Good Monday Morning!

All right- I finally have uploaded some pictures and cropped and digitally altered to make everything appear better than it really is. LOL! Except me- I'm so unphotogenic so I probably won't even be uploading that picture!

Here's my table with my DD working for me. She does like to help, but she also likes to shop at the other booths which is one reason I don't make much at these things. Ha ha! The pillows on my table are my mom's- she makes the best luxuriously soft pillows for babies and kiddos (my kids LOVE them!) and they are completely washable. My daughter was hoping none would sell so she could have everything left!

Next up are the long-promised domino necklaces. I'm kind of torn about these things- they are pretty and fun to make but I also really struggled coming up with a way to make sure the ink was permanent and didn't rub off. I ended up spraying them with tons of coats of the same sealer I use on my tiles, but I'm afraid they will still scratch off if tested too much. My only option left that I might try is embossing the entire piece with clear EP. However, now that I have the ribbon and jewelry findings on each one I don't want to take those off, so not sure if I'll do it at this point or not.

A few of these I painted with a coat of Luimere- that shiny paint that SU used to carry. Mine is a little chunky now due to age and a crack in the lid, but it still worked and I actually liked the texture it added. Also, the Lumiere helped keep the craft ink in place and not rub off!

Well, I'll save the rest for another day. Thanks, as always, for stopping by!

~Kristin

I'm back I'm back!

Finally, what a relief, the craft fairs are behind me! I have tons of pictures to share and plan to scrapbook this week (yippee!!) so I may just schedule a bunch of pictures I took of last minute preps for fair and then I'll maybe have some pages to post next week. Think it'll work?!?

Hey, remember the domino necklaces I've talked about for what seems like decades? Well, I busted my tail getting them done on Friday to take them with me to sell and you'll never guess! I LEFT THE STINKIN' ROTTEN THINGS ON MY DESK AT HOME!! So, I still have all nine of them. Oh well, my stuff went over well at my last class so I'll either get them out for my next one or else I've got all my teacher's gifts and stocking stuffers done already (and it's not even Thanksgiving yet!).

So, here's a picture of the (stupid) necklaces: Oh geez, don't shoot me.... I haven't uploaded them yet. I seriously went to insert here and no picture. OK, so I'll go do some serious uploading and modifying and I'll be back in a bit. Thanks for stopping by!
~Kristin

PS- Hope you had a great weekend!

"Green" Ornaments!

Yes, I know they're not actually green, but they are both made with recylcled materials! I don't know about you but I have GOBS of ribbon! And I use it- enough to empty a spool every now and then. I got the idea from a few fellow stampers over the years (in other words I have no idea where or from whom) but the gist is to save the cardboard and or plastic centers from the empty ribbon spools. I have several laying around, but some I've saved for so long the cardboard is too beat up to use (the edges show a bit even when covered with paper). I've also added fabulous felt snowflakes to these, a bit of bling with some glitter, and rhinestone brads on the large ornament! Complete them with ribbon or cord to hang from the tree.

Anyway, the large one I made with giant chipboard snowflakes from a pack I bought from SU last year. These are similar to the chipboard pieces available in the Holiday Collection Stampin' Kit right now through the end of the year or while supplies last! Check out this kit, if you haven't already. It is featured in the December 2008 issue of Country Living magazine in an EIGHT PAGE spread! The kit not only includes dozens of chipboard pieces, but also beautiful die cut designer papers , an exclusive stamp set and many many other items to make lovely ornaments with a hand-made feel!

Wow, look how that turned into a plug for the current promotion and I hadn't even planned on that!

Top Note Place Cards

I'm not sure if these will sell, but they were quite fun and easy to make and I figure, heck I'll use them for our holiday dinners if they don't. The first batch were made with all Earth Elements colors, the Pocket Silhouettes set and the words Give Thanks from Fancy Flexible Phrases- of course the Top Note and scallop & circle punches as well! Easy peasy!

