Settling In

We have finally arrived and are getting settled in here in Austin, Texas. The move went quite smoothly, everything arrived on time and in one piece and the kids are adjusting well and making new friends at school.

I have been busy unpacking and working to make our new house a home. Last weekend I finally got to work on my new stamping studio! I finally have a whole room devoted just to my business and I love how it came out. It is the only room I've painted so far. It was painted a very dark gray-green since it was the former owner's media room. Obviously I needed to lighten it up. I knew I wanted a classy but fun feel to the room so I decided my color scheme would be gray, black and hot pink. Hey, its my girly room so I needed to have some pink somewhere in my house! I painted the walls a light gray and all my bookshelves and my desk are black which compliment nicely. Then I added pops of pink all over with baskets, accents and flowers. This is the view of one half of the room.


I plan to get or make some cute pink valences for the windows and this little black table will soon be replaced with a big one that seats 8 as soon as my new kitchen table arrives! Sorry it's so dark but if I opened the blinds the bright sunshine made glares.


For Christmas my parents bought me this storage unit for all my ink pads and reinkers. Right now it's on my Big Shot table but as soon as I get some heavy duty anchors it will be up on the wall. Don't you just love it?


So now I am ready and open for business! I've scheduled a few classes and hope to start booking workshops as well. If you are in the Austin area, please check my calendar to see what classes are coming up or contact me to book your own workshop. I've got lots of ideas to inspire you!


Heather
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Llama Occasions Hop

The llamas are hopping again! This time we are showcasing our favorite products from the Occasions Mini as well as the Sale-a-Bration brochure. If this is your first stop, no worries. You can follow the links at the end of this post on to the next stop and loop through all the stops or use the button to hop back to start at the beginning. Just be sure you don't skip any of these amazingly talented and fun ladies!


When I first saw the intricate flower image from Punch Bunch in the Occasions Mini my mind traveled back to sign I remember seeing at my grandparents house when I was a child. Now I haven't seen this sign in about 20 years so the memory was foggy but the connection was there. I remembered the colors were bright against a black background and there was a chicken or some strange bird on it. I started searching online for similar images and soon discovered that what I was remembering was a traditional Dutch hex sign like these.





These signs were used to decorate the homes and barns of early Pennsylvania Dutch settlers and being of Dutch heritage, my grandparents hung one in their home with pride. That 'chicken' I was remembering is actually called a distelfink and was a sign of luck and happiness. You can read more about these beautiful hex signs and their meanings here. The first card inspired by these designs was a 3x3 love note.



I love the symmetrical patterns and swirls of this image. I simply inked the stamp image with Black, Garden Green, Real Red, Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie and remoistened the ink with the "breath of life" before stamping it on white. The coordinating punch was a real time saver! The Daffodil card stock was embossed with the Dots Embossing folder for a little added dimension.
For my second card I decided to take things a bit further but I'll be honest, I had no idea where this card was going till it was done. I knew I wanted to attempt to recreate the distelfink using our bird punch but after that there were numerous changes and "do-overs". I was very pleased with the final result though.


The tail of the bird used the new Blossom Punch and those tear drop shapes came from the Triple Layer Punch. I probably had enough of those on my craft room floor to use but I was too lazy to pick them all up so I punched more! And did you notice the new Doily Die?? That is quickly becoming my favorite product of the mini.
This card went out in the mail today to my grandparents. I wanted to thank them for the Christmas money they gave us and remind them that even with our upcoming long distance move, they won't be far from our hearts and minds.
I hope you will leave me a comment and then hop on over to Kathe's blog. I think she's creating with that adorable kite stamp set.  I have a feeling whatever it is is going to make resisting the urge to purchase that set pointless! Happy hopping!

Heather

Hostess with the Most-ess!

Be the Host with the Most free stuff! From now through December 15, if you host a qualifying workshop, you can earn an additional $35 in Free Hostess Credit! That means, a $350 workshop earns you $85 in FREE product!


Now is the perfect time to gather with friends and family to create beautiful handmade and heartfelt cards and gifts. Book your workshop with me today to ensure your choice of open dates. I have tons of great, easy and inexpensive gift-giving ideas that I would love to share with you and your friends.
And if you thought you missed out on the chance to get a FREE Big Shot, it's not too late. That promotion has been extended till November 11. Join the Stampin' Up! family now and choose either a free Big Shot or $100 in extra product. That's like getting over $450 of products for only $175!


I look forward to hearing from you and helping you enjoy a creative and fun holiday season!

Heather

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Llama Hop

Hello! If you've just migrated over here from Diane's wonderful blog you've arrived at the right pasture. This is the next stop on the Stampin' Llamas Holiday Blog Hop! If this is your first stop, no worries, you can continue on the Hop from here or use the link below to hop back to the beginning and start from there. Either way, make sure you check out all these very talented ladies.




My projects today all feature the Pines & Poinsettias stamp set from the Holiday Mini. I got this set free from Stampin' Up! and yes, free stamps do stamp better. I've created a card, a bookmark and a gift box for you.








