Saturday In the Spotlight

Here's one more card with the level 2 hostess set In the Spotlight. I also used a new jumbo wheel called See You Around, it's very fun. I seemed to be on a Blue Bayou kick yesterday, sorry! I'll try to branch out today.

I did give in last week and went ahead and pre-ordered the new Three for You Punch Box, and it arrived yesterday. I may play with that today, but I'm feeling in the mood to scrapbook, so that will be this weekend's challenge: Let's scrapbook something! Post here with links to your pages, or email them to me and I'll post them!

Have a super weekend!

Recipe Stamps: In the Spotlight, See You Around jumbo wheel. Card Stock: Blue Bayou, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White, Certainly Celery Palette O'Prints. Ink: Blue Bayou, Purely Pomegranate. Accessories: Ice Circle Rhinestone Brad, Dimensionals, 1/2 inch Circle Punch.

schwooo!

I haven't been able to get on my blog to post all day! I don't know what's been going on...I couldn't get to certain websites or blogs, but others I could. DH was at work so I had no technical support!

Here's a quick card I made earlier using a new level 2 hostess set In the Spotlight. You probably know that for the level 2 hostess set that I could order, I chose the Christmas set Perfect Presentations, but I was also dying for this set. So I begged my upline Jackie, who is very business-minded and earns more free sets than she can ever use, if she would order it for me. Luckily she agreed, as she had already earned several free hostess sets with the recent recruiting promotion. I had a number of So Saffron Coluzzle circle parts left over from a stamp club gathering, so I used one of them here. My paper piercing got a little off at the top and bottom, but I was too lazy to re-do it...plus the Blue Bayou card stock is too new and limited to waste at this point!

By the way, I do owe UPS a huge apology, so I apologize for my little fit on my last post! *blusing in embarassment* After reading on SCS that some demos were getting their new catalogs delivered Wednesday even though the UPS website said delivery was scheduled for Thursday, I decided to take my nap on the sofa so I could listen for a UPS knock. Sure enough, I got lucky at 3:00 and my catalogs arrived a day early!! It truly was a joyous occasion!

Recipe Stamps: In the Spotlight. Card Stock: Blue Bayou, So Saffron, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White. Ink: Blue Bayou, Purely Pomegranate, So Saffron. Accessories: Crafter's Tool Kit, Dimensionals.

Cranky girl here

I know, I should be (and I am!) thrilled that this morning was the last day of school! But I am feeling very cranky because:

1) my new Stampin' Up! catalogs have been sitting in the local warehouse since last night at 9:36 pm and they aren't being delivered until Thursday! They weren't promised unti Thursday, I know, but why can't they deliver them early?! The nice UPS men in California delivered theirs early. Grrrrrr! And yes, I called UPS and told them I was coming to pick them up, and they said they would not give them to me! Grrrrrr!

2)I was rear-ended at a stoplight yesterday on the way home from school (after mailing some card swaps actually!). I feel lucky, I wasn't hurt...just a little sore in the neck and back. But I haven't been in a car accident since 1987, and the paperwork, and the insurance, and the car repair, blah, blah, blah...what a hassle!

3)When did Dallas turn into Seattle?! It rains EVERY day! I need sunshine!!

Schwooo! The rant is over now! I apologize for that!

I did get one card made yesterday, for which I can probably thank the hubby. After the accident, he wouldn't let me take a nap, so I stamped to stay awake. I've grown accustomed to a nap from 2:00 - 3:30 (or sometimes 4:00 - 6:00), so that also contributed to today's crankiness probably! lol!

Lisa from one of my stamping groups, the Sensational Swappers, put out a challenge "Where do you find inspiration?" I received the current issue of Country Home last week and immediately thought the cover would make a neat card design. So this is my attempt to make it into a card. I'm SO glad Carte Postale made it into the new catalog, because I barely got a chance to use it last winter.




