Ask Me To Stamp

Super Bowl is coming....

2012-01-29T11:24:00.000-05:00

Indianapolis is all abuzz, since Super Bowl XLVI comes to town one week from today! All the festivities have started, and my friend, Patty, and I went downtown yesterday to be a part of it all. It was a beautiful day, although windy and cold, but after all...

....it is January in Indiana!

Anyway, I snapped a few photos for my Project 365+1 blog (HERE) and had a great time enjoying all the people and feeling the "buzz" of excitement everywhere!

However, you've come to see something about stamping, so I'll move on and see what I can find in my files!

I did Christy's Sale-a-bration workshop last week and had the best time! Both cards we made were copied totally from fellow demonstrators, and I apologize I can't give proper credit, but neither were my design. Both cards used stamp sets and tools from the Occasions mini catty.

The card above uses the new Elegant Bird Big Shot die! Who knew? LOL! The colors I used were Blushing Bride and Soft Suede...so lovely together.

This second card is a fun Valentine using the new You're My Type stamp set. Basic Black, Whisper White and Real Red always make a striking combination!

Thanks for checking in!

New stuff coming!

2012-01-22T07:07:00.000-05:00

Yes, the new mini has gone live, Sale-a-bration starts on Tuesday, new announcements from Leadership are exciting, and... I get to prepare for Christy's workshop!
Life is good!

Latest news from Leadership indicates that the Idea Book and Catalog and the mini catalogs will see some changes this year. I actually think they might be good changes. The Decor Elements and Simply Adorning lines are being discontinued, so that will shave a few pages off the IBC, but the mini catalogs will change to twice per year, become 8.5"x11" and have more pages! Excellent! We haven't heard all the official details yet so stay tuned and I'll share as I hear. I do know that our current IBC will expire on May 31st, instead of June 30th as printed, because the NEW one for 2012-2013 will go live on JUNE 1st!

Life is still good!

A new product coming soon - like March 1st! - is an insert for the Simply Scored tool that will allow diagonal scoring! This means envelopes!!! Did I mention...

Life is even better!

Okay enough drama! I just can't believe that Stampin' Up! keeps making things better and better! During Sale-a-bration there is an excellent promotion for those of you who might be on the fence about signing up. $125 for the starter kit, with NO SHIPPING CHARGE, AND a free paper pack or digital download each month for the first year! Wowsa! Talk to me!

I know you came to see some stamping, so I will share cards I made a few days ago, when I got my new mini stuff out to play. What do you think?

Both cards were made for a coworker who was leaving our office. The top card is larger so all the staff could sign it...and the bottom card is the one from just the four girls in her department. Both cards were made with Pacific Point and Pear Pizazz cardstock and inks. I used the new Framelits and Edgelits that are in the new mini...love them...as well as the new pleated ribbon around the silver glimmer heart. Want to know a secret? On the top card...the sentiment was PRINTED using My Digital Studio! So that qualifies that card as a hybrid card!

Oh...another announcement from Leadership....starting February 1st, you can download a 30 day trial of the My Digital Studio program! FREE! Amazing! If you are local, I am happy to give a quick instructional session for those who want it....just let me know!

Okay, done posting. Gotta get into the classroom and figure out the projects we will make at Christy's workshop....later.....

What the heck is waffle paper?

2012-01-16T10:27:00.002-05:00

That was the question I have been asking myself for a long time. Well, I finally bit the bullet and ordered some, got it in, and actually sat down yesterday and tried to figure out how one would use it!

It is rather odd stuff, extremely thin and crinkly, but you know, now I can actually envision ways to use it! It only comes in silver, gold and white, and of course I got all three, cause you know I can be a bit OCD at times.

I figured out that it is better to show a torn edge, at least in my opinion, so it looks more natural...

Here I use the gold waffle paper behind an edge made with one of the new Edgelits...have I mentioned I love those too? See how it is all crinkly?

This is the finished card, which also uses the new Doily Embosslit. Pictures never do the real project justice. The waffle paper really shines and goes well with my brown and blue theme. Can you guess my favorite color combo?

As I mentioned on the 365+1 blog HERE I can't show you what else I made until after Thursday. Two cards for a coworker who is leaving were made and they turned out really well. I'll show you on Friday...promise!

How to store your Framelits!

2012-01-13T07:45:00.000-05:00

As you might suspect, I follow soooo many blogs! My Google Reader shows 142 posts yet to read, and it was cleared out only a day ago! Anyway....I get lots of great ideas as well as learn a few things from all my Stampin' demo friends. One thing I recently learned came from Diana Gibbs, a demo in Arizona, is how to store the new Framelits that are in the new Occasions mini catalog.

They come in a really nice heavy storage envelope, that was too nice to not use. So...based on what Diana did, I got some of SU! magnetic sheets, cut a piece to fit the envelope, adhered the directions on one side, a piece of designer paper on the other side and voila!

These protect the Framelits as well as keeping them from falling to the bottom of the envelope and getting all mixed up! Brilliant, Diana!

Last evening was our Thursday Thumper stamp club meeting, and as usual, too much fun! Here is one of the projects we made using new products from the Occasions mini.

The girls blinged up their version with rhinestones and made me wish I had thought of that!

Bird of Paradise

2012-01-09T19:06:00.000-05:00

Okay, so maybe not exactly the bird of paradise, but it is a bird! A new bird as a matter of fact, from the new mini! So yesterday, after I cleaned and sorted in the classroom, I got the stuff out to play (and messed it all up again!) This card uses lots of product from the new Occasions mini. So look closely, and I'll try to point them all out.

See the elegant cut and embossing on the edge of the card above? It uses a new Edgelit as well as the new embossing folder to match! Mr. Big Shot sure got a workout on this card!

This is another of the embossing folders behind the bird. Do you notice anything? Okay, I'll 'fess up. I used it upside down - these are supposed to be hearts! Oops!

Here is the finished card. Isn't this gorgeous? It uses the new Twitterpated Designer paper, as well as the new Big Shot die "Elegant Bird". I love how this all came together. I'll be using this bird again soon!

New products...

2012-01-06T07:16:00.000-05:00

The new Occasions mini catalog started this week and it is chock full of great new "stuff"! I love when Stampin' Up! releases new product. I love the new stamps and papers and inks, but I REALLY love the new tools and embellishments!

This catty is no exception and I have to wonder how SU! can keep doing it better and better! :-) One of the best new products, (other than the cherry cobbler Stampin' Detail!) is the package of large pearls! And yes, they are L-A-R-G-E! See the difference?

I apologize for the shadows in this photo, but you can see the size difference. There have been many times where the largest of the original package just wasn't large enough for the project, so I am pleased that SU! listened to us demos and released these new ones!

Don't forget to check out my Project 365+1 blog (link in the top right sidebar) to see what happens in my daily life! I am closing in on my first week, and so far so good! I hope to get the scrapbook page put together this week end and will post that when completed.

I'm hoping to get some stampin' done this weekend. I have club on Thursd
ay, so I'll need to do some designing (and casing) for their projects for sure. Thanks for checking in on me....have a great weekend!

Good bye 2011!

2011-12-31T22:33:00.002-05:00

I cannot believe that the year of 2011 is almost over! Can you? Where did it go? I know it was only yesterday that I was welcoming in 2011.

I couldn't close out the year here on my stampin' blog without a heartfelt thanks to all of you who have supported me and my SU! business all year long. I have had such a great time, sharing what I love and hope you have gained a bit of confidence and feel the excitement too! I have had so many good laughs with you and I hope they continue into 2012. You should have received the new Occasions mini catalog by now along with the Sale-a-Bration flyer so you know we have lots of fun new products to try out this spring! Right?

I do have a couple pictures to share with you tonight. Do you know what you do when your hairdryer gives up? Yep - use the Stampin' Up! Heat Gun! It takes a little longer because that hole the hot air comes out of is quite a bit smaller than a hairdryer, but it worked! LOL!

The other picture to share is from Christmas Eve. This is my cute great-nephew, Ian, opening his present from his crazy Aunt Kathy. He got just as excited about a box from Stampin' Up! as I do!

Speaking of pictures, I am going to do Project 365, which is a daily photo journal where you take a picture every day, journal a bit, and make scrapbook pages. The goal is that this time next year, I will have a year's worth of memories showing my everyday life for one year. Doesn't that sound fun and interesting? Anyway, I have designed a new blog (don't worry, I'll keep this one for stamping) and I'll be posting my POTD (picture of the day) and journaling over there. Check it out at www.askmetostamp365.blogspot.com. I have a welcome post already there, but the fun stuff will start tomorrow....January 1, 2012! I'd love to hear what you think, so make sure to check it out, and follow along with me if you like. I love reading comments!

So I'll close for now. Only one and a half hours left of 2011. I'm really trying to stay awake to ring in the new year. Fingers crossed I can do it. But just in case...I'll wish you all a very....

Did you wonder where I went?

2011-12-26T11:08:00.001-05:00

Well, I've been in a slump...and the holidays were here with all that craziness...and stuff was happening at work...and I had a bad respiratory thing....and I was lazy. Okay? There I admit it! So let's move on, shall we? :-)

Day after Christmas, all the hubbub has died down, off work and I am able to just veg all day. Love when I get the day off after Christmas. We had a wonderful Christmas. Oh my gosh, it was so fun to spend time with family. Christmas Eve was my family gathering with good food and fun times, then Sunday morning DS and DDIL came over for our exchange. Lots of presents and surprises! What great fun!

I did make some fun gift tags for my "girl" gifts for the family gathering, as well as use some of the Stampin' Up! packing paper to wrap them with!

DS and DDIL moved on to her family gathering in the afternoon, but she cooked a spiral ham here for that gathering and it smelled so good! So...when DH gets up from his nap...guess where he will go? Yep, to the store to get sandwich makin's and a spiral ham. I so want a good ham sandwich! :-) Maybe it will help with the bad, bad headache I woke up with today.

Here is my family. He got her a Coach purse. She got him an iPad2. Both totally surprised each other! (Oh, I got him the hat and gloves! :-P)

And for those who may wonder, Jefferson wasn't forgotten either. Actually we got a phone call the day before Christmas eve saying "go check the mail box"...and this is what was there! His very own stocking, filled with treats and toys!

So a great holiday season comes to an end and now the reality sets in. Back to Weightwatchers and trying to get healthier. We are going on a cruise early in February, so a lot of work is ahead of me!

I hope you all had a great holiday. I want to close this post with prayers for strength and peace to some friends who are experiencing difficult times right now with close family members. Missie and Lisa, I'm thinking of you.

Day 25 - I'm Thankful for...

2011-11-25T08:00:00.001-05:00

...being able to stay in and not participate in al the Black Friday shopping madness! I don't think I ever did do the early morning shopping thing, even when DS was young. Just didn't ever seem like it was necessary. I know a lot of families make it a tradition, which is cool.

We did have a great family dinner yesterday. Most of the family were there, and we missed those who weren't able to come - two nieces and a great-niece live out of town, and a nephew had to work . Lots of good food - turkey, noodles, dressing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, and dinner rolls. Of course there were pumpkin pies and whipped cream for dessert. Yummmm.....

I made a treat for everyone, this cute Thanksgiving Blessing Mix.

It was quick and easy. I used the Blessings wheel and Soft Suede ink and added some color using sponges and SU! pastels. I got this idea directly from Kimberly Van Diepen's blog, although she used a different wheel. Inside is the poem, which describes the symbolism of the contents of the bag.

So today I will be working in the classroom again. A stamp club member gave me the coolest 12x12 paper rack and I need to try to figure out a place to put it!. I also need to make some Christmas gifts, so I might need to take a break and try stamping a bit.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Day with your family!

Day 24 - I'm Thankful for...

2011-11-24T06:22:00.001-05:00

... ALL the blessings I enjoy! I have so much to be thankful for...wonderful family and friends, comfortable home, good job, good health and my soul-mate to share it all with. I will be spending some time with my family later today, and I always look forward to catching up with what's happening in their lives. Good times - oh - not to forget the good food too!

Today's card is perfect for Thanksgiving Day.

While this isn't my creation - another Regional card - it does reflect my thought that we should be thankful EVERY day for the freedoms and blessings we all have. It's hard sometimes to remember them, but they are there. Make sure to give at least a moment's thought to the positive things in your life.

Spend your day surrounded by love and positive energies. I will.

Day 23 - I'm Thankful for...

2011-11-23T08:17:00.001-05:00

...long holiday weekends! I know...I *just* got back from vacation! Now I will be off 4 more days? Is that great planning, or what? Tee Hee. I do have plans to spend a lot of that time in the classroom, so I am hoping to get some Christmas gifts made. Lots of ideas in this ole' noggin, so we'll see just what actually gets made.

Today's project is actually a picture from the Jumbotron screen at Regional, so please excuse the poor quality. This shows one of our new card keeper boxes, all decorated up for a Thanksgiving treat. It doesn't have to be used for cards!

