Creative Choas

Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini Catalog

2011-09-01T09:05:00.002-05:00

It's finally time to reveal the newest Stampin' Up Holiday Mini catalog! Click on the links below to view the catalog and obtain the supplies information.

Holiday Mini (flash version)

Holiday Mini (pdf)

Stampin' Supplies List

If you would like to place an order you can do so on my Stampin' Up! web site or email me at tmariestamps@comcast.net

Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper Promotion

2011-08-02T18:11:00.003-05:00

Promotion Dates: August 1-31, 2011

Promotion Details: During August, get a FREE package of Designer Series Paper when you buy three! Stock up on all your favorites, including brand-new designs from the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog.

Things to Remember:
•There is no limit to the number of free packages of Designer Series Paper you can earn.
•Specialty Designer Series Paper and Hostess Designer Series Paper are not part of this promotion and cannot be redeemed through this offer.
•On-line ordering deadline is Aug. 31 at 11:50 P.M. MT

Shop Now

It's A Good Day

2011-07-14T16:09:00.007-05:00

I thought I would quickly make another card using this week's Summer Card Camp colors. This is a super simple card using a cute Unity Itty Bitty stamp set called "It's a Good Day".

I love the bicycle trend that's booming right now and have been collecting some cute stamps! My DH and DS are huge into bike riding. My Son works at a bike shop and both my Son and Husband race their bikes. They are gearing up for a HUGE mountain bike race next month in Leadville, Colorado.

I used PTI kraft cardstock embossed with a Sizzix Winter Set #2 embossing folder, and a little snippet of patterned paper from Crate Paper's Portrait Collection. The ribbon is from SU.

Summer Card Camp ~ Week 3 Color Challenge

2011-07-13T08:35:00.004-05:00

It's hard to believe that our Summer Card Camp is half over! I'm so glad I signed up for this calss as it's forcing me to use colors and color combos that I wouldn't normally use. I love this weeks colors, they were fun to work with!

For today's card I used some fun dotty paper from PTI Distressed Dots, I just love this paper, mostly because I love all things polka dotty! I paird it up with a paper from a 6x6 pad from My Minds Eye, Stella & Rose Gertie. I also love this paper, so much that I've found it hard to cut into. Anyone else have that issue? LOL! The butterflies were cut with SU's Beautiful Butterflies die, another one of my favorite things!

Thanks for stopping by!

Summer Card Camp ~ Week 2 Color Challenge

2011-07-06T12:39:00.012-05:00

This week's color combo reminds me of our trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in 2006. We made the trip with our Son and his best friends and their families for the boys last spring break of High School. One last vacation together before they all headed off to college. Wow, what a fun week that was, so full of fun memories, perfect weather and margaritas.

Anyway...for this week's card, I used a super cute little stamp set from Darcie's that I came across at my LSS. The whole set is adorable with lots of little elements and various sentiments. The papers are from a 6x6 pad of My Minds Eye Stella and Rose Gertie papers. I colord the image with Copic markers and added a little sparkle with some diamond Stickles.

Thanks for stopping by!

Asymmetrical (Informal) Balance

2011-06-30T14:04:00.003-05:00

Summer Card Camp continues with today's lesson all about balance. Our assignment today was to use one of the layouts provided to create a card using one of the balance lessons. I choose to use asymmetrical (informal) balance for my card and pretty much flat out copied Kristina's card only using our colors for the week! The fun "smile" stamp is from Hero Arts, I've had it forever and I think this was the first time using it! I colored the word with Prismacolor Pencils and blended with gamsol. I forgot how much fun that technique is, my Copic markers get used more than my colored pencils but I like the soft color the pencils provide.

I checked the Summer Card Camp blog today and holy heck there are well over 500 entries. And let me tell you, they are all amazing!

Summer has finally arrived in Minnesota, it's close to 100* here today...a great day to stay inside and make cards!

Summer Card Camp Week 1

2011-06-29T11:09:00.008-05:00

This is the first week of Summer Card Camp and we started out with a color challenge. These colors were very tough for me, not colors that I normally work with, especially orange. But this is why I signed up for this class, to challenge myself and to get me to work outside my comfort zone, and to try new styles and techniques.

I was happy to find some Basic Grey bloomers in my stash that had a splash of orange on a few of the flowers so that became my focal point of my card. The papers are from My Minds Eye 6x6 pad, Lime Twist-Happy Go Lucky.

Summer Card Camp 2011

2011-06-25T14:04:00.003-05:00

I can't wait for Summer Card Camp to begin! With Kristina and Jennifer leading the class what could be better! If you haven't heard about it be sure to check out the link, I'm sure you won't want to miss this amazing class!

Enjoy the Ride

2010-06-15T11:00:00.004-05:00

I love this set from Papertrey Ink and thought of my step-mom MaryAnn when I saw it. She drives a VW Beetle, and also had one of the original beetles way back when so I just had to make her a set of cards and a little storage box.

The paper is some that I had in my stash and don't even remember the company that makes it, but it was really fun to work with, I love polka dots and flowers! The layout of this card came from Mish's card that she made for this stamp release, she did a "manly" card but I made mine "girly".

I hope that everyone is enjoying the start of their summer and that you're finding some time to get creative!

Thanks for stopping by!

Color Cubbies

2010-01-16T10:26:00.017-06:00

Thank you to all who have ordered, we love hearing how you like your Cubbies! Here is the link where I introduce the Color Cubbie.

I thought I would be fun to add some close up pictures of the Cubbies just in case you want a closer look!

If you are interested in ordering visit Studio 3 Solutions.
Thank you for stopping by, have a great weekend!

Wow!

2010-01-06T16:31:00.005-06:00

I wanted to pop in and express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has ordered our Color Cubbie and to all that sent such sweet comments! We have been blessed with a flood of orders and can't wait to hear how you all like your new Cubbies!

I just love mine, it's so fun to see all the pretty markers all lined up ready to use and one of my favorite features is that it takes up so much less space than my previous attempts at storing my markers.

I've received some questions about storing other markers and coloring mediums in the Color Cubbie and yes, the Color Cubbie will hold all of those as well!

We have had some web site issues with our International shipping options, but yes we ship Internationally, just drop us an email at contact@studio3solutions.com for an International shipping quote if you're interested. Hopefully we'll have the issue solved shortly and I appologize for the confusion.

Thanks again for your excitement for the Cubbie, we are thrilled that you love it!

Introducing the Color Cubbie

2009-12-11T20:18:00.000-06:00

I am so excited to introduce you to a project that we've been working on, the Color Cubbie. This is the long awaited solution to your Copic marker storage question.

I had the concept and my hubby engineered and produced it. We have owned a custom cabinetry business for the past 27 years so we have the technology and equipment to produce these in volume. So we have launched a new business and are pleased to share it with you Studio 3 Solutions . We will be adding additional products as we grow.

