Happy Father's Day!

Hello fellow Stampers and Paper Crafters!

It seems every time I sit down to post to my blog I have one foot out the door and have to just throw "IT" out there, but I did want to quickly share how I expressed "Happy Father's Day" to all the Dad's in my life, so of course the best way I could think of was to bake cakes and make cards to show my love!

I won't bore you with the cakes, although they look lovely and I'm sure are going to taste great AND it just hit me that apparently I never posted the Mother's Day card to Mom Perry, which means I probably never took a picture of it << heavy sigh >> anyway......here are my Father's Day Cards, not in any specific order since I love them all equally and dearly!  (Remember to click on pic for larger view)

Also, real, real quick I thought I would share another card I recently made for my neighbor who is getting married. As you may notice I didn't do a lot of bling, very simple but still very sweet! 

Ok, gotta run folks, until next time...Happy Stampin!

Easter Blessings

Hello Stampers and fellow Paper Crafters!

Normally this time of year I would have been busy, busy having Classes and Workshops showcasing Easter Cards and Treat Holders and don't normally have time to make and send Easter cards out. This year since I have put classes on hold for a little while I thought I would make a few cards up and send out to a few immediate family members.  

Below is my first attempt, using punch art to make a cross and using a little masking technique...too much work and I didn't really like the final products but thought I would post the pics at the very least.  :O)

Several days later and after much thought I decided to utilize the 4" paper doilies I purchased some weeks back and came up with this:  

I simply adored these! Although there was still a little work involved; it was a rather simple process once I finished stamping the butterflies from the Papillon Potpourri stamp set in VersaMark onto Crumb Cake cardstock and began an assembly line. I hand punched the flag out of retired Blushing Bride using a 1 1/4" square punch, added the doily, then punched a Decorative Label from Perfect Plum. Add a little 5 petal flower punch and half back pearls and there you go!  Love it!

In closing today I wanted to share the sentiment that was inside my card, it read:    

Sometimes we have to 

lose something "Precious" 

to gain something 

"Priceless"!

I think that about says it all folks, I hope you have very Happy Easter, until next time...Happy Stampin!

St. Patrick's Day Anniversary

Hello Stampers and Fellow Paper Crafters!

My Hubby and I are "Lucky" enough to share our Wedding Anniversary with St. Patrick's Day. My Hubby jokes he planned it that way so he would never forget the day, but it was really just a happy coincidence. :O)

This year, instead of a card I did what I love to do the most and made him a favor to show how much he means to me.  I'm sure I saw something similar on Pinterest since this seems to be my "go to" place for ideas these days.

Close up of Bag Topper

 
Originally, I was going to just use Lucky Charms with some kind of gold wrapped candy or coins mixed in but...forgot to pick those up while I was out yesterday.  So, since time's a ticking and I wanted to get this finished and posted; I just improvised and filled a 6x8 cello bag with his favorite trail mix (which so happens to have M&M like candies in the colors of the rainbow) and threw in some lucky charms.  I cut the Topper, Cloud and Rainbow pieces with my Cricut and the Something to Celebrate cart. The rest is Punch Art using assorted SU punches, Cardstock and Glitter papers, love the Gold, the picture really doesn't show how much it "Glitters"!

Ok Folks, until next time...Happy Stampin!

Hostess Club Cards

Hello Stampers and Fellow Paper Crafters!

I hope you had a great weekend, I sure did!  I met Saturday with all the Ladies in the new Stampin' Club and  wanted to quickly share the cards I took with me. 

First is the card I gave Karina, one of the members who was celebrating her birthday. I think I've made this card before but sold it among others to my dear friend from CA.  Here I used the adorable Cupcake Builder Punch for the Pretty in Pink CS w/ matching Ribbon in addition to Early Espresso DSP, I also used a retired Eyelet Border Punch for the bottom, too cute!

Next up are the the note cards I made to donate to Aamance Regional Cancer Center, I made two of each design.   Here I used my favorite masculine set The Open Sea ...

 and here I used my all time favorite set Element of Style and the retired Greenhouse Garden set.

The next cards are my Swaps and our Challenges for this month.  I was going to share everyone's Swaps and photos but forgot to ask permission to post on my blog while I was there and will just make up for it next month.  :O) Anyway, here's my two challenges which were based off Connie Stewarts new Flash Card Techniques 1.0 and 2.0.   I myself, found these extremely "challenging" since I am not very creative on my own, basically a creative copier, if you want more details on the technique just check out Connie's blog!   

And finally, here are my Swaps, I love this color combo, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede and Calypso Coral. If you click on the pics you can get a bigger view of our new Fancy Fan embossing folder.  I have to say this is becoming my favorite folder.  

Well, that's it for right now folks, I hope to get my Anniversary/St. Patrick Card ready and posted before the end of the month, which would be great since I've had trouble getting more than one post a month in this year so far. Until then...Happy Stampin'!

Valentine's Day

Hello Stampers and Paper Crafters!

I had a great Valentines Day, sure hope you did too!  Actually, I celebrated twice!  My Hubby was in for repairs to his truck on Tuesday and since we knew he would be up North by Thursday we went ahead and celebrated our V-Day then.  Since I have been steering clear of chocolate lately, I was very specific on what I wanted for Valentines in that area, give me a big ole' Reese's Cup Heart!!! He was a sweetheart and did just that; in addition to a very sweet card. I gave him his favorite trail mix blend in a simple white lunch bag that I snazzed up with a cute little handmade gift tag.  I got the idea from Dawn Griffith some years back, using the mischievous looking little bear from the retired Under the Stars stamp set and BAB series stamps.  Here's my version attached to the bag...Too Cute and he loved it!

Here's a close up of the tag, I used the square lattice embossing folder on Riding Hood Red Cardstock, then cut out the largest tag on the Two Tags die using my handy dandy Big Shot!

Now, I thought my Valentine's Day was over and done with, but what surprise when the Man in Brown brought a box to my door yesterday around 11:30 or so...here is what was inside:

A dozen red roses, chocolates, a sweet little teddy bear and bath salts.  I am so lucky to be so loved!

Ok, until next time folks, Happy Stampin'!   

Happy New Year!

Hello fellow Stampers and Paper Crafters!

I know, I know...it's the middle of February but I never said "Happy New Year", so I thought I would go ahead and throw it out there! Hope you and yours are having a great year so far!  I myself have been super busy and just couldn't find the time to post! Just a quick catch up with me and my activities...

First and most importantly, my Hubby and I decided we would make 2013 a "getting healthier" year. I am  doing pretty good, I joined SparkPeople, which is a fantastic website, similar to Weight Watchers on line except it's FREE!!!  I've lost 10 lbs so far by eating healthier and walking about 30 minutes a day, so Woo-Hoo for me!

Next, Me and the "Girls" have already got a jump on crafts for this year's Fairs! We decided that although we are still going to do our "own" things, this year we will pick a few projects to make and sale as a group too!  We started off pretty strong but had to take a little hiatus until Sharon finishes with the Tax Season, she is just working her little fingers to the bone, we'll pick back up when she's rested up.  :O)

I have also been busy,busy trying to get my ducks in a row for an upcoming Handmade Greeting Card class I am offering at our local community college.  This class is basically a beginners class so I have to start from the beginning with the "basics", such as card sizes and different tools used, but it's going to be great, that is; if enough students sign up and it takes! Keep your fingers cross!

Ok, that's about it except I wanted to quickly show you the little favors I made for the girls for Christmas that I just realized I didn't share.  I cased this from Melissa Davies, almost identical that I used the Aviary Stamp Set and Early Espresso Ink except I used a different bird cage stamp and darker tulle for the ribbon.  These little gems were made from inexpensive liquid soap dispensers from the dollar store, so adorable wish I would have thought of this on my own, that Melissa is so creative!

Ok, that's about all the time I have for today folks!  I will try to post again tomorrow with the cute little Valentine I made for my Hubby and information about a new Stamping Club I visited this past weekend.  Until then...Happy Stampin!

More Christmas Favors and Gifts

Hello Stampers and Fellow Paper Crafters! 

Hope to find you all had a Merry Christmas. We've had a lot of rain this year but no snow << sniff >>, but fortunately most of our festivities were done the weekend before and it was nice and warm for everyone. 

This year I made cheeseballs and crafts instead of cookies and candies for my Husbands work, our neighbors, friends and family for Christmas.  First I wanted to share the cute little Mail Truck I made using a ScorPal template I found online.  I gave this and a gift card to the nice lady who delivers our mail. Uh, what would she be, our Mail Lady, Mail Person...I don't know!

                                   

Below centered is the adorable six pack of Rudolph's I made for my Brother In Law.  I got this idea on Pinterest, and thought it would go perfect with the cheeseball platter I made for my Sis! I would have loved to have done this for my Dad, Brother and Sister who all live out of town and in other states but shipping beer and cheese would have been problematic! So they all got handmade crafts and candy favors instead!   :o(   

 
I did the same thing here with Coco-Cola's which I packed in a gift basket filled with cheeseball, crackers, nuts and fruit for my Ex In Laws and our Neighbors.  They're so cute and simple, simple to make!!!!

 Ok, that's all for now folks, gotta run, until next time, happy stampin!