Sharing

Good morning! Last summer Stampin' Up! introduced a new tag line that you may have noticed under the logo on many Stampin' Up! items in the last little while. The tag line is "inspire. create. share.", and I think it's really what Stampin' Up! is all about...which is probably one of the big reasons why they chose it! So, today, I want to share some sharing with you!

Throughout the year I do frequent swaps with the girls in my downline as well as swap with other demonstrators at Stampin' Up! events! The Leadership conference I attended at the beginning of the month was no exception! I got lots of gorgeous cards from other demonstrators and when I get the chance, I will photograph and share my favorites. But, today I want to share the swaps I got from my downline last week.

Here's my card...

This was also my other swap card for Leadership (remember the first one I shared here). It's quick and easy to mass produce...which is important when you're making 50!!!

Here's Sherri's card...

Sherri is so creative! Did you notice how she made the birds into robins!!! She did that by inking up her stamp, then taking some of the ink off with a Blender Pen and coloring the uninked areas with a marker. Ca-ute!

Here's Heather's...

I always love Heather's cards. She has such a clean style of stamping using great color combinations that are always pleasing to the eye! And, she frequently uses pink...so I get my dose of pink and girly from her!

Here's Tara's...

I love the way Tara used the spotlighting technique with the Heart Punch and the I {Love} Love Jumbo Wheel from the Occasions Mini. It's a great way to show off a word or two from that wheel image. And, the Build-A-Brad! I think I need to get my neglected Build-A-Brads out and show them some love! *wink*

And, here's Cheryl's...

See how she used the Curly Label Punch to have an image peeking out from behind the Friends image? I love it! The colors of this card are fabulous and I love how she colored the F to give it a bit more dimension.

I am thrilled with the swaps this time around; the girls did a fantastic job! Stampin' Up! has given me the opportunity to meet so many people during the last 7 years, and I can truly say that these girls, along with the rest of my downline, have become great friends.

Would you like to join us in our next swap? Have you ever thought about doing what I do? Now is a great time to get started and join Stampin' Up!. With a 15% discount on the Starter Kit in addition to an extra stamp set of your choice added to it, you can't go wrong. I LOVE what I do and I love SHARING what I do! You can too...contact me to ask me how!

Until next time my friends!

Simple Thanks

Hi! I have a great, simple thank you card to show you today.

Once again, I did a 3x6 card! I did this card when I was making prototypes for my Leadership swaps. This one was a variation of one of the ones that made the cut!

I used some of my favorite new products from the Occasions Mini and Sale-A-Bration on this card...Sweet Pea DSP, the Scallop Trim Border Punch (SAB), Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon and the Think Happy Thoughts stamp set!

I took my colors right out of the DSP and used So Saffron, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive and a touch of Taken with Teal. I think this pattern is my favorite in the package!

Supplies: Think Happy Thoughts stamp set; Chocolate Chip & So Saffron classic ink; So Saffron, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Taken with Teal & Whisper White cardstock; Sweet Pea DSP; Chocolate Chip Satin & Rose Red Narrow Grosgrain ribbon; Rich Regals Brads; Scallop Trim Border, Scallop Circle, 1 3/8" Circle & 1 1/4" Circle punches; Stampin' Dimensionals


Here's a different view so you can see the Scallop Circle popped up a bit. It adds just the right touch of dimension to go with the layers of ribbon and the punched pieces.


I love this card...so simple and so cute!


Have a great day!

Little Monsters

Happy Saturday! Those of you who follow my blog regularly probably know that I have three boys! Along with having three boys comes lots of adventures...some of which are less than thrilling for me. A perfect example is the layout I have to show you today.

A couple years ago some of the Monster Jam monster trucks came to town. Unfortunately my husband had to work that evening and I wasn't really interested in attending a testosterone filled evening of noise, dirt, smelliness and monster trucks by myself with the boys...even if it was to make a memory! However, while on patrols at work, my husband noticed that some of the trucks were on display at a local car dealership. So, I dutifully took my boys down to the dealership to check out the trucks. Let me just say, they were THRILLED and I was the coolest mom in the world for about half an hour that day! We definitely made a memory and I didn't have to experience the noise, dirt and smell...and there was way less testosterone!

