A Learning Curve ...

One of the steps to being MDS Certified was designing a card and having it printed. I decided that I would have two printed ... one that was 100% digital and the second I would make hybrid. I omitted the ribbon on the second and sent it off to be printed. Below are the cards that were sent off to be printed and following them is the card after I added the physical ribbon.

Sooooo ....

I've been playing around with My Digital Studio ... what an easy program to manouever around in!! I created my blog header in it. What do you think?
I'm really looking forward to some time off at Christmas to play even more.
I've not had a lot of time to stamp ... a lot of running around with Dad and, unfortunately, a bit of down time with a flu or bug or something.
My club is finished until February, but there has been some interest in some classes. I'm hoping to sit down and get some arranged beginning in the new year.
Hopefully I'll be back in a day or two with some pictures of something I've stamped!

The Season is starting ...

Check out the deals! Show your hubby, boyfriend or significant other ... have him call or email me to order your Christmas present (I will even wrap it up "Stampin' Up!" style for them). If you can't decide what you would like ... I have gift certificates and will wrap it up too!

On a side note ... I apologize for not being around much. I've been a bit pre-occupied with my father. His health is not very good at the moment and he has come to live down south here for a bit. He'll be having some heart surgery at some point, and until then ... I am his driver.

To say that I have not had much stamping time (or space ... My Goodness! my room is a disaster!) would be an understatement! But ... I'm turning that around. I've put together a little project that I gave my club ladies at our last meeting. I'm hoping to get pictures of it tomorrow and will try to post them in the next day or two.

The rest of the Custom Scrapbook Pages ...

And the very last page in the album ...

Thanks for looking!!

So Sorry ...

that I haven't been around lately. Working full-time has really cramped my stampin' style! I've been able to get some stamping done, but (of course) didn't get pictures of some of it!
I've got the rest of the album to show you, a card or two and then a surprise! Bear with me 'til the weekend and then I hope to be back on a more regular basis. (Yeah, I know that I've said that before!) LOL
In the mean time ... the following picture also shows what has taken up so much of my "free" time.

A few more pages ...

More Custom Album

Here are a few more layouts for the custom album for my dil.

Custom Album

Thanks so much for the kind words about my work ... as you know, it validates what we do!

Quite a few weeks ago my dil asked me to put together an album for someone special in her life. It was actually scary how it all fell into place for me and how easy it was to do! I am so very pleased with how the album turned out! I used a retired SSK (Tie the Knot) and kept the additional embellishments to a minimum. I went to Splitcoast and case'd the layouts from many different people. I'll be posting pictures over the next few days.

This is the opening page.

The first 2 page layout.

Wedding Bells are ringing ...

or at least will be ringing for my friend, Les and her luv, Geoff. I was extremely flattered when she came over right away and asked me to help her design and make their invitations and everything else needed for the wedding! She and her luv were so easy to work with ... and in no time at all we had the design decided on. I cut all of the paper for them and then Les got her children to work!! They did an awesome job!!

Les and her kiddies have already cut, scored, stamped and pre-taped the favour boxes ... they just need some tweaking which I'll do a little later.

I've got a little something planned to add to all of this, but can't show you until after the wedding so that it will be a surprise for Les and her luv.

To some special people ...

I owe a huge Thank You!
It's been a difficult time and a couple of very special people stepped up without asking a single question and made things much easier for our family.
On Thursday morning my father and dh went out to the golf course to try to de-stress ... their way, while I came up here to my stamp room to de-stress ... my way. I needed to make some special thank you cards and found these by Jill Hilliard. The premise worked! I found myself so totally engrossed in making them, that by the time I was done ... Dad and dh were walking in the door!

I have to tell you a story about the following card ... dh saw the cards sitting on my workspace, saw the border punch sitting on my workspace and felt compelled to "play". This is his card and I know the perfect person to send it to.

