PPA Peek and Helen’s Gift


Just a quick little peek at this week’s Pals Paper Arts challenge card! We would love to have you join us in Challenge 49, which goes live on Thursday. Challenges are a great way to sharpen your card making skills while having fun! Although our Design Team is composed of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators who showcase Stampin’ Up! products in our inspiration cards, we encourage everyone to participate and to use any brand of products you wish. Be sure to check out this week’s Pals Paper Arts Artist Picks. They are posted every Wednesday morning!

You Meet the Nicest People!

A few week’s ago, I happened to stop by Helen Liu’s Let’s Create blog. I love dropping in to see her latest flowers, gift boxes, and origami. If you have ever visited Helen’s blog, you know that her 3-D creations are exquisite! On that particular day, Helen was featuring quilled earrings that she had made for her oldest son’s art and music teachers. As we were trading emails back and forth, I mentioned that when I was a teacher, I would have loved to have received her beautiful earrings! Helen emailed me back and said that she wanted to make me a pair as a belated retirement gift. I was very touched at her kindness.
Helen’s package arrived today, and you can imagine my surprise when I unwrapped not one, but two, pairs of earrings, each in their own gift box. They were accompanied by a beautiful gift card, embellished with one of Helen’s spectacular roses.

Her gift card was stunning, with Beautiful Wings butterflies and a gorgeous miniature rose!

Helen’s gift touched me profoundly. A random act of kindness, from someone whom I only know through our blogs, brought tears to my eyes. I will treasure these quilled earrings, and I will wear them proudly. You will be able to tell who I am at the Stampin’ Up! Convention, because I will be wearing Helen’s creations. I know that I have said it before, but you really do meet the nicest people through stamping! Please help me spread the kindness by visiting Helen’s blog. She is celebrating her blogaversary, and is offering her handmade embellishments as blog candy!

And don’t forget…the end is near for these Stampin’ Up! promotions!

  • The $99 Starter Kit ends June 30th. There is still time to become a member of The Schach Pack. Here is just a sampling of what my downline has to say:”Ann is a wonderful friend and mentor. She is very helpful at keeping me up-to-date on Stampin’ Up! changes. She encourages me and supports me to help my business be the best it can be. She is also very creative and talented in her own business which inspires me to be the best I can be. Amy R.” Let me help you develop your creative and business skills. Email me with your questions OR sign up online. My recruiting password is stampinschach.
  • Last Chance Stamp List. Time is running out to order your favorites!
  • Updated Last Chance Accessories List. Many items are still available…some at 25% -50% off.
  • My personal list of Retired Stamps for Sale will be posted July 1st. If you love bargains, you will love this list!

Please join me next time for Pals Paper Arts Challenge #49! Until then…


Click here to order Stampin’ Up! 24/7!

Thinking of You, Bella Toile


I love this card that I made for the March Splitcoast Dirty Dozen Gallery. It is not often that I can say that about cards that I create. I can always find something that I would change about a card, but not this time. This card stamps up quickly, yet it has an elegant look about it that I like. Although I used the French version of Sincere Salutations, you can easily substitute a variety of sentiments to fit the occasion! Enjoy “Bella Toile, Je Pense a Toi!”

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips:

  • Tap, tap,tapping! When inking up a large background stamp like Bella Toile, ink it up by placing the background stamp face up and then tapping the ink pad on the rubber face. If you find it difficult to hold on to a stamp this size, simply lay it face up and place the card stock on top. Run a Brayer over the paper to make certain that the image stamps evenly. But be careful…don’t let the paper slip! Just ask me how I know…
  • Bling it on! Nothing goes better together than butterflies and bling! Three rhinestones, retrieved from Clear Rhinestone Brads, adorn the body of the largest butterfly, which was created with the Beautiful Wings Embosslit. Another rhinestone forms the “o” in toi, drawing the eye to the sentiment.
  • Bow-licious! Pick the right ribbon for the card! Satin is super for a formal or elegant card, but for fun and casual go with grosgrain! The Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon on this card certainly looks yummy! If you need to replenish your Chocolate Chip ribbon stash, hurry and order! Several varieties of Chocolate Chip Ribbon are on The Last Chance List, while the Chocolate Chip 5/8″ Satin Ribbon is available in the Summer Mini.
The Final Countdown
Take advantage of these time sensitive promotions:
  • The $99 Starter Kit ends June 30th. There is still time to become a member of The Schach Pack.
  • Last Chance Stamp List. Time is running out to order your favorites!
  • Updated Last Chance Accessories List. Many items are still available…some at 25% -50% off.
  • My personal list of Retired Stamps for Sale will be posted July 1st. If you love bargains, you will love this list!
Who could forget that the new catalog goes live July 1st! Online Ordering will be down until Noon MT as Stampin’ Up! makes the transition to the new catalog. Of course with the beginning of the new Stampin’ Up! year, my Hostess Clubs are starting their new cycles. I still have room for new members in the First Wednesday of the Month Club, which meets at 9:00 AM on the first Wednesday of each month. (Creative name, huh?) Please EMAIL me if you are interested in joining. And if you would like to host a workshop, July dates are filling fast. It is never too early to schedule your workshop, and I am currently scheduling through December. I am available for Introduction to Stamping classes, as well as specific technique classes. Please contact me for more information.

