ReeCreations

January Projects!

2012-01-28T16:39:00.000-08:00

I've finally had some "play time" so that I could put some of my mental creations "down on paper"!! Clockwise from the left:

Fun Serif Die Cuts: Chocolate Chip DSP Stack
Various re-purposed jars: White Decor Elements (Occasions)
My notebook for my Framelits, Hearts and thin dies: Decorative Elements and Daisies #2
SU Card Box: Attic Boutique DSP (love it!!)
Album for Embossing Folders: Easy access and organized alphabetically (An inexpensive Wal-Mart photo album.)

Re-purposed box: Attic Boutique

2012-01-20T15:36:00.001-08:00

2012-01-08T05:51:00.000-08:00

Tea Cups!!

2011-12-09T08:10:00.000-08:00

2011-07-10T11:14:00.001-07:00

I've moved! I've transitioned to my Stampin' Up webpage so that you can see specials, the calendar and lots of great inspirational ideas. Visit me at:

www.reenathan.stampinup.net

2011-07-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

I've moved! I've transitioned to my Stampin' Up webpage so that you can see specials, the calendar and lots of great inspirational ideas. Visit me at:

www.reenathan.stampinup.net

2011-05-06T06:33:00.002-07:00

SOS April Meeting

Our fun group of intrepid stampers had a wonderful, creative meeting recently. We used the Nature Walk stamp set to create a lovely, vintage card inspired by my Make and Take from Regionals. We also used my long-awaited Lattice die for a second pretty project.

Donna, Ellen, Trudy, Elise and Michelle show their finished cards!

Claudia, Susan, Barbara, Kris and Terri with their beautiful creations!
Many thanks to our hostess, Donna, who was also the doorprize winner!
Open House Saturday is on May 14 from 2-5 pm!
Next SOS Meetings: June 7 and June 28 6:P30-8:30 pm!
Call Ree at 321-773-0095 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 321-773-0095 end_of_the_skype_highlighting

2011-05-06T06:33:00.000-07:00

SOS April Meeting

Donna, Ellen, Trudy, Elise and Michelle show their finished cards!

2011-05-05T14:37:00.001-07:00

Happy Scrapbooking Month!!

Finally off the back burner are my unfinished scrapbooks for family events! I still have 4 or 5 pages to complete for Emma and Abbey's Volleyball Scrapbook, but I finally finished Deb and Steve's wedding album and put together an envelope album for grandson Troy's 16th birthday.

I hope everyone is enjoying a little scrapbooking along with their card and gift creations!

Here's the front of Troy's Envelope Album to celebrate "16"! What a nice time we all had together at Fujiama. Then it was back to Tom and Kimmy's beautiful home for cake. Each pocket holds mounted pictures and will have room for Troy's birthday cards too.

Here's the reverse side along with some of the mounted pictures that are placed inside the pockets. Troy's love of surfing fishing and tropical fish are highlighted.

Emma's first rec league season! Already a star player!!

Ready, Set, Go EMMA!!

Abby's Jackson Heights Middle School Team! County Champs for Abby's 6th and 7th grade years!

Go Bobcats!!

Lovely bride!

It was definitely a great party! Steve and Deb's children, along with cousin Riley,were best man, maid of honor, bridesmaids, & flower girl. The kids had a great time!

Happy Scrappy Scrapbooking Month!!

2011-05-05T14:35:00.000-07:00

Finally off the back burner are my unfinished scrapbooks for family events! I still have 4 or 5 pages to complete for Emma and Abbey's Volleyball Scrapbook, but I finally finished Deb and Steve's wedding album and put together an envelope album for grandson Troy's 16th birthday.

I hope everyone is enjoying a little scrapbooking along with their card and gift creations!

Here's the reverse side along with some of the mounted pictures that are placed inside the pockets. Troy's love of surfing fishing and tropical fish are highlighted.

Emma's first rec league season! Already a star player!!

Ready, Set, Go EMMA!!

Abby's Jackson Heights Middle School Team! County Champs for Abby's 6th and 7th grade years!

Go Bobcats!!

Lovely bride!

It was definitely a great party! Steve and Deb's children, along with cousin Riley,were best man, maid of honor, bridesmaids, & flower girl. The kids had a great time!

Have a Wonderful, Blessed Easter!

2011-04-21T07:28:00.000-07:00

With the family coming into town tomorrow (a wonderful surprise), instead of mailing Easter cards to the grandchildren, I got "crankin'" with my new Petal Cone Die. I also was "crankin'" with my crimper to make coordinating "Easter grasses". Now all they need is a few treats and some crisp bills! The trick is to use a sticky strip to keep the cones together and to keep the handles firmly attached.
Happy Easter, Everyone!!

Regional Inspirations!

2011-04-14T06:28:00.000-07:00

Helloooooo, Stampers! What a nice Open House we enjoyed this past Sunday! It was so much fun to visit and to create the above cards, both inspired by some of my Regional Swaps!

I was finally able to complete my Make and Takes from Regional Convention and they are fabulous! They're even prettier "in person". Looks like a future workshop to me! Nature Walk and Botanical Gazette Rock!!!
Happy Stampin'!!

What's New???

2011-04-03T06:17:00.000-07:00

It's been a whirlwind since the SU Regional Convention! I was fortunate to be asked to judge choirs in Seminole, Flagler, and Volusia Counties last Thursday and Friday! I drove back and forth because we had family dinners planned with our out of town family from Colorado! Busy but fun!!

In between we had our SOS Stampers' meeting at Michelle's grandma's house! Beautiful refreshments and fun, enthusiastic stampers! Who could ask for more! We celebrated Claudia's birthday and Donna was the doorprize recipient!!

Michelle and I in our official SOS shirts! Each hostess will get one of my hand-painted/stamped shirts

when it's her turn to be hostess!

Elise, Kris, Vera and Joyce working on the first project, a Sweet Summer greeting card.

Trudy, Claudia, Terri, Donna (stop hiding, Donna! :-)) and Michelle showing of their Sweet Summer cards!

Here is our Mystery Card! I didn't bring along my original so that we could enjoy the surprise of seeing the Japanese lantern appear! I CASEd this card from my SU Regional table-mate, Janet Goshorn's beautiful swap! Janet gave inspirational credit to Lee Ann Graff!

Amy and Steve's "Save the Date" Invitations! Amy, Steve, Nate (What a guy my husband is! He

paper-trimmed relentlessly!) Alba (Amy's maid of honor) and I cut, trimmed, stamped, embossed, corner punched and stuck pearls on 100 invitations and envelopes Sunday afternoon!

More bookmarks and some felt die cuts for my felt display board.

My melted flowers! I learned how to make these gojus flowers at Regionals. Christmas ribbon, organza, heat tool and wooden rub-on tool and VOILA!! A demo for the SOS meeting.

An oldie, but goodie! Inspired by Cheri Wenger. Doodle wheel (O how I miss that one), gold embossing. I created several of these to demonstrate card-making at the Pizza Gallery, a wonderful local eatery that featured lots of fun art!

Open House Sunday is coming up next Sunday, April 10, from 2-5 pm at the Oasis!

At that time we'll have a special drawing for a stamp set from the names of "commenters" on our last blog! Thank you so much, gals!! Our next drawing prize is one of the SU grab bags so be sure to leave a comment on today's blog!

HAPPY STAMPING!!

Stampin' Up Regional Convention

2011-03-28T06:19:00.000-07:00

Hi, Stampers!!
Here I am with our CEO/Goddess, Shelli Gardner at the Regional meeting last Saturday! She is so sweet and patient, posing with each of us! Of course my eyes are closed BUT she did like my necklace! LOL She is very lovely and down to earth too!
Great people, 6 Make and Takes, great workshops, inspirational speaking, swaps (wait 'til you see!!), free stamps, glitter, and theeee cutest commemorative but everrrrr!

Evidently, at 3 pm at Stampin' Up, there is a treat break so at 3 pm we received these great cupcakes--a great pick-me-up!

My table of great stampers from the Orlando area! (Janet, Joanne, Paula)

Heeeeere's Frenchie! We finally get to meet in person. Frenchie and I have had an ongoing stampin' projects Mutual Admiration Society! She is just as sweet and lovely as I thought she would be!!

Some of the great swaps! I believe there were 500 Demos in attendance!

I only completed one of the Make and Takes (of 6 we were given) and was a little intimidated and overwhelmed at first, but as I worked on it between presentations, I fell in love with it! It is perfect for my stamp room. Leave a comment and you'll be entered in a drawing for a free NEW stamp set!

By the way! Here is one of our projects for the SOS March meeting! Sweet and simple, using the Sweet Summer SAB set!

Leave a comment and you'll be entered in a drawing for a free NEW stamp set!

SOS Stampers January Meeting!

2011-02-07T05:41:00.000-08:00

2-year Pocket Planners using the new Blossoms punch and stamp set!

We were under tornado watches and warning during our meeting by Nate kept an eye on the weather channel just in case we needed to head into the inner hallway!

Previews for the Sunday Open House and next SOS meeting!

Here's a closeup of our pocket planner and another candy bar /treat holder!

2011-01-20T16:08:00.000-08:00

The 5-Petal Punch and my favorite embossing folder!

2011-01-20T16:07:00.000-08:00

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Open House Sunday Stampin!!

2011-01-17T07:18:00.000-08:00

We had such a great time yesterday afternoon at our Open House Sunday afternoon! Paper, stamps, and ink pads were just flying! We created 3 pretty projects and had a wonderful afternoon together!!

Don't hide, Donna! :-) Donna and Lisa with their vellum envelopes and mini-valentines. We used the red sparkle paper and the beautiful heart embossing folder. Our vellum envelopes were made using the scalloped edge envelope die.

Kris and Joan with their valentines. I'm sorry that I didn't quite get Kathy into the picture!

Cheri (my wonderful, artistic and sweet mentor) and Susan! My stampers are all such wonderful gals! They enrich and
inspire me!

