start thinking.....January 5th.....January 5th.....January 5th!

wHooT-Whooo!
For several past years, there has been an enthusiastic question  from demonstrators and customers alike  - when will SU offer a line of repositionable clear-mount stamps?  We heard you, and now ta-da! Our new "babies" to the SU line.....Clear Block Handles and Repositionable Rubber Stamp Sets - plus our regular Wood Handles ...remain!  Yay!!!

Starting with stamps in the 2010 Occasions Mini Catalog and the 2010 Sale-A-Bration Brochure, Stampin′ Up! now offers our exclusive stamp art in both traditional wood-mount, and the new clear-mount option.

When?  Why it all begins January 5th!!!!

Our company's position to hold out till we had the best there is image quality in the stamping industry, AND  offering the ease-of-use and convenient storage in repositionable clear-mount stamps has paid off.....

Clear-Mount Features

• 
  
  Nine different sizes of clear blocks available individually or as a discounted bundle.
  
  Blocks have ergonomic grooves on all four sides for easy grip and traditional wood-mount feel.
  
•  Stamps and blocks are durable and easy to clean with your Stampin’ Scrub and Stampin' Mist.
•  Optional image labels on stamp backs let you decide if you want to see the image through the block or not.
•  Tight die-cutting for easy image positioning.
• Large clear blocks can be used to create collages or spell words with alphabet sets.
• Stamps store easily in standard, DVD-type cases with artwork on front and spine, making organization easy.

SO HOW GREAT IS THAT! BEST OF BOTH WORLDS!!!   I know I will have a hard time knowing which option to go with - as I love both types, so I'll have to figure out some 'system' to my purchases - (such a hard problem to have, giggle)......I love the solid feel of wood - and the best part though, is I prefer rubber - and I don't have to give that up - I can still collect 'rubber' stamps but just not necessarily 'wooden' handles.....then with storage being 'easier' now with the new option - that means I can have twice as many stamp sets! :)

BUT WAIT...THERE'S MORE! 

Introducing Our New PUNCH DESIGN!   dOUble WhOOt!!

If I spoke of new babies to our line of great products - well, then we've had twins!  We now will phase in our "new" punches with a terrific, slimmer body design :)

Here's the scoop from HQ's:
Starting with the new 2010 Occasions Mini Catalogue and continuing with all new punch designs going forward, Stampin' Up! has adopted a new body style for our punches!  {think January 5th!}

 A few features of the new punch style:

•    Low-profile, rectangular punch body allows for easier stacking and storing
• Punches lock shut for easier storage and transport
• Dual labels on top and end allow for easy identification and selection when stored
• Available in three sizes: small, medium, and extra-large
• New punches allow for larger punched images and more intricate designs while providing greater ease of use.
• Extra -large punch images also allow for two-step designs like the Two-Step Bird punch in the Occasions Mini Catalogue
• Corner punches allow you to punch a corner design along the inside edges of a page, not just corners
• larger, whole-hand handle design provides better leverage for easier use
• Available in an exclusive Stampin' Up! color

Part of Stampin' Up!'s commitment to providing demonstrators and customers with the very best crafting tools includes the belief in what we call continuous improvement. Essentially what this means is that even if something works very well, but we see a chance to improve it, we will work to make it even better. While new punch designs will be in the new body style, existing designs will remain in the existing body style for now.
{hey - I'll bring in the latest word every step of the way! wink}

Hello everyone!  Hope we are all finding a day here and there to rest - we are down sick with something, ugh! But we held off pretty good all year - "knock on wood"....so its good we can rest up now and for me in a day or two that means 're-grouping and re-organizing' that messy place that used to be my shiny craft studio!

But I also love cleaning up for the New Year - there is just something pleasant about the task!  I like to get some new fancy cleaning tool or supply item - then unleash the "Mrs Clean" in me!  This year, I bought a new vacuum, and went for a Dyson. I have to admit, I love the attachments!

Now - re-vamping my craft business is also on the agenda!  Here is some new developments ...I will be putting into action for the new year....starting with class scheduling. My intent here is for everyone to know when to expect classes each month and will know if they are free to attend (let's hope so! wink ), so....

CLASSES/WORKSHOPS TO BE HELD ON A REGULAR SCHEDULE!

1. Classes will be held twice each month: the 2nd Sunday of the month, 1 pm  {usually falls between the 8th-14th} and the 3rd Thursday of the month, 6:30 pm {usually falls between the 15th-21rst}.

