Stampin' Queen's Sketch Challenge 2

It's that time of the week - Wednesday Sketch Challenge for Stampin' Queens.

My card this week is a grungy look.  I just love the stamp set, Daring Adventure and decided to use it with the DSP Well Worn.  This DSP is great for masculine cards and may help me get over losing the nautical DSP from the past mini catalog.

Here is our sketch for this week:

 Here is the link to the other Queen's cards.

You can also do a card following the sketch and post it!  I would love to see what you come up with.

On the Road Again .....

Well, I'm on the road again - this time headed to Texas.  We started out Sunday - picked Mom up after church and got to Nashville Sunday night.  After a restful night, we went to the Ryman Auditorium today.  Wow!  There is a lot of history in that place.  The Ryman was the original home of the Grand Ole Opry but it started out as the Union Gospel Tabernacle in 1892.  From a church, it became a performing auditorium.  Such greats as Teddy Roosevelt, Sarah Bernhardt, Helen Hayes, and Katherine Hepburn performed at the Ryman.  In 1943, the Grand Ole Opry moved to the Ryman and became the stomping ground for Minnie :Pearl, Earl Scruggs, Red Foley, Hank Sr., Johnny Cash and even Elvis Presley!  I actually got goose bumps imagining all the greats that performed at the Ryman Auditorium.  It is still used today for concerts and performances.  After our self-guided tour, we had hoped to have lunch at the Wildhorse Saloon, a 66,000 sq. foot restaurant, saloon, dance hall, recording studio ...  Ashley actually performed at the Wildhorse with her college dance troupe and it was televised on the Nashville Network.  Unfortunately, the Wildhorse was closed for a private party so we weren't able to go inside.  We settled for an Irish bar down the street that was just ok ,,,, typical Irish fare but the beer was good and what we drank while in Ireland.

From Nashville, we drove to Hot Springs, Arkansas and are spending the night here.  Tomorrow our plan is to head on down to Dallas and spend the night.  I hope to do a little shopping while Sonny meets with our financial advisor.

We were able to Skype with Ashley this morning and got some good news.  She will be returning a day earlier than we had originally thought!!  That will give her time to rest up before her welcome home party. 

Well, mom is really snoring so I better try to get some sleep too!

CKC this weekend

Whew!  I am wiped out!  Marianne and I went to Charlotte on Thursday afternoon for CKC.  We spent the evening in the lobby of the hotel watching the Panthers on tv and working on some scrappin' kits.  Then we were up bright and early Friday morning to go to our first class at 8:30.  We had a small break after our first class and went down to the vendor faire to do a little shopping.  We ended up stopping at the SEI booth and doing their make & take.  We made 4 really nice cards but it was a pretty messy and time consuming make & take - probably taking close to 45 minutes.  That cut seriously into our shopping time!  But we made up for it after our classes were done around 4 pm.  That gave us a couple of hours to hit the floor running!   While working on our make & takes, we ran into some Mooresville friends.

Andrea & Karen

Karen & Vicki



Marianne & I

Here are a few of the nice things we oohed and aahed over:

Marianne wants to make this!



I like this acrylic album



This is from Keller Creations

Heartfelt Creations - dies to make this gorgeous card

I am leaving in the morning to drive to Texas.  Just a few more days and I'll be seeing my girl!!  Can't wait! 

My postings may be sporadic while I'm on the road the next week.

Another convention!

I'm headed to another convention this weekend.  I'm sure getting my fill this summer of creativity sessions!  Marianne and I are going to Charlotte today through Saturday to the CKC Convention.  We'll be leaving as soon as she gets off work.  I'm all packed and ready!  We have a full schedule this year.  We start our classes Friday morning at 8:30.  Most classes are an hour - we are taking 4 classes on Friday finishing our last one at 4:10.  We have a 3 hour break from 9:30 to 12:30 which I'm sure we'll spend it downstairs at the vendor fair!!  On Saturday, our schedule is just as full - starting at 8:30 for a 1 1/2 hour class and going straight through until 3:00.  We do have an hour break from 10 - 11 so guess we'll get some nourishment then!   I really enjoy the classes at CKC and hope these are just as good as the others we have taken.  We are taking some projects down to work on in our hotel tonight.  We stay at the Hampton Inn right across from the convention center.  The Hampton has a very nice area with tables and tv's that we can spread out and scrap while we watch some football (think the Panthers are playing tonight).  Plus, they have cookies and tea for you!!

