Sunday, November 28, 2010

Fabulous Opportunities ending soon. . .

Stampers, I just want to remind you that Stampin' Up! has 2, count 'em, 2 great opportunities going on right now. . .

First is the low, low price starter kit and this ends in 2 days. You can become a hobby demonstrator, a business builder or Queen of the Castle, whatever you prefer, or anything in-between. For around $87 you get the entire starter kit, business materials, subscription to the SU magazine, exclusive membership in the "Windy City Stampers" (we get together monthly to stamp & support each other) as well as enjoying the 20% discount (or more) on all SU prod ucts. Just call me or email me and hint at this topic, I'll talk you through it. 847/670-1161 or dtollaksen at wideopenwest dot com

Second is the Black Friday sale on the web. Go to www.dtollaksen.stampinup.net to shop the bargains. This ends Nov 30 also. You can buy the MDS (My Digital Studio) software for half price, just $40. This is such a deal. You can create cards, scrapbooks, scrapbook pages, calendars, journals, fliers, anything you might ever want to print. It includes mountains of stamp images, designer paper images, brads, buttons and embellishments, and all our cardstock in all our colors, even retired colors!

The sale includes tons of other stuff: stamps, paper, embellishments of course. But this is a once-in-a-lifetime deal on the software. Let your husband buy it for you for Christmas. It will be a gift you use for years to come! Plus I will be happy to provide as much hands-on support as you want, at your computer or mine!

Jump in! You'll love it!
Dee Tollaksen

HSSS13

Have you been inspired to copy any of these beauties yet? Jaye brought this beauty to the Holiday Shoebox Swap. You know that I am a huge fan of the clean and simple style, this is so perfect for me!  And I absolutely adore that she went with a non-traditional color, Rich Razzleberry, paired with silver. Fabulous!

If you have ever thought about joining in on the fun, take this as your "push." This card follows the rule of three, there are 3 distinct segments to the card, it has a strong color and a receding color and a tiny bit of accent (white). It has texture from the embossing folder, the ribbon and the single sparkling rhinestone.  Everything about it is easy, but it is gorgeous and easy to look at!

Now that you know all the design secrets, you can create a card yourself, or copy one from all the inspiration in magazines, Idea Book & Catalogs or the internet, with the "rule of 3" as your guideline.

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Saturday, November 27, 2010

HSSS12

My DD used to love to color. I am not talking about when she was 3 years old, everyone loved their Crayolas at that age, I'm talking about 17, 18, 19. She and her friends would drive to the Walgreens, study all the coloring books, then spend the evening creating the most hilarious colored images. But I cannot make a joke about it, because I realize that. . . we all love to color!

Our tools may be a tad more sophisticated, but here is the evidence! Gina designed this darling Critter card for every one to enjoy at the Holiday Shoebox Swap.  Even though we all have markers, pastels and colored pencils at home, nearly everyone sat and colored the cute little raccoons!

Thanks for indulging us, Gina. Can't wait to see what you bring to the Spring Swap!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Friday, November 26, 2010

HSSS11

What a great Christmas card! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day yesterday, and that the mailman begins to bring you greetings from your friends and family to enjoy this holiday season.

This is one that GeriAnne brought to the Holiday Shoebox Swap. She has used gold embossing, Designer Series Paper as well as a very cool snowflake border punch. Another great card that I can use to send to my friends or family!

I love that the swap provides me with such a variety of cards, and that I have 28 cards completed at the end of the fun day!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

HSSS10

Lots of fabulous details make Santa a super special card. Look closely, not one thing is difficult or tricky. . . scallop border punch makes very nice snow on the chimney and roof, a red marker and ruler make the brick and shingle work look authentic, a couple punches make the moon, some white craft ink lets the snow fall, and loads of dazzling diamond glitter makes the whole card sparkle.  Now Erin caused a little traffic jam at her spot because this card took folks a bit more than 10 minutes to make, even though she did lots of the work ahead, cutting and glittering take time. But we forgive her, it is a spectacular card and well worth the extra minutes!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

HSSS9


We always get new holiday stamps to select from, in the Stampin' Up! catalogs, and this is from one of those brand new stamp sets. The images are just fun and cute, and Erica has made this Christmas tree card this is just so darling!  Great layering, with the scallop square complementing the scallops of the tree skirt! And I love the pearl at the top of the tree, instead of the rhinestone that might have been too much bling.  Of course, our red satin ribbon is beautiful and gives this card some great texture.  Doesn't the black layer just bring it all together? And if you sat down to design a Christmas card, using reds and greens, would you think to add a black layer? I love a great design element, and this is one that we can all add to our repertoire!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Big sale at Stampin' Up!

