Boy, how time flies

I can't believe it- I just looked at the date of my last post and noticed that it has been six weeks since my last post. When I started this blog I was determined that it was not going to beat myself up if I didn't post regularly. While that is a good plan it is a bit rediculous that I haven't found any time in the last 6 weeks to even write a small post. So we'll see what happens in the coming days!

Today I am grounded at home with a sick little one. However, he doesn't act the least bit sick! The stomach bug during the night has confirmed that he is sick but that has not slowed him down one ounce. I just wish he would want to lay on the couch for awhile.

And I can't even distract him with the normal favorite cartoon, Clifford. Caleb decided to clean the TV by repeatedly spraying carpet cleaner into the button panel. (Carpet cleaner from the aforementioned stomach attack!) Now the TV either has no sound or will just start increasing in sound without pushing a button until it gets so loud you can't stand it. Hopefully it will all dry out and be fine. Otherwise, Caleb may have to have a serious talk with Dad tonight!

Sketch Challenge

This was my first time to make a card using a sketch challenge.  I see them on Splitcoast Stampers all of the time but I haven't had the time to do one until now.  Beate Johns has a blog that I follow and every weekend she has a sketch and you can make a card using that sketch.  So this weekend I was determined that I was going to make a card using her sketch.  I turned the sketch to the side but kept the layout exactly as she had it.

Here are the details:

I took an 8x4 inch piece of SU Kraft cardstock and folded it to make a 4x4 inch card.  Then a put a layer of SU Riding Hood Red that I had embossed using the Textile Cuttlebug embossing folder.  After that I added a strip of Kraft cardstock that I had paper pierced along the edge and then a narrower strip of Riding Hood Red.  I attached 3 silver brads to that strip and added it to the card.  The I stamped using Riding Hood Red ink on Kraft cardstock an image from Pocket Silhouettes from SU.  I added this final layer to the card front with dimensionals.  

It was a fairly easy card but I just love the look of the Red on Kraft.  Enjoy!

Disaster...averted

Have you ever had a moment when your heart stopped beating?  I just did!!  I was helping Jenna with her homework and I kept thinking that I smelled something funny.  Since Micah is the one that is usually in trouble I didn't worry too much because he was sleeping.  Then Caleb comes around the corner with his hands behind his back...that's always trouble!  I finally get him to show me his hands and they are covered in nail polish.  Not a soft pink nail polish but a dark plum colored nail polish.  Then the investigation began....where was the rest of that nail polish and what was it on?  The bad news was that it was all over my beautiful, fairly new berber carpet in my bedroom.  I was imagining buying some large rug to cover up a lot of carpet!!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love the internet?  Well, let me tell you it has saved my life on many occasions.  So once I saw the nail polish I ran to the computer and googled "nail polish stain in carpet".  At first I was discouraged because it said the trim the stain out of the carpet which is impossible to do with berber carpet.  Then I found another site that said to use some mixture of dry cleaning fluid and ammonia.  (I don't know about you but I usually don't keep dry cleaning fluid close at hand!!)  

Finally I found a site that had a suggestion that I could easily try.  In case you ever need this information it was to pour hot water over the stain and keep it wet throughout the cleaning process.  Then spray the stain with hairspray and pour rubbing alcohol over it.  Well, believe it or not it seems to have worked- it took quite a lot of scrubbing and reapplying the cleaners.  Worst case there might be a little pink tinge to the carpet but it looks like it all came out.

So I am relieved and Caleb doesn't know it but he should be too!  

What a week!

This week is going to be jam packed!  Jenna starts back to school on Wed. so there is lots to do to get ready for that.  

We also celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary on Tuesday.  We were able to get away for a nice weekend in San Antonio what was a big treat.  After all of the frustrations with my surgery this summer it was so nice to do something normal again.  

On top of all of that I am so addicted to watching the Olympics!  It is so fun to watch all of the events and cheer for the USA.  The kids are really catching the Olympic spirit and cheering right along.  Micah mimics everything that he hears and so we hear him going around the house saying "Go, SA".  The kids visited the swimming pool this weekend with their grandparents and Caleb was practicing swimming like Michael Phelps!  This is pretty good for someone who wouldn't even get in the pool at the beginning of summer.

Hopefully in the middle of all of this I will get a chance to be creative.  I'll keep you posted on that progress!

Bella Rose Monogram Card Sets

This is a set of cards that I made as a gift for my sister.  When I first received the new Stampin' Up! Bella Rose Designer Series Paper I knew that I was absolutely going to have to make something for my sister.  You see, her last name is Rose so anytime I see something with roses I think of her.  This was a fun and fairly easy set to make- I made six cards and tied them together with the envelopes.

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin' Up!

Paper: Bella Rose DSP, Pink pirouette, Riding Hood Red (all Stampin' Up!)

Punches: 1-1/4, 1-3/8, Scallop Circle (all Stampin' Up!)

