2/28 Team Swap Samples

Good Afternoon!

I've been cooped up in the studio making samples to share with you soon.  For today, I'd like to share with you the samples from my team meeting this month.  I hope you like them as much as I do!

This beautiful card is by Bonnie Merrill and Uses the Bloomin Marvelous stamp set and Sycamore street Designer series paper.

 Such a fun shape to stamp the word "brother", this card was created by Debbie Thomas.

 The wonderful clean and simple stamper Christine Crutcher made this cute project to share!

 This one was created by Diane Windrom

 Here's one by Regina Maginnis

And finally the headliner.  Joanne Cardone was gracious enough to present this gorgeous card that she cased from pinterest.  The girls had a ball putting them together!

 

I hope you found a little inspiration here today.  Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Love,

Selene
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9/17 Stampin' Up! Pursuit of Happiness & MDS2, Sudsol sketch challenge

Good Morning Friends!

I know that I have been a little bit MIA on my blog.  Here's the scoop.  I'm working on something BIG!  I mean HUGE!  For this year's stamp out breast cancer event, I'm going to be offering a class planner.  It has taken me 3 weeks solid and it's out for proofing!  I will release the class planner soon.  The best part is, I'm giving all the money from the sale of the planner to Breast Cancer research!  This is my ONE BIG service project a year and I want to do it with gusto ~ so stay tuned!

So ~ here we go.  Once a month I host a chat over on a group that I belong to for demonstrators called SUDSOL.  This morning's chat was a chat and challenge where I provide a sketch.  Honestly, I grabbed one of the 9 sketches that I didn't use from 411 and just re purposed it.  So, this was going to be a 411 sketch.  :) 

I have been seeing this butterfly punch used for negative space all over pinterest and wanted to do my own version.  :)  This is the gorgeous International Bazaar designer paper.  :)  So cool!

So, here's my sketch!  I was having so much fun it sort of looks like a card already!  I did it in My Digital Studio 2.  Pretty fabulous, ey?  I love all the little pearls as the flame on the birthday cake... oh boy.. well how about some measurements.

Base layer is 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded at 4 1/4"
Layer 2: 4 x 5 1/4" and embossed with the Lacy Brocade Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
Layer 3: 5 x 2" strip of the International Bazaar DSP,
with a the elegant butterfly punched out under where you wont see it.
 Layer 4: Whisper white layer 4 1/8" x  2 5/8"
Layer 5: 4 x 2 1/2" different pattern of the International Bazaar DSP, with a elegant butterfly punched out to create the negative space.
Layer 6: 17" of Pacific Point stitched ribbon
Layer 7: The sentiment was cut out with one of the shapes from the Apothecary Accents Framelit, then stamped. I put that layer up on dimensionals to sit nice on top of the ribbon.   I tried sponging that top layer, then decided it looked better clean.
Layer 8: Finally, I attached the butterfly that I punched out of layer 4 with a glue dot and added some self adhesive rhinestone gems to the top.
 
This also doubled as my swap card for last night's team shoe box swap which we held at a local pizza place (which now has the BEST roast beef I've ever had!!)   New favorite, just sayin'

Anyway, one of the shop owners, Helen had her birthday last night.  So, we all made an extra sample and celebrated her birthday!  Last night she actually said she might like to try stamping some day!  That's pretty cool!

That's it for today.  Tonight I'm going to be hanging with a girlfriend in the studio trying out some fun with tiles!  :)

Have a great day!

Selene Kempton
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8/25 Stampin' Up! I AM (blessed)

Here's one reason why I'm blessed.  Yes I am!  I'm off to the Providence Rhode Island today for the Regional Seminar!  I'll be presenting a workshop wow today.  I certainly hope I get a "wow" in the crowd.  This is my fabulous team and the page we made at the team meeting this week.  First, we had a healthy dinner while enjoying a slide show with the "visual notes" from our trip to convention.

My hubby helped by cooking and he snapped this great photo of some of my team!  We printed the pictures and each member left with the page.  A few of the girls said they are going to frame the page to bring to workshops!  

Selene Kempton
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8/23 Stampin Up! Yes, I am

Good Afternoon Friends!

The Stampin' Up! convention theme this year is one that I love "I AM".  At the end of convention, for those demonstrators who took all the classes, they awarded us with a special stamp set called I AM.

This week on Tuesday evening my team gathered for an informal post convention meeting.  It started with a grilled chicken and veggie dinner over a slide show of convention photos.  I take "visual" notes because I am a visual learner. 