Holiday specials!


Stampin' Up! has just announced that an Online Spectacular will begin on Monday, November 22. This will be one week of sales with discounts up to 50% off! FREE SHIPPING on $150 or more orders! You will be able to place orders yourself online or give me a call or send me an e-mail to place an order. I don't know any other details yet! Be sure to check in on Monday, November 22 to see what fabulous sales are available!


Feel free to go straight to the Stampin' Up! shopping site:  http://dtollaksen.stampinup.net


Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen


HSSS8

Oh, Enith, you know my favorite style is Clean and Simple!  I love that there is plenty of white space for my eyes to rest!  This fabulous card has all the holiday colors, a simple sentiment and loads of texture!

The poinsettia embossing folder is great for Christmas cards, but I encourage you to think beyond the holidays for creative flowery cards that will get use of this tool all year long!

Switch up the colors and sentiment and this design is great for spring, birthday, invitations, anything!

Great choice for the Holiday Shoebox Swap, Enith. Great seeing you once again, and can't wait for the spring event!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Saturday, November 20, 2010

HSSS7

Diane B brought this beautiful card to the Holiday shoebox swap.  There are new products and new techniques in this well-designed holiday card. The red seam binding ribbon from Stampin' Up! gives the card some texture without adding too much bulk for mailing. The poinsettias were stamped totally in green, then we used the Cherry Cobbler marker to outline the flower! So smart. It too, a minute to figure it out, but it went quickly and really jazzed up the image.  Then we stamped the sentiment right on the card face, used the oval scallop punch to pop it out, and went ahead and put dimensionals on the punch and put it right back in the hole created when it was punched. So smart. So if you turned the card a tad you would see the green paper from the layer underneath. Awesome.  Love it!  Love when we learn a couple new ways to use the tools we already own!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Friday, November 19, 2010

HSSS6

A little bit retro, a little bit Big Shot. . . Cynthia used a color we haven't seen in a while for her Holiday Shoebox Swap card. Love it!

And the lacy stained glass window effect is created using a Big Shot diecut. I think using the corner rounder punch at the top of the stamped image adds to the stained glass effect.

Really lovely card, don't you think?

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Thursday, November 18, 2010

HSSS5

Such a beautiful elegant card, brought to the Holiday Shoebox Swap by Cindy.  While it appeals to me because it isn't too busy, upon further study, it does have quite a bit going on. The beautiful cardinal, colored using the perfect tones of red, green and yellow. The embossing folder, with a blank "frame" in the centr for the cardinal. The paper flower, creating more depth and dimension. And the beautiful stretch of ribbon, with sparkle and dimension. Not to mention that the entire white panel is layered over a green panel and then the red card base!

Gorgeous!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

HSSS4

So smart of Carole to design a holiday card that is versatile. We love our Christmas cards, of course, but a beautiful winter theme card can go for Christmas, or for any occasion all winter long.

Gorgeous!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

HSSS3

This is one of those cards that looks so much better in-person. It is embossed using the BigShot embossing folder on vellum, layered over the perfect shade of blue on a whisper white base.

Roberta brought this beauty to the Holiday Shoebox Swap and everyone appreciated that it is a 10-minute card, but stunning!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Monday, November 15, 2010

Holiday Shoebox Swap Share #2 (HSSS2)

Barb brought this darling card to the Holiday Shoebox Swap for all of us to make. She has been a stamper for a long time, and has now been a customer of mine for over a year. I love seeing the projects she makes on her own, as much as she loves coming to my classes and seeing my cards.  It's a mutual admiration society! Ha!

It was smart of her to use the garland punch she owns instead of expect everyone to settle in and color this detailed stamp. At a big shoebox swap, we don't have time for the detail work. If you want to color it, you can always do that at home, right?

Love it!
Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Holiday Shoebox Swap Share #1 (HSSS1)

Please forgive the photography. Still need to have some professional help with lighting and editing.

Arlene brought this darling owl punch card for us all to enjoy. This little fellow has definitely worked his way into all our hearts. He is dressed festively on this beauty. The base layer is embossed on the other machine, the cousin to the BigShot, which I will not be naming here! And I love the sponging on the sentiment/punch. It always helps soften the jump from dark base to white paper for the sentiment, a very good idea!

