When is a Ghost Really an Owl?

These little ghosts are made from the awesome Owl Punch, #118074 ! You just turn him upside down, snip off the feet and there's your ghost! The pumpkins are made with three circle punches each.

Aren't they cute?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Spooky Pieces of Heart Stampers

These ladies show why they are good at what they do.

And, they are having fun while they do it!

Why not become a part of our group?

Become a demonstrator with Stampin' Up and join the fun!

Speaking of hats...this one is a BOX!

Made by Judy Sumner, it is just too cute.

I love the way she used our Curly Label punch to make it look like it is a buckle.

Clever, so clever.

This cutie was made by Patty Schnell.

LOVE that little punched bat!

The Wicked Fun Designer Paper says it all.

SPOOKY!

Uhmm, Excuse Me Ma'am. You've Got Something On Your Hat!

Underneath that scary green cone is a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup!

Maybe I should have said, "Excuse me ma'am. You've got something IN your hat!"

That Bitty Bat (#119279 Punch) is just hanging around, waiting for something interesting to happen. He doesn't know there's chocolate nearby!

The black 1/2" Lace Trim (#120988) is from the Holiday Mini Catalog. So soft. The Designer Paper is called Wicked Fun (#117400).

I think that little witches' hat IS wicked fun!

All Purpose Pretty-ness

Ever need a quick card for an occasion that sneaks up on you? That tends to be my typical day! So, when I saw this beautifully simple card made by my good friend, Jayne Singleton, (http://stampnpunch.com), I jumped on it with both feet, (in other words, I stole it!). She used the pretty designer paper, Greenhouse Gala, #117167. The colors in that packet are so warm and fresh. She stamped her sentiment, punched it out with the Modern Label Punch, #119849, then placed it in the bottom right corner.

This could be used for a birthday card, get well, sympathy, or any number of occasions. I am leaving mine blank until that occasion sneaks up on me.

When it does, I am ready!

Flowers with a 'Punch'!

My new favorite color is Cherry Cobbler (# 119685). It's such a deep, rich red. I used it as the base card underneath the Perfect Polka Dots (#117335) embossed Whisper White (# 100730). The stamp set is Pocket Silhouettes (#111672). I have used that little set for masculine cards, sympathy cards, and birthday cards. It should be in your 'go-to' stash of stamps! The little flowers were punched with the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (#118309). In the center of each, is a tiny little pearl from our Basic Pearls Pack, (#119247). It's all tied up pretty with the Certainly Celery 5 /8" Satin Ribbon (#117288).

Cute By The Inch-Silly Name-Elegant Card

Sometimes, Basic Black and Whisper White is all you need. The little design in the center is made using the Hostess, Level Two, Cute By The Inch stamp set, #116992. A tiny little pearl, #119247, is sitting in the center of that. What you probably can't see is that the black piece, wrapped with 1/8" Taffeta ribbon, #119262, has been embossed with a delicate pattern from one of the Texturz Plates series-Backgrounds #1, #114512.

All those elements come together to make a very quiet and elegant card.

Ribbon Lamp Shade

You can purchase these pretty ribbons from my online store 24/7 at

www.pamdurso.stampinup.net

along with all kinds of embellishments!

Stampin' Up! is so much more than just stamps and ink.

They have all kinds of fun embellishments.

For instance, RIBBON!

This is an inexpensive, mini lampshade from which I removed the actual shade to expose the metal frame. Then taking approximately 20" of our ribbon, I anchored it at the top and tied it off at the bottom, leaving a little 'fringe' of color. I used the Whisper White #114616 and Pretty in Pink #117289 Satin 5/8" ribbon. Early Espresso 5/8" grosgrain, #119753, and Certainly Celery 1/4" grosgrain, #109031. But any number of combinations would be pretty.

What a cute idea for a new baby's room.

Or favorite team colors for that hard-to-buy-for guy!

Re-purposing Calendars

Here is a clever way to use extra calendars.

Turn them into birthday cards!

Brilliant!

Wish I had come across this idea earlier.

In the meantime, I'll make good use of the last few current months I have laying around.

Friends Never Fade

You can order any of these products from my online store

www.pamdurso.stampinup.net

24/7!

What an elegant card.

