Are You Ready for the New 2013 - 2014 Stampin' Up Catalog?

Are you as excited as I am about the new 2013 - 2014 Stampin' Up Catalog?  Oh my goodness - wait till you see all the new stuff.  You're going to want it all like I do.  

If you'd like to have a catalog, please contact me and I'll be happy to send you one.  You just can't miss this one; you'll be so sorry if you do.

Don't miss out ... contact me today.

Hugs, and of course, happy stamping!!!!

Coloring Down the Lines - Basic Black

It's a short week for most of us, but I still managed to get some stampin time in, and just in time for our weekly Coloring Down the Lines blog hop.  This week's challenge is basic black.  The color combinations are either daffodil delight and old olive, or baja breeze and cherry cobbler.  I chose the first one because it reminds me of spring and summer ... so this was an easy one.  Carol always plays with us each week and never misses, like me (hehehe), and she's an endless creativity machine, don't you agree?  If you haven't stopped at her blog before mine, don't forget to go back and check her out.  You'll never  be disappointed.

So without further ado, here's my submission for the week:

Card Recipe:

Paper:  basic black, daffodil delight, old olive, whisper white

Ink:  basic black, old olive, daffodil delight

Stamp Sets:  summer silhouettes, teeny tiny wishes

Accessories:  daffodil delight seam binding, basic pearls, needlepoint border EF, scallop trim border bunch

I wish every week could be as easy as this week, but then again, it wouldn't be a challenge, would it?  And if you think about it, these challenges allow us sometimes to think outside the box and explore combinations we would have never dreamed of putting together.  So for that, I'm so grateful to be participant.

Now, let's see what Joni has for us this week.  I happen to know that she had her card done way before we even knew what the line up was going to be.  How about that!  GO JONI!  

Hope you enjoy the tour ... and please do keep coming back.  We love your comments.

Black Vulture Invasion

Last week, our neighborhood was invaded by a group of black vultures.  They suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and we just couldn't figure out what they were doing here.  Last year, we saw a few of them, but this year, there's about 30 of them.  The found my neighbor's year very appealing, and decided to perch on their rooftop.  YUK!  They also were in the trees behind her house, right near the creek.  You could drive right by and hardly notice them at first until you were right near them, and there was a sea of black in the tree with not-so-nice looking faces glaring at you.  It was creepy and something you might see in a horror flick.  As you can see in the picture below, I captured about 17 of them on my neighbor's roof, and the remainder were scouting out in the trees.

Now they might not look so bad in the photo above, but these creatures are about 2' tall, and their wing span is about 4+ feet.  I was worried about the little bunnies that nest in the area, and unfortunately, I haven't seen them in a while.  Oh I hope they did not fall prey to these ugly creatures.  I just wish they would go away.

So do you want to see one up close?  Here you go ...



If you'd like to read more about them, here's the link:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Vulture
You'll be as grossed out as I was.

So as of today, they are dwindling, or at least I should say, I don't see as many.  Maybe they're moving on, but not sure yet.  Another neighbor said he sees them in the early morning coming out of an abandoned barn not far from here, and they retreat there late in the evening.  Ewwww.

I hope I didn't gross you out too much.  I know it's nature, but we could sure do without them around here.

Memorial Day Remembrance

Memorial Day

Thank you for your service & giving us our freedom

Today is a day to celebrate and honor all of those who have served in our armed forces. As the sun shines down on us today, let's pray that it shines down on those who need it most.  Thank you, and God Bless you and your families for all you've done for us and our country.  Your bravery and service could never be matched.  

May God keep you and your families in His infinite care and protect you as you face each day with uncertainty.  And for those who have fallen, God rest your sweet souls until we all meet again in eternity.

Thank you!

Pretty Boxes from Recycled DSP Cardboard

Did you ever want to do something with the cardboard that comes in the Designer Series Paper packs besides use them for shims for your bigshot?  Well, here's a cute little idea for you on how to make them into sweet, little card boxes, or just a catchall box for whatever you have lying around.  I made 6 of them in no time.

Card Box Instructions:

1.  Score the 12x12 cardboard at 4" on two sides

2.  Turn the cardboard & score at 3" on the opposite two sides

3.  Snip the center square on each side only up to the 4" score line above

4.  Select a 12x12 DSP paper of your choice and cut two 4"x 12" pieces of paper

5.  Score DSP at 3" on both ends

6.  Adhere the DSP to each end of the cardboard that is not snipped (outer edges)

7.  Glue box together and decorate.

There are so many uses for your box, and they're so easy to make.  You can even fill them with cards and give them as a gift, or they also hold some of your bigshot dies.  Have fun and be creative.  Hope you like them.

Coloring Down the Lines - Soft Suede

Welcome back to our blog hop this week.  The colors we had to work with were:  soft suede, so saffron, regal rose, or soft suede, baja breeze, cherry cobbler.  I chose the creative combo - using so saffron and regal rose.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the colors, but I knew I wanted to do either a container full of flowers, or something on that order.  I found a cute layout by Laurie Zoellmar of the Stamping Nut, and slightly altered it to my liking.  I hope you like it.

Recipe:

Paper:  soft suede, very vanilla, so saffron, regal rose

Ink:  so saffron, regal rose, soft suede

Stamp Sets:  secret garden, teeny, tiny wishes

Accessories:  needlepoint border EF, secret garden framelits, matchbox die (label), paper piecing pack, scallop trim border punch, basic pearls, very vanilla seam binding

Well, did you take a peek at Carol's artwork before you stopped here?  Again, the WOW factor, don't you think?  And for another WOW factor, let's pop on over to joniinthespotlightstamping and see what she has for us.  Thanks for checking us out this week.  

Mojo Monday 294

Today I had a very bad day, all the way around.  Nothing worked out in my favor, and whatever could go wrong, did.  My computer at work even shut down in the middle of an important document I was typing, and only 1/2 of it came back.  I'm so glad the day is behind me.  So to make me feel better, I went on to Pinterest and checked out all the new stuff, and then read my emails from the various blogs I follow and just gazed at all the beautiful creations made by the people I admire, and I came across the Mojo Monday 294 blog challenge.  I thought, why not, go ahead and join in.  I enjoy stamping and crafting, and that will get my mind off all the negative things that happened today.  So that's what I did.  Here's the sketch for this week's challenge.  It's a nice and easy one, I might add:



I put my thinking cap on, figured out what color I wanted to use, thought of a design, and off I went creating the card I want to enter for the challenge.  Want to see it?  Ok, sure, let me know what you think, if you don't mind sharing your thoughts.

Recipe:

Paper:  whisper white, rich razzleberry, polka dot parade DSP

Ink:  rich razzleberry

Stamp Sets:  monogram sweet, kindness matters

Accessories:  scallop trim border punch, designer frames embossing folder,corner rounder, 3/8" taffeta ribbon in whisper white, basic pearls

Sweet, simple, and pretty nice too, don't you think?  I'm pleased it turned out.  What a perfect way to end the day and feel good about me.  

Thanks for stopping by, and please don't forget to check out the rest of the designs from Mojo Monday 294.  Happy Stamping, and may your days be bright and sunny!