This would make a great gift ensemble for the avid reader on your Christmas list. Put the bookmark and a gift card to a bookstore in the box and you've got a great gift set. The card base is Very Vanilla card stock. I ran a piece of Cherry Cobbler card stock though the Big Shot with the Petals-a-Plenty Embossing Folder and then distressed the edges. Using the 2 3/8" scallop punch I punched a piece of Wild Wasabi. If you crumple it repeatedly and break up the fibers you can actually peel it into two pieces; which is what I did. The pinecone image was colored using Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip and Cherry Cobbler markers and stamped onto Vanilla. I punched the image out with the 2 1/2" circle punch and layered it onto a same size circle of Cherry Cobbler after a bit more distressing. (notice all the de-stressing?) Add some Stampin' Dimensionals and some 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon and you've got a nice card with lots of texture. This card also happens to be the one my fellow Llamas will be receiving as their swap this season! (They are all now running out to their mailboxes!)








For the bookmark I started with a 24 inch piece of Chocolate Chip Scallop Dots Ribbon which I folded in half so I had dots on both sides and held together with Sticky Strip. I used a scallop square piece from the On Board Merry Medley chipboard and covered it with Wild Wasabi. I hand cut the flower images and stitched on the buttons with Linen Thread to finish off the bookmark.









For my final project I made the gift box. First I covered a piece of Wasabi card stock with the Holly Berry Bouquet fabric using our Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets. Then I ran the whole thing through the Big Shot and was able to die cut the box using the Box #2 die. Easy peesy! For the embellishment on the front, I used the Scallop Circle punch, the 5 Petal Flower punch, Itty Bitty Shapes punch, some Basic Pearls, Bakers Twine and the last image in the Pines & Poinsettias set.









I hope you enjoyed your stop here and I encourage you to keep hopping on over to Holly Denghel's blog. I know she'll have some great projects for you to see. Besides, she's going to be my new neighbor when I get to Texas! Llamas in the hood! Feel free to stop by here again and I hope you'll leave a comment if there was something you liked. Happy Blog Hopping!









Heather
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Join my team and get a FREE Big Shot!

That's right! You can get a FREE Big Shot or $100 in FREE product when you join my team from Oct 1-31!



The Big Shot is one of the greatest and most versatile tools you can use in your stamping business. From die cutting to embossing, the Big Shot helps take your cards, gifts and scrapbook pages to the Wow level! If you've ever considered becoming a demonstrator, now is the perfect time. If you already have the Big Shot, it's no problem. You can get $100 worth of dies, embossing folders or anything else you'd like in addition to the amazing Starter Kit.
I would love the opportunity to talk to you about becoming a demonstrator. You can sign up right through my website or give me a call and we can walk through the process together. As your upline you can be sure I will be here every step of the way as you begin this exciting adventure and I will help you make your business exactly what you want it to be. I hope to hear from you today!

Heather
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Card Buffet

A card buffet? What's that? A buffet is defined as a meal in which people serve themselves from various dishes set out on a serving table. So a card buffet is an event in which you can pick and create cards from a variety of predesigned options. This month I premiered this event for the first time with rave reviews. Here is a sampling of some of the "dishes" I offered.



The cards cover a variety of occasions and stamping levels. I am now up to 16 cards in my buffet and will keep adding new cards each month. Cards will remain on the buffet until the stamp set or embellishments retire (or you just get sick of seeing it!) so if you can't make them all one month, they'll be there the next month.
My October Card Buffet classes will be held on Oct 5th and 13th so if you are in the area, please register (see the My Events link to the right to RSVP). There are even some Christmas cards on the buffet now to get your creative juices flowing for the holiday season.
If you see a card design you'd like to create, send me a picture and I'll add it to the buffet. Is there an occasion you need cards for? I'll add those as well. I hope to see you at the next Card Buffet!

Heather

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It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I'm sure you've all seen the Staples commercial with the parent singing and dancing their way through the isles buying back-to-school supplies while the kids scour in the background. Yes, September means back to school and back to my house staying clean for more than 3.5 seconds, but that is not the only thing that makes this the best time of the year. The new Holiday Mini Catalog is here and it will knock your stockings off!





If you haven't received one of these babies from me you can view it by clicking here or contact me and I will gladly mail you one. This is one of the best mini catalogs in my entire Stampin' Up career. The new Simply Scored knocks the competition out of the water and I received a cute tote for it made out of the Spice Cake fabric when I attended Convention in July (I love the perks of being a demo!) The Christmas sets along with the coordinating punches and dies will make your holiday gift-giving a breeze! As always you can place an order right through my website (use the links to the right) or stop by one of my two Card Buffet classes being offered this month and get your hands on some of these new sets. Check out my calendar for the dates and descriptions. I will also be adding the first Christmas card class toward the end of the month. This will be a great opportunity to get a jump start on creating beautiful handmade cards your friends and family will treasure.

Heather

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad