Missing You!

Here is a sample made using Bear Hugs but also a new set for the new CC Designs Release (you can get the sets on September 9!). The tree branch and grass are from Spooky Scenes and the leaf is from a set you'll hear more about tomorrow. What about that sign? I used it on the Lucky card that is below as well. Notice it has a different saying here? The saying is from the sentiment set that was released last month. I LOVE THE SIGNS! I adore the patterned paper here as well, both are from My Minds Eye. Do you think I like the images on this card???

My Pregnancies Never Looked Like This

Just once, I would have just liked ONE of my 4 pregnancies to look like this card does...soft, pretty, feminine...NOPE, not me! I am not complaining about weight gain, because I never gained more than about 27 lbs with my pregnancies, but from week 6 with ALL of them, I was vomitting like crazy (precisely why I didn't gain much, I LOST so much in the beginning, 20 lbs in 6 weeks with one of them!). I have never handled pregnancies well...now deliveries were pretty good. Except for my last.

Anyway, enough about me, this is about Amy Rysavy! Give a shout out to her, and Christine. Christine asked if any of the DT members drew and apparently Amy does because she created this set with lots of pieces of clothing and a seperate set that includes great sentiments.

I used Pale Plum cardstock and this designer paper is from The Paper Studio.

It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

As always, Christine's sets that include Lucky, Lulu, the bear and monkey are wonderful and always rank as my favorite new releases! The set Spooky, Spooky, Spooky is no exception. Don't you LOVE this image of Lucky?!? The pumpkins from this set are from another new release this month called Sugarplum Halloween, as is the sign. The bat is from yet another set..Spooky Scenes. As you can see all of the Halloween sets work so well together.

Once I got to looking at the sets I got this image for a Great Pumpkin themed card and these images all worked so well! I love how it turned out! The designer paper is from KI Memories and is from their Haunted line. Of course it is available from All That Scraps. There was a lot of paper piecing on this one but it was worth it.

I hope you all have as much fun looking at the new releases this much as I have had playing!

Chocolate is My Favorite

I have to apologize for not posting a sample made with Amy Rysavy's new set! I have a sample all done and ready to go, however I'm having trouble with my camera. (It isn't in focus on close up pictures and it is driving me crazy!) I had taken two photos of the first cards I created for the release, so I have 2 to share today. I'm hoping to work with it some more today and tomorrow and hopefully have it fixed so I can get a bunch of these samples uploaded before the new release is over! So, onto the card...

I love seeing the kids dressed up for Halloween....But I love trick-or-treating almost as much as they do....especially when their bags are full of chocolate!! Admit it - you raid the Halloween bucket too! What are your favorites? Mine must be the Kit Kat's, mini Baby Ruth's and mini Snickers. I also enjoy a simple Hershey's bar as often as I can!!! Next to stamping, chocolate is my addiction. A perfect night for me would be sipping on a Mountain Dew and munching on some good chocolate which stamping!! This sample uses an image from a new CC Designs set called Spooky, Spooky, Spooky. Isn't he sweet? I just love how Christine continues to use some of our favorite characters in different sets throughout the year. I love seeing them come alive! All the patterned papers on this one are from KI Memories. I really like their Haunted line. The large panel is called Skinny Stripe and the paper pieced shirt and pants are the front and back of Pin Dot. The "brads" are actually set like eyelets and I have had them since I first started using eyelets forever ago. I needed some purple brads but didn't have any so these worked just fine. I hope you have a great day and get to stamp!

Blog Candy Winner!

The winner has been drawn by a very fancy and technical device........the 9 year old chose a number and recorded it for you!

Lisa V said... Olivia back to school. one last week of summer vacation and my two are going to school one for the first time and a card in the lunch box would be a fun surpise for them. Lisa 3:01 PM

So.....Lisa V....you are the winner! Send me an e-mail at caspen1973@yahoo.com so I can get your address and we will get you your $5 CC Designs gift certificate!!!

Another Simple Bee

My first sample for the August releases was a simple card done with the standing bear from Bear Hugs and this is one that was made at the same time. A simple card done with the bee. The paper pierced circle came from the Stampin' Up! brass embossing template, Punches Plus. I love this template for paper piercing! There isn't muchelse to be said about this one, I just thought it turned out sweet.

A Little Bit of Everything - CC Designs Style

Here is a project I forgot to share! I used a little bit of everything on this one (all stamps from CC Designs)...The adorable bees from Bear Hugs and the tree limb is from Olivia's Birdies, the clouds are from the Sugarplum Scenery set, a cuttlebug embossing folder (Swiss Dots) and some Stampin Up Designer paper (Cutie Pie). I really love how this turned out! The only thing it is missing is a bee hive hanging from that branch! Since these are yellow and black they aren't honey bees so it may be "correct" to have a hive hanging from the branch. Did you know that honey bees are brown and black and they typically don't build hives just hanging from a branch - they need an open cavity to hold all their honey (just some useless info from the wife of a bee keeper!). Anyway, I was really happy with this after it was done. I colored everything with Stampin Write markers and added Stardust Stickles to the clouds and the bee wings. I love the sentiment "What's the buzzzz?" Christine has been turning out some WONDERFUL stuff lately hasn't she? Just wait till you see what is up for September. I got my sets yesterday and I think that some of the commenters for the blog candy below will be happy to see what we have in store for you. A little bit of everything again this month...some more Lucky and more Olivia coming!!!

BLOG CANDY!!!

Hey all! CC Designs just finished another release right? We have the adorable bears and bees - Bear Hugs, the Sugar Plums Sentiment set that goes with...EVERYTHING, the Sugar Plum Scenery set and of course....OLIVIA and her Birds!!! Right now Christine is offering up an All That Scraps gift certificate for $5 if you post a comment here. I will post the winner on Tuesday. But, since you have seen Olivia, tell me - what would you like to see Olivia doing next?

Sock Monkey Returns

Here is another Sock Monkey project (I used the same colors as the one from my open house...I really like So Saffron, Tangerine Tango and Kraft together, they look very "fallish"). I am going to try something new with my stamp clubs this year. We are going to do a Sketch Theme all year. Most of my stamp clubs are made up of ladies who have been stamping for some time. One group most of the ladies have been in a stamp club with me for 4 or more years. So, I find myself having a hard time showing them new techniques. Of course though they still comment that they have a hard time knowing what to do with their stuff when they get it. I know I have that problem sometimes! So, we are going to do a new sketch at each meeting. But since we do two cards we'll turn the sketch on its side and try to mix it up a bit. My hope is that they will learn how to look at samples in the catalog and figure out the sketch and use it to work for them. Plus, they will have several sketches from me by the time we are all done meeting. Anyway, this card is one that we did at our stamp club meeting this week. The ladies did the Heard from the Heart card from below and then this card. See how we used the same sketch? We just turned it on its side and made our matted pieces wider. In addition, rather than doing the middle panel with a single stamped image, we made that section three circles instead. The ladies at the meeting told me I was stretching it, but that is the point! INSPIRATION GIRLS!

I have decided to stop posting the "Supplies Used" at the bottom of my posts, just to save time in typing it all out. Besides, I typically type somewhere in the body of the post most of the supplies I have used. Of course if you have a question about something please just post in the comments section and I'll be sure to answer you!

