A Little Dry Embossing

Hi guys! How was your weekend? Is it just me, or did it go by way too quickly?! I think this is the first time I've sat down all weekend, and am I ready for school tomorrow? No! Yikes! On the bright side, Spirit Week starts tomorrow and I get to wear pajamas...awwwww, yeah!

I had a great time with the Stamp Club girls today. We moved up our 4th Sunday gathering today, since next weekend is Memorial Weekend, plus Robyn is getting married next Sunday! (Yes, we survived the Bachelorette Party last night!). Now the big question...do I leave the Stamp Club mess out on the dining room table until next Wednesday the 28th?! Hmmm, yes, I probably do!

Last month I ordered the Pick a Petal Classy Brass template so I could demonstrate dry embossing for stamp club sometime. The above card, Bashful Blue-my favorite, is an attempt at using it. Is it just me, or is it tough coming up with projects using this? Hopefully it's just me, so if you have any good projects using this template or have seen some, please post a link in the comments, I'd love to see them. I've got a pile of rejects you wouldn't believe!

Okay, nighty night! Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe Stamps: Enjoy Every Moment. Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Hostess Pad Prints DSP, Summer Picnic DSP. Ink: Real Red. Accessories: White Flower Rub-On, Apricot Appeal Button, Chipboard Heart, Scallop Punch, Key Tag Punch, Real Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Pick a Petal Classy Brass Embossing Template, Light Table, Stylus, Dimensionals.

May Stamp Club & a RAK!

Yes, I'm still alive! Crazy busy with end of year school stuff and other life stuff, plus rainy, overcast weather has made it impossible to get good pictures lately (no, still never ordered that light tent, doh!). Thought I would share really quickly one of the May Stamp Club projects so the girls can see it, still working on the other project! *wink* This one is a cute little box based on a template/project from the SU demonstrator website. I was trying to incorporate some chipboard, since it's on special this month!

But for the exciting part...I received an awesome RAK from my online friend Donna Baker over at Serenity in Stamping! What a sweetheart she is! Thank you so much, you have no idea how you made my day! The card is precious, the flowers are TOO much, and the necklace is the BEST! I noticed this necklace she made and left her a smarty comment about sending the necklace to me...and it worked! hee! hee! Well, close enough, she made another *special* one just for me! I'm the luckiest girl!




Okay, signing off...I think I would go to bed right now if it wasn't for the American Idol results show! This is the first year we've really watched and participated in it (go David Cook!), but we're fast becoming reality tv junkies. We've always been Survivor junkies, then we started on The Amazing Race two years ago. But last night dh went too far...here's how the conversation goes:

DH: "Hey, you wanna watch Beauty and the Geek?"
Me: "No, that's a little too close to real life for me."

Hee! Hee! Got him good there! Thanks for stopping by!

Box Recipe Stamps: Circle of Friends. Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Real Red, Whisper White, East Coast Prep DSP. Ink: Real Red, Tempting Turquoise. Accessories: On Board Simon Chipboard Upper, Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Paper Piercer & Mat Pack, Stapler, Sticky Strip, 1 3/8", 1", and 1/2" Circle Punch, Pick a Petal Classy Brass Template (for circle piercing), Sanding Block, Crop-a-Dile.

Mark the Date

Happy Saturday! Moving slowly around here today, how about you? Went out early for coffee and Claritin D and finally shook off an 18 hour headache, thanks to the weather, I think. Trying to come up with some projects for stamp club this month, no luck yet, but did make a few cards.

I started out wanting to use the large chipboard star and decided to break out the Mark the Date set...you know, one of those sets I had to have last year on the new catalog pre-order that I think I've used once before! Doh! It did make me realize I still need to get the Full Calendar set to go with it, because I wasn't able to add a month to the top of it. So if your birthday falls on a Monday this year, you may be getting this card! lol!

I was trying to go to a crop tonight with friends but couldn't get around to it. I finished my lesson plans for next week, but still have to go to school tomorrow to prepare (dh said he would go with me for 2 hours max, what a sweetie!), plus grade a HUGE stack of papers...4 more weeks, 4 more weeks, 4 more weeks!

Hope your weekend is going well and you have a lovely Mother's Day tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe Stamps: Mark the Date, It's All Good. Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White, East Coast Prep DSP. Ink: Real Red, Craft White. Accessories: Wild Wasabi Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Crop-a-Dile, 3/4" Circle Punch, On Board Simon Upper Chipboard Star, Dimensionals.

Amy Butler "mom"

Happy Friday! Hooray! I ran out of time to stamp Thursday (trying to procure a hotel room for Convention, yikes!), so I'm sharing my mom's Mother's Day card...I don't think she has time to read my blog, so hopefully I'm safe! She's supposed to be retired, but she quilts for people and works now more than ever. Which leads me to the card, since she's the one who introduced me to Amy Butler...

