Thanksgiving Blessings

Hi Everyone!
  Wow--that was quite the break in my posting!!  "Life" got in the way I guess.  I participated in a vendor fair and got some good connections there, I have donated 3 baskets, two to fundraisers for things my older son participates in, and one for a benefit for a man my Aunt works with who is very sick.  I've said it many times, I can't always give of my time with the two little boys I have at home, but I always try to at least give of my talents.
  Are you all set for Thanksgiving?  We are having dinner at my Grandma and Grandpa's house tomorrow and then on Friday we are all piling in the car and heading to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving again with my husband's family.  We are all staying in a cozy cabin at a camp he used to go to every summer as a kid while his Dad ran the summer camp.  I can't wait to see this place that has been so special to him for 30+ years.  Sounds like we will have fresh snow so the kiddos can go sledding--I'll be sure to share pictures.
  In the mean time, I thought I would share the Christmas tags I created for this years' name drawing in the family.  I still have to add the names to them, but you can get the idea.  I used Dasher, pieces of Newsprint designer series paper, ribbon, and Real Red and Old Olive cardstock.  I love the vintagey feel these have, and can't wait to hear what others think of them.
  I wish you all a blessed Thanksgiving wherever you are reading from!! I am thankful to be able to share with all of you.

Happy Stampin!

Amy

SUO Challenge 4

Hey Everyone-
  I'm back with today's Stampin' Up Only Challenge #4.  Have you checked us out yet?  If not--you can do that here.  We'd love if you played along with us!  Today's challenge is fabric or waffle paper.  Don't have any of the fabulous Stampin' Up fabric yet?  That's ok....ribbon counts as a fabric, too.
  For today's challenge I am showing you a page that was inspired by a blog I like to read.  Aly-thanks for the inspiration.
  This is an 8x8 scrapbook page that I am going to frame in a shadowbox frame.  Two weekends ago my husband and two boys and I went to Hartley Nature Center.  (For those of you in the Duluth/Superior area, if you haven't checked it out--you have to go)  My older son was our tour guide as he's taken quite a few of their camps in the summer so he was thrilled to show us all his favorite places.   I love this picture of my boys, all three of them.
  For the base I used Early Espresso textured card stock.  The layers are Crumb Cake, and Cajun Craze.  The accents are a Top Note die cut out with the Big Shot in So Saffron, a 1" strip of the new Autumn Spice Designer Series Paper and some buttons in Fall colors from my stash.  The ribbon is the wide grosgrain striped ribbon in Old Olive.  I gathered it along a strip of Sticky Strip because it's a heavy ribbon and I wanted it to hold.   Hope you like it!
  Thanks for stopping in--I'd love to see what you create--I'll be checking out all the entries at SUO Challenges.

Happy Stampin!
Amy

The Holidays Are Soon Upon Us....

Hi Everyone!!
  I have a workshop coming up on Friday, and this is the card we are going to make.  I'm not sure of the experience level of the stampers that are coming, so I went with a clean and simple card.  I saw something similar to this card on Stampin Connection--a site especially for us demonstrators from Stampin' Up.  It's a great resource--there are so many talented demos out there.  If you who created this card happen to be reading my blog--thanks for the idea!!  I changed it up by using a different snowflake, and instead of Craft Ink in white for the snowflakes (because I don't have any) I used Soft Suede and added just a few rhinestones for some sparkle here and there on the card.  The snowflake is from A Friend for All Seasons, and the greeting is from Gifted--it also doubles as a tag for presents--2 sets in one!  Love that!!  I finished it off with some Real Red satin ribbon folded over on itself, and then I v-cut the edges.  Quick and easy card with a real pretty effect.  You could make a bunch of these in not a lot of time.
  Thanks for stopping in--wish me luck for my workshop.  :)

Happy Stampin!
Amy

Fundraising Season Part 2

Hey Everyone--

  As promised, here I am back with the 2nd card I featured in a pack of cards going in to the Stampin' Up basket I am donating to the Silent Auction at my son's school this month.  Thank you cards and just every day note cards are the kind I find myself reaching for the most.  This card is almost a CASE out of a Stampin' Success magazine we receive as demos--it was in one of the summer ones.  The feature color in it was Daffodil Delight and Staz On Black--I don't find myself reaching for yellow much, but I really like the color combo offered here.  Instead of just a patterned yellow strip behind the card as is featured in the magazine, I used a strip of the Greenhouse Gala designer series paper, and I added some of the rhinestones to the flower both on the bird and on the flower on the top.  I hope that these cards will help my basket earn some money for the kids.  :)  

  Thanks for checking in--short post today, I'm prepping for a workshop I have on Friday--so I gotta scoot.  Have a great day!!

Happy Stampin!

Amy

Fundraising Season

Hi Everyone--
  Fundraising season is in full swing both at school and for activities.  I have a 3rd grader who is in sports and Scouts--his ski hill is doing a silent auction and I am donating for that, and his school is doing a silent auction for things like field trips, and extra tutors, and fun programs for the kids, so I always like to help out there, too.  If I can't always donate my time, at least I can donate my talents.  :)
  So..that being said, here is one of the cards in the card pack I am donating (along with an Idea Book/Catalog, mini catalog, and decorative catalog, plus a $25 gift certificate).   I always find that I need thank you cards laying around, and I thought this one turned out well and is in season.  I used some Confetti Naturals as the background, and then a piece of the Autumn Spice designer series paper (LOVE). I tied some Always Artichoke seam binding around the card, and added Thanks from Thank You Kindly punched out with the Designer Label punch.  The buttons are just some I had in my stash, but they seemed to go nicely with this paper.  What do you think?  I'll be back tomorrow with the other card I featured in this package for the school.  :)
  Thanks for stopping in~oh...and before I go--I just want to say congratulations to my friend Kim and her husband Steve on their beautiful little girl that was born yesterday!!

Happy Stampin!
Amy

Such a beautiful Fall-and a recipe

Hi Everyone-
  The weather as been SO gorgeous here this Fall.  It's been so nice to be able to continue to enjoy being outside.  It's one of my boys favorite places to be.  Yesterday I took my oldest to the Farmers' Market early in the morning.  We got some great vegetables, some coffee that was roasted yesterday, and some artisan chocolates--along with a great foccacia bread and some homemade jam.  With that I made some delicious broccoli cheese soup for us to have for dinner last night.  It is my Mom's recipe, and it totally makes me think of a crisp fall day when I was growing up.  After my youngest son woke up from his nap, we headed out for a family hike at our nearest nature preserve.  Alex has had summer camp there the last three summers, and loves it.  He was a great tour guide, and Jack sure loved running after his brother on the trails.  It was a beautiful day, and so nice to be together as a family.
  Tonight I'm continuing to work on some of my items for our holiday vendor fair coming up at the end of the month, as well as prep for my workshops I have at the end of the week, and my next couple challenges for the design team.  I'll be taking pictures and posting soon.  :)  Have you guys tried out our challenge yet?  It's Holiday Mini this week over at SUO Challenges--come check us out!!!  In the mean time, how about that delicious hearty soup recipe?  Thanks Mom for sharing!!

Linda's Broccoli Cheese Soup
1 1/2 qts. water
1 c. chopped carrots
1 c. chopped celery
1 med. chopped onion (any color--I like yellow in this soup)
Simmer the above vegetables in the water until slightly tender (about 10 minutes) then add:
1lb. chopped broccoli
1lb. chopped cauliflower
Continue to simmer--add 1/4 c. (1 stick) butter and one lb. Velveeta cheese cubed.  Turn heat to low.
In another bowl combine 1 1/2 c. milk and 2/3 cup flour.  Whisk together until there are no lumps in the flour mixture and add slowly to the soup--stir constantly until well blended.  (This will help thicken the soup)
Cook on low, stirring frequently, until ready to serve.

Enjoy!!

Happy Stampin!
Amy

PS--as promised, some pictures from our Grand Marais trip last weekend:

My sister, Em, and me in the Grand Marais Harbor

Me by the pier in Grand Marais

Me, my Mom, and Em in the Grand Marais Harbor--happy belated birthday present, Mom!

All Hallows Eve.......

Hey Everyone!

  Sorry for the stretch between posts--but here I am, back and with our third design challenge over at SUO Challenges.  :)  Play along with us as we all share things from the Holiday Mini Catalog....have you checked this out yet?????? If not, you need to.  This catalog is jam packed full of all kinds of fantastic items for your holiday decor, cardmaking, and gift giving necessities!!  

  Today I am featuring a few things from the mini.  The Spooky Things Decor Elements in black are what you see for the bat in the upper left hand corner of this picture frame.  (I also have used a few more from this set of elements on my Trick or Treat tray I featured here)  The other products used are the Nite Owl Designer Series Paper (The spooky tree in the right hand corner is on a 12x12 sheet of paper, and the fence is part of it, too) as well as the Dark and Dreary stamp set.  Other stamp sets used are Halloween Haunts and Wicked Cool from the IB&C.

  I loved the framed piece of decor in the mini catalog, so I took my inspiration from that. What I did was buy a frame on sale (I bought a few...) from a big box store.  I love buying these frames to use to make personalized holiday decor.  I took the mat out of it and used that as my template for cutting out my DSP.  With the tree in my bottom right hand corner, I used our 1 3/4 circle punch and punched it out of a scrap piece of paper so I had a mask for the moon.  I then started with More Mustard ink and sponged it all around the circle.  I then took Pumpkin Pie ink and sponged that around the outside of the moon to give it a bit more depth.  I used my sponge in Night of Navy and Elegant Eggplant to get my spooky night sky and made sure to sponge some over the moon.  I also sponged along the fence and base of the tree, as well as the haunted mansion with Pear Pizazz, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, and Daffodil Delight so that it looked a bit like misty ground.  I used my Daffodil Delight marker to color in the windows of the haunted mansion as well as the street post.  In the tree I stamped the raven from Dark and Dreary, and I used the bats from Wicked Cool to fill the night sky.  

  What do you think?  I can't wait to see what you all come up with.  :)  I'll be back a couple more times this week with items from our holiday mini--I'm doing a vendor fair at the end of the month, so I have some more decor items to share with you.

  Thanks for stopping in--hope you all had a great weekend!

Happy Stampin!

Amy

Season of Gratitude....

Hi Everyone!
  I'm back!  I just spent a great long weekend on the North Shore with my sister, and my parents.  It started out as my Mom's belated birthday gift.  She wanted a weekend to spend with her girls, as we don't get those very often anymore.  My sister and I are both grown now, and I have a family with little kids.  So, my sister and I rented a great house up the shore and planned to have a girls' weekend.  We planned our menu, and places we wanted to stop in Grand Marais on Sunday.  My Dad got wind, and he wanted to come along, too--so he did.  It was really nice to have some time just the 4 of us again.  Although, we all agreed, next time we need to get a bigger house so my boys and husband, and my sister's boyfriend can join us, too.  More fun memories to make.  :)  I'll share some pictures later this week--the weather was absolutely beautiful, and I got some gorgeous pictures of the sunrise over Lake Superior.
  Anyways--the reason you are here...a card.  :)

I used the Autumn Spice designer series paper over a layer of Old Olive layered on a piece of Naturals Confetti.  I love this designer series paper because it can truly stand all on its own, or it looks nice with layers.  This is just a quick and simple thank you card tied together with the Modern Label punch as well as a sentiment from Thank You Kindly.  I was reading on one of the blogs I follow, about how she is sending a card a day for a week to people she is truly thankful for in her life to celebrate Thanksgiving.  I thought this was a great idea, I know I certainly don't tell the people in my life that I care about them enough--what a nice day brightener this could be.  Wouldn't you love to get a card in the mail for no reason telling you how much you are appreciated?  Anyone care to join me???
  Thank you for stopping!  I'm thankful for all of you who stop in here!

Happy Stampin,
Amy

Happy Birthday CASE

Hi Everyone!

  Today I have a CASE for you.  I got this idea from Andrea Walford (www.andreawalford.com) and I loved her picture of the cards made from this Write Stuff Simply Scrappin package so much, I copied it down to the last detail.  This paper was such a great deal because it came with heavyweight cardstock and all these cute die cut elements, like the notebook paper and stars.  I bought an extra package before it retired, and I think I will make a set of cards for Alex's teacher with it.  If you love this, too, keep an eye out at Stampin' Up's clearance rack--you never know when it may show up.  You can get to the clearance rack by clicking on my Stampin' Up website link on the right hand side of my blog.  There are some great deals there right now!  

  I hope to post some original creations for you soon.  I have had quite the week.  My little guy is getting his molars which has caused a horrible diaper rash.  He had to be out of daycare for a few days.  Thankfully he got to be with Grandpa Alan (my husband's Dad) on one day, and my Mom came up to be with him on Friday (She lives in the Twin Cities), and we have a great new thing starting on Monday.  My sister is going to come up (she also lives in the Cities) and is going to be our Nanny for him during the week and then go home on weekends.  She recently was laid off from her job, and we have been thinking for some time if we could hire a nanny we'd like to, so it's win-win.  We can't wait for her to start and are thrilled that we have family that's so willing to help us out.  

  Speaking of family--I had promised last week that I would show you some pictures of my nephew who was here last week.  Check out this cute one of him with my Jack.  (The happy grown up faces on the sidelines are my mother and father in law :) )  They are 360 days apart-- :)  Alex, my oldest, thought they were a lot of fun, but sure was glad he could escape to go play on the computer. We'll have more pictures that have the 3 of them after we are all together again at Thanksgiving.

  Thank you all for stopping in!!  Hope you are having a great weekend.

Happy Stampin!

Amy

Stampin Up Only Challenge #2--Big Shot

Hi Everyone!!!    
Glad you are stopping in today.  If you are one of my followers--HI!!  If you are new popping over to my blog from the challenge blog (www.suochallenges.com), thanks for checking us (and me) out--I hope you'll stay awhile and play along with us.
  Today's challenge was to get out your Big Shot and create something.  Last week I gave a sneak peek of what was to come here.  I have a 3rd grader.  Any of you out there with kids, big or small, remember that with Back-to-School comes ALL kinds of invitations.  Alex has some great friends, and the birthday party invitations have already started rolling in.  Today I created a gift bag with the Big Shot.  I used the Fancy Favor die cut.  I love this one.  It can be an elegant wedding favor die cut, it can be a basic bag for a sweet thank you, or, as you'll see in this picture, it will be great for a boy's birthday gift.
  I used the Celebrations Designer Series paper, the Lots of Tags die for the matte for the birthday sentiment (which comes from Occasional Quotes and is stamped in Pacific Point), and for inside, one of our cute little cellophane bags tied with a Real Red grosgrain ribbon.
  What do you think?  Stop by all the other's blogs and see what they have in store for you.  Hope you'll play along.  Please leave a comment here--I love comments!  Thanks for stopping in!

Happy Stampin!

Amy

Progressive Scrapbooking

Hi Everyone--
  Ok, I admit it.  I love the look of a scrapbook, and I love the ideas behind a scrapbook, but I would never call myself a scrapbooker.  I find it a challenge to make good layouts that capture what I'm trying to portray and are consistent.   I am a card maker through and through-it's a smaller canvas and far less intimidating.  However, with the start of my stamp club this year, I have some avid scrapbookers, some pure card makers, some who like to dabble in both, and some who are entirely new to paper crafting and don't know what camp they may be in.  Knowing this, I have forced myself out of my comfort zone and created a few scrapbooking projects for my club.  Today, I'll be sharing the first one with you, gentle comments are welcomed {and hoped for}!
  With Halloween just around the corner, I wanted to do a simple page.  Most of my group either has small kids, has grandkids, or nieces and nephews who will be dressing up this Halloween.  (Some may even dress up themselves, you never know!)  Everyone made the 6x6 page, and then I showed them the 8 1/2x11 and 12x12.  (The finished 12x12 I have patiently waiting to put a picture in of my Star Wars character and Clifford the Big Red Dog)
  Here is the finished 6x6.  We used Basic Black as the background, a layer of Pumpkin Pie, and the picture frame layer of Concord Crush.  I used the Owl punch flipped upside down to make the ghosts, the bitty bat punch, and the rounded label punch.  Sets featured were Dark and Dreary, Perfect Punches, Wicked Cool, and Tiny Tags.

Here are the 8 1/2x11 and then the finished 12x12 as well.  Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you all have a great day!

Happy Stampin!

Amy

8 1/2x11 I used Pumpkin Pie as the base and a wheel

The finished 12x12 is on Basic Black with spots for journaling

Decor Elements

Hi Everyone--

  Today I am featuring another line of products that Stampin' Up offers.  It's the black Dark and Dreary Decor Elements currently for sale in our Holiday Mini.  They are so easy to use, and they have a stunning effect.  

  For today's project I found this vintage tray at a thrift store for $3.  I loved the mirrored scalloped background and the weathered finish.  I knew it would work perfect for this project.  When I got it home I washed the tray off so there was a clean and dry area to work on.  Then, I unrolled my sheet of Decor Elements and chose the ones I wanted to work with.  I cut them out leaving about an inch around each shape.  Then, you take the scraper Decor Elements tool, turn the sheet over, and rub the scraper along the back of each of the shapes.  You peel apart the two sheets so the image is on the contact paper type sheet (if it doesn't peel right away, put them back together and run the scraper along it some more until it catches) line up the image on whatever surface you are working with, smooth it out, and use the scraper tool over the top.  Now you are ready for the big reveal.  Peel the contact paper off and your image is there.  

  If you haven't ever tried this product line, I'd highly suggest giving it a try.  I have used them on picture frames, mirrors, and dishes.  All of them have turned out great.  In fact, I plan to be featuring some Christmas ones on my blog soon.  

 Thanks for stopping in!!  Hope you'll stop again soon.

Happy Stampin!

Amy

Winners Coming Soon....and a Sneak Peek...

Hi Everyone!!!
  I'm really looking forward to this weekend!!  My brother-in-law and sister-in-law are coming with my nephew!!  He will turn 7 months old on Saturday and we haven't seen him since he was about a month old.  He is just shy of a year younger than my Jack.  So, Jack and Alex are looking forward to seeing their cousin this weekend.  Should be a busy and fun time!!
  I am giving you a sneak peek at my challenge post for next week on the Stampin' Up Only challenges blog.  (www.suochallenges.com)  We will be picking the top 3 winners on Monday, so if you have wanted to upload a Fall card to play along and haven't had a chance yet, you STILL HAVE TIME!! :)  Our new challenge will go live on Tuesday morning, and what I am sharing with you today will go along with my submission.  We have a great design team and I can't wait to see what they have to share with all of you.

  On to the card! With my oldest back in school, it's the season for birthday parties!  Alex and his friends will be turning 9 this year, so they are at that in-between stage.  I like the bright colors and graphic prints the Celebration Designer Series Paper uses, it's perfect for these boys!!  For this card I used a Real Red base, two of the designs used in the Celebrations paper pack, the Decorative Label punch and the Modern Label punch.  The sentiment comes from Occasional Quotes and is stamped in Pacific Point.  Hope you enjoy--and tune in Tuesday to see what goes with this card!  I'll try and pop in with some pictures of the boys this weekend.  :)  Thanks for stopping in!!

Happy Stampin,
Amy

Coming Soon....

