SNOW!!!

We got a big snowfall last night for this part of the country. Hey, when we lived in Alaska this would have been nothing but in middle TN, it is major! I wish the grandkids were here to play in it so I could do a layout with them but I'll have to settle for the empty tricycle and the birds. I wanted to post pictures of the snow but didn't want to put too many pictures but then I remembered that I could quickly do a layout in MDS and post 6 pictures in the layout! So - quick and easy, here it is:

We have 3 of those bird feeders in the kitchen window. Sometimes nearly all of the 18 perches are filled with little birds. I love watching them. I especially love seeing the cardnials on a winter day. They are so striking in contrast to the snow. I've had to restart my computer 3 or 4 times today trying to get the layout posted. I'm blaming it on the snow. I reckon I'll stamp today, I'm sure not getting out on the roads!

We have an outdoor cat, actually a stray who wandered up about 5 or 6 years ago and likes it here. When I went out to feed him today he looked like he wasn't enjoying walking through the snow, dragging his belly on it. We let him come in and he ate and seems happy. I put a rug down for him to lay on but he just stays on the kitchen floor. At least he's warm. He doesn't normally want to come inside but is just laying there like it is an everyday thing now. I wonder if the birds feel safer.

BTW, there is something new on my sidebar. My crafty daughter has a blog where she is showcasing some of her creations. It is the first blog under the owl, 3 Little Pigs creations. She is always finding fun things to make and I think many of you will enjoy visiting her blog.

I posted last week about the help Stampin' Up is giving to Haiti through donating $2.00 from every I {heart} Hearts stamp set. I'd like to share the post our founder, Shelli Gardner did on her blog about another Stampin' Up effort in Haitian relief. Stampin' Up is a wonderful company to work for, they definitely have heart!

I'm working on finalizing projects for my Feb classes. I'm doing the card organizer which I've been wanting to do for a long time. It is the one in the back left. It has 12 pockets with dates for each month so you can write down all birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, etc and put cards in the pocket so when that month comes up you have all the cards you need to send right there. Cool huh!

In the front of the card organizer is a little desk set with an easel calendar box that holds post-it notes or other goodies. We will also be making a big paper clip to hold important papers together or your place in a book and a matching pen.

I'll be offering the Shabby Chic flower pins again in Feb. These pins are great for gifts or for your own lapel! I get lots of compliments on the one I pinned on my coat.

And, since it's February, I'll be doing a class with lots of ideas for goodies for the ones you love. I'll post the dates soon, I'd love to see you at a class!

SU helps Haiti and club layout

I knew Stampin' Up was a great company to work for so it is no surprise that they would do something to help the people of Haiti.

From now until Feb 28, 2010, $2 from every I {Heart} Hearts stamp set (shown above) sold will be donated to the American Red Cross' Haitian Relief and development fund. This is one of the new stamp sets in the Occasions Mini Catalog. You can order the wood mounted set, #117010 for $26.95 or the clear mounted rubber stamp set, #118571 for $18.95. You can order from my website link on the right or contact me if you would like to help out with this effort to provide both immediate relief and long term support to Haiti. I'll let you know after Feb 28 how much we were able to raise together to help this struggling country.

Here are the layouts the scrapbook club did Thursday. I offered 2 color options since not everyone is into pink. I used the papers from the 6X6 paper pad offered free in the Sale-a-bration catalog with a $50 order. I made the crumpled flowers with 5 of the Scallop Circle punch (109043, 15.95) and the Corduroy Button brads. I added a couple of little birds and branches from the XL 2-Step Bird punch (117191, $15.95). I stamped the backgrounds with the Medallion stamp (115223, 17.95). I've had that stamp for a year and I still love it and use it often. I also punched the right side of each white photo mat with the new Scallop Trim Border punch (free in Sale-a-bration catalog). If you would like to place an order or host a workshop during the great Sale-a-bration promotion, email me at wrightplace4@mindspring.com and I'd be glad to help you out. I've got more cards and scrapbook pages up my sleeve that I'd love to share with you and your friends!

Self-made "embossing folder" Valentine's Card

Here is a Valentine's card that I made the other morning when I woke up with the idea for the embossed heart background and kissed circles on my mind. I guess it is at least semi-normal to dream designs for cards or scrapbook pages. It seems like when I dream a design they always work out good and I was not disappointed with this one!



Valentine's Day is less than a month away so it will be here before we know it! I plan to post several fun Valentine's projects over the next few weeks. It is always fun to find to tell your loved ones how much you care and sometimes the little things mean so much.

For the embossed heart background, I punched a lot of herarts from the Heart to Heart punch and arranged 1 layer on a 5 1/4 X 4" piece of cardstock. When I had them arranged the way I wanted them, I adhered them. I added 2 additional layers of each heart so there were 3 layers in each stack.

