State of Texas Tax Free Weekend and Stampin' Up

Order today here!   The state of Texas is having a sales tax holiday for school supplies up to $100.00 per item from August 19-21. Because school supply items are included in this sales tax holiday, the below list of items will be state tax free during the holiday period. Please note that you must place your order with Stampin' Up! during the tax holiday period in order to receive these items tax free. Also, keep in mind that this is a state sales tax holiday and may not apply to additional city, jurisdiction, or county taxes. 

The following items are tax-exempt during the Texas sales tax holiday:

Item Number	Description	Price
100425	2-Way Glue Pen	$    3.50
100902	Dotto Refill	$    6.50
101879	Watercolor Pencils (24)	$   19.95
102845	Blender Pens (3)	$    9.95
103179	Craft & Rubber Scissors	$   19.95
103305	Dotto	$   12.95
103579	Paper Snips	$    9.95
103683	Mini Glue Dots	$    4.95
104045	Anywhere Glue Sticks (2)	$    3.95
104294	Sticky Strip	$    6.95
104331	SNAIL Refill	$    4.50
104332	SNAIL Adhesive	$    6.95
104430	Stampin' Dimensionals	$    3.95
105021	Uni-ball Signo Gel Pen	$    3.95
105394	Basic Black Stampin' Write Journaler	$    3.50
108360	Craft Scissors	$   29.95
110755	Multipurpose Liquid Glue	$    3.95
Varies	Stampin' Write Marker	$    3.50
119700	Subtles Collection Stampin' Write Markers (10)	$   28.95
119701	Regals Collection Stampin' Write Markers (10)	$   28.95
119702	Brights Collection Stampin' Write Markers (10)	$   28.95
119703	Neutrals Collection Stampin' Write Markers (8)	$   22.95
119801	2010-2012 In Color Stampin' Write Markers (5)	$   14.95
119802	Subtles Collection Watercolor Wonder Crayons (10)	$   16.95
119803	Regals Collection Watercolor Wonder Crayons (10)	$   16.95
119804	Brights Collection Watercolor Wonder Crayons (10)	$   16.95
119805	Neutrals Collection Watercolor Wonder Crayons (10)	$   16.95
120962	Stampin' Pastels	$   24.95
123002	2011-2013 In Color Stampin' Write Markers (5)	$   14.95

Another Vinyl Project

Here is another gift I am planning for teacher's on my team! It is made with 7" block of 2x4. My husband cut several of them for me. He also drilled holes 1/2" apart with a drill bit that is the size of a pencil. I then sanded it, spray painted it black and let it dry. It went really fast!

I then cut out the school name and mascot using amazing vinyl. (White and Real Red) Applied the vinyl, wrapped a ribbon and voila - a cute gift!

I head back to work on Monday - I hope my friends like their goodies! Have a great Friday!
dan

Great Teacher Gift

So we are welcoming several new teachers in our building this year! Of course, the budget is tight so we can not get gifts for each and every one of them, so we decided to draw for this great school supply tower! I got the idea from a good friend of mine. It is put together a lot like those cute diaper cakes we have all see.

The base is a cake base wrapped in wrapping paper. Then I used a photo box for the first layer - attached with sticky strip. Then attached a composition book on each end, three spiral notebooks on one side, two packages of notebook paper on the other side and covered up the paper with three packages of colored pencils. The second layer is a large tissue box, with pens, pencils, sharpies and highlighters placed in the gap. The third layer is an opening formed with two band-aid boxes and two boxes of pencils. In the opening at the top is two packages of expo markers, a package of note cards, erasers and a pencil sharpener. Everything is either taped down with sticky strip or tied on with ribbon and rubber bands.

I hope all of this makes sense! It would be an awesome gift for any teacher! Supplies are so cheap right now it would not cost very much to make. I think this one cost less than $20. Oh and there is a bottle of hand sanitizer in the corner. I will be back tomorrow with some more stamping projects! Have a great day!

dan

It is Not a Card

Spirit Bucket

This is the first of a few back to school goodies that I am going to be making for my teacher friends. The bucket came from the clearance section of a local craft store. The letters represent our school mascot (well the school where I teach anyway) and are Real Red vinyl from Stampin' Up. The ribbon is real red grosgrain attached with sticky strip. The handle is decorated with strips of fabric, tool and SU! ribbon. Some of the ribbon is retired but I have a huge stash and need to use it before I can buy more.

