges. I too have kept my eye out for any image that I could use at a later date. I've been snapping many images with my camera phone, so hopefully I can get my creative juices flowing with ease!

Well, the image that inspired today's cards is a Lanie Loreth print available at Coldwater Creek. This is from Beate's Be Inspired Challenge #10 found here.

Would you believe this is my first creation from any inspiration challenge I've seen? What's real cool about this type of a challenge is there are no "wrong" answers. You can run with the color scheme, the layout of the picture, or even something completely different that sparked a thought. There is so much creative freedom, but that's where the challenge lies. Sometimes having all those options only makes it that much harder.

So here is what I came up with.

Stamps: A Beautiful Thing
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, So Saffron, Mellow Moss, Glossy CS
Ink: So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise, Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke, VersaMark, StazOn Black
Accessories: Sponge, Mellow Moss Taffeta Ribbon, Hodge Podge Hardware, White Embossing Powder

The flowers were stamped first on the glossy card stock in VersaMark ink then embossed with White Embossing Powder. Then the rest of the glossy cs was sponged with various inks starting from the lightest to the darkest.

Bev W. also took the challenge with me and came up with this beautiful creation:

Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Mellow Moss, Summer Sun
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Mellow Moss, Summer Sun, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Coluzzle, Heart Brads

I love how she splashed just a touch of Tempting Turquoise in the middle of the flower and the glitter! Brings your attention to the mixing of the colors in the flower.

I encourage you to flex your creative muscles and try an Inspiration Challenge! Until next week, Happy Stampin'!

~~Maria~~

A Touch on Wood

Its Wednesday again so you are all blessed with a post from me!!

With all the excitement and preparation & then recovery from Stampin Up Convention I dont have anyone to showcase today so I am going to share with you one of my very favourite techniques - Faux Woodgrain.

Depending on what colours you use you will get a different look each time and so this technique can be used for either masculine or feminine cards or just the rustic look.

Back in November 2007 I was asked to do a workshop wow at Sydney Regionals training - once I picked myself up off the floor and stopped shaking I agreed and this was the technique I demonstrated and I think those there did like what I did. Well some did and I must say I have never been so nervous in my life before!

This card here I've used Bashful Blue cardstock as the base and then used the whisper white craft ink pad with the brocade blue classic ink over the top. It gives a lovely shabby chic look.

If you would like to see a video on how to do the technique there is a great one by Gina K Designs on google video here


Here are a few more samples using the same technique but using different colours.

As you can see you can get different effects using the different colours of inks & cardstock.

I've also used the Weathered Background on these and it gives a lovely rustic look.

I hope you like what I've done and I challenge you to grab your ink pads and have a go at the technique yourself and see what you come up with - it really is very easy to get a great effect with this one.

Happy Wednesday to you and have a great week!

Leonie

Welcoming Stacy P

Please join me in welcoming Diva Stacy P as our new regular Tuesday blogger. I have really enjoyed sharing Stampin' Up with you the last few Tuesdays but I have to get back to my behind-the-scenes duties here at the UDI blog. As such, I am handing Tuesday's over to my dear Diva friend Stacy.

Stacy created this beautiful chip-board hanger using the Tie the Knot Simply Scrappin' Kit. The colors and designer series paper is lovely for wedding photos, but is appropriate for any theme really. In any event, this project is gorgeous.

So, here is what this talented stamper has to say about herself:
I have been married to Brian for 12 years and have 4 daughters ... 2 step-daughters from a previous marriage that I still keep in contact with (Erin, 32 and Trisha, 29) and 2 daughters (Hailey, 9 and McKenna, 6). We live in Boise, ID. We have lived here for almost 2 years. We moved from Huntington Beach, CA. I have been a SU Demonstrator for 5 years (YEA, I get to walk the stage at convention this year!) and am creating my business all over again when I moved to Boise. Business is slowly picking up and I keep plugging away at it. I also own Great Occasions Event Services, which was developed 24 years ago. I coordinate weddings, birthday parties, fund raisers and anything else that needs to be coordinated. I am also a stay-at-home mom that keeps me busy with volunteer work at my daughters school.

The chipboard hanger is the project for my May's Stamp Camp. We were supposed to make it at Max's Birthday Bash retreat, however, we were having way too much fun to end up making it before we had to leave each other. Now my customers will have the joy in learning how to make this wonderful wall hanging that was demonstrated at Leadership this year.

Thank you for joining us Stacy. I look forward to your posts. EdieB

Free Wheelin' Monday Part II

Happy Monday Everyone!

