Num - Num

Hi there!  Ready for a new week?  Hope you had a good weekend.  Mine was busy with our Card Buffet and having the granddaughter for the weekend.  A big thank you to all the ladies who came to our Card Buffet!  Mary Taylor and I appreciate your support!
My card share today is another swap from the Stampin' Up! Convention that Sally Nusbaum attended.  Sally was kind enough to bring them to the crop we attended after her return.  Sorry for the glare on all of her swaps.  I didn't want to remove from the protective cello envelope on the off chance of getting the card dirty.  Love this version of the Cookie Monster which pairs up perfectly with the Num-Num stamp set.  (You can find this set on page 17 of the 2014-15 Annual Catalog.)  It is a great set to dress up those packaged goodies, especially with the holidays just around the corner!  It appears that the 2-3/8" Scallop Circle Punch was used for Cookie's head and folded down part of the way after adhering a black semi-circle.  Circles were punched out for his eyes.  His "hands" were punched out from the Boho Blossoms Punch.  The sentiment was stamped, then punched out with the Decorative Label Punch.  The Topnote Die was used to cut out the black background, which is adhered to a Pacific Point card base.
Must get busy now to work on my swaps for the Demo Shoebox Swap that Sally has organized for us on Sunday.  Looking forward to the fun!  Thank you so much for stopping in today!

Last of the Swaps

Hi there!  Today is the last of the shoebox swaps from a fun girls' retreat last month.  Our theme was to make a sympathy, get well, or thinking of you card.  The above swap was by Sally Nusbaum.  The sentiment from Sassy Salutations fit perfectly in the center of the Blossom punch.  Both items can be found in the Stampin' Up! annual catalog.  How about that subtle polka dot background?  That is the new Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Paper (DSP) on page 23 of the 2014 Occasions Catalog.  The finishing touch is the 3/4" Island Indigo Chevron Ribbon.  Who wouldn't feel better after receiving this card?

The next swap was designed by Susan Fields.

Her card is showcasing High Tide DSP (in the 2014 Occasions Catalog), the Banner Blast stamp set, and coordinating Banner punch.  The banner stamp set and punch are FREE products you can earn during Sale-A-Bration!  Some gold Baker's Twine was used for "hanging" the banners.  This is a new item in the Occasions Catalog and also comes in silver.  A circle stamped with an image from Hello, Sailor and matted onto a Pacific Point shape punched from the Curly Label punch makes the perfect embellishment.  What a great masculine card!

Snow is in the forecast.  Looks like another day in the studio.  It's a tough job but somebody's gotta do it.  Ha!  Thank you for stopping in today!

Get Well

Hi there!  Here's a cheery card to brighten your day.  This was Peggy Gephardt's Shoebox Swap.  There's a lot of texture going on here but the real surprise is inside.

Wouldn't you love to receive a card like this when you're down with the flu?  Sure has been a lot of it going around lately, too!  The "tissue box" was a lot easier to make than it looks.  What a fun card!

Must get started on my to-do list.  This weekend will be very busy.....unless we get more bad weather!  Thank you so much for coming by today!

Texture Botique and a Swap Card

The Texture Boutique Embossing Machine is returning in the 2014-2015 catalog!  A limited supply is being released early.  Don't wait until June to get yours - order now while supplies last! 

• Texture Boutique Embossing Machine item #132657 $29.95
• It's embossing made easy. 
• Texture Boutique is the perfect, portable tool to create embossed cards, tags, embellishments, and more. Use it with our Stampin' Up! exclusive Textured Impressions Embossing Folders. 

 

Today's Shoebox Swap card was from Jayne Singleton. The colors are so soft and soothing.

 

The images are from Simply Sketched.  Venetian Romance Designer Series Paper (DSP) was used on the bottom portion of the card.  This DSP (one of my favorites) coordinates so well with the Pistachio Pudding and Pool Party colors.  Pool Party seam binding and some paper piercing add the finishing touches.  Lovely card, Jayne!

It was a busy day, which is why this post is so late.  Stopped by a friend's house for tea and pear tart.  Oh my, was that pear tart ever delicious!!!  Made for a pleasant grocery shopping experience afterwards.  Hope your day went well.  Thanks for peeking in today!

 

 

People Like You

Hi there!  What a great day we had yesterday temperature-wise and fun-wise at our Card Buffet!  Thank you all so much for coming out to support us!  Our February Buffet is next Sunday, Feb 2 at DeLeo's in Florissant from 11 am - 4 pm.  (Yikes! Can you believe next week is February already?)  We were limited on dates because of our schedules and the availability of the room.  Soooo, next week it is!  Come on out and join us on Superbowl Sunday if you're not a football fan or attending Superbowl parties.  We'll have our own Super fun!
Last week I promised to show you the shoebox swaps from our girls weekend retreat.  The first card above is Cheryl Renth's swap showcasing a new set from the Stampin' Up! 2014 Occasions Catalog called People Like You.  It required some watercoloring (on watercolor paper), which is not my forte but I really like this set.  The embossed panel is the new Decorative Dots embossing folder.  Love it!  The colors used for this card are Garden Green, Pistachio Pudding, and Cantaloupe Crisp.  The sentiment is part of the set, too.

Sale-a-bration starts tomorrow!  Woo hoo!  That means you earn a FREE stamp set for every $50 you spend!  If you'd like to place an order and do not have a Demonstrator, please contact me or order from my online store here.

Thank you so much for stopping in today!

Santa's List

Hi there and happy Monday!  Hope you had a good weekend and you're keeping warm.  We definitely had frost on the ol' pumpkin around here.  Can you believe that Thursday is Thanksgiving?  Yikes!  Then comes the craziness of the Christmas season.  Speaking of which, I have a Christmas card for you today.  The Night of Navy portion with the Santa image flips up to open - a fancy fold.  This fancy fold was inspired by one of the swaps received from Kathy Morales (at least I think it was hers) at a Demonstrator shoebox swap this past summer. 

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted. 

Stamps: Santa’s List 

Paper: Night of Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Vanilla 

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake 

Tools:  Northern Flurry embossing folder 

Other:  Sponges, bone folder, red line tape

That's it for today.  Thank you so much for stopping in for a visit!

Wetlands

Hi there!  This is a scheduled post while I'm stamping and chillaxing at the girls getaway retreat!  I know I'm having fun!  lol
This card was CASE'd from one that was made at Sally Nusbaum's Demo Shoebox Swap back in June.  I believe it was Kathy Morales' swap card, but not totally sure about that.  LOVE this stamp set so this card was a no brainer to be in our Card Buffet line-up!  We're always looking for masculine cards, right?

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted. 

Stamps: Wetlands, Teeny Tiny Wishes 

Paper: Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Vanilla 

Ink: Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Soft Suede 

Tools:  Oval Framelits, Woodgrain embossing folder 

Other:  Natural Trim ribbon, blender pen, sponges, post-it notes (for masking), clear block

Inspiration: Kathy Morales (?)

That's it for today.  Thank you so much for peeking in today!

 

Lollipop, Lollipop...

Hi there!  Today's post is a scheduled one while I get ready for the girls getaway retreat tomorrow.  And while I'm away having a stamping good time with my peeps this week, I've scheduled some blog posts for you!
Today's card is a swap card that I finished Sunday evening.  I messed up the paper piercing on the original card.  (See, even we Demos make mistakes!)  This was Deana Schultz's shoebox swap card from Sally Nusbaum's event back in June.  Don't those pastel 2013-15 In Colors look yummy? Great colors for a lollipop! 

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted
Stamps: None
Paper: Strawberry Slush, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, Vanilla
Ink: None
Other: Piercing mat & tool, 3/8" Ruffle Stretch Trim

That's it for now.  Thanks for looking in today!

Polka Dots and Stripes

Hi there!  Popping in real quick to post this card I received at a Shoebox Swap last month - forgot to do that!  It was made by Pam D'Urso, my friend and upline.  Love it!  The bow tie was made from the large oval punch and a circle punch.  She added some texture to the "shirt" with the Stripes embossing folder.  A white gel pen was used for the "thread" in the buttons.  Wasn't she the clever one?

Watched a couple of movies while working on projects but now I need to get to bed for a little sleep!   lol  Certainly have my days and nights mixed up!  Thanks for stopping in today!

Quatrefancy Thank You

Hi there!  A super quick post today.  This is my swap card for the shoebox swap organized by Sally Nusbaum this past Saturday.  Whenever I get photos taken and uploaded, I'll share the ones I received from other Demonstrators.  I watched Deb Valder's video click here to see video - scroll down to June 11 blog post to learn how to make this cool chevron pattern from strips of DSP (Designer Series Paper).

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted

Stamps: Sassy Salutations

Paper: Daffodil Delight, White, Quatrefancy DSP

Ink: Strawberry Slush

Tools:  trimmer, bone folder

Other:  Daffodil Delight 1/8” grosgrain ribbon or seam binding

Must get going.  The granddaughter and I are about to leave for a pre-show dinner.  I'm taking her to see Shrek at the Muny (an outdoor theatre).  t will be a late night for us.  Thanks for stopping in today!  I'll be back tomorrow. 

Oops!

Hi there!  I had a great day with my stamping peeps today and really great cards from the shoebox swap that we did!
It was brought to my attention by a kind reader (yay! a reader!) that I posted the same card twice this month.  Oops, sorry about that!  Guess I really liked that card.  lol  So here's a different card to make up for that little blunder. 

This is actually a 3x3 fridge magnet (or it could be a small notecard) showcasing a technique that Cheryl Renth demo'd at Pam D'Urso's stamping retreat last month. It's the white wash technique.  You may have seen it on other blogs.  Line art images work best for this technique.  Stamp your image with Versamark, sprinkle some white embossing powder onto piece, then heat set.  Let it cool for a minute.  Stampin' Up! White Craft Ink, which is a pigment ink, was applied sparingly with an aqua pen - as if white washing.  I prefer dipping my aqua pen into a small well of water, then picking up some White Craft Ink that has been pressed into the lid of the stamp pad.  The water thins the ink and helps to achieve that "white wash" look.  When that layer dries, a color (or colors) of your choice can be applied by using markers and a blending pen to color and shade your image.  In this sample I used the marker around the inside perimeter of each bloom, then  "pulled" the color towards the center of the bloom with the blender pen.  Make sure your project is completely dry before trying to glue it to anything. 

OK, need to get to bed.  Hope the rest of your weekend is awesome!  Thanks for stopping in!

                                                                                                                   

Patterned Occasions Get Well

Hi there!  Hope you've had a good week!  The last couple of days got really busy.  I'll post about it later but first, the card.  I totally CASE'd (Copy And Share Everything) this card from Deana Schultz when we Demonstrators were at Pam D'Urso's last month for a stamping weekend.  I don't know if she CASE'd it as well.  It's a quick card, which is always nice.

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Patterned Occasions (retired)
Paper: Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, White
Ink: Crumb Cake
Other: Crumb Cake taffeta ribbon, rhinestones

OK, for my story.  Yesterday I was getting things ready for our granddaughter's visit - putting dinner in the crock pot, a bit of housekeeping, and bill paying.  Then hubby's friend stopped by so I visited with him until it was time for me to leave to pick up Miss M.  Later that evening we went to our youngest daughter's softball game.  (31 and still playing softball)  Her fiance was there with their dog, Rocky.  After the game, they stopped by our house to drop off Rocky.  We are dogsitting for the weekend.  Now, for those who know us real well...this is BIG!  We've never had pets - except a gerbil and some fish.  Our son and I have allergies.  I must say that this dog (an English bull dog) has such a cute personality and is well behaved.  Guess who he's been following around?  Yep, me!  He even waits by the door for me when it's shut.  (I don't want him in the rooms where I sleep and work 'cause those allergies never went away!  In fact, I'll be taking some allergy medication before going to bed tonight.)
Today Miss M had to be at her daycare by 10:30 to go on a field trip, I then had lunch with our son, stopped to buy some  printer ink, and the last stop was to get my hair trimmed.  Rocky was so happy to see me.  Guess "grandpa" wasn't giving him much attention.  lol  Kids and dogs, you gotta love them for their unconditional love.

Tomorrow is Sally Nusbaum's shoebox swap.  I'm ready to hang out with my stamping peeps all day!  With that, I'll sign off now to get everything packed.  Have a great weekend and thank you so much for coming by today!

Last of the Swaps!

Hi there!  Well, today I have the remaining shoebox swaps from our Demo weekend at Pam D'Urso's home May 30 - Jun 2.  What a great weekend it was!  The above card was our hostess with the mostess' swap.  Love the understated simplicity and elegance of Pam's cards.  The flower from the Love and Sympathy set was colored with Calypso Coral and Old Olive markers.  The sentiment is stamped in black.

