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Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.
Erma Bombeck
To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven. ~Johannes A. Gaertner
A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues. ~Cicero
My super sweet new colleague, Tara, graciously opened her home to me for a Stampin' Up! workshop today. We made 3 projects: Christmas card, Thank You or Birthday Card and some 3x3 gift cards and I had a blast! {And on a side note, her awesome hubby Steve baked us an apple pie from scratch that was delicious & impressive - what a guy!}
We started easy with this project. Each card is 3x3 and created from 12x12 textured card stock. We made one each in Pool Party and Pacific Point.
Then we created a card using "Aviary" that was inspired by a card I saw months ago and, frankly, can't recall where. I vaguely recall it being a card by Denise Sullivan (?). Anywho.... it was a little more difficult than the 1st project.
I love borrowing ideas and I love my "Britain meets Texas" downline, Sarah Wills', style. (I keep forgetting to ask Sarah to say "ya'll" in a British accent - I think that'd be funny). Sarah created this super cute card for the recent Founder's Circle achiever's retreat swap.
Though I loved what Sarah did on this card, I felt like making it more of my own. So I tweaked and this is the card we made tonight. This was the most involved card for my stampers but they did a great job! {Note to self: never use a Mini Jingle Bell that I feel compelled to tie a ribbon onto - I thought I'd go blind threading those tiny holes!}
This card has oodles of dry embossed elements - I used 4 different Textured Impressions Embossing Folders:
Other products used include:
Workshops are the most exhausting yet exhilarating activity for me and I loved having this special girly, creative time with Tara and her guests. I'd love to do it again!
These new downloads were released today. Order and download directly to your computer by linking to my store HERE.
Dates: November 21-30, 2011
Details: During the Online Extravaganza promotion, you can get incredible discounts--up to 60 percent--on some of your favorite products!
In addition, two of our brand-new products will be discounted 20 percent only during the first 24 hours of the sale (November 21, midnight - 11:59 PM [MT]):
| Item |
Description |
Retail Price |
24-Hour |
|
122334 |
Simply Scored |
$29.95 |
$23.96 |
|
125152 |
Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps |
$16.95 |
$13.56 |
|
Included in our Online Extravaganza promotion is the opportunity to receive a free bundle of preselected digital downloads (at least a $39.95 value) with the purchase of My Digital Studio Express. The bundle options are: Bundle #1: My Digital Studio Booster Pack Bundle #2: Holiday Themed Downloads Bundle #3: Scrapbooking Themed Downloads To view a PDF of the images in each bundle, visit my online store under My Digital Studio Express. See flyer here for a complete list of all items on sale: Download Online_X_flyer_US |
|||
As of this morning, I earned the 2013 Stampin' Up! incentive trip to Fiji! (which also means, I'll be hopping over to Australia and/or New Zealand!)
This will be the most exotic trip I've earned. It's also the 7th consecutive annual trip I've earned as a demonstrator. I did it with four very active children, sometimes while working outside the home too, while moving from one house to another, through cancer! etc... Anyone can do it!
THANK YOU to all my customers and my downline team -- it takes a village and I have the best circle of folks around me!
And it's my 50th birthday this Friday. What great timing! (but that doesn't mean Doug is off the hook for a gift, LOL!)
Sigh......
To honor every veteran today, I thought I'd share some really inspiring quotations:
"Freedom is never free." -Author Unknown
"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!" -Maya Angelou
"When our perils are past, shall our gratitude sleep?" -George Canning
{My favorite} = "Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die." -G.K. Chesterton
"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave." -Elmer Davis
"I think there is one higher office than president and I would call that patriot." -Gary Hart
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." -John Fitzgerald Kennedy
"Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul." -Michel de Montaigne
"In war, there are no unwounded soldiers." -Jose Narosky
"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude." -Cynthia Ozick
"The more we sweat in peace the less we bleed in war." -Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
ENDS TODAY - FRIDAY, 11-11-11
I'm gonna keep this reallllllyyy simple. This is a NO RISK opportunity.
If you were planning on ordering a total of $175 in product over the course of, let's say, the next 6-12 months then it's well worth your while to just buy a kit.
Stampin' Up! must be out of its mind {in a good way!} but I'm glad that they are because they are doing something never before seen in my 9+ years as a demonstrator - they are adding a FREE Big Shot ($99 value) OR $100 in the product of your choice to both the Standard and the Digital Starter Kits which are already super customizable!