Our mini-valentines! I love using the vellum for the envelope because it brings to mind the excitement of elementary school valentine exchanges! Now that was a LONG time ago for me! :-)

Lights, Camera, Flamingos! Yayyyyyy! A Florida-type stamp! I love our little Rose Red love flamingos!

The Bold Blossoms punch and stamp set are just amazing! There are so many color and design opportunities!! The Baby Blossom set is so sweet and adds a lovely touch on the inside of the card!

The Twelve Days of 2011 Sale-A-Bration Peek! (79 projects in 3 Days!)

2011-01-05T05:14:00.000-08:00

Well, actually I couldn't wait for 12 days so here it is! (My creative area spilled over to the dining room from the Oasis due to the magnitude of the projects and I am looking forward to re-organizing all of the supplies in the Oasis tomorrow!!

Materials Used: (For the most part!)
Ice Cream Parlor DSP and Quick Accent Adhesive Die-Cuts (This is one of the SAB free sets!!)
I used a few sheets of each of the coordinating 8 1/2X11 CS. (Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Pacific Point, Peach Parfait, and Daffodil Delight)
I used only Brights Stampin' Spots.
I limited myself to just a few stamps and very few embellishments as well as a limited number of punches, die-cuts and markers.
Leave a comment or sign on as a follower and pick out a card, gift bag or bookmark. My main challenge was to have fun and to use up as much of the DSP pack as possible. I still have enough scraps and die-cuts left to make a number of cards, tags, and other projects.

I also wanted to have a "theme" to follow so please hum the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" as you get ready to view the "12 Days of 2011"!

On the first day of 2011....A 2011 CD Case Calendar

Two Scrapbook Pages

3 Folded Corner Bookmarks

4 Birthday Cards

5 Thank You Cards

6 Mini Gift Bags

7 Scalloped Envelopes and Cards

8-Page Envelope Pocket Album (Closed)

8-Page Album Front

9 Layered Flowers

10- 8 1/2" book Marks

11 Birthday Gift Tags

12 Page Big Note Die-Cut Album

Remains of the day: Enough DSP and adhesive die-cuts for still more projects!

Fun With The SOS Stampin' Gals!

2010-12-31T12:24:00.000-08:00

Hi, Everyone!! I am probably going to transition to my Stampin' Up Blog over the course of the next few months. In the meantime, I'll continue posting at ReeCreations. (It all depends on my getting comfortable with the new site!)

The wind was blowin', the air was chillin', but it was warm and cozy in the Stampin' Oasis last Tuesday evening as the SOS Stampin' gals created up a storm! Ladies, I'm always so proud of you, your creativity, your helpfulness to all in the group, and your being up for the challenge of what I throw your way!!

Our time together is sooooo limited so I try to help you to get your hands on as many techniques and products as possible!! Motivated, happy stampers that you are, this is never a problem!! I thank you!!!

Here is a picture of two of our three projects. I loved the gift bag we made so much (even though I confessed that I wasn't liking it much while it took me 2 hours to really get the design to work!), that I gifted a lovely lady with it the very next day. If you want to see it, go to Joyce's Kaleidoscope blog where she has a lovely picture of all three of our projects.

We had fun with bits and pieces from my scrap files for a card inspired by my Success Magazine using lots of circles, bitty punches, and embellishments! Paper was popping everywhere!! LOL

We also created the "tissue paper" technique card that was featured in this month's Success Magazine too! What a gift of inspiration! I made a few more of these this morning to use as thank you notes for Christmas gifts!

Yesterday I got up early to "play" with the new petal punch and stamps! I love how the Blushing Bride ink is just right for the image on the Pretty in Pink Cardstock. Voila!! A lovely Florida Hibiscus! Oh, the colors we'll use!!!

More Fun: Pictured here are the 2 projects for a friend that loves sea turtles. One is a 2-year pocket planner and the other is a coordinating checkbook cover. I love the earthy quality of turtles reminiscent of Native American art.

Thank you, Joyce, for the treats and Happy Birthday to Barbara, Kris, and Donna!!

Life is Good!! Happy Stamping and Happy New Year!!

Holiday Stampin' Fun With the SOS Stampers!

2010-12-04T09:26:00.000-08:00

Stamp Clubs Are Being Formed For 2011! They're easy, fun and a great way to gradually add to your "stash" of stamping supplies!! Contact me to get your "party" started!!

We celebrated Joyce's birthday and Joyce celebrated by having won two blog candy prizes!! Everyone won a doorprize! Claudia provided fun snacks and a yummy razzleberry pie with whipped cream!! Just what hard-working stampers need!!

Here are Donna and Trudy with their poinsettia cards. We used both clear and gold embossing powder to achieve beautiful, shiny flowers.

From left: Kris, Joyce, Claudia and Barbara showing their handiwork!

Our Stamp Club Projects: Gift bags, an elegant, hand-painted large Christmas Postcard gift tag, and of course our poinsettia card and coordinating envelope.

All Ashore That's Going Ashore!

2010-11-22T10:19:00.001-08:00

Here's our family photo aboard our cruise ship! The food, the fun, the company, EVERYTHING was wonderful!! Er...except for one very important detail which is why our otherwise fabulous cruise company will go unnamed!!

The Silver Lining
Here's that one very sad detail--at least for those of us that were looking forward to a card-making class.
The director emptied out some thin papers, glue sticks, colored pencils, a few chalks and said we could use the so-called "supplies" to make Christmas cards. Okaaaaay! Well, I decided I would imagine what I would do with a meager set of supplies if I was stranded on a desert island. This little Christmas tree card was the best I could do, spoiled girl that I am!
But.....all was not lost! I met a lovely lady, Dee-Dee, who also has lots of "toys" and while we commiserated on the sad state of affairs of the supplies offered to us, we also discovered a mutual love of creating scrapbooks and cards! We promised to communicate and I look forward to sharing ideas with my new-found friend!!

Fall color "thank you" tags for my Open House attendees! Our orders will be in on Tuesday! Yayy!!

My goal is to create 10 creating cards every other day so that I can get my stockpile up for gift-giving and everyday use! I used my favorite embossing folder, Elegant Lines, some of my favorite text stamps from Perfect Punches and Word Play, along with Sahara Sand, Whisper White, and Early Expresso Card Stock (CS) to create a "stack" of cards. The 5/8" Chocolate Chip satin ribbon and the perfect little pearls resulted in a stack of elegant greeting cards. This evening it's Bravo Burgundy and Always Artichoke CS along with Just Believe stamps and those gorgeous antique brads.
More to come!

Open House Sunday!

2010-11-15T08:23:00.000-08:00

The inside of our vintage card.

What a fun afternoon we had. There was a seafood dip, chocolate, pumpkin pie, brownies and LOTS of stamping! Tina, Claudia, Barbara Y and Barbara S, Joan Cz and Joan C, Mary Dent, and Kathy braved the mountain of supplies AND the dreaded spritzer :-)!! We warmed up with a little glitzier version of the Red Hat Society luncheon gift tag. We added silver embossing and little punches on the scallop circle. Anyone booking a regular workshop in their home or at the Oasis will receive their choice of the decorator punch or the scallop border punch. Yes,these are some of my random offers. The first visitor to leave a comment gets a goody bag.

On the left is our vintage card featuring a shabby chic flower and a die-cut envelope with a message card on the inside.
On the right is our "blingy" holiday gift tag with lots of silver embossing.

Here's our fun and creative group of gals!

Thank you again, Sunday Stampers!!

Red Hat Luncheon

2010-11-11T12:50:00.000-08:00

Hi, Stampers!

Such a fun day I had, getting to stamp with a lovely group of ladies from the Melbourne area! I found a red fedora so that I could be in style! And in style they WERE! I have never seen so many creative hats and purple worn so elegantly and beautifully! After lovely opening exercises, we were treated to a wonderful Asian buffet! I have never seen so many fresh and delicious foods in one location!

So Swirly Gift Tag

Terrific ladies!

Finished products!

A number of the ladies are avid stampers so we then set out to create a special red and white gift tag! Here we are rolling, punching and stamping!

Take 5! SOS Stamp Club!

2010-10-27T08:30:00.000-07:00

Our 8 (plus me) SOS Stampers met last evening to create 5 holiday projects! (We missed Joyce who had to work at "that other craft store". Lol)
We created 2 cards, front and inside, and stamped the envelopes, 2 special gift tags and a small treat bag! We had 5 separate stations set up in my dining room, though if we do such a project again, I'd like to have 1 or 2 of the stations in the actual Stampin' Oasis room that is adjacent to the dining room. We had lots of fun and giggles and made a really big mess--a sure sign of a fun and successful evening! Thank you SOS members for such a fun time!!!!

Donna, Claudia and Barbara before the round robin mayhem!

Teri, a quick-study new stamper, Kris, and Michelle. Claudia brought a delicious sweet potato pie! Kris also brought jello in the shape of a brain! How fun! Thank you Kris and Joyce!!

Here is our random circles Christmas card with a mini-envelope (Petal Punch) and a mini-message (Tiny Tags).

Decorate the tree and add some Gold Waffle paper for good measure!!

Here's our Sweet Snowglobe gift tag that features the new Chunky Gold Glitter!!

Here's our pretty, large gift tag or card front. We used the Level 3 Hostess Set from the Holiday Mini and the Soft Ivy Stampin' Around Wheel with Always Artichoke ink. The first visitor to leave a comment will win a fun doorprize!

Here's our fun treat bag! The Rich Razzleberry Embossing Powder was created with Clear Embossing Powder and the Razzleberry Stampin Pastel. I used a stylus to scrape the back of the pastel, shook it up and--Voila!!

Kris brought some spoooooky snacks! Spooky but delish!! Here is her gremlin cream cheese ball! Yum! (But almost too cute to eat!!)

