Oink, Ink.

Small Calendar

2012-01-08T08:42:00.000-05:00

I like to cover a small calendar to keep in my church bag, because if I don't write down dates and times, I forget everything! I found this calendar at the drugstore for only 50 cents a couple of days ago, and it is a two year one! Usually the inside pages are just plain, but these are very nice (although the paper is pretty cheap...I don't really care about that).

I buy the ones with the plastic covers on them, so I can cover the calendars with cute background paper and decorate them up just a little so they are more my style. Then I just slide everything back into the plastic cover.

Cut the background paper just a little longer than the calendar...as far as the length goes where it is being folded. Does that make sense? It needs a little extra paper when you actually fold it to get all the way around the calendar. You might want to try it out first with a scrap piece of paper before you cut into the good stuff, then you can just take measurements off your scrap.

Decorate it up the way you want and you're done! For the teal background, I crumpled up a piece of card stock a bunch of times until it looked and felt the way I wanted it to. I also embossed the bird by using a Craft ink pad in a teal color, then used clear embossing powder and heated it with a heat tool. Before that, I ran my vanilla card stock through the printer to get the "2012-2013" on the paper, then used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to place the bird in the perfect spot.

Things Remembered

2011-07-17T20:44:00.001-04:00

We recently had a meeting with our Primary teachers at church. I was elected/forced/volunteered/nominated....something to that effect, to make the invitations. I find this kind of thing fun most of the time, but had a hard time coming up with something that I felt like went with our theme of "Things Remembered" well. Still not sure I did, but it's done now!

The heart from this card comes from the Polka Dot Punches set. I think it looks great embossed! To emboss it in the exact color I wanted (Sahara Sand to match the printer ink on "Things Remembered"), I inked up the stamp in Versamark first, then directly onto the Sahara Sand ink pad, then the paper. Next I poured clear embossing powder over it and applied the heat tool. Using the Versamark ink pad (a clear, sticky ink pad) and clear powder this way, you can make any colored ink pad into an embossing pad.

I'm not sure how many cards I've made in the last month, but it's over 300. My neck, shoulders and head are still feeling it! This feeling brings back memories of why it was necessary to stop doing SU. :(

Thank You Cards

2011-06-30T06:17:00.000-04:00

I made a bunch of these thank you cards to give to a friend's daughter for part of her wedding gift. She had needed a bike stamp to go on the front of her wedding invitation envelopes. I was able to find this one that I borrowed from a stampin' friend. The bride has been riding her bike for years as she goes to college, therefore the bike.

Wildlife Card

2011-04-17T19:30:00.001-04:00

I made this card for one of my kids. He had a pretty neat experience and I wanted to congratulate him on it with a card. It took about six weeks and three tries for the card to actually make it to him, but it was worth it! We're proud of the great example he is.

Stamp Sets: Wildlife, Fundamental Phrases, Flannel
Colors: Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Handsome Hunter, Natural Ivory
Tools: Blender Pens, Tearing Edge, Sponges

Happy 40th

2011-03-01T12:05:00.001-05:00

I keep forgetting to put this card up. I made this last November for a good friend, who obviously turned 40!

For all the "40's" in the background, I just typed "40" a bunch of times, and then changed the font for each one of them and printed it on card stock.

Stamp Sets: Doodle Alphabet, Classic Alphabet
Colors: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, More Mustard
Designer Series Paper: Rockabilly

Out of the Box

2011-02-12T09:45:00.003-05:00

Here is a fun little card I made. It could be used for Valentine's Day, or any pink and red occasion. ;)

Sets: Out of the Box, Whimsical Words

Background Paper: Bella Rose

Colors: Riding Hood Red, Pirouette Pink, Basic Black

Primary Wordle

2011-01-11T14:38:00.002-05:00

I just made this Primary Wordle to use as a binder cover. After I was done, it gave me the opportunity to share it with others, so I am, just in case anyone else would like something similar. I love Wordle!

Flowers

2010-12-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

I have the hardest time staying away from flowers! I really have to make myself resist! This set is called No One Like You. I think this is the only card I let myself make with flowers for the craft fair. I already had too many in my FOUR full boxes. I needed to branch out a little. OH WAIT! I just realized I already posted a flower one. See, I told you I have a hard time. It could be that 90% of my stamps are flowers. Ugh!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T00:05:00.003-05:00

I hope you love this as much as we did. Have a great day!

Lovely Trees

2010-12-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

I've had these trees stamped on this paper and sitting around forever, and finally decided to do something with them! I think I was showing someone this technique, and just stuck the piece of paper back in the stamp case. I inked up the trees in Certainly Celery and then used several colors of markers, including blues and purples to tap some ink onto the stamp before pressing it onto the paper.

The trees come from one of my oldest sets, Lovely As a Tree. The background stamp is Canvas.

Pretty Leaves

2010-12-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

Autumn Splendor is one of the best sets! I have really enjoyed it. For the most part, I have used it for fall cards. However, as you can see below, you can use it for other things too, just by changing up the colors. The leaves are so beautiful!

This is one of those cards where you could make a bunch, then leave off the greeting and add one when you need it....Happy Birthday, Thank You, Thinking of You, etc.

Fall Tree

2010-12-06T07:00:00.001-05:00

One last fall tree! I inked this one in Certainly Celery, then colored the trunk of the tree with a Chocolate Chip marker. I tapped Chocolate Chip and Really Rust markers all over the leaves of the tree before pressing the stamp onto the paper.

This stamp comes from the Lovely as a Tree set. The background is called Sanded.

Belated Thanksgiving

2010-11-29T22:10:00.003-05:00

I meant to post this last week. Oops! This is one of the cards I made for the craft fair. Simple...no explanation required! The stamp sets are Year Round Fun II and Teeny Tiny Wishes.

Cherry Get Well

2010-11-17T16:15:00.001-05:00

Here is another card that I made multiples of for the craft fair I did a week or so ago. I love how "happy" it turned out! I worked off of the colors in the patterned paper, which were Riding Hood Red and Kiwi Kiss.

The stamp sets I used were Circle Circus for the background circle designs, Teeny Tiny Wishes for the words, and Cute & Curly for the placard that the words are on.

A Craft Fair

2010-11-08T09:37:00.005-05:00

Saturday I did a craft fair and sold some cards. This isn't something I normally do...or ever do. I was sort of talked into it by the sweet little friends I have at the place where it was held. I volunteer there and it was fun to be able to spend some extra time with them.

I made a couple of signs to advertise and figured I'd save them, just in case I ever do this again!

My set-up.

I had plenty of cards, but I made a few over the last week in the categories where I was lacking a little. This is one of them. I made about four of each card while I was making them. It just makes sense to make duplicates, while I've got an idea going! I'll show some more soon.

Teacher Gifts

2010-06-25T19:45:00.000-04:00

I was going through pictures last night and found these. Brandon wanted to give gifts to three of his teachers, and I forgot I had taken pictures of them. We just put a Scentsy Room Spray and Hanging Freshener in a cello bag and stamped a card to tie to it. He wrote a sweet message for each one. He had some great teachers this year!

These stamps are from the Thank you Kindly and Charming sets.
During July, Scentsy will be bringing back 20 scents from years past. They were voted on by consultants and customers and the 20 winners will be brought back in "bar form" for one month only!

Leafy Thanks

2010-05-10T15:16:00.002-04:00

I quickly made this thank you card last night. I think I'm getting rusty! I need to stamp more, that is for sure! This one didn't require much stamping, although I did a little on the inside. I used the Big Shot for the leaf cutouts. I don't see much stamping in my future for the next few months. Two boys graduating, and LOTS of stuff going on. It will be fun, but crazy and busy!

