Party time Scrapbook class style

For July the scrapbook gals made some wonderful layouts too.  Again - the inspiration for them came from fellow demos - on our demo blog.  

the first layout was a great sentimental one - it could be almost anything.  I used by favorite masculine stamp set these days- The Open Sea - I may shed some tears when it is not current anymore. HOWEVER, the upside will be that the new Holiday items will be available and I got a sneak peek.  All I can say is WOW! Stampin' UP!  has outdown themselves... but you'll have to wait until August to see the samples. 

Ok, so I digress----  the Nautical Expedition DSP was a lovely compliment to the first layout ... the left side ... I CASEd that from Jackie Topa.  I could not get away from the ship in a bottle - it was striking.  The colors were Night of Navy, Cherry Cobbler and Not Quite Navy.  The distressing was done with Early Espresso.

the second set of pages was also inspired by the colors of a DSP - this one was the retired pack of Birthday Celebration.  The ladies were impressed how easy the title was to make with clear mount stamps - it was amazing; simply lay out the letters you want to spell out then press your clear block on the top - you get them exactly how you want them!  

Scrap that inspiration

June's scrapbook class was a great evening.  It was nice to visit while the ladies created their pages.  I was inspired by a couple of people on Stampin' Up!'s own demo blog .  thank you to the great demos who inspire me.

This is the complete first layout - Sunny Day DSP, Heart from the Heart stamp set - Daffodil Delight, Poppy Parade were the colors too.  I added a bit of Daffodil Delight satin ribbon to finish it off.

 The second set was all about animals and the zoo.  We created punch art animals (how fun is that!)  The colors were very safari -like; Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry, More Mustard.
The background was done by using the edge of a Stampin' Around wheel.   

My Digital Studio gift-

The band teacher at the High School was retiring this year so I felt like I should do something special for him.  He taught the 3 boys for 8 years, so he has a special place in our hearts.  I popped open My Digital Studio, found a great music quote and got to designing.  He absolutely LOVED it and said it would be hanging in his house for years to come.

Thank you, Mr. Robert Gaston!

Christmas in July Stamp Camp projects -

There will be a fun day of crafting on July 30 at my home!  Any and all are welcome.  It will be a fabulous day of creating for all!  Check out the projects you can choose from.  I will be putting together tutorials for all the projects sometime next week or the first week of August. (thank you for the suggestion Joyce)

stamped CD clocks

$10.00

8 1/2" x 11" Family collage

$5.00

8 1/2" x 11" Friend collage

$5.00

11" x 8 1/2" Merry collage

$5.00 

Jingle Bell Glass Block

$15.00 

Memo Pad Case

$5.00 

 Nugget Boxes

$3.50 

Peace, Joy, Love wall hanging

$7.00

Recipe Card Apron Box (design from Ellen Kemper)

$5.00

Christmas Countdown

$10.00

Anniversary

It is so hard to believe that a year has passed by so quickly - it just seems like a short while ago that my oldest son, James, married his sweetheart Dawnmarie.  I love her so much and am so glad he found her.  I made them this card for their anniversary this past week.  It was all about the hearts!

Wedding invitations

My daughter in law and I have a crafting business we do together called Celebration Creations.  You can check that blog out with the linky on the left side bar of this blog.  We do all kinds of things to help celebrate any occaision - weddings, birthdays, showers (baby or wedding), quincinerras, you name it - we do it!  

I made some sample wedding invitations up and thought I'd share them here - 

Both use impressions folders and some heat embossing also.  I hope they inspire you today!

The Open Sea strikes again!

With the blessing of rain that Tucson has been receiving, I wanted to share another water inspired card.  This features my favorite set from the Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalog, The Open Sea.  It reminds me of my dad.

gifts to mail

Every year for the past 10 or so, I have showered my Mother in Law with a card shower for her birthday - literally.  I try to send her at least 50 cards to get her through most of the next year with birthday and anniversary cards and of course a couple of 'just because'.  She is an old fashioned LETTER WRITER!  I know, pick yourself off the floor - they DO still exist.  I love this about her; she tries to keep in contact with all those important people in her life.  She has forced herself to learn how to use email so she can keep up with her techie grandkids, but she still loves to put pen to paper!  I love her dearly and wanted to share a few of the cards I made for her.  

I know they will remain a secret to her - she is NOT a follower of my blog -but since you are --- pass the blog on to YOUR friends!  I would love to see your friends and family following my little creative journey!

