It's Been A Long Time!

It has been such a long time since I have posted and I thought about it as I was taking these breath taking pictures this morning at sunrise out my back yard. The colors were so beautiful and the sky looked like it was on fire at one point. You can also see all the snow we got this weekend. It's suppose to be gone by this weekend which would be a good thing because......
My youngest, Katie, graduated from VCU this month and so we are giving her a graduation party this coming Sunday. So I want the snow to be gone and the ground to dry up so people don't get stuck in our yard! So that is what I have been doing between holidays. Oh did I mention getting my girls old bedroom and my kitchen painted as well? Out with the old and in with the new!! I feel like I have a new house!! Some how with this all going on, I did manage to do a few Christmas card classes too. And Christmas shopping, and enjoying a visit from my parents as well as still working full time.
This is a card that I wanted to post before Christmas but never got around to it. Oh well, I can't do it all but I WANT TOO!!! Ha. I see all these younger gals whipping up card after card and wish I had the time and energy. I still need to make swaps for Leadership in January. It just never slows down. I guess that's a good thing. Right? I can't say I ever get bored. Well I will try to do better again here soon. Michelle Zindorf is coming to my house in February to teach classes. I am very excited about having her in my home sharing her brayer techniques. So I will sign off now but will talk to you soon. Happy New Year!

yamaha rhino class action

Thankful For Autumn Splendor

Autumn is my favorite time of the year. I love the colors of the leaves changing and the need for a sweater to keep the chill in the air off. I love opening my windows and smelling the fresh air. It is also a sign that Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner. Two of my favorite holidays that bring families together. That means my girls will be home for a few days. So I pulled out my Autumn Splendor set which I completely forgot about. With using all the new stuff out of the Holiday Mini, I tend to forget about the older sets. So I stamped the leaves on the DSP, "Newsprint" and then sponged around the edges. Wicked Fun DSP was used for the background and the verse is from Days of Gratitude.

yamaha rhino class action

Fireside Christmas

When I first saw this set I know I had some great ideas for it but where those ideas went, I have no idea!! Does that happen to you? It happens to me all the time. So I am getting ready for another stamp camp on Sunday and I wanted to use this set at least one time before Christmas gets here. With the ladies making so many cards (ten) I didn't want to use up too much time in coloring this image even though I have seen some awesome cards with a lot of coloring. So I just used my blender pen and color a few areas and left it at that. I think that layering and accessorizing helped this card a lot. At the last minute I added the little bit of Victorian lace to the Season's Greeting sign.

I am so sorry that it has been so long since I have blogged I was down with a cold and then my daughter came home from college sick so I had to take care of my baby. I just had several areas in my house painted, one of them being the kitchen and you know how sometimes the color you chose on that little piece of paper just doesn't quite match up to the color once it is on the wall? Well that's what happened to me in my kitchen. But it's growing on me. My youngest daughter is graduating from college in 5 short weeks so I have a lot to do between now and then. I hope I have the chance to blog a little more between now and then. Thanks for checking in with me//1

yamaha rhino class action

Matthew's Birthday Card

So my son turned 25 this year. I just can't believe he's that old because I still think of myself as being 25 until I look in the mirror. Then I wonder who is that? Hmm she sort of looks familiar. Oh my gosh. That's me! When did I get old or I should say older? Do you feel that way? I forget my age until the arthritis starts acting up or I try one of the new funky dance moves and my back starts aching. This old stuff is for the birds. I like moving and shaking and doing things. I just don't seem to have the energy that I once did and my body is constantly reminding me of that. I do try to stay as active as I can. I walk the dogs everyday and get out of my seat at work as much as possible. I hate to say this but my biggest comfort in all this is that I am not alone!!!! I have so many friends that are in the same boat. And then I have some younger friends that help me feel like I'm not ready for the rocker just yet! So where am I going with all this? Oops, I was talking about my son's birthday! See? Another sign of aging. Going off the subject. Anyway I made him this card with Pedaling Past because he rides and races bikes. He is the best son and I am so proud of the young man he has become. He moved out last February and I really miss him. He lives in the same city so I do get to see him from time to time. Thanks everyone for listening.

I am in the middle of getting three rooms ready to be painted this weekend. So I probably won't get to post another card until maybe Sunday. Have a Christmas card class early Saturday morning too. Busy, busy, busy.

yamaha rhino class action

Uncharted Territory

I wasn't going to buy this set but it is great for making masculine cards. Very simple lines make it easy to color and the middle card was done on watercolor paper with aqua painters and watercolor crayons.

What I used to make these cards:

#1 - Sahara Sand, Not Quite Navy, and Whisper White card stock; Not Quite Navy Ink, Decorative Label Punch, and Jumbo Eyelet.

#2 - Night of Navy, Sahara Sand and Watercolor paper. Black Stazon Ink. Night of Navy

Striped Ribbon, Aqua Painter, Watercolor Crayons

#3- Whisper White and Night of Navy Card Stock. Night of Navy Ink. Not Quite Navy brads,

Striped Night of Navy Ribbon, Jewelry Tag, and Photo Corner punches.

These 3 cards took less than an hour to make. Men generally don't like a lot of fu fu so this stamp set, Uncharted Territory, makes it easy. Hope you like them.

yamaha rhino class action

Halloween Gifts

I have had a blast making these containers for the little antibacterial hand cleaners that Bath and Body Works makes. This style was created by Kimberly Van Diepen and is so easy to make. I used the Dark and Dreary set and the Wicked Cool stamp set to make these. They go so well with the Nite Owl and Wicked Fun DSP. The embellishments add so much and sponging around the edges of the boxes add to the eeriness. You should try making some. The possibilities are endless. I have already bought my stash for the Christmas Holidays. And here is an idea for you. Make one and bring it to your local Bath and Body Works store. You might gain a new customer or two!!! Have a great night. Mine would be better if the Yankees scored some runs in the playoff game against the Texas Rangers. It's not looking good right now. Oh well. Tomorrow is another day, Scarlet!!!!

yamaha rhino class action

A Cute Snowman

I just love this little snowman and I had a picture in my head of this kind of rustic scene with him. Not exactly what I was going for but I still like the end result. Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake, and Very Vanilla are the colors I used here. I added one of the awesome buttons (121002) sold in the Holiday Mini which you can order on line from my Stampin Up website. Just click on the Daisy Flower to the right. The stamp sets I used were Cute Christmas, Punch Pals , and Heard From The Heart.

Well I finished up another Christmas Card class today with a group of wonderful ladies. We made 4 cards and they learn a few new techniques along the way. I have another class next weekend and one the weekend after. Yikes and then it will be November!!! I hope everyone had a great weekend. The cool weather is such a welcome to me. I love the fall and having to put a sweater on to take off the chill. I also love to open my windows and let the fresh air into the house until the temperature starts to drop in the late afternoon. Have a great week.

yamaha rhino class action

Batty For Christmas!

So all day I have been behind in everything I wanted to accomplish today. My daughter, Sarah, would say, "Mom, you should only try to accomplish two things per day". She said then I wouldn't get so frustrated with myself. She's right but my brain can't just pick two things. There is so much I want to accomplish and so little time! Today I planned to go out to one store that was having a great sale and I wanted to get a few Christmas gifts and birthday gifts. My girlfriend Joann went with me. She and her twin sister have been my best friends since high school and we haven't really spent anytime together for awhile so I got to thinking about that and decided to spend a good part of the day with her and figured everything else that I had planned to do could be done later. So I didn't get home til almost 4pm and my dogs were waiting patiently. NOT!!! So I took them out, fed them, walked them and then sat down for a few minutes to rest my tired feet. I started planning my cards for next weeks classes and so went up to the stamp room. There was a few Halloween candy bars on the table that I had not finished decorating and so I stopped to finish them. I took out my bat punch and punched several bats out. Well while they were laying there on the table I got an idea from the way they were situated and so started playing with them and voila', a wreath was born!!!! I hope you enjoy it. Now I have to go and watch the Yankees play ball.

yamaha rhino class action

Inspired By The "In Colors"

This card was made for the Late Night Stampers Challenge this week which was to use the new "In Colors". I used Poppy Parade, Pear Pizazz, and Blushing Bride. The stamp set is the Inspired by Nature. Then I took some of the fabulous new in color ribbon and frayed it. I was too lazy to use my photo box tonight when I took this picture because the Yankee playoff game was on and then Grey's Anatomy!!! And now it's time to go to bed.

yamaha rhino class action

Gratitude in Plaid

This is a technique that Sharon Madsen shared today called the "plaid" technique. It was a lot of fun and I did it a couple of times and each time the stamped image came out so different. I need to practice a little more but it really is easy. Here are the instructions that I got off Splitcoast:

1. Pick a lighter base color and ink up solid stamp.
2. Pick a medium and a darker color for the plaid lines.
3. Using the very edge of the ink pad, start from right to left at an angle and tap one of the ink pads the length of the stamp in 1/4 to 1/2 inch lengths.
4. Using the other color, start in the opposite direction to create crossed plaid lines...move down the stamp at 1/4 to 1/2 inch lengths using just the very edge of the ink pad.
5. Now stamp on cardstock.

I am making this card in Saturday's Autumn card class.

This iyamaha rhino class action

Gratitude

One of the easiest ways I know to say thank you to someone is to make cards for them to use. One of the teachers at school these past two weeks has been very helpful in getting students down to the clinic for me to screen. I was able to finish a whole grade level in one week. What a relief to have that done. And today the teacher offered more help for the rest of the grade levels. So I made these little note cards for her using the new French Foliage set from the Holiday Mini. Sometimes it's hard to accessorize a 3x3 card but tonight I took the 1 1/4 inch ribbon and split one end enough to tie a bow instead of wrapping it around the whole piece of cardstock. (See picture below) I like the way it turned out.

yamaha rhino class action

Christmas Collage

Ever since I made a card for my stamp class with this stamp in the traditional colors of Always Artichoke and Cherry Cobbler, I kept thinking that I wanted to try doing something totally different with it. So tonight I embossed the stamp, Christmas Collage from the Holiday Mini, in silver and then colored it with the colors used in the DSP, Candy Cane Christmas. I used my blender pen to color it with Baja Breeze, Real Red, Garden Green, and Blushing Bride. I used the stamp set Winter Post to stamp the reindeer and the tag. Embellished it with a Baja Breeze Button and Blushing Bride bow. A few rhinestones to accent the Reindeer and I was finished. So what do you think?

