Sorry it's been so long. It's been a busy holiday season. I started on my Christmas cards before Thanksgiving and was off to a good start. Then the weekend following Thanksgiving, I learned that one of my favorite cousins had passed away. After attending the wake and the funeral, I was so down and didn't do much of anything for a week. Then I had to force myself to snap out of it, so I could get my cards done and make the season as memorable as I could for my boys.
We did as much as we could to make it a great Christmas. We took the boys to Gaylord's ICE. The theme for this year was Merry Madagascar. It was super cute and the kids loved it! We all did:)
During the season we also took the kids to the movies on three separate occasions. We saw "Authur Christmas", "The Muppets" (My hubby actually took them to this one. I stayed home to work on my cards:) & "Alvin & The Chipmunks: Chipwreked". We also took them to the "Festival of Lights", which is a drive-thru Christmas display that we do every year.
Here is my Christmas card, which I mass produced. I made 80 of them! I know...you're probably thinking I'm nuts and at times I thought I was too! LOL! They were very time consuming, but I really wanted to do it. I got so many compliments on them, which really made me feel good. Despite all of the layers, I didn't have to pay any additional postage to mail them:) I got the idea for this angel after seeing an MDS version on Janet Wakeland's blog here. But I wasn't sure if the punches would work the same until I saw Beth Rush's angel here. Thank you so much ladies for the inspiration:)
Today I have a pair of Christmas Tags to share. I got the Christmas tree and ornament from the new Stocking Accents die. I used the retired Jolly Holiday DSP, since I have so much of it. I love the way they turned out. I got the idea for the ornament from Natasha Hein's card, which you can see here. I just love her card!
Supplies Used:
Stamps: Christmas Punch, Delightful Decorations & Family Reunion
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Whisper White & Jolly Holiday DSP
Ink: Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler & Old Olive
Other: Two Tags & Stocking Accents dies, 3/4" circle punch, Silver Elastic cord (retired) & Basic Rhinestones
I'm hoping to make some more cute tags in the next couple days. I also hope to come up with my Christmas card, so I can get busy mass producing:) Isn't this time of year just so much fun?
I apologize for my long absence from blogging. I've been really busy and was even gone for a week for vacation to Orlando, Florida and the new Legoland with my family. My youngest son wound up getting sick, so we missed some of the stuff we had planned. Personally, I had the most fun at Disney's Hollywood Studios. I'm a thrill seeker and I LOVE rollercoasters! I had so much fun on the Rockin' Roller Coaster. The best part was being able to ride it with my youngest son. He's 7 years old. I had asked him before we went if he'd ride it with me, but I was worried he might not be tall enough. Well, he made it by an inch or so. Most of the wait is outside, then once you enter the building, you watch a short video and then you go in where you can actually see the coaster take off. (Well, this is one of the ones that has electromagnets, which launches you from 0-60mph in less than 3 seconds!) When Brian saw how it took off, he looked at me and said "Mom, I don't think I can do this!". The guy behind me said, "It's a little too late for that!" I said "Bri. I promise it will be OK." He just grabbed my hand as if to say I trust you. When it was our turn to get on, I let Brian get in first and then I got in. We pulled down our shoulder harness and I looked over at him to see if he was OK. I could barely see him! He looked so tiny. I pulled my head out as far as I could and said "Are you OK?" He said "Yeah". I told him to put his head back all the way and keep it there. The car pulled around to the launch pad. We sat there for a couple seconds and I could feel my heart beating through my chest. Then the music started. (One of my favorite things about this ride is there are speakers in the sides and they blast Aerosmith tunes while you ride:). I told him to hold on and off we went. I held his leg with my hand throughout the ride, just to make sure he was still there! It's probably the smoothest roller coaster I have ever been on. You wouldn't think so having a loop and corkscrew inversions. I love the way the ride gives you the illusion that you're driving through Los Angeles at night. As the ride was over and we were getting off, I asked Brian what he thought. He said "Mom, that was one of the neastest experiences, but I won't be doing that EVER again!" LOL! I'm attaching a video, so you can see what it's like. I found this video on You-tube. It was filmed with the lights on. When we rode, it was in the dark, but you can see what an experience my 7-year old had. My 9-year old wanted nothing to do with it!
