Retro Thank You

Happy New Year's Eve!  I want to take a minute to thank each and everyone of my stamping friends and blog visitors!  All of your kind comments and words of encouragement are what help keep me going.  I never would have thought when I took the step to become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator that I would have such a great first year and successful hobby job...and it's because of all of YOU!  So....THANK YOU!!!  You are all so awesome!

I've been working away on my Christmas thank you cards and the latest sketch over at Retro Sketches caught my eye this morning.  It's a simple sketch, which can make a card come together really quick when you have multiples to do!  I think this card took me less than 5 minutes to put together.

I still had my Feeling Sentimental set out from some other cards I was working on, so I pulled out this fun vintage phone booth stamp and put it to work. You can earn this set for FREE during Sale-A-Bration, which starts on January 22nd!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Print Poetry DSP*

Ink ~ Midnight Muse

Stamp Sets ~ Feeling Sentimental**, Curly Cute

Other Supplies ~ Basics Designer Buttons*, Linen Thread

*Spring Catalog*

**Sale-A-Bration**

Wishing you all a very safe and Happy New Year!  Again, THANK YOU ALL for being such awesome friends :)

Happy Stamping!

Feeling Sentimental meets World Spectacular Suite ~ SAB Sneak Peek

Finally got the chance to sit down and stamp!  I really wanted to hit my craft room early this morning, but my Christmas decorations were crying to be taken down.  As much as I love all of my Christmas decorations, it was time for them to come down.  We wrapped up our Christmas with one last celebration last night, so I had no excuses for leaving things up a day longer.  Tearing down all of the decorations turned into a major cleaning spree, which took up a better part of my day.  I now have a nice clean house and have all day tomorrow to play, which will hopefully include some stamping time too!

When I placed my {huge} Spring Catalog pre-order, I earned just about everything from the Sale-a-Bration catalog!  Shhhh...don't tell my hubby!  Just kidding!  As long as my crafting supplies don't take over any of his hunting room space, everyone is happy :)  One of the sets you can get for FREE with a $50 purchase during Sale-a-Bration is called Feeling Sentimental.  I'll admit, this was not my favorite and I almost didn't select it, but now that I've inked it up, I'm happy I got it!

Isn't that Ferris Wheel fun?  Pair it up with some of the goodies in the World Spectacular Suite and you've got yourself a fun birthday card!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Whisper White, Crumb Cake, World Spectacular DSP

Ink~ Island Indigo, Cherry Cobbler

Stamp Sets ~ Feeling Sentimental*, That's the Ticket**, You're Amazing

Other Supplies ~ Ticket Duo Builder Punch

It's hard to see in the picture, but the tickets are adhered with a staple...an embellishment I always forget about!

Better get my crafting space cleaned up and get myself to bed.  Weather pending, I'm planning on a long run in the morning.  I'm training for another half marathon and I've got a ways to go to get back up to speed!

Happy Stamping! 

Freshly Made Friday Mashup!

Say that 3 times fast!  :)  TGIF stampin' friends! It's been super cold and foggy here, but no snow :(  We had a tiny little bit on Christmas night, but it melted as soon as it it hit the ground.  My boys have been pretty bummed that we haven't had any snow during their Christmas break.  Thankfully we are close to the snow covered Blue Mountains and can make a quick trip up there to hit the snow and go sledding. 

When I saw the fun challenge over at The Friday MashUp! I was excited to pull some of my snowflake stamps back out.  My hopes were that maybe if I made a few more "snow" cards then maybe we'll actually get some snow :)  This weeks MashUp challenge is to make a project using Snowflakes and a color combo of Whisper White, Pool Party, Midnight Muse and Black.  I'll be honest...the black threw me off and created quite the challenge for me!  But I stuck with it and with some sketch help from Freshly Made Sketches I came up with this:

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Pool Party, Basic Black, Whisper White, Midnight Muse, Print Poetry DSP**

Ink ~ Illuminate Glimmer Watermark, Black StazOn

Stamp Sets ~ Snowflake Soriee, En Francais

Other Supplies ~ Window Frames Framelits, Basic Rhinestones (colored with a black Sharpie), White Gel Pen, Basic Black Taffeta Ribbon

**Spring Catalog**

This color combo gives me the feeling snow falling on a cold winter night.  Maybe we'll get a late Christmas wish and wake up to some snow tomorrow morning :)  In the meantime, we'll keep on making some trips up the mountain to have our fun in the snow!

