Stamping on Clay

I'm sure a lot of you have used your Stampin' Up stamps on clay already.  If you haven't then you should try it!  I had a class yesterday morning where we made necklaces with terra-cotta pennants.  Here is the one I made.  I thought my Valentine's roses made a nice back drop.  I used a stamp from the Just Believe stamp set.

 Here are some discs one of the ladies made for a bracelet.  She used one of my kitchen strainers to texture the background before stamping a flower on each one.  I bet it will be beautiful when she gets it finished.  She had to wait for the clay to dry before making the bracelet.

 One of the ladies had her 2 preschoolers with her.  They had fun too.  The 4 year old wanted a stamp with a spider so I went and found the Googly Ghools stamp set and he had fun with that.  He made a mummy and Frankenstein too!

Here are a couple of other unfinished ones.  They are stamped with a retired stamp set called Priceless, emember that set? 

We made the beads from the air dry clay because we wanted to use them with doTERRA Essential Oils.  Pictured is Breathe, which will help with not only relaxation but also helps with allergies and sinuses.  I put a blend called On Guard on mine.  That is for natural immune defense.  There is a nasty virus going around and I don't want to get it!  24 hours later the scent is still strong, I love it's smell. 

What a fun class, I love combining several of my loves into one class.  LMK if you want stamps or Essential Oils, I can help!

Pinewood Derby, Winter Market and Fire at the Crop

                                             
Today was Pinewood Derby day for my oldest grandson.  I love his car, Angry Birds.  He even put some feathers on it.  I'm not sure how aerodynamic that would make a car but it seems to work for birds  :~)  He placed 2nd for the Weblos troop.

I have been setting up some of my crafts at the Winter Market, the past month I have had a lot of Valentine's treats there.  I had already sold quite a few before I remembered to take a picture yesterday.  The lighting wasn't good but you can see some of the things I made for it.  I had a very good day there yesterday.  Since Thursday is Valentine's Day and the Winter market meets on Fridays I'll have to come up with some new projects to make.  I've been having fun with the Valentine's things though.

I didn't post about this but when I went to a weekend crop a couple of weeks ago the lodge we were meeting in at a Girl Scout camp caught on fire.  The back of the lodge where everyone was sleeping was clear but when you walked out to the crop room and kitchen, there was smoke everywhere!  I got up about 7AM and thought it smelled like something burning but it wasn't too bad so I was just sitting there looking out the window at how pretty the lake looked that morning.  Then the crop organizer came back telling everyone (very calmly I  might add) that the lodge was on fire and to get up and go outside.  She was so calm about it that I thought she was teasing!  We ended up going to the basement to wait for the fire trucks since it was so cold outside.  The camp is way out in the country at what is called "Land Between the Lakes".  We had 3 volunteer Fire departments respond with 6 fire trucks and an ambulance!  I think they thought there were little girl scouts there and they all acted quickly.  There was also a news van that came.  It turns out that it was a heating unit in the attic above the kitchen that caught on fire.  There wasn't a lot of damage done to the lodge and there were other heaters to keep us warm so everything turned out good.  Plus we got an extra photo moment and had a more memorable crop.

Stampin' Up Retreat

There was a Stampin' Up retreat today in Huntsville, AL.  It was great but started out kind of bad.  I didn't even know they were expecting a bad snow storm between Nashville and the AL border!  It was such a surprise to be driving down the freeway on a beautiful sunny day and all of sudden we were driving in blowing snow.  Within 10 minutes I couldn't even see the road.  In 20 minutes time there was over 1/2" of snow on the ground!  We saw many accidents and slipped a little now and then but made it to the retreat without having an accident ourselves.  Then it go up to 50 degrees and ALL the snow was melted by the time we started home.  Crazy day!

 

The retreat was great, we made 5 cards and 4 other projects.  I'll find some time Monday to take pictures with better lighting and post them later.  I also got about 42 swap cards so I need to get pictures of those too. 

This is one of the cards we made.  The stamp set is a new one from the new Spring Mini catalog called Oh Hello.  And I really love that paper!  It is called Tea for Two.  We used it on a lot of the projects we did today and I was so glad that I put it on my last order.  It will be here by the end of the week so I can pull it out and make more projects with it.

Since I got up at 4:30 this morning I reckon I better hit the hay!  It was a long day but totally worth it!

Honeycomb and Bloomin' Marvelous Cards

I love the Honeycomb Embossing Folder that is in the new Spring Mini Catalog.  It is a great background, I brayered the folder with More Mustard ink before placing a 5 1/4" X 4" piece of Very Vanilla cardstock in it.  I love that effect!  A few More Mustard hexagons to fill some of the cells makes a great background for the sentiment and butterflies out of the Bloomin' Marvelous stamp set from the Sale-a-Bration catalog.  I forgot there was a bee stamp in the Nature Walk set, I reckon I'll have to make another honeycomb card to put some of those bees on!

