I'm not dead!

Hi everyone! It's been a long time since my last post; long enough that my buddy Lisa called to make sure there weren't any tragedies happening at our house! (Lisa is the BEST friend- thanks for checking up on me!) Everything is fine here. It's just been really busy. I know all of you have super busy lives as well; sometimes I just get a little behind. But I have been stamping quite a bit, so I'll have some fun things to show you in the next little while. That's because I've been getting ready for a craft fair I'm doing tomorrow! I would love it if you could stop by and say hi. Here are the details:

Date: Saturday, October 17
Time: 8 AM - 2 PM
Location: Logan House (330 E 1400 N, Logan- across from Lowes)

The craft fair is free and they'll have quite a few vendors there. They are also giving away $20 vendor Gift Certificates throughout the day. I will have some hand-stamped items for sale as well as a bunch of retired stuff; I'm also doing a drawing for a door prize. Hope you can make it!

Hello, stampers! You know, I really have alot of projcts to share with you. Strangely, the hardest part for me is getting a decent picture taken & loaded to my computer! This is one of the Girls Night Out projects from July. When we do a 6x6 scrapbook page, I also like to offer an alternate card layout for those who don't like to scrapbook. This one was fun because I just started playing with some favorite stamps & colors, and this is how it turned out. I cut the Top Note shape in half so it would fit on the 3x6 card, but it also makes a nice journaling block on the page & leaves the bigger space open for a photo. I've been playing with Circle Circus & Teeny Tiny Wishes a lot lately, which you may have noticed. They're both just so darn versatile! And I really love Rich Razzleberry. Really. A lot. It's sad, actually. :)

Stamps: Circle Circus, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Inks: Certainly Celery, Rich Razzleberry Classic Pads
Paper: Certainly Celery, Rich Razzleberry, Kraft, and Whisper White Cardstock
Accessories: Sizzix Big Shot, Top Note die, Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, assorted circle punches, White UniBall Gel Pen, paper clip

***On the previous post, I forgot to mention that I used the Sizzix Big Shot & the Top Note die. Duh! That's one of the cutest parts of the card, in my opinion! Sorry about the oversight; that's what I get for posting late at night.***

My full-card swap from Convention

Hey, Stampers! Whew, my first-grader is back to school, my nephew has started kindergarten, my preschooler starts next week... we are finally settling into a schedule! And this weekend, I unpacked all my food storage and put it away (you can see the floor in my storage room!!!) and moved my sewing stuff out of my scrapbook room into that spare bedroom that we just didn't know how to use. How wonderful is it that we have an EXTRA room??? So now that room is the sewing room/library, because I also unpacked our books into the awesome built-in shelves. Whew! It's been busy, but the more we accomplish around here, the more it starts to feel like home. Now if I could just do something about the hideous curtains...

Anyhoo, I doubt any of you are here to read about our home improvement adventures! So let's talk about my project for today. I am a member of the Utah Divas International, which is a fabulous, supportive, fun, positve group of demonstrators from around the world. (If you're curious, there's a button in the right column. Check out our blog- I'm on the design team!) We had a fun dinner Wednesday night during Convention- if you scroll down, it was the party where we were all wearing sparkly antenna. At that dinner we did a full card swap, and this was my contribution.

It's a pretty straight-forward card- just some layers and some coloring with markers. And by the way, HALLELUJAH for the new In Color markers! So happy to finally have those! In my opinion, the thing that makes this card really pop is the center of the large flower. I just highlighted it with my white gel pen. I think it just adds that special touch, and ties in the white label & the white dots on the ribbon. Using the gel pen on the Kraft cardstock turns out adorable every time.

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes, Flower Fancy
Inks: Basic Black Classic Pad. Dusty Durango & Soft Suede Stampin' Write Markers
Paper: Basic Black, Dusty Durango, Kraft, and Whisper White cardstock
Accessories: Soft Suede Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Glue Dots (to attach ribbon), White UniBall Gel Pen, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch

Girls Night Out is this Thursday!

Just a quick reminder that Girls Night Out is this Thursday- August 27, at 7:00 PM. It's at my new house in Nibley (185 Quarter Circle Drive). If you need directions, just let me know! We will be making a card and a little gift idea. I hope you'll be able to make it!

Also, I am working on a class schedule to take us through the end of the year. I would appreciate some feedback from all of you. If you'll be at Girls Night Out, we can discuss it then. If not, would you mind letting me know how you feel about the following?