Happy New Year's Weekend and Happy Stamping!

Suffering from Craft-somnia...

The craziness of birthday's and Christmas has come to an end for another year...always bitter sweet for me!  I love all of the party planning and time spent with friends and family, but I do always breath a sigh of relief when it is all over.  This also brings an end to my Christmas crafting and lets me get back to all of my new stamps from my Spring Catalog pre-order.  Just a few more days and you will all be able to order all of the FUN new goodies...mark your calendar for January 3rd!

My hubby got called out on Portland transfer just before dinner tonight and won't be home until the wee hours of the morning, so after I got the kiddos into bed and wrapped up my nightly chores, I headed down to my craft room and got to work.  I managed to get 3 cards made tonight...yay!  Craft-somnia has hit again!  I am in love with the new Tea for Two DSP and just had to break it out again tonight, along with a few other new goodies.

This card was designed using the sketch from Try Stampin' On Tuesday.  This is one of my favorite sites for sketch ideas!  Here is what they had for us this week:

And here is my take (and a Spring Catalog sneak peek for you)...I opted not to do a square card, but the sketch idea is still there.  And you might notice that part of this card is CASE'd from the Spring Catalog :)

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Island Indigo, Very Vanilla, Tea for Two DSP

Ink ~ Island Indigo, So Saffron(inside card)

Stamp Sets ~ Oh, Hello, Papillion Potpourri(inside card), Make a Wish(inside card)

Other Supplies ~ Honeycomb Embossing Folder, Butterfly Punch, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Perfect Pennants Bigz Die, Island Indigo Bakers Twine, Pearl Basic Jewels

Don't you just love that little Bitty Butterfly?!?!?  So cute!  And perfect with this DSP!

Here's the inside of the card:

I'm pretty sure I could keep on stampin' for a few more hours, but I am certain that I would regret it tomorrow morning when my alarm goes off!  I'll have to put the rest of my crafty ideas on hold for a few hours...

Happy Stamping!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I just want to take a moment and wish all of my family and friends a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  I hope this finds you spending time with those you love most and reflecting on all of the good that came your way this year.  Hoping 2013 brings you many blessings, love and friendship!

Supplies used:

Paper ~ Whisper White, Basic Black, Red Glimmer

Ink ~ Real Red, Black StazOn, VersaMark

Stamp Sets ~ Sassy Salutations, Notable Alphabet, New Years

Other Supplies ~ Silver Embossing Powder

Off to wrap a few more gifts and get ready for a big dinner at the station with my husband and the Christmas Eve duty crew. 

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Happy Stamping!

Happy 7th Birthday A & H!!!

Happy 7th Birthday to my two amazing boys!  Seven years ago we were blessed with an awesome early Christmas gift...

It's hard to believe they were ever this tiny!  This is a picture of their first Christmas, spent in the hospital, inside their Christmas stockings :)  Where have the last 7 years gone???  It seems like just a couple years ago they came into this world...wow!  I cherish each and every day!

Today is their last day of school before Christmas break and their school day will be nothing but fun holiday celebrating!  How fun is that on your birthday?!?!  They asked me to make some Chex mix this year for school birthday treats instead of cupcakes.  I loved that idea!  But I can't just put that Chex mix in a baggie...it's got to go in a fun little treat bag with a cute topper!

This fun little reindeer was made using the Owl Punch...super easy and oh-so-cute!  His antlers were made using one of the snow flakes from the Snow Flurry Bigz die.  Add a little red Glimmer paper for the nose and voila!  The topper is made using the Top Note Bigz die, embossed with the new Honeycomb embossing folder.  I printed out the "Reindeer Snacks" in MDS 2 and punched them out with the Decorative Label punch.  Hope all of their school friends will love them!

