Card of the Day

Hello Stampers! Hope you all have had a great weekend! We have been busy planning my new stamp room! The loft of my house is getting a wee bit crowded so we are cleaning out the bonus room that we never finished when building the house. It is a 28 x 28 room that will be a great workspace! We plan on putting in a 1/2 bath and a sitting area with a projection TV. I can't wait! I am trying not to get too excited because every time we make plans like this, something comes up or breaks and the money disappears!

Anyway.....here is another stamp camp project from this past Friday night. It uses lots of punches! I love punches! When I stamped up the leftovers from camp, I ran my punched pieces thru the xyron and it made things go much faster. Enjoy!

The details:
Stamps: So Much
CS: certainly celery, real red, tempting turquoise, apricot appeal
Ink: black, certainly celery
Other: circle punches, 5-petal punch, boho blossoms punch, red striped grosgrain, stapler

Card of the Day

Hey stampers! Sorry I have been MIA for the last couple of weeks. My grandfather had been very ill and passed away this past week. I am sad to see him go but after seeing him suffer so much the last couple of months, it is a blessing. Thanks to some of my best stamper friends, the show went on and we had stamp camp last night.

I will be posting a card each day of the camp projects. This was probably the favorite. I CASE'd it from Splitcoast Stampers from 2 different stampers! Check them out here & here.

Check back tomorrow for another card from stamp camp! Enjoy!

The details:
Stamps: pick a petal, all holidays
CS: cameo coral, mellow moss, w white
Ink: mellow moss, apricot appeal, black
Other: silver brads, heat & stick powder, dazzling diamonds, black SU marker

Card of the Day

Hello Stampers! Hope you have had a wonderful weekend. I have had a busy one and finally got a chance to do a little stamping tonight. I created this bunny card using 2 different tutorials from the Chic n' Scratch blog. I used her tutorial for the bunny face and the tutorial for the tri-fold card. Too cute! You still have time to create some fabulous bunnies! Enjoy!

The details:
Stamps: Tag Time
CS: pale plum, gable green, w white, misc. designer paper, pretty in pink, black
Ink: pale plum
Other: punches, punches, punches (see link to tutorial)

Card of the Day

Hello Stampers! I have been trying to teach myself some new techniques/projects lately. I ran across this one on SCS and decided to give it a try. I think I tried it a long time ago and it didn't work out as well as planned! You all know how I lose my patience easily! It is called a Swing Card or Flip-Flop Card. You can find the tutorial here.

Have fun with this one! Enjoy!

The Details:
Stamps: priceless, holidays & wishes
CS: not quite navy, garden green, vanilla
Ink: summer sun, not quite navy, garden green, vanilla craft
Other: grosgrain ribbon, large oval punch, paper cutter w/scoring blade

Card Box

I saw a couple of card boxes I liked on splitcoast and found a couple of templates. I stole this one from here, on the Paper Pleasing Ideas Blog. I am sure there was a template for the lid somewhere but I couldn't find it so my hubby helped me make one. The measurements for the lid are 7 4/8" x 3 5/8" and scored 3/4" on all sides.

I had fun using my new toy that I got a couple of weeks ago. The Stamp-a-ma-jig. I cannot believe that I have been stamping for 2 years and just now got one! It is amazing. I just think of all the cardstock I have wasted when I stamped a sentiment crooked. This helps you get everything straight and puts it where you want it! They are found on page 184 of the spring/summer catty for $11.95. It's a great tool, you should get one if you don't have one already! When I pulled my alphabet set out of the cabinet, I took advice from my fellow stamper, Tabby. She stamps out her letters on vellum cardstock and then leaves it in the box with the stamps. That way it is always ready to use.

The Details:
Stamps: jumbo outline alpha
CS: blue bayou, wild wasabi textured, purely pomegranate, groovy guava, watercolor paper
Ink: blue bayou, wasabi, pomegranate, guava
Other: ticket corner punch, silver brads, 5 petal flower punch, blue bayou stitched ribbon, paper piercing tools

More of my shameless case'ing!

Good Morning Stampers! I hope you all remembered to run your clocks forward last night! It is after Noon and I am still in my pajamas, how sad is that!? I guess sad is not the word, lazy more describes it!

