Fun Stamping Day with Jeanne S!!

I don't have time to post the project I made this morning because I am ready to go run my errands (delivering product, new catalogs to customers) and FUN stamp time (LONG overdue since it's been over a year since our last one) at Jeanne's house! I get to spend quality time with my friend who I haven't seen since last Oct because of all the moving & busyness life brought to me!! I also get to play with all her new loot!!! LUCKY ME!!!

Beach Blogger Bingo Round 4 (2 cards)

It's been a few days since I've posted for this fun game of BINGO Julee is hosting! The prizes have been fabulous! Check it out- it's been a LOT of fun! I made this card to send to the gal I'm secret sis for on SCS (hopefully she never sees my blog or else I'll be found out! Like me, she loves purple so this was an easy & fun card to do) I used my Baroque Motifs set (love it & THANK YOU Terry K. for blessing me with it for my BIRTHDAY!) and some chipboard & paper from a chipboard pack I got for real cheap at JoAnn's. They match the Elegant Eggplant so well. The center circles are chipboard I covered with the paper and used a dimensional for the center flower. I used craft ink for the background so it showed up well & the crop-a-dile for the brads.

My next card I used My Favorite Things Hot Stuff set as well as the sentiment from the Girlfriends set by Fiskars (word window punch used). I love these 3 colors together, looks great for coffee! It's River Rock (totally was not digging on it at first but LOVE it), Soft Sky & Chocolate Chip. I used my Copic Markers to color the image. This is a 4 x 4 inch card, real cute but the sentiment on the River Rock strip gets lost a little, which says 'coffee & friends the perfect blend'. How true! I used to LOVE hanging out at coffee shops with my friends growing up in CA. I don't do it often enough in TX, so I miss it. But I do LOVE the java!!!

Bella Storage!!

When I was re-arranging my stamp room & organizing, I was trying to figure a good way to store my Bellas and I had an small empty stamp case by SU! how perfect!! So, here's my first and maybe only tip I may ever share with y'all - I know, I need to get more bellas!!

HOW DO I SPELL RELIEF?!?!

C-A-T-A-L-O-G!!

I finally got my pre-ordered catalogs AND my comp copy in the same day! wOoHoO!!!

My Favorite Things Blog Candy with Jen & Taylor!!

I'm SO glad Jen and Taylor posted a My Favorite Things Blog Candy contest today!! It FORCED me to open my only set up I got for my birthday along with one set of the copic markers. I knew I'd LOVE this set the moment I saw it because I love Coffee & Most Teas!!! Actually DH is the BIG fan of teas but I am slowly getting there, I prefer cold teas over hot teas but with this set it could be both, right? My first project I incorporated a little Lipton Iced Tea packet that goes in a bottled water. I made my own little box, it's not perfect but it's what I could do after a VERY long day! I was SO upset though, because I lost one of the little cups already! I turned my desk upside down looking for it- ugh. Now I'll have to buy another set. I used River Rock, Close to Cocoa, Ruby Red & Very Vanilla c/s. I got my chocolate brads at A*Muse on vacation but I can't remember who makes them! Used circle & oval punches, chocolate grosgrain ribbon, linen bg. This was fun!

My second project (because I want to enter BOTH of their contests) is a 5 inch card. I also used the Faux Ribbon Papertrey set as a little shelf for the cards as a border. I used the same colors as the other project and faux stitched a border around the main image. The corner coffee bean accents are popped up with dimensionals and she is colored in with Prismacolor pencils & Gamsol. I'm pretty happy with how this card turned out I just wish I could find that little polka dot coffee mug (which happens to be my favorite one!!)

Copic Markers - new use!

Trudee posted a tutorial to color your white grosgrain ribbon to match your project with Copic markers! How cool is that? Here's the link! No more mess with re-inkers! I can't wait to go home to try it!

Today's Round 3 Blogger Bingo Card

I'm running out of creative post titles for these blogger bingo contest cards on Julee's blog. This is my entry for the current sketch. I just got my new IN COLORS from SU! today! I waited to order to see what everyone thought and I wasn't really crazy about the pre-order sets except for Baroque Motifs (A sweet friend sent me $ so I could order it from her for my birthday, thank you, Terry!!) I will play with it tomorrow because I had a jam-packed weekend and I want to rest this evening. But I had to make a quick card to send as a Thank you to someone & this fit the bill. Used Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi, Very Vanilla, Basic Grey Phoebe paper. Anyone notice the In Color cardstock is not quite the thickness of other SU! cardstock? I was surprised. Anyway, I only stamped the sentiment & stumbled upon the idea of creating a unique tag with the oval punch, punched both colors with the same oval punch & sliced off the sides of the top layer. The sentiment is from Papertrey's Faux Ribbon set, which I love!

Personalized Stationary

MIL needed a gift for her chiropractor & it was the perfect opportunity to use my Clearly Creative Card Boxes by Papertrey! At just $.60 each, it's the most practical solution for boxing up assorted cards for sale or as a gift! I printed "A Note From Patricia" from Word on my computer and stamped Mixed Bouquet (one of my go to sets that, although it's retiring from SU! current product line I will not stop using). Colors used: Ruby Red, Really Rust, Summer Sun, Old Olive, Garden Green, Not Quite Navy. Accesories: Cranberry stitched ribbon (retiring, blended well with Ruby Red for this project), Copper Cord (also retiring), Color Spritzer Tool. Cardstock, envelopes used were Papertrey's Stamper's Select Cardstock which I LOVE - it's so sturdy for folded cards, unlike SU! thin Whisper White (which I still use for layering, just not if I want a white card base).

Redheaded Birthday!

I needed to make a birthday card for a pretty redhead whose birthday is soon, so I grabbed my already colored redheaded bella and paired her with some Basic Grey Phoebe paper & grabbed my Faux Ribbon set by Papertrey to mimic all the fun patterns in the paper for the background. I LOVE this set, it has SO many possibilities! This card was easy & fun to make - I bet this redhead will get a kick out of it!

Blogger Bingo Card - Sympathy

Here's a new card for Julee's contest of Beach Blogger Bingo We only started on the 20th and we've had 1 winners already! When we upload cards, Julee calls bingo numbers so the more cards we make, the faster we go! She's been giving out some awesome prizes too! This card is doubling as a sympathy card for Julia Stainton I've wanted to send her since her mom passed away.

ATC Swaps

Here are my 4 group swaps for Taylor's A*Muse ATC Swap. I can't believe how fun & easy these are to make & not so overwhelming as a card front or full card. O.k. with the little dog in the wagon - that one wasn't so easy - there was a LOT of work with masking & coloring with my Copics but I sure like how it turned out. You can't see the sky very well in the photo, though.

Blogger Bingo Cards 3 and 4

This set is the next prize for Julee's Beach Blogger Bingo! We already had one winner (Sarah) the other day!! I didn't make any cards to upload to get numbers drawn yesterday, so I made 2 for today with this sketch. I hope the bee border on the left of the 2nd card is o.k. because I did not have ANY bg paper to match the ATC bee (which is for Taylor's ATC Swap) this is the 2nd round (I was SO impressed with the 1st round I HAD to get in on the 2nd one-I never did post those pictures). But better than that - here's a link to the first ATC SWAP ALBUM Taylor uploaded. This way you see them ALL & not just the ones I got. I look forward to this next round!!!

Never be the first to let go of a hug...

I was surprised with a Thank You bouquet of the most fragrant pink roses in a bulb vase yesterday at work! By the gal who I made this gift for back in March. She came in to say thank you personally for blessing her. She also brought a bouquet to her best friend (my supervisor who has been a great support for her) and the receptionist here (who is also a Breast Cancer Survivor that can relate to what she is going through).

Wow - I was shocked at this gesture. When I shared this humble act with John he said now 'that is ture gratitude.' How often do we say Thank You in a bigger way for something someone did that meant so much to us? Sure we can send a card or a quick email...but how much more special is it to BLESS someone back for BLESSING you? I must have given her about 4 hugs...and they were real hugs, not the kind that are wimpy with a fake pat on the shoulder - I'm talking the kind that bridge the gap between casual acquaintances; connecting two souls, where you don't want to be the first to let go. The hugs were more than just just than you for the roses; they were also to let her know I'm glad she's doing better, beating this thing! She said there's only 3 more treatments. I meant it when I told her she looked so great because she does!! I actually saw her eyes well with tears at one point. I always think of the saying I read a long time ago, to "never be the first to let go of a hug". I know it sounds a little silly because if two people believe that, who's ever going to let go and get on with life? It's neat to think about though. There is power in a warm, meaningful hug.

The Card Castle: Stamping Tip: Punch Coloring

The Card Castle: Stamping Tip: Punch Coloring Check out this cool tip for multi-colored punch shapes!!