Do you take the time to make the presentation of your gift special? This would be a great way, then the box itself can be reused by the receiver too! Two gifts in one!

Tomorrow is the big day! Turkey and all! Hope you have loved ones to share the day with. Please be sure to take the time to reflect on all the blessings you have. Happy Thanksgiving!

Day 22 - I'm Thankful for...

2011-11-22T06:57:00.001-05:00

...my camera! I take pictures ALL the time, of everybody, everything. I will snap a photo of something that "might" be interesting on a scrapbook page. I snap a photo of someone being silly. I snap photos of projects that I could make. I save them all! So I have lots of photos on my external hard drive. With digital capabilities nowadays, there is no expense in getting them developed so why not snap away? Now mind you, do I ever delete any? Well, many of the pictures are not the best, and I am taking an online class to help me learn a photo flow as I download pictures from my camera. I haven't yet found my flow, but I am doing better in deleting the awful pictures as I download. I still have lots of files to go through though!

Today's project is a swap from Regional again. This is so simple, and many times, simple is best!

This card uses the lace ribbon border punch, with the 1/8" ribbon woven through it. I love this look! The images are all from a stamp set called "Best of Everything", which I never paid attention to before. Hrmph...looks like this should be on my next order! :-)

Day 21 - I'm Thankful for...

2011-11-21T06:39:00.001-05:00

...my job! Yes, even though I have to return to work today, after a wonderful week of vacation, I AM thankful that I have a job! My current work situation is such a perfect fit for me, and I really enjoy all my coworkers!

Yesterday, while DH was running in and out going to hockey, I had a stampin' friend come over and we spent a few hours together and made this beautiful Christmas Keepsake box.

This is a kit that SU! offers, while supplies last, and it was such fun to put together, especially with a friend! Even though we both had the same supplies, see the difference in each? I put my bow at the right end of the box, and she did hers on the left end - which was the correct side according to the instructions! The picture really doesn't do it justice because you can't see all the details.

So, today I go back to work...BUT...only for three days, since we are closed Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday!

See you tomorrow!

Day 20 - I'm Thankful for...

2011-11-20T07:34:00.001-05:00

...being home! We got home just fine, had a good flight, no problems turning in the rental car, and DS and DDIL came and picked us up. It's true - there's no place like home! I loved getting away and relaxing and such, but it is awesome to be home!

So I promised a picture today and here it is. This card is one of the winners from the Regional swap basket. Isn't it interesting?

This uses a technique called "Thumping". It is so easy, I'm embarrassed to tell you how to do it! Ink up your image with your main color, then - using the brush end of your markers - "thump" the marker around on the rubber. You can use multiple colors, like this card uses, or only one, depending on the look you want. This demonstrator won a $50 shopping spree for her efforts! Way to go!

Day 19 - I'm Thankful for ...

2011-11-19T06:02:00.001-05:00

...my husband! Today is our 38 th wedding anniversary! Can you believe he has put up with me that long???I am so lucky that we found each other all those years ago. I can't imagine my life without him! I love you lots, Babe!This morning we are traveling home. We'll be checking out from he hotel in an hour or so, then heading to the airport to turn in the car and get to our gate. It's sad to leave the beach - we surely have had such a fun time this week - but it will be great to get back home. I have the new Occasions mini catalog waiting for me, and have been reading about all the fun new stuff in it! Can't wait to share it all with you! My next update will have photos. Promise!

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Day 18 - I'm Thankful for ...

2011-11-18T08:37:00.001-05:00

...great weather! Yesterday we had a short rainstorm come through Treasure Island. It lasted only about 30 minutes and fortunately did not seem to cause any damage to the sand sculptures. We went to the hockey game last evening (which they won 4-1) and had awesome seats, lucked into great parking and were on the correct side to find our seats!! Today is our last full day and we will spend the afternoon at the sand sculpting area. There is supposed to be vendors and music and fun stuff. I can't wait to see it all. I talked yesterday with the sculptor who won last years competition. He is from Mexico. It was very cool to watch him sculpt. I sure wish I could post pictures.Anyway, I'll post a few pics on FB later today to give a taste of the progress. Now it is time for breakfast!

Day 17 - I'm Thankful for...

2011-11-17T06:35:00.001-05:00

...rain! Yes, I said it...at least we can be lazy without feeling like we are missing something. :-). It has been raining overnight, so it is a lazy morning. We've had breakfast and are just lazing around, waiting for the sun to come out and dry everything off.Tonight we go to the hockey game in downtown Tampa so that should be a fun evening. We have no idea how it will be for parking, but plan to leave way early so we have time to circle the forum. We will probably visit the sand sculpting area for a few progress pics, then back to the beach if the weather is cooperating.We plan to spend most of the day tomorrow at the sand sculpting area to watch them in action. Can't believe it will be time to come home in a couple of days.

Day 16 - I'm Thankful for...

2011-11-16T07:23:00.001-05:00

... God's beauty all around us. Seeing this huge ocean sure puts things in perspective and makes me realize just how insignificant I am. If you follow me on Facebook (kathy doty McDowell, send a friend request) then you saw the beautiful sunset last evening. Beautiful! That sunset photo was taken at Treasure Island which is only about 10 minutes from our hotel. We stopped by to see the progress of the sponsor sand sculpture. It is amazing to watch these guys and gals making logos in this sand. I'll upload a few photos to FB so you can see the progress. The preliminary work starts today and is called " the pound-up". Today is starting overcast. I don't know what is planned. We'll do breakfast soon, then maybe go to Fort Desito again. We went yesterday but only got as far as the actual fort, and wasn't too impressed. We did find a bald eagle nesting area and got a few photos of one roosting in a tree. So that made the trip worthwhile for sure.Hope you are hanging with me even without photos!br>

Day 15 - I'm Thankful for...

2011-11-15T07:21:00.000-05:00

...sunscreen! We had a beach day yesterday and even though we used it we still got some burn. Today is starting out foggy and overcast. After rush hour, we plan to take a test run to find the arena so we will know where we are going Thursday. We have tickets to the Tampa Bay Lightening hockey game. Later we will drive south to the tip of the penisula we are on and visit Fort DeSoto Beach. Hoping to see lots of shells, birds and other fun stuff!Heard there were bad storms back home...hope everyone and everthing is okay!

Day 14 - I'm Thankful for...

2011-11-14T08:07:00.000-05:00

...sunshine! We are having great weather here in Florida. Much different than our visit a couple years ago.Yesterday we just drove around a bit...found the beach where the sand sculpting contest will happen. That will be so cool to see. They have started working on the sponsor sculpture and we got to talk a bit to the sculptor, very interesting. They spray a fine mist of a thin Elmer's glue mixture over the sculpture sections to help keep it together and it even protects it from rain! I'm so sorry that I can't post pictures. I'm sure there is a way, I just haven't discovered how! :-). I'll check back in tomorrow. Today is a beach day!

Day 13 - I'm Thankful for...

2011-11-13T07:07:00.000-05:00

...having the money to take a vacation! We have arrived safely in Florida and had a restful afternoon and evening. Today we hope to get some beach time and reading done. Our hotel is very nice and we are a short 5 minute walk to the beach. Blogger will not let me upload photos from the iPad. :-(. Guess I should have loaded some pictures online somewhere to be able to access them via iPad. Oh well. Follow me on Facebook to see photos I guess. Maybe I can figure out the issue later. Have a good Sunday everyone. Catch you tomorrow.

Day 12 - I'm Thankful for...

2011-11-12T05:40:00.001-05:00

...talented and experienced airplane pilots! DH and I leave this morning for a week in Florida, so I am thankful there are people who know how to fly those complicated airplanes that get hundreds of people safely to their destinations! We arrive in Tampa, Florida early afternoon, so I'm hoping by the time we get luggage, pick up the rental car and drive to the hotel, that it should be about time to check in. Fingers crossed!

The project today is a card from stamp club this month. This uses the Pennant Parade stamp set and Pennant punch to make the cute tree. You probably can't tell from the photo, but we stamped and punched three trees, folded each in half and adhered back sides together to make a 3 dimensional tree. Too cute!

I hope to be able to blog each morning from the hotel room, since we are to have free wi-fi. I'm not taking my laptop, only my iPad, so we will see how it goes. Hopefully I can share a tiny bit of our vacation with you each day too.

Hope to see you tomorrow, from sunny and warm Florida!

Day 11 - I'm Thankful for...

2011-11-11T07:09:00.001-05:00

...my personal Marine Veteran!

My DH served in the Marine Corps and spent time in Viet Nam. He doesn't talk about his experience much, as is probably pretty common among veterans. I certainly appreciate ALL those who have served in all branches of the military and what sacrifices they and their families have made, and I understand the today's technology allows us all to actually see what they do...perhaps too much sometimes.

However, I think the Viet Nam era veterans were shortchanged, especially when they came home. Remember, it was the 60's and early 70s - it was the time of "make love, not war" and yet many of these brave soldiers made that very same ultimate sacrifice by giving up their lives. Those that were luckier came home to name-calling. News reports rarely mentioned returning platoons. I understand it was a different time, but each man and woman who served in Viet Nam made sacrifices too, they deserve to be honored today also. Please remember them too.

So, as I step down off my soapbox....I do have a project to share.

This card has ALOT going on! Lots of shimmer, lots of embossing - both dry and heat, and lots of die cuts! This card is definitely not one I would want to make alot of, although it was a swap from Regional, so the artist DID make many of them!

Please remember to honor all of our Veterans today!

Day 10 - I'm Thankful for...

2011-11-10T07:18:00.001-05:00

...warm coats! Yikes! 32 degrees! Really? Wow, good thing we are leaving for Florida on Saturday! Of course, we shouldn't be surprised, it is the middle of November...in Indiana...snow is not too far away! I don't want to even think about winter - so I won't!

Today's share is another card from Regional. Is this not adorable? See, the Stitched Stocking stamp set isn't just for Christmas! Who thinks up these things? Such a cute idea to make a hobby horse!

Are you able to think outside the box? Sometimes I can, but usually I have to rely on someone else then I can CASE it! :-)

Stay warm!

Day 9 - I'm Thankful for...

2011-11-09T06:42:00.001-05:00

...my garage! You know, we have lived in this house for over 20 years, and this is the first winter I will be parking my car in the garage! :-) I know...pretty sad, right? Well, there was an accumulation of "stuff" that precluded allowing a vehicle inside, and you all can relate, because you all have "stuff" too! Anyway, we worked hard this summer to clear out, sort through, and give away lots and lots of "stuff"! So, that boils down to NOW being able to park my vehicle in the garage. No more windshield scraping for my DH! Now will he come to my office parking lot to clear my windows this winter? You know, I bet he would if I asked! Love you Babe!

My share for today is the scrapbook page that I did for a Christmas Wreath class I had recently.

Six of the nine attendees got their wreaths done, isn't that awesome? I always enjoy seeing how different each project turns out when stampers all get the very same materials and make them the very same way. This was a long class, about 3.5 hours, but it was so fun. Everyone got to take home our new Simply Scored tool, too, which was included in the class fee.

What fun projects are you planning to make for the holidays? Will you be making your Christmas cards? Gifts? Inquiring minds want to know....

Day 8 - I'm thankful for...

2011-11-08T05:57:00.000-05:00

...my job! Seriously, I'm grateful that I have a job, for sure. But...where I work fits me so well. After being downsized from a management job after 41 years, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I knew I needed to find a job, since I would need insurance coverage, but I didn't want to be a manager anymore. I was unemployed for a year, but then found my current employer. I get to do payroll and benefits, which are my loves, and I can provide strong administrative support to the managers. A perfect fit!

Today's project is one of our Make and Takes from the Louisville Regional. This one has lots of texture to it, with alot of distressing. The grid background is a small stamp called "Good Grid" and is about 3" square. I love the element of grunge that it can add. We used marker to rubber for the flower, then distressed the whole focal piece using the tea stain stampin' spot from our distressing kit. I certainly need to use that ink spot more! I love how it grunges things up!

Do you like the grunge look? Or are you more "clean and simple"? Don't forget to vote today!

Day 7 - I'm Thankful for...

2011-11-07T07:04:00.001-05:00

...peanut butter! Many mornings, I will fix peanut butter on toast and eat it on the way to work. I love using the sandwich rounds, and if the bread gets a little over-toasted that is a good thing! DH says I have a carbon deficiency, since I like many things "crispy", but that is just the way I prefer things.

Today's card is another from Regional - I wish the creator would put their info on the back so I can give proper credit. There are so many ideas readily shared at these events.

This card uses one of my favorite techniques - dry embossing the stamped image. Of course this Square Lattice embossing folder is one of my very favorite designs!

Happy Monday!

Day 6 - I'm Thankful for...

2011-11-06T07:08:00.001-05:00

...Jefferson! Yes, even though he is sneaky and eats my rubber stamps, I am thankful that he joined our family this year.

