Paisely Petals Thank You

Happy Halloween!!

Everybody ready for the big day?  I'm happy to say that for once I WASN'T putting treats together last night!  No, instead of focusing on the mahem that will ensue tonight I was focused on keeping the peace in the household.  "What's up?" I hear you cry!  Well ... let me introduce you to our newest family member and the cause of a LOT of stress for our existing members ... meet Jade (aka JadeyKat)

Isn't she GORGEOUS??!!  I could just sit and stare at her all day!  She is a pure bred Bengal - they are fantastic creatures.  They are hypoallergenic and shed virtually no fur.  Their coats are soft as silk and they are very playful and good with kids.  Of course the downside is the cost.  Like any hypoallergenic purebred you're gunna have to pay the price to get one!  We got Jade Saturday mornning.  Long story short - she is a rescue cat.  WHY anyone would give up an expensive, lovely cat like Jade I don't understand but there you have it - their loss is our gain!  A friend of mine was looking after her but already had 2 cats and those 2 were bullying Jade.  I saw her, fell in love with her and approached Craig during a moment of weekeness and he said we could have her on a trial basis.  (He is NOT a cat lover ... or even a cat LIKER so what came over him I do not know ...).  I didn't ask questions or hang around for long for him to change his mind. 

So far things are going "ok" with the trial period.  I thought Jade and Charlie were getting along as well as could be expected until this morning.  Sure, Charlie is REALLY mad about the situation but there hadn't been any major confrontations ... until this morning.  Now I know where the term "cat fight" comes from!  Aside from that Charlie was sick this morning from the stress of it all.  Hopefully they will settle down soon and learn to at least tolerate each other (actually it's all Charlie - Jade is quite happy to ignore him and just go about her business but he has different ideas!). 

So that's what kept me occupied all weekend.  That and a little crafting.  A friend has commissioned me to make some Thank You cards for her.  I made two cards using the same layout and DSP but with different colors:

They both use the Paisley Petals DSP and the Four Frames stamp set.  The sentiment is from "Sweetheart".  I used a jumbo eyelet on both.  The top one uses the colors of Crumb Cake and Not Quite Navy with Crumb Cake Seam binding ribbon.  The bottom uses Early Espresso and Crumb cake with Early Espresso 5/8" Satin ribbon (retired).  I love the crispness of them both.  Simple, yet elegant.  This is my favorite DSP this year.

Right - guess I should go do some paperwork.  Have a fun Halloween!


Tam

Halloween Treats!

Happy Thursday!

Yep - Thursday - gotta loooove Thursday.  It's a half day for the kids so I don't have to make them a lunch (we always head to McDonald's and then run a few errands and/or go to Grandma's house for a playdate) and there is just enough time in the mornings for me to get a few things done before I have to set off to pick them off.  Today we are off to the other side of the world for a dentist appointment and then Sparks tonight so there is not pressure (or time!) to get any "real" house work done.  Oh darn ... THAT breaks my heart!  *lol*  (yes .... I'm on my second cup of coffee and feeling FINE this morning!)

Right!  On to Halloween.  Once again I STARTED my Halloween Treats for the kids' friends back in September but once again I FINISHED them this week (actually I'm usually finishing them the night before like 99% of the other Moms out there!)  Well I'm happy to say they are done and ready to go.  Here they are:



Fun!  They were a bit time consuming to make but easy.  The stuffing of the candy corn took the longest.  I hand colored each of the witch's stockings with the "drirect to stamp" method, using the markers.  It wasn't that bad, really - I did it while listening to a webinar to pass the time.  I used the 1 3/4" circle punch and the 2 3/8" scallop punch.  It took 2+ pieces of 12x12 card stock in both the orange and the white so they weren't the cheapest treats to make either but they were something a little different.

Now the NEXT project had me just giddy with excitement while I made them :)  (yes, I could probably use a little therapy sometimes ... or less caffeine!)  I cased them directly from the FABULOUS Tamye Dunbar.  They were quick, easy, fun and ADORABLE!!!  Lookie:

They are so stinkin' cute I can't STAND it!  And LOOK!  They have chocolates wrapped with the labels - AGAIN!  Well, it just doesn't GET any better than this, does it?!?!?  Of course I have already made a Christmas version of these ... I just can't get enough of them!    I used the Top Note die then embossed it with the Spider Web emboss folder.  I used a piece of 3/4" x 8 1/2" strip of Pimpkin Pie cs for the belly band, the Batty For You stamp set (this set is the one set I have used the most in the 6 years I have been stamping!!  No joke!!)  I punched it out with the 1 1/4" circle and used the scallop circle in So Saffron.  There are 3 Swiss Delice chocolates inside, wrapped with the Its a Wrap Holidays label.  Yes, Halloween is in 4 days and it's the perfect excuse to make little treats for everyone you know.  Try these ones out - you'll be glad you did!