Next up is Mary Ellen Cope's card using some new products from the 2013-14 Annual Stampin' Up! catalog. 

A strip of Gingham Garden Designer Series Paper (DSP) was layered on the strip of Strawberry Slush Core'dinations cardstock.  The Daffodil Delight butterflies were cut from the Beautiful Wings Embosslet die. The sentiment is a new set called Label Love, which was stamped in Island Indigo ink.  There is a coordinating punch for this set.

The final card is mine.

I chose the Summer Silhouettes and Label Love stamp sets for this card.  The ink colors are the new In Colors: Crisp Cantaloupe, Strawberry Slush, and Pistachio Pudding.  (Are you hungry yet?)  My embellishment was made with the new Artisan punch.

That completes the line-up of shoebox swaps from Pam's retreat.  She has already sent out the date for the next retreat in September!  Can't wait!  Love spending time with these girls!  And to think I never would have met these ladies had I not become a Stampin' Up! Deomonstrator! 

Tuesday evening our granddaughter spent the night.  It was a spur of the moment thing.  She brought along the scrapbook that her other grandma gave her and some photos that mom provided.  Miss M completed her scrapbook yesterday and did a really nice job for an almost 6 year old.  I was so busy helping her that I didn't even think about snapping some pics of the process.  Miss M also wanted to make Carla Spradling a gift, whom she never met.  We were meeting Carla later that afternoon at Lion's Choice for an early dinner.  (Carla and I meet there before her Card Buffets and my DIL was stopping in after work to pick up Miss M.)  I was busy pulling out supplies so that Miss M could make Carla's gift.  She's so sweet like that - always wanting to make people gifts.  But what a little task master!  lol   Unfortunately, Carla got stuck in traffic and didn't make it to the restaurant until after Miss M left.  Carla did receive her "gift" of a bunch of decorated hearts and graciously told me that she'll hang them on her board at home.  She's such a sweetie!  (I'll post photos later of the Buffet cards I made)

Time to tackle some chores.  Hope your day is going well and thank you so much for coming by today!

More Swaps!

Hi there!  I'm back today with more swaps from the Demo retreat at Pam D'Urso's house May 30th - Jun 2nd.  We all participated in a shoebox swap with a challenge of only one-layer cards and no more than two embellishments.  That was a difficult challenge for someone who really likes layers!

The first card (above) is Jayne Singleton's swap made with the Summer Silhouettes stamp set.   Love this set!  Each layer of color was sponged on, the flower and leaves stamped in black, then the mask was removed to reveal sharp, even lines.  Sorry but I don't remember what set was used for the sentiment.

Susan Fields' swap used a new Hostess set from the new 2013-14 Stampin' Up! catalog called Simply Sketched.  The image was colored in with Calypso Coral and Pear Pizzazz inks after stamping it first with black StazOn ink.  A strip of Calypso Coral cardstock added to the side, some Washi tape, and sentiment completed the card.  It was fun using the Washi tape - just rip it off the roll and adhere.  I'd never used it before.  Another cool thing about Washi tape is that it's transparent.  You can find this fun item in the new catalog.

The last card for today was Sally Nusbaum's swap using the Road to Happiness set.  I didn't do a very good job on my background scene.  Sally's sample was darker and her hill looked like a hill rather than a blob like mine does.  Sally also had a surf board in the car.  My thought was to put something else in the car - maybe presents or maybe nothing.  I definitely didn't do her card justice!  Even seasoned stampers make mistakes.  That's when you get creative to "hide" your mistakes and sometimes end up with an even better card.  I'll have to put on my thinking cap!

Must run for now.  I have a few things to accomplish before leaving for Carla Spradling's Card Buffet tonight.  Thanks so much for visiting today!  Your visits are always appreciated!

Sunfower and Butterflies!

Hi there!  Today I have a couple more Shoebox Swaps from our Demo retreat at Pam D'Urso's the first of the month.  The sunflower was Deana Schultz' swap.  Remember, our challenge was to make a one-layer card with no more than two embellishements.  The Sunflower image was stamped in Early Espresso ink, then Daffodil Delight ink was sponged on.  The center of the sunflower was embellished with small flowers made with a punch from the Itty Bitty punch pack.  The flag counted as the second embellishment, which was made with a new stamp set -  Banner Greetings.  Seems I got a bit carried away with my sponging. Oops!

