Missing in Action!

I apologize for being MIA.  My youngest grandson and I have been really, really sick.  I'm feeling behind in everything and trying hard to get better.  We're both on lots of meds.  There must be a lot of stuff out there and it has really messed up our asthma.  I hope to be back in action soon and have something to share with you.  Take care and don't get this!

Collage Frames: Saturday Morning Brunch Bunch

Here's a peek at some of the frames we made in my Collage Frames Class.  They are going to take them home and add a few more things, including photos, and then they'll bring them back to share with everyone.  I forgot to take photos of the Monday Morning Brunch Class --- sorry everyone --- but they all chose to make the banners.  I'll try to get some photos of those later.
These are from the Saturday Morning Brunch Bunch.  I love how the projects evolved as we worked on them!!!

This frame uses the beautiful neutrals from the Mocha Morning DSP.  Look how she used a favorite old 'find' of a pin for the center of one of the butterflies!  I would not have thought of trying that.  One of the great things about working with groups is that we all come with creative ideas and can easily inspire each other.

This project was done with Well Worn DSP and some of the newsprint.  I had to get out a few old stamps from my 'stash' to fit her theme.  We've embossed them to add to the texture.

The fishing theme frame will be for her husband.  The 'W' theme frame will be for her home.

Lots of layering really adds a lot to the projects.

See how some of the text and letters were cleverly used to create personal parts of the frame?  I love it!

More later.  Aaron and I are working hard to get our asthma under control.  This is a difficult Spring for us, as far as the asthma goes.  I still love that we do have warm weather, though.  I have never been a fan of winter cold.  About one good snow is plenty for me:)

Getting ready for our big party!

After such a wonderful Spring day yesterday, my poor little Aaron had a severe asthma attack last night and Chris (my SIL) and I ended up taking him to the ER.  I know I didn't get any sleep last night and don't function so well without it any more.  He's just now starting to act like all the meds are actually helping, but still coughing a lot.  I feel so rotten when my little guy has to work so hard to breathe.  I have asthma, too, so I know how scary it is for him when he can't get any air moving.

On a happier note, I had this post ready before he started having trouble, so I still have something to share with you.  More soon, I hope.

My wonderful daughter-in-law spent most of the day here with me Monday.  We're working on invitations for our sweet Olive Jane's first birthday party.

Here's a peek at what we've worked on so far.  These are going to be stinking cute!!!  By the way, Olive has moved from just crawling backward to moving forward, too, and at quite a clip:)  She loved playing with the box from my glue dots while we worked.

 

They're not nearly finished, but we have tons done on them already.  I will share again when they're completely finished.  I think they're going to be a little heavy, with all those layers, but they don't call me the 'Queen of Layers' for nothing:)  Here's hoping for a better day today and some sleep tonight --- then stamping soon.

Here's what's coming up for April!

Here's a look ahead at my April schedule.  I know there's an event here that's just for you!

I can't wait to get started on my wreaths.  I'm hoping to make several to share with you.  These will have rosettes, a variety of spring flowers and some gorgeous butterflies.

I also wanted to wish you a happy first day of Spring!  I have my 2 grandsons here with me all this week and we've been enjoying the outdoors a lot.  Toby Joe is the picture of the joys of Spring and is loving having the boys here to play with him this week.

He ran and ran and ran.  You can't see it too well here, but he has our ball.  Ben and I were trying to play a game of catch and Toby Joe kept stealing the ball and running off with it as if to say:  "Catch me if you can."  He had a blast.  He was so funny doing it that all we could do was laugh and laugh.

Here's Ben examining the ball after Toby Joe gave it back to him.  It's pretty much useless for our game now.  Oh well...

I'll try to share more stamping projects as I am able this week, but will be spending a lot of my time enjoying my boys.

Lots of fun and exciting news!

I have lots to share with you today!  First of all, I want to share that I've added on a new class.  This will be a one time only event for now.  On Sat., May 26, I'm having... 
..........................a Scrap Fest Extravaganza!!!

With May being National Scrapbooking Month, I thought this would be a good time to add one big day of scrapbooking.  Come any time from 10:00-5:00.  Kits will be $5.00 each ($10. minimum).  Make as many as you would like!  I'll have several kits available and samples for each.  You choose the ones you'd like to make, for just $5.00 each.  Kits include all materials needed to complete the layout, except your adhesive.  Each kit is a 2-page 12 X 12" layout.  (You may adapt these to 6 X 6" pages, on your own.)  Light snacks will be provided. 

