IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK..

a lot like Christmas!!! WHEW! I spent 16 hours Christmas shopping yesterday with a friend and I have to say it was a wonderful day!! I am still smilin' from all the fun we had!! And, I was able to put a dent in my Christmas list - a small one, but hey, that just means I need to do another day!!  Great fun, I just love this time of year!!!  So, in keeping with my mood, I am sharing another Christmas card with you all today - loved all the bling I was playing with from yesterday and so I made another card with  more bling :-)  I love this Cardinal stamp - it is one of the prettiest stamps I have, I just think it is very elegant! The set is called Cardinal Christmas, isn't that bird fabulous??!!!  I enjoy coloring him in with my stampin' write markers, he is just so fun to color! I used traditional colors on this one - reds and greens all th way but with a splash of gray that I love! I kept the card simple because I wanted the focuse on the image - I stamped him in Black Stazon, colored him in with Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, and Early Espresso stampin' write markers, and then ran the whole piece of Whisper White card stock through my Big Shot using the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder - love it!! The sentiment is stamped on Old Olive card stock and is punched out using the Fancy Label punch.  I then added some of the fine red glitter using my two-way glue pen under the words and also on the berries on the branches! I have to say, this was a fun card to make - I love getting all glittery, LOL!  I am leaving the recipe of everything I used below so if there is something here that catches your eye and you HAVE to have it, you can order it in my online store!  Have questions??  Feel free to email me and I will get back to you with an answer :-)  Today I am working on some more cards for my workshop on Saturday and then my Stamp-a-Stack on Sunday so lots of stamping fun for me today!! I hope you are all having as wonderful a week as I am!! I will be back tomorrow with more to share- until then, Happy Stampin'!!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Old Olive, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White card stock, Holly Jolly designer series paper pack
Inks - Black Stazon, Early Espresso classic inks, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Early Espresso stampin' write markers
Stamps - A Cardinal Christmas
Accessories - Going Gray taffeta ribbon
Tools - Scallop Edge punch, Extra Large Fancy Label punch, Corner Rounder punch, Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder

BLING MAKES ME SING!!

Hi All!! WOW! We had a wonderful time on our vacation in Mendocino - the ocean was beautiful but it sure was COLD there, LOL!! We had great fun hiking and climbing all over the cliffs and exploring the tide pools - the kids had a BLAST! We stayed in a wonderful, cozy little home overlooking the water, the view was amazing! We explored all kinds of different beach areas, and our little Bella (mini weiner dog) got her first taste of the beach and she seemed to really love all the new smells, LOL! As soon as I am done organizing my pics (over 1000!) I will post a few for you all to see, it really is beautiful there!  But now, I think I probably owe you a card so I thought I would share one I did for Christmas, my favorite time of year!

Oh, how I loved making this card - look at all the bling!!! Bling really DOES make me sing - it makes me feel so happy, I just love it! The glitter, the brads, the pearls, I love it all!!!!! On this card I used some of the fine red glitter and I adhered it to the tree using my two-way glue pen. If you have never used this wonderful little pen, you HAVE to try it, I swear you will wonder why it took you so long, I did, LOL!!  The stamped images are from the stamp set called Snow Swirled, and I just absolutely love this set, it is one of my favorite ones to pull out for the holidays! And, look at that yummy patterned paper from the Holly Jolly designer series pack - YUM!!! I could see me using this paper all year long for all kinds of things :-)  Of course, no card for me is complete without using my Big Shot and my punches and this card is no exception! The Chocolate Chip Card Stock is embossed with the Square Lattice embossing folder and then the sentiment is mounted on Cherry Cobbler that has been punched out using my Extra Large Designer Label Punch.  The sentiment itself is stamped in Garden Green on Very Vanilla card stock that is punched out using the Modern Label Punch, then popped up on dimsensionals! I love it!!! I also used the Eyelet Border Punch along the bottom of the DSP, I just think it really adds to the card! And of course, every card deserves a bow so I added that as well :-)  Pretty simple but sooo fun to make - it will definitely be one that goes in the "to send" pile, LOL!  I have been stamping quite a bit since I got back on Sunday and have TONS to share so I will be back tomorrow with another fun project! 'Till then, happy stampin'!!!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Garden Green, Chocolate Chip, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla card stock, Holly Jolly Designer Series Paper
Inks - Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler Classic inks
Stamps - So Swirled stamp set
Accessories - Very Vanilla thin grosgrain ribbon, Red fine glitter
Tools - Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing folder, Modern Label punch, Extra Large Fancy Label punch, Eyelet Border punch, dimensionals

OFF TO THE COAST!

Good morning my friends! So sorry I have not been posting - seem to be off my regularly scheduled program lately, LOL! We are leaving today to head to the Mendocino Coast for the Thanksgiving Holiday and will not return until Monday! I will be taking my computer with me so I may upload some of the pics but I will not be creating at all, just hanging out with the family and enjoying a much needed vacation! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I will be sure to share some fun stuff when I get back!!!

CARDS FOR THE TROOPS EVENT - CHECK IT OUT!!!!!!!!!!!

Where have I been??!!  I bet you all are wondering, lol!! I have been up to my eyeballs in cards!!! This past Saturday was my Annual Cards for the Troops Event and I have been madly cutting, stamping, punching, tying bows, and prepping kits for all the wonderful people who signed up to help make these cards to send over to Afghanistan to our sponsored unit NMCB 3 who left recently and will be gone for a long while.  Sooooo, I have had no time at all to post, but I thought today I would share the pics from Saturday and show you all the hard work definitely paid off!!! 

The way it worked was each table had 4-6 card samples and then the kits to go with them.  Each person did one type of each card and then rotated to the next table to make different cards.  This worked out wonderfully since everyone got to make all different types of cards, and we got them all stamped and put together, ready to go!!! 

I was so gratified to see how many people came - we had over 50 people in and out all day although many stayed the whole time and enjoyed going table to table making all the different cards! Even the VFW and the Ladies Auxiliary got into the act! None of them had ever stamped or made cards before, but they jumped right in and were wonderful! Here are some of the pics of the different ladies and gents that showed up!

 Even the guys from the Post joined in, stamping and assembling alongside their wives from the Auxiliary! I felt so good about this - seeing people come together to make an event like this a success is amazing and one of the main reasons I stamp - I have met soooo many wonderful people!!! 

 And, it was definitely a family affair in the Hobson household - my wonderful husband Tony, and my two kids Tyler and Kayla were all there, making cards alongside our good friends Les and Cyndi and some of my club gals Lori and Elle - it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside when I saw them all stamping away!

I am very proud of my family, especially my kids, who recognize and understand the sacrifices military members and their families have to make - they have done it many times themselves!!! 

Here is a picture of my man making cards - I am going to have to enlarge and frame this one since I dont' get him in my stamp space too often, LOL!! He is a great supporter of my business, but stamping is just not his forte, heeheee!! He was a great sport on Saturday though!!! 

Two of my favorite people in the world were there helping me with this event - Angelina (not pictured) and Wendy! They are both members of my downline and I would not have been able to pull this off without them!! Wendy and I were up many a late night creating, cutting, stamping, and singing - yes, singing!!! LOL - we do tend to get silly :-)  Here is Wendy at the main table cleaning stamps and sorting all the finished cards.  It was nice to see the attendees come up and check out the fruits of their labor - many of them had their favorite cards and enjoyed coming up and taking pictures of them and checking out some they may not have gotten to!

Finally, here is a picture of all the completed cards - don't those stacks look beautiful??!! I love it - I have soooo many cards to match to envelopes now and with all the generous donations of supplies such as baby wipes, toothpaste, toothbrushes, etc. there will be quite a few boxes heading over!!!  Just look at this gang - don't they look proud??! I wish everone had been able to stay until the end as I would have loved a picture that incuded them all, but this group stuck it out and I just had to have a picture!!!  It was a great day and I am looking forward to doing even better things next year!! And, if you are still reading this post, you ROCK!!! I know it is long, BUT it was a great story to share! Tomorrow I will be back with my Christmas Canvas that I just taught - till then, Happy Stampin'!!!

A PRETTY BIRD FOR CHRISTMAS

Good morning all and Happy Friday!  I have had a long week, I am not gonna lie!! The flu has been going around the house and I think I have been moving fast all week just to avoid getting it, LOL!  So far so good, so keep your fingers crossed!  I cannot get sick, I have waaay too much to do and too many things going on.  Today I wanted to share a workshop card using the Cardinal Christmas stamp set.  I love this set, the bird is soooooo purdy and fun to color!  The card is fairly simple since I always have a wide range of experience levels in my workshops, but I think it turned out pretty!  I used the Jolly Holiday Designer papers on a Cherry Cobbler base and all I can say is YUMMO!! Love these colors - this paper pack is full of great designs and rich colors!  The Chocolate Chip card stock is embossed with the Finial Press embossing folder  using my Big Shot - I think this is perfect for the holidays although it goes well with just about anything to put it on, lol! I colored in the image using my stampin' write markers and then added some chunky red glitter using the two-way glue pen.  This pen is amazing - I got them for my kids too because they are so easy to use and really allow you to pinpoint exactly where you want something glued.....this comes in handy when working on those school projects teachers are famous for giving out during the holidays!  Like I said, a simple card, but one that makes me smile - it was fun to make and fun to teach! I hope you like it too! If you are interested in any of the products used on this card, you may purchase them in my online store and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me and I will be happy to help!  I am putting the finishing touches on my Christmas Canvas class tonight (very large canvas, 20x24) and then I have to put my workshop projects together for tomorrow so another busy day ahead!! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!! I have something fun in store for you all next week so stay tuned!!  Until then, happy stampin'!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla card stock, Jolly Holiday designer series paper
Inks - Black Stazon, Cherry Cobbler classic stampin' pad, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip stampin' write markers
Stamps - Cardinal Christmas
Tools - Scallop border punch, Big Shot, Finial Press Embossing Folder, Wide Oval Punch, Scalloped Oval Punch, Two-way glue pen, stampin' dimensionals
Accessories - Chunky red glitter, Victoria crochet trim ribbon

BIRTHDAY CARD FOR SIS

Hi all!! Happy Wednesday!! WOW! I cannot believe how fast this week is going by - I have been really busy as I have three events this coming up weekend - I just love to stamp though so no hardship here :-)  Today I am sharing the birthday card I made for my sister to go along with the frame I showed you all on Monday.  I made a square card - this is actually my favorite size to make as there is more room to play on the card front, LOL!  I used Big Shotthe same color scheme as the frame - I just love these colors together! The base of the card is Old Olive card stock with Greenhouse Gala Designer Series paper - YUM! The chocolate chip card stock is embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder on my .  Isn't it purdy??!!!  The stamp set I used is called I Believe and the stamps are absolutely gorgeous! I used my Stampin' Write markers to color the stamp in Baha Breeze and Old Olive to get the colors on the image I wanted and I am very happy with how it turned out! And, of course I had to add a touch of bling to my image so there are points of Dazzling Diamonds on there (click on the image to make it bigger so you can see too!) I used my eyelet border punch on a strip of Baha Breeze card stock and then embossed it with the Square Lattice Folder, one of my favorites! I also punched the edges of the DSP to that they matched :-)  The sentiment is from the Perfect Punches stamp set and I added a small rhinestone for the bling effect! Lastly, I added some Pear Pizzazz ribbon (yes, it works well with the Old Olive!) and a designer button that I blinged up with some pearls, and then I was done! I also did the inside of this card but it is full of mushy stuff so I can't share that *wink* but it matches the outside of the card pretty much! I enjoyed making this card since I knew it was for someone special in my life - I just love my sister, she is a fabulous, beautiful, smart, and funny woman who is also my closest friend! If you have a sister, make sure you tell her what she means to you - it's important!! Now, I am off to stamp land as I have miles to stamp before I sleep, lol!! If you like the products that I used here (and you know you do!) you can purchase them all through my online store.  And, as always, contact me if you have any questions - I love to hear from you! Have a wonderful day and I will be back tomorrow with some fun cards!  Until then, Happy Stampin'!!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Old Olive, Baha Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White card stock, Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper
Inks- Baha Breeze, Old Olive stampin' write markers, Chocolate Chip classic stampin' pad
Stamps - I Believe, Perfect Punches
Tools - Eyelet Border Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Big Shot, Square Lattice and Vintage Wallpaper embossing folders
Accessories - Pear Pizzazz ribbon, designer series buttons, pearls, rhinestones

BIRTHDAY GIFT FRAME

Hi all!!! I am back from my vacation and I have to say I had a wonderful time spending time with my mom and my sister.  We went shopping, played bingo(no laughing, it's fun, LOL) ate, talked, laughed, and had a great time! We celebrated my sister's birthday while I was there and I wanted to share the frame that I made for her.  The colors match her room and I think she really liked it, which really made me smile - I wanted it to be special :-) The frame is a 12x12 frame that comes unfinished so I added all kinds of fun elements.  First, I covered the base of the frame with Baha Breeze cardstock - love it, such a soft color!  Then, I added some patterned paper the Greenhouse Gala Designer series, which was perfect for this project because it has all the colors of Jeanne's room! Each strip of paper is punched with the Eyelet Border punch and then layered on both the top and the bottom of the frame.  Then, I used some retired rub-ons (Jeanne doesn't care) that I have been saving for that special project - they go just wonderfully on here, don't you think??!!  There are some really fun embellishments on the frame as well and I took come closer pics so you can see the details. 

First is the flower that I made out of waffle paper- too too fun and I LOVE how it turned out! I ran the waffle paper through my Big Shot using the Flower Folds Die.  I then layered four of each size flower together and secured them with a vintage brad. Then, I added some texture to the whole flower by cutting each petal in half - this makes the flower much fluffier and fuller, which is the look I was going for.  Lastly, I sprayed the flower with Log Cabin Smooch Spritz, and it really sparkles and shines in the light! The waffle paper gives this flower such a wonderfully different look, I can't seem to stop making them, LOL! 

Next, I used one of our chipboard birds, and covered it with some of the Greenhouse Gala DSP, adding a pearl for the eye and attaching it all with red sticky tape.  I just love the dimension this adds, and it is so easy to do!  The last thing I want so share with you is how I did the letters.  I used Stampin' UP! onboard chipboard letters; I love these packs because you get so many letters and different shapes and sizes too! It's fun to mix and match the sets when you get down to your last letters too so there is never really any waste when using these! I took the letters and covered them in monoadhesive, then coated them with the Olive glitter from the Stampin' Glitter Fine Supernova set that comes with five different colors, and lots of glitter, all for $13.95, which is an amazing deal! After I was done using the glitter and had poured the excess back in the container, it did not even look like I had used any! 

 I set the letters aside to dry, then used red sticky tape to adhere them to the frame - here they are, aren't they purdy??!!  The last couple of things on this frame are some extra-wide chocolate chip satin ribbon (retired), and some buttons from the designer series regals collection.  I had a lot of fun making this frame and I was so happy to see her smile when she saw it!! Giving something handmade is so much more rewarding, don't you think? Speaking of, I am off to work on some more class projects that we are doing in my Santa's workshop class coming up so I will leave you with the recipe and then I am off to get inky!! Meanwhile, if you saw something or things you have to have in this post, head on over to my online store where you can purchase everything you see here!   Have a fabulous day - I will be back tomorrow to share the card I made to go with the frame!

Frame Recipe:

Paper - Baha Breeze card stock, Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper

Inks - none

Stamps - none

Accessories - Chocolate Chip wide satin ribbon(retired), Onboard chipboard letters, green Super Nova glitter, regals designer series buttons, twine, chipboard bird(retired), waffle paper, smooch spritz(log cabin), vintage brads, rubons(retired)

Tools - Eyelet Border Punch, Red Sticky Tape, glue dots, mono adhesive glue