Great Minds ....

Have you heard the saying, great minds think alike?  Well, guess that's true in this instance. I received my July Monday Mailer today from Ariel and think she was CASE-ing the same card I CASE-d this week!  I just haven't had time to upload it until now.  (We took Sammy home today and I am able to reclaim my work area!) 

What do you think?  Here's my card:

I cut a rectangle out of a piece of cardboard and placed it in the center of my card.  Then I sponged using Crumb Cake.  I stamped the hydrangea in black craft ink and embossed it.    I watercolored the hydrangeavon a separate piece of white cardstock in a mixture of pinks and reds.  I cut the whole thing out and raised up the flower part with dimensionals.  I used pink rhinestone brads in the corner.  The white image is mounted onto a Rose Red card.  The two-sided ribbon is non-SU but it matches the card great!

Here is the Monday Mailer card I received from Ariel:

How cool is this?  The card is Crumb Cake with a Chocolate Chip piece embossed with the Big Shot Lattice folder.  She sponged the Crumb Cake onto a Very Vanilla piece and stamped the flower in Chocolate Chip.  The hydrangea is stamped in Cherry Cobbler, cut out and raised with dimensionals.  She used silver brads in the corner.

Here is the inspiration for our work from Splitcoast Stampers - BECAUSE I CARE.

Get Your Groupon!

My daughter hooked me up with this great site so I thought I'd pass it along to you.  It's called Groupon.  The way it works is - you sign up with them for free by e-mail and each day they feature something cool to do at a really good price. You only get the deal if enough people join that day.  Many times the deals are something I am not interested in or they are in Charlotte.  But here are 2 of the deals that I have taken advantage of:

#1 - I paid $10 for a $25 gift certificate to "Oh Scrap" - a scrapbooking store in Charlotte.  I actually bought 2 of these for a total of $20 for $50 worth of stuff.  It doesn't expire until mid-December so I have plenty of time to use it.

#2 - I paid $30 for a Segway Tour of Charlotte - a $65 value.  I bought 3 of these and when Ashley comes to town in a couple of weeks, that is one of the things we will do while she is here.  Fun!

When I was in Texas, Ashley had bought a Groupon deal for a wine tasting and free bottle of wine at a local winery.  I think she paid about $20 for it and we had 3 wine tastings and a couple of bottles of wine to take home!  She has used Groupon quite a bit for local restaurants in San Antonio.

If you have further questions, check out their FAQ HERE

If you decide to check it out and sign up, tell them I sent you and use THIS REFERRAL.  You get $10 in your account each time you refer someone.  I appreciate it!

July Monday Mailer

This month our theme for Monday Mailers is New Stuff from the Catalog!  Since I am still waiting on my goodies, I used a stamp set that I ordered last month during the "sneak peek" to make my card. 

I really love this stamp set - Awash with Flowers.  It is a wonderful 2-step stamp set.  The sentiment comes from another new set, Because I Care that is a hostess set.  I also used that great embossing folder, Square Lattice.  It is available in the Summer Mini catalog but you better hurry - it expires soon!  The colors I used in this card are Baja Blue on the Top Note Die and Old Olive.  The ribbon is the white taffeta ribbon that I sponged with the new Cajun Craze.  That is also Cajun Craze in the largest flower. 

I had a crazy day yesterday and I'm blaming it on AGE!!  I had a routine well woman check up yesterday a.m.  When I got to the doctor's office to check in, they did not have me scheduled - my appointment was the day BEFORE!!  grrr  What's the kicker is I also had a thyroid ultra sound scheduled the day before & I had changed it to Wednesday so I could knock both appointments out on the same day.  So, there I was with a couple of hours to kill so what is a girl to do??  Shop of course!  I went over to Stein Mart and browsed through their sale racks (I was pretty good - only spent $11!)  After my ultra sound, I got my hair cut, went to the Y (I'm trying to do better with exercise) and then met Sonny for dinner.  We went to PF Changs.  They have a great deal from 4-6 - they have a happy hour menu with items from $4 - $6 plus a few drinks.  So, I had a Cosmo with lettuce wraps and Crispy Green Beans.  Yum!!

