Christmas Card 2010

Season's Greetings from our home to yours. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! This is the card I sent out this year. I learned to make this tree from my second level upline. It was really easy and lots of fun to make. We put them on gift tags too! You can find directions here

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the 20 Minute card

There is a new 7 year old in our house! Time flies when you are having fun...right? I remember when my little guy was 6 months old. That's the time when I signed on to be a demonstrator. One of the best decisions EVER!!!!
Have you ever made a card in just 20 minutes and felt proud of it? Well, as luck had it, that happened to me while quickly producing this card. It really took me just 20 minutes to pull it all together. Picture this, it's the big day for my little guy and I just wasn't ready! I still had to go to work, then pick up the last gift (the one he really wanted) and then race home and pump out a card. Thank goodness my husband volunteered to pick the kids up so I could race through traffic, run in and out the game store and head home before they did. Miraculously I made it. I made it and I made it:-) Just as I finished it, the door bell rang and we were in party mode. I looked like the perfect mom...for a few minutes...okay hours.

For the card I used the Play Date designer series paper, a retired stamp, real red and chocolate chip cardstock. Chocolate chip ink, and one of the Big Designer buttons with a bit of twine threaded through it. I used a 1" circle punch along with a 1-1/4" and a 1-3/8" punch to create the circle frame around the number 7. My son really liked his 20 minute card. Me? I'm ready for a nap.

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It's A Snow Thing!

As it gets closer to Christmas I am dreaming of snow. Our days are cold enough but no white stuff yet. I love snow. It is so beautiful and calming. It muffles other outside sounds and makes me feel as if I am in a different place. The best thing about snow is NO SCHOOL! It's true, teachers LOVE snow days as much, if not even more than the kiddos do! This page highlights pictures I took of my own children last winter during one of our snow storms. I borrowed this layout from Heather Summers, the MDS queen.

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

Take Two!

This card also borrows the layout from Richard Garay. It is the same layout from last week. I liked it so much that I made two! I changed the ink and ribbon colors to make this one different, yet the same:-). This one is going to my brother in-law. This pretty ribbon is from my growing stash of retired ribbons. I am a sucker for ribbon. I have sooo many rolls. It is my favorite accessory. Look at my track record of cards and I'm sure you'll agree that ribbon is definitely one of my favorite things!

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On The Road

Our 17 year officially has his driver's license. He took and passed the test on Wednesday but had to wait until Saturday to get his license. He was so bummed he had to wait and we were sad for him. As his test was ending the workers were shutting down computers so they told him he had to come back to finish the process. Saturday morning couldn't come soon enough for the 17yr old. He and my husband were up early and out the door before I even opened an eye. They returned with coffee, donuts, and an official license for the happy teenager. Later in the day, I convinced him to sit in his car while I snapped a few pics. He looks so cute and very proud. We are so proud of him and the man he is becoming.

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November Birthday fun!

This very cute card was sent to me by Kim Mullin, my friend and fellow SU! demonstrator. She remembers my birthday every year. When I grow up I want to be as organized as her. (Note to self make a calendar of birthdays on MDS - that might help).
Thanks so much Kim for making me smile. I love it!



I stamped this one for my son. I am in need of some masculine stamps. I have two of the extreme sports stamps but I used both of them on cards for him in the past and I didn't want to use it again for him so I ventured out and tried a different approach. I borrowed this layout from Richard Garay. I used the Got Treats stamp set and a retired stamp set whose name escapes me.

November brought two birthdays to our house. Mine (Yeah Me!)and my oldest son's. This was a BIG one for our oldest boy. He turned 17! We now have another driver in the house...scary thought I know but he is a very responsible teenager even if I do say so myself. We gave him keys to his very own car (my husband's old 94 Honda Civic) and his smile was from ear to ear. I'll make a MDS page of him in his new car later today, because I am quick like that (insert doubtful laugh right here LOL).

Have a Happy Saturday. Thanks for stopping by...now go stamp something!

November Catch-Up!

I hope your Thanksgiving was as fun and tasty as mine...Yum!
Happy Black Friday! Hope you find some great deals. Me? I'm staying in. I may try to do some online shopping later.

Well, I've been busy and away from my blog for much to long. So many things have been going on in our little part of the world. Halloween has come and gone.


I had a little bit of MDS fun this morning. Speaking of MDS, did you know that you can get your own My Digital Studio for just 39.98? Well, you can but hurry, this special offer ends on Monday. It's such a great offer, I'm tempted to buy another...but why?


My boys just finished the Fall season of soccer here in NJ. They both had a great season. I would venture to say that they are both very strong and competitive players, scoring points at each game. We are so proud of them. Their games were so much fun to watch.
My daughter saw me working on my MDS pages and she wanted to give it a try. So here is a scrapbook page from the 9 year old.

Pretty good Huh?
Don't forget to get your own My Digital Studio before they go back to regular price.

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

A Big Bold Birthday

Who doesn't like cupcakes? How about a quick and easy birthday card with a die cut cupcake on top? Nice Huh? I had fifteen minutes before I needed to run out the door with my 10 yr. old daughter in tow to her friend's birthday party. I thought instead of picking one from my growing pile, I'd challenge myself to quickly knock one out. I pulled out some retired designer series paper, card stock,some ink, my paper piercing tools, Big Bold Cupcake Sizzlit, my crimper, cutter and got to work! When everything was said and done this is what I came up with.

Card Recipe:
Sweet Scoop stamp set
card stock: tempting turquoise, Crumb Cake, and retired designer series paper (I need to check on the name of the paper.
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Grosgrain Ribbon

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Sweet Sixteen

To be 16 again...or not. My niece turned 16 a few days ago. I sent this card her way to celebrate her special day. I used the Love Letter designer series paper, the On a Pedestal stamp set, basic black, crumb cake, cherry cobbler, and very vanilla card stock, along with Basic Black and Cherry Cobbler classic ink. I also used the Basic Black 1-1/4" striped Grosgrain ribbon. It was lots of fun to create. I hope she liked it.

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Baltimore Regionals

Our Fun Stamping Group



Karen, me, and birthday girl Jacki


Seems like forever since I last posted anything here. I have been so busy and have been missing my sharing time here. Yesterday I attended a Stampin' Up Regional in Baltimore Maryland. I went with a fun group of stampers. There were a total of 9 of us. We had an amazing time and learned so much. Spending time with people who share the joy of paper crafting always equals fun. You just can't go wrong with that combination. After filling our brains with an abundance of creativity we then filled our tummies with some yummy food as we celebrated my upline Jacki's birthday. It was an awesome day. Here are a few of the shots of the swaps posted from Regionals. Aren't they fun?

Enjoy!!!!
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More Crew Cuts Scrapping

I had so much fun creating these pages using the retired Crew Cuts Simply Scrappin' Kit last month. I meant to post these earlier and never got to it. These colors just shout out happiness. They were so easy to make with very minimal stamping. I have sooo many of these kits I need to get them out more and start creating more often. These pictures are from when my daughter was still an itty bitty and now she is in fourth grade and up to my chin in height!

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First Day of School

The first day of school is always exciting at my house. The kids are returning and so am I. This year we have an 11th grader, a fourth grader, a first grader and a Pre-Kindergartener. I can't believe they are all in school, where has the time gone? My fourth and first grader were so happy and excited. Our little Pre-Kindergartener couldn't get away from the camera fast enough. He did not want to be on the other side of the lens. He just wanted his DS and we wanted peace:-)
I was hoping to get this done sooner but now that school is in, finding free moments isn't easy.

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

Gail's Challenge

I've been inspired to stamp a bit more. My second level upline has started a challenge and I am always one for a challenge. One component of the challenge focuses on creativity; to design and make 2 quick-and-cute holiday cards that would work well in a workshop. So with this in mind I decided to have some more Halloween fun and play with the new super cute bat punch. Here is what I came up with. I used the festive Wicked Fun Specialty designer series paper and I must say that I am really enjoying these colors together. They are a perfect combination. Of course Crumb Cake card stock, which is one of my all time favorites, just goes with everything! Whenever I am not sure of what color to use I just grab some Crumb Cake and I am a happy girl. This card is an easy one to duplicate for a workshop or just for fun to give to someone to let them know that they are thought of.

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Just Believe...Keeping Things Simple

Here is another card I created for my September workshops. This card uses one of the stamp sets we got at Convention this year, Just Believe. It is a 9 piece set with so many possibilities. For this card I used just the floral circle repeatedly and the thank you sentiment.
Card Recipe:
stamp set: Just Believe
Card stock: Whisper white, Tangerine Tango, and Poppy Parade
Accessories: Peach Parfait 1/2" Stitched-Poly Ribbon

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

Maureen

Wicked Fun!

I have seen so many super cute cards using the Wicked Cool stamp set. Seeing so many cool cards on the web inspired me to try it out for my September workshops. The ladies at my first workshop this month, had lots of fun using markers to color in the witches boots and stockings. I also used the Got Treats stamp set to provide a different stamping option for those who don't celebrate Halloween. They used markers to color in the cupcake and the wording as well. I am so glad I took the time to do this because half of the guest chose the birthday card option to create.

