Scenic Season Card - Take Two

OK...I'm back once again to see if I can get this picture to load. If you saw yesterday's post you saw that I was finally getting my act together and had squeezed in 15 minutes to my day to be able to update my blog only for the stupid computer to give me an error message when trying to upload. So......here I am this morning hoping the upload works this time....here it goes....keep your fingers crossed.......



Yeah! It worked. So.......if you missed yesterday's post, this is the "sweet and simple" card that my Stamp Camp members asked me to create. They wanted something with only one or two layers of paper and one quick stamp so that they could create a stack of cards in a short period of time. I think this fits the request. This is the Scenic Seasons stamp set from Stampin' Up and it also comes with a verse for the inside of the car as well.

If all goes well, I will be posting pictures the rest of this week of the projects that I am offering during my Santa's Workshop event on December 12. Hope to see you there!

Stampingly yours,

Tina

Scenic Season - Card #3 for November for Stamp Camp

I'm baaaaack! I know, I know, everytime I get used to blogging on a daily basis, I do it for like a week and then I seem to disappear for weeks on end. This blogging this is really hard to keep going on a daily basis on top of working full time, handling the household and taking time to create. Does not leave much time for sleep, much less taking pictures, uploading to the computer and posting to this blog. I have already made this my #1 resolution for the New Year though, to make time to get this blog done! Ok, enough whining and making excuses.......

Tonight I wanted to share with you the third Christmas Card that we will be making in this weekend's Stamp Camp. Some of "my regulars" asked for a card that was very simple, perhaps a one layer card with one stamp, in order for them to make multiples of. This is the card I came up with. I love this stamp set. You can dress it up and make it a very elaborate card, or use it as I have here for a simple, yet nice, card.

*&#*&%*^*! Ok - here I am, finally trying to update my blog and now I am getting an error message that says "Unable to upload due to internal problem". I am going to just spit!

OK, I'm going to save this little post and exit then come back and hopefully it will allow me to upload my pic.....stay tuned.

Meet your new best friend!

Well......the above photo doesn't look like much does it? In fact you are probably thinking what in the world is that? Is it a square of parmesean cheese? A pat of butter? Spongebob Square Pants in the nude? Well.....no. It is not none of those things. What this little 2" x 2" little square is......is your next best friend!!!!

I know you don't believe me now, but once you meet him, you will totally understand! This is actually an Adhesive Remover that is sold by Stampin' Up! and me and him have became very close this past week.

Have you ever designed a card, a scrapbook layout or some other papercrafting project only to get to the very end and notice that the back of the project is covered with glue that was stuck to your surface and has now adhesived itself to the back of your project? Or, sometimes you may glue on that last layer on the front of your card only to have a little extra glue or adhesive "sticking out" from that beautiful layer? Then what do you do? You probably do what I used to do and try to scrape it off with your nail or rub it with your finger and then you have usually a little black globby mess or a smudge on your beautiful artwork, right? Well - say goodbye to adhesive smudges and helllloooooo to your new little best friend!

This little guy works just like an eraser does for pencil marks! You simply rub it nice and easy across any little pieces or smudges of adhesive on your artwork and voila! It disappears with ease and no tell-tale smudge marks remain on your project!

You can pick up one of these little cuties on my Stampin' Up! site by clicking the "Shop Now" button up on the right corner of my blog or just by giving me a call or an email! The item number is 103684. The best part - - this little guy is only $3.50 and last foreva!

Hope everyone has a great Friday and an even better weekend!

Stampingly yours,
Tina

Turkey Nuggets - Kids Craft

Good morning!! I have another post to share with you today that is for the kids. I will warn you the photo I have is horrible since I had to take it with my cell phone in order to get it posted this morning, but I will try to get a better picture and post in the next couple of days when I can get home before dark so I have some good lighting to take it with.




This is definitely a children's project - nothing fancy about it - but something I thought some of you would like to make with your children for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday as I have had a couple of request for crafts that smaller children can do.

This little turkey would probably look a little more "substantial" if you used a Hershey Nugget candy bar rather than a mini-hershey bar, but I had to use what I had on hand! The Nugget's are just a little taller and would give a little better support to the head and tail feathers. Another cuter addition would be to use the tiny little googley eyes that you can find at any craft store. I only had really big googley eyes so I had to improvise with just hole punched paper.

The supplies you will need to make this little guy is Stampin' Up!s Scalloped Circle Punch (Item 109043) $15.95 and the 1" circle punch (Item No. 109046) $10.95. Then of course a candy bar of your choice along with various "turkey color" cardstocks. In my sample, for his body I used Chocolate Chip Patterned Designer Paper, along with Yoyo Yellow and Pumpkin Pie cardstock for the feathers. His little face was a circle from Creamy Caramel Cardstock and then his beak is simply a 1/2" square of Yoyo yellow cardstock folded in half.

I got this idea from another SU! demonostrators blog, Kimberley Morris . Her little flock of turkeys are very cute and have a much better photo if you would like to check hers out. She used the googley eyes which also makes the turkeys much more cuter. Once I get to the store to buy some of those little eyes and some Nugget bars, I will certainly make a much more proper turkey to post, but wanted to share this idea with you this morning while it was hot on the brain!

Make it a great day!

Tina

Pumpkin Carving Time

Sorry ladies, no cute cards or projects today. Last night was "Family Night" with pumpkin carving on the agenda. So, since I did not get a chance to create last night, figured I'd at least share the photos of the carving events with you!

Hope you have a great day and do something fun that you want to do do! Tonight I am hoping to get ready for an upcoming workshop I have at my friend's Sharon's house and then hopefully have some time to also create some Thanksgiving treats. Stay tuned!

