2012 Artisan Award Winner Blog Hop - Project 1

Welcome Friends!! You should have just come from the AMAZING blog of my fellow Artisan, Sarah Sagert.  Her work is WONDERFUL!! (If you started here, keep clicking the "next" button at the bottom of each post, you'll get back around to her, and you wouldn't wanna miss ANYthing!!)

We are FINALLY getting around to posting our winning Artisan Award entries ... thanks for being patient. You will not be sorry, because everyone's work is just SOOO fabulous ... again, I am honored, humbled and happy to be part of such a wonderfully talented group of people!!

Without further adieu ... here is my first project. Being a "flower geek", this card was VERY fun for me to create. One of my favorite parts about it is the little "ring" behind the centers of the largest flowers ... I punched out a little "donut" from Whisper White cardstock (used the 1/4" circle, then punched it again in the middle with the crop-a-file). I then proceeded to wrap the colored baker's twine that coordinated with each brad around the "donut" before I placed the brad in the middle ... cool, eh? LOVE how it turned out!!

Stamps: Petite Pairs
Paper: Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White, Summer Smooches DSP, Sweet Shoppe DSP
Ink: Island Indigo
Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder, Blossom Bouquet Punch, BoHo Blossoms Punch, 1⁄2" Circle Punch, Crop-a- Dile, Island Indigo Baker’s Twine, Pool Party Baker’s Twine, Wisteria Wonder Baker’s Twine, Lucky Limeade Baker’s Twine, Designer Printed Brads, Little Leaves Sizzlets Die, Build a Blossom Punch, Adorning Accents Edgelits Die, Decorative Label Punch, Wisteria Wonder Ruffled Ribbon

Moving on ... go check out Amy Bollman!!! Her work is TOTALLY stunning!!

Freakin' Back to School

Welcome to the Freak Tour!!! This month we are going "Back to School" with a few things to get you in the mood for it! You should just have come from the blog of my BFF, JanTink ... she is a WIZARD!!! A stampin' GEENYUS, right??

I have spent the weekend moving my baby girl away to college ... sigh ... and I made her this little tag for her backpack. Not even sure she will actually USE it (she might hang it above her desk in the dorm), but it was fun making her SOMEthing for school. This is going to be sooo strange not having to wake ANYone up in the mornings!!

Stamps: Perfectly Preserved
Paper: Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, Orchard Harvest DSP
Ink: Cajun Craze, Lucky Limeade
Accessories: Window Frames Framelits, 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Typeset Alphabet Bigz Die, Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Linen Thread, Designer Naturals Button, Ball Chain

Next ... how about a card to put a smile on the teacher's face? I was going for the "blackboard" look with this one ... VERY simple, but I like how it turned out. (And that Chevron embossing folder is becoming my new favorite, I tell ya!)

Stamps: Perfectly Preserved, Fabulous Phrases
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Whisper White Embossing Power, Word Window Punch, Cherry Cobble Polka Dot Ribbon, Festive Paper Piercing Pack, Vintage Faceted Buttons, Whisper White Baker's Twine

And lastly ... I made this for another one of my BFF's, Kathy ... she is an inspiration to me. She has NINE children!!! She is bringing three of her daughter's to Utah from Minnesota for college this week (she has four older daughters who are out of school, and two boys left at home!). This card is for HER ... happy for her to have all the kids back in school so that she can have some PEACE and QUIET!!! Love ya, girlie!!

Stamps: Occasions Alphabet
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Real Red, Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Polka Dot Parade DSP
Ink: Real Red, Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Oval Punch, Finishing Touches Edgelits Die, Real Red Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

And NOW? You get to check out the ever-fantastic Yvette Ashe!!

Where DID the Summer Go???

Holy sa-MOKES!! I can't believe my daughter will be leaving for college THIS WEEKEND!!! We've been frantically shopping/washing/packing/scrambling as we are trying to get her ready to go. Since she is the "baby" in my family, everyone keeps asking me how I feel now that we are gonna be "empty nesters" ... honestly couldn't tell ya because I don't really feel like the nest is empty ... my two older boys are here quite often, and I imagine my daughter will come home to visit (do laundry/have ME do laundry) a lot as well, since she will only be an hour-and-a-half away).