*Please Note - Home or Office/Special Event Parties -  can be booked on any other date than the two above days.

2. Monthly Round-Up Stampin' Up! Order - I will place an order on the 30th of each month - anyone who may want to add to this order, just contact me with your details.

Orders still placed at any other time of the month, or after a class to achieve a free class, but this is just one more option. Sometimes we think of  last minute items we need or to take advantage of a new promotion. If you need to provide me with payment details, please contact me by the 29th or morning of the 30th, thank you.

3. New Blog Posts - expect to see a new blog post on the Tuesday of each week. I may post more often but you can always see new blogging on every Tuesday! Comments welcome! Ideas welcome - everyone is welcome, come to think of it!

4. Newsletter - this is a harder event to gauge, but I will experiment with a newsletter for every other month for now. I will be able to bring you news that is timely concerning Stampin' Up! and a craft project for free! Besides we seem to have a holiday every other month - or an  important event concerning our lives touches us whether its someone's engagement or birthday!  Please feel free to contact me with any questions - I'd love to hear ideas you'd like me to touch upon! :)

5. Contests/ Blog Candy - I would like to introduce my Comment & Blog Goodie Basket! You're all able to have a chance to win a Goodie Basket from moi! I shall have one ready for each Trimester - that will be in April, August and December!

For each trimester's Goodie Basket -  you will qualify 1 entry into the jar for: a)  each comment (on a different topic) on my blog,  b) for a suggestion for my blog or newsletter;

AND 2 entries for: c) anyone placing an order,  d) anyone attending a class, e) sending me a card using Stampin' Up! materials;

AND 3 entries for: f) for providing a new guest at a class/workshop ! 

So stay tuned! Try often - best way to have as many chances at winning!

A few guidelines - PLEASE READ:
1.No one person can win 2 Goodie Baskets in a row.
2. In the event that no one qualifies for the current Goodie Basket, the contents will be returned to my supply cupboard and incorporated into future Goodie Baskets, or Volunteer causes.
3. For North American winners; * however for International winners  I reserve the right to substitute either  a smaller size basket or a different content to lighten the weight & take into consideration the higher postal charges.
Thank you for your understanding.

6. My new Telephone Contact Information - please contact the following telephone number to reach me at 416-806-6098.  It has come to pass that my land line was redundant, as almost 98 percent of my contacts are by email, and so I passed the decision to remove our land telephone and convert strictly to a cellular telephone. Your best option is to contact me by email at the following: bstampingbeehive@gmail.com as per usual, and telephone me as you need to as well at the above number. Thank You!

[ps - this may not be for everyone, but I must say, our household has become peaceful once again - as too many annoying calls came through every day - not for anyone at our home but mostly pesky companies sales pitches or worse, mistaken 'fax' machines tying up our line!!! But now we are back to blissful Sunday mornings!]

Well - there you have it!  All my latest developments in order to facilitate better service for you the customer, and/or follower - and kindred spirits!  Any questions, or if you'd like to come to a class - contact me!

Thank you - talk to you soon!
Beverly :) ......and one more smile, :)

....and I hope everyone is having a lovely, lovely holiday!  Since we celebrate our big affair on Christmas Eve, today I am in pajamas - which is my personal tradiition ...uhm-mmmm... soft new pj's, and floppin' about without a care in the world!  It's so great!  Now last night, we had a satisfying dinner (tummy aches after and all), and the lovely priviledge to have a 'family member' join us who is turning 76 soon but doesn't look a day over 60!  And as you'd probably suspect -  we even got the dog dressed up - bells and red velvet, fluff ...although he drew the line with the reindeer antlers or fancy barettes (darn!) except he's happy with his new toys, treats, etc., etc.  - and perhaps a little miffed that for once, he wasn't the ab-so-LUTE center of our universe!  Well - suffice to say, we're doing everything we can to have a very nice holiday ourselves.

