Myself, Brian and Aunt Bobbie

Another family photo from the rehearsal dinner.

My Mother and my husband

This is a photo of my mother and my dear husband. A rare photo.

Family

My parents came down about 2 weeks ago to visit and then we headed to Atlanta for a wedding. My cousin Amber got married and now I am feeling old. I was a teenager when she was born and now she is a married lady. Time flies when you are having fun.
The photos that follow are of myself and my brother Brian who I had not seen in quite awhile. Was very glad to see him as well as other family members.

I am published!!!!

I am published in the current issue of Hobby Lobby's magazine. I have just one card in the magazine. I am so excited that one of my cards was chosen for publication. This was the first time I submitted to them. It is a really SIMPLE card and I was so nervous that they would turn me down, but you never know until you try.

Fall Cards

Today is the first mild temperature day here in Greer. It is a sunny day and I am doing what I do best,looking at it from inside. Never been an outdoor girl. Love to be indoors with a book, or now with my IPAD. Love the ability to instantly down load books. Now I need to get the IPAD and get on my elliptical and do some exercise....

I made some fall cards using my favorite Kraft cardstock and some browns and greens. Had not been stamping in awhile and had trouble getting started. I did use my twinkling H20's, had not used them is a very long time. I do like them, they are quite easy to use and add a little shimmer to the stamped image. I also made a card for my swap group and I still need to photograph that one. Will post later. Anyway I used an old verse from Personal Stamp Exchange about autumn and the tree is from Inkadinkadoo, purchased at Michael's. Also used the large friends text from Hero Arts to overstamp the tree. Used a Cuttlebug embossing folder to add texture and more dimension.

Stampaway 2010

I had the pleasure to attend Stampaway in Cincinnati this year. Stampaway is a one day rubberstamp convention, with a preview night on Friday night. The preview party is an event within itself. Only 500 tickets are sold and you get a chance to shop before everyone else does. It is worth 38 dollar price tag to be able to shop without the major crowd that comes on Saturday. The highlight of preview night was meeting Tim Holtz, Jennifer Maguire and Shari Carroll. Stampers Anonymous and Hero Arts are my favorite companies and it was such a pleasure to meet my stamping idols. Jennifer and Shari were super nice and so patient while my buddy Gail took pictures. Gail took classes by Tim and Joanie of Artful Illusions. So between classes I was able to sneak in and get a picture with Tim. He also was very gracious while working hard to get ready for the upcoming class.

More photos

More photos from Buffalo stamps and stuff.

Buffalo Stamps and Stuff

Recently traveled to Buffalo, New York for a family reunion and I discovered a wonderful rubber stamping store. The store had recently hosted Tim Holtz and they had a wonderful photo album with the event, the store was also filled with ALL of his Sizzix dies and embossing folders and of course stamps. I was like a kid in a candy store. My Mom (who does not understand) was ready to leave after a few minutes, wanted to banish her to the car but it was too hot outside to leave her out there for long(just kidding) anyway she endured for awhile and allowed my aunt and I to look around. The owner, Sharon was really nice, showed me around the store and told me all about the Tim Holtz event. She said when they announced that Tim was coming and classes were going on sale, they had women camped out in front of the store the night before, hoping to be first in line toreserves their space. Personally my husband would never allow this(he doesn't understand either) but I can truly understand the desire to be first in line to get a ticket to a Tim Holtz class. I am attending Stampaway in Cincinnati in a couple of weeks and I missed out on the opportunity to take his classes. My friend Gail did get a space so I will get to ooh and aah over her creations.

Not so plain anymore...

Update the same card with a few changes. I added a felt flower with a rhinestone, embossed with cuttlebug, added some ribbon and punched butterflies.

Watercolor card

I used one of my favorite stamps, Hero Arts Design Block Silhouette S5033 and Distress Ink Dusty Concord. I also used a splatter stamp by Stampin Up. The verse is by Stampabilities-purchased at Hobby Lobby. I really like the font arrangement and I of course since I am verse junkie I had to have it(purchased on sale). I inked the stamp and then spritzed it with water, stamped the ink onto watercolor paper. Next I edged the paper with the ink pad, used a water brush to soften the edge. I then used the splatter stamp over the face of the card. Next I used the water brush to soften some the flowers. This card could stand alone or be placed on a piece of cardstock.

Cards for Soldiers

These are 2 cards I made for an internet friend whose son was returning home. This is the first time I have made patriotic cards to give to someone so it was a bit of a challenge. I bought the materials from Hobby Lobby

HI card for a swap.

This is a card I made for a swap on an internet group. I cut letters from my Cricut and used an old book page for the background. I continued my use of paper pleating. I think I am addicted. I really like the dimension and texture it adds to my cards. It is also making use of something I already have and not feeding my desire to acquire more stuff. Really need to work on that. Flower by Prima, heart punch by EK Success and stamp by Hero Arts.

Color Layering

I used Hero Arts stamps and Ranger Inks to make this card. Use 3 inks, Lettuce, Eggplant and Butterscotch inks.

Paper pleating

I used the paper pleating technique on this card.

Black, white and red card challenge

This is a card I made for the Scraps of Color challenge.

Don't let your freezer thaw out without your knowledge!

We had a mishap with our freezer and boy was it STINKY. Someone of the two people who live in our house, left the freezer door open and by the time we discovered it everything had thawed. My dear husband had fish from a fishing trip he had taken earlier in the spring stored inside and it is not pleasant when fish juice is on your concrete basement floor. We keep the freezer in our mechanical room so if we don't need anything from it, we hardly ever go in that room. I got a bottle of the liquid Lysol concentrate and got on my hands and knees(this girl is a stranger to this activity) and scrubbed the floor. Hubby had sprayed bleach but my bloodhound nose still detected the fishy smell and I had to get rid of it. So far the odor seems to be diminished. Wish me luck....

On a lighter note, just received my ticket to Stampaway in August. Planning to attend for the first time a few years. The classes I wanted were sold out but I did get a ticket to the preview party. I along with 500 others have PAID for the privilege to shop on Friday night before the actual convention starts on Saturday. Stampaway is usually a great convention so I am really looking forward to going.

Wow it has been a long time since I posted cards.

Updating my blog seems to take a back seat to everything. I have difficulty thinking of what to say so I just avoid posting. I have always to say about stamping when I am talking with people in person but can't seem formulate my thoughts when I am on the BLOG. I love sharing ideas by posting my cards so I just need to concentrate on that.

I saw a card on Cards magazine by Maile Belles and I made a take off on her card. I changed it up a bit and I really liked the way it turned out. I even emailed Maile my version and she emailed me back-very nice of her. My version is above. Stamps I used, Donna Downey flowers(Unity Stamp Company, Smile (49 cents at Michael's what a bargain,) houndstooth- Glitz designs, Butterfly punch-Martha Stewart, Fiskars border punch, Techniques Tuesday verse, corner punch by EK success.

Birthday Card

I made this card for a birthday swap. I am loving black, blue and white right now. I definitely go through phases of what colors I like to use. I used Enjoy by Hero Arts and small happy birthday is also by Hero Arts.

More cards.....

Here are a variety of cards that I have made for Valentine's Day.

Happy Couple Altered ATC

Altered atc that I made using masks from Tim Holtz, vintage image from a postcard and paints.

Happy Valentine's Day

I made this card for a class and a swap. I used Ali Edwards stamps from Technique Tuesday. The sets are called Loving Words and Favorite Memories. I also used a Fiskars border punch and my favorite bling-RHINESTONES!!!

6x6 Scrapbook Layout

I joined an internet swap that required you to make a 6x6 page with your photo and a little bit about yourself. This is my first attempt. I have to make 23 of them.......

Black and White ATC swap

This is an atc I did for a swap. When I signed up for this-oh this will be easy-when in fact it ended up being harder than I thought. I used a vintage image from Paper Bag Studios and the same heart I used on the previous card. Used Black Memento ink, tape from Making Memories and an epoxy sticker from K and Company.

Almost February....

As most of you can see it has been quite awhile since I have posted. I have been very lazy about updating. I really need to do better. Need to practice to update my computer skills, need to make more cards for posting, need a few more hours in each day.......what a wish list-where's a genie when you need one. I have card to share with you. I made a Valentine's Day card that I plan to use for a class but I like the card and decided to share. I used the Letterpress card stock that I bought to go with my Letterpress by Quickutz. I stamped the heart(Stampington and Company) with Worn Lipstick by Ranger and I used my waterbrush to soften the lines and then I outlined the heart with a white gel pen. I added some rhinestones(my fave) and used a speckle stamp from Stampin Up to go around the card. I then did the same around the card base. Stamped HVD(Hero Arts) in Memento black. Thought about stamping in the same red-may make another one with red ink. Thought the black made a nice contrast. Also added some metallic red floss.