I made this card for my cousin's little girl who is turning 9 tomorrow ... maybe it's not little girlie enough, but I like the flower and the patterned paper, so I just decided to roll with it.

Stamps: Decorate a Daisy, Occasions Alphabet
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Summer Smooches DSP
Ink: Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Delicate Doilies Sizzlets Die, Small Scallop Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Large Oval Punch, Brights Button, Whisper White Baker's Twine, Rich Razzleberry Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Woodgrain Textured Impressions Folder, Chevron Textured Impressions Folder

By the way ... LOTS of excitement coming up in the next week ... the Control Freaks Blog Tour is on the 20th (that's MONDAY!), and the Artisan Award Winners will be having OUR blog hop on the 21st (but it will probably be up on the night of the 20th ... if everything goes as planned!)! Stay tuned ...

2012 Artisan Design Team Projects for August - Part 2

The more I use it, the more I like Summer Starfruit ... seriously!! And who KNEW that it would go so well with Lemonheads!!! I've really being enjoying my "play time" with the new In Colors the past couple of days ... it's so much fun to have new colors to add to our palette, don'tcha think?? (Now if I could just stop myself from eating all the leftover Lemonheads all by myself!!)

Stamps: Layered Labels
Paper: Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, Whisper White, In Color Designer Series Paper
Ink: Midnight Muse
Accessories: Apothecary Accents Framelits, Pearl Basics, Scallop Circle Punch, Bird Builder Punch, Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Midnight Muse Satin Stitched Ribbon, Elegant Butterfly Punch, Lacy Brocade Textured Impressions Folder, Tin

Shifting gears to our new luscious pinks ... Raspberry Ripple and Primrose Petals!! Add a little Gumball Green and it's a great combo!!

Stamps: Layered Labels
Paper: Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple, Whisper White, In Color Designer Series Paper
Ink: Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple
Accessories: Apothecary Accents Framelits, Primrose Petals Satin Stitched Ribbon, Oval Punch, Silver Brad, Paper Daisies, Dahlias, Finishing Touches Edgelits Die, Fancy Fan Textured Impression Folder

Headed off to a free showing of "The Lorax" on the lawn across the street from the neighborhood chocolate shop (Yay, Hatch's!). Great way to kick off the weekend ...

2012 Artisan Design Team Projects for August - Part 1

Each month for the next YEAR Stampin' Up will be sending the members of the Artisan Design Team a box full of goodies to play with ... the results of which will be posted on our blogs. This month (already!!) we received a box CHOCK FULL of goodies that showcase the new In Colors (which I happen to LOVE, so this was a WIN-WIN for me!!). This is the first project I came up with ... I'm going to do my best to sway the "Summer Starfruit Naysayers" in the right direction. I actually really LIKE that color, especially when it is paired with the ever-so-fabulous Midnight Muse .. what do you think???

Stamps: Layered Labels, Itty Bitty Banners
Paper: Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, Primrose Petals, Whisper White, Patio Party
Ink: Midnight Muse
Accessories: Apothecary Accents Framelits, Bitty Banners Framelits, Blossom Punch, Chevron Textured Impressions Folder, Dahlias, Gold Smooch Spritz, Midnight Muse Stitched Satin Ribbon

And here are my SPOILS!! This is what I got in my first monthly shipment AND what I ordered with my $500 shopping spree (which is one of the many wonderful perks I received for being chosen as a member of the Artisan Design Team). Can you say, "BETTER THAN CHRISTMAS AND MY BIRTHDAY AND MOTHER'S DAY ALL ROLLED INTO ONE???" Color me happy!!

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner!!

I know this quote comes from the movie "Tin Cup" ... but it actually makes me think about a little charm of a movie called "Waking Ned Divine" ... if you haven't seen it, you SHOULD!! As SOON as possible!! It is one of our family favorites ... you will not be sorry ...

