Teacher Card

This card is for my daughters new fifth grade teacher for the first day of school. Gabby was so excited to find out that she is going to be having the same fifth grade teacher that my son Zachary had because Ms. Patrona is famous for going out at lunch and bring her students back slurpies and having the kids earn points for good behavior and using those points to buy things from her box of goodies. Ms. Patrona is a really great teacher and not just because of the slurpies. Being a teacher has got to be one of the hardest jobs out there (other than being a mom).


I'm having fun with these Stampendous owl stamps, I know that sounds bad because I'm a Stampin' Up demonstrator and I should be using nothing but Stampin' Up (which I usually do) but I couldn't resist going to the dark side :).



Supplies: Ollie Reads, Max Books (Stampendous), Define Your Life, Linen BG, Canvas BG (Stampin' Up), Spiral Punch, Photo Corner Punch, Ribbon, Aqua Brush. Colors: Chocolate Chip, Not Quite Navy, More Mustard, Real Red, Whisper White, Close to Cocoa, Basic Grey, Basic Black.



Reward a teacher!

Crock Pot Cooking

Now that two of my kids start back to school next Tuesday and hopefully I can try and keep my house clean for more than two seconds once there gone all day. I started thinking about easy dinners and my crock pot/slow cooker popped into my head. OK, so I can get the kids off to school in the morning, get my youngest one Connor down for a morning nap, clean up the house, throw in some laundry and stick some ingredients in my crock pot so I don't have to even think about dinner when dinner time rolls around (yeah it sounds to good to be true!) it could happen.

Here is a link for some tasty crock pot/slow cooker recipes:http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Everyday-Cooking/Sensational-Slow-Cooking/Main.aspx

Olivia Sunflower

One of my favorite flowers is a sunflower so when I saw this little owl stamp holding a sunflower I knew I had to have it.

I made this card for our neighbors as a thank you, the couple next door is so sweet and good to our family. Kate is always bringing over baked goodies for us, vegetables from her garden and just recently bought a gift over for our son Connor. Bill her husband is funny and friendly and has cut our grass when hes out cutting his own. These are just real good people and great neighbors and I hope they never move away.

Supplies: Olivia Sunflower (Stampendous), Canvas BG, Itty Bitty Background, Absolutely Fabulous (Stampin' Up), Word Window Punch, ribbon. Colors: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Summer Sun, Basic Grey.

Have a great day!

Saturday's Inspiration Challenge

This is my card for today's splitcoast inspiration challenge. These challenges are the best, they really get your mind going, today's challenge was based on a painting. I wish that I had the stamp sets Close As a Memory or the hostess set Oh, So Lovely because the flowers in those sets would have been perfect for this. Instead I pulled out a retired set (Mixed Bouquet) I just couldn't get rid of this set I love it.

Supplies: Mixed Bouquet, Linen BG, Print Pattered BG, Wonderful Words, ribbon, Ticket corner punch, sponging. Colors: Ruby Red, Mellow Moss, More Mustard, Cool Caribbean, Versa Mark.

Seasonal Whimsy Swap

This is my holiday swap for tomorrows Stampin' Up meeting, its card fronts only. I wanted to use a stamp set that someone might not have ordered. At first I was going to use my new set from the holiday mini Season of Joy, I've seen so many neat projects done with it that look like fun, but then I decided on Seasonal Whimsy. The upper right corner of the image has been popped out to give it some dimension and I added lots of dazzling diamonds, I sponged the edges on my sample but not on the ones I'm swapping because I didn't really like it after I took another look at it. Some times the card fairy comes overnight and some times she doesn't.

Supplies: Seasonal Whimsy, Whimsy Wheel, Peaceful Wishes stamps, Circle punches, Dazzling diamonds, gem, pop dots. Colors: Not quite navy, Soft Sky, Whisper White.

Thanks for looking!

Hooray!

Today I have been busy cleaning my house, taking care of the kids and trying to come up with a winter/Christmas swap for my Stampin' Up meeting on Saturday. This should be a really good meeting because both the ladies in my up line went to convention and have a lot to share.

During my busy day today I took a break and walked out to get the mail, and to my surprise, the stamps I ordered from my new blogging friend Anna came, Hooray! I love surprises! These little guys are so cute by Stampendous and Anna did such a wonderful job on the cards she made with these I knew I had to have them and I cant wait to play! If you have a chance take a look at Anna's blog (Sassy and Sweet) here's the link:http://sweetmissdaisy.typepad.com/ she also has an on line store which you can order from:http://stores.ebay.com/Sassy-and-Sweet-CRAFTS.

