Gettin' Crafty Stampin' with Jamie

Manly Celebrations

2012-01-11T18:06:00.000-08:00

This family filled weekend started off with us celebrating my Father In Laws 78th birthday... I couldn't resist the urge to sparkle - even a masculine card!

I created this easy and masculine Birthday card using our Crumb Cake cardstock as a base... I ran it thru our lattice impression plate. I sponged some Chocolate Chip ink to age it and show the definition of the pattern... using my Color Coach I used the Chocolate Chip paper, the Garden Green and then stamped with Chocolate Chip ink and our new stamp set from the Occasions Mini and our Vintage Brads....

I couldn't resist... I pulled out the Vanilla Shimmer Smooch and after sponging the Chocolate Chip I spritzed it... the shimmer didn't detract from the masculine-ness of the card but did add a lil flare... I just LOVE this simple and guy inspired card... my father in law is a simple man who loves his family... this simple card really reflects his style.

I used the Stampin' Dimensionals to adhere each layer and with the texture of the lattice impression....

Daisy Girl Scouts and me...

2012-01-11T17:35:00.000-08:00

Today was a BIG day in my life, my daughter's life and the lives of our 11 lil Daisy Girls... I was roped into being a Daisy Leader for my Daughter Genevieve's group of friends at school. I'm not big on ceremony - not in the least - and far from a fraternity type person... or so I thought...

We had our Daisy girls in their Investiture (new lingo for me) ceremony. I created this fun and easy little certificate for our girls. I ADORE our My Digital Studio.... with four sick kids at home today, in between ironing 11 little vests with various badges and pinning each one.... I was STILL able to create this impressive little Certificate... and it's so lovely... it makes me just smile.

I'm not prone to big emotions or tears but this day, this sweet group of girls, the ceremony, my baby... I teared up several times!!

So, my big girl, my forever baby, with a fever was made a Daisy today... and I'm forever so proud!!

Genevieve stayed home, with her sibs, with a fever but as the Leader of the her troop, and her very important ceremony - we went in for this and were so blessed because of it!

My Digital Studio and Sale A Bration

2012-01-01T19:10:00.000-08:00

I figured if you have a beginning you need an end... like any good book, it should all wrap it up by the end!! Here is the Ending to my site (Please.. go to the bottom of my site and let me know what you think!!) using the amazing papers from the Sale A Bration FREE CD for MDS! I LOVE This and it's so quick and easy - if IIII can do it w/ the chaos that rules my home - lol - anyone can!!
Too - I love how it's all wrapped with a bow... like all good presents, don't you think??

My Digital Studio... Header FUNNNN

2012-01-01T14:53:00.000-08:00

I am sooo addicted to our AMAZING My Digital Studio!! I wanted to make a 'personalized' Header and so thissss is what I (first) came up with... then I thought... is it tooo much of 'Me'?? so thennn I created this fun header w/ My Best Creations as the primary focus.... because, seriously, they are my Best Blessings!!

Soooo... I played around and came up with....

Using our FREE Software from Stampin' Up!'s Sale A Bration called 'One Big Sale-A-Bration CD' that is FREE with Every $50 you spend!! I LOVE being a Demonstrator that earns the same FREE bee's and more than our customers do!! (Whoot! Whoot!) So - soon, as Sale A Bration approaches... snag THIS for your collection!!

This software allows for an easy and professional created card... printing true to color and with stunning quality!! Perfect for Thank you's and Invitations... ask me how I can show you More!!

Our Arabella and My Digital Studio

2011-12-28T12:21:00.000-08:00

Our Little Angel Arabella Eliza is such a Joy!!

I couldn't resist using our My Digital Studio to create these amazing cards and wayyy better than those prefabbed deals from on-line card services...

I LOVE how I can personalize the cards with colors, styles and more!!

This is our Baby Announcement... Our daughter is such a lil love... I'm not a big 'pink' lover but since she's so delicate and sweet I combined the Pretty In Pink Designer Series Paper with our Grey stamp/ink - it printed at Costco true to color and the My Digital Studio allowed for amazing style while being easy for a Mom of 6 kids!

This is our lil Arabella from her Dedication and our amazing friend and Photographer shotpthese great pictures (She does ALL of our amazing family photos and is so skilled... Thank You Nicole Riccets!) I printed these cards/pictures to include with our Christmas Cards... again, amazingly easy, tons of fun and style!

Albanese's 2011

2011-12-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

When I count my blessings this Christmas Season.... I have soooo many to count!! I have an Amazing husband, 5 Stunning girls and a Strappin' Boy.... our Home, My Stampin' Up! Business, an amazing Family, Friends who care and love on me and my family.... the Lord has blessed me soooo much!! I hope that you and Yours this Holiday Season grasp every moment to remember that even when times are tough.... love is FREE!!

Our Lil Arabella Eliza is a pure joy... our Last Little Girl... I adore the Dedication Dress... and couldn't wait to share!

3D FUN Class...

2011-09-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

Want to get out of a RUT?? Want to do something FUN?? 4 ~ 3D items in ONE Night!!

We will be creating a Stunning Stamped Candle, an Amazing Necklace to wear or gift, a Lovely Clipboard to hold all of your ideas and lists, and THIS Wreath from the Holiday Mini...

BONUS PROJECT: FREE, bring your own pre-purchased Funkin (Fake Pumpkin - readily available and Target, Walmart, JoAnns, etc.) and we can decoupage Pumpkin... I couldn't resist after seeing these in the October 2011 Country Living Magazine...
With our Designer Series Paper... the ideas are limitless....

I have soooo much paper - I wonder how many Funkins I'll make...hmmmm

Join IN on this Amazing and FUN evening....

RSVP on my Calendar.... Don't Miss out and See how you can earn it for FREE!!

Stampin' Up! Regional in Nevada

2011-09-20T19:49:00.000-07:00

The Idea of FILLING a Large Convention Center was a HIT with Susie, my Upline and Big Sista, Candace, my downline and roomie... a few other down and side line... we made a ROAD TRIP.. with my youngest creation...

Lil Arabella was a HIT - ha, ha... I was asked often what she was able to be swapped for....

Candace, at two weeks into becoming a Demonstrator... she was up for the trip and was excited to meet Shelly, the CEO and Driving Force behind Stampin' Up!.... What a pleasure it was to connect w/ this amazing lady!
At Conventions we Stampers like to SWAP - I created 50 3D items and 50 Cards to swap... THIS is my 3D item... what do you think?? I love how I stamped the key 3 times - creating a swinging feel to it... the Big Shot popped out this embossed black heart, this cute lil 3D Pop Up Card in Pretty In Pink, Whisper White and Black was a HIT and a favorite of mine....

As you 'close/collapse' this card it goes flat but makes a big impression...

Flat but Fabulous... I had a blast swapping out for some great ideas... this 3x3" card was a great 'oldie but goodie'...

Kind of like a pink Tiffany's box... I love the look of this Herringbone Impression Plate that I brayered w/ Black and ran onto Whisper White... the black grosgrain ribbon just made it a clean and crisp look...

BAM!! Clean, Crisp and pretty....

Susie Reno is an amazing upline and friend... she's been in my corner from day one and so loving and encouraging... I adore her... it was some good quality time w/ her... and who doesn't love quality girlfriend and mentor time??

Candace Yager and I had a blast... rooming, dining, car rides and laughter... we swapped out hearts' content and really had some fun girlfriend time!! I LOVE the Stampin' Up! family... and having Candace in my life makes it a fun place to be!

Our Newest Addition... another Amazing Creation!

2011-06-25T11:56:00.000-07:00

We are so excited and blessed by our newest addition...

my poor neglected blog/site... lol..

but I have a great excuse!!

Our lil Arabella Eliza Robison Albanese was born on May 9th... she's smaller than the smallest of any of our previous children (she had the cord wrapped around her neck.... but was a safe delivery - Praise the Lord!)...

6lbs. 7oz., 19 3/4" of pure love and sweetness!

All of our lil loves together.. the Oldest (23) to the youngest (baby)... we are blessed 6x over...

Final Tally: 5 Girls + 1 Boy

Cupcake LUV!!

2011-04-04T10:39:00.000-07:00

I'm soo not a Cake person but a good Cupcake will do me... I prefer pies but when you get a pretty lil cupcake, and a cherry on-top... who could resist it??

This FUN card was created at Workshop FILLED with school teachers, workers and such... the ladies were having a blast being creative... what they did (I wish I'd taken photos!) was a hoot to see - I love it when people get personal with a stamped card... using my card as a mere suggestion...

Using our Red Riding Hood paper as a base, our 'Bring on the Cake' from our Occasions Mini stamp set and the Cupcake punch... our Dbl sided DSP makes for an EASY and lovely card!! I used our border punch to create a topping for the card - the punched cherry to tie off the cupcake and our vintagy double sided Designer Series Paper tot create this cool but fun card!! Here - make your Cupcake POP with our Stampin' Dimensionals!!

Flowers A'Plenty

2011-04-04T10:15:00.000-07:00

I just LOVE receiving flowers... and after many years of marriage - I miss getting them as often as I used to - ha, ha, ha.. so I send my girlfriends and the ladies in my life a flower or two or more to brighten their day!!

HERE with our amazing Big Shot Die - this flower is hard to not love!! With our Spring time vintage paper from the Occasions mini, the vintage rose in the center... an easy card that is feminine and fun!

With a White flower I daubed the edges in ink to create depth... I used Stampin' Dimensionals to adhere the flower to the card, the flower center piece is adhered with Mini Glue Dots and I used a lil stick-on pearl on the center flower to add to the look... Here with Not Quite Navy ink for the sentiment, I'd forgotten the Very Vanilla paper on the counter on my way to a Workshop.. eek... so I nabbed the extra paper I always bring and we did it this way!! I just can't decided which I liked more!

Our Designer Series Paper is DOUBLE SIDED!!!! I LOVE that! Here is the other side - it reminds me of wallpaper at a Grandma's home - kind of like coming home... I used the Rose Red flower to tie in the paper, the lil pearl in the center.. so easy and such a nice card to receive!

Pearl me up!! I adore our mini pearls, especially as they are self-adhesive!! Here - it's a great way to tie off the flower, making this extra girly!!

Elizabeth is so lovely!

2011-04-01T19:50:00.000-07:00

This AMAZING stamp set 'Elizabeth' is so easy to use for such an elegant card!! Here... see how it partners with our Teeny Tiny Wishes gives you 24 amazing options.. covering most holidays and celebrations!!

For a Workshop at Bev's this week - we had a blast making this easy but FUN card... Starting with Cherry Cobbler and Espresso and Vanilla - I ran the Espresso thru the Elegant Lines Embossing Folder (to emulate the scroll of the Elizabeth stamp)... I then stamped the Elizabeth on the Very Vanilla, the sentiment w/ Cherry Cobbler and the amazing crochet ribbon tied it up - elegantly! The Same card... different Sentiment... we then used a Dauber to age, gently, the sides with the Espresso ink... darker in the corners for the 'burnt' look... I think this, even w/ the Elizabeth scroll could be masculine... either way - it's stunning!

THIS may be the card I give to Kim on her wedding - I love this card, the papers, the look... sigh

UCLA Women's Swim Team 'Snack Time'

2011-03-31T20:15:00.000-07:00

One of the ladies at my son's school, Elda, has a daughter on the UCLA Women's Swim Team that were flying to Texas for the championships... she wanted a lil prize, a snack, an award for all of their hard work! THIS is what we came up with...

Our 'Take A Spin' stamp set rocks.... it is a very sweet treat!! Here with the UCLA Blue n Gold M&M's, our Daffodil Delight and our Pacific Point Blue... the little Game Spinner Hands really work and are such a novel idea for an award/prize/snack! Using my Martha Stewart Score Board makes for an easy 'ruffle' behind the dial...

Stampin' Dimensionals really make it easy to adhere to the candy sticks... and the result is such fun!! I LOVE doing these to present toppers for adults to kids... who doesn't love a lil sweet treat?

Blue Bird of Happiness...

2011-03-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

My friend Mary Jane just had a lil baby boy... awww.. so I took the card from our recent Stamp A Stack and altered it to fit this need... I love the eggs in this stamp set from our Occasions Mini, the Mini Library Clip really 'holds' it all together....

With the Marina Mist paper and our amazing DSP (Designer Series Paper/double sided) from the Occasions mini... this is a easy and fun card. I ran it thru the tulip embossing folder and dauber in Chocolate Chip Ink... I used the Marina Mist marker to highlight the blue on the eggs...

The Stampin' Dimensionals really make the Eggs POP, eh? Here I used the Masking technique and the marker highlighted the blue on the bird... our Antique Brads are so lovely, eh? I flicked the edge of the bird area in the Chocolate Chip ink after 'roughing' the edge up... I love the aging of it this way...

Before Masking and adding (with Crumb Cake ink) the birdhouse, flower and eggs to the background... cute but a lil plain...

Vintage is so lovely...

2011-03-29T16:27:00.000-07:00

This card is from my recent 30 Card Stack... We started off with This card:

But after the class I started to play.. and came up with THIS card: I adore the Tulip embossing folder and then taking a dauber in Chocolate Chip ink on the Crumb Cake paper and the stamped scroll area is in Crumb Cake.. the bird and sentiment is in Chocolate Chip... the Antique Brad and the amazing Crochet Ribbon is simply stunning...

Here I used our SNAIL adhesive to create the raise in the ribbon... I started with the Brad - then using a small hole punch I threaded the Ribbon thru and under....

Taking the Snail I created the Raised ribbon and adhered the ribbon to keep that flow-y look..

The dash of Snail is hard to see here but it makes the card look extra fancy and feminine..

After starting with the brad I trimmed it and 'hid' it under by threading the ribbon over the brad - this way, too, it won't snag the recipient of the card..

I didn't photo it here but I stamped the inside w/ the bird and stamped it off across the inside..

The Flow-y, Feminine ribbon and brad look is lovely, isn't it?

Birthday Gone GREEN!

2011-03-13T18:27:00.000-07:00

With our Wild Wasabi paper as a base, black ink, Newsprint Designer Series Paper from our Idea Book and Wild Wasabi Ink... our Mini Library Clips were optional but fun to finish off this easy card!

At our Stamp A Stack this week this was a more 'masculine' card for the ladies to use... Simply tearing the Newsprint DSP and flicking it in the Wild Wasabi ink... I did this two ways. With the tear across I wasn't able to use the Mini Library clip the way I wanted (see the one on the Right) but when I tore up the side and on the bottom - the clip fit in a way I liked!

With our Black ink and the 'Bring on the Cake' stamp set from our Occasions mini... this was a fun and vintage card. (That stamp set has a little bit for everyone!)

'Not just a year older, but a year better.' is a lovely sentiment...

'Wish Big' allowed for a vintage stamped sentiment that resembled the newsprint above in the Designer Series Paper.

Green at Stamp a Stack!

2011-03-13T18:07:00.000-07:00

We just wrapped up a FUN night at my most recent Stamp A Stack.... this was one of the 6 card designs that I had... I encouraged the ladies to go crazy, change it up.. and I found myself doing it - too...

Our Elegant Lines Embossing Folder is a SMASH!! Such fun, easy and elegant card... I ran our Garden Green and the folder thru the Big Shot... then we added a tag!!
The Occasions Mini stamp set 'You're a Gem' is lovely... a favorite... I used this on Very Vanilla and punched it out with our Large Tag... I then used the 'Woodland Walk' Designer Series Paper and layered it. Our Very Vanilla 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon 'tied off' the look!

Placing the paper in the folder at different angles resulted in different placements of the tag... a fun way to make cards - this 'Enjoy' was fun too - just a great stamp set!!

I LOVE the results... we had fun making 5 of this card for our Stack - and were able to change it up to be used thru the year!! (I've made many of these cards for my own use and to send to the Soldiers!)

(The LNS Stampers really inspired me to 'Go Green' this week!!)

Teen Scene in Green!!

2011-03-13T17:58:00.000-07:00

OK, so, going 'green' has me movin'.... I LOVE this Teen/Male card... With our Glossy White paper as a base I stamped with Garden Green the words 'Happy Birthday' from our Occasions Mini stamp set 'Bring On The Cake'. I then took out Ala Cart stamp 'Extreme Skateboard' from our Idea Book to mimic the skateboarding on the works... it is a perfect look - very much like the kids that skate at the skate parks!! (My son can't wait to take lessons there... until then I'm too prego to teach him, lol.)

My hubby wanted the page 'broken up' as it was too 'white'... so I tore the Garden Green paper across the top and put it on... I do like this addition! A SUPER Easy card... perfect for a teen or youth to receive... or someone 'young at heart'.

St. Patricks Day Card

2011-03-13T17:18:00.000-07:00

I was challenged on the LNS Stampers to 'Go Green' with our cards... I had such fun with this St. Patty's card...

With our Standard Wheel I used our Baroque Border and ran it across the page... With a Score Board (I picked up a Martha Steward one at Michaels when on sale).. I used our First Edition Desiner Series Paper that is in our Occasions Mini and scored a page at 1/4" increments... I then cut the strips to 1 1/2" and folded them to create this 'flower'..

NOW... my hubby wanted me to leave the card this way... but I assured him I'd add just a lil more... he still preferred it this way... reminded him of an Umbrella...

With Garden Green I stamped our 'Lucky Shamrock' stamp on Shimmer paper and punched it out with our 1 3/4" punch... I adhered it w/ Stampin' Dimensionals....

I'd run the Garden Green paper thru our 'Elegant Bouquet' Embossing Folder... the crimped paper/shamrock looked like a flower sprouting out the end of a stem... I just LOVE this card!

Not too wide.... it fit perfectly in our envelopes and is a fun card to send and receive!!

I'd sold out of these at the Craft Fare and made these w/out the Wheel... still lovely... and a hit... again - it looks like the shamrock is the flower... doesn't it??

Arts and Craft Fest....

2011-03-13T17:02:00.000-07:00

Having a booth at the Borchard Art and Craft Festival is such an honor... see where I was and what I did... HERE:

My lil corner of the festival...
Name Signs are such a great gift idea!! (Here are the three my kids have in their rooms...)

Stamped Stone coasters and Stone Trivets... I do so love the look the Stazon on top of the Travertine and Marble tiles...

Pinwheels are such fun to make!! Here I made lil candy sticks w/ our In-Color paper pkt and our Glimmer Brads...

The spinners are such fun to all involved - and a perfect present topper or a great party favor...

The addition of the ribbon creates an 'Award' on a stick of M&M's...

A fun draw for kids and adults....

We love saying 'Old School' in our house w/ our kids... Shrink A Dinks are soooo 'Old School' and my kids love the magic of it all... I love the book marks that add a lil fun to what you are reading!

Magnets... I used our jeweled brads, our retired crochet hearts and our retired felt flowers to create these fun and easy magnets... They are a great way to pretty up a 'fridge and fun to make! See the backs below, too...

2011 Arts & Craft Festival!!

2011-03-03T10:07:00.000-08:00

COME ONE... COME ALLLLL!!!!!

A FUN Filled weekend of great Art, Crafts and Events for families and kids!! I Love doing this FREE event at the Park where I teach (taking a break this Spring due to baby on the way)!

Stop by my booth and get a Prize.. FREE!!

Book a Workshop or Place an Order and Earn Additional FREE Items for FREE!!

I'll have tons of cards and items I've created with our amazing Stampin' Up! Stamps, Papers and MORE!! Shop and Have FUN!!

(Enjoy, too, the Great weather this weekend is forcasting at mid 70's!)

Supporting Our Soldiers!

2011-03-01T10:24:00.000-08:00

My Girlfriend. Kym, asked me to aide her in making a card for her nephew who was graduating Bootcamp and preparing for his assignment... she wanted Camo and this is what we came up with:

With River Rock Paper we made a Tri Folded Card - folding the first third at 2.25" and the last third at the same measurement - creating a base of a 5.5" card. With Always Artichoke we sponged on a camo look. Too - this cardstock we created the Front and Inner Tab of the card.

Gold Embossing was fun to do with this amazing stamp set 'Courage' from our Idea Book and her daughter loved the 'Magic' of seeing brown powder turn into gold! The Gold almost blended too much so sponging the Artichoke on and rubbing Off the gold and bam - it really POPPED!
The Inner Saying 'Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities, because it is the quality that guarantees all others.' ~ Winston Churchill really hits it mark on this card! I love Tri Folded cards as the sentiment is hidden behind the image/picture on the front... a lil 'surprise' and it leaves a ton of space for the family to write in! Gooo DJ, thanks for supporting our country!

I've made this card for my Cousin's Son who is serving his second tour and wanted to give Props to David Robison for serving to protect our country and way of life! Thanks David!

Class Works

2011-02-25T15:45:00.000-08:00

I have SUCH Fun being a Mom to 5 (almost 6) amazing people... being Room Mom is Fun, too!! This year, in my son's First Grade class, we did THIS Valentine's Day Card for the student's parents:

The Kids and Four Parent Helpers did a fabulous job creating these cards for the student's to take home to their parents. With our I (Love) Love Jumbo Wheel, Two Larger Heart Punches (One stamped from our Punch Potpourri Hostess Stamp set and One from our Occassions Mini Love Impressions Paper) and a mini heart to represent the child from our glitter paper with our mini lil heart...
An Easy Card, A FUN card.... if 22 First Graders could do this.... ANYONE can, right??

One of Our MOMS snagged the extra supplies and created two quick Scrapbook pages... in between serving the kids cupcakes... inventive, eh??

I love how the kids changed it up a little and had fun creating these cards for their parents!

The Parents and Kids had a blast making this card... who wouldn't have fun doing something I love so much??

FUN and Easy Kid's Valentines!

2011-02-15T11:58:00.000-08:00

My kids are definitely very 'Boy' and 'Girly'... so I created two lil Valentines for the kids to sign and give away to their classmates.. the results:

With our Pretty In Pink Paper I made lil 3"x3" cards... I used our Bliss stamp in Pretty In Pink as the base image... our 'Happy Valentines Day' from our Tiny Tiny Wishes in Red Riding Hood and a Punched Heart from our Retired Valentines Paper from the 2010 Occasions Mini... easy and very Girly... perfect for Valentines Day!
I love the dash of sparkle on the retired paper and the look of a girl and feminine Valentine that screams my lil girly girl!

My Boy is ALL Boy!! He helped pick out this card image and we had fun stampin' these flying guys with my Stazon Black pad on Whisper White... Using Real Red Ink I stamped with our Tiny Tiny Wishes 'Happy Valentine's Day' and with two quick stamps this 3"x3" card made a BIG Impression!! (I do love how even an easy card can make a big splash!)

40 Lil Caterpillars

2011-02-14T18:32:00.000-08:00

An Army of Love/Caterpillars!!

Having Little Kids means creating lil creatures and gifts! Here is our Give Away gift to all of my Son's and Daughter's classmates and teachers... 40 lil Caterpillars made out of last year's Valentine's paper, Pencils and our Heart Punches... the results - adorable! I took 1 Inch strips of our Retired Designer Series Paper (from last year's Occasions Mini) that contained lil dashes of glitter and folded them at 1 " increments... I punched a hole big enough to thread a pencil thru it (four connecting holes using my Crop A Dile). I like the results.. and making 40 of them wasn't so bad..

With our Heart Punches (large and small) from the Idea Book... the same hole size for the eraser/mouth... on hole for the fuzzy antenna and with our Tombo Glue I adhered the Google Eyes and the small Glitter hearts (from our Red Glitter Paper in this year's Occasions Mini). I drew lil hearts for the noses... and on the back of the heads I put a Heart and either my son's or daughter's names for their friends...

A FUN lil give away - no stampin' involved - but I do like to point out that Paper let's me be it's boss... he, he, he..

Two Birds of a Feather... Revised

2011-02-10T15:50:00.001-08:00

OK... so I was perusing my Big Shot box of supplies and realized that I'd lent my 'Lots of Love' Letterpress Plate (from our Occasions Mini) to my dear friend Christine - who'd recently missed my class... DARN!! So I emailed her to see if she could pop it by.... the temptation to 'fix up' my Two Birds of a Feather card was too tempting.

She did... and THIS is my updated card... the results?? Shimmer-if-ick!!

(If I do say so, myself.)

My other dear friend Patti - had to miss the class, too... (who says Feb. is a slow month??) but she really wanted to make a card for her hubby... so I made this for her to give to him.

Layering the Basic Black card front with the Real Red and the Whisper White Moon... I sprayed my Letterpress Plate w/ our Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spray. I like the idea of the 'sparkle' a moon beam can cause... it's subtle but can really set 'the mood'.
In the Sun.. you can see how the Letterpress Plate debosses (vs. the embossing an Impression plate can do) and with either Ink or, as you can see here, shimmer paint or spray... you can make a subtle impression that sparkles/shimmers. The THREE layers of cardstock aides in creating a deeper impression.*
(*The recommended use of paper for the Letterpress Debossing plates is Watercolor Paper - which is thicker. Using this on our thinner cardstocks like Very Vanilla and/or Whisper White does not create a deep debossed impression. The standard cardstock (in all other colors) does well with the plates but by layering more than one layer - you have a deeper 'mat' for it to make it's impression... creating a nicer effect.)
HERE is a closer look at the Debossed look. With the Shimmer spray - it's very, very subtle but ohhh so cute!! It'd work fine w/out ink or spray... but I do think I'm in-love with the look of the little extra our Vanilla Shimmer Spray adds to it (from our Idea Book, Accessories section). I don't think it takes away from the moon, causing that same 'Man on the Moon' effect that my Vintage wallpaper embossing folder created (see below - the original card) but the words running across of 'Love' is a great Valentines card, Anniversary, Newlywed, etc. card.

After Debossing it - I then adhered the birds and branches... the results?? One of my new favorite cards!! What do you think??

Get Your LOVE on... Valentines HERE I come...

2011-02-09T15:49:00.001-08:00

My Valentines Palloozza this past Saturday was a BLAST of a CLASS... this is what the Results are... hmm... to pick a favorite?!?! HOW?? See below for more detailed info on each card!!

Two Birds of a Feather...

2011-02-09T15:35:00.000-08:00

So hard to pick a favorite!! I do so love our Bird Punch!! Here I used a Basic Black based card, I adhered Real Red to the top of my card front. I then punched out a 'Moon'. I ran these three layers thru our Big Shot with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder (created a 'man in the moon' effect on the moon). HERE you can see I was torn between the two moons - either a 1 1/4" Circle punch in White or the Heart Punch in White.. hmmm...

The Bird Punch with branches was adhered on top of the textured/embossed card. I did the branches first.. then the birds.... the 'Your a Gem' Stamp set (from the Occasions Mini)coordinated perfectly with the tiny oval punch from our Holiday Mini... so I stamped the sentiment 'It's the Little Things' on White and punched it out.. using SNAIL to adhere it on.

(As ANY Mom and Dad can attest to - it's the little things that gets one thru... and a moment of quiet that this card represents... sigh... I long for such moments w/ our kids about.)

The 'Heart' Moon was Impressed w/ the Texture going into the card...
The Circle Moon vs. the Heart Moon is a hard choice.. My hubby likes this card the best!! (He'll get one sent to his office as a surprise.. he, he, he.)

This card was similar to a Owl punched card seen on LNSstampers group... I can't remember by whom but I do so love the concept... I don't have the Owl punch but I do so love our bird punch... and it reminds me of those quiet moments when the kids go down to bed... that I can see my hubby (before I fall asleep on the couch... sigh).

The Embossing on the Circle Moon was impressed out... hmm... a favorite??

Sparkley Lil Lady

2011-02-09T15:21:00.000-08:00

WHERE TO START?? This card is so stinkin' sparkly-in' cute!! Our great Love Impressions Designer Series Paper is such a cute pack!! Here - I used our Piking Hearts border punch accented w/ tiny lil hearts across the bottom. This is layered on the Basic Grey Paper based card. Our Real Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon is merely Looped and tied with our Real Red Taffeta Ribbon... I used our Snail adhesive to hold the ribbon down but still cause a lil free flowing-ness.

The Little Girl was stamped on Whisper White w/ Basic Grey ink. Our Stampin' Write Markers painted her in w/ Crumb Cake hair, Blushing Bride skin tone, Real Red dress and Pretty In Pink heart. This stamp set 'Greeting Card Kids' makes for an immediate and easy card every time! Our Scallop punched the lil angel out... our Stampin' Dimensional pulled the punched girl down and caused the ribbon to flow 'freely'.
The Red Glitter paper from our Occasions Mini is STUNNING!! Here I used our heart punch and punched out enough to add a heart to the top of the tied ribbon with a Stampin' Dimensional. I then Snail Adhesived the two rows of hearts down... the lil dash of sparkle really aided in making it POP and Shine!!

Here you can see how the ribbon flows, the dimensionals help and add texture... I love the results... what about YOU??

A Trio Of Hearts...

2011-02-09T14:59:00.000-08:00

I do love our Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslits die... I ran Real Red and Pretty in Pink thru this on the Big Shot.. I then I accented the raised mini hearts in Black ink. The Hostess Set Punch Potpourri was stamped w/ Stazon On black ink on our Natural White Paper... the First Edition Designer Series Paper from our Occasion Mini was a great base over the Black Paper based card.

With our water brush I painted w/ Real Red the flowers and the edges of the stamped heart... I then used Pretty In Pink to stamp 'Love You'.. a fun and easy card.

Using our smaller hole Punch - I took our black ribbon and threaded it across the top - this created the impression of a hanging heart.

The accented Mini hearts add to the texture and feel of the hearts.

The flicked ripped edges in the Pretty In Pink causing more of a layered place.

Blue Bliss

2011-02-09T14:47:00.000-08:00

I do so LOVE this Sale A Bration FREE Stamp Set.. Bliss.. and it sure is!!

Here with A Not Quite Navy card base, Baja Blue topper makes for an easy monochromatic card! I ran the Baja Blue paper was run thru our Tulip Impression Plate... I then stamped w/ Not Quite Navy ink the Scroll and Bliss. On Very Vanilla I used Baja Blue to stamp the Butterfly. Using Stampin' Dimensional.. it made for a quick 'Pop' on this card. Easy and Elegant!
Sigh.. I do so love our Self-Adhesive Rhinestones and Pearls (Idea Book pg. 188). Using the larger but still small 'strip' pearls I cut three for the body. I used two of our Micro Pearls for the accent on the Bliss flowers. A simple, textrued, elegant and easy card!! Perfect for the loves in our lives, eh??

A lil Rustic Love

2011-02-09T14:14:00.000-08:00

I live in an Equestrian Neighborhood... I love seeing the horses daily walking around our neighborhood - we aren't in the country but our lil neck of the world is... this card was inspired by my neighbors who walk their horses about, who exercises their horses in the Equestrian Park nearby... I love the Rope wrapped around, the Antique Brad that resembles the horses accents on their reigns... giving a lil Rustic Love this year!

TWO different Brads... adds to the FUN of making this card slightly different...
Here, with Red Riding Hood paper based card, Cherry Cobbler layered (monochromatic mates) and on Very Vanilla I stamped w/ Red Riding Hood ink the 'Be My Valentine' stamp available in the Occassions Mini. Using our Jumbo wheel I rolled it in Red Riding Hood and rolled it across the bottom of the card. The Antique brad reminds me of the accent buttons on the Reigns of Horses... the Twine Wrapped around reminds me of the ropes used around these amazing animals... the results.. a lil rustic but oh so lovely!

Scrapbook Night.. Fun Fundraiser for EARTHS.. Part Deux..

2011-01-31T15:59:00.001-08:00

My Fun Give Away... I do love Valentines... and I hope to see some of these ladies at my upcoming events!!

Make and Take... our Principle, Jennifer Boone, wanted to do a Christmas Scrap Catch Up Night.. I created this fun Make and Take spread.. each person was able to make a 2 page spread of 12x12 scrapbooks.. using our Cherry Cobbler 12x12 paper - the Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper from our Idea book, our Old Olive stripped ribbon, Old Olive and Crumb Cake paper... I used, from our Clearance Rack, the mini binder clips in Chocolate Chip, Old Olive or Whisper White as an additional accessory... the Delightful Decorations Stamp set w/ matching Ornament Punch was a bonus... for those who don't celebrate Christmas they could use these pages for another purpose... or add them w/ Stampin' Dimensional and a gel pen line (simulating an ornament hook)... all had fun making this!!

The Results.. my 'sample' had the Ornaments floating w/ Stampin' Dimensional weren't attached... this paper is stunning and neutral w/ the polka dots.. the biggest challenge?? Finding which four sides of the Designer Series Paper they wanted on their pages!!

Fit this like a Puzzle.. the Designer Series Paper, Crumb Cake and Old Olive papers were cut to the size of 4" x 6" - so photos would need to be trimmed but who doesn't trim their photos.. and it fit like a smooth puzzle.. love it!!

Adonna, on the Right, who helped plan this event and Leah (who helped w/ set up and more..)where having such fun.. laughter abounded, music and food... we can't wait for the next event!!

Our Principle (look at that Red Hair!!), Bev Simmons (my daughter's preschool teacher and co-chair on our school's Foundation committee) were with the other ladies laughing the night away.. it was supposed to end at 10pm but we didn't get out of there until after 11:30 - the fun was non stop!!

EARTHS Scrap Night Success!!

2011-01-31T15:43:00.001-08:00

We had a BLAST... with tons of foods, 20 women and a night of music, stampin' and scrapin'... who wouldn't have a ton of fun!!
I'm off and going - I was excited to see the results of my Simply Adorned Necklace after removing the white ribbon and using our Ebony lace ribbon from our Holiday Mini... it really POPS and is a classier look, eh??

I do love the look of Grey w/ Black and White... this Simply Adorned necklace Pops w/ the outfit and made me feel so pretty!! I love wearing those I love around my neck and in such a pretty way!!

Not only did I do a Make and Take of a two page Scrapin' Spread... I handed out a thank you bag to each person who came... it included both our Occasions Mini, our Sale A Bration Mini, this pretty card made out of Cherry Cobbler, Black, Vanilla and our First Edition
Newsprint Designer Series Paper and 'Be My Valentine' stamp - both - from the Occasions Mini. I tore the bottom of the Vanilla and First Edition and flicked it into Cherry Cobbler... I then stamped with our One of a Kind stamp set that retired.. the flower in this stamp set is so close to the flowers in the Be My Valentine stamp.. I ran the Black, Vanilla and Newsprint thru the Damask texture plate to simulate the pattern on the stamp... the results:

This with a Chocolate Heart candy and the minis went along w/ my Make and Take... the Fun we had has us planning for a bigger event in September!!

Homeschoolers Bless Soldiers w/ Amazing Style and Creativity!

2011-01-24T11:43:00.000-08:00

I was amazed at the style each girl had.. for having not crafted cards before.. WOW... this is STUNNING results! Please see what the soldiers will be receiving...

They took my sample from simple to stunning!!
I Love the individuality of each card and the maker who created it!!

Here we see how different each person saw the challenge... WOW.. the results blew me away!

Lovely, don't you think??

The same materials in different people's hands create different but beautiful cards!

I love it... don't you?!?!

Supporting Our Soldiers w/ Trinity Homeschoolers

2011-01-22T08:43:00.000-08:00

My heart goes to Soldiers, their families, especially those serving abroad.. Today there was a Large sign in front of the Fire Station about a Soldier that lost his life serving in the Middle East... 'Our Freedom is Not FREE'...

Working with a dear friend of mine... she's a mom of two amazing young ladies and she homeschools both girls! (She's a hero in my eyes!) We discussed doing a Soldier Card event for the girls in her Homeschooling network. So we did - the girls were to make 5 cards.. four to go to the soldiers serving abroad and one to take home! See below my 'Originals/Samples' and how I encouraged the girls (like I do most people at my events) do use the same materials and do their own thing... the results are amazing!!

Being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator is FULL of support... here is our Monthly Magazine and I loved the card on front! Being that most of these girls have never done paper crafting.. I needed stunning but easy cards.. I took this 'idea' and did a similar look...
MY results sit on tip ofd the card... I LOVE this Sale A Bration Stamp set (Bliss) and how it's FREE to my customers if they want.. sigh...
Instead of cutting out a butterfly... I liked stamping the Bliss in Chocolate Chip and using the Pretty In Pink as an accent on top of the Crumb Cake base, the Chocolate Chip ink... I stamped the butterfly in Pretty In Pink behind for that subtle effect...
An AMAZING stamp set... don't you think?? Really - it goes to show how a great set makes making a card easy!! Elements of Style is a vintage but classy stamp set.. sigh.... HERE with Perfect Plum paper n ink, Very Vanilla paper and Elegant Eggplant ribbon... it's an easy set to play with... hard to 'mess up'! I didn't care for the word stamp that I used w/ this.. didn't fit what I was looking for... hmmm...

Sooo.. I used the sentiments from the Elements of Style and LOVED it.... any person at home would love to receive this from a soldier/loved one abroad.

I adore what one of the students did with her materials.. the diagonal ribbon is so cute... this is a lovely card!

A FUN and EASY Card.. our Hostess set 'Because I care' is stunning! I love Hydrangeas.. I've had little luck in my planting of them.. at least I can stamp them!! Here I used Black base, Whisper White topper - I stamped w/ Basic Black the flower, using my water color pen I accented the centers of the flowers w/ Melon Mambo and then stamped w/ Melon Mambo 'because I care'.. we then ran it thru the Big Shot for the texture... it helped to hide any 'boo-boos' and added a lil wow to the card!

Don't you LOVE our Punches?!?! I do.. with our Hostess Set 'Cute by the Inch' it made for a versatile card... the Night of Navy cardstock and Very Vanilla made for a card that could go to a man or woman... Our Blueberry Crisp Designer Series Paper is double sided - making it easy to punch different looks that coordinated! I used our Retired clear buttons with our Twine... I unraveled the twine to add a lil flare and BAM it's done!! I LOVE what the kids did with this card, too...

Our Baja Breeze Paper and Coordinating Seam Binding Ribbon (from the Occasions Mini) lent to a simple but elegant card... Our Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper added that umph I wanted... Using our Clearly For You stamp set (from the Occasions Mini) with Chocolate Chip Ink... I built the card and then ran it thru the new Textured Impression Embossing Folder 'Framed Tulips' from our Occasions Mini and I tied it all together - framing it with Amour!

Here the 8 girls that came created 40 cards!! Many have never stamped before and WOW did they do an amazing job!!

Here they hold up their favorite card to take home... I couldn't be more amazing or blessed by their sweet nature and hearts!!

A great time was had by all.. many didn't know one another... but they joined forces to help one another out... with Mrs. Cendejas and Mrs. Fitzpatrick helping the girls out... it's amazing how great they did!!

They were pleasant and fun to be around!!

My prego tummy pushed them about as I snuck behind them to help... but with a smile.. they made this an amazing day!! Their hard work was fun to watch.. makes me feel blessed to see our NEXT Generation reaching out to those in need... wow!

5 Year Celebration!!

2011-01-20T15:43:00.001-08:00

On January 11, 2006 I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with our Lil Ms. Genevieve.. I'd attending a crafting event at a friend's Church and was impressed with several crafts made w/ stamping! I'd been young and successful in the business world and had loved stamping and crafting most, if not all, of my life... so I started researching companies. I was surprised at the vast difference in style, quality and price in the stamping market.

I'd realized that I didn't click with the ladies from the event... so I looked up demonstrators in each company. I'd come down to two companies... and after seeing the amazing quality, low price and stunning stamps from Stampin' Up! I found that I clicked with Susie, my now up line, and she was flummoxed that I'd consider signing up at this stage in my life.. being 8 1/2 months pregnant with a difficult pregnancy... but that's how I roll - lol.

I signed up... had my first event w/ the ladies from the MOMS Club of Quartz Hill within three weeks (yes, my lil girl was about a week old, it was Sale A Bration and I was hosting a Stamp Camp!!)... and the REST is a fun filled, inky fingers, gettin' crafty history...

I LOVE my new Pin.. I know it'll look stunning at my upcoming events and around town... don't think I won't be wearing this stylish pin around town... lol.
5 Years of Stampin' Love and History... just a start on where I plan on going!! Join in on the FUN... look for my NEXT event... or Join My Team... either way - you are sure to have a blast!!

Pinwheel Birthday Wishes

2011-01-17T14:32:00.000-08:00

The New Year brings Many Birthdays to our family... this past Saturday my sister-in-law's son turned 6... I wanted to make an interactive and fun card for him. I thought.. A Pinwheel.. I'd seen them before, I'm going to try it!! Tell me, what do YOU think??

Our Pear Pizzazz Paper comes as a Hostess Gift with an assortment of our In-Color Papers. I snagged this color and liked the look of our Double sided Designer Series Paper.. Annnddd..

I made this pinwheel that actually moves!!

The Whisper White Paper really makes the green pop.. I used our Scallop Trip Border punch on the edge of the card.. and cut a 2' strip of Pear Pizzazz to mount on the inside of the card. I embossed ' it's your birthday, Oh, what fun! blow out your candles one by one!' (from our Bring on the Cake stamp set in our new Occasions Mini) in silver on the front... The Silver ties in with the line I drew w/ our Silver ink that 'holds' the pinwheel.

I then stamped w/ Pear Pizzazz ink on the inside the cake from this Bring on the Cake stamp set. I like how the bottom of the cake ties into the punched edge on the front of the card... creating a subtle similarity from the front of the card to the inside of the card.

I really like our Glimmer Brads.. this here is the Silver from the Glimmer Basics pkg in our Occasions Mini... I think it really ties in w/ the look of the silver of the 'stick' and the embossed words... it's a fun element, isn't it??

This 2"x2" Square of Pear Pizzazz allows for the pinwheel to spin and the brad to not show thru the inside of the card. I think, too, it adds a lil color to the card.

Here are my lil angels with my Father-In-Law, their Nonno and Evan at his 6th Bday... Sal, Genevieve and Carina then Evan... what a fun way to Spin in a birthday.. and aren't Interactive cards the best??

Sale A Bration Promotion!!

2011-01-17T13:59:00.000-08:00

New Starter Kit Deal Starts 1/25
ANNOUNCING THE SALE-A-BRATION STARTER KIT DEAL!
How would you like to enjoy Stampin' Up! demonstrator discounts and benefits? With the launch of the Sale-A-Bration promotion on Jan. 25,Stampin' Up! is offering a special Starter Kit to tempt you.
Choose either the Standard Starter Kit or Digital Starter Kit and save $15% ($148.75)
PLUS: get the following bonus bundle FREE (a $50 value).
Item # Description

119883 Heart to Heart (or any punch), p. 202 IBC
120806 Something Special Simply Sent (or any Simply Sent) p. 183 IBC
117114 Live, Laugh Love stamp (or any Simply Sent Stamp) p. 183 IBC
121620 Color Coach p. 165 IBC
Fill Your Wish List! Imagine this! Save 30% on your first product order of $150 or more (placed within 45 days), plus earn hostess rewards plus receive a minimum of three Sale-A-Bration gifts (1 for every $50 in product purchased).
Take a Demo Test Drive! Enjoy Stampin' Up! Demonstrator discounts and benefits through June 30, 2011 with NO further to sell or purchase any products beyond the starter kit.
If you wish to extend your demonstrator status for the following quarter (July through September), you would be required to have $300 in product sales (including your own orders). There's no penalty to drop.
Starter Kit ships FREE.

For You...

2011-01-14T15:42:00.000-08:00

An Amazing Day.... my dear friend's daughter Haley, 18, came out of her brain tumor surgery and they believe they were able to get ALL of the tumor... WOW... Prayers are answered!

My daughter is Bff's with her little sister Jordyn.. and we had Jordyn (who's four and a half) over for a play date so that Mom and Haley had one less thing to worry about. Jordyn wanted to make a card for her big sister... we picked out papers and our amazing new stamp set, from our Occasions Mini, Build A Blossom and our Blossom Petals Punch... This is what we came up with:

The Vintage Flower Adornments has these cute vintage flowers reminiscent of treasures you'd find in grandma's jewelry box. I think that the Very Vanilla flower is the perfect center on this Night of Navy Stamped flower on the Baja Breeze paper... our new paper 'Springtime Vintage' adds to the vintage feel of this card... our AMAZING Crocheted ribbon just wraps it up! The 'for you' comes from 'Clearly for You' stamp set out of our Occasions Mini.. and BAM... a simple, elegant, feminine and vintage card.. easy and fun to do and give away!

I adhered the ribbon with a simple dash of our SNAIL adhesive and used our Dimensional adhesives to place the leaves of the flower and the center on top.. it's subtle but really Pops!

Now... our Designer Series Paper is TWO sided!! I adore that! This is the opposite side of the other card.. I then snagged the Vintage Brads and made this a Spinning flower card! I really like this - I changed it up by adding the Night of Navy on Very Vanilla.. I also added an additional petal on the flower for samples I made for my Inky Finger girls in the Antelope Valley.

I just love how with little Jordyn's help we had fun and created this stunning and easy card... it's hard to image that this, that looks so detailed, took a mere 10 minutes!! Great supplies, punches, papers and inks really finish it off... I do love what I do!!

Birthdays for the Young and Older...

2011-01-13T17:41:00.001-08:00

We had a busy weekend at my in-laws... Our End of the Year to New Year is packed w/ Albanese family birthdays.. My sister-in-law's daughter, Kaitlyn, is a teenager... and she just LOVED her card.. the spinning hand was a big hit!!
With our great Paper - Greenhouse Gala, Daffodil Delight and Very Vanilla... our amazing markers that paint on color... the new stamp set Take A Spin and our Game Spinner Hands (from our Occasions Mini).. it's an easy and fun card for a teen! I like the Real Red ribbon tied on top... like a lil present.. awww.

On to those who are Older... My Father-In-Law just turned 77 on Jan. 6th.. being that he's getting older... I couldn't resist this aged card.. lol...

Our Not Quite Navy cardstock, our amazing Newsprint designer series paper has this great Map on it... being that my FIL is from Italy.. I try to tie the international flavor in.. I aged it with our Log Cabin shimmer spray... Embossing the term 'Not just a year older, but a year better.' from our Bring on the Cake stamp set (from our Occasions Mini)... in gold (adding a little elegance to it) and our twine... it created this fun, easy, masculine, 'older' card that he enjoyed.

Celebrating with Family and Friends and giving handmade cards is one of the highlights of my hobby/passion/past time/business... sigh... a good start to a New Year.

Scrapbook Night.. Fun Fundraiser for EARTHS

2011-01-13T17:37:00.001-08:00

I'm so excited to be doing my son's school, EARTHS's, Scrapbook Night... This is bound to be a blast of a night... and just in time to wrap up the holiday scrapin'!

Contact Donna at donnaebrahimi@yahoo.com or Jennifer at numdyfloer@verizon.net to reserve your $10 Scrap Night spot!!

Surprises from Susie!!

2010-12-31T17:41:00.000-08:00

OK so.. I have one of the best Up-Lines.. ever!! Susie Reno was the 42nd (??) person to sign up when Stampin' Up! Started - 20 Years AGO!!! (She is an amazing teacher, mother of three stunning kids -one who's a demonstrator, a grandma, friend and more!!) We get along smashingly and she loves how I do my thang (I do take after her in many ways - lol)....

I received, in the mail, today a package of love from my Susie... there was this stunning card, a blender pen, our white gel pen, adhesive, twine and pastel brads... I'm itchin' to play and make a card with it... look at her sweet card - gettin' me into the mood for some love... and Valentines day!!

I love the simplicity of this, the punched edge, the peak a boo heart... so cute, this card!!
Sweet, Elegant, Easy and FUN...
Thank you Susie... this card brightened my day and started off my New Year with a Smile!!

Weddings.. sweet and wonderful weddings...

2010-12-31T17:18:00.000-08:00

My Friend Kim is Gettin' Married!! Her and her Bob have set the date, picked the gown and set the colors!! I'm helping her with her Invitations, place cards, favors and such... they selected the colors from our Idea Book and several stamp sets... here I played with some ideas and their desires.. What do you think??

I LOVE the interior of this invitation... we are just 'playing' with design at this point but this is using Black, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla papers, Cherry Cobbler ink, our stunning Rhinestones and Vellum... Kim and Bob's wedding will have Deep Red, Black and Ivory... her dress is Ivory w/ hand sewn Crystals along the top (she's not a 'pearl' girl - she sparkles!!)...

Our Elegant Lines embossing folder is stunning... here it starts off w/ the Vellum cover... hiding the 'sparkle' and interior embossing...
BAM.. OK, so this MAY be my favorite... I think it captures her style, the dress (so stunning) with elegance and sparkle!

I really like the look of the Rhinestones on this card... it fits well into the embossed image on the Very Vanilla paper.. using my handles of my snipps - I pushed it into the embossed image to insure that it'll stay exactly where I want it - I dooo love being the boss of paper!!

Our Perfect Details Embossing Plate allows for this more 'formal', geometric pattern... the peaking of the Always Elegant swirl inside and Rhinestones adds a lil whimsey, doesn't it??

(Another favorite of mine - and my hubby's.... )

I embossed w/ our Big Shot each layer on the Geometric embossing side of the Perfect Details plate... then I layered them... the Always Elegant stamp set 'peaks' at the top and bottom w/ the Cherry Cobbler... the small sparkle adds that extra 'wow' factor... so subtle - not 'overly' sparkley.. lol. Kim really seemed to like this one... we'll see what Bob says...

Weddings.. sweet and wonderful weddings...

2010-12-31T17:10:00.000-08:00

This is Textured with our Swirly embossing plate... the interior is our big wheel stamp set ' Very Vintage' as Bob really likes the aged look... this is my hubby's least favorate.
I'm thinking it needs more 'aging'... Kim wonders what her Bob will think.. we'll see, won't we?
Our Baroque Borders makes for an elegant and lovely card... Here - I want to re-do the wheel stamp and make the font larger... the Rhinestones add that Bling and the Black Satin Ribbon really 'gussies' it up, don't you think??

HERE is the Stamped Vellum - I don't care for this look... but we'll see what Kim and her Bob say... hmm... The Always Elegant stamp set works well w/ the Baroque Motiff stamp set... but this vellum is not my favorite of the series...

Weddings.. sweet and wonderful weddings...

2010-12-31T17:03:00.000-08:00

This TOP one is where I stamped the vellum w/ the Baroque Motif stamp... and 'Always' from our Always Elegant stamp set...

A Simple vellum exterior - no embossing... simple like a 'veil' look...

Embossing with our Big Shot makes this a fun, textured and elegant project!!

THIS is with the embossed vellum..

NOW... Kim and Bob are going to write what they do and don't like on Post It Notes... attach it and we'll see what they are thinking... they will come over and, knowing it won't hurt my feelings - lol, they'll pick and play w/ me as their designer... this is some 'excellent service' that people would pay thru the nose for... and it's for a special lady and her man...

(I'll post their end result when we get to it.. keep an eye out...)

My Family.. Blessed beyond measure!! May YOUR New Year be blessed!

2010-12-31T16:27:00.000-08:00

My BIG boy, Sal, is 6 3/4 yrs old now... wow how time flies by!!
Our Girls... Gloria (22) and Joana (20) are in college, Genevieve (4 3/4 yr) and Carina (2 1/2yr) are my lil 'helpers' in stampin', craftin' and life!
The LOVE of my life... my beloved hubby supports my stampin' and craftin' with a smile and even a vote on what he does and doesn't like about cards, crafts and scrapbook pages!! I do love how he supports me and loves us...

What a stunning day here in California... second week in December and it was warm.. ducks flying overhead had the kids laughing.. then it went to winter (California winter, mind you) two days after this photo... imagine - we have another on the way!! (eek!)

My reason to get up in the moring (usually earlier than I really want - lol) they keep me going, love me and support me in all that I do... if I can stamp w/ this crew - ANYONE can!!

New Stamps... Occassions Mini Coming in TWO Weeks!!

2010-12-23T18:33:00.000-08:00

Our Embosslits Die is an amazing Die cut that embosses, cuts and WOW... it aides our New and Amazing Stamp set coming out in the upcoming Occassions Mini.. 'Nature Walk'... that our Elegat Soiree Paper, Crumb Cake and Baja Breeze.. some twine - and WOW!! (this was taken w/ my cell phone as my camera was having issues... sigh - not as clear as I'd like)

This is using our stick on stones - so lovely... and Nature Walk w/ another new stamp set 'Clearly for You'... I'm loving this Mini!!

These stamp sets make it hard to make a bad card... so stunning... naturally lovely!

Clearly for You and Nature Walk make amazing cards... Don't you love this?? Punches aide in a quick and stunning card.

I had a FUN Free Stamp night here last week - my new downline Alexia and I were playing with the new stamp sets from the mini... I LOVE how these came out (loving my new downline, too...). What do you think?? Wanna come and play with us??

Thanks Alexia... what a FUN night... You are SUCH a good Stamper and a FUN downline!!

Holiday Class Presents from Us to Them

2010-12-23T17:48:00.001-08:00

A basket of goodies for my son's class of 22 kids... keeps me busy - lol

With Hand Painted Eyes... this was going to take way too long to do the 55+ I Had to do for my two kids classes and my hubby's office/dept. Hmmmmmm....

We created lil necklaces for each child in both classes... I used out Candy Wrapper Die that made my Big Shot do most of the work.. that and our new Holiday Wheel.. it was a snap to make these great give aways!!

I went all Googlie!! I grabbed a pkg of google eyes (I keep them for various projects on hand at all times!!) and used them for the eyes.. so with the bird punch leaves creating the horns, the small oval punch creating the face, the Crop A Dile large circle punch creating the nose.. our white gell pen creating the mouth... it was a lovely teat!!

I snagged our basket - used the material from our Holiday Mini... this was a festive way to walk about and hand out our goodies!! I felt like a good holiday elf!

Holiday Class Presents

2010-12-23T17:40:00.000-08:00

My Daughter's PreK class has another Stampin' Momma... Heidi King... from Stampin' King... She created these lil lovelies to hand out... they are soooo cute... I see myself doing like this in the future... awwww...
My Lil Angel is the Bottom Candle on the Far Right.. She's singing w/ Heidi's daughter and her classmates at PreK - a lovely perfomance w/ Nativity reinactement and everything!

My Genevieve decided that she had to have a 'fancy' dress (she is a princess, isn't she??) so she snuggles in her black toppped and pink (not red - even if it isss Christmas - sigh) dress.. it is so sweet!

The Albanese and King Girls... I'm so blessed to be friends with Heidi - looks like our younger girls will be in preschool together next year... oh the crafting we'll do!!

My Genevieve and her other BFF Jordyn... both girls were dressed to the nines.. so stunning!

May YOU and YOURS have a very Merry Christmas!!

Filled with LOVE... Special!!

2010-12-19T00:41:00.000-08:00

ABC's of a Stunning Christmas Holiday!.. 20% OFF!!

2010-12-01T14:03:00.000-08:00

9 AMAZING Days.... Save Up To 50%... FREE Shipping

2010-11-24T14:15:00.003-08:00

Don't miss out on these AMAZING Deals... Nov. 22 to Nov. 30th!! Free Shipping... Savings of up to 50%... WOW - Don't miss out!! Click HERE or on the Side Tab to Order On-Line... just in time for the holidays!

http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/gettincrafty/promotions

30 Cards... One Morning... TONS of FUN!!

2010-11-22T17:24:00.000-08:00

Our Holiday Mini has this AMAZING background stamp... Until the END of the YEAR... I used our Color Coach and w/ our Crumb Cake Paper it reccomended RidingHood... I like it but it looked great w/ Cherry Cobler, too!!

This is the END result when you open my Tri Fold card... the Bravo Burgundy with the Heat Embossed Gold... it's amazingly rich and PERFECT for the Holidays!!

Embossing Gold on Gold paper is one of the most luxurious looks a card can have... This is the Middle of the Card...

THIS is HOW the Card Starts... this is the FIRST image you see when you open the envelope... This warm and welcoming stamp set is ideal - even for a California Girl!! (We do have our mountains.. lol) Again - Gold on Gold... stunning!

I LOVE our Cherry Cobler... taking our New Holiday Wheel in our Mini (Now thru the end of the Year!) I 'loaded' the ink in Cherry Cobbler.. ran it across Very Vanilla - tore the top and flicked in the C.Cobbler ink... with our stunning and traditional Holiday paper... I do so love the look of this card and I love that it's my hubby's favorite of the 6 designs we did for our 30 card morning!

Part Deux... 30 Cards.. ONE day... TONS of FUN!

2010-11-22T17:22:00.000-08:00

Our Snowflake Impression plate is already a favorite of mine... I adore our tree stamp set (it can't ever go away - it's an amazing stamp set... in our Idea Book)... Here we stamped the sentiment and the tree on a Whisper White paper in Garden Green... then I ran it thru the Snowflake impression plate.. I moved UP the snowflakes so that it didn't overtake the words... I love the white dry embossed... the green tree (we ARE in California) and the sentiment is so perfect!!
I DO love Texture... OUR Big Shot gives you that and more!! Here w/ the embossing plate I did the dots to match the poka dotted ornaments... and with our White Gel Pen - I created the strings that tied them on!! This was a PUNCH card.... the new punch is perfect for sentiments!

HERE we did the Swirl impression plate to tie into the 'Joy' Swirled ornament... I love that the Stampin' Dimensionals make this card POP and they really hold punched items to the texture on the impression!!

Doesn't One love to get TWO cards in ONE?? With our Tag die... and our Pointsetta impression plate... this stamp set fit perfectly to create this look of two cards in ONE... I do love giving a lil extra to those I love.. and these aren't traditional holiday card colors but I do so love the look!

Bashful Blue card, Real Red and Whisper White paper... I stamped the sentiment in Bashful blue and the pointsettia was colored in w/ our Real Red Markers that Paint like a loaded paint brush... the simple white ribbon.. sigh... I do feel fancy with this card.. it was a favorite of my friend Donna's... The Stampin' Spot made it easy to ink and the Marker made making the pointsettia red.. easy peasy!! Stamp While the Tag is Closed... opening to that lil Tree on the inside... a FUN card to MAKE!!

One Stamp Set... Several Impression Plates... TONS of FUN!

2010-11-16T16:47:00.000-08:00

I love how the Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Wild Wassabi (sounds like a yummy meal - lol) and Very Vanilla... create this FUN card... Each Stamp from this Hostess Set can have a different feel (literally w/ the texture plates) and look..
This reminds me of a fancy envelope w/ a delicate stamp... I love this simple but elegant card!

I adore our distressed impression plate, it really looks like wood... I love the lil 'hole' in this tree!

This is cute but could even be given to a man... again... I'm 'Impressed' (bad pun - eh) with the look and feel of this card!!

The Same Papers, The Same Inks, The Same Stamp Set... different look n feel w/ the impression plates making a big impression!!

2010-11-16T16:25:00.000-08:00

I love this... will be adding more when we do new curtain treatments... simple and elegant...
We did a wall celebrating our family and this is where we started...

My family and friends were convinced this rub on was wrought iron!! My mom didn't believe me and kept feeling it.. I like how our family is like this image.. growing tall and strong..

My girls' room... I love this on their door... a simple and fun way to show their Fem. Power!! (Ask my daughters... they know they are NOW princesses and Mommy is the Queen.. lol)

My son... my lil angel (we have another one on the way - he'll be joining this room with his brother).... I love how it's a reminder to us how he'll be a superhero some day... he already is to me... he makes my heart fly daily!

Vinyl Rub-Ons Rub me the Right Way!!

2010-11-16T16:14:00.000-08:00

I Love the look of this on my dinning nook... My cousin was wondering where the projector was.. he thought the image was so lovely that it was being projected on the wall.. what a fun look!
I LOVE this saying in my kitchen... often it's were life is falling apart about dinner time w/all of my lil ones... and our RubOns in Chalkboard... makes quite an impression.. parties and guests visiting... my cousin was surprised to see the menue... his wife loved their names up as a greeting when they came in.. and during Stampin' events or Parties.. people love to have a description of the foods prepared!!

These lil flourishes coming out of my crown molding... it's amazing how MEN and Women love it... my CPA hubby and like minded men love the lil touches... me too!!

It's what I do... I'm a family gal... I have an amazing family... and love showing them off!!

I love this reminder that it's not all about homework, carpooling, sports, dancing, etc... it's about a safe and loving place to be to dream and be safe!

Definately Decorative... I may not be an interior decorator... but I do so love these sayings... they do the decorating on their own!! Check out our line HERE:

http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/gettincrafty/productline7

Shimmer Paper, ReInkers, Embossing and BAM... a FUN and Stunning Card!

2010-11-16T16:11:00.000-08:00

My Cousin's family came for a visit.. I snagged his wife and daughter and gave a lil lesson... this technique never gets old... it is so stunning... our Fifth Ave. Floral was a set Chloe picked out, Vanessa picked the card color and we had fun... who wouldn't love receiving this card....

Simply Adorned and STUNNING!!

2010-11-16T15:57:00.000-08:00

I adore wearing my family on my chest... I'm stopped when ever I wear this necklace... People are amazed at the Stunning look, the COST Savings (people spend wayyy more money than we charge for a lesser product) and how it's double sided... I give my card (when on vacation to a trip to Target) and people can't get over what a great gift for others.. and themselves this is!!

My Five lil angels.. I simple take the 'sample' picture page w/ my print order and cut out the mini picture... I layered it on a black paper stamped w/ a silver print... Wearing those I love on my heart... it makes me feel comfort and peace.... they are always with me!

We released live butterflies at our wedding (near 10 years ago) and I love this lil representative of our new life together...

Graduation ala Brayer...

2010-11-16T15:49:00.000-08:00

My Hubby's Cousin's daughter was heading off to UCLA.. hence the colors of this FUN brayered Card... a few Punches.. this card really POPS!
A simple Punched Square, a punched circle... the circle is popped up with a Stampin' Dimensional... then a black twine is tied after being untwisted... I love this POP on a stunning but simple card...

I simply Used Bashful Blue, So Saffron and Marina Mist.. stamped the Graduation stamp w/ Versa Mark on a glossy white paper.. I loaded my brayer w/ the colors (lightest to darkest) and then ran it across.. people are always amazed at how a brayer can really make a card pop!!

Our Family's Newest Addition... Lincoln

2010-11-16T15:42:00.001-08:00

My beloved Niece had the most adorable, newest member of the Dodger's Team.. Keep an EYE out folks - give him 18 years and he'll be a Dodger (if his Momma has a say in the matter - lol). I sent her a lil pkg for the newest addition... and included this. Finding that I was trying to tie it to the Monkey Theme his parent's had for his room.. I used our Wood Background Stamp in Early Espresso on Bashful Blue.. I like the seperated look of his name.. such FUN!

My Poor Neglected BLOG.. due to computer issues... I'm FINALLY Uploading to my blog again!

SAVE 50% NOW... Having FUN while saving and making $$

2010-11-16T15:07:00.000-08:00

SAVE NOW... Sign Up Starting November 15th thru Nov. 30th
and take 1/2 - YES.. HALF Off the Starter Kit... Click HERE For more info!!

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Bling Challenge... My Results... Sparkley 'Framed' Artwork

2010-03-14T07:45:00.001-07:00

This reminds me of this wallpaper in my Gparent's bathroom... it had the SAME pattern, but was silver, grey and pinks... I just HAD to use this paper...

I made a 'frame' out of the paper.... this stamp reminded of artwork you'd see in my Nanna and Pappa's home so I just tied the two together... I then scalloped the edges with our new punch, did my artwork on our Sparkle Paper (more 'bling'), wrapped it in Certainly Celery ribbon and our Styled Silver hardware... I adore it... Our Occasions Mini is really loaded with amazing papers, stamps and punches!!)

Getting a Photo that really shows the bling of the Micro beads I used is hard... but what I did was pocket the artwork into the scalloped paper and then using our Sticky Strip Adhesive I ran lines starting near the artwork and out... I then removed each red covering and did the next line.. until I reached the scalloped edge... after doing all four sides I dumped a batch of our Micro Beads and pushed the sticky strips into the micro beads... resulting in a 'frame' look... and sooo pretty... I first attached it to a Orchid Oppulance paper but removed it and put it on our Sparkly Paper... so the bling continues onnnn... in the cardstock and on the artwork... sooo much bling but so subtle!!

Sparkle (check), Bling (check), Spring (check), reminding me of some of my favorite memories running about my Nanna and Pappa's home (check), making my hubby say 'Wow - that does look like a frame!' (check), getting out of my funk from the past two weeks (check)... Stampin' and Havin' FUN!!! (check)... thanks LNStampers for this fun challenge!! ta taaa gang...

It's a Paw-Ty!!

2010-02-21T18:59:00.001-08:00

I love my kids and having two with February Bdays.. I always said I'd have individual parties.. but with the cost of it all... I did a combo this year... and using our Build A Bear die... I printed these lil 'You Are Invited!! It's a Paw-Ty!' to it... this makes it neutral for both kids, clean and crisp... I've done more elaborate ones but it's been a year... lol...
This is a Sentiment we're missing for our set!! I love this Bear and it makes for a cute invite!! He, he, he... it's going to be quite a Paw-Ty!

On the Inside... I did a lil two punched stars to represent our two angels.. this POPS up as the card is opened... and with the Rose and Blue... it ties in the kids, too... I love tying in my printer on such invites.. it looks smashing!!

Clean, Vintage, Punched Card

2010-02-21T18:18:00.000-08:00

I wanted something Clean, yet I adore Vintage... So I grabbed our Groom Specialty Paper, Some Glossy White Paper and went to work with our Sale A Bration Stamp set! Here - the results may be a lil too clean for my taste.
When punching the borders... a lil strip is left after the cut off... I simply adhered this extra strip to the Glossy White... the paper has that Glossy and Matt texture and look and goes smashingly with the Glossy White base for this card.

I ADORE this Stamp Set!! So classy and fun and with our new Clear Mounted Rubber Stamps... it's easier to place the words directly in the middle like this! This Stamp Set goes with this mat and glossy texture when I embossed it in black on white paper and punched it out... and since the stamps can ALL be Punched out... what a simple and cool card!!

Here you can see the reflection of the two textures... I like the 'Modern' feel to this Vintage look... it's very eclectic in a way... I hope you enjoyed this... it's easy and fun to make! I like that this card, too, can be for a man and or woman, a younger or older person... and it was an easy under 10 minute card... gotta love our punches!!

A Lil present

2010-02-14T21:21:00.000-08:00

This a Great lil 3x3 card that I made... I adore our clear mounted rubber stamps... the create a crisp image and are so easy to work with!! Here are the two lil cards I made and placed in a clear bag w/ my business card, a lil lollipop and a lil blurb about my upcoming class....

I couldn't make it to the Heartlink Meeting (a women's networking meeting my neighbor holds) but I sent this lil gift for all the ladies along... they loved it and I liked blessing them... a 3x3 card is so sweet and appreciated...

Embossed in more than one way..

2010-02-14T21:16:00.000-08:00

I took Whisper White and ran it thru an impression plate that I'd covered in Basic Black ink.. it creates this dry embossing and raised paper... so pretty!

I embossed with Black on white with our new stamps... this is an amazing Sale A Bration set... I then took our Black Satin Ribbon and tied it two ways... I then did the two embossed images with Stampin' Dimensionals to tie it all together..

This is an elegant and easy card.. so pretty and ideal to give away to almost anyone!! I hope you enjoy this card and are inspired to get your emboss on.. he, he, he...

Embossing... don't resist it (lol)

2010-02-14T21:12:00.000-08:00

I was asked for these colors for a Workshop lately... I cased the idea from our Idea Book and changed it up a little. We ought to remember that it issss an idea book!!

Here the base is Chocolate Chip, then the Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo and Very Vanilla..

I layered the strips and tied Chocolate Chip ribbon.. I adore that it all coordinates!! I then on Very Vanilla embossed in clear and w/ a sponge dabbed in Melon Mambo I rubbed and rubbed.. it is like magic and was a huge success at the workshop.. I then ripped the edges. My friend who had the workshop is a professional Scrapbooker... she's amazing - and yet... I had the ability to teach her something new with this technique!! Such fun and pretty toooo!!

Wooded love..

2010-02-14T21:05:00.000-08:00

I like the wood grain background stamp we have at Stampin' Up!... I stamped the Creamy Caramel w/ Close to Cocoa ink... I THEN ran it thru the wood grain texture plate and embossed that wood feel into the paper.
On Very Vanilla I stamped w/ Close to Cocoa Craft Ink this great heart from our set that goes to support Haiti... I then embossed w/ clear powder.. it's shiny and wood grain... simply perfect!

I'm not sure the texture of it all comes thru in the pictures.. I then stamped w/ our Sale A Bation set 'follow your heart.. it knows the way'.. this is a great masculine card!!

The Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon layered under the heart adds a different texture to the card.. I could have gone rustic (like twine) but like the contrast of the ribbon and the wood texture..

Ta Daaaa... the completed project... I am so tactile and the feel of this card is like playing in the sand... soothing and fun!

Kindergarten Valentines Greetings

2010-02-14T20:58:00.000-08:00

I Loved doing this card w/ my son's Kindergarten class.. we used our Big Shot and punches.. to create this Hugs and Kisses Card.. we repeated the ebmosslit hearts on the front of the card with the lil punched hearts on the inside... the kids and us had a blast making this!!
The Hearts were to represent the Kisses and the Ribbon to represent the Hugs... awww

Here is our kids... my big boy helped design the card and the kids did an amazing job!!

Two Stations to create this card... Ms. Brittany and I split up the card making... it was quick and fun!!

Ms. Brittany is helping clean up after our fun... now the kids were going to write inside them for their parents... awww..

50th Anniversary Celebration

2010-02-14T16:37:00.000-08:00

I LOVE our Big Shot... it makes for a BIG Impression! Here I used our Perfect Details Background Texture Plates on our Gold Paper... and with our adorable Heart Embosslit that Embosses and Cut Outs the images...

I then used it in black and gold so that the layering showed the two hearts of my in-laws and their 50th Anniversary Celebration. To create the extra layered effect of the gold heart 1/2 on top of the black - I used Double the Stampin' Dimensionals so that it was even and flowed...

With a punch I used our retired words and punched out this scallop square and layered it behind the hearts... it created an even flow to the eye as the squares in the texture plate... I think it looks smashing. Too - our new Black Satin ribbon in a big bow... wrapped up the 'love'...

Simply Adorned and STUNNING!!

2010-02-07T21:54:00.000-08:00

OK I could NOT resist... our Newest Line of Simply Adorned Jewelry is FINALLY here...

Using our Paper Pkt from the Sale A Bration... these lil hearts coordinated perfectly with my love of our kids... I used my printer in type pt. 6 and did their names... I then took our Bridal Paper and colored it in with the Real Red Marker... wiping off the shiny part to peak thru in White... I love Bold Colors.. don't YOU??

This is simply cutting out part of a butterfly in our Desiner Series Paper offered in our Occasions Mini... I adore butterflies and we released live butterflies at our wedding... so wearing this reminds me of the day I made the Wisest decision in my life...

Our Sparkle Designer Series Paper twinkles in this lil circle, the butterfly peaks in the other... I LOVE this and wearing it is getting noticed!!

They Bob on my Chest and the images change like that of a mood ring... every lil movement creating a new look.. like those kaleidoscopes we played with as a child.... I LOVE this and can't wait to gift this to those in my life!! (Well, I'll KEEP mine... and get them one of their own...)

Easy, Fun, a Perfect Accessory... I love this new line of jewelry... Who Wouldn't?? This, too, was fun to do in the LNStampers Challenge of Butterflies galore...

Butterfly Card... for a Great Teacher

2010-02-07T21:46:00.000-08:00

Finish OFF your card by decorating your envelope... it builds anticipation for the contents and like matching shoes to your outfit... it just looks good!!

This Single Butterfly on the flap is sooo easy and cute...

Making a POP Up card is easy and FUN... I love how as you open the card BAM... here are layered Butterflies popping out at you... but folds flat..

I LOVED this card so... I did a similar one for my friend JoAnne at MOPS... the gang loved this card and were amazed that I could do it with two sick kids...

A Butterfly to resemble every kid in the class.... I love that our Color Families Coordinate... I used Bold Brights here on Real Red base... it pops and, too me, resembles the kids in our class!

My Son's Teacher is pretty dandy... so I CASED this card from Gretchen?? a LNStampers member... changing it up to add 22 butterflies on the cover for all the students... POP UP butterflies on the inside, Butterflies on the front of the envelope and the back flap... I ADORE the Butterfly Embosslit in our Occasions Mini... I hope YOU do, too...

Valentines MOMS NIGHT OUT

2010-02-07T07:57:00.000-08:00

The MOMS Club of Thousand Oaks... we had SUCH fun as we did this Mom's Night Out!! The ladies - many who've never stamped before... did such a great job.. we giggled, drank a lil wine, noshed on appetizers and stamped!! Bravo Ladies... it was a blast!!
This was fun... running the Very Vanilla thru the Rose Embossing Plate - We then stamped this background stamp on - Simply Stunning! This was NOT the one we went with, though, I didn't care for the layering... so instead - I did the WHOLE Cardstock in Very Vanilla...

Soooo Pretty, Vintage and Easy! This was the end result... the Razzleberry ink really added to the vintage feel.

I love this Stamp Set... Emobssed with White on Real Red... I then Punched OUT Hearts on White and layered the flower, with the blowing hearts... the lil punched out hearts carried the theme.... the punched lil hearts continued the feeling... FUN and sooo Cute!

Here the embossing was a lil Light...

Here a Lil Heavy...

Still... So pretty!

I LOVE that Pink and Grey are back... Here I ran the new Vintage Wheel across the bottom 2x.. leaving a Background Stamp feel... This is Pretty In Pink Ink on Pretty In Pink Paper...

I then double punched with our eyelet border punch on the Basic Grey Paper...

With Basic Grey Ink - I stamped the Valentine, Be Mine stamp.... so pretty, a lil feminine but easy and Fun...

With our NEW Embosslit... this Heart Card was sooo quick, easy and impressive!!

Here with White Paper, Real Red and Real Red Satin Ribbon.. I created a quick and easy lil card..

I couldn't decide HOW I like the Ribbon... so I tried two different ways and these came with equal likes from the Ladies...

Sparkle Birthday Card

2010-01-17T19:33:00.000-08:00

I Love Kraft Paper, Don't YOU?? Stampin' Up! amazing Bella Bleu Paper, this amazing stamp set, our new Ribbon from the Occasions Mini... I snagged some Iridescent Ice embossing powder and popped out this card for my friend's Bday!! I hope you enjoy this lil sparkle... it's fun to make!

Christian Girls make Cards for Retirement Home

2010-01-17T16:11:00.000-08:00

Tic Tac Toe.... Sending Love to the Residents at the Retirement home... the Christian Girls Club had fun and made some cards to bless the elderly...
Build A Bear was a HIT with the girls... who doesn't love this lil bear??
Embossing was HOT that evening!! (he, he, he)
Big Shot made a Big Impression on the girls...

Doing something like this for those residents at the Retirement Center... it just warms the heart!! Christian Girls had a great and loving heart for the elderly and couldn't wait to show them all the work/fun they'd done to bless them!! I'm so impressed with girls like this... love supporting a group like this!!

Life Happens, Love Helps..

2010-01-10T15:11:00.000-08:00

I've been so blessed by so many amazing friends that have provided my family and I with delicious meals during my recovery from surgery... I've made this card with our New Clear Mounted Rubber Stamps Vintage Vogue and I really like how it came out...
I did two variations... I tied the ribbon differently on each and flicked the 'Friends' on one and not the other... I really like both and my hubby has ruled he likes it Un-Flicked and the ribbon tied side by side vs. over it's self... I am not sure which I like better... but the mini Library Clip is to die for... even John thinks so... and he's an accountant!!

A little Closer view of the image with the ribbon... I LOVE the Pretty in Pink and the Basic Grey together... so retro to my High School days and now back in fashion... to think I'm old enough for a style to have come BACK... lol

HERE is the Variation... WHICH do YOU like better?? Let me know.. Leave me a COMMENT and I'll upload the voted on one...

Pretty in Pink, Basic Grey and Vintage Vogue... awww... simply lovely!! I hope YOU leave a comment and VOTE for your favorite... I can't wait to hear!!

AND... if you are curious about our newest Stamps - these AMAZING Clear Mounted Rubber Stamps... let me know - come and try it out... you can SAVE some GREEN ($$) while Going GREEN and saving the Wood in our Trees!! Ta Taaaa ~ J

From OWL of Us..

2010-01-10T15:05:00.000-08:00

I was nervous... using our new Clear Mounted Rubber stamp... but for my FIL I thought I could give it a go... I LOVE LOVE ITTTT!!! Here is our newest script stamp from our Occasions Mini... I adore it.. I hope you like it, too...
I cased this idea from a gal on the LNStampers group she did google eyes on an owl card... my kids voted to make their Nonno (my father in law) a bday card with Blue, Yellow and Bright Green... our color wheel shows Barely Banana, Bashful Blue and Gable Green all accentuate each other... I did the Leaves cut with my Big Shot and tied it all up with some Certainly Celery Organza Ribbon.. each owl represented a member in my family (we have 5 kids)... I think he'll love it!! What FUN!

Ribbon Fairytale

2010-01-05T11:12:00.000-08:00

This lovely creation was today's play time while I considered the LNS Ribbon Challenge.
I punched wholes every 1/2 inch along the edges - 1/2 inch in... so it was even to the eye.

I tied off the ribbon across the top in a 'fancy' bow to 'wrap' up the present, of sorts.
I also embossed with white powder this sentiment and rounded the corners... it really pops but is pretty classy, I think.

I embossed with white powder this Manhattan Rose on Shimmer paper and sprayed water across the rose... I then took our In Color Crushed Curry re inker drops and flowed the color to really stand out. Cutting it out I adhered it with Stampin' Dimensionals.

I rounded the corners, with our punch, the corners of the Bridal Paper... I thought it flowed and mimicked the rounded saying.

The Result:

This Bridal Paper shimmers against this Basic Grey card stock.. the woven organza and satin white ribbon and this sparkling flower... I think this says LOVE and captures a 'Fairytale'.

I pulled the ribbon in and out and pulled it up so that it puckered as this did... I thought that the Bridal Specialty Paper's line of contrasting satin and mat white had a similar feel.

I hope you enjoy... I did.. ta taaa

Ribbons To Weave Love...

2010-01-04T17:58:00.000-08:00

I took the Ribbon Challenge from the LNS ladies and decided to make Ribbon 'Brads' of sorts... punched a hole thru the layered, embossed, hearts and then tied the ribbon into little knots - I then thread the ends in.. the knot being the 'brad'....
I did the Ribbon 'Brads' thru the lil flowers on the Heart...

From BEHIND... I then SNAIL adhesive the ends down...

The TOP view... the lil accent of the Ribbon 'Brad' really adds something, don't you think??

I really like the Black and White Gingham ribbon accent as the 'brad'

I like the Woven Ribbon Accent and the Ribbon Brads... This is the top view... and I love the 'Feel' of the card - the TEXTURE of it all... yummy..

The END Result... A Woven LOVE card... and the Hubby LOVES it... who knows - he may just receive it at his office.. wonder what the girls in his office will say... he, he, he..

The 411:

Hi gang.. I started to mull over this Late Night Stamper's Ribbon Challenge and this was the Result... what do you think??

I started off using our great Grid paper and scotch tape.. I started with the Black Ribbon and alternated every other line (1/2 inch increments) and then moved on to the Red Ribbon. I went to the other of the paper. The scotch tape and then the Red Ribbon on EVERY box/line...

After the taping and lining up of the ribbon I then used the Scotch Tape Holder to hold BACK the red ribbon and with the top ribbon down - each line - I laced and wove the Red Ribbon, alternating each line on the Black Ribbon. The result = A Woven fabric piece out of ribbons. While the Scotch tape held down each side I used our SNAIL adhesive and adhesived lines where the ribbon would lay (like a box of adhesive and a line thru the middle) and wiggled it under the ribbon that was Scotch Taped down... it went on smoothly, in it's completed piece (except for one lil line of ribbon - easily fixed).

(This was NOT a 10 Minute Card.. ha, ha, ha)

Then I Heat Embossed the White Words on the card, the Heart on a Red and White paper.. cut them out and layered them. I thought it needed more... humm, a Brad??

As I punched holes in it - I thought, RIBBON... so I tied lil knots in the ribbon and cut them apart. Threading them thru the holes I used our SNAIL adhesive to hold the ends down. I finished it off with Stampin' Dimensionals to continue the raised feel of it all... and BAM.. 'twas done.

I hope you feel all warm, woven and loved... To the Ribbon Challenge... smooches!!

Brads again...

2010-01-03T12:09:00.000-08:00

I took So Saffron paper and ink, Very Vanilla paper, Gold Organza Ribbon and Gold Brads.. making this a quick and cute lil card... I stamped the branch in So Saffron and then put the brads in for the flowers/buds...

Simple, Elegant and EASY - this card is done in under 10 minutes and yet is classy enough to last years...

I took some Green Organza ribbon to change this up and threaded it like that of the branches and the 'sash'/bow to accent a different color and feel to this card. I think I prefer the first card without the additional ribbon - but both are fun... the second card takes longer to thread the ribbon but is a different take on something easy!

Brads, Brads and MORE Brads

2010-01-03T11:32:00.000-08:00

Vintage Brads make a Perfect Frame for this card... tying the brad into the dress on the Grey Paper, The White embossing on the grey and on the Nouveau Chic Paper - this dress makes for a fun and stylish card.
Stamping on Nouveau Chic paper with silver ink this Flight of the Butterfly - I then did Vintage Brads in each lil dot... I then using my Black Hemp Twine to thread a body and make antenna w/ the twine and unwinding it. I then embossed the 'flying' words with White Embossing powder on the paper. I LOVE this look!!

Reminds me of a 1960's style dress... I love the modern look of the Grey and Sage Shadow... the White embossing powder makes the dress and words pop.. the brads just frame it in.

The same paper scheme - the same brads - two different looks but I like the outcome!

I like how the black frames our Designer Series Paper... My beloved hubby votes this as his favorite... What do YOU think?? - Me, too...

Brad Challenge Results

2010-01-03T11:20:00.000-08:00

A clean and simple style... I love this stamp set (Stem Sayings)

Simple Brad flower thru our crochet flower and a brad 'leaf'... a quick and clean card - less than 10 min!!

I did this card for my niece - Embossing Resist - I simple embossed with Iridescent Ice on a Glossy White card stock... I then rubbed it with our Razzelberry ink and a sponge... revealing the Medallion image... a matching ribbon, words and brad... it's perfect for Kaitlyn's 13th bday!

Using some Christmas paper - I made a Valentines card!! I used our 'Build a Brad' to make this hear brad in the center of 'Love'... then one of our flower brads where there is a flower on the stamp set... Having Stamped the LOVE in black - I then used our Marker Real Red in the lines... I then used Garden Green for the stem of the flower and it's a quick - easy and fun lil card!

Brads, Metal, Pretties kit, Condolences Card

2009-12-30T15:20:00.000-08:00

Resuing extra cast offs.. you can add texture and shine to a project... LOVE this look!

Using spare strips from my metal siding tea light holder I made these little butterflies... I figured nothing better than something unusual for this stunning family and their loss. I punched the butterfly and laced this blingged pin from our Pretties Kit. I adhered it to the ribbon and with our Designer Series paper, the 'Three Little Words' stamp set, some silver ink, black paper and Glossy White paper... I whipped out this card. I added brads from the pretties kit to the bottom corner to continue the 'metal' feel that this butterfly added to the card.

I hope you enjoy this, it was made in honor of Gail Wheelock and her return to heaven.. for her family left behind. Donna, Wheelocks - love you!

Inspired by Clothes

2009-12-13T19:20:00.000-08:00

I was so inspired by this outfit for my daughter that I made this amazing card and featured it a while back on LNS group... but I kept it and the outfit hanging on a wall... the black embossed and shiny flowers, the shimmer paint used in the 2-step stamping style, the stunning bride paper brayered with black... the pink... sooo my daughter (does the cuteness factore END??)....

Why feature it, again?? My daughter won the tug of war on the paper and I finally let her have it... sigh... so it's no longer on my wall to inspire me and show off the sheer cuteness factor of it all... So she looked stunning this week at PreSchool... and this card... a favorite for sure!!

I hope YOU find inspiration in what you see ALL around you!

Bleach is used for MORE than cleaning...

2009-12-13T19:04:00.000-08:00

I simply embossed this great tree scene and the words.. I then took a paint brush and painted bleach around the trees - it will change the color and a lil ribbon.. a quick card and cool technique.

I took a stamp case and lined it w/ folded paper towels - I then covered it in bleach to create a bleach stamp pad. I took this stunning background stamp (one of my very favorites) and 'inked' it in bleach and then stamped it on this Lovely Lilac paper. I used a heat gun to speed up the dry time. I then took some pastels and highlighted 'Imagine' and with the Tombo glue and our Fine Glitter I made this a quick and pretty card - anyone would love to receive.

LNS Challenge

2009-12-13T18:58:00.000-08:00

This is the Challenge Folks... create a card inspired by this stunning picture... sigh...

I went a little natural and bright with this Bashful Blue and Gable Green Paper combo... The ribbon and eyelet punch is a fun lil texture to it. This Embrace Life card is going to a friend of mine who's had many challenges with breast cancer as of late... I hope it'll brighten her day...

Now - close your eyes and smell the ocean breeze... lol.

Christmas Card Stack Resulted In....

2009-12-13T18:51:00.000-08:00

Retired DSP... punches and embossed Vellum with our great diecut box for a batter tea lighted gift!! Fun, easy and pretty!!
This was similar to a card from a LNS girl... I took Glossy White to give contrast to the flocked DSP paper - so fun and with some simple punches, glue and this one stunning stamp (punched out at an angle to flow). You have a supe cute, fast and fun card!! (the red ribbon is a perfect addition...) (UNDER 10 Minutes... YEAH!!)

This was a CASE of a LNS card... I love this stained glass stamp set and the Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint on top of the Aqua Painted Pastels.. the Petals a Plenty paper on Bashful blue - I LOVE this..

The Angel is sooo pretty... love the shimmer on her! (too much, maybe?? lol)

yeah - maybe too much - but the flash really shows it... sigh..

Christmas Card Stack Resulted In....

2009-12-13T18:39:00.000-08:00

Country Greetings - a natural and 'raw' stocking... I love the twine unraveled... quick and easy - under 10 mintues!!!
The Designer Series Paper is my inspiration and I masked these trees!! Simply Stamp and stamp again on a post-it - cut it out and layer it on what you want to stay present/front... then stamp - remove the masking and BAM - a quick lil tip...

I made snow trimmed leaves on the trees with our amazing Frost White Shimmer Paint... fun!!

Ahhhh - one of my favorite looks!! Embossing metal on a metalic paper!! I simply used Bravo Burgundy and stamped the sentiment inside and the snowflakes on the exterior (a tri folded card). I then stamped this Snow Swirled tree in Gold on Gold Paper... with Dimensionals on one half and it's a lil door of a pretty card! Love me some Bravo Burgundy and Gold - don't you??

Inside - the embossing makes for a stunning card!!

I LOVE how this came out!! I took Glossy White Paper and embossed with Glassy Glaze this Branch Out bare tree and the snow flakes... I then took this blue and sponged it in a swirling motion... it created this blue background, snow 'floor' and the embossing came THRU with the white below... another quickie card (under 10 minutes!!) and so Pretty!!

Christmas Card Stack Resulted In....

2009-12-13T18:34:00.000-08:00

From the Side - the Dimensionals raise the ornaments up to sit flush when closed...

I ADORE how this punch and stamp set look - don't YOU??

Inside View..

I LOVE this Paper and stamps - the embossing is so pretty and Easy!! The Paper allows for the feel of being on a tree.. and the 'Holly Jolly Christmas' is PERFECT for this 'tree and ornament' card...

I cased this idea from someone on the LNStampers and changed it up a tad... this is when flicked the edges in Chocolate Chip after tearing it... I love the look of Embossed white on the Creamy Caramel!! The Red Bow.. the finishing touch!

Our Designer Series Paper is so stunning - simply flipping the paper over and it's a more 'vibrant' look and I colored the tree in to tie in the green.

Christmas Card Stack Resulted In....

2009-12-13T18:00:00.000-08:00

Our Designer Series Paper is perfect for ANY project!! Here with scraps and a punch - a lil embossing and BAM you create a FUN card!!
Three Trees - reminds me of the Holy Trinity... perfect for this Christmas Season!

Using the Big Shot to create this pretty Red cut-out and then stacking the trees... I used TWO dimensionals - one on top of another - to create a slight RAISED tree in the midst of the others..

I wanted to create a Snow Storm or Snow Fall at night... so I took the Night of Navy and rubbed the impression plate and ran thru w/ Shimmer White paper to create a sparkle and then stamped these great trees with Night of Navy on top...

I took the Single tree and stamped it 1/2 way up on either side to create a forest feel. To me, 'Peace on Earth' goes with the quiet of snow... sigh... I long for some snow.

I know these are super short but I have so many I'm behind in loading... I hope you enjoy this quicky!!

Natural, Stunning, Elegant Card

2009-11-15T14:01:00.000-08:00

I love this Friends 24~7 stamp set - this card was inspired by my stamped tiles!!
Natural, Pretty, Clean... wow!
This retired ribbon is felt and stitching... I snipped and threaded one end thru the snip... I then used Vintage Brads to finish off this ribbon... love the look!!

Voila!! Pretty, Clean and Fun... who wouldn't love receiving this card??

This card was inspired by the natural texture and look of my stamped tiles! Using Confetti White Paper, Chocolate Chip Paper, Ribbon and Ink.. this quick card is so stunning!! (Even my hubby LOVED it!!) I flicked the torn edge in Chocolate Chip ink and layered behind it the Chocolate Chip Paper... the Natural look and feel of the Confetti White paper makes for a card that is so pretty, easy and fun to make!

Travertine Tile Coasters

2009-11-15T13:45:00.000-08:00

Natural and so pretty - everyone will want a set!!
Almost too pretty to put a glass on.... but it's not going to bleed or fade... cool!!

Using ONE stamp set for the set makes for a cohesive looking gift... so pretty!

Lovely as a Tree is lovely to me...

With Shimmer Paint... so pretty!!

Stampin with Stazon Ink our Lovely as a Tree set... I added a lil Shimmer Paint in Champagne.. WOW!!

Friends 24-7 stamp set is perfect for this project!! A lil Shimmer paint and it's stunning!

I did this craft for our MOPS group and used this Gold paint for the edges for that craft... it's darker than the shimmer on the Right... but both are pretty!

Medallion a~naturale... it's so pretty just stamped as it is...

More Medallion stampin - up close... a perfect gift for anyone on your list!!

I snagged these 4x4 Traverntine tiles from Home Depot and my retired brown StazOn ink... and went to work on this week's craft for our MOPS group. WOW - the results were great and ANYONE could do it!! These were a HIT with everyone at MOPS - even the 'non' crafty types!

I was torn between those w/ the Shimmer paint and the natural stone with just ink.. the hubby voted for the natural. I hope YOU like it and are inspired to bless those you love with something pretty this holiday season, house warming, wedding gifts and more... Too - I did 4 in way less than 10 minutes!! Covered the bottom w/ felt and it's stunning!

Bag of Tags!!

2009-11-15T13:41:00.000-08:00

A FUN an Quick lil gift... a Bag of Tags!! This stamp set (Christmas Punch) makes for EASY, Quick and Fun gifts for those you love... I hope you are inspired to do something for those you love... I am!! (Thanks Christel for the inspiration!!)