Another Bunch of Rosettes

Good afternoon! The end of the school year approaches and I find myself busy with teacher's gifts and kids end-of-school favours. If you haven't tried pinterest yet- DO! Not only is it highly addictive- but it's the perfect 1 stop 'shop' for craft ideas (not to mention NUMMY recipes and home decor ideas- to name a few 'pin boards'). SO I have a parcel coming in the next few days and I am stoked to get my hands on some of the new SU! items out of the Annual Catalogue, as well as put some craft ideas into play that I have come across via youtube and pinterest. But that will come later :) For the past 3 years I have had the pleasure of watching a sweet little girl for a friend of mine. She and my daughter have become quite the BFF's and it doesn't hurt that they are in the same grade, same school (NOT the same class- which for their teachers is probably a good thing!) and their birthdays are a mere 2 months apart. So how could I NOT whip up a gift for this little girl who, with wide eyed wonder, always stares earnestly whenever I have a project on the go and announces "I wish *I* could have one of those!" (no matter what it is I am making). So using the awesome (not to mention highly addictive) rosettes I re-created some of the things I made for the baby shower a few weeks ago and created a fun and funky design for a 7 year old.

 So for her gift I whipped up another flower pot using some left over fillings and chocolate melts I had from the week previous. I then grabbed some Fuchia paint to go with the Melon Mambo and Rich Razzleberry colour combo I went with and nabbed some Licorice (as there are no grey jelly belly beans in my store), cotton candy and bubble gum flavoured jelly belly beans. Instead of creating a bunch of rosettes for the chocolate flowers, I opted for using the large scalloped circle punch. Quicker and easier, but still very elegant.

 

 I used versamark and silver embossing powder on the Melon Mambo rosette to create a punch of sparkle. It went really well with the grey silk ribbon I had found.

 The super long lollipop sticks helped the flowers not get lost in the almost-full pot of jelly beans (she must be the ONLY kid out there that likes black. I don't blame her. Black jelly beans are AWESOME!)

And then to finish off her gift, I created this name banner with some alphabet die cuts and 7 rosettes all hot glued together. It was really quick and simple, but a lot of fun and quite the impact. I hope you enjoy and are inspired to make your own. Next time- no rosettes ;) I promise!






~Brandie~

Baby Shower Blues....Browns & Vanillas

Hey all! Have been pretty busy whipping up goodies for my cousin's baby shower that was last Sunday. Then I gotta get going for my daughter's (2 month belated) birthday party and then some teacher's gifts and classmate favours.
As far as the baby shower is concerned, I had SO much fun creating Rosettes or Flourettes (whatever you'd like to call them). Stampin' Up! has a wonderful XL die that does the cutting and scoring for you, and you can trim your paper to the width you'd like. If you want to have a bit more versatility in sizes, you can just use the Simply Scored tool and create them that way! They can be tedious when you make dozens of them (as I did last week!) You can score them at 1/2 an inch or 1/4 of an inch. You can go as small as 1/2 inch wide (which you'd have to score at 1/4 of inch intervals) and only need 1 strip of paper 11 inches long, or you can do it as wide as 2 or 3 inches- but you'll need more than one strip.
So, using the Tempting Turquois, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla colour palette, I went ahead with a TON of  rosettes:

 Here I created the Free Standing Pop-Up card. The base is chocolate chip, and then I used Chocolate Chip ink and an expired Jumbo Wheel to create dimmension. I then created 3 rosettes, one in Very Vanilla, Tempting Turquois and Chocolate Chip at .5 inchx11 inch and scored at 1/4 inch intervals. It was pretty tricky to adhere them, so I used a hot glue gun, and dabbed it on the centre of the rosette and then added a 1/2 inch circle and some rhinestones. I used some cream colour and teal ribbons to finish off the front. The pop up portion is a sheet of Very Vanilla, stamped in Chocolate Chip using the jumbo wheel and inked on the edges with some Tempting Turquouis ink. I printed out the info on little baby Liam, and then added a black and white pic printed from my printer on some Very Vanilla cardstock.






