Latest Posts

The Holiday Catalog

The 2019 Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog is here and it’s time to answer the call to creativity!

Catalog Fun Facts:

  • There are 25 new product bundles in the catalog! Save 10% when you purchase bundles!
  • The catalog contains 99 products that are priced under $25! Did someone say, “stocking stuffer”?
  • There are four stamp sets that include Halloween, Christmas and Valentine’s Day images! That’s a lot of bang for your buck!
  • One product suite has coordinating wrapping paper! Wow gift recipients with a card and coordinating package!
  • One stamp set is a Difference Maker! By purchasing the Nature’s Beauty Stamp Set, $3 goes toward mental health organizations.

Dive into the new Holiday Catalog and fall in love! Click on the image below to browse the pages. To find out how to receive a copy of your very own click on this link: https://theplaidpoodle.com/catalogs/

LIMITED-TIME PROMOTION: EXTRA, EXTRA!

If you’ve been thinking about becoming a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, now’s the perfect time to join! From July 1 until August 31, new demonstrators will receive an additional $30 to put toward bonus products in their Starter Kit (pay $99 and choose $155 worth of products in starter kit). THEN, they’ll receive a $10 coupon code the following month. Click the JOIN NOW button below, and become a demonstrator today!

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

INSPIRE CREATIVITY

As a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator you’ll teach others how to be creative using high quality stamps, ink, and paper, as well as embellishments, specialized tools, beautiful project kits, and more. We take the guesswork out of coordination so you and your customers can have an amazing crafting experience, no matter your skill level.

BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER

Are you a party person? Part of the fun of being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator is bringing people together to share creative experiences—either in person or online. Your customers will be excited to pick up creative techniques and advice, share ideas, and make new friends who love papercrafting as much as they do!

RUN YOUR OWN BUSINESS

GET SUPPORT

Along with the support I give to my team, the Stampin’ Up! home office provides the support you need to run a successful home business. They send you a quarterly magazine and weekly emails filled with detailed project ideas, business tips, demonstrator spotlights, the latest Stampin’ Up! news, and more. They also offer regular promotions throughout the year, giving you an opportunity to contact your customers. And the fabulous, yearly OnStage event for demonstrators is icing on the cake! You’ll enjoy classes, be first to see the latest catalog, get training and information on new products, and much more.

EARN CASH AND REWARDS

As a demonstrator, you’ll earn 20–25% on every sale plus additional income based on sales volume. You can also earn team commissions as you recruit others to join your team. And for all of you superstars who love to go above and beyond, you can earn an amazing incentive trip* every year. Think Thailand, Alaska, Mediterranean cruises, and more! Earning these trips takes hard work and determination, but demonstrators who put in the time and effort required to earn these trips every year absolutely love them.

*Of our 50+ thousand demonstrators worldwide, about 500 hardworking demonstrators per year earn the incentive trip, and of that group, over half are repeat achievers having earned it at least four consecutive years in a row.

BEGIN NOW

CREATE YOUR STARTER KIT

Can sharing creativity really be a job? Yes! And you can begin right away. Starter Kits are a great value at $99 for $1gg worth of products, and Stampin’ Up! will throw in business supplies and free shipping as an added bonus. (You’ll think your birthday came early when your Starter Kit arrives!) So don’t wait. Contact me today, or click the JOIN STAMPIN’ UP! button to get started today!

2019 Annual Catalog is Here!

For weeks I’ve been teasing you with little sneak peeks at what you can find inside the new 2019/2020 Stampin’ Up! Catalog. Today is the day that I can finally let the cat out of the bag and share a copy with you!

I love this new catalog and I know you are going to love it too! I’m looking forward to sharing fun paper crafting projects in the days and weeks ahead using new products from the catalog. Make sure to follow me on all my social media platforms so that you don’t miss a thing!

Watch this sweet little sneak peek video from Stampin’ Up! then click on the catalog image below to view all the goodies inside. If you would like to request a copy of the catalog visit my link here: CATALOGS

Resist Emboss Technique with Rooted in Nature

As a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator we get extra perks and one of those is the quarterly magazine, Stampin’ Success. In the most recent issue I discovered a beautiful card using the resist emboss technique and I wanted to share it with you.

