A Peek Into My Stamping Room

New Link!

Did you notice under the Blogs I like to visit, there is a new blog?  It is Maria's UHU Project blog.  If you click on it, there is a place to email a request to try a free sample of UHU products.  I requested mine, but haven't received them.  Another demonstrator I know, has used the products and likes them.  So we will see.

I have gotten lots of emails about my Domino Ornament Tutorial.  To get to the tutorial, just click on October in the archives, and its the first post that comes up. 

I appreciate everyone looking and emailing me about my blog.  I try to answer your questions, as soon as I can.  This blog makes it fast and easy to share ideas and techniques.  Just imagine how much time it would take to email everyone your great idea, WOW!  That would not be fun.  Blogging is very fun and I encourage everyone to give it a try. 

Look what I got today!

I finally got this today.  They have been on backorder for awhile and they are totally out at all the craft stores.  I am excited to use it.  Now if only the stomach flu would just go AWAY!

Totally cool, right! 

Busy Weekend!

Well, I skipped shopping on Black Friday and I worked in my craft room.  Here is what I completed!  I made 55 ornaments with various images inside.  Here is my favorite:

Images (c) Stampin' Up! 1990-2006 - Design by Debbie Seyer

Stamp Set:  Heavenly Peace

Here is what my desk and table look like right now!

I am not feeling well.  Everyone in the family is finally feeling good, no inhalers, antibiotics or other stuff, and now, I am sick to my stomache and achy.  Woe, is me!  I am having a pity party tonight but tommorrow is a new day! 

Favorite SU Color Family

The results of my Favorite Stampin' Up! color family are remarkable!  Here are the results:

With 56 people voting:

30.4% like Earth Elements

26.8% can't pick just one family - they love them all

25% like Rich Regals

12.5% like Soft Subtles

I found this amazing!  I just love the Rich Regals!  No one voted for Bold Brights or Neutrals and no one voted for they have no idea what I was talking about!  That was good, LOL!

Hope you had a very Happy Thanksgiving.  Ours was really good.  My dinner came off without any mishaps - like burning marshmallows - and hardly any leftovers!  But I just love a leftover turkey sandwich with Mircle Whip, don't you?  I have thought about what I am thankful for and the list is very long:

My family - my 3 girls and husband are everything to me

Good Friends - I have been very blessed with having really good friends.

I am also thankful that I can stay home with my children and explore my creative side with Stamping.  That is thanks to my husband's hard work, sacrifice and love for his family!

Hope you think about what you are thankful for!  Have a great weekend!

Earth Elements?

So I am about ready to change my poll on everyone's favorite Stampin' Up! color family.  Right now Earth Elements is winning.  Wow!  I am so surprised.  While I do use colors from the Earth Elements alot, I think my favorite is Rich Regals.  Who doesn't love Regal Rose, Rose Red and Ballet Blue?  Well, not together!  I haven't come up with another poll, yet.  Hopefully, it will be a good one.

I will not have time to stamp this week.  I don't think I will even be able to steal some time until, maybe, Friday.  With cooking Thanksgiving Dinner, being the family driver and chief bottlewasher, I will just not have any time.  So I have posted my very favorite card that I saw on the display boards at the St. Louis Stampin' Up! Regional Meeting last weekend.

Here it is:

I don't own this stamp set yet, but it is on my wishlist.  The stamp set is Sampler Sayings.  It has the crossed stitched look with 6 stamps in the set.  Very cute and a different look for me! 

What's on your wishlist?  Have thought about it?  You need to make a Stampin' Up! wishlist and give it to your hubby, family and other gift buying friends, how else do you get what you want?

Make sure to remember, I gift wrap, if you want me too!!  Be sure to check out My Stampin' Up! website for a calendar of events.  Some pretty cool things are coming!   Here is a hint! 

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me!.....    Well, you get the idea!. . . . .  Check out my calendar of events on my Stampin' Up! website for more info!  Have a great week!

Last Night!