1- What nights of the week are best for you? Is Thursday working for Girls Night Out, or would you prefer a different night? How do you feel about classes on Friday or Saturday?

2- What kinds of classes or projects interest you?

Thanks again for everything- hope to see you on Thursday!

Hey there! This is the 12x12 swap I made for Convention this year. I'm lovin' the new In Colors, and the Circle Circus set! I thought this would be a quick and easy page. It really wasn't too bad, becaue the circles make quick & easy accents, but that was a lot of circle punching! :) I am going to finish one up with pictures, when I can get a minute. I'll post that later!

Stamps: Circle Circus, Spot On Jumbo Wheel
Colors: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Always Artichoke, Crushed Curry
Accessories: Basic Jumbo Grommets, Rich Razzleberry Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, assorted circle punches

Back from Convention!

I just wanted to post a few of my favorite pictures from Convention. We had so much fun! I got to walk across the stage with my friend Jennifer for my 5-Year Anniversary as a demonstrator! I also had my picture taken with Thurl Bailey, which is a MUST every year for THIS crazy Jazz fan! (Thurl is on the Stampin' Up! board of directors). Amber & Lisa & I had fun at the UDI dinner (the theme was bees, hence the antenna bling) and then Friday night, my sister Becky came down to hang out with us and stay the night. Just wait- one of these days she's going to finally sign up and actually ATTEND Convention with us!

I love being a Stampin' Up! demo. It's honestly one of the best parts of my life. I left Convention really thinking about what Stampin' Up! has done for me, and all of the wonderful friends I have made. The last five years have been fantastic; here's to twenty more!

Having a blast at Convention!

Hey there everyone! It's the end of our first full day of Convention and we are having a great time! As you can see by the time stamp on this post, we don't exactly get to bed early... We are hanging out back in our hotel room (Little America- so great!) working on some last minute swaps. My roomies are Lisa Johnson, my sideline from Laketown, and Amber Meadows, my downline from Logan. I've known Amber since high school, and this is my 4th (!!!) Convention rooming with Lisa.

So had two exciting things happen today. First, I got to take my 5-Year walk across the stage! My 5-year anniversary as a demo was in June. It was my first time on stage, so that was lots of fun. My friend Jennifer Thomas, from the Utah Divas International, walked across with me so that made it even more great.

Then tonight at Awards Night, they were announcing the Artisan Award winners. They contacted the winners a few months ago, so I already knew I didn't win. But tonight they announced the finalists... and my name was on the list! WOOO HOOO! That was such an exciting moment! Even though I didn't win, it was cool to know that they liked my submissions. And it was the first time I've ever had my name read at Convention, so whoopee!

Also, today at Convention they surprised us with the cutest little Stampin' Up! demonstrator Build-a-Bear in the Memento Mall. Coordinates with all the fun new bear products in the mini catalog. She's the most adorable little teddy bear; I'm so excited to put her in my stamp room. She even has her own little black apron. :) I'll post pictures later.

Anyway, I'll keep you posted on anything else fun that happens tomorrow. Can't wait to get back and share some of the fun things I've been learning! Happy stamping!

August Penguin Card- Hang Ten!

Well, today is the big day! I'm off to Convention! I wanted to share a project with you before I go. I am taking my laptop with me and I may be able to post some pictures of stuff I see there, but it all depends on whether I have an Internet connection. Still, stay tuned- I might be giving you some fun sneak peeks!

Remember several months ago when I mentioned I was going to send a penguin card to my brother every month? Well, then we moved and my stamps were packed and it kind of didn't happen. But this month we have started again! Sadly, my cute little penguin was from the Wild About You stamp set, which just retired. I'm going to keep using him for consistency, so please forgive the retired supplies.

I used the Swirly die on a scrapbook page when I entered for Stampin' UP!'s Artisan Award. When I saw the scraps, they immediately screamed out "WAVES!" So I am using them here for my little surfer dude. I just sponged the edges a little bit and layered them. On the bottom layer, a few of the swirls are popped up with dimensionals. I hand-doodled the white on the surfboard. I also hand-wrote the greeting. I don't really like it. I should have left it alone instead of adding the flourishes, but at that point I'd already ruined the card so... It is what it is.

Stamps: Wild About You (retired), Just Beachy (from past mini)
Inks: Baja Breeze Classic Pad (retired). Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, & Basic Black Stampin' Write Markers.
Paper: Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie & Baja Breeze (retired) cardstock
Accessories: Sizzix Big Shot, Swirly Decorative Strip Die, White UniBall Gel Pen, Stampin' Dimensionals, Large Oval Punch, Sponges

Everyone needs a pink chocolate jar.

