It's Been a Long Time!

So i'm thinking about moving this blog to a new one...one that highlights everything I'm learning as a new mom...all the changed perspectives about life I have since hearing the words "the cyst was malignant," and all the creative ventures I make along the way...still thinking about it...

Let the cleaning commence!

OK, so it's time to clean out that craft room tonight...have to catalog my stamps at the same time, so i'll check back in later with a method to my madness...might have to do some research on SCS to see how others have done the trick. My husband gave me a huge storage bin to fill up with stuff that has to go to the attic...guess i'll pack the stuff i use the least, ha ha. Also, all the old fabric could go upstairs from the sewing half of the room...i wish it would lay off the humidity so i could finish cleaning out the attic.

This baby is just coming too quick!! She'll be here in four months!

I'm taking the day off work tomorrow (mental health day) so i hope to accomplish a lot then too...we shall see.

A Break from Cleaning

Well, I cleaned most of the day yesterday and it looks as if I haven't touched a thing! I did take a break, however to make a bridal shower card that I think came out really cute. I was inspired by one of the stampers on Splitcoast with a bridal shower card she had made. Here's my version:

Her wedding colors are dark pink and navy blue, so I wanted to do something in those colors. I used Whisper White cardstock for base, and cut it down to 11" by 5.5", then scored lines at 4.25 and 8.5, leaving 2.5 inches on one side to cut the dress from to complete the tri-fold. I hand drew the dress and just cut it with my Paper Snips. I then put the background design (a random piece of DSP scrap I found while cleaning!) on the flap that folded under the dress. The band on the dress is Regal Rose, and the flower was hand cut from Night of Navy with a pink rhinestone in the middle. Of course, a scallop oval punch and small oval punch finished off the sentiment from the *** set.

The shower was beautiful, and the food was good...everyone had a good time, but alas, I must return to my cleaning!

Happy Stampin'!

-jen

Once Again...

I've let this blog slip up so many times...so let's try this again! I'm really going to make an effort to keep this updated, at least once or twice a week. Really, I'm not doing anything much MORE productive with my time after work, and I really need to get going in cleaning out that craft room to make room for the baby, so maybe this will keep me on track.

I'm also trying to get ready for another craft show on July 31st right here in Atlas. It's the first annual Atlas Community Yard Sale and Craft Show. My friend Angie and I were put in charge of it. I think this year is kind of a trial to see how we could do it better next time. That's part of the fun. So i'm trying to decide on what to make to sell, and will probably do some cruising on Splitcoast later to see.

For now, however, I have an unopened box of Stampin' Up! goodies that's calling my name...I'll be back later to update my cleaning progress! Wish me luck!

Two-Step Into Spring with this great sale!

Take advantage of a special preview set from the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog! From April 1-30 only, you can purchase the brand new "Awash with Flowers" set before the catalog debuts!

The "Awash with Flowers" set is one of Stampin' Up!'s "Two Step Stampin'" sets. These sets allow you to take creativity to the next level by layering your stamps to create soft watercolor-look images. This set is available in wood mount (117062) for $39.95 or clear mount (120549) for $27.95. Hurry, this set is only available as a special pre-order until April 30th!

Want to earn this set free? Host a workshop and earn it free with a $350 workshop! Plus, you still get all the other great hostess benefits!

Want more spring-themed Two-Step Stampin' sets? From April 1-30, you can take advantage of savings on a selection of perfectly springy Two-Step Stampin' sets from the current Idea Book and Catalog:

• Greenhouse Garden (113824, page 94, on sale for $20.76)
• Fifth Avenue Floral (113734, page 98, on sale for $19.96)
• Flower Fancy (111578, page 101, on sale for $29.56)
• Trendy Trees (113258, page 112, on sale for $14.36)

These sets are PERFECT for getting started on your upcoming Spring projects! Give me a call today to place your order, schedule a workshop, or get more information!

Yours in Creativity,

-jen

A New Year, A New Goal

Hello stampers, scrappers and general crafters!

It is one of my goals for the new year to keep this blog more updated, even if it's only to get online and offer some wisdom or uplifting words for those times when my creative mojo is fizzling. I'd like to add in some posts showcasing the things I've been sewing as well as the papercrafting projects, since most of us aren't single-genre crafters in the end of it all!

I'm hoping to make this a year of inspiration and creativity, and I thank you all for joining me along the way. Who knows what 2010 will bring...i hope it will be lots of happiness, hope and strength. Blessings to all of you!

Happy Stampin'!
-jen

Christmas Cards

OK, so it's a little late to get started on my Christmas cards, but i'm a procrastinator at heart, and no one who knows me should be surprised that I waited till a week before Christmas to start making and mailing my cards. So I thought this year instead of assembly-lining a stack of cards, I'd make a few different kinds. Here are two:

This card was inspired by one made by Beth McAlexander that I found on Splitcoast. Hers was a bit different, but the layout is basically the same. I used the Merry Moments DSP and Old Olive, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White Cardstock. This stamp set is one of my favorites. It's from the Holiday Mini (order now...time is running out for that catalog!) called "Berry Christmas." It's so versatile. I punched out the sentiment from that set with the Word Window punch. Fits perfectly. The ribbon is Old Olive grosgrain ribbon. I used Old Olive, Chocolate Chip and Ruby Red ink.