Today was my last class for the month. We made 4 Christmas cards and everyone loved them.

That makes me feel so good because you want to please your customers and not everyone has the same taste, so I try to offer a variety each time. I will say that being back at work has slowed me down as far as blogging but hopefully next month will bring more cards to share with you.

yamaha rhino class action

I Love The Yankees!

So yesterday morning my husband and I drove to Baltimore to see the Yankees beat the Orioles last night, 11-3. It was such a great game. I got to see Derek Jeter make some awesome plays, plus there was a pickle and two home runs by the Yankees. Our seats were on the Yankee dugout side of course and we had awesome seats by 3rd base so I could look at Derek all night long!!! Back to the drive up. It was miserable. It should have only taken us about 5 hours but there was one bad accident and then just so much traffic on 95. Ugh! So we got there about 4:30, checked into our hotel which was very nice and then walked to the game on a beautiful night. The weather was perfect. The stadium had 44, 550 in attendance. I will say I didn't see any empty seats and most of the seats were filled by Yankee fans. They were out in full force. I'm back home now and watching the 3rd game of the series on TV hoping that the Yankees will sweep the series. As soon as the game is over, I'm going to go up and stamp some and get ready for my classes this week. It's been a great weekend. Hope yours was too!

yamaha rhino class action

Such A Debate

I made this card for a reflections class I did last week. I had a hard time deciding whether to use the ribbon in the middle of the card or not so I asked for opinions and suggestions from some of my fellow stampers at Late Night Stampers. It was amazing how much response I got and I really appreciated all the suggestions. It ended up being about 50/50 as to liking and not liking the ribbon. Well I tried doing a card without the ribbon and just couldn't pull it off to my liking so I went ahead with this card and the class loved it!

This has been a very busy two weeks for me. School started which met me going back to work and getting my clinic up and running for all the sweet little kiddies with their tummy aches and boo boos. I scheduled 5 stamp classes this month and am half way through them.

Tomorrow my husband and I are going to Baltimore to see the Yankees play the Orioles. I can't wait to see my guy, Derek Jeter, and the rest of the great guys on that team play. The weather is suppose to be beautiful. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Stamp Set: Every Moment

Paper: Whisper White, Marina Mist, Pear Pizazz, Early Expresso

Ink: Stazon Black, Marina Mist, Old Olive, Early Expresso, Daffodil Delight markers

Accessories: Pear Pizazz Ribbon, Label Punch, Brads

yamaha rhino class action

Thank you Grannie

I was changing out my foyer decor with fall stuff and was looking at my grandma's doily (see below) that I display on the sideboard. I thought it looked kind of vintage and so went to work and made this card. Mostly punches and the Big Shot are used here. I put some words on it but didn't want to take away from the flower so kept it light with crumb cake ink. I also sponged around the vanilla lattice with crumb cake. Finished off the flower with an antique brad.

Stamp set: Just Believe

Ink: Crumb Cake

Paper: Wild Wasabi, Very Vanilla, Riding Hood Red

Accessories: Antique Brads, Lattice Sissix Die, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Scallop Circle Punches in various sizes and label punch.

yamaha rhino class action

Growing Green

It's been awhile since I posted a card but with me

going back to work and trying to still have classes at night, I have been one tired stamper! This past week I taught a "reflections" class and this week I am teaching a watercolor crayon class. So last night I trudged up to the stamp room and made this card with one eye open!! The hardest part was figuring out where to put the butterfly! I hope you are having a great Saturday. The weather is perfect here.

yamaha rhino class action

Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead!

Anyone who knows me , knows that I love "Wizard Of Oz". So I'm sitting here this morning watching the news about the Hurricane "Earl" to see how it's going to affect us on the east coast and for whatever reason this little idea came into my head. I could put the witches shoes from the stamp set "Wicked Cool" underneath my Sissix milk carton house and she's a goner! I had cut out the fence from the set "Dark and Dreary" and put it on my Smooch sprayed house. I'm still not finished with this house. I need to add something else to it. Mmmmmm maybe a few munchkins around the side!! Now there is a "Design A House" in the new Holiday mini that may be more to scale with these witches shoes but I don't have that one yet and of course I just couldn't wait. Well I guess I will get ready for work. I hope you have a great day and to all of my fellow east coaster, stay safe and stay dry!