During my lazy time, I didn't even come up with my own card. I CASE'd this card almost exactly from here! The only changes I made were that my sentiment image piece on the front opens up with a message inside and I didn't use beads on my cupcake icing. I am going to buy some of the "puffy" paint and apply that later. Enjoy!

The Details:
Stamps: cause for celebration
CS: old olive, apricot appeal, more mustard, confetti white
Ink: more mustard, stazon black, old olive
Other: vintage brads, moss ribbon, slit punch

Hostess Promotion

Stampin Up is keeping the momentum going even after Sale-a-bration! Hostesses will receive and extra $25 in merchandise with a qualifying workshop/order! Call or email me to schedule your workshop!

Another Tile

I worked on a few decorative tiles today too. Enjoy!

The details:
Stamps: gorgeous grapevine
Ink: mellow moss, always artichoke, perfect plum, elegant eggplant (all craft inks)
Other: glassy glaze, ribbon

Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #38

Hello Stampers and Happy Saturday! I haven't done as much stamping today as I had planned but I did get a couple of projects done. The first project was Beate's weekend sketch challenge that I paired with this week's SCS Inspiration challenge. I love participating in the challenges! Enjoy!

The Details:
Stamps: spring solitude
CS: pretty in pink, green galore, gable green, w white
Ink: pink passion, gable green, white craft
Other: grosgrain ribbon, cuttlebug EF, ticket corner punch, heat & stick powder, dazzling diamonds, dimensionals,

Card of the Day

Hello Stampers! I hope you had a fantastic Monday! I was off work today but it was a yucky, rainy day to be at home! I did manage a little spring cleaning and a little stamping!

I totally CASE'd this from Beate's last tutorial on the chalkboard technique. It can be found here. I used the distressing tool from the cutter kit to distress the edges. I also used my new oval nestabilities to cut the scalloped oval with my cuttlebug and used a paper piercer to make the little holes in the scallops. The base is dry embossed with a cuttlebug embossing folder. I may do a card with this technique at my next stamp camp, it was very easy to do with a beautiful result! Enjoy!

The details:
Stamps: Close as a memory, weathered BG
CS: close to cocoa, choc chip, real red, pumpkin pie, vanilla
Ink: white craft, choc chip, real red, pumpkin pie, versamark
Other: nestabilities scalloped oval die, cuttlebug, SU pastes chalks, cutter kit, sponge daubers, paper piercer

My new paper cabinet

Hey girls! Look at the bargain that Gary found for me in the classified ads! We had to drive to Nashville to get it but I think it is worth it. It holds all my 8 1/2 x 11 paper! I have my scraps in manilla pocket folders that I cut down (we were throwing them away at work). I have a folder for every color and that makes it easy to use up the scraps. There are 2 of the cabinets and they each have 36 slots! They are actually called mail sorters. We got them both for $65 - I looked on Office Depot's website and they were over $100 each when they were new. I love them! I owe my hubby for this great deal!

Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #37

Hope you all had a great weekend! Speaking of weekend, I got a chance to complete the sketch challenge from Beate's blog. I really liked this sketch. I feel like it is a sketch you can either keep simple or kick up a notch!!

The stitching around the flower is faux stitching using the paper piercing set. If you like the watercolored look of the tulip, the look can be achieved by coloring your flower with pretty in pink and the stalk with certainly celery then go back and had a few dots of pink passion and garden green. After it is inked up, mist the stamp with a small amount of water and the colors will "melt" together to give the image a watercolored look. Enjoy!

The details:
Stamps: garden whimsy, for a friend (hostess)
CS: regal rose, apricot appeal, certainly celery, whisper white
Ink: regal rose, apricot appeal, certainly celery
Other: SU markers, paper piercing tools, corner rounder, grosgrain ribbon, cuttlebug EF, ticket corner punch

Card of the Day

Hey Stampers! Just a simple card to post tonight that was CASE'd straight out of the Spring/Summer Catty on page 96. I changed the colors up a bit and used the textured cardstock that I got recently!

I also wanted to share a tip that I learned from my friend, Tabby over the weekend. If you have a stamp that is not stamping evenly (for example, my butterfly shown here), you can go over the rubber with your sanding block and it will stamp better. I tried this with my butterfly and it stamps beautifully now. I had been blaming it on my ink pads but they were innocent! Thanks Tabby!!

Enjoy!

The Details:
Stamps: Garden Whimsy
CS: Purely pomegranate, wild wasabi (textured), groovy guava, w white (I love those In Colors - can you tell?)
Ink: groovy guava, wild wasabi, purely pomegranate, white craft
Other: 1", 1 3/8" & scallop punches, purely pomegranate double stitched ribbon

Card of the day

Hello stampers! Just a quick post for the card of the day. I hope you all had a great Monday, mine was kinda crappy. No time to stamp tonight but I am posting a card that I made yesterday. Everyone liked the last card I made with butterflies so much that I decided to make another one using the butterfly from the priceless set. Enjoy!

The details:
Stamps: priceless, sanded bg, it's your birthday
CS: purely pomegranate, groovy guava, river rock, w white
Ink: purely pomegranate, groovy guava, white craft
Other: 1 3/8, 1 1/4, and ticket corner punches, heat & stick powder, dazzling diamonds, crystal effects (on flower in the center), vintage brads, purely pom double stitched ribbon, stampin dimensionals (seems like alot now, but it didn't seem like I had that much stuff out at the time!)

Pictures from the pajama party stamp camp!

Hello stampers! I wanted to share the pictures from out pajama party themed stamp camp from this past Friday night. Everyone seemed to have fun participating in the event! The winner of the pajama contest with 8 votes, was my friend, Neal Ann Burnett. She fashioned a hand stamped t-shirt along with her flannel pants and pig tails! I had fun girls, thanks for getting out on a cold, messy evening!!

Merci

I really had fun picking out the stamp camp projects for this month. I was a little stressed because I felt under pressure to get them done but it finally all came together. This project uses another one of the Sale-a-bration sets and is CASE'd from the card in the brochure. I used just a plain ole' corsage pin in place of the pin from the pretties kit. Enjoy!

The details:
Stamps: Merci, french script BG
CS: old olive, rose red, almost amethyst
Ink: black stazon, old olive, rose red, so saffron, almost amethyst
Other: grosgrain & organdy ribbons, small oval punch, corsage pin, fiskars corner punch

Another Camp Project

Hello Stampers! I am so glad the weather is cooperating and I am having camp tonight. I hate it when I am all prepared for camp and then it doesn't work out, I miss my stampin' buddies!!

Here is another one of the projects that we are going to do tonight. It is CASE'd from here on Andrea Warford's blog. I thought it was very girly and uses one of the new hostess sets! I used the faux silk technique that was recently a tutorial on splitcoast. Enjoy!

The details:
Stamps: baroque motifs, time well spent, sincere salutations
CS: regal rose, certainly celery, w white
Ink: certainly celery, black
Other: SU markers, heat & stick powder, dazzling diamonds, dimensionals, ticket corner punch, tissue paper

Stamp Camp Sneak Peak

Hello Stampers! Sorry I have been MIA lately. My life has been filled with drama the last couple of weeks! My grandfather has been very ill and has been shifted back and forth to the hospital from the nursing home, my step-daughter came home from college (and not for a visit), and we have also been out of town. So....after all of that, I haven't been able to stamp as much as I would like!

I hope the weather does not keep us from stampin' tomorrow night! I am still planning on having my stamp camp but we will have to keep an eye on what mother nature brings us! Here is a little peak at one of the projects we will be doing tomorrow night! It is a CASE from the Stampin' Pretty blog by Mary Fish. I loved the colors that she put together for her card and I was really wanting to use this Sale-a-bration set. Enjoy!

The details:
Stamps: Friendship Blooms, Sanded BG, It's your birthday
CS: Not quite navy, real red, pumpkin pie, w white
Ink: real red marker, not quite navy marker and ink, white craft
other: silver brad, pumpkin pie striped grosgrain, distressing tool, felt fusion flower

Weekend Sketch Challenge #34

I am a little late on my sketch challenge but better late than never right?

I pre-ordered this Birthday Whimsy set from the sale-a-bration catalog last month and when it arrived, my Great Dane, Duke decided to chew on it before I got home. But who can stay mad at that face?!!






UPS has been left note after note stating to please not leave packages outside because the dog would chew them up. After this little ordeal, my husband called and let them have it after picking up 100 customer order forms from all over the front yard among the other items that were strewn! Now UPS kindly leaves me a note asking me to come pick it up at the terminal if I am not there to sign for my packages!





