Stamping Queens Challenge

My card for the Stamping Queens Sketch Challenge is a little different for me this week.  Of course I used My Digital Studio to create the card but there's not a flower on the card!!  Different, huh?  Don't you love the sentiment?  I do! 

These are the elements I used for the card: 

• Basic Gray Card
• White card layer matted in black
•  Basic Gray Distressed DSP
• Extreme Elements stamp (splat in blue & gray and stars in red)
• Sentimental Journey stamp
• Circle Punch
• Fantabulous You stamp
• Delightful Digital Tape

Let me know what you think about my creation with your comments!!

Mothers Day Cards

I was good this weekend!  I went to the Used Stamp Sale at Stamper's Alley and only spent $10.00!  Yeah for me!  I bought a Desktop Carousel for scissors, pens, etc. for $6.  I've seen them at M's for much more!  And two stamp sets for $2 each.  They are SU and never been used.  I will use them for my customers as a little thank you.  So, not bad!  After the sale, I pampered myself with a pedicure and then ran a few errands and had some BBQ for lunch.  I love NC Eastern style pork BBQ and Sonny does not and I have been hankering for some and it was yummy!!   Friday night we met some friends out for dinner and enjoyed a great catfish meal!  Not so good on the calorie count, but who's counting?!! 

I have a couple of cards to share with you that I received in April for my Monday Mailers.  They are both Mother's Day cards which is great because I have a very busy week and might not have time to make a card.  I already have my mother's gift bought - just need to find a box and wrap it.  Plus, Saturday is my nephew's graduation from UNC-C and Marianne is having a party for him. 

Isn't this beautiful?  I have not purchased this bird die and wasn't planning to, but I keep seeing some beautiful cards using it.  I love the color combo on this one.

Another beautiful card.  It's hard to see the embossing on this one but it is embossed with the Adorning Accents dotted embossing folder just below the flower.

I have two Red Cross classes this week.  Tomorrow we travel to Gastonia for a Social Media class.  Sounds like an odd one for Red Cross, huh?  But, we have to be able to talk to reporters, etc. when we are at a disaster and know what information to give out.  Then on Friday, we are taking a CPR class in Shelby.  So, I have a busy week ahead of me - Soup Kitchen on Tuesday; taking Mom for her pre-op visit on Wednesday; Stamp Club on Thursday .....!! 

My Most Favorite Card

I made this card last weekend to send to my Monday Mailer partner.  I believe it is my favorite card that I have made in a long time.  I saw a card similar on Pinterest but they had stitched all the edges.  Well, if you know me, you know I am not going to sew on my cards! 

I used a lot of scraps that I had from retiring DSP and the Blossom Petal Punch.  I sponged Soft Suede on all the edges,  I stamped the sentiment on a 1 1/4" Circle that is matted on a 1 3/8" Soft Suede Circle.  I adhered it with glue in the center and just started putting the petals around the circle until I had the look that I wanted.

inside of card

Stamping Queens Challenge

It's that time of the week .... Stamping Queens Sketch Challenge.  Again, I turned to My Digital Studio to create my card using Attic Boutique DSP and Elements.

Isn't this paper just gorgous?  The part that is not DSP is the ribbon border across the middle, the Happy Birthday tag, the Pearls and the flower in the top right.

Check out the other cards from the Stamping Queens HERE. 

Stampin' Up has announced a few items from past mini catalogs that are still available to order.  Here is a link to the Carry Over Catalog.

Sayonara to Pocket Silhouettes

Happy May Day!  Do you remember celebrating May Day in school?   I remember as a small child walking the few blocks to Queens College from my grandmother's house and watching the May Day celebration.  I thought the girls dancing around the May Pole were so elegant.  I imagine now that Queens is a large university, they don't dance around the May Pole anymore.  Does anyone?

I've been trying to create a few cards using the stamp sets that will be retiring at the end of the month.   The card I am showcasing today is Pocket Silhouettes.  I have not used this set in quite a while and I don't know why.  it is a really nice set and can be used for sympathy, birthday, thank you ....  you name it and the images will fit the occasion.

 The pink card was mailed to my Monday Mailer partner last week.  It turned out so pretty.  I love pink and green - think it is the "preppy" in me!  I grew up wearing those shirts with the little alligator on them!  My grandmother used to make a lot of my clothes and she would save the alligator from things we outgrew.  So, when she made us a madras dress or other things, she would sew that little alligator right on it.  After I got married, I learned to sew and inherited those alligators and would sew them onto shirts that I made!  I bet I still have some of the alligators in my sewing basket!!  How I disgress!  Here are the details on the card:

Card Stock:  Blushing Bride, Pear Pizazz, Whisper White, In Color Stacks DSP
Ink:  Regal Rose
Stamp:  Pocket Silhouettes, Oval All
Access:  Square Punches, DSP Brads, Chantilly Lace Ribbon, Oval Punch

A lot of the materials to make the card are retiring - lace ribbon (boo hoo), card stock, DSP, stamp set - so if you want any of these items, you better order now.

Here is another version of the Pocket Silhouettes set.  This card uses retired DSP that I had in my stash.  I have made a card box using this DSP and made this card to match the box.  I'm still working on decorating the box and will share it later.  Details on the card:

Card Stock:  Kraft, Soft Suede, Baha Breeze, Very Vanilla, Soiree DSP (retired)
Stamp:  Pocket Silhouettes
Ink:  Baha Breeze, Soft Suede
Access:  Border Punch (retiring), Label Punch

Make today a good one!

Good Bye to Elebration

A quick reminder .... TODAY is the last day (midnight April 30) to order from the Occasions Mini catalog AND the Summer Smooches Promotion ends as well.  The Retired Accessories are available while supplies last.

So, here is another card I made with a retiring stamp.  This single stamp (Elebration) is one I have had my eye on all year because I kept seeing so many cute cards made with the darling little elephant.  I finally broke down last month and ordered it.  Wouldn't you know it?  It's retiring!!  Oh well, it is a single stamp so is pretty cheap.

I used some retired supplies on this card.  The DSP is from the Holiday Mini (Frostwood Lodge) and the Corduroy Button was retired last year.  I still have quite a stash of them though.  I used Copics to color the image.  The ribbon is a piece I found in my Ribbon Jar.

Sonny & I took two Red Cross training classes this weekend in Charlotte.  The first one was Deployment 101 and was quite informative.  They gave us the information we need when we are deployed - how much advance notice we will get (24 hrs), how long we will be expected to stay (2 weeks), what to pack, how much money we will be allotted for each day, how to get to where we are going and what to expect when we arrive.  In the afternoon we had an abbreviated Defensive Driving course.  I can just tell you, I was tired of sitting by 3 pm!!

MDS - Scrapbook Pages

I'm slowly putting together my scrapbook of my last trip to Texas with My Digital Studio.  I do a few pages a week and use new downloads as I'm working. 

These pages are of the beautiful peacocks that were strutting around for us at the Army base!  On Ft. Sam Houston, there is an area called the Quadrangle that is really old - dating back to the 1800s.  It has walls all around and animals roam free in the area - deer, peacocks, ducks, etc.  It is really cool.  You can read more of the details on the pages below.  You can click on the picture to view it larger.

Season of Friendship final hoorah

How do you like my new blog banner and background paper?  This is the Summer Smooch collection that will be in the new catalog.  I love the bright colors ...  I am a Brights kind of gal!

Things have been kind of crazy here. Yesterday I left the house at 9 a.m. and returned home at 7:30 pm!  I went to the "Y" and then out to lunch with Newcomers Out to Lunch Bunch at Firebirds at the mall.  So, of course I had to do some shopping while at the mall!  Plus, I had a $25 coupon for Coldwater Creek that I couldn't let expire.  But, I also went to Belk's and bought my mom's Mothers Day present.  After shopping, I met Marianne back in Mooresville and we went to the movies.  We saw "The Lucky One."  Zac Efron is sure dreamy!  We both enjoyed the movie.  My only complaint is that I thought he seemed a lot younger than Taylor Shilling (his love interest in the movie).  He is 24 and she is 27 but he seemed a lot younger than that.  But it was a great chick flick and I would recommend it. 

Sonny and I are on a new Red Cross National Disaster Team.  This is a pilot program for Lake Norman Red Cross.  There are about 18-20 people on the team from all over the Piedmont.  Sonny and I and the Team Leader are the only ones from the Mooresville office - the others are from Charlotte, Kings Mountain, Morganton, Gastonia, Salisbury, etc.  We will be doing all our training as a team and will be traveling to the various cities for our training.  Saturday we were in Charlotte for our first meeting; Monday night we had a Forms Class in Morganton and today we took an on-line (3 hours!) course on setting on and closing a shelter.  We have a class scheduled Saturday in Charlotte and over the next few weeks, we have 1-2 training classes a week.  The plan is when a disaster hits, we would be ready to deploy as a team of about 4-5 people within 24 hours. 

I have another card to share using a retiring stamp set, Season of Friendship.  I had to use it one last time before sending the stamp to a friend in Georgia who is buying it from me. (Cathy - it will be in the mail tomorrow!)  I actually saw a card similar to this one on Pinterest in pinks.  But I wanted to use Poppy Parade since it is retiring.

I stamped the tree in Soft Suede on Very Vanilla card stock and the leaves in Pear Pizazz.  Some of the leaves I stamped and cut out and mounted them to the tree with dimensionals.  The flowers are punched with the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch with a Pearl in the center of each one.  I stamped the sentiment on the side.  I really like this card!

Get Em While You Can!!

Get 'em while you can!  The Accessories Retiring List has been announced and it is quite extensive.  You can check the list out HERE. 

Over 300 stamp sets, retired accessories list is 12 pages long! 

• The Simply Adorned Jewelry Line is retiring
• The Definitely Decorative Line is retiring
• We are getting a new style of ink pad, with a firm foam pad,
• 12 x 12 paper is going to be packaged differently
• Individual Markers are also going to be packaged different, so if you need some colors, pick them up now
• 2010 - 2012 in colors, are retiring
• Lots of tools and Big Shot Items retiring

 When you see the Accessories list you'll notice the ink pads are retiring ...  not to worry.  All the colors are staying with the exception of the In Colors (2010-2012) ...the ink pads are getting a make over as well as some of the tools (marked with an asterik on the list).  Several of the punches and dies are making me sad to see them go - Butterfly Punch, 5 Petal Punch, Snowflake Punch, Eyelet Punch, Leaves Die (which I just ordered!), Movers and Shakers, Daisies Die ...  So if any of these are on your "must have" list, you can order them on-line or by contacting me and placing an order.

My Stamping Queens Sketch Challenge is today also.  I made this card using My Digital Studio and a couple of the new releases, Fantabulous You and Decorative Overlays.

Party This Way, Elizabeth!

I have two cards to share with you today that I've hardly used at all.  But, I'll hang on to them a while because I like them and can still use them to create with.

 This card uses the single stamp, Elizabeth.  I love it and just may use in card class next month.  I stamped it with Concord Crush onto Whisper White cardstock and used markers (Wisteria Wonder and Pear Pizazz) to color with.  I stamped "happy birthday" from Teeny Tiny Wishes in the center.  How do you like the ribbon flower?  I found a tutorial on line .... actually from Pinterest .... and followed it to make the flower out of Wisteria Wonder Ruffled Ribbon.  I also used a forgotten item on the card - mulberry paper.  I have a bunch of mulberry paper in various colors that I've probably had for 5 years or more.  When I first started stamping, mulberry paper was all the rage.  I still like the soft look you get from tearing the edges of the paper.

This is the first time I have used this stamp set, Party This Way.  I actually got it free during Saleabration so it's ok.  But, it's a great stamp set for birthdays so I'll hang on to it for a while.  The DSP is from an old SU Stamping Kit from a year or so ago.  I also put Crystal Effects on the balloons - you can see them close up in the next picture.  Also, I didn't have Brilliant Blue ribbon so I took a piece of Bashful Blue and my Brilliant Blue marker and colored the grosgrain ribbon to match.

Supplies used:
Card Stock:  Brilliant Blue (retired), Bashful Blue, Real Red, Whisper White, Party DSP (don't remember name!)
Stamps:  Party This Way
Accessories:  Big Shot, Nestabilities, Crystal Effects, Black Marker, Bashful Blue Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals
Ink:  Brilliant Blue, Real Red,