Recipe Stamps: Carte Postale, Flannel, Border Backgrounds. Card Stock: Ruby Red, Kraft, Bashful Blue, Very Vanilla. Ink: Bashful Blue, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Not Quite Navy. Accessories: 1 1/4 inch Square & Circle Punch, Hodgepodge Hardware Kit.

Again, with the Christmas

Are you kidding me?! No, I'm not! I made this card shortly after I received the new Perfect Presentations set. I'm not quite sure now why the tree is red. Hmmmm. I did splurge by using the chipboard star. As Lori says, "What are you waiting for? For it to grow mold?" She's good for me! I based one of my new swaps on this card, but made it with a green tree and didn't use the red scalloped piece as it's from a discontinued Petal Cards & Tags kit.

Here's to a good Monday!

Recipe Stamps: Perfect Presentations. Card Stock: Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Petal Cards & Tags, Palette o'Prints. Ink: Real Red, Bashful Blue. Accessories: Red Gingham Ribbon, Red Button, On Board Chipboard Accents, Dimensionals, Paper Piercer.

favorite things

Well, somehow I seem to have frittered away most of this day! I still have lots to do for my Retirement Party/Customer Appreciation event tomorrow, including baking my famous sugar cookies. I just picked up Nick from the Pet Boutique...I knew he'd want to look his best for all the company tomorrow!

You'll recognize many of the photos from this "favorite things" scrapbook page from being up on my blog header. I made this a few weeks ago, a very simple one page layout. I'm looking forward to getting lots more scrapbooking done after summer school lets out on Wednesday. Whoo! Hoo! Are you getting tired of those end-of-school "whoo! hoo's!" yet?!

Recipe Stamps: Office Accoutrement, Typeset Alphabet Lower, Jenni Bowlin contraband circle. Card Stock: Mellow Moss & assorted SU Designer Series Paper. Ink: Chocolate Chip & Pixie Pink. Accessories: Vintage Brads, 1 1/4 & 1 3/8 inch Circle Punch, Amy Butler fuzzy pink letter stickers.

Good Things

Happy Friday! Here is a quick card I made with leftover parts again on my desk. The flower image was left over from this card. The dot part was another scrap, but I did wheel the Groovy Guava piece with the new Gratitude hostess wheel. I like how the copper brads (which I never use normally) work with the Groovy Guava. It's unfortunate that it looks like they'll now be discontinued, but maybe not, we'll have to wait patiently a few more days to see!

A few good things this week:

• Diet Vanilla Pepsi 12-packs, 4 for $10, and receive a free case of water at Tom Thumb
• Plumber visit only cost $55 with American Home Shield Warranty
• P'Zone is back at Pizza Hut, yummy!

Recipe Stamps: Pick a Petal, Gratitude wheel. Card Stock: Close to Cocoa, Groovy Guava, Blue Bayou, Very Vanilla, Soft Sky Designer Series Paper. Accessories: Copper Brads, Dimensionals, Martha Stewart ribbon (I need new ribbon to match new In Colors badly!).

You Make Me Happy

Yes, I'm cheating! I hadn't posted today, because I had no time to stamp anything new last night. I did, however, finish swaps for one group and get them mailed today. But I hated to miss a day of posting (can you say obsessive-compulsive disorder?), so just decided to share this card. It was the first card I made when I got my new Spring Mini sets. I love this set, You Make Me Happy. I really loved the entire Spring Mini catalog, especially the way everything worked together so nicely. I'm going to have a hard time parting with these sets, which means I may not! lol!

I'm feeling rather ecstatic today because there are now only 4 days of summer school left! Whoo! Hoo! And 2 of those days they will be testing, so those days are easy street! The week started out rough...a cursing incident and a slapping incident...but I've since incorporated contests into every activity and bribed them with prizes, so it's going great now! lol! (As I was rereading this, thought perhaps I should clarify that it was not me who was doing the slapping, or the one getting slapped for that matter!)

Hope you're having a great and slap-free week!

Recipe Stamps: You Make Me Happy. Card Stock: Old Olive, Whisper White, Barely Banana, Petals & Paisleys Designer Series Paper, & Notations Designer Series Paper. Ink: Cool Caribbean, Old Olive, Regal Rose, Rose Red, & Pretty in Pink. Accessories: Pink Grosgrain Ribbon, 1/8 inch Circle Punch, Dimensionals, Stapler.

hello

Well, I did a little stamping last night. Hard to believe, right?! This new summer schedule is really agreeing with me. I have signed up for several "new catalog swaps" with fellow demos that need to go in the mail soon. I had finished the designing part and was planning on doing the "mass producing" stamping part at my upline's house this afternoon, but a kitchen plumbing problem demanded a visit from the plumber today, between 1:00 - 4:00. Bummer!

This card is one swap possibility, using the new Pick A Petal set. The card is inspired by a scrapbook page by Robyn Werlich that I saw in a book. Her pages are amazing. She had glitter on her flower petals, which I loved, but my two-way glue pen is all used up. I may see what else I can come up with to add some sparkle.

I hope you have a great Wednesday! Wish me luck and a small bill from the plumber! lol!

Recipe Stamps: Pick a Petal, All in a Row. Card Stock: Kraft, Whisper White, Blue Bayou, & Soft Sky Designer Series Paper. Ink: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou & Certainly Celery classic ink; Real Red & Certainly Celery craft ink. Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, 1 1/4 inch Circle Punch, Double Hole Punch, Natural Hemp, Dimensionals, Black Gingham Ribbon.

CPS Sketch Challenge, revisited

The layout of this card may look familiar from this post, which I did as a practice for a sketch challenge for one of my Yahoo groups. Participants sign up, then we are assigned a partner we mail our card to. It's a fun challenge, you only make the one card, so you can give it a little more "oomph" than you would in a normal swap. It was based on this sketch from CPS. I tweaked the layout again somewhat. I did better at getting the curve at the top, but had trouble getting the arrow in, so it's squeezed in at the bottom.

If you're wondering how I got the polka dots stamped in a circle...well, I didn't the first time when I tried to "eyeball" it. lol! So on the second card, I laid one of the round, plastic containers the SU brads come in on top of the card stock and lighlty traced around it with a pencil. I stamped the dots on the pencil line, then erased the rest of the line when finished.



Movie tip: I watched a great movie, Kinky Boots, last night while stamping. Have you seen it? It's one of those British-Irish type stories like The Full Monty that makes you laugh and feel good, and it's inspired by a true story. It's not really "kinky", I highly recommend it!

Recipe Stamps: Finest Flourishes, Handle with Care, Down to Business, All in a Row, Nice & Narrow (polka dot), Designer Label Punch Box. Card Stock: Always Artichoke, Night of Navy, Blush Blossom, Close to Cocoa. Ink: Night of Navy, Always Artichoke & Close to Cocoa craft ink; Always Artichoke & Close to Cocoa classic ink. Accessories: Hodgepodge Hardware, Dimensionals & Mini Glue Dots, Clear Embossing Powder & Heat Gun.

Monday, Monday

Stayed up way too late last night, won't be good for the children this morning! lol! Eight school days left, the countdown is on. Of course, I've already been counting since day 15! Today's projects (besides division with 3rd graders): getting the plumber to fix to the clogged kitchen sink and buying dog food. Oh, the challenging days of summer!

I wasn't feeling very creative yesterday, the weather was really irritating my sinuses, so that's my excuse. I did make two cards, including this one, that took me an embarrassingly long amount of time. But perhaps you noticed my new blog header? I made it with fd's flickr toys, using the Mosaic Maker. I used it for this post, Studio Inspiration, as well. I was tired of looking at the plain header, so I just loaded some of my favorite photos/things from around the house for now. I'm still waiting for some inspiration to strike me, it could happen! Hope you have a good Monday!

Recipe Stamps: Pick a Petal, Holiday & Wishes. Card stock: Groovy Guava, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Whisper White. Ink: Groovy Guava, Blue Bayou. Accessories: Clear Button, Paper Piercer, 3/4 inch & 1 1/4 inch Square Punch (used to make the photo corners).

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the men in our lives! These are my special men: my dad, my grandpa, and my father-in-law. I've been very blessed and send them all lots of love, hugs, and kisses!



Since I forgot to take a picture of the Father's Day cards using Artifacts that I sent, I thought I would share this Artifacts card. I originally made it as a possible entry for the Artisan Award, but I didn't end up using it. Masculine cards are a real challenge for me, I guess because I'm so girly. lol! The "howdy" part raises up and inside it says "= hello in Texan". I tried to put a picture on picture so you could see inside.

I hope you have a good day and the men in your lives let you take a little time to do some stamping!

Recipe Stamps: Artifacts, Size It Up wheel, Fontastic, Typeset Alphabet Lower, Headline Alphabet, Classic Alphabet, Expressive Flexible Phrases. Cardstock: Kraft, Brocade Blue, Ruby Red, Confetti White, Chocolate Chip. Ink: Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Brocade Blue, White Ink Cartridge. Accessories: Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon, Natural Hemp, Paper Piercer, Hodgepodge Hardware, Dimensionals.

Goodness Gracious

I woke up at 4:30, couldn't go back to sleep, and decided to go ahead and get up. That's just crazy on Saturday! I don't think it's going to *stick* though (=I'll be back in bed soon). lol! I'll need my beauty rest and energy because later I'm going to look at wedding dresses with my friend Robyn who is getting married in a few short months. Oh to be young and in love again...wink!


I stamped this card last night while watching the movie Sweet Home Alabama...for the 37th time. Does anyone else do this? Reese Witherspoon is so cute and lovable, and Josh Lucas & Patrick Dempsey...how could the girl go wrong?!

Back to the card...this was for a challenge by Kristina and Erica. Click on their names to view the challenge and their blogs. They are both amazing stampers. The challenge is to use at least one of the Stampin' Up! retiring In Colors with a NEW stamp set. If you don't have a new stamp set or retiring In Colors, mix something old with something new.

The good thing about this card (and yesterday's card too) is that I'm using up lots of miscellaneous scraps and parts that have been laying around on my desk for TOO long. I know some stampers say "always clean up your desk when finished" so you're ready for a nice, clean, fresh start, and I wish I could do that. I will eventually clean up my desk when I can't stand it anymore, but I find a clean desk stifles my creativity. I don't know where to start. When I have leftover scraps, bits and pieces, stamped parts not used...it's so easy to just pick one up and start making a card out of it. So there, you have permission to leave your desk messy and see if it sparks your creativity!

Recipe Stamps: All About Gratitude jumbo wheel. Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Cool Caribbean, Marigold Morning, Notations Designer Series Paper. Ink: Cool Caribbean, Chocolate Chip. Accessories: Silver Brads, Stapler, 1 1/4 Square Punch, 3/4 inch & 1/16 inch Circle Punch.

Sketch Challenge

Happy Friday! Happy Friday! Happy Friday!

Today I challenge you! The card I made above is based on a sketch you can see here. You can *tweak* it where necessary to work for you. They have a lot of great sketches...always helpful when you're in a creative slump or feeling braindead! My tutorial to make the arrow is here. Post a comment with the link to your card, or email it to me, and I'll post it here. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Recipe Stamps: Office Accoutrement, That's Nice. Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White, Kraft, Pallete O'Prints paper, Notations Designer Series Paper. Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip. Accessories: Designer Label Punch Box, Vintage Brads, Paper Piercer, 1 1/4 inch Square Punch.