Double Line Doodles - Color Challenge

This is a simple little card for the splitcoast stampers Tuesday color challenge. The picture is a bit dark, any time I take a picture in my craft room which is a cheery pale yellow, the picture has a yellow cast to it and looks dark. This will have to do because its not any lighter up stairs because its 11:30pm. I told my self that I was going to try and participate in more of the challenges on splitcoast, and a friend even suggested that its one way of becoming more involved on the splitcoast site. I think it will open my eyes to more stamping possibilities and hopefully make me a better/more experienced stamper.

Supplies: Double Line Doodle and So Many Sayings stamp sets, Circle punches, Scalloped circle punch, double stitched ribbon, slit punch, piercer w/mat, rhinestone brad, pop dot, white gel pen. Colors: Soft Sky, Apricot Appeal and Whisper White.

Beate's Weekend Challenge & Inspiration Challenge

Well I knew that I wanted to do Beate's weekend sketch challenge and then when I saw Saturdays inspiration challenge on splitcoast stampers, I just decided to combine the two, why not! Piece of cake right, I had my layout + the colors I need to use, NOT! I think I cut out the center flower 4 more times then needed and cut my ribbon too short, I tried stamping faux stitching on the green piece and had to redo that. Needless to say that what seemed like an easy card wasn't and I'm still not thrilled with it but this is it.

Follow this link for the inspiration challenge:http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=278833.

Supplies: Fabulous Flowers, True Friend, Polka Dot BG stamp sets, Double stitched ribbon, rhinestone brads, Photo corner punch, pop dots, glitter. Colors: Chocolate Chip, Pixie Pink, Certainly Celery, Purely Pomegranate and whisper white.

Have a great day!

Autumn Fest - Emerging Color

Wednesday night at stamp camp I demonstrated an emersion card and I wanted to give the emerging color technique another try and thought that this stamp set would be perfect for it. I'm using this card to give to my brother tonight for his birthday, yeah it doesn't look much like a birthday card but I think he'll like it because my brother is truly unique.

Supplies: Autumn Fest, Canvas BG, Define your life stamp sets, So Swirly wheel, corner punch, brads, Old olive 5/8 ribbon, Spectrum ink pad, Versa Mark, Clear embossing powder, brayer. Colors: Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Really Rust, Whisper White.

For a tutorial on how to do this technique follow this link:http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/emergingcolor.php

Fall Flowahbella

OK I'm starting to get into fall mode which is my favorite time of year! This summer has flown by, I cant believe its almost time for the kids to go back to school. Part of me will be relieved because maybe I'll be able to keep the house clean for more than two minutes and there wont be as much fighting between my two older kids because their bored. The other half of me dreads the waking up at 6:00am and making lunch's and helping the kids get off to school. Looking at the bright side, I cant wait for cool crisp days, fall colored leafs, the cider mill and warm fuzzy sweaters.

Flowahbella
Supplies: Flowahbella stamp, Polka Dot BG stamp, Cuttlebug embossing folder, more mustard ribbon, Prima flowers, fasteners, Spiral punch, Orange glitter. Colors: Chocolate chip, More mustard, So Saffron, Really Rust, Close to Cocoa.

Cracked Glass Technique

I haven't posted in a few days because I was working on cards for last nights stamp camp and was a little panicked when a few days before I realized I was going to have to have it up stairs in my kitchen because of the construction going on in the basement.

This was one of the cards we made last night at stamp camp, its hard to see but the main image has the crayon resist and cracked glass technique on it (prettier in person). I'm bummed because I took a picture of my ladies that came to camp last night to post on my blog and it came out blurry :(. Thanks for a fun night ladies!

Supplies: Doodle This and Wonderful Words stamp sets, White glossy paper, crayon, iridescent ice, Glassy glaze enamel, heat tool, freezer, Sponge, Black ribbon. Colors: Mellow moss, Orchid opulence, Elegant Eggplant, Very vanilla, black.

Thanks for looking!

Sneak Peak & Beate's Challenge

This is a sneak peak at one of the cards I made for this coming Wednesdays stamp camp. I used the layout from Beate's weekend sketch challenge. This saying is from the stamp set Sidekick Sayings and is one of my favorite sayings, I have it on a Mary Engelbreit print in my laundry room, its of a little girl in a garden its very sweet. Anyone that knows me knows that I love Mary E. I'm a huge fan!

