So much happening!

Don't delay, this month's specials start right away!

May 2 Craft and Create free online class by Stampin’ Up! to kick off National Scrapbooking Day weekend.  This class will assemble the Wildflower Celebrations Scrapbooking Workshop Kit (166623). Tune in on Facebook, 1:00 pm MST.  Watch Friday for tips and tricks. The video will probably be available for 30 days on Facebook.  SU! may put a copy on their YouTube channel. You can order your kit and assemble it later.

May 2-3 Double Stampin’ Rewards on orders. (Order your Wildflower Celebrations kit.) 

May 6 new Annual catalog goes live, new Kits Collection products debut, new Online Exclusives

May 10 National Scrapbooking Day  Join me for a FREE All-Day Crop at the library in Wayne, Ohio.

Deadline to Sign-up for Paper Pumpkin subscription to receive the Mountain Majesties kit for May.

May 6-31 Starter Kit Special for Stampin’ Up! (also known as a really great bundle deal on new products)! 😂 $165 in product of your choice for only $99, PLUS a free Paper Pumpkin kit, PLUS free shipping.

More good news:  If a product is currently unavailable, a box will appear above the product detail where you can request an email notification when/if the product returns. If you are logged in, your email address will automatically populate, with the option to edit it if needed. Guests will need to enter their email address manually. 

After your preferred email address is entered, check the box to agree to receive the notification email, then click Notify Me. You will then receive a confirmation email that includes the item number and name of the product you signed up to be notified about. If you change your mind, you can click the unsubscribe button in the confirmation email and it will unsubscribe you only from that specific product notification.

When/if the product becomes available, you will receive a single email notifying you it’s back in stock. The email will include the item number, name, and an image of the product. If the product sells out again, you will need to sign up again to be notified when/if it returns.

We hope this new feature makes shopping even more convenient for you! 

Project Ideas for National Scrapbooking Day Event

Join me on Saturday, May 7 to celebrate National Scrapbooking Day! If you select the All-Day crop option and are ISO a project (or two or three), I have suggestions!!

Here are links to the products/projects in the video:

• Best Friends Furever Cut Above (6" x 8") Kit 
  

  Happiest Place (8.5" x 11") mini album kit 

  

• Moments Like These 

• This kit makes 13, single page 12" x 12" pages. 

  Add the Base Calendar if desired. 

  

  Remember Today 

   This kit makes 13, single page 12" x 12" pages. 

  Add the Base Calendar if desired.

  
• Scrapbooking Starter Kit 

  

  
  
• Cardmaking Starter Kit 

  

  
  
• Make It From Your Heart subscription 

• Scrapbooking

• Cardmaking

  

   

   Other options:

• Any/All of the official NSDay project kits.

• Any currently available Card or Scrapbooking Workshop Kits (GXXXX). Shop early for best selection!

•  Exclusive VIP Highlights kit.

• April Album Retreat (order by April 2)

• any Story by Stacy mini album kit

• Home Sweet Home frame kit

• More ideas coming!

Stencil It! CTMH Technique Blog Hop

Welcome to our May blog hop! You've come from the blog of Hayley Dyer. To continue the Hop, just follow the links from blog to blog until you get back to where you started. If you get lost, you can find a list of participants on Melissa's page. This month we are highlighting stencils. That may sound old school to you, but I'm sure you'll find new ideas for personalizing your art work! Before showing you my project, I have an announcement to make:

...And the award for the Official stamp set of the Pacific Northwest 
goes to..."Make a Splash!!" {Applause}

I knew I needed this set as soon as I saw it in the May/June catalog. It is pretty adorable even if you don't live in a rain forest. Don't you think?? Plus the sayings are appropriate for almost anyone, anytime and I was surprised by how perfect the set is for these crazy pandemic times. If you need more rainy weather stamps, check out "When Skies Are Grey."

I wanted to showcase this set and was also inspired by the Blue Skies cardstock, part of May's special for National Scrapbooking Month. I love the UV coating and wanted to make something similar. 

Can you see the raindrops? 

