I LOVES ME SOME COFFEE :-)

Good morning all!!! I hope you are having as good a week as I am - I am spending some wonderful quality time with my oldest son and my other two kids playing mini golf, swimming, going out to lunch, shopping, watching movies, playing games, I tell ya, it has been HEAVEN!!! :-)  I swear, when all three of my kids are back at home, I feel so at peace, like my world is back in balance again.  I know, I sound crazy, but hey, it's true for me!  And, I have even had some time to stamp for fun for ME which is always a good thing, lol!! I decided to try out some of the challenges that I have been seeing but never participated in until now.  This card is for the Stampin 411 challenge from last week which was a great sketch! I used my new stamp set called Morning Cup - this set totally speaks to me, I LOVE LOVE LOVE my coffee!!!  I did flip the sketch because it fit better with how I wanted to stamp my images, and I moved the sentiment, but I think you can still see the sketch in my card.....and hey, sketches are supposed to be a place to start, right??! *wink*  I used my Early Espresso as my base because well, this card IS about coffee, lol!! I paired it with the yummy Elegant Soiree' designer paper, I just love the right browns in this and it goes soooo well with my Espresso.  I stamped my images in Basic Gray and then added some Real Red highlights to give it some pop.....and then decided to go big and use the Real Red Taffeta ribbon as well, heehee! After stamping the images I embossed the whole piece of card stock using Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder and I really like the effect! I also just had to add one of the cute little mini tags and stamped the teabag on it before tying it to the ribbon - isn't it just sooo cute??!!!  This was a fun card to make, I really enjoyed the sketch and just playing with some of my new toys! If you are interested in any of these products they can all be found in my online store or you can email me!  All the item numbers are listed below!  Now, I am off to get the kiddos and run some quick errands and then do some fun shopping for school - they just LOVE to spend my money, LOL!! Thanks so much for stopping by, have a wonderful day!!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Early Espresso(119686), Crumb Cake(120953), Very Vanilla(101650) card stock, Elegant Soiree' Designer Series Paper(117163)
Inks - Basic Gray(109120), Real Red(103133), Early Espresso(119670) classic stampin' pads, Real Red Stampin' Write Marker(100052)
Stamps - Morning Cup(120489 - clear stamps)
Accessories - Scallop Trim Corner Punch(118402), Modern Label Punch(119849), Corner Rounder Punch(119871), Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder(117335), Real Red Taffeta Ribbon(119763), Mini Vintage Tags(118763), Brights Brads - Real Red(119740)

GETTIN' MY SCRAP ON!

Happy hump day all!! WOW! This week is flying by and I know it's because I am spending time with my oldest son Zach who is home for a couple of weeks before he begins his last year at the Naval Academy at the end of the month! I can't believe how grown he is! Ya know, lately things have been rough for me in the in-law department, and my son gave ME the talk last night that we as moms usually give to our kids when things are getting rough.  So, when I asked him how he got so smart, he said, "because you raised me mom". Talk about making a mother cry!!! I surely do love that boy!!!!  So, in keeping with my motherly love and feelings, I thought In would share my scrap page that I made of this past Mother's Day with my two kids still at home.  I used one of our new Simply Scrappin' kits called Love Birds(item 118707, pg. 178)- even though it is PERFECT for that special someone you are in love with, I think it can be used for any type of love so I used it here and I am very pleased with how this page turned out!  I love how easy this page came together because everything in the kit already coordinates so I was able to pull it together pretty quickly!  I am also thrilled that I can make so many pages out of one kit because I plan on adding some more from Mother's Day and I love that all my pages will coordinate so nicely together! What can I say? This page makes me HAPPY :-)  I love the colors, I love the theme, and I love that I can showcase this fun day so beautifully!  If you are interested in this kit, or any of the others we have available, you can order online on my website.  I love my SS kits so you will be seeing lots more where this one came from, lol!!! Thanks so much for stoppin' by, I am so glad you did! Now, I am off to blurf and then spend some time in the pool with my kiddos - great day!!!

MONDAY SKETCH CHALLENGE AT STAMPIN CONNECTION!

Hi All!!! WOW! What a busy weekend it was - I taught class Friday night, had my Open House on Saturday, and my son came home from college yesterday - WHOOHOOOO!!! Needless to say, I did not have much time for stamping (except for what was needed) but I did manage to get the sketch challenge done for this week and I am glad I did because my team-mate Liz did a fabulous sketch!! With all the Halloween and Christmas stuff coming out lately and with all the fun demonstrations at Convention, I have been in the mood for stamping Halloween so that is what I did for the sketch!  I used the set called Wicked Cool - and yes, I bought it for the shoes, LOL!!! It is such a fun set, there is so many ideas I have spinning in my head to do with these cute stamps!  I also used the Sweet and Sour Specialty paper, I just love those polka dots and they are great Halloween colors!  And, I could not resist stamping the sentiment and punching it out with the new Bat Punch!  Sooooo cute!!!  If you are interested in purchasing any of these items, please check out my online store, they are located in the main catalog!  This is a pretty simple card, but I am happy with it - although my daughter came in, saw it, and says, "well, it's not your best card, but I like it"....hmmmmm....so, how does a mom take that, LOL!???  I hope YOU like it anyway! Thanks for stopping by to see me today, please leave a comment so I know you were here.  I am so happy, I actually have time to blurf today, something I have been looking forward to :-)  I WILL be back tomorrow with my class project from last Friday night, it is one I am especially proud of and I can't wait to show you! Until then, happy stampin'!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla card stock, Sweet and Sour Specialty Designer Series Paper
Inks - Black Stazon, Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black stampin' write markers
Stamps - Wicked Cool
Accessories - Bat Punch, Square Lattice embossing folder, Scalloped border punch, black grosgrain ribbon, stampin' dimensionals

FINALLY! SOMETHING CRAFTY TO SHARE :-)

Hi all!!! I thought I should share something crafty today before everyone stops visiting me, lol!!! I thought I would share one of my swaps and then the invite I made for our Housewarming now that the house is almost done!! YAY!! I will be sooooo happy when there are no construction workers outside my bedroom window at the crack of dawn - I wake up to hammering and sawing every morning at 6am, uggghhh......don't they know I stamp until 1am, lol!!!  So anyway, this first card is one of the three swaps I made for Convention - I thought I had kept one of each but this is the only one I have so I cannot even share the other two with you!  I hate when I forget to take pictures *sigh*  This card uses the Out West set and something about this set spoke to me so I had to have it! I decided I wanted to make a retirement card and play around with it a little and this is what I came up with :-)  I was quite surprised, this turned out to be a favorite at Convention which made me grin!  I used Espresso for the base and embossed it with the Big Shot and then added some of the Elegant Soiree' Designer Series Paper.  I spritzed the main image with my marker spritzer and then popped up the hat and made a lasso out of twine. I thought it was a fun card, and I was happy that I made a male swap card as they were few and far between at Convention it seemed.  Here is the recipe for this one:
Card Recipe:
Paper - Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Naturals Ivory card stock, Elegant Soiree' Designer Series Paper
Inks - Early Espresso, Going Gray classic stampin' pads
Stamps - Out West, Teeny Tiny Wishes (sentiment)
Accessories - Twine, Color Spritzer, Scalloped Edge border punch, Modern Label punch, Square Lattice Big shot embossing folder

This next card is the invitation that I made for my friends and family for my upcoming Housewarming party. Although we have lived in our house more than three years, it was not until about six months ago that we settled the law suit with the builder and were able to finish the house and yard.  So, now that we are almost done, we are going to celebrate by having a big barbeque around the pool!  Don't shoot me - this card DOES use a ton of retired product BUT my family and friends don't care and it gave me one last chance to use some of my favorites that have now gone away.  I will not list the recipe for this one, but the stamp set is current and will be available in the Summer Mini catalog until the end of August. It is called King of the Grill and I love it - such a fun image to color and the chef makes me giggle! Also, the Eyelet Border Punch and the Corner Rounder Punch were both used on this card and are also still available.  They can be found in the main catalog.  All catalogs are linked on the right side of my blog so if you want to take a peek, they are there to do so! 

Here is a quick shot of what the pullout looks like - it lists all the details for the upcoming event! I love this style because it mails flat and they don't cost a ton of money to mail, LOL!  So, today is another busy day of prepping for class tomorrow night and my Open House on Saturday, but first I have to take my son to physical therapy and then off to the DMV to get his permit - ack!! Why do they grow up so fast??!!  I am really hoping to take some time this afternoon and do some blurfing as I am woefully behind and just know I am missing out on some fabulous things!!! Thanks so much for stopping by, please leave me a comment to let me know that you did!!! I will be back tomorrow with some sneak peeks of projects for my Open House  so 'till then, Happy Stampin'!

SOME FUN THINGS TO SHARE

Hi all!! WOW! I am posting this really late BUT my little girl woke up with a really bad ear ache and turns out she has a bad infection in both ears - ack!!! So, off to the pharmacy we went to get her some antibiotics and something for the pain.  Hopefully she will feel better by tomorrow once everything starts kicking in, but right now she is pretty miserable :-(  So, I thought I would share some more Convention pics today and this first one is me at the Breakfast with Shelli! Yep, I earned this special morning with Shelli for recruiting to my downline during Recruit Crew and it was a really nice little perk of Convention!  The tables were done up beautifully and there were lots of yummy goodies! During Recruit Crew, I got to "meet" some great demos online and two in particular I really connected with.  Both ladies are from Canada - Jodi and Anne! Well, Jodi and I had decided to have breakfast together but I was worried that we would not be able to find each other - well, I did not need to worry at all! Jodi make these super cute signs for both Anne and me and found us both, LOL!

 Here is a picture of all together with the wonderful gifts from Jodi - they are both sweethearts and meeting them in person was definitely a highlight of Convention for me! I loved having breakfast with them and we had a great time when we went and sat in the VIP seats for General Session - that was another really nice perk of being in this group *wink*  I am hoping to see both of these fun gals at Leadership this January in Nashville, although I know it is really far for them to have to come from Canada!

 This next pic is one Jodi took of me standing under the Convention theme sign - I totally love the theme this year because I think it really embodies what we are all about! Sharing our love of creativity through stamping with others who will become friends - how great is that?!!!!  I think that is what I love best about being a demonstrator - how many wonderful friends like Jodi and Anne I have had the chance to meet! It is definitely a fabulous part of doing what I love! And, even if you are not a demonstrator, I totally know you know what I mean because we ALL meet wonderful people in this crazy place called Blog Land and, even though we may have never met in person, we know that we are friends and will have that instant connection when we DO meet :-)  Which is why I LOVE LOVE LOVE to stamp!!!  I wanted to share one last picture with you today of another fabulous and fun demonstrator I got to meet during Convention! His name is Mike, and he is sooooo much fun to be around and mad talented to boot! Mike was also at the breakfast and I got to know him while we were waiting to go in and he had me laughing in no time! He is a very happy person and he really makes others feel that same happiness with his fun personality!

He also loves to dance and I caught him at it right before General Session getting his groove on, lol!! He is such a good sport he kept right on dancing even as I was snapping away!  And, he has a fun blog too if you want to check it out. His blog address is http://stampin-style.typepad.com/ so drop on by and show him some love and tell him I sent ya *wink*  So, another fun day from Convention - I already miss seeing everyone and the energy and excitement you feel in a room full of thousands of demonstrators! I am already thinking about Leadership, LOL!!  I hope you enjoyed my pictures of Convention and tomorrow I will share the swaps that I did while I was there along with some fun pics of Candice and I on our last night in SLC.  Till then, thanks sooo much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

BACK FROM CONVENTION!

Hi all!! I am back from Convention and I have TONS to share with you!  I am catching up on household stuff, business stuff, and well, family stuff BUT I will be back with a really FUN post tomorrow that shows some fabulous projects and some fun pictures of the last week of events!! Till then I am leaving you with a picture of Candice and I at our VIP lunch! Yep, we were randomly chosen to participate in a VIP lunch with the rest of the gals you see at the table, such fun!  Thanks for stopping by and Happy Stampin'!

FIRST DAY OF CONVENTION - FLOWER POWER BABY!

Hello all!! Whew! What a long day it has been - but is has been AMAZING and FUN!!! Candice and I started our day pretty darn early, getting over to do some shopping at Momento Mall, attend a special class, and then head over to Riverton Campus for the tour of the facilities over there! And then tonight we had the flower power party and WOW! we saw some fun outfits!  I have some fun pictures to share to show you about our day! This first pic is Candice and I at the Riverton building - the flags in the background are the colors for Convention this year and are bright, fun, and make me smile! The facility was as gorgeous as ever, with all the displays in the legacy room redone with all the new products from this year.  We were in awe of all the amazing things that were in that room created out of our wonderful products!! Here are a few of the things we saw:

Isn't this gorgeous??!! I was amazed - everything in this display is made of paper, but looks sooooo edible, just yummy LOL!!  Gorgesous renditions of cakes, cookies, lollipops, cupcakes, etc. - just absolutely eye catching!

This second pic is a desk I want in my home - as long as it has everything you see here already ready to use, lol! Isn't it fun and inspiring? I just love the use of the Decor Elements on the door, the fun calendar on the cork board, and of course the flower paper clips :-)  I wanted to sit down right then and there and start to stamp but Candice would not let me, heehee!

This next picture was located in the vintage room and is just beautiful! All of the items were antiques and were accented with all handmade items made from our beautiful vintage items in the new catalog - I just loved this room!  I could have stayed at Riverton all day - there was so much to look at and see, and we got to talk to quite a few of the staff there who were as wonderfully warm and friendly in person as they are when we talk to them on the phone! I tell ya, next to being a demonstrator, these folks have the best job in the world - I am wondering how the commute to Utah would be, LOL!  So, after doing the tour, it was time for all us gals to get ready for the Flower Power party over at the Convention Center.  We met up with my stamping group once we got over there and of course had to take some groovy pictures!

Candice and I even got on taken on the way over - hey, we did not care who was looking at us funny, we were having a wonderful time *wink*

 Once we got there, we met up with my friends from my group - here is a picture of me, Kimberly (my upline) and Christy (my sideline) in our Flower Power gear, lol! These two women are such a hoot and I have really missed them. With all of us being military, we have moved several times so none of us are in the same location any longer.  So, Convention and Leadership are the times we are all able to get together and have some fun!  Kimberly is the one in the black wig and Christy has the long locks :-) 

Candice and I also had the opportunity to have our picture taken with Shelli Gardner (CEO and founder of SU!) who was there and dressed in her grooviest threads - that is one thing I love about her, she is always participating and mingling with all of us,stopping to chat and visit!  Tonight she made my night because the first thing she said to me was "oh, I love your necklace, it's just beautiful" and it was one I made with our fabulous Simply Adorned jewelry (I will post pics, my camera battery is charging as I type this, heeeheee).  Here is mine taken with Shelli! She was being such a good sport, having to take pics over and over again with all of us, but she kept on smilin' and was giving us the peace sign, lol!  We had a great day today and tomorrow will be another fun-filled, but very busy day as we will be taking lots of classes tomorrow and seeing some of the fabulous staff demonstrate product uses - such fun, I cannot wait!!

So, I will leave you with one last picture of yours truly having fun at the Flower Power party and then I will say goodnight until tomorrow night when I pop in to update you with some more Convention news :-)  Thanks so much for stopping by and please let me know what you think so far - you just know you all want to come with me next year, right?  Have a good night!