Petite Pocket Die Card

Marianne and I had a great time in Greensboro Saturday at the Shoebox Swap.  We made 12 great cards and enjoyed the fellowship of some great ladies.  We left the house bright and early Saturday morning and got to the Shoebox Swap right at 9 a.m. - just in time! 

This is the card that Marianne created.  I was so proud of her!  She made her decision super quick Friday night.  It usually takes her forever to make a decision on what to create but this time, it didn't.  She used the Petite Pocket Die on the card.  This would be a great card to slip a gift card in or just a little note to slide out.  The cute flower is from Button Buddies and she used one of the new Dahlias for the center.

Ingredients:
Cardstock:  Elegant Eggplant, Wild Wasabi, White, DSP In Color Patterns Stack
Ink:  Versamark, Wisteria Wonder
Access:  Petite Pocket Die, Elegant Eggplant Dotted Ribbon, Bird Punch, Dahlias, Scallop Punch, Corner Rounder

After I played bridge today, I stopped by Mom's to pick her up and take her to Physical Therapy.  I was so happy to see how good she was doing.  Maybe we have turned the corner on her back stuff.  She has slacked off a lot on her pain pills and she wasn't using the walker!  Hip Hip Hooray!!  Her birthday is next week so maybe this is a big gift for her!

Clear Mount Stamp Tips

These guides are great for your clear blocks!    They come in two 8-1/2″ x 11″ sheets. You can use them on any of  your clear stamping blocks to help your postilion your stamped images perfectly.

They are reposition-able and washable. The guides include eight die-cut guides sized for blocks, D, E, F, H, and I, and three guides you cut to customize.

Straight, angled, and curvy lines on the guides help you easily line up sentiments, images, and repeated patterns.  I remove the guides and wash them with the blocks in dish soap. Then I rinse them and dry them and position them back on the blocks. They cling beautifully and the stamps cling to them beautifully too.
They are especially great with words.  Place the stamp on a line on the block and when you stamp, use the lines on the block to line up the bottom and sides of the card stock for great placement every time.
It’s easiest to attach the guides to the bottom of the block and then attach the stamp to the bottom – this avoids distortion. The greatest thing to do is use them for lining up two or more stamps on the same block together! They are easier and faster than the Stamp-a-ma-jig (although the Stamp a ma jig is one of my favorite tools.).   A Must Have!

Item # 121785 – $5.95 – you can order yours now!

Some customers have complained that the Cling Mount Stamps do not cling well.  Here is my solution to that:
 
1) make sure your blocks and the back of the stamps are clean. After using them frequently, you will get body oil on the surface and this reduces the cling. Just use the Stampin’ Scrub to clean the blocks and the backs of the stamps. You can also wipe them with an ALCOHOL FREE baby wipe or a damp cloth dipped in dish soap. Be sure to rinse the soap off the blocks or stamps before using.
2) Huff on the back of the block before sticking the stamp onto the block. This will create a layer of moisture to help seal the two together.
3) Place the stamp face down on the work surface and the place the block on top of the stamp and press gently, holding for a second or two. Pick up the block and press on the side of the stamp to make sure they are firmly attached together
4) When using a large stamp or when using Versa Mark or Craft Ink change the way you ink the stamp. Place the block on the table with the stamp face up. Hold the stamp pad in your hand and pounce it on to the stamp. This works great, also, to make sure that you are getting full coverage on the large stamps.
I seldom have any problems if I follow the steps above. BUT, there’s always an exception so here are two more tips that will solve the problem.
5) Rub the stamp and or the block on the back of your sleeve or pant leg to build some static electricity before attaching them.This really helps if the block is cold.
6) You can use a very light layer of Tombow glue (or Aleen's Tack It Over and Over) on the back of the Stamp – let it dry and it will be very tacky – It will stick perfectly.


So now that you know how to work your clear mount stamps, how about a card?  Marianne and I are going to Greensboro tomorrow for a NC Demos Non-Convention Goers gathering.  There will be 12 of us there and we are going to all do a Shoebox Swap.  Here is the card I am doing:

 I tell you, I am in love with the Postage Due stamp!!  This time, I stamped it in River Rock.  I just realized that I did not post the card with the latest changes.  I punched out the sentiment "Sending You Love" with the Itty Bitty Banners die (stamped using Cajun Craze ink) and adhered it in the top right.  I also stamped one of the postage stamps in Cajun Craze too to add a little pop to the card.  The other stamp is in Always Artichoke.