We also got on the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. When I got on it years ago, it would take you up to the top floor and you'd drop. Well, it has changed a bit now. It takes you up, drops you, takes you up again, drops you and again. I loved it!
Legoland just opened a week before we went. What a cute park! You would not believe all of the stuff they made out of Legos. They had Washington DC! There was the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Monument, White House with the Obama's standing on the front porch, and so much more. I couldn't believe it and that was just DC. They also had New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas and much more! They have roller coasters that are great for the whole family. Yes, even Brandon (my 9-year old) rode one of them:) Here's a photo my hubby took of me and the boys in front of a waterfall.
Check out this car that was made totally out of Legos! Isn't that amazing?
Unfortunately, Brian got sick the day we were to go to Disney World, so he and I spent the day in the hotel room. My hubby took a ton of photos and I thought these were worth sharing.
(love the reflection of the castle in the water)
Well, that's it for vacation photos. I do have a card to share! A group of us got together a couple days before we went away. I had seen a card on Dawn Olchefske's blog here (that I wanted to case), but I didn't have the In-Color DSP. I decided to try it with the Berry Blossoms DSP, so I grabbed it and all of the matching cardstock. We all kind of put it together from there and here's what we got.
What do you think?
Supplies Used:
Stamps: Button Buddies, Four Frames & Precious Butterflies
Paper: Early Espresso, Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White & Berry Blossoms DSP
I hope you will come back tomorrow as I have some Christmas tags to share. I started freaking out over the weekend when I realized how close it is to Christmas. I need to get busy designing my Christmas card, teacher & bus driver gifts, etc. We all know how quickly time flies after Halloween and I like to mail my cards the day after Thanksgiving if I can.
I used Random.org this morning to determine the winner of my 2nd Anniverary Blog Candy giveaway. Here are the results:
The winner is: Annie Lee who said:
Yikes! I have no clue what my first set was. I know when I was introduced to SU, I went nuts over the catty, and just about bought everything in it! Ha! I still have some of those earlier sets!
Annie- I definitely know what you mean about going nuts over the catty. I bought my first stamp set, "Trick or Treat", in 2006 and I'm just as enthousiastic about stamping today as I was then. Please send me your address and I will get the stamp set out to you:) Thanks to everyone that left comments and I'm very excited to have some new followers. Welcome to my blog!
Today I would like to share the cards that we made the week before last. Our little group gets together once a week to make cards. Sometimes we do case cards, so I wanted to mention that incase I show a card that was cased on my blog. If I do not give you credit, it's because I don't know who the original artist is. So if you see one of your cards on my blog, please e-mail me so I can give the credit where it's due:)
Karin
Julie
I cased this card from Cristena Bagne. I love her work! She's got some of the best punch art I've ever seen! You will see her card here.
Becky
She did say that she cased this card. If it's yours, please let me know:)
Kathy
Aren't they beautiful cards? The owls took the longest to make. Those little flowers are tidious, but so worth it!
Thanks so much for coming by. I hope you have a terrific day!
Since there are no comments as of yet, I will be extending my Blog Candy giveaway until Monday morning. I will pick a winner using Random.org and I will announce the winner then. Please be sure to answer the question... "What was your first Stampin' Up! Stamp set? Please leave your answer on this post here.
Thanks so much for visiting my blog and I hope you have a great weekend!
I came across a card that I forgot to share on my blog. You may have already seen it on Stampin' Connection or in my Splitcoast gallery. I made this card for my precious little nephew, Charlie. I wanted to personalize it with his name. I knew how I wanted the card to look, but that part showed up on the inside:) I wasn't sure how to decorate the front. I remembered seeing several cards where stampers used the Boquet Blossom punch to make a bow for a package, so I decided to use that idea and I added some balloons to the front. You can't go wrong with Primary colors, so I went with my favorite color family, the Brights!
