My Big 6Yr Older!

My middle little one recently turned 6 years old. He is growing way too fast! My first son, the inquisitive one...full of questions. He is quite the thinker. Every action is well thought out and planned. Wants to know the why and how about EVERYTHING! The best memory...recalls events, names and places of things of years gone by....Makes me smile deeply everyday.

Age: 6

Height: 45 and 1/2"

Weight: 45 and 1/2 lbs.

At the 50th %tile for both
(This sums him up in every way!)

Likes: Playing with his little brother, pretending to be a super hero, books, drawing, being with his friends, swimming (the lessons are paying off), rules, clear expectations, gum in all flavors especially now that he can blow bubbles...

Dislikes: losing in a game, vegetables, sleeping in a dark room,inequity in anything.

We had a party planned and it got snowed out. He was a bit disappointed but super happy for all of the snow. We are trying again with a new date. Hopefully it will be a snow free day!

I blogged this as a draft so long ago that I had forgotten all about it. We did have that snow free day for his rescheduled party at Chuck E. Cheese and he had lots of fun with his family and friends.

Crazy for Cupcakes Stampin' Set

A new customer, from a recent party in which her daughter attended, emailed me asking me if I would create a card kit for her 12 year old niece as a Christmas present. We decided on the Crazy for Cupcakes stamp set. I pre-cut the papers and ribbon, made samples, took pictures of the different samples, and included a chocolate chip ink pad, some buttons, stampin spots, and step by step instructions to follow for 2 different designs. I put everything in a Stampin'Up! turquoise tin and had a complete gift ready for a twelve year old. I kept it simple as she is new to stamping and only has supplies included in the kit. Her aunt is going to add some markers and adhesive to complete the gift.

For these cards I used:
Stamp set: Crazy for Cupcakes
Card stock: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Pixie Pink, Tempting Turquoise, and Kaleidoscope designer series paper.
Accessories: ribbon and buttons

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Happy Holidays...

Happy Holidays! These are the cards I sent out this year.

Happy Birthday Grandmom!

My grandmother recently turned 91 years old. She is as wise and quick witted as ever! For her birthday she wanted us women to get together and take her to the movies...so that is just what we did. After the movie we went out for a yummy bite together. It is always great to be in her presence and share these special moments with her. I stamped this special card for her. I made it with a beautiful flower because it reminds me of how much "Life," she still has in here. She is going and growing strong.

I think I saw a card like this in the recent Stampin' Success magazine (A amgazine for Stampin' Up! demonstrators.

Well thanks for stopping by...now go stamp something!

Stamping With Eight Year Olds!

I was recently the "Entertainment," for an eight year old's birthday party. The birthday girl and the party attendees ranged in age from 6, 7, and 8. They were amazing little girls. They were so patient and so much fun! I prepared 3 easy and fun cards for them to stamp. Lots of coloring is always good for little ones. They loved the cards and were eager to stamp on everything:-)

They had a great time and so did I! The biggest hit, believe it or not, was the mono adhesive. They did really well with it too! A few of the girl's asked if they could have it. We used the Pun Fun stamp set, which the mom purchased. I charged $3.00 per card, $9.00 per child for eleven children.

The girl's had fun and the parents raved over the cards and how attentive the children were. Parents spent most of their time chatting and eating while I stamped with the children. This worked out PERFECTLY!! I am a teacher so I am use to managing and keeping the attention of a group of youngsters.

I hope you enjoy the cards!

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

More Baby Announcements

Here are a few more baby announcements I showed my friend before she settled on one. The baby in the picture is my very own last born son. Looking at his photo makes me hungry for more moments with a newborn. I really enjoyed the special moments of when each of my children were so young. I do miss it terribly!

These designs are modified from cards I've seen from some talented bloggers. One is from Christina Crawford and the other I believe is from Beate Johns. I've been searching her blog and cannot find her original layout it to make a link.

Well, thanks for stopping by...now go stamp something!

Baby Announcements in Ballet Blue

Recently a group of friends and I got together to stamp baby announcements. This is the second baby for my friend. We helped her with the announcements for her first child and she wanted to get together to do it again. I found a similar layout to this one and modified it a little to fit this purpose. I stamped four cards for my friend to choose from, then she paid for the supplies needed and we got together at her house to assemble them. She prepared lunch for us and the time flew buy and in the end we had 125 baby announcements assembled and ready for her to add her little ones picture and information upon his arrival.

For the cards we used:
stamp set: Wild About You
Cardstock: Ballet Blue, Barely Banana, Whisper White, and Pawsitively Prints patterned paper.
Ink: Ballet Blue and So Saffron
Accessories: buttons, 5/8" grosgrain ribbon in brocade blue and vanilla


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16 Candles

My step-son turned sixteen last weekend. He has grown into such a handsome young man. He was always a cute little boy and now he is such a cutie! So what did our awesome son want for his birthday? A putter! He is indeed the golf player, and a good one at that. In case you are like me and need clarification on what a putter is used for, it is used for hitting balls a short distance.

I created a larger sized card for our oldest son. I used Kraft, Whisper White, Soft Suede, and More Mustard card stock. I also the Thoroughly Modern patterned paper and the Extreme Skateboard stamp set...wish Stampin' Up! had a cool golf stamp set. I finished it off with some twine to give it a masculine feel. Hope you like it. I think he did.

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And Even More Thoughts for A Friend

Here are the final two cards for my co-worker. We have been mailing out cards to her one day at a time so she continues to get cards daily. I hope they are lifting her spirits. My colleagues and I had sooo much fun stamping them. They've asked me to plan for a holiday stamping class after school soon. I'll keep you posted on that one.

The From the Heart card uses the new Pacific Point In-Color. I made a little modification to the other scalloped edge card I posted a a few days ago. Of course ribbon. Is a card a card without it? I think not :-) I used the Thoroughly Modern designer series paper, along with Pacific Point, Whisper White, and Pink Pirouette (can't let that one go) and Pink Pirouette ribbon. The stamp is also retired. The name escapes me. I will post it when I find it.

The last card uses the Trendy Trees wording and Circle Circus stamp sets. The card stock used is, Kraft, Melon Mambo, Chocolate Chip, and Whisper White. It also uses the Thoroughly Modern designer series paper, some Melon Mambo Polka-Dot ribbon.

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More Thoughts for A Friend

Here are a couple more cards for my friend. The one with the scalloped edge was favored by most. I found this layout in a recent Holiday CardMaker magazine, so I did not personally design this one. I just changed the colors and stamp set. I used the Sincere salutations stamp set, Old Olive and Very Vanilla card stock and ribbon, along with the retired Summer Picnic designer series paper.

I used my newest favorite versatile stamp set, Trendy Trees for the other card with Old Olive, So Saffron, and Whisper White card stock and the retired Brocade Background designer series paper. I added some ribbon, my favorite accessory. I think ribbon always softens a card while still giving it presence!

Hope you like them. As always, thanks for stopping by...now go stamp something!


T

Special Thoughts for a Friend

There are several ways to say, "I'm thinking of you," but very few that show how much you really mean it. One special way that comes to mind is by taking a moment to stamp a card. A friend of mine from work is going through a difficult time with health issues. Another friend of mine from work suggested that we get a group of our colleagues together and stamp personal cards to raise her spirits. Last week we got together on two separate occasions; one day before school hours and another day after school hours. We also gave the option for people to send in money and we would stamp the cards for them. The male teachers took this option and a few female teachers that just could not get out of their classrooms. I provided all of the materials and just asked for each person to give $2.00 to cover the cost of supplies. I kept the card designs simple and let people pick their colors to change them up a bit. Here are the designs that I prepped for and of course, as I always expect, some chose their very own design. This always makes me smile. I will share a few today and a few more another day.

Some of the patterned paper is current Stampin' Up! card stock while some is retired.

The Melon Mambo card uses the Melon Mambo card stock and the coordinating designer series paper, along with Whisper White and Chocolate Chip card stock. The stamp set used was Hello Again. I turned the Melon Mambo Polka-Dot ribbon onto the solid side to avoid clashing patterns.

The Chocolate Chip Card uses Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, and So Saffron card stock. The very beautiful retired pattern paper Brocade Background designer series paper and the Upsy Daisy stamp set. I absolutely LOVE this stamp set. It is so versatile.


Well, thanks for stopping by...now go stamp something!

It's My Birthday!

Today is my birthday so I thought I'd share a birthday card with you. Last night, my daughter went to a sleepover and this is the card that accompanied the gift. I had fun with my Melon Mambo designer series paper. I think Melon Mambo is such a happy color. I also used Regal Rose ribbon and added a touch of the Soft Suede Polka-Dot ribbon. I finally got to pull out my Bitty Birthday stamp set and I used my blenders pens to color in the cake. Simple pleasures. I hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients:
Bitty Birthday stamp set
Melon Mambo and Whisper White card stock and Melon Mambo designer series paper
Melon Mambo, Regal Rose, Basic Black, and Soft Suede Classic ink
Regal Rose Ribbon, Soft Suede Polka-Dot Ribbon and Brads



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Summer Scrapbook Pages

I finally got to finish these scrapbook pages from 2 months ago. I stamped them at Gail's. She is my second level upline and she designed these beautiful pages. Aren't they great? I love the colors from these pages. We used lots of the new Stampin' Up! In colors. Really fun pages to put together. I thought the colors worked well with these pics of my boys at the beach this past summer. I am missing the warmth of summer...


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Frankenstein Goody Bags

Well, hello there. It has been awhile since my last post. I have been busy putting my family front and center and the blog sort of fell on the back burner as well as my stamping. I miss stamping and I miss sharing on my blog. I am hoping to find more opportunities to stamp and post. One can always hope:-)

Last week, I came home from a scrap booking night with 2 great pages in tow. The pages were designed by my second level upline, Gail. She showed us how to use various punches to create a Frankenstein. I showed my pages to my 8 year old daughter and she LOVED them so much that she volunteered me to make 20 goody bags with Frankenstein toppers for her class.

To my daughters credit, she did help out during every step of the creating process. With her help, it took us just two evenings to complete everything. Much easier than I thought and fun. I really like how they turned out. The only thing missing is the arrows that are usually found sticking out of the head. I don't own the punch needed for this extra touch. I think he still looks really cute!





For these bags we used:
Old Olive, Basic Black, Whisper White and Cast-A-Spell Designer Series Paper
Top Note Die and Various Punches

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Fabulous Holiday Fun!

These are two more cards designed by my second level upline, Gail Murray. We made one of these at our last meeting and the other was made while attending convention. She is such a creative lady. I love these little book mark corners. It is such a cute added touch to a card and also a beautiful way to adorn any book.






This particular card was made using the top note die cut, cut in half. We used a wheel to create the image on the top note. This was one of my favorite ones. Who am I kidding, all of her cards are favorites of mine!


I'll add details later. Enjoy for now.

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More Holiday Mini Fun

Almost two weeks ago I attended a meeting at, Gail's, my second level upline. She had some really cool projects for us to stamp. It was so much fun getting together with friends I haven't seen in so long. We shared things we've been working on and then we began stamping...we had such a wonderful stamping time together. We stamped four different projects. I will share two of them now and the rest tomorrow.

The first time I saw the large scallop die cut being used as a dress was at convention. After the scallops were cut out we used a tracer to create the dress. The belt and purse were made using the faux alligator technique...super easy and super cute results! Gail also showed us a dress where a slit was made in the middle of the scallops at the top of the dress and each side was pulled down to create a collar and then another as a halter top. It was amazing.
No stamping involved, but we used, pink brads, Soft Suede card stock along with Bermuda Bay, Sahara Sand, and Kaleidoscope Designer Series Paper. I've got to make more of these! I am seeing Mrs. Claus' Christmas dress with this one. Stay tuned for that:-


This next project was just pure fun to make. We used the Sweet Treat Cups and the Sweet Centers stamp set. I had the toughest time not eating my m&m's. Somehow I accidently put too many of these chocolate wonders into my little treat cup so I had no other choice but to eat them...what else could I do, I certainly could not put them back. I am getting a craving just thinking about them. We embossed the top portion and then punched out the eek to tie onto the stick. To make this special treat, we used Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery, Lovely Lilac card stock, along with Night and Day Specialty Designer Series Paper. I really love this Black and White Paper. The Eek was tied onto the stick with black grosgrain ribbon and silver cord.

My daughter wants to make these to give out as treats in school. She wants to substitute the m$m's for skittles to avoid the issue of allergies.

Well, thanks for stopping by...now go stamp something!

A Pedestal Birthday

Today is my sister in-laws birthday. This is the card I made and sent to her a few days ago. This was a fun, quick, and easy card to make. I used my markers for most of it and I just kept it really simple...the way I like it. She and her family are away on a cruise right now...lucky girl! Hope she likes the card once she gets home and sees it.

This stamp set is one that I have been eyeing for awhile and was eager to give it a try.

stamp set: On A Pedestal
Card stock: Whisper White, Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip
Ink: (Stampin' Write markers) Regal Rose, Almost Amethyst, Yoyo Yellow, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Regal Rose Grosgrain ribbon

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Beary Good Wishes

Well, I've been MIA for awhile. This time of year is usually hectic for me. The kids go back to school and so do I. I work as a reading specialist for an elementary school so I spend my Septembers getting all the literacy supplies together for teachers and also assessing students for reading levels, strengths and weaknesses. This being said, I have had very little time for stamping. So tonight I stayed up a bit late to put my Build a Bear stamp set together and create a birthday card. I just love Stampin' Up!'s new Build A Bear sets. This is what I came up with. I have been eyeing cards that have ribbon arranged this way and I thought I'd give it a try.





Stamp sets:
Beary Best Friends
Beary Nice Wishes
Cardstock:
Chocolate Chip
Whisper White
Melon Mambo
Accessories:
Corduroy Buttons
Melon Mambo polka dot ribbon









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Pawsitively Prints Designer Series Paper

Camp Rocks

I made this journal for my daughter who is leaving tomorrow...well today...for a week of overnight camp. This is going to be her first overnight experience. I am so very proud of her for wanting to go and a bit nervous about it at the same time. I want her to have fun. I want everyone to like her. I shouldn't worry, she is such an outgoing child so different than I ever was at her age or even am now.

For her journal I used the On Board Art Journal. I created sections to organize the different activities she will be involved in while at camp. I also wrote lots of sentence starters to help get her writing to flow so she can adequately document those stand out moments of her first camping experience. There are also pages that are picture ready. She will be taking a camera to capture some of her special moments. I used a retired dsp from SU! some buttons, ribbon, chipboard letters, craft ink, iridescent ice, and lots of my punches. I hope she likes it. I am leaving on the coffee table in the family room. She is always first to wake and this way she can peruse it in private.

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Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-Jig

I am back home from Convention and trying to rest a bit while packing again for a quick trip for my children and me, to the beach to visit a friend of mine. We are only going for a couple of days but really looking forward to it. I don't have much to post today but would like to share some of the swaps I received while at convention and some projects from the displays. There was so much to see I hope you get some inspiration.


Well, off to the beach. Thanks for stopping by...now go stamp something!