Marianne is doing a really cute card using the Petite Pocket Die.  I'll snap it tomorrow to share with you.

Well, better sign off and head on in to bed.  Marianne's already in the guest room asleep.  Sammie does not know what to do.  She usually sleeps in that bedroom on the twin bed closest to the window.  She sleeps on a pink blanket that I have folded up on the bottom of the bed and I noticed tonight that it is practically black from her fur!!  She keeps wandering in and out of the room where Marianne is but now she has settled outside the door.  At night, she starts out sleeping in our bedroom but leaves sometime during the night and I think goes in the guest room to sleep.  Who knows where she will end up tonight?!

Smoothies for You

 Try these smoothies!  They are good for you too!



Blueberry-Banana Smoothie
Makes 3 (3/4-cup) servings
Using almond butter boosts protein and gives this smoothie a rich, almost chocolaty flavor.

   Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsweetened frozen blueberries
• 1 medium banana, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 cup nonfat plain, or vanilla, yogurt (can use silken tofu)
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 tbsp almond butter (or peanut butter)
• 1 tsp honey

Add all ingredients to blender. Cover and blend until smooth and creamy.  Serve immediately.

Per serving:
   190 calories, 7 g fat, 0.5 g sat fat, 31 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 70 mg sodium, 5 g protein *5.5 (4)

Peachy Almond Smoothie
Makes 3 (3/4-cup) servings
For extra body and fiber, ground oatmeal is used.  You can use a variety of fresh berries and stone fruits.

   Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp rolled oats
• 3 ice cubes
• 2 cups sliced fresh peaches (or nectarines or strawberries)
• 1 cup almond milk (or 1% milk; I like the SF almond milk)
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp honey

Place the rolled oats in the blender and blend until oats are finely ground.  Place in small bowl and set aside. Place the ice cubes in the blender and crush.  Add the peaches (or other fruit), almond milk (or 1% milk), lemon juice, honey and the reserved rolled oats.  Cover and blend until smooth and creamy.  Serve immediately.

Per serving:
   80 calories, 1.5 g fat, 0 g sat fat, 17 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 50 mg sodium, 2 g protein *2.5 (1.5)

---

Add-ins
To increase your fiber, try adding flaxseed to your smoothie (1 tbsp adds 1.6 g fiber).
To increase your calcium, try adding nonfat dry milk powder to your smoothie (1 tbsp adds 62 mg).
To increase your protein, try adding whey powder (1 tbsp vanilla-flavored whey protein powder adds 4 g).
~~~Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter



 Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Mirror, mirror on the wall
Do you have to tell it all?
Where do you get the glaring right
To make my clothes look just too tight?
I think I'm fine but I can see you
won't cooperate with me;
The way you let the shadows play
You'd think my hair was getting gray
What's that, you say? A double chin?
No, that's the way the light comes in;
If you persist in peering so
You'll confiscate my facial glow,
And then if you're not hanging straight
You'll tell me next I'm gaining weight;
I'm really quite upset with you
For giving this distorted view;
I hate you being smug and wise -
O, look what's happened to my thighs!
I warn you now, O mirrored wall,
Since we're not on speaking terms at all,
If I look like this in my new jeans
You'll find yourself in smithereens!!!

  ~~~Author Unknown

---

Sketch Challenge 47

I can't believe that we are already on Sketch Challenge #47!!  I really enjoy these challenges and doing them with My Digital Studio.  It stretches me to come up with different interpretations each week.  This week I actually did two cards for the challenge.  It was a fun sketch.



Tea Time II kit

Most of the creating work I did for this card used embellishments from Tea Time II digital kit. Embellishments in My Digital Studio can be elements you'd normally think of: brads, ribbon, buttons, but they are also beautiful digital images that can be moved and/or made smaller and layered to create beautiful additions to your cards and pages. I'm so excited about My Digital Studio II (which is coming soon!) because they will be adding the ability to color embellishments, too!

This MDS card uses DSP from the Summer Smooches.  The stamps are from Mouthwatering.  This would be easy to re-create with paper and stamps too.

Check out what the other Queens made this week using this sketch HERE.

Pleasant Poppies

I just love the colors in this card!  The Pleasant Poppies stamp is a single stamp with so much potential!  This is just one of the cards that I created with it.  

I stamped the poppies in black ink and colored them with my markers using mostly Soft Subtle colors.  I originally had stamped them and tried coloring them with darker colors but didn't like the look.  I prefer these soft colors - So Saffron, Baja Blue and Pink Pirouette.  I matted the Whisper White onto Black and adhered that to the Marina Mist.  I used a retired ribbon in Marina Mist to tie around the card.  I really miss the wide grosgrain ribbon! 

I played Bridge today ... had a little better cards today than I had last time but still nothing to write home about.  It was a fun day with friends though.  Today I am taking my Mom to yet another doctor!  But this time it is to Dr. Allen, her regular doctor for her 6-month check up.  He had wanted to see her after she saw the neurologist so I'll be killing 2 bird with 1 stone at least.  She started her Physical Therapy today and Angela said they had her in tears.  I'm sure but she needs to start moving around more.  She'll do PT twice a week.  Angela is going to take her this week and I'll be taking her next week - fitting it around bridge and my club meetings.

Our heat is supposed to abate a bit this week.  We sure could use some rain!

Have a good week!  Don't forget Tuesday is Stampin' Up's new digital downloads so check them out!

Bootiful Occasions

Another hot one today!  We tied the record I believe at 101 degrees and it's still 88 degrees at 9:30 pm.  We took our boat out this morning and went to breakfast.  Then we found a quiet cove to throw the anchor and swim.  We both had books to read on the boat but I could only read about a chapter before I had to jump in the water and cool off again.  I could only stand it for a couple of hours before I told Sonny we or go home or I was going to melt.  So, we went home and I got creative with one of my new stamp sets.

The Bootiful Occasions stamp set (found on page 50 of the new Stampin' Up catalog) was one of my "must have" sets when I first looked through the book.  It has four boot images and a “happy Boot-Day” sentiment.  I think it will be great for a masculine card as well as the Halloween image and the Christmas image.  Today I made three cards with it using all but the Christmas boot.  (I'll do it later in the week and share.)



Take #1 of the Halloween Boot

After taking the picture of the witches boot, I decided it needed a little something else.  So, I added a little bow.  What do you think? 

Take #2

close up of the bow

For the Witches Boot, I stamped the boot and the sentiment in Elegant Eggplant.  I cut this stamp apart so the image and the sentiment are separate.  Then I colored in the dots using a Copic marker.  Then I embossed the white card stock using the Spiderweb embossing folder.  The bottom Elegant Eggplant card stock is embossed with the Stripes embossing folder and then the edge was punched with the Scallop Edge Punch.  A strip of black cardstock was layered between the white and Eggplant.  I was able to tie that itty bitty bow using my Bow Maker.  Sonny is still making them if you are interested in purchasing one.

Next is the Cowboy Boot.  I can see all kinds of uses for this stamp!  I have lots of Texas friends that this stamp is perfect for.  I have gotten rid of all my cowboy boots (had black, navy, and red boots at one time).  This is another one I thought needed a little something else after I took the picture.



Take #1 Cowboy Boot

 

Take #2

I colored in the bottom part of the boot with the Midnight Muse marker.  Here are the deets:  Stamp the boot 3 times - once in Midnight Muse on the Crumb Cake cardstock; once in Midnight Muse onto white scrap and lastly the stars in Versamark on scrap white.  Use Cherry Cobbler embossing powder on the stars and adhere them to the boot with glue.  I used dimensionals to attach the white boot to the one stamped on the Crumb Cake. 

Ingredients for Cowboy Boot :

Paper:  Midnight Muse, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Newsprint DSP

Ink:  Midnight Muse, Versamark

Accessories:  Cherry Cobbler emb. powder, Heat Gun, Cherry Cobbler Bakers Twine, dimensionals

Next is the Rain Boot card.  Do you know all the names for this shoe?  How about  rubber-boots, wellies, wellingtons, topboots, billy-boots, gumboots, gumbies, gummies, barnboots, wellieboots, muckboots, sheepboots, poopkickers, or rainboots!!  My friend Margaret calls them "wellies".  I like poopkickers!!  I wore these "wellies" a lot when I was gardening when we lived in Washington state but I haven't worn them much since we left.  They are great for mucking around in the mud!

I only did one take on this card - didn't see a need for any changes.  I used the Two Tags Die and my Big Shot to cut out the tag and stamped the boot in Black.  I used the Cherry Cobbler marker to color in the boot.  I used the Adorning Accents embossing folder (hearts) on the white card.  The Cherry Cobbler strip is die cut with the Adorning Accents Edgelit and then embossed with the Adorning Accents embossing folder (scallops).  The DSP is Twitterpated.  I drew the stems and leaves in with a marker for the flowers.  The flowers are punched out with the Itty Bitty Punch Pack.  I used a tiny pearl for the middle of each flower and a brad and a piece of red twine at the top of the tag.

Postage Due

I was on a roll this weekend and made several cards with my new stuff as well as some old stuff.  Postage Due (pg 108) is one of the stamp sets that didn't catch my eye at first.  But, after seeing a lot of the samples from others, it grew on me.  This is a little outside my norm; just like the set I bought last year, Daring Adventure.  But I love to try and stretch myself.

I started out embossing the Crumb Cake card with the Tulip embossing folder.  I stamped the large Postage Due stamp  with Early Espresso onto Very Vanilla cardstock.  Then I distressed the edges and matted it onto Cherry Cobbler.  It's hard to tell but I also stamped a portion of the stamp on a scrap piece of Vanilla and tore it, sponging around the edges before lining it up and adhering it on the larger piece.  I also stamped the flower separately in Cherry Cobbler, cut it out and adhered it.  I stamped the postage stamps in Cherry Cobbler, Espresso and Midnight Muse and then punched them out with the Postage Punch and adhered them with dimensionals.  Happy Anniversary is stamped in Midnight Muse, punched out with the Banner Framelit and adhered with dimensionals.

Click on the cards to view them larger.


Postage Due

Here is another version of the Postage Due stamp.  This time I stamped just the bicycle part onto a piece of DSP (retired) in Basic Gray.  The postage stamps are stamped in Cherry Cobbler and Basic Gray and punched out with the Postage Punch.  The strip of DSP across the middle is matted with Cherry Cobbler.  There is a strip of Whisper White at the bottom that is punched out with the Adorning Accents Edgelit.

Close up of postage stamps and Edgelit trim

Did you watch fireworks last night?  We went out on our boat around 6.  It was starting to thunder and I was afraid we were going to get caught in a storm but it passed over.  We settled down in a cove across the lake from Queens Landing, where the fireworks were going to be shot off.  Sonny and I took our books and did a little reading, took a nap, and ate our dinner while waiting for the fireworks to begin.  There were a lot of individuals all around us shooting off fireworks so it was entertaining while we were waiting.  Finally the fireworks started at 9:45 but only lasted about 15 minutes.  In the past, they've usually lasted about 30 minutes.  I don't know if they ran out of fireworks or had some kind of technical difficulties.  It was pretty disappointing.  But luckily, we did not have to sit in traffic to drive home - just a little boat traffic. 

Happy 4th!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!



made with MDS

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!  We joined my mom and Angela last night at their church to watch the fireworks put on by Lowe's YMCA.  We have usually watched the fireworks in the parking lot very close to where they put them off.  I think I like that location better - seems like you are right under them.

Tomorrow night we will probably go out on the boat to watch fireworks again.  These are put on at Queens Landing over the lake.  I enjoy laying down on our boat and watching the display.

It is Wednesday and time for the Stamping Queens Sketch Challenge.  We decided to all do a patriotic card this time in honor of the 4th.  Here is mine:

Need A Reason to Smile?

There are plenty of reasons to smile in July with the Reason to Smile set that is yours for just $5!!

Promotion Details:

• Dates:  July 1 - 31, 2012
• Spend $50 on any current Stampin' Up! products to get the exclusive Reason to Smile Set for just $5.
• Orders may be placed on any order type (customer, workshop guest or online)
• There is a limit of one (1) set per customer.
• You will not be automatically prompted to enter the $5 Item Number for a qualifying purchase.  You must use one of these item numbers after your order reaches $50 or more: 
  • Wood Mount 131274
  • Clear Mount 131275
• Valued up to $20.95
• The Reason to Smile Set is exclusive to this promotion and will not be available after July 31, 2012.
• Deadline:  Tuesday, July 31, 2012; 11:50 PM (MT) 

Great flower set plus two-step stamping

And here are a couple of projects made with the stamp set.  Click on the picture to enlarge.

Short Trip!

Well, I'm back!  Too bad - We left so full of hope and excitement of helping others to return pretty disillusioned with the whole process.  Saturday didn't start off any better than Friday had.  We were told when we all parted ways on Friday night that we were to report to Red Cross hdq. at 9 a.m. Saturday morning.  I texted our leader Friday night to tell her we would see her in the lobby of the motel at 8 for breakfast.  Well, I was awakened at 7 a.m. Saturday by her asking me where we were - the others were down in the lobby!  I told her I thought we were meeting up at 8.  Oh no, she told me she changed that during the night.  Hmmm - would have been nice to tell all the team members!  They were going to have a team meeting in the lobby and then head over to Red Cross.  We quickly dressed and joined the others for our meeting which was basically outlining that she was the supervisor of the group and did everyone understand that.  Luckily, there is one lady in our group (besides me) who doesn't mind speaking her mind which she did during the meeting, outlining a lot of the complaints we all had of the situation so far.  Sonny and I had breakfast and got our stuff packed and actually arrived at Red Cross before the other 2 cars did - they were lost once again!  We stood around at headquarters for about 1 1/2 hours and finally decided that we wanted to drive over to the damaged area just to say that we had seen something besides a mall!  So we did, leaving our supervisor at headquarters to sort out what we were supposed to do.  Here is most of what we saw:

This was Rising River Resort - think they had camping and cabins.  See the wrought iron gate - water was up to the middle of it.

This was an ABC store and bar that had sandbags at the doors but the water was up to the foundation.

Our team inspecting the damage!

A gas station flooded out.

Dee called us before we got to Lake City where there was an open shelter and wanted us to pull over so she could talk to all of us on speaker phone to make some team decisions.  She told us there was no need for us as a team in Florida, Colorado or Montana; it turns out that the team that arrived from California - AFTER we arrived, were sent out to a shelter (when we were told there was nothing); but if one of us (with experience) wanted to be a Food Supervisor, there was a need in Tallahassee.  No one wanted it!  So, flight reservations were made for us to return to NC on Sunday!  We returned to Gainesville and met Dee for lunch.  She said our team leader who had arrived the day before us had not told the staffing at headquarters that needed to know the info that we were even coming.  (I think there is a huge power struggle between these two.)  In the meantime, our team leader (Marge) had been promoted on site to Shelter Manager (probably thus not giving the attention that was needed to her team members, several who had never been on a deployment.)  So, she wanted us all to drive to where Marge was and confront her with our issues.  We did that but again, another waste of time!  It was basically a "he said, she said" situation.  Marge says she told people we were coming; that it was their fault. Sonny and one of the other guys actually walked out of the meeting.  I don't think they really wanted to hear from Sonny at that time!  Anyway, after all that, we all headed to Jacksonville (except for our supervisor as she was going to Tallahassee to take that other position until someone could relieve her.)  We at least had a fun time the little bit of time we were in Jacksonville.  I led us to a restaurant on Atlantic Beach - about 30 minutes away - and we had a good dinner and even took a short walk on the beach.  So, at least I got my toes in the sand!!

me, Sharon and Nan at Ragtime in Atlantic Beach

The girls on the beach!

Sonny and Jim on the beach.

To top it off, when we were at breakfast Sunday morning at the hotel before heading to the airport, there were 3-4 Red Cross workers there also.  They asked us where we were headed and we told them home since there was nothing to do.  They had just arrived and were headed to Gainesville to work in a shelter.  I'm sure when they got there, they were told to turn around and go home also.  But what a waste of money - plane tickets, car rentals, food, lodging, etc.

 So I am home!  While I was gone, I got a Stampin' Up delivery that I need to unpack and start creating with some of the goodies.  I have 4 new stamp sets that I am itching to use!  Stay tuned tomorrow for some new creations.