Stamp With Belinda

Quick reminder...

2008-03-14T19:38:00.002-05:00

Be sure to visit my NEW blog HERE. If you use a feed service (such as google reader), be sure to subscribe to my new feed.

I've moved!

2008-02-27T19:41:00.001-06:00

You can now find my blog HERE.

Excuse the mess...

2008-02-27T10:07:00.001-06:00

I'm moving to TypePad! So please excuse the mess my blog may be for the next day or so while I get everything sorted out. :)

She's All That-- Framed!

2008-02-15T10:16:00.003-06:00

As soon as I saw this set in the Occasions Mini Collection 2008, I fell in love! It's been a long time since I felt that strongly about a stamp set, but I knew--- those tall, skinny, creepy silhouette girls had to be mine! Like many, I though "Nightmare before Christmas" and "Corpse Bride" immediately. I enjoyed that stylistic art, and I knew I would enjoy this set. I found this frame at Wal-Mart and grabbed the last one on the shelf. It's 12x12 and had a mat (which I promptly threw out) for four 4x6 photos. To make the framed art, I cut a sheet of Pretty in Pink card stock to 6"x6". I stamped the bride from "She's All That" and the Fairytale saying from "Full of Life" in Chocolate Chip Craft ink (Craft ink is more fade-resistant than Classic ink). I adhered the card stock to the center of a full sheet of Berry Bliss Designer Series paper and put it in the frame. Yup, that's it! I had a hard time getting a nice, glare-free photo... so one photo is not as clear, but without the glare and the other photo has a ton of glare, but is a clearer photo.

The sets and accessories in the Occasions Mini Collection 2008 will be available to order on March 1st. Contact me today to schedule your March workshop and receive the best of both worlds-- free Sale-A-Bration sets and projects using sets from the Occasions Mini! What could be better??? :)

Merci card by Christine Okken

2008-02-14T12:15:00.005-06:00

I will be showcasing several cards from the swap I participated in over the next few days. This card by Christine Okken is absolutely fabulous! It showcases the Merci Sale-A-Bration set so well. Merci is a wonderful set for watercoloring. If you would like to receive this set free by placing an order or holding a workshop, contact me today!

Supplies:

Merci stamp set (free SAB set)
Jet Black Stazon ink pad
Blush Blossom Classic Stampin' Pad
Bravo Burgundy Classic Stampin' Pad
Blush Blossom Stampin' Write marker
Bravo Burgundy Stampin' Write marker
Old Olive Stampin' Write marker
Bravo Burgundy card stock
Blush Blossom card stock
Old Olive card stock
Groovy Guava Prints Designer Series paper
Very Vanilla card stock
Watercolor paper
Word Window punch
1-3/8" Circle punch
Scallop punch
Slit punch
Groovy Guava double-stitched grosgrain ribbon
Stamper's Tool Kit (piercer, piercing mat, template)
Earth Elements brads

Sale-A-Bration

2008-02-13T12:40:00.008-06:00

Stampin' Up!'s Sale-A-Bration is our biggest promotion of the year! With every $50 in product that you purchase, you receive any item in the Sale-A-Bration brochure absolutely free! Hostesses receive a set for each $300 in workshop sales. And recruits not only receive any set from the Spring-Summer 2008 Collection free, but they also receive $40 off the regular price of the starter kit. Contact me today for more information about this exciting promotion or to set the date for your own workshop! I recently participated in an invitation-only swap using the Sale-A-Bration stamp sets. This is my contribution:

Supplies:

Zoofari stamp set
Lots of Thoughts stamp set (free SAB set)
Tempting Turquoise card stock
Confetti White card stock
Versamark ink pad
Jet Black Staz-On ink pad
Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad
Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
Certainly Celery Classic Stampin' Pad
Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad
Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Write marker
Certainly Celery 5/8" grosgrain ribbon
White Stampin' Emboss powder
Aquapainter
sponge daubers
heat tool

Have you seen it?

2008-01-25T17:15:00.001-06:00

My new Stampin' Up! website, that is... Technology can be a lot of fun! I've had a blast customizing my Stampin' Up! website. I've uploaded some projects, input a few events, and sent a gawjus customer newsletter. Take a look-see around my website! http://belinda.stampinup.net/ I'd like to fill my Events page up... if you're in the Fort Riley area, leave a comment here or use my "Contact Me" button on my website to let me know what kinds of projects you'd like to make in a class! One of the most awesomest things about the new website is the Online IDA form-- that's Independent Demonstrator Agreement. That's right, you can now sign up as a demonstrator for Stampin' Up! online from the comfort of your own home! All you need to do is contact me for the password. So if you think you might enjoy doing what I do, email or call me today!

On a personal note...

2008-01-25T17:00:00.000-06:00

Corey has received orders to teach ROTC at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas! We are all thrilled with this development. :) We will be moving probably in late July so that we can be settled before school starts in August. It will be a far different life for us-- we will be over two hours from the closest military installation and over six hours from the nearest Army post. But it will mean regular hours, time for both Corey and I to continue our edjumacations ;), more family time, and no deployments for three whole years! Did I mention we're thrilled??? We'll be farther from Corey's family here in Kansas, but we will be closer to my family who moved to Fort Worth last summer. Sometimes change is good.

October Stamp Club Meeting

2008-01-16T22:24:00.000-06:00

This Christmas card actually uses a kit that Stampin' Up! provided to demonstrators in 2006. I love kits-- no cutting, no measuring, almost no thinking! I did replace the included ribbon with Very Vanilla Taffeta-- it just had a softer, more elegant look to it.

If you like having everything ready for you to stamp-and-go, take a look at Stampin' Up!'s Simply Sent kits on pages 14-16 of the Spring-Summer Collection 2008. I like to call them the "Stouffer's Lasagna of the stamping world." Sure you could purchase all the ingredients seperately, find a good recipe, and take the time to measure, mix, and create... but sometimes you just want something quick, easy, and oh so satisfying!

This card uses the Floral background stamp and Peaceful Wishes stamp set.

Instructions:

Fold Always Artichoke card stock to make card
Stamp Floral background on Bravo Burgundy card stock using Bravo Burgundy Classic ink pad
Stamp branch and pinecone on Naturals Ivory card stock using Always Artichoke and Bravo Burgundy Classic ink pads
Stamp "Peace" on small piece of Naturals Ivory card stock using Bravo Burgundy marker
Adhere "Peace" on Pewter Hodgepodge Hardware nameplate using mini glue dots and trim excess card stock away with paper snips
Adhere Bravo Burgundy and Naturals Ivory card stock to card
Thread Very Vanilla Taffeta ribbon through nameplate and adhere nameplate to card using Stampin' Dimensionals
Tie ribbon and tear along bottom of card

This card is the reason I went with the kit for the first card at this club... this one was rather more intense, but it sure was fun and worth it! The "Wanted" set is another I struggled with after receiving it at Convention. It's a sort of Vintage-y set and as such is difficult for me to work with. But after perusing the gallery on Splitcoast, I finally came up with this design.

This card uses the Paisley background stamp, and "Wanted," "Define your Life," and "Much Appreciated" stamp sets.

Instructions:

Fold Chocolate Chip card stock to make card
Stamp Paisley background on card using Chocolate Chip Classic ink pad
Stamp horse repeatedly without reinking on Really Rust card stock using Chocolate Chip Classic ink pad, starting at lower right and repeating to the left and up from each image before
Stamp "gratitude" stamp on Really Rust card stock using Chocolate Chip and Really Rust Classic ink pads
Stamp paisleys repeatedly on Creamy Caramel card stock using Creamy Caramel Classic ink pads
Stamp large medallion on Sage Shadow card stock using Chocolate Chip ink, on Naturals Ivory card stock using Sage Shadow ink, on Really Rust card stock using Really Rust ink pad
Punch Sage Shadow card stock medallion with Scallop punch, Natruals Ivory medallion with 1-3/8" circle punch, and Really Rust medallion with 1/2" circle punch
Layer Really Rust and Creamy Caramel card stock on Sage Shadow card stock
Distress edges of Sage Shadow card stock using distresser from Cutter kit
Punch hole and set Jumbo Pewter eyelet with Crop-A-Dile
Thread Natural Hemp Twine through eyelet and tie in a knot
Adhere Sage Shadow card stock to card using Stampin' Dimensionals (hint: put two Dimensionals on twine to hold it in place on back of Sage Shadow piece)
Adhere Naturals Ivory circle to Sage Shadow scallop, adhere Really Rust circle to Naturals Ivory using Stampin' Dimensional, adhere scallop to card using Stampin' Dimensionals

Inside card:

Stamp paisley on Naturals Ivory card stock using Creamy Caramel ink pad
Stamp sentiment on Naturals Ivory card stock using Chocolate Chip ink pad
Adhere Naturals Ivory card stock on inside of card

Like these projects? Contact me to order the supplies needed to create these for yourself.

November Stamp Club Meeting

2008-01-16T21:08:00.000-06:00

This adorable little post-it note holder is inspired by projects on a couple different blogs out there. Emily Giovanni did a tutorial on an adorable post-it note holder, and ChiChi Allen showed her notepad holder. Well, a friend linked to the post-it note holder and asked "how can I make this hold a pencil?" I had a brain blast. Why not combine the two??? :D I wrote out some measurements, told my friend to try them and see which worked, and let me know. (Thanks, Shanon, for trying the project out for me! lol!)

After all that work (phew!) I decided I had better do something with the measurements, too, so I decided to do the project with my stamp club. First the instructions for the holder itself:

Cut cardstock 7-3/4 x 3-1/2
Score at 3-1/2, 3-3/4, 4 inches
Fold ONLY the middle fold first
Cut two slits in the "spine" to the other folds, 1" from each side
Fold the outer folds and press the middle part (between the slits) out and away from the spine
Adhere the top and bottom folds to the back of the cover on the inside

It's a bit difficult to picture just from the words... I will attempt a photo tutorial one of these days. ;)

And now the assembly instructions:

Make post-it note holder from Bordering Blue card stock
Stamp elephant (from "Wild About You") on Whisper White card stock using Bordering Blue Classic ink
Layer elephant on Ruby Red card stock
Punch two holes on either side of elephant's trunk through both layers of card stock
Thread red hemp twine through holes and tie in a knot
Adhere elephant onto post-it note holder using Stampin' Dimensionals
Add golf pencil*

*I didn't have a golf pencil, so I just broke a regular pencil in half, by holding it on the counter at the point I wanted it to break and whacking it with my other hand. ;) Crude, but effective. My friend Shanon bought a box of regular-size colored pencils and cut them in half (still in the box) with a circular saw. I've since seen cute little colored pencils at places like Wal-Mart and Target.

I love the Cold Play set (it may never leave my house, even though it's now retired!) and adore how my snowman is pictured on this card. I saw him looking up in this manner on many, many cards in the Splitcoast Gallery, and it's hard to say which one card inspired me. I'd like to say the color combo is purely my own (I'd like to say a lot of things!), but I'm pretty sure I saw that on more than a few cards, as well. The sliding message? Not my original idea either. But I did combine the different elements into one adorable (if I do say so myself, and I often do) card. LOL!

Instructions:

Fold Soft Sky card stock to make card
Stamp snowflake on top 2/3 of card using Soft Sky Classic ink pad
Adhere striped Soft Sky Prints Designer Series paper to card
Punch holes on either side of small strip of Real Red card stock using Crop-A-Dile
Stamp "let it" on left side of strip and "snow!" on right side of strip using Basic Gray Classic ink pad
Stamp snowman on whisper White card stock using Basic Gray (circles and mouth), Chocolate Chip (branches), Real Red (buttons), and Pumpkin Pie (carrot) Classic ink pads and snowflakes using Soft Sky Classic ink pads
Punch corners of Whisper White and Real Red card stock using Ticket Corner punch
Adhere Whisper White to Real Red card stock
Punch hole on lower left side of image using Horizontal Slot punch, then line up the punch with the hole and punch again about 1/2 the length of the slot higher (you need the 1-1/2 slot lengths for the message strip)
Adhere Garden Green card stock to card, leaving room for eyelets at the top right
Punch holes and set Real Red eyelets using Crop-A-Dile
Adhere snowman piece to card using Stampin' Dimensionals, being careful not to block the area where the message strip will be placed
Slide message strip into slot right side first so that the right side is underneath the snowman piece
Thread ribbon through holes on message strip and tie into knots

December Stamp Club Meeting

2008-01-16T19:11:00.001-06:00

This pretty Christmas card is inspired by Laura's card using Fabulous Flowers. I substituted the stamp set and tweaked the colors to better suit the Christmas season.

Instructions:

Fold Certainly Celery card stock into card
Stamp snowflakes randomly on Whisper White card stock using Purely Pomegranate and Certainly Celery Classic ink pads and Gold Encore ink pad
Spritz with ink using Color Spritzing tool and Rose Red marker
Layer Whisper White card stock on Gold Glory and Purely Pomegranate card stock and adhere to Certainly Celery card
Stamp sentiment on card
Tie White Taffeta ribbon around card

I wanted to use the new Level 3 hostess set "Time Well Spent" in my December workshop... after all, it was new, and I received it as a free gift from Stampin' Up! But I really struggled with the images. I finally stumbled on this card by happy2stamp4ever. I added the "Thank you" stamp from "Much Appreciated" and offered different marker color combos for the flowers.

Instructions:

Fold Shimmery White card stock into card
Stamp medium flower three times on scrap of Shimmery White using Timber Brown Staz-On ink pad
Stamp small flower in each corner of card and sentiment in bottom right corner using Timber Brown Staz-On ink pad
Color flowers using Rose Red and Regal Rose (or other monochromatic combination)
Cut three flowers out using paper snips and adhere to card using Stampin' Dimensionals
Draw lines between flowers along edge of card using Chocolate Chip marker

Another color combination-- Pumpkin Pie and Apricot Appeal markers:

January club meeting

2008-01-16T18:02:00.000-06:00

With Valentine's Day coming up, I had to showcase some great lovey-dovey cards... but I didn't have any Valentine's-specific sets! Unfrogettable to the rescue! This is one of the cutestest sets evah... really! And with some googly eyes I had laying around, cute went to adorable in no time flat! Original layout by Kristin Moore.

Instructions:

Fold River Rock card stock to make card
Stamp flower 2-3 times in bottom right corner with Versamark ink
Stamp sentiment in Jet Black Staz-On over flowers
Tie Wild Wasabi ribbon around card
Stamp froggy in Staz-On on Naturals White card stock
Watercolor froggy using Aquapainter and Wild Wasabi Classic ink pad
Watercolor a squiggle of "ground" beneath froggy using Aquapainter and River Rock Classic ink pad
Color heart using Real Red marker
Punch corners of Naturals White card stock using Ticket Corner punch
Layer Naturals White on Certainly Celery, then on Wild Wasabi
Attach to card using Stampin' Dimensionals
Attach googly eyes using Crystal Effects as "glue"

This card is more V-day specific and girly and frou-frou. It's also very PINK. It uses the hostess Level 3 stamp set "Time Well Spent" from the new Spring-Summer Collection 2008. This layout is shown on page 109 of the Spring-Summer Collection 2008.

Instructions:

Fold Pretty in Pink card stock to make card
Stamp heart using Chocolate Chip Classic ink pad on Whisper White card stock
Color outline of heart using Regal Rose marker and tiny flower using Rose Red marker
Cut heart out using paper snips
Adhere striped Rose Red Prints Designer Series Paper to Rose Red card stock
Adhere heart to Rose Red paper using Stampin' Dimensionals
Tie Pretty in Pink Taffeta ribbon around Close to Cocoa card stock
Adhere focal image piece to Close to Cocoa card stock using Stampin' Dimensionals
Stamp sentiment on Close to Cocoa card stock using Whisper White Craft ink pad
Tear top of Close to Cocoa card stock
Adhere Close to Cocoa card stock to card using Stampin' Dimensionals

To order any of these products, just email me at belindaking@stampwithbelinda.com.

Post! Post! Post! Post!

2008-01-16T17:34:00.000-06:00

Yes, I have been called to post. {insert favorite rolling eyes smilie here} I've been a bad blog mama. But with good reason. Well, some not so good, but with reason anyway! LOL! Tonight I'll be posting some long-overdue projects for my club members. I've been promising them the projects and instructions for awhile now... my sincere apologies to them for not getting on this sooner! So sit back, relax, and let me post some fun stuff for y'all. Enjoy!

Stampin' Up! Paper Share!

2007-11-06T14:49:00.000-06:00

Right now is the perfect time to get in on the wide variety of gorgeous Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper! I will be conducting two paper shares-- one for the regular Designer Series Papers and one for the Prints Designer Series Papers. Each person will receive one half- sheet (12"x6") of each pattern from each pack of either regular or Prints papers. For the regular papers, that's a total of 114 half-sheets sheets-- 228 individual designs! For the Prints papers, that's 96 half-sheets sheets-- 192 individual designs! You are welcome to join one or both shares. Regular Designer Series Paper share includes six half-sheets from each of the following paper packages: Brocade Backgrounds, Charbon, Creepy Crawly, Cutie Pie, Darling Doodles. Dashing, Fall Flowers, Flowers for You, LeJardin, Linen Prints, Notations No. 2, Outlaw, Petals & Paisleys, Porcelain Prints, Uptown, Wintergreen PLUS Apple Cider and Holiday Harmony from the Holiday Mini Collection 2007. Regular price: $55.26. Share Price: $43.63 (includes shipping & handling and tax) Prints Designer Series Paper share includes six half-sheets from each of the following paper packages: Almost Amethyst, Always Artichoke, Blue Bayou, Brilliant Blue, Certainly Celery, Close to Cocoa, Groovy Guava, Lovely Lilac, More Mustard, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, River Rock, Rose Red, So Saffron, Soft Sky, Tempting Turquoise. Regular price: $46.54. Share Price: $34.90 (includes shipping & handling and tax) Join both shares-- Combined share price: $78.53... Two-share price: $75! (includes shipping & handling and tax) To join this paper share, please email me at belindaking@stampwithbelinda.com. Checks, money orders, and credit cards, and PayPal accepted. Offer only good to customers with US addresses. (APO/FPO gladly accepted!) Paper share open from November 6th to November 15th. All payments due before order is placed. Just want a few full packages? Purchase three full packs ($9.95 each) and receive a fourth FREE! Email me at belindaking@stampwithbelinda.com to take advantage of this offer.

My retired stamps for sale...

2007-11-06T13:04:00.000-06:00

You can see the list on Splitcoaststampers.com <----click here for the list. I will be listing them on ebay at the beginning of next week. If you see one you like, email me now! :D belindaking (at) stampwithbelinda (dot) com

Adorable altered clippie/coaster thingie

2007-11-06T12:54:00.000-06:00

Check out this cute idea! Just tuck a photo into the ribbon or clip, and you have a cute desktop display. I originally saw the idea by ddphelps on Splitcoaststampers.com.

Supplies-- binder clip, 4" chipboard coaster, Sahara Sand card stock, retired Rebecca Designer Series Paper, retired 1/4" Rose grosgrain ribbon.

The Stars at Night are Big and Bright...

2007-10-11T15:19:00.000-05:00

*clap clap clap clap* Deep in the Heart of Texas!

Okay, I cannot be the only one whose husband quotes movies like crazy... Anyone know the movie? Bueller? Bueller? Oh, wrong movie.

Anyway, I'm headed to Texas this weekend for a fantabulous Shoebox Swap and Technique Training. :D And I get to see JanTink again! *giddies* Maybe she'll forgive me for squeeling at her in the elevator in Salt Lake City a couple years ago. *wink*

Fantabulous is the word of the day... and I came up with (um, er, was inspired to create) this fantabulous card, if I do say so myself...

This is my shoebox swap... yes, 26 lucky ladies (including my sister) will get to make this fantabulous card in Texas on Saturday! As I alluded to earlier, I was inspired to create this beauty... my inspiration card is by Kristina Werner, aka starofmay.

Supplies: Season of Joy stamp set, Dotted background stamp. Wild Wasabi , Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla, Real Red cardstock. Wild Wasabi, Pretty in Pink, Real Red ink. Scallop, 1-1/4" circle, and 1/16" punches. Real Red 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals.

I'm Brads...

2007-10-05T14:19:00.000-05:00

What scrapbooking item are you?

You are Brads!

Your life is all about the details! You like to embellish your life like you embellish your scrapbook - with lots of details! You tend to be a perfectionist and like everything just so. You make time to stop and smell the flowers and try to fill your life with things to make you happy. You don't like to take a back seat in life - you like to stand out and are often in leadership roles. People love you because you always seem to have it all together. But Brads Beware - Your life can be overdone with details and can find yourself with too many projects on your plate to finish them all. Try to stay focused and prioritize more.

Take this quiz!

Altered Rolodex Card

2007-10-04T17:58:00.000-05:00

Why would you alter a rolodex card? Because you can! What do you do with them? Um, have them! :D I started a swap with some friends for altered rolodex cards. Instead of a plain card with just some info jotted down, we'll each have 17 unique cards with different personalities. :) I've received about half of the cards so far, and I'm so excited to see the rest! Being the hostess, I was able to procrastinate until the last minute. Or so. I have my design down (finally!) but I have all 17 cards to get done. Hopefully before the rest of everyone's cards come in, so when they arrive I can quickly swap 'em and send 'em.

I got the design idea when blog-hopping (blopping?) a few days ago. Amy's ATC was perfection itself for my card! I printed these puppies front and back on Sahara Sand card stock. Aparently my new(er) printer doesn't much like cardstock, so I ended up with two pages that didn't print quite right. So then I printed two more. I then trimmed the card to shape. (That step is going to take for-ev-er with 17 cards!) I added the patterend paper (retired Rebecca Designer Series Paper) then remembered I wanted to put ribbon on, too.

I debated for a little bit on how in the world I was going to accomplish this feat, as just tying it around the card would cover my information on the back. That would defeat the purpose of the card! I cut the ribbon a little longer than the card, ran some SNAIL adhesive along it, put the ribbon along the top edge of the Rebecca paper, then gently pried the edges of the paper up to tuck the ribbon underneath.

I used the coluzzle to cut the Chocolate Chip circle and taped that down, then decided to put it *under* the ribbon. Pried up the circle, pried up the ribbon, and slid the circle under the ribbon. And oh yeah, I wanted the ribbon to look tied... So I cut a little bit to do a "faux bow" (except it's a knot) on the ribbon, pulled the ribbon up again, and tied the bit of ribbon on the other bit of ribbon. Lost yet? LOL!

I punched a Scallop circle from Pretty in Pink card stock, punched my photo with the 1-3/8" circle, and adhered the photo on the scallop. So far so good. Added some Stampin' Dimensionals to the back of the scallop and popped it onto the card. Um, not quite right. Off comes the scallop, off comes the ribbon, off comes the chocolate chip circle.

I cut the next size up circle now, adhere, trim. Lay the ribbon across, a little lower this time, pry up the patterned paper again, press it back down. Lay the scallop circle on. Still not quite enough. Decide to pierce the Chocolate Chip circle. But not about to pry everything apart again! So I go ahead and pierce through all the layers this time. It's just my "sloppy copy," so it's ok.

Good, good... loving it... add the scallop circle with dimensionals, lay brads and eyelets on to see how they'd look, and finally decided it's just fine without. And voi-lá! It's perfect! Or near enough anyway. I'm still trying to decide if I should bum a sheet of Regal Rose cardstock for the scallop, and whether or not to pierce the scallops, but this is pretty much it.

Now to make 17 more...

