Kaitlyn's Blessing Invitation

First, I apologize that the image isn't that great. I was in a bit of a rush when I took the picture and the sun was behind the spot where I took it so I noticed there is some glare after I had alreayd sent Christina on her way with the cards. Also, I didn't take the time to crop the image to get rid of the part of the couch that's showing. :)

A friend of mine recently had her first baby, a little girl they named Kaitlyn. She wanted to invite a few people to her baby's blessing that aren't members of our church, so she thought a pretty little invitation would be nice and asked me to help. Well, I designed one with color inputs from her and she decided she wanted to leave the sentiment off (I almost always put a sentiment on the bottom right corner of cards that I use this layout on) to maintain simplicity on the front. As I mentioned yesterday, it's not a complicated card, but it's great for stamp-a-stacks, or gift sets, or anytime you need/want to mass-produce cards. It can be jazzed up with some bling or different ribbon placement, or a tab added to the edge of the image using the round tab punch that SU! carries. Lots of options from the simple to the more complex. Inside are the details of the invitation for those invited. I love this layout.

I'm super excited and thought I would share with people who would care. :) I'm FINALLY getting a piercing tool to replace the one that "disappeared" from my SU! Crafter's Tool Kit. SU! wouldn't sell me one singly to replace mine and I didn't think that a piercing tool was worth the $39.95 it would cost to buy the Tool Kit again, so I found out that my friend Anne who is a TAC demo has them to buy all by themselves. I placed my order today and I'm also getting some Acetate from her that you can EMBOSS on (not like the flimsy un-embossable stuff I thought was a great deal at OfficeMax!) and I'm going to buy some Liquid Appliqué and try my hand at using that on some Christmas cards (when I get the chance - probably 2 Christmases from now! ;) he he). I guess SU! used to sell it, but they haven't as long as I've been a demo. Anyway, I can't wait to get my stuff - I'm getting a stamp set from TAC too. It's the one that has cute preggo mommy images and can be used for expecting moms or new babies. SU! got rid of theirs and I didn't like it much anyway. The image in the SU! set was hard for me to work with because it was so wide because she was holding a book, plus it's one of those images that cuts the woman off at the waist or about there, so it's not a full-body image. I like the TAC ones better. Click here if you want to check out the TAC website and you can e-mail Anne at: tac_anneharrison@yahoo.com if you want to place an order. This month if you hostess with TAC you get double the hostess rewards, and if you are just placing a customer order you get double the "gift with purchase" rewards. It's a great deal, they have some really great stamps and other products, and today's the last day for this special (sorry to tell you about it so late)!!!

Happy Halloween!!!!

Stamps: I'm Here, Sanded BG (LOVE IT!!!!!)
Paper: Whisper White, Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Sponges, Pink Taffeta ribbon

Upcoming Blog Candy

When my hit counter gets to 45,000 (can you BELIEVE it's close?!?!?) I will do a blog candy drawing that day. You'll have 24 hours from the time I post the blog candy announcement to comment on THAT post and then I will use random.org to draw a winner. Unfortunately, I will only mail to US residents due to the crazy shipping cost I paid last time a Canadian won - I guess it increased back when stamps increased in the US???? I'm super sorry ladies, but I don't want to go broke on blog candy or I'll not be able to do it as often as I would like. Tomorrow I will post a card, yes a REAL card. It's a simple one that I helped a friend to make, but it's a fail-safe layout that I use quite often when I need something attractive and also pretty quick. Take care and Happy Halloween!!

So Sorry...

to be a boring blogger. My husband's grandmother came into town today and we only knew she was coming as of Tuesday night, so I've been scrambling to get the house in order while still going to appointments and getting things done for church, and all sorts of other things I do on a daily basis. No stamping time. Thanks for the suggestions/referrals for ribbon stamps. I'll take a peek at each one as soon as I get a chance. Tomorrow night we get to go to a family camp with Cub Scouts (no, Daniel's obviously not a Cub Scout yet, but Peter volunteers with them here in Del Rio and on the base), so I won't be home until late Saturday night. So, don't count on seeing me until at least Monday :) If any of you have any more ideas about where I can find a ribbon for a cause stamp, please add your suggestion to my post from yesterday (Wednesday, Oct 17th). Thanks, and take care! Enjoy this little forward I got from my friend/downline Jennifer. I always get a kick out of it when I get it in an e-mail forward:

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.

