Clean & Simple for FMS

Hello Friends!

I'm excited to share a Clean & Simple Card with you this morning!  I found my inspiration from the folks over at Freshly Made Sketches.  

I'm in LOVE with the stamp set, Perfect Pennants.  I snatched that set from the shelf and pulled out my current favorite Designer Series Paper, Retro Fresh.  The color combination is from the paper.  I just used some of my favorite framelits and the stripes embossing folder to finish this out.

It's a simple, but I think lovely card.  I hope the gals at card class this week with have fun making this one while they enjoy chatting and laughing.

Thanks for stopping by!

Spring Fever at the Stamp Club

Hello Friends!

I've got spring fever!  I'm ready for warmer temperatures!  While I wait, I designed a cute little mini spring banner.

It's pretty small for a banner, but I think it's just darling!  I used the Perfect Pennants Bigz L die to cut the triangles.  I used the new Watercolor Wonder designer series paper, and some of the silver foil designer series paper.  The colors are:  Whisper White, Gumball Green and Island Indigo.

Here's a closer photo.  I used the new Delicate Dots embossing folder (FREE during Sale a Bration) and some Gumball Green embossing powder for the sentiment.  You can't see it very well in the photo, but I punched the flowers out with the new Petite Petals Punch, then I used a bone folder and my fingers to distress the flowers until I could separate them.  Then, I glued them to the banner with the fuzzy side out.  "It's pretty cool."

That glitter was just added with sticky strip.  

This is one of the projects my stamp clubs with make this month.  I wish you were in my stamp club! 

Who can name the movie I got the italicized quote from? 

Sending Good Thoughts Your Way

Hello Friends!

That's what I'm doing today.  Sending good thoughts your way.  Just like the card says!

I had tons of fun creating this card from this week's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches.  Check it out:

I can always count on a great sketch from these folks to kick start my creativity!  

Supplies:

Stamp Set: Perfect Pennants

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Baked Brown Sugar, Tangerine Tango, Coastal Cabana

Retro Fresh Designer Series Paper

Ruffled ribbon, tiny pearls, star punch, diagonal stripe embossing folder and the Pennants framelits

Thanks for taking a look!

Early Valentine Projects

Hello Friends!

It's finally almost time for my January stamp clubs to start meeting.  Seems like we've been on holiday break for too many weeks!  I miss my stamping friends!  This month, we will make a cute set of note cards that can be placed into a little sack for gifting.  Or, the gals could send every card separately, then put some candy treats into the bag to give to their sweet Valentine!  Either way, they are ready for Valentine's day just a few weeks early!  I hope they enjoy this project!

I've used some of my favorite new products for this project.  I can't wait to share it all with the stamp club girls!  

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

My First Time

Hello Friends!

It's an exciting day!  It's my first time to complete a sketch for the folks over at 'the deconstructed Sketch'. I'm excited!!

Here's the sketch:

Here's what I did with it:

I was pretty excited to use the new Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Paper.  Love those pretty prints!  I embossed the message with Gumball Green Embossing Powder.  Love the cute, cute little banners from the Sale-A-Bration catalog!  They have a coordinating punch!  Love that!

Thanks for stopping by the blog today!  Enjoy Tuesday!  

New Year, New Catalog & A Challenge From FMS

Hello! 

Happy New Year! 

Thanks for stopping by the blog today!

Today, I'm sharing a card made with new products from the 'Celebrate the Everyday' & the 'Sale-A-Bration' Catalogs.

The sketch over at FMS really helped me get started creating.  Check it out.

Here's what I did with it:

I've started a new card making stamp club.  We will make Birthday cards for a few months.  This is one of the designs I've created for January.  I'm so excited to share Birthday card designs with some friends.  This card would be fun for a guy too, just leave off some of the embellishments.

Supplies:

Stamp Set: Perfect Pennants

Big Shot: Banners Framelits die, Tasteful Trim die, Decorative Dots embossing folder

Cardstock: Whisper white, Basic Black, Bermuda Bay

Paper: Kaleidoscope Designer series paper

Accessories: Bermuda Bay ribbon, Basic metal buttons

Enjoy your Friday!

Christmas Project Overload

Hello Friends!

It's been too long since I've blogged, or shared projects with you, so today I'm giving you photos of many of my holiday projects.  We've made these things in stamp clubs and card clubs.  Gals have gathered at my house and stamped, punched and adhered their way into a festive holiday!  We started back in August!  These aren't all the projects, but here's a few.....

Oh what fun it is to create Christmas cards for five months!  (said no demonstrator ever.)  So, when we get down to the last month of card creating, I enjoy some non-traditional colors and layouts.  It's a pink Christmas!!

One of my favorite projects this season has been the Washi tape.  This time, we're using up the last of it for these Christmas tree negatives.  Merry Christmas!

I can never get enough notepads!  I love that big ole star!  It's beautiful embossed with the early espresso embossing powder.  The stamp club gals really enjoyed this simple project.

Ok, it's emboss resist.  I just did it because I was having such a hard time coming up with something cool to do with that giant tree...... out of desperation, I embossed with clear embossing powder onto whisper white card stock, grabbed a sponge and started inking away.  This turned out to be one of my favorite cards!  From desperation to favorite!  

I've seen so many people use the stars for boarders.... I had to join in.  This is a fun way to 'use up' the last remaining pieces of foil paper.  It's  a simple little design, but I really enjoy it!

RED!  This is a screaming RED Merry Little Christmas card.  Monochromatic schemes help me when I'm stuck.  Did I mention already that we're in month FIVE of creating Christmas cards?  Well, I was stuck, so I went to red to help me.

I'm a sucker for a mini album.  This little album only has about 4 pages.  (You could add more.) It's really a simple idea.  I love how the snowflake ornament is a bold statement for the cover.  It's a kit from Stampin' UP!.  Available while supplies last.

This year, I went crazy with the heat embossing.  Nearly every project has some sort of heat embossing on it.  I also did a whole lot of texture mixing.  Combining chevrons with dots or stripes, just made me so happy!  I find it visually pleasing, but if a customer didn't agree, she always had the option to use the reverse side of the paper.

These little 'file folder' projects are very popular this year.  I used our new envelope punch board to create this gift card holder. 

Candy bar wrappers are a staple for me every holiday.  I like the bold statement of the giant snowflake on the front.... looking at this photo reminds me that I still have a few teacher gifts to make.  Hope it stops sleeting soon, so I can get back to the store for more candy bars.... hope I don't eat them all before I gift them.

This is a very traditional card, with a slightly non-traditional greeting.  I love it.  It's simple, clean and very Merry!

Peace on Earth.

Simply put.  Simply sent.  Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas!  Thanks for stopping by the blog today!

Coffee Cup Treats

Happy Halloween!

I bet some of you might be expecting a Halloween project today.  NOPE!  It's WAY PAST time for making Halloween projects!  

Today, I'm sharing with you a cute project I designed for my Stamp Clubs.  I've seen several of these coffee treat cups on blogs I follow.  They all used the mini cups, which are adorable!  Well, I waited too long to order those cups online, so I used a 16oz. coffee cup.  It's still pretty darn cute!

The silver embossing is hard to photograph, so I'm not sure you can see the image well.  I plan on filling it with peppermints or something for teacher gifts too.... so, if you are reading this post, and you are a teacher I give things to, then please still be surprised when one of my kids brings this to your desk!  

Happy Halloween!  

Remember, it's not too late to work on projects for the next holiday....... 

Knock, Knock. Anybody Out There?

Today is a funny day.  I don't know why, but everything happening is hysterical to me, for no good reason.  Some of you may have read my blog post from earlier this morning.  I wrote it yesterday and scheduled it to post this morning.... very professional of me.  What you don't know is the incredibly silly thing I almost ran (very professionally) this morning.  Here's a couple of pics for you.....

  

Notice anything?  Anything popping out at you in an, 'one of these things is not like the other' way?

