It's Here!

Finally my 2006-07 Idea Books have arrived. They are absolutely wonderful! I especially like the new background stamps. It will be a while before I have the money to place an order, but I will use that time well making my list. I have a vacation coming up after the Fourth then I will have a home workshop. Maybe I will do a Stamp a Stack. Of course if I do that I had better put in an order for some of the new stamp sets. Yeah right, I wish. Why doesn't Money grow on trees? At least only a few of my sets were retired.

Another Heart Felt Card

Here is another in the Heartfelt series. I think it needs one of the small script words above the flowers, but since I challenged myself not to use any stamp set other than Heartfelt Thanks I didn't use one. I cut the vase out freehand and the stripes on it were made using only the stem from the flower. I have one more piece of Always Artichoke cut for a card and I think what ever I come up with using it will be the last card for my display. I know I said I was going to move on to other things several days ago, but I think the rain we've been getting here over the last few days has made my brain soggy either that or I am just plain stuck in the mud!
It actually stopped raining and was sunny during the day today, but now it is raining quite hard again. 13 inches is enough already! It's keeping the UPS man from my door. (What other excuse can there be for him not bringing me my new SU Idea Books!!!) He better bring them tomorrow or someone is going to have to pay. I know others in the area have received their's cause the UPS Tracking site told me so! Have I been a bad girl?

Rain Rain Go AWAY!

Okay, since the rain won't let up in the Mid Atlantic they have wisely cancelled this years CreationFest! Am I sad? In some ways yes in most ways no. This year's trip planning has been a real challenge to say the least so it is a relief to finally have things set to rest. Of course the kids are all disappointed and that's what I really find sad, but there is always next year when our tickets will still be honored.

So since I don't have to go camping for a week and sisnce it is REALLY wet and nasty out, over 7 inches of rain in 36 hours and more to come, I guess I will have to stamp!!! Maybe I can come up with some sympathy cards for those that are sad we aren't camping and those who are just sick of the rain! Too bad I don't have any ark stamp sets!

Withdrawal While Getting Ready for CREATION FEST

Two day's with out stamping or any other creative pursuit. For me that's tough but that's also normal life I guess. Last week was the anomaly. Sad but true. I probably won't get to do much for several weeks now. The rest of this weekend and all of next week will be spent in preparation for taking 29 youth and adults from our church to CreationFest East. A Christian music fest. Camping for 6 days...no hot water and few if any flushing toilets! (To check out what Creationfest is click on the title to this post.) This will be our 9th year and I am definately feeling that 9 years ago I was much younger and better suited to this type of an event. But I know that once I get there I will be greatly blessed in many ways. I'm going to try and figure out a "project" to take and work on in mny "down" time. Nont sure what but will figure that out tomorrrow. For right now I'm exhausted from prepareing foor for 29! Good night!

Two original Designs

Well, I accomplished what I set out to do today. I came up with two original designs using the stamp sets and colors from last night. AND I figured out how I could put the copyright information on the face of the cards. There may be an easier or better way, but I came up with my way and it worked! I am so proud of myself. Didn't even need DH's help in figuring out how to do it.

Of these two cards my favorite is the Heartfelt one. I don't like the look of blank card stock especially white or off white so I sponged it with Always Artichoke. It's really been fun coming up with ides using a limited set of materials. I have a few more ideas for this set that I am working on. After those I think I will be more than ready to move on to something else.

Tonight is my last night as a "single woman". Husband returns from Miami trip tomorrow night. It will be nice having him home. Even with son in house it still is pretty quiet, but I probably won't get as much free time to stamp though, so it's been fun. Also some time soon I need to get back to my sewing room and do some quilting, then also there is that good book I haven't touched for a while.....gee wouldn't life be grand if only I didn't have to work during the day. Of course then I would have no money to spend on my craft addictions. I had hoped to support my stamping up habit with being a demonstrator, but that hasn't happened yet.

Tonights projects

Well tonight I had great fun playing with a new SU toy. I just got a Stamp-a-ma-jig. Wow I don't know how I ever lived, or rather, stamped with out it. I LOVE IT!!!!

These are three cards I made tonight. I have been wanting to make a display board that shows all the different types of things you can do with one stamp set, one background stamp, three color ink pads, a black ink pad, one of the color collection packages of 8.5x11 inch card stock and a pack of neutral card stock. So I started this tonight while playing with the new toy.

I chose to use the Heartfelt Thanks stamp set and the Canvas background stamp. For card stock I chose to use the Royal
Regal color collection and Very Vanilla as my neutral. Besides the Black classic ink I also used Always Artichoke, Rose Red and So Saffron. I have to confess that these are not card designs original to me. They are based on ones from the 2005-2006 Stampin Up Idea Book. Tomorrow night I will work on getting more creative and coming up with my own designs rather then adaptations. Also sometime I need to figure out how to get the nifty copyright information layed over the top of one of the corners of these pictures. For right now let me say that all these cards and my other projects posted here are copyrighted Stampin'Up 1990-2006.

Well the list is long, but other than a few punches I had planned on getting and the memo cubes which I stamp and give as gifts there is nothing on it that I can't live without! I am kind of surprised to see alot of their designer papers and scrapboooking kits being discontinued. I wonder what will bei in their place as scrapbooking items are one thing a lot of demos wanted more of not less! Guess I will have to wait on that one. My new catalogs have been shipped. Yeah....but they will probably come while I at Creation with our church group so I won't get to see it till July 2 when I get home...boo hoo.

Retired List Out

WOW, The LIST is out and it is long. I haven't had time to look at it yet but have printed it out and its 6 pages! Honestly I wasn't expecting it so early today. Obviously lots of DEMOs want to see it as the SU web site was moving pretty slow.

It's June 21

Well at least it is EDT. Why is June 21 so exciting? No, it's not because summer will officially begin today. It's already been way summer hot here so that's not important. It's the day that the list of retiring SU accessory list will be published. I suppose though that I will still need to be a bit more patient. As much as I would like it to magically appear now I will have to wait till sometime after 8AM Mountain time.....Maybe I should just go to bed....if it wasn't for this insomnia thing I would....well maybe I'll just have to read a boring book. Hmmm....still I wonder what won't be available after June 30. Of course once I know that then I will wonder what wonderful new things will be available on July 1!

IT's not just for cards!

Today was the first workshop I held to make items that will be sold at our church's December Secret Shop. We have held this shop each year for the past 23 years. It is a place where children can come and shop for gifts for their family and friends "in secret". All items in the shop (our fellowship hall transformed in to a shopping mall) at $5.00 or less and the child is assigned a shopping elf to help them with there purchases. Everything is wrapped and taged before they leave for home so on Christmas morning they can give people special gifts they choose themselves. Then money raised from this event goes to support children's programs and children in need through out the year.

This is one of the projects we made this morning. I found clip boards at Sam's Club for less than $1.00 each. So the project is in our price range. We painted the clip boards with Delta Ceramcoat paint. Then after it dried I stamped it with Stampinup Craft Inks. For this design I used Island Blossoms which is a Level 3 Hostess set in the 2005-06 Idea Book. The words NOTES was stamped using the Whimsical Letters stamp set. Overall I am very peased how this turned out. It can be hung on the wall. I will sray a fixative over the entire surfase at a later date.

It Worked!!!!

Wow! This is to to cool! Okay, I admit that I am impressed by what others may see as small accomplishments. I now see that since this post is at the top you see the open image before the closed. Oh well can't be perfect in everything. Here as promised in previos post you can see the eyelet and hemp pull. This card was way to fun to make and so easy, Maybe tomorrow I will figure how to hook up a link to the SCS Tutorial where I learned how to do this. But one thing at a time. Now my brain wants a rest and to think creatively rather than technologically.

Okay let's see if this works. This is a card I made following a SCS Tutorial on making double slider cards. This is just the front of the card. Once I know it it works I will upload the opened card image where you can see the slider and message. I made this using the Canvass, Easy Elegance, and Graceful Words stamp sets. The message on the slider is from the God's Way stamp set. The card stock is Stampin Up's mellow moss, very vanilla, and basic black. The words are all stamped in elegant eggplant and I used a watercoloring technique for the flowers. The bacground stamp is done in mellow moss ink. I also used a black eyelet and hemp for the slider pull which didn't scan in this picture but will show up in the next. Okay here goes...let's see if this works! Fingers crossed and breath held.

Tonight's Challenge

Okay, tonight I am going to try and scan a card I have stamped and post it's picture here. More technology....Life used to be so uncomplicated...but not near as fun or challenging. Back later (I hope!)

Overload!!!!

Okay, the mind is on overload. I am a crafter and quilter NOT a computer person so that I have gotten this fair is a minor miracle! No more tonight. It's time to go either fondle fabric or puruse my latest stamping magazaine for inspiration then on to bed and dream of tomorrows creative pursuits.

A New Beginning!

Here I go entering into a new world. As they say when the cat is away the mouse will play! Well, the cat (my DH) left for Miami this morning and left this mouse home with the family. So this is a week that when I am not at work I get to PLAY!!!! The family is all over 20 and capable of takeing care of selves for one week. So I will stamp, quilt, and start this new adventure in blogging. Who says you can't teach old dogs new tricks. Oh, Oh, can I mix dog and cat metaphors? On to learn more........