Monday, June 29, 2009

Hi Friends,
Yeah, my computers are fixed! I am back on-line. Wow am I lost without my computer. I have both a lap-top and a desktop. Can you believe they both went out the same day! My laptop totally died and the desktop just wouldn't connect to the internet. Anyway, all fixed.
I have a share for you tonight. My friend and massage therapist came over tonight. She wanted to make a couple of stamped pieces to frame. So, we used Asian Artistry the new stamp set. We used Bermuda Bay and Barely Banana cardstock. Both are stamped in Versa Mark in and gold embossing powder. Colored with the new Bermuda Bay Marker. We also used the Big Shot and the Frame, Oval Scallop. Here our her prints: I hope you like them. I thought they came out very well. Don't forget, the new Catalog comes out on Wednesday!
Happy Stamping!!!!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Hi Friends,
Sorry, this is going to be short and not so sweet. I experienced a computer crash. I am on a borrowed computer right now. I will post again as soon as possible. Please keep checking - I'll be back soon, I promise
Happy Stamping!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Happy Fathers Day!
Sorry I didn't post Friday or Saturday. Yesterday we made a trip down state for a graduation party for our great nephew. It was a lot of driving but it was worth it. We also got to see our Son, daughter-in-law and grandsons. That is always a treat. I made a great graduation card and forgot to take a picture! Dah, what was I thinking or should that be what wasn't I thinking??? I'll do another and share it. So I dug a little and came up with a card I cased. It was originally done by Patty Bennett who has a great blog with lots of tutorials on it. Patty can be found at Please check her out. Now for my card This is a great card and lots of fun. I used Petal Pizzazz for my flowers in this card and Chocolate Chip for the flower pot. You can use many other flowers. I don't have it handy but I will be happy to share it with anyone who'd like it. Just email me and ask. I hope everyone had a great weekend.
Happy Stamping

Thursday, June 17, 2009

Hi Everyone!
Well it is Thursday night. I had Andrea pick a name from everyone who left a comment in the last week and the Winner is . . . . .
Mary Davis! Mary you did not leave a way for me to contact you so please contact me with your information so I can send you your Candy!!! Thanks to everyone who participated, I really appreciated all of your comments.
This was a lot of fun for me so keep watching I plan to do it again!! I am also going to really make an effort to post at least every other day.
I do have a card share for you tonight also. This was a tutorial by the talented Sandi MacIver - thanks ever so much Sandi - visit Sandi at . Here is my version of her "mountain technique".
Sandi has a wonderful tutorial on her blog so I won't do again what she has done so well already. This was really a fun card and I will definitely be trying some more color combinations. Thanks for checking in. Please come back soon!
Happy Stamping!!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Hi
Everyone,
Wow! Are you impressed?? Two posts in one day! I am. I am very proud of myself keeping up with almost daily posts. Now, I just have to keep it up. Comments and nudges are definitely welcomed! Tonights card is a technique that a number of my fellow stampers do so well. Patty Bennett and Sandi MacIver both have wonderful samples on their blogs. Please check out their blogs, they are both wonderful stampers. and So here is my card:I don't think this is the best picture I've ever taken but hope you can get the idea. This is done by brayering the sky on glossy card stock. I did this a while back and don't remember the colors I used. I am planning to do some more so will post them with directions very soon. I've had lots of people commenting on my hand and warning me to take it easy so let me first say "Thank you" for everyone's concern and also tell you that many of the cards I've posted in the past few days I did before my surgery. I am taking it easy mostly because there are just a lot of things I can't do one handed. I thought this would be a piece of cake. I never realized how much I use my left hand!! OK - tomorrow night is the drawing for the blog candy. You have until 6:00 pm to leave your comments. I will post the winner tomorrow night around 9:00pm. Good Luck to all of you. Please keep checking and leaving your comments even after the drawing and I will keep posting.
Happy Stamping!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Goodmorning!
I was all set to post last night and I lost my internet connection. So, here I am and I will post again tonight. Therefore, I'm going to make this post short & sweet. Here is my card share for this morning. This was my first attempt at making clouds. I unfortunately, cannot remember who came up with this neat way of making clouds but Thank You whoever you are!! I will explain this in a later post. For now, enjoy and I'll be back tonight. Keep those comments coming folks!!! I love it.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Hi Everyone,
First of all I have to say thanks to everyone who has left messages on my blog. You have all said such nice things and you know it really does encourage me to keep posting! So keep them coming please. Only 3 more days until I will draw (or my daughter will) for the God's Beauty Stamp Set. You may leave more than one comment. For each comment you will get your name in the hat. For those who have to leave their comments as annonymous - please put your name and email in the comment so I will be able to contact you. Or, if you don't want your email address on the site, just leave you name but check back Thursday or Friday to see if you won and contact me.
Many of you ask how my hand is doing and I thank all of you for your concern. I got all my stitches out but it is still immobilized in a splint. My thumb joint was so badly damaged from arthritis that much of the joint was gone. Because of that, it can't possibly be done again so I have to be extra careful not to dislocate it before it heals. But it is coming along well, no more pain pills so I almost always know what I'm doing. (LOL - as much as normal anyway) Ok, I have a card to share tonight that I made using the Big Shot and the Flower Daisie #2 die. I cannot however, take credit for the design. I CASED this from a fellow demonstrator and when I went back to find her name I couldn't find the card again. So if this is your design, please let me know so I can give you credit and thanks for sharing.
I love this die. I think this is a great card for something that was so easy. The base of the card is Chocolate Chip cut 5 1/2 x 4 1/4. Then I cut Summer Sun 10 x 3 3/4 and folded in half and attached to the Chocolate Chip. The Flower is cut with Summer Sun and put together using a build a brad with a piece of DSP in Chocolate Chip. I used a piece of Double Stitched Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon acrossed a piece of Whisper White cut 4 3/4 x 3 1/2 with the Flower above it. That's it. I hope you enjoy it. Be sure to check back tomorrow for the next installment and maybe another sneak peak!!
Happy Stamping

