Friday, July 29, 2011

Coloring #4

Can I say that I have a favorite color? I don't want any of the other colors to feel bad, but I definitely prefer blue. Almost any shade of blue, and mixing blues together. . . fabulous!  This card features the stamping technique of Direct to Rubber. Using the Stampin' Up! markers, I colored right onto the rubber stamp. I spritzed the stamp with water, using a tiny spray bottle, then stamped. I love the soft, watercolor look it makes!

Just a reminder, deadline for the $99 deal is Sunday. Talk to your husband, talk to your friends, talk to me!  This bargain goes on your credit card, you get $120 worth of product and free shipping. If you want  it FREE, just hold a workshop or two and let the profits from the workshop pay for the kit. Really!  You only need to hold one $350 workshop to completely offset the cost of the kit. And statistics show that an average workshop produces $400 in sales. So, one average workshop and you'll be showing a profit! Whoo hoo!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Tuesday, July 26, 2011


Thanks for taking just a second to think about this deal.

1 – a great way to save on your crafting supplies. Invest in this kit and receive $120 of desirable products and take at least 20% discount on future purchases from Stampin’ Up!

Or

2 – Start your own stamping business for just $99 startup!   Offer classes, events, workshops or create custom invites, home décor and personalized stationery.

Offer ends July 31.  I would LOVE to have you join my team!  Or if you know anyone who is looking to supplement their income, please forward this email. There is absolutely no commitment beyond the initial kit. No penalty whatsoever for trying out the kit and no future purchase requirements.

I just came home from Salt Lake City (paid for completely through my little stampin’ business) where I met this fun guy, Mike Diehl.  He is a 2nd grade teacher in upstate New York. He uses the Big Shot to cut bulletin boards and classroom supplies. He uses stamps to embellish student papers and to make TY cards and classroom décor. Mike’s teacher friends wanted a demonstrator right in their school, but none of them were willing to take the plunge.  He signed up a few months ago, orders supplies for the teachers at his school and is using Facebook to build his customer base. This guy has a thriving business and he has hardly lifted a finger!  Think about how this could work for you or someone you know and let me help you get started.

Happy Stamping!
Dee

Monday, July 25, 2011

Coloring #3

Coloring this simple duck was easy, I just grabbed my markers and coordinated colors with the cardstock and DSP (designer series paper).  The fact that Stampin' Up! offers cardstock, ink, markers and accessories that perfectly coordinate makes composition a snap!

This card really needs to read "Sorry about all the rain and the flooding in your basement."  And thank God my basement chose to stay dry!  I'm praying for continued electricity and less humidity for all my friends who were floating this past weekend.

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Coloring #2

Watercolor pencils and the blender pen give this soft effect and allow for dull points to do a great job of coloring. All you have to do is scribble a bit of color inside the lines, then use the blender pen to spread the color. It eliminates all the coloring "lines" and smooths out the image. Love it!

I love to make cards with no sentiment. Then when I need to send a note or have an occasion, I can add the correct sentiment and I don't have to come up with an entire card.


The end of the month is quickly approaching, don't forget that July 31 is the deadline to take advantage of the Stampin' Up! sale on the kit: 2 stamp sets, 4 ink pads, a pack of white cards & envelopes,  a pack of card stock, a pack of designer series paper, a blender pen, an adhesive runner, a roll of ribbon, a clear stamp mount, and a box of business supplies for just $99 and free shipping, plus  a permanent discount on product as long as you continue to meet purchase minimums, subscription to Stampin' Success magazine and access to an exclusive website jammed with project samples. As a bonus Stampin' Up! is also giving you a gorgeous Holiday Keepsake Box kit with a $40 value. Gorgeous!   Still reading? Awesome, just give me a call or post a comment and I'll help  you get started!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Coloring #1

Yes, I do know that banners are trendy. Did you also know that coloring is trendy?  You remember, from kindergarten: stay inside the lines. Otherwise, there are no rules. Pick a tool: pencils, markers, paint, ink, or watercolor crayons. Pick a color. Pick an image. Your kindergarten teacher isn't here, you are in charge!  I chose these pretty birds from the new Easy Events stamp set. Then I stamped them on the pale yellow page of DSP from the Flirtatious set. I also stamped them on Whisper White cardstock. I used the Stampin' Write markers to color in Wisteria Wonder. I snipped them out of the white CS and used dimensionals to pop them up on the DSP.  Using the new pennant punch, I made the pretty triangles from the same DSP set and included the sentiment on word window punch. Cute!