Tina

Loads of Christmas Love - November Stamp Camp Project #2

Happy Tuesday bloggers! This is going to be a quick post, but I didn't want to miss out on posting today. Below is a picture of one of the holiday cards we will be doing at the November Stamp Camp. In my September Stamp Camp all the ladies just LOVED the Loads of Love Stamp Set with the pickup truck and all the many accessory stamps that comes with it. Since one of the stamps in the set just happened to be a Christmas Tree I could not resist making up a card for them to create next month! I love the way it turned out with the tree looking like it is sitting down in the truck instead of the whole thing teetering on the hood or something. I got this look by using the technique "masking" which I think will be a new technique for most of my regular ladies that attend the Stamp Camp.

If you would like to join us for next month's edition of Holiday Stamp Camp, be sure to drop me a note or shoot me an email. As mentioned before, the cost is $15.00, but that class fee is waived if you decide to place an order of $25 or more on the day of the class. Of course, no purchase necessary though! I am also offering the November stamp Camp as a "kit to go" for those of you that cannot attend the class in person. For $17.00 I will pre-stamp all the images and send them to you along with all the pre-cut pieces for all projects with photos for illustration on how to put all items together.

Have a great week. I hope to be back tomorrow with more news to share!

Stampingly yours,

Tina

November Stamp Camp Project #1 - Dasher Gift Card Holder

Wow!!! What a crazy month it has been and it flew by so fast! Sorry I have not been posting on here at all this month. No matter how hard I try to find the time to post, there just never is enough time in the day. Know what I mean? Well, I am starting a new little "time management" course this week and hopefully that will help me in staying focused on getting everything done that I would like to get done. We shall see!




Anyhoo - the next Stamp Camp classes is scheduled for November. Because of everyone's busy schedule with the start of the upcoming holidays, I am offering this stamp camp twice in November. The first one is scheduled for Saturday, November 14 at 10:00 a.m. and the second will be the following Saturday, November 21, again at 10:00 a.m. As always, Stamp Camp fee is $15.00 which includes all projects. However, if you place an order with me that day of $25.00 or more, your class fee is waived for the day!





In November we will be creating a couple different Christmas Cards, some gift tags and a Gift Card Holder. Below is one of the projects we will be creating next month. I hope you like it as much as I do! When you untie the brown bow at the bottom, the card opens up to reveal a pocket for a Gift Card! (or it will hold cash just as well!). With so many people giving Gift Cards these days, I thought this would make a cute project for everyone to make and something just about anyone can use!

Stay tuned as I will be posting a few of the other items we will be making next month throughout the next couple of weeks for you to see. If you want to attend either (or both) of the classes in November, please leave me a comment here or shoot me an email. The seats are already filling up as I have limited seats for each class.

Make it a great week!

Tina

Whooooo wants to attend Owl Card Class??

Here are the cards we will be making in the next card class scheduled for October 17 at 10:00 a.m. There are only 4 seats left for this class, so if you are interested in attending you need to "Give me a hoot" really quick to reserve your spot. The class fee is $15.00 and it includes everything you need to make these three greeting cards. The ladies that attended my class this past weekend got to see these cards in person and they thought they were a hoot just like I do. I just love the card with the googly eyes!

I am in the process of creating the Christmas Card class which will be scheduled during the first part of November and I will send out information on that class as soon as it is available.

This Saturday, October 3rd, is National Card Making Day so take some time out of your busy weekend to create a card and send to someone you love. If you care enough to send the very best - you send a homemade card!

Stampingly yours,

Tina

Owl Together Now......

I have to say, I LOVE this stamp set. The sayings that come with these little owls are just a "hoot"! Below is a card I created that I thought would be cute for my family to use as a birthday card for someone. There are 4 of us in the family so that is why I chose to put 4 owls on the card - the sentiment reads "Something for you from owl of us!" - Isn't that just toooo cute?!?

This card was created using the sketch challenge over at stamping411. I cheated a little on the sketch but it served my purpose! You should pop over and play along with us. It is always fun to see the sketch that everyone is given and then to see the different ways everyone uses it!

That's it for now. Stay tuned this week for the other "owl" cards I have created which I will be offering as a Owl Together card class for next month.

Stampingly yours,

Tina

Sympathy Card - TSSC87 Challenge Card

Happy Saturday Morning! I hate that I missed the last two days worth of posts but my camera and internet would just not cooperate! Got the new internet installed and finally got the camera working today - so here is my Sympathy card that I promised days ago!

This card was created using Technostampers Sketch Challenge 87. You should click on over and create something with us! You have until Sunday night at 8 p.m. to post your card. Anyway, this card is very simple as you can see but I think it turned out nice. I used Whisper White and Basic Black cardstocks, white grosgrain ribbon and the floral stamp is from Eastern Blooms Stamp Set. The sentiment is from a stamp set which is quickly becoming one of my favorite - Teeny Tiny Wishes. When I first got that set, I thought to myself "These words are so tiny, I will never use them!".....well, as you can see I have used them on about the last 4 cards or so that I have posted so they definitely come in handy!

Well, that is my share for today. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Stampingly yours,

Tina

Pumpkin Patch Treat Bag

Good morning! I had another card to share with you today that I created for another online challenge, but wouldn't you know when I went to take the picture, my camera batteries were dead! Ugh - just hate when that happens. My goal is to get batteries and get that posted tomorrow.

However, I didn't want the day to go by without posting something to share, so I thought I would show this "Project of the Month" designed by Stampin' Up! I think these are too sweet and am thinking about making these for co-workers and my daughter's friends for the upcoming spooky holiday!

The stamp set used is called Pumpkin Patch from the new Holiday Mini Catalog and I think are really cute. I prefer "cute" to scarey myself. The cardstock used is Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White and the inks are Basic Black, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie.

Hopefully this project will inspire you to create something for the little goblins in your life for the upcoming holiday!

Stampingly yours,

Tina

Christmas Time is Coming!