But, in actuality, the reason I used that as the title for today's blog post is because this is how I feel ... still ... even three weeks after Convention is over. I'm still in the "pinch me" phase. I will be sharing a photo with you in the next couple of days of all the wonderful COOL stuff I have received as a direct result of my being chosen as a member of Stampin' Up's Artisan Design Team. This is going to be a GREAT year!!

Which brings me to this card ... once I finished it (which took me WAAYYY tooo long, by the way!), I thought to myself, "Who in the HECK would I send this to??? And for WHAT occasion??" I had seen an adorable card on the boards at Convention where the crafty creator (sorry, NO idea who made it!) made the ca-YOOTest card with a bunch of little pies on it ... hence, this card. Maybe my pie doesn't actually look like a pie, but it took me just as long to make as a real pie, I tell ya!! I sprayed the pie with a little Smooch Spritz, but you can't see it in the photo.

Now to find a BOX in which I could actually mail/send this baby ... as soon as I figure out WHO to send it to!!

Stamps: Blue Ribbon, Border Banter
Paper: Marina Mist, Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, So Saffron, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Polka Dot Parade DSP
Ink: Marina Mist, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede
Accessories: 2 3/8" and Large Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1/4" Circle Punch, Rosette Bigz Die, Designer Label Punch, Daffodil Delight Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder, Gold Smooch Spritz

Washi Tape ... MDS Style!!

I was asked to be a "sample" hostess for Bev Rousch's Dare to Get Dirty Challenge over on SCS today. I was only to happy to oblige as Bev is one of my besties!! Love ya, girlie!!

Anyway, I realized that I could take this opportunity to make a hybrid card in MDS. So, this is the sample I came up with. And can I say how THRILLED I was to make this with MDS 2???? The washi tape I used does not come in the colors you see here ... they were completely different!! One of my FAVORITE new features in MDS 2 is that you can "color" your embellishments (not to mention your stamped images!), so I just picked several pieces of the washi tape images from the "Soon to Bloom" collection and changed the color to Rich Razzleberry on all of them ... came out with some LOVELY shades and variations. SOOOO happy with the way this works!! YAY-YAY-YAY!!!

This will be the first weekend in over a month that I don't have ANYwhere I hafta go that requires WORK or PACKING or ANYthing!! LOVE it!! My brother is riding in on his motorcycle today from Colorado Springs. YAY-YAY-YAY!! We have a family reunion tomorrow for my mom's side of the family (don't hafta pack or anything ... it's just in a park here in town!). It's going to be wonderful to have him here and to spend the weekend with family. Big Cheesy Smile!!

Stamps: Everything Eleanor, Fabulous Phrases
Paper: Early Espresso, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Ink: Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Whisper White Baker's Twine, Pearl Basics, My Digital Studio (Soon to Bloom Washi Tape)

MDS 2!!

HOORAY!! Today's the DAY!! Stampin' Up is releasing MDS 2 today (My Digital Studio). We got a chance at a "Sneak Peek" while we were at Convention a couple of weeks ago, and all I have to say is A-MAZ-ING!!

There are sooo many new features that will be available to us with this fun new bunch of upgrades ... not the LEAST of which is that you can add multiple colors to a stamped image!! (Like you would color a stamp with a marker, you can now color the different areas of an image with different colors!!)

You will also be able to design your pages in SPREADS!! (Basically means you will be able to put two pages side by side and match 'em up!!) LOVE this!! AND the stamp images will be SVG, which means that you will ALSO be able to use them with an "E-Cutter" (think Cricut, Silhouette, etc.!!). I'm SOOOO excited!!!

Sooo ... here are a couple of layouts I did with MDS just to get you thinking digitally ...

This is from a day that my husband and two of my three kids went hiking in the foothills up above Salt Lake. I absolutely LOVE the fact that we are sooo close to places where we can "get away" from the hustle and bustle and enjoy some beautiful views!

Ingredients: Paper - Basic Gray Small Polka Dot; Stamps - Autumn Elements; Punches - Photo Corner, Modern Label, Oval, Scallop Trim Border; Embellishments - Zig-Zag Stitching, Basic Gray Flower Brads, Spring Fever.

And here is a page I did of some pictures my daughter and her friend took in my front yard a couple of years ago. LOVE the sidewalk chalk rainbow they created. Then they decided it would be fun to LEAP over the artwork they had made and take some pictures. Silly girls!!

Ingredients: Paper - Afternoon Tea II; Stamps - Bold Branches, Happy Camper, Thoughtful Overlays; Punches - Tag, Circle and Oval Punches; Embellishments - Mis-Stitched Stitching, Grosgrain Ribbon, White Brads, ; Font - CK Newsman.

Wanna play, too?? Click on my "shop online" button on the sidebar to the right and you can download an upgrade to the software if you already have it, or you can purchase the entire program!! You can also get a free 30-day trial (but trust me ... you will be hooked before you are through!!)!!

Flowers of Summer

As I sit watching the Olympics (I LOVE the Olympics!!), I keep thinking I need to get up off my, um, chair ... and go stamp something!! I'm going to have to have my tv set up in my craft room so I can do at least SOME stamping the next couple of weeks ... I hate to miss ANY of the prime time Olympic broadcast. SOOOO exciting!!

We spent a little time over the weekend up at the family condo in Bear Lake (Utah/Idaho border). It's so beautiful and peaceful up there ... and the phone and internet service is sketchy, so relaxing is really what I do best there!! (Not to mention massive croquet tournaments, beach time, late-evening/early-morning runs, hot tubbing and hanging out with the fam!!)

This is the card I created for the latest Control Freaks Swap (we DO actually swap cards, not just to blog hops!) for the "New Catalog Swap." I am sooo drawn to flower stamps. I have more of those that anything else!

We should be revving up an Artisan Award Winner Blog Tour for ya pretty quick here as well, so stay tuned!!

Stamps: Stippled Blossoms, Petite Pairs
Paper: Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green, Pink Pirouette, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Raspberry Ripple, Certainly Celery, Gumball Green
Accessories: Apothecary Accents Framelits Dies, Gumball Green Satin Stitched Ribbon, Chevron Textured Impressions Folder, Simply Scored, Pearl Basics, Large Oval Punch

Freakin' Happy!

That would pretty much describe my mood since seeing all of my fellow Control Freaks at Convention!! You should just come from the amazing creations of Dawn Olchefske (the woman is a stampin' genius!). Our theme this months is "Freak for All" ... we are sharing cards that we swapped at Convention (for those of us who were there) AND some of the new goodies that will be available from the Holiday Mini. Soooo ... let's get started!!

This is my first Convention Freak Swap. Since I love ALL things Halloween, I couldn't RESIST the cute little witchy-poo boot!! And I decided she needed a broom to match (the owl punch works nicely as some straw for my broom, don'tcha think??)

Stamps: Bootiful Occasions
Paper: Basic Black, Elegant Eggplant, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Apothecary Accents Die, Owl Punch, Paper Piercing Mat/Tool, Rhinestone Basics, Basic Black 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Spiderweb Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Chevron Textured Impressions Folder, Simply Scored

Next, I had to make a floral card for my Freaky friends. I am sooo drawn to floral stamps (aren't we ALL??). I would probably be just fine making floral cards all the time (I guess I do most of the time, anyway!). And the new paper piercing templates are DA BOMB!!

Stamps: Summer Silhouettes, Curly Cute
Paper: Lucky Limeade, Whisper White
Ink: Lucky Limeade, Daffodil Delight, Raspberry Ripple
Accessories: Paper Piercing Template, Modern Label Punch, Pearl Basics, Daffodil Delight Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

To say that I LOVELOVELOVE this stamp set is an understatement!! AND it has DIECUTS to match!! (They will be available in the new holiday mini!) So I put the image of the jar with a pear inside on a jar with some juicy pear JELLY BELLIES inside!! And, going with my latest trend, had to add a little Crystal Effects to that pear. I could not help myself!!

Stamps: Friendship Preserves
Paper: Whisper White, Orchard Harvest DSP
Ink: Basic Black, Early Espresso, Lucky Limeade
Accessories: Cannery Framelets, Banners Framelits, Designer Fabric Essentials, Linen Thread, Crystal Effects, Cannery Jar

Now ... on the the lovely creations of Yvette Ashe!!