Learn to Stamp and Scrap with Lynn Larson

Are you ready to "SALE-A-BRATE"?

Are you ready for some FREE stamp sets and rub-ons?  If you are, you are sure in the right place at the right time. Beginning TODAY - February 1st through March 17th, you can earn FREE stamp sets and/or rub-ons for every $50 you spend in Stampin' Up! products.  How cool is that?  I know that my wish list from the new catalog is pretty long, so getting a free stamp set for products that I am planning on buying anyway is such a wonderful bonus.  My list is ready to go and I am placing my order right away so I can get my free stamp sets - woo hoo! 

Host a workshop during Sale-a-Bration and earn a free stamp set in addition to all your other hostess benefits for every $300 in sales!  Have a $300 workshop, get one Sell-a-Bration stamp set free, a $600 workshop gets you two items free, a $900 workshop gets you three free items, etc.  What a great additional bonus for being a hostess!

AND if that is not enough for you, anyone who signs up to be a Stampin' Up! demonstrator during this Sale-a-Bration period of February 1st through March 17th will also save 20% off the price of their starter kit (which would now be just $159!) AND a FREE stamp set from the new Spring Summer Collection 2008 catalog - that is up to a $47.95 value!  That means, if you sign up to become  a demonstrator today, you will start out with up to $375 of Stampin' Up!'s high quality stamping products for only $159!  Now that's a reason to Sale-a-Brate - don't you think?!

If you would like to take advantage of this incredible time of the year, please contact me by phone (802-380-0222) or by email happy.stamper@yahoo.com.  You can see the free items that you can choose from in the Sale-a-Bration mini catalog shown in the right column of my blog.  There are six items to choose from for each $50 in orders you place.

Vote for your favorite Card Sketch Entry!

Do you know what time it is?  It is February 1st and it is time to start voting for your favorite card sketch entry for January!  The poll is up in the right column of my blog.  The poll will be open from today, February 1st through Tuesday, February 5th at 9 pm EST.  Be sure to vote today for your favorite card sketch submission. 

The winner of this challenge will receive a $10 gift certificate from me to be used toward Stampin' Up! products, a class fee or a "Class to Go" Kit.  I will announce the lucky winner here on my blog on Wednesday, February 6th so stay tuned!

Here are the entrants again - the pictures are also included on the poll for your convenience:

Card Sketch Submission #1

                                                                           

Card Sketch Submission #2

Card Sketch Submission #3

January Card Sketch Challenge #3

How would you like to win a $10 gift certificate from me to be used toward Stampin' Up! products, a class fee or toward a "Class to Go" Kit? 

All you need to do is submit a card sample that takes the sketch that I have created for January, make up a card using any stamp set or color combination you would like.  The card needs to be submitted by January 31st so that I can post the card on the blog.  Once all the cards have been posted, I will be putting up a poll for my readers to vote on and we will chose the winner after the poll is complete.

I know that there are a few of you out there that wanted to send in your cards for submission.  Be sure to do so by January 31st!

Good luck to all the entrants!

Gift Bags Anyone?....

How stylin' are these little gift bags?  If you see people walking around the streets of Vermont carrying these little bags around like purses, you will know that they just cannot get enough of these cute little bags!  Not only are they "stinkin' cute", they are stinkin' easy to make too:))  I believe that these bags belong to Linda, Shelli and Anne (from left to right).

These are the bags that we made at my New Catalog Open House (and Customer Appreciation) last night -Saturday.  We used the same package of Designer Series Paper, just different patterned paper from the package. 

I also let the girls play around with the new Flower Fusion felt flowers  and gave them a choice of a Rhinestone Brad or a Gold Brad to insert into the center of their layered flowers.  Everyone layered their flowers differently so each bag was truly unique.

Here are Tina and Carol checking out the Valentine's Bundle in the Spring/Summer Preview 2008 Mini Catalog.  They traveled the furthest to attend tonight's event by driving 2 hours to get here!  They are so wonderful for coming down to visit:))

On the right are Flo and Monique getting just a little out of hand:))  Monique is trying to toss a grape at Flo to catch in her mouth.  She then tossed the grape at me and bounced it off my ear...bad aim.

Oh, yeah.  Back to the bags.  Here are two more fabulous creations.  These are from Carol and Tina.  The argyle print bag ended up being pretty popular among the group.

