A lack of room for Stamping

When we started our kitchen renovation, I knew I would have no kitchen for a few weeks but I didn't realize the impact that it would have on the rest of the house.  Unfortunately, my stamp room has taken one of the biggest hits.  I can't even go in it much less stamp.

Luckily, I had some fun with my new Holiday Catty goodies before the whole process began.  I love Santa's and this stamp set (Santa's List) was the first one I had to have.  I love it with the Washi Tape. The colors I used are Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler and Crumb Cake.  I stamped the saying in Chocolate Chip.

Hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend!

and is feeling no love.

Tracking my Spending with MDS

I will start by telling you that spending money is something at which I excel.  My favorite things to shop for are clothes, home decor and Stampin' Up supplies.  I also LOVE to shop for birthday presents and Christmas presents because those expenses are justified and I don't have to feel any guilt!  My DH, on the other hand, is extremely good at saving money.  I'm always thankful for him each time we encounter an unexpected expense.  If it were just me, there would be absolutely no savings and we would still have a dishwasher that doesn't actually wash dishes.  For quite some time, I have tried to have a budget and track our (or should I say MY) spending.  My youngest sister, who is a CPA, even gave me her household spreadsheet and helped me set it up so that I could just plug in numbers and everything would be calculated for me.  It worked for a couple months and then it became a headache.  I have even tried some of the budget sheets that I have found on Pinterest but they would work for a little while and then I would lose track.  I think I have finally figured out what was wrong.  None of what I was working with was pleasing to look at.  A spreadsheet makes my stomach hurt just looking at one because my mind doesn't work like that.  So, I started thinking of what I could make to help me and decided to try something in MDS.  I first came up with all the categories in which I spend and created a framed space for each one.  The picture below shows the first page of my project.

I have a zippered pouch in which I keep all receipts until I record them on my new creation.  Let me start by saying that I am only tracking what I am spending so that I can set up a budget.  I just needed to have something with which I WANTED to work!

A Big Day

Today was a big day in our house.  My kiddos go to school on a year-round calendar which means they go to school for nine weeks and then have 3 weeks off.  It is a great schedule because we get 4 3-week breaks throughout the year instead of a long summer vacation.  Our summer break is during the month of August and today was their first day back.  Of course, they were not excited and I was sad to see them go.  We have had a fun break but it was time to get everyone back into a routine.

For the last couple months, I have prepared myself to live a more purposeful life.  I am tired of running around with my head cut off and always feeling that I am too busy to do the fun stuff.  As a mom of 3 boys, I have my hands full but I have never focused on finding balance in my life.  TODAY is the 1st day of my improved life and I am excited to share with you how I plan to do just that.  Now, I know you are wondering what any of this has to do with stamping but it has a LOT to do with it.  There are so many things that I want to make and share with you but I just never find the time.  My stamping business has always fit into the "empty spaces" in my life and how many of us really have any empty spaces?  We always manage to fill that time with something that has to get done.  Not anymore for me!  I actually have a schedule of when I get to stamp and it doesn't matter how many loads of laundry are waiting for me.  They can wait!!!  The first thing I needed to do was make a calendar of my weekly schedule.  I know it may sound silly but if it isn't pretty, I won't use it.  I have to want to look at it.  I had so much fun creating my calendar.  I just went online and searched for a weekly schedule and found this template at the Scattered Squirrel.  She has some awesome printables that you should check out!  I printed the calendar on Whisper White cardstock, added washi tape to make it pretty and then laminated it!!!  The different patterns of washi tape represent different parts of my day.  For example, you can see that the calypso coral tape represents my Stampin' Up! time.

Now, I must focus on using it which will be the hard part for me.  Check back this week for more projects using washi tape.  It seems to be my favorite thing right now.  I've even warned the boys that if they sit still long enough, they may be washi taped!

Mosaic Madness Flower

This was one of our club cards in June and I wanted to share it so my club members who couldn't come would know how to put the pieces together.  It uses the Mosaic Madness stamp set to create a flower.

Stampin' in the Woods!

Stampin' in the Woods

October 18-20, 2013

Arrive as early as 6pm on Friday and stay until 2pm on Sunday

Camp Agape, Fuquay Varina, NC

Retreat Highlights

• Your own stamping space (each person will have one side of a 6 ft table)

• Make & Takes throughout the weekend featuring holiday stamp sets and accessories

• A $50 Product Bundle

• Punch Station with all the current SU punches

• Big Shot Station with lots of dies

• Classic Ink in every color

• Stamps, stamps, stamps!

• Samples for inspiration

• Pillow Gifts

• Lots of prize giveaways

Accommodations

We will be staying 2 nights in the retreat house at beautiful Camp Agape.  Each bedroom sleeps up to 3 people and has its own bathroom.  Linens will be provided but you may want to bring your own pillow and blanket. 

Food

The cabin has its own kitchen so all meals will be prepared there.  The registration fee covers breakfast, lunch and dinner on Saturday and breakfast and lunch on Sunday.  Drinks and snacks will be available whenever you need a break.

Cost

The cost for the entire weekend is $225 if you register before August 18th.  If you register after August 18th, the cost is $245. 

Cancellation Policy

• Deposits are non-refundable – your deposit may be transferred to another person provided there are people on the waitlist or if you find someone to take your place.

• Refund of payments made, less deposit can be made up until September 18th.

• No refunds for cancellations will be given after September 18th.   However, your registration is transferable up to the date of the event.

Beach Wedding

I love that what I make out of paper has the power to make people happy.  It is such a good feeling to hear that someone loved a card or gift they received from you.  When a friend of mine asked me to make her wedding invitations, I asked her what she was looking for and she told me "something beachy" using dark blue and pink.  Well, that is a pretty wide open request.  I immediately thought about By the Tide and Midnight Muse.  I wasn't sure how I would tie in the pink until I realized that the coral stamp could be done in Pink Pirouette and not stand out too much.  Crumb Cake was the perfect color to tie it all together.  When it was all done, I had made her invitations, placecards and programs.  She told me that I created a fantastic wedding theme for her which made me so happy.  With a little bit of paper and ink, I helped to make her day special.  Congrats, Katie & Mike!  Thanks for letting me be a part of your wedding!

This first picture is the focal piece that I used on both the invitations and the programs.  The window framelits created the shape.  By the Tide was stamped with Midnight Muse (stamped off twice- writing), Crumb Cake (shell) and Pink Pirouette (coral).  The letter comes out of Morning Post and is stamped in Midnight Muse at full strength.  I paper pierced the midnight muse piece and tied the invitation together with the natural trim.

This is the invitation tied up and ready to send.  The printed invitation was glued to the inside of the folder after being mounted to a midnight muse layer.  The rsvp card and envelope were placed inside the folder.

This was part of my gift to them and I love how it turned out.  I used the invitation to create a cover for this little ring scrapbook.  I cut the back piece from crumb cake to match the front and then laminated them both.  I put a large binder ring through them and tied the midnight muse and natural ribbon to the ring.  They can put cards and any memorabilia on this ring to create a neat little keepsake of their special day.

Now is the TIme to Stock Up!

Buy three, get one FREE!!! - Designer Series Paper

Offer Dates: July 1-31, 2013

Offer Details: Buy three packs of select Designer Series Paper and get one for free!

The Fine Print:

• These items do not qualify for the offer:
  • Designer Series Paper Stacks
  • Specialty Designer Series Paper
  • Designer Series Paper ordered through hostess benefits
• Orders may be placed on any type of order (workshop, customer, or online).
• No limits. Order six? You'll get two for free. Nine? You'll get three for free.
• Check out our Designer Series Papers in the annual catalog pages 151, 153, and 154.

Choose from the Designer Series Paper packs below for super savings in July!:

• 130140 Soho Subway
• 131390 Afternoon Picnic
• 130138 I Am Me
• 129310 Gingham Garden
• 130129 Etcetera
• 130145 Birthday Basics
• 130144 Venetian Romance
• 130131 Eastern Elegance
• 126926 Modern Medley
• 126902 Polka Dot Parade
• 130814 Epic Day This and That 

Crafting with Fabric

I know what to do with paper but fabric is extremely scary to me.  When I was about 8, I broke my mom's sewing machine trying to fix a pair of Barbie doll pants.  Whenever I hear a sewing machine, all I see is that pair of hot pink and silver striped Barbie leggings disappearing into the opening with the needle.  

I'm sure you can imagine how I felt when I received a note from my son's first grade teacher telling me that he needed an alligator costume for the class play.  My first thought was buying a green t-shirt and going from there, I was definitely not doing something elaborate.  When I got an email from the mother of another alligator asking me if I wanted to get together with she and another mom to make the costumes, I made sure she knew I had no expertise in that area.  She assured me she had everything we needed and that I would be fine.  Not only did she have all we needed but she had been a professional costume designer in her life before children.  Not sure how I got so lucky!  She designed the most amazing alligator costume like it was nothing. (We had already ordered the hats, can't take credit for those.)  I learned so much that day and had so much fun!  Check out our gators.  My little guy is the one on the left.  Isn't he a cute gator?!  Little does he know but he will be putting the alligator back on at Halloween.  

 I wish I had gotten a good picture of the tails but you can kind of see them in this picture.

    

Birthday Bash Card Class...don't miss it!

My favorite kind of card to make is a birthday card so preparing for a birthday card class is one of my favorite things to do.  If you are local, I have a Birthday Bash Card Class this Thursday night, complete with cupcakes! If you want to come, you can get all the details and rsvp on my website under the calendar of events.  If you received an evite for the class, you can just rsvp on there.  At the class, you will get to make 12 cards (4 designs, 3 of each design).  And, if you bring a friend who is new to me or if you are new to me, you get to make a 5th design so you will leave with 15 cards!  Below are 2 of the designs that we will be making.  You will have to come to see the other designs!!!  

The first one uses the Patio Party DSP which couldn't be more perfect for birthdays.  When I saw it on Julie Davison's website, I knew I had to CASE (copy and share everything) it!

The You're Amazing stamp set is perfect for masculine birthday cards.  

Hope to stamp with you soon!

Color Refresh

Breaking news...10 new colors are on the way, which means 10 need to retire. Effective today, retiring colors - paper, reinkers, inks - will be while supplies last only!  Here's a chart of the refreshed color families:

And, Stampin' Up! is offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders April 6-8 so it is the perfect time to stock up on your favorite retiring colors!

It always makes me sad to see some colors go but I am so excited about Pool Party sticking around that it takes away the sting.

Secret Garden Sneak Peek

Wow, I can't believe that it is already the end of the week.  I am in the middle of creating the coolest beach wedding invitations.  They are Midnight Muse, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla.  The bride is so excited with them which makes me feel over the moon.  I can't wait to share them with you; they should be finalized in the next few days.

I want to leave you with a little teaser today.  I created a fun "vintage-ish" card using Secret Garden and am featuring it in my Inbox Inspiration this week.  Don't miss out on seeing the entire card, sign up in the box to the right.

Fun with Young Stampers

I had so much fun on Tuesday night.  I got invited to stamp with a troop of Daisy Girl Scouts.  The girls needed to make thank you cards for the SPCA to send to those people who adopt animals through them and she thought I might like to help.  As soon as she asked, I knew the perfect stamp set, Animal Talk.  I created 2 cards for each of them to make to give to the SPCA but I wanted them to also make something to take home with them.  I love frogs and the frog in this set is absolutely adorable so I thought it would be fun to let them make a bookmark.  Here is a picture of the dog card and the bookmark.  Enjoy!

Supplies:  

• Animal Talk stamp set
• Colors: Garden Green, Tangerine Tango, Bashful Blue (color combination is right from the Color Coach)

Celebrate Easter with MDS

I loved the Easter Ensemble when I saw it this morning but I couldn't help but laugh at myself.  The first thought that went through my head was "Ooh, I could have an Easter party and make those cute invitations."  During the height of my scrapbooking, my husband would always say that we lived for scrapbook moments.  Now, I'm planning events around my favorite MDS downloads!  If you too, want to plan an Easter party, or just want to purchase any of these downloads, click here!

Sent with Love

Whenever there is a pack of designer paper that matches a stamp set, I will buy it!  I love the coordination.  Add a set for My Digital Studio to it and I have to have it all.  Luckily, my husband isn't reading this so I know he isn't aware of this weakness.  When Stampin' Up introduced this set, I fell in love right away.  I absolutely love to travel so the airplane just makes me smile.  One of the sheets of designer paper has all kinds of images that can be cut out and used to make fun focal points.  When I saw the challenge at Freshly Made Sketches this week, I thought it would be a fun one to do with this set.

Supplies

• Sent with Love stamp set and designer series paper
• Whisper White, Island Indigo & Real Red cardstock
• Island Indigo Classic Ink
• Cloudy Day Embossing Folder
• Real Red Button
• Island Indigo Twine

Under the Weather

When I saw the Spring Sampler set, I knew I had to have it to use with the Bingo card but I saw the little frog and the umbrella and knew they would make a cute get well card.  The color challenge over at FabFriday was the perfect combination for it.

Topsy Turvy Birthday Card

When I started this card, I was headed in a whole different direction.  I love when that happens if I am happy with the results.  This is going to be a birthday card for my niece who is turning 14 this year.  She is past that little girl stage that is easy to make cards for but not totally into the flowers and all that yet.  I thought Topsy Turvy would be perfect.  I used the color challenge over at Create with Connie and Mary.  When I saw the colors, I was thinking of using the Swallowtail (my new favorite stamp) but then I realized that I had loaned it to someone so I headed in a different direction using Topsy Turvy.  

First, I stamped the cake using the Stamp-a-ma-Jig.  This is my favorite tool when I want something perfect. Since I am not a perfectionist, I don't use it often but if something needs to be lined up, it is my go-to tool.  I then used the paper piercer and the Labels Collection Framelits.  The Designer Series Paper, Sunshine & Sprinkles has all three colors in it so I pulled some of that out but stayed away from the parts that were a little heavy on the blue.  I added a gray button from the Neutrals Buttons and voila!

More Organizing

Since I posted the menu board yesterday, I thought I would share another organizer that I made.  This one was done in MDS.  I made a 12x12 sheet for each boy and placed them in their own 12x12 frames.  I then used Crystal Effects to glue a few clothespins onto the glass of the frame.  We have been using them to keep track of chores, allowance and other stuff.  The boys like them and I am more deliberate about keeping track of their chores.

Menu Board

I will admit that I have a problem.  I am addicted to everything that has anything to do with organization.  And, I love taking an organizational tool and making it into something pretty.  That is where my problem comes in.  If I would just make something and use it, that would be great, but I have to make it pretty before I can make myself use it.

A couple years ago, I got the idea to make a menu board for the kitchen.  I like to cook but I struggle with the planning ahead of time.  I thought if I had a cute little board hanging in the kitchen, I would want to plan meals.  I got a magnetic white board and used the "Eat" Decor Element across the top.  I then put a piece of DSP on the bottom, tied a ribbon around it and hung it in the kitchen.  Well, the board was cute but it wasn't practical for what I wanted to accomplish.  For the last couple years, it has served several purposes.  At Christmas, it has held up cute pieces of artwork made by the boys.  At other times, I have hung recipes that I want to try and sometimes it holds coupons that I want to be sure to use.  I have looked at it over the last couple weeks trying to figure out how to make it more useful.  I think I finally have it and finished it over the weekend.

I'm really happy with how it turned out but, more importantly, I'm hoping it will help me plan a weekly menu. I used the Sycamore Street DSP for the background on the board and my meal strips.  I went through and typed out my family's favorite entrees and sides so that each strip is a complete meal. I did that in Microsoft Word with some fun fonts to make them appealing to look at.  If I had more time, I would have made them in MDS with a picture of the entree but I decided I needed to just get them done.  For the magnets, I used the soda pop tops, round disc magnets and DSP punched with the 1" circle punch.  I used Crystal Effects to put them together.  So, now it is up and I have to actually use it.  We'll see how it goes.  Happy Monday!

Sunday Swap Share

Just wanted to share a few swaps from Leadership starting with one of my own:

I love this stamp set and the reason I got it was to make a masculine birthday card. I like how this one turned out.

Supplies:

• By the Tide & From the Heart stamp sets
• Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake & Not Quite Navy Ink
• Not Quite Navy & Very Vanilla cardstock
• Parker's Patterns DSP, Linen Thread & Vintage Trinkets

 by Twila Mooneyham

 by Allison Okamitsu

Million Dollar Moments

The sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches is really cool this week.  Using a sketch or a color challenge helps me so much because it gives me some direction.  For those of you that struggle with the creativity side of stamping, I highly recommend looking for sketches.  On The Freshly Made Sketches site, you can even access all the past sketches!  Find a sketch you like, see what stamps will work with it, pick a color that you want to work with and then either use the Color Coach to help with the other colors or pull out some dsp for the color direction.  These are the steps I take and they really help me when I need to make something original.  Here is the sketch:

And here is what I created:

Supplies:

• Million Dollar Moments Hostess Stamp Set (125137)
• Window Frames Collection Framelits Dies (129021)
• Sunshine & Sprinkles Designer Series Paper (126922)
• Cloudy Day Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (127022)
• Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon (122977)
• Colors: Whisper White, Lucky Limeade, Basic Gray & Marina Mist