Tuesday, September 22, 2009

FIRST DAY OF AUTUMN

Today is the first day of Autumn! Wow!!! Doesn't quite seem possible....especially when its 100 degrees outside! But I'm ready for a change of season....I'm a bit weary of the heat and ready for cooler days....although I might have to wait a bit for them to come around.

Well in honor of the first day of Autumn, I'm going to post an autumn card that I made the other day while playing around with my punches. I remember seeing a pumpkin like this made with punches (I can't remember where).....so I thought I would give it a try.
The card's base is a half sheet of More Mustard topped with a piece of Whisper white stamped with the Baroque Motifs stamp set in Old Olive. I ran a strip of 1/4" Old Olive grosgrain ribbon across the top....the sentiment is from the Holiday Best Level 1 Hostess set.....it is colored with More Mustard and Old Olive on Whisper White and put on a piece of More Mustard that was punched with the Curly Label punch....they were then mounted with a dimensional.

The pumpkin is made from punching 3 large ovals and sponged with Pumpkin Pie ink. The stem is a small piece of Chocolate Chip and the leaves are from the SU Little Leaves Sizzlit die which I ran through the Big Shot. I put a dimensional under the middle oval on the pumpkin to give it some depth. That's it! Viola!!!

I just LOVE playing around and stamping just for fun!!! I can do it all day....although I think my family would have something to say about that :-D

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!!
Blessings.....Cindy

Monday, September 21, 2009

DASHER & FAUX SILK TECHNIQUE

Well, I think I'm back in business! But this computer's "head" is definitely on the choppin' block!! Not even sure where to begin.....so, I am just going to start at the beginning!

On Mondays I go to Karen Angel's stamping class and we make wonderful cards!!! Below is a great Christmas card that we made.....in fact, what's so great about going to her class is that now I don't really need to think very hard on ideas.....I can just copy what we did in class at my stamp club.

This card uses the Dasher stamp....it is one of the stamps on the Below $10 page in the catalog (page 210). This card is EASY to copy....and if happen to not have Dasher or if you don't want it to be Christmas, just change out the colors, background and image.....In fact, I think when I am done posting this, I will do just that! The other card we made last Monday used the Faux Silk technique....which looks fantastic! It is VERY EASY too. You can't really tell from the picture, but the top red layer is what is faux silked (is that a word?).
To do the faux silk....all you have to do is get a piece of basic white tissue paper, cut about 1-2 inches bigger than the cardstock that it will be glued to, crumple it up and then flatten it out. Glue it down really good onto your piece of cardstock....being very careful not to tear the tissue paper. (To glue it....we used glue stick in the middle and on the edges of the cardstock we used liquid glue and a foam brush to get the glue all the way to the edges.) Once it's glued down you ink up your brayer and roll it all over the tissue paper until you get the desired color. Once colored, trim the excess tissue paper, and then stamp whatever image you desire. We used black StazOn ink on this card....but I'd think that any ink would work fine. This is a lovely card. Again, I think that I'll copy this (changing it up since I don't have the stamp set Karen used) and make it at our club one month.

Today, we had class again....but you'll have to wait until another day to see what we made today!
Until next time, find some time for stamping!!!
Blessings......Cindy

Sunday, September 20, 2009

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES!!!

Boy, I have been having some major technical difficulties lately!!! I have been trying to post some cards and scrap book pages that I've done and for whatever weird reason I haven't been able to upload my pictures!!! :-( It's VERY frustrating!!!

It's funny....because right before I tried again to upload a picture, Steve and I were looking at Mac computers....we're going to be switching to a Mac from a PC. So, maybe this computer knows that it's on it's way to becoming the kids' computer and is being naughty :-)

As soon as I am able to get some pictures uploaded on here I'll show you the very cute pages made at my scrap booking club, the cards that I've made in class, and then the cards that I've just made on my own.

Until next time....find some time for stamping!!!
Blessings.......Cindy

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

NEW BLOGS

Happy Wednesday!!!

Hey, I found a couple of more blogs that are pretty cool!

The first is Stampin' Addicts. My friend, Karen Angel, told me about this sight a few days ago. It's similar to Splitcoast except that Stampin' Addicts uses mostly, if not all, Stampin' Up! products. Be sure to check it out.....it's another GREAT source for inspiration.

Here are a couple of more blogs:

Allycat cards
Where the Rubber Meets the Road

All three of these blogs are listed on My Blog List.....check them out! I think you'll be pleased with what you find.

Didn't have time to do any stamping today.....I played with some punched gift tags last night but didn't finish any.

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!!
Blessings......Cindy

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

FLOWER POT CARD

GREETINGS!!! and Happy Tuesday!!

Last night was my monthly stamp club....which is always such a fun time for me!!! I enjoy the ladies that come so much!!!! So, for those that are reading this that were there.....I THINK YOU GUYS ARE GREAT!!!

Well, last night we made a couple of pretty cute cards....one I already posted (the Punched Purses) and then we made this Flower Pot card. This card is cased from my friend, Karen Angel, who made it in her stamp class. (Be sure to check Karen's blog)
The card's base is a half sheet of Always Artichoke, topped with a piece of Tangerine Tango and then a sponged and ticket corner punched piece of Very Vanilla....each of these pieces are 1/4 inch smaller than the card's front (5-1/2 x 4/1/4). The flower pot is made from a piece of Tangerine Tango (4-1/4 x 3), scored at 1-1/2. To make the pot....line up the score line with the cutting track and the bottom of the pot on the 1/2" mark on the paper trimmer and cut....this gives you the tapered bottom of the pot....you'll do this twice :-). Use the eyelet border punch on the flap. Use the Big Shot and a textured plate or an embossing folder for the bottom of the pot....also a background stamp like Sanded looks GREAT....again see Karen's blog, that is what she did with her flower pot. Tie a piece of ribbon around the top flap and then use dimensionals under the rim. The sentiment is from the Oval All stamp set. The flowers are from the Friends 24-7 stamp set and stamped on the piece of Very Vanilla before your pot is adhered to the card. Markers and Stampin' Pastels were used to color the image.....and I think that's it. Fun card to make!!

Now some fun family news.....This weekend Steve and Andy were able to go to a Professional water ski tournament. This tournament was like a BIG DEAL....the US Open of water skiing. They saw all the greats. They went with some friends of ours and below is a picture of Andy and Ben with the current world record holder and tournament winner.... his name is Chris Parish.

This may not mean anything to you...but he won this tournament by making 3-1/2 balls at 41 off. If you know anything about slalom water skiing you know that that's an incredible accomplishment. I think the world record is 4 balls at 41 off (which Chris Parish holds). Standard ski ropes are 75 feet long, so 41 off means his rope is only 34 feet long!! The boat is going 36 mph....so he is whippin' around those balls! To give you some comparison.....Steve, who is excellent, skies at 15 and sometimes 22 off.....so Chris Parish's rope is about half the length of Steve's. I'm sure he was an awesome sight to behold for Steve, who could truly appreciate that level of skiing.

OK, you're dismissed from your lesson in slalom water skiing..... Be sure to study this....I might be giving a quiz :-D

Until next time.... find some time for stamping!!!
Blessings.....Cindy

Friday, September 11, 2009

STAMPING & COOKING - Can it get any better than that??!!!

Yeah! It's Friday and the weekend is just around the corner!! I am especially looking forward to this weekend because Saturday morning I am giving my friend, Amee, a baby shower brunch! So, today I have spent the better part of the day making food and favors!!

We'll start with the food....This morning I cooked a glazed ham (sorry, didn't think to take a picture) and made two crustless quiches. One is with artichoke hearts and the other one is with bacon....here's a picture of them....First the Artichoke one....Now, here's the one with bacon....
They look pretty yummy!!!! If you're interested in the recipes just leave me a comment.

While the ham and the quiches were baking I was busy stamping and making shower favors. I used the Big Shot with the Bag w/Scallops Bigz XL die and made a bunch of these little boxes....
Once they were cut and put together, all I did was add some punched embellishments and a button....and Viola!!!. I used self-adhesive velcro dots, cut in half and stuck under the scallop circle, to keep them closed. The stamp set that I used was Teddy & Train....I used a Bashful Blue marker to color the stripes.

But of course, I couldn't give these little babies empty....so earlier in the week, I bought some Jordan Almonds and picked out all the pink and purple (she's having a boy) and filled SU's small cello bags with the remaining colors and tied them up with bashful blue ribbon and stuck the bag inside.
I just LOVE doing this kind of stuff!!!! I really need to figure out how to make a living at this!! :-D

Stamping really is SO MUCH FUN!!! I'm so glad that I went to that first Stampin' Up! workshop 10+ years ago!!! It has been one of the only hobby-type thing that I've consistently done throughout the years....and I still LOVE it and have a desire to improve! Ahhhh....stamping is wonderful!!!

Well....until next time....find some time for blissful stamping!!!
Blessings.....Cindy

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

CLUB SNEAK PEEK - PURSE CARD

Hey there!!! Thanks for poppin' in!!

The following is one of the cards that we will be making this coming Monday at my monthly stamp club. I saw this idea on a blog but unfortunately I can't remember where....it was during one of those blog hopping sessions. The purses are made using the 1-3/8" circle punch, the handle is used punching the large oval and then punching around it with the scallop oval punch. The clasp is made from the modern label punch, topped with a silver brad. They were then mounted using dimensionals. Very clever, quick and CUTE!!!
This is one of the two cards that we will be making on Monday evening.

Tomorrow, Thursday, I go to my scrapbooking class at Gloria's....I always look forward to going....and it's not just because we get to make 2 12x12 scrapbook pages, but because of the ladies that attend. I have really enjoyed getting to know them better.

Until next time....find some time for stamping!!!
Blessings......Cindy

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

CARDS THAT I'VE RECEIVED

Greetings!! I hope you all had a relaxing and fun Labor Day weekend. Ours was spent close to home....with a local water ski tournament on Saturday, church on Sunday, and a lazy day on Monday. I find it hard to believe that summer is basically over and fall is here....gosh, I just realized that I need to begin thinking about Christmas!!! Wow!! Well....I'll have to think about that later!!!

Below are a couple of thank you cards that I've received from a couple of fellow RAKers (Random Acts of Kindness....a group I'm on at Splitcoaststampers). I received these in response to birthday cards that I sent them.....I'm also part of Birthday RAK (BRAK).....we send birthday cards to all the RAKers who have a birthday during that month. It's been very fun to make and send cards all over the US......also gives me a REAL reason to stamp!! Receiving these cards REALLY made my day!!!
Have a GREAT day!!!
Until next time....find some time for stamping!!!!
Blessings......Cindy

Friday, September 4, 2009

"BERRY" CUTE

Greetings Stampers.....and Happy Friday!!! This is also the beginning of the Labor Day weekend! The last weekend of summer for most, although our children started school almost 3 weeks ago!

Even though my monthly stamp club will be meeting in a little over a week.....I'm showing you one of the cards that we made at our August club.....I'm doing a bit of catch up!

This card was made using the Tart & Tangy stamp set.....a must have for making summery cards....or recipe cards or place cards or you name it!!

I started with a 8-1/2 x 4-1/4 piece of textured Real Red cardstock and layered that with a piece of textured Very Vanilla that was punched using the eyelet border punch. The strawberries were stamped (centered) in Real Red onto a piece of textured very vanilla cardstock. The berry toppers were made by coloring the stamp with Old Olive and Chocolate Chip markers and then cut out, leaving the space that is around the topper, and adhered using a dimensional. The corners were punched using the Ticket Corner and layered onto a piece of Old Olive cardstock. The sentiment is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set and stamped on a scrap of textured very vanilla, punched out with the word window and layered on a piece of old olive cardstock that was punched with the modern label punch.
I think the card turned out "berry" cute :-) Plus, it was "berry" easy!!! I like that combination "berry" much! Ok....I know, I know, enough with the "berry".....because it's "berry" annoying!

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!!
Blessings to you......Cindy

Thursday, September 3, 2009

HOLIDAY MINI CATALOG!! & OH SO SWEET PROMOTIONS


Click here to download a copy of the catalog.

This catalog seems to have more new items than about any that Stampin' Up! has produced!!! If you like Build-A-Bear then you will LOVE this catalog!!! It also features some beautiful seasonal stamp sets for Fall, Halloween, Winter and Christmas.

Also, something new to this catalog (or at least I'm pretty sure it's new) is that there are additional Hostess stamp sets to chose from!! There is a Level 1 set and a Level 2 set.....and remember that these sets are FREE when you host a workshop with a minimum total order of only $150 (before shipping & tax)!!!

Speaking of workshops and hostess benefits.....Now through November, host a workshop (or personal order) with sales totalling $250 and you are able to pick ANYTHING* featured in the Holiday Mini for just $10!...and that is in addition to all the regular hostess benefits!! This offer even includes items that are featured in the regular catalog....like Big Shot dies, punches, accessories, Simply Scrappin' kits, etc.....the ONLY thing that it does NOT apply to is the My Digital Studio!! Now that is SWEET!!!! In fact, this offer is SO SWEET that I had to read the promotion details a couple of times to make sure I was reading it correctly!!

So, let's get planning those workshops!!!!

Until next time....find some time for stamping!!!
Blessings......Cindy

*This offer EXCLUDES the My Digital Studio.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

I'M BACK & WITH A NEW CAMERA!!

Hey there!!! WOW! Where do I begin....it seems like so long ago since I last posted??

Well, first thing.....we purchased a new camera at the beginning of last week. I really like it....it's pink! So, now I'm back in business! I'm going to work at getting caught up and trying to remember what I've posted and what I haven't.

We bought the camera just in time to go out of town so that my husband could go to a water ski school and get some individual coaching/instruction. He is already an excellent skier, but like anything else....there's always room for improvement. Below is him skiing. Also, this ski "ranch" was close to an IKEA.....so we had fun browsing and looking at all their cool stuff!! It was all VERY relaxing and refreshing!
The place we went to was Sunset Ski Ranch.....and it was the "Disneyland" for water skiers. Absolutely beautiful grounds, dock, and cottage where we stayed. The owners/hosts are extremely gracious and accommodating. Soooo, if you EVER want to go on a water skiing vacation, they are the place to go!!! And they are not just for advanced skiers.....they told us that they teach lots of first time skiers too. We HIGHLY recommend them.

And now down to the real reason I even have this blog......I made baby shower invites for a gal in our church. They were easy and fun!!! I made a pocket card and printed the shower information onto cardstock from my computer.
I didn't really use any fancy techniques with this card....just some watercoloring using the Stampin' Pastels and an aqua painter, and I also sponged around the edges of the insert. I was able to use my Classic Squares, Large and Classic Scalloped Squares, Large Nestabilities that I recently got.....and which I LOVE!!!

THANKS so much for hanging in there and being patient with me. I'm looking forward to getting back into blog mode again.

For those of you who don't know....yesterday Stampin' Up!'s mini catalog went live. There are some adorable new things....namely the Build A Bear stamp sets and Big Shot dies. More on that and other great SU promotions tomorrow (or if you can't wait....click on the link above).

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!!
Blessings.....Cindy

Card Ingredients:
Stamps: Teddy & Train, Nursery Necessities
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Blashful Blue
Paper: Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip (textured and regular), Whisper White
Accessories: Eyelet border punch, word window punch, modern label punch, horizontal slot punch, Crop-A-Dile, brown eyelets, 1/4" grosgrain blashful blue ribbon, Classic Squares, Large and Classic Scalloped Squares, Large Nestabilities, Stampin' pastels, aqua painter, light blue button, white crochet thread

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