Proud Mom!

Today my little girl sang in the largest venue I think she's ever sang in before.  She sang the National Anthem at the University of Arizona McKale Center.  GREAT JOB!

January Club

We had a great get together at Sara's on Saturday.  I have really missed everyone as we took a month off in December.  We made some great birthday cards and Valentines too.

The first one was our technique card.  I taught them the Marbled Background technique.  It was so fun to see everyone rocking and rolling their marbles.  At least no one LOST them!  I think many of these will be circulating around for Valentines Day!

This card started with a Basic Black card base and then I used Riding Hood Red for the ink.  The stamp in from the Occaisions Mini Catalog.  It is Be My Valentine.  The ladies wet embossed it and stamped a second image in Riding Hood Red to layer the banner on top.  The ribbon is my new fav - 3/8" taffeta!  It is gorgeous and even though it isn't an exact match to the paper, it is the right hue and very easy to work with.

The second card was a birthday card using another Occaisions Mini Catalog set - Create a Cupcake.  It also used the coordinating punch Build a Cupcake.  I LOVE it when Stampin' Up! has a matching stamp set and punch!  It makes me happy -

The colors are Blushing Bride and Early Espresso; definately a great combo.  The sentiment comes from another Occaisions Mini set called Bring on the Cake.  Definately a MUST have for Birthday sentiments, it comes with 13 great sayings to add to both inside and outside of birthday cards and gift cards too. 

I will share the other 2 cards tomorrow..  but you will LOVE them!

1-1-11

What fun that is to type!  I am excited for a new year - as I looked back on 2010, life was so full of changes!  I will recap a bit then share a project with you.  First off, Nathan got his mission call to serve an LDS service mission to Mozambique!  He left in May - this photo was created in My Digital Studio.  I made it for him for his birthday to remember the fun day he had when he got the letter with his mission call in it.  I later added this to the calendar we sent him for Christmas.

The next big event was James getting married.  He fell in love with a sweet girl from college, Dawnmarie, and they married in the summer.  This is another page from the calendar made in My Digital Studio -

I was laid off, then got my job back during the summer and that provided a lot of stress for a couple of months. All ended well. 

Our holidays were so much different than in the past with 2 children missing.  I have to admit I was quite sad - life is definately changing; I am going to have to figure out how to change with it!

 It has been a great year full of change, challenge and creativity.  thank you for joining me on this great journey!

Now here is the project I promised.  It is a gift I gave to Mike's sister and her family for Christmas.  I used the Decor blocks from Stampin' Up!  to create a 6 sided decor peice for them. 

Life really is fully of adventure! 

Life is....... JOY

Life is....  FAMILY

Life is......  GOD

Life is......... LOVE

Life is.........  LIFE!

Farewell 2010!!!!

It was such a crazy year!  I am sad to see it go, but glad to welcome 2011...  I am preparing for my 100th blog post as the first of 2011!!!!  Please enjoy the greeting card made in My Digital Studio as my gift of 2010 to all of you!

Merry Christmas to all ---- a little late!

Sorry this is a week late - but the wish is sincere - Please know that I love each of you and your comments and support keep me going.  December was hard with life busy and kids missing at Christmas.  but we made it!  Enjoy the holidays and your family!  this is the Christmas card I sent to friends and family.  It uses My Digital Studio.  I absolutely ADORE it!  If you want to know more, contact me and I will be happy to show you all you need to know to begin creating fabulous digital items such as this card!

I am coming up on 100 posts!  I will create an extra special one for that! 

The secret is out....

Here is the promised missing project from the gift class yesterday.  These are chapstick holders.  I had seen the idea before, but found a great sketch on Splitcoast Stampers for them. So.. I duplicated them!  I have a few stashed for quick gifts! 

Starting on the top left corner - I used Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo and Tempting Turquoise.  The stamp set is Priceless - that's an oldie by goodie!  The top right corner uses Soft Suede, Old Olive and Tangerine Tango. The stamp set is the ever adorable Fox and Friends.  The bottom center holder features fall colore - Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive and More Mustard.  The set is Day of Gratitude.

more gift class stuff

So the ladies has a lovely time today as they got a head start on homemade gifts.  Here are a few more projects.  The first is of a tea light holder that I stamplifted from Jill Hilliard. 