Yes.  You guessed it.  That's not the right sketch.  It's a glorious sketch, one that I printed out, and fully intended to create, but somehow, I created this other card instead.  The snowflake card has a sketch to it, and I searched online for quite some time to find the sketch associated with this card..... I had no luck.

So, in editing, I luckily actually LOOKED at the photos I was posting and noticed..... something isn't quite right.  

There you have it.  In a nutshell.  Thanks to whoever or whatever blog/website that offered me a sketch that I used to make the snowflake card.  I don't know who you are.

Likewise, thanks to the 'new to me' blog, the deconstructed sketch, because you guys have some pretty kick ass sketches..... one of these days I will actually print your challenge, create your challenge and post to your site.  Today is not that day.

Because I'm too busy laughing.

You should be laughing too.  If anyone is out there, reading this blog and all these stories of cards and projects..... you should laugh.  And, while you laugh, leave me a comment about your laughing.... and, don't be all, 'I'm gonna show her' and find the sketch for the snowflake card.... that's just spoiling every one's good time.

Peace out!

A Snowflake for Christmas Card Club

Hello Friends!

 I'm busy designing projects for my Christmas Card Club, so take a look at my snowflake card:

 Pretty Silver Snowflake!  What a fun design!

Supplies used:
Stamp Set: Festive Flurry
Card Stock: Smokey Slate, Island Indigo, Whisper white, Pool Party
Paper: Winter Frost Specialty Designer Series paper
Ink: Encore Silver
Embellishments: Silver Embossing powder, Silver ribbon
Big Shot: Festive Flurry Framelits

Thanks for stopping by!

The Tree..... it's Pretty

Hello Friends!

Sorry I've been away from blogging for a few weeks!  I've got TONS of projects to share with you!  I'll start with this Christmas Card that I designed for the Christmas Club Gals.

It uses non-traditional colors.  (Which I LOVE!)  I'm starting to be just a tiny bit weary of making Christmas Cards.  We've been at this for a few months already, so I knew I wanted to do something different to start off this month's club cards.  I started with the beautiful color palette:  Coastal Cabana and Bermuda Bay.  LOVE THEM!  Then I added the large tree from 'Special Season'.

Emboss resist is fun and easy.  Just emboss with clear embossing powder onto white card stock, then sponge all around the image.  I dressed up the focal point with some of that beautiful ruffled ribbon and some elegant rhinestones.

This Christmas card will be a lovely surprise for all who receive it!  

Thanks for stopping by!

The Senior, The Dad & A Christmas Card, oh my!

Hello!

In our little neck of the woods, today is Homecoming Friday!  It's all very exciting, and I'm sure I'll have more pictures to share later.  For today, this one is enough.

It's the Senior with Dad.  The bonfire looks impressive, right?

All these activities are fun, but they do not keep me from stamping!  I love spending some time at my desk creating projects to share with others.  Today, I want to share another card for the Christmas Card Club Gals.

This card is very traditional.  The colors, the sentiment (whimsical, but still traditional).  I really enjoy the pretty knot and the delightful paper.  This card just makes me smile!

Thanks for stopping by today for a look!  Happy Weekend to you all!  

Camo Christmas!

Hello Friends!

I'm so happy to be back at my desk creating projects!  Today, I want to share one of the cards we'll make at the next meeting of Christmas Card Club.  These are the super smart gals that are getting their holiday crafting done early!  

This fun sample I copied from my friend, Jann.  She made a swap for our San Diego Incentive Trip last month using this 'camo' technique.  My husband just loved it!  I hope the Club gals will feel the same way!  It's a Sassy/Camo Christmas!  and, it just makes me smile!  

Thanks Jann for the inspiration!

Our Favorite Restaurant in San Diego

We love to eat.  While in San Diego, we found several fun and delicious restaurants.  This place was our favorite.

This photo was taken by a guy working a parking stand right outside the door.  He waited for a brief break in the traffic, and stood in the middle of the street to take this photo!  It totally freaked me out!  I just knew any second he would be smashed by a bus.  Thankfully, we was safe, and was able to snap a picture of our favorite restaurant in San Diego.