Hi Everyone--
  A newsy post tonight, and I promise some new pictures of craftiness to come this week.  I had my 2nd stamp camp tonight--it was a great success.  We did the progressive scrapbook page.  Each of the girls made a cute Halloween 6x6 page on which I featured the Owl Punch and the Bitty Bat Punch.  I will take pictures of the 6x6, the 8 1/2 x 11 and the 12x12 page and feature them this week.  We had a blast--ladies, if any of you are reading this--thanks again!!
  I also am working on my 2nd Design Team Challenge for the Stampin' Up Only Challenges site.  If you haven't checked us out yet, please do!  We have a card call open until 9/20 and the theme is Fall.  Current or retired merchandise as long as it's all Stampin' Up product.  We have a fabulous design team--come check us out and play along, I'd love to see what you create.  The site is www.suochallenges.com   We'll have a new challenge up on 9/21 and I can't wait for you to see what I've cooked up!!  If you do hop over and don't want to submit a card for this challenge, leave us a comment and let us know what you think of the site.
  Thanks for checking in!!  More to share with you soon.

Happy Stampin-
Amy

PS....I am participating in a vendor fair at the end of the month.  Any of you done these? If so, what do you find sells the most?

Back to School

Hi Everyone!
  It was back to school week here, so it's been busy!!  The weather has definitely turned to Fall and the breeze blowing off Lake Superior has a bit of a bite to it now as the trees are starting to change in to their vibrant Fall colors.  This is my favorite time of year!!  My Alex started 3rd grade this week, and his biggest revelation so far--there's no more snack in 3rd grade Mom!!
  So, with back to school comes birthday party invitations and teacher appreciation gifts.  Which leads me to this teacher thank you that I created at the end of the year last year for Alex's 2nd grade teacher.  I Googled "pop up gift card holder" and found the directions.
  I used the set "First Day" that just retired in the Summer Mini (I'm keeping it around though until Stampin' Up comes up wit something like it or brings it in to next year's catalog :) ).  Although, this idea could work with all kinds of current sets.

  If you wanted to do a teacher thing, you could use a letter set to make a patterned background and the Tart and Tangy apple for your image--or you could use some of Fox and Friends.  Anyways--on to the pictures.  Enjoy!!  If your kiddos headed back to school this week, I hope they had a good week, and if you are a teacher, thanks for all you do!!

Happy Stampin'

Amy

PS...If you haven't checked it out yet--come check out SUO Challenges (www.suochallenges.com) I am on the design team of a brand new Stampin' Up Only product challenge site.  I am amongst good company with Cindy, Michelle, Deb, Jen, Karen and Melina.  Come check us out, there's something for everyone, we'd love to have you play along!

SUO Challenges 1st Challenge

Good Morning Everyone!!
  I hope you all had a great holiday weekend.  We spent some time with my parents at their cabin and even snuck in a boat ride on the pontoon.  It definitely felt like a Fall boat ride though.  The wind out on the lake was cold, instead of a soft summer breeze, and the light coming through the trees and in the sky looked like a crisp Fall day, not a hazy summer one.  
  Fall was the theme of our first challenge over at www.suochallenges.com  If you haven't already, come check us out and play along.   Currently we will be doing a new challenge every other week, changing it over to weekly if this really takes off.  I had a great time creating what's in store for you this week, as well as for the next challenge.  :)  I hope you all like it, too.  Let's take a look at my card.

I LOVE fall colors.  For this card I used the new Autumn Spice designer series paper from the Holiday Mini.  If you don't have this already, or it isn't on your wish list, it needs a spot.  I didn't think I really needed another DSP right now, but I ordered it for this challenge and for something we are going to be doing in my stamp club, and I'm SO glad I did.  It is really pretty and all of the papers are a thicker weight and textured.  I layered up five of the different patterns in a line to create my background.  The piece over that is Pear Pizazz card stock stamped with Pear Pizazz ink.  I used the cute set in the big Idea Book and Catalog called Falling Leaves for the leaves and the sentiment.  This is a set I hadn't really looked at too much, and we used it for a project that we created in one of the classes at Convention and I decided it was a must have.  Lastly, I used the new Designer Label Punch from the Holiday Mini, touched the edges with my ink and used the new antique brads (LOVE) for the finishing touch.  :)  

Well--I have to head off to work.  Leave me a comment.  I'd love to know what you think of this card, and our design team.  I'd also love to see you play along with us at the challenge site.  We'll be picking the top 3 submissions and they get a cool blog banner!!  Have a great day everyone.  Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Stampin!

Amy

Fox and Friends Thank You

Hi Everyone~

  Today is a quick post because soon we will be heading out to watch my 8 year old play soccer.  :)  It's a beautiful day here today, so it will be nice to be out and about a bit.

  This is a set of thank-you cards I made for my cousin's baby shower basket.  I used the sentiment from Thank You Kindly, the 3 1/2x5 pre-scored white note cards (LOVE these---they are such a time saver) that come with envelopes, the Good Neighbor DSP that was available during Sale-a-Bration, the scallop trim border punch, and the little animals from Fox and Friends.  I was really happy with how they turned out, and I liked the coordinating animal on the envelope for a little extra something.  My cousin really liked them, too--and I know she used them because I got the turtle in the mail as my thank you.  I love being able to customize gifts for an occasion and knowing the recipient really likes them.  These took me almost no time to make, I think the whole set of 10 took me about a half hour to make.  

  Thanks for checking in everyone!!  Have a great evening.  :)

Happy Stampin!!

Amy

PS--TODAY IS THE START OF THE HOLIDAY MINI!!  Oh my  GOSH it's their best one yet.  Click on the link to my Stampin' Up site on the right hand side of my blog and you can download a copy--or, send me a message and I can mail one to you.  Even better--book a workshop, you'll love to see some of these new crafty goodies in person, and so will your friends.  I still have a few dates on my calendar.  :)

Fair Trip Pictures

Hi Everyone--
  My craft room is a work in progress.  My DH has been helping me put together organizational furniture as well as hang shelves so I'll be more organized in there.  Tonight I most likely won't be crafting, I'll be putting things away, so I thought I'd share a couple pictures from our trip to the Fair this past weekend.
  Thank you to all of my new followers for following me and taking the time to comment on my blog!! I love comments.  I hope to spend some time this weekend cruising some of the new blogs I'm following as well and leave my comments.  :)
  Tomorrow I'll have something crafty for you all.  In the mean time, enjoy the pictures!!

Happy Stampin!
Amy

Alex--on the bus, excited for the Fair

Jack (my youngest) excited to be on the bus!

My family just inside the Fair gates

My sister and her boyfriend

Alex and Grandpa (my Dad) at their first stop--the water ride

Jack's first cheese curd ever--he loved it

Jack wasn't so sure about the animals, but when Alex showed him it was ok

Neutrals....

Hi Everyone,
  I hope you all had a good weekend!  Ours was busy but nice.  As I had said in my previous post, we went to the MN State Fair.  I have some pictures I'll be sharing with you in the next day or so.  The boys had a great time!  My parents were nice enough to take them back to their house when they'd had enough Fair so my husband and I could have a little more time to look at stuff.  Our favorite thing?? Wine tasting.  Did you know Minnesota has wineries?  I really liked the Raspberry Wine from Winehaven and Sippin from a Slipper (a sweet white wine) from Glacial Ridge Winery.
  Anyways--the real reason you are here, a card!  This one I made last winter on a girls' weekend with some of my friends.  I sometimes forget how much I like the feeling of a neutral color palette.  This card uses Basic Black, Sahara Sand, and Chocolate Chip.  Stamp sets used are Medallion (LOVE) and Vintage Vogue.
  Thanks for stopping in!  I completed my first design challenge sample tonight.  I can't wait to share it with you on September 7th.  If you haven't yet, stop over at www.suochallenges.com and check us out.  And, if you have, stop again--make sure you are signed up to follow us so you get all the updates when something posts, AND, our pictures are up now so you can see what we all look like.  Thanks for checking in!

Happy Stampin~!
Amy

The MN State Fair

Hi Everyone--
  One of our end of the summer traditions as a family is going to the "great MN get together" also known as The MN State Fair.  This weekend I won't be blogging as we will be enjoying our time together at the Fair.  My older son is very excited for his traditional ride on the giant slide with Grandpa Dave (my Dad).  My younger son doesn't know what to expect because last year was his first Fair, and he was only 6 months old.  My husband and I are excited to see what tickles the boys' fancy, to try some of the new Fair foods (like Korean BBQ Tacos, and Mashed Potatoes on a stick) as well as to enjoy some old favorites like Cheese Curds, Pronto Pups, and Sweet Martha's Cookies.

Mitch and I visited the Oink Booth--State Fair 2009

   All the while we will be documenting this year's trip with pictures.  They will eventually find their way in to a scrapbook, which will eventually find its way here.
  Thanks for checking in--I hope you all have a great weekend, and get to enjoy some time with your loved ones, too.

Happy Stampin!
Amy

Seasons Greetings

Hi Everyone--
  Today I have the last of my swap cards to share with you.  I love how this one turned out.  It's kind of cutesy, old-timey....is that a style??
   I started out with a base of Real Red, I layered it with a 1/4" smaller layer of Whisper White.  To the edge of that I used a strip from the Candy Cane Christmas designer series paper and to that I added a strip of Baja Breeze decorated with the Eyelet Label punch.  I used the adorable ornaments and Christmas trees from the new set A Cute Christmas, the greeting comes to you from Four the Holidays in the IB&C.  The images on this card took me back in time a little bit, it reminded me of a family run tree farm where you get to go pick out "the perfect tree".  Ones I remember from growing up had the pre-cut Christmas trees under some hand strung Christmas lights--that's kind of what the ornaments above those happy little trees on this card reminded me of.   I love the holidays--I am looking forward to them this year.
  We do an artificial tree at our house, but we are looking for traditions to do with our boys.  One we have is that on Christmas Eve the boys open their new jammies, so they have new Christmas jammies on in the Christmas morning pictures.  They also get to open their new ornament to put on the tree on Christmas Eve  My mom used to do that with my sister and I when we were kids, and, she still usually gets us new pajamas as one of our Christmas gifts even though we are grown now.  We also still get an ornament.  I love that.  (Thanks Mom!!)  Are there any special traditions you do with your families for the holiday season?  I'd love to hear what they are.  Thanks for checking in!