Take 3 Sunday Open House

2010-10-27T07:41:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had a great time creating two cards and a "special" gift tag! We used silver embossing powder for Dasher's antlers and clear embossing powder for the Season of Joy Christmas tree. We loved using the Holly Jolly DSP , the gold waffle paper, the new Decorative Label Punch, and the scallop border punch! We also enjoyed mulled cider and Christmas cookies!

Fall Creations!

2010-09-30T09:06:00.000-07:00

We jumped right back into creating at the Stampin' Oasis with an Open House on Sunday and the SOS Stamp Club on Tuesday evening!! So much fun with both groups! I'm such a lucky girl to get to be around so many wonderful and inspiring folks!

Here are some of the projects we made. Actually, these are the projects our SOS Gal, Joyce, made on Tuesday evening as we rode out torrents of rain and tornado warnings. We kept an eye on the weather reports while stamping, "pastel"ing, folding, and punching! You can see more fun stamping projects at Joyce's Kaleidescope link

The Composition Book in the foreground is our Stamp Club Challenge for the October meeting. Members will bring their finished projects for "Show and Tell" at that time. I can't wait to see them!!

My wonderful kitchen is almost finished, with just a bit of electrical work to be done. I could live there! I love the large work space at the island where a sink WAS to go, (That worked out SO much for the best!) the new fridge and bottom freezer, but most of all, the way I can visit while still being in the kitchen area. The granite top also worked well for the die-cut machine!

Getting There!!

2010-09-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

The poor Stamping Oasis is still shrouded in plastic to shield it from dust and debris as we draw nearer to a completion date for the major contruction and installations! A week from today should tell a different story AND I should be able to have a clear path to my project area!! (I did manage to stamp some paper clay leaves using the "Fall Foliage" stamp set. I let them dry overnight and experimented with acrylic paints! They will find themselves decorating a gift bag at the next Stampin' Open House (rescheduled for Oct. 26) and the next SOS meeting!!)

Here are some pictures of what has been completed so far! Painters for the dining room and the kitchen/dining ceilings on Tuesday, counter tops on Wed., backsplash on Thurs., and finish work on Friday! Yayyyyy!

I love my floor mosaic and Whylie and Presh (that's her black Sheltie "plume" in the lower right) think that the camera is just for taking their picture. They always run over to be in the shot!!

Demo!

2010-08-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

Well, in a good and bad sort of way!! Our kitchen reno is finally underway in earnest and believe it or not, I know the worst is yet to come (tunnelling through the concrete floor on Thursday to relocate the plumbing and drain) but......next month this time all should be well! (Hmmmm....too bad we can't get that same wallpaper that was under the cabinets!! LOL) Today the soffitt comes out. More mayhem and destruction. What price progress!!

SOS Stampers, we'll meet in the living room on Aug. 24!!

But Now For Some Peace and Diversion!!

Here are a few cards I've enjoyed creating. The "C Is For Cat" card is pretty much CASE'd from a card on the internet! I just had to give it a try!

The next two cards are from my favorite new stamp set! I love it because if you had to be stranded on an island with only one stamp set, this would cover about everything! My good friend and mentor, Cheri Wenger, gave me some artist's canvas that worked great with the Elegant Lines embossing folder and some Soft Subtle Pastels! (I'm going to be creating an album using canvas in the near future!!)

Happy Stamping!!! Ree

Getting our Mojo on Monday Workshop!

2010-07-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

Gotta love our paperclip bookmark and card!A beeyooteeful card similar to one I found in Success Magazine! More later!!!!

SOS Stampers' Projects and Two Step Owl Punch

2010-07-21T07:50:00.000-07:00

Little Punch Fishies
Here's our first project of the evening, cute little Marina Mist and Daffodil Delight "kissy" fishes created using the ornament punch and stamp and the small heart punch. The "So Swirly" jumbo wheel created our swrirling waters. All hearts, lips, and fins were treated to a layer of Crystal Effects.

Elegant Wishes
Our next Make and Take took a turn for the elegant. So Saffron Cardstock (CS) was embossed with the Elegant Lines folder. To allow drying time, prior to the workshop the paper flower was colored using 5 drops of So Saffron Reinker and 1 drop of Tangerine Tango. I colored the leaves with 5 drops of Garden Green. Gorgeous Vanilla Satin ribbon added a final elegant touch.

I love the new pearls. We found that by loosening them slightly with your nail and then using craft tweezers, you can easily set them where you want.

Whooooooo gets all the demo projects? Why the hostess of course. Elaine got to keep all of my demo cards, a gift tag that I demo'd using the new Rectangle Scallop Embosslit, and a fun card using the Two-Step Owl Punch. You'll also notice the Big Note and leaves die-cuts, and a moon made with a circle punch used to create this fun card.

Happy Stampin'!!!

Wedding Bliss

2010-07-20T04:40:00.000-07:00

Here is the happy couple, my daughter Deborah and her husband Steve! I made the gift-card holder pictured above using a template I found on the internet. (Actually I made 3 so that I could have a spare or two and show the inside.) It is a gate card and uses the Bride and Groom papers from the 2009-10 Idea Book. I used gold embossing for the flourish on the envelope. Deb and Steve are honeymooning in the Carribbean for the week! I will submit this card to Pals Paper Arts for the wedding challenge. Be sure to visit the Pals at http://www.palspaperarts.com/ to see MANY gorgeous cards from MANY creative chicas (in the words of my pal, Cheri! :-D).

Sweet Inspiration!

2010-07-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the incredible and entirely edible wedding cake created for my duaghter, Deborah's, wedding by my DAL's SIL! :-D We knew Sue was super-creative but this is just incredible! All of the roses, leaves, and jasmine flowers were hand-created and edible. The shells were pearly white chocolate! Not only does the cake look fabulous, the taste was........mmmmmmm. The bottom layer was lemon with lemon filling and the middle layer was chocolate with rasberry filling! (Note the emphasis on WAS!)

Here is my inspiration for the SOS Stampers' meeting this coming Tuesday evening: One of the make and takes will incorporate the color and floral themes of the cake. I wish I could bring samples to the Tuesday evening meeting but.....That's the problem with a REALLY delicious (non-commercial, non-generic) cake. Everyone wants a little of both flavors!!

New Product Gift Tags and My New Shirt!!

2010-07-11T06:59:00.000-07:00

NEW PRODUCT GIFT TAGS! (IT'S EASY TO MAKE BEAUTIFUL STUFF WITH SUCH GREAT SUPPLIES!!!!)

Here are the gift tags for my SOS Stamp Club orders. How fun to work with such luscious colors and fabulous accessories. The product list is:

Paper: Poppy Parade Cardstock (CS), Peach Pizzazz CS, Sunny Garden Designer Paper Series (DSP)

Stamps: Punch Potpourri (Level 1 hostess stamps)

Ink: Real Red Classic Stamp Pad

Accessories: Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Boho Blossoms Extra Large Punch, Pear Pizzazz 1/2" Stitched-Poly Ribbon, Linen Thread

ATTENTION, SOS STAMPERS!! IT'S A STAMP CHALLENGE!!

When you receive your new bag of supplies, you will also receive a "baggie" of coordinating papers: CS and DSP in various shapes. Your challenge is to create a card of your own design using the challenge supplies. Using your own choice of ink, stamps, etc., just create!! Bring your card to the July 20 meeting so that we can share your ideas! Rules are: NONE!! :-)

MY NEW SHIRT!

Here I am in the Stampin' Oasis in my new shirt, a gift from my good friend and stampin' buddy, Linda. Linda lives in South Carolina where she stamps with gals from her workplace! I have enjoyed watching her creativity grow by leaps and bounds!! She sent me this cute, comfy shirt with a great scrapbook logo! I am so inspired by it, Linda, that I'm going to design a Stampin' Oasis shirt as an incentive gift for all of my stampers! Thank you so much!!
(By the way, if you enlarge the photo, you will see one of our Sheltie's ears in the lower right hand corner. That's Whylie,one of our rescue Shelties, running to get into the picture. He didn't quite make it but he was on his way. He LOVES to have his picture taken!!)

Maybe this is why I love my butterfly stamps so much.....

2010-07-09T08:55:00.000-07:00

BEFORE THEY CAME! Here you see one of my milkweed plants. This is one of 10 that I added to feed the hungry Monarch catterpillers!

Here is one of the nearly 30 chrysallis that were created in our butterfly garden area.

Below is one of the "hatchlings". This particular butterfly hatched from a chrysallis rescued by the pump repairman. I ended up using glue dots to attach it to the brick well.

Here is a "new" butterfly exercising her wings (males have thinner black lines and a black dot on each lower wing to distinguish them from the ladies) prior to flying off.

AFTER!

This is how my butterfly "garden" appeared after being decimated by so many catterpillers! Not so beautiful and inviting!! Not to worry though. The leaves are coming back again for the next wave of monarchs. (I also have a few Blue Swallowtail catterpillars on my parsley and fennel plants.) If you've gotten this far and will comment and send me your e-mail address, I'll send the first "commenter" the single butterfly stamp!

Wedding Decoration Fun!

2010-07-09T08:34:00.000-07:00

With my older daughter re-marrying on July 17, I get to indulge in my favorite fantasy job of wedding planner once again! (Believe me, I would NOT wish to be a wedding planner for anyone other than my family members!) The wedding will take place on our son's dock on the Grand Canal in IHB. I am responsible for decorating dock pilings (lol) but I've got some great plans with pretty bows, cascading tulle and white flowers and pots of yellow purselane. I'll post pictures after the 17th. We have a yellow and white, simple but elegant, touch of tropical theme. Above are the favors using So Saffron, Peach Parfait, Blushing Bride and Certainly Celery cardstock and ribbons. I was supposed to be able to use a print template for the tags I bought but when all attempts failed I thought, "I can do that!" Other decor I've completed are centerpieces, the Bride's table and cake table decorations, a card "cage", Still to do: making bouquets and boutonniers the evening before.

Now I'm off to straighten my stamp area and prepare to STAMP!! Happy Stamping!!

