ZoeLife Creations

Craftshow Time!

2011-11-04T18:55:00.001-05:00

This time of year I always do a craftshow with one of my BFF's Jenn. I will show you some of the items we are selling over the next weeks. They make great gifts!

These are little mini composition books. I got them 3 for $1 at a dollar store a while back. I covered them with designer series paper and addes a little tag that either says, "notes", "to do" or "grateful" and on some I left them blank. I'll sell them for $2 each. Cute stuff!

More next time!!

Christmas Easel Card

2011-11-01T19:34:00.000-05:00

I have seen many easel cards and hadn't tried one. I finally tried it. It was easy! I love the plaids in this holiday paper that is in the holiday mini catalog. Do you like it?

Happy fall Ya'll

2011-10-29T19:30:00.000-05:00

It finally feels like fall in Houston! It's about time! So, I wanted to post a couple of fall cards.

I made a fall card for stamp club this month and I wasn't really happy with it but I didn't have enough time to change it. So, I gave my Katy club girls the chance to be creative with it and make it better. I really love the fall paper for this year. The pool party color just makes it so much fun.

What do you think?

Triple Layer Punch Display

2011-08-12T08:13:00.009-05:00

I know I'm a thief - a thief of good ideas. When I first bought the blossom bouquet triple layer punch I wasn't quite sure what to do with it. I have seen a lot of cute cards but as soon as I saw a display using the punches that Connie Stewart created, I had to copy it! I made this awhile back but still had to share. I used buttons and brads, ribbon and DSP. I used the triple layer punch and also a couple of circle punches. I added a little easel on the back so it can stand alone. It is pretty darn cute if I do say so myself.

Colors: Melon Mambo, pear pizzazz, daffodil delight
Accessories: brads (neutral, flowers, antique), brights buttons
flower punch, small circle punch, daffodil ribbon

And, since I shared a picture of Zoe, I figured you needed one of Zaden too! This was his 2nd birthday party in May. I need to get a better pic of him for you so you can see his gorgeous eyes. He doesn't like to pose for the camera much!

Look Who's Turning...

2011-08-10T08:09:00.000-05:00

Since I have children, having birthday cards on hand is so important. My own little 5 year old had Kindergarten orientation the other day. That is amazing. I started blogging about the time she was born and now she is starting school. I know she is going to love it. I just hope she doesn't get too bored. She can read really well and even does quite a bit of addition for a little gal. I'm sure she'll be fine. Don't all mom's think their kids are so "advanced"? LOL Of course she is.

I love this set! It has a ton of possibilities. I know that this layout was borrowed from somewhere long ago but I have no idea from whom. I used the in-colors from 2010-2011 and pieced it together. Thanks for stopping by today!

Recipe:
Stamps: Guess who's turning, Fox and friends
Paper: whisper white, poppy parade
Ink: poppy parade, pacific point, blusihing bride, concord crush, pear pizazz
accessories; sponge, markers

Zoe June 2011 at Granny's house with her hair curled and acting sassy.

Just in CASE

2011-08-08T08:00:00.010-05:00

What is Just in CASE? Well a card that has been copied is a CASE (Copy and Share Everything). Generally in the stamping community there is a lot of inspiration gathering going on from others. I don't think of this as stealing. I think it is an important way for me to learn new techniques and get ideas for layouts. So this card is very similar to one by Kimberly Van Diepen, one amazing stamper and super star in the Stampin' Up world (at least to me). She moved across country and had a husband deployed to Iraq and still wound up in the list of top 100 demonstrators for Stampin' Up for this past business year. That just amazes me.

I told you I would share the card for Jennifer's birthday that I made. I really loved the way it came out. The pink flowers were embossed on the dotted acetate (a transparency for you teacher's out there). That is a li tricky because the versamark slides easily. And, my snail adhesive wanted to not stick to the embossed areas and just pull off the powder when I tried to adhere the banner. I ended up using glue dots and making sure they weren't on the embossed areas. The little orange embossed flower is the same as the pink, just trimmed smaller.

Recipe:

paper: melon mambo, tangerine tango, whisper white, day/night specialty acetate (retired), black

Ink: black, versamark

accessories: embossing power (melon and tangerine), bakers twine, a bright's collection button

stamps: rough type alphabet (retired), sayings and flower from the occasions mini catalog

Thanks for the inspiration Kimberly! Have a great SU year and I hope your prince is home soon!!

Happy Birthday Miss Jennifer

2011-08-05T08:00:00.002-05:00

Although you may see cars in the background I promise I wasn't driving when I took this picture! We were parked in the lot of The Cheesecake Factory. Yummy!! My BFF had her birthday a couple of weeks ago. This is the card that Zoe made for her! (Zoe is 5). She stamped, sponged, glued and glittered with very little help from me. It was so much fun to stamp with her. I'll share the card I made for Jenn next time.

Recipe:

Paper: sale-a-bration paper pack, naturals white

Stamps: Party Hearty (retired)

Ink: melon mambo, pumpkin pie, daffodil, garden green, not quite navy, baja breeze

accessories: baja breeze glass glitter

This is Zoe working diligently on the card. You can't see her little tongue sticking out! They desk she is sitting in used to be mine when I was her age!

August Special

2011-08-03T08:00:00.003-05:00

There are so many great papers in the new catalog, which ones will you pick? Contact me to place an order!

I stepped up to the challenge

2011-08-01T16:37:00.001-05:00

I create but I don't post! But I did a bloggers boot camp and decided to try again. It may not be daily but we'll see how I do. School starts in a couple weeks and my job status is up in the air. At least stamping keeps my mind of the drama with work. (I have a job but was offered a new one. My current principal has to release me from my contract before I can take the job I really want. He'll only release me if he can find a "suitable" replacement. That is the low down)
So, in order to get started with my blog again, I decided to do a challenge from the Paper Players. Here is my card:

And this is the sketch:

The recipe:

Paper: Cameo Coral, Poppy Parade, Whisper White

Stamps: a clear block, hostess set, french script background

Accessory: cameo coral ruffled ribbon

I hope you like this!

Hopping this works!

2011-04-21T19:17:00.003-05:00

I am trying something new, and no, I don't mean posting in 2011-smart alec. I am posting from my phone! How cool! I feel bad about not blogging. I check blogs daily but who knew 2 kids would be so much work and keep me this busy! I always feel I should be blogging and I miss it.
Well, I saw a cute box on a blog and wanted to make it with Zoe. So, I ~~stole~~ was inspired by the idea and made 6 for the kid's teachers at the Montessori school.

Just in Case

2010-07-12T20:46:00.001-05:00

As I try to get back into blogging I have to be honest. I copy a lot of cards. Sometimes the inspiration just doesn't hit me. Well, luckily, the new Idea Book and Catalog is full of beautiful examples of cards I want to make. In the stamping world this is often called a CASE (Copy And Share Everything).

One of the first cards I wanted to CASE is early in the catalog. It is in the Spanish Catalog too in the new In Color Blush Bride so I made them both. This was the second card we made at the new catalog open house.

And don't these colors look great? Well, using the new Color Coach is very easy. It is a beautiful tool, it is like a paint chip display. The back side of each card suggests color combinations that make card creations easy.

Supplies:
Cardstock: marina mist, blushing bride, crumb cake, old olive and whisper white
Stamps: For all you Do
Accessories: Bird Punch
Ink: versamark, marina mist, blushing bride and old olive

Talk to you soon,
Amy

Hydrangea in bloom

2010-07-08T20:46:00.001-05:00

Hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers. I love all the little blooms and the variety of color they contain. That is why I knew I wanted this set from Stampin' Up. It is one of the new level one hostess sets and I was able to get it free with an order of the new colors of ink. (A perk of being a demonstrator!)

I saw a card similar to this one with the top note die used on the edge and wanted to make it too! I had the ladies at my open house make it last week.

Supplies:
Cardstock: basic black, rich razzleberry, whisper white
Ink: celery marker, blushing bride marker and razzleberry marker
accessories: black grosgrain, Top Note Bigz Die, Big Shot Machine, medium oval punch, oval scallop punch

Need A New Catalog? Just let me know!
Talk to you soon,
Amy

Last Chance Lists

2010-06-02T14:09:00.000-05:00

Hello Stampers,

I wanted to post the last chance lists from Stampin' Up! These items will be available until the end of the month - expect the accessories, when those are sold out they are gone!
Hundreds of products from the 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalog and Definitely Decorative brochures are retiring. Now is the last chance for you to get them before they’re gone for good!
There are a few discounted items on the Last Chance Accessory List ! Click below to see the lists:

Last Chance Stamp Sets

Last Chance Accessories (a few items here have an asterik, this means they are being reconfigured)

Last Chance Definitely Decorative

Click here to place your order, and don’t forget about the Clearance Rack! Or, you can contact me and I'll place the order for you!
Have a great week!
Amy

Pizza Boxes

2009-08-12T12:12:00.000-05:00

Splitcoast Stampers had a tutorial on making a mini pizza box. These were so fun and easy to make. Again, I used retired paper. I have to get rid of that stuff! I know we have a new catalog and new colors and paper, but I have to use up some of the old to make room for the new. Actually, the truth is, the summer has been busy with kids for me and I haven't gotten to do a lot of stamping. I actually moved my craft room out of one room (which became Zaden's) and into another. So, my supplies were in piles and boxes for awhile. It is coming together and that is great. I even had a stamping event in the new "Rubber Room". It is a combo toy and craft room. I'll have to get some pictures once I get a few more details taken care of. I also have some cards to post that are new and I promise to get them out to you. :)

Talk to you soon,
Amy

A little Thank You

2009-08-09T12:06:00.000-05:00

These post it note holders are sure easy to make. I used an acrylic 5 x 7 frame and cut designer paper to fit. I created a decorative strip for the bottom and added a ribbon. I gave these as gifts to the girls in my stamp club. They seemed to like them.

After some time has gone by though I realized that these standing up the tall way is not such a good design. The sticky note pad falls off - not the back page I stuck down but it seperates from itself. So, the next batch needs to lie down, not stand up. It will just get better and better!

Talk to you soon,
Amy

All in Our Family

2009-08-04T11:53:00.002-05:00

Isn't this a cool piece of art? It was a birthday gift from Jenn. She stamped our family with the "All in the Family" set, then she masked us and then finally printed our name. So cool huh? She rocks. I'd like to say I taught her all she knows but I haven't. :)

Our family life is crazy this summer. I have spent weeks now, 10 exactly, doing nothing but caring for Zaden and Zoe. Mostly Zaden. These infants now days sure are needy. (hee hee) But I have sure loved it. He is starting to smile and grin more and more and the coos are more frequent too. Zoe is adjusting to him and learning to be gentle. The kids and I will be heading to Colorado this week to visit my family there. I'm not sure I'm prepared to travel with the two of them. But, I'm sure it will be fine. Thank goodness we have a direct flight!

Talk to you soon,
Amy

A post with a card!

2009-07-30T23:46:00.002-05:00

I know these colors are now the "out" colors, actually from 2 catalogs ago, but I do like this card. I wanted to show off the sizzlet I used with the Bigshot to make the flowers and bird image. The only stamping is the "friendship" sentiment. A very easy card. I used it to give a "thank you" to my friend Jennifer. She does so much for me. She hosted a baby shower, she brought a meal, she calls me every day, she babysits my kids and really loves them and wants them to grow up to love God. She cares about my marriage and my heart. She is a great friend.

Baby Zaden

2009-06-11T13:44:00.004-05:00

I haven't been posting. I used to be so good. But I wanted to share what has been going on the last few weeks....

Zaden was born May 21st at 11:15 a.m.

He is already 3 weeks old today! He is perfect and beautiful and such a calm, peaceful baby. It is wonderful.

Zoe thinks his is pretty neat. She loves to hold him and touch him. She left for a week to go to her gramma's house and the first thing she asked me when I talked to her on the phone was, "How is Zaden doing?" Isn't that sweet?

My mom has been here three weeks and has been a wonderful help. I can't believe she is going to leave me but I guess I'll be okay. She'll be back. And when my mom-in-love brings Zoe home she is going to stay 2 weeks so that will be awesome. I am truly blessed.

Well it is summer and I will try to post more. No promises. Talk to you soon,

Amy

A Saturday Funny

2009-05-16T09:49:00.000-05:00

Not stamping Related...Just Personal Stuff

2009-05-16T09:47:00.000-05:00

Okay, time for a new Ellingson Journal, May 2009 edition. I know you have all been waiting and waiting for this!

So who's first?

Brett: Work is good. He learned Adobe Acrobat this month and so now has a new class to teach under his belt. He is now working on PhotoShop and excited about it. He'll teach those classes in early June.

Amy: Well, I am 36 weeks pregnant now, 8 1/2 months. Monday my doctor was concerned that I was getting Toxemia, like I did when I had Zoe. My blook pressure had gone up and I had some other symptoms. So, she put me on modified bed rest, meaning I can go to work but I have to sit and do nothing all evening. By Thursday, all my sitting and Brett's serving had paid off and my BP was down. I will go to the doctor Monday again and Thursday but hopefully I won't have to have the baby next week. I plan to work until May 22nd. I have been trying to get as much done in my classroom for my sub that I can. Plus, all the end of year grading, paperwork and classroom cleaning. it is a bit overwhelming but I'll get done what I get done, right? My doctor thinks we'll probably go on the 27th or 28th to have him.

Baby: He is about 6 pounds 6 oz and has about 2 weeks to go. He was head down and is now head up. He likes to make mom sick still but he is quiet. :) He is still nameless. He arrival is highly anticipated. My mom will be here Saturday the 23rd and will stay for 3 weeks. Isn't that awesome? His other gramma will be here not long after he is born!

Zoe: Early this month she had all of her dental work done. She had IV sedation and now has 4 crowns and lots of fillings. Her teeth are beautiful and the dentist did an amazing job. On the 27th she is scheduled to have her brain MRI. (We are trying to do it early considering my doctor thinks we may be having little brother that day). The doctors seem to think it is mild cerebral palsy. Now, this really freaked me out at first. I pictured wheel chairs and major problems. But, CP is ANY muscular problem caused by a brain injury. Zoe has some problems with the muscles on her left side. Most people will NEVER notice. The main thing are some problems she has with running and jumping. This concerns me when I think of elementary school. But, we are going to see a physical therapist and take their advice. The developmental specialist we know said that many kids with mild CP learn to completely overcome it and work around it. It can't be cured but the brain can learn to work around the problem. She is having her first dance recital June 5th and is excited. Of course you'll see pictures of that great event very soon! Both grammas will get to see her dance and then she is going to go to Illinois for a week with Gramma Ellingson. When they come back Pat will stay for 2 weeks herself to help us out here with Zoe and the boy that Zoe calls "My baby"

So, that is our update. I know, I always am too wordy but I guess if you are still reading you hung in there. I wish I had a prize for you. :)

I'm sure you'll here an update from us soon!

