Stampin' and Scrappin' With Kristin

My Classes are BACK!!!! (Almost)

I  know many of you have been anxiously awaiting my upcoming classes.  Well, just like my wedding, new classes are right around the corner!  They start up again in April.  But, you can sign up starting today!!!

Spring Stamp-a-Stack

Sunshine Garden Scrapbook Class-in-the-Mail

The Scrapbook Sessions

Wacky Wednesdays

Die Cut Divas

Weekend Crop Getaway

I'm going to be making some minor changes to class registration.  The biggest change is that I will be requiring pre-payment to secure your spot.  You have several choices.  You can choose to pay online via credit card or your checking account through PayPal.  There will be a small transaction fee of 99 cents.  Or, you can select to mail me a check to avoid the service charge.  If you've registered for a class and need to cancel, you will have the option to purchase the class supplies and make the projects on your own.  Or, I'll be happy to arrange a time at my convenience for you to make up the class.

Wedding Shower Thank You Cards

 

So, I think I'm just about done my wedding invitations.  You thought I was already done, right?  Well, I had some finishing touches to add to a few.  Thank you all for all of your wonderful comments.  I loved reading each and everyone one of them!  Did you miss them?  Click here to check them out!

In the meantime, I designed the thank you cards for the bridal shower last week.  Not too bad considering I was out of town for half of last week, right????  Oh, and I had that big yard sale Saturday with a line that stretched through more than one room!!!  It was crazy, but I loved seeing all of you who stopped by.  I miss seeing you each month at my classes....speaking of which...look for details on February 1st!  I've got tons of things planned for April once all of this wedding craziness is over.  Some even have long-distance options!!!

So, back to the shower thank yous.  Here are the supplies I used to make this card:

• Bella Toile Background Stamp
• Beautiful Borders Background Stamp
• Shimmery White Cardstock
• Soft Sky Cardstock
• Chocolate Chip Cardstock
• Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware
• Designer Label Punch
• Ticket Corner Punch
• Brown Satin Ribbon (non-SU)
• Soft Sky Classic Ink (retired)
• Chocolate Chip Classic Ink

Now, most of you know that I own just about everything in the catalog.  Can I tell you, it was HARD finding a Thank You sentiment that matched the mood of this card that also fit in that stupid piece of hardware?  I think I can admit that I totally forgot about the Beautiful Borders stamp set!!!  I actually went through each and every stamp set to find Thank Yous.  I was starting to get really, really worried that I wouldn't have one.

Did you also notice that the background stamp on the thank you matches the background of the invitation?  I need to give a shout-out to my fellow demonstrator, Alison!  She gave me an Engagement Card that looks very close to my thank you - that was my inspiration.  I loved it.  It was actually because of her card that I'm using Bella Toile!

Love You Much Bundle

Have you seen the Love You Much Bundle? Time is running out to take advantage of this adorable set.  You can order yours now for 20% off through the end of January.  See the table below for all of the details.

I have a stamp club tonight so I thought I'd use the bundle.  The hostess asked for some Valentine's Day ideas.  She also asked for a frameable scrapbook in a 4x6 or 5x7.  I went with 5x7.  Mike and I just got back our engagement photos - of course I had to use one of them!!!  The colors actually coordinated quite nicely!  We were wearing browns with red berries in the background.  I hope my club likes it as much as I do!

Description	Retail Value
Love You Much stamp set	$25.95
Candy Lane Designer Series paper (Close to Cocoa, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla)	$9.95
Heart To Heart punch	$15.95
Bundle Retail Value	$51.85
Love You Much Bundle (20% off; item 115405)	$41.48

Shower Favors and Invites

Thanks for all of your wonderful comments about my invites.  I'm SO flattered!  I thought I'd share with you what my friends made for my shower.  I don't have many pictures since someone else had the camera, but I did take a few photos of the invitations and favors when I got them home.

You may remember that Mike proposed at a winery.  So, my friends used this as the theme for my shower.  It was fabulous!  You should see the cake!  I'll post a picture once I get a copy of it!  They decorated mini bottles of sparkling cider with adorable tags.  Julie tells me the ribbon is from Martha Stewart.  It coordinated perfectly with the soft sky!!!  I also love how she tied them in with the shower invites using the white, heat-embossed flowers.

Kelly made the invites.  She LOVES heat embossing.  She jumped at the opportunity to heat emboss all of the wedding invitations!  Aren't the shower invitations fabulous!  She framed one for me.  She used the Spring Solitude Level 2 Hostess Set from a few catalogs ago.  Love it but don't have it??  Maybe you should stop by my craft room sale this Saturday - I have a few left.  Okay, back to the shower invites...she also used Close to Cocoa Cardstock, Soft Sky Cardstock, Whisper White Cardstock, Chocolate Chip Wide Grosgrain Ribbon, Versamark, White Embossing Powder, and the Heat Tool.

Here's a close-up photo of the bottle tags - is that the correct term?  As usual, you can always click on the images to view them larger.  Enjoy!

My Wedding Invitations

Well, you've all been waiting!  I'm pleased to say that the invitations are done....well, just about.  I hand-delivered over half of them today at my shower.  I just have to fix about 5 that need an element that may need to be restamped.

Ten of my friends came by yesterday to make them.  Ten people were here for 6 hours.  If you do the math, that's 60 man hours.  That doesn't include the four or five hours I already put in cutting the supplies and designing everything before yesterday.  My Matron of Honor and I also spent another 4 hours finishing them up last night.  So, let's say that it took 75 hours (but it was probably more) to make my 50 invitations.  That's an average of 1.5 hours per invitation!!!  YIKES!!!  I counted.  There are 20 pieces of cardstock that make up each invitation and response card combination. 

