One of my favourite sets from Stampin' Up! has to be Baroque Motifs. When i first purchased it (a long, long time ago!) I knew I would definitely use the large flourish stamp in this set, and the words "kind" and "cherish" but I never realized that I would still be using this set this much, and after so long! The flower that I used in this card is from another great set "Fifth Avenue Floral", which i have also gotten great mileage out of! I know this pic isn't the best (this seems to be a recurring theme here...) but hopefully you can see it ok. I love the distressing tool and used it alot on the Rich Razzleberry mat on the Rich Razzleberry base card. I love the texture that this technique gives to my projects! And of course, using Linen Thread has been something that I have been loving lately...What do you think?

Africa and a Thank You card!

As some of you know, my oldest daughter, Savannah and I are planning on going to Africa next summer to volunteer at an orphanage and school in Tanzania. We are both excited to take on this challenge, and for me it has been a life long dream. As part of our fundraising efforts for this initiative, I will be holding Christmas Stamp-a-Stack for Africa events! There will be 6 different dates to choose from. You will drop in and create 12 cards, 4 each of 3 designs. All materials, including envelopes are included. Light refreshments will be served. Cost is $25. This event will be suitable for even a beginner stamper! Please help us to make these events a success by choosing one date to attend, bring a friend, and help us out with this great cause! The dates for these Stamp-a-Stack for Africa events are:

Saturday September 12, 9 a.m.- 12 p.m.

Saturday October 10, 9 a.m.- 12 p.m.

Saturday October 24, 9 a.m.- 12 p.m.

Saturday November 14, 9 a.m.- 12 p.m.

Saturday November 28, 9 a.m.- 12 p.m.

and

Saturday December 12, 9 a.m.- 12 p.m.

Thank you for your help, and please tell your friends!

Now, onto a card! I really wanted to do a Thank You card to have displayed in my studio as part of my Fall display. I love the rub-ons that Stampin' Up! sells and in particular the Autumn Harvest pack! I just love it! For this card, I also used the Little leaves Sizzix sizzlit, and a texturz plate from the Stampin' Up! exclusive Backgrounds 1. To soften it up some more I sponged the cardstock with some Chocolate Chip. I find that I have been sponging most of my creations lately. I find myself going in spurts with various techniques and such...and then i move onto something else!

The Holiday Mini is Here!

Yes...the Holiday Mini Catalog 2009 is here and it is simply spectacular!! There are so many amazing things in this catalog. My favourite has the be the Sweet Centers stamp set with the Sweet Treat Cups. This stamp set is great for adding a little something extra to your creations! This was the first set I 'played' with when my order from the Mini came! I love the Halloween stamp that is in this set and it is the one that called to me! I had seen a really cool idea for being able to get the candy out of the card without ruining it. I can't remember where I saw this, so I can't give credit to the person who inspired me...sorry! Without further ado, here is my little mini Halloween card filled with black jelly beans...

I know, I know...the pics are not great quality...a photographer, I am not. However, hopefully you get the idea! The last pic shows how you can lift the "Eek" tab to reveal the jelly beans inside! So clever, huh? I just love it! And plan on using this set for my sons class treats when Halloween rolls around! What do you think of it?

Kids Day Out Class

During my last Kids Day Out class I had a great group of girls over! They made 3 birthday cards great for giving to their friends. We also made an altered notebook. The girls just LOVED this project and all did a great job! I put "me @ 34" with On Board chip board letters on mine. The girls wrote dfferent things on theirs; their initials, their age, just whatever! We added a ribbon page marker with a filigree brad and it turned out just darling! Wait until you girls see what we are doing next time! The next class is August 23, 1-3 p.m. Contact me to let me know that you will be coming!

Welcome Baby!

I had made this card for a wonderful couple that I know who just adopted a beautiful baby boy! They are already parents to a fabulous little girl and I just know that this little guy will be equally as loved.

I love the new stamp set Animal Stories. It is a great set to use for baby cards or even zoo inspired scrapbook pages. It is just SOOO darling!

I love this little elephant and how he turned out almost 'fuzzy' when I heat embossed him with White embossing powder. So cute! I just love how his little trunk fits perfectly in one of the little 'scallops' of the Scallop Circle punch. I used one of the Texturz Plates on the piece of Whisper White CS to give it a raised tiny dot surface. Perfect for this baby card. And don't you just think that Bermuda Bay and So Saffron go so cute together? I just love it! I hope you like this card as much as I do!

Medallion Stamp

I am just LOVING this new stamp! It is such a great background stamp and is great as a focal point in your projects!

I wish I was able to get a better picture of this, because I just LOVE this card! And the best part, is it was SOOOOO easy to make! Since this was the first time I used this stamp, I grabbed a 'scrap' piece of the retired Baja Breeze to practice on. Since it turned out so good I decided to use it for todays post! I am not sure if you can see it in the picture or not, but I used Dazzling Diamonds on it and it looks so nice! I think I might even do something like this for one of my Christmas Stamp-a-Stack classes! I think it looks like a sparkly snowflake! What do you think?

Sympathy Card

I needed to create a sympathy card for someone who lost a loved one. Since I didn't have any on hand I had to make one. I find sympathy cards really difficult to make when they are needed. I find that I just can't get into the creative mood after I have just heard about some sad news. I am a sap like that! While I was busy stamping my sympathy card, I decided on 2 things:

1. I need to make some sympathy cards to have on hand just in case. Most of the time when I need one, I don't have any in stock.

2. I need a good stamp set for sympathy cards. I have lots of stamp sets, but I don't have one that has any 'sympathy' type wording that is appropriate for sympathy cards.

For this reason, I have decided to purchase the ' Thoughts and Prayers' stamp set (113252) on page 52 of the Idea Book & Catalogue. It is a great set with appropriate sentiments such as "Thinking of You", Get Well Soon", "Sharing in your Sorrow" and more. This is a must have!

I thought this card turned out quite nice. Simple, and nice. I wrote a nice sentiment on the inside as well. I know the card was very much appreciated! I hope you enjoyed it as well (especially since it is my first posted card!)