The Stamp Workshop

It's the End of the Month - Don't Miss Out!

Today is June 30th and we have some great promos ending today.  Don't miss out on your chance to get these promos and products.

Last day to get the discounted eScape bundle.  For only $30, you will receive a Love Notes assortment, Circle of Friendship stamp set, Rose Red classic Stampin' Pad and Very Vanilla 5/8" grosgrain.  Click here or on the link to your right for the promo details.

Last chance to get the Fresh Cut stamp set and Fresh Cut Notes before the new catalog comes out!  Click here or see the link on the right for details.

Last day to order from the Occasions Mini.  You can see a PDF file of the mini by clicking the link on the right.  These sets may or may not be available in future Stampin' Up! catalogs, so if you see a set or accessory you want, be sure to order them today!

Don't miss out!  Please contact me at Michelle@stampworkshop.com. Orders must be placed (and payment remitted) no later than 9pm Pacific time to insure your order gets in on time.

Waiting for your order,

Create Wall Hanging

I finally found the time to use my Decor Elements.  We are renters and our lease is up next summer.  We want to stay here, but I just don't know what the house owner has in store for this house.  Although Decor Elements are very affordable, I couldn't bare the thought of applying this to the wall only have to take it down in a year.  So, I bought a large canvas board and applied it to that.  I embellished it a bit and there you go!   A neat wall hanging for the Stamp Workshop.  My husband thinks it looks like a giant card on the wall.  lol

I have this hanging on the column next to my supply wall.  If you took the "tour" of my stamp room a few days ago, this wall hanging is on the column to your right as you go down into the Stamp Workshop.  (If you want to see a crisper picture of my wall hanging, right click on the picture and view image.)

When trying to apply this image, it was a bit trickier that I thought it would be.  In the directions it does say to take your time as detailed images could take longer.  It was a bit frustrating, but after I got the hang of it, it was pretty easy.

So to spare all my readers the frustration, I have written a tutorial, along with pictures to help guide you along the way.  Check it out here:

How to Apply Decor Elements

Here's the recipe for this wall hanging:
Stamps: None
Decor Elements: Create Definition (Medium, Chocolate Chip)
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip
Designer Series Paper: Certainly Celery Prints
Ink: None
Ribbon: 5/8" Grosgrain in Old Olive and Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip Taffeta, Chocolate Chip Polytwill
Accessories: Pewter Build-A-Brad, Pewter Jumbo Eyelets, Vintage Brads, Pretties Kit, Simon Lower Chipboard, Die-Cut Blooms, Fine Cosmo Stampin Glitter, Heat-n-stick Powder, Sticky Strip, Dimensionals, Snail Adhesive
Tools: Paper Piercer, Scalloped Circle Punch 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Applicator Tool, Heat tool

Be sure to check out the Stamp Workshop blog on Tuesday, July 1.  The Decor Elements brochure will go "live" on that day.  You can view the complete brochure right here!

If you have any questions about this wall hanging or about Decor Elements, feel free to contact me at Michelle@stampworkshop.com

Go Decorate!

How Do You Like the New Look?

So how do you like it? I've been wanting a new look for a while now.  I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted so I cruised around the internet to see what was out there.  I was going to go with a "professional", but decided to try it on my own.

A few months back my darling husband, Keith got me Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 so that I could start digital scrapbooking our almost 10 years of pictures.  Well, I really haven't played with it because I was a bit intimidated.  So, I played around with it last night and decided that I could do this!

And I did.  I worked on it last night and most of the day today.  I made my new banner, the headers on the sidebars, and I made some new post titles (like the Featured Stamper Friday one).  I even made my own signature.  I guess I finished just in time.  It's all prettied up just in time for our first featured stamper!

Here's what I used...

• The flower background is from the Vintage Grunge - 2 Pack by *resurgere on deviantart.com
• The main font used is "The King & Queen" by Brän / Fractal Eye on dafont.com.
• The other font used is Pristina (I'm not sure who to credit for this.  When I went to my font list, it was just there!).
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0
• TypePad Knowledge Base to figure out how to tweak my blog typelists and layout.

Hope you like it!

Brand New to the Stamp Workshop - Featured Stamper!

Over the next few weeks, you will notice a few changes to my blog - a few cosmetic changes and some new weekly postings. I am very excited about these new changes!

I am thrilled to announce this new item - Featured Stamper!  Each Friday I will be featuring one of my favorite stampers.  It will be a chance for you to read about some of their favorite Stampin' Up! products and see some of their artwork done with Stampin' Up! products.

