He Stamps

December 2012 Pals Blog Hop

2011-12-13T04:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the December Pals Hop (and my very first blog hop!) This month, we're featuring Birthday themed cards and projects! I hope you have enjoyed the hop and the amazing creations that the Pals have come up with. You've likely hopped over from Cindy Hall at http://prettyimpact.com, I'm stop number 10 on the Pals Hop and I'm glad you hopped in! I'll help you "hop along" from blog to blog where you'll find great ideas for Birthday paper projects from the Stampin' Pretty Pals! Should you hop off course, simply click on any of the links in the Pals Hop Line-up below and you'll be back on track!

In November when I signed up for the December Blog Hop I remember having a faint sense of foreboding doing this for my first time and so close to the holidays, but I charged on. This weekend I was reminded about the blog hop and had to put aside my Christmas Cards, yes yes the cards are unfinished and yet to be mailed. Since we took the children in to raise MY free time grows less and I have to be much more focused than I am used to. So dear blog reader here is the card I came up with. It's actually a BIG old CASEd card from one of the Splitcoast Stampers challenges. I hope you find something useful from the card, paper choice or layout.

Supplies:
Stamps: Happiest Birthday Wishes (Hostess) (122617)
Ink: Pacific Point (111837)
Paper: Stampin' UP! Beyond the Garden Designer Series (122342), Naturals White cs (102316), River Rock (108640), Wild Wasabi (108641)

Accessories/Tools: Filigree Designer Brads (112577), Crimper (101618), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)
Design: Splitcoast Stampers User: pegmac71

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1761503?&cat=500&ppuser=19462

Blog Line Up

1. Patti MacLeith at http://www.papercraftsbypatti.blogspot.com

2. Angie Blake at http://www.angiesmusings.com

3. Kylie Nicolosi at http://www.kyliescraftycorner.blogspot.com/

4. Melanie Collins at http://www.oopsadaisy.typepad.com
5. Angela Richwine at http://stampinawaywithangela.blogspot.com

6. Mikki Sarkisyan at http://www.mikkiscreativecorner.blogspot.com/

7. Barb Furlong at http://www.theloveofstamping.com/
8. Jennifer Takacs at http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/jenntakacs/blog
9. Linda Fisher at http://lindas-stampinloft.blogspot.com

10. Julie Trevett-Smith at http://www.thestampinaffair.com/

11.Nancy Gleason at http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/mystampinspace/blog
12. Nicole Watt at http://www.impressionsbynicole.com/
13. Mary Fish at at http://www.stampinpretty.com/
14.Rae Harper at http://wildwestpaperarts.com/
15.Nina Dee at http://www.deesignsbyninadee.blogspot.com/

16. Cindy Hall at http://prettyimpact.com/
17. Benjamin Turner at http://hestamps.blogspot.com

Happy Holidays! As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Another Belated Birthday card

2011-11-16T07:37:00.000-08:00

Guess what? I have completed yet another belated birthday card. At this point offering excuses about being late on wishing someone (in this case my cousin Sheila) a belated birthday would just be ridiculous, so lets move on. This card is part of the Featured Stamper challenge over at Splitcoaststampers . The featured stamper on Sunday was ITSAPASSION or Anne. Check out her gallery it is full of gems.

The card that I choose to case from Anne's wonderful gallery was Heart of Twill . I choose Flirtatious Specialty DSP as the patterned paper and Crumb Cake, Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink and Wisteria Wonder as the cardstock/ink combination. Again, the stamp set was my uber favorite Happiest Birthday Wishes which does have more stamps than my oft used Belated Birthday Wishes stamp. Also I gained the first layer of the rosette from the Sizzzix Bigz Perfect Pennants die-- this is a great die and if you are a traditional die person I say definitely take a look at this one. I hope you enjoy the card and find inspiration from it.

As always, thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Yet Another Fall Birthday (a wee bit late)

2011-11-08T08:47:00.000-08:00

Next month or perhaps January I will endeavor to get my birthday cards out on time. As you will notice on the card today I have used the belated birthday stamp AGAIN (and believe it's been used before I just choose not to show.) I actually love this little stamp it's part of Happiest Birthday Wishes hostess set, out of the 11 stamps in this set I have used the Birthday Wishes A Bit Late stamp the most. I hope the folks these cards are destined for will be happy to get them even if they are a wee bit late.

As for the card the design is from the November/December 2011 issue of Paper Crafts magazine, page 53 to be exact. I was pretty faithful to the original except for colors, stamp set, sentiment and brads instead of rhinestones. This card is intended for my brother Roy Jr. back in Ohio ... I didn't think he would appreciate rhinestones! By the way, I believe the stamp set Day of Gratitude might be retired but it's what I had to use so I went with it. Hopefully the stamp police won't come after me.

