Jealousy, part 4

The is our View Master Card. These are so much fun to play with. Each turn of the dial brings up a different center for the flower on this particular card.

Jealousy, part 3

I love these "Spring" Cards! They are fun to fold....once you get the hang of it. The Designer Paper makes them look just awesome. Plus, when you get them folded, you can choose which side you really want to use, and just flip all the folds the opposite way if you want the other side showing. For this card, most people chose to make it into a baby card or a birthday card with the cute "Just B" set. Again, the colors are both retiring (Blue Bayou and River Rock) but the set isn't.

Jealousy, part 2

This is another of our cards from the class. I'm not sure what to call it. We loved the colors! Soft Sky, combined with white, black and Blue Bayou looked great together. We used the new Scallop Edge Punch on the front border, as seen in the second picture. It is a little blurry in this particular picture. I'll be showing another use for it at the Open House. It is a product that will be available in the new catalog. These two stamp sets, Big Pieces and Little Pieces, plus the background wheel, Petals, are all on the Retiring List.......not the mention the pretty colors!

Time to start making you jealous!

I think I've almost recovered from Thursday's Cards in Motion Class. It always takes me a few days. I'm going to start showing you what you missed at this fabulous class! This is the Double Slider Card we made. We took colors from the Bali Breeze Designer Paper and oooohh was it neat looking! Not something I would've normally put together. We had a huge turnout and a great time. Thanks to my stampin' partner, Teri for her help on this class and for taking all of these pictures of the cards.

My next event will be the New Catalog Open House on Saturday, August 16th from 6-8 p.m. See the info on the right sidebar for some details and you can email me for the complete invitation. It is always a great evening, with free, simple make & takes. If you've never stamped before, this is a perfect evening for you!

I'm not sure when my next class will be. It is Marching Band season, beginning next Monday, so that takes up a ton of my time, since I'm a "band mom"!

Canoeing

On Saturday, July 19, our ward (church) had an picnic to celebrate Pioneer Day. We held it at a park that has canoes, so I reluctantly agreed to go out with the kids. Zachary, one of the Hauke twins (I can never get them right!) and Cody are in the top picture; Kyle, Brandon and I are in the bottom picture. Richard put canoes in and out of the water. It was a super hot, muggy day and those life jackets were miserable to have on. Although with Brandon wanting to turn around to see everything that was going on, it was definitely necessary. I was sure we were going to tip! It turned out to be a really nice day visiting with friends. I am grateful for our ward......our home away from home!

Unfrogettable

A new stamper (her last name is actually "Stamper" - - how cool is that?!?) came over on Friday and wanted me to show her how to do a few things. This is one of the cards we made. I was showing her how to mask and watercolor. Do you know about masking? This card is actually made with two stamps, a frog and a mushroom. First we stamped the frog. Next we stamped him again on the sticky part of a post-it note and cut him out and laid that piece exactly on top of this frog. Next we stamped the mushroom, so that it was partially on top of the post-it. Now when you remove the mask (always save the masks in the stamp case so you don't have to re-cut them!), it looks like the mushroom is behind the frog. It is an easy technique, but impressive.

Fishin'

Richard, Zach & Brandon have taken up fishing the last couple of months. I've gone along a few times. I can only go if I have something to do myself. I can never just sit and do nothing. I have to have something to do. On this particular trip (7-11-08), I finished mounting a couple of stamp sets that I had been dreading mounting......those ones with waaayy to many pieces! We just go to the Fish & Game Club here in town. They have a really neat pond that is just huge. It is a catch and release place.....other than just a few things that you can keep if you want to. It's fun because they always get bites, so it isn't like they get bored with it. There have been a couple of older gentlemen that have given them some good tips and seem pleased to get others hooked on the sport. It has been a fun thing for all three of them and they look forward to the nights that aren't too busy and they can spend some time doing their new hobby.

New In Colors!

Here is just a horrible picture of the NEW 2008-2009 In Colors! :( Sorry about that! At least you can read the new names. The scan just doesn't do them justice, as often happens. The Pink Pirouette is brighter, most of the others aren't as bright as they appear here. I can't wait to show them to you in person! I really like them and love the things I've seen done with them so far. My group is working on a swap right now with items from the new catalog, including these new colors, which will available beginning August 11th.

Now for the CURRENT 2007-2008 In Colors: I had no clue this would happen, but they are already starting to sell out of things. The Blue Bayou & Purely Pomegranate Stitched Ribbons are already gone for good! The official list won't be released until Monday, but those two items were listed on our demonstrator site Thursday. I just wanted to give you a heads up. This could possibly happen to other items too.