Hello, stampers! I wanted to share this cute little jar with you. I made it with two items that are retired, but everything else is still available. And you could easily substitute something current... but I know we all have things in our stashes that we still like to pull out and use sometimes!

I like to keep chocolate near my stamping space; it just makes me happy! But the ugly bag just wasn't cutting it for me, so I decided to decorate something cute and decorative. I got this great jar at WalMart for about $2. I loved the retro shape and the screw-on lid. On the sides I just applied some of our great Decor Elements vinyl. It was so easy, and looks fantastic on the glass. On the lid I cut some circles out of cardstock and the retired Sweet Always paper, and topped it off with layered flowers from the Pretties Kit, Flower Fusion, and a Square Fire Rhinestone brad in the middle.

But my favorite (!!!) part of the whole jar is the tag. This uses the extra tag image on the Stampin' Up! exclusive Matchbox die for the Sizzix Big Shot. I love this die because not only does it have a great, functional box & lid, but includes three cute tags. And it's only available from Stampin' Up! I love my Big Shot (and yes, I've had other manual die cut systems- I like this the best!) but if you have a different die cut machine, the Stampin' Up! dies will work with it. They are compatible with most die cut systems. If you have questions about this, please ask me.

For the word on the tag, I just inked up my stamp with a Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Marker. This made it super easy to only stamp the word that I wanted. Did you spot the Chocolate Chip brad on the tag? To create the custom color brad that I wanted, I simply dipped the top of a silver brad in Chocolate Chip Craft Ink, coated it with Clear Embossing Powder, and heat-set. Voila! I love it!

Stamps: Yummy (retired)

Inks: Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Marker, Chocolate Chip Craft pad

Paper: Rose Red, Chocolate Chip & Whisper White cardstock. Sweet Always Designer Series Paper (retired)

Accessories: Pretties Kit, Flower Fusion, Square Fire Rhinestone Brads, Matchbox Bigz XL Die, Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Chocolate Chip 1" Double-Stitched Ribbon, Silver Brads, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Decor Elements

Luscious Lemon Bars

So, what do you think of the new look for the blog? I love it! Ami Israelsen did a fantastic job, as usual! I think it looks so fresh and clean; the projects really pop against that white background! Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

I recently participated in a recipe card swap with some online demonstrator friends, and I wanted to share some of the projects with you. Be warned- we did these swaps before the new catalog came out, so some of them may feature retired items. But I thought they would still be fun for you to see.

This is my swap. (And by the way, this is the BEST lemon bars recipe I've ever had.) I wanted something springy and citrusy, but also simple. I really like how this turned out. It didn't take long to put together but I love all the bold images. I stamped the Kiwi Kiss daisies first and then layered everything else over them. The recipe seemed like it needed something; I really like how the pale yellow looks over the text. It definitely adds some flair without making the recipe hard to read.

Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Eastern Blooms
Inks: Kiwi Kiss (retired), So Saffron Classic Pads
Paper: So Saffron, Tangerine Tango (retired) cardstock. Urban Garden Designer Series Paper (retired)
Accessories: 7/8" So Saffron Poly-Twill Ribbon (retired)

New color and stamps!

Here's another quick card I threw together; it really only took about 10 minutes. This card uses the awesome new Circle Circus stamp set, which I LOVE! The designs are so classy, and very versatile. They also pair perfectly with Stampin' Up!'s various circle punches. In this case, I decided to use the circles as flowers. I just used a thin scrap of Old Olive Cardstock for the stem, popped the circles up on Dimensionals, and voila! Easy, instant, modern-looking flowers.

And do you spot the new color on this card? I love Rich Razzleberry! It's a fantastic, deep purple. I'm going to have a lot of fun with this color during the year!

Stamps: Circle Circus, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Inks: Rich Razzleberry Classic Pad
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, and Whisper White Cardstock
Accessories: 1 1/4" Circle and Scallop Circle punches, Stampin' Dimensionals, Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon

My first stamping at the new house!

Hello, stampers! So did you think I'd forgotten about you? Not a chance! But moving was not the most pleasant thing I've ever done, and I have not been stamping much. However, we're now in the new house (!!!!) so as soon as I got my stamp room mostly unpacked, I had to get my fingers inky. This is the first card I made in my new stamp room, which I'm excited to show all of you. I will post pictures once it's a little more tidy & decorated.

