I will be holding a virtual Sale-A-Bration workshop January 19, 2017 on my Living In Craftermath Facebook Page.  This will be my first every Virtual Party!  I plan on making virtual parties a regular occurrence so make sure to join me!  There are so many AMAZING Sale_A-Bration items this year, I can't wait to get all of the ones I want.

You can get the items you want on an individual order or a workshop order.  For every $50 (US Dollars - pre-tax and shipping) you spend you get to choose one limited time only, Sale-A-Bration item for FREE!  There's no limit on the number of free items you can choose.  Spend $50 get 1 free item.  Spend $100 get 2 free items.  Spend $200 get 4 free items...you get the idea.

Have you been thinking about hosting a party?  Any type of party qualifies, in-home parties for locals, virtual parties for those far away (or locals that don't want to do in-home parties), or catalog parties for those that want to do minimal work, but still reap the rewards.
 
January 4-March 31, 2017 is the time to host!  Not only do you get the awesome Stampin' Rewards, and Sale-A-Bration rewards for every $50 you spend, but you will also receive an ADDITIONAL $25for any party totaling $250 or more - which might sound like a lot, but most of my parties total this amount with little effort on the part of the hostess.  If you host a party totaling $250 you get DOUBLE the stampin' rewards ($50), just for hosting during Sale-A-Bration with no extra effort on your part.  A party of $300 will earn you $61 Stampin' Rewards.  A party of $450 can earn you $88 Stampin' Rewards PLUS an item of your choice for 50% OFF!

Have you ever had that thought in the back of your mind that you'd love to be a part of Stampin' Up! but it just wasn't the right time?  Now's the right time!  During Sale-A-Bration customers are seeking out Demonstrators so that they can get in on the Sale-A-Bration fun.  It's the easiest time of the year to get sales (I typically double my sales during the 3 months of Sale-A-Bration compared to other months).

The biggest problem I've heard is that some poeple who would like to be a part of Stampin' Up! simply can't afford the Starter Kit - which is a fantastic deal...I mean you get $125 worth of product for $99 and you get business supplies on top of that...but if you can't afford the $99 how can you get started?  Here's how: book a party from me (I would suggest as soon as you can so you can start reaping some of the benefits of Sale-A-Bration as a Demonstrator).  As a host/hostess you can use your Stampin' Rewards toward a new Starter Kit.  Here's the break down:
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Choose the option that looks the best for you and set your sights on becoming a part of Stampin' Up!  Best of all if you sign up during Sale-A-Bration, not only do you get a better head start on your own business, but Stampin' Up! will give you even more to get you started.  During Sale-A-Bration you can choose $125 worth of product, PLUS an additional TWO FREE STAMP SETS (that's an additional value of up to $104!!!)  All for $99...or less, if you play your cards right and book a workshop with me and let your customers pay for your starter kit.

You may have heard - Sale-A-Bration is here! It's my all-time favorite time of the year!  If you don't already have a Sale-A-Bration catalog contact me to get one! 

I wanted to show you some of the wonderful Sale-A-Bration items here.  I mentioned one of my favorites in the last post.  The Designer Tee Stamp Set.  Since you can't actually purchase them, they don't show up when you look them up on my Stampin' Up! Website.

Here's the "Designer Tee" stamp set that I used in my "Think Outside The Box" post I wrote earlier.

It coordinates with Custom Tee Stamp Set and T-shirt Builder Framelits Dies.  If you want both the stamp set and the framelits, save 10% and bundle them with the Custom Tee Bundle.

Those familiar with Stampin' Up! may have heard Demonstrators and Customers alike saying they "CASEd" a card or scrapbook page.  So what exactly does that mean?  It stands for Copy And Share Everything.  Most companies frown on people copying things straight from their catalog - Stampin' Up! embraces it.  Demonstrators as well as those working for the Stampin' Up! home office understands that if you are copying our work it means that you like and appreciate our work.  We don't get upset when something of ours is copied (as long as it isn't written off as your original idea, that is).  We take it as a great compliment when we see all of our card ideas being CASEd.  I bring this up only because my Mom was showing me some of her cards that she made to show at her Virtual Party (on January 19, 2017 on my Facebook Page) and when I asked if I could showcase them on my blog, she kept saying "but these aren't my ideas, I saw some on Pinterest and some on YouTube.  I didn't come up with these designs."  This is what Stampin' Up! is all about!  We are about sharing ideas and inspiration and confidence.

