Scrapping with KIDS: Two 2--page layouts

Happy Wednesday!!! How are you doing? Are you having a good week? It's speeding up here until when I head out again! :) AND until the new IDEA BOOK & CATALOG release THIS SATURDAY!!!!! If you're in middle Tennessee and want a book, please let me know you're coming and stop by between 5-7 p.m. this Friday evening to get yours! It's important that I know you're coming, because I have a limited number of Idea Books right now! I'll be hosting a NEW CATALOG OPEN HOUSE on Monday, June 24; if you want more details, please let me know! :)

OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day - and be SURE to make the time to STAMP something! :)

MDS Monday - My Love Affair

Good Monday Morning! Here's today's share. I can't help myself - and it's all Kenn's fault for introducing me to the Pacific Ocean! I'd been to the Atlantic, but it was so long ago that my love for the ocean was forgotten.

Have fun with your DSP, y'all! There's NOTHING on this layout that couldn't be duplicated with your supploes - and it's a great way to use up those assorted pieces of your designer series paper. :)

OK, I'm outta here! Have a wonderful day - and be SURE to take the time to stamp SOMEthing!

Scrapping with KIDS - post 2

Good Wednesday morning! Are you having a good week?

These are from the kids' paper bag scrapbook I made; the two-page layout  has the Petite Pocket on it (the one the phone booth is stamped on) for hidden journaling. That's such a fun die! (And how wonderful is it that my nieces and nephews love the Big Shot, too?!?! :D)

Again, we just had FUN sitting and creating for two hours a day, three days in a row. :) I love my family.

OK, I'm outta here! Have a wonderful day! Take the time to stamp - or SCRAP! - something!

MDS Monday - In the Garden

Good Monday Morning! How are you today? Did you have a good weekend?? We had a GREAT hostess club party on Friday night - and if you want to order a retiring stamp set or anything else AND get it shipped straight to you, email me at poohisttampin@aol.com and I'll get you the number to put it under! Help out a hostess, people! :D

Anyway. :D These are pictures from our garden in Tennessee that I took two days after I got home last weekend. My mom's favorite color is yellow, so this page is dedicated to her. :D I love MDS - it would be SO easy to change this background to any color, including the large stamp!

OK, I'm outta here - short and sweet for this one. :D Have a wonderful day - and be SURE to take the time to STAMP something!

Scrapping with KIDS: Next two pages!

HAPPY FRIDAY! How are you?? Have you had a good week? Are you startled and amazed that I'm here three days in a row again?!? :D

So, today I'm showing you the insert for the first "envelope" in our scrapbook bags and the first two-page layout. I wanted to keep it simple and fun for them. Don't forget, you can see the whole photo bigger if you click on it! And ask me questions if you want - I feel like these are pretty self-explanatory. :D

We have a hostess club get-together tonight, and I can't wait. We're going to have a wonderful time! :) I hope you have a wonderful weekend - and be sure to take the time to stamp SOMETHING! :)

Scrapping with KIDS! :D

Hi, everyone! :D Are you pleasantly surprised to see me?!?! :D

I'm going to share pictures of my sample for my nieces and nephews at our family reunion. They each did their own thing, and were great fun to watch as they developed their own styles in their books. :) Today I'll show you the front and back. :)

I wanted them to feel free to use anything they wanted; I used buttons, ribbons, designer series paper, die cuts with the Big Shot - boy, did they LOVE that machine! :D - ink, card stock, and punches! :D

The 2012 Sale-a-Bration items played a large role in what we used, because my parents purchased special things for the project and I chose coordinating items from the SAB mini for FREE. Can't beat that with a stick.... :D

Don't forget that you can click on the photos to see them the same size I uploaded them. :)  I'm not going to link to anything with these shares; if you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask me! And if you want to have a last-minute Stampin' Up! party before I leave June 3, call me!!!! :)

Now, go STAMP something!!!

MDS Monday - Bones Nursery

Good Monday Morning! Goodness, what a week it's been! I'm in Tennessee now; I have a doctor's appointment today, and then I hope to get back to a bit of stamping. Of course, I don't have everything here I might need - most of my stuff is still in Oregon. SO, we'll see what I can do with what I have! :D

Anyway. Today's share is from a wonderful, surprising visit to a nursery close to where we used to live. We'd never stopped - but we did Friday. I have some more wonderful pictures; these are rhododendrons. Their colors are so various, it's so hard to decide which ones to put on the scrapbook page! :D

OK, I'm outta here! I'm not looking forward to my doctor's appointment, but I don't know many people who do! LOL!

Have a WONDERFUL day! Be sure to take the time to stamp something!


ROFL! Why didn't anyone tell me I didn't seem to attach the picture?!?! :D

MDS Monday - Long May It Wave

 

Good Monday Afternoon!

Sorry it's not this morning; our internet connection is rather fitful sometimes.  