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Hi Everyone,
Well it sure isn't Monday is it? I am one very frustrated lady. I thought this surgery on my left hand wouldn't be too bad and I'd still be able to stamp - no problem - Wrong! I did my class on Monday night so spent Sunday and Monday getting ready. Even though you don't use your left hand that much you think - it didn't feel good when I was done! But, it will be worth it in the long run. So I'm really not whining, I just really wanted to post much more frequently and it has definitely not happened and probably won't change as much as I would like for the next few weeks. I went to the doctor today and although I don't have a cast - I do have a pretty extensive splint and can't move my thumb at all. But I promised blog candy and I'm going to do blog candy! If you look back at my posts for the "Blog Tour" you will see that the set I used was "God's Beauty". That will be the main give away for the Blog Candy. I will be adding a couple of surprises with it too. To qualify all you have to do is comment on my blog. I need I want to start posting very regularly - bug me - encourage me - help me PLEASE!!!!
I have a couple "Sneak Peak" cards to share tonight. Here are two cards I made just for my blogging friends. The stamp set is a New Level 2 Hostess Set out of the 2009/2010 Catalog that will be released July 1! This is a great set. I think everyone will want it. So if you agree you'll want to start thinking of your guest list for your workshop to earn this set. I'd love to help you earn it! The cards also feature two of the new in colors and their matching ribbons. Also, the bird was colored with a brand new matching marker! This year we are also offering "in color" markers! Please contact me to find out how to reserve your copy of the new catalog. It is one of our best. So with no further ado here is your "sneak peak" Hope you like this and are now very excited about the new catalog. Start leaving you comments and I will have my daughter select a comment next Thursday to win the "God's Beauty" stamp set. Have a great weekend.
Happy Stamping!

Friday, June 4, 2009

Well, I've done it again. I have been MIA again. I have had a really good reason though. I had surgery on my left hand. I had to have my thumb joint replaced due to arthritis. While they were in there they took care of my carpal tunnel too. This is the first day I have been able to do much of anything. So this will be a short post. Next week, I will be posting some blog candy. So please check back on Monday and I'll get that going. Have a great weekend. Happy Stamping !

