Arctic Stamp Queen

Sisters Road Trip

2011-07-06T10:57:00.003-08:00

For Christmas, Mark got me a Bamboo Wacom Tablet. It is a graphic design pad and essentially is a ginormous touch pad. You use a pen with it and can program the pen and the 4 buttons on the pad to do certain things. (I even programmed it to open ACDSee my digital scrapbook organizing program at the touch of a button....how cool is that?!) It looks really cool and I had asked for it because a lot of the women on my photography forum were raving about how wonderful it was for editing. But, I got it and had no idea how to use it. So I looked and found a great class through Jessica Sprague to learn the basics and with that I created this layout of a road trip my sister and I took last summer down to Anchorage. If you look closely you will see that I digitally WROTE on this layout. The date and the "Here to Here" labels are my (blechy) handwriting. But, I know that my family will look back on it and have warm fuzzies, just like I do when I see my Grandma's handwritting.

Even though this class was all about learning how to use the pen tablet, Jessica is such an amazing teacher I learned a ton of info about Photoshop Elements. WOW! I highly recommend her for PSE and PS classes. I will definately be taking more of her classes.

Journaling reads: 1 Kia Rondo, 1 Canon Xsi, 2 crazy girls. 350 miles, 7.5 hours, snacks, craughs, laughter, understanding...acceptance. I love the moments I spend with my sister. This was one of my best road trips ever!

All products used were included in the download for the Jessica Sprague pen tablet class.

Project Life

2011-05-30T12:19:00.000-08:00

I decided to commit to taking a picture a day this summer. This will help me focus on my photography skills as well as my storytelling/scrapbooking skills. I have been fascinated with Becky Higgins Project Life concept. She has a great idea of taking a picture a day to document our daily life and then she sells a great product to help with that documentation. It is easy for me to document the big moments. The holidays, the vacations, the birthdays. It's the everyday moments, when my house is not at it's best, or my kids are not perfectly groomed and combed. But those are the moments that are REAL, that we will look back on and go "oh yeah, remember how {insert name so as not to embarass anyone} always had sweat on his/her face because they were playing so hard".

I am intrigued, but before making the committment of purchasing the product to sit unused, I wanted to see if I could even manage the photo a day. So I decided I would try that for the summer and then if I did and liked it, I would purchase a kit this fall and put it together. I decided to document the photo journey on my photography blog. If you are interested in following, here is the link: Becky Dustin Photography.

C'Mon Summer...please?

2011-05-16T12:56:00.000-08:00

I am chomping at the bit to go spend time at the botanical gardens again. I am so tired of dreary winter whites and drab spring muddy browns. Bring on the color and my favorites. Sunflowers, paperthin poppies...Please?

It's love

2011-03-07T18:41:00.000-09:00

So, I finally got a chance to play with my camera...and it is love. The difference between my old camera and the new one is like a Kia and a Cadillac. No offense to Kia drivers, I drive one too. I took a picture of Seth inside at night (low light conditions). I was able to go higher ISO with less noise. The picture is a little yellow because of the light in my living room. This weekend I took a picture of Leah in natural light. I was super happy.

So now all that leaves is to come up with a name, as I think me and my new friend are going to be going lots of places together. Oh say, St. Louis in 3 months. And calling it my new friend is going to get old after awhile. Suggestions?

MCP Lens Giveaway

2011-02-21T11:20:00.003-09:00

MCP actions is giving away a yummy new lens by Tamron...I have been drooling over this one since I discovered it in my local camera shop last month. Its a redesign that makes it smaller and more lightweight. I think this would be right at home on my camera a majority of the time. It's focal length goes from 18-270. WHOA, get out! It's pricey, but I think for the ease and convenience of not missing pictures of my kids while changing lenses it will be worth it. BUT hold on, MCP and Tamron have teamed up and are giving one away. Um hello, raising my hand here...I would love one. After saving up for my Canon 7D, I'm a little camera poor...AND even more lens poor. I could really use this. And if I post information about the contest on my blog, I get an extra entry. So, thank you to my loyal followers, I know this post is not at all in keeping with my papercrafts. BUT think of the killer scrapbook pages I can create with the pictures I take with this lens. :)

You can click the title for the link, or here is another one: MCP/Tamron Lens Giveaway.

Valentines

2011-02-05T13:05:00.000-09:00

Are you shocked and amazed? Me too. I actually made 5 handstamped cards last weekend, all for birthdays this week and was unable to take pictures before I needed to hand them out. :(

I gave myself permission not to make Christmas cards this year. I wanted to enjoy every moment of having Ashlyn home. And I did. But, Valentines is around the corner, so I got out my crafty cap this morning. See, Mark gets home on Saturday mornings and creeps into bed between 5 and 7 a.m. And, bless his heart, he tries so hard to be in stealth mode, but it wakes me up.every.single.time. My body just knows that there is someone in my bedroom. And yeah, it probably knows that it's my husband, but my protective radar kicks in because I am used to sleeping with one eye open and being the protector of my kids. You can ask my husband, I have scared him to death on more than one occassion when I was sleeping particularly deep.

After Mark quietly made his way to bed this morning, I couldn't fall back to sleep and after laying there for an hour trying, I thought why waste the golden silence. So, I went into stealth mode and quietly snuck down the stairs, put the dogs out, warmed up a pot of hot water for tea and powered up my computer. Just as I was chortling to myself with glee and putting my feet up to enjoy it, I heard a set of feet hit the floor upstairs and my son came down to see what I was doing. Really? Followed 5 minutes later by his sister. So much for that.

So, I proceeded to blog surf and break up fights every so often when I came across a post that linked to this: Ga Ga for Little Monsters.  I thought it was so cute when I saw it, valentines immediately came to mind and I thought it might fit the bill for BOTH Seth and Leah...a win win in my book. They both liked it for entirely different reasons and the kit was bought and downloaded.

I started with Leah and we sat down and picked the elements that she wanted on her valentine. I created it to be a wallet size and then was able to center 2 of them on a 4x6 print that I can cut at the 3" mark with a 1/4" border all the way around.   Leah loved everything about sitting down with me and designing from start to finish.

Seth wasn't sure if he wanted to even do a valentine this year, since he is in 5th grade. I convinced him it would be okay. This was actually the main reason I did this project this way with both of my kids is because I do not purchase school pictures for my children any longer...way too expensive and the last time I purchased them they did not use the background I asked for.  I asked for a nice neutral grey, they sent orange (blech), not happy. This way they can give a picture of themselves to their school friends and we will also be sending them to family so everyone has a recent picture of my children. Are you seeing the genius behind this? I should get up early more often!

This is a digital project created in PSE7, using the Ga Ga for Little Monsters Kit. I will have these printed at Sam's club on a 4x6 print so they will cost 7cents each. We will tape a sucker to each one and call it good.

I've been playing

2010-06-02T00:06:00.000-08:00

Remember that nifty picture I posted in December when I bought my cool new camera? Well...I have been taking a couple of online courses and learning how to use functions (not even close to all of them yet) on my camera and thought I would share the results of what I have been up to...wanna see?

I am happy with the results of this impromptu photo session. It gives me such hope and I LOVE capturing quality photos to use in my scrapbooks. I find happiness in doing something creative again. I am dusting the cobwebs off and seeing the world from a different view. I look for textures and aesthetics everywhere I go. I look at color and placement. I love throwing my camera in the car and driving till I see something I need to capture. I find peace and contentment in translating what I want to see (in my head) into reality. I guess what I'm trying to say is...I'm really digging this photography thing...alot. ALOT.

Write Your Name Upon My Heart.avi

2010-04-30T08:14:00.000-08:00

My first photo shoot

2010-04-18T19:00:00.001-08:00

Lookie what I have been working on. It still feels very surreal. I mean, really? How can I possibly be old enough to have a child graduating from high school?

We had Ashlyn's Senior Pictures taken last spring, with Arctic Edge Photography. And we liked the pictures, but not the graduation announcements...and especially not the prices of said announcements. We REALLY didn't like the style or the price of the school announcements either.

I figured I could come up with something. So today, I grabbed my camera and we went downtown after Stake Conference to see what we could do. I had couple of places scouted out, and then we just drove around looking for walls and fences that had interesting textures. We found this connex container in a parking lot and thought...why not. Am I sure glad we did...the only downside was the sun was out in full force, it was beautiful but it kind of washed out her face...but we liked the overall effect so we went with it.

We added our type and uploaded it to my favorite printing company: Scrapbook Pictures. We had these printed as 4x6 on metallic paper with envelopes for $0.55/each. Not bad compared to $2.00/ea from the other companies. Ashlyn is thrilled with how they came out and I am happy for that. I know how important this is to her and I wanted this to meet her expectations.

This process was so easy and fun for me. I may offer this service in the future, to lessen the financial impact Sr. Pictures and announcements have.

Have a great day!

Getting ready for...

2010-02-07T20:44:00.000-09:00

Last weekend was the Senior Ball. Ashlyn and I found her dress on Amazon.com. We both loved it immediately and no other dress really measured up to it. We bought the matching bolero so that she would have a beautifully modest dress. I love it when we can pull the modesty thing off...and this time we did. Pull it off. Her date for the evening was Seth Haines, one of her hockey player friends. They decided to go to Pagoda for dinner before the dance. Unfortunately for Seth, he and one of his buddies both got really sick within a couple of hours. They both had Sweet and Sour Chicken from Pagoda...things that make you go hmm? So, Cinderella was home well before her curfew. She was understandably disappointed and I was thrilled that I got to go to bed just a bit earlier.

I'm a girl...I can change my mind

2010-01-14T23:36:00.001-09:00

Well, I just kept coming back to this layout...unsatisfied with it. I finally changed the background paper to this grungy Kraft and I am liking it much better. In so many areas of my life I like fru fru, I {adore} fru fru. But I am finding that when I scrapbook, I like a simplistic feel to the page. I like my pictures to be the focal point, not the embellishments. So I did it, I completed my first Life Layout.

Tomorrow, I am taking a friend out to Chena Hotsprings, she is visiting from Oregon and I think she NEEDS to experience Chena Hot Springs in all of its below zero glory. Should make for some great pictures, but I am thinking I will take one of our garage sale cameras. The pictures may not be as nice, but I'm not taking a chance with Rebel. Have a great weekend.

Life 365:Week 1 {My Technology}

2010-01-13T22:27:00.001-09:00

As I was thinking about this project, the first thing that came to mind was technology. All these little gizmos and gadgets that come together to make my life happier, in some cases a lot happier.

