One More to Go . . .

Well, well, well, my friends! This card makes #103 in my "Follow the Butterflies" challenge. I totally cannot believe that I am only one card away from completing the journey . . . two years' worth of butterfly cards. Unbelievable!! Even more unbelievable is that we will be leaving in just three short weeks for Germany/Austria to go and pick up the "Butterfly Boy" himself!! The time really has gone by much more quickly than I could ever have guessed. Incredible! (If you are new to my blog and have no clue what I am talking about, check out the link AND slideshows on the sidebar to the right!)

This was one of the most FUN cards I have had the chance to create in a loooonnnnggg time. This fold was for TLC233 . . . here is a link to Lynn's very wonderful step-by-step instructions:

Lynn's Tri-Fold Pocket Card






Here is a view of the pockets on the inside . . .







And finally, the panels behind the pockets . . .

I definitely know that I will be trying this funky and fun fold again. It was totally fun to create!

I just need to decide NOW what to do for the final butterfly card . . . can't wimp out for the finale, now can I???


Stamps: For All You Do
Paper: Certainly Celery, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Ink: Certainly Celery, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Rich Razzleberry polka dot ribbon, black brads, wide oval punch, 1/16" circle punch, sponge

Fancy New Digs and Freaky New Swaps!

How do you like my new digs??? Pretty dang ol' spiffy, eh?  I REALLY like what Michelle Baird did for me this time around . . . I think it looks MUI-MUI fabulous!!

And . . . as promised . . . here are the Control Freak Swaps that I got at Convention!! Hooray!! I hope y'all enjoy them as much as I do!!

This first one is mine . . . I feel kinda dumb that it is sitting all by itself when all of the other ones on this blog post will be with a friend!!

Stamps:  Wedding Sweet

Paper:  Basic Black, Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Taken with Teal, Groom dsp

Ink:  Basic Black craft

Accessories:  Large oval and scalloped oval punches, eyelet border punch, designer label punch, clear rhinestone brad, white taffeta ribbon, clear embossing powder

Here are the rest of the FREAKS!!

Annette Jensen

and

Gretchen Barron

Cindee Wilkinson

and

Jan Tinklenberg

Cindy Major

and

Steph Leider

Dawn Olchefske

and

Robin Spinner

Kimberley Morris

and

Patty Bennett

Connie Babbert

and

Brandi Wiggins

Aren't these just AWESOME???!!  Sometimes it is just so COOOL to be a FREAK!!!

A Couple of Cards . . . and a Promise!

It has been soooo much fun having Jan here this week. It has also given me an excuse to STAMP every free moment, because, OF COURSE, I don't want her to be bored here since Convention is OVER and she doesn't have to leave until this afternoon!! (Insert BIG smiley face here!!)

I got up early yesterday morning (couldn't sleep, even though I was DOG tired!). When I saw that Joanne (aka SleepyinSeattle) was the Featured Stamper over on SCS I was THRILLED! Her stuff is AMAZING, and she has a freakin' HUGE galery, so I actually made TWO cards, not just one!!

This first one I had SOOO much fun making (and learned a thing or two in the process!). First, I love how Joanne used a zigzag border punch to create the top edge of a fence, so that was the first thing I learned to do. Here is the card box she made that was my inspiration. I just turned it into an actual card:

Joanne's Kraft Picket Fence Box

AND I learned the "faux woodgrain" technique from Joanne as well. How cool is THAT??? And here I thought I already knew everything! Sheesh! I guess that pops THAT bubble in my mind!! HELP! I need CHOCOLATE!! (I have been hanging around that JanTink a little too much this week!)

Stamps: Happy Birthday by Our Daily Bread
Paper: Kraft, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Going Gray, Old Olive, Basic Black
Accessories: Leaf punch (unknown), small daisy punch (unknown), 1/4" circle punch, horizontal slot punch, EK Success zigzag border punch, brown polka dot organza (May Arts), white gel pen, sponge, glue dots

And here is my second sample. There were two inspirations for this card. First, here is Joanne's:

Joanne's Circles All Around

Which brings me to my second inspiration and my PROMISE . . . I got the idea for the very cool heart cutout from my fellow Control Freak, Cindee Wilkinson. She made the cutest card for our CF swap at Convention. I haven't had a chance to photograph those darn CF Swaps, so you will have to wait . . . 'til TOMORROW . . . to see it (and the rest of the CF Swaps). That is my PROMISE!! Too darn much fun happening here!

Stamps: Jesus by Our Daily Bread
Paper: Whisper White, Soft Suede
Ink: Whisper White
Accessories: Spellbinders Classic Heart (S4-138), trio flower punch, Scor-Pal, gold shimmery organza ribbon, glue dots

I really gotta get some sleep . . . and eat less chocolate (WAIT!! Did I REALLY say that???)!! My backside is gonna get too big if Jan stays here much longer!! I though that I was bad about chocolate, baby!! She has a ready supply on hand which is good . . . or is it bad???

Convention Highlights

WOWZA!! What a whirlwind of a week THIS has been!! Between running back and forth from girls camp (which I have done TWICE this week between Tuesday and Thursday!) and running to and from the Salt Palace Convention Center for SU Convention, I think I am SO tired that my HAIR hurts!! Honestly, though, it has been a LOAD of fun!!

Here I am with my new BFF Jan (yes, THAT Jan . . . as in the Queen Herself . . . JanTink!!)! We have cracked each other up all week (because we are both UPROARIOUSLY funny!!). Honestly, we have had fun talking, laughing, stamping, eating and not sleeping since Monday!! (She had a different funny shirt to wear every day, too! She even made me a transfer, which I DID put on my shirt, that said, "Yes, my stamp room is real, and it's Marvelous!!" She had the picture of me from the Stampin' Success article on it smack dab in the middle. It was AWESOME!!) It's been so fun having her as a houseguest!! Thanks for the chuckles . . . and the chocolate, my dear friend!





Here I am with Rhonda (rhondag) and Bev (BevMom). LOVE these girls!! It was so great to see them again (can't believe it has been a whole year ALREADY!!)





Can anyone say FREAKY???? I had organized a swap and lunchtime get-together with my freaky girls . . . aka Control Freaks!! What a riot!!! As I was standing on a chair holding up a sign so that they could all find us, Thurl Bailey (yes, the SAME Thurl Bailey of NBA fame who just happens to be on SU's Board of Directors) came strolling by. He took one look at my sign and said, "Is my wife over there???" We all got a good laugh out of that!! AND did y'all notice that, even though I am standing on a chair, Thurl is STILL taller than me!!! GOOD GRIEF!!!



Here are ALL the Freaks that were at Convention and able to join us for lunch. (I am not sure what we are laughing at, but someone made a funny SOMEwhere!!)!

Front row: Patty Bennett, Connie Babbert, ME, Robin Spinner, Cindy Major
Back row: Steph Leider, Cindee Wilkenson, Annette Jensen, Kimberley Morris, Jan Tinklenberg, Brandi Wiggins, Dawn Olchefske, Gretchen Barron



More and more friends . . . here I am with another fun friend from SCS - Jackie - hpyscrpr2 - and her downline, Theresa. It was fun spending a little time visiting with them again as well (they were amongst the many at the party at my house last last year, too!). I feel so fortunate to have made sooo many friends through stamping and paper crafting!







Here's another one of me and Jan. Her shirt says, "I have visited Wendy Weixler's stamp room and all I got was this lousy shirt!" SNORT!!! TOTALLY not true!! I let her use my heat embossing tool and some embossing powder, too! ;)




And here are my homegirls . . . Shellee and Cheryl . . . without whom I would know absolutely NOTHING about stamping AT ALL!! They taught me everything I know (and not just about stamps, either!). I am truly blessed to have such wonderful friends . . . :)


And looking at all of these pictures reminds me that I NEED A HAIRCUT!! So happy that I have an appointment Monday morning!! It was a great, whirlwind of a week, that's for sure!! Stay tuned tomorrow and perhaps I can share the Freaky swap I made . . . and maybe share with you the ones I received in return!! :)

Convention is Upon Us!

I am soooo stoked that Stampin' Up Convention is this week!!! Did I also forget to mention that our church girl's camp is this week? Which means I have TWO places I am supposed to be at the SAME TIME!!! YIKES!! I will be taking some of the youth camp leaders up to camp tonight and coming back in the morning. We check in to Convention tomorrow, then spend Thursday, Friday and Saturday stamping, visiting, eating (chocolate is a MUST!), learning and getting charged up for the next year. I will be going BACK to camp on Thursday evening (the last night of camp) for dinner and hanging out with the girls. It's going to be a busy week, for sure!!

Here is one of the little "Secret Sister" treat boxes I made for the girls (we do a Secret Sister exchange every year, and I am the one usually in charge of the initial "treat"). I am filling the box with a necklace that is a bell on some leather cord (think the jingle bells from "Polar Express") AND some chocolate kisses. The girls have chosen "Hear It's Gentle Sound" as the theme this year (hence, the jingle bells on the box and IN the box!). This is just your basic explosion box. Pretty quick and simple to make. Here is a link for the tutorial on SCS:

Explosion Box Tutorial

I adapted it to make a bigger box. The base piece is an 8 1/2" square, scored at 2 1/2" down each side. The lid is a 7 5/8" x 5 1/2" piece, scored at 1" down the 7 5/8" sides, and at 15/16" and 1 15/16" on the 5 1/2" sides between the 1" score marks. Does that make sense? It should when you look at the link for the tutorial above . . .

Not sure how much updating I will get to do this week, but I promise to share SOME pictures from Convention. And guess what??? JanTink is in da house!! That's right! Jan is staying with me this week for Convention, and we have been cracking each other up since she got here yesterday (at least WE think we are funny!)!! She and I are going to be going on the Quest-for-the=Kicked-to-the Curb-Projects . . . aka the projects we BOTH submitted for the Stampin' Up Artisan Award . . . that DIDN'T win . . . sigh . . . that SHOULDA won . . . sigh . . . we have both had one of our cards from that submission show up on Stamper's Showcase, so we are thinking that there are NINE other projects for each of us that MUST be on the display boards somewhere at Convention! We WILL keep you posted on that!!

Paper: Black Linen (generic) and La Creme by DCWV
Accessories: Large and small oval punches, label maker, Spellbinders Ribbon & Bells (S3-138), black organza ribbon

Our Daily Bread August Release!

I am a day late and a dollar short on this post, as the new release actually started YESTERDAY (YIKES!!) Nonetheless, y'all are gonna LOVE the two new sets released for August by Our Daily Bread!

Jesus

Happy Birthday

I used one of the wonderful sentiments from the "Happy Birthday" set to create this sample for you (and you all GOTTA know that I LOVE this set in particular because it has BUTTERFLIES in it!! )

I found inspiration to create this from today's Featured Stamper over on SCS - Teresa Kline (aka VA.sunshine!). Here is a link to HER card (before you say, "What??" I loved the fact that she used "No Pictures," as she titled the card, and the blues in this got me to thinking about the Bella Bleu dsp!)

No Pictures by Teresa

Check out what some of the other girls in the "Bread Basket" have created for you (and I'm warning you, look at your own risk . . . it's gonna make you NEED these sets!!):

Angella Crockett
Betty Wright
Connie McCotter
Chris Olsen
Deb Saaranen
Jane Wetzel
Judy Rozema
Loretta Lock
Sandee Shanabrough
Silke Ledlow

Stamps: Happy Birthday by Our Daily Bread
Paper: Kraft, Very Vanilla, Not Quite Navy, Bella Bleu dsp
Ink: Not Quite Navy
Accessories: Spellbinders In Spades pendant die (S4-208) and Large Mega Deckled Rectangles (S5-015), Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, kraft taffeta ribbon, pearl sticker

A Challenge to DIE for!

It was once again my turn to be LSC hostess over on SCS. I had sooo much fun making these cards. I have had my Cricut for a few years, but don't drag it out and use it NEARLY as often as I should. Every time I use it I wonder why I don't use it more often!!

The challenge was for players to create a card or project where a diecut was the focal point. They could use a diecut machine, like the Cricut or Cuttlebug (or Big Shot or Wizard, etc.), or punches, which are essentially mini diecuts. Chipboard was also used by several people. I hadn't really even thought of that 'til after I saw some samples . . .

I have to admit I absolutely LOVE my Storybook Cricut cartridge! It has OODLES of lovely and amazing things on it. Both of these cards were created using it . . . I was thrilled to discover that Rich Razzleberry matches wonderfully with my good old Purely Pomegranate satin ribbon (it looks even better in real life!)!

Stamps: Short & Sweet
Paper: Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, River Rock, Rich Razzleberry
Ink: Soft Suede
Accessories: Cricut Storybook Cartridge, Cuttlebug Mesh Texture embossing folder, Purely Pomegranate satin ribbon, small oval punch

The inspiration for this second card came because my good friend, Melissa (toknighton on SCS) had a new baby girl on Thursday morning . . . Welcome, Marah!! Isn't this swirly design just AWESOME??? It kinda looks like a butterfly, I think (although I DO have butterflies on the brain, so maybe my imagination in this area is more tweaked than normal).

Stamps: Short & Sweet
Paper: Always Artichoke, Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette, Mellow Moss, Very Vanilla
Ink: Always Artichoke
Accessories: Storybook Cricut cartridge, Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder, scallop oval, large oval, modern label and word window punches, EK Success diamond scallop edge punch, white polka dot organza ribbon, glue dots

And finally, Amelia, my darling daughter, created this FUN Spongebob card as a sample for the challenge. Isn't it adorable??? She hand-drew and cut out the letters herself! (Apparently there is an episode of Spongebob where he sings a "FUN" song and these are the letters that show up whie he is singing it!)

Stamps: Do the Hula
Paper: Coo Caribbean, Summer Sun, Bermuda Bay, Ballet Blue, YoYo Yellow, Basic Black, Whisper White, Close to Cocoa
Ink: Cool Caribbean, black marker
Accessories: Cricut Spongebob Squarepants cartridge

Another One from "Our Daily Bread" . . .

Here is sneak peek #2 of new sets being released by Our Daily Bread . . . and it has BUTTERFLIES!!

Oh my gosh! I was soooo excited when I saw the images for these stamps after I had found out that I had been picked to be a Guest Designer for August! You guys KNOW that butterflies are my thing, right??? I couldn't have been more excited when I saw this . . .

Which means . . . that THIS baby is card #102 in my "Follow the Butterflies" challenge (and I am still a week ahead, but I only have TWO MORE TO GO!!)!! WAHOO, baby!

I also incorporated the little paper clip on this so that it would fit into WT229 - to use some sort of office supply thing in your creation . . . excellent!

Have a happy, butterfly-filled day!!

Stamps: Happy Birthday by Our Daily Bread
Paper: Old Olive, Kiwi Kiss, Cameo Coral, Summer Sun, Watercolor
Ink: Black Stazon, Reinkers - Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Summer Sun, Bordering Blue, Bashful Blue, Perfect Plum, Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Spellbinders Butterflies Impressabilities, Labels One Nestabilities (S4-161), small paper clip, green gingham ribbon, scallop border plastic template, blender pen, white gel pen, pop-up glue dots

My First ODBD Creation!

I have long been admiring the lovely images and sentiments created for Our Daily Bread Designs (so you can imagine how totally THRILLED I am to be a Guest Designer for them for the month of August!).

Here is a little "sneak peek" of their new release - "Jesus" - it has put in a very thoughtful and reflective mood. I am truly grateful for all that I have and for the sacrifices made for me - for all of us - by our older brother and Savior. What more can I say?

The layout for this was for SC239 on SCS - I thought it worked so perfectly with this image and sentiment. (And I am still loving this gorgeous felted/flocked paper by DCWV!)

Have a glorious day!!

Stamps: Jesus by Our Daily Bread
Paper: Basic Black, Very Vanilla, La Creme dsp by DCWV
Ink: Going Gray, Basic Black
Accessories: Emaginations Daisy Flower punch, 1/4" circle punch, black/white gingham ribbon, linen thread, Elegant Bouquet embossing folder by SU

Long-Lost Card . . . These are BIRDS???

I was cleaning some photos off of my computer and came across this card I did for Spellbinders last January. We were challenged to do something "non-traditional" with the Nested Birds dies . . . this is what I came up with! I thought it turned out pretty cool . . .

I am currently relaxing in a chair looking out over the MUI-beautiful Bear Lake (on the Utah/Idaho border). Our family has had a condo up here since right around the time that I got married, so I haven't known a summer in nearly 25 years without time spent here. My kids can honestly say that they have NEVER spent a summer away from here . . . we all LOVE it. I am happy to be blessed with such a wonderful family and a fantastic place to enjoy each other's company . . .

Stamps: NONE!
Ink: Basic Black craft
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, ColorMates Light Fairy Tale Pink by World Win
Accessories: Spellbinders Nested Bird (S4-160), Nested Flower (S4-159), Flower Bouquet Miniabilities (S4-200), Large Classic Inverted Scalloped Square (S4-196), Black/white polka dot organza ribbon (May Arts), black jewel sticker (Doodlebug)



I took this picture this morning as the sun was coming up here at the lake . . . wish it had turned out as good as the real thing!







And here are the girls . . . Izzy (my niece) and Amelia (my daughter) sporting the new t-shirts they colored yesterday afternoon . . . aren't they cute??