Spring/Fall Card

2010-03-18T13:56:00.000-04:00

The birds remind me of spring, but I made this card last fall, with fall colors. This stamp is in a cute Level 1 hostess set this year called Of the Earth.

You'll notice I have my card propped up on some Scentsy bars. My open house is coming up soon. I'll be selling all my bars and bricks that I have in stock for 50% off due to the new design that recently came out. Out with the old, in with the new! For more Scentsy Open House info, email me!

Happy Moments Card

2010-03-02T07:11:00.003-05:00

A little birthday card I made a few weeks ago...
Stamps: Happy Moments, Lots of Dots wheel
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Old Olive, Sweet Pea Designer Paper

Merry February

2010-02-24T20:12:00.002-05:00

On a very windy Halloween Day, our friend took a few pictures of our family. We didn't last long! We were all freezing and trying our best to keep our teeth from chattering. There were only a couple where my hair wasn't standing straight up in the air! I finally stood against this tree and it helped a little. It was quite an experience!

I stamped the snowflakes on the cards clear back at the beginning of November and then life got incredibly busy. I didn't end up getting back to them until the end of January, so they ended up being Groundhog Day cards. Oh well!

B's Valentines

2010-02-12T10:12:00.008-05:00

We've been working on Brandon's Valentine's the last couple of days. This is how they turned out...

I got to help with his class party today after going out to lunch with the Band Moms. They are so much fun and such great company. It was an awesome day!

This was Brandon's last class party ever. Moving on to sixth grade means the end of parties. :( They had a great time.

Nature's Secret

2009-11-11T13:36:00.002-05:00

My stampin' buddy, Teri came over last week and we stamped. Well, she stamped and I stared at stamps and finally came up with this. She made a bunch of cute things, and I only managed this. But, I did decide on the basic design for my Christmas card, and that is a MAJOR accomplishment this far away from Christmas for me! We are going to start on those very soon and I can't wait!

For the card pictured above, I stamped it in Soft Suede and colored the flower with pastels. The background stamp is one of my favorites, called Sanded. Thanks to Teri for taking the picture and sending it to me!

FAMOUS!

2009-10-29T12:56:00.003-04:00

So, I'm feeling just a little bit famous right now. Click here to see why and also for a GREAT coupon (don't wait...good today and tomorrow only!). If you refuse to watch Oprah, like I do, it's even better! (Evil laugh...)

Thanks to Erin for helping us out. I don't know Erin personally, but for great deals, that is the place to go!

Autumn Splendor

2009-09-30T12:48:00.004-04:00

I made these cards about a month ago, and then our computer got a bad virus, so I couldn't get them posted. I kind of forgot about them after that!

I saw a card similar to this on another blog and then simplified it for a swap I was participating in. I used Crystal Effects on the leaf to get the shiny look. The Designer Series Paper I used for both cards is called Autumn Meadows. I really like all of the colors and patterns in the pack. The stamp set is called Autumn Splendor.

On this leaf, I embossed it, then colored it with a couple of different colors of Watercolor Crayons and an Aquapainter.

Fox 8 Friday Morning

2009-09-17T22:15:00.002-04:00

Watch Fox 8 Friday morning from 7-9 if you have a minute. Our high school band will be performing. Kyle plays the alto sax! I'm not sure if you'll get a glimpse of me and my awesome band mom friends or not. ;)

Out of the Box

2009-08-22T19:19:00.001-04:00

This is a really fun new set called Out of the Box. I loved it the second I saw it. It has several items that can pop out of the box. I'm sure you'll be seeing more! This isn't a favorite card at all. Just a quick thrown together one. I had this background leftover from a past class. The greeting "Hello Baby" comes from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

Stamps for Sale

2009-08-15T20:49:00.007-04:00

I've updated my Stampin' Up! "Stamps for Sale" on Craig's List. Let me know if you are interested in anything.

(There is also a link on the right sidebar.)

Medallion

2009-08-15T08:20:00.002-04:00

I didn't place an order from the new catalog until August! That is a record for me. This is the first stamp I HAD to have. It is called Medallion. It is one of the "big mama" stamps, as I call them. As I look at other blogs, I think it is a favorite among a lot of stampers. The greeting I've used is from Kind and Caring Thoughts. Colors are Taken with Teal and Certainly Celery.

The Designer Paper is called Kaleidoscope. As my sister and I went through the catalog over the phone, we both said that this paper wasn't "us", but we both loved it. It is a little bright for either of us, but in person I just love it and can't wait to use it more.

Forever Strong

2009-08-13T10:59:00.004-04:00

While I'm impatiently waiting for someone to help me unload the camera, I'm going to recommend a movie to you. :) Before we left Utah, I bought four for the ride home to entertain the kids. Last week Brandon wanted me to watch a couple of them with him again. I HATE watching movies. It drives me crazy to sit that long doing nothing. We watched one that was okay, not great. Then he wanted to watch another one. I told him I'd watch for "a minute", but I was quickly hooked on this one.

Forever Strong..... I've linked it to the site so you can read more about it. It has a great message to it and is based on actual events. It probably isn't for young kids, but all of mine liked it. It is the best movie I've seen in a long time.

Grand Finale, pt 10

2009-08-07T07:33:00.000-04:00

This is the last card from the Grand Finale class back in June. It is the same layout as this card that I showed quite a while ago. The Whisper White Organza ribbon was definitely a highlight! It is so pretty and shiny in person. Perfect for wedding invitations. Everyone liked how the Big Shot Movers & Shapers Die worked to get the piece cut out. I've explained it on the previous card, so I won't explain it again, but it is still really cool! :)

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It has been an unbelievably crazy week! Two of the boys have had birthdays, a Primary Quarterly Activity to plan and pull off, Marching Band started, plus three migraines! I'm hoping things calm down a little very soon.

Grand Finale, pt 9

2009-08-03T09:10:00.000-04:00

Part nine of the Grand Finale was this card. It used the Parisian Breeze Specialty Paper, which has a little bit of texture to it. I really like the new papers that have this feature! There were a few different choices on the larger piece of patterned paper. The flowers in the background were stamped with the Versamark pad. The border was punched with the Eyelet Border Punch. One more class card to go!

Man Card!

2009-08-01T22:56:00.000-04:00

"Man cards" are always a challenge! As stampers, we tend to want to pretty them up a bit, no matter what. For the most part, I think this one would qualify as a man card. I used the Big Shot to get the neat texture on the olive and navy papers. I roughed up the edges of the olive paper (which comes from an old pack of Designer Series paper called Bali Breeze) with the Cutter Kit. The stamps sets I used are Lovely Labels, On Your Birthday, and the So Swirly wheel.

Grand Finale, pt 8

2009-07-28T11:10:00.004-04:00

On this card, I used the greeting that comes in the set we used, Fifth Avenue Floral (a favorite!). Everyone was able to choose a greeting that they liked, however. The colors I used were Almost Amethyst and Lovely Lilac. I felt like the colors blended together too much, even though they are very different. I ended up misting the vanilla card stock slightly with a spray bottle filled with water. It made a big difference and separated the colors and made them stand out from each other a lot more. After it had dried, I layered the pieces together. This ended up being one of my favorite cards from the class...probably because of the colors!

We used the Tearing Edge of the right side of the Lovely Lilac card stock. If anyone needs one of these great tools, I happen to have a new one for sale. I can't remember how I ended up with an extra, but I'd love to sell it to you!