The top picture is of my job. That is my wonderful SLP that teaches and guides me (Hi Lucinda!). We do all of this over the internet. She lives in Portland and attends our speech sessions via Skype. We have unlimited resources at our fingertips and I think it makes our therapy "fresh" for the kids. We enjoy working together, each day I am so excited to power up my computer and have our morning chat. My job makes me VERY happy...but I do have to say that we use Macs at work and I don't get what the fuss is all about. It is not nearly as user friendly as a PC...going back and forth between the two is not an easy transition for me.

Now, speaking of computers, this confession is going to date me...a LOT. I can remember when I was in Mr. Kornstad's 6th grade classroom and our principal proudly rolled in our schools FIRST computer. It was an apple IIe and it was revolutionary. It was dos based and I remember our class project was to play the Oregon Trail. It was, I believe, the very first Personal Computer (PC). Now you look at our schools and every classroom has 1 or more, we have an extremely high tech computer lab of 28 of the lastest Mac's at my school. What an amazing technology to witness.

The next picture is my beloved laptop that Mark got me for my birthday in 2008. Its a lovely shade of green, because as you all know, I avoid boring whenever possible. My only lament is that I wanted the gawjus pink laptop, really, really bad...But my husband said eventually when it was time to get a new one he would take this one and he did not want it to be pink. Stinker has since bought his own laptop, which is navy blue (boring, yawn). So, next time it is pink, although I did see one that was lovely espresso brown...hmmm, choices.

Also pictured with my laptop is my iPhone. I truly {heart} my iPhone. It keeps me connected to those I love. I have learned how to...gasp: TEXT! It took me a while, but I love that I can check in on Ashlyn, say Hi to my sister, tell Mark I love him. I have had some of the most amazing conversations with my daughter about subjects she doesn't feel comfortable talking to me face to face about.

The last picture is my newest beloved gadget...my Kindle. Does anyone know what a Kindle is? It is an ebook reader, it is proprietary with Amazon, but thats okay, me likey Amazon. It can hold 1500 books. At first, I wasn't too sure if it would be the same and there are some drawbacks (can't loan a book). But I LOVE having books so readily available and since space is an issue in my house I had stopped buying books, and I am terrible about returning them to the library, so I had pretty well stopped reading. Well...NO LONGER. I am again immersing myself in my love of words, painting pictures in my head. I just cannot say enough good things about my Kindle.

What is your favorite piece of technology? What do you have that has changed your life so that you are unwilling to live without it?

Our Family: 2010

2010-01-10T20:48:00.001-09:00

Kit & Template: Weeds and Wildflowers, January Sweet & Simple: Life 365.

My children are growing...so fast now. This picture was taken at Leah's baptism. It's hard to believe my BABY is almost 9. This is the title page for Life 365. I like how this is forcing me to pick up my camera, I like that my kids are getting used to the camera so they aren't posing as much (I really dislike the poses). I like that I am becoming more mindful of the memories and of capturing them.

It is so easy to get caught up in the rush of life and put things off. I am horrible at that. I don't want to put my life off, I want to live it now, enjoy it today.

So...here's to {today}.

Gulp...taking the plunge

2010-01-09T15:00:00.001-09:00

For years I have wanted a DSLR camera...a Canon Rebel EOS to be exact. I was able to purchse the TSi last week and I couldn't be more thrilled...wanna see it?

It is sleek and beautiful and promises to be my faithful companion...I in turn have committed to carrying it as MY faithful companion, an extension of me.

It has lots of buttons and dials that I am anxious to disover, but for now "Full Auto Mode" is taking beautiful pictures. I have been pouring over books and am looking into an online photography class to help me fully maximize the potential of my new friend, what fun we'll have disovering each other.

Did you see the lovely camera case I picked out too? So fun and sassy...it makes me happy.

Well, now that I have a really nice digital camera and since I want to learn how to use it, I am contemplating committing myself to Project 365.

Basically the premise is that you take a picture every day documenting your life, the ordinary, the extraordinary and the mundane. Then you make a weekly scrapbook layout documenting this. At the end of the year you will have 52 layouts documenting your life. I think this is a wonderful idea and that our future generations will love seeing the day to day activities of our lives.

My concern is how do you document the day to day without it being the same ole same ole, know what I mean? So...if I have any readers left I would love to hear your thoughts on this and would gladly entertain ideas for photo op's.

Taking a Class...and some news.

2009-09-05T19:29:00.000-08:00

One of the blogs that I like to follow is Cathy Zielske. She used to work for Simple Scrapbooks and I just love her writing style. Thats why I was thrilled when she announced on her blog several weeks ago that she would be teaching an online scrapbooking class through Big Picture Scrapbooking called Me: The Abridged Version (Me:TAV).

I am fascinated by the concept of telling my story. She based this class on a book called: Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, Mark is in town picking up my copy as I write. Writing is something that I really enjoyed in high school. I've lost touch with that and have recently had a desire to have more meaningful journaling in my scrapbooking. I'm guilty of enjoying the moments with my family, so though I call myself a scrapbooker, I don't have a lot of pictures. I decided that I need to use my words to tell the stories that I want to share and this class would help me rediscover those words.

Our first assignment was to make a tag book or use her prepared template. I opted for her template and then altered it to suit my style.

Ta-Da!!! Me likey very muchly thank you. I used a combination of Kraft and Pink Cardstock. I further embellished it with lace and velvet ribbon, a crocheted flower with button center, some bling, pearls and grungy ink on the edges...Shabby Chic BABY!

There is a seperate tag for each letter of the alphabet. Our assignment was to carry this with us and as we go throughout out day jot down one word nouns on the appropriate letter of things that are important to us and will help us tell our story. For example: I wrote down Garage and Grown Up Job under G. Stamps and Scrapbooking under S. I got a little delayed on this with my new Grown Up Job, but I am steadily filling up my letters.

I am really the most excited to be taking a class for me. Just because I want to. Just because I can. Just because I don't HAVE to. Thats really different for me. I'm normally the one offering the classes. I must confess, I am really liking being on the other side of it.

Which leads to my announcement: I have been contemplating this for a VERY long time and have finally decided to share. I was recently re-hired by my School District and am thrilled with what they will have me doing.

I am the new Special Education, Speech Aide. But we are doing something that is cutting edge. We are experiencing a shortfall of Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) in our state. Because these services are federally mandated, our district is trying a new soloution. They have contracted with an SLP firm in Portland, OR to provide SLP services to a few of their schools. How are they going to do this? So glad you asked. Are you ready for this: my SLP is going to attend our daily speech sessions with video conferencing through Skype. Isn't technology an amazing thing? I will be her assistant and will work under her direction with our students. Tuesday is my first day in session with students. How cool is that??? Because my SLP is out of state, this job has quite a few responsbilities for me.

Because of this, I have decided to discontinue being a Stampin' UP! Independent Demonstrator as of 9/31/2009. I don't think this is a huge surprise to my customers, I haven't done much for the past year. But, I have decided to walk away from it. I am a little bit sad, SU! was a huge part of my life for 7 years. I have been blessed with an amazing group of women, whom I shall call friends for life. Thanks to all of you for your love, laughter, concern and support. You truly are amazing!!!

May your stamps be plentiful and your pads be inky!
Arctic Stamp Queen

Keepin' Warm

2009-08-29T18:40:00.001-08:00

Hello Strangers...I seem to keep apologizing for my lapses in blogging. So...I've decided to stop.

Apologizing that is. Life is life, things happen. I'm a busy happily married single mom. Dad works nights, sleeps days, so I wear a lot of hats at my house. When I can carve out some time, I do. I have been busy putting all of my digital scrapbooking elements into a database with ACDSee Photo Organizer. It has taken many hours, but it has made digi scrappin' so much easier. Well worth the time. I {heart} that I can find what I need fast.

I finally broke down and got PSE 7. There is a learning curve, but thanks to The DigitalScrapbookTeacher, I am figuring it out. This is my first layout in PSE7. I used freebie template #69 by The Paper Iris. Here's her sample:

See how different mine looks, just because I chose different colors. That still amazes me.

I have been thinking lately about my purpose in scrapbooking. I have to tell a secret...I call myself a scrapbooker, but I don't have a whole lot of pictures. I realized that a lot of times I am so caught up in the moment that I forget to grab my camera. So, I am resolving to do better. For now, I will use the pictures I have and use my words to tell the story. I've always loved writing. THIS feels good and right to me.

I've also been looking back at the paper pages I have created and realized that I like my words and pictures to be the focal point. I'm not into fancy shmancy...I found that my pages were consistently uncluttered, with a couple of pictures, my words...and it needs to be a double page spread. I tried a couple of single pages and it was very distracting to me visually. So, now I know my style...what's yours?

Supplies: Paper Iris Freebie Template #69, Papers by Flergs Studio, Staples by Studio Girl Maya: Staple Stash.

Dad

2009-04-17T23:30:00.001-08:00

Not the most flattering picture of me...but I am striving to include myself more, so here it is. I just downloaded some great digital scrappin papers and photo masks from Cafe J through After 5 Designs. Her photo masks are amazing and they make scrappin a snap, pick a paper, a photo mask and a picture. Pictured here: The Art Gallery Collection.

Since returning to work full time in December, I have not had a lot of time to stamp. I am hoping to focus on that more with the summer vacation. For now though, I will post the periodic scrapbook page. Enjoy!

ak dustins

2009-02-21T00:00:00.004-09:00

Since my sister has moved out of state, we decided we would create a family blog to keep in touch...I have been working on my header and came up with this. I really like playing with the digital elements to create.

Digi: My Alaskan Men

2009-02-02T21:00:00.006-09:00

Supplies Used: Tortuga Template #17 from {we are} storytellers. Background Paper from Shabby Princess. ACDSee Photo Manager and ACDSee Photo Editor.

Another one I got done on Superbowl Sunday. My dilema now is, do I scrap double page spreads (dps) or individual pages. I say this because even though I call my self an avid scrapbooker, I realize that while I had my personal issues this year, I didn't take hardly any pictures, sniff, sniff. Most events I only have 2 or 3 pictures off...gasp! Christmas I took none, whatever was I thinking.

I really like the continuity of DPS's, the colors all go and it is not visually distracting for me. However, it is a pain to do when digitally scrapping, because you are creating two seperate pages, you are unable to lay them side by side to compare that everything lines up. It can be done, but there are a lot of steps to it and then you have to seperate them for printing anyway...If any one has info on doing this using ACDsee Photo Editor, I would appreciate it.

My son was excited, this was his first bird.

