Friday, September 30, 2011

Autumn Days Card Sample

Oh, these colors ALWAYS get me! They are so luscious! I have fallen completely in love with our new Quilted Satin Ribbon. It makes a beautiful card even more elegant! Thanks, Stampin' Up!, for all the cool and wonderful products you have! They keep me busy - and happy - for hours at a time! ENJOY!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Morning Cup Card Sample

Do you know who made this card? Tammy Ghannam - yes, ma'am! She sent her payment for a stamp order in this card and I was impressed! It thrills me to see y'all actually using your "stuff." It thrills me even more when I see your great craftsmanship! Beautiful card, Tammy! Keep crankin' them out! Oh, by the way, Tammy would love to sell her cards, so if you're interested, just let me know, and I'll put the two of you in touch!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Spooky Bingo Bits Card Sample

Penny Thomas
Penny Thomas
Here are two samples of a card we made at my Zooming on My Broom Camp Wannastamp! With our new shaker frames and peekaboo die, I couldn't resist making a card using both of those. The recipe is below. All supplies used and shown are from Stampin' Up! To order these products, visit my 24/7 online store at http://www.pennythomas.stampinup.net/ and click on "Shop Now."
Recipe:
Paper: Cajun Craze - 8-1/2 X 5-1/2; Silver Glimmer Paper - 5-1/2 X 2-1/2; Frightful Sight Designer Series Paper - 5-1/2 X 2-1/4; Whisper White - 1-3/4 X 1-3/4; Old Olive - 2 X 2 (2); Whisper White - 1-1/4 X 1-1/4; Cajun Craze - 2 X 2; Clear Window Sheets - 1-3/4 X 1-3/4
Stamps: Spooky Bingo Bits; Good Grid; Howl-O-Ween Creeps
Inks: Basic Black; Old Olive; Cajun Craze; Cajun Craze Marker; Basic Black Marker; Old Olive Marker; Cherry Cobbler Marker; Basic Gray Marker
Miscellaneous: SNAIL Adhesive; Sticky Strip; Black Taffeta Ribbon - 12" long; Scissors; Shaker Frames; Silver Glass Glitter; 1-1/4" Circle Punch; Pencil; White Eraser; Paper Piercer with Mat; Black Glimmer Brad; Stampin' Dimensionals; Peekaboo Frames Die; Big Shot Machine; Black Brad; Stamp-a-ma-jig

Spooky Bingo Bits Treat Container

Oh, I love stuff like this! This is a sour-cream container we made at my Zooming on My Broom Camp Wannastamp. Gotta have something to keep that candy corn in! This idea came from one of our Stampin' Success magazines, a publication for demonstrators, and I knew immediately I would feature it at my Halloween stamp camp! The recipe is below. All supplies used and shown are from Stampin' Up!, with the exception of the candy corn. To order these supplies, visit my 24/7 online store at http://www.pennythomas.stampinup.net/ and click on "Shop Now."
Recipe:
Paper: Basic Black Textured - 5-1/4 X 4-1/4; Window Sheet - 1-3/4 X 1-3/4; Peach Parfait - 2-1/2 X 1; Very Vanilla scrap; Peach Parfait scrap; Old Olive scrap; Pick Your Poison Designer Series Paper - 5-1/4 X 1/4" (2)
Stamps: Spooky Bingo Bits
Inks: Basic Black
Miscellaneous: Sticky Strip; Basic Rhinestone Jewels; Paper Snips; SNAIL Adhesive; Tasteful Trim Die; Big Shot Machine; Peach Parfait Ribbon - 6-3/4" long; Linen Thread - 9" long; 1/16th-inch Hole Punch; candy corn; Scissors; 1" Circle Punch; 3/4" Circle Punch; Stampin' Dimensionals; Stampin' Sponge