It seemed fitting to use my new Amy Butler supplies to make her card. I love Amy's new line, it even has fabric swatches, which is what the gray strip on the card is. The card base & ink are SU Basic Gray, the rest of the paper is Amy Butler, the stitched border stamp around the edge is Tim Holtz, and the buttons are Foo-fa-La. Don't you love those chipboard letters with the faux stitching around them?! Hope Mom likes the card, and when I go back to Missouri for my visit after school is out, I am coming back to Texas with a new Amy Butler purse (just in case Mom is reading this!).

Hope you have a great Friday! Thanks again for stopping by and leaving your super nice comments, you always make my day!

Recipe Stamps: Tim Holtz. Cardstock: SU Basic Gray, Amy Butler from K & Company. Ink: Basic Gray. Accessories: Amy Butler from K & Company chipboard & fabric swatch, Foo-fa-La buttons.

Wednesday Dig It Out and Use It Up #4

Yes, here is another installment of the "Dig It Out and Use It Up!" challenge!! Thank you to everyone (Tara!) for playing last week! lol! Doesn't it feel good to use that stuff up?! I sure felt good using up the 3 little scraps of paper seen here! hahahahaha!

I made this card last week after making my students' desk nameplates. I had a lot of leftover scraps, so it seemed like the perfect time use them. Then I showed the card to dh...and thus began the debate on whether or not to post this card at all. This is how the conversation went:

me: "How do you like this card?"

DH: (silence, staring, more silence)

me: "It's made from a lot of leftover parts. I was trying to make it not so matchy, but fun and different, you know, unexpected."

DH: "Oh, it's unexpected alright."

Hmmm, maybe that's how Dr. Frankenstein felt from the responses he got when he started messing around with leftover parts. Actually, it cracked me up and I laughed and laughed and laughed. (Side note: for you single people out there, I highly recommend you find that person who makes you laugh...I'm not sure how else you could manage to spend over two decades with a person!)

Hope you had a great Wednesday! We're on the downhill slide now, uh-huh, uh-huh, awww, yea! Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe Stamps: Always (heart and bird); Tim Holtz (stitches). Cardstock: Kraft, Ruby Red, Ginger Blossom DSP, other misc paper; Ink: Chocolate Chip craft, Versamark. Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder (bird); Heat & Stick Powder, Embossing Gun, Three for You Flower Punch, Scallop Punch, Chocolate Chip Poly Twill Ribbon, Crystal Iris Chunky Sprinkles Glitter, Vintage Brad, Dimensionals.

Friendly Flowers for Mother's Day

Happy Tuesday! I'm running a wee bit late today! lol! I started this card last evening and worked on it until 1:30...getting nowhere! Argh! And why on earth do I think I can stay up until 1:30 just because I'm going to a reading workshop instead of school?! Crazy! I seem to be slipping into summer mode (aka staying up all night) and that can't happen yet!

I got the idea for the background piece of this card at the Arlington Shoebox Swap last Saturday. I wish I could remember whose card it was, but she had prestamped a whole sheet of the circle flower from the Priceless set on a Soft Sky piece of cardstock. We had to cut the flowers out, so she was helping us to save time by prestamping. Anyway, the sheet of stamped circles looked so cute, I knew I had to try it. I started playing and stamped the circle 3 times across the top, and miraculously, it was pretty close to straight! That's when I decided I'd better get the Stamp-a-ma-Jig out to finish it! lol! I knew the fluke wouldn't last! Oh, and the color inspiration...

I saw this great picture of Osborne & Little wallpaper on the Oh Joy! blog. She has such trendy, inspiring pictures, go check them out. I used Old Olive, but I think the new Kiwi Kiss In Color 2008 is going to be the perfect shade! (Waiting not so patiently until August!) Then, on my way to the Shoebox Swap, you may remember that I had to run into Michael's to get some dimensionals. Well, they had the some new Amy Butler stuff that I could not resist! I love her designs! This new Lotus line is so yummy...all basic grays and blues and limes with a hint of pink! Awwww, heaven! So this inspired my card.

Okay, still a few more things to do before I hit the hay...yes, I'm shooting for 9:00! I do have to teach the children tomorrow, after all! Have a great night and thanks for stopping by!

p.s. I'm going to SU Convention! Are you?!

Recipe Stamps: Friendly Flowers, Always, All Holidays. Cardstock: Basic Gray, Very Vanilla, Brocade Blue, Old Olive. Ink: Basic Gray & Brocade Blue pad, Old Olive marker. Accessories: Pretties Kit, Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon, Ticket Corner Punch, Slit Punch, Dimensionals, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Waterfall Stickles.

Just Celebrate Shoebox Swap

Argh! It's Monday! Where did the weekend go?! Oh yeah, I was having a blast Saturday at the Arlington Splitcoast Shoebox Swap! 12 hours! Mama Mia! That's a lot of stamping for an old gal like me! I was working on a special project all day Sunday (more on that later!), so I didn't get a time to upload my photos from the event yet, but that's my goal for tonight. Bev (TexasGrammy) has uploaded a bunch on Splitcoast that you can see here. I was lucky enough to chat with Tex for hours while stamping. ((((hugs to Tex!)))) Everyone was so nice, and it was great meeting people in person after seeing them and talking to them online for so long!

