Final posting for Stampin’ UP! Tea House Wedding Shower:

The morning arrived and to bless our gathering the power went out at 7 a.m.! (It didn’t return until 1:30 p.m.) You can only imagine my angst.  We really didn’t miss a beat though, thanks to the artful help of my niece Jessica and good friend Renee’ who prepared the food.

They used the pancake griddle on the gas cook stove to toast the crostini and warm the quiches under a tent of tinfoil.  That was the only two items that needed finishing up that morning.

Our guests enjoyed:  Baby Shrimp topped cucumber rounds, Caprese Skewers with Fresh Basil,  Mini Bacon & Crimini Mushroom Quiche, Ham Salad on Crostini, Mascarpone stuffed strawberries, Granny Pritchard’s Lemon Bars with Raspberry Puree, Cheesecake & Blueberry Shots, Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies with Chocolate Ganache.  Suffice it to say that no one left hungry!

Guests were greeted with fresh flowers, lovely tea sets, and Stampin’ UP! Tea Shoppe favor bags.

The Favor bags were fun to put together.  They included 2 Tazo Rest Herbal Infusion Tea bags.  A scrumptious tea blend of lemon balm, Rose petals, Honeybush, orange peel, lemon myrtle, lavender, that brews up the most heavenly calming cup of tea.  Two Godiva Chocolate Truffles, and a sweet little Stampin’ UP! Beau Chateau Designer Series Paper notebook for your purse.

I know this is getting quite lengthy, so I will end with a thank you for letting me share the happiness of this wonderful event with you.  I hope it will inspire you to consider the possibilities of entertaining and allowing the wonderful Stampin’ UP! products to help make your event a success!

Almost forgot…here is our sweet bride with the mother of the groom on the left, me, and her mom Beth on the right.

Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful week!

Katherine

What a lovely way to welcome the bride to be:

Though the Stampin’ UP! Big Shot Bigz XL Pennant die is retired,  it’s one I reach for on these special occasions.  Add a bit of antique lace, mini clothespins, and let the FUN begin!

What makes a good banner better?  . . . It’s all about the little touches.  Like the pansy duo image from the Stampin’ UP! Tea Shoppe Stamp Set.  A beautiful whopping 10 piece set that was introduced with the 2012 Occasions Mini and has managed to make it into the 2012-2013 Annual Catalog.  You can see another post using the tea cup trio image here.

Other elements used in making the banner:

Big Shot Sticky Sheets, Dazzling Diamonds, Big Shot Scallop Circle Die, Big Shot Serif Essentials Alphabet, Large Sizzlits Die Paper Doily, 1/4″ Hole Punch.

Stay tuned for the next installment of the Stampin’ UP! Tea House Wedding Shower.

I selected the Stampin’ UP! Tea Shoppe as the focal point of the invitation and for the event, a mid morning tea wedding shower.  Lots of elements and dimension make the invitation warm and inviting.  The Stampin’ UP! exclusive Framelits Label die element is stamped with Versa Mark Ink using the En Francais’ text background stamp for interest.  The Stampin’ UP! Big Shot Vintage Wallpaper embossed panel is distressed with the Stampin’ UP! Distressing Kit Tea Stain ink.

A cinched ribbon banner anchors the left side.

I used a sucker stick to tighten the scroll end and the small square punch to easily create the flag.

The tea cup image was colored with Q-tips and then I added some Dazzling Diamonds for sparkle!

Credit goes to fellow SU Demo Julie Edmonds whose original card is here!

Thanks for stopping by and Hope you have a fantastic week!

Katherine

These great precut, prescored  note cards are a snap.  I’ve used many of them over the years but still have a bunch left…I guess maybe I might have over bought?  Nahh!!!

How do you create dimension…without adding bulk?  Easy, it’s called “Shadow Marking”.  No I didn’t coin the phrase, I first heard it from an exhibitor at the Arlington Scrapbook Convention back in …oh well, it was too long ago anyway.  The Stampin’ UP! Bashful Blue Marvelous Marker works perfectly for this technique.  You apply it to one side of the image as seen in the picture and it practically lifts your images off the paper.  Another element is the distressing on the edges of the white panel.  Subtle but effective.

I chose to use the warm Stampin’ UP! Early Espresso Classic Ink to stamp the greeting and the image.  This knocks the intensity down just a tad as opposed to using the Stampin’ UP! Basic Black, but that is a personal preference.  You should give it a try sometime! Flowers are colored with Pink Pirouette, Daffodil Delight, and Lucky Limemade Marvelous Markers.

Stamp set used is the Stampin’ UP! Easy Events…and it is NOT retiring!!!  You can catch a list of the retiring Stampin’ UP! stamps here:  Retiring 2011-2012 Stamp Sets

I want to thank you for stopping by!  May is shaping up to be a very busy month around Central Texas what with Graduations, Weddings, and Baby & Wedding Showers! Lots to do!

I hope you have a blessed week and find time for feeding your creative urges!  You can order online anytime, any day at katherinepritchard.stampinup.net.  Be sure to check out the Sale Rack while you’re at it!

Katherine

The lovely Apothecary Stamp Set featured in the 2012 Mini Occasions Catalog will be unavailable after April 30th, which means you’ve got 4 days left to order yours!

Beautiful cards with multiple layers and embellishments are easier with the great coordinatted products from Stampin’ UP!  This lovely card for our sweet Emily (wife to the fabulous son Jack in Greenville SC) went together lickety split!  I tell people all the time aboout how easy it is to copy the wonderful artists at Stampin’ UP!, they’re the ones that make my crafting FUN!  Change a color, change the text to fit the occasion and BINGO! You’ve got the perfect card for any occasion.