yamaha rhino class action

Get Well Wishes

My friend Gail messed her foot up

pretty bad last week when she was in a spin class. Another reason I don't exercise!!! Just kidding Gail! She emailed me and told me she was sporting a cast boot like the one I wore for 6 months. Hopefully she won't need it that long! I wanted to make her a card and she is kind of a fu fu kind of girl so I picked Pink Pirouette for the card along with Early Espresso and Baja Breeze. I put a little rhinestone on the dogs collar. It's kind of hard to tell in this picture but I stamped band aids on the base card with the same color ink. Gail is a dog lover like myself and so I had to use this little dog. Today was my first day back to work. Next week the kiddies will be back and the beginning of a new year starts. It was good to see everyone again that I haven't seen for a couple of months. People with new hairdos and tans and a "restful" look. Having two months off in the summer is one of the perks for working in the school system. My problem is I want to stay home and stamp and play with all the new goodies in the Holiday Mini that becomes available to you September 1st. Well I am off to bed since I am a working girl once again. I hope you had a good day.

yamaha rhino class action

Fall Will Be Here Soon and then.......

Yep we have had some awesome weather these past few days and that means that autumn will soon be here which is my favorite time of the year. So much happens during these next few months and the weather just makes all those holidays and special occasions that much better. Mmmm I can smell the leaves changing. Okay maybe that's a little bit of an exaggeration but I can try! I was trying to think of a fall card and was going through my Sissix dies and lo and behold I found my Leaves #2 set. I was so excited and cut a few out to go with this card using the new DSP Autumn Spice which will be available to you September 1st in the Holiday Mini. I swear every time I look in that catalog I want something else. You are going to be blown away! The Days of Gratitude set is also in the catalog and that is where the words came from. There's also the new extra large decorative punch that I used for the words that is in there too. I also wanted to tell you about my new purchase. I finally broke down and order a light box. I love it and wish I had invested in one sooner. I put my card in it and was done with the first picture. The colors on the card came out perfect. No more trying to find the right light and then twenty pictures later ....... Finally, on Monday, my daughter Sarah and I drove to the IKEA store in Woodbridge, Virginia which is almost 4 hours from my house. I have been wanting to get some shelving furniture for my stamp room and needed to get up there before I start back to work on Monday. So after we finished up there, we stopped and paid a visit to Kimberly Van Diepen's new home and awesome craft room. What an inspiration all the way around. Kimberly, her cards and now her craft room. I had only planned on staying for a few minutes and we stayed for over an hour. If I didn't have to get Sarah back to Richmond and myself back home to hubby and Mr. Darcy, I think I would have spent the night. She has several new videos on her blog which include a tour of her craft space and which you can view HERE. Grab a napkin to get your drool! Have a great day!

Kimberly and I standing by one of her displays which was a Halloween table filled with all kinds of ideas and inspiration. I also entered this in the Treehouse challenge. Check out their site.

http://treehousestamps.blogspot.com/

yamaha rhino class action

Toadally Cool

So this was a swap I made using the Funky Four stamp set in the Stampin Up Idea Book and Catalog. I used Play Date DSP to go along with it. Now I'm not real crazy about this card and the only reason I'm posting it is because it goes along with my little story and the pictures below. Yesterday I was outside with my dogs and I kept looking out at the front yard thinking there was a piece of trash that needed to be picked up. It was a little windy out and the piece of trash was not moving. So I ventured out into the yard where this piece of "trash" was and well as you can see below in the pictures it was not trash but the biggest toad stool I have ever seen. Well as least in my yard. But the story doesn't stop there.

As I was taking pictures, I noticed this big dark circle in the yard and the mushroom was on the edge. Actually there are two circles side by side. Eerie isn't it? So after taking pictures I ran inside and googled "dark circles in lawn". The dark circles are called "fairy rings" and the mushrooms grow around it. It is some kind of fungus. And here I thought I might have some sort of aliens landing in my front yard!!
I'm going to watch this baby for the next few days and see if it gets any bigger. It's bigger than Mr. Darcy's head right now (he's my dog) so if it does grow any more I will take a picture of Mr.Darcy sitting beside it! Yeh right. Have a great day.

yamaha rhino class action

A Little Busy

It's funny how you look at a card sometimes when you are making it and think, "Yes! This is it. This is the one I'm going to post and everyone will just love it as much as I do." And then you download it and put it on your blog and think, "What was I thinking?" Ha ha. So this is one of those times for me. I wanted to use some of the paper from the DSP-IN Color Level 1 Hostess pack and thought it all looked great as I was putting it together but today I'm thinking NOT. Oh well take from it what you like but I will be back with another card later. I will not give up!!! On a lighter note, we have been cleaning out a lot of stuff here at home. When my mother in law died 5 years ago we inherited a lot of her things which have been in the garage and in the attic. So yesterday my husband dragged it all down the driveway and put a FOR SALE sign on it. Couches, bedroom furniture, tables, etc. We sold quite a bit but last night our power went out for three hours and my husband invited me outside. We sat on one of the couches and looked at the moon while engaging in an adult beverage!! It was so romantic! Even with our two dogs on the couch with us! My husband said to me, "Now when will you ever do this again?" Well I'm thinking to myself, Hmmmmm, probably never! I don't mind being outside with a almost full moon with my hubby but I can't wait for all that furniture to be gone and out of our yard!!! Have a good day.