This is a very hard post ...

and not one that I had ever wanted to make.
The previous few posts were pre-scheduled to post while I was up north @ my parent' home keeping vigil with my father, sister and her sons at our mother's bedside. Mom lost her fight with cancer early Saturday morning with us at her side and knowing how much we loved her.
I appreciate all of the good wishes that were left.
Obviously we will miss her more then words can express, but she is at peace and no longer struggling.
It's been a very long week ... but my father and sister and her family have gone back up north and we will try to find a way to carry on now. My husband is taking a few extra days and is now on vacation.
I found some quiet time this morning and used it to make some Thank You cards for some very special people. I'll post these in a few days, once I get them from my husband's camera.

More Cards for Mom

Here are the cards that I had started and planned on finishing with mom. I was hoping to have her input for the greetings, but had to figure things out for myself.

I got the idea from another demo ... Kelly Ramey had submitted this class idea to Stampin' Up! and it was posted on the demo side of their website. It is so versatile!

Simple is good!

I've subscribed to No Time To Stamp ... I
LOVE Sharon's style ... so clean, simple and stunning! I fell in love with these cards and since I had the papers ... had to give it a try.

I'm happy with my version, but realized while making these cards that I also LOVE Nestabilities! And I NEED more! LOL!! Just the basic ones ... rectangles, circles, labels ... Oh who am I kidding?? What ever I can get my hands on ... I'll need!

I love that deckled edge from the Nestability!
I'm also loving making up cards sets for gifts. It's nice to have a few on hand for last minute gift giving!

Trying to keep busy

My mom asked me to make a card for my grandson's upcoming Baptism ... this is what I made on behalf of my parents, CASED from Lori .

Sorry for the blurry picture ... I was up north with very basic supplies, not expecting to be taking pics of any cards ... remembered to take this picture at the very last minute.

I had taken some partially completed cards to work on with my mom, but had to complete them myself. I ended up going up north a day earlier then planned when my mom was admitted to the hospital unexpectedly. I've come home for a few days to restock and will be heading back up (likely as you are reading this) for a few more days.

I've got a few posts set up with the cards I had completed the first trip up north. I've taken up another project or two (gotta keep busy) that I've been meaning to do, so I will hopefully be able to remember to take pictures and perhaps post some more.

On the road again ...

that song from Willy Nelson is repeatedly playing in my head right now! LOL
But it is where I am ... I'm up north at my folks place for a bit. I'm going to try to take some pics of a couple of cards I've made up here and post them as soon as I can. Bear with me ... I'll be back soon.

Quick Update

Just a quick post to update you on my garage sale.
It was a HUGE success! I sold almost half of my retired sets ... 45 to be precise, ALL of my DP to one sweetheart of a lady, all but one of my retired Scrappin' Kits and lots of punches, wheels and retired ink pads. The best part was meeting some lovely new ladies who share my obsession! LOL
DH was very pleased as well, because he/we sold (got rid of) lots of other things that were taking up room in his garage and at the side of the house. Now he can actually put together the workbench that our children bought him one year when they were both living @ home. Keep in mind that our last child to leave the nest is now a married mother of one!
We did get a torrential downpour at one point that lasted for about 1 1/2 hours, but oddly enough, this is when we had the most amount of people arrive! Picture 6 cars arriving, roughly 20 people jumping out and my dh running around with his golf umbrella trying to keep some very focused ladies dry while they were going through my stamp sets! LOL ... I really wish I had had my camera handy.
I'm off to get my feet up for a while ... It was a very productive but also very exhausting day. I'll try to be back on Monday with some cards to show you.

Oh my!

I'll bet you thought I up and left the blogging world! No such luck!! LOL
It's just been a busy, confusing, crappy couple of months! I won't go into great detail, but
a) DH and I no longer have a trailer
b) I'm re-evaluating my work options
c) my mom is not doing well again and that is very worrisome, which brings me to ...
d) I'VE LOST MY MOJO (anyone seen it around?)
My club ladies are taking the summer off so I decided to do some cleaning. Purging is actually what I ended up doing. We are having a garage sale this weekend and after helping dh clean the garage on Saturday to see what we had ... I got really inspired and headed up to my craft room. Wanna see what I felt I could spare?

