Candle Boxes

There hasn't been much stamping going on around here lately as I've been wrapping up some end of the year projects at school - but this morning I did make this box that will fit a Yankee Candle votive perfectly. I used a combination of Always Artichoke and Pool Party, and broke out a new stamp set from the upcoming IBC called Four Frames.

An Extraordinary Lunch!

As I was making Emma her lunch today, so told me about a quote she recently read "a little extra turns something ordinary into Extraordinary" so I had to reach form some left over banner and label pieces and quickly turned the toothpicks holding her sandwich together into something Extraordinary! It had to be quick - she had a riding lesson to get to - or it would have been fancier....gives me an idea for my next party...anyway - hope you have an Extraordinary Weekend!

June Holiday Card Club

Here is a holiday card made using the new Pennant Punch and Pennant Parade Stamp Set that I got in my Demo Sneak Peek Pre-Order. In addition to this card we'll be making a two others, one of which is a treat box card perfect for fitting 4 or 5 Hershey Nuggets. There are a couple of seats left if anyone would like to try it out. We start at 6:30 on Thursday night, new members are always welcome and there is no purchase commitment. Hope to see you then!

Cherish Friendships

I think I found my favorite card in the new Idea Book - I love the colors and layout of this card, I just had to change out the stamp set to one I already had. This new Cherish Friendship set fit the bill exactly!

I dusted off my blender pens to color in this image, using as many of the new colors that will be released soon as I could, and threw in a whole slew of others just for good measure!

Enjoy!

The Man in Brown Stopped By Today

....and look at what he left behind! A box full of NEW Stampin' Up! Treats. These stamps are from a set called Cherish Friendship, and was my first choice from the stamps available on my Demonstrator Pre-Order. I just finished drooling over the new Idea Book and Catalog and though I'd like to take one of each, please! I am not sure that I'll have the time to use absolutely all of it - so I'll have to narrow my choices a bit!

But back to my card...these cherries are the reason I just had to have this set. For this First Stamp I wanted to see if I could get the blended look of Copic markers using Stampin' Up! products. What I've decided is that you really don't need those ultra expensive markers to get this cool blended look on your cards and projects. It can really be done with ink pads or markers and a blender pen! For this image I used both - ink from the lid of my stamp pad, and a little ink from a marker placed on a plastic lid. Once you choose the colors you want to use simply start with the lightest color and work your way up to the darkest using scrap paper as needed to lighten some of the ink on your blender pen.

This card is a hint at what's inside this fabulous new book - lots and lots of banners! It seems that banners are all the rage right now, and they are coming in all sorts of shapes and sizes. As such I think that it is only appropriate to show you a few of the ways you can add them to your current projects using items you probably already own, as you make sure you are able to purchase any LAST CHANCE items you might like to have.

I will be hosting a Mystery Hostess Workshop at my house on Saturday June 25th from 12-2. RSVP and find out the various ways you can get your own copy of the new catalog for FREE!

Retro 70's Style

If you remember the early 70's you might remember these super cute mushrooms being emblazoned on just about everything - my mind remembers them shimmery and covered with red and white sequins on a pair of bell bottom jeans!

The card will be part of a Stamp a Stack I will be teaching at my Stamp Camp for Kids in July. Super cute huh?

The Land of the Free

I had some fun playing in my Stampin' Space this past weekend using the Land of the Free - one of the fun A La Carte stamps from this years Summer Mini Catalog. I used it on both the pieces. This is a fun way to embellish items for your 4th of July barbecue or get together! Apologies for the color - I guess I will have to go back to photographing my items outside in the sunshine!



These nesting boxes are a pattern I have been using off and on for awhile. They will also be one of the projects offered in my Holiday Big Shot class that begins in September - let me know if you would like me to save you a spot in this class, and I'll send you the information.



The card was made using a Double Embossing technique that was featured in Stampin' Success Magazine this past month. To recreate this effect you can use your brayer, or rub your Versamark ink pad directly onto the debossed side of your embossing folder, place your DSP into the folder and run it through the Big Shot. You will want to immediately sprinkle your embossing powder onto your DSP while the ink is still wet, and heat set. Isn't this a cool look?

Stop back later this week, I will be posting some cards made with sneak peek items from the upcoming Idea Book and Catalog! Hope you all enjoy the beautiful day.

