All Things SU! Christmas Blog Hop

Welcome to the The all things Stampin' Up! Christmas Blog Hop. I hope you enjoy everyone's creations today.

I made a 12x12 scrapbook page of my handsome little man and I from last year to share with all of you. As I mention in a previous post I am trying to catch up on the first year of Malachi's scrapbook before I have my second little baby boy in five weeks.

The page uses some of the DSP from the Christmas Lane Simply Scrapin' Kit from the Holiday Mini. I also used the Northern Frost Sizzlet Decorative Strip die with the Silver Glimmer paper. I just love the way it sparkles.

I am sorry to say that I just realized that I used a retired die on this page. I used the Join in the Cheer Sizzlet Decorative Strip. I apologize for my error. I also added some Mica Flakes along the bottom of the page. It looks like snow and adds that perfect touch.

My second project I wanted to use some of the pieces from the Simply Scrappin' Kit to make a card. These die cuts are so easy to use and apply to a Christmas card. I also used some bakers twine for the string of Christmas bulbs. Added a stamped Merry Christmas and wallah a Simply cute Christmas card.

I hope you enjoyed my simple Christmas projects. Make sure to hop on over to Tanya Ball's Blog to check out her Holiday creations.

BLOGS

1. Anastasia Radloff www.stampinblondie.blogspot.com

2. Shellie Hepner Grindy www.creativeeclectica.com

3. Annie Lee www.lovemecard.blogspot.com

4. Pam Steckman www.stampininthesun77.blogspot.com

5. Nancy Berg www.ladystampsalot.blogspot.com

6. Anji Pearson-Clements www.alteredscraps.com

7. Rose Castillo www.stampwithrose.blogspot.com (that's me)

8. Tonya L Ball www.stampinwithtonya.blogspot.com

9. Chelsea Malouf www.a-chelsea-morning.blogspot.com

10. Jenn Van Wart www.beachsidestampers.com

11. Dawn Snowangel www.dawnscreativechalet.blogspot.com

12. Erin Bradley-Hindman www.erinbh.typepad.com

All Things Stampin' Up! Blog Hop

Welcome to my blog, I am so excited to be apart

of the All Things Stampin' Up! Blog Hop. This is the first time I've ever participated in a blog hop and I hope I don't disappoint anyone.

I intended to have at least two projects to share with you today but I just couldn't squeeze enough crafting time in the past couple of days. I promise to have more to show you next blog hop.

Anyway, I have had this idea in my head for over a month now. I bought a cheap 5x7 frame from the dollar store so that I could make a little home decor for Thanksgiving. It is officially Thanksgiving weekend and I finally made this cute little Give Thanks project. Good thing is I can store it away after this weekend and use it again year after year. Now if I can only get my other home decor project done that I wanted to share today but didn't get a chance to make.

Now that you have seen my blog hop project make sure to hop on over to Tonya Ball's blog to check out her stuff, www.stampinwithtonya.blogspot.com

Stamp Set: Gently Falling

Paper: Spice Cake DSP, Pool Party, Early Espresso, and More Mustard, Very Vanilla

Big Shot Dies: Naturally Serif Sizzlit Decorative Strip Die and Alphabet Simple Letters

Ink: Pool Party, Early Espresso, and More Mustard

Tools: Scallop Trim Boarder, Big Shot, Soft Suede Taffeta Ribbon

BLOGS

1. Anastasia Radloff www.stampinblondie.blogspot.com

2. Shellie Hepner Grindy www.creativeeclectica.com

3. Annie Lee www.lovemecard.blogspot.com

4. Pam Steckman www.stampininthesun77.blogspot.com

5. Nancy Berg www.ladystampsalot.blogspot.com

6. Anji Pearson-Clements www.alteredscraps.com

7. Rose Castillo www.stampwithrose.blogspot.com (that's me)

8. Tonya L Ball www.stampinwithtonya.blogspot.com

9. Chelsea Malouf www.a-chelsea-morning.blogspot.com

10. Jenn Van Wart www.beachsidestampers.com

11. Dawn Snowangel www.dawnscreativechalet.blogspot.com

12. Erin Bradley-Hindman www.erinbh.typepad.com

Online Extravaganza

Start your shopping now! No need to wait for Black Friday.