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Also..... for those that use Blogger, have you been having problems with the Posting Options lately? Everytime I've gotten something ready to post ahead of time for the last couple of months (for a future date), it never posts. I haven't had that problem until lately.

Grand Finale, pt 7

2009-07-19T22:07:00.001-04:00

This is the seventh card we made in my last class. We ended up making the pink one in class. I had planned the red one and then realized we were using the red ink pad on another card and had to switch. That always happens at the last minute! I think I have everything planned so precisely...oh well!

We used heavy duty tin foil and ran it through the Big Shot to get this look. We used one of the Texturz Plates. It is a neat and impressive look. Once in a while you get a hole through the tin foil (which is why the "heavy duty" is necessary), but you just use a little creative layering at that point. When you layer the foil to the black card stock, it is important to put your adhesive onto the black card stock, rather than the foil, because you will push out all of the impressions. Just place your adhesive about 1/8" in from the edge of the card stock and you'll be fine.

We watercolored the flowers. They come from the Echoes of Kindness set, which was a hostess set from the last catalog. The Rhinestone Brad added just the right touch to top it off.

Grand Finale, pt 6

2009-07-04T06:23:00.001-04:00

This card was one of the easiest cards from the Grand Finale class, but definitely a favorite! Many ended up ordering the Branch Out set after seeing and using it. It includes a few other stamps than what you see here. It is a cute one, and pretty versatile for the different seasons of the year.

Scout Camp

2009-07-02T20:35:00.003-04:00

Brandon and I left around noon yesterday to spend the evening with the other three boys and Richard at scout camp. I really look forward to "family night" each year. It is a three hour drive to get there, which I really don't look forward to at all. One of the families always stays overnight in a local motel, so we did that this year. What a great idea! We got there around check-in time and he had time to swim with another family for a while.

We went to dinner with the scouts, visited their camp for a bit, then watched their skits. This is always my favorite part. They did a great job! It was one I had seen before, but you never get tired of them, and each troop does them a little differently. I'm so impressed with how this particular camp handles everything. The volunteers that are there each year are just wonderful.

Afterwards we went back to their campsite for a while and OOPS! - - no "s'mores" supplies! That could be my fault. It's a tradition, and I think maybe I've brought them every year. ??? Well, I forgot them this year. I did make cookies though. Not a good substitute when all the little kids (and little and big scouts) just want to roast marshmallows. Mental note for next year!

We had a good night's sleep (sort of....a baby screamed for much of the night close to our room) and got up and swam for a couple of hours again. I got some reading time in. I *finally* started reading The Work and The Glory books. I know I'm the only person that hasn't read them. It took me forever to get into the first one, but now I'm half way through the second. My grandma gave them all to me as they came out.....well, up until she passed away. I think I ended up not having the last three, which I've already purchased because Richard read them all one summer. Her inscription in the first one says something like "Thanks for giving us those two cute little boys!" It was in 1992, I think! You have NO CLUE how happy she probably is that I'm finally reading them! :)

Grand Finale, pt 5

2009-07-02T19:37:00.007-04:00

Card five from the Grand Finale class came from my sister's brilliant mind. I actually combined the inside and outside of two different cards of she had made to make one card. She did it in blue. I was trying to use a wide variety of colors and already had some blue planned, so I used the Tangerine Tango and Apricot Appeal.

The "spring" on the inside is the 1 3/4" circle punch cut in a spiral. It is attached with Glue Dots, and each of the flowers and the butterfly are also attached with a Glue Dot.

Thanks to Teri for taking pictures of my cards for me!

Last Day to Order!

2009-06-30T09:46:00.002-04:00

The last day to order from the current SU Catalog is TODAY. Let me know if you need anything!

New Sets!

2009-06-29T06:24:00.004-04:00

For the stampers who came to the last class, we'll steer clear of Grand Finale samples for a minute and show something new!

The two sets I used on this card will be in the new catalog, which begins on Wednesday. The flower design is from a set called Kind & Caring Thoughts. It is a Level 3 Hostess Set. The circles come from a very popular new set called Circle Circus. I say it is already popular because when I held my downline swap a week ago, nearly everyone signed up to use that particular set. It will be a hot one!

I've used three of the new "In Colors" here. Bermuda Bay, Soft Suede and Dusty Durango. The In Colors all have coordinating markers this year! I used the Soft Suede to color the tips of the flowers, directly on the rubber, before stamping. I also used a new punch, called Modern Label Punch.

Grand Finale, pt 4

2009-06-25T16:27:00.003-04:00

This card was one of the more simple ones we made at last week's class. The cupcake comes from the Darling Dots hostess set. The birthday greeting is a single stamp, found on the "Under $10" page at the back of the catalog. Everyone who attended the class received a free catalog if they wanted one, so you can all look it up easily! You can also see it in the online catalog.

Grand Finale, pt 3

2009-06-23T20:18:00.003-04:00

My Grand Finale class was held on Friday. I ended up with 22 signed up. One forgot (she wasn't a happy camper!), and one couldn't make it, so I had 20 that attended. Things went quite smoothly for such a large group.

This is one of the cards we made. I'm calling it card #3 because I've shown you two previously, here and here. I'll show the other seven in the upcoming days.

I got this card idea from Mary Fish's blog. I loved it the minute I saw it. My favorite part is the vase, which is made from the wide oval punch. The bottom of the vase is just one side of the oval, cut off! Those cute little flowers are made from the Big Shot and the Daisies die cut. We used the Big Shot a lot! I can't praise that tool enough!!!

LOVE this!

2009-06-14T23:22:00.005-04:00

I wish I was smart enough to put this You Tube video right on my blog, but I'm not. If you haven't seen Jon Schmidt's video of Taylor Swift's Love Story yet, you have to see it. I've been watching it for about a week and I just love it!

P.S. Jon looks like Richard's brother!

A Fascinating Gadget...

2009-06-07T22:58:00.005-04:00

I've owned the Movers & Shapers Curly Label Die (for the Big Shot) for months, but haven't opened it. Quite frankly, the thing scared me a little! I knew I wanted to use it for my Grand Finale class so I decided I better start playing with it. FUN! This is my first attempt with it.

Here is the inside. I used the coordinating Cute & Curly stamp set and Punch to go with it.

This is what the die looks like. The purple part is a very strong magnet. You can move it around anywhere and it will stick while you run it through the Big Shot. The instructions say to cut through only one layer on this die, but I did layer the Walk in the Park Designer Paper on the card first and then run it through. It worked fine. Next time, I would put the card face down on the die instead of face up. The stitching around the cut out looks a little nicer on the inside than it does on the outside.

This die will actually cut out your card and score it too. I find the scoring nice, but the cutting kind of annoying. I already had my card cut, and it trimmed it a little more. Not a big deal at all, but I just think it is weird that it does that. If you have the Big Shot, or are thinking of getting it, I would recommend this die. It is a really neat one!

As demonstrators, we were able to pre-order several things that will be available in the new catalog beginning July 1st. One of the items was more shapes for this die. There is a star, heart, a scallop oval and another new type of punch. The name of them is Punch Shapes, so they all coordinate with our current punches. Mine are on their way!

No One Like You

2009-06-05T17:33:00.003-04:00

I used one of the Simply Sent Card Kits on this card. I think these kits get overlooked by die-hard stampers. I loved this particular stamp set, called No One Like You, from the minute I saw it though and just got it recently. The kits are made for newer stampers, because they come with everything you need to get started including stamps, ink, paper, envelopes, ribbon, embellishments and adhesive. I used my own paper, etc. for this card rather than what came with the kit, however. I made this card for my monthly church swap group. I really like how it turned out.