Enjoy!
Arctic Stamp Queen

Digi: Princess Leah

2009-02-01T17:04:00.087-09:00

All supplies were downloaded for free from 2Peas as part of their Pink October Freebie.

Supply List: Paper is by Rhonna Farrer, Flowers & Frame by S. Freeman, Frame Overlay by Cherie Mask. Font is CK Ali's Handwritting from Creating Keepsakes (free download). Sketch by Becky Higgins (Creating Keepsakes: Feb. 2009 pg. 42).

I was thrilled when Stampin' UP! announced that they would be launching a digital scrapbooking program in 2009 (date to be determined). I have been playing with this format a bit and it is working for me right now. I don't expect to be a full on digital scrapbooker, I will be what is called a hybrid scrapbooker (I think) using a mixture of digitial and traditional scrapbooking methods. I can't WAIT to see what Stampin' UP! has to offer!!!

I have been sorely out of touch with my blogging friends and I do apologize. I took a full time job at my childrens school as a K/1 Teachers Aide in November. While it is a very worthwhile job and I love it, it has been a HUGE adjustment for me after being home for the last 9 years (yes I have been blessed). I still have not figured out how to get everything done on a daily basis and my creative outlet has suffered...I am just pooped. My area is BEYOND a mess since I haven't been out there staking my claim, the flat surface monster has returned with a vengance. It is on my list of things to do so that I can carve out my me time again, but until then, I have begun dabbling in Digital Scrapbooking.

My husband NEVER knows what to get me for my Birthday. Well, this year, he wanted a gun for his...so I negotiated a laptop for me. LOVE IT!!! Now, I can spend time with the family while they watch T.V. and I digitally scrapbook.

The layout above is one I created today while the superbowl was on (in between commercials, my favorite part of the event). For the time being, I have given up on Photoshop. I am just so frustrated with learning curve. I had invested in ACDSee Photomanager a while ago as a way of tagging my digital elements and photographs. So I decided to try their Photo Editor program figuring they would work well together and do they ever. I am very pleased. It has several tutorials geared toward digital scrapbooking and creating. I used them as a free trial and was so pleased I purchased them both.

I got an external hard drive for Christmas so I can use it between my laptop and my desktop. I take my computer to work with me and on my 1/2 hour lunch I am getting my digital elements and photos tagged.

Enjoy, you can click on the picture to see a larger image.

Arctic Stamp Queen

Pop Top Jeans

2008-11-20T09:55:00.000-09:00

Geesh, these pictures are wonky and I can't get them fixed. I created this pop top jean can to be a wrap for my nephews Birthday gift. I took a pop top can of pineapple and instead of using the pop top to open the can, I used a special can opener that cuts it from the side (I got mine at Wal-Mart, Pampered Chef has one too) so that it would leave the pop top in place for my nephew to open his gift. I used the contents for a dump salad, yummy!!! I peeled off the label and ran the can and lid through the dishwasher. I covered the can using a piece of denim patterned paper. I cut a piece of brown cardstock for my belt and set some eyelets for the belt holes. I used a think piece of metal and cut it into a square, I punched the center out with another square and adhered it. I cut stips of the denim paper and adhered them to make belt loops. I cut out two pockets and outlined them with white gel pen. I stamped one of the words from SU!'s Flexible Phrases on red using versamark and then embossed it with White Detail EP. I cut it out into a rectangle shape and left a long tab to adhere to my pocket (Levi style).

Next comes the magic: I put his gift into the can, ran a thin bead of superglue around the edge of the lid and quickly placed it on the can. Looking at it, you couldn't even tell it had been opened. I decorated the pop ring with some ribbon and sent it on its way. My nephew thought I was magic when he opened his present...I'm thinking I may do some of these again this holiday season to keep prying fingers away and it's a great way to hide a gift card, the recipient will have NO clue what it is.

Thanks for looking and have a stamp happy day...I have missed ya!!!

Arctic Stamp Queen

Don't give up...please

2008-11-05T13:57:00.000-09:00

Hello my stampin' friends...I am sorry that I have been such a bad blogger. I truly am. I haven't stamped in a couple of months, some days I miss it and others not so much. I'm trying to take control of my life again and trying to figure out what normal is for me, I haven't felt normal in SOOO long, I have no idea what that is. Lately, I just haven't been up to to putting on the "show". I have so little energy that what I do have needs to be reserved for my children for now, they have been deprived of a healthy momma for a long time.

The only creative thing that I have done is to dabble a little in digital scrapbooking. I made two pages and had them printed at Costco since they had decent prices. I am waiting for my mom to bring them to me when she visits this month so that I can see if I want to go that route for my scrapbooking. I really like how they look on my computer, but am concerned that they will look off when they are printed. She says they look great, so I am hopeful. Here's one:

and the other, I call this one Valdez Bums:

My family got me a laptop for my Birthday and I have been learning Photoshop (great tutorials on About.com) and downloading digi freebies. I feel like I could keep up on my scrapbooking more if I were to go this route. Again, I am unsure of how it will look when printed. I am imagining that it will kind of be like the holiday photos you can have done at the photo places, but a lot of those look kind of cheesy to me. Thats why I am only doing a little until I can see the printed picture. So here you go...what do you think? I'd love comments and thoughts on scrapbooking, both traditional as well as digital. If I like the printouts then I will plunge full on into this, even thinking about asking for a Wacom tablet (bamboo pad) for Christmas. Thoughts? anyone???

Orphans who need a new home:

2008-08-30T13:21:00.001-08:00

I have been working on purging unused items from my stamp room…still have some to go, but here are my retired Stampin’ UP! sets that need a new home, so I can buy some new rubbah to play with.

U.S. Shipping and handling will be $5.50 for the first set and $3.00 for the second set. If you buy more than 2 sets, it will go into a flat rate box for $10.00. Payment will be through PayPal, I will send you an invoice. Stamps will not be shipped until I receive cleared payment. I will ship to Canada, but will have to get a quote from the p.o. to do that for our Candian friends.

If you are interested, please send me an email: arcticstampqueen@gmail.com with the name of the sets you want in the subject line. Thanks for helping me find new homes for these beloved sets.

Unmounted:

Friendship Blooms (2008 SAB set): $7.50
Birthday Whimsy: $7.50
For a Friend (Winter Hostess set): $7.50
Best Friends Alphabet Lower Case: $18.00
Amazing to Zany: $20.00

Mounted, Some Staining:

On the Spot BG: $6.00
Taggers Dozen: $7.50
Simple Sayings: $7.50
Alphabits: $7.50
Never Ending Joy: $10.00
Wonderful Words: $7.50
Blossoms Abound: $12.00
Headline Alphabet: $25.00
Frosty (heavily stained): $10.00
Bud Basics: $10.00
Be Happy: $12.00
Polka Dots & Paisley: $10.00
Greetings Galore: $12.00
All in a Row (missing the argyle/stitched stamp): $6.00
Trimtastic: $10.00

Misc. Items:

SU! Write Me a Memory Font CD’s (both) $5.00
SU! Retired Plaidmaker $5.00
SU! Snowman Punch $5.00
Misc. Alphabet plastic lettering templates 5 lettering styles $7.50
Grab Bag $7.50: Includes all kinds of miscellaneous items, lots of them from the $1.00 bin at Michaels. Valued at $25.00.
Making Memories Alphabet Punches $7.50
Making Memories Grommet Setter $10.00

Whew…that’s it for this round.

Thanks for looking and have a stamp happy day!!!

Happy 20 year Anniversary

2008-08-21T19:55:00.000-08:00

Happy 20 Year Anniversary Stampin' UP! I made these tasty little treats for my Stampin' UP! open house. The cupcake picks were made using a new embossing die/folder from SU! that goes in the new Sizzix Big Shot that we are now selling. I also used the circle punch and the scalloped circle punch. This die/embossing folder is fabulous and I hope to see more of them. They are a dream to work with and the embossing is so deep and crisp...love it!!! I have some more projects done, I just need to take pictures. Sorry for my lack of posts, my company (8 people) all left on Sunday and I work full time through next Wednesday. Then I go to my part-time hours and will have more time to dedicate to you. Enjoy this smackerel of goodness and know that I ate a cupcake for each and everyone of you!!!

Decor Elements

2008-08-05T18:08:00.000-08:00

Didja hear the news? The news that SU! is selling vinyl wall decor. Those of you who have been to my house know that I have used vinyl wall decor in my decorating for a couple of years. So I was excited that SU! would be offering images that we have all grown to love in our stamp sets. I finally figured out how I wanted to use my Decor Elements. I keep trying to talk my husband into selling our house so I knew I wanted it to be something I could take with me. My solution was to find a couple of frames at JoAnns. I removed the mat and just used the glass and a frame. Hint...I have a tutorial I have been working on for this, just needs a few more touches.

Sorry too that I haven't gotten the Crop-a-dile tutorial ready yet. My daughter has been working and my husband sleeps days so I haven't figured out how to hold the camera and the tool and keep it all in focus. My husband just found me a tripod so I will be working on it soon. Bear with me, I'm gonna have an extra 10 people here next week (getting ready for that this week) and then schools starts.

This is in my living room, I didnt' realize the sun was casting such a reflection, but you get the idea. This is my I Love My Family wall.

This next one is my favorite and hangs on the wall in my stamp room:

This frames is approximately 24x34 or 36 (can't remember and I just did a dump run). I adhred the decor vinyl to the front of the glass. I covered the back of the frame with a piece of dust paper (you buy it on the roll in the framing department) and adhered it with my ATG gun. The glass was glued into the frame with Super Glue. So....what do you think? Me likey very much, I just love the visual reminder to be creative.

Thanks for looking and have a stamp happy day!!!

Cupcake-a-Bella

2008-08-02T08:00:00.001-08:00

I adore Bellas and I LOVE cupcakes...so you know I had to get this image: Cupcake-a-Bella. Isn't she just adorable (pardon the lighting). I created the scored background with my Scor-Pal using Debbie Olson's technique. I colored her using my Copic markers. The frosting was colored with Copics and then colored over the top with a Versamarker. I sprinkled Heat & Stick Powder on that...heated it slightly with heat gun and then poured Doodlebug Glitter on. The cherry is a pink gem. I also dusted off my sewing machine and learned how to thread the bobbin, so I sewed on my patterned paper. A few pearls from my pretties kit and it's ready to go.

Supplies: Pink Pirouette & Whisper White CS (SU!), Patterned Paper (Rhona Ferrar), Cupcake-a-Bella (Stamping Bella), Copic Markers, Heat-n-Stick Powder (SU!) Doodlebug Glitter, Jewel (Kaiser), Pearls (SU! Pretties Kit), Scorepal, Sewing Machine.