Love to you all,
Amy, Brett, Zoe and baby boy

My Own Decor Elements

2009-03-29T22:41:00.002-05:00

I showed you in my last post (that was quite awhile ago) a picture of my friend's bedroom with Decor Elements. Well, I'd been planning to work on my own bedroom for awhile and over Spring Break finally got to work. Last summer I put up a scripture on my wall using plain black vinyl and a Cricut. It turned out well.

But, when the new Decor Elements Catalog came out I really wanted to add the large tree, Thoughts and Prayers, to the scripture. I wasn't totally sure it would work but I had to try it. So here is what I did.

First, the tree comes in two large pieces. On the pieces there are numbered segments. I cute the segments out and laid them the way they should go. There are printed instructions that come in with the tree that show you how to arrange the tree. The next step was to put up the tree on the wall (not attach it) but I used straight pins to put it where I thought it should go, to make sure it looked centered on the wall and over my saying. This was the part I worried about since my saying was there first. Here come the horrible part. (okay, I'm being a little dramatic). I had to peel the backing off of each individual section and rub it to the wall. On smaller Decor Elements pieces this is not really a problem at all. On these bigger segments I did find it difficult and would have done better with help. As it was, I was 7 months pregnant, standing on my bed and sweating and grunting to keep my balance. It was a longer process than it needed to be I think. I'm sure Molly, my dog, found it very amusing but I did get a little exasperated a couple of times. So, if you attempt this tree, recruit a helper and you'll be fine! This is the final product and I think it turned out well. It is hard to get a good picture of our bedroom, I can't back up far enough because of the dresser, but it seemed centered. I was happy with the overall turnout.

What do you think? I'd love some feedback.

Talk to you soon,

Amy

Decor Elements in Action

2009-01-26T22:14:00.003-06:00

A friend of mine went online to my Stampin' Up website and placed my first online order! I was so excited.

She purchased some Decor Elements for her bedroom and did a wonderful job putting them up. I asked her if I could share her picture of the finished product and she said sure. She really did a great job!

I have something in my for my bedroom too and can't wait to order it. The Decor Elements line has a lot of new products and you should take a look through the catalog. The link is on the sidebar.

Right now if you order from my website you get a free Idea Book and Catalog with your purchase.

Barbara, thanks for sharing your picture! You have a $10 credit with me for being my first online customer.

Talk to you soon,

3 months later...

2009-01-25T21:41:00.000-06:00

I know, I've been gone for months! But, I'm alive and usually well. I do have one piece of news I haven't shared!

I am now 5 months pregnant. I hadn't told you when I was blogging before because we kept it a secret for several weeks until we could tell Brett's family in person. We told them at Thanksgiving. They were excited and surprised. My sister in law was a little miffed. She said she'd already missed a 1/3 of the pregnancy.

We find out on Feb 2nd if it is a boy or girl. Zoe is convinced it is a "girl sister" not a "boy sister". She won't hardly tolerate talk of a brother. :) It is pretty funny.

Zoe is getting so chatty. She told me the other day to "stop acting like a baby". She just seems to know everything and she's not even 3! She is really fun to be around.

What about Stampin' Up? Well, things are going well. I haven't been creating too much but I do have somethings to show you. I will do my best to start getting some things posted.

I have lost a several subscribers in my absence but hopefully if you are still around you can let me know.

Talk to you soon,
Amy

We're Puzzled

2008-11-03T09:06:00.001-06:00

Brett and I tried to complete a puzzle, for some fun family time, but after a few weeks we finally had to put it away unfinished.

I don't think I have ever had that happen! My mom and I always did puzzles together growing up and we always finished. But, this one just wasn't happening. There were about 100 pieces left and thy were all basically the exact same color. We just didn't have the gumption to finish.

Sad, I know. Oh well.

Maybe we'll conquer the next one!

Talk to you soon,

A Passion for Good Works

2008-11-01T10:08:00.000-05:00

Aren't these so pretty? I obviously loved my top note die and some of the new stamp sets in this catalog! I never thought I'd get into the sillhouette stamp sets that came out but I really love them.

This set has the tall grass and the coneflower plus 2 sentiments. (Both shown). They can be used to make a quick, quick card as shown. They say "live with passion" and "good works are links in a chain of love". I love the passion one!

The card on the right has colored flowers. I used the sponge daubers and applied the ink onto the rubber with them. It allowed me to collor the image but not give it super defined lines like markers would.

I hope you enjoy them!
Have a great day!

Talk to you soon,

Top of the Branch

2008-10-27T08:04:00.000-05:00

Here is a card using the Sizzix Top Note die and the Eastern Elegance stamp set. the sentiment is from Inspired by Nature. (I need to pull that set out!) I also used the jumbo eyelets. That is a big deal because I usually hoarde those eyelets but I actually used one!

To color this stamp I used my Stampin' Write markers and colored directly on the rubber. I also sponged around the top note die for some dimension. This card was so simple and would be good for beginning stamps or it could be dressed up by someone with a little more need for background stamping!

Talk to you soon,

You ought to be in pictures...

2008-10-25T14:40:00.000-05:00

..or pictures ought to be in these!

I have had some wooden frames I bought at Michael's for $1 for far too long ago. During our hurricane craft time I made a couple of frames for the craft fair. I covered them with patterned paper and added some paper embelishments. These frames don't come with glass os I am not sure if they will sell or not but I sure thought they were cute.

What do you think? Can you think of something for these frames?

Talk to you soon,

Scallop Box tutorial

2008-10-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my second tutorial! I am so excited that I actually took pictures! I want to show you how I made the box that I posted yesterday. It was very easy.

1. Using the small envelope die from Stampin' Up, cut out 4 envelopes.

2. Next, glue the flaps together on each of the 4 envelopes.
3. Glue the fouth envolope's flap to the first to make the square.

Tip: I must say that I love the Scotch multi surface adhesive for this project! It is some powerful stuff!

4. Glue the flaps that are sticking out down flat to the inside of the box.

5. Glue the unscalloped flaps together to create the bottom of the box. There will be a teeny hole in the middle of the bottom.

Tip: As you glue these flaps together be sure that the sides stay at right angles to each other or the box will be crooked.

6. Cut a 12" strip of designer paper about 1.5 inches thick. Wrap it arounnd the box

Tip: The ends of the paper will not meet each other. If you want, either cut 4 pieces, one for each side, just cover 3 sides, or create a decoration to cover where the paper doesn't meet.

Tip 2: Wrap your strip carefully so that it doesn't wind up uneven as shown in this picture.

7. Fold the scallped flaps down and glue them to the box, be sure to do this after you put on the patterned paper if you are using it.

8. Either leave it as an open box or create a handle as shown on the spider box!

Talk to you soon,

Creepy Spider Box

2008-10-22T11:40:00.002-05:00

Look at this adorable basket! No complicated patterns, I promise. I used my Big Shot again. (I really do like that little machine...any one wanna buy my cuttlebug?)
Jenn had this spider web paper from the target dollar spot last year. She graciously let me cut into it! I filled the basket with some of that spider web stuff we can buy this time of year. I also glued a spider ring on the front of the basket so someone could be living in that web paper.

I cut the handle and put more paper on it and attached it with two silver brads.

Oh, you want to know how to make the box? Okay, I'll post another tutorial to show you!

Talk to you soon,

Fun Treat Bag Kit

2008-10-20T07:40:00.000-05:00

Using my Big Shot and the top note die I created this little baggie topper. I made a kit of 12 toppers and bags that are decorated for a birthday. If someone buys it at the craft fair they would have to fill the bag and staple it to the topper. I thought it would be a fun idea for a mom to use for class treats. They were super easy to make.

The paper is from Current and is very thick patterned paper. It worked well for the topper. The circular happy birthday stamp is from "Happy For you" and it coordinates with the Hot Spots stamps set and the Stampin' Up circle punches.

Thanks for stopping by!

Talk to you soon,

Candy Corn Pouch

2008-10-18T14:40:00.000-05:00

I saw the cutest little pouch full of candy in the Paper Crafts Magazine and knew I had to make some. It was so easy!

I thought I would make my very first picture tutorial!!! 1. The base piece of paper needs to be 4.25" by 11.5" (or so).
2. Score at 4", 5" and 9". You can adjust these numbers if you want it to be taller or wider.
3. Cut a piece of patterned paper 4.25 x 4" and adhere it to the first 4" section of your base paper.

4. Next, I cut a circle in the front of the pouch using a round die from my Nestabilities set. (I used the 5th circle out from the center.) I bought my nesties from The Crop Stop at a great price.

I used my Big Shot with both tabs down on the spacer platform to cut the circles.

Tip: I should have put the hole closer to the other side of the square, towards what will be the bottom of the pouch, closer to the scored line.

5. In order to make the black scallop ring around the hole I used the same circle die and a scallop die that fit on the outise of it.

It creates this scalloped ring.

6. Glue the ring around the rosie, I mean circle. :)
7. fold on all the scored lines.
8. Tie a ribbon around the flap.
9. Fill a clear pouch with candy, fold over the top and staple it to the pouch, under the ribbon.
10. Give to someone that needs a treat, not a trick!

Talk to you soon,

Fall box in a Bag

2008-10-17T08:40:00.000-05:00

I didn't have much fall paper when the hurricane was coming and so I bought a stack of fall paper by "Me and My Big Ideas". There are some beautiful papers in it. I do love the quality of my Stampin' Up paper, it is thicker and double sided, but I didn't have any when it was time to get started making things for the craft show. We made A LOT of bags like this. I feel like this one needs something cute on the outside but don't have it there yet.

If you'd like instructions for these easy bags, you can find them in THIS POST
Hope you've had a wonderful week!

Talk to you soon,

Gift Card Pulls

2008-10-15T11:40:00.000-05:00

So, Jenn and I thought something fun to make for our upcoming craft fair would be gift card holders. These are fun to made and are similar to the Trick or Treat pulls in the previous post. These are easy to make but the hardest part for me is coming up with something different for the outsides! Geez! It really mankes my creative juices get worked up. When you pull on the ribbon the inner paper comes up. There are two half circle slits that will hold a gift card inside.
Aren't the holiday ones great? I love the pink snowman. :)
Thanks for stopping by to look!

Talk to you soon,

Trick or Treat Pulls

2008-10-13T14:40:00.000-05:00

These are candybar holders for Halloween. Jenn actually made these when she was here for the "hurrication". The black paper is a pocket for the candy bar. She used stamps from Michael's for the images. Aren't those witch shoes the cutest? She emobossed the buckles with gold using the versamarker and gold embossing powder. The ribbon goes lengthwise around the candybar and they comes out through the slot punch at the top and finally is tied. So, if you pull the ribbon know, the candy bar slides up.

They are super cute and easy to make. Decorating the outside is the hardest part! We also made these types of pulls as gift card holders. I'll show you those later!

Talk to you soon,

Cling Vinyl and a Cricut

2008-10-11T14:40:00.000-05:00

Hello! Have you missed me? Sometimes my computer time is interrupted by real life! Ha, ha! But, I will try to post a few things! Stampin' Up now sells vinyl that can be used on walls, mirrors, cars, or anything really. It is called Decor Elements. To view the online catalog CLICK HERE. It is such a great product line. They have some of the cutest new holiday images and some great baby things that would be perfect for a baby room!

Sometimes though you want to use a phrase that you can't buy. In that case, you can buy the vinyl uncut. This vinvyl will go through the bigshot machine or you can use it in the cricut too. That is great so you can put up words that you want to.
The wall in the picuteres is our "cross wall". On our honeymoon Brett and I bought a cross in Santa Fe, NM (it is the large blue and white one on the bottom). We had also gotten two as wedding gifts. Since then, when we travel we like to buy a cross to add to our collection. This is a fun way to remember where we've gone. These crosses are from Costa Rica, Barcelona, San Antonio, Amarillo, and Illinois. We have also had friends give us crosses for different occasions. They all have a story. At one point I was thinking about them and just thinking that the cross completely represents the love of Christ. It reminds me that of Faith, Hope and Love, nothing is greater than Love (I Corinthians 13) and there is not greater love that that of Christ and that he gave up his life for me. So, I wanted to put the words Faith, Hope and Love on my cross wall.
My mom actually found these vinyl words on ebay. They go on so easily; they just rub on.

I will show you another picutre later of Brett and I applying phrase that I made in our bedroom. It is such and easy process.

Talk to you soon,

Cell Phone Popper

2008-09-24T13:37:00.002-05:00

This is absolutely crazy! If I new how to imbed the video in my blog post I would! You have to see what these people did with their cell phones.

Cell Phone Video Link

If cell phones do this to corn, what does it do to my brain?

ETA: So, I did check out SNOPES before I posted this. I don't usually fall for crazy claims. SNOPES does have an article about cellphones cooking an egg and it is proven false. But, I didn't see anything about the popcorn. But, okay, I'll admit, I assume it is fake. But, how did they do it?

Talk to you soon,

Amy

Boo to You!

2008-09-20T10:40:00.000-05:00

As Jenn and I started crafting, the first thing I wanted to make was a decoration I saw in the papercrafts magazine. It was really a quick and easy project.

Isn't it the cutest? I bought 3 clay pots and painted them black. I also bought a dowel, cut it in thirds and painted it back too. I bought some white wooden letters from Provo Craft that have small magnets ont he back. I didn't need magnets but those are the only small letters I could find. I painted them orange.

Next I cut 3 squares of gable green cardstock and spritzed them black ink. I cut glued the green paper to the stick with Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive. (I love that stuff). Next, I cut 3 squares of black paper and stamped the ghost image in white craft ink on two of them. Then, I glued the dry letters on the black paper. I put think foam dots between the black and green paper so that the back would stick to the green and so there would be room for the dowel in between. I also put some glue on the dowel so it would stick to the black paper. I stamped one more ghost on black and cut around it. I cut around a second piece to use as a mat behind the ghost. I put some wire in between the two pieces and glued to together. I stuck this ghost between the black and green paper on the "B" square.

