Teacher Appreciation

So apparently next week is Teacher Appreciation Week. Things have changed since I was in school, but this seems to be a big deal. So of course I got to work and made some teacher appreciation gifts, which were actually pretty fun and not hard at all. The hardest part was finding all the different components, but even that wasn't too bad since I left work a little early today:-) I totally copied this project from a video I saw on Dawn Griffith's blog (she's amazing). I think that these are going to make awesome Christmas presents for work so I'm glad I tried them now. They are easy to make in bulk (I made 10 of them in less than an hour tonight) and I think they will actually be useful - can't beat that combo!
Not sure if I'll be able to post anything tomorrow - my 7 year old niece is coming over to spend the night so I may be kind of busy with three little ones! Hope you have a great weekend and I'll check back soon!

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Cheep talk
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, retired DSP
Ink: So Saffron, Bashful Blue
Other Stuff: Post-it pads, Terrifically Tacky Tape, 4 x 6 picture frame (dollar store), RSVP pens, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, scallop circle punch, stamp-a-ma-jig

It's a process . . .

Working on this blog, even for the short time I've been doing it, has been teaching me things. Things about myself. Things that I think I knew but tried to ignore. Things such as a)I don't get enough sleep if I'm disorganized b)I like to start projects but not finish them and c)I'm kind of a mess when I get creative. None of these are great things that you would like to publicize about yourself but they sure are coming through loud and clear to me as I try to put a picture up on this blog every day. I guess I should take this as a good learning process to help me better myself. At least that's what I tell myself.
Today's card is one of my 'old standbys' that I can use for a lot of different occasions. I saw something like it somewhere on Splitcoast but I have modified it, I'm sure. It's just neat and clean and sends whatever message I want to send at that moment. Kind of like how I'd like to be.

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Trendy Trees
Cardstock:Old Olive, Whisper White, Pacific Point
Ink: Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Baja Breeze, Pacific point, Chocolate chip
Other Stuff: Word window and Modern label punches, bow easy, ribbon, cuttlebug swiss dots folder, stamp-a-ma-jig

Sweet 16

Today is my stepdaughter's 16th birthday!! I met her when she was 8, so I have now known her half her life - wow! She is having a party this weekend that is an 'Alice in Wonderland' theme. She's having a tea party and she's put a lot of time and effort and thought into this shindig and I think it's going to be fabulous. My contribution was to help her make the invitations (go with what you're good at, right?) I'll have to post a picture of one of them if I can ever coax one out of my mother, who took THREE!!(HINT HINT). The three of us (mom, me, stepdaughter) spent a fun evening designing, creating, and assembling 20 rather involved invitations. For her actual birthday card I decided to go digital. I found a set of vintage Alice in Wonderland digi-stamps that I bought and then printed and colored for her card. I was soooo excited that she got it today and she even noticed that the Mock Turtle's tears are 3-D (thanks to just a pinch of diamond glaze!) Happy Sweet 16, Sweetie!
On a different note, I'm hoping to get some feedback, if you're so inclined. Do you like the format of my blog, with the one card at the top and a little blurb underneath? Or would you prefer more? I'm dabbling with posting a tutorial once a week on one of my more involved cards, but I don't want to do it if people just aren't that interested. Any comments you may have would be greatly appreciated!!

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Digi Alice in Wonderland, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Cardstock:Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Latte (DCWV)
Ink: From printer
Other Stuff: Markers, nesties, pearls

Happy Mommom Day

Ever just have kind of a bummer day? I had one of those at work today. Sometimes the world of fertility just doesn't work for everyone and sometimes I have to tell people news that isn't good. Most of the time it's just part of the job but every once in a while I have to deal with a situation that just makes me feel sad and utterly useless. That's what happened to me today. I think it affected my creativity tonight (or at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it). I didn't manage to come up with anything that I loved or even liked tonight, so luckily I have some Mother's Day cards that I made this weekend so I can share that with you today.
I think that this card is for my Mommom. She is coming to visit for a month starting Wednesday. That should put me in a better mood! Growing up, all my friends and our neighbors and my sister's friends called my grandmother what I called my grandmother - Mommom (sounds like Mum-mum). She's happiest surrounded by people, and she always seems to have enough love and comfort for everyone. She's getting older and slowing down a bit nowadays, but she still bakes the best pound cake I've ever tasted and she's patiently shown me how to bake, sew and cook for as long as I can remember.
Yeah, I think that seeing her will help lift this bit of a dark cloud over my head. Everyone should be so lucky to have a Mommom like mine.


Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Sentiment (Hobby Lobby??), Vintage Vogue
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Versamark
Other Stuff: Prima flowers, glue dots, nesties, Ranger embossing powder

Mother's Day

Hi everyone! I'm starting to think about Mother's Day - it's coming up fast. I'm a very lucky gal in that I have a great mom, 2 grandmoms and a mother-in-law, so I have a lot to do for Mother's Day. This is the first of 3 or 4 cards I'm going to post on the subject - not sure if I'll post all of them as my mom is one of my most loyal followers of this very new blog. Today's card is probably for my Grandmom Saner. Grandma Saner is the oldest of my 'mothers' and she's still independent and doing her thing (which mostly involves bus trips to Atlantic City to play the slots) at 87(ish?). I really love this topiary and for some reason it reminds me of her - I have no idea why. (Maybe because it's kind of old-looking but still very beautiful??) This is one of the first stamps I ever bought - it's probably 15 years old - and I think I've used it once before. So I dug it out and colored it up and I think I like it - the picture doesn't do it justice. I used 3 different color greens in the topiary but it's hard to tell in this picture. I may have to jazz the card up a bit before I send it out - I'm still mulling it over.

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Topiary from Anita's Stamps, Vintage Vogue
Cardstock: Garden Green, DSP, Whisper White
Ink: Stazon Black, Garden Green
Other Stuff: Prismacolor pencils and OMS, Top Note die, 1/4" grosgrain ribbon

I'm back!!

Hi Everyone! Hope you had a great weekend! It was sunny but windy here in the Big D. The fam and I had a great weekend except that my poor mums is sick. She was away for a good portion of last week and came home sick, sick, sick. So I'm sending her some love with this post as well. Hope you're feeling better today Mamacita! (I'm not Spanish or Hispanic but I call my mom "Mamacita" a lot - maybe it's the Texas influence?!?!)
I had a great weekend getting a lot of stuff done while still having some fun. We took the kids to TWO free carnivals this weekend (one at our preschool and one at my daughter's gym), had my sister and her boyfriend over for dinner (missed you mom!), and spent some Toys'R'Us giftcards getting the kids some summer toys. AND my house is (still!) clean, the laundry is done, and my scrap/stamp area is somewhat picked up. I also was able to get a few projects done this weekend that I'll be able to share with you throughout the week. It's always nice to have a few things ready to go so I don't have to try and create, photograph, and blog everything each night.
Today's card is one of those things that has been sitting on my desk waiting to be finished. A few months ago my mom and I went to a stamp convention and I got this cute set of 'Purse' stamps that I immediately came home and colored with my prismas. And then I sat them on my shelf in front of me. So today I decided to finish it and allow one of these colored pictures to finally grow up into a card. I love the little rhinestones on the ribbon tag. I have a little wheel of these teeny tiny rhinestones in different colors that I stick on everything. I know I got them at the Great American Scrapbook convention a couple years ago, but there's nothing to identify them on the wheel, so that's all I know. I'll have to take a picture of it one of these days and see if anyone can identify the source for me.

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Darcie's Stamps
Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, BasicGrey Lemonade
Ink: Stazon black
Other Stuff: Prismas, OMS, retired SU ribbon, nesties

Another quick note

Hi all! Sorry but this is going to be another quick post today. Last night was a late night for me since I went to the Mavs playoff game. My friend Michelle and I had an awesome time even though the Mavs lost :-(
Today's card was one of those things that just comes together as you're sitting there, when nothing else is quite working. I had colored this image months ago, and I pulled out some patterned paper for another project I was working on and I found this Origins paper pack by BasicGrey and thought of these little sunflowers. Today's Ways to Use it Challenge (WT267) on Splitcoast was to use different patterned paper, so there you go. The sketch actually came from the Go To Sketches magazine that PaperCrafts magazine just published.
I think I may take part of the weekend off from blogging, just so I can get my scrapbook/stamp area cleaned up and get rejuvinated (sp?). Between being sick with a cough last week and staying up late to post this blog, I'm getting a little worn out and I think it's showing in the projects I'm attempting these past few days. So bear with me and I'll be back soon!

Stamps: A flower for all seasons
Cardstock: Close to Cocoa
Paper: Origins (BasicGrey)
Accessories: Prismacolor pencils and OMS, Martha Stewart Border Punch, Nesties

Hi everyone! Today is going to be a quick post - Wednesday is hubby and I's date night (we are in a bowling league) and I'm going to the Mavs playoff game tonight AFTER BOWLING!!! I'm really living la vida loca with that - out late on a work night!!! But who can pass up playoff tickets with a great friend?!?! Not me, I'll tell you that! So I'm just going to share a card I made a few weeks ago for a birthday. It's pretty, but there's really no story to go with it. Enjoy and GO MAVS!!!
Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Vintage Vogue, Very Vintage Roller, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Cardstock: Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Ink: Rich razzleberry, Old Olive, going Gray
Other Stuff: Pearls, Sponge daubers

Teeing off at Sunrise

Hi everyone! Today's card was created for another Splitcoast Color Challenge (CC267) using Apricot Appeal, Sage Shadow, and Going Gray. I looked at what others had done and there were a lot of florals and lacey things and that's just not my style, especially with those colors. So I went out on a limb and did a masculine card. I'm going to come out and say it: 'I LOVE THIS CARD.' It turned out the way I envisioned it and now I'm ahead of the game for Fathers Day. One down, 2 more to go. I can just see my dad or hubby out on the golf course before dawn, just waiting for it to get light enough to tee off. Either that, or on the course so late that they're struggling to see as it gets dark. Both of them are such golf fanatics that it could go both ways in one day!! They say that a bad day at the golf course is still a good day. I feel that way about my stamping/scrapping. But unfortunately it's hard to come up with a good brayered scene of me at my scrapbook table!!!

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Stampendous, Inkadinkado, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Cardstock: going gray, Sage Shadow, Gray DSP, Whisper White
Ink: Apricot appeal, Sage Shadow, Going Gray
Other Stuff: Brayer, markers, nesties, brads (Hobby Lobby), Stamp-a-ma-jig, sponge daubers

Showing some support

There's a really sweet lady that I know who is dealing with breast cancer right now. This awful disease has affected several women that I love dearly so when I hear of someone else who has to go through the same thing, it truly affects me. I made this card to let her know that she's got a lot of 'support' as she goes through reconstructive surgery. Hopefully it will make her smile - something she's not done a lot of lately. I would be remiss if I didn't give a big 'shout out' to all of the people on Splitcoast who have made similar cards that inspired me to make this one. I'm not going to lie - I sure hope that this card goes over well. I think that it will have the desired effect but there is a slight chance that this may totally backfire. At least I know that it's being sent with the best of intentions, and I guess that counts for something.

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, Sugared (BasicGrey)
Ink: Close to Cocoa
Other Stuff: Scalloped circle, 1 1/4" circle, 1 3/8" circle, and word window punches, ruler, scissors, pretty in pink 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, pearls (Michaels?), glue dots

Spring Cleaning

Today was a rainy, dreary, gray day here in Texas. Hubby didn't get to go golfing as planned, so we decided to do some long-overdue spring cleaning. We got out the steam cleaner and got to work. Now it's Sunday evening and the floors are clean, rooms are picked up (an important prerequisite for cleaning the rugs!), laundry is done and kiddos are clean and sleeping like the little angels that I know they can be. This makes me happy. Since I'm relaxed and happy, I decided to pull out my colored pencils and color, which also makes me happy. There's just something about coloring, and glitter, and fun paper, that just works for me right now. Hopefully this feeling (and my clean house) will last all week! Have a great Monday and I'll 'see' you soon!

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Inkadinkado Duet and Teeny Tiny Wishes (SU)
Cardstock: Ballet Blue and Sugar Rush (BasicGrey)
Ink: Black Stazon
Other Stuff: Prismacolor pencils, Odorless Mineral Spirits (OMS), Nesties, Word Window and Modern Label punches, Dimensionals, Clear Star Gelly Roll Pen and Quickie Glue Pen (Sakura), Orange Rhinestones (source unknown)

Rained out

Tonight we were supposed to be at an outdoor concert at an amphitheatre about a mile from our house. Hubby's been monitoring a huge line of thunderstorms all day but we kept hoping for the best. We packed up the kids and the car and headed on over to the concert. We lasted about 35 minutes before we let the rain win - boo! But that's what you do when you have little kids and can't let them get pneumonia (again).
Today's card was made with my very first Stampin' Up set I ever bought - She's All That. I LOVE this set! I colored her with markers and then cut out a piece of DSP for her dress. I saw something like this on Splitcoast so it's not an original idea but unfortunately I can't tell you whose idea it was. If it's yours and you're reading this, let me know and I'll give you credit :-)

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: She's All That, Whimsy wheel
Cardstock: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, retired DSP
Ink: Kiwi Kiss
Other Stuff: Markers, Nesties, Rhinestones

Bold Bright Birthday

My three year old daughter Katie gets to go to a birthday party for her friend 'Larry'(not her real name) on Saturday. Larry and Katie have known each other since they were literally 6 weeks old. Both girls are super-smart and have fun together at preschool. (Although I have to thank Larry for introducing Katie to the 'snow witch' who supposedly lives in the tv and terrified Katie during the night for most of the winter - the imaginations of smart 3 year olds!)
Regardless, I had to make Larry a special birthday card. I am one of those people that never really used the Bold Brights collection, but after this card I may have to reconsider (at least for the short time that they're left as we know it). This card came together so easily and I have to say I think it's super-cute. Just like Larry.

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Birthday Whimsy
Cardstock: Whisper White, Gable Green
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Lovely Lilac, Gable Green, Pink Passion
Other Stuff: Markers, Pop dots, Ribbon (Michaels), Green glitter pen (source unknown)

Getting my thoughts together

I wouldn't say that coming up with a new project for this blog every day is hard, but I'm finding out that it really helps to be organized. At work, I'm totally organized to the point of compulsive, but for some reason I'm a little haphazard with the rest of my life (insert snorts from my mother and husband here). I decided that organizing my blogging thoughts may help me get to bed a little faster each night, so today's project is my new altered idea book. I took a plain Mead 5 x 7 ruled notebook and unhooked the cover carefully, covered it with some gorgeous DSP and put a title and tabs in it. In case you can't make out the tabs, I've got LISTS, COLOR, SKETCH and MISC. The plan is that this little notebook will stay close by and be there when I think of an idea. Right now my system of random post-it notes isn't working out so well so I think that this little beauty will do the trick!

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Jayne's Type Alphabet (SU) and Magnetic Stamp Alphabet & Stamp Kit (Making Memories)
Cardstock:Thoroughly Modern DSP and Whisper White
Ink: Bermuda Bay and Soft Suede
Other Stuff: Round tab punch, Nesties, Pink Rhinestones (source unknown, Mat Pack

The list is growing . . .

Today was an exciting day because I got my goodies that I ordered from Stamp club this month. Since I've been on this brayering kick, I ordered a lot of stamp pads. And I've also been participating in challenges, which helps me come up with cards that are actually my own creations, and not copied from someone else (at least not intentionally!) The idea for today's card was all my own, but somehow it seems like I needed another color paper to go with it, and of course I didn't have any, and of course it's one that's going to be retiring soon. So my list of what I have to get at stamp club in the next 2 months is growing and growing. I tend to be a glass-half-full kind of gal, so I'm going to look at this as 'How great is it that I'm up in my scrapbook area creating all these wonderful things and using my supplies' instead of thinking of myself as a compulsive hoarder. At least that's what I'll tell myself when I place that big order next month :-)

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Asian Artistry, Teeny tiny wishes
Cardstock: Whisper white, Close to Cocoa, Cameo coral, retired DSP
Ink: blush blossom, cameo coral, ruby red, close to cocoa, black stazon
Other Stuff: markers, pop dots, brayer, pearls (source unknown)

What's old is new again

Today's card was made for a Clean and Simple challenge that involved being inspired by a collection of postcards of Mackinac Island in Michigan. I've never been there, but I found a beautiful sunset beach picture that I decided to try my hand at. I pulled out some of my old 'In Colors' that are going to be part of the new color palette and went to town. As I was finishing up and stamping the sentiment, I tried to think about who could use a card like this. I have a friend who I don't get to see very much any more, but who is a really wonderful and giving person who is having some tough times right now. Nothing life altering, but just tough things that can get even an upbeat person down. So this card is going right in the mail to her and her husband tonight. I think that's one of my most favorite things about making cards - actually sending them off to unsuspecting people. It's just paper, but I like to think it makes a smile at least twice - when I put it in the mailbox and when the recipient looks through their mail and sees it. It's nice to know that someone's thinking about you!

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamp: Inkadinkado sentiment
Cardstock: Whisper white, pink pirouette, baja breeze
Ink: baja breeze, pacific point, not quite navy, pink pirouette, sahara sand, stazon black
Other Stuff: White gel pen, black marker, brayer, sponges, post-it notes for masking

Not quite . . . something

Hi all! So do you have something in your stamp/scrap room that you just love but can never exactly get to 'work' just the way that you think it should? Let me start at the beginning . . . I was one of those people who were THRILLED when Stampin Up announced that they were changing their color palette, with no small part of that because I don't have a lot invested in the colors they are retiring, but mainly because they are bringing back some of my favorite 'go-to' colors: Baja Breeze and Pacific Point. LOVE THEM!!! Anyway, once I heard that they were coming back, I've been a lot more, shall we say . . . free . . . with the use of the cardstock that I've been hoarding. So along comes a challenge to make a card that incorporates a bookmark (TLC268 - Save the Page) and I get excited. Last year at stamp club we made a really cute card that had a bookmark in the front and I've been wanting to use my Baja Breeze cardstock and this amazing retired designer paper that coordinates with it for just that type of project. Except . . . IT. JUST. ISN'T. WORKING. And I don't know why. So now it's late and I'm tired and I took a picture of it and am putting it 'out there' for anyone who may be reading this to look at. Maybe you can pinpoint what it is that is making it not work. Or maybe it's just me. Let me know what you think. See you soon!

Card supplies: (All products Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)

Stamps: Itty Bitty Backgrounds and Birthday Whimsy

Cardstock: Baja breeze, Not quite navy, retired DSP

Ink: Baja breeze, Not quite navy

Other: Tiny colored rhinestones (source unknown)

Sunday Sunset

A few weeks ago, my mom, a friend and I took a once-in-a-lifetime brayer class with Michelle Zindorf. Michelle's work is unmistakable, often imitated and rarely matched. It was a great class that really allowed us to take some cards to a new level. I've been having a blast working with some of the 300+ tutorials that she has on her blog. The card that I'm posting today is one of my attempts at a 'Zindorf.' It's my own design but uses some of the things I've learned either from my class or in her tutorials. I've been searching for stamps that I can use for this type of technique and I loved these three horses. I like to think that the tree is an apple tree and the horses are heading that way to see what's fallen on the ground.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Here's a link to Michelle's blog: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/

Card details:

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree (SU), Canvas background (SU), Horse line (Stampabilities)

Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, and Dusty Durango

Inks: Apricot Appeal, Dusty Durango, Basic Gray, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, More Mustard, Stazon Black

Tools: Brayer, Aquapen, Black marker, ruler, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Post it notes (for masking)

Gorgeous Day

I hope everyone is having a great weekend! I did yet another new thing today - I tried out a challenge on Splitcoast stampers and - take a seat for this one - I stopped being a 'lurker' and actually UPLOADED A CARD!!!!! I don't know what's gotten into me lately, trying all these new things! The challenge I tried was a Color Challenge - all you have to do is use three colors together on a card. The three colors this week are Certainly Celery, Tempting Turquoise and Soft Suede (CC265). I also decided to challenge myself further and use a stamp set that I've hardly played with, Flight of the Butterfly. It makes me feel guilty when I have a stamp set that's hardly seen ink - somehow that just doesn't seem fair to the stamps (silly, I know!) I'm happy with how this card turned out - I think it looks like the weather right now - nice and 'spring-y.'

Have a great night and I'll be checking back soon.

Card details:

(All products by Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)

Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Cardstock: Soft Suede, Certainly Celery, Whisper White

Ink: SS, CC, WW, Tempting Turquoise

Stuff: Tempting Turquoise ribbon, Nesties, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Perfect Details Texture plate, Big Shot, Rhinestones (source unknown), pop dot, sponges

Jumping in with both feet

Well, here we go . . . my first baby steps into blogland. Just a little background on me: I've been an avid crafter my whole life and have been stamping and scrapbooking for - ohmygosh - FOURTEEN YEARS! This is the first time I figured out how long it's been and holy moly does time fly by! I'm also wife to an avid golfer/brilliant engineer, mom to two gorgeous, active, hilarious and incredibly intelligent toddlers, and daughter/sister/granddaughter/etc in a wonderful and close family (and I absolutely have no bias toward my family at all). I work full time in a fertility lab (hence my blog name) and stamp/scrap simply for the fun of it. Most of my cards and scrapbook pages tend to be what Splitcoast Stampers (one of my favorite places to visit online) call 'Clean and Simple' or CAS for short. If you want lots of details and layers and patterns and borders and embossing and stuff, we'll have to work on getting my mom to post her creations, which are absolutely gorgeous and much more involved than most of what I do :-)

My plan is to post something new most days, and include a photograph and some details about one of my latest creations. I'm not affiliated with any one company at this time but will say that I'm in a Stampin' Up stamp club group and am totally addicted to their product!

So here's the scoop on my very first uploaded card!!! I made this for someone at work who is pregnant with their first child - soo exciting!

(All products are from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)

Animal Stories Stamp Set

Whimsy Jumbo Wheel

Kraft, Whisper White and Old Olive cardstock

Old Olive ink

Modern Label Punch

Chit Chat rub-ons

Mini pearls (probably from Michaels)

Thanks so much for looking! I would love to know what you think so please feel free to post a comment. Hope to see you back here soon!