I am pleased as punch to introduce my very first Featured Stamper:

Julie Ebersole

Julie Ebersole aka Julie HRR (Her Royal Rubberness) is well known throughout the stamping community for her great sense of style and creative flair.  She is the author of the ever-popular blog, Paper•Trufflez.

I asked Julie to tell us a little about herself and then I asked her a few questions about Stampin' Up!  So without further ado, here's Julie...

I've been stamping for about 14 years, and demonstrating, teaching and designing for the trade professionally for nearly 12.  After serving as Splitcoaststampers.com Design Team Coordinator for 3 years, I stepped down to accept a full-time position as Creative Teams Director for A Muse Artstamps in early Spring 2008!

I work from my home on beautiful Whidbey Island, WA state.   My husband of nearly 24 years and I keep busy with our two great kids, a daughter, soon to be 19, and son, age 12.

Michelle: When were you first introduced to Stampin' Up!?

Julie: I actually found SU! through an ad in an issue of RubberStampMadness magazine about 11 1/2 years ago.

Michelle: What's your favorite all time SU stamp set?

Julie:Yikes!  All-time favorite?  Just one?  That's a wicked question to try to answer!  LOL!  Simply Said--but, don't hold me to it forever--I love daisies and hearts.  I love that the set has open line AND solid images within it, and the illustrations have a delightful sense of personality and warmth to them.

Michelle: What's your favorite SU color?

Julie: Certainly Celery.  I thought everybody knew that's my favorite color!  It goes with virtually EVERYTHING!!!   *chuckle*

Michelle: What's your favorite SU embellishment?

Julie: The Flower Fusion Felt Flowers--love the different floral shapes and variety of sizes--they're one of the few companies that does itty bitty felt flowers and I just love them!

And that was it!  Just a short sweet little Q&A with Julie.  Check out these two very cute cards that were made by Julie.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this brief glimpse of one of my favorite stampers!  A big thank you to Julie for being my very first, of many, Featured Stamper.

Check out Julies blog, Paper•Trufflez. It's a real treat!

Happy Stampin'!

Something New and Fun this Friday!

So with summer vacation in full swing,the kids are home and I can't believe how the days seems to be whizzing by.  We've been going to the beach, the movies, the park - just having some fun!  In between all that,I have been busy with Convention swaps.  Needless to say, I haven't had much chance to post anything fun on my blog.

But, come back on Friday.

Something New and Fun is coming to my blog!

Check it out...this Friday...

Until then!

Are You a Demo Going to Convention?

Hey Demos!  Are you going to Convention?  Well, do I have a swap for you!  This one is super easy.

I am hosting a Decor Elements swap.  For all the details, check out the thread in the Demo Forums on Splitcoast: Decor Elements swap.

Thanks for Looking!

A Tour of My Stamp Room

So I have finally finished putting my stamp room together.

I have set up a small photo album with a few pictures so if you are so inclined, you can take a peek at where I do my creating.

My stamp room isn't the most glamorous room out there.  Most of my storage was bought at stores like Target, Big Lots and places like the Salvation Army.  It's more functional than it is beautiful, but hey, it works for me!

To take a look, here is a link to the photo album, Michelle's Stamp Workshop.

Thanks for looking!  Now that I ahve my work area all nice and neat, now I can finally start on my Convention swaps!  Stay posted to see what I've made.  I'll have a lot to post.  I signed up for 17 swaps (or around that many - I can't keep count!).

Let's Stamp!

Oops! My Apologies!

So those of you that have visited this blog earlier today, or those coming on after yesterday's post, may be wondering where the link is to the brochure for the new product line - Decor Elements.

Well, it was posted earlier today, but it has since been removed.  It will repost again and be available on the sidebar to the right on July 1st.

In my excitement to post about the fabulous new line, I mistakenly overlooked an important rule of my demonstrator agreement.  Stampin' Up! basically sent me a kind request to remove the brochure from my blog as it was meant as a demo only preview.

So, my apologies for any inconvenience my premature posting has caused.

On a brighter note, I did manage to place an order for some products in the new line and for hard copies of the brochure.  If all goes well with the shipping department and UPS, I should have the product and brochures in hand by Friday.

So, if you'd like a hard copy of the brochure, here's a repost of my offer from yesterday...