For those who may not know, Jefferson is a 4 year old male Ragdoll cat. This breed of feline is the most unusual I have ever run across. He acts more like a dog than a cat...meeting me at the front door each evening when I come home from work, greeting me in the morning when I come out of the bedroom, following me from room to room as I get ready each morning. In January, DH and DS drove all the way to Georgia to get him for me, and I'm so glad they agreed to do that. DH's cousin had to find Jefferson a new home, due to a son developing allergies, and the rest is history.

Today's share is another Regional cardfront. This one is filled with texture and images, and it all fits together, don't you think?

Done in neutrals, it has a very eclectic look to it. It uses one of the cute Designer Frame embossing folders for the focal piece. Very cute.

Today I will finish up the November stamp club projects. I have one more week of work, then I will be gone on vacation, sure hope I can post from my iPad!

See you tomorrow!

Day 5 - I'm Thankful for...

2011-11-05T08:27:00.001-04:00

... Saturdays! Yes, I my Saturdays! Saturdays are days where I can usually get my errands done, a load or two of some laundry (cause that is a chore that is never done!) and then spend the rest of the day in the classroom. Usually a nap is thrown in there somewhere too.

Today my plan is laundry and projects for November stamp clubs. I have a couple of projects in mind already, so hope the prototypes turn out like I envision!

I'm sharing a project today that highlights the "Hello Doily" background stamp. This was a Regional swap that someone in my group got (and I took a picture of). Don't you love this?

This uses the technique called "emboss resist", where you emboss an image, sponge color around the embossed part, then wipe off. The ink will stay where the embossing isn't. Make sense? This cardfront was embossed on Whisper White cardstock using our white embossing powder, then sponged with what looks like our new Wisteria Wonder ink. Very, very elegant!

What do you do on Saturdays? Do you get a few minutes to do something creative?

Day 4 - I'm Thankful for...

2011-11-04T06:30:00.001-04:00

...coffee! Yep, coffee. 24/7 if possible! I drink coffee all day long and into the evening....and then I can go right to sleep. DH says it isn't fair, and I tell him "I" have a clear conscience! Seriously, I don't know how long this can last until I suffer from all the caffeine, but so far no side effects. Just a little cream and I am a happy camper! I usually don't go for the flavors, just strong, bold flavor. We recently invested in a Keurig coffee machine and I love it! So far the only downside I have found is that I can't "top off" my travel mug as I leave for work.

My project today is another sample from Regional. This uses a grid technique, and with our new Simply Scored tool, can be made quickly.

Just score horizontal and vertical lines on the card stock, then stamp the image. You want to stamp with a light hand, so your image doesn't get impressed into the score lines. This is such a cool look, and one we just might be doing in club this month!

What is your favorite technique?

Day 3 - I'm thankful for...

2011-11-03T07:03:00.001-04:00

...the opportunity to share what I love - stamping! I know it sounds corny to some, but I love helping other people create! The look they get when they finish a card or project is such fun for me. I look for that light-bulb moment when it clicks for them. That is what it is all about. I truly feel EVERYONE can be creative; however, there are some that do not enjoy that process. And that is okay....I guess. I just cannot imagine not stamping, and as long as I can hold a stamp and cut paper, I will be a stamper!

The project I share today really isn't a Thanksgiving project, however adding a sentiment of "Thanks" would change that in an instant. Again, this card was on one of the display boards at Regional last weekend. It caught my eye by it's mere simplicity. I love, love, love this card. Unfortunately, I don't know who gets credit for this inspiration, but you can be sure I will be making many more of this design!

Do you share something with those around you that gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside? If you don't, you really should find your niche. It's a great boost to self-esteem, while helping others feel the same.

See you tomorrow....

Today I am Thankful for...

2011-11-02T07:32:00.002-04:00

...electronics! Yes, I am a geek. I admit it. I love gadgets of all kinds, but definitely those that are electronic! My friend (?) Renee took this photo last weekend at the SU! Regional, showing that I was, as she dubbed me "fully loaded". Tee hee!

I can't help it! I am addicted to anything digital - internet, photos, books...the list goes on and on! Here I am with my digital camera, my iPhone 4, my Kindle keyboard, and my iPad2. Am I missing anything?

Are you digital? Tomorrow I'll have a Thanksgiving project to share....promise...

Today I'm thankful for...

2011-11-01T07:14:00.002-04:00

...it being November 1st! Yes, truly! I know it means winter is coming, but it also means the holiday season is coming too.

Those of you who may have followed me for a few years will know that I post everyday in November, citing one thing or reason I have to be thankful. It has been fun to do in the past, so I am sure I'll have another month of reaching outside of the obvious to find the small things that count B-I-G!

I have been stamping, although this card isn't one that I made. I went to a Stampin' Up! Regional last Saturday and this was a swap card someone in my group got. Sorry I don't have the name of the swapper, so if someone knows, forward to me so I can give proper credit. Don't you love these colors?

Stamping - for real!

2011-10-19T16:14:00.002-04:00

As promised, here are a couple of the projects I have stamped recently. This first card will be my swap for the SU! Louisville Regional event I will be attending on the 29th. This uses Pear Pizazz cardstock as the base, with Cherry Cobbler as the layer, along with Whisper White. The Builder Stocking punch was used on the stockings stamped with the fun Stitched Stocking stamp set, which were stamped in Pear Pizazz as well. Then I punched our red and silver glimmer paper to make the sparkly toes, heels and cuffs on the stockings. The sentiment is from Well Penned Holidays. I also used the evergreen branch from the Christmas Lodge stamp set. This is a really quick card to assemble and I think it looks very dramatic!

This last card was a Stamp Club project using Night of Navy cardstock and ink and the fun Merry Winter. Don't you just love these cute marshmallow-ey snowmen?

This fold is called a Z fold and is nice for a change. You would cut your cardstock the long way, then score at the 5.5" line then again at the 2.75" line. Make sure you don't add adhesive all over the back side of your focal point piece, just to one half! Then, when you open it, the inside sentiment becomes visible...too fun! I also added a bit of Stampin' Detail (our new glitter glue) to the snowmen's mufflers for a bit of sparkly.

Okay, so that is a taste of what I have been up to. I'll post the other two cards tomorrow. Later....

Yes, I am still here and other stuff!

2011-10-19T07:19:00.000-04:00

Bet you all thought I had vanished in the middle of the night! Well, sorry 'bout that, but I really have no excuse to offer. You guys aren't interested in excuses anyway, so let me bring you up to date.

I had a birthday, yes, 39 AGAIN! How many of these can I have? My co-workers got me balloons, a Kohl's gift card and cake. Take a look at the mylar balloon - is that me, or what?

I was suitably spoiled by DH, who gave me roses (see them in the picture above?) and a new robe and pretty top, as well as my very favorite candy - Fanny May dark chocolate vanilla buttercreams! OMG! Sorry Weightwatchers!

Then DS and DDIL took us out to my favorite chinese place for dinner...and I had to wear a tiara and carry this huge balloon into the restaurant.

They also spoiled me with gift cards and a new holiday sweatshirt and birthday cake. With all these gift cards, guess I'll be shopping this weekend! Darn...the sacrifices I have to make! Anyway, with all this going on, no wonder the server knew it was my birthday and brought me cheesecake with a birthday candle! (no, I don't have icing on my chin - it is a reflection....I think!)

So, all in all I had an awesome birthday...and the celebration isn't over yet, my sisters are taking me to dinner tomorrow evening!

Midst all this frivolity, I have been stamping some. I had two rounds of club meetings, and we did some cute, cute projects. I still have to take photos of them, so I'll post again later today and share!

Thanks for hanging in with me. You know, November is not far away, and yes, I'll be doing the daily "I'm thankful for...." posts again! See you again in a few hours!
.

Birthday fun....

2011-09-15T05:50:00.002-04:00

I've been wanting to use this idea for ages, and finally all the planets aligned and supplies were in hand when a significant birthday of someone I know came round!

Our lonely male employee at work is celebrating his 40th birthday today, and this is what I left on his desk late yesterday, before I left the office. Fortunately, he had already left building!

I used Mr. Big Shot to cut out the letters and used our Tombow adhesive glue to adhere them onto the scalloped circle. My DH is the one who gets credit for the "pick" to hold the circle. Doh! It's a straw with a slit in the end! How clever is that?

Oh....Happy Birthday, Brian!

I Remember...

2011-09-11T07:52:00.000-04:00

Name Frame

2011-09-09T06:42:00.000-04:00

It has been YEARS since I have made a name frame! Back in the day - well, a few years ago, I was making lots of these projects for friends and family as gifts, or being commissioned to make them for others to give as gifts. Seriously, it has been 5 years or more. Recently a former co-worker and friend begged me to come out of retirement and make one for a family friend. What was I to do?

Well, I made a name frame! :-)

This is an over-sized frame, and does use some retired Stampin' Up! product, but it turned out well, I think. Sometimes it is hard to design something when you don't really know the person who is receiving it!

On another note, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I moved offices at work and I now have a private office. I am still trying to make it feel like "me" and not so sterile, so while I still have a ways to go, I did make one big step forward. I ordered one of the largest Decor Elements "Wildflower Bouquet" and applied it to the side of my four drawer file cabinet. (See the bird too?)

I also ordered a couple of the small "Wildflower" Decor Elements for each end of my overhead cabinet doors.

So, I think I am pretty much done for now with the accents. The only other thing yet to accomplish is to make some digital scrapbook pages to hang on the walls. But that will have to be for another day....

August is gone...

2011-09-01T06:55:00.002-04:00

....where is the summer going? I cannot believe that today is September 1st. My mother always said, wait til you get older and time will just fly, and she was totally right!

Today I am sharing a card I made for work. Being in Human Resources, once each year I prepare a Benefit Statement for each employee, which shows the cost of benefits provided. This week I completed that project and distributed the statements enclosed in the following card.

I used the Very Vintage wheel on Basic Gray card stock, with a strip of Daffodil Delight cardstock. The thank you sentiment comes from the new Perfectly Penned stamp set, layered on black Decorative Label punches. Since I had to make 100 of these, I couldn't get too intricate, but I think they came out nicely.

I also wanted to share one of the August stamp club projects. This card uses a Letterpress plate called Fancy Fan. These plates are a bit different from the embossing folders as they "de-boss" the image as well as lay down the ink. It was fun experimenting with different papers and shims to get a good debossed image. I agree that using watercolor paper, as recommended, did give the best results.

The card background actually uses Cherry Cobbler card stock with white Craft Ink. This resulted in a much softer background that didn't detract from the focal point of the card. I inked up part of the background stamp "En Francias" and laid a piece of Very Vanilla on it, very lightly tapping my finger down only one side. This gave me the light image along one side and left space for me to stamp the sentiment. The flower image was colored with markers and comes from another new stamp set called "Love and Comfort". A bit of sponging, and off center layering with Early Espresso and it was done!

Today marks the start of the new Holiday mini catalog, and all these fun new products are available for purchase! If you haven't gotten your personal copy, please let me know and I can get one out to you. You will want to take a close look at our new Simple Scored tool. It sure came in handy when I was making those 100 cards for work!

Kindness matters...

2011-08-21T13:32:00.000-04:00

Yes, it really does!

I had some time today, before I leave for Shelbyville stamp club, to play with a new stamp set called "Kindness Matters". This set has smaller stamps and they are so cute! I love the one of the three butterflies, as well as the curlique stamp and just had to make something with it.

You might find it hard to believe, but my stamp desk was a mess! Bits and pieces of past project rejects strewn here and there. Sponges, and ink pads, and markers....oh my!

Anyway, this is what resulted from my playtime...

The Night of Navy card stock, designer paper and ink were already out, along with the strip of Cherry Cobbler already embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper folder. The piece of Very Vanilla with the En Francais background was another "reject" piece that I pulled into the project. All I had left to do was to distress and sponge, stamp the butterflies and sentiment, then give it a spritz or two with Smooch Spray!

Pictures never do justice to this Spray! I don't use it too often because I think it is difficult to direct the spray right where you want it. But, on this project it didn't really matter since I was going for a distressed, grunge, shabby chic look. In real life this card shimmers beautifully!

Gotta go pack my bag for stamp club....ta-ta!

Prayers needed and my Christmas Village

2011-08-14T07:55:00.000-04:00

First I want to mention that my prayers are going out to those affected by the tragedy at the Indiana State Fair last evening. DH and I, along with DS and DDIL, were leaving the fairgrounds right at the time the stage collapsed. We knew something had happened because of the sirens and personnel running back in the direction we had just came from. Seeing the coverage on television this morning breaks my heart. Prayers are needed for those families who have lost their loved ones.

On a somewhat less important topic, I had a whole morning yesterday to play in the classroom. I decided to give a try at designing a Christmas Village, roughly based on the Village of Cuteness I made at Convention. DH had already cut out the wood pieces for me and I got to use some of the fun new products which are coming September 1st. I think it came out pretty well!

