Kazan's Sketch #25: U rock

Happy Wednesday! Hope your week is going well! I was pooped after work yesterday and took a two hour nap, yikes! That gave me energy to stay up late working on a card for Kazan's Sketch #25 over at 2 Sketches 4 You! (I think I create a bad cycle for myself, what do you think?! lol!)



I started out wanting to use the precious "umbrella" die cut from Sassafrass, so everything kind of grew from there. I tried to draw a freehand star for this sketch and that did NOT work out too well! I found some empty spots in chipboard sheets where stars USED to be, but I had used them all, so then I had the idea to cut around one of the empty spots and make a skinny star outline. Threw in some other random stuff, and voila! I find myself needing "teacher" cards frequently, so this should come in handy, especially as the end of the year approaches! Yay!


This angle shows the star a little better:




Okay, off to administer a 3rd grade TAKS reading retest. They survived the math test yesterday, so now we just wait patiently for the results, sigh, and try to keep the students engaged and occupied and learning for the rest of they year, of course! lol!


Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!


Recipe
Cardstock: SU Yo Yo Yellow, Sweet Slumber Specialty DSP, retired floral DSP.
Accessories: Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Linen Thread, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Corner Rounder, retired chipboard, Dimensionals, Sassafrass Lass Paper Whimsies die cut, Autumn Leave button, Thickers, Janome Sew Mini.

Oval All Thank You

Happy Tuesday! Hope your week is off to a great start! I had a question in the comments from Nicole (Hi, Nicole!) about the Texturz plate and the Big Shot, so I thought I'd show you some pictures of how I do it. I used our Stamp Club challenge materials for March to make this card. (Although when the girls came Monday night with their challenge cards...see below...they pointed out I had not used the pink flower and white grommet thing I gave them...oops, I forgot I had given it to them...so officially they said I cheated! Doh!)


When using the Texturz plate, the first thing I do is put the score line of the card into the top line of the Texturz plate.


Next, make sure you roll it through the Big Shot with that score line/top part first. When I tried rolling it through the other direction, it slipped more.


Lastly, I was feeling good about these tips, but last night at my second stamp club gathering, it started slipping again! ugh! So while experimenting, I found it worked to make sure you flip that top black piece everytime you run it through. It was starting to get warped a little bit (like the clear cutter pads do too), so after we started flipping it each time, it worked perfectly again! Hope that helps y'all!

Okay, now for some super cute cards from some Stamp Club girls! (Quite a few cards are missing here...hmmmm, maybe I should start making them fill out a homework excuse record like my students?! hee! hee!)

Here is Beverly's card, I love, love, love everything about this card!


Here is Lori's card, in all its cuteness too! I love how she added the So Saffron patterned paper, what a sweet combination!



Here is Tracy's card, totally love the wavy border edge and the darling button in the center of the flower! Doesn't the vintage, coffee-drinking lady stamp look great on pink too?!


Okay, that's it for now! I'm off to administer the 3rd grade Math Taks test! Ack! Wish those little darlings throughout Texas good luck today! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Recipe
Stamps: Oval All
Cardstock: Basic Gray, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Basic Gray Patterns Hostess Level 1 Pack.
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Going Gray marker.
Accessories: Scallop Oval Punch, Oval Punch, Pretties Flower, Big Shot, Background 1 Texturz, Glue Dots, Dimensionals, Janome Sew Mini.

Stamp Club Project #2

Happy Monday! Thought I'd show the other Stamp Club project for this month...a little treat holder made with the Big Shot Matchbox Die from the new SU Spring Occasions Mini Catalog. Isn't it precious?! I can say that because I copied it directly from Stampin' Up! lol! Here is their sample, photographed much better, sigh:

DH was in charge of getting candy at the grocery store, but he couldn't find any *pastel* colored candy like I had requested...imagine him calling me and describing the various colors of different kinds of candies...in the end, we decided on Skittles! Because they are so bright, I changed the ribbon to Tangerine Tango. I'm crazy about unfinished, aka raw, chipboard lately, but maybe I should let them cover theirs with patterned paper if they want.


One more thing, have you heard of the Inspirational blog? My friend Anthonette contacted me about featuring my blog on there, how nice was that?! You can check it out here! Be sure and check out the whole blog, I found a bunch of great new blogs and paper artists!


