About Me - Update

Pamela Staples
Stampin' Up! Independent Demonstrator
Phone: (919) 300-0128
Email: sunnygirlscraps@gmail.com

My name is Pam Staples, Stampin’ Up! Independent Demonstrator. I am a Scuba Diving, Scrapbook Stamping addict toting a Canon EOS D40 married to the love of my life, Mike!

Welcome to my blog, SunnyGirlScraps!

My primary hobby and crafting passion is scrapbooking followed by rubber stamping. I have over 18 years of scrapbooking and 10 years of stamping experience. My first scrapbook project was to document a 1 ½ month college seminar traveling throughout Western Europe. It was a trip of a lifetime so it was important that I preserve my photos and memorabilia which led me to create my first scrapbook. As you can imagine, I was quickly hooked on scrapbooking and have created many masterpieces since my first scrapbook!

The first Stampin’ Up! Workshop I attended was over 10 years ago and was immediately hooked on rubber stamping. I love making handmade cards and gifts. Rubber stamping is also a natural fit with my love of scrapbooking leading me to quickly incorporate stamping into my scrapbook designs. When it came time to plan my wedding, it was an easy decision to make my own invitations and wedding favors using Stampin’ Up! products.

On March 23, 2009, I joined Stampin’ Up! as an Independent Demonstrator which has brought my love of scrapbooking and rubber stamping to a new level. I absolutely LOVE what I DO creating beautiful handmade cards, scrapbook pages and 3D projects such as custom journals. On both a personal and business level, I thoroughly enjoy sharing my passion for scrapbooking and stamping by teaching others how to get started in a new craft , by bringing their hobby to a new level as a scrapbooker and stamper or by joining my team as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator.

I was originally nervous about becoming a Stampin’ Up! Independent Demonstrator because I didn’t think I could meet the quarterly minimum of $300.00 but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is an attainable goal. Since I first discovered Stampin' Up! I had thought it would be a great business opportunity but I didn't think I could be successful as a demonstrator. It took a very talented friend to convince me that I had the abilities and potential to be a demonstrator. I've also discovered that to be a successful demonstrator all you really need is to have a passion and love for crafting - you don't have to be a Monet or Van Gogh! I'll be honest, being a demonstrator is a wonderful business opportunity and if you've ever thought of becoming a demonstrator I would LOVE to have you join my team by clicking HERE!

To date, I continue to enjoy scrapbooking and stamping whenever possible. I have a wonderful craft studio setup in my home located in Smithfield, North Carolina. As a Stampin' Up! Independent Demonstrator, I host crops and classes in my home on a regular basis. To learn more about these events, I encourage you to check out my Calendar of Events by clicking HERE! I am also available and would love to help you earn free Stampin' Up! products by teaching a workshop in your home. If you are interested in hosting a workshop, please call (919) 300-0128 or email me at sunnygirlscraps@gmail.com.

On a personal note, I am originally from Bloomington, MN.  I attended Concordia College in Moorhead, MN and graduated with a Major in English and Minors in Business and Art. After college, I moved to Denver, CO to attend a post-graduate Paralegal Program which led to a successful 15 year career as a Corporate Securities Paralegal. Since 2006, I’ve been a Stay-At-Home-Wife as  I focused on my health while hoping to have children as we dealt with infertility, a miscarriage and cancer. Then, in early 2008, my husband was offered a wonderful position at Talecris Biotheraputics leading us to move from Minnesota to Smithfield, NC with our pets. Once we were settled into our new home in North Carolina, Mike and I decided to pursue domestic adoption of a newborn infant and we've been approved to adopt since January 9, 2009.  In September 2009, we were matched with a Birthmom and we brought our son home on September 23, 2009.


Over the past year, we've lost a couple of pets.  Both Ashbey and Gabriel passed away.  Ashbey passed away in October 2009 from liver failure and Gabriel passed away on May 19, 2010 from cancer.  They are both greatly missed!  We then added another furry family member to our household on June 5, 2010 with the addition of our Golden Retriever puppy, Cooper.

Here are the newest family additions:

Our son, Caleb (his adoption was finalized in April 2010!) and Cooper!

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Father's Day!

First Time for Father's Day!