When I get home Saturday, I have to get my things packed to go to Texas.  We leave on Sunday morning so it is going to be ... unpack one suitcase and pack another!  

I had a massage this morning so I could be relaxed and ready to play!! 

Here are a few of my favorite cards from the display boards at Regionals last weekend.

This kraft box will be available in the Holiday Mini!

Have a wonderful weekend!  Not sure if I'll have time (or energy) to post for a few days.

I'm A Stampin' Queen!

I have great news to share.  I have been chosen to be a Stampin' Queen!  I will be part of the Stampin' Queen Design Team.  Can you believe there are four Sharon's on the team?  Maybe that was one of the requirements!  HA!!


Each week (on Wednesday) we will be posting a card sketch along with the Stampin' Queen's interpretation of the sketch. Here is the first week's sketch:

Here is my version of the first sketch:

I used one of my favorite color combos - Pink and Brown!

Supplies:
Cardstock:  Pink Pirouette, Choc. Chip, Whisper White, Flirtatious Specialty DSP (pg 183)
Stamps:  Delicate Doilies, Smarty Pants (FRIEND)
Access:  Corner Rounder, Circle Punches and Dies, Lace Ribbon Border Punch, Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon, White Brad, Dimensionals


I hope you will visit the Stampin' Queen's blog site HERE and see the other versions of our sketch!  There is also going to be an opening day GIVE AWAY that you don't want to miss!  So hurry on over and check it out.

To participate:

• Post the image of your creation to  your blog, Splitcoast, or whereever you like to post your images for all to see
• Please put some where in the post that you are participating in the Stampin' Queens Sketch Challenge or SQSC #1.  It will help if you put in any keywords so it can be searchable
• Link the image of your creation to the STAMPIN' QUEEN BLOG

I can't wait to see what other creations everyone makes with this sketch.

This is really so exciting for me.  I have wanted to part of a design team for a long time and now I am!!

Monday Mailers

I received a great Monday Mailer last week from Robin.  She used the set My Friend (pg 139) and made a monochromatic card in Real Red.  The stamping is just wonderful.  If I didn't know better, I would say that she did not stamp the floral image on the Top Note but that it came that way from the factory!  It is that great!

 This is the card that I sent to my Monday Mailer partner today.  I got the idea from one of the swap cards I received at Regionals on Saturday.  That is why I love to go to these events - you get so many great ideas!  Unfortunately, I have just discovered that it is a retired set!  At least, I cannot find it in the current catalog.  So I will be sending Nancy another card tomorrow!  I just assumed since I received a similar card in the swaps, that it was current!  You know what they say about assuming!!

So, this is the other card that I made for Nancy to take the place of the retired set that I did by mistake.

Charlotte Regionals

Regionals on Saturday was great!  I learned a lot of "tricks of the trade" - now I just need to remember everything I saw!  Neither Marianne nor I won any of the "Prize Patrol" give-aways, but we came away with a few goodies anyway.  Stampin' Up was pretty generous and along with the make-n-takes that we did, we came away with a Card Keeper Box (featured in the next mini), a journal and a couple of card kits to make.  We also got a bunch of card swaps so there are always good ideas in those.  I stood in line to talk with Shelli (CEO of SU) and had my picture made with her.  We have decided that she may be one of the most photographed women in America!  It is so funny to hear how excited people get when they meet her for the first time!  She is a very warm person and seems like she really cares about us demonstrators.

Shelli even helped give out the goodies to the crowd!

Stampin' Up has a box where they ask that we drop off a swap card to take back to the home office.  Shelli judged all the cards that were submitted and picked three of the top cards.  No, unfortunately, mine was not one of the top three (darn!) but here are the winning ones that she picked:

 Isn't this card just a scream?  Look at all the punches that were used - Butterfly punch for the dress; hearts for the shoes, circles, ovals, tags ....  Really cute!!

 This one was my favorite of the 3 she picked.  I love all the layers on it.  That stocking is a sneak peek from the Holiday Mini as is the DSP used!

