Stampin Friends!

I haven't stamped much lately due to the arrival of my grandson (and not being home). However, right before I left on vacation my friend, Nora, called and said, "Help!  I've got to have a shower and wedding card by this weekend!"  So she came out and here's what she came up with!

I'm not sure, but I think this was for the wedding and the following was for the shower.

Hopefully I'll be back with something that I've created soon!  

Precious!

We were trying to sneak in a vacation before our grandson was to arrive on August 9th so we headed from the 106 temperatures of central Kansas to the humidity of northern Indiana and Oliver Lake.  We'd been enjoying the water for 3 days out of our 10 day stay when we got the call....baby on the way!  So we threw our bags in the van and headed back to KS to meet our precious new grandson--Brody James....we are already in love!  Anyway--no stamping just this cutie patootie at 13 hours old!

Swap # 5 (the last one)!

The last swap I participated in was a background swap.  I made "Faux Barn Board" which is the coolest technique ever!  I found it on Splitcoast in their tutorials.  You need a piece of light colored cardstock.  You paint it with white slick paint that has 4 - 5 drops of reinker mixed into it.  I used soft suede.  Let it dry and then paint over the top with a thin coat of white Elmer's Glue.  Let it get ALMOST dry (this is the trickiest part) then paint over the top of it with a thin coat of white slick paint.  Then the magic happens!!  As the paint dries it starts to split like wood grain!  Very cool.  Here's a picture of my background.....I'll be back later with a card made using this background!

Swap # 4 and BLOG CANDY!!

I'm so sorry I didn't get my blog candy announcement made on Monday when I said I was going to!  I got a bit distracted with this:

I've been searching for a miniature schnauzer like mine and my mom's for my sister and on Monday I found an ad pointing me in the direction of this little guy's owner....he's a parti schnauzer and we think he looks udderly adorable and a bit like a holstein -- unlike any schnauzer that we've ever owned before!  He should stay small (7 lbs.) and is just a delight right now--but he has taken up a bit of my time!  I'll take him to my sister when we head out to Indiana later in July.  They can't wait to meet him (no name now other than "puppy boy") Anyway that's my reason for the delay in announcing my blog candy from last weekend's blog hop!  

The winner from those who signed up to be my followers is:  Lisa! 

Please contact me with your address and I'll get it mailed to you after you choose your stamp set from those available!  =-)

Here's my fourth swap--the 6 x 6 recipe card:  I made it to highlight my all time favorite apple pie recipe.

I guarantee if you make it and serve it with a bit of vanilla ice cream you'll be considered a baker extraordinaire! Yummy!

Envelope for the Envelope?

A little over a month ago I made this card.  It's called an envelope card because the exterior is made from a sealed envelope and then there is a little notecard that slides in and out of it for the message.  One thing I didn't take into consideration was if you make the card out of an envelope what do you mail it in??  I took this card with me on a trip hoping to mail it to a friend while I was there....hmmm....it doesn't fit in my envelopes (A2)....ooops!  So I have a picture of the card that I love, but has not yet been sent to anyone...maybe I'll find a bigger envelope after I unpack my stamp room from it's move to the basement!

I love the colors in this designer paper!  Too bad it's retired now (but I did stock up on it for the future).

Swap #3 One Sheet Wonder

The third swap I participated in was the one sheet wonder...the idea behind this is to stamp and make your own designer paper and then cut it apart to make a bunch of cards.  The person in charge of this swap was kind enough to include a cutting pattern so I an't wait to make some cards using some of the wonderful designs I received!  Here's the one I contributed to the swap:

This picture actually shows two 8.5 x 11 sheets.  I used "Fox and Friends" thinking it could be used for baby cards and child birthday cards.  See the lion?  That's a new in-color--Calypso Coral.  =-)

Thanks to all who became followers of my blog!  I'll be back with the winner of the blog candy later today!

VC Rocks! ABC Blog Hop!

Welcome to my first blog hop ever!  I'm so excited to be stop #11 on this "Anything But a Card" Hop that's made up of so many talented stampers!  You should be arriving from "Life with a Wiener Dog"--isn't Angela's project great?  If you came here by chance you can just keep moving on through the links and eventually circle around until you've visited all the blogs in this hop!  Keep reading to the bottom--I've got BLOG CANDY!

I am basically a card maker so coming up with an idea was a bit of a challenge for me.  I was walking through the clearance aisle in Wal-Mart last weekend when I happened upon some plates that were being sold and I remembered some seasonal inserts for plates that I had really liked when I was blog surfing about 3 years ago.  Initially I wanted to create a fall, winter, spring and summer plate (and I may yet do that), but here's what I ended up with--hope you like!