Whew! I feel like I had so much information to share with you today. I hope that you enjoyed today’s Bella Toile card. If you have any questions about the cards that I make, or about the techniques that I use, please email me so that I can answer your questions. And to answer Mary and Chris’s question about the shading around the dragonfly on Sunday’s card, it was achieved by using a Blender Pen and Sahara Sand ink! Thanks for stopping by and reading my ramblings…and thanks for leaving a comment. They…and you…are important to me! Until next time…


Click Here to Order Stampin’ Up! 24/7

Stamp Set: Bella Toile (111598), Sinceres Salutations (116239); Ink: Chocolate Chip (100908); Card Stock: Very Vanilla (101650), Chocolate Chip (102128), Regal Rose (105130); Tools: Big Shot (113439), Stampin’ Up! Beautiful Wings Embosslit (118138), Wide Oval Punch (112082), Scallop Oval Punch (114889), Sponge Daubers (102892), Stampin’ Dimensionals (104430), Brayer (102395) Glitz and Glam: Chocolate Chip 5/8″ Satin Ribbon (117287), Clear Rhinestone Brads (113144)

Simple Sunday


When I was a young girl growing up on the farm, Sunday afternoons were spent in the company of friends. It was not uncommon to have my Grandma, Grandpa, friends and neighbors come for a visit. (My grandmother was the perfect grandma, by the way! She had the perfect grandma lap, and perfect silver and gold grandma hair pulled back into a perfect grandma bun. I would climb up onto that perfect grandma lap and we would look into Grandma’s big grandma purse. Without fail, Grandma would always have a lace hanky filled with pennies to give me. Isn’t it funny the things we remember from so many years ago?) So on a day when many of my stamping friends are showcasing the wonderful new sets and exciting new colors that Stampin‘ Up! has to offer, nostalgia has gotten the better of me. I decided to spend my Sunday like I did when I was growing up…with some old “friends”, many of which are on The Last Chance List. Please enjoy today’s simple card, which was first showcased in the “All Creatures Great and Small” Dirty Dozen Gallery. Click Here for information on how you can join the Dirty Dozen Fan Club.

The Stampin‘ Schach Design Tips:

  • Simple but stunning! Simple images can make stunning focal points! With its Nouveau flair, the “Dragonfly” image from Nature’s Nest was inked with Basic Gray and stamped onto Whisper White card stock. The key to making this work, however, is leaving plenty of “white” space!
  • Bling the Bug! Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder coats the wings of our “critter”, while the thorax and abdomen of the dragonfly were given the “WOW” treatment! Green Microbeads from the Green Bead Duo (still available on The Last Chance List) were easily applied with Tombow Adhesive. A single Lilac rhinestone removed from a Circle Ice Brad adorns its head. And you are asking…”This is simple?” You betcha! It literally takes less than two minutes to apply the microbeads.
  • Layer a ribbon! For this layered ribbon treatment, Basic Gray Satin Ribbon was adhered onto the card, and then layered with Mellow Moss Taffeta Ribbon. The Basic Gray bow was then tied and affixed to the card. For those of you who have been wondering about my ribbon treatments, all of my large satin bows are tied separately, then attached to the card. (If you love the rich look of Basic Gray, it is still available as a Last Chance item. Unfortunately, Mellow Moss is gone.)
  • Rejuvenate! Fresh out of Mellow Moss card stock? No more Basic Gray ribbon? Think how fantastic this card would look created from a combination of Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery and Chocolate Chip! Wowza!

I hope that you have enjoyed spending a few minutes of your day with some of my old “friends”! I don’t know about you, but I can hardly wait to order my new “friends” July 1! My problem is deciding on what to order first! I am certainly going to have to pace myself! I definitely will be investing in a few packages of gorgeous Designer Series Paper during my first order, and there are a couple of must have stamp sets! Also on July 1st, I will be posting a list of retired stamp sets that I have for sale. So be ready for some bargains! Of course, July 1 will mark another Pals Paper Arts challenge. Have you played at the PPA this week? There is still plenty of time to upload your card by Noon CST Tuesday! As always, I appreciate your comments. Of course, if you have any questions about today’s card, or if you have questions about adding microbeads or watercoloring, please email me! I am more than willing to answer your questions. Remember…I was a teacher in my other life! Until next time…


Click Here to Order Stampin‘ Up! 24/7

Stamps: Nature’s Nest; Card Stock: Whisper White, Mellow Moss, Perfect Plum; Ink: Basic Gray, Sahara Sand, Mellow Moss, Lavender Lace; Tools: Big Shot, Stampin‘ Up! Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder, Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, Green Microbeads, VersaMarker, Tombow Adhesive, Heat Tool; Glitz and Glam: Circle Ice Brads, Circle Fire Brads, Mellow Moss Taffeta Ribbon, Basic Gray 5/8″ Satin Ribbon