Shoebox Swap

Hello everyone, and Happy Monday!

It was a beautiful day in Sacramento, summer is definantly making an appearance.

Last week I attended my first ever Shoebox Swap. I knew about it a month in advance, and I'll be honest that I fretted the whole time. I've been a demonstrator since September of last year, but I've been more of what is referred to as a "Hobby Demo" and haven't hosted a workshop yet. I wanted to make sure my card was demonstrator quality, something that would be liked by all and easy to make. It wasn't until the Monday before (it was on Thursday) that I was sure of what I was going to do. And here it is!

The Top Note die-cut is one of my favorite of the dies that Stampin' Up! offers. Its extremely versitile and easy to use. I decided to use it and also to showcase some items that are (*sniff*) retiring as of the end of June. That would be the Kiwi Kiss paper and ribbon.

For this card I stamped the image with versamark and then used my dauber to dab chalk onto the image to make it appear. Its one of my favorite techniques because it feels like a bit of magic is happening as the image just appears! :) This whole card was made without using one color ink pad!

To get a full list of items used, please visit my SU! Online Store in the Creative Projects section. Click here to go directly to the project details.

Thanks for visiting!

Time for a new look ... what do you think?

For a while now I've been wanting to change things up on my blog. I like clean and simple layouts with a little bit of color. Something that is easy to read and navigate.

Money is really tight right now, so I can't afford to pay a professional to do this for me. But I was determined to make it better.

I'm not an expert at html or css ... and my skills at graphic design are very mediocre. So after many hours of tinkering with code and trying my best at making a banner, I am happy to share with you my new blog.

What do you think? :)

Mojo Monday #91 - My Sketch

I've finally had some time to try my own hand at a Mojo Monday sketch, this week being #91!

I'm happy to say that this card was made using 100% Stampin Up! products!

I used:

Stamp Set: Simply Said

Cardstock: Rosered, Regal Rose and Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: Patterns Pack II (hostess set that is retiring at the end of June)

Ink: Rosered, Certainly Celery

Accessories: 1/4" grosgrain ribbon in certainly celery, flower brad, clear embossing powder

To add an extra touch to the card, I dipped the flower brad into my certainly celery craft ink pad, then dip it into some clear embossing powder. I used a heat glue to make the color stand out and stay.

I hope you enjoyed this share! Happy Stamping!

Cute Baby Card

One of my favorite hostess sets from the current catalog has been Goody-Goody Gum Drops. This set has been pretty versatile for several occasions. I'm sad to say that this set will be retiring at the end of June.

I'm on a role with my aqua painter and I'm really enjoying the look of my projects when I color with it. I find that I like using my water-color crayons the best with the aqua painter. Don't those duckies just stand out!

Birthday Card - Crazy for Cupcakes

Its been a while since I last shared, so its definitely time!

The picture doesn't do the card much justice, I'm still learning the best way to use a camera to take photos like these.

I used a paper weaving technique, showcasing one of the retiring designer series papers Raspberry Tart. This also gave me an opportunity to play with my aqua painter and work on improving my water-coloring technique.

Thanks for letting me share!

Last Chance stamp sets and accessories on sale!

Its time once again to say good-bye to a few stamp sets and accessories. A new catalogue will be released on July 1st. Until then you've got a little time left to get those things you've been wanting but haven't purchased yet.

Click the image to the left to see a list of retiring items that are reduced by 50%!

Click the image to the left to see a list of retiring items that are reduced by 25%!

Click the image to the left to see a complete listing of all retiring products.

Happy Shopping and Stamping! You can visit my online store any time to purchase any Last Chance items that are a must have. Please visit here: http://rabertagannon.stampinup.net/ to visit my online store, or log in and select me as your demonstrator.

Summer Fun: Hostess Bonus Promotion

To learn more, visit here. If you would like to set up a workshop, please either email me at rabertag @ gmail . com, or click the image above.

There is still some time left...

For the Month of May ... for every 3 packs of Designer Series paper you purchase, you can choose a fourth for free! This is perfect for scrapbookers!