If you would like a hard copy, please email to request one.  Included with your brochure will be a coupon for 10% off one Decor Elements product (Please note this offer is good only for purchases made through me to US customers only and not offered directly from Stampin' Up!).  Use this coupon to be one of the first to experience the new product.  Decor Elements products will be available for purchase starting July 1st!

You can order Decor Elements along with your retired stamp sets (sets can be ordered through August 10th) to get the best value in shipping!

For your copy, please contact me at Michelle@stampworkshop.com

Waiting for July 1st!

Brand New Product Line!

Stampin' Up! has just announced a new product line - Decor Elements. 

What is Decor Elements?  It is a line of self-adhesive vinyl wall decorations that can be used on walls, windows, plates, vases, mirrors, picture frames - anything the vinyl will cling to!  This new line is a brand new concept for Stampin' Up! which I find to be very exciting!

Check back here tomorrow to download a copy of your brochure.  Be one of the first to see the new line!

I will be ordering hard copies of the brochure as soon as they come available.  If you would like a hard copy, please email me at Michelle@stampworkshop.com to request one.  Included with your brochure will be a coupon for 10% off one Decor Elements product (Please note this offer is good only for purchases made through me to US customers only and not offered directly from Stampin' Up!).  Use this coupon to be one of the first to experience the new product.  Decor Elements products will be available for purchase starting July 1st!

You can order Decor Elements along with your retired stamp sets (sets can be ordered through August 10th) to get the best value in shipping!

Don't forget to check back tomorrow to get a look at the new line!

I can't wait!

Making Room for the New Stuff!

The new catalog debut is fast approaching.  So what does that mean?  The retirement list!  Say goodbye to some of your favorite (and not so favorite) sets!

To find out what stamp sets are retiring check out the following PDF files:

Retired Stamps - Alphabetical List (203k PDF file)

Retired Stamps - List by Page (201k PDF file)

Order your retiring stamp sets today! These sets are available from now until August 10, 2008. Click the "Order Now" icon to your left, or send me an email at Michelle@stampworkshop.com.

Don't miss out!

Blog Candy Winner!

A BIG thank you to all of you who joined in my blog candy giveaway!  I enjoyed reading all of your nice comments.  And the winner is...

Katie B

She wrote:

Great blog! Love your artistry! Thanks for the opportunity to enter the drawing!

Posted by: Katie B. | June 09, 2008 at 09:57 AM

Katie - I have sent you an email.  Congrats!

Artisan Award

The July issue of Stampin' Success, the monthly SU demo magazine was posted online today.  In it was listed the winners of this year's Artisan Award.  Congrats to all the winners!

What is the Artisan Award?  Well, it is an award that recognizes Stampin' Up!'s top 10 artisans.  Of the tens of thousands of demos, these ten are the BEST artistically.

Among the winners are great talent like Mary Jo Albright, Brenda Weaver, Jennifer Buck, Lisa Nichols, Michelle Fischer.  Wait!  Hold the phone!  Michelle Fischer?

Today, I have noticed an increase of hits to my blog based on google searches of "Michelle Fischer Blog" or "Michelle Fischer Stampin" or "Michelle Fischer Artisan Award".

I have strong suspicion that the increase in google hits and the announcement of the Artisan Award winners are related.  Why would people come to my blog to find an Artisan Award winner?  Because, well, I'm Michelle Fischer!  But, take a look at this picture.  I know it's hard to see.  This is a picture of me at Convention 2006, posing with - Michelle Fischer.  Yes, there are two of us.  Weird huh?  Not that Michelle is a very unique name or Fischer for that matter.  Even more weird is that when I lived in the Pacific Northwest, we lived only 45 minutes from each other!

So, thank you all for the PMs on SCS and the emails in my inbox when Michelle Fischer wins a contest.  Unfortunately, it is most likely the tall, blond Michelle (her), and not the shorter, black haired Michelle (me) who won.

If you are a demo and in case you *are* wondering, the Fresh Cut sample that appeared yesterday on Stamper's Showcase *is* mine.  *smile*

Happy Stampin'!

Thank You!

This is a Level Two Hostess Set in the Spring Summer 08 Collection called the "Spring Solitude Bundle".  It comes with the Spring Solitude stamp set and the matching Solitude wheel.

Even though I didn't post for most of the month of May, I still got a steady stream of readers to my blog.  I want to thank you all for that!

As a thank you, I want to offer all of you a chance to win this bundle!  To win, leave me a comment on *this* post.  I will chose one lucky reader to receive the bundle from all the comments posted.  As always, feel free to link my blog to yours!