Ribbon:  Pink Dotted Organdy Ribbon from Michaels

Painted Card

This was a fun card to make and used a technique that I had been wanting to try for a few weeks.  I had trouble finding just the right overlay.  I first learned this technique in a class taught by Tim Holtz when I attended a Creating Keepsakes University in Houston in earlier this summer.

To achieve this look you take a clear transparency that is screenprinted.  The one that I used when I learned this technique was screenprinted with black and I loved the look of that.  I have searched all over and I have not found one in black that I could buy locally.  I did find this one at our local Archiver's store last week that is screen printed in silver.  It was made by Hambly Screen Prints- I checked their website and they do have lots of different styles and colors to choose from.

Once you cut the overlay to your desired size you paint the overlay on one side with Adirondack's Acrylic Paint Dabber (I used the color Lettuce which is a great match for Stampin' Up!'s Old Olive Cardstock.  Then lay this directly onto your cardstock.  The paint dries and acts as a glue to hold the overlay on the card.  You can see the detail in the photos where it gives a neat texture to the look of the card.  You could achieve a similar look of this card just by placing a colored piece of cardstock behind the overlay but it would be lacking the textured appearance.

I enjoyed trying out this technique again and was happy with the look that it gave to the card.

Supplies:

Cardstock:  Old Olive and Not Quite Navy- Stampin' Up!

Overlay:  Hambly Screen Prints

Sentiment:  from Stampin' Up! set A Beautiful Thing

Paint:  Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber (Lettuce)

Misc.: Spellbinders Nestabilities, Versamark Pad, Silver Embossing Powder

Sale Flyer

Here is the sale flyer!

New Stampin' Up! Catalog available today

The new Fall and Winter Idea Book and Catalog is available to view online here.  There are a few stamp sets that are on sale for 15% off.  I am having trouble attaching the flyer to this post.  I will keep working on it but for now you can click here to see the flyer.  

Sea World Page 2

This week I have been working on another page to match the Sea World page that I posted before.  After we complete a page following the directions in the course she encourages us to make another page and use the elements that we have learned so that we get more experience.  I am actually catching on to some of the techniques enough that I can do them without having to look back at the instructions.  

I decided to continue with the Sea World pictures so that hopefully I can have all of our vacation photos done in a scrapbook by the time this course is complete.  

If you have never tried digital scrapbooking it really is amazing.  I am thrilled every day with how easy it is to find little shortcuts that make something that looks difficult seem so easy.  And as always I can't recommend the classes that I am taking from Jessica Sprague enough- she really makes learning fun!

Supplies:

Jessica Sprague's Digi: In Deep Week one course materials

Digital Scrapbooking Class

This week I started the next class from Jessica Sprague.  I can't believe all of the things that I have learned in just one lesson!  She really teaches some amazing thing and really adds a lot of detail to the projects.  I have taken some other digital scrapbook classes in the past and Jessica's are by far the best.

For this layout I continued with pictures from our vacation this summer.  The second stop on our vacation was to spend three days at Sea World.  The kids love it there so much and we all had a great time.  

Love You Card

Better late than never.  Here is the card that I mentioned earlier.  This card features the new Stampin' Up! set called Dreams du Jour.  I love this image and how it turned out.  If I could change anything I would like to have this image slightly larger.  Anyway, I was happy with how the card came out.  I also used two of the new Stampin' Up! In Colors for 2008-2009.  They are Pacific Point and Kiwi Kiss.  I have to say that I really love these new colors!  There are six new colors and they are all beautiful.  I will be featuring them in my next stamp class at the end of August or first of September.  I also embossed the Pacific Point layer with the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder and punched the edge of the card with the new Scallop Border Punch (this new punch is really cool!).  The image was colored with Koh-i-noor pencils and blended with blending stumps and odorless mineral spirits.  I was so happy with how the colors blended and shaded.  It really made the image beautiful.  

Supplies Used:

Paper:  Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Summer Sun, Whisper White all from Stampin' Up!

Stamps: Dreams du Jour from Stampin' Up!

Ribbon: Olive Twill Ribbon from Stampin' Up!

Ink: Stampin' Up! Basic Black

Misc.:  Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, Stampin' Up! Scallop Edge Punch, Koh-i-noor pencils, odorless mineral spirits, blending stumps

Jenna's Birthday Card

My little girl will be turning six this Friday!  I can't believe the years have gone so quickly.

Today I stamped a birthday card to give to her using one of my new Stampin' Up! sets.  This set is called Sock Monkey and will be available in the new catalog which is coming out on August 11.  I was able to preorder a couple of sets from the new catalog but I am anxious to see what else is new.  I'm sure I'll be getting some new stamps in a few weeks!

I stamped the monkey image and the cupcake image onto Whisper White cardstock and then colored with the Koh-i-noor pencils that I ordered from Gina K. Designs.  I used odorless mineral spirits and blending stumps to blend the colors together and give the monkey a shaded look.  I love how this makes it have more dimension.  I also colored the cupcake and the cut it out and added it with a dimensional onto the monkey's arm to look like he was holding the cupcake.  Then I layered onto Rose Red (which I also used for the card base) as well as a retired Designer Series Paper.  I used this because I really wanted to pull in the pink and make it look like a "girly" card.  The sentiment is from the Inque Boutique set called Birthday.  All of the stamping was done with a Stampin' Up! Basic Black ink pad.

Check back tomorrow for another card using one of the new stamp sets as well as some new colors that Stampin' Up! has released for the coming year.  And best of all this card will feature a new scalloped border punch.  If you've ever stamped with me before you know how much I love my punches and this one is wonderful!  

See you tomorrow!

Lil' Laura Ingalls

I finally got around to finishing my final layout from the Jessica Sprague's "Now We're Rocking with Photoshop" class.  (Which is a good thing since the next class called Digi: In Deep is starting today)  This layout is done as a single layout that will make two 12x12 pages.  It will have a cool look when it is printed that way with a continuing pattern on both pages.

These pictures were taken last fall when Jenna had character day at her school.  She was supposed to dress as a favorite character from a book.  Well, Jenna is a huge Little House on the Prairie fan and so she wanted to be Laura Ingalls.  Naturally, she wanted to be a character that was not something that you could just easily buy a costume for!!  So I pulled out my sewing machine, dusted it off, and made this outfit for her.  I thought it turned out pretty cute!  When we braided her hair for the final touch she looked adorable.  She even had a little tin bucket to carry her lunch in for the day.

Surgery Update

Well, I have been a little silent the last few weeks after having surgery.  I must say this surgery has required more recovery than I expected.  The pain has not been bad at all (thanks to a couple of weeks of great pain medicine!!) but the lack of energy has been the biggest thing for me.  I have barely had the energy or motivation to get anything done.  The last couple of days I have been up and around some but it has been slow going at best.  The dr. even gave me permission to drive again last Monday and I haven't even wanted to go anywhere- for those of you that know me well, you know that is a little out of character for me!!  I am hoping that I get back on my feet soon and back to normal!

Stamped Thank-You

I hope that everyone had a great July 4th weekend!  Ours was pretty busy but we had lots of fun.  

Today I actually had a few minutes to stamp a card.  A friend of mine was willing to watch the kids for me today while I was at a drs. appointment.  When I returned home my box of new stamping supplies from Gina K. Designs was waiting in the mailbox.  This new stamp that she recently released was in the box and I thought it would make a great thank-you card to send to my friend.  

Also inside the box was my new Koh-i-noor pencils and I tried them on this card also.  I loved the results!  I will be working on this technique a lot in the future.

Supplies:

Little Guy at Play stamp from Gina K. Designs, background paper from My Mind's Eye, Spellbinders rectangle nestabilities, Stampin' Up! Old Olive paper, Stampin' Up! Basic Black ink, Koh-i-noor pencils with odorless mineral spirits and blending stumps, Stampin Up! Old Olive Polytwill Ribbon, sentiment from Stampin' Up! Much Appreciated set

Wildlife Ranch again

The fourth and final wildlife ranch page!

Wildlife Ranch Page 2.  Ok, I know, I have really been posting alot of digital scrapbook pages the last couple of days.  I love the new Photoshop Elements 6 that I received for Mother's Day and I am having a blast learning some new techniques.  The supplies for this were all from the Jessica Sprague Now We're Rocking with Photoshop class supplies.

I will be posting some stamped items in the coming days.

These are two of my favorite pictures from the wildlife ranch.  These pictures capture the boy's personalities really well (except for the fact that Micah is inside the car instead of running wildly throughout the ranch!)

This layout is the second week's classes from the Jessica Sprague class that I am taking.  When we went on vacation last week we visited the Wildlife Ranch in San Antonio.  The kids had a blast seeing all of the animals and trying to feed them from the car.  They would get a little nervous when an animal would actually come and stick it's nose in the car!  The ostriches were the most aggressive- we kept the windows closed whenever they were around!

The funniest part of the visit was that Caleb (who is an aspiring Rock Star) decided that he really needed to play his guitar the entire trip through the ranch.  I am sure that we are the first people who have serenaded the animals in such a fashion!  He did finally decide to come and take a closer look at the animals just as we came to the ostriches.  Suddenly an ostrich was pecking on the window because he could see the food.  We were all laughing and hoping that the ostrich couldn't actually break the window when Caleb suddenly jumped up and said "Oh, I have to sing a song about this".  Thus ended our brief bit of silence on the drive!  

The funniest things about Caleb's songs that he "writes" are that apparently they all have to include the phrase "oh yeah, today" multiple times.  Maybe we should teach him some new words!

Digital Scrapbooking Class

This was my first project for a digital scrapbooking class that I am taking.  The website is great and I can't say enough about how wonderful the tutorials are from Jessica Sprague.  Visit jessicasprague.com to learn more about her classes.

This is a picture of me with my youngest son Micah the day that we brought him home from the hospital.  I think this is my favorite picture that we have of him when he was first born.  It is unusual for me to be in pictures with the kids because I am usually the one taking all of the pictures!

Supplies:  All supplies were downloads from Jessica Sprague's Now We're Rocking with Photoshop class materials.