Inspired Vintage

     Hello! Today's card was inspired by nitestamper's card over at SplitCoastStampers. While Chat's card is absolutely gorgeous I was looking to simplify her card just a bit.

     To make it more of my own I chose to change the colors slightly (I used Pear Pizazz, Garden Green and Rich Razzleberry) and tweaked the layout just a tiny bit.

     I must give credit where credit is due.  I sat for quite some time deciding wether or not to add the first layer of Whisper White over the Pear Pizazz.  Aaron came into my crafting "studio", saw me pondering and without a second thought told me I should add the white layer.  And once I adhered all the layers I completely agree with him!  Maybe he has a future in stamping!

Stamps: Vintage Vogue
Paper: Whisper White, Pear Pizazz, Garden Green, Rich Razzleberry
Ink: Pear Pizazz

Tools & Accessories: Boho Blossoms extra-large punch, pearls, Big Shot, lattice embossing folder, Stampin' dimensional

 

    

I'm So Proud of Him!

     It was hard to be mad at the little guy for making a mess when I was so proud of him for becoming such an independent kitty!  Floyd somehow managed to open the cabinet door, rip open his bag of Meow Mix and then proceeded to eat the bits that fell out.  We're thinking he wanted the freshest kibble possible since there was plenty of food in his dish!

We're In the Middle of A Nor'Easter!

     The meteorologists have predicted 18+" of snow for southern New Hampshire. So far it looks like we only have about 6" - that's considered a dusting for those born and raised in New England!  Although it is quite windy with gusts up to 40mph and I'm wondering if we'll lose power at some time today.  Good thing we have lots of leftover lasagna to eat and stamping supplies to keep me busy!
     The photo above is of my husband cleaning off his car so the plows can start to clear off the parking lot.  On a clear day you can easily see the pool house and first condo building 150 yards to the left... not so easy to see today!
    

A Birthday CASE, Take 2!

     Hello!  I loved my first CASE of jacynthe's card so much that I thought I'd try it again, this time turning it into a Christmas card!  I kept the layout the same but used Jolly Holiday DSP instead.

     Had I seen this card in the SplitCoastStampers gallery sooner I think I would have made this the family Christmas card.  It can be easily made "assembly line" style and is the perfect card to use up scraps.  Oh well, there's always next year!

Stamps: Christmas Greetings

Ink: Cherry Cobbler

Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Jolly Holiday DSP

Tools & Accessories: Very Vanilla 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Stampin' dimensionals

Christmas Lights Gone Wild

What's his electric bill like at the end of the month?

CASEing A Birthday CASE

     Hello!  Today's card was inspired by jacynthe's card over at SplitCoastStampers.  Jacynthe's card is more on the masculine side and I tried my best to replicate that tone but I just couldn't.  No matter what colors of DSP I put together they still looked girly.  I finally decided to go with Marina Mist, Pretty In Pink and Old Olive and I'm quite happy with the end result!

     To "wrap" the gifts I wrapped a piece of grosgrain ribbon around the DSP and secured on the back.  For the bow I used an extra piece of ribbon and tied it to the first piece of ribbon. 

Stamps: Bitty Birthday (retired)

Ink: Marina Mist

Paper: Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Whisper White, Subtles DSP from the Patterns DSP stack

Tools & Accessories: White grosgrain ribbon, Stampin' dimensionals

   



Here's How I Spent My Weekend!

     On Saturday I got together with the Stamp Club ladies from Portsmouth and stamped, stamped, stamped - for 4 hours!!   But this wasn't a workshop in the traditional sense.  It was a shoebox swap with a purpose: we made cards for Susanna's husband to distribute to troops while he's stationed in Afghanistan.  Each member came up with one card, supplied all the materials needed to make the card and then demonstrated how to put it together.  And I must admit that it felt sooo nice to sit back and let others do all the work!  In the end, we had about 60 cards with various sentiments to send to the brave men and woman who are currently serving in Afghanistan.

     It was also Jane's birthday!  We celebrated with a delicious breakfast and, of course, cake!

     On Sunday I was up at 6am and spent the entire morning baking cookies, I finally finished at 11:30.  I made Vanishing Oatmeal Chocolate Chip for the cookie swap at school on Monday and gingerbread men for my Kindergarten kids to enjoy on Monday (we're going to read the story and then graph which body part we eat first!).  In total I ended up baking 94 cookies, 52 of which were the gingerbread men that still need to be decorated...

     I'm supposed to start making gift tags and wrap presents pretty soon but I think I may just veg out on the couch for a bit... I'm tired!

Filled With Love Promotion

  
     From December 17, 2010 through January 24, 2011, get a FREE package of Bitty Buttons - a $4.95 value - when you purchase an exclusive Filled with Love Bundle. 
     Yes, I know that we haven't even made it through Christmas yet but Valentine's Day is the second biggest holiday for sending cards.  But with Stampin' Up's newest promotion now is the perfect time to stock up on supplies so you'll be all set to create in January!  During the Filled with Love promotion, you can get an exclusive package of Love Designs DSP and the Filled With Love clear-mount stamp set and a free pack of Bitty Buttons for just $26.95 (item # 124381).  Click HERE to download the flyer with images of stamp set and DSP.
     *Keep in mind that the Filled With Love stamp set is available in the Holiday Mini catalog until January 3, 2011.  After that date it will only be available through this promotion.

   

Hallelujah Chorus

     On Nov.13 2010 unsuspecting shoppers got a big surprise while enjoying their lunch. Over 100 participants in this amazing choir.

Felt Coffee Cup Cozy

     Hello!  Today project is one that's been sent to me by my wonderful up-line, Stella (check out her website, Stellar Stamps).  I loved this idea so much that I thought I'd share it with you!
     Next time you buy a cup of coffee be sure to get a cardboard cozy for your cup. Keep the cup so you can check tightness of your cozy later. Keep cardboard cozy and gently open it up at the seam to allow it to lay flat which will create your template. Trace onto a piece of felt (brown in my sample) that is likely to be about 11" long and about 4" wide then cut out. This is a great chance to use scraps you may hanging around.

     Using a blanket stitch and embroidery floss stitch around top and bottom of brown felt then stitch edges together to make it tight enough to go around coffee cup. Not sure how to blanket stitch? I found a super easy tutorial on a blog here.
     Using our Hearts & Brackets Originals Die (pg. 213 of Idea Book & Catalog) cut out heart using contrasting felt color (red in my sample) with the Big Shot. Adhere heart to brown felt using Crystal Effects (page 197 of Idea Book & Catalog), hot glue gun or Aleene's tacky glue, etc... Allow to dry completely. Note how heart is leaning a little and not straight. It stands out more that way I think.
     Using a button from the Holiday Mini Big Designer Buttons (pg. 17) stitch button onto cozy overlapping onto heart a wee bit.

     Using Watercolor Paper (pg. 170) stamp the coffee cup and "perk up!" images from the set Morning Cup (pg. 60) with Early Espresso ink. Color in using either markers or with an Aqua Painter and a little ink squished into an ink pad lid. Take care to not color too much over the brown ink of the image so it does not bleed.
     Punch stamped image using 1 1/4" Circle Punch (pg. 203) then layer/adhere onto a piece of Early Espresso card stock then punch using 1 3/8" Circle Punch (pg. 203). Punch tiny hole at upper left using 1/16" Circle Punch (pg. 202). Insert a piece of the same embroidery floss into hole and knot so that the loop is about 1 1/2" long. Dangle this piece onto button that you sewed onto the cozy.

     Slip cozy onto some warm coffee, tea or cocoa and enjoy!
     You can use any colors, any die cut images, you can cut something out free hand. You can add any embellishments you want.  How about more buttons?  Or Fleurettes (pg. 188), Paper Daisies (pg. 188), or ribbon (pg. 190-191). As long as you can comfortably hold the coffee, the sky's the limit as to how crazy you want to get with this.
     I am dying to make one of these but life is a bit hectic right now with the bustle of the holidays.  I'm thinking I won't get a chance to sit down and try it out until January (bummer!).  If you get a chance to make one of these before me, I would love to see it!  Just leave me a comment and I'll make sure to add your photo to my blog!

I'm Still Here!

Hello!
   Yes, I'm still here!  One of the many joys of being a teacher is catching all the little sniffles that my kiddos come to school with each fall/winter.  I thought this year would be no different and wasn't surprised when I came down with the flu.  But after two weeks of feeling and sounding absolutely horrible I finally went to the doctor.  As it turns out, I was suffering from a bout of pneumonia!  Needless to say I haven't had a chance to update my blog recently but I have made it into my stamp room on several occasions.  I have a few projects that I'm working on (the ones you can do in bed and in front of the TV) and will post those soon!

Stampin' Scrub Unavailable For Extended Period

      Stampin' Up's Stampin' Scrub manufacturer has notified us they are unable to obtain raw material for the Stampin' Scrub. Stampin' Up! has been told to expect an extended delay in availability of this item as the manufacturer locates new materials. Stampin' Up! will resolve this as quickly as they can, but they expect this process to take several months.

     It is always difficult when unexpected outages occur and Stampin' Up! understands this impacts demonstrators and customers individually in a number of ways. Please know that Stampin' Up! is working as quickly and carefully as they can to get this resolved for you and your customers. Stampin' Up! apologizes for the inconvenience, and I will post more information once we hear from the manufacturer and can provide an update.