Card Recipe:
stamp set: Wicked Cool, Got Treats
Card stock: Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Whisper White, Old Olive
Ink/Markers: Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Basic Black
Accessories: Grosgrain ribbon, staples

I hope you like the simplicity of my "workshop" card. I made a very conscious effort to make cards that did not require ribbon tying. My guests appreciated not having to tie anything, although personally I LOVE a bit of ribbon tied around a card. It usually gives any card a little bit of unmph to add to the cute factor.

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

Maureen

Our Sweetheart Zoe

Here is another page using My Digital Studio. I am having so much fun with it. This page features my daughter. She and I were wearing matching sweaters that day:-) My boys were matching on that day as well. I may scrap a page of them tomorrow.

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My First MDS Scrapbook Page

This is my first My Digital Studio page. I have had this program for over a year and did very little with it. Now that I have started I just can't stop using it. I am working on a summer digital book documenting the fun things my kids engaged in this summer. I am so excited about how it is turning out. It is so much fun! I have 2 pages left for it to be totally completed. We are going away soon and I will take pictures from this trip to put in it.

Recently my husband took our son to get the haircut of his dreams. He has been wanting a Mohawk hair cut for over a year. We spent this summer letting his hair grow and last weekend his dream came true. He is one very happy boy! I am still undecided regarding whether or not I will let him sport his new cut once school begins. I am sure he wants to. We'll see how it goes.

Recipe: My Digital Studio


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The Best Vacation

Several years ago my husband often visited Aruba for business. During this time I was fortunate enough to be at home with the kids and we got to go with him a couple of times. On our first visit there my daughter was three and my son was just 3 months old. I didn't want to be left behind while he got to travel to this beautiful place so I packed up my little ones (I only had two then) and we traveled with him. We had so much fun and I still regard Aruba as my most favorite place to visit. We spent days by the pool and the beach ordering our non-alcoholic drinks and treats....so much fun.... and the best part...NO COOKING!

This scrapbook page uses the retired Crew Cuts for girls Simply Scrappin' Kit. They make scrapbooking so very easy. This set had a page that was all set and all you needed to do was add pictures. I cropped it a bit, layered it on pink card stock and stuck on some of my favorite pictures, from the trip, and adhesive cut outs. I also used the Whimsical alphabet which is one of my favorite alphabet sets.

A friend of mine came over for some scrapbooking fun and this is the layout we created for her page. She went with a baby theme for her page. After she left I decided to recapture the same page with a different theme using my pictures.

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More Summertime Stamping

Here are a few more cards from my last card class. While working on finding time to upload these masterpieces:-) I've been to two different beaches in two different states (Maryland and New Jersey), to the Zoo in Philadelphia, the Zoo in Cape May NJ, I sat through my daughter's guitar lesson, and drove back and forth to umpteenth swimming lessons for three different kids on two different days at the local YMCA and that was just today...no just kidding it's been since the last post.

Now to the masterpieces: (Two of which are totally cased, I am a busy momma you know.)

This first card was one of the Make n' Takes from convention. I really love this card and it was a favorite of my friends. It was so easy to do. All you need are markers some water and a stamp set. With the markers, we colored the image and then spritzed it with water and stamped....pretty nice huh? So much fun to replicate and every card varied which made it even more fun to compare as we stamped and discussed. You've got to try this one!
Card Recipe:
stamp set: Just Believe
Card stock: Not Quite Navy, Watercolor Paper, Bashful Blue
Ink: Markers(Not Quite Navy, Bashful Blue, Pear Pizazz)
Accessories:Ribbon, Buttons


This card is truly Heather Summers. Super cute! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the new owl punch! She was a featured demonstrator at convention. She stamped on stage and shared her amazing talent with us and do you know what she said....she gets some of her ideas from other stampers too! Sounds pretty familiar...
Card Recipe:
Stamp set: Just Believe
Card stock: Cajun Craze, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories: Owl Punch


This card is one created by me:-) Yes, I came up with a design of my own, well sort of. I saw this flower somewhere, probably at convention and decided to add it to this card. For the flower I punched them and them crumpled them up, unfolded and then off centered them using adhesive and then punched a hole in it and stuck a brad in it. I really like how it turned out.
Card Recipe:
stamp set: Look Who's Turning
Card stock: Pink Pirouette, Concord Crush, (retired dsp)
Ink: Concord Crush
Accessories: Ribbon and brads

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It's A Celebration!

A couple of days ago I got together with some friends from work for a card class. We get together quite a bit and for these classes. We have lots of fun stamping and talking. We usually stamp 5 cards. Whoever host the class gets to pick the sentiment of cards and then I create or case them:-)

For this card, I designed it myself and decided to use the my Sizzlits Big Bold Cupcakes dies. I have had it for awhile and finally I got to play with it. After I cut them out I decided I wanted the cupcake to make more of a statement so then I thought of embossing them with Versa Mark and Clear embossing powder and the result left me satisfied and my friends LOVED the card. I embossed everything and pre cut the cupcakes so I wouldn't have to carry my Big Shot and to also save time. The dsp we used for this card is the Celebrations one. I really like this one. It is the same dsp that I used to make my swaps for Convention.

Card Recipe:
Stamp set: Look Who's Turning...
Ink: Real Red
Card Stock: Real Red, Pacific Point, Whisper White, Celebrations dsp
Accessories: Ribbon

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Another Shoebox Share

I want to share the last of the shoebox shares with you. This one is from Christin, my downline. Christin even supplied us with all of the letters we needed to complete the project. She put lots of thought, time, and effort into making these so special for each of us. We had so much fun stamping, sticking and cutting to create these fabulous personalized pieces of art. I am going to get a hanging wall tri-frame that will hold all three pieces so that I can display them prominently in my stamp space.

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

Maureen

Shoebox Shares at Convention 2010

Each year at Convention my friends and I each bring two items for the rest of us to stamp. I already shared the two from my second level upline. Today I am going to share the two items I brought for the ladies to create. I recently saw a really cute notebook in the Stampin' Success using the onboard journals. These journals are for goal setting. I wanted to create a replica of them to help me set concrete goals while also motivating myself a bit to do more with stamping business.

I decided to use one of my new favorite stamp sets, Notably Ornate and the super cute Greenhouse Gala designer series papers. I love the beautiful designs of these botanical papers.

My second item was a stamped card. For this card, again, I used the Notably Ornate stamp set and the adorable Celebrations designer series papers. I first stamped the images (birds) in Basic Gray using the second generation technique where you stamp your image off on another paper before stamping it onto your actual project without re-inking.

I hope you enjoy my two projects. Thanks for stopping by...now go stamp something!

Are You My Mother?

Washington D.C. (Notice the Sniper on the roof...safety first)

Have you ever been away from home for so long that you wake up not knowing exactly where you are? Well, I am now in Washington D.C. for a seminar for work. This comes just after being home for 2 days from Utah. My husband says my four year old was looking for me today. Makes me a bit sad. I will return home on Friday and then I ave no more plans of being separated from them for at least another year. I think every mother needs a break now and then, don't you agree? I am going to go back so refreshed and even smarter:-)

Today I am still sharing some convention fun. While away my friends and I created projects for the others to create. I am going to start with the two cards my second level upline, Gail Murray prepared for us...



Aren't these cute? I just LOVE her cards. Lots of fun making these.

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

Maureen

Make A Monster - Convention Swaps

I am back home from convention...RESTING!!!" We had some FUN late nights. So much to see, do, and talk about. I am going to do my best to make this a nice relaxing day at home with my kids. Today I want to share my swaps. I pretty much stuck with the same materials and just played around with the layout. Quick, easy and cute...at least I think so, but then again I made them so I'm kind of partial to them:-)


Thanks for stopping by. I'll post more convention goodies and swaps tomorrow...now go stamp something!
Maureen

A Great Way To End It!

All good things must come to an end...at least for a year:-) Today (Saturday) was the last day of convention. I had a great four days with Gail, my second level upline, Christin, my downline, and her adorably funny and expressive little boy. This, I believe was my favorite of all of the five conventions I attended. We did and learned some great things to carry over into our business. Convention has sparked even more excitement in me about my stamps than I already had. I am eager to get home and get started sharing what I love with more people.

This is the Sweet Shop. It was one of the favorite areas in the Gathering Place. Awesome things were done with paper in this area. Take a peek!






Halloween by Brent Steel. He was awesome! Look at these amazing pumpkins using the decor elements. I guess I'll be shopping for pumpkins to paint once I get home.

Convention went out leaving every demonstrator very happy and appreciated. Each demonstrator was given a free stamp set, a pack of designer series paper, a cherry cobbler ink pad, and a container of stampin glitter glass in silver. I am excited to try many of the things I've seen demonstrated. Although I didn't win anything from prize patrol for 5 yrs. now at least I still got to home home a happy camper:-)

I have so many more pictures to share and I will do them when I get home. I must get some shut eye.

Thanks for stopping by, now go stamp something!

Maureen