Next I cut some floral foam and put it into the pots. I stuck the dowel in the foam. I coverd the foam with spanish moss. For the finishing touch I added some ribbon around the dowels. I love this project. It will be hard to sell at the craft fair. Do you think it will sell? Craft fairs are funny. I make a bunch of stuff totally not thinking it will sell. I've only done one, last year and it was a success. Jenn tells me I need to think positively. Okay, I will.

Talk to you soon,

Bring it on Ike - We're ready for you!

2008-09-19T14:40:00.005-05:00

Well I told you that I had gone to Micheal's to get Hurricane supplies and so had Jenn. Before she lost power last Friday night she started crafting. She started before I did so I thought I'd show you some of her creations. I took these pictures on Monday when we went to clean out her fridge. This first picture is of the 3 garbage bags of food we had to throw away from her fridge and freezer. So sad. But, it is a good chance to get rid of the mystery condiments that probably need tossing anyway and a great time to clean that fridge!
First up is this "oh so cute" Christmas journal that she made. I loved it. She used the bella rose paper and a retired stamp set. It is just adorable.
Next she started in on Halloween. She and I are going to be in 3 craft fairs and so we have made a ton of these bags in a box. She made several Christmas ones too, I'll save those and just show off these cute Halloween ones. We found this paper and ribbon at Micheal's and she made the handle with the scallop circle punch and an inch circle punch.
Next us is the Halloween card. She got this stamp at Micheals and the ribbon too. She used all Stampin' Up! punches though. The inside shows the whole stamped image.
Finally, here is what we are doing, STILL. We have been crafting at my kitchen table since Jenn got here on Saturday. Although I really want her power to come on I am going to hate having her go home. :( It has been a ton of fun.

Talk to you soon,

Now you can Order Online!

2008-09-17T11:50:00.001-05:00

Stampin' Up! made a very exciting launch this week... ONLINE ORDERING!
That means 24/7, anytime you want!!!Click HERE to start shopping!!!!!!

You can place your online orders from anywhere within the United States and have it shipped right to your door! It's so easy to get started:
Visit my demonstrator website at www.amyellingson.stampinup.net
Click on SHOP NOW in the top right corner.
Click on customer login to set up your own personal shopping account (be sure to save your password in a safe place).
Have fun shopping!

Hurricane Ike Update

2008-09-16T12:11:00.001-05:00

Hello! I just wanted to send a post hurricane update from Houston. Things are really crazy here but Brett, Zoe and I are very blessed. We had minimal damage to the house. We lost some shingles, have some fence damage and our front 3 year old tree is leaning in a major way. We lost power at 8pm Friday night and we were surprised that we lost it so early. We had some pretty gusty winds early in the evening but we woke up at about 2:30 to crazy wind gusts and it was scary. It was raining but the rain wasn't as crazy as the wind. Zoe woke up at 4pm and she was scared. It was REALLY noisy.

So, the three of us slept in the guest bed (kind of slept). At 7am Zoe was hungry. We woke up to a cloudy, humid day but the day was calm. We were not sure what to do with ourselves. We thought about evacuating because we heard that we might not get power for 2 weeks. That was a scary thought. We took a drive to my school to check on my classroom. It is an outside room in a trailer and I was worried but it was fine. I don't even think it lost power! Geez. Our trip to the school was a little crazy. Since our neighborhood is new it was clean and there was some roof damage and a lot of fence damage but in areas with trees it was a different story. People lost trees, everything was a mess. We felt VERY lucky.

Miraculously our power came on Saturday night at 5pm. We immediately called some friends and invited them to come over. Bill and Jennifer headed right over with their two sons. They have been here since Saturday. It is nice to have them. We all get along really well and so we aren't having trouble. Jenn and I have been crafting and the guys have been skating and the kids are doing just great. We went yesterday to clean out her fridge. Her neighbor had a tree through his roof but they didn't have damage like that. Just a downed fence and they lost part of their tree.

Sunday, we had a little church service at home. We sang songs and read scripture and prayed. It was really great. When it was time to sing songs, Zoe chose the ABC song. Funny. We had lost power again Sunday morning but had it back again by 2 pm. *phew* Sunday night my friend Laurie came with her kids to sleep over. It was just so hot and it was hard to sleep in areas without power. Her husband stayed home though because people are worried about looters. It was great to have a housefull of people.

Friends around us have slowly been getting power back. Each neighborhood is a victory for us. There are still 1.5 million customers without power out of the 2.1 million. FEMA has set up 17 places people can pick up ice, water and military MRE's. Crazy. A "cold" front has moved in and it has made all the difference. It has been cool and breezy at night. In the daytime only in the mid 80's and this is so much better than what it has been and what is was Saturday and Sunday.

Today I saw a comment online to a news article and it made me mad. Someone said, "It is hard to have sympathy for people that were told to evacuate and didn't." Well, I just want to make it clear that in Houston, we were not told to evacuate. Only a few zip codes were to told evacuate. Most people did. I agree with the commentor that it is hard to feel sorry for those that didn't and were supposed to but keep in mind, the 4 million residents of the Houston area were told to stay. Most did. We are helping each other. Neighbors are meeting in the street and cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner for each other as their food threatens to spoil. Neighbors are helping each other cut down tree limbs, clear yards, and clear trees that are blocking streets. People are opening their homes to strangers so that people can have relief from the heat of Houston. Neighbors are powering their neighbor's refrigerators with their own generators. These aren't just stories on the news. This is what my friends are doing. So, that is my little rant. We didn't stay because we were stubborn. Geez.

But, I wanted to send this to everyone to let them know we are fine. So far I don't have school until Thursday but other districts are closed until Monday so we'll see. Lots of schools still don't have power and they are having trouble getting food for the cafeterias and gas for the busses. (The regular gas stations that are open have lines about 15 cars deep). So, I'm home. Feel free to email or comment to say "hi"! I'll post pictures of my creations when I get some photos taken and get them done.

Hunkerin' Down and My Husband Rocks

2008-09-12T13:42:00.005-05:00

Hey ya'll! I know you didn't hear from me this week. Geez, I just dindn't make time to blog!

Well, I'm home today, school was called off because of hurricane Ike. It hasn't started yet. In Galveston the water has already come up over the sea wall and the end of the island that doesn't have a sea wall is flooding already. Crazy and the outer bands of the storm haven't even arrived!

We are at home. Brett (it is Friday and he does rock!) went to help our older neighbor with some plywood cutting. (They asked him to make "a" cut). Hey was there for over 2 hours and they got all of their windows coverd with plywood. No complaining from my man. That's why he's awesome.

We took everthing out of our backyard and put it in the garage and we are taking the screens off the windows so we don't have to replace them. We are expecting winds between 60-70 mph for 12 hours straight with gusts between 70-90 mph. I can't really imagine thatWe think the worst thing we'll experience will be losing power. Yuck. But, it is a lot better that what we are seeing on the news.

Okay so what did I do today? Well, I went out to get some hurricane supplies. At Michaels. Hee hee. I got some things to work on for the craft fairs coming up and I got Brett a model. He decided that he is going to start being crafty too. :) What a man.

So, maybe I'll made some wonderful things, until we lose electricity! So, this is us, home for the weekend.

Say a prayer for us in Texas! I'll keep you posed!

My Husband Rocks! (He lets us be us)

2008-09-05T10:11:00.000-05:00

"I love you just the way you are" (I can hear the tune playing, can you?) I truly am a lucky woman. I am so not perfect. My daughter is not perfect. My marriage isn't perfect. My husband loves me anyway.

One of my male blog readers (you know who you are Mr. Zorro) called me the other day to visit. He and I used to work together. Toward the end of our conversation he told me that he liked to read the nice things I had to say about Brett on my blog. I told him, "Well, I am pretty lucky to have a guy like Brett." He replied, "He is pretty lucky to have you. You guys are perfect for each other and Zoe is lucky to have you as parents. You guys are like a Norman Rockwell family." Well, that was so sweet. I thought about it quite a bit after that. I even talked to Brett about it. It is funny because I do choose to share great things on Fridays about my husband. On my blog I don't share the squabbles we have about this and that and I don't share about our "budget discussions". I don't tell you that I am pretty lazy when it comes to house work and that makes Brett feel stressed and causes us some grief. I don't talk about the idea that we are too busy sometimes and we get so caught up in the day to day and it eventually leads to a bump in our road about who needs to quit what "extracurricular" activity. I guess I don't share that stuff because mom always told me to just share the stuff I want her to remember about Brett. Honestly, I try not to hold on to that junky stuff either, it really weighs one down. We aren't a Norman Rockwell family. I think his families would't have dirty carpet and rooms of the house full of unpacked moving boxes. His family wouldn't have unscooped dog poop in the yard. I guess I just need my readers to know this. We aren't perfect. But, we do have God and he holds us together and makes our relationship new and perfect everyday. We aren't anything special. But, because we know Christ our marriag is special and unique. It is not like a lot of marriages in the world.
So, how does this relate to Brett? He know about these imperfecitons and loves me anyway and says he coulen't imagine life not married to me. He tells me about his day and asks about mine. He lets our marriage be what it is and at the same time finds ways to help us make it better. He really is just perfect for me.
I guess Mr. Zorro was right. :)

Here are pictures of Zoe in her Cubs cheerleader outfit. Totally not related to this post but oh so adorable!

Cougar Kindness

2008-09-04T10:07:00.001-05:00

I was telling you yesterday about the board at work for positive notes. It is called "Cougar Kindness" (hence my title) and I also made some of these little notes to put up. These are also made using the Big Shot and this exclusive Stampin' Up die cut comes in the starter kit. It holds a teeny tiny 2" x 3" note. So cute. I have also seen that they also look cute used on the front of a card and I'll have to try that out.
Because I am using these at work and not for a workshop or something I used all retired papers. (I am on a rampage to use that paper up! Any ideas?)

I figure I can put the name of the person I am sending the note to so it can be seen on the top of the note and then write the litte note below.
The fun thing about the Cougar Kindness board is that at the end of the month all the notes are taken down and they give a little gift to one person that was recognized on the board.

People better start doing some nice stuff for me so I can use these little notes! Oh alright, I guess I should say that I should start looking for the good in people so I can use these little notes!

Have a happy Thursday! Talk to you soon,

I think you're Tops!

2008-09-03T10:10:00.002-05:00

Hello ladies and gents,
How did everyone's Labor Day weekend go? We had a great weekend. Sorry I didn't post the last couple days. I warned ya! I learned the history of Labor Day at church on Sunday and didn't know it before. We sure take for granted our privilege to work an 8 hour work day. I often whine about my situation but jeez, I've read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and we don't have to endure anything like that. Can you imagine what Americans 150 years ago would think of our lives today?

Anyway, before I get all caught up in that, I wanted to share the cutest little notes I made Sunday. I actually stamped! It was glorious. I used my Big shot to punch out several of these Top Note dies (the white piece you see on these cards). At work we have a cool bulletin board to post notes to thank or acknowledge co-workers. I thought that I would make mine cute, you know, beyond the normal sticky note. So, I made up some of these bad boys, or good girls, depending if you check out the pink or the blue ones. They were soooo easy and if I do say so, so stinkin' cute! I used upsy daisy on the 3 that look the same. I stamped in one color and took a little dauber with a darker color and highlighted parts of the flowers on the rubber before I stamped the image. Very easy and I like the effect. I used the Eastern Elegance stamps for the blue on on the right. That pacific point is a really nice color I think.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed there. (really, because you are going to see several like it over the next few days as I show off what I made Sunday!)

Talk to you soon!

On a Personal Note: Saturday I took Zoe to the swimming pool. She and I were the only ones there and the two lifeguards on duty were sleeping in lounge chairs in different corners of the patio (not kidding). Anyway, we are floating in the baby pool and she comes up and flings her floatie clad arms around me and gives me a great hug. I said, "Thank you for the hug!" she said, "I love you (I wuv ooo)". I said (trying not to tear up), "I love you too." She said, "I wuv ooo, too".
It was great. Her first unprompted I loved you and it couldn't have been more perfect.

My Husband Rocks! (He made chicken)

2008-08-29T09:13:00.000-05:00

I know you have heard me complaining, I mean telling you, that school was back in session. Well, Brett has been great about helping out in the evenings as I get adjusted. Right now I am thanking the good Lord that it is Friday because this week felt like it would never end. Monday seems like eons ago!

Monday night I was very tired. The first day always goes well because the adrenaline is pumping but come the evening and my feet are screaming and my body is tired. I had thawed some chicken that I was going to cook and Brett says, "oh, let me just grill it on the george forman grill." And he did. He usually loves to use seasoning but he called this the "Plain Jane, season it yourself, Chicken". He made mac and cheese too and green beans. He really is a stud.

Then, Tuesday was worse. The adrenaline was gone and reality was setting in that I have to do this for 9 more months. I could barely think when I came home. He really wanted to go skating and I told him that was fine but that I'd need to go to bed early. He realized I was very tired, came right home and took care of Zoe so I could nap while our pizza was cooking in the oven (I did not make chicken, I heated the oven). I didn't even here the buzzer go off and he got the pizza out and cut it. He later bathed Zoe and got her to bed and I was in bed by 9.

I love this man. He serves me.

Hope your man is as good to you.

Talk to you soon,

Amy

A blog award!

2008-08-28T21:20:00.004-05:00

I am honored. I don't have a huge following, only between 200-500 visitors per week (except when I posted about SU's convention, then I was at about 3000 that week!). So, there is another blogger out there that thinks I am so talented and I just love her for it! It is funny because there is so much other talent out there too but she chose me! She is so faithful about leaving comments and that is so great. Comments make blogging worth it!

She lives in Colorado and has 2 boys and lots of animals. She has overcome a lot in her life and is trying to live her best to raise great kids and love her husband. She even makes homemade food for her fish (I assume a pirahna).

Her blog is MamaHut's House (not sure why) and you should check her out.

So, I am supposed to choose 7 blogs that I love and give them this award. I follow about 100 blogs (in my spare time) and so it is hard to choose. Many of the blogs I read have already gotten this award so if it is a duplicate for them, that's okay, they will know they are really loved.

1. Patty Bennett - Patty's Stampin' Spot

2. Lori - My wooden Spoon (even though I NEVER win her giveaways)

3. Wanda - My Creative Corner

4. Laurie - Tip Junkie

5. Vera - Vera Stamps

6. Yvonne - Yvonne's Stampin' Place

7. Kimberly - Stampin' By the Sea

Have a great one folks!