The crinkled taffeta ribbon was created by holding the bow under a Heat Embossing tool for a few minutes which caused the synthetic fibers in the bow to draw up and give it that great crinkled look!  How fun is that? And so easy!  That is just one example of the fabulouus tips we get as Stampin’ UP! demonstrators.

Starting Tuesday, May 1st Stampin’ UP! has a special Introductory Demonstrator Kit availabble for only $99! It is completely customizeable for colors, and stamp sets etc., and if you’ve been wanting to get in on saving some money on your crafting supplies, now would be the perfect time to jump in!  Give me a call and we can discuss your opportunity with one of the leading paper crafting companies on the market!  I’d love to have you in my downline.  We can enjoy the art of paper crafting together AND save money doing it.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend!

Katherine

I couldn’t resist the chance to showcase the Stampin’ UP! retiring Hostess stamp set Faith In Nature at this month’s Stampin’ FUN Class!

Such pretty, quick, and oh so lovely cards and scrapbook projects are what keep me excited about the great Stampin’ UP!  products.

Class attendees created the Lucky Limeade leaf card  using  a piece of the Twitterpated Designer Series Paper from the 2012 Occasions Minithat is available through May 30th. Also featured in this month’s class is the “Easy Knot” technique.  Using two pieces of Stampin’ UP! Whisper White 5/8″ Satin ribbon, (4″ and 5″) I showed them how to save about 4″ of ribbon on their cards…that really amounts to quite a savings over the life of a spool of ribbon.

The focal image for the note card is stamped with Stampin’ UP! Classic Ink on Glossy card stock.  This gives the card a very professional appearance.  There’s really no ‘trick’ to working with Glossy card stock, so don’t shy away from it!  Give it a try.  It only requires a smidge more time to dry before touching and that’s it!

All three note cards also feature the Stampin’ UP! Pearls.  They are a fabulous embellishment for any project and are easy to work with.

This note card trio would make a great teacher’s gift, Mother’s Day gift or for any occasion.  Blank inside allows the sender the flexibility to use them for what ever the occasion requires.

It’s been a very busy weekend around the Pritchard home, I hope that the Lord has blessed you as He has us in many ways!  Always thankful for His grace to me!

If you have any questions or need any supplies or help just give me a shout out!

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous week.  Katherine

Here’s a cute Stampin’ UP! Caterpillar Birthday Card for that wide eyed, starry eyed, little guy running rings around your table!

Stampin’ UP! new Summer Smooches Designer Series Paper has the perfect bright colorful patterns to use with your 1″ Circle Stampin’ UP! Punch.  A pair of googlie eyes, and a couple of snips of picture frame wire antennae complete this quick and easy card.

I hope you’ve had a great weekend and are looking forward to the week ahead! Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week!

Katherine

 55 New items have been added to the STAMPIN’ UP! Clearance Sale Rack over at the Stampin’ UP! Online Store!

It’s easy to shop at your leisure, when it’s convenient for your schedule because you have 24/7 access!

Anyone placing a $25.00, on-line order between now & midnight Sunday April 15th, identifying me as your demonstrator will be entered in a drawing for a FREE A La Carte Stamp from the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog!  Winner will be notified by email.

There’s some great bargains so Happy Shopping!!

Thanks for dropping by…and ‘May the odds be ever in your favor’

I will surely be the saddest paper crafter of all IF… Stampin’ UP! discontinues their First Edition Specialty Designer Series paper  when the 2012-2013 Idea Book & Catalog is launched June 1. (I’m keeping my fingers crossed though that it is carried over)

And here once again, I have taken the liberty of C.A.S.E. ing a lovely card previously seen on Andrea Walford’s website and ‘marrying’ it with another from the same website…does that mean it’s almost an original???hmmm….have to think about that one!  I don’t care, I just love the result!

The color in the First Edition flower was created by sponging the Island Floral Big Shot Die Cuts  with Stampin’ UP! Classic Ink in Melon Mambo and then overlaying it with Pumpkin Pie.  A final spritz of Gold Glow Smooch Spritz gives it added depth. Background leaves were sponged with Old Olive followed by a light smudge of Pacific Point.  The flower was assembled using a Stampin’ UP! Glimmer Brad.

A bit of Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon and Pear Pizzazz Stitched Poly Ribbon give the finishing touches to this project.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have enjoyed a very blessed Easter weekend and are looking forward to the week ahead!

Katheine

I was so ‘right on’ getting my family’s Stampin’ UP! Easter Cards out EARLY this year! Yeah, that’s right!! Woohoo and Thank you! I’ve been feeling pretty darned satisfied with myself…then too I created AND mailed (with help from a dear friend) 33 Stampin’ UP! Wedding Shower Invitations for next month’s shower (post coming at a later date so watch for it!)…I really hadn’t figured on doing an office treat for our employees UNTIL that is, I saw a darling classroom favor created out of colorful pencils tied with ribbon & tagged.

The marvelous colors of Easter lend themselves naturally to a whimsical treat tag with our 2000 Stampin’ UP! Gifts of Spring plump prickly little chick. that’s not a typo either!  That’s precisely why I hold onto my collection of Stampin’ UP! Stamp Sets.  The images of this twelve year old stamp set are just as clear and sharp as they were when I received it.

The Happy Easter is from the Stampin’ UP! Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp Set in the current 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog.  Colors used for this project were Tempting Turquoise Cardstock and Classic Stampin’ Ink, Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin’ Ink, Daffodil Delight Striped Ribbon, and Lucky Limeade Bakers Twine.

Other elements used were Scallop Circle Punch and 1 3/8 Round Punch with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

A little basket for the staff lunchroom and it’s already for the Easter Bunny to leave tomorrow!

I hope you and your family and loved ones will have a blessed Easter weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Easter,

Katherine