Toby Cub Card

Ok, this has to be the fastest card I've ever made. No time to be knit-picky today about it, because I've got places to go and people to see! Wednesdays are busy, so I don't have time to tell you a lot about this card right now. I'll stop back in later and tell you more.

All I can say for now is that I'm completely frustrated with coloring printed digital images. I tried heat setting, and my markers still smeared. I don't have time to try embossing today, maybe tomorrow--or maybe I'll switch to colored pencils and crayons! Thanks for stopping by!

***I'm back.  It's late.  Wednesdays I take my oldest son to school and pick him up at half day kindergarten.  While he's there, I take my youngest son to the library for Story Time, and we run a few errands.  In the afternoon, we meet my husband in Indy to grab groceries and dinner before I go to my cake decorating class.  (You can read about that on my Cookin' with Melissa blog.)  I'm really tired.

Back to this card...  I made this card for the relay that The Greeting Farm blog, Splendid Stamping, has sponsored this week during CHA only to find out that the relay had been cancelled.  There was some trouble with the server for the site being overwhelmed and other issues.  It was fun while it lasted, and I needed a baby girl card anyway.

I used the Mojo Monday sketch from two weeks ago for my layout. Thanks for stopping by!***

The Secret to Coloring Printed Digital Images

After my previous post, I went searching for a post on the Splendid Stamping blog. I vaguely remember there being some tips for using digital images, so I went in search of it. I found it! Check it out... Digi Tips

I will definitely try this with tomorrow's image. Thanks for stopping by!

Wild Sprouts Charlotte Card

Here's my card for the second day of the week-long relay by The Greeting Farm. Today's card features a digital image named Charlotte. She's part of the Wild Sprouts line of stamps.

This is such a girly card for me. I don't normally do girly cards.  She even has some bling on her belt buckle, although it's hard to tell from this picture.  I used a square rhinestone brad for the buckle.

I have got to figure out what the secret is to not having your printer ink smear when you color in the printed out digital images. If you know, please post a comment here to help me out.

Again today, I used a sketch challenge for the layout of my card. This isn't a blog that I normally visit, but I saw it mentioned on another blog that I do frequent. I can't remember which one right now though. Anyway, I stopped over and grabbed this week's sketch from the 2 Sketches 4 You blog. Thanks for stopping by!

Mer Ian Card

I don't do this very often, but I am actually participating in a sketch challenge this week--two challenges, actually!

The Splendid Stamping blog for The Greeting Farm is sponsoring a stamping relay this week. It started Sunday with a free digital image posted on the blog, Mer Ian, as seen above. Ian is one of Marie's main characters in her line of stamps. If you completed a card using Mer Ian by 6pm CST Monday, you got the next free digital image, and it goes on similarly through the rest of the week. I can't pass up free digital images, so I am going to try and participate this week. If I am successful, you'll see the rest of my creations in the next few days.

After getting the digital image yesterday, I decided I would kill two birds with one stone and use this week's Mojo Monday sketch for my card. Now, I've used sketches for card layouts before, but I'm always a day late and a dollar short, so to speak, because I use old sketches that I've saved on my computer. This is the first time I've ever actually participated in anything on time!  Woo hoo! Wish me luck as I try to continue through the week! Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday, Sally!

My friend, Sally, has a birthday today. I made her this card using the Stampin' Up! Baroque Motifs stamp set. I really love the swirly image in this set. It's so versatile!

This card is a CASE from a card in a Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog. I think it was the one previous to the current one. It's also the first card I've ever put beads on! There are tiny little pearl beads in the centers of the flowers. I should have taken a close up picture of them. Too late now! My card has been delivered--along with her cake.

Stop over at the Cookin' with Melissa blog to see the cake I made for Sally. Thanks for stopping by!

Haitian Disaster Relief

From now until February 28, 2010, $2 from every I {Heart} Hearts stamp set sold will be donated to the American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development Fund. The Red Cross is already well-established in Haiti, and this money will be used to provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need.

In addition to Stampin' Up!'s promotion, I will donate all of my personal profits from the sales of this stamp set to the Red Cross as well.  This stamp set is available both in the traditional wood mount version and also the new clear mount version.  Click here for more information. Thanks for stopping by!

Sympathy Card for a friend

This is a sympathy card I made for my best friend from high school and college. I whipped it up late last week to send, because her grandmother passed away last week. I've used this same layout with the SU! Thoughts and Prayers stamp set before. You can see that card here. I forgot to put the ribbon on it before I glued it all together, so it's a little simpler than I planned. I was in too much of a rush to get it finished and in the mail. I really need to use this set for a workshop sometime soon. Thanks for stopping by.

Photo Album Cover

We had some family portraits taken back in the fall. My friend, Kristie Magee, took them for us. I got 4x6 prints made of many of the pictures for Christmas gifts for the grandparents. I bought those cheap 4x6 photo albums for $1 at Wal*Mart and removed the inserted covers on them. Then I made my own covers to put in them.

Our portraits were formal looking, because we all had on our wedding attire from my sister-in-law's wedding last October. We were all dressed in red and black, so I wanted the cover to go along with that scheme. I was pleased with the way these turned out. I am on an embossing kick right now, and the black Medallion image is embossed with black embossing powder. I also embellished it with some a glittery gel pen. Thanks for stopping by!

A New Stamping Friend

Back in October, a woman at church was looking for a football official's uniform to borrow for Halloween. I didn't know her, but she mentioned it to a friend of ours who knows Jim is a football official. She passed the word on to us, and we connected with the woman. She borrowed some of Jim's stuff and made a great Halloween costume to go with the rest of her family's Indianapolis Colts costume theme.