Head on over to my website http://rosecastillo.stampinup.net and click on the shop now button.

Feel free to contact me with an order or any questions.

Candy Canes

Here is the second project from my November stamp club. I used Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, and Whisper White for the colors. I also use the embossing folder and the Stocking Accents die from the Holiday Mini. I love the Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding ribbon, it is beautiful! What a simple Christmas card and the great thing is you could easily use one of the other die cut shapes on this very same layout and it would look just as great. Which is perfect for making some quick cards in a time crunch.

Speaking of time, I was looking at my blog history for the past couple of months and I have done a horrible job of updating. I guess time has gotten away from me. I will apologize but unfortunately I don't think it will get any better. I will do my best to keep up with my blog and sharing ideas but life is getting crazy. I did sign up for a blog hop so I will keep my commitment to that but with the baby due soon my energy level is way down, the holiday's are approaching rather quickly, and we just got the call that our offer on a short sale home was accepted and we should be closing escrow on December 30th. Closing escrow only 9 days before my due date. Just thinking about this makes me excited and stressed at the same time.

My plan is to set a time aside to just create so I can have pictures of projects ready to share over the next couple of months in advance but we shall see how that goes.

Simply Scrappin' Kit

I am getting down to the last 7.5 weeks of my pregnancy and it is making me a little crazy. It feels so far away but yet so close. It feels like yesterday I was preparing for the arrival of Malachi but it has been almost 2 years.

This weekend I was mentally going down memory lane, thinking about my sweet baby boy and the sweet adorable monster he has become. I ended up pulling out all his monthly pictures. Boy do we have pictures. I only pulled out the professional ones, we have thousand of snapshots but that would require us to get them printed. I laid out one picture from each month and marveled at how they change so quickly. This did two things to me, one it made me sad that my baby wasn't a baby anymore and secondly it made me feel guilty that I hadn't even scrapbooked his pictures like I had planned.

How sad is it that I have taught many scrapbook classes and have many scrapbook pages done with no pictures on them. This put me on a mission, I have been working diligently this week on Malachi's baby scrapbook. I think I have gotten about 8 pages done so far. Most of them are pretty simple because an 8x10 picture takes up a lot of room on a 12x12. I am determined to get the 12 months of professional pictures of Malachi scrapbooked asap because I plan to do the same for Kaiden when he is born and I don't want twice as many pictures sitting on a shelf. Hopefully I will do better this coming year, hopefully. I know that once these pages are completed I will love to sit and just flip through the book and stare at my baby.

I forgot to mention in my long story that I used the Simply Scrappin' Kit from the Holiday Mini for this scrapbook layout of some of last years Christmas photos.

Christmas Stocking

Who doesn't love Christmas Stockings? They are always filled with yummy treats and gifts.

This adorable Big Shot Stocking die is a must have, not only can you make paper stockings but you can make felt or fabric stockings too. I've even seen some Christmas ornaments made with the stocking die and fabric and they were beautiful. If only I could sew. Maybe one of these days.

This stocking project is one of the projects my stamp club made at our November club. I added a pocket inside of the card just a tad bit bigger than a gift card so that this card can be used as a gift card holder. It was so simple to do, with die cut cuts everything for the stocking and creating the gift card slot was simple. I decorated the outside of the Stocking with the holly from the Stocking Accents die, I embossed the front of the stocking, and used a little Designer Series Paper.

What a simple gift card idea. I can't wait to make more.

Stitched Stockings Redo

Last month I showed you a card that I made with the Stitched Stockings Stamp set and I wasn't completely happy with it. This is my redo. It looks nothing like the first card.

This card was super simple and I was able to use the silver glimmer paper. So pretty! This card will be easy to remake if I need some quick Christmas cards.

I am working on some more Christmas projects tonight for my stamp club this Thursday. It makes me want to put up the Christmas tree and play Christmas music.