Here are the supplies I used for this busy card:

Stamps: Days of Gratitude

Paper: Whisper White, Pear Pizazz, Hostess Level 1 DSP

Ink: Cajun Craze and Pear Pizazz

Accessories: Pear Pizazz Ribbon

yamaha rhino class action

Thinking Outside The Box

Wish I could take credit for this idea. I

received a swap similar to this one from Landa Cartwright at convention. I changed up a few

things but the idea is the same. Used the branch from Tropical Party in the Summer Mini to make this holiday tree. Isn't that the coolest thing? I just loved making it. I also used this in my card class this past week. The words are from the set Bright Christmas soon to be available in the Holiday Mini out on September 1st. Another set in the new mini is the Days of Gratitude which was used for the ornament stamped in Real Red on Crumb Cake. Hope you had a good week and have a wonderful weekend.

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamp Sets: Tropical Party, Sweet Centers, Days of Gratitude and Bright Christmas

Paper: Sahara Sand, Crumb Cake

Ink: Real Red, Garden Green

Accessories: Versamark, Silver Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Sissix #2 Circle Die

yamaha rhino class action

Candy Cane Girl

So here is one of the sweet little girls from the "Greeting Card Kids" stamp set. I, like many of you who first saw this said, "nah" and then saw the cards made with it from some of our talented cohorts and said, " Well maybe I do want this set." Raise your hand if you are one of them. lol. We made this card yesterday in my stamp class and I agree with the ladies when they said this little girl was fun to color. Then we started talking about how much we love to still color. Even with coloring books and crayons!!! So I hope you enjoy her and have a good day.

Stamp Sets: Greeting Card Kids, Four the Season

Paper: Blushing Bride, Real Red, Whisper White, DSP Candy Cane Christmas

Ink: Real Red, Old Olive, More Mustard, Peach Parfait, Blushing Bride

Accessories: Candy Cane Buttons, Real Red Satin Ribbon, and Glitter Glass

yamaha rhino class action

Christmas in August!

Yes it's early but Christmas will be here before we know it. Today was the first of my 10-10-30 classes and I had to refrain from playing Christmas music..... but what's on TV right now? Judy Garland singing, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"! I lied not to you. So it was kind of fun using new stuff from the Holiday mini and of course customers wanted to order some of the really neat stuff coming out of it but I had to say "Not until September !st"! This is the single wood mounted stamp in the Holiday Mini, "Christmas Postcard". It goes perfect on the Sissix Top Note. The Top Note is in Crumb Cake and then I sponged around the edges with Crumb Cake Ink. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. The weather here as been near perfect.

Stamp set: Christmas Postcard (121428)

Paper: Crumb Cake , Cherry Cobbler, and DSP Deck The Halls (120810)

Ink: Crumb Cake, Always Artichoke, More Mustard

Accessories: Antique Brads, Champagne Glass Glitter (120997), Victoria Lace, Big Shot, Sissix Top Note die

yamaha rhino class action

Wickedly Yummy!

Tonight was our downline meeting and we are asked to try and bring a project to share each month. I have so much going on right now that I didn't commit. But today while I was out and about doing errands...............I had an AHA moment and started thinking about Halloween and have been dying to use the new Wicked Cool stamp set. So I wanted to get those peanut butter candies that are wrapped up in the orange and black wrappers that they put out every year for Halloween but guess what. I am way too early for them so I started thinking and asking myself, " What can I use that is orange and black?" So I thought about the orange slices and when I was picking them up in the candy aisle at Walmart, I saw black Twizzlers! Another little aha moment. Now I hate black licorice (I don't even know if I spelt it right or not) but I bought me a bag of those babies and came home and cut them up into little bite size pieces. Then I mixed them with the orange slices in these long cellophane bags I got at Michaels awhile back. Then I got to use the witches socks and shoes stamp to adorn the top of the bag. I colored the socks with Pumpkin Pie marker, punched it out, matted it on a black scallop circle, punched holes for the ribbon and tied it to the bag. The finishing touch was the rhinestone I put on her shoes!! So what do you think? Of course between this and the swaps for tonights meeting, I have neglected my stamp set of the week. Sorry friends. I will try to get one out soon. I hope you had a good day.

Stamp Set: Wicked Cool

Paper: Black, Whisper White,

Ink: Stazon Black, Pumpkin Pie marker

Accessories: Black 1/4" ribbon, Basic Rhinestones

yamaha rhino class action

I'm Distressing Over The Countryside!

This week I am highlighting the stamp set "Countryside". I knew as soon as I saw this set that I had to have it, if for nothing else but the truck! I love old trucks and this set is perfect for using the new "Distressing Essentials " kit. I couldn't wait to use it so I started out playing around with it, not having a clue where I was headed but after I did a little direct to paper with one of the four little ink pads that comes with it, I decided to go to Stampin Ups demo site and watch the tutorial on how to use this item. Duh! So I started out practicing on this little 3x3 card and I liked how it was starting to look but of course the truck image was too big to use on it. Soooooo Mr. Rooster won the first round of this weeks cards. Now I am not good at coloring all the different colors that you see in roosters so I stuck to two colors and then use the tea stained ink spot to color over the whole thing. I used the Cutter kit distressing tool to rough up the sides of the paper and then mounted it on Chocolate Chip along with crumbled up Cherry Cobbler which I tore the edges on. Oh and I used Always Artichoke for da grass!!! So there you go. I hope you had a good day and if you happen to see your UPS guy when he's delivering your goodies, give him a nice cold drink. My poor guy was sweating so bad in this heat. I didn't know they have no air conditioning in those trucks. Yikes.