You can see the felt stitched accents which are in the new Holiday mini, and do you see the silver glimmer paper on the white house? OMGosh! This stuff is gorgeous! And the mini jingle bells on the door? Amazing stuff!

Convention Make and Take

2011-07-31T09:53:00.000-04:00

Even though I am getting ready for my 3rd Annual Summer STAMPede next Saturday, I took a few minutes break to actually finish another Convention project! I know...who took Kathy and put me in her place?

This project I'm sharing today is actually a Make and Take project this year that was over the top! Many times I'm not too impressed with our projects, but this one is awesome! We used a card keeper box and covered the lid with the new Timeless Portrait fabric. Inside the dividers are covered with the Designer Paper in the same pattern Timeless Portrait.

The most interesting (and hardest) part of the project was to make and assemble the flower stack on the top of the box. This used a bunch of punches and lots of Stampin' Dimensionals! But, I have to say it turned out quite pretty - even with mistakes that I'm not going to confess to!

So now that I've played a bit, back to the grind of sorting and pricing all my retired stampsets and accessories. I really need to get this stuff a new home! Hope you are planning to come shop....please? :-)

Back to the grind...

2011-07-27T07:00:00.000-04:00

I came home from Convention and immediately got involved in work stuff! I moved my work space from my shared office to a private office and I spent the week getting everything settled and placed. It looks fairly good, just don't look in my files yet! Some of those are still a mess!

DS and DH came last Wednesday and moved desks and files and such, because you know, one move translates to a domino effect with others, so I was displacing one co worker, my roomie was moving to my old space, and the co worker was taking her old space. See what I mean? Anyway, thanks to my guys, we got it all done.

The coolest thing about the move, other than being able to have confidential meetings with employees, is the half round table that the guys attached to a wall in my new office. This allows me to sit with a new hire as we do the orientation, or talk FMLA details with an employee. (Remember, I work with more than 100 females, most of which are child-bearing age). I have discovered that with the fluorescent lighting, this table is a great spot to take photos of my creations! See what I mean? These are flowers DH brought me to celebrate my "office-warming". He is so sweet! And they still look good at almost a week old!

This last photo is one of a class I took at Convention called "Village of Cuteness". We got a bag full of SU! product along with these wood shapes to paint and embellish. I did some of the work at Convention, but didn't finish them until Sunday, since I didn't want to damage them on the plane ride home. They really turned out cute! I need to have DH cut some of these shapes so I can try designing a Christmas village. What do you think? Would you take a class?

Convention is over...

2011-07-16T21:16:00.000-04:00

...and it closed with a blast! Everyone got one of the new hostess stamp set from the Holiday Mini called Warmest of Wishes and a cd with MDS digital content called Noteworthy! What a fun way to end convention! I didn't win a prize patrol....again....but with all the fun and other free stuff we got, it is OK!

I promised the picture of my $100,000 career milestone march....and here it is in all its glory! See how tired I look?

There were lots of fun demonstrations shared this last general session, one of which was shown using a lollipop and the a la carte stamp in the new IB&C with the mustaches. Isn't this a hoot!

I did one last trip through Memento Mall, just in case I had forgotten or overlooked anything, and will just say you club members are going to make out like bandits!!!! I couldn't help myself!

I waited in line and paid a fortune to get all this stuff home, along with my swaps, but it will be Thursday or Friday before I will be able to share anything, since I wasn't going to spring for expedited shipping....or maybe it was because my wallet wouldn't let me do that!

Anyway, tonight is packing and winding down for my early wake up call for the morning. As always, Convention is always awesome! But is is always nice to get home. See you soon!

Day Two about done...

2011-07-15T20:33:00.000-04:00

This will be a quick post, since I have to be back over at the Convention Center - at the total OTHER end, I might add - to do my class "Village of Cuteness".

Today was my 20K march across stage - no picturs of me, since I'm solo - but the symbol is here :-)

Today was filled with classes, lunch, and swaps. This picture shows the line for my WOW swap - 122 crazy stampers! But it was such fun! I can't wait to get some down time so I can look at what I received!

Lastly, the afternoon general session included Shelli's stamping demonstration with her daugher, Shalae. She showed this over the top scrapbook page, forgive the photo, but it was taken off the Jumbotron. I plan to get better photos when I visit the Gathering Place to see it in on display. Isn't it gorgeous?

So, once again I am off to another event. Sleeping is at a premium here this week, so hopefully I can get a bit of it tonight! See you tomorrow!!!

Convention, Day One is about done....

2011-07-14T18:56:00.000-04:00

Wow...here it is 4:45pm Utah time and I am worn out! Fun day packed with lots of ideas and inspiration, and some free stuff! We got to see the new Holiday Mini that will go live September 1st, one word - OMG! Saw lots of sneak peeks on products in the mini that are to die for! I can't wait until I can share stuff with you all.

Pictures today are of Shelli Gardner (May she live forever!) CEO in her cute outfit. She loves vintage and she is always dressed super cute.

And I will show you the project display for a sneak peek product coming - a Simply Scoring tool! It will make these cute accordian folded flowers a breeze to make! I am in love! I have been requesting a scoring board, and have to say this one is over the top. It will be an SU! exclusive, of course, and has many great touches that none of the others have. We even were able to purchase a cute tote bag to carry it in...in our specialty designer fabric of course! :-)

Well, I have a couple hours before Awards Night so I think I'll go find some dinner. Tonight is when the big time business demos find out what awards they have won. It is amazing to see what can be done when you apply yourself!

Tune in tomorrow for another update. I have more classes and a couple of organized swaps to do. I did the masculine swap today and while I haven't actually scrutinized each one, I will say there are lots of great ideas I will be sharing soon.

Ta ta!

I'm heeerrrrreeeee!

2011-07-13T16:58:00.000-04:00

In Salt Lake City, of course....at the Stampin' Up! Convention! Yippee!

After a full morning of flights and long security lines and waiting in airports, I was able to get checked into the hotel, get over to all the action at the Convention Center, picked up my Convention bag (very cool, btw), did some swapping, did some shopping at Memento Mall (O-M-G! My wallet is so empty), took pictures of some of the product displays, had a coke and a bag of chips, talked with some super nice demos, and have made it back to the hotel room to unload, and it is only 2:45 pm here! I'm tired and Convention hasn't even started!

I did snap a few photos - here is the Convention bag - nice embroidery work on the outside, and nice green patterned fabric inside. Love it!

In the Product Display area, there was a huge display of all the In Colors, and one of the displays talked about how they choose them each year. Isn't this amazing? Lots of hard work goes into those decisions!

This fun card is on display in a huge wall display, with rows of this same card design, in various colors, more than 100, I think. This stamp is one I suspect we will get at the end of Convention. In our notebooks it mentions that if we get a sticker at each class we attend, on Saturday, they will give a special stamp to those who get 5 stickers! Stampin' Up! treats us so well! Notice the silver card holder too....those are in Memento Mall for sale!!! Okay, yes, maybe a couple made it into my shopping bag....who wants to know???

And finally, just to prove I am really here....I had my picture taken among the flowers! Do you notice they are coneflowers? From the Inspired by Nature set? Which only happens to be my favorite flower and stampset! These flowers are everywhere! In case you haven't figured it out yet, our theme this year is GROW!...

Well, gotta run. Back to the Convention Center to try to hook up with my roommate, Kathy M. I know, same first name, same last initial. This could be confusing....more tomorrow.....

Swaps are done!

2011-07-09T06:27:00.000-04:00

Yes, I said it! AND....I still have 5 days before I leave for Convention! I know, I must be careful or I will ruin my reputation as Queen Procrastinator!

With the help of my many Stampin' Fairies, we were able to get all three organized swap projects done - assembled and bagged, PLUS about 50 of a general swap cardfront, because you know "swapping" is what Convention is all about!

This card uses the new Delicate Doilies stamp set that is in the NEW Idea Book and Catalog, and sports new In Colors Wisteria Wonder and Calypso Coral! I used a Concord Crush card base and ribbon. The sentiment is from a hostess set Happiest Birthday Wishes. I added some bling in the form of rhinestones to the tops of the packages. I still have hopes of making a few more of these for the general swapping, but if it doesn't happen I am okay with it!

We had a great 4th of July holiday, going downtown with DS and DDIL and watching people and fireworks. It made for a loooong day, as I realized at 10:30 pm that I had Christy's workshop the next evening, AND I had nothing designed! Needless to say I was up late! :-) We had a great workshop, with 13 people stamping, and many kids and young people downstairs - I think she said there were a total of 37 people there - and her house is not huge! LOL! Regardless, everyone had a great time and she is a super hostess!

I'll close with firework pictures - not super great, but at least not totally blurry! I plan to take my laptop to Convention - (since I have signed up for a My Digital Studio class I guess I should) - so look for posts direct from Salt Lake City!

Survey says...

2011-06-27T20:10:00.000-04:00

...it's a tie! Responses to which design of my swap card to make has yielded a tie! I am going to send the picture to my office workers and ask for their input also. We'll see which version they like. I have asked or heard from about 12 people and 6 are for the bow-6 for the fourth pearl. I will be curious to see which one wins out!

Speaking of swaps - DH and I sat this evening and finished cutting out all the little silver tools for my masculine swap, 100 saws, 100 hammers and 100 tape measures....all done!

My Stampin' Fairies are returning on Saturday so I hope to get many of these swaps assembled. Check this post to see what the other two swaps look like. I have impressed even myself this year in being so far into the process! I still have 2 weeks!

Yesterday my Sunday Stampers met and made our June projects. As always, we had a great time, even through Adrienne was out of town and couldn't make it. This is one of the projects we did at all the June club meetings.

This card uses the butterfly from the Strength & Hope stamp set. The colors are Concord Crush for the base and Perfect Plum for the layer. I used Mr. Big Shot, of course, to create the background layer with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, as well as the Ovals die for the focal piece on front. I stamped the butterfly directly onto the Very Vanilla oval using Concord Crush ink. I then inked the butterfly first in Perfect Plum then rolled the edges of the stamp in the Concord Crush, stamped on a scrap of Very Vanilla, and cut him out! I blinged it up with Dazzling Glitter and glue pen, then attached him on top. A piece of ribbon under the oval and it's done! This makes an awesome sympathy card!

So, if you didn't comment yesterday, please do so. I am relying on you all to tell me how to finish these swaps! I'll be ever grateful!

Convention swaps are coming along...

2011-06-26T13:09:00.000-04:00

My Convention swaps are coming along nicely, with much help from my super duper DH and some Awesome Stampin' Fairies

I have already posted the first two swap cards for two of the three organized swaps I have signed up for, and was able to get the third swap designed yesterday with the help of said Stampin' Fairies. I love how this turned out! I used Mr. Big Shot, of course, and the Framed Tulip Embossing Folder and the Scalloped Oval die. The colors use Concord Crush, Old Olive and Very Vanilla. I sponged Concord around the oval cut out, then - using the Baby Wipe technique (dribble reinkers on a folded baby wipe and use as your stamp pad) - stamped the large flower from Fabulous Florets. I love that flower!

I do need your help in choosing which variation - Sample #1 has a ribbon knot....

And Sample #2 uses a fourth large pearl...

Here they both are - side by side....Which is your preference? Please leave a comment and help me decide!

Convention is coming....

2011-06-11T20:39:00.000-04:00

Yes, Convention is a mere 32 days away. Stampin' Up! convention that is....and I can't wait!

I have been so fortunate to be able to go every year I have been a demonstrator, so this will be my 9th one. Amazing! Every year SU! does it better and better. I have been years where they had to have two sessions because 7,000 close personal friends would attend, and years where it was a smaller, more intimate group of 2,500 crazy, insane stamping demos! Each year is filled with memories that make me smile when I reminisce. I never feel alone, because once I am there, everyone will include you once they find out you are solo. Last year I was adopted by a group from Canada, and I had a blast!

Anyway, all that long introduction to tell you that I started working on my convention swaps. One of the main attractions to Convention is the swaps. Demos make a supply of cardfronts, using current SU! products and swap with each other. Hundreds and hundreds of cardfronts, scrapbook pages, 3x3 cards, and 3d items are traded during the course of the 4 day event. I have signed up for 3 different organized swaps, each requiring at least 125. One I'm especially excited about is a masculine swap, so that should be extra fun.

I spent some time in the classroom today, playing and designing, and have two of the three prototypes done. What do you think? This first one is for a WOW swap...meaning when you show it to people they will say "WOW!". Interesting, no? I used the Top Note Big Shot die, and heat embossed the coneflower from Inspired by Nature in black on a piece of First Edition Designer Paper. Run the embossed piece and a Real Red cardstock piece through the Big Shot and offset them a bit. Distressed and rolled and sponged the edges and viola! Shabby Chic! I don't think there is anything classier than red, black and white. I'm just sayin'...

