A Sympathy Card

This week, I had the unfortunate opportunity to make two Sympathy cards. The picture doesn't do the card justice. Seeing it with your own eyes does.

I used Old Olive and Not Quite Navy. The Navy piece is embossed using the SU! Finial Press Embossing folder. And, these folders rock! They emboss so beautifully!!! It is hard not to make a card that isn't embossed! I am hoping someday, they will come out with a "manly" embossing folder.

Have a great weekend!

An Old Set I May Never Part With!

This Tractor Time set is the first set of stamps that I ever purchased! I saw it and I knew that I had to have it! And, time after time, I find myself relying on it for cards!

Maybe, it is because of my farm background. Maybe, it is because of my husbands ties to farming. Maybe, it is even my families history in the dairy industry. It might even be that my kids have an undying love for anything John Deere.

All that I know is that it comes in handy and I have gotten a ton of use out of it.

This card is for one of my daycare boys who turned 5 yesterday! I know that he will enjoy it because he too loves John Deere!

Thanks for checking in!

From Stamping to the Garden

Some of you may know that along with a passion for stamping and scrapbooking comes my passion for gardening! This time of the year, gardening wins out! Summer is here and we are about in full bloom around our house.

Here is the garden that surrounds our swing. Some of our black eyed susans are still just budding out. The hibiscus are also not yet in bloom, but they are growing by leaps and bounds.

This is the garden that we call the "fish" garden. From our upstairs bedrooms, it looks like it is shaped like a fish!

And, here are just a couple of close up pictures. The lilies are beautiful and in their prime. There is so much color out there, it is breath taking.

This is our tractor whirlagig, that has seen better days. The flowers have grown up around it and disquise some of its tatter!

Thanks for taking a tour with me. I have many more pictures that I may share another time! Enjoy your day!

And, remember to always take time to stop and smell the roses!

Old Stamp, New Colors.

For this card I combined a couple of my favorite things. This stamp set Thoughts and Prayers is one of my favorites. It is so versatile and looks great in any combination of colors. Last week as I was laying awake in bed, I had a vision of this tree done with the In-Colors. So, here it is Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry and Soft Suede. Along with a piece of the DSP Razzleberry Lemonade.

This is typically untypical of me. It is typical for me to lay awake at night thinking of ridiculous things that I can't control. But, it is the first time that I had been laying awake thinking of color combinations to pair with a stamp set.

But, the next day I got up and got some supplies together and it all worked out wonderfully! Maybe, from now on when I am trying to fall asleep I will shift my thoughts to Stampin' Up!

Lucky for you all I will be stalking the UPS man next week. I have a workshop order arriving on Tuesday with new goodies. And, then later in the week I should be receiving two more stamp sets that I traded for. I can't wait to play!!!!

Have a great day!

Back to the Medallion.

This card is not one that we made at the workshop. But, I made it when I was getting ready for the workshop. I used Crushed Curry, Whisper White and Black together.

I find that pairing some of the new in colors with a neutral color works really well. When I first got the new in colors I was trying to use them together. I always ended up with a very bright card. Now, I am finding that with a neutral color or a lighter color that compliments the in color, I am liking the in colors even more!

Thanks for checking in today!

Contest Anyone?

Stampin’ Up! just released the 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalog and it’s loaded with new products that every stamper must have. As part of the summer celebration Stampin Addicts is holding a blog contest during the month of July giving away a Big Shot die pack made up of 5 new exclusive Stampin’ Up! dies.
Stampin’ Up! Thanks (Embosslits)
Stampin’ Up! Final Press (Embossing Folders)
Stampin’ Up! Perfect Details (Textured Plates)
Stampin’ Up! Two Tags (Bigz Dies)
Stampin’ Up! Fancy Favor (Bigz XL Dies)

Stampin Addicts dot com has tons of ideas using the Stampin’ Up! Big Shot and is giving away a Big Shot Die Pack as part of the Stampin’ Up! summer celebration. To enter, all you have to do is write about it. This is my entry. Now give me my dies.

And, if anyone can say they are addicted to the Big Shot, Stampin' Up! or papercrafts it is me! Check out all of their awesome ideas!

Pastels for the workshop

Here you will find a Poppin' Pastel card done with the Medallion background stamp. Simply versamark the Medallion onto the cardstock. Then sponge some pastels over it! The main card is done in Rich Razzleberry, layered with Pale Plum.

Have a great day!

A Fun Workshop Card

For this card, we did something a little different. We used the new embossing folder called Elegant Bouquet. We opened the folder and used the brayer to roll on Melon Mambo ink onto the "smooth" side of the embossing folder. Then we put in a piece of Shimmery White Cardstock and ran it through the Big Shot. The ink covered the cardstock except for where it is embossed. We then went back and colored the center of the flowers with a marker, in this case we used Soft Suede.

The shimmer on this card in real life gives it a nice look. We used the Crop A Dial to punch a whole and tie the ribbon partially around the card front.

I was trying to use the new In Colors for this workshop, that is why I chose the brown for the center of the flowers. It also looks nice with yellow in there too.

Enjoy!

Tall Tales DSP

In my typical style, I pre-ordered this DSP during the pre-order sales period from SU! Then, I got it and couldn't use it! It was so not me! The designs are loud and I didn't think I would ever put it to work.