Piece of Poison Card Sample

Penny Thomas
This is a waterfall card we made at my Zooming on My Broom Camp Wannastamp! When you pull on the tab at the bottom, the little panels flip to reveal the entire skeleton! FUN! The recipe is below. All supplies used and shown are from Stampin' Up! To order these products, visit my 24/7 online store at http://www.pennythomas.stampinup.net/ and click on "Shop Now."
Recipe:
Paper: Basic Black - 11 X 4-1/4; Pick Your Poison Designer Series Paper - 5-1/4 X 4; Basic Gray - 4-1/4 X 3/4"; Pick Your Poison Designer Series Paper - 4-1/4 X 1/2"; Basic Black - 9 X 2 - scored at 2", 2-3/4", 3-1/2", and 4-1/4" from one end; Basic Black - 2 X 2 (4); Vanilla - 1-7/8 X 1-7/8 (4); Pick Your Poison Designer Series Paper - 2 X 1/2"; Very Vanilla - 5-1/4 X 4 Stamps: Piece of Poison Inks: Basic Black; Basic Black Marker Miscellaneous: SNAIL Adhesive; Paper Piercer with Mat; Black Brads (2); Simply Scored; Basic Rhinestone Jewels; Paper Snips

Hand-Penned Holidays Card Sample

Penny Thomas
This is a card we made at my Zooming on My Broom Camp Wannastamp. The recipe is below. All supplies used and shown are from Stampin' Up! To order these supplies, visit my 24/7 online store at http://www.pennythomas.stampinup.net/ and click on "Shop Now." Recipe: Paper: Very Vanilla - 11 X 4-1/4; Very Vanilla - 3-1/2 X 2-1/2; Very Vanilla - 3 X 1-3/4; Old Olive scrap; Peach Parfait scrap Stamps: Hand-Penned Holidays Inks: Basic Black; Pumpkin Pie Miscellaneous: Black Satin Ribbon - 15-1/2" long; Scissors; Snowburst Embossing Folder; Big Shot Machine; Stampin' Dimensionals; SNAIL Adhesive; Modern Label Punch; 3/4" Circle Punch; Stampin' Sponge; Basic Rhinestone Jewels; Bird Builder Punch; Stamp-a-ma-jig

Penny Thomas

If people wanted to convert the card into a 3D treat container, they had the option to do that. I used the same pieces above, but modified them for a container. I used the Scallop Envelope Die for this treat container and it holds one perfect Reese's Peanut Butter Cup - which is NOT a supply from Stampin' Up! Ha!

Haunted Forest Card Sample

Penny Thomas
This is a fun shadow box card we made at my Zooming on My Broom Camp Wannastamp! The recipe is below. All supplies used and shown are from Stampin' Up! To order these supplies, visit my 24/7 online store at http://www.pennythomas.stampinup.net/ and click on "Shop Now." Recipe: Paper: Very Vanilla - 5-1/2 X 4-1/4 - scored at 1/2" and 1" from each end; Cajun Craze - 5-1/2 X 4-1/4 - scored the same as above; Frightful Sight Designer Series Paper - 5-1/2 X 4-1/4 - scored the same as above; Basic Black scrap; Very Vanilla scrap Stamps: Haunted Forest; Spooky Bingo Bits; Good Grid Inks: Versamark; Pumpkin Pie Marker; Old Olive Marker; Early Espresso Marker; Soft Suede Marker; Chocolate Chip Marker; Crumb Cake Marker; Crumb Cake; Basic Black; Cherry Cobbler; Rich Razzleberry; Pumpkin Pie; Night of Navy Miscellaneous: Paper Snips; Mini Glue Dots; Black Embossing Powder; Heat Tool; Stampin' Sponges; 1-1/4" Circle Punch; SNAIL Adhesive; Sticky Strip; Paper Piercer with Mat; Black Brads - Neutrals (4); Small Tag Punch; Large Tag Punch; Stamp-a-ma-jig; Stampin' Dimensionals; Simply Scored; 3" Circle Die; Big Shot Machine; Black Grosgrain Ribbon - 2-1/2" long; Scissors; Embossing Buddy; Dazzling Details; Regals Brad (1)

