Heather B Stamps

A GREAT BIG SALE

In order to make room for all the new stuff I really MUST have from the new catalogue... I'm having a great, big SALE!  This is a sale of unprecidented proportions!!!

Here's the scoop:  Come to my house on Saturday, August 16, between 10am and 1pm and pick up any retired sets you like.  I have almost 80 of them, so there's lots to choose from!  THEN:  you get to choose the same value of product from the new Fall-Winter catalogue for FREE (plus tax and shipping).  What a great deal, eh???

So, come on!!!  Get some new stamps!!  Come and eat some snacks!!  Look at the NEW catalogue (which, by the way, is GORGEOUS, and I hate to be the one to tell you, you're going to want every last thing in it, so you might as well come and get it for free!!)

ALSO:  SU has announced some great promotions coming up:  first, it's the Never- before-seen-prices-on-never-before-seen-stamp-sets sale. 

Item Code	Pg. #	Description	Regular Price	15% off Price
111690	32	Snow Swirled	$29.95	$25.46
111734	32	Folies de flocons (French Snow Swirled)	$29.95	$25.46
111586	55	It's a Stretch	$28.95	$24.61
111544	81	Putt Putt	$29.95	$25.46
111626	91	Eastern Blooms	$25.95	$22.06
111672	98	Pocket Silhouettes	$22.95	$19.51
111726	98	Silhouettes florales (French Pocket Silhouettes)	$22.95	$19.51
111710	101	Upsy Daisy	$22.95	$19.51
111746	101	Pensées en fleurs (French Upsy Daisy)	$22.95	$19.51
111556	109	Under the Stars	$35.95	$30.56
111644	145	Heard from the Heart	$26.95	$22.91
112875	145	Tout droit du coeur (French Heard from the Heart)	$26.95	$22.91
111570	157	Contempo Alphabet	$48.95	$41.61

  Yep, that's right!!  From Aug. 11 - Sept 30, these sets are on sale!!  WOO HOOOOOOO!!!  Just think of the stamps you can get for free!!  15% more!!  And, the prices in the new catalogue are LOWER again this year!!  (I know you're saying ok, Heather, enough with the exclamation marks, but I'm so excited, I can hardly stand it!)

Then:  SU has partnered with Sizzix to bring die-cutting into Stamping!!  Here's the link to let you know all about it!!!  There will be exclusive dies just for Stampin' Up, too, that I have to let you know now, you're SO going to want them. 

AND:  If you've ever thought you'd like to get Stampin' Up stuff at a great discount, NOW is the time to join all of us crazy stampers!!  Check out the great deal on the starter kit HERE.  Or, if you'd like the BIG kit, it's $249, and from Aug. 11- Oct. 11, you get to choose another set from the catalogue for free!!  Shoot me an email if you have any questions, and I'll get back to you ASAP!  I'd LOVE you to join my team of crazy stampers!!  (we're not really crazy, just a TON of fun!!)

Anyway, I must go and get some work done around here!!  My new stove came today, and I need a new part to hook up the gas, cuz I can't get it off the old stove!!  So, off to TSC!!  Have a great day!!

I'm DYIN'... so much exciting news!!!!

So, last week was the bit Stampin' Up! convention in Salt Lake City.  With health issues this year causing me to be off work, it just wasn't even a thought that I could go.  BUT, there've been some wonderful people there who have kept the rest of us updated through Splitcoaststampers.  Well, this year holds many, many exciting things in the wonderful world of stamping.

First, the NEW Fall-Winter catalogue.  I've seen some pictures of the new sets, and all I can say is WOW WOW WOW WOW!!!! 

Then, SU announces it's partnered with Sizzix (a die cutting producer) to carry an exclusive die cutter, the BIG SHOT, and exclusive dies, too!!!  (I can barely contain my excitement here!!!)  You can order this starting Aug. 11. 

THEN.... There's some really great promotions coming up... the first one starts on Aug. 11... you can get some of the new sets (that are ALL DIE CUT!!!) for 15% off!!!  Here's a list of what you can get:

Item Code	Pg. #	Description	Regular Price	15% off Price
111690	32	Snow Swirled	$29.95	$25.46
111734	32	Folies de flocons (French Snow Swirled)	$29.95	$25.46
111586	55	It's a Stretch	$28.95	$24.61
111544	81	Putt Putt	$29.95	$25.46
111626	91	Eastern Blooms	$25.95	$22.06
111672	98	Pocket Silhouettes	$22.95	$19.51
111726	98	Silhouettes florales (French Pocket Silhouettes)	$22.95	$19.51
111710	101	Upsy Daisy	$22.95	$19.51
111746	101	Pensées en fleurs (French Upsy Daisy)	$22.95	$19.51
111556	109	Under the Stars	$35.95	$30.56
111644	145	Heard from the Heart	$26.95	$22.91
112875	145	Tout droit du coeur (French Heard from the Heart)	$26.95	$22.91
111570	57	Contempo Alphabet	$48.95	$41.61

OH MY GOSH... HOW COOL IS THAT??????  I LOVE STAMPIN' UP!!!

I've been busy in the craft room... if you'd like to see some of what I've been making, I'm having a sale and open house on Aug. 16, 10-1.  Email me at nursehb8@hotmail.com for more details.  Here's the sale:  Come and pick out any of my retired sets (I've got about 80 for sale!!!), and whatever they're worth (catalogue price), you get to choose that much NEW merchandise from the new catalogue for FREE!!  It's like a two-fer!!!!   You just pay the shipping and tax on the new product!!

Hope you all have a wonderful day... stamp something for someone you love!!!

Thanks, Carolyn!!!