This first one is a CASE from the a Stampin' Up! demo blog -SUDSOL.  Many demonstrators are getting ready to leave for the 2011Stampin' Up!  Convention.  Unfortunately, I can't attend this year again, but I love to be inspired by those who do!  Thank you Mary Brown for the inspiration for this card.  The stamp sets are Extreme Elements and Just Because.  The bright colors are from the Bright Collection - Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive and Pacific Point.

For these cards I was using up scraps on my table.  I love the triple layer punches and this is a fun way to use up leftover punchies from other projects.  I had punched out about 50 Real Red, Pear Pizzazz and Basic Black flowers using the Flower triple layer punch, and had a pile (not very small) of the leftovers.  I glued them on Whisper White CS and then ran that through the Big Shot using the Square Lattice impressions folder.  I layered that with a few other layers and stamped a simple greeting from my favorite 'go to' birthday set - On Your Birthday.  To add a punch of color, I added a couple of flowers using the new set Fabulous Florals.  I was so thrilled to find out it is carried over into the 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog!

This last sample was a direct CASE from the Stampin' Up! demonstrator publication Stampin' Success.  Each month we get such wonderful ideas and inspiration in this.  I always look forward to the day it arrives and love to pour over the pages inside.  

Happy Fathers Day! (ok - so I'm a bit late)

I had some fun times making Father's Day cards.  I had one for the club members to make, but when it came right down to it, I wanted to make Mike a different one - sooooo here is the one I gave him.

it uses the stamp set Tool Time. I finally broke down and bought this set - I have eyed it for a while now (like 2 years) but remembered this fun card I have seen MANY places online and knew the time had come to buy it.  The letter 'a' is from a retired alphabet set and the "lucky you" quote is from another retired hostess set Afterthoughts.

Mike enjoyed his pampereing day- the kids got together and bought him a mini donut maker and he was showered with a HEART attack - REAL style- about 80 donuts!  The kids had me make mike his own heart attack card too - he has put that somewhere safe and since I forgot to take a photo of THAT card, I'll hunt and try to post it later.  

Tart and tangy farewell

Add a quick tag with the two different sizes of tag punches and you have a super quick gift to sneak some Starbursts or Skittles inside!

I will miss this fun set of fruits.  It is so bright and sunny - perfect for a summer sip of fun!  The club gals made this little pillow box with Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzaz, and Tangerine Tango.

June Club cards -farewell to the retired

Monochromatic cards are so easy to achieve and stunning to see!  I used retiring DSP - Bella Blue- for the color pallet - Pacific Point.  The focal point came from the set Engraved Greetings.  simple and stunning.  This card was found on a blog and all i did was change out the colors and DSP.

June stamp-a-stack - triple flower punch

This was a quick card for the evening also.  These new style punches are such a great addition to the already amazing punches Stampin' Up! offers.  this punch can do triple duty - literally.

.This punch makes quick work of making fun flowers for any card design.  If you partner it with the stamp set Bold Blossom, it is a great card.  

I used the colors Daffodil Delight,Melon Mambo and Old Olive.  See how easy this card was?  I punched out once with Daffodil Delight and once with Melon Mambo and layered them together to make a super quick flower.  I used one part of the punched shapes to create a border for my stamped piece and accented with some retired Melon Mambo pom pom trim. (It is so fun!  I miss it.)

June stamp-a-stack

I struck again with the boats!  I love this set The Open Sea.  This card was one of favorites of all time.  The colors were inspired by the Designer Series Paper - Night of Navy and Early Espresso.

It also featured a definition from the set Define Your Life.  I will miss that set once it retires!

The second card is a very simple one with the new Flower Garden impressions folder - I saw this card on a blog and decided it was a quick addition to the evening.

Just a quick bit of ink to accent the flower and a strip of ribbon make this a card done in a flash.

Happy Father's Day!

This was my Father's Day to all my family.  Enjoy your special day dads!

May Stamp-a-stack - clear block stamping

This card was done to teach a little technique that is a great way to add a focal point to a simple stamp.  You simply ink up your acrylic block on any stamp pad and stamp directly onto your card.  With this card, it is done in Not Quite Navy to back the stamp Sail Away.  The ship stamps in the Stampin' Up! summer mini have taken me by surprise; I am drawn to them!

To finish off the card, I used the spiral border punch which is sadly being retired this week.  I love that border and will miss it dearly~! There was a little bakers twine accent and a sentiment from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set; that set is a MUST have!  The Designer series paper was from the Summer Mini Catalog also - Nautical Expressions.