September Stamp Cub

This was Stamp Club week and my gals were dropping like flies!  I usually have 7-8 gals on Tuesday and on Thursday.  But Tuesday, I ended up with 6 after Marianne had to stay at work for a meeting and Thursday I ended up with 3!!  I had a couple of gals out sick, one out of town and one of my Thursday gals came on Tuesday instead and my Tuesday gal came on Thursday!  But the three that were here on Thursday really liked the intimate setting.  They said they didn't feel as rushed and were able to chat and visit while creating.  So, it all worked out.  We made some great cards I want to share with you.

 This is our Halloween card.  I used the Howlstooth ... DSP from the holiday mini.  I gave the gals the option of embossing the Apothecary Arts die with the Spider Web folder or stamping directly on the die piece without embossing.  I think everyone chose to emboss and thus had to stamp the boot (from Bootiful Occasions) out separately.  When they complained about cutting, I reminded them they had a choice!

 This was a fun card to make and is inspired by a card I saw on Pininterest.  It is a good way to use up those scraps of ribbon you have stuck in a jar somewhere.  We stamped the sentiment onto Certainly Celery first to make sure we had room for everything else.  It's hard to see from the picture, but we embossed all around the edges of the white piece with the Scorer.  The Little Leaves die is cut from the middle of the card.  I used some retired felt flowers with a pearl on top of the Baja Breeze ribbon.  The ribbon butterflies are gathered in the center with rhinestone brads (that I didn't realize had retired until today!!). 

 I think this card is my favorite.   I used the new Core'dinations cardstock from the Holiday Mini and sanded it so the white core would show.

Directions:

• ·       Round bottom corners of Cajun Craze card and Naturals Ivory cardstock
• ·        Sponge Espresso lightly around the edges of the Naturals Ivory and adhere it to card.
• ·        Stamp sentiment on bottom right of the Naturals Ivory.
• ·        Run the strip of Espresso Core’dinations (found in Holiday mini) through the Woodgrain embossing folder.
• ·        Use Sanding Block and lightly sand the Espresso strip.  Use the Tacky Cloth to wipe away dust particles.  Adhere to card.
• ·        Using Leaves #2 Sizzix Die  cut out 3 leaves.  Stamp leaves with text stamp from French Foliage set using Espresso ink.  Sponge edges; spritz with water and crumble up. Use glue to adhere to card.
• ·        Adhere choice of button to card.
• ·        If you decide to use a clear button (retired) like I did, punch a circle with the 1” Circle Punch and adhere with glue dot or a dot of glue to button.

This is a gift card holder that has an envelope inside for pockets.

Directions:

• ·      White cardstock – cut @ 8 ½” x 5 ½ ” / Score @ 2 ½” and 5 ¾”
• ·      Fold on score marks; the smaller flap will go on the inside.
• ·      Use a border punch and punch a border from Real Red cardstock; adhere to top flap
• ·      For the envelope insert, lick an envelope shut and fold it in half (side to side)
• ·      Cut about 1/3 of the envelope off (top of env. – not folded edge).  You want the envelope to fit inside the flap (where the reindeer is) and not stick up so cut the excess off.
• ·      Tape the envelope to itself so that you have 2 pockets.
• ·      Tape the envelope to the inside of the card so that it is secured to the bottom flap and the middle section   
•      Decorate
•         Crumb Cake Inserts – cut 4” x 2 ½”
•         White cardstock – cut 3 ¾” x 2 ¼” - layer on crumb cake insert
•         Punch a tab (Tab Punch) and adhere to top of each insert.
•      Make a belly band - cut cardstock about 7 1/2" x 1 1/2" and wrap around.

Make A Difference

 Watch this short movie - it is great!

The Make A Difference Movie - The Teddy Stallard Story - by Mary Robinson Reynolds | The MasterMinding Maven® - Full Length Version

Paper Craft Crew Challenge #8

I love Halloween.  I guess you are figuring that out from the recent cards I have been posting.  It used to be my favorite holiday besides Christmas.  I would decorate my house from top to bottom with spider webs, witches, ghosts, etc.  Now that it is just Sonny and I, I don't bother with it much anymore.  I'll put up a few decorations and find my Halloween garden flag but that will probably be it.  But I can make some great Halloween cards (wait till you see my eyeballs card!)

