More Sweet

Here's a third card using the Sew Sweet stamp set and DSP.

This one is a gift or business card holder. It measures 4 x 4.

And when you open it...


...there's your gift or business card holder, over on the right side.

I've placed a small scrap of Soft Suede to highlight the slot.

I like the use of the Pear Pizazz twill ribbon on the card, as well.

This year, the twill ribbon (aside from the ecru one we've carried for a while) is only available in the "In" colors.

And I like all the colors of this twill ribbon that I've played with. Soft, a convenient width. What more can you ask for?

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We had a storm here today - this is the coldest day we've had all year, and guess what I have blooming in my yard...

• California poppies
• Hyacinths
• Watsonia

and... FREESIAS!

I LOVE freesias - I've got them stashed all over the place. Out front, in the flower garden in the backyard, in pots on the patio - and I never remember where I planted them, so it's always a pleasant surprise to recognize them when they pop up.

Wanna see?


A red and a white one here. And...

Yellow ones out in the flower bed...











Tonight it's supposed to get very cold (for here), so I picked all the freesias that were starting to open and brought them in the house. Then I went out and hung (hanged???) sheets in hopes of keeping my plants from freezing.

And then it rained again. So now I have cold wet sheets "protecting" the plants that I don't want to lose... Think that's good? Let's hope so!

Well, thanks for stopping bye - come back soon! And in the meantime, don't forget to ink a stamp!

Sew Suite

This card is from my up line. She sends me a package of cards about every quarter - she's so good to me!

I like the color combo she used in this card. Crumb Cake for the card itself, decorated with Baja Breeze DSP and CS. She even added Baja Breeze seam binding.

And an idea I wouldn't have thought of - put a button on a button! Adds some nice dimension to the card.

Here's the fold of the card.



She started with an 11 x 4-1/4 piece of Crumb Cake CS and folded it in half.

Then she folded the front of the card in half (back towards the fold) and attached the Baja Breeze pieces, which are cut from the Sweet Stitches Designer Series Paper (DSP), and backed with Baja Breeze CS.

The verse on the inside was stamped with Early Espresso.

Easy peasy! And a lovely card, in the end...

Thanks for stopping by! Come back soon...

Sew Detailed

Here's another swap card I got while at Leadership in January.

This one has a lot of details, that just add to the joy it will give the recipient!

The first one is that measuring tape! CUTE!

And, aren't those buttons cute!




They were made using the new Buttons embosslit. An embosslit dry embosses and cuts at the same time. All you do is put a scrap of card stock inside the embosslit and run it thru Mr. Big!

Open up the embosslit and plop those luscious buttons on whatever you want!

In this instance, though, the designer added some white gel pen to the button's holes to high light them! Adds a nice little touch.

And look at this one - I almost missed this one!


Adding more while gel pen to the feet of the dress form was brilliant!

And then we have the DSP that has buttons in it, as well, and everything pulls together very nicely!

That's one of the best things about Stampin' Up! product, as far as I'm concerned. How well the stamps, DSPs, and fabrics now mix, match, and coordinate!

I also like the fact that we generally have 3 or 4 current stamp sets that you can mix and match with other stamp sets and papers.

Are you a seamstress? If you are, I'm sure you'd love the fabrics. There are three different fabric patterns to each box. All are fat quarters, and all tear nice and straight! That in itself is a plus, when you work with fabric, because it means a straight bias, which is important so your fabric will lie flat.

So, did I tempt you with anything tonight? Anything you see that you HAVE to have? Give me a call or an email and I'll be happy to order it for you!

Thanks for stopping by - come back soon!

Family Calendar 2010 - 1 month done!

I know, I know - it's awfully late to be making calendars!

But it's become a family tradition for our family's calendars to run from February to February (and even March one year!) -- for several reasons.

The first reason is that it's like pulling teeth to get the photos to put ON the calendars! I start asking in October, and, IF I'M LUCKY, I'll get some by Christmas...

The second reason is that by the time I GET the pix, I'm either buried in Christmas stuff, or I'm on my way to Leadership in early January...

So, our calendars run from February to February. And, that's OK! Our 6 x 6 calendars are set up so you can make them for a year, starting in any month (Whew - Stampin' Up! must have known about my family and me, huh?! LOL).

The photo above is my first pass at this page. Before I can even start laying out the calendars, I have to cull photos (when I DO get the photos I have many to choose from!).

