Hearts and Presents

Happy Tuesday! ... well it would be happier if my 6 year old wasn't in the middle of a 10 minute temper tantrum!

I have two cards to share with you today.  The first one is similar to yesterday's post.  I tweaked it a little to use at my worksho this weekend.  This card is standard sized whereas yesterday's was 6 1/2" x 3 1/4".  I didn't have enought of the open ended envelopes for the workshop so I had to change it a little:

Again I used the Sweet Shop DSP from the mini but this time I used the sentiments from Curly Cute.  You can't see it in this picture but I used the Simply Score tool to score 3 lines on either side of the Happy Birthday and two lines above the presents.  It really adds that little "something" when you have dead space on a card and other embellishments are too overpowering.  Iwill definately be scoring more projects this way in the future!

My second card started from the Valentine Card I posted a couple days ago.  I was going to use it for my upcoming workshops but I love the card above so much I want to use THAT one and the layouts were just too similar for my liking.  Sooo .... 10 minutes later I had this card ... and I love it!

I used the Adorning Accents heart emboss folder (from the mini).  Cherry Cobbler and Early Espresso (again!)  The sentiment is from Sweet Cake.  The hearts are from the large heart and small heart punches.  The expresso heart is embossed with the stamp from PS I love you with the vanilla scented emboss powder and popped up with dimensionals.  (LOOK TAMYE!  I DID IT!  CLEAN AND SIMPLE!  ... ALL BY MYSELF!!!)

Right - the tantrum appears to be over .... now I need to move on to damage control.  Hope you have a tantrum free day!

Tam

Sweet Shop

Happy Monday!

Anyone get a good night sleep last night?  Any guesses who did NOT have a good night sleep last night?  *lol* ... no, you don't get a prize for the right answer.  Yep, Koda kept me from going to bed at a reasonable time.  His 2 hours nap from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm took the edge off for him.  I got to bed at 11:00 ... but he woke at midnight.  We couldn't figure out why he was whimpering.  Turns out he wanted to sleep in the kennel that was in the kitchen (where he takes most of his naps) rather than the kennel in our bed room.  Once we put him in the kitchen he konked out until 6:00 am.  He woke up full of "p & v" while I was dragging my butt to the coffee maker.  The couch isn't as comfortable as I recall *lol*  He's been sleeping most of the day.  I'm a little scared about how much energy he will have tonight because if it!!  Here' a pic of him sleeping the girls' doll crib.  *lol*  They can't wait to put a bonnet on him and push him around in a stroller.  They better do it in the next month or so ... after that he'll be big enough to ride!

*lol*  Love that little face <3

Right - onto a card.  I fell in love with this card designed by the VERY talented Mary Fish (www.stampinpretty.com):

I had 4 birthday cards to pop in the mail today (sorry Joan - your's aint gunna make it in time!) so I tweaked it very slightly and Wa-low!

(She obviously has much better lighting and photography skills than I do!!!) 
We used the new Sweet Shop DSP from the current mini catalogue.  It's GREAT paper - the Wisteria Wonder and Calypso Coral are embossed and irresistable to touch!  We punch whisper whjite with the 1 3/8" square punch and the DSP with the 1 1/4" square punch.  The bows are from the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch and the whole "presents" are popped up with dimensionals.  The sentiment is from the hostess set "Happiest Birthday Wishes" and then I (we) scored the card stoack using the Simply Score tool.  Cut the base for the card  6 1/2" x 6 1/2" (so closed it is 6 1/2" x 3 1/4") and the card fits in the SU Small Open Ended Envelopes (page 182).  Fun, yes?

Right - I must go save the puppy ... he just rolled off the crib ... still sleeping, but off the crib ...

Have a fun day :)

Tam

Be My Valentine

Happy Sunday!

Wow.  It's amazing how I can spin my wheels for hours on end!  This puppy gig has me pretty stalled on doing ANYTHING!  While I'm not getting anything truly productive done I sure am having fun with the little fur ball :)  Sure I could do without the 4:00 am pee break in the freezing rain but it's all part of the fun, right?

While Koda is taking his afternoon nap I whipped up a fun little Valentine card for my upcoming parties.  I got the inspiration from Mary Fish (- she is a great artist!!)

