Wow! I am so excited about the holidays. They will be here in no time! 

Check out our Holiday Gift Giving Guide for some gift-giving ideas. With every $50.00 purchase from the guide, you can earn a free item from the Decor Elements catalog (worth $16.95).  Click here for more details.

Sign up today for the Christmas Card Class on Sunday, November 8th at my home.  Only $25.00 for over 20 cards and gift tags!  Or the class is free with a $25.00 Stampin' Up! purchase.  Call me at (925) 864-4391 or email me at mbartlett64@yahoo.com to rsvp.

I hope to see you there!

Christmas Card making Party

On Sunday, November 7th, I'll be having a Christmas Card Making Party in Concord. Dozens of Christmas cards and tags. All materials will be cut and ready for you.

Just $25.00 per person, includes cost of Christmas Card Kit. Please bring your scissors and adhesive.

Please pay and RSVP by October 30th so the kits can all be prepared in time for the party. You can pay by check (email me for my address) or with Paypal. My email is mbartlett64@yahoo.com.

Please call me with any questions. My number is (925) 864-4391.

Here's a sampling of what we'll make:

Everyone Loves The Clearance Rack!

Everyone's favorite store has a clearance rack and now My favorite store, http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ItemList.aspx?categoryID=423 has it's own clearance rack.

You can go to the regular online site - www.stampinup.com - and select online store and then select yours truly, Mary Bartlett, as your demo and then order the clearance rack items.

Hurry while supplies last!

Home-Based Business Expo

If you've thought of starting your own home-based business, and you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, come to the Home-Based Business Fair in Brentwood, CA.  Stop by my Stampin' Up! booth for a sweet treat and a quick "make and take" project.

3101 Balfour Road....Saturday, September 26th from 10am - 6pm

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b374/hopehelvete/FlyerLARGE.jpg?t=1253770679

My Digital Studio

This is so cool. That's all I can say about this exciting program. We all love playing with Stampin' Up's great stamps, papers, inks and embelleshments, but wouldn't it be cool to have it all in one place?

This really cool computer program lets you create scrapbooks, cards and calendars...plus a whole lot more! I know first hand that digital scrapbooking can be a little intimidating, but My Digital Studio is really different. It makes creating scrapbooking pages so flippin' easy! It has a bunch of templates where you can just drop in your pictures, add a stamped image from a huge library of Stampin' Up! stamps, change the size of the stamps and embelishments...it's just really cool and you should check it out. Oh, and did I mention you'll be able to download products.

My Digital Studio is available for purchase beginning October 1st.  If you'd like to find out more and maybe get a hands on demonstration, give me a call at (925) 864-4391.

Do you Like Stamping?

I really like stamping.  I keep telling myself maybe I should take a break from it. I'm too busy concentrating on my Stampin' Up! business and I just need to step away from it a bit.  But you know what? I find I keep coming back to it.  I can't stay away. I really enjoy being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator.

I love creating new projects...or even CASE'ing projects from other crafters. (CASE = Copy and Share with Everyone.)That's what I love about the stamping and scrapbooking world.  Everyone is so willing to share with you.

And I'd like to share with you.  Here are a few projects we made at a recent Stamp Night. I used Dusty Durango and Whisper White cardstock, Whisper White Craft Ink and Dusty Durango Classic Ink and the Autumn Splendor stamp set. I also used the Scalloped Edge punch and the Modern Lable punch.

I really like this card - again, simple yet pretty. I used Soft Suede and Whisper White cardstock, Soft Suede ink, Oval All stamp set and the Eyelet Border punch.

This is one card from the Susan G. Komen fundraiser night. We made it using Rich Razzleberry, Bermuda Bay and Whisper White cardstock.  It uses a length of Rich Razzleberry polka-dot grosgrain ribbon and Stampin' Up's Ribbon of Hope stamp.

