Everybody needs a good quilt!

My grandmother was a huge quilt maker. We easily have 20 some quilts in our house that she made me or one of the kids during her lifetime. When I was pregnant with my youngest child Robert. I was so very upset that he would not have a Grandma GG quilt (GG stood for Great Grandma - smile). My Grandma had a stroke the month before I got pregnant with Robert & was in a nursing home facility. My wonderful mother in law & sister in law threw me an awesome baby shower & my mom (of course) came along. One of the last gifts was a gift that had a card in my mom's handwriting which I thought was odd because I had already opened a gift from my parents that was a beautiful glider rocker. So I open the card & it says "Love Grandma." Odd again but I thought maybe the gift was for the baby...it was it was this wonderful quilt that I had actually started the blocks for about 10 years before when I thought maybe I too could make a quilt (insert loud laughter here). My grandma had finished it before her stroke & was waiting till the right time to give it to me (insert lots of tears here - smile). So my Robert has an awesome quilt from Grandma GG too. She passed away almost 2 years ago & this card is made in her honor.

I have seen some really intricate quilt cards & at some point I hope to have the time to do one. But this is my basic to start one. Because it's that how your 1st quilt should be? The base of this card is always artichoke. n on a layer of pear pizazz I cut 6 squares from the Springtime Vintage Designer Paper, glued them down then ran the whole thing through the Big Shot with the square lattice embossing folder (I love all embossing folders don't you - want to hear a sneak peak? There is an new one in the Summer Mini Catalog that comes out May 1st - be on the lookout in April for a visual sneak peak). Then I ran some chantilly lace ribbon around the middle. Stamped the Happy Easter words from the Easter Blossom stamp set in always artichoke on pear pizazz cardstock, then punched them out with the extra large oval punch. Placed one small pearl under the S & placed it on the card with dimensionals. Just as easy as that.

My husband Craig's grandmother is a HUGE knitter so I will need to come up with an awesome knitting card for her. This summer she is going to teach our girls how to knit. Can you tell we are covered well? Get it covered & blankets...I know don't give up my day job. (smile)

It is amazing all of the different was your creativy can come out in cards. If fact as I am typing this I am wondering how it would come out if I used some of our fabric in place of the designer paper...I will have to try that.

Happy Friday!

Boo! We are almost at the End!

The end of Sale-A-Bration is coming. We are only 1 week away from the end of Sale-A-Bration. If you have not got your favorites NOW is the time to do so. If you are thinking about taking advantage of the deal for becoming a Demonstrator (see below) contact me today to discuss it. If you are ready to take advantage of this awesome deal click Here then click on Join Now on the left.

Today I want to tell you a funny story about one of my downline team members Crystal. She & I have been friends since we were 5 years old. But unfortunetly after high school our lives took us in different directions (as life often does). Well about a year & a half ago by the magic of Facebook we got reconnected. She came to one of my workshops & just feel in love with the products & the fun. Her wishlist was super long & she wanted it all right away (who doesn't right?). So I suggested to save herself some money that she sign up to be a demonstrator. She thought about it. Saying that she didn't want to be an actual demonstrator but decided to do it "just" for the discount. I told her no problem that is fine. In February she went with me to the Stampin' Up Regional in Minneapolis. At one point in the afternoon she leaned over to me & said "I can do this." I turned to her & with a big smile said "I know." Now I said this for a few reasons. Once she is super creative, Two she is a ton of fun to be around but mostly because of #3 if I can do it anybody can (smile). So almost 1 year later she is getting ready to host her 1st workshop this Saturday. At last count she had 15 people coming to it. Way to go Crystal!

My point of sharing this with you today is to let you know that there are many ways to enjoy Stampin' Up Demonstratorship & all of the perks that go with it. Yes I do mean perks. How many companies have you worked for that give away FREE items at every get together? Sometime we even get FREEBIES just because. Don't you love FREE things? Let alone the access to previews, an awesome monthly magazine, wonderful Demonstrator only websites...I could go on & on. Contact me today to talk about all the other perks.

