Brandy Baji, Stampin' Up! Demonstrator - Hilo, Hawaii

I love love love Stampin' Up! I have been in love since my first SU! Idea Book & Catalog.

I first joined Stampin' Up! in 2008, after I came across a SU! Demonstrator's blog while browsing for inspiration on a Cricut online community.
I fell in love with not just her projects, but the SU! products that were featured.

I knew immediately that I wanted to sign up as a Demonstrator. And so I did, and it was wonderful!

I dropped my SU! business while I was pregnant with my son, as I did not have the energy to keep up; however, I never gave up stamping!

After settling with my, now a baby bigger, family, I rejoined Stampin' Up! I cannot imagine being without SU! again.

I enjoy the opportunity to earn money while doing what I love, and sharing my passion and the opportunity for you to do the same.




Thursday, September 30, 2010

Nite Owl

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.'
The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe

This poem gives me goosebumps! I've always loved it! That's why I was so excited when I saw The Raven inscribed as a design for the Nite Owl DSP. I placed it one the side, along with the newspaper print one. I couldn't cut them up. I really had no idea what I was saving it for, so eventually:

Nite Owl DSP, Very Vanilla, Tangerine Tango, Dark & Dreary Stamp Set, Raven Lace Trim

There, in bold, the very words that make me shiver.

I did not have a ticket corner punch when I made this card, I used my scalloped circle punch to snip the edges.

Oh! And my two children, Toil & Trouble!

These were lots of fun to make, since I wanted to keep certain sections of the DSP. However, I don't really give away Halloween cards. Will I save it forever? Oh well, it brings be satisfaction for now!

Thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Chug-a-Choo! Choo!

As I was staring at my shelf of my recent creations, I realized that the shelf lacks masculinity. Sure, nothing is wrong with that. It is MY room, and it shall look how I want it to. However, I like to keep a variety of cards and gifts just in case.

Before I started making cards, I used to spend {UGH!} $3-$7 for a card. I remember how hard it was to find cards for boy without it being a cartoon character or a blue animal. Same thing for men, but it doesn't matter much, because half of them don't read it anyway. Ü

Well, my son loves his trains. I haven't used the Choo Choo stamp set since I completed his scrapbook page a while back. I used it to make this card:

Whisper White, Marina Mist, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Old Olive, Choo Choo Stamp Set, All Holidays Stamp Set, Right on Track Stampin' Around Wheel

Now I have a boy's birthday card on hand, just in case!  Ü I will be making more to keep on the side. I know of a few birthdays coming around the corner. My husband celebrated his 28th birthday last week Wednesday, and (poor guy!) the card I made him was so wimpy. I guess the real reason why there aren't many masculine cards on my shelf is because I'm not very good at them. I gotta get practicing!  Ü

Thanks for stopping in.

 

Monday, September 27, 2010

Mojo Monday 158

Mojo Mondays rock! I remember being employed and dreading Monday mornings. The weekends were never long enough, I would have to be dragged out of bed for work, and my finger tips were itching to dial my job and inform them of my illness.  Ü

Every Monday, I jump out of bed before my kids, and check out the new sketch. Then I dream about all the wonderful things that can be done. So much fun... I love it!

Here is this week's Mojo Monday sketch:


I really like round cards. They look like so much fun. I want to try a round card, but I don't want to work with my Cricut, and I don't have a large circle and/or scallop circle Sizzix die. So here is my square card:


Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Just Believe Stamp Set, 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Rich Razzleberry Brads

When I first sat down to work with this sketch, I immediately reached for DSP. I always remind myself that DSP is not always necessary, and that many of Stampin' Up! stamp sets include a stamp or more that can create perfect backdrops.

Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry is my favorite color combination. I always laugh when I create cards using these colors. My friends and I used to joke about not publicly being friends with anyone who wore purple and green. Silly, right?! I miss the old days... minus high school.   Ü

Hope you enjoyed this card. Thanks for checking in.


Sunday, September 19, 2010

Wanna scrap?!

