Welcome Baby Abigail!

Well, we finally got a baby!  Abigail Lane made her first appearance at 1:20 pm on Tuesday 5/5 and weighed 7 lbs 2 oz.  Morgan ended up having a C Section.  Marianne and Greg are officially Mimi and Poppy and I am a Great Aunt!  Can't wait to see her and hold her in my arms although I know that will be a while with the panademic going on.

I just put this card in the mail to welcome Abigail!

I don't have many baby stamps but found this one (thanks to Evernote for organizing my stamps!)  I think it was in stamp set called Feathered Friends.  I don't have any of the other stamps in the set though.  I colored the image with my Blends.  The pink cardstock and DSP are non Stampin' Up.  I used Stitched Rectangle Dies.

This is the Mother's Day card I made for the new mommy!

This stamp set is also an oldie but a goodie.  I used the retired Jar of  Love with matching dies to create this card.  I love that jar.  I stamped it on watercolor paper and water colored a little bit of Pool Party for the water in the jar.  Interesting enough is that in the new catalog coming out in June there is a stamp set called Jar of Flowers and it is bundled with a Jar Punch. 

Hello Love Baby Card

Time for Tuesday Weekly Deals!  If you enjoy using embossing folder, this is the week for you!!

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

I want to share with you a baby card I made.  My daughter-in-law's oldest daughter is pregnant and will be welcoming her own little bundle in May so I made this cute card for her.

This uses a hostess only stamp set - Hello Love.  I used Pink Pirouette and Naturals White along with a little Strawberry Slush.  Cute, huh?  Hope she likes it.

Paper Craft Crew Challenge 105

Here is my MDS card for this week's Paper Craft Crew Challenge.

This was our sketch:



I decided to make a baby card.  I don't know why - no babies in my future but I thought the stars would work good for a baby.  Most of the elements on the card are from the Nursery Essentials kit.

Speaking of babies, my grandson is definitely not a baby any longer.  He turns 8 today.  It is hard for me to believe that he is already that old!!  We've gone from this:



to this in a blink of an eye:

Happy Birthday dear Jayce!

Baby Welcome to the World

My nephew and his wife had a boy Monday morning!  Lincoln Morse arrived at 6:42 a.m. Monday morning weighing 7 pounds 2 oz.  Katrina had to have a "C" section but all reports are that she is doing well.  Isn't that cool - a baby named Lincoln born on Presidents Day!!

Here is the card I made for them last week and have just been waiting for the big day to get it in the mail.

I used a lot of retired items in this card - Stocking Punch, stamp set, Bashful Blue card stock but I don't think Lincoln will mind!!

We have been watching the Olympics night and day.  I'm really enjoying the ice dancing, luge and snow boarding.  Even Sammie is enjoying watching the Olympics!

I am having my cataract surgery Tuesday.  Wish me luck!!  Can't wait to be able to see sharper.

Bags for the Beach and for Baby

I had a very productive weekend in my stamp room.  I am trying to figure out what to do in Stamp Club this week but I have too many choices!  So, I keep playing around with different sets and techniques.  I need to make a decision!!

We got some good news this weekend that our family will be growing next year.  My nephew and his wife, Katrina, are expecting their second child in February.  They already have a precious little boy.  I'm hoping for a little girl but we'll have to wait a few weeks before they know the sex.  I made this little baby bag card to send to them to congratulate them.  I found the pattern on-line (Pinterest probably).  I think we will be making a similar bag in club this week too!

I also think I was in a pastel mood this weekend.  Seems most of the cards I made were with pastel colors which is unusual for me.  I usually go for the Brights and Regals.  But I love the new in colors and the way they seem to go together. 

This little bag opens on the side.  The little closure is punched with the Ticket Punch and has a bit of Velcro to keep it closed.  The mosaic background piece is from the DSP packet, Quadrefancy Specialty.  It is a clear window sheet with the quadrefoil design in white.  The sentiment is from That's the Ticket.  I used a few pearls and my white gel pen to dress it up.

On the inside, I punched 4 little hearts to cover up where the straps were glued down.








