SCRAPBOOKING SUGGESTIONS

I will soon be starting another stamp club and the majority of the ladies wanted to do scrapbooks (some are semi seasoned or seasoned scrapbookers and some are newbies). I thought I would so some comparisons and clarifications regarding style and size of the scrapbooks sold by SU! pg 180 in catalog
First, I want to say that I have been scrapbooking for over 15 years. (Not counting some of the books I put together in HS). I consider myself a SEMI- PRO when it comes to this kind of thing. I am very familiar with terminology, machines, design companies, magazines, etc... Stampin Up! has a great selection of scrapbooks and papers to choose from.

We sell books that are similar to those you will find in craft stores, online, and various other retail stores. Our prices are comparable too. We sell 12 x 12 inch Vinyl printed  post bound albums in green leaf pattern, red polkadot pattern, and yellow houdstooth pattern for $19.95. We sell a Natural Linen postbound and ring bound album in 12 x 12; 8.5 x 11; and 6x6 inch size.They range in price from $16.95-$29.95 each. We sell a Red Linen postbound album in 12 x 12 inches at $29.95 and ring bound in 12 x 12 inches at  $26.95 and 6 x 6 inches at $16.95 inches. We sell a Navy Linen album in postbound 12 x 12 inches at $29.95 and Ring bound albums in 12 x 12 inches at $26.95 and 6x 6 inches at $16.95.  Look at the link above to see scrapbooks.
Keep in mind that we sell SIMPLY SCRAPPIN' KITS (pg 178-179 in main catlog) that coordinate with our books and make your scrapbooking a little easier. Our papers and embellishments idealy coordinate with our albums. That takes some of the thought process and worries away.

Natural Linen Album coordinates with: Christmas Cheer Simply Scrappin' kit, Newsprint Designer Paper, Elegant Soiree Designer paper, woodland Walk Designer paper, Nursery Suite Specialty paper, Sweet and Sour Specialty paper, Lap of Luxery Designer paper, or Blueberry Crisp Designer paper. (All papers can be seen on pages 172-175 of main idea book and catalog).

Real Red Linen Album coordinates with: Play Date Designer paper, Build A Bear Pawsitively Prints 2 paper, Celebrations Designer paper, Love letter Designer paper. (all papers can be seen on pages 172-175 of main idea book and catalog).

Navy Linen Album coordinates with: Blueberry Crisp Designer paper, Celebrations Designer paper, Good Times Simply Scrappin' kit, Christmas Cheer Simply Scrappin' kit (all papers can be seen on pages 172-175 of main idea and catalog).

So Saffron Houndstooth Album coordinates with: Love Birds Simply Scrappin' kit, Build a Bear Pawsitively Prints2 Designer paper, Play Date Designer paper, Nursery Suite Specialty Paper. (all papers can be seen on pages 172-175 of main idea book and catalog).

Real Red Polka Dot Album coordinates with: Play Date Designer paper, Newsprint designer paper, Celebrations Designer paper, Love Letter Designer paper. (all papers can be seen on pages 172-175 of main idea book and catalog).



Old Olive Leaves Album coordinates with: One great year Simply Scrappin' kit, Play Date Designer paper, Build a Bear Pawsitively Patterns 2 designer paper, Jolly Holiday designer paper, Greenhouse Gala Designer paper, Woodland Walk designer paper, Celebrations, Wicked Fun Specialty Paper (all papers can be seen on pages 172-175 of main idea book and catalog).




Also we sell QUICK ACCENTS (pg 176 in main catalog) to assist in adding the finishing touches onto your pages or other projects.
They coordinate with the albums, papers, as well as some stamp sets.

HIGHJACKED!

Sorry for the long abscense. My computer crashed late last week and I have highjacked my kids' computer to write this post. I ordered a new computer, and  it arrived yesterday. I am waiting for a CAT 5 line to be run to my computer. Its been so long since I have had a desk top- I forgot about a few things when I ordered it. I ran out last night to get keyboard and mouse (what was I thinking?). I'm not sure when I will be up and running again.
Also, my husband is having surgery in the morning. I'm sure my posts will be sporadic. Hope you all have a great long weekend. Hope you all can get out and enjoy some spring-like weather.

What is for dinner tonight? Chicken and Dumplings

I'm back with an easy and yummy recipe. As promised, I will be posting at least one recipe each month to my blog site. All recipes will be easy and perfect for 'busy moms' like me to cook after a full day at work. No need to cook all day to get delicious results-I promise. As I have mentioned before, I consider myself a 'SEMI HOMEMADE' cook. I am just as busy as many moms out there and I know what  weeknights are like.

Chicken and Dumplings is one of my husband's favorite meals. He has always asked, "you cook so many different things, don't you know how to make chicken and dumplings?" To tell you the truth, I had always heard of this dish but, I had never ate it. My mother never prepared this for us as children. I guess I was deprived. I don't know. I have a good friend that makes FANTASTIC chicken and dumplings- she cooks all day. I don't usually have time or patience for that... I like delicious results at a faster pace.

This dish is perfect for a cold evening (much like we have been experiencing in NE Ohio for the last 2 months). It reheats well and is even more delicious the next day.