And like many of you, we were rushed right up to yesterday - right down to the last min. Why is it always like that, lol! Ah well.:) 
One good reason for us was that on Monday, we shared our time and supplies with the families staying at Ronald McDonald House - and we created these really great Scrapbook-In-A-Box projects.  Due to security or unless I receive a family's permission, we can't share many of the photos I have. But here is a small photo and I've concealed the identiies of a special girl and her Mom - the lil crown and star indicate they're there! I put a silly hat on me to be equally unidentifiable - well, somewhat, lol! It's not my best look :) Anyways, anyone who made a box for the first time - was super-duper at it, terrific looking boxes! I caught one of the fathers looking at every move I was making - cutting, folding - and so I asked him if he was interested in trying - and he sure was!  He jumped in and was quite eagerly making his box!  And of course, it looked great! He loved all the little doo-dads and dedicated tools - maybe I ought to set up a table at Canadian Tire cuz that makes 2 men in a month that I've see going at this like crazy'!  Girls - make a note - get your hubby or fav guy in on this with you!  :)

Anyways, want to have your own party? Just throw some select stamps in a bucket and along with the rest of the supplies - its a great group activity!

Because of the range of ages at the RMH - this project was perfect because each family can work on one "all together", or a young person can work on one all of their own!  It doesn't matter what age is involved, because the very youngest can do what they do best -scribble  away! And using a pen or marker onto cardstock - which then can be added to the whole design - also they can help glue, put on snowflakes....its not hard. Actually, it can get a little 'sticky' when you want them to stop, ahem!  

Here's another version - the one I made at our Demonstrators Holiday Party  - and below it you'll see it open when you pop off the lid!  It falls open - and the center section can have even more surprises if you make a small folded tag!  A loving message for grandma? A perfect suggestion also came from one of the staff - its a box to hold a cupcake! 

You can go with any theme - put pictures, verses, stories - anything inside or on one or all of the 4 outer sides!  Use your imagination, but they are sooooo much fun to decorate!  My daughter is simply taken by them, and if she thinks they're cool - then that's great by me!

FUN WALL DECORATING - EASY AS CHRISTMAS PIE!

Before I go, I will show you what I have adorning our hall wall  [can we say that fast 10 times?].... I used Stampin' Up!'s Decor Elements on my wall!  They're temporary - and you can have some fun like I did!  By simply following the directions [and I suggest you do!] its a straightforward task. Here you can see the brown "FLOURISH FRAME" shape has both dots and a line border - so its momentarily a bit longer and with caution, but it works out fine in the end!

In addition,  I ordered 2 female classic stick figures and 1 dog figurine  from the "All IN THE FAMILY " section (pg 27 of our DEFINITELY DECORATIVE CATALOG  and placed them over the brown frame - and when I am finished with the holidays, off will come the lil hats!

In place of the stick figures - add words like 'Family' or 'ABC' ....well, you get the idea!

Well, I must go and take the lil guy out for his walk! 

So, once again,....

Merry Christmas and a safe holiday to you all!

Oxox

Beverly and family.

Keep on crafting!

I hope I didn't mention this earlier this year but its worth it if I did, because this has to be one of my fav ways to dress up a card - using " rings and ribbons " !!!

It's simplicity is great but the fascination I get is from all the combinations I can make by using this technique!

All you do is punch out a ' ring '  - I use a die-cut that has concentric circles in one die, and choose the size I want. Then you 'embed' the ring half-way behind a layer of paper or tag, etc. This 'anchors' the ring by gluing down the hidden part of the ring, allowing you to loop some ribbon through the exposed portion of the ring. See close-up pictures.

It works great for just one ring & ribbon - and it looks scrumptious when you use a whole lotta rings and ribbons!

Give it a try!      

[Note - if you do not have ring die-cut to do this, try using a length of narrow ribbon to make a loop, or even create a circle and cut away or punch out the middle - I am sure there are even more ways to do this if you think on it!]

CLICK on pictures for larger views.                                                                                                  

I had a lotta fun Sat. at our local demonstrator's holiday get-together....and while I will post later about the fun things, here's one thing - a game where we divided into 2 teams, and each team had 1/2 a scrapbook kit and only 1 scissors, 1 glue and 1  paper scorer between us - talk about limited resources! Then within a time limit, we had to brainstorm about how to turn out the most 'cards'.

Well, on our team - which included a guy - yes, Paul is an avid crafter too!....and Christine who can calculate area's and figures like there is no tomorrow; puttered along before we found our stride and you can see our results!
 The other team objected out loud about their 'differences' and why they should win - but apparently, they divided the cards among themselves afterwards with better panache or something....because they won!

Well - anyways - point was, to brainstorm about coming up with something when you haven't a lot to start with in terms of tools, and only half of a kit.