Friday, September 23, 2011

Aviary Card Sample

Ooh la la, wouldn't you say? Vicki Myford, a demonstrator in The TOPICS!, sent me this card - and I jumped up and down when I got it! I'm so happy to have it and I knew you would enjoy seeing it! Very nice work, Vicki! You are one classy lady, my friend! Vicki cased this card from either Becky Roberts or Heather Klump. You may have cased it, Vicki, but YOUR craftsmanship is beautiful!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Tea Shoppe Card Sample

This is an adorable card that we got to make as one of our make-n-takes on the Founder's Circle trip. I love anything to do with coffee cups or teacups, so this stamp set is right up my alley! I was thrilled to get this new stamp set called "Tea Shoppe" that will be featured in the Occasions Mini Catalog! Thought you might enjoy having a sneak peek!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Founder's Circle Trip - 2011 - September 17th

Yesterday was an absolute blast! I got to sleep late, then enjoyed a delicious omelet for breakfast, and spent several hours in the gathering place visiting with demonstrators sharing business ideas. It was very relaxing, and I needed that! At 4:00 p.m. we all got into a bus and headed for...........we weren't sure........it's always a surprise, and it was certainly that! We ended up at a beautiful golf course where we played stampin' golf! Here is one of my team mates, Connie Fitzgerald. I enjoyed her company so much and I laughed and laughed and laughed. We took turns driving the golf cart, which was a new experience for me! Hole No. 1 was hitting a marshmallow with a golf club as far as you could. I only made it to 15 yards, so I didn't get very many points for The Sugar Cubes! SORRY, GUYS!
This golf course was incredibly beautiful surrounded by all the canyons and mountains. What we couldn't get over were all the jack rabbits everywhere! I'm not kidding - I must have seen a hundred of them yesterday. They were so cute!
Here we are heading to another hole! It was very hot yesterday afternoon so I had to roll my pants up. Cute, huh?
At this hole, Corey Hancock asked us trivia questions about Stampin' Up!
Unfortunately, The Sugar Cubes didn't get ANY of them right!
Actually, the next hole wasn't tea and crumpets, it was a nasty jumbo chocolate marshmallow and a teacup filled with water that one of our team mates had to eat and drink as quick as they could. The fastest team would get the most points for this hole.
Brenda Keenan was nice enough to volunteer to do this for our team, but she was having a very difficult time eating that nasty marshmallow!
Don't puke, Brenda! YOU CAN DO THIS! We tried our best to cheer her on, but in the end, she ran over to the edge of the course and spit out the marshmallow! Thanks for taking one for the team, Brenda!
At this hole, someone on our team had to volunteer to do some FAST stamping, so Susie Wood stepped up to the plate for The Sugar Cubes.
Susie had about 60 squares she had to stamp in as fast as she could and was required to re-ink after each one. We were impressed - she did it in 33 seconds, so YAHOO for The Sugar Cubes!
At this hole, we each had to try to get a hole in one for 100 points for our team. I was last, and you'll never believe this, but I took my time, concentrated, and my ball actually went in the hole, BUT it spun around and popped back out, so we didn't get the 100 points. We laughed and laughed about this because we just couldn't believe I actually went right in the hole. Hey, never underestimate an overweight old lady! They have unknown powers!
At this hole, one of our team mates was blindfolded and the rest of us were shown a card. We then had to help our stamper reproduce it while she was blindfolded. You only had three minutes, so it was quite challenging, but Sharon McNeely did a fabulous job! SUPER for The Sugar Cubes!
Here is Sharon McNeely right before the stamping began!
At the last hole, we had to balance a marshmallow on a golf tee and run around a course without dropping it. The Sugar Cubes actually were pretty good with this! Here is Shelli Gardner explaining the rules - you CAN'T drop your marshmallow!
Look at my amazing form! I am good at this.......NOT!
After nine holes of stampin' golf, we returned to the clubhouse to receive our trophies! Everyone got a trophy, including The Sugar Cubes! What we really liked, though, were the In Color markers in the trophy!
Here is the beautiful table for The Sugar Cubes.
We all enjoyed a fabulous barbecue dinner. There was so much to choose from, there wasn't room on my plate for everything. Shelli is way up there at the front making some announcements and letting us know which team won.......which I can't remember! No one cared who won because it was such a fun afternoon and evening. I thoroughly enjoyed myself on the golf course with my team mates. Now, if golf was like this all the time, I'd be out there with my husband every weekend!
When I got back to my room, this pillow gift was on my bed. In case you haven't figured this out yet, we can't wait to get back to our rooms every night for..........OUR PILLOW GIFTS!
And here it is, the most adorable key fob! It has Trinket Crowns and Simply Adorned baubles all over it and a cute little pink teacup at the very end that has "FC" on it for Founder's Circle. It's also engraved on the bottom with "Founder's Circle 2011." I LOVE IT and will cherish it for years to come!
Well, I've had an amazing time here and am so proud and honored to be part of the Stampin' Up!family, but now it's time to get back to Katy, Texas, where my sweet little family lives and where my enthusiastic and wonderful clients are - and where my supportive and amazing downline is - so we can start stamping again! Thanks to all of you who helped me earn Founder's Circle.........you know who you are.........and I couldn't have done it without you! I've got some great Halloween projects in store, so let's get after it!!!!!