And what's birthday without a handmade birthday card from Mom, right???

More fun with the Owl Punch!  Batman and Superman :)

I will post my supply list a bit later.  I'm redecorating A & H's bedroom for their birthday and have to get it done before they get home from school!! 

Happy Birthday A & H...I love you!

Happy Stamping!

Praying for Sandy Hook

No card or project to post today...just an address for all of you to pass along.

Friday's tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary has left me heartbroken, numb and in utter shock.  While I do not know any of these people involved in this horrifying event, my heart breaks for all of those sweet babies who's lives were taken too early...and for the families of those babies.  I can't even imagine the heartache they are suffering.  And for all of the teachers who lost their lives protecting the children...they are true heroes!  And I can't help but think of what all of the first responders are going through...police and EMS who were first on scene and witnessed the horrific scene.  Those images will remain with them forever. 

I spent most of my weekend praying for all involved as well as praying for the safety of not only my own children and family members, but for all children and families everywhere.  I found it hard to focus on much of anything except my babies...I held them close, told them I loved them and prayed.  As I sent one of my boys off to school this morning, I hugged him a little while longer and a little bit tighter and told him I loved him so much.  I'm sure I'm not the only parent who did this today.

In times like this, people want to reach out and do anything they can to help those who are hurting.  If you have a few minutes, take the time to write down a few encouraging words, kind words, words of love and send them in a card to the teachers, children and families of Sandy Hook Elementary.  It's not a lot, but sometimes all it takes is just something as simple as a card to brighten someones darkest day. 

I hope you will join me in sending a card out this week...your kindness will mean so much to the people who receive it.

Feels Good PCCCS020

Happy Thursday friends!  Quick post and another sneak peek this evening before I spend the rest of my night wrapping birthday and Christmas gifts...I've put it off long enough!  If I don't get things wrapped, some snooping, almost 7 year old, boys are going to discover my secret hiding spots!

The Paper Craft Crew has another great sketch this week and I knew just which {new, sneak peek} set I wanted to use!  Here's the sketch:

And here's my take...

I LOVE these new Builder Brads!  The epoxy bubble is so much fun! 

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Very Vanilla, Summer Starfruit, Raspberry Ripple, Print Poetry DSP Stack

Ink ~ Raspberry Ripple, Summer Starfruit

Stamp Set ~ Feels Good

Other Supplies ~ Bitty Butterfly Punch, Designer Builder Brads, Basics Silver Brads, Mini Silver Brads

It's a good thing I am finished with all of my Christmas cards!  I would have a hard time finishing them if they were not done...having so much fun with all of my new stuff!  Merry Christmas to me early :) 

Ok, off to get started on my wrapping...wish me luck!

Happy Stamping!

Oh, Hello for HSSTC148

Oh, Hello....I've got another sneak peek for you from the soon-to-be released Spring Stampin' Up! Catalog.  One of my (many) favorite sets in the new catalog is Oh, Hello.  And of course I had to get the awesome Oval Collection Framelits....there are 7 oval dies, the largest one being a scallop oval. LOVE!

I think I'm finally done with my Christmas cards...now I just need to get them sent out.  Next...on to thank you cards!  Hand Stamped Sentiments is helping me to get a start on thank you cards with their Theme Challenge this week...THANK YOU!

I love this new set and DSP!!!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral, Very Vanilla, Tea for Two DSP*

Ink ~ So Saffron, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Pretty in Pink

Stamp Set ~ Oh, Hello*

Other Supplies ~ Ovals Collection Framelits*, Lucky Limeade Bakers Twine, Borders Scoring Plate*

*Spring Catalog Items*

See the little flower peeking out on the inside of the card too?  It's the same flower I fussy cut and used on the front.  I always try to stamp something on the inside of all of my cards and, of course, on the envelope too!  

Thanks for checking out another sneak peek this week!  Be watching for more!  Until then...

Happy Stamping! 