After the baby announcements were finished, I made a cupcake tower and cupcake wrappers. Please note- you shouldn't just use an unassembled rosette for cupcake wrappers. They don't work. The curve in them flattens out and then they are just a circle *sigh*. Ah well. The rosette sign and tower turned out well, I think:

I used a die cut machine to create the "Baby" letters and then just glued the rosettes over and under each other. The layers go: Chocolate Chip Cardstock and cut with a border edge punch. Then Very Vanilla, stamped with a Stampin' Around Jumbo wheel and Tempting Turquois, using the Scalloped Border punch to create the edge. Then a jumbo scalloped circle and then the letters. The tower is created using some Wilton Cake rounds and just basic floral foam from a craft store. I covered the foam using hot glue and pieces of Very Vanilla stamped in a swirled jumbo wheel and Chocolate Chip ink. I added a silk brown ribbon around them and then glued the BABY sign to the top layer. Then I took some Tempting Turquois and trimmed it with the Scalloped border punch and adhered to the edge of each cake round.

For a new type of party favour, I created some flower pots with Chocolate Lollipops. The coolest thing? I filled the pots with Jelly Belly jelly beans. In my super market, they sell each flavour seperately, so I was able to get the three colours I wanted: I got "Chocolate Chip" (root beer), "Very Vanilla" (coconut) and "Tempting Turquois" (berry blue). It was kinda neat!

 They were so cute to throw together! I took some Turquois paint and painted the outside of the flower pot- 2 coats! I wrapped some cream coloured wedding tulle and tied a knot (being as they were in a bolt instead of circles- I had to cut my lengths and they were too narrow to wrap underneath so I just wrapped them around and tied them). Then I added some chocolate coloured silk ribbon around the top and I used a glue dot to make it stick and not shift.

I made three of these puppies, and I made 3 large rosettes as focal points on them. Instead of using an image on them, I decided to use a simple Tempting Turquois button. I added a strip of Chocolate Chip in the holes to give it a finished look.

I then made some Chocolate Lollipops- SUCH a cute, fun and easy party favour! I used a caramel recipe and peanut butter filling recipe and just coated some smiley faced lollipop moulds from Wilton and filled them with the candy filling. Let them chill and used strips of tulle to tie the lollys.

 I made even MORE rosettes (there were LOTS!) in Chocolate Chip and Tempting Turquois and then added a scalloped circle on each. I then cut out 1 1/2 circles that I embossed and inked. Then I filled the pot with jelly beans and that seemed to stabalize the candy.

My cousin just loved them so I was happy that she was happy. I am definately making more of these pots and these rosettes- so stay tuned to see more! Thanks for stopping by!


Brandie

June 1st News!

ALRIGHTY! So along with the new Catalogue, Stampin' Up! is offering some pretty amazing stuff! When you host a party- it's pretty easy to start earning free stuff right away. And, instead of telling you what you get for free, SU! gives you the ability to choose what you want up to certain hostess dollar amounts. It's easy to get there by hosting a $200 party, but for the month of June it's even better! If you host at least a $575 party you get an additional $60.00 of Hostess Rewards to spend on whatever you want out of the current catalogue! That's at least $150 PLUS your half off item. So before the kids let out for summer and the chaos of the warm months take over, take a break this month to host a party and get even more great rewards. As my hostess, you'll also get the new catalogue FREE, as well as a little thank you from me! What's better than having a group of friends over to create something special, while munching on cupcakes and earning free product?
Dates: June 1 - July 31, 2012
Details: During June and July, hostesses who hold a minimum $575 workshop will receive an additional $60 in hostess FREE merchandise dollars-that's in addition to the $90 they already receive for a $575 workshop!

Your Hostess' Party Sales	Regular Hostess Benefits	Additional Hostess Dollars	Total Hostess Benefits
$575*	$90 plus 1 item at 50% off	$60	$150 plus 1 item at 50% off

Along with the great benefits to being a hostess, there are also benefits to signing up to becoming a demonstrator! Remember: it's only $125 to sign up now, and you can completely customize your own starter kit! *up to $155 in current Stampin' Up! products*

Now, for the month of June, if you decide to sign up you get the chance to earn free products too!

Dates: 1-30 June 2012
Details: During June, new demonstrators not only get to choose the products for their fully customizable Starter Kit, they'll also get products from the brand-new Patio Party Suite for FREE, including the Make a Cake Set, Patio Party Designer Series Paper, and the Patio Party Digital Collection DVD! That's up to $60 in additional FREE products!

Page	Item	Description	Retail Value
44	126740	Make a Cake Set (wood-mount)*	$17.95
44	126742	Make a Cake Set (clear-mount)*	$14.95
165	126916	Patio Party Designer Series Paper	$13.50
199	127215	Patio Party Digital Collection DVD	$28.95

*Choose wood- or clear-mount; clear-mount set does not include clear blocks

Okay, that sounds like a pretty amazing deal! So if these were items you wanted ANYWAYS (as they are super cute AND brand new!) then you can just add something else to your Starter kit and get these as bonus! So what's there to lose by signing up? To remind you of the AMAZING benefits:

1. 20% instant income with the ability to earn more
2. discount on Stampin' Up's products- for fun personal use, and to grow your business as you demo the products to your customers
3. fantastic support from your upline, Stampin' Discuss website, the entire Stampin' Up! team, as well as a monthly subscription to Stampin' Success with ideas to promote and build your business
4. an excuse to craft with old friends and meet amazing new ones!
5. sneek peaks and pre-orders on new Stampin' Up! products (remember! This is June, in July SU! will be giving DEMOS ONLY sneek peeks on their Holiday Mini Catalogue- coming out August 1st!)

 So now is a great time to join! Feel free to contact me on my SU website, my email address or even leave a comment and I'll get back to you.


Thanks so much for stopping by!

~Brandie~

Crazy May and New Catalogue

Sorry for the obvious lack of posts folks, May has been chaotic. Trying to make my own submission for the Stampin' Up! artisian design team (in which my priority post parcel was NOT sent in on time so I am no longer a contestant- kinda upset about that. Will give myself more time next year). Then trying to do a few interviews to get more children into my dayhome. Then there is my daughter's (very) belated birthday party and my cousin's baby shower. Top that off with starting a new child in the day home at 6am and there is a big lack of creativity as of late. BUT being as I have newly found love in pinterest AND have just discovered the fun of creating my own paper flowers and rosettes, rest assured I'll have new stuff very soon (as soon as I work out the kinks in my schedule!)

BUT it's June 1st and I wanted to welcome in the new 2012-2013 Annual Catalogue. You may have heard tell it was smaller and that it got rid of a bunch of products- and while these are BOTH true, I haven't noticed a difference. My big "awes" that are gone are the Decor Blocks as the decor elements are no longer offered, as well as the simply sent card kits. The Simply Scrappin' kits are still here- and it looks like they added 1 or 2 kits more than they used to offer (I could be wrong there, I'll have to check)- but I also figured I'd make my own card kits as I've seen demos do. You can be more creative and aren't limited. The other things I've noticed was instead of pictures and a description of each item, a'la older catalogues, is that they have a more creative way of displaying the product so you can see close up what you'll be getting. It's really neat photography and more magazine-ish (to me anyways). There also isn't a photo index in the back with all the Stampin' Around wheels- just your basic product numbers BUT each wheel is in it's own home as all the products are divided up into their catagories as well as product suites. It's more stream line and yet still has the same amount of impact with full colour images of products, samples and, as always, full sized stamp images.

I have been pinteresting and googling a lot of different how-tos and images so I can't wait to share with you what I've learned and begin to incorporate all the awesome products in the new catalogue. Needless to say, my own wish list is pretty extensive ;) Glad that they've replaced old favourites with amazing new stuff!

Thanks for stopping by!

Brandie

So Many Things!

Hey everyone!!!

As the title suggests, there are SO many things going on! So I'll break it down for you:

Thing 1: make sure to check out the retired list and get those 'must have' items on your wish list. I have personally gone through the disappointment of not getting an order in in time and then missing out on something I had really wanted. I will also post the retired Accessories list. The accessories list will include all the current ink pads. As scary as it seems at first, they are re-vamping their design to better suit a stamper's needs. They will still be the flip/upside down style- keeping your ink fresh on the top, but the pad itself will be sponge-like and create a crisper stamped image. They are also re-configuring the stampin' scrub pad, the paper trimmer and the heat tool. I am eager and excited to see what they are doing with that!

