by Susan Itell | Sep 24, 2016 | Christmas, Uncategorized, Watercoloring |
Good Saturday morning…today – (and tomorrow) we can say with excitement….
There is a MOUSE in the house!!!
Isn’t is amazing the scare you get when you see a “real mouse” scoot across a room. Trust me, it has happened to me and probably to you! I just think that this is one of the sweetest stamp sets. I invite you to take a good and hard look at the precious expressions on their faces! ADORABLE…
I bet that I can also look into my “Stampers Crystal Ball” and see that there are many of you that BREEZED right past this stamp set because the FEAR happened…
The fear of “I can’t watercolor”
Trust me….been there – done that and by all means I am not a pro at this but I will say that I have come to figure out some tips and tricks that make the whole darn process both rewarding and fun!
Let’s get into this card and I do hope that you will pop back tomorrow to see what is up my sleeve…I think that there will be some smiles!
Many people ask me….why don’t you use blender pens? Ready for the answer….
“I really do not know why I don’t”
I know that I need to give them a try as I know that there a ton of you out there that have amazing success so….I WILL try – when that “TIME” thing allows. I guess I feel like I have good success with the Aqua Painter so I guess you could say, I am a bit stuck as it is comfortable for me.
Years ago I was very mesmerized by the Aqua Painter – WHY? I was just amazed at how this simple “thing” with a brush on the end could produce amazing end results. I was super excited to give it a whirl and guess what – I DIDN’T LIKE IT….what???? – It did not work for me in MY eyes…my project and results were terrible. At this time, this is what I did with my Aqua Painter…
I used it to seal envelopes for a fundraiser/mailer!
Enjoy the photos that I have for you and I hope that these tips will help you.
- Practice, Practice….PRACTICE – This is the single best tip that I can give you. I invite you to think of it in this way. I simply cannot tell you how many times I threw up my hands and said, I CAN’T DO THIS….the truth is YOU CAN with practice 🙂
- Make sure you use an appropriate ink…I use out Black Archival Ink and since we have come out with this ink – this is what I use all the time when stampin’ with Black.
- Before you tackle a masterpiece, start small and work to a bigger project. Try something that is doable…so you can get that INSTANT SUCCESS.
- Do not put too much water in your Aqua Painter. I find that as you get determined to use this “thing” – you get squeeze happy ~ blob out water….and then there go those hands! (flying up in the air) 👿
- Have a piece of a paper towel ready to dap off excess and clean off your brush to pick up another color.
- When you do your practicing….play with the way you hold the aqua painter in your hand with different pressures…it takes time but once you get the feel, it is like riding a bike – you’ve GOT IT!
- If you go out of the black stamped image line – WHO CARES!?!? It is work of art and trust me, no one will ever say…what an ugly card!
See you tomorrow…you are going to smile (I think & hope) 🙂
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by Susan Itell | Sep 21, 2016 | Fun & Cute!, Uncategorized |
Well….did everyone feel the SHAKE of the HAPPY DANCE going from Coast to Coast yesterday? Yep, my upline and friend Mary Fish became a MILLION DOLLAR achiever with Stampin’ Up! I think that we all can agree that this is an amazing milestone! I am so proud of her and the community that she has grown, the PALS are all “proud as peacocks” for this special time!
I get asked often, how did I pick Mary to be my upline when I live in Maryland and she lives in Arizona…well you know me, I love stories so grab a cup of coffee and let me tell you. I was like most of you….following many blogs trying to be a sponge and take it all in…learn, get ideas etc….and I stumbled onto Mary’s Blog and fell in love with her clean and simple style.
I was at the time trying to figure out “what my style was” and just having fun with this wonderful paper crafting FUN we all do and I decided to email her and ask her about the starter kit. I had been involved with Direct Sales for many years and knew the ins and outs of what to expect.
I will never forget, I was at a horse show holding a horse and my phone rang – it was Mary. I was over the top excited and quickly we hit it off. We had many things in common but one thing that we talked a bunch about was our girls, they are the same age and basically the same in their passion to learn and grow!
I clearly told Mary, when I get back to the hotel….I am going to sign up….and then place one BIG order and then go “bye-bye” – I had no intentions of doing this for anyone else but myself. That was 4+ years ago. I did not tell a soul, not even John for a while ( he is a such a keeper, he would have said – “If it makes you happy -go for it”)
In the fall of that year, Stampin’ Up! opened up the Leadership Convention to any demonstrator. I mentioned it to John and he said – GO…you will have fun. Now let’s put this in prospective…I did not know a soul…not a soul – I went into the PALS Chat and took another leap of faith and said yes to room with someone that I have never met.
