One Day and Two Birthdays

It's been awhile since I've been able to stamp. I returned to work this week and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was actually fun to see all of my colleagues again and engage in some fun adult conversation. With my busy week there was no time for stamping. Yeah, I know, how did I survive? Well, I knew birthdays were approaching and since I don't spend a cent on cards anymore I knew there would be a light at the end of the tunnel. So, Friday night I was indeed a very happy stamping mom down in my basement. My wonderful husband knew that his dear wife needed some rejuvenation so he volunteered to get the children ready for bed and he put them to bed. I smiled my way all the way down the stairs, turned on my TV and got busy!

Both my mother in-law and my brother in-law share the same birthday. To celebrate we all went out for a yummy dinner. But first I created these cards to celebrate these two special people.

This Wild Wasabi card was designed by my 2nd level upline, Gail. I changed a couple of things but it is pretty much all her. Isn't she amazing? I stamped an Hh and then the definition for happy in the upper right hand corner.
This card uses Define Your Life and Defining Alphabet stamp sets.
Cardstock: Retired Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Retired Wasabi prints paper, and Retired scallop card
Ink: Wild Wasabi and Chocolate Chip
Striped Wild Wasabi ribbon
I also used the Pretties kit
I placed a picture of our kids inside the card. She loved it!












The more mustard card was for my brother in-law. I used VersaMark ink and the Wanted stamp set. I find myself using this set repeatedly when stamping for the males in my life. It's funny because when I received this set at convention last year I really wasn't moved by it, but now I really enjoy using it and feel drawn to it.

Card Recipe:
Stamp set: Wanted
Cardstock: More Mustard, Night of Navy, and Ruby Red
Ink: VersaMark and Night of Navy
Hodgepodge Hardware
I like what the hodgepodge did for this card. This was Q&S short for quick and simple! My brother in-law wasn't able to make it but we will see him later today.

Hope you are having a great day...Now go stamp something :-)

I just had my computer reimaged at work and am having problems uploading my pictures. I will continue trying. Please check back.

End of Summer Blues!

First, I must warn you that todays' post isn't really a crafty one but more of a "Where has she been?" type of post. The answer is...Williamsburg Virginia and now.......

I've got the end of summer blues!!! I can't believe that it is almost over! A new school year is staring me in the face. I go back to work this coming Tuesday and I'm not very happy about it! I'm sure all will be well once the school year begins but at this very moment I am loving this laid back time I've been spending with my hubby and our little people. As I stated earlier, we just returned from a fabulous week in Williamsburg Va. where our days were full of time in the pool, water park, amusement park, golfing, and some historical sight seeing. I can't believe it but stamping was the last thing on my mind.....and for me that is very rare. I am usually at least thinking about stamping. Here are some photos from our week.

































These pictures were taken at Jamestown Settlement. They had replicas of the first three ships (on record) that came into Jamestown. The kids had fun going on, in, and through the three ships. This was quite amazing to see. Great history for the kids to get to explore. The above photos showed the living quarters for the Native Americans. I didn't take any pictures of the insides but it was very fascinating and impressive. The ingenius of it all. If you haven't been put it on yur must do list.







This photo was taken before entering Busch Gardens. Our youngest did not enjoy the sun in his face so he often pulled down the top part of his stroller to shield his face from the sun. Not even coming out for a family photo. I LOVE his personality. He keeps us smiling, laughing out loud, AND on out toes.






Thanks for stopping by.

Jean's Challenge

Yeah me!!! I got to stamp a little something tonight. I love the feeling of satisfaction when a card comes together. It took me a moment to work on this one. My friend Jean started her first of many challenges and I just HAD to play. Challenges are a great way for me to try something new and that's just what I did! I used new papers and stamp sets and just went for it. I think it turned out okay minus the uneven circles at the bottom...don't look too hard. I used a pencil eraser and dipped it in basic black ink and voila`...perfect circles..if you try this just line yours up better than mine. I learned this technique from my upline's upline, Gail...who by the way made it into the top 100 demonstrators and was recognized by Shelli. Go Gail! Anyway, I believe the rest of the card is self explanatory.

Card recipe:
Stamp sets: Fresh Cuts, Eastern Blooms, and Enjoy Every Moment
Cardstock: Whisper White, Riding Hood Red, Basic Black, Pretty in Pink, and Bella Rose dsp
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Riding Hood Red, and Basic Black
Black ribbon, Vintage Brads (black)



Isn't This Cute???
I found this among my swaps and I absolutely adore it. The talented stamper did not leave their info for me to give credit where credit is due. The blue tab pulls out and allows a space for a message. This is a great idea for a quick make and take and/or a demonstratable card for a workshop. The wording didn't photograph very well, but it reads..."a little something." I just love, love, love it. I am thinking of so many things to do with this. Maybe tomorrow night:-)

So Shelli

Just wanted to make all aware that Shelli Gardner of Stampin' Up! has started her own blog. I just peeked over and read a bit for the first time. Her ramblings are great and she's even included some great pictures of projects she's created. If you have a moment check her out. Her blog can be found at: http://www.soshelli.com/
I'll be back later to show you my first stamped item since being home from convention.

More Random Swaps

Life has been busy..... my hubby is out of town...just me and the kids....and no time for me to stamp but here are some more swaps from convention. Enjoy. Maybe I'll get lucky and have an opportunity to stamp something tomorrow. Check out the one with the crayons and cute little pages for coloring. The photo next to it shows how it looks closed. What a fabulous idea. I couldn't stop raving about this one when I saw it. Many stampers really worked hard on their swaps. So many cute ones. I especially love all the cards featuring the Bella Rose designer series papers. I am loving these beautiful papers the more I see them being used. I just love, love, love them! Hope you do too! I must mention that these swaps are ones that my upline (and friend) Jacki received. I took pics of them while in Utah. Mine just arrived today...I shipped them to me from Utah. I bought too much stuff from Momento Mall and as a result I could not fit it all into my two suitcases. Thank goodness for UPS!

Random Swaps from Convention

One of the biggest thrills of convention was swapping cards with other enthusiastic stampers. There were so many gorgeous cards out there from very talented people. Here are just some of the swaps that I took pictures of to share with you. I don't have the information for them but thought they were too cute, to NOT share...so I'm sharing. If you are the proud designer of one of these cards, just send me an email and I will add your name to it.


































































Maureen...stamping happiness, one card at a time

Convention Make and Takes

Here are photos of the make and takes from convention. I am missing the 3D project. A beautiful pink box with the most precious looking flower accented with glitter around the edges. Messy to make but the end project was breath taking. I had it shipped to me from Utah and it is due to arrive tomorrow. To see a picture of the box check out my upline, Jacki's blog (http://jackimontgomery.blogspot.com). She has it posted there. Each of these features new stamp sets from the new catty. Of course... I shipped these too! That means I can't get creative with them until this weekend. I wasn't loving the large flower one at first but now I really like it and the possibilities it presents.

Well, I've been back home for a few days. I am missing the busy and exciting atmosphere of convention but very happy to be home with my family. I will post the make and takes later tonight but until then here is a card that I quickly stamped for my hubby's birthday. My daughter stamped one too. I'll post hers later tonight as she has already sealed hers and has it patiently waiting for her daddy to get home from work. At convention they demonstrated a lot of quick and easily demonstratable cards, so I followed their lead with this one. Hope you like it.




Card Recipe:
stamp set: Wanted
Cardstock: Chocolate chip, Taken with teal, Close to Cocoa, and Naturals vanilla
Ink: Taken with Teal, Chocolate chip, Close to Cocoa

Maureen…stamping happiness, one card at a time!


Here is my daughter's card. She is so funny with her stamping. She is in and out of my area....um can you cut this....I need a stamp with a man on it.....( she settled for the truck)... I need a marker (MY SU! Marker???) I smile and hand it over. What's a mom to do...but I digress...here is the card she designed all by herself. I am rather proud of my 7 year old. She used a marker to stamp technique...not sure if she's seen me do this or "thunk," it up on her own.

All Good Things Must Come To An End

This photo was taken today as stampers were filing out of the Convention Center, officially ending Convention 2008. It has been a whirlwind of a day. LOTS of screaming and excitement. Just a fabulous day! This day was one for the history books! The BEST THING EVER!! happened right before the close of the day. We had a real Oprah moment! To share in this excitement, vicariously, scroll down to see what happened at the end of Convention. All I can say is that I hope no one left early. I didn't get a prize from the Prize Patrol :-( but I guess the end of convention made up for it. Okay...go scroll and then come back and read the rest! You won't be disappointed!


























My day started off on a high note because not only did I see Kristina Werner again..... but I, yes, I got to take a picture with the Magnificent Make a Card Monday stamper gal. Again, she was super nice. Such a lovely person. Here is the picture of me with her. I am hoping that some of her creative genius rubbed off on me (smile). If you are unfamiliar with her because you've been living under a rock or something.....take a moment to check out her blog. You'll be glad that you did!






WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF BROWN CAME TO TOWN AND GAVE YOU A FREE STAMP SET?

Well, that's exactly how convention ended. Ahhhmayyyzing!!! Let me paint a picture for you. Shelli was on stage, we had just finished watching videos from the contest and others that the company created to promote SU! events. So, Shelli was on stage and then a doorbell rang. She looked to her left and from back stage came BROWN also known as the UPS man all dressed in his finest brown and in his hands was a nice size SU! box. He said,"Well, I'm trying to deliver this package," and Shelli said, "Who's it for? I can probably help you find them. I know a lot of people here." The UPS guy looked at the package and said, "It says here that it's for... EVERYONE!" And then confetti fell from the ceiling...curtains parted, there seemed to be an explosion...and a UPS truck drove through the opening in the curtains, while the song, "Burning Down the House," played loudly in the background.... and then all of these gorgeous UPS men jumped out of the truck and began running with their UPS bags in hand and they ran up and down the aisles and up and down the risers and passed out stamp sets to ALL Stampin' Up! convention attendees. It was the most exciting moment of the whole entire convention. Everyone was screaming and yelling, hooping and hollering. It was surreal and just soooo cool. It was a time to be had and remembered. The stamp set was the new Ronald McDonald stamp set. I will post it later but here are a few pictures from this moment. I must warn you that they are not the best...but I tried.

































Well, thanks for peeking in to see highlights of convention from my point of view. It has been an amazing week. Tomorrow I head back east to see my family. I've missed looking at their beautiful faces. Once home I will post my make and takes and the stamp sets we got from convention. This probably won't happen until Tuesday so check back then.

Now go stamp something!

Day 3 Convention

Another Busy Day in Utah filled with lots of WOW moments! Lots of great presenters, fabulous stamping projects and AMAZING things to come in the Stampin' Up World! The BIGGEST news of the day is that SU! will soon start selling Sizzix's The BIg Shot die-cut machine and dies that coordinate with SU!'s exclusive stamp sets. How GREAT is that? These items will be available for customers on September 2nd. Here is a photo...the best I could do with my camera. I really must get a better one REAL soon! What kind do you use? Do you have any suggestions for me? I currently have a canon powershot S500. I got it 4 years ago so I am way over due. Any who....here's more fun stuff!






Below are some photos of the items that were created using this amazing machine. Shelli demonstrated it to us on the Big Stage today. Some of the photos will highlight ways to use the dies to create amazing decorations and favors for parties, showers, and holidays. The birthday photos displayed are for Shelli's grandson, Sam's upcoming birthday. The shower items are for Sage's baby girl due in 3 weeks, and then there are decorations for Christmas.



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HOME DECOR ELEMENTS!

While on our way to have lunch I came across Sarah again. She was busy decorating another make shift room. She is such a busy one. It's fun watching her put the pieces together with awesome results. I didn't take a picture of the room she was working on but here is another room she completed using the decor elements. I am really loving these. I think I can see some of these in my future on a wall or 2 or 3 or 4. It's a quick and easy way to decorate with excellent results!


































Well that is all for today. I will post more tomorrow and hopefully there will be a prize among my posts. See ya!