HAPPY MONDAY - AND A NEW CARD!

Hi all! Well, I am soooo glad you all enjoyed my sneak peek of my stamp room! I am going to be working on it some more today and hopefully will have some more pics to share with you tomorrow! I truly do love my new space - it makes me feel good! And, for those of you who asked, the puppies names are Bonnie and Clyde, they are brother and sister, four years old, and I love them to death! They have an older brother Cisco, who is a 10 year old golden retriever who puts up with a lot from the two little criminals! So, on to the card. I used the same color scheme and paper as the one from yesterday because (1) I still had it out, and (2) I am in love with the new DP and can't get enough of it! I also used the same stamp set but a different image - this is by far my favorite stamp set yet from SU!, I just love it! Of course, I have several others I am getting ready to ink up, so I will let you know *wink* Have a super Monday!
Card Details(all supplies are SU!)
Paper - Kraft, Rose Red, and Whisper White Cardstock, Berry Bliss DP
Stamp Set - Pun Fun
Accessories - Corner Rounder, Purely Pomegranate ribbon and ink,
Mat Stack with Paper Piercer, Soft Subtles and Fresh Favorites Buttons,
Brown Stazon, Stampin Write Markers, Snail Adhesive

BEATE'S SKETCH CHALLENGE AND A SNEAK PEEK!

Hi all! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend! I have been VERY busy putting my scrap/stamp room together and I have to say it is coming along beautifully! So, this will be a long post, but worth it I think! But, before I give you a sneak peek (I will, I promise!) I want to share the card I did for Beate's sketch challenge. I have not been able to do to many of these lately as most of you know, so I was thrilled to sit in my new room this morning and put this one together. I have to say, maybe my stamp room gives me great mojo because I am really excited with how this card came out and that does not happen very often! I am not much of a card maker, I am more of a scrapbooker, BUT I am getting better *wink* So, you all need to tell me what you think! I really liked this sketch although I changed it slightly - since my stamp already had a sentiment, I did leave that extra embellishment off but the basic sketch is intact. The base of the card is Kraft (for Kimberly!) which I have never liked but is growing on my thanks to my enabling upline who is awesome! Then, I used some of the new Berry Bliss DP, which is totally yummy! I then layered Regal Rose, Close to Cocoa, and on the main image, Whisper White cardstock. I used my Corner Ticket Punch on all the layers as well. The main image is the cute little skunk from the new stamp set Pun Fun, which I see myself using alot! I colored the image using my Stampin Write Markers and my blender pen. For the little sidebar, I used my 3/4 inch circle punch to make circles out of Regal Rose, then used pewter jumbo eyelets to make it pop. I put these in using my Crop-A-Dile which I love! Around the main image I used Pretty in Pink brads and then added some Purely Pomegranate ribbon to draw out the colors in the DP. And, there you have it! Now, on to my scrap room. I am still working on it, but it is about 90% done so I will share a few of the pics today and maybe some more tomorrow -can't give it all to you at once *wink*. This first one is of my actual work space, which I totally love because there is sooo much room! I have a shelf underneath the work area where I have storage bins full of different embellishments, paper, paints, etc. All of my SU! stuff is located within arms reach so that I can easily and quickly take care of business. It may be hard to tell from this picture but my workspace table is ten feet long!!! So, there is plenty of room for my inkpads, and such. This next shot shows all my SU! punches - Tony is building me a storage for these but right now this works just fine because I can easily see what each is and pull it out for use! Underneath is my storage containers for my glitters (all the new SU! yummy ones), snail refills, and my sponges. To the side you can see a stackable storage container, well, each drawer contains my different SU! adhesives, dimensionals, and such. Very handy! And, the brackets Tony chose have little storage areas so I was able to hang all my scissors, hand punches, and my crop-a-dile for easy reach as well! This next one shows my carousel for my brads as well as some ribbon. But, the main thing here is my paper storage for some (yep, I said some) of my non-SU! DP. I do a TON of scrapbooking and have so much paper that I don't want to part with it just because I am SU! demo. This storage unit is awesome and still has lots of room for more (oh, no!) This next pic is a quick view of how I store my stamp pads and

such so I can reach them easily while creating. And, above them is where I store my SU! DP and cardstock which I use ALOT and has easily become my favorite paper because it is such great quality.

And, of course, my room would not be complete without having a spot for my two little weiner dogs to keep my company. Aren't they so cute!!! So, now you have had a sneak peek at one corner of my room - I still have several things to show you but that will have to wait. Until then!

RETIRED STAMPIN UP SETS FOR SALE!

Happy Friday all! I wish I had something creative to share BUT I don't - only because I have been VERY busy getting my stamping room finished! It is coming along quite nicely and should have some sneak peeks to show you tomorrow!

Another thing I have been working on is cleaning out my stamps and getting them organized. I have way too many that I don't use so I have decided to list them for sale. If you are interested, the list is posted on the sidebar - just take a look and if you see something you like, email me. Make a reasonable offer too - I am pretty flexible!

Have a fabulous weekend!

*STAMPIN HUGS* Alex

WOW! TAGGED AGAIN!