SOS Stamp Club Meeting and Stamping With a Purpose! Please Join Us!

2010-06-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the demos and make'n takes from last evening's SOS Stamp Club meeting at the Stamping Oasis--well the room right next to the Oasis since the heat in my Florida Room has made it seem more like the Stamping Desert!!

We had lots of fun making our Sea Turtle cards (I CASEd the design totally from Stampin' Connection.) and then changed gears with the new Fast and Fabulous 2-step stamping set! We also used blender pens and aqua-writers on the new sketch stamps. Too much fun!!

Ronald McDonald House Card Project! The SOS (Stressed-Out Stampers) Club is going to spearhead a card-making project to benefit the Orlando, FL Ronald McDonald House. We will be sending the cards to RMH in early September. We hope you'll join us in this endeavor. If you'd like to participate, E-mail me at reenathan@bellsouth.net and I'll send you our address. I'll also, with your permission, post your works of art on my blog.

Here are the guidelines:
•Goal: 1 or 2 cards and envelopes a week (Perhaps you might just finish those cards that are half done or make an extra card or 2 the next time you sit down to create!)
•Cards: Thinking of You, Happy Birthday, Have a Good Day, etc. (No "Get Well Soon", please.)

•Our goal: 100+ cards and envelopes

•Ask other stamping friends to contribute.

Happy Stamping and Hugs!! Ree

Scraps Challenge!

2010-06-08T12:56:00.000-07:00

So many scraps, so little time! As I was sorting my leftover bits of CS and DSP, I decided to go ahead and file everything (2 crates' worth) by name and "New Color"/"Retired Color" by family palette. Each manilla folder has the color name and a small floral stamp of the corresponding color. How empowering is that?? :-D

After looking at all of my scraps, I decided to give myself a challenge: Use nothing but scraps (including the cards themselves) for 10 cards a week. Like you, I have accumulated 100's of extra punches, stamps, embellishments etc. from previous projects. Here was a chance to use some of them! My other self-imposed rules were:

No new ribbons (just those from my ribbon jar) or new die cuts.
Limited stamp sets.
Unlimited use of punches.
Any colors could be used.

I decided last week that I would spend some quality time with my supplies anyway so.....in a few hours last evening and and hour and a half this afternoon, I created 2 small 6-page mini-scrapbooks and 8 cards. (By the way, the first follower that comments will win a cool stampin' prize. Be sure that I have your email address.) You'll see the old along with the new but it is all good and all fun!! (I don't think I even made a miniscule dent in my scrap crates!!)

Stamping in Hilton Head!!

2010-06-04T14:22:00.000-07:00

We've just returned from a short, but really fun and relaxing, trip to Hilton Head, as guests of Frank and Cindy and Bruce and Linda. We enjoyed many fine restaurants (I'm still longing for a return to AuntChilada's or the Shrimp Trawler), the pool, board games, cooking in, reading, kayaking on Skull Creek, and a trip into Beaufort for lunch and a stamping field trip. Cindy, my sister-in-law, and our mutual friend, Linda, and I enjoyed enjoyed several stamping/creating times in between all of our other fun activities! Word has it that they are still stamping without me! Stamp on, girlfriends!!

We had some fun with some mini-stamps we found at Carolina Stamper in Beaufort and created some "Black Magic" cards as well.

Linda brought a really cute little wallet/photo project that she had prepped for us. I told her that I was so stealing it for one of my workshops! Linda even made the cute little enclosures for us ahead of time AND a great instruction sheet with templates. (Linda's envelopes are so better than mine but I will work on it!!) We enjoyed learning, sharing, and creating together and we'll keep in touch for mutual inspiration since we are from Florida, Ohio, and North Carolina! You'll see them closed at the top of the post and opened below.

Here is the South Carolina version in blue and the Florida version in So Saffron, Pretty In Pink, and Old Olive. I just cannot stay away from the Watercolor Trio stamp set it seems.

A REAL Outdoor Oasis with the SOS Stampers!

2010-05-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

Here are the SOS Stampers last evening on Claudia's screened patio. You also see Claudia's pool with a lovely sounding waterfall! Claudia has a wonderful green thumb (inside and outside!) and is a fabulous hostess! After a demonstration of some Black Magic, we set to work on our 9-page Mini Matchbook Album with lots of slots and lots of journaling/picture tags.

We had a wonderful evening topped off with my favorite--Brownies!! Yum!!

Below you'll see the Thank You tags for my Sunday Open House Workshop stampers! It's time for me to deliver their new toys tomorrow so everyone can play!!!!

My Talented Friends!!

2010-05-17T05:57:00.000-07:00

SUNDAY OPEN HOUSE, MAY 16 AT THE STAMPING OASIS!

Here are some of the projects that were featured at our Sunday afternoon stamping get-together! A dessert buffet (lemon cake, dark chocolate brownies, cookies, and "sweet scoops" of orange sherbert, chocolate and vanilla) was served! Somehow I knew that we'd be primed for ice cream after making our sweet celebration card!
We also used the Sentimental Journey set to create a Father's Day or Birthday card. It's hard to see in the photo, but there is a "peep" circle cutout for the compass stamp. I "demo'ed a quick Father's Day gift bag and matching tag using the sparkler stamp from the new Fourth of July stamp set. I can't wait to use the rest of those terrific star and fireworks stamps well-beyond the 4th of July!!

THANK YOU, FRIENDS!!

It's wonderful to give our cards and handmade gifts but what a delight it is to receive a beautiful card from a friend! I love the featured cards--A very customized and detailed card down to the "Stamping Oasis" sign (my stamping room name) and all of my favorite little tools from Kristina Deyette.

The lovely "Thank You" card is from my friend and mentor, Cheri Wenger, whose creativity is always a wonderful inspiration for me!!

Thank you, Ladies!!

TROPICAL PARTY!!

Here are some cards created by still more creative gals using the new Tropical Party set~Betsy Bianchi created 8 Thank You's (Don't you love the grass skirt effect at the top?) and Joyce Ireland created pure bliss with her lovely creation!

Thank you so much for sharing, Betsy and Joyce!!

The Birthday Blues

2010-05-02T12:24:00.000-07:00

Birthday Blues Masculine Birthday Card

Here is my entry for this week's Pals Paper Arts challenge: Monochromatic Blues! Perfect timing for creating a more masculine/tropical design for a family member's birthday! The new travel set, Sentimental Journey, and Vintage Labels worked well for this project. Night of Navy, always one of my favorites, along with the Bigz Top Note Die and the label punch complete a simple and clean look. (I also sponged and used the ink spritzer for a bit more texture.)

Check out lots of other (to quote my friend, Cheri) creative chicas at www.palspaperarts.com

2010 Summer Mini Is Here!

Check out allllllll of the beautiful offerings in the new Summer Mini Catty! Local ladies, be sure to come to our kickoff Open House on Sunday, May 16, 2-5 pm to sample new colors, new stamps, diecuts, and new accessories!! Check back for more details!!

Spring Flowers

2010-04-12T09:34:00.000-07:00

Here's my post for this week's Pals Paper Arts challenge! Visit them at http://www.palspaperarts.com/ for fab spring design ideas! My card features a watercolor effect using Watercolor Wonder Crayons, a spritz bottle, watercolor paper and some of my new clear-mount stamps!!

We had a fun "Free Play Open House" yesterday with stampers bringing great "show and tell" ideas from flattened bottle caps and making metal tags with silver embossing powder to new papers, layouts and watercolor effects! Thanks to friends, old and new, for making it a fun, relaxing and creative afternoon!!

Stamp on!!

Watercolor Wonder!

2010-04-05T10:09:00.000-07:00

My fun today included crayons--terrific for the kid in me! I've used the Watercolor Wonder crayons and a spritz bottle to create a watercolor effect on the background. You may recognize the flower flourish from the Vintage Vogue set--perfect for soft layers. Just apply color the back of your to your stamp with your choice of Watercolor crayons, spritz lightly (Too much water will give you a runny image--practice a little first!), and stamp onto Watercolor CS. Multiple applications with one stamp will give you nice, soft images.

I used the following supplies and will be entering this card in the Pals Paper Arts Challenge. The challenge was to use Lavender Lace, Certainly Celery, and Barely Banana--a beautiful spring palette, to be sure!! Here is a link to this fabulous site: http://www.palspaperarts.com/ Go there! You will looooove the inspiration cards!

Paper: Lavender Lace, Barely Banana, Certainly Celery CS, Watercolor Paper

Classic Inks: Lavender Lace, Barely Banana, Certainly Celery, a smidge of Bashful Blue, Elegant Eggplant (for the text)

Stampin' Write Markers: Barely Banana, Lavender Lace, Certainly Celery

Stamps: Vintage Vogue, Well Scripted, Itty Bitty Backgrounds

Accessories: Certainly Celery Satin Ribbon, Certainly Celery Brad, Lots of Tags Sizzlit, Corner Rounder Punch, Soft Subtle Watercolor Wonder Crayons, spritz bottle/water

Happy Stamping!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T07:03:00.001-07:00

May you all have the opportunity to spend happy time with your families and friends! I am so grateful for my wonderful, ever-expanding family and to the wider circle of beloved friends that stamping has brought to me! Whether it is Cheri, my mentor and dear friend, (and her wonderful daughters, my former choral students, and Dan, her terrific husband), Frenchie, my new cyber-friend whose blog and PPA submissions are awe-inspiring and just plain inspiring, Linda, my long-distance friend and stamping buddy (Can't wait to see her in June!) and my Oasis and SOS stampers, Betsy, Trudy, Tina, Amy, Erin, Jen, Donna, Joyce, Kristy, Cindy, Cindi, Marsha and Ellen!

