Rubber Stamping & Card Making with Yapha

When we moved into our new apartment last summer, I told Eve that she could pick whichever Decor Elements she wanted for her new room. (You might remember that she used to have butterflies on her wall.) She picked the princess, carriage, and castle — all in pink. No real shock there. But when we went to put them up, they just looked strange, floating on her wall with nothing grounding them. So I while I was looking around for some better way to put them up — maybe frames, maybe canvas — Stampin’ Up announced that they would be selling some of the raw vinyl. People could use their Big Shots to make their own Decor Elements! I bought some of the raw vinyl in Certainly Celery, but instead of die cutting it, I used it to create more of a scene with the Decor Elements that Eve had chosen.

It took us less than hour to put all of it up. Steve helped with the castle, since even standing on the bed I can’t reach that high. Most important of all, Eve loves it!

Each package of the raw Decor Elements vinyl comes with two sheets of vinyl (approximately 14-1/4″ x 24″ ), along with two sheets of transfer tape, for $12.95. It is available in the following colors:

118801 Bashful Blue
118814 Basic Gray
118804 Black
118806 Certainly Celery
114337 Chocolate
118808 Clear
114334 Dark Gray
118813 Gable Green
114336 Kraft
118805 Night of Navy
118803 Old Olive
118810 Pixie Pink
118800 Pretty in Pink
118809 Pumpkin Pie
118802 Real Red
118798 Rose Red
118812 Sahara Sand
118797 So Saffron
118799 Taken with Teal
118807 Tempting Turquoise
114335 White

Chalkboard Decor Elements Vinyl Sheets (118815) are also available for $14.95.
You can purchase any of these through my website. Just click on Shop Now.

For those of you that do not know, I am an elementary school librarian. When I saw the new Decor Element that said “Do Good. Be Kind” it really resonated with me. Of all of things we teach children, this is the most important. If they can learn these two items, then our job is well done. It is a theme that runs through most of the stories I read to them, and also what I hope they see in my daily interactions as well.

Directly opposite the door to my office is a wall that is a lovely shade of blue. It was calling out for something, and I think I found it!

Do Good. Be Kind. If only we could all follow this simple advice every day.

I love the Thoughts & Prayers Tree. I love it as a stamp and I love it even more as a Decor Element vinyl design! I have put up three of these trees so far — one at Applewild School Library, one at Paula’s house, and one at my parents’ house. But I’ve never had one of my very own. And now I do! We put up one in our living room, and I have to tell you, it looks fantastic! And it’s great for California, because you don’t have to worry about a huge piece of art falling down in an earthquake.

Remember, this comes in 6 pieces, so we started out slowly. Here’s a look at it partially up:

Here is the finished tree, right behind our couch:

My husband really liked the quote that was with it in the catalog, so added that too. We separated the birds from the quote for a more balanced look. Here’s a close-up of our end result:

I love seeing this in the living room! Here’s what it looks like:

We’ll take a little break from Valentines today. I want to show you one of the Decor Elements that my husband and I put up this week. We had this space above the stove, and were looking for something that would fit there. We decided on this saying, “Our attitude toward Life determines life’s attitude toward us.” It’s the perfect thing to read all day, from making coffee in the morning to cleaning up after dinner!

You can see all of the Decor Elements in the July brochure and the January supplement. We put up a few more as well, so be sure to check back to see them!

It’s here! It’s here! January 5th is here and with it brings all sorts of new goodies! I know you don’t want to listen to me blather on and on, so here are the links that you have been waiting for!

Occasions Mini Catalog! Starts today and goes through April 30th. The big exciting news in this mini catalog is the new option of Clear-Mount stamps. These are not clear stamps, but rather the deeply etched red rubber that you expect from Stampin’ Up, but designed to be used on clear acrylic blocks. Please see my video tutorial on using these stamps for more info.

Sale-a-Bration starts today as well! It is every stampers favorite time of year! For every $50 that you spend, you can pick one free item from the  Sale-a-Bration catalog. For the first time ever, this includes stamps priced at $15.95 or less from the main catalog as well! If you host a workshop of $300 or more, then you can choose an additional set! There is a fabulous paper pack and an amazing punch in there as well!

As if that weren’t enough, there are new Definitely Decorative items as well! These include some amazing chalkboard Decor Elements! We’re thinking about putting up some extra walls just to have room to put up all of this great stuff! You can view the new Definitely Decorative insert here. But wait, there’s more!

You loved them when they were circles, you’ll love them even more as hearts! Yep, there is a new Treat Cup in town, and it is heart-shaped, just in time for Valentine’s Day! The new Heart Treat Cups coordinate perfectly with the Sweetheart stamp set and the Full Heart punch. Download the Heart Treat Cup flyer for more information.

Still want more? I have one last special to share with you! Stampin’ Up! has partnered with Country Living magazine to bring you the Cards à la Carte stationery kit. This exclusive kit  includes the following products:

• Dinner Party stamp set (set of 3)
• Ballet Blue Classic Stampin’ Spot
• Preprinted stationery (24 sheets: 4 each of 6 designs)

Download the Country Living Cards a la Cart Stationery Kit Flyer or take a look at the stamp set that it comes with.

