A Touch of Fall

Hello Stampers!

I’ve been away for awhile, so I thought it might be about time to visit with you again.  So far, summer has been very busy for us in our household.  In June my children, husband and grandchildren traveled back to Ohio for a 95th birthday party for my mom.  All of her grands and great-grands were there which is what we were hoping for and it worked out perfectly.  We were gone for two weeks.

Once we got home, we hit the ground running as the remainder of June and all of July were pretty busy with something scheduled almost every day.  There were a few minor home improvements and repairs done along the way.  Some doctor appointments too as they seem to be inevitable once you reach our age.  🙁  My sciatica had been bothering me for about a month so I finally started having that looked into.  A week’s worth of steroids has helped with the inflammation and pain, but an MRI of my spinal column is in my future.  There is nothing worse than sciatica back pain.   I would say that it is worse than going to the dentist…OR…labor pains!

I have managed to get some stamping done and held my monthly Cards & Coffee in May and July with another scheduled for August. My July creations included the use the Cutest Crew stamp set once again, along with Balloon Festoon, Fern & Flora, and Relaxing Waterside.

I created my own background DSP on this card by using blending brushes and ink; Crumb Cake and Misty Moonlight.  I was please with how it turned out.  I used the Relaxing Waterside bundle for this card.  I think this card makes an excellent masculine card.

 

My Balloon Festoon birthday card is great for a kid.  I used  retired Lighter than Air DSP on this card and once again stamped the background.

 

 

Another card we made at July’s club was this sympathy card using the Fern & Flora bundle.  The sentiment comes from the Something Fancy stamp set.  I love the simplicity of this card.

The fourth card we created was this one using Cutest Crew.  This set is so adorable!  We’ve used it for the last three months!

If you have any questions on what I used on each of these cards, feel free to ask and I will let you know.

 

Now for a new card I created with a touch of fall flair is this one.  And it seems appropriate too because once August hits in Colorado early mornings start to get chilly.  It was in the 60’s this morning when I got up and I had to use a blanket as I drank my morning coffee.  This is a new set and designer series paper that will be coming out in the September to December catalog.  I used quite a bit from  the  Radiant Sunflowers suite  to create this slim line card.  I also used the Sunflower 3D Embossing folder for part of the background on this card.

That’s about all for today.  I hope you enjoyed your visit.  Until next time…

Happy Stamping!

 

 

 

 

&n

bsp;

Recipe Book using Flip Flaps

Hi Stampers!

I’m back from Stampin’ Up! Onstage in beautiful Long Beach, California and I’ve got a lot of great news to share with you!

There are a few new changes coming to Stampin’ Up! That I’m really excited about.  The first being new ink pads!  I don’t know about any of you, but I and many of my customers often struggle with opening our current ink pads.  Our new ones will now be magnetic and they are awesome.  The tops lift off easily and are easily replaced.  They are starting small and only switching to the new pads with the 2026-2028 In Colors so the transition will be a gradual one.

Another new change is Stampin’ Up! Will no longer offer a larger annual catalog, but they will offer 3 smaller catalogs through out the year along with their online exclusives.  The catalogs will run from January to April, May through August, and September through December. The first of these three catalogs will be available in May of this year.

New In Colors will be available in May as well; Barely Blush, Crisp Cantelope, Golden Glow, Hydrangea Hue, and Peaceful Pine.  Oh, be still my heart!  Peaceful pine looks like black in this photo.  Rest assured it is a beautiful pine colored green.

Along with these changes are some others relating to products and joining as a demonstrator that I am not now at liberty to share.  Just know there are some really good changes coming.

I also want to share my latest project with you.  But first, here’s how I came up with the idea.  I was searching through my “recipe book” which consists of a gallon size zip lock bag stuffed with recipe cards and sheets of paper looking for a cookie recipe my mom gave me. As I was searching  I said to myself for the millionth time that I need to get my recipes organized.  Actually, who doesn’t?  I found the recipe I wanted, made the cookies, and they were delicious.  Even if I do say so myself.

Later that day I was looking through the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog when I noticed the flip flaps they offer for scrap booking.  That’s when the idea hit me.  They have more than one purpose. Not only are they great on a scrap book page to add multiple photos, but some of them are the same size as a 4” x 6” recipe card.  Then the creative wheels started turning and I thought I would make a recipe book to hold my recipes!  I am making one for each child as well with copies of family recipes to pass on to them. How cute would something like this be as a bridal shower gift!  Unfortunately, Stampin’ Up! Doesn’t have a cooking stamp set other than the retired one I found on Ebay  called Perfect Mix.  I did find a few others on Amazon, along with 4 x 6 recipe cards.  I thought the fruit design on the recipe card would go well with the retired Mediterranean Blooms DSP.  Another DSP that would make a great recipe book cover is retired Berry Delightful DSP or retired To Market DSP.  I’ll be using Berry Delightful in my tiutorial video.  There is also be a printable tutorial available.

The retired products I used in this project were Mediterranean Blooms and Berry Delightful Designer Series Papers and Perfect Mix and Citrus Blooms stamp sets.  Enjoy!

 

 


 

Until next time!
Happy Stamping!

Fence/Gate Card with Tutorial

So, we are just back from our second annual trip to Puerto Morelos in Mexico with my daughter and her family. It was a quick trip but refreshing none the less. We spent a lot of time floating around in the resort’s pools and ordering beverages from the bars. All inclusive resorts are great! My biggest concern while we were there was, “What time will we be eating?” LOL!  But alas, we came back to reality a little over a week ago and I got back to the old grind immediately. After a brief episode of scale-shock, I went back to my regular eating and exercising routines.

While in Mexico, we also had the opportunity to swim in a cenote. A cenote is a natural sinkhole that occurs when the limestone rock beneath the ground surface collapses exposing groundwater underneath. They are found mostly in the Yucatan Peninsula which is where we were. The ancient Mayans thought they were sacred places. So, I was not only fortunate enough to get to swim in a sacred place, but I also had the opportunity to swallow a bit of the sacred water as I forgot to plug my nose before I dove in. My husband and I visited one in 2015 during our first trip to Cancun which involved floating down an underground river for a while. The grandkids thought it was impressive (ages 8 to 10) except my granddaughter was a little unsure of the little fish that were swimming around in the water. It was great fun, and the water was a cool respite from the heat and humidity of the jungle above.

There were three entrances to the cenote. The original steps went down to the water through a narrow hole with no railing and unevenly spaced. The second a dive into the water from the opening above. Both entrances were not for the weak of heart. We all opted for the 3rd entrance which involved an uneven set of stone steps and rough railing installed by the park’s owner. There was also an underground diving platform and swing the kids, big and little, enjoyed. My daughter’s significant other eventually gave in to the children’s wishes and dove in from the top. From the view below, it doesn’t look like it’s very far.

 

Enough about my winter vacation! In my quest to find something new to share with you, I found a card technique that you can use that is like the lattice cards I did awhile ago. I’m calling this one a fence card because it is oriented differently than the lattice card and looks more like a fence or gate than a lattice. I’ve typed up a tutorial that you can download if you like. I recommend you watch the video first.  I used Delicate Whispers Bundle that will be available through Stampin’ Up! this month.  I’m including a photo of the bundle and the item number for it is 167506.

 

Enjoy the video!  Sorry my big head got in the way a few times, but at least you didn’t get a close up look of my gray roots!  LOL!

 

 

 

 

Enjoy and Happy Stamping!