This past Sunday was my husbands first Father's Day!  We had a very enjoyable, relaxing day starting with Church.  Admittedly, the thought crossed our mind to sleep in and skip church but I needed to work in the Nursery so we dragged ourselves out of bed and made it to church!  We were so glad to be there and enjoyed the service as is always the case.

We really didn't have any big plans for the day.  After Church, we came home for lunch which was Salmon Burgers (Yuk!) for my husband and bratwurst for me.  Mike LOVES those Salmon Burgers!  Anyway, lunch was tasty.  Caleb and I then took Mike shopping for some new work shoes along with tennis shoes.  On our shopping trip, Mike found what he needed and we also found some cute Robeez shoes for Caleb's trip to Minnesota along with a great 4th of July outfit.  I also took the opportunity to stock up on my favorite Bath & Body shower gel.

It was a wonderful Father's Day...  Of course, the one thing I forgot to do was give Mike his Father's Day card on FATHER'S DAY!  Oops...  So, I gave him his Father's Day card early Monday morning.  He really loved the card and thought it was suitably masculine :) which makes me happy.  I love the card as well.

Here is his Father's Day Card:

Card Recipe:

Stamp Sets:  All Holidays (114916) and Sentimental Journey (Wood Mount 118513 / Clear Mount 120075 - 2010 Summer Mini)

Ink Pad:  Night of Navy Classic (102977)

Cardstock:  Night Of Navy (100867); Not Quite Navy (101722), Very Vanilla (101650)

Big Shot:  Stampin' Up! Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (119976 -2010 Summer Mini)

Accessories:  Corduroy Brads (Retiring 6/30/2010)

 

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Summer Time Fun

Ahhhh... Summer!  Family vacations, going to the beach or the lake, taking the boat out and camping!  These are only a few of my favorite things to do during the summer months.

In just a few days, I'll be heading to Minnesota with my son, Caleb, to enjoy 3 weeks in Minnesota.  I'm really looking forward to the trip but will also miss my husband along with all the pets.  I wish Mike could have joined me for part of the time on this trip but he just doesn't have enough vacation time available yet.  But I do look forward to going on a family vacation this fall.

Well, we've had a lot of fun lately preparing for this trip but also planning for when I get back.  I will be home for 1 week before I turn around and head to Salt Lake City, UT for the Stampin' Up! Convention.  I'm so excited about going to convention.  At the end of May, I received an early copy of the new catalog.  I was able to scour the catalog and come up with ideas for Convention Swaps.  I have two swaps designed with most of the cutting complete with the plan to get them to the point where I only need to assemble them.  There is still some work to do and I'm hoping to get some Big Shot work done before I go to MN so I can bring the unfinished swaps with me to MN with plans to finish them on vacation.  My mom has actually volunteered to help!  I still want to design at least one or two more cards for swapping but we'll see if we are able to accomplish that goal.  My desire is to have around 300 to 400 cards for swapping - a lofty goal for my first time attending convention.

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Fresh and simple card

Fresh & Simple

Today, I'm featuring a fresh, simple and fairly easy card to make.  I need a quick card for a Chat & Challenge on SUDSOL.  So, I looked around at my messy craft table and decided to play with a mix of items that are both new and not so new. 

This card features some new items as part of the sneak preview to the new 2010-2011 Stampin' Up! Catalog.  Check out the ribbon!  And the base to this card is a beautiful, Marina Mist blue.  I absolutely love the Marina Mist. 

Card Recipe:

Cardstock:  Marina Mist
Accessories:  Bitty Buttons (2010 Summer Mini Catalog), Bitty Punches and Marina Mist 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon
Stamp Sets:  Razzle Dazzle and Perfect Punches
DSP:  Island Oasis (2010 Summer Mini Catalog)
Colors:  Marina Mist, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Pear Pizzazz

1 comments

Sentimental Journey on the SUDSOL Blog Tour

Welcome to SunnyGirlScraps!  My name is Pam Staples and I'm thrilled that you've taken this opportunity to visit my blog.  I hope you've enjoyed visiting Melissa Stout's Blog, the Stamper Doc!  I'm excited to be participating in the first ever SUDSOL Blog Tour.  If you didn't already know, "SUDSOL" stands for "Simply Unique Demonstrators Sharing Online."

Sentimental Journey

I love the Sentimental Journey stamp set from the new Summer Mini Catalog!  One of my struggles is creating masculine cards and scrapbook pages and this set really lends itself to meeting the need for sets that can be used for masculine themed projects.