Here is the front of the card:
And the inside:
Stamps: On Your Birthday, Choo Choo, & Right on Track wheel
Ink: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Real Red & Chocolate Chip Paper: Pacific Point, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive & Whisper White Other: Blossom Boquet, 1" Square, 3/4" circle & Small Oval punches, Real Red & Pumpkin Pie 1/8" Taffeta ribbon, Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine, Big Shot & Billboard Strip Tie
Thanks so much for coming by today and don't forget to leave a comment on yesterday's post here for a chane to win Blog Candy. Spread the word to your friends:)
I thought it would be nice to share my Stampin' Story, since I promised to share my very first cards with you today. It all started when a friend I met on eBay sent me a handmade card. We met through collecting Snoopy Jewelry and she sent me this adorable card!
Isn't it just too cute? The thing that really caught my eye was the main image was embossed. I've always been a crafter and when I saw the card, I knew I wanted to learn how to do it. I wrote to my friend to thank her for the card and asked her some questions. She told me to check out the Stampin' Up! website to see if I liked their images and if I did, to find a demonstrator in my area. I then found Becky and I went to her house. (I think it was the next day:) The first thing she showed me was how to emboss. I was hooked! I wound up ordering my first stamp set, which was "Trick or Treat". Here are the first two cards I made with the set. I also used the set "Bitty Boos", which I had bought on eBay, since it was retired at that point.
I stamped with Becky for 3 years and finally decided to become a demonstrator on October 1st, 2009, so I'm coming up on my 2nd Anniversary.
In celebration of my 2nd Anniversary, I'm going to do some Blog Candy! I have a brand new Birthday Bakery stamp set.
All you have to do to win is leave a comment telling me what your first Stampin' Up! Stamp set was. I will pick a winner on Saturday morning using Random.org and announce the winner then.
Thanks so much for coming by and I hope you have a great day!!!
I hope you all had a great weekend. I spent most of the weekend relaxing at home. I got a little organizing done. I'd like to share my new storage unit, which I love. I had my Big Shot on a different organizer, but the Multipurpose Platform kept getting caught on the ledge, when I would use it. In the first of the top 3 unites, I have current DSP in the 3 vertical slots & Originals, Bigz L & Bigz XL dies on the horizontal shelves. In the middle unit, I have Extended Cutting plates & Crease pad on the top left shelf (right under the Big Shot), I have the Standard Cutting plates and crease pad on the right, then I have the large Powder Pal on the shelf under that and on the right side I have all of the Decorative Strip plates & platform. In the 2 drawers I have all of the Embossing Folders, Sizzlits, Embosslits, & Movers & Shapers windows. I have all of the Bigz dies on the first two shelves of the unit on the right along with the Timeless Type Alphabet on the 3rd shelf. Then I have some of my retired DSP in the last 3 vertical slots. I love how all of my Big Shot supplies fit where the Big Shot is.
The 8 smaller drawers in the middle are perfect for storing cards. For now, that's what I have in them. Then I have supplies in the two 2-drawer and two 3-drawer units. I'm still working putting things in them.
In the photo, it actually looks like the unit is blocking the entry door to my room and the closet door, but the unit is the perfect fit. I don't know about you, but it's so much easier to get things done when I'm organized.