As always, thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

A Fall Birthday

2011-11-07T07:53:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of birthdays this month on my side of the world. And, with the illness and death of our Bingston it's been really difficult to sit down and make cards. It's very easy for me to get sidetracked. This card took me four days to complete and there are definitely improvements to be made ... but it will go as is.

I have attempted to revisit the coloring end of stamping. I found an Australian woman on YouTube who explained it in a way that I could finally understand. Dusted off my Stampin' UP! Many Marvelous Markers and went at it. I think parts of the image turned out okay - others I was a bit heavy handed at. I have decided to skip the details section as frankly it is what keeps me from posting on this blog ... if there is something you can't identify email me.

As always, thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Bingston 1999 - 2011

2011-11-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

Bingston 1999

In 1999 we bought a 9-week old puppy home, after a couple of days I named him Bingston. Little did we know how important this guy would become to our family. Smart as a whip and determined that everyone should love him he was pure joy to our home.

Yesterday, November 3, 2011 Bingston died. Suffering from congestive heart failure -- his poor little body could no longer do what it needed to. We held him tightly those last minutes he was with us. I stayed with him to the end. Without attempting to sound melodramatic I know that a part of my heart went with him - I will forever be changed by his life and his death. As he slipped away I whispered to him that I KNOW we will all be together again someday and then he was gone. Seeing that spark of life disappear into a stone stare will be with me forever, I actually shudder when I remember that moment.

Soon I know that I will begin to remember Bingston the puppy and will not define him by his death. But for this time when I close my eyes that lost spark moment is what I carry. Today when Jase and I were leaving the house we put the dogs in their kennels and the sight of Bingston's empty kennel was cruel.

Bingston 2000

Pals Paper Arts - PPA86 (Take two)

2011-03-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

In my previous post I mentioned how I struggled with the Pals Paper Arts challenge for the week. The challenge was to include embossing on a project and I decided to give it another go. Again I turned to the Card Positioning Systems for a little sketch inspiration. Their sketch No. 310 part 3 fit the bill nicely with a little creative adjustment - I turned the individual three rectangles into just one.

PPA86 - Element of Style Embossing

I have had the Stampin' UP! Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper for sometime now. Why? Well, most of the pack is a bit on the busy side for me. I actually bought this paper from my demo Mary Fish of Stampin' Pretty before I became a demo myself. Mary used the paper so wonderfully on a card, convincing me to purchase it. Yet after it arrived I could only file it away. Am I alone in purchasing paper and then getting intimidated by it?? Anyway, I busted it out for this card and settled with the wonderful color combo of Wild Wasabi, Peach Parfait and Daffodil Delight. By the way, if you haven't experienced Daffodil Delight in person you"re truly missing out (especially for those Spring and Summer projects.) For the stamp set I used the Always Elegant set and embossed the image in white. I gave the Peach Parfait cs a little embossing with the Sizzix Big Shot Textured Impressions Square Lattice folder. I then added a simple white pearl and a little Wild Wasabi ribbon to finish the card off. What do you think? Leave me a comment I'd love to hear from you!

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampin' UP! Always Elegant (120477)
Ink: Versamark Pad (102283)
Paper: Stampin' UP! Greenhouse Gala Designer Series (117167), Daffodil Delight cs (119693), Peach Parfait (119794), Wild Wasabi (108641)

Accessories/Tools: Sizzix Big Shot Textured Impressions Square Lattice folder (119976), Wild Wasabi Double Stitched Ribbon (Retired), SNAIL (104332), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)
Design: Pals Paper Arts Challenge PPA86 - Elements of Style Embossing, Card Positioning Systems - Sketch No. 310 Part 3

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Pals Paper Arts - PPA86

2011-03-27T07:06:00.000-07:00

This week the Pals Paper Arts challenge was to incorporate embossing into a project. Sounds simple, huh? I struggled with this one - embossing isn't a technique that comes naturally to me. On Thursday I found a sketch courtesy of Card Positioning Systems with their sketch No. 166 that looked great and worked well with the embossing.

PPA86 - Element of Style Embossing

I altered the size of the CPS sketch to fit a square card sized at 5-1/2" x 5-1/2". For the patterned paper I went with Stampin' UP! Play Date Designer Series Paper for it's wonderful bright color palette. My colors then were So Saffron, Read Red and Old Olive. I broke out my brand new Stampin' UP! Circle Scissor plus (so incredibly simple to use) for the first 4-1/2" circle and the smaller circle which I then embossed using the Big Shot Textured Impressions Perfect Polka Dots folder. The funky flower was die cut using the Sizzix Flower Layers die (right now clearanced for an unbelievable $5.99.) I popped the flower up with Stampin' Dimensionals and I think the card looks pretty darn good.