Okay, so back to my card...I salvaged the stamps as best I could (I just couldn't bear to throw them away) and decided to use it for Beate's weekend sketch challenge.
I used the last of my silver cord from SU - I hate it that it is retired now! Does anyone know where I can get some of this stuff? I may go into withdrawls if I don't have it! Enjoy!

The Details:
Stamps: Birthday Whimsy
CS: Pink Passion, Green Galore, Yo Yo Yellow, Brilliant Blue (I never use the Bold Brights colors) and W White
Ink: Green Galore, Pink Passion, Brilliant Blue
Other: Cuttlebug, misc ribbon, slit punch for scallop edge, silver cord, stampin dimensionals

Simple Cards to Stash

Happy Tuesday snowbirds! Yes, we are having an ice storm here in Kentucky. I know there are several readers from Canada that are laughing at our dusting of ice and snow right now but you have to understand one thing.....people in Kentucky can't drive on this stuff, they act crazy like we've had a full moon or the end of time is coming! I am sure there is not a loaf of bread, gallon of milk, or eggs to be found at any grocery in the county!

Anyway, the reason for my post: I needed to make some simple cards for my stash pile at work. I didn't want to spend too much time or supplies on these cards so I made them just one layer except for the photo corner punches. I think they turned out very well. I finally mounted my Oh, so lovely hostess set from the previous catty. I don't know why I waited so long! It is really...lovely!

Stay warm! Enjoy.

The Details (there aren't many):
Stamps: Oh so Lovely and various sentiments from my collection
CS: Whisper White and scraps of ruby red/mellow moss
Ink: black
Other: photo corner punch, vintage brads, markers

Project of the Day

Hey Stampers! First of all, I want to thank Ronnica Adams for hosting a workshop this past Monday night! She earned 3 Sale-a-bration sets, a level 1 hostess set and $40 in free merchandise. Thanks again for getting those outside orders together and having us to your home to stamp!

I found some clipboards at Sam's Club today and wanted to embellish them a little. This is what I did! I finally made something for me!! If there is interest, this could be a class for March! Enjoy!

The Details:
Stamps: none (that's crazy - I should have stamped something somewhere on it)
CS: berry bliss designers, pretty in pink, purely pomegranate
Ink: none
other: clipboard, ribbons, letters cut with cricut

Bikini Contest

Ha!ha! Made you look! I wanted to share this hilarious card I made for a friend's 40th birthday! I found the template on the Stamp Owl Blog. I think this pattern would make a great card for any man in your life! I used a heart and a flourish for the "tattoos"! Too cute! Enjoy!

The Details:
Stamps: Sweet Shapes & can't remember where I got the heart!!!
CS: Blush Blossom, designer series print
Ink: black
Other: panty template

Sale-a-bration Orders

For any of you out there in blog-land that may not have a demonstrator, If you would like to place an order of $50 or more, I will have it shipped directly to your home. For each $50 order, you can choose one of the Sale-a-bration sets for free. For each $150 order, you can choose 3 of the Sale-a-bration sets, 1 level 1 hostess gift, and $15 in free merchandise. Please contact me if you have any questions or would like to place an order. Thanks.

Is it your time?

Have you been contemplating signing up to be a Stampin Up demonstrator? Well, if the answer is yes, now is the time! Stampin Up is offering an unbelievable offer on the starter kit. During Sale-a-bration, the kit is 20% off! You get everything for only $159 plus, you get to pick an additional stamp set out of the Spring & Summer catty for free! That's a $47.95 value!

I have been involved with Mary Kay and Creative Memories in the past. Those are very good companies but neither has compared with Stampin Up! SU is a very generous company and will go out of their way to make sure you and your customers are completely satisfied with every product that is ordered.

Even if you are only interested in being a hobbyist (someone who stays active to get products for personal use at a discount), sign up today and take advantage of this offer. You will still receive all of the SU publications, access to the demonstrator website, and you will be able to attend SU events like the regional events that I attend every year. To top it all off, with every order of $150 or more, you will receive the hostess benefits - free stamps, free merchandise.

If you have any questions, please call or email me!

Card of the Day

Hello and TGIF!!! Just a quick post tonight, I am tired and ready to get in the pj's! I found this challenge in my email today and thought I would try it. I wanted to enter a card in the contest and this is my entry. What do ya think? I would so love to be picked! The contest is sponsored by Verve Visual and although I do not own any of their stamps yet they are nice enough to let me enter anyway! Enjoy!

The Details:
Stamps: Baroque Motifs
CS: Ruby Red, Choc Chip, Groovy Guava, Close to Cocoa, print by My Mind's Eye
Ink: versamark, choc chip
Other: vintage brads, copper EP, word window punch, paper piercing kit

Catching up on challenges

Hi again. This is the last one of the day, I promise!! I wanted to do a couple of the challenges on splitcoast and combined 2 into 1. The "ways to use it" challenge for this week was to incorporate staples into your card and I used the sketch challenge for the layout. Enjoy!

The details:
Stamps: In the spotlight, Happy everything
CS: mellow moss, designer series, river rock, really rust, more mustard
Ink: choc chip, versamark
Other: earth elements brads, 5 petal punch, ticket corner punch, distressing tool

Gift Box

I found this tutorial laying out on my crafting table and decided to give it a try. This will make a perfect hostess gift for Monday's workshop. It is packed with a little surprise inside! Go to Nichole Heady's site to find the tutorial for this cute little box. Enjoy.

The details:
CS: choc chip, choc chip designer series
Stamps: riveting
Ink: choc chip
Other: misc organdy, choc grosgrain, scallop punch, 1 3/8 and 1 1/4 circle punches

Snowed In!

Hello stampers! I have a day off today due to snow. The schools are closed and I just wasn't in the mood to take them to work with me - that would be a nightmare. I doubt too many people are going to be out getting xrays today anyway - unless they are in the emergency room!

I am doing a home workshop Monday night and decided to work on the projects today. This is one card that I made. I found this idea from here in the splitcoast gallery - I only changed the stamp set and sentiment. I thought it would be a very good project for new and seasoned stampers. It uses several different kinds of stampin up products for them to play with - ribbon, brads, punches, etc. The stamp is the same from the last post out of the Fun & Fast Notes set which would be a perfect purchase for anyone.

The Details:
Stamps: Fun & Fast Notes
CS: blue bayou, soft sky, soft sky designer series, whisper white
Ink: choc chip
Other: photo corners punch, large oval punch, paper piercing set, soft subtles brads, white gel pen, blue bayou stitched ribbon, markers

Another Early Morning Card

Hello stampers. I was up again waaaay too early so I thought it was fit to do an "early bird" card! I case'd this card from here in the splitcoast stampers gallery. The bird and sentiment come from the Fun & Fast notes set from Stampin Up. You may notice that the sentiment I used is not the one with the bird in the catalog. That is because I mounted my sentiments seperatly so that I could mix & match. Enjoy!

The details:
Stamps: Fun & Fast Notes
CS: Purely Pomegranate, choc chip, pretty in pink, w white
Ink: black stazon
Other: SU markers, soft subtles brad, berry bliss designer paper, ticket corner punch, scallop scissors

Card of the Day

Isn't this just adorable!!! This is a dual purpose card. It is for my new nephew that is scheduled to be born this coming Wednesday and also for Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge! I case'd the idea of fringing the Giraffe hair from my Cousin-in-law and upline, Donna Ross. Enjoy!

The Details:
Stamps: Bundle of Joy, Word on Word
CS: Soft Sky, Choc Chip, soft sky designer, w white
Ink: black stazon, choc chip, markers
Other: choc grosgrain, hobby blade, misc polka dot ribbon

Advice for Cricut Owners

Hey gals! Hope you all have had a great weekend. I haven't been out of the house since Friday! It is so cold and gloomy outside, I just want to stay in the house! Anyway, the reason for my post is: Those of you that know me, know that I have never really bonded with my Cricut! One reason was the mat is not sticky enough for me. It was really sticky the first 2 or 3 times I used it, but not since then. I was thinking about what I could do to make it sticky again to get me through 'til I get a new mat and I remembered one of my old banking tricks (We used this technique on the belts of the ATM machines to give them more grip), I put alcohol on a soft cloth and wiped the mat down. VOILA! My mat is sticky again!!!!! I guess the alcohol removes the grime and teeny tiny paper particles. Maybe someone has thought of this before, but I didn't know about this trick. At least I will get more use out of my mat and can spend that money on more stampin stuff!! Enjoy.