GETTING BACK TO NORMAL

Hi all!!! I wanted to take the time out to tell all of you who have called, emailed, sent cards etc. that I TRULY appreciate you all as does my family - it is so heartwarming to know how many really care!! Thanks from the bottom of my heart <3.  Things are slowly getting back to normal around here - I actually am cleaning my stamp room today from the mess I left it in last week after my workshops and classes - I never do this, but well, it was NOT a normal week! So, I am hopeful that once it is clean (was going to do this yesterday but watched movies all day with my husband instead) I will feel like doing some stamping :-) I have two events this weekend to prep for, and I need to make some things for my daughter's bathroom walls since we just painted it and bought new stuff for it.  She now wants some nice pretties on the wall and THAT I can do *wink*

  I thought I would share a cute workshop project I made for one of my events last week - it is a corner bookmark and just sooo fun to make and looks pretty too! I have to make some "cool" looking ones for my daughter and her best friend because they both want one, lol!  I made this one using the Timeless Portrait Designer Series paper along with the Elements of Style stamp set, one of my very favorites from the catalog! I paired the DSP with Cherry Cobbler and Marina Mist - love this combo!! We punched along the bottom using the Scallop Trim border punch, and then added some pretty Victoria Lace ribbon as well! the back of the bookmark has a pocket built into it that allows it to slide right over the pages of the book or magazine you are reading to save your place for those moments you get interrupted, lol!

Here is a picture of the bookmark holding my place in the Summer Mini (which goes away at the end of this month), just to give you an idea of how it works!  I think it is so cute and fun, what a great way to pretty up something practical! For my demonstration project and hostess gift, I decided to make a card that went along with the bookmark, so that if anyone wanted to give a bookmark as a gift, they had a cool way to present the gift and a card all in one! I used the same color combination for the card, adding in the Basic Black card stock for the base of the card and the bookmark placeholder. I also used a different stamp set for the sentiment.  It is called Precious Butterflies, and it my absolute favorite hostess stamp set - you can only purchase this one if you host a workshop and believe me, it is soooo worth it! Just a beautiful set chock full of gorgeous butterfly images!!! Check it out - so stinkin' pretty!!!! I used some of the new yummy Cherry Cobbler scalloped polka dot ribbon - oh my!!! Love this ribbon, and it comes in eight fabulous colors (and yes, I have them all, heehee!)  What is so fun about this card is the middle triangle piece - see how it is shaped like the bookmark and popped off the page a bit? Well, that is so you can slide the bookmark right over it and give the card to someone with the bookmark included! Clever, right?! 

So, let me share a picture of the card with the bookmark attached.  See how pretty it all looks when you put it together? I think there are lots of people out there who would appreciate this little gift - I know I have given them out, and never had anything but smiles from them, lol! My workshop gals loved it, and the hostess was thrilled that she got to keep the card with her bookmark although she DID tell me that she was NOT giving hers away, LOL!  All of these items that you see here can be purchased in my online store or by placing an order with me! You can contact me and I will be happy to place your order and answer any questions you might have.  Also, if you would like to book a workshop where I come over and stamp with you and your friends, I would love to do that as well!!! It is always fun to get together with friends and make pretty things :-) I love it!! Now, I am off to finish putting my stamp room back together, finishing up the laundry, and then I have to pick up the kiddos from school - no rest for the wicked, right??! Have a fabulous day and I will be back tomorrow with something fun I made in one of my other events! Until then, I hope you have time to create - go stamp something!!!

Card/Bookmark Recipe:

Paper - Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist, Very Vanilla card stock, Timeless Portrait Designer Series paper

Inks- Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist classic stampin' pads

Stamps - Precious Butterflies, Elements of Style

Tools - Scallop Trim Border punch, 1 3/8 and 1 1/4 inch circle punches, 1 3/4 inch Scallop Circle punch, Large Oval punch

Accessories - Victoria Lace ribbon, Cherry Cobbler Scalloped Polka Dot ribbon, Basic Pearl