Last week, I took my son to the Emergency Room. He got a mosquito bite right between his eyes and it swelled to the point where it looked like his head was going to explode. Poor child! He had to have blood drawn. Then about fifteen minutes later, the nurse comes back to tell me that they will need to put an IV in and do another blood draw. I was fine, but she asked me "Wanna scrap?!" If she had asked me that question five years ago. I would have been dragged out of the hospital by police. Well, five years ago, I would not have been at a hospital with a child. Anyway, I just laughed. She told me that a few days before, a mother was so angry that she looked as if she was going to throw blows with the nurse. It shouldn't be funny, but it was!  Ü

I created this card using all the scraps I had laying around. This card was supposed to be my submission for Club Anya's Mystery Monday challenge. Because it's football season and my hubby is still hogging my computer, I am last minute in submitting my card today. And it's just my luck that I get an error page as I try to upload my picture for submission. Well, I still wanted to share my hard work here with you.

Whisper White, Sunny Garden DSP, Play Date DSP, Just Beleive Stamp Set, Paradise Stamp Set 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Natural Hemp Twine, Stampin' Dimensionals

The hula girl is from The Greeting Farm, I stamped it with Basic Black craft ink, and heat-embossed with clear embossing powder. Then I used Stampin' Up! Watercolor Pencils and Blender Pens to color. The flower was bought from Ben Franklin Crafts, a box for a dollar.

I had lots of fun with this card. The clear sheet that my hula dancer is mounted to is a transparency sheet for ink jet printers. This sheet has a textured side, which the ink sticks to... that allowed me to stamp onto the transparency. The stamped image does not come out perfect, and it will be mirrored, so it will not work with sentiments. I used it here so that you could see the background. I sponged the corners and edges with Early Espresso ink so that my Stampin' Dimensionals would not show through the transparency.

I was really proud of this card, it's too bad it will not be entered for this week's Club Anya challenge.

Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by.


Friday, September 17, 2010

And More Notepads!

Again... busy day... bad day. I sure hope this weekend is a good one. This week has been horrible.

Play Date DSP, Apple Blossoms Stamp Set, Sunny Garden DSP, Cottage Garden Stamp Set

I must say yesterday was an okay day. My family went out to the county fair last night. So different! In Honolulu, the fairs are bigger and louder; however, I really enjoyed this small, less crowded, more friendly fair. It was nice to get out with the ohana. We haven't had so much time to do that since we've moved here. Loved it!

Thanks for stopping by... good or bad, I promise next week's creations will be better!  Ü

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

More Notepads!

I've been really really busy with so many things, that I can't get in touch with the creative me. So today I decided to just make more notepads!


Love Letter DSP, Play Date DSP, Just Believe Stamp Set, Apple Blossoms Stamp Set

Sorry to keep it so short... I just wanted to get a little something in! Thanks for stopping by!


Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Notepads!!!

I've been invited to participate in a craft fair in November. I'm unsure whether I will participate or not. I was thinking of maybe having a garage/craft fair at my home once a month or every other month. I have a huge yard and garage, lots of street parking, and a nice and quiet neighborhood. Well, whatever I decide, I will have to have handcrafted items.

I started making these notepads for my own desk (Lord knows I go through lots and lots of scratch paper!) And once it started to look like a set, I began considering making more, for gifts or sell.   Ü




Real Red, Old Olive, Play Date DSP, Tart & Tangy Stamp Set, Apple Blossoms Stamp Set, 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, 1/4" Whisper White Ribbon

The notepad are junior legal pads that I picked up at Office Max. I took the package of 12 to their Impress counter, and had them cut the pads in half. It costed me a dollar and change to cut all 12. Now they are perfect for shopping lists, Christmas lists, to-do lists, Stampin' Up! to-buy lists  Ü (LOL... had to put that one in there!) 

The post-it pad is adhered to Play Date DSP-covered chipboard coaster. I got 100 of these 4x4 coasters on eBay for $16. Tombow-ed it onto the chipboard, sanded the sides and corners. It's not shown, but I covered a medium binder clip with DSP and adhered the cherry-stamped scallped circle. When clipped to the pad holder, it can hang from a push pin or nail on a wall or bulletin board. The pen is a Pentel RSVP pen. I took out the ink thingy (what do you call it if it isn't yet a refill?), wrapped it with DSP, and reassembled. The best thing about this pen is that all you have to do is buy refills, slide one in, and you will still have the same cool pen to match your notepads. The DSP is not glued in any way to the pen. It just sits pretty in there.  Ü  Love it! Although I show it here that the pen is clipped to the coaster, it can also be hang from the binder clip.

I will have a tutorial up for this soon. But if you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact me.

Thanks for stopping by!