Supplies:
Stamps: None this time.
Ink: Again none.
Paper: Stampin' UP! Play Date Designer Series (117168), So Saffron cs (105118), Read Read cs (102482), Old Olive cs (100702)

Accessories/Tools: Sizzix Big Shot Textured Impressions Perfect Polka Dots folder (117335), Sizzix Flower Layers Original Die (113458), SNAIL (104332), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)
Design: Pals Paper Arts Challenge PPA86 - Elements of Style Embossing, Card Positioning Systems - Sketch No. 166

A quick scrapbook page!

2011-03-23T13:37:00.000-07:00

With just a little of a month left before the Occasions Mini Catalog 2011 retires I had to show you something I CASEd some time ago. On page 24 of mini there is a b&w scrapbook page that drew me right in. Now, I will print a photo in b&w without hesitation but I haven't attempted a layout in these colors exclusively, so this was going to be an adventure for me. I had the perfect picture to work with ... of my little grand baby Caroline. Here's the rest of the details:

Little Angel gift

Well I should say that this isn't really b&w it's more very vanilla & black. So I started with a sheet of 12" x 12" black textured card stock and then embossed a 2" x 12" sheet of very vanilla. I then used the top note die to cut a piece of very vanilla. I stamped the dear from the Forest Friends stamp set on a 2-1/2" x 2-1/2" very vanilla cs. I stamped the Little Angel sentiment from the Little Angel stamp set and used the 2" x 1 3/8" oval punch. I cut a 2-1/2" x 12" strip from the First Edition Designer Series Paper. I used some left-over chipboard to spell the layout title Gift. I then cut an 8" x 3" piece of smooth basic black cs and ran through the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch and attached to the bottom of the pattern paper. Finally, I embossed a 5" x 1-1/2" piece of basic black cs with the Big Shot Textured Impressions Square Lattice Folder, which I folded in half and attached with a staple. As easy as that and such a terrific page, don't you think?

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampin' UP! Forest Friends (113748), Little Angel (118574)
Ink: ' Classic Stampin Pad Basic Black (101179)

Paper: Stampin' UP! Very Vanilla Card stock (101650), Basic Black Card stock (12045), Specialty Designer Series Paper First Edition (121878)

Accessories/Tools: Stampin' Up Sizzix Top Note die (113463), Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border (119275), 2" x 1 3/8" Oval Extra-Large Punch (119847), Big Shot Textured Impressions Square Lattice (119976)

Design: Stampin' UP! Occasions Mini Catalog 2011 pg. 24

As always, thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

A medallion and a simple technique

2011-03-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

So check this out! My Stampin' UP! upline Mary Fish featured a congratulations card (I sent her) along with my technique on her Stampin' Pretty blog. In one of the blogs I follow there was a post about the hottest trends in paper crafting. One of those hottest trends was a medallion. So I sat down with my SU punches and came up with this card. Rather than explain the technique for the jagged medallion take a look at the wonderful 1 Minute to Wow Video Tutorial Mary created..

Medallion Congratulations

For this card I decided to go the monochromatic route. I choose Concord Crush (one of the In Colors), Perfect Plum and Rich Razzleberry. For patterned paper I picked a sheet from the In Color Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack. The collection stack includes 40 sheets total, 4 each of 2 double-sided designs in 6 colors. There are paper stacks available for all the Stampin' UP! color families. One other point of interest might be that the ribbon embellishment under the Congratulations sentiment was achieved by punching a 3/4" x 5" strip of Concord Crush card stock with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch and then running the border through the crimper ... which looks kind of cool!

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampin' UP! Perfect Punches (120516)
Ink: Versamark (102283)
Paper: Stampin' UP! Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack In Color (117158), Concord Crush CS (119792), Perfect Plum CS (115318), Rich Razzleberry CS (115316)

Ribbon: Stampin Up! Ribbon Grosgrain Polka Dot Rich Razzleberry (Retired)

Accessories/Tools: Stampin' UP! 1-3/4" Scallop Circle Extra-Large (119854), 2-3/8" Scallop Circle Extra-Large (118874), Star Extra-Large (119875), Modern Label Extra-Large Punch (119849), Scallop Trim Border (118402), Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch (119275), Crimper (101618), Stampin' Embossing Powder White (109132)

Design: Me!

As always, thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Pals Paper Challenge PPA83

2011-03-20T10:38:00.000-07:00

So here's another entry into the Pals Paper Arts Challenges - this one was started a few weeks back and completed after the the challenge ended but thought I'd go ahead and add to my blog.