The Free Wheelin' Promotion is in full swing and like most good things, it has to come to an end. Up until April 30th, you have the chance to order certain stamp sets and receive the matching jumbo wheel for free.




I have long admired EDIE B's work and wanted to share two of her projects with you today. I was the lucky recipient of this beautiful card. Edie sent it for my birthday and it was surely one of those 'WOW' moments.

Stitched Exotics







Here is how Edie created the card:




This layout was CASE'd from Amy Sheffer at Pickled Paper Designs. I switched out Stitched Exotics for Amy's One of a Kind and used the It's Beautiful jumbo wheel to create the background design. Did I mention that I got the wheel free? ;-}



For this card, I knew I wanted to use Old Olive, Purely Pomegranate and Basic Black. The splash of white from Amy's use of the white scalloped edge provides a brightening accent. Since the card base is Basic Black, I stamped the interior sentiment onto a 3x4 trimmed piece of Whisper White card stock.I then stamped the flowers from Stitched Exotics in Purely Pomegranate and Old Olive and trimmed them closely so as to trim away the stitched edge of the designs.


I layered these with a small Pumpkin Pie flower punched using the Three For You punch from this year's punch kit and adhered all the flower layers with an Old Olive colored brad. The mat is paper-pierced all the way around and there is a length of Old Olive poly twill ribbon tied around and knotted.

The flowers are popped up using Stampin' Dimensionals. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up's! Holidays & Wishes. It is stamped in Versamark, sprinkled with Black embossing powder and heat set.

Enjoy Every Moment






Here is how Edie created this card:







The layout is a CASE from a card by Nancy Riley. Check out her blog. She has a lot of great ideas and I love her color choices.



For my card, I used a Groovy Guava card base and rolled the Daisy Dash jumbo wheel in Groovy Guava ink. Jumbo ink cartridges are not offered in the new In Colors so I used a Groovy Guava ink refill and an uninked jumbo cartridge to make my own. To do so, just rub the ink into the wheel cartridge using the tip of the re-inker. The amount of ink depends on the color you desire really. If you apply too much, just roll some off or add more ink if you find the color too light.

I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to position the "e" from enjoy perfectly in the center of the flower and to stamp the "every moment" sentiment in just the right spot under the enjoy.

The Ticket Corner punch was used at each corner and gold brads were placed as embellishments at the corners as well as at the center of the flower in the center of the O at the end of enjoy. Phew, that was hard to spit out ;-)

Finally, I used the photo corner punch to make the Chocolate Chip corner used to embellish the DSP mat and I pierced holes across the photo corner using the Paper Piercing tool and Mat Pack to mimic the dashes of the wheel pattern. All in all a fun card to make.

Check out Edie's Blog for more wonderful creations by clicking here.

If you are interested in joining our awesome online group, please email utahdivasinternational@gmail.com for more information.

Have a fabulous day
Max

samedi

I am so excited to introduce a very special Diva to you, Nina A. She is such a kind and wonderful lady and it is my pleasure to share one of her projects and a little about her. Nina is from France (Saint Arnoult en Yvelines) and has written her information to me in French. :) Now...I know you don't all speak French (I don't either...I'm a Spanish teacher), so I will be posting the translated version. I have told Nina that if she ever has any questions about anything, to just write in French and my husband will let me know what it says. :) So...hopefully...his French is still okay. :) My sincere apologies to Nina if there are any mistakes.

I am 43 years old and have 3 children-2 boys (8 and 5 1/2) and one three-year-old girl. I have scrapped for four and a half years. I discovered this passion with the death of my mother. It was my psychotherapy and has become a true passion. I created a scrap association and have given classes every week for two years.

I love stamps so much that I buy a lot from the US through the internet or on my trips to London and Paris. My scraproom is full. I am truly stamp-addicted. A good friend, Geraldine, that has been familiar with Stampin' Up for 10 years talked with me about SU coming to France. I ran to get information and signed up as a demonstrator immediately. I saw an opportunity for me to make new friends, to become a part of the Stampin' Up! family and to earn as many stamp sets as my sales allow.

Things in France are not the same as in America. In general, women in France scrapbook more than make cards. Due to this, starting has been a little difficult.