Thing 2: SUPER excited for this one!

To become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is better than ever! Here is what you can expect for the new Stampin' Up demonstrator sign up: it's easier- no more complicated process, it's 3 simple steps and you're on your way to Stampin' Success Fun!. It's less expensive! Instead of the traditional $215 that you would have paid to sign up, it's only $125 - that's a heck of a deal! It's also ties into the fact that the kit is completely customizable. You can choose whatever Stampin' Up! products you like - up to $155 worth. If you want nothing but ink- go for it! If you want stamps and ribbon- sure! Want a Big Shot and some tools as you already have the stamps you want- why not? All digital? Go for it! I love that you can choose YOUR way to build your business, depending on the type of crafter you are. Then on top of that, you get $70 worth of business supplies (catalogues, order forms, everything to get you started) AND shipping is free! If that wasn't good enough- if you sign up between now and June 30th you will get a FREE pack of Designer Series paper or Digital Download each month for your first year as an active demonstrator. *sigh* I am jealous of the lucky ones that sign up now ;) So if that sounds just as amazing to you as it does to me- click the shop now on the right hand side bar and follow the steps into becoming a demonstrator! OR feel free to contact me and I'll walk you through the process.


Business is out of the way, and now for some FUN! As I have stated I am in love with Basic Grey. It's such an understated colour but can pack quite the PUNCH! For a more trendy (and less girly- I KNOW!) take on it I added some Pool Party and Lucky Limeade.

I created panels of Basic Grey, Pool Party and Lucky Limeade. I then stamped on top of each panel with coordinating ink to create a subtle background image using For All You Do (I am starting to slowly build my stamp collection lol- especially since this beloved stamp is on the retired list *sob*!)
I created a 1/4 inch band to go across with some Whisper White and added rhinestones for dimmension. Added a matted sentiment and this simple cards are sure to make a big statement. I find the small lines of white around each panel brings the shade of each panel out that much more.

Well that's it for me for today. Thanks for stopping by!

~Brandie~

More Easel Boxes

Hey all- happy Saturday! Here's a quick note- these aren't made using solely Stampin' Up products (save the colours I used and a few stamp sets) BUT the amazing thing is, Stampin' Up DOES have very similar products- I just haven't gotten them for myself yet ;)

I made these little easel drawer boxes for each of my kids. I love that you can decorate the easel part as a card, or with their name etc. Quite a few of SU!'s letter stamp sets are retiring, so if you love the idea of creating your own personal titles or names like this- make sure to grab them before May 31st!

 With Bella's I used Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight. I love using a bright burst of yellow to add some vibrancy to an otherwise monochromatic colour scheme. The flowers were SO much fun to make (not to mention messy! but hard to glue on- make sure they are SUPER dry!). I dipped them into Versamark and then sprinkled my 1/2 and 1/2 mix of fine embossing powder and glitter on them and heat embossed them. They didn't adhere right away, the back of the flowers becoming waxy, so you may want to try a different way to glue them on. I DID use the Labels collection die cuts from the Occassions mini to create the 'shape' of the easel. I hope SU! comes out with even more shapes in this design! I really enjoy layering them-and it's nice that they are easier to work with and don't take up as much space as other dies.

 

 I used Pool Party, Lucky Limeade and Chocolate Chip for Gabe's, using snippits from the Time for Tea Simply Scrappin' Kit. I also love the Designer Brads from the Sale-A-Bration (fingers crossed they bring it back!)

    

To be honest, I don't think I used any SU! products on Lexie's save the colours- so I'll just skip to that ;) Here was Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink and Concord Crush. OH! And For All You Do Stamp Set's Butterfly is in there, as well as the Rhinestones. The amazing thing about SU is that you can coordinate everything. Here, the buttons aren't the same shade as the paper, they are a little off. And for the flowers you could use the large Paper Daisies and then dyed them Concord Crush by placing them in a dish with water and some drops (depending on how vibrant you want them) of Ink Refiller (I just didn't happen to have this shade). It would have coordinated better with the paper, even if it was lighter or darker- it would still be the same colour.