Fa La La La!

Thankful Treat

A couple weeks ago I showed you a Fall card that my stamp club made in at club in October and here I am trying to plan for my stamp club in November. Where did the time go? I had very good intentions of showing you this cute little box many many days ago but I have been so lazy.

Laziness and major crafting block has kept me away from my craft desk. The bad thing is that I've had this picture ready to share for days and I just didn't get around to it. So I finally am sitting here and typing and sharing.

The box was created with the Milk Carton die just like I did when I made the Halloween Bat. So cute. I just love it! Well since I have a SU! party, Stamp Club, and I am participating in a Blog Hop I should get to work, even if it is 11:30pm.

Gratitude

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Who doesn't love getting together with the family, eating, laughing, and eating again?

The nest thing about Fall and Thanksgiving is that it reminds you to be thankful. This is something that we all forget to be at times in our lives and I am thankful for the little reminder that the season brings.

I instantly fell in love with the Gently Falling stamp set in the mini catalog when I saw it. I knew it would be on my first order and it was. I haven't played with it all that much but when I started working on October projects for Stamp Club, I knew I would be using it for sure. Unfortunately since I procrastinate and time was running out, I cheated and used someone's idea. Now I need to go back and see who that was because I can't remember in my old age. Ok, I'm not that old but I did turn 32 today and I have pregnancy brain so for the life of me I can't remember.

Anyway, don't forget to be grateful this season and send someone a card letting them know you appreciate them.

Halloween Treats for Malachi's Friends

Malachi is only 21 months old and I love getting him dressed up for Halloween but really don't want him getting candy. I will still take him out with the family but will give most all the candy away. Anyway, I wanted to do a little treat for his nursery class at church but you can't really give a bunch of under 3 year olds candy, so I bought a box of the Teddy Grahams pouches and this is how I will be decorating them.

I decided I can part with some retired DSP for the treats. I am such a paper hoarder. I embossed the DSP with the Spider Web embossing folder and then I sanded it with a sanding block. The Build a Bear and retired pumpkin costume die is perfect for this project.

With a Cherry on Top

After I created my first sample with the Button Buddies stamp set and Sweet Buttons Embosslit, I looked at my cute card with the cute pig on it and admired it. I reread the statment "Happy Birthday with a Cherry on Top" and I thought why didn't I use the cherry stamp? That saying and that stamp are perfect for one another.

So when I had some time I sat down with the intention of using both of those stamps together. So cute, so simple, I love it!

Baby Button Buddies

My last few blog post have been Halloween, Fall, or Christmas related but this one is Baby related. Since babies come all year long it is great to have baby cards on hand.

This is one of the samples I made for the Die Club of the Month. I once again used the Button Buddies Stamp Set with the Sweet Buttons Embosslit. There is only one thing I wish I would have done differently and that is reverse the colors on the rattle. The Night of Navy is a little dark and I think it would have been better used as the handle of the rattle but what's done is done. Next time I'll play a little more before gluing everything down.

I should use this card to send to my Sister in Law Belinda and our newest nephew, Logan. I must make it to the post office tomorrow to get the gifts in the mail. I can't wait to meet lil Logan but unfortunately it will have to wait Spring, we just can't make the trip to Texas right now with me being pregnant and us in the process of looking for a house to buy. On the bright side, when we go next year the family will get to meet Kaiden.

Pumpkin Button Buddies

Thursday night was my Die of the Month class and this month everyone recieved the Sweet Buttons Embosslet. During the class everyone receives their die and creates a project with their new product.

This isn't the project we created but I do like to show a few more samples using the die they received. Since it is officially Fall I wanted to make sure and use the cute little pumpkin stamp from Button Buddies. I layered a button die cut on each pumpkin and it gave it that little extra touch. I paired up the pumpkins with the Scallop Square punch, some Pumpkin Spice DSP, card stock, ribbon and whaala, I have a cute fall card.