PPA83 - Celebrity Color Challenge

The celebrity paper crafter was Nancy Leedy of Canopy Crafts. Nancy choose Baja Breeze, Soft Suede and Crumb Cake as the color challenge. Which sorta threw me, I can be so literal at times. You know, flowers are bright , leaves are green ... that kind of useless drama. To add to my struggle with this challenge, there are some wonderful vintage card makers who participate in PPA challenges and for some other worldly reason I thought I'd give it a whirl. BIG mistake, huge mistake. After I got over myself ... which does take me quite awhile I came up with this card.

I used the Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack Subtles (117152) for the two Baja Breeze patterns. The rest of the card is strictly card stock. I did use the brand new Embosslits Sweet Buttons (121813) for the small buttons.

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampin' UP! Teeny Tiny Wishes (115370)
Ink: Stampin' UP! Classic Basic Black (121045)
Paper: Stampin' UP! Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack Subtles (117152), Baja Breeze CS (111352), Crumb Cake CS (120953), Soft Suede CS (115318)

Accessories/Tools: Stampin' UP! Antique Brands (117273), Word Window Large Punch (119857), Modern Label Extra-Large Punch (119849), Two-Step Bird Extra-Large Punch (117191), Sponge Daubers (102892), SNAIL (104332)
Design: Pals Paper Arts Challenge PPA83 - Celebrity Color Challenge

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Pals Paper Challenge PPA85

2011-03-19T09:13:00.000-07:00

Somehow I pulled it together this week to actually participate in a challenge and get it posted here ... a regular miracle. With the sudden beginning of spring in Connecticut there's a lot going on. Both of the children are working hard in school, well Jase calls it playing but I suspect they are learning as well. In a couple of short weeks the kids will be moving into a brand new school building, which is just beautiful from the outside, we are definitely excited about that.

Stampin' UP! has become a wonderful source of joy in my life. I'm part of a involved excellent team and looks like quite a few members will be attending SU's big convention in July. We are in active talks about attending in this house, which is something that I REALLY want to do. Now onto the business at hand.

PPA85 - Sketch Challenge

For the challenge this week Margaret Moody supplied a wonderful classic sketch that was great fun to play with. I choose the FREE Ice Cream Parlor Designer Series Paper & Quick Accents Pack (122242) from the Sale-A-Bration 2011 mini catalog. I really enjoy the bright colors of this set and incidentally there is a coordinating Ribbon & Button Pack (125329) for FREE as well. Unfamiliar with Sale-A-Bration? For every $50 in merchandise purchased you can pick one free item from the Sale-A-Bration mini. By the way, Sale-A-Bration ends March 31.

For the stamps I picked the Take A Spin (122015) set from the Occasions Mini Catalog. I paired the set with the Game Spinner Hands (121893) and did a little paper piecing for the spinner face. The Happy Birthday scallop square is from the Punch Bunch (121847) Occasions mini catalog. For this stamp I embossed the design in black.

One final note if you are a digi crafter Stampin' UP! has a full line of papers, brushes, and stamp sets available at great prices. In fact in the upcoming Summer Mini Catalog there is a great pricing opportunity for these items!

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampin' UP! Take A Spin (1122015), Punch Bunch (121847)
Ink: Stampin' UP! Classic Basic Black (121045)
Paper: Stampin' UP! Ice Cream DSP & Quick Acents Pack (122242), Peach Parfait CS (119794), Pacific Point CS (111350), Daffodil Delight CS (119683), Old Olive CS (100702), Designer Series Paper Pack - In Color Level One Hostess Gift (121028)

Accessories/Tools: Stampin' UP! Scallop Square Extra-Large (119884), Game Spinner Hands (121893), VersaMark Pad (102283), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), SNAIL (104332)
Design: Pals Paper Arts Challenge PPA85 - Sketch

Back with a Queen

2011-02-27T07:45:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a very long time since I last posted. Time is a precious commodity so I've learned in the past two years. Instead of blogging I have been choosing to do my creating undocumented. Hopefully with this post that will change. A contributing factor to this post is the fact that I rejoined Stampin' UP! a few months ago as a hobby demo and have rediscovered the need to share my stuff. My upline is Mary Fish and I am happily a member of her Stampin' Pretty Pals team. My hope is that when both Kamdyn and Jase are in school full-time I will be able to start my own Stampin' UP! business. Okay, now onto the card.