Okay, hope your Monday is super duper spectacular! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!


Recipe
Stamps: Sweet Little Sentiments Hostess Level 1.
Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss Textured, Whisper White
Ink: Staz-On Brown.
Accessories: Tangerine Tango 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Linen Thread, 1/16" Punch, Chipboard Heart, Transparency, Curly Label Punch, Big Shot, Matchbox Bigz XL Die.

Stamp Club Projects

Hmmmm, does this look familiar? I was trying to come up with projects for Stamp Club while dealing with an exploding head yesterday, and then thought, why reinvent the wheel, right? lol! So I took the gift card holder card from my last post and just changed it up using supplies that I had enough of for all the club members. I like this version too, mainly because I get in a rut of always stamping my main image on white, so this made for a nice change I thought.



While preparing for club, I also realized I had never shown the challenge cards from my stamp club members from February! The supplies were distributed while we were on our scrapbooking retreat, and not everyone was there, plus there was some confusion (a lot of tequila was involved, so I'm not sure everyone got their materials), but these are the cards that I got back from some members! lol!



We started with a Baja Breeze card, a pink ribbon, a jumbo flower brad, and a sketch. Here's mine, with the addition of a Big Shot cupcake and Pink Pirouette patterned paper (which really doesn't match the Pretty in Pink ribbon, remember, I said there was tequila involved):




Here is Beverly's card, I love the scallop oval and how it looks like an egg to go with her Easter sentiment:


Here is Margaret's, I love the pink she added with that beautiful sentiment die cut piece:



Here is Michelva's, I love how she used the little oval slit punch to add her ribbon:


Okay, that's it for now, hope you have a wonderful Sunday! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!


p.s. Elena, if you're reading, you left a comment a few days ago with some questions about my school and the RTI program, but I didn't have your email to respond back! Email me at schwooo at gmail.com! Thanks!

Friends 24-7 Happy Mother's Day

Happy Friday! Hope you've had a good week! I'm sure glad it's Friday, how about you?! didn't have time to stamp the last couple of nights, so thought I'd share the other Mother's Day card I made recently for my mother-in-law. I really am blessed with the best mother-in-law ever, so I wanted her card to be special.


I designed it with a *belly band* type of thing to go around the outside, because after I added the texture to the front of the card, I thought it was just too pretty to cover up completely. I used the Big Shot and the Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plate. Here's a pic:


The inside is designed to hold a gift card. It will slip in under the plaid part.

Lastly, here's a pic to show how the *belly band* part works. It just overlaps and is fastened shut with sticky strip.

Let me know if you have any specific questions! I'm running a wee bit late, so will come back later tonight and add the recipe.


Thank you soooo much for all of your nice comments and thoughts about my teaching question for next year that I posted below! I really appreciate it and enjoyed hearing what you thought! I'm always so amazed at how much people appreciate teachers, I guess I never realized since I don't have children of my own. So thank you for that! I talked to the administration yesterday and made it official that I do want to teach 2nd grade next year! They are wonderful and were supportive of whatever I decided, although they did try to *persuade* me for 3rd grade math, lol! That's my second choice, but it looks like 2nd grade will work out, so yay!


Okay, have a great Friday! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Laura's Sketch #24: mom!

Happy Wednesday! Hope everyone is having a great week! So far so good here...the kids are working hard and I'm loving them to death!

I worked on a couple of cards for Mother's Day, and since I know my mom doesn't check my blog (much? ever? they have dial-up, I don't blame her! lol!), I can go ahead and share this one. I used Laura's Sketch #24 from over at 2 Sketches 4 You. I didn't get to do their sketch last week and that bummed me out!



The card started with some scraps of paper and a chipboard flower on my desk, then I decided on the crisp white background with added texture from the Cuttlebug Swiss Dot folder, and then some Thickers. I needed an accent color and started digging through my ribbon and found this very old black and white stripe (I *think* it's Lil Davis from when Jenni Bowlin designed for them), which then prompted me to remember some very old Heidi Swapp black and white journaling notes...and miracle of miracles, I actually found them! lol! That's it, it all fell together then! Oh, the white circle has rub-ons from the SU Summer Love Rub-Ons from the Occasions Mini Catalog.


