Christmas cards!

It's beginning to look a lot like...ok ok, the girls are already groaning. They keep saying, "But MOTHER, it's not even Thanksgiving yet!" That didn't stop me though. And it didn't stop them either. We turned on Elvis's Christmas album and created this card today. (Kids are home for Veteran's Day!) The colors are handsome hunter, bordering blue, and ridinghood red (last year's In Color, sorry, but I had the matching ribbon so just HAD to use it!) The stamp set is Snow Swirled (#111690 $24.95) and I love the snowflakes and the awesome tree. I'm planning to make this one of my Stamp-a-Stack cards, which I probably need to schedule soon!

Very Thankful

I am the proud owner of another new stamp set. This one was a "feel good" purchase because this stamp set is our yearly fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House Charities, it's called Very Thankful and is on the inside back cover of the big catalog. I fell in love with the turtle stamp, but when I was looking for card ideas, I decided that the peacock was pretty amazing, too! So, here's my first Very Thankful card, made for a great bunch of women - my first online stamp club members. We wrapped up our year this month, so it's sadly over, and I'm sending out kits to make this card with everyone's final order. :)

First Workshop - this Thursday

OK well, we were challenged by the founder of SU at regionals to hold a workshop by a certain date in order to earn a free stamp set...and I am just CRAZY about free stamp sets. So...in my attempt to jump start this business, I've invited teacher friends from work to come over for a free workshop. I'm planning to start simple - let them make 2 cards to take home and I will demonstrate a couple other things in addition to the cards. We'll see how I do...or if anyone will show up. :) Here are there cards that I've designed just for this workshop.



First we have my new favorite fall set (Falling Leaves) which I can't get enough of. The card base is Soft Suede cardstock, and I just randomly stamped the leaves like on my swap from regionals onto Very Vanilla cardstock in ruby red, crushed curry, and old olive inks. Then I added the little wavy saying "so thankful for you and all that you do" in soft suede ink. Tied it up with a soft suede polkadot ribbon and VOILA! Easy peasy, I am guessing most of my guests will not have stamped before, so I wanted to keep it simple. Nora says it's too simple, but well she's 12 and knows everything.



The other card Nora actually approved of. It's a birthday card because next to thank-yous, it's the kind I love to make the most. There's always somebody having a birthday, and if I ever actually mailed out the cards I made, wouldn't that put a smile on someone's face? Anyway...the stamp set I used is Crazy for Cupcakes, background is melon mambo cardstock, 3 strips of patterned paper from the Razzleberry Lemonade set (LOVE IT!)the ribbon is melon mambo polkadot, of course, and the cupcake image is just stamped in basic black on white cardstock. I used a blender pen to color it in, but you could also use the markers now that SU has finally come to their senses and released the In Colors in markers as well as inks! Image is matted on yoyo yellow cardstock and pop-dotted. Both cards have a panel inside that has a coordinating stamp (leaf or balloon) and of course matching envelopes.

Regionals

Well here I go again, neglecting another blog - whoops! Let me backtrack a bit and just say that I have now found the needed motivation to force me to turn my Stampin' Up obsession from a hobby to a real business. I've had to quit my full-time job at the school and will be trying to focus on building a home-based business and going back to school.

I am happy to report that I made it to the regional SU conference in Cincinnati with my buds Glenna & Stephanie a couple weeks ago. We had an awesome time, learned some new techniques that I am looking forward to experimenting with and incorporating into some classes and workshops. I might even need to scrapbook some of the pictures we took over the weekend like this one:



Oh, and here is what I ended up doing for my swaps. Since I knew I was planning to make lots (and in retrospect, still could have made many more there were SO many people with wonderful swaps to trade with!) I changed my design a little from the last card I had posted last month. I made the same card in 3 different color schemes just so I wouldn't use up all my stash of a certain color and so I wouldn't get bored stamping the same thing over and over. I ended up making 56 cards to swap and traded them all away, so when I came home with 56 different card ideas...the girls and I were just gaga over them. I've (of course) added a few more stamp sets to my wishlist, but got many more ideas for sets that I already own. Hooray!





Some things to look forward to seeing here are: "magic" cards, techniques using reinkers, and my on-going perdonal dilemna - do I, or do I not need to own a Big Shot Die-Cut Machine???

Falling Leaves

This card I am very proud of. I always start by looking at ideas online (www.splitcoaststampers.com normally)but this time I strayed far enough from the idea - choosing my own colors, using different stamps, painstakingly figuring out measurements, etc. - that I consider it my own. The card itself is Soft Suede from the new In Colors, the leaves are Elegent Eggplant, Mellow Moss, and Dusty Durango (also an In Color). Stamps are from the Falling Leaves set, another of my new favorites. Picture is a little dark, but it looks SO nice in person, I am thinking about using this for my swap to bring to Regionals next month.

Circle Circus cards

Glenna ordered this stamp set and now I have to add it to my wish list! We could have spent the whole weekend making cards with JUST this set. It's SO cute. And honestly, in the catalog, it didn't do anything for me...I wasn't going to get this one. Wonder how many more would be my new favorite stamp sets if I just saw them in action???

Great Friend cards

I have lots and LOTS of cards to share. My BFF Glenna came up to visit for the whole weekend. (We have 9 kids between us, so both of us getting a WHOLE weekend away is truly a rarity!) I will put up the pictures in a few different posts by stamp set.