If you sign up before next Thursday March 31st at 11:59 PM, here is what you would get with the Regular Starter Kit (if you are interested in My Digital Studio, we have a Starter Kit that includes it too, contact me for details):

5 Stamp Sets (value of $33.95, $28.95, $25.95, $18.95 & $9.95 or lower)

Clear Block C (or one of your choice $6.95 or lower)

Blender pen (single) $3.31

Stampin’ Around® standard wheel of your choice $6.50

Stampin’ Around handle (standard size only) $3.95

Stampin’ Around un-inked cartridge (standard size only) $5.25

Stamping Sponge (single) $1.16

Assorted card stock 8-1/2” x 11” (Getting Started or assortment of your choice) $6.95 each

(everything in the list below this line is FREE you have paid for it just adding up the items above)

Card stock (1 pkg. 8-1/2" x 11" Whisper White OR color of your choice) $8.50

Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack (color of your choice) $19.95

2 Stampin’ Write markers (2 colors of your choice) $3.50 each

Classic Ink Refill (color of your choice) $2.95

Whisper White 5/8” Satin Ribbon (or ribbon of your choice $8.95 or lower)

Stampin’ Dimensionals $3.95

SNAIL Adhesive® (or any adhesive $6.95 or lower)

Décor Elements™ (decorative vinyl image) item $7.95 or lower

Décor Elements Applicator Tool $1.95

Stampin' Mist® 2 oz. bottle (or StazOn cleaner) $4.50

4 Classic Stampin’ Pads® (colors of your choice) $5.95 each  

VersaMark® pad (or ink pad of your choice $7.50 or lower)

Plus Sale-A-Bration ONLY Bundle (at no extra cost)

Color Coach $14.95

Any Simply Sent Kit $$11.95

Any Simply Sent Stamp Set $9.95

Any Punch $16.95 or lower

Retail Price over $310 

Sale-A-Bration Deal Price $148.75

Plus 20% off all future orders 

30% off the 1st order if over $150 & placed within 45 days

Plus you may add on one or both of these kits:

Stampin’ Memories Kit Retail Price over $77 Sale Price $50

Definitely Decorative Kit Retail Price over $50 Sale Price $40

Always FREE Shipping – Just add your tax!

For the 1st person to sign up before the 31st of March - that person with receive a cute tote bag that I bought for my downline team members at Leadership. So not only all of this awesome stuff but a cute tote made with one of the Springtime Vintage Desinger Series Paper.

What are you waiting for sign up today! Don't miss out on all of the wonderful extras available only during Sale-A-Bration!

Next Redo!

My next redo of a awesome swap also comes from Stampin' Up Leadership. In fact you have already seen it. But as a reminder here it is.

This card was in the running to be my Mom's birthday card. But she doesn't like any green so I picked a card that had no green. Then she was at my house & I showed her a few cards that I had laying around & she pointed to this one & said " I love that card." So I told her it could have been her birthday card but it's not (it wasn't her birthday yet so I couldn't tell her which one was). Since my Mom liked it so much I thought that I would redo it & make it into a Easter Card. So that is what I did. (smile)

For the base of this card I used blushing bride, which I must confess is a very underused color by me. Then I took a piece of very vanilla cardstock & stamped the lined image from fast & fabulous (level 2 hostess set) in old olive, then stamped the solid image in blushing bride. Don't you just love 2 step stamping. So easy with clear blocks. Then I punched a strip of old olive with the dotted ribbon punch (love this punch) & adhered it to the very vanilla piece. Then I ran the very vanilla with the old olive piece on it through the Big Shot with the square lattice embossing folder. Then I stamped the Happy Easter words from the Easter Blossom stamp set in old olive on very vanilla, punched it out with the extra large oval punch & sponged around the edges. The I took 1 piece of old olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon with 1 piece of chantilly lace ribbon on top & glued them behind the Happy Easter punch. Then popped the oval up on dimensionals on the card. Then a little pearl under the S of Easter & your done.