Sorry for the picture quality.  I had a horrible time finding good light and not getting too much reflection off the plate!  I put two velcro dots on my plate at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock and then added the other part of the velcro to each insert.  I have one for spring/summer, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day.  I used the stamp set "Loads of Love" which has been around forever, but I still love!  I also used its accessory set also.  I'm pretty excited how these turned out and am looking forward to using them on the mantle of my fireplace.  I got my inspiration from a card I saw here at DarleneDesign.com (love this blog)!

For each insert I cut a 6 inch circle of Bashful Blue CS using my Circle Scissors Plus and then pieced some scraps of green on the bottom part of each circle except for the Christmas one where I added Crumb Cake CS instead.  I stamped the truck twice once on the bashful blue and once on some scraps of designer paper in Not Quite Navy, Garden Green, Crumb Cake and Real Red.  I realized that my circle was still too small for my plate so I traced one of my dessert plates on Pumpkin Pie, Cherry Cobbler, Melon Mambo and Real Red for a background circle.  I added scallops the "old-fashioned" way using my corner rounder without the guard and punched holes in each scallop with my 1/8" hole punch.  I hand cut clouds from Whisper White CS embossed with perfect polka dot and square lattice embossing folders.  The sentiments came from a variety of stamp sets other than Loads of Love and are listed below.

Supply List:

Stamp Sets:  Loads of Love, Loads of Love Accessories, Christmas Greetings, Thankful for, Fabulous Florets, Grateful Greetings

Punches:  4 petal flower from Itty Bitty punch pack,  Owl punch (for pumpkins and hearts falling off truck)

DSP:  Patterns Designer Paper Stack (see above for colors), small scraps for presents falling off truck

Ribbon:  Dusty Durango polka dot, Melon Mambo polka dot, Cherry Cobbler seam binding, Real Red 1/4" grosgrain

Accessories:  Pearls, Crystal Effects (for windshield and window), blender pen, Basic Black marker, Red and Pink glitter

BLOG CANDY!  I have a stamp set, ribbon and a stack of 6 x 6 retired dsp to give away.  All you have to do is become a follower of my blog! (I need some)!  I will randomly choose someone from my new followers on Monday, July 11! 

  If you have any questions let me know!  Thanks for visiting-- come back again!

Here is the start of the Blog Hop if you want to go from the beginning!

    

 

Click here to go see the great project that Sharon has created for you!  You are going to love it!

       

  

Swap #2

I just received my second swap back in the mail.  It was an ATC swap---think of it like baseball cards in the stamping world.....they are small--2.5 in. x 3.5 in. and can become the focal image for a full-size card.  I decided to do two-- the retired ATC and the current ATC.  They were fun to make and didn't take a huge amount of supplies due to their size.

For my retired ATC I used the newly retired "Puns from the Past" with Love Letter dsp and my flower came from the solid on the new triple flower bouquet punch.  I really like the look of this stamp set with this designer paper and I'm sorry that both have retired now that I'm ready to use them....isn't that the way it always seems to work?

I used black embossing powder on the pot and a riding hood red button from long ago.

For my current ATC, I used one of the cutest new sets (I think) from last year--"Friends Fur-Ever."  I think it's because the dogs in this set remind me of my white miniature schnauzer Daisy--who is my 4th child now that I have an "empty nest" at home!

I used the red glimmer paper for the heart--so excited that it's in the new catty!  The sentiment is from "A Word for You" I think--I may have to edit this if it's not!  =-)  

I'm participating in the VC Rocks Blog Hop this weekend--my first one ever.....hope I can figure out how to do all the techie links!  

VC Rocks--Swap #1

I decided this summer I was going to try and do more with my stamping....so step 1 was to become a part of a couple groups that deal with stamping.  Step 2 was to participate in some swaps (my first ever).  I just received my swaps back so I can post the swaps that I sent in.  This was a 6 x 6 Punch Swap and I for sure didn't know what I was doing---but I think they turned out okay.

I made it a bit bigger than normal so you can read my writing!  =-)  Loved both Pooh and his friend Piglet which I made earlier this year here.  They are cased from a blog called Eve's Offcuts and the link is in my original post.

Enjoy!  I'll be back with my other swaps as I get them back in the mail.....

New Catalog and Demonstrator Offer!!

