S.T.A.R.S.--Sharing The Art of Rubber Stamping

What a Difference a Day Makes!!

This is me and my family last week in our backyard on Mother's Day 2010.

Little did we know that the next day our world would literally get turned upside-down!!  Our home was severely damaged by a tornado that hit our neighborhood in Choctaw, OK.  Did you see the coverage of the Love's Gas Station and Sonic that got hit?  That was within 1 minute of my home!  God's wonderful protection kept us all safe and sound as we huddled together and prayed with our bike helmets on in our laundry/utility room...which is our innermost room. 

We have so much to be grateful for...even with all that happened.  I am going to share with you some pictures of what remains of our home, so that you, too, can see how God kept us safe.  Also, all of our neighbors were kept safe!

The front of our house.

Our street sign.

 

The back of our house...this was the kitchen, dining room & living room.

My beautiful kitchen is no more...please note there is a wooden high chair stuck upside down on the top of the cabinets above the fridge...might need to click on photo to enlarge to see it.

Would you like to sit down for a cup o' tea??  We have a sun roof and plenty of fresh air! 

 

Here we are, again.  I wanted to repost this picture here, so that you will remember that even though our house was destroyed, God kept us safe!  We are currently staying at a friend's house & will most likely be here until we move to Hawaii in 6 weeks (this was part of the plan before the tornado).  Our stuff that was salvagable is in storage, so I won't be stamping anytime soon...wahh!  So that means it will probably be late July or August before I am able to stamp and post to this blog again.  I hope you will keep checking back on me and in the mean time, you can check out the blogs of my totally fantastic Control Freaks!  Their blogs are listed in the right sidebar on my blog.  They will keep you and I inspired for a long time. 

 
 
  

 

Happy B-Day Simply Scrappin' Kit Cards

 
 
I just LOVE using Stampin' Up!'s Simply Scrappin' Kits to make lots & lots of cards!!  They come with cardstock, designer paper, and adhesive die-cuts.  The only things I tend to add are ribbon and occassionally another embellishment or two.  This month my Simply Scrappin' Club ladies decided that they'd like to make a bunch of birthday cards, so we used the Happy B-Day Simply Scrappin' Kit and made 16 cards!  We also decorated these little tins & a pen to keep handy for writing in the cards.  There's also plenty of room to throw a book of stamps in there, too.

As most of you know by now, I am more of a "tweaker of ideas than a creator of ideas" type of gal.  So, with that in mind, I want to extend a BIG THANKS to Jeanne Ciolli who inspired me to make most (if not all of these cards).  You can view her original versions HERE.

These are the first four of eight different designs that we made.  We made 2 of each design...hence, the 16 cards.  This Happy B-day Simply Scrappin' Kit will not be in the new catalog, due to 3 out of the 4 colors being retired!!  EEK!  So, if you'd like to order the Happy B-day Simply Scrappin' Kit, just head over to www.erinblair.stampinup.net and click on the SHOP NOW button to order!! 

Have a fantabulous day!!  Erin

There's a Color Renovation going on at Stampin' Up!!

Stampin' Up! is shaking things up with a Color Renovation!

Here's what you need to know about all the changes that are coming up!

1.  Stampin' Up! is introducing FIVE BRAND NEW COLORS to the Core Colors!!   The new color names are Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Cherry Cobbler, Cajun Breeze, and Early Espresso!!

2.  Stampin' Up! is bringing back TEN of the RETIRED (or would have retired this year) "IN COLORS" to be included as NEW Core Colors!!  They are Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Baja Breeze, Pacific Pointe, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango, Wild Wasabi, and River Rock.

3.  Stampin' Up! is retiring THIRTY-ONE...yes, you read that correctly 31 colors!  They have done extensive research on what colors were & weren't selling, what colors were & weren't being used by demonstrators & customers, and what the new trends are in the color world.  NOW is the perfect time to stock up on the retiring ink pads, ink refillers, cardstock, ribbon, etc. before they are out of stock!!  Here is a listing of the retiring colors by color collection:

Soft Subtles:  Pale Plum, Lavendar Lace, Almost Amethyst, Sage Shadow, Mellow Moss, Barely Banana, Apricot Appeal, Blush Blossom

Bold Brights:  Pink Passion, Pixie Pink, Orchid Opulence, Lovely Lilac, Brilliant Blue, Glorious Green Green Galore, Gable Green, Yoyo Yellow, Only Orange

Rich Regals:  Bordering Blue, Brocade Blue, Ballet Blue, Taken With Teal, Handsome Hunter

Earth Elements:  Summer Sun, Really Rust, Ruby Red, Cameo Coral, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Going Gray

4.  Stampin' Up! will be introducing FIVE BRAND NEW "IN COLORS" in the new catalog in July and these colors will be availabe for 2 years instead of 1!!