So this will be one of my Easter cards for my family. Luckily with Easter being so late this year I have time to actually get some cards made. So far I am at 8 (smile).

Happy Wednesday!

Swaps Remade!

So I am posting a few days later than I hoped...big surprise right? We were having Prom dress drama on Sunday. Tis almost that time of year here & this year I have two kids going. My oldest two, my twins, are both juniors so that is double the cost...Yay! (smile) But we now have ordered an awesome tuxedo & bought a beautiful dress (our 2nd one by the way - yes we took the 1st one back). I won't show you pictures of it yet because I am going to make a card in it's honor. It is melon mambo, basic black, basic gray & whisper white - sounds interesting right? Just wait till you see it. : )

Ok so here is today's stamping. My scrapbook event this past Saturday was a springtime/Easter theme & we used the Easter Blossom stamp set. I just love this stamp set...Do you want to hear something funny? At first I didn't think I like this set at all...Until I went to Leadership & saw all these cute things to do with it. So this week's posts are all going to be using the Easter Blossom stamp set.

Today the card that I remade was a swap I got at leadership (sorry I don't know from whom).

Then I was looking for a cute & fast card to send to a friend that needed a little pick me up, so I redid it in 2 different colors.

Here it is in the same original colors, I just changed the ribbon & did some sponging. So the base is pear pizzaz (sorry I know the pictures stink - see previous post for explaination). The I took soft suede & ran it through the Big Shot with the vintage wallpaper embossing folder & sponged the edges with soft suede ink. Then another layer of pear pizzazz, Then I took a piece of very vanilla & stamped the flower image in soft suede & more soft suede sponging. Then I used some of the crumb cake seam binding ribbon (if you don't have this ribbon in all available colors you should order them right now - love them). I then stamped the words in soft suede ink on very vanilla & punched them out with the decorative label punch then more sponging. I punched one piece of soft suede with the decorative label punch, cut it in 1/2 & glued it behind the very vanilla piece (with a little sponging around the outside). Then I popped it up on dimensionals above the ribbon.

Here is the same card just in different colors.

This time I used baja breeze cardstock & ribbon. I personally like it a lot like this. What do you think?

Thank you to whomever swapped this awesome card with me at Leadership. If you know please email me so I can give them credit.

Borrowing some Mojo!

Today I am going to show you two cards that were based on a couple of cards that were made by the FABULOUS Kimberly Van Diepen. Her two cards can be seen by visiting her blog by clicking Here.

Then here is the first of my two cards. I should apologize before you see them. Not that the cards are bad but that my pictures are bad. First of all I took them on a blue background (what was I thinking) which throws all the colors off. Second I took them with my little Nikon not by wonderful Nikon D40 (which makes everything look lovely). So sorry the pictures are not that great. Please take my word on the colors especially on the 2nd card.

This first card is whisper white base & layers with the very vanilla & basic black dsp from love letters DSP. The button image is from the sew suite collection stamp set & the friend to friend (I just love these words) are from the teeny tiny wishes stamp set. The safety pin is from the vintage trinkets. The buttons are one from the bright collection & one from the subtles collection. Behind both whisper white pieces are basic black. One punched with the scallop oval & one with the lovely ribbon border punch.

Here is the second card (again sorry for the quality).

I wish this picture had come out better (or that I had time to reshoot it with my other camera) because it is so much prettier than this picture gives it credit for being. The base is crumb cake with the first layer being the pattern page of the sew suite collection designer paper pack. Then the next layer is basic gray with a piece of early espresso punched with the ribbon border punch behind it. Then the mannequin is stamped in early espresso ink on baja breeze cardstock (yes I swear the colors are right). Then the button is a basic gray button on a glue dot. Then 3 of the medium pearls from the mannequin's feet.