Have a fun day everyone :)


Tam

It's a Hat Trick!

Heidi Ho Stampers!  Happy Wednesday!  I'm happy to report that I am officially ahead of schedule today and might even get some couch time in once I pick up the kids.  Woo Hoo!  Soooo - as it appear I have 15 minutes to kill I'm going to do a Triple Post today.  Yep - crazy but true :)

Quick recap of the last week ... it has taken me until today to come up for air from last weekend's festivities!  Friday's Technique Class was AWESOME fun!!!  I had the best turn out EVER and although we were practically sitting on top of each other it was a great atmosphere and I had a ball!  I managed to get the left-over cards made and cleaned up just in time for Sunday's Christmas Stamp-a-Stack.  Again, I had a great time - this event is always my favorite.  We had 12 stampers in the morning class and 4 in the afternoon.  Craig took the girls out for the day so I actually had time to finish off the extra cards that I had cut for and now my Teacher Gifts are ready to package and give away.  Who rocks?!?

Monday I was out of commission for the majority of the day waiting for an apointment I had at 10:30 am.  I didn't actually GET the appointment until after 12:30 (grrrr) and by the time I stopped for some groceries and picked up the kids the day was a write off.  Yesterday I spent ALL day catching up on the paperwork created my the weekend and working on a fundraising proposal for a dance group.  Today I finished the proposal, sent it and then headed to my craft room to work on my projects for Friday's party.  Yep - when I'm on fire I'm on fire (I figure I should crash and burn sometime mid next week at this pace!)

Right - well, now that you are all caught up on the ever-so-enthralling goings on in my life, onto my projects ...

First up is the last card from my Stamp-a-Stack that I promised you last week - I LOVE this card ... and so do many of my customers :)

Isn't it pretty?  The colors are Cherry Cobbler and Sahara Sand.  The stamp set is Sounding Joy from the Holiday Mini.  I used the Tulip Frame emboss folder, a pearl and the cherry cobbler seam binding to add those small touches that make it so pretty and elegant.  LOVE it!!

Next up is the Halloween card we made at my class on Friday.

This card was "C.A.S.E.D" (copy and share everything) from the Regional Swap I got from Tamera Gadd a few weeks back:

I used the exact same lay out but with different DSP, stamp set and ribbon.  I used the Wicked Cool set, the Frightful Sight DSP and Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon.  I used the Peek-a-boo Frames Big Shot die that is in the Holiday Mini to make the little door / frame.  Something tells me I'll be doing a Christmas version of this card too - I love it!

OK - now I'm rushed for time ... onto the next project:

For this I used the Frightful Sight DSP again and the Wicked Cool Set.  I stamped the images and sentiment in Versamark and used black embossing powder for texture.  I used the large oval and the scalloped oval punches for the sentiment and the 1 3/4" Circle punch for the images.  Quick, easy and fun!

Right - gotta fly.  Hope you enjoyed the Hat Trick of projects today and that they were worth the wait!  Have a fun day!


Tam

Lovely as a Tree

Ahhhh - for once I'm ahead of the game!  OK, so it's only a few HOURS ahead but it's still ahead!!

Another quick post before I head off to pick up the short people from school.  This is one that I spent literally HOURS on trying to "tweak".  It looks GREAT with the new denim ribbon but that just wasn't practical for a Stamp-a-Stack (and I didn't have enough for 60 cards!!) so I played with it and played with it and played with it.  Eventually I went to bed figuring a fresh set of eyes in the morning would fix everything.  Well I got up, looked at it and though "what the h*** is your problem?!  It's perfect the way it is!".  Yes, it's simple but that's the beauty of it!  It's perfect for a Stamp-a-Stack.  So here it is.  5 hours of trying to tweak what I came up with in 10 minutes.  Once again ... sometimes I just try too hard!

Lovely as a Tree stamp set (THE most popular stamp set ever as voted by demonstrators!!) and the senitment is from Perfectly Penned.  Night of Navy CS and ink, a rhinestone and some dazzling diamonds.  Wa-low!  Done.

I have one more to share ... oh!  That's a lie - I have two more to share ... maybe tomorrow :)

Have a fun Friday :)


Tam

Pretty Purple Snowflakes

Oooooo - purple ... and snowflakes .... and glitter ... it just makes me happy!

Here is my favorite card that we are making at Sunday's Stamp-a-stack (naturally it is the last one I came up with ... after HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS of different ideas - this one came together in 5 minutes.  Sigh.  Sometimes I just try too hard!

The light purple is Wisteria Wonder - the dark purple is Concord Crush and the shiny one is the new Silver Glimmer paper - LOOOOOVE that stuff - have 3 packages on order - I'm using it on EVERYTHING!  Glitter ... that doesn't end up EVERYWHERE!!!  I used one of the texture plates to lightly emboss the background swirls.  The sentiment is from the Delightful Dozen hostess set - love the font on that one!!

Right - I have 2 more to post but I'm off to Sparks - I'm a Helper Mommy and tonight is their enrollment ceremony.  She's pretty jazzed about it :)  So tune in tomorrow(ish) for the other projects.

Have a fun night :)

Tam

Thanksgiving Fun

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ahhh - a day "off".  Although us moms don't really get a day "OFF" at least we don't have to get up at a certain time, make lunches and look somewhat respectable when we drive the kids to school! 

Todays mission is to do some stamping ... aside from making Thank You cards with Alicia (I INSIST the children send thank you cards for birthday and Crhistmas presents!!!) I need to decide on and prep my projects for Friday's Technique class and then to decide on and prep my projects for Sunday's Stamp-a-stack (and then pray I have enough supplies!!)  So it's a ful day of crafting ... something tells me, though that I'll be lucky to get 3 hours in.  I know how my plans usually go :)  Oh well - it always seems to get done in the end .. some how!

Yesterday I had planned to start the above "to-do-list" but ended up making some Thanksgiving crafts with the girls instead.  When I say "with the girls" that translates into they helped for about 10 minutes before they got bored and I ended up making the rest.  Oh well - I tried!  Here is what I came up with:

Aren't they adorable?  We (I) made 9 of them for tht table (8 people and Olive ... the dog)  I used 12 of the large Scallop Circles (although in hindsight I should have used one of the oval punches), folded them in half and glued them together.  The stem is made using the Modern Label punch, folded in half.  I need 108 scallops and didn't have enough orange paper to make them all so I used various colors for most of them (the girls insisted they have "all orange" ones).  In order to keep them sitting up straight I used a hot glue gun to glue them to a chip board circle covered with Early Espresso card stock.  Love it!  This idea can be used for lots of shapes - use a triangle to make Christmas Trees - circles for apples, hearts for Valentines ... you could even use the snowflake punch to make snowflake card holders.  Very easy and not too time consuming. 

Well - I guess I should get this day started.  Have a great day off - make it a fun one :)


Tam

Bells & Boughs ... again

Happy Thursday!

It was one of those good days / bad days around here. 

It was bad because I had both girls home today - Alicia had a REALLY sore throat and Rebecca was under the weather as well with a cold.  I think the first 20 days of the school year has caught up with them and they just couldn't fight off all the germs floating around at school.  The last week+ has been particularly busy around her too with "Uncle" coming to town, Alicia's birthday and so on.  Our schedule has been off, they have been going to bed a little later, a little more chaos and excitement ... the germs won.

On the other hand, it was a good day because I had a fun "putzing" day.  I didn't have much of a plan to get anything done and ended up doing lots.  I headed downstairs to get the bathroom cleaning supplies at 9:00 am.  I never did make it back to the bathroom with them!  I DID, however, purge the pantry, sort and pay some bills, clean the fridge, make hamburger soup, make ham and split pea soup, make 3 batches of pumkin cookies, play "Clue" with two sick little girls, color two pictures (I LOVE coloring ... and often keep coloring my picture after the girls have long left the room *lol*), wash and put away 2 loads of laundry and organize half the playroom.  Not bad!  A few more of those kinds of days and I might get ahead! 

Well, I hope your day was a productive one.

I didn't make it to the craft room today (probably a BIG reason I got so much other "stuff" done) so I thought I would finally post that Christmas card I promised you about 2 months ago!  When I first made this card I put it beside my computer and stared at it for DAYS.  I just fell in love with it.  It is still my favorite one so far this year.  I posted a similar version a few weeks back - it was distressed and more "vintage":

This one has a similar look but using different ribbon and an antique brad.  I like it better than the one above:

But this one is my favorite.   It's crisp, clean and elegant:

I used the Framed Tulip Folder on Very Vanilla card stock - used Early Espresso to mat another piece of Very Vanilla.  The image is from Bells & Boughs and the sentiment from Four the Holidays.  The ribbon is the Victoria 5/8" Crochet Trim and I used an antique brad and some pearls to finish it off.  Notice the brad .. it is a pointsettia! (did I spell that right?!) 

So there you have it - my favorite card .... so far ;)  Tune in next week when I'm sure I'll be in love with yet another one ... yes ... the addiction continues ...

Have a fun Friday and a wonderful Thanksgiving  XOXO


Tam

Butterfly Birthday

Happy Wednesday!

Phew - today is the day I get to catch my breath a little ... mind you it is 10:53 am and I have yet to make the beds or get any "visible" work done *lol*.  I don't know where the time is going but I am SO busy these days!  Aside from being my "catch-up" day today is Alicia's birthday.  Yep.  6 years ago this hour she was born.  Sigh.  6 years.  Wow. 

At the top of my "to-do" list today was to make the Birthday Girl a birthday card.  In typical Tamara style I didn't manage to do it even 1 day early (but to be fair to myself I DID throw an impromptu birthday party for her last night and had my parents and brother over for a full ham dinner so I was a LITTLE busy!)  She opened her presents from the family (gotta love the Zu Zu Babies!) and her party is Saturday.  So I haven't made the beds or put on make-up but I HAVE finished her birthday card :)  (It's likely the only thing I'll actually accomplish today!).  I think she's gunna love it :)

Soooo sparkly!  ... and simple!  I used the retired Pink Passion paper and ink (just to use it up!) and the new Silver Glitter Paper in the mini catalogue.  It's FABULOUS!!!  The sentiment is from Curly Cute (use this set all the time!) and the hearts are from the small punch.  The brads are SU brads that I had on hand and the punch is the scallop trim border.  I punched and tapes down the pink butterflies from the Pink Passion Paper and then punched them in the glitter paper and attached them with the brads.  Yep - she'll love it.

Right - I still have to wrap her present from Auntie and then I can make the beds ... and do whatever else it is I do all day!

Have a fun Wednesday :)


Tam

WOW!

Happy Saturday!

MAN this weekend is flying by fast!  I guess that's what happens when you stamp all weekend!  I had Craft Night Friday night (I ate WAY too many of the jelly beans I was supposed to be stuffing in little bags!) and then a birthday party for the lovely Priya and 10 of her 6 year old friends (GREAT little stampers!).  I just finished cleaning up the aftermath and I'm heading to bed shortly.  Tomorrow is my "Special Day Out" with Alicia for her pre-birthday shop.  Every year the girls get a day out with Mommy - we go shopping for a new birthday dress, shoes, purse and whatever else we "need" to look like a princess on the big day - and then we go for lunch.  Since tomorrow is Sunday it will be lunch first and shopping afterwards.  After that we are heading to my Mom's for Sunday dinner with my brother and sister-in-law.  They are in town from BC and Rebecca would simply DIE if she didn't get to see "Uncle" the minute he gets here.  (She has the biggest crush on him!  When she's with him she just stares up at him with pure love and adoration all over her grinning little face - it's soooo sweet to see!)

Right - this was to be a QUICK post - I don't even have a card to share.  I just wanted to post the most AWESOME deal SU just came out with!

Short and sweet:

From October 1st - October 31st:

• Buy one of the Starter Kits for $215 and get a BIG SHOT for FREE!! (a value of $142.00!)

Already HAVE the Big Shot?

• Buy one of the Starter Kits for $215 and get $125 in WHATEVER CURRENT PRODUCTS YOU WANT FOR FREE!!!

That's over $540 in products for only $215 (all inclusive!). Remember, December is only 9 weeks away!!

That's it!

Any questions?

I'll post a project again soon.  Have a fun Sunday :)

 

 

Tam