She was from Wisconsin and I thought – what the heck, I have never met someone from Wisconsin. John drove me to the airport and off I went “pulling up my big girl pants” and went to Florida. I found my way to the hotel…met my “roomie” and took a DIVE into a FUN TIME!
Naturally I knew what Mary looked like….but she had no clue who I was – (remember, I was in it for the big purchase and ready to leave)…..and I admit I was super nervous as I was truly the FISH OUT OF WATER. Everyone was so gracious to me and made me feel welcomed. I had one person ask me if I was swapping and I thought….WHAT THE HECK IS SWAPPING (I told you I was really in it for me and my discount) but I quickly learned what a swap was and I would never not have a hugs stash of cards to swap with!
I have known that Mary was close to hitting this magical number of a million….and I instantly had a card in my head to make for her! I wish that you could see if in person as it is so hard to get a good picture with gold but trust me, it is a classic and I know she will love it!
I think that we all know….this below bundle has made such an impact. There are so many different great idea out there…and when I saw that FISH – I immediately knew that I was going to make her a super simple clean and simple card with it for her and the Gold Heat Embossing….PERFECT!
The below stamp set I adore as the font is so fun. There are some fun sayings ~ I think that it is overlooked often but take a moment and read the fun sentiments and the one I chose, YAY, YOU! is PERFEcT for Miss Mary!
Here is a quick look at the card….IT just does not get any easier than this one. Remember, less is best many times and the clean, crisp white and gold are a perfect combo! (I also love the scoring ) 🙂
If you have a chance, pop over to Mary’s blog and leave her some love. I am so happy that I decided to become a Pal, that I decided to “tinker around” and learn to blog…learn to figure out my style and most important have a solid group of cyber team members, friends and demonstrators from all over!
There will be a sea of PALS in Atlanta at the beginning of November and I can hardly wait to meet so many that I have had a relationship via the internet. There are PALS coming from all over and with this fabulous milestone with Mary, I am sure that the PALS will be showering her with a HUGE HAPPY DANCE!
See you tomorrow…thanks for listening ~ I love what I do…I feel blessed to be a part of the PALS and you know what….I’m glad I stuck around….I adore you all!
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by Susan Itell | Sep 20, 2016 | Tips and Tricks!!!, Uncategorized |
Good Morning! This is a short post but one that I hope that will help you and also reaffirm to me that I am the not only one on this misplacing Island!
What am I talking about?
Do you ever lose a framelit?
(or should I say misplace one?)
Well….hopefully I am not the only one on this island but to me, it is soooooooo frustrating to be working with the big shot and you are really in a groove and then you go back to cut another shape out and say ~
Where did that framelit go?
We have so many framelits now that are very small pieces and even though I keep my framelits on a magnetic chip board to store them…I find that when I work I take them off….use them….get excited to see how it works ~ then turn around and say….where did it go?
Well…this is my solution and I will say…it works! A super simple Magnetic Bowl – and yep….Amazon to the rescue ~ here is your enabling link! (this was a tip that I learn from Jennifer McQuire’s Blog)
I keep it right beside my Big Shot and the minute I run it through, I plop them in this magnetic bowl! If you are a demonstrator this is also a great this to have during a class or a workshop.
This has been a frustration relief to me! It has saved me so much time in not having to do the “search and rescue” to find these precious framelits that we buy! It seems like Stampin’ Up has been coming out more and more with larger framelits offerings with many more smaller and intricate shapes so the last thing we need to have happen is playing “hide and seek” (especially with just ourself!) 🙂
This bowl will help you and you will think of me every time! Hope this little tip helps – you know me….I love to share little things that help!
Until tomorrow!
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by Susan Itell | Sep 19, 2016 | Product Shares, Uncategorized |
Well I shared with you in a prior post that the 3rd week of September I would be offering the final Product Share with products highlighting from the NEW Holiday Catalog as well as some good old ” keepers that you all love” aka – the Designer Series Paper Stacks!
You can find all of the scoop above under the header of my blog or you can click here and save time (aren’t I nice) 🙂
I truly felt like the episode of Lucy and Ethel in the Candy Shop when I was doing the 1st round of shares! Darn, that Holiday Monday (Labor Day) really threw me for a loop with how September 1st was this year but I was super proud to turn around your shares very quickly – trust me – I GET IT….you want it and YOU WANT IT NOW!
To do a quick re-cap….
Share #1 – Swatch Books – $15.00 – I have comments of how did you think of using that paper with the card…easy = these swatch books. Many times I use a paper from a collection that you would have not thought of!
