C.C. Designs little birdies

And how cute are they? I am loving both the new C.C.Designs new release sets. These little birdies are in the Love Ya' Much set. The thing I am loving about both of these sets is that they are so cute for Valentines, but also you can use them for anything. I started with a piece of brocade blue cs 8"x4" and folded it in half to make a 4" card. The designer paper is some that I got from Ellen Hutson's store. I can't remember what it is called. I thought the blue and yellow stripe was perfect for the lil birdies. At the bottom, I scalloped it with my create-a-cut. (gotta use that for everything!) I paper pierced a strip across the top of the scallops and then sponged creamy caramel around the whole piece to age it. The next layer is a piece of Stampin'Up!'s so saffron run through my cuttlebug and a rectangle scallop nestabilities die. I happened to ruin (oh the horror) a few fabriano note cards today, so I used the scraps to do the layer that the birds are stamped on. I stamped them in basic gray and water colored them with soft sky, buckaroo blue, pretty in pink, close to cocoa and so saffron ink. When they were dry, I added some crystal effects to their beaks to give them some shine! Too stinking cute! I had a tiny heart punch I found for a dollar at Michael's like forever ago and I punched a couple of pretty in pink (sponged with creamy caramel) cardstock hearts and glued them on. The ribbon is a caramel color I got from a ribbon share from Jody.

Happy New Year everyone! Don't drink and drive! Be safe!

One layer Valentine card

Here is my second C.C. Designs card with the new release stamps. These are so stinking cute. I love this little lion stamp! I decided to do a simple little one layer valentine card for my two year old granddaughter. I hope she likes it. I used a fabriano notecard for the base. I wanted a frame around the lion so I used a nestability scalloped oval and just embossed it onto the notecard. The lion was stamped with black onyx versafine ink and then heated to set. I water colored with Stampin'Up! bordering blue, more mustard, creamy caramel, always artichoke, and pretty in pink. After it was all dry, I added stickles to his little tail and his mane. "Be my mane squeeze" and "Valentine" were stamped with chocolate chip craft and then clear embossed. The little hearts were stamped in pretty in pink and then I used a chocolate chip marker to accent and then do a crazy border around the edge. I added a brad and a striped gross grain ribbon. Enjoy!

My first design team creation

I got some time to go to work with this stinking cute set from C.C.Designs. How cute is this lil piggy? I had a cute pink journal from Michaels just lying around waiting for something to be done with it. I really liked the cover so I just stamped and added ribbon. I did stamp some hearts from the set on the cute pink paper though. The set is love ya lots. My daughter is a piggy fiend so I figure the journal will go to her. I used my nestabilites dies to cut various circles from designer paper and cardstock. The piggy is stamped in black onyx versafine ink. I water colored with pretty in pink, regal rose, and chocolate chip. After stamping the hearts i outlined them with regal rose and then added stickles. The piggy's nose holes have stickles as well. The ribbon was from the holiday mini from Stampin'Up! I love this stuff. I had to order like 3 extra rolls so it would last a while. The A was cut out of a chipboard coaster and then stickles applied for more shine. The words "you make me squeal" were stamped with chocolate chip craft ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. If you like this set it can be ordered January 4th from http://www.allthatscraps.com/ Enjoy! Gotta go play with that lion! ;)

New stamps

This one is not one of the new release ones, but I needed a hugs card and this cute lil penguin fit the bill. I am working on some stuff for the new release stamps and hope to have some of that up tonight. Supah Cute! This lil penguin is from C.C.Designs and is from the set Little Penguins. I used pretty in pink cs and my polka dot bg from Stampin'Up!. The designer paper is retired from Stampin'Up!. I scalloped the bottom with my create-a-cut and then used a regal rose marker to doodle on the edge. The top is zigzagged with my sewing machine. I used my smaller oval nestabilites dies in regal rose, sahara sand and a piece of fabriano notecard. I stamped the little penguin in black onyx versafine ink. I water colored with bashful blue, sahara sand, pretty in pink, and regal rose ink. I used stickles on her cute little bow. The little tag was cut out with a stamp die from cuttlebug. The hearts on the bottom are chipboard from Stampin'Up!. I covered them with regal rose cs and then dotted with my white signo gel pen. The flower is from Papertrey Ink's website and the little pearl came from Ellen Hutson's website. Check out Christine's web store All that scraps at http://www.allthatscraps.com/. On January 4th she has two adorable Valentine sets being released. They are versatile in that you can use them year round not just for Valentines. Supah cute! I will get some sneak peaks up soon. Have a great day and enjoy the possibilities.

New release C.C.Designs are in the house!

Ya baby! Not to be a big tease or anything, but you are going to love the new release! They are so stinking cute. It is snowing like crazy outside, I am not babysitting and I have no place to go. Do you realize what this means? Heck ya! I am shutting my computer off and going to the stamp room to play. I was hoping these would arrive today so I have been cleaning up there this morning. I have a place to stamp! Stay tuned for some sneak peaks! See you later!

Christmas was amazing

In our church when a young man serves a mission, he serves for a period of two years. In this two year time period the family is allowed letters each week. This is the only contact we are allowed except for Christmas and Mother's Day. Those two days are special in that we are allowed a phone call!!!!!!!!!!!! Elder Rapp called me on Christmas Eve day as he didn't have computer access to email me. He gave me the number to call and said call me at 8 am on Christmas. They are five hours ahead of us, so it would be early afternoon for him. At 8 my husband handed me his phone. He had made arrangements with his boss to use his cell as the business pretty much has everything on the cell plan. We would pay them later. Well come to find out we couldn't use this phone and I just about freaked! I remembered that the truck stop where my husband works was open on Christmas and we could get an international phone card there. I had him call over and have them set aside the phone card for us to pay them later and then give us the numbers off the card. He bought 2 60 minute cards as we were not sure how long they would let him talk. Sometimes the Mission President limits that time as well. He answered the phone when we called and just let me tell you it did this Mother good to finally be able to talk to him after 5 months of no talking except letters. He sounded so good! He said that an Elder had to go to the mission home the day before to do something and he asked him if he would check the mail as he had two packages from Mom and Dad that he hadn't gotten on mail day from before. (they probably arrived just after mail day :(

He was so excited because they were there and he got them on Christmas Eve. The mail system is really iffy so we don't send stuff of value to him through the mail. We put money in his debit account if he needs something so he is sure to get it. I sent him a little felt tree and some decorations from the $ store. He also requests American candy in almost every letter. There are very few candies that arrive without melting. We discovered skittles and necco wafers work great, no gummies which he loves however. He told us that he gave a package of skittles to the little boy at the home where he was having Christmas dinner. He was cracking up as he was talking to me. He said the little boy was nuts over the skittles. He loved them! He would also speak in Portuguese to his companion from time to time. It was amazing to me to hear how great it sounded. He is speaking so smoothly. I am so proud of him and the hard work he has been doing to learn a new language in such a small amount of time. He told me that the people he has encountered in Brazil are very humble. They don't have much. He baptized a young girl who lives in a one room shack made from plywood. He said there is a sheet in the middle and and the girl sleeps on one side of the sheet and her parents on the other. He mentioned that when he found me a nativity that the other Elders who were native Brazilian were amazed that he would spend 60 in American money, (Brazil would have been around 120 ish) for something like a nativity. That is a ton of money to them and not considered a necessity. I told him earlier to decorate his place with it, because his Christmas package hadn't arrived. He will be sending it to me this next week or two. He had his favorite Brazilian barbecue for his Christmas dinner and he said it was amazing. He loves the food. The fresh fruit is his favorite. He said that some of the other Elders had eaten some weird foods, but so far he hasn't. He did say that when he gets the chance he is excited to try them though. I am not sure I would be so brave. He said that his headaches have subsided and are not bothering him anymore. We bought him 3 pair of really expensive shoes from a local missionary supply store here in town. He hates them. He doesn't have cars in his area so they walk wherever they have to go. He says the shoes are killing his feet and the area they walk is cobblestone. As soon as the first pair are trashed which he said won't be long, he is going to get some shoes from there. He is going to dump or give away the other two. I was a little disappointed that we were given the wrong direction at such a high quality store. They claim to know what the missionaries need and are able to handle every situation. He mentioned that he is about to put a third hole in his belt from his weight loss. I am thinking his pants are probably going to be hanging on him by the time he returns in 19 months. Hopefully the weight loss will level out now. Well if you are still reading great! I will add more later as I think of something he said. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas. I got what I wanted, talking to my boy was amazing. Oh and I didn't tell you how much that long phone call ended up costing. I was told by our Stake President to enjoy the call and not worry about the money part. Hello international call to Brazil for 1 hour and 40 minutes! It cost us 10 bucks! Woo hoo! Have a Happy New Year everyone! I am going to go get some stamping time in as I don't have my granddaughter today. I am hoping my C.C.Designs new release stamps show up today! How fun would that be?

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a super Happy New Year! The presents are wrapped. (finally) The food is bought and I am not going anywhere til it's over. Ok, well I will go to church and then we are looking at Christmas lights tomorrow night. Then I am staying home. We are expecting snow on Christmas Eve day! It is snowing right now. Huge flakes softly falling. I love it! The only thing I didn't get done is the Christmas cards and I have decided they can go out after Christmas. It isn't going to hurt one bit.

Velta asked me about my camera. I think I talked about it once before, but I am being lazy and don't want to figure out where. So, I have a fuji finepix S5000. I love this camera. I have had it a few years and use it tons! I have never had a nice camera before and it is my first digital. When I got it, i went to the library and checked out some photography books. I studied like crazy and practiced, then took it to New York City! I also love to look at others photography and study how they do stuff. That's it girls. When I photograph close up, I use the macro setting on the camera. I try to use natural light when photographing my stamped art. Mykl's fuzzy edge photo a couple of posts down with her baby Jesus was done using the soft focus in my picasa program. If you visit picasa.com you can get it for free. I also have Adobe photoshop Elements 5.0. I need to get a book for this as I don't get full use from it. My goal is to start doing the digi scrapping this new year! Better find a book soon huh? Have a great weekend and enjoy the possibilities!

As she squeals with delight...

Hey my friends. Thank you so very much for your sweet comments. I am thrilled with this new opportunity. Might I start off by saying that I got a sneak peak at the new release for January for C.C. Designs and you girls are going to love it. It is too stinking cute. I can't wait to get my hands on it and play. That being said, I am so behind on getting ready for Christmas. Everything was bought a while ago. Have I started wrapping? Ummmmm..... No! Have I sent Christmas cards? Ummmmmm...... No I guess today is the day I better kick it into high gear huh? I actually have left over cards I made last year and the year before. I wonder if anyone will notice? Probably but I am thinking at this point it is better than nothing. I will have something on here soon. Have a great day and enjoy the possibilities!

We have been given the O.K.!!!!

Amy has announced the design team for All that Scraps! It is a great company with an incredible on-line store! I will post links in my side bar. I am so excited to say that little old me made the design team! How cool is that? This is going to be so much fun. I promise girls, I will keep a level head and not let it get to my head. I am going to rub shoulders with some of the best. I am so honored to be able to work with each and every one of them. Christine and Amy thank you so much for the vote of confidence and bring on the stamps! I can't wait to play!


So in my excitement I totally forgot to tell you who the other team members are.
Crystal Spencer ---------- BLOG
Cyndi Bundy ------------- BLOG
Inge Groot ----------- BLOG
Jeanette Fincher --------- BLOG
Katie Stilwater -------- BLOG
Laurie Schmidlin ----------- BLOG
Lesa Rapp ---------- BLOG
Linda Black --------- BLOG
Renée Van Stralen ------- BLOG
Shannan Teubner --------- BLOG
Sue Berker ------------- BLOG
Tricia Traxler --------- BLOG

Happy fun news!

So I have some very exciting and fun news coming very soon! It has been so hard to not say anything. Check back and as soon as I have the o.k., I will get it posted!

I decided to add another! Enjoy!

Not stamping, but could this be any cuter?

My adorable granddaughter came with her hair curly and cute this morning. She also has this super cute Christmas outfit on. I decided it was the perfect time to stick her in front of the tree and give her baby Jesus to hold. How cute is this?

Playing in the snow and having a ball!

I discovered All that Scraps a couple of weeks ago and had to order this adorable set called Winter Playtime and then a single stamp called little snowman. They are designed by C.C. Designs. Aren't they just stinking cute? I played real quick when my sets came, but my fingers have been itching to play again. This sweet pup is named Lucky and he is having a ball sleigh riding down this steep hill. I hope he doesn't hit a tree! Our little penguin friend just finished building his snowman and I think he did a real great job don't you? I couldn't sleep the other night and half the night kept thinking this would be adorable in pink and brown. I kinda got some ideas in my head and that is where this card started. I started with Pretty in Pink cs and ran it through my snowflake cuttlbug folder. I found a leftover piece of Au Chocolate designer paper and made a scallop piece with it using my create-a-cut. The ribbon is Stampin'Up! gingham in pink and the brad is Stampin'Up! as well. I used a cute lil chocolate polka dot flower from my ever growing prima collection. Isn't it just cute? I used a piece of white fiber on my bow. It looks like winter to me. I stamped my cute lil stamps in my versafine onyx ink and water colored them using creamy caramel, pretty in pink, chocolate chip, regal rose, soft sky, always artichoke and bordering blue. I used a piece of a fabriano note card and put it through my cuttlebug using a square nestabilites die. I embossed it by running it through again. The chocolate chip piece is made using the scallop square nestabilities die. After all of this dried and was cut out, I used my stickles all over in my snow to make the snow hill sparkle. I hope you like my take on playing in the snow. Enjoy!

Tagged

A while back I found Alana over at SCS. She was looking to find some online friends. It ended up being the Sisterhood of the Blogging Stampers. I think they are up to like group number 5 now! I was able to get in on the first group. I have these new sisters, Marilyn and Melissa. They both tagged me. You can find their blogs under my Sisterhood of the Blogging Stampers label at the right. We are having so much fun getting to know each other and also supporting each others addiction! (hhhhhmmmmm..... I mean hobby!)



The rules of the game:Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog, we all want to know them.Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.



Here goes:

1. I hate driving on snowy roads.

2. I love Salt City Candles! My favorites are spiced pumpkin, baked apple and spiced wassail! Yummy and I burn them year round.

3. I love to hibernate the whole month of December and listen to Christmas music and sit in front of my well lit Christmas tree. (don't so much like crowds)

4. I am a kitty lover. I have had a cat or two my whole life.

5. I collect nativities. (I am working on getting one from Brazil where my son is serving his mission) I have one from Israel, Amish country, a painted rock one, elegant ones, whimisical, Precious moments, tiny, big, felt, Fisher Price (granddaughter plays with that one), wood

6. I Brad Paisley (been to 3 of his concerts, sigh)

7. I am addicted to Prison Break. (I have season 1 and 2 on dvd)

Wow that was harder than I thought it would be. I am exhausted from staying up half the night to go get my son from work, so if you enjoyed this and want to participate, tag your it! Have a great day and enjoy the possibilities!

Winter playtime kitty and snowman

When I saw these adorable little stamps over at Lauren Meader's blog here: http://laurenm.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2007/11/28/ghirardelli-gift-wrapper/, I knew I was doomed! How stinking cute is this little kitty and her snowman? Mine isn't colored as cute cause I was in such a hurry to just use this stamp! I think it turned out kinda cute though. I hope you all like her as much as I do. The stamp set is from c.c. designs. It is called Winter Playtime and I had to get the snowman by himself as well, Little snowman. I used my kitty and snowman on an oval cut with my nestabilities oval dies. I matted it with creamy caramel and then finished it with a pretty in pink scallop oval. I stamped miss kitty with my versafine onyx black pad. I water colored with creamy caramel, buckaroo blue, pretty in pink inks. After it all dried, I stamped it with creamy caramel and my linen bg stamp. I punched the snowflakes with my snowflake cuttlebug die that I forgot I even owned. I used stickles to make the snowflakes sparkle and gave them each a pearl center. The oval piece is popped up with dimensionals. The little tag was cut using my stamp cuttlebug die. I stamped it in buckaroo blue and then added stickles to the little snowflakes. The outside piece was inked with creamy caramel and then a piece of white fiber added. The card piece I used buckaroo blue and scalloped the bottom with my trusty create-a-cut paper trimmer. I used my signo white gel pen to add dots to the scallops. The dots were stamped with my polka dot bg stamp from Stampin'Up! I added snowflakes in between the dots in white craft ink and when it dried added stickles for sparkle. The ribbon is stitched buckaroo blue from Stampin'Up! It is a pretty cute and easy, fun way to celebrate winter. Enjoy!

Update on the quilt

The quilt arrived safely in Utah today! She loves it! She called me right when she got the box and then opened it while I was on the phone. You should have heard the squealing. She was so excited. I am glad it going to be loved.

I have been watching a sick granddaughter today. I am feeling my sore throat come back. I am hoping to stamp first thing tomorrow morning. Have a great night!

Questions

It seems I have been asked a few questions. My nestabilities came from Ellen Hutsons store. You can find her here: http://www.ellenhutson.com/servlet/StoreFront Also if she is out of stock, Papertrey Ink has them and she ships for free over 40$. You can find them here:http://papertreyink.com/

Also I was asked if the flashing is sharp. when I cut off a piece to run through the cuttlebug I was careful not to touch the edges as they can be sharp. After running through the cuttlebug, it didn't seem too bad. I don't run my fingers around it to see if I can get cut, but touching it on the card it doesn't seem like it would hurt anyone. Like I said before though, I think I will look for some thinner flashing as this is pretty thick stuff. Of course I will use up what I have first as it is a little pricey and I don't want to waste it. I think it was around 18 bucks for a good sized roll of it.

Feel free to ask more questions and I will try to get them answered. I still have my throat bug so hopefully tomorrow I can get something on here. Have a great Sunday everyone and don't forget to enjoy the possibilities!

A sweet lil snowman!

I finally decided the lil snowman card is done. I decided yesterday to participate in the metallic challenge over at SCS. I didn't have any metallic paper, so I started with aluminum flashing. Yep ya heard me girls. Go to home depot and buy up their flashing. It is great in your stamping! Hee hee especially if you have a cuttlebug and nestabilities. I put my flashing through my snowflake embossing folder and then cut it out with my scallop circle nestabilities die. I would try to find a little thinner flashing next time as I had to run it through a few times to cut the flashing. I had to coax it out of its little cutout a bit. I layered a piece of white behind it with some sponging to highlight it. I stamped my cold play snowman in basic gray and water colored him with some soft sky to give him some shading. I used stickles to make him shine! He is so sparklie! I love sparklie snowmen. The little flower on his hat is from my new time well spent set! I stamped it in soft sky and added stickles to the center for glitz! His scarf is stamped with chocolate chip craft ink and then heated to set. I used my glue pen to line the white stripes and then dumped dazzling diamonds glitter on it for more shine. His buttons are the little self adhesive pearls from Ellen Hutson's store. I love those things. All my snowflakes were punched from various snowflake punches and then I added stickles to them cause we all know snow sparkles! ;) I used a 5 1/4" square base in soft sky for the card. I stamped snowflakes on it with soft sky and put stickles in the centers. I scalloped the right edge with my create-a-cut and then paper pierced down the side. I used my signo white gel pen to create the faux stitching effect. To finish it off I used the yummy chocolate chip satin ribbon from the fall mini! This stuff is to die for girls! I added a piece of fiber to my knot and finished it with another punched, stickled and pearled snowflake. This card really sparkles. That to me what winter is all about. Enjoy him and have fun getting ready for Christmas. I am listening to my new Marie Osmond Christmas album and I am really getting into the spirit!

Quilt pictures finally!

I finally have pictures of this huge quilt project! It is huge! It is big enough to hang way over the edges of a queen sized bed. I made one for my husband and I maybe 7ish years ago. It is so warm and we love it! When my daughter was married 4 years ago, I made one for her and her husband. Same size only theirs had tons of levi material on it. Can we say heavy? This one is for an x-future daughter -in -law. I love her to pieces and they already had the fabric bought and cut. How could I say no when she asked me to finish it for her. It will be shipped ups to her tomorrow! Woo hoo! I hope she loves it. I have been working on a card for the challenge at SCS today. It needs something so I will mull over it for a while. Hopefully later tonight or maybe in the morning I will have a pic of it up here. Enjoy the quilt! Many hours of love were poured into this one. ;)

So ya, I am slow!

Between babysitting and recovering from vacation, I am slow this week. No babysitting tomorrow so hopefully some stamping and some quilt pics will appear! I think I am getting a sore throat too! YUCKY! I have my lights on my tree and am finally getting some decorations on it! Things are happening, just slowly. Check back tomorrow for some fun stuff!

I am home!

After a nice relaxing week in Big Sky Montana, we are home! We had lots of snow Monday and Tuesday which made for a beautiful Thanksgiving in our Mountain getaway! It was stunning. I am feeling lots more relaxed and ready to stamp my brains out. I finished clipping the quilt and will get it washed tomorrow and then get some pics up here on my blog! It is gorgeous! Life is good. I hope you all had a super Thanksgiving! Check back tomorrow for the quilt pics and maybe a card! I also need to get my tree up! I can't believe how fast life is going. Thanks for all your nice comments on my work. You truly made my day!

Time spent with friends is time well spent

I should be packing for vacation. I got the quilt done so I thought I would spend a little while playing with my new Time well spent stamp set before I go back to work. Stamping is more fun anyway! ;) I started with a chocolate chip square base and scalloped the bottom edge with my create-a-cut. I did a layer of pumpkin pie with a piece of polka dot au chocolat designer paper over that. The circles were cut on my coluzzle. I sewed on the au chocolat dp and also on the cool caribbean circle. The caribbean circle was stamped with the small flower from time well spent in caribbean. I used my white gel pen to add dots and then for the centers of the flowers, I used copper stickles. I stamped my flowers in basic gray and water colored using really rust, cool caribbean, and chocolate chip ink. I used copper stickles on the flowers to give them some bling. The center of the big flower is a clear rhinestone brad. The rectangle piece was cut with my nestabilites rectangle die and embossed. I sponged the edge with chocolate chip and water colored friends and the flowers. I added a piece of soft sky stitched ribbon to the corner. I hope you like it! I think I am going to love this set! Have a great night!

Nestabilites question

I was asked about which nestabilites I have. I have the complete set of ovals, rectangles and circles. I am going to get the squares, but it will probably be the first of the year. The one on the previous sample is the largest scallop rectangle. Have a great night everyone!
Lesa

First card with Time well spent set!

Ok, I made this pretty quick. Gotta get back to the quilt! Hee hee. It was fun to play even if it was only for a few minutes.

I started with an always artichoke base and used my swirl folder and my cuttlebug to add some texture. I stamped the images on watercolor paper and water colored with always artichoke and pumpkin pie and just a smidge of really rust. The watercolor paper was cut using my rectangle nestability die and then embossed. I used my signo gel pen to highlight the flowers. Orange peel stickles were used on the medium flower. The big flower center has crystal effects in the center of the flower. I used copper brads at the top and a piece of pumpkin pie gross grain ribbon as an accent. I hope you like it! ;)

K girls here it is!

Stampin'Up! gave us a thank you gift and I hurried and mounted it. I stamped each one and colored like a first grader so you can see the set. I think I will go do something beautiful with it now! ;) Enjoy! Isn't it cute? I heart Stampin'Up! Oh if you click on the picture you can see closer up how I colored like a first grader! ;)

Sisterhood of the blogging stampers

I have joined a group called Sisterhood of the blogging stampers! Hi Sisters. I am going to be a little scarce for the next week and half. I am truly excited about getting to know you all and developing friendships with each of you!

I am a stay at home Mom and Grandma of 1. I have 4 children, 1 daughter (oldest) and then 3 sons. The daughter is the Mom of the super cute if I say so myself granddaughter. She is two going on sixteen and I babysit her while her Mom and Dad are working on their own business. I have been babysitting her since she was six weeks old!

I have a son next who does road construction. He loves to hunt, camp and fish. He considers himself a redneck and from the sounds of the way he talks, I believe him. He did graduate from High School, I promise.

My third child is 19 years old and on August 1 of this year left for Brazil to serve a full time mission for our church. His mission is the Porto Alegre South Mission. He is doing wonderful and loving his mission so far. There is a link at the bottom of the page if you want to check out his web page and see what he is up to. He returns from Brazil in August of 2009. Not that I am counting or anything, but I get to see my boy in 89 Sunday's!

My youngest is 17 next month. He loves to snowboard! That is what he lives for. He currently is looking for a job and has a girlfriend. He is a Junior in High School.

I have been a Stampin'Up! demonstrator for over 10 years. I have been a Stampin'Up! snob for years. I am currently branching out and finding other stamp companies exist! I love it! Papertrey Ink and nestabilites are my favorites right now! I am looking forward to the new catalog in January.

I have been married to my sweet husband for 25 years. He is amazing. Besides working to the bone to support his family, he volunteers for the police department and is a counselor in the Bishopric at our church. He is extremely busy! He supports me like no other and I just want to say I love you honey!

That's about it. I am looking forward to getting to know my sisters better. I am currently working on a humongous quilt and getting ready for the vacation at Big Sky! Lots to do to get ready so I will see you girls when I get back. Have fun stamping!

Here is a pic of the suit I wanted!

The key word here is wanted. I found another for less than 1/3 the price. I only really maybe wear a suit like twice a year. The one I chose is cute, but I really like the pink and black number. Sigh! Christmas is coming and we are going on vacation and it would be nice if someone else got something besides me. You know what I am saying? The other one is on the way, shipped already. It should be here Monday or Tuesday and will be here in plenty of time before the trip. It's all good. I am keeping track of this one. If it goes on sale in the future, I might spring for it anyway. After all, who can pass up a sale? ;) I really don't look good in a swim suit anyway! Now if you could guarantee that I would look as good as her, well it would be worth the ridiculous price tag!

I have been tagged

Alana my new friend I found at SCS tagged me. Her website is here:http://distinctinkbyalana.blogspot.com/

1. If you could have 100.00 worth of scrapbook paper or assorted embellishments, which would you choose? Probably embellisments. I am totally into layers and adding cute stuff as you can see in my work!


2. If you had to choose between using only stamps or ribbons, which would you choose? Um stamps! It would look pretty dorky with only ribbon.

3. If you knew how to do both awesome cards and layouts but could only do one for a whole year…which would you do? Cards! I am not on the layout kick right now!

4. Would you rather own a scrap booking store or have your own scrapping room at home…(can’t have both he he he). For sure my dream stamp room without clutter all organized and purty!

5. What is your CURRENT card making or scrapping style? I am for sure a layer and texture girl!

Now, I got a surprise day off today! I should really be working on a quilt I am making for a sweet girl! I have been searching the internet for a modest and great swimsuit for our family vacation. Why do I always wait til the last minute? I found a real cute one , but alas it is going to cost an arm and a leg to get it here plus it is really $$$$$$$$. It is cute and would cover me up though! Decisions decisions! I might just go stamp! Hee hee!

Stunning pumpkins

These pumpkins are so easy to watercolor and create stunning results. I did use a little trick though, Orange peel stickles. They sparkle and shine like diamonds! I started with a pumpkin pie base and paperpierced all around my 5 1/4" square card. My signo gel pen created faux stitching. The second layer is a piece of always artichoke cs followed by a piece of my favorite chocolate chip! It even sounds yummy! I scalloped the bottom with my create-a-cut and put the whole piece through my swirl cuttlebug folder. I am all about texture in my cards. The next layer is a piece of pumpkin pie designer paper run through my circle nestabilities die. Layer number 5 is a piece of absolutely stunning water color paper from Stampin'Up!. I love this stuff. It is worth every dime! I cut it out and embossed it with an oval scallop nestabilities die and my cutttlebug. I stamped all my pumpkins and leaves in basic gray ink and then used my aquapainter to water color using chocolate chip, always artichoke, more mustard, pumpkin pie, and soft sky inks in the lids of my pads. I let this dry and then added the orange peel stickles for sparkle. These pumpkins are divine! To finish the piece I added a bow with jute twine, 3 copper brads and a piece of gross grain chocolate chip ribbon. This card is perfect for a fall greeting. Thanks for stopping in and enjoy the possibilities!

Happy Halloween!

While I am not much of a Halloween girl, Happy Halloween! My husband never gets into it and for some reason yesterday he started asking for stuff to get ready for work today. It seems there is a 50$ prize for the best costume. My daughter won it a couple of years ago with her Grinch costume. She did awesome! I hope not to scare you with this pic, but here he is in all his glory. Hee hee. I never thought I would see the day when my husband dressed up as a woman. Funny thing is, he has a dentist appointment today! Hee hee. It would be funny to be a fly on the wall there today. I hope to get some stamping done this afternoon so check back later. Have a great day!

Big Wish

I stamped again today! This could become an everyday thing and I would be a happy stamper. I started with a basic gray base and layered it with white, then regal rose. The corners are punched with my ticket corner punch and brads finish off the corners. The regal rose layer is stamped with my polka dot bg stamp (Stampin'Up!). My next 3 layers consist of basic gray, white vellum cs and then a layer of regal rose. The vellum card stock is paper pierced across the top and scalloped at the bottom with my create-a-cut. I punched wholes in each scallop to give it a lacy effect. The regal rose layer is embossed with my swirl embossing folder in my cuttlebug. I used a piece of pink striped gross grain ribbon to finish these layers. My oval layers were done with my nestabilities dies. I started with a big scallop layer of basic gray followed by a smaller scallop layer of vellum card stock. The white layer was put through my bug twice to dry emboss it. I stamped the cake off once with regal rose ink. The flowers are just stamped with regal rose ink. I put swarovski crystals in the centers of the bigger flowers and stickles on the tiny ones. The white polka dots on the cake were accented with my white signo gel pen. The big wish tag was cut with one of my tag dies from cuttlebug. I wrapped the pink striped ribbon around it. Big wish was stamped in basic gray with a little big of flowers up in the corner with regal rose to finish the piece. I was having a bit of a hard time with this one, but in the end I love how it turned out. I hope you like it!

Color Challenge at Splitcoast

Woo hoo! I gotta play! Can you tell I am excited? I actually stamped for fun for me today. This card is for the color challenge over at Splitcoaststampers. The challenge was to use basic gray, purley pomegranate, and soft sky. These colors are absolutely stunning together. I love this color combination. I started with a basic gray base followed by a layer of purely pomegranate and then a layer of soft sky. The corners were punched with my ticket corner punch. The soft sky layer was run through my snowflake folder in my cuttlebug. I used stickles all over this card for sparkle. The next layer is my new white card stock from Papertrey. This stuff is awesome! It is so heavy and white as the snow! I used my cute snow wheel from the holiday mini on the white layer in soft sky and sewed around the edges. The circle medallion was cut using my nestabilites circle dies in my cuttlebug. I roughed up the white edge with my scissors after stamping the snowflakes with my papertrey Snowflake Serenade set found here: http://papertreyink.com/stamps_snowflakeserenade.html This set is so beautiful. I love the words in it! I love the way Nichole designs her sets to all work together. I added pearls and stickles to my flakes to dress them up. The pearls came from Ellen Hutsons store. I got the snowflake punches from Sweet Miss Daisies (Anna Wights) store. I added dots with my Signo Gel pen. The ribbon is basic gray Taffeta from Stampin'Up! with a piece of frilly white yarn added cause it reminded me of snow. We are getting ready to head out for our winter vacation in Big Sky Montana next month and I can hardly wait to see the beautiful snow covered mountains. It is the most beautiful place on the planet. This card definitely has me in the mood to vacation!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.....

I guess I really did need a break huh? I stamped this card on Sunday morning when I woke up like at 4 am and couldn't go back to sleep. I am thinking the sleep would have been better for me though. I started with Sahara sand as my base and stamped it with chocolate chip and my flannel plaid bg stamp. The next layer is chocolate chip scalloped with my create-a-cut and then paper pierced across the bottom. I added a layer of Stampin'Up! dp. Sorry I am not remembering the name now. It was one of those spring ones. The orange strip is pumpkin pie dp put through my crimper. I haven't used that baby forever and I love the texture it added! I admit it I am a texture girl. Next I used my nestabilities ovals and cut a scalloped oval with pumpkin pie and sponged the edges lightly with chocolate chip. The cream colored oval is a piece of a flubbed fabriano notecard. I cut the oval and then embossed it with my lovely nestabilities die and my cute lil cuttlebug! I got that thing for Christmas last year and am still loving it! I sponged the edge of the fabriano oval with chocolate chip and did a border around the pumpkins with my pumpkin pie marker. I stamped the pumpkins in basic gray ink and water colored them with pumpkin pie, more mustard, chocolate chip, and always artichoke. The pumpkins are from inky antics. After the water coloring dried , I put stickles on my pumpkins so they sparkle! Love that stuff! The happy birthday is from my new Papertrey Ink Piece of Cake set. The celebrate is from Papertrey Ink's borders and corners oval set. I used my beauteous chocolate chip satin ribbon from the Holiday mini. (Gonna have to order a few more rolls of that one to hoard! Hee hee. It ties so beautifully and lays just right on your project. Thanks for looking and enjoy the possibilities!

Picture of Elder Rapp!

I just went to my mailbox and received a letter from Elder Rapp's Mission President. It contained a letter from President Johnson, one from Elder Rapp and a pic of him with President Johnson and his Wife. I feel like I haven't seen my boy in forever! He has been gone for 73 days now, but who's counting? He is doing very well and seems happy. I update his web page weekly so check the link at the top of the page to see what he is up to this week. We sent him a package before he left the MTC and were a little concerned as to whether he would get it or not. He got his book about Portuguese verbs and his American candy! He also got Dominoes pizza when he arrived at the mission home. The boy was in heaven! I am working at a stamp camp tomorrow and making a quilt. I am hoping to get some new stamping up here next week. Have a great day and enjoy the possibilities!

I got this survey in my email and thought it was fun.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:50
2. Diamonds or Pearls? diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Pirates of the Caribbean
4. What is your favorite TV show? Prison Break
5. Breakfast? glass of milk
6. What is your middle name? I could tell ya but then I would have to shoot ya!
7. What is your favorite Cuisine? Mexican
8. What food do you dislike? tomatoes, onions (onion flavor is ok just not the crunch)
9. Your favorite potato chip? cheddar and sour cream lays
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? anything Brad Paisley :)
11. What kind of car do you drive? Yukkon
12. Favorite SANDWICH? Not much of a sandwich girl, love chicken caesar pita at pita pit
14. What are your favorite clothes? anything without a bra (ha ha)
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation where would you go? Brazil
16. What color are your eyes? Brown
17. Favorite brand of clothes? no favorite (really don't even like shopping for clothes)
18. Where do you want to retire? Pennsylvania (love the trees)
19. Favorite time of day? definitely nights
20. Where were you born? Idaho
21. What is your favorite sport to watch? Um not a sports girl, give me stamping any day
22. Who do you think will not send this back? don't know
23. Person you expect to send it back first? Andrea
24. Coke or Pepsi? Neither, Dr. Pepper for me but not often cause then I don't sleep
25. Cats or Dogs? Cats
26. Are you a morning person or a night owl? night owl
27. Pedicure or manicure? both
28. Do you prefer funny or mushy cards? Funny cards
29. Any new news you would like to share? Jacob is leaving the MTC this week!
30. What did you want to be when you were little? Mommy
31. What do you have in your trunk right now? I don't have a trunk
32. What is your best childhood memory? Eating homemade chicken noodle soup at Grandma's and then raspberries for desert. Yummy!
33. What are the different jobs you have had in your life? Joshua Smith Foundation, A&W
34.Favorite Holiday? Christmas
35. What is your favorite dessert? anything chocolate
36. Favorite Summer getaway? Somewhere alone with hubby!
37. Ever been to Africa? No
38. Glasses or Contacts? neither, but use reading glasses
39. Ever been toilet papering? No
40. Been in a car accident? Yes
41. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
42. Favorite restaurant? Used to be Mama Inez til they went under. Prolly Alberto's, but they are getting not as cleanly and so I am losing my thrill for them too! I don't go often but love Red Lobster. I am a seafood girl! Bubba Gumps in Times Square is good too!
43. Favorite flower? Roses
44. Favorite movies? Chick flicks
45. Favorite Pastime? Stamping
46. Favorite ice cream? Pralines and Cream
47. Favorite fast food restaurant? Pita Pit (if that counts)
48. How many times did you fail your drivers test? 0
49. From whom did you get your last email? Kathie
50. Sandals or tennis shoes? bare feet
51. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Don't have a credit card
52. If the speed limit is 60 what is the fastest you will drive? 65
53. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? dont know
54. Last person you went to dinner with? Hubby
55. What are you listening to right now? Mykl playing with her toys
56. What is your favorite color? blue
57. How many tattoos do you have? none

Camera

I have been asked about my camera work. I am using a Fujifilm S5000 camera. I have had it for 4 or 5 years and love it! I usually try to photograph in natural light. If it is night time then I just use my natural light I bought at Sam's Club. It was way cheaper than the Ott light and works just fine. I keep it on my stamp table and use it all the time. I usually just set up my kitchen table for the shots and take my pictures there because I have glass sliding doors and there is lots of light. I set my camera on the close up mode. That gets rid of blurriness. Nothing fancy. I love digital photography cause you can practice all you want and don't waste film. There are lots of photography ideas on other peoples blogs. I just experiment. Have a great day and I hope to have something stamped for you tonight!

Oh before I forget, I have decided to remove the top 50 from my blog. I don't need the pressure. I have backed off on the stamping just a bit. I want to keep it fun. I want to do it because it makes me happy! I love what I do and I really truly need to keep this outlet fun. I don't need the stress of trying to impress others.

Woo hoo I stamped!

I have been so wanting to play with my nestabilities! I finally got a chance to and can I just tell you I love them. I need to get some more older stamp sets sold on ebay so I can get the rest of them. I have a cuttlebug and they work wonderfully in my bug. I started with a buckaroo blue base and the textile embossing folder. I embossed about 3/4 of the front of the card. The next layer is bravo burgundy scalloped with my create-a-cut. I used sahara sand cs for the next layer and stamped it with bravo burgundy craft ink using my paisley bg stamp from Stampin'Up!. I sewed two lines of stitching across the top and bottom with my sewing machine. The next layer is bravo burgundy with a piece of sahara sand on top. I stamped my polka dot bg stamp in buckaroo blue. I used the little star stamp from priceless and then the little oval stamp from Papertrey's borders and corners ovals. The ribbon is craft tafetta. The large oval was cut using my nestabilities classic scallop oval die and then pierced in each scallop. The next layer was done with the classic oval die and was put through my cuttlebug twice to emboss the edge. I sponged the edge with bravo burgundy and then stamped the oval dots from borders and corners ovals. The swirl was stamped with my glue pad and then glittered. I stamped the flowers and cut them out and attached them with dimensionals. The pearls are from Ellen Hutsons online store. These are so fun and I have to order more! The for you was stamped with papertrey's paper tray set and I used the classic oval die on it as well putting it through twice to emboss the edge. The dots were stamped with the corners and borders oval dots. This was so much fun although a bit of work. I hope you like it.

Here is my favorite picture of our Nauvoo trip! Isn't this picture just stunning? This is the Nauvoo LDS temple. I took the picture from the cultural hall on the 3rd floor. My husband's cousin took a similar picture earlier this summer and I had to get the shot while I was there.

I am home finally

What a week! We had a trade show for my husband's business back in Iowa this past week. We went a few days ahead of the show and spent 2 days in Nauvoo Illinois. What and incredible beautiful time we spent there. I don't have a lot of time right now to tell about it, but watch as I have the most beautiful picture ever to add. It probably won't happen until tomorrow. We were supposed to be home Thursday night, but there was a tornado in Minneapolis that set us back 24 hours. We finally were allowed to go to Minneapolis Thursday night 5 hours after we were supposed to have left. We didn't hit a pillow until 2:00 in the morning. Then we had an entire day to kill waiting to get the next flight home. Last night I hit the pillow at 1:00 in the morning. I am getting to old to do that 2 nights in a row. When I got home I had this wonderful box from Ellen Hutson! Woo hoo, my nestabilities are in the house. I have a Mary Kay open house today at my home and wasn't home to clean. So it is with a big frown that I go clean and get ready for that instead of playing. My daughter did come over and help me with some of it. I am so grateful. I still have loads to be done before 2. Check back in the next few days as I have tons of ideas for these babies. I love them already! I did hurry and try them in my cuttlebug and they are so worth every penny! Have a great day and enjoy the possibilities!

I have been doing lots of thinking. I need to stamp, it is an important part of my life. I have always been crafty, but stamping is something I have done longer than anything else. I love to stamp. It is my release from stress and cares of the world. I love to create! I may not be the best, but I love what I do. I am going to continue. I actually did stamp this past week, but I am not going to show anyone what I did. It is ok. I have a day off today. I get very few of those. I am going to take a long hot bubble bath! Awwwwww luxury! After I feel renewed I am going to stamp. I will continue to share. I hope that someone somewhere gets a little inspiration by what I do. If not, it's ok because I am only doing this for me. I am waiting for my weekly letter from Elder Rapp and then it's off for some me time. Take time to enjoy the possibilities!
Lesa

Taking a step back

I am going to take some time to step back and see why I started this blog. For a long while I was climbing the top 50 list and now I am sliding back. I have had a rough summer and I haven't been here much. I realize you lose readers when you don't blog every day. I love blogging as it has given me a place to keep track of my stamping. I will continue it, but am wondering if I just like the comments. I have heard others mention this as well so I know I am not the only one. I am really doubting my stamping. I keep wondering if anyone really likes it or if I am just another stamper. I love stamping and will always do it, but am I just kidding myself? Hmmmmmmm......

Stamping heaven

It feels so good to be stamping again! I am in heaven. I actually finished this one last night. I started with a bashful blue base. The first layer is barely banana and then a layer of yummy Cutie Pie dp from Stampin'Up! The colors in this are so pretty together. My next layer is a piece of bashful layered with another piece of cutie pie that was scalloped with my create-a-cut. I used my sewing machine to stitch the top and the bottom with messy stitching. This is the first time I have used my new wide gross grain celery ribbon. I was afraid I would have a hard time tying it as it is usually a little stiff. It tied perfectly the first try! I love this stuff. Note to self get more wide gross grain, I think chocolate chip is calling my name! I used my photo corner punch with bashful cs and then stamped it with my dot stamp from In the Spotlight. I stamped little star flowers from my corners and borders square set from papertrey! I put stickles in the centers for sparkle. The focal point is done using bashful and whisper white cs in my mega and giga oval punches. I used the little star flower around the bashful piece in each scallop with stickles in the centers as well. The white layer is stamped with the corners and borders oval dots and then sponged with bashful ink. I stamped my flowers and then cut them out and after adding brads to the centers popped them with dimensionals. The one on the lower right side also has some stickles on the end dots. This card was so fun to make. I want to stamp again! Woo hoo! Have a great labor day and enjoy the possibilities!

I am back!

I got the company out and I am back in my stamp room tonight. What a long summer! I am so grateful that school has started and that it is cooling off a bit. The nights are a little cooler and the leaves are just barely starting to turn. It makes me want to do fall cards. I started with a chocolate chip square base for this creation. I stamped the swirl from baroque motifs on the top with very vanilla craft ink. I paper pierced around the bottom and the sides. The next layer is pumpkin pie textured paper. This stuff is yummy! I got the earth elements colors since fall was upon us! I scalloped the bottom with my create-a-cut and then did a sloppy on purpose sewing job around the edges. I stamped my gorgeous pumpkins (I love this set!) on watercolor paper in the new basic gray ink. I used my very neglected WW crayons from Stampin'Up! to color using my aqua painter. After it dried I roughed up the edges with my scissors and then used my color spritzer tool and a chocolate chip marker to spray the splatter. The bottom right is gross grain ribbon from Stampin'Up! and then I used a little tatting pin and my pliers from the tool kit from Stampin'Up! to cut off the bottom of the pin. I used swarovski crystal beads at the top and a chocolate prima flower with a tiny swarovski crystal in the center. It is so sparkly! At the top left I used various cuttlebug dies and chocolate chip cs, pumpkin pie textured cs, and a chipboard coaster to cut the shapes on my tag. I sponged the edges of the pumpkin pie piece with chocolate chip. The ever grateful piece is sponged with chocolate chip as well. I stamped ever grateful from the so many sayings set. The little pumpkin stars are from my papertrey borders and corners squares set and stamped in pumpkin pie. The centers are done with stickles. I hope you like it. It was wonderful to play again.

So I stamped....

...but I can't say it's something to write home to Mom about. I am going to put it up there. I do like the background. I am wishing my nestabilities dies were here cause I could have used them. Oh well, at least I got to play with my stamps today. I used a true thyme base layered with chocolate chip. The next layer is sahara sand and it is stamped with my swirls from priceless in true thyme. I stamped the flowers with chocolate chip and then I stamped my linen bg stamp in chocolate chip over the whole thing. The edges are distressed with scissors. I used my slit punch on the bottom right side to add interest. The flowers were made sparkly with stickles. The bottom right piece is punched with the mega and giga scallop square punches. (This is where my new circle nestabilities would have come in handy.) I stamped the sahara sand piece with true thyme and added stickles to add sparkle. The center is stamped in chocolate chip craft and clear embossed. I cut it out with a flower die from my cuttlebug flower dies. It was done on a chipboard coaster. I sponged the edges with true thyme and added stickles for sparkles. A small knot was added with my chocolate chip taffeta ribbon. The Thank you was stamped and then the h and k were stamped again in chocolate chip and cut out and glued on. The piece was finished with a chocolate chip taffeta bow. It isn't bad just not my best stamping. I guess the mojo takes a little time to find itself.

Have a great day and enjoy the possibilities!

Lost my mojo!

Oh my! My mojo is gone and I can't find it anywhere. I still have people living in my house! I am starting to get depressed. I want to stamp I really do, but I can't seem to get any energy together to even try! I want my house back. I want me time. Am I being selfish? I just want to stamp for a while and not have to think about anything else. There is no time left after I meet everyone else's needs. Sigh........ Please come back mojo, I need you.

Elder Rapp

I am adding a link to Elder Rapp's web page that I started for him. He is doing amazing! I can't believe he has been gone almost a month. Only 23 months to go! I am counting in Sunday's as they sound shorter. Andrea bought me a two year calendar to put stickers on each day. 22 days looks so tiny compared to the hugo mountain of days he has left. It's all good though as he is happy and learning lots. I love him and miss him, but I know he is doing incredible work for God and for that I am grateful! I hope to get some stamping done today. Wish me luck!
http://www.dearelder.com/index.php?inc_name=web_page_display_home&folder=Elder_Jacob_Rpp

Sorry

I am sorry for the quiet blog lately. I have company from out of town yet again. They have been here for a week and a half and I am not sure when they are headed home. I have no time for me. Today I have a killer headache and it has been going on since yesterday. I wish I could stamp as that is what relaxes me, but I can't. Not today. Have a great day and thanks for being patient.
Lesa

Woo hoo I finally finished it!

I finally finished my card. This one took forever because I would work on it for a while and then life kept happening! It felt good to be creative last night and I love how this turned out. I wanted non-traditional Christmas colors. I decided to go with Blue Bayou and Groovy guava. I love the way this looks! It is so stinking cute! I started with my blue bayou base and create-a-cut scallop blade. I only used it on top. I stamped my cute lil polka dot background stamp in blue bayou. The next layer is groovy guava with my paisley background stamp with groovy guava ink. I pierced the left side with my paper piercer. I scalloped a piece of blue bayou designer paper and after attaching it added a piece of yummy groovy guava double stitched ribbon. It looks like a creamsicle! My stamped layer is on Stampin'Up! watercolor paper. I stamped my Baby Jesus is Born stamp with basic gray ink! I love this stuff, it is the new black! ;) I water colored using ink in my ink pad lids. I used groovy guava, blue bayou, soft sky, night of navy, creamy caramel, pretty in pink, bordering blue and chocolate chip. I stamped my swirl from priceless in the left corner with blue bayou. I pierced the edges and stitched it with linen thread for some texture. I used my scissors to rough up the edges and distress them. My new favorite punch, the photo corner punch, was used to do a piece of groovy guava and then I put it under the watercolor piece. It is stamped with the paisley background stamp as well. I used dimensionals to pop up the image to add more dimension to the piece. I think this is an adorable Christmas card and I hope you enjoy it!

Is summer over yet?

I will be truly glad when summer is over and I have time for me again. I have had a summer that won't allow for much stamping or relaxing. I am getting sick too! Grrrrrrr...... I have something in the works and hope to finish it today! ;) gotta get my fix! Hee hee we stampers are sick women! Have a great day and check back. It is going to be beautiful.

Autumn Harvest

Summer used to be my favorite season until we started having hot summers! I am now 100% in love with fall! I love the colors and most of all the cooler temperatures. It is still a few weeks off, but these wonderful pumpkins are getting me in the mood fast! I heard a few people complain about more pumpkins over at SCS. Guess what?

I am pretty sure this is my new favorite stamp set. I love the style, I love that I can color to my hearts content, I love that I can mask them and do pumpkin scenes. I this set! So last night after getting it assembled which went pretty fast cause it is die cut, I set down to stamp. My first piece, I didn't love because I used sahara sand paper and it didn't love me water coloring on it. Sigh... I decided this morning to pull out a piece of yummy watercolor paper from Stampin'Up! I love the way this turned out. I hope you love it too! I started with a piece of chocolate chip as my base and put just the right side through my cuttlebug folder. I used the textile one. The next layer is the new Designer paper in Pumpkin Pie, it is as yummy as it sounds! I put a layer of chocolate chip behind the watercolor paper. At the top of the watercolor paper I tore it after I stamped and water colored the image. I used my new basic gray pad to stamp the images. It is softer than basic black. I never thought of it before, but this one is water resistant too! Happy! I used pumpkin pie, more mustard, chocolate chip, creamy caramel, soft sky, always artichoke and teensy bit of handsome hunter. The ribbon is pumpkin pie and didn't turn out as soft in the pic, but matches the paper perfectly. For some reason it photographed darker. It is so soft and pretty! I cut out the leaf images and layered them over the pumpkins. I decided my pumpkin needed something and had heard of using the cutter to just cut real thin pieces of cardstock. I wound it around my paper piercer and glued it to the pumpkin top with crystal effects. Copper brads finished the piece along with some paper piercing across the left side of the watercolor paper and in the corner of the pumpkin pie piece. I did the corner with a leftover piece of the pumpkin DP. I hope you like it! Have a great day and enjoy the possibilities!

Oh, I almost forgot! I am smiling big today. I got an email from my son in Brazil. He is doing fantastic! He loves Brazil, the language, the food, the MTC, all of it! What a relief to know that he is finding joy in his service to the Savior. I can relax now and know that he is ok!

Finally feeling a bit back to normal!

I don't know how to describe this last week except bittersweet. My son has been gone one week tomorrow! This week was the longest week ever. I find myself counting ahead three hours and wondering just what he is doing. I know he is in good hands! That isn't an issue with me. I know that God will watch over him and protect him. I just miss him. He has always been such a tease and now that is gone! I went through his room and boxed up the last of his stuff (he didn't get it all done), vacuumed, washed his sheets. His room is bare! He will be able to email us either tomorrow or Wednesday! I am living for the email! I wanted to stamp last week, but (sigh) didn't have it in me. I have a list of a bunch of Dirty Dare challenges sitting on my desk just waiting for me to get motivated! I will stamp this week!

The countdown has begun! I can't count two years in days as it seems huge to me right now! I have chosen to count it down in Sunday's. Only 103 Sunday's left and I will be reunited with my boy! It will for sure sound better once it's under 100! Have a great day and enjoy the possibilities. Check back, I hope to have something stamped today!

Dirty Dare Challenge

The picture Trudee supplied was beautiful. It is a little out of my element but I like the way it turned out. I tried to let the sparkle shine through and I think I achieved that. I used barely banana as my base for this card. The cuttlebug and embossing folder were used at the bottom as well as my create-a-cut. I am for sure on a scallop kick! I stamped the swirl from Priceless in the right corner. Using my sakura sparkle gel pen, I outlined the swirls and dotted as well. It is stunning in person. I used my sewing machine at the top and bottom of the soft sky layer. The dp is from Ellen Hutson's store. I used the sparkle pen on the banana stripes and dotted it. The brads down the left side are saffron and I glued a swarovski crystal to the centers with crystal effects. The ovals are cut with my mega and giga scallop punches. (I can't wait to get the new spellbinder dies!) I used my corners and borders oval set to do designs on the soft sky piece. I used scissors to distress the scallops on that layer. The whisper white layer is stamped with the corners and borders oval dots. I used the sparkle gel pen in the centers of the scallops to add some sparkle. I used my Vases in Vogue flower and stamped it in versafine onyx black. My heat tool was used to set the ink. Barely Banana marker dotted each flower, then stickles were added for some glitz. The thank you was stamped in Brocade blue. I finished the piece off with a piece of white organdy ribbon and a fancy hat pin thingy I found at Walmart. It has a Swavovski crystal bead added. I cut off the end and used my pliers from my Stampin'Up! tool kit to curl the end.