New Toy - er, ummm, TOOL! :D

 Hi, everyone! Sorry this didn't get scheduled; we only have one card reader for our computers right now, and since Kenn's the one WORKING his photos, I have to wait until he's done. :D Hopefully we'll get that taken care of soon.

Now, then. It's FRIDAY! I hope you've got plans to ENJOY your weekend. :)

Stampin' Up!, you may remember, had a few of the Texture Boutique machines last year that sold out in about a week. That was enough to make them decide to start carrying them all the time! :D It's about 1/3 of the size of the Big Shot - isn't it cute???

ALL it does is embossing. So, I chose this card to show off how easy it is. :)


You make the sandwich just the same, using the thin pads that come with the TB; if you're only embossing 1 layer of card stock, it comes with a shim, also. I chose six different embossing folders, and made my card into a 5x7 - it makes figuring out the square size so much easier. :D

I'm on a Tempting Turquoise kick right now; here's the card (I found on Pinterest!) that I based mine on. It's totally cased. :D But it's not Rose Red. :) I'm not crazy about this BIG of a card, because that's a LOT of room to fill on the inside, even if I do stamp a saying and a border. :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL weekend, and be sure to make the time to STAMP something!!!

Hello, Baby!

Good Monday Morning!

Some weeks, blogging comes naturally. Others - well, this is an "other" week. :) So bear with me - I'm not feeling too motivated, even though I've got some fun things to share.

So, this is a card I did just because I wanted to. :D I wanted to try that textured background technique; it's a double-embossed-highlighting technique.

So, to do it, first I embossed with Petals-a-Plenty onto Pink Pirouette card stock; I highlighted that by sponging a little Pretty in Pink ink on top. Then, I embossed with the Stripes embossing folder, and highlighted that with Rose Red ink (which I brayered on).

I matted that onto a piece of Rose Red card stock, and then put that onto a Whisper White card base.

Then I stamped the image from EASY EVENTS with Jet Black Stazon and punched it out with the 2-1/2" circle punch. I colored that in with Daffodil Delight, More Mustard, Rose Red, Pink Pirouette, and Bashful Blue Stampin' Write Markers, then put the image onto a Pink Pirouette scallop circle punch. I finished it off by stamping the greeting - from TEENY TINY WISHES - in the bottom right corner.

Isn't it cute?!?! There are SO MANY things to do, so MANY different techniques, that by the time I play with a few, I forget about some of my favorites. SOOOOOO many! :D

OK, I'm outta here. My studio is a freakin' MESS, and I still need to blog on my food blog. So much to do.... :D

Have a wonderful day! Be SURE to make the time to stamp SOMETHING!! :)

Well, you'll never believe it!

As my dear friend and professor, Dr. Marsha Ellis-Smith, would say, "Well, slap me naked and hide my clothes!" :D Why? Let me tell you the story. :D

Saturday was the Chattanooga Regional Stampin' Up! Demonstrators Convention; it was a one-day seminar for demos and their guests; we get to stamp, learn some fun things, get fun prizes, and meet with other demos from the region.

As most of you know, I was gone most of this week; because of that, I wanted to get my swaps done for the group I'm online with (I know I've mentioned SUDSOL before; it stands for STAMPIN' UP! DEMONSTRATORS SHARING ONLINE.) before we left for our trip. I did one design, and got 20 cards almost done before I realized: I'd designed it with a stamp set that was retired, and I'd not pulled it out of my collection! AUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, back to the drawing board. And the above is what I came up with. (It's pretty ME, right? Christmas and both heat and Big Shot embossing? :D)

So, back to Regional. There's a basket where you can put your swap cards; they post them for everyone to see, and I'm not sure what else they do with them.

Except pick a winner for design.

The person who was choosing couldn't choose just one. She chose two.

AND I WAS ONE OF THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so danged excited! Ladies (and gentlemen!), you can now tell everyone that YOUR Stampin' Up! demonstrator is an award-winning designer. Yup, got a prize and everything.

I still am in shock, but can't wipe the smile off my face. :) It was a total fluke that I put a card front in the basket. I did another design for general swapping, and swapped them all out before I could put one into the basket. There are so many people at Regionals, and this was my second-choice design - I expected NOTHING. :D

So. I'm gonna go work on what I want for my Christmas cards, because that's what I'm going to use my prize for. How incredibly blessed am I?!?!??!?!

Have a WONDERFUL day! And be SURE to make the time to STAMP SOMETHING!!!!

Happy Monday!