Supplies: Sidekick Sayings, Circle of Friendship, Kindness Jumbo Wheel, Polka Dotted BG, Linen BG, Ticket corner punch, Circle punches, Soft Sky stitched ribbon, Silver cord, pop dots. Colors: Barley Banana, Not Quite Navy, Soft Sky, Whisper White and Gable Green.

The Zoo

Yesterday our family went to the Toledo Ohio Zoo, its the best zoo because its so clean and every where you look there is something nice to look at without having to walk miles to see it. This was Connor's first trip to the zoo and even though it was real hot out he got a kick out of seeing the animals and was so good. One of my favorite animals to see is the hippos, the mother and her baby are so sweet to watch. Zachary my oldest son loves the reptile house and the aquarium he could stay in those two places the whole time we were there, he could probably give a guided tour of the aquarium he knows so many of the different types of fish and sea life. This year the zoo had a butterfly exhibit the kids really enjoyed that. Towards the back of the zoo are the gardens and a green house, its beautiful people even have their weddings there, the gardens are filled with gorgeous flowers.

Connor's Baby Gift

Today I wanted to post something that was given as a gift to my son Connor after he was born. My friend Bonnie, who is so talented and anything she touches turns out a masterpiece made Connor this beautiful decorated paint can. The pictures don't do it justice, there is so much detail, on the front of the can she put Connors initials in tags, the handle is loaded with ribbon, on the sides she tied on the sweetest tags, little blue pacifiers and bells.

I feel so blessed to have such talented and wonderful friends and I hope that they don't mind that once in a while I show off some of their work and brag about them because their work is just to good to keep to my self. Thanks again Bonnie for the beautiful keepsake!

Tiers of Treats

I made this card for my friends birthday, I've been wanting to make a card with this stamp forever, ever since I saw a card designed using this stamp on splitcoaststampers I knew I had to have this stamp. This was so fun to make because the there was so much I could do to all of the treats. I used an aqua brush to color every thing and then liquid applique for the white puffy frosting and then I used crystal effects on the strawberry's and Cherry's to make them look shiny. I felt like a little kid excited to color in a new coloring book, how silly is that! The saying on the inside reads - Wishing you all the good things in life-friendship, happiness and chocolate! What could be better than that.

Supplies: Stampendous stamps - Tiers of Treats & All Good Things, Stampin' Up stamps - Riveting & Polka Dot BG, Cuttlebug embossing folder, ribbon, circle punches, ticket corner punch, pop dots, Liquid Applique, Crystal Effects. Colors: Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Close to Coco, Pixie Pink, Going Grey.

Have a great day!

Unfrogettable One Sheet Box

Its been a few days since I've posted anything, my husband and I have been trying to do some fun things with the kids before the summer is over. Friday we took the kids to go swimming at a indoor pool, they had so much fun, it had a huge water slide, lazy river and an area to take the baby.



Last night I took my oldest son Zachary to the Tiger vs White Sox baseball game down town. I had signed the two of us up for a mom & son baseball trip through our city, it was great we all met at the city offices and went down town on a travel coach bus, they gave the son's Detroit Tiger hats & the mom's DT visors. It also included the tickets, a picture in front of the stadium with your son & a bag of peanuts. We had a great time, the best was at the end of the game when Zach & I were watching the fireworks he leaned his head up next to me and said "I'm really glad we did this mom this was fun".



Supplies for this box: Stamps Unfrogettable & Petals Jumbo Wheel, Red Ribbon, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Flower punch, Spiral punch, Word Window punch, Rectangle punch for ribbon slot, button, brad, googly eyes, aqua brush, sponge. Colors: Certainly Celery, Real Red, So Saffron

This fun little box was so easy to make and is the perfect size to put a small gift or candy in. These would be great to make up for party favors, I think I'll try these for Halloween! For the step by step directions on how to make this box follow this link: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/onesheetbox.php

Fabulous Card Tote

The glitter has really been flying around here lately, it seems like I cant get enough.


Supplies: Fabulous Flowers stamp set, So Swirly Jumbo Wheel, Old Olive ribbon, piercer w/mat, 13/8 circle punch, cutter w/scorer blade, sticky tape, dazzling diamonds, clear beads, pop dots. Colors: Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, Cameo Coral, Barley Banana.

I was inspired to make this little tote from Leslie and her Stella's Tote 'n Tutorial, she has a great blog (Running With Scissors) and has step by step instructions on how to make these card totes. The tote she made is beautiful, if you have a chance to check it out visit her blog at: http://leslierich.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/ thanks for sharing Leslie.