The next one was inspired by Lisa Mekeel at http://www.creativecucina.com/. Again, I used Old Olive and Ruby Red, but with Very Vanilla this time. I stamped the holly branch, the berries and the bird and thought the space just needed something, so I used the snowflake in the set and some clear Stampin' Emboss powder to give it a texture of snowflakes. It was a neat touch. The sentiment is from Holiday Punch hostess set, stamped in Old Olive ink on Old Olive paper and punched out with the wide oval punch. The DSP is from the Merry Moments pack.

I will be working on more tomorrow, actually did make another one tonight, but because it's a special card for Ms. Patti, I can't post it here until she gets it!! :)

Happy Stampin'!

-jen

More Scrap Cards

Here is yet another set of cards that I made for the scrap paper card swap I was in...these ones were really simple...used a sizzix die for the leaves and flowers. They came out pretty cute. :)

Again, all scraps on these cards...the scallop circle is a Marvy Mega punch I think. Sentiments are from Stampin' Up!

Thanks for looking!

Scrap Paper, Anyone?

I was in a swap on SCS hosted by my dear friend, Slegos, which challenged us to use ONLY scrap paper to make some cards. Well, I have two huge baskets full of scraps, so I thought this should be an easy challenge. Surprisingly, though, it was tougher than it sounds! I didn't cheat, though, and I only used paper and embellishments out of my scraps stash, and here's what I came up with:


It was actually rather easy to put together the "quilts" thanks to Stampin' Up!'s matching sets of DSP, and thanks to a few pieces I had with stripes of patterns on them, making punching matchy patterns quite easy. I used a small square punch from EK Success to make all the squares, and mounted them on the back of a large shipping label...instant sticky without wasting Xyron adhesive...and guess what? The labels were in the scrap basket too! See, I really didn't cheat at all!

My husband really liked the bright one with the swirly embellie on it, but my favorite was the decidedly Fall looking one. It was actually kinda hard to send these in for the swap in the end of it all...I hope whoever got them liked them!

Happy Stampin'!

Fun and Easy Halloween Cards

I recently did a swap for a dear friend of mine on SCS (Slegos) using only scrap paper. I came up with quite an array of cards, and thought I'd share them on here one post at a time. The good news is I have quite a few days' worth of posts now without making anything new!

Here's the first set of cards...Halloween cards!

This picture doesn't quite do them justice...both of them feature an orange embossed sentiment on Basic Black using my newest dollar stamps. The haunted house is part of the House of Haunts SU! stamp set, embossed on Pumpkin Pie cardstock, then punched with the ticket corner punch after layering on the black piece, then mounting the whole thing to an Elegant Eggplant base. The spider stamp is another dollar stamp, and the middle of the web is a stamp, but since I wanted it bigger, I filled in with my VersaMarker. The web and spider are on Elegant Eggplant. The web is embossed with clear EP, and the spider is embossed with black. This one is mounted on a Pumpkin Pie base. These were really fun to make, and they came out really cute. They would be great for kids, and went together very quickly and easily. Hope you like them!

Happy Stampin'!

Halloween Scraplings

Just a quick post tonight to show off some Halloween scraplings I made for mepylant's Year of Scraplings swap on Splitcoast. Used Only Orange and Basic Black and the Tags So Much set along with some embossing powder (some classic SU! EP in orange!), the SU! Small Tag Punch, Black Stickles, some googly eyes and some ribbon. The spider web was a 3/$1.00 find at The Bloomsburg Fair last year. I thought they were fun!

Tri-Shutter Graduation Card

I had to make a card for my niece's graduation party, and since i'm broke and couldn't give her a gift yet, I figured I better make it one phenomenal card! Split Coast Stampers just featured this technique by Bonnie Swalkiewicz as their weekly tutorial so I thought I'd give it a try. It was tedious, not exactly hard, but not really for the beginner stamper either. I used the Delicate Dots DSP that I got from the 2009 Sale-A-Bration catalog, along with more mustard, old olive, and brocade blue cardstock and handsome hunter ink. Here's what I came up with:

Other accessories I used were some rick-rack from my naked mail gift, Stampin' Up's Scallop Edge Punch, 5-Petal Flower Punch, and 1/2 inch circle punch, my Crop-o-Dile, and Martha's Cosmos punch (also a gift from my naked mail swap!) This card style is really cool, and everyone passed it around at the party opening and closing it a million times in awe. Definitely an impressive way to give a greeting, especially if you're not able to stick any money in there with it! :) Here's what the front looks like when it's all closed up:

My only suggestion and what I will do next time is to not score the last line (at the 10" mark) all the way down, but rather only at the top and bottom. Either that or I would put a matching square for another sentiment there, because it gets floppy. This is hard to explain, you just have to make the card using SCS's instructions, which are found here. This one is defintely worth the tinkering to create!