Last night, a group of wonderful ladies got together to stamp at my friend Carolyn's house.  It was SOOOOOOOOOOO fun!  The only thing I forgot this time was dimensionals, which is amazing for me!!  I usually have to either call Pete, (which he LOVES!!! <--- very sarcastic) or run home and get some more, or get whatever I've forgotten.  So, I have to say, I was very proud of myself... I remembered the punches, and all the ink, and the extra paper for punching with, and the adhesive!!!  (All things I've forgotten before!!)

Everyone made 12 cards, 3 each of 4 designs.  I think they liked them... I did!   Here's what we made:

  Isn't this cute????  Some of the ladies made the eyes more 'off center' than mine, and called him hangover guy.  Yup, that works too!!  I'd seen quite a few different versions of him over on Splitcoaststampers, and LOVED the way you can use the Pick A Petal set for something non flowery.  Some genius came up with it... certainly not me!!!

This used Tart and Tangy from the mini catalogue that expired at the end of June, but I loved it so much, that we used it anyway.  I sure hope this set makes it into the big catalogue next summer!!  It's sooo cute!  Oh, and we used the NEW scallop punch that will be available Aug. 11.  Oh, I can't wait for the new catalogue to get here... I can hardly stand the anticipation... hopefully it will arrive soon!! 

This is a direct CASE of one Heather Summers made.  It uses the soon to be gone Soft Sky paper... I'm sad to see it go, but it's going to be replaced with some really beautiful new paper soon, so I'm ok.  Really.

This is also a new set coming out in August.  I love how elegant this looks, just black and white.  Some of the ladies made the card go the other way, and it looked really cute that way, too!!  I really enjoy getting together with these ladies... they're so much fun, and even though some of them claim to not be really crafty, they have fun, and are learning that it doesn't have to look 'just like mine' to be really nice!! 

I'm looking to start getting ready for the 'Stamping for the School'  samples soon... AAGGHH... I can't believe we're almost 1/2 way through summer!!  My 'baby' starts school in the fall, too, so I'll have more time to stamp!!  (Yes, it really IS all about the stamping!!)

Have a wonderful day!!

Decor Elements... LOVE it!!!

So, you all know that I LOVE Stampin' Up products, right??  They've come out with a whole new line of 'stuff', called Decor Elements.  You can see the brochure here.  I wasn't really sure about it when I first looked at it online, but I went ahead and ordered one anyway.

Now, I LOVE it!!!  My mom had put up a bunch of photos of my kids, and my dad, and my hubby (yes, my mom and I are the only ones not in any of the pictures!!), so the 'family' DE was the one I chose.  Want to see it???

Here's the before.  Looks nice, eh??

Here's the 'during'... it's SO easy to apply it to the wall... seriously.  You just peel the backing off, and stick it to the wall, and using the applicator (which I forgot to order, so I used my Pampered Chef brown scraper thingy), you just rub it firmly over the image to transfer it to the wall.  Easy peasy!!

Here's the 'after'.  Nice, eh???  Actually, even my hubby liked it... he even noticed it without me pointing it out to him.  WOW, eh??  My mom thinks the chocolate would have been better, but I like the white.

It took me about 8 minutes total, and that was only because I didn't read the instructions first where they tell you to roll the backing off as you apply it to the wall... I just peeled it all off, and it was a bit unruly to deal with, but it still worked!!  Whew!!  Anyway, I LOVE it so much, that I ordered more...

I've been tagged

Well, I was tagged by Heather Summers, and Martha.  This was a 'tell us 7 things about yourself that we don't know' sort of thing.  So, 7 things that you may not know:

1.  OK... I cover it well, but I'm sort of shy.  (STOP LAUGHING)  If you notice, in a large group, I'll find one person, and just talk to them.  Seriously, that almost kills me.  It's really hard for me to talk to people I don't know.

2.  I love action movies.  And comedies.  There's enough sadness in real life, that I don't need to do that sort of thing for entertainment.  I also love science fiction.  Books and movies. 

3. I don't like chocolate.  Maybe about once every couple of months, I'll eat some, but I could do without it.  But don't ask me to give up potatoes.  All kinds.  I love them all. (scalloped are my least favourite, but if I had to choose between no potatoes, and scalloped, I'd eat 'em)

4.  My kids go to Christian school... I'm not a religious fantatic, but the values and morals that they learn now will last them their whole lives.  I'm constantly amazed at children's faith.

5.  I can't sing.  At all.  I got kicked out of choir in grade 3.  Yes, I'm that bad.  BUT, my kids still let me sing to them, and they seem to like it.

6.  I am NOT a domestic goddess.  Nowhere close.  I HATE housework.  OK, people who know me know this, and it's a good job that I married a guy who doesn't mind it, and is really good at it. I also HATE grocery shopping.  It's the worst day of the week.  This carries over to the dreaded task of making lunches for my kids, too.  (Pete does it.  I told the kids that if they kept complaining about what was in their lunches, I wasn't going to make them anymore.  So, even though they are perfectly capable of making lunch for themselves, Pete makes their lunches.)

7.  I am compulsive about email.  I answer it within 24 hours.  Usually, I answer it right away. 

OK... there's the list.  I'm taking the kids to the movies this afternoon (the older ones, the little one is at preschool).  I might get to post a few scrapbook pages I've completed later today, or some cards, we'll have to see.

Oh, and if you're checking out Heather Summers' site, don't forget to sign up for U Stamp!!

I know... it's been a while!!!

Good Morning!!!  Well, we're heading into a long weekend here, and of course, it's raining!!  Oh well, a chance to catch up on my scrapping and stamping.  I haven't had much of a chance lately, my mom had a heart attack just after my last post, so that kind of threw all of us for a loop.  She's going to be fine, and there's no permanent damage, so it was good news.  But still....

Then we had the year end parties for my 2 older kids... we had one here, with 25 kids in the pool!!  Good thing the school's policy is that there has to be a lifeguard for events like that!  It all went well, and I think the kids had a good time.  I made a gift for each of the 2 pregnant teachers at the school, and also a scrapbook for the baby's first year for Kalvin's teacher.  I think she liked it... I duplicated the pages I made, so I'll show them to you, if you like.  That will be another day, though.

For today, I'm going to show you some clear envelope brag books that I made a while back.  I gave these as prizes at my last stamp a stack for the school that we did.

So, for the first one, I used one of my all time favourite sets, All in the Family.  I just love how you can make everyone!!  The only thing I wish was that SU would make some more that would be good for our more northern climate.  But, I love it still!!!

This next one is done with the rub-ons that were available in the sale a bration mini catalogue.  Then I used one of the big flowers in the pretties kit, with a rhinestone brad and a punched flower in the middle.  I love how simple and elegant it is.  I think it would make a great mother of the bride brag book, don't you???

For the last one, I used butterflies that were rock and rolled in Pale Plum, then Perfect Plum.  I think they turned out well!

Oh, and just so you know, the retirement list from SU is out.  I'm so sad... I'm losing about 35 sets, most of them, I LOVE.  Oh well, have to make room for more great stuff!!!  If you want to check it out, just go to http://www.stampinup.com/ca/enc/default.asp

and click on retirement list.  Then, go through your catalogue, and mark which ones you just HAVE to have, and let me know... they're gone Aug. 9.

More of the wedding scrapbook

I had a few people let me know that they really like the wedding album, so here's some more pictures of it!!  (I'll post some card pics as soon as I take some of all the cards I made last week!!)

So, as you can see, it's really easy to create nice pages with hardly any effort (ok, in scrapbooking terms hardly any effort).  Overall, I think the book took me about 20 hours to finish.  Maybe a bit longer, but it was worth it. 

More scrapping....

So, here are some more of the pages that I made for my sister in law.  (well, it was for the whole family, but you know what I mean)  So, I'd ordered 2 of the wedding scrapping kits from SU,  and other than adding in some Bashful Blue (which was the colour of the girls' dresses), and some extra 12x12 Kraft, that's all I used.  I filled a whole scrapbook, and I have almost a full kit leftover!!!  These kits are such a great deal, that I'm going to be offering a new scrapping club with them, and I'll give you the details a bit later....

Anyway, here's some more of the pages:

This is one of my favourites... partly because, until very recently, Abigail refused to have her picture taken.  Also, these pictures totally capture her personality.  She's a strong-willed little girl, and really doesn't take any 'crap' from anyone!!  (hhmmm, wonder why I love her so much...)  Anyway, the title on this was done with my Cricut.

 

  I had a ton of pictures of the kids, during the ceremony, and after, so I needed a layout that would let me fit a bunch of pictures in.  It's amazing how quickly Tony's kids have become part of our family.  I love them all so much already!!!  They are wonderful children, and it just shows how hard Tony worked to raise them.  (ok, getting sappy here!!)

I kept this page fairly simple... I just added some doodling around the little rectangles on the right hand page.  The title on the left page was done with my Cricut.

So, there's some more scrapping!!  Hope you're having a great Friday!!

My attempts at scrapping....

For my sister-in-law's wedding gift, I made her a scrapbook of the day.  I think she liked it, and I have to say, I think I did a pretty good job, considering that I don't scrap on my own much.  (I like to go to a class, and just add my pictures to what someone else has designed!!)

I'll post the album over the next few posts so you can see how easy it is to create a great scrapbook with the scrapping kits from Stampin' up.   I pretty much used just one kit for all these layouts, and just added a few extra sheets of paper... and I still have a ton of sticker embellishments left over.

Some of the pictures I had developed in sepia, so they really went well with the kit, and the colour ones, I just added a bit of bashful blue to the kit so that it matched, too.

I also didn't do any journaling... I figured Lisa could do it, if she wanted some in there.

I kept the layouts pretty simple, and did double layouts, because I like how it flows together.

I'll post more pictures of more of the book later this week!!!  Thanks for stopping by!!

So, I told you a while back that I'd gone to this really great demo meeting, and did a WOW swap.   Remember??  OK, not likely, but I did.

Anyway, I was going to show you earlier, but I ended up giving my 'copy' to another demo there, and I hadn't taken any pictures of it yet!!  Then my friend Martha came over, and I was telling her my tale, and she went home and took pictures of my swap and emailed them to me!!!  How SWEET is she?????????   She's also super talented!!  You can check out her blog HERE.  Really.  Check it out!  It's AWESOME!!  (and she doesn't CASE like I do!!)

So, here's what I made.  I saw the idea on someone else's blog, so it's not my idea, but it was SO cute, that of course, I had to copy it!!!  (Plus, it used up a bunch of the 50 million coasters I have around here!!)

It's a little 4x4 box that holds the 'fixings' for S'mores!!  MMMMMMM!!!  (I used the chocolate covered digestive cookies instead of chocolate and graham wafers... saves a step!!)  Anyway, I thought I'd make up a few more to send with my daughter this weekend when she goes camping with a friend of hers.  The only thing is, I don't think I have any coasters left!!!

Here's another angle:   So, I used the Happy Camper set, along with the co-coordinating wheel, and stamped each side of the box with something different.  One side had the wheel, one just had the trees stamped about 3 times, and then the trailer with some more trees (I masked it), then the bear with the fire and more trees.  There was a fair amount of masking, but it was worth the final effect.  I ended up making a mask for the trailer, bear and fire out of some acetate scraps that I had lying around, as I found that after about 3 times stamping over the mask made it bleed through.  That is SO frustrating!!! 