Today, I would also like to share the treat holder that we made at my last upline meeting. This is where I got the inspiration for my witch card in my last post. Isn't this adorable? I have such a talented upline:)
Tomorrow I have a very special treat for you...When our little group got together to stamp last week, I pulled out the first group of cards that I ever made. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard. The cards are very plain. There is no DSP, embellishments or ribbon on them, but the images were stamped perfectly straight, without using the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig. We all had a good laugh and I thought you might get a kick out of them too:)
There has been a lot going on here in the last month. Most of which were natural disasters. First the earthquake, that I definitely felt! Lets just say that was an experience and it gives me a whole new appreciation for those that experience them more often. Then Irene, which left us without power for 4 days. Yeah, it was an inconvenience, but we were one of the lucky ones that cook with propane, so we were able to heat up water on the stove, so we could take a warm bath. Most people in our neighborhood have electric only, so they had to retreat to bathe. We did lose everything in our refridgerator, but at least we waited to do our grocery shopping, because we knew it was coming. The weather was warm, but could have been so much hotter, so I consider us lucky. Then there was tropical storm, Lee, which turned out to be the worst of the 3. We've had flooding in our area before, but this had major roads under water. My husband couldn't get to work that Thursday & Friday. The local Ford Dealership was under water. Several sink holes opened up. So many people, including my parents, had flooded basements. It was really something. We were lucky though. I really feel for those that live in the north eastern states. They got it so much worse.
That Friday evening, September 9th, I was suppose to leave for Stamp Camp, which was an all weekend event. As I was on my way out, a neighbor told me that their was a bad accident on my route there. I was already taking a different route, due to closed roads from the floods. I called the hostess and she told me of another route to take, so I proceeded to go. Well, I got lost on the way there. I don't have GPS, but thank God for cell phones, or I could have been lost forever! I had never been to this place before and after being on the road for 3 hours, I finally made it safely. I was greeted with everyone clapping for me. How embarrassing! LOL!
For this event, we each had to bring a make-n-take for 21 people to complete and a completed card to swap toward the end of the event. The make-n-take would be voted on and the top 3 cards would win a prize. Here is my make n' take card:
Stamps: Wicked Cool
Paper: Basic Black, Old Olive, Cajun Craze, Whisper White & Frightful Sight DSP Ink: Basic Black Classic & Whisper White Craft Ink pads & Old Olive & Cajun Craze Markers Other: Ornament, Jewelry Tag & 1" Circle Punch, Big Shot, Houndstooth Embossing Folder, Simply Scored Scoring Tool, Rhinestones, Sticky Strip & Dimensionals
After seeing all of the wreaths made with rosettes, I decided to try and make something with one. A couple weeks earlier, someone in my upline made something similar, with the witch falling into the cauldron. It then came to me to make a skirt using half of a rosette. The card was a huge hit and I tied with a fellow demonstrator for second place:)
My next card was the swap that I made:
Stamps: Dark & Dreary
Paper: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White & Pick Your Poison DSP
Ink: Basic Black
Other: Big Shot, Scallop Squares Duo, 1", 3/4", 1/2" Circle punches, Basic Black 5/8" Satin ribbon, Basic Rhinestones & Dimensionals
I'm pretty happy with the way this one turned out. I love the DSP used with this one. Gives it almost a vintage feel. Vintage is so out of my comfort zone, but this paper helps.I think the Rhinestones on the spider add a nice touch.
I'm hoping to get some organizing done in my craft room this weekend. I finally got the last of my storage units and I'm in the process of putting things in their new places and labeling them.. I'm already so happy with the way they look. I will be back soon with some pictures to share:) I hope you have a great weekend!
So far this has been a great morning. Yesterday, I decided to lay down a couple rules for the kids as last year was a nightmare trying to get them ready for school. My oldest son, gets up and gets ready, no problem! My younger son...trying to get him out of bed is like trying to wake the dead. Once he gets up, you have to push him through eating breakfast, brushing teeth, getting dressed, getting his bookbag and lunchbox and his coat if needed, etc. Sorry to drag it all out, but that's what it was like. Sometimes he would get dressed faster, so he could play his Nintendo DS and then trying to get him out the door, so he wouldn't miss the bus was so hard. I let them know yesterday, that starting today, there will be no DS in the mornings at all. If they follow instructions and get out to school with no issues, they can play with them when they get home. There are also times when they try to get out of school, so I told them if they don't go to school. They won't get to play with the DS at all that day. I'm proud of myself. They didn't give me any grief at all this morning. It went so smooth. Once the bus picked them up, I took my 10 month old puppy for a nice walk. I haven't done that in so long. I need to exercise and I have a reason to now that I have Tebow. I haven't shared a picture of him in a while, so here he is:
Well, here are the last of the Convention swaps that I have to share.