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.

 

Getting my Mojo on

Tonight I did a couple of cards in response to the Mojo Challenge this week.  The sketch challenge is always a fun one.  Plus I had a couple of new stamps that I wanted to use. 

This card is my favorite!  I just love this stamp.  I made two cards with it tonight.  On this one I embossed the black craft ink.  The stamp is "Inspire Butterfly Collage" by Memory Box.  I sponged So Saffron, Regal Rose and Bashful Blue on the butterfly trying to blend the colors together with muddy'ing them up.  I used my Nestabilities to cut out the ovals.  I stamped the French Script (SU) on a piece of So Saffron in black ink and adhered it down one side of the card.  I glued black strips down vertically and glued pink grosgrain ribbon horizontally.  The "inspire" is actually cut out separately and pieced onto the oval. 

Here is the other card I made with this stamp.  This is the full stamp image.  I sponged Turquoise, Amethyst, Celery and Banana onto the butterfly this time for a softer look. This card is also glittered.  And I used my Scor Pal to score lines around the card.

This is second card I made for the Mojo challenge.  I just love this saying!  Are you flipping right now .... or flopping???  The stamp is one from "M's" $1.00 bin that I have had forever.  The seashell paper is some I had left over after making Marianne's BEACH book which I'll be sharing soon.

Of course, I had company all night while I was stamping.  Sammie was either sitting on my desk or in my trash!  Here she is in my little mini trash bin:

I have trash all over the floor now!

My local stamp store, Stampers Alley had a close call this weekend.  It is in an old wooden building and behind it there is another long wooden storage building.  I don't know what it was used for but it caught fire Saturday night and burned to the ground in quick time.  There are pictures of the fire on the left column under Stamper Alley.  Also, you can read about it HERE and see other pictures.  See for yourself.  Brenda at Stampers Alley was extremely lucky.  The firemen did a good job of keeping water on her building so it didn't catch on fire also. 

Happy 4th!

Hope you have a wonderful ... and safe ... Independence Day!  As you are celebrating this weekend, think about what this holiday means to you.   The meaning behind the 4th of July Independence Day holiday came about as the result of the valiant efforts and strong commitment of our American forefathers not so very long ago.  Brave and restless people uprooted their lives, left everything behind, and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to come to this land where they sought freedoms and rights not available to them in their homeland. They formed settlements and organized into various groups of towns and colonies with their own local laws and rules, while still under the authority of the King of England. The country was being born and the ideals of just how and what those freedoms would entail were ironed out through controversy and cooperative efforts of the differing opinions of the day.  We, as recipients and inheritors of their magnificent efforts, must hold our heads up high as we express our thanks and jubilation  that we live in such a great country, and we should be encouraged to work together to resolve our problems and differences in order to maintain the integrity and values that the great and famous document, the Declaration of Independence was founded upon.

We went out on our boat this early in the evening and found a good spot to watch the fireworks.  This is the first time we have taken the boat out at on such a busy holiday weekend.  Usually, Sonny does not like to be out after dark and when the lake is so full of crazies!  But it was wonderful to practically sit under the fireworks and watch them explode above us.  They were just beautiful.  It is hard not to smile while watching fireworks, don't you think?  It doesn't seem to matter how old you are, you just love them.  Although I can remember a time when my daughter was young and was scared to death of the loud noises of the fireworks.  While we sat outside watching them, she curled up in the back seat of the car covering her ears!  Now, she buys her own fireworks for her 4th of July party. 

I want to share a card I made for last week's Monday Mailer.  I saw a card similar to it in Paper Crafts magazine and had to give it a try.

I made the flag out of grosgrain ribbon and used half-pearls from the Pretties kit for the stars.  It is layered on a black card.  I used my white gel pen around the edges and stamped and embossed  "thank you" in white craft ink!

Mini Photo Album

I was playing around the other day with some paper scraps from a scrapbooking kit trying to figure out what to do with it.  I came across a tutorial on Splitcoast for a Mini Photo Album so decided to give it a try.  It turned out super cute! 

This is the front.  The "flip flop" is a punch out.  I stamped the flower from Tropical Blossom.

This is the mini book opened up.  The pages swing out from the Jumbo Eyelets.

This is the back of the project. 

So, you just need a couple of coasters, a couple of Jumbo Eyelets and some paper and you can make one of these little books too.  The tutorial for the Mini Photo Album is found on Splitcoast HERE .

I gave this little book to my sister.  She left yesterday for her annual 4th of July week at Myrtle Beach.  Thought this would be perfect for putting little pictures in from her vacation. 

The New Catty!!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE CATALOG ON-LINE.

The new Stampin' Up catalog is ready for your orders!  It is really pretty this year.  Feel free to follow the link above or in my sidebar to view the catalog and to download the pdf.   You can also download a list of all the supplies used to make the various projects in the catalog by clicking on the Supply List button in the sidebar.

If you would like to order from the catalog, click on the "Order Online" link in my sidebar (made from MDS)!

I have a new box of catalogs arriving at my house on Tuesday.  If you have requested a catalog, I will be contacting you.  If you would like to purchase a catalog, please let me know.  For customers who are not local to me and who have ordered in the past year, I will provide a catalog to you for the cost of postage. Since the only way to ship something of this size and weight is priority, all I need from you is $4.80 to ship you a catalog.  If you haven't ordered from me in the past year and you do want a catalog, they are $5 (plus postage if I need to mail it to you. So $9.80 if it needs to be shipped.)

I didn't get that job yet (in my dreams), but I just placed a large order.  I can't wait to see the new In Colors - I think I'm already in love with the Pear and can't wait to see it!  I ordered mostly paper, punches and ribbon - only one stamp set!  I did not pay extra for Expedited Shipping like so many do.  I'm impatient but can't see paying that much extra just for postage!  I'd rather save that money to buy more STUFF!!

My New Job

I'll be placing a big order tomorrow .... so excited to get new stuff!  It's funny because I've been having some weird dreams of finding a job.  Last week I dreamed that I was back in Coppell, Texas where I lived previously and worked for 10 years at the high school.  I was talking to a girl I worked with who is in charge of Technology.  She told me she had just lost a key employee and the job would be perfect for me.  I told her I was pretty busy with my bridge, mahjong and card making so I didn't think it would work.  She offered me $750,000 for the job!  So then I called Sonny to tell him about it and you can guess what he told me!  So, I told Jo Lynn that I would take the job for a year but I would have to have one day a month off for my Stamp Club!  That's pure dedication, huh???  Then last night, I dreamed that we had moved back to Washington state.  We were in Gig Harbor trying to make up our minds where to buy a house but Sonny had me go by the ceramic shop where I had worked when we lived there to see if they would give me my job back.  So, what do these dreams mean???  Sonny said they mean I am feeling guilty for spending so much on SU!!  Just wish I could find that first job making $750,000!!  Think of all the SU I could buy with that! 

I recently discovered this web site, Stars and Stamps, which supports our troops with Operation Write Home.  The way it works is you make cards for the soldiers to write notes back home to their family.  You send it to a shipper (addresses for shippers are on this web site) and they ship them out to the troops.  To learn more about this great program, check out the details HERE.    So, while you're making cards, make an extra one and send it to the troops.  You can get those Flat Rate boxes at the Post Office for free and just fill them up with cards.  That's what I plan to do!!  They also have challeges on their blog to inspire you.  Here are a couple of cards I made recently to send to the troops:

This was a challenge to make something "tasty."  I don't know about you, but popscicles are pretty tasty on hot summer days!  This little penguin was a single stamp that I picked up who know where!  I made the beach ball out Cameo Coral cardstock and some non SU DSP.  The card background is Baja Breeze! 

This card uses the new SU set, Because I Care.  The DSP is some I got last year at CK Convention that was part of a scrapbook package.

This was pretty easy to make - no stamping!  I just used some of the DSP from the card above but this time cut it so I could include the flowers.  I used various sized brads for the center of the flowers.  Below is the inside of the card:

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!!