This card for the Paper Craft Crew (#8 already!) was made using My Digital Studio.  The pumpkin comes from the Storytime Kit that I used to make Jayce's ABC book.

Here are the supplies used to make this card with MDS2:

Background Color = PUMPKIN PIE

Embellishments: Designer Kits\Storytime - embellishments\Storytime - jack-o-lantern
Narrow Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon\Soft Suede Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon - knot (re-colored)
Stamps: Designer Kits\Days to Remember\Days to Remember - trick or treat, Color = WHISPER WHITE 
Splatters\Ink Splatters\Ink Splatter 4
Punches:  Borders\Scallop Edge Punch, Fill Color = BASIC BLACK; Labels & Tags\Get It Done - punch 1

Photos: Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Days to Remember - designer series paper\Days to Remember - 14
Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Days to Remember - designer series paper\Days to Remember - 3

So grab your stamps and supplies OR your computer MDS and play along with us this week.  Just follow my card above for the basic sketch.

Visit the Paper Crew Blog and see what the other designers did with the sketch.  There are some great cards there plus we have a new member, Justin.  He does great work and we are happy to have him join the crew.


Halloween Monday Mailers

I took a few supplies with me to Texas when I was there but it's always difficult to make cards without all my "stuff" surrounding me!  I think I will be tackle-ing her office/craft room when I go back in December!  She has recently had the inside of her house painted and she did her office in bright yellow.  She is a huge fan of Curious George and has a ton of Curious George things.  So she is planning on decorating her office in red and yellow.  I did not think it would look good at all when she showed me the paint chip in March but it actually looks pretty good.  We didn't have time to do much decorating in the room while I was there but I did recover a memo board/partition for her.  She was going to get rid of it because it was a pale green but I told her we could fix it up.  We went to Hobby Lobby and found some red material and to M's and got some bright yellow ribbon.  It turned out really good and will look great in there with the yellow walls.  She found some Curious George ribbon on-line and was going to order it but we decided it would just be too much and more expensive than just plain ribbon.  Plus, when she puts all her pictures and scrapbook items on it, the ribbon wouldn't show up that much.  We even took the little tacks that hold the ribbon on off and covered then with the red fabric. 

So, this is the first Monday Mailer I made to send.  I used the Woodgrain embossing folder (luckily, I gave Ashley my Cuttlebug when I bought the Big Shot!).  The stamp set is Bootiful Occasions.

Supplies:
Cardstock:  Black, Rich Razzleberry, Cajun Craze, Whisper White
Die:  Apothecary Art, Woodgrain emb. folder
Black brads
Ink:  Razzleberry, black
Here is the second card I made using Wicked Cool.  I saw this idea somewhere - either on a blog or Pininterest of using the witches hat and shoes with the pumpkin.  Cool huh?  I sponged the edges of the pumpkin to give it some dimension and used dimensionals for the witches hat.

Supplies:
Cardstock:  Black, Tangerine Tango, White
Stamp:  Wicked Cool
Punch:  1 1/4" Circle Punch (I think!)
Markers
Hope you enjoy these cards!  I had fun making them.

Monday Mailer Cards

It's been a great weekend.  We went to a "pig pickin'" barbecue Friday night.  We took the boat and it was so nice.  I am so happy with this cooler weather .... what a difference between here and San Antonio!!   I'll be opening our windows and turning off the AC this week.  Saturday I didn't go anywhere and got some stamping done.  It had been awhile.  And Sunday I did more stamping while watching the Panthers beat up on New Orleans.  In the afternoon, we went to Big Al's to watch the Steelers beat the Jets which made me a happy gal.  It was good to see all our Steeler friends again and to chant "Here We Go Steelers." 

I got my last August Monday Mailer cards when we returned from Texas this week.  I actually got a bit of a bonus and Carren sent me two cards!

Both of these cards are stamped on Very Vanilla - layered onto Very Vanilla.  The stamp set is Scentsational Seasons from the Holiday Mini catalog.  The tree on the right is punched out with the matching framelit and DSP is behind the cut out.  The same thing is done with the mug card.  Very simple but pretty.  A good one for mass producing your Christmas cards.