Butterfly Queen for a Day

In the Stampin' UP! Occasions Mini Catalog 2011 on page 25 there is a card titled "Friend" that I've really taken a liking to. This card is my cased version with some alterations! This is my entry into the Pals Paper Arts PPA82 challenge and SCS Sketch Challenge #SC321 . The card came together pretty quickly with the Basic Black and Very Vanilla color scheme, the butterflies are punched from First Edition (121878) and Love Letter (117162) DSP's. I hope if there's anyone still out there following this blog you enjoy this one as much as I did creating it!

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampin' UP! You're a Gem (122270)
Ink: Stampin' UP! Classic Basic Black (121045)
Paper: Stampin' UP! First Edition (121878), Love Letter (117162), Very Vanilla CS (101650) and Basic Black CS (121045)

Accessories/Tools: Stampin' UP! Scallop Square Extra-Large Punch (119884) and Scallop Edge Border Punch (119882)
Design: Stampin' UP! Occasions Mini Catalog 2011 Pg. 25, SCS Sketch Challenge #SC321

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Caring Watercolor Trio

2010-07-28T17:24:00.000-07:00

So it's allergy time here all of a sudden. Both children are suffering in one way or the other. Jase woke up from his nap this afternoon with a sore ear, crying and all. For a brief couple of minutes I wasn't sure what to do and then it occurred to me to put a warm compress on his ear, lay him down with his head on my knee and turn on the cartoons. Within a couple of minutes he was right as rain asking for his PM snack. At times it's quite surprising to me this whole quasi-parenthood thing. I spend so much time dealing with my ever nagging guilt complex. I constantly worry that I am not doing the right thing, that I will miss something important and one of them will be hanging from a bell tower with a rifle or something (god, that's awful but it's my reality.) David believes in letting them go, and I am trying. Before her death this past June my sister-in-law Eileen told me to, "Just let it happen." I have taken her precious words to my heart and while I can't commit to them completely I keep them present in my thoughts and do hope to attain that level of parenting soon. Okay ... stream of consciousness there folks just skip to the card if it's strange or too much.

Because Watercolor Trio

Can we talk about the new products of Stampin' UP! Some of the new colors already have me hooked, Marina Mist is my personal favorite at the moment, it's such a warm inviting blue. Unlike last year's In Colors this year SU picked a winning combo Peach Parfait and Poppy Parade are my favorites.

Which brings me to this card, I broke into the Sunny Garden DSP (wickedly early for me I usually hold on to this stuff for months.) Stamp set is the beautiful Watercolor Trio from the SU Summer Mini ... I wish I could tell you how much I have coveted this stamp set (we've had a love affair for awhile.) The design is from a Jeanette Lynton book of course.

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampin' UP! Watercolor Trio, Because I Care
Ink:  Stampin' UP! Classic Basic Black, Peach Parfait
Paper:  Stampin' UP! Sunny Garden, Whisper White, Poppy Parade, Old Olive
Accessories/Tools:  Stampin' UP! Oval Punch, EK Success Small Square punch, Colorbok Metal Dots
Design:  Jeannette Lynton, Originals, Pg. 102 Balance it Out

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

A little blue for a birthday?

2010-07-27T15:02:00.000-07:00

So how about some blue for a birthday? For this card I went semi-small 4-3/8" square and choose to break the seal on my Blueberry Crisp DSP by Stampin' UP! I really love this paper although the patterns are not new and appeared previously under the name Razzleberry Lemonade. A first for me was using Night of Navy, I had previously believed this color was far too dark for my tastes. Who knew?

BTW, is anyone else thinking about fall? We had a very nice day yesterday (no air conditioning) and this AM it was still quite pleasant and I found myself thinking about fall and pumpkin spice coffee. Summer has been nice, rather hot this year. However, fall is one of my favorite seasons. The falls in New England are gorgeous, something to behold, so many colors, that nip in the air ... it's a wonderful time of year. Or maybe I am being influenced by the many fall stamp sets I am seeing!

Blue Birthday

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampin' UP! Happy Moments
Ink:  Stampin' UP! Classic Basic Black
Paper:  Stampin' UP! Blueberry Crisp, Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand
Accessories/Tools:  Punches (several), Stampin' UP! Ticket Corner Punch, Stampin' UP! Very Vanilla button, Close to my Heart Black Waxy Flax, Stampin' UP! 3/4" Twill Tape, Making Memories Slice, Studio Essentials Design Card
Design:  Splitcoaststampers.com Clean and Simple Challenge: CAS76

As always, thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Simple birthday card?

2010-07-25T07:24:00.000-07:00

Well, this one started out to be just a simple little Mojo Monday inspired card and somewhere along the path things took a turn. I started punching flower pieces and something took over and the next thing I knew the bottom of the card was covered ... this is definitely NOT my style but nonetheless here it is. The colors and papers are awesome and from Close to my Heart.

