SCRAP AND STAMP SATURDAY CHALLENGE!

Hi all!!! WHEW!! I am soooo ready for the weekend, lol!!! I am going to a Shoebox Swap today with two of my good friends - there will be 25 of us in all so I think it will be really fun!! I am looking forward to a day of stamping, cardmaking, friends, and FUN!!!! Today though is the SSS Challenge - WHOOOHOOO!!!! I am VERY excited to share with all of you that our sponsor this week is the fabulous company RUSTY PICKLE!!! They have been VERY generous in their prize package they are providing for the ONE lucky winner we will have next Friday!! So, what do you have to do? Make a layout featuring your creative space and use chipboard that you have stamped on somewhere on your layout!! That's it!!! My layout shows you all my crafty stuff and the chipboard is actually stamped with one of my background stamps called Sanded. The chipboard that I used on my layout is actually from Rusty Pickle - they have fabulous products so we are very excited to have them as a sponsor!!! Ahhhh.....I love this room - it is my getaway....hence the title!!! So, want to see what you could win if you play along?? Head on over to the ScrapandStampSaturday site and check it out - you do NOT want to miss out!!! I wish I could win *wink* Not feeling inspired? I have the solution - look at the beautiful sample layouts the Design Team put together this week of their crafty spaces - I am amazed!!! What a truly talented group of ladies!!! I really hope to see you all over there - you just KNOW you have lots of pics you have not scrapped, so why not start now? Come on, show us what you've got!!!!

ANOTHER LITTLE TASTE OF WINTER

Hi all!!! I thought I would share another wintry card with you today - I used this one in one of my recent workshops where they requested winter cards. I used one of my favorite sets called Holiday Lineup - the images in this set totally make me smile!!! I had fun coloring these guys too because I did not use the usual colors you see in a holiday card. And, if you click on the card, you can see where I added some bling with Dazzling Diamonds to the beards and their little hat tops - they are soooo cute!! The base of the card is using Kraft (told you I am stuck on this!) The pattern paper is actually from the Thoroughly Modern line but I thought it was just perfect with the Bermuda Bay and just yummy when the chocolate chip taffeta ribbon is added!! And, I used my Big Shot Top Notes Die which I love!! The sentiment is punched with the new Modern Label punch which I had to have and use all the time!! All in all, I was pretty happy with this card, and they really like it which is all that matters, LOL!!! I am off to work today - busy day with the first thing on my agenda a press conference and town hall meeting - all before 8am!!! But, I LOVE my job, so it's all good - heehee!!! I will be back tomorrow to show you some more fun holiday cards - thanks so much for stopping by!!

DIGITIAL INK CO. DESIGN TEAM CALL....AND SANTA ALREADY??!!!

Hi all!!! I saw this on my good friend Boni's blog and wanted to post it here: there is a brand new site that is having it's grand opening called Digital Ink. Co. and they are having all kinds of prizes and giveaways so you need to get on over there and check it out (well, after you read MY post, lol!) Hey, I am always up to see fun new things and they are pretty cute!!! And, they are having a Design Team call this week as well!!! For the deets, just go to the store and see what is going on over there!! As for me, well, I know you might think it is a little too soon for Santa BUT I am getting ready for my Santa in September class and so I have been working on samples.....and I also wanted to get the SNR holiday challenge for this week done which is to use a traditional image on a card. Okay, WHAT is more traditional than Santa, I tell ya??!! So, here he is - I just love this image, he is soooo cute!!! I used my new Square Scallop Bigz die for my Big Shot and I LOVE it, sooo fun to play with!! And, check out that yummy new ribbon - it is definitely one of my new favorites, I just think it is soooo pretty!!! It's in the new Holiday Mini which is available on September 1st - just wait until you see it!! And, I am on my Kraft kick again - I seem to go through this every once in awhile where I cannot stop using it *wink* so you will see it some more this week! And, well, I did add some bling with Dazzling Diamonds to Mr Claus - just click on the image to see a close-up, he is sooo nice and glittery IRL! And, because I did NOT want Mr. Frosty left out, well, I did one using him too - LOL! Here is that card also using the Kraft for my base and of course I had to bling him too because you have to stay fair. I used some of the new Designer Series paper for both of my cards - it's called Holiday Lounge and I really like it because it has a lot of nontraditional Christmas colors in it. I got to use some of my new in-color paper called Bermuda Bay as well since it goes so well with this paper. I had fun playing with my new papers and one of my favorite Christmas sets Jolliest Time of the Year as well as a new one called Holiday Best, which is a Level I hostess set. VERY cute!!! So, there you have it - santa and frosty on a hot August day....but I just KNOW my gals taking this class are going to love them, heehee!! Well, now I am off to work but I will be poppin' by to see what you have all been up to as well *wink* Thanks so much for stopping by - I appreciate YOU!!

SHOEBOX SWAP - SPOOKY HALLOWEEN

Happy Monday all!!! I am so excited to tell you that I got to stamps LOTS this weekend with some stampin' friends and we had the best time!! We laughed and talked and of course STAMPED!! All three of us are driving to Sacramento next Saturday to participate in a Shoebox Swap - our first one ever! I know, as long as I have been stamping, I have never been a participant although I have always wanted to. So, not sure what to expect....do I reallly take a shoebox?? I am thinking all my kits go in there.....anyway, that is what I will do!! It is a holiday swap and I signed up for Halloween so this is the card I will be doing. It is not a SU! exclusive swap although there will be a lot of demos there. However, my card IS SU! exclusive since I am also using this to teach a card class next Friday night. I LOVE this new Halloween set called Happy Haunts, it is so fun to play with! I really had fun putting this card together. I did not want to make it too complicated, but I wanted it to be a card people would like - anyone been to a shoebox swap? Does this pass the muster, LOL? I think it turned out pretty cute *wink* I have really been getting into my cardmaking again and it feels soooo good - and I even got to check out some of my favorite blogs this weekend, whoohoo!! I feel FABULOUS that life is returning to some semblance of normalcy - heehee!!! I will have something to share every day this week too - YIPPEE!! So, off to work now, then I will check out YOU all tonight!! Thanks for stopping by, I love ya for it!!

Card Recipe:

Paper - Old Olive, Crushed Curry, Elegant Eggplant, whisper White card stock, Cast-a-Spell Designer Series Paper

Stamps - House of Haunts, Sanded background stamp

Inks - Basic Black stamp pad, Elegant Eggplant stamp pad, Crushed Curry stampin' write marker

Accessories - Photo Corners Punch, Elegant Eggplant narrow grosgrain ribbon, mat stack and paper piercer