Stampin' at Gail's

Gail is my second level upline. She hosts meetings for all of her downline and I am always an eager participant. It has been a little while since she has last hosted a meeting, so it was very nice to get together and stamp with friends that I have missed seeing. We had a wonderful time seeing her fabulous new stamp studio...It is amazing...I am pretty sure I heard, "hallelujah," playing in the background as I walked in...Yes, it really is a space any stamper would drool over. I told her I want to be her when I grow up:-)

Here are two of the projects we stamped. We stamped one more, but it was one that I prepared and well...you've already seen it:-)

I am also showing the cute bookmark that Gail gave me for bringing a project to share with everyone.This was a very nice and unexpected treat!











This special bagged gift contains 3 "cookmarks!" Cookmarks are just like bookmarks but are placed in a cookbook to keep the place of a special recipe. There is also a space on it where you might add your special ingredients, substitutions, or additions to a favorite recipe. They fold over the page and stay in place through the use of a magnet. These are so cute and would make the perfect hostess gift for a stamping event or a holiday party.

Notice the topper: I got to use the Big Shot for the first time. It was too much fun and super easy! I think I know just what I want for Christmas:-)










This is my special gift. A magnetic bookmark! The top portion is embossed in chocolate chip and reads I heart SU! This picture does not do it justice! It is gorgeous!

It is basically using the same concept as the cookmarks with the fold over and the magnets at the bottom. Notice the beautiful designer series paper. I just LOVE IT!


























This beautiful card was designed and prepared by Dee. She is a super creative stamper in our group. Several other creative ladies in our group shared ideas and projects with us. I will try to post some of them very soon. I love coming to these meetings. I feel that I always walk away full of stamping excitement and so many amazing ideas. These are great woman to be around. I am so glad they are in my life.













Thanks for stopping by...now go stamp something!

A Super Easy Countdown to Christmas!

Each year my kids get so excited as we begin the 25 day countdown to Christmas. We have an Advent chest that begin on December 1st. Each day the children take turns opening the drawers and pulling out the holiday candy and special gifts. As a new add on this year, my good friend, Sam introduced "Christmas rings," a fun new excitement builder for my kids. Sam is so sweet, she cut out the strips of green and red construction paper needed for this activity. The kids used glue dots to connect 24 paper rings. Each night before bed they will tear off a new ring until Christmas Eve when they tear off the last ring before going to bed. The kids had so much fun gluing their rings and thinking about where in their rooms they wanted to hang them.









First, you need strips of construction paper or SU! cardstock cut at 1" X 6" in red and green or another holiday color of choice.
















Next, get your glue dots and let the kids create a string of connected rings. Glue dots work really well and attach better than a regular glue stick. Less messy too..in fact no mess at all. I would suggest supervising the use of the glue dots. We all know how quickly they can become unraveled.










The last and most fun step is having your child identify that special spot to attach their Christmas rings. Both children chose high spots. As the length shortens we will have to pick new locations. We will cross that bridge when we get to it. My kids enjoyed posing with their rings.


This was a great "Black Friday," activity for the kids. It was quick, easy, and lots of fun. My 2 year old slept while the older two made their rings. We will help my little one create his tomorrow. Thanks Sam for this wonderful new tradition!

Thanks for stopping by...now go stamp something!

It's A Birthday!

Yesterday my step-son, Jason turned 15! He is with us on weekends only, so we didn't get to celebrated him until today. It is hard for me to wrap my hands around the fact that it has been 12 years and 10 months since I first met him. It was my second date with his father (my husband). We were on our way to a family party for a friend of my then new boyfriend. We stopped off to pick up his son. I was thinking...WOW... he wants me to meet his son already? He came back to the car with the cutest little boy who had the brightest eyes and a perfect smile! One of the major reasons that I fell in love with my husband was due to how attentive and affectionate he was with his son. I found it to be a big plus on my mental "future husband," checklist.



So, today, before my husband returned home from picking up Jason, my 7 year old daughter and four year old son helped me stamp a quick card for the birthday boy. I used one of my most recent and favorite layouts....one designed by Beate If I need a card in a hurry...this is the one I am pulling out of my little bag of "cases". I used a piece of the wrapping paper for the print paper piece. It is from Sally Foster. I bought it last year from a fundraiser through my work. I just love Sally Foster wrapping paper! All other materials and supplies are from Stampin' Up!.

Card Recipe:
Stamp sets: Wanted, Warmest Regards
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel
Accessories: linen ribbon

Thanks for stopping by...Now go stamp something!

More Holiday Cards

I have a few more holiday cards that I wanted to share with you from previous stamping events.






This first card comes from a stamper, Sharon L. Johnson, over at No Time To Stamp. She has great ideas and boxed gifts over there. Go check out her work. This card features Ski Slope Designer series paper, old olive, Whisper White, and Real Red cardstock. It uses the snowman from the Merry & Bright stamp set and red grosgrain ribbon.
















This next card comes from a stamper, Amy Kennedy. I came across her work while surfing for card ideas. This card uses whisper white cardstock, Ski Slope designer series paper along with riding hood red striped ribbon and basic black ink. I used a blender pen coupled with various inks and markers to color in the image from the Holiday Lineup stamp set.


















My third card uses chocolate chip, Real Red, Whisper White, and Baja Breeze cardstock as well as a sheet from the Ski Slope designer series paper. I really like this paper. I used the chocolate grosgrain ribbon and the Punch Pals stamp set.

















This last card follows one of my previous layouts. You might call this layout a favorite of mine or one to fall back on when in the constraints of time. This card uses the Holiday Treasures designer series paper, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, and Whisper White cardstock along with vanilla grosgrain ribbon and the snowman from the Punch Pals stamp set.




Thanks for stopping by...Now go stamp something!

I'm At The Top Of The Hill

Isn't this card cute? I received this in the mail from one of my favorite stampers. Kim Mullin, a fellow demonstrator, who not only remembers my birthday every year but also makes me smile every time I see her and spend time with her. Thank you so much Kim! Your cards always make me smile. Hope to see you on the 20th at Gail's.



Well, it's my BIRTHDAY! Today at 5:45 pm I will officially be 41 years old. During my lifetime I have heard various sayings and references to growing older. My all time favorite which I think now applies to me is "The Top of the Hill. It's actually the name of a store! I saw this and I fell in awe of this phrasing instantly. I think it fits me and my life perfectly in many ways. It was a "Wow!" moment.I think top of the hill means being at the top of your game and I do believe that I am definitely at the top of my game. I absolutely love being in my forties. Who would've thought I would welcome it so freely. I feel so sure about so much in life. I know who I am, what I want, and know what I feel are the important things in life. I love positive energy and positive people. I am a Top of the Hill Woman and I am liking this view!

To make this day even better my mother will be coming over tonight to watch the kids so my hubby and I can go out and celebrate ME!

Thanks for stopping by...now go stamp something!

Holiday Cards

Here are some of the cards from my Christmas Stamp-A-Stack and from a card class I did for one of my customers a week ago. When I planned this event I was counting on my husband's help with the kids but that just didn't happen. He was supposed to leave out on a Sunday and return that following Thursday but had to extend his stay until the next Monday. So, with this turn of events I had limited time to prepare so I needed to keep it simple. I needed it to be something I could do in an evening. I came to the conclusion that there are so many ideas out there that did not need to reinvent the wheel, so I used them for the benefit of my sanity. I decided to make this class one of "previous inspiration," meaning looking at all of the talented samples out there and then making very little changes for my class.





This layout is one that I've used before. It is one that I have seen on Beate's blog. Check out her stuff. For this card I used the Ski Slope designer series paper, chocolate chip, real red, whisper white, and baja breeze cardstock. I also used rub-ons for this card.






















This card also uses a layout that I've used in the past. I was trying to make one of the cards really simple. I used baja breeze, basic gray, and whisper white cardstock. The designer series paper I chose for this comes from the ski slope series. The snowman comes from the Punch Pals stamp set. I really like this one.










As you can see I really love this Ski Slope designer series paper. It really makes me think of snow and Christmas. I saw this layout on a blog. I am in an active search to find the artist. If it looks familiar to you please leave me a comment so I can credit the right person. I used baja breeze, whisper white, real red cardstock and designer series paper from the Ski Slope series. I used my photo corner punch for the tree, various circle punches,the window punch, and green grosgrain ribbon. The circle stamp comes from the Punch Pals stamp set. I used this set for many of my stamp-a-stack cards this year.


















After viewing this stamp set being used by so many stampers I decided to go ahead and get one for myself. I love the images and the wording. It is a very versatile set. I chose to use the thank you for this card. I went with Garden Green cardstock because it is color that I really like but seldom use. I also used certainly celery, naturals ivory, and the I Wish Simply Scrappin' kit, along with green grosgrain ribbon. I came across this layout straight out of the catalog on page 40.
















Another card inspired by Beate. I used this layout for a Christmas card and then for this one as a thank you card. I decided to go with the Kiwi Kiss incolor cardstock and ink. I also used the whisper white and Kraft cardstock and you guessed it the cute penguin came from the Punch Pals stamp set. I love the look of the Kraft ink with the Kiwi Kiss color.



Thanks for stopping by...now go stamp something!

A Week Without My Husband

It has been awhile since my last post. Things have been very busy in my household. My husband was away for 8 days on business. Trying to get three young children up and out of the house by 7am all by myself is a huge feat. We made it through mainly because I put all of my home time energy into my children. I went to sleep at an honorable hour which is very unusual for me. I restrained from blogging and stamping and all things crafty so that I could be present for my children, relaxed, and well rested. I am happy to report that doing it by myself didn't stress me out as I thought it would. Things ran quite smoothly... we even got out of the house on time! The funny part for me about this story is that as soon as my husband returned home our morning departure time slowly moved from 7am to 7:30am. The rushing began again. I think when my husband isn't home I prepare more the night before where as when he is home I push a lot off until morning. Well, anyway I just thought I'd share where I've been in case you were wondering what ever happened to me. I am still here:-)