Speaking of card styles I hoped everyone has picked up a copy of PaperCrafts special issue Card Style . I so highly recommend this issue. Naturally, it has wonderful cards completely worthy of CASing and reinterpreting! However, beyond that it totally enabled me to pinpoint my personal card style. The issue is laid out in sections such as Fun & Cute, Clean & Graphic (my personal favorite), Classy & Elegant (second favorite), and Shabby Chic & Vintage (absolute least favorite!) My hope is that with the halves of my brain in agreement I will begin to choose card designs (and eventually creating my own) that reflect the styles I am drawn to and be able to identify a challenging style beforehand. I confess that often times this was certainly not the case. Take my word check out this great special issue!

A little birthday card?

As I said earlier this card was suppose to be of one of the Mojo Monday challenges. I used a bunch of punches and a lot of CTMH's Emporium My Reflections paper pack. Sorry for the awful picture - I'll need to find another special issue of a magazine to improve my photography skills! :-P

Supplies:
Stamps: Close to my Heart Piece of Cake, 7gypsies Grunge interchangeable certifiable stamp
Ink:  Stampin' UP! Classic Basic Black
Paper:  Close to my Heart Emporium, Twilight, Crystal Blue, Colonial White, Stampin' UP! Purely Pomegrante
Accessories/Tools:  Punches (lots of punches), Brads (lots of manufacturers)

As always, thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Pals Paper Arts - PPA50 Color Me

2010-07-10T15:49:00.000-07:00

Continuing along this papercrafting challenge route I have been on, I found a color challenge over at Pals Paper Arts blog. The colors of the challenge are Basic Grey, So Saffron and Chocolate Chip, three wonderful colors that survived the Stampin' UP! color renovation.

Color Me

Influenced by my previous attempts at the unique card size of 3-1/4" x 6-1/2" I decided to give it another go. The sketch is from Jeanette Lynton's book Originals.

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampin' UP! Of the Earth
Ink:  Stampin' UP! Real Red
Paper:  Stampin' UP! Walk in the Park, Basic Grey, So Saffron and Chocolate Chip
Accessories/Tools:  Stampin' UP! Chocolate Chip 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Joann 3/16" Antique Copper Eyelet

As always, thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Heart 2 Heart Challenge: Wishes - CityScape (Take #2)

2010-07-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I liked the Heart 2 Heart Challenge Wishes - CityScape sketch so much I decided to try it again. Here's what I came up with it.

CityScape Take #2

So for the second try I decided to maintain my previous card size of 3-1/4" x 6-1/2". Paper and color changes occurred as well with the exception of Sweet Leaf, I'm really feeling this color right now.

Supplies:
Stamps: Close to my Heart Always in my Heart
Ink:  Stampin' UP! Chocolate Chip Craft Ink
Paper:  Close to my Heart Emporium Level II, Crystal Blue, Chocolate, and Sweet Leaf
Accessories/Tools:  Close to my Heart Sparkles, Michaels store brand 1/8' White Organdy Ribbon and Recollections Metal Photo Corners

As always, thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Heart 2 Heart Challenge: Wishes - CityScape

2010-07-10T15:20:00.000-07:00

Hello? Is anybody out there? After a very long absence from this blog and a nasty old scrapbook page that stalled ALL creativity for over a month I'm finally back to this wonderful but maddening hobby. I hope someone is out there to take a peek at what I've been up to.

CityScape Take #1

The challenge from the ladies over at the Heart 2 Heart Challenge blog this week, was to use the sketch CityScape from Jeanette Lynton's Wishes book. I was nicely inspired by the sketch and wanted to take it a step further by reducing it to a 3-1/4" x 6-1/2" card size. I used the Close To My Heart Smiles stamp set among several others and I think it turned out quite interesting.

Supplies:
Stamps: Close to my Heart Smiles, Close to my Heart Over the Rainbow, Verve stamps Up, Up and Away, and Stampin' UP! Many Happy Returns
Ink:  Sorbet, Crystal Blue, Sweet Leaf, Buttercup, and Basic Black
Paper:  Close to my Heart Caboodle Level II, Buttercup, Crystal Blue and White Daisy
Accessories/Tools:  Sorbet Collection Ribbon, Sweet Leaf Collection Ribbon, and Stampin' UP! Word Window Large Punch

As always, thanks for looking and yes HE still stamps!

Eileen M. Munsey

2010-05-30T17:20:00.000-07:00

Eileen M. Munsey

BORN: June 11, 1955
DIED: May 28, 2010
LOCATION: Spring Hill, FL

Will be missed by all.