Here are the SOS Stampers (Spaced Out Stampers! LOL! We all live on the Space Coast!) at our inaugural monthly meeting where we made a chocolate bunny card, a punch bunny card and our cute hatching chick card! Here are our chick cards! We meet again on April 27! Let me know if you'd like join us (we have 2 openings) or attend as a guest! We'll make 2-3 projects and I'll demo several products and/or techniques. We'll be playing with shaving cream (actually making beautiful backgrounds with shaving cream and re-inkers) and creating a Mother's Day card, and a birthday or thank you card.

Happy Stamping!!

P.S. I can't wait to share the beautiful new products that will be available on May 1 from the Summer Mini Catty!!

Punch Easter Bunny Treat Bag

2010-03-29T20:03:00.000-07:00

Here's one of our blue boy-bunnies that grew into a Lavender Lace scallop treat bag. He just took on a life of his own! This is my entry for Pals Paper Arts "Anything But a Card" challenge. Be sure to visit http://www.palspaperarts.com/ for tons of great ideas from incredibly talented stampers!

I got pretty punchy with the following punches being used: Scallop Circle, Small Oval, Scallop Oval, 1/2 inch, paper punch, Large Heart Punch, Small Heart Punch, Large Circle Punch, Triple Flower Punch, 2 Die Cuts: Scallop Bag, Oval Die Cuts.

Oasis Stamp Club--Premier Meeting!

2010-03-29T07:27:00.000-07:00

Hey, Stampers!

Away we go! Our first meeting will take place in the Stamping Oasis on Tuesday, March 30, from 6-9 pm. Donna is our first Club Hostess with the mostest!! We'll create a chocolate bunny Easter card, a cute hatching chick (my new, improved adorable chick), and, time-permitting, a cute boy-bunny card!

We'll post pictures later this week!

Oops, I Did It Again!

2010-03-21T05:28:00.000-07:00

Well.....more like accidentally on purpose! I love the Upsy Daisy set and wanted to try it using Night of Navy with Whisper White. This combination takes me back to crisp suits and spectator pumps! Wow! I'm really dating myself, aren't I? Here is the Pals Paper Arts template and my submission. Visit www.palspaperarts.com for lots of great inspiration! Happy Stamping!!

Garden Green, Certainly Celery, Kraft--Certainly Fun and Certainly Keeping It Simple!!

2010-03-12T05:19:00.000-08:00

Here is my submission for this week's Pals Paper Arts challenge at http://www.palspaperarts.com/ The challenge is to use Garden Green, Certainly Celery, and Kraft colors. I made a couple of these as my card stash is dwindling and I love giving stacks of cards just tied up with a pretty ribbon for thank you gifts. They are always appreciated and usually re-used or are "keepers"!

Supplies are:
Paper: Garden Green, Certainly Celery, Kraft CS

Stamps: Upsy Daisy
Ink: Garden Green Classic, Garden Green Stampin' Write Marker
Accessories: Linen Thread, Pewter Brad

Happy Stamping!

Wedding Card--TOTALLY CASEd!

2010-03-12T05:01:00.000-08:00

I found this lovely card and template on the Stampin' Addicts site! There are lots of creative stampers in that group! I needed a card for an upcoming wedding but I made 3 so that I could have a couple for future use. I loved using the scrumptious Bride and Groom DSP's for the gown and tux. Other supplies:

Ink: Basic Black, VersaMark

Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White CS

Accessories: Whisper White Satin Ribbon, gold embossing powder, adhesive-backed pearl and rhinestones

Stamps: Vintage Vogue, Well-Scripted.

Is It Spring Yet?????

2010-03-09T04:31:00.001-08:00

March Greetings!!!

It's been a long winter, hasn't it?? And even though we're in sunny Florida, the cold temperatures and biting winds have made this winter verrrrry long and has left us hoping for an early spring!!

It's time for bright spring colors and the light-heartedness of the earth's re-bloom and the exhilaration of balmy breezes! I'm looking forward to spring workshops, open house dates and due to popular demand, the advent of our new Tuesday evening stamp club. Details will be coming very soon!!

Shhhhhhhhhhhh--I've just downloaded the NEW SUMMER MINI CATALOG and it is spectacular, with absolutely drop-dead gorgeous stamp sets, in both wood-mounted and clear mounts, cool new products (think triple wheels and triple-color ink cartridges--I've missed those! Spritz colors, new punches!) We'll start getting to use and order these products on April 1!!!!

In the meantime, don't forget to take advantage of the great savings of Sale-A-Bration! There are just a few weeks left to take advantage of some sweeeet deals!!

Above, you see a few of my spring creations! I don't have an Easter egg set but by using my scallop circle punch and large circle punch, I was able to create a cute fluffy chick and Easter egg. The DSP is Kaleidescope, a beautiful set of double-sided papers that coordinates with SIX SU colors. The stamps are from All Holidays (Idea Book), Vintage Vogue (Occasions Mini) and Whimsical Words, one of the SAB sets.

Hearts and Flowers I / II and the Valentine Buffet!

2010-02-07T05:12:00.000-08:00

The Valentine Buffet!

This week's Open House/Workshops will give you a choice of one or both dates! Thursday and/or Friday, Feb. 11 & 12 6:00-9:30 pm.

Menu: Pasta and Salad (6-6:30 pm)

Make 'n Takes Buffet Style: Mini Valentines, Valentine Treats (Pictured above!)

Each $50 order will entitle you to one of the fabulous SAB products, including 75 items from the 2009-10 Idea Book!
(Plus a selection from my retired sets!)

Don't Miss Out!
Book your workshop now for February or March to take advantage of Sale-A-Bration free stamps, Designer papers, or the new fabulous scallop border punch! Call or e-mail me today to reserve your date! (Remember....Mi Casa, Su Casa!)

Sale-A-Bration, Stampin' Up!'s biggest event of the year, means friends, fresh ideas, and free products! And with three ways to earn exclusive Sale-A-Bration products, there's something for everyone.
Spend: Buy $50 worth of Stampin' Up! products and get a FREE Sale-A-Bration reward!
Host: Host a $300 workshop, and get a FREE Sale-A-Bration reward!
Join: Become a demonstrator, and get a FREE stamp set (up to a $47.95 value)!

Stampin' Up Has a Heart For Haiti!

2010-01-25T14:34:00.000-08:00

PALS PAPER ARTS!

My entry for this weeks Pals Paper Arts Challenge uses the I (Heart) Hearts set and as you can see, I most definitely have my favorite, I am enjoying the entire set. It's a little difficult to see in the picture but I made a Valentine card holder that will hold four or five 4 1/4 X 5 1/2" Valentines or greeting cards. This week's challenge is "Anything But a Card"! Check out the beautiful and inspirational creations at http://www.palspaperarts.com/

Stampin' Up/Red Cross Relief Effort

From now until February 28, 2010, $2 from every I {Heart} Hearts stamp set sold will be donatedto the American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development Fund. The Red Cross is already well-established in Haiti, and this money will be used to provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need.
#118571 I {Heart} Hearts – clear-mount (block D recommended) $18.95
#117010 I {Heart} Hearts – wood-mount $26.95

Girls' Night IN!

I had a great time with the gals at Friday evening's "Girls' Night In" in my "Stamping Oasis"! Donna brought her friend, Ellen, and a great idea for an easel card! I will be trying my hand at a few of those in the near future!! Betsy, who has spent many years in the tile business, taught me the difference between glazed and sealed tiles!

This explains the different results I have had with different tiles. It's good to learn new stuff!! The tiles we used were glazed and they all turned out just fabulous!! Some used my retired Beautiful Beach set! (Sorry, but we're Floridians and we love our sand and shell stamps!) Some of us also used the "En Francais" background stamp with an elegant monogram!! It was great fun stamping with Marsha, Amy, and Cindi too! These are all multi-talented and fun ladies!!

We then used the Vintage Vogue Clear-Mount stamps to make a valentine that is more flowers than hearts but uses one of my fav combinations of black, red, and white!!

My last picture is of a valentine with sizzlets hearts gone wild! They are so pretty and quick to make! HAPPY STAMPING!!

Girls' Night IN!! My Valentine To You!

2010-01-17T14:34:00.000-08:00

Don't Forget.......Please RSVP for:

Girls' Night In

Friday, January 22, 6:15 pm-??

At.....

Ree's Stamping Oasis

Dinner Will Be Served

Low Carb (But delicious) Pasta With

Herb-Grilled Chicken & Fresh Vegetables

Fresh Garden Salad
Baguette with Ree's Homemade Italian "Butter"

Various Beverages

Stampalicious Stamping Demos and Make 'n Takes

Fun, Conversation, and Creative Therapy!

A Homemade Dessert (Yet to be determined!)

Coffee, Herbal Teas

Qualify for SAB with an order by Monday, January 25th and you'll get to pick out one of my many retired stamp sets--on the spot! Yes, FREE! (You need not be in attendance on Friday to qualify!)

Bring it on!!!!

2010-01-17T14:22:00.000-08:00

So many wonderful products!! So little time! Even as a retiree, I am much busier that I thought I would be and it's all GOOD! I traveled Kissimmee this past week, Thursday-Sat., to direct the Osceola Middle School All-County Chorus! Wow!!! What a fabulous, fun time that was for me since I've not directed a choir since last May!!

The week before--Tampa Wed.-Sat. for the state Florida Music Educators Assoc. Conference and Convention! A thrilling week of music, great music sessions (Cindy and I had a great session too, if we do say so ourselves!) and getting to meet all of those great Florida music educators.

But now.......Here is my entry for Pals Paper Arts!

Here's the inspiration too! Definitely what a girl wants: Some great chocolate and great stamping supplies!

Who could NOT be inspired by that delish-looking picture???? Visit Pals Paper Arts at http://www.palspaperarts.com/ for tons of inspiration!

Got Mojo??

2010-01-17T14:02:00.000-08:00

Here's my first submission for a "Monday Mojo" card-making challenge! This card challenge is based on the sketch below: (Oh My Gosh! I just went to the site and there are nearly 500 entries!!!!) Oh well! I had fun making several of these valentines for Nate to give to the ladies in our family (Usually around 13 family members and friends!)! You can see all of the entries at the site address below!!