Share #2 – 1/2 sheets of the NEW DSP from the Holiday Catalog – $28.00…(plus some foils & sparkles and that will make you smile) 🙂
- We have (6) new DSP’s with one being a 6″ X 6″ paper stack (Warmth and Cheer). You will get 1/2 sheets of all of the NEW papers and if the papers are a specialty one, you will receive a 1/4 sheet of that. For the paper stack, you will receive a full sheet (6″ X 6″) of each of the 12 fun offerings!
- ***For the foil *** you will get 1/2 sheet of the following (3) Foil Papers: ***Copper (NEW HOLIDAY CATALOG), Gold and Silver (these 2 are in the ANNUAL CATALOG, page 175)
- ***For the sparkle*** you will get a 1/2 sheet of the following (6) Glimmer papers: ***Pumpkin Pie (NEW HOLIDAY CATALOG), Blushing Bride, Dazzling Diamonds, Gold, Red and Silver (these 5 are in the ANNUAL CATALOG, page 175)
Share #3 – 1/2 sheets of the DSP Paper Stacks in all 5 Color Collections – $28.00 (page 174 in the annual catalog) – $28.00 As I said before, I always offer this Share and you all seem to always LOVE this share!
Share #4 – Swatches of FUN! – $8.00 – I have made so many of these, I think my whole family knows all of the names by now! If you already have one…you know how useful it is!
Share #5 Ribbon – $16.00 – We sure do love when new ribbon rolls out and here are the offerings..For those of you that are new to my shares, this is how I package them. I get it…. I like to have my products nice and nest without wrinkles. You will get 2 1/2 yards of each of the goodies you see below! ?
Share #6 Embellishments – $14.00 – This is sooooooo fun to see the Embellishments, it’s like the ICING ON THE CAKE!!!!
Below you will see what I am offering and hopefully you will get a good idea of these fun new kids on the block…
I want to chat about the box…this is a FABULOUS box and you can see how I “jazzed it up to show you” – there is an acetate sleeve that slides over the box which makes it PERFECT to add a strip of 3″ X 12″ paper to decorate it in a jif! Just think how wonderful it will be to have these for all year around (a gift card would be super sweet)
For those of you that have purchased my shares before, I think that you know the care and pride I take in putting together your products. If you have purchased from me before, please leave a comment and let me know what you like best of the shares….! ?
IN SUMMARY :
- SHARE #1 –DSP Swatch Books – $15.00
- SHARE #2 – 1/2 Sheets of DSP – $28.00
- SHARE #3 – 1/2 Sheets of DSP Paper Stacks – $28.00
- SHARE #4 – Swatches on a Ring – $8.00
- SHARE #5 – Ribbon – $16.00
- SHARE #6 – Embellishments – $14.00
SHIPPING:
- If you are just ordering the DSP Swatch Books (share #1) – the Shipping is $3.50 as I can put them in a bubble mailer
- If you are ordering the Swatch Books (share #4 and the Embellishments share #6) – the shipping is $5.00 as I can put them in the same bubble mailer
- If you are just ordering the Swatches on a Ring (share #4) – the Shipping is $3.50 as I can put them in a bubble mailer
- Shares of 3 or more shares, I ship Priority Mail and the Shipping is $6.95
- If you order 4 (different shares) – SHIPPING IS FREE
- IF YOU ORDER – “I WANT IT ALL”….all 6 shares – the SHIPPING IS FREE and I will also send you a pack of Stampin’ Dimensionals!
Please remember to email me and put in the subject line NEW HOLIDAY CATALOG PRODUCT SHARE 2016 along with your mailing address. ? (this really, REALLY helps me)
I love to offer these as I know that it is hard to purchase everything at one time…this way you will be able to get the goodies and still have a piggy bank!
Until tomorrow….have a great day!
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by Susan Itell | Sep 14, 2016 | PALS Blog Hops, Uncategorized |
Welcome to the Pals Blog Hop for September 2016. We are thankful you stopped by to take a look at our new 2016 Blog Hop monthly themes. This month our projects represent our favorite year end Season. It may be Autumn, Winter, Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas (and maybe even a combination!) We hope to provide you with lots of ideas and that you enjoy our creations.
You may just be starting the Blog Hop or may have come from the previous link from the Line-up on the Pals Blog Hop listing shown below. The full lineup will help you move along from blog to blog so you may see all the projects.
I love this topic for our hop today BUT….it was hard to pick what is my favorite! I decided to go with Fall as HANDS DOWN this is my favorite season of the year! I adore seeing the colors that nature gives us…I adore the crisp and cool nights….I adore apples and soft and chewy Ginger Cookies….and I love having “good hair days” with the absence of the East Coast humidity!