Last Chance List Changes

2009-06-02T22:04:00.004-04:00

I sent out my June Newsletter to everyone yesterday, and there has been a few changes to the "Last Chance" lists today. Here they are:

The following stamp sets have been removed from the Last Chance stamp list and will be available for purchase from the dormant list during the 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalog sales period.

114494 Forever
114492 Beautiful Baby
114486 Birthday Wish
114490 Glad Friends
114498 Flowers in Silhouette
114496 Celebrations
114488 Fun Flowers

Also, the following items were added to the Last Chance accessories list and are available for purchase while supplies last.

116209 Note of Thanks
116210 Birthdays Count

Remember that I receive an updated Last Chance Accessories List each day around 6:00 p.m. Let me know if you need a copy. Several items are already sold out!

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IN COLOR INFO

We've also been told it may be beneficial to keep In Color products (inks, papers, etc.) on hand after they retire. I know most customers do, but I've always sold mine once they retire. SU has indicated they may come up with some new products in the future that incorporate some of these past colors, so it would be nice to have the coordinating items on hand. Just a heads up for ya!

Another Grand Finale Card

2009-06-01T08:20:00.001-04:00

This is the second and probably the last card I'll be showing for my Grand Finale Class. We'll be using the new Circle Scissor Plus (awesome!) on this one.

The class will be held on Friday, June 19 from 7-10 p.m. These cards are a little more ......um......detailed, than what we usually do. I don't want to use the word hard, because none of it is hard at all! They just might take a few more steps than usual. This class is a great deal and I'm sure you'll be glad you came.

On some cards, such as this one, you'll be able to choose your greeting or leave it blank. On the other card I've shown you (see here), there isn't a choice because the greeting matches the rest of the card so well.

The class is getting full, but so far we still only have around two people signed up per card, so that isn't a big deal at all. See complete class details on the right sidebar, and let me know if you have other questions.

Remember: You must sign up and be paid by June 8th in order to be included in the class preparations! Thanks to everyone who has already done so. I look forward to seeing you for my last stamp class as a demonstrator!

May 31 ~ Last chance

2009-05-23T15:32:00.003-04:00

Remember: Sunday, May 31 is the last day for the May Specials!

1) Buy 3, get 1 FREE on any of our Designer Series Paper or Textured Card Stock.

2) Become a demonstrator for just $75.

3) Get the new Jumble Alphabet for 20% off.

Click here to order online, or contact me at my email address on the left sidebar.

Stampin' Up! on You Tube

2009-05-23T08:34:00.001-04:00

Stampin' Up! has recently created a You Tube channel. I've posted some of the videos on the sidebar of my blog, or you can visit them here.

Echoes of Kindness & Oval All

2009-05-14T10:23:00.000-04:00

For this pretty card, I stamped the flowers on watercolor paper in VersaMark ink. I applied Stampin' Pastels with a Q-tip. I think this technique is called Poppin' Pastels, but I get the many pastel techniques (and there are many) very confused! It is so neat to watch the pastels attach to the clear ink. The flowers come from the Echoes of Kindness hostess set and the greeting comes from Oval All in the Occasions Mini Catalog. This is my favorite set from that catalog. I also love the new scallop oval punch you see here.

Echoes of Kindness

2009-05-13T00:01:00.000-04:00

I made this card with the Echoes of Kindness set. It is a Level 2 Hostess set. I stamped on the watercolor paper and colored with an Aqua Painter. The Designer Series Paper (remember the great sale this month!) I used is Walk in the Park from the Occasions Mini Catalog. This particular pattern is a little wild, but I think I calmed it down a little with the layering......I hope!

Teacher Appreciation Night

2009-05-12T18:27:00.008-04:00

We held our Teacher Appreciation Night at church a couple of weeks ago. I thought I'd update those of you who had asked about it previously.

As a reminder, each of the kids, ages 3-18 that wanted to participate invited one of their favorite school teachers to be honored. It turned out better than any of us could have possibly imagined! All that worry for months and it was fine. I'm sure the worry helped to make it fine, but anyway... If we do it again, we'll know a little more about what to do and what not to do. I've kept track! I may need some kind of sedative to go through this again, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it! ;)

Judging by the amount of chairs filled, people standing, and plates and cups used ;) we had around 100 people in attendance.

We were sitting behind Brandon's teacher (he is the only one of my kids that participated) and just as it was beginning, she turned to me and said "I can't believe anyone would do this for us!" She didn't know I had anything to do with planning it. Here I'd been thinking that it was just another thing the teachers had to work into their schedules, and by the end of the evening, I realized how grateful they were that we had put the whole thing together. Most of them stayed around an hour after it was finished and thanked us over and over.

A school board member from our ward and our bishop gave short talks. Afterwards we showed the video that we made of all the kids telling why they picked the teacher they did. It was GREAT! Everyone giggled through the whole thing. The kids were so cute. Definitely a highlight of the evening!

One challenge was getting all of the kids that participated and the teachers that came together for a picture at the end.

Brandon invited a past teacher. He had this particular teacher in Kindergarten and again in 2nd grade. She is just awesome!

When I got home from running errands the day after, there was a message on the phone from a local floral shop saying to look on the front porch. I found this cute arrangement from a sweetie in our ward thanking me for putting things together for the program. SO nice!

May Stampin' Up! Specials

2009-05-03T21:57:00.003-04:00

Three great specials going on this month!

Click here and here to find out more about them.

Oval All

2009-05-03T19:24:00.004-04:00

I've been saving this card to show for quite a while! We'll be making it at the next class on June 19th (however everyone may not make the exact same color). I made this for a recent swap. It uses the new Oval All stamp set and new Oval Punch, along with the Walk in the Park Designer Series Paper. All of these items are from the new Occasions Mini Catalog.

I also used the Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Die with the Big Shot.

May Special Preview

2009-04-23T20:12:00.002-04:00

~MAY STAMPIN' UP! SPECIAL~

May is National Scrapbooking Month. To celebrate, Stampin' Up! will have two great promotions and I'm giving you a preview!

1) A new double-mounted alphabet called Jumble Alphabet will be available for 20% off during May only. It will be available again in the new catalog in July. It's cute!

2) Buy three packs of Designer Series Paper (including Specialty Designer Series Paper) or 12" x 12" Textured Card Stock, and get one FREE!

You know I'm taking advantage of this! :)

Graduation Cards

2009-04-22T12:08:00.006-04:00

I made these graduation cards for the monthly swap group I'm in. I used the Great Grads set. It is the only graduation set I have, but it sure comes in handy. I looked up the schools for everyone that was participating so I would know what their school colors were. Yeah - I'm a stalker!

I used the Walk in the Park Designer Series Paper from the Occasions Mini Catalog (available thru June 30) on the bottom of each card. It is a great set of paper, with some spring designs, plus some that are more versatile for any occasion.

Special Thank You Card

2009-04-11T22:04:00.003-04:00

I've been working for a couple of months on a project that is consuming my every thought! The kids at our church are inviting their favorite teacher to a Teacher Appreciation Night. I seriously go to sleep thinking about it and wake up thinking about it. It is still two more weeks away!

Anyway, things are *finally* starting to come together. It has been kind of a struggle, but last Wednesday, we had the night set aside to video each of the kids that chose to participate. They gave a short explanation of why they chose the teacher they did. They did such a good job! After that night, I finally felt like things were going to work out. The kids are excited about everything, so I really hope we have some teachers come. That is my biggest concern at this point. We have a few RSVP's, but not a ton. I made reminders to send out tomorrow, along with an agenda for the evening, so that may help. Teachers are just busy too, so that makes it hard.

