3 Reasons Why You Should Join Stampin' Up!

Because I want a free stamp set, I'm blogging about why you should join Stampin' Up! in hopes that you will decide to sign-up and join my team of the Ladybug Ink stampers.


Reason #1: 20% Discount on all your orders. And if you sell Stampin' Up! to other people, you get to keep 20% of your sales (and spend it on more stamps....)
Reason #2: $99 Starter Kit. Through July 31, new demonstrators can purchase a specially-priced Starter Kit for just $99! You'll get over $180 worth of product in the starter kit. 
Reason #3. Free Christmas Keepsake Project Kit. Join Stampin' Up! before July 31 and you'll get a free kit that contains everything you need to make a beautiful Christmas box. The kit even includes a stamp set from the upcoming Holiday Mini Catalog. 

Christmas Keepsake Box

The time has never been better to join Stampin' Up! If you are interested in joining, please email me (stampincita@gmail.com) and I'll walk you through the process. I don't think you'll ever regret joining Stampin' Up!


Happy Stampin'
~Cita

Doilies Aren't for Old People

 

The Delicate Doilies stamp set was one of the sets that Stampin' Up! offered to us demonstrators as a sneak peak item in June. When I first saw it I was not to thrilled with this set. But for some weird reason, I ended up buying it, and I haven't really been able to put it down for the last two months. I did decide that one reason I was so turned off to stamp set was because it had doilies in its name. I think of my Grandma's bright yellow doilies when I think of doilies. And although those doilies are amazing, I think old people (no offense wiser, older generation. I have lots of respect for you and your doilies). However, once I got past the name, I'm obsessed with this set. 

I made this card for the June Ladybug Ink card swap. I CASEd it from a fellow demonstrator I found on Stampin' Connection. This color scheme is definitely out of my comfort zone, but I ended up loving it. I hope you enjoy it too. 

Stampin' Cita Tips: 

• Stamp Sets: Delicate Doilies, Upsy Daisy, Strength & Hope
• Color Scheme: Peach Parfait, Poppy Parade, Wisteria Wonder, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Concord Crush
• Accessories:Decorative Label Punch, 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon Chocolate Chip
• Stamp the doily images using Peach Parfait, Poppy Parade, and Wisteria Wonder. Focus on the middle of the card concentrating the images from corner to corner. Don't be afraid to overlap some of the images. 
• Layer the Whisper White Cardstock on top of of the Poppy Parade cardstock. Wrap a piece of Chocolate Chip 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon in each corner.
• To create the greeting, stamp the words from Strength & Hope in Wisteria Wonder ink on a piece of Wisteria Wonder cardstock. Stamp the birthday greeting from the Upsy Daisy stamp set in Concord Grape over the words. Use the Decorative Label punch to punch out the greeting and then use a sponge to add a little of Concord Grape around the edges. Adhere the greeting to your card using a Stampin' Dimensional.

Happy Stampin'
~Cita

Stampin' Up! Convention 2011 - Swaps Round 1

 I recently got a chance to sit down and really look at my swaps I got at convention, and I was not disappointed. They are so great!! I loved them so much, that I decided I must share them. Hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

Here's an interesting story about this last card. Well, it may not be too interesting, but I think it's neat. I live about three hours away from my mom, and she has a friend, Rhonda, who is a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. I've heard about Rhonda for years, and finally, at convention, I was able to meet Rhonda and we swapped cards. This is Rhonda's card. I love the Flirtatious suite, and I love her card. I think I may be purchasing the lace ribbon border punch soon. 

Happy Stampin',
Cita

Hello Posy Punch

 

I am in love with the new hostess sets in the new catalog. They are amazing. I'm also in love with the new Hostess Benefits program. I love the changes and I love how flexible it is. I can now easily obtain every hostess stamp or use them on other stamp sets in the catalog. Love it! Love it! Love it!

Oh, and let's talk about the awesome new In-Colors. I'm quickly falling in love with Wisteria Wonder, and Calypso Coral is an amazing coordinating color. Pool Party reminds me of the ocean in the Bahamas, and Lucky Limeade...well, that color gives me the urge to go to Sonic for a Cherry Limeade drink. (We've been hovering around 100 degrees lately, can you blame me for wanting a cold drink?) After I finished designing this card, I did end up going to Sonic.  :)

Stampin' Cita Tips:

• Stamp sets: Posy Punch 
• Color Scheme: Crumb Cake, Wisteria Wonder, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Melon Mambo, and Concord Crush 
• Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals, silver brads, hemp twine, 1" circle punch, Flower punch from the Punch Pack
• I used two one-inch wide scraps of Wisteria Wonder for the background and placed them behind the Whisper White with the stamped flowers. 
• Stamp a flower from the Posy Punch stamp set once in Lucky Limeade, once in Calypso Coral, and once in Wisteria Wonder
• Stamp the "Hello" greeting in Concord Grape on Whisper White and punch it out using the 1" circle punch. Adhere it to the middle of the middle flower with a Stampin' Dimensional.
• Punch out a small flower from Melon Mambo using the flower punch from the Punch Pack. Use a paper piercer to pierce a small hole in the flower and then insert a Silver Brad. Wrap a small piece of hemp twine around the brad and use half a dimensional to adhere it to the "Hello" circle.

