Tennessee Sales Tax Holiday

The state of Tennessee is having a sales tax holiday for school supplies up to $100.00 per item from August 5-7. Because school supply items are included in this sales tax holiday, the below list of items will be state tax free during the holiday period. Please note that you must place your order with me during the tax holiday period in order to receive these items tax free. Also, keep in mind that this is a state sales tax holiday and may not apply to additional city, jurisdiction, or county taxes.

The following items are tax-exempt during the Tennessee sales tax holiday:

Item # Description Price

100425 2-Way Glue Pen $ 3.50
100902 Dotto Refill $ 6.50
101879 Watercolor Pencils (24) $ 19.95
102845 Blender Pens (3) $ 9.95
103179 Craft & Rubber Scissors $ 19.95
103305 Dotto $ 12.95
103579 Paper Snips $ 9.95
103683 Mini Glue Dots $ 4.95
104045 Anywhere Glue Sticks (2) $ 3.95
104294 Sticky Strip $ 6.95
104331 SNAIL Refill $ 4.50
104332 SNAIL Adhesive $ 6.95
104430 Stampin' Dimensionals $ 3.95
105021 Uni-ball Signo Gel Pen $ 3.95
105394 Basic Black Stampin' Write Journaler $ 3.50
108360 Craft Scissors $ 29.95
110755 Multipurpose Liquid Glue $ 3.95
Varies Stampin' Write Marker $ 3.50
119700 Subtles Collection Stampin' Write Markers (10) $ 28.95
119701 Regals Collection Stampin' Write Markers (10) $ 28.95
119702 Brights Collection Stampin' Write Markers (10) $ 28.95
119703 Neutrals Collection Stampin' Write Markers (8) $ 22.95
119801 2010-2012 In Color Stampin' Write Markers (5) $ 14.95
119802 Subtles Collection Watercolor Wonder Crayons (10) $ 16.95
119803 Regals Collection Watercolor Wonder Crayons (10) $ 16.95
119804 Brights Collection Watercolor Wonder Crayons (10) $ 16.95
119805 Neutrals Collection Watercolor Wonder Crayons (10) $ 16.95
120962 Stampin' Pastels $ 24.95
123002 2011-2013 In Color Stampin' Write Markers (5) $ 14.95

FREE Stampin' Up! Starter Kit

As many of you know, I just returned from the Stampin’ Up! 2011 Leadership Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. It was truly a wonderful and invigorating experience! During the last General Session, Stampin’ Up! announced that all Leadership attendees would receive one FREE starter kit (over a $300 value) to offer a recruit if that recruit commits to signing up a new recruit by March 31, 2011. In addition, the new recruit would have to sign their paperwork to join Stampin’ Up! this week and it must be postmarked no later than this Friday, January 21, 2011. I think this is such a wonderful opportunity and I’m so thankful that I can share this with you!!!

What can you do to get this FREE starter kit? I am looking for someone who would view this as a business opportunity. You must be willing to make the commitment to recruit someone no later than March 31, 2011. Since this is during Sale-A-Bration, there is a recruiting promotion with 15% off the Starter Kit, as well as a FREE $50 product bundle, which is awesome. I cannot begin to tell you how being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator has changed my life in so many different ways and I’d love for you to experience what I have with Stampin’ Up!

What type of support would you receive? As your upline, I would be here to teach you how to utilize the resources that are available to you as a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator. Stampin’ Up! also provides Demonstrator Support to answer any questions you have regarding your Stampin’ Up! business, sends out newsletters to all new recruits for several months to help you kick start your business, including training on workshops, classes and recruiting! There are monthly meetings at my home and our upline's home for business and product training and we also have a Yahoo Group with resources that will help you with your business.

What are the requirements to be a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator? This is a simple question. You are required to submit sales of $300 a quarter to maintain your demonstratorship.

I would welcome the chance to discuss this exciting business opportunity with you further. If you are interested, please let me know as soon as possible so we can get together. I can be reached by email at n2_stampin@yahoo.com or by telephone at 757-589-3473. I must have all the paperwork in the mail on Friday, so time is of the essence. I look forward to hearing from you!!!!