Anyway, my little Ben is turning six on Saturday! Can you believe it? He fell in love with this stamp set the moment he saw it, so I knew I had to use it on his birthday card. The little robots are just so cute, and I love the fun sayings that go with them. I did a little simple watercoloring on the image with my ink pads and Blender Pens. Now, you all know that I'm not an expert watercolor artist, but I'm definitely trying to improve my skills. I'm actually pretty proud of how this little guy turned out! I think leaving the white space is super important. I also think the grey shadow helps ground him and makes it look a little more realistic.

Stamps: Lots of Bots
Ink: Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, Summer Sun & Going Grey Classic pads
Paper: Real Red, Tempting Turquoise & Whisper White cardstock
Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Blender Pens, Black Gingham Ribbon

In honor of the soon-to-be-birthday boy, I'll tell you a funny story. So yesterday Steve and I were headed out to the back yard to trim fire blight out of the apple tree. (NOT my favorite part of the new house, but oh well.) Ben came and found me and said, "Guess what, Mom! I don't need my training wheels anymore!" Of course I was skeptical, but he talked me into coming into the front yard with him. And sure enough, the kid was whizzing around the culdesac on his friend's bike with... no training wheels! He totally taught himself! Of course he wanted Steve to take the training wheels off his bike right then, but Steve was a little busy pruning & told him to wait. So guess what he did. Took his bike into the garage, found his dad's tools, picked out a wrench, and took the wheels off by himself. Yup, that's my little Benji. Way too independent for his own good... but I'm pretty proud of him!

Retiring Accessories Update!

Hi, stampers! I've been trying to post the Retiring Accessories list, but I can't get it to format correctly in my post. While I try and figure that out... If you want to order something off the list, just give me a call or send me an email. I'd be happy to email you an updated copy of the list! As soon as I can get the list working in Blogger, I'll post it here. Remember, while retiring Decor Elements and stamp sets are available through June 30, the accessories are only available WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. I will update the list here on the blog frequently.

And an update on us... Yes, we are moving to Nibley! I haven't been doing much stamping, since I'm trying to get everything packed. But my current stamps will be one of the last things to go in boxes! i just can't stand the thought of not being able to use them if I wanted to. (Not that I have time, but I keep hoping...) Anyway, I put in my preorder on Monday for the new In Colors and some fun products from the new catalgog! They should arrive in the next few days, and when they do, I will post photos for you here! Just keep checking back- as soon as we get moved and settled, I plan on doing a LOT of stamping!

May Girls Night Out gift card holder

We had a wonderful time at Girls Night Out on Thursday! I wanted to share with you one of the projects we created. I don't know about you, but I think DADS (mine, Steves, etc) are really tough to shop for, and I usually end up just getting them a gift card. But of course I want a nice way to present the gift, without spending too much time (since the holder usually just ends up in the trash). So we made these cute little gift card holders- they are perfect for dads, graduates, or anyone you'd like to celebrate! I especially love It's a Sign, the fun stamp set we used. It's a set of cute greetings, styled to look like traffic signs. I think it's great for little boys and big boys alike.

Stamps: It's a Sign, Classic Stars Jumbo Wheel
Inks: Pacific Point Classic Pad, Real Red Jumbo Ink Cartridge
Paper: Real Red, Pacific Point & Whisper White Cardstock
Accessories: Bone Folder, Stapler, Small Star Punch, Tombo Mono-Multi Adhesive

April Girls Night Out project

Wow. It has been way too long since I posted on the blog. Just when I think things are calming down, something else happens! Well, we are now in the process of buying a home in Nibley, getting our home ready to rent, packing up to move... It has been wild. But we are very excited and I think it's going to be a very good change for our family. Especially the boys- the new home has a huge, fenced back yard with big trees. It will be great for them to have somewhere to run.

This is one of the projects we made for Girls Night Out last month. As usual, I offered a 6x6 page, with an alternate card design. We tried out the new Jumbo Grommets from the Occasions Mini Catalog (which are so cute, and so easy to use!) and also the adorable Good Morning Sunshine Designer Series Paper. I really like how they turned out! And I think this is a great example of using flowers on a BOY page, which I do all the time. :)

Stamps: Petal Pizzazz, Little Flowers, Contempo Alphabet (on page), Family Phrases (on card)

Inks: Chocolate Chip, Summer Sun, Kiwi Kiss

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White & Kiwi Kiss cardstock. Good Morning Sunshine Designer Series Paper.

Accessories: Jumbo Grommets, 1/2" Circle Punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Stampin' Dimensionals, Bone Folder