It's simple but fun.  I used my favorite color combo of Early Espresso and Cherry Cobbler.  The Espresso heart was stamped in Versamark and embossed with the Vanilla emboss powder (LOVE that stuff!) then the 3 large hearts were punched out with the Large Heart punch (go figure!)  The small hearts are punched with the Small Heart Punch (crazy, I know!)  I popped the espresso heart up with dimensionals and attached the small hearts with glue dots.  I used the Cherry Cobbler baker's twine and the sentiment is in Espresso ink from teh Sweet Cake set in the current mini.  I scored along the top and bottom with the SImply Score tool and Wa-low!  An easy, nice smelling Valentine card that isn't to "girlie" to give to My Love.

That's it for now - I'm off to do my workout before puppy wakes up.  Have a fun Sunday!


Tam

Meet Koda

Happy Saturday :)

Yes, I've been MIA for a while again.  Last week Alicia was the one who was home with a bad cold.  Once again, my plans to craft were thwarted!  If that weren't enough we successfully purchased a new puppy which came yesterday.  Meet Koda - our new Golden Doodle puppy:

Isn't he adorable??  He will be 8 weeks old on Tuesday.  Yes - it's just like having a human baby around again.  I was up 3 times in the night to play!!  Not exactly the kind of playing I like to do at 3:00 am ;)  Nonetheless we are having fun with the little tyke.  He had 3 small accidents this morning but that was our fault for not being quick enough to let him out after his naps.  The rest of the day he has scored 100% on going outside to "do his business".  Such a smart pup :)  He's been sleeping a LOT today and has actually asked a few times to be put IN his playpen.  Atta boy!!  So hopefully tomorrow I will find 15 minutes to craft - I have 4 cards to get in the mail and 1 to design for my parties next weekend so keep checking back to see what I come up with.

7:50 pm and I'm ready for bed ... yawn ... yep - 3 wake-up calls in the night are 3 too many for this old gal! 

Have a fun Sunday :)

Tam

Edgelit Die Video

Happy Sunday Everyone!

I haven't made it to my "Happy Place" yet this weekend so I thought I would post another video tutorial for you.  This one is on the Edgelit Dies that are on page 7 of the new mini catalogue.  These dies coordinate with the "Bordering on Romance" stamp set on page 11.

Happy crafting :)



Tam

Oh Baby!

HAPPY SATURDAY!!!!!!

Having a good weekend so far?  mine TOTALLY ROCKS!!  Last night I had a fantASTIC time at my Appreciation Night.  I'm hoping my Ladies all had fun too.  The only down side is I wore my heels for too long ... MAN I'm out of practice!  My back is kiliing me today!  Hard to believe I wore heels twice as high every week day for YEARS.  Ah the joys of working from home ... in slippers *lol*.

Today was just as great (and it's only 3:22 pm).  We got up and headed on a road trip to Sylvan Lake to look at PUPPIES!  Yep - done deal.  We are now the proud owners of an ADORABLE little Golden Doodle pup.  We get him on Friday.  Here is a picture of "Red" .. that's just his litter name ... we still haven't convinced the girls to call him Sampson, Dakota or Roscoe. 

Isn't he sweet?  *lol*  wow.  I can only imagine what the next 4 weeks of my life are going to look like!

Right - onto a card.  HEre is the baby card I made for my friend last week.  I can't take credit for it.  I copied it from a swap I received at our Stampin' Up! Regionals last September.  I can't give credit to the artist - she didn't provide her details on the swap.  So ... whomever you are ... I love your card and thank you for the inspiration.  Here is my version:

It's almost as cute as the puppy, isn't it?!  It was SO quick and easy to make.  I ran the Whisper White card stock through the Scallop Circle Die, making sure to place the folded card stock just inside 3 of the scallops so the back of the carriage wouldn't be cut off.  I then cut off a pie sized piece and ran it through the Houndstooth emboss folder.  The circles for the wheels are th 1" and 3/4" circle punches and the hearts are the small heart punch.  The fringe on the top is from the scallop trim border punch and the handle is from the letter "S" from my Serif  Essentials Alphabets.  Clever, no?  The ribbon is my retired Bashful Blue Taffeta.  The whole thing took me about 20 minutes from start to finish.  I just love it.

I'm off to relax now.  I see crafting in my future.  This weekend ROCKS!  Hope yours does too.  Have a fun day :)


Tam

Valentine Treats

Happy Wednesday!!

Stayin' warm?  I am.  I've been hibernating since Friday ... bears have nuthin' on me!  Heck, today I saw a number of posts on FB about it being -30 something and with the wind -47 or so.  Who knew?  I missed the news this morning and thought it was supposed to be a little warmed today so off I went to drive the girls to school - no hat, no mitts (me, not the kids) and really didn't find it THAT cold.  Then again, I always say "cold is cold".  It doesn't really matter if it is -22 or -42 it's flippin' cold!

I've had Rebecca home yesterday and today with a really bad cold.  While she vegitated in bed or on the couch I was craftin - oh yeah - craftin' big time.  I had a BALL last night with my new friends Lucie and Helen (and Sheila too!).  What a great, relaxing night of stamping.  This morning I finished off the extra templates I cut so I could top up my stash.  Weeeeeee!  (Of course I SHOULD have been prepping the card for my Appreciation night on Friday but hey ... that's still 2 days away!)  I also managed to finish off my little Valentine Treats.  Yes, these are the little treats my club members will be receiving in their bags this month (so look away now girls if you want it to be a surprise!).  I don't usually have the "problem" of posting pictures of them before my clubbers receive them because I'm usually still making them the day their orders arrive!  I'm ahead of the game this month,

As usual, I started off with easy and simple but ended up a little more ramped up.  I saw this great little 3x3 card idea on Dawn Griffith's web site (www.dawnsstampingthoughts.typepad.com)

Quick and easy, right?  She used the new little Adorning Accents embossing folders in the mini and punced the hearts out with the heart punch and the stamp from PS I love you.  I figured I would make these into little candy pouches for my girls.  Naturally I had to add "things" to mine ...

Hee hee ... I just added a FEW more steps *lol*  Here is a pic of the inside:

I started with a 3 1/4" x 8 1/2" piece of WW card stock.  Scored it (with the Simply Scored tool OF COURSE!) at 3 1/2 and 7 1/2".  I ran it through the Big Shot with the embossing folder.  Then I folded on the score lines and stapled it like so:

I just lined my stampler up with the bottom of the front flap.  Of course the front flap tucks in under the stapled part to hold the treat closed like in picture #1 above.  The gummies just sit in the little lip that I just stapled down.  Does that make sense?  Pretty straight forward but hard to explain.  I made the heart from our glimmer paper using the new Hearts Framelits (LOVE THEM!!!).  You COULD use your heart punches but I really don't recommend using the punches on this paper.  It really does destroy your punch.  Use the framelits.  I punched the Baja Breeze heart out with my small heart punch and used a glue dot to attach.  The silver heart is attached with a dimensional.  I just used snail to attach the Baja ribbon that hides the staple.  Don'y you love them?  I do.  I'm sure my club ladies will too.

Right.  Tune in again for my baby card project.  I want to wait a day or two to make sure my friend receives it in the mail before she sees it here (yes, Joan, I'm talkin' about you!  Joan is the proud Grandmamma of her first beautiful grandbaby, Elliot).  Stay warm ... and have an inspire night :)

Tam

Candy Conversations

Happy Sunday :)

Everyone got their thermal panties on today?   Brrrrrr - I think it's -29 with the wind chill out there!  Doesn't bother me any - I'm still in my jams :)

Just a quickie for today.  I'm still playing with my new Occasions toys and having a great time :)  Here is a fun little valentine card:

Easy Peasy!  I used the Candy Conversations stamp, coloring directly on it with the markers.  I used PEar Pizzazz, Baja Breeze and Ridinghood Red (I got the color combination while I was looking at the new ribbon in the mini!)  Yes, that's the new Pear Pizzazz ribbon and the new Adorning Accents embossing folder.  I made an extra Ridinghood Red Heart and punched it out with the small heart punch and popped it up with a dimensional.  So easy!

Right.  Think I'll go clean something.  I've lost all feeling in my butt from sitting too long *lol*

Have an inspired day :)


Tam

Faux Tile

Happy Saturday!!