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

6 chicken thighs

2 (10.7 oz) cans of condensed cream of celery soup

1 stalk of celery, diced

1 carrot, diced (optional)

1/8 of a large sweet onion, diced

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups of Jiffy biscuit mix

2/3 cup of milk

In medium soup pot over high heat, combine the chicken thighs with enough water to cover. Boil for 15-20 minutes. Drain some of the water from the pot,but  reserve 3 cups in the pot. Remove chicken from the pot and allow to cool (place on cookie sheet an din fridge for a few minutes). Add onion, celery, and carrot  into the reserved water within the pot and cook until tender. While veggies are cooking- pull chicken from bones into chunky pieces and return to the pot.
Meanwhile, prepare dough for dumplings baking mix with the milk.
Reduce heat to simmer, add the cans of soup, stir until mixed well. Season with salt and pepper. Drop spoonfuls of dough into pot, cover and cook for additional 20 minutes.

Make dumplings the size you prefer. My husband enjoys large full  dumplings. This part is personal choice.

SALE-A-BRATE GOOD TIMES

Its SALE-A-BRATION time again. Stampin' Up! has had this sale for over 15 years. For those of you that are not familiar, you can earn free merchndise 3 different ways.
1.) When you purchase $50 of merchandise (anything from the main or mini catalogs) you earn a free set, paper pack, button and ribbon package, digital content for digital scrapbooking, or chalkboard decals for use anywhere around the home, from the salabration brochure. You could also pick any set or individual stamp less than $15.
2.) Host a $300 workshop, and pick one of the free items from the main catalog or sale brochure.
3. ) Join Stamin' Up! by becoming a demonstrator during Sale-a-bration and get 15% off your starter kit.Plus get a bonus bundle filled with over $50 free products.

As a Demonstrator we have the opportunity to purchase some of these Sale-a-bration items ahead of time. I purchased one set this year. The Punch Bunch set of 5, seen below. Note this is one of the sets that you can earn for free.

I have made various things with this set, I own all 5 punches that coordinate with this set. That is one thing I love about SU! they do so well developing stamp images that work perfectly with punches. These make for a quick and simple card/ project. Like the one below.

Have I said how much I love the new COLOR COACH #120148. It is a wonderful way to organize your projects, put together custom color schemes that help you express your creativity. Each card includes suggestions for color combinations so you can mix and match colors from different  color collections with ease. I decided to use the Creative Combination (at top of  the card). 

 As usual, I put things together in  assembly line fashon.

I stamped the owls, punched them out,  and colored the eyes and beaks with pink and orange colored pencils. I added wiggly eyes to each owl.

I cut 2.5x 5.5 inch rectangle tag from the Pacific Point (blue). I scored the rectangle at 4 inches. Used the  1 3/8 x 5/8 inch oval punch at crease to make opening. I used retired blue DSP, retired Melon Mambo polka dot ribbon, heart to heart punch #119881, 1 1/4 inch circle punch #119861, 1 3/4 inch scallop circle punch.  

Here's a picture of the group.

I placed a bunch of single stamps from various hostess sets into 3 x 10 inch pretzel treat cello bags. The owls from this set are my favorite. I am really digging owls these days.

Here is a baby tag I made using the duck mobile image from the set. I have a friend expecting a boy this Spring. I have rolled a homemade crocheted. baby blanket then tied with a pale yellow tulle ribbon. I tied around the tag with the same tulle. I will place the tag on the front of a gift bag when I give it to her.

Here is a card and box combo I made for the hostesses of my stamp club. I used the  FANCY FAVOR BOX #115965 and attached jute handles to make it look like a gift bag- similar to the one on the brochure page. Again, I referred to the COLOR COACH for this color combination- Celery, Daffodil, and Tangerine. The Color Coach suggested Pumpkin pie but I decided that the tangerine looked brighter/ better with the GREENHOUSE GALA Paper #117167. I filled the bag with various pre-cut tags, ribbons, corduroy brads, and a pencil. I used the new Textured Impressions Embossing Folder #121809. We will be making the bag as a make-n-take this weekend at my last stamp club meeting.

Here is the last project I made using this set. I stamped the Happy Birthday image then punched it out using the scallop square punch. I cut out 1 3/4 inch square and pierced around the edges using a piercing tool.

I recycled the box from the Sizzix heart I used for the pop up card in previous post. I cut down both sides and threw away the rest.

I sprayed the acrylic with windex and shined both sides. I layed the acrylic on the Bigz XL Box #2 die and ran it through my machine.

I assembled the box and fastened with 3 mini glue dots.

I wrapped the box with a glitter paper band and added the stamped image, black pierced square, and some polka dot ribbon. Inside I added iridescent metallic filler and some red and silver heart candies (not shown in picture).

I bought the Heart pop-up Bigz XL Die from Sizzix fairly recently. I have always wondered what a pop-up card would be like but I did not want one that looked too complicated. This one looked perfect. After getting it home, I put it to use. It really was easy... and perfect for me. I added another smaller die cut (Sizzlit) and used the XL Heart Punch fom SU to further add details inside. I used the heart template from the Heart Pouch I added yesterday, to the front of the card. I added hand stitches, another heart, and some curled wrapping ribbon. A quick and easy Valentine.