This card was my shoebox swap for the event. If it looks familiar, it's because it is a case of this card of mine. Nothing like a good case when you're pinched for time! I used the butterfly from the Just Celebrate set in the SU Occasions Mini Catalog. I know I bought that set just for the owl, but I've really loved using all of it. And that's big for me, as you know I'm not a natural-born colorer!

Okay, need to get ready for my reading workshop today! Whoo! Hoo! I get to be the student! Hope you have a great Monday!

Recipe Stamps: Just Celebrate. Cardstock: Kraft, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White. Ink: Chocolate Chip pad. Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds, 2-Way Glue Pen, 5/8" Brocade Blue Grosgrain Ribbon, Paper Piercer & Mat Pack, Dimensionals, Pure Color Pencils (on my swaps, I switched to markers because my pencils need to be sharpened...I was told at Stamp Club last month...I ordered a sharpener last week, but it's not here yet! =)

Dilly Dally

Happy Saturday! It's the Splitcoast Shoebox Swap Day in Arlington! Hooray! Am I ready?! Yes, I finished *almost* everything up at 1:00 last night and just finished a few details this morning. I'll have to stop at Michael's along the way and get some kind of dimensionals. I must go through more dimensionals than anyone in the world! I buy several packs a month and am somehow down to own sheet...I have an order arriving next week, but that's too late! doh!

Anyway, I messed around with a few more designs last night, but could not come up with anything I liked better than my original, so that's when I frantically started cutting and gathering materials at 11:30 pm. So this little Dilly Dally sheep is another reject from last night. I thought it might be fun to use this set because I remember when it first came out last year, it got a lot of bad press...seemed like no one really liked it...most seemed to HATE it even. I made it my mission to convince people otherwise! lol! I used it one day last month too for the little hat turned upside down birthday banner card...that has to be a record for digging out an "old" stamp! lol!

Hope your Saturday is great! I'm looking forward to the Splitcoast gathering and already packed my camera, so I'll share lots tomorrow!

Recipe Stamps: Dilly Dally, Fun & Fast Notes. Cardstock: Kraft, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, Apricot Appeal Prints DSP. Ink: Brocade Blue, Chocolate Chip. Accessories: Small Star Punch, 2-Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds, 5/8" Blue Grosgrain Ribbon, Paper Piercer & Mat Pack, Dimensionals.

Spring Solitude

Hooray! It's Friday! Oh no, it's Friday! Why a mixed reaction? Well, tomorrow is the Splitcoast Shoebox Swap in Arlington and I have to come up with a card and prepare all the parts by tomorrow morning...and skipping school today is not an option, unfortunately! lol! Plus, since I'll be at a teaching workshop three days next week (YAY!), including Monday, I'll have to have everything ready before I leave today or I'll have to go in Sunday and prepare (boo!). But even if I do, it will still be worth it!

Back to the card and the Splitcoast Shoebox Swap...I just opened and read the details last night (I'm so bad!) and see that I have to prepare materials for 45 FULL cards! Yikes! That seriously limits my options with cardstock and ribbon (yes, a card must have ribbon to be complete!). I tried to work up some designs last night, and this is one of the rejects, lol! I came up with a case of one of my own cards (one that a lot of people seemed to like here, thanks so much!), just changing the stamps and the colors a bit, and it's the one dh liked the best, so unless something else brilliant strikes me tonight, that's probably the one I'll go with. I am so excited to see/meet a bunch of the Splitcoast girls in person! I'll be sure and take my camera to get lots of pics and share with ya here.

Hope you have a happy Friday and a great kick-off to your weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe Stamps: Spring Solitude Level 2 hostess. Cardstock: Kraft, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, Afternoon Tea DSP. Ink: Blue Bayou, Wild Wasabi. Accessories: Vintage Silver Brad, Blue Bayou Double Stitched Ribbon, 1' and 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Dimensionals.

Tim Holtz Day

I guess we will call today the Tim Holtz day. I visited a local stamp store in Plano a few weeks ago, just to check things out you know. I usually feel overwhelmed and can't imagine myself using any of them, but I fell in love with a few new stamps by Tim Holtz. He has a super cool style, very distressed and grungey with super cool techniques that are WAY beyond me...I just like pressing the stamp in ink and then onto the paper...but he has some great stamp designs. I especially like his sayings, like this one. I bought one last year, too, that I used in year-end mini scrapbooks/memory books that I made for all my students, and that's what I'll use this one for also.

I digress, sorry! I wanted to see if I could use one of his stamps in a "simple" way, so I made this quick card before bed last night. I think it turned out okay for simple, much more simple than his cards, and I'm looking forward to playing with them some more. That bird is just gorgeous. I ordered some black embossing powder last night (how I never had any, I'll never know!), and I think it will look good embossed in black.

Okay, running major late now...two days in a row I have turned off the alarm clock and stayed in bed, I never do that!! Hope you have a great Thursday! The weekend is near! Hooray!

Recipe Stamps: Tim Holtz for Stamper's Anonymous. Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Ginger Blossom DSP. Ink: Chocolate Chip. Accessories: SU Library Clip (retired), 5/8" Very Vanilla Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals.