Tuesday, August 30, 2011

{Your} Questions....Answered!

Hello, My Friends!

About once a month, we ask our friends to post questions on our Facebook Page for me to answer in a future video.  Here's a new episode of {Your} Questions....Answered!







Can't see the video? Click Here!


In other news, my 'baby' starts high school this week!  I'm amazed and so proud of Katie.  :)

Hugs!
Stephanie
The Stamps of Life

Monday, August 29, 2011

Take a Break!

Hello, My Friends!


My good friend, Gretchen Schmidt designed this incredible card and I just had to share it with you!  :)
 

 Instructions:

Outside: Create a 4-1/4” x 5-1/2” card base out of cardstock. Stamp coffee cup image a bit off center towards the right. Use the Top Note die and create a cut out of patterned paper. Adhere towards the right side of the card as show and trim excess. Layer paper strips to create border towards the bottom of the card. Stamp “coffee coffee” image onto dark cardstock. Cut out but ignore rectangle to create a circle. Stamp the same image onto light cardstock, cut out rectangle and adhere down on top of dark cardstock creating the same image out of two different shades. Stamp “take a break” sentiment into rectangle box.

Inside: Use your die cut machine to create the Scallop Circle pop-up. Fold according to package directions and adhere to the inside of your card, towards the left side, not the center. Layer paper strips onto the bottom portion of the card, threading them underneath the pop-up fold (where your items are glued down to). Stamp large coffee cup onto two different shades of cardstock to create the cup as show in example (you will cut out the center wrap and glue down onto cup). Use a punch to create the scallop, glue down on cup. Stamp sentiment onto cardstock and punch out with circle punch. Glue down onto scallop. Add finished piece to card on the right hand side. Stamp long saying, cut out, and add to top tab of pop-up. Punch a scallop out of patterned paper, cut in half, and adhere to bottom tab of pop-up. Stamp two small coffee cups, cut out, and add them to the front of the half scallop.

Supplies Used:

 
Other: 
Sizzix Bigz Die - Card, Scallop Circle 3-D (Pop-Up)
Top Note Sizzix Die
cardstock, patterned paper, punches, inks.


Happy Crafting!

Hugs,
Stephanie

Friday, August 26, 2011

Lot's of Stuff....

Hello, My Friends!

Summer is winding down, (although it's getting really hot here now!)  Kirstin has already started her freshman year in college and Katie starts high school on 9/1.  Where did my summer go?!? 

Oh, yeah....

I was a little busy...

The first week in June, we were at the Great American Scrapbook Convention in Arlington, TX.

Katie graduated from 8th grade, and two hours later I was on a plane to Puerto Rico.

I had a few weeks off and celebrated Kirstin graduating from high school.

I then found myself in Chicago.

The next week, I was in PA.

The next week was Nashville, TN.

Then, Katie and I took off for Hawaii for three days.  And YES.  I did take a FULL day off!  No phone, no emails, no texts.  Ken texted me that morning and I insisted Katie call him back and tell him I was taking a day off!  ;)  (This is actually a big deal.  I even manage to work an hour or two on Christmas Day when the family is napping!)  {That's what happens when you LOVE your job!}  ;)

So, I guess I had an eventful summer.  ;)

This fall, I'll find myself in South Africa for ten days, Houston, TX for Sizzix, St. Louis, Ontario (California), Seattle and...hmmm....wow...that might be all.  ;)

I hope you've all had a great summer.  :)

Also.....

Did you know we are sponsoring the CPS Blog this week?  If you aren't familiar with this awesome blog, it's where a sketch by Tami is posted and then you get to see great examples by their design team and then you can play for a chance to win!  ;)

So, for fun, I created a card using the sketch.  Here's the sketch.....



And here's my card.....
 
For my card I used praise4Him, Thanks2You and type4background.  :) The patterned paper is by My Mind's Eye and the twine of course is from The Twinery.  :)  Oh, and the inks, well yeah, mine.  ;)  Didn't get the dies on this one, but I bet you'll be seeing more of the dies soon!  ;)

Big Happy Hugs!

Stephanie
The Stamps of Life

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Mother/Daughter Bonding!

Hello, My Friends!

While we were at the Creating Keepsakes Convention in PA, I met a Mother and Daughter.  (Although, Mom Chris looked more like Jessica's sister!)  Anyway, they both signed up to be Club Members and challenged each other to create a card when they get the new stamp sets in the mail and send them to each other in the mail!  What a great idea!

The best part?!?  They really did it!  Here are their cards....

Cards by Jessica in PA

Card by Chris in PA

Jessica and Chris, thanks for sharing your cards with us using the branches4flowers stamp set!  Email me if you would like a special blinkie to add to your blogs!  :)

So, now I challenge you all....join the Club with a friend and create cards to send to each other!  :)

Hugs!
Stephanie
The Stamps of Life

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

The Gallery is ROCKIN'!

Hello, My Friends!

I had a few minutes today, so I checked out our incredible gallery.  If you haven't been there recently, we now have OVER 3300 ideas just waiting for you!  It's organized by stamp set, so click on your favorite stamp set and get some eye candy!

So, as I'm looking around, I saw these two wonderful cards by Terri D.  They are so simple yet....perfect!  And, they use the same set, the daisies2garden set!





Terri, thanks for sharing your card with us using the daisies2garden stamp set!  Email me if you would like a special blinkie to add to your blog!  :)


Hugs!
Stephanie
The Stamps of Life

Monday, August 22, 2011

You will NOT believe....

Hello, My Friends!

You will NOT believe what I got in the mail the other day!!!!  Check out this video to find out what an incredibly generous Club Member sent me! 






Can't see the video? Click Here!



Pamela,  again....thank you so much!  You are now a HERO in my home!  :)

Hugs!
Stephanie
The Stamps of Life

Friday, August 19, 2011

And the Winners Are.....


Hello, My Friends!

On Monday of this week, we had a contest to guess the time of the 30 Second Card in our newest episode.  Well, my time was 6:39 and the winner is......

Summer Loving Gal said...
6 minutes 40 seconds.....love the videos but we know you like to talk Stephanie! lol

Summer Loving Gal, you WIN a stamp set of your choice!  Please email the office your address and stamp set choice.  Congrats!  :)

{Oh, hey, did you totally laugh when I mentioned in the video about Ken giving me a finger?!?  I just watched it and even I laughed!}

Thanks so much everyone for entering the contest!  I think we'll need to do that every month!  {We all love contests!}

Now, it's time to release a new eye candy video  AND announce the Gallery Winners for the island2visit Gallery.  :)





Can't see the video? Click Here!




Here's a close up of the winners....

 This one is by Annie, who wrote:  I used blue/brown chalk in attempt to give it a sandy effect. The palm tree is cut out cardstock, used green sparkles at the ends of the leaves and curled the ends to give it some dimensional. At the side are 3 cirlce punch-outs, stamping inside.



 This one is by Regine in Australia.




And this one was chosen as a winner because I almost fell out of my chair when I saw it!  It's by Sharon in the UK.  Isn't it adorable!?!



Ladies, please email me with the stamp set of your choice (value $12.95 or less) and your address. Congrats on winning!

Make sure you check out ALL the great ideas in the Gallery!

There are OVER 3300 ideas using our stamps, just waiting for you!

Also, for YOUR chance on winning, upload your branches4flowers projects to our gallery.  Winners are chosen randomly and YOU could be next!  ;)


Hugs!
Stephanie
The Stamps of Life

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

A {New} 30 Second Card Video!

Hello, My Friends!

It's that time!  Time for another episode of a 30 Second Card {in 5 minutes!}. 


This time, we had a contest to see who could guess my time...the winner will be announced this week!  In the meantime, enjoy the show!  :)




Can't see the video? Click Here!



 Nice looking die used in that video, huh?!?  Well, we will soon {next week!} have them on our website!  {Just a note...we will only be selling the Sizzix Framelits that I designed....}  ;)  Woo Hoo!  This particular set also matches the {Club Member Exclusive} freebie stamp set you got this month!  Oh, yeah!  ;)

Happy Stamping!