(Challenges are great because they motivate me to update my blog more often too!!)

Coasting!

2009-12-31T07:28:00.000-08:00

Here is a sampling of some of the coasters that I've been making for small gifts. My Beautiful Beach set appears again by popular demand since we are fortunate to be in a great beachy area. The En Francaise background stamp works beautifully along with a pretty monogram or the Medallion Background stamp. These are so quick and fun to make! I used craft and Stayzon inks, baked them up for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, and finished them off with two coats of fixative and felt pads for the bottoms. I'm using this project for the PPA 23, "Anything BUT a card" at http://www.palspaperarts.com/ We may make a few of these at our next Girls' Night Out on Friday, January 22, 6:30-9:30?pm, and still have plenty of time for our other projects!

Sneak Peek Purses!

2009-12-30T08:26:00.000-08:00

We're getting ready for "Reveal Day" and the introduction of the 2010 Occasions Mini-Catalog and the Sale-A-Bration Free Product Campaign. I used a few of the new products for the Purse Greeting Card/Gift Card Holders!

If you look closely, you'll see our new Sale-A-Bration (SAB) Scallop Trip Border Punch (upper left card) , Mini-Occasions Catty Products: Sweet Pea Stitched Felt Flowers, Very Fintage Jumbo Wheel, Vintage Vogue Black and Pink Flowers, Well-Scripted (Happy Birthday).

Stampin' Up is so smart!! They are offering clear-mounted rubber stamps as well as the wood-mounted stamps! I took a chance and love the clear-mounted stamps ANDDDDD they are $4-$8 less!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR! MORE TO COME!

Happy Two Days After Christmas!

2009-12-27T10:50:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas with lots of great family, friends, and food! Now it's time to switch from the Halloween/Fall/Thranksgiving/Christmas modes to Valentine's Day and Spring!

It will not be long until I can share the delights of the new Mini Occasions Catty and the Sale-A-Bration(SAB) products. (Read:You CAN'T buy these items! They are all free and SAB includes many, many sets from the Idea Book!!!!)

Well.....here's just a little peek! This my submission for PPA 22, http://www.palspaperarts.com/ Be sure to check out their artists' samples and the 50 or so weekly submissions for great inspiration!

Most of the papers are from the SAB (Free!) Designer Series Paper Pad that has 72 double-sided 6X6 designs! These coordinate wonderfully with 7 SU colors, including the Bermuda Bay and Melon Mambo that I used. I am excited about the stamps too! SU has combined the best of all worlds: clear-mount stamps that are SU quality rubber stamps, a choice of rubber-mounted or clear- mount, great space-saving containers AND a lower price for the clear-mount! I've always shied away from clear-mounts because I've never been happy with the clarity of the image but that problem is gone with the new SU stamps!!

Stamp on!!

A Winter Wonderland Florida-Style!

2009-12-18T05:51:00.000-08:00

We've had lots of beautiful, warm, spring-like weather (until yesterday!) here in Central Florida this winter! Here are a couple of gift/giftwrap ideas that I made for yesterday. The "Sea Glass" candy is made by my friend, Kelly, whose business features her homemade delicious old-fashioned candies and to-die-for gourmet popcorns (Think Butter Rum, Strawberry Cheesecake, Marshmallow...mmmmmm!). You can find Kelly at Kellyskandies@yahoo.com and on FaceBook!
I made party favors using the "Shellebrate" stamp set. Everything is heat-embossed with SU Gold and colored in using Stampin' Write Markers and a blender pen. I used a sponge around the scallop edges to color in my Florida snow (sand) lol. It is SOOOOO relaxing to color in the shells and watch the cloisonne effect appear as you color and blend.

The gift tags were made for son Tommy's company gifts for the ladies. I went retro with "Beautiful Beach" stamps and Classy Copper Embossing Powder and metallic paper. Lots of sand--no snow.

Check out Pals Paper Arts at palspaperarts.com/ for great "Winter Wonderland" inspirations from around the country! Happy stamping!!

Fun with Old Olive, Crushed Curry, and Soft Suede

2009-12-13T08:34:00.000-08:00

The Challenge!
This week's challenge is to use the Olive, Curry, and Suede palette! I haven't used Crushed Curry that much so I was glad to have the challenge put before me! I love the crisp look of the colors together and with Whisper White! Be sure to check out the Pals' cards for lots of inspiration and a chance to see so many talented stampers in one place!

I could not choose just one of the PPA Design Team cards. They are all gorgeous so be sure to visit http://www.palspaperarts.com/ to see them all! The first card below is my entry for this week's challenge.

Stamps: Definitely Decorative, Itty Bitty Backgrounds

Paper: Old Olive, Soft Suede, Crushed Curry, Whisper White CS, Tall Tales, Razzleberry Lemonade DSP

Ink: Old Olive Classic Stamp Pad, Platinum Shimmer Paint, Silver Gel Pen

Accessories: Crushed Curry Polka Dot Robbon, Silver Brad, Silver Elastic Cord, Ornament Punch

Rub-Ons: Merry & Bright, Dotted Delicates

Inspiration Provided By............

The absolutely gorgeous cards below were created by Carla Bazhen, Ann Schach, and Mary Fish. Who could not be inspired by these talented gals??

Dasher Magic

2009-12-04T06:04:00.000-08:00

On Dasher, On Dancer!

I know that the fuss is usually about Rudolph, but our Dasher stamp is just the best! I love his dream-like swirly antlers and I've teamed them up with the flourish from "Priceless" and the Peace, Love, and Joy stamp from All Holidays. A little Dazzling Diamonds and a little bling and it's ready to go! I'm submitting this card to Pals Paper Arts PPA19 at http://www.palspaperarts.com/

Check out all of the beautiful submissions for your own inspiration!

Here's the supply list:

Stamps: Dasher, Priceless, All Holidays

Paper: Rea; Red. Old Olive,Whisper White CS

Inks: Chocolate Chip, Going Gray (Shading on snowbanks)

Accessories: Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write, Color Spritzer, Silver Gel Pen, 2-Way Glue, Dazzling Diamonds, Real Red and Old Olive 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Linen Thread, Large Silver Neutrals Brad, tiny amber rhinestones, Ticket Corner Punch

KISS--Keep It Simple, Sweetie!

2009-11-30T04:33:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick and easy card that I'm going to submit to Pals Paper Arts at http://www.palspaperarts.com/ for their KISS challenge! The card needs to have lots of "white space", minimal layering and embellishments, and quick to create. I love having an excuse to re-visit one of my favorite sets, Fifth Avenue Floral!

Materials used are:

Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, Thank You Kindly

Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black

Ink: Basic Black, Bermuda Bay

Accessories: Tempting Turquoise 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Bermuda Bay Stampin' Write, Color Spritzer Tool

Hope You Had a Wonderful Thanksgiving!

2009-11-27T09:26:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Turkey Place Cards:
Well the idea WAS to have the 3 grandgobblers (known as grandgoblins for Halloween) assemble all of the 200+ pieces of punched and die-cut cardstock into 12 place cards. It's been a family tradition for the girls to make place cards, usually commercial place cards or something simple I'd come up with, ready for them to write names. When 2 of the grandgobblers needed to come a bit later, our schedule was in disarray!

Daughter, Deb, (I needed to check the turkey, make the gravy happen, and calculate how many casseroles and pans of rolls would fit into our conventional oven when the turkey at last came out) helped Abby to cut, glue, and glue, and glue, the 17 or so pieces for a number of them but Alas! I had to admit that there was too little time for so much fun! We had them for the girls' places and I will pack away the remaining oval scallops, Boho punches,scallop squares, little feet, beaks, combs and little eyes for next year's celebration!

I totally CASEd this great punch idea from Sophia Landry (Thank you, Sophia!!!!), who can be found on Andrea Walford's site! Sophia is a genius at punch creations. I didn't find myself that interested in elaborate creations with punches at first, but now I'm inspired and excited to try my hand at a really cute punch Santa to go with my original Charlie Brown Christmas tree, seen below on the Punch Snowman (Also Sophia's idea!) card! You can watch Sophia on a video at:

http://andreawalford.com/
(You have to give Sophia the coolness of presence award as her young children can be heard in the background "not being perfect". I had to giggle because we can all relate! :-D)
Enjoy all of the leftovers!!

Stamp Night and Brownies!

2009-11-25T04:45:00.000-08:00

Friday Stamp Night!

Friday Stamp Night saw us (Music teacher Amy, Julie, an office intern from France, art teacher Cindi, who attended along with her mom, Pat) creating some really fun matchbook gift-card holders. We created one holiday GC holder and one general purpose GC holder! The Snowman was pretty labor-intensive, requiring
putting many of those great punches to good use! I love the Whimsey wheel in Real Red! The ornament punch is soooooo versatile. We used it to create our vase for the Thoughts and Prayers "bouquet"!

YAYY! BROWNIES!!! Not the snack! REAL Brownies!! Here we are at St. Thomas Aquinas making angel tags for their annual gift-giving Christmas tree! We used "If the Halo Fits", a perfect set for such a project! We cut out extra angel gownsin Real Red and Old Olive to give it a little more "pop" and then we used markers, a silver gel pen, and blue glitter (for the wings). We framed the cards in colors to match the gowns and added organza ribbons! The girls and their moms made beautiful tags as a community service project! Thanks to all the moms and their amazing leader (Well, she's my awesome daughter too!), Darla McGinley!

Snow Man Gift Card Holder--Gettin' Punchy!

2009-11-16T06:31:00.000-08:00

Here is one of the gift-card holder projects that we'll be working on this coming Friday. I think that I used a total of 9 punches to create our snowball-throwing snowman. My inspiration for the snowman comes from Andrea Walford, a very creative stamper in the great north of Canada. The Charlie Brown-like Christmas tree is my own creation. I think it's pretty easy to tell that I used the large SU snowflake punch for the tree and the snowman's arms.