Those pics represent over 100 stamp sets, 14 wheels, 11 Scrappin' Kits, 21 stamp pads and too many packages of Designer Paper to count. And those are just the things that I'm getting rid of ... I've still got lots of retired stuff that I'm keeping for my personal use.
But looky at my stamp cupboard now!

I can actually open the doors without stamp sets toppling over and falling on me!
And I have room in the paper holders for the new Designer Paper that is being delivered this Friday!
This week I've been asked to make and/or help with a couple of projects: one of my best friends got officially engaged last Friday evening and I have helped her design their invitations and favours. The materials are arriving with my new "schtuff" (as JanTink would say *mslf*) on Friday so we can "get'er done" ... my dil has asked me to make an album that just needs the pictures plopped into it for a very special lady in her life ... my mom has asked for a refill of her card case (which I'll gladly do so that she doesn't go to the dollar store and buy more of "those" cards! LOL) While I'm making cards for my mom , I think I'll just double up the cards and add them to my pathetic little stash too!
Hopefully I'll return within a day or two to show you a few cards that I will add to our stashes.
In the mean time ... remember to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you!

Trailer Tales

Dh and I have a wonderful tent trailer which we have parked in a trailer park for the second season. We actually chose a site that normally is used for "weekenders". We spent a lot of time, effort and a bit of money to make it suitable for us (lots of gravel so that we are not walking in muck when it rains). LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOOKING FORWARD TO THE SUMMER!!!
There is a campsite between us and another couple who are newbies to this venture, as well, and who have the cutest little trailer you ever saw!
Below is a pic of their trailer ...

Now ... what does it look like to you? Yep ... the trailer from Happy Camper (retired)!! I just couldn't resist making them a little mini-scrapbook to celebrate their first year with this little gem. Poppy doesn't scrapbook (yet *wink, wink*) and they did soooo much work (gutted the little sucker) that I thought they might like to document the first summer they spent in the trailer. It was so much fun and I'm pretty happy how it turned out. I used the Simply Scrappin' Kit "Out and About" (retired)

Please excuse the less then great pictures ... I snapped these photos with my phone right before I gave Mike and Poppy the mini-book.

Found a Picture ...

on my phone, of all places, that I had forgotten I had taken. It's of the card I made for our granddaughter's 2nd birthday. This is the card that gave me my inspiration ... Thank You so much!!
Here is my version of the same card.

The background behind "Big Bird" and "Elmo's" face really are Real Red ... The lighting is just bad.

Children's Card Class

I recently held another class ... this one we made cards for children. I totally CASED a card from Andrea Walford and I LOVE it!! It really was fairly easy and I know just the perfect occassion in which to use it!!

Mom's Birthday

My Mom's birthday was April 21st and she and Dad came to stay with us for a few days. They arrived on the 22nd and stayed until the 27th. I had been working on her gift for a few days before they arrived but didn't get it finished until the day before they left! I know, I know ... almost seemed like I left it to the last minute, but it really took much longer then I thought it would to complete!

My Mom is an amazing woman ... 78 years old (sorry Mom! LOL), having some serious health issues, but still on the go ... inactivity is not in this woman's vocabulary! When my children were much younger (teenagers and the oldest of all of the grandchildren) we had a particular restaurant we (my sisters, their families and our parents) loved to go to ... mostly for birthdays or Mother's Day. We went for their Sunday Brunch because it was the best place to fill the boys' tummies up. Man, could those boys eat when they were in their middle teens! LOL It's been a lot of years since we all went there, so we went on the Sunday of their visit with my son, his wife and their two little ones. It brought back a lot of memories.

The following are pics of the gift I gave my mother for her birthday. I bought the tutorial from Becky Roberts and need to make more!

Mom mentioned that she had a bunch of cards without sentiments inside. Personally, I'm liking the blank cards I have, but Mom likes to have something inside. Rather then take a bunch of stamps and ink up to their home with me the next time we visit ... I stamped a bunch of sentiments and cut them out with punches, put dimensionals on the back and packaged them up for her. Something to put into one of the pockets of the Tote.

The inside of the Tote

Sorry for not posting on Friday ...

I have no excuse other then my every day life got in the way. I normally only work during the morning and afternoon school bus times (I answer the phones and two way radio now that I cannot drive my bus) but on Tuesday and Friday this week I worked all day. That shouldn't account for much but it does tend to mess up my routine. Lately ... it doesn't take much to mess me up!LOL

On Saturday my sil Amanda (loved spending time with you, lady!) and I went to Scrapfest in Kitchener ... WOW!!! The auditorium was packed with venders and scrappers! There were lineups for the make & take chairs at all of the booths that had make & takes, there were lineups to pay for your purchases, there were lineups for the ATM's ... but we did manage a make & take at the GO Scrapping Studio. They only were allowing 24 people at a time, but did have a list of times and what each make & take would be. We chose our make & take and made sure we were there before they had handed out all of the numbers. We got to make a 12x12 layout offered by "In a Pinch Designs". It was fun, lovely and so easy. I love it! Especially when I got home and had the perfect picture on hand for it. I don't do 1 picture layouts very often and have done layouts with just dh and I even less often. This is special to me.

Nothing is SU and I don't remember if we were told the brands or not.

I love how we cut out small details from scrap paper, popped them up on dimensionals for definition and used no other embellishments. Simple!

I promise I'll have more projects later this week. I'm working at finishing up a couple of things for Wednesday and I'll have to use some new things I got at Scrapfest!

Something for Myself ...

I didn't get nearly all that I wanted to get done on the weekend. Most things just were not working out the way I had envisioned, but I did get something done for myself. I had downloaded some pages from somewhere, but unfortunately, I didn't note where they came from. I printed them out and bound them into book form with my Bind-It-All. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. Again, this is just for my own use, and it really doesn't take a whole lot to make me happy! LOL
It's a Scrapbooking Planner with pages for "Must Make Pages", "Page Planner", "Shopping List" and "To Do List".
I've got the pdf files for all of these pages, so if you would like a copy ... just shoot me an email and I'll get it to you.

Here are a few close-ups.

Supplies:
Paper - Muirfield DP (retired). Whisper White cs, Baja Breeze cs
Accessories - On Board Book Basics (large), Jumbo Brads 5/8", Hooray Designer Hardware, Valet Ribbon Originals, round tab punch, key tag punch, scallop oval punch, large oval punch, scallop edge punch, dimensionals
*Don't forget that if you want larger pictures ... just click on them*

The Hardest Cards ...

to make have to be Sympathy cards. You want them to be heartfelt but not gaudy. I won't settle for anything but near perfection when I make Sympathy cards. They mean far too much in my eyes. That's just how I feel.
Last week I needed two of these at the same time. Shouldn't be a problem ... just go to my stash since I had made a few not long ago. Unfortunately ... the stash was depleted. Which means that it was a very long, sad winter this year!
I remembered a card on Sharon Johnson's blog that was exactly what I wanted. I loved the two-toned embossing ... very elegant. Below is my version.

Supplies:

Stamps - Lovely as a Tree, Brighter Tomorrow

Paper - Whisper White CS, Brushed Copper CS, Basic Black CS, dimensionals

Ink - Versamark

Accessories - Copper EP, Silver EP

Boy Oh Boy!

What a BEAUTIFUL weekend!!! The snow is gone ... the wind has diminished ... the sun is warm! Dare I say it??? Spring has Sprung!

Dh has been emailing back and forth with some of our "trailer neighbours" and everyone is just itching to get to the park and open up! We are the closest to the park, so everyone is wondering what the weather is like "up there". LOL Sounds like we are all so very far away from each other ... they all live in Toronto, Mississauga and Hamilton area! (like only 70 miles or so away)

They also have hard walls in their trailers ... ours ... not so much! We have a tent trailer, so unless it gets REALLY warm for the Victoria Day Weekend (May 16, 17 & 18th), I'm not planning on staying up there till later in June! LOL YES ... I'm a "fair weather camper".

I'm busy this weekend finishing up a lot of this and that, planning a class featuring children's cards and working out my next club projects.

Here are some samples from my last class ... Boy Oh Boy! featuring masculine cards.

Have a great Easter Weekend!!

Supplies:

Card #1

Stamps - Cheers to You

Paper - Very Vanilla CS, Basic Black CS, So Saffron CS, Jackpot DP

Ink - Basic Black Classic Ink

Accessories - dimensionals, liquid applique

Card #2

Stamps - Wonderful Favorites

Paper - Very Vanilla CS, Pacific Point CS, Kiwi Kiss CS, Muirfield DP (retired)

Ink - Basic Black Classic Ink

Accessories - dimensionals, Mini Library Clips

Card #3

Stamps - It's Your Birthday (retired)

Paper - Very Vanilla CS, Pacific Point CS, Kiwi Kiss CS, Muirfield DP (retired)

The last one ...

from my Lovely Ladies Class. Honest! I promise!! LOL
This card was CASE'D from Patty Bennett and was actually quite easy to do.

Supplies:

Stamps - Totally Tabs, Heard from the Heart

Paper - Pink Pirouette CS, Ballet Blue CS, So Saffron CS, Whisper White CS, Basic Black CS

Ink - Basic Black Classic Ink

Accessories - Round Tab punch, Word Window punch, Small Oval punch, Large Oval punch, smallish square punch, Soft Subtles brads, dimensionals.

More Feminine Cards

Edited to add : I've had a number of questions on how to adhere the window sheets to the CS. On this particular card, I put a mini glue dot on the back of the window sheet in the middle of each of the flowers and then hid it with the half back pearls. There are also two more mini glue dots behind the the ribbon and sentiment.
Here are two more of the cards that we did at my Lovely Lady class ...




This card was so easy ... a little bit of DP at the bottom, scalloped edge, Flower Fusion and a Rhinestone Brad .... taaadaaa!!

Here is another easy-peasy card! A bit of the new Printed Window Sheets, a punch or two, a bit of gingham ribbon and a couple of 1/2 back pearls from the Pretties Kit.
Neither of these cards took more then 15 minutes to make from start to finish and the possibilities with colour combos are endless!

Card #1
Stamps - Sweet Little Sentiments Level 1 Hostess
Ink - Old Olive classic, Basic Black classic
Paper - Whisper White CS, Hand Drawn DSP from the Level 3 Hostess
Accessories - Flower Fusion, Circle Fire Rhinestone Brad, Scallop Edge Punch, piercing tool.
Card #2
Stamps - Oval All
Ink - Basic Black classic
Paper - Tangerine Tango CS, Whisper White CS, Basic Black CS
Accessories - Scallop Oval punch, Printed Window Sheets, Pretties Kit, Black Gingham Ribbon, dimensionals, mini glue dots

Something a Little Different

I recently held a class where we made 4 cards for the women in our lives. My friend, Pat, is a seasoned stamper and accomplished paper crafter, so I always feel that I need to "step it up" a notch when we get together. The following type of card was showcased in the SU Demonstrator magazine "Stampin' Success" that we, as demos, receive each month. I found it quite unique and interesting, so I created one for Pat and I to make.



Supplies:
Stamps - Heartfelt Thanks, Elegant Cheer
Ink - Not Quite Navy Classic ink, Baja Breeze Classic ink
Paper - Kraft CS, Whisper White CS, Bella Bleu DP, Parisian Breeze Specialty DP (LOVE THIS!)
Accessories - Whisper White Organza Ribbon, Kraft Medium Envelopes, paper crimper, Wide Oval punch, Scallop Edge punch, Eyelet Border punch, Mat Pack, piercing tool, Earth Elements Brads

Cards and Card Holder

Here are the cards and "magazine/card" holder that we did at the February Club. My version of the holder is fairly plain, but that is me ... I like simple and clean lines. I've truly come to love Kraft paper lately. I've been quite surprised at how versatile it is and how it lends itself to being dressed up or down, depending on my mood. My other favorite at the moment is the Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die! The combinations that can be made with the different sizes of butterflies is unlimited!

Below are pictures of the cards on their own.

Supplies:

Stamps: Congrats SAB set, Flowers in Silhouette

Ink: Close to Cocoa Classic Ink, Chocolate Chip Classic Ink

Paper: Kraft CS, Very Vanilla CS, Taste of Textiles (Close to Cocoa Pinstrip for holder), Bella Bleau DP, Vellum Paper

Accessories: Very Vanilla Medium Envlopes, Kraft Medium Envelopes, Eyelet Border Punch, Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Kraft Taffeta Ribbon, Crystal Effects, Build a Brad, 1/2 circle punch, sticky strip, Big Shot, Beautiful Butterlies Bigz Die.

NO April Fools!!!

No ... it's not an April Fools Day joke!!! I'm actually posting a couple of days after my last post!!! Maybe I've got a bit of a routine going here ... yep, I'm going with that one! LOL

My first club meeting was actually at the end of February. We are a mix of scrapbookers, cardmakers and newbies! And having a HOOT! We did one 12x12 scrapbook page and one 8 1/2x8 1/2 scrapbook page showcasing our Simply Scrappin' Kits. I used the Hoppy Memories because I knew I had pictures of my granddaughter with both a frog theme and turtle theme.

The first picture is the 8 1/2x 8 1/2 page. I am really loving this size!! Sometimes the 12x12 is just too big and the 6x6 is just too small.

I'm quite happy with this page ... just have to fill in the journaling and pop it into an album ... when I get one ready! LOL

I've one sitting up on top of my shelves ... just have to decide how to decorate it. I think it's going to be one I can use for both (or all ... depending on how things go) of our grandchildren. Since we have a granddaughter and grandson ... I'll have to decorate it without being gender specific.

The following page is the 12x12. I'm not especially satisfied with it ... needs a little tweaking, but I'll get that done before I pop this one into my granddaughter's album. I do have an album "on the go" for her now, just haven't added much to it lately.

I'll share the cards and holder in the next post.

Life gets in the way ...

... what more can I say? I know that you all have had times like these. The older we get, the longer it seems to take us to bounce back after being under the weather. The only thing that has saved my sanity in the last few weeks is that I have actually been able to create a bit. I've still had my monthly club and a few card classes/stamping time with a good friend.

I'm going to share a pic of a star that I made using the Big Shot and the 5-Point 3D Star Die from Stampin' Up! I saw one that Diana Gibbs had done on her blog (I LOVE this woman's mind!) Diana's blog is one that I MUST read during my morning "routine". Another in my "routine" is Heather Summer's blog. Both of these ladies are so creative and inspiring. Heather made one of these stars using flashing that she bought at Home Depot. I loved the idea so the next time dh and I were in town, we checked it out and found some. The flashing came in a roll 12"x10'. I'm going to be able to get a lot of stars cut out of this!!

I'll be back in a day or so with pictures from our first club meeting.

Supplies:

Ink: Craft White

Paper: Parisian Breeze Specialty DP

Accessories: 5-Point 3D Star Die & Big Shot, Vintage Brads, Sticky Strip