I think you can see we all did pretty good - that is 36 + 52 cards from one kit!  So a total of 88 cards! 3 x 3 'cards' do count - because we have small envelopes, but I am going to use my share as tags.

I don't know about you, but I dress up the strangest things in an effort to bring on the holiday mood - and this year is no different.

I was thinking of posting some notes as my brain is on overload with 'things to remember'...and I have this little note holder, so using some stamps and recipe cards, I made some simple blank notes which I can post reminders - and it looks kinda festive! And its working.....but I also have last year's idea out again ....

....my handy organizer for all my 'lists'  - this is the my sure-fire way to keep it together, or otherwise I would forget someone - somewhere - and that wouldn't do!

It's a simple red folder ( see picture) I made from one sheet of paper, a chipboard initial, and inside it stores my separate 'LISTS' which are labeled  using my Tab Punch and plain, co-ordinating papers..  I find it easy to locate and my lists are all together! No more frantic searches through drawers, fridge doors and scrap piles! :)

Here is another version using the lovely Brocade stamp (scrolls) and pairing it with the Ornament punch and Delightful Decorations stamps from our Mini-Holiday Catalogue.  Its just a nice combination and I am seeing it around the internet...as well as here is another snowglobe version which I showed earlier .......both of .these nice cards are from mu upline, Caroline's blog.

My earlier posts: Brocade and Ornament

PolarBear Snowglobe

Here are the cards I received for taking part in the Demonstrators swap that is part of our INKS team.  Great looking cards I must say!  Everything is Stampin' Up! natch! My card was the Polar Bear Snowglobe which you can see in an earlier post - scroll down.

See SHOP NOW or HERE to find the online catalogue and look up any of these great items used for the cards!

Look at what my daughter surprised me with - she made a card like this, and it was soooo pretty, I had to know how.....so she show'd me!  Fancy that - she's been paying attention all this time, lol! 

Not really - I always say that she is very creative when she wants to be....ever since she was very young and she'd come up with some really artful poetry, while she may have made some funny-looking rabbits for easter bunnies or elves (none of them had arms, and very over-sized heads, ) in the beginning...she always was amazing me with the naturalness of her creative streak! 

But I digress....here are the basic instructions....go ahead, make one - they're fun!!!

Card Dimensions

   cardstock = 5.5 x 10-3/4 inches

   score at 3-3/4 and 5-1/2 and 7-1/4 and 9 inches.   Fold into valleys and hills (accordian style)

    turn 90 degrees and fold so that you can cut between (no further, no less) the 5-1/2 and 9 inch scored

   lines, at 1 inch from the bottom.  Unfold back to original, and still working between the area you've just

   cut - push in the center panel so that is folds opposite than the direction of the 1 inch top & bottom of the

   same panel.  See picture.   Pretty easy....decorate as you wish, have fun!

    

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Big Shot and Birds and Blooms Bigz Die/  Scallop Oval and Large Oval Punches/ Soft Suede, Very Vanilla  and Real Red Cardstock, Real Red Classic Ink, Close to Cocoa Designer Paper.

If you'd like to attend class to learn this and more techniques - contact me!

 Here is a little project I did this morning - early - really early, lol!  Mysterious how the mind works when you need it to! :)

I got this idea because another company Quickutz released its SugarPlum series of die-cuts, which are essentially components for making a mini-album.  However, I thought we have the 'TOPNOTE' die-cut - a very versatile die-cut used in many a project; and one can merely use chipboard to make square or rectangular pages!  Use a Crop-A-Dile or similiar tool to make holes to add a method of attaching page after page - and voila!

So I began by making rectangular chipboard cover and pages, and proceeded to ink the edge with red ink, and then choose from my co-ordinating holiday papers to decorate the Covers and each page.  To make the spine, I used the TOPNOTE die with my BIG-SHOT die-cutting machine.

I created my holes and used some beautiful grommets on the front of the spine, and saved some money by using plain white eyelets on the back cover. Without any nice rings in the house at the moment, I chose to use ribbon to tie the piece together. 

I decorated the cover by adding embossed design, and a smaller piece of clear sheet to which I affixed a small bird and flower.

I don't know yet what I will put inside - but I really liked how this came out!  Hope you try it too!

Add as many pages as you want to this mini-album - by using grommets or brads with center holes, or rings..you can take it apart to add or even remove a page.