This traveling memorial really touched me; it was beautiful, and made a huge impact with no words. So I wanted to scrap it for you for MDS Monday. :) It has been simply incredible here this week, with weather y'all in TN could only dream of at this point. :D

So. Besides coming home early, I'll be home for about three weeks to go to my clinic and get some insulin, then fly back to Portland to do some final things with Kenn before we head for home. I'm looking forward to being able to get some stuff done for blogging - it's been really impossible to stamp much here, and that fish card I created is one I'm going to use for a hostess club while I'm home! You'll see it eventually. :D ANYWAY. The new IDEA BOOK comes out while I'm home; I won't have any new stuff to show off until the end of JUNE, so I'm going to do my OPEN HOUSE then. If you want to come get a book, LMK and we'll schedule it!

Now, then. GO STAMP SOMETHING. :D

MDS Monday - The Coast in April

Good Monday Morning! How are you doing today? Did you have a good weekend? It was SO beautiful here this weekend - home's been wet and dreary quite a bit, but we've had glorious sunshine. Oh, wait. I don't want everyone crowding my ocean. :D Noooooooooooo, it rains every day here. It's only worth coming if you bring me as your tour guide. :D

HA!

OK. As usual, it's MDS Monday, and this was for a SUDSOL challenge. Now, I really detest the layouts that use ONE photo per page. What a waste of resources! If I'm doing real-time scrapping, I don't want to waste all that paper, card stock, and other accessories on one three-inch photo. It would have to be an EXTREMELY important picture for me to want to do that! And if I'm doing a book digitally, I don't want to waste the space in my book! (Just me! :D )

So, I used one of my photos as my background paper, and another as my DSP strip on the right side. That's two more photos. I can live with that. :D I really like this one; I think it turned out well! What do YOU think??

OK, I'm outta here. :) Today's supposed to be cloudy and a chance of rain, for real. :D I am thinking maybe I might pull out my box and see what I can create for my mom's birthday card. And Mother's Day card. And maybe see what Kenn's up to. :)

Have a wonderful day! Be sure to make the time to stamp something!

MDS Monday - My Photographer

 

Hello, y'all! :D It's STILL Monday here in the Pacific Northwest, so here you go! :D

These photos are all from today - we got home about two hours ago, and they're fresh off the camera. Again, it's SO fun to be able to put them on a page right away!

As you can tell, it was absolutely beautiful here today. We had to go to the laundromat this morning, so we came home, ate lunch, and left to go up the coast. I climbed rocks, hills, and fought the wind - and I'm wiped out! :)

Just an FYI for those of you who haven't heard: I'll be home at the end of June now. We're cutting our trip short. But I can't wait to get home and stamp; since we're not staying here long, I'm not unpacking everything and it is a PAIN. I've made a card to show you soon, but I doubt I'll be very steadfast at blogging for a few weeks. I'm sorry. It's just gotta be like that. :D

OK, I'm outta here. Have a wonderful day - and be SURE to make the time to stamp something!

MDS Monday - Welcome to Reedsport!

It's STILL Monday here! So, posting MIGHT be a little sporadic for a while; things are really up in the air. And if you need anything, PLEASE let me know. We are in a financial crunch, so if you need invitations or announcements designed or made, or know someone who does, I'm your gal! :D

Anyway. This is Kenn at our closest beach; I took this picture two days ago. It's so fun to get things scrapbooked right away. :)

Have a WONDERFUL day - and be sure to STAMP something!!

Baby Shower!

Welcome back to another Wednesday! Are you having a good week? Time is flying, isn't it?! :)

SO. Before I left home, a dear friend - who, by now, should have had her baby girl! - had a baby shower. I made this card JUST for her :)

That duck is from EASY EVENTS; I embossed it with black embossing powder, and colored it in with Stampin' Write Markers. The card stock is Whisper White and Melon Mambo; I punched the larger Whisper White with the 1/2" circle punch, because part of the nursery decor I saw in a picture was bright pink with polka dots. :D It was such a fun card to do! :D

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

MDS Monday - I ♥ Blogging!

Happy Monday! :) This is another sketch challenge from SUDSOL, but I really love how it worked for this page. :)

I do love my other blog; it's really fun. This one is sometimes work, but I love sharing with you. :D Especially when I hear back from you - Ginny, thank you so much for almost always commenting. You're the BEST. :)

OK, I'm outta here! Have a wonderful day! And check out MDS - it's so much fun! Remember, you can try it for 30 days without having to purchase it! (Please make sure to choose me for your demonstrator before you order, and ESPECIALLY to go shopping from my business site!!!!)

While I'm posting things you can't get anymore...!

It's Friday, and I have to share this card. :)

This set, SKETCHES, was one of my all-time favorite stamp sets, so it's in my stash. When Anna came over to stamp, she needed to make a baby shower card. Well, the theme for the baby's nursery is fairies and woodland, and I don't have anything that really would be suitable. So I pulled out this stamp, and she fell in love with it. :D So she chose the colors we were going to use - I chose to substitute Pretty in Pink for the Crumb Cake she chose - and I taught her how to use Aqua Painters, ink pads, and watercolor paper to watercolor. It was great fun!