Here is the supply list for the card above:

Stamp set : Countryside ( 120405 clear)

Paper: Very Vanilla ( 101650), Cherry Cobbler ( ), Chocolate Chip (102128)

Ink: Soft Suede Marker (120973), Cherry Cobbler Marker (119681), Always Artichoke Marker

(100059), Stazon Black (101406 )

Accessories: 1 1/4 " square punch, 1 3/8" punch, Cutter Kit (106958), Distressing Essentials (118762)

To order any of the above, just click on the Daisy to the right. Thanks.

yamaha rhino class action

Bewitched

These Greeting Card Kids are so much fun and

instead of working on some of my stamp classes, this voice in my head kept saying, "Stamp it and they will come"! Ha ha. Not really but I have been wanting to play with this set ever since Mr. Brown delivered it to my house. So I said enough is enough. I have been cleaning and rearranging the stamp room and needed a break. So I decided to sit and make this card. It was SO MUCH FUN!!! I used Tangerine Tango along with Black of course. Love the new black lace ribbon too. It's so naughty!!!.. Okay I am getting sassy and I am tired so I will finish up here and call it a night. I will get up early and work on classes. I hope you had a good weekend.

This is what I used to make this card:

Stamps: Greeting Card Kids (120633 Clear), Wicked Cool (120600 clear)

Paper: Black (121045), Tangerine Tango (111349), Whisper White (100730),

DSP Nite Owl (123012) in the Holiday Mini

Ink: Stazon Black (101406), Tangerine Tango, Basic Gray, More Mustard, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Ticket Corner Punch (119867), Scallop Edge Border (119882), Lace Trim 1/2" ribbon (120988)

If you are interested in any of the products I used for this card just click on the daisy to the right and order away. Any questions? Email Me.

yamaha rhino class action

Yee-Haw! PPA54 Challenge

Finally got around to making another card for Pals Paper Arts challenge and this week it was a KISS (Keep It Simple, Sweetie) and Masculine card so I pulled out one of the new sets, Out West and put this together. It's so hard sometimes to keep a card simple although when I look back at cards I made 20 years ago, this one looks complicated! lol. I really like how this image inks up and I am going to play with this little guy some more!!!

These are the items I used to make this card:

Stamps: Out West

Paper: Whisper White (100730 ), Real Red(102482 ), Pumpkin Pie ( 105117), and Early Expresso (119686 )

Inks: Early Expresso (119670 )

Accessories: Scallop Edge Border Punch (119882 ), Hemp Twine ( 100982), Jumbo Brad (112533)

To order any of the above, just click on the daisy flower to the right! Thanks.

yamaha rhino class action

Happiness Shared #5

So this is the last card I will make this week with this stamp set. I really jumped out of

my comfort zone with this combo for this particular set but I do like it. I used my Color

Coach to pick the colors. I wanted something bright and so I used Tangerine Tango, Tempting Turquoise and Old Olive. I used the blender pen once again on the flower. I just think that using a regular marker on this flower would take away from it. I have been cleaning out so much stuff in my stamp room that it almost looks naked! Hope to finish up this morning. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Want to make this card? Just stamp on the daisy to the left and shop away for supplies listed below! Any questions? Just email me!

Stamp Set: Happiness Shared (117038)

Paper: Whisper White (100730) , Tangerine Tango ( 111349 ), Tempting Turquoise (102067)

Ink : Tangerine Tango (111834), Tempting Turquoise (100814), Old Olive (102277), Black Stazon (101406)

Accessories: Blender Pen (102845), Old Olive Taffeta 3/8"Ribbon (119767) , Big Shot Top Note (113463), Big Shot (113439)

yamaha rhino class action

"I Am Not A Hoarder. I Am Not A Hoarder"!