I decided in order to help get my "mojo" rolling and to force me to to create and post on a daily basis, I needed to be pushed along by participating in some online sketch challenges. So.....I decided to participate in Stamping 411's sketch this week and created a very simple Christmas card:

As you can see this card is very simple and took no time to put together. It uses the "Dasher" stamp from Stampin' Up! and then the poinsettia (at least I am saying it is a poinsettia for this purpose) is from Eastern Blooms. My daughter said it looked like a spring flower trying to be a poinsettia but I think it fits. What do you think? The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes and is a great stamp set to have on hand for every sentiment imagineable.

I hope you enjoy this card. I am thinking about having a Holiday Card Class using this Dasher Stamp Set to creat perhaps 4 or 5 different cards. If that sounds like something you would be interested in, let me know and I will certainly get one scheduled!

Stay tuned tomorrow for a card from another sketch challenge.

Stampingly yours,

Tina

Thinking of You...Basic Card Class, Sept 26

Yes, I am back! Everytime I finally get organized to start posting every day something happens and I am knocked back off schedule, but hopefully I can get back to posting again everyday starting this week! Keep your fingers crossed for me!

I wanted to start this week off with showing you the last and fourth card that we will be making in the upcoming Basic Card Class on September 26. Again, these are all very basic, simple cards with no ribbons and not lots of layers, but just sweet and simple designs to get everyone used to paper cutting and stamping, and actually pulling out their stamps and papers and using them and not just putting them on a shelf because they dont know what to do with them! :)

This card uses the Stampin' Up! stamp set called Eastern Blooms which is a set of stamps with various floral images perfect for a variety of cards. The sentiment is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set which is a very good set to have on hand since it has a sentiment included in the set for just about any occasion and/or holiday.

If you have not signed up for the class on the 26th and would like to come, please email me soon! It is only $10.00 which includes everything you need to to make 4 cards and learn the basics of card making and stamping.

Tomorrow I will share a very sweet and simple Christmas Card I was able to put together over the weekend!

Stampingly Yours,

Tina

Very Thankful.....

This is one of my favorite stamp sets in the catalog this year and I was so happy when the little UPS man delivered it to me yesterday! Not only is the stamp set cute, it is practical, affordable ($14.95 for 4 stamps), and it also "makes a difference" in people's lives. Stampin' Up! donates $2.00 from each sale of this stamp set to Ronald McDonald House Charities.

I plan on using the upcoming long holiday weekend to pull this stamp set out and give it some inkin' love! If you are in the market for a set of "thank you" stamps, please consider purchasing this set. I will also be holding a class in the upcoming weeks where we will create a set of thank you notes using this entire stamp set which would make a perfect gift set for someone for the upcoming holiday season, or a nice set of cards for you to have on hand for all those last minute thank you cards you always need. Stay tuned here for more details soon!

We are off to our son's first football scrimmage tonight so once again I have no time for creating, but like I said that is my plan for the long 3 day weekend ahead so hopefully I will have lots of things to share with you next week.

Stampingly yours,

Tina

Holiday Shopping has arrived!

Starting today you can shop from our Holiday Mini Catalog! There are lots of stamps and tons of ideas for the upcoming holiday season including Halloween and Thanksgiving as well! These items are only available from September 1 - January 4 so make sure and check out the new items now! If you would like me to send you a mini catalog in the mail, please email me with your name and mailing address. Or, if you prefer to shop online, you can shop direct from my online store at www.tinarucker.stampinup.net and view all of these new items in your pjs - - I won't tell!! I am placing my order soon for some of my favorite new holiday items so stay tuned for posts on those items over the next several weeks!

Sorry for such a short post this evening but it has been a long day and I have had no time for creating tonight! I hope everyone had a Terrific Tuesday. Have a great week!

Stampingly Yours,

Tina

Thinking Of You

Here is another card we will be creating in the "Basic Card Class" coming up on September 26th. I am sorry the photo appears a little fuzzy, it is much cuter in person!


This card was created using the Stampin' Pastels from Stampin Up! and makes it very easy to create a simple, but cute card in a matter of moments.

If you plan on attending the class on September 26th and have not registered, please be sure to send me a quick email or post here that you will be coming so I can save your seat, as seating is limited.

I hope to see you on the 26th!

Stampingly Yours,

Tina

At last......

...... a scrapbook layout! Since we got back from our Familymoon I have not had any time to sit down and scrapbook our wedding pictures. This Sunday it will be one month - can you believe it! Time has flown by. Today I was determined to get some pages in my wedding album and I did just that. I never scrapbook just one photo to a page but I was determined to do it this time for the first page of this album. This was not exactly what I had in mind, but at least I got it done, right?! The papers are from the Emporium Paperpack from Close to My Heart. Our wedding was in Champagne and Black colors so I thought this paper would go well for the entire album. I am off to bed now but wanted to get this post up before I turned in. I have a busy weekend ahead so I will be back posting on Monday. Make it a great weekend and hug your loved ones!

Stampingly Yours,

Tina

Stampin' Pastels

No time for artwork today, as I am getting ready to head out to order my daughter's High School ring! YIKES! But I did want to share a Stampin' Up! product with you today before I leave. It is the Stampin' Pastels. Just as the catalog indicates, you can enjoy artist-quality, blendable pastels with this exclusive set of chalks that SU! offers. The great thing is that it includes a chalk for all the exclusive Stampin' Up! colors so you can coordinate it with all our inks, cardstocks, ribbons, etc.! They are so easy to use and the final product makes everyone look like an artists - even if you are the one that always claims "I cannot even draw a stick person!". :o) It even comes with a little handy dandy eraser to erase any mistakes you may make going outside the lines! Everyone who attends my Basic Card Class on September 26 will be getting their chance to use these and see what artists they can become!

Stay tuned for more artwork that I will be working on this weekend. I am also in the process of scheduling a Birthday Card Workshop and a Thank You Note workshop because everyone always needs those cards. - - Don't forget, when you care enough to send the very best - you stamp it yourself!

Make it a great night!