So the inks we used were Primrose Petals, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Blush Blossom (available only in Stampin' Write Marker, because it's retired except for that one for skin tone!). Crumb Cake, and Pool Party (background, VERY lightly!). The "hello baby" is from TEENY TINY WISHES, of course. :D Oh, and we stamped the stamp in Basic Gray; it's formulated to not run. :)

OK, let's see. Isn't the flower GORGEOUS? It's the new flower trim that I dyed with Riding Hood Red re-inker and water - I may be able to do a video soon on how-to - and then hit the top, after it was dry, with the RHR Stampin' Write Marker.

I used my Big Shot - and yes, I still LOVE my Big Shot!! :D - and the Framed Tulips embossing folder for the border. And that is that - I love watercoloring. I wish SU! would bring back the SKETCHES-styled sets. :)

OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day, and be SURE to make the time to stamp SOMEthing this weekend!

Another SAB card - sorry :D

Here it is, another Wednesday. :D Are you having a good week?

Sorry this is another SAB-only card. The phone booth was in the same stamp set as the bike stamp and the "celebrate" stamp from Friday's card.

The colors on this one are Riding Hood Red, Basic Gray, and Very Vanilla.

Stamped that phone booth in Riding Hood Red and cut it out. Brushed just a touch of Very Vanilla ink on the edge I ripped on the Basic Gray layer, then I stamped the "happy birthday" from TEENY TINY WISHES in Versamark and embossed with silver embossing powder.

This one was inspired by Anna; I probably wouldn't have used this stamp. :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a wonderful day - and be sure to make the time to STAMP something!

MDS Monday - Dueling Cameras

Well, here we are! The first MDS Monday in April! :D And it's the last one I'm planning way out in advance; I should be getting settled, and have some new fun pages to share with you. :D But traveling makes it difficult to find time to post, so.... :D

This is another challenge page, and it's the same challenge as I started with - the geometric shapes and/or DSP. This one has BOTH. :D

Most of you know that I grew up in Indiana, so it's a very special place to me. Whenever we get to go visit, I'm a very happy camper. When we get to spend Kenn's birthday in the area, it just makes it that much better - and I take lots of pictures, because fall in Indiana can be pretty darned spectacular.

If I hadn't put a date on this, though, you'd never know. :D And that's one of the fun things about digital scrapbooking; I can crop the photo, make it bigger, do whatever I want, so the focus is what I want it to be on, not dictated by the photo alone. :)

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

Now that Sale-a-Bration is over...! :D

Welcome to yet another Wednesday - the last in May! :) Can you believe it?!?!? The first quarter of 2013 is almost completely gone. Wow.

Anyway. :D Now that Sale-a-Bration is entirely over, I want to share this simple card that I made with my friend, Anna, when she came over in February. :)

The set, FEELING SENTIMENTAL, was a one-time-only set. So you can't get it - but you CAN use other sets to do this card. :)

We used Gumball Green and Midnight Muse card stock - I really like those colors together, especially for male cards - and Very Vanilla as our Neutral choice.

We stamped the bicycle stamp in Early Espresso ink, then used a Sponge Dauber and Crumb Cake to highlight the "grout" lines we scored in as tiles with our Simply Scored board.

We also used Crumb Cake around the edges with a wedge of Stampin' Sponge - and also around the edges of the "celebrate" we off-stamped first in Gumball Green ink, then fully in Midnight Muse.

Super simple, clean design. I really think you could make tons of this TYPE of card! :)

OK, I'm outta here. Have a wonderful day - and be sure to make the time to STAMP something!

Happy Birthday, A!! :)

It's Wednesday again! :) I hope your week is going well. Wow, can you believe we're this close to the end of the month already?

I told you that February was a big birthday month in my sister's family; this is for my niece, A - her big passion lately has been sewing. I've seen her do needlework; for a while, cooking was her passion. She's definitely a homebody, and loves taking care of people. So, I made this sweet card for her.

I was inspired by another card I saw that used an embossing folder that kind of looked like Aida cloth. So, I HAND-SCORED this whole thing with my Simply Scored. How's that for love?! :D

Then, I took my paper piercer and mat ad made the holes for the "needle" in the corners; every single diagonal was done with a ruler and a Rose Red Stampin' Write Marker!

The flowers are from FABULOUS FLORETS; by this time, you probably know by heart the stamp set the "happy birthday" is from. :D Yup, TEENY TINY WISHES. :)

I stamped off with Rose Red for the flowers before I stamped them on Very Vanilla; after I assembled the whole card, I put Dazzling Details in the center of them for a little shimmer and shine. I mean, most girls love a little bling, right? :D That is matted on Rose Red card stock. :)

It's all on a Pretty in Pink card base.

