Surprise!

 Well friends - anyone still out there?!  So sorry I haven't "blogged" in forever but there has been a lot going on.  My husband & I both got COVID in March.  I had no problems with it - just felt like I had a bad cold.  Sonny .... not so much although we don't know if it is a result of COVID or not.  About a week after he got the virus, he was still feeling bad & coughing a lot.  He went to a Minute Clinic & was diagnosed with pneumonia.  The coughing let up a little bit but he was still just feeling "off."  After about a month of still not feeling great, we started visiting various specialists.  He started having shortness of breath and would be huffing & puffing just walking up and down the driveway.  The x-ray showed fluid around the lungs and heart.  He had a CAT scan in July, x-rays, Echo and Stress tests in August ... !!  Now he is scheduled to have a heart stent next week & to see the pulmonary dr in September for a sonogram and removal of the fluid.  He stopped taking his meds for the CML leukemia for the past month and that seems to be helping a lot.  We'll see in the next few months.

As for me - I had my own issues but not so bad.  I had a lithotripsy (shock wave) to try to break up the kidney stones.  I think it worked.  I haven't had any pain with the stones & hope that continues.  I hope to do the other side in December.  I have not had any pain from the stones but I prefer to get them blast them & make them smaller.

I haven't had a lot of extra time to do much stamping but here are a few cards I have made using the July Paper Pumpkin kit.

Watercoloring

Who knew there was a Watercolor Month to celebrate!  July is World Watercolor Month and Stampin' Up has lots of watercoloring products - pencils, paper, stamps, ink and more.  Watch the video above and see what we have to offer.  Practice makes perfect for watercoloring.  Watch some of the videos about watercoloring and search #WatercolorStampinUp for ideas.  I love to watercolor and you can too.  My favorite way to watercolor is squeeze a bit of ink in the lid of the ink pad.  Use an aqua pen to dilute some of the ink and color away!  

Here is a card I did using the Sale-a-Bration stamp set, Hippest Hippos.  

JULY - DECEMBER MINI CATALOG & SALE-A-BRATION

 The July-December Mini Catalog Is Here!

The July-December Mini Catalog products are now available! Check out dozens of NEW stamps, dies, papers and embellishments that are perfect for fall and winter projects! 

The catalogs are wonderful!  Click on the Catalogs below.

MINI CATALOG

SALE-A-BRATION

It’s  Stampin’ Up!  most wonderful time of the year.

During Sale-a-Bration, for every $50  increment you purchase from either the 

new 2022 July – December / Holiday mini OR the Annual Catalog you get to

 pick something for FREE from the Sale-a-Bration mini catalog .

There are three  $100  level  item’s you can pick  for your $100.00 order 

( before tax and shipping )

• Amazing Phrasing # 159930 ( page 11)
• Wonderful World  # 159918  (Stamp Set and Designer Paper combo) 
• ( page 14)
• Tree Lot Dies # 159938  (page 12)

the Tree Lot dies coordinate with the Trees for Sale  Stamp Set # 159785

that is in the new Holiday mini catalog on page 39.

When your order reaches $300 or more ( before shipping and tax)  you can get the Perfect Pomegranate Stamp Set # 159899on page 17 in the Sale-a-Bration mini.

FREE SHIPPING!!

 

For one day only - TUESDAY, 6/21 - Stampin' Up is offering free shipping with every $75 order.  So email me, text me, call me with your order.  Also, you can put an order in on your own - just click on "order online" above & put your order in,  This also is good for Paper Pumpkin (as long as it is not for a month to month kit)  You can also get some great deals on the Clearance items!

Can't believe how long it has been since I posted!   So sorry!   Since COVID got us, I have just not had my normal energy.  I go up to my craft room & end up playing games on the computer instead of working on other things!   Sonny really doesn't.  He ended up also getting pneumonia along with the COVID.  That was in mid May and his lungs still are not clear.  He just finished another round of anti-biotics that hopefully will do the trick.

I have had fun making cards using the Celebrating In Color Paper Pumpkin kit for May.  I made 20 cards from the kit & just added a little bit of additional cardstock and some stamps from other sets.  Here are the ones I made - mostly (CASE-d)

These are from the envelopes!

Let's Set Sail!

These are some of the cards I made using the new Let's Set Sail stamp set.  There is a coordinating Punch for this stamp set.

For the card on the top with the striped DSP, I found that piece of designer paper in Ashley's stash & it goes great with the Lemon Lime sails!

I made a Z Fold card for the sail boats.

Z Card open

I stamped the pelican with Crumb Cake - using my Stamparatus so I could add additional ink on the image by stamping it multiple times.  I used a marker to make the rectangle shape framing the pelican image.

Beautiful Shapes

 I found a stamp set in Ashley's stash that is old and retired but I was able to make some great cards with it.  The top two cards are both made with the Dear Doily set.   

The 2 cards on the bottom are using a smaller doily.  But the hexagon shapes is from the Beautiful Shapes dies.  This was such a fun card and a great one to use your bits and pieces of designer paper!

Beyond the Horizon Paper Pumpkin, March 2022

 

Ashley and I had such fun making cards these past weeks.  Here are a few that Ashley has made using elements from the Beyond the Horizon Paper Pumpkin kit.  This was one of the best kits we have gotten.

Fun time with family!

 So sad ... I am coming home tomorrow!   Ashley and I have had such a good time during the 2 weeks I have been in Maryland.  We toured the DC Mormon Temple, attended a funeral (of one of Ashley's friends father) at Arlington National Cemetery, watched an the US Air Force Honor Guard Drill Team perform their "Drill at Dusk" performance at the National Harbor, attended the Evening Parade at the Marine Barracks in DC, shopped A LOT at the Tanger Outlets and had lots of "play time" and good restaurants to eat at.  Smack down in the middle of my visit was Ashley's commencement ceremony!!  She earned her Masters of Health Professional Education degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.  We are so proud of her!

Now I need to go home and take care of my hubby.  We both tested Positive for Covid a couple of weeks before I left for my trip to Ashley's.  Luckily my quarantine ended the day before my trip!  Sonny had been having a lot of congestion a couple of weeks before taking the covid test so we thought it was all related.  He ended up going to an UltraCare the first weekend I was gone.  He was diagnosed with Walking Pneumonia!  He was supposed to be playing in a golf tournament in South Carolina that next week!  He got started on the Z Pack & other meds they gave him so he ended up just missing the first two days of the tournament.  But he is still not feeling great.  Hoping he can get in to see his doctor this week.

Tropical Layers Dies

 I have another card using the Tropical Layers Dies.  The circles are punched out of the Designer Series Paper (Artfully Composed).  

I am going to miss this stamp set and dies.

Waves of Inspiration

I just love this Waves of Inspiration!  And using the Stamparatus and Sponge Daubers (or Blending Brushes) to add ink to the wave stamp allows you to add lots of colors .... so pretty!  This set is available now and is also in the Annual Catalog.

This was such a simple card to make.  I stamped the wave using Balmy Blue ink.  Next I used the Sponge Daubers to add a bit of Night of Navy and the new Tahitian Tide In Color to various places of the wave stamp.  I just kept adding a bit here and there until it was how I liked it - using the Stamparatus to hold it in place.  The only thing next was to add a couple of birds and a sentiment.  

For this one, I die cut the two wave portions onto Night of Navy and adhered it over the top of the wave.  

By the time you read this, I will be on a plane enroute to spend a couple of weeks with my daughter.  I can't wait!  I finished my 5 day quarantine and am ready to go (with a mask on!)