Going Pink

2007-10-02T00:59:00.000-05:00

I like bandwagons. And the latest blogging bandwagon is Going Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It's a good bandwagon to jump on. I want to point out a site that some of you may have heard of, but others may not know about. At The Breast Cancer Site, you can "donate" clicks towards the provision of mammograms for underprivileged women in the U.S. One click does not magically provide a mammogram to a needy woman — it takes about 40,000 clicks. You can click only once perday, but you can click each and every day. Averaging 250,000 clicks a day in September, The Breast Cancer Site provided funding for about 6.6 mammograms a day -- a total of almost 200. The goal in October is 500 mamograms. Go. Click. Make it a daily routine.

Criss Cross Card

2007-09-27T18:52:00.000-05:00

My daughter had a birthday party to attend this afternoon, so I took a little time and whipped up a card for the birthday girl:

Someone posted a question in the Demonstrator forums of SCS (my #1 favorite-of-all-time website) about Cris Cross cards... and that reminded me to go look at the TUTORIAL in the resource section... which led to the Criss Cross Cards GALLERY... which led to THIS card by basilefamily... which led me to remember my Loves Me Designer Series paper which has been sitting forgotten on my desk since the 2006-07 Winter Mini Catalog expired in February! The pink was perfect for a little girl's birthday, so away I went, cutting and measuring and stamping and adhesiving (I know, it's adhering... but that just doesn't sound as fun! ;) ). I had just enough time to snap a couple pictures when I finished.

Rebekah got home from school, and away we flew to the party. Sadly, when informed that mommy would not be staying, but just dropping her off, Rebekah decided to be clingy and not stay. On the way home, she started to cry... "mommy, my tummy hurts." There's a bug that's been going around in our area... Nicole had it last week, Jason has had it since Monday, Jonathan came down with it this morning... and Rebekah this afternoon. She climbed into bed as soon as we got home and promptly fell asleep. She woke up after an hour... not rested... but ill. My poor baby girl!

On a happy note... I think the birthday girl liked her card!

Erin tol' me to post. NOW.

2007-09-02T00:30:00.000-05:00

She said it's been way too long since I posted... So here it is! A quick recap of the last couple months. Enjoy!

Jason got his first haircut on July 19th.

Matthew, Charlie, and Kathy won the Hastings costume contest (and a free HP7 book!) as Harry, James, and Lily Potter on July 21st. I read HP7 in one day (through a migraine) on July 22nd.

Rebekah lost her first tooth on August 8th.

I made cute convention swaps in July.

And had a great time at Convention in Denver from July 25th-29th with three great gals.

(Me freezing to death on the last day)

Made more cute swaps after coming home.

And awesome workshop projects...

...and downline meeting and Stamp Club projects.

Put up a new punch storage system (which I LOVE already!)

School started on August 16th, but I'm a bad mom and didn't get photos this year. :(

Well, looks like I'm all caught up! ;) Life is good!

Birthday card with NEW stuff!

2007-07-12T20:06:00.000-05:00

I received my first Stampin' Up! order from the new catalog! I got new stamps, new ribbon, new *textured* card stock, the new Stampin' Store Caddy (so cool!), new Prints Designer Series paper, new Basic Gray ink, cardstock, and marker, new punches, and the new level One Simply Scrappin Kit. I'm swimmin' in NEW! :D

So today I was preparing my husband's birthday package and needed to throw together a quick card for him... I decided to break out some of my NEW *textured* card stock in new Basic Gray. I didn't want to waste any of my precious new cardstock, so I decided to go with a 3"x6" card. I loved this card by starofmay, so I adapted it for my card size. Oh yeah, there's that Groovy Guava again! ;)

Supplies: Wild About You, It's Your Birthday sets; Basic Gray textured card stock, Purely Pomegranate, Groovy Guava, Naturals White card stock; Purely Pomegranate, Groovy Guava, Wild Wasabi, Basic Gray Classic Stampin' pads; Always Artichoke 1/4" grosgrain ribbon.

A couple swaps...

2007-07-12T19:32:00.000-05:00

It took me a little time to come up with this card for a swap (with the same group as the Guava Garden Silhouettes card)... but I really like the way it came out! It's almost totally CASE'd (just changed the set and colors) from this card by lynch51 on SCS. I would have loved to add some of the new Soft Sky double-stitched ribbon, but alas! This was completed just before it came time to order new catalog stuff. :)

Supplies: Zoofari, Holidays & Wishes sets; Jet Black Staz-On, Close to Cocoa Classic Stampin' Pad. Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write marker; Soft Sky, Whisper White card stock, Soft Sky Prints Designer Series paper; Small Oval punch (& scrap paper for oval template to sponge ink), Whisper White 1/4" Grosgrain ribbon, Crafter's Tool Kit.

Hey, look! It's Guava again! I think Groovy Guava might be my favorite new In Color! ;) I do seem to use it a lot more than the others! This card is for a Papertrey swap for full cards... I can't wait to see what everyone else has created! Unfortunately, I was very, VERY late getting this swap out... lucky for me, the ladies are all very forgiving. I used Papertrey's white card stock for this card... it's not as smooth as Stampin' Up!'s Whisper White, but it is a bit thicker, so it's more suitable as a card base.

Supplies: Papertrey's Little Lady set; SU Groovy Guava, Going Gray, and Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' pads; Papertrey white, SU Groovy Guava card stock; Marvy Giga scalloped oval and Mega oval punches, SU Black Gingham ribbon.

MIA again...

2007-07-10T00:11:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's been a while since I posted... first there was new catalog frenzy, and the inevitable stalking of the Splitcoast Stampers website, the mailman, and Mr. Brown that goes along with such frenzy. And in the midst of the frenzy, I was asked to be a Splitcoast moderator. I think my heart raced just as quickly as when I was finally able to track my new catalogs! I am thrilled and honored to be part of such a great team. :) Along with good hapenings came bad... This is what my van looked like after my tire blew up: Yes, all that is just because of a tire popping and losing the tread. Um, it happened at 65 mph on a small highway in the boondocks of Kansas. Luckily it also happened right in front of some kind people's house, and they helped me put the spare on. My van went into the shop a week after the tire exploded, and another week has passed since... with no van. The body shop found more damage... Maybe tomorrow or Wednesday I'll get my van back. Luckily we do have comprehensive coverage *and* rental coverage... so I'm in a nice 2007 something-or-another car until my van is fully repaired. A few days after the van fiasco, we had very sad news. A soldier in my husband's platoon was killed in action, leaving a wife and four children ages 2 to 9. The memorial service here at Ft. Riley was last Friday. A well-written article in today's Washington Post (front page, I'm told) details the tragic incident. My husband and I were able to talk (through the blessings of technology in the form of Yahoo Messenger) about it a few days ago, and we cried together for the loss of a loving husband and father, and a good soldier.

Retiring accessories and the new catalog...

2007-06-23T00:40:00.000-05:00

First, the new catalog has been spotted in California!!! A few lucky demos have received their Stampin' Up! Fall-Winter 2007 Collection and one sweet lady, with the help of her sister-in-law, has been frantically typing to answer all our questions for the last 10 hours! Stampin' Up! released the retiring accessories list earlier this week, and there has been a lot of confusion about what "some products are being reconfigured" really means. 12x12 card stock Yes, many individual packs of cardstock are retiring (32 colors in all). Sixteen of the 48 exclusive colors remain. The assorted family packs will still be available as they exist now (2 sheets each of 12 colors in each color family). In addition, assorted packs of textured card stock will also be available! Embossing powders Black, Winter White, Gold Glory, Sterling Silver, Crystal clear, Iridescent Ice, and Hologram Highlights will all be available in 1/2-oz. containers. Glassy Glaze Enamel will still be available in a 1-oz. container. The detail powders will no longer be available. 1/4" Grosgrain ribbon The ribbon (as I speculated) will be renamed with Stampin' Up!'s exclusive color names. It will be sold on 15-yard spools for $4.95. (Any typos in this list are my own. Don't get mad at SU or your demonstrator if I've transposed this list wrong! LOL!) The following colors will still be available (demonstrators, if you want to stock up, get these!):

Basic Black (black)
Whisper White (white)
Very Vanilla (cream)
More Mustard (mustard)
Apricot Appeal (apricot)
Pretty in Pink (light pink)
Real Red (red)
Bravo Burgundy (burgundy)
Elegant Eggplant (eggplant)
Night of Navy (navy)
Tempting Turquoise (turquoise)
Certainly Celery (celery)
Mellow Moss (spring moss)

The following colors will be added to the line (hooray! Can't wait for a good, light blue ribbon!!!):

Pumpkin Pie (new)
Bashful Blue (new)
Always Artichoke (new)

The following colors will be retired (customers, call your demonstrator to order these before they're gone!):

Taupe
Chocolate
Tangerine
Maize
Apple Green
Hunter
Bluebird
French Blue
Light Orchid
Rose

Corner Rounder Punch

According to the new catalog sightings, the current 3/8" corner rounder punch is being replaced by a new 3/16" corner rounder punch. It will make even smaller scallops using the corner punch method! I'm excited for this new punch! (psst... there are more new punches coming!)

I am soooo excited to see my own new catalog!!!

Groovy Guava

2007-06-21T23:11:00.000-05:00

Otherwise entitled... "Hey, look! I do remember how to stamp!" :) Even with one child away visitng family (she comes home the week after next!), being a mom fo five kids is hard work... Well, maybe not so much work (after all, the kdis are getting great at doing their chores!) but it does take up a lot of time. My "baby" is still nursing (at almost 15 months), so that's four or five 20 -minute chunks out of my day... The older three have been going to swimming lessons the last two weeks, so there's another 45 minutes plus 40 minutes driving back and forth... And we've been getting ready for the kids to go away to camp next week (which involved several shopping trips to Wal-Martthis week and a visit to the doctor for last-minute physicals today). Yup, kids definitely take up a lot of time. But eventually they go to bed, and when I'm not cruising my favorite website, Splitcoaststampers.com, or my huge list of great blogs (I'll update the list here soon with the *gobs* more sites I've discovered!), I can get a lot accomplished stamping-wise. Tuesday night I completed my ATC swap for my CE chat gals. I pretty closely copied Aly's pretty Baroque Guava card, just sizing it down to ATC-size. I really wanted to add one of the Baroque Motifs flowers to this little ATC, but no matter how hard I tried, it just didn't work. So I finally took a step back, really looked at my ATC, and decided it was just fine without anything else.

Supplies: Baroque Motifs set; Blush Blossom and Staz-On black ink, Basic Black, Blush Blossom, Groovy Guava, and Shimmery White card stock; Crafter's Tool Kit, Black grosgrain ribbon, Stampin' Dimentionals.

I have three more swaps coming due in the next couple weeks, so I bucked down and designed a card for a new hostess set swap. I was inspired by Julia's WT118 Challenge card... but didn't follow the challenge itself. Since it's for a swap, I did simplify just a bit.

Supplies: Garden Silhouettes, Hugs & Wishes sets; Groovy Guava, Staz-On black ink; Groovy Guava, Whisper White, Kraft card stock; White grosgrain ribbon, Stampin' Dimentionals.

Father's Day

2007-06-18T09:54:00.000-05:00

It's hard to have a holiday when a loved one is gone... But we created this slideshow for Daddy. :) Be sure to turn your speakers up!

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

2007-06-11T02:25:00.000-05:00

The monthly magazine Stampin' Up! sends to their demonstrators is posted on the 11th of every month... shortly after midnight Mountain time (or, as I like to call it, SU time!). This month is full of glimpses of new products! I was already excited to see the new catalog-- only about 2 weeks until the catalog is expected to start arriving!-- but now I am positively drooling in anticipation! Watch out, wallet, the money is going to be sucked out come July 1st! Stamp sets:

Build a Flower (but looks like Pick a Petal... guess we'll see!)
Ginormous Flowers
Fundamental Phrases
Polka Dot background
Sweet Sampler
Think Happy Thoughts
Wanted

Papers:

Certainly Celery Prints
Cutie Pie
Outlaw

Ribbons:

River Rock double-stitched grosgrain
Soft Sky double-stitched grosgrain
Wild Wasabi double-stitched grosgrain
District Ribbon Originals
Fairytale Ribbon Originals
Jersey Ribbon Originals
Sherbet Ribbon Originals (also seen in preview brochure)
Theater Ribbon Originals
Chocolate Chip taffeta
Chocolate Chip wide grosgrain (looks like maybe 1" wide!)
Regal Rose narrow grosgrain (probably same as current grosgrain-- with a new name)

Punches:

Star punch
Scallop punch (circle, looks like about 2")
3/8" Corner Rounder punch (looks like current Small Corner Rounder... maybe we'll be getting another?)

Other cool stuff...

---On Board Clipboards!!! The one featured is a landscape format with three clips across the top. Way cool!

---New product lines of coordinating sets, papers, and punches!

Boho West (featured-- Wanted set, Outlaw paper, Star punch)
Corner Office
Tapestry

---New Simply Scrappin' kits! Will include double-sided Designer Series Paper and Textured card stock in SU colors.

Winter Bright Simply Scrappin' Kit

---New Simply Sent card kits! Will include supplies for 10-20 cards, depending on accessories and card sizes. Some accessories will be exclusive to card kits!

---Pretties Kit! Kit of pretties! j/k.

fabric flowers (think white Primas-- can be dyed to match!)
halfback pearls
hatpins
beads
rhinestone brads
and more!

Now are you excited for the new catalog??? I can't wait for it to get here!

New stamps, new cards!

2007-06-09T21:31:00.000-05:00

I carted a 20+ lb box of mostly new stamping stuff to my downline's house yesterday morning for some stamping fun. My kids asked me, "Mom, are you taking ALL THAT STUFF with us???" lol! Yup! You never know what you're gonna need... especially when you don't plan ahead! Instead of planning, I spent time chatting with my CE buds on SCS. (Hey, girls!) I spent 3 hours at Jennifer's, and at the end, boy did I feel unproductive! You see, Jennifer had a plan, a list, and all her ducks in a row. Jennifer stamped a couple good-sized stacks of cards as hostess thank-yous, put together little covered notepads and coordinating RSVP pens, and even popped some yummy cheesy spinach dip into the oven to munch on. I scrambled, and hemmed and hawed, and searched for supplies that were often right in front of me, and eventually came up with a few things. Organized, I am not! But I got much more done in three hours at Jennifer's house than I would have at home-- for I would have spent much (if not all) of that time perusing my favorite website-- Splitcoaststampers.com. :) Thanks again for having me over, Jennifer! Love ya! So what did I come up with? I took some print-outs of projects for inspiration and managed three lovely projects... Artfully Asian Inspired:

Garden Silhouettes (I misspell that every time-- I want to put the "h" everywhere it's not) is one of the gorgeous new Level Two hostess sets in the soon-to-be-released Fall-Winter 2007 Collection. I love the simple style of this set, how easy it is to use, and how elegant it can be. Another reason I love this set is that it reminds me of Artfully Asian... but I hate coloring, so I never got that set. I pretty much cased this card by maamkeha on SCS. The colors just wouldn't quite photograph correctly. I tried to tweak it in my photo program, but it didn't cooperate very well. Purely Pomegranate (another word I'll be slaughtering for the next year) is one of my favorite new In Colors. It's a few shades darker than Rose Red and coordinates beautifully with so many colors. You'll notice I've used it a lot so far. Stamps: Garden Silhouettes, Linen bg Paper: Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi, Basic Black Ink: Jet Black Staz-On, Purely Pomegranate, White craft Accessories: Black grosgrain ribbon, Aged Copper Hodgepodge Hardware, Stampin' Dimensionals Linen Silhouette:

Wild Wasabi is one of my favorite new In Colors. It's a green that's toned down a few notches from the Bold Brights greens I'm not as fond of... a perfect in-between for Certainly Celery and Garden Green, I think. Besides, Wasabi is just plain fun to say! Try it with me... Waaaaasaaaaaaaaabiiiiiii! Again, the colors didn't photograph well (probably partially due to the fact that I too pictures in my flurescent-lit kitchen at night with the flash... one of these days I'll be making my $10 Macro Photo Studio... but it just hasn't happened yet!) and this card is so much prettier in person! This card is inpired by a couple cards that were cased from the front cover of the 2006-2007 catalog. Stamps: Garden Silhouettes, Hugs & Wishes, Linen bg Paper: Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White Ink: Creamy Caramel, Timber Brown Staz-On Accessories: Caramel gingham ribbon, Chocolate grosgrain ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals Just Hugs:

I have discovered Kraft card stock. "But Belinda," you say, "hasn't Stampin' Up! carried Kraft card stock for years???" Well, yes, and I have been a demonstrator for quite some time... And I have used Kraft card stock... But before I would use it as the base for bigger and better things. I have discovered, thanks to Heather Nichols, how to use Kraft as a neutral in place of white or vanilla. Blue Bayou is one of my favorite new In Colors. This blue is a few shades lighter than Not Quite Navy. (NQN was once in the Rich Regals family, until two years ago when it was adopted by Earth Elements. NQN has adapted well, and is much happier in its new family, though it sometimes visits the Regals for a playdate.) Blue Bayou seems quite happy here with some new Soft Sky Prints Designer Series Paper (quite a mouthful), Kraft cardstock, and a hint of Whisper White. I have seen this card design a lot in recent weeks, and I do know it has a name-- but I'm not sure what it is called. I was inspired by Heather Nichols's card here. Zoofari is one of my favorite new sets-- I love these goofy-looking animals! Stamps: Zoofari, Hugs & Wishes Paper: Blue Bayou, Kraft, whisper White, Soft Sky Prints DSP Ink: Jet Black Staz-On, Soft Sky (for watercoloring); Bashful Blue, Regal Rose, Only Orange, Creamy Caramel markers Accessories: Aqua Painter, White grosgrain ribbon, Caramel gingham ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, staple Last night, after a quick nap (three hours of stamping can sure wear a body out... even when that body only completes three projects!) I did a quick search for a quick project for my downline group meeting. I love meeting with my ladies! I enjoy sharing ideas with them, hearing their ideas for our businesses, and of course the stamping! Silhouette in Pomegranate:

Soft Sky is one of my favorite new In Colors! (Ok, I'll admit it... I love them all and I couldn't *possibly* pick a favorite!!! lol!) This card was inspired by Beate's lovely creation using Year after Year. I changed the shape back to a traditional card and simplified the design, but I loved the colors and the layout! The patterned paper is Rose Red Prints Designer Series Paper, was available in May as part of the Pallette o' Prints promotion, and will be available in the new Collection in July. One of the best things about this paper is that yes, as the name implies, it coordinates with the Rose Red card stock, but it also goes well with Purely Pomegranate, Regal Rose, and even Pretty in Pink.

Stamps: Garden Silhouette, Holidays & Wishes Paper: Soft Sky, Basic Black, Naturals White, Rose Red Prints DSP Ink: Jet Black Staz-On, Purely Pomegranate Accessories: Black grosgrain ribbon, Rose Red brads, Stampin' Dimensionals There you have it... my four projects from yesterday! Whew, I'm ready for a rest!

Look what Mr. Brown brought!

2007-06-07T20:05:00.000-05:00

Opening this box yesterday was just like Christmas! No, I didn't buy *everything* in the preview brochure... but I came pretty darn close. I got a new Fall-Winter 2007 Collection Level 2 hostess set, all the new In Colors in cardstock and ink, pretty Soft Sky Prints paper, *bling-bling* brads in Fire (circles) and Ice (squares), new chipboard to coordinate with one of my five new sets, and--added at the last minute--the new Three for You punch box! WOW! The punch box stamp set comes die-cut... all I had to do was punch out the stamps and stick them on the blocks! I cut most of my new sets last night, but just as I was finishing the second-to-last set, the power went out. I soon discovered it's kind of hard to cut stamps by candlelight! So I reluctantly set the scissors aside until morning. Today's been pretty busy, so no time for stamping... yet! But I'll be able to make time tonight and get some new pretties posted here.

2007 Retiring List Made Easy!

2007-06-02T22:15:00.000-05:00

Listed below are the stamp sets in alphabetical order that have been chosen to retire this year. Click each stamp set name to see the image.

Note: When you click on a link to see a stamp set, another browser window will open. The next time you click, the information will display in that same window until you close it. This way you can move back and forth between the list and the catalog without hitting your back button.

A - F | G - L | M - S | T - Z Stampin' Around Wheels | Hostess Stamp Sets

Item #	Page #	Description	Price
100999	56	A Greeting for All Reasons	28.95
106314	88	A Happy Hi	19.95
103739	84	A Little Love	16.95
103635	96	A New Little Someone	19.95
100283	94	All God's Children	19.95
105463	116	All I Have Seen	14.95
107145	99	All Mixed Up	29.95
104473	91	All Natural	17.95
103895	90	All The Best	19.95
104036	103	All Wrapped Up	19.95
104038	103	All Wrapped Up Accessories	9.95
102189	178	All Year Cheer I	29.95
102176	178	All Year Cheer II	29.95
101236	174	All Year Cheer III	29.95
107337	174	Alphabet Stew	24.95
104042	196	Alphadots	26.95
103849	196	Alphadots Numbers	16.95
105487	33	Always on My Mind	28.95
105345	88	And Everything Nice	28.95
104474	160	Around & About	11.95
105419	155	Artifacts	22.95
105481	131	Autumn Leaf Prints	19.95
102341	97	Baby Firsts	19.95
105065	74	Baby Talk	22.95
104962	152	Balmy Breezes	19.95
107317	141	Beautiful Beach	26.95
107181	139	Because of You	16.95
105254	82	Best of Cluck	22.95
102475	166	Beyond the Basics	11.95
107035	109	Birthday Beauty	14.95
105455	61	Birthday Best	12.95
103804	138	Bold Butterfly	28.95
104229	180	Brighter Tomorrow	19.95
104438	194	Brushstroke Alphabet	38.95
104439	194	Brushstroke Numbers	16.95
105513	78	Bubble Queen	21.95
105509	97	Buggies & Booties	22.95
104816	53	Bundle Up	19.95
105457	123	Burst Into Bloom	11.95
107039	101	By Air	22.95
100349	160	By Design	14.95
105057	60	Celebrate in Style	19.95
102856	175	Cheery Chat	28.95
105353	170	Cheesecloth	16.95
103843	38	Christmas Carolers	17.95
104433	194	Classic Alphabet	38.95
104434	194	Classic Numbers	16.95
105190	156	Classic Pickups	22.95
104881	196	Collage Alphabet	26.95
104883	196	Collage Numbers	16.95
105256	80	Computer Quips	19.95
104970	78	Cool Cat	14.95
100126	36	Crazy for Christmas	19.95
105258	168	Crosshatch	16.95
104603	46	Cruisin' Christmas	18.95
103363	140	Cute as a Bug	14.95
105188	191	Day to Day Flexible Phrases	21.95
105473	79	Do The Hula	26.95
107141	154	Down to Business	19.95
104812	132	Drawing on Nature	14.95
106179	27	Dream Come True	22.95
107015	165	Eclectic Backgrounds	14.95
101163	180	Elegant Greetings	26.95
105408	104	En Pointe	17.95
105493	170	Ephemera	16.95
105184	190	Expressive Flexible Phrases	39.95
107037	83	Espressoly For You	19.95
107029	72	Fairy Tale Wedding	14.95
100130	130	Fall Whimsy	14.95
103361	70	Favorite Teddy Bear	29.95
102680	60	Feathered Friends	26.95
105451	24	Festive Four	11.95
103810	161	Fine Frames	14.95
107395	151	Finest Flourishes	17.95
107349	163	Finials & Frames	19.95
107125	65	First in Fashion	16.95
100132	140	Fishy Friends	19.95
107043	117	Flower Fest	34.95
105180	130	Flower Filled	24.95
107204	168	Fontastic	16.95
102086	170	French Script	16.95
104476	166	Fresh Fillers	11.95
102751	121	Fresh Flowers	24.95
103965	183	Friend to Friend	24.95
105178	112	Friends are Like Flowers	22.95
105175	90	Frolicking Frogs	22.95
105461	64	Fun Filled	16.95
104040	58	Fun With Shapes	24.95
Item #	Page #	Description	Price
105987	37	Gifts of Joy	17.95
101573	102	Girlfriends	21.95
103226	102	Girlfriends Accessories	16.95
106780	105	Glam Girl	26.95
104820	81	Going Out In Style	19.95
106706	158	Good Things Grow	19.95
105491	131	Gorgeous Grapevine	28.95
104028	31	Halloween Backgrounds	11.95
107017	179	Handbill Headlines	14.95
107167	173	Handle With Care	19.95
104417	40	Happiest of Holidays	14.95
104305	73	Happily Ever After	16.95
100319	28	Happy Hearts	14.95
105467	71	Happy Occasions	14.95
100789	41	Happy Winter	11.95
107183	63	Hip Hip Hooray	22.95
100313	38	Holiday Print	16.95
103532	42	Holiday Spirit	19.95
100426	47	Holiday Wishes	22.95
100006	34	Holiday Woodcuts	19.95
107389	100	I Love Soccer	19.95
103829	122	In Full Bloom	24.95
100321	137	In The Wild	19.95
105054	58	It All Adds Up	19.95
105497	105	It's a Cheer Thing	19.95
106287	150	It's About Time	21.95
100554	161	Itty Bitty Borders	12.95
102081	151	Kanji	11.95
105061	152	Knobbly Gnomes	22.95
107956	148	Ladybuds	14.95
105264	156	Land That I Love	22.95
107003	164	Letter Prints	17.95
105464	162	Lexicon of Love	14.95
105266	72	Life's Special Moments	22.95
104478	67	Little Hello's	19.95
104462	48	Little Holiday Wishes	16.95
101635	54	Little Somethings	16.95
107175	148	Lively Leaves	14.95
105427	104	Lively Little Ones	29.95
107190	86	Living Large	22.95
100152	120	Love Without End	24.95
105462	80	Love Ya Bunches	17.95
103728	26	Loving Hearts	19.95
Item #	Page #	Description	Price
105343	43	Madonna and Child	18.95
105152	49	Merry	22.95
105433	48	Merry Minis	29.95
104465	62	Mini Mates	29.95
107208	93	Mix & Mingle	14.95
105755	113	Mixed Bouquet	28.95
107327	193	Mod Alphabet	38.95
104877	26	Mon Ami	14.95
104480	153	Mostly Flowers	11.95
107155	57	Much Love	16.95
104765	133	Natural Beauty	19.95
103039	66	Nice & Easy Notes	26.95
100160	64	Nice & Narrow	21.95
107165	153	No Place Like Gnome	29.95
107019	196	Notebook Alphabet	26.95
107021	196	Notebook Numbers	16.95
106751	45	O Tannenbaum	17.95
106281	77	Olive You	14.95
105501	132	On Gossamer Wings	28.95
107206	83	On the Move	19.95
107329	155	Open for Trade	31.95
105468	186	Para Ti	29.95
107602	73	Parlez-Vois Français?	17.95
104377	44	Peace & Love	24.95
105335	42	Peace Be Unto You	17.95
104284	118	Petal Prints	26.95
104836	120	Petal Pushers	24.95
101717	166	Petite Patterns	11.95
100863	136	Pines	24.95
107353	188	Play on Words	17.95
100162	106	Pocket Fun	19.95
105479	100	Power Up	17.95
103767	69	Pretty Princess	22.95
105160	190	Quick Thinking	12.95
107361	181	Quirky Quips	19.95
103765	82	Right At Home	19.95
100386	122	Roses in Winter	28.95
100386	144	Ruff Day	17.95
107023	187	Sampler Sayings	19.95
104111	34	Santa Post	14.95
103555	128	Seaside Sketches	28.95
107194	127	Sew Seasonal	28.95
107367	194	Short Order Accent	16.95
100174	184	Simple Sayings II	19.95
103606	160	Simple Shapes	22.95
102771	56	Simple Sketches	29.95
101167	66	Simple Wishes	11.95
103939	59	Simply Circles	17.95
103311	25	Sketch It	34.95
104375	45	Sleigh Full of Toys	19.95
101589	51	Snowflakes	21.95
105431	128	Some Like it Hot	24.95
106642	135	Song Birds	18.95
104163	146	Sparkling Summer	24.95
104120	107	Sporting Goods	28.95
101857	124	Spring Garden	24.95
107333	81	Stampin' Fun for Everyone	19.95
100851	167	Stars & Swirls	11.95
107153	93	Stay Tuned	19.95
107393	123	Still Life Stems	24.95
105460	132	Stippled Stencils	11.95
107347	147	Super Squirrel	19.95
107171	197	Supersize Symbols	14.95
104032	49	Sweet Holidays	16.95
106774	91	Sweet Pea	26.95
103967	27	Sweet Talk	9.95
105475	74	Swell News	16.95
105471	94	Symbols of Salvation	17.95
Item #	Page #	Description	Price
105453	24	Tag Time	26.95
101380	62	Tags & More	19.95
101581	68	Tassel Time	24.95
105059	99	Teacher's Aid	19.95
105042	144	The Cat's Meow	22.95
106630	86	Time With You	22.95
103877	190	Tiny Talk	16.95
104419	46	'Tis the Season	19.95
104073	103	Totally Cool	19.95
107391	154	Trading Collection	31.95
105321	106	Treat Yourself	29.95
100028	30	Trick or Treat	11.95
107163	110	Tu-Tu Terrific	22.95
105507	92	Under the Weather	14.95
101352	124	Watercolor Garden	26.95
104468	118	Watercolor Minis	17.95
104614	32	Web Wishes	21.95
107177	31	What a Hoot	19.95
103909	92	What's For Dinner	26.95
104996	195	Whimsical Alphabet Lower	26.95
104994	195	Whimsical Alphabet Upper	26.95
104992	195	Whimsical Numbers	16.95
107196	169	Wild Hearts	16.95
103941	126	Window on the World	19.95
104373	139	Winged Things	21.95
105278	84	Wisecracks	26.95
106747	76	Wishing You the Best	17.95
105359	162	Wonderful Weaves	14.95
104964	184	Wonderful Words II	19.95
104907	85	Words by Wilson	22.95
103957	179	Words of Wisdom	19.95
107357	150	World Tour	19.95
103913	25	Year Round Fun II	28.95
103871	35	Yule Bits & Borders	24.95
Wheels
Item #	Page #	Description	Price
105523	71	Adoring Hearts Jumbo	7.95
105522	71	Baby Rattle Jumbo	7.95
101420	97	Baby Time	5.95
103112	121	Blossoms & Bugs	5.95
105518	100	Builder Bits	5.95
103296	48	Candy Cane Christmas	5.95
107501	137	Dry Brush Jumbo	7.95
104897	238	Eau De Cologne	7.95
106319	239	Everyday Blossoms Jumbo	7.95
104066	142	Farmyard Jumbo	7.95
104156	138	Flitting By Jumbo	7.95
103195	47	Gifts Galore	5.95
101829	34	Gingerbread Man	5.95
101525	136	Great Outdoors	5.95
104103	98	Hand Prints	5.95
103150	54	Heart Angels	5.95
105520	88	Hollyhock Jumbo	7.95
104158	93	Jazz	5.95
107463	117	Leaf Fest Jumbo	7.95
105524	71	Leaves & Swirls Jumbo	7.95
106320	239	Lots of Hearts Jumbo	7.95
102254	26	Love Swirls	5.95
100417	39	Many Mittens	5.95
104895	81	Millinery Jumbo	7.95
103543	42	Only Ornaments	5.95
102671	64	Party	5.95
102604	70	Paw Tracks	5.95
102604	130	Pindot	5.95
101088	41	Pine Bough	5.95
104424	40	Poinesttia Jumbo	7.95
104099	65	Polka Dot Blocks	5.95
105361	144	Pounce	5.95
107478	127	Sew Sweet Jumbo	7.95
105448	163	Size It Up	5.95
100351	31	Spooky Spiders	5.95
104160	159	Square Pegs Jumbo	7.95
101638	39	Star	5.95
104061	51	Star Studded	5.95
100593	98	Sweet Feet	5.95
100622	126	Swirl Fun	5.95
104425	40	Swirling Stars Jumbo	7.95
104893	53	Twinkle	5.95
103749	96	Wash Day Jumbo	7.95
104098	92	Whirly Twirly	5.95
104423	40	Woodcut Holly Jumbo	7.95
Hostess Sets
Item #	Page #	Description	Price
107117	19	A is for Adorable	N/A
107115	22	All-Around Argyle	N/A
107127	21	Basket Full Of Fun	N/A
106768	15	Blooming with Happiness	N/A
107011	19	Both Way Blossoms	N/A
106635	22	Flowers for a Friend	N/A
107339	20	In Any Event	N/A
107131	20	Love It	N/A
107111	18	Measure of a Life	N/A
107335	17	Reason to Smile	N/A
107113	14	Riveting	N/A
107451	17	Simply Scrappin' Friends and Flowers	N/A
107365	14	Springtime Stems	N/A
107129	16	Tags So Much	N/A
107139	16	The World Over	N/A
107143	15	Warmest Regards	N/A

Special thanks to Marni who did most of the html for this great table! :)

Erin tagged me...

2007-05-31T23:40:00.000-05:00

So I guess I gotta post now! Love ya, Erin! Erin's my great new friend from SCS's CE (Current Events) forum. She's a hoot! :) You have to answer these things with just one word. Yourself: Mom Your Partner: Sweet Your Hair: Brown Your Mother: Loving Your Father: Strange Your Favorite Item: Scriptures Your Dream Last Night: Dream??? Your Favorite Drink: Water Your Dream Car: Paid off Dream Home: Victorian The Room You Are In: "Office" Where You Want to be in Ten Years: Settled Who You Hung Out With Last Night: Kids You’re Not: Perfect One of Your Wish List Items: BlingBrads The Last Thing You Did: Chat You Are Wearing: Jeans Your Favorite Weather: Rainy Last Thing You Ate: Pizza Your Life: Good Your Mood: Happy Your Best Friend: Corey What Are You Thinking About Right Now: Phone Your Car: Venture What Are You Doing At The Moment: Chat Relationship Status: Married What Is On Your TV: Nothing What Is The Weather Like: Stormy When Is The Last Time You Laughed: Now Now I get to tag three more... Sharon Emily and Lisa Be sure to check out other bloggers on my list at the right! :)

What is VSN anyway???

2007-05-20T18:42:00.000-05:00

VSN is Virtual Stamping Night... a Splitcoaststampers.com tradition started two years ago by two sisters, mamakimberly and emilymomto3boys. They deicded to throw a stamping party and invite, oh, a few thousand of their closest friends. Emily and Kimberly gathered hostesses to come up with challenges, judge entries, and pick winners. The first VSN was such a blast that it's become a sort-of bimonthly event. The rules have evolved, but the main purpose has remained constant: to bring stampers together (in a virtual way, of course) for a night of stamping and hilarity.

I *think* I planned on participating in that first VSN, but as plans often do, it went awry and I didn't. I did keep on planning, and kept on missing, and finally two VSN's ago my friend Sharon (hi Sharon!) came over and we participated in a couple challenges together. I skipped the next one, but when sitting on the computer last night surfing the SCS forums (what fun that is!) I remembered it was VSN time and clicked on over. The first challenge "Buggy Helpers" was posted Friday night and was for kids, too. I recalled my fun Little Lady set I'd just received from Papertrey Ink and decided to invite my children to stamp with me. Here are their creations in my SCS gallery: Nicole and Jonathan. Go leave a comment for them. It'll make their day!

Since I was helping them... or rather hovering over them to be sure they didn't 1- stamp a Basic Black ladybug in my Pretty in Pink pad, 2- drop those bitty clear stamps where I'd never discover them again, or 3- spray so much cleaner on my scrub that it would bubble up every time I went to clean my stamps (Nicole gets a bit overzealous with the Stampin' Mist)... I wasn't actually able to stamp until I'd put them to bed. But once I did, boy howdy it was my turn! See my SCS gallery for more information on the cards.

My Buggy Helper card:

A pretty simple card. I dug out my Edgy Eloquence set from last year's Summer Mini catalog. I love this set of fun sayings in a mixed upper/lowercase font and I'm hoping it's included in the upcoming Fall-Winter 2007 Collection!

I scrolled through the challenges to find another I could accoplish considering the late hour and my lack of suggested supplies. I happened on the "Trip to the Emerald City" challenge (create a card using the Wizard of Oz as inspiration) and came up with my "If I were King Of the Forest" card:

I used the same basic layout as my Ladybug card (too tired to think up a new one) and just pulled it all together. The lion is stampt right on the Fabriano card, then on Whisper white in Really Rust for the mane, and again on Whisper White for his face. I then cut out the mane and face and adhered them onto the card. I made an oval mask using Stampin' Up!'s small oval punch, made a mask of the lion's feet, and put them in place to sponge in a grounding oval for the lion (couldn't make the poor thing float in the air!). I used a paper towel for the sponging, so maybe it was toweling, because I didn't want to tromp up the stairs to find one of my stamping sponges.

Next was the callenge "Sharing the Light" (make the sentiment the focal point). I flipped open my catalog and found this card on page 191 (you may have to click zoom out or larger size for a better view). Loved the layout and decided it would work for the saying (from Edgy Eloquence again) I had in mind.

I just about had a heart attack after using so many brads on one card! I also used some of my precious Palette o' Prints designer paper in Rose Red to tie in with the whole flower theme of this month's VSN. I'm not sure I would do both the paper piercing and the brads along the side again... but the more I see it, the more it grows on me.

My last card of the evening (after all, it was no longer evening but nearing 1 am by this point) was the "May Batik" challenge. I had to do that one! After all, I had just taught mulberry batik at my stamp club the night before, and I had extra supplies cut and ready to use. I did change the layout and the set, and came up with my Birthday Batik card:

SCS has a great tutorial for this technique in their resource section. Some tips about the mulberry technique:

If you want the mulberry to have a torn look, be sure to wet and tear your mulberry *before* doing the technique. Also let it dry before stamping and embossing-- embossing powder does stick to damp mulberry paper.
You can use watercolor crayons, ink refills, even markers or just ink pads for this technique.
When embossing, the mulberry paper turns clear. This would make a really cool window card!
For a softer dyed look, wet the mulberry paper before adding color. For a bolder look, apply the color to dry mulberry paper with your aquapainter or a we watercolor brush.
Pat the mulberry paper with a paper towel before ironing.
When ironing, it may take a little bit for all the embossing powder to lift from the mulberry paper and soak into the copy paper. Patience is key during this step. When the embossing powder is soaked into the copy paper, the mulberry will peel away easily. If it sticks, you need to iron some more.

I had a great time participating in VSN and I hope you enjoyed my projects!

The Retiring List is Here!

2007-05-01T11:21:00.000-05:00

Go to Stampin' Up!'s website to download the list: http://www.stampinup.com/us/enu/8071.asp I am so excited! I stayed up WAY too late last night hitting the refresh button (again, and again, and again) and chatting with fellow demonstrators while waiting for the list to be posted. We were all in SHOCK at the number of sets (233 sets, 45 wheels, 16 hostess sets) on the retiring sets list, and I was in even MORE shock when I crunched some more numbers this morning and found that Stampin' Up! is retiring about TWO-THIRDS of the current catalog! This is unprescedented and totally unexpected! So why am I so excited? Because I have seen a few sneak peeks at some upcoming sets, and I love what I've seen! Of course, if there are items on the retiring list you can't live without, contact your demonstrator today! In other news, I got word yesterday that my SCS secret sister received my package (see my last posting) and LOVED it! Once I send her reveal package later this month, I will also be able to reveal to you the projects I sent to her. :)

I've been tagged!

2007-04-25T21:02:00.000-05:00

But it was last weeks game, and everyone else has already been tagged with the "name your five favorite bolgs," so I invite you to look at my list at the right and check out an unfamiliar blog! I read them all (and more--haven't updated in a while) and they're all my favorites! *wink* I had fun stamping and creating the last couple days... but I made things for my secret sister, and I'm not sure if she reads my blog,so I'll just show you little hints for now and post the full projects later.

I also made a cover insert for a dollar store photo album for my husband. Yeah, it's a little girly. I think he's manly enough to deal with that! *wink*

Sets: Whimsical Alphabet, Office Accoutrement. Papers: Chocolate Chip card stock, Confetti White card stock, So Saffron card stock, Spring Flowers double-sided designer series paper. Ink: Always Artichoke, So Saffron, Cameo Coral craft stampin' spots. Accessories: Little Reminders accents & elements, Aged Copper hodgepodge hardware, ticket punch, small corner rounder punch, spring bouquet punch.

Do you like?

2007-04-24T19:45:00.000-05:00

So, I have been drooling over other people's banners for quite some time now, and finally decided to create my own. It took some time, some trial and error, some quick searches for resources, and a whole lotta patience, but I think I might like this. Let me know what you think!

Swapitis Strikes!

2007-04-18T20:16:00.000-05:00

If you've read JanTink's blog, you know about this disease that seems to strike stampers at random... Swapitis. Yesterday at about noon it hit me. I realized that the swap I had signed up for, oh, forever ago, was due in only two days! I frantically clicked on card after card online, looking for that perfect element for my card. Once the design was finally decided upon, I proceeded to stamp, cut, punch, and adhere through 3 movies (from 10 pm til 5 am), catch a few precious minutes of sleep, then stamp some more, cut again, adhere, peel, repeat (Stampin' Dimensionals, dontcha know), tie, staple, fold, bend, print, peel, and stick until the last card was complete.

Yes, I left this swap until almost the last moment possible (not uncommon for me). I had decided weeks ago to create a Flip Flop card (see Beate's tutorial on Splitcoaststampers.com) but the design just wouldn't come together. I spent hours looking at the Splitcoast gallery, more time looking at the demonstrator resources on Stampin' Up!'s website. Finally inspiration struck. Well, not struck exactly... more like crept slowly, agonizingly, laboriously into my brain. I pulled together elements from many, many different projects and came up with a fun card that I'm proud to call my own. (The white flowers are a lot softer in real life.)

Stamps: Office Accoutrement, All in a Row, It's Your Birthday sets Paper: Kraft, Rose Red, Old Olive, Naturals White card stock; Notations paper Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive Classic inks; White Craft ink Accessories: white grosgrain ribbon, rich regals brads, stampin' dimensionals, crafter's tool kit, cutter kit, staples, Spring Bouquet Flower punch, Round Tab punch, Spiral punch

Sympathy card

2007-04-14T11:31:00.000-05:00

I stayed up late Thursday night, making this card at the last minute for a memorial service Friday. I cut enough supplies for three more cards, to have on hand. I copied Heather Nichols' layout and was inspired by the blue and green on Lisa Johnson's card. I wanted a peaceful feel for this card, and I think I acheived it.

Supplies: Paper Tray set (Papertrey Ink); Whisper White, Always Artichoke, More Mustard, Nicght of Navy Craft Stampin' pads; Buckaroo Blue, Certainly Celery, Kraft cardstock; Cutter Kit, White grosgrain ribbon, Stampin' Dimentionals, sewing machine & thread.

I printed a verse on the inside of the card-- "Wishing you peace at this time of sadness." I sewed around the perimeter of my card (my first sewing-on-a-card experience), then stamped the stems, flowers, centers, and greeting. I heavily distressed the edges of the Kraft cardstock with the distressing tool in Stampin' Up!'s Cutter Kit and gently inked the edges with White craft ink. I then inked the edges of the Buckaroo Blue card and the Cetainly Celery layer with the white ink. I let the layers dry before moving on (just a few minutes). I layered the Celery on the Blue card then tied the White grosgain ribbon. I added the Kraft layer with 2 layers of Stampin' Dimentionals-- I really wanted this layer to POP off the card.

Three Flowers

2007-03-13T08:37:00.000-05:00

You know, clear stamps aren't half bad. I'd never used them before last night (yes, almost three weeks after I received my very first clear stamps set), so I only had the opinions of others to rely on before now. I love that I can see through the block and image to the card where I'm stamping. Placing the image on the block isn't really difficult either. This is the card I made for my husband last night. A simple, one-layer card using the Paper Tray set by Nichole Heady. I pretty much CASE'd Nichole's card, changing the size of the card and some of the colors. It's a simple but elegant design, and pretty straightforward. I chose one of my new Fabriano Medioevalis cards from Cindy Lyles, AKA StarLitStudio. Now, the cards are a little pricey, but you really get what you pay for! These cards really are beautiful. I also "justified" the expense by purchasing my first bottle of Primas and a slew of chipboard coasters. I first stamped the stems, lining the stem along the grid line on my cool blocks from Joann's, in Mellow Moss Craft ink. I then stamped the flower in Rose Red, and the center in So Saffron. It was quite simple to line them up to the stem-- I placed the flower on one of the grid lines, and just lined the line with the line... ahem, stem. I stamped the words with Rose Red also. Perfect placement was a piece of cake-- the grid lines made getting the greeting straight so easy! Now, attaching those ribbons was not as simple as I thought it would be... cut a couple slits, thread the ribbon through, tie a knot... how hard could it be? Cutting the slits (using a hobby blade and the setting mat from the Crafter's Tool Kit) was easy, as was tying the knots, but getting that ribbon through the slits??? So frustrating! That part took me longer than the rest of the card combined! I love the look, but I don't know if I'll ever take the time to do that again. This morning, I realized the envelope was nekkid, and since you can't have a nekkid envelope, I carried the card's images over. Now to write inside and mail it off!

I stamped... for me!

2007-03-13T00:35:00.000-05:00

OK, it's actually a card for my husband... but I didn't stamp for a workshop, for a swap, for a club, for anyone else. I stamped tonight for myself. Unfortunately it's dark and I take pictures in the daylight, so you'll have to wait until morning to see my creation. (Oh, what a tease I am!)

No time to stamp...

2007-03-05T22:53:00.000-06:00

It's been a long, long weekend... Thursday evening I had a parent-teacher conference for my middle-schooler. (I'm not old enough for him to be that old!) Matthew's doing better in school, but there's still much room for improvement in the turning-homework-in area. Friday started bright and early with back-to-back conferences at the elementary school (both Nicole and Jonathan are doing quite fabulously, both above gradee-level in reading and math, both dealing well socially). With no school because of conferences, and the weather was horridly cold, we had to find ways to amuse ourselves indoors... It all went quite well. Our schools plan their Scholastic Book Fairs to coincide with conferences, so we al had plenty of new books to keep us entertained for quite some time Friday afternoon. Saturday was promising to be a quiet day... when I smelled a smell... smoke?... something burning... "Something's burning," I tell my son, "Where's that coming from?" Matthew replies, "I dunno." "It's coming from upstairs!" I'm rushing up now... two kids are upstairs! "What's burning?" I ask again. Matthew had rushed upstairs right behind me. "I dunno," he says again. I open the door to his room. Okay, nothing was on fire at that moment, but there in the middle of the room is a big black pile. I'm very relieved that no one was hurt, but I couldn't believe how stupidly my children had behaved! Matthew had burned a large poster-size drawing Jonathan had brought home from school (and I hadn't even gotten a picture of it yet!) right on the carpet in his room... blackened paper flakes were scattered everywhere, and the carpet is quite melted in a rectangular halo around where theis paper was sitting. Smaller melted spots are scattered around the room. "What were you thinking????" was the question I asked aloud several times as I opened the windows to 20-degree wind in an effort to air the smoke out of the room. "I'm a terrible mother," I thought to myself. "What kind of mother raises a child who sets fire to things like this?" Once I'd calmed down a bit, I thanked my Heavenly Father that no one had been injured in this terrible experiment. I realized that my parenting skills probably had nothing to do with my son's failure to control his curiosity. My own mother is a wonderful parent, yet I, too, was a bit of a fire-bug at the same age. I didn't light things on fire right on the carpet, mind you... I used glass canning jars instead. (Insert rolling eyes here.) And when I complained of the morning's debacle to my husband, he stated that he, too, started fires as a youngster... though his were all in the back yard. So Matthew was allowed to live. We did spend a good amount of time looking at pictures of burn victims, courtesy of Google, so that he could see the possible consequences of his actions. And I learned that candle lighters are yet another thing that must be locked away from my impulsive 11-year-old. Sunday was a calm day in comparison. Church (where I substitute-taught the 4-turning-5-year-olds), home for lunch and quiet-reading and -rest time, popcorn and a movie, dinner and bed. But being drained emotionally and physically, another day passed with no time to stamp. I guess life can't always be about stamping. :)

My AWESOME Secret Sister!

2007-03-03T23:59:00.000-06:00

I received an awesome package from my SCS (splitcoaststampers) Secret Sister today! She included a gorgeous card using the Carte Postale set and Enchante' papers from the Winter Mini catalog, an adorable gum holder using the new Polka Dots & Paisley set from the Spring Mini catalog and the hostess-only Simply Scrappin' Kit from the big catalog, and (bestest of all!!!) a totally cute milk carton made with the striped patterned cardstock from the Just Delightful Simply scrappin' Kit from the Sell-A-Bration brochure-- overflowing with so many colors of ribbon! Thanks so much, big sis! :)

Yesterday's Workshop Projects

2007-02-25T11:52:00.000-06:00

I had a great workshop yesterday with a new group of ladies. I showed two projects and we all made one more. Being the CASE-ing queen that I am, I lifted all three projects directly off of three very talented Splitcoaststampers ladies. I love that site! :) The first project: I wanted to demonstrate one of the jumbo wheels I had just purchased, so I searched for "Everyday Blossoms" in the SCS gallery and pounced on this project by staramaze. Here's my version:

Supplies: Very Punny stamp set, Everyday Blossoms jumbo wheel; Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White cardstock; Pretty in Pink jumbo wheel cartridge, Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pad, Pretty in Pink, Blush Blossom, Bordering Blue Stampin' Write markers; Wheel Guide, White gel pen, Carmel gingham ribbon, Soft Subtles buttons, 1-1/4" square punch, 1-3/8" square punch, Stampin' Dimentionals. My next project was another CASE from SCS... this time one of JanTink's adorable pocket notes cards. I also promised to send them the link to her fun Purse Box for the pocket notes.

Supplies: Small Sayings stamp set; Chocolate Chip pocket notes, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red cardstock, Loves Me designer series paper; Taken with Teal, Rose Red Classic Stampin' Pads; Spring Bouquet punch, 1/2" circle punch, Crafter's Tool kit, White gel pen, Pink gingham ribbon, Stampin' Dimentionals. Finally, I wanted to showcase the Stampin' Pastels. It's been quite a while since I've demonstrated the versatile chalks, and besides, when my downline asked for help finding a project she could use, I fell in love with this card by wiggydl. I added the Linen background with Versamark, but it doesn't show well in the photo.

Supplies: Linen background, Delight in Life stamp set; Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Whisper White cardstock; Versamark ink, Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pad; Stampin' Pastels, Soft Subtles brads, distressing tool from Cutter Kit, Stampin' Dimentionals. I had my framed names for Matthew and Nicole on display at the workshop and promised to schedule a class in the near future.

Spring Swaps

2007-02-22T07:52:00.000-06:00

I *heart* swaps! But I am terrible at deadlines! I always wait until the last minute to get any stamping done, and sometimes this procrastination of mine allows cards to leave my house that I know are not my best work. This time, I *rocked*! Yeah, I'm taking a cue from JanTink... I love myself! Not only did I create the most gawgeous cards you've ever seen, but I got them done in ONE, yes ONE, afternoon, AND got them in the mail ON TIME! Yes, for me, that's phenomenal. So where's this *brilliant* card, you ask? Wait no longer, here it is:

That's 21 gawgeous card fronts for the swap and one gawgeous full card for me to hoard, *ahem* I mean save in my stash for some deserving person. Ingredients: Doodle Alphabet, Doodle This, Happy Everything stamp sets; Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Whisper White card stock; Petals & Paisley double-sided Designer Series paper; Always Artichoke Classic Stampin' Pad; Crafter's Tool Kit. Such a simple card, but so fun! You can easily see the paper piercing below the focal point image, but the Whisper White layer is also pierced around the edge skipping the parts of the edge where the flower is stamped. Make sense? Hope so. ;)

My Very First Ever Downline Meeting!!!

2007-02-21T07:13:00.000-06:00

Yes, that title has three exclamation points. I'm that excited about the meeting I held Saturday! I've been an upline almost since I started with Stampin' Up! (my first recruit was my sister-in-law just 2-1/2 months after I began) but I had never lived close to my downline. My first two recruits both lived in Kansas when I lived in Kentucky, my third recruit joined in Tennessee when I moved from Kentucky (she was just across the state line from me), my fourth recruit joined in South Caroline when I moved to Kansas... You get the picture! But now I have two sweet ladies in my first level downline who actually live near me! And three more in my levels 2-5! With the sudden boom in downline (I now have eight total), I decided it was past time to start holding meetings. I had four of my five area downline attend. I was so giddy about the meeting... I think everyone was laughing at me the entire time, but hopefully they all got something from it. And what's a downline meeting without stamping? Here's the project we created together, layout from the March Stampin' success...

The layout is pretty simple... so I'll just list the ingredients: Polka Dots & Paisley stamp set; Certainly Celery and Whisper White card stock; Petals & Paisley double-sided Designer Series paper; Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pads; Turquoise grosgrain ribbon, Crafter's Tool Kit.

My monthly Hostess Club... AKA a great reason to create...

2007-02-20T17:12:00.000-06:00

I love when my Hostess Club rolls around... I have a reason to stamp! It's not that I don't normally have reasons, but with my workshops and hostess club, I *have* to stamp, it's not something that can be put off until I have time, it's my *job*! Anyway, as I was prepping (last minute of course, I do everything last minute) for my hostess club, I felt the overwhelming urge to create... or rather... to CASE a card as seen on Splitcoaststampers. I knew it was too much for my club setting, but I couldn't help it! I fell in love with the clean lines of this card posted by funone. As I looked back further in the gallery, I saw that it was a CASE of this card by atomicbutterfly. Here's my version:

To get the dimensions, I pasted a picture of the card into Microsoft Publisher and just drew lines to figure out how long and short every piece was. I kept with the same colors as the two original cards: Gable Green, Lovely Lilac, Pink Passion, and Whisper White. I have the same pack of Pink Passion cardstock that I bought soon after I began as a demonstrator in 2003, so it was high time that I use a bit of it on this card! I used the markers to ink the "so very" sentiment, and assembled the card pretty quickly. I used the piercing tool and template from the Crafter's Tool Kit along the top edge of the Lovely Lilac layer. I pulled out my Corner Rounder punch and Slot punch (the one that looks like a mini Word Window punch) for the Pink Passion layer. I added a smidge of the polka dot ribbon from the Sweet Shop Ribbon Originals, tied it quite prettily, and called the card "done." Since that particular card was too involved (too many steps for a club meeting that I try to keep to less than two hours) I moved on to my Inspiration Sheets for simpler ideas. It's easy to find ideas, but I've used many of them in the past months. If I were just creating that wouldn't be so much of a problem... but since I give the IS's to my club members, I want to be using a different one so they don't have duplicates. This card's layout came from the Sweet Shapes Inspiration Sheet. I changed the colors a bit, but kept the layout exactly the same.

We stamped the sentiment "so very" with White Craft ink on probably my favorite color of cardstock, Certainly Celery. We layerd that on So Saffron then onto the Almost Amethyst card. We each chose a secondary sentiment (mine was "sweet") from the So Very set to stamp on a small piece of Pretty in Pink cardstock, then trimmed it to fit the word. We stamped both pieces of Pretty in Pink with the dotted stamp from Delight in Life. We then punched a hole with the 1/8" handheld punch and put a dot of SNAIL adhesive on the inside of the card next to that hole. We laid the Celery ribbon on that spot of adhesive, then attached the Pretty in Pink layer, threaded the ribbon through the hole, and tied it into a loose knot.

On to project two, the technique card... I teach a new technique at each stamp club, and the technique card is the one that I allow to become a little more involved. This month, I fell in love with this card by mytime. I also looked to Michelle Laycock's blog for additional information on this gorgeous technique.

We started by stamping the flower from Delight in Life on Vellum cardstock using White Staz-On ink. You can also use White Craft ink, but you then have to use your heat tool to set the ink. The White Staz-On has virtually no drying time. We then gently embossed by tracing the lines of the flower from the back and added a frame. We colored the back of the image using Watercolor Wonder crayons. You could use pastels (chalks), ink, or even markers for the coloring. We attached the vellum layer to the Blush Blossom card stock with a mini glue dot (doesn't even show!). We stamped the small flower from Delight in Life using Blush Blossom ink randomly over a 1/4 sheet of Vellum paper. We attached the Always Artichoke layer directly to the Whisper White card, the 1/4 sheet of Vellum on the Always Artichoke, then the Blush Blossom piece over the Vellum. Last we set the eyelets at the top corner and tied Pink 3/8" organdy and Moss grosgrain ribbon around the card.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2007-02-14T12:22:00.000-06:00

My daughter Nicole has been bugging me for a while to help her make her Valnetines for her class. So with the snow day we had yesterday, we had plenty of time to stamp. She had decided on using Wild About You... until she went through some samples from last fall and fell in love with this card I made in my hostess club. I changed the layout a smidge so it would fit on a trading card (3-1/2" x 2-1/2"), switched the colors, and made her a sample. I did all the cardstock cutting, and she did all the stamping and assembly. Here are her cute cards:

I was going to just purchase Jonathan's cards... but time ran out, and I still hadn't done so. So I asked him what he wanted, made a sample, and he approved. I started with Pumpkin Pie (he requested "orange and black and white") and once he saw it, he decided he wanted other colors, so I added Pixie Pink, Bashful Blue, and Cool Caribbean.

25 Penguins stamped 50 ovals punched 250 inches of ribbon cut and knotted 500 holes pierced Smile of approval: Priceless.

My Friend, Nichole

2007-02-14T08:07:00.000-06:00

Long, long ago (ok, a little over four years ago) I didn't stamp. My first experience with stamping about a year and a half before was what I would call "disastrous." The card design was very country-cute, which I don't do, and the colors were, ahem, not very nice together (picture Cameo Coral with a cross between Barely Banana and Very Vanilla). To top it off, the stamps were not well-cut and left a shadow around every image. And with tiny flowers sprinkled all over the background, there were a LOT of shadows! I thought I just "couldn't" stamp. Long story short (and it IS a long story-- I started telling it, but decided not to bore you... today) my friend Nichole helped introduce me to stamping. We joined Stampin' Up! the same night, and she adopted me into her group when our upline scaled back her business and eventually quit. She cheered me on in my business and inspired me to do better. Now she is introducing her own stamp line! I am so excited, so proud, so happy for her! If you've ever flipped through one of PaperCrafts numerous publications, you've probably seen her name. Nichole Heady has a clean, sophisticated style all her own. Her company, Papertrey Ink, shows that style. Nichole's new stamp set is being unveiled tomorrow, along with an online gallery featuring such stampers as Lisa Johnson, Heather Nichols, Debbie Olson, Amy Rysavy, and Taylor VanBruggen. As if that wasn't enough, Nichole is giving away a stamp set! All you have to do is visit her blog and post a comment on one of her "countdown" projects... all created with her stamp set. Not only do you get a chance to win, you also get some beautiful ideas to inspire you. So happy for you, Nichole!

Slight change...

2007-02-09T20:54:00.000-06:00

Yes, I changed the colors on my blog. I read a comment on another blog that the white text on black background hurt her eyes and made her see spots for hours afterwards. That had never occured to me before. So while I prefer the design elements of white on black, I don't wish for it to be a problem for my readers. Hope y'all don't mind the change!

Early Morning Stamping

2007-02-08T14:37:00.000-06:00

I was perusing my new Stamp It! magazine late, late last night and found a card perfectly suited to the new Doodle sets in the Spring Mini catalog. Here's what I came up with:

I never (really, never!) use Whisper White alone as a card base... it just doesn't have enough heft to it... but for this card, I wanted the stark white that only Whisper White would offer. Confetti White has all those flecks in it, which just didn't seem to match with the style I wanted for this card. I thought of using Naturals White... but, well, you know that organizational project I began not too long ago? I haven't done much organizing in recent days, and just can't find that pack of card stock. I do want to try this card with the Naturals White, though.

I first stamped the phrase with Doodle Alphabet on a 2-1/2 x 3-1/4 piece of Spring Flowers Designer Series Double-Sided Paper using Cameo Coral and Chocolate Chip Classic ink. I then inked the edges first with Cameo Coral then with Chocolate Chip. Then I stamped the large corner flourish from the Doodle This set on my Whisper White card in Chocolate Chip. I adhered the Spring Flowers layer onto the White card with my SNAIL and stamped the small flower from Doodle This over both layers. I inked the edges of the White card the same way I did the Spring Flowers with both Cameo Coral and Chocolate Chip. I decided it just wasn't quite finished, so I punched a hole in the Whisper White card just to the back of the fold and tied a length of the Chocolate stitched ribbon from the Seaside Ribbon Originals around the card. The ribbon anchors the Spring Flowers layer visually. Last, I colored in the flowers with my Cameo Coral Stampin' Write marker.

I really like the way this card turned out! I hope you enjoy it, too.

Family Photos

2007-02-05T22:21:00.000-06:00

It's been a long, long while since we had professional photos taken of our family... and it'll be even longer! We needed pictures taken today, but we didn't have time to even walk in to Wal-Mart... So I decided to set things up to do the pitures myself! I have a decent camera and just enough knowledge to make me dangerous. I first set up a good backdrop by pinning a couple black tablecloths to the wall. I then opened the drapes to let in as much sun as I could. We have a nice southeastern exposure, just about perfect for pictures in the morning. Here's the best shot of the family:

Aren't those kids adorable? I did have to doctor the photo a little... just a bit of saturation, hue, and contrast work. I also took the picture on the largest and superfine setting so I could crop it a little but still have it large enough to print 8x10. Now the rest of the photos:

We had a lot of fun shooting pictures. The kids were really hamming it up! I realized only after 45 minutes of snapping pictures that I hadn't gotten my own photo taken, which is why my photos are all the way at the end. Hope you enjoy the show!

Evolution of a Card

2007-02-02T14:42:00.000-06:00

I sat down a few days ago to create a card for a swap... I had a layout from a Stampin' Success (demonstrator only) magazine that I knew I wanted to use, and I had falen in love with the color combo we had used for one of the make and takes at Leadership. I also kew I wanted to use my new stamps. (After all, my favorite set is always the one I just got! lol!) I started with a Rose Red card base of 4-1/4" x 11", folded in half to make a standard card of 4-1/4" x 5-1/2". I cut a 4-1/4" x 1-3/4" layer of Old Olive and stamped the branch from the new Doodle That set (available in the Spring Mini catalog from March 1st-June 30th) several times on the left using Old Olive ink. I added a saying, "that was so" from Amazing to Zany in Staz-On Black. I cut a 4-1/4" x 1-7/8" mat from Basic Black then adhered the pieces together and distressed the Basic Black layer using the distressing tool in the Cutter Kit. Then I adhered the black layer to the Rose Red card and stamped "sweet" using the Doodle Alphabet set (also from the new Spring Mini catalog) in Rose Red ink. I then took my Uni-Ball® Signo Gel Pen and started adding little accent bits to the word "sweet" and the doodle branch. I kept adding, and adding , and adding... until I'd traced all the letters and added too much to the branches. After all that, I just didn't like the card any more. *sigh* So I walked away from it for a while.

Back to the cards today... I decided to get the white I wanted, I would just use the White Craft pad. I really liked the effect... a little more subtle than the gel pen. I also realized what was missing from the card-- ribbon! So I added 8" of Black grosgrain ribbon and tied it in a simple knot, but it was a little to stark. So I went to my gorgeous Ribbon Originals and snatched a small bit (3") of the Rose Red stitched ribbon from Sweet Shop. Ah, perfection! I added a doodle on the Rose Red base with Rose Red ink, then stamped "love" in White Craft in on the bottom. Hmmm... I liked the olive/black/ribbon layer, but the card was still not quite there...

I decided to leave out the Doodle Alphabet (there will be plenty more oportunities to use that set!) and bring back Amazing to Zany. I also used the doodle flower from Doodle That in the bottom corner under the word "delightful" from Amazing to Zany. So there you go, my not-so-hot samples before coming up with a card I am totally pleased with. I just hope my fellow swappers are equally happy with my card!

Ten Apples

2007-02-02T14:30:00.000-06:00

Jonathan is in first grade this year, but since there are only a handful of first-graders in his reading level at school, they all go to a second-grade reading class. One requirement in his class is a "book talk" (we called them oral book reports when I was in school) each quarter with some sort of visual project to go with the book. Yesterday was Jonathan's day to present, and I tell ya what, we were on top of it this time! Not only did he have his book picked out a week before, he started on the project two days before, and it was fully complete the night before. AND I even had the presence of mind to snap a couple pictures before he went to school yesterday morning! Here he is, so proud of his mask based on the book "Ten Apples Up on Top."

Mission Organization: Attacking the Craft Room

2007-01-30T08:55:00.000-06:00

When we moved here to Fort Riley in September 2005, I was so thrilled! We'd been living in a 3-bedroom apartment in South Carolina, and while it was bigger than our house in Kentucky, we had outgrown it. I had a craft "wall" in our apartment, but moving to Kansas brought me a whole room! I gleefully directed the movers to put all the boxes marked "crafts," "scrapbook supplies," and "stamps" into my craft room. I cackled as they brought my table up the stairs. I grinned as the bookcase that would house my stamps was placed in just the right spot.

And then we decided to switch rooms. What was going to be my craft room (and guest bedroom) was now the boys' bedroom, and the smaller room became my craft room. OK, I could deal with that. I manoeuvered furniture into place, I stacked boxes and unstacked boxes, I pushed and pulled and hammered and drilled until I had my space ready for stamping. Except I still had several boxes packed, just shoved under my table, because I didn't have the space or containers to store my stash.

Fast-forward a year, and my craft room had become the "we'll just put this here until we can find a spot for it" room. I was taking my stamping supplies downstairs to create, because there was no room on the table in my craft room. Then we were notified that a 5-bedroom was ready for us. Oh, joy! Oh, heaven! Baby Jason was still in our bedroom (at five months) but since he was sleeping through the night most of the time, there wasn't that need any longer. Now he would have his own room and the talk of converting my craft room into a nursery could stop.

We moved into the next house and the same excitement filled me. My craft room! This time I would do it right! This time not a thing would enter the door that didn't completely and totally belong! But I was kidding myself again... So much extra "stuff" came into the room that only yesterday I could barely find a spot to walk! The pictures here are from just a few weeks ago, but are pretty accurate for yesterday, too.

So why the sudden push now? Well, I'm sick of having to haul stuff downstairs to have enough space to stamp.

I'm sick of spending more time going up and down the stairs for items I've forgotten. I'm sick of not being able to find a wheel, a pen, a pair of scissors, a punch, a stamp, when all the while they're "hiding" in plain sight on my table! I'm sick of the chaos and it's just time to take charge of my space! Plus we now have to move baby Jason in to share my space so that the older boys (6 and 11) can each have their own room. My mother-in-law informed us last weekend that eleven is plenty old enough for a boy to need his own space. *grin* To begin, I gazed at all the Stampin' Spaces on Splitcoaststampers. I tried to figure out what things would work for me and my room. I marked a few favorites (michlz319's shelves and baskets, stampfan's basket system, and WAXYO's setup). Then I went shopping! I found some fabric bins at Wal-Mart that looked like the perfect size to stash my stuff. I started yesterday by cutting two more shelves for my bookcase. DH and I had bought the wood for the shelves months ago, but he hadn't gotten around to cutting them. I finally decided to stop waiting for him and just do it myself! One shelf is a smidge crooked (one end is about 1/4" shorter than the other end) but I doubt anyone will ever notice it besides me. I experienced a setback when the shelf support pins I had bought were too large for the holes in my bookcase, but a look around the house scrounged enough pins for one shelf, and a trip to TrueValue brought the rest. I then started putting away supplies that had accumulated in boxes here and there around the room: Things I had taken with me to stamp while on Christmas break, supplies for my stamp club (erm, two months ago *blush*) in another box, my free product order from Stampin' Up! (for promoting to Senior Supervisor) was still half unpacked in yet another box. All in all, I emptied six Stampin' Up! boxes of various sizes yesterday! Now I can at least walk through the room. *grin* I also gather together my punches and tossed them into my new fabric bins. The bins are a little deep for the punches, so I may be looking for something a little more shallow if this doesn't work for me. Lucky for me, some of my organization is already done: I have a wooden cassette tape holder I use for my ink pads that's screwed into the wall, and I'm pretty good at getting my inks back into place. I have my stamps on my shelf, organized by page number in the Idea Book & Catalog. No retired stamp sets, so no worry there. It wouldn't work for everyone, but it works for me, for now. My ribbon is (mostly) in my Stampin' Up! ribbon holders. I pull spools out every so often, but if I can keep stuff organized in my room, I'll probably not pull the ribbon out as much.

My banner

2007-01-01T00:00:00.000-06:00

This is just a post containing my banner so that it can be a clickable header. ;) Carry on!

Stamp With Belinda

Quick reminder...

I've moved!

Excuse the mess...

She's All That-- Framed!

Merci card by Christine Okken

Sale-A-Bration

Have you seen it?

On a personal note...

October Stamp Club Meeting

November Stamp Club Meeting

December Stamp Club Meeting

January club meeting

Post! Post! Post! Post!

Stampin' Up! Paper Share!

My retired stamps for sale...

Adorable altered clippie/coaster thingie

The Stars at Night are Big and Bright...

I'm Brads...

Altered Rolodex Card

Going Pink

Criss Cross Card

Erin tol' me to post. NOW.

Birthday card with NEW stuff!

A couple swaps...

MIA again...

Retiring accessories and the new catalog...

Groovy Guava

Father's Day

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

New stamps, new cards!

Look what Mr. Brown brought!

2007 Retiring List Made Easy!

Erin tagged me...

What is VSN anyway???

More Links!

The Retiring List is Here!

I've been tagged!

Do you like?

Swapitis Strikes!

Sympathy card

Three Flowers

I stamped... for me!

No time to stamp...

My AWESOME Secret Sister!

Yesterday's Workshop Projects

Spring Swaps

My Very First Ever Downline Meeting!!!

My monthly Hostess Club... AKA a great reason to create...

Happy Valentine's Day!

My Friend, Nichole

Slight change...

Early Morning Stamping

Family Photos

Evolution of a Card

Ten Apples

Mission Organization: Attacking the Craft Room

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