I used the Rooted in Nature stamp set from Stampin’ Up! and recreated the card found in the magazine. This card has all the things; resist embossing, layers, texture and gold embossed die-cuts.

The resist emboss technique couldn’t be easier but takes your paper crafting projects up a level. Here is my video tutorial for the card and below that is a list of all the products I used in the video.

Product List

DIY Tropical Chic Gift Box

Some people like the mountains and some people like the desert. Both places have beautiful aspects but my happy place is anywhere that has palm trees.

If palm trees are nearby it’s a pretty safe bet that I can find a large body of water with a sandy beach. Warm breezes, waves splashing against the shore and sand between my toes is an anti-depressant to me. The Lord probably knew that if I lived in such a tropical place I would never accomplish anything so He stuck me right here in the land-locked middle!

Today’s project reminds me of my happy place and makes me want to sit poolside somewhere and sip a tall, fruity drink. Its a small gift box made using products from the Tropical Escape Suite from Stampin’ Up!

The box is a great size for small jewelry like a pair of earrings or necklace. It’s also roomy enough for some wrapped candy treats. I pulled colors from the Tropical Escape 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper to make the box, tag and embellishments. Here is the video from my Facebook Live Coffee & a Card where we made the box.

Click on the pink button below for a full-color project sheet that includes the cutting and scoring template mentioned in the video tutorial.

Here are the products I used to make the box. Click on any image for more information about that product.

Product List

Thanks for stopping by and letting me share a little bit about my happy place with you. I hope you enjoyed the project. If you have any questions or if I can help you with any of your stamping and paper crafting needs it would be my pleasure to help you.

Sailing Home Card

I just got back from San Antonio where I attended OnStage Local with Stampin’ Up! OnStage is an exciting event designed to bring Stampin’ Up! demonstrators together. These events coincide with the launch of the annual and seasonal catalogs so we can see all of the new products before anyone else.

Here are the lovely ladies from our Team that attended the event in San Antonio. We always enjoy catching up with each other and have a great time.

The most exciting part of April On-Stage is the launch of the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog.

I am so excited about this catalog and look forward to sharing it with you! If you would like a copy of the catalog when it becomes available click on the button below to request one.

Demonstrators are able to pre-order from the catalog before it goes live on June 4th. We are sworn to secrecy and cannot share images from inside the catalog. We are allowed however, to show any products from the catalog that we receive as well as projects made with those products.

We always get to play with some of the new products at OnStage. I wanted to share everything with you all so here is the replay of my Facebook Live Coffee & a Card where I show the goodies I received and finish a card using the Sailing Home stamp set.

Here are photos of three of the cards we made during OnStage

Craft Room Storage

I am tickled Petal Pink to announce that Stampin’ Up! is launching a modular storage system! Whether you have an entire room or a small corner in your home for stamping, your creative space should be tailored to you. The new product line, Storage by Stampin’ Up!, provides you with modular storage solutions that let you organize—and customize—your space your way! Take a look:

Storage by Stampin’ Up! is designed to store and showcase your Stampin’ Pads, Stampin’ Ink Refills, Stampin’ Blends, Stampin’ Write Markers, Watercolor Pencils, and other accessories. Here are some other features and benefits of Storage by Stampin’ Up!:

Features & Benefits:

  • Keeps products organized, tidy, visible, and trackable at all times.
  • Ensures that your Stampin’ Pads, Stampin’ Write Markers, and Stampin’ Blends are all stored horizontally, as recommended.
  • Designed to be stylish, durable, compact, stackable, and modular.
  • Blends in naturally with most home decor with its white neutral color.
  • Stacks vertically and can be arranged to fit practically any flat workspace.
  • Easily assembled and disassembled for rearrangement and/or cleaning.

How much storage do you need? Here is an easy configuration chart.

Before I get to the nitty gritty stuff, like how much these awesome products are going to sell for (which is very reasonable by the way), let me remind you that you can have these products at a discount.

You can join Stampin’ Up! anytime but new demonstrators who join by March 31st get a lot of extra FREE stuff! Then, when Storage by Stampin’ Up! launches on April 1, you can purchase them using your Demonstrator discount. It’s something to think about. You can find information about joining Stampin’ Up! HERE. I would enjoy talking with you about it so feel free to email me at Leslie@theplaidpoodle.com with your contact information.

Abstract Impressions Thank You Card

I’ve been away from my studio for about a week and I think it has affected my creative mojo. One of the things I do when that happens is gather items from a suite of products.

Placing the stamp set, pretty papers and other elements in front of me helps to spur some ideas and I know that everything is going to coordinate. For today’s project I used products from the Garden Impressions Suite from the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog and this is the card I came up with.

I pulled colors from the Garden Impressions Designer Series Paper to use for the card base, ink and tag. The beautiful die from the Springtime Impressions Thinlits made a great background for the card front. I used Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets which made adhering the intricate die-cut to the card front a breeze. Make sure to watch the video tutorial below to view how I utilized the sheets.

Most of the stamping for this card is inside the card. The Abstract Impressions stamp set has two and three-step stamps that add so much depth to the image. And don’t you just love that sweet butterfly? Again, I pulled colors from the Designer Series Paper to choose inks using Soft Sea Foam for the flower stems and Petal Pink with Calypso Coral for the flowers.

Product List
Abstract Impressions Photopolymer Stamp Set
Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad
Soft Sea Foam Classic Stampin' Pad
Petal Pink Classic Stampin' Pad
Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad
Springtime Impressions Thinlits Dies
Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies
Big Shot
Big Shot Die Brush - New Configuration
Rhinestone Basic Jewels
Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets
Stampin' Dimensionals

Butterfly Beauty Tissue Box

Spring is coming and that means allergy season is on its way! In today’s Coffee & a Card Facebook Live I demonstrated how to make this sweet tissue box that holds mini tissue packs. Wouldn’t these make super gifts for those fellow allergy sufferers in our lives?

Project Recipe:

  • Box = 4-1/4″ x 6-1/4″ piece of Berry Burst card stock
  • Box Lid = 4-1/2″ x 7-1/2″ piece of Berry Burst card stock
  • Share What You Love Specialty Designer Series Paper = 2″ x 4-1/4″, two pieces 7/8″ x 4-1/4″ each
  • Butterflies: Scraps of Berry Burst and Petal Pink card stock
  • Sentiment Tag: Scraps of Whisper White and Berry Burst card stock
Product List
Beauty Abounds Cling Stamp Set
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad
Berry Burst 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
Share What You Love Specialty Designer Series Paper
Petal Pink 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock
Big Shot
Big Shot Magnetic Platform
Precision Base Plate
Butterfly Beauty Thinlits Dies
Layering Ovals Framelits Dies
Rhinestone Basic Jewels
Classic Label Punch
Liquid Multipurpose Glue
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

Amazing Life You are Amazing Card

Today’s Card is a quick and easy card. The stamped images are from the Amazing Life Stamp Set. “You are amazing!”, “I believe in you!”, “Yay!” – I make these statements all the time and am excited to have stamps that match my expressions! Also, we’re in the month of March and the four-leaf clover along with the “good luck” sentiment are perfect for St. Patrick’s Day cards and decorations.

I pulled the colors for the ink and card stock form the Garden Impressions Designer Series Paper. Our winter has been so long that I needed the bold, vibrant colors of this beautiful paper!

I demonstrated this card on this week’s Coffee & a Card. Here is an edited video of that demonstration and below that is the list of products used.

Product List
Amazing Life Photopolymer Stamp Set
Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Pad
Soft Sea Foam 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
Shaded Spruce 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
Garden Impressions 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock
Powder Pink 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
Night Of Navy Medium Baker's Twine
Rhinestone Basic Jewels
Stampin' Dimensionals
Stamparatus

Incredible Like You Birthday Card

This is the birthday card we made during this week’s Coffee and A Card Facebook Live using one of my favorite Stampin’ Up! colors, Melon Mambo. It was a quick and easy card and I think it turned out very pretty.

The flowers seemed to be floating around at first but once I added the other leaf and floral images it came together how I imagined it would. I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to place the sentiment horizontal on the card front or at an angle and, as you can see, I went with the angle. I thought it kind of went with the floating flowers – lol!

All the colors I used in the card except for one came from the Stampin’ Up! Brights Color Family. The one subtle color I added was Blushing Bride which I stamped the small circles with.

Here is the edited replay of the Coffee and a Card Facebook Live and below that is a list of all the supplies I used for this card.

Product List: Click on product image for details.


Home to Roost Bundle

Share the simple moments with the Stampin’ Up! Home to Roost stamp set. Available free during Sale-a-bration. Create these beautiful and easy cards with fond thoughts of friendship.

Did you know you can purchase all of the supplies to make these adorable cards with just one item number? Use item code #151039 when you shop with me and get all of the products listed plus you can choose the Home to Roost stamp set for FREE (or chose another Sale-a-Bration product for your free choice). You may also purchase the products individually. Here’s what’s included in the bundle:

Home to Roost “You Can Make It” Bundle:

  • Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack
  • Nature’s Poem 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock Pack
  • Soft Suede Classic Stampin’ Pad
  • Watercolor Pencils
  • 3/16″ (1 Cm) Braided Linen Trim
  • Tin Tile Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
  • Stampin’ Dimensionals
  • CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

Coffee Cafe Gift Card Holder

I love coffee! My Kuerig is the first thing I drag myself to each morning. Taking a few minutes to enjoy a hot cup of coffee while my brain tries to wake up is one of the best moments of my day.

I’m not alone in my love for coffee and that’s why I often give coffee shop gift cards to family and friends. I shared how to make an easy gift card holder on my recent Coffee and a Card Facebook Live that is perfect for this purpose.

The base of the card is a 3″ x 3″ Whisper White Envelope and you slip a gift card in the top. Genius! I can’t take credit for the design however. I discovered the idea for this Coffee Cafe Gift Card Holder in the annual Stampin’ Up! Catalog. The catalog is always a great source of ideas and inspiration. If you do not have a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator I would love to send a copy to you. CLICK HERE to request a catalog.

For the project details watch the replay video from my Facebook Live below. The video includes all the measurements for the gift card holder and below the video you will find the list of products I used.

Product List
Coffee Café Photopolymer Stamp Set
Coffee Cups Framelits Dies
Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad
Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock
Vellum 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock
Whisper White 3" X 3" (7.6 X 7.6 Cm) Envelopes
Big Shot
1-3/8" (3.5 Cm) Scallop Circle Punch
Gold Mini Sequin Trim
Stamping Sponges
Liquid Multipurpose Glue
Tear & Tape Adhesive
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals
Glue Dots
Silicone Craft Sheet
Circle Tab Punch


Valentine Chocolate Box


I made this adorable little heart shaped box during my Facebook Live Coffee and a Card last week. I patterned it after a box of chocolates I received from my husband to celebrate the anniversary of our first date. I talk all about that first date during the Facebook Live. You can hear all about it if you care to watch the replay of the video found in this post below.

Here is the box of chocolates that was my inspiration for this project:

I thought it was so clever that the box had a pocket on the lid to insert a card into and knew right away that I wanted to make something similar only on a smaller scale. The Be Mine Stitched Framelit dies from Stampin’ Up! helped me achieve my goal beautifully!

Below is the list of supplies I used for this Valentine Chocolate Box project along the Facebook Live Video tutorial and a scoring/cutting diagram for the box.

I hope you enjoy today’s project and feel free to contact me if I can assist you with any of your paper crafting needs

Product List
Meant To Be Cling Stamp Set
Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
Real Red 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock
Simply Scored
Detailed Trio Punch
Big Shot
Precision Base Plate
Be Mine Stitched Framelits Dies
Big Shot Die Brush - New Configuration
Real Red 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Solid Ribbon
Silicone Craft Sheet
Stamping Sponges
Liquid Multipurpose Glue

Beauty Abounds Friendship Card

I made this charming card during my weekly Coffee and a Card series today. It has all the things; a lovely floral print, dainty bow and petite butterflies that shine. My favorite thing about the card however, is the sentiment. Here is the inside of the card.

Isn’t that the perfect sentiment? Such a kind word to send to one or all of your besties.

Here is the video tutorial for the Beauty Abounds card along with a list of supplies I used.

Product List
Beauty Abounds Cling Bundle
Lovely Lipstick Classic Stampin' Pad
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock
All My Love 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock
Banner Triple Punch
1-3/4" Circle Punch
Whisper White 1/8" Sheer Ribbon
Grapefruit Grove & Lovely Lipstick Foil Sheets
Stampin' Dimensionals
Liquid Multipurpose Glue