We'll have a couple more coloring examples from the class I taught this week. If you missed it, you'll be sorry!              
 If you're sorry, just leave a comment and we can schedule the same class again, just for you!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Christmas in July

If you are like me, the holidays sneak up and then whiz by. I am thinking of creating my major projects very early this year, have them ready and use them to really embrace the season.

This mini-album is a list of 25 things to do to enjoy the holidays. Things like eat a candy cane, go sledding, ring jingle bells. Each page has a holiday suggestion and room for pix and journaling. It is a great remembrance album, a centerpiece, an awesome gift. Perhaps this is a special year with a wedding, a baby or just one of those years that is in danger of being forgotten for all the busyness.

Join me in re-creating this gorgeous book Stampin' Up! demonstrated at convention. It looks awesome, but it is simple to put together. And I will do all the planning, you just have to make time to sit and craft!

Leave a comment or send an email, we will schedule your seat in a class at my studio, your home or office. Schedule a class at your place  or mine and bring 3 or more participants and I will have a special gift for you!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Monday, July 18, 2011

Stampin' Up! Convention 2011




 I am home from Salt Lake City, exhausted, but whoooo, what a good time! Pictured here are my roommates Catherine and Sue and a new friend Mike.  Sue bumped into Mike at O'Hare, swapped cards and chatted, then ended up sitting with him on the flight. He was traveling to convention alone, so he often found us to sit with for the big presentations and meals. What a fun guy!



There is a good reason that I never let anyone shoot my picture.I had  no idea my hair was all smooshed under my glasses, and after I had worked on it with the curling iron and everything! Oh brother. I will have to stop doing that when I take them off.

One of the most thrilling things to happen at convention is prize patrol.  After each major new product introduction, they call the prize patrol to run out and give away stamps and tools and paper to attendees, based on your wristband color. Here, Sue won first, scoring a gorgeous large flower stamp set and a spool of new ribbon.  Next, Catherine's color was called and she won a super Christmas stocking set and the matching          

 punch!  There are a lot of prize patrols, but not everyone wins. Not even half the crowd wins, so we were doing great, having half our little group win!  But that wasn't the end, oh no. Next, Mike's color is called and he scores a stamps set and ribbon!  Well, I am so happy for my friends. And who wouldn't be, right? They're so lucky! And I'm soooo happy for them! Sure 3/4 of our little group win an extra stamp set and embellishment to take home!  Suffering succotash. $%%#@!!!

Well, I have to tell you, I am really happy for them, but I don't know why I wasn't the lucky one! Oh well, there's always next year!  And if you could see all the great stuff Stampin' Up! gave me, you would certainly call me ungrateful.  We all came home with 8 new stamp sets, a new collection for the "My Digital Studio" program, mini catalogs for the Holidays, 4 gorgeous cards and a beautiful box to keep them in, what, did I mention. . . 8 new stamp sets? What a fabulous haul!!!




We stayed at the Marriott and had a nervous moment when they couldn't find our reservation. Catherine Healy had become hesly and they kind of thought maybe there was a hesly that would show up later and what her room. Finally, with Shelly Gardner, founder and CEO of SU standing right there, on the right, the hotel manager thought it might be a good idea to give us a room, and damn fast!

It is always such a thrill to get to talk to Shelly! It's like meeting a movie star!

I have so many cards that I swapped, you need to come over and look at the variety and fabulosity of all these projects. Call me, let's make some cards together!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Monday, July 11, 2011

Bright Green embossing

The Always stamp set is so lovely, curly, fine, so pretty!  I have embossed it with the new green embossing powder from Stampin' Up!  A bit of DSP and a strip of scallops, some die cut buttons and a teeny bow of bakers twine = Always lovely!