This card pattern is #7 in Make It From Your Heart Volume #4. I always think rain boots are yellow; too much Curious George as a child I guess! I paired it with one of the papers in Stitched Together. Do you see anything stitched or quilt-related in this design? That's what I love about our B&T Duos and paper packs: any pattern that highly themed is usually universal on the reverse side. Can you see the upside-down raindrops on this paper?? I think they're supposed to be flower petals. That would be something else I could do with my stencil!





Here's how I made my card:  The rain drops are from an overlay image in the Cricut Artistry Collection.  In Design Space, I added the image then used [Contour] to hide the outer line of the image; this gave me just drops to cut out. I used [Duplicate] to copy the image, next I used [Contour] again to "remove" a few drops at the bottom. I made a copy of the edited image with [Duplicate]. Now I had three images, the original, and two edited copies. I lined these up by utilizing the [Position] coordinates. Finally, all three images were "connected" with [Attach] to cut as one item. When cutting the stencil, I made sure to move it over so that there was at least 1" around all three sides when finished.

Before putting the raindrops on my paper, I stamped the two sentiments in Sapphire ink. I rubbed the Anti-Static pouch over this piece and then tacked it in place on a piece of desk pad paper. The stencil was positioned over the cardstock. The drops are fewer near the bottom so I kept away from "splash" but went right over the sentiment at the top. I used the VersaMark pad right on the stencil. After removing the stencil, I used clear embossing powder and embossed as usual. 








Note: Your stencil will be sticky from the VersaMark ink. I first tried cleaning it off with Spritz and a rag.That wasn't bad, but I had so many layers from experimenting, it wasn't quite enough. On my way to the sink, I passed some baby wipes. The wipes worked, at least with my pre-wash. I wouldn't use the chemical disinfectant wipes everyone is hoarding right now, but alcohol-free, mild baby wipes may work. Otherwise, go with my first thought, clean it with a mild soap and water.









To make the puddle at the bottom, I grabbed my Mint Shimmer Brush.

Inside, is another boot, this time stamped with Mink instead of Black so the image is defined, but not overwhelming the sentiment. These could have been stamped right on the card base, but I wanted the flowers to be a separate piece so that the marker didn't show through the back. 















Now, I would never have fussy cut these flowers out of the paper. Even cutting out the boots would have been pushing it, and those are a much simpler design. But with Thin Cuts, it was no problem! It's one of the main reason I bought this stamp set, I can use these flowers for many other projects. The flowers are colored with Tri-Blend markers. 

• Dark Red (light end) > Candy Apple
• Coral (dark end) > Smoothie
• Citrus (dark end) > Lemonade
• Dull Green Blend - leaves
• True Blue (light end) > Mint*

*I've since decided that Green Turquoise (light end) is a better match for Mint. I'd call the Dull Green colors > Green Apple (light), Sage, and New England Ivy (light). For Sweet Leaf I like Citrus Green (light end). Those of us in the matchy-matchy OCD world can get really freaked out about color matching! But, the truth is, on these tiny images, none of which are even shown with the patterned paper, it doesn't matter (too much!).

Please leave some love in the comment section below!


Thanks for stopping by!! Next, head over to see what fabulous-ness Maz Wood has for you this month.

🛒🛒Ready to shop? Head to my website to find the products I used:

• Make a Splash stamp set (available with or without Thin Cuts)
• Stitched Together paper pack (available with or without sticker sheet)
• Lemonade Cardstock
• White Daisy Cardstock
• Mint Shimmer Brush
• Intense Black ink pad
• Sapphire ink pad
• Mink ink pad
• Tri-Blend markers (see colors above)
• VersaMark pad
• Anti-Static Pouch
• Clear Super Fine embossing powder
• Heat Tool
• Stencil Sheets
• Card Bases and Envelopes value pack
• Artistry Cricut Collection (use this link to shop Cricut)

It's National Scrapbooking Month!!

This year for NSM we have an awesome group of special products called Live Beautifully. First, there's the paper pack containing 16 sheets:  2 each of 6 double-sided designs and 2 each of 2 single-sided gold foil designs.  To coordinate with the paper we have a D-size stamp set.

Finally, the Cut Above Layout Kit is perfect for everyone from the seasoned scrapbooker to the novice. The kit comes by itself or you can bundle it with adhesive, journaling pen and an album. Better yet, the bundle is 20% off retail!! The finished pages, presented in an album, makes a lovely gift for Mom, a graduate or a June bride.