Glenn Beck!

Last night a couple of friends and I went to see Glenn Beck's broadcast at a local theater. He was actually in Dallas doing a live show and it was broadcast to 350 theaters around the country. We had such a good time. He put on a wonderful show. If only he was really running for president! Going out with friends is something I never do, so that was unusual in the first place, but it was just fun to laugh all night. I've been so stressed out lately that it was nice to leave all that behind for a little while. Of course there were a few tender moments......if you know Glenn at all.....that's okay!

Doodle This Flower

Another quick card this afternoon. For this one, I just stamped the flower and stem in Black Craft ink and embossed it with Clear Embossing Powder. I colored it in by using an Aqua Painter and re-inker ink....just a drop on top of a stamp case does the job. I did all of that on the Watercolor Paper, which is truly the best for watercoloring. It makes such a difference! The background stamp is Linen, which has been discontinued, but I can't seem to give it up yet. Canvas or Twill would give you about the same kind of look. The "thanks" I used is from the Amazing to Zany set, which is on the Retiring List, so if you want it, order it before August 10th!

Lovely Labels

I made this quick card for a recent swap. I used the Lovely Labels set. It uses the same type of layout that I used here. Instead of attaching the circle to the back of the card, so that the front tucks behind it, I just attached it to the front this time. It also uses the Groovy Guava paper, which will soon be discontinued. :(

Cards in Motion Class is FULL

My slots for this class are full, but I'll be glad to put your name on a waiting list in case of a cancellation or I can even look for another date if there is enough interest.

Tag ~ Unimportant Things

I've been tagged by Melissa and asked to list 6 unimportant things about myself, so......

1. It really bugs me when people spell my name wrong. I really try to spell other people's names right because this annoys me so much. Not when they are first getting to know me, but if they've known me for a while.......
2. I hate humidity and will never get used to it as long as I live, neither will my hair.
3. I'm a worrier.
4. I think everyone should be required to use email and check it.....at least twice a day. No more phones.
5. When I have a headache, I have to sleep on the side of my head that hurts, otherwise it feels like a slow-moving lava lamp moving to the other side of my head!
6. I'm a homebody and would prefer to just stay home all the time if I could.

This is almost a list of my annoyances....sorry! I'll tag Karen T., and Teri S. Yes Karen, I'll walk you through how to do it step by step! ;)

Baby Card

I decided to get this set for one of the free ones I earned during a promotion Stampin' Up! had recently for demonstrators. It isn't currently available, since it was in the last mini catalog, but I liked it because it had a couple of sayings that were specific for those that have twins. Having had twins, I know those kinds of things are hard to come by. This set may show up in the Fall/Winter catalog if you didn't have a chance to get it, so keep an eye out.

I colored the onesie with the Watercolor Crayons. If you've been a customer of mine for long, you know that I've been very resistant to coloring anything in! I've always preferred the bold stamping or two-step stamping or really anything that is quick and doesn't require coloring. That is until Watercolor Color Wonder Crayons came along! They make things look so nice and are quick and easy to use. I prefer using an Aqua Painter with them. The Aqua Painter does take a little getting used to, but you'll love it once you do!

To attach the buttons, I used the Mini Glue Dots. Some are flat and with some, I used my fingernail to roll them up. The stamp set on the green and yellow backgrounds is Polka Dots & Petals. That one will really be missed by me! I use it constantly.

Cards in Motion Class! / Waterfall Card

On Thursday, July 24 my friend Teri and I will be having a Cards in Motion Class at my home. See class details on the right side bar. We'll be making a Waterfall Card that night, possibly something like the one shown here. I got this idea from SCS. I hadn't thought of using the Round Tab Punch for the pull lever before, but it is perfect! I think we used ribbon at the last class. This one slides really nice. The kids can't stop playing wth it! The boat color on this one really does match the Brilliant Blue paper. It is kind of irritating that it never matches once it is scanned.

Also on the class agenda is a View Master card, as shown on Teri's blog, and a Spring card. We are working out the others as we speak. Keep in mind that last minute inspiration comes once in a while and these cards are all just possibilites! ;)

The discontinued accessories lists will be out by the time this class will be held, so this will be a good chance to get those last orders in for your favorite accessories, plus the stamp sets you can't live without from the retiring stamp set list.

Color Inspiration Challenge #15

I love these challenges to at least get me started. This is another of the KWernerDesign Challenges and it came together real quick, like in about 5 minutes! The inspiration picture is shown above. I inked up the tree in Really Rust and then used markers directly on the rubber before stamping to add some other colors to it. I really wanted to add some olive to the grass but was trying to stick right to the colors! ;) Do you think this set (Lovely as a Tree) will ever retire?