Since then, we kept missing each other at church, and just recently finally met up with her to get Jim's uniform pieces back. There was no rush since Jim was finished with football season shortly after Halloween. In the bag with his uniform was this lovely handmade card! I was so surprised! I didn't know she was a stamper! I emailed her when we got home to tell her that I was a stamper too and how much I appreciated her handmade card. Of course, I told her I was a SU! Demo and gave her an open invitation to come to any of my workshops. I also sent her a link to this blog so that she could see what types of things we do at my workshops.

It was such a nice surprise to meet a new stamping friend and recieve a delightful unexpected handmade card! Thank you, Heather!

Thanks for stopping by!

My Birthday Boy

This is my oldest son's birthday card. He turns six today. He got a red gumball machine for Christmas, and he's getting a small fish aquarium tonight for his birthday. I'll be making similar cards to use as his thank you notes.

I decided to combine the two gifts into a cute card made with the Something Sweet stamp set from the new Occasions Mini Catalog. (See the links on the right side of this page for the new Occasions Mini Catalog and all the new products and promotions information.)

I was inspired by this card by Heidi Baks in the Splitcoast Stampers gallery for this stamp set. I purchased the unmounted version of this stamp set. It's the first of the new Stampin' Up! Clear-Mount stamp sets I've used. They're cheaper and easier to store. I'll probably start purchasing these more than the traditional wood-mounted stamp sets. We'll see...

Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Heart Treat Cups

Ok, there's just one more new SU! thing I want to tell you about this week. Read on...

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Stampin' Up!'s new Heart Treat Cups coordinate perfectly with the Sweetheart stamp set and the Full Heart punch.

Important Information

Heart Treat Cups (#120435) and the coordinating Sweetheart stamp set (#120415) became available for purchase on Tuesday, January 5th. While this is not a limited-time offer, Satmpin' Up! is uncertain how long the initial inventory (earmarked for Valentine's Day) will remain in stock. It is possible that the Heart Treat Cups may be backordered for a short time prior to Valentine's Day. The coordinating Sweet Treat Padded Envelopes (#116802) and the Full Heart punch (#113693) are available for purchase now.

Put more heart in your projects with the new Heart Treat Cups by Stampin' Up! Ideal for Valentine's, Mother's Day, or just to show how much you care, the Heart Treat Cups were designed to coordinate perfectly with the Sweetheart stamp set and the Full Heart punch to create beautiful projects that will be as much of a treat to make as they are to receive.


These Heart Treat Cups are similar to the Circular Treat Cups that were featured in the Holiday Mini Catalog that just ended earlier this week. Click here to see the Halloween treat I made with them. Thanks for stopping by!

Occasions Mini Catalog

Along with Sale-A-Bration that began yesterday, a new Occasions Mini Catalog started yesterday as well. There are some great new products included in this catalog, including new clear unmounted stamps and a new punch design. The new punches are smaller and more compact allowing for easier storage and transporting.

Purchase items from the Occasions Mini Catalog and earn free merchandise while Sale-A-Bration lasts through March 31st. Contact me to place you order. Thanks for stopping by!

Sale-A-Bration Starts Today!

Join the Sale-A-Bration!

It's Sale-A-Bration time again at Stampin' Up!, and friends, fresh ideas, and free product is what it's all about!

Every year Stampin' Up! gives customers, hostesses, and new demonstrators the opportunity to earn fantastic, FREE, limited-edition products they'll enjoy for years to come.

Here's how Sale-A-Bration works:

Spend

When you spend $50 on Stampin' Up! merchandise, you'll receive a free Sale-A-Bration reward. There's no limit--for every $50 you spend, you can select another FREE Sale-A-Bration reward!

Host

When you host a workshop of at least $300 (before tax and shipping), you'll receive a free Sale-A-Bration reward in addition to all of the regular hostess benefits!

Join

During Sale-A-Bration, anyone who joins as a demonstrator can choose any stamp set--a value of up to $47.95--from our current Idea Book and Catalog or Occasions Mini Catalog. Plus, for a limited time, get 15% off the price of the standard Starter Kit or Digital+ Starter Kit!

Plus, this year's Sale-A-Bration event gives you more free products than ever before! Choose from our exciting selection of exclusive Sale-A-Bration products, or choose a $15.95 set from the Idea Book & Catalog--you've got over 80 choices!

The Sale-A-Bration promotion starts today and runs through March 31, so don't miss your chance to earn free products! Talk to your demonstrator today to book your workshop or learn more about this promotion. Your demonstrator has a full-color Sale-A-Bration brochure full of beautiful project ideas you can make using these limited-edition Sale-A-Bration sets. You can also view the Sale-A-Bration brochure online.

Contact me to place your order! Thanks for stopping by!

Polar Bear Thank You's

I saw this card by Jill Hilliard on the Splitcoast Stampers Gallery for the Cold & Cuddly stamp set from the Holiday Mini Catalog. I had been wanting to make an acetate card, and I just fell in love with this card. I CASE'd the front of the card completely and added some cute touches to the inside as well.

I made a few using white card stock as the base with Bashful Blue snowflakes as well. Tomorrow is the last day to order from the Holiday Mini Catalog, so if you love this stamp set, you're running out of time! Contact me if you'd like to place an order. Thanks for stopping by!

Jill's Christmas Card

My sister, Jill, loves the Medallion stamp from Stampin' Up! and decided to make her Christmas cards this year using that stamp. Here's her card. Thanks, Jill, for the beautiful card! Thanks for stopping by!

Happy New Year!

Have a happy, safe
and healthy 2010!


Thanks for stopping by!