After I've selected photos, then I adhere them to the 6x6 DSP I've chosen to match them.

Next, I add some embellishments, remembering that I still have to add the journaling.


And after I've tacked these down, I add the journaling that will tell us all years from now why that photo was important.


I'll admit, scrapbooking isn't one of my passions. I only have those furry Kidz, and after they've passed the kitten stage, they can get pretty boring.

But I do enjoy scrapping the family photos on these calendars. It gives me a chance to really study them and sort of keep up to date with what's happening with them. They all live in the Midwest, and I'm on the West Coast, so we don't see each other very often.

I still have 4 copies of 11 more months to go, so I guess I should get busy! I'll share more of them as I get them closer to being finished.

Are you a scrapbooker? Stampin' Up! sells all KINDS of supplies you could use - just go to my website and check it out! When you're ready to order, you can either call or email and order, or enter it directly on line. Just remember to select me as your demonstrator to get preferred pricing!

Thanks for stopping by!

And the Point Is

This is a leftover from Valentine's Day that I haven't shared with you, for some reason.

It's the new Mr. Big die from the Occasions mini called Petal Cone (Item 121810).

This cone was actually made using TWO pieces cut using the die.

I used Cherry Cobbler CS (I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this color! You NEED some!) for the main part of the cone, and then ran some Whisper White CS thru to make the scallops around the top.

The scallop piece is part of the die, but in some instances (like this one), I like the look of another color to give it some pop.

Before I put it all together, I used the "Bliss" stamp set (SAB - FREE with a $50 purchase!) and embossed with white embossing powder. I added some seam binding so I could hang this cone.

And then I stamped a Valentine greeting on a piece of Newsprint DSP, and adhered it to the little banner piece that is also cut on the die.

It's a little too long, so I sort of "furled" it when adhering it to the cone itself.

Wouldn't this make a really cute May Day gift - fill it with small flowers or candy and hang it on someone's door - and then run away! ha ha

Here's a close up so you can see it a little better.


I've been playing around with more than two of these Petal Cone die cuts and came up with something that looks like an upside down lampshade - I thought it would look cute with potpourri in it. Evidently I didn't take a photo of it so I could share it.

I'll post more pix of the things I've done with this die soon.

In the meantime - don't you need this die for YOUR Mr. Big?

Thanks for stopping by - come back soon!

There She Is Again...

Yes, it's that cute little girl from Greeting Card Kids again.

This is another card I made for my long distance DL.

I was trying to combine a few new accessories on each card, so I MAY have gone a little over the top!

For this one, I used the Springtime Vintage DSP - I ran it thru the Tulips Embossing folder (you'll have to look closely!). I also lightly dabbed the embossed part with Rose Red ink, to make it stand out a little more.

I generally put a whole 5-1/2 x 4-1/4 sheet of DSP thru the embossing folder and then trim it and cut it in half, so I am able to get two cards from each piece.

I added a little of the Victoria lace. The Valentine Greetings (from Grateful Greetings - a great word set!) was embossed with white embossing powder on Rose Red CS.

And of course, last, but certainly not least, that little girl, who was stamped with black Staz-on on to watercolor paper, then colored with the Watercolor Crayons. She was then punched out with the scallop punch, and backed with a piece of Pear Pizazz CS cut with circle punch.

There are other images in the Greeting Card Kids set - Halloween, Christmas, and Back to School, which also includes a little boy image.

And the two characters are spread apart enough that you could easily cut them apart and use one or the other, if you wanted.

So, do you NEED Greeting Card Kids? If so, now's the time to purchase her, since it's Sale-A-Bration and FREE STAMPS! You'd need to add some to your order, since the wood mounted set is $20.95, but for each $50 in product you purchase during SAB, you get to choose one item from the SAB catalog!

Thanks for stopping by! Come back again soon...

Thoughts of Spring

This is another card that I made for long distance down line.

For this one, I started with Pear Pizazz CS (LOVE that color!), stamped the "En Francais" background on one half, while covering the other half with some of the Springtime Vintage DSP.

Where they meet, I used the Rose Red seam binding - have I mentioned how much I LOVE this stuff?!!? It's a dream to work with!

I stamped the Happy Birthday with black Staz-on, and then plopped a few butterflies made Melon Mambo and the butterfly embosslit all over the place.

I thought this was an attractive, but generic birthday card. Rather simple, but that seems to be my style!

Thanks for stopping by!