The next card was Diane Mikles' swap.  The Daffodil Delight area was masked off so that the ink could be sponged into that area.  The butterflies from Papillon Potpourri were then stamped in black.  The sentiment is from Perfectly Penned.  Such a simple technique but a great look!

Must get going to work on some projects for our Card Buffet next month and another Shoebox Swap.  At least I got the grocery shopping out of the way yesterday!  Thank you for stopping in today!

Shoebox Swaps - Part 2

Rita's swap

Hi there!  Another short post today - tons to do to get ready for the Girls Getaway Retreat!  As promised yesterday, here are the last of the swaps from Saturday.  We all loved the unique shape of Rita's card.  Like I said, the shoebox swap cards were great!  Such talented friends!

Judy's swap

That's it for now.  Thank you for coming by today!

Shoebox Swaps

Ann Marie's swap

Hi there and happy Monday!  Hope you had a good weekend.  Mine was great in spite of the snow.  Thank goodness the streets were pretty well cleared by Saturday so I could get out to stamp with friends as planned.  We had a little shoebox swap - just the four of us.  What fun!  The cards were great, too!  After stamping we had a wonderful lunch of quiche, salad, and apple pie!  Yummo!  Everything was absolutely delicious!!!  Then, of course, we had to sit around and chat a bit.  What a fun day!  Sure hope we can do it again real soon!

Mary's swap

Aren't these great swaps?  I really like each style and the color combinations!  I don't remember the name of the Stampin' Up! sets that we used (sorry!) - some of them are retired.  I'll share the other two cards tomorrow.  Gotta keep ya hanging!  lol

Last I heard, there is more snow in the forecast this week.  Ugh!  That could interfere with our Girls Getaway Retreat which begins Wednesday.  This last snow sure messed up travel plans for a lot of people.  Maybe it will go around us - or not even happen.

Must go to run some errands.  Thank you for stopping by today!

Shoebox Swap - Part 2

Hi there.  Here are the rest of the cards we made at the "Little House on the Prairie" Shoebox Swap that Pam D'Urso held at her home.  We had such an awesome weekend!

Patty's card

Phyllis' card

Sally's card (forgot to stamp off the flower image. Oops!)

Susan's card

My card (look familiar?)

Hope everyone is staying cool.  It is soooo hot - weather to just stay inside and stamp!  Thank you for coming by today!

Pieces of Heart Stampers Shoebox Swap

Hi there.  Thought you might like to see the cards we made at Pam D'Urso's "Little House on the Prairie" Stamping Retreat held at her home June 22-24 for our team and adoptees.  We had such a great time!  So without further adieu here are some of the cards - in no particular order.  Come back tomorrow for the rest.

Deana's card (got my string a little too tight)

Diane's card

Jayne's card (I didn't color the little squares yet)

Inside of Jayne's card

Laurie's card

Mary Ellen's card

Pam's card

That's it for today.  Thank you so much for stopping in!

A White Flower Garden

Hi there!  Here is another project the girls made at Stamp Camp this past Saturday.  The label is from the new stamp set in the 2012-2013 Annual Catalog called Layered Labels and coordinates with the Apothecary Accents Framelits.  Love them!

 Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted.

Stamps: Layered Labels 2 (W-127070,  C-127072)

Paper: White, Midnight Muse

Ink: Midnight Muse (2012-14 In Color)

Tools:  Flower Garden embossing folder, Apothecary Accents Framelits

Other:  Pearls, Acrylic block, Dimensionals, Post-it notes

Inspiration: Linda Aarhus    www.polkadotsandpaper.net

I think my body is rebelling against me!  Sunday I wasn't feeling "quite right" so decided to lie down for a little nap after our Father's Day festivities.  Well, that's where I stayed til morning - and two days after that!   Can't decide if it was the flu or what.  Whatever it was, it certainly knocked me for a loop!   I am on the mend and my leg is much better, too. (I can almost walk normal.)  I HAVE to get well - can't miss the Little House on the Prairie Stamping Retreat this weekend!  Pam D'Urso, our Pieces of Heart upline, is hosting this retreat in her new home.  We are having a shoebox swap, too.  It's going to be great fun - guaranteed! 

Must run...so much to catch up on.  I even missed hanging with the Wed girls today.  Thank you for stopping in today!