Home again.

I'm home!  We got back late Wednesday night.  Sammie was sure glad to see us when we got home ... she didn't have any water or food left so we got home just in time.  She didn't want to leave my side and even slept right next to me all night which she doesn't normally do.  All day today, she has stayed close and even now, she is curled up in the chair next to me. 

Thought I'd share a few pictures I took while I was in Texas.  We got to meet my nephew, Jack and his wife, Katrina with their cutie pie baby, Jack IV.  They call the baby IV ... I called him Jack!!  Just don't know that I would want my son to grow being called IV (like "ivy"), would you?  But he is a doll baby with the biggest eyes.



He loved drinking from the straw!

  On Saturday, Ashley's best friends came over with their twins (Alec and Julia) who are so cute.  They were born when Ashley was deployed and will be 2 in January.  We played in the pool with them and they were little fishes.



Bogart's favorite way to drink is straight from the faucet!!



Paper Craft Crew Challenge

For today's Paper Craft Crew Sketch Challenge (whew - that's a mouthful!) I decided to go with a Halloween card.  It won't be long.  I've noticed the stores already are stocking Christmas .... what's wrong with waiting till Halloween is over????  Too early in my opinion.

I am still in Texas .... leaving to fly home this afternoon.  It's been a great working visit and I'm always sad to leave but it won't be long until Thankgiving when we'll be together again.  Ashley took off work all last week and we did a LOT of work in the yard and got a lot done.  Monday when she went back to work, I decided to tackle the front yard.  I put down black plastic on one side of her shrub bed and Sonny poured 10 bags of mulch over it; dug up about 10 small nandina bushes and moved them; planted a few other plants that she had bought at Lowe's on Sunday; and trimmed up some of the larger shrubs that are already established.  It looks pretty good but boy was I hot, sore and tired Monday night!  It was nice to jump in the pool when I finished.  Yesterday I worked inside making slipcovers for one of her window seats and pillows and hanging a few pictures.

We had a little extra bonus last night.  One of Jeff's best friends from high school was in town doing some work.  Scott came over and we visited a little while before going out to dinner.  It was really great to see him.  Sonny had not seen him since his wedding and it had been 3 years since Ashley and I had seen him in College Station shortly after his first child was born.  We had a great visit.

OK - on to the card I made.  Here is the sketch that I had to work with:

Here is my card:

How do you like that folded corner?  It took a bit of maneuvering but I finally got it!  The stamp is a single stamp in the Holiday Mini Catalog (I think!) 

Happy Birthday card

Before we came to Texas, I had to get caught up on a few birthdays.  Here is one of the cards I made:

I just love the colors in this card.  The stamp set I used was Raining Flowers.  It is a set I got last year at SU Convention and I haven't really used it much.  But I really like it in this card.  I stamped each flower three times and raised each layer up with dimensionals.  Then I put a pearl in the center of each flower.  I embossed the white layers of the card with the Dotted Embossing Folder  So, how do you like it?

Here are a few pictures I've taken since I've been in Texas.

I snapped this in a hurry from the backseat of the car as we were driving to dinner -  a beautiful Texas sunset.

Ashley and Sonny at dinner ... Mexican of course!  We convinced Sonny to sit outside in the courtyard.

We toured the Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory last Wednesday. Yum!!

Bogart is at the door watching us in the back yard.  He likes to keep his eye on us - either at the door or sitting in the window.

Bogart's favorite way to drink his water!

Are You Ready for Some Football?

I made this 12x12 page on MDS2 today.  It is part of my "homework" from the MDS class I am taking.  Don't you love it???!!!  It's that time again.  Tomorrow is the first game and I remembered to bring my Steelers Jersey so I am ready for some football!!  Love this time of year.

This picture was taken in the grocery store the day of the Super Bowl.  It was an awesome sight.  The pictures of the food on the side are some of the good eating we do when we are in Pittsburgh.  The top two pictures of the fries and hot dog are from the "O" (Original Hot Dog) stand which is located right beside the Pitt campus.  It has been there for more than 50 years so you know it's good.  We always have to make a visit there for fries and a hot dog.  My first visit there is still a joke to us.  I had gone home with Sonny from NC to meet his parents.  We went to Pittsburgh for some sightseeing and stopped off at the "O".  Being a Carolina gal, I ate my hot dogs with chilli and mustard usually.  So, that's the way I ordered it at the "O".  Little did I know, they did not know what hot dog chilli was and served my hot dog with their type of chilli - with beans.  Sonny's dad looked at me pretty strangely as I was picking out the beans from my hot dog.  30+ years later and we are still laughing about it when we go to Pittsburgh.

The next picture is of my favorite food!!  It is an Italian Hoagie from Danny's.  Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.  Danny's is another institution in Pittsburgh - been there at least 50 years probably.  There used to be a drive in theatre behind the restaurant and Sonny said they would come over from the drive in and get sandwiches and go back & watch the movie.  Our kids grew up eating there whenever we would visit.  Although there were a few times when Sonny & I would sneak out, leaving the kids at home with grandma and head over to Danny's for a quick hoagie.  (Although it is probably 30 minutes from Sonny's home!)  When Marianne went with us to Pittsburgh, we got her hooked on the hoagie too.  We usually get a "to go" box to take back with us.  They layer the meat, onions, tomatoes, etc. in a pizza box and give us the bread and signature Italian dressing so we can make them when we get home.  I've just never found a sandwich as good as Danny's anywhere else and we are constantly looking.

The final picture is funnel cake!  So yummy!  But truthfully, it's the same funnel cake you can get other places.  I don't even know where that picture was taken.  Once when Marianne and Harrison went with us to Pittsburgh to a game, we ate at an Italian restaurant close to our hotel and ordered funnel cake for dessert.  We still talk about that dessert.  It was like funnel cake on steroids!  It was huge and fed all of us.

Well, time for this gal to "hit the hay."  Hope you enjoyed my culinary page about Pittsburgh AND you will be cheering on the Steelers tomorrow like I will be!

Back to Spool time

It's Back to "Spool" Time!   Kids are going back to school and that means it's also the time of year that crafters get back to card making, scrapbooking, and creating special holiday gifts!

In September, you'll receive a FREE package of the gorgeous 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon with every $40 purchase. You can choose from any of the new 2012-2014 In Colors - or spend $200 and get all five colors! Of course, you'll find lots of new favorites to shop for in the new Holiday Catalog, but it is also a great time to stock up on adhesives so you'll have just what you need for your holiday crafting. If you buy 1 each of our 8 most popular adhesives, you'll qualify for that free spool of ribbon!

Oh, and before I forget, by popular request, the 31% off Digital sale has been extended until September 14th, so dive into some digital crafting, too!

Just a quick post to share with you my Paper Crew Challenge card this week.  I used MDS2 (as usual) and had fun with these hexagons.

We worked out in the yard most of the day Tuesday pulling weeds and cleaning up some of the mess that the contractors left in Ashley's yard.  There are a lot of issues with the work that was done and Ashley called the contractor to come by today and look at things - fence, concrete work, sprinkler system not working, trash and planks from original fence just left laying in the yard, etc.  He was not happy when he saw some of the shoddy work that was done and told Ashley he would make it right.  We've got the irrigation people coming on Thursday and hopefully, some of the other workmen to fix things.  We went to the movies Tuesday night to see Bourne Legacy.  It was pretty good.  We are going to Brenham on Wednesday to take a tour of the best ice cream company in the world .... Blue Bell!  I have been there before but it was on a weekend and the tours are not offered on the weekend. 

I lost a good friend and fellow Stampin' Up demonstrator this weekend.  I just learned of her death today.  I knew she was close to the end but was still shocked and saddened.  Becky was such a great gal and always so upbeat even while she was fighting for her life for the past year.  She will be missed by a lot of people.