yamaha rhino class actionW

Well today I didn't stamp. My youngest daughter who lives two hours away was home a few days ago and left her wallet behind. So I felt funny about putting it in the mail so I got up this morning and drove the two hours to deliver it to her in person. I got there at about 8:30 and after I handed the wallet to her, we went and picked up her older sister and I took them to breakfast at a place called "Joes". At least I know they both had one good meal today!!! After we ate I dropped them off at home and at work and left to drive back to Virginia Beach. I took a different way because the traffic is so bad on the road I usually travel and had been told that this other route was better. Ha! I sat on the highway for almost an hour because of an accident and well..... I had had about 3 or 4 cups of coffee and well you know what I was feeling. Ugh! I was sooooo uncomfortable. Finally got home an hour later than I was suppose to. So to my title for today. I caught the tail end of Oprah which I think was a rerun and it was about hoarders. Now the people on her show really have some issues but it got me to thinking of all my craft stuff in the attic and in the stamp room. I started thinking and this is a little dark but what if something happened to me? OMG. I don't want all this stuff that I am not using, have not used in probably ten years or more, and probably will never use to be found by my kids or worse yet strangers. But I wouldn't want my family to have to deal with all this stuff. So I have been upstairs at intervals because it is so hot cleaning out so much stuff. I have three piles. One is trash, one is for the Salvation Army and the Senior Center and the other is for a few items I will keep. I feel better already. I watched Kimberly Van Diepen's videos that have been posted these past few days and she said if you can't use it in your business, then get rid of it. Right you are Kimberly. I will never use this stuff. So I am finished rambling and I am sure there are many of you all out there that are in the same boat. I just wanted to hold myself accountable by posting this. Thanks for listening. You all are certainly cheaper than a therapist!!! LOL. I hope you had a good day.

Happiness Shared #4

So are you getting tired of this stamp set or are you seeing that there are a lot of things

you can do with one stamp set and this one has only 4 stamps? However I have combined

another set with a couple of them. This is a 3-D project using the Big Shot and the #2 box die.

I also used Tiny Tags and threw in a little Victoria Lace I had left over from a card I made a few days ago. I thought the box looked too plain and as I was sitting at my desk, I saw this poor little piece of ribbon and thought maybe I could give it a new home! You know us stampers. We never throw anything away and this is the reason why! You just never know when that leftover item might come in handy! Well I need to go do a little house cleaning and then dinner tonight with my son and his girlfriend. And he's paying!!!! I hope you have a good day.

Stamps: Happiness Shared (120534), Tiny Tags (118091 )

Paper: Early Expresso (119686 )

Daffodil Delight (119683 )

Whisper White (100730)

Ink: Regal Rose (105211)

Old Olive (102277 )

Early Expresso ( 119670)

Black Stazon (102283 )

Accessories: Victoria Lace Ribbon (118481), Daffodil Delight !/8" ribbon (119254),Jewelry Tag Punch ( 117190), Blender Pen (102845), Big Shot (113439) , Sissix Die Box #2 (114518)

Color Coach (121620) ** Used this to come up with the color combo!!

yamaha rhino class action

Happiness Shared #3

So today I thought I would make an "Autumn" looking

card. I first took my Color Coach and turned to the color Pear Pizazz and liked the combo which is what I used here. I decided to use the leaf and words out of the Happiness

Shared Set. I stamped the leaf several times in Cajun Craze, More

Mustard, and Pear Pizazz. Then I colored them in with the blender

pen in the same colors. That way you can still see the detail in the

image. Then I layered it and added a Pear Pizazz Ribbon and some of these

lovely Regal Collection Buttons! Aren't they just to die for?

There are several sizes and shapes and it was so hard to decide

which one or how many to use.

The Color Coach is such an awesome tool and if you think you can't

think of colors to go together then this is the tool for you. No more guessing! Check it

out on page 165 of the new 2010-2011 Idea Book and Catalog. Don't have a catalog? You can

order one here. Just click on the daisy to the right and order away!

This is what I used today for my card:

Stamp Set: Happiness Shared (120534)

Paper : Whisper White (100730)

Pear Pizazz ((119795)

Cajun Craze (119689)

Gardenhouse Gala DSP (117167)

Regals Collection Pattern Pack (117154)

Ink: Pear Pizazz (119784)

Cajun Craze (119671)

More Mustard (103162)

Accessories: Blender Pen-package of three (102845)

Designer Buttons- Regal Collection (119744)

Pear Pizazz Ribbon (119265)

Hemp Twine (100982)

Color Coach (121620)

My youngest daughter is home visiting for the day so we are getting ready to go out for fish tacos. I love when my girls come home to visit me. I think I see them more than I do my son who lives here in the same city! I hope you had a great day.

yamaha rhino class action

Happiness Shared #2

I had a list of errands to do today but it has been raining almost non-stop

all morning so guess what I have been doing. Yep. I went up to my stamp

room and put this card together for you and Mojo Monday and LNS weekly

challenge as well. You should check some of the samples out during the week

and drool because there are so many talented stampers out there. I am always

in awe of all the creative juices floating around this world! So here is my second

card using the Happiness Shared Set. I used the single flower as well as the

single leaf stamped in Crumb Cake Ink on Crumb Cake card stock. I had such

a hard time deciding which Antique Brad to use. I love them all. So I hope you

like this sample and let me know what you think. Feedback is always a good thing.

Have a good day. I hope the sun is shining where you are!

Here's what I used and if you want any of these items, just click on the daisy flower and it will

take you to my Stampin Up website where you can order anything you want 24/7.

