Sheetloads!

Here's a great site to visit and check out some of their card samples. .. Sheetload of Cards. They will even show you what to do with all those mini dollar stamps you pick up at Michaels!!

Sharing Time!

Just have to share with you the cool card my talented daughter made for my husband (her father!) for Father's Day. Isn't it cool?? I sure miss the "U" stamp set - wish SU had not retired it!!

Decor Elements

Introducing Decor Elements.....Stampin' Up!'s new addition to our Definitely Decorative product line!
Decor Elements designs coordinate with many of our exciting products, so you can combine them to make beautiful, handcrafted home decor pieces. Personalize your surroundings with a variety of exclusive images designed to create a customized, unique space. With our self-adhesive vinyl elements you'll discover how easy and cost effective it can be to do your own decorating!
This exciting new product will be available to customers on July 1st. I will have brochures available in about a week. Please email me if you would like one. You will love the new artwork, phrases & alphabets available to transform your room in just minutes.

Stamp a Stack

If you live in the Sherrills Ford / Lake Norman area, you are invited to a Stamp-a-Stack! We will be making 10 cards for $20 on Saturday, June 21. Come join us!! We will be using some of the recently announced Stampin' Up retired sets as well as a few new ones.

Here are a few examples of what we will be making.

Tab Punch Flower

Here's a card I made for my Monday Mailer this week. The flower is made with the tab punch and a circle punch in the middle. Thought it turned out real cute! I used the Stem Sayings stamp for the stem and used the Oval Punch for leaves.

Mountain Trip with Gabby!

We took a spontaneous trip to the mountains this weekend. Haven't done that in a long time. It was a great opportunity to test out Sonny's Father's Day present! Ashley bought him a GPS and we had a great time trying to figure it out on the road. We kept trying to come up with a name for the GPS. Many times, her name was "Dumb Azz" but think Sonny finally settled on Gabby!!

We drove up on Saturday and spent the night in Maggie's Valley. It was so pretty. We drove over to Cherokee also. Boy, has it changed since I was a kid. I remember going to Cherokee and Ghost Town with my Aunt Deese & Uncle Butch. There would be an Indian Chief standing on the sidewalk waving to everyone. And, during the trip to the mountains, we were always on the lookout for bears - even seeing one once in a while. Now Cherokee is pretty commercialized with junk stores abound and even a casino!! We walked into the casino (Harrah's) and looked around. It was pretty smoky and the Blackjack tables were video blackjack. If I play, I prefer to touch the cards!!! Later we found out that there is no alcohol in the casino either - the county is totally dry!! Unbelievable!! We had hoped to see the play, Unto these Hills but it was raining and we didn't want to take a chance on buying tickets and have to sit out in the rain!! Our motel in Maggie's Valley was quaint. We had a hot tub in the room, so I had a nice soak before going to bed - even ate a piece of cheesecake with chocolate dribbled on it while in the tub! Talk about decadent!! We walked down to a sports bar after dinner and played some NTN Trivia. But, were we surprised when their "last call for drinks" was at 9:30!! The place closes at 10:00 (and it was Saturday night). We hurried back to our motel before they rolled up the sidewalks!! The next morning after a yummy pancake breakfast, we drove into Tennessee. We drove up to the Douglas Lake and just looked around. Then drove to Gatlinburg. We had never been there and don't know that we were missing anything!!! We had lunch at a nice English Pup restaurant and then hit the highway back to NC.

Stampin' Up's Retired Stamps 2008

Ah, to be retired and sunning on the beach . . .

Oh - I forgot, I am retired .... just not sunning on the beach at the moment!!

For those of you anxiously awaiting to see which stamp sets from the Spring-Summer Collection 2008 will retire in August, you can find them here: Retirement List. So, which ones are you sorry to see go? Which ones are you relieved to see hanging around?

If you want to order any of them (or some that are not retired), give me a shout!!

Bling'y Shoes

Just wanted to let you know, a viewer let me know where you could order the shoes with the ribbons like I pictured in an earlier post. Here's the website - www.shoesthatloveyou.com

It's the same company - Okabashi & Oka. B - don't know why the different names & different sites. I guess cause at Oka B all the shoes have a little "bling" and you know, a gal can't get too much bling! But, they are pricier - gotta pay for the bling!!

I think my mom, my sister and yes, me are going to get a pair of the less expensive slide and I'll be buying a pair for my daughter too! Now, which ones???? Decisions, Decisions!!

Tagged

Got this little questionaire off another blog - thought I'd give it a shot!

What is the worst meal you ever had? When I was a child, one of my Grandmother Burke's favorite dishes to fix was Goulosh. I just remember I didn't like it any better than when she cooked liver!!

Name one place you could vacation every year? I really don't like to go to the same place year after year. Too many places to see .... too little time!! But, guess I could go to Hawaii every year if I was forced to!!

5 things that drive you crazy?

1. Not turning off the lights when you leave a room

2. The little ads that are always stuck in magazines.

3. People who never believe they are wrong and can only see things in black and white - no gray areas!

4. Dumb people

5. Smokers who hold their cigarettes away from themselves but right in your area!

Name 3 people from your past that make you stop and think, “Hey, I wonder what ever happened to…”
Cheryl - my high school girlfriend; Sandra - my Burlington/ Elon College girlfriend and Guffy - an ex-boyfriend

Kids TV show you might actually enjoy more than your kids do? I don't like cartoons at all and don't even know any kids TV shows!!

Worst movie you’ve ever seen? The Accidental Tourist Jeff & I went to see this and just kept waiting for it to get better - it never did!!

Most under-rated TV show you watch regularly? Nashville Stars

Most popular TV show you never watch? Grey's Anatomy

Celebrity whose looks you’d like to have? maybe Faith Hill

Celeb you can’t stand? Rosie O'Donnell

What did you do today? made cards for my swaps

Who are you tagging? Anybody who wants to play along.

eScape with Stampin' Up

#1 -- The Occasions Mini-Catalog and the expiration date has been extended until the end of June because this popular publication has so many fantastic summer-y stamps and designer series papers that are perfect for so many summer-y celebrations, including Father's Day, which is fast approaching!




2 -- Stampin' Up! is offering a SNEAK PEEK at one of the awesome new items in the upcoming Fall-Winter Idea Book & Catalog (if you are a customer of mine, look for your new FALL SAMPLER in the mail soon after August 8th, or you can contact me at smaranich@yahoo.com and I will drop one in the mail to you).



#3 -- Every heard of 'e-Scape'? Well it is a fantastic idea that Stampin' Up! has to help us all ESCAPE from the numerous tethers of our day-to-day work and home life. Put down the phone, turn off the computer, and break away free from the 'e'! Remember when you got letters in your mailbox instead of your inbox? On June 25, 2008, Stampin' Up! is taking the day to unplug and unwind, and reconnect on a personal level with friends and loved ones through handmade cards. And we invite you to eScape with us throughout the month of June!

Take advantage of the 25 percent discount on select items in the eScape bundle to help you create that special message from the heart.



eScape Bundle:

Love Notes assortment (p 167) $ 8.95
Circle of Friendship stamp set (p 143) $17.95
Rose Red Classic Stampin' Pad (p 165) $ 5.25
Very Vanilla 5/8" grosgrain ribbon (p 191) $ 7.95

Total (non-bundled) $40.10

eScape Bundle price $30.00