Convention Swaps

I'm just about the luckiest Stampin' Up demonstrator in the land! My two downlines, Mary Kay and Virginia have treated me royally (sp!) This is one of the swaps that Virginia brought back to me using the new In Colors......Tangerine Tango and Pacific Point. Isn't it a beauty? This was sent byDonna Ekstrom and I thought you would enjoy it. My stamping is nil right at the moment and I'm not even supposed to be using the computer with my right hand yet...............whoops! I have been very careful and my recovery is quite marvelous I think. Not much pain in that shoulder and that is wonderful after many months of aching, especially at night. But back to my good friends MK and Virginia.........they bought me that wonderful Stampin' Up bag at Convention and I can't believe how nice it is! Thanks again, good friends. I can't use the cutter right now, but I can stamp a bit with my left hand!! My grandkids helped me prepare for the next Technique classes on Aug. 27 and 28, so I'm really looking forward to that! Oh yes, and I've ordered my new catalog order...........yes, I did get carried away. That Big Shot just called my name! So.........September will be exciting and I'm hoping the sling will be in the garbage can by the end of that month! Thanks for understanding my lack of blogging.

Pretty Amazing!!!

Okay, okay, I know it's been forever, but I really have had a good excuse! My shoulder surgery has kept me pretty much off the computer, but I'm doing so well, I guess I can't use this excuse much longer! My family and friends have all been so attentive to my needs, I can't get over how great they have been. But.........I'm "on the road again" and almost ready to start stamping. Here is the card that my Stamp 10 group made on Tuesday night. My good friend Pat Ehlers came and picked me up, hauled the stampin' stuff and then brought me back home again, so that worked great, thanks again Pat! Those new catalogs were heavy, but oh are they beautiful..........so many new things to share.............punches, ribbon, Big Shot, the great special on new sets, a chance to be a demonstrator for only $99. Oh my goodness, it is overwhelming.......but such fun! Wait til you see all the things I ordered on my first order..................... back to the card. The background is the new Tangerine Tango as is the flower from the Pretty Amazing set. That is on the dormant list now, but that only means it is available, but not shown in the catalog. The stems and leaves are stamped with the Kiwi Kiss and the words that are from Heard from the Heart are stamped in Chocolate Chip. I love this color combination. A button on the top with a bit of linen thread tied in is held on with a dimentional. A pretty quick card, but nice I think! Stop by again, I'll try to write more often.

Dreams du Jour Photo Album

Happy Birthday to Jessica! Inside are four clear envelopes with pictures of her and her prize sheep. This is a quick little photo book that I made to celebrate her birthday. New In Colors, Pacific Point and Tangerine. If you start with 21/2" square and punch the new long punch on all four sides you get this really neat frame!! There is a butterfly done with the toothpaste technique, but this scan doesn't show it well. Stem Sayings for the greeting, a couple of jumbo brads, ribbon and that is it!! A clever way to show a few special pictures and a nice little keepsake for whoever receives it! Mary Kay called yesterday and is overjoyed with the new catalog which she has gotten at Convention.............maybe mine will be here soon!!

Laura is Quilting again!!!

And one of my favorite patterns was Ohio Star! I found this pattern on Craftdoc's blog and it is a quick quilt........no stitching. I used Berry Bliss and Pomegranate as you can see and doesn't it look like Grandma's print material? I used to do a lot of quilting and think sometimes I'll get into it again, but this was enough to satisfy that thought. Just a bit of double stitched ribbon and a hardware buckle finished the job. I think it could use a small piece of pomegranate cardstock on the bottom with some words and I may do that when it is time to mail it to someone, but other than that, it is a quick card to make when you need one in a hurry. Thanks for stopping by.

Sympathy card

Just love using the pieces from the notecards that will be in the new catalog! Unfortunately I seem to need sympathy cards way too often.........just lost my knitting friend last week very suddenly. I hate to make sympathy cards ahead of time, but seems I am always have to make one. This is Rose Red, Soft Sky, Black and White cardstock, using the "push-outs" from the Fresh Cuts Sneak Peak special we had in June. I punched the Soft Sky large ovals to position behind the white petals, added a felt flower and a gold brad for the center. Just a small chunk of Soft Sky ribbon and the sympathy words from Close as a Memory. So glad that set is not retiring! You won't be seeing much more of this year's In Colors on this blog, my stash is down to little tiny pieces now, almost ready to pack them up and put them away. I will have the pads to sell if anyone wants them, I have already sold the inkers! They were wonderful colors, but can't wait to really get into the new ones! They are gorgeous too.

Tapestry

This is one of the techniques we did this month called Tapestry.........You need craft ink, glossy cardstock, and embossing powder. We started by sponging the three colors of craft ink, Old Olive, Ruby Red and Pumpkin Pie on the cardstock, then stamp on top of it with the black craft ink. If you turn your stamp just a hair you get the white effect around the flowers. Then cover it with clear emboss, heat and set. We used the Boho Background stamp set and mounted our sample on Pumpkin Pie cardstock. I'm not sure I reminded everyone to bring their technique made into a card next month and whoever has the card voted the best, gets $5 off their class fee! Pass the word!

Tunnel Card

We had such fun one day with this card that we had cased from somebody's blog. I'm sorry I don't know whose it was, but it was quite a while ago Debbie and I saw this and Debbie figured out a pattern that she sent to me. Then one day my grand-kids were here and got all excited about the card...........sure enough, they wanted to make one! This is the one that Emma made and isn't it cute? We used the 6 x 6 Print Pack that was the level 1 Hostess set this year for the designer paper and the Zoofari stamp set, markers to color her chickens and the rest is history! We had a fun day. Yesterday was the Technique Class here at my house and I'll do some cards with the techniques to show you soon, but just a hint, the toothpaste one was a hit...........I think!