Then I coloured the fire, and the grass under the signs from the wheel.  Then I punched through the coasters and tied the corners together with some hemp twine, (or linen thread), and glued the bottom in with Crystal Effects.  Let me tell you, that was the easiest thing I could find!!  The long 'spout' worked so well to get down into the bottom of the box!!!!

Anyway, that was what I made.  16 of them.  Yup, that's right... 16 of them!!!  If you try to make them, let me know how it turns out!!!

More Wedding Invites

Well..... It's upon us... wedding season.  I actually made some invitations for someone recently, based on a stationery holder that I made last summer at a class.  I showed it to the bride, and she loved it, just not the colour, so I changed it up a bit, and simplified it, since she was going to be making 100 of them!!!  She's a brave lady, too... never stamped before!!!!  They look BEAUTIFUL!!!!!  The Baroque Motifs set has to be one of my favourite in the whole catalogue... it's so versatile.  I've used it for elegant, and also for vines for a monkey to hang from!!  Who knew one set could be SO versatile.  OK, ok, Stampin Up did!!!    Here's the sample that I made for her to work from:

As you can see, they're very simple, but elegant.  Her colours matched our Elegant Eggplant and Pale Plum, so that's what I used on the invites for her... she was really happy how nicely they turned out, and I have to say, so was I!!!

Here's the inside: Again, using Elegant Eggplant, and Pale Plum to stamp the images under the vellum that will have the actual wedding info on it.  Then the other side will hold maps, and reply cards.  Cool, eh???  The bride was also going to make the place cards, and I think maybe some thank you's with that set, too. 

I also made them for another bride, but in Real Red and White, and the 'swirly' image in Old Olive.  They also turned out nicely.  I didn't use the 'cherish' for the red ones, the bride wanted the 'Together Forever' image from the set Together Forever. 

The folder is one sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 paper, scored to make a 5 1/2  x 5 1/2 square.  I then cut up the middle of where the pockets would be, just basically cut out the score line, so that there would be less bulk in the fold.  Then you just put adhesive up the sides of the 'pockets', and WAA-LAA... instant place for the other info to go!!!  The invitation part with all the info is 4 1/4 x 5.  I cut the vellum 1/4" smaller than that.

Overall, I was pleased with how they turned out.  What do you think???

Swaps

So, I went to Alicia's big Spring Fling demo event.  It was AWESOME!!!  Even though I was very tired, and sorta out of it (surgery 2 days before), I still brought back some great 'stuff' from it!  One thing (ok, 15 things) I brought home was the demo WOW swap I participated in.  That's where demonstrators make some really cool project that you'd do at a class, and you make 15 (or whatever # the swap is...) of the same thing, and get 15 things back that other people made.  It was SO cool.  Some really talented demonstrators out there, let me tell you!!!

So, wanna see some of the things I got???  OK!!

This is a really cool tote bag that came with 3 cards in it, but it could definately hold way more.  It was made by Anne... so cute!!!  Here are the cards that were in it:

OK... so could these be any cuter????????  I was so excited to hear that Stampin UP is extending the Occasions Mini catalogue until the end of June, cuz this oh so cute paper is in that mini, as well as the great little stamp set, Tart and Tangy.  LOVE this little set!!!  It's got 4 images in it, that are so great for summery stuff!!

You can click on that link to check out the great specials that are on this month, too.  If you've ever wanted to be a Stampin Up demonstrator, there's a great incentive for this month, as well as a sale on chipboard (which is so versatile!!)... plus, if you buy a cutting mat, you get the hobby blade for free!!!!  FREE!!!!  How great is that????

If you think that you'd like to host a demonstration in your home, I'm more than willing to come and show you how to make your own really cool projects!!

Anyway, I'll post some more of the cool stuff I got later!!!

Build a Brad... Bracelet!!!!

Yesterday, I attended an amazing event... Alicia's Spring Fling!!!  Alicia is my upline's upline.  (those of you in direct sales will know what I'm talking about...)

Anyway, there were 9 demonstrators that did a 'demo' for everyone, and it was supposed to be a WOW.  (That's something demo's call a really cool project, that you wouldn't normally do at someone's workshop, it's more of a class type project, and is either some really cool technique, or a new way to use a product)  So, I'd seen these really cool bracelets on this blog and thought it might be cool to make some.  The thing is,  you have to make one for each of the other demonstrators who do a table, so I had to make a few.  Plus, Dawn Rapsas came all the way from New Jersey to talk to us, and so did Karen Gregorian, all the way from WASHINGTON!!!!  So, they were so inspiring, and wonderful (as I figured they would be), so I wanted to make sure they got one, too.  Let me tell you, if you ever have the opportunity to hear either of these ladies speak about business, GO!!!  They are amazing!!!

Anyway, I promised everyone that I'd post a tutorial on how to make these babies... Here goes:  I apologize for the crappy pictures.....

Gather your supplies:

Build a brads, rhinestone brads, designer series paper (DSP), 1/2 inch circle punch, crystal effects, pliers, jump rings (I got mine at Michael's), and magnetic clasps if you want...

Pull the 'legs' out straight on your brads, both the build a brads and the rhinhestone brads.  Sometimes you have to use the pliers to get them nice and straight.

Using your pliers, turn the legs back in towards the middle of the brad.  Don't close the end of the leg all the way down yet.  You should still be able to see the 'bend' in the leg where it was bent before, that's a good spot to put your pliers to start your bend.  Do this to all your brads.

Add the jump rings to the bent legs of the build a brads, and squish them shut so that the jump ring won't come out.  Sometimes you have to play around with it a bit to get the legs to sit nice and flat on the back of the brad.  (otherwise, it will scratch your arm when you wear it, and I don't know about you, but that would really bug me!!)

