Mini-Course Notepad Creations!

I had the best time teaching stamping to three 3rd-graders and one 5th grader this afternoon!  It was Mini-Course day at the grade school, and boy the kids were pumped up!  My students were so enthusiastic, it made it easy to teach!  I love to hear "wow - look at that!" and "that was fun" and "that was easier than I thought"!  We decorated an insert for RSVP pens, and then decorated the covers of the notepads that I prepared for them (I used Confetti Cream this year).  After a quick introduction into the do's and don'ts of stamping, they got down to business.  They loved the Stampin' Up! color names (I used mostly retired or retiring colors) and I got in a lesson on "alliteration"! 

I provided about a dozen ink pads, a bunch of stamp sets (I made the theme butterflies and flowers), and all the punched/die-cut images I've saved over the last year or so plus a few new ones (had to try the new Beautiful Wings embosslit).  I also gave them access to some retired and/or non-SU ribbon.  Each girl got a glue-stick, instructions, their decorated pad and pen, and any cards they made if they had extra time.

Anyway, I know you want to see their creations, but first here was my example:

Not bad, but you should see how they took this idea and ran with it!  First Hannah, the fifth-grader - I love how the red dots coordinated with the ribbon she found!  I wish I had taken pictures of the cards she made - very creative and talented mind!

Then there was Lisa, who liked using one ribbon to hold the notepad closed (which we didn't have on for the picture, sorry! - it was Apple Green grosgrain):

And Olivia, who became the queen of the "layered flower" look:

And last but not least, Caitlin, who did a great job incorporating sayings into her notepad cover!

Tastefully Tuesday - Artichoke and Spinach Warm Dip Mix

Add cream cheese and shredded Swiss cheese, warm gently and enjoy this classic favorite with crackers, chips or sliced French bread. For a tasty twist, stir in crabmeat or sun-dried tomatoes. Each packet makes about 1½ cups dip.

Ingredients Needed:

• 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
• 8 oz. softened cream cheese*
  *Light may be used; fat-free will not set up properly.

2 - 0.5 oz. packets per box (1 oz.) 28g  (Item# 734309)

Of all the things I had at my Open House back in March, this was my hands-down favorite!  I had the leftovers for lunch the next day, and I'm serving it again this weekend with Mint Juleps while watching the Kentucky Derby!  I like to serve it with Pita Chips myself!  Enjoy!

Confirmation Card

This weekend Daughter #1 gets confirmed.  It has been a "school-year" long process, with classes every Sunday, service projects, special outings, and last weekend they finished up with a weekend retreat where they decided whether they would decide to follow Jesus Christ.  I'm very happy to say that Ruth did say "yes" so we will have the Confirmation Service this Sunday and then go out to brunch (not planning on dinner so I hope we get our fill!)

When trying to decide what card to make, I got my inspiration from several places.  First, I saw this really cute idea for a flower from Angie Juda's site and realized I had some of the first "Fleurettes" they came out with last year that used last years In Colors Riding Hood Red and Pink Pirouette.  Well guess what?  Those colors are coming back full-time so I got everything out of storage (just kidding, I never put anything completely away LOL!) and started to play!  The problem was I am literally down to scraps on Pink Pirouette.  I had an unopened pack of paper at the end of last year and sold it during my Open House - had I only known... anyway, this scrap was big enough to be a layer on a card.  I had plenty of Riding Hood Red because I loved that color and decided to keep what I had!  So I had my colors figured out - the third area that inspired me was the Stampin' Success catalog, where they used the flourish stamp from Baroque Motifs (still one of my favorite stamps) and did some "torn corner" thing that turned out to frame things quite nicely.  So, a "card is born"!!  On the inside, I was able to break out not one but TWO retired ribbons in these colors - wonder if they'll bring them back?  I LOVED the Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon - very cool!

So here they are - have a great weekend!

Tastefully Tuesday - Toasted Garlic & Parmesan Cheese Ball!

Today's feature is the Toasted Garlic & Parmesan Cheese Ball mix (723200)!  Super easy, just mix with 8 oz. of cream cheese and chill.  Even if you don't want to use this as a cheese ball, this is a great way to flavor cream cheese for use on bagels, toast, or with crackers!  And you get TWO mixes in one box!  I'm lovin' it!

A mellow garlic treasure with tangy undertones. Just add cream cheese; chill and serve with chips or crackers. Or for a warm dip, heat gently in the microwave. Makes about 12 servings.

Ingredients Needed:

• 8 oz. cream cheese

2-0.55 oz. packets per box (1.1 oz.) 32g

Elements of Style - Summer Mini Sneak Peek

I have a confession to make - my favorite stamp sets have always been floral - especially vintage floral.  Maybe it's because they are so versatile, and floral images appear so often on feminine cards.  So of course one of the first ones I chose in my Summer Mini Pre-Order was a new one called Elements of Style.  Now I can't show you the actual stamp set yet, as it is not available to the public until May 1st, but I can show you my first attempt at making a card with it!

The main stamp from this set is a beautiful spray of flowers, and I thought about watercoloring it, but in the end I decided to make the flowers a "suggestion" in the background and showcase the gorgeous bird!  This set will also coordinate very nicely with Vintage Vogue (117690 wood, 118598 clear) currently available in the Occasions Mini catalog until the end of April (and will be available in the new Idea Book & Catalog 2010-2011).  So I will probably be making projects combining them in future posts.

What do you think?  Do you think my Stamp Club will want to do this card?  Or do you think they want to get o out the chalks and watercolor?

Tastefully Tuesday - Blue Ribbon Blueberry Bars

Today's Tastefully Tuesday Feature is Blue Ribbon Blueberry Bars!  These were featured at my Stamp Club this weekend and were very well received! 