Let me tell you a little about the Color Cubbie. It will hold a total of 120 Copic Sketch markers, with 24 on each shelf. The best part about this little cubbie is that each shelf is angled so you can read the names on your sketch markers clearly. The angled shelf also allows you to pull a marker out without others coming along. Of course it will also house the other styles of Copic markers, as well as most other coloring mediums, like Prismacolor colored pencils and markers.

This is a picture of all my pretty Copic markers all lined up waiting to be used. There are 3 Color Cubbies in this picture.

I would love to hear some feedback from you all. If you like what you see, please tell a friend!

Thanks so much for visiting!

You're My Cup of Tea

2009-10-28T08:50:00.000-05:00

I've been waiting for the "Nook & Pantry" line by Basic Grey to hit the store shelves. I love the vintage colors and feel that this paper collection has, and the matching stamp sets and embellishments are all so fun! I've already been back to Archiver's to buy a few more sheets of paper and I've had fun throwing a few things together.

This card uses a card sketch that was posted over at Two Peas. Such a simple sketch but it's a fun one! The adorable little tea pot and sentiment are from Basic Grey Nook & Pantry line and it's called "Cup of Tea".

Autumn Greetings

2009-10-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

I made a few Autumn cards to send out to family, but a day after I made the cards it snowed! I was rethinking my idea to send Autumn cards and thought maybe I should have made happy winter cards instead. For those of us that live in Minnesota we know that if you wait 15 minutes the weather will change. So I went ahead and mailed my Autumn cards. I will however start some happy winter cards to have on hand for our next snowfall which as we all know could be any day now!

There is not much stamping on this card, I bought the cuttlebug leaf die cut and embossing folder last fall and thought it was about time to bust it out and use it. It was a fun little card to put together. I have this strange obsession with buttons...have to use them on everything lately.

Hope everyone is doing well, seems like I've been out of the "loop" for such a long time. I haven't done any card making for so long, it felt good to get going again.

On a personal note, my sweet hubby was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma on September 15th. It's been a rollercoaster ride since his diagnosis, one that I would never wish on anyone. It's been a tough month since finding out, so much to think about and learn, and so many things running through our minds. He has had two chemotherapy treatments so far and is really doing quite well considering all that he has gone through this past month and a half. As of now there is no cure for the type of cancer he has, but the Oncologist is optimistic that Tom will respond well to chemotherapy and that the cancer will go into remission.

So we have been really challenged this past year, first with trying to run our business which is directly affected by the housing market in this down economy and now cancer. At least we both have a very strong faith in God and we are thankful for all that we have, things could always be worse.

Thanks for stopping by!

Fall

2009-08-21T18:41:00.005-05:00

Well fall has definitely been in the air here in Minnesota. We haven't had much of a summer with the exception of a few warm days in June and a few weeks ago. I'm not complaining though, I love the cooler weather. I always look forward to fall, it's my favotire time of year.

I went shopping today with my Sister-in-Law Tammy, we just went to Archiver's and Michael's but we always have fun together. I was looking for some cute fall paper and couldn't find any, so I came home and went through all my paper and found this paper that I had bought last year. It's by Debbie Mumm, her stuff is always so cute.

Anyway, on to the card. This chair image is from Lockhart stamps, available at Ellen's store, it's the stamp of the month for August. So cute and so fun to color. I wanted to paper piece the little quilt on the back of the chair but I didn't have any fall paper with a small pattern on it so I'll have to do that another time.

Have a wonderful weekend, thanks for stopping by!

Peony

2009-07-06T18:25:00.008-05:00

I wanted to share this card that uses a beautiful stamp set that I won as blog candy from Kim Teasdale. She designed this stamp set, available from Clear Dollar Stamps, she is so talented and this peony stamp was so much fun to color and layer. I mailed the card to Kim along with a note of thanks for the goodies!

Copic markers were used to color the flower that was stamped in Memento Black ink onto Papertrey Vintage Cream cardstock. I cut out the image using Spellbinder's label 4 die. The patterned paper is from a 6x6 pad of Basic Grey Bittersweet.

Have a Swingin' Day

2009-06-15T14:17:00.003-05:00

This is such a fun set, it's from Our Craft Lounge. When I first saw this card on Carol's blog, I just had to have this set; you're a great enabler HB! I loved the card she did and borrowed her layout for my cards. It's hard not to be in a happy mood using this set, it's just so dang cute! I love the little bows on the girly owl's ears.

For this card, I used some fun Making Memories paper and accessories from their Chloe's Closet line, it has fun summery colors and elements. I found it at Michael's and right now it's on clearance. I bought the paper with a coupon when it first came out, but picked up some fun embellishements to go with the paper on clearance. I love anything on clearance...well most anything!

Thanks for stopping by...have a wonderful day!

Day Dreamer

2009-05-21T14:57:00.005-05:00

I love this stamp from Sugar Nellie, she is one of 6 stamps I ordered a while back. They have super cute stamps and if you like to color these stamps are great for that! I love to color, I find it to be very relaxing.

I colored her with my copic markers and paired her with some Basic Grey Urban Prairie 6x6 paper. This is one of my favorite lines from Basic Grey, I just love the colors. I used a Fiskars border punch for the little decorative strip, added a few buttons and bling from my stash.

Our refrigerator is running again, the compressor was seized so they had to replace it. Luckily it had a 5 year warranty on the compressor so it cost us nothing for the repair! Now I hope that nothing else decides to participate in the appliance quiting show.

When Life Hands You Lemons

2009-05-18T15:11:00.005-05:00

When it rains it pours. So about 2 weeks ago my less than 3 year old clothes dryer decided that it didn't want to dry clothes anymore so we had to repair that, just prior to that, the spring broke on the door of my less than 3 year old dishwasher; had to repair that. Now the dishwasher decides that it doesn't want to stay closed through the whole wash cycle and pops itself open, have to repair that. Now last night, our refrigerator decides stop keeping things cold and just quit. We had to scramble last night to try to save some of the food. Of course I had just gone grocery shopping yesterday morning so the fridge was full. They are coming tomorrow sometime between sunrise and sundown...you know how that works!

On top of that, last week our phones and internet stopped working. We have bundled service with Comcast for our TV, phone and internet. Luckily the TV still worked, so I didn't have to miss American Idol and the other reality shows I watch, I did however suffer great pain from blog surfing withdrawls!

So I thought that this card fit the bill today...When life gives you lemons, make lemonade or in this case; a lemon card!

The lemons stamp is from Lockhart and the paper is from the DCVW Citrus Stack. I colored the image with my Copic markers and added a little Martha Stewart glitter to make it sparkle. The layout was one I saw several weeks ago on Jen del Muros blog . She posts a sketch each week to try, and I loved this one with the little strips of paper going down and across. It's always fun to try a new layout.

Thanks for visiting!

Flowers

2009-05-17T13:48:00.005-05:00

Happy Sunday! It's a beautiful spring day in MN today, the sun is shinning and the birds are singing!

I had a great Saturday, I spent the day with my Sister-in-Law Tammy. We shopped a bit, had lunch and then went to Archiver's for Mania where our friend Pegi joined us. A perfect day!

I recently saw a card on a blog using a cute scalloped corner punch. While shopping at Joann's I found a Fiskar's scallop punch similar to the punch that was used on the card I saw, only the Fiskar's punch had the three little punchies in the corner. But I thought is was kinda cute so I had to have it, and of course I had to give it a try as soon as I got home!

The flower image was stamped on Papertrey Select White cardstock and colored using my Copic markers. I mounted the image on SU Bashful Blue cardstock, and ran a piece of SU Pretty in Pink cardstock through my Big Shot with the Sizzix dots embossing folder. Added a little flower button and some gingham ribbon from my stash and a sentiment from Papertrey Ink to finish it off.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great week!

Beetle Bugs

2009-05-11T10:36:00.004-05:00

I hope that everyone had a nice Mother's Day! I had a great day, we went to the nursery and bought some new flowers for our yard and spent the day planting and moving a few things around in the yard. It was a beautiful spring day here in MN.

Last night we went to dinner with my Dad and Step-Mom to celebrate Mother's Day and my Step-Mom's birthday which is today. She has a VW Beetle so I made her some cards with this adorable Elzybell's stamp. I've had the stamp for quite a while but just didn't get around to getting them made for her, but when I found this cute paper with the bugs on it I was motivated to get the cards done! She loved them and they were so fun to make!

Thanks for stopping by...have a great day!

Celebrate Spring

2009-04-30T09:45:00.000-05:00

Today I have another scrappy card, the only stamping on this one is the sentiment.

We're having another rainy spring day here in MN, but April showers bring May flowers...right? Things are beginning to green up and a lot of my perennials are well under way, I can't wait till they start blooming! And on the plus side, the weekend is supposed to be nice!

For this card, I used some paper and die cuts from Making Memories Garden Party line. The butterfly is a Cuttlebug die cut, and the scalloped edge was punched with a Martha Stewart border punch, this particular punch is one of my favorties. And the lone stamp on this card is one I picked up from the Michael's $1 bin, I really liked the font on this one.

Happy Spring!

Sweet Home

2009-04-28T06:00:00.002-05:00

I've seen so many cute cards with a house on them and wanted to give one a try. No stamping at all on this card, just scrappy stuff.

I cut the little house out of some brand new Crate Paper Lillian Collection. I love Crate paper and this collection is so cute with the flowers and birds and it uses some fun muted spring colors. I cut the roof out of a page of a book that I picked up at the thrift store for using on cards, and the little scalloped black roof edge was punched using another one of those new ek success edger punches from Michael's. I really like this little scallop punch because it's so petite...the scallops are cute and tiny. The little flowers are some dimensional stickers that I bought in the $1 stuff bin at Michael's, the sheet is really fun, it has butterflies and flowers, and a real steal for $1. I spelled home using some shimmer stickers from Making Memories.

I just signed up for a facebook account. I felt so out of the loop, because it seems like everyone has an account...so I gave in. I don't have a clue how to use it, but I'll figure it out as I go, it can't be that hard...right?

Have a great day today!

Apples

2009-04-27T08:33:00.001-05:00

I really need to figure out how to take a decent picture...maybe I need to invest in a light box one of these days...

I'm a huge fan of all of the Lockhart fruit stamps, they're are so fun to color with Copic markers. I've seen a few Copic coloring tutorials on different blogs and I always learn something new when I watch how others use their markers.

For this card, I stamped the apples with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Papertrey Ink Stamper's Select White cardstock and then colored with my Copic markers. I used my favorite Spellbinders Labels Two
dies to cut out the image and a matte out of SU Apricot Appeal cardstock. The patterned paper is from K & Co. mounted on SU Riding Hood Red and the ribbon is SU Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon.

We've been waiting for spring to arrive here in MN. One day it's 90 and the next day it's 50! My sweet hubby spent the last two days putting down new mulch in our yard...a lot of mulch...16 yards so far and we need more! We have a large yard that is great for the dogs, but not so great to take care of. Although we enjoy it once all the work is done! This picture is from last year...things aren't quite blooming here yet, but hopefully it won't be long!

Have a great day!

Hello Friend

2009-04-26T10:54:00.008-05:00

Hello friends...I know it's been forever since I blogged, I havn't been stamping much but I wanted to make a quick card for Kristina Werner's 50th Color Inspiration. These are not colors that I would usually work with, but I've had the DCWV Green Stack paper and fun matching chipboard sitting around and remembered seeing those colors in some of the papers. I used SU Real Red for the card base and a little strip of SU YoYo Yellow. The fun red wavy piece was punched with a new EK Success edger punch that I found at Michael's . The hello friend stamp is from a great Hero Arts Clear Design set called All Occasion...it has so many great stamps in it, I think I've used it more than any other stamp set I've owned to add a simple sentiment to my cards.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cherry Sweet

2008-07-29T19:29:00.001-05:00

I've been on a fruit kick lately and I just love this bowl of cherries stamp from Hero Arts.

I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with my Copic markers. I just recently discovered Memento inks and they work so great with the Copic markers. They don't need to be heat set like Brilliance inks and they dry quickly which means that I can get to coloring right away.

The layouts are super simple and I thought that the red polka dot paper and the gingham had a kitchen/summery feel to them. The little flowers on the blue card are two punches layered. For the white flower, I put it on my mouse pad and took the end of an embossing tool and made a circular motion to pop up the edges. You can click on the picture for a closer look.

This Friday is our 27th wedding anniversary, yes I was a baby when I got married! We're heading up north for a long weekend of fun and relaxation. I'm so looking forward to getting away and I love northern Minnesota!

Our puppy Bella is still away being trained for hunting at Tom Dokken's Oak Ridge Kennels. We miss her so much and can't wait for her to come home. Her training is 10 weeks long and were only 5 weeks into it. We do get to go and see her on the 15th of August so I'm counting the days. She is doing great with her training and having lots of fun, hunting is her favorite thing to do...well favorite next to retreiving the tennis ball for hours.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mojo Monday on Tuesday

2008-07-15T20:47:00.007-05:00

I haven't been real productive in the stamping department lately, but tonight I decided to try a sketch challenge. This is my first time trying the Mojo Monday challenge from Julee's blog over at Poetic Artistry. It was a fun layout, one I would have never thought of on my own.

I had a great time on Saturday at the SCS Summer Stamp Fest hosted by Kathleen and Cindy. They did a fabulous job and I appreciate all the time and effort they put into planning and hosting the day.

If you haven't already heard, HB is one of the featured designers for Anna Wight's July/August stamp releases for WhipperSnapper . You'll have to check out her cards, they are fabulous!