Recipe:
Papers: Designer series: Olive, SU Cardstock
Stamps: background en Francais, Shapes and Shadows, Lovely as a Tree, A Tree for All Seasons, Seeing Spots, Garden Silhouettes, In the Spotlight
Embellishments: SU and others buttons and ribbon, Wooden letters (Arbres), Once Upon a Time Rub Ons
Ink: Handsome Hunter and Olive Green

First prepare the cover: Cut out chipboard into a rectangle that measures 34.5 x 17 cm (approx. 13.6" x 6.7"). On the large side, fold each side at 15 cm (approx. 5.9"). The remaining piece will be 4.5 cm (approx. 1.8"). Cover the piece of the rectangle that is 7 x 17 cm (approx. 2.75" x 6.7")front and back, then cover the front and back and ink the edges. Use two pieces of CS of the same color family (30x30 cm/approx. 11.8" x 11.8") and cut them in half. You will have four pieces of CS that you will fold in the middle. Alternate the CS colors and with the Crop-A-Dile connect your album with a ribbon.

Alternate DSP, CS and your stamps of choice throughout the album/make edges, rectangles, circles; stamp, ink the edges of the paper. Make two large tags 9 x 17.5 cm (approx. 3.5" x 6.9"), ink, stamp and put into the album.

Embellish the album with buttons, stamped images using Dimensionals, add some chipboard, attach brads, ribbon and cord and then your album is finished.

Thank you so much for sharing your project with us, Nina. Hope the translation is correct. :)

Alicia :)

The jet plane brought me back......

Well, last week I was headed off to Utah for an awesome get together with fellow divas. I had a very super awesome groovy great time!! Meeting someone face to face, you get to experience not only what they look like but their personalities too! Let me tell you again, these ladies truly are wonderful! The weekend was fun and we got to stamp, play games, tour SU, and celebrate Max's birthday. Time sure does fly when you're having fun with friends!

Last Thursday I shared some of the SCIAB projects. Today I am going to share the rest of them. The projects are a Treat Container by Elizabeth H, a Gift Card Holder by Charmaine, and a non card item by Cristena.

This Sour Creme container was the first to arrive. The apple on the front makes you want to rip right into it and eat the goodies inside!

Stamps: Tart & Tangy
Paper: Summer Picnic DS Paper, Real Red, Green Galore, Whisper White
Ink: Stampin Write Markers – Real Red, Green Galore, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Punches- Scallop, 1 ¼” Circle, 1 3/8” Circle, Rectangular hole; Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, VersaMark, Heat Tool, Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, Tombow Mono Multi, Stampin’ Dimensionals

These gift card holders came with a gift card to Starbucks from Charmaine! She added a little note saying enjoy a cup of coffee on her. How very sweet!! :)

Stamps: Sassy Suzie
Paper: So Saffron, Wild Wasabi
Ink: Blush Blossom, Close to Cocoa, Wild Wasabi, Pretty in Pink, Blue





These adorable little purses were made by Cristena. She made these cool little kits complete with instructions and the supplies to make one.
Too Cute!

Stamps: Time for You
Paper: Berry Bliss, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Brads, Tab Punch, Grosgrain Ribbon




What a GREAT first SCIAB! I cannot wait for the next one to be put together and the talent that we will see from that!

I wish you a WONDERFUL Thursday!! Happy Stampin!!

~~Maria~~

Stampin' Up! Convention - Brisbane Australia - Totally Awesome!

All I can say is WOW!! What a Weekend! Convention went for 2 days but I had 4 wonderful days!

It started with meeting Maggie and her entourage at the airport on Thursday afternoon and we all jumped into a maxi-cab and made our way to our apartments we were staying in - talk about loverly! Only drawback was we were on the top floor and there was NO lift .. ugh .. my body reminded me every time I went up an down those stairs that I have fibromyalgia and that my knees didn't like those stairs!

I do hope you like Maggie's shirt here and I'm thinking I might need to get me one too!

Friday morning started with check-in and Memento Mall and you do have to go spend here right - its like a pre-requisite for convention isn't it and all the lovely goodies inside.

I got some magnets which I'll use as hostess thank you's and the like, a mini catalogue bag (which also doubles as a swap bag) and 3 loverly new insulated coffee mugs. They have a stainless steel rim and do keep your coffee warm for ages. Now why 3 you say? well one to use, another to use when the first one is dirty and you always need a spare one right?? You'd never guess I love my coffee would you???

You can see the magnets & coffee cup here in this picture. It also shows the stamp sets I came home with ... what a stash! Fast & Fun Notes and the Happiness Background were in our lovely blue convention bags. Those attending the Leadership session also received the Garden Whimsy set. I won (yippee) the Fabulous Flowers in the Prize Patrol - so very happy about that as my name wasn't called last year.

The Short & Sweet set was part of my recruiting award and here I am getting my award.