This is the swap I have made for convention in Salt Lake City this week. There are so many organized swaps and events that I have prepped for. . . I only have about a dozen cards to swap on the general convention floor!

That's ok, I'll have almost 100 swaps from the organized events. I hope you'll make time to stop over and enjoy these swaps when I get home!  I'd love to see you, and we'll make plans stamp together in the "new year" of Stampin' Up!

Happy stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Convention Card Candy

Sunday, Sunday, how sweet this day! I am sharing some Card Candy today, and I'll be physically sharing this card candy when I get to Salt Lake City next  this week!

Card Candy is a sheet of elements that can be used on a card. They are pre-made and ready to just drop right onto a card. I signed-up for a Card Candy swap. So I have six sheets prepared with these five elements and stashed in a pretty bag. Then I will meet with the six other stampers who are in the swap and we will trade. So I will come home with their card candy sheets.

What you see here are two die cut borders, one with a punched and embossed butterfly, the other with a fabric layered doohickey. Then there is a five petal punch with a starburst and an oval with a crown on it. Also a cheater bow made with a brad and a tag with a double layered die cut daisy. I hope the other swaps are cute and inspiring, but I also hope mine is "up to snuff!"

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Wisteria Wonder version

Saturday morning! Gotta love the weekend! The big stamp garage sale is here! Come on over to grab a bag of stamp sets at a great discount!

This card is made featuring the new In-Color Wisteria Wonder. So far, everyone is calling it Wisteria Lane summoning Desperate Housewives images. Not sure the card and the Housewives are in the same image collection, but everyone loves this sweet lavender shade.

Again, the fabric flower is attached to a bobby pin for removal and enjoyment as a hair clip or bookmark.

Gotta run, Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Convention swap

The production line is in full swing here in the craft room. With convention just a week away, I have been working on cards to swap, cards for a shoebox swap and, let's not forget, the wedding invite project continues.

This pretty in pink creation is for the shoebox swap. Stampin Up has this darling fabric that matches our color collection and DSP (designer series paper).  I have sewn 50 yoyos, after cutting the large scallop circle on the Big Shot. The pink daisies are die cut on the Big Shot and the background is stamped in white craft ink using Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set.  The black scallop circle is cut using the brand new punch featured in the summer mini catalog.

The big WOW on this card is the fabric flower: it is attached to a bobby pin and can be easily removed to wear in your hair or act as a bookmark. I love this idea! It has been around forever, but  I think it makes my swap extra special!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Saturday, July 2, 2011


$99 STARTER KIT AND FREE PROJECT KIT

It's always more fun to stamp with friends! For the month of July only, Stampin' Up! is offering a $99 Starter Kit, the perfect choice for the lover of Stampin' Up! products. This is a great solution for those of you who want to get the products you love at a 20 percent discount. 

Plus, when you start in July, you will get a Christmas Keepsake project kit absolutely FREE--a $40 value! This exclusive kit contains everything you need to create a beautiful Christmas Keepsake Box to hold your most treasured Christmas memories. Remember, you can only earn this special Shelli Signature Collection kit in July by purchasing this awesome starter kit.

$99 Starter Kit contains over $180 in products and business supplies--including new products from the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog! All colors and stamp sets are recommended, but you can substitute a similar item of equal or lesser value.

For more info, just leave a comment or shoot me an email or a phone call, my contact info is at right. If you know exactly what you want in your kit and you're ready to rock and roll, you can use the password BLITZ and sign-up online at www.dtollaksen.stampinup.net   Click JOIN IN THE FUN and then maybe watch the video or go right on and click JOIN NOW. Simple as that!

My favorite part of this hobby is the friends  I have made through stamping. Some are fellow demonstrators, some are customers and some are students at my classes. We have so many laughs and enjoy time relaxing with paper, ink and ribbon.  I would love for you to join me!
Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen