Awash with Hostess Club

Goodness! Working full-time sure does get in the way of stamping and blogging! My new job as the main Kindergarten teacher is going well.... just BUSY. I am at work for much longer than before, and it wears me out. Today I finally had time for stamping - first in almost a month!

This afternoon is my Hostess Club. This group of ladies have been wonderfully fun, and I'm sad we are winding down to our last few club meetings. I hope to start up a club again in August or September, and I would be thrilled if my members continued!

Today we're doing a simple technique: Two Step Stamping. I wanted to showcase this technique because of the promotion going on, but also because it's a technique I don't use much. I chose to use Awash With Flowers, a set which, admittedly, I didn't like at first. I am not a real pastel-y person, and most of the samples I saw were pastel. Then I saw a very cute card on Stampin' Connection (a message board, idea-sharing site for Stampin' Up! Demonstrators) by Selene Kempton and decided to CASE it exactly. It's not too pastel-y, not too grandma-y (which was another initial concern with the set), and quite modern, I feel. I love it - I hope my club members do, too!

Awash for Hostess CASE
Stamp Sets: Awash with Flowers, Well-Scripted
Cardstock: Real Red, Kraft, Basic Black
Stampin' Pads: Black Stazon and Whisper White Craft
Accessories/Tools: Real Red Satin Ribbon

Now that I've played with the set a bit, I can see how versatile and cute it can be! You can make it fit your style so easily: bold, bright, light, pastel, watermark, etc. Contact me at tracy.riekenberg@gmail.com to order this set. It's only available until the end of April... if you miss it, you'll have to wait until July when the new catalog comes out to get yours. :)

On a side note... I'm but 150 hits away from 10K. Check back this week for some BLOG CANDY to celebrate. :)

Hostess Club October

Thursday my wonderful Hostess Club ladies are coming over for our monthly meeting. We're learning Masking, a technique in stamping that allows you to cover up part of your image to stamp around it cleanly. Here are the two cards we'll be making

Birthday Balloons
Stamp Sets: Pumpkin Patch, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper: Razzleberry Lemonade
Stampin' Pads (Classic): Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Crushed Curry
Accessories/Tools: Modern Label Punch, Word Window Punch, Post-It notes

Thanksgiving Wreath
Stamp Sets: Falling Leaves
Cardstock: Really Rust, More Mustard, Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Stampin' Pads (Classic): More Mustard, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip
Accessories/Tools: Paper Crimper, Linen Thread, Masterpiece Ribbon Originals

I've really come to enjoy my monthly Hostess Club meetings. The group is so fun and we always have so much to say to each other! Sometimes it's a stretch getting 2 cards done in one meeting. :) I'm looking to start a second club soon - if you're interested in learning more about stamping, slowly adding to your stamping/scrapbooking supply closet, and love girlfriend chit-chat, let me know!!!

First Hostess Club Projects

A Hostess Club is a great way to build your business, get consistent orders, and share the love of stamping with some friends! All clubs are run slightly differently, but here's my take on it: I have 9 ladies signed up (I am also participating, so we have 10 "hostesses"). Each month we'll choose a new "hostess." That person doesn't have to do anything except show up and bring a snack. BUT, that person will get hostess benefits!! To earn hostess benefits, the workshop must total $150 or more. That means each of us needs to order a minimum of $15 toward the workshop total. That way the hostess gets a free hostess set and some free merchandise from the catalog. NICE!

Anyway, we had our first meeting last night and 6 of the 9 ladies came over to stamp. I taught them watercoloring using Stampin' Pastels, Classic Stampin' Pads, Watercolor Wonder Crayons and Stampin' Write markers. Here are the projects we made!

Classic Stampin' Pad Blue Birds
Stamp Set: The More the Merrier (hostess), Teeny Tiny Wishes
Cardstock: Kraft, Melon Mambo, Watercolor
Stamp Pads (Classic): Brocade Blue, Melon Mambo, Stazon
Accessories/Tools: Blender Pens, Modern Label Punch, Black Brads, Melon Mambo ribbon


Stampin' Write Cupcakes
Stamp Set: The More the Merrier (hostess),
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Watercolor
Stamp Pads (Classic): Elegant Eggplant, Stazon
Stampin' Write markers: Elegant Eggplant, Pretty in Pink, Old Olive, Sahara Sand
Accessories/Tools: Blender Pens, Scallop Edge Punch, Linen Twine


Watercolor Wonder Crayon Pumpkins

Stamp Set: The More the Merrier (hostess), Teeny Tiny Wishes
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Watercolor
Stamp Pads (Classic): Stazon
Watercolor Wonder Crayons: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Summer Sun (Earth Elements)
Accessories/Tools: Blender Pens, Paper Crimper, Button Bouquet, Linen Twine

Pastel Snowmen
Stamp Set: The More the Merrier (hostess), Simple Snowflake (under $10!)
Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Camoe Coral, Summer Sun, Watercolor
Stamp Pads (Classic): Stazon
Stampin' Pastels:Tempting Turquoise, Cameo Coral, Summer Sun, Only Orange, Basic Gray, Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories/Tools: Word Window Punch, Snowflake Punch, Tempting Turquoise 1/4" ribbon

So, that was our first night of club stampin'. I had a lot of fun, and I hope the ladies did, too! I haven't decided what technique we'll learn next month, but I'm leaning toward embossing. If you'd like more info about hostess clubs or would like to join, please contact me!

I have instructions on HOW to watercolor typed up. I can't figure out how to attach a document to blogger, so let me know if you want this tutorial/instruction sheet & I'll email it to you. :)