So I'm trying to decide what to do next year with my teaching...stay with the RTI (Response to Intervention) helping struggling students in small groups or go back into the classroom as a regular teacher? I'm really feeling pulled in the second grade direction, even though I used to teach 3rd grade. Any thoughts?! There are advantages and disadvantages to both, of course. Our administration did share exciting plans about new facilities for us next year, it will be so awesome for our students and teachers!

Okay, better dash! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your love! Y'all are the best! Hugs and happy stamping!

(p.s. I went ahead and scheduled this to post at 4 a.m. since Amy is probably already up...let's see if she's reading blog posts this early! hee! hee!)

Recipe
Cardstock: Cameo Coral, Whisper White, Basic Black, Pink Flamingo & Urban Garden DSP.
Accessories: Summer Love Rub-Ons, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Black Brads, Sanding Block, chipboard flower from On Board Loads of Letters, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Lil Davis ribbon (?), Heidi Swapp journaling notes, Thickers letters, Cuttlebug and Swiss Dots embossing folder.

Clean & Simple FTL #38: Friends 24-7

Happy Tuesday! Hope everyone had a good Monday! I came home and scored and assembled 70 little books of 3rd grade math problems, and that seriously cut into my stamping time! lol! So I stayed up way too late, of course, because I really *had* to stamp something. You've been there, right?!



So I turned to the Clean and Simple blog for the Fall to Layout #38, it's a great sketch! In my mind it was going to be very sharp and clean and contemporary, but then I found that blue plaid Sassafrass scrap laying on my desk, then I remembered I hadn't used some yummy new Maya Road pom pom trim I bought at The Crafty Scrapper, etc....so before you knew it, I was going in a totally different direction! It's not quite as *clean and simple* as I was hoping for, but it sufficed for the evening!



And I didn't get any stamping done Sunday night because after cleaning the house I remembered I had to cut out 250+ little laminated cards of math problems! Ugh! At least I had the Amazing Race and some movies to watch on the DVR while I did it! I'll be so glad after the TAKs testing is over next week! By the way, I tried to fool the kids with these problems on brightly colored laminated cardstock, it only worked for about 2 minutes! hee! hee! I had to throw in a prize incentive too!


Have a great Tuesday! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!


Recipe
Stamps: Friends 24-7
Cardstock: Kraft, Not Quite Navy, Very Vanilla, Sassafrass Lass patterned paper.
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Chocolate Chip.
Accessories: Latte Button, Linen Thread, Dimensionals, Cutter Tool Kit, Maya Road Pom Pom Trim.

Moxie Fab World Wood Grain & CPS 112 Challenge

Happy Sunday! Hope you're having a great weekend! I did a lot of resting yesterday, felt great! I kind of decided at the last minute to enter the SU Artisan Award contest, so I about killed myself sleeping 4 hours a night, got sick on Tuesday and still trying to recover, but I finished! Schwooo! I think I've mentioned before that I can't seem to work unless there's a super tight deadline on me! lol! I overnighted the box Thursday and it arrived Friday morning, so now the waiting begins! lol! One good sign...when I took my box to FedEx to ship it, the same man was there that shipped my box for me when I won two years ago! He's a very memorable character and we had a long talk (both years!), so that is surely a good sign, right?! hee! hee!


Anyway, on to the card for today! I *should* be working on Stamp Club projects for this week, but I decided to make this card to get my creativity flowing! It's for the Moxie World Wood Challenge (they have GREAT prizes, so enter!) and I used the CPS 112 Sketch, it's very different this week so I thought I'd give it a try. Luckily, I had bought some fabulous wood grain paper from Pink Paislee while visiting The Crafty Scrapper for my friend's baby shower. It seemed to go perfect with my Sassafrass Lass stuff, and since I had actually been using it, I thought I'd finish using up the last few pieces. Yay me! As I put on the green Thickers, though, I couldn't help wondering how many "hi" cards I could possibly need! I seem to fall back on that a lot! lol!



Okay, I better get busy with some stamp club projects...and some laundry! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!



Recipe
Cardstock: SU Chocolate Chip, Sassafrass Lass patterned paper.
Accessories: SU Chocolate Chip ribbon & Linen Thread, Bo Bunny button, Thickers green letters, Sassafrass Lass chipboard stickers, Janome Sew Mini.

Forest Friends, again!

Happy Friday! Sorry I've dropped off the face of the planet this last week! I'm running late already this morning, but wanted to share a quick card! I still love this little bunny from Forest Friends! The polka dot Texturz Plate with the Big Shot also makes a cool background!

Can't wait for tonight and this weekend! Sleep and catching up on all of your blogs...300+ Google Reader posts! Fun, fun, fun! What do you have planned?!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Laura's Sketch #23: Good Friend

Happy Thursday! Hope your week is going well! After a little nap (2 1/2 hours!) and watching American Idol and Make Me a Super Model, I decided to try a card for Laura's Sketch #23. It's a great sketch and it came together very easily. Thanks, Laura!


The color inspiration came from this shower curtain over at cb2. Have you ever shopped there? My sister-in-law chose some items from there for Christmas, so now I receive their catalog. They have some cool stuff and very strong color combinations, great for inspiration!


The bird is from the Good Friend stamp set, which I haven't used much, so it was time. He was stamped in Versamark, then embossed with White Embossing Powder. The sentiment was done the same way. The flowers are Prima, more of the blog candy stash I received from Chloe awhile back, thanks again! If you have any other questions, let me know!


Okay, off to a long day. I've been tutoring math kids at 7 a.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. I always arrive to work by 7, but usually it's my time to prepare myself and my materials, drink my coffee, etc. before facing the children! lol!


Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!


Recipe
Stamps: Good Friend.
Cardstock: Going Gray, Basic Gray, Good Morning Sunshine & Pink Flamingo DSP.
Ink: Versamark.
Accessories: White Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Scallop Edge Punch, Kiwi Kiss 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Basic Gray Corduroy Brad, White 5/16" Brad, Horizontal Slot Punch, Corner Rounder, Dimensionals, Glue Dot, Prima Flowers.

Raspberry Suite Challenge #3

Happy Tuesday! Here's a little card I made for Dawn McVey's Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #3. These colors were a little more challenging, and I probably went a little heavy on the red, but I used Kraft for the base, Red Riding Hood and Cameo Coral floral paper from the Pink Flamingo DSP, Pink Pirouette on the little tag label, and there's a tiny bit of Vanilla around the edge of the bird!


I used more of my Sassafrass Lass chipboard animals...they're almost all gone now and I've only cut into one sheet of the paper that matches them! lol! Oh well, at least I *used* something instead of hoarding it all, right?! I started to put an Easter greeting on this, but decided it would be sweet for a baby girl card for who knows, sometime in the future!


Warning: NSR! Since some of you mentioned liking my school stories, here's my favorite one from last week. I was finishing up in the 2nd grade classroom, and the teacher Ms. K had started reading a book to the kids, Miss Rumphius. She started (like all good readers do) reading the title, looking at the cover and pictures, and making predictions as to what the book may be about.


Ms. K: What do you think this book might be about?

Boy 1: George Washington?

Ms. K: Hmmm, I don't think so because George Washington was a man, and this is a woman. Someone else?

Boy 2: Abraham Lincoln?

Ms. K: Hmmmm, again, I don't think so because Abraham Lincoln was a man, and this is a woman. Someone else?

Girl 1: Oh, I know! Mrs. George Washington?


At this point, it was all I could do not to start laughing! Apparently they have been studying the presidents! The next girl finally made a good guess "Maybe a woman and her garden?" Yaaay! lol!


Okay, off to school! These children are our future, you know! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!


Recipe
Stamps: Holidays & Wishes, Matchbox Greetings.
Cardstock: Kraft, Pink Pirouette, Pink Flamingo DSP.
Ink: Staz-On Brown.
Accessories: Eyelet Border Punch, Regal Rose 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Corner Rounder, Glue Dots, Dimensionals, Big Shot, Matchbox Bigz XL Die, Vintage Brads, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Sassafrass Lass Chipboard animals.

200K Blog Candy Winner!

Thank you all again for visiting my blog and for all of your super nice comments! I wish I had enough blog candy for all of you!

The winner is:

Kelli said...

Congrats on the milestone!

April 5, 2009 12:00 PM

Congratulations, Kelli! Email me your mailing information and I'll get your goodies mailed out to you!

Thanks for playing everyone! Hugs and happy stamping!

Kristina Color Inspiration #48

Happy Sunday! I'm moving slow today (aka lazy!), but I did make this little card for Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration #48. I love these yummy colors! Here's a second photo of the card, I couldn't decide which angle I liked best! lol!


Hope you're having a great weekend! I had a great time at a scrapbooking baby shower for a teacher friend of mine last night. We all made two-page layouts for her baby album, then had yummy pizza and cake and watched her open her presents! Some speedy scrappers (not me!) even got more pages done for her! If you're thinking of throwing a shower, I highly recommend this kind, even never before scrappers were getting into it! We held it at a scrapbooking store so there were lots of supplies, and I brought stuff from home too, so no one felt like they had to buy stuff, but most of them did, ummmmm, including me! It was great fun!

Blog Candy Alert
Don't forget to enter for my blog candy
on the post below, right here!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Recipe Carstock: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Good Morning Sunshine DSP. Accessories: Baja Breeze Felt Flower and 1" Double-Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch, 5/16" White Brad, Dimensionals, Thickers Giggle Letters, Thickers Darling Accents, Cuttlebug & Swiss Dots Embossing Folder.

200K Blog Candy Time!

Happy Saturday! As I mentioned earlier this week, I hit 200,000 hits on Wednesday, so it's time to celebrate with some Blog Candy! Since spring is upon us, it seemed appropriate to go with a spring theme!



Please leave a comment on this post, and I'll draw a winner on Tuesday morning at 5:30! (That gives people a chance if they are out of town for the weekend!)


Thank you so much for visiting my blog! I've made so many friends and I get so many great ideas and inspiration from you too, I really appreciate it!


Hugs and happy stamping!

Kazan's Sketch #23: Polka Dot Punches

Happy Friday! Yay! Note to self: Make a list and get some things accomplished this weekend! Okay, now on to the card...


I learned today that my friend and upline's mother is in the hospital, so I set off with a purpose to my stamping and got a chance to use the fabulous Laura's Sketch #23 over at 2 Sketches 4 You. I made that pink glittery bird a few weeks ago, but didn't use him so he's been laying around on my desk. I thought "pink glittery bird = cheerful" and went with that! lol!


I stamped the Polka Dot Punches in Pink Passion on the white cardstock, but it was really too plain. I wanted to add some more color without overwhelming it, so I broke out a jumbo wheel (ummm, it's been awhile for those!) and rolled it in Certainly Celery. I realized when I was done I stamped the sentiment on Gable Green instead of Certainly Celery, but it seemed to blend okay. The precious Prima turquoise flowers are from this blog candy that I received from the super sweet Chloe. Thanks, Chloe, they really helped make the card!


Okay, that's it for now. Hope you have a great Friday! Hugs and happy stamping!


Recipe
Stamps: Polka Dot Punches, Trendy Trees, retired jumbo wheel.
Cardstock: Pink Passion, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Gable Green, Pink Flamingo DSP.
Ink: Pink Passion, Certainly Celery, Versamark.
Accessories: Corner Rounder, Scallop Edge Punch, Word Window Punch, Certainly Celery SAB Twill Tape, So Tweet Chipboard, Heat and Stick Powder, Heat Tool, retired glitter, Filigree Designer Brad, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Prima Flowers, Foo Fa La Button.

Polka Dot Punches Double Stationery Pouch

Happy Thursday! What a week! I haven't done a lot of stamping (sigh), but I do have the March Stamp Club projects we did last weekend. I found this adorable little stationery pouch holder here on Lisa Brown's blog, ink and inspirations. Thanks, Lisa! She linked to the creator with a tutorial here at the elissa creates blog. Thanks, Elissa! Y'all were life savers for me this month! Here is a side view:




The card that we made to go inside was copied (yes, I was a big old copycat last month! hee! hee!) from a project class by Monika Davis that she submitted to Stampin' Up! for ideas for demonstrators to use. Her project was a winner, you can check it out here. Thanks, Monika!




Here are some alternate versions my friends made:




Okay, off to school, trying to hang on until Friday! lol! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!



p.s. I noticed yesterday I hit the 200,000 hits mark, so check back Saturday for some Celebration Blog Candy! I remember reading when people like Beate were passing 200,000 hits (a couple of years ago!) and I thought it would never happen to me, so thanks so much for coming to visit!