You must pay to register ($10.) at least 2 days in advance.  MINIMUM FEE IS $10.00. 

you may Purchase additional kits when you’re here.

Get ready for a super fun day of scrapbooking!

I don't want to leave you without any inspiration for your own projects today, so here's a peek at some of the cards we made at my Friday 3-4-5 class.  I gave them more than 3 design choices, to celebrate the first session for this new class.  We had a ball!!!

OTHER EXCITING NEWS:

I've been looking at my calendar and realize that we don't have very long now until the current Idea Book and Catalog retires --- on May 31, 2012.  I want to be sure that I've not neglected to play with any of my stamps, so I'm giving myself a huge challenge to use them all by the end of May.  

This is how it will work:

Each week or two, between now and the end of May, I will feature a specific category of stamps from the catalog.

Here's my schedule:

1.  Ronald McDonald stamp set + A la Carte stamps.

2.  Hostess stamp sets.

3.  Occasions stamp sets.

4.  Growing Up stamp sets.

5.  All Natural stamp sets.

6.  Elements stamp sets.

Background stamps and Greetings stamps sets will be used in with the other categories.  Just to be sure I don't leave out anything, I'll be sprinkling in lots of extra goodies from the current Mini Catalog + giving some sneak peeks of upcoming products, as available.  Sooooo... doesn't this sound like fun?  Doesn't this sound like I'll be busy?  Add to this, lots of time with my grandchildren and family, classes and events, designing cards and decorations for Olive Jane's first birthday party...

I hope I can keep up:)  I do like challenges, so bring it on!!!

Back to the Friday 3-4-5 class... These were probably my favorites:

I'd tell you which cards were the most popular, but they all seemed to be:)  I was so happy that everyone had so much fun!!!  I did, too!

I am already looking forward to my next Friday 3-4-5 class, not to mention all the scrapbooking in April and May.  There is going to be a lot of stamping going on around here!  Again, I say:  Bring it on!

 

The Whole Thing

Remember the sneak peek I gave you of some of my cards for my Friday 3-4-5 class?  Would you like to see one of the entire cards?  I think this one is my favorite:

This one uses 2 embossing folders, a sizzlit, a bitty punch and a border punch.  Because there's nothing to cut by hand, it makes it go pretty quickly.  The flower is done with the huffing technique, using markers.  You saw this image on a previous post and, as you can see, I keep finding more ways to use it while still enjoying the Concord Crush.

Here's a closer look.  As you can see, it has a lot of dimension and texture to it.

We had so much fun at class last night.  I hope you'll try a Friday 3-4-5 class.  We had a full house.  A couple of people needed to make just the 3 cards and everyone else stayed to make 6 cards.  We all had a great time and everyone did a super job.

Gotta run now.  I have my Saturday Morning Brunch Bunch today.  Can't wait for more fun!

My Next classes:
Mar. 19:   Monday Morning Brunch Bunch  (9:30-1:00)
April 2:    Hostess Scrapbook Club  (6:00-8:30)
April 9:    Scraps and Prayers  (6:00-8:00)
April 16:  Monday Morning Brunch Bunch  (9:30-1:00)
April 20:  Friday 3-4-5  (6:00-8:00)
April 21:  Saturday Morning Brunch Bunch  (9:30-1:00)

I have a crush on Concord Crush!

I think I have a crush on Concord Crush.  I can't stop thinking of fun ways to use it.  Here's a quick and easy little note card that would make anyone happy to receive.  All the colors are Concord Crush and Pear Pizzazz.

I used the 'huffing technique' to color the stamp with markers.  It's a great way to get 2 colors at once, when you stamp an image.  The image is from the Love and Sympathy stamp set.  It's one of my very favorite images.  The 'Hello' text is from our S-A-B stamp set called Elementary Elegance.

Remember, the note cards come (in a set of 20!) with envelopes, so I stamped an image on the envelope, too.  I actually 'stamped off' and used the top of the image on the envelope flap to give a light, delicate look to it.

The flowers are cut from the Floral Fusion sizzlit.  I've used this sizzlit a lot lately:)  Using the flower from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (Say that fast 3 times!), I punched a center for each flower from Pear Pizzazz.  I finished off each flower with a pearl.

So, there you have it.  A quick and easy card that's fun to make and fun to give to someone to brighten their day.  Have a great day and thanks for stopping by for a look!

You've Been Smooched!