PHEW. :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day! Go stamp something, will ya?!? :D

MDS Monday - Kenneth Keith Stilger

Happy Monday Morning! Welcome to MDS Monday! :D Did you have a good weekend? I'm blogging way ahead, here, so by this time we should be in Northern California, I think. :) Check on Facebook, if you want to keep up with me! (We're going to try to keep in good touch!)

Here's the page that inspired this one. :) It was still a challenge from SUDSOL, but the challenge was to find a page on the Net and do your own. Again, this lets me get lots of pictures on one page - and I don't think a lot of journaling was necessary for this one. :D It was fun using different shapes and sizes, too. And, of course, it's one of my favorite subjects.... :D

I'm going to get these all printed one day, into a book. One of the things I love about My Digital Studio is being able to move pages around inside the book until I'm satisfied. That way, I can continue to do different pages of my family, and when I print them out, make sure that Kenn's are all together, and my mom and dad, and sisters, and.... :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a wonderful day! Be sure to take the time to CREATE something!!

Now, I AM excited about this challenge!

OK, I love this one! :D Oh, and happy Friday. :D

Is this not a super-easy sketch?? Well, I'm LOVING the Swallowtail stamp from the Spring Mini; I got it to do paper bag scrapbooks with my nieces and nephews, which I'll show you eventually. :D But I've got some rockin' cards from playing with it, too.

This one uses three basic colors of card stock: Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, and Basic Black. The heat embossing is done with Versamark and Tangerine Tango EP. By changing the colors of the layers and using white or black ep, I could totally change the look but use the same three colors! And this would ROCK with Melon Mambo, too! :D Or all neutral - do Sahara Sand, Whisper White and Basic Black, and BOOM.

OK, I'm outta here. :D Have a WONDERFUL weekend - and be sure to make the time to stamp SOMEthing! :)

Happy Birthday, E!

It's WEDNESDAY again! :D You've made it to the middle of the week!! :)

February is a big birthday month for my middle sister's family. You may or may not recall the card I made for R's 18th birthday; this is for E's birthday. E loves the outside; according to Grandma, she's doing the gardening this year. :) So I thought an outdoors-themed birthday card would be appropriate!

LOVELY AS A TREE. I mean, seriously. I don't think they'll EVER be able to retire this set, because it will be difficult to design a more perfect tree set! :D SO very versatile!

So, I stamped it in Jet Black Stazon, then used my Aqua Painters to add Wild Wasabi to the grass and trees, and Bashful Blue to the sky. Then I used the point of the AP and Raspberry Ripple to put some blooms on those trees. I also used it to do the "Celebrate" from the Sale-a-Bration-only stamp set, FEELING SENTIMENTAL. I stamped that and the trees on Whisper White card stock, the card base is Bashful Blue and run through the honeycomb embossing folder. That ribbon is from the special that Stampin' Up! ran a few months ago; that side needed something. :) Oh, and I punched out the "celebrate" with the decorative label punch. :)

OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day - and be SURE to make the time to stamp SOMETHING! :)

MDS Monday - Birthday Flavors

Good Monday Morning! Welcome to MDS Monday! Did you enjoy your weekend? We finished our week with my family yesterday, and are now out on the road. If you think about it, would you say a prayer for us? Safety and anything else that God puts on your heart. Thanks! :)

So, I can't believe I haven't shared this with you before, but I can't find it as a post! I don't know if you remember my birthday post(s) last year, but - well, I'll admit it. I'm a foodie. :D I LOVE trying new things, and although it's a challenge, trying to balance keeping healthy with what my taste buds crave. :D As you can read in my journaling, I was blessed to celebrate last year with friends and food, for almost the whole month of June. And it's making my mouth water now.... :D

Simple layout, using Night & Day DSP and Whisper White photo mats. Sometimes, simple is best. :D

I'd love to hear if any of you have taken advantage of the free 30-day trial, and what you think of the software!

Have a wonderful day! Make the time to CREATE something!

Meh, A Challenge I Didn't Like to Begin With! :D

 

Happy Friday!

How are you doing? Have you had a good week? I'm believing we have - it's almost the end of our family reunion week. Believing we've been blessed with making wonderful memories and enjoying every moment! :)

So, this card is another challenge. It's almost exactly like the one we were supposed to CASE - I just changed the stamp set(s). I'm not crazy about the one we were supposed to copy, so I'm not crazy about this one. :D

It's made with Crumb Cake and Whisper White card stock, cut with the Ovals Collection Framelits. I stamped it with the "love you" from SEASONAL SAYINGS and the longer flower from FABULOUS FLORETS. I embossed the saying in Cherry Cobbler, and the flower with part white EP and part Wild Wasabi EP - and I used Versamark to stamp them with.

Last but certainly not least, I used the newest Simply Scored plate to add the texture on the left-hand side of the card front.

I think the color of the card front is what I'm not digging with this, but I'm not sure.... :D What do YOU think?

OK, I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL weekend! I hope you have big plans - but I also hope you remember to take the time to STAMP something!!!

:) Another Challenge Card!

Happy Wednesday! :D The week's half over! Bet you're rejoicing... :D

Today I have another challenge card to share with you. Of course, I can't share the original with you - but it was to be a CASE - copy and steal everything - but I don't have the Pool Party Core'dinations paper or the Hearts a Flutter bundle, so I changed it up a bit. :)

Mine uses Real Red card stock and Real Red Core'dinations card stock; I used the honeycomb embossing folder on the Core'dinations, then used the new sanding block - which is pretty cool! - to expose the interior core a bit.

I created the banner with Cherry Cobbler baker's twine, and the two side banners are made with Summer Smooches DSP and punches. I made the heart with the Big Shot and Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder and the third-smallest heart from the Hearts Collection Framelits. Everything is attached with Dimensionals except my bow. :) The "happy birthday" is from TEENY TINY WISHES, and punched from Whisper White card stock with the word window punch. It's stamped in Real Red, of course! :D

So, what do you think? Do you like it? It really pops in Real Red, versus the original in Pool Party. I think it would really depend on the recipient's personality.... :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day! Be sure to take the time to stamp SOMEthing! :D

MDS Monday - Home in the Fall

Good Monday Morning! Welcome to MDS Monday! :D I have to admit: I find it ironic that I'm blogging this page the day after we left for my family reunion. :D I won't be home again until the house looks like this. It's hard for me to comprehend!!

Before I forget: I'm doing projects with my nieces and nephews this week. I'm going to share the projects themselves off and on for the next couple of weeks, until everything from them is shared. Except for MDS Mondays, of course. :D

OK. This page is another challenge page, but I simply love it. It shows off my parents' incredible mums, and the welcoming entrance to our house. I'm sure I'll love it even better when I see it again. :)

Do you have ANY questions?? I'd love to answer them! :D

OK, I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL day - and be sure to take the time to CREATE something!

By the Sea Challenge Card

It's FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How are you doing? Did you have a good week? Do you have big plans for your weekend? My friend, Becky, from Tales of a Domestic Briefcase, is coming up to spend the night. Tomorrow we finish packing, and Sunday we LEAVE!!!!! AUGH!!!!!!!!!!! :D Prayers are greatly appreciated.

Today's was a challenge sketch. Let me say, big circles bother me. :D I am not crazy about this card, but here it is. :D

The colors are Whisper White, Sahara Sand, and Riding Hood Red. I stamped the lobster (pronounced "lobstah" by those from Maine and their immediate family! :D) from By the Sea in RHR, and offstamped the words in RHR, too. I do like this set! The words are also from it. And that's ALL there is to explain!!! :D

OK, I'm outta here. Remember, I'm pre-posting. Leave me comments, email me, but know how grateful I am that you read my blog!!!!!!!!! :) Now, go stamp SOMETHING!!!!

An Old Technique, but a FAVE! :D

Welcome to Wednesday! :) Are you having a good week? Have you stamped anything yet? :D

Well, for today's card, I went back to one of my favorite techniques - it's an old one, but such fun to see what you come up with! :)

This is one of the stamps from the BEST OF... release from January - the BEST OF BIRTHDAYS. :) It IS our 25th anniversary, after all! They're wonderful stamp sets, and I think they're at a great price, too! :) When I saw it, I decided I wanted to do something with a fun background for it. :D

I used Versamark and black embossing powder to stamp the stamp on Whisper White, then colored it in with Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, and Daffodil Delight Stampin' Write Markers. Those are the same colors of reinkers and card stock I used - those links will take you directly to the categories, not the specific colors. :)

Marbling is easy. I have one of the larger stamp storage boxes with five marbles in it. I store it that way, so it's always together when I want to use it. :) I should have gone a LITTLE lighter with the Pumpkin Pie reinker, but I'm happy overall with the background.

This card was MEANT to be super easy and quick. Otherwise, I probably would have done some Dazzling Diamonds on the flames, maybe some Crystal Effects on the candles or plate, brads or eyelets or something in the corner of the card front. :D

OK, I'm outta here!!We leave in FOUR DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D Have a wonderful day, and be SURE to MAKE the time to stamp something!!!

MDS Monday - Lookout Mountain

Happy Monday! :D Welcome to MARCH!!! Can you believe it?!?!? Time is FLYING. I can't believe this is my last week in town. Will anyone *really* miss me? :D

Anyway. Today's is again MDS Monday. And there is not a SINGLE stamp on this page. It's all cardstock, DSP, punches, and text. While I do love pages where I can fit lots on, sometimes a photo needs a little more attention, and a telling of its story. That's where journaling comes in for me! I have thousands of photos, but not all of them will interest anyone but me. But these photos - well, their stories need to be told to family and friends. I can't stress how important I think journaling is!!!!

In case you were wondering, this came from a sketch layout challenge from SUDSOL. There are thousands of sketches on the net; if you have trouble knowing where to start, I would suggest looking at some sketches. They help me get out of my comfort zone, too, and try something I wouldn't have thought on my own - like the shapes behind the picture!

OK, I'm outta here. :D Have a WONDERFUL day! Be sure to take the time to CREATE something!

Fun with BY THE SEA!

Happy Friday! So, how's your week been?? I can't believe it's the first of MARCH! Eek!!!! Only one more week to get all my ducks in a row. Can I do it!?!?!??! EEP!

Anyway. Best get on with this, so I can get busy. :D

If you recall my Valentine's card, you'll recognize the background I embossed for that. Well, I had this piece left over, and so I decided to use it - and knew I had this stamp set on its way. So I got the base of the card ready - that's Lucky Limeade, Midnight Muse, and Very Vanilla - and punched with the scallop edge border punch. When the set got here, I mounted all the stamps, then decided to use the sea horse - I love sea horses! :D I off-stamped with the Lucky Limeade, then stamped it onto the Very Vanilla scrap. Stamped the "happy birthday" from TEENY TINY WISHES also that way, then stamped both of them with Midnight Muse. Used the curly label punch and the modern label punch, punched out a curly label window from the background, and mounted both punches with dimensionals.

I think it's a great neutral-gender card! What do you think?

OK, I'm outta here. :D Have a WONDERFUL weekend - be sure to MAKE the time to stamp something!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Wednesday! Are you having a good week? Have you been able to be creative yet? :D

This is a birthday card I made for a dear friend who was celebrating on a night we couldn't be with them. It didn't totally knock me out, but several people who've seen it have told me how stunning it is. To each his own, I guess! :D

Although you can't see it, the base of this card is a scalloped circle card in Elegant Eggplant. I cut it with the largest in the Ovals Framelits; the inside and the front are Very Vanilla ovals. I stamped the ferris wheel from the Sale-a-Bration ONLY stamp set, FEELING SENTIMENTAL, in Elegant Eggplant ink. I put Sticky Strip on the back of the oval, then used the gorgeous Basic Gray/Basic Black Two-Tone Ribbon from the Spring Mini to frame the outside of the oval. On the inside front, I used dimensionals to anchor the Flower Trim; then the Elegant Eggplant Stampin' Write Marker helped me color the edges of the flowers. Then I took my fun Gold Glow Smooch Spritz and sprayed the whole front of the card.

Seriously, people. This mini is INCREDIBLE; so much fun stuff in it! Thankfully, it's all available through the end of May. Be sure and take a look! And don't forget: for every $50 in merchandise you order, you get a free Sale-a-Bration item - and if you host a party (that's only $150 in sales!), you qualify for even MORE freebies!

OK, I'm outta here. :) Have a WONDERFUL day - and be SURE to make the time to stamp SOMETHING!!!

MDS Monday - Memories of My Birthday 2012

Happy Monday! :D Did you have a great weekend?!? I sure hope so! Can you believe this week will bring MARCH in??? EEK! I have so much to do before I leave! :D

So, it's MDS Monday again. And here's another of those geometric challenge pages. :) My Digital Studio has a hexagon punch; again, it allowed me to get TWELVE pictures onto this one-page layout! I LOVE that. The colors are Daffodil Delight - again, I subdued the color on the whole page and used a stamp at full intensity to give texture to the page - and Basic Black. It just FELT like a bumblebee page, so I used the bee from Summer Home brush stamp set to make those strips. It's just CUTE. :D

I highly recommend, if you're doing something like this, that you make a notation of the pictures. You'll note that I haven't done journalling on this page or last Monday's; they're just not that type of pages. But I don't want to come back to this page in 20 years and wonder what the heck that picture is of, or "What was her name again??" :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day - and be sure to make the time to CREATE something!

New Filter Paper!

HAPPY FRIDAY! Have you had a good week? Ready for the weekend? I'm looking forward to tomorrow; I'm going to be spending the day with dear friends, and celebrating a baby on the way. :)

For some reason, I was on a vintage kick a couple of weeks ago. I really wanted to teach this flower at the Valentine's class - but this is on a different project, so I'll tell you about it - because I want you to try the product!! It's cool!!!

Card stock - Whisper White, Basic Black, Brushed Gold

Everything else! :D Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, 2-3/8" scallop circle punch, 1-3/4" scallop circle punch, 1-1/4" scallop circle punch, creped filter paper, paper piercing tool, piercing mat, gold glitter brad, dimensionals, paper snips, Gold Glow Smooch Spritz

I really like this classy color combination!!

OK, I'm outta here. :D Have a WONDERFUL weekend! Be sure and make the time to stamp SOMEthing! :D

MDS Monday - A Glimpse of Oregon

ROFLMBO!!!! This one and the one that posted Monday got switched! So be glad today's not Monday, but pretend it is for just a few minutes, OK? :D
 
Good Monday Morning! Did you have a good weekend?

I think, until I get settled in Oregon, that Mondays are going to be My Digital Studio shares. It's such an incredible program - I really wish y'all would get as excited about it as I am. :D Plus, I have it on my laptop - and I can design digitally to post while using my pre-created other projects for you, too! :D

SO. This was a challenge page for the group called SUDSOL; the challenge was to use geometric shapes or DSP. You'll see a couple of other pages from this challenge over the next couple of weeks; I really liked it, because it gave me an option to get LOTS of photos on one page. :D

Don't forget that you can click on the photo to see the original size I uploaded it as!

I also love that MDS has one of my favorite all-time colors, Bordering Blue, still in my color palette. I took the opacity of the color down to 60%, so the background wouldn't be too dark, and used the same color for the sailboat in The Open Sea digital brush set as background paper. The mats around the photos - which are a square punch rotated 45 degrees - are Night of Navy, as is the color of the title. These are some of my favorite non-Kenn photos from our trip last year. :)

Do you have any questions about MDS? If you click on the link above, you can learn lots about it - and even try it, fully functioning, for thirty days! (I have my certification the company offered in it, too, so I can help!) Try it. And Stampin' Up! lowered the printing costs of EVERYTHING from where it started - some things even went down as far as 50% - and it's STAYING there. You really don't have anything to lose!

Already have a digital scrapbooking program you love working with? Add on anything. Seriously. Check out the link above!

OK, I'm outta here! :D Have a WONDERFUL day! Be sure and make the time to CREATE something. :D

I can't believe my Pastels are RETIRED!!

Welcome to Wednesday! ROFL! Sorry. I've been preposting all the MDS Monday posts for while I'm gone, and I think I'm a little punchy. :D

ANYWAY. I so cannot BELIEVE they've discontinued the Stampin' Pastels. It makes me so sad; they were one of the best ways of coloring projects that we had. But, what's gone is gone, and I gotta move on - after one more post. :D

By the way, if you decide to go purchase anything from last week, I think I wasn't in my shopping bag when I linked everything. PLEASE go to my business site and click on SHOP NOW, so we both get the credit we deserve! Thank you! ;)

I made this card to show off the Simply Scored borders plate; I made the waves with it! I just went over them with my finger dipped in Whisper White ink to highlight them. :)

I embossed the saying from TRUST GOD in Whisper White and embossing powder. Then, I dipped a sponge in Whisper White ink and made the sun and the clouds, and used the Pastels to color them appropriately. Simple, easy card. To say farewell to the pastels. :D

OK, I'm outta here! Be forewarned: I'm going to be trying to get ALL the posts from now until the beginning of April ready to go. I want you to have something new to look at each M, W, and F, as usual - but being on the road means I might not be able to get the time or the connection to do so! If there are specials, etc., that pop up, I'll try to get those in between. but rest assured, I'm going to have stuff for you! :D

Have a wonderful day! Be sure and MAKE the time to stamp SOMEthing!

Valentine's Classes I didn't get to teach!

Happy Friday! :D How's your week been? Do you have big plans for the weekend? I do! It's gonna be BUSY! And I could really use some time to clean my studio.... :D

These two classes, the Simple Sophistication and Kids' Valentines, didn't get even one nibble. So I won't be sharing how to do them, or the supplies. I may keep them for another class, or they may be gone forever. I'm kinda sad, because the Simple Sophistication projects are really cool. But oh, well! I won't be offering any more classes before I leave Tennessee. I'm really hoping to offer a class or two wherever we settle in Oregon, perhaps at the library. :)

Anyway! I hope you have a WONDERFUL weekend! Take some time to stamp something - I bet you've forgotten how FUN it can be! :D

Commissioned Valentine's Card!

Hi, everyone! Happy February 13! :) I know Valentine's Day isn't everyone's favorite day; it's not mine. But I have some fun little things to give Kenn this year, so I can't wait for him to see them. :D

ANYWAY. A college student asked me to make a card for his girlfriend using their school colors. And he must have told me three times that "she really likes cheer bows" - she's an all-state TX cheerleader. GREAT.

I was stymied. I appealed to my group of SU! demos, and got one reply that gave me an idea of where to start. So, I went and found their college's colors, and got to work.

The colors are Whisper White, Midnight Muse, and Daffodil Delight. I used the retired heart border punch; the embossing folder I used was Petals-a-Plenty. The hearts are all cut with the Heart Framelits. I watched a couple of videos about making cheer bows, and then I used the Daffodil Delight seam binding ribbon to make one. The front greeting is from TEENY TINY WISHES, and punched from the modern label punch. The inside heart is cut out of the Whisper White card stock, then I used the "V is for Valentine" from the OCCASIONS ALPHABET set and embossed it with white embossing powder.

It's not frilly, which I think HE liked. :) But it had everything he asked for!

