Donna Schafer's Stamping Station

Shelli Gardner Picked My Card!!!

Oh my gosh stampers, I am so excited!!!  I'd heard from a fellow demo (thanks Brenda Witt!) that at the end of the Regional Seminar in San Antonio, Shelli Gardner, co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up!,  put my card (from the Leadership Conference card contest) up on the screen and announced that she had picked it as her favorite (from among the Send Me Soaring samples)!  I was waiting anxiously for the "official" call and it came from Shelli's assistant, Andrea, on Thursday evening.  What a THRILL!  I won a $50 shopping spree, but honestly that is soooooo secondary to having Shelli Gardner pick my card! 

Andrea said that since Send Me Soaring was the set they gave to Regional Seminar attendees, she had pulled all of those samples from the Leadership contest to put on the boards at Regionals.  Shelli looked at the cards and pulled mine (squeal!!!).  She said that what Shelli loved most was the way I had done the clouds, using the Scallop Circle punch as a template.  Andrea also said that she herself was going to copy my card, but use hot air balloons instead of kites, because her family's annual trip this year includes a hot air balloon ride.  I was so flattered!   We had a wonderful conversation (she is just as sweet as Shelli) and I was on cloud 9 (still am).

Thanks for letting me share my excitement.  I bet you want to see the card, huh?  My lucky club members got to make it at our January meeting!

(This is actually a second one I made to keep before I submitted the other one for the contest).

 

Here's a picture of it as you open it.  It's a card within a card.  The vellum cardstock wraps all the way around.

Enjoy!  Thanks for stopping by (and for letting me brag)!

Pretty Fresh Vintage Card - Come Make it Tomorrow

This is my version (only slightly changed) of a card I received at Leadership from another demonstrator named Karen Morgan.  Isn't is pretty?  Thanks for the inspiration, Karen!  This is one of the $1 make & takes at my event tomorrow (two times to choose from - 10:00 to noon or 5:30 to 7:00 pm).  RSVP to me at [email protected].  I'd love to see you here tomorrow!

The background is stamped with the Fresh Vintage stamp set from the Sale-a-Bration catalog.  Get it free with a $50 order during Sale-a-Bration.  The bird is punched from the Sale-a-Bration Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper - choose that for your free gift with your $50 order, or choose the ribbon and brad for your free gift (also from the Sale-a-Bration catalog).   One free gift for every $50 order.  Lots to choose from in that Sale-a-Bration catalog!  The sentiment is from the Loving Thoughts stamp set from the Occasions Mini Catalog.

 

Check out all the freebies I received at Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference!

Can you say WOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!?  Look at this table just full of Stampin' Up! goodies that I received at Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference.  Every day they surprised us with another giveaway, much of it from the Sale-a-Bration catalog and the Occasions Mini Catalog!  So much to play with!

You'll notice that two of the stamp sets are hidden (one under the fan and one under the sheet of pearls).  Those are going to be in an upcoming catalog and I'm not allowed to show them to you just yet ;-) 

Would you like to be  one of the first to get your hands on new products and stamp sets before they're introduced to customers?  Become a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator!  The Demonstrator Kit is just $125 (reduced from $175) during Sale-a-Bration. 

Join my team and join the Stampin' Up! adventure!

Goodbye San Antonio

Well, it has been a wonderful week here in San Antonio, but sadly today is the last day of my stay.  Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference ended yesterday, but my friends and I stayed one extra day to enjoy this fabulous city.  We visited the Alamo, toured the famous Riverwalk, ate lots of great Tex Mex food and drank our share of margaritas.  And of course, we got to see Ty Pennington and the Extreme Makeover Home Edition crew give a gift to some deserving heroes.  It has been an absolutely fabulous week.  I hate to leave, but I'm anxious to get back to my family too. 

Thanks for visiting.  I hope you've enjoyed my posts from San Antonio this week!

 

You Never Know What Might Happen at a Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference!

Guess who's been in San Antonio all week (besides us Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference attendees)?  Ty Pennington and the "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" Team!  Guess what I got to do last night?  Go to the filming of the series finale!  It was AWESOME!  Filming took place along the famous San Antonio River Walk, which was all lit up with Christmas lights.  It was beautiful.  Several wounded vets and their families got a wonderful surprise from a fantastic organization, Helping A Hero.  Lee Greenwood was there to sing his famous song "God Bless the USA," which brought many of us to tears.  Flags were waving everywhere and the cheers of the crowd could be heard for blocks.  Former New York Yankess pitcher Roger Clemens was there to do a special presentation as well.  What an honor it was to be a part of this event.  I will remember it forever. 

 

Like I said, you never know what might happen at a Stampin' Up! event.  Why aren't you a demonstrator?  I'd love to have you alongside me as we enjoy all the wonderful experiences that being a demonstrator can bring!

In case you need a reminder, there's a special Demonstrator Kit offer beginning September 24.  Not only a great price, but a monthly gift for the rest of the year as well.  See your Sale-a-Bration brochure for details and contact me about becoming a Demonstrator today!

 

Fabulous Gifts from Stampin' Up! Here at Leadership Conference!

I'm here in sunny, warm San Antoinio, TX with over 1300 other Stampin' Up! demonstrators enjoying Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference.  Today we did some fabulous make & take projects and Stampin' Up! gave us our Leadership bags and an extra gift of a matching notebook holder/portfolio bag (both made from fabric you'll be seeing in an upcoming catalog).  Aren't they gorgeous?! 

Here's the inside of the notebook holder/portfolio bag.

