Wedding Bird Cage

I decorated this bird cage for a friend's wedding reception. I used the Fancy Flower Extra-Large punch to make the roses, and the 2-Step Bird Punch. The birds were punched in Shimmery White cardstock, and the edges were sponged with Elegant Eggplant ink. I punched 4 sets of birds and used Stampin' Dimensionals to give them depth. Each bird is made with 2 bodies adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals, and 2 wings -- one adhered to the front of the bird and one adhered to the back of the bird. Stampin' Dimensionals were used for the wings, too.
The roses were made with Shimmery White cardstock and Elegant Eggplant cardstock. The leaves were made with Old Olive cardstock.
Everything was attached to the bird cage with mini glue dots so the bride could remove the decorations and use the bird cage in her home. This was a fun project!

Make & Takes for "Retirement" Open House

Here are two of the Make & Takes we will be making this weekend at my "Retirement" Open House. These stamp sets are "retiring" on June 30th, so be sure to place your order right away. You can order directly on my Stampin' Up! website, http://nancyamato.stampinup.net/.

The first card uses Bordering Blue cardstock and ink. I used the Tulipe Bigz Die to make a stencil, and sponged Bordering Blue ink onto the front of the card. The Bella Bleu Designer Series paper is layered onto a strip of Very Vanilla cardstock, and the edges are sponged with Bordering Blue ink. The "happiness" word is part of the Warm Words stamp set (#115108, $21.95). This is a set of 8 stamps and is "retiring" on June 30th. Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon finishes it off for an elegant look.

The second card uses Pink Passion, Yoyo Yellow, and Only Orange cardstock and ink. The stamp set is called Enjoy Every Moment (#113622, $31.95). This stamp set has 11 stamps and is very versatile. It is great for greeting cards and scrapbook pages. Tempting Turquoise 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon and a Flower Designer Brad finish off this fun and funky card.

Last Chance Lists!

June is an exciting month in the Stampin' Up! year -- the Last Chance Lists are posted! If you have stamp sets on your wish list that are "retiring," now is the time to order them before they are gone forever. This week, I will be posting photos of some of the projects I have made with stamp sets that are on the Last Chance List. Check back tomorrow for the first of these "retiring" stamp set projects.

Stampin' Up! Color Renovation!

Stampin' Up! announced exciting news yesterday -- the Color Renovation! Some of my favorite retired In-Colors are returning into the color families, especially Baja Breeze! (It looks SO gorgeous with Chocolate Chip!) And, new colors are being added. The four color families are also changing. Starting July 1st, the color families will be the Subtles Collection, the Regals Collection, the Brights Collections, and the Neutrals Collection. Stampin' Up! will be bidding a fond farewell to some of the current colors, as well. Please contact me for all of the info!

Vintage Vogue

I just LOVE the Vintage Vogue stamp set featured in the Occasions Mini Catalog! It is very versatile. You can use it for birthday cards, get well cards, wedding cards and more! This get well card was one of the Make & Takes from my Stamp & Scrap for UNICEF day. The large flower is stamped in Rich Razzleberry and the small flowers are stamped in Pretty In Pink with Rich Razzleberry sponged on the outside of the petals. The flower centers sparkle with Dazzling Diamonds, and the flowers are adhered to the card with Stampin' Dimensionals. Old Olive cardstock was used for the leaves and the scalloped strip. Enjoy!

Hello, all! Well, we have had our fair share of snow in the mid-Atlantic states in the last 2 weeks, and we are supposed to have just a few inches more today. Heck, we can handle that! I have been stamping during all of this snow, and I will post photos of what I have been doing later today. I am still trying to learn the ropes of blogging, so I hope to improve the appearance of my blog soon. Stay Warm!

Hello! I just returned from a great weekend of stamping and creating with friends! My upline opens her home each year for a RAD (RemARKable Achieving Directs & Dreambuilders) weekend. This is the first year I have earned this great weekend, and I was so excited to go. I will be posting photos of the projects we made, as well as some sneak peek items that will be included in the Sale-A-Bration brochure and the new Occasions Mini Catalog beginning in January. I was not sure how I would like the clear stamps, but I think I love them! The clear blocks make stamping easy -- you can see exactly where your image will be! Plus, the DVD-sized storage case is great. I will be adding some of the new stamps and clear blocks to my pre-order.

I also got to spend some time with one of my stamping buddies, Dawn. She has a great blog (Stampin Creations), and has graciously agreed to help me learn the ropes of blogging. So, I will make weekly posts one of my goals for the new year.

I hope you enjoy the holidays with those you love. Stay tuned....I promise to post some photos from RAD by the weekend!