Today, I'm going to give you a sneak peek at something that will be available for April only.  Can you guess how I made this?

Give up?  I used Blushing Bride Smooch Spritz and a stencil.   It was so easy...and fun!

Here's what the stencil looks like:  Oops!  I forgot, I can't show you until April.  You can also use the stencil for sponging or even using stencil paint.  Each method will achieve a unique look for your project.

As you can see, I ran the 'smooched' piece (allowing drying time first) through the Big Shot to achieve the little frame (Designer Frames embossing folder), then stamped the rabbit (from the Heaven Blessed stamp set) onto white CS and punched him out with our largest oval punch.

After attaching the pink layer to a little note card, I added a tied knot of ribbon.  And there you have it, a quick and cute card that's tons of fun to create.  I wish you could see better in the photo how much sparkle it has, but I just couldn't get it to show up well.  I guess you'll have to trust me and try it for yourself:)  Sparkle is almost impossible to capture in a photo.

Since these little note cards come in a set of 20 with envelopes included, I always add something to the envelope to make it coordinate with the card.  For this one, I stamped the little bunny in the bottom corner of the envelope.  It's a fun way to give the recipient a hint of the fun awaiting when they open the envelope.

So... now, you've been smooched!

Sneak Peek!

Here's a sneak peek at some of the possible choices for my Friday 3-4-5 class this week.  You may choose any 3 cards for $5.00 or 6 cards for $10.  Because this is the first session for this new class, I will have more choices available for you, so your only difficult task for the evening will be choosing which cards you'd like to make.  The cards are easy and so much fun.  You'll be finished in plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the evening with your family and you'll be going home with some super cute cards!

The cards have plenty of detail and embellishments on them and yet there is no intricate cutting or coloring.  All our work will be done with punches, Big Shot dies and framelits.  They are so much fun.  I know you'll have a great time.  If you want to see the entire cards AND enjoy making them, come join us for an evening of fun!  Envelopes are included!!!  All your pieces will be cut for you; all the tools and embellishments will be out and ready to use on your projects.  You just bring your adhesive and be ready to have some creative stamping fun!

Stampin' Royalty Goddess!!!
And, before I close, I just want to share that I won another challenge.  It isn't every day that you get to be called a Stampin' Royalty Goddess:)  This is the card that won a Go Green challenge.

Hearts, Flowers, Ribbons and More!

Here's the layout we made at our Scraps and Prayers class this week.  Everyone really liked it.  I used a lot of Soft Suede, to prevent it from looking too 'pink' for the overall look.  This layout would lend itself well to old, sepia toned photos.

I've used layers of DSP from the Neutrals pack, Newsprint, Beau Chateau and Mocha Morning.  They all work together beautifully because I chose the patterns that had Soft Suede in them.  The Soft Suede heart is from textured CS and the Pink Pirouette heart is embossed with the dotted embossing folder, to give lots of texture.  All the punched hearts are attached with dimensionals.

I cut the fabric flowers with the Fun Flowers die.  Each flower has 3 layers, is spritzed with a spray product to stiffen it, and then crumpled up to give it a shabby, chic look.  I let it dry overnight, to be sure it was ready for our class.  I added an antique brad to the center of each flower, layered it over a piece of crochet lace trim and attached it with Liquid Tombow adhesive.

A super easy way to attach the pleated ribbon is to use an 18" long ruler as a guide.  Line it up with the lines on your grid paper and 'draw' a thin line of Liquid Tombow adhesive parallel to the ruler.  Remove the ruler, lay the ribbon onto the line of adhesive, and gently press it into place.

So here you have it, a great layout for Vintage photos.

Using so many layers and texture really adds a lot to a layout.  We finished it off with two little mini library clips.

Time with my sweet Olive Jane

I took the weekend off from scrapping and stamping to enjoy time with my sweet Olive Jane.  I got to have her the entire weekend!  I must say, she is the best baby I've ever known.  I thought my kids were good, but she is just perfect.  She got a new hairdo from her sitter, but Nanna did not try to recreate it.  She sat through the entire church service like a perfect angel.  She loved the music! We had so much fun!  Papa made her scrambled eggs and she loved them!  She's such a happy girl.  Her mama and I are busy planning the invitations and decorations for her first birthday -- in April.  I'll be sharing more about that soon!

Her new hairdo:

Home from church:

Enjoying Papa's scrambled eggs:

Now, I'm off to put the finishing touches on the layout for my Scraps and Prayers class.  I'll be sharing that in one of my next posts.