This next card front is, of course, what I will be making for the masculine card front swap. I love Cherry Cobbler paired with Not Quite Navy. I threw in Daffodil Delight for the accent, and then stamped and heat embossed (in black again) the tools on our Brushed Silver cardstock, then cut all three tools out. I ran the Cherry Cobbler piece through the Big Shot using the Square Lattice embossing folder for some texture.

So that gives me only one more to design, then I can make sure I have enough supplies for all three, and get to stampin' and assemblin'! Anyone want to come over and help?

Before I go, I wanted to update you all on Jefferson. If you recall, we gained a pet at the first of the year. A Ragdoll cat who thinks he is King. He has definitely taken over this household in short order, although he has been treading on thin ice lately because of his chewing my rubber stamps! Yes, THREE stamp sets he has ruined, because he sneaks them off the acrylic blocks and chews. He has been banned from the classroom.

Anyway, because his hair is so long and so thick, we have been unable to brush him properly and keep the matting at bay. It had gotten terrible, so we called the vet, who happens to have a groomer on staff, and made the appointment. She indicated she would have to shave pretty close to get rid of the matts, and we said go ahead, just don't make him look ridiculous. He must not have been too embarassed, since he didn't go into hiding when he got home.

Here is the before and after shot. Hopefully he feels better now, and when it grows back a bit, we can do the weekly brushing and keep him better groomed. A visit every six months to the groomer for a trim, and life is good! Don't you agree?

Graduations!

2011-06-02T06:41:00.000-04:00

June is the month of graduations and graduations in my family have tapered off these past few years, since we have a lull in members approaching that milestone. I do have a niece who just graduated from high school last weekend, and since she lives in Texas, I wasn't able to go. However, I still wanted to send my best wishes along with a small gift to mark her great accomplishment! Likewise, the daughter of a good friend also graduated recently, so I had TWO graduations to acknowledge!

In my blog surfing, (since that is what I do instead of actually stamping!) I came across the cutest graduation card with a punch art owl. I have to apologize that I can't give proper credit to the actual creator of this card because there was no watermark on the photo I CASED. I had to work hard to re-create the scholarly owl, and mine certainly doesn't look as good as the original, but I think it turned out pretty well anyway!

The card base is our Brushed Silver cardstock, which I haven't used in awhile, and the numbers were made using the Big Shot. The tassel was made using frayed black satin ribbon held in place with a gray brad. It was a fun card to make, although as mentioned I had to work hard on the owl!

I also wanted to share a photo of my blooming Columbine plant. This comes back every year and the patch continues to grow bigger and bigger. I love perennials! It started blooming near my front door several years ago - I don't know where it came from - and each season it is more beautiful than the last.

NEWSFLASH! I am expecting to receive my personal copy of the new Idea Book and Catalog TODAY! The bad news is that I will be at work....and since I have a hair appointment right after work, it will be this evening before I even get my hands on that gem!

I'll be okay....

I think...

I'm alive! Really!

2011-05-31T07:22:00.000-04:00

I know, I know....where the heck have I been!?! I have no excuse. I just haven't posted. I would think about it, and want to post something, but didn't. Then it got to be a week, and 12 days, then 2 weeks, and how here we are at almost 3 weeks, and I've finally said "enough"!

I hope all my American readers had a great Memorial Day holiday weekend. We worked all weekend on getting the garage attic cleared out. 20 years of accumulation makes for one very full dumpster! Now we have to re-sort the items we might want to keep and re-pack them. Some will go back upstairs, but hopefully in a more organized fashion than before!

I haven't done alot of stamping lately. My stamp clubs did some awesome projects and I will share those tomorrow, since I don't have photos of them ready to upload. I did play some on My Digital Studio, and made this fun page of our recent Florida trip. I used a ready-made template and just dropped in my photos! Easy-Peasy!

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY! Stampin' Up! will release the official list of retiring stamp sets. These stamps will not be available after June 30th. I can't believe it is almost time for a new Idea Book and Catalog! Demonstrators will get to pre-order select sneak peek new catalog items tomorrow also. I will be up at the crack of dawn to do just that. The real reason is that we demos also get our complimentary copy of the new IB&C in the first demonstrator order that we place in June. AND...if we expedite our pre-order...then we can get the new IB&C in our hot little hands within TWO DAYS! That means my "FREE" IB&C will only cost me $20!!! It is necessary, you know. I *MUST* get my business tools as soon as possible. How else can I properly guide and mentor you? I do this out of the goodness of my heart...in my attempt to be the BEST creative coach I can be. Honest....

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T12:22:00.000-04:00

I've already had a great Mother's Day and it isn't even noon yet! Since my son works on Sundays, he and DDIL took us out for dinner yesterday! Then DH took me out for breakfast this morning and, in honor of National Scrapbooking month, I have been designing scrapbook pages in My Digital Studio since coming home. How's that for a great time?

Actually, I have been thinking of MY mother...and how much I miss her...so, even though she has been gone more than 10 years, here is a page I designed this morning. I know this looks like I spent hours designing this page, but I have to confess that I used a template from MDS and just changed up a few things, papers and colors and such! This program is so much fun! I love this picture of her, taken on her 80th birthday back in 1997. She was an awesome lady, and for sure made me who I am today. I love you, Mom!

And because I needed to toot my own horn a bit...here is the page I designed with photos from last evening. My DDIL Angela was charged with taking a shot of Nick and I so I could do a blog post, and got a bit carried away with the camera! I don't know if she thought she was on a photo shoot or what, but we all were laughing so hard! I have the best times with those two nuts!

They got me a lovely necklace, which surprised and delighted me. The gift bag also contained another gift....this one. I cracked up! I'm so glad they realize that I AM the Queen Mother.

Ta for now...I'll post about our Florida trip tomorrow...

Strength and Hope

2011-04-18T06:52:00.000-04:00

This will be a busy week for me, since we leave next Tuesday for my DH's hockey tournament in Florida. My son and daughter in law are traveling with us, so it will be a fun week. We will be driving since my DH is a goalie and it would cost a fortune to fly all his equipment down to Tampa! I'm not really looking forward to the long drive, but I have my Kindle, my laptop, and my iPad 2 (which should be delivered tomorrow!) to occupy my time.

I haven't posted a card made in My Digital Studio lately, so thought I would use the digital brushes of the coming stamp set called "Strength and Hope". This is a fund-raising set for the Breast Cancer Research Institute starting May 1st and $2 of each set sold will be donated to BCRI! Very cool!

Anyway, this card started out using the designer template that comes with the paper pack, and then I changed colors and papers and such to suit my whims. This is such a pretty set, I love it!

Vintage Tag

2011-04-09T10:36:00.000-04:00

I am donating a personal card class to a fundraiser for a local preschool event, and I needed to prepare some sort of package to include with the class certificate. Along with the catalog, I included a flyer I made in My Digital Studio outlining all the benefits of the card class and included it in the cellophane bag along with the Idea Book and Catalog.

Although the flyer explains all the goodies the card class will include, the package sure looked plain! So I made a quick tag - vintage style!

I used the Top Note die for the Big Shot, as well as the Ovals die for all the oval layers. I had a left over girl from Easter Blossoms and used that for the focal point. Bashful Blue and Crumb Cake are the colors. I ran the largest oval through the Big Shot using the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, sponged some color on all the layers, added a bow and here it is....

This added just a little something to the package to give the winner a taste of what can be done with Stampin' Up! paper, inks and tools. The fundraising event isn't until May 1st, but I hope someone wins this and I get to share my love of stamping and creating with someone new!

Spring is blossoming

2011-04-07T12:39:00.000-04:00

Well, unfortunately the Butler team did not win the championship, but they still are an amazing basketball team! We can only root for next year!

I wanted to share a quick post on the April promotion that Stampin' Up! has going on right now.

During the month of April, with any $20 purchase of catalog product you can purchase either (or both) of these two sneak peek items, which won't be available again until the new Idea Book and Catalog in July!

Coincidentally, the Four Frames stamp set just happens to use the Decorative Label punch (#120907, $16.95). Don't you love when that happens? Oh, and...these papers are to die for!

Did I mention...hold a workshop in April with $350 in sales and you get both FREE! So go shop HERE to get the preferred pricing.

Final Four and yes, some stamping!

2011-04-03T13:02:00.000-04:00

Well, anyone who follows college basketball and lives in the vicinity of Indianapolis, knows that Butler has made it to the championship game for the second year in a row! Even with the girls basketball Final Four games hosted here in Indianapolis, there really hasn't been a lot of coverage through the media. So, all I can say about that is "Go Dawgs!" Hopefully, I will be posting a congrats post on Tuesday morning!

My DH has been out of town this weekend, helping coach the women's ice hockey team in a tournament in Detroit. They have done fairly well overall, so will find out all the details when he gets home early this afternoon. This morning I actually got some time in the Ink Pad and made this fun money card.

Many of you know I usually get my ideas from surfing the hundreds of blogs in my Google Reader. This cute idea came from Linda Keal, a demo from Texas. I did change it a tiny bit, colors and such, and found it fairly easy to make.

When was the last time you used your crimper? Do you even have one? Well, I confess...mine has been on the top of my file cabinet in the Ink Pad collecting dust. So I dusted it off and used it on the min-envelope that became the holder for the money card.

You can quarter fold your money and it fits right inside the card, that in turn will fit into the crimped envelope. How cool is this?

Sale-abration ends soon...

2011-03-28T08:06:00.000-04:00

This is my favorite time of the SU! year....when I get to help people get bunches of FREE stuff! This promotion runs through Thursday, March 31st, so get your orders in soon! My good customer Jody has my final workshop scheduled on Thursday, so we will go out with a bang!

I held my last March club session yesterday, and we had a great time with the projects, most of them were CASED from other talented demonstrators. Here are a couple of them...

This weekend I was able to spend some time on the design of the favor for the Annual Meeting at work. If you remember, each year we have a recognition luncheon for the volunteers who work with the council of First Steps here in Indiana. This year, having suffered a pretty severe budget cut, will be a much scaled down version, but we still want it to be nice, of course.

I have already made and mailed the invitation (130 of them!) which was a business envelope sized invitation using the My Digital Studio Summer Splendor digital papers. I don't have a photo of the actual invitation, but it has the daisies on one side saying "You're Invited" and all the details on the other side. I know...Bad Kathy!

Anyway, going with the theme of flowers, we will give a packet of flower seeds, wrapped in this cute matchbook style closure, using the same MDS Summer Splendor digital paper for the front. I just need to find 100 seed packets - Gerbera daisies preferred - and I can get started making these.

These will make up fairly quickly, and I have until April 15th to get them done, so all is good!

Stamp Camp

2011-03-22T07:31:00.000-04:00

Family stamp camp was this past Sunday. My three sisters, two nieces and my DDIL all gathered to have some fun stamping. We hadn't gotten together for quite awhile, so it was good to see everyone and catch up.

This picture shows the note holder we made using the clear mount storage cases that SU! sells. It is so fun to decorate your piece of designer paper then slip it in the plastic covering. Presto! You have a case to carry a note pad...or coupons...or cards...or whatever you need to have with you. They turned out really cute. Here is the one I made for myself...

Using the two sided Designer Series Paper makes it easy to finish the inside!

It was fun to watch my 5 year old nephew, Elijah, stamp too. He wanted to make a card just like mine, so his mom helped him a bit....although not alot....and he got to make his card.

Here he is distressing the cardstock...he really liked the distresser tool.

Then he had to add the glue for the glitter to be added to the butterfly wings....

And voila'...his card is finished!

Here is the sample card I did to compare his too...not too bad! Good job, Eli!

The stamp set used on this card is a sneak peek at a set of four stamps called Hope and Strength which will be available May 1st. Stampin' Up! will donate $2 from each set sold to The Breast Cancer Research Center. How cool!

So that is what I have been up to. I have stamp club tonight, my Tuesday Tappers, so I worked a bit last evening to clear my table off so that they will have room to work. It needed it, don't you think?

Happy Anniversary to me!

2011-03-15T22:05:00.000-04:00

I really have tried to update the past several days, but darn ole' Blogger just wouldn't let me sign in!

Anyway, yesterday, I celebrated my 8th anniversary as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator! Whoo Hoo!!!! I can't believe I have stayed with a direct sales company for this long. I had never done any sort of "party" sales, but something about the creative side of stamping just pulled me in! I am so pleased to be part of a company that cares for its demos like SU! They are the best, hands down! Okay, I may be a bit biased, but I stand by my conviction!

So, in an effort to apologize for neglecting you for so long, here are another two pages from my recent Caribbean cruise album.

Imagine these side by side in an album and you'll get the full effect of all the beautiful flowers that bloom in the Caribbean. It is the most gorgeous color and texture that I have ever seen.

I had Shelbyville Stampers last Sunday and we made awesome cards that I cannot wait to share with you. BUT...you know I can't share them until after next week, since I still have Sunday Stampers and Tuesday Tappers sessions.

