Musical Thank You

I am amazed that it has been a week since I have visited with you.  The days have flown by but for good reasons.  A band recital, volleyball practice twice, then an all day tournament with the best of endings.  There were only six girls who could stay until the end of the tournament due to other commitments that day.  Six is the minimum required to stay in the match otherwise you forfeit.  Then the worst happened ... one of our dear sweet girls was hurt during the game.  There were tears shed, hugs given, and we thought our hopes for a win that day were dashed.  However, you can't keep a good team down ... especially one that has it in their hearts to win for a fallen friend.  So with only five players (our injured player standing just inside the lines in the far back corner so she was counted as "on the court") - our brave girls beat the 1st place team ... 25 to 23!  It was quite a battle and we parents couldn't be prouder.  It was wonderful to see them come together as individuals and as a team.  More tears, lots of hugs, and this time "high fives" ... I'm sure everyone was re-living the moment during the car ride home.  What a wonderful way to enjoy a Saturday!

On to my project that I have to share with you.  One of the loveliest ladies you could know has asked me to create some cards that she can give to her daughters teachers.  Each card will be packaged in a cello bag with a gift card and tied up with ribbon, I'm sure they will be appreciated.  Such a sweet gift.  This project uses Sweet Pea and Tea Party Designer Series Paper.  Before you ask me about the music, let me tell you that I copied a sheet of my cello music onto Very Vanilla cardstock, cut it to size, and inked the edges with So Saffron.  For the curious, that's Sonata in C Major by Breval (smile).  Notice the black stitching around the outside picks up the black in the music and greeting.

The tag is chipboard covered with gorgeous Sweet Pea paper.  The pink crinkled goodness is seam binding sprayed with Pink Passion ink.  To get the crinkled effect, while still wet push it into the corner of a plastic bag then twist it tightly closed and let it sit over night.  Put it in the dryer the next day if it's still damp.  Another tip is to spray the ribbon with starch before you dry it.  That will help make the ribbon stiff and easier to work with.  My button could be older than me ... from my mother's hand-me-down collection.  I think it's perfect for this card.

I used both the Scalloped Oval and the Wide Oval punches on my greeting.  This gorgeous sentiment is part of new Pedaling Past set offered now in our Summer Mini catalog.  You can see more at the link on the left.

I hope you enjoyed your visit today.  Thanks for stopping by.  I have more projects completed and will share them with you over the next few days.  I'll see you here again soon!

Day Two - Klompenstampers Blog Hop

Good Evening!  I know I am posting the night before the day I'm suppose to (does that make sense?).  I am so excited to be participating in the Hop that I just can't help myself!  I just have to post early!  And ... since it is so late in the day here in Michigan I figure no one will see this post until tomorrow anyway.  (The fact that this reaches different time zones around the world goes un-noticed.  LOL.)

Here's my second posting to share with you!  I just recieved my Stampin' Up Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die and I had to play with it.  Doesn't it make beautiful butterflies?  The die actually cuts four gorgeous winged friends and I used two on this project.  The papers are from  ... yep, you guessed it - Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper.  You can order a package for yourself on my website, just click on the link to the left.  It's filled with gorgeous papers and colors.  On this card I used Pretty In Pink cardstock and ribbon.  Update:  I did put an extra length of ribbon folded over on itself on top of the ribbon befreo i tied it.  That makes the ribbon look fuller.   And it makes four "tails" instead of two.  Notice the Whisper White card stock border?  That was created with the cutest Pinking Hearts Border punch (along with the DSP this is also in the Occassions Mini Catalog).  The polka dot leaves are from our Extra Large Two-Step Bird punch. 

The gorgeous circular filagree (LOVE IT) is from our Vintage Labels set.  I got that set FREE through our Sale-A-Bration event.  WOOT!  I punched it out with our Scallop Circle Punch.  I also punched out three more scalloped circles to create the "flower" from scraps of DSP.  A button sewn in the center holds them together.  I just LOVE making these flowers.  You can add more layers to make them "poofier" (that's a word, right?) or you can use a few layers to make them less poofy.  Like I did here!  I didn't want my flower to detract from the butterflies!  To see a poofy flower ... click here!  My sewing machine was used to stitch around the outside of the card front.  And I've included a couple detailed photographs which I hope will show your some of beauty of this paper collection. 

Thanks for visiting today and please stop by tomorrow.  You can leave me a comment below if you'd like.  Now it's time to see what Edna has created for you to enjoy!  Click here for Edna's Blog!

