Field of Flowers and French Foliage

Happy Friday everyone!  Sorry for being MIA this week.  I've had a busy and fun week, which seems to accelerate time!  Monday our granddaughter spent the night, Tue was our monthly Demo dinner meeting, Wed was spent with the Wednesday Girls, and last night I had dinner at my daughter's house.  So that's why there hasn't been much activity HERE.  So sorry!

Have you ever had  cauliflower "mashed potatoes"?  I've had them twice in a period of a week.  Love them!  I could barely tell that they weren't mashed potatoes.  Plus they are healthier - you get the benefits of those antioxidants!  My friend made them Sat, then my daughter served them last night.  Today I have to go grocery shopping (that necessary chore) so you can bet I'm gonna stock up on some cauliflower!  Enough blabbering about food.  Guess you want to see a card, huh?  Here are a couple of cards I made last Wed.  (Maybe this will help make up for my absence! lol)

Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: Field of Flowers, French Foliage, Bliss (retired)
Paper: Baja Breeze, Soft Suede
Ink: Baja Breeze, Soft Suede
Other: Framed Tulips embossing folder
I'm not sure where the inspiration came from for this card.  One of the Girls brought the idea to the table.

The inspiration for this card came from Sandi MacIver  see her card here - posted Sep 1.   I CASE'd her card except for the Mocha Morning DSP she used.  Since I haven't ordered that DSP (yet), I resorted to making my own DSP.  I did that by stamping Delicate Doilies with Versamark, covered the images with clear embossing power, then used my heat tool.  The rest of the card was made following Sandi's directions.  There were 4-5 of us making this card and they all turned out different.  That's one of the cool things about stamping!

Sorry, people, but I need to get to the grocery store.  I have to buy ingredients for Beef Barley Soup and Apple Dumplings for our family reunion tomorrow.  Love family reunions!  I may post something later (like the rest of my Stamp Camp cards - no promises, though.
Hope you all have a great weekend!  (It really feels like Fall today.  Yeah!)  Thank you for stopping in!

Gently Falling and Baby Wipe Technique

Good morning everyone!  It's another great Fall day!  So with that I'll show you a Fall card that was made at Stamp Camp this past Sunday.  The baby wipe technique was used to get the multicolored leaves.  A little more color and dimension was added with the Color Spritzer.  The Spice Cake fabric was included in the bundle available to us Demos.  I didn't know what I would do with the fabric since I am really lacking in the sewing skills department.  So, I ripped it into strips to make the bow!  I was quite pleased with the results.

Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted.

Stamps: Gently Falling (#123802 – W, #123804 – C), Teeny Tiny Wishes (#115370)

Paper: Pool Party, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Spice Cake DSP

Ink: Re-inkers = Pool Party, More Mustard, Soft Suede, Pear Pizzazz; markers = Soft Suede, More Mustard (acorn & spritzing); ink pads = Soft Suede,So Saffron, River Rock (helicopter)

Tools: Color Spritzer, circle punches = 1” & 1-1/4”

Other:  Spice Cake fabric strips (#124003), baby wipes (or Cut n Dry), sponges, glue dots, dimensionals, spray bottle of water, gloves, powder (for hands before putting on gloves), acrylic blocks, containers for “ink pads”

Inspiration:  Barb Mullikin  www.barbstamps.com  3 Sep 11 post

Tonight is our monthly Demo dinner meeting.  Love these meetings because we have soooo much fun!  We have another challenge.... to alter a jumbo paper clip.  I haven't done mine yet so I need to get busy!  Have a great day and thanks for coming by today!

Autumn Days

How are you on this Monday?  Hope you had a great weekend.  Last week and the weekend was busy, busy, busy for me!  Saturday I attended the Happy Holidaze Demo event organized by the Glitter Inks.  Wow, there was a ton of  information to absorb!  The demonstrations and our Make n Takes were great!  Have you ever heard of Hog's Wart School of BBQ?  OMG, they catered our lunch and it was sooooo good!  I had the pulled pork.  Yum, yum! 

Had a wonderful group of ladies at my Stamp Camp yesterday.  (Thanks again ladies for coming!)   One of the cards they made was a simple, yet striking card that I CASE'd from Debra Currier.  You can see her card here - scroll down to her Sep 5, 2011 blog post.  I made a few minor changes.  Thanks Debra!

Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted.