We'll also create a more general gift-card holder and envelope! If you have the following please bring them along:

Adhesive, Scissors, Signo White Gel Pen

Punches: Round Tab, Ticket Corner, Jumbo Snowflake, Circle Punches: 1 1/4", 1", 3/4", 1/2",Slit Punch, and Crop-a-dile (For buttons, eyes, and mouth)

I'll supply everything else and snacks! Hope to see you this Friday 6-9:30 pm.

Holiday Preparations, Volleyball and Puppies!

2009-11-01T09:09:00.000-08:00

What a great holiday season! My friend Cheri and I are preparaing for a craft fair in a few weeks and I am beginning to appreciate how many items will be needed for a respectable showing and a 6-foot table. Though this is new to me as a crafter, I have spent many a wonderful hour perusing craft tables during the holiday season! My absolute FAV is the Melbourne Lutheran Church of the Redeemer Craft Fair. So many beautifully handmade gifts and ornaments! I look forward to it every fall!! Here's what I've been working on so far: Hand-decorated recipe boxes, pocket calendars, ornaments, packages of gift tags, greeting cards and holiday cards, popcorn and candy gift items, gift bags, and Christmas Wreaths.
Using my ornament punch and transparency sheets, I was able to make my own stencil. I used Stampin' Up stamp pads in In-colors and in traditional red and green colors to make a few card sets.
Here we are in craft creations central (In other words, things are getting a little cluttered around here!) where I've been working on my Christmas wreaths. These are in copper and brown-tones.

"Life is Good" is rather a family motto for us (and the brand name of our favorite comfy tee-shirts) so I could not resist this Decor Element (Actually two!) for our dining room, where many a wonderful and lively family dinner has taken place!

I love our Definitely Decorative Baroque Medallions between my "Beach Cottage" and the Dining Room. If I only had more wallspace.........

Volleyball!

How fun it is to go to the girls' volleyball games. Here is Emma, 9, (middle) all set at her rec league match. Emma is a "go for it" girl and has a great bump and serve. Emma is not afraid to put those knee pads to use either!

Here is Abby, 13 ,serving for her middle school team, the Jackson Heights Bobcats JV, county champions last year and undefeated so far this year. Abby has a great serve, bump, and is a great setter! She is fearless, consistent and solid! Abby also plays rec league volleyball! Both girls are fortunate to have terrific coaches!!

As Promised......Puppies!

Yesterday, we visited with our daughter, Darla, her husband Kevin, and daughter Riley! We visited, cooked, carved, and played with Lucy (LuLu) the chocolicious Chocolate Lab, Ollie, their 1 1/2 year old Yorkie, and Daisy, their new Yorkie puppy. The family was also puppy-sitting Daisy's brother, Dewey, and Bongo, Daisy and Dewey's daddy. You can imagine all of the fun!!

TWO-TOO CUTE!!

A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL!!

My "Beach Cottage" Stamping Room

2009-10-12T08:23:00.000-07:00

Hi, Everyone!

First off, let me say "Congratulations and Happy Stamping!" to Linda Williamson (confetti, small horns, and streamers, please) for winning this month's Blog Candy as shown below! Linda is my stamping/Hilton Head beaching and reading around the pool/part-time golf widow friend from South Carolina! Linda and her husband, Bruce, visited us recently and was the inspiration for my previous blog!!

And Here It Is! Ta-Daaaaaa!!

I've always longed for a stamping area in my wonderful stamping storage area where I could actually work and be close to my treasure trove of fun SU stamping stuff! At present, I would end up in the dining room because a 2x2 work space just didn't work for me! Now I have my work area and as you can see, I'm putting it to good use!! I can't wait to have my stamping buddies over this Friday evening for the Grand Opening!

Below is my version of the Snow Globe (on the back of the Mini-Cat)! Mine, of course, has a Florida snowman on some rad waves!

I'm still loving the shimmery platinum paint and teamed it up with Dazzling Diamonds for another Christmas card idea. (Instead of one or two different cards this year, I'm planning on 6-8 different designs! There are just too many possibilities to confine it to just a couple of designs!

Here are the Patterned Pines from the Mini-Cat Level One Hostess Set. I love the adorable little poinsietta stamp!

Here's my 2x2 former work space turned into my little gallery! I'm making Halloween candy/cash holders for the 6 little grand-goblins! Love that window sheet from the Night and Day DSP and the Twick or Tweet characters are just the best and most fun!!

Here is my initial projct (well actually the second attempt) using my new space! It is a View Master card that I cased from Splitcoast Stampers. My version is a bit different as it is an actual fold-out card and instead of the notched circle I decided to put my die-cut large scallop circle to good use! What I love most is that all of the embellishments, except for the texts and brad, are from the Simply Scrappin' Petal Party! Just peel and stick! We may use this project for our Make 'n Take on Friday!

Revisiting Some Old Favorites!

2009-09-27T17:12:00.000-07:00

Good Friends....
are like your favorite stamp sets! You can keep returning to them for enjoyment! It just doesn't get any better than sharing time with wonderful friends! (Especially if they share your love of stamping!!) Life is Good!

Last week, our friends, Bruce and Linda, from SC were visiting the area, and so on golf day for the guys, Linda and I got together for a wonderful & relaxed afternoon of stamping. We had enjoyed using several of my retired sets, Blossoms Abound and Cute as a Bug, when we stamped with my sister-in-law, Cindy, in Hilton Head in 2008! Out came my favorites, Lavender Lace, Always Artichoke and Lovely Lilac, along with blender pens for our afternoon of fun. We used the Fast Flowers Stampin' Around Wheel for a Fast Finish for the envelopes.

Abbey's 13th Birthday!

Here's the card I created for Abbey, who LOVES anything with zebra stripes! I used my Classic Black stamp pad to ink the die-cut letters for the envelope. They had previously been an assortment of pastels. I used white acrylic paint to jazz up the letters!

I can't resist! I'm also including some pictures of the fab birthday desserts we enjoyed at Bangkok Square, Abbey's favorite sushi restaurant. It was such fun celebrating with Abbey! (I'll bet I can find some color inspirations there too! Hmmmm....Real Red and So Saffron, Chocolate Chip and Creamy Caramel......)

(Just in case you're near UCF and want to try one (or more) of these, they are:

Mango/Guava Cheesecake and Mousse Cream, Bananas Tempura, & Chocolate Bombe'!)

It's time for Blog Candy!! Here is the Blog Candy for our

next drawing! It includes:

A Pumpkin Pie Classic Stamp Pad (Just in time for Fall, Halloween, & Thanksgiving cards and gifts!

A Versa Marker pen--Great for heat embossing and water mark patterns!

3 Mini-Stamps: BFF :) , Stamped with Care, & A Shamrock/Lucky You stamp.

Samples of the In-Color Polka Dot Ribbon--All 6 yummy colors!

Be sure to leave a comment and/or become a follower for my blog to be entered. The drawing will take place on October 4th at the Fun Stampin' Sunday Open House! You do not have to be present to win!

Holiday Project Pictures!

2009-09-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of our, as I said Sunday, lively stamping, cutting, shaving cream coloring, deckle-edging, distressing (paper, that is), spritzing projects for Darla's workshop! The bookmarks and cards were fabuloso! So many talented hands at one workshop! Attendees, you get an A+!

Gate cards are so cool! We used shaving cream and the Only Orange Re-Inker for the backgrounds.

Our Shabby-Chic bookmark makes an encore performance, this time in Bermuda Bay with Night and Day DSP flowers!

It's not too early to start on the Christmas cards! Here's one of the designs I'll be using! I used the new SU Snowflake set and that gorgeouso Platinum Shimmer Paint!

For Dasher, I embossed him using Silver embossing powder! The Merry Christmas is from the Level 1 hostess set!

I'm working on a Summer Memories Envelope Album! I couldn't wait to use the totally cuteUnder the Stars set. The beach scene was paper-tearing fun!

I just had to have the Medallion stamp after I had seen it used so many ways! I loved the black on the Night and Day DSP but also used Orchid Opulence and Certainly Celery Craft ink for a card not shown here! Next time!!

Here's another one of those Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, and Shimmer Paint Christmas cards, this time with a picture of Riley! Perfect for family portrait greeting cards!

And being in Florida, who can resist "Shellebrate" in tropical colors!!

Congratulations, Betsy!

2009-08-31T19:15:00.000-07:00

We have our first winner for my blog-candy prize of the month: 4 color co-ordinated card kits with envelopes and lots of extra ribbons, die-cuts, embellishments, and stampers' "text messages"! Enjoy, Betsy and thank you for visiting my blog. The next contest will be announced later this week!

Inspiration From the Obvious and Not So Obvious!

2009-08-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a beautiful example of Cheri Wenger's handiwork. For Nate's birthday, Cheri created this beautiful card, gift wrap and tag using Basic Black to accentuate the warm beiges of the paper, cardstock and ribbon. (You can see much more of Cheri's wonderful work by clicking on the "Live Life Creatively" link at the right and viewing her beautiful blog!)

Nate also received a bottle of wine in really cool bag that really coordinates with Cheri's colors. I love the textures of the shades of brown and the cool little silver ornament on black cord that is just the perfect accent.I've kept it simple for Nate's thank you notes since I need to make 25+ (13 are in the mail, a a like amount will be made today), so I used black CS and ivory confetti CS accented with silver embossing powder and silver cording. Just a little sponging created the masculine look needed for his thank you cards. I can't wait to get all frou-frou again!!!

Thank you, Amy!

2009-08-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

Here is the design for the "Thank You" notes for Amy's SU workshop! We had a great time with Erin, Sydney, Kasie, Laura, Jennifer and Amy, our hostess, in attendance. We created cards and gift bags using Bashful Blue and Whisper White products. The card used the Upsy Daisy stamp set and we used Bashful Blue DSP with the scallop punches for the bag.