Click here to visit my online store and order your DSP today!

The Blog Tour has begun!

Welcome to Stop #3 on your Blog Tour! Thank you for visiting me here in Sunny California!

Today I'll be sharing two cards I made using the stamp set "Great Friend" (item #113792, page 5) from the Occasions Mini Catalog.

This is perhaps my favorite set and can be used in so many different ways. I decided to only use the stamps within the set itself just to show you that you can come up with two completely different ideas using the same stamps.

My first card was made using the "Walk in the Park" DSP (Item #115123, page 9). This paper uses the colors Basic Gray, Kiwi Kiss, Cameo Coral, Baja Breeze and So Saffron. I decided to go with just Basic Gray and Kiwi Kiss, adding a little Going Gray to help make it pop a little. I used the new eyelet border punch from the main catalogue (Item #113692, page 184) and used the Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon (Item #111879, page 179), being sure to tie in so that only the Kiwi Kiss side showed. The butterfly is stamped in Kiwi Kiss and the "For You" is stamped in going gray.

My second card uses the DSP Raspberry Tart (Item #113975, page 160). This paper uses the colors Real Red, Rose Red, Cameo Coral, Pretty in Pink and Kiwi Kiss. Of these colors, I chose to use Rose Red and Cameo Coral, making the base of my card using the Rose Red cardstock.

If you use your Color Coach (Item #105796, page 153) you'll see that Rose Red has coordinating colors of Cameo Coral, Barely Banana and Certainly Celery. I decided to add Certainly Celery to the mix.

Using my Big Shot (Item #113439, page 193) and the Top Note Die Cut (Item #113463, page 196), I made two top note dies, one in Cameo Coral and one in Whisper White. I cut down the whisper white at the perferated area so that it could mat against the cameo coral. I used 1/4 inch grosgrain ribbon in certanly celery (Item # 109031, page 179) to make the bow in the middle. I stamped "For You" on whipsper white and punched it out using the Scallop Oval Punch from the Occasions Mini (Item #114889, page 8). I edged it cameo coral to make it stand out a little and used Stampin' Dimensionals (Item #104430, page 191) so it would stand out more. I stamped the butterfly in Rose Red and the twigs in Certainly Celery.

And this concludes Stop #3. I hope you've enjoyed your visit. I'd love it if you left me a message and perhaps any suggestions on things you'd like to see in the future.

The link to the next stop on the tour has been removed as the Tour is now over. Thank you to everyone who visited! I hope you enjoyed the tour.

Happy Stampin'!

Raberta

Free SU! Blog Tour - Hop on the Bus!

April 27, 2009

Here is your ticket to ride! Please check back on Monday, April 27th for a real treat! Myself and 19 others will be creating a route for you to transverse to view several great ideas using the new stamp sets being offered in the Occasions Mini Catalogue.

I've decided to show case the set titled "Great Friend". I previously posted a card using the same set, however There are so many things you can do with this set, that I wanted to try another idea! You'll get to see it on the 27th.

On top of that, I will be linking to the next stop in the tour! We'd like to be a big suprise, so I won't share more than that for now. Just make sure you check back!

RAK - Random Act of Kindness

I sent out some "RAK" cards last week. This was probably my favorite of the bunch.

I actually sent out a total of 4, here are the other three:

Occasions Mini - its that time again!

From April 1st to June 30th the Occasions Mini Catlogue is in effect.

There are some great sets available this year. I've already show-cased a card using one of the sets from the mini, this weekend I'll be show-casing another.

Be sure to check out the promotional information being offered for the month of April here. For every $40 you spend from the mini catalogue, you can earn a free stamp set from the $10 and under page in the main catalogue located on page 208!

Mojo Mondy #80

One of my co-worker's is retiring this month and so I wanted to make a card for everyone to sign, but I wanted it to be big enough for the whole office (we're a rather large Division). So I took advantage of the Mojo Monday #80 sketch to come up with this card.