I'll be back on Thursday to share a card made with the new Hope and Strength set that will soon be available for you all to purchase and help support breast cancer research. Stay tuned!

Scrapbooking

2011-03-03T08:22:00.001-05:00

Some of you may know that I am not a scrapbooker. Period. I am comfortable designing and making cards, boxes, bags, home decor, etc. I have always been intimidated by the very idea of scrapbooking.

However, I discovered digital a few years ago, and started collecting all the "freebies" that are available on the web. Downloaded them...have not extracted them from the zip files...but I have them...for "someday".

Then came "My Digital Studio" software by Stampin' Up!. This software was released at Convention 2009, and I was immediately intrigued. It is an easy program to learn, and I quickly found that I could scrapbook! SU! continues to release new downloads of stamps, paper and embellishments, so there is a huge supply to choose from! If you are "digital" be sure to go to SU!'s website for My Digital Studio enthusiasts! Check it out HERE. This site is for demos AND customers, free to join, and filled with inspiration and help!

Well, last weekend I attended my very first scrapbooking crop. From Friday through Sunday afternoon, I was with 17 other crazy ladies in a hotel in Brown County scrapping.

While most of them were traditional paper scrappers, there were a few of us digi-scrappers there too. (And yes, that is a Decor Element on my laptop!)

Even though I only digi-scrapped, I did bring my huge scanner and a few boxes of pictures to scan - if I got bored with scrapping. So in the end, I almost had as much "stuff" as the paper scrappers did.

So, I will report that I did get an entire digital album done using pictures from our Southern Caribbean cruise last October. I did 14 two page layouts, as well as the front and back, so I feel good that I was so productive. Here is one of the layouts....

I sent the album to the SU! professional printer and should get it bck in the next week. This is a 12x12 hard cover album, so it will make a wonderful memento to keep.

Wonder what else I can scrap? I think I have found the advantage to getting away for a day or weekend to scrap! I am going to a one day scrap event fund-raiser in a couple weeks....got my laptop all ready! :-0

Lots of Stamping

2011-02-23T07:43:00.001-05:00

I've had several stamping events these past couple of weeks...club meetings and workshops...so I thought I better share some of what we made.

This one uses the Two Step Bird Punch and the Inlaid Embossing technique. I love how this turned out. The colors are Poppy Parade and Daffodil Delight. Isn't it amazing how a class can have the same supplies, yet their cards ended up looking different!

One of my favorite cards is one I designed in a flash...literally about 15 minutes from start to finish. I knew I wanted to use the beveled window panes in the new Occasions mini, and it just developed from there. I used the largest of the window panes, the new Tulips embossing folder and the Beautiful Wings embosslit. Cardstock colors are Not Quite Navy and Pear Pizzaz. The seam binding provided some texture - have I mentioned how much I love our seam binding? - and a bit of Designer Series Paper (Springtime Vintage) gave a bit of color.

The sympathy set in the mini called Thanks for Caring is so graceful, I just love it! This is a simple card using that set, with Concord Crush paper and ink, and a piece of the Designer Patterned paper from the In Colors package. A piece of Black satin ribbon finishes it off. This is a very understated card, but so elegant, I think.

This weekend I will be gone on a three day scrapbooking crop! I am looking forward to it, since I have never done a crop before. I know...sheltered life and all! Seriously, I have been downloading and installing all of the recent My Digitial Studio releases. I will be taking my laptop, scanner, external hard drives and boxes of pictures! I do hope to get my last cruise album made, plus some digital goodie organization done.

So while most of the gals will be scrapping with their papers and such, I will be tapping away in My Digital Studio! I'll report in on Monday how successful I was!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

2011-02-15T21:15:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I know...Valentine's Day was yesterday! But better late with wishes than not at all....right?

Even though my DH was sick with a stomach bug, he still surprised me with a box of Fannie May Dark Chocolate Buttercreams! My favorite candy in the whole world! Yes, not the best for a WeightWatcher, but I have calculated a serving, which is two pieces, equals 5 PointsPlus. The challenge will be to keep it at one serving a day!

I posted a bit ago about my project for the office. I was debating between a petal cone candy holder or a candy box. Both of them required quite a bit of assembly, and since I was...ahem...making them at the last minute.....well, you know. I decided to make the project a bit less labor intensive! Thanks to my DH who cut ribbon, adhered DSP to cardstock, and wrapped 105 Hershey nugget candy pieces, while I scored cardstock, punched holes, attached brads, made ribbon handles and assembled the purses! Because of his help, I am pleased to report that WE made 104 little purse candy holders for the girls, and one matchbook candy holder for our single male employee. They all were so pleased and surprised.

We also bought a piece of cat furniture for Jefferson-Maxwell, since he seems to be enjoying table tops and high places. We have this placed in front of our patio door, so he can watch the birds and squirrels during the day. He claimed it for his very own right away and if missing, we usually find him right here....

Oh, and remind me to post the picture of what Jefferson does when no one pays attention to the classroom door and leaves it open with a mess on the table, and stamps loose on the table top. I'll just mention a hint that I am ordering a stamp set for the SECOND time...I'm just sayin'....

Valentine's Day is comin'...

2011-02-06T12:32:00.000-05:00

I hope you have your Valentines all made and ready to mail or hand out...do you?

Well, not to worry, there still is another week! I am in this boat...as usual! I did make it into the classroom a bit this morning and had fun making a few cards and trying out a new technique. Some of you may have already learned of the "inlaid embossing" technique? It is really quite simple and provides such a stunning look that I am ashamed to say this is my first try at it!

All you need to do is punch out your accent images, in my case here they are hearts, adhere them to your layer piece, and run it through your Big Shot machine, using one of your tightly imaged embossing folders. I used the Square Lattice in my card. It comes out looking like it is all one layer, the embossing imbeds the pieces so tightly you cannot tell they were separate pieces! Honest! See for yourself...

This second card just uses some of my very favorite Glimmer Paper for accents, with the embossing folder Elegant Lines used on the Whisper White layer. I added some Rhinestones for added bling. (Not so sure I am wild about this one though.)

Yesterday we had to replace our dryer. Always a fun job to replace an appliance of any sort, and DH was sure he could do this by himself. I had been really sick during the previous night with a stomach bug of some sort...yucko!...so I wasn't going to be any help to him at all. Because, you know, I am always helpful! I called DS to see if he could go and help his Dad with this task. Of course he said he would and when they arrived they brought me these pretty roses! What sweet kids!

Oh yeah, before you go, see who my helper was this morning...yes, Jefferson-Maxwell has settled in quite well!

MDS Journal

2011-02-02T18:09:00.001-05:00

One of the projects that can be done in My Digital Studio is a journal. Design the front and back cover and it will become a lined 80 page journal, when you send it off to the SU! professional printer. I think it is around 6" x 8".

Well, since I am iced in (Indiana, along with 32 other states, got socked with a huge winter storm), and I have done nada, zero, zilch, nothing for two days...I thought I should have at least one project to show for my days shut in from the storm.

I played with MDS this afternoon and designed this journal. It is an experiment and I'll let you know more when I receive the printed product!

This is the front of the journal...

This is the back of the journal...

I am giving this to my DDIL, Angela (shhh...it is a surprise!) so I have printed on the spine...

"Loving the Journey ... musings by Angela McDowell"

She is my guinea pig, being the recipient of my first journal, so hopefully this will turn out beautifully. I thought it would be fun for her to use as a diary as she progresses through her life style change. She has certainly added some adventure and drama here the past few days. I am pleased to report that she has now settled down and is behaving as she should!

Okay, I know she will read this....so it won't be a surprise...but it doesn't matter...she is still an awesome DIL...and we love her lots!

Cards and more cards...

2011-01-30T06:48:00.001-05:00

Sorry I've been away a few days again, my DIL had emergency surgery on Friday, so I've been a bit distracted. She will be okay, just a bit of a detour that was not expected. Please send your good thoughts!

I have a couple of cards to share this morning. These are the two projects we made at Christy's SAB workshop last week. She always holds my first Sale-abration workshop each year, so I wanted to do some fun cards, using many of our new products in the Occasions mini catalog.

This first card uses the new embossing folder called "Framed Tulips". This is such a fun folder and I love how deep the embossing is. I also used the folder on the inside layer as I show here in the inside peek.

This next card uses our new seam binding, and our glass glitter. These colors are Baja Breeze and Early Espresso cardstock, and the fun new stamp set "Eat Chocolate". The second picture shows a close up of the seam binding and the glass glitter, although the picture does not do it justice! We just laid down a strip of adhesive, then finger pleated the seam binding onto it. After the seam binding was placed and the ends trimmed off, we ran a bead of our liquid Tombow glue along the top and bottom of the seam binding, then sprinkled on the Baja Breeze glass glitter. So fun!

This last card is one we did in my stamp clubs this month. It uses the fun spinner hands and we made the card using a "gate-fold". There are so many great stamp sets and new product in this Occasions mini. I don't know which to use first!

Thanks...

2011-01-27T19:23:00.000-05:00

As I posted a few weeks ago, we have a new cat. Well, actually he isn't "new", he is almost 4 years old, but he is new to us! We acquired him when a cousin in Georgia needed to find him a new home due to her son's developing allergies.

So, Jefferson Maxwell has been here for almost 3 weeks now and has acclimated himself to our routines (and trained us to some new ones) pretty well by now. He is a Flame Point Ragdoll breed and is the most unusual cat I have ever had. We haven't had a pet for more than 12 years, so it has been fun getting to know Jefferson. He follows us around like a puppy, and has the loudest purr I have ever heard!

Anyway, I recently got a card in the mail from my sister and when I opened it up found a gift card for PetSmart. She had written "buy something for Jeffrey". Wasn't that cool? So I figured I would send her a card, somehow incorporating a picture of Jefferson Maxwell, to thank her for her thoughtfulness.

I cropped one of the photos (yes, I have a few to choose from) really close in and erased some of the distracting background. Then I pulled it into My Digital Studio to stamp "Thanks" on the picture and print it out. I layered the picture on some Designer Series paper from the Neutrals pack on a Basic Black card base.
It turned out so cute! He looks dreamy!

I also scrapped a page of him playing with a straw...one of his favorite "toys". Too fun!

Valentine's Day is coming!

2011-01-16T14:22:00.000-05:00

Do you celebrate Valentine's Day? Do you have your treats/cards done? Have you even thought about them?

I am planning to make a Valentine gift for all my co-workers, which now count 102, so today I was in the classroom for a bit, playing with some new product from the Occasions mini.

I got the Petal Cone die for the Big Shot, so I thought I would try it out. This is what I got put together first time out. I had the DSP scraps on the table, as well as the scrap piece of the new Glimmer Paper. I used our 1/4" grosgrain ribbon to make the handle, and now all it needs is a treat for inside!

Do you just love the Glimmer paper?

I also gave the candy wrapper die a try to see how that would work. Here is the fun candy box I came up with quickly...

As I analyze the steps involved in each project, I wonder if I should just do a Valentine card! LOL! Seriously, each project is fairly involved with numerous steps in each. Remember I will need to make at least 102 of these!

Which do you like best?

Welcome Jeffrey-Maxwell

2011-01-11T07:06:00.000-05:00

I don't know what's wrong with me. I have not felt creative at all this past week or so, which is why there have been no posts. I did have a workshop on Saturday and one of my stamp clubs on Sunday, and that helped get me stamping, but I am not inclined to go into the Ink Pad just for fun.

Maybe because we added a pet to the household....a 4 year old, male, Ragdoll Flamepoint cat called Jeffrey. I hope to change his name to Maxwell, since he looks like a Maxwell to me, but not sure that is going to work. So I am calling him Jeffrey-Maxwell hoping that I can drop the Jeffrey in a few months. He is a gorgeous cat, and he is doing a bit better about coming out of his "safe room", although still jumpy. I hope in another week he will be feeling much safer and will socialize more.

I have also been very busy at work, with new hires and orientations, so I am really tired when I get home at night. Maybe all of that is making my MoJo disappear!

I will share one of the projects for this month's club projects. I used new product that is in the Occasions mini, which just went live. There is a new embossing folder called Framed Tulips which is very cool! I also used a new stamp set for Valentine's Day called Valentine Defined which has lots of fun images. Lastly, I used a new paper called Glimmer Paper. This is what the punched hearts are made of. This paper is so glittery, and with no mess! I am hoping, hoping, hoping that this will become available in other colors soon! This picture doesn't do the glitter justice. It is so very cool! Oh, and I love the pair of storks too!

The Start of a New Year!

2011-01-02T08:11:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it is the New Year? Wasn't summer just here?

As many of you have, or will do, I sat down this morning to consider the coming new year. I decided to design a scrapbook page that illustrates my New Year's resolutions. Yes, me...the world's biggest procrastinator!

