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!

Mosaic Madness Meets Christmas!

Hi there!  Hope you had an awesome weekend.  I sure did!  Had a fun 50th anniversary party on Saturday and our Card Buffet on Sunday.  Fun times! 
Today I'm sharing one of the swaps made at Pam D'Urso's Demo retreat the beginning of this month.  Our challenge was to make a one-layer card and no more than two embellishments.  Talk about a challenge!  This was a tough one for me.  The above card was Cheryl Renth's swap using the Modern Mosaic stamp set to make the poinsettia.  How clever is that?  I forgot to add my sentiment and had to do so after returning home.  The Petite Pairs set was used - don't remember what set Cheryl used. 

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Mosaic Madness, Petite Pairs
Paper: White
Ink: Real Red, Pear Pizzazz
Other: Pearl

That's all for today.  Must tackle my to-do list and probably go to the grocery store.  I've procrastinated long enough and am forced to go shopping since we're out of most of the basics!  Have a great day and thank you so much for stopping in today!

February Demo Challenge

Hi there and happy Monday to you!  When we had our Demo dinner meeting Feb12th, we also had our monthly challenge.  This time it was anything St Patrick's Day.  I don't remember everyone's but here goes:

Jayne's

Diane's

Don's

Deana's

 Kathy's

 

 

Mary Ellen's

Pam's

Patty's

Penny's (Pam's sister and our VIP dinner guest )

Mine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Un-Canny

Hi there!  I'm making a comeback (Vicks & Nyquil do wonders!) and now doing double time to get everything accomplished before Christmas.  My husband reminds me that what must get done, will.  Whatever is left, is just extra.  And you know what?  He is absolutely right!  I just have to keep reminding myself of this philosphy.

Anyway..... last month I totally forgot to post our monthly Demo challenge that we have at our Pieces of Heart meetings.  Maybe it's because I forgot to take my camera.  I don't have pics of anyone's altered can - just mine since it was photographed at home.  Jayne and I must have been channeling each other because our cans were very similar.

When Patty Schnell issued the challenge, my thoughts immediately turned to Christmas and then to making Santa pants.  Wow, had my plan of action even before leaving the restaurant!  That was a first!  lol 
Real Red cardstock was wrapped around the can, added a strip of black for the "belt" and then a buckle from Silver Glimmer Paper.  A black circle cut in half made the tops of Santa's "shoes".  For the suspenders, I adhered retired ribbon onto strips of cardstock to give them some stability.  The ends were tucked underneath the "belt".   A cute presentation for some treats don't you think?

Sorry for the short post.  Back to my "to do" list to cross off some of those necessary chores.  Have a great evening and thanks for stopping by!  Your visits are always appreciated.

Hey - I'm Still Here!

Hi everyone!  Hope your week is going well.  Sorry it's been so long since my last post - ahem, as someone pointed out - not mentioning any names or anything.  I did warn you that it was a busy time.  Geez, a person posts every day for a week then you get spoiled and expect it all the time!  LOL  Just kidding with ya!  (I really do admire those who actually do post every day.  You all are awesome.)   Anyway, I'm back and it's been crazy busy!

Monday evening I returned from the "girls getaway" retreat.  We had a great time!  Had some of those "laugh until you almost wet your pants" moments.  I think I gained ten pounds, too, from all the food we had.  Or maybe it was that $40 worth of candy "someone" brought!  Thank goodness that Texas Sheet Cake had zero calories or I'd be in big trouble!  Holy Sheet, Batman!

Had a fun Demo dinner meeting Tues with the Pieces of Heart team (and our adopted members).  We have such a fun group and it's always exciting to see what everyone does for their challenge each month.  Unfortunately, I forgot my camera!  (Still haven't recovered from the sleep deprivation and sugar rushes sustained at the retreat!  LOL)  I'll try to get some pics from someone who did have a camera.  The only picture I have is the one I took of my challenge prior to our meeting that night.

Wednesday was our weekly stamp group get together.  Today I had a three hour lunch  with a couple of friends at a Thai restaurant.  I was a Thai food virgin!  It was really good and a fun atmosphere.  I'll be a repeat customer for sure.
Running errands are on the list for tomorrow before picking up the granddaughter from daycare for an overnight visit with us.  I sure have missed her!

