Gretchen Barron

It's No Trick! Stampin' Up! Is Handing Out Spooktacular Treats ... and They're 15% off!

No Tricks, Stampin' Up!'s Treat! Wow, I'm excited and I hope you will be, too!   Starting at 12:00 AM (MT) and ending at 11:50 PM (MT) on Monday, October 29th (that's tomorrow), almost every stamp we sell will be 15 percent off. This means all stamps in the current catalogs (2012-2013 Catalog and Holiday Catalog) including Background Stamps Personalized Name Stamps Cookie Press Stamps Single stamps This DOES NOT include Digital Stamp Brush Sets Bundled Sets with Stamps (they are already discounted) Hostess Stamps There are single stamps available now!  And they are also included!  Wow!  Click on the catalogs in the right-hand side bar to see the complete offering.  There are single stamps from several popular stamp sets, along with several brand new, never-before-seen single stamps.  It's enough to make your heart sing! There is no minimum purchase, and there is no limit to the number of stamps you can order. To order, e-mail me at gbarron56@comcast.net or click on the shopping mouse on the right-hand side bar to go to my Stampin' Up! Shopping site. Don't forget! This sale is for TOMORROW, October 29th, ONLY!  After October 29th, the 15% off sale will go away. Don't miss out.

I'm Back ...

Hello dear blog followers! I want to thank you for the many e-mails and expressions of concern that I've received from you during my little "blog sabbatical" these past several weeks. Following the end of Stamping 411, I just needed to give myself a little time and space to regroup. What have I discovered in my time away? I've discovered how much I miss stamping and sharing my creations with others. And I've discovered how much I appreciate this online community which has become such an important part of my life over the past years. And so, after some time to think and some honest soul searching, I'm back and I hope to be sharing many creations and conversations with you in the future.

And I'm beginning with this gorgeous (at least I think so) card that I created for a recent "Over the Top" Christmas SWAP! Can you believe that I made 36 of these? I wouldn't recommend it (mainly because each of those little lacy die cut pieces needed to be poked out individually). But it was fun to create something really special to share.

I began by creating the "music" with the Music Notes Standard Wheel. I stamped with Early Espresso Ink on Very Vanilla Cardstock. I then punched out the circles with the 1 3/4" Circle Punch, layered that on a 2" circle of Eary Espresso Cardstock and then attached it to the Large Delicate Doilies Sizzlet Die Cut out of the Champaign Glitter Paper (wow, is that paper gorgeous).

The Card Base is Cherry Cobbler with a layer of Early Espresso and another of Pretty in Pink. The Pretty in Pink layer is embossed with the Big Shot and the Northern Flurry Folder. The sentiment is from the Rejoicing with You stamp set.

The bird is punched using the Bird Builder punch and Cherry Cobbler cardstock. I inked the edges heavily with Early Espresso ink to add some contrast and definition and added a Basic Pearl Eye. The double bow is tied with Cherry Cobbler Seam Tape Ribbon.

Again, thank you so much for hanging in there with me. I do hope you'll come back soon for more ideas and inspiration!