Supplies: SU; Choc. Chip and White Cardstock, Basic Grey Sugared patterned paper. Stamps; Cupcakes from Impression Obsession, Scallop and Classic circle Nestabilities, Pink Bling, Colored with Copic Markers and Spica Glitter pens.

Stamping Bella

2008-06-10T19:00:00.006-05:00

I just love this Bella image and the saying that goes with her. Don't laugh, you know it's true. I know we all start out saying "I could save so much money making cards myself!" Yeah, well we all know how far from reality that is! But isn't collecting supplies and stamps as much fun as stamping?

I paper pieced her dress with some paper from K & Company's Berry Sweet 4"x6" Mat Pad, I just love this paper can't wait to use more of it! Bella is colored with Copic markers. I used my nestabilities for the rectangle scallop mat and the Cuttlebug swiss dots folder to emboss the cardstock.

Thanks for visiting!

Ribbon Weaving

2008-04-19T12:35:00.001-05:00

I've seen a few cards done with ribbon weaving and wanted to give it a try. It's super simple and just a little something different for a card. I found this cute ribbon at Joann's before Easter, I just love the little embossed flowers on it. The paper is from Target it's a Marcella mat pack called Lemon Drops. I love the yellow and red together. The little blue flower is American Crafts and the red one is just a paper punched flower from a punch I found in the Target $1 spot a while back.

Today is a rainy dreary day, but tomorrow is suppose to be almost 70 degrees, so I'm not complaining too much! Have a wonderful weekend!

Meet Olivia

2008-04-05T15:26:00.005-05:00

I've been on an owl & bird kick lately and I couldn't resist this cute little lady Olivia. She comes in a clear stamp set from Sassafras Lass called Olivia & Pals.

I stamped her in SU Chocolate Chip ink on Very Vanilla cardstock and matted her with More Mustard and Chocolate Chip. The patterned paper is from Dream Street Papers, and I ran a piece of Very Vanilla through my Cuttlebug with the Tiny Bubbles embossing folder. The layout for this card comes from Beate.

It's a beautiful 60 degree spring day here in MN, the sun is shinning and the birds are singing away. I love spring!

More Elzybells

2008-03-29T17:36:00.007-05:00

I went shopping today with my Sister-In-Law Tammy and my Nieces Brianna & Jillian. We hit a couple local scrapbook stores and I found a few new Elzybell stamps. When I got home I had to ink at least one up so I used "Letter Writing" Elzy to make a few cards to have on hand. I used Michelle Wooderson's postage stamp layout to quickly whip these up. I used my nestabilities dies to cut and emboss the squares, and my copic markers to color in Elzy. The patterned paper is the new Crate Katlin Collection line that I found at Archiver's a few days ago. I love this new line of papers, the colors are so pretty and remind me of summer.

The greetings I used were from those little $1 Studio G clear stamps. I seem to have a bit of an obsession with those little sets, and have a really hard time passing them up. They aren't the greatest stamps quality wise, but some of them are so darn cute.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Elzybell

2008-03-21T18:04:00.006-05:00

Who doesn't love Elzybells? I haven't seen one yet that I don't like, and when I saw this Elzy in her bug, I immediately thought of my Step-Mom; she drives a cute blue bug. I'm gonna make some cards for her with Elzy in a blue bug for her Birthday. She'll love them!

Stamps: Girl in Car; Elzybells , Small Oval; Rubber Soul

Patterned Paper: Sugar Collection; Memory Box @ Ellen Hutson

Paper: Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White; Stampin' Up

Ink: Graphite Black; Brilliance

Punch: Photo Corners; Stampin' Up

Ribbon: Michael's

Bling Flowers: Archiver's Hot Spot

Nestabilities: Classic Circles, Scalloped Circles

nuts about you

2008-03-21T17:48:00.005-05:00

Another very simple card using a new Hero Arts set. I love the new trend with owls, birds, branches and trees.

The colors are showing up wonky, but in real life these colors match! I really need some photo taking/editing assistance. Guess I'll have to blog around and see if I can come up with some helpful tips!

Recipe:
Stamps: Trees, Birds & Messages clear set; Hero Arts
Ink: Graphite Black; Brilliance
Paper: Cool Caribbean (yes I horded a bunch), BasicBlack & Whisper White; Stampin' Up Patterned paper: Autumn Leaves-Scribbles Mat Pad
Nestabilities: Lg. Classic Circle & Lg. Scalloped Circle
Copic Markers

Happy Spring?

2008-03-21T13:25:00.005-05:00

What a difference a day can make in Minnesota! Yesterday the snow was pretty much a memory and boom today we get hit with 6 inches of beautiful heavy wet snow. Everything is coated in a fresh white blanket. I love snow this time of year because I know in a few short days it will be history!

My son is on spring break in Texas basking in the sunshine...well not really basking in the sun, he is there playing lacrosse. He is the starting goalie for the University of Minnesota lacrosse team. They flew into Dallas on Monday and were pretty much flooded in from all the rain they got on Tuesday. They are getting their games in though so it wasn't a wasted trip, and the weather has been great since Wednesday.

This is a card I made a while back. I've been into simple cards lately. I just love this stamp set from Inkadinkado. They have a lot of great new clear stamps. I picked up several new sets recently at Joann's and they were 40% off so they were only $6.00! Score! They have a new cupcake set that is fabulous!

For this card, I simply stamped on a piece of Basic Grey patterned paper, added a mat and a few brads...couldn't be simpler.

Recipe
Stamps: Birds Galore & Garden Flowers; Inkadinkado (Archiver's)
Paper: Whisper White, Choc. Chip; Stampin' Up,
Patterned Paper; Basic Grey
Ink: Choc. Chip; Stampin' Up

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend!

Bloomin' Beautiful

2008-03-20T13:29:00.014-05:00

When I first saw this set Bloomin' Beautiful in the Stampin' Up Occasions Mini catalog I knew I needed it. I love to color, always have, so when I see a great stamp that needs color, I'm all over it! This was my first attempt using my new Copic markers. I *love* them! I do however need some practice with them. They definately have a learning curve!

These are the colors I used.

Recipe

Stamps: Bloomin' Beautiful; Stampin' Up

Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black

Paper: Whisper White, Almost Amethyst, Mellow Moss,

Daisy D's Spring Blossoms

Ribbon: Basic Simply Satin Ribbon; Michael's

(which matches SU Almost Amethyst perfectly!)

Easter Card

2008-03-19T15:16:00.005-05:00

It's been forever since I stamped and blogged, where does the time go? I decided to make a few Easter cards and since I haven't stamped in such a long time, I decided to CASE a card made by Melanie Douthit that I saw in the new Paper Crafts 101 magazine that I picked up at Joann's during my last visit. I recognized the paper, it is some that I had used in a ATC swap a while back and I just happened to have some leftovers. I also had the stamp set she used, guess it was meant to be!

Recipe:

Stamps: Spring Fling Tailored Tins set from Paper Salon

Paper: Glitter Posies, Circles, & Delecate Dots; Paper Salon

Whisper White; Stampin Up.