Look at all the little pockets!  I love bags with lots of pockets  :-)

I love being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator!  Have you ever thought of becoming a demonstrator?  I'd love to have you join me at Leadership Conference next year.  I can't wait to hear where it's going to be!  Stay tuned ...

All-Day Scrabooking Event - Saturday, January 28 in Lambertville

Come spend the day working on your scrapbooks (or cards, or whatever project you want) while enjoying three meals, prizes and the company of others!  Event will run from 9am-9pm.  This event is a fundraiser for the Bedford Soiree Singers group.  They are AWESOME and my youngest daughter hopes to join the group when she gets to high school.  I'll have a Stampin' Up! table with at least one make & take. 

Click here to download the registration form:  Download Soiree Singers Scrapbooking or cut and paste the information below into a document on your computer to print out:

1^st Annual Soiree Singers

Scrapbooking Event

Come and scrapbook the day away at our all day crop!

All proceeds go the Bedford Soiree Singers

Saturday January 28, 2012

9am to 9pm

Cost is $25.00

Lambertville United Methodist Church

8165 Douglas Rd., Lambertville, MI

Corner of Dean and Douglas Roads

 

Your day will include:

Four feet of table space, light breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, tea, water, pop and prizes.

More table space may be purchased for a nominal fee provided there is space available after registration.

 

The following vendors will be there for your convenience:

 Donna Schafer with Stampin Up!

  Linda Sulpizio with Creative Memories

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __  __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ _

Deadline for Registration is January 25, 2012

 

Name: _______________________________________

 

Address: _______________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

Phone: __________________

E-Mail: ______________________

Please list the names of the guests you would like to sit with:

____________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Please

indicate if you are interested in extra table space and you will be contacted after the registration deadline of the cost  and availability.  _________________________

Mail registration and check to:  

 Marilyn Sharp, 1202 Smith Rd., Temperance, MI 48182

Questions:  Call Marilyn at 847-5677

Please make checks payable to Bedford Soiree Singers.

Another Edgelits Card, and a Mini Tutorial for Keeping the Edgelits Still

Here's a card we made at my monthly card club last week.  It features the new Adorning Accents Edgelits Dies and the Adorning Accents Embossing Folders (p. 7, Occasions Mini Catalog).   NOTE: Scroll down for a little tutorial on keeping the edgelits still).

Stamps:  Send Me Soaring (Occasions Mini Catalog), Colors:  Baja Breeze, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Accessories:  Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding, Adorning Accents Edgelits (Occasions Mini Catalog), Adorning Accents Embossing Folder (Occasions Mini Catalog), Blossom Punch (Occasions Mini), Twitterpated Designer Series Paper (Occasions Mini), 1" circle punch, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Big Shot Machine.

The Edgelits dies are wonderful, but they are very narrow and thin and can be difficult to keep still when you are placing them on the paper to be cut.  So, I came up with my very own invention! Honest, I thought of this all on my own :-). 

I took my Edgelit and I put Dotto adhesive on it and I attached it (using a ruler to make sure it was absolutely straight) to a piece of cardstock, 1 1/2" wide x 6 1/8" long (the length of the Edgelit).  This is much easier to keep still than the Edgelit alone.   Now when I want to cut a piece of cardstock, all I have to do is line up the edge with the edge of the cardstock that the Edgelit is adhere to and, voila, I know it's going to stay still and be straight!  Here are some photos to demonstrate:

 Edgelit adhered to 1 1/2" x 6 1/8" cardstock.

 Here I made "hash marks" to help me make sure different sizes of cardstock are centered on my template.

 Here's a piece of cardstock placed on my template, ready to be put through the Big Shot.

NOTE: For the above card, I cut the Designer Series Paper piece and the Pear Pizzazz cardstock piece both at the same time.   I stacked them on top of eachother,  lined them both up with the edge of my template and ran the whole thing through the Big Shot.  Then I just moved the Pear cardstock down so that it would peek out from behind the DSP.

I hope you like the card and that you found this mini-tutorial helpful!

Thanks for visiting my blog :-)

 

Thinking About Valentine Cards?

I know, I know, Valentine's Day is a month away, but I couldn't wait to share this card that I made for a recent swap.  What do you think?  I really like the non-traditional colors.

 

Stamps:  Outlined Occasions (Sale-a-Bration).  Colors:  Calypso Coral, Riding Hood Red, Lucky Limeade and Whisper White.  Accessories:  Adorning Accents Embossing Folder (2012 Occasions Mini Catalog), Everyday Enchantment Ribbon (Sale-a-Bration Catalog), Full Heart Punch, Heart to Heart punch, Scalloped Heart of Heart Embosslit.

The sentiment is from the Sale-a-Bration stamp set called "Outlined Occasions."  You'll be able to get that set free with a $50 order beginning January 24.  There are six stamps altogether in this set - two more in the same style you see above, which say "Celebrate" and "Thanks," and then three smaller sets of words that say "so very much," "be mine," and "it's your day."  It's an adorable set!  Sale-a-Bration catalogs were mailed out in early January - if you haven't received yours yet, please contact me.

Send Me Soaring Card Sample from Occasions Mini Catalog

Here's a card I made using the Send Me Soaring stamp set from the brand new Occasions Mini Catalog.

I colored the clouds using a Blender Pen and our White Craft Ink.

Stamps:  Send Me Soaring (Occasions Mini Catalog, p. 37).  Colors:  Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Pear Pizzazz and Whisper White.  Accessories:  White Baker's Twine, Blender Pen, 1" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch.

I made this card for a card swap.  I'll be getting back 8 other cards from other demonstrators.  I'll share those with you as soon as I receive them!