Convention

Had a great time at convention. So inspiring to see all the ideas the staff of Stampin Up comes up with. This was my first convention so I had no idea what to expect except what I had heard from other demos. It did not disappoint. We got so much free stuff and I have so many projects to sit and complete I can't believe it. I need to get busy before school starts up again and I don't have time for fun. I also can't wait to get our house sold and move back to Virginia where I hope to start building a small business of SU.

Getting ready for Convention

Since I am a demonstrator this year, I am going to Convention!!! I'm so excited I can't contain myself. Ever since I started doing Stampin' UP I have wanted to go to Convention, and this year it is coming true. I've started working on my cards for swaps and this is the first card I'm doing. It is direct on paper ink which was the tutorial on SCS this week. I love this technique. I used Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, and Tempting Turquoise. Then I white embossed the flower from Inspired by Nature on top. My greating is also from Inspired by Nature and then I had to add just a little bit of bling with the rhinestones. I hope the swappers enjoy it.

Take a Nature Walk

I love the Nature Walk set. I never seem to put this set away. So today I decided to make a couple new cards with this set. They are similar to ones I have seen posted on other blogs and I changed them just a little.

With this first card, I first stamped the flowers with Sahara Sand and then white embossed the flowers over the top. Next I sponged Daffodil Delight and Marina Mist on top. The ribbon at the bottom is Chocolate Chip seam binding which I hate to see leave us. I use it a lot.

My next Nature Walk card has a collage feel that I just love. It uses two different designer papers, Newsprint and Botanical Gazette. The bird is stamped with Early Espresso on top of a Sanded background. So hate to see this background go. I just bought it about 2 months ago. But, I know I will continue to use it often. I also distressed the Pacific Point layer with Early Espresso to darken the edges. With an antique brad and a little bit of lace, the card was complete.

MIA

Sorry I've been MIA lately. With the end of school and having to completely pack up my classroom to move to another school, I was very busy. Plus we are waiting to hear about my husband's new job back in Virginia, so we have been trying to get the house ready to put up for sale. Getting the house ready, required having a garage sale to get rid of things. So I spent Friday and Saturday this week having a sale.

Any way, now that school is over, I hope to be more regular with my postings for a while any way. I finally got time to pull out the set I've been wanting to play with for so long, Open Seas. I love this set for masculine cards. Hope you enjoy.

Masculine Motion

Just found another card that I am just getting around to posting. Boy, am I behind. Seems to be the story of my life any more. What can I say, except that I'll try and do better. This is a card that I made for my dad whose birthday is coming up at the end of the month. The card fits him perfectly because as a young girl, my dad and mom both took flying lessons in my home town of Camanche, Iowa. They never became pilots, but he still did some flying. This set is also now retired with the last mini catalog, but I think I will be pulling it out a lot as I have a hard time with masculine cards. The colors used are Tangerine Tango and Night of Navy. The stamp sets are Plane and Simple and a background stamp using the sanded stamp. I put in a piece of Newsprint dsp for interest. I hope my dad likes it.

Been Gone So Long

Work has just kept me so busy this year that I feel I never get time to be creative. I am just getting this card uploaded and the stamp set, one of my favorites, just went away with the Occasions mini catalog. Nature Walk has been a set that I pulled out time and time again. It was just so much fun to play with and so versatile. This card I designed for a presentation at a large stamping get together planned by my upline Jennifer Cotton. It was my first time to present in front of other demos and customers. It was so much fun. On this card I used the tulip embossing folder, some twine and the lovely Botanical Gazette dsp. The colors I used were So Saffron, Night of Navy, and Marina Mist. The sentiment is from the Word Play set.

Now that I have finally gotten this card posted, it is time to start using the items from the new Summer Mini. Get ready for spring and join the fun.

Spring is in the air here in Texas and I felt like making a card to celebrate! I saw this card by Ilina Crouse and knew I had to copy it. The colors were so cheerful that as I was making it, I just had to smile. It had been quite some time since I'd used Pocket Silhouettes so I said hello to an old friend. I plan on sending this card to a dear friend back in Virginia and I hope that she enjoys a bit of spring with me.

Stamps:  Pocket Silhouettes and Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink and Paper:  Poppy Parade, Tangerine Tango and So Saffron
Ribbon:  Poppy Parade

Cupcake Saturday

I have been wanting to make one of these cupcake gift boxes for several days now and finally had the chance. This is from a free video on The Papercrafter's Library by Andrea Walford. It was so much fun to make and I can't wait to use it for wrapping up a small birthday gift. The colors and tag can be changed to suit the occasion or person. I chose to use Blushing Bride and Chocolate Chip because I love pink. With a touch of red glitter paper, it looks good enough to eat.

Blissful Friday

I love the Sale-a-bration set Bliss. My card today was inspired by one by Patty Bennett at http://www.pattystamps.com/pattys_stamping_spot/page/5/ created. I loved the simplicity of the layout. I changed it up by using Love Letter dsp on mine. I also used the Designer Label Punch and the Oval punch. My ink colors were Chocolate Chip and Creamy Caramel (yes, I know it's retired, but I just can't give it up!). I just think it blends so well with the other browns. I hope your Friday is Blissful too and I hope you enjoyed my card.

Another Weekend Project

This weekend I completed a class on blog writing and creation at Univ. of Texas Arlington's Continuing Education Dept. So I hope you find my blog a little more enjoyable to read. Please bear with me as I continue to improve.

I found time to create one more card this weekend in between doing the laundry, taxes, shopping, and baking cookies. I've seen so many cute cards made with the Fun Flowers die, that I knew immediately that is what I wanted to do. The supplies are as follows: Stamps: Elizabeth. Paper - Very Vanilla, So Saffron, Peach Parfait, and Not Quite Navy cs and Newsprint dsp. Assessories: Vintage Wallpaper, Perfect Polka Dots, and Square Lattice embossing folders; Fun Flowers die, and a retired Circle brad for the flower center. Ink: Not Quite Navy.

Finally time to stamp

Today I finally had some time to get back into my stamping room after three weeks.  Boy, did it feel good to get my fingers full of ink again.  I've been wanting to use my Build a Bloom set and punch for a few weeks now and today was the day. It took me awhile to get this card to look the way I wanted, but I'm happy with the results.

Details:  Build a Blossom stamp set and Blossoms Petal Punch.  Paper:  So Saffron, Red Riding Hood Red, and Very Vanilla.  Newsprint dsp.  

Valentine treat pouch

I created these little pouches for a swap I am doing at my demonstrators meeting this Saturday. To create the pouch, first I used the Lots of Love letterpress plate with whisper white ink on rose red card stock.  Then using the Bigz Petal Cone die cut, cut 1 section of the pouch.  You then add adhesive to the flap and fold over the paper to create the pouch.  I cut out two extra decorative flaps from a contrasting color.  I embossed one of the flaps with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.  This is a quick and easy little pouch to give to someone to brighten their day.

Material List:
Paper:  Rose Red and Pretty In Pink by SU
Accessories:  Bigz L Petal Cone Die and Lots of Love Letter Press by SU