A Little Bag of Thanks

A few things I love: presents, cards, stamping, my downline, friends....

This cute little bag of note cards represents all those things I love. My downline, and dear friend, Amber gave me this set of cute note cards as a present this past Christmas. A few things struck me when I pulled these out of my gift bag. First, these cards are so cute and simple. Amber used the hostess Happy You stamp set on top World Spectacular DSP. She then colored the cute little mushrooms using Blender Pens.

The second thing that struck me is the joy I felt when I got a handmade present. Along with this cute set of handmade note cards, Amber gave me a jar of handmade hand scrub. I make cards and little presents on a weekly basis. I love giving them to people, but I think I sometimes forget just how much joy and meaning that a handmade gift brings to people. Because of this simple reminder, I made a New Year's goal in January to send or give something handmade to someone every week this year. I've skipped a few weeks, but so far, I've done a good job, and it feels good. :) You should try it.

So here's a challenge for you: make a card and send it (yes, use snail mail) to someone you care about, love, or are just thinking about. Your card doesn't have to be complicated. Simple goes a long way.

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

A Little Bird Told Me

A little birdie told me that if you host a qualifying workshop (at least $150 in sales), you can get free stamp sets that you can use to make cute cards like this one. I used the Punch Potpourri hostess stamp set to make this card. Since this stamp set is a hostess set, you can only acquire this set by hosting a workshop or purchasing a minimum of $150 of product.Hostess stamp sets like this one are a great reason to host a workshop. In addition to a free hostess stamp set, you also qualify for at least $15.00 worth of Stampin' Up! products. And all you have to do is open your house up, invite your friends, and provide some refreshments. I'll take it from there and do the dirty work. Contact me if you are interested in hosting a workshop or if you have any questions about the whole thing. .

Stampin' Cita's Tips:

• Colors used: Baja Blue, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, and Old Olive
• Stamp sets: Punch Potpourri and Teeny Tiny Wishes 
• Accessories: Two-Step Bird Extra Large punch, Ticket Corner Small punch, Greenhouse Gala DSP
• Base is 3x3. Cut a 3x6 inch piece of cardstock and score at 3 inches. 
• Stamp the bird twice in Pink Pirouette on Whisper White cardstock. Using the bird punch, punch out the first stamped bird image. For the second stamped image, use the wing part of the punch to punch out a part of the stamped image (preferably the part with the swirlies). Adhere the wing to the bird using a Stampin' Dimensional.
• Take a strip of Old Olive cardstock and use the bird punch to punch out the branch. 
• Use Chocolate Chip to stamp "Friend to Friend" or any of the other awesome sentiments in the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set.

~Cita