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Hi Everyone,
I am so sorry I didn't make my post yesterday. I spent most of the day preparing for my evening class and when the class was over I was just exhausted! You know that say "getting old isn't for sissies"? Well it certainly isn't! Don't get me wrong, I'm not old by any stretch, I just feel it! Anyway, I am glad to be back. I want to share a couple cards I did for yesterday's class. I have to say right up front that these cards are totally CASE'd. Case'd is stampers lingo for copied. Maybe with changes, maybe not. The first card I cased from Jane Baldwin (Thank you Jane) In this case I made a few changes but it is still definitely Jane's design. Here is my version My card has a pink pirouette cardstock cut to 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" folded. I then took baja blue and cut a piece 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" which was then punched with our scalloped border punch on two sides. I stamped the the blue with stamp set with baja blue ink. I then cut a strip of pretty in pink strip 5 1/2" x 1" and stamped the sentiment from God's Beauty and punched the end with the scalloped punch again. I stamped on white cards stock the flower from God's Beauty three times with pretty in pink and cut them out. I attached those to the pink strip. That's it. My second card was cased from Maria Pobre (thank you Maria) The only thing I changed here was the ribbon. Again this card base is Pink pirouette. This time cut 4 1/4" x 11 1/2" with a top fold. Our two square punches are used. The large one was used to cut 4 squares with Kiwi Kiss. Then the small square punch was used to punch 4 squares. Two were rose red card stock and two were Raspberry Tart DSP. The butterfly is and sentiment are from the Friends set in our Occasions Mini (love this set)the butterfly and sentiment are stamped in Kiwi Kiss. The butterfly was cut out and attached with a dimensional. The antenna and the little dashed were added with our black marker. The ribbon is our satin Kiwi Kiss. Thanks again to my fellow Stampin' Up demonstrators for their great ideas. I hope you have enjoyed these cards! Check back tomorrow for some more cards.
Happy Stamping!!

Welcome to the May 15th & 16th Blog Tour

Welcome to the May 15th & 16th Blog Tour. Stop # 22, Tour #6

This tour features 22 blogs! Each blog will show case a beautiful project using items from Stampin' Up!'s - Spring-Summer 2009 Idea Book & Catalog.

Don’t forget to bookmark your favorite blogs as the links that make up this tour will disappear at midnight on May 16th.

I am featuring the Level 1 Hostess Set "God's Beauty". It is a simple set but beautiful. I have had so much fun creating these samples for the tour. If you like them and you would like to have this stamp set, it can be yours FREE! Invite me to come and do a workshop for you and your friends and with a $150.00 order you can get this set absolutely FREE! I'd love to help you get it. Now here are my creations. This card base is Pirouette Pink, with a strip of Tea Party DSP punched with our eyelet punch on both sides. I stamped all the butterflies, leaves and flowers on white cardstock and colored with our Markers, They were all cut out and the flowers and butterfly are adhered with a dimensional.
My second card is made with a base of Not Quite Navy with a second layer of Kiwi Kiss punched on the bottom with the eyelet punch (I love this punch)I then stamped the leaves twice with Kiwi Kiss in the center of the Kiwi Kiss cardstock. The butterflies were stamped in black, colored with markers and cut out. I added some Dazzling Diamonds and adhered with a dimensional..

My last card is on Kiwi Kiss with a top fold. I used the Scallop Circle #2 Sizzix die cut to cut out in Tangerine Tango the scallop circle and adhered to the center of the card. I cut a circle of Very vanilla for the center and stamped the saying in Kiwi Kiss. The flowers were stamped in black on white cardstock and cut out. I then attached each one with a dimensional.

The last thing I want to share is a Butterfly Pin that I made with a the help of a great tutorial made by Amy Celona inspired by Kelly Purkey. I love them and they are so fun to make. You can view Amy's tutorial on her blog at Ustamp4fun.com
Here are my butterflies
Please bookmark my blog or subscribe to it as I will be giving away some Blog Candy next week. I'd love to hear your comments today. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your tour!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Well, I blew it last night. No Post. I did however, have a very good reason. My computer went out. I finally got it working but it was very late and I didn't think anything I wrote would make sense. Anyway, I do have a card to share today. This is a technique that Patty Bennett came up with! It's beautiful, fairly simple and lots of fun!

The base of the card is Cameo Coral (one of my favorites). The next layer is So Saffron. The top is our Exclusive Textured Impressions Die, Manhattan Flower. On the debossed side (that is the side with depressions, I brayered lightly and hit & miss the following colors,
barely banana, so saffron, pretty in pink and cameo coral on white cardstock. I then cut out the image. The Ribbon is So Saffron from the Sale-brations ribbon duos.
Tomorrow is the Big Day! The Blog Tour Begins. Check my blog first thing in the morning. Grab your doffee and be prepared to be dazzled! These ladies are super talented! You will enjoy it.
Happy Stamping.