Then add your rhinestone brads in between the build a brads, squishing the legs carefully, so you don't scratch the back of the 'bling' part off.  (you could paint a bit of Crystal Effects on the back to protect it)

If you're going to use a magnetic clasp, open the jump ring to get the clasp on, and gently close it with pliers.  Then join the bracelet together, and VOILA!!!!!  You've made a really cool bracelet.... frame.

Put a drop (just a little drop, too.... don't get all carried away with it) of Crystal Effects on each of the fronts of the build a brads, and adhere your 1/2 inch circles of DSP.  Make sure you push them down really well to get the Crystal Effects to the edge of the paper.

Then put a little drop of Crystal Effects on the paper, and add the 'bubble' part of the build a brad, squishing it down really well, so the Crystal Effects gets all the way to the edge of the bubble.

TAAAHHHH DAAAHHHHHH!!!! NOW you're done!!  How does it look???  Lovely, I'll bet!!  Here's some more that I made:

Now, if you don't want to make one of your own, and would like to buy one that I've made, they're $10.  Email me at nursehb8@hotmail.com and we'll discuss colour options, ok???

So, that's it.  They're really not that hard to make.  Really.  Try one.  Or two.  Or 15 like I did!!!!!

Have a wonderful day, and I have some more great stuff to show you all, so please check back at least once a week!!  (I am really trying hard to update more often!!! really.)

Coasters, anyone????

It seems that almost everyone I know got married in the spring.  It's anniversary central around here.  A few of my friends are either in the midst of planning a wedding, or planning some sort of anniversary party.  Here are some favours that I did for my friend's parents last year.  Yes, I know I posted them back then, but sometimes you need a 'refresher',  old ideas sometimes need bringing up again!!

So, here's what I made.  They were a big hit, and it will also use up a bunch of those coasters you bought, thinking "I know I'll need at least 500 of those, I'll use them for everything.  I may even need more than 500.  But 500 is a good start.  And, if I don't buy 500, I'll see 500 things that I want to make with them, and I won't have them to do it with!!"  Only to discover that once you had them in your hot little hands, you didn't know what on earth you were going to make with the other 495 coasters, after you made that really cute coaster box to hold your pens on your desk.

It's 2 coasters, attached in the middle with clothespins, the wooden kind with the spring in the middle. 

Can you see into the middle there?  You adhere the 'closed' part of the clothespin to the 'top', and add 2 thick dimensionals to the part you pinch so there's a better angle.  Do that on both sides of the clothespin, and attach your coasters.  If it was for something not too fancy, you can stamp right on the coasters.  Here, I've covered the coasters with Ivory paper, and stamped in Gold ink, as it was a 50th anniversary.  Then I used my colour spritzer and added some dimension by spritzing with Artichoke ink.  Then I used the Giga Scallop punch (not SU, it's Marvy), and the Coluzzle oval for the verse on the front of the picture holder.  (that's what they used it for... a really nice picture of the couple, and then we decorated a picture frame to match for them to hang on their wall at home.  It was really nice)

So, here's a great wedding/anniversary/special day party favour.  There's many things you can do with it...  you could stamp the people from All in the Family for a family gathering, or special dinner.  You could stamp words on them.  You could use them to put either pictures or names in for place cards.  You can stand them on your mantle and have a row of pictures in them.  You can make it 'kitchen-y', and use it to hold recipes up while you cook.  Just a couple of ideas there for  you.

Anyway, hope this inspires you to use up some of those coasters you bought!!!!

Ever have one of those days/weeks/months.... LIVES?????

OK... suffice it to say, the last thing that I have had  time for this past week or so is stamping.  BUT, I refuse to buy cards.  (Plus, my hubby would have a fit if he saw me buy a card, as the whole intro to the stamping addiction was the excuse:  "But, honey, we'll NEVER have to buy another card, EVER.  I'll just make them all.  Think of the money we'll save!"  HAHAHAHAHAHAHA )  That being said, I still need thank you cards, and birthday cards for the parties that the kids are invited to, and then someone asked me for a couple of cards for this and that, and well, I HAD to make time to get into the stamping dungeon.  (I call it that because my room is in the basement, and it's sorta dark, and cool down here)  ANYWAY, I made it in there, and it was such a disaster, that I had to clean it up first.  If you know me at all, you know that is my least favourite activity on the planet.  Yes, I'd rather do almost anything that clean and organize.  If I had a million dollars, I'd hire someone to do it all for me, and I'd just sit there and stamp and make a HUGE mess, and then my magic fairy would come in and clean it all with one fell swoop of her magic wand, and I'd start again.  BUT, I don't have a million dollars, so no such luck for me.  So, I had to 'tidy' it up before I could start.  I admit to being a procrastinator.  I work best under pressure.  Yes, I know that I'll likely have an ulcer before I'm 50.  Yes, I know it's not particularly healthy.  I've been this way for most of my life.  I am trying to change, but it's hard.  I did it.  I tidied up.  Then I stamped.  and stamped.  and stamped.  And got very little accomplished.  Oh well.  Want to see what I made???  After putting up with all the rambling, you deserve a great WOOO HOOO of a project.  But I can't show it to you yet.  I'm participating in a swap, and it would ruin it for others if I showed it to you.  So you'll have to wait.  But it will be worth it, I promise.  Not only will you get to see what I made, but you'll get to see what 14 other talented stampers made, too.  It's called a WOW swap, and while I don't really think I'm WOW caliber, I decided to wing it anyway, and hope that everyone is understanding that it's my first one!!!

But, I can show you a couple of other things that I made a while ago......

I made this recipe card holder as a sample for an upcoming class.  I haven't set the date, but if you think this is cool, be on the lookout for it!!! 

Stamps:  From the Kitchen of, Voila.

Paper:  Afternoon Tea DSP (from the mini catalogue), Wasabi

Ink:  Black, Gray, Wasabi

Other:  mini lunch tin, Cricut (for the letters), blender pens.

OK... so, isn't it cute???  I LOVE IT.  And, I made it up by myself!!!  (Yes, I'm proud of myself!!!!!)  Here's the top of the tin:

So, cute, cute, cute????   I think so.  Inside, I included about 15 recipe cards stamped with the From the Kitchen of set, and I'm going to make some dividers for the tin, too.  Anyway, I like it. 

Want to come to the class and make one (or two) of your very own???  I'll keep you posted about when it is, ok???

FINALLY!!!! It's here!!

So, the next school fundraiser is quickly approaching... where does the time go?? 

The date is April 4, and we'll start at 6 (ish).  Again, it's in the gym of the London Christian Academy, 85 Charles Street.  (Please park in the back of the school.)  We'll make 10 cards, and the cost is $25, with half of the cost going right to the school!!  You can make 20 cards for $45.  If you can't make it, but still want to have the cards, I'll make you a kit to go.  Same price, everything comes cut, stamped and with instructions so all you have to do is assemble!! 

Bring anyone you like, you really and truly don't have to be crafty to make these cards!!!  Oh, and I have some really cool door prizes this time that would make GREAT Mother's Day gifts!!  Just wait till you see them!!  You're going to LOVE them!!!

We are going to make the following cards:  we'll make 4 of each, (and you can just change the Mother's Day to either Thank you, or whatever you wish).

   

So, do you like them???  I'll be bringing my sentiments for the inside, so you can customize the butterfly and the flower ones for whatever occasion you think you'll use the most.  Oh, and you'll also be able to change the Mother's Day, if you like (or need to).  Hopefully you like what we'll be doing!!

This time, we're doing fairly quick and easy cards, so we can get a bunch done!!  It's hard to see in the picture, but the flower on the Mother's Day card has some glitter on it, so it's pretty and sparkly!!  The Cute card just uses a little piece of scrapbook paper for the onsie.  How cute is that???? (I can't take credit for it, I copied it from someone on Splitcoaststampers)

Anyway, that's it for today.  I did some tins, and I have the pictures for a couple of classes that will be happening in the near future, so I'll post those later this week.

Have a great day!!

Nothing new, yet!!!!!

Well, it's March Break.  Hard to believe that the year is flying by so quickly!!!  We got dumped on BIG TIME Saturday, almost 30cm of snow, (that's 12 inches).  The funny part about SW Ontario is, we're expecting rain in a couple of days, and all the snow should melt.  Oh well.

Anyway, a quick update:  Sale a Bration ends in a week.  What's Sale a Bration???  It's where you spend $70 from the regular catalogue here, or the Occasions Mini catalogue here, and get one free Sale a Bration set here!!  Oh yeah, the Mini and Sale a Bration sets are DIE CUT!!!

How great is that????  Oh, and if  you spend $140, you get 2 sets free, and so on!!!  YAY!!!

Oh, and if you've ever thought about becoming a demonstrator (it's easy), until next Monday, you get a FREE set from the catalogue... any price!!!  Contact me for details, if you think you might be interested.  You can be a hobby demo (buy stuff for you and a couple of friends), or a business demo, where you go and do workshops and classes, or a combination of the two! 

Anyway, I promise to get some pictures up of what I've been doing in my stamp room... this week!!!  I have 4 upcoming classes, plus the school fundraiser is on April 4. 

You can contact me at nursehb8@hotmail.com!!

A break from the usual fare

So, a break from the regular stamping stuff on here.  Yes, I know it's the name of the blog, but hey, it's mine, and I'll do what I want to. (hahahaha)

Anyway, I have been running all over Southwestern Ontario for the past month, dragging my daughter to basketball tournaments.  She's playing Atom, which means Grade 5 or under.  She plays for the London Ramblers (a great program).

This past weekend, we were  in Hamilton, and the girls played 5 games.  Emmalyn scored in 4 of the games, and got a foul in every game!  (it's not like her to do that, so I was really excited for her!!)  Her team is about 1/2 girls who played with the club last year, and 1/2 new this year.  (mine is new this year)  Anyway, for those of you who don't have kids in sports, it takes a while for the kids to 'gel', so the beginning of the season is really rough.  The girls played a great bunch of games, and they won the Bronze medal!!  (ok, for those of you who are sporty, they won the bronze in the A pool of the 3rd division, which means they are the 3rd best of the bottom pool.  But, they were really proud of themselves, and we are too!!)

Aren't they just too cute?????????

So, you can see why there's not been a whole lotta stamping going on here.  I did some stuff around Valentine's day... do you want to see it, or are you all 'hearted out'????

Apparently, I have a problem.....

OK... so apparently I have a problem.  I can't stop making tins.  Although, I do get asked quite often if I'll make one for someone, so I guess it's not really my fault.  (yeah, that's it...)

So, I showed you the tins I made for my neices, and here's some I made for my 'new' neices and nephew.  (my sister in law got married, and we're getting a way bigger family!!)

Hayley is in grade 9, and so I wanted to make one that was sort of 'grown up'.  She's such a sweet girl!!  I used the At Home scrapping kit that was available in the last catalogue, along with some wide chocolate chip satin ribbon, and some River Rock paper that I Cuttlebugged (is that a real word???) for the top.  I did the same thing as all the others, and Podged over the whole thing.

Here's Paige's.  The theme for the 'little-r' girls' was flowers, just because I thought they looked so cute!!  This is Cutie Pie paper, and the flowers are the scallop punch, retired Daisy punch.  The stems are just 'slices' of oval punches.  How easy, eh???  You can't see the top, but it's Cuttlebugged, too.