Thanks for looking and have a stamp happy day!!!

Let It Snow...sigh

2008-07-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

No...I'm not crazy. Just trying to be prepared so that I'm not stressing out at the holidays. I made a goal to finish my Christmas Cards by October this year. That should be achievable. This is my first set. We will be making this at my Christmas Card stamp-a-stack and will be one of the cards featured in the Stampin' Kits I have for sale on the kit page. I don't know yet if this stamp set will be in the upcoming catalog. It was in the Holiday Mini Catalog last year. I love how whimsical the sets are. It's gonna be a keeper for me no matter what. I stamped the image in Black Stazon on Shimmer Cardstock and heat set it. I colored in the image using my Watercolor Crayons, light on top, dark on the bottom and blended it together. I topped off each letter with white Liquid Applique, sprinkled some glitter on that and hit it with the heat gun. Nice fluffy, sparkly snow. I colored the snowman in with Stampn' Write Markers. I stamped the Polka Dot Background stamp in Brocade Blue.

Do ya see the scallops? I made that scalloped edge with the NEW SU! Scallop Punch. Ingrid??? Are ya there? Did you read this? You will be SO happy!!!

Now, I will be just over the moon if SU! comes out with polka dotted organdy ribbon. Pretty puh-leaze...

All supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted: Shimmer White and Brocade Blue CS, Black Stazon Pad, Brocade Blue Classic Pad, Watercolor Crayons, H20 Brush, Various Stampin' Write Markers, Scalloped Punch, Season of Joy and Polka Dot BG stamps, Polka Dot Organdy Ribbon (May Arts).

Thanks for looking and have a stamp happy day!!!

Ladybug Love

2008-07-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is one of the first Papertrey sets I ever bought. I love this little ladybug, isn't she cute? I started in one direction with this card but ended up in a totally different direction and it was a fun journey! I paired Little Lady with Polka Dot Basics to create this fun card. I have been acquiring acrylic stamps for a little over a year now with a huge emphasis on Papertrey sets. I tried Acrylics about 5 years ago and I disliked them immensly. They have changed a lot since then and I think Papertreys are the highest quality out there. They are nice and thick and stamp as good as rubber for me. I am hoping that SU! will go with an unmounted option at some point and I would LOVE to see acrylics because they are so easy to stamp with since you can see exactly where you are stamping. I very much doubt they will ever go this direction, but a girl can hope can't she...until then my Stamp-a-Ma-Jig is my best friend. Thanks for looking and have a stamp happy day!!!

2008-07-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

For those of you SU! groupies out there...I still primarily use SU! stamps, I just didn't buy very many new sets this year and a pile of my others retired so I only have about 30 sets right now. Can't wait for the new catalog to come out so I can get some new Rubbah!!! For now I have been playing with some of my other sets...Like this one! I love how well thought out Papertreys stamps are. Nicole is amazing, the Martha Steward of papercrafting. This is a set that was released last month, it is called Boards & Beams. Isn't it lovely? I was able to do some fun detail coloring with my Copics. See how it looks the siding is darker close to the eves, I was able to create a shadow effect. Love it, it adds to the realism of the card. I used SU! Crystal Effects on the windows to give them a realistic gloss that you can't see in this picture. This would be great to give to a new neighbor or to congratulate a friend on a new house. I also think it would be neat for Realtors to give to their clients at closing. Thanks for looking and have a stamp happy day!!!

Bubble Bella

2008-07-25T08:00:00.001-08:00

I've had this idea floating around in my head for a while and I was so thrilled that it looked the same, if not better on the paper than it did in my head...woo hoo for me!!! This is one of my Bellas. I just love the whimsical yet trendy images. I colored her with Copics and even colored the pearls to match. I love the dimension it adds to the card and I love the sheen of the Stickles on the water, I carried the theme over into the background paper using the Polka Dot Basics set...this card makes me want to crawl into the tub!

Supplies: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White and Cool Carribean Cardstock. Bubblebathabella (Stamping Bella), Polka Dot Basics (Papertrey), Copic Markers, Ranger Stickles, Pretties Pearls (SU!), Tiny Pearls (Kaiser Craft), Polka Dot Organdy (May Arts).

KWerner Color Inspiration Challenge

2008-07-24T11:55:00.001-08:00

Kristina Werner is an amazing designer. You can check out her blog here. One of my goals that I have set for myself is to start completing some challenges. It's a good way to work on your creativity because often it will use colors or products that you don't normally use. That was the case for me in this color inspiration challenge:

I never use Sage Shadow...just not a color that I reach for. I still had a hard time incorporating very much of it into my project...but there is some there! Are you ready? Here's my project:

I was pleased with how this card came out. I started with a Whisper White CS base and embossed the center of the card using one my Rectangle Nestabilities using Nicoles Trick. Doesn't that look elegant? I used a Papertrey Set: Piece of Cake. Again, Nicoles designs are so well thought out. She created the "Cake" and "eat" words as separate stamps so you can use 2 colors. I love how that highlights the important words. I used pearls on the center of the larger flowers and completed it with Stampin' UP!'s Wide Grosgrain Ribbon, 'cuz you all know how much I adore Ribbon...I can't leave my card naked now can I? Super simple card, but it looks so elegant.

Supplies: Whisper White Cardstock. Regal Rose, Rose Red and Sage Shadow Classic Ink. Piece of Cake (Papertrey), Pearls (Kaiser Company). Nestability Rectangle Die, Embossing Pad.

Studio Decor II

2008-07-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is another creation for my stamp studio. It reminds me that in the scheme of things, life is just a bunch of little things. I have decided to collect the letter B. I found this at Michaels for $1.00. I covered it using Papertreys Everyday Blessings Patterned Paper using Modge Podge. I used another set of flowers from my SU! Pretties Kit tinting them using my Aqua Mist pad. I found the stamp in the dollar bin at Michaels.

Thanks for looking and have a stamp happy day!!!

Studio Decor I

2008-07-23T13:58:00.000-08:00

In my ongoing quest to organize my studio, I have decided to surround myself more with all things paper. This is one of my projects I have created to sit on the Making Memories wall unit.

For this project I altered a $1.00 frame that I found at Michaels. I covered it using the yummy Everyday Blessings Patterned Paper from Papertrey. I love the colors and the patterns in it.

I adhered the paper to my frame using Modge Podge. After much trial and error, I have found what works best for me is to adhere the paper with a generous layer of Modge Podge and rub it on really well with my fingers removing any that has spooged out with a papertowel. I let this dry for a couple of hours (at least) before I put my topcoat on. I found that if the Modge Podge wasn't dry underneath then it bubbled the paper when I applied the topcoat.

I covered the inside of the frame with Papertreys YUMMY Aqua Mist Grosgrain Ribbon using Sticky Strip.

I stamped Soft Sky cardstock (retiring In-Color...sniff...sniff) using Chocolate Chip and Soft Sky Classic Ink using the lovely Define Your Life Alphabet and Define Your Life. I {heart} these 2 stamp sets. To finish it, I tied a piece of SU! Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon and stuck a Stickpin in that I made using the SU! pretties kit...I can hear the gasps now...Yep, it's made to be used, so I used it.

Supplies: (All suplies are SU! unless otherwise noted) Frame & Modge Podge (Michaels), Patterned Paper and Aqua Ribbon (Papertrey), Soft Sky Cardstock, Soft Sky & Chocolate Chip Classic Pads, Define Your Life and Define Your Life Alphabet, Chocolate Chip Ribbon, Pretties Kit.

Thanks for looking and have a stamp happy day!

Christmas Card Stamp-a-Stack

2008-07-18T18:13:00.000-08:00

Christmas In July Stamp-a-Stack

I don't know about you but I have good intentions of making my Christmas cards early EVERY year so that I am not stressed out when all the holiday hustle and bustle arrives. Well this year I have decided to get them done early so that I can relax and enjoy the holidays. I figured if I was going to do that, then I should extend the offer to my stampin' gals too...Don' worry, I will still have my annual Santa's Workshop in October. SAS options and payment can be found below.

I will be offering a Christmas in July Stamp-a-Stack on Saturday July 26th from 10a.m.-12 p.m. with an additional offering on Thursday July 31st from 7-9 p.m. We will make 5 each of 4 styles for a total of 20 cards. Come join us as we prepare for a stress free holiday. Price for the class will be $25.00 for customers. $20.00 for Stamp Club members and downline members. Receive a free pack of 20 envelopes if you RSVP and pay the class fee by July 24th.

If you are unable to attend or are a long distance stamper, I have option's for you as well.

Local Stamp-a-Stack Kit: Cost will be $30.00 for local pickup and will include everything you need to make 20 cards, including the stamped images and envelopes Kits will be available for pickup starting August 8th.

Long Distance Stamp-a-Stack Kit: Cost will be $35.00 shipped and will include everything you need to make 20 cards, including the stamped images and envelopes shipped right to your door. Kits will be shipped by August 12th.

To register and pay your class fee please go to my Kits, Shares & Items for Sale and following the directions there.

Thanks for looking and have a stamp happy day!!!

Loads of Love

2008-07-15T08:15:00.000-08:00

I was finally able to dust off this set and put it to the use it was intended for...coloring. I was pleased with this little beauty when I got done coloring it. The truck is bright red because my husbands truck is bright red! Makes sense right?

My kids decided the truck needed to have dogs in the back of it, even though our dogs have NEVER ridden in the back of the truck.

All supplies used are Stampin' UP! unless otherwise credited:

Stamps: Loads of Love & Accessories

CS: Sahara Sand, Real Red and Whisper White

Ink: Tsukineko Black Brilliance Pad

Ribbon: Wide Grosgrain Real Red

Off to work on my area some more...thanks for looking and have a stamp happy day!!!

Theres an end in sight!!!

2008-07-14T09:02:00.000-08:00

I am just giddy with excitement. I tell ya, it's taken me a bit longer to dig out from under the piles than I thought it would...I am happy to say that I only have to do my cutting bench and it is done. Woo Hoo!!! Does this look any better?

I {heart} my area when it looks like this

I love to go out and look at it in all of it's orderly perfection. Sigh...following are some more photos showing you what has worked for me in my ongoing quest for organization.

Ink Corner

This is my ink corner. I got the ink storage from Storage Unit Inks when they had them on sale. I love this because it stores my ink, marker and reinker all together. I want to get another one for my craft pads, I will just stack it on top of my current one. For now they are in my SU! Carousel.

Here it is up close!

Punch Storage

Here is how I store my punches. This is the same rail system I got at Ikea that I store my Copics in. I love this, because now that I can see my punches, I use them a lot more.

My Clip It Up

This is my clip it up, a revolving organizer. I got this for Christmas from Bonnie's Best Art Supplies. I love, Love, LOVE it! As I was organizing it, I pulled out stuff that I forgot I even had because it was put away. I cannot rave enough about this product. It does take up a LOT of room, I store mine on my file cabinet. And lookie below to see how I organize my chipbaord alphabets:

Each letter has it's own baggie, so it is easy to look at my chipboard fonts and decide which one I want to use for my project.

Decorative Storage

This hangs above my ink rack. What I wanted to show you is how I store my Glaze, Souffle & Sharpies. Do those containers look familiar to you? Do you drink Crystal Light? I covered some Crystal Light containers with patterend paper, adhered clear contact paper over the top of that for protection and added a cute label.

Last but not least:

I {heart} ribbon

I think we can all agree that ribbon storage is the bane of most crafters existence. I finally found a system that I think works for me. All of my SU! ribbon is stored in this cool Memory Makers wall unit. My only complaint has been that it is a pain to cut large quantities of ribbon for my classes. My friend Colleen came up with the idea of drilling new holes for the dowel to go in that are lower so I can slip the ribbon behind the dowel and remove the spool for cutting. I LOVE this idea and plan to do that soon, it involves finding the drill and the drill bits.

Now look below that...do you see those glass jars lined up on my counter. They remind me of the candy jars on the old Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Mmm, can you say yummy? I got this idea from Nicole Heady. She is the Martha Steward of stamping. I took doll pins from Joanns and wrapped my ribbon around them. I used a glass head pin to keep the end in place and threw them into a jar so I can see all their yummy goodness. Now I can look through the glass or dump them out to find the perfect piece for my project.

Thanks for looking and have a stamp happy day!!!

Copic Storage

2008-07-13T01:52:00.000-08:00

Several of you mentioned in your comments for the blog candy that you would like organizational idea...hee hee hee, did you even look at the picture? Actually I like to be organized but it is hard for me to achieve, being that my space is in the garage. My family lives by the flat surface theory...I am sure that you have heard of it. If I clean up an area and have uncluttered flat surfaces then someone in my family has to put something on it so that it's not so...flat.

Pair this with my husband and I's frugalness. We don't heat our garage above 55 year round, so when it is 40 below outside, I have to either stamp with a portable heater blowing on my hands so they will function or I take it inside to stamp. This winter I went with the take it inside theory and boy did I have a mess on my hands.

Sidenote: We live in a rural area that does not have Natural Gas as on option for heating our homes. We have heating oil trucked in every 3 weeks. In the wintertime, when it is cold, we go through 5-6 gallons a day. Not so bad when heating oil was $2.00 or so a gallon. Well, we are now up to $5.00 a gallon and it's SUMMER!!! So, after much careful thought and consideration we are forking out an insane amount for a Greenwood Stove to heat our house and garage (hubby even told me we can now get a hottub which the Greenwood will also heat). In a couple of years it will have paid for itself and we will be able to afford that hot tub.

All of this to say that I will now have a WARM area to stamp in year round. I am just giddy with excitement. And though I warmed the garage up to 65 for classes, my ladies who wore slippers and sweaters will be even more excited.

So, as I get my stamp room organized I will share pictures of what works for me.

When I went to convention last year I stopped in Salt Lake to spend time with a friend and we went to the new Ikea store. I sure do love that place, I could seriously live there. In the kitchen section I saw some cool vertical storage ideas. Including this little beauty that came home in my carry on:

I didn't know what I was going to do with it, but that didn't bother me, it had so many possibilities and was dirt cheap that I could buy it now and figure it out later. When I started getting my Copics and my Prismacolor pencils I decided to display them where they would be easier to use. I sorted them out using the color categories that Copic uses. This set hangs on my wall to the right of my workbench by all of my inkpads. I have a another set that hangs to the left of my workbench that holds my tools and items that I reach for all the time. The hang rails were $1.99 each and the cups were $.99 each. Not a bad little deal for me.

Coloring with my kids

2008-07-12T01:21:00.001-08:00

I am slowly making progress on my stamp area. I got a spot cleared off so I can stamp and I had forgotten how happy that makes me. I did some design work today for a class I will be teaching at my LSS the end of the month. I hope to have my space finished up this weekend so I can get the crop-a-dile tutorial done.

I got my new order of Copics in from Carpe Diem. Their prices are GREAT but their customer service is a nightmare, I ordered the markers May 21st and they finally arrived on July 1st after multiple emails and phone calls.

I have been coloring at night with my kids and it has been so relaxing for me. I used to love to color but I disliked the lines that you got with traditional waterbased markers. Honestly, it never occurred to me to search for something else, I just didn't color. Then Ellen Hutson introduced the stamping world to Copic Markers and a whole new world was opened up to me.

There is definately a learning curve to these, don't expect to order them and be able to blend, shade and highlight right off the bat, it takes some practice. What has been especially helpful to me is Marianne's blog: I Like Markers. I read it diligently and practice her techniques. I'm starting to get a feel for it and am really pleased with the results. I am still struggling with highlights and leaving white space when I color for a natural highlight.

I am sad though that there aren't more colorable stamp images in SU!'s catalog. I am really hoping to see some new ones in new catalog when it comes out next month. I was lamenting to my husband about my lack of colorable stamps and hinting that I was going to need to pick some up since I had these faboo markers to color them with. Well bless his heart, he found me a couple of neat long retired Stampin' UP! sets that I can color to my hearts content. I have no idea what this set is called, but I just love this little girl with her umbrella. Isn't she cute?

I mentioned that I have been coloring with my kids. Here is my process: I stamp images with Brilliance Ink onto an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of cardstock in relatively straight lines across the page with plenty of room between the images. I color them in while watching a movie with my kids and then I take my nestabilities and cut them. I store these and then when I want to make a card that has a colored image, I can just whip one out.

This is a pretty self explanatory card, very simple and I know one girl in particular who will be thrilled when she receives this.

All supplies are Stampin' UP! unless otherwise credited:

Stamps: ???Anyone know???

Ink: Tsukineko Graphite Black Brilliance Pad

Cardstock: Baroque Burgandy, Whisper White, Old Olive

Patterned Paper: Wild Asparagus

Ribbon: SU! Wide Grossgrain-Chocolate

Accessories: SU! Slit punch, Nestabilities Square Dies (Plain and Scalloped)

Thanks for looking and have a stamp happy day!!!

We have a winner

2008-07-06T10:39:00.000-08:00

We have a winner!!! I was really surprised that several people requested a tutorial on using the crop-a-dile (one of my all-time favorite tools). I can do that. I choose the first person who requested that so:

Joan B said...

I would love a tutorial on using the crop a dile the right way!!! Your messiness looks just about right to me, BTW!!

Joan B, contact me with your address and I'll get your candy in the mail.

The tutorial will be posted sometime this week. Thanks so much for all the entries, I have lots of ideas now for future tutorials. Have a stamp happy day!

Stamping Word Cloud

2008-07-06T08:00:00.003-08:00

Look at how cool this is! It's called a wordle and you can go here and make your own. Very fun.

Tagged? I've been tagged?

2008-07-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

Deb Designz has tagged me, thanks so much for your comments on my creations...

I grew up commercial fishing with my family. For a while we had beach sites and then we started driftnetting in Aleutain Islands. We also crabbed and shrimped in Homer, Alaska and longlined for Halibut. Sidenote: when we had tuff times we ate seafood...it took me a long time to be able to eat shrimp again (like 15 years).

I have 3 children, My oldest daughter is 16 (just got her drivers license), our son is 8 and our youngest daughter is 7.

I live in an area where summertime temperatures can reach the 90's pretty easily, and the wintertime temperatures are pretty consistently 30-50 BELOW zero. Talk about your extremes.

I am a part time kindergarten aide at my childrens elementary school. I love being down the hall from my children, I love getting to know their friends and I LOVE it when they each come find me during lunch to give me a hug!

My favorite color is pink.

After my parents divorced, I was raised by my dad and my sister was raised by my mother. My sister is my best friend.

I am married to a railroad engineer. I raised the kids pretty much on my own from 1999-2004 because my husband was constantly forced to other towns to work due to his lack of seniority.

Now, the 7 people that I am tagging are:

Emily Giovanni

Kristina Werner (I roomed with her at convention last year, she has serious talent)

Lisa Johnson

DD Stamps

Stamp with Marilyn

Stamping Expressions

Tammy Stamp Happy

Thanks a bunch Deb!!!

Blog Candy

2008-06-30T11:27:00.003-08:00

I am totally surprised at the lack of response to my blog candy giveaway...a free stamp set!!! Holy Moly where are you all at? Please read the previous post for full details and have fun!!!

Where is she???

2008-06-24T23:30:00.003-08:00

(sung to the tune of: where has my little dog gone?) Oh where, Oh where has Arctic Stamp Queen gone, oh where, oh where has she gone? She 's gone out to the garage and seen her messy workbench, she's lost her mojo so bad.

Okay so am admitting it, I am a messy stamper. Now, I must confess that this mess started when my kids and husband set their stuff down on my cutting bench and made it hard for me to stamp in "MY" area. So, I took some stuff into the house to make a few projects and then we had company over and I had my kids throw it in a box so I could put it away the next day...except the next day came and I had to make another project superfast...so I pulled that stuff into the house and when I was done put it in the same box to put away the next day...well, the next day I had to start getting my house and family ready for vacation so I didn't make it out there and then we went on vacation and when we came back I had to get laundry done and everyone packed again for our lake trip with friends...do you see where this is going??? And, my sister and her family are coming up on Thursday to spend the week with us, so I don't think I'm going to get around to this anytime soon. So, I am taking a break for a couple of weeks. until after 4th of July. I didn't plan on it, but I feel so guilty when I am not able to post for ya guys I figured it would be easier to confess and take a break than to just not post.

Speaking of reading posts, I just found Google Reader service...very, very cool. You can enter the links to blogs that you frequent and then when you check the reader it shows you which blogs have posts that you haven't read...it's something I highly recommend.

Now, to alleviate my feelings of guilt...I am offering my first ever blog candy. I liked the set Labelicious so much that I apparantly ordered it twice, so now I get to give it to a lucky blog reader...Leave a comment telling me what you would like to see a tutorial on. I will choose one and prepare a tutorial for my blog. Post your topics until midnight Alaska time on July 4th.

Ta for now...have a stamp happy day!!!