Thoughts or prayers

2010-05-13T17:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon we got the word that the doctor's are unable to do anything further for David's sister Eileen. Hospice has been called in and Eileen has opted to remain at home. The overwhelming shock that the family is experiencing along with sadness and grief is almost too much. And so soon to the passing of their mother Virginia this past fall. We leave on Saturday to make the trek down to Florida in hopes of spending some quality time how brief it may be with Eileen.

Your thoughts or prayers during this horrible time would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ben

A mix of cards

2010-05-07T06:51:00.000-07:00

Well, we had a bit of summer here in Connecticut this past weekend and into the early week. It actually got up into the high 80's early 90's (91 to be precise.) The kids have been playing outside a good amount, Jase is having a problem with bugs. He breaks out into screams and cries of terror if any land on him anywhere and he freezes. His screams make my heart skip a beat. Not sure what we are gonna do to get him over that -- maybe time will take care of it.

I haven't been creating much but I do have a few cards to show.

Yet another Mother's Day Card

Details
Paper: Close to my Heart Caboodle Level II Paper Pack
Cardstock: Close to my Heart White Daisy, Crystal Blue, Stampin' UP! Groovy Guava
Stamps: Close to my Heart One of a Kind, A Little Everything
Ink: Close to my Heart Sweet Leaf, Crystal Blue, Chocolate, Stampin' UP! Groovy Guava
Fibers: Stampin' UP! Whisper White 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon
Diecuts: Nestabilities Label 4
Punch: Stampin' UP! Modern Label Punch
Embellishments: Recollections Blue Rhinestones
Design: Splitcoaststampers Card Sketch #278

One last Mother's Day Card

Details
Paper: Stampin' UP! Rasperry Tart
Cardstock: Unknown Mfg. Kraft, Stampin' UP! Rose Red
Ink: Stampin' UP Chocolate
Stamps: Stampin' UP! Happy Moments
Fibers: Stampin' UP! Kiwi Kiss Striped 5/8'' Grosgrain Ribbon, Karen Foster Designs Black Scrappers Floss
Diecuts: Making Memories Slice Fonts: Essentials
Design: CASEd but unable to find original source. If it's yours let me know & I'll give credit!

For You

Details
Paper: Basic Grey Nook & Pantry Collection
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Whisper White
Ink: Close to my Heart Juniper
Punches: Stampin' UP! Designer Label, Martha Stewart Classic Butterfly Craft Punch
Embellishments: Recollections White Pearls, Joann Mini Brass Brads, Staples Standard Sized Staples
Design: Paper Crafts Magazine, March/April 2010 Issue, Page. 23, Friends Card

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

In Honor of National Scrapbooking Day 2010

2010-05-02T11:12:00.000-07:00

I completed 2 - two page layouts this weekend to celebrate NSD. Now mind you I purchased a kit entitled Miracle from Close to my Heart that included everything except ink and adhesive. Boy, what a kit - I really loved this one. From the beautiful B&T papers to the embellishments it is just so expertly put together! Actually, it looks so much much more expensive than what I paid.

A week or so ago frequent visitor to this blog Barb of the blog Thought Connection shared a wonderful Heritage layout. For a few minutes after viewing Barb's beautiful layout (that just happened to be digi btw) I mourned for the loss of my family's history to a freak electrical fire that took everything my grandparents had back in the Spring of 1976. A few days later I remembered all the pictures my mother passed on to me a couple of years ago and while they are not the best snapshots they would at least let me start constructing something of a Turner Family history. So here are the first pages of an album dedicated to my family's heritage. While you can definitely see these designs on any CTMH customer's blog you probably can't know the love and pride I felt creating them and for that I am extremely proud.

Miracle Memories

First page is taken in the mid to late 1950's and is my teenaged mother posing with new kitchen appliances. That stove lasted well into the late 70's.

Second page was taken on my parent's wedding day October 27, 1956. Sadly, there are no surviving photos of my parents together on their wedding day. My mother looks like a little girl to me ... times were so different then she was 16 and Dad was 18. They spent their wedding night at my grandparents house sleeping in a room with 3 other people. Imagine that in this day of stretch limos for proms!

Miracle Celebration

The first picture is my parents sometime mid to late 1950's. This is one of my favorite photos of my parents. They look so happy and my Mom looks quite chic with her blouse collar turned up. After marrying they moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where my Dad got a job that he worked at until a disability forced him to leave in the mid 1990's

The second picture I would imagine it's the same date frame as the others. Their look is so 1950's. My mom tells a story of how every dish they owned would be stored on the kitchen table as they couldn't afford a cabinet and her Daddy was their visiting and knocked the leg out from under the table and they lost everything. Hard to imagine Dad made $36 a week and Mom babysat for extra money.

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Rainy Sundays, a card and toys in great peril! Oh my!