This is what I made last night.  I am working on my Craft show stuff and trying not to stress about the Thanksgiving Dinner I am making.

What do you think?

I had alot of trouble with the Crystal Effects making the orange carrot nose on my snowman run, so I used my VersaMark Pad and Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder over the whole domino.  I like the effect it gives. 

There are 25 domino ornaments in this box and I haven't decided what the right price is.  Do you have an idea?  How much would you pay them?  Maybe $2.00 each?  Give me some feedback, please.

Have a great Sunday!

Clear Glass Ornaments

I am making some clear glass ornaments for the craft show where I am having a booth.  I thought maybe everyone would like to see how to make these?  First, this is hard to photograph because acetate sheets are used.  Second, there is a glare off the glass ornaments no matter what I did.  So that being said, here it is!

Supplies Needed:

Clear Glass ornaments, Acetate Sheets, Coluzzle Cutting System, Jet Black Stazon, Mini Glue Dots, Stamp Set (I used Christmas Cardinal), Gold Cording, Red Organdy Ribbon, Scissors, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

Using the Coluzzle Circle Template, cut a circle of acetate just big enough to fit inside the clear glass ornament.  As you can see, I have marked every other line with a red sharpie so I can easily use my Coluzzle. 

It is very hard to see, but I left a small "tab" at the top of the circle so I can "anchor" the acetate circle in the glass ornament.  I made the tab in one of the spaces you have to cut with scissors when you use the Coluzzle....clear as mud, right?

Stamp your image in Stazon Ink on the Acetate circle you cut out.  I left the paper behind the acetate for easier viewing.

Let this dry.

Once the image is dry, turn it over.  Using sharpie markers, color in the image on the opposite side of the stamped image.

Take the top hanger off your ornament.  Roll up the acetate circle you stamped on and start inserting it into the ornament.  Right before its all the way in, put a Mini Glue Dot on the little "tab" you left and anchor the acetate circle to the neck of the ornament.

Put a small amount of Dazzling Diamonds Glitter into the glass ornament and put the hanger back in place.

I tied a bow of Red Organdy Ribbon on the hanger plus tied some gold cording on so you can hang the ornament on the tree.  Here is my completed ornament!

Very Easy and super fun.  My kids have helped me make these the past 3 years.  I cut out the acetate and stamp, they color the images, I put the acetate into the ornament, they put in the glitter. 

It is a fun project to do together!

Drumroll Please!

Survey Says!....the winner is.....melv3468.  Please email me your snail mail address and your SU cardstock ring will be in the mail to you quickly.  Thanks everyone who participated!

I received emails from all over and I do mean all over.  Emails came in from British Columbia to Sydney, Australia.  How fun is that?  Pretty fun, let me tell you!  Everyone who responded seems to want plenty of Techniques and project tutorials, so I will get busy.   

I had lots of questions of where I am.  I live in a small suburb of St. Louis MO.  I have been married for 15 years to my high school sweetheart, Keith and we have 3 beautiful girls.  They are 13, 10 and 6 years old.  I have been a SAHM for 13 years and a Stampin' Up Demonstrator since 2003.  I got into scrapbooking first and then was introduced to stamping through a Stampin' Up party at my friend, Shelly's house.  Shelly became a demonstrator and I had a party for her.  My father was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2000 and I found that stamping, scrapbooking and paper crafting was a real good stress reliever for me.   Instead of purchasing at full price, my hubby encouraged me to sign up as a demonstrator.  By far, this is the best JOB I have ever had, except being a mommy!

Hope you learned something about me!  I appreciate the response from the survey.  My blog was also featured on Splitcoaststamper's Weekly Inkling yesterday!  What a compliment.  Remember, I really like it when you post your comments, so keep posting!!

I am off to grocery shop for Thanksgiving dinner. Yikes, there is no one to carry in the groceries.  Bummer!  Hope you have a good day!

I'm so excited....

Do you have that Pointer Sister's song in your head now?  I'm so excited....And I just can't hide it....

That's me, so excited.  I am going to a Regional Stampin' Up! event at the America's Center on Saturday.  I will be with my Stamping Sisters ALL DAY.  Boy, do I need the break from the family!  Things have been very intense around here lately.

So I made a few swaps - only 25 - and I think they turned out great!  I will exchange  these with other demonstrators and get some new ideas.    I used the NEW small tag punch featured in the Winter Mini Catalog!  If you haven't received or seen a Winter Mini Catalog, let me know.  I can hook ya up, dude!!

Here is my swap card:

Supplies used:

Ladybuds Stamp Set and Carte Postale Stamp Set; Mellow Moss, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose and Shimmery White Cardstock;  Basic Black, Regal Rose, Mellow Moss Classic Ink Pad; Accessories - Signo White Gel Pen, Ruler, Itty Bitty Hole Punch, Gold Brads, AquaPainter, Reg. Tag Punch and Small Tag Punch

The Carte Postale Stamp Set is also featured in the Winter Mini Catalog that starts on Dec 1.  I got the stamp set for FREE for meeting a sales goal three months running.  I just love FREE stamps.  If you haven't realized it already, these are my favorite colors!

Here are other cards I designed for swaps but they were just too hard and time consuming!

I cased this design from the Idea Book & Catalog on page 186.  I don't have Bodacious Blossoms but I do have Mixed Bouquet.  I thought it worked okay but just didn't want to cut out all those flowers.  Know what I mean?                                                                      

Supplies Used:  Mixed Bouquet and Warm Words Stamp Set; Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery and Confetti White Cardstock; Certainly Celery, Regal Rose & Bashful Blue Classic Ink Pads; Prep School Ribbon Originals, Gold Brad and Stampin' Dimensionals

This is the original card I started with and changed it up when I got my shipment of Winter Mini Catalog stuff.  I really wanted to use that Small Tag Punch.    This requires a lot of masking, plus I used the Faux Stitching tech.  I will explain these techniques next week.  Very fun.   

Supplies Used:  Ladybuds, Linen Background and Warm Words Stamp set; Mellow Moss, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Shimmery White Cardstock; Basic Black, Regal Rose & Mellow Moss Classic Ink Pad;  White Signo Gel Pen, Ruler, Gold Brads, Large & Small Oval Punches and Itty Bitty hole punch.

I have a workshop tommorrow night.  We are making a really cute Bottle Cap Pin, Embossed Christmas Card and Genie Bag plus I will be showing the fantastic Simply Scrappin' kit - At Home.  Scrapbooking is really easy with the Simply Scrappin' Kits!  Will post pictures of these projects next week when the weekend is over.  I like to surprise my workshop guest, too!  Have a great weekend, I know I will!

Simple Invitation and other stuff

Thanksgiving at our house this year!  Wow, that is alot of work.  Today I made some simple Invitations for our family to let them know what time to come, etc.  Here is my invitation:

Supplies Used:  Sew Seasonal Stamp Set, Sincere Salutations, Fresh Fillers   Cardstock:  Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie, Apricot Appeal, Naturals Ivory  Accessories:  Aquapainter, Ribbon Originals, Subtle Brads and hole punch

I wanted a simple invitation to save time and I know they will end up in the trash (GASP!).  Sometimes I have trouble with simple.  I have trouble making a card without ribbon.  On Friday night, some friends came over to stamp Christmas Cards and every card but one had ribbon.  OOPS!  Who knew? 

Here are some of the cards we made:

See everything has ribbon!  Most of these card designs were cased from many sources at Splitcoast Stampers.  I visit the gallery there alot for ideas.  I have been having a hard time finding the time to stamp.   Not stamping is making me crabby!!  I have a workshop on Friday Night and have to get everything ready for that plus Saturday there is a Regional Stampin' Up! Meeting I am attending with my Stamping Sisters!  YEAH, usually these meetings are chocked full of great ideas and inspiration.  I need to make some swaps to trade with other Stampin' Up! demonstrators.  Like I said, finding time to stamp has been a challenge!  Wish me luck!