Again, a clever use of punches with the tags.  Guess Shelli is into using punches as evidenced by her choice of picks.

Well, bedtime here for me!  I am playing bridge tomorrow.  I had hoped that my friend, Margaret, was coming for a quick visit tomorrow but since I haven't heard from her, I guess not.  We haven't had a visit since last March!  I'll be starting to get things packed this week for our trip.  I packed Ashley's suitcase today with all the stuff she left here plus things I've picked up for her while she has been gone.  I think we are going to have a full carload!

Stampin' Up Regionals

I will be attending Stampin' Up Regionals tomorrow at the Convention Center in downtown Charlotte.  Marianne and I came down late this afternoon when she got off work.  We met up with my convention roomie, Nancy, and 10 other gals from the Wilmington area for dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings.  While we were there, they started a game of trivia so we signed up!  We were doing pretty well we thought.  At halftime though we found out we were in 8th place.  It was already a little past 9 and most gals were ready to call it a night, so we didn't get to finish our game.  Marianne and I were excited though .... one of the categories was Football.  Most of the gals groaned but we felt confident and had our fingers crossed that it would have something to do with our beloved Steelers!  The question was - which two teams only have their team logo on one side of their helmet!  Marianne jumped up and shouted out the answer - Steelers.  (We were not supposed to shout it out but to write it down!!)  Now, we just had to come up with the other team .... we looked up at the tv and the Cleveland Browns were playing and low and behold, they didn't have a logo on the side of their helmet!! 

Well, Marianne is snoring beside me so guess I better call it a night and turn out the lights.  7 AM is going to come awful early for me!!  But I am excited about tomorrow.  There are rumors that Shelli will be in attendance and we will be getting some cool products!  So good night all!

Swap Cards for Charlotte Regionals

I am going to Stampin' Up Regionals this weekend in Charlotte.  We are able to take a guest so Marianne is going with me.  We are going to drive down tomorrow evening and stay at the Hilton so we don't have to fight looking for a parking place Saturday morning.  Also, a bunch of NC demonstrators are also going to be downtown Friday night and we are meeting up with a group from Wilmington for dinner.  So it should be fun!  Marianne came over a couple of weeks ago and we worked on some cards to swap on Saturday.  Marianne used Snow Much Fun for her swaps.  I am doing 3-4 different designs and taking about 40-50 cards with me.  Here are a couple of the cards that I will be swapping:

 This car uses the wonderful Fabulous Florets stamp.  I stamped directly on the DSP except for the topmost flower which I stamped and cut out.

 This card was different for me.  I stamped the Medallion stamp with bleach - I actually used a Bleach Pen - onto the Crumb Cake cardstock.  Every one of them came out a little different.  Then using Elements of Style, I stamped the swirls with Versamark and embossed them.  This one is embossed with Gold Embossing Powder.

 These cards are similar to the one above it.  I stamped the bleached Medallion onto Chocolate chip paper and embossed the swirls with Black.

Here is one I embossed with Silver Embossing Powder.

A new Camera!!

I finally got my new camera so I will be better about posting now.  I was using Marianne's camera the past week but I didn't have the cord to download pictures to my desktop.  So I would have to use the memory card to put in my laptop and download the pictures.  I don't usually turn my laptop on until after dinner when we are watching tv and I would get involved in whatever we were watching and forget about downloading the pictures.  My new Kodak M580 arrived yesterday and I can download pictures straight to my e-mail, Facebook, Kodak gallery, etc. so I am back in business!!

I had Stamp Club yesterday.  The projects took just a tad longer than I had anticipated!!  We started at 4 and my last guest left a little after 6:30!!  But now I know how to do my Thursday group so they won't take as long (give better instructions!!).  It's usually a trial and error thing - I never think it will take as long as it does to make a card.  But they loved the cards and project that we made.  We started off making the plant hanger that I posted in THIS post.  They loved it!  That's where the "better instructions" comes in.  I had only intended for them to use the Sharpie markers to color in the center of the flowers - just a dot or two - but they ended up creating a masterpiece on their embossed image using lots of colors.  My fault - I didn't specify what to do!  A lesson learned.

This is the first card we did.  My Thursday card will be doing this card also but in oranges.  What's great about it is each person can pick their own saying for the card.

Supplies:
Cardstock:  Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Paisley Petals DSP
Stamps:  Occasions Alphabet (pg 171) and Tiny Tags (pg 136)
Access:  Top Note die, Big Shot, Postage Punch, Pink Pirouette ribbon (retired)

This card just makes me smile!  I had a request for a kid's birthday card and this is what I came up with. You can adjust the colors in the circles that were punched out for a girl or boy.

Supplies:
Cardstock:  Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Tangerine Tango, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White
Stamps:  Button Buddies, Petite Pairs, (party hat is from retired Party Hearty)
Access:  Square Lattice embossing folder, Big Shot, Circle Punches, Designer Buttons

This was the final card we made - a quick and easy one.  The stamp set, Easy Events, is a great versatile set!  See the itty bitty heart in the corner?  Well, that is a trick I learned at convention!  Punch out the flower in the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack and cut the heart shape from the flower (by cutting off 2 of the petals)!

Supplies:
Cardstock:  watercolor paper, Pool Party, Certainly Celery, Pink Pirouette, Pumpkin Pie
Stamp:  Easy Events (pg 57)
Access:  Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Bakers Twine, watercolor crayons, aqua pen, 2 1/2" circle punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Two Way Glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

Monday Mailers .... August

Hope your weekend was good.  Ours was a little rainy but we needed it badly.  Hopefully the rain will cool down the temps.  I did a bit of yard work - pulling those nasty weeds - yesterday.  It didn't take long for the humidity to get me!  Friday night was the return of FOOTBALL!!  We met our friends, Barb and Mike and Marianne and Greg at Big Al's to watch the Steelers first pre-season game.  We didn't get to see much of the game because the station kept jumping to other games too.  But, it was nice to visit with Barb and Mike.   Mike had rotater cuff surgery on his right arm this summer and Barb practically has to do everything for him.  I think she was ready for a break!

Today Mom, my sisters and I went to see The Help.  It was sooo good.  I read the book earlier this summer and Marianne just finished it yesterday.  If you haven't read the book, do so!  The movie was pretty much just like the book and I can see it getting a few Academy Awards this year!  What are you waiting on?  Go see the move and read the book!!

I have a couple of cards to share with.  They are my Monday Mailers that I have received this month.  I have been lax in posting pictures of them!

Hope your week is a good one.  Mine is going to be busy!  I am playing Duplicate Bridge tomorrow and have Card Club on Tuesday and Thursday!

Stampin' Blisters

We had some much welcome rain this afternoon plus the temperature was bearable today!  Maybe the brutal summer is coming to an end.  I know I will welcome fall!

I had a first tonight!  I got a blister on my finger from stamping!  I bought some lunch bags at the Dollar Store today to put my class projects in and decided I would dress them up a bit.  So, I started stamping them - 15 of them.  My finger was hurting a bit and when I rubbed it, I found the blister!  I decided to use a wheel and roll the next set of bags - safer! 

This is the Monday Mailer that I sent to Nancy this week. 

The card is Bashful Blue and white with a Turquoise strip across the middle and white.  I just love the Designer Brads!!  The cupcake is punched out with the Cupcake Punch and layered on the new embossing frame (you get 2 in a pack!).  The Crumb Cake frame is layered onto Soft Suede rectangle and I rounded the corners.  A simple card with a few added touches.  As it turned out, Nancy's (my Monday Mailer partner) birthday was this week so this card was ideal for her!

Ireland with MDS

I did a little more work today on my Ireland scrapbook with My Digital Studio.   I love working with MDS but boy, can the time get away from me while I'm doing it!!

You can click on the images to make them larger.

Birthday Wishes and the Bronze Star

Last week was my nephew's 22nd birthday.  Wow!  Where has the time gone?  Seems like just yesterday when I  made him a little wooden stool with Barney painted on it so he could reach the sink to wash his hands!  Now, Marianne (his mom) uses the stool to reach the higher cabinets in her kitchen since she's so short!!  The family celebrated his birthday at his favorite Japanese restaurant. 

It's been another busy week so far.  Yesterday I played bridge.  When I got home, I worked on some cards for various swaps I am doing.   Today I worked at the Soup Kitchen.  It always makes me feel good to work there.  I feel like I'm doing some good in the world and not just "getting by".

I remembered to take a picture of my Monday Mailer this time!  Last week I put it in the mail before I took the picture.  The theme this month is Favorites.  I used a few of my favorite accessories in the new catalog - the Incolor Designer Brads and the new Designer Frames embossing folder ( you get two folders for $8.95).  I made the cupcake with the Cupcake Punch - super easy!

 

Do you know what this medal is?        

 Well, it is a Bronze Star Medal Award.  Ashley showed us hers today (via Skype) that she received in a ceremony this week!  We are so proud of her!   This award is given for meritorious achievement or meritorious service.

I ddn't forget you!

Remember me?  I was on the go all last week and just was too tired at the end of the week to take pictures and post them!!  I worked at my friend's stamp store last Thursday and didn't think I'd be very busy.  So, I took a bunch of stuff to do - my book, my computer, stuff to make a few cards, etc.  Well, I ended up bringing it all back home with me!!  I didn't sit down all day except to have a sandwich (which my dear hubby brought to me!)  Friday I played Hand & Foot. and when I got home, I got busy working on making a few swaps to take to Regionals in Charlotte in a couple of weeks.  Marianne came over Saturday afternoon and ended up spending the night.  She is going to Regionals with me and wanted me to help her come up with some swap ideas.  She is using the Snow Much Fun set and made 10-20 cards with it.  I meant to take a picture of them before she left.  Well, I really couldn't take a picture anyway.  You know, I ran out a couple of weeks ago and bought a new camera to take to NC Quarterly with me.  I did a little research and bought a Cannon digital camera.  I really decided I paid too much for a camera (Sonny and Ashley helped me make that decision!!)  I also didn't like the way I had to hook it up to the computer to download the pictures (too flimsy) and the battery died on me after only 1 week.  So, I returned the camera this weekend and have ordered another one from Amazon - a Kodak Easy Share.  I have had 2 Kodaks and they are good cameras for the money.  I was just trying to go with a different camera this time.  But, I already have the program downloaded on my computer for Kodak and it is one of the newest models so we'll see.

We got the final word last week as to Ashley's return home!!  I am so excited!!  Due to security reasons, I can not divulge the exact date.  But I will be seeing her in a little less than a month!  Sonny and I have decided to drive to Texas at the end of the month although we did get a credit from Delta for our plane tickets (that we were supposed to use last week!)  Ashley's air conditioner went out at her home last week and we had the renters put some freon in it.  We are hoping that will remedy the situation until Sonny can get there and replace the unit.  So by driving, he can carry all his tools with him.  That was his business before he retired, so he can do a lot of the work himself and save her some money that way.

I am working on a Ribbon Share.  If you are interested, please let me know.  I will be putting the first order for ribbon in this week.  As soon as another one fills, I will order it.  Here are the details:

3/8" Ruffled Ribbon Share (matches the new In Colors as seen on page 194):
Each share receives 2 yards of the 5 in-colors (10 yards total) - Calypso Coral, Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, and Wisteria Wonder. 

Cost: 14.00/share

1.  Diane C
2.  Margaret W.
3.  Donna M.
4.  Sharon A.
5.  Marianne W.

1.  Kenny M
2.  Sharon M
3. 
4.
5.

 

3/8" Scallop Dots Ribbon Share (*new ribbon seen on page 195*): 
Each share receives 2 yards of 5 colors (Cherry Cobbler, , Elegant Eggplant, Marina Mist, Old Olive, Pretty In Pink)   10 yards total

cost - $10/share

1.  Diane C
2.  Margaret W
3.  Judy N
4. Donna M
5. Marianne W

1.  Kenny M
2.  Sharon M
3. 
4. 
5.

3/8" Scallop Dots Ribbon Share (*new ribbon seen on page 195*): 
Each share receives 2 yards of 5 colors (Basic Black, Melon Mambo, More Mustard,  Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip)   10 yards total

cost - $10/share

1.  Donna M
2.  Margaret W
3.  Marianne W
4.  Sharon M
5.

1. 
2.
3.
4.
5.

I think this is going to be my next big project:

Village of Cuteness

 Aren't they so cute?  This was a class that was offered at convention.  It didn't sound that great to me so I didn't sign up but now, I sure wish I had.  These cute houses were made by Karen Culler at convention and she shared them with us at the NC Quarterly.  I showed them to Sonny and told him I'd like to make some so Friday when I came home from cards, he had cut 6 houses out for me from some scraps he had in the garage!  Now I have to decide how to decorate them.  I think they would also be cute decorated as Christmas gingerbread houses!  Any other ideas???

Tax Free Weekend 2011

The state of North Carolina is having a sales tax holiday for school supplies up to $100.00 per item from August 5-7. Because school supply items are included in this sales tax holiday, the below list of items will be state tax free during the holiday period. You can order on line from my WEBSITE or you can contact me to place your order but remember it is for a short period of time.

The following items are tax-exempt during the North Carolina sales tax holiday:

Item Number Description Price
100425 2-Way Glue Pen $3.50
100902 Dotto Refill $6.50
101879 Watercolor Pencils (24) $19.95
102845 Blender Pens (3) $9.95
103179 Craft & Rubber Scissors $19.95
103305 Dotto $12.95
103579 Paper Snips $9.95
103683 Mini Glue Dots $4.95
104045 Anywhere Glue Sticks (2) $3.95
104294 Sticky Strip $6.95
104331 SNAIL Refill $4.50
104332 SNAIL Adhesive $6.95
104430 Stampin' Dimensionals $3.95
105021 Uni-ball Signo Gel Pen $3.95
105394 Basic Black Stampin' Write Journaler $3.50
108360 Craft Scissors $29.95
110755 Multipurpose Liquid Glue $3.95
Varies Stampin' Write Marker $3.50
119700 Subtles Collection Stampin' Write Markers (10) $28.95
119701 Regals Collection Stampin' Write Markers (10) $28.95
119702 Brights Collection Stampin' Write Markers (10) $28.95
119703 Neutrals Collection Stampin' Write Markers (8) $22.95
119801 2010-2012 In Color Stampin' Write Markers (5) $14.95
119802 Subtles Collection Watercolor Wonder Crayons (10) $16.95
119803 Regals Collection Watercolor Wonder Crayons (10) $16.95
119804 Brights Collection Watercolor Wonder Crayons (10) $16.95
119805 Neutrals Collection Watercolor Wonder Crayons (10) $16.95
120962 Stampin' Pastels $24.95
123002 2011-2013 In Color Stampin' Write Markers (5) $14.95

SU DSP Sale!

Promotion Dates: August 1-31, 2011

Promotion Details: During August, get a FREE package of Designer Series Paper when you buy three! Stock up on all your favorites, including brand-new designs from the 2011-12 Catalog and Idea Book.

Things to Remember:

There is no limit to the number of free packages of Designer Series Paper you can earn.

Specialty Designer Series Paper and Hostess Designer Series Paper are not part of this promotion and cannot be redeemed through this offer. On-line ordering deadline is Aug. 31 at 11:50 P.M. MT

More Quarterly Projects

I thought I'd share a few more of the Quarterly projects with you .... while I am watching the finale of The Bachelorette.  This is the first time I have watched this show (and maybe the last!).  I just don't understand how someone thinks they can find their true love of their life on a reality TV program!  Maybe that is what is wrong with young people getting married these days.  I think they go into a relationship thinking, well, if it doesn't work out, we'll go our separate ways and find someone else.  We'll see how long Ashley (from Bachelorette) and whoever she picks tonight stay together.

This is our "one size fits all" card!  I've made these bikini cards before but this one was fitting for our Beach Party theme!

How do you like the flower tatoo??

 This is a potpourri holder.  This is really a pretty basis project that most beginner SU demonstrators make but I don't think I have ever done one!  Tina made her own potpourri that she gave each of us to put in the envelope.  You cut the envelope in half (after sealing it closed) and crimp the bottom of the envelope.  Then you stamp, fill the envelope, fill it and punch holes and insert the ribbon.

 This one was my favorite project!  I think we will make these at Stamp Club this month.  It is a plant stake that made from metal roof flashing and run through the Big Shot to cut and emboss it.

 This is another great project from Pat - a tissue holder!