2010-04-25T10:05:00.000-07:00

Well, it's a rainy Sunday here in CT. David got himself a new Xbox360 game and he is way gone. The kids got themselves some new toys thanks to Mamaw Neda (my mother) and they are way gone as well. Which adds up to me getting some precious uninterrupted time to do a little paper crafting. So, here's another pass at a Mother's Day card. Wait, before I go into all that I have to share something. As you may know the children came to be with us a year and a half ago and when they often play with their toys there would be great peril for the toys that could only be saved by repeated cries for "Mommy" and "Daddy". In the past two weeks that has subsided and Mommy has been replaced by their nickname for me "Bebee." Now I am not sure what this means and am trying not to read alot into it, but I hope that it means on some level that they feel safe and know that they are and will be protected. Then again, they could be calling out something all together different ... and I could be hearing what I want OR need to hear.

Okay, back to the project at hand. This card went much easier than the other I last posted. I suppose it's more my style or something. I wonder if that's how one determines their creative style, does the project go easy? Probably not, life is not suppose to be easy, right? Anyway, the design is from Mary Fish's Stampin' Pretty blog AGAIN, she really does some wonderful things over there. I spent far too much time on the ribbon. The ribbon is SU's Whisper White Satin ribbon that I hand dyed Ruby Red - I wish I could say that it was an easy to do. But that would be a huge freakin' lie. This certainly wasn't my first time dying ribbon but I wanted a easier way to accomplish it and read some obscure blog posting about using a marker instead of a reinker - let me just say that it was blotchy and looked awful. Luckily I was able to simple wash the ribbon (after heat setting, not sure how that worked) and start over. Take it from me using a reinker will save yourself a big mess of wasted time.

A Ruby Red Mother's Day

Details
Paper: Close to my Heart Topstich
Cardstock: Close to my Heart White Daisy, Chocolate, Stampin' UP! Ruby Red
Stamps: Close to my Heart Delight in Everything, Stampin' UP! Well Scripted
Ink: Close to my Heart Chocolate, Stampin' UP! Ruby Red
Fibers: Stampin' UP! Whisper White Satin Ribbon
Punch: Stampin' UP! Scallop Edge Punch
Design: Mary Fish, Stampin Pretty Blog

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Wonderful Mother

2010-04-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

So, here's my first take at a Mother's Day card. These cards are never easy for me to make. While my Mom appreciates handmade cards it ends there, scrapbooks and the like are just not received well by her ... not sure what that's about but I'm working hard to just accept it. Mom can be a tough egg to crack sometimes, she likes to say one thing but actually feels/thinks a completely different thing. Anyway, it's hard to do creative things when you worry that it might be unappreciated. Sorry bout my moment of melancholy there ...

Close to my Heart Wonderful Mother

Details

Paper: Close to my Heart Topstitch

Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Whisper White, Close to my Heart Vineyard Berry, Colonial White

Stamps: Close to my Heart Love Is in the Air, Stampin' UP! French Script, Well Scripted

Ink: Close to my Heart Colonial White, Stampin' UP! Very Vanilla

Embellishments: Close to my Heart Soft Suede Pinwheels, Mini-Medley Colonial White, Recollections Pink Rhinestones

Fibers: Offray Organza Pink Ribbon

Punch: EK Success Oval Punch 1-1/4" x 2"

Diecuts: Sure Cuts A Lot Software, Cricut, Unknown Maker Scallop Ding-Bat Collection

Design: PaperCrafts May/June 2010 issue, pg. 45 Sweet, Sweet Flower Card

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps.

Of all the people

2010-04-21T08:14:00.000-07:00

Recently, I stumbled on a challenge over at SCS that's issued weekly called the Scrapbook Variety Challenge and a few weeks back they issued a challenge SVC118 Men in our Lives. Since I have been thinking that I might need to do some scrapbooking for the adults in my life I thought this would be a perfect way to start. As I previously mentioned on this blog I ran into a brick wall called life for awhile. Eventually, I did finish the layout and here are those results. My partner David and I have been together for 13 years now -- it's the longest sustained relationship in my life. I won't go into the luck with which we someone found one another or the obstacles we have faced as a couple.

Of all the people

Details
Paper: Stampin' UP! Treehouse
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Buckaroo Blue, True Thyme, Basic Black
Ink: Stampin' UP! Classic True Thyme
Embellishments: Stampin' UP! Whisper White Eyelets
Ribbon: Stampin' UP! True Thyme Grosgrain Ribbon

Diecuts: Making Memories Slice Basics 1 Design Disc, Sizzix Sizzlits Curlie Girlie

Design: Reflections, Jeanette R. Lynton, Sidebar - Triple, pg 42 & 3

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!