Fab Polar Party

It's finally starting to feel like Christmas!  Our mountains are covered in snow and it's cold outside!  I'm not a huge fan of the winter months, but I always love some cold weather and snow around Christmas.  Hoping the snow stays around for a few weeks so I can take my kiddos sledding over their Christmas break from school.

Got some Christmas stamping done today..yay!  This was not an easy task because I REALLY want to be playing with all of my new stamps.  But, I've got to focus on the last bit of Christmas crafting and get goodie bags done for my twins' birthday party next weekend.  In my effort to ink up all of my Christmas sets before the season is over, I pulled out the fun Polar party set this morning and got to work. I created a few cards, but this one was one of my favorites.  The colors I used were inspired by the latest challenge over at Fab Friday.   I've been all over the non-traditional Christmas colors this year.  This great color combo has both traditional and non-traditional colors...perfect!

It doesn't show very well in this picture (darn dark basement), but the edges of the Crumb Cake layer are sponged with some white craft ink to give the card a little "dusting" of snow. 

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Gumball Green, Pool Party, Crumb Cake

Ink ~ Gumball Green, Real Red, Primrose Petals, Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, White Gel Pen, Whisper White Craft

Stamp Set ~ Polar Party

Other Supplies ~ Primrose Petals Stitched Satin Ribbon , Dazzling Details (Clear & Cherry Cobbler)

It has been so nice to not have a million different things going on this weekend.  Not only did I get lots of stamping time, we've had some great family time too.  This is what weekends are for! 

Happy Stamping!

SAB Sneak Peek

I really should be working on some Christmas stuff, but my big box full of pre-order items from the upcoming Spring Catalog and Sale-a-Bration goodies was calling, make that yelling, my name this morning as I was putting it all away.  I just had to ink up some of these new fabulous stamps!  Sale-a-Bration is coming next month, running from January 22-March 22.  Be watching your mail box for the Spring Catalog and SAB brochure soon! 

One of my favorite stets from SAB is Patterned Occasions.  They are smaller stamps, perfect when paired up with the Note Cards & Envelopes from Stampin' Up!  Take a look at this cute and simple little elephant...

Isn't this just so cute??!?!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Whisper White, Sycamore Street DSP*

Ink ~ Pool Party, Island Indigo, Summer Starfruit, Raspberry Ripple

Stamp Set ~ Patterned Occasions*

Other Supplies ~ Sycamore Street Ribbon & Button Pack (Island Indigo Ribbon)*

*SAB Items*

Here's a peek at all of the other fun stamps in this set as well as a few other NEW items from SAB and the Spring Catalog.  How many new goodies do you spy???

 I'm thinking these cute cards will make a perfect set of note cards for my boys' teacher's this Christmas! 

Keep checking back for more sneak peeks over the next few weeks...I've got lots to share!  I just need to get back to my Christmas stuff and get that all finished first :)

Happy Stamping! 

Monochromatic Mojo Monday...

....er, Mojo Friday.  And TGIF is all I have to say about that!  This week has been nutso and has gone by so fast.  Can't complain about the week going by fast though...that just means the weekend is here!  My crafty friend Katie and I have fun picking different challenge combos to get our creative crafting juices flowing.  It was my turn to pick and I chose the fun sketch over at Mojo Monday and paired it up with the fun color challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  I am usually pretty intimated by the sketches at Mojo Monday, but this one really caught my eye.  And I don't make many monochromatic cards, so this was a fun way to get me out of my comfort zone.  I started this card Tuesday night and just got around to finishing it this morning...that's how crazy my week has been.  BUT, it's a good thing I had to set it aside because I got my Sale-a-Bration and Spring Catalog pre-order, which included the super cute Hearts a Flutter Bundle.  You get a little sneak peek of it in this card! 

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Whisper White, Real Red, Riding Hood Red, Cherry Cobbler

Ink ~ Real Red, Riding Hood Red, Cherry Cobbler

Stamp Sets ~ Heart of Christmas, Hearts a Flutter

Other Supplies ~ Hearts a Flutter Framelits, Adorning Accents Edgelits, Small Heart Punch, Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Dazzling Details

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!  I'm hoping to get a little bit of stamping time in so I can play with all of my new stuff!!! Be watching for a few more sneak peeks :)

Happy Stamping!