I thought, and thought about how I wanted to spend these next 365 days. How did I want to improve as a person and therefore enjoy these next days more.

The number one thing I know I have to do is exercise! I need to move more, be more active, don't spend my evenings glued to my computer screen! This is going to be hard to do. I hope to be able to buy a treadmill, since I am not a gym person, and listen to my Outlander series audio books while I walk away the miles!

I know I need to eat healthier. My DH and I both could use more portion control and a better choice of foods. Hand in hand with this one is to eat out less. This in turns translates to spending less money (although it doesn't address the stamp budget, now does it?)

I want to spend more time stamping and creating just for the heck of it! Then I will be able to send out more cards to people who may need a little "I care" therapy. This would also help me be able to blog more consistently. If I have new projects completed, I can share them with you all!

Then there are the files....I have to organize my files! Not only my business files but my household files! We are being overrun by paper, and I know I have much that I can shred! This would help in my de-cluttering! Agree?

And lastly, I resolve to take time each day to stop and smell the roses. I think I do a pretty good job of that already. I enjoy the sunrise on my way to work, I listen to the birds at lunch, and I enjoy spending time with DH at dinner. But I need to do more of this. I need to feed my soul with the beauty that surrounds me every day.

I resolve...

Back to Reality!

2010-12-30T08:56:00.000-05:00

Yes, Christmas is over.

Are you like me? I love the holidays, BUT am also glad it is almost time to return to our regular routines. Today I will be taking the tree down and getting the living room back in order.

We had a great Christmas, spending lots of quality time with family. We even went to a movie on Christmas afternoon with DS and DDIL. Good times!

Here is a quick card I made this morning with My Digital Studio using a picture of DH and I that was taken on Christmas Eve at my sister's house. Her tree was so pretty!

I designed another card using some photos of my silly DS. DDIL was wanting a picture of the two of them in front of the Christmas tree. Isn't it a hoot! This is just the way he really is...a big goof!

One week to Christmas!

2010-12-18T08:41:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it is almost Christmas? I have been so busy this past week or so that I don't know if I'm coming or going! We got our tree up, and I've done some shopping, and got my Christmas cards out in the mail! Whew! I usually am a scrooge when it comes to a tree, my shopping is always done at the last minute...and *gasp* some years I don't even send cards.
So I say I am in good shape this year!

Last weekend was my sisters' gathering for our annual dinner and exchange. The four of us go out to eat, then come back to my 2nd sister's house for dessert and presents. We always have a super time and it is a special evening because it is just the four sisters. This year I made them picture frames using a retired Decor Element "Dasher". These used to be a hostess choice and I have been collecting them for awhile, so I would have enough to make them for presents. They were all received well, and I think they turned out pretty good! They were such fun to make and so easy!

Look closely and you will see the rhinestones in the swirls of the antlers. These are Stampin' Up!'s clear rhinestones colored with a red Sharpie marker! Now you can have bling in any color you like!

Of course I had to make special gift tags, so I used my Top Note die for Mr. Big Shot, and some Crumb Cake cardstock and ink, some crochet trim, and our glass glitter. How fun is this?

The red hanger isn't ribbon like you would imagine, but our new product which is in the Holiday Mini, called "seam binding". Ask me if I this stuff!

Here is a close-up of one of the tags. I wish I had ordered some of the champagne glass glitter, since that color would have fit more in the "vintage" color scheme of the tag, but the silver didn't look too bad.

Wish I were disciplined enough with my time to actually make all my Christmas gifts. I love doing this! But of course, that would mean staying off the internet and curtailing my blog-surfing. How would I survive not knowing what was going on out in Blogland?

Cold....

2010-12-06T06:47:00.000-05:00

...Wow! It is cold outside! Hard to believe this is only the first week in December! 9 degrees!

I've been busy with stuff not stamping related, but important none the less. My son had surgery last week, and I am pleased to report that he seems to be doing extremely well. He is home recuperating. Keep up the good work!

Last week was stamp clubs, so that was great fun! I love all my stamp girls! We always have a great time, each session!

This week I will be busy also. I have a work meeting Tuesday evening, my Tupperware Party on Wednesday night, and tonight I will be getting supplies ready for my Advent Calendar class on Thursday night!

My stamping late last weekend was making a get well card for a downline who had surgery a couple weeks ago. She loves beach stuff, and I saw a punch art pelican by Rochelle Gould and thought to try my hand at one. I think it turned out pretty cute!

I used several punches to make the pelican, and used the new Tasteful Trim Big Shot die for the waves. I stamped the Woodgrain background stamp on Soft Suede cardstock then cut the pilings for the pelican to stand on. And in case you were wondering, the owl punch to the rescue for the feet and legs!

Hope you are feeling better Pam!

After Thanksgiving...

2010-11-28T08:42:00.000-05:00

One big holiday down and now we can let the Christmas season officially begin!

I wanted to share a photo from yesterday afternoon, which I spent with a team member at her inaugural scrapbooking club meeting. She designed a great two page Christmas layout and everyone had a ball learning about Stampin' Up! products and scrapbooking in general. Peggy and Robin did a great job as beginner scrappers, and Alana was super as their mentor/teacher. Thanks for inviting me! Who knows when I might pop in again!

This morning, before getting the classroom cleaned up for this afternoon's Sunday Stamper's meeting, I spent a few minutes designing these two pages using this year's Thanksgiving pictures. I realized I didn't get ANY pictures of my DS, but in my defense, he was in the front part of the house the whole time, so I didn't get a chance to include him.

Anyway, as you know, any time spent with family is a great time, and this year was no different. It was great to have almost the entire family here this year. I think only one nephew was missing, and he wasn't able to make it from Texas since he works retail. We missed you Mitch!

November 26...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-26T08:07:00.000-05:00

... not being out with all those early morning shoppers! Sorry if you are one of them, but I haven't ever done that. I think one time we went out early to get a game or something for our DS when he was small. Now he is all grown up, I can do my shopping at a more civilized hour...and day...

I need to do a shout-out to my newest downline, Shannon....who took advantage of the 50% off the starter kit special...and signed up! She makes number 6 on my team. Thanks for placing your trust in me! If you have been considering becoming a demonstrator, NOW is the time. You have until November 30th to get the great half-off special price! Click on the tab up top to go to my website (my recruit password is "askmetostamp").

My card today heralds the start of the "real" Christmas season. It seems the Christmas decorations are out in the stores earlier and earlier, don't you think? I am a traditionalist and like to take the holidays one by one.

I'll be spending my day doing laundry - yuck - and in the classroom cleaning and then stamping. I have stamp club on Sunday and Tuesday...so need to make sure supplies are ready for our fun projects.

Hope you are enjoying a long holiday weekend. Make sure to go stamp something!

November 25...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-25T06:25:00.000-05:00

...family!

Today is Thanksgiving and my family will all be together this afternoon, a time I always look forward to. I am so grateful that my three sisters and I have stayed close, even after our parents are gone. I am grateful that I have such awesome nieces and nephews, and great nieces and nephews. I am grateful for my son and his lovely wife, and especially my awesome husband. I will make memories today by taking photos of these special people in my life and preserve them later in scrapbooks...digital of course!

My Thanksgiving card is made using My Digital Studio, the same program I will use to make my digital scrapbook.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and can be with your family members. Be sure to hug them and tell them you love them. Time is short, and it's always good to share your love.

November 23...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-23T07:18:00.000-05:00

...paid time off! I know, another silly one! But, I am going to be off work starting tomorrow, and won't go back to the office until Thursday, Dec 2nd! I love tagging vacation days onto holidays...it makes me think I am getting a long time off!

Tomorrow I will be finishing up the gifts I am making the girls in my family to hand out at Thanksgiving. Tomorrow I will also be making fruit salad for my contribution to our family's Thanksgiving dinner. I don't plan to be a Black Friday shopper, so I can stay home and relax!

Today's card is made with, of course, My Digital Studio!

Remember there is a great online sale happening this week and you can get your very own copy of MDS at 50% off! Check out my online store to see what else is a "gotta have"! Click HERE!

November 22...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-22T07:21:00.000-05:00

...warm weather in November! Can you believe it? Here in Indiana we woke up to 66 degree weather at 6am! Now granted it is to be in the 30's by the end of the week, but I will take every day above freezing that I can get!
We have some rain also, which means one day less of SNOW! I really am not a winter person. Snow is nice, when I know I don't have to drive in it! I am a big wimp! So, I am grateful to have warm weather, which means a few more days without slick roadways.

Another designer card from My Digital Studio, just changed the sentiment! So fun and easy!

Oh, I almost forgot....Today starts a Spectacular Online Sale with Stampin' Up! Among other things, you can get My Digital Studio for 50% off! This super sale lasts only this week!

Check it out...click HERE!

November 21...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-21T08:35:00.001-05:00

...Cheerios, especially the chocolate ones! I know...silly. But they are so yummy! I can eat them dry, they are so good! We buy the big double size box at Sam's club and they last forever! I don't indulge in them everyday, they are more like a treat, so I relish the bowlful when I do have them.

Today's card uses stamps from the Day of Gratitude stamp set and Designer Paper from Autumn Spice. I love fall colors!

November 20...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-20T13:18:00.000-05:00

...customers who have workshops! I love every one of my customers/friends. Not only does their support keep my business thriving, they also add so much fun to my life. I know any one of them would be here at the drop of a hat if I ever needed them, and of course likewise from me to them. The laughter and love they bring to my life is immeasurable! I am on my way to friend Lisa C. who is having such a workshop. I know we will share laughter and good food (she is a great cook!) while I share some stampin' time with them. Thanks to everyone...you know who you are!

This is another My Digital Studio cards...already designed with some color tweaking by me.

November 19...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-19T06:52:00.000-05:00

...for my husband. I love you, John!

Today we are celebrating our 37th wedding anniversary. Wow, where has the time gone? He has been my biggest cheerleader, my best friend, and he keeps me grounded. He has always taken care of me, doing little things to show he loves me. As a matter of fact, just a minute ago he took my car down to the corner to fill the gas tank. It is cold outside and he didn't want me to have to stand out in the cold pumping gas! See what I mean? He has my coffee made every morning and my cup set out by the coffeemaker. He goes along with whatever hair brain idea I come up with without too much complaint. He supports and helps me in my SU! business and I cannot imagine my life without him.

Today's card comes via My Digital Studio...again...and uses the stamp set "Day of Gratitude" which is available in the Holiday mini catalog.

November 18...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-18T06:41:00.000-05:00

...my warm bed! I sure didn't want to get up this morning! After spending the day sitting in a hospital waiting room, I was tired and sore. Took a nice warm bath and went to bed. Heaven! But...when the alarm went off this morning I hit the snooze several times...I just didn't want to get up and face the day. I was so warm and cozy! I am pleased to report that my DDIL did well with her surgery, and I see she has posted on her Facebook page that she was up and walking around the nurses station at 4:30 am!

Today's card is another designer kit card, just changed the sentiment and background papers. So easy!

November 17...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-17T08:26:00.000-05:00

...modern medicine! Today my daughter in law is having surgery, so I am grateful for the knowledge and medical advances our doctors and nurses have at their disposal. Hospitals are scary places, but I know many good things happen there, and without the dedicated medical staff, we would all be in trouble! I am confident she will do well and the surgeon and staff will take good care of her. DH and I will be in the waiting room with our son to help him pass the time, although it should only be a couple of hours we are told. Please send good thoughts!

Today's card uses a stamp set from our Holiday mini called "French Foliage" and I love it! You all know that Fall is my favorite season, so this fits right in. Again I used My Digital Studio, and this is pretty much how the card came. I only changed the sentiment. So very easy!

By the way, SU! is offering an amazing opportunity to become a demonstrator at 50% off! Click on the left side bar button, or click HERE to see the details. I would love to have you on my team!

November 16...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-16T07:32:00.001-05:00

...my home! We have lived in this house for 19 years and I still love it! Oh sure, there are maintenance things that need to be done, and some rooms could use another coat of paint, but it is where we live, DH and I. I am so fortunate to have a classroom for my SU! business. I have a beautiful bathroom to use, and all the amenities needed to live a comfortable life. My home keeps me warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and dry from all the elements. I love my home!

My card to share today is another My Digital Studio creation. This originally was a designer kit card, which means it was already made. I simple changed the colors, the sentiment, and added my favorite embellishment...the bird! Enjoy!

November 15...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-15T06:54:00.000-05:00

...coffee! This is a repeat from last year, I know, but I do love me a cuppa joe! Now I am a coffee snob, and love rich bold coffees, Folger's Black Silk is my one of my favorites, with Dunkin' Donuts brand another favorite. I will condescend and drink regular ole' coffee if pressed, but not my favorite by any means. Another quirk is I use creamer, my preference being CoffeeMate Original. I don't care for those flavored ones....just give me the original cream flavor! I used to drink my coffee black at home, and added cream when I was out. The last few years I have progressed to always using cream. I only drink black coffee now when cream isn't available. Go figure!