Stamp Sets: Happiness Shared (120534), Simple Friendship (113397)

Ink : Crumb Cake (121030), Baja Breeze (111833), Stazon Black (101406)

Paper: Elegant Soiree DSP (117163), Crumb Cake (120953), Baja Breeze (111352)

Very Vanilla (101650)

Accessories: Finial Press Embossing Folder (115963)

Big Shot (113439)

Victoria 5/8 " Ribbon (118481)

Antique Brads (117273)

Punches : 1 3/4 Circle (119850), 2 3/8" Scallop (118874),

Scallop Trim Border (118402)

Iyamaha rhino class action

Happiness Shared

This week I am going to spotlight the stamp set "Happiness Shared" (120534) which

can be ordered here on my blog. Just click on the Daisy Flower and you can order any

thing you want 24 hours a day, seven days a week! I love this flower and wanted to

keep the card fairly simple. I used a blender pen (102845) along with stamp pads to color

the flower. This is such a easy way to control the amount of color you want to use on your

images. Sometimes markers are just to heavy. Here is a list of the materials and the order numbers. Email me with any questions. I'll be happy to help you out.

Stamps- Happiness Shared (120534)

Ink- Garden Green ( 102272 ) Soft Suede ( 115657 )

More Mustard (103162 ) River Rock(109010 )

Paper- Garden Green (102584 ) Crumb Cake ( 120953 )

DSP Woodland Walk (117389)

Accessories: Very Vanilla 5/8" Satin Ribbon (117291)

Blender Pen- package of 3 (102845)

yamaha rhino class action

Fa La La La La in July

I know it's early and because it is I used some of my Island Oasis DSP in the

SU summer mini catalog as a background paper. It's a little out there but you

know what. I like it! I used the Fun And Fast Notes set for the tree and then

decided to use this print because it had Old Olive in it and well the rest is

history! So what do you think? Give me some feedback. Oh and by the way I

used the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch for trim. Hope you had a good

day.

yamaha rhino class action

Gifts from Convention

One of the fun things at convention is giving gifts whether it be from your upline,

downline, or just wonderful friends. My sweet friend Jen Picard gave me the little party

box with some candy from Canada in it. I heard she gave Di Gibbs some Catsup potato

chips from Canada. Apparently they are a big thing up there and since that is where Di

is from she was given a bag. Sa-weet Jen! Then I was sitting with Becky Roberts at a make

and take event and we swapped gifts. She made this cute little post it note keychain with

the new Owl punch. Love it, love it, love it. The tin box was given to me by my upline, Lisa

Freeman with a Starbucks gift card in it...........well it "was" in there. Well just got home

from Bunco and am whipped. It's hard having fun all the time. Convention, swapping, bunco.

Oh well. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!! I hope you had a great day.

yamaha rhino class action

Convention "Gibbs" Sistas!!

I'm back from Convention and one of my highlights was meeting up with my

"Sista", Di Gibbs. A while back I had chatted on line with her and asked her if she

knew that my maiden name was Gibbs (of course not but you never know with

Cullen followers!!!). Anyway, she said no but did I know that her maiden name was

Fox. She is so witty and just as cute in person as she is on her blog. So full of energy

and talent and it was fun to meet her. Just wish we had more time to sit down and

chat but maybe next year!!! Well I got back to Virginia Beach after one o'clock this

morning. Spent yesterday traveling across the country and hanging out in airports

with one of my best friends, Linda. We took a couple of extra days after convention

and did some sightseeing in Utah. It is a beautiful area. Loved being surrounded by

mountains. Something I don't see everyday. Today I unpacked, did laundry, bonded

with my dogs, and caressed all my new stuff I brought back from convention. Shirts,

apron, tote bags, pens, paper, and of course new stamp sets. One of the biggest

surprises for me was when about 20 minutes before convention closed, Shelli Gardner,

the CEO and founder of SU gave everyone there a Christmas stamp set from the Holiday

Mini, along with Christmas DSP, a stamp pad, and some of the new glass glitter, also

found in the new Holiday Mini. It was so much fun seeing the SU employees come out with

shopping bags with our goodies in them and giving them out. I felt like I was on the Oprah

show. So much fun. I have lots of new ideas and card swaps and hundreds of pictures of

card ideas. OMG the samples and presentations were unbelievable. I hated to see it end but

I don't know if I could have absorbed anymore fun. I am already looking forward to regionals

in Baltimore and hopefully Leadership this year. I hope you had a good day.

yamaha rhino class action

"An Evening To Remember" Swap

Well this will be my last post probably until I return from convention

next week. I made fifty of these fronts for my swap on Friday night. I hope

the girls like it. I love Baja Breeze (surprise, surprise!) and so I put it with

Real Red and Whisper White to create this crisp looking card. The stamp set

is one of the new catalog items called "Friends Never Fade". I am so looking

forward to this next week of friendship, stamping, new ideas, and a whole lot

of fun. Until next week..... I hope you have had a good day and have a great

week. I know I will.

yamaha rhino class action

Last Minute Swaps

I haven't started to pack and here I am at the last minute deciding

to make some more swaps just for general trading. I made my own

DSP and then used the new Elegant Lines embossing folder. I added

a sentiment from Perfect Punches. I used Old Olive and Poppy

Parade for my color scheme. Tomorrow is going to be a busy

day. I hope you had a great day.

yamaha rhino class action