Simply Amazing!!!!

Stampin' Up! has done it again! Here's an offer you just can't refuse. Do what you love and share with your friends. It's a great time to join the Stampin' Up! family!!!

From November 15 through November 30, 2010 you can purchase the Standard or Digital+ Starter Kits for only $87.50--that is 50 percent off the regular price of $175 for over $310 worth of paper or digital crafting and business supplies!

Own your own business today and share your love of creating and crafting with all your friends. I love what I do and you can too!! Email me today to find out how you can become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator!

Product Announcement from Stampin' Up!!

Yesterday, Stampin' Up! let us know that today they would make a Product Announcement! Well, here it is... Stampin' Up! is introducing a Color Renovation! This new color palette combines current colors with previous In Colors and five new colors.

This is such an exciting announcement!! I love these new collections and I know you will too. Some of my favorite colors are coming back. I will miss a few of the retiring colors, but I know that the new color palette will fulfill my every wish in my stamping products.

In compliance with Stampin' Up!'s Internet and Web Site policies, I cannot publish the document here. However, I can let you know which colors will be retiring.

Color Renovation: Fond Farewell

Pink Passion, Pixie Pink, Pale Plum, Orchid Opulence, Lovely Lilac, Lavender Lace, Almost Amethyst, Bordering Blue, Brocade blue, Ballet Blue, Brilliant Blue, Taken with Teal, Glorious Green, Handsome Hunter, Sage Shadow, Mellow Moss, Green Galore, Gable Green, Barely Banana, Yoyo Yellow, Summer Sun, Apricot Appeal, Only Orange, Really Rust, Ruby Red, Cameo Coral, Blush Blossom, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa and Going Gray

You still have plenty of time to stock up on your favorite colors. We will bid our fond farewell at the end of June 2010.

New Technique Classes are coming!!

Have you ever seen a technique or heard about one and then forgot about it by the time you sat down to craft?? That happens to me all the time!! So frustrating because there are so many wonderful techniques that you can use and they don't have to be difficult to add that special something to your projects. So, to help you (and me), I will be offering a Technique class each month. The first month that you sign up, you will receive a 6" x 6" Natural Linen Ring Album. In each class, we will create four 6" x 6" Technique pages complete with instructions and a sample of each technique. This is an on-going class and you can join any time. The cost of the first class is $30.00 and each class after is $10.00. Come and join me in creating a beautiful Technique Library.

Reserve your spot today! All payments and reservations must be made no later than Monday, April 19th. If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

Technique Class

First Class $30.00 Class $10.00

Long Time...

...no post!! So sorry about my absence! Wow, I just don't like it when my home life keeps me from doing what I love! Stamping! Well, I've been stamping a little here and there, but the blog thing not so much - or at all! Haha...

Well, no worries! I'm back and I'll do my very best to keep updating. Maybe not daily but better than every four months. LOL!

So today, I'll share with you a card that we did this past weekend at Stamp Club. This is an Easel card using the Occasions Mini, Garden from the Heart stamp set. I love the brown and pink combination.

This card is Close to Cocoa and Regal Rose. The base of the card is 4" x 8", scored at 4" and 2". I always score the larger measurement first because I think it gives a more accurate measurement for my fold. It seems that way to me, anyway. The front panel is a 4" x 4" piece of Close to Cocoa. The Regal Rose layer is 3-3/4" x 3-3/4". I used the Pinking Hearts Border Punch along the bottom. I stamped the hat with Basic Brown on a Very Vanilla piece of cardstock, 2-7/8" x 2-1/8. I colored the hat in using a Blender Pen. When watercoloring on Whisper White or Very Vanilla cardstock, it's best to use the Blender Pens. Aqua Painters put too much water on your paper and will almost tear up your Whisper White or Very Vanilla. I used Close to Cocoa, Regal Rose, Mellow Moss and More Mustard to color in my image. The Very Vanilla is mounted onto a 3" x 2-1/4" piece of Close to Cocoa. Inside I have a 3-3/4" x 3-3/4" piece of Very Vanilla cardstock. I stamped my sentiment using Basic Brown ink. Before adhering this piece inside, I added Gold Brads. These make the card stand up like an easel.

