Stampin’ UP! Convention Diversion

July 26, 2010 By Katherine Pritchard Leave a Comment

Stampin’ UP! convention week is always fun, refreshing, and exhausting as well, but it is so good to come home and step back to reality.   (Not to mention, sleep in your own wonderful, comfortable BED!)

While I’ll be sharing lots of our convention ideas and projects later on, I wanted to let you see that we didn’t spend ALL of our time with just STAMPIN’ UP!.  There are other things to take in and do in Salt Lake City, for instance …

You would think that this being my fifth year to attend the STAMPIN’ UP! Convention in Salt Lake  that we’d have scouted out most all shopping venues! . . .NOT SO!!!  Salt Lake is one of those places that likes to hide, little small enclaves of great shopping boutiques amidst the outer edges of its’ urban areas.  But as my up-line Dawn Derrick and I discovered there are sweet gems to be uncovered!

One day we took a cab out to Piper’s Quilt Shop…and all I can say is W-O-W, what a fabulous quilt shop it is!

Housed in a quaint little wood slat bungalow (probably dating back to the ’30′s I’d guess) Piper’s Quilt Shop  is one of the most amazing quilt, fabric, and nick knacks shop I’ve ever been in.  Along with the most amazing quilt patterns and uniquely different fabrics she also has a wonderful supply of alternative fabric crafting items, like aprons, purses, baby clothes, smocking, knitting, wall hangings, and it goes on and on and on!  We were wishing we could spend lots more time there, but as it so happened, (and probably better for our pocketbooks!) we had arranged to meet up with the remainder of our gal group.  We did enough damage as it was…let’s just say that our ‘boxes’ that we shipped because we knew it wouldn’t fit in the suitcase, will be arriving later this week! WOO HOO!!and ROFL!!!

Dare I say that Piper’s Quilt Shop will be a regular stop for us in the future.  If you are ever fortunate enough to be in the Salt Lake City area and are brave enough to venture into this little establishment, you will be glad you did!

Thanks for stopping by today and be sure to come back for more great Stampin’ UP! ideas and convention news!

Have a wonderful week!  Katherine

Filed Under: Family, Most Recent, Stampin' Up!

Using your Stampin’ UP! My Digital Studio for more than scrapbooking!

July 22, 2010 By Katherine Pritchard Leave a Comment

Thanks for stopping by today because I wanted to share with you a project that I created last week for my hubby’s oral surgery practice.

With the exit of our marketing gal at the beginning of the summer I have been called upon to “pull-up-the-slack” so to speak.  (I keep telling Larry & the gals that “I am NOT (emphasis on NOT) the marketing person”…Don’t ask me!  Yet, time and again here I am.  As a way to get our new doc into the referral offices around town I decided to give him a little gift of goodies to deliver to get him in the door!  I further personalized it by adding a custom photo label to the jar lid.

Originally, I had envisioned using a CD label, but they were too large for the 4 1/4″ diameter of the lid.  I chose to use a full sheet 8 1/2 x 11 label, getting two photo labels out of each one.

Using my Stampin’ UP! Circle Scissors Plus to quickly and effortlessly cut the desired label circles.

You can see through the guide so there’s no guess work when cutting.

I was able to put together 99 decorated jars for Dr. Beck to deliver in just one afternoon; thanks to the helping hands of two very capable teens (i.e. Colin & his sweetie Katie) who tied ribbons for me while I cut and pasted the photo stickers!

We enjoyed one of those great ‘together’ moments that afternoon and using Stampin’ UP! My Digital Studio to create the custom photo stickers was a fabulous idea.  Now imagine yourself needing gifts for the holiday’s and you want to personalize them, but you’re crunched for time…or maybe it’s the end-of-year school party and you have party favors to come up with…a wedding anniversary party or a birthday celebration whatever the occasion there might just be a chance that  using  Stampin’ UP! My Digital Studio could help make your next event more celebratory and personal.

Stampin’ UP! gives you the ease and flexibility to shop on-line 24/7 or you can call or email me and I’ll help you with your next creative endeavor!

Thanks again for taking a look at my blog, I appreciate your support it helps to keep those creative juices flowing!

Katherine

Filed Under: 3-D Projects, Most Recent, My Digital Studio, Stampin' Up!

Stampin’ UP! My Digital Studio does so much more!

