Rain, Rain Go Away!

(OOPS - thought I posted this last night!)

Rain, rain go away!!  I think we are going to float away.  I have never seen so much rain.  This whole summer has been a rain out.  Ashley is coming to visit Thursday night so I hope the rain clears out the week she is here.  I know we'll have fun anyway - we always do - but she wants to go out on the boat a few times while she's here and a few dry days would help that plan.

Marianne and I  headed down to CKC Friday morning.  I was signed up for a Button Farm Mini Album class at 11:30 and she was able to sign up for an SEI class at the same time.  After class, we called our hotel shuttle man and had him take us to Mertz Heart and Soul for lunch.  YUM!  I had catfish and veggies and it was so good!  We decided that will be a yearly tradition from now on.  After lunch, we did a little shopping in the vendor mall before heading to our next class.  We took a Creative Keepsakes class making a destination mini album.  I hope to use mine for my New Zealand trip or maybe my cruise. Marianne decided to make hers for her sister in law who is just returned from London and Paris.  Marianne was one step ahead of me and brought us small bottles of Moscato wine which we drank while having our own scrapping party in the hotel lobby.  We were able to spread out and work on the albums from our earlier classes.  Saturday we had an 8:30 class so we were up bright and early to catch our shuttle over to the convention center again.  We took a morning class, did some more shopping before our last class. 

Sonny and I went to the movies on Sunday to see The Butler.  It was really good and I highly recommend it.  It is based on a true story of Cecil Gaines who served eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House.  No matter your politics, it makes you understand how far this country has come to have a black president.

Last Thursday and this Tuesday are my Stamp Club days.  Here are a couple of the cards we are making this month.

 This is a great man's card, don't you think?  I love it!  I CASE'd it from the very talented Kathryn Lovell.  We did this card at a recent shoebox swap and I thought it would be great using the DSP, Sweater Weather.

 This was also a CASE from Dawn Griffith.  She has a video on her website that shows how to make this card.  I love it!

New Single Stamps

A new, holiday-themed collection of single stamps from Stampin' Up is now available! The holidays will be here before you know it, and these holiday-themed single stamps may be just you need. There are eight different stamps to choose from, six of which coordinate with Framelits dies or punches.

Check them out here:

 Details:

• See the flyer here
• Available until January 31, 2014
• You can find the stamp item numbers on the flyer above.
• Single stamps will be packaged in cello bags. If you'd like a case for your stamp, you can buy Clear-Mount Stamp cases that come in packs of four (item 119105).
• These single stamps are available in clear-mount only.
• The stamps won't come with a Clear-Mount Block, and you'll need to buy a block separately if you don't already have one. The recommended block sizes can be found on the flyer.
• There's no limit on how many pieces you can buy.

I'm headed to CKC (Creating Keepsakes Convention) in Charlotte this weekend.  Marianne are taking a few classes and doing a little shopping.  We're headed down this morning and will be back Saturday afternoon.  We are both looking forward to lunch .... we are going to Mert's Heart and Soul - a great little soul food restaurant downtown!!

Yippee Skippee!

I had a nice day today.  Sonny and I met friends for breakfast at the Boat House this morning.  We went by car and the rest of the group came by boat.  We were expecting workers at our house so didn't have time to boat over and back.  We had our gutters cleaned today and boy, did they need it!! 

Today was my grandson's 7th  birthday.  I called him to wish him happy birthday.  He was so cute.  He is really into chess - second grade and he is loving chess - that's all he could talk about!  He is even in the chess club at school.  How many of you played chess in the second grade?  Not me - I have never played chess in my life.

This is one of the club cards we will be making this week.  I saw a card similar to this one on Pinterest but it was not using Stampin' Up product.  I borrowed the sketch and used Stampin' Up products to make this card.  I don't usually use pink and orange together but I really like it.  Try Melon Mambo and Pumpkin Pie on your next creation!  The stamps I used are Oh Hello and Yippee Skippee. 

 

Yippee Skippee was given to us at Convention but it was already on my bucket list.  It is such a fun set.  I love the "carbs, schmarbs, eat the cake"!!  I also saw a cute card on Brian King's blog where he used the coffee cup from Perfect Brew and used the sentiment of "Never underestimate the power of two and put the word "CUPS" under it.  I don't drink coffee but I love the way he expanded on the meaning of the sentiment.

 

 

 

Paper Crew Sketch

Thought I'd share this cute cartoon -
My box man will be here on Friday!!


It's Wednesday and time for the Paper Players Sketch Challenge.  It's still a few months until Fall but I couldn't resist doing a fall card.  I think our weather is going to be fall like at the end of this week.   Friday, Saturday and Sunday are all supposed to be in the mid-70s and of course, rainy!!  This rain better be moving out of here soon.  Ashley is coming to visit Aug. 22 and she has requested no rain!!  We aim to please!  OK - on to my card.

I used the Wonderfall DSP and elements.  The banners are from the Convention 2013 kit.  How do you like the little owl in the top corner?  That's actually a square punch filled with Wonderfall DSP and cropped so just the owl is centered in the punch! 

What a day I had today.  I co-captained at the Soup Kitchen this morning.  We made baked spaghetti and prepared about 16 pans!  There was plenty left over that they will package up for the evening meals that they make for the local churches.  I was exhausted when I left.  But I wanted to get my drivers license renewed.  I went to the DMV office in Mooresville and it was packed out.  People were sitting outside on the grass and inside every chair was taken.  The line to check in was out to the door.  So I did a U turn and left!   I headed up to Statesville where I figured I'd have better luck.  Not so.  I signed in with no problem.  There were about 20-25 people in the waiting room.  But there was no one manning the desk.  I waited an hour and they only called one person to come back.  A lady came out once and told a young person that there was a 3 hour wait.  I figured that the 3 hour wait was for getting a new license - driving test and all.  There was one guy in there that said he'd been there since 11:30 - and it was 1:30.  So after sitting there for an hour with no sign of any one calling my name, I left. In that hour, no one ever came to the window to help us or just to say what kind of wait we could expect.  I guess that's why they let you get your license 3 months early - it will take 3 months to get it!!MD  What a waste of time!

Bags for the Beach and for Baby

I had a very productive weekend in my stamp room.  I am trying to figure out what to do in Stamp Club this week but I have too many choices!  So, I keep playing around with different sets and techniques.  I need to make a decision!!

We got some good news this weekend that our family will be growing next year.  My nephew and his wife, Katrina, are expecting their second child in February.  They already have a precious little boy.  I'm hoping for a little girl but we'll have to wait a few weeks before they know the sex.  I made this little baby bag card to send to them to congratulate them.  I found the pattern on-line (Pinterest probably).  I think we will be making a similar bag in club this week too!

I also think I was in a pastel mood this weekend.  Seems most of the cards I made were with pastel colors which is unusual for me.  I usually go for the Brights and Regals.  But I love the new in colors and the way they seem to go together. 

This little bag opens on the side.  The little closure is punched with the Ticket Punch and has a bit of Velcro to keep it closed.  The mosaic background piece is from the DSP packet, Quadrefancy Specialty.  It is a clear window sheet with the quadrefoil design in white.  The sentiment is from That's the Ticket.  I used a few pearls and my white gel pen to dress it up.

On the inside, I punched 4 little hearts to cover up where the straps were glued down.








Here is another bag I made.  This time I used the DSP from a Christmas pack!  This DSP is in the Holiday catalog - Winter Frost (pg 29).  So, you can use winter DSP for a summer bag, can't you!?!  I really like this paper.  This time for the bag closure I used the Oval Punch.  The sentiment is from Oval All that I just realized is retired!  Oops - I had it on the wrong shelf.  The little flower is from Secret Garden - hard to tell but it is stamped in Pool Party and I used the dauber and Island Indigo for the edges.  Instead of a pearl on the closure, I used one of the Candy Dots (I love these things!)

 And how about a beach bag tote?  Again, this DSP is from a Christmas stack.  This time the DSP is Season of Style (pg 22 of Holiday mini).  I am a polka dot gal and love this Soft Suede polka dot bag with the pretty Blushing Bride card stock.  I stamped and heat embossed the anchor from Open Sea and added a little bit of twine to it.  The flowers are punched using the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch (but you could also use the Boho Blossom flower.)  Again I used the Candy Dots for the closure and for the center of the flowers. 

So what did you do this weekend?  Productive or just lazing around?  Both are fine with me!!  Oops gotta run - Sammie wants to play straws.  (I throw her straw down the stairs and she runs down and fetches it just like a dog!)

Masculine Birthday Card

My nephew had a birthday last week - wow! where did 24 years go??  I think most people struggle with making masculine cards.  We like to add all the glitz, glitter and flowers to our cards and I don't know many guys who would care for that!  So I set about working on a manly card for Derek.  Here's what I came up with.  (This card uses mostly retired Stampin' Up product but I don't think the recipient cares!)

I used the Woodgrain embossing folder on the retired Not Quite Navy card stock and layered it onto a River Rock (retired) card base.  I found a piece of River Rock ribbon in my stash and a Ribbon Slide (all retired).  I found a piece of DSP in River Rock that has a subtle swirl on one side and punched it out with my 2 1/2" circle punch.  The button is secured with a couple of glue dots and I tucked two tickets under it from That's the Ticket (NOT retired!). 

What do you think?  Does this card meet the masculine criteria?  I'm sure all he cared about was the check that was tucked inside!

Coming home this week, I spotted this momma and two babies next door to our house.  One of the babies ran in the woods before I could get stopped and click their picture.  So cute!

Halloween Canvas

I'm ready for Halloween!  I had so much fun making these mixed media Halloween canvases this week.  Carrie Cudney demonstrated some that she had made when we were at Convention.  They are 6x6 artist canvas that I purchased from a local arts and crafts store (on sale!)  It's hard to tell but each one of them started out with a layer of the retired newsprint DSP.  I used Modge Podge to adhere them to the canvas and then put a coat of Modge Podge over them.  I mixed a little paint and reinkers and had fun kinda finger painting!  The ghost and pumpkin are also cut from the DSP.  On the owl, I used cardstock.  I pretty much free handed the figures.  I used a Sharpie marker to outline everything.  I just went through some of my scraps and found bits and pieces to add to each one.  I really like how they turned out and think they will look cute on my mantel in October!

Paper Crew Challenge 53

Welcome to Paper Craft Crew Challenge #53!!   Did you check out our sketch challenge last week, as voting is now open.   We would love you to play along with this one.  Here is this week's sketch challenge:



No surprise that I used MDS to create my card.  Have I told you lately how much I love the program?  HA!!

This card uses the DSP from Sunshine Garden (I think that's the name!) and the little birds and ribbon are from the Love Birds kit.

Yesterday we had a girls day as a continuation of Mom's birthday.  When Marianne got off work, we picked Mom up and went to the nail salon.  Both of them had mani's and pedi's and I got a pedi.  (I use my fingers too much and chip polish off so I don't waste my $$!)  Angela met us when she got off work and we went to a local Mexican restaurant.  Marianne and I ordered fajitas for two as did Mom and Angela.  We should have just asked for one order!  I have enough for Sonny and I to have for 2 more dinners I think!  It's ok with me!

Wetlands

 Hope you had a good weekend!  I did.  We finally had a weekend with NO rain!!  Sonny and I went to Hickory on Saturday.  He was looking for ammo at a good price and I was just looking!  He dropped me at the mall where I bought a new pair of shoes (that I don't need but they were on sale and really cute!) and then over to AC Moore where I bought some canvases to try my hand at some mixed media Halloween pictures.  On Sunday, I met Angela and Mom for brunch after church and brought Mom back home with me.  We went out on the boat for the afternoon.  We found a nice shady area on one of the small islands on the lake and beached the pontoon.  That way Mom could get in the water easily.  It was really enjoyable.  After lounging around, we boated over to a restaurant on the lake and had dinner before heading home.  When we got home, Mom took a bath in my tub.  She loves my garden tub with the jets beating on her!

It's funny how you can look at a stamp set in the catalog and think to yourself, what would I do with that set?  That's the way I felt about the set, Wetlands (pg 69).  Well, after convention, I have a new found respect for the set! 

I received several swaps using this set that I just loved.  And after further evaluation, I have decided that this would make a good masculine card.  Like many others, I struggle with making masculine cards.  So .... this set may just be finding a home in my craft room in the near future!

Here are a few of the swaps that I received with this stamp set:

Halloween Canvas

Carrie Cudney taught a class during convention where she showed some samples of mixed media art that she created using Stampin' Up products and DSP.  These were photos I took of Carrie's samples. They were done on a 6" canvas but she made into the ghost into a card also, They were just too cute not to share.  I plan on getting some canvas-es (??) and making my own soon!