The kit is worth $345 but now it's worth $445 but is only $175 + tax (ships FREE). Do the math - super WOW!!!!
What are you required to do? Only one thing. Submit orders totaling $300 every quarter BUT the quarter you sign up in is waived soooo if you sign up this month, you do not have your first deadline until March 30! If you think you & your friends can submit a total of $300 in orders between now and March 30, why not?
And rather than 20% off your order, a new demonstrator gets a special 30% off her first $150+ order placed within 45 days. If you chose $300 in product and used that 30% off, you'd be paying about $210 AND you get all the hostess benefits for FREE on a $300 order and you're done through March 30 with the next deadline June 30. Yup, that's right... you not only pay less than $300 but you get free stuff too! I hesitate to use the term "no brainer" as that might come off rude but it's one of those head-scratchers when I wonder why more customers don't do it. It's a deal very much in your favor.
If you don't want to submit $300 in orders between now and March 30 then that's fine! You still keep the kit and you drop out a long time from now - May 1. Doesn't May seem like a long, long time from now to just try it with NO RISK?
This is one of those things that has no surprises or hidden agendas. It's a better deal for you than it is for me BUT why should I be having all the fun? You can too and it may be via a wish list of things you'd be buying anyway....
I'm here for questions.
If you want to join, it takes about 15 minutes. Check out the contents of the Starter Kits here:
Download US_start_kit_0611_digital
To sign up right now, click on the Join Now button here: http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/stellarstamps/jointhefun
Tim and Katherine Hall with this gorgeous card! (Every month, members of my team can submit cards following a specific theme - if we have a minimum of 10 demonstrators submitting a card then we have a vote amongst our team and 1st place wins a $25 shopping spree from me!)
Recipe for the card is below the photo.
Stamps - French Foliage, Hand Penned Holidays
Paper - Naturals Ivory, Pumpkin Pie, Spice Cake DSP
Ink - Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Early Espresso, More Mustard\
Accessories - Pumpkin Pie Ribbon
Clear Embossing was done on the leaf veins and random water drops to give a realistic look!
***
Team member, Cathy Williams, was in 2nd place with this gorgeous card.
Stamps: Gently Falling, Hand-Penned Holidays
Inks: Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Cherry Cobbler, Island Indigo, Pool Party, Early Espresso (Classic & Craft)
Embellishments: Buttons, Embossing Powder, Ruffled Ribbon, Gold Brads, Vellum
My demonstrator friend, Missy Shipman, created this tea-riffic project for a swap we were both in. Soooo cute!
This is one of my favorite cards received in a swap. It is embossed with black embossing folder, uses the single, large Sweet Floral background image as well as the set, Perfectly Penned for the sentiment.
My dear friend, Sharon Armstrong, swapped this card using the stamp set, Best Friends Forever and the Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.
There is something about the simplicity of this card that I just love. Received it in a swap from Jan Burnett.
Jan used the Button Buddies stamp set, Word Play stamp set & Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.
Receive an additional $35 in FREE Stampin’ Up! products when you host a $350 workshop OR email me a $350 order November 1-December 15! This is in addition to all the other benefits you get as a Stampin’ Up! hostess.
| If your workshop sales total is |
You earn hostess dollars |
|
It’s Good to Be the Hostess |
Total Free Stampin’ Up! Merchandise |
Plus, you earn full-priced items at 50% off |
|
$350 |
$50 |
+ |
$35 |
$85 |
--- |
|
$400 |
$65 |
+ |
$35 |
$100 |
1 item |
|
$500 |
$80 |
+ |
$35 |
$115 |
2 items |
|
$750 |
$120 |
+ |
$35 |
$155 |
3 items |
|
$1,000+ |
$160 plus 15% of amount over $1,000 |
+ |
$35 |
$195 plus 15% of amount over $1,000 |
4 items |
Schedule a workshop today and get set to create for the holidays with all of the exciting hostess rewards you’ll receive!
Things to Remember
Recently, I donated some cake pops to our school auction. Our school color is blue and I needed to label them appropriately. I used the "leftover" piece of the card stock after running it through the Top Note die as a frame then printed the detailed info on my printer and used the frame as an overlay. So quick and easy! (I think I had the nicest tag there!)