July 19, 2010 By Katherine Pritchard Leave a Comment

A week ago I delivered a copy of Stampin’ UP!’s My Digital Studio creative suite to an avid scrapbooking dear friend of mine.  I spent about an hour introducing her to it and showing her some shortcuts,  and ins and outs that I’ve picked up to help her get started and turned her loose!  I absolutely love, LOVE how easy the Stampin’ UP! My Digital Studio is and I was really excited to get to share it with her.

Sue  C. called me the NEXT DAY and left a voice message on my cell phone:  “Katherine, I’m so sorry that you’re not there to answer your phone, because if you were, you could hear the excitement in my voice.  I love this program!  It’s the easiest thing I’ve ever seen and you know I’ve used several others.  I want to get three more copies of it for my two daughters-in-law and one for Lacey too.  Please give me a call when you can.” . . . FOR REAL! I was elated!

Sue C. is like me, neither one of us would ever consider ourselves ‘computer savvy’ or computer geeks.  We like things simple and straightforward.  Fellow homeschooling moms for more years than we can count, we’re really creative gals so we get along nicely around most creative venues.  She  had gone home that afternoon and played with her program and discovered what all My Digital Studio has to offer.  Literally hundreds of stamps with the ability to re-size them,  all the fabulous color choices from the Stampin’ UP! color ensembles and the ability to match other colors to expand the color palate;  all the marvelous designer series papers, scrapbook templates, embellishments, to just click and drag into place, punches, and so, so easy to select and add pictures. . .ALL coordinating with the wonderful  Stampin’ UP!’ products.  I’m pretty sure she even said that she’d created 5 or 6   12 x 12   scrapbook pages while at it.

How wonderful I felt to, once again, “Share what you love”! It’s what we call the “WOW” factor. Stampin’ UP! may not have been the FIRST on the scene when it came to creative digital programs, but  let me tell you ladies, they certainly have the BEST! At a very modest price tag of only $79.95 it can’t be beat.

We’ve hit that mid point in summer and I hope yours is going as planned, or well,  maybe at least as good as you expected!  I’m off to Salt Lake City for the annual STAMPIN’ UP! CONVENTION week so picture me with a HUGE smile on my face most of the time!  Have a good week and keep those creative juices flowing…Katherine

Filed Under: 3-D Projects, Featured Projects, Most Recent, My Digital Studio, Stampin' Up!

Decorating Inspirations with Stampin’ UP!

July 12, 2010 By Katherine Pritchard Leave a Comment

Where do you find inspiration for your creative projects?  A magazine, a class, a web blog?  There are endless influences in our day to day lives that impact us in ways untold.  One design theme that you can find often repeated in my daily surroundings is the use of window panes or picture frame paneling whether it’s on the wall treatment or the cabinetry design.  Let me show you what I mean:

Inside:  (1st floor powder room)

Outside: (hubby’s work shed) 

Inside: (Kitchen hutch)

Outside: (View of back elevation)

Inside: (Kitchen cabinetry)

The appealing symmetry and abundant use of window panes was not an intentional decision, but a subtle design element that has appeared and reappeared throughout our home.  Note that our previous home of 20+ years, situated on 20 AC adjacent to our existing home has no window lights at all in any of the glass work or decor!  Hmmmmm ? I don’t know when this transition took place but it is a taste we are attracted to and much more than just a trend or preference.

This brings me to the latest project I just completed for my kitchen counter greeting.  The piece incorporates a myriad of Stampin’ UP! resources to highlight the Galatians 5:22 Fruits of the Spirit scripture verse.  Among them are the Stampin’ UP! Sizzix Big Shot dies, my new Stampin UP! Artistic Etchings Clear Mount Stamp Set (a ‘So Shelli’ exclusive design!) and the fabulous Stampin’ UP! Newsprint Designer Series Paper:


The original design was created by a fellow Stampin’ UP! demonstrator and was in a 12″ x 16″ vertical frame using 3″ x 3″ squares.  I don’t have the wall space in my home for such  a huge  piece so as usual, I started thinking of how I could adapt and make it work on a smaller scale.  Two years ago I created another piece in this frame and decided to ‘give it a rest’ and reuse the frame! Voila!  The frame accommodates a 4 1/2″ x 11 1/2″ piece and was just perfect for the scripture verse.  The results are an inspiring combination using the appealing window pane design element within a collage style effect.