Your family will award you first prize for these delightfully moist and chewy dessert bars - loaded with blueberries, oats and white chips! Just add butter and an egg. Excellent for lunch boxes, picnics and casual summertime meals on the patio. 0g trans fat per serving.

Ingredients Needed:

• 1 egg
• ½ cup (1 stick) melted butter

16 oz. box (1 lb.) 453g

Remember these are only available for a limited time, so stock up while you can!  Just click on the Tastefully Simple logo to the right to place your order!

New Color Announcement from Stampin' Up!

Yesterday Stampin' Up! announced a Color Renovation - their first in about five years!  Here's the new lineup...

And here's what's going away...

All this is taking place as of July 1, 2010 with the new catalog.  In addition, the In Colors that have been announced this year will be around for TWO years, and next year another five will be added, and they will be around for TWO years, etc. etc.  I'm happy about this one!

I'm glad to see this - some of the retiring colors were ones I never used.  Some of the others I'll miss, but there are others coming back from previous years that I am glad to see again!  There are more things coming but this is big enough, so I'll just let that sit and simmer with everyone for now!

Tastefully Tuesday - Sun Dried Tomato Veggie Dip Mix!

Happy Belated Easter, and Happy Spring too!  Along with warmer temperatures comes the tendency for some lighter fare - and Tastefully Simple's Sun Dried Tomato Veggie Dip Mix (723300) fits the bill perfectly!

With the fresh flavors of sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, onion and parsley, this dip delivers a whole lot of flavor. Excellent with crisp veggies, but you'll love it on crackers or spread on sandwiches, wraps and burgers, too. Just add mayonnaise and sour cream.

Ingredients Needed:

• ¼ cup mayonnaise**
  **Real mayonnaise only.
• ¾ cup sour cream***
  ***Light may be used.
•  

I brought some of this to the family Easter dinner in a really cute dip bowl that I found in a shop in downtown Naperville where the spreading knives are bunny ears (tee hee!)  Of course did I take a picture?  No!  Sorry about that... anyway, this dip was perfect for a veggie tray, which in our house is basically a "pepper tray" because if I just buy one at the store Nora will eat the 4 or 5 peppers in a heartbeat!  I've learned to make my own tray where it is basically peppers with one or two other veggies thrown in (LOL)!  Anyway, this stuff is great!  Tasted good on the one or two crackers I spread it on as well!

The best part about Tastefully Simple's dips is that you can make them low-fat if you add lower fat ingredients!  The instructions do say to use REAL mayonnaise, but they just mean "NO MIRACLE WHIP!"  That stuff has way too many added things like vinegar and such.  I use low-fat or fat-free mayo all the time and it works fine.

Anyway, give this stuff a try - my Stamp Club will this weekend, along with another new item that I'll reveal at next week's "Tastefully Tuesday!"

April Stamp Club Projects

Here are the three projects we'll be making this coming weekend for April Stamp Club.  The first card coincides with the April Two-Stamp Stamping Promotion that I've mentioned in previous posts and features a Sneak Peek stamp set called "Awash With Flowers":

Item	Description	Price
117062	Awash with Flowers (wood-mount)	$39.95
120549	Awash with Flowers (clear-mount)	$27.95

Plus, purchase spring-themed Two-Step Stampin' sets at 20 percent off the retail price--no additional purchase necessary! Qualifying stamp sets are listed below:

Item	Page	Description	Discount Price
113824	94	Greenhouse Garden	$20.76
113734	98	Fifth Avenue Floral	$19.96
111578	101	Flower Fancy	$29.56
113258	112	Trendy Trees	$14.36

I'm also featuring the Extra Large Fancy Flower Punch (118073) - I had fun sponging the colors to make it look like a Pansy, which is one of my favorite flowers!  The colors here are Crushed Curry (base), Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, and Glorious Green.  The patterned paper is Razzleberry Lemonade (115675) - and the ribbon is also Rich Razzleberry (polka-dot 1/2" grosgrain - 115613).  The background that the flowers were stamped on is actually cut from the Top Note die twice!  (once in each direction).

Project Number Two features one of our "Under $10 Stamps" called "Simply Thanks (115560) which I actually earned for free with Sale-A-Bration this year!  I like the fact that I was able to do that and still use it for workshops since it is a current stamp.  I took my inspiration for the colors on this card from the ribbon I used.  This is the 1/2" ribbon from the Ribbon Originals "Orchard" collection (116232).  The card base is Sahara Sand, and is stamped in Sahara Sand ink with the "Woodgrain" Background Stamp (117100) which I've had all year and never found a chance to use it!  The other solids are Soft Suede and Old Olive, and the Simply Thanks is stamped in Soft Suede.  I love the fact that this card is gender-neutral, and easy to make.

Project Three is my "3-D" project for the month - a Grocery List that you can hang on your refrigerator!  I took a standard sized notepad from a office supply store and had them cut into even thirds, so the dimensions end up being 2-3/4" by 11-3/4".  I've seen variations of this project on Angie Kennedy Juda's blog and while she  used a shorter notepad, the idea is the same.  The backing paper is Always Artichoke stamped all over using the background set "Sprinkles" (115076) which I also earned for free from Sale-A-Bration!   The other images are from one of my favorite sets called "Great Friend" (113792) and uses Bravo Burgundy in addition to the Always Artichoke ink colors.  This is a super-fast and easy project to make as well.  I glued half of a "business card magnet" onto the back so it can be put on any magnetic surface.  Voila!  I know I will be making a few of these for myself!

Hope you like these projects enough to RSVP for the Stamp Club - remember, April 10th 1-4pm, and April 11th 2-5pm.  If you can't make it but would like the instructions for these projects, just drop me a line and I'll email them to you.  I can also put together project kits for a small fee.

Have a great day, see you soon!
Peg