Fell off the face of the earth for a while, apparently....

So I guess I've been busy!  I joined the Stampin' UP! family of demonstrators, and am waiting for my kit to arrive tomorrow.  I'm not planning to do parties, but will do it if someone wants me to.  Maybe in the future I will host some workshops in my home.  We'll see.  For now, I will enjoy the discount on their great products.

I went to my first 12 hour crop last weekend in Bay City.  What a fun girls' weekend!  I started my Christmas cards, but only got half way done.  A friend is having a crop at her house this weekend, so I will do that one too. 

It's hard to make time to post photos of cards and to gather all the description info, but I will try to get better at that...

This sympathy card is for a dear friend who just lost her best friend to leukemia. Tena was a friend to me also... she was a teammate on our Relay for Life team. Always the life of the party! Her positive spirit was contagious; her smile was pure sunshine. She will be missed greatly by all who were touched by her.
I used the Sweet Matstack (JoAnns) for this card. The stamp is from Just Believe by Stampin' UP! With sympathy sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes (also SU). I used black embossing powder for both the image and sentiment.

I designed this card and coordinating gift card holder for a a friend who helped me out with some major computer issues. I love this paper for more masculine cards. I used Basic Grey designer paper and some sponging around the edges. "Thanks" was cut from a cuttlebug design. The strip is also cuttlebug embossing.

Finally I am getting around to posting some pictures from our card making activity last weekend. We had a lot of fun putting together everyone's creations! I took photos of everyone's samples so take a look below!

Hubby birthday card

Not exactly the most masculine card, although I have the browns/chocolate going on. This was by hubby's birthday card that I quickly put together (sorry, Honey!) Cupcake paper is from the Glitter Sweet matstack from JoAnn's. Cardstock is chocolate chip and so saffron. Also used the create a cupcake punch and heat embossed the white bow from the create a cupcake stamp set (sentiment from same set- cut out w/modern label). Added some glitter dots to the top too. Used nestabilities circle to cut out the card and popped up the cupcake on a circle punch on the inside of the card. Paper is glittery, but not sure if the photo shows that detail.

Weekend card activity

Here are the two creations (the first seen in a previous post) that I designed for the card making activity this weekend. I love the CAS designs and they should be easy enough for anyone to put together. For the butterfly one, I'm bringing my teeny tiny wishes so they can pick their own sentiment.

Prepping for card activity

Yesterday I worked on two card designs for a card making activity that we will have this Saturday with some friends from church.  I've been wanting to put together an activity like this for a while!  Those of us who are the card makers are designing a card each with a different occasion and bringing all the precut pieces, stamps, etc. for everyone to make one.  Those who like to make cards, but aren't comfortable with designing, are bringing food!  Great trade off, huh?  I'm looking forward to it!  I will post pictures after Saturday.

One more CAS

Here is the second CAS challenge that I did.  I love making birthday cards and I also love cupcakes, so I had no problem coming up with the subject for this one!  I used melon mambo dp, tempting tourquoise and whisper white.  Stamp set is so happy for you and I used the cupcake punch and nestabilities circles. Added some glittery pink ric-rac for the ribbon and voila!

My first CAS entry

I finally found what I was looking for!  I wanted some simple layouts to follow and found a great blog site called clean and simple stamping.  Below is the layout to follow and the two cards I camp up with.  I've been wanting to use my Tart and Tangy stamp set (SU!) and found this layout perfect for the orange/lemon/lime/grapefruit stamp!  I also had some paper from K&Company that compliments the tart and tangy beautifully~Citronella.  I used dafodil delight, pear pizzaz, peach parfait with some 2 way glue and glitter for some bling.  I used the scallop border punch for the bottom.

My second card uses the SU! Just Believe stamp set.  Colors are rose red, baja breeze, so saffron, basic black and whisper white.  Background is cuttlebug swiss dots and the circles are embossed in black on the colored cardstock circles.  Added some brads and a scalloped edge and done!

My first blog post!

  


I am very frustrated in trying to figure out all this blogging stuff!  This is my plate wall art that I love dearly.  It became my inspiration for the card below.  I used early espresso, baja breeze, cajun craze, more mustard, soft suede and old olive.  Sentiment from teeny tiny wishes cut out with the word window punch.  The circles were embossed with various cuttlebug embossing folders then I used distress ink in walnut stain over each embossed image and around the edges.  To get the shine, I used clear embossing powder.  It was tricky to arrange the circles, but this is how it turned out.  It's one of those cards that will never be given away!  Isn't that what happens when so much is invested in the creation?