And the Winner Is..........

Good Monday Morning Everyone!

   I hope you all had a great weekend!  I had a fantastic All About Me class with some of my favorite ladies on Saturday afternoon.  It was a lot of fun to see everyone busily working on their books.  I had my cell phone camera, but the pictures all came out kinda dark.  One of the ladies in the class took pictures, too, I'll see if hers turned out any better and then I will share some with you.  Saturday night, my husband and I got to go out to dinner for a belated anniversary celebration.  My Grandma and Grandpa gave us a gift certificate to Blackwoods , which was delicious! Thanks Gram and Bup!  Mitch doesn't get much "air time" on the blog, so here's a picture of the two of us in our kitchen on our way out to dinner.  It was so nice to be able to eat an entire meal together, while it was still hot and until we were full, and to even be able to have a conversation to boot!

Now....on to the blog candy winner!!!!  Thank you to those of you who took the time to leave a comment on the blog candy post--I'll be giving more things away every now and then.  I really enjoyed reading your comments, I always do, and I'm glad you are enjoying not only my blog and projects, but a peek in to my family's life as well.  I used Random.org for my random number generator--I was going to have the boys pick a number, but I thought this was a safer route and it came up with NUMBER 6!!!  AMY JOHNSON-FISKNESS--you are the winner!!!!

Amy is one of my friends and customers.  I've known Amy for about 6 years now, I met her when I came to work in HR (where I currently work).  You see, Amy was leaving the job I have now for another one in our health system.  Amy is a dependable and true friend, always ready to help out whenever needed, and has been one of my most supportive customers.  Thanks Amy!!!!!  Enjoy your treat.  :)

Well, that's all I have for you all today.  Stay tuned for some more peeks in to my All About Me album this week, the 2nd option for the invitation card for my Mom's co-worker (although, she did go with the Mr. and Mrs. card I featured last week--which, was my favorite, too) a look at a book I made Emily for her birthday, and some other crafty things.  Have a great day!

Happy Stampin!

BLOG CANDY GIVEAWAY!!

Happy Friday!!
  It's Blog Candy giveaway here at my blog.  I am so happy to have almost 250 of you following me!  All you have to do to win what you see here is leave me a comment at the end of my post telling me either your favorite project on my blog, or what you'd like to see more of.  Up for grabs--a 6x6 pack of In-Color patterned prints, and a mounted but never used, Playful Pieces clear stamp set.  :) (The picture is not the best, my camera didn't like the night light in our house, but you can find them in the catalog :) )
  I can't wait to hear what you all have to say!  Sometimes those of us writing blogs feel like we are talking to ourselves out there, even though we know people are visiting because we can see it in our followers.  If you stop in and visit--drop me a line, I'd love to hear from you.  It helps me want to continue to post and create and share what I love because I know you are all out there.  I'll do the same when I stop by your "place" :)
  Anyone have fun weekend plans?  I have my All About Me scrapbooking class coming up on Saturday during the day, and then my sister is going to come over and hang out with our kids for a bit so my husband and I can have a much needed and much overdue dinner date.  YAY!
  Whatever you are all up to this weekend, I hope you have a great one!  I'll be back on Monday to announce the winner of the Blog Candy Giveaway, and with some more creations for all of you.  Thank you for stopping in--I appreciate all of you.  :)

Happy Stampin!

Tis the Season for Birthday Parties...

Hi Everyone!
  Almost the end of another week.  :)  I'm excited for today because I have Stamp Camp with my group of ladies where we will be making the Valentine Pouch from Tuesday's post!  Then, Saturday, I am having the All About Me class where we will be working on scrapbooking about ourselves for the day. :) I'll be sure to take pictures of the class so I can share them with all of you!
  Today's post is a gift bag and card I made for my son Alex to take to a birthday party this past weekend.  Alex and his friends are all turning 9 this year, and they are getting to that age where they aren't teenagers yet, but they aren't little kids anymore either.  He went to a swimming party, and in the gift bag was a Star Wars Lego watch for his friend.

  I used just a plain white gift bag you can buy in bulk at your big box store.  (Mine came from Michaels).   To that I added a layer of Marina Mist cardstock layered with a sheet of Designer Series paper from the Celebrations pack.  I used a sticker strip from the Celebrations Accents pieces and voila, a coordinating bag.

  For the card I used the set Party This Way.  Have you all checked this one out yet?  I love the little pennant flag---SO cute for many other things.  I used the same colors in the card as are in the gift bag for a coordinated look.
  Hope you all enjoyed this easy gift ensemble!  Tomorrow, you'll want to check in---BLOG CANDY up for grabs!!

Happy Stampin!

Happy Birthday Emily!!!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!
  Today, is a special day!  It's my little sister's birthday today.  Don't worry Em, I won't start sharing your age until you hit 30, which, will never happen since I'm turning 29 again this year.  :)
   I wanted to share with you all the card I made for my sister on her special day.  She has a great sense of style, and so I wanted to make her a card that reflected that.  I used the dress form from Sew Suite and I stamped it on 3 different pieces of designer series paper in bright colors.  I cut those out and added them to the dress form with a dimensional.  To each dress I added a bit of sparkle with our rhinestones.  Classy  with a bit of sophistication and fun.  Just like Em.  :)
  My sister and I are buddies.  Even though our styles and tastes are pretty different, we always have fun when we get together. We love shopping, even if it's for different things, and especially if it's a good sale! We love to try new restaurants, a good cup of coffee, we both love to head up the North Shore, have a love for old, vintagey items, and really just enjoy being able to be together.
  One of the things I love most about my sister is how much she makes me laugh.  She has a goofy, witty, hilarious sense of humor.  She has a kind spirit, and is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.
  Here's a few pictures of us growing up.  Thanks for checking in with me today, tomorrow I'll be back with a gift bag/card duo that I made for a party my son went to this weekend.

  Happy Birthday Emily, enjoy your day!! I'm so glad you are my sister and friend!  Love you!

I'm about 7 and she's about 2--"Helping" me with my Light Brights.

Gingerbread Cookies at Gram's.

Mom wanted to get a "nice" picture of us for the Christmas Card.....

Tour of B&B's this winter

Another picture of us on the B&B tour

Slurpees in our old front yard.  :)

Happy Stampin!

SUO Challenge 11-Valentines!!

Hi All!
  Today I have for you my design for our SUO Challenge #11.  It also happens to be what the ladies in my stamp club are making this week.  :)  I love it when I can get multiple uses out of one design!
  I made a little Valentine's Day pouch out of a Whisper White square envelope.   The ladies in my club like anything that has a bit of a vintage feel to it, so I designed this pouch using classic Valentine colors, Newsprint paper, and some crocheted ribbon.  I liked the look that the Newsprint paper gave in the background, and then I added a bit of glitz and sparkle by punching out a heart from the Red Glitter Paper in the new mini.  I used the heart clothesline and the "Love You" sentiment from Valentine Defined.  SUCH a cute set, and it would be good for things other than just Valentines Day.  You could use it for baby cards, bridal shower/bachelorette cards, thinking of you cards, and possibly even for sympathy cards.  It is one set you'll want to add to your collection!
  Stop over at SUO Challenges and see what the rest of the design team has cooked up for you!  You won't want to miss out.  We'd love to have you play along.  :)  Back tomorrow with some birthday items.  Thanks for checkin in!

Happy Stampin!

Mr. and Mrs.

Hi Everyone,
  Happy Monday!  Don't the weekends seem to just be flying by?  I thought after the holidays things might seem to slow down a bit but they sure haven't for me!  I hope you all had a good weekend.  It was SO cold up here in Minnesota.  I sure wish the temps would come up above zero so my little guys could get outside and play--our dogs could use it, too!
  Today I have the first of two bridal shower invitations I made up to show you.  A lady my Mom works with is hosting a bridal shower and asked if I could make up some invites for her to send out.  Her only request was that I used a chocolate brown and light pink, and that they were more "valentiney" than bridal shower like.
  I used the idea from Pals Paper Arts sketch for this week to get this one started.  My colors were Early Espresso and Pink Pirouette.  I used the dots patterned paper from the Subtles designer series paper collection, and the Pretty in Pink striped grosgrain ribbon to add some visual interest.  The hearts are from I Heart Hearts and then I used the Mr. & Mrs. from Tiny Tags.   On the inside I stamped some more hearts and used the lines from Notes and Details, new in the Spring Mini.
  Back tomorrow with a NEW SUO Challenge :)  Hope you'll play along with us!

Happy Stampin!!

Play Date

Happy Friday Friends!

  Today I have another layout in my All About Me scrapbook I'm putting together for the class I'm hosting at the end of this month.  

  For this layout I used a variety of the Play Date papers.  I love the colors in this paper.  I am going to use this layout to feature one of the things I love most in life---MY BOYS!  The bold primary colors and school-like patterns are perfect for telling you all about my two boys.  

  I have Alex, who's almost 9 and I have Jack, who's just about 2.  There is a bit of an age difference, but they are buddies!  I thought I'd end Friday with a few pictures of them, and what they are like.  Alex got a DS for Christmas, which he loves.  He has taken on rooting for the Bears (his Dad grew up in Chicago), and he loves science.  He has a fantastic sense of humor and a kind spirit.  He is a great big brother!

  Jack is my little ball of energy.  He is like having Curious George loose in your house at all times.  He is constantly in motion, loves all things Sesame Street (like the characters Santa brought for him to go in the 1974 Vintage Sesame Street house Mom and Dad got for him for Christmas), and playing with his brother.

  To round out the tour of the boys, I thought I'd share some pictures that really show their bond--I am blessed to have them in my life!! 

  Enjoy the pictures and your weekend everyone!  I'll be back Monday with some more great things to share along with BLOG CANDY at the end of the week.  Thanks for stopping in to visit!

Valentine Mini

Hi Everyone!
  Welcome to Thursday's Valentine Edition on my blog.  :)  I designed this mini as a fun card to drop in my husband's lunch box.  Although it would also work attached to a Valentine gift, or something fun to put in your kids' back packs before they head out for school.  It was inspired by the cards Erica Cerwin put together for her Sale-a-Bration cards, but I changed it up a bit.
  I used a 3x6 base (folded in half) of Real Red.  I did a 2.75x2.75 layer of the Rose Red polka dot pattern from the Brights Designer Series Paper pack.  I wrapped a piece of Whisper White Organza ribbon around the Rose Red layer and secured it in the back with snail adhesive.  I punched out a piece of Real Red with the Full Heart Punch, and popped it up off the ribbon with a dimensional.  I stamped the sentiment "Love You" from Valentine Defined on a piece of Whisper White cardstock and punched that out with the Modern Label Punch.  I adhered it to the heart with snail, and that's all there is to it!
  I love the 3x3 cards--who doesn't like to find a little note stashed away somewhere for them to find and know someone is thinking about them.  I hope this has inspired you to make up a little stash of 3x3's for your friends and family!  Tomorrow another glimpse in to my All About Me album.  See you then!

Happy Stampin!
Amy

Will You Be My Valentine????

It's Wednesday Everyone!
  Halfway through another week!  Today I'm going to share a card with you for Valentine's Day.  I found this card idea on another blog, but I can't remember who's it was now, so if it was yours, thanks for sharing with, an inspiring me!  I did change it up by adding the "Love" in brackets to the bottom and using Real Red as an accent color.
  What I love about this card is that it uses the newsprint as a background, and the definition of Valentine from Valentine Defined.  Have you checked this great new set out from the Spring Mini?  I also love the mini heart clothesline on the bottom of the card, it's such a fun element.  I used the plain larger sized heart and the mini LOVE heart from I Heart Hearts.  I am going to be using these sets to make up some bridal shower invites later this week.  I'll be sharing those with you all, soon.
  Do you all have any Valentine traditions you do with your family?  My parents used to get my sister and I each a mini box of chocolates from our local chocolate shop, as well as something special just for us.  I am in the process of designing and creating the Valentines for both my older son to take to school, and my younger son to take to day care.  I like to choose something special just for them to have waiting for them on Valentines Day morning.
  Thanks for checking in with me!  See you tomorrow with another cute Valentine project.

Happy Stampin!

Do Good in All Little Things

Hi Everyone!
  Today we are back with a peek at what's inside the gift bag I shared with you all yesterday.  I wanted to make something small for a co-worker's new workspace, and this is what I came up with.

