Yesterday was my nephew’s 24th birthday! He’s such a great kid!!! (I still think of him as a kid.) He moved to Florida about a year ago, has a great job with Northrop as an engineer, and just bought his first house. Wow!!! Talk about a success story. We’re all so proud of him. Last summer, I made a card with the Mixed Drinks stamp set that my sister really… Read More »
I just love the Half Full stamp set. I love the sayings, the fonts, and the stamps as well. Plus, it’s a PERFECT stamp set for playing with the new Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers!!! These markers are currently only available to demonstrators for a short time, so we can practice using them, perfect our techniques, and get ready to teach classes. But, they will be available to the public later… Read More »
Today is the last day to subscribe for the October Paper Pumpkin kit so you can receive back-to-back coordinating kits for October and November! You don’t want to miss this. Subscribe or re-activate your membership today!!! The Paper Pumpkin team at Stampin’ Up! has created a simple and fun holiday crafting experience that I know you’re going to love. It’s the perfect way to streamline Christmas prep. Welcome to a Season of… Read More »
Hello! Hope you’re having a great Sunday. I know I am!!! On Friday afternoon, I got a Stampin’ Up! shipment containing ALL the new Stampin’ Blends Alcohol Markers!!! (Demonstrators have a few weeks in early October when we can pre-order these fantastic, new markers that will soon be available to the public.) I was so excited to play with them this weekend. Unfortunately, duty called and I had lots of… Read More »
Today, I’m sharing my November 2018 desktop calendar. I think this is my favorite one to date!!! It features one of my favorite stamp sets, Painted Harvest, and one of my favorite techniques — stamping and spritzing. This messy and sort of “uncontrolled” watercoloring technique really appeals to me. I think you’ll be amazed at how easy this page was to create. I simply cut the largest square Stitched Shape… Read More »
For my October 2018 desktop calendar, I used the Pick A Pumpkin bundle from the Holiday catalog. I particularly love the detailed pumpkin outline die cut and swirls. They’re so pretty! I also adore the various pumpkins and leaf shapes. You can use this bundle to make cutesy projects with Jack-O-Lanterns, or more elegant projects like this one. I used colors from a recent Global Design Project color challenge, including Tangerine Tango,… Read More »
Last weekend, I finished three more months of my 2018 desktop calendars!!! I’m so excited because I’m almost finished for the year, only one more month to go. So that means that this week, I’ll post three different installments on my blog for the September, October, and November 2018 pages. If you’re new to my blog, I’ve been working on these 4″ x 6″ desktop calendars all year. I try… Read More »
Can you believe it? Two posts in one day!!! I had a super busy week at work, so I didn’t have time during lunch to work on my blog. So, you get a two-fer today. Yay! This week, there is a sketch challenge at the Global Design Project. It’s a nice simple sketch that allows a lot of creativity to use different stamps, papers, and techniques. Click on the sketch… Read More »
The September Paper Pumpkin kit is called Layered Leaves, and it includes loads of Fall-themed supplies (way more than you need) to make 8 pillow boxes and 8 note cards. It’s hard to see in the photo, but both the pillow boxes and card bases are embossed with beautiful, subtle swirls, and the envelopes and die-cut leaves are printed with gorgeous watercolor prints. This is by far one of my… Read More »
Stampin’ Up! has a bunch of great promotions coming up in the month of October, so get ready to save time and money and to craft to your heart’s content! World Card Making Day Stampin’ Up! didn’t come up with World Card Making Day, but it sure is thrilled that it’s a thing! It’s a day dedicated to doing what you love most—making handmade cards! It celebrates the creativity and… Read More »
This week at the Global Design Project, they have a fabulous color challenge, including Peekaboo Peach, Tangerine Tango, and Lemon Lime Twist! I absolutely love this combination and it’s perfect for Fall cards!!! To see the challenge, and all the gorgeous cards created by the Design Team and participants, click HERE. I had a super busy weekend, including wine tasting with my dear friends visiting from Virginia and then a… Read More »
Last weekend, my daughter’s boyfriend had knee surgery for the second time in less than a year! Poor kid. He had only been at Redlands University for football training for a little over a week, when he tore his meniscus again! I felt so BAD for him, because he was SO EXCITED to play football. The good news is that all went well, and according to him, he should be… Read More »
I have so many things to share today! First, I have exciting Paper Pumpkin news. For the first time ever, the kits coming out in October and November will be coordinated. While each kit will stand on its own, if you get both kits, they will coordinate to help you get a BIG jump on your holiday crafting. We’re all so busy this time of year that who wouldn’t want… Read More »
This week was my son’s 23rd birthday!!! Yikes! It’s crazy to think about it. The years go by way too fast. He was just a little kid, and then in a blink of an eye, he’s already graduated from college and is starting a life on his own. So today, I wanted to share his birthday card with you. I had a lot of fun making this card. It uses… Read More »
Last weekend, my husband asked me to make some “patriotic” cards. He needed a sympathy card for a veteran friend who had recently passed away and a thank you card for another veteran. (I decided to make an extra too, just to have it on hand.) I can’t take ANY credit for this, because I totally CASEd it from Kim Jolley’s website. She’s the one who came up with the… Read More »
This week, the Global Design Project is having a theme challenge to design projects “For Him.” Typically, I’m not very good at masculine cards. But, this challenge came at the perfect time, because this month is filled with guy birthdays including my husband, son, and nephew. Click on the photo below to go to the website and see all the great inspiration from the designers. I decided to use the challenge… Read More »
Hope you’re having a wonderful Labor Day Weekend! It’s SO HOT where I live — 111 degrees yesterday!!! Yikes! Talk about one last blast of Summer. Well, I’m staying inside where it’s nice and cool and having fun creating. Sounds like the perfect weekend to me (except having to clean the house, but I got that out of the way yesterday, so it’s all uphill from here.) The other AMAZING… Read More »
I have two more 2018 desktop calendars to share with you today, including July and August. If you’ve been monitoring my blog, I design these 4″ x 6″ calendar pages a year in advance so I can collect them throughout the year and prepare them for Christmas gifts. I make eight sets each year to share with close family and friends. They fit in a standard size frame and everyone… Read More »
The August Paper Pumpkin kit is called Giftable Greetings and it’s beautiful! It’s tropical themed, with bright colors and lovely flower and leaf die cuts. I love it! What’s even better is that it includes a darling decorative box you can use to wrap up all your lovely creations and make a thought felt gift. The contents of the kit are pictured below. You get all these supplies for only $20 plus tax… Read More »
This week, the Global Design Project is having a color challenge! I love color challenges, because they force me to use new and different combinations. Actually, I love challenges period, because they force me to think outside of the box. A few months ago, I felt like I was in a funk and doing these challenges over the last month has really inspired me. (The feedback has encouraged me as… Read More »