Founder's Circle Trip - 2011 - September 16th

Yesterday was a REALLY fun day! It's a highlight of the trip to travel to Kanab, Utah, to see where our rubber stamps are made and how the whole process works. We get on a bus and take the trip over - but the trip over is always so much fun. This is Jennifer Kruse, an employee of Morris Meetings & Incentives, carrying a basket of "snackage," as she calls it. That basket is to die for! It's filled with all kinds of candy, crackers, trail mix, cookies - whatever you want! You can eat all you want - and I did! On the trip over, we play Bingo and win Stampin' Up! merchandise - and it makes the trip go really fast. Shelli Gardner also uses the opportunity to ask us questions about how the company is doing and what we'd like to see change, what we're happy with, what's going well, and yada, yada, yada. We also get the opportunity to ask her questions. It's a fabulous exchange of information and something I always look forward to.
As we turned the corner getting closer to the facility, a Stampin' Up! employee was there waving a sign welcoming us! It was so sweet and a very special touch! This gentleman's name is Cherokee.
As we entered the parking lot, you could see a long line of employees waiting to greet us. Trust me, this makes you well up inside with emotion and pride to be a member of the Stampin' Up! family!
Isn't this sweet? How kind they were to us!
These are the greatest group of people! They were so happy to see us and it made us feel so welcomed.
As we walked down the sidewalk, they would "high-five" us. That cute little gal is Diana Gibbs!
More "high-fives."
Once inside, we get to tour the facility, which is amazing. Unfortunately, once we get to a certain area, we are not allowed to take photos, of course!
One of the highlights of the trip is to visit the beautiful home upstairs that belongs to Shelli Gardner. While she is visiting the facility, she has a nice place to stay on-site and it is decorated "So Shelli"! This is Shelli Gardner and me - I love having a photo op with her!
When you stand on one of the balconies from her home, you can see the beautiful mountains all around. What a great place to work!
After the tour, we always have the opportunity to visit with some of the employees to ask questions about how the facility runs. This is Josh, who answers questions for us, or he hands the microphone to the appropriate person.
Josh shared with us an award they won for Bocce Ball. This was new to me - I had never heard of it before. The award is made with all Stampin' Up! materials!
Me at the Stampin' Up! rock!
After the tour, we always meet at the park and have a nice picnic lunch. Our lunches came in a cute little basket!
Jennifer Kruse handing me my lunch.
LOVE IT!
Creme Brulee!
Yesterday evening we traveled through St. George to get to Tuacahn Outdoor Amphitheater. The rock formations always astound me!
We were treated to a live performance of The Little Mermaid. I have never been to Tuacahn before - heard about how wonderful it is - and I had a delightful evening. As you sit in the theater, you are surrounded by the red rock canyons. I really enjoyed myself last night.
A picture of the Tuacahn stage before it got dark.
A shot of some of the Founder's Circle group taking up a good portion of the audience.
Here's my pillow gift last night! A beautiful apron made from our Beau Chateau fabric. It is super cute!