This card is for the man that did the videoing for us. He was visiting our ward a couple of weeks ago and volunteered to do it. We had originally planned to do a video, and then it got cancelled (NOT happy = ME!). I said we really needed to find a way to make it work and I'm not sure how it came up, but this man ended up volunteering. He was so patient with the kids. The Primary President asked me to make a card for all them to sign at church tomorrow, so I came up with this. It is a full sheet of paper folded in half so there would be room for everyone.

Thanks to everyone who has helped with this project!

God's Beauty Card

2009-04-07T12:11:00.004-04:00

I made this card for a swap. Sometimes when I'm doing a swap, I try to get rid of paper or accessories that I know I won't be able to utilize in a class. This paper is some that I had been avoiding. I like it, but knew it wouldn't work for a class. It is from the Urban Garden Designer Series Paper. All of the Designer Series Paper comes in 12x12 sheets. This particular piece has the flowers on one end and the stems go all the way to the other end. I had opened the end of the paper packet with the stems, so I didn't realize it had the cute flowers on the other end of it. I was going to just "make do" with these odd stripes, but then saw the cute flowers and figured I could make something fun with my new butterfly from the God's Beauty set (see set below). It is a Level 1 Hostess Set in the Spring/Summer Catalog, if anyone is interested in trying to earn it.

For this card I stamped the butterfly in Black StazOn ink on card stock vellum and colored on back with an AquaPainter and Baja Breeze refill ink (since we don't have a coordinating marker). I attached the butterfly with the cute Rhinestone Brad. Super easy!

Cards for Next Class

2009-04-03T14:21:00.008-04:00

I've got another class coming up on April 24th! For this one, we are using the Sunshine Garden Simply Scrappin' Kit to make *32* cards! Everyone who attends will make TWO of each of the cards pictured below. You can see details for the class on the right sidebar. These cards measure 4x4 when finished. The class includes a package of standard size envelopes to go with them.

I made all of these this morning. They are so fun and quick to put together! I didn't stamp any greetings on mine. You'll be able to add greetings if you'd like to, or you can take them home and add them as you need them. These colors are so nice and springy! I'm really looking forward to this class.

Sale-A-Bration Class, card 5

2009-03-29T09:23:00.002-04:00

This is our final card from class. It would be great for a graduation card, or birthday or any occasion where you are giving something special inside (see below). This set is called Yummy and is one of the FREE ones available during Sale-A-Bration. The flourishes and words on this stamp are actually one stamp. It fits perfectly on the Top Note Die, as you can see. To line it up just right, we used the Stamp-a-ma-jig. I think I calmed some fears of this awesome tool that evening. It is just great once you know how to use it properly! The Designer Series Paper you see (Delicate Dots) is also from the FREE items available.
On the inside, we used the Big Shot to cut out the Scalloped Envelope Die. You can fit a gift card inside. It has to stand up, but that is ok! They really turned out cute. If you wanted to make up your own card on the computer, you could design something that would fit in the envelope, but a standard gift card that you buy is just a little too big.

Sale-A-Bration Class, card 4

2009-03-28T09:22:00.001-04:00

Here is the fourth card we made in the Sale-A-Bration Class. You may recognize the design from a card I made a couple of months ago. You can see it here. I love that card made with the Pacific Point color, but I didn't have enough of that ribbon, so I used a color chart to come up with these different colors. On almost all of the cards this time, I tried to use colors that we don't normally put together. I liked the results!

Don't forget that you only have until March 31st to take advantage of the FREE items available during Sale-A-Bration! Order Online or by calling or emailing me. (If you order online, just don't forget to add your free items!)

Sale-A-Bration Class, card 3

2009-03-27T09:21:00.002-04:00

This is the third card we made at my recent class. If you look at page 10 in the Sale-A-Bration brochure, you'll see where the idea came from. My sister also sent me a card using the same idea but different colors. I wanted to use some spring-y colors (I'm SO ready for spring!) and I didn't have any cute buttons, so I opted for the cute flower slides from the Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware set. All of the stamping, except for the greeting is embossed.

Sale-A-Bration Class, card 2

2009-03-20T11:04:00.008-04:00

This is another card from last week's class. It uses the Polka Dot Punches Sale-A-Bration set. I really think this is my favorite from the mini catalog. I certainly have used it the most and I think it is definitely the most versatile! I also love the Delicate Dots Designer Paper that is available. We've used some on this card. This is one of my favorite patterns in the pack. This card also uses the Congrats stamp set. I set out a few greetings so everyone could choose the one they wanted.

This card has a window cut on the front, with a piece of contact paper on the back of it. We sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds Glitter on the sticky front. The inside view is below. This fun technique always provides a "WOW!" -- even for the experienced stamper.

Some of the guests at the class asked for a reminder of which circle to punch *where* on this card, so that is below.

Circle Punch instructions for THIS card:

1 3/8" Circle Punch: punch a circle in the front of the card, in a scrap of Chocolate Chip, and punch a circle out of Baja Breeze.

1 1/4" Circle Punch: punch out the flower design for the inside of the card and layer it on the Baja Breeze circle.

1 3/4" Circle Punch: *around* the Chocolate Chip 1 3/8" hole you already punched out of the scrap, center the 1 3/4" punch and punch it out to make the circular frame for the front of the card.

DONE!

Sale-A-Bration Class, card 1

2009-03-17T18:44:00.005-04:00

This is the first card we made at last week's class. The idea came from my sister. She had used green in place of the yellow, but I needed to make a change due to lack of supplies. Everyone made two of each card. They made one like this and then one with a vanilla "flower piece" and a vanilla piece of Styled Hodgepodge Hardware. What I love about this card is that the flower piece is layered on the inside of the card, so you still see it when it is opened up. I also love the "punch" of Pacific Point blue. That is a great color!

The Botanical Blooms sets is available for FREE through March 31st, with a $50 order. If you are ordering online, don't forget to add your free choice! If it is forgotten, I am not able to add it later.

Allie's Quilts, etc.

2009-03-08T17:14:00.003-04:00

Visit my friend, Allie's blog to see her wonderful creations! Right now she is having a fun giveaway, where you can enter to win a beautiful table runner. She also has an Etsy Shop, so you can purchase one of her great works of art. Allie is someone who gives attention to every detail. You'll be so happy with anything she makes!

Botanical Blooms

2009-02-26T15:50:00.003-05:00

Botanical Blooms is another one of the FREE stamp sets available through the end of March with a $50 order. This card uses that set. As usual, the color is very odd compared to the original! Those of you who will be receiving this card in the swap can testify! ;) I've used Cameo Coral and Rose Red ink. The brad is from the Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware kit. I keep forgetting about that kit, but it has so many fun pieces in it!

I made this card out of a 6x6 piece of card stock. I like the size because you can get four out of a 12x12 sheet. Our Small Open-End Envelopes are just a little bit big for this size of card, but they are what I like to use for them.

Sorry I've been so absent from blog world. Things have just been busy, busy, busy!

Big SU Announcements

2009-02-21T12:27:00.003-05:00

Stampin' Up! just made two big announcements. First, one that many of you have been waiting for....

Beginning July 1st, they'll be going back to one catalog a year! I know many of you have complained about two since it began. I have mixed feelings about this, but I'll be happy either way. They'll change to three mini-catalogs a year and they'll each contain a few different options for hostess sets to keep things

exciting for those that like to host throughout the year.

