Greetings from Lyn

I love it! And of course Lyn wouldn't send me a card without some Old Olive would she? The simple straight lines are perfect and the striped designer paper sets off the focus snowflake. thanks, Lyn. We have to see who can order more in that new catalog, I can't wait to get that Lovely Letters set to make monagram note paper .............I'm afraid my thank you notes for Christmas presents will be a little late because I want to make them with that set. I hope everyone is making their wish list so we can order on Jan.2!! How exciting. Happy New Year one and all!!!

Beth's Christmas Card

I'm always so pleased to receive a card from one of my addicted friends!! Beth Keene is a terrific stamper who makes sets of cards for all her sisters and her Mom for Christmas.........you just can't imagine how many cards she makes each season! I'm not even sure she can keep track herself. What a nice gift to give ..........and receive! This card uses the set called Block Party which I remember her mentioning was one of her favorites in the catalog this year.........great job with it Beth.

My blogging may be a bit sporadic these next couple of weeks........very busy time for us, but I will pop in now and then. Happy Holidays, L

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! May you all be blessed with health and happiness in the coming year. Thank you for checking my blog..........I will be spending time with family for the next few days. Blessings, Laura

Punch Pals

I've been meaning to share this card with you for a long time. It is the card that Linda Tarolli brought to the Splitcoast Swap in October! I just think it is terrific, meant to make it myself, but never did get the Punch Pals ordered. I'm glad to see that it didn't get retired, for sure I'll buy it for next year. YES, YES my catalog came in the mail yesterday and it is just as wonderful as everyone said it is. My wish list is pretty long! Back to this nice card.......she used basic black and Always Artichoke ink, Artichoke, Real Red, Mellow Moss , Very Vanilla and Dashing Double sided paper. Her accessories are Silver elastic cord, Stampin dimensionals, 2 way glue, Dazling Diamonds, Pencil eraser (how clever for the little dots I guess) square punches and the word window punch. Thank you, Linda for this nice card..........and to everyone out there.........Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. My posting will be a bit sporadic for the next couple of weeks, but I'll be here now and then. May you have a wonderful holiday and thanks for stopping by.

Mary Kay's Christmas card

Thank you Mary Kay, I love it!! It is so nice to have a downline that uses all the stuff that I plan to use and never get around to! Here is chipboard with glitter, my chipboard is pretty much intact on the board it arrived on......one of those things I just don't get to do and it is nice. Blue taffeta ribbon on the Y and a rhinestone bling in the middle of the snowflake. And.....the Bashful Blue and Chocolate chip combination is so "in" right now............great card, Mary Kay. And no my catalog didn't come yesterday either.........if it doesn't come today I'll surely cry.

Sharon's Trees

This is the most beautiful card in real life, not sure it shows up very well on this scan. Sharon Dorn sent this to me and I am so thrilled. She is one of my downline stampers and this is such a gorgeous card that she has created. It is in Bayou Blue and white and of course it is my all time favorite stamp set so she really knows how to please me! Thank you so much, Sharon for letting me share it with all of my good blog friends. And NO, my catalog didn't come today, but I did sneak in to Virginia's room at school and checked out hers for just a few minutes before the concert. I can tell you this much, from what I saw in those few minutes..........it is the best ever! Lovely Letters has my name on it and lots more, I'm afraid. Stay tuned for updates on the catalog!

Emma's Thank you..........

Emma needed to make a thank you card for her church buddy who sent her a lovely Christmas present this week, so she decided a Christmas card with a letter would be a good idea. I think she did a great job and the color combination she chose was a good one, don't you think? My grand-kids certainly take to stamping so easily and I was glad she was thinking to send a thank you.......that isn't as common these days and I think it is so important. She used Jolliest Time of the Year and the words from Hollidays and Wishes........a little black gingham ribbon and there it is! And another subject.........I'm so envious of Virginia, she called and said her new Spring Stampin Up catalog came in the mail today, I hope that means that tomorrow I'll get mine. I can't wait!! Thanks for taking time in your busy holiday schedule to stop by.

Ready for 2008?

These little coaster calendars are so addictive! I started whipping up a "couple" on Friday and then it would be just one more. They will be cute to include with a set of cards for those people that I usually give all-occasion cards to. The coasters are ordered from American Coasters and I have lots I will be glad to share at a tiny price if you want them. The calendars came from www.vippies.com. Of course you could use post - it notes too if you don't have calendars. Such fun..........give them a try! Enjoy the snow and do lots of stamping while you are homebound!

Cherish Spirelli

Thank heavens for another partial snow day and help from grandchildren! And yes, I got them hooked on spirelli too......it is such fun to change the number of valleys you skip and of course I had to go to pick up some metallic thread in the morning before the big snow came. I found silver, gold and copper to play with. This is the copper with some copper paper behind the white. Night of navy was my choice although Jess made a beautiful one with Sage Shadow and gold and Emma chose Ballet Blue and silver. The possibilities are just endless. Of course I chose the Baroque Motif for mine as a background. And why am I stamping when I should be writing all the cards I already have stamped? Oh well, my intentions are in the right place. Between making those boxes that my friend Dorothy showed me and spirelli, I surely have a good time. I'm going to shop today!!! Christmas is leaping right up there isn't it?

Spirelli madness

Oh my gosh..........this is so much fun! It is called spirelli and I ran across it last night on this blog.....http://rubberstampingdiva.com/ .....you have to try it, her tutorial is wonderful!! I used some gold colored thread I had on hand, but today I'll go to the fabric store and get some gold metallic thread and I think that will show up better. I used Bayou Blue with the scallop punch and spring flower bouquet. The flower one is retiring, so hurry to order it for the center! I'm sorry the scan doesn't do this card justice, I stamped Doodle This with the gold metalic Encore on the designer paper and had it not been time for bed (very, very late) I would have embossed the gold instead. The fun part was the spirelli and I skipped four valleys! You will understand what I mean when you read her blog. Gold metallic paper is behind both the scallop punch and the designer paper. It's time for me to get out of my "la-la land" and get my Christmas shopping done. Time is beginning to run short isn't it? I have packages to get in the mail etc, etc. But then we have a month or so don't we? Thanks for stopping by.

Debbie's Frog

So your job today is to count the punches I used on my froggie??? Large ovals, 1/4" circle,1/2"circle, 13/8" circle, and the horizontal slot one! Isn't he cute? The Lily Pad wheel was his spot to rest on. The words were from Unfrogettable and I used Gable Green, Real Red, Bashful Blue and Glorious Green for the Frog and lily pads. And yes, I cased this completely from my upline, Debbie.

We had a great time tonight at Stamp 10........I was pleased so many came out in spite of the weather forecast. Thank heavens it was only raining and not the sleet they called for. One more day to order without paying the shipping and handling charge........give me a call. I'll be sending in Sue's order Wednesday AM.........remember to check your retired lists, too.

Alcohol trees

You all know this is my favorite stamp set of all times and it seems there is no end to the possibilities it presents!! I used the Flannel background here, then some close to cocoa cardstock and white glossy to stamp the trees in black. This is my version of alcohol ink..........just put a few drops of classic reinker on a piece of glossy cardstock and then put a few drops of alcohol on top and then with a paintbrush , pick it up and paint on the trees. It will dry quite pretty. I then added the gold cord and words from Sincere Salutations. This would also make a nice masculine birthday card, don't you think? Thank heavens they didn't retire my stamp set yet!!!

Christmas Ornaments

Good Monday morning.........I had a little snitch with the computer this morning, hope that isn't the way the whole week will go! Anyway, it looks like we didn't get the sleet and snow we were supposed to get this morning, so on with the stamping.............this idea came to me out of the blue the other night as I was knitting a scarf! Amazing what comes to you at funny times.......I just embossed the Baroque Motif in gold on three different colored cardstocks, and punched with the three sized punches. Peaceful Wishes pine branches across the top in Garden Green and then I used words from Warm Words, they are great little words. I hope the new catalog has more of the little words that fit in those close little spaces, I use them so often. My trusty gold painty pen made the tops for the ornaments and then I just drew in the strings with my black pen. I think this is kind of cute for a quick, simple Christmas card............what do you think?

Tomorrow night is our December Stamp 10 meeting..........hope to see many of you there. I'm hoping we have escaped the ice and sleet and will all be ready to get out for the evening. Thanks for checking in today, sorry I was late with my posting!

Peaceful Wishes

One of my favorite Christmas stamp sets that came out last year. You can't see it very well, but the card opens about half way under the red square and there are words inside. Yes, it is Old Olive, Real Red and white. This is pretty simple, but sometimes that is best! I've had some response to my free shipping offer and hopefully more of you will take me up on this. It's a good time to stock up on some of our papers and check the Retirement list to see what you can't live without. Stamp 10 people will meet on Tuesday night for Sue Knickerbocker's party........I'm really excited about the projects for that. Watch your e-mail for a list of punches etc. that you will want to bring to make the evening go smoother. See you then. Thanks for peeking in.

Gift card holder

This is really a quick card............fold up from the bottom and down from the top, each side of the bottom piece is glued down with tape so the card is secure. A little piece of white is taped to the underside of the top flap and torn to look a bit like snow. I used three stamp sets here, Print Pattern background, Lovely as a Tree and The Snowflake Spot. The trees and snowflake are embossed in white on Bashful Blue. No words, but there is room on the inside if you wanted to add them. More snow here today, but it looks quite gentle this morning! Stop by again soon. Don't forget that I am offering free shipping this week for all Stampin' Up orders, my early Christmas present to you all. This offer is good through December 12. Just give me a call.

Sidekick Sayings

I'm really grateful for a "snow day" off from school so my Grandchildren could come and help me catch up on some Christmas preparations here at my house. We made some more cards.........I always cut too many for my Christmas Stamp a Stack so I will have them for myself to send.........have I made them up yet? No, that was one of the projects today. Matt did this one for me and I think he did a great job. Garden Green with Bravo Burgundy under the white cardstock. The words came from Warm Words and a little Pomegranate ribbon to set that off. We also strung the garland and moved furniture so we can bring the tree inside (when it dries off!) Of course it would have been smart to have brought it inside when they delivered it, but no I left it on the front deck to get bombarded with snow last night. The kids are excited to think of skiing soon! It certainly makes one think of Christmas to have all this beautiful white stuff.......I was glad not to have to venture out of the house all day! Thanks for stopping by and happy shoveling if you live in this area!!

Holy Triptych

I have received my first Christmas card and it was thrilling to have it be a Stampin' Up card from one of my dear friends! Judy Tinker made this for me and it is beautiful..........the background is Bravo Burgundy, then white and then she embossed the gold on Always Artichoke and carefully cut that out. The figures are stamped on vellum and colored on the back..........thanks Judy for such a pretty card and a job very well done. I love this new set this year, one of the many I ordered from the Holiday Mini. I must get busy and get some cards in the mail. Snowy, snowy day today with many schools closed all over the area!! It certainly looks a lot like Christmas!

Mirrored Lovely as a Tree

My most "favoritest" stamp set escaped the Retirement list once more! And by the way you can find the list at www.stampinup.com now, and can order all of the month of December. I'll be sending an order by December 12 to make sure it comes before Christmas for those of you who want to give that special Stampin' Up gift. But back to the card this morning..........such a simple technique, another from this month's class, the mirror tech. Stamp with basic Black ink on your white cardstock and then stamp again on a cello bag and quickly rub that bag onto the white cardstock directly under the first stronger stamp. I colored with pastels, but any coloring technique works well as long as you color lighter on the mirror part. I used the words from the set Peaceful Wishes, another favorite that escaped that Retirement list! Brocade Blue is the color I mounted the white card on.

An update on the "Support the Troops" gathering on Saturday.........a great day! Several came to the studio and packed boxes for four of our local men in Iraq. We added Andy Hutson to our list and were so happy to have so many wonderful goodies along with lots of cards to send. The group plans to meet again on Saturday January 5 to pack more boxes. Thank you to all who responded in so many ways. I'm sure these boxes will be happily received. Judy talked to her son-in-law recently and he said the first boxes were wonderful!! A great way for us to thank these young men and women, I think.

Noble Deer on Milk Paint

Just wrapped up the November Technique Class tonight and we did Milk Paint as one of our techniques. I love the look and think the Noble Deer look great on it. I added the chocolate chip taffeta ribbon and a hardware buckle. Actually we found the weathered background stamp was a great addition, but thought of that after I made this card! Now it's on to getting ready for the packing of cards and goodies for the troops in Iraq on Saturday. I hope many of you will stop by to help. We have a lot of cards to put the finishing touches on and hopefully lots more items. We have another name of a local man serving there, so he will be receiving some of our packages as well. Any help will be very welcome 1- 4 at my studio in Tully.

Good old Frosty

Every year I depend on "Frosty" for at least one of my Christmas cards, he is so dependable! This time he is under a used dryer sheet and doesn't mind at all. I always have to relate my story about a friend's husband saying to us that when we girls can do something crafty with dryer lint, he will be impressed............well, I think this is pretty close! Stamp a card with whatever you like, snowflakes work well, Lovely as a Tree of course is an excellent choice too and color as you like. Then run the card through the Xyron or spray with adhesive spray, add a little Dazzling Diamonds and slap on the dryer sheet. The glitter doesn't show well in this scan, but it is there. You have to be careful not to use too much glitter or you will lose the stickiness of the Xyron. I used a red grosgrain ribbon also, but you can add eyelets or brads. A fun card and one your friends will enjoy. Stop in again soon.

Punch Tag Star

Isn't this a beauty? I admit when I first saw these directions I quickly decided it was way too much work. Then I decided to try it and it really is a piece of cake! I'm not sure where I saw it, but I'll look again and see if I can find the website for you, I used Almost Amethyst and Shimmery white for cardstock. Actually the vellum is some retired snowflake that I wanted to practice on, but then it was so easy, I continued using it. The flower is from the Pretties and also the brad. Just a little Almost Amethyst marker on the flower and the words are from Peaceful Wishes, that wonderful set that came out last year. There you have it! I'll check to see where I found the directions, but I can tell you it uses both of the tag punches. And here is the website for the directions:http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/tag_punch_star/ Go ahead and try it, it really is simpler than it looks.

Zoofari Fun

This card was inspired by a card I received in the Convention swap this summer. The original was created by Jan Delfel and to be honest hers is using better colors! She used Elegant Eggplant and Old Olive, mine is More Mustard and Always Artichoke. This stamp set is such a cute one and I love using it, but not often enough! I don't make cards for kids very often and guess this really doesn't have to be for kids........we all have a little "kid" in us quite frequently. Speaking of kids, don't forget our boys and girls in the service. We'll be packing boxes again at my studio on Saturday afternoon. It's a great day to come to the village of Tully..........Craft Show at the High School and then drop in at my place and help pack boxes for the troops. The dry socks I ordered arrived today, so they will be ready to send. Busy week.........technique classes on Wednesday and Thursday. Thanks for dropping in today.

Free Spirit

I had such a nice afternoon yesterday with my downline. We did the five techniques that will be this month's addition and then we did this beautiful card that Virginia showed us. She had made it for her son's birthday card and you can see it in full size with the medallion on her website. Can you believe we started with River Rock and added the colors with the brayer? Of course we masked the moon with a post-it note and the horses are from Wanted.....the trees from Stem Silhouettes. I added a little hardware to the hemp and mounted it on both a tiny bit of Chocolate Chip and then Creamy Caramel .......a gorgeous card. thanks Virginia. By the way, I think you will like this month's techniques, looking forward to seeing the group again this week. Thanks for stopping by this morning.

New pinwheel!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving........I had an especially fine day at my son's house! I first I hadn't had all the family here in many years, and it was great. Of course I ate too much, but that is what you are supposed to do. Anyway, last night I was going through the cards from Convention again and this pinwheel took my eye. Can you believe it is only two three inch squares cut and folded? I have to thank Lisa Courter from Fayettevile, NC for this great trick. Another way to use the double sided Designer paper. This was Rose Red and I used Pale Plum as a background........then stamped the flowers and words with Pomegranate ink.

Just a quick reminder.........Technique classes resume this month and will be held this coming week, Nov.28 and 29. Five more techniques to add to your books.

Also we will be packing boxes for the troops again on Dec. 1 at my studio........1 to 4PM. Mark your calendars.

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Day!

Happy Turkey Day to you and in our family it's Happy Birthday to my first grandchild! I still get all choked up when I remember hearing that baby cry over the phone from the hospital!! That little baby is nineteen today.......so quickly she grew up and off to college. One of my other grand-daughter's and I made this card yesterday. Yes, it does look a bit like a Christmas card, but we liked the idea of the flower made out of designer paper. That is the Doodle This flower again, surely comes in handy. A little bit of dazzling diamond, red grosgrain ribbon on a strip of navy and then the words from Hugs and Wishes. There you have it. Well, the turkey is in the oven, the pies are made and I'm looking forward to a great day with family. May you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving............we have so much to be thankful for.

Time Well Spent

This is a new stamp set sent to us by Stampin' Up which will be a Hostess Set in the new catalog coming out in January! Great to receive a free set in the mail. Some cutting and some punching on the flower with So Saffron behind the Pomegranate and there it is.........pretty isn't it. SU suggested using the Versamarker on the edges of the flower to give it some depth and after I found mine, it does do the job just fine. I never thought to do that before and it is pretty simple. Some colored brads here and there and the Old Olive Grosgrain ribbon finishes the card. Oh yes, I did add a little Doodle This on the corners. Well, it's off to bake the pumpkin pies! Stop in again.........our kitchens will be aromatic for a couple days!

Debbie's Illuminations

I received this yesterday and I think it is striking. Doesn't that little bit of Dashing Designer paper just do the trick? The Thanks from Illuminations has been embossed in gold and double mounted on red and Old Olive.....lots of corner ticket punches too. The swirls are from Doodle This and what a nice card. Thanks Debbie, have a wonderful holiday with your family! I wish everyone safe traveling and lots of turkey. I need to shop this morning to finish the food gathering!

Mark December 1 on your calendars for the next gathering to package and send more cards and goodies for the "Support the Troops" event. 1 - 4 pm again at my studio.

And while I'm reminding you of important dates, the November Technique classes will be held Wed. AM

November 28 and Thursday evening November 29. Five more techniques to add to your books. Get your calendars marked!!

Debbie

I can Scrapbook!!

I know this is a surprise, but I almost can get hooked on this scrapbooking thing!! Once I get started, I do find it is addicting. This is my page from Tampa Regionals, you can see it only took me from last March to get this in a scrapbook!!! Yes, that is Shelli with me on the left, Debbie and her first downline that attended on the top right and on the bottom is the picture of all her downline that went to Tampa. It surely was a fun trip and I'm so glad I had the chance to go with them. We learned so many great ideas and met other demonstrators from all over the country!

Beautiful Designer Paper!

These are some of the bows we made at Stamp 10 on Tuesday night. So easy and addicting. We have such beautiful double-sided paper and it is a great special this month at Stampin' Up. Buy three sets and the fourth is free. I think one of these bows will be gorgeous on that special Christmas gift!

Judy's Patriotic Card

This is one of the cards we made on Saturday at the " Support the Troops "Stampathon. Judy Tinker created this one and I think it is especially appropriate for sending to our troops. Much of the card is retired SU now....the stamp set and the star eyelets, but it just seemed perfect. Now this leads me to remind people to snatch up a stamp set before they retire if you like it..........I've been looking for the set called "Godspeed" now for some time and I get little response. I did hear from one person who was asking a ridiculous price!! Anyway, the moral of the story.........get them while you can!

We are planning another session of goodie packing and card sending on Dec. 1..........so gather your supplies. We have a couple of new names to send packages to in Iraq, so if you know of someone you would like us to include, get those names to me, with the correct address. I understand the address has to be very perfect to get to them. Thanks and stop by again.

Dashing Criss Cross

Good fun at the Stamp 10 meeting last night.........four projects and this was one of them. It was Scrapbooking night, but some aren't into that form of stamping, so we made this card and a couple other cute things. This is a Criss Cross card that I found on Beate's blog, but sized a bit different on Cambria's site! I would have liked to have used white inside the card, but I had used all my white cardstock on Saturday! Hence, the Sahara Sand that I had already cut for the "troop" card. Dashing dbl sided paper and the Build a Brad in the center of the scallop punch. What did I ever do without the scallop punch? We used it on three out of four of the projects we did last night..........it seems to be attached to my hip at all times! And yes, Lyn, that is Old Olive ribbon and the circle behind the brad. I started with Always Artichoke because I had some of that cut from Saturday too! There you have it, remember Stampin' Up has a wonderful offer this month, three sets of Dbl sided paper and the fourth is free! So many pretty ones to choose from, I'll not tell you how many I ordered!!

For those of you who are into the scrapping, hop over to Virginia's blog and check out her clever page she posted yesterday.

A Change of Pace!

Today I'm showing you a picture that was taken on Saturday at the "Support the Troops" Stampathon at my studio. On the left is Tammy Ayers with a picture of her son, Douglas and on the right is Jaylynn Boyce with her husband, Jason. Both men are serving our country in Iraq at the moment. The boxes are the work of all the great people who either came, stamped and packed or gave money to send them. I'm pleased with the effort that was shown that day and know that all will be gratefully received soon! Thanks again to those who helped in so many ways. We plan to meet again Dec. 1 to fill more boxes for more troops. I will be glad to receive other names of men and women serving outside the United States and include them in our mailing. Let me know.............thanks again.

And another reminder that tonight is Stamp 10 starting at 6 o'clock. I have so many projects.......I think you will be happy. This month is scrapbooking but I have three other projects besides the page for your book. Come and bring a friend!

Godspeed

The "Support the Troops" Stampathon on Saturday was such an overwhelming success I can't wait to tell you all about it! This is the card some of you made, and yes it is retired from back in 2005, but Sandi Browngardt lent it to me and I thought it was perfect for the occasion. I don't think I ended up with either Tammy or Judy's card, but I think there are still some at the studio. We packed nine boxes of goodies and cards, eight will go to Iraq and the other will go to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC. Can you believe we sent 770 cards in those boxes!!! We still have lots more cards, but we ran out of envelopes, so we plan to get together Dec. 1 to pack some more boxes for Christmas. We all wrote cards to the troops on Saturday also and the day was really an exciting event! I think we had about twenty people and we worked feverishly to get the boxes all packed and ready to go. Thanks to all of you who made this possible, I know the troops will appreciate your generosity.

On another note..........tomorrow night is Stamp 10 at my studio. We will do a scrapbook page and three other neat projects, so check your e-mail to see what you need to bring to help the evening move along smoothly. We are meeting at 6.......see you there, all are invited!

Boatload of Christmas

Quite some time ago I saw this set with the Christmas wreathes on the boat and I thought it was pretty clever. I don't know where I saw it so I can't give the credit, but at the time I didn't even own the Boatloads of Love set! Then Diane Zechman made that cute boat with the CD envelope with this set and so of course I had to order it myself.........it's a great one! Last night I got out my watercolor crayons, Stazon and had a great time. My blue water seems to look washed out in the scan and you can't really tell that I used my gold painty pen on the anchor and windows but in real life it looks better. The words and the tree are from the other Loads of Love set......you know the one with the truck. I cut the words apart and mounted the Merry Christmas on the end of the block so I could use it separately. Anyway it was fun to sit and color this card.........those watercolor crayons have had quite a vacation. I'll have the cards that we make on Saturday here to show you next week. Looking forward to the "Support the Troops" stampathon at my piano studio tomorrow 1 to 4...........have I mentioned that before?? See you there! Bring an empty box to fill to send to our troops.

Thanksgiving Reflection

I'm borrowing another of Virginia's creations......a real beauty for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Lovely as a Tree always takes my eye you know and every time she uses the Sanded background stamp I think......maybe I really do need to order that one! How nice it looks behind the words on the Key Tag punch..........another "I need to have!" The words are from Holidays & Wishes and that's tied on with a piece of jute. Thanks again and again, Virginia.

Our "Support the Troops" response is unbelievable and I'm moving the stampathon to my Piano Studio in the village of Tully on Saturday! We'll have more room to stamp and package up the supplies we have gathered to send to our men and women in Iraq. Thanks to all who have donated so far.........I'm really looking forward to this Saturday............hope to see many of you there. Any questions, give me a call.

In the Spotlight

What a time I've had this morning with this image! I finally was able to show this download, but it took me forever today. I can't believe that I haven't shown this card from the Stamp a Stack back in October. It was one of the favorites that session. It is the Faux Tearing technique and is really just white cardstock with Mellow Moss ink sponged on the left side. The words are from Solemn Stillness. The embossing was with Iridescent Ice, but it doesn't show up in this scan very well. At the first class, Virginia suggested the "one hole " ribbon which we used instead of this one with the mellow moss grosgrain. What a great shortcut that was! No mini dots to hold the bow in place with her idea and it looked better than this one. Thanks Virginia! This card works well with the Snowflake Spot also.

Debbie's Doodle This

I love this especially because Debbie Moczek sent it to me with a gift certificate for $20! Those are the cards we love to receive, don't you agree? She always uses colors that are not my usual choice and they are so nice. Here she used Going Gray and Pretty in Pink, with a dash of yellow in the center of the flower. Brads are pink on the gray and yellow in the center too. The swirl and flower are stamped in black and colored with a crayon or marker, I'm not sure which. Anyway, thanks Debbie for the card today and double thanks for the gift certificate!



And on to other notes of interest on the home front. We are really gearing up for the "Support the Troops" Stampa thon on Saturday here at my house.........1 - 4 in the afternoon. We will each make three different cards for the troops and the same to take home. Our bundles of cards are coming in like crazy and hopefully the other suggested items will be coming on the week-end. Monetary gifts have been flowing in also.....much needed for postage. Hope to see many of you on Saturday!

Virginia's Lovely as a Tree

This was the card that Virginia did for the Gathering......my favorite stamp set you know! And,she used the dryer sheet method too. Her recipe goes like this: Paper - Certainly Celery, Always Artichoke DSP, Whisper White. Ink: Certainly Celery, Always Artichoke. Stamps: Lovely as a Tree and Punch Pals. Accessories: Irridescent emb. pwd and Non SU string.

She has tied the string in the middle of the scallop punch and circle of certainly celery for a neat focus on the card. Thanks Virginia, you always give me inspiration and ..........computer help too! Don't forget to check out her great blog over on the right...

Tres Chic #2

I told you I was going to use this great stamp!! I also made this with the Z fold which was on Beate's website I think. Anyway, this is one color Cardstock, Sage Shadow, but it looks like two different shades here! Choc Chip with the white craft ink for the words, a piece of white cardstock with the slit punch making the scallop. I used the Horizontal Slot punch to run the white taffeta ribbon through. The swirls on the side are from Doodle This and stamped in Choc Chip ink. This background stamp is a great addition to my collection of stamps........I'm glad I started to use it, hope it doesn't get retired in January!! Have a nice week-end.

Tres Chic

I've been meaning to use this background stamp for such a long time.........it was one of the first ones I ordered in my new catalog in July! Well, today I got it out, dusted it off and put it to use. Pomegranate with white craft ink and that is about it! Also opened up that gorgeous ribbon that has been sitting on the shelf too. I think I might have used something to make the white cardstock a little less stark, but here it is.. Yes, it is simple but I like it! Hope you do too, thanks for looking in.

Season of Joy

Here is another swap from the Gathering in Syracuse. It is made by Rebecca Romero and it is stunning. Here is the recipe:
CS: Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi, and Black
Ribbon: Purely Pomegranate double stitched
Ink: Whisper White Craft and Silver Embossing Pwd

I also see a silver brad there holding the ribbon. Such a pretty card and only one stamp set.............thanks for stopping in today.

Apple Cider

Love this designer paper and how it matches the Really Rust cardstock I started with! Next I used the River Rock with Really Rust ink and the Baroque Motif stamp set. With the half inch punch I made the flowers from the paper and added some crystal effects to make them shine. On top of the choc chip taffeta ribbon I used the scallop punch to cut the other piece of Apple cider paper and there you have it! I started out thinking I would follow a sketch challenge, but didn't follow through, maybe tomorrow. I'm so grateful to Beth for helping me get my scanner back working with my computer again, she did it in about three minutes, I had monkeyed with it for days! Thanks, Beth! Have a great day everyone and stop in again soon.

True Friend

This is my kind of card! Mary Kay sent this to me and I love it, quick and beautiful. She used the True Friend and it's Designer Series matching paper, Apple Cider. I haven't used a lot of texture paper, but seeing this mounted on the River Rock makes me think I need more, it does look elegant. Just the tiny bit of vanilla taffeta ribbon finishes the card just right. Thanks Mary Kay for this great inspiration. We are gearing up for the "Support the Troops" stampathon on Nov. 10. Talked to Judy Tinker yesterday and she has created one of the cards that we'll stamp that day. I'll send the list of suggested items to bring to all my stamp people today. We will be glad to accept monetary donations for shipping the goodies to Iraq. I'll keep you posted, thanks for looking in.

Whale Wishes

This is my version of the card that Diane Zechman /SCS cookiestamper brought to us on Saturday. How clever is this?? I used a CD/DVD sleeve (the blue) and cut a circle of River Rock with my coluzzle to outline it. I stamped the Weathered background on both with Always Artichoke ink and tied the double stitched ribbon around the circle. On the inside: a piece of white cardstock 4 3/4" square that I stamped the fish and grass from Whale Wishes with Always artichoke ink. I scribbled the water line and then colored the water with Bordering Blue with my aquapainter. The 4 x 6 plastic bag has just a small amount of hair gel in it and taped to the back of the white cardstock and slipped into the envelope! Easy but such fun to "squish." I can't wait to get the Boatload of Love stamp set that I ordered this morning! Thanks to Diane for the great idea, it was fun!

Oh so Lovely

This was a swap from the Splitcoast Gathering that I just absolutely fell in love with. It was done by Arin Burdo and I think it is just elegant. She used White, Pomegranate and black cardstock, yes the black is behind the white, but you can't see it well on my piano backdrop. Her ink is black, pomegranate, buckaroo blue, artichoke and soft sky. Accessories are pomegranate double stitched ribbon. Her technique is blender pen and ink, but I'm amazed at how beautifully she shaded the flower. The words are from Stem Sayings and of course the flower is Oh so Lovely. Thank you, Arin, the simplicity of this card is breathtaking. As I look at this closer, I think I see intertwining swirls from Doodle This! I just had to share this beauty!