FLOWERS FOR YOU - HAPPY FRIDAY!

Well, I have received all kinds of new goodies today from SU! - my dilemma is: what to play with first - LOL! So, I guess I will have to try all of it! Just wanted to post a quick flower card that I made for a friend - I watercolored it and I like the effect! Hope you enjoy!

Recipe: (all products SU! unless otherwise noted)

Cardstock: Elegant eggplant, lovely lilac, whisper white

Stamps: Vases in Vogue

Ink Pads: elegant eggplant, lovely lilac, pale plum, black stazon

Accessories: Large oval punch, vintage brads, elegant eggplant ribbon, paperpiercer, elegant eggplant marker, dimensionals

A CARD FOR MY SON AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY

Hi there! Thought I would share a card that I made for my son who as a lot of you know is going through Plebe Summer at the Naval Academy right now (very arduous boot camp). So, I write to him everyday and thought it would be fun to make something for him - so here it is! I used brilliant blue for the base, Ballet Blue for the accent pieces and barely banana for the top piece which I stamped all over in Night of Navy Ink with the star from the retired set Land That I Love (I will never tire of that set!) Sorry the picture does not do the colors justice - not sure why as it looked great when I took the pic. Anyway, I have this great United States Navy Emblem stamp (don't remember where I got it) that was perfect for this card so I stamped it in Night of Navy ink, colored in the words with the same color marker, and popped it up on dimensionals. I added a piece of Summer Sun Ribbon to draw out the gold in the background, used my large oval punch for the sentiment which is also stamped in Night of Navy ink, added a brad, and there you have it! I sure hope he likes it! That's all for now! Toodles!

A DIFFERENT KIND OF TAG - I'M IT AGAIN!!

Hi again! Well, it seems I have been tagged by Laura BUT this one is a different kind of tag. You see, I'm supposed to "toot" my own horn and list 7 good things about myself - Hmmmm....that may be a little hard, but I will try so here goes:

(1) I am a good friend and will give you the shirt off my back if you need it (just not in public please)
(2) I am a very good wife and mother - no, not perfect and I am sure there is always room for improvement but I do give it my all and that should count for something!
(3) I pride myself on good organizational and leadership skills which has helped me tremendously both personally and professionally
(4) I have a pretty good sense of humor and like to make people laugh (or at least smile)
(5) I am generous and like to share whenever I can with those around me!
(6) I am loyal to a fault - if you need me to be there for you, I will be!
(7) I am very good with finding a bargain - just yesterday I bought school clothes for my daughter (both fall and winter) and saved over $400 while spending $60 - pretty good, huh?

Well, there you have it! Nothing earth shattering, and probably nothing most people arent' but that is what I came up with. I guess I am supposed to now tag 7 people so here they are:

(1) Barb aka GrammaStamper
(2) Marie aka La Paperterie
(3) Lisa aka Splendiferous Creations
(4) Pam aka Stamping with Serendipity
(5) Melissa aka Simply Pink
(6) Dawn aka Dawns Stamping Thoughts
(7) Debbie aka Thinking Inking

Whew! Okay, I am done - have a great afternoon!

I LOVE THESE FLOWERS!

I have to tell you, I love the new Baroque Motifs stamp set - I can't get enough of it! Here is
another card I made using these fun flowers! I decided to use a mix of purples for this card and I have to say, I really like the combination! For the base and accents, I used almost amethyst and for the top layer I used lovely lilac which is the same color I used to stamp the small daisies with. I then stamped the large flower onto whisper white card stock in three different shades: lovely lilac, almost amethyst, and pale plum. I cut the flowers up and popped them up on dimensionals. Using my large oval punch, I stamped the sentiment from the hostess set Vases In Vogue, added a small piece of lovely lilac ribbon, and adhered it using dimensionals as well. Lastly, the three strips were made using my word window punch, and I added the little tiny diamond brads (retired) from the vintage set. I love them and was sorry to see them go! I really like this card and was pleased with the way it turned out! I hope you all enjoy it as well! Have a great day!

A CARD FOR MY HONEY

Good morning! I have been madly stamping trying to get my swaps ready for convention BUT I did take time out to stamp a card for my wonderful husband. You see, he has already moved out to CA to start his practice and supervise the building of our new home. Luckily, his whole family lives there so he has had some help, but the separation is hard (seven months now) so I wanted to send him a card to let him know I am thinking about him. My husband Tony is a WONDERFUL man - I am very lucky to have him in my life. So, here it is!
Who says a frog can't be pink? Well, mine is :-) I used all SU! products with the exception of my two scalloped circle punches which I love. I hope you like it - and I hope HE likes it - LOL! Have a great day!
Recipe: (all items SU! except scallop punches)
Cardstock - pink passion, pixie pink, pretty in pink
Stamp sets - Unfrogettable, Monkey Business
Accessories - pixie pink and pretty in pink inks, pink passion marker, giga and mega scallop punches, large oval punch, dimensionals, paper piercer, black staz-on ink, and pretty in pink ribbon

I HAVE BEEN TAGGED!!!!!!

Good morning all! Well, I feel pretty special today - I have been tagged by a very talented blogger Marie - check out her blog, she is an amazing stamper! Here are the rules:
I must post 7 random things about me* Tag 7 other bloggers to do the same.* Post rules and the bloggers I tagged here.* Leave tagged bloggers comments on their site so they know they've been tagged.

Okay, let's see, seven things about myself that you don't know....
(1) I love to Karaoke and have my very own karaoke machine. Yep, that's right - sometimes I sit in my livingroom and sing my heart out with friends and family! (never alone - what do you think I am, crazy!)
(2) I have served in three war zones - Kosovo, Bosnia, and most recently Iraq. I am proud of my service to my country, but some of the things I have witnessed make me sad and the visions will stay with me forever.
(3) I absolutely love to read and will often stay up until the wee hours of the morning because I have to get to that next chapter - I average three books per week!
(4) I go days (sometimes even weeks) without watching anything on television - I am not a big fan of much that is on and seem to find myself busy with other things such as stamping, scrapbooking, and reading!
(5) I have two little weiner dogs by the names of Bonnie and Clyde and one golden retriever by the name of Cisco whom I absolutely adore and who think they are my kids instead of my pets!
(6) I love people and often find that strangers will come up to me and start telling me their life story. My mom says I wear an invisible tattoo across my forehead that says "tell me all your problems because I care". I have met all kinds of people this way and some of them have actually become friends (the ones with the fewest problems - LOL!)
(7) I love to write and have written several short stories and posted a journal of my experiences in Iraq. I have been asked to write for publications and would like to write a book someday and hopefully see it in print.

So, there you have it! Not super exciting, but me nontheless. So, I guess now I have to tag seven people - I view lots of different blogs so it is a hard choice but here they are:

(1) Tracy aka Stampingirl
(2) Kimberly aka Stampinbythesea
(3) Laura aka Lu-Las Corner
(4) Valerie aka Stampin' Gal Val
(5) Sharon aka Paperfections
(6) Heather aka StampwithHeather
(7) Beate aka Fresh and Fun

These are in no particular order BUT I do stalk these blogs on a daily (okay, sometimes more than once) basis because these gals are super talented and inspire me! Have a great day!

HAPPY SUNDAY - I LOVE STAMPING AND STAMPERS!

Good morning all! What a great day this is going to be! My son from the Naval Academy gets to make his first phone call home at 4pm today (yes, the phone is with me everywhere I go) - whooppeeee! It is only four minutes BUT I get to hear my baby's voice and tell him how much I love and miss him! His brother and sister are really excited too! Sadly, my DH is in MN on business so he misses out and he is pretty bummed about that!

Ya know, when I decided to get involved in SU! I never dreamed of the intangible benefits you receive - yes, you get the discount, and get to work doing what you love BUT I have found the most important thing to me is the friendships I have made. It absolutely amazes me how blessed I am to have met the wonderful gals I have met! My upline is my hero - Kimberly is the most giving, selfless, fun, and loving person I have met in a VERY long time. Meeting her and having her as a friend has been great for me, especially lately with all the changes in my life. So, here's to all the great stampin' friends we all have met and will meet in the future!
Okay, I actually do have a card to post, I just had to wax poetic first - LOL! Here it is: I have to
tell you I am loving the new in colors - especially purely pomegranate and groovy guava - they are definitely my favorite! For this card, I used the new petals set and I think it came out pretty good! I cut each petal out and popped them up on dimensionals, cut the center flower piece in half and lined it up on the edge of the card so it looks like only half the flower and used my blender pen and markers to color them all. I love it! I did paper pierce the edges, I couldn't help it! I also used dimensionals for the stamped sentiment and added a piece of black ribbon to make it pop! Then, I used my word window punch to add a little something to the bottom of the card. I hope you like it!
Card recipe: (all products are SU!)
Cardstock: groovy guava and purely pomegranate
Stamp set: Pick a Petal
Accessories: word window punch, black brads, large oval punch, mat stack, basic black grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals, black stampin write marker, groovy guava and purely pomegranate ink pads, and blender pen