Beach Blogger Bingo Sketch #2

So here's my sketch card to catch up to Shadowcatcher's Beach Blogger Bingo fun! Check it out & play along with us!!

I love Whipper Snapper animals! This is a pup 'n bone I got from my sister & bil for my birthday - isn't he the cutest?! Totally reminds me of my Shelby when she has a bone (I'll have to get a picture soon & upload it to show you) I used my Copic Markers to color the pup 'n bone, my mega circle & giga circle scallop punches from Papertrey as well as my Faux Ribbon set how fun are those faux ribbons?? What's so cool about clear stamps is that you can SEE where you're stamping so there was no guess work or stamp-a-ma-jog involved with it!! The sentiment is from a Fiskars set (I also got for my b'day) and the paper is SU! Pallette O' Prints in Almost Amethyst.

Beach Blogger Bingo!!!

Julee aka Shadowcatcher posted a fun contest for the summer called Beach Blogger Bingo & I decided to join the fun!! You email her with a request for a bingo card & post cards for her to call out numbers to the sketches she posts! Here's my first card - I used my new Whipper Snapper cat with balloon I got for my birthday from my Sister Deana & BIL Frankie. Isn't it cute? I also colored it in wiht my new Copic Markers I got from My Favorite Things! I figured this was good motivation to get in my newly remodeled stamp area every day! I love a good game of Bingo!

Stampin' Up! Retired Accessories List

This list was published today! There is limited availability for certain products - don't miss out if there's something you really want to get!

Retired Accessories List

Stamping Red!

I made this card for a Bella swap a few months ago & realized I never posted. My DH accidentally got a little water on it last night - ugh, I tried to cover with a little more sponging, but it still shows! I paper pieced her dress & hair bow. I loved making her a redhead to complement the olive green. I used the Word Search bg to highlight 'ALWAYS FUN' above the Circle of Friendship Rubber Stamper circle. Linen BG was used too.

Project Organization Complete!

I was inspired by Craft Critique's Organization Carnival to really get organized with my stamping space and by DH's desire to set up his XBOX 360 (to play Halo live on the internet) and put MIL's computer in the same room. So - I was on a hunt to get tips, hints for storage & organization...check out the post for part 2 to see more organization & stamping space photos.

Here are a few photos of our BEFORE (insert slight embarrassement)

And here is our AFTER. We started working on this Friday evening. We went to Wal-mart on Sat & bought some cheap fabric because I had the idea to cover up underneath the table. I'm happy how it turned out. When I sit at my desk, all I do is bunch up the cover (it's velcro) to the left of me & then put it back when I'm done. I don't like looking at all the clutter (there's not that much clutter underneath but that's where the garbage can & all my stamps are you can see on the right of the before photo)& don't feel others should either, that's where the idea came from. It took me about 2 hours to do the table skirt (shortcut used was fabric glue because my sewing machine is in storage). As soon as I'm done posting...off to stamp I go!! Refreshed, renewed & recharged!! Look out!!

New space (computer on the left) DH said he's happy about that now, he can look at me stamping when he's on the computer (how sweet)

My new space

DH playing XBOX 360 & Shelby relaxing

MIL's computer space and tv for game playing

More Paisley Chipboard

Entered in a SU! wow contest (didn't win) but I like how the card turned out! I like this color combo for some reason.

DETAILS Sets: Polka Dots & Paisley, Paisley BG; Cardstock: Blush Blossom, Cool Caribbean, Chocolate Chip; Inks: Blush Blossom, Chocolate Chip Craft; Accessories: SU! Chipboard; Corner Rounder, Horizontal Punches; Chocolate Grosgrain ribbon, Gold Brads, Sponges

Lovin' on Paisley!

Since we know the winners of the Papercrafts Stamping Royalty contest, here is a card I entered in the stamping on chipboard contest. I enjoyed making it & like how it turned out.

DETAILS: Sets: Polka Dots & Paisley, Paisley BG, A to Z Accents; Inks: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip Craft; Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White; Accessories: American Crafts ribbon, dimensionals, Maya Road Paisley Chipboard, Soft Subtles Brads, Linen thread

Graduation Time

MIL needed a few cards for graduates so these are what I came up with. The first one is for the receptionist at her chiropactor's office who graduated from college. It was inspired by Julie's card on SCS . I used Happy Harmony (SAB '07), Wonderful Words; Bravo Burgundy & Very Vanilla cardstock; horizontal, Giga & Scallop punches, color spritzer tool, bravo burgundy, always artichoke, ruby red markers, and Burgundy Grosgrain ribbon.

The next one is for a boy graduating from high school. I used SU! AYCII (I believe), Riveting; Traffic Jam embossing folder, SU! basic black & papertrey stamper's select white cardstock (love that stuff!); slit, circle punches, silver brads, silver cord and dimensionals.

Sexiest Man Eye Candy courtesy of Kathy!

Check out another suggestion of mine for Kathat for her Tuesday Eye Candy (boy, I never looked forward to Tuesdays like I do now) before stumbling upon her blog! What a hunk!

If you have a suggestion for future eye candy, check out her blog & let her know!

A BRAK from CANADA!

Look at the coolest card I got from Nancy (check out her blog by clicking her name). The card is so bright & cheerful - I just LOVE it! The daisy ribbon is so cute too! Thanks, Nancy - you made my yucky day great (I haven't felt well since last weekend) I got a sore throat on Friday & forgot to be diligent in taking my herbs at the onset. Then Sat was out all day in the heat at a picnic with DH's co-workers (was zonked that evening) and Sunday we spent re-arranging furniture & stuff by the time Monday came, I was really good for nothing so I stayed home from work. My head was pounding, stopped up with gunk, but I'm getting better now. I missed blogging & haven't had ANY energy to stamp all week! UGH, hate when that happens.

Anyway, hope to be back to normal real soon - in the meantime, I'm going to post some more ATC's!

A*Muse ATC Swap

Here are the cards I made for Taylor's swap (if you click on the post & the link she posted, you can look at ALL the cards!) I was amazed at how easy & FUN this swap was so I decided to join 4 more spots! I have already come up with one of the ideas, I just need to get cracking on the others as they're due in a few weeks! The one on the left uses the A*Muse truffle & "chocolate IS the answer"; SU! Au Chocolate paper; chocolate chip craft ink, clear embossing powder, 3/4" square punch; brown grosgrain ribbon. The one on the right uses the A*Muse small oval, bear, tiny cake; SU! Confetti White, Only Orange cardstock, My Mind's Eye Magnolia paper; All American Crafts ribbon; color spritzer tool; frosted lace stickles, mini glue dots.

Secret Sister Cards!

This is the birthday card I received from my Divine Secret Sister on SCS. During the 'Round' you sign up for whatever level of commitment you'd like to be involved with, you are assigned a lil' sis to be big sis for & vice versa. So this is from my big sis...I wonder if she knows the rose is my flower? it's the June flower...what a pretty card.

MORE BRAK's

Wow it was a cool few days of mail after my birthday! Here's what I got!!

The first 2 are from DEB ALBRIGHT - not sure if she intentionally meant to send me 2 BRAKS but hey, that was sweet!!! Check out her blog Life Out of the Shell. The one on the left is made with my all time favorite colors together & Delight in Life SAB '07 set. I LOVE purple & green! The polished stone is awesome!! The one on the right, I am not sure the stamps used or the bg paper but it is CUTE!! My other favorite colors together, pink & brown. Deb, you hit it right on the head for me!!!

The next one is from SCS Sassybee (Brenda Speck) and my favorite combo again!! These girls are awesome! I love the cupcake with the designer papers! Yummy card, Brenda! Thank you!!!

The next card is from Kim Fritz SCS Stampin-girl. I LOVE Cool Caribbean & Elegant Eggplant together & I have NEVER made a card with that combo yet (what's wrong with me)? I know there's a TON of ladies out there who are going to MISS Cool Caribbean & are stocking up on the cardstock, I'm one of them! Thanks, Kim!

Viggo Mortensen Eye Candy!!!

Thanks, Kathy for taking my suggestion for Tuesday Eye Candy & posting the week of my birthday - what a treat for me!!! Check out Viggo Mortensen who played Aragorn on Lord of the Rings Trilogy (oh man, that 5 o' clock shadow & long hair *gasp*) he also played in 28 days (the baseball player in rehab) opposite Sandra Bullock (i love that clean shaven short-haired look on him too) that man never looks bad! Also, the cowboy in Hidalgo (wonderful story). What a hunk!! He's just got classic looks with the bold jawline, great hair, pretty blue eyes and the bod - oh I better not go there! Let me know what you think! Also, if you have any suggestions for future eye candy - send an email to Kathy!

Sweet BRAK from upline

I got another card today - from my upline's upline's upline...Kathy. She is SO sweet! Since my immediate upline is no longer active, and her upline is in The Woodlands, Kathy is so sweet to nearly treat me like her own (well, I earned it too when I made Supervisor because she includes her group & leaders in events). Kathy opens up her lovely home to swaps, meetings, etc and always has wonderful food to share with us (including her Mama Rocco's Baked Ziti last year in which she was gracious enough to share the recipe with those of us who wanted it, it was SCRUPMTIOUS!) Anyway about the time I was getting ready to go on vacation & was super busy, I told her I couldn't make it to a meeting although I REALLY wanted to go - she understood but was bummed about not being able to recognize my 4-year anniversary with SU! with a 'small' gift for me. I was so humbled...and she said she would send it in the mail. How sweet is that? It's a book called The Nature of Success buy Mac Anderson. I started reading it & it's good so far! Thanks, Kathy - for blessing me with your presence!! I'm really enjoying the tidbits of inspiration in it & I'll share one with you:

"Successful is the person who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much, who has never lacked appreciation for the earth's beauty, who never fails to look for the best in other or give the best of themselves."

Isn't that a great thought to ponder!?

Birthday Celebrations!

This blogthing about what color nail polish are you is so fitting right now. Last night we 'celebrated' my birthday with BIL, MIL, MIL's friend. We had Mangieri's pizza/subs delivered & an ice cream cake - yum! Here's a picture of gifts from MIL & her friend.

I love making sure my toes are painted! My favorite nail polish brand is OPI (I love the names of their colors)! In fact, I just got a new one from my DMIL for my birthday & it's called Maine-iac Mauve! It's a pretty neutral color, so I'll use it on my fingers instead...I love to go BOLD with my toes so they stand out. I like to give myself pedicures & manicures. Of course I like to be pampered at salons too-but that's once in a blue moon. Actually back in Feb I treated my friend Danielle (8 mos pg) to a pedi/mani and I had a pedi at the same time. It was fun!! But since it's my birthday weekend, it's time I do mine & now I can really treat myself with these goodies in tow! I can't wait! But I will have to - DH and I are going to look at a builder & a SIP's home (which is what we're leaning toward with our new home (Structurally Insulated Panelized System) where the house is insulated with styrofoam blown into the panels instead of wood for the walls. it would still need to have drywall but with this type of home you need not worry about termites, molds, allergies, and it keeps your home cool! We're trying to build as green as possible. So my stamping & pedi/mani are going to have to wait until this evening but that's o.k. Later I'll post the sweet card on the right that is from my DMIL's DF (dear friend) that made me cry.

What Kind of Nail Polish Are You!!??

this is so funny since my favorite color is Purple! HA

Your Nail Polish Color is Purple

How you're unique: You are artistic and expressive Why your style rocks: You pay special attention to color and fabrics What this color says about you: "I'm creative and know how to take care of myself"

What Color Nail Polish Best Fits You?

Featured Stamper 16 - KED Summer Day!!

Boy I have missed doing the Featured Stamper Challenge on SCS! I want to get caught back up, maybe? This was last week's - to CASE a card from the gallery of Ked - Kirsten DuBosque who is an AWESOME stamper - check out her blog Confessions of a Naptime Stamper - you're sure to find some gems! I found one right away I wanted to case Sending You Sunshine. The image I used is one I got as a rak from Kristine Breach (thanks, Kristine!!) Isn't this ant the cutest? It's hard for me to think they're bad & want to kill them when I look at or think of this one!! ugh

Anyway - I think the image turned out a tad too big for the card, but I wanted to use it SO badly!! So here it is! I used the Pallete o' Prints by SU! and the Bloom Dots CB embossing folder. The brads are Rose Red. I colored him in with my prismacolor pencils using the gamsol technique.

Blogger BRAK!!

I got the sweetest birthday RAK (it's Sunday) from Monika Davis (SCS Buzsy) today - I knew her name sounded familiar so I checked out her blog & sure enough...it was because I sent HER a BRAK in March (it was one of my firsts)! How sweet was she to send me one back MONTHS later...it makes me feel real special, actually!! Make sure you check out her great blog! She is from Hungary & has great tips of the week (the first thing I noticed about the card she sent me is how she used the word window punch & scallops in the middle of the card! Isn't that cute?!