Hugs!
Stephanie
The Stamps of Life

Stamping Tip Time

Hello, My Friends!

Here's a Stamping Tip Video....







Can't see the video? Click Here!


Don't forget!  We are having a contest!  (See yesterday's post).  The deadline to enter is 6pm pst TODAY!


Hugs!
Stephanie
The Stamps of Life

Monday, August 15, 2011

Contest Time!

Hello, My Friends!

It's time for a fun contest!  It's SO easy to enter, too!

On Wednesday, we will be releasing the next episode of a 30 Second Card {in five minutes!}.



Well, the contest is, leave a comment on this blog post on how long you think the card will take in this episode.  Yep, you just have to guess!  The person that comes the closest to the time, will win a stamp set of their choice!

The contest is open until 8/16/11 at 6pm.  So, leave a comment right now!  You just never know....YOU could be the winner!

Hugs!
Stephanie
The Stamps of Life

Friday, August 12, 2011

FOUR New Stamp Sets!

Hello, My Friends!

FOUR new stamp sets have been released! Woo Hoo! 

Here are a few Design Team projects...

By Beverly

By Laura

By Laura



Here are the stamp sets up close....

guitars2play

outlines4letters
zebras2letter

talk2me
Check them out by clicking here!

Check out MORE of what the Design Team did with these stamps by clicking here!

Hugs,
Stephanie
The Stamps of Life

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Today.....

Hello, My Friends,

Today..........

I'm flying home from Hawaii with my daughter, Katie.  We will land at the LAX airport around 11:30pm. 

Today is a good day.  It will mean the end of a four week whirlwind of travel. 

In four weeks, I've been to Chicago, Philadelphia, Nashville and Hawaii (and home to CA between each trip!).

The last four weeks I've been on 11 planes. 
The last four weeks I've slept in four hotels.
The last four weeks I've been home only nine days.

I now have FOUR WEEKS off from travel. 

I'll be honest, it's hard to be away so much.  However, I have had a BLAST!  I've met so many incredible people!  I've introduced so many people to stamping and die cutting and to my favorite machine, the eclips!

It will be nice to be home for a few weeks, but I know after about two weeks, I'll start itching.  I'll start getting restless.  I won't feel, 'right'.  I'll then realize it's because I've been in the same spot too long.  I'll start thinking about the next trip.  And then I'll realize....the next trip is a big one.

I mean, a really big one.

I'll be traveling to South Africa!

I'll be teaching for Sizzix....(and stamping, too!)

I feel so blessed to be able to travel and teach. 

I feel so blessed when I get to meet people at events that have watched my videos, or used my stamps or used my products. 

I feel so blessed that I have a company that I run the way I feel a company should be ran. 

I'll be honest, I thank God everyday for my Club Members, my customers and the friends I've met.


Today.....is my birthday and I feel so incredibly blessed.

Hugs,
Stephanie

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Yes, the Ink is Here!

Hello, My Friends!

We have gotten so many orders for the new Stephanie Barnard Premium Dye Ink Pads.  I'm amazed!  Here's a great card by Design Team Member, Jeanne Streiff using branches4flowers and my new ink pads.....


Stamps: The Stamps of Life (branches4flowers)


Cardstock: DiscountCardstock.com (Classic Crest Solar White, Herbal Garden Light, Prismatic White, Posh Black Twill Iced Pink)


Inks: Clearsnap Premium Dye ink by Stephanie Barnard (Bubble Gum, Artichoke, Strawberry, Guava, Licorice)


Twine:  TheTwinery.com 

LOVE it!  

Hugs!
Stephanie
The Stamps of Life

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

A {New} Life With Stephanie Video

Hello, My Friends!

You all know how much I love my Diet Coke (and Diet Dr. Pepper), but when you see this video, you'll know just a little bit more about the addiction....






Can't see the video? Click Here!



It's funny.  Whenever I meet people who watch my videos, they usually say two things.

1.  "You are much shorter in person."  Yep, this is true.  I'm kinda short.

2.  "I feel like I know you!"  Well, if you watch the Life with Stephanie videos, then you really do know me! I don't hold back on these crazy episodes.  I let you see the real me.  Faults and all.  I want you to know I'm only human.  I'm not anyone special.  I'm just me. 

Hugs!
Stephanie
The Stamps of Life

Monday, August 8, 2011

Whew!

Hello, My Friends!

Wow.  We are home from an incredible trip to Nashville!  Our youngest daugther, Katie went with us along with Club Member, Fayleen (to do the Make-n-Takes).  We had a great time!  I can't wait to share the video with you later this week.

I do have a video to share with you...it's an eye candy video of all the incredible projects our design team created using the islands2visit stamp set....





Can't see the video? Click Here!



As I mentioned, we arrived home from Nashville (Saturday night almost midnight) and I'm on my way to another state today!  This time, I get to go to Hawaii for three days to teach a class on the Sizzix eclips!  I guess Sizzix knew it was my birthday this week, so they are 'forcing' me to go to Hawaii.  ;)

I'll be taking a day off this week.  Wednesday is the day.  No phone.  No emails.  Just my youngest daughter and me.  On the beach in Hawaii, looking at the ocean.  A Diet Coke in one hand, and.....perhaps a magazine or book in the other.  I'm not sure.  I haven't had a 'real' day off in a long time.  I hope I can do it.  Maybe I'll check my emails just once....or twice....or.....

NOPE.  I'm really going to try to take a day off.  Even though I know I'm supposed to have a conference call that day.  I'll re-schedule it.  I'm taking the day off.  Really.  {I think}.

Hugs!
Stephanie
The Stamps of Life

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Hello....Goodbye!

Hello, My Friends!

We are on our way to Nashville, TN!  But first, I wanted to share this video with you....





Can't see the video? Click Here!



We hope to see you in Nashville!  


Hugs!
Stephanie
The Stamps of Life

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

They are HERE! The Ink Pads are HERE!

Hello, My Friends!

They are HERE!  They are HERE!  :)  The INK PADS HAVE ARRIVED!  :)

If you haven't heard, I have partnered with Clearsnap, the makers of ColorBox Ink Pads to bring you PREMIUM DYE INK PADS.  :)

Here are a few pictures....

Set 1


Set 2



The ink pads will soon be available at a store near you!  You can also purchase them in six packs on our website.  And YES, Club Members get a special Club Price!  :)

Set 1 contains:  Licorice, Blueberry, Spearmint, Grape, Tangerine and Bubblegum

Set 2 contains:   Chocolate, Strawberry, Banana, Artichoke, Sky and Guava

On The Stamps of Life Website, we will only be selling them in packs of 6 or 12.  The sets are ready to ship!  {Sorry, we are unable to pick and choose individual colors.  If you prefer, you can purchase these at your local store, soon.}

We only have a limited amount of the ink pads in stock.  So, if you want them, order them soon!  We will be getting more in stock in a few weeks.

Thanks for sharing this dream with me!

Hugs,
Stephanie
The Stamps of Life

Monday, August 1, 2011

August 1st?!?!

Hello, My Friends!

I cannot believe it is already August First! Wowsers! How can it be?!?

We had a wonderful time in Philly! We got home at 4am...totally exhausted, but we had a great time!

It's funny, many times, I was told how much shorter I am in person.  I guess I look tall in the videos.  ;)

Ok, ok, I know you want to know about the new Stamp Set!  Are you ready?!?  Here it is.....






Can't see the video? Click Here!


Here's a close up of the branches4flowers stamp set:

35 stamps on a 4x6 inch sheet.  Longest branch is approx.
3.75 inches tall.

Here are some incredible samples from the Design Team...

you are beautiful by Laura Williams

thanks by Kim Howard

thank you by Kim Howard
Club Members...your stamps are already on their way to you, along with a special surprise!  :)

Not a Club Member?  Click  branches4flowers to order now.  OR, check out how to become a Club Member!  :)


Hugs!
Stephanie
The Stamps of Life