The blue box is Bashful Blue and Night of Navy using the stamp set Serene Snowflakes.  The red box uses the now unavailable Candy Cane DSP (sad face).  The stamp set is Holiday Line Up.

The next project is one that is seen many places online - so I am not sure who was the ORIGIONATOR - nor does anyone else.  It is a wall hanging that uses the Big Shot - that is a GREAT idea for a holiday gift for someone you love.  The colors are Early Espresso, Old Olive and Real Red.

A few gals made some tile projects - there were coaster tiles using tumbled Marble tiles and the Medallion stamp.  The other one was a 'dry erase' tile.  The set used is Baroque Motifs.

I have one more cute idea to share - so watch for it tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so greatful for all of my family and friends!  We spent a wonderful Thanksgiving with our 'new' family - our daughter-in-laws family.  It was a lovely day full of laughter, chatter and LOTS of food!  We are so blessed to have good people in our lives - Thank you for being a part of it!  WE LOVE YOU!

The card is made with the AMAZING My Digital Studio; a fabulous digital papercrafting program.  Right now until Nov 30, it is on sale for 50% off!!!!  EVERYONE needs this program.  Contact me for details!

Holiday Gifts

Just a quick little post to show you a gift idea - how about a stamped pocket calendar?  Imagine the possiblities!

Tags, Bags, Boxes and More

I held this great class this past Saturday.  The ladies came to make some fun packaging ideas for their holiday gift giving.  The first photo is of the gift card holders they made -  The colors were Real Red and Garden Green.  The stamp set used for the package holder is Punch Potpourri.

The next photo is a small gift bag that uses the tiny gift bags in the Holiday Mini catalog. They sell for $4.95 - and that is for 10 of them!  They ran the bag through the Petals-a-Plenty impressions folder then used a Cherry Cobbler marker to color the centers of the flowers.  The stamp set for this bag is Tags 'til Christmas.  I also used my new favorite type of ribbon.. 3/8" taffeta!!!  It is luscious!

The other bag was a bagalope - you make this from a simple envelope! 

The boxes were very fun!   I used the Box #2 die, Fancy Favor die, and the Matchbox die.  I can't believe I used to make boxes like these by hand!  Now with just a quick crank from my best friend Big Shot... I have super cute boxes to make for gifts!  All of these use the Tags 'til Christmas stamp set.  Also used were the Snowflake die, Decorative Label punch, Medium oval punch, Scallop oval punch, Belle wheel, and Serene Snowflakes stamp set.  The colors used are : Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler, Bashful Blue, Marina Mist. I also used just a tad of Deck the Halls DSP on the matchbox.

November Stamp-a- Stack cards

I had a great time with these cards for November's Stamp-a-Stack.  I could make tons of Christmas cards, so I made a couple for the ladies to make!

the first one uses one of my favorite new stamp sets - Greeting Card Kids.  They remind me of the Campbell's Soup Kids I grew up with!  (dates me, huh!)  The colors are Marina Mist, Garden Green, Blushing Bride and Real Red.  The DSP is from the Candy Cane pack.  I love these new big buttons too!

The second card is the card I featured using scraps - It uses River Rock, Marina Mist and Not Quite Navy as the colors.  The stamp set is Party Hearty.  The texture for the card is made by running the cardstock through an impressions folder (this one happens to be square lattice) after gluing on the punched circles.  Fun idea!

The third card was fun to make.  The Just Believe stamp set is one of my favorite 'go to' sets.  It is so versatile.  This one used the colors Rich Razzleberry, So Saffron and Garden Green.  The butterflies are made by using the Beautiful Wings embosslits die.  The other punches were the Word Window, Modern Label and Spiral Edge. 

