Nailed It!

Happy Wednesday!

Holy COW has this week been a crazy CRAZY busy week!!!  Got up at 5:00 am just to try to squeeze a little more into the day!!

Why so busy?  Three words.  Retiring.  Product.  List.  Seriously.  It somehow got off my radar that the Retiring Product List was coming down the pipe and being posted Monday, April 10th.  In my head it was May 1st .. one month before the new catalogue goes into effect.  I also seem to have repressed the chaos that ensues every year when said list DOES get published.  Just so happens that the day the list is published is also the day Demonstrators all over North America are able to access the new catalogue on line.  Hmmmm so HOW many thousands of us are trying to access the list and/or the new catalogue at the exact same time?  HOW many of us are trying to place orders to scoop deals on retiring rhinestones, ribbon and reinkers?  Enough to throw the day into total "ACK!" mode resulting in toast (burnt at that!) for dinner *lol*.

What added to me PERSONAL chaos was the fact that I was in Calgary all weekend for the On Stage event.  That's a demonstrator event that brings hundreds of us from around the West together to get some training, some stamping, some laughs, and a peek at the new catalogue!!  As a perk for attending we also get to pre-order select items (which of course we all HAVE to have!) … but we had to order them by last night … so add in trying to juggle everything AND shop for new toys.  Well … you get the picture!  For the third time in 11 years I actually cancelled my class last night as I still haven't designed the projects yet!

It's "all good", though.  Keeps me from being bored and tolling through the pantry for snacks for sure!  *lol*.

Why am I rambling on instead of getting to work?  I REALLY wanted to keep you in the loop, share my Calgary Swap card and give you a quick Mr. Dan update!

First my card …

I.  Love.  This.  Bundle!

I'm sad (and quite surprised!) that it is one of the items on the retiring list!  It is a "keeper" for SURE!  As you can see from the sentiment "Thanks for always building me up" that it doesn't have to be used on a masculine card.  It's for anyone.  Just Google it and see all the varieties of cards made with it!

Quick aside … The retiring list can be accessed *** here *** and items are going FAST!  Faster than I've seen them go ever before!!  Stamp sets aren't going to sell out for a while (you will be guaranteed to get what you want up until about the third week of May) … but everything else (framelits, ribbon, embellishments, accessories) are ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!!  If there is something you want you need to order it NOW, if it isn't already too late!  Canadian shoppers can place your order *** here *** to be shipped directly to your door.  Use Hostess code 6A3AJVBD for orders under $200 and receive a Thank You gift in the mail from me :)

We now return you to our previously scheduled post ...

Back to our card …

This was SO fun to play with!  Lets see now … what dimensions did I use ...

Base - Very Vanilla 8 1/2" x 5 1/2"
Layer - Sahara Sand 4 3/4" x 3 1/2"
Layer - Very Vanilla 4 1/2" x 3 1/4"

Woodgrain Stamp (retiring!) - stamped with Sahara Sand and stamped on the vanilla layer
Nailed It Bundle (retiring!) - stamped the hammer and saw with Basic Black Ink on Smoky Slate card stock, punched out with the framelits then coloured the saw handle with Crumb Cake marker and the hammer handle with the Basic Gray and Basic Black water-colour pencils!  I then used my Clear Wink Of Stella to bling up the saw blade and hammer head.
The sentiments is stamped in black on Saraha Sand card stock and punched out with one of the framelits in the set (sentiment is also in the set).  I LOVE how the shape punches AND scores a little rim around the shape!!  I added one of the FAB Urban Underground Embellishments (retiring!!) as an accent and popped the whole thing up on dimensionals.

Now .. the little strip of wood behind the tools.  How fun is THAT!  Yes, it is a real strip of super small wood!  When I was purging my room a few weeks ago I found my stash of wood business cards that I bought at Lee Valley Tools a few years back.  They were PERFECT for this card!!  They are thin enough to cut with my Paper Trimmer (at 1" thick) and I cut a slit very easily with my paper snips for the saw to slide into.  Love love LOVE!  I stamped the nails on it in Basic Grey.  It stamps easily but the image does blur/bleed a little so be warned.

While I was creating my swap I wanted to be able to find something that would work to turn it into a Fathers Day card.  Mission accomplished ...

The "Father's Day" is from Thoughtful Banners ($44.50) …

… and the "Happy" is from Birthday Bright (retiring!) - and it's on sale for $22.10!

This set was designed to work with one of our kits.  I didn't buy the kit but I LOVE this set!  I'm sad it's retiring - it is one of my favourite birthday sets.  It's in the "keep" file!

Now …. a quick update on Mr. Dan.

If you have followed me for a while you will remember I posted the story of Mr. Dan March 14th.  Click here to see that post (have the Kleenex ready!)

Well!  Fast forward to last Friday.  My phone was dinging while I was driving.  Being a good girl I didn't check my messages until we pulled into the hotel parking lot in Calgary.  It was my friend Candice.  She was telling me to "GET ON FACEBOOK ALREADY".  I asked what the rush was … "MR. DAN GOT THE CARDS!!!" was her reply.  Well!  My co-pilot and I spent the next 10 minutes trolling through Facebook and the replies/comments everyone was making.  In fact hotel security *may* have driven by a few times to see what all the squealing was about *lol*.

Check.  It.  Out.

Lookie!  That box in front of little Marigold is the one we sent him!

 Well!  To say we were all thrilled is a gross understatement!

But WAIT!  It gets better!

So Monday I walk Koda and the whole day explodes due to the aforementioned Retiring Product List (look at ME using super big words on so little sleep!!) … and I notice about 2 hours later I have a phone message on my landline (yes, some of us DO still have landlines *lol*)  The caller ID is "unknown name" - I retrieve it and believe it is a telemarketer or fundraiser … until the voice says "This is Dan Peterson".  Oh.  Em.  Gee.  You would think I just had a phone call from ** insert name of your favourite actor or rock star here (Tom Hanks btw).  My jaw just fell open in total disbelief.  He thanked me and my "ladies" for the cards and blessed us.  Oh.  My.  Heart.  He is SUCH a gentleman.  I just can't get enough of the pure joy that surrounds this story.

Sigh.  Now I'm all smiley and warm inside (again).  That's the effect Mr. Dan has on this gal!

So off I go to prep 110 wedding invites … and design cards for class tomorrow … and walk the dog … and he'd to Mom and Dad's (for our scheduled weekly playdate … just like Mr. Dan and Norah do!) … and make dinner … and pick up the kids … and take Rebecca for new runners … and on and on and on …

All good.  I've got this!

Have yourself a stampy day!


Tam