Shelli is such a lady full of grace. In her opening she talked about 'dreaming' and the theme of the convention was Dream Big. An email was sent out to random demonstrators prior to convention asking for their SU stories and how SU has changed their lives or how it has impacted on them. Well I sent my story back and I shared more than I normally do. I mention about the Bank Robbery I was in and about losing our little baby Daniel and she shared all this. I wasn't told she was going to use any of my story so I was a little unprepared for what was about to be said as I dont tell everyone about these things in my life. Well after her talk there were a few tears shed (and not all were mine!) and I had a lot of friends come up and hug me and one of them was Bernadette from our Demo Support and I told her it would have been nice to be forewarned. Apparently she mentioned this to Shelli and when I did go and say hello to her she gave me the biggest hug and apologised profusely for not letting me know and thanked me for being so open and sharing so much.

We had sessions led by Pam Morgan, Linda Hansen, Carrie Cudrey, Bernadette Gamo and Shannon West. We also had the general sessions run by Shelli and Aaron Scott and Shelli also had a demonstration for us. I could just sit and watch Shelli, Pam and Linda for days!

We also had a great time doing the make and takes. Here you can see the finished products with the forever scrap booking layout, gift box, water coloured note cards and the friend card.

I am a little sad that its all over so quickly but know I have come away with a lot of ideas I can implement in my business and hopefully some will improve what I already do.

I also know that its a lot of money to spend on two days but it really is sooooo very worth every penny! You not only bring home a bag of loot and some great ideas to share and implement but also with alot of new friends who share the same passion you do. I really did enjoy this year's convention more so than last year - maybe a little of that is because I didnt know what to expect last year and this year I had more of an idea of the format and such.

After the Awards dinner on the Saturday night my brother picked me up from the city and took me back to his place and I got to spend a nice relaxing day with him and his family - something that I normally wouldn't have the chance to do.

I am feeling rather blessed with all the friends I have met through Stampin' Up! and I dont doubt for a moment that God has had a very big hand in all of this. I have grown so much since joining Stampin' Up! and my stamping has developed as has my scrapping and I have all these Diva friends as well - life is good and it really doesnt hurt to "Dream Big!"

By The Sea From Across the Sea

Hi Everyone! You have had the pleasure of getting to know one of my favorite international Divas, Leonie, who is our regular Wednesday UDI Blog contributor and lives in Australia. I look forward to hearing about Leonie's convention fun tomorrow, if she has recovered that is.

Today, I have the pleasure of introducing another international Diva, my friend Sam from England. Sam created this adorable card especially for your blogging enjoyment today. You will recognize the stamp set, Summer By The Sea, which is retired here in the U.S., but remains current in England. Here is what Sam has to say about herself:

Hi I am Sam, I live in Guildford England, it's not too far from London, and I am married to an airline pilot so I get lots of time to craft! I do have a room just for my crafting supplies, but often seem to take over the whole house. I used to work as a government lawyer, until a serious illness forced me to reconsider what I wanted out of life. I now work as a freelance consultant and have just taken on an SU demoship. I love stamping card making and scrapbooking and I want to grow this passion into a business that I can be proud of.

Recipe:
The stamp sets are Summer by the Sea and Seeing Spots.
Inks are So Saffron and Ballet Blue (second stamped) a couple of the spots are where I mixed ballet blue with so saffron.
The cardstock is Whisper White and from Earth Tones.
There is hodgepodge in the corner and the Ticket Corner Punch and Scallop Circle Punch were used.

I do in fact see a successful SU career in your future Sam! Thanks so much for sharing with us today. I hope we see more of your creations and hear more about your Stampin' Up! adventures across the sea.

Happy Stampin' Everyone! EdieB

Time spent with friends is TIME WELL SPENT!

A very late Monday post for sure! With being gone all weekend on a fabulous birthday bash retreat (celebrating my birthday), I have been totally exhausted all day.

Anyways, what a fabulous weekend we had. Stacy and Kristine planned the whole thing and what a great job they did. We rented a home in Cottonwood Heights, UT and it was awesome. We had a blast. Looking forward to Convention for our next UDI Get Together in a similar rented home.

We made projects, had a shoebox swap, went to visit IKEA and Robert's and ate, and ate, and ate. :)

Here are some pictures of our fun event. Maria from TX was our Photographer and did an awesome job of taking pictures and uploading them for all of us.

Maria made this cute gift for me. It is a Jacob's Ladder. I was in awe when I saw what work had gone into this but of course Maria told me it was really easy to make ;)

Stacy decorated this 6x6 Album for me. I had my picture taken with each person there and they each made a 6x6 page to add into this cute album. Now that is what I call easy scrapbooking! :)

Everyone who attended the retreat was given one of these adorable projects.