OK, I'm outta here. Be sure and check out my review blog, Life's Little Pleasures, for a fun treat you could easily make to put into a candy box! Have a WONDERFUL day, and make the time to STAMP something - then give it to someone. You'll both enjoy it! :D

Another sweet CASE!

Happy Monday!

What a BUSY weekend! And with trying to start packing, stamping is starting to have to be fit into little holes in the day. :D What better way than to do another SUDSOL challenge with a 2.5"-square card???

Since I've got my Simply Scored, I know I can make envelopes whenever I need to. So making odd-sized cards doesn't intimidate me!

Although the original card with this was made with the new pinwheel die, I don't have it. I decided to do it the old-fashioned way - and I think it turned out OK. :D The DSP is SUMMER SMOOCHES; the "hello" stamp is from PRETTY PETITES, and is free and available only through SALE-A-BRATION!!! Super simple, and super cute, IMHO! :D

I also want to urge you to take a look at PAPER PUMPKIN. If you don't have the time or the space to stamp, this is the monthly kit you want! Don't forget to choose me as your demonstrator! :) You can try it out, you can decide you don't want it for a certain month - check out the link, and if you have questions, please let me know! :)

OK, I'm outta here. Have a wonderful day - and be SURE to MAKE the time to stamp something!!!!

Ha! Another CASE of a CASE!! :D

Happy Friday! I hope you've had a great week, and are contemplating a great weekend! Ours is gonna be really busy. :) If you're in the middle TN area, come to Lamplighter Theater Company to see LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC! (And I can still use help working on ushering and ticket-taking!)

Today's is, as my post title says, a CASE of a CASE I found on Pinterest. :) Mine is very simple; I let the DSP take care of most of the color. That's Summer Smooches, by the way.  The stamp, from WORD PLAY, is colored with Tangerine Tango and Midnight Muse Stampin' Write markers. Colors of card stock are Whisper White, Tangerine Tango, and Midnight Muse. I cut the heart with the Hearts Collection Framelits, the middle sized. I put my strips of DSP straight up and down, whereas the one I copied put them on a diagonal. Whatever floats your boat! :)

I really like the simplicity of this card, and the fact that there ARE bright colors, but they're contained in one space. :D

OK, I'm outta here! BUSY weekend! You have a wonderful weekend, but be sure to make some time to STAMP something! :)

Thank You Notes

Happy Wednesday! Are you having a good week? Have you enjoyed the weather? It was SIXTY DEGREES here in middle TN yesterday, just gorgeous. And I had to spend over THREE HOURS of it in the doctor's office.

Oh, well. :D

Last week, I got to have lunch with a dear friend I hadn't seen in six months. I made her a set of six of these cards; I knew she'd like the color combination. And can't we all use thank-you cards?

I used Pumpkin Pie card stock for the card base; that's Early Espresso and Whisper White  paired with it. I used the "thank you" from TEENY TINY WISHES and stamped it in Pumpkin Pie; I used this scallop circle punch and matted it on this scallop circle punch, then put it in the center of a strip that I'd stamped - using Versamark and white embossing powder, the heat tool and embossing buddy - with the stamp from the Madison Avenue Stamp Set that you can ONLY get for FREE with any $50 purchase right now during Sale-a-Bration! (Ask me about it!!)

I scored all four sides of the inside with the Simply Scored board, and stamped it with the "U is for utterly" stamp from the Occasions Alphabet stamp set. It's stamped in Pumpkin Pie, too. :)

So! :) I hope you enjoy the rest of your day, and the rest of your week. :) Be SURE and make the time to stamp something, my friend!

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!! :)

Sketches are great!

Happy FEBRUARY!!! Can you believe it?!? Wow, time is flying SO quickly! AND it's Friday. Hooray! :D

Today's card share is a sketch challenge from the SUDSOL group. And it's one that I've used for a LONG time - it's great for quick, easy cards - just change the colors, or the paper, or the stamp, or... :D You can step it up, too, by adding embellishments....

 

See? Super cute, super easy!

Whisper White card stock for the card body, one of the mats, and the central image piece. That's Summer Smooches DSP for the strip; there's also Real Red and Wild Wasabi card stock for mats. the stamp is from EASY EVENTS - such a cute, versatile stamp set! I embossed the tree and grass with black embossing powder (and using Versamark, the Heat Tool and Embossing Buddy!); I colored the heart and the words with my Real Red Stampin' Write marker. The tree and grass I did with my Aqua Painter and Wild Wasabi ink pad; I wanted the uneven coloring in the tree, so it would look like more leaves were in one place than another. :D To finish the card, I mounted the image "medallion" with Dimensionals, and used Dazzling Details on the heart, just to give it a little more punch.

I think it's a cute card! :D

OK, I'm outta here! We're shooting a wedding tomorrow, so I'm not planning on doing much today. :D Except visiting with a friend....

Enjoy your weekend! And be sure to make the time to STAMP something!!