Background Techniques

At the Charlotte Quarterly, we did a Technique Swap.  Not many people signed up for it so I didn't have to do many to swap.  I really like the Bokeh Technique and that is what I decided to do.

 

 

Here are the other techniques that I swapped for: 

 

This next one - Salt Resist - is one I haven't tried.

There was also a Background class offered Friday morning.  I didn't take it but here are the unique backgrounds they completed using hot glue!!

We have had snow, ice, thundersnow, freezing rain .... you name it - if it's cold, we've had it the past few days.  It started after midnight Thursday.  I think we got a layer of ice; then snow; then more ice.  I have just stayed nice and warm inside working on a digital scrapbook and I finished it!!  The temps got above freezing today so a little melting has started.  But, our neighborhood has not been touched so I won't be driving in it for a while.  School was canceled Friday and has already been canceled for Monday - as well as my bridge game.  I like these kind of snowy days.  I can always find something to do but Sonny gets a little stir crazy!  He went out today and cleared a path in the driveway.  Then he drove my car and his truck up the driveway and I think he drove his truck to the post office just to see how the roads were. 

In the meantime, I just finished watching the Broncos beat New England (did my heart good to see Tom Brady's sad face!) and I am pulling for the Panthers to beat Arizona.  I usually pull for Arizona .... but not against the Steelers or the Panthers!  I think Carolina can beat Denver in the Super Bowl!

January Stamp Club cards

Luckily, the sun is still shining here this morning so my friends can make it to Stamp Club today!  I'm ready and feeling better today.  Think my cold is on it's way to bother someone else - just hopefully not Sonny!!

I wanted to do cards from the Occasions Catalog as well as throw in a little bit of Sale-a-Bration stamps this month.

More Occasion samples for you!

I am fighting a cold so a short post today.  These are a few more cards that I snapped a picture of from the display board at Quarterly.  Hope these are giving you some ideas for using the stamps in the Occasions catalog.

I have stamp club this week and will be sharing our cards from it using the Occasions catalog also.

Birthday Blooms (pg 9)  If you like to color or watercolor, this is a great set!

Isn't this paper gorgeous?  It is the Birthday Bouquet DSP on pg. 9

Birthday Blooms again - this time in a color resist technique.

Time to start on your Valentines! This beautiful Bloomin' Heart Thinlit Die makes it easy!!  (pg 16-17_

This valentine uses the stamp set, Bloomin' Love (pg 17)

Love this use of the Botanical Gardens DSP (pg 27)  You can get the DSP, framelits AND stamp set as a bundle and save 15%!!  What a deal!

This beautiful card was made by JoAnne Hewlins.  She won the WOW card contest with this beauty!  I can just guess at how long it took her to put this all together.  It will have to go to someone really special!  She used the Botanical Blooms stamp set and framelits.  Also, check out the pretty ribbon - you can find it in the Annual Catalog on pg 159.

Another beauty using Botanical Blooms.  I just love that leaf framelit!!

Occasion Balloons!!

Oooh ..... it's cold outside baby!!  The high  was Monday was 37 I believe and today's high is supposed to be 32 with overnight lows in the teens  That's cold!!  For fun, I have Honolulu weather on my phone app  They had a high of 82 on Monday!!  And of all times for our gas fireplace not to be working!!!  Sonny is going to fix it as soon as he gets the part.  He had ordered the part through a local company but they ordered the wrong piece  The correct one should be here tomorrow ...  let's hope!!

This was a football watching weekend.  There were two NFL game on Saturday with Arizona (my son's team) and New England (yuck) both winning.  On Sunday Carolina won their play off game - barely.  After leading 31-0 at half time, they almost blew the lead in the second half ending up winning 31-24.  They didn't score any points in the second half!  They will be playing Arizona for the conference championship next weekend - wonder which team will show up - the first half Panthers or the second half Panthers.  And my Steelers played for the final time this season Sunday.  We almost had the win but in the last few minutes, we fumbled the ball and Denver was able to score.  I was really disappointed but truthfully, did not think we would win anyway because we had so many key players injured and unable to play.

Thought I'd share a few more cards from Quarterly.  This time they are all using balloon stamps from the Occasions Catalog.

Stamp set used:  Party with Cake

Balloon Celebration

Balloon Celebration stamp set

Balloon Celebration

Sale-a-Bration Samples

I got a lot of great cards last week-end and got samples of just about every stamp set in the Occasions and Sale-a-bration catalogs.  It is so different to see the cards made with the stamps than just having to see them in the catalog.

Here are samples from Sale-a-Bration Catalog that were on the display board:

Flowering Fields (pg 12)

Honeycomb Happiness (pg 15)

Perfect Pairings (pg 11) plus Wildflower Fiels DSP (pg 13)

Sky Is the Limit (pg 16) plus Perfectly Artistic DSP (pg 19)

What I Love (pg 7)

What I Love (pg 7)

Botanicals For You (pg 4) plus Botanical Builder Framelits (Occasions catalog pg 26)

I have been making cards with the few stamp sets that I have bought (so far) from the two new catalogs.  I am trying to be a little more frugal this time and love having all the samples for my customers to see.  I have been working hard in my craft room all week.   Except for last night when I had to get dressed to have dinner at a friends house, I have been in my pj's for 3 days!  It has been great!  Sonny went with some guys yesterday on a duck hunting trip.  He came home late last night. He said if he had this on his bucket list, he could check it off.  He won't be going duck hunting again! He never even fired his rifle!!  One of the guys with them got a duck but out of the four of them, one got a duck, one fired his rifle once and Sonny and the other guy never took a shot.  It was a 5 1/2 hour drive to the NC coast Wednesday.  They got up at 5:30 a.m. Thursday (no thank you!) and stared at the blue sky and then drove back home, another 5 1/2 hour!  Sonny was really stiff when he got home from all the sitting.  I had much more fun at home!!

Swap Cards

Marianne and I traveled to Matthews this weekend (only about 45 minute trip for us) for the NC Demos Quarterly meeting.  Before we got there, we were both hungry for lunch and spotted a restaurant right off Independence Blvd. with a banner hanging down advertising their Soul Food!  Marianne quickly changed lanes and pulled in!!  It was delicious (even if we were the only white people in the small restaurant!) I had fried chicken, black-eyed peas, mashed potatoes and cornbread - all freshly made.  Sure wish we lived closer to that restaurant .... or maybe I don't if I think I'm going to lose weight!!

We had a great time at the Quarterly and came back Saturday afternoon really tired!

These are the two cards I took for my swaps.

This card was for the Sale-a-Bration swap using Flowering Fields stamp (pg. 12).  I stamped the images in black ink and used markers to color in the flowers and butterfly.  The sentiment is from Flower Patch (from the annual catalog,)  I used the Curvy Corner Trio Punch for the top right edge and the Proj. Life Corner Rounder for the Melon Mambo layer.  The card base is Blackberry Bliss.  I also used the new Wink of Stella (clear) on the flowers but it is hard to see that in the picture.  I LOVE that Wink of Stella.  I have not tried the gold yet - only the clear.  It is easy to use and just leaves a hint of glitter.

Here are a few other ideas for using this stamp set:



Now for my next swap card.

This card was made for the Occasions Catalog swap.  I used  the stamp set, Balloon Builders to make this card.  This set is great and I can't wait to "go outside the box" with it.  The versatile shapes let you create anything you can imagine!  I also like the soft colors on this card.  I used Wisteria Wonder, Blushing Bride, Pool Party and Smoky Slate.  There is also a coordinating punch for the balloons.  (pg. 13 - 14)

My Memories Suite 7

You will start seeing more digital pages from me.  You know I was so sad when Stampin' Up! did away with My Digital Studio.  I started using My Memories! which is by the same company that MDS was but it just wasn't the same .... UNTIL a few weeks ago.  My Memories released a new update, Suite 7, and it has several great new features including some that MDS users had really missed, such as the ability to crop stamps (imprints) and embellishments.  I used the cropping feature all the time and am so happy that it has been added to MMS7.  Here is a list of other items that were added:



I love the photo used indicator.  When you have a folder with lots of photos, it makes it easy to see which photo you have already used and not duplicate one.  I look forward to trying out the blurred photo edges also.  I have seen a couple of layouts using it.

I used My Memories Suite 7 to create a calendar for Ashley for Christmas.  Not only was it easy to create, but it was cheaper than the ones I used to purchase from SU; the quality was great; and the turn-around time was really good.  I ordered it on Dec. 17 knowing that was only a week away from Christmas and chances are, it wouldn't arrive in time.  Well, it didn't, but it did arrive the following Monday which really surprised me.

I also made several sets of 6x6 calendars to go in the holders that Sonny makes.  Here is my January pages:

Picture Perfect

I love to watch the hummingbirds feeding at our feeders in the spring and summer.  This past year though we didn't have very many to visit us.  It is funny how territorial they are.  We have two feeders on our deck and when I am sitting outside they will dive bomb another bird if it comes to get a drink of the nectar.  So funny!

So, you can guess that I was excited to see the hummingbird image in one of the new stamps in the Occasions catalog!   And it's not just any old humming bird .... it is a 4 Step Stamping bird!!  This photopolymer stamp set has 4 separate stamps to complete the hummingbird, as well as 3 steps to complete the roses; for for the starfish and 3 for the leaves in the set.  The sentiments are pretty sweet too.  This was my favorite stamp set out of the catalog this time.

I will have to admit though that it is not the easiest set to use.  There is a bit of a learning curve.  I practiced with several birds, roses, and leaves before I got the ones I liked and got more adept at the technique.  The images are numbered 1-4 (or 1-3) so you know what order to stamp the images in.  Stampin' Up! recommends that you start with the stamp numbered 1 (in your lightest ink) and progress one-by-one to the fourth stamp.  I found that it was a little easier to stamp the bird backwards from 4 to 1 starting with the darkest color.  But I did them both ways with good results.  I played around with different colors and stamping off before positioning and stamping a couple of times.  Every stamp has a little tag on it that will help you line them up properly.  I also found it easier if I also used the bird's eye to line up with.

For the card above, I stamped the bird and sentiment directly on Very Vanilla cardstock.  But I stamped the flowers onto scrap Vanilla card stock, fussy cut them and popped them up with dimensionals.

 The color combos I used were:

Hummingbird - Pistachio Pudding (retired color) / Wild Wasabi / Mossy Meadow / Cherry Cobbler
Roses - #1  So Saffron - once full strength and once stamped off
#2 - Blackberry Bliss (full strength and stamped off)
#3 Rose Red  (full strength and stamped off)
Leaves - Pear Pizazz, Wild Wasabi, Mossy Meadow

Marianne and I are driving to Charlotte tomorrow for the NC Demos Quarterly meeting.  I have been busy getting my swaps ready for the event - 35 Occasions swaps; 24 Sale-a-Bration swaps; 35 Shoebox cards; and 8 Technique cards!  Whew!!  I will have lots to share.  We will return Saturday afternoon and gearing up for the Steelers play-off game Saturday night.  Got my fingers crossed!!

New Year's Resolutions

Are you thinking about New Year's resolutions?  Every year there is a lot of talk about setting resolutions and everyone is motivated and eager to improve.  I am not a good one for setting resolutions but I am going to try this year.  Do any of these feel familiar:

• Drop 20 pounds
• Get out of debt
• Start a business
• Declutter my house

If you have written out some resolutions, take a look at your list.  Are you feeling overwhelmed?  There are ways to make your resolutions feel less daunting.  For example, focus on one goal at a time; like one per month.  Or break down each goal into smaller baby steps.

Envision the end of 2016.  Envision YOU at the end of 2016.  What do you want to feel or look like in December 2016?  This is the principle of beginning with the end in mind.  Once you have a clear vision of what you desire for yourself, that is exactly what you need to guide you in setting goals or resolutions.  Defining the "end result" (we're just talking about the end of 2016 for now) means that you now have the compass you need to keep you focused on what kind of goas to set.  Having the big picture in your mind and in your heart means that you can steer yourself in a direction that will keep your smaller goals in line with whatever's most important to you.

Begin with the end in mind.  Allow the bigger picture to guide you and keep you focused so that instead of having an unrealistic list of 30 goals to tackle, you have a vision of the person you'll be 12 months from now.  If you've already written your list, now's a good time to check in twice and cross off anything that's not supportive of the bigger picture that you have in mind. 

I personally think having just one or two resolutions is more "doable."  I am going to set a goal to lose weight this year so that next year when I'm visiting Ashley and sitting on a beautiful Hawaiian beach, I won't be mistaken for a whale that has washed up!

My short term resolution is to made a new blog heading this week and remove this Christmas elf one!!

Countdown to Occasions 2016 Catalog and Sale-a-Bration!

The countdown is on .... and we are almost to the launch of the Stampin' Up! 2016 Occasions catalog and Sale-a-Bration promotion!!  I love this time of year when it's so easy to get FREE products!

Here is the scoop -

• Occasions 2016 Catalog:  first day for customer orders, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016
• Sale-a-Bration Promotion:  first day to receive FREE PRODUCTS with each $50 you order:  Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016.

To clarify things, you do NOT need to purchase the suggested items shown in the Sale-a-Bration brochure to receive those free Sale-a-Bration products.  You will earn one (1) free Sale-a-Bration item with EACH $50 purchase from ANY Stampin' Up! Catalog OR any online store product OR Clearance Rack product purchase!

Another way to earn free Sale-a-Bration products is with a Paper Pumpkin 3-month Prepaid Subscription for $55.  Watch the video below to learn more.