I love the colors in this one and Fun Flowers is my favorite die.
(Robbie Cox)
Here's another beautiful card.
(Cris M.)
I love this new set. I don't have it yet, but it's on my wish list. Another beautiful card.
(Karen T.)
I also thought this was really pretty. I love the Posy Punch stamp set and this one shows off the new In-Colors.
(no name on back)
Here is a really cool card. You can't see it in the photo, but the main image is stamped on a flap, that is tucked in under the circle. When you lift it, you can see the sentiment. Very cute!
(Cassie M.)
And this last one is a bookmark card. I scanned it with the bookmark pulled out, so you could see it. I thought this was really clever.
(Kayleen C.)
Thank you so much for the beautiful cards ladies!
I'm really enjoying this peace & quiet. I need to make several cards today, so I better get busy! I hope you have a wonderful day:)
Today I would like to share a card that I made for my 16-year old nephew. I had originally planned to make a card with this stamp using a polished stone background, but I wound up not having the Real Red re-inker. (Can you believe it? I don't have Real Red? Oh boy!) Anyway, just to get an idea of what it would have looked like, I dipped the cotton ball in the top of my ink pad and then adding a couple drops of Pacific Point with alcohol. Once I started dabbing it on the Glossy White card stock, it just looked too dark to me. I decided to do something else. I was already late with his card. His birthday was while I was away at the Convention. I just decided to go with my favorite colors...the "Brights Collection"! I just stamped the background images randomly and then stamped the guitarist in the middle. I used the "You Rock" stamp from the Just Jawing stamp set, which is now retired. I then made a layer behind it and curled it up on the end just using my finger.
Supplies Used:
Stamps: Extreme Elements, Extreme Guitar (retired) & Just Jawing (retired)
Paper: Pacific Point, Real Red & Whisper White
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, Real Red, Pacific Point, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie & Daffodil Delight
Other: Black Flourishes rhinestones (retired) & Stampin' Dimensionals
I also have more (yes, more! I will actually have one more batch after these.) Convention Swaps to share.
I don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of the Blossom Boquet punch. I thought this card was really pretty.
(Cindy R.)
And I love the way this artist used the punch for a beautiful border.
(Laura H.)
This card is an MDS Hybrid card. The only thing on this card that's not MDS, is the flower tops, which were done with the Blossom Boquet punch & the centers, which were punched from the Itty Bitty punch pack. How cool is that?
(Cathy C.)
The next card was made using the Scallop Square punch. I thought this was really cool, because this artist demonstrated a way to conserve card stock. She actually punched her scalloped squares using the card stock from the background paper. I do this whenever I can:)
And here's the back of the layer, showing you how she conserved card stock.
(Robbie Cox)
This card is so pretty and I love all of the details. The background is beautiful, I love all of the punching, dies, & the colors are so pretty.
(Sandy B,)
Thank you for the beautiful swaps!
OK, so that's it for today. Tomorrow I will be back with the last of the Convention Swaps. I'm finally getting better at posting regularly and I'm hoping to keep it going now that my boys will be going back to school starting tomorrow. I can't believe the summer is almost over. Where did it go?
Welcome to my blog! I have been married to a wonderful man for 32 years. I have two sons, 20 & 18 and a spoiled dog, so I'm always busy! I've been crafting for years. I started with fabric photo albums, then I did counted cross-stitch, ceramics and then I was introduced to card making when a friend sent me a beautiful, embossed card. That's when I had to learn for myself! I see myself making cards as long as I'm able to. Everyone loves receiving cards! Please feel free to leave comments. I would love to hear from you:)
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