This card was for one girl on my team.  She actually got three cards and a few packages of the glimmer paper.  I run an incentive program with my first level downline when they are operating at a certain level, I make them cards and give them a small gift of product to reward their efforts.  This exceptional demonstrator has already exceeded this goal for this month too, so I'll be working on a package that I will present to her at the September team meeting.  She is ALL of the things that this stamp set shows.

I saw this layout on split coast and thought that it would really pop with the glimmer paper, which is the incentive product of the month this month for my girls. At the meeting we used the stamp set again to make a "creative" scrapbook page and my hubby got a picture of the small group of us and we printed out the picture.  Everyone left with a completed page.  Some of the girls said that they are going to frame it.  I will share that page soon **promise**, I've been busy getting ready for Saturday.

I have been asked to present at the Providence RI regional conference and i'm a little nervous!  Nothing like presenting to a room full of your peers with a camera guy and everything!  If you're local, I hope to see you, and catch up with you there!

Tomorrow night i'll be back to share the 411 card for this week.  Then it will be off to the races so i can be down in Providence early!  (((hugs)))

Selene~

Last Day of the mini catalog & Lots of Smooches!

Good afternoon friends!

Today is the last day of the mini catalog.  Here is the carryover items list.  If there were items that you wanted from the current Occasions mini catalog that didn't make the above list.  Today is the day to get them!

Also ~ If you are looking for the buttons smooch brads that were only available during the month of April, stampin up has completely sold out!

The retirement list is out, and retired accessories are going VERY fast.  Stamps are available until May 31st, but the accessories are while supplies last!

To visit and see what's going here are the categories. NOTE** for all the lists below, once you get into the site, choose to "view all" for easy viewing! 

For retiring accessories click here
For DISCOUNTED retiring accessories click here
For retiring stamp sets, click here!  
While you are there, don't forget to check out the clearance rack!  These items cannot be placed on a workshop or club order.  :)

Do you want a new catalog the minute it's in my hot little hands?  Well, starting RIGHT NOW, place a $50 order with me, and I will send your catalog by mail as soon as they have arrived!

I'll be releasing my customer rewards program this week also!  Don't miss out on the fun! 

Here are my team swaps using the summer smooch paper preview (which also ends today!)  I love what my team came up with!  Every month we swap full cards, AND we have long distance team players too!  If you like what you see, leave them some love!

 Created by Ann Call

 Created by Gery Benton

 This one is mine  :)

 Created by Bonnie Merrill

 Created by Christine Crutcher

 Created by Deb Thomas

 Created by Joanne Cardone

Created by Regina Maginnis!

I'm so totally blessed to have each of these ladies in my life.  Would you like to swap with us?  Join my team starting tomorrow for only $99 and you can come swap every month with my favorite swappers!  :)  Ask me how!

Valentine's Day!

I have SO many projects to share today!  I didn't want Valentine's Day to go by without showing you some goodies I've been waiting to share!  So here we go!  

From my team meeting, here are the valentine related projects.   I'm going to be sharing these and more on my demonstrator facebook page this week if you want to check it out.  You wont want to miss some of those creations!    So here are the valentines in no particular order:


Gina made this AWESOME gnome card.  Makes me want to break out my set!  

 Confession time!  She also brought us these cute candy bars.  I immediately slid mine out of the package and ate it! Although I did find a replacement, even her candy was cuter!  Isn't this a great idea for a teacher gift? 

Christine Crutcher is the queen of 3D on my team.  She comes up with the best 3d items! She brought these goodies to show off, and somehow I ended up keeping them!  (oops!)  The next two projects are hers! 

Finally, I've been promising my customers a peek at tomorrow's stamp a stack cards.  Friends will make 12 cards for $25 and they need to bring their own adhesive!

I added a time slot in the morning, so there will be two classes, one at 9 am and the other at 6:30 pm.  

Here are two of the cards we'll be making!

 

Whew!  I've been busy!  :)  

Have a great Valentine's Day!

Rubbah hugs,

Selene!

Team Meeting Tonight ~ and blog candy

 Morning Friends!

Okay, I was a little rough around the edges last night when I finished re-photographing the directions for my boxed card class coming out VERY soon.

I have documented down to the smallest detail in a document that has over 120 pictures in my first class planner.  It's coming!  It's taken me over a month to complete, but I'm finally getting there!  This cool class planner will also have tools for demonstrators for those who would like them.  Customizable word doc workshop sheets with customer shopping lists on the back and more!    I hope to have it released next week, so stay tuned!

So, above I am being goofy at about 11pm last night (red eyes and all).  I have a team meeting tonight.  We will be test driving this class and my girls will be in the studio!  I'm very excited that tonight we have some long distance swappers..

For my team meetings I hold a monthly get together and free class.  My long distance ladies have the opportunity to swap with us long distance.  They are also all getting my class planner which I'm so very excited about releasing. 

 So here comes the fun part!  Would you like to be the first to test drive this class?  There will be a few different options for people wanting it.

So, leave me a comment and tell me if you are a "customer" or a "demonstrator", how long you've been stamping and if you'd like the UBER detailed directions to make this awesome product set.

As soon as they are ready, I will give 3 different people access to the class files for FREE.  It's very important if I know you are a demonstrator or not, as the offering will be slightly different for demos.  (meaning demo's will get tools for classes to help their business and workshops in addition to the directions!)

Do you think my team will have fun making this set tonight?

Rubbah hugs,
Selene Kempton

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Team Swap Card

Tonight is my monthly team meeting. I usually try to get the girls together every month or at least every 6 weeks! :D

This month's swap theme was to case the catalog. I chose this card (which was originally done in blue in the catalog. I had fun water coloring the image.

I think this card is a LOT cuter in real life and the photo doesn't do it justice, but I wanted to share anyway.

Happy Sunday and rubbah hugs,
Selene Kempton

Sweet Sunday and my team meeting

Tonight is my monthly team meeting! I looked at the Sweet Sunday blog for a little inspiration this morning. I think I did too much to my card, but I got all the elements I want to show at my team meeting tonight.

First the presto patterns designer series paper was brayed with night of navy ink. I used a new embossing folder and the 2 3/4" scallop circle punch. I finished it off with the smooch spray in white, which is just gorgeous on dark paper.

This is much more sparkly in real life. I hope my team likes it. :)

Happy Sunday!
Selene Kempton

My Inspiring Team

First ~ Sorry about the long post.. There is MUCH more artwork below, so don't forget to scroll down!

This Sunday was my team meeting... It was an absolutely glorious day outside and I secretly thought.. ugghhh.. a team meeting... I really only felt that way, because normally we have 10-12 people in attendance and there's a buzz about the room.

About every 6 months or so, I do a shoe box swap in lieu of a regular meeting. So, everyone brings a prepped card and we either pass the boxes, or we get up and move to the next station. Everyone leaves with every card that was designed by their team mate. A lot of times, I will have it at the pizza place near my home, Romano's, because there just isn't enough room in the studio for all of us.

Some of my adopted downline are in Florida (the rats ~ I'm so jealous! ~ in a good way) and it was a little quiet around the studio.. There ended up being six of us. We listened to my crazy ipod.. I swear I deleted the Christmas music, but we listened to some of that to show tunes, Celine Dion and more... Everyone brought a little something to share. Cheese and crackers, drinks and ...my husband is still talking about Anne Marie's fantastic fudge brownies. Some had a little wine (an ounce at a time with the small cups we had LOL) and others drank iced tea. More importantly, something special happened. There it was. 6 women from all different walks of life coming together and inspiring one another with personals stories, sharing stresses and personal triumphs over major obstacles.

Instantly I felt a giant shift in the way I felt about my meeting. I was so happy I had it, and a little happy that it was so intimate. We all sat around the table and had a glorious conversation. Being inspired by one another on so MANY levels other than stamping... and I couldn't help but sit back and smile after everyone left and think...

YEA, that's it. That is why I do what I do. What a wonderful group of caring, loving mom's, sisters, wives and friends... this is where it's at.. Somehow I missed getting a photo of Deb's awesome card.. Hopefully she'll stop by so I can take a quick picture. I wanted to share with you some of the talent from my team. If you have a team of demonstrators, no matter how big or small ~ I recommend getting together once a month. It might just make a big difference in YOUR life, the way the ladies on my team make such a big difference in mine.

Speaking of being inspired by friends... My card, shown above, started off as a case of my friend Robin Merriman. I called her up and asked her if I could case her card exactly for my team meeting. When I sat down to make it, it looks nothing like her original.. funny... but I did use her idea on the placement of the stamps and my butterflies. You can check out her original by clicking here.

I really wanted to show the awash with flowers stamp set to my team, because hostesses can get this set FREE with a $350 workshop in the month of April!

Here is Ann Marie's gorgeous creation. She said that she thought about doing the flowers that went with the set, but that punches were a more simple way to achieve the same look. She punched all the flowers out for us ahead of time, and this AWESOME creation went together in minutes! Wouldn't this make a wonderful workshop card?

Christine Miscia is the newest addition to my team of inspiring ladies! Chrissy made this adorable pink and brown card. Do you see the top note peeking through inside? She used this as the insert for so folks could write on that instead. I wish when I was new to stamping that I was making creations like this! Clean and simple ~ Gorgeous Christine!
Karen Bernier made this next adorable creation! We used markers to color the main image, but we used a blender pen and water color crayon to color the base. Makes it look more like real chocolate! Next, we topped off the main image with a two way glue pen and dazzling diamonds! I love that the photo picked up the glitter! Awesome job Karen!

And Miss Gina~~~ That is Regina Maginnis... The first card she made is for the shoe box swap.. She's always bringing me other cards to see, and I always seem to want to photograph them for future use. Check out Gina's cards!!!

First, this is the one for the shoe box swap. Gina shared that contrary to the "never touch the glue dot" rule, she finds it easy to peel a glue dot off, stick it to the paper and then attach the felt pieces from the mini! Excellent tip! We also attached the brad, then used the craft and rubber scissors to cut the back of the brad so you dont see the pieces coming through. Before coming to the meeting, she used the circle scissor plus to cut all the circles for us! Adorable card Gina!
Here's another card miss Gina had to share. Clean and simple, I really love the rock and roll on the flowers~ Beautiful work as always!
This next card by Gina blew my socks off! Hey~ I know that sketch!! This is last week's Stamping 411 sketch. Although she plays along she doesn't have time to post or photograph her artwork.. Such a shame! I know I would follow her blog!
I hope you have been inspired by some of the artwork I've shown here. If you like what you've seen, please leave the girls a comment! Maybe we'll inspire some of them to start their own blogs! I think they should all be blogging.. look at the talent!

Another Swap card!

I'm in a "wow" swap, and I hope that this fits the bill. This is the new jackpot designer series paper and buzzing by stamp set, not yet available. It will be available through your demonstrator on January 19th! Isnt this set adorable??

I stamped the bees in chocolate chip ink and masked the bee flying in front. Then i stamped the hive over it. I colored the image with a waterbrush and markers.. Barely Banana, apricot, Mustard and Real Red.

The background is the Belle Toille background stamp with Mustard Ink on Mustard paper. I added dazzling diamonds with a 2-way glue pen to the bees. I hope my swapping friends like this card!

Selene

Team Meeting Swap Card

I had my monthly team meetup last night. The theme was "birthday" or anything on special. I decided to pull my rubons out, because next month the rubon's are going on sale from the 10th to the 30th.

Anyway, these were my swap cards. All the rubon sentiments are different. I just LOVE the "chit chat" rubons. it has about 90 sentiments per sheet and you get two colors! they are just awesome and I will have an appropriate sentiment for every occasion! In this case, I could have the cards all made up, and put the sentiment on when I know the occasion! Too cool!


Happy Monday!

My contribution to the shoe box swap ~ Sponging

Here is my contribution to the shoe box swap. I was playing with my new big shot machine by sizzix, and cut out the "frame" shape you see in the center of the card. Then we started adding color.

We put a baby wipe on a paper plate and added 4 colors of reinkers, pink piroette, tangerine tango, red riding hood red and kiwi kiss. Starting with the darkest color on the outside, we swiped the ink with sponges towards the outside of the card. We stamped the main image and sentiment in chocolate chip ink and then sponged a little chocolate ink around the outside of the card.

Next, we took a small half-bead from the pretties kit and added it with a glue dot.

Then we punched a hole with the slit punch and tied some of the new kiwi/vanilla double sided ribbon as an added touch. Stick it all together and you're done!

We had SO much fun at the shoe box swap last night. We discussed making it a bi-annual event in lieu of a team meeting! I'm in!

What a FUN lookin Bunch!

This is my WONDERFUL team and I last night at a team shoe box swap event. Each demo could bring a friend and we all had an awesome time together stamping away!

Interested in being a part of the crew? Send me an email or give me a call and we could make that happen!

Another Quick Cuts Sample

I made this card for my team meeting swap.

First, I stamped the fresh cut large image over the cardstock, then cut the quick card apart to make a standard sized greeting card. I used the back part of the card to matte the front.. does that make sense? Anyway, then punched a 5~petal flower and stuck it in between the layers.

Next, just a half bead from SU!'s pretties kit, a glue dot, and stick it together.

That thank you is from our rubons. They always go on so quickly! No fuss, no mess. Wahoo!

The best part?? It only took me about an hour to make fifteen of these.

At the meeting every month we get together to learn something new and the HIGHLIGHT of the meeting is ALWAYS the swaps! We always marvel at all the talent in the room and get re~energized about our love for stamping all over again! Not to mention, it's an AWSOME way to get to see my friends!