Hi all! Seems like it is my day to be tagged. Ya know, I think it is important to acknowledge these tags because the way I see it, they thought enough of me to tag me! So, thanks to Cheryl over at Engineered Expressions for tagging me! If you have not been to her blog, get on over there - she has the most adorable little girl and she does amazing scrapbook pages to showcase her. So, here goes:
1. Name your two favorite scrapbooking topics.
My family and time spent with friends.
2. What are the two best places you’ve ever been to?
Italy(Kayla was born there) and London
3. Name two things you do every day.
Have coffee while browsing blogs and read for at least one hour (I love it!)
4. Name two things that pretty much everyone knows about you.
I am a Stampin Up! Demonstrator and I served the last 24 years in the Navy.
5. What are your two favorite stores?
Just two??!! Hmmm... I would have to say Target and any bookstore (scrapbooking stores are a given!)
6. What are your two favorite accessories to stamp/scrap with?
My paper piercer(looooove it!) and my punches, I cannot get enough of them!
7. What are your two favorite occasions to make cards for?
Christmas and Valentines Day
8. What time of day or night are you able to do the most stamping?
Mostly at night, although now that I am off during the day and the kids are in school, I am trying to fit it in there too!
9. What two things do a lot of people NOT know about me?
I was a Prince William Pirates (minor league baseball team for Pittsburgh) Calendar girl - mom and dad thought I was working as a cashier, LOL! It was a blast, nothing dirty, I promise! I LOVE to sing karaoke and do so whenever I get the chance.

Okay, stop laughing...I know you are! Now I need to tag 2 more people.....

Tracy of Tracy's Happy Place. She is an awesome blogger, always stops by and stays really sweet things, and I love her creations! So, go over and say hello!
Debbie of StudioBeeCreations. I love this woman! She always has something nice to say, and her blog is a joy to visit so if you haven't what are you waiting for??!!

HOW SWEET IS THAT??!!!

Dawn from Daily Scrappin Inspiration and Laura from The Stampin' Soldier nominated me for the You Make Me Smile Award which I think is totally awesome and made ME smile! Dawn and Laura both have an awesome blog, are truly talented stampers and scrappers, so go check out them out! Meanwhile, right back at ya gals - thanks for being such regular visitors to my blog and posting such sweet comments! Now, I am supposed to nominate ten people who make me smile through bloggin - whew! that is hard because there are sooo many of you wonderful blogging gal pals out there! So, I am taking the easy way out - if you visit my blog on a regular basis, consider yourself tagged and know that I appreciate each and every one of you that comes by and leaves me a comment - it truly does mean a lot to me!

MY BABY IS ELEVEN TODAY!!!

Well, my daughter turns eleven today and I am not sure how I feel about that! She is growing up to be a wonderful girl BUT I miss her baby stages - she IS my youngest and my last baby so I don't want her to grow up too too fast! We made cookies for her class last night and today I will be making her a special pink cake (her favorite color). She is too funny - when we asked her what she wanted for her birthday dinner, she asked for steak and twice baked potatoes! The girl knows what she wants! On Saturday, she is having a couple of her little friends over for a sleepover and they want to have an ice cream sundae party. She is very excited! So, I am off to make her cake and will try and post something later! Toodles!

I'M BAAAAACCCCCCKKKKK!!!!!!

Okay, first off let me just say - OMG!!!!!!!!!! If you have never been to Leadership, then you are SOOOOO missing out!! I had THE best time and the classes and demos were just absolutely fabulous! I met some truly amazing people there and had a blast with the gals I roomed with! Palm Springs is just beautiful and the weather was wonderful. We stayed at the Hilton and the rooms were great; just look at this picture of the view from our balcony! It was also just a very short walk to and from the convention center which was a bonus. Lunch was a sit-down affair both days and the food was yummy! So, if you are not diggin' the box lunches at Convention, make it a goal to get to Leadership baby! I can tell you right now, I will NEVER miss one! So, you ask, with all the fun and excitement of leadership, did I have time to stamp? Of course I did! I did make some swaps which I have to say, I really enjoyed. I received some wonderful card samples which I plan on using in the near future for some great project ideas! Also, I got a copy of the new occasions mini and again, all I can say is OMG!!!! The cute stuff never ends!!! So, anyway, here is a picture of me and my upline and good friend Kimberly! She is probably one of the most fantastic people I have ever met and I loved being able to spend some time with her! We laughed so much and just had a great time! Love ya girl!! She is also a mover and a shaker in the SU! world and I am in awe of her talent. She truly does rock!!! Okay, nuff said! (she did not pay me, I swear!!) So, last but not least is a pic of one of my swaps. I will apologize in advance for the quality of the picture since I took it in the hotel room and the lighting was not wonderful in there. But, here it is! Very simple, but went over very well.

I used the Rose Red Prints DP and the Level Three Hostess set Shelly sent to all demos (love that woman, who by the way, looked and sounded wonderful!!) I will post the card deets and then I am off to bed since I am seriously sleep deprived after the long weekend at Leadership - but worth every minute of it!!!

Stampin Supplies:

Paper - Rose Red Prints DP, Whisper White, Basic Black

Stamps - Time Well Spent (hostess level three set)

Accessories - Very vanilla ribbon, black brad, three for you punch, white gel pen, black stazon