Advent Calendar

This past Saturday I spent most of my day working on this Advent Calendar. Yes, I said most of my day, have I ever mentioned that I live with a 20 month old monster? Since my husband was at work, it was just Malachi and I at home so in between feeding, changing, distracting, entertaining, and playing with him I completed my calendar.

I would really like to do this as a class if anyone is interested. I promise you won't have to do all of the above mentioned activities with Malachi during the class. LOL!

In the current Holiday Mini Catalog they have an awesome sample with the 25 & Counting Stamp Set and the Peek-A-Boo Bigz die. So of course I purchase the stamp set, die, and some Christmas DSP and mostly copied the sample. I did make some changes because I don't own every little thing they used. Gasp! I know, how can that be? I have been trying to cut back on my SU! product obsession since we are looking for a house to buy and we have another little bundle of joy on the way. I guess this just shows how versatile the products are and it helps me with my hoarding.

Anyway if you are interested in attending a class to make the calendar, let me know and I will set a date.

Come Let Us Adore Him

The really bad thing about making Christmas cards so early is getting the Christmas songs stuck in your head.

I love Christmas and all the festivities that come along with it but when you are singing Christmas songs while trying to work on some fall stuff, it just gets to confusing.

Anyway here is another Christmas card I made. I used the Come to Bethlehem Stamp Set along with the Music Notes wheel. So I must admit that I am not the greatest at using the wheels in a straight line even when I use the wheel guide so I unmounted my Music Notes wheel. After I peeled it off the wheel I attached it to the Clear Mount Cling Foam and mounted it on one of my large clear blocks and stamped away. I now store this stamp in one of the Clear Mount Stamp cases. It looks as if I could store about 3 wheel stamps in one case, how awesome it that?

Over this past weekend I worked on my Christmas Advent Calendar and I can't wait to show it to you so check back soon.

The Stockings Were Hung

Just another card I made this week when I was working on my WCMD class cards. Although I don't think I am completely satisfied with it. I think I may just keep working on this card.

I love the stamp set, Stitched Stockings and the coordinating Stocking Punch and I'm sure my class participants would love to use the coordinating products but I will have to keep working on the right card. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think the card is horrible but I'm just not satisfied.

I'll be back to share whatever I come up with.

Vintage Postcard

I was working on Christmas Card for my upcoming World Card Making Day Class and I was in a little bit of a vintage mood so I decided to make this card look like a post card.

I've had this set for a few years now and I don't think I have ever used the post card stamp. I'm glad that I was able to finally ink it up. I am most definite that this will be a card we make in the WCMD class. Not everything I make always makes it in the final cut for my classes because sometimes I get better ideas as the time gets closer. Well I hope everyone else likes this one as much as I do.

World Card Making Day Class

This is the perfect class to get a head start on your Christmas cards.

Saturday, October 1st at 10:30 AM
Class Fee $24.00

Create 10 Christmas Cards (5 designs, 2 of each design)
Class fee includes all materials needed to create your 10 Christmas Cards.

RSVP by Thursday, September 29th.

Spooky Bingo Bits

So it is 11:30 PM and I was uploading some pictures of some Christmas Cards that I created this week when I realized I never shared my second Stamp Club project.

These cute Halloween treats are so simple to make. I used the Spooky Bingo Bits stamp set along with a couple of punches for the cello bag toppers. These awesome cello bags are sold in the Holiday Mini, you get 50 bags for $2.50, now that is a great deal.

I am looking forward to making more of these to give away this Halloween.

Batty

In all seriousness I never had the intention of buying the Milk Carton die until I went to the SU! Convention in July and they showed some really cute projects where they used two milk carton dies to create a hexagon box. I got the die last month and like always I had good intentions of making one of those hexagon boxes, I even have a beautiful idea in my head but there it still lies.

Anyway yesterday while I was searching around for stamping ideas I cam across this idea for the bat hexagon box by Monika Davis. Way to cute! You can visit her blog for complete instructions at Stampin' Together at Monika's Place, she created a great PDF for everyone to see and use.

I was missing one of the items that she used and it was the perfect pennants die but I knew Grandma had one so what did I do, I drove to her house to pick it up. I was pretty determined to make this cute little bat. What a paper crafter won't do for a project.