The Christmas set was made using Punch Pals, Punches Three & Snow Flurries stamp sets as well as the Holiday Treasures papers (in the regular SU catalog, not a mini). I really like this set of holiday papers- they are traditional with a twist- to go a bit unconventional you can pull out the rose or baha breeze or play up the fun patterns! For these I also added the square scallop punch and the 3/4" circle punch. Thanks for stopping by! And let me know if I've inspired to try these out!

If you don't have the Top Note die (and Big Shot) I'd be glad to have them shipped directly to you just in time for the holidays - an early gift from Santa maybe!

More tomorrow, be sure to stop back!
~Kristin

3x3 Gift Box with Notecards

I spotted a tutorial on Splitcoast yesterday by Lauraly to make this cute little 3x3 gift box and thought I'd try it out. I'm still looking for cute ideas that I think might sell at my last craft fair this weekend. For this one I used the Bella Rose Designer Series papers.

For the top of the box I used the scallop edge punch on a square, which obviously didn't work out real well on the corners. I'm not sure how to get that just right... The felt flowers in the center are from Flower Fusion Too. The punched circle behind them is the new large circle punch, 1 3/4". I also added a vintage brad to the center and some Riding Hood Red ribbon around the box lid.
So far I've made 5 notecards to fit inside, but it appears I could easily fit 5 more at least! I may just do that, make more to fill it up then add envelopes. At this point I'm not sure how much to sell this for- it is not hard, but is a bit time consuming. But I LOVE how it turned out!

Stay tuned because the rest of the week will be scheduled posts with a few ornaments, some place cards for Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as possibly my domino necklaces (Finally!) and maybe even some bookmarks. We'll see!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kristin~

Good morning! Anyone else love the fall time change?!? What a great way to start the day- feeling well rested!

Anyway, I did this card for the Inspiration Challenge (IC152) on Splitcoast Saturday. I choose to be inspired by one small panel on one of the inspiration pieces so it is quite a bit different than the subtle earthy hues that many others did.

I really wanted my Real Red flowers to be much more bold and bright and pop even more, but my Real Red Craft spot is in desperate need of a reinking! (It's on my next order.) I used the Striped Wipe technique again with reinkers in basic balck, brilliant blue and Cool Carribean. Funny thing is, when I was all done I matted it on Ballet Blue because that looked best.

The flowers, as well as the sentiment piece, are embossed with clear powder over basic black and real red craft ink. Then the grass was stamped again in black after the Striped Wiping was complete. The scalloped True Blue Friend piece is punched out and raised on a dimensional.

Well, this isn't my best work but I wanted something to share with you today. I have my last Craft Fair this weekend so I'll stay busy with that stuff this week mostly.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy the beautiful weather this week!
~Kristin

My Crocodile Hunter & Pink Poodle named Fifi

Geez, anyone else think this time of year is so crazy busy... and it doesn't seem to end until January! Anyway, I haven't stamped in a few days but I have taken tons of pictures.

Here are my kiddos in their costumes for Trick-o-Treat. I had a Crocodile Hunter & a Pink Poodle complete with a chipboard and rhinestone dog tag and the name Fifi spelled out with rub-ons! That's the best I've been able to do with my supplies in the last few days.

Would you believe that these are about the most creative we've ever been with costumes! I can create on paper, but forget brilliant ideas for Halloween! I'm usually a last minute, whipping-something-together-and-rushing-out-the-door, kind of gal!

Here's about the only picture I took while the Amish crew put our new roof on. It looks so great- I am going to go out and take an "after" picture this morning. They did the entire thing including tearing off the old one, in two days flat! They are workers! They even put my shutter back up that came off in the big winds that damaged our roof and rebuilt a section of the little brick landscaping wall (at left) that had fallen over!