Early Birthday Surprise

My twins will be 7 in two weeks...how is that possible!  It seems like just a couple years ago they made their grand entrance into our lives...not 7 years ago!  They are wild, crazy and ALL BOY and I love them so much, even on the days they drive me crazy :)  They are both big fans of music and always want to tag along when I go on my annual girls weekend away to see Dave Matthews.  Sorry, no boys allowed for that concert!  But I did find a great Christmas concert for them to go to this year...the Acoustic Christmas Tour.  They have heard the advertisements for the past few weeks and keep telling me they really wish they could go, so I'm pretty sure they will be super excited when they open their cards this morning.

Things have been crazy busy for me the past few days and I was scrambling to get a couple of cards made for them.  Thanks to a great sketch over at  Try Stampin' On Tuesday, I was able to put some cards together for them last night before I called it a day.  Here's the sketch they had for this week:

And here is my take on the sketch:

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Lucky Limeade, Basic Black, Whisper White, World Spectacular DSP

Ink ~ Basic Black, Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade

Stamp Sets ~ Clockworks, Grunge Rock(retired)

Other Supplies ~ Island Indigo Bakers Twine, Basics Glimmer Brads

Of course each of them need their own card...and they have to be the same, but just a little bit different.  As much as I try to do different things for them, it always seems to cause more of a fight.  Hopefully that will pass some day :)

Supplies Used:
Paper ~ Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Tangerine Tango, Howlstooth and Scaringbone DSP
Ink ~ Basic Black, Basic Gray, Tangerine Tango
Stamp Sets ~ Clockworks, Grunge Rock(retired)
Other Supplies ~ 3/4" Circle Punch, Basics Glimmer Brads

I sure hope they will be excited to open up these cards this morning and find their very first concert tickets.  I can't wait to spend a fun night with my babies!

Happy Stamping!

"Diggin'" December

Happy December!  December is by far one of my most favorite months of the year!  Not just because of all of the Christmas fun, but also because I have so many family and friends who celebrate their birthdays this month.  My family spends the entire month of December in celebration mode.  And speaking of celebration, I was up early to place my demo pre-order from the new Spring Catalog and got a few fun new freebies from the Sale-a-Bration too!!!  Now I have to patiently wait for the man in brown to show up with my box full of Stampin' goodness!  Can't wait to share all of the great new products with all of my Stampin' Friends...you just have to wait a little bit longer :)

To kick off this great month, I have 3 super special people in my life celebrating their birthday's today.  Of course they all will be getting a fun card made by yours truly!  Here is one I made for a very special little boy who is celebrating his 2nd birthday today...

The sketch for this card came from The Paper Craft Crew.    Be sure to check out all of the great creations from their design team and everyone else that has entered!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Whisper White, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Brights DSP

Ink ~ Stampin' Write Markers:  Real Red, Pacific Point, Basic Black, Gumball Green, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise

Stamp Set ~ I Dig You

Other Supplies ~ 2 1/2 Circle Punch, Brights Buttons, Basics Glimmer Brads, Whisper White Bakers Twine

I forgot to take a picture of the inside of this card, but it has the "Happy Dirtday" and one of the tractors stamped...perfect for a rough and tough 2 year old who loves his trucks!

I've got a busy and fun-filled day ahead of me!  Taking my twins shopping (individually) so they can buy each other a birthday gift and a Christmas gift for each other and their baby brother.  This is something we all look forward to every year.  One on one time with my twins is always a special time, especially this time of year when life gets crazy :)  We've also got a birthday party to attend, some afternoon hunting (just my hubby and twins...I'll stay home with he baby and stamp!) and the Christmas Parade tonight.  Better get another cup of coffee...I'm gonna need it :)

Wishing you all a great weekend and an even better December! 

Happy Stamping!