Halloween Treats

This year at the Stampin' Up! Convention one of the demonstrators showed us how to make the cute little Candy Wrapper die long enough to put a full sized candy bar. I was super excited about this and couldn't wait to try it out.

Well it took me a couple of months but I finally made one. When planning for Stamp Club this month I knew I wanted to do Halloween stuff and what is better than a cute way to give candy. Last Tuesday I waited for the UPS man to deliver my SU! order and when I heard him pull up I was so excited, I waited and waited for him to knock but he never did and then I heard him drive off. What in the world! I grabbed Malachi and put him in his car seat and chased after the UPS man. I know, crazy huh? When he finally stopped and I asked about my package he told me he didn't have my package and it must have ended up on the wrong truck. I was so bummed. My Halloween DSP was in that package and I knew that I wasn't going to have time with in the next couple of days before club to work on projects.

I had no choice other than be creative, so I made my own Halloween paper by stamping images from the Spooky Bingo Bits Stamp Set. I made two candy wrapper boxes because I wanted everyone to see the difference in size. I ran by the store and the butterfingers just looked so yummy so I bought a couple of them to fit in my boxes. Now only one of them made it in the samples and the other one lets just say, it was delicious!

Gently Falling

Lately it has been so hard to find the time to create. Malachi wants to get into all my stuff and when he sees me at my desk stamping he wants to sit on my lap and help. I either have to wait until he is sleeping or Eric has him distracted. It doesn't help that I currently share my stamping space with our computer desk, so even when Eric or I are just on the computer we have to constantly take my stamping supplies away from Malachi.

We are currently looking for a bigger house and I am so looking forward to having a room all to myself for my Stampin' Up! business. This will help because I will be able to shut the door or send Malachi to the other room with his daddy since the computer will be set up in a different room. Although I am sure I will miss having a computer in my stampin' space since I like to look at other peoples creations for inspiration. I guess I'll need to save up to buy me a laptop.

Anyway, on Tuesday night I was finally able to play with my neglected stuff. I had gotten a couple of new stamp sets out of the Holiday Mini during the pre-order in August but just hadn't been able to do anything with them. I am a lover of Fall so when I saw the Gently Falling stamp set, I just knew I wanted it. These leaves just scream fall to me. So of course I ordered it along with the Spice Cake paper. I will probably want to hoard the paper because it is so beautiful and I am a paper hoarder. Anyway I did use a little bit for this card. I love these colors. I hope you enjoy the card and hopefully it will start feeling like Fall soon because I am so over Summer!

Big Shot Die of the Month Class

Join this months Big Shot Die of the Month Class and you will receive the Sweet Buttons Embosslet Die and will make the card pictured.

Class Date: September 29th at 7:00 PM

Club Fee $16.00

RSVP with Payment by September 22nd.

The Sweet Buttons embosslet is a perfect pair with the Button Buddies Stamp Set, you won't want to miss this class!

A Little Birdie

Aviary is an adorable stamp set but I've only used it a couple of times. I guess I am rather fond of birds too because I tend to purchase sets that have them in it. My husband is always teasing me about my bird stamps but luckily I didn't get to much teasing because he actually liked this set. He says that it is because it is cartoony. What-ever!

Anyway I was determined to use this stamp set so I searched the web to see others creations. Sometimes that helps to inspire me to copy or just sparks an idea in my head. Well I was looking around I had seen several cards that people had used the birdcages to create a background and I loved the idea. So I mounted all the cages on my large clear block and stamped a couple of times. It was fast and simple and just the look I wanted. I stamped the bird cage one more time, added a bird, put a little bow on and mounted this on a couple of pieces of color card stock. Cute, Quick, and Simple.

My Friend

This card is simple but very pretty. I cased this card from a fellow demonstrator, Sherri Barron. All I did was change the color from Baja Breeze to Pink Pirouette.

Like I mentioned before I have a tenancy to lean on the blues so I didn't want to use Baja Breeze again. Although I love Baja Breeze. So anyway I thought, Black and pink look great together so I pulled out the Pink Pirouette.