Ink: Aloe Vera and Pixie Dust; Versa Magic

Punches: Scalloped Circle, 1 1/4" & 1 1/8 " circle, Corner Rounder ; Stampin Up

Flowers: Prima Sprites: Jacksonbelle Embellishments

Ribbon: Offray

Brads: Making Memories

I also have a new blog banner. It's BLOGware from Shabby Princess

Thanks for visiting!

Boo

2007-10-10T19:02:00.000-05:00

Hold on to your hats, sit down, stop the presses...I'm actually posting to my blog! As far as I know hell hasn't froze over, and pigs still can't fly. Life has just been so busy that I haven't had any free time to stamp for months...yes, I said months! I actually didn't place an order from the new SU catalog until late last month (gasp!). I'm hoping that I can get inspired to get some stamping done before I forget how!

I did get this quick little Halloween card made. It's a super simple card, but hey at least I did something!

We're off to a family reunion for my husband's side of the family this weekend. There will be over 70 people there and it's being held at my MIL's home. We're hoping for nice weather so we can all be outside, her poor house isn't big enough for all those people. But then again, I don't know too many people who have a house large enough to hold 70 people.

Thanks for visiting...I promise to try to be a better blogger!

Tagged

2007-09-22T16:07:00.001-05:00

I was tagged by Kristina Lewis. This is a fun one!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) - Dusty BMW
2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Vanilla Chocolate Chip
3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) T-McB
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) - Pink Dog
5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) - McBta
6. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put “The”) Celery The Latte
7. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)- Donald Orrin
8. STRIPPER NAME : ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) Romance Peanut Butter Cup
9.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) Jean Duane

I'm trying to be creative and get some stamping done today...we'll see how it goes!

Meeting Taylor

2007-09-09T20:54:00.001-05:00

What a fabulous evening! I was blessed to be included in a dinner on Friday night at California Pizza Kitchen in Edina to meet mega stamping rockstar Taylor Van Bruggen. She was here in Minnesota helping out at the Stampendous booth at Scrapfest at the Mall of America. She is such a sweetie and we were all thrilled to meet her!

I also had the great opportunity to finally meet a few fellow bloggers and SCSers that live close to me. We had such a great time, and I can't wait to get together again!

I was hoping to finally get some stamping done this weekend, but I have a rotten cold and have not had the energy to do anything! It's been forever since I've had a chance to stamp and I was looking forward to getting a few things done to post...hopefully later in the week.

We enjoyed a nice afternoon with our son Drew, he came home for a few hours today. He moved out about 3 weeks ago to attend college at the U of M in Minneapolis. He's only about 20 minutes away, but we sure do miss him! He and his 3 best friends have a 4 bedroom apartment about 2 blocks from the U of M campus.

Have a great week everyone!

Last of the ATCs

2007-08-04T14:18:00.001-05:00

These are the last two of the ATCs I made for a recent swap. I have received all of my swaps back and holy heck do they rock! I think I said wow about 50 times which was how many ATCs I recieved back from the swap! These girls have serious talent, and I am so fortunate to be invited to participate in this swap!

On another note, I was at Archiver's today and while sitting at the table doing a great make and take scrapbook page, met a fellow SCSer and blogger Pegi Taylor. She is so sweet and I was so excited to meet her. I've been a fan of her blog and her adorable dog Willow for a long time! Small world!

Ladybug ATC

2007-07-17T15:25:00.002-05:00

Here is yet another ATC...hey I signed up for 5 spots in the swap so only a few more to post! *lol* This ATC was totally inspired by all the adorable ladybug cards I've seen posted over at SCS, and it just so happened that it was the perfect size for an ATC.

I stamped the solid petal with the polka dots from the new SU set Pick a Petal in SU Real Red and then stamped the outline over the stamped polka dot petal in SU Basic Black. To form the butterfly wings just cut out the two petals, for the body punch out a black circle with the SU 1 1/4" circle punch, for the head cut another circle using the SU 1" circle punch and cut a bit off of one side. Then just assemble your bug. I used the antenne from Papertrey Ink's Butterfly Kisses set, but you could also use a black marker and draw your own. I also added 2 black brads to the ends of her antenne. I stamped her "trail" using Papertrey's set Little Lady . The happy everything sentiment is from Hero Arts. I also used the SU Spiral punch along the edge of the whisper white layer for a little added interest.

If you have this set and haven't tried a bug yet, give one a try...

Bee Happy ATC

2007-07-16T09:35:00.001-05:00

This is another ATC I made for Jen del Muro's swap. I just love making these and love receiving them even more! I have 3 of the SU ATC books full of them already and I have quite a few more coming. I can't wait!

This Stampendous bee is one of my favorites in their bee happy collection. And I love the sentiment...beee happy! It seems that lately all of the cards I've been making have one of the bees on it! The stamps can be found here at Eclectic Paperie along with tons of other great stuff!

I made a full card very similar to this ATC...I just shrank everything down a bit. I stamped the bee with Palette Hybrid ink in Noir Black and colored them in using my SU markers. The patterned paper is from DCWV Spring Pad that I picked up at Joann's last year. I had these Making Memories snaps in my stash and they matched the SU Regal Rose cardstock perfectly. I finished it off by adding some Stardust Stickles to make it sparkle.

Sweet Cupcake ATC

2007-07-14T11:29:00.001-05:00

I absoultly love cupcakes, especially white cake ones with sweet buttercream icing...yummy! I recently got this adorable cupcake image from Ellen Hudson's online store. She has so many cute stamps!

This is an ATC I created for Jen del Muro's ATC swap.

For the base of the card, I used SU Pixie Pink and layerd Rose Red on top. The stripped paper is from Paper Salon. I stamped the cupcake on SU Whisper White and colored with my SU markers. I added glitter for the icing and colored the cherry in with a clear glaze pen. I punched out the oval and then layered with the Marvy mega scallopped oval. I then used my paper piercer around the oval and took my Sakura white gel pen and ran it around the edges of the poked holes. "Sweet" was printed from my computer on cardstock and punched it out with my SU word window punch. The little flower was another punch and I topped it off with a little bling.

Today is the 15th, so that means the new Dirty Dozen Fan Club gallery is up on SCS. And there are 5...(yes 5!) new sets that debuted over at Papertrey Ink.

Have a great Sunday!

Lucky Me! Thank you Julia!

2007-07-11T16:51:00.001-05:00

I was one of the lucky winners of Belle BonBon's on Julia Stainton's blog! She was giving away a $20 gift card to Jacksonbelle Embellishments online store! What a fantastic give away and I was thrilled to receive it! I had fun shopping Lindsey's store and picking out a few new "goodies"! Once I made my choices, I received my new treasures in record time! I will definately be back to shop again! Thank you so much Julia!

Now to what I choose...I got the 6x6 Basic Grey Scarlet's Letter pad, some rockin' Prima Sprites , the new Basic Grey Precision File Set, and some yummy 2 sided paper squares by Daisy D's. I can't wait to play!