Next, in order to keep some of the bigger stamp sets at a lower price, they've opted to double mount some of them. This hasn't been popular with many (INCLUDING ME!), so they will discontinue doing that. The sets that are currently produced that way will remain the same until they are no longer in the catalog. Some alphabets will also remain that way, and some that are part of a kit. No new sets will be double mounted, with the exception of one that will be coming out in the Occasions Mini Catalog. It was already in production at the time this decision was made.

I know these announcements will make a lot of stampers very happy! :)

Polka Dot Punches - Hearts

2009-02-20T09:30:00.004-05:00

I meant to post this card on Valentine's Day! I had been saving it for weeks, just for that day. I've been just a little bit busy the last while, trying to catch up on things I haven't had time for the last few years. Yes - I said years! (I won't get into why....) My blogs have fallen to the wayside. I'm making myself a little crazy, but once I get caught up, life will be good! ;)

For this card, I made a pocket out of the Raspberry Tart Designer Series Paper, punched a couple of holes and tied it together with a ribbon. The new Full Heart Punch fits perfectly with the heart stamp in the FREE Polka Dot Punches stamp set, so the card comes together very quickly!

SALE-A-BRATION CLASS

Don't forget the class coming up on March 13! We'll be making 10 cards using the FREE items from the Sale-A-Bration catalog. Sign up by March 3. Details on the right sidebar.

Polka Dot Punches

2009-02-09T07:37:00.003-05:00

Finally - the last card from our class! I ended up taking a picture, because the Texturz Plate detail wasn't showing up on the card when I scanned it. I added the actual plate in the picture so you could see what they look like. During class, we used a Build-A-Brad on the center of the flower, but I ran out for this card, so I altered this one a little bit. Still cute though!

Warning: you are going to want to use the Texturz Plates on EVERYTHING! I had to give the lesson in church yesterday and I passed out some scripture references so everyone wouldn't have to hear me read the whole time. I wanted to run them through my Big Shot! I settled for stamping them though. :)

(I know I'm a dork!)

Petal Pizzazz & Raspberry Tart

2009-02-07T11:23:00.004-05:00

This is the fourth item we made at last week's class with the Petal Pizzazz stamp set. LOVE the Raspberry Tart Designer Paper! It is a little more wild that I usually go with, but depending on how you use it, it comes out pretty nice! :) These Filigree Brads are so cute! We used pink brads for the center instead of the matching silver ones that come with them. Love the look! Lots of pieces to this card, but pretty easy when you break it down.

Big Shot Boxes

2009-02-05T21:26:00.004-05:00

At last Friday's class, we made some Valentine Boxes with the Big Shot. Everyone made two of each box and was able to choose whatever Designer Series Paper and ribbon they wanted to use.

These two are made with the Pillow Box Die (or the ear plug box as Richard calls it). They are quite small, as you can see, but sooo cute! Supposedly you can fit a "fun size" candy bar inside, but I couldn't find any. These three little candies you see fit just right, but it is a snug fit.

Stampers chose from the Rock Star stamp in one of the new Level 2 Hostess sets called A Little Somethin', or the Hugs & Kisses stamp from the Love You Much set. There were also a few other stamps to choose from, but these were the most popular.

This box is "Box #2" in the catalog. (FYI: it can work with 8 1/2 x 11 paper.) It is also small, but holds *12* of these Hershey's Nuggets. That is about half a bag. It isn't a treat you'd want to send for the whole class, that's for sure! Normally you can cut out at least two boxes at a time, but we found with this particular die, it was cutting where it should've been scoring. Since the class, another demonstrator told me that if you use the Premium Crease Pad when cutting, you won't have this problem. I have that pad, but had no idea what it was for! ;)

The stamp I used here is the Lovey Dovey stamp from A Little Somethin'.

Love You Much

2009-02-01T22:39:00.006-05:00

This is one of the cards we made at Friday's class. It uses the Love You Much set that was on sale last month. I saw this cute way to use the scallop punch and ribbon on our demonstrator site and knew everyone would love it. (They did!)

We embossed the Love stamp by stamping first in the Versamark ink and then directly in the Riding Hood Red ink, stamped it on the paper, and then quickly poured clear embossing powder and heated it. Using the Versamark in this way makes every color of Classic ink pad into an embossing pad. Very cool! Many hadn't seen this technique before, although I feel like I've shown it a zillion times. :)

It was a great class, and I'll be showing the other things we made in the next few days.

Polka Dot Punches - Teal

2009-01-29T17:43:00.001-05:00

Taken with Teal....a color I never use! This is just another quick card I threw together with the Polka Dot Punches set. All four stamps in the set coordinate with a punch from the catalog. Just three more days until you can get this set and others for FREE! February 1st begins our annual Sale-A-Bration. The So Saffron ribbon is also part of the Free Ribbon Bundle available during SAB, along with the Delicate Dots Designer Paper that I've used in the background. Aren't those Filigree Brads cute? We'll be using one on a card at tomorrow night's class!

Proud Moment...

2009-01-26T12:31:00.001-05:00

Check out this great article on my brother. Congratulations Shane! I'm so proud of you!

Spring/Summer Catalog is here!

2009-01-25T20:48:00.005-05:00

Have you checked out the Spring/Summer Catalog yet? If not, download and save it here, or browse and shop here! To receive your FREE CATALOG, host a workshop between now and June 30, or place an Online Order between February 1 and April 30. Check out all of the new stuff on the right side of my blog, including new Decor Elements designs!

Polka Dot Punches - Texturz Die

2009-01-24T11:37:00.000-05:00

I got my first order from the new catalog on Wednesday! Most of it was card stock, etc. in preparation for next week's class, but I did get a few new fun things, including these cute Corduroy Buttons and one set of the new Texturz Dies that work with the Big Shot. (You get 6 different textures in one set!) They make the card stock have the textured look, like you see with the dots on the Chocolate Chip paper on this card. The "dots" are probably the most blah out of the six that I got, but they really looked the best with this card!

This is the other card that I did for the swap I talked about in a recent post. I decided to hurry and make an extra card for everyone so they would have something new to show their customers in case they hadn't ordered these new items yet.

Do you have the Big Shot yet? Have you tried the Big Shot yet? I just can't say enough about it. When it first came out, I told my friend Cindy "there is NO WAY I'm getting that thing." I was convinced not long after that I needed it, and have been so glad ever since. I know it is a big ticket item, so it is the perfect thing to add to your Hostess Wish List, and set a date for a workshop! Why not earn it for FREE? Stampin' Up! has added some great dies to this catalog and will continue adding more. Sale-A-Bration (Feb. 1 - Mar. 31) is the best time of year to set your sights on the big ticket items, because you'll get additional benefits all the way around. See this post for additional information.

Polka Dot Punches - Top Note Die

2009-01-23T11:38:00.006-05:00

Each time we are about to get a new catalog or mini catalog, I host a swap for my downline. The due date was yesterday, so I have those ready to go out today. I ended up doing two different cards, and this is one of them. It doesn't show up very well on the scan because of the color, so I put a piece of Chocolate Chip card stock behind it and that helped a little.

I used the Top Note Die and my Big Shot to make the card. The main part of the card is a folded piece of Sahara Sand (see picture of the back of the card below). I placed it on the die so that it would cut, yet still open up as a card shaped like the Top Note Die. Then I cut a piece of the new Delicate Dots Designer Paper (available FREE through SAB!) on one edge of the die and layered it on the card.

It was a real easy card, but a fun new look instead of the standard size we are all used to. I used the Polka Dot Punches Set to make the card. It is the only one I pre-ordered, so I've been using it to death!