Here's a card that she made for one of my kids' birthdays. (Sorry about the side-ways picture, it's just not cooperating today). Look closely, can you tell what those adorable "Pac-Man-Inspired Ghosts" are made from?  Those are punched from the Owl Punch.  She punched them out in bright colors and then turned the owl upside down.  How fun is that?

Here's another one she made.  It's made from Whisper White Cardstock.  She took one of her Embossing Folders and embossed the top portion of the card, then turned the card around and embossed the bottom portion with a different embossing folder, leaving a space that's just the perfect size for a "Happy Anniversary" sentiment.  Add a ribbon and how cute is that?  I just fell in love with this card when I got it from her.

And, last, but certainly not least are these amazing cards!  I love how she took the same stamp set and the same sentiment and made completely different cards simply by changing the ink colors and background paper.  Such an effective way to make a large quantity of cards (always great to have on hand for those times that you just don't have time to sit down and create a card, but you've got someone in your life that really deserves a hand-made card) without having to create a bunch of different designs or have all of the cards exactly the same.  This makes a really fun change-up.

Anyone who's been following me knows that we have been in the process of moving for almost 2 years now (seriously guys, this is getting REALLY old).  My main problem is that since we were supposed to be moved into our new house toward the end of December 2015 we had all of our things put into storage so our house would show well.  Unfortunately, that also meant that almost all of my crafting supplies are also packed, and have been for quite some time.  I was trying to come up with some cards to show you all how adorable some of these Sale-A-Bration items and new Occasions Catalog items are.  Then came the predicament: How do I showcase products to do them justice while only using my very limited crafting supplies? Time to get creative, I guess.  Here's the list of the things I had to work with:

 I also, had adhesive, but you'll have to admit, that's still a pretty short list to work with.  I bought the Basic Gray and Pumpkin Pie Cardstocks as a Halloween Bundle and they look GREAT as Halloween items...but it's not Halloween anymore and I didn't want that look, so I didn't use the Pumpkin Pie for this one.  I also didn't use the Pop of Pink Designer Washi Tape for these ones, but I'm going to on others because I *LOVE* the Pop of Pink series.

   I'll be honest, the hardest part was trying to come up with something different using just 2 colors of cardstock.  I don't know that I've tried that since I was a beginner that was just scared of doing anything besides really simple cards.  These are 3 that I came up with and I think they turned out just great!

This "Everything will be okay" card is a simple one that would be easy to throw together for a friend that just needs a "Hey, everything will be okay" to get them through the day.  I simply stamped the tee-shirt on Whisper White Cardstock in Sweet Sugar Plumb, cut it out using the cooresponding T-shirt Builder Framelits Die, stamped the banner in Dapper Denim then stamped "Just give it some Time" (this is from the 2017 exclusive Sale-A-Bration collection.  This set is called "Designer Tee" Item #143359 free with any $50 order - pre-tax and shipping).  I, then, cut a piece of Basic Gray for the card front, stamped "Everything will be okay" in the top corner using Dapper Denim ink, and put some "edging" ink around the card.  I had to use a cotton ball...well 3 cotton balls because they are NOT made to do this kind of heavy-duty work.  It took forever!  Seriously, do yourself a favor and buy the sponges or sponge daubers.  You'll thank yourself, I promise.  Then I put the card front onto the Whisper White base and that was it.

I'm not gonna lie.  This "Rad Dad" is my favorite card (and probably the most simple one I made).  I used the same Whisper White card base and the same Basic Gray card front as I did for the "Everything will be okay" card.  I stamped the t-shirt and 'Rad Dad' in Dapper Denim - the stamps are made so that you can layer the setiment  inside the t-shirt so you only have to stamp once...no lining up and hoping you get it centered.  Then I cut it out with the corresponding framelit.  I used 4 of the different washi tape designs from the Playful Pallette Designer Washi Tape for the background, then used some SNAIL Adhesive to adhere the t-shirt to the front.  That's all there was to it.

See how easy Stampin' Up! makes it to layer the sentiment inside the t-shirt so you don't have to do any more lining up stamps perfectly?These are 2 different stamps. The "tee-shirt" is a stamp and the "Rad Dad" is a separate stamp.  Wasn't that was so nice of them to think of?

