AT CONVENTION AND LOVIN' IT!!!

This is a VERY quick post to let you all know that I have made it to Convention and I am taking LOTS of pictures to share with you :-)  I am having a BLAST - can't wait to share with all of you!! And, just so you are not feeling like I left you NOTHING to look at, this is one of the 3d gifts I made for a wonderful friend and team-member that I only get to see at these events - I really hope she likes it *wink* And, I hope you do too! It's a frame shadow box that I made with our new papers, ribbons, and punches! If you have any questions, let me know :-)

A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY WEEKEND

Good morning all!! I hope you enjoyed your long holiday weekend - I know we certainly did!!! We had a big bbq here at our house on Sunday night with all of our family, and we swam, ate, drank, and laughed until late into the night! It was a lot of fun! Then, on Monday, we went to my SILs house for another bbq, more swimming, and of course, fireworks!! It was so much fun - I had to spend all day yesterday catching up on all the things I just did not do so I could play, but it was oh so worth it!!  This first picture is my handsome man - he just loves the pool, and I love this pose, lol!  He is in this pool every night after work - I am so very glad we put this in last summer and at least this summer, we get to enjoy it the whole summer instead of just one month!
This next shot is my daughter Kayla who was doing her best not to let me take any pics of her but I waited her out, and when she came up for air, I snapped the shot! She is beautiful - I love taking pics of her!  And, here is one of all the cousins standing under the waterfall - those kids were in the pool for six hours straight - talk about some tired kiddos! And, they all stayed over that night, and it was nice to have a house full of kids again!









They got up the next morning, and after a big breakfast of pancakes, sausage, and bacon, they were back in the pool until it was time to leave to go to my SILs house! They are all just water babies, and I love it - not only are they having fun, but they are outside in the sunshine, and getting some exercise as well!

Tony was the official chef of the afternoon, not that he minds - he loves to bbq! As you can see, most of the adults hovered under the shade in the outdoor kitchen, although us ladies were in the pool a good three hours chatting while the guys served us margaritas - not a bad deal, right, lol??!! They were really good because Tony created this wonderful concoction with real fruit in it, and it was oh so refreshing - we just had to be careful because when they are that good, they go down rather quickly, lol!
And, check out the yummy food we had! Tri-tip, grilled zucchini, fresh grilled corn on the cob - yummo! And, we had some wonderful fresh salads and fruit to accompany all of this - needless to say, nobody went hungry, lol! If there is one thing this family knows how to do, it is to eat, heehe!


In fact, the only thing that got Tyler outside with the rest of us was the lure of the smell - he finally came out and just chilled while waiting for dinner to be done as he said he did not feel much like swimming - what??! It was 109 degrees - in that kind of heat, I am ALWAYS ready to so swimming, lol!     
      So, he just hung out in the shade getting picked on unmercifully by his Uncles and his dad, although Tyler gives out as good as he gets these days! He is bigger than some of them now, and so he can hold his own, pretty much!!!  So, there you have it - a fun day by the pool, relaxing with family - I think it is the BEST way to spend a weekend! Okay, so I will be back with something crafty to share tomorrow - I have been stamping, but a lot of it I can't share yet because it is for specialty swaps at Convention, BUT there are a few and I will post some tomorrow :-) I hope you weekend was a fun as ours was! Thanks for stopping by and letting me share a little piece of my family with all of you! Time goes by so fast, each moment with them is precious-  make sure you hug them, and tell them how much you love them - they never get tired of hearing that!! And, if you get a chance, Stamp Something today :-)

WHOOOOHOOOO!!! NEW CATALOG AND CHECK OUT THE SPECIAL!

Dates: July 1-31, 2011

Promotion Details: A limited-time $99 Starter Kit ($180 Value--See Kit Contents below!) is the perfect choice for the hobby stamper and lover of Stampin' Up! products.

• SAVE!!! Enjoy the new Stampin' Up! 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog using a one-time 30% Off Start Up Discount on product orders of $150 or more (placed within 45 days of start).

• Get 20% off future Stampin' Up! orders, oodles of exclusive resources and the opportunity to pre-order new products.

• Hobby stampers are welcome to my Butte County Big Shots Team!!!

• PLUS Get a Christmas Keepsake project kit (example below) absolutely FREE--a $40 value! This exclusive kit contains everything you need to create a beautiful Christmas Keepsake Box to hold your most treasured Christmas memories. It will be available with your first demonstrator order in August and must be redeemed by Sept. 30.
  

The Christmas Keepsake Box Project Kit--a $40 value--contains the following products (quantities are 1 unless otherwise noted).  It's included with any $99 Stampin' Up! Starter Kit purchase (only available July 1 - July 30).  Keepsake Box Project Kit will be included in the first demonstrator order placed between Aug. 1 and Sept. 30, 2011.

• Pines & Poinsettias Set (wood-mount)
• Keepsake box
• Scallop borders (cut from Tasteful Trim Bigz XL Die)
  • First Edition Designer Series Paper (3)
  • Holly Berry Designer Series Paper (6)
• First Edition Specialty Designer Series Paper strip (2)
• Holly Berry Designer Series Paper piece*
• Real Red Top Note (cut from Top Note Bigz Die)
• Real Red Decorative Label (cut from Matchbook Bigz XL Die)
• Wild Wasabi Card Stock strips (3)
• Naturals Ivory Card Stock piece
• Holly Berry Bouquet Designer Fabric*
• Real Red 1-1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
• Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon
• Victoria 5/8" Crochet Trim
• Linen Thread
• Champagne Fine Galaxy Stampin' Glitter
• Vanilla Pearl 1/2" Simply Adorned Bauble
• Pearl Basic Jewels (1 pkg.)
• Holly Berry Bouquet Designer Buttons*
  • Large Wild Wasabi
  • Small Real Red
• Mini Vintage Tags

Additional Supplies Needed

• Early Espresso Stampin' Write Marker
• Real Red Stampin' Write Marker
• Wild Wasabi Stampin' Write Marker
• Adhesives
• 3/16" Corner Punch
• Scallop Circle Punch
• Paper Cutter
• Paper Snips
• Needle
• Glue gun               *From the 2011 Holiday Mini Catalog!

$99 Starter Kit Contents

Contains over $180 in products and business supplies--including new products from the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog! You CAN substitute a similar item of equal or lesser value.

PAGE       ITEM         DESCRIPTION

57	123225	Easy Events Clear-Mount Set*
69	122740	Pennant Parade Wood-Mount Set*
177	102277	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad
177	105216	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad
177	103133	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
177	119706	Brights 8-1/2" x 11" Assorted Card Stock
180	101179	Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pad
182	107311	Whisper White Note Cards (20)
185	124339	Just Add Cake Designer Series Paper*
195	124142	Chocolate Chip 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon*
203	122129	Blender Pen (1)
205	118486	Clear-Mount Block C
206	104332	SNAIL Adhesive

*New to the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog!

Business Supplies
The business supplies in these promotional mini kits will be the same business supplies that are in existing starter kits; no alternative selections can be made for business items.

• Getting Started DVD
• Getting Started Guide
• Guest Invitation Postcards (100)
• 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog (8)
• 2011 Summer Mini Catalog (8)
• Stampin' Up! logo vinyl
• Décor Elements applicator
• To My Hostess Envelopes (10)
• My Digital Studio Marketing DVD
• Recruit Folders (5)
• Recruit Brochures (20)
• Customer Order Forms (50)

HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE $99 KIT OR JOINING THE BUTTE COUNTY BIG SHOTS TEAM? EMAIL ME AND I WILL ANSWER ALL YOUR QUESTIONS RIGHT AWAY!

BE A VIP - CHECK OUT THE SPECIALS BELOW!!!!!

********THIS POST WILL REMAIN AT THE TOP OF MY BLOG UNTIL JULY 1ST.  CHECK BELOW FOR NEWER POSTS***********

Good Monday morning all!!! WHEW!! It has been BUSY here at the Hobson household - lots of stamping, classes, workshops, etc. so I have not had a MINUTE to post BUT I am today so I hope you are all still stopping by to see me :-)  I have TONS of information and news to share with you so I will do that first, and then, in my next post this morning, I will share a fun little workshop card that we made this past weekend!  So, first, let's talk about a VERY EXCITING PROMOTION I am offering RIGHT NOW!! Check this  out!!!

ANNUAL CALIFORNIA STAMPIN’ OPEN HOUSE AND PRODUCT SALE

(BE A VIP AND SHOP FIRST FOR THE BEST DEALS AND RECEIVE A GOODIE BAG FROM ME – SEE ALL THE DETAILS BELOW)

It’s that time again – that special time of year when one catalog retires, and a brand-new, chock full of fabulous new product catalog arrives!! The new catalog will go LIVE on July 1^st and believe me, it is AWESOME!!!!  And, with the new catalog comes my Annual Open House, which you DON’T WANT TO MISS!!!!  Check out all the details:

IT’S MY ANNUAL OPEN HOUSE/CALIFORNIA STAMPIN’ SALE Date:  Saturday, July 9th, 2011 Where:  286 Torry Drive, Oroville, CA 96966 (My House) When:  10am – 3pm (come at any time between or stay the whole time J) What:  Fun Make ‘n Takes,  New Catalog Samples, Fun Stampin’ Games, Prizes, Yummy Snacks, and More! THE SALE:  Paper, Stamps, Ribbon, Inks, Big Shot Dies, Accessories, Simply Scrappin’ Kits – Soooooo Many Goodies!!! Don’t Miss Out!!! Bring Family and Friends – the more people you bring with you, the better chance you have at the prizes! Tickets will be given at the door! GRAND PRIZE:  A shopping spree on ME!!!! The biggest order will win!!!!! RSVP with Alex at (530) 589-6900 or email lilstamper@yahoo.com Hope to see you there!!!!!

BE A VIP!  Spend $100 (before tax and shipping) through either my online store or place an order with me (anytime between now and June 30^th) and you will receive a GOLDEN TICKET to shop one day early!  VIP hours on Friday will be from 6PM-9PM OR you may check out the list of all sale items and place them on hold until Saturday (items must be picked up and paid for by noon on Saturday or hold will be released).  Ensure YOU get the best choice of what is for sale!!!!  ALL VIPS WILL RECEIVE A GOODY BAG FROM ME WHEN THEY CHECK OUT!

Shopping Online is so easy!! Just go to my online store and click on SHOP NOW.  There are plenty of fabulous deals this month including up to 40% off on some products.  ALL ONLINE ORDERS WILL RECEIVE A VIP GOLDEN TICKET so head on over there now!!!
If you are out of State and place an order - no worries! You will receive a PDF File of everything there will be for sale. Pictures can be provided if requested.
SAVE THE DATE - VIP /Friday July 8th
Open to Everyone Saturday July 9th
Spread the word. Let your family, friends and co-workers, and neighbors know about this fabulous event.

SEE???!!! I told you you did not want to miss it, lol!!!! This is a fabulous event, and I know a lot of you look forward to it each year - and this year, let me tell ya, the fun is OVER THE TOP!  I hope each and every one of you can make it - I know I would love to see you!!!!!

A THANK YOU FOR SOMEONE SPECIAL

Good morning to you all!! I hope you are enjoying your day so far! I am - I am being very productive today, lol! Those kinds of days always make me feel soooooo good!!!  I will be posting my July schedule today of classes and events so I hope you find something there that you really like! I also am changing my newsletter to show sneek peeks of the actual projects we will be doing so stay tuned for that as well!  Today I want to share with you a card I made for one of my sidelines who is as sweet as can be, and helped me out in a great way recently!!! I used one of our new hostess sets called Precious Butterflies and it is PURE BEAUTY!!! I LOVE our new hostess sets, and I love our new hostess program, which I will posting in detail about later this week.  There are lots of yummy new products on this particular card - I am having lots of fun playing with my preview items- one of the great perks about being a demo is we get to order early *wink* You too can be a demo, and if you are interested, ask me how!!  Soooo, the base of this card is called Calypso Coral, one of our new in-colors and already a favorite for me! LOVE how summery it feels, AND it totally reminds me of vacationing in the Caribbean (or maybe I just want to really bad, lol!) The images are stamped in Wild Wasabi, Calypso Coral, and Baja Breeze - totally YUMMY combination :-) The patterned paper is also new and is part of the Eat Cake collection.  I knew right away I would like it, I mean I love cake, lol! I cut my circles using the 3 inch circle die for my Big Shot, then ran it through the machine again with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder - isn't it purdy??!! And yes, that is new ribbon you see there- yummy scalloped polka dot ribbon to be exact!  I had so much fun making this card and playing with all my new toys!! If you have fallen in love with these new products, you may start ordering them in my online store as of noon on July 1st!!!  That is only two days away - WHOOOHOOO!!  And, if you are already putting your new catty order together, you may email me your list and I will ensure it gets entered in right away! I have heard from many of you that you received your new catalog from me already and have started that wish list - good for you!! And yes, I have one too, lol!!!  Now, I am off to get some more things ready for my Open House and July classes.  I hope you all find time to be creative today as well - until tomorrow, happy stampin'!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Calypso Coral, Baha Breeze,Wild Wasabi, Early Espresso, Whisper White card stock, Eat Cake Designer Series Paper
Inks- Wild Wasabi, Calypso Coral, Baha Breeze stampin' write markers and classic inks
Stamps - Precious Butterflies
Tools - Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, 3 inch circle die, Designer Label punch, Corner Rounder punch
Accessories - Chocolate Chip Scallop Dots Ribbon, button, basic pearls

A FUN SWAP SNEEK PEEK

Good morning all!!! I hope you had a wonderful weekend - I know I did!! I spent lots of time by the pool, and in my stamp room - doesn't get much better than that *wink* Now, if I could only figure out how to combine the two, lol!!! Yesterday I had a friend over and we scrapbooked all day, amidst much laughter and chatting - I think there was more of the latter, to tell you the truth :-) It was a fun day though! Today I wanted to share a fun swap card I made for a swap I am in with my stamping group.  Let me tell you, these ladies are mega talented, I can't wait to get my swaps back!!! I made this one using products from the new catalog so you are getting a preview of all the fabulous things to come! The base of this card is Daffodil Delight, which is one I reach for a lot - love this bright, sunny yellow, so perfect for the summer! The stamp set is called My Friend, and has some beautiful images in it! I stamped the flowers in Versamark , then added white embossing powder, which I heat set  with my heat tool.  Then, I layered the Pear Pizazz on Early Espresso, tore and inked the edges - aren't they soooooo purdy??!!! The patterned paper is from a new collection called Just Add Cake and has some fun and beautiful designs.  The sentiment is from the same stamp set, stamped in Early Espresso on Daffodil Delight, then trimmed out, and popped up on dimensionals.  Lastly, I added some fun Whisper White taffeta ribbon with a little bit of bling. So fun - I hope the ladies like it!!! Today is a busy day full of appts and errands so I am outta here for most of the day!  I hope you all have a wonderful day and have time to get creative!!! I will be back tomorrow with some fun pics of my downline meeting tonight and a cute project we are doing, but until then, happy stampin'!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Pear Pizazz card stock, Just Add Cake Designer Series Paper
Inks - Early Espresso, Pear Pizazz, Versamark
Stamps - My Friend
Tools-  Heat Tool, embossing powder, dimensionals
Accessories - Whisper White taffeta ribbon, Basic rhinestones

HAPPY FRIDAY - IT'S FLIP FLOP TIME :-)

Happy Friday everyone!! It's hot but beautiful here in sunny California - definitely going to be some pool time for me today :-)  I love the summer, I hardly ever wear shoes except for maybe my flip flops so this card I am sharing today is perfect - it SPEAKS to me, heehee! This is another one from my stamp camp this past week - we had such a great time!  We used a fun set from the Summer Mini called Sunny Fun and it has such cute and fun images in them - like these flip flops!!! Don't you wish you owned a pair like these??!! LOL - we had a great time decorating them, everyone kind of did their own thing by either coloring or blinging or whatever they wanted to do! Some people even took them home and added a bunch of stuff - love that, it tells me they really liked the card!!! The patterned paper is from the main catalog and we have to say goodbye to it in six days! It is called Lap of Luxury and I used the heck out of this this past year - just love the colors, patterns, everything about it! The color combo for this card is one of my favorites: Basic Gray, Blushing Bride, and Concord Crush with some Very Vanilla - YUMMO!!!!  The flower was made using our new three-way punches - can you believe one punch can do three different designs???! Talk about getting more bang for you buck - I totally LOVE these!!! We actually used both of them and layered them together! They are called the Doily Triple Layer punch and the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch, and they can both be found in the Summer Mini! And, of course no flower is complete without some bling so we added a rhinestone to make it pop!  Totally fun and easy to put together, this card makes me smile!!!!  If it makes YOU smile, and you want the products used here, you can shop in my online store or email me directly and I will be happy to place your order for you! Remember, the main catalog items are retiring in SIX DAYS, so don't wait to put that order in - get it now before it's gone!!! I am going to be stamping today and getting my class schedule ready for July - can you believe it is almost July already?? Time sure does fly by :-) I hope you have a wonderful weekend planned that includes some creative time and family time! Enjoy - and, until tomorrow, Happy Stampin'!!!!
Card Recipe
Paper - Blushing Bride, Concord Crush, Very Vanilla card stock, Lap of Luxury Designer Series Paper
Inks - Concord Crush, Blushing Blossom, Going Gray stampin' write markers and classic ink pads
Stamps - Sunny Fun
Tools - Eyelet Border punch, Doily Triple Layer Punch, Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch
Accessories - Basic Rhinestones