Phew! Well that’s all of the news for today! Please let me know if you have any questions, or start shopping now!

One of the fabulous products in the Holiday Mini Catalog is this Holiday Mix Décor Elements.

It comes in your choice of four different colors — Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Black, and White. Stampin’ Up advertises it as containing the letters for “Joy,” “Snow,” and “Noel.” But surely there are other things that can be spelled with those letters… My friends over at Stampin’ Addicts and I put our heads together and came up with the following list of 65 (yes 65!) other words and phrases you can spell with one sheet of the Holiday Mix Décor Elements.

eon
eons
Joe
Joel
Jon
Jones
Jonny
Jose
Jowl
Jowls
Len
Lenny
Leno
lens
Leo
Leon
Lew
lone
Lonny
loon
loose
lose
low
lows
new
news
no
no lo (as in no lo contendere, but only a lawyer would love that one. . . .)
no se (Spanish for I don’t know. . . )
noose
nose
now
ol’
Ole (Old English)
Ole (Spanish)
oleo
one
Only
only one
ow
owe
owes
owl
owls
own
owns
Oy
sew
sewn
slow
sole
son
soon
sow
sown
soy
swoon
wen
woe
woes
won
Ye
yes
yo
yon

A big thank you to Holly for her amazing contributions to the list! Imagine what you could do with more than one sheet! Oh, and don’t forget these great wood blocks to put the letters on!

How cute is this growth chart?  I wish I could show you mine, but unfortunately it is still in its cardboard tube, as I have not had time to put it up yet.  I will be putting it on a full-length mirror, so that it can move with us!

This fabulous Decor Elements Growth Chart is only available until September 30, 2009. The colors are Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, and Taken with Teal. It is $24.95 and comes with a free Decor Elements applicator. Contact me to order yours today, or shop online 24/7!

I love this tree! Have I mentioned that I love this tree? It is a fabulous tree, and I was so excited when Paula wanted to put one up at her house! It looks so great on her wall. Actually, I’ve never seen a wall that it looks bad on! Here are some of the highlights as we put it up:

And the final out come! It looks so gorgeous in real life!

So, when are you getting YOUR tree?

Stampin’ Up has three great August specials that start today!

The first one is this fabulous Decor Elements Growth Chart (on the left)  that is only available until September 30, 2009. The colors are Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, and Taken with Teal. It is $24.95 and comes with a free Decor Elements applicator. I will be ordering mine very soon, and will be sure to show you the finished project. Since we are moving around a bit, I’ll be looking for a full-length mirror to put it on.

The second special is for free buttons! Whoo-hoo! Free is good, and buttons are fabulous! Spend $35 on stamp sets from the Growing Up section of the 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalog (pages 74-90) and receive a FREE package of Designer buttons–a $7.95 value! Eligible buttons are Playground Designer Buttons, Sherbet Designer Buttons, and Button Latte Designer Buttons. They can be seen on page 181 of the Idea Book & Catalog.

Important note:

• Growing Up section stamps include the Pirate and Princess Personalized Name stamps from the party kits but not the kits themselves.
• Stampin’ Around wheels do not qualify as a stamp set.
• There is no limit to the number of free buttons you may earn! For every $35 you spend on Growing Up stamp sets, you will receive a free package of Designer buttons.
• Spanish and French equivalent Growing Up stamp sets are also eligible for this promotion. In addition, the Quinceañera stamp set (item 113820) from Celebrando Creatividad is also eligible.

You can download the flyer for more information on these specials.

But wait! There’s more!

The Country Living Cookout Kit and the In Color Demonstrator Sign Up special are still available as well. You know, if you were a demonstrator you could start pre-ordering from the Holiday Mini Catalog today as well…

You can always check the Promotions Page on my Stampin’ Up website for the latest news and specials. Contact me to place your order, or visit my website to shop at your convenience.

Every since I showed my mom the Definitely Decorative catalog with the beautiful Thoughts & Prayers Tree, she had been tossing around the idea of putting it up in the dining room. But it wasn’t until she saw the tree up on the wall in my library that she knew she had to get it! My mom custom designs Judaic needlepoint and has many beautiful pieces on her own walls. She decided that the tree would look beautiful in the dining room behind this piece:

But we didn’t want to just put the picture on top of the tree, so we decided to leave a blank spot on the wall where the picture would go, with the trunk below it and the branches above. This was easy to do, since the tree comes in six pieces. The first thing we did was to mark off the corners of the pictures with Post-It notes.

Then we removed the picture and began to put up the branches of the tree.

Eve was my handy dandy helper throughout!

Finally, we re-hung the picture.

When we were satisfied with where it was hung, we added the trunk below it.

Here is the end result.

Don’t you love it? My parents were so happy with how their dining room wall came out! And it took less than hour to put up! You can download the new Definitely Decorative brochure and see all of the amazing Decor Elements available.