These boxes are so much fun to make and can be a perfect gift for a new mom to place a baby's hospital bracelet and ID card in, or a gift for a friend with some note cards or candies in it. These are versatile and can be used as a decoration as well as a gift box/card combo.

That's it for me for today- playing with my new toys I received in the mail yesterday- so should have some new goodies to showcase next week.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Brandie~

Stampers 10 Gifts

Eee! Timing. Timing is amazing! As you can see by my sidebar, one of my favourite blog 'haunts' is Inking Idaho (seriously- check her out- amazingly talented that one is!) and 2 days before my last order came in for my first Stampers 10 group, I saw some gifts she made for HER Stampers 10 that is ending soon. I thought it was a fabulous idea and CASED it from her, but instead of using the new Summer Smooches suite (don't be like me- hurry and get them, they are so cute) I used what I had on hand!

The colour combo is Melon Mambo (sure- I love a good hot pink!), Pool Party and Lucky Limeade (I'll be sad to see those colours go- but for the next year we still have them!) Also, I earned my very first FREE stamp set for selling a certain amount during Sale-A-Bration. I didn't even know I qualified for a free set! It was a nice surprise, and being as I had the retired list already, I grabbed a few sets to replace what will be retiring. I got the Fabulous Phrases in clear 120501, and then ordered the Tiny Tags in clear 118592 and being as the Occassions mini is 3 days away from retiring as well, I grabbed Bordering on Romance in clear 125482 as well as the Adorning Accents (125595) dies and Adorning Accents Textured Embossing folders (125601). I don't know if they are coming back after the Occassions Mini is gone, but I hope so- they were so much fun to play with and super cute! SO anyways, using all my new goodies I took a page from Inking Idaho's book and made my Stampers a thank you gift:

I love the colours together, so springtime sweet! I whipped these up, including the homemade candies inside (being as I wasn't able to swing by a store). The candies are larger than you'd get in a store so they are a bit bulky in the 4x6 cello bags, but they were still able to fit :) I had some silver candy wrappers from Wiltons, and wrapped them in some DSP that went with the colour scheme, even if they aren't the same colour :)
The candies, for any interested parties, are Cream Egg and Peanut Butter Cup. Here's the recipes (as I am also an avid candy maker/cupcake baker!)

Peanut Butter Cups Filling:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup chunky style peanut butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
Makes:
Approximately 30 candy centers.
Instructions:
Cut butter in small pieces and put in small saucepan over low heat. Add peanut butter and stir until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in confectioners' sugar, blending well. Add more confectioners' sugar, as necessary, to form a pliable mass. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for about an hour. Use filling as a candy centre for dipping, or as a centre between two layers of coating. (what I do is 'paint' chocolate in a mould and then let set, fill the moulded chocolate and then add more melted chocolate to cover).

Cream Eggs:

Ingredients
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted (I use 1/2 this amount to make it gooey. It's still sweet!)
4 drops yellow food coloring
2 drops red food coloring
1 (12 ounce) bag milk chocolate chips
2 teaspoons vegetable shortening
Directions
Combine corn syrup, butter, vanilla and salt. Beat well with an electric mixer until smooth.
Add powdered sugar, a little bit at at time and mix by hand after each addition.
Mix until creamy.
(now- I don't do the following steps to make them look like cream eggs- but here they are if you want to! I just pipe them into set chocolate moulds)
Remove about 1/3 of the sugar mixture and place in a small bowl. Add the food coloring and mix well.
Cover both mixtures and chill for at least 2 hours or until firm.When mixtures are still firm roll a small, marble size from the orange filling. Wrap a small amount of the white filling around the orange.
Form into the shape of eggs and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.Repeat until done and chill for at least 4 hours. You want them set.
**I use melting chocolate- easier!****
Combine the chocolate chips and shortening in a double broiler or ceramic bowl.
Melt down and mix well. Take each egg filling and dip into the melted chocolate mixture and return to baking sheet.Repeat and chill again for 2 hours. Repeat the dipping process, chill again and your good to go!

That's it for me- hope you enjoyed it! Remember- paper crafting is fun on it's own to scrapbook or make cards, but it also gives you the ability to make thoughtful gifts for the special people in your life. Thanks for stopping by!

~Brandie~