Great job Arlene!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Make some Holiday Moola

Ladies, are you thinking about how you are going to pay for all those holiday gifts and all the fun stuff that hits your budget at this time of year? What would you do with a bonus check this December?

Stampin' Up! has kindly thought that maybe you would like to be a demonstrator and take advantage of a 1/2 price starter kit. You could buy all your gifts with a 30% discount on your first order! And then you can demonstrate at just a couple workshops and earn an extra paycheck to pay for any gifts SU doesn't offer.

Right around the corner is Sell-a-Bration, and as a demonstrator we get great incentives from SU, it's a great time to be part of the company.

Join as a business builder or simply as a hobby demonstrator, we love all levels of participation!

Just shoot me an email, give me a call or leave me a comment and I will be happy to give you the rest of the details.

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Friday, November 12, 2010

Fancy Schmancy

For a good long time, I have been designing cards for stamp-a-stacks, so they have to be simple and quick. But occasionally I will make a card just because I want a pretty and fancy card on my table.

This one is sponged around the edges, has shimmer paint on the embossed snowflakes, involves wide lovely ribbon, has some layers and punches and two stamp sets.

Not that it is terribly fancy, but it seems like it after the disciplined, simplicity I have been so focused on.

Next week will be posts from the Holiday Shoebox Swap I hosted last weekend. Busy photographing, editing and identifying all 27 cards. Can't wait to share!!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Single layer WOW card

I don't know what the lighting conditions were when I took this picture, but the paper is Crumb Cake (Kraft). Doesn't really look too krafty, but it is. I used the Early Espresso ink to darken the edges, stamped with the beautiful sentiment from Peaceful Season hostess set, after running the cardstock through the BigShot using the snowflake embossing folder.  The final touch is the glimmer paint daubed on the snowflakes.  Gorgeous in person.

This is one of the cards we are making tonight at my Holiday stamp-a-stack that I am taking on the road to Debbie's place. You too could make this at my class next Wednesday night, or at your home at your convenience! Just call or leave me a comment.

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Monday, November 8, 2010

What is he winking about?

This is such  a cute stamp set, but an old man, hanging around with little kids, and now the wink? Santa better be careful, these times are risky for a guy with his lifestyle!

HO HO HO!!!  I love the smiling face on this gent. And this easy peasy card is part of my Christmas Stamp-a-stack. I'm taking it on the road, maybe your place is next!  If you would rather, you are welcome to bring your friends here and stamp at my place. 20 cards for $25 is a bargain!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Humorous Holiday Wishes

I love a good silly Christmas card. These snowmen look like they have been well fed and built with love! And the card goes together in a snap!

This is one of the designs I am offering in my Christmas Stamp-a-Stack. If you would like to have a stack of completed cards but cringe at the thought of making all your cards, this class is for you! Or if you don't send out cards to all your friends and relatives, but would like a few to use for gift card presentations and hostess gifts, this class is also for you!

Simple, fast and good looking, 20 cards for $25 in 2 hours. Perfect! You name the place, yours or mine, and the time, and I'll prep the cards. What a deal!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Friday, November 5, 2010

Tinsel Trim

Have you seen the Tinsel Trim in the Stampin' Up! mini-catalog? OMG!!! So cool and fun. Everyone likes a little bling, but no one likes the mess that glitter makes, right? This Tinsel Trim adds the bling, without the mess!

It comes in a spool of 10 yards, so adding a couple inches to a card hardly touches the total stash!  I could put this much on every card I send for Christmas and still have some left to make my ribbon drawer look sparkly!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Rule of Three

In design, there is a well known rule of thumb known as the "rule of three."  It is most pleasing to the eye for a composition to be made of 3 parts. This simple holiday card offers a good example of this rule.  3 colors, 3 separate components, clustered together in a triangle shape.

Works for me!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

First Christmas Card of 2010

I am keeping it simple, because the first Christmas class that I am teaching is a Stamp-a-Stack!

We will be making 20 cards for just $25, and I am bringing it to a hostess. So think of your friends and how thrilled they would be if they could spend an evening at your house, spend just $25 and go home with 20 gorgeous, handmade Christmas cards!

I would love to be able to repeat this class, over and over! I am available many dates in November, and even into December, and I will be sharing the card designs with you over the next few days.

Just leave me a comment or give me a call to arrange this class in your home.

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen