My new blog!

Did you notice how pretty my blog is now?   I am head over heels in LOVE with it!   My sweet friend Lesley surprised me and made it all pretty today.    You should totally check out her banner website and get your own new look for your blog.   I am giddy with excitement and I can't stop coming back here to look at it again and again!  

I will be substituting again this week over at the Paper Players, so come back tomorrow to see a very special card.  

October Specials!

The clearance rack has been restocked with lots of fun new goodies, so be sure to go check them out!
You can purchase items online through my website! Just click Shop Now and get started!  Be sure you click on Show All on the right of the Clearance Rack page to be sure you see all the available items.


If you've been looking for an opportunity to do what you love, while getting a 20 discount on your favorite products, now is the perfect time! During October, you'll get a FREE Big Shot (or up to $100 in free product)  when you join the Stampin' Up! family as a demonstrator.

In addition, the new-demonstrator Starter Kit--a steal at just $175--contains over $345 worth of stamp sets, card stock, ink, accessories, and business supplies-everything you need to start your new business.
There are so many benefits of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, including

• A 20 percent product discount!
• A free monthly issue of Stampin' Up!'s demonstrator-only magazine, Stampin' Success!
• Sneak peeks at brand-new products!
• Invitations to exclusive Stampin' Up! events!
• Regular get-togethers to stamp!
• Free access to an online community of 30,000+ crafters/stampers and creative artists, as well as 160,000+ project samples!
• Plus, access to an exclusive video and training for your new Big Shot!

Contact me today to learn how you can take advantage of this great opportunity and get your FREE Big Shot!


Buy two Simply Sent Kits and get a FREE coordinating stamp set! Our Simply Sent Kits are the ideal choice for the beginning crafter. The card kits offer a variety of basic themes, so it's easy to create cards for any occasion.  These kits are perfect for anyone wanting a creative outlet but find themselves limited on time or space!   They are wonderful to have on hand for those times when you need a card quickly and don't have a lot of time to spend making one!   



If all that wasn't enough, there's one more fun announcement!  Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps are a brand-new product that will appeal to crafters and non-crafters, alike--not to mention kids!  The easy-to-use cookie stamp has a solid wood handle with three interchangeable stamp images: a heart, a jack-o-lantern, and a snowflake.


Just make your favorite shortbread cookie dough (or one of the two included recipes) and stamp away! Create beautiful, hand-stamped cookies in a flash. The stamp images are completely food-safe and child-friendly.   Contact me today for more details or to order yours!    

Tomorrow's Fall Class

I am so excited about my class tomorrow!  We are going to make some fun projects for Halloween and Thanksgiving.  What a fun way to celebrate World Card Making Day!

This first project is an little pumpkin that would be gorgeous on the Thanksgiving table.  You could make them in many sizes and patterns and have quite the display!    I love the Spice Cake designer paper; I might need a whole pack just to make pumpkins!   

Halloween is just around the corner, so be sure to get those projects going soon!   Isn't this little pillow box adorable!   My friend Anne Marie did an adorable card where she put the witches hat on the owl and I HAD to make one!   These little boxes are perfect for your office mates or your child's Halloween party!     

Because it IS World Card Making day tomorrow, we have to make a few cards, right?   I wanted to do some fall cards, but not really in typical fall colors.   I used the Color Coach for the combinations and I like the way the colors look together.   High five, Color Coach; you rock as usual!  The card above is Soft Suede, Baja Breeze, and Cherry Cobbler.    The card below is More Mustard, Cajun Craze, and Night of Navy.  I kept them pretty simple so that they could be mailed with a regular postage stamp.  

I ran out of sunlight before I could take pictures of the other treats, so stay tuned for more tomorrow! 

Try It Thursday!

I had my first Try It Thursday event last night and I loved it.  I hope the ladies attending did as well.  I had two new people join me and they were wonderful!   I love meeting new people that enjoy being creative, especially nice ones that make me laugh.  :)

As a treat, I whipped up some sugar cookies and used the new cookie press stamps that will be available starting tomorrow!   Don't they look yummy?   They are so cute and a blast to make!   

This was one of the projects that we made.  I love it so much that I'm thinking it might be my Christmas card this year.   I was bad and didn't get any sent out last year, so I'm hoping to do a better job this year.   (I know, what kind of card maker doesn't send out Christmas cards!  Geesh!)  

Stamps:  Warmest of Wishes, Stitched Stockings

Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Wild Wasabi, Garden Green

Paper:  Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green

Tools/Accessories:  Stocking builder punch, Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine, Basic Rhinestones

How cute is this?    I never know if people might need a boy or girl card, so I decided to go with pink AND blue and it can be for everyone!    :)   I love those little booties!

Stamps:  Stitched Stockings, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Marina Mist
Paper:  Pretty In Pink, Marina Mist, Whisper White, Subtles Designer Paper stacks
Tools/Accessories: Stocking Builder punch, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Big Shot, Basic Pearls, White Baker's Twine, Marina Mist 3/8 taffeta ribbon

Finally, we made a little gift tag using the Top Note die.   I love this one; I was going for a bit more rustic (or maybe manly?) look with it and I think the colors are perfect!   Can you picture a gift wrapped nicely in brown paper, tied up with some Early Espresso Baker's Twine, and this little tag?   I can and I'm loving the idea!

Stamps:  None
Ink:   Early Espresso Marker
Paper:  Confetti White, Riding Hood Red, Not Quite Navy, Crumb Cake
Tools/Accessories:  Houndstooth embossing folder, Snow Burst embossing folder, Big Shot, Top Note die, Stocking Builder Punch, Early Espresso Baker's Twine, Crumb Cake 3/8 Taffeta Ribbon

If you have any questions about any of the projects, be sure to email me.   :)

More Stitched Stockings

I was playing around with my Simply Scored tool today and decided to try my hand at making a fireplace for my stockings.  I think I actually like it!   I'd noticed a few different fireplaces with this set, but none that used scoring for the bricks.  This did take some time and a lot of sponging, but it was fun.   What do you think?   Does it look like a fireplace?  Can you see the score lines and the woodgrain on the browns?    I even sponged the base with white craft ink; I was a sponging fool on this one!

Stamps:  Stitched Stockings, Woodgrain background
Ink:  Wild Wasabi, Garden Green, Early Espresso, Real Red, Whisper White (craft)
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Real Red, Basic Black, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Tools/Accessories:   Simply Scored, Stocking builder punch, Blossom Petals punch, sponges, paper snips, white baker's twine

FMS4: Snow Much Fun

Time for another sketch challenge at Freshly Made Sketches!   I hope you are enjoying the challenges as much as the design team.   I'm having a fabulous time creating and I am so thankful to Lesley for giving me a chance to be a part of this great challenge blog.   Now on to the card...

And before you say anything...Yes!  I totally realize that I'm addicted to this stamp set.  :)  It is seriously Snow Much Fun!  Ha!   Here I used my buddy the Color Coach to find a bit of a non-traditional color combination.   I love how it turned out, but how could I not when I'm using 3 of my favorite colors AND my favorite stamp set?!    I hope you enjoy it as well and will be inspired to create your own card for this fun sketch.   

Stamps:  Snow Much Fun, Petite Pairs

Ink:  Not Quite Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Staz-on Black, Crumb Cake

Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Not Quite Navy, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Neutrals DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Northern Flurry embossing folder, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, ticket corner punch, Decorative Label punch, circle punches, Cherry Cobbler seam binding, blender pen, Dazzling Details

Be sure to check out the rest of the design team as well!

Be sure to check out the rest of the cards from our fabulous design team and our featured designer, LeAnne!

Tui Nathan

Lesley Croghan

Linda Callahan

Jen Mitchell

Stitched Stockings

Thursday will be the first of my new "Try It Thursday" events, so I've been working on some ideas today.   This month I'm featuring the Stitched Stockings stamp set and the Stocking builder punch.  Aren't they awesome?    I have had so much fun playing with them today!   I'm sure I'll change my mind a million times before Thursday on the actual projects we'll do, but it's always good to have plenty of ideas to show.  :)   

This was one of today's projects, a cute gift tag.   Wouldn't this be adorable on a Christmas package?   I LOVE the silver glitter paper.   It is so sparkly and pretty!  

My second project was this adorable baby card!   When they introduced us to these products at Convention, they showed uses other than just Christmas.  Using them as baby booties was one idea and I think they work perfectly for that.   

Finally, I HAD to make a Christmas card.  :)  My score lines didn't photograph that great, but they add some nice elegance to this card and the top one serves as a perfect place to hang stockings.  

I hope you enjoyed my projects!  Stay tuned for more tomorrow along with my card for Freshly Made Sketches.  If you have any questions about any of the cards or Stampin' Up! in general, give me a call or send me an email!  

PP65: Anne Marie's Sketch

I have the pleasure of stamping with the design team at The Paper Players this week!   They are such a great group of ladies and I always jump at the chance to be a part of them.  Thank you, Nance, for giving me the opportunity to stamp in your place this week.  :)  Anne Marie is our hostess for this week and she has challenged us with a sketch.  Now I definitely found it to be a challenge, but I like the end result(s).   Channeling my inner Lesley, I made two cards!    I'm curious which one you'll like the best.  :) 

This was the first card that I made yesterday morning.  I had some new toys arrive on Thursday, so I had to try them out!   The Northern Frost decorative strip die is now my new favorite Big Shot die!   All the snowflakes are gorgeous and look amazing on cards.   I also added some of my new mica flakes to give my card a snowy look.   It always makes me sad that glitter doesn't seem to photograph well; this card has falling snow and a very snowy ground.   

Stamps:  Snow Much Fun

Ink:  Staz On Black, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Pumpkin Pie

Paper:  Pool Party, Island Indigo, Whisper White

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Snow Burst embossing folder, Northern Frost decorative strip die, In color printed brads, mica flakes, Dazzling Details, blender pens

As I was drifting off to sleep last night, I had an idea for another card and it is my favorite of the two and the one I used as my "official" card.   Dasher is one of my favorite stamps and I was happy to dream up an idea using him.   I plan on using this as a thinking of you card this winter; I have a special aunt who I think will love it as much as I do.   Now I want to get some brushed silver card stock because I can totally see this card in Night of Navy and Silver.   

Stamps:  Dasher

Ink:  Versamark

Paper:  Basic Gray, Basic Black, Neutrals designer paper stack, Whisper White

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Northern Frost decorative strip die, Neutrals glimmer brads, heat tool, black embossing powder

I hope you enjoyed my take(s) on the sketch.  Be sure to check out The Paper Players and see what the other designers have created to inspire you.  I hope you'll join us this week and share your beautiful creation with us.