The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall.

In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a Cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.

In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened.

He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.

As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.

He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened here today?'

She again smiled and answered, 'You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?'

'Yes,' was his incredulous reply.

She answered, 'Well, today I didn't do it.'

Help?

Hopefully one of you can help me. I have a friend who's looking for a stamp to use for Breast Cancer awareness month, and I KNOW I have seen a "ribbon" stamp out there in blog-land somewhere. The one I'm looking for is the one that is the image of a ribbon, and it's fairly decent in size, and you can write your cause in the image after you stamp it and color it in, so that it can be for ANY cause. Help, anyone?

Finally....SC144

I finally got time to stamp, but it was for a workshop I had this past Saturday. I really liked the sketch from two challenges ago so I used it for my layout. You can see the info on the challenge here. I hope you like it! Happy stampin'!

Stamps: Booglie Eyes
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Creepy Crawly, Whisper White
Ink: Black StazOn, Black SU! marker
Accessories: SU! eyelets, crop-a-dile, font from free font site, dimensionals

Scallop Circle Punch Ornament

This is not an original idea of mine, and I can't remember which blog I saw it on to save my life (please let me know if it was your blog and I'll edit this post to give credit where it is due), but I loved the idea of a simple ornament that you can make for teachers or friends, or even YOURSELF (can we do that - make things for OURSELVES?!?!?) to hang on the tree. It was SO EASY to make and I think it's adorable. I only punched five scalloped circles but you could add more or even use only four - it all depends on what you want to do. It's a great little project and with the upcoming Designer Series Paper special (buy 3 and get your fourth FREE!! but wait until November 1st to contact me to order some - when the special begins) it's just perfect for the holidays! Hopefully the different views of the ornament will help you see how it's made. I just glued each scallop to the next. You fold them each in half and glue just one side to the next scallop. Before I glued the last scallop on I put my cord in there with a little bit of glue and then added the last scallop. SU!'s elastic cord will make a nice loop for the ornaments. We'll be making these as a little bonus project at my upcoming workshops and Stamp Club. Enjoy!

Before and After

So, I thought I would show you what an extreme difference a little 5/8" grosgrain can make. I LOVE this stuff and am so happy that SU! has it!!!! I planned this project around the 5/8" grosgrain. I made the card for a workshop that I have coming up, but then I found that I didn't have enough of the red 5/8" grosgrain left to make enough for all of the workshop attendees. SO....I thought that I didn't want to waste all of the pieces for the card that I had just cut up (or the time I spent doing it - I only get snippets of it to do things I want to during the day between all of the kiddos), so I figured the "regular" grosgrain would have to do. SO LUCKY for me, the 5/8" that I ordered last Saturday hoping it would arrive before we go out of town on Friday (my workshop is at my friend's house that we're going to visit in San Antonio) DID arrive before I had to leave. As you'll see,the "skinny" ribbon isn't too bad, but wait until you see the AFTER picture. These are the EXACT same card, I simply took off the skinny ribbon and replaced it with the wide. Here's the before:

BEFORE:

And here's the AFTER:

Stamps: Merry & Bright, Hugs & Wishes
Paper: Real Red, Whisper White, Dashing DS Paper
Ink: Black StazOn, Old Olive and Real Red markers, white StazOn
Accessories: 2-way glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, 1/4" and 5/8" Real Red grosgrain ribbon, 1 3/8" circle punch, scallop circle punch

7 Things About Me....and a CARD!!!!

First, this is a card I made for an upcoming workshop. It is TOTALLY CASED from this card by Sherri. I loved it and so I changed the colors up and tah-dah!!