The stamp set I used is Basket of Wishes Photopolymer and I admit, I totally overlooked it in the catalog until a customer ordered it with her PAW PRINTS rewards and when I saw it – WOW….this is a great set! (you see – YOU ALL ENABLE me as well!) 🙂
The star of the show today is the Aqua Painter! I will be honest with you….I stamped this image (4) times on scraps pieces of Thick White Cardstock because I thought I might need “trial runs” – BUT…I did this on the 1st take!
The Aqua Painter is a super tool that “just does it”…and the best advice I can give you is….go for it! Look at the colors of ink that you have and just go to town! I have listed at the end the colors that I used and true it looks like a bunch but I just use a little here and a little there!
Here is a closer look…and you can see where the “sketchy” lines are…I use a darker color…I am not sure if that it what I am to do – but I do! This is the thing that I LOVE about card making….no rules – just have FUN!
The card is a 4 1/4″ square and then I added the Always Artichoke Polka Dots Paper from the Regals Stack….and it is funny – I never used this color in my water-coloring – a point that I want to make it just have fun and mix up colors to what you like! (I knew that if I used the Always Artichoke in the water-coloring, it would be too dark)
If you are new to my blog, welcome…..but one thing that my daily subscribers know…I love my envelopes! Today I made a fun color envelope with the In Color Envelope Paper and the Envelope Punch Board.
Here is a tip…the measurements for a 4 1/4″ Square Card are not on the punch board but here you go! I have a sticky note on the bottom of my Punch Board so I do not forget!
- A 7 1/4″ Square
- Punch, score and rotate at 3 5/8″
- PRESTO — a perfect envelope!
Here is a visual, 411 – Directory Assistance photo for you to PIN away for the future! I did use the sentiment of “Giving Thanks for the Blessing of You” in the inside of the card – to me the perfect finishing tough that will surely make someone smile!
Thanks for visiting. To continue with the hop, please refer to the Blog Hop Line-up below. We hope to see you on next month’s Pals Blog Hop!
- Mary Fish at Stampin’ Pretty
- Kim Jolley at Stampin’ Artfully
- Tricia Chuba at ButterDish Designs
- Susan Itell at Simple Stampin
- Becky Volpp at Inkblossomwithbecky
- Lisa Ann Bernard at Queen B Creations
- Sherrie Gross at Stampin’ Sunshine
- Wendy Klein at Doggone Delightful Stampin’
- Jennifer Michalski at Stamping Serenity
- Karen Zaring Browning at Stamp With Me KZB
- Pamela Sadler at Stampin Pink Rose
- Staci Rivera at Clever Bow Tie Designs
- Jackie Diediker at Stampin’ Jackie
- Lynn Tague at Beyond Beaches & Blessings
- Beth McCullough at Stamping Mom
- Katy McGloin at Just Fun Stamping
- Amy Hoptay at Craft Carnivore
- Karen Hallam at Karen’s Stampin’ Habit!
- Peggy Noe at Pretty Paper Cards
- Debbie Mageed at Secret Stamper
- Mary Hanson at Up North Stampin’
- Jane Knudsen at see jane stamp
- Patti MacLeith at Papercrafts by Patti
- Jeanie Stark at Just Stampin’
- Sue Becker at www.RnRStamping.com
- Pam Dotts at Clearly Southern Stampin’
- Rae Harper-Burnet at Wild West Paper Arts
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by Susan Itell | Sep 13, 2016 | Uncategorized |
Good morning! This is a super different post for me but hear me out….today for our Tuesday Tip we are playing a game….“Heads or Tails”…..
WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT?
As demonstrators we were shared with info that the clearance rack will be stocked on September 13th (TODAY)…and I am hoping that it is really “WELL STOCKED”...as I know last year it was a bust…..so let’s play heads or tails!
If it is a bust…I will be back with “egg on my face” and share with you something fun…a new tip! I will post again at 10 a.m. Eastern to tell you if I feel like I have “egg on my face” or if I am doing the “happy dance”……
It is around 6 a.m. Eastern…..and it is definitely is a HEADS! 🙂
I have already “HEADED OVER” and placed an order…..remember, the early bird gets the worm with Clearance Rack items! There are some great buys in there. (Hit the show all so you can scroll through easier)
I do love my animals….and I hope that these images made you smile…….CLICK HERE to see the Clearance Rack….have fun……shop away and remember that you can add anything to your order so I say…..go ahead and make is a great one so you will win all the way around…..
Click here to see the September Incentive that I am offering and I am sure that you would love to win the BIG DOG GOODIE, the Box of Markers, a $110.00 value – my HUGE THANK YOU to one lucky winner for a great Stampin’ Up! year. 🙂
Get you hopping shoes on as tomorrow is a PALS Blog Hop….
Stampin’ hugs…..Susan!
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