It was neat having them around, hearing their strong German/Amish accents and even having their horses tied up in our garden. When they were all done they invited us to their home to "help" them with their chores. They raise white-tail deer and my son and husband were really interested in the whole thing. Unfortunately, I didn't get to go because DD had a birthday party. They said we're welcome back anytime and we'll get a tour of their home next time. Neat!

OK, back to the real deal of stamping on my next post (I hope!). Hope you didn't mind the little tangent for now. Thanks for stopping by!
Kristin

Sorry, no post today.

Well, I'm posting but only to say that I won't be posting today. I am voluneering for my daughter's first grade class all day today. We're carving pumpkins, pressing apples into cider and making several fall treats! I ran home for lunch to check on my new roof that should be complete today. I've got an Amish crew up there hammering away as I type this. I took a few pictures but can't upload them right now- no time.

Thanks for stopping by. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get a chance to post something. Maybe a picture of my new roof (isn't that exciting- I know, it really isn't for you but it is for me!!).

Roof Garden Gift Set Class, part two!

Here are the rest of the pics....

And here is the Roof Garden Accents & Elements Tin and what will be LEFT after this class!


Thanks for stopping by!

~Kristin~

Roof Garden Gift Set Class coming soon!

As promised, individual pictures of the projects for my Roof Garden Gift Set Class coming up in November. Don't miss out- check out the details in my last post or on my SU website!

Here are the first 4 cards and the cute tote to put them in. The other four note cards, which also fit in the tote, will come next!

I wanted to mention that, since I submitted this class to Stampin' Up! and it was published on their website, I've seen lots of other demonstrators presenting this class as well, with their own unique twists. For that reason I may adjust these designs or provide attendees with pictures of lots of other ways to use these Accents & Elements kit!

Neat New Post-it Note Covers

I found a great tutorial at Dawn's Stampin' Studio and decided to try my hand at these since I sold most of my craft fair stock at my Holiday Stamp-a-Stack on Sunday! These are so much faster and easier (and cheaper to do) than the chipboard ones I did last time. I whipped 9 of these out in not too long at all! Will do more for sure. Thanks for sharing your tutorial Dawn!


Here's a picture of the back side and the inside of one set. I tried to spruce up the inside on this set since I left the outside basic. Although the flowers do have some dazzling diamonds in the centers. For the closure I glued a Curly Label to the front then punched a word window on the back so the label could wrap around and slip inside. These will also have pens in the outside loop (where the ribbon is) when I buy them. For each set I used a different type of closure- large oval punch on one, and a cut out tag on the other. HTH! If you want supplies I used let me know... stamp sets are: Be Happy, Heartfelt Thanks, Tart & Tangy, and the inside sentiment is from an old set Happy Harmony which I'd almost forgotten about.

These are great for using up old designer series paper. I used Recollections, Spring Fling I think it was called and the current Summer Picnic (from right to left). I can't wait to do more designs!


My Holiday Stamp-a-Stack on Sunday was a success! I had 7 ladies here and I really enjoyed having them. They completed 16 cards (4 each of 4 designs) and 1 gift bag. I've posted pictures here. Everyone seemed to enjoy the projects, even though they did take some time (4+ hours) as I expected. I try, oh I try, to do simple super-quick projects, but I just can't leave well enough alone. And honestly, I think some of them would be disappointed with 1 layer, 1 minute cards! We also had dinner and snacks, door prizes and lots of laughs.


Anyway, don't forget to contact me about my Award-Winning Roof Garden Gift Set Class if you are interested. Because this class requires product ordered, payment is required with registration no later than Nov. 10th . Space is limited.


Details are as follows: November 23rd at 3pm, my house, $25 includes the Roof Garden Accents & Elements Tin, and 4 full size cards, 4 note cards, with matching envelopes. PLUS, you will have 2 full sets of the Accents & Elements (adhesive cardstock weight embellishments) left to make many many more cards and projects at home!