What a perfect weekend to hibernate (in your pajamas), make homemade soups, craft and generally just hang out.  That's exactly what I've done today and plan to do again tomorrow.  I LOVE down weekends!!  I saw the weather forecast a day or two before my husband did so I informed him that HE would be taking Rebecca to the 10:30 Sunday morning birthday party across town.  I'm not gettin' up early to freeze my tuckas (?) off on a Sunday mornin!  Nope ... the most activity I MAY undertake is heading to Save-On to buy some chicken ... but I'm PRETTY sure that can wait until Monday :)

Last night I had a BALL!  I had 12 fabulous women over for my Technique Class.  I was absolutely giddy over this class!  Not only was I jazzed because we haven't had a class since November but I LOVED the projects we were doing!  You saw the first two a few days ago.  Yep.  Still lovin' them!

The last one was the actual technique we learned - Faux Tile.  LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Before you read on just sit back, stare at it and take it all in ... are you doing it?  Are ya?  Look at it again.  Isn't it fabulous??!!  Did I mention I love it?  It was SO quick and easy ... I mean really ... there is only 1 ink color - Early Espresso 2 paper colors - espresso and vanilla - some ribbon (retired 5/8" espresso grosgrain ... which I didn't know was retired until 10 minutes before the class .. oops!) the new large pearls (FABULOUS!) and 2 stamp sets (Mixed Bunch from the mini and Elementary Elegance from the SAB for FREE!).  To get the tiled effect you just score it every inch.  The effect is best with a bigger stamp so it covers a few quadrants.  Don't stamp too hard or the ink will penetrate into the "grout" and ruin the effect.  I popped up the Hello (punched with the large oval) on dimensionals and then the Decorative Label Punch on dimensionals too.  Absolutely fantastic!  Yep - love this card.  I think we need to make this one my new favorite ... for this week anyway :)

Right - I'm off to taste test my chicken soup ... smells devine!  I hope you have a crafty, inspired weekend!


Tam

Third Time's the Charm ...

Happy Thursday!  Ack!  Where did the week go??!!

Well!  Have I mentioned lately that I LOVE MAKING CARDS???!!!  I do!  I had a VERY, VERY, VERY bad morning yesterday.  Let's just say if I could have run away to hide I would have.  One of those days where you not only do you not WANT to be the mom but you totally sucked at being the mom.  I had what I call a "Bad Mommy Moment".  The morning was hell.  Fast forward 12 hours to 8:00 pm.  Craig knew that there was a very good chance I would go postal if I didn't get some alone time in my craft room so he took over the night time routine and kicked me downstairs.  I had the BEST 2 hours of crafting EVER!!!  I forgot all my troubles and got lost in paper, ink and toys.  Each card just kept getting better and better and better.  My last card is one of this "OMG I LOVE IT!" cards.  Having said that, you'll have to come back to see that one as I should technically be in the car picking up the children as I type ... but hey ... they won't leave without me ;)

Right - 3 quickies starting with my least favorite.  I was on a mission to use the new ribbon that you can pick for FREE with the upcoming Sale-a-brations promotion.  Here was my first attempt (oh ... and I was also on a mission to make a "simple" card ...)

I wanted to use the new "Mixed Bunch" set and the new Adorning Accents embossing folders.  Nope.  Doesn't do it for me.  I've tried tweaking it but I'm not lovin' it.

Here was my next attempt:

Hmm.  It's ok.  Doesn't blow my hair back.  I did like using the Cherry scented embossing powder though.

Ahhhh - third time IS the charm.  I LOVE this card for a variety of reasons.  1)  It's SIMPLE!!  (Tamye, Tamye - I made one!!)  2) I came up with it all by myself (i.e. I didn't copy someone elses layout!) and 3) it uses all THREE of the free sAB items you get when you have a party of $525 or more.  It's the PERFECT HOSTESS PARTY CARD!!!  Lookie:

Right - I think the "recipes" for these are fairly straight forward and I don't have time to type them out anyway (children are out in 4 minutes!!!) so if you have any questions drop me a line ...

Have an inspired day!!

Tam

PS I Love You

Happy Tuesday!!