It uses the stamp set, Friends Never Fade, #118750. It is done here with my new favorite red, Cherry Cobbler card stock # 119685, and marker #119681. Accented with Basic Black card stock #121045, and ink pad #101179. The base card stock is Naturals Ivory #101849. The beautiful ribbon is the 1 1/4" striped grosgrain #115615. The Scallop Edge Border Punch #119882, and Square Lattice Embossing Folder #119976, were also used.

Hodgepodge Hardware Meets the Simply Adorned Baubles!

If you would like to order any of these Stampin' Up! products, you can do so at my online store anytime at http://www.pamdurso.stampinup.net/. Simply click Shop Now under the Products icon.

This little bag tag or key chain is fashioned from the Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware #111325. I took two of the rectangle pieces, placed my stamped image inside the opening, and secured it with Crystal Effects #101055 and Glue Dots #103683. A Pink Crystal Simply Adorned Bauble #121013, hangs from the bottom. I found the jump rings and lobster clasp at my local craft store.
This one is made much the same way only with the Styled Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware #112454 and a Vanilla Pearl Bauble #121014.

I am in love with this little button bracelet. The sound it makes while wearing it is so soft and musical. I was inspired by Connie Collins' version on the demonstrator website. It uses the Simply Adorned Bracelet #117342. I used the Brights Designer Buttons #119747, but you could use the Subtles #119745, Regals #119744, or Neutrals #119743, to match the season. (I also added the Bitty Buttons #118761.) A Simply Adorned Crystal Bauble thrown in there would be so cute too. There are 72 buttons in each Designer Button package, enough to make four bracelets! What a cute, economical little gift!

Look What Penny Made Me!

As a member of my sister's Stampin' Up! demonstrator group, The T.O.P.I.C.S., (Touching Others with Paper, Ink, Creativity, and Stamps), I was able to attend our annual weekend retreat in Texas. We had a blast! (If you would like to go next year, talk to me about becoming a demonstrator and you can go too!) As a little perk for attending, Penny made each of us one of these cute, cute monogram necklaces, made out of bottle caps! I put the little black 'Bauble' on the bottom. Isn't it cute? I love it. Thanks, Penny, and thanks for a wonderful weekend of stamping my little heart out!

The BIG SHOT Club

I am starting a fun new club with great benefits!

Take a look at this:

Starting in November and after a four month period (in February), you will receive the BIG SHOT Die-Cutting Machine; the Extended Cutting Pads; the Decorative Strip Spacer Platform; the Extended Premium Crease Pad, the Standard Premium Crease Pad; the Decorative Strip Cutting pads; the Standard Texturz Impressions Pad; the Standard Texturz Silicone Rubber Pad; eight die-cut pieces from selected dies (two per month) for you to inspect!

PLUS

A Level 1 Hostess Set

PLUS

$15 in FREE merchandise

PLUS

Three Sale-A-Bration items!

After four months of $49.25, you will receive all of the above! What a great way to acquire all you need to get started making beautiful projects with your new

BIG SHOT!

Contact me today to get your name on the Club list.

pamdurso@sbcglobal.net

Stampin' Up! Clearance Rack Blitz!

The Clearance Rack has been operational for over a year now. It is a great place to discover discontinued Stampin' Up! merchandise for fantastic prices. Now, from October 5 - 18, they have added over two hundred more discontinued items--some up to 80 percent off!

Things to know about the Clearance Rack Blitz:

*Orders for Clearance Rack items can be placed through my Online Store.

*Qualifying orders are eligible for Hostess Benefits/Stampin' Rewards.

*While the Blitz lasts from October 5 - 18, some items, depending on availability, may be made available in the Clearance Rack in the future.

*All discontinued items are available only while supplies last.

*All sales of discontinued items are final.

Come see all the new items in the Clearance Rack and share them with your stamping friends. These are all discontinued items and are only available in my online store! To order online, simply go to my website, http://www.pamdurso.stampinup.net/ and click on the Products Shop Now icon at the top of the page. It will take you to the shopping page. The Clearance Rack icon is on the left of that page. Click that and you are on your way to some great savings!

Have Fun!

Spooky Cuteness

OMG! How cute is this? These little goodies were made with the Petal Card Punch! Punch two, put them together and you have a little 'box' just big enough for a chocolate nugget! They were originally created by Patti Lee, http://www.creationsbypatti.blogspot.com/

Just too flippin' cute.

The pumpkin is made by putting three oval punches together. The mummy is made with the Word Window punch. And the scary bat's wings are made with the 1 3/4" circle punch, cut in half, then punching that piece with the 1/2" circle punch. A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!