Here is another bag I made.  This time I used the DSP from a Christmas pack!  This DSP is in the Holiday catalog - Winter Frost (pg 29).  So, you can use winter DSP for a summer bag, can't you!?!  I really like this paper.  This time for the bag closure I used the Oval Punch.  The sentiment is from Oval All that I just realized is retired!  Oops - I had it on the wrong shelf.  The little flower is from Secret Garden - hard to tell but it is stamped in Pool Party and I used the dauber and Island Indigo for the edges.  Instead of a pearl on the closure, I used one of the Candy Dots (I love these things!)

 And how about a beach bag tote?  Again, this DSP is from a Christmas stack.  This time the DSP is Season of Style (pg 22 of Holiday mini).  I am a polka dot gal and love this Soft Suede polka dot bag with the pretty Blushing Bride card stock.  I stamped and heat embossed the anchor from Open Sea and added a little bit of twine to it.  The flowers are punched using the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch (but you could also use the Boho Blossom flower.)  Again I used the Candy Dots for the closure and for the center of the flowers. 

So what did you do this weekend?  Productive or just lazing around?  Both are fine with me!!  Oops gotta run - Sammie wants to play straws.  (I throw her straw down the stairs and she runs down and fetches it just like a dog!)

Baby Tee

I made a baby card this week for a friend who became a grandmother again. I always forget to use my wheels.   I keep them in a fabric shoe holder that is hanging on the back of my door which is a great organizing tool for them.  I love the Baby Tees wheel and used it to make two cards.  The first card I made I wheeled the tees onto white card stock and used my Copics to color the little tees.  Then I mounted them onto some bright yellow (non SU) paper I found and then onto the plaid card (non SU).  Aren't they bright and cheery?

Well, when I finished that card, I decided to unmount my wheel.  I took it off the wheel and mounted it onto some clear-mount cling foam.  That way I can use the stamp as a traditional stamp.  I haven't gone so far as to cut the tees apart but that would be an idea also.

But here is the cute baby card I made after un-mounting the stamp!  Love it!

I stamped the tees onto DSP, colored them with markers and cut each one out individually.  They are glued down onto the white paper with the SU Glue Stick (my fav!).  In order to get them (semi-) straight onto the white paper, I used my handy SU Grid Paper.  No need to eyeball it! Remember that you have a handy ruler at the base of your Stampin’ Up! grid paper and gridlines on either side to help get things perfectly aligned.  (NOTE:  Grid paper is on the retired list - it is just being refigured but will be $1 more so you might want to get it now and save.)

I then stamped the "baby" sentiment from One In A Million using my Stamp-a-ma-jig to line it up.  I found some little metal  coat hanger brads in my stash so I put one on each of the baby tees.

 My next step was to make an envelope to put the card into since I made an extra long card.  My card measures about 9" x 7 1/2".   Rather than stick this beautiful card in a plain, legal envelope, I decided to make a coordinated, stylish envelope for its delivery.  A little more costly at the post office, but it's ok once in while.

Here are the directions for my envelope:

• I cut a piece of Bashful Blue Designer Series Paper Stack paper to 9-1/4″x11-3/4″. I chose this DSP with the floral design as the exterior of the envelope.
• I placed the paper on the Simply Scored Scoring Tool with the shortest end of the paper lined up against the top ruler. 
• With the markers at 2-3/8″ and 6-1/2″, I scored the horizontal lines of the envelope. 
• I then turned the paper on its side and scored it 1-1/2″ and 11″. 
• I trimmed the corners off the scored piece of paper, careful to snip on the inside of the score line so that everything would fold over cleanly. 
• With the 3/16″ Corner punch, I rounded all the corners.
• I folded the envelope, using my bone folder to make sure that the envelope completely closes:
  I added adhesive to the shorter side panel and then glued down the longer side.
• And then added adhesive to the bottom panel (the shortest of the remaining panels) and glued it down

Marianne and I are going to an event this weekend in Spartanburg.  It is a Crop and Paper Festival put on by Scrabook Creations in Spartanburg.  It is a weekend of cropping and creating.  Last summer when we went to CKC in Charlotte, Ashley won the grand prize which was free admission to the cropping festival.  She could not come up to go to the event so they let her transfer the ticket to me.