I hope you have your new catalog--there are many beautiful new papers, stamp sets, dies for the Big Shot, punches, ribbon, and embellishments.  If you don't have one yet--let me know!  I've got them available for $5 and I'd love to put one in your hands!  Contact me and we can make it happen.

                                 

The other thing I wanted to let you know about was the $99 July special for becoming a new demonstrator....

......whether it's as a hobby demo or someone interested in building a business.  Here's some info about that.  If you've ever given this a thought or would like to learn more about it give me a call and we can talk!

If you have thought about becoming a Demonstrator, now is a great time to start, for a limited-time you can join with a $99.00 Starter Kit--valued at more than $180.00 and it is full of product favorites, including items from the brand-new Idea Book & Catalog.  Here are some of the perks of becoming a demonstrator:

•               A 20 percent product discount!

•               A free monthly issue of Stampin' Success, Stampin' Up!'s demonstrator-only magazine!

•               Sneak peeks at brand-new products!

•               Invitations to exclusive Stampin' Up! events!

•               Regular get-togethers to stamp!

•               Free access to a community of 30,000+ crafters/stampers and creative artists, as well as 160,000+ project samples!


The Christmas Keepsake Box Project Kit--a $40 value--contains the following products (quantities are 1 unless otherwise noted):

•               Pines & Poinsettias Set (wood-mount)

•               Keepsake box

•               Scallop borders (cut from Tasteful Trim Bigz XL Die)

            First Edition Designer Series Paper (3)

◦                Holly Berry Designer Series Paper (6)

•               First Edition Specialty Designer Series Paper strip (2)

•               Holly Berry Designer Series Paper piece*

•               Real Red Top Note (cut from Top Note Bigz Die)

•               Real Red Decorative Label (cut from Matchbook Bigz XL Die)

•               Wild Wasabi Card Stock strips (3)

•               Naturals Ivory Card Stock piece

•               Holly Berry Bouquet Designer Fabric*

•               Real Red 1-1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon

•               Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon

•               Victoria 5/8" Crochet Trim

•               Linen Thread

•               Champagne Fine Galaxy Stampin' Glitter

•               Vanilla Pearl 1/2" Simply Adorned Bauble

•               Pearl Basic Jewels (1 pkg.)

•               Holly Berry Bouquet Designer Buttons*

◦                Large Wild Wasabi

◦                Small Real Red

•               Mini Vintage Tags

Additional Supplies Needed

•               Early Espresso Stampin' Write Marker

•               Real Red Stampin' Write Marker

•               Wild Wasabi Stampin' Write Marker

•               Adhesives

•               3/16" Corner Punch

•               Scallop Circle Punch

•               Paper Cutter

•               Paper Snips

•               Needle

•               Glue gun

________________________________________________________________

Your $99.00 starter kit will include the following:

 Easy Events Clear Mount*

Pennant Parade Wood Mount*

Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad

Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad

Brights 8 1/2 x 11 Assorted Card Stock

Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pad

Whisper White Note Cards (20)

Just Add Cake Designer Series Paper*

Chocolate Chip 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon*

Blender Pen (1)

Clear Mount Block C

Snail Adhesive

*New to the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog!

Business Supplies 
The business supplies in these promotional mini kits will be the same business supplies that are in existing starter kits; no alternative selections can be made for business items.

•               Getting Started DVD

•               Getting Started Guide

•               Guest Invitation Postcards (100)

•               2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog (8)

•               2011 Summer Mini Catalog (8)

•               Stampin' Up! logo vinyl

•               Décor Elements applicator

•               To My Hostess Envelopes (10)

•               My Digital Studio Marketing DVD

•               Recruit Folders (5)

•               Recruit Brochures (20)

•               Customer Order Forms (50)

You can sign up on my DBWS here!  Or contact me by phone or e-mail to talk about it!

The new year for Stampin' Up is always a fun time--like Christmas in July!

I Heart Strawberries!

I really do love strawberries just about anyway that they are fixed--yummy!  One of my favorite fruits!  When I saw the idea to make a strawberry out of a heart I thought it was too cute!  Here's my first try at this.  I used the same card format as I did for the graduation cards that I posted earlier (in June?).

I used a bunch of punches along with  Tart and Tangy (retired) and On Your Birthday.  The base is Real Red with layers of Garden Green, Whisper White and Crumb Cake.  Embellishments included--taffeta ribbon--So Saffron? and So Saffron brads for the center of the flowers.
Big Shot Dies:  Two Tags and Scalloped Heart of Hearts
Punches:  Boho Blossoms, Bird punch, 5 Petal Flower, 1 1/4 in. circle