OMG - DO I EVER LOVE TODAY'S CARD!!!!!  About an hour ago I FINALLY made it down to my craft room (WHY is it that I just can't make it down there before noon ... EVER??!!)  Today is the day I HAVE to figure out my projects for my class on Friday.  Apparently I volunteered for Rebecca's field trip tomorrow ... and Friday ... Thursday is a half day for the girls (translation "I get nothing done on Thursdays) so .... that leaves today to design, cut, clean, organize, plan.  Well!  Nothing like pressure to get a Gal goin'!  As I was munching on my yoghurt and apples again this morning I was blog hopping and I came across a layout I absolutely ADORED so I just had to make it and really I only changed the colors.  The original mastermind of this little beauty is Mindy Backes (you HAVE to give credit where credit is due!!) - her blog is www.badabingcrafting.blogspot.com (gotta love the Bada-Bing part!).  Here is her version:

LOVE it!!!
... and here is my version:

Isn't it DELICIOUS??!!  Not only do I love the layout but I love the colors and I LOVE that I got to play with a new stamp set, the new scented embossing powder and 2 new Big Shot toys!!  The stamp set is from the new Occasions Mini "PS I Love You"  It covers all the bases for Valentine's Day AND for anniversaries, weddings or just I Love Yous.  The colors are Early Espresso and Cherry Cobbler (my favorite color combination EVER!!).  The biggest heart is made using the new Heart Framelit Dies.  The Cherry Cobbler hear is made by stamping the image on Whisper White in Cherry Cobbler CRAFT ink.  I then embossed it with the Vanilla Scented Embossing Powder and punched it out with the Heart punch (but there is also a Hearts Framelit the right size for this - I just chose to use my punch).  Wow!  I think I'm stop sniffing my Staz-On and move directly to embossing powder - amazing smell!!!  The 3 smaller hearts (in crumb cake, espresso and cobbler) were made using the new Fashionable Hearts Embosslits Die (from the new mini).  I stamped the ring of hearts in cobbler ink and the "love you" in espresso then punched it out with the 1 3/8" circle punch.  The ribbon here is the Cherry Cobbler Quilted Satin ribbon from the Holiday Mini (now retired) but the card also looks great with the Cherry Cobbler Polka Dot Ribbon or the Crumb Cake Seam binding ribbon OR the Early Espresso 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon (yes, I tried them all!).  I settled on this one because I like the added texture it brings to the card.  The embossed, espresso and crumb cake hearts (and the "love you") are all popped up with dimensionals. 

Sigh I could just sit back and stare at this card forever. ... well ... maybe not forever but at least for the next 10 minutes.  It is perfect for Craig.  No Bling.  Mind you it has ribbon ... he says no ribbon for guys cards but tough.  He's gettin' ribbon 'caus I like it!  Hope you do too :)

Have an inspired day :)

Tam

The power of one word!

Happy Monday Everyone!

Wow. What a week last week was. I have to say I am on a real journey lately - I can't wait to see where it takes me!

I'm going to go off on a bit of a rant here - so bear with me. I just need to share some of the thoughts and emotions that are propelling me forward these days ...

As some of you know, last year I stumbled across a blog (I have no idea what it was now) whereing the lady had a "word" for the year. In a nutshell each year she tries to find one word that will help her in the comming year - that word is what she focuses on in various aspects of her life. Hmm - interesting. Her thoughts really struck home with me and I thought I would try it. Last year my word was "enjoy". That one word really had an inpact on everything I did. When I found I was in a "mood" I remembered my word and tried to just "enjoy" - Enjoy playing with the children - enjoy the peace and quiet while doing housework - enjoy being able to stay at home - enjoy a nice day ... just relax and enjoy!

 So this year rolled around ... I tried to find a new word. After a few I settled on "Believe". I thought I could use it in my business (Believe that you will succeed) - with the children (Believe you are a great mom) and so on. Hmmm - nice word - wasn't 100% sure though ...

Now - skip forward a week or so. I started listening to some webinars I ordered from "The Mind Aware". Dana Wilde is an AMAZING  Direct Sales speaker and started a company called The Mind Aware. She is all about focusing on the power of the mind and how by simple changing your thoughts you can change every aspect of your life. She teaches people to be aware of their feelings and thoughts and then work towards improving them.

 Enter 2012.  I wanted to start a little "commitment group" with some of my friends.  I call the group "Baby Steps" and essentially people e-mail me with what they are committed to doing for the day, week, month, year ... what ever they need to "say out loud. My idea is that if we "say it out loud" or in this case e-mail it to someone - then we will be more accountable for our actions and will start actually DOING what we say we will do.  We currently have 8 in the group (including me). That's incredible! I thought maybe 1 or 2 people might want to have a little e-mail pal for support but I was blown away by so many wanting to commit to making some sort of change. Now one firend in particular recently e-mailed me and said that I was inspirational. That 1 e-mail has propelled me into a whole other mind set. When she sent me that and I read it I realized that that was the 4th or 5th time in the last 12 months someone has said something similar to me. It was nice to hear that those other times but of course, as women, we tend to dismiss compliments and I didn't really take it to heart. This time I did! ... and it felt AMAZING!!! Really? I inspire people? I CAN inspire people?? And then it came to me. I can inspire people! I LOVE to inspire people. That's is what I have been doing this last year and the feeling I get from that keeps me going ... to inspire again ... and more people! 15 minutes ago I was eating my yoghurt / apple / banana breakfast and listening to the next webinar in my collection and Dana was talking about Mantras. ... a little phrase that helps us ... the tape that runs in our heads.  According to her great mantra needs 4 factors:

• it needs to be in the affirmative
• it needs to be as if it has already happened or IS happening
• it needs to be believable
• it needs to evoke a positive emotion

I can't TELL you how the word INSPIRE makes my heart soar!!! This is my word for the year - INSPIRE! My Mantra itself is "I inspire others to act". The most important part to me is that by inspiring others I am bettering myself! Focusing on OTHER people is how I end up pushing myself further than when I focus on myself. Why did I quit smoking? So I wouldn't leave my children without a mother. Why do I volunteer at the school? So I can ease the workload of others and help out. Why do I offer a friend a meal when they have a sick child to take care of? So they know they have a friend and someone to lean on. So how can I better myself this year? By inspiring others. I want to:

• inspire my children to be more active, more charitable and more appreciative 
• inspire my husband to eat healthier
• inspire my mom to find a hobby she loves
• inspire my friends to believe in themselves and better themselves in their own minds
• inspire my customers to be creative
• inspire people to want to inspire others

... and the best way for me to do all that is to be a role model. I will do these things, others will be inspired and the byproduct will be a better, healthier, happier me. A little ass-backwards but hey - I know myself well enough to know what works. This will get me to where I want to be.

My little support group has ALREADY changed me in so many ways. It has helped me find my "word" and my focus for 2012. It has strengthened my determination to "grow" and "improve".  I challenge each of you to come up with a word or mantra that will help you to focus your energy and thoughts in a positive way.   It's a very, very good feeling!
 

OK - that's my sermon for this week! I hope you can draw something from it that will help you in some way.

So!  Anyone still with me and want to see a card?  *lol*  OK - I DO realize that is why you popped in in the first place ... not to get life lessons from me *lol*  Ok.  Here it comes.

A friend of mine has a daughter who is getting married in July.  She was looking for invitation ideas.  I came up with this card which she absolutely loved ... so do I!

Pretty, no?  I TRIED to keep it simple ... bur of course ...

I started with a whisper white card base then layered it with a slightly smaller piece that I ran through the vintage wallpaper embossing folder.  I then used a smaller layer of the silver card stock, another, slightly smaller layer of whisper white and then ANOTHER smaller layer of whisper white. - so 5 layers in all.  The silver layer and the very top layer are popped up on dimensionals.  The top is stamped in Pretty in PInk CRAFT ink and embossed with clear embossing powder.  I really wanted to use Blushing Bride as I think it was the PERFECT color to match the brides maid dresses but they don't make craft ink in the In Color colors!  Who knew!  I embossed Forever & Always (from the "Loving Thoughts" set in the new mini) in silver emboss powder - OH!  and I used the vanilla Smooch Spritz on the vintage wallpaper layer for a little glimmer.  3 rhinestones and Wa-low!  A simply lovely card (even if it wasn't simple per se!)

Right - it's 1:52 - I still don't have my make-up on or my breakfast dishes done (but I DID do my excercises, rearrange the furniture and listed to 2 webinars!) so off I go. Thanks for reading to the end.  Have an inspired day :)

Tam

Framelit Dies

Happy Friday!!!  Everyone ready for the weekend??!!  I would say "yes" but to be brutally honest I'm counting down the minutes until Monday morning ... when the children go back to school.  Wow.  Days like today I totally understand why some animals eat their young. I'm thinking the animal kingdom has an equivalent to Christmas break!  I have accomplished NUTHIN this week - they are bored, I am grumpy.  Do I sound horrible ... or normal?  *lol*  Seriously - I have enjoyed not getting up at any given time, NOT making lunches or having a schedule but I am ITCHING to get back into a routine!  Just a quick post today as I have to put the little Angels to bed.

When I first got my hands on the new Occasions mini catalogue (back in November!!!) I was trying to figure out the new Framelit Dies on page 6.  I couldn't quite wrap my head around them or how they worked .. or why I needed them.  So of course I did what most stamping addicts do and ordered them!  Well ... they arrived - I unpacked them - looked at them ... scanned the instructions ... and put them back in the package.  I'm not a patient gal.  READ the instructions?!  Hell no!  Off to my computer to find a video on how to use them.  Lucky for you I'm impatient!  Here is a video tutorial from the experts at Stampin' Up!



FUN!  Now I just have to get downstairs to try it out!

Have a fun weekend - tune in again to see what I come up with ... once the kids are back in school!

Tam



2012 Occasions Mini

Happy Wednesday!

Today is the day the new 2012 Occasions Mini Catalogue comes into effect!  Click on my link to the right to do your on-line shopping!

I'm off to make the beds, hit the shower and run my errands ... apparently we have no food in the house *lol*

Have a fun day!


Tam

Triple Treat

Happy New Year!

Did you make it to 12:00?  I can't believe it, but I did!!!  A sure fire way to keep me awake is to get me in my craft room.  MAN I love that place!!!  Yes, at some point I'll take pictures of it but right now I'm having too much fun playing with all my new toys!  I have to laugh - I went down to make one or two "quick and easy" cards.  Um hm.  You all know how good I am at THAT!  I managed to make ONE quick and easy - the other one LOOKS quick and easy but it ended up with a lot more layers and embellishments than I had planned so I don't think it counts *lol*  The funny thing is that quick and easy one took me longer to create than the more complex one.  Sorry Tammie - I tried :)

Here is the quick and easy one:

How simple is THAT?  I am planning a Stamp-a-stack in the coming weeks and I wanted a few "male" cards.  This one definately fits the bill!  The moustache stamp is all one stamp so it makes it super quick and easy.  I stamped it in Versamark, used black embossing powder on it, layered it on some gray cardstock - added a strip of black and stamped the sentiment (from Happiest Birthday Wishes - Hostess Set) in gray.  I popped the image up on dimensionals for a LITTLE interest.  I think it's pretty boring but Craig gave it the "guy thumbs up".  No ribbon, no glitter, no fuss.  Apparently that makes for a good guy card.  Hmm.  I'm not convinced, but I'm not a guy!

OK - on to my new all time favorite card!!  (notice how it changes month to month? *lol*)  I'm thrilled with this one.  Although it isn't as "simple" as I wanted I love how clean and un-busy it is ... NOT my usual style!  Drum roll please .....

Isn't it fabulous??!!  I just sit here and stare at it - the true test of a great card :)  I used the Triple Treat Flower stamp that is in the main catalogue but also appears as one of the free items available in the upcoming Sale-a-brations borchure (insert squeal of excitement here!)  To start with I embossed the bottom of the card using the new Adorning Accents Embossing Folder that is on page 7 of the Occasiona Mini.  I LOVE these little folders - a MUST have!!  I then stamped the flower 4 times.  Once in Ridinghood Red, Once in Baja Breeze and Twice in Pear Pizzazz.  The Ridinghood Red flower is punched out using the Fancy Flower punch.  I inked up the centre of the flower with the Ridinghood Red marker and stamped just the centre again and punched it out with the 1/2" circle (did you get your 1/2" circle punch from the clearance rack yet?  It's still available for 2 more days!)  The Baja Breeze Flower and (2) Pear Pizzazz Flowers were stamped and punched out with the 5 -Petal Flower punch.  One of the Pear Pizzazz flowers and the Baja Breeze 5-Petal Flower then had their centres punched out with the 1/2" circle punch.  The second Pear Pizzazz flower then had its petals cut off to make the little leaves that peak out from under the flower.  I layered all the flowers, popping the Pear one up with a dimensional.  I used the Pear Pizzazz1/2" Stitched-Poly Ribbon and some rhinestones.  I popped the Pear circle that is in the top right hand corner of the card up on a dimensional and stamped the sentiment (from "Loving Thoughts" also in the Occasions mini - page 15) in Ridinghood Red.  Love, love, love, love, LOVE it!

Right.  Now I'm all excited again and have to go back to my room to make more.  I have SO many more new products to try out!!!  Have a very Happy New Year - have a fun day!

Tam