Last week I sat down to put my workshop cards together and started playing. And, lo and behold I came up with a card that I actually liked. It could easily be a baby card.

Obviously, the stamping is minimal. But, the result was nice!

Enjoy your day!

Another Abigail Page.

These are the same pictures that I used for her last layout, but this layout is for her mom! I used some of the new DSP along with the Circle Circus Set. The Rich Razzleberry and Melon Mambo look so great together!

Well, that is about it from here!

Enjoy the weekend!

Don't forget to stop by next week to see the cards that we are making at tonights workshop! I can't wait to share them with you!

A Birthday Card For My Sister In Law

This is a simple card that I made for one of my sister in laws birthday. It is fairly simple. I used the Razzleberry Lemonade DSP. I find it kind of funny that when SU! released this paper for preorder it did absolutely nothing for me. Then I started seeing samples done with it. I had to add it to my first order! Now, I am using it often.

I also used the new Modern Label Punch for the tag. I am loving how this all layers together. I have always enjoyed my word window punch, now I think I have a new favorite. And, I am so pleased with how they can be used together!

Thanks for stopping by!

Embossed Medalion.

Hello! I hope that I have success posting this. I tried all day yesterday and this morning, only to have my ISP go out during the post. So far, I am having better luck.

Again, this card is made with the Medallion background stamp. This time, I embossed it in clear embossing powder on Rich Razzleberry. It looks so nice all by itself. I had a hard time figuring out how to embellish it without over doing it.

So, I opted to go with the ribbon and an oval tag. It just adds a little to the card without, distracting you from the main element!

Thanks for looking!

How exciting is this???

So, for those of you who follow other SU! Demonstrator blogs, you may have noticed a trend! I have seen more demonstrators excited about this Medallion Background stamp than any other new product. Maybe, that is because I am so in love with it. Maybe, it is a fluke that I have seen so many others posting cards made with it. Either way, I am in love!

I have used the stamp several ways. This one is done with the Versamark pad and pastels. And, it might be my favorite! This card is a 5 by 5 which creates issues for mailing. Not serious issues, but it needs additional postage.

It has been a crazy week with a house full of kids. What better time to receive a small order of new SU! goodies? But, I did manage to get out of bed extra early this morning to throw this card together. Notice the grommet in the center of the medallion, under the ribbon. It is a little hard to see with the bow, but it is there!

I have so many ideas to use this stamp, all that I need is the time to create! It looks like I will have to get up early a couple of days next week!!! I have a workshop on Friday, so I must get preparing!

Enjoy the sun and your weekend! Thanks for stopping by!!

Deal of the Week!

For the month of July, Stampin' Up! is offering a "Deal of the Week." This weeks deal is the Doctors Bag for the Big Shot. It is featured on page 194 in the New Catalog. It's regular price is $69.95 and can be purchased this week for $49.99.

The bag is wonderful. When I first got my Big Shot, I didn't think that I needed or wanted the bag. Then after I received my Big Shot, I realized how heavy and awkward it is. This bag is perfect for storage or carrying your Big Shot. And, it holds a ton of Big Shot loot! I keep my Big Shots and dies in the bag.

The special is only good until Sunday, July 12th, so if you are interested, please let me know by Sunday.

I will post next weeks deal next Monday when it is announced by SU!

Have a great sunny day!

Another Layout!

The timing is kind of funny! We had the most beautiful day yesterday. If I had to describe it in one word, I would use "perfect." The sun was shining, but it wasn't hot. Just plain gorgeous.

So, I find it kind of funny that on such a fabulous day, I decide to get some scrapbooking done. My main goal was to do the page that I posted yesterday. That one is hanging on our refrigerator in a "fridge frame." When I finished that page, I came across some zoo pictures from last summer that hadn't been done yet.



As I came across these pictures I remembered that I had this DSP Tall Tales, that I had preordered from SU! After I received the paper, I wasn't sure if I liked it. Nevermind, finding a way to use it.

Then all at once I was inspired. As usual it isn't fancy. But, the pictures are scrapped and I have two more pages to add to the album. Progress, no matter how you think about it!!!!

Well, it is going to be a very busy week around here, so I won't be posting any more scrapbooking pages. But, I will find something to post!!

Enjoy your day!

A Quick Turn-A-Round!

So, this weekend Abigail came over for another visit. Which means, I had more opportunities for pictures of the sweet little girl! The boys adore her and each got a quick chance to hold her for a picture.

My parents were also here for the weekend and left early this morning. An opportunity presented itself for me to get up to the craft room and scrap a page.

And, here is what I came up with. I used the New In-Colors and the Circle Circus stamp set. Kyle says "it's cute," so I will go with that! I hope he was talking about the page and not just Abigail!

We finally have some sunshine, so I am going to be enjoying that for the day! I hope that you do too!!!

Stamp-A-Ma-Jig show off card!

For as long as I have been stamping, SU! has offered the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig. I have never used it because I didn't know how and it didn't make sense to me. So, I saw it used and guess what? It makes complete sense.

So, for my last card I wanted to make a card that showed off how to use the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig. And, guess what? My ladies loved it! They couldn't understand why I was keeping it a seceret from them!

The seceret is out! The Stamp-A-Ma-Jig makes two step stamping a breeze. It makes lining up letters easy! It has so many uses!

Thanks for stopping by!