Subway Art

I forgot how hot it is in Texas!!  When we arrived on Thursday afternoon (at 5:30) it was still 100 degrees!  The forcast for this week is 99, 99, 99, 98, 98, 98 ..... get the picture?  Pretty boring, huh??  We've gotten a lot done at Ashley's though.  She's about worn out her credit card though!  Friday I think she spent about $400 at Home Depot and today was another $100 at Garden Ridge!  But hey ... the labor is free!  Sonny has been working on putting two ceiling fans up on her patio.  He should have them done tomorrow.  Saturday I spent most of the day planting plants and flowers in big pots in the back yard.  We planted Texas sage, lantana, pampas grass, potato vine, basil and rosemary.  Plus, I dug up some morning glory from the back that had pretty much overgrown the alley and stuck it in one of the pots.  Today, we went shopping and bought a couple more pots at Garden Ridge plus got some material so I can cover some pillows and do some other home decor,  We've hung pictures in the house and bought a couple more today that we'll have to hang tomorrow.  Sunday we took a break.  My brother and his wife, daughter and three grandchildren came over plus my brother in law who helped Sonny do some work that he was having problems with.  We had a nce visit, swim and cooked some yummy fajitas on the grill (plus made some margaritas that hit th spot.)

Subway art seems to be all the rage right now.  So, I thought I'd try it with MDS2.  What do you think?  It was fun!

Scrapbook Challenge #1

Well, I am in Texas and it's hot!  We left Charlotte at 12:45 with an hour's layover in Atlanta.  No hitches - until were on the plane in Atlanta to go to San Antonio.  After we were all boarded, they announced that there was a mechanical problem and the technicians were working on it.  If it couldn't be fixed, we would have to get off the plane until they could get another plane for us.  Thankfully, it was able to be fixed but we were about an hour late in leaving Atlanta.  We ended up arriving in San Antonio about 5:30 instead of 4:30.  But it was still hot - 100 degrees at the time we landed!  It was still 91 at 11:00 pm while watching the news!!  We had our first (of many I'm sure) Mexican dinner tonight.  Yum - guacamole, enchiladas, tamales, sangria, chips, salsa and sopapillas!!   It's good to be back!

The Paper Craft Crew is having it's first scrapbook challenge.  I made mine on the plane coming here yesterday..  I used pictures from our recent trip to the Outer Banks.  Here is my take on the sketch we were to use:

Here is the project list that was used:

Background

Color = POOL PARTY

Embellishments

_Designer Kits\Sunny Day - elements\Sunny Day - cloud 1
_Designer Kits\Sunny Day - elements\Sunny Day - cloud 1

Stamps

Epic Overlays\Epic Overlays - ink splatter 1, Color = CRUMB CAKE 179,161,131
Epic Overlays\Epic Overlays - ink splatter 1, Color = CRUMB CAKE 179,161,131
Splatters\Ink Splatters\Ink Splatter 6, Color = CRUMB CAKE 179,161,131
Epic Overlays\Epic Overlays - ink splatter 1, Color = CRUMB CAKE 179,161,131
Splatters\Ink Splatters\Ink Splatter 6, Color = CRUMB CAKE 179,161,131
Splatters\Ink Splatters\Ink Splatter 6, Color = CRUMB CAKE 179,161,131
Splatters\Ink Splatters\Ink Splatter 6, Color = CRUMB CAKE 179,161,131
Designer Kits\Day in the Life\Day in the Life - 3 frame, Color = SUMMER SUN
Splatters\Ink Splatters\Ink Splatter 6, Color = CRUMB CAKE 179,161,131A
Splatters\Ink Splatters\Ink Splatter 6, Color = CRUMB CAKE 179,161,131

Circle Flowers

This is a very simple card I made using punches.  I just punched circles to make the flowers and placed them randomly on the card.  The leaves are also punched and for the stems, I just cut a few strips of cardstock.  The DSP I used is the SaleABration paper which I have hoarded!

I am all packed and ready to go. I got my hair cut today as well as a manicure and pedicure so I am all "spruced up."  We leave tomorrow for Texas and are excited to be going again.  I have not been there since last March but it has been since Christmas for Sonny.  I can't wait to see the remodeling that Ashley has done on her back patio and yard.  I think Sammie (cat) is tired of seeing me get out my suitcase.  She knows she's going to be left alone again.  But this time, my mom and sister are going to come over and stay at our house for several days.  They will be attending the state Association for the Blind convention next week and it is being held here in Sherrills Ford.  It will make it an easier commute for them to stay at our house.  (Plus, they both want to use my whirlpool tub which I never use!!)  This is a good time for us to be leaving since the Democratic Convention is going to be in Charlotte next week.  I don't want to be anywhere near that!!  I hope Charlotte pulls it off but I really don't think they are a big enough city for this type of event.

Paper Crew Sketch Challenge

Please say a little prayer for my computer!  I'm worried it is on it's last legs.  I spent yesterday working on trying to speed it up and think it helped a bit.  But it's getting old in computer years I guess - about 5 years old (I think) so looks like I'll be shopping for a new one in the near future.  Hoping it can hold on until Christmas when there will be some sales.  I also worked diligently yesterday on my MDS2 Alaska album.  The deadline for the 31% off sale has been extended to mid September so I'm hoping to get it finished and off to the printer by then.  We leave tomorrow for Texas for a couple of weeks so I'll be working on the album on the airplane as well as at Ashley's (while Sonny does his handy man jobs!!)  That is another thing I like about MDS - I don't have to be hooked up to the internet and can work on it in the car, plane, etc.

(Well, my computer must have know I was talking about her .... the power went out as I was typing this for about 30 minutes!  Luckily, this was saved!)

So, I didn't get to post my Paper Crew Sketch Challenge last night as my computer was "defragging" whatever that means.  It was actually still in the process this morning so I don't know if it really did anything or not but I turned it off.  I had things to do, people to see ......!!!!

I once again did my sketch using MDS2 and I love it.  This card also was for a color challenge from Heather where I am taking her MDS2 classes.  The colors are:  Sahara Sand, Basic Gray, Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay and Whisper White.  Go ahead .... create something with those colors.  They are probably colors you wouldn't usually use, isn't that right?  And I know my good friend, Margaret has lots of Crushed Curry cards stock!!!   That is my challenge to you today.

Again this would be a very easy card to duplicate using good old card stock and ink! 

POSTING END TIME:  If you'd like to be considered as one of our spotlight cards, please be sure to link your project by Monday 7 AM EST and  link your post over to here too


VOTING: Starting on Monday, August 20th at 7 AM EST, you can start voting on the entries.  The voting will end on Tuesday, September 4th at 10 AM EST.

Outer Banks pics

I made a few scrapbook pages using My Digital Studio from our trip to the Outer Banks.   These were super easy to make.  I used the Template / Kit called Sweet Details.  The pages are predone ... all I have to do is drop my pictures in. 

But after I got MDS2, I decided to change up the pages a little bit ,,,, adding different colors, overlays, text in a circle, etc.  What do you think?

Weekend Projects

How do like the new blog background and banner?  I had such fun designing it.  I'm taking an on-line class and learning so much!  I just love that I can recolor the DSP and embellishments now.  It makes matching everything so easy.

It was a beautiful weekend here in the Carolinas ... hard to believe it's August.  Sonny and I got some fried chicken and fixins' from the grocery store, gassed up the boat and went out on the lake in the late afternoon after I got home from playing cards.  We threw the anchor over near Queen's Landing and settled in to listen to the band that was playing, Too Much Sylvia.  They were really good and I would love to go hear them again some time.   I would highly recommend them if they ever play in your area.  We didn't cover the boat at night and went out again on Saturday for a few hours before it got too hot.  And I still had time to play on Saturday afternoon.  I saw this cute snowman card on Pininterest and just had to give him a try.  Isn't he so cute?   The card base is white and I just freehanded the black and red cardstock on the top and bottom.  I used the Star Punch for the nose (sponged with Cajun Craze).  I used my white gel pen for the accents on his hat.  The felt holly is retired from Stampin' Up.

Another project I worked on this weekend was making Sour Cream Containers.  These have been around forever but I have never made any.  I volunteered to make the name tags for our Southern Living Bingo Dinner.  We auctioned the dinner away at our Bingo Night in June and got $300.  So, our group is preparing and serving a dinner for 10 people next Thursday. Sonny and I will be on our way to Texas on Thursday so this is my contribution.  I decided these Sour Cream Containers would make great name tags.  I bought some dinner mints at the Dollar Store to fill them. 

I used a retired DSP to make them.  I cut the DSP 6" x 4 1/2".  Here is a tutorial for them if you want to make one.  Warning - they are addicting!!  I think we will be making them at Stamp Club soon.