Java Bella

2007-07-08T17:16:00.002-05:00

Wow, I now officially get the award for the worst blogger in blogland! I just don't know where the time goes!

I am in an ATC swap group and I signed up for 5 spots so I've been busy creating ATCs for the last few weeks. I'll post the ATCs this week, I wanted to get them in the mail before I posted them.

I did have a little free time today and pulled out my Bella stamps. I was thinking about my Mom today who lives too far away from me. So I made a card for her to remind her that I miss her and that I would love a visit! She and my Step-Dad live in Florida so our time together is not often enough!

I stamped the image with Noir Black Pallette Hybrid Ink on watercolor paper and colored the Bellas using my SU Watercolor Crayons and a Aqua Brush. I put a few polka dots on one of the Bella's shirts using my Signo white gel pen. I had the dotted paper in my scrap stash from eons ago. The little pink flowers are from my Paper Frills by Doodlebug design. I bought mine at Archiver's this spring. They are fun little additions to any card! I also added a little bling with some dark pink rhinestones.

I'm so Excited!

2007-06-15T09:25:00.000-05:00

Wow, what a great morning! I received an email from Nichole Heady this morning saying that the card I created with the Papertrey Ink set Little Lady was chosen as an honorable mention in their monthly contest! Wow, what an honor! Thanks so much to the girls at Papertrey Ink.

If you haven't had a chance to order from them, you have to run over to their site and place an order! Their acrylic stamps are far superior to any others on the market! And check out their newest addition that just came out today! Can't wait to get my hands on this set!

I think that was Martha Stewart

2007-06-13T10:56:00.002-05:00

While we were on vacation we went to Pike's Market in Seattle. Let me just say what a cool place this is! Fresh flowers blanket the market with fresh fruit and fish every where.

I'm sure most of you are aware that Pike's Market is famous for the fish stand that throws the fish. We came upon this stand and they were just starting to do their "show". So I grab my camera and start taking some pictures. At the end of their "act" they throw a fake fish at someone in the crowd. Well, they threw the fake fish to the person that was standing right in front of me. The guy throws up his hands in disgust because she doesn't catch the fish or attempt to catch it letting it fall to the ground at her feet.
She then turns towards me and walks away almost bumping into me and my friend Trish.

Trish says..."I think that was Martha Stewart!" I turn to look and sure enough it was! She was standing right in front of me the whole time.

I had taken this picture while I was watching the guys throw the fish. After we left, I reviewed my pictures on my digital camera and lo and behold a picture of the person stading in front of me. Martha Stewart...well at least part of her! LOL!

New Blog Banner

2007-06-11T16:51:00.001-05:00

I'm trying to jazz up my blog a bit. I created this new blog banner, but I'm not quite sure I like it. I've also been playing around with the colors so if it looks funky for a while that's why. I'm a total tech-tard and usually stumble my way around until I get it right, let me know what you think about the new banner.

Sweets

2007-06-11T16:27:00.000-05:00

I've had this stamp for quite a while, but just getting around to playing with it. I love all things sweet, so I just had to own this yummy stamp. I've been a huge slacker lately when it comes to getting any cards made, I even had to buy (gasp!) cards for Mother's Day! I really need to build my stash so I won't have to hurry to get cards done when I need them!

For this card, I stamped the image on watercolor paper with Palette Hybrid Ink in Noir Black, these inks are fantastic. I purchased mine from Papertrey Ink. I then watercolored the image with my SU Watercolor Crayons and an Aqua Painter. The yummy paper is from Memory Box Sugar Collection, I got it from Ellen Hutson's great online store along with many more goodies. She ships super fast, and I got a sweet hand-stamped and signed thank you note with my order! I have so many more things from her store on my wish list! Back to the card...I used a clear glaze pen on the cherries and the icing, and finished the card off with a little gingham ribbon and a few brads.

I am really hoping that I can get myself motivated to do some stamping. I only have a few more days until Father's Day...and dang it, I'm not going to buy cards! So I better get busy!

We Made It!

2007-06-08T09:06:00.002-05:00

We made it to the top of Mount St. Helens! The picture above is us at the summit. What an amazing experience, it was grueling, scary, fascinating and amazing all at the same time! There were times along the way when I entertained thoughts of not making it, but I managed to pull myself together and forge ahead. I have to say that this was the most difficult thing physically that I've ever done. We climbed in snow most of the way, except for a little area on the rocks. It was a totally euphoric feeling to make it to the top. We had a beautiful clear day and once at the top, we were able to see Mt. Rainier, Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams. The glory of God's creations were in full view! And the view into the lava dome was more amazing than I imagined. The lava dome is re-generating at the rate of a dump truck load every second. There were boulders the size of cars rolling off the inside edges and an almost constant roar of falling debris and the steam was rolling out in several areas also.

For anyone who thinks that they can't do something, I'm here to tell you that you can! I'm shocked to look back and know that I climbed an active volcano! Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought that I would do such a thing. I also thought that every muscle in my body would ache and I wouldn't be able to walk the next day, but believe it or not I was not one little bit sore! I guess all those treks up the ski hill helped!

This is my husband Tom at the summit. Notice in the picture; to the left of him is the crater edge and to the right is a very steep snow covered mountain. There was only about a 3 foot area where you could safely stand once you reached the summit.

Above is me climbing the rocks along the way. This was the hardest part for me, the rocks got bigger and I found myself crawling on them. And on either side was a steep rock ledge and then a steep snow filled slope. Quite freaky!

I have a ton more pictures that I'll share later...including my brush with MARTHA STEWART in Seattle!

Martini Bella

2007-05-26T17:06:00.001-05:00

I must first preface this post by saying that I am not much of a drinker at all...but, when I saw this saying I immediately though of my Cosmo Bella stamp. The saying just makes me laugh.

I found the saying at the stamp expo that I went to last weekend. I bought it unmounted so I don't remember who the manufacturer is, I should have written it down. They had lots of fun sayings and great stamps.

Card details: I stamped the bella on white with Noir Black Palette Ink and watercolored her using my SU Watercolor Crayons and a water brush, the card base is SU Cool Caribbean cardstock. Bella is matted with SU Real Red and SU Cool Caribbean. I added a few little prima flowers and added a little bling to the centers with some clear rhinestones. Finished it off with some red dotted organdy ribbon from Michael's and some cheap-o satin ribbon from JoAnn's.

It's a beautiful spring day here, a great start to the long weekend! I have to share a picture of my dog Riley. She loves to hang out in the backyard on nice days, but hates to have her picture taken, she usually looks away so it takes 10 shots to get a decent one.

Enjoy the weekend!

Bee Notes

2007-05-26T09:45:00.000-05:00

I just love the Stampendous "Bee Happy Collection" all of the bee stamps are just irresistibly cute! This Bee Trio stamp is my favorite of the collection. They are just so happy and fun to work with.