My card today is another My Digital Studio creation, using the Autumn Spice background papers. So quick and easy!

November 14...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-14T09:43:00.000-05:00

... friends asking if I'm okay because I didn't post for a couple of days!

I am okay, and apologize for not posting since Thursday. I have been super busy at work and home and just didn't make time to update.

I had my last session of Christmas Stamp-a-Stack on Thursday and Saturday and had a great time seeing everyone. Thursday had 11 stampers so I split them between the classroom and the dining room tables, which seemed to work okay. Saturday I only had two stampers, so it was a bit more relaxed and not quite the madhouse. I was able to work on some of my projects too.

Here are three of the four cards they made. All three of these are directly taken from blogs of fellow demos, and I am so sorry I can't give direct credit because I have misplaced the page that had their names listed.

All three of these cards were quick to make and have a real "wow" factor when finished. I love cards like that!

November 11...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-11T08:03:00.000-05:00

... our military that fights for our freedom. I am so thankful for those willing to go to far off places and fight to keep this country free. My husband is an ex Marine who served in Viet Nam, and was exposed to Agent Orange. He has some health issues as a result of that exposure, but still maintains he did the right thing. Our military sacrifices daily so we can enjoy things that we take for granted. Be sure to thank a Vet today!

My digital card today says that "Thanks"....in red, white and blue.

November 10...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-10T07:13:00.000-05:00

...insects! I know, that's stretching it a bit, right? Really, though, I have always been fascinated with insects, mainly praying mantis. They were my "pets" back when I was young. The family story is that when I was about 12 or so, I had a large praying mantis that I kept in the plants on our front porch. I named her "Dixie", and when I got home from school would go over to the plant and call and she would come out to the top of the leaves. Last evening, we found this beauty on our screen door....quite a large one, and unusual for them to still be out this late in the year. Seriously, insects do play a big part in our environment. Although there are some that I think we could do without!

My card today comes from one of the designer kits in My Digital Studio. I changed up the sentiment and the focal point, using the oval punch and drop shadows to make the pumpkin. It's fun to see how the look changes when you add the drop shadow.

I have finally finished my entry into the My Digital Studio contest that Stampin' Up! is sponsoring, and I will send it off today. The requirement is one card and two one page layouts. I don't expect to win, but it was fun making the projects...and like my DH says, you can't win if you don't enter! I'll be sure to share them once the contest closes and I am allowed. This contest is open to customers too....click HERE to see what it is all about. But you need to hurry, because there is less than a week left to get your entry submitted!

November 9...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-09T11:02:00.000-05:00

...seasons! Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter....all of them! Now granted, one of them I am not so enthralled with, but the other three all have special things that I love!

Winter, of course, I don't really care for, other than it makes me appreciate the other three all the more! It would be okay if the snow and ice kept off the roads, so I am not terrified to drive to work. Otherwise, it could be fun season too.

Spring, Summer and Fall all have changes that I love! Spring brings new life in blooms and tree buds, Summer shows growth and warmth, and Fall has the changing colors and shedding as everything gets ready for the cold of Winter.

I promised two cards today, since I didn't have one ready yesterday. I had time this morning to watch the training videos again for My Digital Studio and these two cards are the result of some of the tricks I picked up.

These were fun to make and only took about an hour total. I took about 15 minutes of that hour to fiddle with the embellishments. So fun!

Have you been thinking of things you are grateful for? I hope so. I know I am so blessed, and I am grateful for everyone and everything in my life. Including YOU! Thanks for stopping by!

November 8...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-08T15:44:00.001-05:00

...my job! Yes, most people who do have a job are thankful they have it. In these economic times, it is scary to hear someone you know has lost their job. Times are very tough for everyone and coming into the holiday season only serves to bring us the importance of being able to provide for our family.

I worked for a company for more than 40 years (yes, I was about 7 when I started) and was "let go" when it was sold to a national chain because human resources was done at the district level. I was out of work for almost a year exactly, minus four days, when I got my current position. I am now just about ready to celebrate my third anniversary here. This is such a great fit for me personally. I get to do what I love...payroll and HR...as well as use some of my creative side for some of our family events. I don't have the stress of making all the decisions and putting in the hours a salaried management position requires, which is what I did for a great many of those 40 years at the prior place. I now can provide strong administrative support to my bosses and go home and enjoy working my stamping business. My life is good!

I'm so sorry I don't have a card ready for today's post, so I'll do two tomorrow. Promise.

Take a minute to consider how richly blessed we all are, even if we are struggling. We live in the greatest country on earth. Even with our flaws, I can't imagine living anywhere else in the world!

November 7...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-07T08:14:00.001-05:00

...Daylight Savings Time! An extra hour of sleep this morning was a welcome change to my day! Although I was still up early, since I have stamp club this afternoon and need to prepare....big surprise, I know!

I spent my afternoon yesterday at the vendor fair and had a great time! Many of you stopped by, which I appreciated, and I ended up winning the Top Advisor goodie basket for the most visitors! I think I had about 20 visitors. See how professional I looked...

Today's card share is not a Thanksgiving card, but a Christmas card that we did in last month's Christmas Stamp-a-stack. I am submitting this to Shellie Gardner's contest, and I don't think I ever posted this here. It is a very quick and easy card, using the Top Note die for the Big Shot, and the Welcome Christmas stamp set, and just a bit of the new tinsel we have.

I'm off now to do some laundry and prepare for Shelbyville stamp club later this afternoon. Enjoy your day!

November 6...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-06T07:07:00.000-04:00

...people who attend vendor fairs! Today, I will be participating in my very first vendor fair, from noon to 6 pm, at the Jameson Inn on Indy's southside. I have been working on getting stuff all together to display and sure hope the afternoon will be worthwhile.

There will be 14 of us vendors, all of whom have invited their clients and family members to come visit, so we are expecting a large turnout. Each vendor will have a prize to raffle, and will have some sort of show special.
It should be fun and I look forward to sharing Stampin' Up! with everyone!

Today's MDS creation uses the fun owl punch. Yes, we now have him digitally! This card is a designer card, which was already made...I just changed colors! This program is so quick! Good thing, since I have to post and then get things gathered up for the fair! Hope you see some of you there!

November 5...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-05T06:35:00.000-04:00

...Fridays! As a little girl, Fridays were always special, because my Dad got paid and it was grocery night. We went to the store and I got to sit in the magazine aisle and read while Mom and Dad shopped. As I got older, I would be in charge of fixing the hamburgers after we got the groceries put away. I remember using the dough roller and waxed paper and rolling out thin hamburgers. It wasn't always to make the hamburger go farther, but now that I think about it, maybe it was! Anyway, they were much like Steak N' Shake burgers and they were awesome!

Now, I am grateful for Fridays since it means the weekend is near and I can do things I really want to do, well after laundry. Fridays mean I have had a productive work week and now I can relax. Fridays mean it is time to eat out. Fridays are awesome!

My digital card today is a different size for me, this would fit in a regular business size envelope. I need to use this size in my regular cards more often!

November 4...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-04T07:44:00.000-04:00

...the food on my table. I am so bad about taking things for granted. I know that I am grateful for my family, both immediate and extended, and I really don't have to say that out loud, because I think I let them know. But I want this month to be about the little things that make my life what it is.

Back to the food...I just assume I will come home and DH will have dinner ready to eat. Now that he is retired, he has assumed most of the house duties. I just assume it will be good, nutritious food and that I will like it . I really don't think that there may be a day when I don't have the choices I have. I don't consider that there may be a day that I am struggling to find something to eat. I really need to be more vocal about my blessings, and be grateful for each meal I get to eat.

This card uses the flourish from Baroque Motifs, and some of the Chantilly lace trim. Isn't it lovely? Not alot of "stuff" on this one. Just a few buttons, some lace, and pouf! All done!

Yikes, I'm late for work....see you tomorrow!

November 3...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-03T06:29:00.000-04:00

...living in the United States and enjoying the freedom to vote for whomever I wish!

Even though I am not pleased with how our political system has been operating in recent years, and I'm not sure about any of our country's leaders, I did vote yesterday which means I earned the right to gripe!

The card I made this morning is from My Digital Studio again, and quick to put together. I used some satin ribbon, which even digitally looks like the real thing!

I notice a lot of people have taken my idea and making it their own on Facebook or their own blogs. I love it! We need to do more of this...take a minute to stop and really think about all the blessings we have in our lives, even when we are going through tough times. I so enjoy reading everyone's comments too. Thanks for taking the time to stop by!

November 2...I'm grateful for...

2010-11-02T06:00:00.011-04:00

...Stampin' Up!

Seriously, I really am. I have so many friends I would probably have never met, if I hadn't joined the SU! family. I was reminded of just how special they are all by a recent act of selflessness that is unbelievable. I am grateful to have them in my life AND get to share my love of stamping! This is so much more rewarding than just selling stamps and inks. I honestly can say every one of my customers are my friends. I don't know any other "business" that I could truthfully say that about. Although... giving it a bit more thought, a few of you ARE borderline! Just kidding!

So today, as promised, I am sharing two digital creations. One is actually yesterday's card, but as I said in that post I was not happy to be without internet! But this morning, I sure was grateful for the ATT repairman!

Anyway, here are two cards that I designed using My Digital Studio. I seriously whipped them up in about 10 minutes each!

So, want to share what YOU are grateful for?

Thankful for...

2010-11-01T09:43:00.000-04:00

...internet at work! Taking a minute at work to let you know why my Thankful for series isn't getting the start I had in mind!

So sorry, but our home phone landline and internet have been out since Friday! I don't have access to the photo I took of my My Digital Studio card creation to post, but I am hoping we will be fixed and in business by the time I get home tonight!

If not, I'll post two photos on tomorrow's post....of course, that assumes we get fixed sometime today! :-)

Hello....hello...hello....

2010-10-27T16:08:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, I am such a slacker! I am really sorry I took a short hiatus from blogging, it wasn't intentional, I just had no motivation to share. Maybe it was recovery from vacation, or the cold I developed the week we came back. Regardless, you aren't interested in excuses, you want to see stamping! Right?

Okay, since last evening was Tuesday Tappers, and they are the last club to do the monthly projects, I will share the cards we made. Will that get me back in your good graces?

This card uses Red Riding Hood ink, brayered on Whisper White cardstock. The Medallion stamp was spritzed with Stampin' Mist then stamped onto the brayered cardstock. Yes, I said I used Stampin' Mist. This was a technique we learned at Convention this year and I just got around to trying it out. It is a very subtle look, and one that I will use again and again. I also used our new tinsel around the sentiment for a bit of bling.

The next project is a great one that uses your scraps of Designer Series Paper. This card uses Pacific Point and Blushing Bride cardstock. The DSP strips for the candles are about 3/4" wide, adhered in a haphazard way on the Whisper White cardstock piece. I then cut the ends off even before I adhered it to the Blushing Bride piece. The flames are...can you guess?...the wings from the Two Step Bird Punch! Whatever did we do for these things before that punch came out?

Our third project is a simple Christmas card using the ornament punch and stamps. I used the Baroque flourish as the corner vine for the ornament to hang from. Night of Navy is the basic color, and a bit of tinsel is wrapped around the top of the ornament. Oh yeah...a rhinestone in the center of the ornament for a bit of added bling!

Our last project is a Fall/Thanksgiving card using the French Foliage clear mount stamp set. Don't you just love the clear mount product? This uses Pumpkin Pie cardstock, and Cajun Craze and More Mustard inks. I also used one of the acrylic blocks as a stamp and inked it up to stamp for the background. This adds so much interest to a card! Give it a try! The only change I suggested to my stampers was to stamp the sentiment in a darker color so it would stand out more.

We had great club meetings this month! Many of these projects were inspired by or copied from other demos whose blogs I follow. I apologize for not noting their names, but of course will edit this post if you let me know it was your idea.

I was asked if I planned to repeat my "Thankful for..." series of posts in November, and I agreed. So watch for that first post on Tuesday, November 1st.

Good to be home!

2010-10-12T18:04:00.000-04:00

You know...vacations are great, but it is ALWAYS good to be home! We got in late, late on Sunday evening after a full day of travel. I had the foresight to schedule a vacation day on Monday, so I was able to take advantage of the extra hours to rest up before I returned to work today.

We had a wonderful cruise! I hope you enjoyed my posts on the "mock" cruise during the week. It was mostly overcast the first half of the week with some rain, although it never interfered with anything we had planned. The sun appeared on Thursday and stayed the rest of the week. I did win $120 once at the slots, but of course left it at the casino...along with...*ahem* a bit more.

I did want to mention that there are new downloads available for My Digital Studio. Click on the images below to see them in a larger view. These are great downloads this month!

I plan to do a digital scrapbook of our cruise, so will post layouts as I get them completed. Right now I have to get supplies ready for the Christmas Stamp-a-Stack coming up on Thursday!