Personalized Scripture Case

2008-06-09T09:00:00.002-08:00

We are still out of town on vacation, we've decided to extend a little bit as mom is going back in the hospital on Tuesday to start an anti-rythmic medication. It's strong and can cause a heart attack so she has to be under observation for a several days. We decided we need to be there for her and for dad if something happens.

So, I am sharing this project from a few years ago. This is a Z-Becky Brown purse, does anyone remember these? I don't know if they even manufacture them still. Anyway, I used this as a purse for 2 years and then decided to convert it to a scripture case. The front is monogrammed and overstamped with a script background, I have a picture of my family from about 4 years ago...probably time to update that. I love the ribbon on the handle, it feels so girlie. I love that this case highlights what is most important to me...my family!!! Thanks for looking and have a stamp happy day!!!

Name Frame

2008-06-06T07:04:00.002-08:00

I made this name frame for my Mother-in-law's Christmas present. I got the frame at Wal-Mart. It had a gold accent on the edge of the frame, so I used my silver Zig Painty pen to make them silver. I covered the frame backer with patterened paper and cut my mat from textured cardstock and laered it into strips of foam board to create a shadow box. The letter tiles are stamped with numerous SU! background stamps and have a different ribbon treatment on each one. I finished with a hat pin that I made from the pretties kit, I colored one of the clear beads with an alcohol marker to match the colors. I adhered every other letter with sticky strip and then placed a letter overlapping with Stampin' Dimensionals. I tied ribbon around a round clip and slid it onto the mat. I then closed up the back and had a unique christmas present for my mom-in-law. Have a stamp happy day!!!

Nestibilities Storage Idea

2008-06-03T09:46:00.004-08:00

As many of you know, I love, Love, LOVE my Nestabilities. They are the one stamping tool that I reach for over and over again. I have a tendency to go through my stamp stuff and purge from time to time, but I will NEVER get rid of these. As such, I didn't mind investing a little bit in my storage for these. I had them stored in CD cases, but once I got the large rectangles, I needed to find something else. I went to a National Scrapbook Day crop at my local scrapbook store: Backporch Memories and found these fabulous magnetic books by Quickutz. They are used to store their cookie cutter dies, but they work perfect for my Nesties. I was so happy to finally find a workable longterm storage solution for these, that I had to share it. Enjoy!!!and have a stamp happy day!

Life's Journey

2008-05-20T20:14:00.004-08:00

I created this frame for stamp club last week. I love my Nestabilities and use them any opportunity I have, so when I saw THIS PROJECT by Amy Rysavy, that used Nesties and coasters, I knew I had to try it. Please read her tutorial for full details, she is amazing and one smart stamper. This is my take on her project. Fun to do with whatever snippets of supplies you have left over from projects. Thanks for looking and have a stamp happy day!!!

Coaster Brag Book

2008-05-15T10:19:00.004-08:00

Whew...this week has been a whirlwind as we wrap up school. Being a mom and a teachers aide is fun except for the first and last week of school. I'm glad that it will be over for the summer tomorrow. Onto the important stuff...stamping!!!

We had club Tuesday night. Note to self: Self, don't ever schedule stamp club the first OR last week of school. I had made a coaster book over Christmas vacation and my ladies loved it so much they asked if we could do it at club. Why of course, since my dear friend Colleen gave me oodles of coasters. I decided to make a brag book to put in my purse for two reasons:

It allows me to show of my uber-cute family and my fur-baby.
It is a great example of what I do as a Stampin' UP! demonstrator, so I can whip it out when someone askes what I do.

I used a retired paper from Stampin' UP, but it is the same design as one that is in the current catalog: Western Sky. I just picked out 2 paper designs from the pack. And adhered them to my coasters. I chose a striped paper for the inside cover, just to be a little spunky. I inked the edges with Chocolate Chip. Seriously, this color is never far from my reach. Punched the spine with my Bind-It-All. Since the coasters were 4x4", I cut the inside pages from Very Vanilla to 3-7/8x3-7/8" and punched the spine on them as well. I inserted the O-Wire and closed it. I then took my heart chipboard piece and pressed it into my Gold Encore pad for some glitz. I stamped our families name with my custom stamp, but it out with my nestabilities tag die, adhered it and tied ribbon around the whole she-bang. Now, I just have to put some pictures in it and remember to put it in my purse. Have a stamp happy day!!!

April Clubs Quick Card

2008-05-06T09:02:00.002-08:00

This is the quick card I created for my April clubs. I am making sets of these for my mom and mom-in-law for Mothers Day. I love this alphabet, it is so elegant without being to froo-froo. It is called Lovely Letters and I earned it for free for my Sale-a-bration sales. Dontcha love free rubber? I know I do. I think this card is self-explanatory, however I would like to put a plug in for Stampin' UP! to bring back the large scallop scissors they sold years ago. I love, Love, LOVE them!!! They are so much easier to use than the corner rounder.

I am in the process of re-doing my site. I love the new colors, but I still have some work to do. Please bear with me, I should have everything back in place by next week. Comments are ALWAYS appreciated. Thanks for looking and have a stamp happy day!!!

My Baby's Grown Up

2008-04-26T16:55:00.003-08:00

Well...she is off to the prom and I think she looks beautiful...and modest, it can be done!! I can't believe how she has grown up, what an amazing young woman she is and I am so blessed to call her my daughter. I love you beyond words Ashlyn. XoXo, Mom.

Family Stuff

2008-04-25T07:27:00.004-08:00

I have been incredibly blessed with amazing in-laws. With them I have found the type of family relationships I longed for when growing up. They are incredible grandparents, my kids get so excited when they come to visit. Aren't they adorable. They have been married almost 40 years. Not often you see that anymore. They are a good example for us.

Some of you may remember that my mother-in-law had heart surgery over spring break and there were a few complications. Well....she has had to go to her heart surgeon and have her heart stopped and re-started many times since the surgery. When she had her latest episode yesterday they admitted her to the hospital and she will undergo another surgery this morning. We are praying for her and dad that this surgery will fix the problem and that she will recover quickly. This has been a tough time for us, most especially for her and for dad. Our kids are extremely concerned and it's been difficult dealing with my fears and trying not to make their fears worse. So we wait on pins and needles.

On a brighter note my daughter has prom this weekend. She has been excited for weeks. She has been warning her date that I am a scrapper and LOTS of pictures WILL be taken. They have allowed me 20 minutes and then they will go to his house for the next round of pictures. They get 20 minutes as well. Then they will head into town to meet up with a group of other prom goers to enjoy dinner and then mini-golfing before they head over to the prom, fashionably late of course.

I have been playing with my copic markers and learning how to use them. I am pleased with my progress and will post a card using them this weekend.

Have a wonderful day and tell someone that you care about how you feel about them...today!!!

Spring Weddings

2008-04-20T21:41:00.004-08:00

Spring is in the air. A couple of weeks ago I mistakenly stated that spring was here. Boy was I wrong. Last week, my husband had to use the snowblower for the first time all winter. We got about 6 inches of snow. I hesitantly say that it now appears spring is here...good grief, it is almost May!!! With spring comes weddings. I have to say I have been waiting for a wedding set for years. I was so happy to see this set. It is clean and classic. Very minimal coloring and you have a perfectly elegant card.

All supplies Stampin' UP! unless otherwise noted: CS: Basic Grey, Regal Rose, Whisper White. Basic Grey Classic Stamp Pad, Black Stazon. Markers: Going Gray, Basic Gray, Pretty in Pink, Pixie Pink, More Mustard, Blush Blossom and Chocolate Chip, Stardust Pen (Sakura). Rose Red Grosgrain Ribbon. Aqua Painter. Stamps: To Have & To Hold, French Flair, Fancy Flexible Phrases (Retired SU!). Punches: Large and Small Oval.

I stamped the Bride & Groom in Black Stazon and heat set it with my embossing gun. I then outlined the Groom with the Basic Gray Marker using the brush tip. I colored in the image with the Going Gray marker and went over it with the aqua painter pulling the Basic Gray into the Going Gray for a subtle watercolor effect. I scribbled the Going Gray marker onto a plastic stamp case and picked it up with an aqua painter which I used to trace around the wedding dress and veil to make it pop off the page just a bit. I colored the skin with Blush Blossom and colored the hair with More Mustard (bride) and Chocolate Chip (groom). I colored the flowers in with Pretty In Pink and then put a dot in the center of each with Regal Rose. I colored over the flowers and the lines of the veil with my Sakura Stardust Pen for some added glimmer.

I stamped the French Flair BG onto Going Grey Cardstock and layered my focal image onto Rose Red CS. I stamped the sentiment with Basic Grey and punched it with my oval punches. I tied ribbon around the edge and I am ready for a wedding reception! Thanks for looking and have a stamp happy day!!!

2008-04-17T08:36:00.002-08:00

Hello stampers...I have a few monthly clubs that are starting again and there are certain things I expect my club members to bring to every meeting: Catalog, Order Forms, Scissors & Adhesive. This is what I have come up with for them to store those supplies in so that when it is time to come to club it is all in one spot.

Can I just say that I absolutely LOVE, seriously love, the new Afternoon Tea DSP, it is so pretty and grungy!!! I actually did not care for the Mango In-Color this year until I saw it paired with Chocolate Chip and then I was smitten. Although, lately for me, anything paired with Chocolate Chip is beautiful...I love to wear it, design with it, bake with it. Chocolate Chip is truly a wonderful thing.

I adhered a piece of Afternoon Tea DSP to a small restraunt coaster and cut the tag with my Sizzix. I like to do it this way because then the edge of the paper kind of melts into the chipboard, it gives it a really nice edge. I then inked the edge with Chocolate Chip (who knew) Craft Ink. I flipped my chipboard (on board blossoms and basics) over and traced it onto the back of a piece of DSP. I cut it out with scissors and adhered to the chipboard with UHU glue (my favorite for chipboard and it lasts for-evah!). I cut out the center of the flower with my hobby knife and glued it to the tag. I inked my alphabet letter with Acyrlic Paint so it would stand out from the DSP. Sidenote: I love the Adirondak Paint Daubers. They have a sponge dauber on the top and make it so easy to use in applications like this. I tied a ribbon on the top of the tag and adhered it to the flap of the craft keeper using E3000.

I still wanted to embellish my craft keeper, so I tried stamping it with Stazon White...yuck. Removed that with Rubbing Alcohol. Tried stamping it with acrylic paint...it slide and looked mooshy. Wiped that off before it dried. Then my eyes happened upon my SAB rub-ons...bingo!!! There you have it...a craft keeper fit for a queen. Thanks for looking and have a stamp happy day!!!

Password Journal

2008-04-14T09:46:00.003-08:00

I made this On Board Journal to keep by my computer for all of the passwords I have to have. Some websites have to have all alpha, some all numeric and some have to have alpha numeric, and then there are the ones that have to have at least 8 characters...yowza, I was starting to have a hard time logging in to my sites, so this was my solution. I adored the Au Chocolate dsp, I was so bummed it retired. I bought 2 packs of it.

I used the Au Chocolate dsp on the cover. I ahered it to the chipboard using UHU glue stick. I then inked the edges with Chocolate Chip craft ink. I traced the On Board Simon letter onto my pink cardstock (it's a retired DSP from last spring's mini-catalog). Cut it out and ahered it to the letter and inked the edges with Pixie Pink craft pad. I ran a piece of Chocolate Chip CS through my cuttlebug using the dots background and lightly went over that with Chocolate Chip ink to bring out the pattern. I layered this onto Pixie Pink CS and adhered it to the front. I stamped the tab and punched it out with my tab punch and added ribbon. Thanks for looking and have a stamp happy day!!!

I Cherish You

2008-04-11T09:30:00.004-08:00

This is a project that has been floating around in my mind for awhile. I saw a frame like this in a magazine and knew that I wanted to make one for my house. When SU! came out with rub-ons, I was ready. The patterned paper is not SU! but they don't have a current DSP that goes with my decor. The paper was still a little plain so I stamped some Fancy Pants flourishes in Basic Black Craft Ink to pull in the black of the frame and the rub-ons. I knew I wanted to use a flower from my pretties kit, but I had a hard time figuring out the look I wanted. This is actually my 3rd attempt but finally I am happy with the result. I mixed some Basic Brown reinker with water and put it in one of the Ranger Mini Mister's. I sprayed and let the flower dry and sprayed again until I got the shade I wanted. I then sprayed on top of that with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Gingerbread. It gives a soft sheen to it. I then stamped the center of the flower and layered a cream half pearl on it. I tied a knot with Vanilla Wide Grosgrain and adhered the flower to it. I am VERY pleased with this project. Enjoy and have a stamp happy day.

Kits, Shares & Misc. Items for Sale

2008-04-02T23:24:00.004-08:00

Whew...I have been a busy beaver lately. At last it appears that the start of spring has arrived. A big woo hoo from this girl who is sick and tired of the cold. I have been working on a project that is very exciting. I have wanted to offer it for a while, but just now found the time to figure out all the details.

I have completed working on the kits, shares and misc. items for sale portion of my website. I have some fun things over there, I am especially excited about the kits but a seriously close second is the punch template! As I was working on this, I had to gather all of my punches. So I put them into a box and had them on the kitchen table as I was creating the template document and my husband happened to walk by, he stopped and then he turned around and asked me Honey....how much did you spend on all of these? and how come you didn't mention you were placing a large order. I just started laughing and told him that I had purchased 3 punches to be able to do the punch template, the other punches I have been ordering over the course of 6 years. He didn't believe me...I swear it is true!!! Do you want a sneak peek? Okay, I put it down below this. Head on over to the Kits, Shares & Misc. Items for Sale section of my blog. I would love to know what you think!

Punch Template Book

2008-04-02T23:15:00.006-08:00

Accents & Elements Stamp-a-Stack

2008-03-26T07:36:00.005-08:00

Wowza, it has been awhile and for that I apologize. I want to thank everyone for their kind thoughts for my mother-in-law. We had a scare the day after she was released from the hospital. She had to go to the emergency room because she was having a reaction to one of the blood thinners they had her on. Once that got straightened out, the recovery was speedy and she is doing great!!!

I had a Stamp-a-Stack this weekend and it was by far the easiest one I have ever done. We used the Accents & Elements Build a Flower Tin along with the Greeting Card Packet. I designed 7 different cards in each of the 4 colors for a total of 28 cards. The cards were very plain and simple with minimal stamping and a few punches, but the ladies loved them and they made 28 cards in 2-1/2 hours. We were all excited to fill our card baskets!!!

Now, I have just a couple of thoughts that crossed my mind as I was doing this.

Why did they put Wasabi Green Flowers in this kit, I personally have never seen a pure green flower in nature. I paired it with Bashful Blue to give the cards a slight masculine feel. Things that make me go hmmmmm...whaaaaat?
We have NO purple ribbon, none...nada...zip (insert frown and stamping of feet here) in the catalog. Um hello, it's like one of my favorite colors. How is a girl supposed to stamp girlie cards with NO purple ribbon? I mean seriously!

Now, I have to admit that it was quite fun designing these cards and seeing what I could do with limited supplies. And, I had quite a few of the Accents & Elements Images left over, I am sure I could have done 2-3 more cards of each color. How's that for affordable cards without running to Hallmark?
Following are a few of the samples, all supplies are SU!:

Update

2008-03-14T12:37:00.002-08:00

Just a quick note to let you know that surgery went good. Mom was released this morning and is at a hotel recovering. We are going to go over later and sit with her while the kids swim. Thanks for all the prayers and good wishes, you all are just wonderful. As soon as I get home I will create a wonderful card to share with you.

Spring Break!!!

2008-03-11T21:35:00.004-08:00

Hello ladies...we are in the middle of Spring Break up here. My mother-in-law is having heart surgery on Thursday so we drove 350 miles south to be there for her and to spend time with my sister and family!!! I planned on posting one more card before I left, BUT...........my husband found a great deal on a new car for me, so we left town fast to buy it before someone else did. We breezed into Anchorage and 45 minutes later had a new car to drive over to my sisters. It's a 2007 Kia Rondo (we wanted to have something I could fit the family into AND get good gas mileage). It is a previously owned 2007 that we got for $10,000.00 less than the 2008 that just came out. Woo Hoo for us!!! I took my sister for a drive and managed to spin the tires and chirp the tires while laughed our buts off like little kids....aaaah, good times. Anyway, I'll be back next week. Have a great spring break with your families and we could sure use some prayers for mom this week. Have a stamp happy day.

Squeeze Card

2008-03-04T23:08:00.004-09:00

I made this card a while ago. I think it was called a squeeze card, because you squeeze it flat to go into an envelope. I saw the tutorial for this on a cool paper blog but when our computer died I lost the link and have been unable to find it again. I'm pretty sure the talented ladies name was Dawn. She has a video tutorial on it HERE. Thanks Kathy...she was the one who I first saw this on.

Supplies: All supplies SU! unless otherwise noted. Stamps: DD Wild Rose, Script BG. Paper, Always Artichoke, Baroque Burgandy, Very Vanilla. Inks: Baroque Burgandy, Always Artichoke, So Saffron.

Spring Birds

2008-02-23T15:40:00.003-09:00

I'm sorry that I haven't posted this week, I took a weekend trip to see my sister. We had so much fun!!! We rented a hotel room for 2 days, had DH's spend some quality kid time and took some much needed time for ourselves. We ate out, shopped, hot tubbed and stamped. This is one of my cards I did. It uses the new SU! set called: A Little Birdie Told Me. Since I didn't know when I would use this I didn't stamp a sentiment, that way I can add the perfect sentiment at the right time. I love these birds, they just seem so springy to me and I am soooooo ready for spring. I tried an old and true technique, masking to make it look the birds were hugging. I think it turned out so cute! Did I mention that I felt like a RENEGADE this past weekend? Might want to check it out. Have a great day!!!

Supplies: All supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted. CS: Bashful Blue 4-1/4 x 11, Whisper White 3 x 3, Real Red 3-1/4 x 3-1/4. DSP: Summer Picnic 4 x 5-1/4. Stampin' Write Markers: Old Olive, Real Red, Ballet Blue. Accessories: Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Silver Brads.

Shabby Bookmark

2008-02-23T12:31:00.000-09:00

I had a customer request a shabby chic item. At the time I didn't do shabby chic (after this, I now LOVE it!). It took me a bit to come up with this, but I really liked how it turned out.

I cut 2 oversize tags in Very Vanilla CS. I stamped the French Script BG in True Thyme. On my focal piece of Very Vanilla I stamped the same thing. I then stamped over that using the Print Pattern BG with Creamy Caramel. I stamped over that one more time (you can't see it in this icky picture) using the Linen BG and Mellow Moss. I sponged the edges of all the Very Vanilla with Close to Cocoa. I stamped the butterfly in Ruby Red, the Gladiola in Eggplant Envy, YoYo Yellow and Old Olive.

I then inked the whole focal piece with Versamark and embossed it using UTEE, repeated 3-4 times to get good coverage and threw the focal piece in the freezer to cool. Stamped the Sentiment in True Thyme, tore the top edge and inked the edges in True Thyme using my stampin' sponge. I matted that onto True Thyme CS and tore the top edge to match. I pulled my focal piece out of the freezer, it was curled up from the temperature change. I flattened it out and the EP cracked giving a coold shattered glass effect. I rubbed over the top of that with Chocolate Chip and the cracks caught the ink and gave it a cool aged appearance. I tied a ribbon around the front tag and focal piece. I tied ribbon through the upper tag hole and finished the hole off with a bronze oversized brad. I stuck a magnet on the backside of each tag, making sure they lined up. This is so when I use the bookmark in a book, if I drop it the bookmark doesn't fall out. Clever huh? Enjoy!

Friendly Flowers

2008-02-14T14:41:00.001-09:00

This was another quick card for club on Wed. night. It was a hit and only took a couple of minutes. I embossed the nestability scalloped circle in the center of my card. Nicole Heady has a great tutorial on this here. I stamped the scalloped flower in Purely Pomegranate in the center of the scalloped circle using my Stampamajig. I stamped the flower again in So Saffron and punched out the center of it with my 1" punch and punched a So Saffron mat with my 1-1/4" punch. I adhered the center of the flower with Stampin' Dimensionals. I finished it off by matting my stamped piece with Purely Pomegranate and layering that onto a white card base. I tied some Purely Pomegranate stitched ribbon and it was done.

FYI, I added my families valentines cards to the Renegade section of my blog, I'd love to know what you think. Ta Ta!

Sticky Stuff

2008-02-11T23:39:00.000-09:00

Today was a wondermus day. The weather has finally warmed up. On a side note, you know you are a true Alaskan when you are grateful that it has warmed up to -1. MUCH warmer than the -50 we had been experiencing, I even walked from my car into work today without a coat. Crazy huh? I got to spend some one on one snuggle time with my son, and greet the UPS man when he came to visit today. Any guesses as to what he dropped off???