Stamps: Autumn Days (W-115452, C-120000), Grateful Greetings (116511)

Paper: White, Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Old Olive

Ink: Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip

Other:  Chocolate Chip 1/2” Scallop Dots ribbon (124142)

Sorry I don't have time to post more - have several things to do before picking up our granddaughter. Thanks for stopping by today! 

De Plane, De Plane ...Contraband!

Hi there and happy hump day to you!  And Wednesday means that it's stamping with the Wednesday Girls!  But first I want to show you a card I made last week.  It's a contraband set that I borrowed from one of the ladies - and CASE'd her card.  lol  Thought it would be a cute card to send to my nephew for his birthday. 

We didn't have the embossing folder she used so I just used my scoring tool and made a row of lines.  I also hand cut my clouds.  Too bad I didn't alternate my colors on the border strip.  What was I thinking?  Oh well.

I'm out of here to join the Girls.  We have a card planned today.  I'll share it with you - if it turns out OK!  lol

Have a great day and thanks for taking time to peek in on me today!

Best Dad Ever

Hi there!
September is full of birthdays.  I needed a couple of masculine cards to send out.  This one was made at Pam D'Urso's Demo Stamp Camp a few months ago.  I saved it just for this occasion.  It is made from the Best Dad Ever set, which can be found in the current IBC (Idea Book & Catalog).

The ties were heat embossed with Black embossing powder.  The focal image was adhered to First Edition DSP, which was distressed a bit then glued to a Black mat.  The card base is Very Vanilla.  Doesn't that pearl on the single tie add just the right touch?

On my way to meet some friends for lunch.  Thanks for coming by today!

2011 RIBBON SHARES!

Love all the pretty Stampin' Up! ribbon but don't want to spend the money for all the colors?  I have Ribbon Shares available!!  This is a great way to get all the colors in a Group for a nominal fee.  Details below:

***2011 RIBBON SHARES*** 

To reserve a spot in my Ribbon Shares, please EMAIL ME directly at jsumner731@sbcglobal.net

**If you don't see the ribbon that you are looking for, let me know - I may start a new Group!** 

When a Share Group fills (each Share Group requires 5 filled spots), I will order that Share Group.  You may sign up for more than one Share in a Group and/or multiple Share Groups.
 
Please include the following information in your email:

1.       Name

2.     Phone Number

3.     Mailing Address (US addresses only)

4.     Which shares you would like to reserve (see below) 

5.     How you would like to handle payment (cash, check, credit card)

Share Group A:

3/8” Ruffle Ribbon Share = $12 (+2 if mailed)

This share will include approx 2 yds of each of the New 3/8” Ruffled Ribbon in the five New In Colors (Calypso Coral, Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Wisteria Wonder)

Share Group B:

1/2” Scallop Dots Ribbon Share = $19 (+2 if mailed)

You’ll receive approx 2 yds of all 10 colors of the 1/2” Scallop Dots Ribbon (Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip, Elegant Eggplant, Marina Mist, Melon Mambo, More Mustard, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, and Tangerine Tango)

Share Group C:

3/8” Taffeta Ribbon Share = $17 (+2 if mailed)

In this share, you’ll receive approx 2 yds of 3/8” Taffeta ribbon in each of the 10 colors (7 new colors this year).  Colors are: Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy, Perfect Plum, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, So Saffron, Soft Suede, and Whisper White

Note:  I state approximately 2 yards as, occasionally, the rolls are an inch or two short and also may contain roll ends that have been taped together at the factory.

Stamp Camp Sneak Peek

Hi and happy Monday to you!  Hope you had a nice weekend.  The weather has gotten cooler (and rainy), which puts me in a cooking/baking mood.  I didn't bake over the weekend but did make a batch of potato soup, some spaghetti sauce, and fixed lasagna for dinner last night.  There will be plenty of leftovers for the week.  Love that!  I also made some garlic bread and froze it.  I melt butter (yep real butter - me and Paula Dean got a thing for buttah!), dip my bread slices in the butter to coat (nothing low cal here!), shake some garlic salt on each slice, and freeze.  Makes it so easy for individual servings of garlic bread - just pop what you need into the toaster oven to brown.  Yum!

OK let's get down to business at hand.   Here is a sneak peek of the cards for my September Stamp Camp held on Sunday the 25th.  Had to schedule on Sunday because of our Demo Holidaze event on Saturday.  If you live in the St Louis Metro area and would like to attend Stamp Camp, please email me at jsumner731@sbcglobal.net to reserve your spot!  Thanks.