This last one was so fun to do (mostly because I had to get creative).  I wanted my train to be rolling down some train tracks, but since I had very limited options, I couldn't think of anyway to make train tracks that looked good.  Then I thought "a hill would be great...what could I use for a hill?"  Then it occurred to me - I did have my Project Life Cards & Labels Framelits.  Cut that in 1/2 diagonally, and turn it at an angle and then...I have hills.  I had to do a little further problem solving.  If you'll notice up in the list of supplies I had to work with there is no green cardstock of any shade.  I have white - I could do "snowy mountains" I guess; but that would blend in with the card base.  I don't want to do that.  I could use the Pumpkin Pie Cardstock - but orange mountains?  What can I do with orange mountains?  Alright, no orange.  I have Basic Gray Cardstock.  A gray mountain? (With a gray card front on top of that).  I can't do a gray mountain.  Well, great.  I'm out of options.  I kept staring at this card that ALMOST worked, until it hit me.  I may not have green cardstock, but I do have some Emerald Envy Ink.   I decided to try it, and it worked!  I cut out the 2nd to largest rectangle from the Project Life Cards & Labels framelits, cut it in 1/2 diagonally and then "pounced" my ink pad on top of my new hills. (Make sure to go in many different directions when doing this, otherwise you'll have very streaky lines going straight up and down your hills and it doesn't look very good.  I'm speaking from experience here).
    I stamped the train in Dapper Denim then cut it out, stamped "I knew you could" top center on the card front.  Then glued it all together.  The stamps from this one are also from the "Designer Tee" Sale-A-Bration set.

    I know I'm not the only one, I've talked to plenty of people that feel the same way I do.  This year, I am just really having a hard time making it feel like Christmas.  I'm just not feeling it this year.  Maybe it's because 2016 was so harsh that I just don't want to celebrate...maybe it's because it's not as cold and snowy here as it usually is (not that I'm complaining about that - I'm not really a fan of cold or snow)...maybe it could be a million different things, all I know is I just can't seem to get into the Christmas spirit.

     I feel like I need to get into the spirit though, for my kids, if nothing else.  They're asking to go get a tree and to go sledding and their excitement is a complete child-like excitement for Christmas.  I've been trying to get into Christmas for them.  I think I finally found some Christmas excitement.

Seriously, tell me those aren't the cutest Christmas trees ever! Yesterday, I'll be honest, I did NOT feel like crafting (I know, you never thought you'd hear me say THAT, did you?)  I was just not in the mood.  However, now that all my kids are in school I have found myself in an interesting situation.  I've been a Stay-At-Home-Mom since my oldest was born.  I absolutely LOVE being able to do that.  Now, though, they are all gone during the day.  I thought about getting a part time job, but then I thought "I've been waiting so long to have no kids at home so that I can go on field trips, and eat lunch on a whim with my kids or go out with my friends.  I can't just suddenly call into work and say "Hey, my kid wants me to eat with them today, so I'm not coming to work".  So...what to do?  I want a job that I can just take off on a whim, one that's only a part time job, one that doesn't insist I work regular hours during the summer (you know, soccer, family vacations, football, baseball...life).  That sounds like a ridiculous list; no one is going to hire someone with that kind of a list.  Then I decided, I'm going to put more time into my crafting.  So I decided that's going to be my New Year's Resolution, then I decided why wait until the new year?  So, I had already gotten my plans made that I would "go to work" at a certain time every day, I would do certain things to make my business thrive.  I had to stick with it, even when I didn't feel like doing it.  So I started putting together this Forever Evergreen Project and I'll tell you what, my stress just melted away.  It was so fun! 

     This was the first one I put together.  If there's one thing I learned from this one it's READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!!!  I'm not one to read the instructions on craft projects, usually I can just figure them out. These trees come with plastic dowel-tube things.  I put this tree together, I made sure to glue it well so that I wouldn't have it coming apart.  I especially made sure to glue down the center of each one so that my tree would be nice and sturdy and I wouldn't have to worry about it coming apart.  Then after I put the tree all together and was certain that it would stay together I decided to read the instructions on all the ornaments and the star for the tree.  Then I realized, as I hung my head in frustration, that I was supposed to stick the dowel down through the center - that, not only gives the tree a sturdy structure, but also is what holds the star on the tree, buuuuuut...the tree was glued together so there was no where to put it now.  I hot glued the star on, and it still looks alright, but when I did the other trees it went together so much faster and easier.  Read the instructions, guys.

I thought this one turned out pretty cute.  Here's the deal on those dang, red balls though.  I tried to put them together the way they were supposed to be (yes, I read the instructions on them. lol).  You are supposed to open them and stick one side to the other.  Every time I did that they ripped in half.  They just weren't strong enough (they are made from tissue paper after all).  So here's how I fixed that - you guys get to learn from my mistakes so you don't have to make them all, I guess.  You see that white line that goes down the center of all the red tissue balls?  That's actually TWO tissue balls that I glued together, back to back.  They turned out a LOT better after I started doing that.  That white line is actually the back of each tissue ball.  I thought it added a little extra "festivity" to the ball too.  So, it's a WIN!

This one was my favorite!  I'm not sure if it's because I think it looks the cutest or if I just had so much fun putting it together.  I'd seen on Pintrest a way to tie mini bows with a fork, so I decided to try it...mostly because I despise tying little bows, my fingers were just not made to tie tiny bows.  It worked!  It saved me so much time.

     I think my absolute favorite part of these trees was the star!  Leave it to Stampin' Up! to make sure the star on top of the tree was more than just a star.  I absolutely fell in love with the stars when they were put together!

    These trees helped give me some excitement for Christmas.  Aparently, all I needed was to start crafting. 

     If you're looking for these trees you can find the Project Kit here.  I would also suggest getting the Forever Evergreen Stamp Set as well.  You can still make the trees (you get all three in the 1 kit) without the stamp set, but it just adds so much to the trees that I would really suggest getting it.

Stampin' Up! suggests the following accessories to complete this kit:

Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake and Soft Suede Classic Stampin’ Pads
* Mini Glue Dots
* Multipurpose Liquid Glue
* Bone Folder
* Paper-Piercing Tool
* Hot glue gun

 All would be extremely helpful, but if you don't have the items you can substitute them (for instance, all my inks are packed except Marina Mist and Basic Grey.  I used Basic Grey on the acorns and Marina Mist on the ornaments).

     If any of you have created any of these trees, I would LOVE to see them down in the comments.
Happy Stamping!

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     This summer was so full! Unfortunately, my computer went down during my vacation and I only had access to the internet sporadically during the summer.  I really missed all my Stampin' Up! followers! You guys are great!  I do appreciate you all hanging in there all summer.  As for now I am back and I will keep posting all the great ideas and promotions from Stampin' Up!  The holiday Catalog will be available in a few days (Starting September 1, 2016) and I CAN'T WAIT to show you all the AWESOMENESS that's in that catalog!  They've got some seriously cute stamps and accessories. I'm loving the kits!  Since I've been sparse on crafting space this last year, the kits have been a life-saver for me.  They use very little to get some amazingly, great cards and home decor.
     
     As for now, just a few reminders: 

We knew it was coming and still it seems so sad.  The last week of the "weekly deals" has begun.  On April 18, 2016 the weekly deals will be gone.  Stampin' Up! will still have Stampin' Up! Specials every few months which, personally, I think is great.  As much as I loved the weekly deals, I'd get a bit annoyed when I'd send in an order with one or two items on the weekly deal list only to find that the following week I found something else I'd been dying to have and had to put in another small order.  This way we will get to get all the specials all at once, it will be great to see those.

Yes, you read that right.  This will be one of the last (2nd to last to be exact) Weekly Deals for Stampin' Up!  But, they are going out with a *BANG*  There's a LOT of deals this week.

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One of my favorite thing about Stampin' Up! is that when they achieve a milestone, they let everyone who helped get them to that milestone to join in the celebration with them.

Stampin' Up! just sent out their ONE MILLIONTH My Paper Pumpkin Kit.  To celebrate this milestone, Stampin' Up! will be adding a bonus stamp set in their April "My Paper Pumpkin" kit called "All about Everything".  They don't want to give away the surprise about the kit, so that's all they are saying.  If you want to get April's Kit, you need to subscribe to My Paper Pumpkin before April 10, 2016.  There's no need to worry about signing up.  If you try it and feel like "My Paper Pumpkin" isn't for you, you can cancel at any time.  If you have the month to month subscription, you can also put it on hold; if you are going to be out of town and don't want your kit sitting on your front step, or if you are tight on cash one month, whatever the reason, just go to the My Paper Pumpkin website, sign in and click "skip a month" (this must be done prior to the 10th day of the month you wish to skip).