We each had to bring a wrapped gift and one of our Divas was the lucky recipient of this cute woven basket made by Jennifer.

Amongst all the fun activities we did, we got to tour the Stampin' Up! facility in Riverton. This weekend has been one that I will personally treasure. I must have said this thousands of times, but the friends I have made through Stampin' Up! is truly unbelievable. The friends I have made through this group, Utah Divas International is truly a great blessing.

Group Tour of Stampin' Up!

From Left to Right, Back Row: Kristine M, Terry J, Gina B, Pat W, Karen G, Max C, Jennifer T, Adrian G, Stacy P.

Front Row: Maria W, Christine R.

It's Saturday!

Hello everyone! Today I would like to introduce you to another talented Diva, Kathy B. She is such a wonderful and caring person. I am so glad she is part of the group.

Hi! My name is Kathy Blanco. I am a mom to two beautiful kids (Matt - 15yrs and Samantha 12yrs) and married to a wonderful man for almost 16 -1/2 yrs. Lou is the "love of my life". Can't picture my life without him. I work full time with my DH at our sign shop. Because the shop is behind our house, I feel like an SAHM because I am here to see them off in the morning and here when they get home from school and get to run them all around. I love being a part of this UDI group. I have been a member for almost a year now. At the end of this month is my 1st UDI anniversary. Woo Hoo! I love to check out samples of creations made by others; it inspires me to use my creativity. I love coming up with my own creations too. Besides stamping, my other hobby is photography. I love taking pictures. I just need to get myself to scrapbook them now. lol

I am happy to share some of my recent creations with all of you. Below are three samples for you to view. Hope you like them so much that you want to C.A.S.E. them. Happy Stamping Everyone! Kathy

Card One: For You

Stamps: All Holidays, Time Well Spent (Level 3 Hostess - Spring Summer catty)
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Natural White
Inks: certainly celery and black staz on
Markers: certainly celery, old olive, pretty in pink, yo yo yellow
Accessories: Crystal Effects, adhesive, post-it note (for masking)

Notes: 1. Using the staz on ink, stamp out the flowers four times - one on top and three off to the sides. Before cleaning the stamp, stamp off onto the sticky note pad. Cut out and use as a mask for the flowers while you stamp the stem and leaves. Try to stamp on the section that has the sticky part on the back, so your flower will stay in place while you stamp.
2. Color in the stem and leaves using certainly celery and old olive markers.
3. Color in the flower using the pretty in pink marker.
4. Color in the little circles with yo yo yellow.
5. Stamp the "for you" in old olive to the front of the card, next to the stem.
6. Adhere the natural's white to certainly celery, then to old olive, then to front of card.
7. Using crystal effects, fill in each circle and let dry.

Card Two: happy birthday

Stamps: Embrace Life, Birthday Whimsy (s-a-b '08 set)
Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Inks: Basic Brown, Groovy Guava (SU! in color), really rust, and certainly celery, so saffron (marker)
Accessories: Narrow twill tape, stampin' dimensionals, CM photo tape - for apply the ribbon, snips, aqua painter, stampin' sponge, Crafter's Tool Kit, Key Tag punch (the "happy birthday" would not fit into the word window).

Notes: 1. I sponged color on the three pieces of so saffron and certainly celery and then sponged the edges on each.
2. I stamped the whole flower onto whisper white and then another flower to pop off of the card.
3. I stamped the plant using basic brown then cut it out leaving a little space all around the plant.
4. I colored all of the flowers with groovy guava first then really rust using the "bump and press" method then picking up the color with the aqau painter.
5. I made stitch marks using the Crafter's Tool Kit poker and grid all around the edges of each of the so saffron pieces.
6. The "happy birthday" saying was stamped in basic brown, sponged, then punched out with the Key Tag punch, then cut down to size. Stampin' Dimensionals were used to pop it off the page.
7. The twill tape is cut to the front of the card, it does not wrap around it. The knot is a seperate piece of twill tape.

Personalized Tag: Kathy

Stamps: Merci (s-a-b '08 set)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Lavender Lace, and "The Spring Glitter Stack" by DCWV
Inks: Basic Black Markers: Lavender Lace, Close to Cocoa, Regal Rose, Basic Black
Accessories: Silver Cording, Lt. Orchid Grosgrain ribbon, Crop-A-Dile, Lg white eyelet, 1/16" punch, 3/4" circle punch, word window punch, sticky strip, micro beads, snips, adhesive, mini glue dots

These tags are great to use as name tags or to use in swaps with members of your team so you can get to know everyone. :)

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Alicia :)