  I started with just a regular white frame that has a 3.5 x 3.5 opening.  To that I added some of our Pretty in Pink striped grosgrain ribbon tied in a knot around the bottom.  I cut a 3.5 x 3.5 square of an Old Olive pattern from the designer series paper Play Date.  (I won it at Convention and it has been SO fun to play with) To that I added the Fleur de lis, also in Old Olive, from the Sale-a-Bration set Bliss.  I love that as a demonstrator I get to pre-order things from upcoming catalogs and promotions!  This set is one you won't want to miss.  I stamped the sentiment (not Stampin' Up but one I had in my stash), on a piece of So Saffron patterned paper, also from Play Date.  I colored the flower petals with my Rose Red marker and the leaves with the Old Olive marker.  I popped it up with some dimensionals in the middle of the Fleur de lis.  To the bottom I added a small strip of a Daffodil Delight patterned paper from Sweet Stitches, punched with the scallop border punch,  and topped it off with a piece of Rose Red patterned paper from the Designer Series Brights pack.   Here's a close up of what it looks like in the middle.

 I hope she likes it and it adds a bright spot to her day when she hangs it.  I would love to hear from all of you what you think, too.

Happy Stampin!

A Gift for a Friend

Happy Monday Everyone!!

  Did you all have a good weekend?  I did, even though it went by TOO fast!  I had dinner out Saturday night with some of my best girlfriends.  We had a great time.  It was our post-Holiday Holiday dinner.  My gifts for them were a variation on a theme.  I made them each a piece of Christmas decor (which I forgot to take a picture of), got them each a book (we all love to read, so the bonus is, we can swap them when we are done!!), some super soft, good smelling, hand lotion and a winter candle.  I wrapped them all in customized gift bags using our Jolly Holiday designer series paper and the Victoria ribbon.    I topped that off with some really pretty reindeer ornaments they can save for their tree for next year.  It was really fun to watch them open them and enjoy the things I'd picked for them.  Here's a picture of the bags.

I also have another gift bag and mini card to show you.  One of my co-worker friends starts a new job today.  She is going to be GREAT in her new role, but we are all going to miss her on our floor.  She is one of the ladies in my stamp club, too, and I wanted to make her something special for her new workspace (when she has one).  I again created a gift bag that matches the gift with a cute little 3x3 gift card to go with it.  I used Rose Red, So Saffron, and Old Olive colors.  I love how springy that mix is, and in mid-January in Minnesota, we need a little peek of Spring!! ;)
  I started with just a white gift bag (that you can pick up at any of your big box stores) and then added the strips of paper.  The card is made from a 3x6 piece of Old Olive, folded in half.  To that I added the fleur de lis from the Sale-a-Bration set Bliss, available to you at the end of this month if you hold a workshop or place an order totaling $50 pre-tax.  What's fun about this promotion is, for EVERY $50 pre-tax spent you get to pick something free.  So, I used the fleur de lis, a tiny strip of one of the prints from the new Sweet Stitches paper in the mini (ADORABLE designs and fun colors in this one!)  and I used my scallop border punch  on a strip of the Rose Red polka dot patterns from the Brights DSP collection.  I topped it off with a 1 1/4" punched circle with the true friend sentiment on it from the Punch Pals set coming with Sale-a-Bration and added a fabric covered brad for a finishing touch.  What do you think?
  Thanks for stopping in today, I'd love to hear what you think of the projects I shared with you.  I'll be back tomorrow with a picture of the gift that is inside this gift bag, as well as later this week with some Valentines ideas, some more of my All About Me scrapbook layouts.

Happy Stampin!

All About Me Layout 2 and Finally Friday!!

TGIF Everyone!
  I hope you have had a great week.  I have page two of my All About Me layout to share with you today.  For this one, I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to put on it yet, but I know it's going to be a list of something and then pictures of things on the list.  I used snippets of the One Great Year Simply Scrappin kit.  When I saw this one in the catalog, I have to admit, I wasn't sure I was sold on the color combinations.  OH MY GOSH...in person, I think I have found a new color combination, or several, to love.  The Elegant Eggplant with the Old Olive, Wild Wasabi, and Grey is SO rich looking.  For this two page layout (I'll share the opposite page with you soon), I used a sticker strip from the accents you get with the kit one of the designer series paper sheets, and the Elegant Eggplant textured card stock.  I really like how it came together.  And, I can't wait to try this combo out on cards.
  Short post today, but I'll be back Monday with some more layouts to share, a couple of Valentine ideas, as well as a post about a benefit that I am THRILLED to be contributing to and participating in.  Can't wait to share it with you all.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Stampin!

All About Me--1st Page

Happy Thursday All!
  Today I am sharing the first layout in my All About Me album.  I am going to add pictures and journaling in later, mostly I just want to get my layouts complete and ready for pictures.
  In my first page I am going to put pictures of myself as a little girl, a teenage/college age girl, and an adult.  The journaling that's going to go along with these pages are nicknames I've held (and some that still hold) over the years.  We all have them.  They come from our parents, our siblings, our grandparents, our friends, and our spouses.  Some of them stick like glue forever, some come and go, yet they all become a part of us, and so I thought that would be a fun way to start out my book.  I'd love to hear some nicknames you've had over the years.  :)
  On to the layout.  For the base of all of my pages in my book I've used the color Crumb Cake.  It's a soft neutral that adds a bit without overpowering the layout.  On the first page I used the paper doll paper from the Sweet Stitches designer series paper.  I cut 3 3.5x3.5 squares of that pattern, and one 3.5x3.5 square of the pink pattern from that set.  (SO CUTE!!)  The sticker in the middle (ME sticker) and the journaling sticker came from the Love Birds Simply Scrappin Kit.  I'm looking forward to using more of those stickers later on, and some of the paper in girly cards and maybe even some non-traditional Valentines.
  Thanks for stopping in to visit!  I'd love to hear what you think of my first layout for my book, as well as about your nicknames.  I hope you have a great Thursday!

Happy Stampin!

All About Me

Happy Wednesday!
  Today I have a little peek at the beginnings of my All About Me album that I will be showing in the class I have scheduled at the end of January.
  To me a new year means new beginnings, and so I am trying my hand at teaching a scrapbooking class.  I'm sure a lot of you, like me, spend a lot of time making albums for other people, or of other people.  More time is spent behind the lens capturing "the perfect moment" for our books.....however, we aren't visible in it.  So, I thought it would be fun to kick off my new year of classes with an All About Me scrapbook.  Pictures of us, pictures of things we love, our favorite layouts, our favorite colors, a book just about us.  The girls got to pick out their paper colors and designer series paper that they loved the most.  I will be providing prompts and layout sketches for them to customize their books.  I am looking at it as a visual journal, a "Dear Diary" of sorts that I get to not only write in, but create.

  Our albums will all be the same 8x8 size from the new Occasions Mini, which I've provided a link to, here   It's from the Sew Suite collection, and I think it's adorable.  The perfect book for everything inside, and a size that's manageable and not overwhelming.  Here's a picture of the outside of my album, and apparently the legs of my wild leopard print jammies! Gotta love days where you can craft in your jammies--who's with me?  Well, that's it for today's sneak peek.  If you were going to start an All About Me album, what kind of prompts would you want included?

Happy Stampin!!!

 

Stampin Up Only Challenge-Baby Cards

Good Tuesday Morning Everyone!!
  Today is Challenge Day over at SUO Challenges.  For challenge number 10 it's baby cards!  I hope that in checking out what the other design team members and I have here for you today you are inspired to make a stack for the new arrivals coming in to your lives this year.
  My card features our 3 1/2x5 notecards as well as the Fox and Friends stamp set.  I made a set of these for my Aunt to give one of her co-workers this year, and her request was a gender neutral, "funky" baby card. I used the sentiment "Hello Baby" from Fabulous Flexible Phrases, and then elevated it using a dimensional after stamping it on a punched out piece of Whisper White using the Modern Label  Punch. The adorable animals were stamped stacked on each other in Wild Wasabi, Night of Navy, Elegant Eggplant and Rich Razzleberry.
  Just a short post today, I'm getting ready for an All About Me scrapbooking event so I'm working on my album.  Thanks for stopping in, and don't forget to check out the rest of the team at Stampin' Up Only Challenges.   We'd love to see what you create when you play along with us!!

Happy Stampin!!