Happy Stampin!
Amy

Grateful

Hi Everyone--
  I don't often do cards for Thanksgiving.  The colors in this card said Thanksgiving to me, along with the hemp twine.  I think you could also use this card for a Thank You card.  I really love the colors associated with Thanksgiving and Fall, and am looking forward to using both this wheel and stamp sets in other projects.
  For this card I used textured Early Espresso card stock as the base and it's layered with Pear Pizzazz, Daffodil Delight, and Cajun Craze.   I ran the Bright Blessings jumbo wheel along a stirp of Very Vanilla cardstock.  Around this layer I wrapped a piece of hemp twine that I strung one of the beautiful new Neutral buttons on and tied a knot.  I stamped the word Grateful from the Falling Leaves set (in the Main Idea Book and Catalog) and punched it out with the Modern Label punch.  I attached it to the base of the card with a dimensional to pop it up a little bit.
  Thanks for stopping in!!  What kinds of things do you create for Fall/Thanksgiving?  Stop back tomorrow for a Christmas card.

Happy Stampin!
Amy

Spooky

Hi Everyone--

 Today I have a Halloween swap card to share with you.  I sent this card, along with a Thanksgiving card and a Christmas card, out in the mail this week for a swap.  All of these cards feature either something from the Holiday Mini card or new product.  I'll share the others later this week.
  For today's card I used Basic Black card stock as my base, layered with two designer series papers.  The background is the Newsprint and the black patterned paper is from Love Letters.  I will be stocking up on these two papers because they are SO versatile.  The new product featured is the stamp set Dark and Dreary--I love this set, it has some great haunted house type spooky images.  The saying "Spooky"is from the Wicked Cool set also new in the mini.  This set has a great witch hat and boots that I can't wait to use, too.  I also used the new 1/2" Raven lace trim and the extra large Decorative Label punch.  These will be a MUST have from this mini.  The Decorative Label punch is such a classy punch, and the lace trim is going to be fun for Valentine's Day cards as well.  
  Did you all get your holiday minis in the mail?  I'd love to hear what your favorites are.  Well, it's off to bed for this crafty lady.   Hope you all had a good day!  Thanks for checking in.

Happy Stampin!
Amy

Tags, Tags, and More Tags

Hi Everyone!!

  Tonight I have not one, but TWO original creations for you. AND....a sneak peek from the new Holiday Mini!!! I am participating in a Tag Swap, and these are my contributions.  I have an adorable snowman from the set in the holiday mini called Tags 'Til Christmas.  This is a GREAT set.  All of the images included in this set are able to be punched out and decorated however you like.    What a fun get together with you and some girlfriends making some tags for the upcoming holidays!  For my snowman tag I used the color combo of Whisper White, Marina Mist, and Real Red.  I used the 1/8" Marina Mist taffeta ribbon (love!!), the Two Tags die cut for the Big Shot, and the 2 & 3/8" scallop Circle, and the 1 & 3/4" circle punches.  I used Marina Mist classic ink, and colored his scarf with my Real Red marker and his hat with my Basic Black marker.  I finished it off with some Dazzling Diamonds glitter to make it look like snow.  Here's the finished product:

Now...tags aren't just for the upcoming holidays.  We need them for all sorts of things.  Birthdays, Baby Showers, Wedding Showers, Weddings,  a Welcome gift to a new neighbor or co-worker, perhaps a little Thank You...there are tags for all kinds of things.   So, my second tag I am contributing is a Congratulations tag for a baby girl.  I just have boys, so it was fun to ink up some pink.  :)

For this tag I used the FABULOUS set in the Big Idea Book and Catalog called Perfect Punches.  Again, a punch for every tag in the set, and a nice variety of sayings to use.  My sentiment is Congratulations, and it features the Modern Label Punch.  (LOVE this one...I use it all the time)  This is a classy punch that looks great by itself or layered up with the Word Window Punch.  It also looks fun with the Curly Label Punch behind it.  Lots of ways to dress it up if you wish, but as I said, great by itself.  I used the Two Tag die cut again, and the scallop and circle punches.  My color palette was Early Espresso (my new neutral love), and the In-Color Blushing Bride along with Whisper White.  I used the Jumbo Wheel called Baby Tees.  This is such a cute wheel with great coloring options for boy or girl, or to go with a neutral scheme.  I wheeled the wheel a few times in Early Espresso, cut out the onesies with my paper snips and colored them in with my Early Espresso and Blushing Bride markers.  Piece of cake.   Here's the finished product on this one:
I'd love to know what you think of my creations.  They are going out in the mail on Monday.  Tomorrow I'll be back with more swaps I'm creating for a Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas swap.  Thanks for stopping!  Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Happy Stampin!
Amy

PS...here's a picture of the two of them together

Brand New Challenge Blog Coming Soon....

Hi Everyone!
  As the title says, I just wanted to tell you that I was chosen to be a design team member of a Stampin Up Only Challenge Blog.  Our first challenge will post on September 7th.  I'd love for you to check out the blog, and play along with us.  Each challenge we will choose three winners and they will get a special blog badge for playing along with us.  I would love to see you there!! The site's address is: http://suochallenges.com/
  I had my first stamp club meeting last night--it went great!!  I'm already looking forward to next month.  I am also working on organizing my reclaimed craft space, so I haven't had a whole lot of time for creating things to show you this week.  I plan to do some more crafting this weekend, possibly tomorrow night, and so I'll have an original design to share with you then.  Until then...how about some more Convention eye candy??
  Thanks for checkin in--check out the challenge blog, I'll be looking for you!!

Happy Stampin!
Amy

 A pillow made with flowers cut from the Big Shot dies.

 A lampshade done with ribbons, buttons and Big Shot flowers.

An Evening to Remember Stamp Event-Jackie Barfield (Hi Jackie!!), Jaron Winder (Hi Jaron!!), and me.  It was a really fun night!

A Happy Haunt

Love the way these white pumpkins look with the black

The same cute Christmas house spooked out as a Halloween Haunt...

Hi Everyone!

   Back with some more pictures from Convention.  This time, for Halloween, which, with the start of school approaching will be just around the corner.  Here again is that Decor Accent Build a House that I featured in my last post as a cute Christmas Cottage.  This time, it is featured as a spooky haunted house. I LOVE these houses and can't wait to get my hands on them.  They will look so cute as a feature on my console table, and I am totally going to make a black garland to go with them.

  I gotta run--we were at a birthday party for a friend of my 8 year old.  It was a blast, but I'm beat.  Sounds like the hot humid weather we've been experiencing around here is going to be leaving us after tomorrow.  Hope so....maybe I'll get some of my energy back.  Saturday I'm spending some time just crafting, so I'll be back with some new stuff for you soon.   Hope you are enjoying the convention posts until then.  :)

Happy Stampin!

Amy

One of my favorite things from Convention

Hi Everyone--

  I don't have an original creation for you all today, but I still have something fun.  This is a new product, actually several new products, from the upcoming Holiday Mini which debuts on September 1st.  I am SO excited about this new catalog, I think it's one of Stampin' Up's best minis yet.  This adorable little house is called a Decor Accents Design-a-House.  It comes with a template if you want to dress it up with paper, it is also able to be spray painted.  There is no limit to the creativity here.  They used some of the new Deck the Halls paper that will be coming soon, and the pretty paisley like curtains--a print from our new fabric line coming out with gold tinsel trim above the windows.  LOTS to be excited about in this upcoming catalog, there truly will be something for any kind of crafter.

One of the demonstrations showed this house all decked out for Halloween with black spray paint and chunky black glitter some spiders stamped on vellum in the windows and bats punched out of designer series paper using our new bat punch attached to wire.  Very spooky, yet cute all a the same time.  During this demonstration he put one together for us as well so we could see how easy it goes together.  All you need is some sticky strip to place along the seams and it goes together great.  It took him maybe five minutes to fold along the score lines and stick together.  

I still have some spots open for workshops this fall and winter, if you are interested in checking the Holiday Mini out for yourself, or joining my team of demonstrators, let me know.  Thanks for checking in.

Happy Stampin'

Amy

Monkey Business

Hi Everyone!
  Today I have a card for you that my boys gave my husband for Father's Day this year.  My boys, who have been featured on my blog some, are 8 and 18 months.  Most days it feels like we live with 2 monkeys.  (Those of you who have boys can probably relate)  They are loveable and fun and NONSTOP energy.  What better way to convey that than a fun home made polka dots pattern and the cute monkey image from Fox and Friends?   I am SO glad that this set carried over from the mini catalog to the new Idea Book and Catalog.  I LOVE this set.  Adorable animal images great for baby cards, little kid cards, scrapbook pages and even Father's Day!
  This card was a simple card to do and didn't take a whole lot of time.  I used Whisper White as my background and my 1 3/8" circle punch to punch out Real Red and Bashful Blue polka dots.  I attached them in a random pattern with snail adhesive and clipped the edges off to make them flush with the edges of the card.  The monkeys were stamped on a piece of Whisper White in Chocolate Chip Classic Ink, and then matted with a piece of Bashful Blue and Real Red cardstock.  Inside--a handwritten message (and scribble) from the boys.  This one goes in the "keep" pile.
  Check back.  I hope to be sharing a couple of holiday ideas, and later this weekend a scrapbook page and idea.  The scrapbook I will add to as time goes on, and will be featuring a lot of my little monkeys Alex and Jack.  Thanks for stopping in!

Happy Stampin!
Amy