Well, these are just a few cards we made at recent stamp nights.  If you are interested in joining us, the next Stamp Night is on Thursday, October 15th from 6-9 pm.  Or I can come to you for a personal stamp night held in your home. Invite your friends, make some snacks and it's a great night all around!

Don't forgot to check in on my website, http://www.mary_bartlett.stampinup.net/ for more stamping events.  And you can buy online there, too!

Have a great Tuesday and Stamp and Be Happy!

What's New at Stampin' Up!

Stampin' Up! has some real Sweet Rewards for workshop hostesses.

From September 1–November 30, host a $250 Stampin’ Up!® workshop, and choose any one item from the Holiday 2009 Mini Catalog for just $10. (Offer does not include My Digital Studio™ or hostess sets)
Choose from our award-winning stamps, beautiful new Simply Adorned™ jewelry, exclusive Build-A-Bear Workshop® products, or latest dies for the Sizzix® Big Shot™.
Best of all, this amazing offer is in addition to the already fantastic benefits we offer to our hostesses.
 
Decor Elements Growth Chart
 

 

Purchase the brand-new Décor Elements Growth Chart, only available August 1-September 30, and as an added bonus, receive a free applicator tool with your purchase (a $1.95 value).

  

My Digital Studio - Stampin' Up! goes digital!
 
Use the same great artwork, colors, and accessory images found in our current product line to create personalized projects. The options are endless: create assorted photo albums, calendars, and greeting cards using My Digital Studio. Once you've created your personalized gift or heirloom, have it printed in our high-quality print facility and delivered to your door. Stampin' Up! artwork and accessories available in a digital format.

 

Stampin' Up! colors allow for perfect coordination when embellishing professional print projects with traditional embellishments. Add depth and dimension when you combine digital with handcrafted.

 

With My Digital Studio, your favorite images and colors need not retire--you can keep using them for years to come! My Digital Studio starts with nearly 2,000 unique elements--stamps, embellishments, templates, kits, punches, Designer Series papers, card stock, borders, and more.

 

• Intuitive design for easy navigation and project creation.
• Plenty to do for more advanced users including customizable stamps and embellishments
• Photo, background, accent, and page editing
• Multimedia features including music, videos, and links
• Automatic photo fill for effortless design.
• Program is on 3 DVDs, making downloading quick and simple.
• The program is stored on your computer, not on the web, so you can take it with you.
• PC and Mac compatible.
• Training and quick start materials available to help you learn more.

 

Use My Digital Studio as a design tool--create projects digitally before crafting it in paper, or create flyers to print or e-mail to customers.

 

Digital Downloads - Download new embellishments, stamps, kits, and templates to My Digital Studio on a regular basis. Digital downloads are also compatible with other design tools.

 

Digital downloads feature exclusive Stampin' Up! artwork and colors. Embellishments are true to size, making it easier to combine digital projects with paper crafting.

 

Print Professional print service available--print your photo albums, calendars, cards, and individual pages.

 

Stampin' Up!'s professional print services ensure that printed colors match with our paper products. Because personal printers and other print services use different settings, their prints may not match Stampin' Up!'s exclusive colors within acceptable tolerances. Stampin' Up! has worked to make sure that our professional print services match our colors perfectly!

 

Don't limit yourself to print projects! You can also create digital projects like DVDs, interactive albums, and e-cards.

 

With My Digital Studio, you can print your projects from your home printer (depending on your printer's settings, printed colors may not match Stampin' Up!'s exclusive colors).

 

Stampin' Up!'s professional print services use only the highest quality products--papers, album covers (linen, leather, and photo covers).

 

My Digital Studio is competitively priced at $79.95.
 

What will September bring?

Be sure to check back tomorrow (Sept. 1st) for some fantastic hostess specials and to get your first glance at the new Holiday Mini Catalog.  This is one of THE VERY BEST mini catalog's from Stampin' Up!.  So many cute stamps, beautiful Designer Series Papers and some awesome punches and Big Shot dies.

Don't forget about my upcoming stamp events...1st Friday Stamp Night on Sept. 4th...2nd Saturday Stamp Camp on Sept. 12th...and Technique Thursday on Sept. 17th.

Check out my website at http://www.mary_bartlett.stampinup.net/ for more information!

New Classes This Fall

Hi Everyone!

I've got some great fun coming up this Fall. I'm excited about my new classes starting in September. Consider them some well-deserved Stamp Therapy Sessions.

First Friday Stamp Night - The first Friday of every month we'll get together for 3 stamping projects. Cost is $10.00 per person...or only $5.00 with a $25.00 purchase or free with a $50 purchase. Hours are 6 - 9 pm.

Second Saturday Stamp Camp - The second Saturday of each month will be Stamp Camp Saturday. Come make as many (or as few) cards as you like. Choose from 20 wonderful projects - just $1.50 each. Come over anytime between 10:00 am - 4:00 pm. Bring your lunch or a snack. Water and coffee will be served.

Technique Thursday - On the Third Thursday of the month, I'll be demonstrating a new stamping technique. Curious about chalking? Interested in embossing? Wild about watercoloring? Ok, well, you get the idea. :) We'll make 3 projects using your newfound technique. Cost is $10.00 per person...or $5.00 with a $25.00 purchase or free with a $50 purchase. Hours are 6-9 pm.

We'll have drawings for some lovely door prizes and just lots of fun. RSVP by the day before each class and get an extra raffle ticket. Call me at (925) 864-4391 for more information and driving directions.





Be sure to check my Stampin' Up! calendar for more upcoming events.

Hi Everyone,

So sorry I have neglected the ole Blog. Look for some updated info and more cards and projects - coming soon to this blog near you.

Hugs!

I've acquired some new stamps sets recently. Ok, more than a few and I've had a hard time deciding which ones to use.

I love this little girl stamp from Whiff of Joy. I cased this card from someone on Splitcoast Stampers and I'm afraid I don't know her name. The background paper and embelishment is from Basic Grey Euphoria paper pad. The cardstock and fiber were in my stash.

Ok, this one is almost completely from my stash and the Thank You sentiment is a stamp I bought at the flea market on Sunday. (Who says you have to have the latest and greatest tools all the time?)

More stash paper. I have lots of kits that I haven't used yet. I used my Stamping Bella rubber stamp with Dazzling Diamonds on the balloons.

Scrapbook Expo...It never gets old.

On Friday I took a day off from work and volunteered at the Scrapbook Expo in Pleasanton, CA. What a great gig! I basically got to people watch, smile and talk with people for 4 hours...and got paid to do it! I answered the occasional question or two...where's the bathroom? Can I get back in through this door? That sort of thing. It was cool to see the behind the scenes goings on at the expo from the vendors point of view. I'm definately going to sign up again next year.

Of course, after my 4-hour stint I got to go shopping. There was a lot of way-cool stuff there this year. And while I did obide by my self-imposed "no more patterned paper" limitation, there were a lot of rubber stamp booths there and I picked up 3 of The Cat's Pajamas Clearly Swanky Stamp sets. I love the penguins, dog and cat that come in these sets. Besides they were buy 2 sets, get 1 free, so it was just meant to be!

While at the Scrapbook Territory booth, I did a quick make-n-take. I can't recall the name of the stamp set (shown here), but we used Copic Markers and Rock-a-Blocks by Crafters Companion. I've seen these before, but I was a little hesitant to buy them since I already had my acrylic blocks. But I tried them at ST's booth and I really like them. They're really easy to use and help make a clear stamped image the first time. So...I bought them. LOL.

I also bought some great ribbon, some cute green and pink rhinestones, more Scrappy Glue (this stuff is fantastic!) and I bought a Glue Glider Pro (another make-n-take tool I used at the Scrapbook Territory booth!)

I played a little with some stamps this week. I've cased a card from the Splitcoast Stampers website. (This one was inspired by askagain). I used the My Rubby Ducky stamp set from C.C. Designs. I used Copic Ciao #E35 and Copic Sketch #E13 for the monkey and Copic Ciao #Y17 and YR16 for the rubby ducky. The bubbles are colored using Diamond Stickles. The bubbles on the blue paper were made using my Cuttlebug embossing folder.

One of my other favorite stamp companies is High Hopes Stamps (http://www.highhopesstamps.com/). They have the cutest characters. I also used my Just Buzzin By set from Stampin' Up! I colored using Prismacolor Pencils.

Well, that's all I have for now. Y'all take care and remember to Stamp & Be Happy!

Sweet, sweet Saturday!

It was a long, strenuous work week, but we've finally made it to the weekend. Ahhh, Saturday. One of my two favorite days of the week. This is my day for creating. I get to play in my scraproom all.day.long. (except for getting up for the occassional load of laundry, that is).

I am loving the red in this card. I made it with some red cardstock and the pattern paper is from a Matstack pad from Joann's.

For the white border I used Stampin' Up's scalloped edge punch #112091), added a little white ribbon and 'voila! I dotted each scallop with a red ink dot, too. The "Thanks A Bunch" stamp is from Stampin' Up's A Little Somethin' stamp set (a Level 2 Hostess Set).

The inside looks like this:

For the photo corners I punched my pattern paper using S.U.'s Photo Corner punch (Item #109042). I like the look of this. I think I'll decorate the inside of the cards more often.

Now, I know I used this Inspired by Nature stamp set (Item #111656) my last post, but I just love this set. And I like the contrast of the black against the bright orange mat I used.

This is a simple gift card I made for a baby shower gift. It's a 3x3 card that I embossed with my Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder. The Little Bundle of Joy stamp is from the Punches Three set from Stampin' Up! This was a Level 1 Hostess Set from our Fall-Winter Catalog and unfortunately, it's no longer available. (So, I'm not sure why I posted it here, other than it's a cute, basic card that you can put together in minutes).

Well, that's all for today. I'm gonna go get my creative juices flowing and make some more cards now. Have a great weekend!

For the Love of Stamping

I love reading craft blogs and looking at all the fabulous projects these talented ladies of the .com world can do. They are a little addicting and I could look through them for hours if I had the time.

What do I want this blog to be? I want it to be a place to share with you the cards I make, maybe a tutorial here and there. I want to show what's happening in the stamping world and all the fantastic, cool products that are out there. It may not be the sleekest blog you've ever read, but it will be one made with the love of all things stamping.

So, to begin with, here are a few cards I've made. I hope you like them.

I love this chicken stamp from Penny Black. And it was a joy to color using my Prisma colored pencils and mineral spirits. I used nestabilities for the scallop circle and the background is embossed using my Cuttlebug embossing folder. The red ribbon is from Stampin' Up!.

This next card was really simple, yet beautiful. It's from Stampin' Up's Inspired By Nature set. I used Kiwi Kiss to stamp the flowers and sentiment. I colored the top of the flowers with Tombow markers, added a little glue and sprinkled them with Dazzling Diamonds from Stampin' Up!.

As you'll soon see, I'm all for the simple cards. Again, I embossed the pink paper using my Cuttlebug Embossing Folder. The pink and brown flowered ribbon was from either Joann's or Michael's - I can't remember which. The brown paper is Bazzill. (Love this cardstock!)

This cool paper is from a Top Line Creations (TLC) kit. I bought this kit a few years ago at the Scrapgrlz Retreat. Shell is the best hostess and puts on the greatest retreats I've ever been to. She's got a couple retreats coming up soon, so you may want to check it out: http://www.scrapgrlz.com/Retreat.htm

I was going to put up pictures of my scraproom, but it's in need of some straightening out, so I'll post them a little later.

Stamp & Be Happy!!