When Life Gives You Lemons!

2009-08-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

Here's Riley at Aunt Deb's surprise birthday party! Riley is so much fun! (I guess that is obvious!) She just entered 2nd grade and passed the AR test for the second Harry Potter novel. (I know you understand that Grandmas must broadcast these things!!) :-)

I used the SU Designer Specialty Pack, "The Write Stuff". It comes with great die-cuts and great 2-sided papers in Ruby Red, Soft Suede, Crushed Curry and Old Olive!

Monthly Contest Drawing For My Followers!

2009-08-12T07:31:00.000-07:00

Hi, Stamping Friends!

In an effort to cultivate a bit more of a following on my blog, I'm going to have a drawing on the 30th of each month for anyone who visits my blog and becomes a follower! The August drawing will be a card kit with enough supplies to make 4 greeting cards and will include nothing but fabulous Stampin' Up products. Here's what the lucky winner will receive:

SU CS (Cardstock) in various delicioso colores for 4- 4 1/4" X 5 1/2" greeting cards
4 Custom-stamped envelopes to match
A variety of stamped messages (Thanks, Thinking of You, etc.) for your cards
Matching ribbon and/or brads
A variety of Die Cut and stamped images made by moi just for you!
A variety of ready-made punches and scalloped borders using SU CS and DSP (Designer Papers--There will be a quiz later on the abbreviations.)
Stampin' Dimensionals (4)

This is a $10 value! Don't forget to comment and sign up to follow!!

Check it out!!!!! Freebies, Gifts, and Deals!

Don't Forget: Next Open House: Stampin' Sunday Fun: August 30, 2-5 pm.

Check out my Stampin' Up Website link below for the latest freebies, gifts, and deals! Until September 30 you can purchase an adorable Decor Elements Growth Chart for your wall! No more generic pencil lines for Stampin' Up Gals!!

August 1-31, spend $35 on stamp sets from the Growing Up section of the Idea Book (pp. 74-90) and choose a FREE package of Designer buttons, a $7.95 value!

More Vacation Creation Pictures!

2009-08-06T15:21:00.000-07:00

Here are more pictures from my Pompano Beach vacation! No beachy shots and no (heaven forbid!) bikini shots of me! No pictures of Nate and me at water's edge but......

The flower pot card idea came from Andrea Walford'sBlog. Andrea used Petal Pizzazz but I used DSP and CS Die-Cuts and Best Wishes and More.

See below for more!!!

Vacation Creations!

2009-08-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

There was definitely no time for stamping and creating in NYC but there were plenty of opporunties to study colors, mosaics, and many works of art at restaurants, in the subways, in parks and of course in The Guggenheim and The Modern Museum of Art.

Pompano Beach was a different story! I spent one afternoon with a friend whose music career of 50+ years we are chronicling in a very large scrapbook. We have been working on it for the past year and though it was originally a tribute for Elaine's retirement celebration, it grew to include many wonderful pictures and momentos from her earliest days in teaching.

I was able to find a few morning and afternoon hours between reading, sunning, water aerobics and scouting out great restaurants to really complete my fun!! Here are some of my "vacation creations!"

OSW

Here is my version of OSW--One Sheet Wonder! I used:

1 sheet of Whisper White Card Stock (CS)
3 sheets of Rich Razzleberry CS

I limited myself to

3 stamps (Priceless) and one Stampin' Around Wheel (Always in Bloom)

2 Colors: Rich Razzleberry and Always Artichoke
2 lunch bags, small post-its, ribbon scraps

My next hostess will receive all 12 of these items as a hostess gift: 2 gift bags, 4 greeting cards, 3 gift tags/post-it holders, and 3 bookmark/gift tags.

POCKETS!

The note/card holders below are made from one 8 1/2 X 11 piece of Designer Series Paper (DSP). I enjoyed using Circle Circus stamps and some of my Die-Cuts!

Razzleberry Pop-Tart!

I love this pop-up card based on a design from Stampin' Up's Demonstrator Mag!

I Thought I Had Retired! :-)

2009-07-25T18:11:00.000-07:00

It's been a terrific, fun-filled summer! I have so enjoyed the extra time to stamp, work on home projects, family time, and some great travel adventures! (Hilton Head, NYC (What happens in the Big Apple, stays in the Big Apple!) right??) and some relaxation/beach time in Pompano Beach. My suitcase is still packed for one more trip to the Summer Florida Vocal Association Board Meeting and Convention in Altamonte Springs!

I'll still be getting to participate in the "music world" with my committee work and by assisting my good friend, Cindy Johnson, who has been named Brevard County Music Resource Teacher! Yay for Cindy! I still hope to continue adjudicating choirs, mentoring teachers, and coaching young singers! But.....I also get to STAMP!

My schedule is:

August 2 Workshop at Darla's House
August 22 Workshop at Amy's House
August 30 Stampin' Sunday Open House (My House)

Stampin' Sundays Fun!

2009-07-08T03:36:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, a few friends (Cindi, Marsha, Darla, Riley, Amy, Erin, and Michelle) gathered round to create a quick, cute, and easy bookmark using:

Melon Mambo Cardstock (CS)

Fresh Lemondae Designer Paper (DP)

Eyelet Border Punch

Boho Blossoms Punch

Various Circle Punches (1 3/4, 1 3/8, 1 1/4, & 1")

Next we created our "Get Well Wishes" card using:

So Saffron, Old Olive, Whisper White CS

The Embrace Life and Teeny Tiny Wishes

The "So Swirly" jumbo roller (I'm so sad that it has been retired!)

Old Olive, Dust Durango stamp pads and markers

Versa Mark Stampin' Around Cartridge

Dusty Durango Polka Dot Ribbon.

Blender pen for our watercolor effect

My thanks to the lovely group of gals that made Sunday afternoon relaxing and fun!

Thank you! Something "Old" and Something Old!

2009-07-03T04:36:00.000-07:00

I've just taken receipt of my very first customer orders and so I "got" to create a thank you note for each customer/friend's bag. Here is my first thank you. Our standby Old Olive seems to be one of the greens of choice in our new SU catalog! Due to the beautiful greens (Kiwi Kiss, Wild Wasabi) that our In Colors of late have featured, Old Olive was definitely a little ignored. I'm looking forward to using lots of Old Olive as well as my other favs, Certainly Celery and Always Artichoke! You just can't go wrong with these choices! It's also good to see Opulent Orchid used extensively in the catalog in card designs and Designer Papers!

Here's a big Thank You to my first customers! Thank you for your orders and an excuse to create a thank you note for you! Enjoy your new toys!!

Stampin Sundays Bookmarks!

2009-07-03T04:30:00.000-07:00

This Sunday I'll have my first open house! Here is one of the projects I'll be featuring. These quick and cute bookmarks are easy to make and may be used as a small gift enclosure as well. I'm looking forward to making these with Darla's Daisy Troop and Deb's Girl Scouts this fall! I used Cheri's shabby chic flower idea and my new embossed flower die cut too! Mmmmm--I love those new yummy colors too!

Here Come the Babies!

2009-07-03T04:23:00.000-07:00

Here are some congratulatory cards for three new moms of baby girls! Using the SU slit punch you can turn any card into a gift card holder!

2009-06-27T05:38:00.000-07:00

Farewell and Birthday Invitation!

About the card.....
We hosted a gathering Thursday evening for our beloved County Music Resource Teacher who will be leaving the area to get her Doctorate at the University of Texas! We toasted her and wished her well with a delicious buffet, cards and gifts. Here is my "Aloha" card! I used my new "In Color" inks and cardstock along with a variety of Stampin' Up stamps and random stamps from my earliest stamping days.

About the invitation....

17, 18, 19......I'll be making 83 copies of this 80th birthday party invitation. So far I have 20 so I'd better keep this short and get back to stamping! I'm using Baja, Kiwi Kiss, and Chocolate Chip cardstocks as well as Confetti Cream for the background

New Colors! New Stamps! New Ideas!

2009-06-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

I wasn't sure I could really love the new SU "In Colors" as I did the last palette! I longed for my Baja Blue, Kiwi Kiss, and who could resist the spice of Tangerine Tango! I guess I'm just fickle! Well, maybe I'm just inclusive because I'm loving the new "In Colors" and I'm having a great time stamping, painting, punching, and Sizzixing (is that a word?) with them!

Here are a few cards that I've been working on using Melon Mambo and Rich Razzleberry cardstock, ribbons, stamp pads and markers! It is so relaxing to "paint" with the markers on the "Wings of Friendship" stamps! These stamps are so wonderfully crafted so that you get clean, crisp impressions! The eyelet punch has become one of my favoite toys! It gives you beautiful eyelet borders time after time! (And you don't have to have the strength of the Incredible Hulk to use it!)

5th Avenue Floral Workshop!

2009-06-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday evening, a few friends joined me to enjoy relaxed conversation, a lot of laughs, some snacks and some treats but most of all, some great stamping creativity. We used Stampin' Up products to produce a greeting card and a small gift bag!

We limited our supply list to 3 stamp pads (Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery) , 1 Stamp 'n Write marker (Yo-Yo Yellow) , 2 stamp sets (5th Avenue Floral and Great Friend) and 4 colors of cardstock (Black, White, Certainly Celery, and Tempting Turquoise).

I also "demo"ed two scrapbook pages, one using nothing but supplies from the Sunshine Garden Simply Scrappin' set and one using Certainly Celery 12X12, a few stamps and the Doodle Jumbo Wheel. I hope you like my beautiful models, Abbey and Precious (sometimes known as semi-precious but who would ever know???).

2009-06-11T03:49:00.000-07:00

Time To Get Creative!

So many fun toys, so little time! I am so fortunate to have many wonderful products and many sources of assistance and inspiration! My mentor, Cheri Wenger, is a constant beam of inspiration! Cheri, a REAL artist, (I consider myself a crafter) is so wonderfully creative and generous with her time! I owe any creativity to her!!

Here I go!