The husband was very impressed with the selection of beers.  That's a whole lot of things on tap!

Beer was good.  Food was good.  Company was fantastic!  

Bold Birthday, it's just that easy!

Hello!

Today, I'm happy to share with you another sample from our most recent card class.  It seems that I always need a great birthday card, so I designed this bold card for our class.  

I love the simplicity of this card.  It's easy to duplicate with your favorite embellishments or designer series paper.  The card base is white, making the inside perfect for signatures.  Everything about this card just screams easy and convenient!

Thanks for stopping by today!  

Delightful Days in San Diego!

Hello Friends!

Recently, my husband and I returned from an all expense paid weekend getaway to San Diego!  It was lovely!  I was so fortunate to have earned this trip for two from Stampin' UP! last year.  I'm very grateful to all my friends, family and customers that helped me achieve this fantastic trip, so I thought I would share a few highlights.

Friday, Stampin' UP! treated us all to trolley tickets for a tour of Old Town.  The weather was beautiful, the guide was delightful, and we had so much fun walking around the historic buildings.

This is the husband, posing in front of a giant tree in the town square.  Every plant you see in San Diego has been planted by someone and is watered regularly.  Otherwise, nothing would grow!  It's the dessert!

The Whaley House is said to be the oldest structure built West of the Mississippi.  It was built on top of a graveyard, and because of that, is obviously haunted.  We didn't take the tour.  I'll take their word for it!

Another fun thing about this trip was getting to spend time with old and new friends!  There were a few funny places to pose for pictures.  These are the husbands enjoying the free trip!

These are the demonstrators!

We had such fun in Old Town that day!  Thank You Stampin' UP! for a fantastic weekend getaway!  

It's a Really Big Bow

I know, it's a really big bow.  Sometimes, a really big bow is just the final touch I'm looking for.  This fun card was featured in a recent card class.  Some of the gals made big bows, some didn't, but everyone loved the design!

I like the new alphabet embossing folder.  The letters make this folder easy to use in any direction.  It's a super easy way to step up a project.

I'm always running out of birthday cards, so I know I'll use this one soon.

Thanks for stopping by today for a look!  Now.... go create something!

My Favorite Smile from Card Class

I really had fun designing the cards for our last Card Class.  This ended up being my favorite sample of the night.  I am really loving this color combo right now.  It comes from the Designer Series Paper, Eastern Elegance.  The stamps all come from a stamp set called, 'Happy Day'.

I started with the focal point, and designed around it.  I love how easily the ruffled ribbon goes around that circle, and it's always so much fun to distress card stock by crumpling it up.  I added rhinestones and it still needed a little something....

So, I grabbed a sponge from the corner of my messy desk and started sponging Coastal Cabana Ink all around the edges..... only to discover that the sponge was compromised.  I had already used that sponge in some shimmery ink.  Well, I think the results are just divine!  I didn't even know I was missing a shimmery ink element.  Happy accident!

Our monthly card classes are so much fun!  I hope you'll be able to join us next month.  We will have some new samples to share.  I'm sure at least one of them will have a happy accident to share!

It's the getting home that's always hardest.....

Hello Blog Readers!

Today, I'm going to tell you a story of travel. It will be peppered with heavy amounts of sarcasm, so if you can't take the joke, don't read today.  You decide how much is true.  (It's all true.)

It all began at dark 4am.

Wake up!  Let's go to the airport!  Check in.  Security line.  Body scan. (Should I suck in for a skinnier silhouette?) Coffee.... Iced, so my tongue doesn't get burned.  Easy, non complicated boarding, take off and early arrival at the connecting airport.  Then, the wait for the gate.

Turn the phone on, check the time.  Our connecting flight is already boarding.  (Dang that time change!)  We are unloaded at B10.  The race is on.

"Your connecting flight is now loading at gate B93."

We run.

I'm being pulled by my husband.  We make use of 5 different moving sidewalks and two escalators down to the gate on the lowest level.  Just in time to watch the doors close.

