SCRAPBOOK SATURDAY - A COCONUTTY CHALLENGE!

Hi all! This will be a very quick post because MY SON IS COMING HOME TODAY - WHOOHOO!!!!! Zach is flying in at noon today and will be home for three weeks!! We have not seen him since Christmas so I am beside myself...I can't wait to give my baby a hug!! Yeah, I know he is 19, but he will always be my baby!!! So, on to the page - today is Scrapbook Saturday and so I decided to do a challenge one of my fellow DT members posted in the Coconuts Forum! It was to do a page about myself, which I found hard to do, I mean I am usually the one behind the camera - LOL! But, I did it, and I like the way it turned out! There were two stipulations: there had to be some pink on the page (check) and there had to be some bling (check) so I did that. I used some Stampin' Up! stuff and some not, the papers are from the Coconut June kit which is fabulous!!!! If you have not been over to the Coconut Scrapshop website and store, go over and check it out - you won't be disappointed! The board is filled with wonderful women who stamp and scrap, and Jen has fabulous stuff in her store! So, I will leave you with a recipe and then I am off to pick up my son - YAHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! And, if you decide to play along and do a page today, make sure you tell me so I can check it out! And, if you register on the Coconuts MB, let me know so I can give you and your blog a shout- out!
Page Recipe: (all products Su! unless otherwise noted!)
Paper -Basic Black, Rose Red, and Pretty in Pink card stock, Pink Paisley Office Lingo collection
Inks - Black Stazon, Basic Black and Pink Passion classic stampin' pad
Stamps - Baroque Motifs
Accessories - Pretties kit, Circle Fire Rhinestone brads, On Board Lots of Letters, Tim Holtz Grungeboard, May Arts ribbon, Tombow Multi-purpose adhesive (for the glitter), Chunky Essentials Silver, Fine Cosmo Rose Pink, buttons from my stash, Ticket Corner Punch, Corner designer punch(provocraft), coluzzle (words for journaling printed on the computer)

STAMP SOMETHING CHALLENGE - AND A WHOOHOO FOR ME!!!!

Happy Friday everyone! First, I want to thank you all for the wonderful emails I received concerning my doctor's appt. yesterday - I was very touched by your concern..it meant a lot to me! I am fine....the reason the appointment was soooooo long was because it was a Veteran's appointment to finish up some unfinished medical stuff from the Navy (I know, it takes them forever to get this stuff done!) but I really am doing well and the problems are all treatable which is very good for me! And, it does not affect my stamping or scrapping either - LOL! So, great big hugs to all of you for caring!!! So, today is my favorite day of the week because I get to post my challenge for Stamp Something!!! I love this group of talented gals, they are amazing in their stamping and I am in awe of what they do each week! This week, our very own DT member Emily came up with a totally fabulous sketch which is definitely challenging and really really fun! Make sure you go over and give her some blog love, she really is amazing! So, I decided for this one I would use the Life's a Breeze set - I went a totally different way with this card and I am not sure if I like it, but I hope you do! I tend to be very monochromatic in my cardmaking so I wanted to stretch myself a bit and use some different colors - I pulled them from the dp I chose which is Spring Fling. Let me know honestly what you think - I am still trying to decide myself! So, I will leave you with the details of this card and remind you all to head on over to Stamp Something and see what the rest of the DT came up with and upload your own take on the challenge! But first, I have some very wonderful and exciting news that I have been wanting to tell you, but couldn't until now...remember a few days ago, when I told you to wait for my news???? Well, wait no more - I HAVE BEEN CHOSEN TO BE ON THE DESIGN TEAM FOR THE COCONUT SCRAPSHOP - WHOOHOO!!!! I was so excited when Jen told me that I almost peed myself - no, really, I did ! I LOVE LOVE LOVE to scrapbook so I am beside myself! And yes, Jen knows I am a stamper (heck, she loves stamps herself!) ....is that not fabulous!!! So, remember I told you I designed the July kit???? And, that it was near and dear to my heart??? Well, here is another hint....there will be stars in your eyes! Teehee - I hope to share some sneak peeks over the weekend so stay tuned - don't forget, tomorrow is Scrapbook Saturday so I will be sharing another page! And, some of you have said you want to join in on Scrapbook Saturday so I expect to see some fab pages out there - LOL! Until tomorrow - happy Stampin' AND Scrappin'!
Card Recipe: All products are Stampin' Up!
Paper - Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, and So Saffron card stock, Spring Fling Designer Series Paper
Stamp Set - Lifes a Breeze
Inks - Old Olive, So Saffron, Brocade Blue, Summer Sun Stampin' Write Markers, Summer Sun and Old Olive Classic Ink Pads
Accessories - So Saffron and Old Olive narrow grosgrain ribbon, Small Tag Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mat Stack and Paper Piercer

TAMARA's SKETCH CHALLENGE 49

Hi All! WOW - I cannot believe it is Thursday already, I feel like I just did last week's challenge, LOL! However, I love Tamara's sketches, so it's all good!! I actually did this weeks card as a part of a gift set so I will share them both - see, a bonus! I liked this week's sketch because it was very general and left a lot of room to interpret, which I did! I love it when you can take it and make it your own! So, make sure you head on over to Tamara's site and see what the fabulous DT gals did this week, they are soooo very talented, I feel very honored to be in such amazing company! The card is designed for another baby shower for one of Tony's employees - which is today, by the way! When did he tell me??? Oh, Tuesday night around 9pm.....ya know, he promised the last time to give me more notice - well, he feels he did, lol! So, anyway, I decided to incorporate the card into my DT submission and this is what I came up with. We don't know whether it's a boy or a girl, so I went with greens. And, I decided to alter a tin to match the card and fill it up with bath goodies and some cute little sleepers! Here is what I came up with! It is made with 99% Stampin' Up! products although I did use some different ribbons from my stash for the handle and around the tin. And, I did decorate the inside of the tin as well because I do not like the cold look of the lid when you open it (yep, I did the bottom too, LOL!) All in all, I am pretty happy with it and I hope she likes it - mind you, I have never met any of these women that I make these for, but I hear they really enjoy them *wink* So, I will leave you with a recipe for both and then I am off to a very long doctor's appt today - FOUR HOURS....ugggghhhh!!!! But, hopefully it will fix what is ailing me and I can move on! So, if I don't get to stop by and visit your blog today, you know I will catch up with you all tomorrow! Toodles!

Card and Tin Recipe:

Paper - Mellow Moss and Whisper White card stock, Fall Flowers and Spring Fling Designer Series Paper

Stamps - Bundled in Love

Inks - Mellow Moss Classic Ink Pad, Mellow Moss Stampin' Write Marker, Black Stazon ink pad

Accessories - Mellow Moss buttons, Corner Rounder Punch, Small and Large Oval Punches, Stampin' Dimensionals, White and Mellow Moss narrow grosgrain ribbon, Slit Punch, On Board Lots of Letters Chipboard, Provocraft Tin, Eucalyptus Stickles, several ribbons from my stash

YUMMY, YUMMY, FRUIT SALAD!

I do believe this is a song by the Wiggles - I only know this because my friend's daughter is REALLY into them! My children missed the whole Wiggles phase (thank goodness for small favors!) but this song sticks in my mind.....a song about fruit salad! Which brings me to my post! It is my recipe card for this month's swap which was a side dish. I chose fruit salad and used my Tart and Tangy set since it was so perfect for the theme! Now, I had to make TWENTY of these which would normally be no problem - except I got a little ambitious with my stitching and boy oh boy, does my hand feel it! As you all know, I had surgery on my right hand and it gets very sore....I need to remember this when planning projects, lol! But, I have to say, I really do love the way it turned out, summery and bright, which is what I was aiming for. Here is a close-up of the recipe card so you actually see the details (if you want!) of the actual recipe. Everything on these cards is Stampin' Up! with the exception of the orange and fruit punch stickles I used on the fruit cut outs. I will leave you with the full recipe below. Have a wonderful day - I know I will, it is the last day of school and I am heading over to my daughter's school to watch her receive some awards and then summer vacation will have officially begun, WHOOHOO!!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Kraft, Ruby Red, Whisper White and Naturals White card stock, Summer Picnic Designer Series paper
Stamps - Tart and Tangy, One Smart Cookie
Inks -Stampin' Write markers, Only Orange Classic stampin' pad
Accessories - Only Orange narrow grosgrain ribbon, mat stack and paper piercer, stampin' dimensionals

THE EVOLVING GIFT!

So, you are probably wondering about the title of this post - well, it all started out with my idea of making a gift to go along with the card I made for my MIL's birthday yesterday. So, I decided on something to do with chocolate - my MIL LOVES chocolate (as I do!) and her faves are milk and dark. So, I decided I would alter a jar, and fill it with Hershey sticks in her two favorite kinds. I used my SU! rub-ons because they go on so nicely, especially on glass! I used my SAB sets - I have tons of them and they look so wonderful in the white. I did the whole way around the jar and then added some Elegant Eggplant ribbon around the top of the jar and the lid. I also decorated the top of the lid - you can see a close-up here. I used Elegant Eggplant card stock and Cutie Pie dp, punched out some flowers using my 5-petal punch, and added an Almost Amethyst button to the center. All in all, I was pretty happy with this, but decided it just wasn't enough, I needed to make something else. So, I decided on this 4x4 box that I saw on Corie's blog - she did a wonderful tutorial which you can find here. I thought it would be perfect to put some little note cards in because she loves them and I knew she would use them. So, with that thought in mind, and knowing how much she loves the color purple, I came up with this box here. And yes, it IS purple - LOL! The bottom is made using Elegant Eggplant card stock and the top is made of Cutie Pie Dp, Elegant Eggplant, and Almost Amethyst card stock. I covered the edges of the lid with Elegant Eggplant grosgrain ribbon as well. The image is stamped on Whisper White card stock using my Fresh Cuts stamp set - can you believe this is the first time I inked this set up? I actually colored the stamp with my stampin' write markers in all differing shades of purple and got a really pretty effect - here is a close-up of the box top. The corners are all punched using my Ticket Corner Punch. I then added another piece of Elegant Eggplant ribbon to the top and called the box done! So, then I thought that I should make some note cards to actually go IN the box - LOL! And, what better note cards to make for this one than the new Fresh Cuts note cards that came with the set! I had not used these yet either, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE them, and will definitely be doing a lot more! Here are the note cards I made with the matching envies. Aren't they pretty?! I again used my Fresh Cuts stamp set and colored the image in with my stampin' write markers - it does take a little longer but the result is wonderful IMHO! I also punched out flowers with my 5-petal punch in Elegant Eggplant and adhered them to the inside flower, then added a Pale Plum button to each center. I also added some more Elegant Eggplant grosgrain ribbon to tie the card design in with the top of the box. The envies are stamped in Elegant Eggplant classic ink using a stamp from the Fresh Cuts set. Here is a close-up of the cards - I am really happy with the way they turned out! So, now you can see how this gift evolved from a card and dinner to a card, dinner, and chocolates, to a card, dinner, chocolates, a gift box, and some matching note cards....throw in the cake I also had for her and I was done - LOL! She loved everything though and had tears in her eyes when she told me this is the best birthday she has had in a long, long time...I think I will call this a success! I hope I did not bore you too much, but thought it was a fun story to share! I hope you enjoy my creations as much as I enjoyed making them! Have a fabulous day!

A BIRTHDAY CARD - YEP, IT'S PURPLE!

Hi All! I hope everyone enjoyed their day yesterday in some form or fashion! We had a very nice evening once Tony got home from his trip and he LOVES his new Ipod - I had loaded it up with all his favorite music so he is set to go! So, today is my MILs birthday and of course I needed to make her a card. Well, her favorite color is purple - yep, purple, which is DEFINITELY not a favorite of mine BUT since it IS her birthday, I decided that I could make the sacrifice and use some purple - LOL! She is also a HUGE fan of that sassy character Maxine so I figured our Sassy Suzie stamp set is close enough to live up to her! I know she will get a kick out of it, this set is soooo her! I am very lucky - I am very close to my MIL and I consider her a friend...we go shopping, hang out, talk on the phone - it's nice! Especially since she only lives 15 minutes away - LOL! I also did the inside since I am giving it as a birthday card so here is a picture to show you. I used the cake stamp from the Birthday Whimsy stamp set and added some dazzling diamonds to give it a little bit of bling! I think it is a fun card and she will like it - I know my husband thought it was funny! So, I will leave you with the recipe. Also, stay tuned because in the next few days, I will have some exciting news to share with you - I can't wait!! Until tomorrow, toodles!

Card Recipe:

Paper - Elegant Eggplant card stock, Lovely Lilac card stock, Naturals White card stock, Flowers For You Designer Series Paper

Stamps - Birthday Whimsy, Sassy Suzie

Inks - Stampin' write markers, Lovely Lilac Classic Stampin' Pad, Black Stazon

Accessories - Ticket Corner Punch, Photo Corners Punch, Silver brads, Build-a-Brad, 3/4 inch circle punch, mat stack and paper piercer, Elegant Eggplant narrow grosgrain ribbon , dimensionals, two-way glue, dazzling diamonds, square rhinestone brads, slit punch

STAMPIN' UP! RETIRED LIST IS OUT!!!

****RETIRED LIST IS OUT****

Good morning all! Quick post as I have a lot to do before my man comes home from a business trip - gotta make him feel special since he is missing out on getting spoiled all day! But, wanted to post the Stampin' Up! Retired List - you can see it here! If there are sets you have been pondering and they are on the list, get to ordering because once they are retired, it's over - LOL! New catalog will be available to customers starting August 11th! Want to place and order for those retiring sets?? Let me know, I will happy to help! Have a wonderful Sunday and Happy Father's Day to all the great dads out there!