Enjoy!! Until next time...

November 2009 Stamp-a-Stack

Need cards? Short on time? Come and replenish your card supply. We will create 10 cards for a variety of occasions. Envelopes are provided.

The fee for this class is $20.00 and is payable no later than Monday, November 16, 2009.

Reserve your spot today! I'll also be offering this class as a kit. If you can't make it, you can purchase the class kit to be picked up or to be mailed to you. You will receive 10 completed cards and envelopes.

November 2009 Stamp-a-Stack Class

Class $20.00 Class - Picked Up $25.00 Class - Mailed $25.00

Happy Thanksgiving

Boy, oh boy, has it been a busy whirlwind of a month!! I'm still trying to get into the swing of work and three different schools for the kids. Sometimes it's amazing to me that I just can't seem to do it all. I know that's shocking to those of you who know me well - ha ha!! The most important thing of it all is that I try! That's what I tell my kids anyway!

So, here's a card that we did at our last Stamp Club meeting. I cased the idea from a swap at our last group meeting. I thought it was such a beautiful card and a great use of the pheasant. He's embossed using Basic Black Craft ink and Clear Embossing Powder. I love embossing on cards because it adds such a rich texture. This card uses the Autumn Days stamp set and our In Colors - Soft Suede, Dusty Durango and Crushed Curry.

Enjoy and take some time for yourself (yes, I need to take my own advice sometimes!!)... dive 'n2 stampin'!!

Autumn Splendor

Here's another card from my Stamp Club this month. My upline, Phyllis, designed this card. She always does a fantastic job!! She's so creative and has lots more time than I do. She always tells me that I shouldn't have had so many kids - ha ha! Well, what can I do, I love them, but sometimes they just need attention, so I don't get as much time to create as I would like. In the five years that I've been a demonstrator, I can't tell you how many times Phyllis has saved me by planning the projects and encouraging me to copy. Really, I guess that's what this beautiful thing called stamping is all about and I believe wholeheartedly in the "CASE" method - Copy And Share Everything! Phyllis is an awesome upline and I'm so blessed to have her! Ok, she'll "pay" me later for saying all that good stuff... ha ha!!

This is such an elegant card that you can use for whatever fall occasion you may have. I've been doing a lot of "thinking of you" cards to have on hand. I love sending cards to my Sunday School girls just to let them know that they're on my mind. Ok, back to the card... I'm getting a little distracted this morning... need more coffee!!

Here are instructions on making this card:

1. Using your favorite color ink pads and a sponge, gently rub color onto Glossy White cardstock in a circular motion. Start with your lightest color. Here, we used More Mustard, Ruby Red and Old Olive. Alternate colors until you've covered up the white. Use a soft tissue to rub off any extra ink.
2. Stamp your sentiment using Stazon ink. Turn your Glossy cardstock over and holding firmly rub the back of the cardstock to remove any excess ink.
3. Stamp your leaf images using our Encore Gold ink pad and emboss using Gold embossing powder. The gold embossing powder is great because you can really tell when your image is embossed. The details go from a dull color to a very shiny gold.
   
4. Mount the Glossy cardstock onto Old Olive and tie the Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain around these two layers.
   
5. Mount this onto your Ruby Red card using Dimensionals.
   

It's that easy! I hope you enjoy this beautiful creation! And Thank You Phyllis for sharing with me AGAIN!!

Until next time...

Sweet Treats Flower

Here's a project we did at yesterday's stamp club. I wanted to use Stampin' Up!'s new Sweet Treats Cups, by I didn't like that to get that candy out, you'd have to destroy your card. So, knowing that I had seen some kind, wonderful soul had already come up with the "trap door" solution, I followed suit.