 

Here is another card featuring the Bloomin' Marvelous set.  I used the Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder on this one.  It was in the Winter Mini Catalog but is still available, isn't it a beautiful design?  It has quickly become one of my favorites.  I put the Whisper White cardstock in the embossing folder sideways so it didn't go all the way down to the bottom of the card, leaving room to stamp the sentiment.  I punched the bottom of the cardstock with the Scalloped Border Punch and added a couple of silver brads and Primrose Petals ribbon.  I adhered the butterfly with a Stampin' Dimensional and added a few Basic Rhinestones for his body.  Did you know there is a little butterfly punch that coordinates with this stamp?  Much easier than cutting it out with scissors! 

 

Call me to place your order to get FREE Sale-a-Bration products or to book a workshop to earn even more FREE products.   There are a lot more great things besides stamp sets to choose from this year!

Ultimate Craft Room Shelves

I just realized that I haven't posted pictures of the shelves I got in my craft room.  This picture was taken during the building process.  I have the shelves nearly all full now but I want to neaten them up some before I take more pictures.  You can customize them to be as tall or short a space between them as you need.  Each division is 12" wide and the side pieces are routed out so you can slide in the shelves as needed.  I have a couple of them that are doubled or tripled but most of them have a shelf in every slot.  You can see a stack of the shelves on the floor that have been nearly all used up.  I used some L brackets to attach the unit to the wall so I wouldn't have to worry about the whole thing falling down!  I plan to make some kind of file with the location of each item I put on the shelves so I can fill them really full.  I have a lot more stuff than will fit in all those shelves! 

I posted a picture a while back of the wood flooring we put in.  It is so much nicer than that old red carpet that was installed in 1974!  Seriously, the carpet was THAT old!  It kind of fell apart when they were pulling it out.  I'm glad it is gone, the floor looks so much better now.  One of these days I'll actually get the room all organized and I'll be able to find things.  I sometimes spend almost as much time looking for items I need to do a project as I do creating the project with them. 

 

I bet you would like to see another Valentine.  I love how this one is blinged out, very nice.  I can't remember who brought it to the shoebox swap, there were 3 new demonstrators there I hadn't met and I've forgotten their names.  I'm very forgetful!  She used 2 colors of the Shimmer Paper, a few dots of Dazzling Diamonds and the Adorning Accents Embossing folder as well as a couple of the hearts from the Sizzlets set.  It all came together to make a great Valentine!

 

I'm going to a crop this weekend.  I got all my stampin' supplies packed and in the car last night.  I reckon I need to go pack my clothes, huh?

Is Janurary Almost Over???

It seems we were just watching the ball drop in Time's Square a couple of days ago.  OK, so I was in bed snoozing and didn't actually watch it drop but I reckon you know what I mean  :~)

I thought I would post a couple of Valentine's cards I got in the shoebox swap.  The first one is from Rose Todd.  She used the lacy heart from the More Amore Designer Paper pack as well as die cut hearts from the new Sizzlet set.  These are all in the new Spring Mini Catalog.  Oh, and the paper piercing templates include the banner piercing one that is pierced around the sentiment from Teeny Tiny Verses.
 

Another card I got was this one from Earlene.  I like the diagonal ribbon and that sweet little bow tied in the center.  It is a great little card, don't you think? 

I am going to a weekend crop so I really should be in bed.  I'm not likely to get much sleep the next couple of days!  I have 60 baby shower invitations to make and 50 swap cards for the Stampin' Up retreat I'm going to next weekend.  Plus, I'm teaching 2 classes at the crop.  At least I have plenty to do!  Have a great weekend stampers!

Sale-a-Bration 2013 is here!

The best sale of the year is here!  Sale-a-Bration started today!  This year there are 19 FREE products to choose from.  You can choose FREE items from 6 exclusive stamp sets, Designer Paper pack, a ribbon and button bundle, a card kit, embossing folder or 2 different digital discs!  You can even get a getting started cardstock pack, a 3-piece Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack, Vintage Faceted Buttons, or the Simply Scored Diagonal Plate.  You will get one of the Sale-a-Bration items with every $50 order you place.   And you can also get free items with a qualifying workshop or when you sign up to be a Stampin'  Up demonstrator.  Have I ever told you how much I enjoy my job?  It is a lot of fun and you meet the nicest people while you create.

I made this card for a shoebox swap that I went to Saturday.  It features the Bloomin' Marvelous stamp set that is one of the exclusive Sale-a-Bration sets.  It has 8 stamps in it,, 4 images and 4 sentiments.  It is such a versatile set, I can see me using it a lot.  And I got it for my favorite price - free!  The paper is from the Spring Catalog as well as the new Honeycomb Embossing Folder.  I love that one!

It has been extra cold here in TN, a low of 17 degrees is expected tonight.  I reckon I don't blame this little squirrel for snitching a few sunflower seeds from my bird feeders today.  Poor thing must be hungry!  I haven't forgiven him for taking so many of my walnuts before I could gather them up this Fall though, even though he is mighty cute.

Don't forget to place your online order to get your FREE Sale-a-Bration products soon.  Or better yet, book a workshop with me and let your creative friends in on the fun!  Or the best possible way to increase your fun, sign up to join my Stampin' Up team and become a demonstrator too.  It's all good!

Valentine Treats

It is just a month until Valentine's Day.  You may have noticed that I like to make cute containers to put holiday goodies in.  Here are some of my Valentine treat holders I have been making this year.  I'm still selling my paper crafts at the Winter Market on Fridays here in Clarksville.  I won't make as many Valentine's treats as I did Christmas but I
think I might be able to sell some of these goodies.

I took these last week and did sell some.  It was funny how people would open them to see what is inside.  They are see-through!  I used the printed window sheets that come with the Candlelight Christmas DSP pack.  Perfect for Valentine's, right???

I had to make some M&M filled skinny bags and decided on the 3-D hearts for the toppers.  The Top Note die purses are always a quick and easy thing to make and they are just great for small gifts.  I'd love to get a Valentine like this!

Lots of great things are happening at Stampin' Up this year.  They will be celebrating their 25th year in business in 2013, a great milestone for the little company that two sisters started and operated out of Shelli Gardner's living room with money she had been saving to buy a home.  It started out humbly but has grown and proves to have been a wise investment of her savings!  I think that one of the reasons the company has done so well is the heart of the company.  Shelli really cares more about people than she does about money.  She cares so much about the quality of everything Stampin' Up sells.  And she has always operated in the black.  The company's "Statement of the Heart" is:
 

To love what we do and share what we love,

as we help others enjoy creativity

and worthwhile accomplishments . . .

in this we make a difference.
 

Happy 25th Anniversary Stampin' Up!

 

Pinwheels!

Wow, I haven't done a blog post all year!  Blogger changed the way you add pictures you have saved on your computer and I couldn't figure out how to get my pictures added to my posts.  Someone who knows a whole lot more about computers pointed out that I could change it to HTML and add my pictures and then change it back to compose to go back to the post and finish it up.  Yay, I'm back in business! 

The Spring Mini Catalog started last week and it has some great new toys in it.  One of my favorites is the Borders Scoring Plate that goes with the Simply Scored tool.  I have done several of the borders and love how they have so many that are the full 12" so they can be used in scrapbooks.  I need to actually finish something so you can see how cool it is.  It will work great for so many card borders and embossing backgrounds too.  It was on my first order, it is just one of those "must have" toys! 

Another thing that was on my first order is the Honeycomb embossing folder.  I know I'm going to be using it a lot.  It will look great on plain cardstock but I'm having fun with the Co-ordinations cardstock and DSP where you can emboss and then sand and get a fabulous look.  I'll actually complete a project using it soon I'm sure.  I've just been playing with it and tried a couple of things but haven't actually made anything with it yet.

The Pinwheel Sizzlet die is another great addition to Stampin' Up's Big Shot supplies.  What a fun little die!  I decided I didn't want my pinwheels to be completely squashed flat so I put a dimensional  where the flap folds down so that they will keep them from getting flattened.  I kind of sorta almost CASE'd this card from a card where Julie Edmonds used a pinwheel stamp instead of the pinwheel die.  Then I embossed the border instead of punching it like the demonstrator did on the card I was copying.  You will have to look closely at the bottom of the card, it didn't photograph well.  I love that Border scoring plate!

I reckon you are going to be seeing a lot of the borders on my projects in the near future.

I've been working on some Valentine's projects also.  I'll post those soon now that I know how to put pictures on my blog again! 

Goodbye 2012

Hi, have you missed me?  I have been sick for the last 12 days.  I'm starting to feel human again today.  However, I don't plan to stay up till midnight to welcome the new year in.  It is just a bit past 8 and I'm already thinking about going to bed!

I did get a card made today and started making the cards I'm going to do for my card class in January.  I'll finish them up and post the details about my classes the next couple of days.

I used one of the new Sale-a-Bration sets to make this card.  The set is called Feeling Sentimental, it has a Ferris wheel and one of those old bicycles with a big wheel on front and small one on the back as well as the phone booth and Celebrate sentiment.  Remember, if it is a Sale-a-bration set, that means it is free!  This is a great set too, I'm totally loving it.  Sale-a-bration starts on Jan 22 so this is a sneak peek for you. 

I used some of the Candlelight Christmas DSP for the background paper.  I love that one side of the DSP is something you can use later if you didn't use up all the paper on your Christmas projects.  En Frances` is stamped on Very Vanilla and torn and inked for an additional layer.  The Celebrate sentiment is stamped on one of the dies in the Lots of Tags Sizzlet set.  I thought the sentiment was a great one to post on Dec 31st.  Yall have fun and be safe when you celebrate tonight!  I reckon I'll see you next year!