Day One - Klompenstampers Blog Hop!

Happy Monday everyone and welcome to Day One of our Klompenstampers Blog Hop!  I'm excited to have you visit.  It sure makes this Monday more fun than the typical start of the week, right?

Here is my project for today's posting.  To me is says "Welcome Spring" even if it's chilly outside.

Once again I used our new Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper.  With as often as I use it - you can tell I LOVE it.  This time I layered with no matting.  It gives the card a "shabby" look.  The stitching was done on my sewing machine and it adds to the "shabby" look too.  Since I covered the entire card front this time, your cardstock choice is really based on what color you want on the inside of the card.  Update:  To clarify I covered a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of scrap cardstock in the background paper.  Then I used dimensionals to mount that to the front of my card.  Since it is the same size as my card you don't see any sign of matting.  Also you still have the rigidity of a real card underneath.  Hope that helps!

The chipboard flower at the upper left is covered in our Fine Cosmo Glitter.  It's actually a light blue to go with the card but here it photographed white.  I used Sticky Strip on the glitter and then Crystal Effects to attach the flower.  The small half pearls from the Pretties Kit were glued on with Crystal Effects too.  Great stuff!  The only punch I used was our Modern Label punch.  The string is our Linen Thread wrapped around a few times and tied in a bow.  My greetings were FREE through our fantastic Sale-A-Bration event going on now!  See the link at the left?  Click on it to learn more!  

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed today's project!


Edna's blog will have something wonderful for you to see just click here!

Ah, Vintage!

I think I understand "vintage" a bit better now.  Soft pinks, blues, a host of buttons and pearls, some taffeta  ribbon, and voila ... Vintage!  This time I stayed on task and didn't stray.  I hope you like it!

I used up some retired background paper on this project.  The checked blue/white is from ... well, honestly I'm not sure.  I had a sheet of it laying around and it just seemed right for this card.  The pinks are from our Sweet Pea collection.  The herringbone pattern was trimmed top and bottom with our Scallop Punch.  You would think with as many times as I use the Sweet Pea collection it's a wonder I have any left.  I guess the package is bigger than I thought - which is a good thing since it's so gorgeous!

The stamped squares are actually a combination of two stamps.  I used a solid square inked it up in River Rock (remember that color?) and before I stamped it on the Whisper White cardstock I stamped some of the ink off on scrap paper.  That gave me a square that was one shade lighter than true River Rock.  I then inked up a leaf stamp in Old Olive and stamped it on top of the River Rock square.  Taking scissors, I cut the square out and used our Corner Rounder on all four corners.  If you don't have a solid square stamp - the square with the flowers in our For All You Do stamp set would be a perfect substitute.  I've included the images in that set here ....

The rest of the card was created using River Rock and Very Vanilla cardstock.  Buttons were threaded with pink floss and mounted with Dimensionals.  The half pearl is from our Pretties Kit and was adhered with a Glue Dot.  The ribbon is Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon.  Greetings are from Trendy Trees and God's Blessings which were stamped in Old Olive ink.
I'm sure you recognize our Butterfly Punch!

Thanks for visiting and if you have a moment leave me a comment to let me know what you think of today's project!

Mojo Monday on Saturday

The surgery is over and everything went well.  I was lucky enough to recieve a picture via email of father and son assembling the LEGO cars.  Hopefully he will be up and around soon making those cars zoom across the floor!

Today's project I call "Mojo Monday on Saturday".  Sad, isn't it?  I guess my life is not my own sometimes!  A big THANKS to the ladies at Mojo Monday for this wonderful sketch. 

The butterfly I used is from a retired nature set but don't let that deter you!  We have lots of new sets with FANTASTIC butterflies!  How about the dragonfly in Nature's Nest?  Or the butterflies in Garden Whimsy?  And our Flight of the Butterfly is on my Wish List ... it's so perfect!  I just got our Butterfly Punch that coordinates with that set so you can expect to see more winged things from me!  I could go on with more suggested sets but let me get back to todays post.

The butterfly was stamped on Watercolor Paper with Jet Black Stazon ink.  I used Pumpkin Pie and Bashful Blue to add color to the wings with an Aquapainter.  Glitter brought in a bit of sparkle and the button/yarn added some whimsy.  The papers are all from our Sweet Pea package available now in our Occasions Mini catalog (see my link on the left) as is the greeting from Well Scripted.  Other colors used here are Chocolate Chip and Bermuda Bay.  The Scallop Trim punch was FREE with our Sale-A-Bration event!

I hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.  Check in again soon.  I have a class next weekend so I'll be busy getting projects ready and would love to share them with you!

Marshmellows anyone?

I hope that this posting finds everyone happy and healthy!  Have you seen any of the winter Olympics yet?  My mother was 100% Dutch so I had to cheer for them during the men's speed skating event that took place this evening.  They won and set a new world's record too!  While the athletes were speeding around the track, I was happily paper crafting.  When I look back at all the different types of crafts I've done it's mind boggling.  What is really amazing is all the craft supplies I've accumulated over the years!  So, I thought to myself, why not put it all to use?

On today's project you will see that I have used floss stitched over top of the steam rising from my cup.  And to dress things up a little, I sewed on some seed beads along the front of the cup.  Call me crazy but it was really fun!  And I LOVE the results ... it add a "new" texture that I can see myself using again in the future.  I got LOTS of seed beads!  (I can see my Stamp Campers sweating bullets right now ... LOL!)  It's a perfect way to embellish my cards and use the supplies I have on hand!

Don't forget about the inside of your project!  You can see that my dreamy cup of hot chocolate is actually coffee.  (Since I despise coffee ... I'll continue to think chocolate.) 

Another new trick I tried today was "Auto Adjust" on my photo editor.  Looking at the results, I thought it improved the quality of my photo.  The white was definitely whiter and I liked that.  It wasn't until just prior to posting that I realized that my Chocolate Chip card looked like Basic Black!  But my Chocolate Chip cup looks fine!  ARGH!  Ah well, now I guess it is coffee and not hot chocolate! 

In addition to the floss and seed beads  I used ... Sweet Pea DSP; Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Pie cardstock; Watercolor Paper and Crayons; Pun Fun stamp set; Stazon Jet Black ink; Aquapainter; Antique brads; Dimensionals; Designer Label, 1 1/4" Circle, Modern Label, and Word Window punches.  I hope this inspires you to try something new!  Thanks for visiting!

February's Stamp Camp has been rescheduled...check my website to the left for updates.

For the birds ...

I fell in love with our Two Step Bird Punch the moment I saw it.  So you would think that I would have been playing with it ever since it arrived.  I guess I felt a little intimidated or it was more like I had so many ideas in my head I didn't know where to start.  So, here's my first project and I think I know why I loved it so much!  So what do you think?

This punch makes it soooo easy!  I used scraps from our new Sweet Pea Designer Series Papers.  Added a few buttons that are in the Pumpkin Pie family and a greeting which keeps the circle theme in mind.  The words are from Whimsical Words - a FREEBIE through our Sale-A-Bration event.  The circle punches are 1 1/4" and 1 3/8".  I also used our Modern Label punch with Pumpkin Pie cardstock.  The result was too long so I cut the middle out and taped the two ends to the back side of the circles before I mounted them to the front of the card.  That's the little scallops that stick out each side of the circle.  A Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain Ribbon ties it all together.

During our Sale-A-Bration event there are three easy ways to earn FREE product!

• Purchase $50 in merchandise and earn one FREE Sale-A-Bration product of your choice.
• Host a workshop of at least $300 and earn one FREE Sale-A-Bration product in addition to the generous hostess benefits.
• Join Stampin' UP! during Sale-A-Bration and choose a FREE stamp set (valued up to $47.95) from the Idea Book and Catalog.

Click on the Sale-A-Bration link to the left to learn more!

I hope you can visit again tomorrow when I'll have another new project to show you.  I've been playing with our Fresh Cut Notes!  Thanks for stopping by.

Welcome Baby Girl!

I did it!  I finished the Baby Girl gift box tower!

The kids delivered the gifts to the deserving Grandma's at school.  They were very pleased and my children felt good too.  I'm so glad I made these.  I'm already thinking of other "towers" I would like to create.  Try it for yourself ... they are really simple and super fun!  I used a box template from Papertreyink.  They have lots of box templates there.  Of course there are numerous other sources for templates.  If you find a box you like, take it apart and trace it!  You can use just about any shape/size box, just so long as you can stack them!

This is also a great idea for background paper scraps!  Who cares if they all match?  As long as they are from the same general color family and coordinate well with each other, then by all means use them!  These strips are only 1 3/4" wide and 7 1/2" long.  I had to use two on each box to make it all the way.  My seams are hidden on the sides under the ribbon.  Shhhh!  No one even knows they are there!