Looking forward to the Holidaze event!  Sally Nusbaum and the other gals involved in executing these bi-annual "mini conventions" do a fantastic job!  Each one has been a blast and we walk away with new ideas and new friendships.  (Love my JOB!)  I debated about  making swaps this time.  But...I don't want to miss out on the fun so I'll just make what I can.  Ten or twenty swaps is better than no swaps!  The Pieces of Heart team is meeting at Patty's Tuesday evening to work on our individual swaps - or just hang out with this cool group!  Patty will be serving Candy Corn Punch.  Sounds intriguing, huh?

Gosh, can you believe that in a couple of weeks it will be October?  Me neither!  The first Saturday in October is our annual family reunion (dad's side).  I always look forward to seeing everyone!  This year will mark 52 years for these annual gatherings!  Pretty impressive, don't ya think?  Our first reunion was held at Forest Park in 1959.  The locations and food has changed over the years.  When Mom and my aunts brought food, everything was home made and a lot of it home grown. Most of that generation is deceased or unable to attend the reunions anymore.  Now the food is brought by us cousins and our off-spring.  The tables are still laden with plenty of food - mostly buckets of chicken and other store bought food.  Fortunately, there are still a few of us who prepare home made food to share! 

Since I basically had a lazy day yesterday, I need to get to work and start on the laundry.  Also need to prepare what I'll take to Patty's tomorrow to finish my swaps for Saturday's Holidaze event.  I'm meeting some friends for lunch tomorrow so it needs to be done today!

Have a pleasant day and thanks for coming by!

Gently Falling

Happy Friday!  Sure seems like my weeks zoom by.  How 'bout you?  They say the older you get, the faster time goes by.  Soooo true!

I love the stamp set "Gently Falling" but to tell you the truth I wasn't crazy about the Spice Cake DSP.  We Demos were offered a bundle so, of course, I bought it.  I am so glad I did because the DSP is wonderful!  Here is another card we made at Sarah Klasing's class on Tues using the stamps and the DSP. 

The new In Color, Pool Party, looks so rich paired with Soft Suede.  What a great Fall card.  I didn't put a sentiment inside - left it blank for a personal note.  The envelope has a leaf stamped on the front, too.  Adds a nice touch. 

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.  I appreciate you stopping in today.  Thank you!

Festive and Fun

Hi there!  Another quick post here.  Today I'm posting one of the cards we made at Sarah Klasing's Make n Take class Tues evening.  A cute, festive Halloween card - and a good way to use up bits of ribbon.  Here we used the 1/2" stitched-poly In Color ribbon.

The stamp set can be found in the Holiday Mini.  Pear Pizzazz DSP (In Color Stack), Concord Crush, and Peach Parfait card stock add a fun punch of color.

That's all for now.  (I said it would be quick!)  Hope you have a great day.  Thanks for coming by!

Mini Milk Carton Hexagon Box - Halloween Style

Hi!  Hope you're having a good week.  Last night I attended a fellow Demo's monthly Make n Take workshop.  We made three cute cards.  I'll post them another day because today I want to show you this hexagon Halloween box.  It is made by adhering two Mini Milk Cartons together (from the exclusive Stampin' Up! die).  I've seen a number of these boxes posted on other blogs and decorated in various themes.  They are just too cute!

I used the Wicked Cool stamp set for my tags - sponged them pretty heavily.  Then I added rhinestones or pearls.  The black lace trim is something I had in my non-SU stash.  (Gasp!  Hope the SU! police don't come looking for me. lol)  The lace is threaded through holes made with a standard hole punch.  This is such a fun way to present Halloween treats.

Today is the Wednesday Girls stamp group.  Maybe I'll have more cute stuff to share with you.  Stay tuned!  Have a wonderful day and thanks for coming by!

Manhattan Flower Wedding

Hi there!  Hope you're having a great day.  My day started with a migraine but it's better now thanks to medication.  Turning the a/c back on helped some, too.  Tomorrow our temps will be back down in the 70's for a high.  Crazy St Louis weather!
I want to share with you a technique I saw on the TOPICS (Demo only) blog.  It seems most of the members of the TOPICS reside in TX - with Penny Thomas being the "ring leader".  lol  Penny is Pam D'Urso's sister and up-line.  Pam happens to be my up-line.  They are both wonderful people and I am fortunate to have them as friends!  So.... here is the card showing this cool technique using the Manhattan Flower embossing folder as a wedding dress - or a party dress!  This was Jan Spencer's "Project Share" presentation at the TOPICS July meeting.  What a clever idea.  Thank you for sharing, Jan!

When you look at the embossing folder, it is the bottom flower.  You'll have to trim away the top petal to form the bodice.

Stamps: Word Play
Paper:  White, Black, Night & Day DSP (retired - but available in Clearance Rack)
Ink: Black
Other: Manhattan Flower embossing folder, Wide oval punch, rhinestones, pearls, 1/4" black satin ribbon (non-SU!)

To a Classic Get Well

Happy Monday to you!  Hope you had a great weekend.  Mine was another busy one but a fun one.  Had the granddaughter overnight Fri until Sat morning.  Later that evening I picked up my sister-in-law from the airport.  She spent the night so we had a wonderful time visiting and catching up.  Sunday we drove to Alton to meet up with her sister and BIL.  They were taking her home - about a 2 hour drive.  Before they headed out, we had brunch at Mac's on Third St.  It's a sports bar atmosphere.  The interior just rambled on -  it didn't look that big from the outside.  The brunch buffet was delish, too.
I'm off and running this morning but wanted to stop long enough to post a card that was sent to a friend's husband after his surgery.

Had this card that I saved after making it at Pam D'Urso's Demo Stamp Camp.  Well...the opportunity presented itself for the need of a masculine get well card.  So glad I had one!  The stamp set was in the previous catalog and is now retired.  Sorry.  Those cute Trinket Keys are available, though, and can be used in many ways - a new driver, a new house, key to my heart to name a few.

Sorry for the short post.  Need to scoot.  Have a great day and thank you for stopping by today!

Oh Baby!

Happy Friday!  This week flew by, huh?
Another busy day at Camp Sumner!  Gonna be real quick and show you the card I made for a friend to acknowledge the birth of her new grandbaby.

I saw Jackie Topa's adorable baby card and pretty much CASEd it - just a couple of changes.  (Jackie's work is amazing! She is so creative!  (you can view her blog by clicking here.)  These cute little booties were made with the Stitched Stockings stamp set and the coordinating Stocking Builder punch.  My background was stamped with Pretty in Pink ink using the Delicate Doily stamp.  The lace trim was made from the Lace Ribbon Border punch.  I had the ribbon in my stash for ages so decided to use it up - don't get too many opportunities to make baby cards these days.  Know what I mean? lol

Speaking of grandchildren, our granddaughter will be spending the night with us tonight.  Need to scoot to meet a friend for coffee, then run errands before getting Miss M from daycare.

Have a great weekend and thank you for coming by today!

Cheers to You

Hi there!  Hope you're having a great week.  I have a quick post showing you an anniversary card I made at Pam D'Urso's Demo Stamp Camp a few months ago.  It is perfect for a special couple who is celebrating their first anniversary on Saturday.

The stamp set and DSP used are now retired.
Stamps: Cheers to You
Paper: White, Beyond the Garden DSP (from the 2011 Summer Mini)
Ink: Black
Other: Black 5/8" satin ribbon, rhinestones, Dazzling Diamonds

Helped my friend, Jayne Singleton, last night at her make n take table at the "Women's Night Out" vendor fair held at the "Y".  It was such a rewarding feeling to see each person's expression when they made a card the first time.  It was a fun evening.

OK need to get back to my projects.  Thanks for stopping by today!

Congratulations and a Buddy Swap

Hi there!  Gee it's already hump day!  This week is flying.
I have been remiss in posting pics of a couple of cards I received last month.  The first one is from Tami Waddell congratulating me for promoting to Supervisor.  Wasn't that thoughtful of her?  I've never met her and she lives in CA.  Love this company!  SU! people are the BEST!  Tami created the card in My Digital Studio (MDS).  I like how she put the plants among the subtle background.  Pretty cool, huh?  Thanks, Tami!

The next card came from Brenda Moore, my August Stampin' Buddy.  I participate in a monthly Buddy Swap.  Karen Graff-Povis does all the work/organizing to send us our Buddy info so that we can send our card out by the 25th of each month. (Thanks, Karen) 

Brenda used the new Stitched Stockings set with the coordinating punch.  The beautiful script is from the Hand-Penned Holidays set, which is so elegant.  How about that red glimmer paper.  Very sparkly! (to borrow a line from "Rain Man")  Thanks, Brenda, for the cute card.

Busy day today.  It's the Wednesday Girls (stamp group) then I'm off to help my friend, Jayne, with Make n Takes at the "Y".   I appreciate you stopping by today!

Got My Eye on You, Crow!

Hi there!  Back into the weekly routine today.  Hope everyone had a safe holiday weekend.
Yesterday the weather was great.  Turned off the air and opened the windows.  Even cleaned my stamp room plus a bit of rearranging.   I was also busy working on some stamping projects.  Some can't be shown just yet - they're for Stamp Camp on the 25th.  If you'd like to join us that Sunday, please contact me at the information on the right side bar to reserve your spot.
Here is something I can share with you.  I saw the "eyeball" bubblegum at the store and thought it would look "creepy" in the clear plastic bucket I already had.  Well, I  couldn't stop there.  I had to get my crow ready for Halloween!  

I picked up the crow last week at the craft store on a whim - and the crow from the Holiday Mini in mind.  The Mini catalog crow is all decked out in her Halloween couture.  My crow isn't the flashy type and doesn't have a pretty box to sit on - only a bucket of eyeballs!  I may decorate the bucket later, but for now it is what it is - nothing to crow about!

SU! Products used: Wicked Cool stamps, dotted scalloped ribbon border punch, rhinestones, Itty Bitty punch pack, Newsprint DSP (retired)

Lots to do yet so must run for now.  Thanks for peeking in and have a stampin' good day!

My Light Bulb Moment Means a Tip For You!

Hi there!  Hope you're enjoying your Labor Day weekend.  We are having some cooler temperatures - finally!  Fall has become my favorite season.  Of course, around here it could shoot back up into the 90's next week - or even tomorrow! lol  Crazy weather!

Yesterday I was working on some holiday card ideas for my upcoming Christmas Card Workshop.  I was using the Stitched Stockings stamp set and the Stocking Builder punch that came out in the Holiday mini.  Too cute!  The issue I had was each time I changed the clear mount stocking image, my placement would be off to punch it out.  So....I had the idea of punching a scrap piece of card stock and using that as a guide for my stocking and parts.  Then, it occurred to me to take it one step further by tracing inside the negative area of my scrap template onto my acrylic block with a Sharpie!

Now I can see exactly where the stocking should be placed!  Cool, huh?  I'm pretty sure  the ink will come off with alcohol.  But if it doesn't, that's OK. 

Have a great day and thanks for coming by today!

Pocket Silhouettes

Happy Friday - and a long weekend at that!

Another quick post from me today - only this time I have a card!  It is made from the Pocket Silhouettes set, which is a very versatile set.   Unfortunately, there are times when we need sympathy cards.  This set stamped in a tone on tone palette fits the bill nicely.

Of course you could always change out the sentiment for a happier occasion.  I'm not sure where I saw this layout - maybe ChicnScratch or Butternutsagedesigns blog. 

I need to get to bed.  The little one (granddaughter) will be up early and it's after 1 a.m.  Yikes!   I'll be hitting the coffee tomorrow - I mean today. lol

Have a safe holiday weekend and thanks for coming by!

Holiday Mini is Here!

Hi there!  Today the Holiday Mini Catalog goes live!  It is full of great products.  I could order the whole catalog but since I haven't won the lottery or anything, guess I'll have to keep myself in check! lol

This month looks like another busy one.  Busy is good.  I'll be helping Jayne Singleton with Make n Takes at her booth at the "Y" on the 7th.  There were three of us last year and we never had a lull the whole evening.  It was so satisfying to see the expressions on peoples faces when they saw the card they made themselves.  Handmade card...priceless!

Looking forward to the "Happy Holidaze" Demo event being held on Sep 24th.  Sally and the other Demos who put on this event do a fantastic job.  It's always so much fun!!  I'll be busy working on swaps for that.

My next Stamp Camp is the 25th.  I'll post a Sneak Peek at a later date.  If you live in the St Louis Metro area and would like to attend, please contact me to reserve your spot.  Contact information is on the right side bar.

Our monthly Demo dinner is on the 27th.  Hmmm, Jayne gave us a challenge (jumbo paper clip) that I need to think about altering.   

There are a lot of birthdays and anniversaries this month, too!

Jayne and I are in the planning phase for a Christmas Card Workshop being held Dec 3 at the Hazelwood Community Ctr.  I'll post the details at a later date.  Save the date!

Sorry, no card today.  Must run some errands and pick up the granddaughter from daycare.  Thank you for stopping by!