I saved the BEST for last.  This one is my favorite of the evening.  It is so simple, yet elegant.  This one was a CASE from a card I saw on a blog - sorry I don't remember who's ... if it is yours.. let me know as I would like to give you credit.  It uses a fun set Tree Trimmings - and the sentiment is from my NEW 'go to' sayings set - Word Play.  I embossed the ornaments and saying in Silver and usded the Eyelet Border punch for the Real Red strip of CS.

This was a fun night of card making - come join me on December 3 for a night time card making class, or the same class on December 4th for a day time one.  Check out the side bar for information and samples.

Online Extravaganza!

Do you want to save a bunch on some gifts for you or your friends?  Then check this out.  You can get the FABULOUS My Digital Studio for 50% off - that makes it $39.98.  You will NEVER see it this low again!  If you have been teetering on the fence about getting it - DO IT NOW!

I have the list in a PDF if you want to see them all at a glance; just CLICK HERE

I will be putting an order in Wednesday the 24th and then Friday the 26th  and then Tuesday night (the 30th). 

November Club cards

We had a great time at our Stamp Club this month.  We always chat up a storm and it is great therapy for all of us!  I planned a couple of cards for Thanksgiving using the new set out of the Holiday Mini catalog called Day of Gratitude.  This was one of the notorious sets that I thought - eh, I'll never use it! but again - I was WRONG!  I see so many uses besides the Thanksgiving season. 

The first card is one that my fellow demonstrator/friend Sue Brown had us do for our make and take at our Southwest Demonstrators meeting.  Very simple, but stunning.  The colors used were River Rock, Always Artichoke and Cajun Craze.  the trim on the card is done using the new die cut - Tasteful Trim.  It features 4 12" borders that are so fun!

The second card using this stamp set was one for our technique of the month - Dauber Stamping.  You can use your sponge daubers to apply the ink to any stamp.  We used the large wreath motif stamp from the set.  The colors used were Almost Artichoke, More Mustard and Cajun Craze.  The sentiment for this card was from another Holiday Mini set - Seasonal Sentiments.  This was the first time the ladies used the Dotted Scallop Border punch. 

I decided that each month should have a birthday card also- so this one was simple.  I used the set On a Pedistal and the new In Color - Peach Perfection.  Wild Wasabit and Rich Razzleberry were used as an accent colors.  I was very happy to see these colors come back from previous years' In Colors.  The background was embossed with the Perfect Polka Dot impressions folder, then layered the cake on the stand. Isn't the new Poly Stitched ribbon fabulous!?

And of course we had to have a Christmas card.  This was one of the cards that was made at an earlier Stamp-a-Stack.  I will show the others later, but this one was my favorite, so I had to have the club make it too!  I got the idea from a class planner on SUDSOL - my 'go to' demonstrator help website.  Thank you to all the wonderful demonstrators who share their talents with those of us pressed for time!  The stamp set is Contempo Christmas and I embellished a bit with the Tiny Tags set too.  The colors came from the Jolly Holiday DSP - Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive. The Decorative Label punch was showcased as well to show off how to mat it. VERY CLEVER idea! 

Polka dot scraps

I am going to repost this since for some reason the photo did not make it. The origionator of this idea that I almost completely CASED from is Jessica Taylor's HERE where she had a fun use for scraps.  I even loved the color combo so I used it too!  The stamp set is Party Hearty, the colors River Rock, Marina Mist, Not Quite Navy, and Very Vanilla.  THANKS for great demo's who I can get inspiration from too.  I hope you like this idea.  She has a great tutorial on her blog.

November Birthday card

I was busy making birthday cards this week.  I have decided to try to stay ahead of my monthly family birthdays and make a card for the entire month, that way everyone will get the same card - I think this may be a nice feature of my stamp club too.  So, for November, I CASE'd this card from another demo, but changed the color scheme to be more universal for boy or girl.

 The card uses 2 sets - On a Pedistal and my favorite new sentiment set - Word Play.  The colors I used were Wild Wasabi, Peach Parfait, and Rich Razzleberry.  I added a bit of flair to the card with the use of the polka dot impressions folder and some Peach Parfait Poly Striped ribbon.  Fun card!  Happy Birthday to all the November Birthdays!