Be sure to check under "Events" for information on all the classes I'm offering using the Live Beautifully products.

It's time for a blog give-away!

There's a lot to celebrate this month. National Scrapbooking Month, of course, Mother's Day and Memorial Day are familiar to most people. Some holidays are lesser know like May Day and the tradition of giving May Day baskets or flowers.

Here's a few other's you might not be familiar with (from checkiday.com):

May 1 - May Day
May 2 - National Truffle Day (I hope it's the chocolate kind!)
May 3 - National Teacher Day
May 4 - Intergalactic Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you!)
May 5 - Ascension Day
May 6 - National Nurses Day
May 7 - NATIONAL SCRAPBOOKING DAY
May 8 - Mother's Day
May 9 -Hurray for Buttons Day
May 10 - National Small Business Day
May 11 - Hostess Cupcake Day
May 12 - National Nutty Fudge Day
May 13 - National Apple Pie Day
May 14 - National Miniature Golf Day
May 15 - Pentecost
May 16 - World Baking Day
May 17 - National Cherry Cobbler  Day
May 18 - Accounting Day
May 19 - National Devil's Food Cake Day
May 20 - Pick Strawberries Day
May 21 - National Learn to Swim Day
May 22 - National Vanilla Pudding Day
May 23 - World Turtle Day
May 24 - Brother's Day
May 25 - National Tap Dance Day
May 26 - National Cherry Dessert Day
May 27 - Cellophane Tape Day
May 28 - International Hamburger Day
May 29 - Indianapolis 500
May 30 - Memorial Day
May 31 - National Macaroon Day

There are several opportunities here for photo ops, layouts, cards and some great ideas for goodies at our next crop! There's one more reason to celebrate this month and that's my birthday! I thought it was so apropos that May's Stamp of the Month included the "Happy Birthday" sentiment that I'm giving YOU the gift. I'm giving away a Celebrate With Cake stamp set.

There are many ways to enter:

• Comment on this post "Enter Me"
• Follow my blog (either you already are following or you are a new follower, all are welcome), then comment "Blog Follower"
• Attend this month's crop, then comment "Attended Crop"
• Attend this month's $5 Friday, then comment "$5 Friday"
• Like my business Facebook page, then comment "Liked" (current or new)
• Follow me on Pinterest, then comment "Pinterest Follower" (current or new follower)
• Place an order (April 29-May 31), then comment "Ordered"
• And don't forget to share! Tweet, post, etc. then comment "Shared" (one share entry per person)

You must comment to THIS POST for each entry because I'll be using the comment list and a random number generator to choose the winner in June. If you're the winner, don't forget to Celebrate With Cake!

April and May Specials

Only a few days left to take advantage of April's special Deal of the Day. Each day there is a different grab bag available while supplies last at one of five price points. Here is a picture of my $35 bag

I was very happy with mine; I only had one of these items and many were on my wish list!

May is National Scrapbooking Month and we'll be celebrating with a special paper pack called Taste of Summer. It's only $8.95, no minimum or and no limit to the number you can purchase. Be sure to order early though, it's while supplies last! To coordinate with the paper we also are offering a special stamp set. It's a D size for $17.95. Pictures and links will be on my facebook page and OBA. There are also card and scrapbook layout ideas provided for the paper. Here's one of the layouts...

CC1038 Taste of Summer paper pack
1385 White Daisy cardstock
S1505 Just Sayin' May Stamp of the Month
C1561 One-Way Borders
Z2105 Black Ink Pad
D1565 Laughing Lola Cardmaking Workshop  (retired)
C1618 Year>>Noted (retired but I have one left! Contact me for info.)
Z2013 Sequins Silver Assortment
Z3024 White Shimmer Trim

And a couple of cards I made...

CC1038 Taste of Summer paper pack
1385 White Daisy cardstock
B1478 Iced-Cold Summer
D1646 Finding the Words
C1505 Pun Fun Occasions (retired)
Z2105 Black Ink Pad
Z2640 Thistle Ink Pad
Z2165 Juniper Ink Pad
Z2452 Golden Yellow marker
Z3040 Thistle Extra Thick Twine
Z1853 Aqua Dots
Z1282 Summer Craft Buttons (retired)