Stamps: Season of Joy
Paper: Prints DS paper in Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White
Ink: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Basic Black
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" circle punches, Silver brad, Purely Pomegranate Double-Stitched ribbon

Lastly, I was tagged by Jill over at InkGenious (love her blog!!!) and it was so funny, I was reading her answers and getting a kick out of them (plus she posted cool pics with each answer) and then there I saw "Marie" at the bottom and thought, hmmm....I bet that's not me. I clicked on it, and was surprised to see my own blog come up :) So, here are 7 Things About Me that maybe you didn't know (and probably never wanted to!). I've also done this tag before but think it's always fun to learn more about other people so hopefully you'll enjoy my answers. Forgive my descriptiveness. I tend to write exactly how I speak.

1. I HATE dancing, except maybe for "slow dancing" because I really don't feel blessed in the coordination department. So, you'll find it funny to know that when I was about 12 or so I took African dance lessons. Talk about out of my element!!! African dance is something only someone with incredible rhythm and who is totally comfortable in their own skin should be doing - not me!!! (My mom put me in it)

2. I think that I've always wanted to be a lawyer but just won't admit it to myself. I LOVE teaching and that's probably what I'll end up doing when my kids are in school, but I was always interested in law. We'll see what I do when all my kids are in school, I guess.

3. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This may seem very paradoxical to those of you that know me or are even just getting to know me, but it felt very comfortable to me when I first started attending the church at the Air Force Academy and I feel it has absolutely made me a better person. It is not something that I intend to thrust down anyone's throat, I chose this faith for ME. It has truly enriched my life beyond measure and if you would like to know more about what I believe, just click here. I find that no matter what faith you are, as long as you have a love for other people and other creatures and you live by the "golden rule" then that is really what makes a "good" person. I'm also always interested in learning what other people believe and what makes them who they are. As outspoken as I am, my faith is not something that I usually just blurt out to people. I would rather have them get to know me and like me for me before they make judgments based on my religion. Having NOT been Mormon before, I know what some people believe about Mormons and hope that some day people will be interested enough to find out the TRUTH about what Mormons or even those of other different faiths believe before just believing what they hear. You would not even begin to fathom all of the falsehoods I've heard about my faith since I converted. Anyway....enough on that :)

4. I used to make fun of a very good friend of mine at the Air Force Academy for scrapbooking. While I am not an avid scrapbooker, I have done it now because of Stampin' Up! and I find it very funny that wouldn't have given stamping a 2nd though in college but now it is what I do to unwind and relax.

5. I thought that when Daniel first came home and I had THREE kids under the age of five in my house, I was going to go crazy. I felt like I was a horrible mother and must be nuts for having always wanted four. Now, I realize that I had already forgotten what it was like to have a newborn. It was the same way when Sarah (my 2nd) was born, but I guess there's a reason we forget how it is - so we'll want to have another kid someday :) Unfortunately I was only with Emma for 2 months before my maternity leave (3 weeks) and additional 5 weeks of leave from the Air Force was up and I had to go back to work - so I didn't really experience a whole lot of newborn time with her. Where I'm going with this is that I learned that you have to remember to take life a day at a time. Now it's so much more normal again around my house. Daniel still has a little bit of reflux from time to time, and isn't the happiest of babies, but I can manage all three and it's really OKAY!!! Yippe for me I guess!! I am in love with my children :)

6. I think I'm a little OCD in collecting writing utensils. I really like them, and because I frequently buy new ones I don't remember (remember being the operative word, maybe it has happened) ever having used one single pen all the way up until it is out of ink. They usually dry up on me first. Is that crazy?!?!?

7. I really like to surprise other people and one time managed to sneak to my parents house for a visit they didn't know was coming. We put Emma on the doorstep in her infant carrier (she was under a year old when we did it), rang the doorbell, and ran around the corner. My dad opened the door and we heard, "Oh, look at that baby!!!" and started dying of laughter. He REALLY thought someone had left a baby on his doorstep. When he realized it was us after seeing us come around the corner laughing so hard, he snatched her up and took her inside to play with her. We had to remind him to say hello to us - it had been a 10 hour drive!!!!

As for who I'm going to tag...I'm going to totally cop-out on this one. If you want to play, consider yourself tagged. I have a screaming baby that needs me and I've spent about a minute too long on this instead of going to get him from his daddy. Take care!

PS - Check out this previous post to see the pictures I just uploaded to it.

Tying Bows

I was asked by Renée how I tie my bows. I don't think they're always that great, but thanks for the compliment! As for how, I do mine the very same way that Sherri Barron showed her readers in this post on her blog, Fun to Stamp. I LOVE her blog and her creations are marvelous. You should check it out!! I didn't have time to make my own tutorial, so I'm just referring you to hers, so let her know you love it when you check it out.

I hope to get some stamping done and posted on here in the near future. Peter has the day off today, and we had a very busy weekend, so I've not gotten the chance. I have my first workshop for SU! tomorrow since FEBRUARY so needless to say I've got a lot to do to refresh and get ready for that. Anyway, take care and check out Sherri's blog!!!

Cards for our Airmen was a HUGE success!!!

I just wanted to let everyone know that the stamping event I held today at the base went wonderfully! Many people came (I don't have the sign-in list to know for sure) and enjoyed some drinks and yummy sandwiches provided by the Airmen and Family Readiness Center (I hope I have the name right - the AF changed their name from Family Support Center recently) and got to do some stamping and relax over their lunch break. A few people brought their kids (see the pictures below for proof) who did some stamping too, and overall I think that the 19 deployed Airmen from Laughlin are really going to feel the love from the base when they receive their care packages with the Halloween treats and cards from us. They will each get a Halloween card just for them, from all of us at Laughlin, and then a bundle of blank "thinking of you" and holiday cards to send back to loved ones. I know the cards are more simple than I normally make, but I had to have cards that anyone who had never even seen a stamp could duplicate. The sponging was a little hard for some of them, but overall I think everything was a hit and I love to stamp for a cause!! I was so surprised that even a few AirMEN actually came to stamp some cards for their fellow comrades today. It was great!!!Take care!

Another Celery and Bayou Card

I was really liking this color combo when I made Jennifer's card, so when I made one for Michele I used the same colors and stamp set. Michele had surgery last week, so I wanted to send her a little note in the mail. This little close-up shot shows you another neat view like on Jennifer's card of the image stamped on Shimmery White CS with Stickles added on. Michele said she liked it and I hope you do too! Here are the details:


Stamp Sets: Event Full, Sincere Salutations
Paper: Certainly Celery Prints DS Paper, Blue Bayou, Certainly Celery, Shimmery White
Ink: Black StazOn, Blue Bayou, Certainly Celery, Rose Red
Accessories: Celery 5/8" grosgrain, Circle Ice Rhinestone Brad, Blue Bayou Double-Stitched grosgrain

I'm Going Pink for October!

In support of national breast cancer awareness month, I am turning the background of my blog pink for the month of October. It's not meant to look pretty with my site, but to make you notice and then perhaps you'll click on the link to your right in my sidebar where you will be taken straight to the American Cancer Society's "Donate" page. Every penny helps in the efforts made to find a cure for not only breast cancer, but all of the cancers out there taking loved ones away. Please think about it - even pennies help! I will hopefully post a card a little later today. Take care!

Happy Birthday To You...

My only remaining downline left (she's actually in my 2nd level) had her birthday today, so I waited to post her card until I was able to give it to her. Jennifer has a blog too, and you can check it out here. She's super sweet and always offering to help me out because of the baby or with whatever. I hope you had a happy birthday, Jennifer!

I wanted to combine the Certainly Celery with the Blue Bayou, and this is what I came up with. For accents, I thought that Stickles would be cute, and I really liked the touch of Regal Rose added in to the card. I hope she liked it and that you enjoy it and this close-up. Gotta love that Shimmery White CS!!!




Stamps: Event Full, Hugs & Wishes
Ink: Black StazOn, Regal Rose, Blue Bayou, Certainly Celery
Paper: Certainly Celery Prints DS Paper, Certainly Celery, Blue Bayou and Shimmery White CS
Accessories: Ice Circle Rhinestone Brad, Celery 5/8" grosgrain, Blender Pen, Stickles