Here's Mya's.  Again, I used Cutie Pie paper, and flowers made from the Scallop punch.  Oh, the letters are Alphadots... I stamped in Pomegranate.  I had to be really careful when I podged over these, as it tended to run a bit, so there was NO fussing with it!! 

Here's Kaine's.  I used the Creative Licence scrappin kit for it.  I love how 'boyish' that kit is.  Great colours, and cool stickers.  I just stamped his name on the top.  I couldn't bring myself to put flowers on it!!  (I'm sure Kaine is happier, too!!)

Anyway, that's all for now.  Hope you have a wonderful, stamping day!!!

Wedding - Congratulations Lisa and Tony

Well, the big day has come and gone.  My sister in law is married!!!  She married a really great guy (hi Tony!) on Feb 16.  So, they are bringing together two families, so I'm getting more neices, and one nephew!!!!!!  The girls are great, and have decided that they LOVE Emmalyn, so she's thrilled, and Kaine and Kalvin are just months apart in age, and get along great too.  We feel so blessed that this wonderful family is part of ours!!!  So, welcome to the family, Tony, Hayley, Kaine, Paige, and Mya!!!

Anyway, on to the stamping portion of this ramble.  I was honoured to be asked to make the invitations!!  So, I had participated in a wedding invite swap last year, and I still had some of the samples left, after I took out all the ones that used sets that had retired!!  (at the end of the 07-08 catalogue year, SU retired a HUGE number of stamp sets, and I didn't want Lisa to be disappointed when I couldn't get the set anymore!!) This was not my original design, it was a sample from Alicia.   

So.........  She chose one, and we changed the colours, and I made 70 of them.  Yup, 70.  So, wanna see what I made????????  Here they are:

This is the front.  I embossed on brushed silver paper with silver EP, and tied the black organdy ribbon, then the silver cord.  (Those were both retired, too, thankfully, I had enough left!!)

I used the French Flair background.  I think it looks pretty....

Then on the inside:  a quarter sheet of silver again, cut in 1/2 on the diagonal, embossed again like the front, that made a pocket for the reply to go in.  We tucked in the envelope (folded in half) in there, too.  Another quarter sheet embossed with a vellum sheet over top with the info printed on there.  Held on with brads.     There was a lot of embossing on these, and I wouldn't want to have to make 200 of them, that's for sure.  But, the end result was well worth the effort, I think.

Nice, eh????  So, that's the wedding invite.  This was one of the ones that 'didn't make it' out, cuz after I put the vellum piece on, I realized it was all smudged!!!!  Anyway... I'll show you another wedding invite soon.

So, here's the kids.  Well, not all of them, but some.  On the left is Kaine, then Hannah, Paige, Hayley, Emmalyn and Mya.  Abby had enough by that time, and so had Rogan, so they wouldn't stand with the other kids, and somehow, we lost Kalvin for that picture.  Anyway, here's my kids:

So, we had a great day at the wedding, and everyone was so happy!!  (ok, we still cried, but still, tears of joy!!) 

That's it!!  Hope you all had a great weekend, and for everyone in Ontario, happy Family Day.  (did you all know that it's always been a federal holiday??  it was Heritage Day.  I've always had it off as a stat, and we're kind of bummed that we didn't get another day!  Oh well, it was still nice to have a day off!!)

Oh, I guess you'd want to see a picture of the bride and groom, eh????   OK...   AAWWWWWW... so happy!!  We are too!!

Another Tin

Well, I posted some tins the other day.  Here's another one.

This is my youngest's DS case.  Yes, he's only (almost) 4, and he has one.  Trust me, it was easier than listening to him whine all the time that the other 2 wouldn't let him play theirs.  Of course, he only wanted to play when they were!!!  Anyway, I used the Outlaw paper that was in the last catalogue.  Then I punched out a bunch of stars in matching colours, and sponged the edges with Chocolate Chip ink.  Stamped the letters in Typeset Alpha, and punched and sponged those too.  Then I added a couple of layers of matte Podge to protect the whole thing.  These are great, cuz he USUALLY knows where it is, and can find his stuff.  This one was really easy, too, and I love how it turned out!!!

Tins

Well.... I have to apologize... it's been ages since I posted.  'Life' is getting in the way of stamping!!!  If you don't know me, I have 3 kids, and 2 of them are playing competitive sports this winter.  My daughter, Emmalyn, is almost 11, and is playing basketball, and this is the 'tournament' time of year.  So, I've been spending a LOT of time driving all over southwestern Ontario!!!  Plus, there's 2 practices a week!  She loves it, though, and so how could I say no????  My son, Kalvin, who's 9 1/2, plays soccer.  Both competitive and house league, so he's at soccer 3-4 times a week.  Luckily, my hubby doesn't work shift work like I do, and he takes care of the soccer!!!  I don't know what I'll do when the little one (almost 4) starts sports!!!  OH MAN!

Anyway, I'm sure that you're waiting with baited breath to see some of the 'stuff' I've been making!!  I made some more tins for my nieces for Christmas.  They both have Nintendo DS's, and if your little one has one of these, you know there's lots of little 'bits' that go with it... games, chargers, screen cleaners............

So, here's what I made:   Abigail is almost 5, and loves bright colours.  Rogan actually picked out the paper that he thought I should use for her.  (he's my youngest, almost 4)  The two of them are so cute together... she just bosses him around, and he just adores her!!!  To make the big flowers, I just used the scallop punch, and cut down to about 1/2 inch in the middle.    The small flowers are the retired daisy punch.  The stems are made by punching along the edge of the large oval.  I just moved it along the edge of the last oval I punched, and kept going in skinny bits, taking off a little each time.  I used Cutie Pie paper, and the ladybugs are from Garden Whimsey.  I stamped them right on the paper in Staz-on black, and then on whisper white paper in Pomegranate, and cut the wings out.  There's a butterfly on there, too, and it was done the same way, only in Saffron.  The letters are the retired set, Alphadots, and I used both the 1/2 and 3/4 inch punches to punch those out.  I covered the whole thing with matte Podge, going very carefully and not brushing too much over the pomegranate, which had a tendency to run a bit with the podge.

Here's Hannah's.  Emmalyn picked out the colours, and thought that stars were the way to go. The big stars were just punched around the leftovers from the small ones... just punch a small star, and line up the large one over that hole.  The paper is from the Winter Bright scrappin kit that was available in the last catalogue, and the letters are jumbo outline alpha stamped with Staz-On black.  Anyway, it was super easy, and pretty cute, I think.  Hannah liked it, and that's all that mattered!!!

I made a new case for Emmalyn, too, and I'll post that later this week, along with the one I made for Rogan.  Yes, my 3 year old has a DS.  He's GOOD at it, too!!!!

Have a great day!!!

Stamping night!!!

The date is set... February 8 at 6pm.  Come and make a bunch of cards, and support the London Christian Academy at the same time!!!

There's a bit of a different format this time.  Instead of making a bunch of the same cards, we're going to make 8 different cards.  Yep, that's right... 8!!!! 

We'll be making ONE each of 8 different designs. BUT... you can pre-order additional cards and make them that night too!!!
So, when you 'register', you'll need to let me know if you want the basic kit, 'double' kit, and any extras.
The basic kit will be $20. Two full kits (double kit) will be $35. Additional cards will be $3 each or 2 of the same design for $5. HALF of the cost will be donated directly to LCA.

You can also get it 'to go' if you're unable to attend... same price, everything comes stamped, ready to assemble!!

Students of LCA receive $5 off. (must be accompanied by a parent/guardian, and please, only students in grade 5 or above... THANKS!!)
You must register by Jan. 30.

Here's what we'll be making:

Wow... I MUST get better at posting!!

So, it's a new year.  I have been home for a week with sick kids.  (they went back to school yesterday, only to come home sick)  My littlest one was really sick over New Year's, but he's at least healthy now!  The other two... well, it's the weather... yeah, that's it.

I got my NEW SU catalogue before Christmas, and spent my nights at work pouring over it!! (I had to work 3 12-hour nights over Christmas, so I was so thankful for the catty!!)  If you'd like one, please email me.  We'll talk about how you can get one for FREE.  If you'd like to see what's in it... you can check HERE.  It's SO nice!!  BUT, the best part, in my opinion, is that they announced after they were printed, that they were LOWERING the Canadian prices by another 7 percent!!!!!!!!  Well, to me, that just means MORE STAMPS.  Plus, with the GST going down, well, I think a BIG WOOOOO HOOOOOOO is in order.  so....

WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO!!!

Anyway, I'm hoping to finish off the rest of the cards for the next school fundraiser... it's coming up on February the 8... 6pm, at the London Christian Academy.  We're going to be making a whole bunch of neat stuff, and I'm going to try something a bit different this time.  You'll come and make the cards, but you'll be able to pre-order additional cards if you'd like to make more of a certain one, or two....

I'm also waiting for my order to get here... then I'll post the recipe card holder gift idea that I'm going to do a class for.  THAT should be neat.  It'll be a great Mother's day gift, shower gift, or something nice for your kitchen.  It's going to use the new recipe card set, From the Kitchens of, and the chef from Voila.

Then, I've also been working on a one sheet wonder class.  What's a one sheet wonder??? Well, you stamp all over a full sheet of paper, then cut it up and make a bunch of cards with it.  It's a really cool way to get a bunch of cards done quickly.  I got the template from Splitcoaststampers, from Lee Ann Graff. 

More details about all of this will be posted soon. 

OK.. sick kids calling.  Thanks so much for checking out my little blog!!!

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY

Wow... it's so close to Christmas, and oh my, have I been busy!  We were in Niagara Falls on the weekend for my daughter's basketball tournament (they lost all their games, but still had fun), and yes, I was CRAZY and drove home in the huge snowstorm.  What is normally a 2 - 2 1/2 hour drive (I do admit to having 'the operation'... right leg bones removed and replaced with lead... thanks to RICK telling the boys in my son's class that last year... we were driving to a field trip, and I passed Rick on the way there, so he told a van load of 8 year old boys that Mrs. Bennett had surgery on her leg, and they replaced all the bones in my foot with lead.  When we arrived, all the boys jumped out of the van and asked if they could see my 'surgery leg'.  Well, of course, I had no idea what the heck they were talking about, but Rick did... he was laughing SO hard!!!  The boys were sure disappointed that I didn't have a scar or anything to show them.  The funniest part is, I wasn't going that fast, anyway!!!!)... anyway, I digress... It took  us almost 6 hours!!!  But, we arrived safe and sound, and all is well again.

OK... you didn't come here to read that... you came to see some of the stuff that's been keeping me busy, right?????

I needed some things to give the kids' teachers, and so I made them all an 'Emergency Card Kit'... 8 cards and envelopes in a tin.  (I sold these at craft shows this year, too, and they were a HUGE hit)

I made several different packs, and of course, didn't take pictures of the first round, so you don't get to see all of those... sorry!

Last night, I made up another 12 packs.  (yep, last night... 96 cards... I was up till 2:30)  So, here they are

Stamp sets: Elegant notes, French Script (ret)  Colours:  River Rock, Sahara Sand, Black, Ivory

 

Stamp sets:  Wonderful Words, Year after Year  Colours:  Rose red, basic grey, white.  Non SU ribbon. 

Stamp sets:  Very Punny (ret), hot to dot wheel  Colours:  Night of Navy, Kraft, White, Olive, moss

Stamp sets:  Very Punny (ret)

Colours:  Taken with Teal, last year's DSP, white