Moving Day Is Here

Our big move day is finally here. The movers will be packing up our house tomorrow and they will load the big truck on Friday. Can you say overwhelming?

It should prove to be an intersting move. My daughter, who is 3, is sick with an ear infection and is on medication. My son, who will be 2 the beginning of October, doesn't have a clue what is going on! I am flying alone with both of them. But they are both good travelers.

Once our belongings arrive at the new house and I get my Internet service installed, I will be back online. It will about a week. So don't forget about me!

Be sure to keep checking back because I will have some special surprises for you. Don't you just love a good surprise and a stamping related one at that!

Keep us in your thoughts for a safe trip for us and our things. Oh, and once I get back online, I will let you in on the new location!

Maria

TGI Friday Freebie Winner Is....

Congratulations to Pat S.!!!!
Pat wins a $10 Stampin' UP! Gift Certificate. Don't you love FREE Stampin' UP! merchandise. Pat, please contact me with your information.

Pat's favorite stamp set is Bodacious Bouquet. Many of you had a hard time picking just one set. I'm with you guys on that one.

My favorite set is Priceless. I find myself using at least one stamp from that set on every card!

Thank you everyone for leaving a comment. Be sure to check back on Friday for the TGI FRIDAY FREEBIE give-away.

Have a great week!

Another Thank You

This is the card for my daughter's teacher, Ms. Danae. I, of course, got the idea from Patty Bennett's blog! Can you believe this is from the Accent & Elements Build-a-Flower tin? It looks so cute. And it was a snap to make! She will also be getting a box of See's candy.

Do you see product that you would like to order? Or maybe you have questions on stamping and how to get started. Well contact me and I will be happy to help you! Just email me today!

One and Only

My daughter's last day of school will be Thursday since we are moving. She has two great teachers and I am sad she won't be able to finish out the year with them. By the way, she is 3.5 years old. But these teachers are really wonderful the way they handle these little ones.

Anyhow, I wanted to give them a little something, which will be a box of See's candy. This card is for Mr. Jeffery. I used Rose Red, Blue Bayou and Close to Cocoa card stock. I also used a piece of Apple Cider on the bottom and topped it off with Blue Bayou ribbon. The stamp set is Bronc Buster on p.89.

Build-A-Flower Accents and Elements

Even though I should be doing about a million other things preparing for our move, I just had to make this card after seeing it on Patty Bennett's blog.

This Peek-A-Boo card is so unique and easy to make! You can check out the instructions on Dawn's Blog. The inside of the card has the little Peek-A-Boo window.

I used the Build-A-Flower Accents & Elements kit to make this card. The patterned paper is Prints Design Certainly Celery. Then I had to figure out what to use for the stem. So I tried Doodle This and I think it looks great! The words at the top of each page are Warm Words.

Lately when I am making a card, I try to figure out who is going to receive the card. It seems to go together easier for me. This card is for my neice and her husband. They will be celebrating their 6th wedding anniversary in October.

Have a great weekend. Don't forget to leave a comment for the TGI Friday Freebie give away!

TGI FRIDAY FREEBIE

Wow, this week flew by and Friday is here again. So that means it is time for another TGI FRIDAY FREEBIE! This week I am doing something a little different. Since I will be moving next week, I don't want the winner's prize to get lost in the move. This week's TGI FRIDAY FREEBIE is a $10 Stampin' UP! Gift Certificate!! The certificate is only good when you place your order through me and it does expire October 31st, 2007.

Here's how you enter this week's TGI FRIDAY FREEBIE give-away. Leave me a comment on this post sharing your favorite Stampin' UP! stamp set.

I'll pick the name at random on Monday (9/24) at noon PST and announce the winner here! I'll also share their comments as well as my favorite stamp set.

Share this great TGI FRIDAY FREEBIE with your friends. They will thank you for the chance to win!

Have a great weekend!

Quick Baby Card

This card looks so cute in person but the picture just didn't come out good. I used Almost Amethyst card stock and Prints Designer Series Paper. The stamp set is Wild About You. I added some Gingham Ribbon and Buttons to give it some interest.

The card is for my friends Courtney and Scott. They are expecting their first child in November. She is coming over tonight so we can visit before I move. I hope she likes the card!

SCS Color Challenge

Last night I spent time with my newest stamper, Joni (who is my kids babysitter), to show her the ropes of stamping. After we went over adhesive, wheels, the cutter and so on, we made a card. Of course, I used my favorite Designer Series paper, Apple Cider! We added the new wide Grosgrain Chocolate Chip ribbon for some interest and our card was born. I really like this new ribbon. At first, I thought it was too big for cards but let me tell you... not the case. It might be my new favorite item to use. Love it!

After Joni left, I noticed that the SCS Color Challenge was the exact colors in the card we made! So I added some Copper Brads and the Scallop Circle Punch piece. I was so happy with my end result.

I've seen this style card around and really liked it. When I saw one on Patty Bennett's blog, she was nice enough to give some dimensions to make the card. Thanks Patty! I'll be doing more of these!

Have a great day.

TGI Friday Freebie Winner Is....

Congratulations to Tanya!! She is the winner of the Accent & Elements sheets. Tanya please contact me with your information so I can get your goodies out to you!

Tanya shared that her favorite go-to accessory is 'Ribbon, ribbon and more ribbon.' Her second choice is brads. She is in good company because most of you love ribbon. But how can you not! There are a lot of glitter people out there too!

My favorite accessories are punches. Most of my cards use at least one punch. My favorite is the scallop punch. Love that one!

I was happy to see that the Simply Scrappin' Kits were mentioned. It you haven't tried these kits, you have to! Not only will you make great scrapbook pages but you can make cute quick and easy cards too.

Thank you all for your comments! It was so much fun to read what everyone likes to use. Don't forget to check next Friday for the next TGI Friday Freebie!

TGI Friday Freebie!

Welcome to the first TGI FRIDAY FREEBIE! So here we go...

This Friday's FREEBIE is 6 sheets of Accents & Elements. These die-cut accents will add the perfect touch to your projects. The winner will receive 2 sheets from Sweet Nothings and 4 sheets from Little Reminders sets.

Here's how you enter this week's TGI FRIDAY FREEBIE give-away. Leave me a comment on this post sharing what your favorite go to accessory is when making cards or scrapbook pages. Is it ribbon, brads, Accents & Elements?

I'll pick the name at random on Monday (9/17) at noon PST and announce the winner here! I'll also share their comments as well as my favorite accessory.

Share this great TGI FRIDAY FREEBIE with your friends. They will thank you for the chance to win!

Have a great weekend!

SCS Color Challenge

The Splitcoast Color Challenge this week was interesting, Taken with Teal, Purely Pomegranate, and Always Artichoke! Never would I have put these colors together but... they look cute.

My great-niece's fourth birthday is in October and these colors reminded of a little girl. Since she is only 4, I tried to keep the card cute and simple. This card is 5 x 5 in size. I used Cutie Pie Designer Series paper p. 173 for the background. The small flowers were done with the Spring Flower Bouquet punch on p. 183. 'Giggle' is from Warm Words stamp set p. 142. I use that set so much for all different occasions. I had to get the new Spiral Punch p. 183 in there as well.

Try out the Color Challenge from Splitcoast sometime. It is really fun. Have a great day!

TGI Friday Freebies!!

Everyone loves getting something FREE. And we all love FRIDAY. So I decided to start TGI Friday Freebies! Here's how it works.

Each Friday, check my blog for the TGI Friday Freebie item. Then just answer the question for that day by leaving a comment on that post.

Your name will go into the drawing for the TGI Friday Freebie! On Monday, I will draw a name at random and the winner will be announced on my blog. If you are the winner, contact me with your information and the TGI Friday Freebie will be on it's way to you!

So mark your calendars and be sure to check my blog each FRIDAY!! Share the TGI Friday Freebie spirit and make someone's day by telling them about TGI Friday Freebies.

Farewell Stamp Club

Sunday was my final Stamp Club in California. My group of ladies is awesome. I will miss hanging out with them once a month and sharing projects. My hope is they have enjoyed Club as much as I have enjoyed putting the projects together for them. Ladies, thank you for making Club special! Keep stamping and creating.

One of my ladies decided to become a demonstrator to keep Club going. Welcome and Congrats to Lizette. You will be great as a demo!

Here are two of the cards we did on Sunday. The one is just a simple card using the new Apple Cider paper. Love the colors in that paper. The second card is a spinner card. Most of the ladies had never done one, so it was fun to show them that project.

Get Well Soon Joey!

My cousin's little boy, Joey, had surgery on his arm after taking a fall. He is only 5. So my daughter and son picked out some books for him as a Get Well Soon present. I made this card out of my new stamp set Bronc Buster on p. 89 of the Fall/Winter Catalog. The Apple Cider paper, which can be found the in the Holiday Mini Catalog on p. 19, works so well with this set. My goal was to keep the card simple and boyish.

Patty Bennett suggested using punches on this paper to punch out the images. It looks great on this card. Thanks Patty!

Marathon Training Update

Since one of my passions is running, I thought it would be fitting to provide an update on my training. My next event is October 14th in Long Beach, California. I'll be running the full marathon.

On Saturday, my running shoes were back in action after sitting for 4 weeks! My training has been hit or miss due to our pending move (too long of a story). But Saturday I was able to get out and run 12 miles. Wow, it was great to be running again. I didn't realize how much I missed it. My run felt good and I was happy to get the miles in.

Now when I woke up on Sunday, that was a different story. Not running for 4 weeks makes a huge difference. I wasn't this sore after my last marathon. They say that your body remembers and will bounce back. I have learned that your body also holds a grudge and makes you pay when you don't take care of it ;-)

So I'll be running a couple times a week from now until Long Beach!

Featured Card of the Week

We all love to sit down and stamp away, creating wonderful cards, goodie bags and so on. Do you have a card you are proud of? Or maybe a card that is showcasing some new product? Have you tried a new technique you would like to show off? If so, send it to me and I will feature it on my blog. Once a week, I will post a card that was shared with me as the 'Featured Card of the Week'.

I won't be able to send your card back to you, so if you love the card, make a copy!

Re-Inkers and Sketch Challenge

Today was filled with all sorts of challenges. My 2 year old was starting his first day of Playschool. How exciting. He was dressed all cute and ready to conquer school. We all get in the car and about 5 minutes from home, he gets sick. Yes, that kind of sick. I turn the car around and proceed to face the challenge of getting him out of his car seat through all the mess. My daughter was very kind to tell me over and over that my car was stinky and she wanted out. So as my son walked up and down our driveway in his diaper, I removed the stinky car seat from my car. After a quick bath for the little guy, the next challenge was cleaning the car seat. Any mom that has been experienced this, can feel my pain! I did my best.

My final challenge of the day was the Sketch Challenge on Splitcoast. Yes, finally something fun. I am happy with the way this card came out but it was a challenge. Some cards just go together but not this one.

I used the Polished Stone technique. You take a cotton ball moistened with alcohol, not too much. From your re-inker, drop 3 - 4 drops of ink onto the cotton ball. Dab cotton ball on a piece of glossy white card stock until covered. Let dry. I used Bashful Blue and Almost Amethyst. Then I put the card together using the sketch layout.

My friend is coming over to stamp. The kids are in bed and all is well. So my challenges for the day have come to a close ;-)

Good Things Come in Small Packages

These little 3x3 cards were part of my Open House last month. The theme was 'Quick & Easy' and these cards were both. I love to have this size card handy to include in a gift bag or on a gift box. If you are looking for a gift for a teacher or someone special, these are perfect! On p.169, you'll find the Mini Square Envelopes that fit these cards. You can also purchase the Love Notes which include 30 scored cards 10 of each, Soft Sky, Rose Red, and Very Vanilla. You even get envelopes! Whether you cut your own card stock or purchase the Love Notes, try making this size card.

World Card Making Day - Only 34 Days away!

October 6th is World Card Making Day. This event happens each year on the first Saturday in October. It is a special event especially for card makers around the world to:

• Celebrate the creativity of handmade cards and the personal connection that they create between friends and family
• Kick off (and get a head start on) the holiday card-making season

You can visit their website to get all the details.

To celebrate this event, from October 4th - October 8th, Stampin' UP! is offering 20% off all of their Simple Stampin Card Kits! You can find these kits in the Fall/Winter 2007 catalog on pages 12 - 14.

These kits include instructions and supplies to make at least 10 cards. You get everything, ink, stamps, embellishments and envelopes!

What a great holiday gift this would make! Be sure to check your holiday gift list and order now to receive your 20% discount.

September Stampin' UP! Special - Fall Frenzy

The Fall Frenzy promotion runs from September 1st - September 30th.

Spend $30 in regular priced merchandise and qualify to purchase one of each of the six promotional stamp sets listed below at 30% off!

#105355 - Bitty Boos Too (page 26)...................................$12.57
#109284 - Haunting Halloween (page 29)............................$13.27
#107383 - Thoroughly Thankful (page 30)...........................$16.07
#109373 - Autumn Fest (page 108).....................................$16.77
#109421 - Elementary Essentials (page 91).........................$19.57
#110366 - Stem Silhouettes (Holiday Mini page 17)..............$23.37

Contact me today to take advantage of this great special offer!