As you can see, there is never a dull moment at these events.  We had a blast checking out new product from the new catalog, seeing new samples of finished cards and other projects using new stamp sets and accessories.  It is always fun to be able to see and touch things in person.  And yes, the Embrace Life stamp set that I have posted a lot of on my blog this month was a pretty popular set among the attendees.  They too had to have a set of their own.  I am just here spreadin' the love:))

Hand Crafted Designer Series Paper Gift Bag

How would you like to make an adorable hand crafted gift bag like this?  Well, you could if you were attending my New Catalog Open House today!  We will be making gift bags out of various patterns of Designer Series Paper.  I will post some samples of the different varieties coming up this week.

These bags are so easy to make and a wonderful addition to your gift because you can alter the shape of the bag and design it in any color combination you wish.  Just add a handle and a few accents and voila, a complete little gift bag made to perfection!

Look at the Card I received from my Secret Sister!

"How Sweet" is this adorable card that I received from my Secret Sister in the mail?!

What is a Secret Sister you ask?  Well, it is a fellow stamper that you are in a group with that sends you things in the mail without you knowing who they are.  We do this for a certain length of time and at the end of the time period, we get introduced to our Secret Sister.  It is a great way to get to know each other and to have fun with your stamping and share the fun of ideas and projects with them.

So, this is my first card from my Secret Sister in the Sisterhood of Blogging Stampers 2 group that I belong to.  We are sending two cards and one gift out to each other within a month's time frame.  There are actually 30 of us doing this swap and we all have different people we have been chosen to send gifts too.

I will post my next creation as soon as it arrives in the mail.  This is just too much fun!:))

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

NEW CATALOG OPEN HOUSE - Saturday, January 16th

How would you like to get a sneak peak at the new Stampin' Up! Spring / Summer Collection 2008 catalog?

Better yet, how would you like to get your own copy to take home with you?

You can have that opportunity by attending my New Catalog Open House on Saturday, January 26th from 6:00 - 8:00 pm right here at my home in West Wardsboro, Vermont and find out how to get your FREE copy of this wonderful catalog that is filled with fabulous project ideas.

I will be having light refreshments, my retired stamp sets and accessories will be on display and offered for sale, there will be a FREE GIFT for all who attend AND you will be making one project to take home with you using a stamp set and/or accessories from the new catalog!  I will also have a display of my new stamp sets and accessories as well as card and project samples using items from this catalog for you to see first-hand.  This is definitely an event that you don't want to miss!

Please be sure to RSVP to me at happy.stamper@yahoo.com or call 802-380-0222 so I can be sure to have enough supplies ready for your project and your free gift ready for you!

Hope to see you all there!

Embrace Life Card Sample

How much do you love the stamp set Embrace Life?  I hope it is a lot because here is yet another sample using this stamp set.  This card was one that was on the display boards at the Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference at the beginning of the month. 

If you look at this sample and also at the other samples that I have posted using this set, you will see that you can use this set EASILY in many different color combinations.  It is really nice to find a stamp set that is this versatile.

What color combinations would you like to see this stamp set used in?  I would love to hear your ideas.  Just post a comment on my blog with your thoughts!

Time Well Spent Card Sample

This is a sample of a card that I made for a swap card for both Leadership Convention and for my downline group swap tonight.

The flower is from the Time Well Spent stamp set that Stampin' Up! was generous enough to give to all of its demonstrators for FREE for the holidays last month.  It is also a level 3 hostess stamp set.  I stamped the image in Basic Gray ink since Basic Black was a little to harsh for this color combination.  The color is more of a charcoal gray and works great with this color combination.  The paper is from Le Jardin Designer Series Paper ("DSP").  There are three differnt patterns of paper used in this card.  Obviously the top and bottom layer used the DSP, but I also used it on the strip of floral green going across the middle of the card. 

I used a blender pen to color in the flower with So Saffron, River Rock, Always Artichoke and Bashful Blue inks.  There is a So Saffron eyelet in the center of the card and Bashful Blue Taffeta ribbon used to accent the side of the flower.  The Cardstock is River Rock, Bashful Blue and Very Vanilla.  I used the ticket corner punch to add more interest to the corners of the layers of the card.

I hope you enjoy this card!

Embrace Life...

How much do you love this stamp set - Embrace Life?  It is so versatile and looks great done in any color combination.

This sample accents the center of the flower with a little Liquid Glue and Dazzling Diamonds glitter.  Adding the glitter really pumps up the focus on the center of the flower and makes the colors really stand out.

Because it works well with many color combinations and with many accents, this stamp set would be great to use for weddings, birthdays, thinking of you, get well, anniversaries, scrapbooks, etc.   This is one of those sets that you would really get your money back from since you could use it for so many things.  It can be elegant, bright or just a natural, pastel looking flower for your creations. 

How do you see yourself using this set?  I would love to hear your comments.