For the sandwich to emboss the heart background I used the Big Shot platform on Tab 1, a cardstock shim, a standard clear pad, the impressions pad, the Real Red cardstock, the piece I created with the hearts facing down on the red cardstock and another standard clear pad with another cardstock shim.

I had cut the Real Red cardstock to 5 1/2" X 4 1/4" so I trimmed 1/4" off the top and bottom and punched the right edge with the new Pinking Hearts Border punch. I tied a length of Organza Ribbon about a third of the way in on the left side.

Using the excess circle from the middle of the Somethng Sweet set (I couldn't stand to throw it away!), I inked it with Real Red ink, then stamped the heart from the set onto it several times to remove heart shaped images. This technique is called "kissing" (how appropriate for a Valentine's card). Then I stamped it onto Whisper White cardstock. I did this again so I had 2 of these circles. The 1 3/8" punch fits this circle perfectly so I used it to punch them out.

I stamped the sentiment from the Well Scripted set and punched it out with the Full Heart punch. I mounted the heart and circles on Stampin' Dimensionals over the ribbon.

Sweet Pea Cards

I made a couple of cards today when I went to a friend's house to crop. There were 5 of us there and we laughed and created and had a good time. I brought my new Stampin' Up goodies from the new Occassions Mini Catalog and Sale-a-bration catalog. I used the Sweet Pea paper (of course), the sheet with the big trees on it. I also got the new Pinking Hearts Border punch so I had to use it a lot too!

Both cards also use the Sale-a-bration stamp set called Vintage Labels. The set has 3 different labels (which all have a coordinating punches, quick and easy!) and 3 different sentiments. I got them in the clear mount option so it was easy to center the sentiment inside the label.

The card on the left is a square card. I mounted a square of Old Olive on the card and then a piece of Whisper White that was punched on either side with the Pinking Hearts Border punch. I mounted the smaller tree from the paper onto Chocolate Chip cardstock and added the label with a bit of ribbon under it.

The other card uses the larger tree double mounted on Taken With Teal and Old Olive cardstock. The Old Olive layer was also punched with the Pinking Hearts Border punch and I added a bird from the Two Step Bird punch. I used the Happy Birthday sentiment from the Vintage Labels set and the stamp that matches the Curly Label Punch and tied a length of the 5/8" Old Olive Satin ribbon around it.

Layouts for the Ronald McDonald House

As many of you know, one of the charities that Stampin' Up supports every year is the Ronald Mcdonald House. This is a charity that is dear to my heart because I was on the receiving end when my son was about 9 and was in the hospital in Atlanta for an extended period of time. He is 31 now and is doing fine but things were a bit rough for a while and the house in Atlanta is wonderful! We were treated like kings when we were there and the younger kids had a blast. It made the whole hospital thing easier for all of us.

Stampin' Up also has an exclusive stamp set every year to help raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities. This and other efforts raise hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. I love Stampin' Up! The set in the current catalog is also on the list of stamps you can earn free with your Sale-a-bration order. Stampin' Up will still donate $2.00 per set even though they are giving them free. What a company!

I was asked to help make a layout for an album that Sherrill Graff is doing for the RMH in her area and I was glad to help. Being the over-achiever that I am, I ended up volunteering to do 3 layouts. Hey, the postage will be the same so why not???

Sherrill Graff is the "list mom" of the Stampin' Up Demos Only Stampers yahoo group that I belong to and love. See the owl on the right? Click on him to find the group. If you are a Stampin' Up demonstrator, it is a great resource.

The first layout uses some of the Night and Day designer paper that was in the Holiday Mini catalog. It is for a little girl named Hope who was adopted. I used a technique that a friend on the Demo Only group named Ilina Crouse posted. You punch 5 flowers with the Scalloped Circle punch and put them all together with a brad and then scrunch them up individually. You don't have to scrunch the back one but I did on my flowers. I figured since you don't see the brad after putting the button over it with a Stampin' Dimensional that I would use a cheap-o store brand. Bad idea, the prongs of the brad opened up by the time I was on the 3rd flower down. I replaced all the cheap brads with Stampin' Up brads and didn't have that problem with the rest of them. For the center of the flowers I punched a 3/4" circle of Real Red cardstock to match the mats and used Crystal Effects to attach them to the buttons. I pierced holes where the button holes were and added a piece of hemp twine to the center. I love this technique!

On the pink layout I used the gathered border idea like the card I posted the other day. I love the wide 1" Double Stitched grosgrain ribbon! It really adds to the layout. I also used a few beads and a hatpin from the Pretties Kit for the photo mat. I thought the butterflies would finish the layout off nicely. This layout is for a teenage girl who died. It must have been so sad to loose a daughter so young, I hope her parents will get peace from seeing the layout I made for her.

Last is a bright primary colors layout for a little boy. I used the Right on Track wheel and the Choo Choo stamp set along the bottom of the page and Real Red, Brilliant Blue, Yo Yo Yellow and Glorious Green cardstock (it lo0ks kind of blue in the picture). In real life the yellow in the background matches the yellow mat too.

I reckon I better get to the post office and send these layouts to Sherrill. Have a great day and do something nice for someone :~)

More Sweet Pea cards

Today is a snow day here. Those of you from points North might laugh when you hear that we closed school before it started snowing and we only got about 3/4 inch. Tennessee snow is so much different from the snow we had in Alaska, it is icy under the snow and the roads are very dangerous. The freeway and major roads are ok because they sprayed the brine mixture on them but the back roads are too dangerous for the teenagers to be driving on to school. Actually, there have been a few cars run off the road in front of my house and they weren't all teenage drivers!

Since it is cold and the roads are icy I stayed home and stamped. I made 2 cards and did another project that needs more work before I photograph it. OK, so I did more than stamp today, it didn't take me 8 hours to make 2 cards!

The first card uses a technique I taught at a scrapbook class last year (the card is on the top, the scrapbook page underneath it). I put the pleated "lace" border under photo mats and on a corner embellishment on the layout we did for the class, I just put it at the bottom of the Designer Paper on the card. I used the Stampin' Up! Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper along with Old Olive and Chocolate Chip cardstock. I used a length of the new 5/8 Sat in Ribbon to cover the seam of the pleats. The sentiment is from the Well Scripted stamp set.

The second card is called a double slider card. It has a lot more impact when you see it opened in real life but when you pull on the ribbon at the top of the card a piece of cardstock comes up from the bottom and top. You can add a picture or write a personal message on these fun slide-0ut pieces. The card is a little tricky but fairly easy to make. This will definitely be showing up in a class soon. I used the Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper again along with Taken With Teal, Pretty in Pink and Old Olive Cardstock, another length of the 5/8" Old Olive Satin Ribbon, brads, Ticket Corner Punch and the new Two Step Bird punch. The sentiments on the pull outs are both from the Well Scripted set.

Blog Candy winner and new products

There were several correct answers to my question about why I would be giving blog candy on Janurary 1st. I wrote them all down and drew one (so this century, right) and the winner is Donna M! Donna, email me with your address so I can send your goodies.

I started my blog on Jan 1, 2009 so Friday was my blog-iversary. It wasn't a New Year's resolution that I started it on Jan 1st, that was just the day I had time to sit down at the computer and figure it out. The main reason I had hesitated to start a blog was because I figured I'd be a slacker and post about once every other month. I'm very surprised and pleased with myself that I posted so regularly. I averaged twice a week most of the time. I enjoy creating projects to show and telling how I made them. I've always loved teaching so it is cool to do these "cyber classes" of sorts by posting on my blog.


Yesterday started my favorite Stampin' Up sale. Sale-a-bration is very cool because you get free stamps! You can see the offerings on my website. There are 4 stamp sets, a paper pack and a punch to choose from but there are lots of other options on page 11 of the Sale-a-bration catalog. If you place a $50 order you can get one of these items free. If you have a workshop in your home, not only will you have a great time and I'll come and show you and your friends some fun stamping projects, you can earn an additional free item with a $300 party. Email me if you want to host a fun workshop for you and your friends.


There is also a link on the right sidebar to the Occasions Mini catalog. This little catalog features so many great stamp sets (in wood mount or the new clear mount option), georgous paper, new punches, chipboard shaped mini albums, jewlery you can sttamp on and lots of other fun products. There are so many new items, check it out!


I also wanted to show you one of the newest products that Stampin' Up has introduced. Look how fun these heart-shaped Sweet Treat cups are! After all the fun I've had with the original ones I had never thought about them being offered in a heart shape. I've got to get some of these ordered so I can create some fun Valentines. There is a stamp set that goes with them and our regular large heart punch matches the heart shape. There are 5 stamps in the set, the 2 heart ones and the stem/leaves one, the bird and the heartfelt thanks sentiment.

Another layout with Sweet Pea paper and Blog Candy Clue

I've been creating with the Sweet Pea Paper Stack again. I loved these pictures my daughter took of the grandkids and wanted to go with pink and blue which was so easy with the paper stack. I also used cardstock and designer paper for the flowers. I punched with the 1 3/4, 1 3/8 and 1" circle punches for the flowers and roughed up the edges. I used the brown corduroy brads for the centers of the flowers and added 8 pink brads around one of the flowers. I just used a glass to draw a cricle a little bigger than the 1 3/4" circle and folded it in half, again in half and again and again until I had 8 layers. Then I put the circle down and pierced the edge of each line so they were even. I think they would have looked fine if they weren't lined up so carefully but I'm a freak about things like that. It is very hard for me to make layouts that aren't perfectly balanced. I think they look great but it is hard for me to do them.

I have gotten a correct answer to my question as to why I would be offering blog candy. I said in my original post that I would draw from all the correct answers that I got by my birthday on Wednesday so you still have time to try again to get it right. Are you begging me for another hint?? OK, I'd say 129 is a pretty good number for a slacker at heart like me.

I'm working on another layout with the Sweet Pea paper. With so many beautiful patterns and colors it is so fun to work with! Maybe I'll get it finished to post soon. Right now I need to go see why my red headed woodpecker is hanging out on my greenhouse window. I don't think there is any wood there but he seems to want to be there for some reason. He knows that isn't the window where I feed all the birds. When I get my windows cleaned I'll post some pictures of them. We go through a lot of sunflower seeds around here! Whoever coined the pharse "eats like a bird" didn't know what they were talking about!

3 Cards and Blog Candy Hint

I whipped out 3 cards today, Stampin' Up's new Sweet Pea paper stack just keeps speaking to me! I used the scraps from the 2 layouts I've done the last few days and some of my other new goodies. The new stuff will be available Tuesday so be sure to let me know if you see something you need. I'll be posting links to download the new mini catalogs soon.

I thought the "Small Wonder" sentiment would be perfect for a new baby card to go with the gift I got for my cousin's new grandbaby. I also used some of the Sweet Pea Stitched Felt flowers and the Scallop Trim Border punch. The border punch and the Whimsical Words stamp set are from the Sale-a-Bration catalog. These will be available for free during the sale from Jan 5 - March 31. Did you see the new Old Olive satin ribbon? Isn't it beautiful! It is so thick and obviously a great quality ribbon.


I love the Taken With Teal color and this patterned paper using it is so cool! It may be my favorite in the Sweet Pea paper stack. Actually, I think I have about 10 favorites! This paper is so easy to work with. The orange polka dot paper is the back side of the teal stripedy dotty one. I used the matching corner punch to the Scallop Trim Border punch. I just punched the bottom corners to add a simpler touch to the card. I used a piece of Pumpkin Pie ribbon and I also used the Two Step Bird punch and the Whimiscal Words stamp set.


Next, a birthday card that uses another great sentiment set called Well Scripted. Isn't it a georgous script! Since my handwriting totally stinks I just love fancy fonts like this. I also used the Very Vintage wheel across the bottom in Chocolate Chip and at the top in Old Olive. This fabulous wheel and stamp set are both in the Occasions Mini catalog, along with the Sweet Pea Stitched Felt. 52 pieces of felt for $7.95, that makes them about .15 each. That is a great value for stitched, layered felt. The polka-dot paper is also from the Sweet Pea stack.


OK, on to another hint about my blog candy. The reason I'm offering it has something to do with the date yesterday. Not making any resolutions or anything though! If you've been following my blog for a while you might catch on. It has nothing to do with a new grandbaby which I'm pretty sure isn't happening within the next 9 months and no, it isn't my 29th birthday. That was a very long time ago. My youngest was 2 then and he just turned 27! Hey, I think I just gave away my real age (if you care to do the math).

Angie, I do need to purge some of my scrap supplies but I didn't make a New Year's resolution to do it. I stopped making New Year's resolutions several years ago because I never keep them!
I should have a scrapbook yard sale! The main problem with that is getting it organized. I'm the world's worst at sorting and organizing. It hurts my brain. Seriously.

Let's hear some more guesses as to why I wanted to offer blog candy on Jan 1st. (Remember, it has something to do with the date).

Blog Candy!!!

I'm giving blog candy today for a very special reason, can you guess? I'll draw from all the correct answers I get by my birthday. Wendy (my daughter) is disqualified because I just discussed it with her when I called to see how they were getting settled in their new apt in Memphis.

Why would I be giving blog candy? Be sure to include your email with your guess so I can contact you if you win. I will probably give a hint or 2 along the way so you can try again if you realize what it is later on. My birthday is next Wednesday so you have 5 days (since it is nearly midnight I'm not counting today).

Here is what I rounded up for the blog candy: A stamp set called Sweet Little Sentiments that includes 8 stamps, a small gift bag, a bunch of butterflies from the Beautiful Wings sizzlet die and a shabby chic flower pin (choose from any of the pins I posted on Dec 16th).

I'm looking forward to reading your answers. I got some fun and creative answers when I asked about the picture of me fixing my seatbelt with the Crop-a-dile.

By the way, I thought I'd throw in a picture of what we did today. We went to a Globetrotter game! I never expected to see them play but they were in Nashville today and we scored some tickets. It was fun, they put on quite a show. As you can see from the picture, we were right on the middle line, 5th row back. Great seats!