Polka Dot Punches

2009-01-19T06:30:00.003-05:00

Starting February 1st, we'll begin our annual Sale-A-Bration. It will run through March 31st. Polka Dot Punches is one of the sets you can get FREE! It coordinates with a couple of our punches, plus one that will be coming out in the new catalog *today*......2:00 ET. The colors I've used are Pacific Point, Apricot Appeal and Bashful Blue.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sale-A-Bration (SAB) will work the same as in years past:

CUSTOMERS: for every $50 ordered you get a freebie!

HOSTESSES: for every $300 on your workshop subtotal, you get a freebie!

NEW DEMONSTRATORS: sign up during SAB and get any set in the big catalog (up to $47.95 value) free!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

This year, Stampin' Up! is offering more than just stamp sets for FREE. They'll have four stamp sets, a pack of patterned paper and a ribbon bundle to choose from.

If you are interested in setting a date for a Sale-A-Bration workshop in your home, let me know!

Yummy Cookies

2009-01-17T17:20:00.005-05:00

I never search out new recipes, but have wanted to find a good one for White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies. I've only tried one, but it was a hit with my family yesterday, so I thought I'd share it! Rather than copying the recipe, I'll just send you to the place I got it. If you have problems, let me know and I'll type it for you. The only change I made was baking them 9 minutes instead of 10. I used the small P. Chef Scoop and it made about 60 cookies.

New (old) Site!

2009-01-15T15:00:00.004-05:00

Stampin' Up! Customers: I've decided to start up my Stampin' Up! Website again and see what kind of a response I get. It has some new advantages that it didn't have when I decided to discontinue it last spring. One big benefit is the Online Ordering. I'm not really sure if this will be popular or not, but I figured I'd give it a try for a while. From February 1 through April 30, Stampin' Up! is offering a FREE NEW CATALOG to anyone who places an Online Order!

www.karilyn.stampinup.net

Stampin' Class!

2009-01-14T12:09:00.004-05:00

*CLASS TIME*

Date: Friday, January 30
Time: 7:oo-9:30 p.m.
Cost: $15
Bring: Camera (optional) & Adhesive (required)
RSVP: and pay no later than Sunday, January 18th

We'll be using some items from the new Spring/Summer Catalog, which begins on January 19th! We'll make 10 items......5 designs and two of each design. This class won't include envelopes, so be sure and order them by the RSVP date if you need them (adhesive too).

True Blue

2009-01-14T11:34:00.004-05:00

This True Blue Friend stamp comes from a three piece stamp set called Punches Three. It is a current hostess set, so it will only be available for a few more days! Consider collecting some orders if you'd be interested in earning it. It is an easy one to get free. :)

The colors I've used are Tangerine Tango and Not Quite Navy. The Tangerine Tango is on the Inventory Blowout Sale, which is available until January 18th. Also, remember the Retired Stamps and Retired Accessories (ask me for the most recent updated list) are just available until January 18th.

Petal Pizzazz

2009-01-07T10:12:00.004-05:00

Petal Pizzazz is a new 7 piece flower stamp set that will be coming out in the new Spring/Summer Catalog on January 19th. The colors I used are Rose Red and Pacific Point. The button is from our Button Bouquet Designer Button set.

Stamps for Sale

2009-01-06T13:26:00.004-05:00

I've reposted my Craig's List listing of stamps and accessories for sale for anyone who is interested. http://cleveland.craigslist.org/art/1024556895.html Once the new catalog comes out, there may be some additions!

If you are interested in a specific set and can't find a picture in an old catalog or elsewhere online, I can scan it or take a picture for you, but this listing is much too long to include pictures.

Winner!

2008-12-26T17:15:00.002-05:00

Finally, I've had a few minutes to pick a winner for the "5,oooth Visitor" to my blog. There were eight entries, so scientifically, I had Zach choose a number between 1 and 8. He chose 7, which would've been Kyle's comment #7. I said "NO!" Then he chose #3....Melissa! So, what kind of cards would you like Melissa? I figured you might need some thank you's right now, but I can do whatever you'd like. ;) I have a stamp set for you and I'll make 10 cards of your choice. Let me know!

Merry Christmas from Us to You!

2008-12-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas! From it's beginnings as this, our card turned into what you see here. Too much coloring, but I love how it turned out!

It is soooo cold here. Right now it is 14 degrees (I'm typing this on Monday, though it won't post until Wednesday). Yesterday it was 1. Tomorrow it is supposed to be around 30, so it will be thirty times as warm as it was yesterday. WOW! The wind chill is what is bad. I have no idea how cold that is making it, but I am sitting here shivering.

I hope you all have a nice and peaceful evening and wonderful day tomorrow. We are having the missionaries from our church over for Christmas Eve, so that will be fun. The boys always love having them over! When my brothers served their missions, I was always grateful to the families that took them in for dinners, especially around the different holidays. We want to do something special. Any fun ideas?

A Little Somethin'

2008-12-22T13:43:00.004-05:00

Miracles do happen! I stamped last night. Okay, I was forced to because a swap was due, but still. I can't believe how busy I've been lately. It has just been so crazy. I've had this huge list of things to do and none of it has even been MY stuff. I'm finally through with it for the most part, and can start working on my own things. Christmas shopping.....yeah.....that would be a good thing to work on. Hmmmmm.

Anyway, this card uses a new Level 2 Hostess Set that will be featured in the Spring/Summer Catalog that begins on January 18th. The set is called A Little Somethin' and has six cute greetings including the following: Thanks a Bunch, Rock Star, Howdy, A Little Somethin' Somethin', Lovey Dovey & Friend. The Designer Series Paper is called Raspberry Tart and it is WILD. I love it! For this card, I stamped the Baroque "big mama" stamp on the DP with Versamark and embossed it with clear embossing powder. You can kind of see it on the scan, but of course it looks better in person.

Gotta go get busy doing "a little somethin' "!!!

5,000

2008-12-09T09:23:00.003-05:00

5,000 visitors........WOW! Leave a comment to this post and be entered in a drawing for cards and a stamp set!

Nursing Home Cards

2008-12-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

About every other month I go to a local nursing home and stamp with the residents there. Sometimes they do the stamping, but lately, it seems that they like to watch me stamp. Last week, I made lots of Christmas cards. This is one version I came up with for one of the men. I just take vanilla and white paper, so I dressed this one up a bit. I take scraps of ribbon that I have left over from classes or other projects. They think ribbon on their cards is the neatest thing EVER. If you ever need an ego boost, go and stamp with some elderly people. ;) They think everything you do is magical!

Richard's Projects

2008-12-07T22:46:00.005-05:00

The reason Richard built this last winter......

was so he could have a place to work on disasterous things such as this.......

and turn them into lovely --- um, I mean rugged, tough things like this!
It took him several months, but he had a great time working on this and now has a nice truck when he needs it. He even sold his other one a couple of days ago, so he must have some confidence in it. ;)

Customers ~ newsletter will be coming....

2008-12-04T16:25:00.003-05:00

Stampin' Up! Customers: the December Email Newsletter will be coming, but I decided to wait until after December 10th, because that is when the Retiring List for the Fall/Winter Catalog will be released. I'll be able to include that, rather than sending a second message. Thanks for your patience. Hope your Christmas plans are going smoothly. My cards are soooo stinkin' cute (but too much work this year!) and I'll post them as soon as they are finished and in the mail! ;)

FYI: the last day to order for Christmas delivery with Stampin' Up! is December 16th. Gift Certificates are always available!

Customers ~ one more thing!