Pieces of Heart Stampers Day of Fun

Several of us were very lucky to attend the Happy Holidaze Demonstrator Event in Ferguson, Missouri, Saturday. It was a wonderful day of learning, swapping, visiting, EATING, and of course, stamping. It was flawlessly put together by some very awesome people. I would like to especially thank Karen Graff-Povis, Sarah Klasing, and Sally Nusbaum for making our group feel so welcome and for all they did to put it together.

We put together a display board of some of our works of heart. Here Jayne and Judy are hard at work 'fastening' our cards to the board.
We were pretty proud of the interest our cards generated at the event.

I was honored to have been asked to demonstrate some of the things you can do with the Simply Adorned jewelry line for them. Here is my table with all my goodies displayed. It was fun, but how can you go wrong with all those pretty things?

I always forget to take a picture while we are stamping. But did remember just before we left at the end of the event. That's the cleanest our table was the whole day!
Love these ladies!
Starting from the left is Patty Schnell, Jayne Singleton, (it was her birthday and the whole room sang to her!), Theresa Tesson, and Judy Sumner.
We are already looking forward to the next get-together!

My Kind of Pencil!

Yep, I jumped on the bandwagon and made one too. It's a roll of Rollos, with a Kiss as the point. I KNOW! A chocolate pencil!

Kinda silly, kinda cute, very delicious!

Miss D'Urso's Pencil Holder

From what I understand, a third grade classroom really goes through pencils. What a cute way to keep them on the desk of the third grade teacher!

I just happen to know a third grade teacher, and I thought she could use one on her desk!

I don't have delusions that it won't get beat up by third grade, grabbing fingers,

but in the meantime,

it's cute.

Maybe when she has had a rough day,

she can look at it and know that Mom loves her,

even though she is all 'growed up' and a third grade teacher.

September Halloween Stamp Camp

I had so much fun putting this camp together.

I basically used the Wicked Cool Stamp set and the Wicked Fun Designer Papers with a few others sprinkled in.

To make the flames glow,

we 'stamped' a pencil eraser in Daffodil Delight ink and accented each one.

SPOOKY!

This witch is trying to hide,

but with the 'bling' on her boots she won't have much luck.

We used the Big Shot Spider Web Embossing Folder on card stock vellum for this card.
What you can't see very well in this picture, is that we also sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds on a few strands of the web to give it a dewy look.
On top, is the new Raven Lace. It's so soft and pretty. We tied it several times to mimic a spider. But it's a pretty spider, don't you think?


Hey, it's Halloween! Gotta have chocolate!
This little box is made with the Scalloped Envelope die, using the Word Window punch for the handle. We put two together and tied it up pretty with a satin ribbon.

It just so happens that a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup fits very nicely inside.

Love a chance to make a card look dirty.

Using the Spritzer tool, we did a pretty good job in the dirty department.

We took a strip of the Wicked Cool Designer Paper and fanned it out underneath our sentiment.

Trick or Treat!

Over The Top!

We have some very good friends leaving on a cruise soon. They are lucky enough to have booked a cabin on the new Royal Caribbean ship called the Oasis of the Seas. It is supposed to be 'over the top' wonderful. I couldn't let them leave without a bon voyage from me.

I feel I was lucky enough to have found this little work of art from Heather Klump, who, besides Penny, is my favorite stamper of all time! She is just 'over the top' wonderful too! If you get a chance to check her art, ( I believe her designs are ART!) on http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ you will not be disappointed. I immediately went to work on reproducing it.

Could there ever be a better card than this to send to my lucky friends?

This stamp is from a retired set called Words by Wilson. Blender pens were used to catch the shadows and water. It was cut out and then popped up using dimensionals, the water then was placed on top of that.
I think I see Marge and Rich up front wearing the red hats!
Bon Voyage!

Thank you, Heather.

Scholarly Owl

This little guy is so versatile. He is made with our new Two-Step Owl punch and I just love him. On this card, he is learning his ABC's. And look how clever he is to have found a greeting in them! Probably because he is wearing his Poppy Parade spectacles. I think even Sally Jessy Raphael would be jealous! (If you don't remember her, please don't tell me. I am showing my age!) The pencil is made with the Word Window punch and the tip of the Star punch.

Lisa Young is the inspired stamper who designed this cutie.