Tomorrow I will be showing some of the cards that are my favorite recent swaps remade with a little bit of changes. Then next week I will be showing you some of my favorite pages from my scrapbook in a day event today.

Have a great weekend.

PS this was supposed to be Saturday's post but the wrong button got hit. This is what happens when a 4 year old helps.

Time Flys!

The say time flies when your having fun. Well it certainly flies when just about everybody in your house is sick too. First it was my daughter Kayla, sick with strep throat then a reaction to the antibiotics, next my son Robert had a slight pneumonia, as he was getting better I finally convinced my husband to go to the doctor where the gave him antibiotics for a severe sinus infection, then recently it has been my turn. Hopefully everyone is now on the mend. I have threatened my other two teenagers about getting sick. (smile)

In everyone being sick I did get some stamping done. But boy had I lost my creative mojo. So I turned to a few of my favorite demonstrators & favorite swaps to see what I could come up with. These cards is what I will be sharing with you for the (hopefully) next few days.

Today's card is a straight up copy of a card designed by the wonderful Dawn Griffin. She is one of the demonstrators whose blog I check out whenever I can & especially when I have no creative mojo. You can click Here to see her awesome card, directions for it & to check out the rest of her great blog.

Here is my copy of it. Hopefully I did her justice.






















I just love everything about his card. The colors are pink pirouette, early espresso & very vanilla. What's not to love with those right? There is tons of sponging on it which I so love. It's such as soft vintage look. Just love it (did I mention that?). The stamp set is Easter Blossom. Perfect for any spring or Easter card. The designer paper is the Springtime Vintage package in the occasions mini catalog. Both are items that we will be using at my Springtime/Easter themed Scrapbook in a Day Event tomorrow. This class will still be available to order from me until April 31st when the occasions mini ends.

Speaking of end...don't forget that Sale-A-Bration ends on March 31st. Don't let all of the great Sale-A-Bration specials get away from you.

Coming up tomorrow (hopefully) two great cards made based on two awesome cards by Kimberly Van Diepen.

Final Birthday Post

Well today holds my last birthday picks. In fact one of them doesn't even say Happy Birthday but I just thought that it was beautiful. Both cards today are so simple & beautiful. I love cards like that...Now don't get me wrong I love a good lots of work beautiful card too. But simple, beautiful & easy to recreate are usually at the head of the line.

On a personal note...people seem to be on the mend in my house. I had to take my daughter Kayla back to the doctor the other day because she was really dizzy all the time. Seems like she must have had a reaction to the antibiotics (weird because she never has before) but as long as it continues to get better now that she has stopped taking them, then that is what it must have been.Our little guy Robert goes for his one week follow-up tomorrow from his ER visit for pneumonia. Hopefully he will get an all clear too (& get back on a better sleep schedule).

Now on to the stamping....

Sorry about the glare off of the circle at the top...not sure what was up with me when I took the picture (probably lack of sleep). (smile) This card was designed by Jean Hoffmann as a swap that I received at the Minneapolis Regional Event. For this card the base of the card is very vanilla cardstock, then real red & tangerine tango that has been run through the Big Shot with the square lattice embossing folder. The ribbon is poppy parade stitched ribbon.The words are from the Just Believe stamp set. They are stamped in tangerine tango ink on very vanilla cardstock & punched out with the large oval punch. The shape image is from the perfect punches stamp set. It is stamped with versa mark on tangerine tango cardstock, clear embossed & punched out with the 1 1/4" circle punch. They are glued to a piece of very vanilla cardstock that was punched out with the 1 3/4" circle punch & glue to a scallop circle punch of real red cardstock.

This second card could have so many different sayings on it. Just a pretty card for any occasion.