The countdown seriously begins. :D I hope you're enjoying your Labor Day! I made this card JUST for you, so if you have any questions, ASK. :)

Card stock: Very Vanilla, Cajun Craze

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Cajun Craze

Stamp set: Autumn Splendor, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Accessories: Neutrals DSP Pack, paper snips, dimensionals, sponge, Modern Label Punch, Big Shot, Leaves die

Below is a close-up of the background embossing; I took leaves I'd cut from thin chipboard and put them on one of the Big Shot's acrylic cutting plates, then put the DSP on top; I ran it through the Big Shot with the silicon pad and the Impressions Pad on top. It's not OBVIOUS when you look at the card, but it definitely adds a little something!



OK. I'm outta here! I'm still working hard to make sure you have lots of blog posts while I'm gone. :D Be sure and come by every day while I'm gone; I'd hate for you to have to catch up.... :D

Have a wonderful day! Be SURE to take the time to STAMP something!

It's FRIDAY!

Got big plans for the weekend??? We're doing a WONDERFUL WINDOW SHEETS class tomorrow; I can't wait to stamp with some of the girls, and show off these great items (in the OCCASIONS MINI, which is only good through the end of this month!).

ANYWAY. Today's stamp set is one of the wonderful Christmas sets that I'm having to say goodbye to; I really, REALLY liked the Santa that was in this stamp set. I can't WAIT to see what's in the new Idea Book & Catalog, which goes live JULY 1!!!! Click the link in the sidebar to go see the sets and accessories that are going away. It's your LAST CHANCE LIST!

So, here is today's creation!


Card stocks: Shimmery White, Riding Hood Red (retiring IN COLOR), Brushed Silver

Inks: Encore Metallic Silver, Riding Hood Red

Stamp set: Heritage Holiday

Accessories: Silver embossing powder, heat tool, embossing buddy, Riding Hood Ribbon striped grosgrain, rhinestone brad, horizontal slot punch, dimensionals

I wish you could come see this card in real life - I really enjoy using the Shimmery White card stock. It's really pretty!

OK, I'm off to procrastinate some more. :D I hope you have a WONDERFUL weekend! OH! I forgot to tell you! My dad surprised me today with a BRAND NEW MONITOR!!! Amy gave me her dad's old ergonomic keyboard, which is really fancy, so I'm all set! It's so nice to see the CORRECT colors on my screen! :)

Be sure to take the time to STAMP something!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday Afternoon's Creation - Just For You!

Hi! Did you have a fantastic weekend??? I sure hope so! I was LAZY this weekend. It was soooooooo nice. LOL!!!! Poor Kenn's working his buns off for the show he's in, Twelve Angry Men, that opens this weekend. So yesterday, while he was having a work meeting and the first day of Tech Week (that day is NEVER fun!!!!!), I got to go out to lunch by myself, and read a book, and just enjoy the afternoon. Bliss! :D

But TODAY, I've been working on projects for the Easter Stamp Camp. If you didn't sign up for it, MAN, are you going to be missing some FUN projects!!! Don't miss another great class - CLICK HERE for my schedule!

ANYWAY. :) I think I'm going to start putting "JFY!" in the title when I've done something that's just going to be on my blog! :) This is another one of those cards.

That's the scallop circle die in my Big Shot. :D And the Sweetest Stem Embosslit in my Big Shot. And the Stampin' Up!® exclusive Texturz plate on the background.

Here's the rest of the info - this is a fun card to do!

Stamp set: Really Retro

Card Stock: Rose Red, Whisper White

Ink Colors: White craft, Kiwi Kiss, Regal Rose

Accessories (other than those already mentioned: Sponge, eyelet border punch, Raspberry Tart Designer Series Paper, white embossing powder

SUPER simple. This saying makes me think of Amy - she and her family are on vacation!:) I hope they're enjoying themselves - it's beautiful HERE..... :)

Anyway. I'm gonna run and keep working. Have a WONDERFUL day! And for Pete's sake, take time to STAMP something!!!!! :)

National Chocolate Month

Good morning! Sorry about missing yesterday; I was completely wiped out, and only did what was necessary to get by. :)

SO! Monday night was my second annual celebration with my customers who chose to come of National Chocolate Month. We made one 3D project and one card. The only rule is that we stamp with chocolate colors. :D

This little basket is made with my Big Shot :D and the scallop envelope die. We also used one of the new Texturz plates to add dimension to the Chocolate Chip card stock panels that go all the way around.

The medallion on the front is a curly label punch stamped in Chocolate Chip on Pink Pirouette, with a Very Vanilla oval punch stamped in Riding Hood Red. Stamp sets for those are CUTE & CURLY and the Sale-A-Bration set, YUMMY. (You still have time to get your SAB merchandise, everyone! CONTACT ME to find out how!)

We covered mini KitKat bars in Candy Lane Designer Series Paper (it's SUCH pretty paper!!!), and then put a Chocolate Chip belly band around them. We punched hearts with the Heart to Heart punch, and used the two larger hearts centered on the front of the candy; the littlest hearts, as you can kind of see in the side picture, we put on the handle on the side. :)

These are SO cute, and easy treat baskets for any occasion!

The card is one of my favorites that I've done in a long time - simply because it is simple, clean, classic, and FUN. :) We stamped the cupcake and the saying inside - both from CRAZY FOR CUPCAKES - with Chocolate Chip CRAFT ink, and embossed it with clear embossing powder. It's stamped on Very Vanilla, then layered on Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, and Very Vanilla - and all those layers are hit with the ticket corner punch - another one of my favorite toys tools. ;D

The next layer, the bigger Creamy Caramel, we ran through the Big Shot on the second side of the Texturz plate we used for the basket sides. (I'm falling in love with those plates!!! They sure make it easy to do a beautiful, FAST card!!) Then it's layered onto Chocolate Chip before being attached to the Very Vanilla card. The image layers are put onto the front of the card with dimensionals. SUPER simple!!!

OK. I've got to clean up my studio today - it looks like it expoded. :D I hope you have a wonderful day - and if you want to attend a class, CLICK HERE to see my schedule through the end of March!

By the way, what ARE you stampin'?????? ;)

Another new toy! :)

OK. You know how much I love my Big Shot. :D This is a NEW toy for it, called Sweetest Stem Embosslit. It's like a little folder that you put your card stock into, run it through the Big shot, and you pull out this cool piece that's been dry embossed AND cut out. The possibilities are ENDLESS - and it's only one of five embosslits in the new Idea Book & Catalog - FOUR of them are Stampin' Up! exclusives!!!!

So. The designer series paper is the new Raspberry Tart, punched out with the Heart to Heart punch. Colors of the other card stock are Whisper White, Real Red, and Basic Black. I used Real Red and Garden Green to highlight the embossing on the flower itself. The stamp, "with all my heart", is from WONDERFUL YOU - it's stamped and embossed in white.

You can find any of these products if you GO HERE, then click on the SHOP NOW button at the top of the page. It's a GREAT site to browse - you never know WHAT you'll discover! I'd really love to see what YOU are stampin'! :) BE BLESSED!

Happy Monday! :)

The new Idea Book & Catalog is only a week away!!!!!!!!! I SO CANNOT WAIT - I love that first look especially - scanning for new stamp sets, drinking in the new designer series papers, trying to decide what my favorite new accessory is.... :D If you're local, you're invited to my Open House next Monday! Email me for details and directions! :)



Now, on to today's card sample!

Sometimes we forget to go back to the little things we enjoyed when they first came out - so here's TART & TANGY again! :) All new color palette, with WONDERFUL WORDS (RETIRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ORDER NOW at 10% off!!!!). I am SO going to miss WONDERFUL WORDS - I can't wait to see what they've got new for me to fall in love with! :)

Colors are Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, and Summer Sun. I chose one of the oranges and embossed it with clear embossing powder, just to give a little more interest to that panel. You can BARELY tell in the scan, but it's there! :)

OK, gotta jet! Have a WONDERFUL day - and STAMP SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Wednesday! :)

Quick share today - I'm going to a birthday party! :D

Have you started to think about your Christmas cards yet??? We've had one Christmas Card Class so far - two more to go! - and this is probably my favorite from that class. The colors are So Saffron and Night of Navy. The window and "Very Merry Christmas" are from WINDOW DRESSING, a Level 3 Hostess Set. The tree is from LOVELY AS A TREE, and the inside verse - "Warmest greetings of the season and every good wish for the coming year" - is from MANY MERRY MESSAGES.

We embossed the window and outside saying with white embossing powder, then cut out the window pieces. There's a piece of acetate there, to act as window glass. The "snow" is embossed with Irridescent Ice. The tree is stamped on the So Saffrong, and we used the end of a paintbrush to make the ornaments/lights, and embossed them with Irridescent Ice, too. The card front is attached directly to the So Saffron.

I think it's a beautiful card. :D What do you think???

More scrapbooking!

Hi! :) How ARE you?? What are you stamping these days??

This is from the scrapbooking class last week, and these are 12x12 pages. This is probably my favorite layout from that one; I have Amy to thank for loaning me her CARTE POSTALE set that this is done with. :) She loves fleur de lis, and so she inspired this layout. :)

The colors are Taken With Teal, Basic Black, and Whisper White. The fleur de lis are embossed with white craft ink and white EP. We dragged a Taken With Teal ink pad along the base card stock to give it some texture. So, what do you think??

ARE YOU STAMPING???? Are you OUT there? LOL!! I'm still waiting for the counter to hit 10,000 for the next giveaway! :) I'd love to hear from you; what are you making? How are you blessing other people with what you're doing?

OK! Time to start winding down. Please, take the time to STAMP something! :) God bless you!

A thank-you card for Melissa

Hi, everyone!!!! Boy, it's going to take us a LONG time to get up to the next BLOG CANDY level - I've decided at 10,000 hits - but it's CREEPING along. Pass on my blog to everyone you know, so we can get this show on the road! :)

ANYWAY. Here's a thank-you card I did for my downline, Melissa. She gave me a great Christmas gift, which you saw on the blog in December. She does AWESOME cards, so I wanted to do something a little out of my comfort zone for her. So I COLORED. :D

This is the Level Three Hostess Set, TIME WELL SPENT. I colored everything with Stampin' Write markers, and did the center with a 1/2" circle punch. I coated it with VersaMark, and embossed it with Irridescent Ice EP. It's on the center of the flower with a dimensional. The card stock colors are Whisper White (sponged with Tempting Turquoise), Purely Pomegranate, and Certainly Celery. The ribbon is Purely Pomegranate double-stitched ribbon.

So, what do you think? What are YOU stamping these days???? Show me! :D And if you haven't been, TAKE THE TIME TO STAMP SOMETHING!!!!

Easy WOW card!

This card was one of the two projects we did tonight at the Chocolate Party. We had a small turnout, but we had a GREAT time!

We stamped the largest image from LOVELY AS A TREE in Chocolate Chip Craft Ink on the Very Vanilla card stock, then stamped it in Very Vanilla Craft Ink on the Chocolate Chip card stock - and embossed with clear embossing powder. Next, we cut both pieces of card stock on the diagonal, and mounted one piece of each color on the Ruby Red mat. The next step was to emboss the "thank you" from WONDERFUL WORDS with the Chocolate Chip Craft Ink and clear EP, and inside we put "from the heart" from HUGS & WISHES. Then we put the image on the Creamy Caramel card stock. Voila! And EASY.

Quite a stunning presentation, isn't it? It's beautiful with any detailed stamp! Here's a challenge: do the same technique, and either mail it to me or scan and email it. We'll have another contest!!!!

The NEXT post will probably be another contest, too! We're almost at 5000 hits, and that means BLOG CANDY!!!!!!! :) So, go STAMP something - and share it!!!

Don't get spoiled by my posting every day! LOL!

I'm actually procrastinating, so YOU get another sample. LOL!!!! I really need to do some design work today, and I'm just not feeling it.

ANYWAY. Last night was our craft night at church; I got a lot done, but not as much as I wanted to! It's so nice to get together with a group of my friends and do what I love to do!

Now, then. This card is another sample from my chipboard class on Tuesday. It's so sparkly, I love it!We took the chipboard piece, and covered it in Cameo Coral CRAFT ink, then Holographic Highlights embossing powder. We heated and melted it, then punched the holes using my Crop-A-Dile. (May I say, I LOVE this tool?? Cuts like "buttah". :D) Threaded the new vanilla taffeta ribbon through those little holes, put in brads, and finished the rest of the card. It's a great look - I did Amy's birthday card like this, and used an A for the letter. :)

Well, I guess there's no getting around it. It's time to get to work. I need to go STAMP something - I hope you take some time today to do so, too! :)

Ho, hummmmmm....

GOSH, I feel like doing NOTHING!!!! I don't know if it's because I REALLY don't want to work on the show from the 23rd - July 1, or after-birthday blues, or just plain ol' laziness. Have I told y'all that I HATE being hot? I sure do miss those ocean breezes!!!!!

So, since I knew I wanted to show you SOMETHING, and not just whine :D, I came up with this little 3x3 card; the stamped image is embossed, and the polka dots are a pencil eraser. I don't have a dot that's the size I wanted, and this one works perfectly. :) If I have an occasion in the future to hand out business boosters, these are probably something I'll do for that - and I can put a piece of candy or something inside, and my business card. :) What do you think?

News flash: Stampin' Up! let us know today that there are quality issues with the CLEAR DETAIL EP, so they've discontinued it already. It's NO LONGER AVAILABLE. Hmmmmmmm. I sure hope SOMETHING will be taking its place - I use it ALL the time!!!!! Like on THIS card!!!

Just two more days until the retired accessories list comes out! I can't WAIT - it means we're one more step closer to the new Idea Book & Catalog coming out!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get YOUR IB&C preordered today!!!!! Don't forget my Open House on July 2 from 6:30 - 9!!!!!!!!

Gonna go do nothin' again. :D Hope you're having a much more productive week than I am!