5.  Stampin' Up! is changing up our color collections by renaming the four collections and moving things around just a bit! Click on this to see the new color collections:  Download New_Colors_US_

At first I was in shock by all the changes to the Colors, but now that I've had a chance to let all the information soak in, I am getting really excited about what Stampin' Up! has in store!!  Also, I've gone through my own stash of what is going to be retired, and I realized there were only a few colors that I actually used on a regular basis.  Some, I hadn't used in YEARS!!!  I'm going to make sure I have ink refills, cardstock & ribbon in my favorite retiring colors, so I'll be able to use them in the future...you should too!!  Go to www.erinblair.stampinup.net and click on SHOP NOW to order your favorite retiring colors or to complete your collection!

Are you ready for some cool ideas & projects??  Stay tuned!!  Erin

 

National Scrapbooking Month...FREE Designer Brads!!

Dates: May 1-31, 2010

Details:  May is National Scrapbooking Month--we're offering a special promotion for the month of May: purchase a qualifying scrapbooking stamp set or the My Digital Studio software and receive a FREE package of Designer brads--choose from four designs!

Qualifying products and Designer brads are listed below:

Stamp sets

Page	Description	Wood-Mount Item	Wood-Mount Price	Clear-Mount Item	Clear-Mount Price
81	Extreme Elements	115181	$26.95	---	---
119	Framed with Love**	114389	$27.95	---	---
128	Certified**	113706	$27.95	---	---
129	Circle Circus	115778	$28.95	---	---
12*	Elements of Style	118611	$27.95	120045	$19.95
13*	Mementos	119910	$27.95	120105	$19.95
13*	Elements de style	119900	$27.95	120099	$19.95
14*	Rough Type	118659	$26.95	120072	$18.95
22*	Sentimental Journey	118513	$23.95	120075	$17.95
25*	First Day	118521	$23.95	120051	$17.95
25*	Camino a la Escuela	120152	$23.95	120154	$17.95

*From Summer Mini Catalog
**Last Chance stamp set!

My Digital Studio software

Page	Description	Item	Price
32*	My Digital Studio	118108	$79.95

*From Summer Mini Catalog

Designer brads

Page	Description	Item	Retail Price	Price with Qualifying Purchase
179	Flower Designer brads	112579	$5.95	FREE
179	Filigree Designer brads	112577	$5.95	FREE
179	Circle Designer brads	112571	$5.95	FREE
179	Star Designer brads	112572	$5.95	FREE

Things to Remember:

• Orders may be placed on any order type (customer, demonstrator, workshop, or online).
• There are no limits and is no minimum purchase to qualify for this promotion.
• Framed with Love and Certified stamp sets will be part of the 2010 Last Chance list.
• For each qualifying product purchased (see above for details), customers will receive one free package of Designer brads.
• Free Designer brads will not automatically be added to orders. Because there are four free items to choose from, demonstrators and customers will need to order the qualifying item first and then add the free item.
• A warning will pop up reminding customers to redeem their free item(s) if they try to close the order without adding them.

Go to www.erinblair.stampinup.net and click on SHOP NOW to place your order!!

Time sure flies when you are busy being busy!!

This has been REALLY, REALLY, REALLY embarrassing to have gone so L-O-N-G without posting here!  I hope you will forgive me!  The last 4-6 weeks have been filled with so much that I just wasn't able to squeeze in everything I wanted to do...like posting here!!  Both sets of grandparents visiting at various times, I went away for a Girlfriend Getaway, my hubby was gone for 10 days, I attended a Homeschool Conference for a few days, AND in the midst of all this, we found out that we will be moving to Hawaii this summer!!  WOWZA!! 

I have been able to have a little fun in my stamp room, so I do have some goodies to show you, but these first couple of posts will be some housekeeping items from Stampin' Up! that I don't want you to miss out on!

So, sit down, grab your favorite beverage, and hold on tight!!  Erin