2008-11-27T21:21:00.003-05:00

From December 1 through January 18, when you spend $20, you can get 20% off any stamp set in the Fall-Winter Catalog Sampler if you'd like. Sooooo - if you take advantage of the Holiday Extravaganza, and your subtotal is $20+, you might want to take a look at the Catalog Sampler and see if any of the stamp sets interest you. Timing is everything though ...... the Holiday Extravaganza only goes through December 1st, so you have a one day time frame to take advantage of BOTH! Also, since it is a "while supplies last" sale, there are disadvantages to waiting too. Decisions, decisions! ;)

Big Sale

2008-11-26T11:54:00.007-05:00

Stampin' Up! has just announced a Holiday Extravaganza Sale! BUT -- it is only available through Monday December 1st, and only while supplies last. There are some great bundles and some are up to 50% off. Think GIFTS.....for the stamper in your life.....maybe even a little something for yourself. Be sure and check them out and let me know if you'd like anything! Orders arrive in approximately one week.

Updates

2008-11-24T07:00:00.001-05:00

Shoulder update: two days after the cortisone shot, it truly did kick in....just like the doctor said it would. I got out of bed without having to "help" my arm out of bed. After 9 weeks, I couldn't believe it! I haven't had much pain since. I find myself cringing every time I reach for something, even though I don't need too. I just get ready for the pain because I'm so used to it. I'm going to Physical Therapy three times a week and I HATE it. It isn't painful or anything, I just hate setting time aside for it.

Mom update: my mom arrived on Thursday. It is always great to have her here. She usually comes every other year for Thanksgiving because that is how my sister and brothers are set up to go to their in-laws. It works out well. When she arrived, she started asking something about Twilight. I can't remember exactly what, but it turned into "You have those books, don't you?" She isn't any more of a reader than I am....before I started reading the Twilight Series that is! I decided to buy the first one in June, thinking that one of the kids might want to read it on our drive home. None of them did, so I decided I would give reading a try. I read a ton when I was a nanny, but haven't at all since. Just like Harry Potter got my kids to love reading, Twilight has gotten me to love reading again! I haven't stopped since.....except the last couple of weeks, when I really don't know when I would've found time. Most of the time I can only fit in a couple of pages at night, but it is fun and I look forward to it. I was telling my mom about Shelli, the founder of Stampin' Up!. On her blog recently, she wrote about her daughters urging her to read Twilight before the movie came out. She and her husband went on a vacation and all they ended up doing was reading. She had pictures of her reading everywhere. I laughed because it really does hook you. Well, my mom started reading Twilight on Thursday night and finished it Saturday. Too funny! She has been bitten, as they say. I keep hearing people who are skeptical say "isn't that about vampires??" Well, technically yes, but that definitely wouldn't be the first thing that came to my mind. I think of it as a very sweet love story. I want to go see the movie, but I know it can't possibly live up to the book!

Holiday Raccoon

2008-11-23T19:15:00.003-05:00

I haven't stamped for 2 1/2 weeks! For this card I combined the Under the Stars set with the Mr. Twigster set. I wanted to do something unusual, rather than just the normal Christmas card. I think the raccoon looks cute holding the lightbulbs! I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to place them perfectly, and then watercolored everything by using an Aquapainter and squeezing the ink pads and getting ink from the lid. The Kiwi "tree" paper is from the Frosty Designer Paper. YEAH - I stamped!

Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes

2008-11-17T15:45:00.003-05:00

You familiar with this children's song? Usually a real fun song, right? Well, not for me when I think of those particular body parts lately! I've had issues with each recently.

Since my nasty fall a couple of months+ ago, my shoulder has been giving me major problems. I finally got in to the orthopaedic specialist today. I think it won't be as bad as some people have warned me about. He gave me a cortisone shot (HATE those) that will hopefully start helping in a couple of days, some anti-inflammatory medication and I have to start physical therapy, which was the part I was dreading most, but at this point if it helps, I'm all for it! If those things don't work over the next month or so, then it is on to more yucky stuff, but right now, I'm hoping for the best.

Christmas Card Preview

2008-11-13T07:30:00.001-05:00

Here is a very tiny preview of what part of my Christmas cards will look like......if I get them finished. Watercoloring 80+ cards probably isn't the greatest idea ever! However, IF you decide to watercolor, I highly recommend our watercolor paper and an Aqua Painter. Two products that are simply awesome to work with! I'll share the full card when/if I get them all mailed out. That won't be anytime soon! ;)

If you need supplies for your cards, now would be a good time to order and start working on them. Don't forget the envelopes!

Email Addresses?

2008-11-13T06:36:00.002-05:00

A BAD thing happened yesterday! Something weird happened with my email, and I lost everything in my address book (300+ family, friends, customers), every past email (in other words...my memory), etc. If I normally email with you in any way, please send my a quick one so I can get your's again. THANKS! Hopefully Richard can figure this out for me, so we can retrieve the info. I'm not sure we'll be home at the same time until at least Sunday though.

Cute Fall Card

2008-11-12T07:39:00.001-05:00

For Amanda's workshop last week, there were lots of new stampers, so I needed a card for them that looked great, but wasn't too overwhelming. This one was perfect! All of their cards turned out great! There was just a little bit of stamping involved, along with some punching. The pumpkin was made using 3 punches of the new Wide Oval Punch, and for the stem, we used the Word Window Punch.

(basic idea by Nancy B.)

Scentsy Booth this Saturday

2008-11-11T08:03:00.003-05:00

Saturday I'll be at Elyria Catholic High School for their annual "March into Christmas" Holiday Craft Bazaar. Visit my Scentsy site for details. As you can see, Brandon came along as my helper at a show a couple of weeks ago, and said he may want to do that again Saturday. The boy loves to help! I'll have many items available for sale on the spot and anything can be ordered, of course. Orders take about 10-14 days to arrive. I usually have quite a few things at my home if you are in need of a last minute gift! Let me know if you need further details.

Stamp-A-Stack Results

2008-11-10T09:09:00.014-05:00

Yeah! The Christmas Stamp-A-Stack for 2008 has come and gone. Everyone made 5 of each of the cards you see below. I couldn't find my camera for the Friday night class, so I want to thank Kyleen, Lisa, Jan, Ann, Sandy, Ambre, Anne, Amy, Kristen and Becky for attending that night. Debbie wasn't feeling well on Saturday, so Julie stamped for her and she'll put them together at home. See you soon Debbie!

Bonnie, Mindy and Donna got a little dusty over at the Snow Swirled snowflake card station.
(basic idea by Susan Adams)

Jan and Treena took a moment to glance at the camera, but Joann needed to keep busy working with Mr. Twigster.

Judy, Jill and Barbie were happily working on their Season of Joy cards.

Julie, Ellen, Karen and Ginny worked on the Snow Swirled tree cards, while Mary worked on the Punches Three cards.

I'm in one of my "I never want to do another class EVER" frames of mind right now. That generally happens after each class.....especially the big ones. They're fun and I love having everyone over....don't get me wrong, but only demonstrators who prepare classes (and their families) can understand how much work they are. Classes aren't money makers, that is for sure. The time we spend to be ready and have everything as close to perfect as possible is unbelievable. We just do it to keep our customers stamping and to be able to show them things that take a little longer than we could at a normal workshop. I called my sister after it was over, knowing she had also had a class recently. We shared many of the same feelings. Luckily, this frame of mind wears off after a while, and I'll be ready to go again, but it is definitely time for a break. The last few months have been NUTS!

The kids kept busy in the stamp room on the computer. Brandon made himself comfy. Don't worry, because, YES - I finally made Zach let me cut his hair on Sunday night. He looks very handsome right now!