Wednesday, May 12, 2009

Hi Everyone!
I am pretty proud of myself but I sure could use some comments to spur me on to keep posting daily! I am really trying to stay motivated to post everyday if possible and at least every couple. Is everyone getting excited for the Blog Tour! I am. I've been very busy trying to create great projects for everyone. I sure hope everyone will like them as much as I have loved making them.
Tonight I want to share two cards I made for a Man's Card. These are both made with the And Many More Stamp Set from the great Occasions Mini.

Both cards feature background paper from To the Nines Specialty paper. This paper is fantastic. If you haven't tried any of our new Specialty DSP's I strongly suggest you try it. It is so heavy you actually don't need card stock. This is a great time to try it since we have our DSP special this month. Buy 3 packs of DSP or 12x12 Textured Card Stock and get 4th free! Both cards also feature our Ribbon. One has 5/8" Olive Grosgrain and the other is 1" Double Stitched Chocolate Chip Grosgrain. There is also an olive button. This set is great for manly cards.
That's it for tonight. See you tomorrow.
Happy Stamping!

May 11, 2009

Good Evening,

I hope it is as beautiful a day where you are as it is here. It wasn't super warm but the sun has been shining beautifully all day. Doesn't the sunshine just make you feel better. I have been stamping today preparing for the Blog Tour on Friday. Please don't miss it. There are some extremely talented people participating and you will undoubtedly see some real works of art! I will be giving some "Blog Candy" away that visitors to my blog during the tour will have a chance to win. So please keep watching for details.
I want to share a card with you tonight that I made for a friend to give her Mother for Mother's Day. I cased this card but I am going to have to look up where the original idea came from. I hope you like it. If you would like to learn how to make this card, sign up for one of my classes and learn how. This card was a lot of fun to do. The technique used on the butterfly I got from a tutorial by Amy Celona who got the technique from Kelly Purty. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.
Stay tuned for more......
Happy Stamping!

Mothers Day, May 10, 2009

Happy Mothers Day to all the Mothers, Mothers-to-Be, Step-Mothers, Grandmothers, Aunts, Friends and anyone else I may have missed. Being a Mom is definitely the toughest job I've ever had. Of course, I have had a lot of experience - not with a lot of children, as I have two. A grown son with two sons of his own and my daughter who will be 30 next month and is severly Mentally Impaired. She is both a blessing & a joy! But as her Mother's Day card said, she can also be a real STINKER! Since I have never shared her picture I thought today would be a good day to so. Here is my baby - Andrea. She is a cutie if I do say so myself. This picture doesn't show you how little she is. She is 4'9" and weighs a whopping 90 lbs.
I do want to share a card with you today also. This is a quilt card. Trust me, this is the only type of quilt I will ever make. Sewing is not something I do. This is made by punching out squares of Bella Rose DSP and covering in rows a piece a little larger than
exclusive Stampin' Up Top Note die. I used our glue stick, when dry I put it through the Big Shot and presto, you have a quilted Top Note die cut. Then put a ribbon through and finished card. This is really a fun way to quilt without having to sew. Hope you like the card. Thanks for looking.
Happy Stamping All

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Good afternoon everyone,
I am very excited. If you notice on my sidebar I am going to be participating in a Blog Tour! They had done these a few weeks ago and I wasn't a partipant but I was a visitor. What fun! The creations that I saw were amazing. So I hope you will join me on the adventure. It will be one of the best trips you take and you can even go in the comfort of PJ's & slippers! Keep watching, more details will be coming!
Today, I want to share a couple of cards that are so much fun & easy to create. I have to thank Patty Bennett as she is the one who came up with this idea. You can see Patty's blog by clicking going to http://pattystamps.typepad.com/. She is awesome! Here is the first one:
This was done using Pink Pirouette Cardstock for the card base. The dress and the border are made from Raspberry Tart DSP. The Ribbon is our Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon. The dress is made with the Big Shot Scallop Circle. Isn't it great? I have a second one I want to share. I was asked to make a card for a friends daughter who is pregnant with her first child. So this is what I came up with: I made this one the same way as the other but I used cotton to make the belly. Making these dresses is so much fun. It's like shopping for a dress. You pick out the dress and then the accessories. My friends & I had such a good time. I hope you enjoyed these. There will be some more tomorrow, so be sure to check with me then.
Happy Stamping!!