We scream, "WAIT!  IT'S US!  YOU NEED US!"

Then, I begin to plead.  "Our seats, they're still available, just let us on this plane!  Please!  We're here!  We have all the appropriate documents for boarding!  We ran!  I might throw up from running!  We carried this box!  We're here now!  Your other plane is why we're late, we followed the rules......"

NO.

We're given standby tickets for the next flight.  $7 meal vouchers.  No apologies.  No awards for running.  No congratulations for NOT throwing up.  Not even a tissue.

We walk away from the gate. Dejected.  I'm crying.  Travel up two escalators.  Stand on 5 different moving sidewalks and up one escalator to the food area.  We have 9 hours to get a meal.  Have you ever eaten in an airport?  $7 meal vouchers?  Really?

We sleep.  We ride moving sidewalks.  We eat some more.  We laugh at people's funny socks, funny hair, funny everything.  I text, tweet and post stories of woe on Facebook.  We spend an embarrassing amount of time looking for the chairs with the outlets, only to discover the outlets are UNDER the chairs.  We feel accomplished.  Our devices charge to 100%.

We wait.

"Now boarding the next plane to your homeland."

We stand RIGHT NEXT to the gate agent.  We are number 1 on the standby list (and in his heart).  He keeps looking at us, nodding his assurance.  We will get on.  We will get on.

We did.

I was issued a ticket for the back of the plane, comfortably wedged between a window and a man I affectionately nick named, 'Stinky McNosepicker'.

Flight time: 1 hour 50 minutes

Stinky McNosepicker is a rebel.  He doesn't power down any device as instructed.  He tries the seat belt fake out.  He looks at babies with disdain. (Dude, I want to live! It's a rule.  Power down.)

He can't defeat level 43 of Candy Crush.

That's right my friends.  IF our plane would have crashed, it would have likely been due to one stinky man's inability to master Candy Crush.  Dude, our elbows touch.  I can see your weak gaming skills.  Do yourself a favor.  Shower.  Stop picking your nose.  Follow the rules and smile at babies.

GEEZ.

We fly 1 hour and 45 minutes through rain, lightening and thunder to arrive home to a dry homeland.

Irony much?

We deplane to discover our luggage made it on the earlier flight.  I try to register my complaint with the gate agent only to be interrupted and told that, "There's really nothing I can do.  The airline won't read any complaint.  There's no use telling me."

Okay.

My husband won't allow me to tattle on Stinky McNosepicker for not following the rules, so we board the shuttle to pick up our truck and drive home.

It's two days later, and my shin splints still hurt from the running.  No airline or travel agency cares we were unconvinced.  It's part of it.

Really?

I can laugh (a little) about it now, but at the time, it was NOT funny.  I can't help but wonder..... would a tiny touch of common sense, kindness and grace helped my situation?

I have common sense, but I still ran to try and catch that plane.

I am kind often, but I still wanted to punch the gate agent that shut the door on us smack in the face.

I work on the grace thing.  It's tough.  I don't think I gave out any grace at that airport, but I'm sure it was extended to me from other stranded passengers.

Possibly someone nick named me, Crybaby McPouter.

I should ask the Googles.

Prince of Peace, Simply Beautiful

Hello!

I'm having a great time creating cards for the Christmas Card Club.  I've advertised this club as a more advanced class.  The cards we make typically have more layers and techniques than a simple card class would have.

The sample I'm going to share today might not exactly fit into the advanced card category.

I used a new stamp for the focal point.  It's from the list of single stamps and is called 'Prince of Peace'.  I just think it's really pretty.  It reminds me of tons of great church songs.  

If you're looking for some special technique, you won't really find one.  I did use the Cherry Cobbler embossing powder for the focal point.  I do enjoy how the diagonal stripe embossing folder combines with the diagonal stripe on the Season of Style Designer Series Paper for a sort of optical illusion chevron look. That is sort of neat.  Mainly, I just enjoy the simplicity of this card and it's beautiful sentiment. 

Have a wonderful day!  Create something beautiful!