My Daughter and I

Playing with 'My Digital Studio'....gosh it's fun!!

Decided to try something bright and cheerful for our photo of my daughter and I. This is done in the size of a card.....great to do with a family photo to mail out to family and friends!

You'll really enjoy this easy program!!

Then I decided to try an 8 1/2 x 11 page done with a 'vintagy feel'.....too fun!!

Fifth Ave Birthday!

How many of you Stampers out there think your friends would appreciate a store-bought card from you....knowing that you make your own?! Yep....not many! :-) So, with one of my dear friends having a Birthday last week, I had to create a card for her. I decided to use the "Fifth Avenue Floral" set for it's simplicity and elegance. Don't forget to throw in a piece of lace or crochet ribbon where it's fitting....it really can transform the look of your cards.

Stampin' Up! items used:

Very Vanilla cardstock, Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper, Daffodil Delight striped grosgrain ribbon, Antique Brads, Small Corner Round punch, Jewelry Tag punch, Tiny Tags stamp set, and Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set.

Back To School!

Today is my daughter's first day back to school! She was very excited this morning to be seeing her friends and starting 4th grade! The sad part is.....no parting hugs and kisses if other children are close by. I received a sheepish smile when I asked for one. :-) Then she quietly said "I love you, Mom" with that "will you forgive me" grin on her face as she left to walk up the steps to the front door of her school. Funny how they grow up, huh? She loves to hug on me when she's at home, so I will be extremely thankful for that! :-)

Thought I'd share a picture of her this morning....she refused to blow dry her hair, so off to school with wet hair she went! :-)

I also wanted to share some pictures she took yesterday of the butterflies in our yard! She managed to catch a Hummingbird too and did a great job photographing. Hope you enjoy!

Have a great day, all!

Simple Scrapbook Pages!

Can I just tell you how much I like "My Digital Studio"!! What an awesome program! It's so easy to create scrapbook pages quickly and easily.....as well as cards, invitations, announcements, calendars, etc. If you don't have it.....it's a Must Have!! :-)

Here's three pages I just did of my friend's granddaughter, Klaire. She's such a delight to photograph...but as toddlers do, they can't sit still very long so you take LOTS of pictures before you get a few good ones! Hope you enjoy the simplicity of these designs....

All done using Stampin' Up!'s "My Digital Studio."

Dreams Grow Us

I finally used cork in a card design! It certainly adds a different dimension to the card, doesn't it? The cork sheets are not hard to work with and work very well with the Sissix Die Cutting systems. I've even used my standard cutter on it. So, don't be afraid to work with different materials in your own designs! The cork is now available with Stampin' Up!....as well as wood sheets for use with your Die Cuts. Have fun experimenting! I used the "Dreams du Jour" stamp set for this design.

Stampin' Up! items used:

Night of Navy, Whisper White, Basic Black, Old Olive, and Poppy Parade cardstock. Used the "Two Tags" Bigz Die for cork piece, Square Lattice embossing folder (available in the Summer Mini which ends August 31st), 1" Circle Punch, Designer Button, and White Signo gel pens.

Chocolate Delight!

Who can resist chocolate?! YUM! I'm partial to dark chocolate myself...@ 60% cocoa....but won't get too picky about it when I'm craving. :-)

The "Sweet Scoops" stamp set is fun to work with. Whatever ice cream flavor you are craving...you can create it in ink! Feeling your sweet tooth aching yet? :-)

Stampin' Up! items used:

Early Espresso, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla cardstock and inks, Early Espresso striped grosgrain ribbon, Early Espresso 1/8 inch Taffeta ribbon, Square Lattice embossing folder, Jewelry Tag punch and the Tiny Tags stamp set.

Go eat your chocolate now! :-)

Floral Elements

Had a great time stamping this weekend with my girlfriends!  As you can see, it's been a few days since I posted some new cards, so I set to work to make a few to be able to post through this week for you! What started out as a neat and orderly work space, soon turned into total chaos....as designing and stamping my projects usually do. :-) Lots of elements used, ideas thrown out and thrown away, etc. etc. You know the drill, right?! :-) Designing takes the longest for me....

Thought you might enjoy a few pics of the process....the work in progress. We all had a great time....it's nice to work while you are able to enjoy conversations and laughter with your friends!

Remember that a lot of these projects I'm showing you are done using stamps from the Summer Mini catalog, which is only available to order from through August 31st! Times running out!! Oh no! :-)

This stamp set is called "Elements of Style"....quite elegant, don't you think?

Stampin' Up! items used:

Riding Hood Red, Basic Black, Garden Green and Whisper White cardstock, Eyelet Border punch, and a Blender pen with Riding Hood Red, Certainly Celery, Garden Green and Daffodil Delight to color the image.

Courage

I like this saying, "It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are." I think this applies to each one of us....life is all about growing and changing on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, right? We just hope that we make the right choices and end up where we are supposed to be on this journey of life!
God bless each one of you on your journey......

Stampin' Up supplies used:

Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla cardstock. Also used "Newsprint" Designer series paper and the Scallop oval punch to create the flower. Small oval punch used for the leaves. "Vintage Wallpaper" embossing folder used for background. Black n Vanilla Striped Grosgrain ribbon, Scallop Trim border punch, Jewelry Tag punch, Basic Pearls, and Victoria Crochet Trim used also. The stamp set is "Hope Happens."

Good Alien!

This is such an adorable set to make funny cards or kiddie cards with! I got crazy with the colors and patterns on this one, but it seemed to call for it! Hope you have just found a new way to use your "Word Window punch"......

The stamp set is called "Greetings, Earthling!"

Stampin' Up! items used:

Real Red, Old Olive, Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Pacific Point, Basic Black and Daffodil Delight cardstock. Word Window punch, Scallop Trim border punch, 1/2" Circle punch and the 3/4" Circle punch used. White Gel pen used for 'sewing.'

Hope he made you smile! :-)

Tea Time!

Remember I said I enjoyed hot tea in the evenings? Well, here's another card using stamps from the "Morning Cup" set! I worked on it while sipping a cup of Constant Comment....nice and relaxing. You oughta try it tonight. :-)

So, here's another design for use with this wonderful stamp set. I decided to go a bit 'vintagy' with this one. Hope you enjoy the sentiment with it too! It's from the new set "Favorite Thoughts" which is only available until August 31st. You might not want to miss out on this one....it's great!

The SU colors used in this card are: Very Vanilla, Marina Mist, Early Espresso and Crumb Cake. Also used is Stampin' Up!'s new 5/8 Victoria Crochet ribbon!

Time to go steep yourself some tea! :-)

Caffeine Delight!

As evidensed by the content of my blog header......I enjoy my caffeine!! :-) I'll take it in many forms, but espresso is my utmost favorite. Starbucks knows me by name.....and my drink! :-) SO, with that said....when Stampin' Up! came out with this wonderful "Morning Cup" stamp set......GUESS who HAD to have it! Yes....Your's truly. It is a delightful set and if you are a tea drinker (which I enjoy in the evenings) there's adorable stamps in this set for you too!

The colors used in the following card are : Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz, Marina Mist and watercolor paper. You'll notice more of the wonderful Striped Grosgrain ribbon! LOVE IT!! Also take note of the new Antique Brads! The pack comes with 5 different designs with a total of 20!

Hope you are as delighted by this set as I am!

Hydrangea Beauty!

I believe Hydrangeas have to be some of the prettiest garden flowers to have growing! This stamp captures the detail and beauty of these flowers. Imagine all the different colors you can use in your own creation! :-) Hate to tease you with this one, but it's only available to those that Hostess a qualifying workshop....so if you have a Demonstrator near you, give them a call! OR you can place a $150 order through my website and receive the stamp set for free!

The colors used for this card are SU's Whisper White, Basic Black, Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizazz. The wonderful ribbon is the Daffodil Delight Striped Grosgrain....also available in ten other colors! Also used were the Scallop Oval punch and Large Oval punch.

God Bless You

I don't know about you, but I never seem to have Sympathy or Baptism cards on hand. This particular stamp set has three beautiful crosses in it as well as the sentiment 'God Bless You'....so I had to purchase it! :-) I like the fact that it has an elegant cross and a couple that have a bit of a Celtic flair to them....you'll see how that worked to create two different style cards by just changing the colors and the crosses used.

The background of the cards was made using Stampin' Up!'s new 'Elegant Lines' embossing folder.

Marina Mist and Whisper White cardstock used on this card....as well as SU's new pearls!

Kraft and Early Espresso used on this card.....as well as SU's new Antique Brads.

Hope you enjoy!