Stampin Space Made-Over

After my determination that my Stamping Space was in sore need of a make-over (I could not even work in here!) I decided that I needed to reorganize and purge. I actually found 4 empty boxes were taking up valuable space! So here is what I came up with:



This is my reorganized and newly positioned cutting station. Now that it's right beside my desk, I can easily reach whatever I need! I am no longer concerned about blocking off this door - it never gets used, and leaving a path to it obviously wasn't working either!

These metal containers used to live on my front porch as window boxes, but after two seasons exposed to the rain and sun, it was obvious that they would not survive another summer. However - they do fit all of my dies nicely, including the extra long ones. Its nice to no longer have to rummage through various drawers to find what I need!

The desk in this position makes it great to reach anything I need in the drawers underneath. Previously I would have to push in my chair just to open those drawers! As an added bonus sitting in front of all those windows allows me to watch Emma when she is outside playing and riding her bike!

I love my new ink pad storage - these are the little containers that used to fit inside those metal window boxes turned die storage! They fit the ink pads and coordinating markers nicely. No more pulling drawers out to find my ink pads!

Thanks for stopping by today!

A Stamping Space Makeover ?

I spent the day organizing my Stamping Studio. I know it doesn't look very clean but if you saw the piles of paper stacked everywhere before I started you would understand. I am waiting for my new copy of Creating Keepsakes Creative Spaces to arrive, maybe I can get some ideas on how to work with this space! I think it's surely in need of a makeover don't you?

Graduation Gift

I have been itching to make one of these bottles since I saw this one!

It was just perfect to hold a printed copy of Mary Schmich's speech titled Everybody's Free

Congrats to all the graduates this weekend!

Enjoy

Tea Set

Isn't this tea set the cutest? I can't wait to teach this class - we'll be making a Tea Bag Holder using the Paisley Petals Designer Paper from Stampin' Up! That is available this month only for $9.95 with your $20 order or free with a $350 workshop! It will not be available again until the new Idea Book and Catalog is released in July! Just a few folds, a paper trimmer and some glue is all you need to create this beauty!

We'll also be completing this Tea Cup Card and Treat Bag with Topper to match. All this is just in time for Mother's Day. The class is taking place on May 1st at 1:00. Call or email me for details!

Don't you just love this flower on top of the box??
TTFN and have a Happy Easter!

Paper Mache Eggs

Still getting ready for the upcoming visit from the little guy with the big Hop! Here are some paper mache eggs I've been working on. They were cased from other eggs I have seen around, including the eggs that Shelli posted on her blog here. If you have never been to Shelli's blog, it's worth a visit - she shares some amazing projects and has a great style.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Recycled Bunnies

A few weeks back Emma and I decided to use some of our cardstock scraps to make bunnies for Easter. We recycled the cardstock by tearing it into tiny bits, then adding it to the food processor with a big of water and blending it all together to make one mushed up mess! After squeezing all the extra water out of the mush, we smooshed it into chocolate lollipop molds to create these 3-Dimensional bunnies. It was fun putting them all together, and a great way to recycle some of our left-over papers!

The Art of Illumination

Yesterday I attended a class on Illumination that I had really been looking forward to. Illumination is the lavish artwork that was produced during the Medieval Period-first by Monks to illustrate manuscripts. The process was very involved, and usually included a parchment maker, a scribe, and one or more artists or illuminators.

The class was based in spirituality and attendees were encouraged to pick a favorite bible verse or spiritual quote, write it down, and then decorate it by hand using a variety of mediums. Some of the pictures people came up with were amazing - I wish I had taken pictures! - and many were intended as gifts. That morning when I re-read the class description I noticed that attendees were invited to use the mediums supplied or bring their own. Well that was all I needed to know, and I promptly packed my crop bag. I did try to limit myself by picking out a color palette ahead of time, and I packed a few stamp sets though I was pretty sure I was going to try and stick with the Fabulous Florets coming out in Stampin' Up's new Summer Mini-Catalog. The other set I brought along was Nature Walk - one that proved quite popular as other artists borrowed the flowers and butterfly to embellish their garden themed projects.

Having an abundance of Poppy Parade card stock - I have had a hard time warming up to this one - I knew I was probably going to be using it with the Poppy type flower included in this set. At the last minute I also grabbed my bag of Smooch and Shimmer Paints - though I had no idea that the word Illumination is also thought to refer to the Gold Leaf that was part of this art form. Here is what I came up with:





On the card fronts I used a combination of Stayz On ink, Poppy Parade, Blushing Bride, Peach Parfait and Pear Pizzazz Stamp n Write Markers, my Aqua Painter, Log Cabin Smooch (in the center of the poppies) applied with a paint brush, Vanilla Shimmer Mist, and Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint.

On the insides I used the Leaf Stem stamp with Poppy Parade that I misted with Vanilla Shimmer before stamping. The pictures really do not do these cards justice - the shimmer is beautiful!

Anyway the idea was that whatever was created during this class comes from inside, and though I did not necessarily follow the directions by picking a verse from one of the many wonderful books provided I did create something beautiful that came from within. And that is how I like to share my art with the world!

A Blog Award!

I was given this Blogger Award by Jennifer Campbell. THANKS JENN!!! This was a surprise - and fun to meet all the "criteria"!

When you win a Stylish Blogger Award there are 4 things you must do:


1. Thank the person that gave you the award and link back to their blog (above). Thanks Jenn
What a surprise this was!

2. Share (8) things about yourself:
1 - I love being a Mom, it leads to other great and amazing things, like being a grammy!
2 - Being a grammy is equally as great as being a mommy!
3 - I really love spending time with my husband both with our family and alone - he's a pretty fun guy to hang around with!
4 - I really enjoy my job as a Preschool Director, and the variety of things I get to do though out the day, from working with the kids and teaching my afternoon class, to helping and supporting the teachers, children and families I work with, to event planning!
5 - I find pleasure in doing things that make other people smile!
6 - When I am stamping in my studio (ahem - closet!) I love creating 3-D items and figuring out how to put things together.
7 - What I love the most about Stamping and Paper Crafting is the process of putting things together and completing projects at my own pace.
8 - I really enjoy sitting by a fire in the back yard, and roasting marshmallows with Emma.
9 - I think that people watching from Leffingwell's Martini Bar is quite fun!
10 - I am one of the most unorganized people I know - but I'm always trying to improve on that!

3. Pass this award on to (8) other Stylish Bloggers:
1. Gail I love visiting Gail's blog to see what she's been up to. The first time I met her she told me I was her "idol" lol that's pretty neat and I don't think I'll ever forget that comment! Gail and I belong to the same Stampin' Up! Group - Love at First Stamp
2. Cindy Schuster Cindy always has some neat things on her blog. Lately she's been working on MDS videos, it seems!
3. Susan Susan belongs to Love at First Stamp also!
4. Kim I love checking in to see what Kim has been working on lately - I saw a really neat scrapbook she made yesterday!
5. Ingvild Bolme Ingvild creates some pretty amazing things - I love to look at her blog for inspiration - I recently did a class inspired by her art!
6. Patti Lee Patti Lee often posts tutorials on her blog, sharing her techniques with everyone. I have seen so many people case her great ideas!
7. Shannon Hebert Shannon makes all kinds of things - and shares great projects on her blog!
8. Alison from Nice People Stamp - I stumbled across her blog one day and had to save it in my favorites, probably just because of the title, but I am never disappointed when viewing her blog!

4. Leave a comment on their blogs so they know your passing it on to them. Congratulations All!

So I'm off! Not sure I'll get to all of them, it was a VERY early morning...thanks for visiting everyone!!

Sneak Peek!

I have a sneak peek for you!



Stampin' Up! is offering this great promotion for April! You can purchase this with your purchase, or get it for FREE with a qualifying workshop during the Month of April. Order yours quick because these fun new items won't be available again until July!

Customer order option

* Orders may be placed on any order type (customer, demonstrator, workshop, or online).
* Customers must spend $20 to be eligible to purchase the Four Frames stamp set and/or Paisley Prints Designer Series Paper from the upcoming 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog.
* Both items can be purchased once the $20 minimum is met; there is a limit of five per product once the $20 minimum is met. Ordering another $20 of Stampin' Up! products resets the limit and allows the customer to purchase another five Designer Series Papers and/or stamp sets.

Hostess option

* Orders must be placed on a workshop, customer, or demonstrator order to qualify. Online orders are not eligible for this part of the promotion.
* Customers will receive the Four Frames and Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper FREE if they host a $350 workshop (net sales before tax and shipping).
* You must use the special bundle item numbers above when ordering the Four Frames Set and Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper as a reward for hosting a qualifying workshop.
* There is a limit of one Four Frames Set and Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper per workshop.
* Workshop must meet $350 minimum to be eligible for sneak peek products. Reward is for reaching the $350 level and is not incremental.
* Hostess may choose either the wood-mount or clear-mount set. Clear blocks are not included in the clear mount set.