The Posy Punch stamp set is an exclusive hostess set that you can get by hosting a workshop and earning hostess dollars. Contact me if you are interested in hosting a workshop and earning this and/or other great Stampin' Up! products.

Happy Stampin',
~Cita

Stampin' Up! Convention 2011 - Goofing Around

Planking at the Stampin' Up! Convention 2011. My cousins would be so proud of me.

Stampin' Up! Convention 2011 - Day 1

Today was fabulous!! I love convention!


I started my day by sleeping in till 7 am. I usually am forced to wake up at 6 am; my daughter insists.
Then off to Memento Mall I went. I got selected to be a Make & Take Helper, and one of the perks of helping out is that we got access to Memento Mall an hour before it opened. It was great, and the items they are offering in Memento Mall were beautiful. I think my favorite item is a plastic cup with a straw decorated Stampin' Up! style. I even bought my husband his own Stampin' Up! polo shirt. He's going to be stylin'.

Umbrellas in Memento Mall. Thought they were adorable, but not much use for one in NM.

Gotta love the displays in Memento Mall.

Plastic cup with matching lunch bag. Flowers weren't included.

Reusable Shopping Bags.

MDS Laptop Skin.

Stampin' Up! Apparel.

My next stop was picking up my convention bag. All I can say about the bag is that It. Is. Amazing! It's so beautiful and there's lots of pockets, and I love the vibrant embroidery on the front.              
Next stop: Demonstrator Resource Center
I wandered around here for an hour, looked at the amazing samples, learned some tricks on the triple-layer punches, and planted my flower in the Stampin' Up! garden. I had to commit to share the Stampin' Up! opportunity to somebody by August 16. I think I can do that.

My Flower in the Stampin' Up! garden

Ribbon Ristras (I think....)

Flirtatious Pinwheels

A chicken made from DSP. Can you imagine making this?

Display in the Demonstrator Resource Center

Next stop: Make & Take Helper Training
During training I got to make most of my make & takes, which are beautiful and amazing. We also got a special gift for being a helper. More on the M&Ts for another day.

The top of the make & take box.

My make & take packet and special pin.

Then I needed a break. And to eat. I didn't eat breakfast.


In the afternoon, I got to participate in a product focus group. I had heard about focus groups, mainly in my marketing classes when I was in grad school, and I was super excited to be part of it. It was fun and very educational. And one of the best parts - I got a free stamp set for participating.


At this point, I had a gap in my schedule, so my sideline, Angela, and I took our rental vehicle and "got lost" in Salt Lake City. I love the mountains and the greenness here. I have mountains at home, but not green mountains. (On a side note: if you ever come to convention, don't rent a vehicle from Fox Rental Cars. We had the worse experience with them.)

The last event of the day was the Kick-Off Garden Party. This was a lot of fun, once I caught my second wind (I was exhausted and hungry). There were "outside" games, such as volleyball and ladderball. And my favorite part was the photo booths. Angela and I sported some outrageous hats. Of course, no Stampin' Up! party is complete without the prize patrol, and they were out in full force.

After the Garden Party, Angela and I ate dinner at the Naked Fish, which I highly recommend if you are ever in Salt Lake City. The sushi there is probably some of the best I have ever had.

Tomorrow classes and general sessions start. Going to head to bed so I can be refreshed for another day of awesomeness.

If you would like to see more picture from convention, check out my facebook page: Stampin' Cita, Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

I'll write some more tomorrow!!

~Cita

Stampin Up! Convention 2011 – Follow Me!!

The Stampin Up! Convention starts tomorrow!  Today, I headed to Salt Lake City with my swaps and fellow demonstrators and got all ready for convention.

So, this year, I decided that I was going to Tweet throughout the entire convention. Want to know what’s going on? Follow me on Twitter (@StampinCita) to stay connected during the entire convention. You can also follow me on Facebook (Stampin’ Cita – Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator).  I won’t be updating my page as often, but I will be posting more pictures there.

Hopefully, I won’t be dead tired and will be able to blog or at least post pictures to my blog, each day. However, I’m going into convention with 3.5 hours of sleep (bad me), and you don’t go to convention to get sleep.

Looking forward to sharing with you my convention experience.

~Cita

Hello New Catalog!!!

It's here!! The 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog is ready for your viewing pleasures. Click here to see the awesome catalog and then head on over to my website to make your purchase. As always, the catalog is beautiful, and the new stamp sets are amazing. Take a look at the new catalog and let me know what you think and what your favorite new stamp set is (or are, if there are more than one).
Happy Browsin'
~Cita