Tina

A little "Pickup" Card - Basic Card Class 9/26

Here is another card that we will be creating during the Basic Card Class scheduled on September 26th at 10:00 a.m. "....could use a little pickup!" Is that not the cutest!!

This little truck is "painted" using our Pastels and gives it that "faded old truck" look. This truck is from the Stampin Up! stamp set "Loads of Love". There are other items that you can haul in your truck including a Christmas Tree and a pile of hearts. There are also accessory stamp sets available to match up with this set which includes a camper, a 4-wheeler and even a jet ski!

If you would like to attend the class on September 26th be sure to send me an email or comment here so I can be sure and save you a seat! Seating is limited.

This basic stamp class is for all levels of stampers, from beginner stampers on up to "pros" at stamping and creating cards but they still simply want to get out of the house for some fun. This basic class is being offered for only $10.00 and you will leave with 4 handmade cards!

When you care enough to send the very best - - you stamp it yourself!

I look forward to seeing you on the 26th!

Stampingly yours,

Tina

Basic Stamping - Card Class Scheduled 9/26

Good morning! I am pleased to announce that my first shipment of Stampin Up! supplies finally arrived yesterday and I am eager to get started. Because a lot of you may be new to rubber stamping and/or card making, or are simply looking for a reason to get out of your house and make some fun, easy and quick cards, I am going to offer a "Basic Card Class" to get everyone started. It has been scheduled for Saturday, September 26 at 10:00 a.m. This little birdie Thank You card is just one of the quick and easy cards we will create at this first class. Stay tuned here on my blog for further information, or check out my Stampin Up! company website at www.tinarucker.stampinup.net for our products and my Event Calendar which will have all the class schedules posted on there.

Stampingly Yours, Tina

Guess Whooooo is now with Stampin Up!!

Yes, that is right! I have signed up with yet another direct sales company. I can hear all my friends now groaning saying "She did what?"

Well, I did, but it is the ONLY company I am with and I plan to keep it that way. As most of you know, I have been with another stamping/paper crafting company for quite a while but as my needs changed, I decided so should the company I was with. Both companies are great companies, but I just feel at this time in my life Stampin Up! suits my needs more, which in turn will most likely serve my customers more!

Below is a card (all be it very fuzzy - I do apologize) that I did at my upline, Janet Moore's house last month during her monthly stamp camp. This is the card that made me fall in love with Stampin Up! and owls in general. Isn't she just too cute!?!

If you like Stampin Up! or have never heard of Stampin Up! and want more information, please let me know! I would love to hear from you. I am in the process of putting together monthly Stamp Camps, Holiday Card Classes and much more in the upcoming months with my first class being in mid-September. Please check out my website at www.tinarucker.stampinup.net . I will have a Calendar of Events on there that I will be updating soon. You can also purchase items right online as well.

I would love to hear from anyone as to what types of classes or training they would like so I can schedule things that YOU would like.

Stampingly yours,

Tina

New Life, New Wife, New Me!!!

I'm baaaaaack!!! Hello fellow bloggers, and online friends and family! I know it has been a month or so since I have posted, but I have been a busy bee. As most you know, or should know probably by now, me and Jeff got married on July 30th! Just the two of us, along with our two children, went down to Cocoa Beach, FL and got married right there on the beach. We had a beautiful day for it, (although the other three will say it was extremely hot.......) not a cloud in the sky.

Moments after the wedding and a brief photo shoot (again, the other 3 would say it took forever to take photos) we changed clothes and boarded Carnival Sensation for a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas for our "Family-moon". What is a Family moon? That is when two families blend together and instead of the new husband and wife leaving the children behind for a traditional honeymoon, the entire family goes off on a "Family-Moon" to celebrate the merging of two families into one. (Don't worry, us adults still had our own cabin! :D ) We had an absolutely wonderful time. But, as all vacations must, it had to come to an end and we had to return home and get back to life itself.

So.....it has been almost 3 weeks since then and we have returned home, settled into married life, gotten the kids started back in school this week and life is starting to slowly return back to normal. Which means I am hoping to get back on my track of daily postings here on my blog!

I have lots of good news and new exicting things happen so I hope you continue to join me! I had my blog redesigned today to also reflect the new me!

Stay tuned!

Stampingly Yours,

Mrs. Tina Rucker

Week Countdown!!!!

It has been ages since I have been on here, and to think I had seemed to be finally getting the hang of posting daily or at least more regular. This planning a wedding the last 3 weeks has just put a kink in my blogging! I am not complaining though!!!!! I am one happy girl these days!

Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know I am on my "week countdown" to my wedding which is going to be July 30th. Taking a very brief "family-moon" (that is the "new" honeymoon where you take your children with you........we shall see how that goes - LOL) and will be getting back home and back to the daily grind of working on August 3!

I have some BIG plans for my scrapbooking and card making and paper projects in general during the month of August and can not wait to get back home full of energy to get started with them!!

Mom will be at home watching all our four-legged babies while we are gone (yes the headcount on those now are up to 3!!!! - Karma, Romeo and our new bundle of joy - Juliet) I am sure mom will not be referring to her as a "bundle of joy" by the time we return home. She is a 13 week old Golden Retriever puppy and is full of energy.....and apparently full of pee! LOL. She will go right outside and pee 4 times in a matter of 5 minutes and then walk right back in the back door and pee on the floor like that is what she is supposed to do. The last two days she has been doing very good with that so hopefully "Granny" wont have to deal with that while we are gone. :)

Please stay tuned during the month of August and hopefully I will get back in the full swing of daily posting with lots of artwork and more news on the papercrafting front!! I am very excited!

Reason for Missing.......