Anyway, on to the layout...

I chose colors for this layout from both the trucks and the boy's coats, and went with Brilliant Blue, Ruby Red, So Saffron and Basic Gray. The striped paper from the Cool Kids Simply Scrappin' Kit and the "The Write Stuff" DSP package matched perfectly with my pictures.

I cut my title from Basic Gray cardstock with the Stampin' Up! Timeless Type Alphabet dies and pounced Basic Gray ink all over the letters with a sponge. I was trying to dirty them up a bit! The letters are mounted around and on one of the die cuts from the "The Write Stuff" DSP set, which I sponged with my Basic Gray.

In this picture, you can also see that I pounced my sponge all over the DSP. I wanted to mute the colors a bit and, again, dirty up the whole page.

Here's a cool part of the page! I took two strips of DSP and punched the ends with the Tag Punch. Then I punched a hole in the ends and stuck a Basic Black Jumbo Grommet in the hole. I figured it kind of mirrored the tires of the trucks, plus it added some more texture to the page. I was so excited with the way it turned out!

Well, that's all I have for you today! Until next time my friends!

Meet Buddy!

Good morning! Today is a great day! Kevin got a call from his surgeon with a new surgery date. YAHOO!!!!! January 26 is the big day. Cross your fingers for us that nothing will interfere this time and he will be on the road to recovery on Jan 27.

I have a super cute project to share with you today. I want you to meet Buddy...

Buddy is my youngest son's favorite toy right now...and I made it! I took a metal DVD tin and altered it a bit (with Sawyer's help, of course!). He loved punching and using my Big Shot! We cut out bears and clothes from both cardstock/DSP and magnet sheets with my Big Shot. We also made a little scene for Buddy. Buddy lives on one side of the tin and Buddy's wardrobe lives on the other side of the tin. Sawyer plays with Buddy almost everyday and it's one of those toys that he will not share!

As you can see from the pictures of Sawyer wearing shorts, we did this project pre-snow this year! But, Buddy has added to his wardrobe with the seasons...he has a Jack-O-Lantern Halloween costume and Christmas clothes now. And, I'm going to see if the Valentine's and Easter Sizzlits will cut through magnet sheets so Buddy can have bunny ears and valentine's stuff!

Buddy is a great toy that Sawyer brings on road trips and plays with during quite time. In fact, I found Buddy under Sawyer's pillow when I changed his sheets! Buddy fits perfectly in my purse, so he also comes to appointments sometimes!

Have a great day!

Hearts, hearts & more hearts!

This morning we were told that Kevin would have his surgery either next week or the week after. YAHOO!!! Although we don't have the exact date, it's a little step in the right direction. And, let me tell you, I need that step! Kevin has decided to not shave until his surgery...out of protest! Now, I'm not totally against facial hair. I like a little scruff...like 5 o'clock shadow scruff. And on some men, I think facial hair looks great...just not my man!!! I tell ya, I'm almost ready to pay that surgeon off to get that surgery done, so Kev will shave (and, of course, not be in so much pain and discomfort everyday)!!! *wink*


Anyway, on to what I was intending to show you today. I'm on a bit of a Valentine's kick with the projects I've been making lately, and today's project is very Valentine's. But it would also work well for an anniversary or even a fun wedding card.




Supplies: I {Heart} Hearts & Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets; Rose Red & Soft Suede classic ink; Soft Suede, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo & Whisper White cardstock; Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon; Stampin' Dimensionals; 1 1/4" Square, 3/4" Square & Small Heart punches


I did a card almost exactly like this one for one of my swaps at Leadership (for my swap card I used Kraft instead of Soft Suede for the base of the card and I stamped "xoxo" on the smallest pink square). And, if you follow my blog, you're probably thinking it's very similar to another project I showed a few weeks ago. Well, you are absolutely right! I used the same layout as this card.

Here's a different view so you can see the dimension on those two little punched hearts.

That's all I have for you today! Until next time my friends!