This is how it is advertised:   Full Crop Weekend Registration fee is $135. Includes three days of Crop Time. Upon arrival, croppers will receive a Goody Bag full of scrapbooking and paper crafting items as well a s a Crop T-shirt! All croppers will also receive six two-page layouts with instructions available during the Crop. Seating is limited to 200 croppers!

I don't know about you, but I'm not paying that kind of money just to crop!  I can do that quite comfortably in my own home.  But Marianne and I decided to make a weekend of it and see what it is all about.  Since Marianne did not buy a ticket, she will not be able to go in the crop room with me so I will just be getting my goodie bag and we will do our own thing.   We are real interested to see what it is all about.  There are other classes on Friday and Saturday (extra $$ of course) but we only signed up for a Make and Take event Friday night.  (Friday Night Make-N-Take Event fee is $30. Included is an evening of creative fun. Join the group on Friday night as everyone participates in a great Make-N-Take event. Customers will rotate from table to table in a specific manner every 15 minutes. At each table you will complete a different project. By the end of the night, you will have completed eight projects. Midway, there will be a 15 minute break to indulge in the delicious Dessert Bar.)

Baby Cards Plus Lots of Stampin' Up Specials!

• Baby time!  I made two cards last week and then just waited for the babies to made their grand entrance.  Last Thursday Elliott Pierce Frazier was welcomed by his parents, Brittany and Travis and their daughter, Ryan.  Travis and Brittany are good friends of Ashley's and are both Army docs in Washington.   Ashley is excited to be able to meet Elliott this week since she is at Madigan in Washington teaching a class this week.  This is the card I made for them using a retired SU set:

Next was the arrival of Reed Alan Coskey on Friday.  Jeff and Heidi were super excited to welcome their first child!  I can't wait to meet him when we go to Texas in December!  Here is their card:

I used a non-SU stamp set on this one.  Their nursery is done in yellow and gray with giraffes so this card should work!

Several big announcements today from Stampin' Up to kick off October:

#1  -  Do you ever see a stamp set and wish you could purchase JUST ONE STAMP out of it?  Stampin' Up is trying something new and selling some stamps from a set INDIVIDUALLY!


Promotion Details:
These stamps are available on any order type-customer, workshop, or online.
To find the item numbers, click on the flyers. You have to use these item numbers.  The stamps won't be sent to you in our typical cases or packaging; they'll be packaged in cello bags. If you'd like a case for your stamp, you can buy our Clear-Mount Stamp Cases that come in packs of four (item 119105).

This offer is available for clear-mount stamps only.  The stamps won't come with a Clear-Mount Block, and you'll need to buy a block separately if you don't already have one. The recommended block sizes can be found on the flyers.

There's no limit on how many pieces you can buy.

Remember that this is a pilot program and currently available until January 2, so take advantage of it while you can!

The stamp sets they are trying this out on are as follows:  Word Play  / Perfectly Penned  / Seasonal Sayings
So click on the stamp sets and check it out!

#2  - Here's a big MDS announcement that will save you money!  Stampin' Up has lowered all of their My Digital Studio print products permanently! Now you can print your photobooks, cards, calendars, and other projects for less. Some have even been lowered up to 50 percent!  If you have MDS, a new update was added today so make sure you run an update when you use MDS next to reflect the new prices as well as the new features that have been added.
#3  - Christmas is just around the corner and Stampin' Up! would like to give you a gift- You can read more below or check it out HERE

You can order on line here.

Whew - a lot of news to share!

Super Sunday

I've been a busy girl!  I'm on a roll with making cards and trying to build up my stash while playing with my new goodies.  See all those cards above?  I've made all of them in the past 3-4 days!   I have several birthdays on my calendar for February plus I started the Monday Mailer program again so I need some cards.  I'll be sharing them with you over the next few days. 

You saw the baby card I made for my nephew yesterday in THIS post.  Well, I made another one for a friend whose grandson was born a few weeks ago - 3 1/2 months early. His weight has just gotten up to 2 pounds on Thursday.  Cathy was a good friend and in my Stamping Club until she moved to Georgia last month.  I got her started with card making and she was hooked from the very first class!  I miss her but she moved to be closer to her family and now with the new grandbaby, I'm happy for her.  Here is the card I made for her.

This one is a little different from the other one that I made.  I added a little placket down the front with Itty Bitty heart shaped buttons.  Either way, they are fun to make.

Most of the cards I have been making are CASE'd from some that I have seen on various websites from samples from SU's recent Leadership trip in San Antonio.  There were a lot of good ideas and I tweaked a few of them to come up with my own version.  Like this one:

 This card was made using the new Blossom Punch (pg 17 of mini catalog).  I punched the hole with the punch in the white cardstock and backed it with paper from Flirtatious DSP.  Next it was backed on Wisteria Wonder cardstock.  I punched a Melon Mambo circle (1") for the center and topped it with a button.  I punched a few flowers out with the Boho Blossoms Punch using Pretty in Pink and Wisteria.  The Wisteria circle at the top is from the Button Sizzix Die   The banner is from the Take It to Heart stamp set (pg 14, mini) an the saying is from Blessings from Heaven stamp set.  You can see a close up below.



close up of the flowers



Well, back to watching the Super Bowl. I'm pulling for the Giants.  No matter - at least it is a good game this year.  Nine minutes left - so anyone's game at this point with score 15-17.  I'm not a huge Madonna fan but thought the half time show was ok.  At least there wasn't any wardrobe malfunction - that I could tell anyway!  I much preferred Blake Shelton and Miranda at the beginning of the Super Bowl singing the National Anthem!  I'm enjoying most of the commercials though this year.  We were supposed to go to a Super Bowl party but ended up cancelling because Sonny was not feeling well.  He has had sinus "gunk" going on for several days.  I was disappointed but what can you do?  Hopefully he will be feeling good soon. 

Its A Boy!

It's a BOY!  Jack Wayland Frost IV was born at 12:15 AM Friday, Feb. 3.  He weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces - not bad for being 5 1/2 weeks early!  He is my nephew, Jack, and his wife, Katrina's first child.  If you follow my blog, they were the couple who were married in May, 2010 with the carnival themed wedding (pictures  HERE!).  Jack & Kat live in Austin, Texas - about an hour away from my daughter.  Ashley drove up there this afternoon to meet the newest addition to the family and got to hold him.  I'll have to wait until March to see him.  I made a baby book for him a couple of weeks ago and thought I had plenty of time to get it in the mail.  Oops .... didn't know he was going to be so impatient!  Guess I better get it in the mail on Monday.  I made this cute card today to send to them.

 I found this piece of DSP cardstock in my stash and thought it would be great for little Jack's card.  The stamp set is Simply Scallops which is a retired set.  The materials I used for this card are:

non-SU DSP cut 4 1/4" x 11" folded in half

3/4" Circle Punch (for the neck

1 3/8" Circle Punch for legs

Small Oval Punch for bottom snap part

Scallop Punch , 1 1/4" Circle Punch

White Brads

Here is how I made the card: 

• fold the DSP cardstock in half
• Use the punches to punch the legs and neck holes (just half punches)
• For arms - measure 1 1/4" down from top fold and cut in from the sides 1"; cut from the underarm part you just cut to the outer corner of the leg portion.
• For the trim on the legs and neck, use the Circle Punches to punch out half circles.

Penguin Babies

While Ashley was visiting over Thanksgiving, a good friend of hers from DC had twins!  They were very early - not due until March and weighed about a pound each.  But they are doing ok I believe.  So she made a cute baby card to send.  The babies room theme is penguins.  I didn't think I had any penguin stamps but then we found this cute penguin in a retired SU Christmas set, Cold & Cuddly.  I thought the card turned out really cute!!

So, you need to look at your stamps and use them for all occasions .... you never know!!

I have super busy as I imagine everyone is at this time of the year.  Every year, I tell myself to start doing things earlier so I won't get so behind, but do you think I listen to myself????  Nooooo!  I had one free day this week.  I had 3 parties to go to during the day that I had to take food - bridge, mahjong and Newcomers.  And tonight is our couples Newcomers Christmas party.  Luckily, it is one where they will serve me!  That is a real party to me!  We are having it at Queens Landing (but not on the boat).  I do have today free (unless I've forgotten to go somewhere!) so I plan to making use of the time and finishing my Christmas cards and work on some of my projects.  Because next week is just as bad - I think I have one free day next week too.  So, if I don't blog too much, you will know why!!

Last night we had to go to Big Als in Mooresville to watch the Steeler game.  They were on the NFL network and we don't get that channel at home.  They were playing the Cleveland Browns in what should have been an easy game.  Well, don't count your chickens before they hatch!  It was a nail biter.  In one play during the second quarter, Cleveland fumbled the ball, we picked it up and got to the 5 yard line with it when we fumbled.  Cleveland recovered and a few seconds later, we intercepted their pass!  Right before the half, Ben (quarterback) got injured and was taken away to the locker room.  That is never a good sign.  He had a high ankle sprain but he thought at first his leg was broken.  There is no doubt - he is one tough guy.  He ended up coming back the second half with his leg taped.  He didn't have any mobility but he was determined to finish what he had started.  And he did!  They won 14-3!

Tomorrow Marianne and I are driving to Blowing Rock to do some shopping.  Hope to see some snow but not get stuck in it!!

Stamp Club for April

I had my Stamp Club at my house last Thursday.  One of the gals had requested a baby card so we made the Baby Dresser card that I learned to do at Quarterly a few weeks ago.  A couple made the baby dresser card while a few more made an Easter dresser card and another couple did Mother's Day dresser cards.  It was one of the first times my club has used their own creativity on the cards so it was a good thing (as Martha would say!).

I just love these cards!  They are such fun to make.  If you are interested in making one, you can find the tutorial HERE.

The other two cards that we made are these:

 This card uses one of my favorite stamp sets, Awash With Flowers.  It also uses one of my favorite techniques - Two Step Stamping.  It also uses the Sneak Peak set, Four Frames.  You can purchase it now (until the end of April) with any $20 order.

  Another fun card!  The "pink button card" is from My Digital Studio.  The two buttons on the card are stamped with the Button, Button set (pg 34 of Occasions Mini) and popped up with dimensionals.  We also used the Button, Button set to stamp all over the white cardstock which we then matted onto the colored card stock pieces and ran through the Big Shot (using a lot of muscle power!).  Inside the card is the saying, "Sew Glad We Are Friends".  Cute, huh?  That saying is from the set, Puns From the Past (pg 130 in the big catty) but I bought it through My Digital Studio and just printed the saying out.

Hello Baby

I made a baby card with the final stamp that I hadn't used from A Slice of Life.  Remember, I told you in this post that I would make a card with the onesie stamp and share it. 

 I had a piece of this beautiful lace trim left over from Christmas so I threaded a piece of pink grosgrain through the top and adhered it to the card.  This is a pretty simple card.  I'm stuck using pink and green I think!  That is one of my favorite color combos.

Here's a picture of my friends at our luncheon on Thursday.  We had such a good visit.  We met at noon and didn't leave the restaurant until 2 pm!  We were all on the Newcomer's Board 2 years ago and got along so well plus we got things done in the Club.  I was the only crazy one who stayed another year.  What a difference the past year's Board members were versus the six of us!  Just suffice it to say, I'm glad I'm done!

Sharon, our president; Ellen, Treasurer, Cathy, Rec. Secretary

Kathy, VP, Judy, VP, and me, Corr. Secretary/Newsletter

A Card for Twins!

I thought that I had posted this card but Ashley informed me today that I had not!  Her best friends in San Antonio had twins a week ago.  Lisa and Danny had a boy and a girl to bring home to big brother Ryan.  The babies are still in the hospital and Lisa is going there every 3 hours to feed them.  I know she'll be so glad to get them home in a few weeks.  I think this has been one of the hardest times for Ashley knowing those babies are here and she won't get to see them for so long.

 

I had so much fun making this card!  I used the large wheel, Baby Tees (pg 79 in SU catalog).  I wheeled it once on blue DSP and again on pink DSP and cut them out.  I free-handed the little tee shirt in the middle for Ryan and stamped "brother" on it from Everyday Flexible Phrases (retired) and then just wrote in "big" with a Sharpie.  The background paper is some I had in my stash (non SU).   The silver hangers are brads that I got at CKC a couple of years ago.  I hung them on the twine.  The sentiment is punched out with the Modern Label Punch.  So what do you think???

Now I have to get to work on two name frames for Alex and Julia.  I have bought the frames and they have been sitting amid the mess on my desk for a few days now.  I made a name frame for Ryan when he was born and Ashley told me it is still hanging in his room so I have to make one two for these babies!

More Baby Cards

I came up to my craft room this morning with the intent to get started on making a few Christmas cards.  Then, as happens a lot ot the time, my mind went off on another tangent and I remembered I needed to make a couple of baby cards.  So, I figured I'd whip a couple of them out and then do the Christmas cards.  Well, 5 hours later .... here's what I've got:

 

Of course, I did take a lunch break plus I was called away by the Red Cross.  But after I got in the car and went about a block, they called and canceled.  We had a drowning in the area yesterday.  A father was trying to teach his daughter to swim and he drowned himself.  The Red Cross has been on site providing meals to the rescue team.  They found his body this afternoon; so therefore, they didn't need me.  So sad.  Please, please, if you are out on the lake, use your flotation device - even if you can swim.  You just never know.  Supposedly, this man was a good swimmer so I don't know what happened.

Ok back to the card - This is why I don't do punch cards very much.  They just take me forever and when I'm finished, I have every punch I own on the table!    I found a similar card to this one on Splitcoast and set to work. HERE is the link to the directions on the punches to use.  I changed it up just a little.  Instead of drawing in the legs, I used the Word Window Punch and for the "hoofs", I used the 1/4" circle punch and cut it in half.  There's a lot of retired SU cardstock used in this - Barely Banana, Really Rust, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Gabel Green, Green Galore!!  A good way to use up what ya got!

I had to do two giraffes because the couple I am sending it to had twin girls last week.  I am so happy for them.  They lost a baby girl a year ago so this was a blessing for them to get pregnant with twins!

Here is another baby card that I am sending to the new grandparents.  This was much easier!!

This card was also a Sketch Challenge over on OWH Stars and Stripes.

Here is the sketch - I didn't do the measurements exactly.

 

A New Grandbaby

No - not a new grandbaby for me - but for my good friend, Sharon.  I made a couple of baby cards last week that I want to share.  The recipients should have received them by now so it is safe to post them!  One of my friends from Texas became a grandmother last week ... for the 3rd time (lucky her!).  Her son and daughter in law had a little girl, Alexis, last Monday.  This makes 3 baby grand-girls for Sharon now.

This card uses an old favorite, Wild About You.  I hate that this set is retired.  I also used a piece of retired DSP.  I ran the pink strip through my brayer and rubbed some Regal Rose ink on it.  The sentiment is also from a retired hostess set.

This is a square card.  I don't usually make them since they require extra postage but figured once in a while is ok!  The "peas" stamp set is also retired and I think it was the first time I used it ...  Although I lent it to a friend a couple of years ago so she could make baby announcements.  I really like the simplicity of this card.  Here is the inside:

This is a great sentiment that I got a few years ago from Little Paper Shop. 

Grandchildren do make the world brighter.  When I was playing bridge this week, several of the ladies were talking excitedly about going to visit their grandkids or that the grandchildren had just been to their house visiting.  I am always so envious.  I have really been missing mine lately and thinking a lot about my grandson who will be turning 4 in August.   I have not seen him since he was 1 1/2 so I know he would not even know me.  Please pray that someday these issues will be resolved and they will once again be in my life.  No human being is perfect. We all make mistakes, yet it is so hard to admit that we are wrong.  A famous line from the book Love Story by Eric Segal states that "Love means never having to say you're sorry". This may sound romantic, but it is  really not a good line to live by. Apologies are necessary in every relationship.  Apologies are the building block of relationships. If a family has any hope of staying together, there will be frequent and sincere apologies.  For some, accepting those apologies and moving on is the hardest thing to do.   But we should try!!