I hope you enjoy your evening.  I got a HUGE box of goodies from Stampin' UP on my porch today.  (Happy dance!!)  Unfortunately it's not all mine but I like digging thru it anyway!  I pull things out and say "ooohhh, I wish I had this!"  It's dangerous, I admit.  But the good news is that SOME of the contents ARE MINE!  So you'll be seeing new things in the next couple days - be sure to visit again soon!

Welcome Baby Boy!

Sabrina and I went to see The Blindside today.  What a great movie!   And it's a true story!  Of course, I cried.  I'm a sucker for emotional movies.  (sniff)  It made me wonder "What have I done lately that helped someone or made them smile?"  Surely I have never done anything so giving as she did.  Her compassion for the boy was so humbling.  The lesson that acts of kindness help us all, the giver and the reciever, really struck home with me.  Did you see how the whole family was involved?  I nearly cheered when the daughter went to sit next to Mike in the library!  (smile .... sniffle) 

So, interrupted by the movie, I only got one of the baby gift towers done today.  What do you think?  Not your typical color combination but pulled from the Sweet Pea paper were Taken with Teal, Pumpkin Pie, and Close to Cocoa!  The gifts inside required me to make the boxes a little larger.  Stacked on top of one another and tied up with our wide striped ribbon (Pumpkin Pie on this project), makes for a pile of presents!

Once again I used the 1 1/4", 1 3/8", and our Scallop Circle punches. This time I used a little bling with orange colored rhinestones found in my craft room. I think they add just the right amount of pizzazz!

I hope you find time to stop back tomorrow to see my Welcome Baby Girl project!

More Candles and Big Wishes!

OK, I have to admit I LOVE our new re-positionable stamps and clear blocks!  I used our new set Whimsical Words (which I got FREE through Sale-A-Bration) along with our D sized clear block for this project.  It was so GREAT to be able to see exactly where I was stamping!  I can definitely see myself using clear mount stamps in the future - I'm hooked!

For the focal point I used various sized circle punches (1 3/4", 1 3/8", and 1").  I wadded up the larger circle and then smoothed it out before using it.  I thought that little trick added texture without "bulking up" with another layer.  The twine ties a short piece of Pumpkin Pie striped ribbon (don't throw out those 3" scraps!) to the top of a  Pumpkin Pie corderoy button.  That cute do-dad is mounted with a glue dot to my stack of circles.  The background papers in our new Sweet Pea collection are wonderful!  Don't you agree?  The Taken with Teal and Pumpkin Pie combination really make this project happy and cheerful - just like birthdays are suppose to be!  Add wide striped Pumpkin Pie ribbon and a couple buttons - Voila!

Stop by tomorrow to see another idea using our Occasions Mini Catalog and Sale-A-Bration products!  You can view the contents of these catalogs by clicking on the cover image to the left.  Yep ... right over there!  If you want your own copy to leisurely browse while snuggled in front of the fire ... leave me a comment or send me an email - I'll get one out to you via "snail mail".  Place an on-line order through my website (also on your left) and have your goodies sent directly to you!  Gotta' love those "boys in brown" when they're coming to your door with a Stampin' UP box!

If the shoe fits ...

IT'S HERE!  THE NEW OCCASIONS MINI CATALOG IS LIVE!  Click on the link to the left to view our FANTASTIC new products!  Then go to my website to order - my store is open 24/7!

 

I'm LOVIN' our new toys!  This card features our Sweet Pea Designer Series papers.  It's the biggest package of background paper that we have ever offered!  All sheets are 12 x 12 and double sided.  The patterns and colors are gorgeous!  You get 48 sheets total 2 each of 24 different designs.  WAHOO!

On this card I have used our Humor in High Heels set.  The saying cracks me up ... because it's soooo true!  (At least that's what I tell myself when I'm out shopping.)  The dress is paper pieced with another of our Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper, of course.  I just had to hang up the dress - wouldn't want it to get wrinkled because you know I don't like to iron (see previous post).  So, I just used my little needle and poked a couple holes then strung up a "clothes line" with chocolate brown floss.  Cute, huh?

The felt flowers are our Flower Fusion collection and the centers are from our Designer Button collection.  Put some floss thru the holes and then adhere them with Sticky Strip.  They make a wonderful embellishment!

Yep, that's our new Scallop Trim border punch again!  I can see myself using this toy A LOT!  And it's FREE through our Sale-A-Bration event!  Can I hear another WAHOO!?

Check back later - I've got more to show you!