Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Can you feel it?

I am feeling the love! We had a great meet-up at Panera tonight! I hosted a free stamping event at my local Panera and we filled a couple of tables and talked stamping for a couple of hours. So fun! We made a cute card with a penguin and a bag of chocolates, everyone went home happy!

Catherine set up the evening and 7 ladies joined me, even tho Catherine ended up having a schedule conflict and had to be elsewhere. Next time, she can run the show and I'll sit back and relax. LOL!!

Two more 4 letter words to share this week, watch for the updates.

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Spell It Out

Sometimes you just have to spell it out. Today's word is CAKE. This simple project involves a sheet of cork and your Big Shot! The new Perfect Pennants die makes quick work of the scalloped circles and pennants used for background behind the letters and the wood blocks are found on pg 181 in the Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog. They are 3" blocks perfect for home decor projects.

We made four words in 4 different styles. These would be great for family names or special themed events you may be planning. Think LOVE for a wedding or shower or BABY for a new Mom. . . How many 4-letter words can you think of?

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Friday, August 26, 2011

Home Decor

Of course we all want our homes to look nice, and to reflect our personality, so creating our own decor items just makes sense! This is a shadow box frame created at a stamping event I attended recently.

There are four inserts, appropriate for different events, times of year or rooms of the house.  I think it is fun that you could use the one frame and change it up every so often to keep it looking fresh!

The Big Shot is certainly used extensively in this project! Come on over and try it! I'd love to show you how easy it is to create these frame inserts!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen




Monday, August 22, 2011

Towel time!

 Have you discovered the website Pinterest? It is a visual artist's DREAM! It is filled with pictures, pictures and more pictures. I like to look at crafty fun things, I think it works like Pandora. On Pandora your taste in music is "learned," on Pinterest, your taste in images is "learned." It is very cool.

Anyway, I just saw these white towels with days of the week monograms. A fresh towel for every day. Very cool. The fun thing is, I just made white towels with iron on letters at a workshop Friday, truly!

Scroll down and see my Gourmet towel! You too can make these gorgeous towels! The big ol' WalMart sells the towels nice & cheap, then just pick some letters and cut them super easy and fast on the Big Shot, then iron 'em on!  I'll help, just call me!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen


Holiday Stairstep Card

Stair step cards are striking and not that difficult. This one will be so quick and easy, you'll be amazed!

Just stamp, punch and adhere! Once you have the pattern for the stair step card, it is just a matter of folding and adding your own personal touch.

We will be making this card and 3 others on Wednesday. Still room in the 1 pm or 7 pm class, just  post a comment, email me or give me a call!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Sunday, August 21, 2011

It's a beautiful day. . .

Outdoor enthusiasts, rejoice! It's such a beautiful day here in Chicagoland! We have the Air & Water Show happening at Lake Michigan, the lawn mower is being pushed cheerfully around the back yard and I know that Camp Lakota is populated by Wood Badge participants enjoying the gorgeous weather.

Hooray for all these events taking advantage of one of the most beautiful days Chicago has to offer!

My stamping friends will attest, this may be my #1 fave stamp set. Although I wish the bear had a smiling eyes  instead of the scowl. . . but I love the camping gear and the grrreat sentiment in Under the Stars.  Here they are celebrating life on a stairstep card, camping among stars and greenery.

Wednesday I am offering a class of 4 stairstep cards, this being my favorite.  Come join us t 1 pm or 7 pm and learn how easy it is to make these stand-up stairstep cards! Just give me a call, post a comment or shoot me an email. I'd love to have you join us. . . or set up a time for your own workshop or class!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Pretty in Pink

Stopped short as I zipped through the Walgreens, 3 for a $1, very plain, sturdy headbands. Screaming to be embellished, into the basket they go. Then  some pretty Stampin' Up! fabric with pretty doilies and flowers, make some yoyos and fine some strong glue. . . voila! Fabulous headbands!

And since I had 3 of them, it was perfect for my two roommates at convention. We were supposed to make garden hats for the opening party, but being sophisticated women, we took a pass on the hats and opted for the headbands!  We didn't win the hat contest, but  we did get a few compliments.

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Bracelet class

 I know I already showed you this bracelet, but I put the class on my schedule, come make one!

Wed Sept 7 at 1 pm or 7 pm, for just $20 we will make a bracelet, a gift bag and a gift card for presentation. As if you would give it away!  For just $12 extra, you can make a second bracelet (maybe you would give it away then!)

And because you have already seen the awesome, super EASY, fun stamping supplies bracelet, I also gave you a picture of Marky Mark. Yes, he is a Boston Terrier and is the most handsome and buff guy, so we named him after Mark Wahlberg, also from Boston, handsome and buff.  He loves to chew on crunchy inappropriate items, like CDs, eyeglasses, and shoes, so we give him an empty water bottle occasionally. As you can see, he bites the top off then crunches to his heart's content! Then we recycle it and start all over.

As always, if the date and time I have picked do not work for you, just let me know! I would love to have you come at your convenience or schedule a little time at your place to make these great projects!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen


Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Convention Colors

Small but mighty bright! This is a 3 x 3" card, a gift enclosure style card.  The new border punch was used to create the bright green flowers. They are in a long strip that wraps around inside the card and it is tied together with a bit of linen thread on the front. An interesting, simple technique that adds a bit of pizzazz to a very simple card.

Gotta love the bright colors, this would be gorgeous used as a tag on ribbon around a gift box wrapped in plain brown paper. Love it!  This is another of the items we made at the Stampin' Up! convention in July. I think we actually made this card, because I haven't purchased the punch. . . yet!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Convention creation

Can I tell you how much I love the fabric on this card? Just a touch of elegant black and white fabric gives it so much texture and interest.