This beautiful card was one of the ones I recieved as a swap at Stampin' Up Leadership Convention. It was designed by Pat Brannin, a demonstrator from Palm City Florida. The base of the card is early espresso. The top triangle is crumb cake & the bottom is pink pirouette that has been run through the Big Shot with the vintage wallpaper embossing folder. The key image is from the Artistic Etchings stamp set & is stamped on very vanilla with early espresso ink, then it is punched out using our scallop rectangle clearlits die for the Big Shot. The word is from the fundamental phrases stamp set (1 of 24 you get with this set). A piece of chantilly lace is folded in 1/2 & glued behind the key image. The image is on the card using dimensionals. And your done...see super easy.

I hope your week is going well. We are in our last day of practice for the BIG High School presentation of Phantom of the Opera. Let's just hope practice doesn't go too late. Opening night is tomorrow night & I can't wait to see all of their hard work pay off.

It's the middle of Birthday Week

So we have come to day 3 of Birthday Card week. The two cards today are just so much fun. They would be perfect for anyone's birthday.

This adorable card was a swap that I got from the Regional Event I attended in Minneapolis. It was designed by Eva Mathaler. It uses crumb cake cardstock with in-color designer series paper (for the banners). Basic black (for the banners) & poppy parade ink (for the words & wheel design). The stamps that it uses are Holiday Hoopla (banner), curly cute (words) & cornelli lace jumbo stampin' around wheel (design behind the banner). The ribbon is our hemp twine. The banner is on with dimensionals & the corner rounder was used but just on one corner...probably was meant to be used on at least 2 corners. (smile)

The second card today uses a ton of stampin' up products & just combines them wonderfully.

This card I received at Leadership as a swap & was designed by Lisa Gray. In fact I liked it so much I ended up bring 2 home with me. Oops...Hopefully she got two different cards of mine. (smile) This card uses certainly celery, early espresso, pretty in pink, daffodil delight & whisper white cardstock. The stamp set used is create a cupcake with it's matching build a cupcake punch. Ink colors are early espresso & pretty in pink. The other punches used are the 2 3/8" scallop circle & the scallop trim border punch. It also uses the Big Shot with the polka dot & square lattice embossing folders. Plus the paper piercing tool & 3 gold brads. See I told you it was a lot. But what a beautiful card they make.

I hope your week is going well. We are at the hump & down to the wonderful weekend, that for my family will be filled with the Phantom of the Opera.

Day Two of Birthday Week

A BIG Happy Birthday to My Mom! May your day be absolutely wonderful!

So as I said yesterday (for those of you that missed it : ) my Mom's Birthday is today & as I went looking for a card already made (sorry Mom) I found lots of wonderful ones to share.

This first one would be perfect for anyone. I am always on the lookout for great neutral birthday cards. I don't send as many guy cards as I do female ones & I am not that great at creating them.

This card was a swap that I received at Stampin' Up Leadership from Melissa Zessin. It uses Punch Bunch stamp set from the Sale-A-Bration Catalog. This stamp set was the most popular stamp set the 1st week of Sale-A-Bration. All of the wonderful stamps in this set coordinate with our awesome punches. This one uses the scallop square punch. The base of the card is very vanilla & the next layer is early espresso. The early espresso designer series paper squares are from the neutral collection patterns designer series paper stack. The ribbon is the striped ribbon in early espresso & very vanilla. Then the image was stamped in early espresso ink on very vanilla cardstock. The ribbon is held in by the dimensionals that hold down that piece.

The second card today just screams Spring. Not sure if it is the colors or the cute frog.

This card I also received while at Leadership Conference. It was designed by Pat Shepherd of Evergreen Colorado. The cardstock colors are poppy parade, daffodil delight & whisper white. The stamp sets used are a flower for all seasons, something to celebrate (level 2 hostess from the Occasions mini catalog). The dotted daffodil delight dots are from the sunny garden designer series paper. The frog image is stamped in basic black ink & colored with poppy parade, daffodil delight, peach parfait, old olive & crumb cake markers. The words are stamped in poppy parade ink. The ribbon is daffodil delight & whisper white striped ribbon with poppy parade stitched ribbon tied around it. Then in the center of each flower is a rhinestone. Just adorable.

I hope your week is going well. Thanks for stopping by.