Happy Stampin'!

-jen

Fabulous Friend Notebook

I made this for a woman I work with after she spied an altered mini composition book in my bag one day and hinted that she wanted one! The DP is from the Petal Party DSP pack, the sentiment from Oval All (punched out with the Word Window punch), and the flower from Playful Petals. The ribbon I found in my stash of scrap ribbons. I also used the Scalloped Edge punch and Marvy's large scallop circle punch. She loved it!

Thanks for looking, and happy stampin'!
-jen

Happy Birthday Autumn!

Today is my oldest great niece's birthday...she's FIVE already! She had a party yesterday with a "girls rock" theme that she picked out. I made her a quickie of a card following her theme and then bought her a rather punk looking outfit and a bag with guitars on it. She actually looked a second longer at this card than all the other ones she threw at her mom after ripping the envelopes open! Hey, to get an extra second of attention from a five year old is an accomplishment...

The circles are cut from some DP that my husband bought me for Christmas...the black is actually flocking, which is pretty cool and quite rock and roll if you ask me. The guitar and musical notes came in a pack of sticker embellishments from AC Moore though I can't remember who made them. The guitar has a little window with beads and sparkly gems in it that shake. The "Girls Rock" was written with a glue pen and glittered with silver glitter. Real Red cardstock layered onto some black textured cardstock gave it a nice complimentary layered effect. I thought it turned out cute for how quick it was. I've learned that with my great niece, short and simple is the best way to go! She only has a few seconds of attention to give you, you know!

New Catalog and The Deal of the Week!

Hello all!

Well, we made it through the retirement season and now it's time to shop from the new catalog! Visit my Stampin' Up! Website to browse online, or give me a call to get your new catalog...they should be arriving at my doorstep today!

Stampin' Up! is celebrating the new catalog with a special promotion offering a "Deal of the Week" each week for five weeks. This week it's the Scallop Edge Punch for only $10.99. That's a savings of 30%! This punch is a must for any papercrafter...it makes creating those scallop edges so easy and quick. If you'd like to order the punch, give me a call!

I will be working on some samples using new items from the catalog tomorrow and will post them here then. Going back to work full time has made life a little hectic...not used to getting my to-do list done in the morning yet!

Happy Stampin'!
-jen

Updated Out of Stock List

One more day to make an order! I will be placing my last order tomorrow, so if anyone wants anything, now is the time!

The following items are now out of stock, in addition to items listed in posts below:
111257 Happy, Happy Birthday Stampin' Around Wheel
111277 Rub Ons - A Perfect Day
111838 Pink Pirouette Classic Stampin' Pad.

Happy Stampin'!
-jen

Naked Mail!

I got some "naked mail" today from one of my upline's swaps. It was awesome to open the door and see a clear plastic juice container sitting below my mailbox. It was stuffed full of the coolest stuff...check it out:

I got a Martha Stewart Punch (cosmos)--my first one! Also a super cute altered composition book, a tiny mosaic CB folder (which i've been wanting for quite some time), two spools of ribbon, a cute bird stamp, crocheted fleurettes, cool bar brad embellishments, little pearls, little rhinestones, antibacterial gel (love that stuff) and the cutest little card identifying my secret sister...Joystamps4 from SCS!

I'm loving my new little stash...i've been punching cosmos out of everything i can get my hands on! :)

A HUGE thank you to Joy for such a great gift! I'll be sure to post my first cosmos/tiny mosaic/rhinestones/bird stamp creation!

Happy Stampin'!

jen

Updated Out of Stock List

One week left to make that last minute order! Here are the newest additions to the out of stock list, in addition to items listed in posts below:

100900 - White Gift Sacks
113950 - Die Cuts Build a Fairytale

Lots of 50% off stuff still in stock! Give me a call to let me know what you want!!

Happy Stampin'!
-jen

Updated Out of Stock List 6/22/09

Today's updated out of stock items, in addition to the items listed in posts below:

111879 Satin Ribbon Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla
112150 Designer Series Paper Patterns - Pink Pirouette
112153 Designer Series Paper Patterns - Tangerine Tango
111833 Baja Breeze Stampin' Pad
111844 Baja Breeze Ink Refill

In Colors are disappearing quickly! Get them while they last!

Happy Stampin'!
-jen

A Thank You for my Great Niece

My great niece is almost five. For my birthday this year, she made cupcakes and shared them with me including one she made "special just for me" with lots of icing because it was my birthday. We had a great day spending time together just playing and talking about stuff. I don't get to see her often, and she usually takes a while to warm up to me, but lately she's been my buddy. So i made her a special thank you card for my cupcake:
I used a stamp set I got at the 2008 Heirloom Rubber Stamping Expo in Allentown. You construct the puppies piece by piece, and depending on how you put the pieces together, they come out with individual personalities. She loves puppies, so I thought she'd like it. Plus she loves getting mail. I came across the picture while cleaning off my camera, so I thought I'd share. The best part is that I made it pretty quickly using scraps of paper and ribbon! I love that!

Happy Stampin'!
-jen