VERY SCARY WEEK FULL OF EMOTION

Good morning!  I realize it has been over a week since I posted last, but it was an extremely stressful and emotional week in our house.  First, my son had oral surgery to have his wisdom teeth taken out. He had a really bad reaction to the anesthesia, and had a seizure, and lost consciousness. Well, naturally I freaked out because I was with him when it happened.  I immediately called the doctor, got Tyler on the couch with the help of my daughter, and got him conscious again.  Then, he started to lose consciousness again and so I put a cool, wet towel on his head and this seemed to really help. I had the doctor on the phone with me for about 30 minutes as we talked with Tyler to ensure he really was okay, or if he needed to go to the emergency room.  Once I got some water into him, kept the cool towel on his head, he was fine, but WOW! very scary moments for mom and sister, who was with me, and thankfully was helping me with him.  I stayed up with him over night , waking him every hour to change his bandages in his mouth (not fun at all!) and then every four hours to give him his medicine to keep the pain down.  Needless to say, I was exhausted by the next morning, only catching a few hours of sleep in between taking care of Tyler.  At about 7:30am the next morning, I head my husband yell my name out in a panic.  After seeing him, I rushed him to the emergency room where he was admitted - for the next three days, it was test after test for him as we realized a very serious thing had happened.  Out of respect for him, I will not discuss this in detail, but it was a very real and frightening experience for all of us, including his parents and siblings who came to the hospital to see him.  I think I aged ten years this past week.  Tony is my best friend, and the love of my life - I cannot imagine life without him.  I am sooo thankful he is home now, with no lasting effects of what happened.  We have had to make some changes here in the Hobson family, but nothing we can't handle.  Thankfully, things seem pretty much back to normal for all of us as the kids started school this morning, and Tony went in for a quick doctor's appt before he too will head back for work on Wednesday.  As you probably realize, I have not been doing any creating this past ten days or so, but I plan on changing that today.  I need to go to my happy place for a little while today - it really does make a difference for me! So, I will have something creative and fun to share tomorrow, but I wanted to let you all know that we are doing much better! For those of you who have been calling, and have helped out this last week, I cannot tell you how much it has meant - my love and hugs go out to all of you!!! I hope you all have a wonderful day, and remember to hug your loved ones and let them know how much you love them!  Be back tomorrow!

PRETTY FLOWERS MAKE ME SMILE

Good morning all!! WOW! We are having a gorgeous day today here - lots of sunshine and a nice, soft breeze - days like this make me happy :-)  I will be in the craft room most of the day though as I have two classes, two workshops, and club this weekend, lol! Nothing like getting it all in on one weekend! But, with us leaving here in the next week I had to fit it all in so I will be nice and busy - just the way I like it *wink* I wanted to share a card today that I made using our new stamp set called Fabulous Florets.  It is so very pretty and I just love the sentiment! I wanted to make a pretty spring/summer card because I am soooo ready for them, lol! I decided a Peach Parfait base would get me on the right track......was I right??  I love this color, so yummy! I embossed it using the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder - loooove it! The images are stamped in Pear Pizazz and Marina Mist, and I added some Basic Black cardstock in there to give it some pop! The ribbon is the oh so fun Pear Pizazz twill ribbon.  The sentiment is awesome, isn't it? I just love this saying, it just makes me happy! Again, I added a small pop of black with the brads.  I love how this card turned out - simple but happy, right??!  That's what I am all about lately :-)  If you like what you see here and would like to have some of these products to be in YOUR crafty space, you can shop online with me or contact me and place an order that way! I know that I am lovin' everything in this new summer mini - I don't know how they do it, each one that comes out is better than the last, and I just have loved them all! Soooo, I am off to run a few errands and then back to the crafting table for me, lol! I have TONS of cardstock to cut, and one more design layout to do for my scrappy gals coming over this weekend! I just love my life :-) Take care, have a wonderful day, and happy stampin'!!!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Pear Pizazz, Peach Parfait, Basic Black cardstock
Inks - Marina Mist, Pear Pizazz classic inks
Stamps - Fabulous Florets
Tools - Ticket Corner Punch, Big Shot, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder
Accessories - Pear Pizazz twill ribbon, black brads

SUMMER VINTAGE MINI BOOK - JUST A TEASER :-)

Good morning to all of you! It is HOT HOT HOT again here and I am wishing for a little bit of a breeze - just a little one, lol!  I was standing outside with the dogs this morning and already the sun was merciless -thinking I will be staying inside or in the pool today :-)  I have lots to do as I get ready for a stamping marathon weekend! I am teaching a mini book class tomorrow night so I thought I would give you a teaser by sharing just the cover of the book with you today (once I have taught the class, I can share the inside pages).  I love our new patterned papers in the new catalog - they are right up my alley! For this book, I am using the Beau Chateau designer series paper and it is soooooo beautiful! The soft colors and vintage patterns lend itself VERY well for this project, not to mention I just find it very YUMMY :-)  This is a 6x6 mini book, chock full of fun inserts and stamping techniques! For the cover of this, I used the Notably Ornate stamp set, which I love because it is so versatile, leaves lots of space for journaling, and well, is just darn pretty! There is lots of ribbons and embellies as you can see and the fringed flower is a new technique I am going to share with my customers.  And, hold on to your panties, ladies, BUT I am going to do a video tutorial on this as well!! Yep, so many of you have been asking so I am taking the plunge  - you should see this next week sometime (can't promise when) so watch for it!  I am not going to give you all the details of this fun mini as of yet - remember, this is just a teaser *wink* but I WILL share after the class has been taught so if you have questions, hold off as I am sure I will answer most of them once I post it all.  Now, I am off to finish kitting this lovely project and then into town I go to drop off the kid's paperwork at the high school.  Two more weeks until school starts - they might not be ready, but I sure am, lol!! Have a wonderful day and I will be back with something fun tomorrow! Until then, I hope you have time to STAMP SOMETHING!!!!
Mini Cover Recipe:
Paper - Blushing Bride, Marina Mist, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede card stock, Beau Chateau designer series paper
Inks - Soft Suede, Marina Mist classic inks
Stamps - Notably Ornate, Elements of Style (sentiment)
Tools - Cropadile, Eyelet Border Punch, Circle punches (all sizes), Ticket Corner Punch
Accessories - Early Espresso narrow ribbon, Very Vanilla narrow ribbon, Very Vanilla Satin ribbon, Soft Suede taffeta ribbon, Vintage brads, Beveled Windowpanes, Victoria lace ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, mini clips

A SNEAKY PEEK OF THINGS TO COME!

Happy Hump Day!! WOW! This week is flying by - I have been soooo busy getting ready for my weekend that is chock full of stamping events - my kind of weekend *wink*  I love when I have fun events to look forward to because it means stamping with friends, lots of laughter, and of course seeing people I don't always get to see! So, since I can't show you those projects quite yet, I thought I would give you a sneak peek of some of the fun things to come next month with the new Holiday Mini! Yep, it is that time of year again, lol! The new mini will be available for all of you to order from starting September 1st BUT one of the perks of being a demonstrator is that I get to order a full month earlier and play :-) Cool, right??  So, while most of us are still seeing triple digits with the heat, I thought I would make a snowy card and cool things down a bit! I used the new Christmas Lodge stamp set - isn't it pretty??!!  I paired it with the Frostwood Lodge Designer Series paper and some Cherry Cobbler card stock - YUM!!! And, see that ribbon in the background? That is our new Early Espresso Quilted Ribbon which is amazing and already on my next order, lol!! I really wanted to created a winter wonderland feel to this card, but did not want to use all of my new Dazzling Details glitter glue (yep, you heard me right!) so I used a small piece of the new Silver Glimmer paper, distressing one edge to look like rough mounds of snowy goodness! I did use the Dazzling Details for the roof porch, and window sills of the house - doesn't all that glitter make you happy??!! I love snow like this - I don't have to shovel it, drive in it, or take the dogs out in it, lol!

Here is a close-up of the house - I just love how this looks!! I stamped the whole image in Early Espresso ink, but then went back in with my Always Artichoke stampin' write marker and added some green to the trees.  Then, I took my white gel pen and added some of that to the trees too! I love the contrast against the house :-) This was going to be a swap card, but I changed my mind so that is why I can share this one with you. *wink* I am going to be playing with this set again today to figure out what I am going to do for the swap - tough job, but somebody has to do it, lol!!! All of these products that I have featured here today will be available for you to order on September 1st and if you are already on my mailing list and have ordered in the last six months, you will be receiving a FREE Holiday Mini in the mail in the next couple of weeks!! If you don't receive one, but would like to have a hard copy of this mini, contact me and I will be happy to send one out to you!  So, now I am off to get my stamp on and then go to my friend's jewelry party tonight - who doesn't like jewelry??!! Have a wonderful day, and I really hope you get the chance to STAMP SOMETHING!!!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White card stock, Frostwood Lodge Designer Series paper
Inks - Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Always Artichoke classic inks and stampin' write markers, white gel pen
Stamps - Christmas Lodge
Accessories - Silver Glimmer paper, Early Espresso quilted ribbon, mini silver brads, Dazzling Details glitter glue

A NICE MASCULINE CARD

Good morning stampers!! I hope your week is going well - it is BUSY around the Hobson house, lol!! Getting ready for two workshops, two classes, and a downline meeting AND getting the kiddos ready to go back to school, lol!! But, busy is good, it keeps me out of trouble, heehee!!! So, I wanted to share another swap card I made. This one uses a set I HAD to have right away called Zoo Review - I have been WAITING and WAITING for a good zoo set because I have TONS of pics that need scrapping that are from the zoo and the wild animal park!! I snatched this one up the minute I could order, lol!!! This is the first time I have inked it up but I have lots of plans for it in the future *wink*  I wanted to make a masculine birthday card - guy cards are hard for me it seems so I need the practice, lol! The base of the card is Early Espresso with the next layer being River Rock card stock that is embossed on my Big Shot using the new embossing folder called Houndstooth - yummy.  Then, more card stock layers of Early Espresso and Cajun Craze to give some dimension and depth to the image piece.   I chose the giraffe, which I stamped on Naturals White card stock and then stamped again on patterned paper from the Well Worn designer series paper collection. LOVE it!!! I cut the image out and paper pieced myself a giraffe that looks really like a giraffe should look :-)  Cool, right?? Perfect paper for this!! The ribbon is also new and is Artichoke Denim Jean ribbon - AMAZING ribbon that I NEED more of because I can't stop using it, lol!!! I added one of the new mini silver brads (and I thought I would never use these, heehee) and the sentiment, and the card is done! Pretty simple but most masculine cards are! I DO like the way it turned out, and now I have the perfect birthday card for my nephew:-)  If you like these products used here, and would like them to be in YOUR stamp room, you can order them in my online store or you can contact me and I will be happy to help you place your order! OR, you can earn them for FREE (yes, I said FREE) by hosting a workshop where I get to come and stamp with you and your friends - I would love that!!!  So, now I am off to the ortho about my knee, but then back to my stamp room I come to work on my upcoming events - have I told you how much I love my job??!!!  I will be back tomorrow with a sneak peek project from the upcoming mini....you DON'T want to miss it *wink*
Card Recipe:
Paper - Early Espresso, River Rock, Cajun Craze, Naturals Ivory card stock, Well Worn Designer Series Paper
Ink - Early Espresso, Cajun Craze classic inks
Stamps - Zoo Review
Tools - Big Shot, Houndstooth embossing folder, 1 inch, 1 1/4 inch, 1 3/8 inch circle punches, Ticket Corner Punch, Sponge
Accessories Always Artichoke Denim Jean ribbon, mini silver brads

A LITTLE BIT O' VINTAGE

Good Monday morning all!! Well, I guess it is....is there such a thing as a "Good Monday morning"?? LOL - well, I hope your week is going well so far anyway *wink* I had a pretty quiet weekend, nothing earth shaking going on.  Kayla and I repainted her bathroom (with help from her very tall brother, lol) and I stamped a lot to get ready for some classes I have coming up! Like tonight - my Advent in August Christmas Card Stamp a Stack :-)  I also did some stamping for some swaps I am in, and I wanted to share one of my swap cards today.  This one is made using the Forever Young stamp set, which I love because it screams vintage to me, and I seem to be drawn to that style more and more!  I just love the silhouette images in this set, they make me think of fun summers, being a child, and not having a care in the world - too bad we don't find that out until we are adults, right??!  So, the base of this card is Cherry Cobbler, which I then layered with some uber pretty paper from the Timeless Portrait Designer Series collection.  I don't know if you can tell in the picture but I actually embossed the DSP with the Finial Press embossing folder and my Big Shot - looks awesome! (If you click on the photo it should let you get a closer look).  I then stamped my image in Versamark on Newsprint Designer Series paper, covered it in black embossing powder, and heat set it using my heat gun.  I tore the edges of my DSP, then sponged them using Cherry Cobbler ink - yummy!! The ribbon along the bottom is actually another pattern from the Timeless Portrait paper collection that I punched out using the Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch, and then I ran it through my Crimper, which gave it those cool folds! The sentiment piece is done also using the Forever Young stamp set, and I added some Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon, one of our new silver mini brads, and a pearl.  I really like the way it turned out, and I hope my swap group does too - hey, I might not know any of them, but my name IS on it, lol!!!  If YOU like what you see here, and want to order any of the products I used, you can place an order in my online store or contact me and I will be happy to place your order for you! OR, you can earn these products FREE by hosting a workshop with ME :-)  I would love to come and stamp with you and your friends!!  Now, I am off to Physical Therapy and then back home to prep for my card class later on tonight - whoohoooo, stamping with my friends, what could be better??!!! I hope you all have a fabulous day - I will be back tomorrow with another swap card I did, but until then, take some time to STAMP SOMETHING!!!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Baha Breeze card stock, Timeless Portrait Designer Series Paper
Inks - Versamark, Cherry Cobbler classic ink
Stamps - Forever Young
Tools - Big Shot, Finial Press embossing folder, Black embossing powder, heat gun, Dotted Scallop ribbon border punch, Curly Label punch, large oval punch, Crimper
Accessories - Basic Pearls, Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon, silver mini brads