Journey Card:

 Card Recipe:  

Cardstock:  Kraft (Crumb Cake), Not Quiet Navy, Garden Green, Pumpkin Pie, Vanilla
Accessories:  My Way Punch, Large Grommet, Not Quiet Navy 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Cutter Kit
Ink:  Not Quiet Navy Classic Ink
Designer Series Paper:  Travel Journal
Stamp Set:  Sentimental Journey

Detour Card:

Card Recipe:


Cardstock:  Chocolate Chip, Kraft (Crumb Cake), Always Artichoke, Pumpkin Pie, Vanilla
Accessories:  My Way Punch, 3/16" Corner Rounder Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Mini Library Clips, Chocolate Chip 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Big Shot, Top Note Bigz Die
Ink:  Pumpkin Pie Classic
Designer Series Paper:  Travel Journal
Stamp Set:  Sentimental Journey

Why SUDSOL?

I've been a member of SUDSOL for almost a year now.  If you are a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and not a member of SUDSOL, I highly recommend that you become a member.  SUDSOL is a great resource for your business as well as ideas and project samples.  These are just a few of the reasons that I'm a member of SUDSOL.  I find membership to be very beneficial for my business.  One of my favorite features is the opportunity to participate in Chat and Challenges of which I'm one of the hostesses.  The Chat & Challenges are an opportunity to get to know other demonstrators across the country, foster friendships and encourage each other to get the creative juices flowing.

You can view my online SUDSOL Gallery by clicking HERE!  Also, if you are a demonstrator that is not a member of SUDSOL and you are enjoying the TOUR, come and join SUDSOL by clicking the FOLLOWING BANNER!









Again,  thank you for visiting SunnyGirlScraps!  I hope you've enjoyed the visit and don't forget to visit Jan Grant's blog where "We Stamp Together!"

Sincerely,

Pam Staples

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Featured Stampin' Up! Demonstrator on Sherrill Graff's Blog!

I'm so excited to be featured as the Stampin' Up! Demonstrator of the day!  Sherrill Graff has featured my beautiful Baby Boy Blocks on her blog, Stampin Sherrill.  Click HERE to see the featured post!  It is such an honor to be featured. 

The featured blocks are one of my favorite projects I've created in recent history.

Project Recipe:

Definitely Decorative:  Decor Elements Decor Blocks (116829)
Stamp Set:  Nursery Necessities (113506)
Stamp Pads:  Chocolate Chip Craft (101816), Chocolate Chip Classic (100908), So Saffron Classic (105213), Bashful Blue Classic (105209), Night of Navy Classic (102977)
Cardstock:  Close to Cocoa (101341), Bashful Blue (105120), Whisper White (100730)
Designer Series Paper:  Bashful Blue (112151)
Accessories:  On Board Essentials (112085), On Board Timeless Type (112083), Large Star Punch (110710), Star Punch (109045), Sherbet Designer Buttons (116312), Soft Subtle Brads (106954), Bashful Blue 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon (109029), Chocolate Chip 1" Double-Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon (111849), Stampin' Write Markers (105541)

Directions:

Each block was covered with Close to Cocoa then I randomly layered with Whisper White or Bashful Blue cardstock followed by another layer of the Bashful Blue Designer Series paper.  The stars are stamped using the Nursery Necessities stamp set then punched out using the Stampin' Up! Large Star and Star punches.  For the letters, I used the On Board Timeless Type and covered them with either the Bashful Blue Cardstock or Bashful Blue Designer Series Paper then I used sandpaper to even the edges.  The frame is done the same way except that I also sponged the edge with Chocolate Chip Craft Ink. I colored the Sail Boat Stamp using the Stampin' Write Markers then used the "huff" technique to stamp the image which I then cut out.  The Elephant was stamped with Chocolate Chip Classic and then cut out as well.  After all the blocks were assembled, I tied them together with the Chocolate Chip 1" Double-Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon!

These blocks can also be stacked on on top of the other.

Enjoy and Sunny Stampin'!

Pam Staples

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Fan me on Facebook and prize drawing

I'm so close to having 100 fans on my SunnyGirlScraps Facebook page
and if you become a fan you'll be entered into a drawing to win $10.00
in Stampin' Up! Product and 10 SunnyGirlScraps handmade cards with a
matching box.

Pam Staples
Stampin' Up!
Independent Demonstrator
Creating in North Carolina!

(919) 995-4564

sunnygirlscraps@gmail.com

My blog: www.sunnygirlscraps.com

My website: www.sunnygirlscraps.stampinup.net

Offering classes & workshops creating handmade cards, scrapbooks and
personalized gifts!

Be a fan! Join me on facebook. Search for sunnygirlscraps.

Sent from my iPhone

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Quick and Easy Mother's Day Card with Stencils

This weekend we are leaving for Atlanta, GA for a quick trip to celebrate my niece's baptism as well as Mother's Day.  There will be lots of family and I'm certain we will have plenty of fun. I really wanted to create a special, elegant card for my Mother-In-Law and this is what I came up with.

Here is a Mother's Day Card I created using a stencil!  Stenciling on a card is a fun way to add element to a card while keeping it simple.

I used  the Vintage Ornaments 1 stencil to create the elegant background for this card along with the Encore Silver stamp pad.  To create the image, I placed the stencil in the corner then used a sponge to daub along the stencil.  Then I cleaned the stencil, flipped it over and sponged the silver at the opposite corner.  My next step was to wrap organza ribbon around the card front place the large black grommet then tie the bow.  The sentiment is stamped using Pixie Pink and is from the All Holidays Stamp Set (#114916) from the 2009/2010 Stampin' Up! Catalog.  The background is Pixie Pink which is a retiring color with accents of silver, white and basic black.  I love the sweet, elegant simplicity of this card!  To order any of these products you can visit my Stampin' Up! store online 24/7 by clicking HERE!

Card Recipe:

Cardstock:  Pixie Pink, Whisper White and Basic Black
Accessories:  Organza Ribbon, Jumbo Grommet, Vintage Ornament 1 Stencils
Stamp Set:  All Holidays

1 comments

Memories and Mother's

Memories, Anniversaries and Mother's!

Do you have a special Mother's Day tradition?  Share your Mother's Day tradition by leaving a comment on this blog post!  I would also love to hear about your favorite memory of your mom!

There are several reasons that this year Mother's Day weekend will have lots of special meaning for me!  On Friday, May 7th, my husband and I will celebrate our 5th Wedding Anniversary along with my being a MOM for the first time!  Our journey to parenthood (and my becoming a mom) included a long struggle with infertility which finally led to the adoption of our son, Caleb.  We are also celebrating Mother's Day with my husbands family as our youngest niece is baptized.

Over the past 3 years, I try to avoid all things having to do with Mother's Day because it was just too painful.  I would skip church since that seemed especially cruel!  Don't get me wrong, I appreciated the fact that our church recognizes all the hard work that mother's do but it was just torture to my emotions.  For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a mom.  While my husband and I were going through pre-marriage classes, we both agreed that we would love to have a family of at least 4 children.

Now that I'm a Mom, I have an even greater appreciation for what it means to be a "mom!"  I have an awesome mom...  She is loving, supportive and my best friend.  We enjoy shopping together, chatting on the phone or on the computer as well as going on vacation together.  I have awesome memories of my mom comforting my at night when I was crying about something that had happened earlier in the day.  Then there were all the family trips that we took.  One of my favorite memories is when Dad, my brother and I wanted to go White Water Rafting, but mom a more sedate river rafting trip.  We ended up taking the raft trip my mom wanted but the water was so low that we actually ended up having to get out of the raft to push it down the river.   These are just a couple of my fond memories!

Here a Mother's Day card that is quick and simple to make:

I hope you take time to let your mom know how much you love and appreciate her!  Again, I would love to hear about your Mother's Day tradition of favorite memory of your MOM!  What makes your mom so special? 

Sunny Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Pam Staples

1 comments

And the winner is...

Congratulations to Lisa!  You are the winner of my BLOG CANDY for The Royal Blog Tour!  You were assigned the number 26 and my Random Number Generator just selected you!  I hope you enjoy your new Journal!


Here is the comment that Lisa left for me on my blog:


lisa808 said...
Congratulations on your son. The blocks for his room are so sweet.





Thank you to everyone that left comments on my blog and for visiting my Castle during the Royal Blog Tour.

Sincerely,

Pam Staples

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