Lots of Projects

I hope everyone is having a good week! It was not the best day at school yesterday...we had a hair-cutting incident and a glue-stick incident...I'll spare you the details! But the day was saved when I was able to celebrate my friend Robert's birthday with a margarita lunch at Gloria's!

I was busy last weekend coming up with projects for some upcoming stamping events I'm holding. It's so nice to have more free time and be able to offer more events. The above projects we'll making at my Retirement Party (more details available on my Demonstrator Business website). I used some of my favorite retiring stamp sets...some that I'll definitely have trouble parting with...Mixed Bouquet, Tiny Talk, Sew Seasonal, Whimsical Alphabet...boo! hoo!


These are the two projects we'll be making at my monthly Stamp Club gathering (more details available on my Demonstrator Business website). These projects both stemmed from *kits* that I had pre-purchased from SU sooooommmmmeeee time ago...back when I was so busy and thought it would save me time to use some prepackaged kits. Well, I just came across them recently while cleaning out the stamp room, doh! With the catalog changing, I realized I need to use them. I did change the stamp sets and tweak the design a little to work with them.

Happy {for you}

No time for stamping yesterday, poor me! Don't you hate it when other things require/demand your time and attention?! lol! Thought I would share a quick card I made this last weekend before leaving for school.

This was my first attempt using the new In Color Purely Pomegranate. The color is so deep and gorgeous, but I've had a hard time deciding what to do with it. Here I stamped off (stamp once on your scratch paper before stamping on your cardstock to get a lighter shade of the ink) for the little dots behind the green flowers and added the colors Pretty in Pink and Wild Wasabi. Can I just tell you that I stamped the greeting 5 times before getting those *(&#$* brackets lined up semi-decent enough around the "for you"! And no, I did not get out the Stamp-a-Ma-Jig because I was too stubborn (lazy & stupid) apparently. By then I was so disgusted, I just added the Making Memories flower brad and some ribbon and called it done. And that's the whole sad story, lol! Have a great Tuesday!

Recipe Stamps: Pick A Petal. Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White. Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi, & Pretty in Pink. Accessories: Corner Rounder, Pink Grosgrain Ribbon, & Making Memories Flower Brad.

More Baroque Motifs

...with contraband this time...just a little of Amy Butler Sola paper. And I must confess, I just got more on Saturday night at a different Michaels: a 12x12 stack (with coupon!) and mat stack of the Belle collection. Yummy! I am so crazy about everything she does, man! My Mom just bought a bunch of her fabric at a quilt show, so maybe I'll get a new quilt out of it?! Of course, I just got a beautiful new quilt from her last year, but a girl can still be greedy, right?! I digress...

If this card looks somewhat familiar, it's because the same background piece is used on a card a few posts down! I overcooked it a bit during the embossing, so this piece was tossed aside and I redid it. But after coming back across the overcooked piece several days later, it seemed like a shame to waste it, kwim?! So yes, it is very similar!

Quick note: the July Stampin' Success (Stampin' Up! demonstrator magazine) came out today, and boy am I going to be in trouble! It was full of sneak peeks from the new Fall/Winter Catalog & Idea Book. I would give you some details, but check out the blog of this fabulous demonstrator, Belinda King, she has all the info! She is such a help to all the demos on SCS, she can answer any question or find an answer for you, under 30 seconds flat, I swear! She is amazing! Okay, that's it for now! Hope your week is off to a good start!

Recipe Stamps: Baroque Motifs. Cardstock: Blue Bayou, River Rock, Soft Sky, Naturals, Brocade Background Designer Series Paper, & Amy Butler Sola paper. Ink: Blue Bayou & Soft Sky Classic, Chocolate Chip Craft. Accessories: Ticket Corner Punch, Paper Piercer, 1 1/4 inch & 3/4 inch Square Punch, Pink Brad, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, American Crafts Brown Ribbon.