Stampin’ UP! elements employed in the piece are:

Stampin’ UP! Sizzix Big Shot Timeless Type Alphabet Medium Sizzlits Dies; Birds & Bloom Sizzlits 4-Pack Die

Stampin’ UP! Punches: Word Window, Curly Label, Modern Label, Heart to Heart (small heart), 1 3/8″ x 5/8″ Oval, 1/2″ Circle Small

Stampin’ UP! Build-a-Brad Pewter Brad

Stampin UP! Stamp Sets:  Define Your Life; Typeset Alphabet Upper & Lower Case (retired); Simple Serif Alphabet(retired)

Stampin’ UP! Real Red and Basic Black Classic Stampin’ Ink Pads

CLASS SCHEDULED:

“FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT” Workshop

Cost of workshop is $25.00 (frame included)

Come and create your “FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT” word frame!

I’ll have everything you need and even have some of the work done beforehand to help make it quick and easy for you to complete! Call to reserve your spot because attendance will be limited for this workshop.

Dates and times:  Daytime workshop:  Tuesday August 17th 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Evening workshop:  Tuesday August 17th 6:30- 8:30 p.m.

For reservations call: 254-848-5173 or email kpritchard@hot.rr.com

Filed Under: 3-D Projects, Events, Family, Most Recent, Stampin' Up!

Stampin’ UP! Punches are fabulous!

July 7, 2010 By Katherine Pritchard 1 Comment

Who wouldn’t smile to see Ruff pop out of a birthday card or any card for that matter?

Ruff is ready to party! Constructed by using ‘altered’ punches he’s just adorable.  And so quick thanks to the awesome and easy to use  STAMPIN’ UP! Punches.

He is not my original creation but one that I got from fellow Stampin’ UP! Demonstrator Ellen Kemper, the unofficial ‘Punch Queen’ as I like to think of her.  Here’s a quick link to her blog:

http://blinkthinkink.blogspot.com/

Ellen is a true Punch Art aficionado and you will be inspired by her artwork so drop by her blog and see what awesome things she creates with her wonderful Stampin’ UP! punches.

Punches used in Ruff were (from top to bottom):

Photo Corners with tattering on edges for ears

Butterfly Extra-large with one wing trimmed and the nose is the Ticket Corner Small punch

1 3/8″ x 5/8″ Oval for chin

1 3/4″ x 7/8″ Oval front chest

2″ x 1 3/8″ Oval hind quarters

Altered Inside negative from Photo Corner punches

1/2″ Circle Cut in half

The bone was made from a diagonal piece of the Curly Label punch

Facial features were drawn with the Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker

I think you’ll have tons of fun using your Stampin’ UP! punches in this altered art form to add a touch of personality and charm to your creations.

Remember, if there is anyway I can help you with your creativity just drop me a line, meanwhile I hope you’re enjoying your summer this year!

Thanks for stopping by,

Katherine

Filed Under: Cards, Most Recent, Stampin' Up!

More Stampin’ UP! Stampin FUN!

July 2, 2010 By Katherine Pritchard Leave a Comment

The clever folks at Stampin’ UP! had to know how darling and addicting these Itty Bitty Bits Stamps, the Bitty Punch Pack, and the Bitty Buttons would be!  Just look at all the quick easy fun you can have with them…


Here I have created a trio of Bashful Blue Stars using the recently discontinued Small Star Punch as a background for one of the Itty Bitty Bits images and the Bashful Blue Striped Grosgrain Ribbon tied in a square knot to say a sweet hello to a new arrival!  I have added a touch of Stampin’ UP! Crystal Effects to the center images before adhering them with Stampin’ dimensionals to give them that shiny glassy look.  The card is then mounted on a standard size Bashful Blue     4 1/4 x 5 1/2 card.

Next I have created a cute little gift tag:

Using the Stampin’ UP! Bitty Punch Pack images to create a Tic Tac Toe design on this little gift tag adds a touch of whimsy to your gift wrapping.  The striking contrast of the Real Red and Basic Black is a favorite and is sure to draw your attention.

The tag inside has a simple greeting.

One last flash of inspiration before I leave you was a Happy Valentines Day card…

The possibilities are endless!

I hope you have a wonderful and safe Fourth of July weekend!

Happy Stamping!  Katherine

Filed Under: Cards, Most Recent, Stampin' Up!
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