OK guess that's enough jabbering about my week - on to the card!  Our Pieces of Heart team was challenged by Don to make a card using at least 10 circles of at least two different sizes.  This is what I came up with:

I originally planned to make a caterpillar but with school starting, I decided to go with the bookworm.  I envisioned the black area representing a black board.  (Maybe I should have written something on the board.)  The books were made from the Word Window punch with a bit of penwork.  The apple is from the retired set "Tart n Tangy".

ETA:  The rest of the team's cards can be seen here on Pam D'Urso's blog.

I'm still playing catch up so I'll leave you for now.  Thank you for stopping by and hope you have a great evening!




 

June Demo Dinner Meeting and Clipboard Challenge

Hi!  Just popping in real quick to show you the projects made by the other team members and Don (our mascot - LOL).  I'm getting ready to go stamp with the Wednesday girls and need to pack my project bag.  It's still packed with scrapbooking supplies from the Fri night crop.  (Yes, you read right - scrapbooking. A real shocker!)  Anyway, here are the altered clipboards. 

Donna's

Jayne's

Mary Ellen's

Patty's

Pam's

the back of Pam's - clever storage idea

Don's (Patty's husband)

We sure have a creative group.  Our challenge next month is a mini pail (or bucket).  What to do, what to do???  Last night I was so tired when I got home.  Maybe it was that jumbo margarita that did it.  Nah!  We had a fun time and the food was good.  Pam received her new catalog so it was going around the table. (squeal!)   It made it's way to my side of the table and in my hands when the food came.  I thought it best that Pam get it back in case there was an accident or something.  Know what I mean?  Hopefully my copy will come next week - can't wait!  I'm so glad that the Decor items will be in the same catalog.
OK, need to scoot.  Have a great day and thank you so much for stopping by!

May Demo Dinner and Challenge

Hello!  Boy we had a storm pass through yesterday. Is it me or are we experiencing an unusual record number of storms?  I'm sure a lot of people were very nervous about another tornado wreaking havoc.  Those poor people in Joplin!  How tragic that so many lives were lost.  My heart goes out to them.  It's still unbelievable that no one was killed in our area last month.

Last Tues we met at Chevy's for our monthly Pieces of Heart Demo meeting.  It was a special evening.  It was Kristine's birthday!  Plus we had a guest Demo, Kim Dent, join us - and we shared our altered jumbo clothespins creations.

Here is the cute "cake" Pam made for our birthday girl. 

Now how did the staff know it was her birthday????  Hmm , free ice cream AND a sombrero!

Don, Patty, and Jayne

Mary Ellen and Donna

I failed to get photos of Pam & Steve and our special guest, Kim.  Speaking of Kim - her home was destroyed in the tornado that passed through our area last month.  Pam decorated a box that was set out at the Celebrate Summer Demo Event to collect donations for Kim.  Pam presented the donation box to Kim at our dinner meeting.  (It was the first time any of us met Kim.)  She was overwhelmed by the generosity of fellow Stampin' Up! Demonstrators.  Let's just say there were some tears shed.  Kudos to Pam for her thoughtfulness and taking the initiative to help a Stampin' Sister in need!  Kim is a super sweet lady and we now have an awesome new friend!!!

We also enjoyed seeing everyone's altered clothespins.  Here they are:

Mary Ellen's

Patty's

Mascot Don's (aka Patty's husband)  He didn't have a jumbo clothespin so he
altered a regular one

Pam's

Mine

 There you have it.  Enjoy your day and thanks for looking in today!

The Challenge

Hi there!  Real quick post so I can get to bed.  I promised to show you my Demo challenge project which incorporates the brads/buttons containers Pam gave us last month.  I chose to make a bunny since it's almost Easter.  Most of his parts are made from punches.  I just sliced some super thin strips in the trimmer for his whiskers,  glued on some googly eyes, and added a pom pom for his tail.  A piece of our White Satin ribbon decorates the container (you can still get to the jelly beans inside).

Does my butt look big? LOL

So that is my project.  Hopefully, I'll have photos of the other projects on Thu.  Thanks for looking.  Have a great hump day - the weekend is almost here!