I have one more card I want to share this weekend, so I better get it photographed and scheduled before I head up to the mountains for the weekend. Off I go...

It's a Wrap

Even though I haven't posted to my blog in a week, I still feel good because I have blogged more this month than I have in the past couple of months.

This project is from my August Stamp Club. We used the It's a Wrap Occasions Stamp Set, Matchbox die, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Pretty Postage Stamp Set, Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon, Scallop Square Punch, and the 1" Square Punch.

I tend to favor blues so I used two of the In Colors, Island Indigo and Pool Party. These colors are just beautiful! We stamped the Thanks So Much in Pool Party and wrapped them around the candies. Four fit in a box and they make cute little thank you gifts. They are also perfect for party favors. Who wouldn't love to get some yummy chocolate.

I don't know if you've seen the new ruffled ribbon but it is very pretty. When I originally saw it in the catalog, I didn't really have an opinion about it. I guess it didn't stand out to me but once I saw it in person, I had to order it. Now I just need to order all available colors. Boy is my SU wish list long and its like a plant, it is always growing.

Cards, Cards, & More Cards Class

Don't forget to RSVP for the card class this weekend.

Class Date: Saturday, August 20th at 10:30 AM

Class Fee $24.00

Create 10 Cards (5 designs, 2 of each design)

RSVP by Thursday, August 18th

If you have any questions please call or email me.

Bookmark It

I had seen these cute bookmarks on Dawn Raspas' blog a while back and thought they were adorable and wanted to make one but just never got around to it. So last Tuesday as I was looking around on Stampin' Connection I saw another bookmark that someone else had made and it reminded me that I wanted to make one too. I immediately got up and pulled out my Fun Flowers die, some card stock and some ribbon and within a few minutes I had this cute bookmark.

You can use it to hold your spot in that book you are reading or you can use it save your spot in the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog. Since I have two of these bookmarks (I made the second one with my stamp club ladies) I have one in my IB&C and I have another one waiting to be used on that book grandma just got. I'm waiting for her to finish reading it so I can read it.

Fall Wreath

So today I have a little sneak peek. If you haven't received your Holiday Mini Catalog, you will be soon. It is loaded with awesome products. Being a demonstrator has some perks, like being able to see these items sooner than the rest of the public and being able to order a month earlier.

Since I didn't have to work yesterday I thought I would play with my stuff but then remembered I needed to prepare for my Stamp Club this Thursday. So I worked on those items while taking care of my little man. Before I knew it, it was evening and time for dinner. So finally after dinner I started working on a project using my mini catalog items.

One of the most exciting items was the Simply Scored Scoring Tool. I have been wanting a scoring tool for a while but never would put out the money for it. I kept waiting to see if SU! would come out with one of their own. Well the time has finally come. I can't show it to you just yet but I am showing you a project that I used my scoring tool on. I have seen these accordion flowers/rosettes for quite some time but never tried them before. I watched a YouTube video first just to make sure I knew what I was doing. I cut strips of paper in 1 inches and 1 1/2 inched and scored with my Simply Scored. It went rather fast. I made about 17 or 18 of these flowers but only used 14 of them. I wasn't to sure how many I would use.

I used both regular card stock and some DSP that is also from the Holiday Mini called Spice Cake. I love this paper. I am a lover of fall so this line is right up my alley. After all my flowers were made, I tied the ribbon on the top of the 8 inch foam wreath. Then I began hot gluing all the rosettes on. I love the end result and I can't wait to try another wreath.

I am thinking about making this into a class. Let me know what you think.

Summer Page

Today I thought I would share another scrapbook page I created back in May or June. This page is for those pictures of the kids when they turn into little fishes in the summer time.

My little monster hasn't gotten to that stage in life but I'm sure it won't be to long before I have pictures for this page.

I used the Summer Splash stamp set from the Summer Mini Catalog. This catalog ends August 31st so don't delay in purchasing any of those cute stamp sets or accessories! The colors from the photograph are a little off so here they are; Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, Daffodil Delight, and Rich Razzleberry.

Things I Love

Last year I had seen a scrapbook page done by Kristyne Brandt and I just loved it so I saved it in my favorites.

This past Saturday I had a scrapbook class and like so many other times in my life I procrastinated in making the pages for the class. Friday as I sat down to create I didn't really know what I wanted to do so I searched through Stampin' Connection and Splitcoast for some inspiration. I went through my favorites file too and found the page done by Kristyne and thought I can remake that page with a few changes and a a differnt stamp set.

Off to work I went and this is the page I created using Kristyne's page as my guide. I used the Creative Elements stamp set for this page. I also used one retired project and that was the hearts and brackets die. If you truly wanted to remake this page I am sure you could do without the brackets and large heart. I love the vintage feel to this page. Now all I need to do is snap some pictures of the things I love and get them printed so I have a complete scrapbook page.

August Big Shot Club

Join this months Big Shot Club and receive the Strips Embossing Folder.

Club Fee is $13.00
Club Date: August 18th

At this months club we will be making this adorable card using your new embossing folder.

Make sure to RSVP by Aug. 11 with your payment.

Just a little more about this card and its details, I used a new stamp set called Creative Elements. I stamped the flower three times and then cut out different layers and stacked them on top of each other using dimensionals to give it depth. I also did something I had never done before and that was brayering on my embossing folder. I inked up my brayer with Island Indigo and then applied it directly onto the embossing folder. I then put my card stock in the folder and ran it through my Big Shot.

I love the way the colors Island Indigo, Baja Breeze, and Rich Razzleberry look together.

I mentioned yesterday that I hadn't been creating lately and I had been in a rut. When I first sat down I had no idea what I was going to make so I chose a stamp set and stared at it for a little while then I pulled out my color coach so that I could stare at all the beautiful colors and see if any of them popped out at me. I ended up using this suggested color combo from the color coach. I just love that tool!

I am pretty pleased with my card and hopefully this has jump started my creativity.

Travel Scapbook page

So I have been in a funk lately. I haven't been in a creating mood. I really need to get to work because I need to create some scrapbook pages for my class this coming weekend. I've also had this nagging voice in the back of my head that was telling me I needed to update my blog.

So I pulled out this scrapbook page that I made in May for a class. I used the Travel Log stamp set that is in the summer mini catalog. This is a perfect set for scrapbooking all your summer travels.

The good thing is that after I photographed these pages I sat down and created a cute card with one of my new stamp sets from the new catalog. I had been wanting to do that for a while but then I would look at my huge mess on my desk and the kitchen table and I would chose to do something else like lay around. I hate feeling so tired all the time but like someone told me "you have kids now, you'll be tired for the next 18-20 years." Between chasing Malachi around and this pregnancy sucking all my energy out of me, sometimes all I can do is lay on the couch.

So now that I can actually say that I used one of my new stamp sets I don't feel that bad about ordering a few things from the upcoming Holiday Mini. I can't wait to share that mini with you. It has so many cute things in it!

Come back tomorrow to see my card.

August Promotion

August is here and, with it, an exciting promotion and amazing new products!

Buy 3, Get 1 Free Promotion
During August, you can get a FREE package of Designer Series Paper when you buy three! Let all of your friends know about this exciting promotion; with all the fun new Designer Series Papers in the Idea Book & Catalog, it's the perfect time to stock up!

Learn more on the Buy 3, Get 1 Free web page.

Black Magic

Black Magic, it sounds spooky doesn't it? Well this Black Magic is not to be feared because it is a technique you can use in your paper crafting!

I decided to participate in a Technique Swap at the SU! convention this year but I wasn't sure which technique to do. I went over to www.splitcoaststampers.com and looked through their resources and found the Black Magic Technique. I watched the little video and looked through the gallery for examples and decided that I would give it a try.

My first attempt wasn't to bad but I wasn't satisfied so I ended remaking my sample. I ended up using the Just Believe stamp set. I chose to use Night of Navy, Marina Mist, and Basic Black card stock. I stamped the image in Whisper White Craft Ink and then used my heat tool to speed up the drying time, I then used my water color pencils to color the image. After I colored and stamped my background piece I assembled my card. I was pretty please with the card. So I repeated this step 10 times for the swap. Wow, that was a lot of coloring. After I colored and assembled all the cards, (the night before I left for convention at 11:00 PM) I looked at the cards and wasn't pleased with the way the coloring looked. It was too late to try something else so I grabbed a blender pen and used that on the colored image but it wasn't working to well. I realized that my blender pens are drying out. I've only had them for 4 years and have only used them for a million projects! Good thing I had a new package. After getting a new blender pen and going over my colored images, I was happy with my cards.

Note: the original instructions on SCS does not tell you to use a blender pen but I actually like the technique much better after using a blender pen on the colored image.

I finally went to bed after 1:00 AM and managed to get a few hours of sleep, but it didn't matter. I was just excited to be able to go to convention.

July Club Project

I really wanted to use my new stamp set My Friend when I started working on July Stamp Club projects. I pulled out some beautiful card stock, Pool Party, Island Indigo, and Poppy Parade to start out. After a few short minutes I had this card. I just kept staring at it and thinking, hmmm... what can I change? I wasn't completely satisfied with the card and wanted to do something a little different.

I looked around my desk and saw one of my new items. The Color Spritzer tool, now this isn't a new item in the catalog but I just recently purchased it. I thought to my self what can I do to use this on my card? I got this bright idea to ink up the floral image in Pool Party and then spritz it with the Island Indigo. In all honesty I sprayed a few times with no luck of any ink coming out. So I kept spritzing and finally I saw the ink land on my stamp. After I was finally finished I stamped the image again and to my surprise I got a water color look. I don't know if anyone has already done this technique or if it has some fancy name for it but I loved the results.

So here is my card. I did change up the design a little bit from the original card but it is all the same pieces and colors as the first card. I displayed both cards at club and let the ladies chose which card they wanted to make. I will have to try my new technique again with some other colors and see what I come up with.

I hope to have inspired someone today to try this.

Finally Blogging

I got back on Sunday from the 2011 SU! Convention in Salt Lake City. What an inspiring event! There are so many ideas running through my head, now I hope I can remember everything.

Leading up to the convention I had been sick and exhausted. I am adjusting to taking care of an active 18 month old little boy and being pregnant. That is why I had been ignoring my blog lately, it just seemed like to much work. My energy level has been zapped. I have created a few things over the past month, I just hadn't taken the time to take pictures and post them. I did get a little bit of an ego booster at convention when a few people mentioned that they like my blog and my projects. I was excited to know that people actually look at my blog besides Erin and the few people that I force to read my blog. I'm just glad that I am not just talking to cyberspace. So ladies thank you for making me feel good about my blog.

Enough blabbering about that, let me tell you a little about the card I made. This card is a complete and utter case of someone else's card. I just wish I could remember whose card I copied. I thought I had it saved to my favorites on Stampin' Connection but I guess I didn't. Anyway I just love the bright colors, the new stamp set, and the punch to go along with it. The colors actually used are Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, and Wild Wasabi. Hope you enjoy today's card and I will be back with another card tomorrow.

Create Gifts

Create Gifts Class Includes:
Coasters (set of 4)
A Journal/Notebook
Two Refrigerator Magnets/Picture Holder.

Class Fee is $25.00

Date & Time: July 9th at 10:30AM




The tile coaster are perfect for gift giving or to add to your home. I have created many different styles for you to chose from. To see other styles please email you and I will be happy to send you a picture of other coasters.







Create this beautiful Journal/or Notebook for yourself or someone special. This is great to carry in your purse with shopping notes or to have with you to write down your thoughts. The note pad is protected inside the plastic case.









These stylish refrigerator magnets are great for holding a picture or note. If you don't want to add these to the refrigerator you can stand them on a shelf or desk to display pictures of your loved ones.

Make sure to RSVp your spot by Thursday, July 7th.