Open House Success

My new catalog open house was Saturday and I felt it went really well. It was so nice to see some of the ladies that I hadn't seen in a few weeks. I sold some used sets to clear out space on my shelves for more goodies and I think they liked the projects. They did the Sock Monkey card I already showed you, and they did this simple and easy card that showcased the Heard from the Heart set (I LOVE this set and it is on sale, I LOVE that even more!!). My guests were even able to use the new scallop edge punch! I wanted something simple that didn't need a lot of "stuff" or a lot of work. I think this fits the bill. The background is stamped with the big swirl from Doodle This, otherwise the only other stamping is the words. I can't wait to get all the new goodies I ordered from the open house, like A Rose is a Rose, Crazy for Cupcakes, Bella Rose paper, and more! So tell me, what are some of your favorite new things from the new Stampin' Up! catalog???

All That Scraps Guest Designer

All That Sraps is having a Guest Designer for October!! Check out the post at the All That Scraps blog: http://atsblog.typepad.com/ats/. If you get chosen by Amy and Christine, you get all the stamp sets that are released in October!! What have you got to lose? Start uploading to the All That Scraps gallery and maybe you'll be swimming in new stamps soon!

All That Scraps Challenge

It's Wednesday so it is time for another Sketch Challenge at All That Scraps. I have one submission done for it but I am hoping to stamp a bit later today and do another. This one uses Olivia's Birds, the branch from A Hootin Good Time, and the sentiment is from the Sugar Plum Sentiment set. I totally used Katie Stillwater's idea to use this birdhouse on a winter card. I wanted something simple that would be easy to duplicate for Christmas cards if you like. I added some Robin's Nest Dew Drops from the Poinsettia collection along the side and some beautiful paper from Basic Grey. Are you thinking Christmas cards yet???

Sock Monkey with a Cupcake

My New Catalog Open House will be on Saturday so I have been working on projects...We'll do 2 projects this year, one of which uses the new Sock Monkey set. I needed a project that would showcase this fun set but wouldn't take the participants too much time to work on. Not everyone enjoys watercoloring so I didn't want to overwhelm those who don't like to do it. This is exactly what I was wanting! I stamped Sock Monkey in Close to Cocoa on Kraft cardstock. Then I stamped the cupcake from this set onto white cardstock. I colored it with Tangerine Tango ink, Ruby Red marker and a So Saffron Marker. I even gave the cupcake some sprinkles. I then used the Stampin Up! circle punches and scallop circle to make the cupcake stand out. It is also mounted with dimensionals. So..what do you think?

Have a Birdie-ful Day

When I finished this card for the release I was so happy with it. It came across just as I had wanted it to. When Christine was working on the new Olivias Birds set, she showed the design team the images that she had drawn and a few of the girls started shouting out different sentiments that they would like to see and I suggested a bird bath. I was SHOCKED when Christine said that she had drawn a bird bath previously but it wasn't any good. I asked her to try again and within a matter of a couple hours (if that much!) she came out with this bird bath...it is PERFECT! I LOVE IT! This card uses one of the grass images from the Sugarplum Scenery set and everything else is from Olivias Birds set. I wish I could remember the name of the paper...it was from Stampin Up a couple years ago - I think it may be Spring Showers. Anyway, I loved that paper and still have some pieces - it worked perfectly don't you think?

Supplies Used: Close to Cocoa cs, ink, Blush Blossom cs, Whisper White cs, Certainly Celery SW Marker, Going Grey ink, Bashful Blue ink, Grosgrain Ribbon, Brads, Creamy Caramel SW Marker, Black Staz On, So Saffron SW Marker, slit punch, Olivias Birds, Sugarplum Scenery Set.

Sweet Notebook

You can see pieces of the new Sugar Plums Scenery Set on this project...I am quite excited about this little sample! SEVERAL months ago I purchased a Bind It All thinking I would have loads of fun making notebooks. Well, I have been so intimidated by it that I have only used it to punch holes!!! Well, for these new releases Christine was asking for us to make some 3-d projects...soooo...I busted out that Bind It All and created this little notebook. I plan to use it to keep track of the names, addresses, birthdays of all my stampin friends. I have needed something like this for some time so this book is long overdue!

The Sugarplum Scenery set includes all the things you are going to need to create spring/summer scenes for your CC Designs stamps. Several different kinds of grass, several clouds, several flower tops, a stem, a couple different leaves...it's all in there and it really takes your work to a whole new level. This sample uses the grass and flower parts from the Scenery set and the bee is from the new Bear Hugs and that sentiment...yup...another set that will be available soon! Most of the design team sneak peeks this month have pieces of this scene set mixed in with other stamps on their projects because it is just a super set! Don't forget to be checking out the All That Scraps blog each day...if you post a comment you are entered for a chance to win a free stamp set each day!

Supplies Used: Sassafrass Lass designer paper, Baja Breeze cs, Real Red cs, Stampin Write Marker, Regal Rose SW Marker, Certainly Celery SW Marker, Gable Green SW Marker, Regal Rose SW Marker, Close to Cocoa SW Marker, Summer Sun SW Marker, Black SW Marker, Black Staz On, Robin's Nest Dew Drops, ribbon Target Dollar Spot, SU Scallop Edge punch, Sugar Plums Scenery set, Bear Hugs set, Sentiments set.

Meet Olivia

If you haven't "met" Olivia yet, here she is! The other design team members have done an AWESOME job with set, you have to run to the All That Scraps gallery and check out the entries for today.

Olivia is part of a new line of stamps from C.C. Designs called Sugarplums and I happen to know there are more sets featuring Olivia and a friend coming soon! This card was made to match the one in the post below and all the supplies are the same...aren't they cute together?

Stampin Up Sets for Sale

I have the new catalog in my hands and my list is BIG this time. I need to clear out some room on my shelves and make room for more stuff! Check out these sets for sale and contact me at caspen1973@yahoo.com if you are interested in any of them! All of them are mounted and used.

• Print Pattern $10
• Dotted $10
• Word by Word $10
• Swell News $15
• So Much $22
• Looks Like Spring $15
• All About You $15
• Mini Messages $5
• Favorite Friends $10
• Love Matters $15
• Birthday Banter $15
• Time Well Spent $15
• Naughty or Nice $12
• Rough Edges Alphabet $12

Olivia's Birds

OK...so, today and tomorrow are the release days I have been waiting for because I am really proud of the projects I turned out for this set. It was a great mojo night! I think that night I made like 4 projects and loved them all! Here is the first sample from the set called Olivia's Birds. Christine put everything you could possibly need in this set to make lovely spring/summer cards. Everything you see here is in the set (and more of course!) And Christine was so smart she made 2 of the birds. Sometimes you get a set, start playing with it and realize the kid, animal or whatever is facing the wrong direction and you don't want to mess with "mirroring" so you just give up. WELL, our gal Christine made the birds each facing a different direction! PLUS in this set there are 2 birds flying that she did the same thing with....genius I tell you!

This card was so much fun to make. I knew I wanted the nest sitting on the branch with the birds in it. The colors came from one of my favorite designer papers from Stampin Up!, Fall Flowers. I love the softness of this paper. Then of course I had to use the scallop edge punch (of course!) and it helped immensely that the Robin's Nest dew drops (from the "Water" collection) had some it in that matched perfectly. (Got those from genius Christine at All That Scraps). After water coloring everything I popped the nest and the birds up on dimensionals. For the ribbon I just layered a piece of white narrow grosgrain on top of my wide Old Olive, did a little faux stitching and BAM - it's done. Do you like it? (I'm such a sucker for affirmation!)

NOW .... are you wondering who Olivia is? You'll have to check back later to find out!

Supplies Used: Soft Sky cs, ink, Whisper White cs, Old Olive ink, cs, Creamy Caramel ink, Close to Cocoa SW marker, So Saffron ink, Aquapainter, Always Artichoke SW Marker, Black Staz On ink, Scallop Edge Punch, Robin's Nest Dew Drops, Olivia's Birds set.

Sweet Baby Bear....

Time for new releases from C.C. Designs!!! Most of these samples have been done for 2 weeks or more when I had a big burst of stamping mojo going on and I have been dying to share them with you! The official release will be Monday the 11th at 10 pm est at All That Scraps (check my sidebar for a link). We will have a release party in the forum at 8 pm.

The sets for this month are so fun!! I tried some MyTime style cards and this is one of them. Sweet and simple. I actually really like how this one turned out. It uses a new image of the bear we first saw last month. This new set is called Bear Hugs and includes another bear, 2 bees and some sentiments. Rather than color the bear brown, and since I needed a baby girl card, I made this card all girl! The image was colored with Pretty in Pink ink and an aqua painter. Of course that scallop edge is made with the new Stampin Up! scallop edge punch. I love the ribbon - the solid pink ribbon is a velvety ribbon (from the Target Dollar Spot ages ago) which makes me imagine what this cuddly little girl would feel like! The bow is made from Stampin' Up!'s pink grosgrain. Next time you need a card, try going simple and see how you like it!

Supplies Used: Whisper White cs, Pretty in Pink cs, ink, Soft Sky ink, velvet ribbon, pink gingham ribbon, Black Staz On, Scallop Edge Punch, Bear Hugs set.

Heard from the Heart Elegantly

Another swap that I did for Jami...This time I had to use Heard from the Heart (which I really love!). I really wanted one of these sentiments to be the focal point so I just used my Paisley background stamp and stamped it with Versa Mark and heated up Clear Embossing Powder for my main panel. Then I used my black ink and stamped the greeting on a strip of the new Baja Breeze paper and did the same for the main panel. I also used the new scallop edge punch from Stampin Up! to make it appear more soft. I think this would be a great wedding card...what about using navy and gold or navy and silver? I think just about any colors would work well. Anyway, I'm still patiently waiting for those catalogs!!!

Supplies Used: Basic Black cs, ink, Baja Breeze cs, Versa Mark ink, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Scallop Edge punch, handheld circle punch, Silver Brads, Paisley background stamp, Heard from the Heart.

Sock Monkey - NEW Stampin Up! Set

Here is the first project that I did as a swap for Jami's Preview Swap at SCS. I call this the "famous" stamper swap because several of the girls are either ex-Dirty Dozen girls or have been published or are stampers like Taylor VanBruggen....I am so lucky to have been asked to join them but I must say that the pressure is always one when creating for these ladies!

This is the new set, Sock Monkey...I bought it because my youngest loves monkeys and I really liked the accessories that were in the set - a cupcake, heart, flag, flower, party hat, etc. I also used the new color Tangerine Tango as my base color and the color for the monkey's mouth, butt, feet and arms. Making 8 of them took me awhile and I did it in stages. By the time I was done I was saying, "Why do I always watercolor for Jami's swaps???" But seriously it was fun!

I stamped the hat in Black Staz-On and then did some masking of the hat and added the monkey. I added the flag and then did a cupcake separately. I cut the cup cake out and used dimensionals to pop it up. The rest is pretty self explanatory. I hope you enjoy it! Those new catalogs should be here anyday!

Supplies Used: Tangerine Tango cs, ink, Bashful Blue cs, ink, Old Olive cs, ink, Close to Cooca ink, So Saffron ink, Stampin Dimensionals, White Grosgrain Ribbon, Paper Piercing mat and tools, Stamp a ma jig, Sock Monkey.

NEW Stampin' Up! Information

GUESS WHAT?!?!?!? Stampin' Up! is going to begin selling the Big Shot and some dies! How exciting! I also can't wait to see more of a line of products that Shelli had a hand in developing. I can't wait to get this new catalog!

Some Stampin Up Peeks!

My upline (well, she is like a great grandma upline, but NOT because of her age!) Linda Heller is a fantastic motivator and wonderful person. Unfortunately for me she lives in Florida so I have only met her once but she sends me sales rewards every quarter and even calls a few times a year to chat business. Anyway I noticed this morning that she has some exciting news to share about her own Stampin Up career, plus she was showing some stuff that demo's could purchase to show how much they *heart* SU and even some new stamps!! So run on over and scroll down, she keeps posting info all the time including the info that Shelli (founder of the company - I *heart* Shelli! even has a blog!). http://lindastamps.wordpress.com/

I'm A Winner!!!???!!!

If you haven't seen The Saltbox Studio stamps, you are missing out! These wonderful new stamps are sold through Amuse and have a look that is very different from anything else on the market right now. I LOVE country decor, primitive country...have you seen Country Sampler magazine? My favorite decorating magazine out there. BUT, alas I have a husband who detests "dust collectors" so my home doesn't look like anything in those magazines so I just enjoy looking at it and trying to country-fy my house with as little clutter as I can. Anyway, one of my customers - Sue Blondin http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=29472576, showed me the Saltbox stamps several months ago. I have been watching their sites and recently entered a random contest and found out I won! I got to pick either the Americana set or the Farm Friends set. I chose Farm Friends and can't wait to play with it. I'll be sure to share some projects with you when I get them made. Here are the new releases for this month from Saltbox Studio! http://thesaltboxstudio.typepad.com/the_saltbox_sampler/new-new-july-sets-now-ava.html

Blog Candy Winner!

The winner of the blog candy that I had posted below is.... Doris!!! My 6 year old chose a number from the dinner table and she chose 2 and it was Doris! Check out Doris...she has 2 blogs (it doesnt matter that the first is in polish and you may not be able to read it, there are some pretty pictures on it: http://kreatywneinspiracje.blogspot.com/ The second looks like a blog candy listing: http://doris86place.blogspot.com/ I'll be sending her the sweet snowman stamp this week...as for everyone else, keep your eyes open because the new CC Designs sneak peeks for the new release start soon!

$25 BLOG CANDY!!!

Hey girls...RUN on over to the All That Scraps blog http://atsblog.typepad.com/ats/ and enter Christine's contest for a free $25 gift certificate!!!! All That Scraps has grown so much they are moving and she's so excited she is giving away a great blog candy reward just for telling her what YOU want to see in the store!

Christmas in July - And Blog Candy Too!

I love practically everything about Christmas (I just wish the snow and cold didn't stick around so long). The design team at All That Scraps is doing a Christmas in July celebration - sharing Christmas samples and maybe some more festive surprises!!! Don't you just LOVE this image of Lulu??? This is from the CC Designs set Lulu's Sweet Delights. The first CC Desgins images I ever saw were Christmas/winter ones and were on Lauren Meader's blog (waving hi to Lauren!) http://laurenm.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/. The Christmas and winter images went right onto my wish list but in all honesty this is just the 2nd time I have used this image to actually complete a project (come on, you know how it is!) I LOVE this finished project! I think the patterned paper really makes it, or maybe it is the simple 2 colors, or maybe it is Lulu's sweet face. Whatever it is, I loved it when it was done.

The patterned paper is retired from Stampin' Up! It is the Cerise line of paper but I am sure you can find red and white/cream striped paper anywhere. The red ribbon is from Stampin' Up! too. BUT, don't you love the scallop edge? So sweet and petite..it is a brand new product from Stampin' Up! that will be available in the new catalog. Trust me, you are gonna want this punch!

Anyway...for the blog candy...leave a post to this project and leave me a link to your most favorite Christmas themed stamp set ever and I'll draw a random winner on the 27th. The winner will receive a new, CC Designs e-z mounted snowman stamp (http://www.allthatscraps.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=360_361_545&products_id=4841). Good luck!

Supplies Used: Real Red cs, ink, Close to Cocoa ink, Chocolate Chip ink, Blush Blossom SW Marker, Very Vanilla cs, Timber Brown Staz On, Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, SU Scallop edge punch (NEW), Lulu's Sweet Delights set.

Anything But a Card Challenge

This week the Design Team for All That Scraps was challenged to do anything but a card. I will freely admit that my "anything but a card" skills are pretty limited. My dear pal Lorien is awesome with bracelets and altered tins, some gals can look at any piece of garbage and create a beautiful piece of art, but I am pretty limited..I'm really an "in the box" kind of gal so I stick with journals, some altered tins and ornaments. I love making ornaments, but don't mean the glass bulb kind...any other kind. For the last 3 years I give my 3 closest peeps a gift and a handmade ornament. Last year I made ornaments out of chipboard coasters so when we were challenged to do anything but a card I made another chipboard coaster ornament.

I made this with the adorable CC Designs set, Lulu's Sweet Delights. Isn't she the cutest?!?! I started by covering the coaster with some Basic Grey paper, from their Fruitcake collection. After that I stamped Lulu with Black Staz On and added the gum drops next to her.

I colored the images with my Stampin' Up! inks and an aquapainter. After I was finished it needed to be a bit less "clean" to go with the Basic Grey paper so I roughed up the edges a bit with some Creamy Caramel ink and then I used my Creamy Caramel SW marker and the Color Spritzer Tool. Guess what else is on this project? The new Stampin' Up! scallop punch. I seriously have used that on EVERY project I have made this past week (which there are several, I just can't show them to you yet....) I LOVE that punch and it's tiny little scallops....Run on over to the All That Scraps site and check out gallery to see what the other girls made!

New Apartment Card

Can you believe it??? A card with Stampin' Up! stamps?!?! I have been neglecting them so much for my CC Designs stuff but it has been fun! I recently ordered the Neighborhood wheel to go with my All In The Family set and have just been waiting to have a reason to ink it up. Well, my husband's sister and her husband recently moved from a small apartment to a larger one. This was a move that she was anxious to make even back in April when they visited us from Utah. I miss her so much! I don't have a sister and even when people see photos of her they assume she is my sister, we do look alike. Anyway, her and her husband have been married just about 2 years and are starving students in Provo, Utah. She has finally graduated and has found a teaching job out there so they decided to take the plunge and upgrade their apartment.

To make this card I inked the wheel with Bashful Blue ink and and wheeled it onto a Bashful Blue panel. Then I inked the wheel in black Staz-On and wheeled it onto white. I colored the apartment with Stampin Up inks and an aquapainter, cut it out and popped it up with dimensionals. The "congratulations" is a stamp from one of the retired All Year Cheer sets. I wanted it to look like one of those flags that some small planes pull around at big events. Did you notice anything new??? The orange color is one of the new In Colors for the year. This is Tangerine Tango. Doesn't that sound yummy? I really like this color combo and used it last night as well on a card with the Sock Monkey set. I can't show that to you though because it is one of my swaps for a new swap with Jami at SCS and she doesn't like us to show our stuff till after everyone in the swap has received theirs..you'll have to wait a couple weeks to see it!

Supplies Used: Tangerine Tango cs, ink, Old Olive cs, ink, Bashful Blue cs, ink, Black Hemp Twine, Black Staz-On ink, Stampin Dimensionals, Aquapainter, All Year Cheer, Neighborhood Jumbo Wheel.

ATS Sketch Challenge

This week's Design Team Challege at All That Scraps was a sketch challenge. As soon as I saw the sketch I thought of the monkey in the tube image. The oval on the project reminded me of his tube. As I got to making it I realized my nephew will be turning 4 in a couple weeks so at the very end of the project I decided to turn it into a birthday card for him. Notice the cute birthday hat on Monkey's head? The hat came from my all time favorite birthday set EVER, It's My Birthday. The printed paper is from Sassafrass Lass and all other supplies are from Stampin'Up! (except the Marvy Oval Punches). Be sure to check out the All That Scraps blog later today to see what the other design team members did with this sketch. AND...did you know I got new stamps in the mail? New CC Designs stamps for the August release.....I can't wait to start makin projects and sharing with you all!

Supplies Used: Night of Navy cs, ink, Grosgrain Ribbon, Real Red cs, ink, Gingham Ribbon, Soft Sky cs, ink, Creamy Caramel ink, Close to Cocoa ink, Aquapainter, Real Red eyelets, Marvy Mega Oval Punch, Sassafrass Lass designer paper, Paper Piercer, Signo Gel Pen, It's My Birthday (CC Designs), Summertime Fun (CC Designs).

Another LAD Entry

Here is another entry for the LAD birthday contest. Probably my final entry as I am expecting some Stampin Up! goodies soon and we are working on some Christmas in July cards for CC Designs. I received the adorable Lulu Christmas set called Lulu's Sweet Dreams and I can't wait to ink that up! So be sure to check out the Design Team blogs in the next couple weeks for some fun Christmas in July stuff!

Back to the entry. This one coordinates with the one that I have already posted and I did that on purpose...I am going to be sending a set of these cards on to a secret sister I have. All the supplies are the same I just followed the sketch that was required. I used the 3rd sketch you could choose from. I hope you like it, and I hope the judges at LAD do too!

Another Lizzie Birthday

My 6 year old has a birthday party to attend this afternoon and it happens to be a princess party. (They are actually having Cinderella attend the party!) Anyway, with the gals at Lizzie Anne Designs running their birthday celebration contest I figured I may as well make another for submission (can you tell I want to win some LAD stamps?)

This is very straight forward and doesn't need much explanation except to point out that I stamped the castle (I love that image!) on the pretty in pink panel in Versamark. Not to dark, not to light and it is the perfect shade. I colored the flags with my Sakura Stardust Gelly Pen as well as the centers of the flowers on the background and parts of the princess crown. The only stamp on this card that is not from LAD is the single flower on the background. This flower is from the Stampin' Up! set Simply Said. That little flower is perfect for SO many cards. I seem to be constantly pulling that thing 0ut!

Anyway, I hope you have a great weekend. We don't have much planned, we recently started pulling wallpaper out of our bathroom (who puts wallpaper in a bathroom anyway? It peels and the seems start pulling apart as soon as someone uses the shower!) We are adding beadboard to the walls, it needs painted and we got new light fixtures. So today I think I'll be priming the beadboard. Not exciting at all but it's got to get done!

Supplies used: Pretty in Pink cs, ink, SW marker, So Saffron cs, ink, SW Marker, Lavendar Lace cs, ink, Creamy Caramel ink, Close to Cocoa SW marker, Blush Blossom ink, Regal Rose wide grosgrain ribbon, Black Staz On ink, Sakura Stardust Gelly Roll Pen, Simply Said stamp set SU, LAD set Once Upon a Time.

Lulu is a Hawiann Babe

This posting is really late! Blogger has been down since Wednesday morning..I couldn't upload the photo, but here it is...better late than never!

This week's Design Team Challenge at All That Scraps is to use chipboard on your project. The pink flower is a piece of Maya Road chipboard that my dear friend Lorien gifted me ages ago. This card is WAY out of my comfort zone. Can you guess why? If you have visited my blog for any length of time you know it is because the bold brights are a color family that I don't usually use and I certainly don't use them together! Most of the bold brights I have only ever bought one package of paper and never had to refill (except Turquoise and Red). Anyway, I had this cute tropical designer paper by Creative Imaginations, Art Warehouse by Danelle Johnson, and I wanted to use it. Pink Passion matched it the best so the rest just sort of came from there. I covered the chipboard with the designer paper and then used my Crop-O-Dile to put a hole in the middle and ran some SU! Tempting Turquoise ribbon through it. I adhered it with a pop-up glue dot. The rest of the card is self explanatory. I colored Lulu with SU! ink refills and added a cute little prima flower to her ear. After I was done with this card I wrinkled my nose and just went to bed, bot up and now it has grown on me a bit. Have a great day!

Supplies Used: Tempting Turqouise cs, ribbon, ink, Green Galore cs, ink, Pink Passion cs, ink, Summer Sun SW Marker, Going Grey ink, Black Staz On, Aquapainter, Slit Punch, Maya Road Chipboard flower, prima flower, brad, Summer Fun (CC Designs).

Happy Birthday Lizzie Anne Designs

Aside from CC Designs there are very few stamps other than Stampin' Up! stamps that I own. That doesn't mean that I don't LOVE to look at other companies stuff and that I would love to own LOTS of other stamps, but I just can't afford to do that....so, the stuff I do have is very select. I LOVE Lizzie Anne Designs stamps and the first stamp of theirs that I bought was their fairy stamp. It was used on a tooth fairy box (I believe that Cambria Turnbow did the project) and I fell in love. It was the first un-mounted stamp I purchased. I have gotten a lot of use out of this stamp and even won a contest with it. After winning a contest I sent the gals at LAD another card to say "thank you" and later found out they took it with them to Cha! So, this little fairy and I have become fast friends!

Lizzie Anne Designs is having a birthday coming up this month and they are having another contest so I thought I would see if this friend can help me win the entire summer release!!! They are giving three different sketches and you can enter as many times as you like (for more info check out this link: http://www.lizzieannedesigns.com/birthdaycontest.html) So I decided to make 3 cards, one for each of the three sketches, and make them coordinate. I have a plan so be patient with me as I work out how to put them all together. But, for the time being this is the first submission I will send them. Isn't she sweet?

Supplies Used: Close to Cocoa ink, cs, Pretty in Pink cs, ink, Regal Rose SW Marker, Soft Sky cs, ink, So Saffron SW Marker, Blush Blossom ink, Aqua Painter, Timber Brown Staz On, Slit Punch, Robins Nest Dew Drops (Water Collection), Paper Peircer, Signo White Gel Pen, Making Memories Designer Paper - Noteworthy Audrey Pink Floral, Pink Organdy Ribbon, Fairy stamp Lizzie Anne Designs.

Stampin Up! New Catalog Open House

If you live in the Flint, Michigan area and are looking to get your hands on a new Stampin' Up! Catalog, play with some new products and be elligible to win some goodies then come join me at my New Catalog Open House! I will have several give-a-ways which will include stamp sets! In order to qualify for the drawing there are several things you can do. You can even increase your chance to win by doing several things.... RSVP to the Open House and get your name in 1 time Bring a guest NOT invited by me and get your name in 2 times For every $10 in product you order get your name in 1 time (if you cannot attend but place an order by Friday evening you still qualify!) Book a workshop and get your name in 3 times Sign up to be a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and get your name in 5 times! If you have any questions please contact me. I would love to see you and talk about some of the new items such as a scallop punch, new buttons and those new In Colors! Here are the details: Date: Saturday, August 16 Time: 10 am - 12 noon Place: Crystal's House, 6185 Meadowwood Lane, Grand Blanc, MI RSVP: caspen1973@yahoo.com Please contact me if you have any questions or to RSVP!

CC Designs and a Coaster Frame and Some New Product Stampin Up Info Tucked Inside

This month Christine sent the design team a package full of goodies and we were required to make something with just the items in the package. The package included 2 chipboard coasters, brads, patterned paper, cardstock, gems, ribbon and the new set Sweet Treats. I really wanted to use the coasters. This stamp set brings us a new "character"...this cute little bear. As soon as I saw the designer paper in this kit I was in love! Pink and brown AND paisleys?!? My favorite color combo and I adore paisleys. Since my oldest daughter's room is pink and brown I decided to make a frame for her. The photo is one of her and her Build-a-Bear taken on her birthday when she turned 8.

Chipboard coasters are really easy to cover. You can use mod podge on them but for speed I just used Sticky Strip from Stampin' Up! to adhere the paper. The pink gems are self adhesive. I used my slit punch to make a scalloped edge of the printed paper and the ribbon that Christine sent is so yummy and matches so well! You know what? In the future when I make scallop edges I don't need to use my slit punch because Stampin' Up! is getting a scallop edge punch! One of those long edge punches that does several scallops in one shot! I pre-ordered it and can't wait to play with it. I also used my Bind-it-All to punch perfectly aligned holes to thread my ribbon through to hold the frame together. My daughter fell in love with it.

Now, the kits that Christine sent us are available for you too! Here is what you get in the Sweet Treats kit:

10 pieces of cardstock

6 pieces of pattern paper

7 yards of ribbon

36 brads 16 gems

1 Stardust Glitter Pen

1 Sweet Treats Stamp Set

1 Instruction sheet to make 5 cards

There is enough in this kit to make the 5 cards plus plenty more. This will be an every other month kit. It will be available when the stamps are officially released which will be Monday, July 7, at 10:00 pm. If you join us over at the forum at All That Scraps we'll be having a release party starting at 8:00 est lasting until 10 when you can buy 'em yourself! Please join us...I'm hoping to be there myself!

Here is a specific list of supplies that were in the kit and may have been used on this project:

Cardstock- Leather Bazzill Cardstock, Bubblegum Bazzill Cardstock, Posie Pink Bazzill Cardstock, Pajama Bazzill Cardstock, French Roast Core'dinations (currently not in stock)

Pattern Paper- Doodlebug Neopolitan Stripe, Doodlebug Cherry Chocolate Paisley, Doodlebug

Chocolate Truffle

Ribbon- May Arts Satin Solid Fuchsia May Arts Sheer White Dots on Fuchsia May Arts Sheer White Dots on Brown Grosgrain White Dots on Brown

Doodlebug Jewels Bubblegum, Doodlebug Mini Brads Bubblegum, Doodlebug Mini Brads Teddy Bear, Doodlebug Sugar Coated Brads Bon Bon

Tubular Monkey

Another from the great set Summertime Fun! Don't you just love this adorable monkey? And or course I had to pair it with the Summer Picnic designer paper from Stampin' Up! I've used it on SO many cards, I think it is the paper I have used most from Stampin' Up! next to Fall Flowers. The ribbon on this one is a wired ribbon but I don't have a company for you. I recieved it as a gift. It matches perfectly with this paper. I used the same ribbon and paper on another CC Designs card awhile back, this one: http://stampwithcrystal.blogspot.com/2008/03/its-all-about-presents-and-giveaway.html

This layout is the same as the layout on this card: execept I turned it on it's side. I really love this layout. http://stampwithcrystal.blogspot.com/2008/06/winter.html

The image was colored with Stampin' Write Markers. No watercoloring on this one. I wanted the image to be bright and vibrant so it really needed lots of bright colors - no watering down! Will you be tubing like this monkey today or just hanging out at home? We'll be headed to my parents today to watch the fireworks and have dinner. Just simple family time! I hope you have a great holiday..don't forget to take a moment to stop and thank God for the great country we live in!

Supplies Used: Black Staz On, Bashful Blue SW Marker, cs, Summer Sun SW Marker, Pumpkin Pie SW Marker, cs, Real Red SW Marker, Creamy Caramel SW Marker, Close to Cocoa SW Marker, Blush Blossom SW Marker, Brocade Blue SW Marker, Summer Picnic DSP, Whisper White cs, ribbon, SU oval punches, Stampin Dimensionals, Summertime Fun set CC Designs.

NEW Stampin Up! Information!

YIPPPEEE!! Guess what? ALL new stamp sets will be die cut in the future! Stampin' Up! just announced that all new stamp sets (not sets that were seen in previous catalogs, only brand new sets) will be arriving to customers die cut! SEE---"the powers that be" will listen when we scream! In addition to that, I got a sneak peek at some new sets this morning...an adorable sock monkey set is coming, a scallop edge punch, and don't forget all the new In Colors! I know I say this every year at this time, but I have to say it again.... "It's the most wonderful time of the year!"

Summertime Fun New Release!

This is my favorite of the July releases from CC Designs! Of course I wasn't surprised since I love ALL of the Lucky and Lulu sets! Isn't Lucky just the coolest "dude" ever?!?!

Let me start off by mentioning that the cute little sand pail, shovel and pile of sand do NOT come in this set. I pulled these ones out of another CC Designs set called Summer. It is a set that features Daphne and Donald but several of the stamps work perfectly with the new set Summertime Fun. I used Kraft card stock from Stampin' Up! to simulate the sand and ripped two strips of it. I stamped on one strip and them mounted the stamped strip on dimensionals on top of the 2nd strip.

I stamped Lucky with Staz On Black ink on Whisper White card stock from Stampin' Up! and colored him with various inks and markers. I mounted him on dimensionals as well. This was a really fun card to make and one that I had in my head as soon as I got a peek at the images in this set. This project turned out even a bit better than it looked in my mind.

Supplies Used: Soft Sky cs, ink, Whisper White cs, Black Staz On, Kraft cs, Real Red Stampin Write Marker, Summer Sun Stampin Write Marker, Going Grey ink, Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (Stampin' Up!), circle punch, dimensionals, Summertime Fun stamp set.

CC Designs Releases AGAIN!!

I can't get over how busy Christine is at C.C. Designs...she keeps us design team members VERY busy! I bet you didn't think I was even a Stampin Up demo any longer did you?!? Well, I am but right now I'm working on some projects for the release at All That Scraps. The July stamps will be available 7/8 at midnight. These are some great summer stamps! This first sneak peek is of the new kitty set that will be available. I'll admit I'm not a real cat fan. I can take them or leave them. I've had a cat or two in my lifetime but as an adult I am boycotting cats because I don't to deal with a litter box. I have 3 kids, a husband and dog to clean up after so I just can't make room for a cat too. NOW, my middle daughter LOVES cats. She squeals with delight when she sees one, has several stuffed animal cats and pretends to be a cat quite often so I knew she would love this set.

This is part of the set Pretty Kitties and comes with 2 different kitties, a mouse and three sayings. I wanted to create a diva cat and the band in the middle of this card is supposed to remind you of a collar. The words are not actually curved at all, but I wanted to create a kitty tag with my circle punches so I just bent the words a bit to make them fit. That is one thing that I do like about un-mounted stamps. Sometimes you can manipulate them just right to work for your project! Do you like all the bling? Between that and all the pink, my daughter is in love with this card!

Supplies Used: Staz On Black ink, Black cs, Stampin Write Marker, Pretty in Pink cs, Stampin Write Marker, Regal Rose cs, Stampin Write Marker, Whisper White cs, Signo White Gel Pen, Black Ribbon from Walmart, Paper Piercer, 1 3/8" circle punch (SU), 1 1/4" circle punch (SU), self adhesive gems (source unknown), Polka Dot Big Ole Background (CC Designs), .

Winter?

Today's Challenge at All That Scraps is to use glitter on your project. I LOVE glitter so I was quite excited to participate in this challenge. And, anytime you can combine glitter and ribbon I am especially happy. I don't know why I settled on a winter themed card except that the CC Designs set I really wanted to use I can't show you yet!! Maybe I'll do one with that set after all and just post it on July 4 when the design team members can post samples made with a fun new Lucky and Lulu set.

Anyway, enough of the teaser and back to this card and a little chit chat about glitter....

I LOVE this card sketch! I believe it was Beate's sketch last week (but I've been known to be wrong - my husband will probably print this entry out for use against me later)...I wish I knew who made the cute snowflake paper but it is from another stack that my mother shared with me. I stamped the adorable LuLu stamp from Wintertime Fun and added some snowflakes from that set stamped in Bashful Blue. The image was colored with Stampin Write Markers. I added some glitter as snow on the snowman, the ground and a couple spots on LuLu's hood and coat. Under the Happy Winter greeting I used some Robin's Nest Dew Drops. These came from the Water collection. I LOVE the collections of Dew Drops that Christine carries at All That Scraps because there are usually 3 different colors in one bottle, all of which coordinate together. Why bother "making" your own when you can open the lid, pour them out and be done with it?

NOW...as for the glitter discussion....I love the ease of Stickles. It is so nice to just open one cap and put it just where you want it. BUT, when I want REAL glitter and sparkle - lots of it - I go back to my glue and Dazzling Diamonds from Stampin' Up! There really is a huge difference in my opinion.

I hope you have a great day. Be sure to check out what the other design team members have done with glitter later this afternoon on the All That Scraps blog!

Supplies Used: Bashful Blue cs, ink, Pretty in Pink cs, SW Marker, Certainly Celery cs, SW Marker, Wide Grosgrain Ribbon, Going Grey ink, Aqua Painter, Black Staz On, Paper Piercer, Slot Punch, Black Stampin Write Marker, Robin's Nest Dew Drops - Water, Dazzling Diamonds, Liquid Glue, Stampin Dimensionals, Wintertime Fun set CC Designs.

Hoppy Birthdaaaayyy and Hoppy Mail for You!

No one has a birthday here at my place (but if it is your birthday, or if you just want to let me know when your birthday is, leave a comment here and I'll choose a random number on Monday morning and send you this card and some goodies inside the card too!) I don't know what you do with images that you stamp and start working on but then determine your project just "isn't workin for ya", but I leave mine laying on a small table next to my workspace. Sometimes I get sick of looking at them and they end up in the trash, and other times I glance at them periodically and they start to grow on me. Sometimes I even pick them up and try again. That is what happened with this image from CC Designs set Froggie and Friends. I created this image with the balloons and the stretched out frog. I thought he looked like he was flying so I added the balloons and colored him in. After water coloring I added some spots to give him some personality and promptly sat him on my table for a couple weeks. Tonight I picked him up and a both the strip of patterned paper and the scalloped edge and put this card together lickity split! Stamping Mo-Jo isn't a made up word you know...it is an honest to goodness "thing". This story is just evidence that sometimes your "mo-jo" isn't in the right place and then other times it just works out!

Supplies Used: Pumpkin Pie cs, ink, Old Olive cs, ink, SW Marker, Real Red ink, Bashful Blue cs, ink, Summer Sun SW Marker, White Signo Gel Pen, Versa Mark ink, SU Slit Punch, Handheld Circle Punch, Black Staz On, Summer Picnic Designer Series Paper (SU), Dimensionals, More Mustard Brads (SU), Froggie and Friends set (CC Designs)

Retirement List Chat....

Well, I have counted them up, I'm losing 19 total stamp sets (this includes 3 back ground stamps). Really this isn't high at all, last year I think it was near 30 sets! Now, which sets am I surprised are leaving? I'm CRUSHED to see that Peaceful Wishes will be retiring. I think this is my all time favorite set. I have used this set on Christmas cards for every year since it has come out. I know my customers love it as well because every time I demonstrate it someone buys it. Snowflake Spot is another one of those sets that I seem to sell a lot of. Unfrogettable hasn't gotten much use around my house lately but not because I don't think it is the most adorable set ever! As always I am looking forward to seeing the sets that will replace these but I will sure miss my Peaceful Wishes! Now we just have to wait to see the retiring accessory list!

Stampin' Up! New Product Line

Stampin' Up! announced a couple weeks ago that they would be sharing some exciting news with its demonstrators about a new product line. Yesterday they spilled the beans and it was nothing like I thought it would be! Decor Elements is a new line of self adhesive wall art! They coordinate with our stamp art which makes it that much easier to coordinate the decor in your home! The fun thing about these is that you can order them in a couple different colors. But the neatest thing about following this link: http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/decorelements_web.pdf is that you will get an idea of some of the new stamps that are to come! Some of the Decor Elements are of images I have never seen before such as, Manhattan Flower, Lollipop Flower, and Long Stem Silhouette. And there is an alphabet so you can put initials on a wall or even spell out words. You can start purchasing these on July 1st so mark your calendar!

Stampin Up Retirement List is Out!

The Retirement List has been released and you can check it out by clicking on this link: http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/Retired_Lists_0608_US_A.pdf. It's a busy morning so I'll pop back in later with more chit chat about the retiring stuff!

Snail Mail

I just adore this image! It is from the CC Designs set, Froggie and Friends. (Don't forget, Christine is having a sale at All That Scraps - check out the link on the sidebar!) I wanted something really simple because I wanted something that was cute but the words inside are the focal point. We are so lucky to have the internet to keep in touch, but I miss the written letter. One of my aunt's and I used to keep in pretty good touch through the mail when I was in high school and part of college but I discovered that when you have e-mail you take it for granted that you can send a note any old time and I hardly ever send them at all. Does that make sense? Anyway, this is going to be sent to my Aunt Beryl. She is very special to me and I hope she likes this cute little fella! The little gems on the end of the Snail Mail strip are Robin's Nest Dew Drops from All that Scraps. These are from the Water collection..you get oodles (and I mean more dew drops than you will ever use!) of dew drops in several colors, this one here matches wonderfully with Soft Sky paper don't you think? I just adhere them with a Stampin Up mini glue dot. They work perfectly!

Supplies Used: Soft Sky cs, Always Artichoke cs, ink, Really Rust cs, ink, Whisper White cs, Fall Flowers Designer Paper (Stampin Up), circle punches, SU Circle Scallop Punch, Robin's Nest Dew Drops (Water), Black Staz On, Aqua Painters, Froggie and Friends.

We Live on a Farm

Here is the card my husband will receive on Father's Day. The only thing it is missing is the retired background stamp that was chicken wire...the background is really plain on this but otherwise I liked how it turned out. We live in a subdivision with about 1/2 acre and my husband has always wanted at least 5 acres so we could get chickens, a horse, have a larger garden than we already have, etc. (We do have several bee hives but it just isn't enough farm for him) Anyway the other day we were just saying to one another how there never seems to be any peace and quiet around here...so when I thought about his Father's Day card I was going to do something related to animals. At first I was going to use the Wild About You set and put something in it about us living in a zoo and he being a great zoo keeper, but when I remembered that I kept this retired Stampin' Up! set, On The Farm, I decided it was perfect for him. The three animals represent each of our three girls. Inside it says, "You have always wanted to have a farm but God already blessed us with three animals. You are a great farmer!"

Supplies Used: Real Red cs, striped ribbon, SW Marker, Bashful Blue cs, SW Marker, Summer Sun cs, SW Marker, Whisper White cs, Creamy Caramel SW Marker, Close to Cocoa SW Marker, Pretty in Pink SW Marker, Regal Rose SW Marker, Certainly Celery SW Marker, Circle Punches, White Signo Gel Pen, Paper Piercer, On The Farm set.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Here is the Father's Day card I made for my dad. I used CC Designs Jack that was released a couple months ago. My dad enjoys working with wood so I knew this image would be perfect for him. The ribbon and card stock look black in the picture, but it is actually Night of Navy. The jumbo eyelets along the side are also by Stampin' Up! As I look at this it seems pretty plain and not amazing...but I also keep telling myself that my dad doesn't care how fancy it is and sometimes you just have to make some simple cards. It seems anytime I make a manly card that is how I would describe it - simple. Do you have anything special planned for Father's Day? We are going to my parents after church on Sunday for lunch and just hanging out. Nothing exciting, but just making memories is pretty exciting.

All That Scraps Challege - Gate Cards

This week's challenge at All That Scraps is to make a gate card. Gate cards are fun and simple ways to make your card a bit different from the traditional card. You fold each side in and then adhere your image in between the two. You just have to remember to only put adhesive on one side of the image or else you gate will be stuck shut! I can't help you with the patterned paper (came from a stack and my mother shared some sheets with me) and the ribbon was some ribbon that came on a package of CC Designs Stamps that Christine sent awhile back. The Dew Drops were placed on the ribbon with Stampin' Up!'s Mini Glue Dots...they are the perfect size. If you have time, play along and post your link here. Let me see what your gate card looks like! Supplies Used: Certainly Celery cs, ink, Pretty in Pink cs, ink, So Saffron Stampin Write Marker, Old Olive Stampin Write Marker, Black Staz On, Aquapainter, Poinsettia Robin's Nest Dew Drops, Hey Chicky stamp set (CC Designs).

Strawberry Thank You's

Here are the Thank You cards for my daughter's party this past weekend. I just realized I never shared the picture of the invite, but I also never took a photo of it! What was I thinking!?!? Anyway, this one uses a retired set Sweet and Sassy is the name I think. A super simple layout but it would be perfect for all those little images like Amuse or Stampin' Up's set, ABC Images. On the focal image I just stamped the strawberry in Black Staz On and scribbled my Pretty in Pink marker inside. Then I used some Cotton Candy Stickles on the seeds of the strawberry to make it shimmer just a bit. The scalloped edge is made with the slit punch and the ribbon is Stampin' Up's! Pink Taffeta ribbon. My dh just pulled some strawberries out of the garden last night...mmmmm!

Supplies Used (All Stampin Up unless noted*): Real Red cs, Certainly Celery cs and marker, Pretty in Pink cs and marker, Versa Mark ink, Slit Punch, Pink Taffeta Ribbon, Cotton Candy Stickles*, 1 3/8" Circle punch, Scallop Circle punch, Sweet and Sassy set.

SALE!!

All That Scraps is having a sale! Check out the announcement Christine posted on the All That Scraps Blog: "We need to move out some of the slower moving items that are taking up space. We are starting out at 25% on most items and will continue to discount them until they are gone. But once they are gone they are gone, they will not be restocked. Some of the items are Cuttlekids, Disney Cuttlebug, Pattern Paper, Tins, Alterable Purses, Cardstock (Bazzil and Prism), Big Shot. Instead of having the items in the main category they have all been moved into the *Sale*Sale*Sale* category to make it easier to find the items that are on sale. We will also have 4 or 5 -8 1/2" x 11" Paper Racks that we will be getting rid of. We will sell them for $50.00 plus you pay shipping. If you are interested please let me know. Make sure to check back as we will be adding items." I hope you find some good bargains!

Another Year Older

My middle daughter turned 6 on Wednesday and her birthday party will be on Saturday. It is great having kids with birthday's in the summer (the youngest turned 4 on the 24th of May) because we are can have parties outside...very little necessary for decorating and you can have virtually as many kids as you like. She decided she wanted a Strawberry Shortcake party this year. I found these pencils at the Target Dollar Spot several months ago. They are the ones that have the little individual leads you take out when it is dull and then put it through the end. I saw some adorable pencil holders on Laurie Schmidlin's blog, http://justgivemestamps.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/01/pencil-holder-p.html, awhile back and decided this is what I wanted to make for the kids party favors. I used a retired Stampin Up! set (I think it is called Sweet and Sassy) for the strawberry and the tiny flower from Simply Said. They aren't difficult to make at all. If you need a visual check out the link above....

1) You'll need a sheet of paper that is 6 3/8" x 3 5/8".

2) Score it along the long sides of the paper at 3/8", 1 5/8", 2", and 3 1/4".

3) Turn your card stock 90 degrees (so it is wide) and score one end at 3/8" (this forms the bottom of your box).

4) On the little bottom you have created you will snip each of the tiny scored sections.

5) Remove one end section (either one it doesn't matter).

6) Fold up the box and secure with Sticky Strip.

The band at the top is made with a strip that is 3 5/8" x 1 1/2" and scored at the same measurements above minus step 3.

SO simple...it reminds me of a 2, 4, 6, 8, box which you could also make to match and fill with some candy. Too bad the party is tomorrow or I would make some of those too!

Supplies Used: Regal Rose cs, ink, Real Red cs, Black SU ink, Signo White Gel Pen, Certainly Celery 5/8" Grosgrain ribbon, Red Gingham Ribbon, Rough Edges Alphabet, Simply Said set, Sweet and Sassy set.

All That Scraps Challenge

Jenn O., another designer for All That Scraps, is going to be heading up some weekly Challenges. This time I was able to play. The challenge was to use these colors on your card - Summer Sun, Wild Wasabi and Chocolate Chip. I don't have any Wild Wasabi so I substituted Old Olive instead. This is the project I came up with using Froggie and Friends...As soon as I saw the frog image I knew he had to be riding on the back of his turtle friend. All supplies are from Stampin' Up! except the patterned paper and the stamps. The patterned paper is from the Mellow Collection from Basic Grey. I hope you have a friend who you know would stick their neck out for you. I have several and count myself as being very blessed because of that!

Supplies Used: Summer Sun cs, ink, Chocolate Chip cs, ink, Old Olive ink, cs, Black Staz On, Old Olive Wide Grosgrain, slit punch, brads, dimensionals.

Froggie and Friends and a Turtle Too!

Let me clue you in on one of the fun things about being on the CC Designs design team. Christine will draw a set and show us a few images before the set is ever turned into glorious rubber images. I was able to see some adorable images to the new set called Froggie and Friends in March I believe, and I was immediately excited to get that set in my hands! I love frogs and turtles. So here is my first sample with Froggie and Friends. This set is huge, has lots of words, 2 frogs, dragonfly, snail, turtle, cat tails, and more!

I can't tell you much about the supplies on this one because Christine has been doing something else that is such fun! She has been sending us little kits with the new stamps that include card stock and embellishments and on at least one sample we can only use the supplies provided. This is one of those kits. I really like how it turned out! The fly, cat tails, turtle and hat are all separate images as is the greeting "Sorry I'm late..." Inside it says "did I miss cake?" Funny huh? I LOVE this ribbon! It matches Bashful Blue from Stampin' Up perfectly! Enjoy your day and if you have any birthday cards to make you best get busy or you'll have to make a card like this!

Hello Layla!

Isn't she cute?!? This is another one of the new cuties from CC Designs new set Layla and Virginia. I paired it with some pretty paper from My Minds Eye. I just love this paper and keep thinking I need to order some more! I water colored the main image with Stampin' Up! inks and an aqua painter, added some Certainly Celery brads and some sweet little prima flowers with More Mustard brads and Ruby Red brads as well. You can get the My Minds Eye paper at All That Scraps and the new girls that Christine has designed will be released on June 4th at 12:01 am. Check it out at All That Scraps: http://www.atsblog.typepad.com/

Supplies Used: Pretty in Pink cs, ink, Ruby Red cs, ink, Pumpkin Pie ink, Soft Sky ink, Certainly Celery ink, Creamy Caramel ink, Black Staz On ink, Certainly Celery brads, Ruby Red brads, More Mustard brads, prima flowers, Stampin Dimensionals, Layla and Virginia set.

So Little Time!

I can't believe it has been so long since I was able to stamp!! I seem to have very little free time and this month I have been very tired. I haven't laid down during the day to nap since my 4 year old was about 6 months old and I found myself laying on the couch several days this past week and a couple days the week before! But, I got happy mail last week! Some new release sets from C.C. Designs!! I have prepared one project so far but I can't show you until tomorrow. If you head over to the All That Scraps blog you can see some sneak peeks of one of the sets there! http://www.atsblog.typepad.com/ We were at the Toledo Zoo today. When our 4 year old potty trained (in September) we promised her a trip to see the elephants. No Zoo's in Michigan have elephants any longer so a trip to Toledo was in order. It isn't a bad drive, just 2 hours and as long as you aren't cringing at the amount of gas it takes to get there it is quite leisurely. So they saw the elephants and the polar bears (our 6 year old's favorite animal). We met some friends down there and had a wonderful day. Check back tomorrow for a sneak of a new set from CC Designs!

Just Celebrate Invitation

These are the birthday party invitations for my youngest daughter's party. She will be turning 4 later this week. Last year we did Curious George and when asked what kind of party she wanted this year she said she wanted Curious George again. But her favorite animal is the elephant so when I got the adorable set "Just Celebrate" from the mini catalog, I knew I had to use it on her invites. She ended up telling me a jungle party was fine. The funny thing is that we never do a ton of decorations when we do a themed party. Usually it is just the ivites, thank-you's and a banner. Plus, we almost always do her party outside since usually the weather in Michigan is nice enough to do that by the end of May/begining of June...who needs decorations when you are outside?

So, this is the invite and I think it turned out super cute. I love doing simple invites mainly because I don't really like doing a bunch of cards exactly the same anyway, so the more simple the better! Plus, the 3 and 4 year olds who are getting them will appreciate it no matter how fancy it is.

I colored the elephant in with Prismacolor pencils and a blending stump. My friend Lori was over this past Friday and she brought hers for me to try. I liked them but it seemed like alot of work - the blending part. I may just need more practice too! I used both the Mega and Giga Scallop punches from Marvy. In addition I used my new toy - the Punches Plus Brass Template from Stampin' Up! It is an embossing template that has images of most of our punches (including the ovals) and around the image is the PERFECT paper piercing template to mimic the punch. So, I just used the "you're invited" stamp from my Family Phrases set and punched it out with the large oval. The I used dimensionals to pop it up on the front of the card, laid the template down and paper pierced the oval around it. The perfect touch!

Supplies Used: Pretty in Pink cs, ink, Old Olive cs, Rose Red cs, ink, Whisper White cs, Black Staz On, Punches Plus template, White Signo Gel Pen, Slit Punch, Simply Said set, Family Phrases set, Just Celebrate set.

Lily and Milo

Last night my girlfriends came over to stamp (hi Lorien and Lori!!) Lorien's parents did a great job and she is an amazing sharer of all things rubber related so she came not only to work on a few projects but with some stamps she said "I thought you might like to stamp some images." When I saw this little girl with the bird I couldn't resist and I almost couldn't stop coloring her. I did quit and went to bed around midnight and finished the coloring and card this afternoon. Isn't it adorable? These are apparently a new line of stamps and you can find out more about them and look at some beautiful artwork on the Rachelle Ann Miller blog...check it out http://rachelleannemiller.com/. Supplies Used: Certainly Celery cs, ink, Rose Red cs, ink, Bashful Blue cs, ink, Black Staz On, So Saffron ink, Close to Cocoa ink, Cutie Pie Designer Paper (SU!), Double Stitched Pomegranate Ribbon (SU!), Regal brads (SU!), Dimensionals, Slit punch, Just Celebrate set (SU!), Lily and Milo stamp).