Everyone seemed to like them today.  The general consensus was that they'd never seen anything quite like it.  That's a compliment, right???

Here are the supplies that were used to make everything:
- Soft Sky Card Stock
- Soft Sky Classic Ink
- Close to Cocoa Card Stock
- Wild Wasabi Classic Ink
- Jet Black Stazon Ink
- Blender Pens
- Aqua Painter
- Chocolate Chip Card Stock
- Whisper White Card Stock
- Shimmery White Card Stock
- Versamark Ink
- Silver Embossing Powder
- Heat Tool
- Embossing Buddy
- Stamp-a-Ma-Jig
- Light Table
- Priceless Classy Brass Template
- Crafter's Tool Kit
- Bella Toile Background Stamp
- Together Forever Stamp Set
- To Have & To Hold Stamp Set
- Priceless Stamp Set
- Bloomin' Beautiful Stamp Set
- Kind Thoughts Stamp Set
- Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon
- White Ribbon (non-SU)
- Brown Satin Ribbon (non-SU)
- Pewter Tissue Paper
- CD Inserts
- 6x6x2 Chocolate Box
- Satin Hydrangeas
- Floral Wire
- Floral Tape
- Lots and Lots and Lots of SNAIL Adhesive
- Dimensionals
- Small Tag Punch
- Tag Punch
- 1/8 Circle Punch
- Silver Elastic Cord

I think that covers it!!!   Here are a few pictures of us assembling the cards.  And, one of my favorites - the boxes, side-by-side with their pretty bows!  I'll be stamping address labels for those that will be mailed.  Hopefully I can get them out in the next week.

Now it's onto the favors, programs, menus, wine lists, table decor, place-cards, thank you notes, and anything else that I can come up with.  Only problem is...I've set the bar high!!!  UGH.

 

Invitation Assembly Day Teaser

Tomorrow's the day!!!  Eleven of us are sitting down to assemble my wedding invitations!!!  I can't wait to see them all!  I've been cutting paper for hours.  I've lost track of just how many packs of paper I've opened - and I'm not done yet!!!  Heck, I still have to finish designing the response card!  But, I thought I'd give you a quick teaser!  Here's my classroom - turned assembly line.  Here we're set up for the front cover of my invitation!!!  There are 7 steps just on the front cover!  I promise to post a finished sample later this weekend.  Thankfully, we only have to make 50!

Five Days Left

There are only five days left until the new catalog is here!  However, it also means that there are only five days left to order any of the retiring stamp sets or accessories!!!  The last day to order any of the retiring products is this Sunday, January 18th!!!  You can shop online via my Stampin' Up! website or you can e-mail me as well.

You also won't want to miss my semi-annual craft room yard sale!!!  I've scheduled it for Saturday, January 24th from 1pm-7pm.  Everyone who stops by will get their very own copy of the new Spring/Summer Idea Book and Catalog. 

Regionals Highlights Posted

Okey dokey...all of my highlights are posted (scroll down - it's just past this post).  Maybe I'll post some of the pictures taken with my "good camera" when I get home and can actually load them onto my laptop!!!  All that's left now is to pack and fly home in the morning.

Oh, and THANK YOU!!!  My blog reached 100,000 hits today.  I thought it could happen this week.  I'm so flattered all of you enjoy my blog so much.  Be patient, I promise it'll be more active again in April once the wedding is over.  But, I will post pictures of the wedding stuff.  The invitations are being made next weekend, so the design needs to be finalized soon.  I'll give you a hint:  They'll arrive in a 6x6x2 chocolate chip box.  Once opened, the recipients will unwrap the silver tissue paper to reveal all of the invitation and reception documents tied together with chocolate chip satin ribbon with a silk hydrangea.  The invitations will be Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip, and Close to Cocoa.  The front cover has 4 layers plus some chocolate chip ribbon.  The inside cover has 5 layers.  The right-hand pocket contains 3 pull-out tabs - each with a couple of layers.  Tied behind the invite is the Response card and envelope.

I cannot wait for the Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Die!  I'll be using that on my favors and programs.  The Manhattan Flowers will be in there somewhere.  Oh, it's all coming together in my head!!!  I have been hoarding Soft Sky for months now!!! 

Off to Leadership...

I'm down in Orlando, Florida this week at Stampin' Up!'s Leadership Conference.  A lot of this week will be focused on my stamping business, however, there are some things in which you may be interested as well!  For example, I'm getting my own copy of the new catalog on Wednesday morning.  Jealous, aren't you???  And we'll be making some fabulous make-and-takes using the new stamps and products in the upcoming catalog.  I'll also be attending one of Stampin' Up!'s Regional Seminars on Saturday - I'm sure there will be even more fun stuff to share with you.  As I did with convention, I've created this special section on my website so that you can follow along with me....on my first trip to Leadership!!!

Daily Agenda	My Roommate: Debbie	Wednesday: Day 1 Highlights
Thursday: Day 2 Highlights	Friday: Day 3 Highlights	Saturday (Regional): Day 4 Highlights

Sorry, I don't have any swaps to share....I didn't have a chance to make any!  I know I'm gonna regret it when I'm down there and I'm watching everyone else swap.  There's always next year!

I'm adding a separate page with all of my thoughts as I flipped through the new catalog, if you'd like to read, click here.