Happy New Year!

I created this card using My Digital Studio! I just love what I can do with this software from Stampin' Up! It is so versatile and I have used it to make cards, scrapbook pages, books, and many more creative projects. I would be happy to give you a demonstration on how wonderful this software is!
I wish you all a fabulous and safe New Year's! May 2011 bring good things to you and to our world!

Our Sweet Emma

This is a picture of our sweet little Emma. Santa was good to her this year. And, amazingly enough, the moose bobo that she got is still intact! Usually she has a new toy shredded within the hour. Maybe this one is made better, or else she realized that it is more fun to spread out her chewing, ripping, and shredding time! LOL
Anyway, hope everyone had a great Christmas! Don't forget, the Holiday Mini ends January 3rd, so if there is anything in there that you still want, time's a wastin'!
The new Occasions Mini will start January 4th, so if you haven't already received your free copy, let me know! I will post a link that day so you can see all the fabulous new items.
In addition, there is a Stampin' Up special going on now. Click on the Shop Now and check out my website for details.


Have a great week and a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

This is my Christmas card for this year.
Wishing you all a very Happy and Blessed Christmas!

Another donated card

Just another of the cards that I donated recently.

Birthday card for Sally

This was a card that I created for my wonderful sister-in-law, Sally, for her birthday last weekend. You need to click on it to get a closer view to appreciate the embossed detail.

Holiday gift

I wanted to give my demonstrator friends a holiday gift when we got together last week. I had purchased these cute holiday emery boards and decided to make them into flowers. The top and bottom pieces are removable, so one can still use the emery board. For the flower, I used a new Bigz die that Stampin' Up will have available in the new Occasions mini catalog starting January 4, 2011. If you would like a copy, let me know--it has some wonderful new products!!

Variation on Swap Card

Here is a variation on my swap card. I had the white scalloped edging and the inside oval left over after making the original cards, so I thought I would use them to make a variation of the card. I like this one too. :-)

Last chance for delightful jewelry--big discounts!

*** Store Closing Sale! Everything in the store is 50% off! All sales are final. ***

***Sale 50% off!*** Receive an extra 15% off for orders over $75! Use coupon source code EXTRA15 at checkout.

My daughter, Alyssa, is closing her online jewelry store at the end of this year, so she is having a marvelous sale! Now is the perfect time to get those last minute gifts, or perhaps something to wear to sparkle your holidays. Everything is 50% off, and shipping is free! To check out her site, just click on the logo above. Have fun shopping!

My Stamp 'n Chat Swap Card

This was my card for our monthly demonstrator Stamp 'n Chat. This month we did a swap instead of a shoebox project so that we could have a dessert potluck and chat. Also, one of our ladies provided a very fun project for us to do. It was a fun evening.
I have been out of commission for 3 days due to a bad case of the flu, but things are starting to turn around now. :-)
By the way, this card was originally designed by Lyssa Zwolanek. You can see her blog under Song of My Heart on the blog list here on my blog. The only thing I changed was the location of the greeting on the card. Thank you Lyssa!

Holiday Card 2

Here is another card that I created to be donated. I used some Sizzix dies to cut out the ornaments.

Holiday Card

I was making some cards with a friend today that we will donate to families at a local church for their holiday gift-giving. I wanted to make a few more to give to her later and one of them is shown above. I had some lovely wrapping paper from Costco that I punched out using the Ornament Punch. I adhered them to Night of Navy cardstock and ran them through the Big Shot with the Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder to give the texture. Then I mounted it on the Brushed Gold cardstock before attaching to the Night of Navy card. It is hard to capture on film how nice it looks in person.

Rudolph Candy Canes

Isn't this cute?!
The idea came from Cathy Roy, a talented Stampin' Up demonstrator. This is one of the projects we will be doing with the families at the Ronald McDonald House this weekend. It should be a lot of fun making these with the kids. :-)
(I used the two-tags Stampin' Up Big shot die)

Thanksgiving Table

This is a photo of one of our 3 Thanksgiving tables. We had 18 people this year! I also started a Thanksgiving gratitude journal. You can see it sitting on the left side of the table. I will showcase that at a later time. (I am still working on some of the decorations on it)
I love Thanksgiving because it is the holiday where most all of our family comes over to share time together. Our oldest son is still in Italy, so he wasn't here, but we did get to talk with him over Skype, so at least he was part of the day!
The grandparents were not able to be with us this year, because traveling is a little challenging for them, but they were in our thoughts.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

Christmas Luminaria

Here is a luminaria that I designed for my recent holiday decorations class. In the top photo you can see what it looks like in daylight, and then the lower photo shows what it looks like when you put a tealight (battery operated) to light it up.

Fabulous Holiday Sale!

Shop Now!


Take a look at Stampin' Up's fabulous Holiday Sale. It is only good through November 30th, so hurry on over to my website to see the special deals! If you place a $150 order or more online, there is free shipping during this promotion!

Also, the 1/2 price demonstrator kit is only available through November 30th as well. Sign up now to get over $300 worth of product and business supplies for only $87.50!! And then you will also be part of my stamping group and have the opportunity to get together with stamping enthusiasts like yourself for our monthly stamp 'n chats! Contact me, or go directly to my website to join today! My code, when prompted, is surec8.

Don't delay, November 30th will arrive more quickly than you think!

Gift Bag

This was a bonus for my customers at the Holiday card stamp camp. These cute scalloped edged bags are available in our Holiday mini catalog on page 13. They are very sturdy bags with a cardboard liner at the base. They are 10 for $4.95.

Northern Hearts Card

This is the final card for my stamp camp. I used the Northern Hearts Hostess stamp set on the front of the card. It also includes a wreath and 3 snowflakes. If you would like to earn this set, contact me to book a workshop. With a $150 workshop or personal order, the set can be yours, free! (the greeting inside the card is from the Occasional Quotes Hostess level 3 stamp set which can be earned with a $500 workshop)

Peace on Earth Card

Isn't this card lovely? I used a special technique to get the Marina Mist background on these snowflakes. Want to learn how? Contact me to book a workshop and we can incorporate it into my demonstration!
Notice how the rhinestones are blue? I just colored them with a sharpie. That way I can make my rhinestones any color that I want! Fun!

Contempo Christmas Card

The stamp set, Contempo Christmas is used on this card and the Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper. Stampin' Up has a special on right now that enables you to get this stamp set and the Jolly Holiday Designer series paper as a set for 20% off. The wood mount price is $20.72 and the clear mount price is $17.52. This offer is available through December 16th.
Check out my website at www.annettewen.stampinup.net for more holiday specials!

Christmas Greetings Card

This is another card we created in the stamp camp that I held on Sunday. You can sort of see the Shimmery card stock that I used for the ornament and greeting. In person, it has a greater impact.

Faux Inlay Card

This is one of the cards we will be creating in my Holiday Stamp Camp today. We are making 10 cards (2 each of 5 styles) and a bonus gift bag. This coming week I will share the remaining cards from the camp with you.
This card is called Faux inlay because the ornaments are actually separate pieces of card stock that were adhered prior to running the top card through a Big Shot embossing folder. The folder presses it all in together and makes it look as though it is all one. The greeting and greens are stamped prior to running through the folder as well. Then it is adhered to a card and the bow is added. Simple, yet elegant.

Demonstrator Sign-Up Special!

Wow! Stampin' Up is offering the opportunity to join for 1/2 off! The normal price for the starter kit is $175, and you can get it now for only $87.50! There is over $300 worth of product and business supplies, what a deal!!
This offer is only available from November 15-30, 2010. You can contact me for the details, or can go directly to my website at www.annettewen.stampinup.net and sign up there. When prompted for the code, it is surec8.
Join my team during this promotion, and I will also gift you with a free stamp set!
Our stamping group has so much fun creating each month, you will want to join us!

November Ronald McDonald House Projects

This is one of the projects that I did with the families at the Ronald McDonald House this past Saturday.

We also did this very simple card with a Thanksgiving greeting inside.
It is always so rewarding to be able to share with the families there. I got to practice my Spanish a bit--I don't know the words for stamping and such, but we managed just fine. :-)

Happy Halloween!

I received this very cute Halloween swap from regionals.
Hope you all have a great Halloween!

More Regional Swap Favorites

The above card was created by Michelle Hall from Portland, OR. It is lovelier in person!

The above card was created by Stephanie Rawlings.

The above card was created by Linda Arnold of Portland, OR. Wonderful dimension and texture!

There was no name on the back of this gorgeous card. The sparkles really make this card shine!

Thanks to the wonderful talent of these amazing artists!

Favorite Regional Swap

This was my absolute favorite swap of the regional. It is hard to capture just how beautiful it is. There are many layers, and the little bell at the top is made using the 5 petal flower punch!
The person who made this didn't put her name on the back, so I can't give her credit, but if you are the artist and see this post, please let me know and I will happily give you credit. Thanks for sharing your creativity!

By the way, I had an absolutely great time at the Portland Regional. I won a door prize (amazing since there were over 400 people there)! We also got some free glitter brads and a special button designed especially for the Portland Regional. It was a fun-filled day and I can share some of our make 'n take projects at a future time. I will be doing some of these projects in some upcoming classes, so I don't want to spoil the surprise just yet.

More Regional Swap Samples

Here are a few more of my swaps that I shared at the Portland Regional last weekend.
I had a great time, met new friends, and learned new ideas! I will be sharing some of the swaps that I received with you over the next several days.

More Regional Swap Samples

Here are a few more swaps that I took with me to Portland.

Card submitted for Regional Contest

During the Stampin' Up regional, we were invited to submit a card for Shelli to judge for her favorite. I submitted this card and hope I may win a prize. It is very rich looking in person!

Some of the swap cards for Regional

Here are some of the swap cards that I made for Regional. I wanted to use as many parts of the pieces from the Lattice Die, so most of the cards are unique. I think I only have one or two exactly the same.

More to come!

Treats to share at Portland Regional

I am headed to the Portland Regional this coming weekend and I have made a bunch of these to share with the people I meet there. I have also been working on my cards to swap, and I will have those post while I am gone.
What is nice about having the event in Portland is that I also get to visit with my kids that live up there! Double fun!

Holiday Promotion

DESCRIPTION	WOOD-MOUNT ITEM/SALE PRICE	CLEAR-MOUNT ITEM/SALE PRICE
Vintage Christmas Card Bundle Bells & Boughs Set and Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper	124067; $23.92	124068; $19.92
Contempo Christmas Card Bundle Contempo Christmas Set and Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper	124071; $20.72	124072; $17.52
Tags til Christmas Bundle Tags til Christmas Set and Decorative Label Punch	124077; $38.32	124078; $31.92
Gift Packaging Bundle Gifted Set and Mini Lunch Sacks	124083; $26.32	124084; $19.92
Simply Adorned Gift Bundle Charming Set, Simply Adorned 1" x 1-1/4" Charm, and Simply Adorned 24" Chain	124076; $39.88	---
Frame Gift Bundle Definitely Decorative Chunky Frame and Small Chocolate Chip Dotted Flourish Décor Elements	124075; $19.92	---

Take a look at the special holiday promotion from Stampin' Up!
It starts today and goes through December 16th. Contact me for details or go directly to my website www.annettewen.stampinup.net to place your order!

Anniversary Card

This is the anniversary card that I created for my hubby to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe that it has been that many years! We are so blessed to have each other, our 5 wonderful children, 2 amazing sons-in-law, and a darling grandson. Whenever times are rough, I just thank our dear Lord for the blessings of family to sustain us through it all. ♥

Embossed Embossing

I call this my embossed embossing card. When I did the embossing folder in my big shot, I first very carefully inked up the raised image side with versamark ink. Then I poured the embossing powder on the image after running it through. After heat embossing it, if it needed more, I used my versamarker to fill in any areas and put more powder on. Then I colored inside the embossing with Stampin' Write markers. I love the effect. It can be a little challenging to just get the powder to stay in the recessed edges, but if needed, you can use a small paintbrush to brush off the powder before heat embossing.

Stamp 'n Chat Project

This was my project for last evening's demonstrator stamp 'n chat. It holds a mini kleenex tissue package. The dimensions of the card stock are 7 1/8 x 8 1/2 inches. Score the short sides at 1 1/4 inches on each side, and on the long sides at 1 1/4 and 3 5/8 inches on both sides. I used the modern label punch to make the slot for the tissue to come out. If you need the exact directions on how to make the tissue box, just email me or respond here with your email, and I will send you a template with directions.