Pick a Petal <----

Well, I went to a crop last night from 6:00-midnight, and this is what I made. Hmmmm, that sounded like "my parents went on vacation and all I got was this lousy t-shirt." But seriously, how did I manage to only make one thing in 6 hours?! Was it all the talking? shopping? snacking? A combination perhaps? The important thing, however, is that I had a great time!

I'm really liking this Pick A Petal set from the upcoming Fall/Winter Catalog to be released July 1. I had this idea to stamp the petals in a half-circle around the edge of the cardstock. Then I paper-pierced (like I always do, ha! ha!) around the petals. Not bad for free-hand, huh?! I stamped the smaller flower stamp in a circle to make a big flower, but it ended up too big for the card, so I cut it in half.

My other favorite thing to do lately is make an arrow. I'm sure you've seen the arrows *everywhere*. While playing with my square punch awhile back, I figured out a way to make one, so I thought I'd share the tutorial with you. Feel free to email me if you have any questions, or if I didn't make something clear.









Recipe Stamps: Pick a Petal, Typeset Alphabet Lower. Cardstock: Groovy Guava, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Very Vanilla, Soft Sky Prints Designer Series Paper. Ink: Blue Bayou, Groovy Guava. Accessories: Paper Piercer, Copper Eyelet, 1 1/4 inch Square Punch.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

Today is my Grandpa's 87th birthday! I just talked to him on the phone, and he amazes me so much. Words can't describe what a kind man he is, truly a "good" person. My grandma, God bless her, is quite a character, so everytime something happens my Dad loves to say, "There's another diamond in Cecil's crown when he gets to heaven."

This picture was taken last Christmas with Grandpa and my cousin Caleb's new son Alex. It's four generation of Gastons, which is pretty cool. I used this picture and a few others on one of my Artisan Award scrapbook page entries. I sent a picture of the scrapbook page to Grandpa with his birthday stuff, and he loved it. Such a wonderful man.

The card I made him is simple and uses a Tim Holtz stamp by Stamper's Anonymous. It was part of a three piece set I bought at Recollections. I don't buy many non-SU stamps, mainly because I don't find as many that I like, but I really loved the old-time feel of this image. It was part of a three-piece stamp set, and the main reason I bought it was for this stamp that says: Always know in your heart that you are far bigger than anything that can happen to you. I love that quote and put it on the last page of the mini-scrapbook album I made for my students.

Recipe Stamps: Tim Holtz Memoirs, SU Happy Birthday & Size It Up wheel. Card Stock: Kraft, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, and Very Vanilla. Ink: Close to Cocoa and Blue Bayou. Accessories: 3/4 inch Square Punch and Ticket Corner Punch.

Baroque Motifs

I'm a little late posting today...I think it's due to that three hour nap I had! lol! Fortunately I had no naps yesterday so I was able to make a few cards, including this one using the new Baroque Motifs set and matching paper. This is "fancier" than my usual, simple style, so it took me awhile (forever!). The set really is beautiful, though. The swirly background image reminds me of an upscale, more refined version of Doodle This.

I stamped the background piece and the flower pieces on River Rock card stock with chocolate chip craft ink, then embossed it with clear embossing powder. I wish the scan showed it better, but it looks so shiny and smooth, really pretty. The coverage with the craft ink was wonderful. Sometimes it's impossible to get good coverage using the classic inks on the colored card stock, so I'm glad I invested in the craft spots, totally worth the money. This paper pack is beautiful too, I think you're really going to like it.

Here's to a great weekend filled with stamping! I'm going to a crop Saturday night, inky fingers here I come!

Recipe Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Sincere Salutations. Card Stock: Chocolate Chip, River Rock, Old Olive, Brocade Background Designer Series Paper. Ink: Chocolate Chip Craft. Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Ticket Corner Punch, Organdy Ribbon, Ice Rhinestone Circle Brads, 3/4 inch Circle Punch, Paper Piercer, Dimensionals.

One more snowman...

This is the last Christmas card for awhile, I promise! I did cut out my other stamps yesterday, but I still reached for the snowman when it came time to put ink to paper. I decided to use the Not Quite Navy and Soft Sky on this card, but it was looking a little too plain (even dh agreed). The polka dot scrap was nearby so I tried it on a lark, and I really liked it! I've never put Lavendar Lace with Not Quite Navy before. I was feeling really proud of myself for finding a great new color combo and decided to look at the SU Color Coach to see if they ever thought of it. Sure enough, it was there. Doh! Note to self: check that Color Coach more often!

The good news, I started on a card when I got home from school today using the Baroque set. Then the phone rang, I answered it, and since the phone is setting right by the computer...you know how that goes...you can easily get sucked away! I'm heading back to finish it now...as long as the phone doesn't ring, or I don't get any emails or pms, or I don't get hungry...lol!

Recipe Stamps: Perfect Presentations. Card Stock: Not Quite Navy, Lavendar Lace, Whisper White, Soft Sky, Palette O'Prints. Ink: Not Quite Navy. Accessories: Prep School Ribbon, Ice Rhinestone Circle Brads, 3/4 inch Circle Punch.

More Christmas in June

I promise I'll cut out some of my other new stamp sets today, but last night I couldn't stop using the new Perfect Presentations Level 2 hostess set! I should have made more than three cards, but I *accidentally* took a 2 1/2 hour nap which seriously cut into my stamping time! These two are pretty simple and easy to reproduce. I will share that I have been inspired to use my All in a Row set (which I've had for 9 months and barely used!) by Beate. She's been using it on her cards lately, and it has really inspired me, so thanks, Beate!

Hope everyone has a Merry Wednesday!

Recipe Stamps: Perfect Presentations, All in a Row. Card Stock: Wild Wasabi, Regal Rose, Whisper White, Basic Black, & Palette o'Prints paper. Ink: Wild Wasabi, Regal Rose, & Basic Black. Accessories: Black Brads, Black Gingham, Ticket Corner Punch, & Ice Circle Rhinestone Brads.

Recipe Stamps: Perfect Presentations. Card Stock: Ballet Blue, Real Red, Whisper White. Ink: Ballet Blue, Real Red. Accessories: Red Gingham Ribbon, 1/16 inch Circle Punch.

Perfect Presentations!

Yes, I realize this is my third post today (yikes!), but I had to share my first pre-order card! I LOVE everything Christmas, so I had to choose this Perfect Presentations Level 2 Hostess set as the one I could pre-order. It was hard, because the Level 2 sets this year are WAY cute! This little snowman makes me so happy! I need to go stamp more. Are my lessons ready for teaching tomorrow? No. Will I be finishing them at midnight? Probably. Will I be grouchy tomorrow morning? Definitely. As my dh says, "Those poor, poor children. Think of the children." But how can I when I have priority stamping to be done?!

Recipe Stamps: Perfect Presentations & All in a Row. Card Stock: Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Baroque Burgundy, Whisper White, & Soft Sky Prints Designer Series Paper. Ink: Soft Sky & White Staz-On. Accessories: Prep School Ribbon, Hodgepodge Hardware, Paper Piercer, 1/16 inch Circle Punch, Half-Slit Punch.

Awwwww, yeah....

Okay, I was too excited! I had to come right back and share the picture of my new goodies! Here are the names and descriptions for inquiring minds: new In Colors (left-to-right: Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi, Blue Bayou, Groovy Guava, River Rock, Soft Sky), Ice Rhinestone Circle Brads, Pick A Petal stamp set & matching chipboard, Baroque Motifs stamp set & matching 12x12 double-sided designer series paper, Holidays & Wishes stamp set, Soft Sky 12x12 double-sided designer series paper, Perfect Presentation Level 2 hostess stamp set, and All Occasions Level 3 hostess bundle set (2 wheels & stamp set). It's toooooo good!

Organizing & Updating

I decided last night I better start going through my stamp sets to make room for new catalog acquisitions. Let's face it, we know there's going to be some! lol! Last year I was so busy (apparently) when the retired list came out, that I just pulled out some sets I was getting rid of, kept the ones I wanted, and didn't really mark or organize anything. After the massive amount of sets that I have retiring this year, I decided I'd better go through them all. Hmmmm, it's not pretty! Look at all those pink retiring stickers from this year! I still need to go through and decide what I *must* keep and what I should try to sell.

The first picture is the main storage inside my studio closet. The next two pictures are from a smaller white cabinet next to my desk where I keep my *newest* stamps and backgrounds. I should say, they are all close to my desk. The closet is right behind the desk, so just wheel around and grab, no need to get up! The only thing I have to get up for lately is my punches, and I need to remedy that!

Yeehaw! The UPS man just arrived with my new catalog pre-order goodies, so I'm off to get started! Will be back soon with new samples to share!

SCS Challenge Card

I hope everyone is having a good Monday! School wasn't as bad as I was dreading today! This was my 5th day with the students. It feels really strange getting to know this "new crop" of kids (although 4 of "my kids" are in one of the classes). I was just so attached to my kids from this last year, it feels really strange having them replaced. I'm not sure if it will always be this way, or if it's just because it was my first year and my first kids, but I am really missing them! I was so used to getting hugs and love, and this class just stares at me and asks things like "Why is your name Tieman?" and "Why do you always wear black and white?" ha! ha!

The good news, however, is that I did make one card and four, yes four!, scrapbook pages yesterday! I posted one page Sunday, and I also finished a 2-page spread from our zoo trip with our nephews Jackson & Noah, and a 1-page layout showing some of my favorite things to do. I'll try to take pictures of those pages and post as soon as I can. My scanner doesn't do 12x12, I don't know how to "stitch" the layouts, and it's so dark and cloudy every, single day that I can't get a good photograph! I need some photography help, that's for sure.

This card is for the SCS Challenge FS17. If you're new to their challenges, this stands for the Featured Stamper challenge. This week the FS is stamps4funinCa. You pick one of the cards in her gallery, then make it with your take on it, and post it in the gallery (click on the link for exact instructions). They have all kinds of challenges over at Splitcoast, and I highly recommend checking them out. I've done three recently, and they really help give you that kick in the pants to get started!

I don't think I'll need that kick in the pants tomorrow, however, because my new Fall/Winter Preview Catalog pre-order is arriving!!! Awwww, yeahhhhh! Do you know how long it's been since I've had my hands on some new rubber?!! I may post a picture of all my goodies on Tuesday, but I'm afraid that it may be a little incriminating if I do! 20 hours to go......can I make it....

Wasted Days & Wasted Nights

That was me yesterday. Okay, not in the same sense as the original Freddy Fender song, but in the sense that I was a big lump yesterday and did nothing. Sigh. So I was determined to start off Sunday with some "producing."

After reading about the Lost Idol Challenge on Erica's blog, I decided to give it a go. She made the most gorgeous wedding layout, be sure and check it out. All you have to do is create a scrapbook page based on another person's layout you've seen, then post your layout and the link to your original inspiration layout. I think this may become my new form of scrapbooking, because it was much quicker and easier than my usual five+ hour, agonizing, labor-intensive, hyper-critical scrapbooking process!

I chose this layout by celeste as my inspiration. She has a very neat, clean style I love. I have been wanting to scrap this picture of dh and his mom for some time now. I love how their expressions are identical. You can definitely see what cloth he is cut from here. I like the proportions of her layout better; my layout is 12x12 and even though the photo is 5x7, it still didn't layout as nicely. But I'm still happy because I actually finished a layout, and in less than an hour to boot! Okay, don't waste your day and night like I did, go try this challenge!