This class should take much less time (I'd guess 2 hours) since I will have everything completely prepared for you. You will be assembling the cards using your preordered A&E tin, and the only stamping is for the greetings. Don't worry, I will have optional greetings available if you don't really have a use for "To my Wonderful Sister-in-Law". :)

I'll post individual pictures of each of these cards tomorrow, plus hopefully more projects I get done today if I ever end this post! Don't forget, only 3 days left to celebrate Stampin' Up!'s 20th anniversary with their great 20% off deal! (Hint, some of these sets we'll be using in my Annual Birthday Bonanza in January so you just might want to take advantage of this!).

How's that for a post?!? Makes up for missing yesterday, eh?! Glad to have you here!

One Word Only...

For yesterday's WT189 on SCS, Ways To Use it Challenge, we were to use only one word on the front of the card. Hopefully my french script background (on the basic gray) and the script in the Fresh Cuts stamp don't make me a cheater. :) I took this picture last night so I may try to get a better one today. I really wanted the light to show through the paper piercing around the edges so I had to leave my flash off which made it quite yellow and a bit blurry. I will try to fix it.

I am so happy with how this turned out- we were also required to have at least a touch of pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Well, I did more than a touch. A few retired sets were used here. Some of you might have not even heard of them, but this is SUO! The black flower is from Art of Life, a beautiful old set that I can't get ride of. The "friend" is from Noteworthy, an old SAB set I believe, that I've always admired. There is also a bit of French Script- a treasured background in my collection. I combined them with the current sets Fresh Cuts and Heartfelt Thanks for a soft feminine look.

A touch of dazzling diamonds on the flower and edges of the curly label adds a touch of jazz as well, as well as the taffeta ribbon and paper piercing at the edges that is really neat with the light showing through.

Thanks for stopping by- I love having you!

A color challenge

What I wouldn't do for some tips on taking a good clean, crisp, clear picture so the tiny words aren't blurry! I always feel like a migraine is coming on trying to make my eyes focus when my pics turn out this way, which is more often than not. I try hard, I do! I took almost a dozen shots of this card, in two different locations with different flash settings and even did some adjusting on my PC. And sadly, this is what I end up with.

At least I really like the card- I suppose it would be worse if I felt that way about the card. This is for Tuesday's color challenge on SCS which I haven't done in a while, but it is still my favorite challenge!! Now that I'm done with this card, and reworked the sentiment like 6 times and re-embossed the flower once it was already glued down, I still see some things I'd like to change if I were to do it again (which I just might). I wish I would've stamped a subtle background in versamark- either French Script or maybe Floral. I also sort of wish I'd tried pink pirouette cardstock for the vanilla layer in the hodgepodge frame. I don't know about you, but I have a tough time getting the frames to look like I envision. I do like the sentiment on the small oval and raised on dimensionals though.

Anyway, I'm actually scheduling this on Wednesday to post on Thursday because I absolutely MUST get to work on my SAS on Sunday!! I have quite a bit of cutting to do! At least I have all directions and pictures done and cards actually designed.

Stampin' Up! Supplies

Stamps: Wonderful You
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, Very Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Alpine Felt ribbon, Top Note, Big Shot, Ice Rhinestone brad, Flower Fusion Too, Vanilla HOdgepodge Hardware, Stampin' Dimensionals

As promised, more Christmas card ideas!

So this is a card I actually whipped up pretty quick. It is cased from one I designed a long time ago. I sold a pack of these this weekend- they were the most elegant and formal I had. I will make more I think! The card base is Purely Pomegranate with the Stitched background stamped in Chocolate chip. The "frame" around the sentiment is just done with the crimper on all 4 sides. The Joy image from Illuminations stamp set is embossed in gold. The ribbon is the wide satin in pomegranate also left over from last year. So glad I have plenty left! This card was inspired by one on the SCS gallery (I'll have to go find it again). I'd never really used this stamp set- Sidekick Sayings- that was a hostess set last year I think. I like the idea and design, but I don't like the stress of trying to make out the words. At first, while making this, I wasn't really sure until I layered it on the Soft Sky and added the rhinestone brad. Then it grew on me. Ink and cardstock are Blue Bayou and Soft Sky (old In Colors). The giant snowflake is the old background stamp called Supersize Snowflake that is retired now.
More Pomegranate here. This is a twist on the wreath card I posted a while back. I replaced the brads with a few 1/8" hole punches and voila! I really like how it turned out. I'll probably make more of these as well- quite easy. Stamps include: Snow Burst and retired Fancy Flexible Phrases (one of my favorites!). Ink is Always Artichoke and Purely Pomegranate.

I'm so glad you stopped by today! Come again soon!

Sweet RAK from Lisa & A birthday thank you

My good friend Lisa Henke sent me this card last weekend wishing me luck for my craft fair activities. Wasn't that sweet?! She's always so thoughtful to her stampin' sisters (not just to me by the way). Thanks Lisa- you made my day sending me some happy mail! I owe ya!

My DD and I designed this quickly the other day because she has LOTS of Birthday Thank You notes to write. After I cut out all the paper and she stamped many of the flowers to punch out I remembered the new stamp that was to arrive yesterday: the Simple Birthday Thanks giant cupcake with a thank you note included in the stamp. This is on sale right now for SU's birthday celebration so I had to order it. So we scrapped this idea and set the cardstock aside until the UPS guy showed up!

Well, we stamped a bunch of the cupcakes and worked together to color them in today while she's home sick. I'll show those tomorrow once they are mounted on the Gable Green bases I have ready. They won't be works of art since we had to do them so quickly, but I can see all kinds of possibilities with this giant cupcake stamp!

Also coming tomorrow, a few more Christmas card ideas. Thanks for stopping by! (BTW, did you notice my Stampin' Top 50 number going up above 400 recently?!? How fun! That's all thanks to YOU!)

Oops, almost forgot my Stampin' Supply List for my Thank You card above:

Stamps: So Many Scallops, Wow Flowers, Little Pieces

Ink: Pink Passion, Pumpkin Pie, Marigold Morning, Lovely Lilac

Cardstock: Whisper White, Gable Green

Accessories: Scallop punch, pop dot

Christmas Card Bundle

For lack of pictures of anything else here is a bundle of Christmas cards which I made and sold this past weekend (trying to avoid typing "C.F" since I promised in my last post!). Each was slightly different, but the same overall design and layout. In case you're wondering, the c___t f__r went as well as I expected, maybe even better. I didn't have high hopes since I'd heard a lot about low or fluctuating success at these types of events. I sold a little of everything I took except the luggage tags! Man am I glad I didn't sit up late making more of those on Friday night, like I'd considered. Well, my DD did want to buy one so I unloaded one... and no, I didn't charge her for heavens sake!

I did sell most of the paperclip bookmarks and made about 8 more while I sat there so those were popular, mostly for gifts for Book Club members & teachers. I did have quite a bit of interest in the tile coasters and tile magnets as well. All in all it was fun and I'd do it again. My mom did well selling her pillows. I wish I'd taken a picture of everything we had and our setup, but I didn't think of it at all.

This week I'll be preparing for my big Annual Christmas Stamp-a-Stack which is this Sunday. I'm always excited for this each year!

Can you believe October is coming to an end soon? Phew! is all I can say. I have left: 1 football game, 2 parties (birthday and halloween), one day of volunteering at school, and trick-0-treat night left. Then November comes and it starts all over again. :)

As soon as I get a picture of it I have a card to share which was the sweetest RAK from my friend Lisa, wishing me luck this weekend at the you-know-what! Be sure to visit Lisa's blog and congratulate her for all her good news lately- she's been offered the position of Design Team member for Limelight and also for Stamp Something!

Oh, hey- shout out to Angie Tieman also for winning the contest on So Shelli (Shelli Gardner is the CEO of Stampin' Up! and just started her own blog complete with contests!).

Thanks for stopping in! These cards feature some retired stuff like: Festive Favorites Stamp set, In Colors True Thyme and Cranberry Crisp (cardstock, ink & ribbon) as well as some old DSP which I can't even recall a name for right now. Other stuff: scallop edge punch, aquapainter, scallop square punch, curly label punch, Cute & Curly and Punches Three stamp sets.

~Kristin~

A Quick Note about PMS night tonight!

Sorry but I must cancel tonight's PMS night at my house due to having to set up for my craft fair tomorrow morning! Since I don't require an RSVP I thought I should post this just to be safe. The good news is, once this craft fair is over you won't have to read another word about it!! Well, I guess that's not a promise since I do have another one in November, but THIS ONE you won't have to read about anymore. :) Thanks for stopping by. I may have another post later today with an actual picture of something!

PS- If you're not familiar, PMS night is a free night of Popcorn, Music and Stamping at my house every third Friday where everyone is invited to bring your current craft project and play with my "stuff". Mark your calendars for November- it will be on the 21st from 6-10pm. December's PMS will be cancelled as well (I promised myself last year NO EVENTS in December- even wrote it in big letters on my 2008 calendar!) but we will resume in January!

Cards for Sale!

Well, I did a few more designs to sell on Saturday. Here they are. Now I'm trying to get all the cards from my stash ready to sell (meaning, stamp inside greetings because I never do that and stamp my SU stamp on the back so they are legal then put in clear envies). I've got tons and it's hard to begin! I have no idea if they'll sell, but I can say I will not have dirt cheap pricing on my prized works of art. If they don't sell then I will use them myself (or I'm considering starting an Etsy store)- it's just not worth giving them away when I've worked hard on them. However, I will probably have a basket of cheaper ones that took less work or are maybe not so hard to sell at lower prices because it is either older or just not a favorite.

I still haven't completed the domino necklaces you've heard about dozens of times. They've been a pain in the keister so I'm just frustrated and almost have given up on them. We'll see. Maybe tomorrow just before I pack up to go set up I'll take a picture of the entire group of everything I've got. It feels like I've been working forever, but I know it won't look like much to me once I see it all (hopefully not though)!

Thanks for stoppin' by!

~Kristin

My handsome young man!

I don't know if I've posted any picture of my son specifically and since I took these just the other day during a gorgeous sunset (and you know me & sunsets!) I felt like posting them. Thanks for indulging me! ;)

Let it Snow (not literally!)

Here are two more Holiday cards I completed yesterday. I really like this first one, even more so in person, so I made 10 more to sell this weekend. Unfortunately I messed up and cut the base out of whisper white (not in this one, but in the other 10) and the images are all stamped on very vanilla so... I'll be making 10 more for 20 total! With the Big Shot the background piece is quite easy. I just wheeled an entire piece of Baha Breeze cardstock with the Snow jumbo wheel in Vanilla ink then cut 3 at a time out with the Top Note Die! I think on the others I make the banner won't hang over the edge because it won't fit in a standard envelope if I do that. Ooh, forgot to mention that the scallop oval was made just by piecing two scallop circles together.
This second card will not be duplicated, at least not with the brads since I won't have enough to make very many. I do like the simplicity of it though. The wreath was made by stamping a snowflake from Snow Burst multiple times. The chocolate chip card base was wheeled with the Poinsetta jumbo wheel and versamark, but I'm not sure if it shows much. Had a heck of a time with lighting today due to rain.

Thanks for stopping in today!

Right around the corner

Christmas that is! So here are a few cards I whipped out yesterday- actually fairly quickly once I put my mind to it and stopped blog hopping! I was hoping to come up with an easy design to make a lot of to sell this weekend at my first Craft Fair, but I'm not sure I've hit on the best one yet. I don't know, I think I just enjoy designing so much that I'll never find the perfect card to make in bulk! Maybe I'll just sell variety packs, eh?!? I sure won't get as many done that way though. Hope you like 'em. I'll do my best to list the supplies at the bottom. I'm not worrying about using only current stuff since my plan is to sell them or use them... so some stuff is retired.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stampin' Up! Supplies (in order)

Stamps: Wanted, Canvas, Paisley, Many Merry Messages

Ink: Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip Craft, Riding Hood Red

Cardstock: Creamy Caramel, Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla

Accessories: sponge, Stampin' Dimensionals, Riding Hood Red Ribbon, stapler, distressing tool, Clear EP

___________________________________

Stamps: Punches Three, Baroque Motifs

Ink: Real Red

Cardstock: Basic Gray, Whisper White, Real Red prints

Accessories: Scallop Square punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

_____________________________________

Stamps: Snow Burst, Snow Flurries, Many Merry Messages

Ink: Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Versamark, Baha Breeze, Bashful Blue, Night of Navy

Cardstock: Baha Breeze, Night of Navy, Kraft

Accessories: Ice Rhinestone Brad, Baha Breeze Ribbon, Sponge

______________________________________________

Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Punches Three

Ink: Basic Gray, Real REd

Cardstock: Basic Gray, Real Red, Whisper White, Wild Wasabi Prints

Accessories: Scallop Square Punch, Stmapin' Dimensionals

Phew, big weekend!

You can probably tell since I haven't posted since Thursday that it's been a hectic weekend around here. Actually, it wasn't so bad. We just had a football game and overnight on Friday night, then volleyball tournament (yes, we were champs!) on Saturday, plus my sister and niece spent the night on Saturday then my daughter's birthday party on Sunday! I was tired last night by the time it was all said and done, me and the kids ate Cheerios for dinner! Seriously! And they were fine with that... go figure!

Anyway, I did manage to whip up a card for DD just before leaving for the party (at the roller skating rink) but I wanted it to be spectacular and I was in such a rush that it was just so-so. It even made us 10 minutes late to our own party!

It's nice and sunny and beautiful here this morning so I have no excuses for getting lousy pictures of this card. Well, my excuse is my camera. I'm so disappointed with it lately. I need to order a new battery today!!

So this is the front- I used the frame made by cutting out the Top Note on the Sizzix. The butterfly is sparkly and standing out from the paper. On the inside I tried this technique that we learned at Convention for the first time. Making a spiral of paper to attach things to so they spring from the card when it is opened. Well, DD liked it and she had a wonderful time at her birthday party so that is all that matters! I can't believe how time flies and how fast they grow up. Having my 1 year old niece here this weekend gave me a slight twinge of wanting another one! If only to have a child that fits on my lap again. :)

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be furiously working on my craft fair stuff this week so will be busy. Hope to have more pics to post.

Takin' a Break For Me!

Well, today I just wanted to stamp something for me, no strings attached, no deadlines or craft fairs in mind! I stumbled upon Kristina Werner's color challenge today and I just LOVE the colors- Ballet Blue (an all time favorite of mine), Certainly Celery, So Saffron and Ruby Red. Aren't they just happy together?!?



When trying to clear off a spot on my desk my Fresh Cut Notes fell out of my cabinet so I thought, what the heck. Well, here's what I quickly came up with. I think it accomplishes the happy-go-lucky feel I was going for.

Thanks for stoppin' by!

Stampin' Up! Supplies

Stamps: Pretty Petals background, Fancy Flexible Phrases

Ink: Ballet Blue, Ruby Red

Cardstock: Fresh Cut Note in Whisper White, Ruby Red, So Saffron Print Patterns

Accessories: 5-petal flower punch, Button Bouquet, Linen Thread, Wide Grosgrain in Brocade Blue (which I always use with Ballet Blue!)