My Spring Occassions Mini Catalog pre-order!!! I couldn't wait to rip into it. And the even cooler thing is that I mounted the stamps in 5 minutes flat and was ready to stamp baby! I had such neat new stuff I didn't even know where to start, can you imagine that?

I love Kristina Werners blog: kwernerdesign. This woman is amazing. I actually met her on Split Coast last summer when she was looking for a roommate for convention in Denver and I responded to her message. She is amazing and I check her blog daily to see what new creation she has come up with. I love her clean card designs and I wanted to focus on something like that for my February Club Quick Card. This is what I came up with and when I blog surfed tonight, I saw that Kristina had a card much like this on her blog as well...how funny is that? This is a seriously quick card, under 5 minutes...I'm gonna make a few of these with different sentiments to have on hand. Meanwhile, do you think hubby will like this as his Valentines card? For full details click here. Have a stamp happy day!!!

2008-02-08T12:42:00.002-09:00

I had received a Genie Bag awhile ago in a swap that I was in. I decided to make in for my JanuaryCard Club since it would make a cute valentine's treat bag.

Supplies Used: (all supplies SU! unless otherwise noted) CS: Whisper White (2 ea) 5-1/2 x 7, Berry Bliss DP (2 ea) 5-1/2 x 3, Certainly Celery (2 ea) 5-1/2 x 1-1/2, Ink: Certainly Celery Classic, Pretty In Pink Classic, Stamps: Lots of Scallops 2008 SAB Set, Mini Alphabet Set, Polka Dot Background, Accessories: Scalloped Punch, Corner Rounder, Tag Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Pink Narrow Grossgrain, White Lunch Bag.

I started by stamping my Polka Dot BG in Certainly Celery onto one end of the white cardstock, repeat on the other piece of white cardstock. Adhere the Berry Bliss DP onto the bottom of the white cardstock, repeat. Punch scalloped edge using the corner rounder with the guide removed, repeat. Adhere Certainly Celery C/S to cover the seam between the white and the pink paper. Stamp the floral image in Pretty In Pink onto Whisper White C/S. Stamp the floral image in Certainly Celery onto Whisper White C/S. Punch out the Pink image using the scalloped punch being sure to line up the punch with the flower. Punch out the center of the green floral image using the 1" circle punch, stamp recipients intial in Pretty In Pink in the center. Adhere this circle into the center of your flower using a Stampin' Dimensional. Tie the pink grosgrain ribbon in a knot around the piece of Whisper White C/S centering it on the Celery C/S. I pulled the knot over to the edge and adhered the flower using 2 dimensionals stacked together in 2 places so that it would clear the knot. Using your tag punch create a handle at the top of both pieces of white cardstock. Measure your lunch bag and cut it off so that it is just below your handle. Adhere using sticky strip. Thanks for looking and have a stamp happy day!!!

2008-02-06T11:30:00.000-09:00

I have a lovely friend by the name of Colleen...she and I were talking one day and she asked me if I knew why coasters were such a craze on SCS. I told her I had just ordered 100 of them and was planning to play and see what I thought. Well, Colleen's husband works for a beverage distribution center and he had brought home tons of coasters. She told me she would give me some and would like for me to come up with projects to do with them. Will do!!! For full details click HERE.

Supplies: (All supplies SU! unless otherwise noted) CS: Real Red, Bashful Blue, Whisper White. DSP: Cutie Pie. Stamps: Sanded, Greetings Galore, Fancy Flexible Phrases. Classic Ink: Real Red & Basic Black. Misc: Pure Color Pencils, Brocade Blue Grosgrain Ribbon, Silver Brads, Micro-Beads, Transparency and Double Sided Foam Tape.

My Sister...My friend

2008-02-05T12:19:00.002-09:00

I wanted to create a gift for my sister who has been an amazing support to me through some recent difficulties in my life and this is what I came up with.

This was an inexpensive wood frame that I covered with the Berry Bliss DSP.I started by painting the frame with a light pink base. I then adhered 1" strips of Berry Bliss DSP to the front using mono-multi. After it was dry I applied Chocolate Chip Craft ink to the edges to give them some definition.

I adhered sticky strip to the inside of the picture opening and lined that with wide Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon.Next I cut a piece of Chocolate Chip CS to fit the opening (my frame came with a cardboard insert so I adhered my CS to that. I glued the Making Memories sentiment onto the paper using E2000. I created additional interest using my new SU! rub-ons.I tied Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon in a knot at the top of the frame.

The stick pin was created using my SU! pretties kit. I wanted it to have a little color so I colored the plastic beads with a Copic Marker and stuck the pin through the knot.I stamped the accent piece in Pomegranate Pink and adhered a small rhinestone in the center of the image. The accent image is from a SU! retired set Fancy Flexible Phrases, still shaking my head that they didn't put that in the big book. I love it and use it A-LOT!

My Sister...My friend

2008-02-05T11:21:00.000-09:00

I wanted to create a gift for my sister who has been an amazing support to me through some recent difficulties in my life. This is what I came up with. This was an inexpensive wood frame that I covered with the Berry Bliss DSP. For full details click HERE.

Supplies: All supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted...Wood Frame (Creative Express), Eyelet Sentiment (Making Memories), Adirondak Paint, Sticky Strip, Wide Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon, Berry Bliss DSP, Close to Cocoa CS, Whisper White CS, Pretties Kit, Rub-Ons, Alcohol Marker (Copic).

SAB Card Set: So Many Scallops

2008-01-30T23:03:00.000-09:00

Tonight I created a set of 5 cards using the 2008 Sale-a-bration set: So Many Scallops. I LOVE this set because it is designed to go hand in hand with my beloved scalloped punch as well as the circle punches to create layers of color. This is a seriously versatile set, that I will keep forever and evah! I kept my card design the same for the set to create unity, I just used different colors for each one. I really like the simplicity of this design, very simple, clean and quick to pump out several at a time. I will add this to my sketch file for this purpose. For full details and pictures of the other cards click here.

Paper Decor

2008-01-28T12:47:00.000-09:00

First Picture: Chipboard Letters. I have been working on incorporating my love of papercrafting into the decorating of my home. It is afterall a large part of who I am today. I had picked up this chipboard kit a couple of years ago. I finally figured out how I wanted to use it. I covered each letter with a different patterned paper in the colors I decorate with using modge podge. I let it dry overnight and then modge podged the top of the letters so they wouldn't fade and would be easy to dust. Easy peasy huh? Although I have to confess it ended up being too plain for me so I went back and added some ribbon....muuuuch better.

Second Picture: Wall Vignette. I love how this looks in my house, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Third Picture: Altered Barnstar. How cool is this? I just love it. I found this cool tutorial at2 Peas. I used the SU!'s Au Chocolate DP to cover my star, inked all the edges with Chocolate Chip Craft Ink. When it was dry, I modgepodged the entire thing. Enjoy!

2008-01-27T12:35:00.000-09:00

I loved the Au Chocolate DP that SU! sold last year...none of the new colors of this same design have even come close for me. I bought 2 or 3 packages of it when it retired to use in my home decor projects. This is the SU! Chipboard Journal.

I cut a piece of DP to fit the front and the back cover. I punched the edge with the spiral punch and glued it on with glue stick. I rubbed the Very Vanilla craft pad around the edges. I then ran a piece of Close to Cocoa CS through my cuttlebug and matted it onto Pixie Pink CS. I covered Onboard Simon Lower with their Valentine DP (can't remember what it was called, it's retired), tied on a few bows and glued that on with E3000. I stamped Original from the Totally Tabs Set and mounted it on the edge.

Genie Bag

2008-01-22T01:05:00.001-09:00

I had received a Genie Bag awhile ago in a swap that I was in. I decided to make in for my January Card Club since it would make a cute valentine's treat bag. I h ad this design floating in my head and I was so excited that it looked even better than I had imagined it would. I love it when that happens!!! For full details click here. Thanks for looking.

Faux Silk Valentine

2008-01-22T00:45:00.000-09:00

I saw a Faux Silk Tutorial on SCS a couple of weeks ago and immediately knew that I needed to do this with my January Card Club. For full details click here. Thanks for looking!!!

January Quick Card

2008-01-22T00:19:00.000-09:00

One of the things I try to do each month with my card club is to design a card that can be made in 5 minutes or less. I do this to show them that even if you don't have a homemade card on hand, you can come up with a nice card in 5 minutes, which is less time than it takes to drive to Hallmark and less expensive too. This is my January Quick Card. It is very simple in design and only took me about 2 minutes to make. For full details click here. Have a stamp happy day!!!

2008-01-15T12:38:00.000-09:00

One of the cool new toys that I got for Christmas was a Zutter Bind-It-All. This is a pretty cool little machine. I decided for it's trial run to make a coaster journal...(thanks bunches for the coasters Colleen).

I started with 2 heavyweight coasters. I took a sponge dauber and rubbed artichoke craft ink on all 4 eadges. The coasters measure 4" square, so I cut my patterned paper to 4x4 and rounded the corners using SU!'s discontinued (bring it back SU!) corner rounder. I adhered the paper with UHU Glue Stick, the absolute bestest glue stick I have found. I covered the inside with a 4x4 piece of always artichoke cardstock. I cut approximately 20 pieces of 4x4 very vanilla c/s for the inside. I punched the edges of the covers and the pages with my bind-it-all, then bound it with a black o-wire. I tied on a piece of burgandy grossgrain to pull out the subtle burgandy accents, adhered a chipboard D from my stash and in about 15 minutes the book was done. Super simple, super quick and super wowza for the recipient! Have a stamp happy day!!!

I've been busy

2008-01-15T09:56:00.000-09:00

Because this is primarily a Stampin' UP! blog, I am only going to make small mention on the front page when I add renegade art. You can click on the link on the right and it will take you to the Renegade Art section of my blog which will have full details. I did add a few projects over there today. Enjoy!

Everything to Me

2008-01-14T02:46:00.001-09:00

We made this card last Saturday at my Catalog Open House. As you know SU! recently released the Spring/Summer 2008 Catalog & Idea Book, so we had to bring it in stylishly with a chocolate fountain and all!!!When I got my hands on my new catty on Christmas Eve, this set (Always) immediately jumped out at me...odd, it's a very different style for me, but I didn't like any of the valentine sets and I needed one to demonstrate, so on my first-order list it went. I had just gotten done organizing my stamp area when it arrived and I was anxious to play, so I immediately mounted it. Since there isn't a matching background (hint-hint SU!) I paired it with this uber-cool (Sanded) background and set to work. I had a blast sponging and stamping 'till I had created this 'lil beauty. Click here for more information. Have a stamp happy day!!!