The BFF stamp set went home with every conventioneer. I know I wouldn't have looked twice at this set if it hadn't been given to me. But now that I own it. . . the curlicue branch is fabulous and the cross hatched heart is great. BFF is such a "current" phrase, lots of people use it in scrapbooks. It will definitely identify a specific point in time!

Again, this darling card was designed by the pros at the home office and needed to be completed after we got home. There just isn't enough time during the make-n-take session. I'm told some people finish when they get back to hotel in the evening. Ha! We always have extra events to attend, shoebox swaps and such. There is no time for actual crafting!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Convention card

One of the highlights of attending the Stampin' Up! Convention is the Make & Take session.
We used to try to complete all the projects in the 2 hour session. This year we knew better. There is no way to finish everything. We just worked on one major project and brought home the cards. Since SU provides us with all the stamp sets as part of our convention package, there is no reason to kill ourselves to complete everything in Utah.

This darling Limeaid colored card was designed by the SU professionals, and completed by me, at home.

Maybe next year you would like to join us? Let me know, you're always welcome!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Friday, August 12, 2011

Layered up

My Big Shot is directly to my right when I am in my stamping room. It is so convenient, because I use it so much. This pretty card is textured, has a scalloped square die cut, then the next layer is textured too!  When I prepped this card for class I did all the Big Shot work ahead of time, because otherwise I have to rearrange the furniture so students can access it.

Silly me! After class was over, one of the ladies commented that that machine must be hard to use or very delicate, since I never let anyone else touch it!  Well, hoo boy, I will never be doing the Big Shot work for them again! They will see how sturdy it is and easy too!

Come on over and see how sturdy it is and how easy it is to use, I'll be in the stamp room all day Saturday, since the DH will be golfing!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Clearly Fabulous

It may be hard to see, but these cards are clear! The window sheets from Stampin' Up! are so substantial, they make a great base for a card. These are little gift enclosure cards, 3 x 3" overall. We used a die on the Big Shot to scallop the edges and cut the flowers, so it was just fold and stick, with a darling brad in the center. Each card has a panel of Whisper White cardstock inside, for a note.

To pack it all together as a gift, we also cut a box on the Big Shot out of the window sheet. One 12 x 12" sheet is all you need for the box and all four cards and envelopes. So economical!

I don't know how we made fun cards and gifts before the Big Shot! I use it on everything I make. It makes everything so polished and professional looking. Love it!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen


Monday, August 8, 2011

Brag Book

 I am so thrilled and proud to be the Mother of a US Marine. Our whole family spent the weekend with Steve, home on US ground, on leave from Afghanistan. We flew down to Arizona to spend time with Steve and his bride in Flagstaff and Phoenix. Danielle had planned a trip to a craft beer festival, art walk, Phoenix Cardinals football practice, and that was Friday. On Saturday we toured a resort where the happy couple plans to have their wedding (they have had a court house marriage, we look forward to a wedding celebration this spring.) Then the sports fans went off to a baseball game.

On Sunday we all went river tubing. Oh my goodness. Fun, hot, cold, wet, exhilarating and exhausting.  And why do I mention all this? Because this fantastic brag book will be perfect for our pictures!

Stampin' Up! offers these great scrapbooking kits. They include card stock, designer series paper and self-adhesive elements all color and style coordinated. This brag book is made from just half a kit and was taught to me at a recent event hosted for my demonstrators group. It took us maybe an hour to assemble and is just waiting for pictures. So cool!  Any questions? Want to make your own? Just give me a jingle or leave a comment, I'll be thrilled to help you out.

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen



Friday, August 5, 2011

Container Critters

 Look out, Cute Factor of 10 coming at ya!  These darling critters are so cute, so easy and they're even useful!

Their bodies are made from plastic storage containers! Just little ones, the same size as the brad or button containers that Stampin' Up! uses. They are about 2 inches across and maybe 3/4" deep.

These would be super simple to mass produce, if you wanted teacher gifts, student gifts or party favors. Perfect for a little snack or a few office supplies. Darling!

Just leave a comment or shoot me an email if you're interested in all the details!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen



Thursday, August 4, 2011

Brad Bracelet

So easy and so lovely. I'm telling you, paper crafting suddenly looks like jewelry making! This terrific bracelet is a blank chain and closure that I have embellished with a few brads. Okay. It is 14 brads, but it isn't even an entire box of the Antique Brads on pg 198 of the new Idea Book & Catalog from Stampin' Up! There are 20 brads in the box, so there are a bunch left over for cards! And the whole box only costs $5.95! How cool is this!

As a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I am invited to so many fun events. This past Sunday/Monday I attended a 3-session meeting with over 50 other demonstrators. We made a brag book from a scrapping kit, home decor blocks with festive phrases, a shadow box with 4 different seasonal decor inserts, very cool clear acetate card set, this bracelet and a bunch more stuff. Plus we had a delicious catered lunch, shared a million laughs, swapped card samples and had a generally awesome time together. Wish you were there! I'll be sharing the projects over the next week or so.  Let me know if you would like the details on this bracelet, or if you would like to join me for a class and go home with one or two of your own!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

August Special

Are you still browsing in the new catalog? So many items on your wish list, you don't know where to start? Here's an idea, choose 3 packs of Designer Series Paper, receive 1 free!

Another option is to host a little workshop and get hostess benefits! They're better than ever, a nice workshop rewards the hostess with free product and you might even earn a 50% off coupon, treat yourself to a Big Shot for half price!

I have been stamping at convention in Utah, stamping at a big fun event in Lincolnshire and there have even been a couple local stamp camps, so I have quite a few projects to share, I'm working on taking pix and getting them loaded onto the laptop. I'll share tomorrow, promise!

Click on "Buy Three, Get One Free" box at right to start shopping now. . .

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen