Artisan Wednesday Wow - 07/31/13

Here we are ... on our very last week together as Stampin' Up's Artisan Design Team!  Holy smokes ... where DID this year go??? And OH HOW I LOVE SARAH SAGERT! As an artist and a friend ... she nails it EVERY.SINGLE.TIME! You MUST be sure to check out her FANTASTICALLY-FUN and CREATIVE card creation!!

This picture was taken on the BEST day!! When we all met each other last year at Stampin' Up's Convention, most of us really didn't know each other. After spending the whole year chatting on the phone, via email and on Facebook we have become life-long BFF's!!!

We started in the morning during the first day of Convention and had breakfast up the canyon at a lovely little place called Ruth's Diner (which is where we had the picture on this page taken). We spent time eating, laughing ... and just enjoying each other's company. Several of us spent more time during the day shopping ... and eating ... and laughing some more!! What a wonderful day!!!
Front row: Heather Summers, Jane Lee, Sarah Sagert, Cindy Beach, Erica Cerwin, Me
Back Row: Jeanna Bohanon, Heidi King, Marisa Gunn, Amy Bollman

I kinda feel like the burlap trim looks like a TREE (hahahaha!) ... and the "Friends" banner reminds me of a hammock ... but it is also indicative of the relaxed and fun nature of our friendships now. The friendships I made during the past year with these AMAZING women are by FAR the BEST thing about this year. Hands down ...'

Stamps: ABC-123 Sketch Alphabet & Numbers Stamp Set
Ink: Calypso Coral
Paper: Bermuda Bay, Calypso Coral, Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Whisper White, Brights Backgrounds Collection DSP
Accessories: Brights Designer Buttons, Brights Candy Dots, Linen Thread, 1 1/4" Burlap Ribbon, Essentials Hardware Clips, Hexagon Punch, Small Oval Punch, Petite Pennants Building Punch, Honeycomb Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Sewing Machine, 2Peas Rickety Font

And now? Check out the GORGEOUS scrapbook Amy Bollman did of her darling son ... she has inspired me on SOOO many levels this year. She is as smart, lovely and fun ... as well as artistic and talented!

Freakin' Swappin' AMAZING!

Hello and WELCOME to another Control Freaks Blog Tour!! This month we are sharing our swaps ... swaps we made for Convention, and swaps we made for each other from the Holiday Catalog!! JanTink made the most-awesome-and-amazingist swaps!! Be sure to follow the Tour ALL THE WAY around so you can see them ALL (if you haven't already!)

My first swap is my FAVE!! I had SOOOOO much fun making this thing ... I just kept going and going and going!! Because if MORE is good, even MORE is BETTER, right??? Kinda got carried away with all the stuffs on this one, but it makes me happy. (Thanks to Justin Krieger and all of the awesome stuff he has been posting lately ... this thing is kinda a compilation of MANY cool things I've seen him create!)

Stamps:  Settin' Sail Photopolymer, Chalk Talk
Paper:  Real Red, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Brights Patterned Paper
Ink:  Pacific Point, Read Red
Accessories:  Chalk Talk Framelits, Chevron Border Punch, Real Red Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Burlap Ribbon, Large Oval Punch, Hung Up Cute Clips, Stylish Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

My second swap was a little more traditional and girly. I think Gorgeous Grunge is gonna be my most-used stamp set. EVER. PERIOD. Sometimes ya just need a little somethin' ... and this stamp set is PERFECT. Seriously!! IAMINLOVE!

Stamps:  Flower Shop, Gorgeous Grunge, Mosaic Madness,  A Dozen Thoughts
Paper:  Baked Brown Sugar, Crisp Cantaloupe, Whisper White, In Color Patterned Paper
Ink:  Baked Brown Sugar, Crisp Cantaloupe
Accessories:  Pansy Punch, Itty Bitty Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Square Punch, Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Baked Brown Sugar Ruffle Stretch Trim, Neutrals Candy Dots, Whisper White Baker's Twine

Connie Babbert's swaps at Convention were beautiful ... and KILLER-GOOD!! Go check 'em out!!

Artisan Wednesday Wow - 07/24/13

Convention was a WHIRLWIND!! And I am STILL whirling!!! But not too-much-so that I can't share a little with you! One more blog post after this one and our tenure as the 2012-13 Artisan Design Team will be officially "over" ... so glad I have made lifelong friendships that will NOT end just because our team commitment has passed! Sarah Sagert!! Did you just come from her blog??? OHMYGOSH!! She NEVER ceases to amaze me, that woman!! And she's just as lovely, sweet and kind as she is talented ... package deal!!

Here is the card I swapped with all of the Artisan Design Team Finalists at Convention ... holy sa-MOKES was THAT ever an awesome bunch of swaps ... and women!!! What a fun time we had!! Sooo excited for the new team and all of the adventures they have to come. It's going to be a GREAT year!! Be sure to stay tuned because they are gonna ROCK DA HOUSE!!

Stamps:  Six-Sided Sampler, A Dozen Thoughts, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Crushed Curry, Modern Medley DSP, Brights Patterned Paper
Ink:  Basic Black, Real Red, Crumb Cake
Accessories:  Hexagon Punch, Modern Mosaic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, Crushed Curry Chevron Ribbon, Basic Black Taffeta Ribbon, Linen Thread, Silver Brad

Next on the hop??? The super-incredible Amy Bollman! I soooo love her style ... and her, too!!

Tales from Convention 2013 - Day 3

Wow!! I blinked and it was OVER!! SERIOUSLY???? The only thing I DIDN'T like about Convention is that it was MUCH TOO SHORT (kinda like me!!)!!

But I think I have mentioned before that my FAVE part about Convention is meeting up with all of my stampin' friends ... like, for instance, Jen Timko!! I think we are Soul Sisters who were separated at BIRTH (don't even remind me that she is about 8 or 9 inches taller ... and gorgeous, ok??? SOUL sisters ... get it???)!!





And Justin Krieger??? Are ya KIDDIN' ME???? This man has been my absolute-favorite-number-one-support-team-flag-wavin'-awesome-friend this whole week!!! Made me feel like a ZILLION bucks every freakin' day!!! And he is just freakin' amazing and talented on every level himself ... so there!!

Jason Casper!! This guy? AWESOME!!! Sometimes it's hard for me to swallow that there are DUDES out there that stamp BETTER than me!! (I know, I know ... don't be hatin' on me ... that's a really shallow and awful stereotype ... and TOTALLY UNFOUNDED and UNFAIR!) Some of the most talented stampers I know are dudes (got to meet Brian King, too!! Justin has a pic of the three of us on his phone, but I don't have it ... NEED TO FIX THAT!)!!

Here is THE Shelli Gardner at the end of the closing session yesterday ... fireworks, glitter, laughing, cheering, hugging, happiness ... I guess it's better to leave wanting MORE instead of feeling like you been there/done that, right?? All I know is, I CAN'T WAIT 'TIL NEXT YEAR!!!


Now I need to get some sleep ... 'cause even my HAIR is tired!!

Tales from Convention 2013 - Day 2

What another adventurous day!!! The Control Freaks absolutely HAD to get together to do our traditional swap (actually we usually swap two cards each!)!! Cannot even TELL you how much I enjoy these wonderful peeps ... they just make me smile ... genuinely good people through and through!!

And of course there's Jan ... the other "half" of the "TinkandBell" team!! I actually MET her through the Control Freaks (SHE claims I was a telephone stalker ... I choose to call it inquisitive papercrafter, but whatever!)! Happy to have her come and stay/hang with me!! Lots of laughing happens, to be sure!!

Here's our Fab Friday Design Team. It was FANTASTIC getting us all together in the same place at the same time (we were only missing one of our peeps, which is not too bad!)!! Jason and Justin make Mindy and I look like we belong in the Land of the Liliputians!!

Okay, okay ... it was AWESOME being an Artisan Award Finalist. I didn't make the Design Team for this year (which actually didn't surprise me or upset me TOO much!)! But my experiences with Stampin' Up in this capacity have been worth more than their weight in gold ... and the friends I have made are going to be FOREVER. So happy that Jeanna Bohanon, Erica Cerwin and Jane Lee get the chance to ride the merry-go-round for one more year!! WAY TO GO, girls!!

And these are my stampin' besties ... Emillie, Cheryl, Chairl and Shellee. Shellee is my upline. I would NEVER have picked up a set of rubber stamps if not for her. Thanks for your love, support and inspiration, ladies. I {{{heart}}} you!

Time to dash off to another Day at the Races!!! I'm going to need to sleep at some point soon ... my brain is getting wonky!!

Tales from Convention 2013 - Day 1

This is actually a compilation of events from pre-day 1 and Day 1. On Wednesday night, a bunch of friends from Splitcoast Stampers (SCS) met at Squatters (a room reserved for 50 QUICKLY filled to well over a hundred!!). After sneaking out onto the patio with JanTink (my annual house besties) and Cindy Beach (my Artisan DT Bestie), we were able to sneak out to the patio and eat, then sneak back inside and visit with some MORE of our besties!! Here I am with Cindy Beach, Mindy Backes, Jan Tinklenberg, Justin Krieger and Marla Reed. These people make me happy ... really ... you have NO idea!!

Started early with a run at 5:00 a.m. on Thursday morning (thanks to the companionship of Mindy Backes, Marla Reed, and Bree Resnick). Thanks to their graciousness in NOT laughing at me when I did a COMPLETE and TOTAL facePLANT on the sidewalk at the bottom of Memory Grove ... "belly floppin'" is what Mindy says I did. And I gots the road rash/bruises to prove it. Actually, my daughter's plan is for me to tell everyone "I saved a baby!" ... or, perhaps, there was a zombie apocalypse ... in either case, thanks for going with me, friends!

Then, it was on to Ruth's Diner with my 2012 Artisan Design Team girls. Can I just say I {{{heart}}} these women??? What a complete and TOTAL blessing it has been to play with paper alongside these amazingly-talented and beautiful women ... (Front - Heather Summers, Jane Lee, Sarah Sagert, Cindy Beach, Erica Cerwin, Me (what is UP with my HAIR??); Back - Jeanna Bohanon, Heidi King, Marisa Gunn, Amy Bollman)

Here are Heidi and Jane shopping for Treasures ... Heidi found this beautiful jar ... and ya KNOW she is gonna alter it FABULOUSLY, right???

And Jane and I doing the same ... I have spent more time in the past several months enabling/being enabled by this woman in all forms of shopping that I cannot even BEGIN to tell ya!!

And Jeanna, Marisa and Cindy enjoying the view across Gardner Village. Overall, we just soooo enjoyed getting to spend time with one another IN PERSON!! What a great day we had together!!

Artisan Finalists!!! OHMYGOSH!! Received some GORGEOUS swaps from the GORGEOUS and AMAZINGLY-TALENTED women!!! What a fun time we had meeting together!

Back at the Convention Center, I was able to sit and meet up with my all-time Stampin' Besties ... Cheryl and Shellee!! Thanks, dear friends, for your laughter, support, expertise and overall friendship ... LOVEYOUTODEATH!

Yep!! I got me a photo (although a slightly out of focus) of me with my Artisan Board. I AM OVERWHELMED!! The talent displayed on these boards is OUT.OF.THIS.WORLD!!! I am honored to be in league with so may people I admire and respect. I cannot WAIT until Awards Nights is over tomorrow night ... SOOOOO much anticipation and SOOOO many nerves!! Hugs and much luck to all my incredibly-talented friends!!

Artisan Wednesday Wow - 07/17/13

Hello, friends!! It's time for another Artisan Wednesday Wow!! (Sadly, we only have a few more left!!) You have probably just come from the fabulous-amazingly-and-talented Sarah Sagert's blog (if not, keep clicking the 'click here' button at the bottom of each post ... you'll follow it all the way around!)! I always love what she comes up with!

I am soooo happy to have a "definition" background stamp (it's been a while since we had one!)! And I have a feeling I will be using these hexagons for oh-so-many projects. It's fun how they match the Honeycomb Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, don'tcha think??

Stamps: Six Sided Sampler, Dictionary
Paper: Pool Party (Core'dinations and Cardstock), Soft Subltles Pattern Paper Pack, Whisper White
Ink: Pool Party, So Saffron
Accessories: Hexagon Punch, Honeycomb Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Subltes Buttons, Subtles Candy Dots, Whisper White Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Whisper White Baker's Twine, Large Scallop Edgelits Die, Simply Scored

We have all been working like busy little bees ... this week is Stampin' Up's Convention!! It's soooo fun to be able to go and share your paper-crafty passion with 6,000 of your closet friends!! To be honest, I DO have a lot of friends who I ONLY get to see when we get together for this, so I AM EXCITED!!

Next Up? Amy Bollman! I am quite certain you will LOVE what she has created (I know that I always do!!)

Fab Friday #22

Hooray it's FRIDAY!! I love Fab Fridays ... they ALWAYS make me THINK!! And I also really LOVE to see what everyone ELSE does when given the same parameters in which to work. Such a HUGE variety of outcomes ... and I am ALWAYS inspired by what everyone comes up with!!

Color ... it makes ALL the difference between an "ok" card and a FANTASTIC card. I seem to be drawn to the same color combos over and over again ... so I REALLY appreciate it when some gives me a starting point.

Stamps: Flower Show, A Dozen Thoughts
Paper: Basic Gray, Whisper White, Real Red, Brights Patterned DSP
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Real Red
Accessories:  Pansy Punch, Hexagon Punch (to make "flag" ends), Itty Bitty Punch Pack (Circle), Honeycomb Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons, Hardware Clips Essentials, Basic Gray Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

This week, we're working with ...







And ... Here's a link to the Fab Friday Challenge Blog so you can play along:

Fab Friday Challenge Blog

Check out the Fab blogs of my fellow Fab Friends:

Mindy Backes
Cindy Beach
Justin Krieger
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers
Amy O'Neill
Marla Reed
Pam Steckman
Jan Tinklenberg

I've been really lax at blogging the past little while because I have made SO much for Stampin' Up's Convention ... which is NEXT WEEK!! YIPPEEEE!!! (I made my Artisan Award Entries - 10 of them - AND 24 samples for the display boards, as well as my usual weekly Artisan Wednesday Wow, the Fab Friday Challenges AND the occasional stamp challenge hostess samples for SCS! I'm whooped!! BUT, I will have LOTS to share here after Convention!!)

Have a great weekend!!

Artisan Wednesday Wow - 07/10/13

Our last month as a "team" ... I sure have loved this experience! And I LOVE the wonderful ladies with whom I have had the privilege of working ... once again, Sarah Sagert outdid herself, don'tcha think?? As lovely and sweet as she is talented!

My name is Wendy and I have a washi tape addiction ... it's ta-RUE!! I have to STOP myself from putting washi tape on EVERYthing I make lately ... it's somehow just magical and lovely!! So I just HAD to add it to this card. It felt incomplete with out it!!

Stamps: A Dozen Thoughts
Paper: Whisper White,Brights DSP, Subtles DSP
Ink:  Bermuda Bay
Accessories:  Square Lattice Bigz Die, Elegant Butterfly Punch, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Brights Buttons, Vanilla Coaster Board, Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Ticket Duo Punch, Bermuda Bay Taffeta Ribbon, Whisper White Baker's Twine, Hexagon Punch (to punch edge of "flag"), Dimensionals

Now it's time to move on to the wonderfully-talented and kind Amy Bollman ... another winner of a project!

Artisan Wednesday Wow - 07/03/13

Welcome to another "Facebook" version of our Artisan Wednesday Wow!! (This is where we share the projects we have created for Stampin' Up's Facebook page ... which we do every month!). Did ya SEE Sarah Sagert's GORGEOUS dimensional card done with stencil paste??? LOVE IT!!

This month I spent a LOT of time thinking about what I wanted to do ... it took me a while to lay out the ENTIRE set of alphabet stamps onto my clear block, but I was DETERMINED ... and happy with the result!! (I'm sending this card to my nephew in Spain ... kinda girlie, yes ... but it should make him smile!!)

Stamps: Sketch Alphabet & Numbers Stamp Set
Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, Crisp Cantaloupe
Paper: Baked Brown Sugar, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, 2013-2015 In Color DSP
Accessories: Brights Candy Dots, Baked Brown Sugar 3/8" Ruffle Stretch Ribbon, Linen Thread, 3/4" Circle Punch, Small Heart Punch, Stampin' Distress Tool, Hearts Collection Framelits, Large Scallop Edgelits Die

And DID I MENTION that I have been chosen as a FINALIST in Stampin' Up's 2013 Artisan Design Team contest? HOLY SMOKES!! HOORAY!! I will find out at Convention on July 19th if I am going to be one of the 10 design team members ... this has been SUCH an INCREDIBLE experience. I feel as if lightning has struck TWICE!! HAPPY-HAPPY-HAPPY!

Now it's time to check out Amy Bollman's BEAUTIFUL scrapbook layout of her family! AMAZING!!