This card is an 8-1/2" x 4-1/4" Night of Navy base, folded in half. There's a 4" x 4" Taken with Teal layer on the inside front cover. The trick is to put glue on three sides leaving one side free from glue for the "trap door" to be inserted. Next, take your 1-3/4" punch and punch from the top as far in as it will go. I found that you can use your punch for this since the flower petals hang off the card a little bit. Some of the other images need the circle to be closer to the center, so you'll need to use the Circle Scissor Plus for proper circle placement. Stamp your petals onto Whisper White cardstock. You can have as many petals as you'd like. I've used eight petals here. I used an extra square of Night of Navy cardstock and after punching a 1-3/4" circle in the center, I glued the petals around the circle. I started with the petals in the 3, 6, 9 and 12 spots like on a clock. I used a Dimensional to put the last four petals on in-between the petals already glued. The Sweet Treats cups have adhesive already on the back, so just peel off the paper and then you can stick your flower on the front of the card. Now that you have your flower in place, you can punch a 3/4" half circle through the front of your card. Insert your 3-5/8" x 3-5/8" Taken with Teal trap door between the front of the card and the inside layer. Mark a dot with your pencil where you want your pull ribbon to go. Punch a 1/8" circle and thread your ribbon through. Tie the ribbon together using Linen Thread. I used a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes and punched it out using the Modern Label Punch. Of course, that needed Dimensionals too. Ha ha! Love those Dimensionals! Finally, open the card and pull out the trap door to fill the Sweet Treats cup with your favorite candy. Here I wanted the yellow center to my flower, so I used Skittles. Shucks, I had to buy two bags just to have enough yellow Skittles - what to do with all those other colors... A dilemma for sure!! I'll just have to work on that. I hope you enjoy playing with these Sweet Treats Cups, I know I did!!

Until next time...

Halloween Hoot!

Here's another one of our projects from this month's Dive 'n2 Stampin' workshop. This treat bag is copied from page 10 of the Holiday Mini Catalog. I changed the stamp set from the one in the catalog because, if you can believe it, I don't have the Twick or Tweet set yet. It's crazy I know, but I'm trying so very hard to practice self-control! Oh boy, it's hard!! I'll make these little treat bags for Keegan's class for Halloween.

This is the Scallop Bag Big Shot die from Stampin' Up! The scallop circle is punched out of the Night & Day Specialty Paper on page 11 of the Holiday Mini. I love the little owl. It looks like he's just sitting there wondering what you're looking at. So cute!! He's stamped in Basic Black ink on a different page of the Designer Series Specialty. I love that the words fit on the Word Window punch too. The circles are glued on the scallop flap and the flap is glued down. The Bag with Scallops actually has two sides that are punched out when you run it through the Big Shot. We didn't use these for this project so you can just pull your candy out through the side. Gotta love easy-access candy!! Try this treat bag for any occasion!

Until next time...

Pumpkin Patch Box

Here's Stampin' Up!'s September Featured Project. I added this little card to put on the inside, so that when the candy is gone, there's still a little something for your box... because really, how long will the candy last...

The instructions for the box said to use a template from our template library, but I made a few measurements so that I didn't have to worry about sending my cardstock through my printer or have to trace and cut. I guess I'm a bit spoiled from having our Big Shot for awhile. These instructions are way easy, so don't fret...

• Start with a piece of Pumpkin Pie cardstock 3-3/4" x 6-3/4"; score on the 3-3/4" side 3/4" on each side. Score on the 6-3/4" side at 2-1/4" and 3".
• Cut along the score line on the flaps from the outer edge to the scored edge. Fold on each score line. Measure along the 3-3/4" flap at 2-1/4" and cut from outer edge to score line. (This should make the front and back flaps even when you assemble your box.)
• Stamp the grass from the Pumpkin Patch stamp set along the bottom front edge of the box in Pumpkin Pie ink. Stamp words on top of box using Chocolate Chip ink. Assemble box.
• Stamp the pumpkin onto a 1-1/2" x 1-3/4" piece of Whisper White cardstock in Pumpkin Pie ink. Stamp the face and stem in Chocolate Chip ink. Stamp the grass and curly vine in Old Olive ink. Adhere to box using Dimensionals.
• I printed the "Christians are like pumpkins" poem with my printer onto Whisper White cardstock. I cut the poems to 1-7/8" x 2-7/8" and mounted it to a 2" x 3" piece of Old Olive cardstock. I slipped the poem into my box behind my treats (those will not last long!!!).

If you're interested in the poem, here goes...

"Christians are like pumpkins. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then he cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, unforgiveness, etc., and then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see. Shine for Jesus!

Ronald McDonald House Stamp Set

Here's another card from this month's Dive 'n2 Stampin' Workshop. This card uses the Very Thankful stamp set, which is this year's Ronald McDonald House Charity Stamp Set. I buy the RMHC stamp sets every year. They are adorable, of course, but Stampin' Up! also donates $2 to the Ronald McDonald House Charities for every set sold. That means not only can I stamp with the cutest new stamp set, but I'm helping the Ronald McDonald House at the same time. This year's set has a very elegant peacock, a flowery circle border, a turtle that I just want to pick up and hug and this sweet little boy! Do you just love his hair???

This was another very simple card. I used the new In Color Textured Soft Suede cardstock (3" x 12", folded in half) as the base of my card. My layers are Whisper White, Melon Mambo and Bermuda Bay cardstock. I stamped the little boy in Basic Black ink on my square of Whisper White cardstock. I colored him in using our brand new In Color Markers - Love them!!!!! I even colored the little boy's hair with the Crushed Curry Marker. I mounted my layers and attached them to my card using Dimensionals. Next I punched the 1" circle on the front of the card and stamped "from all of us" inside the circle on the Whisper White cardstock. For this step, I used my temporary adhesive to stick my Whisper White cardstock on the inside of my card, just in case I messed up my words... I needed to have that backside to use, just in case! Once I stamped my words, I mounted that layer using my Tombow glue. Finally, I used a small paintbrush and our new Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint to put a little shine on the heart. I was very pleased at how quickly our Shimmer Paints dry. So, there you have it, a quick and easy "Thank You" card that you needed ten minutes ago... Oh wait, that's how I do things - ha ha!! Hope you enjoyed this card.

Until next time, take some time to Dive 'n2 Stampin'...

"The Write Stuff Specialty Paper" Class

I really love when Stampin' Up! comes out with new products, especially when they are packaged differently or have a combination of items. The 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalog was no exception! There's a new Specialty Paper package called The Write Stuff Specialty. This package has three new two-sided Designer Series paper patterns and three sheets of textured, cover-weight cardstock Die-cuts.

In this class, you'll receive The Write Stuff Specialty Paper package. We will create four cards and a two-page 6" x 6" scrapbook layout. The fee for this class is $20 and is due no later than Sunday, September 27, 2009.

Reserve your spot today! I'll also be offering this class as a kit that you can complete at home. If you can't make it, you can purchase the class kit to be picked up or to be mailed to you. To pay via Paypal click on the link below or email me.

"The Write Stuff Specialty Paper" Class

Class $20.00 Class - Picked Up $20.00 Class - Mailed $25.00

Another Build-A-Bear Boy

Here's one of the cards we did at our last Dive 'n2 Stampin' workshop. I'm having so much fun with these bears! It's the perfect stamp set for watercoloring. I colored this little boy bear a bit differently than usual. After stamping "Bear", I colored him in lightly with the Stampin' Pastels. I didn't try to fill the whole space, just put some color in the white area. Then I used the coordinating marker color to outline parts of that area. Finally, I blended the color in using an Aqua Painter. I really like this technique and the shading that it provides.

Do you like the Scallop Border? It's not as hard as it looks. For this element, I used six Scallop Square Punches. After punching the six Scallop Squares, I layered the squares to fit the next layer. When you layer, you lay one square on top of the other making sure that the scallops match up. For "Bear", the Bashful Blue layer was 2-1/4" x 3", so I layered the first two squares on the left side covering two scallops. Then I layered the next square covering one scallop. I repeated this for the right side. Finally, I layered the right and left sides covering one scallop. I adhered the first layer (in this case, the Bashful Blue cardstock) on top of the Scalloped Squares. That's an easy way to get those perfect scallop corners. You can modify this for any size cardstock.

Wow, I hope that makes sense. If you're a visual person, you may need to punch those squares out and try it. It makes so much more sense to me when I see it in person rather than in writing. Have fun with these techniques. I know I did!! Until next time...