Amy

You little Turkey

2008-08-27T13:00:00.000-05:00

I saw this card on one of the demonstator support opperators at Stampin' Up when I was there earlier this month. I have been loving ideas for our punches and gathering ideas of my own. I want to start experimenting and making something cool to show you. But, in the meantime I wanted to show you this cute little guy. Maybe you'll want to send out Thanksgiving cards yourself! I wish I knew who the creator was but I don't. So, if it you, WOW, what a card! Let me know and full credit is yours. :)

Happy Wednesday Everyone! I hope to make it through the rest of this looooong first week. Geez! Thank goodness we have a 3 day weekend. God IS good!

Talk to you soon,

Amy

Clearly Lovely

2008-08-26T13:12:00.000-05:00

Look at these cutest little boxes!!! I saw one on Lori's blog, Inking Aloud and just loved it and so I had to try it for myself. It really was pretty easy. Next time I might make it a little taller and make the pieces made out of patterened paper longer. I used the new Hawaiian Papaya patterned paper and I LOVE it!! The ribbon is the chocolate chip satin. The little lid is attached to the ribbon. So cute!

Now, Go Make Something!!

Talk to you soon,

Amy

On a Personal Note: Well, school started Monday. Wow! I can hardly believe it. I seem to have a nice bunch of kids. They are always pretty good the first couple weeks. :) I am looking forward to the school year. Zoe is adjusting well to Montessori. Thank goodness. Her tears in the morning are hard to deal with. This year first period is my conference period so it makes the rest of the day really long. Last year 7th was my off time and so it is a huge switch. I will get used to it. We have a new baby in the family. That is exciting. Bailee was born last week to my cousin Kristopher and his wife Kaisha. Can't wait to meet her. Well, I'm spent and it is bedtime. Until later....

Typical Sunday Morning

2008-08-25T19:12:00.003-05:00

Sunday morning was a very hectic one. I seemed to get up with plenty of time but little by little the chaos set in. I remeber that my friend Dora was having a baby shower after church. Oh, I needed a card. First, Zoe wakes up, "Mommy, c'mere! Mommy, c'mere. Mommy, I need you. I awake." So, I got her up and Brett made her some juice and we sat for awhile (as is the custom) and watched a bit of TV. She wanted to see Dora. So, as we watched Dora we all tried to wake up a little bit. Next, Brett had to leave. He leaves earlier than we do because he is a part of the worship team and goes early for sound check. So, while Zoe watches a second Dora I head to take a shower. (I am so fast). So, I mostly got ready. Next I knew I needed to be quick and craft. I headed to the craft closet and was going to make a card but them decided to do a gift bag instead. Even though it was a baby bag I wanted to use the new Upsy Daisy set (it is on sale right now at 15% off).
I bought some white bags 2 for $1 at Dollar Tree. Then I cut some pink cardstock 8x10. I also trimmed some chocolate paper and some new Bella Rose.
On the stamp itself intead of pressing it into the stamp pad, I used a little ink applicator dauber and touched that to the ink pad and then applied it to the rubber. I applied pretty in pink ink first, then red riding hood red (could there be a longer ink name?), and finally kiwi kiss ink.
I added some new brown stiched ribbon with a faux bow and attached the whole front to the bag. I added the little card and a baby sentiment. Hopefully the new mama will reuse this gift bag for sure.
So then, it is time to get Zoe ready. She is pretty quick. She loves to get dressed ususally and wanted to wear her pink cowboy boots. She looked so adorable. It was really time to go. Her attitude quickly became not so adorable. She was mad about something. I don't remember. Juice, or wanting to eat veggie tale fruit snacks or wanting to go get "neenuts" (donuts for those of you than don't speak toddler). She starts to become impossible and nothing is going to make her happy (have you ever known a 2 year old?) Then we are finally are on the way out and she squats and her eyes get wide. Do you know what she was doing? Well, I had to wait for her to finish her business. Finally we get out of the house, on the way out she had a "Monk" moment and had to go back and staighten the magnets on the refridgerator. *sigh*

We were late for church.

Talk to you later,
Amy

Spotlighting

2008-08-21T09:00:00.001-05:00

I told you yesterday that the group recently I went to a meeting of stamping demonstrators. We had a meeting and talked about new things from Stampin' Up. A couple of the ladies demonstated cards to make and we had a swap. This is one of the cards we made. I really liked the technique. It is called spotlighting.

Here is what to do:

1. Emboss the flowers or other image on glossy cardstock with clear or white embossing powder.

2. Using a brayer, spread 1 coat of a lighter colored ink over the glossy card stock.

3. Cut or punch several sizes of circles from sticky note or other paper and place them over some of the embossed images.

4. Use the brayer again with a darker shade of ink.

5. Remove the circles and you will have a lighter area underneath.

6. Use a tissue to rub any excess ink off of the embossed areas.

7. Use the paper you made to create a beautiful card!

It was a fun technique. I had done steps 1 and 2 before but not 3,4,5 and so I definately learned something new.

I hope that group can get together soon for more sharing! I'll post some of the swap cards I got from that group later.

Talk to you soon,

Amy

On a Personal Note: I am too tired after going back to work to post much extra. I can barely keep up with a post a day. I am sure I will have to lessen it to like 3 per week or something. I just don't have enough time to stamp and show you creations! It is always hard getting on schedule. And, next week, when school really starts, I'll have to be there even earlier than I have been this week. I might die.

Anyway, life is adjusting around here. Zoe is enjoying school but comes home very tired and can be quite cranky. We try to give her a protein snack when she gets home (at the suggestion of my MIL) and that seems to help. Brett is loving his new job and that is such a blessing. I am so thrilled for him. This year I feel really cranky being back at work. There are a lot of changes and that is always hard to deal with but I'm not sure if that is where the crankiness comes from or not. I have so much to do to get ready yet we have had ZERO time to work in our rooms. We get a 1/2 day Friday. That is not enough! I hope these snarky thoughts go away. It is not possible to be a good teacher and incredibly grumpy at the same time.

Anyway, I am too tired to think of much more for this post. I'll be around. I promise!

My Big Shot is Coming!

2008-08-20T09:00:00.001-05:00

Stampin' Up is now selling the Sizzix Big Shot! I am excited. Mine shipped out today and so I should have it this week. It seemed like it took forever for it to ship and I can't wait to get it in my hands! It will be delivered Thursday. (Can you come over Friday Jenn?) We had a card swap at a recent Stampin' Up meeting and my upline Angie made this cool card with her Big Shot. She used the "top note" die. She folded a piece of paper in half first and made sure that the blade didn't cut some of the fold so that this die can be used as a little card. Isn't it so cute? She also used the new Bella Blooms that she won at convention for the flower and the paper is the Haiku designer paper she won.
This was a great card Angie! I can't wait to make some!

Problems with Blogger

2008-08-18T23:10:00.002-05:00

Hey pals,

Sorry you didn't have a post today. I have been at the computer for an hour but I can't upload any pictures to blogger. So, it isn't much fun to post when I don't have pictures to show you. I will try again tomorrow. Inservice is kind of kicking my butt anyway and I am tired. I should have gone to bed an hour ago. Tomorrow is another day of lively inservice...I will survive this. I won't be able to try and post again until tomorrow evening.

In the meantime have a wonderful week and think stampy thoughts!

Talk to you soon,
Amy

Spring Branch Stampers!

2008-08-18T22:37:00.005-05:00

This is the post I wrote yesterday that I couldn't get the pictures to upload. Phew...it worked tonight. I had inservice again today and we went to see Brandon Heath, a Christian music artist, in a free concert at a near by Chic-fil-A. It was fun and Zoe really enjoyed it. Then I made Brett go with me to arrange my classroom a little bit. Every year I just have a hard time deciding how to set up desks and my desk and stuff.
Anyway, this is what I said last night...

Sorry my post is so late today. I had to work and then my new stamp club met. It was so great! I have really been looking forward to the club. We made a gift bag, a card and started a technique book. We put two techniques in it tonight.
I gave the girls a book mark with the new in-colors on one side and a calendar on the other. I got that idea from Gail Beezley in San Antonio. The technique books were fun to make. They are photo albums and I replaced the front cardboard decoration with my own decoration. I liked the way they turned out.

If you are in the Houston area, the Spring Branch club has one spot and the Katy Club has 2. I'd love to have you join. Each month we make 2-3 projects, learn new techniques, and one lady is the hostess for the month. Each member commits to spending $25 on product. It really is a fun way to build your stampin' supplies!

Talk to you soon,

Amy

A new use for my SU! Ribbon

2008-08-16T07:15:00.001-05:00

Well, I usually use my ribbon on cards but I had to show you the simple little hair ties I made for Zoe with the red striped grosgrain we have. I just tied red and the red striped to a white stretchy hair tie and it it was so cute. I actaully made 2 sets of these so her cousin would have matching ones for a picture we were having taken. Zoe didn't really likes to say "cheese" and pose right now when the cameral comes out so I couldn't get her to put her head down so I could take a shot of just the bows. Oh well. Since this picture we have trimmed her bangs! (I gave my baby her first hair cut!!!!) Yikes!

Hope you all have a great weekend. I am trying to be crafty so hopefully I will get some picutres taken and have some new things for you Monday! Today I need to buy some new "school clothes" for myself since it is Tax Free Weekend here in Texas. We'll see if I can find some pants to fit me. *sigh*

Talk to you soon,

My Husband Rocks! (He eats stale Cheerios)

2008-08-15T07:16:00.002-05:00

You may be thinking, "What?" But here is the deal...

When my mom came to visit she brought a new game for Zoe named "Don't Eat Pete" by Klutz. I'd link the game but can't find it for sale anymore. It is a cute game. There is a book with 9 pages and each page has several faces in a grid on the page. All the players (except one) choose which face is Pete and then cover all the faces with Cheerios (or goldfish or M&M's).

So last Saturday, we explained the game to Zoe and Brett, Mom and I chose Pete. Zoe starts eating the Cheerios. Brett asks my mom (who is famous for buying things on Ebay, at garage sales and GoodWill), "Is this a new game?" We weren't sure why he asked, mom said yes, and Zoe kept eating the Cheerios. Finally, she finds Pete and we say, "Don't Eat Pete!". Zoe smiles and laughs a little and then bursts into tears. It really was funny and I wasn't sure whether I should laugh or feel bad as she was clinging to gramma.

So, we tell Zoe that it is going to be okay and daddy is going to try it too. He seems hesitant and we aren't sure why. I am giving him looks trying to tell him to just do it, my mom was excited to try this game with Zoe. He asks my mom, "Where did you get this game?" I am trying to see if my mom is offended and not sure how to intercede. Then Brett points to the box that the cheerios are in (they are attached to the game book) and there is a sticker that says, "January 2001". I giggle and show it to mom, hoping she isn't going to be offended, and she giggles too. She says, well, I got it on Ebay. It was pretty funny. So what does Brett do? He goes on to try not to eat Pete of course. He did very well and when we shouted "Don't Eat Pete" Zoe cried anyway because we were yelling at Daddy.

That was the end of our Pete Eating that day but we did try again Sunday and Zoe liked it better, kind of, she still got pouty and I thought she was going to burst into tears but she held off for a couple of rounds before she finally lost it again.

But, what a dad to eat stale cheerios anyway just to soothe his daughter and show appreciation to his Mother in Law for a gift she brought. :)

Gotta love that guy!

A Card from a Friend

2008-08-14T07:54:00.000-05:00

My friend Jennifer Martin gave me a beautiful card on Monday and I wanted to post it. She is a co-worker of mine and we have been making posters together the past couple of days. She has been in Germany for much of the summer and I babysat her Cricut Machine. That was sure fun. I actually need to use it a little before I return it. :) Anywho...here is her beautiful card.

She used the new Dreams DeJour Set and a layout from SplitCoast Stampers. I love the layout but haven't been stamping enough lately to even try it out! She used the new scallop punch and the new Bella Rose paper with Riding Hood Red and Kiwi Kiss. I love it. Thanks Jen!

Today I am back at my high school in inservice. (Have you been hearing this a lot from me? I have 9 (!) days of inservice before school actually begins this year. Isn't that nuts???) We have a new principal so I am looking forward to meeting him. My classroom is a crazy mess and who knows when I'll get in there. But, no time to worry about that now. :0

Talk to you soon,

Christmas Window

2008-08-13T07:04:00.000-05:00

Oh man, I am really not ready to be back to work. I was so tired yesterday when I got home after my first day of inservice. It was a cool inservice, especially for me, we are making very cool posters for our classrooms. I will have to share some pictures of the ones I made. They are a lot of work but worth it and useful for my students.

Last weekend I had a meeting with the Stampin' Up! group that I am a part of. It is the ladies that all signed up under one particular lady. We made some great cards and I will share them of course. But, we also had a swap and I made this card. I actually received this card as a swap at convention and I re-created it for the swap. I changed some of them from Night of Navy to Not Quite Navy and liked both colors with the new Kiwi Kiss.

The original artist was Elizabeth Petzold for Rehoboth, MA. I had fun casing her card. I stamped the window first on a sticky note and cut out the big windows. Then I stamped the window on the white, covered it with the sticky note and then stamped the Christmas Tree. I then cut out the little girl and added her and finally punched out the snowmen to show what she is looking at.

I thought it was a really fun card. On a Personal Note: Zoe started "school" yesterday. We decided on a small Montessori school that has been in the area for about 10 years. It has a small number of students and teachers that have been there a long time. It isn't fancy but I was really impressed with the staff and the director and felt good about Zoe being there. We have been talking about it with her a lot and preparing her to go. She has been excited and keeps telling us, "at school, I use potty?" Well, she didn't yesterday but she sure is thinking about it and preparing herself for this big change in her life. She did well at school. She cried some at lunch time and nap time (same as home), but she played well and showed off her dance moves during music time. Here are a couple of first day shots. :)

Talk to you soon,

Thank You Box

2008-08-12T07:15:00.001-05:00

Can you believe that my summer is over and I am back at work today? I don't officially start until Thursday but I have to be an inservice today and tomorrow. It is a really fun and crafty inservice though. It is a poster making class. We will get to make fabulous posters for our classrooms. I have done it before and am excited to be doing it again. I will try to take some pictures so I can show you what I mean.

I wanted to show you a cute card box that we made at convention. The card inside was so simple and the box was too. I want you to notice the flower on the box. It is the new wide pink grosgrain ribbon. We took some linen thread made a running stitch down one side of the ribbon and then pulled it to gather the ribbon and tied the ends of the thread together to make it a circle. This cute little flower was made. Then I dipped the edges of the ribbon in Crystal Effects ( a very strong glue that dries hard and shiney) and then dipped the edges in chunky silver glitter. Isn't this so cute? It was very easy. In the middle of the flower we used a rub-on on pink piourette paper and punched it out. The little sentiment is just stamped and then cut into a banner shape. I was really happy with this little easy box. Should I post the directions?

