Last Minute Projects with Batty For You!

Since Halloween is TOMORROW, I thought I'd share a couple projects I made TODAY using the Batty for You stamp set. The first one is a huge pumpkin shaped tub that was originally filled with bags of pretzels--you know how I love to recycle & reuse! With a piece of vellum, I traced the shape of the label and then transferred that shape to card stock to create my own label. I used the Well-Worn Alphabet set to spell "treats" and then used the marker to stamp technique to stamp just the bat and spider from the Batty for You set. Doesn't it look YUMMY?!!!!

The second project may look difficult, but it's actually very easy. Click here for the tutorial. I started with a 9" x 4-1/2" piece of card stock.

If you have any questions about either of these projects or anything else I've blogged about, feel free to ask!

I hope you're happy stampin!

A Red Tag to go with the Red Scarf!

The red scarf is finally going to make its way to the Orphan Foundation of America in Virginia, for the Red Scarf Project. I couldn't send the scarf off without attaching a handmade tag with a personal message of encouragement to whoever receives it. Here it is:

The clip is holding a book of postage stamps (one of the suggested things to include for the recipient).

The card is made with the Cute & Curvy stamp set and coordinating Curvy Label punch. I stamped the image in silver ink and embossed it with iridescent ice EP. The image didn't pop like I had hoped, so I stamped over that with classic black ink and zapped it once more with the heat tool to set it. To avoid that extra step (and the risk of not lining the stamp up just right), I might consider stamping the image in black craft ink and embossing it (for future projects).

I'm getting ready to schedule some holiday card and gift classes for November and December. If you have a request for a particular type class or date/time, please let me know.

Happy Stampin!

Regional Seminar & SCS Dinner Fun!

I went to my first Stampin' Up! event yesterday--the San Antonio Regional Seminar--and had a blast! It started off with general swapping while we waited to check in and receive our make-n-take supplies and stamp set. Here is the swap card I made with the Love Owl-Ways stamp set and Frosty Day DSP from the Holiday Mini:

I only made 15 cards--but I am extremely happy with the 15 cards I swapped for... many neat ideas and great samples from stamp sets that I don't already have that I can display at my stampin' events.

Over the next 7 hours, my friend, Jennifer and new friend, Kathleen and I made 6 awesome make-n-take projects, listened to inspirational demonstrators and received all sorts of creative project ideas and business tips. At the very end I even met Sherri Gardner, the Co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up!. She is such a sweet lady... so down to earth and real.

(Jennifer, Shelli & Me)

A few hours later, I went to dinner with a bunch of my SCS (splitcoaststampers.com) demo friends. It was so much fun! Meeting everyone in person was such a neat experience.

Here's my long awaited SCS dinner swap card made with the Happiness is a Journey stamp set & Urban Garden DSP (along with many other supplies):

The dry erase board I made for a door prize was a huge hit! The winner, Elizabeth, even did a happy dance. :) I used the Bella Rose DSP, Serif Essential dies with the Big Shot, Flower Fusion Too & rhinestone brads.

If you ever have a chance to attend a Stampin' Up! Regional Seminar (either as a demo or a guest), I would highly suggest it! I can't wait to implement all the wonderful ideas I received in my own creative projects and in my business. Keep an on my schedule of events for upcoming classes.

Happy Stampin!

Stampin' Up!'s Birthday Party Special!

Don't forget, we are celebrating Stampin' Up!'s 20th year during October with a BIRTHDAY PARTY SPECIAL!!! You have just over one week left to take advantage of this great sale.

Spend $20 in regular catalog merchandise and qualify to purchase any of the birthday/celebration stamp sets listed below at 20 percent off.

109439 Pg 62 Big Bold Birthday $27.95 reg/ $22.36 sale
112895 Pg 62 Cumpleaños genial y divertido (Spanish Big Bold Birthday)* $27.95 reg/ $22.36 sale
111532 Pg 63 Party Hearty* $26.95 reg/ $21.56 sale
110994 Pg 64 Bitty Birthday $12.95 reg/ $10.36 sale
111618 Pg 64 Crazy for Cupcakes* $23.95 reg/ $19.16 sale
111546 Pg 65 Simple Birthday Thanks* $17.95 reg/ $14.36 sale
111702 Pg 65 Time to Party* $16.95 reg/ $13.56 sale
108559 Pg 68 Crab & Company $27.95 reg/ $22.36 sale
*Stamp sets are die cut.

Go to my website and shop online 24/7 or contact me today to place your order! But don't wait too long, this sale ends October 31, 2008!

Happy Stampin!

I SAVED THE RED SCARF--by killing it!

With help from my Stitch & Bitch friends, Patty, Teri & Juanita, I fixed the Red Scarf!

When we met last night and I showed them the scarf, they gave me the great news that I hadn't actually melted the scarf after all... I just "killed it"! That's the technical term for: flattened it within an inch of it's life. My knitting friends suggested that I finish the job and kill the rest of the scarf. So I did:

Believe it or not, the flattened scarf has a very nice drape now. Juanita even suggested that it sort of feels like cashmere! Can you believe it, I made a faux cashmere scarf out of cheap acrylic yarn?! The edges still roll a little bit, but not nearly as badly as they did before... I killed it. :)

Well, now that the scarf is done and I'm extremely happy with it, I will be sending it off to The Red Scarf Project. By the way, if you're interested in contributing your own red scarf (or a cash donation) to the cause, you have more time. The deadline has been extended to December 15, 2008. Check out their website for more details.

Red Scarf Finished!

I'm happy to announce that the Red Scarf is done!

From the picture, you may not be able to tell that I actually ruined part of it while steam blocking it. The pattern of the scarf really made the edges roll quite a bit. It rolled so much that it was basically a big tube when I got done knitting it--therefore it HAD to be steam blocked. Well, since I used acrylic yarn, it was important to be very careful during this step or the acrylic would melt... and... well, I guess I wasn't careful enough!

Even from the close-up picture, it's hard to tell, but the left side is totally flat. You can see the the edges on the right side still roll quite a bit. I did block that side too, but I was more careful to not completely melt it flat.

I'm not sure what to do with the scarf now. As it is, I wouldn't feel comfortable giving it away as a gift--let alone donating it to The Red Scarf Project. I will need to enlist some help from my knitting friends to see what they suggest. I may have to go ahead and melt... errr, I mean seriously steam block the right side, just to make the whole thing the same and just hope the kid that receives it doesn't know what it was supposed to look like. sigh...

On the Stampin' front... I have finished my swap cards for the SCS Demo dinner that's on Friday and I have started working on some general swap cards. I also made another dry erase picture frame to give away as a door prize at the dinner--for this one I used Bella Rose DSP, Flower Fusion Too flowers & rhinestone brads. I will post pictures of all of these projects after the big event--probably sometime this weekend.

Nick's Birthday...

Today is my youngest son's 12th birthday! Happy Birthday, Nicholas!

We actually celebrated last night because my husband had to head out of town for his brother's wedding before Nicholas would be getting up today.

Here is the card I made:

Since Stampin' Up! doesn't have any turtle stamps, I had to improvise. I basically tore Old Olive card stock into pieces to create the pattern on the shell. I then adhered them to a piece of Always Artichoke card stock and tore around them to create the shell. Then, I tore more pieces of Old Olive card stock to create the head, feet, tail and eyes. I also inked around the edges of all the pieces to create depth and texture. He's sitting on a piece of Chocolate Chip card stock that I stamped with the Sanded background stamp and inked around the edges to make look like a log. Here's what Nick's "real" turtle, Bartleby's reaction was to the card:

When I posted pictures of the knitted turtle I made for Nick, many of you commented that you couldn't wait to see Nick's reaction when he received him. Well, here it is!

PRICELESS!

By the way, the turtle has been named Pickle... because of his color and how he looks without his shell. :)

I challenge you to be creative today! I'd love to hear about it!

Happy Stampin!

Altered Journal

Being a mom of 2 boys, I'm always curious what girls these days really wants for a gift. I have 9 nieces between the ages of 16 and 2 and they all live too far away for me to keep up with the things they really like. When it comes time to sending gifts for birthdays or Christmas, I often times take the easy way out and give gift cards for a store I've heard their moms talking about--with a handmade card, of course!

Well, my oldest niece, Emmy, had her 16th birthday yesterday. I can't believe she's really 16! Feeling a bit ambitious, I decided to make her a gift... an altered journal. Although we don't see each other very often, one thing I do know about Emmy is that she's not your "typical" girly girl... so I figured anything pink was out. The Spring Break designer series papers seemed pretty cool, so I went with that. It's retired from our last catalog. What do you think?

As you can see, I also made a coordinating card that will be tucked in the pocket on the inside of the back cover of the journal. (Yes, this is a late gift for Emmy...) Inside the card, there will be "a little something" extra. ;) I hope she likes it!

Aside from the cardstock and designer series papers, I used the Big Shot Diecut Machine, Serif Alphabet "E" die, Pretties kit, eyelets, Frames with a Flourish stamp set, and All Holidays stamp set.

Happy Stampin!

World Card Making Day: Card Class Projects

Just a quick post with a picture of the cards we made at my class yesterday. Everyone made 2 of each card.

I had all of my sentiment stamp sets available, so everyone could create whatever type cards they needed for upcoming special occasions. The techniques we used were Rock-n-Roll, Watercoloring and Heat Embossing.

If you like the idea of making cards to add to your stash and would be interested in attending an all-occasion card class, please let me know. Get a few of your friends together and we can plan a class around your schedules. Other class options are: tumbled tile coasters and other gift projects, Christmas cards, scrapbooking or any type of technique that you've seen and would like to learn how to do... including any of the projects you've seen posted on my blog!

Happy Stampin!

Meet Sheldon!

This must be kept a secret, but I want to share my latest completed creation with you... SHELDON!

He is a knitted turtle that I made for my youngest son, Nicholas' birthday that is coming up on the 17th. Ever since Aunt Ruth gave Nicholas her own knitted version of Sheldon this past summer, Nicholas has felt that I should make him one too... along with interchangeable shells, of course. You see, Sheldon is unique in that his shell was made separately from his body so it can come off.

Perhaps one day I will make "my" Sheldon shells for all the seasons and other occasions, but for now, he has sort of a camo shell. As you can see, he sort of blends in with the grass when he's outside. After all the work I put in to making him, I sure hope Nicholas doesn't let him get loose in the grass and.... gasp! God forbid, he get lost!

**RED SCARF UPDATE** While I'm talking knitting, I might as well tell you how the red scarf is going. I have about 24" done so far. That's over 1/3 of the way done! Now that I'm done with Sheldon, I can devote more time to the scarf. I am getting close to using up the first of two skeins of yarn... so I know I'm getting close to being half done!

For my stampin friends, don't worry, I'm still stampin!

• I made my mom a birthday card and mailed it off yesterday.
• I'm working on making an altered journal for my niece's birthday. (shhh, don't tell her!)
• I am also working on my swap cards for Regionals.
• AND, in honor of World Card Making Day (which was officially last Saturday), I have a card class tomorrow!

I will be sure to share pictures of some of my stampin projects soon.

Happy Stampin & Knittin!

Framed Notes: Dry Erase Board

I just have to share this fabulous idea with you! While browsing Splitcoaststampers.com, I found the awesome idea to create a dry erase board out of a picture frame!
Here's my version:

I found the 8" x 9" frame on the clearance rack at Target for less than $4! It was a little chipped up, so I sanded the edges to give it a little rustic look and used a sharpie marker to fill in the bigger chips. The paper I used is Juntos from the Celebrando Creatividad (Spanish Supplement) catalog--I just love the colors of this paper! The flowers are from the Inspired by Nature set (stamped in Always Artichoke). "NOTES" is cut out of chipboard and designer paper with the Serif Essentials dies and the Big Shot die cut machine. The dry erase marker is tied on with Always Artichoke 1/4" Grosgrain ribbon. It's a very easy project--wouldn't it make a great gift? This one happens to be a gift for myself... :)