Boho Backgrounds / Bravo Burgundy

This is the last of my Boho Backgrounds cards.....at least for a little while. If you look at all three, they've all used pretty much the same layout, but they look completely different, just because of the colors, ribbon and hardware. I used the baby wipe technique again on the medallion stamp. This time I used the colors of Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgundy and Elegant Eggplant. The ribbon is from the Theater Ribbon Originals. I left this card greeting-less so I can add something later, or just keep it as a note card.

Boho Backgrounds / Pixie Pink

My card's colors today look a little more electric on the scan than they do in person! I've used Pixie Pink, Basic Gray and Basic Black. This is another card with the Boho Backgrounds set and I've also used the same time of layout as I did on the last card, just turned it the opposite way. On the main image, I stamped it in the pink and rolled the edges in black before stamping it. To get the dots to line up perfectly on the background, I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig. The cute brad is from the Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, which was available in the last mini catalog, but not now. Hopefully we'll be able to purchase it again beginning August 11th! The ribbon is from the District Ribbon Originals card.

Boho Backgrounds / Purely Pomegranate

Boho Backgrounds is such a cute little set. It just has four pieces, but I've made some of my favorite cards with it. On this one, I did the baby wipe technique. If you haven't tried it before, you need to! Just put a baby wipe on a coated paper or styrofoam plate. Make sure it is a thick baby wipe. Those cheap thin ones won't work as well. It doesn't matter if it has animal designs on it or not. The ones I used tonight did happen to have animals on them. Now drop a few drops of re-inkers (for the Classic Ink Pads) on the wipe. I used Purely Pomegranate, Groovy Guava and Certainly Celery. I start with the most dominant color and then work down to the lightest color. You are basically making your own ink pad. Don't drop the different colors on top of one another, but put them fairly close together so they kind of bleed into one another on their own.

"Ink up" your stamp just as you normally would on the wipe. You do need to clean it if you are doing several of the same stamp, like what I have done here. If you don't, your image starts to look kind of muddy. I try to ink the stamp in approximately the same place, so the colors don't get too mixed up. The wipe will last a lot longer than you think. I've done lots of swap cards with one wipe. After a while, you may need to add some more ink, but it really lasts quite a while.

I used some of the Hodgepodge Hardware that is being discontinued. It is currently 25% off and available while supplies last only! The ribbon is from the Sherbet Ribbon Originals. This ribbon set will likely be on the retiring list when it comes out on July 21st because it contains three ribbons that are "In Colors."

Color Inspiration Challenge

I needed to get stamping after returning from vacation a few days ago, but things have been a little crazy to say the least. I decided to just take some time tonight no matter what and do nothing but stamp! KWernerDesign is having another fun color challenge (as seen in the above picture) that I thought would get me jump started. I didn't think I could pull the colors she chose together, but I like the result!

I love cowboys.....always have! I swore I'd marry one. It was on my mental list of "musts"! But then the right one came along.......ya know how it is......and that all went down the tube! I got him to listen to country music, he even wears boots once in a while and enjoys going to my family's ranch and doing that sort of thing, but I wouldn't say he is at the cowboy stage or ever will be. He is pretty much perfect for me though, and I sure am lucky!!!

We had a fun trip to Utah and it was great for the kids to see all of their cousins for all of us to get to socialize with family again. We really miss getting to spend time with them. My mom planned a big family dinner for both of our families the night before we left.......YES we all get along that well! It was really nice. I think Brandon had the hardest time leaving this time around. He really had fun taking care of the younger cousins and getting to play with so many that were close to his age. Until next year.......

Cards in Motion Class!

Check out the side of my blog for the next card class! It will be tons of fun as always. I'll try to get my act together and post a preview of one or two things we'll be making. We've done a couple of classes like this before, but I've had lots of requests for a repeat. We may do some of the same types of cards, but the designs will be different of course. I hope you can make it. Be sure and sign up by the 14th.

Stampers: It's the news you've been waiting for!

Stampin' Up! just announced that all new stamps in the Fall/Winter Catalog will be die-cut! No need for trimming anymore! I know you've all loved this feature on our mini catalog stamps and now you'll enoy it with the new additions to our upcoming catalog, plus the hostess sets (which are great by the way!).

Any stamps that are carried over from past catalogs will still require trimming, but any new stamps that are introduced will have this great new feature, and even have a "die-cut icon" so it will be easy to tell which ones are which. Thanks Stampin' Up! :)