Wednesday April 22, 2009

Hi Everyone,
What a beautiful spring day today. Not very warm but the sun is shining and they are predicting temperatures in the 70's this weekend. It has been a really long winter here in Northern Michigan. Spring is a very welcome site. Today I did my second class. I think it went well. Todays class was a heat embossing class. We did 4 different types of heat embossing. We did regular heat embossing, emerging color, and Joseph's Coat. Here are the cards:





I think everyone enjoyed the designs and the techniques. I so enjoyed giving the class. Next Tuesday evening is a repeat of last weeks All Occasion cards and on Thursday an Open Stamp to use all my stamps, inks and paper to creat cards for our men & women in the armed forces.
The last card in todays post is the technique Joseph's Coat. I have admired this technique for quite a while but was afraid to try it. It really isn't too difficult and I love the way it came out. You brayer on glossy white card stock with a spectrum pad. After that dries, use your embossing buddy and cover the card stock. Take any outline stamp and stamp all over your card stock with versamark and then cover with clear embossing powder. Then heat it with the embossing gun. Then brayer over your entire card with a dark classic ink such as black. Then with a paper towel wipe off the excess ink. Isn't it a great look. If anyone would like directions for any of the rest of the cards, please email me and I'll be happy to send you the directions. Thanks for looking. I appreciate all comments.
Happy Stamping!

Friday, April 10, 2009

Happy Easter!
As usual I am late with my post. Does that old adage "Better late than never" work? I promised some Easter surprises and here they are:

Aren't the cute? The little baskets are made with the Big Shot. It uses the exclusive Stampin Up Scallop Envelope die. I cut two of them out of cardstock. Then with DSP I cut two pieces 2x3 and glued to the front of then envelope dies. The two envelopes are glued together with small pieces of cardstock added to the sides. The handles were made by cutting two strips of cardstock 8 1/2" x 1 1/2". I then punched both sides of the strip with our Eyelet border punch. Then attached a small strip of DSP to the cardstock and attached the handle to the sides of the envelopes with a brad. These make not only adorable little Easter baskets but just cute little May baskets. These versatile little envelope dies can be used to make a multitude of gifts. The bunny is made with all punches. One of the classes I will be giving soon is a "Punch" class. It is amazing all the things you can create with nothing but our wonderful punches. If you are interested in my punch class, please send me an email. I'd love it if everyone would leave comments on today's post. Keep watching. I promise some more ideas very soon.
Happy Stampin!

Friday, April 3, 2009

Hi Everyone,
As promised, here is my post for today. I am seriously going to really try and post every couple of days. As I said in Wednesday's post I have classes starting up on the 15th. I have so many ideas floating around in my head that I am having a little trouble narrowing them down. Therefore, if you have an idea for what you would like to learn in a class, please leave it in the comments. I would love to hear from you. Even if you live half way around the world and can't possibly attend one of my classes, I'd still like to hear all idea's. Thanks for any imput!
Here is my card for today:
This is Stampin Up's new Manhattan Flower Impressions Die for the Big Shot. I think this will be very popular. I know I love it. Plus we have a matching Stamp set, Fifth Avenue Floral and Decor Element. I embossed the copper DSP from our new Taste of Textiles DSP. Isn't it rich looking. After embossing it, I cut out the top of the flower and mounted it on our Very Vanilla cardstock. Then I embossed "Thinking of you" in gold embossing powder. I think it makes an elegant card which could be used as a Sympathy card or for any occasion where you want someone to know you are keeping them in your thoughts and prayers. Next post: Look for some Easter ideas.
Until then,please leave comments and Happy Stamping!

April 1, 2009

Hi Everyone,
I know it's April Fools Day but I promise there will be no jokes in my post! We are back from our vacation and we had a great time. We have been home for a week and are still catching up. We came back renewed and rested. It had been a long time since we had had a vacation so we really enjoyed ourselves. Our daughter got an A from her Aunt & Uncle and our dogs got a pretty good report also. I have decided to make a real effort to post on a far more regular basis now that I have scheduled my classes. So look for regular posts.
Tonight I want to share a couple of renditions of a card I created a few days ago.


I thought these would make lovely Easter cards. They are made with our own Stampin Up Fifthe Avenue Floral Stamp Set. I stamped the lilies on our Shimmery White card stock and cut them out. Then I made the flower pots out of the Designer Paper Delicate Dots from Celebrations. I did the flower pots free hand. I then stamped the stems and attached all with Snail. On the one card I used our new Eyelet Border Punch. I colored the center of the lilies with a summer sun marker. I hope you like todays cards. Please check back on Friday for another Spring card idea.
In the meantime - Happy Stamping!