Wednesday, July 30, 2014

It's too hot for layers

 It's almost the end of July, and it is too hot to wear layers, even if we are having a nice comfortable summer here in Chicagoland. So I am offering a stamping class to go along with the fashion, no layers. Every card is cute and trendy, but one layer. We have banners and butterflies, birthdays and brights, but all dressed up on a basic card front. If you can drop everything and join me today at 1:00, call me! I would love to have you drop in, there's always room for one more!

This class will repeat next week on Friday at 1:00, so leave me a comment or give me a call and I'll save you a spot. It is the bargain of the century, at $10 for 10 cards!
Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen



Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Duck, Duck, goose!

Some images are just too cute for words! Thankfully, we have a new baby on the way in our family or I wouldn't have a good excuse to own this darling stamp set. Something For Baby has some darling images, but this duck is definitely the most darling!

I used it on my Stampin' Up! convention swap cards. My buddy Mike organized a shoebox swap. He rented a room and invited a bunch of demonstrators to gather. We each designed a card and brought the prepped materials. Then we got to make the cards that had been prepared by all the demonstrators. It's a lot of fun to see how other demos prepare and what is popular from the new catalog. Also, we get a variety of products and stamp sets to bring back and show to our local customers.

So come on over, I have piles of cards and projects that come from all over the catalog and all over the country! Such beautiful variety! I tried to organize the samples by stamp set, and there are hardly any duplicates!

Leave me a comment and  let's meet for coffee or iced tea. I can't wait to share!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen


Thursday, July 24, 2014

You are so Be you tiful

Another wonderful year of Stamp Club has wrapped up, with 21 members attending for 11 months, every body getting their turn to receive hostess benefits and every month making 3 cards. Except July, we made two cards and decorated a muslin bag. I gave everyone a cello bag filled with ribbon pieces and card candy and buttons & brads.

I hope the members enjoy it as much as I do. We got to experiment with heat embossing, the Big Shot, photo polymer stamps, two-step stamping,  using the stamp-a-ma-jig. It is a great opportunity to "try-it-before-you-buy-it!"

September will see a fresh start to Stamp Club and an opportunity to fill a few open seats. I expect to see most members return, because we have a lot of fun and we have worked the kinks out of the system! But jobs have changed and people move, so I know a couple seats are open. If you think you might want to join us, please let me know!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen


Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Multiple Choice options

Same supplies, three different results! At July Stamp Club I offered a simple but elegant wedding card, but heard before Club Day that some members had no weddings in their immediate future and didn't really need a wedding card in their stash.

So I made sure to bring the whole Big News stamp set and encourage them to "think outside the box" and switch things around, which they did! The beautiful Gold Soiree DSP (designer series paper) has bold prints on the reverse side, so some members kept their cards in the elegant gold and others flipped the paper for the bold green colors.


While I was off to convention, my blog had an outstanding time, showing off my beautiful Daughter-in-law and handsome son. Lots of you visited to see the baby shower pictures and to be treated to their smiling faces. So I guess you like my family pictures. . . and if that is why you visit, I will try to keep sharing! But there just aren't that many of us living here anymore.

So until the baby arrives,  it will have to be pictures of Marky! Here he is, being anxious because I was packing to leave for Convention. If you have a terrier, you know that when a suitcase comes out of storage, they take it personally and believe you are leaving them forever. He moved into his kennel and cried alligator tears all day. It was pretty pitiful. He's over it now and very glad I came home!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen



Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Talk about swag!

I know it is like a visual mess, just a pile of Stampin' Up! junk.

But what you are looking at is all the FREE stuff I brought home from convention. I got stamp sets, Project Life kits, swap cards, a purse designed to hold an Ipad or tablet, gifts from my room mates, the Holiday Catalog, journals, project kits and so much more!

I am putting classes on my calendar today, you can view them on the right side of the blog. I will be putting out an email soon. Please email me or call me and come over to see the cards and projects we made and received. There are so many great ideas! I don't even know where to start!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Oh Boy!

Sure, it has been a while since you have seen anything crafty, but I have been BUSY!

While my son and his wife have been  in the craziest stage of their life, I have been on the sidelines, praying for them and trying to keep the home-fires calm and stable. He finished his contract with the USMC and they moved across the country, both of them found new jobs, they are pregnant, living in a sublet, looking at houses. So you can only imagine the stress!

They were home this weekend for a round of baby showers, so many hugs and smiles and well wishes! Absolutely the most joyful of visits imaginable! And now we have a month of real estate details to deal with. And then the baby!

So you can see the pretty wall hanging I made them, using the stamp set Something for Baby. Let's get together and make these for the babies in your life, it is a darling gift for a shower or birth! Leave a comment and we can set up a date!

My local grocer made the delish cake pops and I added the cute little ducks to the pop sticks.

We used the Big Shot to cut the treat boxes and filled them with cookies from a bakery. My son and his wife are both athletes. They met when they were life guards one summer. So we had a bit of a sports theme and held the shower at the sports theme restaurant in our neighborhood.

 There was a little banner we made with some help from the Big Shot also.

Tomorrow I leave for the Stampin' Up! convention in Salt Lake City. I have a ton of pictures of my swap cards and the prep that went into them. I know I'll have more pictures from convention. So July has been very slow here, but in a couple days, you'll be treated to an onslaught, so buckle up!

Happy Stampin!
Dee Tollaksen