This would be a fun little gift for someone, especially after a shower or wedding when they will need "Thank You" cards. If you are in my stamp club don't be surprised if we make these sooner or later!
Talk to you soon,

Sad to See Her Go

2008-08-11T11:01:00.001-05:00

Well, mom has to leave tonight. It just went too fast and I'm not ready. I always hate it when she leaves. No matter what I cry and cry as I drive away from the airport. It is awful and I'm not looking forward to it. We had a great time together. It isn't always something fancy that we do but it is time together. I was right, she made Zoe laugh and laugh. She bought her a little cassette tape player that has 2 microphones. Zoe loved it and sang and sang into it. She loves the movie Hairspray and we got the cutest videos of her singing along with the movie. Such fun. Here is a picture but please ignore the boxes in the background. :(

Well, I know I just showed you some luggage tags but here is one I made for my mom and gave to her for her trip home.
I used the Bella Rose paper because I love it and knew she would too. Her name was too big for the alphabet I wanted to use so I just punched out a K for Karen and used some cell phone bling to put a butterfly on this side. I didn't want the back to be just paper so I used the new scallop edge punch and added some more sticky rhinestones. I'd like to see Stampin' Up carry these little things. But, these I got for a dollar from Michaels and they are intended for cell phones. Then I used the word window punch to make two tags that said "Gramma's Things". I really loved the way it turned out. I had to teach myself how to use the word window punch when the phrase is longer than the window. It wasn't hard - simply trim the paper thing enough to thread through the punch with half under the blade and the other half sticking up through the punch hole. Punch one end and then the other. Maybe I need to take pictures of this if you don't get it. I realize it isn't the easiest thing to describe.
Well, I want to hang out with mom so I'll let you go. Talk to you soon,

So happy it made it!

2008-08-09T07:46:00.001-05:00

You may remember the stationary box full of cards I made for my gramma. Well, I am sending it home this weekend with my mom. I didn't want my mom to go home empty handed so I made her a little card set too.

I have to tell you that while we stood in line for the Memento Mall at convention last week we browsed through the new catalog of course (which I received boxes of today!!!). When I saw that Tart and Tangy had made the catalog I was thrilled and let out a shriek of joy in the line. I felt a bit silly later but I was so excited. This simple little set is truly one of my favorites.

Some of the cards I made were very simple and weren't really cards at all. They were more like a postcard but I intend for them to go into an envelope. My mom is great about sending notes to people and so I figured that this type of note would be perfect for her. Most of them used rub-ons and that was fun. This summer picnic paper I used is also a great paper and it is in the new catalog as well. I was thrilled about that! I let out a second shriek but it wasn't so loud. :) When I finished the cards I wanted to put them in a cute box and so I made one. That is the picture at the top of the post. I used wild wasabi for the bottom of the box and a transparency sheet for the top. They fit the cards perfectly but oops, the envelopes were too big. I'll know better next time.
These cards were truly very easy. I used scrap paper and had a lot of fun with them.

Talk to you soon,

A Practical Gift

2008-08-08T07:58:00.000-05:00

These are 2 of the gifts I made for Angie, my upline and roommate, for Convention. I also made her the planner I showed the other day. I had fun making these composition notebooks. This one I coved with the Bella Rose paper, used the new scallop punch and used the Seriph Alphabet to spell "create". I also made a pencil box for both of us. The color is ver similar to pacific point (which I love, well at least I love the new ribbon). I used more Bella Rose paper on it and some chipboard. It was to hold highliters with little page tab stickies, scissors, a pen and whatever else we needed. Lighting wasn't the best in the hotel room so that is why it is like this. The best part is (don't be offended Angie) the notebook was 50 cents and so was the pencil holder. Got to love back to school stuff! What gift for a dollar!

If you want to make one it is sooooo easy. Pick some paper and measure the front of the notebook. You could cover the black edge if you wanted or I have seen some people paint the black edge white. I used solid cardstock on the back of Angie's notebook but I used patterened paper on mine. I also put some cardstock on the inside cover to cover up the information printed there about class schedules. Finally, I made some little divider tabs with the round tab punch to divide the notebook into sections. I used the scotch glue that is liquid. It is really strong stuff but I think it stinks.

Hope you liked the idea. Angie seemed to. I definately liked mine and filled it with great ideas.

Talk to you soon,

My Husband Rocks! (He cleaned the kitchen)

2008-08-08T07:40:00.001-05:00

This week on Tuesday I made dinner (which I haven't done too much this summer). Afterward, Brett, Zoe and I all hung out upstairs until bedtime. I can't remember what I was doing after Zoe went to bed, maybe reading, maybe stamping, but I heard a couple clinks downstairs and didn't think much of it. To my wonderful delight, when I came downstairs Brett had put away the leftovers and had done the dishes. Notice, no leftovers sitting on the stove...and no dishes in the sink...Maybe he should be a flyhusband It was so wonderful! He helps out a lot around the house and doesn't complain about it. I am really so grateful for him. During the school year when I am working he carries a huge load and I love him even more for it. I don't know if my love language is more acts of service or quality time but he manages to meet both of those needs. He is just awesome and as you can imagine, He Rocks!

If you would like to join this "My Husband Rocks" group, check out the link on the right. :)

Talk to you soon!

How we get our Stuff!

2008-08-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

The Stampin' Up Campus in Riverton, UT is really amazing. First of all it is absolutely beautiful. The pictures above are the entryway. It is a round entrance and if you look down you see a beautiful nature scene. I kept thinking that it is no wonder we have such great stamps to choose from. It seems that the artists have a great environment to create in.

I was amazed at the distribution center. I think I always love to see how the details work. I think that is why I like that show, "How It's Made". Anyway, let me tell you about the shots below.

First there are people that put the boxes together and put a bar code on them that links them to the order.Next, the boxes go along a conveyor belt. There are many zones that the boxes go through and someone works in each zone. As the box goes by a zone it is automatically scanned and if it needs something from that zone if drops onto a different belt. Next, the worker scans the box and then lights start blinking on the bins if that product should be in the box. The light button also tells how many the box needs. Once the worker puts the item in the box he or she presses the button to shut the light off. Then the box goes back up onto the main conveyor belt. Finally the box heads up the conveyor that leads to the second floor. At this point they didn't show what happened but I am assuming the printout of the order needs to go in it and the delivery bags and such. Is this your order below? You should already have it!
I was really amazed how it all works. It was probably my favorite part of the tour. We also got to go through the area were the call center is. One of the neastest things is the demonstrator support staff has lots of little cards on their desks that demos have sent them. They keep them out. Isn't that the coolest? They were very nice people. Here is an example of a desktop card I saw. I figured I should put in something crafty so here is something from one of their desks.

Let's get together and make them! Check out that turkey made from punches! I love it! I have been saving ideas to show what we can do with our cool punches! I can not wait to buy the new punches! There are 4 of them and 3 of them have coordinating stamp sets! I am going to offering specials on the punches and coordinating stamp sets! Just because I love them myself and want you to love them too!

Okay, better get going!

Talk to you soon,

On a Personal Note: I am so excited because I get to pick up my mom tonight at the airport! Yay! She will be here for 5 full days. I know she is so excited to see Zoe and we will have a great time. She and Zoe always just laugh and laugh. It is the best! It has been so hot here and she is from Colorado so I doubt we will be doing too many outdoor activities. I think we are going to do some work in Zoe's room. It might be time to go from the crib to the Big Girl Bed! Wow huh? Oh, and this is great, today Zoe told me she wanted to go to school. That is great because next week she is going to start going to the Montessori School. I am a little nervous about sending her off but I am sure she will really thrive there and love it. It is just hard to make such a big transition. I'm sure I'll be fine, I mean, I'm sure SHE'LL be fine!

Hope the Plane is on Time!

2008-08-05T22:41:00.003-05:00

Today I am posting a bit late. (10:45pm) but I just had a chance to work on the blog. Not a busy day really but just full. Okay, truth is I napped! There you have it.

Today I worked on some luggage tags for Jenn's family. They are leaving tomorrow for their vacation to Canada. They'll be eating dinner Wednesday night at top of Niagra Falls, outside enjoying cool weather and a beautiful light show.

I used my new Seriph Alphabet from Stampin' Up and some of the designer ppers that are retiring soon. I made Matt's a "little bit country" because he has been taking some horse lessons. (Isn't that cool?)

Anyway, these were super easy to make. I bought badge holders at Wal-Mart. I cut the base paper to 2.5" x 3.5" and decorated them. Since I didn't actually buy luggage tags they didn't come with the little plastic straps so I used ribbons (which I wouldn't done anyway). They were quick and easy to make.

Well, that is all for today.

Talk to you soon,

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

2008-08-04T11:48:00.003-05:00

Well, I wish I had an awesome picture to share with you of something I made. But, I dont' think I do. I landed yesterday at around 3pm. I had a long day of flying because I chose a flight with 2 stops (yes, I am frugal, Angie will tell you that after the days she spent with me). Anyway, it was great to be home and to see Brett and Zoe. We hung out and then went to have some Chinese together. We went to the park and played on the swings and slide. It is good to be home.

I watched a couple of Monk episodes and I am reading a good book, so I read that and went to bed. It was not a high adventure evening but it was great to be home.

This morning Zoe and I have been hanging out and after lunch and a nap we will head to the grocery store (or I'll change my mind and we'll do that tomorrow morning).

My mom is coming Thursday and will be here until Monday and then I have two days of inservice Tuesday and Wednesday and I have to report to work Thursday for 7 days of staff training (7 days????Holy moly!) School starts the 25th. So, this is my last official week of summer and it is a little depressing.

I will be the best blogger I can be but don't be surprised if I miss a few days over the next few weeks as life gets going again!

Talk to you soon,

Final Day of Convention

2008-08-02T22:12:00.006-05:00

Well, it's over. What a fun few days. Today I had a class 2 make cards and then 2 classes. The classes were excellent. They were focused on building my business. I really enjoyed the classes and I need to decide at this point whether I want to remain a "hobby" demo or if I want to really try to increase my business to a viable business. Of course I am inspired right now and want to go for it but when school starts in a couple weeks who knows what I'll be thinking!!

At the Closing Session there was a fun gameshow but I still didn't win any of the give aways. I was a little sad. They didn't give away any of the trips to Hawaii so that was sad too. Oh well. I guess I'll have to earn one if I want it! At the very end a UPS man came out on stage with a box. He told Shelli he was trying to deliver a box and was confused. Shelli said she could help because she knew several people. He said, "Well, this package says it should be delivered to, *pause* EVERYONE!" Then the confetti canons went off and everyone was screaming. It was just so crazy. UPS has bought the set that benefits the Ronald McDonald House. Isn't that so cool? So, next time you see your UPS guy, if you are a demo, tell him thank you.

This is a picture of Angie and I during the hoopla!After it was over Angie and I went to the Blue Plate Diner. This place is owned by Jenn's cousin and was on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network. So, it was a fun place to check out. While we were there we met a couple of other demos that had seen it on the Food Network and we ate with them. That was a lot of fun. The food was great. I had a green chile burrito - yum, yum!

Well, now we are in the room just chillin'. I fly out in the morning and I am definately ready to get home. I have missed Zoe so much. She and Brett have been having a great time though. Today he took her to dance class and McDonalds and then after her nap they saw Space Chimps. Isn't that fun? When I talked to her about it she was so excited and loved telling me about it.

Well, I better get busy getting my blog posts in order. I won't have anything tomorrow, Sunday, but hopefully I'll get some great things up soon!

Talk to you soon,

Convention Day 3: Big News and tired feet

2008-08-01T22:16:00.008-05:00

The day started off with a great general session today! Shelli Gardner announced that Stampin' Up! will be partnering with Sizzix to offer an Stampin' Up Big Shot die cutting machine and a line of exclusive dies!!! This was huge news and it seemed like most everyone was very excited. Demonstrators could start ordering today and it seems that they are already on back order! Can you believe that? There is a die that cuts pennants and it is adorable and Shelli demonstrated several ideas of things to do with it (masks, ornaments, a diaper card, party hats, etc.). There is another die that will create little handled baskets and they are also so cute! Even the apron Shelli wore was made from die cuts! It was a fun presentation and full of a lot of excitement. I guess I felt a little torn because I love my cuttlebug. One good news is that all of the Big Shot dies will fit in my cuttlebug. (Until I decide to give in and buy a big shot!)

I had a lot of camera battery problems today and so my pictures were sparse. While I had new batteries though, I did get some great shots of the new Decor Elements. I have a couple of amazing ideas for a class and I know that you are going to love it. But, until them, check out these awesome images.

Okay, what next? At lunch I met with some friends from the SUDSOL group I am a part of. That was very fun. It was nice to meet some of the ladies. Some of us did a gift exchange swap and I made this planner. I really liked it and need to make one for myself! :) Here is also a picture of me with Kari Mason. She is just so sweet and friendly. She loves to talk about her business and I loved meeting her. In the afternoon I had two classes. One was about using technology in my business. I learned a lot and I am looking forward to getting a Stampin' Up website so you all can order ONLINE!!! Very exciting huh? I am thrilled with the idea.

The next class was about recruiting. It was a lot of good information. So, you wanna sign up to be a demo? I love it! You will too!

Tonight Angie and I went to the California Pizza Kitchen. I had never eaten there before and it was yummy! I had a pear gargonzola pizza.. Doesn't that sound weird? It has a salad on top of it. It was sooooo good.

I am really looking forward to tomorrow. I have another make and take and then a couple of workshops. We will end the event with a main session and we are expecting more big announcements! What else could they tell us? Geez! Oh, before I go, here is a shot of an idea for some file folders with our new designer paper. Check out the walls. They used paint and stamped a border on the walls. Isn't it great? I love it! I think my bathroom needs a makeover! :)

Well, my batteries are charging, we are watching an "in room movie" and I have dessert that I brought home from dinner waiting for me. :)

I'll see you tomorrow!

My Husband Rocks! (He's a funny daddy)

2008-08-01T13:17:00.000-05:00

Well, here is our third installment letting you know why Brett is amazing and why I am so lucky to have him as my husband.

He Loves our Daughter. He makes her laugh. That is the greatest thing. They laugh together all the time. I think that it is so important that the two of them have a positive and encouraging relationship. I want Zoe to know that her daddy thinks she is beautiful and loves her no matter what. I am positive it will save her hardship later. Well, not only that but I want them to have fun together.

These two pictures are one example of fun they had last week. She laughed and laughed (I could hear her from the kitchen and didn't know why) as daddy took off his tie and tied it on Zoe's neck. She just thought it was hilarious. Then, in the second picture you can see he let her wear his glasses. She just found that too funny. It is my prayer that they will contine to have a blast together!

Talk to you soon,

If you want to join the group of bloggers that love to brag on their men, click the button to the right!

Nugget Purses

2008-08-01T08:35:00.001-05:00

Okay, this will be the last Jenn inspired purse for awhile. I am coming home Sunday and should be able to get back to blogging creations I made for myself! But, Jenn is very talented and creative and so this is working well.

She made the cutest little nugget purses last week and sent me the pictures of them. I am pretty sure she got the instructions from Splitcoast Stampers.

Wouldn't these make a great little treat for fellow stampers or co-workers. She is thinking of them for a baby shower she has coming up. Whatever the occasion they are easy to make and a cute little surprise!

Have a wonderful Day!
Talk to you soon!

Convention Day 2: So tired, but commited to posting!

2008-08-01T00:23:00.005-05:00

Well, Angie and I left at 7 this morning. She wanted to go earlier and even woke me up but she was trying to finish her awesome mini album swap and so we got to the Salt Palace at 7. We just got back to the hotel now, at 11:15 pm. Phew!!! What a day!
I had so much fun swapping out my last 50 cards and received some great ones in return. I was sad to be done though because every time I turned around someone had more cute swaps. But, what could I do with with all those? A couple ladies each had 900 and set up little swapping stations. That seems a little crazy but who knows, maybe they have a great use for those cards. :) While in line for a bagel (the only real line of the day, thank the Good Lord) I missed the first few minutes of opening ceremony but that was okay. I got to meet Thurl Bailey, a former player for the Utah Jazz. He is on the Stampin' Up Board of Directors. He is 7 feet tall - man oh man.

I tried to take a picture of Shelli Gardner the co founder and CEO but it came out very blurry. I'll try again tomorrow.

We got to see 2 very cool demonstrations. One VP of Creative Services, Brent Steele, showed did a demo of the Bella Rose collection Style Watch and the Eastern Eclectic Style Watch. For the Silhouettes Style Watch he applied a Decor Elements to a double glass picture frame and finally he previewed a card with a new camping set. He was funny. After it was over they gave away some of the products they used and Angie won! She won a new stamp set, new designer paper and the scallop punch. She was very excited and I am hoping to win something myself. (But, if my lucky color group doesn't win I will accept the Cruise for next year as a consolation prize!) They give away 10 or 20 of those!

We saw another presenter (Jill Kocherhans, training director) talk about Decor Elements - you know, the new ones, in multiple colors and some two-step Elements. It was awesome!!! Ginormous flowers in pixie pink, gable green and so saffron. A way cool Halloween spider she put on a huge candy jar, a Christmas Advent Calender, and a Thanksgiving rub-on. They were beautiful. She had great ideas for the rub ons and I can't wait to get some. I know already I am going to have classes. I will be taking pictures of close tomorrow of the examples they showed today.

We had a great lunch too. There were cupcakes on the center of every table with this great chocolate medallion on it. They were so cute. There are a couple of great cupcake sets in the catalog too. One is a tiered stand of cupcakes. The other, which I have to have, is a child's thank you note. It is a big cupcake that say, "Dear _____, Thank you for the ______. I like it a lot! Sincerely, _______" It is just adorable.

After lunch I was in the first group that worked on 4 projects in a workshop. I will get to do 4 more on Saturday. We received a big 12 x 12 plastic envelope with all the supplies for 8 projects and instruction sheets. In the package was a bulk assortment of rub ons and a sheet of chipboard letters! Very cool! Also, some of the new accessories were in there:to use on the projects: one of the new flower brads, new ribbon, a decorative clip (paper clip type). I didn't think to photograph it at my table and I am way to tired to photo it tonight. I will share it, I promise! On the tables were boxes of supplies for us to use. I tried out the new wide oval punch!!! I loved it. I used a coluzzle for the first time too. I didn't have enough time to do all for projects. But, I will finish them and post them next week. :) Here is me working on my projects.
Finally , I had two classes about workshops and how to make them great and how to offer some non-traditional workshops. I really loved the classes and took LOTS of notes in my new notebook that I made just for convention. :) I made one for Angie too. It was a really easy project. The composition notebooks are 50 cents at wal-mart and I covered it with the new Bella Rose paper. I used an alphabet to spell create and a rub on to accent it. It had 3 sections inside so I added some tabs to it. I'll have a sketch section and an idea section. I really did feel motivated today to have fun workshops.
After everything we went to dinner and met some great stampers from California, Leslie and Lynn. Both are SUDSOL members (an online group of demonstrators I belong to) and we had a good dinner and even better conversation.

Finally we went to the awards show. It was VERY motivating. Wow. Women were earning checks for thousands of dollars. I was blown away. I would really like to try to strive to turn my business into an actual business instead of just a hobby. I think it could be a really rewarding thing.

The ceremony ended with a performance of Tonic Solfag - an A Capella group. They were amazing. (I know I have used that word a lot today). Brett would have loved them so I bought some music. :)

Well, I am exhausted. I am sure you'd like to know more and I wish I could stay up but just can't. I'll try to get some more sneak peek pictures for you for tomorrow.

Talk to you soon,

Journals by Jenn - day 3

2008-07-31T07:11:00.000-05:00

This girl should sell these! (Actually we probably will at craft fairs this fall!) Now you'll notice this journal is square. Again, she found it at Mike's and it is cute because it has a pink spiral binding. She added some extra cute touches on this one. She cut out flowers with the cricut and embossed them in her cuttlebug. The flowers are just adorable. This journal uses a new touch from Jenn, buttons! I loved the way she accented the flowers with the threaded buttons.

Today's Journal Tip: Use your crop-a-dile to punch holes in the paper after you cover it with your paper. Look at the back of the cover and use the holes in the cover as a guide to punch the holes into the paper.

Hope you enjoyed these journals! I really appreciated Jenn allowing me to post them during my trip. It helped me to keep the blog posts coming!

Have a great weekend!
Talk to you soon!

Reporting from Covention! Day 1

2008-07-30T19:37:00.011-05:00

Well, here I am in Salt Lake City, Utah for Stampin' Up's annual convention. This is the 20th anniversary of the company and they have a lot planned for us. It is very exciting. I am going to give you some specific information about the new catalog. If you don't want to know, don't read this post!!!

I flew out yesterday and arrived in SLC at 11:10 and had to wait a LOOOONG time for my shuttle to the hotel. I got in after 1 to the hotel that was about 10 minutes away. But, a few hours later, Angie and I were up and at 'em and headed to the SALT PALACE.

Our first decision was which line should we stand in. We chose the "get your bag and new catalog" line. We had to wait until 9 when the doors opened but that line was hardly any wait at all. We got the cutest messenger style bag and 3 new stamp sets from the catalog. One cool thing is that the catalog we got is spiral bound. Very cool. I did have to give a squeel of delight when I saw Tart and Tangy and the Summer Picnic Designer Paper in the Catalog!!! I was also thrilled to see Full of Life, the sentiment set, from the Occasions mini. From the fall mini the Autumn Harvest made the catalog and so did Season on Joy (thank goodness), and Snow Burst.

Holy Triptych was also included. I'm sure others were too but I can't remember without comparing to the mini catalogs which I don't have with me.

I am also really excited about accessories! There are 5 new punches. We have had clues about 3 of them, the scallop edge punch, the wide oval and the lovely label punch (which is in a punch box with 4 stamps that fit it...a pretty good deal at $16 for the punch and $18 for the stamps, plus the tin), but the new exciting punch is a square scallop! The other new punch is a large 1 3/4 inch circle, my guess is the scallp circle fits nicely inside it. If you enlarge this photo of an ikea closet changed into a craft closet, you can probably see the punches and some of the new ribbon. You can also look forward to vanilla hodgepodge hardware
By 9:15 we were in the line for the memento mall. About 2 hours later we headed into the much anticipated Memento Mall. This is the line as we got close to the door - only about 30 minutes left at this point. They had some great things but I was really trying to be frugal. (I want to have money left after convention to be able to buy some of the AWESOME new stamp sets in the new catalog).

As you can see, Angie wasn't quite so frugal!

What did I get? An apron with a pattern like the Bella rose designer paper was my biggest purchase. I also bought some key chains, some pens, and some lip balms. I haven't had an apron and loved this one. I couldn't resist it!

They had some convention critters for sale too and I wasn't going to get one but Angie insisted on getting this one for Zoe. She'll love it. (She is doing fine so far without me by the way!)

After we left the mall we rested a bit and took another browse through the catalog and had a look through the new SPANISH catalog as well. It is so cool. I am excited about it.

We had lunch at a German Deli, it was yummy, and then we headed out for a tour of the Stampin' Up! main office, the Riverton Campus. It is a beautiful place. I realized I didn't get any photos of the outside. My feet were killing me at this point and we were very tired and my camera skills were dwindling. We started in the idea room It is a cool "living room" type area with a ping pong table, cork on the walls for articles to be posted, and walls with whiteboard and notes about things to be done and such. Here is a picture of Angie and I on a bean bag. It was great.

We also got to see where the fabulous demonstrator support personnel works. We met several and got to take pictures of the cute cards on their desks. (I asked them if they felt like they were in a zoo! One girl said, "no, not really, but don't feed us!" - it was so funny) The distribution center was amazing. It is mostly automated. I won't bore you with the details but I was fascinated. I will save the pictures for another time. Finally we got to go through the museum that tells the Stampin' Up story and shows some of the household scenes we see in the catalog. Does this children's room look familiar from the Decor Elements Brochure? It was a fun tour. One of the areas was full of (what I am convinced) are sneak peeks from the winter mini catalog! After the tour Angie brought me to the hotel and she was going to the SCS dinner. I am sure she will have a blast but I am tired and glad to be off my feet!

I have to leave you with one fun sneak peek. I can't wait to order this little guy!

Guest Designer Jenn

2008-07-30T08:06:00.000-05:00

Here is the next journal from Jenn I wanted to show you. Again, she uses a SU stamp and paper from Hobby Lobby. (We love a good sale!) This journal has lots of bling with rhinestones all over the paper. It is adorable.

Since we love a good deal, here is today's tip from Jenn:
Buy journals from Michaels for $1. They have a variety of sizes and generally have a binding that can be removed. It is a good idea to look inside the journal before you buy to make sure the printing on the inside pages is acceptable. :)

Have a super Thursday!

Altered Journal - By Jenn

2008-07-29T07:38:00.000-05:00

Since I am at Convention I thought I would show you so wonderful journals that Jenn makes. She is really good at this. I have made a few but never really like it (it is a lot of work). But, she has several tips that are helping me decide to go ahead and make them. Her designer paper is not Stampin' Up but I am not a SU purist and am showing them to you anyway!
She loved this journal she said because it looks so elegant yet has such an edgy saying on it.

Jenn's Tip: Don't try to cover the journal with the paper by wrapping it around, just cut your paper to fit the outside. Try to buy journals that have insides that will match what you want to put on the outside.

I'll have another one tomorrow!

Talk to you soon,

Colors ready to fly away!

2008-07-28T08:27:00.000-05:00

Well, time is running out on the '07-'08 Stampin' Up! In Colors. I have really loved the colors this year. I am sure that next year's colors will be fabulous too but it is always hard to say good-bye.

This card is made with the Garden Whimsy set, Bayou Blue, Groovy Guava and Soft Sky. Hope you love it at much as I do! On the butterly we used the rock and roll technique, cut out the wings and popped them up with dimensionals.

What is Rock and Roll? Well, it is easy! Ink the stamp with a a lighter color and then roll the edges of the stamp in a darker color. By doing this the center of the image will be the first color and the outsides will be a second color. It is easy and gives a fun look.

I leave tomorrow for SU convention and am really excited. I have been making cards to swap and gifts for my roomies. I know I am gonna learn so much and come back fired up to teach anyone who will listen what I have learned. I also get some free stamps and I'll get to see the new Catalog! I am going to do my best to post once or twice from the convention!

Hope you have a great week! Talk to you soon!

2008-07-26T10:06:00.000-05:00

I am always in need of a birthday card and so at this weeks class we made this card. My friend Deb at My Little Crafting Corner made a similar card once and I got the inspiration from her. I used bold bright colors, yoyo yellow, brilliant blue Prints DP, real red and whisper white. I used the Birthday Whimsy stamp set from Sale-a-bration. We ticket punched the corners and cut out the balloons. I used dimensionals on one of the ballons. My picture isn't awesome but you can get the idea right?

Hope you are having a fabulous weekend. We don't have much going on this weekend and it is REALLY nice.

Talk to you soon!

My Husband Rocks! (He's a go-getter)

2008-07-25T07:15:00.001-05:00

Once again it is Friday and I'm here to tell you why Brett is Awesome. Now, I realize I didn't post too many things this past weeks so you probably feel like I was just talking about him! Well, he deserves it!

He had a really strange week since last time we spoke. He got laid off from his job last Thursday. Friday was his Birthday and he got up early, took the computer, got out of the house and did a lot of computer research. He met with a contact and basically had a job 2pm on the same day he started working. This week he has been working for this company on a "trial basis". It is a company that teaches others how to use computer programs like Excel and Access. It is right up Brett's alley and he is already loving it.

I just think that Brett really perseveres and he is such a hard worker. I know that supporting us is so important to us and even if he had to dig postholes he would. (I know this because at the beginning of our marriage he had about 5 days between jobs and he worked as a day laborer just to keep busy and make some money those days). We definately believe that God can move mountains but if you are gonna ask him to, you better show up with a shovel!

He really makes this scripture come to life:
As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. James 2:26

He is willing to work for what he needs or wants knowing that God will handle the details.

I love him and know he will always take care of his family the very best he can!

Talk to you soon,

Joint the My Husband Rocks group...Check out the button on the right sidebar!

Sorry I'm late - but check out the bag!

2008-07-24T11:31:00.006-05:00

Hey friends,

I was doing so good about posting everyday and now look at me, I almost missed a whole week! Zoe has been sick and I have not been able to create anything new until yesterday! So, here is a new card and I'll keep schedule a few posts while I'm out of town next week for the STAMPIN' UP! CONVENTION!!!! I am so very excited! I'll be gone from Tuesday night until Sunday. I know I am going to learn so much!

So, on to a picture! Yesterday at my Wednesday class we made these awesomely cute "Boxes in a Bag". I got the directions from Paula Goff at Inking Addict or from Stampin' With Di. They both have great instructions. They are pretty easy to follow.

Here are the steps:

1. Cut card stock in a 4.5 inch square and score all sides at 1". Create a diagonal score in the little corner boxes.

2. Fold on all the score lines and fold the little corner pieces in.

3. Use a 5.5" x 11" piece of designer paper.

4. Put a strip of sticky tape on one long side and one short side of the paper.

5. Using the long side, stick the tape to the box so that the bottom of the box and the paper are flush. Wrap the paper all the way around the box.

5. When you get the end, peel off the lining of the sticky from the short side of the box and tape the designer paper to itself.

6. Use a the tab punch to and punch two tabs. Punch a hole in them on the flat top. Attach to top of bag.

7. Tie a wide ribbon through the holes to tie the bag shut.

8. I added a scalloped border to the bottom of the bag . I used the slit punch to make the scallop.(Can't wait to get my new scallop border punch tomorrow from SU, that will make this so much easier!!)

9. You can add other decorations to the bag like buttons or a scalloped circle. I'm sure you've seen lots of ideas all over blog land! My bag was pretty busy so I didn't add anything extra.

On a Personal Note:

Zoe has been sick. It is crazy. She has had a fine rash, that seems like goosebumps, for over a week. For a while she was running a low grade temp and had red dry eyes, cracked lips, and a dark red tongue with bumps. The doctors even took blood because a lot of these symptoms are associated with Kawasaki Disease. (Not Harley Davidson Disease as Brett thought it might be). But thanks to God, it is not that. I was really scared the day we saw the doctor and had blood taken. I was definately freaking out. That disease can cause heart attacks and aneurysms in small children. How horrible is that? Now, several days later, she is still coughing but the tongue is normal, she has no fever and her lips are healing. Still has the rash though. She seems to be feeling well but doesn't have much of an appetite. Now I am getting sick too. (Sore throat, stuffy, etc) I know, I just know, I will be well by the time I leave for Salt Lake City next week!

So, I wanted to share this picture of Zoe putting on chapstick by herself. She is becoming more and more independent. But, still so sweet. She tells me "God Bless You" every time I sneeze. Isn't that funny?

Today we MUST get out of the house. We are both going a little crazy I think. Jenn's son Matt wants to take Zoe to Build a Bear. He has been saving his money to take her there. He's 10. Isn't that sooo sweet? I hope Zoe grows up to be as sweet as Matt is!

Talk to you soon!

My Husband Rocks! (Especially on his birthday!)

2008-07-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Baby! I love you soooo much and you really do Rock my World!

I'd like to take some time on Fridays to talk about my husband. It seems that everywhere we look men are so easily "bashed". TV show portray stupid, clutzy, insensitve men. Women I know always have a complaint about their man or a way to "keep him in line".

I don't like this. ------- When/if I have a son I wouldn't want a woman treating him this way.

I LOVE MY HUSBAND. He is caring and loving. He works hard to provide for our family. He tries so hard to be understanding and he is a great listener. He tells me I'm beautiful when I feel ugly. He puts up with me when I whine or get depressed. He loves our daughter so much; he makes her laugh and smile and loves to spend time with her. I just can't imagine my life without him.

I was inspired yesterday by a blog I read; The Great Adventure. She was feeling discouraged by the 'husband bashing' she hears and by the what seems to be the negative outlook on marriage that the world has taken. Anwway, I loved her idea to brag on her man on Fridays. Yay for men! (Especially my Man!)

In a time when nothing is more certain than change, the commitment of two people to one another has become difficult and rare. Yet, by its scarcity, the beauty and value of this exchange have only been enhanced.
~Robert Sexton~

If you would like to join this crusade you can find more information by clicking the link on the right! C'mon, you know he's worth it!

Talk to you soon,

So you don't cook?

2008-07-17T13:49:00.001-05:00

At the recipe box class, I told the girls they didn't have to make a recipe box. Renee decided to make a Card Box. It really turned out cute! I wanted to post her pictures her and show off her creation. She knew shew wanted to used yellow and orange paper and even was prepared and brought her own ribbon. I loved her inserts. She put things like "birthday", "sympathy", "get well", "thank you", "showers" on them. Overall it was a fun class and I think everyone enjoyed it. I sure did!
Talk to you soon,

Recipe Boxes

2008-07-16T13:18:00.002-05:00

ETA: If you are coming through a link from Tip Junkie, WELCOME! I was honored to have my blog mentioned! The lid on the cherry box is not Stampin' Up! paper but all the other supplies are. I don't have specific measurements for the paper because the boxes you find may be different than the one I used. Some of the boxes were wrapped with paper but others I painted white with craft paint and cut the paper a 1/4 inch smaller than the box sides. This was easier than wrapping the box I thought. Check out the next post to see the box transformed into a Card box instead of a Recipe Box! Thanks for coming by and if you need any products from Stampin' Up! please feel free to contact me!
---------
Last week I had a recipe box class. I have wanted to have this class for MONTHS! (literally) I bought some cute recipe boxes at Michael's. The first one I did I used long strips of paper and covered the whole box. It was kind of a pain. So, for my next one and for the class, I painted the boxes white first and then we just cut a paper for each section of the box. This was much easier.

Once the outside was beautiful and embellished we went to work on the section dividers inside the box. I used the Kitchen set from Stampin' Up. For some of the boxes we used round punches for the tabs and for others we used the actaully tab punch. Then on another I used the tag punches.

This was a very fun project and the ladies that came made VERY cute boxes. Here are three more examples. I'm saving one example for tomorrow because it is twist on the recipe box!

I loved the idea of a Holiday Recipe Box. I made the paper ric rac using the wavy blade on my paper cutter. I really like how it turned out! BUT, one of the new punches coming out is going to make really cute ric rac too. :)

This was a simpler box. I used ovals for the tag and tied the ribbon through eyelets.

Jenn's box was bright and I loved her double "r". We had access to a friends Cricut and had fun playing with it.

She used the tab punch for her tabs and they came out really cute.

It really was a fun project and would make a great gift. Email me if you have any questions about the box. I'd be thrilled to answer them!

Talk to you soon,

The Final Countdown

2008-07-15T16:25:00.006-05:00

Time's almost up to get some of your favorite In Colors and Stamp Sets before they retire. If you have had your eye on anything now is the time to act! We only have a month left before the products are gone forever. Stampin' Up!® never disappoints me with their new offering (such as the Décor Elements). That's what makes saying good-bye to my favorite stamp sets so bitter sweet. This year's In Colors were just fabulous weren't they? THERE IS STILL TIME . . . It's not too late for you to pick up your favorites. Also keep in mind any products (like ribbon or designer paper) with these colors will also be retiring.

Click here to see what stamp sets are retiring as well.

Take a look at the retired list and contact me today. They are only available until August 10th!

Talk to you soon,

Floral Moo-moo

2008-07-15T15:05:00.002-05:00

Well, ya know how I posted early in the morning and hoped Jenn wouldn't read about her birthday party since she'd be busy setting up for her pary? Well, she read it! Oh well, she was still excited and I'll still give her the gift! Hee Hee. This is a picture of the fruit kabob arrangement that we made. Isn't it purrty?

These are the cupcakes she made to look like ice cream. She had an ice cream party with TONS of ice cream. It was great. I even was brave and swam in front of non-strangers.

Finally, this is the card I made for her. I love this stamp set and never want to get rid of it even though it is retired. Actually, my gramma has asked for some cards made with it so I need to get on the ball. It is the "birthday banter" set. I used designer paper and some bads and whipped this baby out the night before the party. I was proud of myself because even though I am a stamper I am terrible about getting stamped cards made on time for an event. Usually I pull something out of the stash but I wanted to make something special for Jenn. I actually made her two cards. This one the funny one, since she was having a milestone birthday. I'll post the serious one later.

On a Personal Note: I went to pick of Zoe yesterday. She was so happy. She threw her arms around me and screamed. It was great. It is such a nice thing when your kids are happy to see you!

We had a great day in St. Louis. We went to the zoo there. It is beautiful. It is a free zoo but you can pay for some of the events. We saw a Sea Lion show that was amazing and we rode the zoo train a couple times from place to place. Zoe loves the carousel and so we did that too. Out of all the animals she really wanted to ride the Donkey! **snort** and so of course she did.

I saw an elephant swimming. I have seen lots of elephants but never one swimming and playing. It was really cool. We saw a lot of great animals. I of course forgot my camara. **pout**.

Gramma was really sad to let Zoe go but did okay. They were together for 3 weeks so of course they were extra bonded. Zoe has been calling me "gamma" all day! I'm glad to have her home but was immediately reminded how much work she is. She is a busy little beaver.

Talk to you soon,

Monday Mosaic

2008-07-14T07:47:00.000-05:00

I have seen several bloggers make the picture mosaic and I thought I would too. I was inspired to do so from my friend DEB. Her craft blog is My Little Crafting Corner. These pictures answer these questions...

What is your first name?

What is your favorite food?

What high school did you attend?

What is your favorite color?

Who is your celebrity crush?

What is your favorite drink?

Where would you go on your dream vacation?

What is your favorite dessert?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

What do you love most in life?

Choose one word to describe you?

Your Blog name?

My Answers: Amy, comfort, cheyenne mountain, pink, snipes, margarita, barcelona, icecream, stay at home mom, Brett, happy, Zoe

If you want to make one, here is how...
Answer each of the questions below.Surf over to Flickr (set up an account if you don’t have one–it’s quick and easy) and type your answers (one at a time) into the search bar. (I guess you could search google photos if you wanted...)

From the choice of pictures shown only on the front page, click on the one that moves you.

Once the page with your picture opens, copy the URL.

Surf over to the Mosaic Maker, set up your mosaic, and paste your URLs.Click “Create!”

Links to the shots I chose...

1. Cupcakes from Amy Sedaris' recipe, 2. trilhos., 3. Garden of the Golly, 4. Sunny Side Up, 5. Sunny Side Up, 6. Happy Friday ! ~, 7. Plaça Catalunya - Barcelona HDR, 8. Ice cream day dream, 9. If there was a Stay-At-Home-Mom Olympics... 17/366, 10. brett burcher, 11. happy happy..., 12. pretty in pink

Blossoms Abound - Goodbye to my newest set

2008-07-13T01:53:00.002-05:00

I try really hard not to buy too many stamp sets. I want to use what I have and not be excessive. One of my last stamp purchases was Blossoms Abound. I was devastated to find out it was retiring. It took me a really long time to buy it. I just thought I couldn't make it look beautiful but finally I gave it. I was able to use it once at a club meeting before it was announced to retire. ** SIGH**

Here are two of the cards I have made with it. For both of these I used my favorite color combo - pale and perfect plum and always artichoke and mellow moss. I won't part with this one I don't think I still love it even though I can't use it at parties.

I did choose to mount this set on clear blocks. It is so much easier to stamp with that way. I have been doing that more and more. All my retired sets are now unmounted. I'll post about that later.

Talk to you soon,

PS -Zoe comes home in 2 days!!! I have really, really missed her. Everytime we talk on the phone (well, I talk, she listens and uh-huhs) I almost cry. I know she is having a great time with gramma. I have had a good week too. I was able to help Jenn get ready for her party, I had a stampin' class (pictures to come), I had GREAT time with Brett, I cleaned my craft room and a closet (part of the summer to do list), I read a book, and I started my convention swaps. It really was great. She just makes me smile and laugh so much. It's amazing. Sometimes I think one baby is enough. She really is great and would satisfy me. But, it just seems right to be thinking and planning for another baby. She'll be a good sister. :)

Happy Birthday Jenn!!!

2008-07-12T02:05:00.002-05:00

Today is my best friend Jenn's birthday. She is having a big pool party (what, a pool party? A bathing suit in front of other adults that I associate with? C'mon!) She is having TONS of ice cream. I will post pictures after the party because she decorated the cones and yesterday we made a fruit kabob centerpiece that was beautiful. Anyway, I thought I'd show off a birthday card today to honor her. Her gift is two sets of nestabilities, won't that be fun? I am getting them from The Crop Stop, I love that place. I found them through an ebay purchase of storage for my cuttlebug embossing folders and dies. They have great stuff. (Hopefully she doesn't read this BEFORE the party this morning!)

These are my last two cards to show you from the Tart and Tangy class. These were inspired by Angie Juda who blogs at Chick n Scratch. She has amazing tutorials and ideas. I am amazed by women that really are running with their SU buninesses. I love being a demonstrator and am trying to really get motivated to be my best at it. I am so excited to go to convention. I am going to be working on my cards to swap this week. I have also joined SUDSOL, an online group of demonstrators that help each other out and inspire one another. I really hope that this year will be a fun year for me with my SU business. It is nice to make the extra money but there is nothing better than having people over and seeing them get excited about making something. I just love the teaching aspect of it.

Hope you have a great weekend!
Talk to you soon,

Martha at Wal-Mart!?!

2008-07-11T16:56:00.004-05:00

Today I went with Jenn to Wal-Mart and could not believe what I saw. A huge Martha Stewart collection at Wal-Mart. Now, I know this is new because every time I go to Wal-Mart I check out the scrapbook aisle for clearance stuff and that is where I buy the Ad-tech adhesive refils (2 for $2.29). They also had redline tape today (which I have never seeen before) AND they have vinyl clings to use in the CRICUT machine for the walls. I have to admit that I do have this product It is going to be a pain to put up I think but I wanted to put a scripture in our Master Bedroom and thought this would be perfect. With the Cricut the letters cut out individually so they will have to be lined up in order to be placed on the wall correctly. And it wasn't cheap. The vinyl is $8.98 and you have to by the cling that is used to adhere it to the wall for $8.98. I'll post how that goes when I put it up.
I don't feel too bad because Stampin' Up didn't have the scripture I want (and, I had bought it before I knew about Decor Elements from Stampin' Up). I think it will be nice thought to add some of the images from the stampin' Up line to accent my saying.
And, they also had several products by K & Company and I have not seen those at there before. So, I just had to share my find because I really couldn't believe it.

Martha's stamp sets were $9.98 and her long border punches were $13.98. (Cheaper than Michaels). They had a glue pad (like an ink pad but with glue) and I would have bought that but it was not in stock. The cutest thing that was from her line was a paper lantern kit and the paper looked like eyelet material. It was adorable.

The color of the packaging was different than Michaels also.

I'm sure your question is, "Well, what did you buy?" Nothing. I now, surprising. But, I am trying to save money for convention and Stampin' Up has a lot of great new things that I want right now so I am being frugal. (I have to admit though that I did buy 15 dollar sets from Studio G at Michaels the other day. They have one set for every month and they are really stinkin' cute.)

Okay, just had to post this little tidbit!

Talk to you soon,

Amy

Tart and Tangy 4

2008-07-11T02:03:00.000-05:00

Are you tired of TART and TANGY? I only have this post and one more to show you. I just didn't want to overwhelm you with them all at once!

On the first card here I used the inchies again show off a few sides of the Summer Picnic Paper, **Boo Hoo, I can't believe it is gone!**.
The second card is an immitation of one Beate Johns did back when she was blogging. (She is taking a much deserved summer break from blogging). You can see her card HERE at Fresh and Fun .

Well, that is all for me today. Talk to you soon!

Tart and Tangy 3x3's

2008-07-10T01:59:00.001-05:00

I had fun making the 3x3 cards for the stationary kit. These are three of them. I know that I copied the strawberry card from someone but have no idea who. Hers was a regular size I think but I love the idea of the chocolate covered strawberry. I saw this berry done with chcolate on the popsicle cards too and it was adorable.

To do this, after you color your strawberry, take the chocolate chip marker and color in the bottom portion that would be dipped. Don't make the line too straight though. :)

I hope you thought these were as cute as I did!
Talk to you soon,

Tart and Tangy 2

2008-07-09T01:57:00.002-05:00

This is a second card that was in the tart and tangy stationary box. I loved the bright colors of it. I really hope that this set makes it to the catalog. It is a little one that packs a punch! I am pretty sure that this card was inspired by This ONE by Gail Beezely, a demonstator in San Antonio. You should check out her blog!

The saying on this card is "The Secret to Happiness is to count your Blessings, not your Birthdays". The set is retired that it comes from but I really like it a lot.

Hope you all have a great day and talk to you soon,

Tart and Tangy Stationary Box

2008-07-08T09:00:00.001-05:00

I offered a class and taught a few ladies how to make the stationary box before I went on vacation. It was a class focusing on the tart and tangy set and I love the cards we made. Many of them were inspired by the cards of others and I'll do my best to give credit where credit is due.

This example of the box is my friend Jenn's (JENN2110 on SCS). I was busy helping the ladies and taking care of details and didn't even get my box finished! So silly. She did a great job decorating her box though and here it is!

The first card that was inside was this cute one. I made a background paper for us all to use and it was a lot of work since these fruits require quite a bit of individual coloring!

My card was inspired by THIS CARD by Amy Westermam at Heartfelt Greetings.

This was probably one of my favorites from the box of cards we made.

I'll post more of the contents coming up soon!

Happy 4th of July

2008-07-07T17:14:00.000-05:00

Happy July anyway! I was out of town and had great intentions of keeping the blog posts coming regulary but alas, it did not come to pass! I had scheduled several ahead of time and so they were showing up on a daily basis for quite a while. I love the scheduling feature of blogger!

I just wanted to share this card that I had done with my Stampin' Club in June. I know that I CASED it from someone but the picture I saved didn't have a watermark and I forgot to title the picture with the blogname. (That is how I remember who's art I am immitating).

I would have looked great with Brilliant Blue but I was out! But I ordered some and it is now sitting in a box at the front door! If you notice the white star on the front of the fold is ripped off. That would be thanks to Zoe. If she gets a hold of my paper crafts she likes to test the different adhesives I use to see what is the best. I guess this one didn't really pass her test. The red stars did survive though!

I have been using the scotch permentant adhesive. It is liquid. I am used to the tape runners but I must admit I do love the scotch. It was recommended by Rochelle at Impressions. She has great recommendations, so I take them!

On a Personal Note: Brett and I just returned from Illinois last night. I had left on the 28th with Zoe to go and stay with Brett's mom and visit his family. We really had a great time. Anna, the 6 week baby, is so sweet and tiny and it was strange to hold her. It made me long for the next baby! I am excited that Brett and I have been talking about expanding the family and we are looking into that option! She is a sweet little thing, let me tell you. Daniel, Anna's big brother, is Zoe's age and he and Zoe really hit it off. He is gorgeous and kind and sweet. After a couple days we got to see Emma, the oldest cousin at 3 years, and Abby, the 7 month old. Emma and Zoe had a lot of fun and a lot of fights. It was totally to be expected. Abby is so incredibly beautiful. Just the sweetest thing. Her eyes are huge and DARK blue and she has a very serious face a lot of the time. She rarely does but when she does it is as if her world is ending. Brett flew in on the 2nd and I was soooo happy to see him. I really had missed him. Zoe was thrilled and could not get enough of him when she woke up to find he had arrived. The family times were really great. Brett and I flew home last night and it was so hard to leave Zoe. But, she is staying with gramma for a whole nother week! I can't believe it. What will I do with myself? I miss her already. She is the very best hugger. Today I have been lazy. I have cleared out my google reader, it had really grown full, I checked email, ate and even read my book for over and hour and finished it. Now I am catching up on blogging and tonight I am going to stamp with the club that got me started with Stampin' Up before I was a demonstrator! The rest of the week will be busier so I didn't feel bad taking today off!

Have great week and I'll talk to you soon!

Are you Well Read?

2008-06-28T09:00:00.001-05:00

I saw this little list on Shannon's Blog, Live, Laugh, Love and Stamp.

The Big Read" reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they’ve printed.”
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Strike out the books you have no intention of ever reading, or were forced to read at school and hated.
5) Reprint this list in your own blog so we can try and track down these people who’ve read 6 and force books upon them ;-)
6) Amy's adding...I didn't read it but I saw the movie...mark with an astrick!

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien*
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 The Harry Potter Series - JK Rowling*
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott*
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald (did not love it)
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky (read in school, so boring)
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll*
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen*
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen3
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (kind of duplicates #33)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres*
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown*
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan*
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen*
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58??? It wasn't on the list I copied
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez*
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas*
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding*
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens*
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker*
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons7
8 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens*
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple, Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro*
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince – Antoine de St. Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas*
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl*
100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

28/100 - Not bad...How'd you do?

3x3's for Stationary Box

2008-06-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

I know that Fresh Cuts is the hotest thing right now and I haven't even really used it until the other day. I didn't buy it. I know, I know, what kind of demonstatror am I? Well, I just didn't LOVE it and don't buy every little thing that comes along. My upline bought it and let me borrow it ofr a few days. I don't have the die cut notes but I thought that these little 3x3's came out well even without the. My favorite is the first one above with the sahara sand branch on the side. (Another bad demo confession, I didn't buy river rock ink. I love the paper but isn't the ink almos the same as sahara sand?)

I used the thumping technique on these cards. What a simple way to add some life to a background stamp. Just ink up your stamp, take a marker in a bit of a darker color (or a contrasting color could work too I guess) and tap the brush side of the marker randomly on top of the lighter colored ink. Here is a link to the tutorial on SCS.

Hope you enjoyed those. They are easy to make and I do admit that the little Fresh Cuts background made them painless and quick. (As I mentioned yesterday, I was getting a bit anxious to finish this project - the stationary box.)

Talk to you soon!

Fabulous?

2008-06-26T09:00:00.001-05:00

As you read this post Zoe and I are flying to St. Louis to meet gramma and then driving to Illinois. I love being able to publish posts whenever I want to. Here are a few more pictures from the stationary box for my gramma. Some of the cards are extra simple because.....well, you want the truth? I was tired. I had made several and was ready to be done with the box. Is that horrible of what? Here are a couple of the last cards I made.
This card uses sidekick sayings, a hostess set from the last fall/winter catalog. I really like the set and have used it for similar layouts before. I like to put some stickles on the little flower. It is hard to see it in this photo.

Then I made some tags for the tag section of the box. I don't really know that these will be used by my gramma but they were fun to make. Very simple. Some are tag shaped and some were round.

Next we have the "Fabulous" card. I really like this stamp set a lot but am not real sure how I feel aobu this card. It is alright but not my favorite creation with it. Hopefully gramma will know someone fabulous to send it to!

Well, hope you all have a great day. I get to meet my newest niece today!!!! yay!

Talk to you soon,

No real title for this post...

2008-06-26T00:47:00.002-05:00

These are the next two cards that were in my stationary box. When my grandmother asked for cards she wanted at least some that she could use for any occasion. Maybe this first on looks boring but I liked the simplicity of it. I don't have the 5 petal punch but a friend does and after borrowing it for a few days I think I need to get it. Is this card too boring????
This card was a fun one to make. In real life it actually looks better. Once I saw it in the photo I realized that I could see the glue that I used a bit. Hmmm. I am showing it to you anyway. Again, I was inspired by a card from my friend Deborah at My Little Crafting Corner. It was not very hard. They are 1 1/4 inch squares that are halfed and stacked.

Again on these two we have river rock, rose red, regal rose, and the ginger blossom paper. One the second I used "Happy Everything".

Talk to you soon,

Ginger Blossom Inchies

2008-06-24T23:44:00.002-05:00

These were the first two cards I made for the stationary box I showed you in my last post. My friend Deborah from My Little Crafting Corner once had posted some cards using just little scraps of her designer papers. I loved the idea and put it into use with these two cards. I cute 1 inch squares and just started to arrange them. These are 2 of the 5 cards in the stationary box. On the first card I wanted to cover a large area in the middle of the squares but the paper was bigger than the stamp I wanted to use. So, I thought I'd use 1/4 inch squares to fill the space. I loved it. :) On both cards I used Groovy Guava for the base. I will miss this color. Have I mentioned I am hating to lose this year's In Colors? The River Rock is on both too. On the top one I used Rose Red and some Vanilla. The sentiment on the first is from "It's Your Birthday", which is retiring. I hate it when my sentiment sets retire. Grrrr. They are useful and I especially like this one. On the second I used the "Celebrate" set.

Anyway, you should try this little idea! :)

Talk to you soon!

Last Monday's Mojo...

2008-06-24T01:21:00.005-05:00

This the Monday Mojo #42 sketch challenge from Poetic Artistry last week. I rarely get a chance to do sketch challenges and I finally did one. I save them on my computer in a folder of sketches but this one I liked and had to do. I thought that this paper lent itself to this type of layout really well. Usually when I see this sheet of paper in the Ginger Blossom pack I just feel confused about what to do with it. But, this I really like.

Paper: River rock, rose red, regal rose, Ginger blossom DSP

On a Personal Note: It is ridiculous that it is 1:33 in the morning and I am up typing this post and watching Monk. I have been staying up so late this summer. My night owl alter ego has been able to come out and soar. I always tell Brett I am just going to stay up for a bit but before I know it it is 1:30 am. ** sigh **

Talk to you soon,

Stamps: Delight in Life

Stationary Box

2008-06-23T22:52:00.007-05:00

I saw a tutorial on Jackie's awesome blog and loved it and had to try it out. I am not very good about taking challenges or trying out tutorials. I always want to and save them on my favorites list in Google Reader or save the photos on my computer but rarely try that stuff. But, this was so great and last week for my open house Jenn came over to play and we thought we'd try this. It was pretty easy. If you'd like to try it the tutorial can be found here at Addicted to Stamping. The hardest part was making all the contents of the box!!

So, today I am going to show you the box and I'll show you some of the contents over the rest of the week. I haven't done much with the outside of my box yet and I need to. It is a little drab. I worked my tail off finishing the inside and so I haven't paid much mind to the outside. I have to do some work on the outside because Zoe got some green ink on it when she was "helping" me stamp. In Jackie's template she suggests an address book but I made mine a birthday calender instead and made each page of the little book a month. My grandma just asked for some cards from me so I think I'll send her this set. She'll be thrilled. (At least she better be...LOL). I love the Ginger Blossom DSP from Stampin Up and so that is what I chose to do with this box. It is a paper that seems so nice and caring. (That does sound a bit corny huh?) I'll be sad to lose this pattern of paper from the catalog but it will go since it has an in color in it that is retiring. I am really going to miss this year's In Colors. **Sigh**

I'll be back later with more about the goodies in the box!

On a Personal Note: Summer is going well. Zoe has been loving her dance class. It is so fun to watch her. She really tries hard to please Miss Mary, she does what she is told and today was helping another little girl follow directions. It is cute. I really am a lucky mommy. She is obedient (most of the time) and happy. If we stick with the class she'll actually get to have a recital. That is so exciting. I started dance at a young age and loved the recital part. I hope she'll continue to love it!

This year I have been amazed at how comfortable she is in the water. She just puts on her floaties and has no fear. (Kind of scary for mommy). She floats in the water and just acts like it is no big deal that she can't touch the bottom. She jumps off the side of the pool (after she saw the big girls do it) and doesn't really mind getting her face wet. People always seem surprised that she is just a little over 2.

We leave Thursday for Illinois. I always look forward to going. My MIL is a great lady and I never feel out of place there. We'll go for week but when Brett and I come home Zoe will stay for another week for some alone time with Gramma. They both love it. My SIL Beth just had her second baby, Anna, and I can't wait to meet her. Brett's brother Bart and his wife Tracy will also be there and they have a 6 month old we have never met, Abby. That is so crazy that we don't know her yet. I can't wait to meet these beautiful new nieces and see my other niece and nephew. It is so nice to have them; as an only child I often wondered if I'd ever get to have nieces and nephews. I love my Aunts so much and wanted to be an Aunt myself one day. I have to admit I am not very good at it yet. It is hard when we all live so far apart. I hate that. Maybe one day life circumstances will change but for now it is what it is. God's plan is a huge mystery to me. But I am assuming he has one and He'll let me in on it sooner or later, right? (Jeremiah 29:11)

Talk to you soon,

Monkeying Around!

2008-06-19T11:00:00.001-05:00

I was playing with my Clear Dollar Monkies again and came up with this card. I used the cuttlebug and the widest Stampin' Up Twill Tape. I have had the Twill Tape for a long time but have not really known what to do with it. So, I stamped on it! I wish it would have been darker. Not sure how to accomplish that.

Anyway, just wanted to share this little monkey with you!

Stamps: Monkey Madness - Clear Dollar Stamps

Paper: Chocolate chip, YoYo Yellow, Close to Cocoa, (confetti cream, non SU)

Accessories: Cuttlebug, SU Twill Tape, brads (OTC), paper piercer

Talk to you Soon!