I am going to fill the bucket with some back to school treats! I hope you like it!

Have a great day!

Mirror Image Technique

Okay, so I have seen this done before and I really wanted to try it. I know there are several different ways to do this, but I just could never get it right. I was blog hopping the other day and found a really easy way to do a mirror image. I am going to show you the card and then try to describe it. I hope it makes sense. Let me know if you have any questions.

First, choose your image. Mine comes from a classic set called Lovely as a Tree. It has been in the catalog forever.

Second, stamp your image on your card stock. This one is in Early Espresso.

Third, stamp the same image on a piece of acetate (better known as transparency film at my house).

Next, take the acetate turn it upside down with the ink towards the card stock and line it up with the first image.

Then, take a brayer and rub over the back of the acetate to transfer the ink to your card stock. Be careful not to move the acetate, but you will want to press pretty hard with the brayer. Make sure to rub over the entire image.

I then used a Blender Pen and Old Olive ink to color the grass. All supplies are SU! (except the acetate).

Remember, you can purchase any of these items through my website.

Have a great Monday!
dan

Quick Birthday Card

Here is a card that I made in a hurry for a boy's birthday party! I hope he likes it. It uses a new set called Furry Folk that I just love and the sentiment from Best Dad Ever.

The clouds were made using the Scallop Circle Punch. I punched out a circle from scrap paper, then put the punched piece on a post it note - I then put it back in the punch (using the post it note as a sort of handle) and punched the scallop again. I hope that makes sense - if it does not, feel free to contact me for more information.

Have a great day!
dan

Organization

So yesterday I decided that I needed to be able to see my brads and buttons better. I had purchased the cases a few weeks ago and had yet to do anything with them. Well, I sorted all of the buttons and brads. That took a little while and I still need to buy a couple of more cases (maybe it will force me to actually use them!). Anyway, then I decided I wanted to decorate the box with the buttons in it. I did, but guess what, I did not check which box was which - so then I had to move them all again. UGH!!! Well, I like the way it turned out. Hope you do too!

Supplies:

DSP
Adhesive Sheets for the Big Shot
Big Shot
Letters

Have a great day! dan

Fabric Flower

This card was inspired by a video I watched the other day here. The flower is made using the Tastefully Trim die, a circle punch, awesome SU! fabric, buttons and Build a Blossom punch. You can also add a pin to the back to make it a wearable piece of art. It really is simple to make!

Since it is my birthday month, most of the cards/projects that I post this month will have a birthday theme.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. All supplies are SU! and can be purchased through my website.

Supplies: Paper: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Scrap
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Big Shot, Tastefully Trim Die, Bold Bright Button, Build a Blossom Punch for leaves, Sticky Strip, Flirtatious Fabric, White Baker's Twine.

I hope you have a great Thursday!

dan

Completely Cased

I received a beautiful birthday card from a member of my stamping group and I just had to copy it!!! I hope you like it.

Have a great day!

SU! Supplies:

Paper: Calypso Coral, Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler
Ink: Basic Black
Ribbon: Satin Black
Daisy Triple Punch, Itty Bitty Circle Punch, Mini Brads

All supplies are Stampin' Up! If you would like information on purchasing any of these products, contact me!

Monday Musings

As we leave July and begin August I am reminded of all of the stuff that we fit into 31 days - and boy was it alot. We had health scares and car incidents (breakdowns, etc.), travel across the country, church camp, broken washing machine, broken air conditioner, migraines, and more. But the most important thing through it all we had each other. I love my family! They are incredible. I have a loving husband and amazing kids that are turning out to be pretty incredible teenagers! Today, however, life is going to get busier. Our August calendar is chock full and I have not even put my stuff on their. Will I find the time to do all the things I love? I hope so. 

Well, here is a quick card! I hope you enjoy it and have a great day. The one thing that you must remember is that it is your choice if it is going to be a great day or not. It is all about perspective. 

Kidoodle Monkey

Supplies: 

Stamps: Kidoodles, Woodgrain Background

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Staz On

Accessories: Various Markers, 2 1/2 circle punch, post it note for masking, Chocolate Chip Scallop Ribbon

Have a fabulous Monday!

Kidoodles

Here are 4 easy gift tags using the new set Kidoodles. They are really simple to make and a whole lot of fun. I am going to give these to a friend in a cute package. I hope you enjoy them. Sorry it is short and sweet today, but life is really busy at the Adams' abode.

Hope you have a great Friday! We are awaiting the effects of Tropical Storm Don! Bring on the rain.

dan

Pinwheel

Yesterday I spent a ton of time in my craft room. I was trying to keep my mind busy. I can't say that it worked all that well, but I did come up with some fun stuff to share. Here is the first of many.

Pinwheels are really popular so I decided to try my hand at them. The two smaller pinwheels were made with the postage punch and the larger one is a 2x2 square.

Supplies are all SU!. I hope you have an amazing Wednesday.

danielle

Giving Back

One of the things that I love about Stampin' Up! is the ability to use my supplies to give back. This evening, in the midst of the biggest storm that we have had in a long time, I headed out to do a little craft time with one of our local ministries. The ministry was formed by some amazing ladies to serve the girls of our community that find themselves in the midst of an unplanned pregnancy. Since I have been in that situation before, I find this a great cause and a worthy use of my time. So tonight, I went to a community center and spent some time with some great girls. We did four cards, one of which was for Operation Write Home. Why shouldn't the girls that are the recipients of great care not give back? So we stamped. It was awesome. I hope to be able to do it again in the future. So here are the cards that we did. And guess what some of them even changed them up to make them their own and show their creativity. It was great.

Button Buddies

Artistic Etchings

 As you can see, the cards are fairly simple. But they really did like them. I am so glad, I always worry if my designs will be liked. I am going to be hosting the leadership of this group at my home as well so I get to minister to those who minister! What a privilege.

Finally Home!!!

It has been a crazy couple of weeks. We were at Convention in Salt Lake - and that was amazing. I have never laughed so hard in all my life. Thankfully it came at the right time because I need all the laughter I could find. It was a rough week at home for my husband, which of course made it a rough week for me. I hate when he has that many challenges in one week. We are still struggling with some of it, but we are hoping that we are on the down side. I know that we are not alone and we are very blessed. Let me say that again, we are very blessed and no matter what the trouble we are still too blessed to be stressed. We live in an amazing country, we have great friends, jobs, a great business, amazing kids, family, an awesome church family, and so much more!

Anyway, I am sharing a couple of projects that were given to me at Convention. My friend Dawn Derrick (whose blog can be found here) made some amazing swaps for us. She is an amazing seamstress and used SU! fabric to make these treats for us. A lanyard and a key fob. The cute fabric flower on the lanyard is actually a pin. Too cute. I am going to have to duplicate this for sure!

The next item is a swap that I received. I do not have the info on the creator, but I think it is really pretty and I plan on copying it soon. One of the great parts of Convention is getting your hands on ideas to use in your business. I have tons!!!

I hope you have a great and fabulous day!
dan

Day 1 of Convention

Okay - so we had a great day at Convention. Lots of swapping, great news, free stuff and lots of time with friends. It's awesome! I am sorry there are not very many pictures yet, I will have tons of them for you soon. But I can tell you that you are going to love some of the new things coming our way!!!

Anyway, so today has been kind of rough. My poor, sweet husband has been having a heck of a week at home. He has had car trouble, air conditioning trouble, employee trouble, customer trouble, more car trouble, a car accident (not his fault), screaming kids, doctor's appointments and probably much more. Well, that has meant that I have had to handle some of it from here. I have tried to do it with grace and kindness -- and for the most part I have succeeded. That is until today, when I finally lost my cool. Okay, I do not yell often or lose my temper often, but today I had had enough. Suffice it to say, it was a rough day. Well, it got better. Can you imagine? My friends and I were walking back to our hotel after dinner and there was a lady walking two little dogs. They were really cute. So of course I said hello to them, I did not bend down, I did not provoke them in anyway - but one of them decided he needed to see what I taste like. He only slightly broke the skin on my shin, but I will have a great new bruise to explain tomorrow! Let's just say, I was ready for the day to be over!!!

I know you want to see a card, so here is one I did before I left home. I hope you enjoy!

Great new set called, My Friend!

Convention Check-In Day

Today was the day we checked in for convention. It is always fun to see old friends and get goodies. I will post pictures of the goodies soon, but it is also a time when you get to see the amazing talent of the home office. I am going to post some of the pictures that I took of displays at Convention. More tomorrow! Have a great day!

Beautiful flowers in SLC

Beautiful flowers

Awesome paper flowers

New fabric in an embroidery ring

Photo Collection

Cute Card with Bring on the Cake

Easy Events - one of our free sets

Kidoodles

Well, yesterday was a travel day. I meant to get something posted on here for you guys, but it just never happened. I made the card at 2:30 in the morning, in my 2nd floor craft room with no air conditioning, but still did not get around to posting it. Sorry!!!

I had the greatest time traveling with my friend Katie to Salt Lake City. Let me just tell you her family is hysterical. Long story, but it happened that her mom and aunt were leaving from the same terminal for a trip to Ireland and we got to spend time together. It could not have worked out better and we had some great laughs. Then when we got on the plane, Katie and I weren't sitting together, but fate had me sitting next to another friend, Kirsteen, that I did not even know was traveling on the same plane with us. It was awesome. We got to catch up and I loved it.

From the new Kidoodles set

Anyway, enough rambling. Here is the card. It is from a new set called Kidoodles. It is sooooooo cute. I made this quick card. It is stamped with Staz On, colored with a blender pen and markers in Blush Blossom, So Saffron and Soft Suede on Very Vanilla paper. The background is stamped with Woodgrain background stamp in Always Artichoke. Add a little vanilla seam binding and you are done. The set is super cute. I can't wait to make more cards with him.

Have a great day! More from convention as the week goes on. Today is shopping day! WOO HOO!

Blooming Something Simple on Saturday

I have a stamp camp this morning. I will be posting those projects later. For today, it is a simple one layer card. Hope you like it and have an amazing Saturday!

Supplies:

Stamp Set: On the Grow - only available until 8/31
Ink: Black Staz On
Accessories: Blender Pen, Real Red Ink Pad, Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight

Super Simple!

Thanks, dan

Back from Vacation with Strength and Hope

Vacation was wonderful. We spent a couple of days with my mom and then my dad - and then we went to the lake to enjoy sometime relaxing. We were all sore after our tubing, skiing, kneeboarding adventure - but we had a blast. My only goal was to not fall off the tube before my kids - and I succeeded!!! WOO HOO!!

So we came home yesterday and the husband was very ill, we think it was possibly food poisoning - but he seems better today.

I came home to some great supplies from Stampin' Up! and had to get to playing. Of course, I also have to get ready for a Stamp Camp tomorrow. If you live in the Houston area, we would love to have you join us.

So here is today's card! It is made with Whisper White paper sponged with Daffodil Delight, Calypso Coral, Tempting Turquoise, and Soft Suede. It is placed on a Soft Suede base with En Francais stamped in Soft Suede. Bordered by a Chocolate Chip piece. It is really simple.  The stamp set is Strength and Hope from the Summer Mini. Thanks for looking, hope you have a great day!
dan

This is the road leading to the lake house where we stayed in Kingsland!

Happy Fourth of July!

Here is a quick card I made to send as a "thank you" for the fourth. The star is made with the pennant punch.

I hope everyone has a great day celebrating the birth of this nation. Be safe and if you live in Texas save the fireworks for next year. We don't need any more fires! What we do need is rain!!!

We will be spending the day at the lake. I will not be sharing any projects until probably Thursday!

Supplies Needed:

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Gems, Petite Pennant Punch

All items are available for purchase through my SU! webiste: www.daniestamps.stampinup.net.