Hello fellow bloggers. I am so sorry I have not been on here for over a week. I was finally getting the hang of posting on "almost" a daily basis and then I completely fell off the wagon last week. There are reasons though........well, mainly one reason........Last Monday (the day after my last post) me and Jeff began discussions on finally setting a wedding date and we decided last week that are going to get married July 30. And by July 30, I mean 2009 - - - like 3 weeks away!!!! And, to top it off, we decided to get married in a completely different state! So........instead of paper crafting or blogging, or any other stuff along those lines, I have been buzzing around like a little bee trying to get marriage licenses, officiants, photographers, and a wedding dress all lined up which has kept me buzily buzzing this past week!

I am happy to report that everything has practically fell into place rather smoothly and we are set to get married on the 30th and the Clerk is overnighting the marriage license as we speak!

So......just wanted to let everyone out there know that yes, I am still alive, and yes, I am wanting to continue playing with paper! (The week before I of course happened to order all these new stamps and stuff and now they are just sitting very lonely in a box waiting on the day when I have time to "ink em up"! The rest of this week and part of next is filled with other last minute things to do but I am hoping by next weekend I can sit down and create!

Stay tuned!!!!!

My first Bella!

Thanks to my online friend Pat, I had my first "Bella" to create with today. I decided to use her to create a card to participate in the Stamps and Smiles Sketch Challenge today. And here she is:

Supplies used include CTMH Good Times Paperpack, CTMH Watercolor Pencils, CTMH Parchment Marker

I am seeing Stars and Stripes!

Happy Wednesday everybody! The work week is halfway over and I'm counting the days til my weekend starts! I wanted to share with you the card I was able to put together this evening:



Isn't she cute jumping with her little jumprope!! I haven't jumped rope in so long I am sure if I tried I would be seeing "stars" for sure! LOL

Well, if you have been following along, you know I have scrapbooked on and off for a long time and "dabbled" in cards at card classes (but those were very simple cards and definitely did not involve coloring!), but this past week or so I have jumped in to making cards and am loving it! Figured if I am jumping in, I might as well jump with both feet and so I decided to create this card for not only one but TWO challenges today!

First, I obtained this sketch from Mary Jo's blog for her Lunchtime Sketch Challenge #75. You should definitely come on over and play along with us - she is giving away some Blog Candy with this week's challenge that is too cute that you wouldn't want to miss out on!

Secondly, I am using this card to submit to this week's challenge of "Stars and Stripes" over at Crafty Creations Challenges. I had colored this little cutie a few nights ago and then found some cute patriotic paper at my LSS today that I thought fit her perfect. Then, lo and behold, when I got home from work today I found this challenge of Stars and Stripes so I thought it was just all a perfect fit!

Now that she seems to be all dressed and ready for the upcoming July 4th weekend, I think I am going to sit down and make some plans tonight for my own July 4th weekend!

Thanks for stopping by! Leave a comment and let me know you were here so I can come visit you too!

Tina

Supplies Used:
Stamps: CTMH Playday
Paper: CTMH Cardstock and DP from Scenic Route
Other: CTMH Watercolor Pencils, CTMH Daisy White Grosgrain Ribbon

Mojo Monday Card

Although MoJo Monday supplied the sketch, my "MoJo" was no where to be found last night unfortunately. I needed a baby boy card to send to a coworker today but I didn't have any "baby" stamps or anything else appropriate yet added to my stash so I got discouraged early on. However, I kept pressing on and knew my mom had gotten me the "Its a Boy" embossing set with my Cuttlebug this past weekend so this is what I came up with:

Sweet and simple, and to the point......."B for Boy" as we all learned in kindergarten! My coworker is a male so I didn't want to add to many embellishments anyway is what I kept telling myself. I guess it is kind of growing on me.

Supplies used include CTMH "Solo B" stamp, Cuttlebug "Its a Boy" embossing folder, Desert Sand Cardstock (CTMH), CTMH Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon, and some scrap papers from my scrap bin. :o)

Hope everyone has a scrap n' stamp happy week!

I'm a Happy Camper!

Lookie what I got in the mail today:

That's right - - - the new "Happy Camper" set from Cat's Pajamas! Just a little birthday present from me to me! Can't wait to ink it up and give it some lovin'! I need to make a baby boy card tonight and I am trying my darndest to see if there is anyway I can use this stamp set! LOL Guess not......so guess I'll just have to make two cards tonight! Woo Hoo!

Then......lookie what I got yesterday.......

Yes!!!!!!! A brand new Cuttlebug system for my birthday! (and this one I didn't even have to buy myself!).....even better! My mom purchased it for me for my birthday along with some cute little embossing plates. So I'm outta here to play with this little bug tonight to see how it works!

Happy Scrappin' and Stampin'!

Let's Play!

Well, last night I decided I wanted to participate in Tracy's ESS Sketch #42. Please go to her site and check it out - she is giving away some blog candy if enough ladies, or men, participate! Here is her link: http://eatsleepstamp.typepad.com/

I had just got this new Close to My Heart Stamp Set, Play Day, and figured now was as good a time to try her out as any. I think she turned out pretty cute for only my third card I have stamped, colored and created. Of course my internet would not come up last night so I am having to upload a picture from my cellphone here at work so the picture is not the best. :( I used the CTMH "Let's Get Together" paperpack and coordinating ribbons. I hope you like it!

Muddin "Hillbilly Style"

Didn't have time to be creative this past weekend so no pictures of cute cards or layouts to post today since we went up to the hills of Kentucky for the weekend. It was a very quick 2 day trip so traveling from SC to KY in such a short period of time made for a long trip, but we enjoyed it.

Main reason we went this week was for Jeff's niece's baby shower, however while we were there we had to fit in some 4-wheeling fun, since that would be Jeff's "main reason" to go to Kentucky anytime he gets a chance. Where we go in Kentucky is a coal mining town so the trails we ride on are actually old roads and trails that were cut out by the mining companies to get up into the mountains, strip the mountains and mine for coal. Some of the trails are years and years old, however we do happen to ride some fresh trails and end up at active mining stations every once in a while. I will have to post some more pictures later, but wanted to post some pictures today of the beautful mountainside views we do get to experience while riding.

MoJo Monday Card - Oh Baby!

This is the first time I have participated in a Sketch Challenge and I am pretty pleased with the way my card turned out. I just found out one of my best friends is expecting her second child at the end of this year and I wanted to create a card to send her to congratulate her and her husband. Since I am new at making cards, figured I would dive right in with MoJo Monday and see if it helped get my "Mo Jo" going. ;)

I used Close to My Heart - Emporium Papers with feature colors Sweet Leaf and Cocoa. I colored her with my CTMH watercolor pencils, except for her skin which I used Parchment CTMH ink marker. The digital image I used is once again Gingersnaps "Oh Baby!" from C.C. Designs at All That Scraps. I am so glad I got to use this image again already. I think she is too cute!

Thanks for stopping by!

Oh, Baby!

Hello! Sorry I did not get a chance to post yesterday, that very quick trip up and back to the hills of Kentucky over the weekend wore me out and I could not force myself over to the computer last night to post. But I am here now!





As promised, below is a photo of the altered tin that I made for the baby shower last weekend. Very simple, but I thought it was cute and served the purpose. I made it to the match the Baby Shower card I posted last week to hold to hold a gift card I purchased for the baby and mom. I personlized it with the babies initial and her name across the lid so that it could be kept and used perhaps to hold qtips or whatever other small items in the baby's diaper bag. All items used were CTMH, except for the tin itself.

I just found out today that one of my bestest friends, Lindsay, is expecting her 2nd child in December! I would say somethings in the water, but since they live several states apart I guess that is not the cause! ;) I am excited, because that means I get to use my new "Oh, Baby!" stamp set again. Didn't know when I was ever going to get to use that thing again, especially didn't think I would get to so soon!

Well, the house is all to my self for a few hours so I'm off to see if I can create something. Have a great week!

Follow your dreams.......

Sorry for the crooked picture, I apparently need to go take some camera lessons! Anyway, here is a copy of the card I put together to go with Sydney's graduation gift that I posted yesterday. I did not have any stamps whatsoever that were "graduation themed" but I did come across this sentiment in a retired CTMH stamp set I have and I thought the sentiment fit a graduation perfectly.

I random stamped white card stock for the background paper for the card. Colors include Pink Carnation, Kiwi and Smokey Plum.

I created a few other projects today but some are gifts for an upcoming baby shower this weekend so I will have to wait until later to post. I am headed out of town for the weekend but will be back blogging on Monday!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Happy Scrapping!

Congratulations to the Graduate!

My boss' daughter graduated from high school and has decided to go out of state to College in the fall. For a graduation gift I decided to make her a set of personalized stationary to help her keep in touch with family and friends once she heads out. This set was originally designed by my CTMH upline, Amy McGrew, and I have now made several sets to share. I wanted to share with you how it turned out. I think it is cute and I hope she likes it. I do apologize again that I can't seem to get the lighting just right to take these photos. I assure you the cards and case look much better in person!













I used a tin DVD case to hold a set of 10 personalized note cards and then once the cards are gone she will still have the tin as a keepsake. All paper used is Close to My Heart (Colonial White, Emporium Papers, Sweet Leaf Cardstock). Congratulations Syd!

Kids Scrapbook Class - July 18th

Hi ladies. I am sorry I have not been on here in the past several days. I was busy creating new gift cards and layouts all weekends and have lots to share but am having trouble getting the photos of the products to come out clear. :( So, no pictures to share just yet, but am working on getting them done.

In the meantime I wanted to share the information on the Kids Club starting up July 18th. Every month the kids will make a minimum of 4 12x12 layouts. Class fee is $18.00 and comes with all materials to make their projects plus some left over which will carry over from class to class. Seats are limited to get your children signed up now if interested.

Out of town? No problem. All kits are available as "Kits to Go" and can be made at home as well! I am very excited to get this club moving along and so are the girls that are already signed up for it.

Stay tuned for more photos coming soon. I have ordered a few new stamp sets and can't wait to share them here with everyone.

Happy Stamping!

Oh Baby!!

Meet Ginger! This is one of the new June releases from All That Scraps. This is my very first digital image, and actually my first stamp that I have actually colored and not just stamped in one color. For my first one, I am very pleased. :)

As soon as I saw this image earlier this week, I knew I had to give it a try. I have a baby shower coming up next week and I thought this would make a very cute card. Hopefully she will like it.

All materials used, besides the image, are from Close to My Heart. Colors include Blush, Sweet Leaf and Crystal Blue. The flowers are 'Just Blooms' also from CTMH. I colored Ginger with CTMH's water color pencils.

Well, off to clean up my paper mess and then hit the bed. Tomorrow is Friday and the start of a weekend. I can't wait!

Kid's Club - Father's Day Card

Good morning ladies. I wanted to post the Father's Day card that my Kid's group will be making this weekend. Sorry the lighting is not really good, another excuse I have of buying a new camera! :)

Although this is a simple card, I thought it turned out cute. I didn't want to get too detailed with it since my Kid's group consist of ages 4-9. I hope they like it!

All products are CTMH with colors being Desert Sand, Dutch Blue and Colonial White. They will also be making a photo frame for their dad's desk or dresser which I will try and post later.

Make it a great day!

Up, Up and Away!!!!!!

Well, today me and Jessica joined my friend Cindy and her girls, Kaylee and Kendall, to go see Disney's new movie UP in 3-D. I am not one that usually watches Disney Pixar movies, and neither is Jessica, but since the boys were away 4-wheeling today we thought we would have a girl's afternoon and check out this new movie. After all - you got those groovy 3-D glasses to wear during the movie - right!

Well......I still cannot decide whether I liked the movie or not. I don't want to say too much on here in case some of you might want to go see it, but all I can say is SAD, SAD and more SAD! Who wudda thunk? Here I thought I was going to see some cute little kiddie cartoon movie - - it was not! Yeah, it had cute parts with the talking dog and the cute little "Wilderness Explorer Boy", but SAD and more SAD was just sprinkled throughout the entire movie. My dear ole friend Cindy did point out right before the movie started that "someone" was going to be hitting the big 4-0 in less than 25 days (Yes, Kendall, I am the one your mother was talking about!!) Poor little Kendall, was like, "Who, who, who is?" thinking it was her! LOL. Well, anyways maybe at age 39++ I am just getting emotional at movies....who knows, but it was just sad, and I let everyone with me know I did not like all that sadness on a Saturday afternoon.

Overall, the movie was cute and had a good message, although I think a lot of it was over small children's heads.

If I did not have enough sadness at that movie, we came home and Jessica wanted to watch Hotel for Dogs on TV since we could not find anything else to watch on the 500 channels we have and darn if that movie didn't have sad parts in it too (I am a sucker for dogs though and any dog being chased by a mean old dog catcher is going to get me moody!). Anyways, today we had a good day. Tomorrow my plan is to kick butt on cleaning up this house and then spend the afternoon trying to be crafty and create some greeting cards. I been stalking so many good blogs the last two weeks or so, about time for me to get crafty and post some of my own!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

What's in the Bag???

FREEBIES - - -that's what! Yes, you guessed it.....it is that time again at Harris Teeter when they triple manufactures coupons and I go and get me some free stuff. I was a little late getting there this week so a lot of stuff was sold out already, but I still managed to get right at $24.00 worth of stuff for a whopping $2.51!!!! (Only spent that much because I splurged on buying this snazzy recyclable 99 cents Harris Teeter shopping bag!

So......what's in the bag? Let's see what I was able to get today....

1 can Betty Crocking Frosting

1 bag Mahatma Rice

1 Dawn Dish Liquid

2 Hormel Chicken N Dumpling Meals - I know, I don't like them either but the kids will eat them.

1 Spray N Wash - necessary to get the muddy stains from little Js baseball pants

2 bags of Snyder Pretzel Nibbles

1 Harris Teeter handy dandy grocery bag.

So....basically I paid $2.51 for a $2.99 bag of pretzel nibbles and got everything else for FREE! My favorite word!

What are you getting FREE this week! Share your deals!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Today was not only Memorial Day, but it also happened to be my mom's birthday!

While the rest of our familiy was up in Kentucky for the Memorial Day Festivities, we stuck around town. One of us had to work today, the new "driver" of the family decided she was going to take "kid brother" for his first ride with her with no adult supervision and go to lunch and the movies and leave ole mom at home alone. I didn't know whether to cry since I was going to be alone and my baby was growing up and venturing out in the world, or should I jump for joy since I had the house to myself for several hours today and I didn't have to drive anyone anywhere and drop off and pick-up. Let's just say I opted for the "Woo Hoo - I'm home alone!"

In the midst of trying to do a little cleaning (not much mind you), laundry (did get several piles of these done today) and cooking dinner for my mom for her birthday, I decided to put my last 3 weeks of cake decorating classes to the test and make my mom a birthday cake - - - including the dreaded Rose! (We have not learned this in class yet, that is this week's lessson.) However, I decided to ignore the "Do not attempt the rose on your own at home, that is for professionals" lecture from the teacher and go for it. Well, 2 cake mixes, 3 batches of made from scratch butter cream icing and 3 hours later I thought I did a pretty darn good job. Not perfect roses mind you, but when the entire family returned home this evening and my mom joined us for dinner, I did not once have to explain what the large pink blob was in the middle of the cake, they all knew they were roses and I even had one comment "That looks like you bought it from the store." Awwww, how sweet was that even if they may not have really meant it. :oD

Well, here is a picture of my cake. Perhaps after I am professionally trained in two days I can post a picture with more realistic looking roses, until then, I am happy with what I accomplished today!

Hope everyone had a safe and fun Memorial Day and hope mom enjoyed her birthday!

Somewhere over the rainbow.......

Well, after 3 hours of making icing til 1:00 in the morning on Tuesday night and having to talk myself into not quiting the class before I even made my first cake, here is my finished product.......my very first decorated cake from class. It's not perfect and yes, I know, the name is not centered, but I still don't think it's too bad for my first cake!

Since Jessica ended up with some nasty flu the entire week of her 16th birthday and had to sleep through her party while her friends were outside in the pool having fun, I went ahead and decided to make this her second 16th birthday cake. I mean, she didnt even get a taste of the one I had professionally made for the party, so I figure this is the second best thing. She has not saw it yet so I hope she likes it. No, she doesn't really "like" rainbows, but this was the design we had to make for class, so she is getting a rainbow!

Upcoming Notecard Class

I can not take credit for the design of this very cute personalized notecard, that credit I must give to my CTMH upline, Amy. However as soon as I saw her cards that she had prepared, I just knew I had to make some as well! I think these would make the cutest graduation gifts, birthday gifts, bridal shower gifts, pretty much any gift that you need for any woman on your list (that includes a set for yourself as well!) !

I am offering a class to make a set of six (6) notecards, along with a matching metal notecard holder, on Sunday, June 7th. If you would like to take the class, or would like more information about this class or other classes I have to offer, please let me know! Can't make it that day, or live out of town???? No problem - this workshop is also available as a "Workshop on the Go". Be sure and email or call me to register for the class, or kit on the go, before May 20 so that all supplies can be ordered and received on time.

Stay tuned as I will posting information on upcoming Scrapbook Workshops, Father's Day class for the kids and much more!

Make it a great week!

Cake Decorating Class has Began!

Well.......here it is. The famous "Parchment Paper Decorator Bag". I know, how exciting is that! I didn't think very much so either!

I been thinking about taking a Cake Decorating Class for the past month. I finally went and signed up last week and it is a 4 week class with one 2-hour lesson each week. Wednesday night I went for my very first class. Was curious what we were going to be doing since we were told to only bring a notebook and pen to the first class and I had not purchased one stinking supply yet. Well......this is what we learned. How to take a huge piece of parchment paper that was shaped like a triangle and shape it into a decorating bag! I of course was the one person in the class that raised their hand and was like "Can't I buy disposable bags already made without having to go through paper folding?" I mean - if I wanted to fold paper I would have signed up for the Origami class right?!

Well - then I folded it and the teacher told me it was a perfect job! So, of course, now I am wanting to go buy me some huge triangles and make some decorator bags! It is not very often someone tells me I am doing something perfect so I better just keep on making them so I can be called perfect some more right! Of course, I come home and show my "better half" my perfectly shaped parchmant bag and he was like "Oh, that is what you been doing for 2 hours?" He obviously didn't appreciate my PERFECT bag!

Stay tuned - next week's class we get to actually decorate a cake - of course I will be using my "perfect" parchment bags made by me!

How does a sink fill itself up??

Am I the only one in America that has a sink that automatically fills itself up with dirty dishes without anyone's help? I mean really........I leave home with the dishwasher full and running; washing all the dirty dishes that was in the sink and when I return home late in the evening the dishwasher is full of CLEAN dishes but the sink has miraculously been completely filled with dirty dishes but no one in the house seems to know where they came from!! Apparently I need to go buy a new kitchen sink from Lowe's since mine must clearly have a malfunction since it creates its own dirty dishes!

This is what happened.......I left home yesterday morning, and as described above, left the sink empty with the dishwasher running with all the dirty dishes in it. I got to work and work a full 8 hours, go to the gym and put in an hour long workout there, go get gas, go to Walgreens, get about 3 text from family members at home asking me to pick up other things that they need and whenI get home, about 11 hours after the time I left that morning, I find a sink full of dirty dishes. However, no one seems to know where they came from since all I constantly hear when this happens (yes, this has happened before) is "Those aren't mine."

While taking my shower last night I was trying to determine if I needed to (a) save up money to buy a new kitchen sink since clearly mine is broken, (b) anytime I find dirty dishes in the sink, simply throw them in the garbage since they clearly don't belong in the house since no one seems to know where they came from or (c) let them continue to pile up to the ceiling to see if someone eventually lays claim to them. I am heavily leaning towards (b) for time being. If anyone else has one of these sinks that seem to mass produce dirty dishes on their own, please leave a comment with the brand of sink you have so I don't replace it with yet another broken model.

SCORE for me at the Harris Teeter! Woo Hoo!

As I told you before, it does not take much to get me excited these days! I been trying my hand at "Stealth Couponing" the last several weeks and have had some really good deals. I think today was a great deal. See all the stuff I got in the picture? Guess how much I spent? A whopping $2.54! I say "WOO HOO" to that! (And, I also got a Deli Creations Sandwich Meal, but I was so hungry I had to eat it before I took five minutes to take the picture!) So......$26.44 worth of groceries for $2.54 is not a bad day, and lunch included to boot! Got me very excited!!

Thanks to Harris Teeter for their "Triple Coupons" in my area this week. So, I basically bought 2 bottles of mustard and the store threw in everything else for free! If you are not clipping coupons - - what are you waiting for! If this doesn't convince you, then mail me your coupons instead of throwing them away! I'll glady put them to good use.

I am thinking about offering to do people's grocery shopping for them as long as I can keep whatever savings I can get with coupons! hmmmmm.........

Why is "16" called Sweet???

Today is my baby girl's "Sweet Sixteen" Birthday! In preparing for all the festivities this week and weekend for her special day, I started thinking why do they call it "Sweet" Sixteen? How many teenagers do you know that you can really refer to as "Sweet". Yeah, they can all be sweet at certain times, like mainly when they want something, but for the most part when describing the everyday life of a teenager, "Sweet" simply does not come to mind. Maybe it is to remind us that 16 years ago to this day, they were the sweetest thing in the world, although during those 12 hours of labor "sweet" once again was not coming to the forefront of my mind.

Well, although she is not sweet 100% of the time, my baby can be sweet at times and I love her. Happy Birthday Baby Girl!! Hope you have a great day.

What is a Bamberg??

Well, this is a Bamberg. Atleast I think. This is the newest addition to the family. As most of you know, my daughter turns 16 this week and has convinced her father that she wanted (and would take care of.....) a puppy (not sure why he believes her since she has not taken care of any of the other 8+ animals we have had......). But, anyways, he believed her and he went and purchased this cute little thing from the local SPCA yesterday for her, which she had picked out the day before. Don't worry, I made sure they both understood the cute little guy would remain at her father's house and in no way, shape or form, would join my zoo at my own house.

I say I THINK this is Bamberg because I dont really think the poor thing has been given a final name. The SPCA had named him Marley, Jessica had said she was going to name him "Nuffer" when she got him, but then her good ole father named him "Bamberg" on the paperwork when he purchased him which is named after a stupid place he hunts. ( I did remind him, this was not his dog, but his daugther's birthday gift.....) However......when I stopped by to meet the new family member yesterday they were calling him "Junior". Poor guy is not going to know what the heck his name is.

Hopefully by today the two of them can agree on something to call the pup. All I called him was cute!

Emporium Layouts to share.

Here are the two layouts that we did for my workshop today. I was really pleased how well they turned out and they actually involved no stamping this time. Thought I would share them for those that could not attend the class or possibly inspire someone to pull out their paper and cut to working on layouts this weekend. I have the entire house to myself today so I intend to keep on scrapbooking and cardmaking today to see how much I can create in one day. Of course, have to be "creative" at the same time that I am working on laundry, letting the dogs out, letting the dogs back in, going to see what the dogs are barking at....oh that's right.....NOTHING! They bark just to get me to stop what I'm working on I think. Oh well, gotta run while my creative juices are flowing!