I am revamping my links page soon so, please let me know if you have The Stamp Workshop in your blogroll.  I'll add you to mine if you're not already listed.  Check out my Links Page.

As a further Thank You, I am offering free shipping on all orders over $75 from now until the end of June.  To place your order, call or email me.  Just mention that you saw the offer in my blog candy post.

Anyway, leave me a comment if you want a chance to win this set.  One comment per person please.  I will pick a winner when my blog counter hits 40,000 or Friday, June 13th - whichever comes first.

Winners will be contacted via email, so please make sure you list a valid email address.  Once awarded and mailed, I am not responsible for any loss, damage or misdirection the US Post Office might inflict on the blog candy. *wink*

Good Luck!

ISO (In Search Of)

Remember that old show from the mid 70s, early 80s?  I loved that show!  Leonard Nimoy was the host.  I found the show "fascinating". *wink*  Okay all you Trekkies, did you catch that?  Okay.  I'm a geek and this is so not what this post is all about...

Here's what it *is* about...

I know there are some longtime demos out there or even long time customers and one of you might stumble upon my humble little blog.  I am in search of old, old, old SU catalogs.  My oldest catalog is from 95-96, so anything prior to that I would *LOVE* to have.  I am a total collector and would love to have every SU catalog out there.  Contact me and let's see if we can't work something out.

I am also looking for the following minis (I'm not even sure if these exist - please leave me a comment if you can confirm their existence - or non-existence!)...
97-98 SAB
1998 Supplement
1999 Holiday
1999 Supplement
1999 SAB
2000 SAB
2001 SAB
2001 Holiday
2007 F/W Preview

Wishin' & Hopin'!

Convention 2006

You might be wondering why I am posting about something that happened almost two years ago.  Well, there are two reasons.  One, I have been revamping my craft room (pictures to come in a week or so), and I found these old swap cards.  And two, I am going to Convention at the end of July, and it is coming up.  I have signed up for a TON of swaps (so many in fact, that off the top of my head, I don't know exactly how many).  So, Convention swaps are on my mind.

Any way, I made these two cards for the Splitcoast dinner.  I was very proud of these cards.  I was a demo for less than a year at this point and for me, they were some of the best cards I had ever done.  This one here on the left used Mixed Bouquet and the Luminous Pearls technique.  If you'd like to see a bigger picture of this one, you can find it here.

The colors on this card are Certainly Celery, Regal Rose and Basic Black.  I just love how black always seems to make colors pop.

Here is the second card that I made.  This one used Natural Beauty and the Heated Pearls technique and crayon resist.  I was very bummed when Stampin' Up! retired PearlEx from their catalog.  There are so many wonderful and beautiful techniques that can be done with it.  I can't seem to remember the colors that I used in this card, but I think it was Always Artichoke, Basic Black, Really Rust and More Mustard.

If you want to see a more detailed pic of this card, you can find this one here.

Oh!  One thing I forgot to mention...

I have started a non-SU blog.  There isn't much on it, since mainly use Stampin' Up! products.  But if you'd like to take a look, visit my non-SU blog at http://sdiegogal.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com.  I'm calling it "The Stamp Workshop Annex".

If you have any questions about these cards, feel free to contact me at Michelle@stampworkshop.com

Reminisce!

Fresh Cut - An Upcoming New Set!

Here's a glimpse of the upcoming set Fresh Cut.  It will appear in the Fall Winter 2008 Catalog.

Notice the cute note card!  It is 4" X 4".  The large flower in the middle is laser cut.  They are called Fresh Cut Notes and will also be in the upcoming catalog.

Would you like to have this set before the catalog comes out?  Well, you can!  You can order this set from June 1 - 30.

To see the details of this promotion, check out the right hand side of this blog under Current Specials.  Then click on Fresh Cut Sneak Peek Promotion.  You'll find all the details there.  While you're at it, click on the eScape link and see what that's all about.  Two great promotions for June!

Here's the recipe for this card:
Stamps: Fresh Cut
Cardstock: Bashful Blue
Ink: Bashful Blue, Basic Black
Designer Series Paper: Le Jardin
Ribbon: Bashful Blue Grosgrain
Accessories: Fresh Cut Notes, Ice Rhinestone Brad
Tools: 5-Petal Flower Punch, Paper Piercing Tool, paper Piercing Template

As always, contact me if you have any questions on how to make this card.  Email me at Michelle@stampworkshop.com

Have a FRESH day!