I've had this patterned paper forever. It was one of those "mat stacks" from DCWV. I used SU Regal Rose cardstock, and the green paper was from another mat stack. I colored the bees with my SU markers and added some Star Dust Stickles to them for a little sparkle. The "Just a little note" stamp is also from Stampendous. And the little flowers are primas from Joy & Daisy's store Eclectic Paperie , they also carry the Stampendous Bee stamps, and this weekend it's Joy's Birthday. They are offering a 10% discount on your entire purchase if you use the discount code "Cake4Joy". They have lots of wonderful goodies in their store, go check it out!

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Go Climb a Volcano

2007-05-23T10:52:00.000-05:00

If you were offered a ticket to peer into the center of the earth, would you take it?

In July 2006 the US Forest Service announced that it would offer permits - 100 per day to climb Monitor Ridge in the south face of Mount St. Helens, an active volcano in WA state. But...there's a catch...To reach the edge of this magnificent crater at 8,364 feet above sea level requires an arduous, 5 mile climb on a trail that raises 4,500 feet. It's a trip that, on average takes hikers 7 to 12 hours. It's neither a simple hike or a terribly technical climb, but a steep and difficult climb with relentless elevation gain. Climbers are advised to carry a dust mask and a helmet in preparation for unexpected volcanic hazards.

Is it worth it? Absolutely!

My husband and I and some good friends Bill & Trish leave for Seattle, WA on May 31st, and we will climb Mt St Helens on Sunday June 3rd. Doing this type of climb will be a first for me. My emotions range from totally excited to fears of not making it to the top. I am awed by nature and the wonder of God's glorious creations so I can't wait to see the beauty that surrounds this area.

We have been training for this climb by hiking to the top of our local ski resort. We climb to the top of the black diamond (the steepest run) and then down again...repeating until totally exhausted. For me coming down is the hardest part...I can see myself missing a step and doing a digger all the way down the hill! So far...so good, no diggers!

We will spend a few days in Seattle taking in the sights before our climb. This is our first time in Seattle so we are looking forward to playing tourists.

I will be taking tons of photos along our climb and will report back when we return. If you've ever done this climb I would love to hear from you about your experience. Please email me or leave a comment on my blog. Or if you know any great must not miss spots in Seattle (other than A Muse's stamp store...already on my list!) let me know!

Little Lady

2007-05-22T10:50:00.001-05:00

Well Nichole Heady has done it again, she has designed another great stamp set for Papertrey ink which was released on May 15th. This set is called Little Lady. It's so adorable, and has so many posibilities! The great design team stampers have turned the lady bugs into flowers and fancy dresses. You'll have to check out this card gallery. So very creative!

The flowers that the card is sitting in are the flowers that my son gave me for Mother's Day! They're still going strong!

This card uses SU Very Vanilla cardstock with SU Chocolate Chip along the bottom. The ink is Versa Magic Chalk Ink in Pixie Dust and Gingerbread. The chocolate and pink dotted grosgrain ribbon is from Michael's.

Poppies

2007-05-20T13:40:00.000-05:00

I had a fun day yesterday with my Sister-In-Law at the Stamping and Scrapbooking Expo at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. It's fun to see stamps from different companies that you don't see at your local stores, and of course I came home with a few bags full of goodies. It's always a great day when you can combine stamping with shopping! I also saw a few new techniques that were interesting.

I fell in love with this Poppies stamp as soon as I saw it. I love to color images, and I love the depth of this stamp. I colored the image with my Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. This stamp is quite large (4 1/2" x 4") so I had to keep the card layout pretty simple. I stamped the SU Old Olive side panel with the Weave BG stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms. I just love their background stamps, and their customer service is superb! The card base is SU Pumpkin Pie and the mat around the image is SU Marigold Morning. I added a few photo corners, and a sentiment from Hero Arts to finish it off.

I'm hoping to get some time to stamp this week so I can show you some more of my new stamps!

Have a great week!

One Lucky Mom

2007-05-09T13:20:00.000-05:00

A lucky customer of mine will be receiving this Stampin' Up! Gift Certificate from her family for Mother's Day! What a great gift...new rubber of your choosing!

I printed the certificate and then stamped it with "Roses in Winter" (which is unfortunately on the retirement list ) using SU Barely Banana & Positively Pink for the roses and Mellow Moss & Old Olive for the leaves. I first inked up the roses in Barely Banana and then did the rock & roll technique using Positively Pink. This is such and easy technique that gives such great results, and works perfectly with this 2-step stamp set.

I hope the recipient enjoys her gift!

Bella Birthday

2007-05-06T16:40:00.001-05:00

Wow what a lazy weekend! It's been rainy and crazy windy here this weekend. I haven't done much of anything except cruise around on the internet. I did manage to get groceries this morning at Target, but when I walked out of the store I almost got swept up with the wind. I swear I saw Dorothy and Toto fly by.

I tried all weekend to get inspired to stamp, so this afternoon I cruised on over to SCS to check out the Featured Stamper Challenge. I have never participated in any of the challenges over at SCS, so I thought today was as good a time as any to give it a whirl. And besides, the Featured Stamper Challenge is to CASE a card in the galley of the stamper that is featured. Easy enough, right? Well not so, I loved everything in Alli Miles gallery so it took me some time to decide. I finally decided to try one of her Bella cards. Here is Alli's card that I CASED.

And here is my version.

I changed the colors, and used some SU Petals & Paisleys designer paper instead of stamping one of the sides. I also changed the greeting and added some flowered brads. The greeting is from the new Faux Ribbon set from PaperTrey Ink. If you haven't tried any of their stamps, I highly recommend them. They are the best acrylic stamps I've ever used and the sets are so well thought out. Come on...you know you want them! LOL

Baby Cards

2007-05-03T19:13:00.000-05:00

I don't often get the chance to make baby cards, but recently we have had two new additions to our extended family. My cousin James and his wife just had their second child a son, and my niece also just had a boy. So, I took out one of my favorite sets "Wild about You"! This set is so versatile and can be used for really any occasion. I know that the red and blue aren't "traditional" baby colors, but I've had this paper and thought it was so cute with the little giraffe.

I stamped the giraffe in SU Real Red and the little birdie in SU Bashful Blue. The dotted paper is ladybug picnic from doodlebug, and the flowers are from paper salon's prep school line and called preppy flowers. The sentiment is from Studio G, Michael's $1 acrylics. The scalloped punch is the Marvy Giga Scalloped oval.

On a side note, I got an exciting email today regarding my stamping space, I'll share more as I get more info!

No Stamping

2007-05-02T19:17:00.000-05:00

When I ordered my Bird Notes stamps, I also found a few sheets of vintage images that I thought would be fun to play with. This card couldn't be easier...absolutely no stamping involved.

I used an image from the Heartwarming Vintage Cuts Love & Romance sheet from Crafty Secrets. The paper is from a Colorbok Punch Out 8" x 8" Pack called Vintage Rose that I found at Michael's. It has all kinds border strips, tags, and patterned paper. And with a 40% off coupon it was a great deal.

Sweet Spring

2007-04-28T11:28:00.000-05:00

It's a beautiful spring day here in Minnesota, the sun is shining, the birds are singing and it's in the 70's. I can't wait to start planting some flowers, although here in MN it's a bit too early! In the meantime, I've stamped a flower instead. Is it a poppy...hmmm?

The large flower and the dotted background stamps are from Savvy Stamps. I don't know if you can see from the photo, but I stamped the Poppy Trio stamp from Stampendous on the background. The sentiment is from Hero Arts. Cardstock is Cameo Coral, Old Olive and Very Vanilla from Stampin Up. I used SU Watercolor Crayons to color the flower and I added a bit of crystal Stickles to the center of the flower for some sparkle. This was the first tall card I've made, it fits into the SU large open ended envelopes. I like this size card, and will definately be making more. Have a good Saturday!

I've been tagged

2007-04-27T13:05:00.000-05:00

Here are 7 things about me...

I'm short...only 5' tall and my shoe size is only a 5. It is virtually impossible to find shoes in a size 5. Which is why I'm addicted to stamps instead of shoes!
I've been married since I was 18 years old. I met my husband in high school biology class, I was 15, he was 16. We've been married for 25 years. And yes, you figured correctly...I'm 44 years old.
I am a container junkie. Any type of container, baskets, boxes, jars, etc...and if it has a lid it's a major bonus.
I took karate for several years and competed in regional and national competitions, and have a few trophys to prove it!
I hoard my patterned paper and embellishments. We all know that if we use them, then we won't have them any longer.
I'm currently evaluating my mental state and reasoning skills. See #5.
I have a major sweet tooth. Pastries, cake, cookies, candy...they're all good!

There you have it...consider yourself tagged!

New Birds

2007-04-26T20:02:00.000-05:00

Have you ever seen a card made by someone else and know immediately that you must own that stamp? Well that happened to me when I saw the cards that Lisa Zappa made with this set from Clear Art Stamps/Crafty Secrets I knew it had to be mine! She has a way of making my wallet a bit lighter. I love her style and I wanna stamp like her when I grow up! She is the queen of shabby chic.

The birds were stamped in SU Basic Black on Very Vanilla cardstock, and watercolored using SU watercolor crayons. Patterned paper is from Anna Griffin, cardstock all SU colors, cranberry crisp and true thyme. The blue satin ribbon matches better in real life, the colors in the picture are a little wonky.

I'm so excited that I was tagged today by Wendy. I will post soon!

beeee happy

2007-04-23T19:54:00.000-05:00

While I was browsing the isles of my local scrapbook store I saw this adorable card layout. I had to come home and recreate it immediately! I stamped the bees with black StazOn and watercolored them. I then took my trusty Coluzzle and cut a circle around the bees. I used a Giga scalloped circle to layer the bees and my Fiskars scallop scissors to cut a strip to go along the yellow layer. Added a few ribbons with brads and it was done. Another very simple card.

All stamps by Stampendous.

What A Week!

2007-04-21T10:56:00.000-05:00

What a week its been! Last Sunday my son (Drew 18 years old) broke his collar bone. He was riding his dirt bike and his wheel caught a rut and he crashed. So we spent Sunday evening in the Emergency room. He's starting to feel a little better now, but still not comfortable. He's totally bummed that he can't ride his dirt bike and wakeboarding season is just around the corner too. He won't be able to do any activity for about 6 weeks and nothing real physical for 6 months! I know him though and he'll be back riding his dirt bike in record time...just not taking any jumps! At least that will be his story!

I finally got a small chance to stamp a very simple quick card. I used the set Green Thumb from Papertrey Ink. Their sets are so fun to work with and Nichole puts a lot of thought into each set she designs. I love that each element in her sets is separate so you aren't spending a lot of time masking. The tall grass is a stamp from Savvy. Cardstock colors are Stampin Up's Regal Rose, Certainly Celery and Whisper White. Ink colors are the same with the sentiment in black. The yummy patterned paper is from Making Memories. I finished it off by using my Signo White Gel pen to faux stitch around the layers, and added some bling to the center of the flowers with a little glittery circle sticker.
Have a wonderful relaxing weekend!

Bunny Hugs for You!

2007-04-04T19:16:00.000-05:00

I've been working on Easter cards this week. This cute little stamp set is called Bunny Hugs and can be found in the Stampin' Up! Spring Mini Catalog. I also used the Petals jumbo wheel to stamp the background, using craft white ink. This card was inspired by some cards that Michelle Wooderson posted on her blog. I just love her style, she is so talented!

It sure doesn't feel like spring here in Minnesota, it's been rainy, snowy, windy and cold. I can't wait to get some warm weather so we can open the windows in the house after the long winter. Easter is supposed to be in the 30s so my little nieces and nephews will have to wear their parkas to do the annual Easter egg hunt. But they'll forget how cold it is when they know that there is candy to be found!

Happy Harmony ATC

2007-04-03T20:20:00.000-05:00

Ok, this is the last ATC for the swap I was in. I just love this Happy Harmony set from Stampin' Up! I like it even better because it was free during this years Sell-a-bration.
The whole ATC was inspired by this fabulous paper by daisyd's designed exclusively for Archiver's. I used Rose Red cardstock as the base, and used my Stampin' Up markers to color the image. Added a few cardstock layers some ribbon and a few brads and it was done. Very simple!

Another ATC

2007-04-01T17:57:00.000-05:00

I love making ATCs. It's always a challenge to find stamps small enough to fit their small size (2 1/2" x 3 1/2"). When I was visiting my family in Florida this winter, my Mom and I were out power shopping (our favorite past time) and I found this cute little lady in the clearance isle for only $0.97. I knew that she would fit perfectly on an ATC so I snapped her up. I also got her friend who is holding a birthday cake also for only 97 cents! They're made by Stampendous.

I colored her using Prismacolor pencils and gamsol, and the patterned paper I used is from Crate. The little primas I had matched the Crate paper perfectly.

This ATC was another for a recent swap I was in. I can hardly wait to get the swaps back from the hostess!

ATC

2007-03-23T11:38:00.000-05:00

I was so excited to be invited to participate in another round of ATC swaps with an amazing group of talented ladies! This was one of my swaps using the fun stamp set called Paper Tray by PaperTreyink. I found this great sparkly paper by Paper Salon and knew I had to come up with something using this paper. It just screams spring!

Can't wait to get my swaps, I've already filled up one of the Stampin Up ATC albums and I have another one just waiting for my new cards.

Jumpin' On the Blog Wagon

2007-03-22T21:14:00.000-05:00

I've finally decided to jump on the ol' blog wagon. This will be a total learn as I go thing for me so bare with me...I'm technology challenged!